Gift handling - tip requested

What would you do if you were gifted very very generously from someone unexpected ????
Folks ... pls respond.

A guest we invited for our house warming gifted us very very generously ... the types you would gift for very very close circle. The said person is not really very close. BP and I didn't know what we should do ... infact BP felt that the said person (a young bachelor) is perhaps unaware of the gifting amounts and we should call him and return the gift. I thought that would not go very well with the gifter. (is that a word??? ... gifter / giftee hahha)

What would you do?

General updates

Recap of events in the Cantaloupe household over the past few days:

• My project ended as predicted on 13th Feb. Had been to the office to return my laptop / badge and clean up my desk. (there was absolutely no items to clean up ... my desk was just ready to be occupied!! Wish my house was as clean ... sigh!) Felt strange going to office after almost 4 months ... yes, had been working from home. The commute of 1.5hrs each way was costing a lot of precious time of mine and I had decided to work from home. Thankfully no one seem to complain ... of course they wouldn't ... I worked sincerely ! Three hours that was gained by "No commute" proved precious. I could not ensure Cantaloupe had the breakfast and was dressed just the way I wanted her to be for her school. It also meant that I could complete all the dinner prep work before Cantaloupe was home ... resulting in uninterrupted time with her till BP took in charge.

I was a busy bee when I was working and looked forward for a long weekend or a family outing. Strangely I am home now looking for my next client assignment, and it feels I have all the time in the world. I just cannot sit home like this ... I hope I start working soon.

• My sister started her first job ... we surprised her with a cake and gift the night before she started work ... she was touched!
• Finally watched Taare Zameen Par ... liked the movie ... but somehow with all the talk about the movie, my expectation were sky high and I felt the movie did not live upto my expectation. Had I gone without pre-notions, I would have definitely enjoyed it better I guess. Cantaloupe watched starting parts of the movie (I am sorry dear for putting you through this) and she was so involved and touched. A cheerful little girl suddenly looked quiet and pityful around the time Ishaan was sent to boarding. (of course she understood the movie in parts ... ) She could not stand the separation of the child from his parents. She started crying uncontrollably and just wanted the movie (torture for her) to stop. BP tried his best to cheer her up ... but no luck. Finally I told her that Ishaan would go back to his parents and that he was there at the boarding to collect his prize for his drawing. As you would imagine, we watched the second half of the movie in parts ... since we had to take care of Cantaloupe. But she was only satisfied when Ishaan was given his prize at the end of the movie. I just cannot believe my little girl has grown so fast !!!
• Now that I am home, I have been preparing delicacies almost everyday!! Cantaloupe is more than happy to have them :) As always BP never says anything ... this man has never complained or appreciated food. He only cannot tolerate spicy food ... so as long as the food is not extra spicy, he just treats food the same. No complaints ... no appreciation.... hmm... is that good??? I don't know.
• Dad is thoroughly enjoying his work. He is so happy and satisfied with the responsibilities he has got upon his return to work after retirement. Its not everyday we see, a person getting the same responsibililties and powers he enjoyed before retirement, after returning back. (and mind you, he took a break of over a year, before he was requested to join back. I am glad he visited us during his break and spent the summer with us)
• Congratulations to all expecting moms in the blog world... summer promises to be a baby season !

Event planning

Just as I had noted in the 2007 annual updates, BP was chosen as the committee member of a local club here. The initial few days saw no bounds to his enthusiam and thoughts. He had so much energy and ideas ... but there was a problem in store. Over the next few weeks, he realised that implementation of the ideas was not as easy. Firstly due to lack of time because of commitment at work / family, but most importantly because of lack of support from other members. Obviously other members had their own priorities. Soon, I took over a lot of responsibilities from BP. Thankfully I had my sister's support. (well, she had similar responsibilities shifted from her husband who happened to be part of the committee as well).
Now, most planning / implementation of the club activities are handled by me and my sister. To be honest, it is stressful with a full time job, house chores and a toddler at home. But I continue to work for the committee for several reasons. I don't want to let down BP's committee ... I'd not be happy if BP is responsible (even though partly) for not contributing to the continuation of a committee which was formed with lot of effort and hope to socialise. And to be honest, I enjoy organising parties, events, programs etc ... only I wish that was the only thing I was required to focus on.
We have so far organised a camping trip and one sports day. The next event is scheduled first week of february. This time again, I have been scambling some time to plan for the event. So far, I have been able to come up with a drama script (sis has been of great support), have come up with food menu, have decided on a game show (the details are yet to be sketched out), narrowed the theme for the drawing competition for the kids (I should not take credit for this one, the theme came from one of the passive members of the committee). The prizes have been purchased ... the event hall booked.

I am just hoping that everything will fall in place for the event ... just praying !!

Reasoning ....

Its been a while since I last posted … reasons …

· Major cleaning / organization sessions took place in our house past 2 weeks. We got rid of a lot of stuff, donated some and re-arranged others. Spent quite some amount on the storage boxes … but end result is satisfying. Our closets look so organized that even BP is making a conscious effort to maintain it.
· Shopping: Went with the intent of buying some storage boxes … but couldn’t control the year end deals and ended up buying quite some. Afterall I was getting rid of a lot of clothes, so needed some new !! Bought a super cool griddle … dosa making is a piece of cake now … even so because BP loves spreading the batter and making it on the new griddle. The exciting part is we can make multiple dosas at the same time with little or no oil and they turn out perfect, crispy and large enough !! Why didn’t I buy this one earlier???
· We all had a cold / cough suffering days … so were not in the best of health.
· Cantaloupe was home (winter break) and kept us on our toes almost 15 – 16 hrs a day! BP and I were home too … so it was fun family time.
· Sister is back from India … which means I snacking on all the goodies almost anytime in the day. The weather has been on the cold side, so those Chakkalis and Kodbales and Chuda taste extra special. (even more so since they are home made). Tasted “Dharwad Peda” after almost 4 yrs and it was divine!!
· Scripting for a play to be performed in our local community club. Planning has been slow for the event … hopefully things will fall in place quickly. Feb 2nd is fast approaching.

Now there you go … I have all valid reasons for not blogging!!!