TEN THINGS SCIENCE SAYS ABOUT HAPPINESS

1. Enjoy / Savour Everyday : Pause now and then to savour ordinary events like the children playing, smelling coffee, admire the sight of flowers or trees as you drive or walk...Think of pleasant moments

2. Avoid Comparison: Everyone is unique. Comparing ourselves with others can be hurtful to our self esteem and well being. Instead of comparing, focus on our own talents, skills and personal accomplishements.

3. Don't let money and material things rule your life: People who obssess about money and seek satisfaction in material goods, are in risk for depression and anxiety. Satisfaction from both (money and material things) have a short life - it's fleeting.

4. Set meaningful goals: When you strive for some significant, you will be far more happier than those who don't have strong dreams and aspirations. Engage in activities that are personally significant and enjoyable, be it at work or at home.

5. Take initiative at work: How happy you are at work depends in part on how much initiative you take.

6. Treasure your family and make good friends: Happy people tend to have very close and supportive relationships with their families and friends. Build  and nurture your relationships with love, care and understanding.

7. Smile even when you are not in mood for it: Happy people see possibilities, opportunities and success. Keep a positive outlook with practise.

8. Say Thankyou and mean it: Be grateful always for known and unknown blessings.

9. Exercise: Exercise is an antidote to depression and bad mood. It has so many health benefits. Exercise releases good endorphins and boosts your self esteem and energy levels.

10. Give : Volunteer, help a neighbour or friend or family member in need, donate goods, share your skill, celebrate others' success, give a listening ear to a friend.

All these 10 things...they are easy to follow...now try a few of them or all of them...and discover Happiness 



MEASUREMENT OF TIME

Time is not measured by the years we live but by the deeds we do and the joys we give - Helen Steiner Rice (American writer of inspirational poetry)

ART EXHIBITION TODAY 'SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS'

"Spiritual Reflection" is the exhibition of two artists Fahim Hamid Ali from Toronto and Ambereena Ali Razvi from Kuwait, which started on Friday. It will be held on Saturday, 14th May, as well. Art enthusiasts, do try to visit the exhibition. The Exhibition will demonstrate creative works of art as a tool and a platform to promote the message of reconnecting back to the Supreme Being. It provides an opportunity for two talented artists to showcase their work which is so diverse in style yet conveys similar messages to the viewer. It hopes to engage the audience to reflect and search within for answers and find peaceful solutions to the current problems/issues facing us today.

I am looking forward to visit the exhibition on Saturday evening.  

Day and time : Saturday, 14th of May - 10 AM - 8 PM
Venue : Dar Al Cid, Jabriya, (Jabriya, Block 12, Street 1, Bld. 24-25)
Location Map: Below

TOSSING AND TURNING WORKOUT

GOOGLE MOST DESIRED EMPLOYER

A recent study in USA which asked 1447 IT students and 8116 engineering students on employer preference found that Google and Apple as the most desired employers.  Here are the top 5 dream employers.

SCENTED POSTAGE STAMPS

Australia is releasing Scented Stamps.  Starting May 17, stamps that smell like aromatic eucalyptus will be available to Aussies. The stamps aren't old-fashioned scratch and sniff, though. Instead, they're made with Scentprint varnish, which contains microcapsules of eucalyptus designed to maintain their scent as long as people don't burst the bubbles by rubbing the stamps. 

If your country decided to start printing scented stamps, how do you think they should smell? I would like it to smell very floral...very joyful.

GARFIELD

It's impossible to give a hug without getting one back - Garfield

HOW DO WE BENEFIT FROM EXERCISE? WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

Physical activity will significantly boost your "metabolic rate, the number of calories your body burns in order to keep you alive. By having a high metabolism, you burn calories 24 hours a day, even while you sleep! You can literally turn your body into a fat-burning machine!

With a strong metabolism comes a strong immune system. When you burn fat, the toxins are released into the bloodstream, and are quickly carried out of the body through sweat. Therefore, exercise that  makes you sweat is very good for you.

Exercise also helps to regulate the amount of insulin released into the bloodstream. Insulin is commonly referred to as “the fat-making hormone.” Its job is to metabolize blood sugar into energy. But too much insulin in the bloodstream keeps your body from burning stored fat. Years of an overworked pancreas—the organ that produces insulin—can lead to “onset (type 2) diabetes.” However, if you burn more calories than you consume, you significantly reduce the chances of developing this disease.

Exercise makes your body more flexible and regulates hormone levels, it can also help control other problems, such as sleep apnea, moodiness, stress, decreased energy, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and others. Exercise is a natural stimulator of many important “mood” hormones, including serotonin and dopamine.  Don’t think of exercise as a chore to lose weight or prevent heart disease “someday”. Realize that 15 or 20 minutes of exercise every day will naturally release these feel-good hormones that are so vital to feeling happy and calm. Exercise is about feeling healthy and good, not just looking good.

RESUMED MY EXERCISE

After a gap, I resumed my walk today  a part of my much needed exercise. I walked for an hour and 10 minutes in the Park. I made an important COMMITTMENT to myself. I will exercise daily for a week. After that, I hope it becomes an integral part of my daily routine without excuses. I have been able to stick to my low calorie diet, but somehow I haven't shown that sort of dedication to my exercise regimen which is interrupted too frequently. My reasons for that would be purely baseless, so I shall avoid an explanation. It's about time, I gave exercise equal importance. Whether you intend to lose weight or not, it's really essential to exercise. I realized one thing...if we want to do anything truly meaningful,  we will find the time to do it. What's more important than our health? 

PLANE HIT BY LIGHTNING BEFORE LANDING AT HEATHROW AIRPORT

An Emirates Airbus A380 was hit by lighting and that shocking moment was captured by photographer Chris Dawson in south west London last month. All five hundred passengers on-board the Emirates Airbus escaped unharmed after two powerful lightning bolts hit the aircraft in a thunderstorm.

If airplanes are not adequately protected from lightning strikes – extremely high voltages and currents can pass through the aircraft, which are capable of damaging component assemblies or destroying wiring and equipment.  However, the body of a plane is bonded with metal so it can act as a conductor, allowing electricity to pass through it in order to survive the jolts. Without the metallic bonding, lightning could cause a plane to explode on impact.

To read the full article visit:

http://en.news.maktoob.com/20090000742456/Plane_hit_by_lightning_caught_on_video/Article.htm 

PAPER PHONE AFTER iPHONE

Researchers from the Laboratory of  Human Media Lab of the Canadian Queens University of Ontario (Queen's University of British Columbia) made a fully functional, flexible smart phone-based e-paper, also known as computer paper, thin and flexible as a credit card and changes it's shape depending on where it is stored. The papirfon can do everything a smart phone does, call and receive calls, play music and read an e-book. It adapts to the shape of the user’s pocket or purse. When not in use the paper phone does not waste electricity. 

"This is the future. Everything is going to look and feel like this within five years,'' according lead researcher Roel Vertegaal. "You interact with it by bending it into a cell phone, flipping the corner to turn pages, or writing on it with a pen.''

To read the full article visit http://www.luxuryaddicted.com/2011/05/10/canadian-researchers-have-made-the-phone-flexible-e-paper/ 

WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS EASY

Sometimes we must choose between what is right and what is easy - Albus Dumbledore (from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)

BLOGGER WAS DOWN FOR OVER 24 HOURS!

WAS DOWN!

Dear Readers and Visitors,

My apologies to everyone who visited my page and did not find any new posts on Friday 13th May. I was able to access my blog only by Friday night.  As you might be aware, Blogger powered by Google was down for over the last 24 hours and all of my 6 or 7 posts that I put up early in the morning yesterday, was missing!. Blogger posted on their status that they would restore all the posts that were removed.  However, I was so glad when Blogger restored the recently removed posts. Well, everyone who uses Blogger all over the world, faced the same problem. I missed blogging and was waiting for Blogger to start functioning and boy am I glad that I can start posting again. Hope we don't face such a problem again. Thanks to all the Blogger staff who would have worked long and hard  to get it working. 

I used to keep checking Blogger status every now and then and this is what they were updating us with:

Friday, 
May 13, 2011 Blogger is back now. We're still working on restoring some of the data. For more details, see this post: http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/05/blogger-is-back.html. Posted by Chang at 10:32 PDT 

We’ve started restoring the posts that were temporarily removed and expect Blogger to be back to normal soon.   Posted by at 06:07 PDT

To get Blogger back to normal, all posts since 7:37am PDT on Weds, 5/11 have been temporarily removed. We expect everything to be back to normal soon. Sorry for the delay.Posted by at 04:25 PDT

Blogger will go into read-only mode Wednesday (5/11) 10:00PM PST for about an hour for maintenance. Posted by at 21:17 PDT 
 
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
We've identified a problem rendering some blogs containing the popular posts widget. Our engineers are fixing the issue and the it should be resolved shortly. Thanks for your patience in the mean time.Posted by Andrew at 01:25 PDT

ONE WEEK - IMPORTANCE OF COMMITTMENT IN WEIGHT LOSS

Accomplishment of worthwhile and difficult goals does not come by accident. It's the result of a dream, careful planning and putting in the effort necessary everyday to make it come true. When you decide upon something, you have to make a committment to yourself and be true to yourself.

I have been on a low calorie diet since February 25, 2011 and I have been conciously making the right choices when it comes to food and I have managed to lose 7 kg so far and also experience the goodness of healthy eating and improved health. I need to lose another 5 kg. Though I have managed to stick to my diet, I wish I had same dedication towards exercising. I can give a whole lot of excuses which would seem lame for not exercising regularly. But that really won't make sense and it's like road block on my journey of weight loss. No matter how busy you are, you have to find time, and honestly you will find time to do what is important. Can I find the time for that, without procrastination?

I have decided to commit ONE WEEK of my life from today to exercise daily, without excuses. If I manage to do that, I know I can continue to make it an integral part of my daily routine. Those of you trying to lose weight, if you hit upon any road block or issues, put your thinking cap on...what's stopping you? Be true and sincere to your dreams, make weight loss a reality. Make a COMMITTMENT to yourself and follow it through.

SALE AT MARKS AND SPENCER

There is a nice sale going on at Marks and Spencer at 360 Mall. It's worth a visit. They have a lot of good winter and summer clothes on sale for up to 50%. They also have new summer arrivals besides that. I was told by one of the staff there, that from today, they will have sale up to 75% !!!! So, go check out M & S. The sale should last for a week to two weeks. 

Marks and Spencer (360 Mall) telephone :  25309544

WEIGHT LOSS INSPIRATION

Pray to lose weight! Yes...truly. I read somewhere this testimony by a person who lost weight and reached her goal, which is quite inspiring, that in times of need, you receive the right guidance and help from God.

'He (God) encouraged me and gave me the will to go on. When I was tempted to break my diet, He reminded me of how important it was to stick with it. When pounds began to fall, He filled me with deep joy that ensured I'd continue. I never forgot to pray, whether it was for help, for strength or for thanksgiving'. 

Before and after losing weight picture of a person who shed a huge amount of weight

SMALL TASKS

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble. - Helen Keller 

Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. 

MICROSOFT BUYS SKYPE FOR 8.5 BILLION DOLLARS

Just days after reports that Google and Facebook were interested in partnering with, and possibly buying VoIP company Skype, Microsoft announced that it was buying the company for $8.56 billion in cash. Microsoft announced an $8.5 billion acquisition of the Internet telephone service Skype Technologies SA from eBay and a group of private equity investors including Silicon Valley heavyweights Silver Lake Partners. The deal is Microsoft's largest cash purchase in its 36-year long history.

"The combination will extend Skype's world-class brand and the reach of its networked platform, while enhancing Microsoft's existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services," according to Microsoft's press release on the deal. "With 170 million connected users and over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations in 2010, Skype has been a pioneer in creating rich, meaningful connections among friends, families and business colleagues globally." - Yahoo Finance

To read the rest of the article go to 

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/microsoft-buys-skype-8-5-billion-cash-deal-181237725.html

HALA RAMADAN EXPO

Today, Thursday 12th May,  is  last day for Hala Ramadan Expo. Yesterday morning, I attended the Hala Ramadan Expo Exhibition at the 360 Mall. The expo was quite women centric, I must say. There were lots of stalls with women's wear (a blend of traditional and the modern). I don't think I saw any western outfits as such at the Expo. There were artificial ornaments like bracelets, necklaces, chains, earrings and finger rings. Beidoun had a perfumary counter. There were ladies who own their own sweets and pastry businessess, showcasing and selling wonderful looking pastries, sweets, chocolates, cakes, desserts, sandwiches. Also there was a very interesting display of ceramic ware with arabic calligraphy. 'November Bakery' and 'Gathering' had their stalls. Well ladies,  visit the Hala Ramadan Expo today and get exposed to an interesting event. It's from 10 am to 10pm, Ground Floor close to the Pop Up shop. Ask the Customer Service counter or person, he will guide you where the Expo is happening. Now for some pictures from the Expo!

Silsal Ceramics

Chocolates and Sweets along with fresh flowers

November Bakery

Molten cakes at  'Gathering'

Bird cage decorated with lots of sweets

Sweets at Bon Bonq8

Riviera Delicacies display

Interested in tea set?

Beidoun Perfume company was promoting Armani Prive (Oud) perfume.