Move, Nourish, Believe.

Hey all..  How has March been treating you so far? My mum used to always say that March marches past fast .. It usually is the month of school exams.. It just goes too fast preparing for exams and stuff... Years after leaving school , I still feel month of March marches really fast.. First week is already gone and the soon it will be the end of first quarter of 2016. I have been busy reading books.. I am reading 3 now. I never do this .. I never start one book and move to the other without completing it.  I guess there is always a first time for everything :P . So the first one I am reading is Lorna Jane's MOVE NOURISH and BELIEVE... I don't review self help/lifestyle/memoir books.. There would always be parts you can relate to , parts you will find preachy, parts you don't agree .. So I've decided to take the good things ( from the book ) that suits me and leave the rest  :-)


It is such a simple logic to weightloss and healthy living. The book is absolutely simple and tells how following these three little steps ( philosophy ), you can achieve healthy life style. Thinking of it , honestly , it is so simple.. We will have to ensure we move enough and nourish our body with real food and not junk and then the best part is to believe we can achieve it .. To me, it is all about Belief without which it is impossible.. Belief installs self discipline in me.. The book definitely has made a positive impact on me ... Sometimes , all you need perspective in simple words.. If you get a chance , read it .. It would give you that extra umph..If you want to know more about Lorna Jane Clarkson and her philosophy , go to her website ..
http://www.movenourishbelieve.com/

The book is definitely inspirational.. My best takeaway from the book is keep my healthy lifestyle plan simple and just follow the principle Move , Nourish and Believe.. Such lovely thought to ponder on International Women's day.. Yeah .. how did you guys celebrate it ? My hubby wished me on the end of the day ( Better late than never :P ) .. Do women really celebrate it ? I doubt.. It is more commercial than real.. ( my opinion.. correct me if I am wrong :P )

I think I have mentioned how much I like the concept of establishing a morning routine .. Madame chic author Jennifer also speaks about it this week.. Watch it here.. Daily Connoisseur

Grab your coffee and read the best health, fitness and blog links of this week from Skinnyfitalicious here . - Skinnyfitalicious

Will catch up with you all next week with more fun things to read . I have got a busy weekend ahead ..so until then see ya ..bye bye ..

Talks of diversity ...

Hey all, How did the weekend treat you all ? My weekend was busy with the usual stuff ( grocery shopping, socialising , watching movies etc :P ) .. But what was more interesting was the 88th Oscars this week .. I saw it Monday afternoon ( in Australia , you see :P ..)  The sparkling Hollywood celebrities and the tantalizing show ... Did you guys watch ? The start was epic and very brave. The entire opening monologue of Chris Rock was just so good. Rock said in his initial words as host, "Well, I'm here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White People's Choice Awards." . He nailed it when he said it was opportunity that they lack. Hats off to him.. Loved that !!! Talks of diversity continued throughout the four hour broadcast.

Oh my word, Priyanka Chopra.. she looked absolutely stunning and did pretty well in presenting the award .. :-) An Indian at Oscars podium is special, be it presenting or receiving... I do not follow Hollywood closely. To me watching Oscars is like getting to know them. I was so keen this year because I had watched quite a few of the Oscar nominees. I had personal favourites .. So the entire thing was enjoyable although I didn't follow them fully :P . Leonardo DiCaprio ( ahhh finally .. ) and Brie Larson were my personal favourites.. Brie Larson made me cry in The Room .. I also loved Mark Ruffalo in Spotlight.. And  the Mad Max : Fury Road was an entirely different experience . No wonder it won 6 Oscars .. After the Oscars, I so want to watch Eddie Redmayne in the  The Danish girl ... ahhhh well well , I can keep jabbering away about the whole Oscars thingie .. might be boring for some :P

Oh, I almost forgot to mention ( I am lying :P ) my blog has reached 1000 views this week.. The moment I mentioned this to my hubby , he asked , "is it 1000 views a day ???????? " .. Hahahahah .. No silly, in total... It might be little but definitely an achievement to me .. It has motivated me enough to post every so often ..
I recently read a post of Erin which says blogging is like having a relationship which is so true.. You can read it here.
Erinsinsidejob
With just last few weeks of summer left in Victoria Oz, I need to get prepared for Autumn....oops, we are in March ..so its technically Autumn already :P... It sometimes feels weird when most of the world is getting prepared for summer, I need to do the opposite.. Hahah.. I shall keep you all posted.. :-)

The Dish

Hey all.. THE DISH.. Well, I am not talking about the movie Dish which is about a remote Australian antenna.. This is a book by Stella Newman. This is her third book after ' Pear Shaped ' and ' Left overs '.. Apparently the author seems to love food and her love for food is clearly visible in her book. :-)

 The book is about a food critic Laura Parker who writes a column called The Dish.. Laura comes to stay in London after a divorce . She tries hard to date and find the right person. She doesn't go further than 3 dates. On her way back after ending a date and dumping him or getting dumped herself , she finds this guy Adam. When Laura Parker first crosses forks with Adam Bayley, she's only after one thing: his custard doughnut. But when she takes a closer look she sees a talented, handsome man who outshines the string of jokers she's been dating. After spending the evening with him she realizes that it was his work she had criticized for that month review. To tell or not to tell, goes on in her mind. Would being honest break her new found joy with Adam at such early stage or would something sparkle between them ... 

I loved Laura, Adam and Roger ( Laura's boss ). All the characters have their own personalities and feel like real people, they just jump out of the pages, and you can't stop but you root for them and you feel involved, and you so want to know what's going to happen with all of them. You just care for them and want that everything went well for them. The author skilfully intertwines the subplots with the story. The romance between Adam and Laura looks so real and not pushy and not driven by just lust. Jess , Laura's sister is a very strong minded women who knows what she wants . Even such small characters in the novel are well portrayed and that compliments the character of the protagonist . This is a novel with all good characters and happy ending. There are no such characters you would hate or dread. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. If you enjoy food , you would greatly enjoy this book. It talks about food in such a way that your taste buds starts watering.. The author has given delicate details of taste and texture of food . She takes the food description to an entirely new level. I loved the email conversations and their spontaneous subject lines in the book. Truly hilarious and reminded me of my office days where 100's of emails kept flying by between me and my colleagues.. ( Thanks for that Stella ! ). What i didn't like was the story that Adam was hiding.. It didn't sound real and didn't really fit in the story and the character of Adam. May be i developed a soft corner for Adam and couldn't believe it but definitely handled well.

Overall it was like a scrumptious and wonderful garlic naan and butter chicken curry . Anybody who would love to devour a delicious love story with extremely tasty food should go for this book.. A wonderful read and lovely writing .. slurrrppp ...

A stroll down memory lane !!!

I recently took a stroll down the memory lane with so much awe at how my subconscious mind has recorded every little detail that happened in the past.. The library !!! yes ..that's what I am talking about. My mum used to take me to the Central library ( a huge and an old one ) in Madurai when I was as young as 8 years.. My mum was/is a voracious reader of Tamil novels.. I used to just accompany her on this little trip to the library that was filled with racks and racks of books of all sorts. My mum even encouraged me to read at that time and I was least bit interested. It was years later that I started reading but that may be because I was exposed to them at much younger age.. I recently visited the library and remembered glimpses of the Central library.. Hmmm my subconscious has recorded that piece of info ( Kudos to my memory !! )  and I can certainly link how it has lead me into the world of books .. Fascinating !!!

I keep cackling about books but trust me , there are loads of people who love books and are such readers that you cant compete.. I recently registered on Goodreads website ( too late ... better late than never :P ) . I saw some reading challenges like 100 books a year .. I am not a slow reader yet I don't think I can do 100 a year ( I started thinking of all excuses I can give :P ) .. It was like a slap on my face to wake up from my slumber .. What was I thinking !! I thought I read lots of books, then what would I call these bibliophiles .. I was thinking of more like 12 books a year ( silly me .. ) .. Now my target is 20 books this year ( hasn't increased much but let me be realistic ) .. I shall try and review all of them here .. Now you see why I visited the library ..

As I was browsing for books in the library, I stumbled upon this little surprise .. A blind date with a book... What an idea !! I quickly grabbed on to it .. I haven't been on any blind date before .. so the idea was thrilling .. I came home and opened the cover and it was a book of author Honey Brown.. Will tell you how the date went .. hahah..  Apart from my library nostalgia and my blind date adventure ,  I have one more event to talk about.. I recently made friends with mum of another kid who goes to school with my son. I had coffee with her Friday morning .. Ya,  I hear you mocking at me as to what is special about it.. It was nothing special or out of ordinary but...  Having coffee with somebody other than my hubby has become such a rarity these days that I simply am so PLEASED with it...  ( I know, I am sounding so desperate :P )..  I seriously do treasure such moments and thanks to god for sending a friend ... and just because I got one companion ( just for a day .. ) I wouldn't ofcourse stop blogging .. heheh

Lastly, I saw this trailer of movie Ki and Ka by director R Balki .. I thoroughly enjoyed it ( intrigued actually ) .. It has a very quirky storyline afresh pairing and hmmm ..cant wait to watch the movie.. yayy.. something to look forward to..  Catch you soon with more book reviews and coffee musings .. Until then take care all ..Bye

If I Could Create A TV Show

Hello all... How have you been doing ? Well, wanting to be inspired for a blog post, I opened blogadda and saw the 'write over weekend' topic- " If I Could Create a TV Show " .. Honestly, the topic wasn't inspiring enough for me ( forgive me guys! ) ... Uninspired and discouraged , I turn on my TV to watch some food porn..Ya.. atleast I can feed my visual senses with gorgeous food.. I don't generally watch much TV except for some occasional indulgence :D ;-)


 Rick Stein's India was going on in Lifestyle Food channel.. Anything about India on TV catches my attention.. I am always curious to know what the outside world thinks of us :P .. Also my heart misses India a lot these days..( its gonna be a year in Oz ..).So I decided to sit and watch.. On a food channel, anything about Indian food is going to be lush.. Indian cuisine is definitely full of glamour ( visual treat !! ) and full of flavour .. gosh ..who can complain..

I started devouring the pictures of Rajma masala and lamb chops. Rick Stein was beautifully taking me through Rajasthan and its food.. So far so good... As I was enjoying the beauty of food and palaces ( taking a stroll down memory lane.. ) , there came the mood spoiler. They showed poverty stricken , busy and unclean streets of India and Bang !!! he said " That's India for you ." It might have been a wrong sentence at a wrong place but definitely did put me off from watching it ... Not happening !! In the rest of the program Rick Stein was going through Himachal Pradesh and Tibetan food but he had lost me somewhere in the streets of Rajasthan..


Oh ya .. agreed India has poverty. But what has that got to do with a food program that is totally absorbed in the rich flavours of Indian cuisine.. I have seen beggars in London and Paris too but I have never seen them shown in TV when they talk of English or French cuisine .. ( That's my humble opinion ) .. If I could create a TV show , I would create ' Alag's India ' and show all the foreign food lovers how mouth watering , appetizing and delectable Indian food is without showing glimpses of a small girl in rags or an old man limping and begging ..


Along with richness in flavour , I would like to bring out the richness in our hospitality and sociability, the grandeur of palaces and royal food thereby giving food lovers all over the world a large idea of why Indian cuisine is elaborate , authentic , medicinal and tasty.. Rick Stein did try to bring the essence of it but a slight shift in view ( might have been purely unintentional but ..) was enough to bring me down. What a picture of India would it create in the minds of the viewers ... Hmmm .. here you go blogadda .. If I could create a TV show without disparaging remarks of India and present a fully positive image to a foreign curry lover .. yummmm..


This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Mrs.Funny Bones

Hello all.. oh ya, I finally read Mrs. Funnybones of Mrs.Twinkle Khanna.. it was not like I was longing to read her book but yeah I was curious.. I've always found her witty and funny ( sometimes )..So when I heard about her book it raised my curiosity.. I finished it in a jiffy .. and that's how the book is.. you know, when you need a break or to when to need to come out of  readers block, this book is perfect.. 

First of all, I should appreciate her effort.. she definitely managed to give us a glimpse of her personal life as she goes through it in a satirical way.. The actress turned interior designer turned writer Mrs. Khanna is funny and sarcastic but definitely did not make me laugh hysterically :P.. I felt the book is more like an extension of her blog and has a conversational tone throughout the book. I liked it . You get to know about Mrs .Funnybones ( her), the man of the house, the prodigal son and the baby.

She talks about life of a busy, middle aged mom who tries to reduce her weight and manage work and in laws and everything in between.. That sounds like me .. hence can relate to most of what she says... I also wondered why was she complaining about weight .. Man !! to me she looked perfect at the book launch show ... That's when you realise, you know, everybody these days feel different about their bodies and most women are on a never ending diet and want to loose more and more weight ( me too !!! ) ..There you go, she gives a perfect picture of  modern women . Multi-tasking everything like cooking, working at office, taking care of kids, worrying about weight and exercising :P .... Having said that , her complaints about baby stuff and dealing with domestic help kinda sounds more like whining ..There she sounds completely frustrated and utterly human, like you and me ( celebrity prejudice aside :P )... Amidst all that , she makes you feel certain important things in a very light hearted way.
 
A few excerpts that I really enjoyed ..

On her name: Naming me Twinkle was a foolproof way of making sure that I would get teased throughout my life, have immigration officers at various airports stare at my passport and shake with hysterical laughter and strangers stalk me with WhatsApp messages like, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, little star, I hope you get hit by a car!’

On not being a philosopher:
As I am in the midst of my random musings, my reverie is interrupted by the man of the house saying, ‘I am hungry, let’s get some food!’

Sometimes I am glad I am not a philosopher – how would I ever complete a single chain of thought when someone is constantly asking me to do something? I don’t think Plato would have been able to write his dialogues if he had a wife who kept bugging him to pass the pita bread.

On her status in the house:
The man of the house has very politely informed guests who have come to see the baby that I am unavailable, as I am ‘milking’, and thereby sealed my status from cool chick to mooing cow.

On her sense of humour and her ‘prodigal’ son’s disdain for it: Him: ‘Mom, I have packed my Swiss Army knife.’
Me: ‘Why? Are you going on a school trip or trying to attack Afghanistan?’
Him: ‘Mom, your jokes suck.’

On her smartphone:
God was right when he told Adam to leave the apple alone.

She definitely is well read and has opinions on important things which comes out in every single chapter but I was certainly expecting a little more.. Overall a good book but could have been lots better. I would certainly read her next one and I think she has all potential to come up with a decent chic lit :P ( point to be noted Mrs. Khanna !!! ) and yes , please don't use the word " Blimey " anymore, you have already crossed the threshold :P
 

Sycamore Row

To be honest I haven't read many John Grishams . From whatever few I have read in the past , I have felt he was really good with plot. I usually read him when I don't have any David Baldacci or Jeffrey Archer. I certainly loved A Time to Kill  and The Broker. John Grisham's Sycamore row was rather disappointing compared to the previous ones that I have read ( as far as I remember ), especially it being a sequel to A Time to Kill.

Seth Hubbard is a wealthy man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one. Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten, will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and Jake into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County's most notorious citizens, just three years earlier.  The second will raises far more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row?

So, the plot sounds interesting to begin with. As you proceed further into the story , it becomes boring and you understand that there is nothing much to say.. For a long time you find that the case doesn't proceed any further.. There is no suspense revelation .. Even the meeting with Ancil Hubbard was very straightforward and kinda obvious. Yup, the story about racism was touching but it was not worth going through the whole court room drama which was repetitive.

I should really appreciate John Grisham for his style of writing. He still managed to keep my interest to an extent. But I was hoping something interesting would pop up. I wasn't able to connect with Jake Brigance or Lettie Lang which was a great drawback I guess.. Overall a 2.5* book. I will still read more John Grisham. He hasn't lost me completely yet ..

Introverting Outdoorsy ...

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Hi all .. How have you all been doing? I was doing alright all these days. It was a busy week with a small trip to Melbourne and my son falling sick with viral cold and wheez...Ahh ..the usual mundane stuff ( according to me ..) Amidst all these things that keep you busy , your mind always has these musings isn't it ? Some completely irrelevant to the present situation, some completely crazy, some spiritual ... My musing these days have been on my nature .. I was just thinking of how much of an extrovert I was and what am I turning into.. or am I becoming an introvert ? Or am I compelled to become one due to circumstances?

Hmm.. crazy thought !!! Ask my friends how much I talk. They shall tell you how much I love talking ( apart from how much I love coffee and many other things :P )  .. I get power and energy from it .. A good chat with a friend can fuel me up and get me going.. It isn't so these days :P . Firstly, lack of such good friends and secondly lack of practise I guess.. Ha-ha.. well, I think I have lost touch with the art of talking and entertaining people which I thought I was expert at :P

Shocking .. yes definitely shocking to me .. I am constantly doubting myself as to whether I am telling the right things ..That is so not me .. I speak my heart out usually.. Now, to avoid constant self doubt , I keep quiet ( or at least try to ).. Am I slowly leaning towards becoming an Introvert ? I will be terribly surprised if that is true...

Letting my pondering thoughts aside, I concentrate on preparing my small garden for the first summer harvest.. Yes ! tasty tomatoes and fresh mints .. More to come. Beets and potatoes .. I am so excited about growing my own veggies .. Especially after reading so much about the chemicals involved in supermarket veggies .. Wish I had more knowledge in gardening .. at least I shall try to make the most of my small veggie patch.. Gardening is more therapeutic to me that just a hobby..

I cant imagine it is already gonna be second week of Feb.. I haven't done anything about my goals .. I always wanted to have early start. But the already lazy me is becoming even more lazier.. What I need is a good self help book to motivate me .. Seriously I am a sucker for self help books :P .. I know a friend who hates self help books.. He says, " I don't listen to my parents , why should I listen to free advice of some body else " .. ( I have tried to put in a very nice way ) . I am in search of a good motivator.. Suggest some please .. I wanna buck up and do some exercise and diet..  

Barista style coffee at home ...

Australian's are some of the most passionate coffee drinkers or so I have heard. Even in a small café, you can be surprised by freshly poured latte decorated with amazing patterns. It would be a sin if I don't go to cafe's staying in Australia . wouldn't it ? .. And my husband Mr.S has always  so generously accompanied me although he doesn't drink coffee at all :P

Look who I caught loving coffee just like me.. Maria Sharapova. She said so after her match that Melbourne coffees are the best .. hahaha.. Isn't that nice to hear. I am yet to try coffee at different cafe's of Melbourne .. I am not far Melbourne - soon I shall come :P

Q. You run a company where flavors are a big deal. You gave a big shout out to Melbourne coffee. Talk about coffee houses around the world.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I'm a big foody. I love to eat. I love to explore new restaurants. The food culture has always been an interest of mine. That's something whenever I go to a new city I like to kind of experience different foods, find different cafes.

The cafes here and coffee places are really up to par, they're really good.

 

https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/690393581778026496

 

My efforts to bring café standard coffees home ( without pinching your pocket ) has never diminished. I keep researching on how to bring the taste and texture of café coffees into your kitchen. Well, we keep discussing about the best coffee powders ( key ingredient ) every now and then . Apart from the coffee powder that you use , there is one other gadget that could bring café coffee home. It is a standalone milk frother. Remember, its all about getting there in a frugal way (atleast for me ..) . You don't have to invest in an expensive coffee machine.. A simple small gadget would do.


    

           
You get battery operated ones which are cheap and electric frother at different ranges. It is wise to invest in a good frother if you are going to drink more coffee ( like me ) .. It adds that famous froth of cappuccino into your cup of java.. If you love the lattes and cappuccino's , this gadget is a definite must..

I am sure a lot of you might say, " Oh, I was expecting some secret tip .. and you are telling the obvious" . Yeah, I am telling you this now because I recently stumbled on it and fell in love with it.. Like a child wanting to flaunt its new found talent, I was just waiting to tell you all.. That's all...

With the entry of this new boy ( a Lavazza milk frother ) in my kitchen, the amount of coffee that I drink at home has definitely increased .. Truly.. I mean , who wouldn't want to watch a movie or read a book with a creamy cappuccino in their hand .. I am off to watch " Spectre " with a freshly brewed home made café style coffee... I didn't like Daniel Craig as James Bond ( still don't like :P ) .. Hence  didn't watch any of his bond movies ...This is the first .. Hope I like it .. or whatever .. movie and coffee , what more do I want :P

So ok people , bye bye for now and meet you all soon with a book review ( been long time isn't it ..)
 

Lost in the Austen world ...

I am more than a month late for this post.. It was due on the 16th of December.. It was Jane Austen's birthday.. One of my all time favourite novelist.. Anybody who loves reading English classics or romantic fiction would never miss her novel.. Better late than never and there is no set time to celebrate her , specially because I absolutely adore her.. I read somewhere, Jane Austen would  have easily been the Aunty Acid of her era.. hahaha... isn't that so true because of her wonderfully witty one liners.. In fact , only after reading that I was inspired to do this post..

 

 

 

 

Pride and prejudice is my most favourite of hers ( who wouldn't like it yaar? ) .. Haven't we all fancied Darcy and his Pemberly estate ? I certainly did :P ..to the extent that I even have thought about decorating the sprawling English Manor houses.. Wealthy, emotionally stunted snob became ideal men ...Well, who can forget the rain soaked Darcy's proposal dialogue :P

Reading Jane Austen's is like living in a fantasy world in which everyone is polite and everything always ends well .. Her female lead characters are so crazy in a beautiful way that you instantly relate to them. Her novels are my first introductions to romantic novels .. Very posh and elegant..

This post made me feel nostalgic.. Alright, gonna grab a cup of coffee, some snacks and put my feet up to read Pride and Prejudice ... Thanks to Jane Austen for all the unending , dreamy and relaxed evenings that she created in my life :-)

Coffee is my muse !!!

Why do weekends finish faster than the weekdays ? ( Isn't that what everybody feels eh? ) .. Everybody needs their muse to keep them going .. My hubby Mr. S needs his dose of cricket ( any sport for that matter .. ) , some need entertainment like movies , music etc..My muse is my coffee. ( no doubt about it :D ) ..yes, the caffeine kicks in some lovely thoughts and I truly agree to Cafe Coffee Day's tag line " A lot can happen over a coffee ".. With coffee in my hand I am unstoppable.. ( hahah .. nonstop nonsense :P )

Image courtesy : http://www.zazzle.com
 

               

Something caught my attention last week and that was what I was musing over this weekend ..Did you read about Jennifer Lawrence's comment ( outburst) about smartphone use at the Golden Globes? Apparently The Hunger Games heroine J-Law had chided a reporter for using his smartphone at the Golden Globes press call.

 

I saw the entire video and it doesn't sound that bad after all but some feel J-Law was quite rude and some pointed out that the reporter sounded foreign and was may be using his phone to translate the question.  She has been criticised for this and this act of hers called for a lot of disagreement. The social media can sometimes be so unforgiving ..

I like J-Law .. Very spontaneous and humorous.. She could have put it in a different way even if it bothered her , considering she is a celebrity.. But for a person like me who speaks my heart out even before my head could process the thought , she was ok.. Both of them took it in a stride and they laughed and she answered the next question without any hesitation.. ( why trouble the 25 year old too much on her remark man !!! )

Whether she was right or wrong in saying that , rude or quirky ? I don't know . Sometimes I feel its ok and sometimes , it could have been better phrased.. I was just looking beyond the situation. What she said made more sense to me .. She said " You cant live your life behind your phone bro " .. That is so true.. That is my New Year Resolution and she kinda gave an apt one liner to it :P ( read the post about my resolution and you will know.. )

What is your muse and what was your weekend musing? Feel free to share with me :-) and btw whatever I said about Jennifer Lawrence and her comments were my personal opinion and you can have yours :)

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.





 

My Books to read list 2016 :-)

Books have always been my coffee companion. Sometimes it might be because the story or the content of the book was compelling or sometimes I had no choice but to read :P .. Ya, those are times when you have no friends around or no true listener .. Whatever may the case, books are lovely to be with..
 
I did not read enough books last year although my lovely understanding son did gimme some spare time.. I used all that time to watch movies .. I watched tonnes of movies ( good and bad ) with my movie buff husband.. I don't regret a minute of that lovely time spent watching stuff :D
 
Hence, I decide to read more this year .. A list always helps me .. I have a list for everything :P .. Here goes my list of books that I wish to read for 2016. The list is not complete and it doesn't mean that's what I am gonna read and nothing else .. It means these are what I intend to read along with a few other books that come my way..I shall definitely blog reviews of all the books I read. 

I was here by Gayle Foreman - After reading 2 of this American writer's book last year, I wouldn't mind reading another.
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella - She is my favourite chic lit author. This British author has made me smile her books.
Memory Man by David Baldacci - Oh, this man has always one of the most important fiction hero. haha..I have not read his books for about 3 years now.. Time to start again :-)
See Me by Nicholas  Sparks - He was the one who taught me romance :P .. His novels have been full of love and passion. There is always time to read a good love story.
Yes Please - Amy Poehler - I started reading it after knowing Amy is the voice of Joy in Inside Out. Will soon let you know how it is .
God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson - I am not a fan of war movies / books . But this one is classed as one of 2015's best books. Hence will attempt it.
Sevennes by Neal Stephenson ..This is also told as one of the best of 2015.. Let me try to squeeze this in.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is a Pulitzer prize winner.
 
I am a sucker for self help books. Essentialism by Greg McKeown, etter than before by Gretchin Rubin and It was me all along by Andie Mitchell are in my list.

There are a few blogs that held my interest last year and I absolutely loved them . I will continue to follow them this year.
 
Andie Mitchell's  blog turned site http://www.andiemitchell.com/
Gina Homolks 's Skinny taste http://www.skinnytaste.com/
Parita's My Inner Shakthi http://www.myinnershakti.com/
Ali's gimme some oven after trying one of her succulent chicken recipe  http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/ 
Jenny's Urban poser for gluten free living http://theurbanposer.com/

I might be over ambitious in the list. Hope I atleast read half of what is on it.. I shall keep you posted. 

New Year , New Things ...

Happy 2016 !!! With the new year comes new things and new ways of being, at least for me. I love starting afresh, new vision board, new journal, new goals. Everywhere you hear about resolutions and goals for 2016 ... I kinda like the idea of new year resolution as I strongly believe there is always room for improvement and achievement.. Isn't that true ?

 Last year had been a rude awakening in terms of health for me .. So the first thing I did this year is include exercise into my daily routine :-) .. Last year I concentrated so much on weightloss. I think I have managed to come in terms with it now.. ( not completely happy but yeah ok ... :P ) . This year I have shifted my focus from weightloss to healthy living. It is more like a change in life style rather than just dieting to reduce set number of kilos.. I will post more about this in future if it works for me :P

Resolutions are usually make-believe aspirations to be someone better than myself . Looking deeply within , I think I have loads to improve. Resolutions are just simple ways for me to focus on what needs to be improved :P ..oh ok ok .. Let me stop the gyan. am sure you will start feeling like your reading your newspaper article on resolutions :P

 

The above quote was by John C. Maxwell and he is so right.. When you really want to change something or achieve something , add it to your daily routine.. Works like a charm :-) . Some of the important learnings I want to do this year is car driving and swimming.. I swim but I am a pathetic swimmer. Those two are going to be the major focus this year .. Here we go, I said it .. I said it to you all and hence I have to achieve it ;-)

One other important resolution of mine this year is to reduce my social media time. Often at home we catch ourselves browsing Facebook or other social media sites simply out of boredom. Meanwhile, personal interactions, home chores, and other tasks are ignored as we succumb to endless news feeds. It could be informative and helpful at the same time be more of a distraction. So my resolution this year is to reduce my time on social media sites.. As a first step , I have removed twitter and facebook app on my smart phone.. Trust me , it has halved the time that I spend on them.. I am growing closer to my goal .. hahaha ( so soon ..)

I have a lot of small things that need to changed , need to be achieved .. all falling under constant improvement category ( like reading more books .. )  and needs to reviewed every now and then .. A planner would certainly help.. I don't like the usual ones with just month , dates, appointments .. I like it to have space to scribble down anything.. I usually turn a plain fancy decorated notebook into my diary.. Do you guys have any ideas of planners ? Have you found any good ones which are not pricey ? Please let me know .. I love them ..

Have fun choosing your goals and resolutions this year.. All the best to you all to achieve each and every one of them.. Are your goals similar to that of mine ?

Three Sisters (Blackberry Island #2)

I can never have enough of fictions especially women's fiction. The cover of this book gave me that feel instantly .. This is my first Susan Mallery book.. Really liked it .. She certainly joins the list of my favourite women's fiction authors next to Cathy Kelly.

Looking at the cover of this book and the title you might think the novel is about three sisters. The three sisters are in fact old neighbouring houses on Blackberry Island. The story is about the three women in those houses. Andi, the protagonist , who after being jilted at the altar, buys one of the houses planning to open her paediatric surgery and also live in the house. After her disastrous ten years spent with Matt, Andi has sworn off men. Despite all that effort, she falls for her contractor. Will their relationship work inspite of the differences in their job status?
Deanna, a neighbour, is one who strives to have the perfect home and family. But the reality is very different. Then there is Boston, an artist whose baby died in her arms. Now all she does is paint and sketch baby Liam.

I have a few quibbles.. Certain scenes sounded rather repetitive . I understand the author wanted us to  know how their lives fell apart and how these ladies are going through an emotional struggle. Like , Mike leaving Andi at the altar and Boston painting her son and Deanna washing hands etc ..After the fourth time, they were too boring and unnecessary.

I liked the story of Deanna and Boston . It was more deep and strong than Andi , who is the protagonist. It could have been better. Apart from the above, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. I liked all three characters. Especially how Andi and Boston hate Deanna and then when they get to know her better, become best of friends. Explains the women nature perfectly :P

The book may seem like a light read but it still manages to describe family ties, heart break , friendship , small town life etc.  When I chose this book little did I know about Susan Mallery. She seems to have written a lot of series. Fool's Gold being the most famous one.. I will try to read a few of the Fool's Gold series soon, probably next year. This book is Blackberry Island series no : 2 ..

We have neared the end of 2015.. I have been able to read books this year which itself is an achievement. Hahah.. True.. I know a lot of my friends who have given up reading after having a baby :P .Thanks to my son , who after turning 3 has stopped ripping my books and allows me to read these days..:P .. Looking forward to reading more in 2016...

 

Chennai rains and a sinking heart !!!

Oh my god .. It was a nerve wracking week because of the Chennai floods. Trust me , I have been stressed... Stressed by just sitting and waiting for information from loved ones back in Chennai. I cant imagine how stressed people who actually faced the calamity would have been...

I know a lot of people who live abroad and have their friends and family in Chennai.. Chennai is home and when it was struck with torrential rain and the connection was lost , I know what would have gone through in their minds. A sudden sense of panic, fear of unknown , the urge to contact and all these washed away with a sense of guilt... Yes, it all ends with a guilty feeling of us enjoying all luxury ( material perks ) and our loved ones struggling there with no one to help... It did to me ..  For all those living far from home, missing out on major life events, both the sad and the celebratory, is a common sacrifice.

Those hours of no contact with the people back home and our frantic efforts to reach them and figure out if they were safe was excruciating.. Don't fret my friends..You may have left your home for another country where you would have an opportunity of some kind, be that education, career, love or even freedom but home always remain close to heart. When we leave home , we leave a piece of us back there and hence the continued state of agony. Never mind, we will still be the selfish son or daughter who abandoned their families to get ahead , with tonnes and tonnes of love and care for them in our hearts..

All the technology we use to stay in touch with them had failed , leaving us stranded with emotional distress. So every little piece of information about someone being rescued brought great relief.. Two days of no contact with family brought worst nightmares. What would they be doing without food, without power , without water.. scary to imagine... Finally I received information from them stating they are fine... uff phew what a relief !!!

Then, I sat back to imagine what everybody there are going through.. Especially the old people , pregnant women and the extremely little ones...A well settled family becoming paupers over night.. Nature has its own way of teaching.. Everybody would have learnt a lesson from this incident.. be it the politicians, or the celebrities or the common man. The pictures of smiling women rescued in rain , the photo of a woman delivering milk in waist deep water and many other videos from Chennai taught me to be brave and to think positive. When I spoke to my friends and my cousins , I felt if you have your humour intact, nothing can pull you down..

Thanks to all the known and unknown brothers and sisters who helped my family and friends ( extended family .. ) in my absence. I am so obliged .. It is you who we trust and leave them behind. Thanks to all those who marked friends safe on Facebook as soon as they got the info. Thanks to every single individual who helped people stuck in the first floor of their houses with provisions and food and water.. God bless you all.

Now, just hope that the rain relents its hold on Chennai and life returns to normal soon..

The Throid Madness !

Hypothyroidism has become a regular topic of discussion between our friends these days .. After hearing a lot about hypothyroidism and being a victim of it myself, I know how hard it can be to overcome its symptoms even after being treated. Be it natural or synthetic medicines , the symptoms take time to reduce and in my opinion doesn't disappear completely... To begin with, let me tell you , I am not a doctor and do not possess any medical qualifications to advice.. I am gonna give you few suggestions that seem to work and which I personally follow.

Of course, you need to consult a doctor and do the tests and get treated first. Once you start your treatment, your mood will definitely become better. Well, I mean it ..This hypothyroidism messes with your moods ( I really do not want to swear :P ) . Depressions and mood swings would have definitely become your regular thing.. But I know, that's so not you.. Hence treating it with meds and bringing your T3, T4 and TSH to normal will help you become YOU again.

Well, if you are gonna live with it, you need to understand it. Establish a good relationship with it... It might sound stupid :P but that's how I see it .... Hypothyroidism slows down your metabolism. It reduces your stomach acid there by leading to lots of digestion issues.. Having warm water with lemon first thing in the morning or before breakfast and  a glass of diluted organic apple cider vinegar before a big meal will help reduce lot of digestive issues.

Now , lets target the other dreadful symptom of hypothyroidism.. Constipation.. Sluggish metabolism results in constipation and impacts gut health and ability to digest. The best remedy is to include probiotics in your diet.. Having good probiotics helps improve digestion and nutrient absorption. It modulates immune system and helps synthesis of vitamins.

I hear a lot of people complaining about hair loss and I have it too :P . Thinning of hair is a major problem with it. You need to get your iron levels checked and start including a good quality multivitamin supplement. I haven't had success in this area to be honest.. If anyone has any other ideas to help cope with this , please let me know :-)

Dry skin brushing is another boon for us. Dry body brushing is a traditional natural health practice, which involves brushing over the skin dry, followed by a shower or bath. Buy a good brush with natural bristles so that you don't hurt yourselves. I cant stress the goodness of this . It relaxes your nervous system and enables your lymphatic system to work efficiently. Waking up your lymphatic system is gonna make the job easier for your body to remove toxins. You don't want the garbage clearing system of your body clog :P. You can see how it is done in the below video.. You have loads of info about this on the net.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ANy_2xWLAo

All the above tips might sound simple and is good for any normal person..That's right.. These little things are extra special for a person with hypothyroidism because of the benefits they provide.. Apart from this I have got to tell the usual thingy.. Exercise.. I am sure you've heard this from a lot of people and docs.. I am sure it helps and you know that :P

Some people say going gluten free helps hypothyroid patients but I am not too sure :P..  Haven't tried it... I am so keen in knowing what you guys or your friends do to tackle it . Keep me posted.









 

In a pumpkin state of mind !!

I like everything about Halloween.. The spooky , scary , horror stuff .. And seeing kids dressed like witch and wizard .. from the costumes to the candies , Halloween is fun filled time.. Halloween is new to me (only after moving to UK and now Oz )  .. I only watch people celebrating it and enjoy..  For all those who celebrate it , have a safe and spooktacular Halloween !!

With Halloween mood setting in , there is pumpkins everywhere. Although,  I don't celebrate Halloween ( All Saints day !! ) , it would be unfair to turn blind eyes to those huge , round , orangey luscious pumpkin waiting to be tasted.. Firstly , me and my hubby are not big pumpkin fans.. So if I was gonna use them , it better be tasty ...

You all know what I like the most .. Yes , its coffee.. So trying pumpkin spiced coffee was the best idea !!! Spiced coffee sounded so interesting ..and pumpkin cupcakes for a budding cupcake fan ( my son :P )  I was all set to try it.. I always turn to Sally for recipes.. Like always , she has never failed in giving the best recipes ...  Please find the link below for the coffee ..

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/09/14/homemade-pumpkin-coffee-creamer/

Alright yes, I tweaked the coffee version a little to match my needs.. Firstly pumpkin pureeeeee ... I made my own .. I didn't buy the can. When I put the pumpkin in the oven , that's when I realised why so many people like it .. The smell was gorgeous .. much better than baking chocolate cake or bread.. It is like a crossing a road and smelling freshly ground coffee.. hmmmm .. Heavenly..  And then pumpkin spice .. I didn't get it in my super markets . So, I used all spice powder ( ground ginger, nutmeg & cinnamon ) . I used my milk frother instead of whipped cream.. Pour this creamer into your coffee ... Simple yet so good.. Smells great and is strong with coffee and spice flavours..

Reminds me of the fall season in UK ... Halloween always fall during the Fall ( Autumn season ) .. It matches the spooky mood.. with dried leaves all over, dark & windy evenings.. This coffee would have certainly matched the seasonal tone  and want for something warm and spicy :P .. Its spring here in Oz.. Nevertheless , this coffee is so damn delicious .. Worth it in any season ..  Who wouldn't want the house smell like heaven.. It happened again when I baked these cupcakes ... Cupcakes and coffee .. What a combination !!! 

My palate is definitely becoming gourmet ... If you are like me , willing to try different things .. go for this pumpkin spiced coffee at your café.. You will positively crave for it :-) ..



 

Death before Decaf !!

Decaf is a topic I have been meaning to discuss for some time now . Today I stumbled upon this meme " Death before Decaf " and decided its time ... There is more caffeine in my body than blood ( honest truth !! ) And I especially like to read the many studies affirming the positive impact of coffee  on our health :P. However, it can be addictive because of the caffeine. Why am I ( of all people ) thinking decaf ?

I wanted to keep my caffeine intake low on account of my continuous effort to ward off excess pounds :P ( some of us are always on diet , aren't we ??? )  .. Others, such as those with kidney disease or anxiety disorders, may need to avoid caffeine all together. Whatever your case may be, if you are considering decaf you need to read this.

The first and the foremost to consider is whether decaf contains caffeine. While there may be variances in coffee, decaf certainly does contain caffeine - just in lower amounts. If you are not supposed to have caffeine , decaf is not the option. As few amounts of caffeine might add up to more than the limit end of the day..

After so much thought I decided to try decaf. Tough decision for a coffee lover. They say decaf would still be the same as coffee just without caffeine .. The first day when I drank decaf in the morning , I realised I was still sleeping.. haha jokes apart , it didn't give me the push or the wake up call to my cells .. So technically it didn't satisfy one of the most important reasons of why I drink coffee ( I have many reasons actually !! ) ..

Another main difference I felt was the sweet taste of coffee.. I mean really sweet ..I generally add a small teaspoon of sugar to my coffee.. so the decaf I tried was extra sweet coz the powder I used make the coffee tasted sweet.. Now , that's a complete no no.. But I am not the one who gives up so easily on any idea until it works.. so started investigating ( oh ya ! you can imagine me with googly spectacles and a magnifying glass in hand :P )

Certain Decafs are made using Swiss water process or carbon dioxide extraction, both of which are quite harmless. But most decafs employ chemical solvents such as methylene chloride (forget the name - it is a toxic compound and suspected carcinogen ) or ethyl acetate to strip caffeine molecules from the green coffee bean. This ethyl acetate adds a sweet fruit flavour. Now that explains it..So the next time ( I doubt that .. ) I sure would check the label for the process of decaf ..

Decaf didn't gimme the energy and the pleasure that actual coffee  gives.. I was once a person who could drink anything that was close to the taste of coffee ( be it hot water :P ) . But now I have grown to like its aroma, taste , flavour. So my satiety quotient has changed . And I read that coffee drinkers live longer than non coffee drinkers ( I mean really.. Do you want the link :P ) . Do I need to give you more reasons for my solid cup of java ....

Wish I had done this investigation before I bought that big jar of decaf :-(..I don't really know what you have decided after reading this , I sure have decided DECAF not my cup of tea ( I mean coffee :P :D )


 

Bitten by the travel bug !!!!

I generally am not a person who would write about my trip or a vacation because that involves writing about myself and talking much about my experience which I think I am not very good at . But today, I am gonna write about my trip to the Great Ocean Road. You might ask why.. Because , this was such a perfect trip. I have gone to a lot of places ( not a lot , just a few actually :P )  in different countries. This trip and the location was by far the best . I shall explain why as I take you through my journey.

Lot of our friends suggested we make the journey from Melbourne and stay overnight near twelve apostles and return the next day. I would suggest you to give a full weeks time for this journey in a practical world. Each attraction on your way is worth it. You need time to devour the beauty of the small little towns and their laid back seaside life. Two days were just not enough. Well, we didn't try to squeeze in all the attractions in two days. We still wanted a relaxed trip. Especially with our 3 year old son along we didn't want to rush things ( can we ? even if we want to .. ufff these kids :P )

We ( my hubby Mr. S , my son Atharva and me ) went during public holiday in Victoria. So it was crowded ( trust me , I haven't seen so much crowd in any of other Australian beaches ) . We had slow moving traffic before entering the Great Ocean Road and in the Otway forest area.. Traffic could be a pain usually but not in this journey coz you had scenic beauty and A.R Rahman and Ilayaraja music to entertain you .

So, we started our journey of the Great Ocean Road ( GOR )  from TORQUAY, the gateway of GOR . It was surfers heaven . A view from the top looked like little penguins and dolphins waiting to become one with waves.. Little kids floating with their surf boards made me regret not having learnt swimming :P . They seemed to have so much fun in the water catching waves and some sun and sand. Nevertheless I had so much fun watching them :-)

Then , we went to Anglesea. It is a quaint sea side town with a vast expanse of white beaches. It was  perfect for my son to build his sand castles ( that is what he came for :P ) . We had a nice little picnic there letting my son enjoy playing in the sand and wetting his legs in the sea. We had a tough time bringing my son out of the beach..

With a heavy heart and promise of seeing more beaches me and my son left Angle Sea and we drove straight to twelve apostles to be there for sunset. It took three and half hours of visual treat to reach twelve apostles. There were lovely looking small towns in between but remember we didn't want to rush and squeeze things in this trip. When your eyes get tired of seeing the blue sea , white beaches and rocky mountains , you start seeing tall green rainforests in Otway. Immerse yourself in the mesmerising beauty of tall trees and ferns.

As you emerge out of the green comes blue sees again . Finally we landed at Twelve Apostles which is iconic limestone cliff and crumbling pillars. Yes crumbling , there are only seven and half pillars left. I wondered what could be so beautiful about limestone structures .. Trust me , it is nature at its best form. Completely divine and scenic beauty. You can see the structures in golden colour with red tinge of the setting sun and mystic rays . It can make anybody poetic and artistic .

We stayed at Peterborough near the Apostles. The next morning, we rose early to enjoy the pleasant walk to the Apostles and climb down Gibson steps . Unfortunately , due to high tide the steps were closed. I have to mention about this small little town.  It had a small estuary / backwater near a park. Oh my God, that was heaven for my son. He spent good 3 hours running up and down that ankle high , I mean his knee high ;-) water . He built castles , decorated it with weeds and shells (very few though ) and knocked it down too... I was basking in the sun with a lovely tall cup of coffee ( thanks to my kind hubby ) without worrying about my son . My son jumped with joy and was finally tired of playing in the water. It was mission well accomplished for me and my hubby.

We started back to Melbourne and on our way back we went to The Arch, London Bridge and Loch Ard Gorge. On the way, we asked a stranger where does that route lead to , she replied " I don't know , but whatever that is , it is beeaauutifulllllll " .. I think that explains it all. You don't need to know the name of the place , the various attractions etc.. Whatever it is , it is beautiful and picturesque..

Now you see why the trip was perfect. It satisfied all our needs especially our little masters ... We couldn't cover a lot of small towns on the way like Lorne , Apollo Bay , Warnambool etc. They all looked pretty enticing and enchanting ... ( calls for another trip Mr.S .. hehehe ) ..

The Stepmother's Diary !!!

Books are like people .. You get along with some and you don't get along with some.. This book of Fay Weldon is the one that I didn't get along so well. Set on the patriarchal situation that prevailed, this novel is contemporary and written with great panache.

Although I didn't make friends with the book ( shall tell you why soon :P ) , I loved the style of the author. The whole story is written as diary of the protagonist Sappho who is a playwright. So it is like a novel within a novel. The character says her own story like a drama with dialogues.

The story alternates between pages from Sappho's diary and her mum Emily's opinion on the same. The story is quite gossipy and bitchy. 'You think truly dreadful things only happen in other countries, far away,' Emily says at the beginning of the book, 'but they also happen in your own back yard, to the nicest people, and at the hands of others who believe that they too are perfectly sane and nice, the kind who sort household waste and try to save Africa. This says it all. There are bad things going around.

Beware of the toxicity lurking around is all I can say. I kinda felt that there is lot of negativity in the book. Every character in the story can not be trusted and become friends for benefit. May be I am too gullible and hence cant take too much of manipulative and shady characters. Step mother characters are classic. We have read a lot of them from Ramayana to Cinderella . Story of wicked step children is something new to me.

The quotes of the psychoanalyst Freudian Emily and her Jungian boyfriend just made it more difficult to continue. I guess it is a little too much and doesn't add anything to the story except making it too painful.

I generally do not read two or three books at one point of time. I hate to leave any book unfinished. That is may be because I am not the avid reader types. I seriously regretted it this time because although I liked the style of prose , I couldn't read such negativity and pit holes after pit holes continuously. I should have picked a chic lit in between this serious  stuff. Would have got along the book much better than this :P . It would have taken less time to finish this book at least.

If I have to give stars out of 5 , it would be generous 2 ** , just for the author's prose and style. I googled about the author and found her website with a lot of blog posts that I liked :-) . Follow it if you like .. http://www.fayweldon.co.uk/ . This one book is not gonna stop me from picking up her book again I think , what say ?