H&M WINDOW DISPLAY

While I was at the Grand Avenues, I passed by the H&M store and I really liked their new window display of denim wear. 

THREE IMPORTANT THINGS FOR HEALTH AND HAPPINESS

MY PHOTO FOR TODAY - RESTAURANT AT SOUK DISTRICT IN AVENUES MALL

How innovative! Aluminium cooking pots as lamp shades and the lids for decor at a beautiful restaurant in Souk district, Avenues Mall. 

WILLIAMS-SONOMA COOKING DEMO

Two weeks ago,  I passed by Williams-Sonoma at Grand Avenues. It was around lunch time and they were holding a cooking demo. During the demo, they promote their cookware and cutlery. A healthy dish of Chinese chicken and vegetable salad with couscous was prepared as a part of the demo. It was light and tasted good. I didn't get time to visit the upstairs where they have home furnishing.

Williams-Sonoma is having a 50% sale right now. 
Tel : 22283101

If you are interested in their recipes, visit their website here

A BREAK FROM THE MANY THINGS I ENJOY

I took a break from several things - blogging which I love, the outdoors, cultural activities, and walking which I enjoy. The reason is, my health took a roller coaster ride since the past 6 weeks which upset me as I had to go through immense pain of all sorts. Falling sick is horrible. It makes you realize, how important it is to be healthy and disease free! I can't say I am completely well, but working eagerly to get better. Everything I love and enjoy doing took a back seat.

On my way to recovery from a queue of ailments that followed one after the other, I found myself contemplating on what's truly important in life. There are of course a number of important things. My family topped the list no doubt. You know, there is nothing more important than love in your life,  spreading love, positivity and good will and wishing well for others wherever you are and wherever you go. Life taught me not to be judgmental about people, for you have not walked in another person's shoes. You don't know what the other person is going through.  If you can do a little good, make a small difference in a positive way, it's great. While we look for imperfections in others through a magnifying lens, we have faults and imperfections as well, hidden under a mask of denial.  It's important to treat people with respect and kindness, just the way you expect to be treated. There should be no room for anger, aggression, ill intent or grudges because  it really does you no good except hurt others and hurt yourself, increase your stress level and stop you from appreciating life. Negativity is often like a boomerang. What you sent out good or bad comes back to you.  

If you can forgive, you free yourself from the clutches and shackles of negative situations. When you forgive, you are actually  letting go of the that which holds you down from experiencing true emotional freedom. Don't compare yourself with others and fret over what you don't have. Gratitude helps you realize how fortunate you are in numerous ways. Don't worry about the grass on the other side of the fence. Work on your grass, pull out the weeds, nurture it with care and patience, make your grass green and be proud. 

Family, relatives and friends are a blessing which money can't buy. Give them your love, time and attention. Often we take people for granted. Let it not be too late to realize the value of people who care, whom you can count on. 

I look forward to blogging again.  The weather is getting better and lot of beautiful things to look forward to, including a vacation in October. 

INNER PEACE

WEIGHT LOSS - AWARENESS OF WHAT YOU EAT

Have you have been struggling to lose weight and return to old eating habits because 'dieting' seems hard, tiring and boring? 

Does losing weight eventually seems like a far fetched dream? 

Do you fool yourself into saying, 'I'll diet tomorrow', so that you can 'enjoy your favorite calorie rich food' today? 

Is your food laden with fat, sugar and salt? 

Do you binge all the time? 

Do you overeat during meals? 

If you answer yes to the first question and any one of the rest of the questions,  let me assure you weight loss is definitely something you can achieve. Only on one condition, by making it easy on yourself. And how you do that?  Be good and extra loving and caring to yourself. Make that one decision you have been afraid or reluctant to make. And make that decision soon. I know it's seems hard and tough to follow through once you decide to lose weight. The easy way out is living in denial and eating all that you desire. But the not so easy part about it is suffering silently from being overweight. So many people have taken the decision to lose weight by making healthy food choices and are living testimonies today after successfully reaching their target weight, even if meant months or year(s) of sincere efforts. And that's guaranteed to change into a healthier (and happier) person.  I must admit sometimes, we are very much aware of what we eat and how much we eat. It's just that, we don't care enough to make healthy choices and let temptation and habit take over. 

If you feel you are eating in moderation and still find it hard to lose weight, make a journal and write down what you eat, is your food high in calories, are you eating and not exercising? The calories expended should be more than the calories consumed for you to lose weight. Don't compare yourself with those who eat and not put on weight, because some of us are genetically hardwired to put on weight. Yes, some of us have to eat less than our 'skinny' friends who eat more and don't put on weight. Eating less does not mean we should starve. Make healthy food choices, eat less carbohydrates and wheat based food, refrain from eating junk, and high calorie foods. You can have a small treats in moderation once a week so you don't get tempted. No matter how boring you find exercise or if you 'don't have time' for exercise, there is no better solution, except to 'make time' for exercise. 

Daily awareness of what and how much you eat will help you lose weight.