Its going to be a list again

I am sorry dear friends, I have to write in a list again. If you do a search of the most oft-repeated word in my blog, it will be list. I am deeply sorry to all of you who are used to reading paragraphs.

1. I think eating raw mango and red chili powder (paprika) and salt is as close to perfection this side of heaven. If eating that is wrong, I don't want to be right. I could eat it non-stop and I did; all summer vacations from the ages of 7-14. My sister and I stole picked without permission from neighbours, my cousin and I raided her Dad's tree. I am just keeping it real here. It was like a disease. At the end of the day, we all suffered from stomach aches feasting on mangoes all day long. Oh, the stories I could tell!

2. It annoys the heck out of me that my husband can't go into a clinic here and have his cholesterol check done (he doesn't take medicines) without a prescription from a doctor. And then after it is done, he has to go to the doctor again so that he (the doc) can read off the chart which the nurse has highlighted for him. Why can't they change the system? Grrrrr

3. Hubby and I had a Countrywide credit card which by pure mistake we went over the limit. They charged us $39 and since it was a first time offense, DH called to ask if he could have it taken off. They said no. We were unhappy, but figured that is how it was. A day later, he was on the phone again for something else and was put on hold for 15 minutes. They had the automated message going on "It is our privilege to serve you, and please do let us know how we can serve you better." He mentioned to me (jokingly) that "Hmmm, I will tell you how to serve me better. Please waive the $39 fee." I told him if he actually does that, I will do something. For the sake of privacy, let me just say that I made him an offer he could not refuse. Hubs actually went ahead and said it and got the fee waived off. I was speechless.

4. DH was after me for a month to make an Indian delicacy called Paalappam. It is made with ground rice, coconut, milk, yeast, sugar and looks like a pancake. It needs a day of prep work and is not an easy dish to make. Finally, I did make it last Sunday and it was so fluffy and it tasted amazing. It was totally melt in the mouth and I ate 6. Please don't judge me. R also ate 6. All that effort, and I ended up with just 12 paalappams. We ate with vegetable stew.

5. Speaking of time consuming Indian food preparation, yesterday I made 4 dishes and it took 3 hours to cook. Honestly, sometimes I wish I did not like Indian food so much. That is the reason why I have to spend hours cooking. There are no shortcuts, no easy ways. Or maybe I am not aware of any. Everything is made from scratch. The expression "chained to the stove" must have come from there. If I were a traditional Indian stay-at-home wife, I would have had no time to get out of the kitchen. On the other hand, if I were a traditional Indian stay-at-home wife in India, the maid would be doing all the cooking. How I wish I had a maid to do all the cooking and cleaning. One day I dreamed I had one, and then I woke up and found it was just me. It was a good dream while it lasted.

6. Today was my boss's 70th birthday and he said some nice things to me like it was my birthday. He said I was a blessing to the company and I am a trustworthy and very capable person. (He said more, I am not writing all that down) I almost teared up. He said that if he gets to meet my parents, he wants to tell them that I am a good reflection of their upbringing. Words are so powerful, his just made my day.

7. I have been wearing skirts and dresses exclusively for the past month or so, and it feels great! Hubby likes it, I like it, it just feels comfortable! Not that I have anything against jeans - I was a jeans girl myself and hope to go back to it, but skirts rule my wardrobe for now.

Thats all for today.