One dream at a time

On April 8th, I lost one of the most special person of my life. Her name was Nidhee.

Who was Nidhee?

Me: "Chemo must be painful, isn't it?"
Nidhee: "Yes it is, but it gives me a pimple free skin. So that's good." (with a silly little smile on her beautiful face)

That was her. The most positive person I knew. Who always saw the silver lining.

In social terms, she was my sister-in-law, but that was just another relationship that brought us together. In reality, she was my best friend, my comfort in solace, an ear to my secrets, my source of endless laughter, my girlfriend, my love.
At the tender age of 21, she was diagnosed with an evil disease called Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare kind of bone cancer, just a couple of months after marrying the love of her life. This did not stop her from being the magical, happy fairy that she was. She hid the pain, the sorrows, the worries and the doubts behind her infectious smile and laughter. Even during the tough times, it was she who comforted her loved ones to keep the faith. Throughout her journey of cancer, she was always concerned about others and their discomfort.

After almost two years of stressful journey, ten rounds of traumatic chemotherapy, seven painful surgeries and her never-ending faith in good, we lost her on April 8th. She left this world with a smile on her beautiful, angelic face. She touched so many lives who will never be able to forget her and her charming personality.

I have too many things to write about her and I might never end, but today is the day to talk about her dream which was left unfulfilled.
Even in her last stages of life, she would never stop telling me about how much she loved kids. She talked to me about her dreams and aspirations.
She always wanted to be a social activist. She wanted to help people. She wanted to end the sufferings of few.
So this is what we thought could help her dream come true.

Click on this link to donate - http://gogetfunding.com/project/one-dream-at-a-time#/project_details

Yours Humanly is a global organization devoted to helping unprivileged and not-so-fortunate children around the world.

Anyone from around the world can donate. Your currency would be converted into Canadian dollars. You can donate as little as $1. All the funds collected would be forwarded to unprivileged children around the world through Yours Humanly.

If it is impossible for you to donate on this website, go outside your house and help at least one person in need. I am sure it would make Nidhee happy.
Most of us want to do something for people in need. We wait for the right time to do it, but we never know when our time runs out. There is never a right time. Each one of us is capable of giving at least something. If not money, give education, give food, give your services, help elders in need, give your old books to read, give pens and paper to write. The possibilities are endless.

Life is too short to wait for the right time.

Nidhee, you are gone, but will never be forgotten. Your memories, your values, your selflessness, and your goodness will live forever in our hearts.

Love you boo ♡

Woof Woof!

Hewo Humanz,

I is Cannelle. Mufmy says d cannelle means d cinnamon. I is a three year old Yorkshire Bichon puppy. Tooday is my buffday. In d humanz year I juz turned 21. I can drinkz and marry now. I stayz in the cold, but beautiful Paris. I logged in to my mami's bloggerf and postings my cool pucturz. I is very awesome, trust me.

I love eatyz, playz, nappyz, sunshines, different foodiez, window lookingz and bedyz. I doonut like big doggyz n disturbance while sleepyz. I kiss d familiz a lot. We call it d bisou.

I stay wif my mufmy, grandpapa, grandmama and small mama. My biggerz mama and mami stay awayz. Dey all are d humanz, but dey are familiz.

Check me out. I is purdy.

 Wen I was one year old. I is cute wif brown earz. Mufmy sayz I is Cannelle beecouse I has the brown earz.

I like d colorful drezzis. I is a bride now.

 I is jealous of my buffday gift.

 I love the snoweyz. I feel like white cub. Ament I the heroz?

 The humanz from d familiz did the chrimus tree. I check.

 Shoppinz time. I pickey my food.

 Very loohtle option for d toyz.

 Ohh waiteez. I found something me like.

 I like the brown onez.

 I get thiz, humanz?

 Shoppinz for some style. Many doggiez come to see me in d park n say "bow WOW"

 Come out n playee with me mateyz

 I love lap nappyz in the car.

 My favorite spot in the homey. I get sunshines n I do window watchingz.

 Sunshines is crayzy. They movin and shiftin :(

 What is d dealz wif you sunshines?

 Humanz caught me in my baggie. I love me baggy. I hatey when someone touch itz.

Tis is my house.

 When I angry wif d humanz, I hide here and watch dem find me. Dey say I is very spoiled n stubborn .

 Winnie is sooov irritatinz.

I is skypez wid mama mami in d Amurica.

 

I told yew I love the bedyz but only the humanz bedyz. #messyhurrdontcare

 Toyz I like not for long time. I get bored.

 Amint I the purdiest? 

 I was sick so I take my monekyz n sleep.

 I don like when d humanz liv me and go. I angry den I cry.

 Wen dey come for d vacationz I keep an eye on dem so that they don't liv me n go.

 D familiz are sometime annoyin

 

 oooo wassuuf! I was jooz catchn the nappyz.

 I hate clothez beecouse I is the nude artistz.

Dis is my pick-me-up-humanz-or-I-get-mad pose.

Okeey, I know you liked me. Nize to meeeet you. If wonz I know you, I always love you.

I go now for the eatyz n wayt for my buffday cake n gift,

Bisou,

Cannelle (wooof)

****************

Can't believe she just did that, but yeah, she is awesome that way.

Happy Birthday my baby. I miss you. 

Jules Joffrin

I received the text,

I am here :)

******

It was a beautiful summer morning in Paris. I was feeling quite cheerful and exuberant which was unusual. That morning when I got out of the house to proceed towards my metro station, my iPod was playing some very peppy songs unlike the usual psychedelic ones. I was singing and my walk had a dance to it. I might have been hopping.

This is the Google street view of the slope, I was walking down towards the station, like a bunny rabbit.

I was to meet him today at my station, Jules Joffrin. As I was climbing down the stairs of the platform, I received the text,

I am here :)

I froze. I stopped on the second last stair and checked the message again. My heart started pumping fast. The butterflies were running marathons in my belly. There was an instant warmness in my chest. I suddenly felt like the student of 'WTF was I thinking' university!
What am I doing?
Why am I meeting a stranger?
What if he and his friends were playing some prank on me?
What if he finds me not appeasing enough?
What if I come on TV on an annoying prank show?
What language should I talk in? (in my defense, there were four languages in question)
I should go back, I am crazy.

I turned a little and had a deep-rooted craving of returning to my room, get back in to my PJs and have a hot cup of coffee by my window, rather than dealing with this huge package of anxiety and nervousness.
On second thought, I didn't want to run away from something good this time. I wanted to face it. I turned towards the platform, took the last stair and walked in.

Jules Joffrin

I looked on the right. There were not much people who might have been waiting for me. I looked to the left, and there he was...
Tall, handsome, in a perfect French formal attire, with a laptop bag in his hand. He walked towards me and said,
"Hi"
"I am sorry I am late." I said.
"That's okay. Can we first decide what language should we talk in?" (!!!!!!!!), he said and smiled.

Our metro came, we entered and in just about ten seconds we forgot we were meeting for the first time.

I married that man exactly six months later.

That beautiful day was two and a half years ago. Do the math.

Happy Second Wedding Anniversary Mon Cheri.

I often wonder what would've happened if I had turned away and went back home. I am sure each day of my life would have ended with less laughter, less smiles, less love and less contentment.

You say it was love at first sight. For me, it was my life at first sight. It was my DESTINY.

I love you

WORST SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION AHEAD

Click here - My Cactus Dress or search for 'mycactusdress' on instagram.

I tried sharing pictures through blog, but that came out as a miserable idea. So I GOT AN INSTAGRAM for the blog too. Please follow to see and share all the goofy pictures I will be posting like of food and crafts and drawings and Christmas trees and Starbucks and birds and bird poop and puppies and lights and socks and water and sunrise and sand, basically everything under the sun. I am also going on a 45 days vacation to India and France in two days and will be sharing a lot of travel pictures.

I am sure we'll have fun. Share your Instagram user ID as well.

Let's talk with pictures!

30 things only Indian girls who grew up in 90s can understand

And by Indian girls, I mean girls who grew up in India.

******

1. It doesn't matter if it was you or just your mom who watched the soap operas, you will however, never forget this day.

2. We had long discussions with our friends about which one was cooler between them.

and these

or among them

or weirdly, between these

The one on the right was scented so we know who the winner was

3. Cell phone was a luxury, hence we had an emotional relationship with one of these. 

4. They were our rock-stars. We had their audio cassettes and we definitely danced on one of their songs.

5. But we couldn't stop talking about them either. Which one were you? I was Sporty Spice.

6. We shared this with friends and also recorded our personal playlist.

7. They were ready to sing for us anytime we wanted to go exotic. We listened to 'Quit playing games with my heart' was are "taunting" song.

8. Television time was not just about crying, bitching and plotting.

9. Cartoons were better & funnier than the Disney channel. We knew the title song to each one of them, in English AND in Hindi.

10. And the title song to this one, still make our eyes wet with nostalgia.

11. How about a little embarrassment? Let's talk about fashion. (Embroidery jeans, bell sleeves and velvet bell bottoms - RAD)

 12. Admit it, you too had one of those shiny pants. 

P.S. This was the coolest movie of our times

13. These were our hot wheels

14. Until they showed up.

15. We have all taken our best shoes out and have done this at least once.  And boys, this is how we discovered Ayesha Takia, way before y'all did. If you know what I mean ;-)

16. This was the first English movie we watched, however we refrained from watching it with our family because of the painting and the car sex scene.

We hated the end. Why can't the keep they main actor alive, like Bollywood does!!!

17. While we are at sad endings, her death was the hardest thing to deal with.

Watch the stairs lady!

18. This is what we read the most in our library period.

19. Birthdays were taken way too seriously.

20. And we not just filled, but owned one of these bad boys.

21. Friendships day was bigger than Diwali and we always wanted to be the one with the highest number of friendship bands on hand.

22. But it was always hard to find one of these.

23. Then SHE came in our life and we were always out of our pocket money,

Because we wanted to get one of these.

24. Remember that crazy trend of tattoo Jewelry? How hot were we?!! :-|

25. We hated the moment every time our moms got this devil out.

26. And those five famine days when we couldn't eat anything because we wanted to do this.

27. Talk about food and we get the fanciest things today, but where can we find this?

28. Getting our first email address was the biggest accomplishment. Not to mention the cheesy usernames that we gave. What was yours, sweetangel2000@yahoo.co.in?

29. This festival meant nine days of freedom. 

30. But the best part about growing up was our school.

*sob sob sob*

It doesn't matter what our personal evolution made us today, however these little things will always remain the most important part of our life.

Did I miss anything?