“If the only prayer we ever say in our lives is “Thank You” that will be enough.”
So I’ve been a bit lax this week–blame it on the ‘flu! It struck suddenly. I mean, Sunday I was fine going about my stuff as usual; and I wake up Monday morning with a frog stuck in my throat. And it hurt. A steady headache started and took residence in my head, creating waves of pain as if it had a reporting schedule. Ugh.
I quickly started the home remedies regimen because no way did I intend to sit in a doctor’s waiting room and return with a long prescription of antibiotics and accessory meds. Oh well, sometimes that only prolongs the inevitable, but I prefer to take the chance every time, because there are times when the home remedies work.
And luckily, by this morning, I felt better. Well enough to go visit a friend and enjoy a fantastic afternoon. So grateful for friends and family–who rally around and weave that circle of love around me–because where would I be without them?
May has been an interesting month filled with gratitude
For one thing, I wake up every morning wondering if it is Saturday. Don’t ask me why. No, not a diabetes haze. Just that having my son home feels like an extended weekend. And that’s a wonderful feeling. Grateful he’s doing his summer internship here, this year. Not sure how next summer will be, so holding this one close to my heart and loving it.
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His vacation also means lots of outings, aided and abetted by my technology woes. My computer continues to be a so-and-so and now my Internet provider has also decided to join that gang whose sole aim is to “stop Vidya from working” Bah! Not going to let that get me down, because I’ve had so much practice handling this now, I just laugh when I see the blue screen of death. Also, my MS Office hangs all the time, driving me to become more of a Google docs devotee than I already am. How am I handling it though?
Saving all my stuff on the cloud-accessible from anywhere
Going out more and spending time with friends
Cutting down on my workload. I love my work. It is so satisfying to shape and fine tune a manuscript and send it off for printing.
Spending time with son binge-ing on movies and TV serials
A trip to our favorite bookstore–what joy to while away the day with books
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjJ6mQzjHN3/
Walks on the terrace in the evenings
Grateful that I can continue to exercise regardless of the weather.
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Ah, I visited Mumbai for the launch of “Musafir” a travel coffee table book to which I contributed. It was so wonderful to meet fellow travel bloggers–I had a great time. It was a too-short day trip–going early in the morning and returning late at night, but I am grateful I could make it. Superb experience meeting fabulous women making a difference in this world. The NGO which launched the book also launched “Ab ek goonj” and initiative to empower women and I was happy to be there. I had fun hosting a talk show with a few chosen bloggers. All in all, a very enjoyable and memorable day!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiJ_g_vDxMj/
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By the way, I’ve started contributing to Gympik, a health and fitness site. Here’s my first post there, titled Best Workouts for Women with Hypothyroidism – Women’s Health if you’d like to read.
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I’ve been cooking a lot and of course loving it. It is always a pleasure and even more so with my son at home. This week’s achievement was baking okra fries — kurkuri bhindi. Opens up a world of possibilities!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjPN61eDoGH/
The last week of May had every blogger scrambling to comply with the GDPR rules and I was no exception. After some information overload, I found compliance a breeze, if a little time-consuming, thanks to six blogs. Here’s my shiny new privacy policy. I take data privacy seriously and always have. I wrote to my subscribers, but later realized it might have been enough to just inform everyone about the privacy policy. As it happened it was a pleasant experience that triggered enjoyable conversations with quite a few subscribers–I am grateful for this.
Which made me think…maybe I should start sending a newsletter? A fortnightly one with new post updates and fun stuff rather than the new post alert I send out now? What do you think? I’d love to know. Feel free to email me.
Let me wrap up this Gratitude Circle edition by saying I am looking forward to the pleasant job of going through my bookshelves by purging what we don’t need. We’ll donate or sell and donate the cash. The idea is to make space for that wall to wall bookshelf I have been planning for months now. So much more fun to do it with my son. Sure we’ll while away a lot of time sitting amidst the pile of books poring over that particular favorite and reminiscing–but that’s all part of the pleasure.
How was May for you? I’d love to hear it!
Special thanks to all of you who join me in celebrating Gratitude. ♥
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31 comments
(Reading and nodding along to the bits I knew about :-* ) Hey you should put that baked okra on Cooking with Mi. I usually fry it, but baking sounds so much healthier.
I will, I will. I got the photos ready. Now to write it up. Baking is healthier–and doesn’t even compromise on the taste. The difference is a few tablespoons of oil–something that’s definitely good! Thank you for… being!
Vidya Sury recently posted…8 Tips to Reset Your Child’s Back to School Sleep Schedule
Yes Vidya this is the only prayer needed. And as the Dali Lama says, make your religion kindness. Be nice and grateful. These 2 energies give you all the spiritual nourishment you would ever need.
Thank you dear Ryan! It is the best prayer ever. Yes, I love to think that my religion is kindness. By the way, one moment I’ll cherish forever in my life is when I met the Dalai Lama and held his hand and hugged him. It was most energizing and yet, so peaceful. So glad you come by!
May…the word itself sounds doubtful….my favourite month…my gratitude….loads of mayors….and all sweet…may this month appear more often,…
That was a good May for your Vidya. Having Vidur at home brings such a joy as is evident in every word that you wrote. You know I love that kurkuri bhindi. Make it often. It’s a favourite with the kids and I use the Airfryer so pretty guilt free too. 🙂 Loved seeing the updates you shared of the coffee book. Way to go!
With the kids having some free time, we were also watching movies and serials. Gautam and I enjoy watching the Air Crash Investigations series together. 🙂
Sorry to hear about the laptop and internet woes. In your trademark manner, you are handling it well.
Wish you a fabulous June and this time I wrote the post in advance to link up as soon as you shared your post. <3
Thank you is the only prayer we need, yes! So glad you got to spend some time with the son, I know how much you love it! I need to make that kurkuri bhindi now! Tonight it is!
Saying “I love you” a million times to you will never be enough. You are so awesome in so many ways, that I always wonder why didn’t I have you around during my growing up days. I would have been a much better person then. Sigh, but now that I know you, I know that I’ll continue to be inspired.
I hope your flu, your laptop and your internet gets better soon. Sending you positive and healing vibes from here.
Love ya! <3
I’m so glad you have your son all summer and that is to be cherished. I. Glad you had a great time visiting with other bloggers on your book tour. A Newsletter is always good and it would be always uplifting to receive one from you. I love June because it is my birthday month…June 2nd, I turn 29🥂. Enjoy every day and May your smile warm the hearts of others as I know it will.
One thing for sure, Birgit–you always lift me up. I cherish your visits and your thoughtful comments!
29 eh? You don’t look a day over 22. Happy birthday to you! I wish you good health and happiness always! Hugs!
I love June too–and it is wonderful to know it is your birthday month-some of my closest friends have their birthdays in June.
Thank you, Birgit.❤
The baked okra looks delicious! Glad to hear your home remedies worked and you didn’t fall too sick. Flu is the worst! Congratulations on the publication! And hopefully your laptop and internet issues get sorted soon.
Sanch @ Sanch Writes recently posted…May 2018 Reflections
You seemed to have a nice breezy May, with your son on vacations. Congratulations for the Musafir book launch.
I loved the opening quote. These days whenever I am distressed or just about to lose it, I just close my eyes and think of things, I should rather be thanking God for.
Thank you Anupriya! I love your stress relief idea! That’s what I always do. It puts things in perspective and instantly makes us feel better. My May looks great because I chose to focus on the good stuff. So happy you came by. Do join the Gratitude Circle blog hop. And have a lovely weekend!
Your blog always has positivity and of course, you do have a lot to be grateful about.
My current gratitude is for this – when I sat down to write the gratitude list, I realised it was endless.
That’s the most beautiful feeling, ever! “when I sat down to write the gratitude list, I realised it was endless” is something everyone should experience.
Thank you! I appreciate you.
Lovely post vidya – I just admire your attitude towards life and how you constantly ensure to focus on the good, and your ability to look at life with new perspectives, enabling and empowering yourself with all that you do. Congratulation for the launch of Musafir, you look beautiful in the picture above. The fry looks yummy am motivated to fry – I cut it in small pieces but your picture shows you have fried without cutting and looks very attractive, my daughter will be happy to see it this way. Nice to know that vidur is here for summer internship. Its always a pleasure for me to read your gratitude post and I do look forward for your post every month as it helps me keep motivated too 🙂 I make an effort to write to be part of this circle, appreciate you for your perseverance and energy you spread filling the readers with inspiration and motivation.
Hope you’re feeling better now, Vidya! The flu can be terrible when it strikes and the weather changes make it worse.
So pleased you’re getting time with Vidur! He’s such a darling boy 🙂 Sorry to hear about the PC woes. Have you thought of getting a new laptop? That seems to have helped somewhat with my issues. Saving to the cloud is always a good thing, as I learnt (again). At least the data is safe.
Congrats on the book launch.You are glowing in those pictures 🙂
Excited to hear about the new bookshelf! Waiting to see how it turns out 🙂
Thanks for hosting the Gratitude link up so tirelessly.
Just like you I also try to cure myself with home remedies before visiting the doctor. In most cases, home remedies work and I do not have to deal with side effects (the best part). I wish I knew that you were in MUmbai..I could have met you..next time keep us posted, would love to catch up with you. Stay healthy and happy
Hey Vidya… You look gorgeous in that orange Chudi. It suits well to you. Always I love all your Okra posts. Really they are mouthwatering. Happy for your gratitude and happiness filled May. June will also be rewarding for you!
Enjoy your time with your son. Time goes so quickly and they grow up so fast. Nice pics. Thanks for sharing.
Suzy recently posted…Trying Out a Voiceover For a City I Love
Ahhh…I m back to Blogging n what better way to start than going through gratitude posts. Have a happy time with your Son.
So good to know Vidur is around. Kashaya works for me when I am down with cold. It’s such an awesome home remedy. That bhindi looks amazing. Congrats on the coffee table book! It must have been big. You have a good time with Vidur and forget about working 😉
Wishing you a happy June, Vidya!
Parul Thakur recently posted…What to expect at the Kamakhya Temple
Many many congratulations on Musafir, Vidya Mam. 🙂
I have started having bhindis and baingans. Trying different recipes to consume these more frequently. Glad to know you are having a good time with Vidur. Have a fantabulous June.
A wall to wall bookshelf sounds amazing, Vidya. Please do post pics when you are all done.
And oh..I LOVE kurkure bhindi, but I don’t indulge often enough because of all the oil. I did not even think about trying it in the oven..but now I’ll definitely try it out. Thank you!
I am so glad you are getting to spend time with Vidur. And that he is keeping your mind away from tech trouble. I haven’t yet used Cloud backup, I use good drive for now. But I guess any kind of backup will at-least relieve your mind from the stress of losing content. As far as ongoing trouble is concerned, have you considered if a change of desktop/laptop might be required?
The month sure becomes special to have your boy home. Nothing like family and childen to be around and go out with. GDPR took up most of all our ties in May, glad its all over now. I still need to try your kukure bhindi recipe. HAve been travelling and when I get back thats a receipe on my mind.
I never prayed in the religious sense which means nobody saw me sitting in front of idols with hands folded, eyes closed and mouth murmuring and this was a matter of criticism and ridicule. Then not so long ago I read this quote how just saying thank you is a good enough prayer and then everything which people around me said ceased to matter. Because this is what I have always been all my life – thankful to God. Hope you are feeling better by now. I can almost feel your exuberance with having your son around for the summer. I would like to know how to make baked bhindi. Congratulations for the travel coffee book ‘Musafir’. I wish you a blessed June and a happy working computer, internet, everything 🙂
Anamika Agnihotri recently posted…Gratitude list May 2018 #MondayMusings
Your posts always remind me of the importance of gratitude! Such a lovely May you’ve had. I’m sure you are making the most of your time with Vidur. Wish him my best! And congrats on the book launch, looks like a fab coffee table book!
Aditi Kaushiva recently posted…A Literary Taste of Jaipur in London – British Library (8-10 June)
You do know that you are a rockstar Vidya!!!! 😉
What an awesome month and I love sharing Musafir with you – its an absolute pleasure to be in such august company there.
I have said it before and saying it again that this gratitude circle is one of the best things to write on for me and I thank you so so much for getting me hooked onto it!
I hope your computer troubles vanish soonest and may you get loads of time and inspiration for tonnes of more stuff to write about.
Your post on fitness is something I am going to check out as I have been suffering from Hypo too.
May for me was a lot of family time and travel. Caught up with friends, watched two movies,two tv series, spent time with cousins and read a few books too.
May was all about friends and family for me too. I seem to have spent it in a happy haze that remains still. COngratulations on Musafir. The cover looks inviting. Each time you talk of Vidur and how precious moments are with him I want to gather H and N close because it makes me aware that soon enough they’ll be gone following their passions.
This was a lovely post and I am grateful that I read it. Hope you are feeling better now, Vidya. Wall to wall bookshelf sounds fun. I can hear the happiness in your words for having Vidur at home. Congratulations on all the achievements. Will read your contribution for Gympik. Keep inspiring!
I managed to write my gratitude post for May and link up just in time. 🙂
Vinitha recently posted…Delayed gratitude for May
Nice to see this …lovely post miss Vidya