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

 

 

December Is Here

December is upon us  and  I am astounded  at how the previous eleven months had flown by so quickly. I for once feel wonderful as I  have accomplished a few resolutions that I had imposed on myself the previous year and quite euphoric that this year I had the opportunity to fulfill a particular vision, a desire to lose a few pounds off my body. Oh! Yeah!  

The weather is cool and the children love the whole ambience that this month brings.As far as I can remember we are used to  correlate  December with cold weather and snow but for  most,December is a month of celebrating.Christmas,Santa  and presents are  primary reflections of a child.It’s  very distinctive with the children  getting all agog with  excitement as they wait for the year to end and usher in the new year.Children await December as it is a  month full of activities, surprises and fun ,even the adults wait with anticipation.With the cool climate setting in, my children’s  school has planned  a lot of sports activities and  field trips  for different classes  during this month.

Since the year is winding down ,we also should take time off our busy schedules  to remind ourselves how  blessed and fortunate   we are,having quality time with  the family,by sharing family responsibilities and  caring for  our loved ones and being united in times of dark days  thus  strengthening family ties.

On the other hand,now that it is  December,it  is  a tedious  month for spouses who are working in the Financial hub, as they  are very busy ,working non-stop to compare and provide  detailed statements of  their company’s performances. It is also the best times to  review your taxes and insurances.Like wise   if you are a tax payer,in the US you would be paying attention to 'irs forms'.

December always takes  me back to childhood.Back then we were not  endowed with technology to exchange with one another ecards,emails and digital photos of loved ones during times of celebration. Those days it was a common   scene on the streets and pavements to see people  jostling   in the last hour, to buy greeting cards,fancy items and seasonal decorations from the street hawkers,who  sold at a cheaper price than what was being sold in department stores. Life  is easy nowadays with the advent of  technology as  everything is  done at the push of a button. At the same time, the conventional way of sending  or receiving  greetings and wishes  have become a   rare occurrence .It brings nostalgic memories of the days gone by. Although it was time consuming we  always made it a point  to make cards and create  decorative  letters  during the festive season .It was with  a great sense of  importance that  I  used to   buy cards from the store  or scribble my wishes on a hand-made card and send them via snail mail   across to family and friends.Gone are the days....

Expressing With Emoticons

Surprisingly I happen to love Facebook and my electronic mail boxes  these days.Why this sudden interest you may ask me. It is not because of the buildup of strangers in my friend list who for reasons unknown would like to be my friend,or for the influx of nonsensical forwards that keep accumulating in my junk mail boxes but mainly  for the reason I  get a chance to be  creative and  expressive. Internet  users are being  enticed  to the maximum with  various kinds of emoticons to enhance their  communication  with different applications such as funny symbols and  cool animated pictures  to express  feelings and thoughts across to friends and family.Emoticons  have  become a popular internet mode  of expressing  thoughts and feelings to the one we communicate with  on social media. In the beginning keyboards symbols were used to express different moods, depicting  more of a shorthand method of expression. Now you can generate a variety of easy to use  new emoticons on Facebook, Gmail and other social media,by simply copying  the code to chat or inbox messages and mails which accordingly  transform into  appropriate icons.It was quite by chance that I stumbled upon a  fascinating website that offers  dozens of symbols and chat emoticons for free  which can be used on many social networking sites.You can download a whole lot of animated pictures and symbols from this site ,which of course  is for free.This website offers you a  free download of their application called ‘My Emoticons’ that enables you  to affix an assortment of  Gmail emoticons,winks and smileys  on your   face book page, gmail and on hotmail..

An  emoticon is a representation of facial expressions by means of punctuation marks, alphabets and numbers that is generally employed to express someone's feelings or mood when communicating via  electronic mails and messages. It is a fast growing  communication fad  in Cyber-land.Emoticons at present are  most popular among facebook, gmail and mobile phone users. On the other hand, it was frustrating , when I didn’t know how to interpret emoticons and had no idea what these signs were trying to tell me in messages that were sent  to me by friends. I was clueless about the whole thing. All I was able to do was scratch my head wondering what the heck the signs indicated.To me, at the beginning, they were meaningless, unnecessary and a waste of time. I assumed it as some sort of  a  decoration simply to impress the reader. Nonetheless with time ,I learnt to appreciate these tiny  symbols that  speak volume, as they  loud  and clearly express to the other person, on the other side of the line, our moods, thoughts and feelings  thus making it  possible  for the reader to exactly understand  what we are trying to convey. How cool is that!.

The Little Guy Who Stole Our Hearts

The past  two weeks went off so quickly.The children were at home as schools were  closed for Hajj.Hajj is an obligatory ritual performed by Muslims throughout the world. Muslims  from all over the globe come to the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia to perform this rite. During this period,offices,schools and other establishments remain closed. I had many things  planned for the break,but only a few materialized How so ever,they were all worth while.Since the boys were going to be at home I had already organized  some activities to keep them occupied.We got them some crafts and puzzles and kept them busy throughout.It was a relief  as I didn’t have to give ears to  squabbles and complains , as they were pretty much occupied with activities. While the children were engaged in  various indoor games ,I found ample time for myself too.And  it was during this time that a program that  my husband and I watch eagerly on television, came to its closing stages. The past  few months,a popular reality show telecasted  in an Indian  television channel,Vijay TV, kept my husband and I  spellbound. It wasn’t a family serial or a game show that usually kept most housewives entertained but a talent  competition. This was  aimed for aspiring  juniors with  a good voice.One particular youngster  mesmerized us right from the beginning and  a great  sense of  euphoria  settled  in when he was awarded the title after beating four other contestants in the Grande Finale.I was as surprised as my children when we realized,hubby dear,who otherwise was not a television enthusiast,was thoroughly enjoying this  program , all because of this  10 -year-old  who sang with such dedication and passion.Three cheers to Aajeedh!!! Hip hip hurrah!!

 

Digital Scrapping And Bits & Pieces

Why do some websites simply disappear within a short phase after surfacing on the internet.I was spellbound by the uniqueness of one particular site as it kindled in me my passion for scrapbooking but then left me in the lurch due to its abrupt departure.However,such sites boost up your hidden talents and motivate your creativity as they treat you lavishly with lovely tools  they feature on their sites. Along with that, they endlessly pester us  to become a member of their site.Apparently in the initial stages everything is provided for free.We often fall into the trap.Suddenly we feel secured on these sites.They become part of our lives. Once we are hooked to the site we wouldn’t even imagine interacting with  any other sites because we tend to become virtually attached to a certain website and depend on it for everything.When we have reached that point, we are lured again with their sweet talking to become a paid member so that we may enjoy a lot more cooler stuff.

For almost three years, I had been avidly active on this scrapbooking site which had also become my favourite surfing spot on the internet. This website made life a little more easier and a whole lot more enjoyable.I spent my pastime creating many picture blogs and cards using whimsical embellishments,stickers and background themes offered by them.This web site gave me enough opportunities to design and put together old photographs and make online digital scrap books and cards.How convenient it was when the children needed help with their school projects and assignments.Glad I was able to help them using the countless tools that was made available in this website.On every occasion,whether it was a birthday,anniversary or a festival,I never missed the opportunity to make beautiful cards for friends and family.I also made a lot of memorable digital scraps and cards under different topics and was very contented with my achievement.

But alas! I was thoroughly disappointed when the site closed down their network unexpectedly.I lost most of my creations which I had saved on my ‘personal page’ on their site.Although at that time  they alerted us about the closure and reminded us to download our creations as backups, I managed to save only a few due to time limit.On the other hand the few I had saved got deleted owing to a virus that invaded our computer sometime ago.

A number of times I have surfed the internet looking for comparable sites to fill the void. Regrettably,I have nt still  found one to stir up my creativity.In the meantime. I have found another technique to create cards for family and friends.Old photographs and random pictures from my desktop come to my rescue in this instance. All I do now is refill my printer with Canon MP560 ink cartridges and upload pictures from my desktop and get them printed. Other times I scan my children’s drawings and send them as greeting cards to family. I am simply amazed at the outcome. They are as good as cards from the store.However, refilling with Canon MP560 ink a few times will often cost more but since the finish product is exceptional, I would n’t think twice about replenishing my printer with ink cartridges whenever the need arises.

A digitally created card

 

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Dealing With Diabetes

Even though I was feeling a bit keyed up,I was raring to get to the hospital quickly to collect my HBA1c glucose result.The week before, I was advised by my doctor to check my blood sugar readings for the previous three months.Uncertain what the outcome would be,I waited for my turn to be called in.I didn’t know why I was getting edgy since I very well know that I have totally changed my dietary habits and have been following a rigid exercise plan.Overall, my diet consists of  healthy portions of protein and  limited amount of carbohydrates and besides,I have stopped eating sweets altogether.

Last February,when I was first diagnosed with diabetes,my HB A1c reading was 7.8,since then I have come a long way.Just before I went on vacation I was asked again to do the A1c test and I was as surprised as the doctor,when the reading showed up as  5.5. This unanticipated evaluation kept me in high spirits throughout the summer holidays.Then came the month of fasting where I couldn’t resist the savouries that I prepared for my family to feast at the time of breaking the fast.Though I ate in moderation,there were a few times that I gave in to my cravings.When a craving set in for a particular food from the’ untouchable list’- the foods that I have been advised to clear steer of,I would uncontrollably ( not all the time) nibble bits and pieces of it. Walking down the hospital corridor to see the doctor,sent my heart racing.My mind was clogged with a lot of questions.Though I brushed them aside as unnecessary,I feared for the worst. ‘Will I have a higher reading this time’? ‘Will the doctor increase the medicine dose?or will I be introduced to insulin’.I knew I was,pointlessly tensed as ever.How so ever,after a couple of minutes,I got the most astounding news.I was so taken aback when the doctor, who with a broad smile on her face, congratulated me and said that my A1c was 4.9.( which is considered as normal range) Wow! Didn’t that bring a broad smile on me too!

She has even reduced the medicine to one dose a day.And she also mentioned if I continue with my present dietary and exercise plan, by next month, she would take me off medicines.I am,as a result,relieved that the strategy to keep the diabetes  under control is  working  for me.More than anything I am gratified that I was actually paying heed to the doctor.Regrettably, many usually don’t, when it comes to reducing sugar and starches.Most often its easy to pinpoint other things that lead to diabetes.We are so much to be blamed .We lead a stressful lifestyle and play an inactive role daily. We tend to eat at different times and shove into our mouths unhealthy food everytime our tummy rumbles.We treat our bodies like a thrash can, dumping all the superfluous and rotten stuff.Diabetes makes you lethargic,exhausted and inactive if you let it.I didn’t want that happening to me.So instead of being disturbed over this health issue I took charge and rejuvenated. Together with my go-getters: diet and exercise ,I was able to bring my sugar level to normal range.I also owe a big ‘thank you’ to Doctor Mark Hyman, for making available ‘The blood sugar solution',which has  provided readers with wonderful guidelines and an abundant of information.To me it was like a God send.I was so ignorant and uninformed about so many things related to diabetes and reading this book helped broaden my awareness about diabetes,diabesity and the consequences of the disease. I also learnt that reducing weight and sustaining healthy weight can help perk up insulin sensitivity and glycemic control.Incorporating life style changes is an excellent approach for diabetes control and management and also to improve ones state of health, both physically and mentally.

 

I  snack on fruits not sweets

 

I eat plenty of leafy greens

My Inspiration