Oh I love this man #1

I cooked 5 dishes yesterday and since I am no super cook, it took me a while. And during dinner hubby says: "You know, I have my favorite restaurants, dishes, cuisines. But no food in the world satisfies me like your cooking does."

Those were them very words.

I just melted. It was the best compliment ever.

The two hours of cooking were so worth it.

The places I go

I love traveling. Hubby and I totally have the travel bug. We would really love to visit all 50 states in the US. So, when I saw this, I could not resist. Red are the places we/I have been.



create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

I do so agree

This article is great!!! I so agree.

And the last line?

Priceless.

http://www.henryinstitute.org/commentary_read.php?cid=398

I am no feminist, but

I found this video hilarious.

Oh Lord make me more like you

I do not usually prefer putting the following type of posts in my blog for fear of appearing holier than thou, but I just want to write this one as an outpouring of God's grace and answered prayer.

Yes, God is interested in the tiny details as well in our lives. Nothing is too big or too small for the Lord we serve.

When you pray to God to give you patience, he does not give you patience instead he gives you an opportunity to be patient. Many times I have caught myself singing blithely at the top of my voice in the car "Oh Lord make me more like you."

Really? Do I take subtle teachable opportunities that He provides or am I too busy wondering who or what can be blamed that I totally miss the window?

This is what happened today.

Hubby had just returned from Canada and the night before he traveled, he just had 2 hrs of sleep due to work (He works out of home). I picked him up from the airport and we had to go straight to get our vaccinations. And after that we were supposed to go get X-rays done, but due to an extended conference call (while waiting in the car), we could not get it done.

It got postponed to today morning 10:30am and we decided that hubby would drive me to work and he would go on from there (we have only one car). We got up today morning and he asked me if it is okay I go a little late to work since he had some work to finish before we left and he said we could leave at 9:15am so I would only be half an hour late. I called my boss and left a message saying that I would be late by half hour.

9:15 became 9:30 and it became close to 9:45. I started getting nervous because I was getting even more late. Finally we got out of the house, and covered about quarter of a way. He then suddenly remembered that he hadn't got the paper that he needed for his X-ray. So we drove all the way back to the house and I was getting really mad by that time.

When we were on our way back, R was telling me that he was three deadlines to meet today and his difficulties with his current PM. I prayed right there in my heart with my eyes open "I am angry, but please Lord give me grace to defuse the situation and if it is your will, help R to deal with all the issues at work." And hubby looked at me and said "I am really sorry, sweetie for making you late."

I looked at him and saw his brow creased with the stress. I knew he was trying to balance all of it best as he could. I knew he felt bad he let me down. I also knew that if I reproached him by saying "Well, you could have woken up when I did and finished your work on time, then we wouldn't be late" and followed it up by a histrionic sigh, he probably would have just said sorry again and nothing more.

Instead I just held his one hand and said It is alright and meant it. With the other I massaged his neck. He knew that there would be no more reproaches and guilt trips. I turned over my moment of weakness to the Lord and he turned it into an opportunity for grace.

For HIS strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. (2 Cor 12:9)

A week in my life

While there are at least two posts sitting in drafts, I started on this third one to inflict my hapless reader victims with the incredibly boring details of my life last week.

I had plans to write regularly from last Tuesday to this Tuesday since I knew I might have some spare time on my hands. But our wireless was not working for some reason. And obviously this had to happen when hubs was not around. So I had no internet at home and I did badly want to do my post on the Kevin Swanson girls-going-to-college story. Hopefully that is soon to follow.

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This is the second time I have been by myself in the house. Surprisingly I was not scared. I got on as well as I could without DH around.

Unlike the first time.

That was in May and hubby had to go out of town and I was by myself and I was terrified. I did my breathing and told myself that God is protecting me and not ADT and I managed to calm myself until I watched the 10’o clock news. They were reporting news of a lady (living alone) who had been murdered in her house. The burglar had got in through the open garage door while she was getting groceries from the car.

If I was terrified before, I was on the verge of hysteria then. I checked all doors for the zillionth time before I went upstairs. I prayed and it calmed me some and I went to sleep. Things were different in the morning. I laughed at myself for the scare. After all I had lived by myself in a big city for 7 months.

But for all that I do not watch 10’o clock news any more.

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I have been suffering from insomnia since I came back from Canada. Maybe insomnia is too strong a word. I do not think 1 week is long enough to be classified “chronic”. But I most certainly had difficulty falling asleep. Since hubby was not there, I was happily not cooking anything which required more than 2 minutes. So I did not have much cleaning or washing to do afterwards which freed up my entire evening. So I thought this was the perfect time to cultivate some good habits.

I turned off television by 9:30pm, brushed my teeth, took a shower, prayed and went to sleep at 10pm. Everything went great except that I could not go to sleep. I tossed and turned and just could not get comfortable. Then I somehow would manage to sleep only to get up again in the middle of the night. And that is how it was for the past one week.

Maybe a non-stressful life does not suit me well. Guess I am one of those people who need stress to relax enough to sleep.

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I was in Canada the week before to visit my sis-in-law who had a baby. The baby’s 3 hr day starts at 2am Canada time-so suffice to say my SIL, her husband and my MIL do not get any sleep in the night. So in the few days I was there, I cooked some of my specialties-which included stew and banana bread. Hubby says my banana bread is the last word in banana bread, so we shall talk no more about that.

The stew now-THAT is a different story. As with all recipes, everyone has a different concept for stew. In those days when I was trying out different things everyday, hubby asked me if I would make stew since he loved it and his mom used to make it etc etc. So I called my mom, got the recipe, followed it to the letter and in spite of my best efforts, and 2 hrs of my time, hubby did not like it. The reason? It did not taste like his mom’s. I muttered things not lawful to be uttered. But in any case, I loved it. Lucky for him we were newly married at the time.

I made it in different ways, consulted my MIL, but hubby would not be pleased. So to maintain marital bliss, we agreed not to make it anymore. After a long time, I made it in Canada and everyone loved it. Yesterday MIL made her stew again and told everyone that she liked my stew better than hers. Now I believe compliment in absentia is the best kind because it is sincere. She was not obliged to say it, since I was not there.

So next time I make stew, it is going to be like the original way I made it. It has been proved far more superior.

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In other news, I had multiple vaccinations yesterday as we are applying for residency. I had 3 injections on one arm and I am here to tell the story.

And that my friends, is a miracle worth mentioning on my blog.

I am as a general rule terrified of injections. But this doctor was so funny and kept us laughing, I forgot to be scared. I have only one more vaccination and then I am done.

What I believe

I thought it would be cool to have a "I believe" link on the side of my blog to make it all official, so here goes :) I am just touching on a few not all of them. I will probably add to it later.

I believe in the One True God -The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost- eternal, invisible, holy, omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God and is Spirit breathed. I believe Jesus Christ came to save sinners of whom I am chief.

I am a Christian by name but not always by actions. I am sometimes mean and judgmental just like everybody else. In spite of that, my God loves me and I am trying to walk the Christian walk, one imperfect step at a time.

I believe that being a Christian does not give me the right to sit on the throne and pass judgment on others. It just means that I am broken and in need of help myself, but I am loved by a wonderful God.

I believe in a literal view of creation. I know that there is a Christian view that tries to reconcile creation to evolution and the earth being billions of years old, but I do not subscribe to it. If I did, I would be confused which part of the Bible to believe. As it is, I believe the entire Bible is true.

I believe that salvation is by grace alone, and not by works. But if you are saved and you see the suffering of a fellow being and refuse to do anything when it is in your power to do it, it makes me wonder.

I believe the earth and all that is in it was given to us and we were commanded to be wise stewards. To me that do not translate as rape and pillage of our resources, but being wise with that which has been given to us. I don’t know if I am ready to jump into the “climate change” bandwagon yet, but I believe that Christians are called to stewardship of all our resources.

I believe homosexuality is a sin. In this respect, I am trying my best to apply and not just say “Hate the sin and love the sinner.”

I believe in preaching the gospel to the entire world and using words if necessary. (From a quote by Mother Theresa I think)

I believe in everyone's right to choose. But when it becomes the "choice" whether to give or take away life (read: abortion), it stops becoming a choice and becomes "Might is Right" and I do NOT believe in that.

Oh! Lazy me!!

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Low
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	High
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Very Low
Pride:	Medium

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

Tuna Cutlet

First time I am posting a recipe for something in my blog. It is a recipe for tuna cutlet that I make. And it is famous all over the greater Orlando area.

Okay maybe just my local area.

Well, alright couple of my friends like it..They really do!

Here it is anyway.

1 can of tuna
1 potato
1 onion chopped really small
1 green chilly/jalapeño (You can put more if you are adventurous)
Enough oil to fry the onion + Separate oil to deep fry the cutlets
1 egg
Breadcrumbs

Fry the onion + green chilly in oil until it becomes slightly brown. Add tuna and add salt to taste. Cook tuna until it gets cooked to your taste. (I like it WELL COOKED). Meanwhile boil potatoes until it is soft enough to get mashed.

Add the mashed potato to the tuna and mix all of it together. Take it from the fire and keep it aside. After it has cooled down, make round patties from it. Dip it in the bowl of beaten egg and coat it with breadcrumbs.

Deep fry it in oil.

The final product should look like this. This was taken a long time ago when I made it. Unfortunately all of it is covered in plastic wrappers. But you can still see it.



Enjoy!!!

It is always the right time to eat

Kyla tagged me with the restaurant meme going on.
The rules are:

1. Name and link to the person who tagged you.
2. Name the state and country where you reside.
3. Name your five favorite local restaurants.
4. Tag others.

I live in sunny Florida.

I am not a huge fan of eating out-never was. My idea of a good meal is Rice, fried eggplant, mango pickle, and yogurt (something like sour cream) and a good book.

Book is to read and not to eat in case you were wondering.

This was my favorite meal when I was five and it still is except that I would maybe like to have the oil on the fried eggplant absorbed by a paper towel before I eat it.

As you can see, I have matured a lot in the last twenty years with regards to my food habits.

I have developed a wheat allergy since January which means that I pretty much cannot eat anything from outside except from Chipotle where I can eat the Burrito bol which comes without a Burrito. But everything in me fights against listing Chipotle as one of my favorite restaurants.

Like I said, I am not a big fan of eating out, so I will bend the rules a little bit and list my favorite restaurants I have been to in US and not local ones.

1) Saravana Bhavan, NYC: First time I ate here, I thought I had died and gone to food heaven. It.is.that.good. Hubby and I would seriously think about taking a trip to NYC just to eat there. It is rather expensive, but who cares? Their South Indian thali (wikipedia is your friend!) is the last word in thalis. I could eat there everyday and not get tired.

2) Penang, NYC: I think that's the name of the place. It is a Malaysian restaurant. Their Chicken kanai is AMAZING as is their fried ice cream with coconut.

Coming back to the local area,

3) Imperial Dynasty: Great Chinese food. Their seafood platter is de.li.cious. And the quantity. I could comfortably eat 4 meals off of that. It's that huge. And it is not even expensive. And I can pretty much eat everything on the menu. Additional points for that.

4) Toojays: I have never eaten a regular meal there, but it is the ideal place to go hang out for desserts. Their pastries and goodies are just purely chocolatey and sugary goodness. I got some recently for R's bday and it was heavenly.

Last but not least, I HAVE to include the tie that bound us all together in college days in Ohio. We all loved it irrespective of color, race, origin, nationality, gender, religious affiliation, dietary restrictions, bad days, good days.. You know what I am talking about..

FRENCH FRIES!!! I do not eat it that often anymore, but I STILL love it.

5) Checkers: BEST FF EVER!!!I have no idea what they do to make it so good. If you do not have checkers in your area, you are missing something, I am telling ya. It is more expensive as FF go, but for me it is worth every penny.

Ok now that I have bored you all to tears with my favorite foods, I am tagging 4 people according (bending again) to the rules of the meme.

1) HopiQ in Heart and Home
2) Karthik in Cognitive Cache
3) Vishakha in Something to Share
4) Secay in Secay's Diary