LESSONS I GREW UP WITH - MICHELLE OBAMA

MY PHOTO FOR THE DAY - SOMEONE'S ENJOYING A MASSAGE

I took this photo of Ankole Cattle, while we were at the West Midlands Safari Park. It certainly liked being gently massaged.

Ankole cattle with long horns are from Africa and it's believed that the ancient breed was domesticated around 6000 years ago! They are bred for milk, rather than meat and the milk contains more butter fat that makes it perfect for butter production. They are considered a status symbol and  highly prized for ceremonial purposes in East Africa during weddings and other celebrations.  Ankoles are supposedly a dying breed, said to disappear in 50 years.

HUMOR - HOT SUMMER DAY AT THE ZOO

LIFE IS LIKE A MAZE

photo taken at Stratford Upon Avon

I was going through some photos I had taken during my trip to UK. The photo of a garden shaped like a maze came to my attention. And I thought, isn't our life like as if we are put in a maze. The journey through the maze to the finish line is not the same for all. It's longer for some, shorter for the rest and the experiences hugely vary making it quite unique for each person. You would have guides, family, companions, friends and strangers whom you travel with or meet as you travel through the maze. There are times, when you will be totally on your own. People choose different direction and pathways in the maze based on their instincts, values, beliefs and the choices they make, all in good faith that the journey through the maze would be a happy one. However, on your journey, you will come across many challenges and obstacles. And from somewhere within you, from an unseen reservoir within, you find the strength and courage to face them or cross them and move on. You might reach closed doors where you have to knock and wait for it to open, or even push slightly to make your way. You would meet guides or signs to show you the right way at certain utterly confusing parts of the maze. They were sent because you asked for help.

When you feel you are getting good at finding your way through the maze, you are shocked to reach a dead end. When you feel lost,  in the midst of your agony or frustration, comes wisdom that lightens your path and you try out fearlessly another direction you never thought of before. Time and again, there is happiness and celebration when the paths seem easy. As you move along, and you have treaded and made your way through both darkness and light, you realize there is nothing to fear. When you look back, you know that you have covered a great distance and the journey continues. The exit door of the maze does not matter anymore. What matters is the journey through the maze itself. Fear and doubt are defeated by the great power of resilience, patience, inner strength,  faith and wisdom that you have discovered within you. And you know you can count on the miracles and blessings of the universe. Life is truly a-maze-ing!

PERFUME CHANEL COCO NOIR

Coco Noir is the latest perfume from Chanel. The fragrance is oriental and preferably suited for evening/night wear. The top notes comprise of grapefruit and  Calabrian bergamot. The middle notes contain rose, narcissus, rose geranium leaf and jasmine. The base notes are tonka bean, sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli and white musk frankincense.

If you like oriental fragrances, try it out and see what you think. I tried it on twice last week and realized the effect of Coco Noir stays on the skin for 8 hours or more.

WHEN LIFE TAKES YOU FOR A RIDE

When life takes you for a ride, hang on tight !

(Available at Hallmark, Marina Mall)

INCLUDE MORE HERBS IN YOUR DIET

Green herbs will nourish your body with wonderful vitamins and minerals and they are one of the most important ingredients you should include in your diet for glowing health.



photo taken at Sultan Center, Shuwaikh



HUMOR MIDDLE AGE

SWEET SUMMER

What is it that you enjoy most about summer?  I enjoy the summer months - well the beginning and end of summer to be precise. During the peak of summer, it can get really hot, when temperatures are soaring.  Early morning, late afternoons and evenings are the best part of a summer day.

It's so comfortable to dress light during summer. No sweaters, no jackets!  Do you tend to wear colorful clothes or light colored clothes during summer? The bright yet cheerful colors like orange, yellow, pink and reds are in vogue right now and women tend to look so beautiful in them. How about white, light pista green, shades of beige or mauve or light blue, don't they look fabulous too?

We tend to drink a lot of liquid during summer. It's best if aerated drinks, soda, and artificial juices or juices from supermarket shelves are avoided. They contain too much sugar. Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day, that's the best you can do for your body when you're thirsty. Make your own juices and keep in the fridge for 2 days like water melon, pineapple, mango without adding any sugar. Have freshly made pomegranate or orange juice or fruit based natural home made smoothies. They give you amazing nourishment. Oh..and eat light..don't consume too much of fat, salt and sugar.

Summer offers the opportunity to be outdoors and there are so many things you could do on your own, or with your friends and family. Be sure to apply sunscreen if you are out in the sun and wear your cap/hat and sunglasses. Harsh sun is bad for your skin. It might give you a tan, but can do a whole lot of damage.

Things you can do before summer ends....

* Enjoy your time at the beach or swimming pool

* Experiment and create home made juices from the seasonal fruits available. Serve them to your family and friends and watch them ask for more.

* Try out new shades of clothes - bright colors, light colors, which you don't already have.

* Go for long walks or jogging early morning or late afternoons.
* Watch sunrise and or sunset
* Enjoy the sunlight that comes into your house and brightens up your rooms, let it brighten your mood and your day.

* Try losing weight, eat less, eat light you tend to lose faster and easier during summer than in any other seasons of the year. Exercising in the summer makes you sweat more releasing all the toxins and water retention, that will make you appear healthier and slimmer.

* Sit outside in your porch or balcony and paint, knit or do some creative art

* Go camping

* Try your hand at creating low calorie healthy salads. There are numerous recipes on the internet.

* Take more outdoor photographs. Choose beautiful natural locations and surroundings and bring out the artist in you.

* Trekking is fun...want to try that before summer ends?

* Choose  beautiful outdoor locations and go for picnics

* Treat yourself at a Spa. Go for relaxing or rejuvenating massages

* Go on a one week detox diet to flush out all the toxins
* Read a good book
* Get a new hair cut / hair style and look different this summer

* Try Gardening, it's fun. Plant seeds and watch them grow into beautiful plants

Enjoy your summer.....

WAIT...THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK...

MY PHOTO FOR THE DAY - SACRED TREE

For all the people of the earth, the Creator has planted a sacred Tree, under which they may gather to find healing, power, wisdom and security. Its roots spread deeply into Mother Earth, its branches reach to Father Sky. Its fruits are the good things that our Creator has given to all peoples, the path to love, compassion, generosity, patience, wisdom, justice, courage, respect, humility and other great gifts. - Alyssa A. Lappen

I took this photo of the beautiful 'Sacred Tree' art work, at the Native American gift shop,  National Museum of American Indian, Washington D.C.

OLD AGE - HUMOR

CRUMPLED CERAMIC CUPS

Crumpled cups - do you find the design interesting? These ceramic cups have been designed to look like as if you crumpled a paper cup after you finished having coffee. If you saw crumpled cups, would you buy them; would you be comfortable drinking your tea or coffee from a crumpled cup? I saw these ceramic crumpled cups at Sultan Center the other day.

GREEN SCHOOL - AN AMAZING SUSTAINABILITY SCHOOL IN BALI

John Hardy and his wife Cynthia conceived the 'Green School',  an amazing educational village amongst the jungle and rice fields of Bali in Indonesia, to spread their vision and ideas on sustainable living through an alternative education system to locals and foreigners. Hardy explained, "We are building Green School to create a new paradigm for learning. We want children to cultivate physical sensibilities that will enable them to adapt and be capable in the world. We want children to develop spiritual awareness and emotional intuition, and to encourage them to be in awe of life’s possibilities.”

Green School sits on 23 acres of lush green, tropical landscape. Bali’s terrain ranges from volcanoes and jungles to reefs, rivers and the ocean, turning the school into an amazing ecological classroom. Open space surrounding the school, has been planted with organic fruit, vegetable gardens and rice paddies. The school is constructed using natural and renewable material primarily bamboo. The bamboo classrooms house students from pre kindergarten to 11th grade. There are about 300 students currently. The Heart of School houses the library, the administrative offices, and a few classrooms.

The school’s mission statement reads “Empowering global citizens and green innovators who are inspired to take responsibility for the sustainability of the world.” The administration is always on the look out for finding new ways to incorporate sustainable energy. Cynthia would like students to incorporate  physical interaction with the land: “Kids will take responsibility over pieces of land,” Cynthia says. “They will work the land, cultivate seedlings, plant the seedlings, weed the rice fields. When the rice is fully grown, they will cut it, thresh it, take it to the mill. They will see brown rice and compare it to white rice. They will look at the weight, the cost, the world price versus the subsidized price, how many hours it took to make, how nutritious it is. Students also learn how to make soap from coconuts, chairs and charcoal from other natural resources." Their vision aims at complete, sustainable learning experience revolving around what is naturally available on Earth, and using that to both create and conserve.

Green School’s goal is that students will be endowed with academic skills and global awareness, taking with them ideas of possible ways to continue developing the planet in sustainable ways.

Green School - Sustainability features:

* Structures are built from renewably, locally sourced bamboo, from the roof and walls to the blackboards and chairs. Roofs are made of alang-alang thatch.

* Working towards using 100 percent renewable energy, using photovoltaic panels, a micro-hydro-powered vortex generator, and bio-gas (methane extracted from animal manure) instead of bio-diesel.

* Bamboo sawdust is used to power the water heating and cooking systems.

* Walking paths are constructed with stones, rather than cement or asphalt surfaces.

* The roads are volcanic rock and walkways are gravel

John and Cynthia Hardy

Green School

LITTLE EMOTIONS ARE GREAT CAPTAINS OF OUR LIVES

MY PHOTO FOR THE DAY - YOUNG KITTEN PREDATOR GETS A MOUSE

Do you know why cats are known as the perfect carnivore? That's because their whole being is designed for hunting and eating animal flesh, from their claws and teeth to their digestive system. Young kittens are taught by their mothers that mice and birds are good to eat. Kittens have a natural instinct to chase and catch fast moving small items. It's a natural predatory behavior which forms an important survival skill. While I was out the other day, I came across this stray kitten who was playing with a mouse it's mother must have probably caught and given as a part of the kitten's training process.

ALLADIN SHOW A HUGE SUCCESS AT 360 MALL

On Wednesday (August 22), my husband and I went to see the much talked about Alladin Show that was taking place in the 360 Mall. It was the final day of the four day show. I was glad we went for it. It was a great show by a group of talented artists that entertained and kept the crowd mesmerized with their acrobatic skills and various feats.

The show started at 7pm and ended around 9.30pm with short breaks after each show. There were three different shows. The first was the Genie Show, followed by Magic Show and the last was the Fire Show. We enjoyed all the three.  A big thanks to Viva Telecom and 360 Mall for arranging this show for the public. The crowd was quite enthralled with the performance.

Here are some photos I took of the show

Genie Show

Magic Show

Fire Show

ENJOY YOURSELF - A BEAUTIFUL SONG BY GUY LOMBARDO

I was voice chatting with my son yesterday and he shared a youtube link with me, of an old but beautiful song he had heard at a concert in DIA few days back. My son said, 'you have to listen to the lyrics, it's really nice. I listened to it and I loved  it. It's called "Enjoy Yourself  It'sLater Than You Think".

Songwriter Carl Sigman wrote this with friend Herb Magidson. "Enjoy Yourself" was recorded by Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians in 1949. The popular song remained on the Billboard for 19 weeks! Usually verses in Carl Sigman songs illuminated common conversational phrases, which he had a talent in capitalizing. He told 'Newsday' in an interview, "I was always listening, reading or looking for everyday expressions. I strive to make conversational lyrics - that's my strength - like 'Did anyone call?' or 'I'll never forgive myself.'" "Enjoy Yourself" is still played every New Year's Eve in many places all across the world.

Here are the lyrics you can look at as you listen to the lovely song

You work and work for years and years, you're always on the go

You never take a minute off, too busy makin' dough

Someday you say, you'll have your fun, when you're a millionaire

Imagine all the fun you'll have in your old rockin' chair

Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think

Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink

The years go by, as quickly as a wink

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think

You're gonna take that ocean trip, no matter come what may

You've got your reservations made, but you just can't get away

Next year for sure, you'll see the world, you'll really get around

But how far can you travel when you're six feet underground?

Your heart of hearts, your dream of dreams, your ravishing brunette

She's left you and she's now become somebody else's pet

Lay down that gun, don't try my friend to reach the great beyond

You'll have more fun by reaching for a redhead or a blond

Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think

Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink

The years go by, as quickly as a wink

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think

You never go to night clubs and you just don't care to dance

You don't have time for silly things like moonlight and romance

You only think of dollar bills tied neatly in a stack

But when you kiss a dollar bill, it doesn't kiss you back

Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think

Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink

The years go by, as quickly as a wink

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think

BABY BORN WITH HEART ON RIGHT SIDE AND LIVER ON LEFT

Image Credit - MSN

A Saudi mother gave birth to a baby boy with organs on the wrong side. The baby has his heart on the right side and his liver on the left. Doctors at the hospital said that the birth took place normally and that there was no need for surgical intervention. The baby was kept in ICU for observation and is stable. According to  medical opinion, the bady can actually lead a normal life.  The doctors said that the case of organ reversal was rare, occurring only once in every million births!

Via MSN (read the whole article)

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME ON EARTH