Tips and Tricks on Achieving a Wish List

In Birthday Resolutions of 2007, I made a wish list of things I wanted to do
Here is the list - and outlined are the ones i've actually managed to achieve in some measure! I'm pretty proud of me :)

-> Finally take off the last 10 lbs (I've taken off 10, the other 10 should be easy)
-> Loose the fear - of my career, the world, other's opinions etc.
-> Travel more
-> Really enjoy my time here
-> Not fight with Krishnan (ok, maybe just a little)
-> Get in touch with all my friends again
-> Make more friends
-> Become non-judgemental (ok - this is a wish list - I said i'll try)
-> Get my hair fixed
-> Get REALLY healthy
-> Look really glamerous
-> Get another baby (ok this may not be completely in my hands)
-> Finish all the projects I have started and left undone (T's scrap book, the kiddy website, the kiddy library, the mommy group etc.)
-> Stop yelling and losing temper at home, with Lakshmi, with the apartment getting messed up, with the rats etc.

All the bolded ones are the ones I managed to more or less achieve.


I was struggling for time between house management, maid management, kid management, hubby management, work management (in no order). So here are some things I did.

I found a like minded mom who could come to the gym with me. We worked out together for most of the school year. I would get coffee in me, put my kid on the bus, head to the gym, be back in 1 hour and get cracking for work. My gym is a bit like an old world akhada. There's a Hanuman picture there and it's grungy and very "guy". I just decided to ignore all that because it's super inexpensive. The gym instructors were kinda grouchy and seemed to only work with the men, so I learned enough Kannada gym related questions to get myself understood and that got them to start explaining things to me. Made my experience SO much better! To keep the motivation going, I kept my i-pod locked and loaded at all times.

I got my maids very crystal clear instructions, along with pictorial check lists (they can't read) so they know what to do and I know what to check. Not quite 6SIGMA maid, but close. I thought like a team lead at home and put process in place.

On the hair, I finally found the BEST stylist in Bangalore at this Salon called Nayana, this guy called Prabhat. He's excellent if expensive. However, I decided I wasn't going to compromise on how I looked :) Makes everyone happy...

I caught up with all my old Army School Friends and had some awesome laughs :) It was great!!! nothing like hanging out, regressing to when you are 15 again and just giggling non stop, accompanied with some excellent scotch of course.
I also made it a point to get to know more people, friends from all over the place.

The Bangalore Expat club was fun and if one can ignore the occasional bitching & moaning about India, it's a cool place to meet new people.
I also shifted my party schedule... the weekends are for the family :) Wed & Thurs nites are great for dancing or dinner. I get out of the house at 9 PM, after the kids are in bed and dance myself silly till 11 PM (Bangalore Curfew time) and then crawl back into bed totally happy.
On Shopping & looking glam, I have found some cool solutions - Mysore Silk House on Commercial Street has the best materials. I found a great tailor in Indiranagar who can rip off any outfit, so I just give her all the vogue pictures I want and she replicates shamelessly for 1/2 the price. It's a win for everyone.

For getting healthy, I spent a couple of weekends teaching my maids to make a good selection of salads. So every day, she packs me salad for lunch, oats for breakfast, we bought a juicer & I taught them to operate so fresh cucumber, tomato,watermelon, orange, mausambi,pineapple juice everyday! No added sugar. The results have been great (If i say so myself, but one should ask my husband)

The most important one was the yelling - I still do on occasion when the frustration with Bangalore inefficiency gets to me. However, this is HUGELY improved, mainly, because i've let go the small stuff. I try really hard to keep asking myself, so what if - electrician or other service man didn't turn up, trash on the ground, compost heap getting attacked by maggots etc... as for the ruined clothes, I just turn it into an opportunity for charity(i.e. give them away)and a buying opportunity so my wardrobe stays fresh!

In all this our little baby girl Keerthi has arrived and she is just fabulous! If anyone wants to know about adoption in India, write to me!

Finally on hubby management - I stopped! :) I just get him what he needed from an infrastructure perspective and started having fun again, not trying to be his mommy (he has two already).