Showing gratitude and being mindful are the top priorities in my life recently. I realized the happiness and satisfaction of being grateful for whatever I have. Loving family members, own house, enough money for needs and satisfying career and business - I can't ask more from God. 

 

2023 just flying by and we are entering a new year. Since blogging has taken a backseat, I couldn't write any gratitude lists in 2023. So, here is one for the whole year!

Gratitude List for 2023

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Family

A supportive family is the biggest strength for anyone. Don't you agree? If you can vent out your frustrations without inhibition to other family members, that itself is a great deal. If you can be YOU, that is the ultimate happiness in a family. Iam grateful every day for that.

Dance

Our dance school grew a lot in this year. It is a productive year with many performances and watching students getting better day by day. I am grateful to see determined students who wanted to learn more and try to give their best in performances. I love watching my students practice at home everyday and getting better.

I have never experienced the beauty of being a teacher earlier and I am feeling proud. We have successfully performed on our Annual Recital in September. 

Travel

Why this has to be on top 3? You know me :-) If there is one part of life which keeps me motivated, it's travel. We could visit Utah and some of the wonderful national parks - Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef. The beauty of Utah is gorgeous and there are no words to explain. 

We visited the remote parts of Oklahoma for thanksgiving and enjoyed our boat tour around bald Cypress trees at Caddo lake state park. That travelogue would be up soon on my blog!

The beauty of Bryce Canyon National park

We are planning for a trip to theme parks by the end of the year and kids are very excited. I am excited to cross a few more states in our checklist. 

Work

This year, I learned a lot and experimented with a testing tool called 'Cypress'. Java Script is not as comforting as Java in the beginning, but I am happy to getting used to it this year. I explored a lot technically and improved my skills on creating a test framework for a web application. 

There is still a lot to learn, but overall, a very productive year in my professional life. I am grateful to my mentors and leads. 

Photo by Lukas: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-retractable-pen-574070/

Settling in New House

It's not in the top of the list, but I am happy to settle in our nest this year. A ranch style single storied home as per my wishes :-)

 I don't want to use stairs everyday and stress my knees further (doing that already with dance, anyways - no extra burden). I am grateful for our backyard view and the colors of sky that I get to see for every Sunrise and Sunset. 

There is a lot more today at home-front, but as usual it's not on my high priority list. I wanted to buy more indoor and outdoor plants and setup a cozy corner at home with our artwork. I want this cozy corner to be our place to read books or do yoga and meditate. That's for next year.

Parents Visit

I went to India and brought my parents for their first time visit. I am grateful for them as it takes a lot to travel so many hours on flight and the journey is not that comfortable to US. 

I cherish all those moments I got with them this year - Celebrating Diwali, Visiting Big bend and White Sand dunes last year, Celebrating our housewarming this year, kids' birthdays, kids' band recital, temple visits, showing them Christmas lights and Halloween decors blah blah.. Our family made wonderful memories.

Books

I have read a lot of books this year. I have set a goal of completing 20 books which is below my capacity, so I achieved it many months ahead, I think in around August itself. Cool :-)

There are many good books I got to read like these.

Photo by Lisa Fotios: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-person-flipping-book-page-1750566/

I am grateful for the suggestions of fellow book bloggers and readers whom I follow on Instagram. I am also grateful to the local library where I can get so many books for free.

I am thankful to all the authors who send me great free books to write a review and share my opinion.

Podcasts

Podcasts are my new found interest. I enjoyed listening to many podcasts while driving to and fro to office this year. I especially liked huberman labs - A science and neuroscience research podcast.

These are a few other suggestions if you want to try podcasts.

Image by Kirill from Pixabay

So, that's about my gratitude list for 2023. What are you grateful for? Please do let me know in comments.

I wish you a happy holiday season, and best wishes!

Until next time,

My Top 10 things to be grateful for in 2022

 I have stopped posting my gratitude lists being busy with much important stuff in life but I would love to try one last post in 2022 to show my gratitude. 

10 things I am grateful for in 2022:

1. Move to Texas:

Technically, we moved to Texas at the end of 2021, but we started the new year in a new place. I am grateful for the better weather, better health, and great environment. 

Initially, I was hesitant if I would like the place after coming from a scenic place. Thankfully, Austin is better than other cities in Texas. 

The rolling hills, lakes, and beautiful hikes are solace for the mind. 

Sunset Deck in Balcones Canyonlands National wildlife refuge, hike to Mt Bonnel and the scenic viewpoint, Oasis Restaurant on Lake Travis, Zilker Park, Blue hole regional park in Georgetown, and holiday lights at peppermint parkway are impressive so far. Grateful for the beauty of nature and I wish for more scenic hikes in the new year.

2. Dance School and Recital:

It was painful to leave the old students from Colorado and start my dance school from scratch in Austin. But, by God's grace, this has become easy and less stressful.

Within 6 months, my dance school grew and we even did our Annual Recital! 

By the way, here is the link to our Youtube channel to watch the recital.

https://youtube.com/@Kaladeepika

I am grateful for the Parents and students who trusted me even though I am new to Austin. I am happy about the recital as students could showcase whatever they learned. 

Now, it's holiday time of course. Time to relax, enjoy and replenish for the new year.

3. India Trip:

I am grateful that the India trip was not as stressful as I expected. The trip was short but we could visit all near and dear. I am happy to bring my parents along with me to the US.

Feeling blessed that all things went smoothly during the visit, especially with the extra rules after covid. 

4. Parents' visit to the US:

I feel fortunate to have brought my parents along with me. They are our moral support and a large help for 3 months. It feels like the time is running quickly and within a few months, they will return back.

These are some moments I and my family will cherish forever in the future. We could celebrate Diwali with them, and kids could learn Ramayanam, Mahabharatham, and some Telugu from them. I am grateful that I am being pampered especially by my mom. :-)

5. Learning Cypress and Javascript:

It's always the happiest feeling for me to learn a new language and implement something useful. I am grateful for my job which helped me to learn Javascript and cypress. 

Image by Dhruvil Patel from Pixabay 

I am doing a lot of experimentation and learning this year. This year has been the best year for my technical advancement. I also learned Kotlin and Appium at the beginning of the year. A few more feathers to add to my resume :-)

6. New Home:

I am grateful for the new home we bought. It's a single story as I always wished for. 

Since the house is at a bit of elevation, I enjoy the Sunrise and sunset and the views from the home every day. The Sunrise views from Patio are wonderful. The morning sunlight brings positive vibrations for the whole day.

The move is definitely stressful, but I am glad my parents are here to help. We could complete the moving at last though we were exhausted. Now, is the time to relax a bit and settle in.

7. Health:

So far, my health is great. I have to see how it goes in the future. I could join yoga on and off, but I want to focus more on yoga next year.

The weather definitely helped. With my mom's help, I could rest more, read more books and focus on my dance school.

8. Books:

I am grateful for the amazing books that I got to read this year. After coming to Austin, the first thing I searched for is the library. The library is not as great as Colorado but met my criteria.

Kids also loved the library and we read a lot of books this year including the ones from the little lending library near our home. 

I was certainly busy and couldn't publish many reviews this year, but here are some of the best books that I read in 2022:

• The Guest List by Lucy Foley
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkannen
• The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
• Burying Eva Flores by Jennifer Alsever
• Inner trek by Mohan Ranga Rao
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

9. Kids and School:

It is a frustrating move for our kids as they had to change schools multiple times this year. I am grateful that they could move on to a new place, and new school even though they miss their friends due to moving. 

The next year continues to be tough for them to adjust to a new school. I am grateful for understanding kids. 

10. A Long drive and a road trip:

We could go to Port Aransas this year and it's a wonderful beach vacation. Unlike our other trips, we stayed in a comfy Airbnb for all 3 days which is a walkable distance from the beach. Here is the link to Travelogue: https://www.fantasticfeathers.in/2022/09/a-perfect-weekend-getaway-from-austin.html

I am looking forward to our future trip at the end of the year. I am so excited about a long drive. Our travelogue will be up in the new year. Until then, I will be busy planning our trip. I am grateful for this holiday season and family time. 

So those are my top 10 things to be grateful for in 2022. What are you grateful for this year?

I wish you all a happy holiday season!

Until next time,

Gratitude List - March 2021 #GratitudeCircle

 My March has been quite calm and good. Not much activity. No dance recitals with usual online classes. Could read some good books, hike a few places, relaxed at home watching multiple snowstorms by the window, and got my first dose of Covid vaccine.

It's the Spring season. I am hoping to start gardening soon. Temperatures are getting warm and so, I am excited about regular walks and weekend hikes. 

Here comes my Gratitude list for March 2021:

Covid Vaccine :

One important thing to be grateful for. Just the last year, exactly at the same time, the world started experiencing the seriousness of Covid 19 and at least we got some solution even though we don't know yet how powerful or effective the vaccine might be.

Spring Season :

In Colorado,  this year we saw many snow storms before Spring and we are eagerly waiting for the warm days ahead.

As you know, I am most excited to start gardening. 

Reading and Relaxing time :

With snow on most of the days in March, I had more time to read books, relax in the evenings and watch Netflix.

Rtu Vidya is one of the useful books I read recently and Love at first is a romance. 

I started watching Designated Survivor on Netflix and I am enjoying it so far. I am searching for good suspense series to watch in the evenings to relax after work. I am looking for something similar to Lost, Dark, etc., Any suggestions?

Catching up on new job :

I am grateful for my new job which made work-life balance easy. I  owe to my colleagues and seniors of the team who are always ready to help a new team member. I am learning new skills, expanding my technical horizons for the last few months and I am enjoying the journey.

Online learning and spring break :

At last, by the last quarter, both kids are getting in tune with online learning and completing assignments on time. It's a different situation especially for a kindergartener to learn online without going to school at least once, not knowing the names of their classmates, without playing in the breaks, not losing patience while listening to classes. 

I  really feel all kids who did virtual learning this year did a great job getting accustomed to it. I am grateful for the technology and options we have in these times to learn and work from home.

Due to snowstorms, our kids' spring break just went by with playing at home. We will make it up for their summer break. 

So, that's about my March. What are you grateful for today? Do let me know in the comments.

Until next time,

Linking to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury. 

37 things that I am grateful for! #MondayMusings

 We are reaching the last few days of the year 2020. Such a fancy number, I thought this year would be really different from others when it started. It sure is different, though not so positive.

If there is one thing that 2020 taught us, it's to be thankful for what we have. Even Simple things seem to be a luxury when we compare with other years earlier. So, Let me list 37 things that I am grateful for :-)

Why 37? that's a secret :-)

I am grateful for 🙏

1. Family 👪- An important part of my life and a backbone.

2. Career - Of course, one way to earn money and another way to improve my technical skills 

3. Dance - A hobby turned to a dance school

4. Travel - I can give away any luxury that I have to see new places

5. Health - After Covid, we all know how important health is in our lives

6. Friends - Good or Bad, a friendly ear to share our experiences

7. Students - For believing in me and learning dance from me

8. Food - Keeping me alive and nourished

9. Phone - What I could have done without the world of information ready in my hand any minute I need

10. Photos - A way to treasure my memories and relive them

11. Painting - To bring my creativity alive

12. Books 📙 - A pass time which has become an important part of my life

13. Coffee  - the smell of coffee makes my mornings happy

14. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables - Keep me nutritious and energetic

15. Nature - Beautiful and peaceful

16. Social Media - The unlimited scrolling sometimes is relaxing :p and the best way to reach friends

17. Blogging - Writing which removes the stress away from the mind

18. Music - Good music for my happy soul

19. Canva.com - Able to create these cool graphics which enhance my blog posts

20. Hiking - Because it's relaxing to be nearer tot he nature and admire it

21. Home - A roof overhead and the most comforting place

22. Money - Without which many from the above list not possible

23. Sleep - To relax the body and mind every day

24. Art - To bring out my creativity and relax my mind

25. Self - Confidence - A must-have to achieve multiple things in life

26. Gratitude - A quality which brings happiness and satisfaction in my life

27. Love - Which ties the life like a base thread and supports

28. Car - Which makes our travels fun and helps us to reach beautiful places

29. Laptop - Happy place when I need to blog and research

30. Office - Diversion from home and a place to show my skills

31. Library - A paradise when I have some free time

32. Clothes - Fashionable clothes increase confidence

33. Earrings - I am crazy about earrings, love shopping them!

34. Mountains - I love mountains and happy to be residing in one mountain town

35. Kitchen Appliances - Which make cooking quick and not boring

36. TV - Oh my God, how can I forget Netflix :D

37. Yoga - Peace to the body, mind and Soul.

That' it from this list. What are you thankful for?

Do let me know in comments.

Until next time,

Linking this to #MondayMusings hosted by Corinne.

What are you grateful for today? #GratitudeCircle

 On this Thanksgiving day, what are you grateful for?

A simple ritual like creating a Gratitude list is scientifically proven to bring joy to our lives. Did you ever try it?

I have been writing Gratitude lists every month this year (ofcourse, I missed it 2 times :-p), and it gives me a satisfaction and brings me a realization of how fortunate I am than many others in different aspects of life.  

This time, I am writing a gratitude list for 3 months - September, October, and November. 

I am grateful for -

1. Career

My career has become a major part of my life. The last few months have been a good learning experience and I am grateful to my colleagues and friends who helped me grow. 

2. Family

Nothing might have been easy without the love of family members and their support. Accomplishments in both work and dance might have been impossible without themhelp.

I am thankful to God for keeping me in the abundance of love. 

PC:www.pixabay.com

3. Dance

This part of my life is completely unplanned and I am grateful to God for giving me opportunities to showcase my dance skills at the right time.

 I am indebted to my Guru A. Parvathi Ramachandran and my parents for introducing this art form.

I have started my website as well this week. One more thing to be thankful for!

https://kaladeepika.com/

4. Travel

We, as a family enjoy traveling and I am grateful to be staying in Colorado. 

In September, we traveled to South West Colorado covering the Black Canyon of Gunnison, Million Dollar Highway, and Telluride. The other travelogues would be published soon on my blog.

This month, we went for a scenic drive - A dirt road from Colorado Springs to Victor and the winding road to Phantom Canyon. Just a day trip of 5 hrs drive due to Covid. Couldn't stay anywhere as cases are spiking to the maximum.

5. Birthdays

We celebrated my husband's birthday in September and my younger one's birthday in October. Covid couldn't discourage us much, we decorated the home with Angry bird's theme and balloons as usual, just didn't invite all of our friends. 

A sumptuous meal and cake completed the celebration. I am thankful for these little joys of decorating the house, cooking/ordering elaborate meals, and eating cake on birthdays. 

PC: www.pixabay.com

So, that's it on my Gratitude list. I will have good news to share on my next gratitude list!

 Have a safe and happy time at home.

We are just 1 month and a few days away to ring in the new year 2021. Are you waiting for the new year?

Until next time,

Linking this to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury. 

Gratitude List - Aug 2020 #GratitudeCircle

 It's difficult to write this gratitude list when Corona Virus is showing it's harsh impact everywhere and wildfires making many homeless in US Western states. What can we be grateful for when people are suffering around us and losing jobs?

But, this list might be a reminder that we should be thankful for our basic needs fulfilled in these uncertain times. If we have a place to stay, enough food to feed our family, clothes to cover ourselves, and no health problems, who is luckier than us? Shouldn't we be grateful for these simple yet important things in our lives?

I am grateful for relaxing weekends, simple, yet comforting meals I cook, the good health of my family, friends, and some Me-time.

So, Here is my Gratitude List for last month - Aug 2020 :

Virtual Recital

My time is majorly spent on editing our students' dance videos and publishing them on youtube in August. We couldn't do a stage Recital this year on behalf of our dance school - Kala Deepika Dance Academy due to Covid-19.

I am grateful for this activity as I passed time with video editing every evening and enjoyed publishing them on Youtube. Parents and Students felt good too to be able to showcase their dance even during COVID-19 time.  

All our Virtual Annual Recital videos are in the below Youtube channel.

Kuchipudi Dance Practice Videos

Book Reading:

I couldn't read more books last month but could read at least one book from the library. Chitra Banerjee is my favorite author and I completely enjoyed the short story collection about arranged marriage.

Read my Review for more details. 

Click the book image to buy on Amazon.

Festival Celebrations:

We celebrated 2 festivals in August. Varalakshmi Vratham and Vinayaka Chavithi.

Both are important festivals celebrated annually by us. Both have a procedure to follow with the offerings to make and the puja process to do.

Varalakshmi Vratham

I am still not getting better in preparing offerings to God, but a lot better than earlier. I celebrated Varalakshmi Vratham on a weekday, so it was not a pleasant experience running between puja and work.

We celebrated Vinayaka Chavithi to our heart's content as it was on weekend. Kids participated in preparing the clay Ganesha and we enjoyed our family time. 

Vinayaka Chavithi

Local hiking and outdoor time:

August is the last month before the Fall to enjoy the Summer outdoors in Colorado. We did some local hiking, relaxed at the river-side, and watched beautiful skies. 

It rained more than it usually does in Colorado this month. So, we could see some beautiful rainbows and colorful sunsets.

Is the Sun Smiling?

Self-care :

My Health continued to be better in August as well. I reduced my blogging time, could spend some time watching Netflix, editing videos, and reading books.

I am really grateful for my Saturdays. Took afternoon naps on some days, cooked one-pot dishes, and relaxed overall.  

What are you grateful for this month or the last month? 

Do let me know in the comments. 

Until next time,

Linking this post to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury.

Gratitude List for July 2020 #GratitudeCircle

 With this COVID and Social distancing, days are just going one after the other without much change in the routine. However, this weekend is relaxing for me as I took off from dance classes and even cooking for a day!

So, Here comes my quick Gratitude list for the month of July.

1. Scenic drive

We couldn't travel much this summer and all our plans are thrashed by COVID :-( 

Fortunately, we could go on a scenic drive for a day trip. One Sunday afternoon bored with staying at home, we quickly searched for scenic drives near us and we started within minutes. 

I feel thankful to call Colorado Springs our home as this is such a beautiful place with a lot of hikes and scenic drives around. 

Rampart Range drive is kind of a hidden gem, not a popular tourist attraction. It's a dirt road with lots of curves, scenic views with no place to take a U-turn. So we had to travel around 1.5 hrs till the route ended near Woodland Park. We got a glimpse of a rainbow as well :-)

Did you watch our Video?

2. Work

Work has been pretty much the same even in July. Some pressure, some challenging work and, more overtime. 

I am grateful for learning and improving my technical skills on job day by day. I am also grateful to God to have a job in such tough times outside.

3. Health

I could maintain my health well in July. I could go to yoga class every week and practice at least weekly thrice at home. I am advancing bit by bit in Yoga and learning breathing exercises and some interesting asanas. 

I am very happy to make my body flexible.

4. Dance Classes

Since we couldn't do the Annual Recital of our Dance school - Kala Deepika Dance Academy this year due to COVID, we planned for a Virtual Annual Recital. 

Rain or Sunshine, we dance :-)

So, I was teaching and correcting my students in online classes in July. I could see a lot of improvement in students over the last year even though face to face classes might have had more impact. 

I am grateful to the technology available to everyone to practice, teach, and learn to dance online. 

One more good news!

I am going to start my Dance school website soon!

Also, if you are interested in watching Kuchipudi Classical Dance videos, here is my channel.

Kala Deepika Dance Academy

5. Varalakshmi Pooja

I am glad that I could do this pooja like I do every year. But, I did a lot of multi-tasking this time, preparing Naivedyams (offerings to God) in the middle of work calls and decorating the idol. 

It was tough really but I am glad I could. This is a yearly tradition for all Telugu women.

That's about my July. Hope you all are having a Happy August.

What are you grateful for this month or in July?

Do let me know in the comments.

Until next time,

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Linking this post to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury.

Gratitude List for May 2020 #GratitudeCircle

May continued to be 'New' Normal. Work from home, loads of office work, struggling with helping kids in e-learning, no option to travel and relax due to Covid etc., But, we are learning a few things due to Covid as family, and focusing on a few important things of our life. So, All is not bad.

There are many things to be grateful for :

•  Kids had their summer holidays started and thus, rest for us as we need not support their e-learning 
• Could improve my health and focus on home-cooked healthy meals
• Could reduce office stress by implementing a few methods
• Could, at last, make online dance classes work well 
• Could sleep for more time and relax a bit

Here is my Gratitude List for May 2020:

1. Improvement in health

I did a lot of changes in my lifestyle and diet to focus on my health. The good news is that I could see some improvement. I am sleeping more nowadays, reduced morning office calls, increased the intake of grains, vegetables, and fruits in my diet, and took things slow.

I haven't put any targets to complete any tasks for my blog/dance school/office work. I just went with the flow and did whatever I can without working hard.

I am usually more ambitious and tend to jump into multiple tasks at a time. I am trying to change this which will reduce my stress. So far, it's great.

2. One outing after a long break

Due to COVID, we couldn't travel at all for a few months. But, in the last month, we went hiking in our town itself. Colorado Springs is a nice place as we have many beautiful options to hike around our area.

We practiced social distancing, wore masks, carried sanitizer, didn't use public restrooms etc.,
Redrock canyon open space is a good place to hike on a warm day. There is a lake with geese swimming in groups. 2 hrs of our time were spent leisurely after a long time.

We also could go for evening walks in the last month as Summer just started and the weather is great here for walking. We walked only inside our apartment and kids enjoyed their bikes.

3. Researching and trying new healthy recipes

I am grateful to my Yoga teacher and of course the Google search that I am able to learn many new healthy recipes that can easily be made. I hate cooking, so whatever it is that I try, it has to be simple and quick. I don't like to spend much time in my kitchen.

Fortunately, I learned to make millet soup, minestrone soup, lemon rice with foxtail millets, tasty veg salads, healthy smoothies, and a lot. So, the last month had seen a big spike in my learning curve of healthy cooking. I am excited to continue my learning.

4. Art and Dance

I couldn't draw much in May as I said, I am not forcing myself on any task these days. I do only when it's possible and don't stress if I couldn't do it at all. I could draw my first Mandala.

I could make some dance videos for students and I could take online dance classes to my satisfaction now. Researched some tips on taking online zoom dance classes and seems like it is working. But, it cannot compare with direct Dance classes where it was easy for me to correct student's mistakes.

5. Blogging and Books

I could participate in a blog link up for creative writing prompt - Red Roses. 

I could read 2 parts of my favorite historical fiction 'Ponni's beloved' - An English translation of famous Tamil novel (Ponniyan Selvan) and here are the reviews of Part 2 and Part 3. Try to read these books if you love historical fiction.





After 2 months, I could write our travelogue of the New Mexico trip - Roswell and Bandelier National Monument. I got an opportunity to write a sponsored post as well in May.

So, overall it's a great month for me. Since summer is here, the weather will be great and we can have more outdoor time in June. Hoping for a good month with some travel if possible.

How was your May? Did you get used to the new Normal?

Let me know in the comments.

Until next time,

Linking this to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury.

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