Following the tradition ( 2006, 2007 , 2008, 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 & 2013), here are my 2014 highlights.
Achievements this Year: When I was in school, we used to have regular inspection of our nails as part of our PT (Physical Training) class. While most of the other girls hated it as they had to cut their nails short, I hated it because I had to show my severely bitten nails. In fact the habit was so bad that I used to even chew off the skin around my nails rill they were scabby and disgusting. The habit of biting skin died a natural death soon after but I never ever stopped biting my finger nails. For a long time, “Stop biting nails†was an auto-entry on any new year resolution list! It all changed this year – when I now finally have normal looking nails. So that is this year’s big achievement : manicured nails!
Travels this Year: We went to India this February with a 4 day stop-over in Dubai to meet my sister. Other trips included an Easter visit to Austin, a summer trip to Puerto Rico and a late summer vacation to Rhode Island & Martha’s Vineyard. We also met up with friends in Hershey, PA in fall. My work – related travel was heavy in the last couple of months with two trips to Chicago and one to San Francisco.
Annika Update: Annika turned three this year. Her achievements (and by proxy ours) were getting potty trained, beginning to sleep in her own room, learning to write her letters from A to Z and reciting a bazillion poems. She enjoyed many birthday parties in summer, dressing up as Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween and having a big birthday party complete with magic tricks & balloons in November. Her current interests are solving jigsaw puzzles, painting and watching Blue’s Clues or I Spy on the television. She also enjoyed having her uncle, Rajeev, stay over with us over the last 4 months.
Books This Year : Looking back, this year’s my best books had a theme to it that I like to call Science for Layman!. I enjoyed the following books : Emperor of Maladies (Siddartha Mukherjee) , The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skoot), Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein (Mario Livo, Jeff Cummings), Gulp (Mary Roach), Contagious : Why Things Catch On (Jonah Berger), Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society (Bill Bryson) & Being Mortal (Atul Gawande)
Summary this year: This year can be summed up in one word. Routine. And that is not a bad thing at all.
