travel , food , beads ... my life

Beads !!!!!

2009-05-13T13:34:00.002-05:00

I had lost track of time by now in home away from home (Sunnyvale ) since I had gotten myself into a Creative ,Time taking ,Colourful ,Cherishing ,lasting & undeniably addictive Hobby ... i.e. Jewellery making using beads :)
And I truly can't explain how my life would have been incomplete without this shade of me being highlighted at this phase ..... thanks to my residence in El Camino Real , it was easy for me to take a few steps to my favourite hobby store Chain -Michael's .
First it took me looots of browsing on the Internet and then a few trips to the bead store to make my cherished pieces ....
everyday I would make new jewellery and keep it ready for display to wear the next morning along with matching attires :)
it was becoming more & more interesting when I had gifted a set to my Sis in Law & got loads of compliments from Friends & Family.
At That time never realized that I was just a Droplet in the ocean of beaders !!!!!!!!

it started like this !!!!!!

2009-05-13T13:29:00.002-05:00

I 'm sitting in hotel room and thinking how exactly I should be using my time & then I remembered that it started like this in the first place :) you guessed it .... this is the way i started Blogging ... and so i have been thinking of honing my written skills for quite a while now :)
only thing is, putting the thoughts into actions, is what matters the most ... so c'mon readers don't loose hope as Rama is back ...................

universal studios

2008-11-06T19:03:00.003-06:00

for readers who have been waiting for my new post thank you for your patience :)
the next stop from Disney was universal studios located in the heart of Los Angeles ,California Universal Studios has amazing things to show us in a jiffy :) as soon as you enter the studios you know that you have stepped into the world of film making the great Hollywood characters like "Spider man" invited us & took a family photo . The Shrek & princess Fiona were really sweet :)
we had the amazing experience of a guided tour in a bus .We saw the tunnel where the ten commandments was shot & shown to be a disastrous river .
saw a few tricks where the fights & burning of vehicles took place . a few items amazed me the dancing cars :) yes the cars danced to the music unbelievable but true . the horror house , where we first passed with friendly ghosts of harry potter movie fame & then quite a few unexpected deadly ones including dead bodies & skeletons hanging it was a very scary experience on the whole . How can I forget to mention The famous King Kong it was on the whole a fun experience. With this we Put a full Stop to Our L.A. trip & returned happy as contented souls :)

Happy Diwali

2008-10-28T07:52:00.000-05:00

Friends18.com Diwali Greetings

which flower are you ?

2008-10-27T17:19:00.000-05:00

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I am a
Sunflower

What Flower
Are You?

Breast Cancer Home Page - National Cancer Institute

2008-10-15T13:39:00.000-05:00

hello friends october is National Breast Cancer awareness month . This is my little way of contributing what I learnt during this month . I would appreciate if each one of you reads it regardless of gender . Thank you :)

Breast Cancer Home Page - National Cancer Institute

DISNEY !!! MY DREAM COME TRUE ........

2008-10-12T15:56:00.001-05:00

It was 22nd June 2007 An important day in our life [my sweet husband's birthday ]but it was even more important for me as I knew :"today is the day I will fulfill my dream of living the life of a princess in the fantasy land " I do know many of you girls out there must've dreamt just like me & fulfilled it too but I really cant explain what an experience it is for a girl from southern India when she keeps her foot on the fantasy land called Disneyland esp'ly when your favourite cartoon character is none other than "Mickey - the king of this land "
Even today you will find cartoon sketches of mickey mouse back home made by me in childhood ,such was my dream & I thank my husband to have given me this gift though it was his Birthday ;-)hehehehehe !!!!

The minute you step in to the Arch mentioning Disney land in big letters you know it is going to be overwhelming .
The first step being following the elaborate map of this fantasy world ,second take a train , third wait in loooong lines only to be amazed & bewildered ,we had my cousin ,accompanying us who is a young lad ,wanting to take all the deadly rides & My dear husband as such was very scared of the rides so we split for a few rides - Me being the intermediate one selected a few rides like the Jurassic park , dinosaur rides . On the whole We enjoyed various rides one of the special things to be mentioned here is the" DISNEY PARADE " which is worth mentioning as u can see all the Disney characters like, , Donald , goofy, beauty & the beast the , snow white & seven dwarfs , Princess sleeping beauty , CINDERELLA ,the little mermaid , characters from various other Disney characters last but not the least you can see some one on the top wearing a golden robe that is none other than my lovable MICKEY MOUSE :)

The pirates who sang a song are also an integral part of the theme park ,the pirate story looks true to the eyes .
Winnie the pooh ,Tiki bar are a few rides to enjoy with small kids .

IF I do not mention THE SMALL WORLD it will be a big mistake on my part . It was a beautiful world of small people :) I mean cute dolls in various costumes from all parts of the world you can see the Hawaiian girls dancing their ways to music & also the ballet dancers shaking a leg :) i was thrilled to see Indian dolls doing kathak :)the song accompanying is also so captivating that you will keep humming it all along ...
every happiness has a few glitches with it & i shall not forget to mention the loong wait of four hours we had to stand in the line (102 deg )on a hot midday for a new show .Nemo submarine ride :( wheww thank god !!!once it was done we all took a break .
the star ride the splash mountain [50 feet drop] was kept for a better time but ultimately I dragged my husband to get onto the mountain & I must say my heart skipped a beat too .
So that was enough thrill for us so we decided not to take the other thrill rides like THE MUMMY RIDE . At the end of the day we were all too tired to smile for more pics :) I am sharing a few pics to share the experience with all of you :)

But my day ended happily only when i met with my sweet mickey mouse :))))

sorry for the delay:(

2008-10-12T14:54:00.001-05:00

Hello Readers !!!!
It has been really looong time i felt like writing & updating my blog :D
so here we were nicely enjoying the winter in the west coast and enjoying all the advantages of the western weather but time does not wait for anyone so came summer it was nice & warm first & started getting hotter by the mid days & by hot i mean .. reallllyyy hotttt [:O]
[100-103 Deg F ]
The summer in San Jose is both lovable & unlikable depending on a persons choice of weather . I personally liked the winters as it was more convenient & the summer sun keeps pricking you all over the skin . By this time April 30th 2007 , I started my spiritual practice of meditation & so thus started out sessions of weekly meetings with various people of spiritual inclination , some of whom have become friends for life :D. thanks to a lot of talented guys surrounding me including my wonderful Husband [ohh!! Did I mention he is a Singer of professional standards ] we youngsters started a small group called Divine Melodies , which conducted various concert , the proceeds of the following went to various charities .You all must be wondering why I am going on & on about these activities . It is to highlight that people & places have been a major part of my life and thus these activities :)
okkk so my travel bug was taking a rest too except for the weekend getaways locally but I suppose now I was getting Impatient to invite my dear Travel bug so I planned A getaway to My favourite place & Dream place :
DISNEY LAND L.A. & universal Studios :)

monterey beach -carmel

2008-08-25T19:59:00.000-05:00

It was the most welcoming summer in California and our family was just settling down in the new place when my sister-in-law thought that we all should visit a few places as a family so the first destination of the weekend was to carmel beach & monterey bay . It was small tiny beach but the ride was worth mentioning it was still late winter so the water was dead cold & we were all not prepared for the windy reception of the sea .On the return journey the curvy road & the feeling of the magnanimous sea was over-whelming .the following week we had a small raod trip to a fruit store with a few winery stores Casa- DE -Fruta it was really great to see the carts full of fruits , dry fruits of all varieties were sold in pounds & fresh fruit carts including strawberries ,bluberries ,tangy oranges , bananas , mangoes , tangerines ,black berries , nectarines , plums ,pineapples ,apples , u name it & it was available .
Iwas to ohappy to visit the chocolate store & the popcorn(caramel corn with almonds) store where u cud taste it all & buy only what u like .

EL CAMINO REAL ...........

2008-08-19T08:36:00.000-05:00

my destination in Sunnyvale was EL Camino Real ,we were located in a corporate housing right behind the most busy el camino real , so there was no hustle - bustle of busy street El camino real but everything was very accessible including the 20-30 something restaurants ( out of which 20 were Indian cuisine ) were available within a 2 mile radius .So here we were ,me & my husband being gr88 foody's we tried almost all the restaurants serving Indian or Thai cuisine , somehow we don't appreciate Italian cuisines ,pardon me if my reader's are a big fan of Italian :(

Home is where your heart is -Sunnyvale CA

2008-08-13T16:03:00.001-05:00

Here In North Carolina I was relaxing enjoying the little cold weather with a slight snow mid february time & then came the time for my dear friend travel bug to visit me again ,so time had come to pack our bags but this time the Destination thrilled all of us as it was Home away from Home -Hyderabad in US -Sunnyvale California .My mom- in- law was very pleased to know that both her son's will be living in the same place ,heheh easier for them rather than to visit two different coasts ;-)hmmmmm.. and I was happy b'coz I had my nephew (3yrs old) also it would be fun to join my co-sister & do lots of shopping :) i had my own plans u see .

So we set up all our suitcases & packed a lot of (5-6)cardboard boxes for shipping & flew from coast to coast ,not knowing what to expect from this next destination .It was again more like visiting family ,but later when we took up an apartment set our things up then I had to digest that "we are " staying here .It was a wonderful experience in California & I'm going to need many more posts for Californian journey as it lasted not one or two months but for ........ONE YEAR FIVE MONTHS and it helped shape me up as a better person I'll tell you why later in the posts .So here we arrived in California a little before my husband came to join his new project the opposite of what happens generally as a ritual ... my husband leaves to join his job first & then (he would try to accommodate us in a better place )once he has known the place we would join him . But this time we flew directly to my bro in law's home & stayed there for two weeks before we could take an apartment .
I knew this trip was going to be fun , I had few friends & other extended family here but I had no clue it was going to be long ........ no regrets anywayz :)

North Carolina -Raleigh

2008-08-08T09:55:00.000-05:00

Now is the time to reveal the next place , yeah !! exactly to mark this place as a personal favourite on my travel map ....raleigh or the RTP (famously known traingle park) was one of the best green & peaceful places I have been to :) , even today if given a chance i would love to settle down in such a place .we landed in this place on the dya of our Second wedding anniversary :) got a nice pendent as a gift after the ordeal flight journey .HERE ALSO CAME VALENTINE'S DAY & my sweet husband gifted me my favourite" valentino" my sweet red teddy .The greenery all around , the closeness yet aloofness from Duke's university campus & the staff of the Marriott grp of hotels it was everything you can call a pleasant & comfortable experience . The stay in North Carolina was short but it stole my heart :)

During these days i decided not to travel anywhere as it was getting colder winter just touched my skin :0 but then u know about the travel bug it can not keep itself away from me :(

so we along with my In- Laws took a road trip to ........Florida ,again not just for visiting but

meeting extended family (my husband's cousin's place ). The road trip to florida was fun trip & also we realized a new talent in my husband he drove continuosly for 11 hours non stop in the return trip :)

here is a piece of info . about me .... my driving skills have not yet been put to test .. still got to learn :(

hey did I mention that the following week we visited "THE WHITE HOUSE "..hmm.. we drove to Washington D.C...... saw a few places & returned back in the night . in between this trip me & my mom in -law had a nice feast icecream where as the guys had coffee :(

feel sorry for all those ppl. who can not enjoy ice cream to this day

small stop over- phily

2008-08-07T08:33:00.000-05:00

Hello , here I was thinking of where next & then suddenly I got a call from My sister's family ,so I packed my bags for a week to visit the new born cute baby girl & the wonderful five year old Nephew ,in Phily and spend some time with my sister's In -laws,also to collect my fresh package of jewellery & dresses from India ( I share a very good rapport with them ) ...so where did my In -laws go ?
You see staying with me, meant to be, that travel bug influenced them too :) hehehehe so they went to Maryland to visit Family friends of old times meanwhile My husband was getting ready to join a new project in a new place ............
wait let the suspense remain & wait for my next post :)

Pittsburgh to New Jersey

2008-08-04T08:57:00.000-05:00

so here I was enjoying all the time with family & especially my nephew when the travel bug bit me again :)
so now the stop over was in Pittsburgh, PA .The strange thing is My travel included trips to people more than places :)so here I was visiting another close family and it was time they accepted me as they were meeting me for the first time after our wedding .
It was a Wonderful experience again Pittsburgh is a city of bridges with Ohio river flowing across
we could sense the natural beauty was exemplary to god's taste of art .
then came a time to shift to New Jersey . New Jersey impressed me because it felt more like home away from home there was nothing much worth mentioning except the oak tree road which no doubt has all the Indian influence :)
also we used to keep missing out exits and were lost through out our trip to NJ .
one month in New Jersey and it was too much to take . By now My in -laws joined me so it was time that the travel bug bit me again to take them along with us to a NEW PLACE .

first place -KANSAS CITY

2008-08-01T14:48:00.000-05:00

The day i stepped on this land of mysteries :USA ....WAS AUGUST 4TH 2006.....yeas it is hard to believe it took me two years to start blogging, hahahaha love this place ,it is a town filled with fountains called the city of fountains .(pic 1 -beautiful lake)

obviously u have some kind of attachment with the first place u come to ..i can't explain y ?

so we had a few families from Indian community getting together on weekends for various activities ,celebrations ,parties or what not . The place overland park just lured me because it was so lush green like paradise on earth .All the fall colours were reminding me of how god is the best creator .The three months passed by like I was in heaven ..... then the time had come ...... it was time for me to venture out alone all by myself i had to travel to California the "wonderful state " because i have family there i was sure i would not panic & have fun time ..with our li'l nephew .

This was the first chapter of my life in USA

travel , food ,beads & my life

2008-08-01T10:46:00.000-05:00

hi all,
I was sitting In a small Hotel room in a small interior town (probably a village - village in real terms not American),namely Warsaw INDIANA and thinking of what actually life means ?
Then It striked that I'm wasting all the time when all other youngster are striving to achieve something and make a difference . So here i started blogging today to make difference using the most powerful media of today ..... WORLD WIDE WEB .
You know my sister suggested me quiet a few months ago, but it has to got to go into my head before i really do something .
I have been travelling all over USA thanks to my husband & his job . So i decided to take it positively and share my experiences of life with you . The coming following few posts in the next few days will be a description of my travel thus far ....... in this mysterious yet open country.