Pooh's Den: May 2008

Houston we have no problem ;)

According to the learned people at Kiplinger's, we reside in the 2008 best city to live, work and play. According to them, H-town is the only big metro in the list, the booming oil and gas industry, strong economy and the abundance of the so called creative class of people (scientists, engineers, writers etc..) make it THE place you want to be in 2008!

So what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and head towards H-town.. atleast for a visit! We sure love to meet up!

Skin-deep Beauty.

Beauty parlors and spas are household names today. Growing up, the only occasion V visited the beauty parlor was to get her hair cut. A bob cut, a V cut, rasna gal cut were norms of the day. When she was around 12, V's mom and grand mom decided she needs to have some curls in her otherwise straight as a stick hair. After few hours, the beautician gave up.

Over the years, haircuts were the only think V visited the neighborhood parlor for. Friends moved on to eyebrow threading and waxing and she never jumped the wagon. A couple of years in college and then she decided to attempt the ritual of waxing, sending shock waves at home. But it was too painful and too long for V's hyper-active personality.

She threaded her eyebrows for the first time a couple of days before her engagement, stuck to forced home facials by grandma and lived. She did the all bridal thing for her wedding and called it a day.

A few months back, after a sunny vacation, the tanned V decided it was time for a facial. She shocked the beautician by telling her that she did her eyebrows 3 years back and never did a commercial facial in life. Today she hits the spas or salons or parlors for a quick haircut, an occasional pedicure and manicure with her girl friends and at times a massage.

And then she sees this.

A facial and massage for a 2-year old? to relax her? oh yeah! relaxation in a spa for a 3 yr old? And the mother telling she wants the girl to know she is beautiful and she is loved? Isn't she sending a message to the little one that beauty is skin deep? And will the mom's love fade away or lessen if the girl was not having regular spa visits? And where did we get the idea that princess are beautiful? Confidence building by visits to the spa? Aren't there other ways to boost the confidence of your child?

I admit, good grooming boosts confidence and isn't it the reason we pick, colors that flatter us and our favorite outfits for that-big-day-at-work. Matching accessories and a dab of her favorite lip color boosts V's confidence levels. But visits to a spa at 2?

A lot of mommy bloggers I read have been worried about the influence of fairy tale princess in the lives of their little ones. Fluffy pink dresses, tiaras, glass slippers, white-as-milk complexion and the most-beautiful-girl-on earth. And this is the icing on the cake!

This is when I go, what-on-earth-is-the-world-coming-to?

And out of curosity, I have added a poll/survey to find out at what age girls typically had their first facial done. Please vote there.

Morning Love

Another day, another forgotten shopping trip, another trip to Starbucks for the weak imitation of chai, the magic remains just as strong. There is something about mornings that makes us feel so happy! We fall in love all over again with summer mornings!

Poohsden residents!

Mandira seemed confused about the characters that haunt Poohsden.. so here we go...with the story,

Somewhere out in the Wild West, along with bustling malls, high-rises and oil refineries, there exists Poohsden. Crazy, busy, bustling, filled with laughter and the usual stuff you would find in a home! The main residents in Poohsden are V, R and the over pampered yours truly - pooh bear!

R - the silent, logical and analytical photographer. Loves good food, travel, chess and football!

V- the dancer, the RJ-to-be, the environmentalist and anything else that catches her fancy!

Weekend blogging!

I typically never blog on weekend. Weekends at Poohsden are more chaotic and hectic compared to our rather sedate weekdays. Friends, hobbies, travel, classes, shopping, cooking, catching up with friends in India and the luxury of mid-day sleep... yeah we make use of every single minute.

The past 2-3 weekends we have been out of home.. Travel and other happenings have been keeping us on our feet and this is our first weekend at home after nearly a month. So what did we decide to do? Sleep in, stay at home, get done with some chores and just talk.

It is 9.20 am on Saturday, after a cup of chai and smelling the single malligai poo that bloomed overnight making our patio smell amazing, we are catching up with the blogs. It is so nice to be home!

Home Sweet Home!

Tamil Mirchi!

Houston's own Tamil Mirchi is here! And V is a part of the Mirchi team!

Tune in on Sundays, 1pm-3pm, 1050 AM if you are in the Houston area. The program can also be heard live on http://www.tamilmirchiradio.com/

Tune in and give new RJ V a call sometime for some spicy mirchi aarattai!

Little bundle of joy - Baby Sapna is here! Congrats A's!

Notes from the Windy City!

We are in Chicago this weekend! Just wanted to drop in a few lines,

- to all mothers around the world and the mothers-to-be Happy Mother's day.. a day to celebrate you guys is not enough! A lifetime is more like it!

- to V & V - as you step into matrimony... good luck... we hope you both remain happy and smiling forever!

- to the Tamil Mirchi Team in H-town! Good Luck! We are sorry we are missing the launch but will be joining you guys next week for aaratai, kondadtam and kootu! (will write more about this soon)

- to great friends we are hanging out with in the Windy City! Thanks for the years of friendship! You bring so much laughter and happiness to our lives

As you guessed this weekend is fun-filled and busy! We'll be back in Houston on Monday with more tales!

Worth every minute

The weekend found us in Seattle. A good 4.5 hours flight from home. Add in the one hour drive to the airport, two hours before flight check-ins... it does make one exhausted completely. But the minute we stepped out of the airport and hit the streets of Seattle in the Nissan Rogue rental, we feel in love with Seattle all over again.

This was our second visit to Seattle (read about our previous visit here) and this is one city we would never grow tried of. In spite of the cold weather Seattle always charms us and wins us

over. Yes it is one city we won't mind living in despite its freezing temperatures and incessant rains. Coming from people who complain Texas Gulf Coast winters are horrible this is indeed an achievement.

Throw into a visit, old friends with whom you can sit and talk for hours without pausing or thinking about the politically correct answers, an adorable 6-week old baby, yummy food. Yes it makes the trip even more pleasurable.

Add in an unexpected twist - an old and very dear friend/brother from college days on a visit to Seattle the very weekend we end up there! Absolute happiness. 4 years since we met, the same easy flow of conversation, spicy and hot Thai food, lovely hosts and above all a walk back in time...Worth it completely!

A 40-mile drive on a wet, gloom afternoon towards Skagit Valley and getting blown away by the tulips. (Will write more about it on our travel blog soon) Perfect in all aspects!

The weekend was everything we anticipated it to be and more. Thanks for making it what it was and yes we are set for another whirlwind trip the coming weekend. Planning to visit more friends and create more memories!

Pooh's Den