On Second thoughts

Oprah Winfrey - My Role Model

2012-01-26T04:29:00.000-08:00

Oprah Winfrey is in India! Awesome. I’ve always loved Oprah Winfrey’s talk shows as she manages to touch a chord in you at all times! How often I have thought of sending her a mail expressing my admiration for her and for the encouragement and confidence she instills in me through her shows! But then, I’ve felt intimidated and never got the courage to sending her that missive. Courage? How ironic that I did not have the very courage she advocates for women all over the world! I even harbored an impossible distant dream of being in the audience during her talk show. Well, I know, that Oprah does not believe in the word impossible. Maybe I should change the timid me!

Now, Oprah is here in India, closer to home! It’s wonderful to see her in our settings since she feels so real and lifelike to us rather than at a distant studio in Chicago. She wowed the audiences and the shutterbugs with her characteristic simplicity. Her magnetism is so very powerful that she had the masses mesmerized!

Seeing Oprah against our conditions and the manner in which she spoke about our way of life, made us to admire her many times over! She is so eloquently precise in her observations and non judgmental. She hit the nail on the head when she said, ‘India is paradox. People live here in chaos and calm both.” She was enamored by people having alters(Pooja rooms)in their homes, ‘People don't talk here religion but they live it". She could never understand the Indian joint family tradition, but seeing it in person, she was full of admiration, ‘But having spent some time, and having a dinner at a home with a family with 4 generations in one house, I now get it. I really get a sense of how really glorious it is, that this is a country that has no respect for nursing homes, because you take care of your family and you don't put your family in nursing homes. I think that's a, I'm most amazed by that.’ But sadly, this tradition is changing, with more children going overseas to work and parents are left in senior citizen homes.

It’s obvious that she adores interacting, talking and listening to people. She loves people. Hence, it is no wonder that though she admired the Taj Mahal , she was more fascinated about the people- King Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. She said, ‘The Taj Mahal is beautiful, very nice, he really loved her, I would like to say, he really, really, really loved her, to build that monument, but it means nothing, as you know, without the people.’ When asked if she was going to ask for a Taj Mahal to be built for her, she replied, ‘I think it would be completely unnecessary. I think my life has been the Taj Mahal, I think.’ Indeed yes! Awesome.

There must be a million reasons why she is a media moghal, the Talk show’s queen and so on and so forth. But, as I sat glued to the TV, soaking in her interviews, her brushing shoulders with the Royalty and partying with the glitterati, she came across as a person enjoying and infusing the adulation and above all being enriched by a unique experience. She is powerful and influential yet totally humble and realistic.

What touched me the most was her visit to the slums or rather what she said about the slums. Unlike the regular media people who love to sensationalize news even at the cost of humiliating and mortifying the victims, here is a sensitive and discerning woman who says, “It was important for me to go to slums but not show the worst of the worst, but show that people can live in poverty and still have hope and meaning in their lives,” She sees the heart of the people! ‘I'm a connector with stories. I use stories to connect people and show our humanity, not our lack of humanity.’ That’s Oprah- full of empathy, sensitivity and a very humane heart. She is indeed an exceptional and lovable journalist!

That is the very essence of Oprah, my role model and idol!

Also..

Oprah Winfrey: World's most powerful celebrity by Laila Rajaratnam

The Essence of Not Forgetting Your Roots

2012-01-19T05:26:00.000-08:00

On Dec 31^st 2011, I was in Bangalore at a shopping mall to pick up some fresh and lush salad leaves and fruits (not available in our town) before driving back home. I decided to visit a school friend who resides a little further away. Since my husband was not familiar with the roads and the location to my friends place, he suggested that I take an auto rickshaw. I hailed a passing auto rickshaw, gave him the address and asked him whether he could wait for 15 minutes and bring me back to the mall. He agreed very politely.

On the way, after some pleasantries, like where I was from etc, he told me about himself which amazed me. It seems, a few years earlier he had come to Bangalore and started his career as an auto rickshaw driver .Gradually, he branched out to other side businesses like Real estate, Rail ticketing and Car Rentals. He now owns cars and has 3 running businesses .But on Dec 31^st every year, he takes out his auto rickshaw himself and plies passengers around the city. He wants to devote one day of the year to the profession that made him what he is today! Here is a person who did not want to ‘forget his roots’. I was full of admiration!

How often we see people throwing their weight around when they gain power, position or money. They would love to forget their humble beginnings! Their inflated egos, makes them think that they are invincible and infallible. Success and fame can come to anyone, but the one who never forgets his roots will be able to sustain his success and fame. Pride and arrogance are the result of forgetting one’s roots and has been the cause of many a great men’s downfall!

There’s a saying…

‘Do not forget your roots,

And know,

Without roots there are no fruits’

The very essence of not forgetting your roots is that you know who you really are and what made you into whatever you are now! Your head is indeed firmly placed on your shoulders!

Above all, never forget to remember the people who raised you, reared you and gave you the sense of self! They gave you roots so that you can take wings!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie take an auto rickshaw ride during their stay in India for the filming of 'A Mighty Heart'

Strawberry Preserve

2012-01-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

I could not believe my eyes! An organic store down the road in this small ‘don’t get good stuff’ town I’m living! Anyway, I was all agog and made a visit straight away to the store. I was so very excited to see organic strawberries, passion fruit and fresh figs. I happily bought the fruits that caught my fancy. Did I stop to ponder what I would be making with all those stuff? No! At least not till I came back home ,washed the fruits and was done admiring all the farm fresh fruits! And then it hit me. What do I do with all this stuff? I had no choice but to preserve them .Surely I can put the preserves to good use as icecream and desert toppings when my kids come home!(That is, if they last till then.)You see, I just love toppings especially on ice creams.

Of course, you all know that the difference between a jam and a preserve! With jam the fruits are mashed up into a spreadable consistency, whereas with a preserve the fruits are cooked whole and set in their own jelly.
Here's the recipe for my homemade Strawberry preserve.

Strawberry Preserve

1 kg (1000gms) -Strawberries

3/4Kg (750 gms) -Sugar

1/2 - lemon

Wash and hull the strawberries. Wipe the strawberries dry with a kitchen towel. Don’t use bruised or overripe strawberries.
Put the strawberries into a wide based vessel.
Add sugar to strawberries
Add sugar to the strawberries.
Leave the strawberries to soak in the sugar overnight. The strawberries become hard when soaked in sugar and hence, will not disintegrate when it is boiled .
In the morning, when the crystals of sugar are completely dissolved, bring the fruit and sugar to boil in a heavy bottomed pan.
Squeeze in the lemon juice.
While boiling, remove scum with a spoon if there are any.

Cook on a medium heat for about 10-15 mins.
Test for the setting consistency to check if the preserve is done.

To test the setting consistence -Chill a plate in the freezer for 5 mins. Pour a tsp of the preserve in the chilled plate. After 30 seconds, tilt the plate. If it moves but does not run, it is done. If it runs, continue cooking for some more time.I prefer it a little runny , as it thickens in the refrigerator and it is much easier to use as toppings for ice creams and desserts.

Strawberry Preserve topping on Ice Cream

That's it!!Try it!More wholesome than the store bought preserves!

Cheers to 2012

2012-01-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

The very word ‘New Year’ sends everyone in a tizzy, as it is that time of the year to make the regular annual New Year Resolutions! Yes, it is time to make life- altering goals! We get another chance to reflect on the changes we want or to rectify. Moreover, making New Year resolutions is honestly soul satisfying and it has a feel good effect on you! You feel like a brand new you!!

As a kid I used to write resolutions since everyone around me was writing them and did I feel so very good about it? Yes, but then, I don’t remember those resolutions lasting long- hardly a month or even less! When you slip up on your resolutions, the guilt feeling and the embarrassment of a failed attempt is indeed heavy. So I made a resolution never to bother with New Year resolutions I can never keep! And, let me hasten to add that I have stuck to this resolution. Neat, isn’t it?

I read somewhere that ‘A person who breaks a resolution is weak’. I’m totally crest-fallen! However, the next sentence lifts my spirit, ‘And the person who makes a resolution in the first place is a fool’. I’m elated! I’m not alone !

Well, usually taming the bulge and a strict fitness regime tops the list of New Year Resolutions. Though it is prudent to change your lifestyle for your wellbeing, I have personally experienced that some exciting event like a family wedding ,an interesting get-together or something like that is a huge motivation to trim down that unsightly fat and it is easier to maintain the new lifestyle atleast for a while. So use any appropriate time of the year to start your motivated lifestyle change, so that there is no chance of casting your reformation to the winds!

Warm friendly smile

Even though I do not write down New Year Resolutions, I do have a few simple mental list of attitudes, actions, and beliefs that I follow diligently all through the year. It’s actually quite easy and effortless. Try it and you will feel really good!!

Here it is..

Have a warm friendly smile for everyone-at the malls, on the road, wherever. A smile knows no geographical or religious barriers .It is a universal language. You’ll be surprised at the number of smiles returned back to you!

Have a kind word to the elderly and the workers toiling away.Stop and spare a few caring words to them. It will make their day. Be extra nice to the elderly. Never forget that we will be there soon!(Maybe, I am already there?)

Have a thankful heart always. Be thankful for your blessings, at all times.

Have a cheerful heart constantly. Never regret your past mistakes and weaknesses. Grow from it.

Have faith that God will answer your prayers according to His will in His time.

Always be yourself. Never put on an act or pretend to be someone you are not.

Surely this commitment is easy, isn't it? Give it a go!

I also love Benjamin Franklin’s quote...

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man/woman."

3 Step Christmas Log Arrangement

2011-12-01T02:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a simple 3-step rustic Christmas arrangement made with a wooden log , few artificial pine leaves , poinsettia and reindeer.

Step1: Take a wooden log.

Step2: Arrange a sprig of artificial pine leaves and poinsettia flower.(Add pine cones if you like!)

Step3: Perch a Reindeer or Santa on top.

That's it! Your 3 step arrangement is done! Isn't it tremendously simple?At the same time isn't it extremely elegant? Yes,it is!!:)

My Christmas Floral Arrangements

2011-12-01T02:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas, decorations , floral and twig arrangements go hand in hand. Here are some of the arrangements I made for Christmas.Ofcourse,it would'nt be perfect but I enjoyed making them and I just love looking at them everyday of this yuletide season!

My favorite geese peeping down

A Silver themed centerpiece

An orange themed decor

A Silver themed dry arrangement

My dining table candlestand centerpeice

Candle stand arrangement

A twig cornucopia with poinsettia and holly leaves

Add caption

Bird House Floral Arrangement

One day I had this urge to make a bird house!There was no wood at hand nor a carpenter in sight!My eyes fell on a styrofoam sheet standing in the corner of my craft room.I decided to make a bird house with styrofoam! Of course,this bird house is not meant for the outdoors, but I have hung it in my sit-out where it is not exposed to rain!
For Christmas my bird house doubled as a cute table decoration after I perched a poinsettia on the roof to give it a christmasy look!

My Birdhouse Arrangement

For instructions to make this Styrofoam Birdhouse, follow this link...

Styrofoam BirdHouse

Well!!Nothing is more satisfying than creating your own Christmas decor and admiring them day in and day out!!:)

The Power of Counting Your Blessings

2011-11-24T06:46:00.000-08:00

‘Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done’- A hymn that I love!

Here I am with my parents!

This is exactly what I decided to do this Thanksgiving 2011 and with a flourish I started penning down the countless blessings I have been showered upon!

First and foremost, I thanked God for my life, my parents and my childhood.

I thanked God for my five younger siblings who have been a huge moral support and a lifeline for me all along!

With my 4 younger siblings

My beautiful grand mom-the sweetest, gentlest, soft spoken and the kindest of all grand moms- I love you so with all my heart!

My husband of 40 years and my in laws, especially my brother in law, who we lost a year back. It was wonderful knowing him.

I thanked God for blessing me with 3 beautiful children. The happiest days of my life belonged to the time when they were at home and I was the center of their lives!

I’m grateful for my beautiful home and garden, my computer and the game Farmville (my companions in my empty nest)!

The youngest spoilt brat!:)

Above all, I thanked God for health. Health is wealth indeed. What is wealth without health?Nothing!

As I was half way through writing out my blessings, I realized that I could hardly remember my troubles (of course, there are many!) and it dawned on me that the power of counting blessings is unmistakably real ! I was absolutely soaked in positive energy, positive emotions, vitality, and optimism. Counting my blessings and reliving happy memories made me happier, grateful and above all put a smile on my face. It is indeed an effective mood booster! Maybe we should call ‘counting blessings’ a ‘gratitude exercise’? I am regretting for not doing this ‘gratitude exercise’ more often! It would have done me a world of good by annulling my negative thoughts when I've been in dumps.

This gratitude exercise also made me to reflect how I had always reacted when I had been under the spell of either positive or negative thoughts. When in a positive frame of mind, I’d be bubblier, laugh out louder and my eyes would shine brighter. But then, when in a negative mindset, I don’t think I had ever been pleasant- always grumbling, moody, stressed out and whatever! Yes, this is an eye opener for ME !

Our positive thoughts do reflect in our body language and we attract more people around us with our warmth, friendliness and exuberance. To have a positive thinking mindset we need to have positive thoughts constantly on our minds. It may not be easy but we can try and question ourselves frequently what we are thinking about? Is this thought positive or negative? Would it help us improve our lives or whether it is pointless? Over a period of time thinking positive will become a habit!

The following verses ‘season for everything’, from the Bible, Ecclesiastes,Chap3, have always been very powerful for me.

‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted….

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn and a time to dance…..

A time to get, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to cast away..
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time of war, and a time of peace.’

These verses have always been a perfect antidote for my negative thoughts and depression.When things go wrong, I always think that it is a season and I feel the positive energy flowing back into me. Yes, there is an appropriate time for everything. Surely rainbow will follow each rain!

Finally, I thanked God for showing me the power of counting blessings and to have a positive attitude and a positive mind set in whatever situation.
Happy Thanksgiving 2011! :)

My 3 babies-a son and 2 daughters


My beautiful grandmother-I dedicate this Thanksgiving 2011 to my grand mom

Holiday Twitter Birds

2011-11-24T06:44:00.000-08:00

Here are a few Christmas Twitter Birds for your blogs and websites!Happy Tweetmas!!

Twitter Bird with Santa Hat Animated Twitter bird

Twitter Balls

Christmas Twitter Bird.

Click.. Read More..

Winter Twitter Icons

Add caption

Cute Twitter Animated Bird

Christmas Twitter Bird

Cool Birds

Christmas Social Media Icons

2011-11-22T01:51:00.000-08:00

The countdown to Christmas has started ! Here are some awesome Social Media Icons for your blogs or websites .Yes,choose whatever fancies you - it's the season for decorating , spreading joy and cheer. Go ahead, your blog or website needs a holiday makeover! Happy downloading! :)

Blogger Xmas Icons

Cute Christmas Stocking Media Icons

Holiday social Media Icons

Christmas Social Icons

Click.. Read More ..to view more Icons.

Xmas Social Networking Icons

Social Networking Icons

Social Media Christmas Balls

Glossy Christmas Social Icons

Christmas Ball social Icon Set

Xmas Globe Icons

Christmas Social Icons

Christmas Icons for Social Media

Winter Social Icons

Christmas Social Bookmark Set

Christmas Icons

Green Icons

Snow cubes Social Media Icons

Hope you enjoyed snagging these free icons!

Cute Twitter Icons

2011-11-21T03:33:00.000-08:00

A Little Birdie Told Me....

Here are some real cute compiled Twitter Icons for your blogs or websites.Go ahead and dress up your site with one of these cute birds.Download them from the Header link .Enjoy!

Pretty Twitter Birds

Friendly Twitter Bird Icons

Black Twitter Icons

Hand Drawn Twitter Birds
Read More...

Cute Twitter Birds

Adium Twitter

Twitter Icons

Cute Twitter Birds

One World Twitter Icons

Friendly Twitter Bird Icons

4 Hand Drawn Icons

Girly Twitter Icons

Twitter Icons

Blitter Twitter Bird Icons

Twitter Birdies

Twitter Icons

On the Beach

Lovely Twitter Icons

Twitter Reading Bird

Twitter birds

Singing Twitter Icons

Big eyed Twitter Bird

Big eyed Cream Twitter Bird

Splashnology Twitter Birds

Tweet Pillow Icon

Hope you enjoyed this cute collection of Twitter birds ! More to follow! Have fun!

The Allure of Teapots

2011-11-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

My precious teapot-belonged to my grandmother

Teapots! The awesome pot with a spout and handle! Why do teapots fascinate us so? Maybe, we love tea? Or could it be that they are so pretty by themselves? No wonder teapots have become tremendously popular as collectables. Moreover, weren't we imbibed with teapot awareness right from childhood? Who does not remember the teapot nursery rhyme even after many summers and grey hair?

My Collectables

"I'm a little teapot,
Short and stout
Here is my handle
Here is my spout
When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout
Just tip me over and pour me out!"

Of course we all know that it takes just a tea bag and an electric jug to make a cup of tea! But then, that won’t do for real tea lovers! Tea lovers love their cuppa brewed in the pot with a beautiful tea cosy thrown over it. Sounds so very quaint!

‘Strange, how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company.’ ~Author Unknown. So very true and spot on!

My corn teapot on my microwave

Teapots have become a collector’s delight and collecting teapots is not a storm in the teapot! Not only do teapots come in many styles but also in a range of textures like cast iron, stoneware, bone china, porcelain, glass and brightly colored ceramics. Above all, the imagination, ingenuity and humor in crafting teapots have made teapots a collector’s dream. Certain teapot designs mirror the taste and history of a particular era as well!

There are innumerable awesome collectible teapots for every season - Valentine’s Day teapots, Halloween teapots, Mother’s Day teapots ,Easter teapots, Thanksgiving teapots and Holiday teapots . Christmas teapots make the most beautiful Holiday décor. They look so decorative and festive anywhere, whether perched on your microwave ,fridge, kitchen cabinet or in the nooks and corners of your dining room or kitchen. There are even miniature Christmas teapot ornaments and teapot serial lights to add a touch of charm to the Christmas tree.

My fav white pot

Whatever the array of teapots , be it vintage or new, seasonal or functional, Victorian or modern, Asian or Chinese, they are all so appealing, fascinating and enthralling. Hence,it’s really quite hard for an avid tea drinker like me , to resist the allure of TEAPOTS!

MY sister's collection of teapots

Check out the fascinating collection of teapots at Our Store.

Bilberry Preserve

2011-11-09T03:20:00.000-08:00

Bilberry! Never heard of it, till my daughter’s friend gifted me a jar of homemade Bilberry preserve from Kotagiri in Nilgris (a hill station in South India)for Christmas last year. It was the most awesome berry preserve I‘ve ever tasted!

Bilberries

Bilberries are related to Blueberries, but are smaller and darker in color and since the bilberry plant is difficult to grow, it is seldom cultivated and are collected from forests in hilly regions. Here in south India , Bilberries are found in Nilgris, they have tremendous antioxidant properties which are considered very effective in improving night vision, lowering blood pressure and for diabetics.

Armed with this information, I wanted to buy Bilberries when I went to Nilgris for our school reunion in the first week of September2011. To my disappointment, I was told that Bilberries are never available in shops and moreover the harvest season had just got over (between July and August). I was crestfallen. Anyway, the day we were to leave Nilgris, being Sunday, we went to a very cute Church in Coonoor and after service there was the church sale. Guess what I saw on a table? Bilberries! I could not believe my eyes and I nearly jumped for joy! I managed to get just one kg of bilberries and here is the Bilberry preserve I made and trust me, it is the yummiest of all preserves.

The difference between a preserve and a jam is that, with a preserve the fruits are preserved whole in their own jelly whereas with jam the fruits are mashed up into a spreadable consistency.

Bilberry Preserve

My home made Bilberry Preserve

1 kg Bilberries

¾ kg sugar (you can reduce the quantity of sugar )

¼ cup water

Nip the tiny stalks and wash and clean the berries thoroughly.

Put it in a vessel along with water and sugar. Simmer for about 45mins to 1 hour till setting consistency is reached. Be careful not to break up the berries while stirring . That’s it! Done! Your Bilberry Preserve is ready!

Bilberry Preserve on bread

Bilberry Jam

My Homemade Bilberry Jam

1 kg Bilberries

Bilberry Jam

¾ kg sugar

1 lime

Wash the Bilberries, put it in a pan and mash it well with a wooden spoon. Add lemon juice, sugar and simmer.Just before setting point, ladle out a cup of jam and run it in a food processor for just one whirl.Put it back in the pan and simmer till setting consistency .While warm bottle it.That’s it.

Absolutely delicious and scrumptious as toppings on Ice creams, yogurts, pancakes and desserts .

The Church in Coonoor

The cute church in Coonoor

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt Ice cream

2011-11-07T01:28:00.000-08:00

My Ice cream maker

Of course I’m an Ice cream maniac! My family knows that only too well! Hence, when my sister came down from USA she carried a huge parcel for me as a belated birthday gift. When I unwrapped it, guess what popped out? Cuisinart’s Ice cream and Frozen Yogurt Maker! Wow, was I thrilled? Yes and yes. (This ice cream maker is not available here in India.)From now on, no more store bought unhealthy ice creams - only nourishing and wholesome frozen yogurts with fresh fruits and frozen sorbets will do for me! I made Vanilla Frozen Yogurt and Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt the very next day I unpacked my Ice cream Maker.

Here is the simple refreshing tangy fresh frozen yoghurt I made :

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt Recipe

Frozen yoghurt with Bilberry topping

2 cups strained Yogurt or Greek-style yogurt or Hung curd
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Churning away

Pinch of salt
Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla essence and salt. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Pour it in your ice cream maker and run the machine. In 20 minutes your frozen yoghurt is ready!Yum!

Tip:
If you do not have an ice cream maker..no problem! You can freeze it in a tray in the fridge. For softer consistency, when partly frozen, take it out of the freezer, beat it well with a wooden spoon and freeze again. Done!

How to make 1 cup of strained yogurt :
You need-
2 cups - good quality plain whole milk yogurt.

Strained Yoghurt

Take a strainer with very fine mesh, and balance it on the rim of a bowl. Put the yoghurt in the strainer, cover and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The next morning, the liquid from the yoghurt would have drained on to the bowl and the curd in the strainer is thick and creamy. Your strained yogurt is ready for use in any recipe of your choice.

Vanilla Frozen Yoghurt

With Strawberry topping

Suggested toppings-

I love to have my frozen yoghurt with :

· Homemade Strawberry Preserve ,

· Homemade Bilberry Preserve

· Chopped fresh fruits particularly bananas.

Enjoy! :)

The Journey of Chocolates

2011-07-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

‘Lead me not to temptation’, I pray as I walk past the sinful array of dark, milk, white, and liqueur chocolates. My spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak! I give in to my temptation and buy some of the sweet sensation and as it hits my taste buds and glides through my throat..hmmmmm...heaven on earth!

The cocoa pod and roasted beans

Have I ever thought how chocolates are made? No, not exactly! Maybe, chocolates just dropped from heaven? Well, I never did have the inclination to really think about it till I visited a chocolate factory during my trip to Malaysia with my husband, sister,brother in law and niece.

The tourist guide announced that we were to visit a Choc Factory.

Wow! Was I excited? My first ever trip to a choc factory ! He took us to a place called Beryl’s Chocolate Kingdom. When I entered, I could just see shelves and shelves plus rooms and rooms of varieties of chocolates . It was more like a choc store! I guessed that maybe the guides were paid to take tourists to the store,after all, as tourists we do end up buying loads and loads of stuff- mostly unwanted!

Mixing machine

Anyway, they did have a few miniature models of choc making machines and a staff from the store explained how the chocolates are made from cocao beans in
such a hasty, brief and speedy manner that I hardly got the details. But I was sort of dumbstruck at the amount of work that goes into the making of chocolates .

Ofcourse, we do know that chocs are made from cocoa beans harvested from Theobroma cacao tree and it seems that climate and soil play an important role in the flavor of the coca beans. Whatever! The pods look like rugby balls and when they ripen, they turn from green , yellow to orange or red. The beans are left to ferment for several days till they become darker and wrinkled. Then they are sun-dried for a few days and sent to choc factories.

Here is the gist of the journey of chocolates from cocoa beans and this brief description is good enough for me as I'd rather concentrate on the finished products on the counter!

Conching Machine

First, the beans are roasted, to loosen the husk and dry up the nib. Roasting also influences the flavor and color of the final chocolate
Next, the roasted cacao beans are transferred to a 'winnower'. During this process the beans are cracked by into pieces and then winnowed (blown by air)to separate the husks from the nibs. The nibs contain the cocoa butter and cocoa solids.
The nibs are then milled or ground to a rich paste to create cocoa liquor.This liquor does not contain alcohol.
The liquor is then pressed to remove the cocoa butter and a powdery stuff known as 'cocoa presscake' is left behind. This, presscake, when ground, becomes the common cocoa powder.
Roller Machine
In the next process ,milk powder,sugar,cocoa butter and coco mass are mixed together.
And put in a Roller Machine for a refining process.The mixture passes through a series of rollers until a smooth paste is formed. Refining improves the texture of the chocolate
Then, comes Conching. The liquid chocolate is kept in a conching machine which is sort of a kneading machine and it chafes, heats and aerates the batter.
After this, comes the process of tempering, where the liquid choc is transferred to tempering kettles as it is essential to keep the chocolate in liquid form
Finally, the mixture is put into molds and cooled in a cooling chamber.

Liquid chocolates poured into moulds

Awesome! The work load that goes into making these wicked pleasures is truly mind-blowing !As I was pondering about the extra calories in chocolates, it dawned on me that chocolates are really really good for health. You may ask how. Well, everyone knows that vegetables are incredibly healthy for our body. Chocolates come from beans and the sugars in it come from sugarcane – both plants!! Voila, chocolates are veggies!! Don’t feel guilty, just enjoy chocolates! Did I read this somewhere ? ‘I am not over-weight. I am chocolate-enriched!’
Very true,indeed! :)

The rows of chocolates

The variety of chocolates

The strange paradox of Indian women

2011-07-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

India is a land of many inequalities ! On one hand you have powerful women ruling the country and on the other hand the plight of women and girl child is appalling.

Click here...

Women Power in India

by

Laila Rajaratnam
...and read on for more.

My Ice Cream Mania

2011-06-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

My yummy sugar caramel canape ice cream in Malaysia

'I scream, you scream

We all scream for Ice cream.'

As a kid, I considered that as the most perfect, ultimate rhyming poem. As a teenager, I reflected that Wordsworth, Shelly and Shakespeare's verses in all their glory, were not a patch on this Ice cream rhyme. The very word ‘Ice-cream’ sends a chilly tingling sensation through me! It was love at first taste for me, when the first dollop of ice cream hit my taste bud and did I experience a symphony of ecstasy? Most certainly yes and I was hopelessly hooked!

My ice cream bucket planter

I still remember vividly, standing impatiently in my mom’s kitchen as she churned ice cream in a manual wooden ice cream bucket .That wooden ice cream bucket, the source of a great deal of icy raptures and bliss, is still with me, but then, the wooden bucket coordinated perfectly with my living room decor , that the poor ice cream churner now serves as a container for my plant ! It really does look so very cute though!

Once, while sitting through a very boring sermon half asleep, I heard the word ‘ice cream’ My ears pricked up and I was all attention personified. The preacher was saying that our Maker is like an ice cream maker – he creates us in different flavors. Awesome! What a delightful thought! God, an Ice cream maker? Well, this concept impresses me. I think I would like to be the minty choc chip flavored ice cream, with maybe just a little hint of Kahlua liqueur for added flavor? Done, that’s decided.

A birthday sundae I had at Singapore

Back then, while growing up, Vanilla, Strawberry, Pista, Chocolate and Mango were the only flavors available here, while there were about a couple of exotic deserts like peach Melba and Banana split and a sundae containing two or three scoops of assorted ice creams with chocolate sauce and nuts topping. That’s it!That’s about all ! Surely the present generation will shake their heads in utter disbelief at this measly choice, but we were quite happy, after all, icecream is icecream. Then came along another slogan -‘Monday, Tuesday, we want Sundae.’ Sounds adorable! Now the market is flooded with unimaginable amazing flavors of ice creams and gelatos!

I don’t know if the following story is true or a myth. It seems, an ice cream vendor at a fair, did not have enough vessels to serve ice cream, so he took the help of a waffle maker and rolled up the ice cream in waffles and served . Thus, waffles and ice cream were invented. A real innovative genius, in the category of Edison and Newton!

Thro’ my life’s journey, I’ve learnt the following frosty icicles of wisdom-

“Ice-cream transcends all ages... Ice-cream never lets you outgrow it.’ How very true!

The internet is also cashing in on the icecream passion where e-cards sites call July 13^th as the Ice cream month! Ice cream cone day is supposed to be on July 23^rd , Soft Icecream Day on August 19^th, Banana Split day on Aug22nd , Icecream sundae Day on Aug 2^nd and so on and so forth. Well, well.. what can one say?

And finally, in conclusion I’d like to add, a teeny weeny twirl to the Bards famous words:

”Age cannot wither the fascination for ice creams nor custom stale its
infinite flavors”

My sister and I in Singapore.

Why am I eying my niece's ice cream ?

An Array of Twigs

2011-06-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

(Do-it-yourself)

Coconut leaves

Look around your garden! You will find umpteen varieties of twigs. Why not make an arrangement out of those twigs? Nothing is as satisfying as making your own arrangement. This twig arrangement was made out of the stuff from my garden!

You need.

Some hard twigs

A cane bowl or any bowl,on which twigs can be stuck.

Few artificial flowers

Materials

Styrofoam or oasis

Soft twigs. (I had used dried coconut leaves cut into strips)

ethod

Step 1.

Apply white glue on the container. Gather the soft twigs and spread white glue on it as well. Smoothen the twigs and press it on the container. Press it well. Let it dry.

Step 2.

Glue twigs onto the container

Cut the styrofoam or oasis to fit the container and arrange the twigs and flowers according to your imagination.

Step 3.

If you want to paint the container to match your décor ,use a suitable matching paint. I had painted it dark brown, to go with my decor.

Step 4.
Place the dried arrangement inside the container.

Paint Twig and place the arrangement inside the twig container

Yes, that’s it! Your home made twig arrangement is ready!

The Seven Damsels

2011-06-20T05:24:00.000-07:00

(Never mind if they are grand moms , moms in law and

in-waiting moms in law)

The Seven Damsels

Party time!

There are these seven damsels,

Tucked away in a remote corner
of South India,

But then, there burns a flame

Inside each one of them,

To make footprints in the sands
of time.

Munira, loaded with fun ideas to
create terrific get-togethers,

Bindiya, the fashion diva,

Uma, the dancer with delightful twinkle toes,

Sureka, the writer and journalist,

Lashmi, the resourceful, handling everything over her cell phone,

Shashi, the social worker and Tamil poet

And last but not least, Laila the dreamer!

Potluck Lunch

Like crayons of various hues,

This bunch of assorted damsels

Share a common love for

Laughter , fun and cooking .

Each damsel is an unique individual

Doing her own thing her way

But together times are beautiful times!

These damsels sowed seeds
of friendship,two and a half decades ago,
And now they reap bushels of amity and happiness!

Like fine wine their friendship has gotten sweeter,

Like antique it has become valuable,

Like river it just flows!

Whether they could make footprints in the sands of time one cannot tell,

But they have certainly made footprints in each others' hearts!

The Trekking Damsels

The Eco-Friendly damsels..

Planting trees at Lakshmi's estate.

The Symbolic Damsels on Women's Day!

Back to our World

2011-06-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

I’m back! Back to our world! Back to our normal, regular good old chaotic world. Good. But then, where had I been? Maybe, kidnapped to an alien world? No, I was just sort of sucked into a virtual world, a world that had me in its clutches for a year and a half. I was dangerously close to being devoured by this virtual world’s quicksand.

My villa and crops

It all started in such a harmless manner. I bought a piece of land in this virtual idyllic world, where I built my own house, my sheep and pig pens, nursery barn, chicken coop, with the help of amazingly wonderful neighbors. I ploughed , sowed the lush virgin soil and harvested bushels of crops, raised chickens , watered the seedlings ever so lovingly and grew them to trees. I even bred polka dotted and star sheep and not to mention the checked and striped pigs. Awesome! I had a stable with a variety of such handsome stallion and mares, that they could put any Arabian horse to shame. I was so very engrossed tending to my farm from morning till midnight , that I shunned my real-time friends and outings. I abandoned my passions like dressing, cooking and writing. But the biggest casualty was my figure. Did I go out of shape? Of course not, I am still in shape! Round is a shape is’nt it?

The virtual world to where I was transported is, FARMVILLE- a farming game in Facebook. It ‘s a wonderful ,peaceful and beautiful world where neighbors lived in perfect harmony - ever ready to help you out, the animals and birds were so cute and colourful and to top it all, you could even harvest cupcakes, fruit bars and grow cotton candy trees, bubblegum trees , gem and crystal trees as well. Is’nt it just perfect! The ultimate Eden. Let me hasten to add that I am not giving up on Farmville totally but just spare it a limited time each day!

Returning back to reality, I decided to rehabilitate myself by doing the following:

Wrote this blog
Cleared my outdated cosmetics and expired dated cream and lotion jars.
Emptied my closet of those nightmarish clothes I used to hang around at home while working hard at my farm.
Enrolled myself at a gym
Planned a shopping spree over the weekend

My friends and loved ones rejoice that they have found their lost one. Am I a prodigal daughter?

A corner of my English Country side

My fruit-bar crops

Earn money from Video Blog

2009-09-18T07:13:00.002-07:00

Yes, you can make money from video blogs as well. A video blog? Yes, a video blog is when you make a video, link it to your blog and publish it on the internet for the whole world to see. It is also known as vlog.

All that you need to start a vlog are:

* A camcorder or a mobile phone or even a web cam (A web cam is fine as well , but a digital video camera will produce better results )

* A computer with video editing software installed onto it.

* A blog.

* An RSS feed to "syndicate" your content.

Additional tip - Instead of the microphone built into your camcorder or web cam

use a separate microphone so that you will be able to produce a much better sound quality. Yes, that’s it! That’s about all you need to start a vlog!
What about the topic? You can make a video about anything that fancies you, but do pick a topic that you are passionate about ,so that you can continue to make episodes after episodes. Would you like to share your happiness, your talent, your craft ideas, a humorous episode, or maybe even a product that you would like to market? Just ANYTHING as long as it holds the attention of your audience!
You can use a variety of video file types like Windows Media, Quicktime, Real Media and MPEG to make your video. But then, FLV (Flash Video) or SWF (Shockwave Flash) file formats can be viewed by both Mac and PC users .
After you are done with the shooting of your video you can edit it in the Windows Movie Maker software that comes free with windows XP. You will be able to save it only as a Windows Media file (.wmv) but you can convert it with converters like Pazera Free Video to Flash Converter 1.1 to any format you want.
Now that you are done and ready with your video, upload it to your blog and create a RSS feed to syndicate your site. Yes, Done! Voila! You have started your very own video blog!Now you can make money from your vlog just like you would on a regular blog! In course of time you will develop your own style and there is no limit to creativity. Don’t hesitate, just do it! Your video doesn't have to be great, just enough to hold the attention of your viewers! Happy shooting and all the best in your endeavor to make money! :)

Copyright © 2009 laila. All Rights Reserved

Internet is like Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde

2009-09-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

Internet has a got split personality like Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde! How so? Well, you see, the internet has become the very core of everyday modern life .It is an excellent source of information, unparalleled in history. The whole world is dependant on it right from instant communication, instant information, entertainment, services and E-commerce. This is the good and positive side or the Dr.Jekyll side of the internet!
On the other hand, as with all science and technology innovations there is a negative side to the internet as well. The negative side is mostly a replay of all that happens in the real world. This negative Hyde side of the internet is a dark sinister one, where people commit crimes, show negative and antisocial behaviour audaciously because of the anonymity the internet provides. The internet offers people a world wide platform to air their views and thoughts, which criminals use to their advantage. Many official looking websites and hate communities are created focusing on hatred, violence and racism that sound natural and normal influencing young minds in particular.
Another most disturbing negative trait of the internet is pornography which is located in just about every corner of cyberspace. These are available for easy viewing by children and teenagers .With the internet, child pornography has flourished and so has the ability of pedophiles to connect with unsuspecting kids has increased enormously. The chat rooms are another haven for stalkers, pedophiles, perverts, racists and cult members who can easily befriend anyone on the internet, especially a young child .Moreover the easy access to emails, messengers and web cameras are dangerous for vulnerable minds especially if they have struck friendship with objectionable characters.
The internet has also unleashed a new breed of criminals indulging in cyber crimes like phishing , identity theft, hacking computer, sending virus ,salami attack and many more. Cyber terrorism is a recent threat, where terrorists routinely communicate with their henchmen by steganography and encrypting messages into image files. Other disadvantages are that there is no quality control for certain publications since anyone can publish on line, whereas on the other hand a treasure trove of information and knowledge is available. Last, but not the least the predicament of getting addicted to the net. This addiction is looming so large that family and social life is being affected all over the world.
Despite the fact that internet can create chaos and devastation if misused, the positive side of the internet by far outweighs and compensates the negative side of the internet! So, with two sides to it, the internet is just like Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

A writer in the making

2009-08-26T22:14:00.000-07:00

I browse through the stationary shop, feeling the smooth touch of papers. My mind is racing.. shall I pick up the onion skin paper, plain white notepaper or the handmade paper ? No wait! I'll pick up the recycled paper. It makes me feel real good and smug about myself. I've done my bit for the world environment. Why do I need these papers? Because, I have to write! I know I can use the word processor, but then, having a few sheets of exotic paper around is a good idea. You see, I had always wanted to become a writer, right from my college days, never mind that was more than 30 years ago! I still feel like when I was in college, don't I? My mirror can go and crack itself. Its important how you feel and not how you look. Right ?

Next I eye the neat array of pens. A writer should have a good pen! All the brands look so shiny and classy. Parker, Sheffield, Waterman , Pelikan , which do I choose? Oh gosh! Shall I pick up the ball pen or fountain pen or just gel. The colors? Flashy red , black? Well, I'll settle for the dignified navy blue. It will suit my image of a serious writer! Then I decide on a dark tan leather file to keep my papers, that odious plastic file is an absolute no no!

I walk back home, already feeling like a writer and pass by an electronic shop. What's that shining like a pearl on the display window? Its a laptop, a white Apple laptop! Yes ,I definitely must have that one. It's so chic and I am to be a chiclit writer, honestly, I am! How can I write without a word processor? A laptop is a must. The laptop that I bought six months earlier, is already a tad ancient and slow with all the spy wares and adwares happily sitting inside the machine. I keep walking , calculating how to pay the bill if I do buy it and of course it hits me! I'll pay it all back from the earnings I make from writing! Good, that's settled!

I reach home and look at my tiny corner. That chair does look uncomfortable! Doesn't it? I'll have to spend hours sitting and writing. Maybe, I'll buy a white leathered cushioned one to match my laptop. With my mind full of calculations, I open my engagement book. Dear me, I do have a party tonight !Oh no, tomorrow there is a baby shower and the next day, my friends are coming over for a girlie weekend .Gosh,I have appointments for this whole month, just like last month and all the months before that. Never mind, relax,I'll start writing from next month. What's the big deal? I have waited 30 years to become a writer, so another month of waiting will do no harm!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

32 Social Networking Icon sets for Craft Blogs and sites

2009-08-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

Icons! The icons in your blog or website reflect you. It speaks volumes
about you, your likes and taste, your moods and state of mind ! So, I spent hours scouring the web to compile these amazing and astounding social networking icons just for you! These will definitely look real awesome in crafter's blogs or site. Social bookmark icons on your blog or site, are so very essential, as they are the keys to the door of communication to your social network sites! Of course, social networking has become a way of life, whether it is to be in touch with the global community, your family or even to promote your business! Therefore, keeping in mind the artist in you, these icons were handpicked to touch your aesthetic chord ! :)

Click Read More to view the 32 Social Networking Icon sets for Craft blogs and sites.

The sets include social media graphics for Delicious, Reddit, Linkedin, Digg, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Technorati and Twitter as well as commonly used icons such as RSS etc.
Enjoy picking the icon after your heart! :)
Check out the Cool Social Networking Icon sets here.(Coming soon!)

Web 2 Origami Icon Set

Hand Drawn Doodle Set
Glossy Waxed Wood Social Networking Icons

Social Media Icons by Plechi

Hand Drawn Photoshop Social Networking Shapes

Social Icons Hand Drawn

Sticky Notes Social Media Icon Set

Free Hand Color Stroked Icon set

Coffee Stain Social Networking Icons

Page Peel Free Social Media Icon Set

Orange Grunge Stickers Social Bookmarking Icons

Handy Icons
Black Magic Marker Social Bookmarking Icons

Social Grunge Icons by Tydlinka

Social Bookmark Sketchy Icons

Woodgrain Social Media Icons

Worn Cloth Social Networking Icons

Post Stamp Social Icon Set

Black Ink Grunge Stamps Social Media Icons

Wooden social Icon Sets

Handycons - Hand drawn Social Media Icon set

Retro Grunge Stripes Social Media Icons

Hand-drawn Social Media Icons

Watercolor Social Networking Icons

Free Crumpled Paper Social Networking Icons

Grunge Social Icons

Glassy Space Social networking Icons

Hand-drawn Sketch Icons

Color Pencil Social Media IconsGlossy Social Icon Set

Whitewashed Star Patterned Social Bookmarking Icons

Grunge Style Social Bookmarking Icons

Please do drop in a word if you enjoyed this or was useful to you! :)

40 Cool Free Social Networking Icons

2009-08-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

Here’s a fabulous offering to all the social media enthusiasts on the lookout for wonderful icons! Feast your eyes and pick and choose whatever fancies you! I have bunched together some amazing and incredible social networking icons just for you! I enjoyed the hours of slogging, admiring the vibrant works of art from these great designers!
Hats off to these awesome artists who create superb graphics and offer it to us for free! :) Click Read More to view the 40 Cool Free Social Media Icons .

White Magik Social Icon Set

Social Icon Set

Boxblu social network icons

Red & White Pearl Social Media Icons

Vibrant Pattern Social Media Icons

Wild Twist Social media Icon pack

Social Bookmark Icon Sets

Stitched Denim Blue Jeans Social Media Icons

Dellifeed Icon Set

Cheers Social Icon Sets

Yellow Black Striped Grunge Construction Icons

Aquaticus Social Media Icon Set

Fall Leaves Social Icon Set
Antique Glowing Copper Orbs Social Networking Icons

Social Media Icons
Glowing Neon Social Networking Icons

Starry Social Icons

Dark Denim Social Media Icons

Glowing Pink Neon Social Networking Icons

Elegant Social Media Icons Version 2.0

Chocolate Social Media Icons

Cafe Icon Set
Social 2 Duo

Nurture Social Icon Pack

Socialize Icon Sets

AlteredIcons 40+ Social Media Networking Icon Set

Social Icons

Green Jelly Social Bookmarking Icons

Social Web Buttons
Heart Social Icon Set
Glossy Black Social Media Icons

Social Media Icons
Icons Clouds

Social Icons - Knobs

Black Inlay on Steel Social Media Icons

Glossy Orange Orb Social Media Icons

Transparent Glass Social Bookmarking Icons

Drink Web 2.0 Social Networking Icons

65 Social Icons

Please do drop in a word whether you enjoyed and liked this collection!

Earn money from your Digital Camera

2009-08-19T06:33:00.001-07:00

Do you go about clicking away gleefully with your digital camera at everything and anything? And have you by any chance, been a wee bit impressed with all your photos? Then, do consider making money from your hobby! Make your digital camera your money spinning device. Sounds cool? Well it is! Freelance Digital Photography or Stock Photography has so much demand in the internet that you can make a tidy packet with it.Yes, go ahead and give it a shot! You do not need any expensive photography equipment, special printers, special photography training or diplomas for stock photography. Just your passion and your digital camera will do!

What is stock photography? Your photographs are bought by a company and stored in a database. These photographs are then licensed to publishers, advertising agencies, and other companies for their use. There are a many people out there willing to pay for your hobby like newspapers, magazines and book publishers. Even websites , stock photography sites , postcard printers and the travel industry postcard printers require these photos.

All you do need is a:

• Digital camera (minimum of 4 mega pixels) with 3X zoom.
• Access to the internet.
• A Light box.
That's it!

How do you earn money from the photos? First, you upload your digital photos to stock photo sites and whenever someone downloads your photo they pay a royalty to you. You can submit your images to more than one stock agency site and you can earn money with the same photograph all your lifetime! Moreover, you are allowed to sell the same photo a 'number of times'. Thus, each time a person purchases your photo, your royalty will earn money for you.

How to sell your photos successfully:

1. Sign up in Stock Photo Sites:
These stock photography sites will act as an agent to advertise and sell your photos. Register in at least 3 stock sites and make money from those sites at the same time.

2. Learn all about your Digital Camera:
Read and understand the user manual and experiment different modes and techniques with your digital camera. Many professional photographers use simple Point and Click cameras to shoot close-up, macro photos. Set your camera to shoot the highest quality and largest size photos.

3. Find out how to sell your photos:
You should explore and study what kind of pictures sell. Learn how to sell and where to sell. Send only quality photos. Photographs with people are the highest selling stock photos.

Few tips before sending in your photos to photo stock sites:
• Never provide exclusive rights to anyone.
• Refer to the Terms and Conditions of the photo stock agencies.
• Get a Model Release (which is a no-objection certificate) signed from people who pose for your photos.
• All your pictures should be watermarked, so that no one can steal them.
• Make sure that your image is original and truly copyrighted by you.

Don’t be disappointed and frustrated if you are rejected in your early days due to poor quality, or not having commercial value. Don’t quit! Never give up! Keep on practicing! You will be successful in stock photography in no time!
Good luck and start earning!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Top 5 Stock Photography sites

2009-08-14T11:07:00.001-07:00

The dawn of the digtial camera era has seen the mushrooming of many budding amateur photographers. Yes ,you too can become a photographer and all that it takes for you to become one is a snap! Or maybe a click! Actually many clicks! :) Just snap , click and shoot away as many pictures as possible .Your digital camera does not need film, right? And THAT is a great boon. In course of time you will learn all about lighting, backgrounds and staging your digital photos for better effect that you would become skilled at the subject!
Some helpful hints before you submit your photos to photo stock sites:

• When you apply, you will have to submit a few sample images. Your photos will be estimated for quality.
• Shoot some sample images with bright light and preferably inside a photo light box.
• Always, always upload only the best images.

• Use relevant keywords. If your keyword is bad, your image will not sell or be seen, no matter how good your image is.
• Check out the most in-demand image subjects and do not wast your time uploading the least requested photos.

The 5 top stock photography sites where you can exhibit your photography skill are:

1.Fotolia - http://www.fotolia.com
The ideal files size that Fotolia demand should be at least 2000 x 3000 pixels. for web use and print use

2. Dreamstime - http://www.dreamstime.com/
Dreamstime requires that the images should be at least 3MP in size or more and it must in RGB JPG format only.

3. BigStockPhoto - http://www.bigstockphoto.com/
This site requires you to take a photographer test after studying their tutorial pages. If you get through the test you, then you can upload your photos, which will be reviewed by the editors.

4. iStockPhoto -http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php
iStockPhoto specifies that the images should be in RGB JPG format and a large file. All files should be 1200 x 1600 pixels minimum - anything smaller will be automatically discarded.

5. ShutterStock - http://www.shutterstock.com/
This site has a referral program from which users can earn money. Images must be at least 2.5 megapixel to be accepted and new photographers’ minimum size is 4.0MP.

Two other great websites to consider are crestock.com and StockAndPrints.com.

You make your own inexpensive Light Box at home to take awesome professional photos! You will find a great tutorial here.

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

The dreaded Writer’s block

2009-08-08T17:57:00.001-07:00

I’m feeling absolutely and totally uninspired and unable to write! Words just don’t seem to happen. Why is my mind blank? Why am I not getting any ideas? What is this new occurrence I am experiencing? My head feels like a block. Like a block of wood or a block of ice? Perhaps like a block of building? No, this feels different! Moreover, I feel a sort of panic as well.

However, I have heard of a situation where writers have a temporary inability to think and write. Of course, these happen to be my symptoms at this point in time! I’m inept at getting even a single sensible sentence on paper or my word processor. Right now, all that I’m capable of, is to stare at my blank sheet of white paper and my black keyboard! I am at a total loss for words .Yes, that’s it! I have the dreaded Writer’s Block - a writer’s nightmare!
‘If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad ’- Lord Byron. But dear Lord Byron, my mind is so very empty that I’m going mad because I’m not able to write!

Well, technically, writer’s block happens due to depression, physical illness or even financial pressures. A sense of failure, the pressure to produce work, the end of a relationship may also contribute to a writer's block. In a few cases the stress of living up to a previous big success can also cause writer’s block. A writer and neurologist Alice W. Flaherty has contended that literary creativity is a function of specific areas of the brain, and brain activity being disrupted in those areas can cause the block. Whatever!

Ok then, fine, its time for me, to put into action all those amazing awesome advice I have read about when one is struck by the dreaded block. I’m off for a walk now, to get some fresh air - it oxygenates the brain as well! Then, maybe I’ll do some meditation, watch a cool movie, catch up on my family and friends and basically, take a break! Certainly, tomorrow is another new dawn, another new day, and hopefully new ideas will roll out as words!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Are internet writers lowering the writing standard?

2009-08-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Has the internet led to a lower level of writing standards? Well, definitely yes. Of course, there is a huge battalion of amazing good professional writers on the internet, but at the same time there are a zillion aspiring writers who have jumped on to the bandwagon of writing, by the opportunities provided by the internet. Ahem..you can consider me, one as well !:) The internet is constantly throwing up new and exciting modes of communication and there seems to be opportunities up for grabs for everyone!

Writing for the web and writing for print are poles apart. When writing for the web, the writing standards are often not the highest priority, as the web sites focus more on driving traffic to their sites to either market or promote their advertisements. Furthermore, the web visitors too, just skim through the writings seeking specific information. They do not seem to have the patience to read in detail or be bothered about the writing quality, as long as they hit upon the info they are seeking! Content is all that matters while the traditional writing techniques are totally ignored.

Oh, the joy of reading perfect English with traditional writing techniques on print! Don’t we sit down for hours on end with a book and savor each word and expression and feel the situation and emotions? Then, why is it, when it comes to reading on the web , we just browse through it all,ever so quickly? Maybe, we are in a hurry to go to the next site in the hope of finding better information!

Though we have a wealth of information at our fingertips on the internet, we are also bombarded by people voicing their opinions with incorrect English and spelling errors. Yes, there may be people whose native language is not English ( like me),but then one has to go an extra mile to sound good and write a little aptly .A reader has to be pampered. A reader should be able to relax and enjoy reading. A reader should in no way be under stress to analyze what the article is all about!

Unfortunately, we do see a trend where many non native English language writers ,do not even realize that they are writing in faulty English. Just because they make sentences with a few English words, they deem themselves to be good writers.

Anyway,by following the tips given below, just before publishing whatever on the internet, anyone can write well:

* Make some effort to follow the fundamentals of the English Language.

* Never translate literally from your native language.

* Spell check

* Grammar check

* Learn new words and idioms everyday.

* Use a word processor.

* Ask some one to proof read your article before submission-you will learn a lot like that!

* Have an open mind to accept your mistakes and correct them.

And, finally the most important tip - read and reread what you have written. Reading your writing the next day works wonders in improving it.

‘It's never perfect when I write it down the first time, or the second time, or the fifth time. But it always gets better as I go over it and over it.’-Jane Yolen

In conclusion, never ever think that it is acceptable to just publish whatever! Even if it is for the forums, it should be proper. Thus, by following these simple steps the internet’s writing standards will definitely improve.

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Earn money writing

2009-08-06T07:41:00.003-07:00

Are you a writer ? Would you like to expand your experience? Would you love to reach out globally?Well then,if so, online writing is just the right option for you! Or perhaps, you always wanted to be a writer but never did know how to go about becoming one. No worries. There are some sites where you can submit your articles and if you can get paid for it, wouldn’t that be gratifying as well?
There are many paid to write sites and there are equal number of scam sites as well. You do have to be so very careful not to waste your time with them. These paid to write sites offer cash and not gift cards or prizes.

The writing sites generally have the following methods of payments for the articles submitted.
1) One-time payment sites:
Sites like DailyArticle, Constant Content, Textbroker and Demand Studios make a lump sum payment on per article basis.

2) Upfront payment sites:
In Associated Contents and Helium sites, you may get paid upfront payments as well as ‘click money’. Click money is payment for each time someone clicks on your articles.

3) Passive income sites:
These sites either pay a writer based on the page views an article has generated like Triond Suite101, Shvoong or allow writers to display Google Adsense on their articles and take a cut from the revenue earned like Hubpages and GZYN

4) Specialized writing categories sites:
These sites focus on specific topics. At Letter Rep, you'll find only letter writing assignments, Wisebread focuses on finanical issues, Storymash specializes in works of fiction whereas Ground Report and Newsvine deal only in news articles. Payment schemes varies from site to site.

5) Liaison Sites :
Sites like Guru, Elance, Odesk and Get A FreeLancer are not publishing sites but they connect and liaison between writers and publishers. These sites generally take precautions to safeguard both the writers and as well as the publishers from getting cheated. Payments are always on a one time basis unless a writer is able to strike a sort of private arrangement with a publisher.

6) Scam Sites:
There are sites like Academia-research and Essaywriters.net. which are scams.Poetry.com is another scam site which promise that your winning poems will be included in their forthcoming collections and then go about asking for payment to get them published!

Warning: Stay away from sites if they-
• Ask for money
• Don’t pay up their upfront rates.
• Their websites do not exist
• Want you to do a test assignment
• Don’t spell out their requirements

So then, Good luck and Happy Writing!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

About Blogs and 'Dear Diary'

2009-08-06T07:41:00.001-07:00

Blog! It’s the modern version of ‘Dear diary’. Oh, how we hid our diaries from prying eyes and kept it so very private! Well, all that has changed now. The trend now is to let the whole world know what you are doing, what you are thinking, your ideas and opinions on this , that and other about everything! First, you will be intimidated by the fact that your thoughts are out there exhibited to the whole world but then, slowly but surely you do get the hang of it and the obsession to publicize your thoughts becomes overwhelming and you are hooked!

‘Dear diary’ belonged only to you but your blog belongs to the world! There’s more to it. Your blog can earn you money. Well..well.. well. So, the idiom ‘a penny for your thoughts’ is true after all! A decade back, surely if someone had even suggested that dear diary will go so very public,you would have pooh poohed. No soothsayer had prophesied the magnitude of the blog phenomena.

Didn’t we keep a dried pressed leaf or a flower, a card or whatever souvenir in our diary? It was for our eyes only and we did think it made our dear diary so very cute filled with these mementos. Whereas now ,as our blog is for the world to see, pictures and visuals with a dash of audio are added to the blogs to catch the attention of the readers. In the early stages of blogs, they were just textual but then as the blog’s popularity became extensive, the blogs got categorized according to genre and so you have, Artlogs, Sketchblogs , Photoblogs , Vlogs(video blogs), MP3 blogs and audio blogs called Podcasts. Hmm.. Quite a category and genre! To top it all, the obsession to publish one’s thought is so great that it is quite a vogue to write blogs on mobile devices like mobile phones or PDAs and these are known as Moblogs!

‘Publication is a self-invasion of privacy.’ quotes Marshall McLuhan.Oh no,not any longer.The passion to publicize one's thoughts and actions is so great that micro blogging is the fad now! It is about publishing one liners on whatever you are up to! Like Twitter or Tweeting for instance.Do you feel about something? Just publish it. Do you have an opinion about something? Just publish it. Are you doing something? Just publish it .Thus,micro blogging and sharing your thoughts and feelings instantaneously with friends and family and the whole world in general is the flavor of the month!And you do have a variety of categories or genres on the menu list to choose from.Happy blogging! :)

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Are you at a loss to choose a topic for your blog?

2009-08-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Are you tossing and turning to decide on the topic of your blog? Well, it is indeed the very foundation for a successful blog! Have you noticed all those poor blogs lying scattered - dumped or neglected on the blogsphere. Why? It’s because those bloggers had run out of content ideas. Therefore, take some time off and decide on the topic before starting your blog! A successful blog needs time , dedication, hard work and effort. A blog without a plan is a total waste of time. Just follow the tips given below and you will definitely have a successful blog .

1. Choose a topic that you are ardent and dedicated about :
Are you in love or passionate about something or anything? Then, pickup that subject! The enthusiasm for your topic would naturally reflect in the sincerity of your writings and will gel with your readers. You will be able to stay motivated for a long time only with a subject you are really interested in. No matter what your topic is, whether it is about cooking, reading, automobiles, gadgets ,news, tips, comments, articles or anything ,as long as you are fervent with the topic, it is sufficient!

2. Select a theme you can write a lot about:
There are already so many bloggers out there on the web! And you do have to attract readers, right? So,choose a theme where there is scope for expanding ,besides, you will be writing for global viewers. You should be able to update your topic regularly to keep your content fresh.

3 Pick a topic you would like to discuss and debate with others:
You should be able to discuss and debate your topic with your readers, as successful blogs are all about enjoying discussions from various viewpoints and perceptions!

4 Decide on a topic you enjoy exploring:
To keep your blog's content interesting and relevant to readers you should be able to offer the latest trends in your topic. You would have to do a bit of digging for the latest news and moreover, if the topic is after your heart, you will love all the digging, plowing and shoveling!

Chew over your subject and your topic wisely before you take the plunge!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Build Brainpower

2009-08-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

Build Brainpower? Yes, just as we build muscles through physical exercise, we can build brainpower through mental exercise - that’s what researchers have suggested! To have mental competence, your first step should be to exercise your mind! I recently came across a real cool word called ‘mental gymnastics’ and I was immediately taken in with the word as I thought that this word is so very apt for mental activity. Of course, our brains get rusty with disuse, just as our muscles shrivel without exercise and so certainly it is a good idea to work out our brains regularly. Our daily to-do list should include a healthy diet, some physical activity, and of course mental gymnastics.

What mental activities are helpful for mental stimulation? Well, the following activities are real good brainpower boosters.

• Crossword puzzles
• The Sudoku number puzzle
• Scrabble, the word builder
• Learning new languages, crafts and so on.
• Reading stimulating books on philosophy, mystery stories, different cultures and religion that make you think.
• Solitaire (card game) and Mahjong games are alsogood for mental acuity.

Apart from these mental activities, bust yourself with these busters to boost up your brains!

• Stress buster: Stress causes memory lapses and so practicing meditation, yoga, or exercise for a few minutes daily helps in reducing stress.
• Solitude buster: Take time out to be with friends or family. Be connected and maintain an active social lifestyle.
• Eat Brain-Healthy food: Antioxidents, omega-3 fatty acids, fruits, vegatables, unsaturated fats are all linked to a healthy brain.
• Sloth buster: Be active by walking, doing household or garden activities and aerobic exercises as well.
• Mental Dust buster: Learn new intellectual games and activities to keep the mind sharp.

Since it is a fact that even in old age the brains can grow new neurons, most age-related memory loss is simply due to inactivity and a lack of mental exercise and stimulation!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Should seniors start a blog?

2009-08-03T05:30:00.001-07:00

Most definitely YES! Blogs are the ‘in’ thing and if you don’t have a blog ,you are not cool! Since blogs are like personal diaries you should most certainly have a blog to share your experiences and your wealth of info with others! Remember that , as long as you have something interesting to say, there will be a large number of people on the internet who will not mind reading it. In fact they may even want to! You can write about anything –your life, your opinions, about someone you admire, any news you found interesting, your political commentary, or links to web sites you liked - just anything as along as it is interesting.

If you are a marketing expert, you can start a blog about marketing .Some professional and amateur journalists dominate a large chunk of worldwide audiences by using blogs to publish breaking news, political debates and so on. You can post photos that you would like to share as well.

‘The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium.’ ~Norbet Platt

Apart from this you get the chance to meet like-minded people over the internet, have a sense of purpose, build your self confidence and of course it does wonders to your Brainpower!:)

What should you do before you start a blog? Well..browse around, sniff around a little, looking at other blogs to have an idea about blogs. If, you are a beginner, like me, I would not recommend you to look around too much, as you may be disheartened seeing all those awesome, amazing and incredible blogs . Decide on a theme - chew over your subject and your topic wisely.

Now the final step! Just get started! You will understand more and all about blogging when you try it out! Yes, that’s what I did. I just started and I got the hang of it! It’s real cool! I would suggest - start a blog to become skilled at blogging!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Happy Surfing,Senior Citizens!

2009-08-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

There’s great news! Internet use is 'good for the brain' -that’s the latest research news. It is believed that using the internet helps boost brain power especially for the middle-aged and older people. Great! Now you can spend hours happily browsing with the knowledge that your brain is being benefited by the browsing.

Of course, it is a well known fact that as the brain ages, a number of changes occurs, like the shrinking and the reducing of the brain cell activity. But now, a University of California Los Angeles team has established that searching the web enhances brain circuitry in older adults by stimulating centers in the brain that controls complex reasoning and decision-making. Thus, it also helps to counteract the age-related physiological changes that cause the brain to slow down.

Researchers have also discovered that compared to simple reading, the internet's various search and material options necessitate people to make quick decisions about what to click in order to get the relevant information. Thus internet searching requires analytical skills to distinguish relevant links from non-relevant ones and in the process it encourages brain activity and improves brain function.

Though internet surfing is good for the brain, too much time in front of the computer causes increased levels of stress, which is not good for the brains. So give your mind a break and practice Brain Wave Vibration. Brain Wave Vibration is just nodding your head up and down and turning your head from left to right and then from right to left.It will loosen up your neck and shoulders and reduces your stress level. Do ensure that your computer time is good brain time!

Since the brain likes new challenges, it continues to learn as we grow older too.And since these computerized technologies benefit the middle-aged and older adults , surfing the web has been added to the list of mind booster exercises. So, surf away happily and have fun surfing. Happy surfing!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Earn money from Affiliate Advertising

2009-08-02T10:48:00.001-07:00

Affiliate Advertising is one of the best ways that can help you earn handsome money from your blog. But then, your blog should be sort of established and has some traffic before you can think of monetizing by putting affiliate programs on it.

What exactly is Affiliate Advertising?
Affiliate advertising is essentially a process where an advertiser either places advertisements or pays a blogger to promote the advertiser’s products or services on the blogger’s site.
There are three main types of affiliate ads:

Pay-per-click -'The advertiser only pays for qualifying clicks to the destination site based on a prearranged per-click rate.'

Pay-per-lead - 'The advertiser only pays for leads generated at their destination site. No payment is made for visitors who don't sign up.'

Pay-per-sale -'The advertiser only pays for sales generated by the destination site based on an agreed upon commission rate. '

All these three affiliate ad types have one thing in common- they are performance based .You earn money only when your readers click on a ad or link or click on a link and purchase the product on the clicked link page. So, if you have more traffic you will have more viewers clicking on the ads in your blog and you will earn more money.

On the other hand, there are a few well-known companies that offer affiliate programs which you can place on your blog irrespective of how well established your blog is.

The following are the three popular ones in this category:

•Amazon: Amazon offers a wide range of ads like text links, banner ads and more. You can also place specific Amazon products to feature on your blog.
•eBay: You have the option to choose from the numerous eBay’s auction and find the precise products that you would like to advertise on your site.
•AllPosters: From AllPosters you have a choice of 400,000 products to advertise on your blog.

Apart from these Affiliate Advertising Programs , there are Affiliate Directories where various online merchants post their affiliate ad opportunities which you can review and apply to host a specific ad on your blog. But then, they will evaluate your blog in terms of popularity and traffic and hence, if your blog is well established then it is more advantageous for you. Dont just jump at the first ad you see and place it on your blog, but do a little research on each affiliate directory to find what suits you and your blog!

A few Popular Affiliate Advertising Directories in this category are:

•Commission Junction
•Associate Programs
•Affiliates Directory

A few tips:
1. Different affiliate programs offer different payments and credibility. Read all the terms and payment options before you sign up.
2. Select ads that are consistent with your blog’s content. If the ads do not go with your content it will be clicked on less frequently.
3. Do not put too many affiliate ads or your blog may look like a spam site. Search engines will mark your site as spam as well.
4. Do not expect huge profits overnight. It takes a while and patience to see results, but then you will reap the benefits soon!

Go ahead and give it a try !

How about Earning Money from Hubpages?

2009-07-18T04:59:00.000-07:00

Are you intimidated by the thought of starting your own blog, believing that they are all so very techno? Are you wondering what to do with all those amazing ideas, craft tips and how-tos that are brimming in your mind? Are you dying to share all your knowledge with the world? Well..well..well.. No worries! You have a wonderful option called Hubpages. What is Hubpages? Hubpages is an online writing community where you can write and publish any article on the internet free of cost and the icing on the cake is that you can earn money off your articles too! Cool! Thus, you can have your cake and eat it too!

Let me explain how you money on Hubpages.Hubpages has tied up with Google Adsense, Amazon, Ebay and Kontera and you make money from these sites. It works like this:

•First you sign up for Hubpages by filling out their online form (it takes just a minute to sign up) and create an account.
•Next, you set up your affiliate settings in your account page, by signing up for Google Adsense, Ebay, Kontera and Amazon.

Within a week your account will be approved by these sites and you will be given a code number. Put those code numbers into the appropriate account boxes. Now write your article and publish it.Google Adsense will place ads on your page and when viewers click on the ads, you make money! In the same way, you can place stuff from Amazon and Ebay relating to your content and when people buy the product by clicking from your page you get a commission. Like wise, Kontera will place contextual ads on your article and when people do click on it ,you make money. The revenue is split between you and the Hubpages site. You take 60% and the other 40% revenue goes to Hubpages. So, actually Hubpages is a revenue sharing site for writers, which splits and shares its advertising income with its members. Now how cool is that?

Thus, HubPages offers you the opportunity to make money without any financial investment from your part. But then, you do have to invest in writing good original articles and of course a good command over the language and grammar is a must!

Also do remember that the article you put up on each page is an individual webpage called the Hub. So, there is no need for you to know fancy web designing, Html and so on and so forth to create a webpage! Well, are ready to join Hubpages and start making money?

Maybe you would like to Take a Tour first? More over it's free to Join Hubpages.
Click here to Take a tour or click here to Join Hubpages for free. :)

Note:
Step by step instructions to join Hubpages will follow soon!
Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Is the writer in you sleeping?

2009-06-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

Dear writer-in-you,
Come on now, wake up! Your slumber has been a long one! Have you forgotten that ‘the pen is mightier than the sword?’ It’s time to pick up your pen! The writer in you is just waiting to happen!
Yes, your hands must surely have become stiff and rigid from not writing. It’s OK. It’s never too late to start writing! All that you need is a few warm up exercises and you are all geared up for action! Ready, start! Stretch out your hands and fold them -3 times. Open and close your fists-5 times. Can you hear your knuckles crack and groan? Good. Now you are set to get into the act! Pick up your pen or your word processor and do the following exercises:

1. Look around you carefully. Absorb in your surroundings! Now put your pen to paper or your fingers to your keyboard and describe all about your surrounding!
2. Next, close your eyes. Think about a happy moment which still makes your heart miss a beat. Open your eyes and explain that feeling.
3. Now, look deep into your soul. Do you feel a hurt? A pain? A helplessness? A time when you thought your world around you crashed! Well, look up and put that sad feeling in writing.
4. Admire the flowers in your garden. Does your mind get filled with ideas about how to decorate them ? Well, dash off something about how to go about doing it.

Excellent! Your warm up writing exercises are done. Don’t you feel the writer in you utterly and totally awake? Do you feel the ideas rushing to your head? Aren’t you full of pep and enthusiasm? Don’t you feel like changing the world with your pen? Well, then, welcome to the world of writing! You are a writer in the making! Just go for it!

'If you want to be successful, know what you are doing, love what you are doing, and believe in what you are doing.' — Will Rogers

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Make money on the Internet

2009-06-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Money, dough, green jack or whatever that crumpled piece of paper in your wallet is known as, it does make our world go round! So now that you are familiar with the basics of computer and have started browsing away happily..why not consider making money on the internet as well? Yes, there are countless ways to go about making money with your computer and on the internet. Is it easy? Of course it is..but remember a golden rule, ‘Never spend money to make money.’ At least for a beginner!

There are umpteen spam sites that will offer you 'get rich quick’, ‘make $1000 a day’ schemes and so on and so forth. But,do keep in mind that there is never instant money anywhere-on the internet or elsewhere .You have to work step by step to build up your base and money will just trickle in at first and then maybe a little reasonable amount, as you get the hang of it! You do need enormous hard work and patience .Hence, your financial investment should be zero where as your real investment should be hard work ,effort, patience and time.

“Money never starts an idea. It is always the idea that starts the money.”- Owen Laughlin

The advantages of making money online:
• You will have a sense of achievement
• It will build up your self confidence
• Keeps your mind active
• You become more and more innovative
• You will discover many different ways to make more money
Finally you become a pro! Money pours in!

You cannot make money by building an internet company, but you have to use the internet as a tool to create value and get paid for it.
The opportunities and the list are endless-which we will be dealing in the following posts. Just go for it! Yes, that’s it!

Copyright © 2009 lyla. All Rights Reserved

Make Money for Beginners

2009-06-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

For those who are just taking the plunge into the world of internet, in course of time something is bound to happen! You will feel the urge to try out and earn some money without investment from the internet. After all, that’s what you keep reading all over the net about how so many people have turned billionaires overnight and how to make $100 a day and other get rich schemes. Well, of course you should most definitely give a try to make money on the net! According to me, I would recommend two ways to earn money on the net for beginners.

1. Get paid to do surveys.
2. Get paid to read emails.

There are many, many paid to read email sites and paid to survey sites out there .You have to be careful tho’ as there are more scam sites than legitimate sites. How do you check out which are the genuine sites? Well, there are a couple of sites that help you in determining the paying and the scam sites. Check out both sites before signing up for the paid to read email.

1. Beenpaid.com - gives you a list of sites that are paying.
2. GPTboycott.com - lists sites that are known scams.

Here’s a small tip about evaluating good get paid to read email sites. First do check out their minimum payout level- that is, the amount of money you should earn before they pay you up. If the minimum payout level is like a $20 or more, just do not even think about signing up with them. Usually, most of these sites with high payout levels, have no intention on paying up their members. When people get close to the target payment, they just disappear. Anyway, in case you would like to give it a try, there are certain legitimate sites with very low payout level such as $1 or less or maybe even a no minimum payout level! Then there is a chance of you getting paid every month. For instance, Quick Rewards has no minimum payout level.
In the same manner, there are many scammers as well with the paid survey sites too. But then, there are many good sites and you do not have to pay money to do them. If you come across a site which demands a fee to join the so called survey site, then just forget them.

Here are a few websites that have allow you to earn some money without making an investment.

1. Survey Spot (www.surveyspot.com)
2. Global Test Market (www.globaltestmarket.com)
3. Zoom panel (www.zoompanel.com)

These sites pay the money to your PayPal account and you can withdraw your amount from your Paypal account. Dont have a Paypal account? You can sign up from here.

Nowadays, these sites reward you with sweepstakes entries and points. Hence ,my personal opinion would be to start a blog or website to make money!

My Love Affair

2009-06-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

It was love at first sight.. for me! You see, you are never old to fall in love! My new love happened after my children left home. How did it happen? Well, one day, I had gone shopping. Psst..I am a shopoholic. Suddenly my eyes fell on a elegant sleek silhouette against the soft beam of light .I was mesmerized by the sleek silhouette. I just could not peel my eyes off that silhouette. Here I was openly ogling first and then literally drooling! I am unaware of the eyes around me. I have this urge to touch and feel! Shall I? Shall I not? Then I say to myself, Why not? I take a step forward. The silhouette stood ground. Another step and another step and I was near.With eyes full of admiration I whisper unabashed,’ Come on..I’m taking you home..to my bedroom!’ I turn around to see many expectant amused eyes, but I say in a loud voice, ‘Yes.. I’m taking..this model .Send this home please!’ Thus my brand new computer arrived home to me! :) I was totally besotted and proud to finally own my own personal computer! I went on and on about how cool my computer was, and how much fun I was going to have using it!

Now, the next step! Its never too late to learn! Do not be intimidated by the technology and never ever think that you will ever be any good at computers because you didn't grow up with them! Just have fun playing around your computer and before you realize it ,you would have learnt the basics all by yourself. All that you need is some patience and you will learn by trial and error.Having fun playing around your computer ,will make it all the more easy for you to learn. The real reason why many people find it difficult to learn all about computers is actually very simple- it's their mental attitude!But then, they do have control over their attitude isn’t it? Now, surely, you do have the right mental attitude, don’t you? Well, so then, welcome to the world of technology! :)

On Second Thoughts!

2009-06-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

One fine day, the last of my brood flew away! That day is still fresh in my mind! I felt so lost and empty.I remember..looking around the house – everything looks so empty! Is this the same place which I found so full? Is this the same house where there was non stop activity ? My hands feel uncomfortably free with absolutely no work! What ever happened to the never ending load of work? What is this new feeling of uselessness creeping up on me? I had been a parent for most of my adult life and now I don’t know what to do with myself.

On second thoughts, I realized that we do have options in life.We can opt to be either sad or happy! We can opt to be either depressed or keep your mind off the emptiness and be active. The choice is for us to make. We have to search for the hidden joy in each moment and relish it. No one can do this for us! We have to do it all by ourselves. Once, I realized this..I set about changing my attitude and lifestyle.

I also remembered on second thoughts, did I not always want to spend some time aimlessly with no work? Did I not want to do stuff that interests me? Did I not want to curl up with a book? Did I never long to do things for me and only just for me? And oh, what about listening to my type of music? Was I never fed up with different types of music blaring from each room? Oh, yes and yes and yes! So, on second thoughts I decided to stop this moping and learn to cope positively!

Any way along the way there were lessons that I learnt.. I should have planned well in advance about what I would like to do when the children leave. By planning, I would never have felt so very guilty for following my desire for activities that interests me, as maybe the years of slogging does tend to put one on the defensive for wasting time on oneself! Besides, the most difficult of it all was to concede that your children will never ever need you in the same way again!But then, maybe I can look back with satisfaction at a life dedicated to my children!

Above all, just keep on thanking for all the blessings! Because, I’ve realized that by thanking, your positive vibes will ripple over and touch the lives of people around you. Many a times when I have been depressed and I close my eyes in prayer and what I see? No. Not my wants but just my blessings!

Welcome to - On Second Thoughts

2009-06-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

Make yourself comfortable and feel at home! I came across this quote recently. ‘Everyone has talent at 25. The difficulty is to have it at 50.’ - Edgar Degas. Oh no, pardon me! I don’t agree! We have just finished one phase in our lives-raising kids and the stuff and now we are off to the next new phase – a new chapter, a new leaf in our lives. We have all the time in the world to dust our talents, our interests, our ambitions and make a real major comeback to living life to the full! Let me hasten to add that this transition is not going to be so very easy or simple as it sounds! We do have some major shake-ups to do! Anyway, we are wiser, more patient, tactful and more confident. Hence, no worries. Just decide on what you would like to do and without doubt you can do it!