A Toast To Summer

Despite the hot and humid weather,we all seem to get highly exhilarated in the company of summer.The season brings with it the holiday spirit,goodwill and cheer.Although summer is noted for it's harshness,it has always been gracious to let me enjoy a two week vacation,every year,in my home country.As summer approaches,my family and I get very excited as we are homeward bound.It is during summer that we get the opportunity to meet the rest of our families back home.Interestingly, the whole ambiance  allows me to wholeheartedly embrace the warmth that sweeps across the bright summer day.It has always been a delight to give ears to the sweet chirpings of the birds in the morning,telling me that it's time to wake up.What is summer without the fun and the frolic! The sense of happiness it gives me  walking along the sandy beaches amid the lush greenery and the  blue sky. Summer time is leisure time  for my whole family .While the kids and my husband  love to take  dips in the pool  in the  hot afternoon,I seize the opportunity to demonstrate my gastronomic know-how to my young audience-my  daughters.I am inclined to try out various  new recipes and pamper their  taste buds. Summer is my most treasured season.It  acts as a stress reliever. It regenerates my   energy and makes me get-up-and-go.Simultaneously, with the hustle and the bustle, it teaches me to approach things in a positive manner.I wholly extend my gratitude to this phenomenal season for showering me with an abundance of blessings by bringing sunshine to my days and making  my vacations  so memorable.Oh Summer! What would I do without you?

Food For Thought

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace & gratitude.” - Denis Waitley-

Thought For The Day

Let us all  hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and that in some not too distant  tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

-Martin Luther King Jr-

The Ring Tone

Although owning a cell phone is considered a boon these day, the ringing  tone of  a cell phone can sometimes be annoying.With many,particularly the young,choosing weird and strange sounds for their hand sets.The trend among  young teens these days is that they download from websites some catchy tones which repeatedly blast through their  mobile phones and as a result  bring discord within the elders in the family.In this era of technology,as strange  as it may sound, there are still a lot of  people who  are attention seekers and  get pleasure from it.Hence the ring tones play a major part in supporting their inclination.How so ever these creepy,bizarre or catchy tones indeed  attract people whether they like it or not.Most often it induces laughter and other times some criticism.There is nothing more infuriating than mobile phones when they go off when you least anticipate.People are so obsessed with it  that  they carry it wherever they go.They should have at least the courtesy of switching it off or putting it on silent mode when they attend private ceremonies or when attending a funeral .

I think it’s a good move made by flight authorities to make that crucial announcement before takeoff,the switching off of handsets.The other day while waiting for my  appointment with the doctor, in the hospital waiting area,I heard earsplitting giggles,with similar loud cackles among a group of young teens who probably had tolled along with their parents to the hospital.A few  others,who were quietly reading, got really intrigued by this unpleasantness but didn’t have the guts to confront the girls.I clearly saw what the commotion was all about but did nothing to butt in. The actual fact was  one girl in that group was  carrying a hand set that had a ‘giggling’ ring tone which  had straight away stirred up laughter among the rest.Just imagine how corresponding  it would have been: the deafening sound  of the mobile and the  screeching of a bunch of unruly teens.
I do not want to sound so nerve racking so let me loosen up a bit and  share with you a  humorous twist to the ring tone,a true incident which happened recently back in my native country.Get ready to  switch off your mobile phone and  laugh your wits out.

‘A Sri Lankan prisoner who tried to hide his mobile phone during a search of his cell was caught out when guards heard ring tones from his rear-end, a hospital official said on Friday.
The 58-year-old convict had to be admitted to the national hospital in Colombo where doctors later retrieved the handset from his rectum.
"The man had concealed the phone inside his person," the official said, asking not to be named.
"Unfortunately for him, the phone rang at the wrong time and guards knew he had a phone at the wrong end."
He said the man was in hospital for two days but was discharged and sent back to prison Friday after the mobile phone was taken out.
The prisoner is serving a 10-year term for theft at the high security  jail in the capital. ( source AFP)

A Thought For The Day

Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better- Albert Einstein

A Toast For The New Year

The first light of January has dawned. Let us usher in the new year with Love,Hope and Peace.Happy New Year folks!

Weather Plays Havoc With Diet

Whenever there is a change in the weather there is a change in my children’s immunity system too.Whilst the adults try hard to put up a brave show and adapt to the weather changes,even supposing they sometimes may experience unpleasantness on the way,it is the children who really endure a lot, trying very hard to overcome the alteration of nature.As a matter of fact,due to extreme weather conditions,especially the switch over, from summer to winter,children become easy prey and end up with flu, a nasty cold or a strep throat.When this happens at home,I make every effort to take care of my children and get them back to good health sooner.I tend to ease their discomfort with simple and safe home remedies such as steam inhalation,soups with extra ginger and other warm beverages.All the same, at some point,I begin to fret,when they spurn food.Although I prepare everything from scratch and make the healthiest food so that they can regain the lost nutrients and fluids,they show little interest in the food.Thus causing me further worry.It really disturbs me when they refuse to eat at all.Most children at this stage, when they do not have proper meals for a number of days, will show signs of vitamin and mineral deficiencies.According to studies, even with most children consuming healthy diets,they will be deficient at least in one nutrient.It is during the flu season most children become picky eaters,so it is advisable to take the initiative to complete the children's dietary intake with supplements.All the same it's best to go for a kind they will truly enjoy and make it habitual.I have heard from other moms,that multi vitamin for kids, the gummy variety with an assortment of flavors, has become a favourite among adults and children.Each time after a visit to the doctor, my husband and I come home with an abundance of information.The doctor keeps stressing that it is vital not only for children but for adults as well, to take multi vitamins supplement if they don't get enough foods in their diet that are fortified with vitamins.I am glad we took his advice and have now  introduced  this  at home.

 

complete the children's dietary intake with supplements as well