Gratitude List for 2025

In the rush of everyday life, it's easy to get caught up in what's next on our never-ending list. But, tucked among that noise, there are some beautiful moments that we might miss. As we are in the last month of the year 2025, let's slow down, breathe, and discover the power of focusing on the things that truly lift us up.

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My Gratitude List for 2025:

Family:

Touchwood.. 2025 has been a great year. I had many beautiful moments with my family. Our Glacier trip in the Summer, all training together to hike 11 miles, hitting multiple challenging trails in Austin, both kids enrolled in swim teams, meeting my sister's family, meeting cousins, celebrating birthdays, planning for a trip this December.. the list goes on.. 

There is more to be grateful for in 2025. 

Photo by Dmitry Zvolskiy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/gray-ceramic-vase-2062433/

Work:

I could accomplish more on the work front, though not technically, but could gain more functional knowledge. I focused on test automation over the last few months. I could automate the basic flow of a complex feature, which was satisfying. 

I could learn more about AI tools and got the opportunity to use them in 2025 - ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Junie, Gemini, Base44 etc.,

Our generation is at an important juncture, starting from an analog world, watching the world transform to digital, and now moving towards AI. I am thankful for all the opportunities I got to learn new things in 2025.

 

Dance:

This is interesting now. I, improving myself as a teacher of a dance school and being a student studying hard for a Master's in Kuchipudi. 

I feel so happy to have completed 3 courses in my Master's this year with good percentages. There is a great learning curve for me with respect to understanding literature, choreography, and rhythm. 

We had a successful Annual Recital. Now, I get the hang of things in Austin. Searching for a venue, arranging photographers, ordering medals and certificates for students, blah blah.. Someday, I might be able to do a dance ballet like our Guru used to do! Wish me luck in becoming a better teacher. 

Hobbies:

I could participate and finish the Blogchatter Half Marathon in October. 10 posts in 15 days. I finished all my travel backlog, wrote about the most beautiful hikes. It's always a pleasure to see the list of travelogues grow big on your blog, isn't it?

Here is the list of all my travelogues if you haven't seen them yet. Here is the list of Texas travelogues. 

Book reading has taken a backseat this year. Only 9 books read so far. 

I focused on my health, learned about stretches, strength training, able to practice dance and even perform twice this year. Cannot be happier than that. 

Photo by Řaj Vaishnaw: https://www.pexels.com/photo/thank-you-heart-text-791024/

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

By the way, it is always my gratitude list posts that get the most hits on my blog during the holiday season. These lists mean a lot to me and also to you, my readers, as I understand. Thank you. 

I wish you to end this year with gratitude and ring in the new year with hope and happiness. 

Until next time,

Habits that reflect me!

A personal post today. Let me share some habits that reflect me.

Watching Sunrise

Every morning, I look forward to that magical moment when the sun peeks over the horizon and paints the sky in soft shades of orange and pink. There’s something truly calming about it—a simple yet powerful way to practice mindfulness and be present in the moment.

Our backyard faces east, which makes it the perfect spot to enjoy the sunrise. During winter, the sun doesn’t rise until around 7:30 a.m.—just after I’ve sent the kids off to school. That’s my quiet time, coffee in hand, soaking in the warmth of the early rays and the beauty of a brand-new day.

Photo by Tahir Shaw: https://www.pexels.com/photo/golden-hour-view-on-the-mountain-205410/

Coffee

I’ve never been a huge coffee lover, but I absolutely enjoy sipping a cup made by my spouse (he makes it best! ☕). For me, coffee isn’t just about caffeine—it’s about connection. It’s the warmth of shared moments, intimate conversations, and quiet comfort. Honestly, I think I love the smell of coffee even more than the taste.

And since science says coffee is good for longevity—cheers to more happy, coffee-filled years together!

Love for Soups, Salads, and Pasta

I’m convinced I must’ve been Italian in a past life 🤔 because I have an undeniable love for soups, salads, and pasta. Oddly enough, not pizza—which surprises everyone!

Even though cooking isn’t my favorite activity, I enjoy making soups in my Instant Pot. They’re simple, nourishing, and perfect for busy days. Pasta is another favorite—it’s hearty and satisfying, just like a good South Indian meal. When it comes to salads, I prefer mine with cooked veggies over raw lettuce. They’re easier to digest and still pack all the goodness.

Photo by Navada Ra: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bowl-of-soup-and-two-silver-spoons-1703272/

Prioritizing Tasks

I’m a detail-oriented multitasker by nature. Every day feels like a mental juggling act—calculating tasks, priorities, and deadlines. With two active kids, a full-time job, and a dance school I run on weekends, prioritizing isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. Honestly, it’s the one skill (along with family support!) that keeps everything running smoothly.

Photo by Tara Winstead: https://www.pexels.com/photo/text-on-a-notepad-8386688/

Books

Books are my weakness. I love getting lost in a good mystery, thriller, or romance novel. I could read anytime, anywhere—even on vacations! But lately, I’ve been trying to rein in that habit.

I used to read before bed, but I realized it keeps my mind too active to sleep. And once I start a great book, I just can’t put it down until I finish it—definitely not ideal for a good night’s rest! Now, I’ve limited my reading to lazy weekend afternoons, which feels like the perfect compromise.

Blogging

And that brings us here—to blogging. Writing has always been close to my heart. Even though life has gotten busier and blogging sometimes takes a back seat, I still stay connected through travel writing.

We love exploring and hiking as a family, and after spending hours researching trails and itineraries, I enjoy documenting our experiences. My goal is to share practical tips and real insights that can help others plan their own adventures.

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blog-letters-on-brown-wood-262508/

Here are all my travel stories—written with love, curiosity, and a bit of wanderlust. 🌍💛

So, that's about some habits that reflect me. What habits define you?

Until next time,

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025

Mullti Tasking Vs Task Switching

 Multi-tasking has become an integral part of our modern lives. We are rushing to be the best family member, a good performer in the office, the best parent for our kids, and whatnot. Thus, we multitask. Handle multiple things at a time with ease. Cooking, taking care of a baby while talking on the phone. We can handle that! But, how is it affecting us in the long term? Did you ever think about it?

According to numerous brain studies, multitasking can reduce focus, productivity, and attention. This is also associated with anxiety and depression in the long run. Practicing mindfulness is the best way to avoid multitasking. 

I am overambitious most of the time, and sometimes luck is at my side. I find it easy to switch between tasks, but I struggle with multitasking. What's the difference?

Image by Renan Brun from Pixabay

Task Switching Vs Multi-Tasking

For many, switching from home mode to office mode and vice versa is tough. They can multitask. Ex: Take care of the baby on their lap while taking client calls. But winding down after stressful work is a different ball game. After work, do you take time before actively taking part in family chores like picking up, dropping kids off at classes, preparing snacks, cooking dinner, etc.? I'm talking exactly about that. In our generation, this task switching is taking more time. People unaware of how to switch easily, carry their work tension home, yell at family members for simple things, and lose patience. A few like me scroll social media with exhaustion for hours before switching to home mode :-) 

I think, in my 30s, this was not tough at all. Office, and then after reaching home, no laptop. We used to work with a desktop at the office. We never carried work home. Our emails were never synced to our personal mobiles, and there wasn't any app like Slack that sends notifications in off-hours. Very little or zero distractions from the office. Easy to switch, right?

But now, we have more technology. We gave permission to the technology to access us anytime and made us available anytime. So, obviously, we are struggling to switch between 2 modes. 

Image by Jocelyn Wong from Pixabay

Long-term Impact:

Our generation, which is readily available and can finish any task very fast, is facing problems with focus. Being used to overstimulation, our brain craves more always. It always works, lost its ability to relax and focus. I forgot the days when I was just sitting in our patio sipping coffee, looking at the Sky, clouds, and enjoying the weather without doing anything. 

 I used to enjoy drawing zentangles or other intricate designs, sitting continuously for hours. I used to dance for a long time, using my creativity to do choreography for one piece and practice several times, losing track of time. I think I need to get this kind of focus back. Being able to focus without distractions. I used to work on my blog post for hours - writing, editing, adding relevant quotes, making relevant graphics, blah blah in a focus state, losing track of time. 

When I thought about all these things, ... that's when I knew I was writing again.

Until next time,

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025

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.