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

 

 

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!!