I love salsa. Who doesn't? When I watched people salsaing ;-) , I thought it was very daedalian. The twists and turns and the hip shaking and the elegant steps. I thought I can never learn it. Am not a master now. But, I just discovered that it is not very tough, at least to begin with. The basic steps can be mastered with some practice.

Today was my first Latin Impact class. It's a cool and groovy Aerobics class at my gym. It is a mix of Salsa, Merengue, Cha Cha Cha and Zumba. Sounds all Hi Fi, huh? It was an intensive workout and I really enjoyed my "gym time" for the first time. For an hour, I pictured myself to be in some exotic dance club on some far away isalnd.....Ibiza. Yes, Ibiza it is. I love love love the music.

On another note, I finished reading Undomestic Goddess. I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out as a movie. One of those light hearted romantic comedies. It was a good change from the series of murder mystery horror books that I have been reading. The ending was too filmi...you know what I mean? And is "Er..." the only filler on earth? That kind of got to me. I think to Er or not to Er is the question now. Otherwise it was a good read.

Weekend again! I have to go now. Ciao!

A is adept at spontaneous naming. Names just pop, out of the blue, at any time. May be its an art. So, this morning, I was dubbed during a tete a tete on bed.

A: "Mirabella"
Me: "Hmmmm?"
A: "Mirabella"
Me: "Why Mirabella?"
A: "You looked exotic with your lustrous curly hair hiding your face partly.....like some Spanish or, you know, someone from a Greek Island.....so, I called you by a mediterranean name."

A smile lights up my face. After all, aren't the Mediterranean dames the most prettiest on earth?

Saturday morning. One of those days when I have the luxury to catch some zzzz's. After sprawling on the bed for an hour or so after we were wide awake, we agreed that it was time we got up and decided on the POA for the day. Espresso in hand and our patuchus firmly rooted on the chair in front of the computer, we toggled between Vancouver and Tubing @ Snoqualmie. Some fervent calculations and a few phone calls later, we chose to go Tubing. It was 10:00 am then.

We showered, dressed and left home at 11:00 am. The first stop was at Med Kitchen for an early lunch. The food was exactly the way we wanted, incredibly scrumptious. We smacked our lips and ooohed and aahed after consuming every spoon of the hot veggie shawarma. We licked the plate so clean that the waitress gave a Thanks-I-have-one-plate-less-to-wash smile . We shot back a Don't-mention smile and walked out, all set for the drive to Snoqualmie.

By the time we parked our car and trekked our way to SnowFlake Summit, the afternoon session was sold out. Bummer! We had to wait in the dingly little cafe for two hours. A was a little grumpy about the wait, given that we had forgotten to take our books along.

Our "could haves" and "should haves" sounded like this

A: We should have reached a lil early.....or even better, we should have booked our tickets yday......now, what will we do for the next two hours...?

Me: Okay, come let's leave.....

A: We'll leave and what? come back later?

Me: Yeah we will book our tickets in advance and come back next weekend....

A: After coming this far, I don't want to go back without tubing........And moreover I don't want to come here again...

Me: Okay then, let's wait.

A: (Mumble Mumble) Come let's go sit in the cafe.....

Sitting in the cafe was probably a wrong idea, because, seeing other people eat, made us crave for fries and burger and other sinful food. I had to keep reminding A that we just stuffed ourselves two hours ago. After fighting the urge for the said sinful food, we ordered drip coffee(we didn't have a choice) and chose to just people watch and pull each other and talk about what we would do for the long weekend of Feb 14th. That seemed to do the trick. The conversation was endless and then it was time to get out and have some fun in the snow.

I am not embarrased to say this. I am scared of walking on ice. I just cannot get myself to walk bravely without even having the slightest doubt that I might fall, because, I WILL slip...and slide and skate and finally fall. So, there I stood, at bottom of the stairs, refusing to walk down the tiny hill of hardened snow. A tried his best to make me walk down.


A: Come, you won't slip. Just come.

Me: No.

A: Even if you fall, you will fall on the snow and nothing will happen to you.

Me: No.

A: Why don't you turn around and walk backwards? That is more easier.

Me: No...No...I can't come down.

A: (Now laughing and getting impatient...) You have to do something, baby. You can't stand there for the rest of the day.

Me: (Terrified) I know! Lissen, let's pretend we are having a conversation.I don't want others to know that am scared to walk on the hardened snow.

A: (Laughing) Ok..so walk now.

Me: Maybe I will sit down and just slide.

A: Okay do whatever you want, but puh-leez come down!


Ah, finally I was on the fresh snow. We clicked some pictures and shot some videos and walked over to the tubing area. We grabbed our tubes and ran to a lane. There were 12 lanes in all and a pulley system to pull you back up after you slide down. I went down first and was a little too scared at first. The speed was awesome and in less than 15 secs I was down, lugging my tube, tottering to the line that had formed to take the pulley back up. A couple of times, though, we walked back up the slope. A tried all kinds of antics....sliding down on his tummy, butt and what not? The two hours just zipped by and we loved every minute of it. Somehow, the two hour wait was all forgotten and Mr.Grumpy here transformed into the Cheerful Stuntman and was talking about tubing sometime soon again :)

We we voraciously hungry at the end of it. We stopped at GLC for dinner. It was more like a sports bar and had a very unpretentious decor. A few booths, a few wobbling tables, an old juke box, a small bar and very dark. But who cares? The food was to die for. They have the best sandwiches on earth and all of them 100% vegetarian. We ordered the Tycho - grilled portabello mushroom was juicy; together with the melted mozarella cheese, grilled onions and roasted tomatoes it was heavenly. It came with soup/salad/chips n salsa. We chose the split pea soup. We also ordered the Tamale. It was quite interesting to see a veggie tamale. The forbidden rice was perfectly cooked. And there was salad on the side too. My mouth waters when I think of their food.

We got back home with stiff legs and wet pants, just in time to crash and dream about the fab day.

Here's the painting that kept me focussed and occupied for about 5 hours... I am glad for such hobbies, for what would life be without painting, music, scrapbooking, reading , writing, et al, especially when they are your sole companions for the most part of the day?

Namaste! Aloha! Hola! Bonjour!
And so, my brief hibernation comes to an end. A lot has happened in the last couple of months. Here, let me fill you to the brim with the tidbits.

Utah trip was fun. May be not so much for A, who was in training most of the days. It was a much awaited vacation for me. You know, days when you wake up only when your eyes refuse to stay fused shut, when there is hot breakfast waiting for you in the kitchen downstairs (make your own waffles, toast and scrambled eggs, oatmeal, OJ, muffins and of the sort), when the housekeeper changes the towels, makes the bed, scrubs the bath and vacuums the carpet, when you get to play unlimited literati online, when you just laze around with a book and read it from cover to cover in one sitting.....sometimes this kind of a break is very rejuvenating. We managed to see most of SLC and the scenic loops during the weekend. A picture is better than a thousand words. I will do a seperate picture post.
Somehow, the food we eat when we travel ,seems to linger longer in our memories, than the travel itself. And here it was Mazza, the lebanese restaurant. As usual, the food and the flavor (and the waiter, ofcourse ) knocked us off our feet. I highly recommend this place to anyone visiting SLC.

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The house was throngging with visitors. Mom and Dad are staying with us for a couple of months. Sis and family visited for a week. Kids, food and touring added to the fun.
And my birthday swooped by. Balloons, cakes and cards. Felt like a little girl again.

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A's office has moved to downtown Seattle. He trots off by bus early in the morning and gets back by 6pm. Not too bad, huh? Especially when I get to keep the car :). But I wish his office didn't move. It was so much easier to just call him up and say "Hey, don't forget the spinach from Whole Foods, milk from Fredmeyer, curry leaf from Mayuri, Yogurt from Trader Joes, blah blah", than make trips to the said stores myself. Sigh, the downside to everything!

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Summer has brought with it lots of sunshine, heat and picnics. Saturdays are when we pack food and troop off to the lake. Was quite amazed to see the ducks' love for potato chips! Seaward Park and Green Lake have been the best so far.

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A got me acrylic painting tools and an easel for my b'day. I am finally done with my first painting. Shall put it up in a seperate post for you lurkers to delurk and say something nice (only nice!) about the painting of a novice.

That's it for now. Will be back with more news soon. Ciao!

Saturday, April 4th. The sun crept up. It was in the 60s. And, that usually calls for celebration. People swarmed out of their houses, like bees, trying to absorb all the sunlight they can, as if that was the only day the sun was ever going to show up. It's amazing, what sun can do the the people of Seattle.

Here A and I were in true Seattlite spirits. With A's leg still healing, we could only do the "sit in the open and chill out with a pint" kinda stuff. Whatever suited the occasion. After some extensive shopping at Kohls and Sears, we drove down to Rock Bottom. A sipped (actually, slurped) some pints while I devoured the chips and guacomole. And then some babble.


A: Uggggh.....the chips have a sour cream flavor to it.. what the hell!
Me: Oh c'mon...I can hardly taste it...
A: The menu didn't say "sour cream flavored chips.....".
Me: (chuckle) I think sour cream is the only thing you HATE so much.
A: It is the same way you feel about coconuts....or cinnamon....or....okay, c'mon, now tell me the list of things that you hate and that I love.....you have one min and your time starts now........
Me: .........
A: ...........


and more babble.


We then trotted off to Mediterranean Kitchen for some mouth watering Lebanese fare. Lentil soup, pita bread with hummus and some rich spanakopita. Unlike the Greek version of the spanakopitas, these are more garlicky and come with flavorful saffron rice on the side. Every visit to Med. Kitchen is like a trip to heaven. We left the place feeling stuffed and sated.

Sunday, April 5th. The sun crept up again. A blessing, no doubt. And this time we went to the other side of the city - Alki Beach.





It felt like everyone in Seattle was heading there. There was so much traffic and so much more challenging to find parking. We parked the car and walked for a good 20 - 25 minutes along the beach to Duke's. A did the routine of downing a pint while I munched on the sweet potato fries. It was then our turn to take our table on the deck. Bright sunshine lit our faces. The beach right beside us. It was an awesome day. We were given bread to start with. We ordered the only vegetarian dish on the menu, the veggie burger. And that is one of the best I have ever had. The bun was toasted with butter and the pattie grilled to perfection with the cheese melting on it. Yumm yumm. Another heartening meal and we started walking back to the car.


What could be more fun than having nothing to do, but just sit on your ass, prattle, devour yummy food, chug a pint and stare at the beautiful beach?

Completely insane, but turned out to be true for me :)

You Inner Gender is Female

You're sensitive, caring, and willing to connect with anyone who's open to you. You make friends easily, and you enjoy all sorts of conversations. You understand most people you meet - better than they understand themselves. You're totally a woman... or at the very least, your soul is female.