Here’s some music to help you center yourself.
Hope you liked it!
Looking back 2010: I've learnt…
As 2010 comes to an end, I look back and reflect on the year that’s gone by. There’s been so much joy, a few sorrows…so much hard work…a lot of partying…and so many things that I have learnt.
The top 10 things I’ve learnt….
- To laugh out loud – Life’s too short to be constantly worried. Take every opportunity to catch life by the horns and L-I-V-E!
- To stay calm – Shit happens, but how we deal with it is what matters most.
- To prioritize – Family and friends and health come first. Work’s important, but it isn’t the be all and end all of life.
- To constantly adapt – The only constant in life is change. We can’t stay in our comfort zone forever. To live fully (see point 1), we have to break out of our comfort zone…sure it’s hard at first, but like Nike says, Just do it!
- To make time for me – My day for myself is Saturday – I have the weekends off, but the husband has only Sundays off. Instead of moaning and groaning about it, I use that one day to have fun…go out with girlfriends or even alone (see the next point), clean up the house (if I feel like it), do some bloggy work…
- To be comfortable in my own skin – Next time you’re out in the market or mall, really notice people around you — they are almost always with their families or friends. Even the movies would have you believe that one is a lonely number. But you know what, it isn’t! It takes great confidence and oodles of self love to be out there in the crowd alone, doing your own thing, even *gasp!* eating at a restaurant alone. This may be an Indian thing, but it’s one of the most important lessons I learnt this year.
- To try and try again – If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have started working out again. I’ve lost count of the number of crash diets I’ve gone on, of how many times I joined the gym and gave up. But this year, I was determined I would do it, and stick to it. And I’ve succeeded. The weight hasn’t come off as fast as I had hoped, and there are days when I stumble, but I get up and get back on!
- To draw the line, work-wise – Sure work’s important – it’s what helps us put food on the table and clothes on our back. But if work overtakes the rest of your life what purpose is it serving? If you have no time for family, for friends, to enjoy your hard earned money, is it really worth it? There’s only that much stress I can take over work, beyond a point, I refuse to compromise on my personal time.
- To speak out – The husband’s not a mind reader. Unless I tell him what’s bothering me, he ain’t gonna know. So instead of stewing or going silent, I realized it’s best to let it rip from time to time. Keeps him on his best behavior too 😉
- To take a break – I used to take time off from work only if I was sick or traveling. But there are days when you just want to laze around, and I realized that if I just took the day off, I went to work the next day feeling like a million bucks!
Life is always teaching us lessons, either by experience or by sharing. I’ve shared what I’ve learnt this year, won’t you share your lessons with me in the comments section?
Linking up with Jade:
Pottermania!
I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of the boy wizard with a lightning scar on his forehead — Harry Potter. For quite a while, I used Potterisms on my blog sidebars. So Archives was Into the pensive, Categories was as Portkeys…you get the drift, right?
With the first installment of the last Harry Potter book in theaters, and with my love for cats, I thought I’d pull on my surfing boots and trek across the net for a few funny Potter images.
This first one captures Pottermania pretty well…
…although of course, a lot of people over 40 would also, I suspect, see that kitty as Harry! 😉
Now, when I read, I tend to get lost in the book. But when I read the HP series, I want to do what this kitty is doing…
…and I’m pretty sure this kitty sums up the husband’s emotions pretty well 😉
Of all the minor charectors in the book, Dobby was one of the cutest. My heart just went out to this wee lil house elf who was always looking out for Harry.
By the way, I really didn’t like the Frodo-like depiction of Dobby in the movies — in my imagination he was just so much cuter!
And would you believe just how cute these little kitties are? They just make me go awww…
While we’re on the subject of Harry Potter, any of you seen the latest movie?
I thought it was pretty good, though a bit slow…maybe because they’re splitting the book into two movies. The pace picked up in the second half of the film, which makes me think the second part is going to be breathtakingly quick!
Your take?
Friday Frame #7: Body art
The petals and stems are actual human figures – mind boggling, eh?
If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!
i carry your heart with me – e.e. cummings
i carry your heart with me
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
— e.e. cummings
Meditation music: Havasupai Indian Waterfall Relaxation
Take a relaxing journey to the magical blue-green waters of the hidden Havasupai Indian Reservation, in Arizona. It’s one of the most amazing natural wonders in the US, as well as one of it’s best kept secrets. This beautiful video is set to music by Darshan Ambient.
Breathtaking, wasn’t it?
The world's most photographed cat
As you read this post, I will be on my way away from this maddening city…escaping to the sandy beaches of Rishikesh for some rest and relaxation. Three days away from work and home, to rest and recuperate along the banks of the River Ganga seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered.
While I’m away, though, I thought you’d enjoy seeing some pictures of the world’s most photographed cat, Pepo! 😉
Put your hands together for this lazy lil cat…
…her favorite position — curled up into a ball of fluffiness…
…as she looks out at you from under one paw…
….or reclines on her favorite chair by the balcony door.
She can be stern when she thinks the humans aren’t doing what she’s asking (or demanding) them to do…
…and is intensely curious, just like yours truly…
…and she’s all mine (oh ok! and the husband’s!)
I'm grateful for…
Image via Wikipedia
- A husband who gives me the freedom to be and who supports my decision to not have babies
- The ability to enjoy “me” time, guilt free, without wishing the husband was with me or feeling guilty about ignoring my “wifely duties”
- Friends who make me feel special
- Pepo, who fills our life with joy (she’s our cat, not our baby, in case you’re wondering! ;))
- Being able to laugh at myself
- Not feeling my age – no, I’m not that old, but a lot of people I knew were depressed when they hit their 30s; I was excited to turn 30! 😀
- Taking responsibility for my weight and making sure I work out at least 3-4 times a week (yeah, that’s a big deal for me, BIG!)
- A loving and supportive family, who have been there for me always. They may not have always supported all that I did, but they came around to my point of view anyways!
- Being in a secure and happy place – I do have the occassional mood swing, but overall, I’m happy with who I am and where I am
So, what are you grateful for?
This list post is part of the SITS Content is King challenge.
Meditation Music: Amazon rainforest relaxation
Sometimes you need to enter into a fantasy world to relax. Last night, I turned off the lights, lit a lot of lamps and sat on the floor in the middle of the living room listening to the sounds of the Amazon rainforest. I felt so at peace as I was transported into the lap of nature.
Did you enjoy this escape into the jungle?
Twinkie diet: a breakthrough for dieters?
Image via CNN Health
A nutrition professor’s “unhealthy” Twinkie cake diet has created quite a storm lately. I saw a couple of tweets mention it yesterday, and then this morning, one of the blogs featured on Freshly Pressed on WordPress talked about the diet. In her post, Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life says:
“The man significantly cut his recommended daily calories…OF COURSE he’s going to lose weight!!!”
Intrigued, I read through the article on CNN Health …and realized a couple of things…
- Mark Haub is a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University who undertook this diet as a class experiment for a month. When he saw the benefits of the diet, he continued it until he reached a normal body mass index.
- While on the diet:
- He shed 27 pounds in two months
- His body mass index went from 28.8 (overweight) to 24.9 (normal)
- His “bad” cholesterol (LDL) dropped 20% and his “good” cholesterol (HDL) increased 20%
- He reduced the level of triglycerides, a form of fat, by 39%
- Haub consumed less than 1,800 calories a day on the diet, about 800 calories less than a man of Haub’s pre-dieting size usually consumes — 2,600 calories. Such a drastic reduction may not be “healthy,” but then apparently, eating only junk, processed food is “unhealthy” too!
- Another interesting fact — to control the number of calories he consumed, Haub avoided meat, whole grains and fruits. Once he added meat into the diet, his cholesterol level increased.
Haub had set out to prove that in weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most — not the nutritional value of the food. As the above markers show, his premise held up.
Haub says: “That’s where the head scratching comes. What does that mean? Does that mean I’m healthier? Or does it mean how we define health from a biology standpoint, that we’re missing something?”
Before his Twinkie diet, Haubb tried to eat a healthy diet that included whole grains, dietary fiber, berries and bananas, vegetables and occasional treats like pizza. But he says that there seemed to be a disconnect between eating healthy and being healthy. “It may not be the same. I was eating healthier, but I wasn’t healthy. I was eating too much.”
This indicates that what really matters is portion control and moderation, rather than total removal and denial.
“I just think it’s unrealistic to expect people to totally drop these foods for vegetables and fruits. It may be healthy, but not realistic.” — Mark Haub
To all the nay-sayers and people who are up in arms at this unhealthy diet, I say don’t look at what he ate, look at what he proved!
Will I go out and start buying processed junk and throw out the veggies and fruits? No! But the next time I feel like some indulgence, I won’t feel so guilty no more!
Here’s what I learnt from Haub’s breakthrough experiment:
-
Count. Your. Calories.
-
Reduce meat consumption.
-
Be aware of portion control — just because something is healthy, doesn’t mean you can eat it in huge quantities!
-
Junk doesn’t deserve the bad rep it’s got — consumed knowledgably, it ain’t gonna kill ya!
Of course, a much longer-term study will need to be carried out to find out what affects the lack of fruits and vegetables could have on long-term health. In the meanwhile, the next time you’re dieting, if you really feel like that packet of chips, reach out for it. Just be aware of the number of calories you consumed!
So, what do you think about the Twinkie diet?