Gratitude list for 2024

Bye Bye 2024. It was a great year! 

Welcome, 2025. 

Hoping for more smiles and peace this year.

I wish you all a happy new year 🎈 🎊 

You know the drill. I keep blogging aside for some other important commitments and realize it's the end of the year already :-) poof! I can write a gratitude list at least.

Here comes the list!

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Travel:

This has to be the first point to be grateful for :-) 2024 has been a great year for travel even with a return to the office. I am grateful for our company's policy of Unlimited PTOs. If not, it would have been a boring year.

While the India trip has been great, we could squeeze in a small family vacation to Goa. Thanks to my sis in law. That has been both a relaxing and rejuvenating trip in 2024. We made many beautiful memories.

We could visit Niagara Falls and Washington DC with parents. This is my second visit to those places, but Niagara always makes me wonder in awe. This time, we hiked, unlike our earlier trip which was sightseeing. The monuments in Washington DC and the Statue of Liberty are worth the second visit. 

Image by Peter H from Pixabay

We finished the year by visiting Hot springs and Great smoky mountains National parks. I expected very less from Hot springs, but we all loved it. Weather is also great. I want to come back to Arkansas as we couldn't visit many waterfalls in the state. That's for another day.

Visit to Great smokies is amazing. We missed going to Clingman's dome due to road closures, but hiked some beautiful trails with great views and waterfalls. We also enjoyed the scenic drives of the park. Airbnb that we stayed was very good with mountain view and it's cozy and comfortable. 

Family:

2024 is great year for family bonding. With parents' visit and we vising our sister's family, it's all memories that we gathered. Due to India trip, and spending time with family, it's been a great year. 

We all worked together for our Annual Recital and enjoyed our vacations. I cannot ask more from God. Just happy and thankful 🙏

Dance:

I completed 2 semesters in MA Kuchipudi. It is a wonderful learning experience in 2024. It's a privilege even to interact with such great Gurus.

Dance classes went fine and we could do our Annual Recital successfully in November. It is a pleasure to see the dance school growing and more students learning Kuchipudi.

Personally, I couldn't practice much in dance other than focusing on teaching this year. Health problems took priority over dance, but Iam glad I took it slow this year, because health is the most important thing in my life.

Health:

Overall, it was good. I am grateful for the access to regular health checkups. I could focus more on health and slow down in my life. I regret wasting my mornings in 2024 without re-starting yoga. I cherish those days when I could walk in the evenings. 

I am grateful that I could hike to beautiful viewpoints in 2024. 

Not perfectly fit, but the fitness journey continues.

Miscellaneous :

Books:

Not a great year for reading. I could read around 13 books in 2024. But, I read many good books like Lessons in Chemistry, The Villa, The Homecoming, The House of Eve, The Magnolia Palace, None of this is true etc.,

I also became a review team member for Penguin Random House. I am receiving a lot of good books already. So, excited!

Image by Capucine from Pixabay

Work:

Work life is wonderful. I am thankful to my manager, I could maintain a healthy work-life balance in 2024. I could automate many new and complex scenarios in Cypress and could attend Cypress conference sessions. It has been a great learning experience. 

Return to work is stressful, but I have to see how we manage it in 2025. I am excited to learn and use AI tools this year like GitHub Copilot and Google's vertex AI. Hoping for more challenges and good learnings in 2025.

Amazon Vine:

I got accepted as an Amazon Vine member. So, I got a chance to review a lot of Amazon products for free. I have been an Amazon Affiliate for quite some time, but I couldn't earn much affiliate income. Basically, I didn't focus on this part in 2024 due to other priorities. 

Roses and thorns:

That's about the wonderful year. It was not all roses though. The beginning was tough with my family getting sick. The ending was disappointing with the stressful return to the office. Juggling between work, dance classes, and MA Kuchipudi has been challenging. 

But, we will get there. Hoping to face challenges with a smile and make 2025 better.

Image by HeungSoon from Pixabay

I wish you all the same. Make your 2025 better!

Until next time,

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,

Effective Tools to keep track of Daily Activities

In our busy lives, it's important to effectively keep track of daily activities so that we don't miss any important tasks. I am a detail oriented person with a memory which is not very sharp. I tend to forget things easily and depend heavily on checklists. I use tech everyday to make my life easier.

Here are my favorite tools that help me to track my daily activities:

Evernote

I am not sure if you have heard / tried this app, but it's a must on every phone. I have been using Evernote since 7 years or more. I am a dedicated user of this app.

How is it useful?

• To save grocery checklists
• To save blog post ideas
• To save info about travel - accommodations, places to see, restaurants to eat
• To save important info 
• To save a screenshot

One advantage is this app can be accessed through cloud. So, we can make checklists on phone and can view them from any other device like a laptop on evernote website by logging in. This makes it easier to sync. 

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

When I work and on my laptop, I open the website and create notes. I will check them later through my phone.  That's the cool and useful feature for me.

Calendar

This is not a tip really. Most of you might be using your calendar app on phone to manage reminders , tasks and appointments.

How is it Useful?

• To save kids class times and set reminders
• To save doctor appointments
• To save meetings
• To set reminders for specific tasks like buy gift for a friend

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

I also use Samsung health app to keep track of my steps and daily activity level. I use a notepad which sticks to my fridge to note down grocery items quickly without even opening the phone. I also take a screenshot of grocery list while visiting store or tear and paper and carry it.

Do you use any apps to keep track of your daily activities? Please do share them in comments.

Until next time,

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023

Lessons Learnt Until now... #BlogChatterBlogHop

It's no secret now that I celebrated my 40th birthday last month :-)

Aging gracefully with wisdom. 

I won't say, Age is just number as if aging doesn't impact us in anyway. Aging changes us. I see a few grey hair which are prominent now. My knees and legs pain when I dance like earlier. 

After so long, I am gaining weight easily now. I couldn't easily gain weight from childhood till 1 year ago even when I eat more. My weighing scale never changed more than 1 kg except during pregnancies. Lol! But, I have matured a lot mentally. Learned many lessons in life. I feel more confident myself than ever in my life. I have my goals clear now. 

So, here I am following the Blogchatter's prompt to share a few Lessons learnt from life.

Kindness is the King

I learned that kindness matters a lot for everyone. 

Not being judgmental, 

showing compassion, 

having empathy, 

being sensitive to matters which hurt others - I feel, all these are great qualities.

What do you think?

I believe in this - 

Help others as much as can. If you cannot, re-direct them to any other person who can help. Be patient while listening to their problems and view points. Don't expect anything in return for helping.

Slow down and be mindful

Being a working woman with 2 kids and a dance school, I was going too fast in my life. I realized, this won't work on a long term. Being ambitious is fine, but being mindful is very important.

With this rush between work, family and hobbies, I realized that  I am losing wonderful moments in my life. I am not cherishing my time with kids, I am missing out guiding them, playing with them, learning from them, observing them blah blah. So many wonderful moments to cherish and these times never come back again. 

Now a days, I enjoy hiking in the nature with family. I don't want to hurry. I want to walk, explore , discuss our ideas, ambitions and enjoy the weather and nature.

Ask for help when needed

I learned an important lesson in life that we should ask for help when needed. Be it from spouse, parents, siblings, kids, and friends. When things go unexpected and overwhelming, talk to people, share feelings and ask for help.

Even the most educated people tend to forget this fact they cannot achieve everything on by own and it's ok to ask for help. What do you think?

Health is the greatest Wealth

I learned how food, and our mind impacts our health and overall well being. I respect my body, and nourish my soul with yoga. Daily walking, yoga, food with more vegetables and fresh fruits are a part and parcel of my life.

After covid, we all realized how important is the health of ours and our family's. Won't you agree?

Until next time,

This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop and link it to www.theblogchatter.com

Things that make me smile #FridayReflections

 I took this prompt from the list shared by Shalini here.

What makes you smile? I love to talk about this topic. 

I smile when ...

• I see The Sun rising in the morning with colors changing in the Sky while having coffee

• My kiddo wants to hug me without any reason

• I visit some new place 

• I am satisfied that the code I wrote meets my standards or even when my blog post looks good when I read it.

• I spend time with my family watching some movies together.

• I tease my son to take a lot of photos of me in all poses and he obliges.

• I see my son performing for the band or showcasing his new skill.

• I see that I got a comment for my blog post 😀

• My students perform well on stage

• I could write a meaningful blog post 

• I could practice dance well and perform better on stage

• I feel relaxed after yoga session

• I feel the breeze on my face after hiking

• I sit back to enjoy the nature

The list is really big. So, let's leave it here.

What makes you smile? Do let me know in the comments. 

Have a nice day!

Until next time,

Linking this to #FridayReflections.

My Top 5 Productivity Tips #WriteAPageADay

 How do you stay productive? For me, it's not easy to stay productive. I tend to step on multiple activities and my restlessness overtakes my enthusiasm. Eventually, I waste a lot of time.

However, with experience, I have learned many tips which will help me stay productive. Here are a few of them.

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My Top 5 Productivity Tips:

1. Remove distractions

An easy way is to keep your phone in some other room or keep it with you in silent mode. The phone is the first distraction for many of us. Don't you agree? 

A phone with an internet connection and a couple of social media apps is a terrible combination for distraction.

Turn off notifications for the apps that you don't care much about. 

When you are bored, try walking even if it's inside the house in the middle of work. Observe and watch things and people around you. If you can stick to this rule, you will definitely come back to your task quickly.

2. Enjoy the work you do

If you are doing some task due to the force of someone in the family or friends and if you are really not interested in the task, it's very tough to stay productive.

Enjoy the work you do. If not, at least think of ways to make it less stressful. 

Ex: If office work is not something you enjoy or it becomes too stressful, take a coffee break, say hi to colleagues, walk around the office, fill your water bottle, stretch your legs, take deep breaths, and come back to work.

That way, we can be more productive than not taking any breaks at all.

3. Focus on a single thing at a time

I don't know why some people give importance to multi-tasking, but I feel multi-tasking is not for someone who wants to be productive. Focusing on a single task at a time makes us more productive.

Taking a lunch break? Focus on lunch and don't check your phone or work emails.

Attending a zoom call? Focus on the agenda and don't get deviated from the topic.

Multi-tasking might save time in the short term, but will be stressful in the long run.

4. Relax and Replenish

We are humans and not machines. We are not supposed to work all day without relaxing in the middle.

Taking a power nap of 15 mins in the middle of the day is not a waste of time. This improves productivity. It makes you more active for the rest of the day.

Social interaction is important for humans. Chatting with friends, playing with kids, and watching TV are helpful too. 

Don't get overburnt. This improves your productivity for sure. A well-oiled and well-maintained machine only can run in the long term. 

5. Set times for tasks

Setting time for a task helps me to focus better. Instead of multitasking, I set a time for each task and move on. There are no strict rules. If you cannot complete a task in the given time, you can extend it. But the point is to stay focused on the task completely for that period of time.

You can be as flexible as you like. 

For ex: Every day, set a time to close office work. Once or 2 days a week is an exception and it is completely fine. But, family time shouldn't overlap with Work time often.

These are my top tips for productivity . What tips work for you? Please suggest me in the comments.

Until next time,

word count: 595

Favorite Song #WriteApageADay

Prompt: Favorite Song

 It is difficult to pick one song when we listen to multiple wonderful songs. But, I will tell you about one song which made an impression on me. That musical experience stayed with me for so long even after many years. 

That song is 'Paruvam vanaga' from Film : Roja. Music by AR Rehman and sung by SP Balasubrahmanyam and Sujata. 

Below is the link for the audio download. 

https://www.pendujatt.net/kannada-songs/song/paruvam-vanaga-avalm.html

What's Special about the song?

If you listen to it, you will realize its beauty. This might be one of the earliest songs that I enjoyed on my sony walkman. The start of the song and the instruments used are wonderful. Of course, Balu and Sujata sang very well, but the music stands out and dominates the experience. 

It is equally beautiful watching this song in a movie with snow mountains. This audio reminds me of snow, beauty, love, and nature. 

Later, I became a fan of AR Rehman and AR Rehman might have produced better music than his first film, but for me, nothing beats the music of Roja. The other songs are melodious too. The instruments, beats, and chorus might just be a part of the song, but when they come together in a perfect way, it creates the best experience.

What's one such song that mesmerizes you and makes you forget where you are and transports you to somewhere beautiful?

Let me know in the comments.

Until next time,

Word count: 248

A Typical Day in my Life #WriteAPageADay

 This is my first post of the year, in the second month of the course. Blogging has taken a back seat due to other commitments. 

Here is a fun blogging activity: I will write a post every day in February. This initiative is from Blogchatter.

Today's Prompt: A Typical Day in My Life

Morning: 

I am not a morning person, unfortunately. Still, I wake up at 6.15 am to get my younger son ready for school. After having Coffee prepared by my hubby, I prepare breakfast for my kid. I send him to school and make my elder one ready for school. 

Then, I prepare breakfast for ourselves, and get ready for my office. Fortunately, I am still working from home, so I take my comfy time to get ready before attending our first office call at 10am. Cool 😎 

Work time is till 4.30 PM, lunch at 12.30 PM, and multiple breaks in the middle. You know? Housework in the middle of office work 😉

Evening:

My Evenings are a bit slow and relaxed. Sometimes, I will have tea and snacks. I give snacks to the kids and I might start cooking at 6.30 PM. So, until that, it's either a little bit of Netflix / dance class some days / driving to pick /drop kids at any classes. 

Cooking usually takes 45 to 1 hr. We usually target to complete dinner by 8.30 and sleep by 9.30 PM. 

What stands out in my day?

I love watching Sunrises and Sunsets. From my home, I get to watch the beautiful colors of the sky. How is this Sunrise? 

I love having coffee and talking to hubby in the mornings, which lifts up my mood for the whole day. Those peaceful 10 to 15 mins are an important part of my day.

I love pickup and drops to and from school. I love the conversations with my younger one in the car while picking him up from school and conversations with my elder one occasionally dropping him to some class. I cherish those moments.

I love 'ME TIME' when I watch Netflix for some time in the evening. It's not often that I get to enjoy a show for more than 1 hr.

I love reading a good book for 30 mins before sleeping in the night. 

How is your typical day and what stands out for you in a day?

Do let me know in the comments. 

Until next time,

Word count: 411 words

20 years ago, I was a teenager #WordsMatter

Ok, I reveal that I am a middle aged woman now through this post. But, that's ok. I am enjoying my middle age more than my teenage :-)

20 years ago, I was a teenager. As expected, I was a rebel, more confident or Over-confident and was a dreamer. I was studious, had a specific goal unlike other teenagers though. 

Academics :

I think, in those days my focus was only on studies. Not on friends or fun. I regret those days now. I wasted my precious teenage years by only studying. How bad is that?

I was studious and got good marks always. Had been among the top 5 performers in the class but, you know the Indian Education system, right? It won't prepare you well enough for any job. I might have worked smarter than harder.

Books :

In the middle of my studies, after completing my 10th standard, I got more free time before joining Intermediate. That's when I started reading the Sherlock Holmes Series suggested by a friend. Till then, I didn't read any novel in my life except the English subject books.

Sherlock Holmes' stories were like a portal for me to an another world. I enjoyed thoroughly and tried searching for similar thrillers after that. 

Anyways, I joined my college by that time and again my book reading hobby went to the background. But, I remember that year as the foundation to my love for books. 

Rebellion :

I used to respect my Parents and always followed their instructions. But, something changed in teenage. 

I rebelled for the first time against the period taboos and traditions. I used to face severe cramps every month and my frustration used to double when I was not allowed to sleep on mattress or not allowed to touch anything at our home as per the custom.Here is my opinion on the taboo about period talk.

I felt, I needed luxury and comfort especially during that time which was not possible due to some traditions followed at home.

Those were a few memories 20 years ago. For many, teenage years are precious and they want to relive them if possible. But, for me, present is more beautiful than past.

I neither hate my past nor wish to relive it. Past is a foundation of whatever we are now. Every lesson, every failure in the past is contributed to our current success, right? What do you think?

Until next time,

This post is written as part of #WordsMatter blog hop hosted by Corinne, Parul and Shalini.

I received this tag from Holly Jahangiri at https://jahangiri.us/2017/. It’s my pleasure to pass on this tag to Shalz at https://www.shalzmojo.in/. There are 29  of us on this Blog Hop and it will be spread over 3 days – 1st, 2nd and 3rd November  2019. Do follow the #WordsMatter Blog Hop and prepare to be surprised!