Category Archives: Relationship

Another trip planned :)

I have great news; I am going to Kathmandu again. And yes there is a reason we are going, yet another celebration. My brother in law is getting married. I will be there in a months’ time and it will be a great time to see my parents and in law again. It has been a year since we are back from our last trip but I can’t wait to go again.

Nepal (12)

Our holiday has been approved at work and we have booked our tickets so it is all set, counting down the days now.

I have even started my shopping for gifts. Amazingly, we say, we will never do a big shopping for gifts each time we return from Nepal. But each time before we go there, we make a list of gifts. This time too the list is long with names of people we want to buy for but I am happy to buy as their smile is worth the trouble we go through. Looks like for the next few weekends that is all we will be going.

In addition, I will be buying things for my future SIL. I already bought things like perfumes, make-up and other items but still there are a few other things still on the list.

I have never met my soon to be SIL but we have chatted a few time on Facebook. She seems to be nice girl and I am sure she will make my BIL very happy.

Wedding always excites me and this time it is at home so it will a be really fun filled event  with lots of foods, music, dances, ritual and people. I will definitely report on everything.

As usual every time I plan to go to Nepal I have a long list of things to do and buy and I have never manged to cross off everything. I am hoping this time I will be able to do a lot.

I really want to buy some specific decoration items for our home here so every day I can see them and admire them. I am looking for one big painting (I am not very sure but still want to try before forking out money here) and some traditional masks.

I am also thinking I should look for some traditional cushions .

As usual, I need to buy lehengas and saris for the wedding and accessories to go with them. I am sure until the wedding is over, we will be extremely busy but I have a few weeks after the wedding when I can to do things that I like.

The top one is trekking somewhere in Nepal. I am not even sure that it will be possible, as trekking requires at least a week but I will try my best. My list has grown longer day by day so hope to tick off most of it while I am there.

Anyway looking forward to enjoying the company of my family and friends and be spoiled soon. Hope I might even meet a few of my blogging buddies there like last time.

Take care everyone ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Marriage on the rocks

If you are worried after reading the title, please do not worry, I am still happily married. But recently I have had friends and colleagues who are either divorced, separated or their marriage is on the rocks. This made me think about marriage in general and of course I and AS.

Most of my friends and colleagues I am talking about have been married for a long time. One of them for 10 years, another 14 and others many more too. Most of them were high school sweet hearts and in love for a long time before they decided to get married and have beautiful kids but after such a long union, they decided to part way and inmost cases, the reason was infidelity. I was actually shocked in many cases, as I knew both people in the marriage.

I have heard about the 7 year itch and read a lot about what happens to sex life when one has kids. Still looking around and finding so many people with their marriage in tatters really made me think about marriage in general seriously.

AS is my best friend first before my husband so I share what I was thinking with him all the time. So while in this topic, I asked him “Do you think we might have a problem like this in our marriage as well?” I am not sure what kind of answer I was hoping to get but I was shocked when he answered “Of course, we will. I am not going to say we will have a perfect marriage.” As much as I appreciate his honestly, it also made me worried about the whole institution of marriage.

I come from Nepal, a country where  they teach that marriage is for life but even there things are changing slowly. The divorce rate is still not as high there as in the western world. So when I married AS, I married him for life, for better or for worse. But seeing so many couple heading down the divorce path, I really want to work harder on my marriage to make sure we don’t ever head towards that path.

As everything else in life, I know we tend to take our partners for granted after being with them for few years which means we may not make a special time for him and once kids are in the equation, most mums are really too busy to plan something as a couple. But I still can’t justify someone cheating on their partner because they are bored.

When Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston got divorced many years ago, I was always Team Jen. I used to like Brad Pitt as an actor but I couldn’t stand the fact that he cheated on his wife. I know everyone has their weak moments and relationships go sour but one can always exit the relationship gracefully before entering to another one so why cheat?

Most people who cheat seem to think they will never be found out but living in this modern world where very cell phone has a camera and everyone has Facebook, how can they be dumb enough to go around their partners back to have fun.

While talking to AS, he was making me understand how men think and I know that they don’t have their brain in their head but I still can’t forgive a person who cheats no matter if that’s a man or a women.

But that takes me to my next question. What will do if you find out your partner is cheating?

There are 3 solutions

  1. Do nothing and pretend nothing happened
  2. Forgive and work on the marriage
  3. Get Divorced/Separated

To be honest, I don’t think I will be able to do first two options. I definitely can’t pretend nothing had happened when I know that my husband is sleeping with someone else. I probably could forgive but for the rest of our life I will wonder where he has gone or whom he had been with and that won’t be the kind of relationship I will like to continue where there is no trust. So the only option that I can manage will be getting divorce.

Therefore, I do understand why all my friends decided to choose that path when they found out that their partner was cheating.

But before we can get to that fork on the road where there are only those three solutions there must be things we can do to make sure we are never in that situation.

Of course, relations and marriage are between two people but each individual makes it work so I am seriously thinking about ways to keep our marriage as happy and healthy as it is now. Here are a few things I think will help for a long lasting relationship.

  • Never take each other for granted
  • Do nice things for each other from time to time
  • Make time for each other and hug, kiss, hold each other.
  • Respect each other
  • Think before you speak (I need to practice this more)
  • Compromise to make him/her happy
  • Do things together
  • Be aware of each other’s need
  • Take time out to talk
  • Don’t withhold intimacy as a punishment
  • Never compare your relationship with other couples because you don’t know their real relationship (behind the fake smiles maybe)
  • When your partner does something that upsets you, stop, sit down, and explain to your partner why what he/she is doing is bothering you
  • Accept your partner for who he/she is, after all you married him/her because you loved the way he/she is
  • Respect the fact that your partner is going to need alone time
  • Be positive and work for your future together

Please share your tips here so we all can help each other. All I wish is to have AS in my life until I take my last breath and can’t imagine my life without him. Wish everyone a happy relationship.

Take care everyone and have a great weekend,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

WAF (Wife acceptance factor)

AS has been talking about buying an expensive surround sound system for a while now. We haven’t really gone to the store to get one yet but I know that we will have different opinions already. He will love something more expensive as by default it will be better but I can’t justify a very expensive sound system. I really don’t need a cinema experience at home. To be honest I will be very happy with whatever setup we currently have.

Anyway, we always have this kind of difference when it comes to technology. Even though I love technology, I can’t justify buying the most expensive ones. This morning AS sent me an email at work with a link to wiki of WAF (Wife acceptance factor).

I really didn’t know what it was but this is how wiki defines it:

Wife Acceptance Factor, Wife Approval Factor, or Wife Appeal Factor(WAF), are design elements that increase the likelihood a wife will approve the purchase of expensive consumer electronics products such as high-fidelity loudspeakers, home theater systems and personal computers. Stylish, compact, unobtrusive forms and appealing colors are commonly considered WAF. The term is a tongue-in-cheek play on electronics jargon such as “form factor” and “power factor” and derives from the gender stereotype that men are predisposed to appreciate gadgetry and performance criteria whereas women must be wooed by visual and aesthetic factors

If you want to know more here is the link.

I kind of understand how it came about as in most marriage, each other’s opinion matters but that doesn’t apply to men only, what about HAF (Husband acceptance factor).

So I emailed him back asking,” What about Husband acceptance factor?”

His answer was  “No such thing! 😀 Husbands have no choice in the matter 😛

In some way I was happy to see his reply but at the same time he and I both know that it is not true. Tell me if I am wrong but we girls are very thoughtful beings and ask the approval of husband/partners when buying dresses, bags, shoes, curtains, flowers, decorations and the list is very long. AS was surprised sometimes that I called him to check his opinion even when I am thinking to buy something at $5. I will definitely consider these actions as Husband Acceptance Factor.

Do you agree with my opinion? If there is a Wife Acceptance Factor on wiki, we need to have Husband Acceptance Factor as well because it does exist.

Please share you experience in Husband (partner)  Acceptance Factor.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

What next?

I and hubby were talking about life in general. I am glad that we were both in similar space in our life right now. We said we both are happy with our life and where we are in life right now. We both are doing what we planned with our life.

10 years ago both of us had one goal, which was to finish our study and get a job. Then we had aim and we both worked toward that and it was a great when we finally reached there. Then it was a phase where we looked for a partner and with god’s blessing found each other. At that phase as well we had an aim and goal and we were working towards it. We reached the goal, got married and now are living happily together.

Last few years have been great together trying to fulfill our dreams like traveling the world and buying our dream home. Traveling will never be done for us as I still want to see Africa, South America and heaps of countries that are still on our list but still we are happy the way we have traveled so much. The house is here to stay so no more thinking about it now. We are mortgage owners now and hope one day soon we will be home owners as well but we can’t do a lot about it right now.

That made us think – “What next?” Life has been kind of same with job and home lately. Every time we talk about this with anyone, the only answer seems to be a BABY. As we were talking we also realised that it does seem to be the logical answer to our question. To have little people in our life who will be a part of us.

As I have mentioned many times before I love babies and my cute nephew is 18 months now and is as cute as ever but still I have doubts about myself if I can handle a child.

my nephew

I know when I have a baby, the baby will be a part of us and naturally I will love him/ her will all my hearts. But when do you really decided if you are going to have a baby. Is it normal to have a phase in every couple’s life where having a baby seems like the natural next step in life. Is it normal to have so many questions regarding the baby before even planning it?

To all of you with a child, I would love to know what made you decide to have a baby when you had yours.

For me, it seems like a scary decision to bring another human being into this world when you are so confused about it. I know almost all my friends have a baby now and they seemed to love it. Everyone I see has this motherly gene in them and they seem so natural with kids. Will I be the same or will I struggle?

As you guys know, both our parents are very far from us in Kathmandu, Nepal. They both will do their best to be with us when we have baby but for some reason, if they are not here, will that be very hard to manage on our own? I have heard so many mums going into depression when they are left alone with the baby for long, how to avoid it?

I know for some people these questions might look silly but definitely I want answers to this question before AS and I sit down to talk about our baby plan. Any suggestions will be surely of great help.

Thanks everyone.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Celebrating AS‘s birthday in the middle of the Pacific Ocean

On 28 of December, it was AS’s birthday and we had a sea day on the cruise. Since AS has been in Australia, he has been lucky enough to celebrate his birthday in different places every year. Three years ago, we were in Brisbane, two years ago, we were in Vanuatu, last year it was Nepal and this year it was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Before we even started our holiday, AS warned me not to embarrass him in from of lots of people in the ship by letting them know that it’s his birthday. I love to do all those stuffs but he is a very private person so I respect his decision. I promised him I was not going to do that and I would not buy him a cake either.

On the morning of his birthday, I work up, put the card I had for him in front of him and went to shower. When I came back, he was awake but he didn’t see the card. I wished him Happy Birthday and we went to shower. I moved the birthday card from the bed to the dressing table hoping he would see it when he comes out of shower and gets ready.

To my dismay, he didn’t see the card for another 10 minutes so I ran out of patience and gave him the card :). When I asked him why he did not see the he said he did not have his glasses on!

He read the card and hug me and thanked me for making him feel special. He was happy with the card and a watch, the one I bought before we left10884014-horz

As the cruise always served a lovely breakfast, we went for breakfast. When we opened the room door, we got a card for AS from the cruise.The breakfast was as usual awesome with too many options to choose from.

We just went to stroll around the cruise after the breakfast and I let him do the things he wanted to. I really wanted him to enjoy his day. As if everyone knew that it was AS’s birthday, the lunch that day was Chocolate Extravaganza.  Imagine AS’s happiness when we went to the dining room :).

Chocolate Extravaganza (4)

It is a chocolate buffet with items you can’t even imagine. I am sure AS was able to get “chocolate high” by just looking at those items. Just have a look on what they served. Lots of different chocolate items like chocolate wontons, chocolate cake, banana fritters, fudge , puddings , chocolate-dipped churros, home-made marshmallows, doughnuts , jelly candies, and fresh fruit that can be dipped into chocolate fountain and much much more.

Chocolate Extravaganza (5)Chocolate Extravaganza (1)

We had a lovely lunch and we went to watch a magic show. The magician was just OK but we had fun. When we came back to the room, we found a plate of cakes and chocolate covered strawberries left in the room. It was just perfect.

AS's Birthday (4)

It was “Elegant Night” that evening on the ship so it was a perfect opportunity for both of us to dress up for dinner.

AS's Birthday (10)

I wore my black floor length gown and he wore his purple shirt, purple tie and black pant with purple stripe. By then both of us were tanned and I have to admit, he was looking great and I feel blessed to have him in my life.

AS's Birthday (13) AS's Birthday (12)

As everyone was wearing their best evening dress, when we walked out from our room to the main hall, the hall looked amazing and it reminded me of the moment from Titanic when Rose (Kate Winslet) comes to the ballroom and  Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) sees her. Anyway, we had a great time walking around and taking photos and mingling with other guests and it was time to go for dinner.

AS's Birthday (11)

AS asked me again if he will get any surprise and I promised him that I hadn’t organised anything. So as usual we met other couples from our table. They wished AS Happy Birthday and then we started our dinner. The dinner was awesome with a 3-course meal. We were spoiled with choices of food and by the time for dessert I didn’t even want to eat anymore.

As we were conversing on the table, one of our new friends told me that she had informed the waiter that it was AS’s birthday and as we saw nights before that, everyone in the restaurant room would sing the happy birthday song once the cake is out.

AS's Birthday (8)  AS's Birthday (6)

I was glad that AS was getting the cake for his birthday. So after our dessert came, our waiter brought a cake with a candle for AS. AS was literally blushing when the waiter announced to the whole restaurant that it is his birthday and we all need to sing the song. So more than 100+ people sang happy birthday and he made a wish and blew the candle. I am glad AS enjoyed his cake and it was a happy evening for us.

AS's Birthday (5)

After dinner, we went to the show and it was just amazing night for both of us. AS had a great day in the middle of Pacific Ocean for his birthday.

Once we were back, I had organised a party at our place for New Year but I sneaked in a cake with the help of my SIL. When the cake came out and we all were singing happy birthday, AS was confused as it was few days past his birthday.

AS's Birthday (3)

I was so glad and he had no clue we were having a cake for his birthday. He made me promise not to do anything on the ship but I had made no promises for our home so it was my opportunity to make sure he gets a proper cake for his birthday.

AS's Birthday (7) AS's Birthday (1)

The cake was chocolate mud cake, AS‘s favourite and we all loved it.

AS's Birthday (2)

I am just happy that AS got two cakes for his birthday and he had a wonderful time both the days. I hope to celebrate many many of our birthdays together and with full of love.

AS's Birthday

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO