Happy Birthday Grandpa ..
Pria
11:52 AM
11 Comments
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
12 March 2011
24 February 2011
Hi! I'm Sheba [you can read my musings at Perpetual Bounce] and I am delighted to be writing a guest post for Priya. I recently started reading Priya's blog and am so glad I stumbled upon it because her posts are so uplifting that they can get me out of a funk or remind me of the little things that make me smile.
Eight years ago my life changed through the chance meeting of another soul; one that didn't seem separate from mine, but rather my missing piece, my perfect complement. It was like we knew each other in another life, another time, and were finally being reunited. I didn't know what it meant to truly be in love until I met E.
In the short time we've been together, we've had so many wonderful *ups*, but it is the storms that we've weathered together, side by side, that solidify for me that this really is my *perfect match*.
No matter what life throws me, if I have my E beside me, I know it's going to be alright.
Eight years ago my life changed through the chance meeting of another soul; one that didn't seem separate from mine, but rather my missing piece, my perfect complement. It was like we knew each other in another life, another time, and were finally being reunited. I didn't know what it meant to truly be in love until I met E.
In the short time we've been together, we've had so many wonderful *ups*, but it is the storms that we've weathered together, side by side, that solidify for me that this really is my *perfect match*.
No matter what life throws me, if I have my E beside me, I know it's going to be alright.
On Marriage
Kahlil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
Kahlil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
23 February 2011
Guest post by Betty Manousos of CUT AND DRY
I am so happy to be posting here today...Love Bytes is a totally exciting idea of Priya's. I have been following Priya's blog for a while and although we've never met we've been good on-line friends. Thanks Priya, it's always been my pleasure to visit your lovely blog.
I'd love to share with you a beautiful poem by E.E. Cummings.
I Carry Your Heart with Me.
I carry your heart with me (I'm carry it in my heart)
I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my
dear, and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling.)
I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet),
I want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you.
~~~
Ahh, being in love is the best inspiration! It's amazing! The feeling that our life is complete and nothing could ever going wrong. The beauty of love, but what happens when the relationship is long distance? I think it's still the same, only hundreds-if not thousands of miles away.
Love has no distance.
21 February 2011
Hey , I hope you're loving the series ..
Me , I enjoyed doing my first post so much that I'm back again for my second one ..hope you enjoy it :)
I confess I am, unabashedly, a romantic at heart. I just adore romance novels. There are just so many which I like. From the classics like Gone with the Wind, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and The Blue Castle (by L.M Montgomery, I just love, love, love the book) to the more popular Judith Macnaught’s. I especially like reading such novels set in historical time, it adds that little extra something.
Following are excerpts which stayed on with me after I finished reading them. I keep going back to the magic of these books time and again : )
This extract is from Charlotte Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Here Catherine explains her relation with Heathcliff and Linton, when Nelly questions her about it.
“I cannot express it; but surely you and everybody have a notion that there is, or should be, an existence of yours beyond yourself. What were the use of my creation if I were entirely contained here? My greatest miseries in the world have been Heathcliff’s miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning; my great thought in living is in himself. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and, if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger. I should not seem a part of it. My love for Linton is like foliage in the woods.Time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees – my love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath- a source of little visible delight but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff – he’s always, always on my mind – not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself – but as my own being …”
The following two excerpts are from the book Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
“I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and a burden, too, whatever the poets may say. They are not brave, the days when we are twenty one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so easily bruised, so swiftly wounded, one falls to the first barbed word. Today, wrapped in the complacent armor of approaching middle age, the infinitesimal pricks of day by day brush one lightly and are soon forgotten, but then - how a careless word would linger, become a fiery stigma, and how a look, a glance over a shoulder, branded themselves as things eternal. A denial heralded the thrice crowing of a cock, and an insincerity was like the kiss of Judas.
Not for me the languor and the subtlety (of love) I had read about in books. The challenge and the chase. The sword-play, the swift glance, the stimulating smile. The art of provocation was unknown to me, and I would sit with his map upon my lap, the wind blowing my dull, lanky hair, happy in his silence, yet eager for his words. Whether he talked or not made little difference to my moods. My only enemy was the clock on the dashboard, whose hands would move relentlessly to one o’ clock. We drove east, we drove west, amidst the myriad villages that cling like limpets to the Mediterranean shore, and today I remember none of them.
This one is from my all time favourites “Blue Castle” by L.M Montgomery.
“Valancy was perfectly happy. Some things dawn on you slowly. Some things came by lightning flashes. Valancy had had a lightning flash. She knew quite well no that she loved Barney. Yesterday she had been all her own. Now she was this man’s. Yet he had done nothing – said nothing. He had not even looked at her as a woman. But that didn’t matter. Nor did it matter what he was or what he had done. She loved him without any reservations. Everything in her went out wholly to him. She had no wish to stifle or disown her love. She seemed to be his so absolutely that thought apart from him – thought in which he did not predominate – was an impossibility. She had realized, quite simply and fully, that she loved him, in that moment when he was leaning on the car door explaining that Lady Jane (car) had no gas. She looked deep into his eyes in the moonlight and had known. In that infinitesimal space of time everything was changed. Old things passed away and all things became new.
She was no longer unimportant, little old maid Valancy Stirling. She was a woman full of love and therefore rich and significant – justified to herself. Life was no longer empty and futile, and death could cheat her of nothing. Love had cast out her last fear…
18 February 2011
Love Byte # 18 - Love Is A Maroon Tux - Guest Post by Brenda Susan at Walking Butterfly
Brenda Susan
8:00 AM
7 Comments
I am Walking Butterfly and I'm so happy to be invited to do one of the Love Bytes for Priya's wonderful February series! I have been enjoying all the great variety of posts about the huge subject of love! I mean how could we ever get to the end of such an amazing thing as love? Thank you sweet Priya, I love your blog and feel honored to be included in it.
So my story of LOVE?...........
Hubs is not an idiot, he did not tell me any of this until long after we were engaged many months later. After my break-up he was a kind and gentle friend to me and taught me how I should be treated. I had no idea how wonderful it felt to be treasured and respected. He took his time, letting me heal and come to love him in a way that has lasted and grown for thirty-three years today. I am loved………..how else could you explain why a man would stand up in front of 400 people in a maroon tux with a pink shirt?
So my story of LOVE?...........
Thirty-three years ago my husband, whom I will call Hubs, was doing some serious bargaining. He even had the scary nerve to give God an ultimatum!
I was twenty-two and engaged to a guy who was determined to remodel me into his idea of the perfect woman. (Clinton Kelly on What Not To Wear is the only one allowed to tell me how to dress these days!)
Hubs had returned to our hometown after graduating from college. On his first Sunday back, we crossed paths in the church we had both grown up in and I welcomed him home. We had each liked one another in high school but our likings had never happened at the same time.
What may have appeared to be a random moment of ordinary small talk between two old school friends, was actually two very different experiences.
For me, it was just a quick catch up with a sweet guy I used to have a crush on in high school.
For Hubs, it was anything but small talk. His heart was racing fast and his mind was struggling to catch up with his heart. He was asking himself if he was being delusional or if his imagination was running away with him. Because as I had walked toward him, he heard an unexpected thought cross his mind……
“You are going to marry her.”
Hubs knew I was engaged. So he did his best to chat with me about moving back to our hometown and finding a job. I told him that the shoe store I worked in had an opening and I would put in a good word for him.
Now it got really interesting! Hubs and I began to spend every day together in a tiny shoe store. Our friendship grew, but to me that is all it was, a great friendship. For him, it became more and more difficult to watch my unhealthy relationship with my fiancé day after day. He kept remembering those words he had heard and could not understand what in the world he was supposed to do about it!
In the meantime my mother was heartbroken over my destructive relationship also. She prayed for me constantly and had no idea how to help me.
Finally, there came a night when it all changed! Three separate events occurred to three separate people in three separate towns.
Hubs was in his little apartment thinking about what he had heard and he prayed a desperate prayer……
“God, I believe those words came from you, but I
can’t stand this anymore. If I don’t see a change tomorrow
I am never talking to you about her again!”
My mom was also praying about me that night. She begged God to help me get out of my unhealthy relationship and as she prayed she suddenly felt a peace about it and knew she could go to bed without worrying anymore.
I told you there were three events didn’t I? The third happening was mine. I was in a busload of young people I was chaperoning to a concert. As I rode along I opened a new letter from my fiancé. In the letter he was berating me and putting me down and for the very first time it really hit me wrong. I distinctly remember thinking…..
“I don’t deserve this treatment!”
Now, I had never thought that thought before because I believed that I did deserve his bad treatment. But my eyes were just suddenly and unexplainably opened! I broke off the engagement that night.
The next morning I went to work with one less piece of jewelry on my fingers. Can you imagine the racing heart and stuttering small talk Hubs had to endure that morning?
Hubs is not an idiot, he did not tell me any of this until long after we were engaged many months later. After my break-up he was a kind and gentle friend to me and taught me how I should be treated. I had no idea how wonderful it felt to be treasured and respected. He took his time, letting me heal and come to love him in a way that has lasted and grown for thirty-three years today. I am loved………..how else could you explain why a man would stand up in front of 400 people in a maroon tux with a pink shirt? Brenda Susan
17 February 2011
Hello people. I’m E. and I’m doing my FIRST EVER guest post over here today!!! You can see I’m excited about this. I am honoured to be invited to guest blog. In fact, I’m pretty sure my response to Priya started off with Wow!
Anyway Priya, thank you for Love Bytes, it is such a great idea. I have loved reading the series. It has been great to be introduced to everyone’s different ideas of Love and a whole lot of new blogs as well. I must also say a big thank you for inviting me to take part.
So, I’m supposed to be writing about what love is to me. It’s a tough question that some of the other Love Bytes have already answered. These answers have been:
It seems that everyone has an opinion on what love is. What kind of love are we talking about? Romantic love, the bond of love between a parent and child, sibling love there are many different kinds of love.
I’ve been to a few weddings where a particular passage from the bible is read out. You may have heard it - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. To me this passage is about love in all it’s different forms.
Love is: whacking your brother because he did something that annoyed you BUT wanting to have a sleepover in his room because you miss him despite your rooms being next door to each other. Girl Child
Love is: calling your sister a little freak BUT willingly playing with her and cheering her up when she is sad. Boy Child
Love is: being away from your family for work but calling every day to see how we are going and to say goodnight to us. Mr E.
Love is: sharing the chocolate. Me. Note: I have a Will Blog for Chocolate button over at Whining.
As I said earlier, love is expressed verbally in our house but I think it’s the actions that really show it. We may not live up to that passage but we still know that we are loved. So what is love? I dont think I can answer that. It is so many different things to so many people.
What is love to you? What do things others do that make you feel loved?
Anyway Priya, thank you for Love Bytes, it is such a great idea. I have loved reading the series. It has been great to be introduced to everyone’s different ideas of Love and a whole lot of new blogs as well. I must also say a big thank you for inviting me to take part.
So, I’m supposed to be writing about what love is to me. It’s a tough question that some of the other Love Bytes have already answered. These answers have been:
Love is what makes the ride worthwhile
Love is the devil
Love is my Life
Love is sharing… even your popcorn
Image by Claire and found on We Heart It.
It seems that everyone has an opinion on what love is. What kind of love are we talking about? Romantic love, the bond of love between a parent and child, sibling love there are many different kinds of love.
I’ve been to a few weddings where a particular passage from the bible is read out. You may have heard it - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. To me this passage is about love in all it’s different forms.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.That’s a lot to live up to. I’m really not sure we do that in our family. For those of you who don’t know me (Drop over to Whining and say hi!), my family consists of Mr E. (my husband), Boy Child (12), Girl Child (7) and me. While we may not live up to those bible verses it is unusual for someone to leave for the day without saying “I love you.” to everyone else. But as actions speak louder than words, here are some examples of the love shown in our house.
Love is: whacking your brother because he did something that annoyed you BUT wanting to have a sleepover in his room because you miss him despite your rooms being next door to each other. Girl Child
Love is: calling your sister a little freak BUT willingly playing with her and cheering her up when she is sad. Boy Child
Love is: being away from your family for work but calling every day to see how we are going and to say goodnight to us. Mr E.
Love is: sharing the chocolate. Me. Note: I have a Will Blog for Chocolate button over at Whining.
As I said earlier, love is expressed verbally in our house but I think it’s the actions that really show it. We may not live up to that passage but we still know that we are loved. So what is love? I dont think I can answer that. It is so many different things to so many people.
What is love to you? What do things others do that make you feel loved?
14 February 2011
Love Byte # 14 - Love Letters
Pria
11:38 AM
9 Comments
Happy Valentine's day lovies !!
I hoped to get hubs to do today's love byte but between all the packing , moving , shifting to a new place , we've had a pretty back breaking weekend and therefore no time for le blog ..
But last night as I was unpacking , sifting through old cards and letters , I found this one particular letter that has always intrigued me ...it dates back to the year 2000 ( yup don't even remind me again it's been that long :P ) ..
So , those were the good ol' days when he 'willingly' wrote me long letters but this one wasn't like a letter , it was something he wrote for me.. it's something that still sends a tingle down my spine..
This might sound a lil silly, considering we were both really young, but thats what love was back then , naive , immature , unsophisticated , uncomplicated yet ever so charming !! It still is the most beautiful part of our lives but you know what I mean ;)
I don't know why but the woman in her is attracting me, pulling me closer.. appealing to me , to love her and kiss her yet again ..
I don't know why but I am unable to resist her glowing face, her twinkling eyes and her seductive smile ,
this all's pulling me like a magnet attracts iron ..
She has that expression on her face which has something, something eternal about it..
The God within me is urging me to love her, love her as if you (me) are going to succumb the very next moment.. Give her everything you have .Treat her like a goddess coz she's the one who'll give you real happiness and set you free..
Each time I look into her eyes, I hear them saying ,
"Give me love, make me experience the height of passion and the madness in you. Love me wild, love me hard, love me with complete abandon, love me till you feel a part of a whole another world, our world . "
I think I've fallen in love with her all over again and this time its supernormal or shall I say supernal .
Now I'll love her more than I ever did , coz I want her to marry me , only me ..
She belongs to me and I can't afford to lose her..
Call it possessiveness or any damn thing but she's MINE
and to her I belong.
11 February 2011
Guest Post by Corinne of Everyday Gyaan
I have been following Priya's blog for a while now and although we've never met, we've been been good blogger friends - encouraging each other now and then. I find her posts are always thoughtful and positive.
I am so happy to be posting here today. Priya and I have done the love theme in the past, but Love Bytes is a totally new and exciting idea of Priya's and it's an absolute pleasure to read all the great posts that other bloggers have have written here. Thanks, Pri for this opportunity - you rock sistah!
 |
| @ Deviant Art The other day I watched a BBC documentary on Carla Bruni Sarkozy, out of curiosity. I don't want to make any comments about her, but one thing she said struck me very much. In talking about her marriage she quoted a poet who said "In any good marriage, one partner is the gardener and the other is the garden. We take it in turns to be either......" I thought how true this is of marriage and indeed of any significant relationship. Sometimes we're needy and the other tends to us. And sometimes we are strong and take care of the other. If only we would see it that way. Problems in relationships occur when we take fixed roles. One person thinks that s/he has to always be the strong one....always have the answers.....always be the provider. In other words, one is always the gardener. Then there is the other side, when one always wants to be the garden. S/he is constantly needy and insecure.....and requires the other to always be the provider and the nurturer. If we get stuck this way, we can never evolve as individuals and neither can our relationship truly grow or blossom. I've always found it harder to be the 'garden.' I would rather be the strong one, than be the needy one. It takes courage and a lot of trust to say, 'Hey, I need help...I'm hurting right now......I need a hand....I'm not okay." But I've learned to love and to trust and to say to the other, "Please be the gardener for now. I need tending to." Perhaps today is as good a time as any for us to review our significant relationships. ~ Corinne |
05 February 2011
If yesterday's post was about a mother's love , today's is from a mother I love ..
My mother , she's not a blogger but that wasn't going to stop her from contributing ;-) or maybe it was her daughter's insistence or maybe her enthusiasm to always be a part of my life :-D ..
whatever the reason I'm glad she wrote this and Mom , thank you :) ..
Last year in February , she took up the challenge of writing a love byte each day of the month and she did it! This year she’s come up with this wonderful idea of involving others to contribute and share their thoughts on love. I’m proud of my eldest daughter and as a proud mom I’ve been following her blog since she began writing over a year and a half back and am happy to see shades of her maturity and sensitivity reflected in what she writes. Infact I’ve often been moved to tears or had a lump in my throat while reading her posts particularly the ones about family.
LOVE to me is ..well it’s difficult to express it in words coz for me.. Love is more about how it makes you feel yet I make this attempt and I dedicate it to all the people in my life who mean the world to me ..
Love to me is companionship , its an unspoken understanding , its a comfort zone ..
Love to me is always WANTING to spend as much time as possible with my loved ones, talking about anything and everything that’s happened in the hours not spent together , sharing the eventful and the not so eventful moments of the day ..
Love to me is always WANTING to happily share the responsibilities that are such an intrinsic part of every relationship , about balancing each other out , harmonizing and syncing energies ..
The fulfillment of this WANTING energizes my days…
The presence of love makes me happy and contented.. it’s absence sends me down in the dumps.
Henry Drummond said ,
"As you look back upon your life, you will find , that the moments when you really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."
and that sums up love for me, Love is what makes life's journey..thrilling.. exhilarating…breathtaking …Love is what makes the ride worthwhile ..
04 February 2011
When Priya asked me to be a guest poster on her blog this month and share a little something about what love means to me, I was thrilled and honored. Priya is, after all, one of my bloggy heroes. Every time that I read her blog I am inspired by her words. As the time for my post drew ever nearer, however, I started to get worried. Could I meet her expectations? What could I possibly bring to a blog whose author I admire so greatly?
Then I read Bella's post and went into full-blown panic mode. That was an awesome post. She set the bar really high! How could I possibly hope to measure up to that? What could I write about that I had any insight on?
The answer came to me as I went to my own blog to type up my “Whine and Roses” post yesterday. My blog is (mostly) a humor blog about (mostly) parenting, aptly titled “Raising an Army” as I have four children of varying ages (with no intentions of stopping at four!) and a husband who is in the application process for the Canadian Armed Forces. If there's anything I know about, it's children!
When I was twenty, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about love. An idealist, I believed that the ultimate adventure lay before me when I packed everything I owned and moved to the other side of the country to be with the man I “loved”. We were college sweethearts and eager to start a life together. Neither of us wanted children. We had a very specific lifestyle – filled with partying, alcohol and drugs – and children just simply did not fit into that mix. No, we were too selfish for children...they might cramp our style.
When I was twenty-one, two pink lines appeared on a home pregnancy test and my house of cards came tumbling down. Everything changed and what I knew about love was foremost among those things. I began to change my way of living to better accommodate the little bean that was growing inside me...but my boyfriend was a little more resistant to the change. Why should he adjust his attitudes and behavior? He wasn't pregnant, after all.
On July 12, 2002 my son James was born. I would love to tell you a perfect tale about an easy delivery and how my baby was laid in my arms for me to fall instantly in love with, but that would not be the true story. James had aspirated meconium in the womb and instead of the sweet cries of a newborn upon his delivery, there was a deathly silence. Instead of happy and delighted faces there were looks of fear and concern. After what seemed like the longest moment of my life they managed to coax weak cries from him and he was rushed from the room after I got a brief peek at him. (I very much wish I had pictures of this moment to share with you, but this was in the days before I went digital, and I have no scanner right now.)
It wasn't until later that night I got to hold my fragile little boy, but the moment I did I learned about love all over again. This love was different. It was not only tender and heartwarming, it was fierce and primal. It was a love unlike any I'd ever experienced before. This love was the love of a Mama. The love that says, “Put a hand on my baby and I'll make sure you experience a world of hurt.” In that moment I knew that I could never return to my old lifestyle. This little creature deserved more. He deserved better.
His father and I lasted about four months after that, but the inevitable breakup wasn't nearly as heartbreaking as I thought it would be. After all, anyone that couldn't have my baby's best interests at heart...wasn't really worthy of my love after all.
Shortly after I broke up with my ex, I met Johnny. I never expected it to work because this long-haired hooligan with multiple piercings couldn't possibly know what it meant to love a tiny baby so fragile and dependant...could he? But he could. The more time he spent with my son, the more evident his love for James became, and as a result the more my love for him grew.
We married in January of 2004 and in April I discovered that I was pregnant again. I was simultaneously thrilled and worried. Could I love another child like I loved my firstborn? James was the center of our universe, our sun as well as our son – Johnny and I merely revolved around him.
Hayden arrived triumphantly on November 23rd and this time there was no health scare. He was a healthy screaming 8lb, 13oz bundle. They placed this shrieking red infant on my stomach and I learned something new about love again. A mother's love doesn't divide – it multiplies. There was no need to take some of the love I had for James and share it with Hayden because I had an equal amount for Hayden already.
I learned this again on December 5th, 2006 with the arrival of Silas and again this past July 14th when Lola Sophia joined us. As a mother of four, my heart is so full of love that sometimes I feel as if it could burst.
I have now been a mother for 8 years, 6 months, 3 weeks and 2 days. Here's just a taste of what I have learned about a mother's love in that time:
- Love multiplies exponentially with every child you add into the mix.
- Love has no limits. It doesn't cut off with, say, three children. It just grows and grows.
- Love sees you capable of doing things you always said was impossible. Quitting a drug habit or freeing yourself from an alcohol dependency is more than possible when you have a child to love.
- Love isn't perfect, but it is forgiving. You will do things that you swore you would never do, and that's okay because...
- Love is flexible. It doesn't box itself into a corner and it changes to suit each individual child and their specific needs.
- Love is unconditional and without end. It doesn't matter what your child says or does, you will always love them. No matter what. You may not always agree with or approve of their choices, but you will never stop loving them.
- Love is not always gentle and soothing, it is also brutal and fierce. If you've ever seen anyone trying to mess with a mama bear's cubs, you'll know just what I mean. There is absolutely nothing a mother won't do for her children in order to ensure their safety. Sometimes I surprise even myself.
- Love hurts. It hurts when they hurt. It hurts when they're sick. It hurts when you see them doing things that you know is going to lead to heartache and pain...but you wouldn't trade the love that they bring away in order to get rid of that hurt. You just love all the more with the hurt.
Because they're worth it.
Allow me to introduce you to my babies, left to right; Silas (4 years), James (8 years), Lola (6 months) and Hayden (6 years)
(Thank you Priya for the opportunity to share with your readers! Much love from the Army!)
03 February 2011
Guest post by Katie at Love is Everywhere
I first would like to take a moment to thank the ever so lovely Priya. She has a beautiful and genuine soul. This feature on Love has to be one of my favorites that I’ve come across since I began blogging. Love is the greatest feeling that anyone could experience and to be asked to define this in my own way is an honor. I appreciate being given this opportunity.
I love love, the whole concept of it. I feel that Love has no limits. You can’t even spread your arms far enough to even physically describe it. There's so many different types of 'love'. There's the L word that people are scared to say to someone they may be falling for. There's the love we feel for our pets, our friends, people who made a difference in our lives, a stranger that made your day. A moment, a shirt or pair of jeans, flowers, a book that changes your life. We love air condition when it's hot. There's the love that we can't explain and just feel. All of these people, moments, things around us that play a part of our life we love when we stop to think about it.
With all that I have.. I truly believe that love is everywhere. I can see it where ever I go and that's why I began writing to hopefully show everyone that they too can see it. In a nutshell, every positive movement we make in our lives, a sweet thought, gifts, a hug when we're sad, a phone call to check up, dancing in the kitchen with your significant other, picking flowers.. this is Love to me.
I spent some time last summer and made a list of things that I felt Love were to me. It was very therapeutic and was a sweet reminder that helped me appreciate so much more of my life. I wanted to share a few of those items on my list. I hope you have time some day to make one for yourself!
Love is...
.... waking up, walking outside to a rose bush that happened to bloom over night. Never owning a house and here I am picking my first rose, putting it in a shotglass on my counter.
.... the excitement of our puppy, Peanut wagging his stubby tail the moment I come home.
.... watching 'It's a Wonderful Life' every yr before Christmas time and thinking what a wonderful life I have being able to share with my family and friends.
.... someone asking 'How are you today' when I'm having an awful day and even though I always say 'I'm doing great'. I love that you asked.
.... silence when my mind and heart need it.
I wish you all a fabulous journey!
With all my love - Katie
02 February 2011
Guest post by Bella of One Sister's Rant
When Priya contacted me to do a guest blog post that defined what love is, I have to admit I was both elated and a little trepadacious.
After all, this was the first time I was being asked to do a guest post and on top of that, on a subject that had yet to be proven empirically.
I mean, no one's really been able to provide a concrete definition of what love is and I wasn't arrogant enough to think I'd be able to.
So how to write something worthy of Priya's inspirational and informative blog and not stray too much from my own writing style?
By providing you with guidelines of what love is, from a humorous perspective.
Okay, so you know how there's this kind of love where you live and breathe simply for the sake of your loved one?
How you're so in love with your spouse or significant other that you're willing to give up a kidney in a heartbeat?
How you'd be utterly incapable of going on with life if something were to happen to your lover?
This is NOT the kind of love I want to talk about.
Instead, I give you what I feel love is from my "funny" side of the street.
Love is telling your lover that he's sexy bald like Jason Statham from The Transporter, even though nothing could be further from the truth.
Love is not paying attention to how he makes noises when he chews, how he slurps his drink, or licks his fingers instead of using a napkin.
Love is making him believe he's stronger than you are even though you know you can back flip him in .2 seconds flat.
Love is pretending to be interested in his conversations about cars, dinosaurs, or King Tut's tomb.
Love is not laughing at him when he tucks his shirt in his pants and pulls them all the way up to his armpits like Sponge Bob, just because he's cold.
Love is grabbing a non-existing bicep and asking, "Honey, have you been working out?"
Love is not becoming irritated at how he drools every time he sees images of Angelina Jolie.
Love is not telling your lover that he has skunky breath even though you're certain his breath is bad enough to singe your hair off.
Love is smiling when he says, "I"ll take out the trash tomorrow," and there's five bags of it on your kitchen floor.
Love is pretending you didn't see him kick his dirty socks under the bed.
Love is laughing at his not so funny jokes when all you want to do is kick him under the table so he'll stop.
Love is recognizing that your life would be a little less funny if he weren't in it.
There you have it, ladies. My own twist on what love is.
Won't you add to the list? Just remember, make it funny!
24 January 2011
This love story is about Emma and Adam ..
Adam played by Ashton Kutcher is his usual puppy self , the ever charming , adorable and considerate guy who's looking for love and commitment while Emma played by Natalie Portman is a medical resident who works emergency shifts , has 80 hour weeks and no time for a serious relationship ..
They decide to tread the unfamiliar path of having a physical relationship without an emotional one and simply be sex friends, mutually consenting to pull the plug if either of them gets any serious 'feelings' ..
But sex without love ..yeah right ..like it ever happens ..
So, ironically and soon enough they find that there are strings attached, pulling them closer ..
and from there on the movie ambles along journeying the all too proverbial route of denial , break up , loss and eventually the realization of being in love ..
It is no doubt your usual run of the mill romcom's, but it is surprisingly witty and entertaining.. The funny one liners and the oodles of chemistry keep you glued to your seat ..
and Natalie Portman ...I think I've fallen in love with her ..
in her own words from the movie ..
she gives me 'premature ventricular contraction '
she makes my heart skip a beat ;-)
21 January 2011
Magical Moments ..
Pria
11:37 PM
10 Comments
Beautiful isn't it ..
and the best birthday gift wouldn't you agree ...??
So, last Saturday as I turned a year older this is what hubs and me did..We drove down to Sunset Cliffs Blvd in San Diego to witness this, the miracle of nature we so take for granted in our day to day lives ...
It was amazing how as the Sun began its descent, scores of people turned up , some with coffee, others with soft drinks , some with their beach chairs and others with their beach mats ..like there was a party thrown by Nature and everyone invited ..
For once it didn't seem to matter who you were , where you came from , what you did ..no one cared ..everyone was there for the simple reason ..
to watch the glorious performance of Nature ..
to watch the fiery orange slowly soften and embrace the indigo of the night ..
and me , well I watched too , sitting beside the man who I so love ,
and I marvelled ..
Someone rightly said,
"It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream."
I am still dreaming ..
I know the best is yet to be ..
17 January 2011
Essentially a love story but with a tragic twist, this is a simple story about a crumbling marriage..
Told in flash back style the movie teeters back and forth, taking us deeper into the lives of a couple Dean and Cindy falling in love only to find themselves falling out of love.. Their angst evident as they both go through the motions of marriage, Dean trying hard to salvage his marriage , save his family and Cindy having given up hope , yet fighting visibly expressing her anger and anguish at what could have been ..
The storyline is not new but the approach fascinatingly different , not to mention extremely poignant and powerful performances by Gosling and Williams ..
Two of my favorite moments in the movie are ..
The first - a scene during flashback when they go out together for the first time , when Dean renders his version of the " You always hurt the one you love " and Cindy does the impromptu tap dance ..
and the second - a scene towards the end of the movie , where Dean makes a desperate plea to save his marriage reminding Cindy of the vows she made to him on the day of their marriage..of promising to love him for better or for worse..also telling her that " I'm at my worst now but I'll get better.."
The emotion so raw ,the fear so palpable , its gut wrenching ..
and its not surprising to find yourself relating to it .. because the questions it raises are even more important .
What happened ? What went wrong ?
Is it beyond repair ? Can nothing be done to salvage it ?
Was it the right decision , right person , right time , right relationship ?
Everyone, including me,at one point in life or other has had one or all these questions looming large..
I believe in love
I believe in romance ..
but ...
Maybe all romances are not fairy tale romances.. maybe they are..
Maybe all fairy tale romances have a happy ending ..maybe they don't ..
Who decides .. ??
Cindy's grandma in the movie shares this piece of advise with her ..she says,"When you love someone , make sure he's worth it ...To YOU !! "
Maybe herein lies the answer ..
When you love someone , make sure he's/ she's worth it ...To YOU !!
My rating - 4/5
P.S.. Don't forget to watch as the film ends , the most awesome and totally emotional credit sequences ever put to film ..
yes , its a tug at your heartstrings... again ..sighhhh !!
05 December 2010
P.S. I Love You
Pria
10:26 PM
4 Comments
With you my love , every journey is replete with a myriad adventures , be it the one we started four years back on this day or the one we took to commemorate our four years of togetherness ..
As we grow old together , I know the best is yet to be ..
I know the best is the * being together * part ..
Happy Anniversary sweetheart ♥‿♥
Love ya always !
01 December 2010
for my adorable grandparents who celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary y'day ..
I am so happy we got to spend some amazing time together ..Thank you for all the thoughtful things that you've done and all that you continue to still do ..
Love you guys and hope we'll make it to your milestone someday..
for being in Chicago aka Windy City or more apt for now Snowy Windy City ..
I wanted to travel someplace new for our 4th anniversary this year and here I am ..
Thank you my darling hubs for always always making my every wish come true ..
Feeling terribly happy and blessed !!!
16 August 2010
I found you ...Again !!
Pria
8:36 PM
9 Comments
Woke up Sunday morning to this comment from my sister and that sort of got me smiling and thinking.. I particularly got stuck with this one word in particular -"reacquainted".. to reacquaint oneself means to familiarize oneself anew ..
Strange isn't it ? My sister is someone who's known me all my life.. why use the word reacquaint then ?? but in a weird way what she wrote made absolute sense.. b'coz its true... As long as you're living with your sibling under one roof ..there's time for everything except talking ..and I mean talking , not "Why have you worn my sweater ?" , "I want my earrings back !!" , "I hate you !!" , "Mom , its her turn to do the dishes" etc.. Back then, even sharing a bedroom doesn't seem to make things any easier, coz each sibling is more worried about the fact that the other has access, easy access to her stuff.. Whispering/ Giggling after being forced to turn the lights off may be one of the few joys that you cherish and the fact that you've managed to collect a whole
repertoire of funny stories , family jokes on the way to growing up too..but then marriage , work , studies take you on different paths ..and life moves on in different directions ..
And thats when relationships begin to change ..because even though you may not have let go off each other but you let loose ..Amy E Dean says,
"Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new..”
And that perhaps , is true for all kinds of relationships too , not just between siblings ..because every relationship needs to be nurtured from time to time ..and quite often , stuck in the rut of daily chores and busy lives , one forgets to do exactly that .." make time " !!
Being a good spouse , parent , sibling , friend everything takes work so make that time today and promise to make time for every relationship that matters as often as you can.. a phone call , a message , a letter , snail mail ..anything ..
After all , its the thought " that you thought " that matters :)
27 May 2010
21 May 2010
I Wanna Grow Old With You
Pria
3:59 PM
4 Comments
A friend shared this video on Facebook today and i liked it so much that all i could think of was sharing it with you ... even if you've seen it , its worth a dekko ..
My favorite part was ," So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink , put you to bed when you've had too much to drink " , now who wouldn't love a man like that ??
Have a lovely weekend ..
