Wednesday, 1 February 2012

SEA WEED AS A HEALTHY SNACK


According to National University of Ireland, seaweeds are marine algae, saltwater dwelling, simple organisms that fall into the rather outdated general category of "plants". Consuming natural seaweed snack is one of the popular trends in the West Coast Lunch Rooms in U.S.A. Roasted seaweed snack known for its health benefits,  is an important part of the Korean diet. Adults and children would enjoy having them like chips and it supposedly has zero bad stuff in it.  





Roasted seaweed snack presented at the Fancy Food Show, San Francisco, U.S.A. 

Let's examine the health benefits of seaweed.

* Milk shakes,  smoothies, soups and salads made with organic seaweed, seaweed jelly,  natural dried seaweed, fresh seaweed or seaweed extracts suppresses hunger pangs, manage compulsive eating habits,  making you eat less and help you to lose weight. 

* Seaweed contains  minerals such as iron, vitamins such as vitamin B12, amino acids and botanical extracts providing a host of enzymes, macro and micro phytonutrients.

boosts the immune system

* decreases blood sugar and cholesterol

* increases gastro-intestinal tract function

* decreases the symptoms of arthritis joint pains. 

* it is a detoxifier and healing agent

* It's believed that seaweed nutrition contributes towards a balanced diet that provides all the nutrients and trace elements which is not found in other foods.


Seaweed salad
Seaweed extract and seaweed pills contain all the nutritional vitamins and trace elements of fresh seaweed. It's important to make sure to purchase your seaweed extract and seaweed pills of reputable brand or company that certifies that the seaweed products are pure.
In China, Korea and Japan a process called aquaculture is used for seaweed cultivation.  Arame, Wakame and Nori are the most well known seaweeds used in cooking. 

Seaweed cultivation farm





INSPIRATION - PRAYER IS LIKE A STEERING WHEEL


Tuesday, 31 January 2012

BEING HAPPY DOES NOT MEAN EVERYTHING IS PERFECT...


WINDOW DECOR USING WOOD

While I was at 360 Mall and passing by Sucoor, I noticed something nice and different in their window decor, they used a lot of wooden logs and wood pieces to decorate their window that radiates a sense of peace and warmth. 




MY PICTURES FOR THE DAY - BEAUTIFUL ROSES

I feel a way to a woman's heart is presenting her a beautiful bunch of Roses.  Dean and Deluca at Avenues have a delightful collection of assortment of roses. Ladies, you don't have to wait for an occasion or special someone to give you roses...you can buy yourself some lovely roses and put them in a beautiful vase at home - what a perfect way to appreciate yourself for the wonderful woman you are. 









DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE KATE MIDDLETON NAMED HAT PERSON OF THE YEAR

Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton was named 'Hat Person of the Year' by The Headwear Association. Besides her great sense of fashion, Kate also knows to select beautiful hats. Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt held the titles previously. Kate was named Britain’s Best Dressed by Harper's Bazaar  in November 2011. In August 2011, she was on Vanity Fair's  international best dressed list. The Headwear association blog put up Duchess's most extraordinary hat fashions of 2011.

The Headwear Association (THA) was founded in 1908. Their mission is to promote hat wearing and the headwear industry throughout the world and foster goodwill and fellowship in the headwear industry. 











INTERESTING PICTURES - AMAZING CLOSE UP OF HUMAN EYE

How truly beautiful are our eyes? Have you wondered? Suren Manvelyan,  Armenian scientific researcher at the Institute for Physical Research of National Academy of Sciences, took close up photos of the of his students, friends and colleagues eyes on macro and he was amazed at what he saw. 'Everyday we see hundreds of eyes but do not suspect they have such a beautiful structure like surfaces of unknown planets', said Suren  Manvelyan, who is also a professional photographer.







AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012 WINNERS

Novak Djokovic of Serbia  defeated Spain's Rafael Nadal in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday, January  29, 2012. The match took 5 hours and 53 minutes, the longest recorded in Grand Slam history.

Novak Djokovic world No. 1 with winning trophy (left) with Rafael Nadal (right)

“It’s one of the greatest wins of my career because we played for so long, almost six hours and just thinking about it makes me cry”, Djokovic said. “I’m very proud to be part of this history, part of the elite of the players that have won this tournament several times. The facts are that I’m at the peak of my career”, he said. “I feel physically and mentally at the peak, I feel strong, I feel motivated, I fee eager to win more trophies”. 
Victoria Azarenka with her winning trophy (left) beside Maria Sharapova (right)

Known for her volatile temperament and eleven months after threatening to quit tennis, 22 year old Victoria Azarenka, emerged as No. 1,  defeating Maria Sharapova and winning Australian Open 2012 Women's Single Title.  'I guess I made a pretty smart decision not walking out,' said Azarenka after winning her title. 'I have learned no one road goes straight; there are always ups and downs.' 'I had the perfect ending and I am in the perfect position,' said Azarenka.


Leander Paes and parnter Elena Vesnina (left) and winners of Australian Mixed doubles title Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Horia Tecau (right)

Bethanie Mattek-Sands from U.S.A and her partner Horia Tecau from Romania won the Australian Open 2012 mixed doubles title on Sunday beating Elena Vesnina from Russia and Leander Paes from India.

Monday, 30 January 2012

HUMOUR - WHO ATE THE REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS


WALL THAT PLAYS MUSIC WHEN IT RAINS

Every time it starts to rain, the beautiful and colourful 'Kunsthofpassage Funnel Wall' in Dresden, Germany, turns into a charming musical instrument orchestra!



HAPPY SPIRIT - LADIES PERFUME FROM CHOPARD

At the Avenues Mall, I happened to try out 'HAPPY SPIRIT', from CHOPARD, a lovely enchanting fragrance for women. Ladies, looking for a new perfume...to rekindle your spirits and create a sense of happiness in and around you? Try Happy Spirit...quite a mood uplifter! 

Happy Spirit comes in a  heart-shaped bottle. The Eau de Parfum contains, fresh citrus notes that precede the  floral beauty of magnolia and honeysuckle, and sweet fruity raspberry notes. The base note comprises of  cashmere wood, amber and musk. 





WHEN YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING

SALE AT DESIGUAL

There is a nice sale going on at DESIGUAL (360 Mall and Avenues Mall) . They have some fascinating designs in clothes and bags, especially for the young ladies. 







CELINE DION "THE POWER OF THE DREAM"

One of Celine Dion's inspiring and beautiful song 'The Power of the Dream' that was sung live in Atlanta Olympic Games way back in 1996. Listen, enjoy and be inspired or you can even sing along. The lyrics are beneath the video clipping. It's time to believe in the power of 'your dream!'



Deep within each heart
There lies a magic spark
That lights the fire of our imagination
And since the dawn of man
The strength of just "I can"
Has brought together people of all nations

There’s nothing ordinary
In the living of each day
There’s a special part
Every one of us will play

Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
As the world gives us its best
To stand apart from all the rest
It is the power of the dream that brings us here

Your mind will take you far
The rest is just pure heart
You’ll find your fate is all your own creation
Every boy and girl
As they come into this world
They bring the gift of hope and inspiration

Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
The world unites in hope and peace
We pray that it will always be
It is the power of the dream that brings us here

There’s so much strength in all of us
Every woman child and man
It’s the moment that you think you can’t
You’ll discover that you can

Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
The world unites in hope and peace
We pray that it will always be
It is the power of the dream that brings us here

The power of the dream
The faith in things unseen
The courage to embrace your fear
No matter where you are
To reach for your own star
To realize the power of the dream  

Sunday, 29 January 2012

SPENDING TIME WITH YOUR CHILD


SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS 2012


Director Benh Zeitlin, left, and actress Quvenzhane Wallis, with the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic award for the film "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (Image credit  Danny Molosok/AP)


"Beasts of the Southern Wild" directed by Benh Zeitlin got the jury award for the best film and best cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival 2012 awards ceremony on Saturday, January 28, at Park City, Utah.  "The House I Live In" won the best documentary award."Beasts of the Southern Wild"  depicts the bond between a father and a daughter, set in impoverished Louisiana.  "The House I Live In," examines America's war on drugs, U.S. drug policies,  court system, prisons and their social and emotional impact on minorities.

"The Surrogate," starring Helen Hunt and John Hawkes  won the Audience Award for best drama. Special jury prizes were awarded to to "Love Free or Die," about the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson; and "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry," about the Chinese artist and activist who was detained for 81 days in government detention last year. "Searching for Sugar Man," won the audience award for best world documentary and a special jury prize. It centered on the the search for Rodriguez, an obscure 1970s Detroit folk singer.  "Violeta Went To Heaven," won the jury prize for best drama. The movie was based on the life of Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra's journey from a poor upbringing to national hero. 

For the complete list of winners at the Sundance Film festival awards, visit this Link

HUMOUR - WHEN GIRLS GROW UP


ORANGES FOR GLOWING HEALTH

I have blogged about oranges and their health benefits in an earlier post. It's an amazing fruit; well actually that's why it's my favourite fruit (besides mango). It aids in weight loss as well. Have two oranges a day, or a glass of orange juice. Infact one orange can give you all the vitamin C you require for a day. Its full of wonderful vitamins and minerals. It contains fibre, folate, thiamin (Vitamin B1), potassium, Vitamin A and calcium. They have anti inflammatory properties and they also can lower blood pressure and cholestrol. Oranges contain iron and Vitamin B6, essential for the producing red cells in the blood, which carry oxygen from lungs to our cells. An orange of 135 gms would have 60 to 65 calories. They have anti ageing properties and protect our skin. They boost immunity by increasing the production of white blood cells. It helps in preventing heart disease.





These pictures are taken at Dean and Deluca. They have a lovely  'fruits' section.

CHOPARD LADIES WATCHES - NEW COLLECTION



Beautiful collection of ladies watches from Chopard (available at Avenues Mall). Check out their 'Imperiale' collection.

For view Chopard ladies watches - visit their official website Here

JOY IN BEING YOURSELF

When you are being yourself, you are being genuine and true to yourself and others. People can see that and will accept and appreciate you for who you are. Being yourself does not mean you do or say things that will hurt others, yet you can peacefully affirm and stand by your views and beliefs without being confrontational or  evoking conflict.  Being aware of your own thoughts, emotions,  strengths, abilities, motives and  preferences and conforming to those core values will lead you to a life of authenticity. You cannot be someone else or twist your values to please someone else for fear of rejection or criticism. The more authentic you are, the more peaceful and content you will be.   At the same time, there are lot of positive people with a great aura about them, from whom we can learn. We have a renewed opportunity, each day, to change our negative behaviours or traits to uplift ourselves to be able to experience a true sense of happiness. If you were to meet someone who was being himself and another person who  was full of pretense, empty promises and trying to be someone he isn't, you would sooner or later recognize the person who is authentic. Whose company would you enjoy and appreciate better? The answer is simple.

I saw this 'Be Yourself' t-shirt while I was at Bershka in Avenues. 


Thursday, 26 January 2012

PENCIL ART BY TWO YEAR OLD

This is a drawing by a sweet two year old baby girl called Dia, who lives with her parents in Kuwait. Can you guess what this picture is? 


It's a face; and did you notice its a smiling, happy contented face. A little artist in the making! Dia is the daughter of a lovely and talented young lady I've known since a very long time.