I Am What I Say - Not How You Hear

Fun getting old together!

2012-03-30T04:45:00.000-07:00

I am being told that I am not showing up much around here - what to show folks? Then I had the time in the world - now my world lacks time and energy to sit and narrate the beauty of life every single day. Alhamdulilah my daughter is now turning older and as she is, so am I and in this new found glory and magical experience of motherhood, I really don't want to let go of a single moment where she coos and goo goos at me... She always has so much to say and I love the moments we share throughout the day. I call her Mamma ki Jaan and she smiles even bigger and brighter.

She understands mashallah - every emotion I go through every day and is with me in all. Lately my maasi had a heartattack, hence I am on my toes more than 15 hours in the day. At this moment too my back is breaking but I just wanted to scribble a bit before I lay silently next to my little one because she sleeps more when I am with her :)

Enough about me.. how are you all? I know I am a big fat miser in terms of words and expression but there really isnt much to share except the daily dallies which we all are a part of ourselves. There is no 'I' in life that is for sure. It was still there when me and hubby started off as a couple - but now there is no room for it - there is only 'our' and 'us' - God knows ways which we will never and Inshallah in times to come - I'll have more news and updates from my end of the world for you all. Just dont give up on me - some day will be a day when I am back here - as active as I was with happy stories to tell you all - but at this point in time I am just willing to sit back and enjoy the life I had just imagined and dreamed about. Just one thing which I want my friends to know - Believe in your dreams - for they are a prelude to what is to come ... keep smiling and be happy :) I wasted some good years of my life just feeling unhappy and dissatisfied - you all should know that wasting is haram too :) especially a life which in the present seems to be in the dusk but really will head for the dawn sooner or later !!!

Smile Always

a treat of thirteen!

2011-12-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

Of course I know I havent been posting like I used to. But it is all for the good trust me. I'd like to spend more time here and write as much as i can because there is so much to scribble. BUTTTTTTTTTTT... a big But... I want to say less and enjoy more - selfish is it? :) not too much I believe - Some make it too public but I really like to keep a low profile and keep away from nazar of people who really dont have a heart for me ... and yes they exist out in the open!

So thursday thirteen is a treat for me and for you :) let us see what builds up at the end of this more words and less pictures post.

The myths I'd like to burst today revolve around companionship or rather are about matrimony and companionship - you could have a different opinion but my opinion is steadfast and I think now it is more from experience than just reading I am forming a conclusion :)

Same old me... all about companionship and love and matrimony! Of course .. that makes me ME!

1. As the years pass, partners are not always going to feel close or affectionate toward one another. Dammit whoever said that is an idiot! No matter what the situation, affection and closeness will thrive! you got to be an animal to feel and believe otherwise!

2. Each spouse has a separate life apart from that as a marriage partner. But that doesnt mean you live that life as a bachelor - you are still married when you are persuing something on an individual level.

3. Some marriages require more togetherness; others, more independence. When you think on those lines - you yourself are inviting trouble into your life. Make a marriage work by being independent to an extent and let togetherness be the active ingredient!

4. The keys to long – term marital success are good luck and romantic love. Marital success is all about working together to make it work. Love and luck are just parts of it - you've got to learn the art of living together with anything and everything to survive. Like any contract, this too needs collaboration and compromise at all levels.

5. The only thing perfect about marriage is the airbrushed wedding photo. Whoever said that forgot to fit in his/hers partners life perfectly and make it a bonded bond. The wedding photo is just a prelude to perfection, the real perfection is the marriage that is lived in together - making house a home and life - livable.

6. Don't go to bed angry. Lol... there will be days when you sob yourself to sleep - sleep over it but wake up the next morning with a light heart and positive attitude. Hug and kiss and make up - Mornings provide the best makeup opprtunities. Tried and tested!

7. Married people have less satisfying sex lives, and less sex than single people. Somebody really went through hell to say that. Aint gonna say anything else :P

8. Most people who have really good marriages make love. Dont just take this literally - there are a 100 different ways to make and show love - and everyday is evently - we dont need a calendar to mark an event!

9. Babies can bring you closer in many ways. Not for those who havent figured the essence of their marriage. There is no way to bridge a gap that keeps stretching!

10. You complete me is a lovely but destructive notion. Good Lord - why so sensitive. It does NOT trumpet that I am less than whole but with you I can be restored... really it doesnt. What it does do is give your partner the feeling of being wanted and appreciated. No one is a whole - and to become one we need someone who fits in.

11. Before and after marriage are two different people. Marriage changes no one. Especially someone's core values and believes. yes habits can be changed or altered but the core human remains the same. So saying you married someone else and were seeing someone else is your illusion to yourself. Seriously!!!

12. Love is not all that you need. Of course it isn't all - but it is one major ingredient and denying it is stupidity. Like breathing is to life - Love is to a healthy marriage. So overlooking it will just have togetherness ddrift apart!

13. I need you to point in this for me :)

Event!

2011-12-27T06:34:00.000-08:00

And this has been an eventful year... like the end of last year... so much to say but don't wanna say anything - all I wanna do is be grateful and keep the spirit of love alive

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year in advance :)

for Wordless Wednesday

Wordless but Worldful :)

2011-12-21T06:46:00.000-08:00

It is a pleasure saying things via visuals. And today's Wordless Wednesday gives me the opportunity to say everything without saying anything at all!

hello from my part of the world!

2011-03-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

i dont think i have missed anything from around here :)

the sorta following i had at the old "life or something" cannot be compared to this one - nevertheless - thank you for sticking around and making me feel i am not alone - ever!

words i am full of but time i am less on - nothing specific that i am doing - just cooking and cleaning - trying to blend in the social stardards of living a woman's life :)

of course every minute is a welcome and every breath is gracious - i can't thank almighty enough for the blessings i have received!

went to perform umrah late in February 2011 - a lifetime experience that has been. i was not expecting to be that lucky but my expectations were turned down in a positive manner - Allah welcomed me with open arms and the first time my eyes blinked to see the grandiose of Kaaba - tears wouldn't stop coming. I just could not believe what I had missed for 28 years of my life. A sight not everyone is blessed to see. A feeling not many are priveleged to feel. I feel so bountiful and so beautiful after my return - yes a couple of pimple breakouts have me going all mad - but apart from that - i see something lost come back to me !

how have you all been doing?

If i were still a working woman - i'd be celebrating monday mourning! but now that i aint - i am happy like all times of the week - alhamdulilah!

hoping and praying you all miss me and are wanting to see more of me around here :D

yes the greedy me hasn't ceased to be!

i am there like that i have been !! welcome me now :D

13 lessons of love and humor in life

2010-12-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

1. Think of 10 people you know who are difficult to deal with (or are outright enemies). Chances are, most of these individuals are extremely similar to you in many ways.

2. Life has no cash value. Remember, unlike anything material that a Mastercard might let you purchase, life is priceless.

3. Don't be a hypocrite. Or at least try not to be one, since there really ARE times where you don't want someone to make the same mistake as you did before.

4. Admit that you're not perfect. You are not always right, either.

5. "Control" is a key on your keyboard, not something to do to others.

6. To get somebody to act their age, treat them the age they are.

7. Upgrades are overrated. Learn to "downgrade" your life if needed.

8. People are like screws, also.

9. If you can't say something nice, at least say it behind the person's back and don't let the person ever know you said it.

10. The needs of the ones you love are far more important than your own personal desires.

11. Wisdom comes about with age - and life experiences as well.

12. Watch your step. DENIAL KILLS.

13. Please don't look behind the headboard. There are more important things in life.

the anticipation of you

2010-12-14T08:46:00.001-08:00

Years In Rewind,

No, I can't.

Shut that thought and go ask him!

I inhaled a long breath and held it for a couple of seconds, it looked paramount, the task at hand and I had ounces of courage draining out of me. I just had everything that was required to get me through the task but there was still void, a lot of it and it kept filling in with fear. Fear of rejection, fear of being laughed at, fear of that awkward silence and the stare of You are kidding me right?

I felt a shiver run through my spine and there he was.

Are you free Friday evening for a cup of coffee? I mean, that is, if you are not doing anything after work?...I'll just um--I'll go now.

And suddenly it was all over. My anticipations were rewarded. he smiled and we met at coffee.

***

It was back again, that same feeling. I felt like I had a pimple of my face which was bothering me so much that I had to pop it and keep popping it until all the pus was gone. I liked him a lot more now and I hoped that we were on the same page. So, without any other distractions while we were dining at a restaurant one day, it all began.

Fast forward four years,

We were sitting grinning at boring married couples and I was agitated, flustered and totally tensed because he had asked me to dress my best that day. Sure, the ice breaker was not that hard but being a girl posing proposals is not what goes on in routine. The first time we had coffee that was my ask out and then he carried on asking me, which never felt awkward and I always anticipated a call just before work was over on Friday.

His thoughts.

The first time she asked me, I was so thrilled that I could not stop wearing that awkward smile for weeks. Now it was my turn to put myself in the ring and take the weight off my chest. I feel like a champion whose title is at stake. If i don't thrust the right punch at the right spot I might lose everything I had gathered in one go.

I finally said,

Will you marry me? I mean, if this is too early to ask you, I could ask you another time. But if you're ready... Never mind, I think I'm pressuring you too much... I'll just um--Don't worry, I'll pay and leave.

My Reaction.

I thought you'd never ask. And I smiled with passion and kissed him on his cheek.

Fast forward forty years,

And here we are, again, off and on in anticipation for the worst to come and yet finding Heaven so very easily. I still find myself without the breath to express just what you mean to me.

His thoughts.

We have been together for forty years and we have shared more than a table, a bed, our children, our ambitions, our dreams, our secrets, and more than a life. Yet, it seems never enough, and I know by the look on your face that you feel the same.

My Reaction.

It started out awkward but we grew into each others' skin and just can't shake it off. I think I like it that way.

We anticipated a life of togetherness and we got there. Each time one of us had to step forward but after the first step it all fell in place, we have loved and we have lived and we have been happily married.

I anticipated a loving life ahead and my dreams just shaped up right before my eyes, with the man I truly fell in love with.

to you i speak

2010-12-10T08:47:00.000-08:00

Too many people try to THINK they know me and try to figure me out, and guess wrong EVERY time. There is no point in always trying to draw false conclusions about me for no damn reason.

Ask me and I will tell.

Do Not Judge Me in Your Mind's Limited Capacity.

strawberry and cream

2010-12-06T02:16:00.000-08:00

My mindset at this very moment at work is very retarded.

She dreams a champagne dream
Strawberry suprise, pink linen on white paper
Lavender and cream
Fields of butterflies, reality escapes her
She says that love is for fools that fall behind,
And I'm somewhere between
Never really know
A killer from a savior
'Til I break at the bend

We're here and now, will ever be again
'Cause I have found
All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade
Away again

inspired by song lyrics -Shimmer by Fuel

Can you believe it I am at lunch hour sitting with myself talking to my computer and also having this really nice lip movement which I did not quite know of until I saw my reflection on my mobile phone screen. I think I can be romantic with myself once in a while, not that I have tried the idea yet but it does seem tempting.

I still think strawberry, cream, log fires and champagne get me in the mood.

Yes I have never ever experienced any of it but I am sure it is as craving-some as I make it sound right now. You will just be a total loser if you don’t think so the way I do.

First the strawberry and cream call. Yes I have tried it in the most unromantic of settings and with the most unromantic lot of people around me, and hence my thirst of satisfaction is still lingering and at this very moment I am imagining it lying in front of me, and when I lift my eyes, there he is, the man I can totally be romantic with [right! Good wishful thinking woman, wake up!]

‘to my own self… how do I wake up with eyes already open?’

That cream is so sumptuous and totally yearning to be in my mouth right now. You sure think I am losing my mind but the vice versa is too normal and hence cannot happen with someone as abnormal as me.

There is an unopened bottle of champagne in my drawer. Which drawer? The drawer which is in the home I am yet to make with the man who offers me strawberry and cream for the rest of our lives together. You so can sleep with your eyes open or are you deliberately having day dreams?

The shining liquid in that slim goblet with love written all over it, who in their right minds will give this chance away? Obviously you can, because you can’t think but I cannot, I will avail it. But there are some rules I just don’t break and one of those cant break rules are ‘everything with the man who is my husband’…

I so long to wish and dream with this conscience somewhere sitting with its arms wrapped on the edge of the planet, but it just loves me so much that it has literally glued itself to me. No self-pity!

The strawberry and cream taste marvelous topped with a little of vanilla ice cream by the way, I have the taste in my taste buds and though I have imagined it, I know it is just too good. A bit of nuts would add glamour to it but you can skip it if you are not a nutty professor.

Why need log fire when you have champagne? Good one! But like they say, there is never enough heat when you are in love, it just cannot be achieved or else this world would never have faced global warming and the misery of it.

I need my log fires, and that throw rug right in front of it, and that sparkling golden champagne … miserably!

And if I am not getting that, may I just have some strawberry and cream to let the feeling pass. I have an active imagination when it comes to playing it, I will play it inside my head and you will not get any juices. So may I have some?

p.s. I am really hungry and I am waiting for food to come.
Orders take so long in being delivered that I will have to talk to the admin about setting up a café soon, I have had enough of wait oh please wait it is on its way!

There is just too much I am waiting for and I cannot get everything [though I am capable of it] but I am just playing a down to earth little woman who knows nothing about how to get what she wants *smiles

Happy Reading!
I think my food is here.

Is I stranger than You or You stranger than I?

2010-12-01T02:15:00.000-08:00

Is I stranger than You or You stranger than I?

when...

two really different people, in different settings, in different parts of the world, at one time, at one place and in the strangest of circumstances start talking without ever seeing each others faces?

just some expression, a word, or unexpected news makes you feel so low that you just don’t want to see, hear or do anything after that? Tears just flow uninvited and all nostalgia hits at once?

distance doesn’t matter while we talk or acquaint with people?

a motivation of the simplest form can highly help exterminate a huge problem or misunderstanding?

It is not everyday we bump into people who make our heart and mind soar in the clouds or make us feel good about ourselves and when and if we do we take them so much for granted that it all just goes away.

We are very ungrateful for what we have and hence never realize the full utilization of the blessings. People come and people leave and all that is left are memories.

Is I stranger than You or You stranger than I?

Operation: Blank

2010-11-28T03:28:00.000-08:00

(re-posting this after a year)

His Highness, MJness tagged me this and because of the contractual obligations, I just had to, had to do this and get away as far as I can from this obligation.

p.s. I hate obligations. I make and break my own rules YOUR HIGHNESS **wink

Finish the sentence..........

Finish the sentence survey - your turn! YES YOU, I CURSE YOU not JUST TAG YOU hehe!

Paste the sentences into a note of your own, change the ... to your answers, then tag awesome people to use it as filler posts

Finish The Sentence Survey

1. My ex... Huh? Which one? Husband or Best friend?

2. Maybe I should... consider launching Coffee Couture

3. I love... smooooooooooooochessss!! but not from a NOT CLEAN SHAVEN.

4. People would say that I'm... a Non-Conformist!

5. I don't understand... why the bitch gets the man?

6. When I wake up in the morning... I switch my alarm off.

7. I lost... myself back in 2007.

8. Life is full of... passions and possessions.

9. My past is... yet to be locked and disposed. I run on a 10,000,000 GB.

10. I get annoyed when... I see crocodile tears in a human eye.

11. Parties are... not my kind any day, any time.

12. I wish... I could get married by the sea and 7^%$^* by it too.

13. Dogs... I like, bitches I don’t.

14. Cats... are as wild as me.

15. Tomorrow... it is finally weekend! (It is actually start of WEEK)

16. I have... got to lose weight lol (I actually managed alhamdullilah)

17. If I had a million dollars… I would have it!

18. I'm totally... in hate of something I can’t spot

TAG YOU ARE IT DUDE AND DUDETTE!

Good Morning!

2010-11-27T01:09:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Everyone!

How are you?
How is your world?
How is your grandma?
How is that tea you are having? Oh no you have coffee don’t you?
Does the air around you speak of something?
Can you hear it whisper?
Give your self two minutes of silence and let it speak to you *smile

This was definitely what I thought I’d do. Sometimes to do that which isn’t expected feels so great. Monday mornings aren’t really my favorite and I am so sure you are thinking ‘WHATEVER’… but then let us just treat this misery in a different way. You know how it goes, ‘when you don’t like the look of something, try to look at it a little differently’…. Go on give it a shot.

I started my morning without coffee, which exactly is not my way of starting a day. I had two cups of tea instead, with my bugsy who enjoyed my presence thoroughly. For those who don’t know who bugsy is, his name is Rollu Pollu and he is my pet bug on my desk.

The weather for the day is a not too happening. It is not as cold as I would have liked it. The craving for a cup of coffee with a nice headline in the newspaper could have done wonders to this morning; nevertheless it isn’t so bad after all. Two cups of tea really charge me equally! I am on the roll!

The only text I received this morning was ‘your message counter has expired, please recharge’ and hence no morning calls yet. I walked outside my office for a bit and the fresh air really blessed the Monday woes and they just tip toed out of sight. My office is very near to the beach, so you can imagine the new winds that keep coming in with the waves. It is a really good morning. I am having a day in my life which some might not be having. I am working and I am pleased to be dressed as I am and to top that my colleague offered me a Lindt Lindor [I don’t know how many of you have heard of it] and it plainly melts in your mouth. The taste and the aftereffects are heavenly. Have it if you haven’t.

And smile today.
All of you who have randomly dropped in; this morning will never come back. A lot of bad things are happening all around me and yet I am keeping my sense and saneness, it comes with the positive thoughts; let the negatives be gone dears! Life is just too unexpected and every breath you are accountable for.
Smile smile and make the person nearest you smile back at you!

You don’t have an agenda for today?
Yes you do!
*smile I aint telling. You know what you have to do.
So go on now… do it!

Sign off line

When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments-tenderness for what he
is and respect for what he may become.— Quote from Louis Pasteur

when it is PINK it is PERFECT

2010-11-25T01:36:00.000-08:00

For starters - enjoy the ride of PINKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Thursday-13

So it is 20? - couldn't help exceeding my perfect mood :P

So what is your 13 about? drop me a link and share the bling!

p.s. my desk is a disaster and boss just sneaked up on me and snapped the mess - my shot below!

I didn't have the heart to put it enlarged :P

10 reasons I hate about MONDAYS

2010-11-20T23:45:00.000-08:00

1. Because it is Mournday. I hate Mondays, because it comes right after Sundays. Why should the week start with a day that rhymes with ‘mourn’ and hence have tears written all over it!

2. Because it is moronic and mean. No matter what I do the letter M and the moronic effect it has on the day does things which leave me all miserable and moaning. The letter M is jinxed for monotonous misfortune.

3. Because it muddles a mess. Mondays are mean and there is no way it gives in, even when you welcome it with open arms and say a little prayer. The Monday Morning Meetings at work add to the misery and then the muddle which follows goes on for the whole week.

4. Because Monday is a realist. I think God placed Mondays in the fate of us Human Beings as a reality-check. I hate reality-checks; can we just not sway and flow with our ideal beliefs in an ideal setting on an ideal weekend? Of course not! God loves us too much to see us so lazy and dreamy! No?

5. Because it comes every week. No matter how much you hate Mondays, it will come and you can do nothing about it and that is probably the biggest reason to hate it. It will come and laugh at your face and leave you helpless all over again like the many Mondays which came and went.

6. Because it is an abrupt end to leisure. Monday is the deliberate sacrifice of personal freedom for the sake of financial survival. Two days of going into a Relax Mode, and the sudden end to it, is psychologically and physically very unnerving.

7. Because it masters our week. We are all destined to be under one master or the other and there is always a push factor and I hate to be pushed around. Monday pushes me out of bed, out of home, out of my comfort zone into the unwelcoming morning / mourning. It sets off the alarm of a very weak week.

8. Because there is an instinctive dislike for it. There are some unexplainable electrons and protons and neutrons that work out an equation of hate and dislike with this day. No matter how bright the sun is shining, the wind is blowing; it is all working towards inviting an uninvited storm which ruins the whole week.

9. Because it is unforgiving and unforgettable. The plans it has and brings tune in my life, in such a way that I cannot mould it as per my comfort. It takes revenge for liking Saturday and Sunday better and makes everything which has to come before the next weekend, unforgettable and unbearable. It never forgives.

10. Because it is longer than all other days of the week. Who like to drag on and make it through the routine hours of the day at 1 mile per hour? Yes that is the pace at which it drags for me and every single thing I put my hand into; I say a little prayer because it otherwise never comes out right. Downright jinxed this day is. I sure wish someone could rid it off my calendar and I never have to face it again.

if you really are happy

2010-11-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

Distance doesn’t matter if you really are happy in love with someone. What matters most is how you clutch onto honesty & trust to make that relationship work out. In the end you shall delight in no distance and the closeness will make you one by all means.

3WW

I Shall...

2010-11-18T02:01:00.000-08:00

1. Spend more time taking notice of all the influences in my life. Friends, family, television shows, magazines, blogs, etc. Things that motivate me and demotivate me - though I shall be spending less time around the negative influences and more time around the positive!

2. Set aside more time for myself where I shall be in isolation. The negative energy is bad to give off and I know I will regain my positive self if only I pamper myself and participate in my favorite hobbies.

3. Try changing my usual perspective about situations. Sometimes that is all it takes to turn a grumpy day around.

4. Have friends whom I believe in and vice versa and family beside me in my life because they mean my wellness and happiness.

5. Fill your space with reminders of gratefulness and wonders. My life and the progress I have made is nothing short of it. My favorite quotes will be right there to boost my spirits.

6. Get back into writing letters and cards to close friends and family with positive wishes and joyful greetings! I know that is my forte and I should be going back doing it.

7. Encourage the people in all ways and try to help them rid themselves of anything negative they have.

8. Get excited about the little things that make me happy! A Backstreet Boy song it could be or a colorful cup cake :D

9. Not be in a state of denial. I will accept my moods and mistakes and have the courage to curb it into something positive.

10. De-clutter my life! there are ample things that are taking space but are useless - I shall flush them immediately.

11. Make room for new things that have come in and will do and don't suffocate me. It is obvious that my family is not a part of this suffocation, they elate me.

12. Channel my inner self especially the child in me every so often. Do things that the child within me would love! Blow bubbles, ride the merry-go-round, drink chocolate milk, play hop scotch, color, take photos of random objects, play dress-up, etc. I should stop feeling so darn old!

13. Challenge my beliefs and my own words - I should play mind games with me to the extent that I come out as a wiser and brighter person. I should! I should!

It is about time - I should just DO IT!
T-13

Thoughts inside my head

2010-11-16T01:34:00.000-08:00

I feel so helpless - I don't have a pc and work doesn't let me pour in about anything at all. But there has been stuff happening. I am on a roll with thoughts - some might make sense - others might just bore you - none the less here it is all - word to word for you :)

Now you know my thoughts too :)

T-13

Bright Ideas! Mine To Be

2010-11-14T02:19:00.000-08:00

I shall be this unique homemaker once I get married that it will shock the lights out of the people who think of me otherwise. How can a working woman balance home? I will show you :P

Picture frame into a pretty and practical pocket organizer

a woolen pillow

Freshen up drawers with heart-shaped sachets

a sweater sleeve over a bow

Bandanna napkin ring

unique patchwork pillowcase

A Hankie Table Runner

A spring sachet from a hankie

Dress up a plain mirror

A cord box out of a shoe box

and there you have not entirely mine but to be mine bright ideas which I shall put to use because not everything should be thrown away - Coming from a designing background I think such things really tempt me and I shall 'as housewife' do much more than just above and have it labeled "Me & My Bright Ideas"...

Sunday Scribblings

Treasure my Gesture

2010-11-12T03:23:00.000-08:00

Life will break you. That is like a gesture of living, because no matter how much you try escaping it will get you and after every break you will mend. It will now immediately strike you that I am either less on hope and high on dope. But it is none – I am just being brutally blunt with you. Treasure my sweet and sour gesture for now and forever.

3WW

Moulding My Middle

2010-11-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

Very keen on getting my abs right and my hips in and hence browsing all around to find the best possible exercises to keep me in shape. I am way too lazy early mornings. And as winter sets in, I am becoming more lazy. There is more hunger and less exercise hence increased consumption of green tea. Anyone knows of a tea which when had after meals will wipe out any traces of calorie and fat? Well if there isn't one yet, I'd like to write to scientists to get to the job and make way for a new and important discovery. We aren't all that keen on moving around as much as it would take to lose inches. Can we have something that'll take care of what we eat? please!

Should I share the easy stuff I do after work at home in the comforts of my home. It sure would be more effective if I make it routine early morning, but right now, it just isn't happening.

5 Simple Moves to Mold a Waist by Suzanne Schlosberg

Bird Dog

a. Kneel on all fours, knees under your hips, wrists directly under your shoulders, fingers facing forward.

b. Engage your abdominal muscles to avoid arching your back. Simultaneously raise your left leg and right arm, extending both until they are exactly, or nearly, parallel to the floor.

c. Avoid tilting your hips or shoulders, and keep your head aligned with your torso. Gently return to the starting position, and repeat with the opposite limbs. Do 5 reps on each side, building up to 10.

Front Plank

a. Lie on your belly with your elbows close to your sides, hands facing forward. Contract your front thigh muscles to extend your legs and pull your toes toward your shins.

b. Contract your abs, and slowly lift your torso without arching your low back or shrugging your shoulders. Keep your knees straight and shoulders over your elbows.

c. Hold, and then slowly lower, keeping your torso stiff and knees straight. Start by holding for 5 seconds, gradually working up to 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Bicycle

a. Lie with your back flat on the floor, hands beside your head, thumbs behind your ears and knees lifted to a 45-degree angle.

b. Slowly mimic a bicycle pedaling motion, alternately touching your right elbow to your left knee and your left elbow to your right knee. Do 8 to 12 repetitions on each side.

Ball Crunch

A. Sit on a balance ball with your feet flat on the floor. Let the ball roll back slowly. Tightening your abdominals, lean back so your torso rests on the ball and your thighs are parallel to the floor. Place your hands behind your head, thumbs behind your ears, chin tilted slightly, elbows out to the sides and rounded slightly in.

B. Contracting your abs, slowly curl up and forward until your upper back lifts off the ball. Hold for a moment, and then lower slowly. Keep your feet firmly planted on the floor, and tailbone and low back in contact with the ball. Do 8 to 12 repetitions.

Boat Pose

a. From a seated position, tighten your abdominals and recline back slightly, keeping your back straight.

b. Lift your legs so your thighs are at a 45-degree angle to the floor, creating a V shape with your body.

c. Maintaining an elongated spine, lift your arms out straight, so they are in line with your shoulders. Balance on your sit bones, holding for 5 to 30 seconds.

So totally fun to do and easy too - just when you put your head and heart to it - of course your muscles will have to agree too and you can do that when you put your soul into it. I am a health freak now and this is all part of my health doings - Dieting is too much of a fad and what is lost gains back when you let yourself lose. Eat healthy and be wise - move a little and feel elated for long :)

Intense and insightful

2010-11-04T03:48:00.000-07:00

Of course I am well lagging in here. Probably feeling I should leave or no - I could but there is a reason to stay - a reason I am en route of. Life is always on course. The little distractions along the way and the intensity with which they attack is the real off course. Surely there is a wise saying which goes something like, 'along life's road there is no reason why we shouldn't stop to smell the roses'... but sometimes the rose is just a means of off course.

Sunday Scribblings are very well lagging and I am not too happy to say it. But now I see the insight into Intense and proudly stating the 13 (for Thursday) under the subject in consideration.

I am intensely drawn towards cooking these days. All i can think about is which recipe to re-create. I am follow food channels and food blogs and savoring the sight of delicious and sumptuous meals prepared by great cooks. Once upon a time I was so turned off by the sound of 'to the kitchen' and now even after midnight I can't have enough of being there. Being on diet actually took me there. I excel at mild cooking and rich desserts and now I wanna do more. More desi cooking and Chinese cooking and so much more.

The sight of sweet does make me drool but I could just do with a spoonful. The rest is for family and friends to feast on and I feast on the comments which follow. Shall I share recipes of intense delight? or should I share the 13 more intense and passionate pictures for Thursday today? I can't make up my mind... and I have to wrap this post before another job pops in. I am too tired of performing - I just hope and pray the design I submitted on PowerPoint is well-considered. I boggled my brains out completely. Even though it was an inspired piece from many odd pieces. Never compiled any piece of the sort before.

Ok before I am distracted by something again - let me share with you my intense diet conscious life at the moment. I am not agonizing. I am loving every minute of it.

1. Coffee - Caffeine with Splenda and Skimmed Milk

2. Unsalted peanuts

3. Vinegar is an essential part of all my cooking

4. Popcorn without flavour (no cheese or butter)

5. Beans especially RED

6. Green Tea (mint lemon jasmine especially)

7. I love mushrooms and saute them occasionally

8. Red and Blue berries

9. Egg White Only

10. No Sugar Peanut Butter (teaspoon full on a toast)

11. Dark Chocolate when I have a craving

12. Almonds and other nuts with good fats don't make a difference

13. 100% pure fruit juices

There you have 13 of the foods which are a part of my intense diet. I have lost a whole lot of kgs thanks to the routine I have maintained for the 3 months gone by. I am openly sharing it and would not mind a bit if you'd want to try it :) It cuts belly fat and I hate it when something gets on my belly :( esp load of the fat kind :P

So I am retiring from today's blogging - Have a wonderful weekend ahead!

T-13
Sunday Scribblings

The Meme About Me, Myself and I

2010-10-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

1. What inspires you to blog?

my life or something like it *grin

2. What’s the best thing about blogging, for you?

It is the fact that my words are poured into hearts of those who mean something to me

3. What is your favourite book of all time?

It has to be "a 1000 splendid suns" for all reasons I cannot describe here

4. It’s 9pm and for some reason you’ve been hungry all day, despite the three square meals. What do you rustle up?

I saute veges and have em with toast

5. Who are three of your style icons?

I would rather pick my sense than icons to dictate fashion and style to me

6. What’s your current favourite song/piece of music?

"What if" by Colbie Caillat

7. What is the last book you read?

Diary of a Social Butterfly by Moni Mohsin

8. What is your current favourite recipe?

At the moment I specialize in Fettuccine Alfredo hence that is my fave recipe

9. Who or what first inspired you to set up your own blog?

My life or Something Like it... and it continues

10. What object could you not live without?

Perfumeeeee DKNY 'PINK' Be Delicious (I am running out of it)

11. Where do you see yourself in ten years?

I do see myself in a perfect family setting with husband and kids
but you never know I might get a career setting instead

12. Who or what made you into the person you are today?

We all have people and situations which make or break the life and us -
I too have had the share of those and
I am what I am because of the mistakes I made
and lessons I learned

13. What have your learned from blogging?

I've learned that I am never alone -
I always have someone who echos my thoughts and opinions

14. Knowing what you know now, what knowledge would you pass on to your past self?

Just excel in education and career goals, the rest will fall in place

15. Sunday roasts - lunchtime or evening meal?

Evening Meal

16. What has been your best blogging-related experience so far?

So far - I am looking forward to the BEST :)

Done and Ditched

2010-10-22T03:53:00.000-07:00

They keep asking me why I don't keep many friends? why I don't believe in friendship and why is it I have to rid off them frequently?

Yes they are curious about why the seemingly most important relationship in life is the most unimportant in mine. And Sunday Scribblings has given me a chance to quench their curiosity.

I have moved on a lot from what I was 3 years ago. I had never imagined life to go in such fast forward then. But now as I sit to ponder and keep saying this changed and that changed, my God I’ve changed so much. I hardly think twice before I press delete and there are no regrets later. I have stopped holding grudges and insecurities. No one leaves me now; I leave them much before the thought strikes in their heads.

Talking of changes much has changed on the relationship front for me. The friends I would have died without three years ago are hardly a matter of my concern or life. I don’t feed my phone any credit just so I don’t have to reply to them. Yes they complain, but it doesn’t hype me. Something in my heart says, ‘they just want to know if you are dead’ and hence I refrain from answering ever. Many are married now and many have just disappeared. They will be back, but I wont be needing them then.

So technically speaking friends have stopped to co-exist with life for me. They are just locked away in some abandoned cell and I don’t ever feel the need to go in and take a look around. Does life do this to you? It takes away the essence of things which matter on a big scale? Like people and friends? Maybe it happens when all your needs are met via family. Over time I have learned to differ between friends and so-called friends. And most of them fill the latter. Friends are supposed to make your life better, right? But they had started to make mine miserable and very meager. I got caught up in an all-too-toxic relationship with friends that only dawned in stress, sadness and an overwhelming desire to gouge their eyeballs with a q-tip. Surely, no friendship is a pleasure without pain and there are definitely no surprise birthdays and random hellos or gifts and wacky photo shoots, and color-coordinated outfits, but nor should it be an inconvenience like an itchy wound that causes a big infection.

I learned the term frenemies and it surely does every kind of justice to what friends have done to me. I have ditched some and some I shall as time goes by. I m just loosening the knots of the bond we shared once. It is getting too suffocating and monotonous.

Me Me Me! I’ve had a lot of those and believe me this lot always managed to turn a conversation about a chipped nail into an hour-long whine session of how it will effect the other nails and how it hasn’t ever happened and then there is a wedding to attend and so on and so forth. These people always have a shocking tale about themselves, either to irritate you or tell you, you aren’t all that important to be spoken. It’s not that they don’t care about me but obviously I don’t matter so much.

Opinionated Assailant: When I will need an opinion I’ll ask but she won’t understand and he too. They will always bombard my existence with words I don’t need and yet I will have to hear and keep. This friend has something to say about what I do and how I do and with whom I choose to do it. Whatever way I do it in, is strictly not the right way and I will hear something about it in the negative most of the time. Why does the judgment need to be against me? Why not stand by me and hold my hand and have a ‘for’ opinion on the way I do things, any thing?

Attention Addict: every time it is a sob story. Why doesn’t he call me, why doesn’t he feel the way I do for him, cant he see, etc. always in tears and always wanting attention quite unnecessary. Her exaggerated drama always gets on my nerves and she drags melodrama every where she goes… I haven’t been much of a theatre follower but I can surely say it goes the same way. Always heart broken and always in tears. Her second name is Drama Queen! Don’t we all have enough of drama in our lives? If her tailor stitched her clothes a little too tight she ruins your entire day whining about it and thinks it is her right. Your time is her time and nothing can change that fact. In her world, there’s an absence of your priorities over yours.

Moan Drone: The real sad-sack type, the one always needing your ear to shout into and your shoulder to wet — always complaining about something, and if not anything than just about how bloated her tummy is and crying uselessly over it. Wearing a dreary face towards anything nice and happy you are going with in your life. If I bother trying to inspire for good living, another mouthful comes my way. They never feel good and better is far from good. Happiness is just not liking them enough and hence they love to whine and keep doing that forever if they have to. What a drag!

Emasculating Manipulator: They will humbly and gently get up there in your head and break the power you have over yourself to transform a very good decision to a very bad one. Yes they will always make you look bad in their own way. Your decisions will see the light of bad day when you leak it to them before you endorse it practically. They might not mean harm in the harm sense (or maybe I am fooling myself) but they sure let you down and put you down all together. You have a full burger and they’ll exclaim ‘how can you? I could never!’ I mean what? Why does it matter to you that I ate a full burger, so I was hungry. You don’t have to make me look so bad and make me feel it even if you think so. Bad you!

I have had the gossip queens too and the treacherous ones too (why I call them friends? I don’t know) but surely they were there by my side when misery dawned in upon me and I was in tears and unheard and wounded. Yes the tragedy of my little life is, I have grown to like my life now without these characters. Who waste not a second to come in when they want me and other times have all the right reasons to be off scene.

Pity them. Life goes on and mine has terrifically. I just took time out to blog today and thought I’d remind me of the types I had once upon a time.

I heart Karachi

2010-10-21T01:06:00.000-07:00

thursday-13

Yes yes I should be cursing it and ridiculing it but why? Just because some hooligans are on the loose and trying to cause plunder around? Oh well that has happened always. The people who run this country are the only ones responsible for the mess this city is in. being the hub and the port for the whole country and obviously having an air of arrogance, surely why would it not be the target of rampage?

Being here almost all my life and hence being a misfit in anywhere around the country endorses my epitome as Karachick, truly and soberly. I love this city. I don’t even care much if it decides to cut off from the rest of the country and flushes itself out of the ingredients causing the stale smell and taste.

I have seen this city since I was born. Twice I moved residence and hence localities but never did I change being who I was. I should be a patriot and go on chanting Pakistan Pakistan, but there isn’t must to shout about wrt to the entire country. We have an idiot for President and always have been under someone incapable of the position, so why am I willing to be a Paki over a Karachick? You won’t understand. I know you won’t. You can sing your own tunes, let me sing mine. I am patriotically challenged and there isn’t much I or you can do to change that. Change is hard when layers of dust of the same genre settle on top of it.

There are reasons I heart Karachi and I will forever…

1. This city is the place I owe my birth to. My good fate that I had to be born here and grow up here. And what a place it is. Gems are always eyed and I am proud to be part of this gem city.

2. Karachi is where I started school and went to college and completed my bachelor’s degree. I sought after my goals and achievements and this city willingly helped me accomplish it. We have the best educational system. At least literate enough to stand tall and apart from the rest of the mediocre types. Do you see arrogance? Yea well I am showing it off :P

3. I felt love here. I went to US and came back. There I did not find love, here is where I fell in love and bloomed in it. The air in Karachi is very selfless. They all say it is the opposite, but you have got to live here to feel it. It doesn’t touch everyone the same way. Yea selfish right :P so you think that way!

4. Amid all tensions of life, traffic jams, security issues, the ever increasing population thanks to the invites we so openly give to outsiders, filthy slums, broken roads and Karachi has a lot to offer every day when I ride to and from work. I can stop to have coffee on my way home and sit by the sea watching the breeze cleanse me. Yes this is my first love, I did not understand it when I was young, but this is where my heart is always.

5. I heart Karachi for the evening skies and the lovely breeze. Yes it gets hot here but this city is the best when evening sets in. the sky is beautiful and the breeze is superb.

6. When it comes to shopping, Karachi the commercial hub of the country, offering a variety of shopping options. According to the recent survey by the Times newspaper Karachi is found to be the second-cheapest city in the world. This metropolitan city is home to every genre of shopping, from traditional Pakistani markets to upscale malls. Shopping in Karachi is really amusing, and the bazaars and malls of Karachi are among the sites which give it a unique identity.

7. This city has diet conscious people. Yes we don’t dive into desi ghees and parathas every morning. We have a balanced diet which includes the healthy stuff and not the over done things which ultimately lead to diseases and hospital expenses. When you are in Karachi, you know you eat to live and not live to eat.

8. Fashion sense amongst men and women is not something you’ll die to see. There is ample of that and every one has a designer in him who’ll tell you something that’ll definitely make some sense. Aesthetics can be well judged by the interiors in houses and mansions. People just don’t have money, they have style too. No paindoo-ism here – not unless you are a misfit in the city.

9. What’s happening today in Karachi amidst the chaos and terror is an explosive cultural surge that is evident in arts, music, theatre, dance, literature, the new media, fashion, lifestyle, architecture, newer institutions of higher education. The work being produced is world-class level. We are in the eyes of the world for better reasons than what you think and w are being awarded for what we produce. Hats off to the efforts of people of Karachi!

10. Karachi has Raintree Spa and is for sure envied every where else in Pakistan. I indulged in their yummy services on my birthday and they gave me a 50% discount. What else could one ask for? Amazing rejuvenation at affordable prices. When you come here get a hint of it yourself. You’ll love the pampering. (I sound like they paid me to say this no :P)

11. Karachi my love has matured over time. It is aging but is never to old to get out at night and party. Of course there are restrictions. I await my spouse to indulge in that sort of fun. But no matter how bad the situation in the city is, no one can sit home and whine about it. We love to be out there and live life. And may God keep it that way for us always. Ameen.

12 and 13 can rest because I have to get back to work. Have spend time writing the 11 things and will continue once work has been wrapped. You go on and envy me for the time being **wink

It just happens and I can't explain it - can you?

2010-10-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

1- The moment where your house becomes your home. Your best friend becomes your love.

2- Where pain is absolutely beautiful and pleasurable. There is no way you will complain even if it makes you cry.

3- Two people love each other so much that they can't breathe, and they can't see, anyone else but them.

4- You close your eyes, and a realization strikes you about yourself that you never had ever before.

5- You fall in love with something or someone you had no intention to fall for.

6- You achieve the impossible and you think that the impossible was just an illusion.

7- Someone loves you so much that even when they don’t say it, there is so much being said in their silence.

8- You walk in with a smile and leave when you have everyone else smiling.

9- The last lines of a novel which leave you smiling behind tears.

10- You have a wonderful dream and even when you wake up, you find it real and happening.

11- There is fragrance all around but you really don’t know who is carrying your favorite scent.

12- When a song and the words all strike you down like a thunderbolt and you can go on listening to the same track a hundred times.

13- The experience of being human is more than you can take, and you feel like you couldn’t ask for anything else.