Food for Thought #2

"I am not your ordinary unordinary.
I am not your normal abnormal.
I am not your indifferently different.
I am not your insignificantly significant.

but if you become the beat of my heart,
you will understand what makes me magnificent."

- Michael John Walters

What love means to me...

For a very long time, I have struggled with understanding love. I always had this clear picture of what I thought it would be. You know - the fairytale kind - love that last forever - the passionate, consuming kind - lots of love with a lil adventure and a happy ending. But it never actually lives up to your expectations.

I recently read an article and it summed up what I mean to say:

"In our minds, we have an idea of what we think love is or how we think it ideally should be. We picture it to the extent that when it comes to our real-life experiences with love, it can’t seem to compare to what we had anticipated or hoped for, leaving us disappointed."

Anyways, moving on - my ideal love has always been what my parents share - constant, unending & ever growing. They have lived up to all their marriage vows, been with each other through better & worse. And from what I see, if there was no love in their relationship - it probably wouldn't have lasted all these years.

So drawing from what I have seen with them and what I feel, this is what love means to me:

It means no ultimatums or threats to the person I love (cause love shouldn't demand or pressurize).

It means putting his needs before my own (cause love needs a lil compromise). 

It means wanting to make him the happiest person alive (cause if he is happy, I'm happy).

It means I'd be happy by just being around him - being in the space he occupies, the air that surrounds him.

It means I would hug him & kiss him every morning before he leaves to work (hoping it makes his mornings better).

It also means I wouldn't mind waiting the whole day for him to get home (cause its comforting to have someone to come home to).

It means that he doesn't need to touch or kiss me, for me to feel close to him.

It means feeling peaceful while lying in his arms when he sleeps - hearing his heart beat and his rhythmic breathing.

It means feeling safe in his arms when he hugs me (cause he gives the best hugs and bonus - he smells so good).

It means listening to his worries, his dreams, his desires and just being there for him. But it also means giving him space when he needs it.

It means understanding that we are both humans and we make mistakes - so forgiveness is important.

It means sometimes I need to take his yelling/snapping cause I know he's stressed about something else.

It means forgiving all his broken promises and the times he didn't live up to his word.

It means not giving up on him even if he sometimes makes me feel like I should.

But most importantly - it means  - loving him unconditionally, passionately & with no expiration date!

 

Love At First Bite

It has been a while since I blogged, to be precisely 8 months. My excuse - too many things happening in my life and well - just plain lazy!

I actually started writing this one in March, right after my birthday but never got to completing it -  just like my pending Hampi post! *sigh*

Anyways moving on, "Love at First Bite" - a true delightful experience! And no, I'm not referring to the 1979 Comedy Horror Film, but the restaurant here in Oman.

Opened in April 2012 by Khalid Al Suwaid, his first venture into the culinary world has definitely been a hit in Oman's food scene. I can say without a doubt it is one of my favorite restaurants in Oman.

The first time I went there was for a Rakshabandan dinner with my cousins and I really liked it. Went there a couple more times and was more than happy with the food & service. So what better way to celebrate my birthday this year than by taking my friends to "Love at First Bite"!

I wanted to do something different and special - a set dinner with place cards and personalized menus etc. - a fine dining experience. And when I approached the staff at Love at First Bite, they were more than accommodating to my requests. Not only did they do everything I wanted, they did even more.

In all the planning, I completely forgot to print the menus for the dinner. But I didn't have to worry about it cause they took care of that for me. Everybody loved the personalized menus at their seating.

Also, everyone was served their starters individually which was a really nice touch!

They also gave all my guests the option of choosing one main or both if required.

Definitely, two of my favorite main dishes - "The way you look tonight" & "Denial"! Creamy and Delicious! :D

If I had to choose, "The way you look tonight" is my favorite dish on their menu. I always have it when I go there. I highly recommend it!




And it wasn't just the food that was really great, the staff were very helpful and coordinated. They gave us an amazing dining experience. And it wasn't just cause it was my birthday. Every other time I have been to the restaurant - I have never had any complains.

 I always recommend "Love at First Bite" to all my colleagues, family & friends for the experience that it is!

Mother's Day at Love at First Bite

Taking it to the next level with my favorite people

My best friend's first visit to Muscat

My Favorite dishes are as follows:

Appetizers:
She loves me not - Crispy Sesame Chicken
Speechless - Cripsy Cheese Parcels

Mains:
The way you look tonight - Chicken Breast in a Creamy Basil Sauce
I Found you - Chicken in a Plum Sauce with Mashed Potatoes
You & Me - Lamb Chops with Pepper Sauce and Mashed Potatoes
Denial - Signature Pasta in a Cream & Tomato Sauce

Desserts:
Take it to the next level - Chocolate Mousse with a Crushed Biscuit Base
Addiction -  Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

LOVE AT FIRST BITE stays true its name and if you are in Oman, you should go and experience it!

The Year That Was : 2013 !

After a disastrous (Overly emotional, binge eating, depressed) 2012, I longed for a drama-less year. And well, one could only hope.

 

2013 - wasn't even close to being drama free : From insecure girl friends and their ball-less boyfriends to disappointing (so-called) friends to professional politics etc. I could go on. 2013 did not disappoint in the drama area.

 

But midst all the drama, I met some really great people, travelled, dined at a lot of restaurants, read way too many articles on buzzfeed and thought catalog, researched on serial killers, danced like a lunatic on various occasions, cried for the stupid reasons, missed people (who I shouldn't be missing) and had some first time experiences (which cannot be mentioned here).

 

So at the end of this Epic 2013 - I would just like to raise a toast to the awesome (and some not so awesome) people in my life who made 2013 - the "epic year" it turned out to be!

 

To Mi Familia - Like most families, we have our moments of anger, of sadness, of happiness etc. but at the end we pull through. Thank you for being my support system and guiding force. I'm sorry for my erratic behavior on various occasions and will try to be less erratic in the New Year! You will always be my crazy family with my smart dada, cartoon mama, super savvy sistah and not so small anymore brotha! Love you all!

 

Type text or a website address or translate a document.

Cancel

To Mi Familia Extensa - My Beautiful Extended Family (The Araujo, The Fernandes, The Dias & The Rodrigues) - We are absolutely noisy and fun together and I wouldn't want it any other way. May we be always be this happy and fun. May the good times continue to roll. And to ones who are no longer in Muscat and to the ones in India- We miss you all a lot.

 

 

To Mis Amigos - Don Corleone from The Godfather said "Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than the government. It is almost the equal of family." I have been thankfully blessed with some great friends - and this year has truly been a test on friendship.

 

To My Za - My Best Friend and a part of my family. We all turn 25 this year and I'm glad that I have known you for close to ten  (out of those 25) years now. You are crazy smart and also just crazy. This whole year just went by...and we spent almost everyday chatting with each other.

Our crazy travel adventures, stupid conversations and mindless laughing are things I cherish.

And Dude - You came to Oman! like Oh-Man! Gave me the best Christmas gift ever! Love ya!

Thank you for being there for me through this crazy year and years that have passed.

 

To My Foof, Ashlin - You are stupid & kaka and you barely chat with me. But I cant imagine my life without you & your confused mind. Love you always my confused boy!

 

To My Dimpled boy, Aniket - Your smile lights up your face and I cant help but smile when I look at you.

I'm so proud of you - proud of the man you are!

Thank you for taking care of me in times of my craziness.

 

To My Meliboo - You are the cherry to my year! We have gotten so close over such a short period of time. I cant even remember why we never spoke to each other before this year!

My sweetheart, I love you thissssssss much! Always be the sweet little sexy poutress!
 

To My Handsome George - Amar,  We rarely meet but that doesn't make a difference though! Thank for the constant advice and support.

To My Beautiful Baby Girl Sydelle, You are so grown-up! An absolutely gorgeous girl and so talented! Im so proud of you! Will miss you loads!

To My Food Slut, Aleron - No one understands my love for food the way you do! Love you loads!

To My Sweet Rohan, thanks for being there and for the constant support! And for the sweet treats you got me this year! Here's to our friendship and stupid conversations!

To My Crazy Gorgeous Girl, Betty - My Betttuuuuu, 2013 would have been incomplete without your epic dance moves, infectious laugh and beautiful smile. Stay the same always!

To My Beautiful Relipoooo, my hot baker & sweetie-pie - You are simply the best and the sweetest! I love you loads!
P.S Leave Rudy for me!

To My Crazy Ashwini, this is to our crazy conversations and pigging out sessions this year! Thanks for it all! May you always remain the crazy person that you are! And remember to be strong!

To My Techy Cliffy, my silent boy - You are the best! So deceptively innocent and quite! Thank you for the epic videos and pics and the talks on random stuff! Stay the sweet self that you are!

To My Ever-So Entertaining Ms. Kumar, we have our ups and downs but we have still managed to get through it all! I wish only the best for you in life! Thanks for the support at work and otherwise!
P.S Don't believe anything Ali Taya says!

To My Sunshine At Work, Ali - The office is dead without your constant banter and singing! Thank you for always keeping us smiling!
P.S Don't forget to take the lithium tablets.

To My Cute-Sa-Dimpled Chehra Dost, Kashif - Your sense of Humor and maturity has helped in some really crazy times. Thank you for just being there and for making me laugh when I need it the most.

To My Handsome Sanket - I got to see SRK and Ali Zafar (*drool*) thanks to you! And not to forget Nitin (*sigh*)! Thank you for just making this year so great and for the funny interesting conversations!

To My Ladies Advisory Committee - Moo, Azuu, Anusha, Runi, Anu - The Funny Conversations and the constant excitement. Thank you for it all!

To the rest of Mis Amigos and the great people I met this year - The Frankincense Queen, Asma Jadal; My Sweet Simona, Frankie, Roshni, Samuel, Scifo, Conrad, Praveen, Neha, Hamish, Reema, Chintu, Gulu, Ralston, Avalon, Omkar, Niloufer, Krish, Ryan, the Saunders Siblings and so many more - Thank you for being a part of my year.

Also, not forgetting that person (who shall not be named) - thank you for shattering my faith in a lot of things in the past and for being manipulative - it taught me to value the good ones in my life! The ones who restored my faith!

And to that guy - thank you for not caring the way I care about you and for forgetting about me - it taught me to see that things are not always what they seem and to let go of the past!

And Finally - to all those insecure girl friends I met this year and their so-called boyfriends &  my supposed to be  friends  - Take a deep breathe people! The world doesn't revolve around you all - so grow up. And Couples Please stop giving each other reasons to be insecure & stop blaming others for your problems. And for those who don't know how to stand up for themselves and for their friends - I pity you all!

Wow, that was long!

So Cheers to you all! And Have a fantastic year ahead!

Happy, Happy New Year!
I wish you all the best,
Great work to reach your fondest goals,
And when you’re done, sweet rest.

I hope for your fulfillment,
Contentment, peace and more,
A brighter, better new year than
You’ve ever had before.

 (Poem by Joanna Fuchs)