Rain, love and Life...

Rain is the hot topic (or should I say cold topic:p) in Chennai for the last couple of days.. Its been raining non- stop for the last 24 hours.. Jus' like they say in these dance programs like Jodi. no.1 ..The rain has maintained its energy level to its maximum for than 24 hours and its jus' pouring non- stop.. What a lovely way to enjoy a weekend .. I still went out with my parents for grocery shopping and OMG the chillness jus' got into my bones, but neverthless I enjoyed it as i got hot Bhajjis after getting back home :) It has been forecasted to rain for the next 48 hours or so.. This weather jus' makes me feel so lazy...

Yesterday me and my boyfriend celebrated the second anniversary of our love life.. I'm really proud and happy as its not jus' the good times we have shared, we been through all the thick and thins of our lives :) But never got to celebrate the occasion as its raining heavily...

I met my childhood friend last week , she was my classmate in eigth grade and we are friends from then (for the last 7yrs) . Those days during school times we used to hang out at the ice cream parlour opposite school or at the cake shop after school hours or during vacations.. Later a time came during our higher secondary when she changed school and we jus' dropped into each others home when both of us were free and last week when we met it was in the metro station which was close by my home.. She jus' got there on the way back from her college and I jus' dropped to say hi.. as it was close to my home.. This meet was postponed for atleast 3-4 times before we could meet each other.. So much things have changed from the time we were kids . What holds for the future?? I feel scared and don't wanna think..

FOR MONDAY MORNING INSPIRATION SCROLL DOWN...

HotelReservation.com

HotelReservations.com is an one stop spot for all your travel needs . Think travel think hotelreservations.com and I'm sure you will not be dissapointed with the things they have to offer. For a matter of fact, when I first saw the webite's name I thought it was all about hotel reservations and to my surprise it had much much more and was totally I surprised with the products and services on offer with competitive prices.

This websiteprovides information about products and services for all kind of travellers , from the adventurous traveller , business traveller and those jus' taking a break from their regular life for a leisure pursuit. And it also has a variety of offers to meet your budget.

HotelReservations.com comes in handy not jus' to travel to any particular place but meets the demands of the world traveller. With the holiday season just about to begin I think its a wonderful opportunity to make use of their discounts.. Yes, discounts upto 70% .. you bet, its such a tempting offer .. Check this site for more details ..

The products and services they offer include Hotel reservations all over the world , flight ticket reservations, car rentals, vacation packages to exotic locales .., B&B loactions , cruise and enormous amount of discount and much more in the case of group bookings.

This website can be viewed in four languages apart from english, created for the convenience for the world traveller. Check it out and I'm sure you might think of planning a trip after visting hotelreservation.com as it has a software called destination guide to help you decide your kind of place for the vacation with your family or friends.

Happy holidays to all!

Hotel Reservations

Monday morning Inspiration # 8

When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country.

But, it too, seemed immovable.

As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.

And now as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed my self first, then by example I would have changed my family.

From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country and, who knows, I may have even changed the world.

The above words are said to be written on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop in the crypts of Westminster Abbey in London, England.

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD ...

For other Monday morning Inspirations click here

Tag time!!

Choconet over at Choconet's chronicles tagged me..

House meme:

1. What kind of SOAP is in your bathtub right now? Jhonson&Jhonson baby soap (now, this is embarassing.. I ve been using this from the time I was a kid , thou' I changed to another one a few years back it didn't suit my skin type :D)

2. Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? no.

3. What would you change about your living room? I love it the way it is, but I guess it needs painting sometime soon..

4. Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? There are no dishes in the dishwasher now..

5. What is in your fridge? milk, cream, butter, jam, orange juice, heinz tomato ketchup, veggies, pickles, cheese, ketchup, dosa/idli batter, apple, lichie ..

6. White or wheat bread? wheat.

7. What is on top of your refrigerator? flower vase

8. What color or design is on your shower curtain? beige..

9. How many plants are in your home? 4.

10. Is your bed made right now? No.

11. Comet or Soft Scrub? neither.

12. Is your closet organized? yes but no.. yes, its organised for me but others find it a mess

13. Can you describe your flashlight? steel.

14. Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? glass.

15. Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? no.

16. If you have a garage, is it cluttered? no.

17. Curtains or blinds? both.

18. How many pillows do you sleep with? two.

19. Do you sleep with any lights on at night? ya, one.

20. How often do you vacuum? The maid does it once in two days.

21. Standard toothbrush or electric? standard.

22. What color is your toothbrush? white with blue.

23. Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? yes.

24. What is in your oven right now? nothing.

25. Is there anything under your bed? My bed has got a bottom storage, so its got a lot of stuff in it ( old school books, pillow covers and bed spreads).

26. Chore you hate doing the most? It depends on my mood

27. What retro items are in your home? -like wat??

28. Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? No, I don have the need for one, as im still a student

29. How many mirrors are in your home? 6

30. Do you have any hidden emergency money around your home? no.

31. What color are your walls? yellowish cram/beige

32. Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home? no.

33. What does your home smell like right now? it has the msell of wet sand as its been raining

34. Favorite candle scent? Jasmine.

35. What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? Lots, mango, lime, curry leaf pickle, tomato and narthangai (in tamil , don' know what its called in English)

36. What color is your favorite Bible? -.

37. Ever been on your roof? no.

38. Do you own a stereo? yes.

39. How many TVs do you have? Two

40. How many house phones? two.

41. Do you have a housekeeper? Yes.

42. What style do you decorate in? No style in particular,i do it the way it appeals to me.

43. Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? solid colors.

44. Is there a smoke detector in your home? No.

45. In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip? My laptop and some cash..

I Tag

Compassion unlimited
Shanthini
Melanie
Shashi
Akanksha
Kavitha
Praveen

Happy weekend to all!

I'm into PayPerPost

Here I am again with a post on PayPerPost , but this time im all excited and happy as my blog has been approved by PPP . And I jus' have loads of opportunities in hand(my inbox in PPP) to blog about. Like I already said this is a cool and a helpuful site which pays for blogging about various products and services on offer in your blog space.

I think its a lovely way to earn some additional income with the little time available in hand after all the day to day works and running around.

I came across PayPerPost in a few of my blog friend's blogs and idea of getting paid for what you love doing the most (blogging) sounded fabulous.. So, I signed up for it right away and after a months time my blog has been approved , a license for me to earn some bucks..

With the additional income I get , I'm planning to get stuffs for me , my family and friends apart from donating to the needy.. I also have an idea of getting a few stuffs for give away to my blog friends as this could not have been possible without them.. But, jus' waiting to get started with PPP in full spree .

Apart form earning, its also a wonderful opportunity to gain some knowledge on the products/services we blog on, which might turn out to be useful somewhere or the other.. In this post I would also like to thank my blog friends who helped me know more about PayPerPost though I was a little skeptical in the beginning as it took a months time for my blog to get the approval.

All the bloggers out there make a wonderful use of this opportunity to make some extra bucks in your free time and most of all doing what you love doing the most , How many of us really love our jobs? Here is one waiting for you..

payperpost

Wordless wednesday # 4

A view from my balcony - Moon in the evening sky

Monday morning Inspiration # 7

As he was about to sip his tea, the discipled noticed a fly in his cup. The master saw the grimace in the disciple's face and leaned forward with concern. What's the matter?

"Oh nothing" the disciple said.. "Its, nothing jus' a fly in my tea" the disciple added with a little smile , afterall he didn't want his master to think that a little fly can disturb him..

"Oh oh fly in the tea" the master said in a low tone. "Its no problem " the disciple reassured with a smile.

But the master with concern written all over his face, continued to focus on the cup. He rose from his chair, leaned and dipped his finger into the tea taking the fly out with great care and left the room.

A while later the master returned smiling saying "He's going to be alright" and he explained how he placed the fly on the leaf of a bush so that its wings can dry. "He's still alive and will take flight soon" the master added confidently.

Then the master turned towards the disciple and added, its not a question of the tea, but the life of a fly. You can always get another cup of tea but the fly wouldn't have got another life.

"Use things and love life, don't love things and abuse life"

P.S: A story I came across in Frozen thoughts and summarised it for my blog :)

Have a great week!

For other Monday morning inspirations clickhere

Saraswathi Pooja - Updated with pics

Saraswathi Pooja / Ayoudah pooja is a hindu festival celebrated in all parts of India. It is an auspicious day when students offer their books to goddess Saraswathi , who bestows them with knowledge and wisdom. She is known as the godess of learning. It is one happy day for children as they don' have to study at all :)

All the schools/Offices/Universities remain close on this day to celecrate this festival. In offices no machines or computers will be used normally (jus' like books in the cases of children) . All equipments are cleaned and will be kept neatley.

After the poojas are carried out the machines are left to rest for the day,following which the prasadams consisting of puffed rice, fruits , sweets made of jaggery and "sundal" (boiled lentils) are distributed among everyone.

The day following Saraswathi pooja is Vijayadasmi, is considered auspicious to start any new thing that day. So, certain school also enroll students in the primary classes on that day.

I usually went to my mom's office during Saraswathi pooja when I was a kid , as there was a lot of events happening. It is also a day to thank the people who have helped you on your studies/career . So, tomorrow morning I got to get up early to celebrate Saraswathi pooja .Will post the pics tomorrow :)

Here are a few pics of the celebrations at home..

At the flower bazaar, shopping for garlands...

Sweets to celebrate the occasion :) ..Yum!!

Entrance of my home decorated with garland




The Kolam I made at the entrance of our house..

During the pooja..

Books and fruits being offered..

Traditional South Indian meal




Have a great weekend everyone!

Watermarking pics

I would like to know how I can water mark my pics and also about the freely available softwares to do it. Thanks in advance :)

Wordless Wednesday # 3

In the buddhist monastry in Coorg.

Monday morning Inspiration # 6

Here I describe a situation that proves that the best results can rise from the worst of circumstances.


A young man was playing poker with six of his friends. Now this young man did not have a vast amount of money but wanted to play anyway so he threw a quarter of his money in the pot.When the dealer dealt his cards he noticed he had the worst possible hand - a high card. Since he had put a quarter of his money in the pot already, he reasoned that he would do what he could to come out victorious.This young man knew what he was doing and did not even glance at any of the other six players. When the opportunity arose to swap all of his cards he tactfully refused and kept his seemingly worthless hand.

Now, when the time came to throw in more bets, this young man put in another quarter of his earnings. Because three of the other six observed that he never changed his cards, they assumed he had a great hand so they immediately folded and withdrew whilst the remaining three called and threw in some of their money.Knowing that there were still three players left, he decided to put all his money in the pot. This frightened the last three and they folded. This young man came out victorious and now had ten times the amount he began with.

When his six friends asked him to show them his hand, he threw his cards on the table revealing the lowest hand. After a brief pause the young man stated:"I knew I was going to win because the cards don't matter in poker, it is the trick of leading your opponent to believe you have an unbeatable hand". This is not to say we should bluff our way through life, rather we should use what we have to be the best we can. In life, no one is dealt with a perfect hand. Some are just dealt with higher cards and some will choose to try and change those cards.If you want to win in anything, remember that your hand is only as strong as your will and determination. Put in all you talents and never focus on what another person has because you will just be more disappointed in the end.Your life is in YOUR hand.

To read other Monday morning Inspirations click here.

Yipee! My first award for my blog :)

I have recieved a very special award from Melanie over at
Ourhappyhappenings.Thanks so much Mel :) .. Melanie's blog is one of my favourite blogs and I feel so honored when she has selected me to award The Egle Nest award for blog excellence.This award was created by Brad Egel as a way to honor your friends who you think have excellent blogs. Thanks again Mel :)

This award does not have any guidelines. So I'm awarding the Egle Nest award for blog excellence to

Shanthini
Akanksha
Drama Diva
Shashi
Shionge

Eid Mubarak to all my muslim friends.

Have a great weekend everyone !!

Tag- FMORT

I stole this tag from doc :) . I was waiting to do this tag for a couple of days but last few days was jus hectic with college work and people visiting home.. So, it took me so long to steal it and put it up here ;)

Start 00:00

• This tag is interesting
• I so miss my childhood oflate
• Its been really stressful the last few days
• I'm waiting for diwali to come up.. Celebrations!!
• Ya, we have a diwali meeting in my flats today..
• Feel like eating chocolate brownie
• I wouldnt mind pani poori too ;)
• Long time since i spent time with my boy friend
• This weekend is going to be stressfull again i guess
• I so like blogging these days ..Thanks a lot for all your support
• I'm waiting for my vacations to begin after exams
• Don' mind finishing the exams off soon
• my parents are sweet to me by helping me in my work
• I wanna go on a cruise
• Chennai is becoming hotter day by day
• got to upload songs in my i-pod
• and also have to catch up with some movie.. its been a long time
• I love pursuit of happyness and ice princess .. awesom movie they are
• my roon is a mess
• Im waiting for TATA's 1lakh car

End 5:00

Now, let me tell you what thsi tag is all about.. FMORT - Five minutes of random thoughts ..

Steps to follow:
Get an alarm/stop watch, piece of paper, pen or jus open up a new post in which you can type in..
Set the alarm to ring 5 minutes 10 secs later.
Take deep breath for 10 secs.
Now, set your mind free.
Scribble whatever comes to your mind for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, tweak the scribbles into meaningful sentences.
Post it to your blog.
The title should be, "My FMORT". Dont expand FMORT in the title as the purpose is to popularize FMORT.
The first line should read, "I am tagged by XYZ", where XYZ should be the name of the blog who asked you to tag and link XYZ to the post.
Then ask a fellow blogger to do the same and link to your post.
Now sit back and relax. You would be amazed at the speed with which FMORT spreads.And you will be one link of the long chain on Internet.

So now its my chance to tag people , come on hands up

Shanthini
Ammu
Puvanan
Akanksha
Drama diva
Sheetal

and all of you who are reading this post.. Please drop a comment so that I can visit your blogs...

Have fun thinking!!

Wordless Wednesday # 3

I took this pic during one of our vacations to Coorg, a hill station in South India.. A view from my cottage window.

A waterfall near Coorg :)

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THIS IS A PAYED POST

Blogvertise

With more and more people getting into advertising in blogs and more and more bloggers providing their blogs/webpages for advertising , I thought why not give a try and I have jus' signed into Blogvertise - a website which connects advertisers and bloggers .

It looks like its a good opportunity to earn as we blog.. Earning while you do the thing you love doing the most :)

If you wanna try this out click here .

I signed up for Pay per post

It was during one of the blog hopping sessions, I came to know about Pay per post. Out of curiosity I wanted to know what this thing was all about and after going through the contents at their website , I was fully satisfied that it was a genuine site and I also saw a few of my blogger friends where into PPP for quite sometime now . This also gave a thought on why shouldn't I try this out and here I am.. I've jus' signed up for my account and waiting for the approval,in the mean time I found this opportunity on the way of making a post about PPP , so here I am with it.

It was a few months back when I started blogging, initially I was a little skeptical if my posts would be accepted and will I have readers for my blog and the sweet surprise was I did and infact many of them from all corners of the world.

Why should I be paid for blogging??
I love blogging and its the easiest way for a student like me, for whom otherwise earning at this point in my life would be a hard task with all college work in hand and very little time otherwise.

With the earnings I get from PPP I would like to buy a few stuffs from ebay for me as well as my family and friends and I also intend in donating for the less priviledged people through the option available in pay pal.

Monday morning Inspiration # 5

It is an inspirational story this time which I came across in one of the website.


A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

I asked for Strength.........
And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom.........
And God gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity.........
And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage.........
And God gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love.........
And God gave me Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors.........
And God gave me Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted ........
I received everything I needed!



After reading it I realised, how true it is.. I strongly believe it is those difficult times one comes across that makes them strong and builds their confidence .. If any unfavourable incident occurs , lets take it in the right spirit and be positive .. The out comes at the end of it will surely overshadow the struggles .. Have a happy week ahead ! :)

To read other Monday morning Inspirations click here

These are a few of my favourite things....

I used to love the movie 'Sound of Music' when I was a kid and I still do. The whole idea of remembering your favourite things when your sad or jus' low in life , I thought was a fabulous idea.. And it has never put me down in my low times and has always made me smile :) ..Each of us will have our list of favourite things and here are mine ...

1.Happy old memories
2.Surprises
3.Long chats with friends
4.New bags and bag shopping
5.Long drives
6.Beaches
7.Meeting up with your childhood best friend
8.Remembering birthdays and Anniversaries
9.Weekend shopping with parents
10.Special song that means something to you
11.Old photo albums / childhood pics
12.Long bus journeys to college(I'm gonna miss them soon :( )
13.Eating during class hours and getting caught
14.Rain drizzles
15.School annual days
16.Dancing
17.Singing in the bathroom
18.Movie marathons
19.Hot delicious food when your jus' so hungry
20.Ice creams and Milkshakes
21.Taking hours to finish a chocolate, licking it slowly :p
22.Waiting for the weekends
23.Winning
24.The early morning sunshine that falls inside the room
25.Long talks with my boy friend
26.Family vacations
27.Getting more marks in a subject you least expected
28.Books
29.Books that you cant keep them down before reading it fully
30.Cooking with friends
31.Amusment parks
32.Excursions when in school and deciding on what to bring for the day to eat and play for almost weeks before the event
33.Teasing friends with their crushes
34.Waiting to get aglimpse of your crush during the breaks
35.Carefully choosing the birthday dress to be worn to school
36.Compliments from people you least expected from
37.Feeling great at the end of a performance
38.Happy people
39.Morning tea with the news paper in hand
40.Long hours of blissful sleep
41.Making lists
42.When your hand made gift turns out to be wonderful
43.Getting letters from your loved ones
44.Perfumes/Perfumed candles
45.Roses
46.When you do something for the first time
47.An all girls day out
48.Cycling
49.Watching Travel&Living for hours together.
50.Being remembered

Writing this made me feel jus'so good.If any of you would like to take this topic for your blog your more than welcome to do so..But please drop a message in my comment box, so that I can visit your blogs..

I will come up with Part 2 of this list soon :) Have a great weekend everyone !

Wordless Wednesday # 2

Gandhi Jayanti

Today India and the world celebrates 138th bday of M.K. Gandhi or Bapu as he is dearly called by the people in India. He is considered the father of our nation , as he played a major role in the process of obtaining freedom for India .

This day is also been celebrated as the International non-violence day..

There is a lots more I want to write here, but the holidays are turning out to be more hectic than weekdays may be will make an other post about it shortly

Monday morning Inspiration # 4

Today's dose of inspiration comes from a few of my favourite quotes .. and here they are....

Don't wait for things to happen, Jus' go ahead and make them happen :)

Try to get what you like , otherwise you'll be forced to like what you get .

Extraordinary people are ordinary people who do everything in life with extra ordinary passion ..
For other Monday morning Inspirations you can find them here

Have a happy week!