P.K. at home??

Hello All, Hope your week is sailing through  well. I think you all know about the second AR Rahman show being held in Austin on June 5th. Check out this page AR Rahman concert to know more updates.

I have heard from one of our friends that this Hoover SteamVac Carpet Cleaner with Clean Surge, F5914900 is a very good buy. As years pass by, after buying a house ,carpets get really dirty and this SteamVac does a great job in cleaning it like new. There is a 23% off on it and check it out.

Last time when we went to India, we got some CD's on stories of Lord Ganesha and Lord Krishna. Also we got a "Hanuman" book to read to our kids. These days we show them those CD's and also read the  book to our kids. Poor kids, they are very confused and always have trouble  in identifying the Gods. My daughter will just say elephant god for Ganesha and monkey god for Hanuman. My son is little older and he keeps asking so many questions. He doesn't like it when Lord Ganesha fights with Lord Shiva. He is very confused as to why suddenly there is a snake in Lord Krishna's story.

When we read about Ramayana to him , he is very very upset as to why all Gods fight so much with each other. He always asks  "Who is peace God amma?".

If you have read this post "I love the traffic these days, want to know why??" I have mentioned that we teach slogams to our kids during the morning drive to school. After chanting slokas I will usually put some devotional songs, today I showed a song on Goddess Durga. He saw a picture where Goddess Durga was sitting on a lion. He got really scared and asked me , "Will that god run away when the lion roars". I could not control my laughter. I tried to explain to him that the lion will not roar and the goddess is more powerful. He did not seem convinced.

As I listened to all his questions, I am confused about my beliefs now. I am not an atheist, but I am confused as to  why we have so many gods in our mythology and why there is always a fight to show the good is more powerful than evil. Also I wonder how I took all that what my parents said. Kids these days are more curious about everything.

I think most of you might have watched the P.K. movie. I really liked the concept and the way it was filmed.  These days I feel like I am watching that movie all over again everyday , only change is that my son is Aamir Khan and his name is Pranav Krishnamurthy (P.K.).I feel the same way I felt for Aamir Khan in that movie when I see my son. Please share your thoughts. Have a nice rest of the week. See you on Sunday with another interesting post..Stay tuned :)

Mylapore

Happy Women's day !!!! Check out this post about Women's day that I posted last year After all it is women's day !!. Ladies pamper yourself with this purse Dasein Maxwell Deep-Gloss Triple-Zip Emblem Satchel for $29.99 with free shipping.

When you say “Mylapore”, to people in Chennai they only think of a suburb in Chennai City. For most people in Sacramento/Tahoe area this means something else. Immediately they would say “very good and tasty food”. They can connect it to only “Mylapore” the Authentic South Indian vegetarian restaurant that is located in the heart of Folsom city in Sacramento, California. San Francisco and other areas near the bay, collectively called as “Bay Area” has many Indian restaurants. I personally know people who drive from Bay area to Folsom, just to taste the food from this restaurant. Most Indians who have visited Lake Tahoe have already discovered this amazing restaurant on their way to Tahoe. Whenever I go to California, I will never miss an opportunity to eat in Mylapore.

What is so great about this restaurant?? . In US, we have seen that many Indian restaurants pop up; initially their food is very good and tasty but gradually its quality decreases and when people are not really happy about the restaurant, it vanishes. Mylapore on the other hand was opened in 2008 and till today, maintains its quality and taste. How is this even possible? . They cook food fresh everyday and the Thali menu changes every day. Coconut is ground every 2 hours or as needed with fresh coconut.The owner of this restaurant takes comments and feedback's very seriously and is constantly thinking of innovative ways to improve the restaurant and the service to its customer. 

Check this website to know more about the menu items in Mylapore Restaurant . You will notice that all items on the menu are under $10 which makes this restaurant very affordable. Latest top 10 dishes in the restaurant are

1.      Chinna Vengaya Uthappam
2.       Mini Tiffin
3.      Mylapore Special Dosai
4.      Paratha Vegetable Kurma
5.      Cauliflower 65
6.      Vegetable Briyani
7.      Onion Rava Dosai
8.      Poori masala
9.      Poongal Vadai
10.   Kothu Parotta

They also deliver food within 4 mile radius (wish it was 4000 miles J). Recently they have introduced a 16 oz plan which includes 4 boxes of 16 oz sambar, rasam, kootu and curry. This is an amazing plan. Also they have many specials going on, from time to time.

In India, women get a lot of break from kitchen either through good restaurants, where they can eat out or through weddings and other functions where they can just go and eat. In the US, these two are very rare and whenever I take a break from kitchen and eat out, I feel guilty of feeding my family junk food. If there is a restaurant like Mylapore near my house, I will never worry about it. Hope we have some restaurants like Mylapore or even a branch of Mylapore in other cities in US (first one being in Austin, yes I am a little selfish). People  in Folsom, I really envy you :)

Is Rape new ??

Hello All, the school closure kept us busy today, managing kids and working from home is the toughest thing and I did it again.  Was very pleased with the weather though.

My favorite Thai restaurant has a deal Thai Passion. They have very good food , think I went there too much during pregnancy due to cravings and my kids really love their food now.

I saw the documentary on the gang rape that happened in Delhi, India. Is rape new ?? Rape is prevalent in our old epic stories, then it is very much prevalent during World War times , search for "comfort women"  to know more about it. It is still there.

What really new is  that they make a  documentary on  it and why is BBC worried about it??  "Pure money" they will surely make more  money out of this whole thing right??.

When I take back my memories of being a teenager,  I was never allowed to be outside the house beyond 7 p.m. I used to hate my parents for this strict rule. I am pretty sure most of you will be able to relate to this. I never understood why. These rape cases gave me the answer.

I read many comments on this documentary on Face Book , but what we have to understand is  we can never change things over night,especially in Indian community. I read an article few weeks back with title "Women can't have it all". Even if we shout and preach about "Equality" for years ,we are still not there yet. Even if you are a VP/CEO of a company, in  Indian families ,when lunch or dinner has to be served on the table everyone looks at the woman of the house.

Things are changing a lot in Indian families that have settled/been abroad. In India, most of the things are still the same. If I was in India , on seeing this documentary I might have thought "Why did this girl go out that late". When I sit in US and see the documentary I can talk other way.

The saddest part of  "RAPE" is . it is not just an issue by itself. There are so many things entangled along with it. We can't free the thread  unless we free each knot one at a time .I dont think there will be any change in the situation unless people have a broader look on things, moms talk to sons about treating women, break the disparity between the rich and poor, media stop showing women as sex dolls, people stop having kids that they cant raise, deviate the minds of young guys and girls in the right direction etc.

Please share your thoughts. All said,  I am a mom and I have a daughter and I can feel the pain !!!. 

A surprise visitor !!!!

Hello All, The weather in Austin certainly doesn't  feel like spring. It is March and we  have school  closure due to bad weather tomorrow.Is this due to "global warming??".

A.R Rahman is coming to different cities in North America to perform. Check out  the concert dates here AR Rahman's Intimate Concert 2015 dates. He is coming to Austin on June 4th. He is my all time favorite and check out my previous post about him The Oscars. Both me and my husband love his songs, we are thinking on how we both can go to the concert and what to do with the kids. Please post  any ideas on how you all are planning it. Since the concert starts late and ends late in the night, I dont know how it will work with sitters to watch the kids.

There is a very nice dicer on sale for 15.99 check this out Nicer Dicer plus. It is a very good purchase for this price.

These days, we are very busy and  we dont have time to call and entertain people at home. Weekends fly just like that in preparing for the week. I feel things are very very mechanical. My brain has some things recorded which it plays everyday. This is when I think it would be nice to be in a profession like acting or singing or something related to art where you work for sometime and take a nice break before next project (Grass on the other side is always greener).

Yesterday my husband stepped out to pick up a package and he came inside and asked me to see what was there, since something  was hiding near the corner of our door. At first I thought it was a mouse. To my surprise it was a rabbit !!. My kids were  excited to see the rabbit !!!.

We gave her some water and carrots. We really wanted to have her as a pet, after thoughts we decided not to. I left a small blanket outside for her, since it was very cold. She never moved while we were watching her. Then we slept.

First thing in the morning after we woke up, my son wanted to see the rabbit, so I opened the door but she was gone. He was very sad, so was I :( . He kept asking me where and why the rabbit went away. .I just told him that the rabbit's mother came and took her away. He then looked at me and said  "Amma ,I love you , I know you will come and get me, if I am lost". These words melted my heart.

Some times in a busy life we never get the time to tell our kids that we are there for them, but somehow they know it. I am happy we got a chance to talk about it  through this rabbit. Good night and share your thoughts, stay tuned for another post on Sunday.

The First !!!

The weather is Austin is very very gloomy and I know most of us don't have the mood to do anything. We were  just lazing around and my son finished one activity book that I just got him yesterday. Time to find another one for him now.

 My mom retired this weekend, I wish her a happy retired life !!!

Only today there is a 56% off on H&R block in amazon. You can select any of the software that suits your needs from this list H&R block Tax software Deluxe Win 2014.

This women's perfume is a great deal on Groupon with 50% off. Versace Bright Crystal Women's Eau de Toilette Mini; 0.17 Fl. Oz. for $9.99 (original price $20)

We all are always excited about "The First"  things that happen  in our life. We are very happy when we walk first, talk first, learn and explore things first, get appreciated first, first day of college, first job, first bike, first car,first flirt, first love, first kiss, first kid etc..

The first things are exciting since there are many unknowns in them. The moment you know more about it , it becomes boring. Life is a journey where we seek these first things that makes us happy.

I talked about all the best first things, but what really shapes a person is how  he/she reacts to the first worst things that happen  Your first trial where you could not talk or walk, the first failure, be it in exam, life ,love etc.

 I still remember the day I failed on my car driving test,  I cried saying "I have never failed in anything in my life". May be that was bad.

 Now I believe firmly  that, these first fails teach you a lot more.It makes you tough and makes you move towards the goal. I  wish you all good luck and also some good failures from which you learn many things. Life is a cycle of good and bad things, we all are happy during good things but have to learn how to handle the worst. Good night , share your thoughts and meet you soon with another topic on Wednesday.

Want to know about an habit that spoils your day??

Hello All, it is Wednesday 10 pm. As promised , I am here with the article, on a habit that spoils your whole day.

Before we go into the article, I have a new name  for the blog."IndoUSmoms". Please change your bookmarks from the old one to this. The URL has changed from "http://preethi-pretty.blogspot.com" to "indousmoms.blogspot.com".

A very good pizza place in Austin. They serve Pasta and Pizza. The deal is $9 for value of  $16 . Check out this groupon Mangieri's Pizza cafe.

I  always wondered what data structure the brain made of. It is a queue?? or  linked list ?? . I dont know what search algorithm it uses.  It also controls many actions of our body. Don't you think it is our duty to keep it in good shape??

So what does the brain really need ??. We think that we work the whole day and we are tired  by the end of the day and we do nothing when we sleep. A recent research has shown that during sleep ,our brain does the below things :

*Makes decisions : It processes all the information of that day.  All this processed information  during night will be used while making decisions during the day.
*Creates and consolidates memories: It consolidates all the memory and links between old and new
memory.
*Makes creative connections: Sleep is a powerful creativity-booster. During sleep , brain can make creative connections that it cannot make during the day.
*Clears toxins out: Brain does a lot of housekeeping during sleep.If we dont have a good nights sleep, our brain will not be able to clear out the toxins which when collected over period could lead to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
*Learns and remembers how to perform physical tasks: It remembers how some routine tasks have to be done. This is one of the reasons kids need more sleep.

Also to get a good night sleep, we should avoid reading books in our bedroom, as an interesting book could keep you awake, do a lot of physical activity during the day, keep your bedroom dark and  dont have a TV in your bedroom. Basically the mind should associate your bedroom to only sleep.

One major habit, which I think really keeps us all awake is checking our smart phone near bed.  The light from the phone keeps us awake since the brain thinks it is still day time.If you dont get a good 7-8 hrs sleep your brain does not do any of the above things and finally you struggle the next day at work and it spoils your whole day. So keep this in mind and act. As usual share your thoughts on this topic .

Stay tuned to read about a topic related to "work life of a couple "on Sunday at 10 pm, have a wonderful night and sleep tight :)

I love the traffic these days ,want to know why???

Another busy week and weekend. Got to meet an old friend and chatted about good old memories, on how  life was before kids , how we spent our weekend nights playing board games etc.. After we moved to Austin , life has really changed for us and I am happy about the change !!!

This looks like a very good deal in Kimberly-Clark 04460 Scott 2-Ply Standard Roll Bathroom Tissue, White (Case of 80 Rolls) for 55$ and free shipping. It always never hurts to stock up on these.

Everywhere the traffic is increasing. Especially in Austin,compared to the time  when we moved in,the traffic has increased tremendously. I know people who have "high blood pressure" just due to driving in traffic and some people develop something called "traffic tension". Everyday it takes at least 40 minutes for us to reach our kid's school from home and in the evening we are at least in the car for 1 hr -1 hr 30 mins. For people who have their home,work and kid's school/day care all  close by is really a boon.

 One thing that took me time to understand is," no use getting frustrated". We follow some things that help us through this ,so just thought will share it with all of you.

* Try to start early so you don't rush to reach a place. This is very hard to follow. We are trying our best so that we have enough time to reach school or work.
*Some days if you are late just accept it and mentally be prepared to reach that place late, than driving too fast.
*We usually try to carpool and so the time spent in traffic is mostly family time and we also split the drive so we have company in the car.
*Morning's we teach our kids "sloga's" that keep them diverted.
*After chanting all the slogas, if it takes even more time we play some other devotional songs.
*Evenings if there is a peak traffic, I break the drive and take them to a park when the weather is nice and then drive later when the traffic slows down.

All this can be done only with very good planning. I plan in such a way that ,even when we get  home late in the evening, we have food on the table within 20-30 mins.

 Please add what all you do to keep yourself sane when stuck in traffic. Also stay tuned to know about a habit  that really spoils your whole day to be posted on Wednesday at 10 pm. I AM PLANNING TO CHANGE THE NAME OF MY BLOG TO SOMETHING MORE MEANINGFUL. Stay tuned to know what that is and please book mark it. Good night and have  a wonderful week.

EAD for H4 a dream come true??

What a wonderful long weekend. On Saturday, love was in the air, the weather was amazing here in Austin. We went to a beautiful peacock park called the May field Preserve on 35th Street. I recently came to know about this park and took our kids there. Kids had a lot of fun looking at the peacocks and it is a must see in Austin.

                                                       One of the peacock in the park
                                                   
 Next thing on Saturday was "Cricket". India won the match against Pakistan and next week we are geared to watch the India Vs South Africa. Hope India does well in that match too :). ESPN offers a package to watch cricket  for $99.99 

I have always wanted to buy a slow cooker and have finally got it. Hamilton 8 Quart crock-pot  for $35.54 and free shipping. Did not find this price in any other store. I am all excited to make more dishes and will share some with you in the future.

I recently read from a Face Book group "H4 visa, a Curse"  and this is what it said :

"As shared by many active members of the group - H4 visa EAD Rule has been submitted to the OMB. It is not the Final implementation of the Rule. Please check the steps involved in a Rule making process as well -http://www.reginfo.gov/public/reginfo/Regmap/index.jsp

Official link for the OMB submission -http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoReviewSearch It will take 30 - 60 days to complete the review.

Hopefully the Final H4 visa EAD Rule is coming soon. Thanks"

This made made me curious to know more about EAD for H4 . You have to fall into one of these 2 categories for your spouse to be eligible to get EAD to work in the US:

1) Approved I 140  which is the 2nd stage in Green card Processing through employer after Labor certification.

                                                         (or )

2) Have your H1B extended beyond 6 years. Which means that your Green card or Permanent Resident process is in pending beyond 6 years of H1B.

So from the above conditions it is very clear that  spouses of people ,who just got out  of college and got their H1B approved and then got married  will not be eligible to work immediately in the US. This will surely at least benefit people who have waited so long in frustration , and there is some light at the end of the tunnel for others to be hopeful that they can get EAD once they are eligible for one of the above conditions. 

 I know many H4  friends who are eager to do something to contribute financially to their family. Some of my friends who have a Permanent residence try to see how they can get out of tech and do something else.

Hope this brings some light to some of the immigrant families and for all others the wait continues. I just feel like life is a waiting game and many things are not in our control. Only when we realize that and take control on things we can and move forward we can achieve wonders. Have a wonderful rest of the week and stay tuned.

Costco and Amex to break up ??

Hello everyone, hope all of you are looking forward to the weekend. We had team lunch and  a party at work, that makes me think today is Friday. I just finished writing the valentine's day cards for my kids classes. Though it is tiring , I always like to write these cards.

I was looking for a good deal for car wash and detail and found this one Genie car wash $39 for $80 worth of car wash and $119 for $258 worth of interior and exterior detailing. This is a good deal as the basic car wash is $14.99 and you can use it multiple times. I see more than 450 people have bought so it has to be a good one.

Most of us who shop at Costco have an Amex card , since Costco only accepts Amex cards or you have to use your debit card. Sometimes I thought it was just ridiculous, they make people get an Amex card even if you don't want one. Also many times we see people from Amex standing there and asking if we wanted to apply for an Amex card. I have always wondered how Amex managed to pull this contract with Costco, and thought "what a smart move by them".

Now after 13 years, their contract is ending as of March 31st 2016 and looks like  is not going to be a renewed after that. Amex CEO announced that "We are not able to reach terms that would make economic sense for our company and share holders". Amex shares are already down by 7%. Amex also announced that this would affect the revenue of the company for next 2 years and growth will be flat during 2015 as they prepare for this contract termination.

In Canada,Capital One and Master Card are card partners for Costco. It is expected that they will replace Amex in United States . On this speculation the share prices of Capital One has increased by 2%. Both Costco and Capital One has not made any announcements yet.

Hope Amex gets out of this. I remember my husband's uncle once mentioning that it , in early 80's it was very difficult to get approved for an Amex card . These days card approvals are sent to our doorstep and there are so many card companies that fight for a piece of the meat. That is also one of the reason for such break ups. Please share your thoughts.

How to reduce STRESS STRESs STREss STRess STress Stress stress ??

What a wonderful weather on a weekend. Valentines day is around the corner and it is going to be a year since I started writing this blog. Check out my post on Valentines day last year. I never thought I would write for a year !!!.

There is a very good deal on Stainless steel hands free soap dispenser . This is a very good deal for $6.47 and also has very good reviews. This product is very useful esp with kids around. Grab yours soon.

Most of our lives are  stressed out. Initially I thought the reason for my stress is that I have 2 kids and I try to manage home and work. Surprisingly when I talk to some of my friends who are stay at home moms , they are also stressed out about something else. Some of the reasons that I think  for stress are that we all try to achieve more that we can we can. We multi -task most of the times.  We are never happy with what we have. If we fail to do the planned things ,we brood over it and stress ourselves even more.We always want to provide the best for others in our family especially our kids. Sometimes there is no reason but still we are stressed out and no time for anything. I think most of you will agree with me on this.

Yesterday at work I attended a seminar presented by a volunteer from "Art of Living". The main focus of the seminar was to reduce stress. I was determined to attend this to know more on how to lead a simpler life.  The person pointed out the main reasons for our stress or unhappiness is due to the nature of our  mind

*Our mind always tends to focus on the negatives

*Our mind always likes to linger around the past like regret (If I have done that.....)

*Our mind is anxious or fearful of the future

This made so many things clear to me, we do more than we can, so that we don't get  into the negative thoughts of the feeling that "we are not capable" in the fear of future. Being aware of this and controlling your mind is important and it can be done by meditation.  Also other things that he mentioned that are worth while sharing are:

* We always tend to post pone happiness. When we are in our teen we think we will be happy when we go to college, when we are in college we think we will be happy when we get a job and start working, when we get a job we think happiness is to get married , then kids , then when kids get out of the house etc...we never think at present moment we are happy

*The only way to be in present is by meditation and breathing skills

 "Being in the present" , that is something very hard .I am trying to see how far I can follow this mathra , hope some of you will benefit from this . Please share your thoughts :)