Parenting Woes

The toughest job in the world is parenting and this I realized when last year I quit my job and opted to take a break from my professional life, so that I could spend more quality time with my daughter. Now that I’m back to working all the difficulties of balancing of professional and personal life are back.

As a working woman, I spend an average of 4 to 5 hours during the weekdays with my child, and the task that gets me most worked up is feeding dinner to her. When she was 2 years old, I had to employ all tactics that I was aware of to get her to eat few morsels of food. I used to take her outside and try to distract her with sounds and sights of nature (of course it was pitch dark so she was not so easily distracted), I tried to feed her while showing cartoons on TV, I threatened, bribed, begged-all my creative talents came to the fore in those 45 minutes and at the end of dinner time, it was like the end of a war. Sometimes won, sometimes lost.

Some practical mothers would advise me not to fuss too much over the child’s eating. Do not give options, do not create distractions, just put the plate in front of her and when she’s hungry , she will eat. That does sound too good in words but in reality-well, let’s just say that the food ended up everywhere in the house except in her mouth. And the end result? A cranky kid in the middle of the night demanding food. And a cranky mom in the office next day.

As a working mom, I can say that my biggest anxiety is how to provide her the required nutrition. How to get her to eat the veggies and fruits. My daughter is 4 years old now and fortunately she is not that fussy at dinnertime but she still refuses to eat vegetables. Also since we don’t eat non-vegetarian food, she is missing out on vital nutrients. In this competitive and fast modern world I don’t want my daughter to be left behind just because she is not eating proper food. She studies in Kinder Garten and the homework that she brings home every day make me wonder how I coped when I was her age.

I’m sure that most mothers would agree when I say that a major concern of every mother is the overall development of a child-both physically and intellectual growth. My daughter is at a vital age of development. She is physically active and she is curious about so many things that she sees. I realize this from the questions she asks-just the other day she asked me why fishes have fins and not hands and legs. I may not have the right answer every time for her questions but I can ensure that she receives proper nourishment to aid her growth.

Fortunately my daughter loves to drink milk and the essential vitamins she misses when she refuses to eat her veggies can be provided by health drinks like Horlicks Growth+ which help in weight gain in kids and support complete all round development. My daughter starts her day around 7.30 in the morning and I make sure that the first food she has, is a tall glass of milk fortified and made more appetizing by Horlicks. Her hours are similar to mine-she goes to school between 8 and 12 in the morning and then to her daycare. She comes home only at 7 in the evening.

When I’m in office I worry about her- if she’s eating well, if she gets along with her friends, if she can cope up with her studies and if she misses her home and mummy. So as I said in the beginning, parenting is tough, your kids can try your patience to no end, it can leave you frustrated and helpless at times. But when at night my daughter holds me tightly and goes to sleep, I feel that I can do the whole thing all again, I feel it’s all worth it.

My First Smart Phone With Moto E #ChooseToStart

I read today on Facebook that a person spends 70% of his/her lifetime in recalling memories and thinking about a perfect hypothetical situation in their mind. I do that a lot! I love remembering and reminiscing about the happy moments of my life- the first day in my new school where I met my best friend with whom I’ll be celebrating two decades of friendship this year, the first time I had a crush and I proposed and he rejected (ok, that’s not a memory I love to recollect but it brings a smile on my lips), the first day of my dream job, the first salary check for a total sum of 4000/-, the first time I held my baby in my arms. But these days it’s not necessary to recollect everything from memory, which gets overloaded with excess information as we age.

With smartphones becoming more affordable and essential, it’s easier to just click photos and whenever you feel like going back to that particular moment just take out your phone and relive the moment again.

Of course the advent of the smartphone era dawned upon us only few years back and till then we had to make do with the grainy photos taken from a 2MP rear camera and if anyone would have uttered a word called selfie, we’d have probably misunderstood it for a kind of shellfish. Now even my 90 year grandmother knows how to click a selfie.

I got my first smartphone in August, 2012, a gift from my husband and it took him a couple of months to pay back the EMI which he had taken to buy the phone. Yes, buying a smartphone then cost as much as an entire month’s salary. For the first few months I didn’t know how to operate my smartphone. Whenever I tried to receive a call I had to swipe at the screen multiple times to answer it correctly. And the size of the phone was totally another matter. Sometimes I had to hold my phone in both hands while talking, because I was used to my palm-sized miniscule phone with a screen that was the size of my thumb.

Although there was an option to connect to internet on my phone, I never used it much. I preferred browsing using my laptop. And I didn’t know how to use the front camera. It was only when selfies became popular that I realized the worth of a good megapixel front camera.

It took me several months to become used to smartphone but once I got the hang of it, I became addicted. A smartphone has made life so much simpler and convenient. Ordering food, booking cabs, chatting with friends on Whatsapp, listening to online music, connecting to social media networks on the go, writing my blog posts, clicking pictures of perfect moments, watching videos with my daughter, playing online games-there is an app for every task in the smartphone. In fact the only thing that I use my smartphone very sparingly is for calling because I’m not a very call-friendly person. But still my smartphone is beside me at all hours of the day. Irony, isn’t it? But that’s the magic of smartphones-they are devices not just for calling but they offer entertainment and they keep me informed about what’s happening around the world.

My first smartphone is still with me; I haven’t bought a new phone because it was a gift from my husband and probably I’m waiting for him to gift me another one J

But it’s definitely time to upgrade myself to a better smartphone and the below image of my phone should justify my decision J

My next phone has to be sturdy because I carry my phone all the time and when you are around a hyperactive kid aged 3, there are more chances of your phone getting smashed/cracked/broken. (That’ll explain the above picture)

The new Moto E meets all my expectations and it offers cutting edge technology with user-friendly features in affordable price. The bright and colorful bands are easy to swap and give an extra dash of style and oomph to the phone. These patented bands come with a unique ridged pattern providing a better grip- a useful feature for me with a proven talent for cracking phone screens when chasing errant brats with phone clasped in slippery hands.

I also travel a lot and I’m scared of missing out on contests while I’m away from my home. My current phone has 3G networks and as for the speed of connectivity, the lesser said the better. As a result I lug my bulky laptop everywhere. How I wish that I had a new smartphone with a superfast connectivity using which I could submit a blog post in time. This is where Moto E fulfills my wish because with an ability to connect at 4G speed, I’d never have to worry about missing out on a contest. I can listen to music, connect on social media sites, read books on Kindle app and watch videos without being interrupted by the annoying buffering icon.

But when I’m constantly on the phone, I’d be worried about the battery life. I don’t want to carry my mobile charger everywhere, nor do I want to curb my fun because I’m worried about the battery on my phone going kaput. Moto E comes with a 2390 mAh battery that promises to last a full day so my recharging worries can be laid to rest.

But what good a smartphone is if I cannot click stunning photos? Moto E comes with a 5 MP rear-facing camera and a second camera in front which makes it perfect for clicking selfies or making video calls. Another feature of Moto E is Quick Capture which allows you to switch between front and rear camera just by twisting your wrist twice. That’s a wonderful feature to have for mothers like me who see a precious expression on their child’s face and wish that they had a smartphone to capture the moment. No more missing out on picture perfect moments when I have Moto E with me!

Images captured using my smartphone

The first picture that I clicked using my Smartphone

A smartphone is not just any phone. It unites the world together in happiness and grief. It allows to you to share and learn.  It becomes a true companion offering you entertainment and ability to connect with your loved ones even when you are far away in a distant land. A smartphone, in the present age, has become the smarter way of living.

All images sourced from https://www.motorola.com and http://www.startwithmotoe.com/

#ChooseToStart

http://www.startwithmotoe.com/ 

Starting a New Life in a New Home - #StartANewLife

When I got married and moved to Bangalore, my husband and I shifted to a brand new home and though our first home was a rented one, we were terribly excited. I had so many ideas on how to decorate our house and the new items that we would purchase for our home. When we went shopping for furniture and electronic gadgets I was like a kid in a candy store. There were so many options to choose from and I liked all of them.

But soon I realized that staying in a rented place comes with its own share of disappointments. Of course you are not burdened with a hefty EMI, you have to just hand over the rent each month and forget about it. No matter how much I renovated our house and tried to mark it with my individual taste and creativity, at the end of the day the fact that the house is not mine always crawled into my thoughts. And there were restrictions- I couldn’t choose the paint, I couldn’t hammer the nails to hang the photos, I couldn’t add any additional furnishings other than what was provided by our owners.

Then in just one and half year, we decided to undertake a huge financial risk by taking a home loan and buying our own piece of heaven. We settled on the 4^th floor 2BHK house in the apartment at V B Layout. Honestly I fell in love with the area as soon as I saw it and after living for 4 years I still vouch for it as it's one of the best residential areas. It has parks, schools, restaurants, shopping malls and movie complexes all within short distance. It even has a library- JustBooks within walking distance. My husband thinks that it was the last point which clinched the deal for me J

We were worried about the home loan and the number of years it would take to pay back the loan but we knew in the long run it was a good investment. So after heavy discussions we decided to take the plunge and buy our flat.

The day of GrahaPravesh

I was super excited and almost every weekend I insisted on driving to our apartment and inspecting the progress, all though our floor was still in initial stages of development. We decided on the woodwork-the wardrobes, the TV unit and the kitchen cabinets. A few months after we booked our flat my husband and I got the biggest news of our lives.

I was pregnant!

The realization that we would be starting our new life in the new home along with our baby was the icing on the cake. We had to change our plans a little bit and the second bedroom was now converted into a nursery/ guest bedroom. We shifted to our home in November 2011, when I was 9 months pregnant and my daughter was born in March.

I love my house because it’s a place where I can just be, I can relax and unwind after a tiring day. The feeling of coming back home after visiting my mother’s place or my in-law’s place is one of pure joy and delight. Unlike my husband, I can spend days in my house as long as I’m provided with good books and endless supply of tea.

My favorite corner of my house is my bookshelf that I bought last year. I love turning my eyes towards it every now and then and admiring the rows of books that stand proudly on the shelf.

My precious bookshelf

Our new life in our home has brought so much joy and happiness and even though our EMI cuts into our monthly expenses it’s totally worth it. I think the decision to buy my own home was the best decision I have taken in my life.

https://housing.com/

Finding Strength in the Middle of a Storm #lookup

This incident occurred in the early months of the year 2007. My mother was soon to retire from her bank and I was busy and occupied in my new fledgling IT career that was going splendidly well. On one particularly warm night my mother asked me if I wanted to accompany her to drink tender coconut from the nearby shop. It was almost 8 o’clock and my mother’s night vision isn’t great, so I agreed to go along. My friend and I were continuously messaging each other on phone about office work and I was not really paying attention to where we were going.

On our way back, I took the short flight of steps leading down to our building and my mother took the small sloped driveway that had sand scattered over it. I was busy chatting with my friend when my mother slipped and fell hard on the cement pavement. It took me few seconds to realize what had happened. My mom had fallen on her back and since the landing was hard she must have broken some bones. She found it impossible to move because of the searing pain in her back.

Ever since I was a little child, whenever I saw my mom in pain or suffering due to injury my mind goes blank and I panic. I just cannot think straight. And that day too, when I saw my mother in tears, a cold terror gripped my heart. I ran inside our house and called out to my brother and we somehow managed to take her to the hospital. All through the ride my mother gritted her teeth in an attempt to bear the pain but assured us that she was fine.

When we reached the orthopedic doctor, he advised us to get a series of tests conducted after which he confirmed that my mother had fractured her backbone. What made things worse is my mother’s old age which made healing slow and her brittle bones that may have had a severe impact due to the fracture. He further warned us that if my mother did not undergo complete bed rest for the next 6 months, there was a danger of paralysis. My blood ran cold and I almost fainted listening to his words. I regretted for not taking care to see where my mother was walking. When we went on walks, I always reminded my mother to walk carefully or alerted her if there was a slippery area.

After reaching home my brothers and I realized the gravity of the situation. I didn’t have the necessary skills to manage a house or cook meals and I hadn’t really bothered to learn because my mother took care of us. Not only I had to cook, clean and look after the house but I also had to take care of my bedridden mother. We couldn’t afford to keep a full time nurse and a cook but our neighboring aunty offered to cook lunch for us for a paltry pay for the next few months.

I lost count of nights when I cried myself to sleep. It was difficult to see my normally active mother in bed with a cast around her waist. She took absence of leave from her bank and my brothers and I took turns to apply leave from office. In the beginning I was clueless about how to care for my mother or how to balance my office work and home. My poor brothers never complained once about eating overcooked dal or half burnt chapattis. After one particularly harrowing incident in kitchen I was ready to call it quits. My life was a mess because I couldn’t concentrate in office and at home I only thought about pending work and imminent deadlines. I cursed myself for my negligence and blamed myself for my mother’s injury. I was filled with negative thoughts and was on the brink of depression.

Then one day when I was at home, my mother called me to her bedside. She had tears in her eyes. I went into panic mode and asked her if she was in pain. She just took my hand and kissed it and thanked me for looking after her.

She said that she was sorry for what happened and she should have been careful about where she was walking. She said because of her mistake her children were suffering and she had to be dependent on them for every tiny little thing. She promised to get better soon; in fact she resolved to heal even before the doctor’s timeline of 6 months. She wanted to get better because she didn’t want to be a burden on us. She thanked me because I was looking after her like a child- feeding, bathing and even helping her in the toilet without uttering one word of complaint. And she said that she was proud and fortunate for having a daughter like me.

Needless to say we were both in tears and hugging hard like our lives depended on each other. And in a way it did. My mother’s words filled me with optimism about our dismal situation. I knew that I was doing best to my abilities to help my mother.

I prepared a schedule and got up early everyday so that I wouldn’t be in a hurry. Saturdays and Sundays I learnt cooking from a book that I bought. I helped my mother to take few steps everyday and spent some time with her talking or watching television. Gradually my mother’s injury healed and in 4 months she was walking around the house.

Even now my mother proudly recalls about the way I took complete care of her during those days. Only I know about how mentally weak I had become and how my mother’s kind word had filled me with optimism and hope for the future.  It had given me the strength to survive in the storm that had threatened to play havoc in our lives.

This post was written for Look Up Stories

Let Nothing Hold You Back #BefikarUmarBhar

An incident that occurred recently in my life made me realize how fickle life is and how we run behind inconsequential things all our life. We ignore our family members for the pursuit of finer pleasures, let petty fights ruin cherished relationships, let our ego get bigger than us. We miss out on the fun of living life because we want to have a perfect high salary job, we want to secure an apartment in the tallest building of the city, we want our kids to have the best education possible, and we want to dine in the most upscale restaurants. But don’t you think that in the race of providing the best for us and our family, we are missing out on life’s sublime happiness.

I don’t remember when was the last time I stopped for a while and bent to admire the flowers in my garden or when I picked up the phone and called all my friends and talked to them for hours, just like we used to do when we were in college. Sometimes I wished that I had a pause button in life, so that I could freeze time and relax and enjoy my life. I try to console myself saying that this is the phase of my life where I should work, earn and make a comfortable nest of savings, so that 10 to 15 years down the line I can retire peacefully and be financially independent to do whatever my heart desires. But then again, who has seen tomorrow? What if I die today? Wouldn't I repent not doing things that I have always wished to do?

What if someone told me that I had no constraints to hold me back? What would I do? What if someone assured me that my family’s future is financially secure? Would I follow my heart and tick off some of the items on my bucket list? Of course, I would!

I would jump at this chance because it’s what I always dreamed of- the freedom to live my life as per my wishes and not be dictated by a schedule that is forced down by a corporate that doesn’t understand the need for my balance in professional and personal life.

So here are the 5 things from my bucket list that I would strike off if I was given the chance to live my life #BefikarUmarBhar

Travel solo- This year I have decided to travel alone. I would love to travel through the beaches in Goa and the backwaters of Kerala and if money is not an issue, I would also love to go to exotic locations. The freedom to plan my itinerary and visit all the places that I wish is like a dream come true. It would be a glorious vacation, I’m sure.

Open a bookstore- The choice of my profession was influenced by the amount of money that I could save after paying off all the bills and the monthly installments. My contentment in my job was never a factor in the decision. But now I realize that if could, I’d have turned back time and gone back to choose what I wanted.  I want to open a bookstore where the walls would be filled with bookshelves cramped with books. People could wander around, select a book that they like, put up their feet, order their coffee and have an uninterrupted time reading their favorite authors. For people like me such a place would be a paradise.

Take my mother and my mother-in-law on a vacation- These are two women I admire the most because of the way they have selflessly lived their lives. And I cannot find women who deserve a vacation more than them. I would love to take them abroad, to cities that they would have never heard of, to send them to spas where they can relax with rejuvenating massages and take them shopping and pamper them.

Write a full length novel- I don’t have the required discipline or the dedication to sit down for long periods and write a full length novel. I do write short stories because it takes lesser time but I wish that one day I’d write a novel and it gets published and that it becomes a best seller. Seeing my name and my work of words in print gives me an exhilarating feeling that I cannot describe. Of course since I don’t have to worry about going to work and earning, I can use all my free time in writing.

Meet J K Rowling- I haven’t been this fascinated by a writer since a long time. I love Harry Potter series and recently I have been captivated by her novels in the Crime and Thrillers genre. I would love to meet J K Rowling and maybe get inspired by her thoughts. I hoped and prayed that she would come to Bangalore soon, but since I don’t see it happening in the near future, maybe I can meet in her own country. Wouldn’t it be awesome to hear the inside scoop of Hogwarts life from the creator herself?

All my life I have worked hard to build a better and financially secure future for me and my family. But somewhere along the meticulous planning and the daily grind of everyday life I have forgotten to enjoy the present. It is time to live in the present and enjoy what life has to offer because there is no better time like now.

This post was written for IDBI Federal Life Insurance #BefikarUmarBhar contest hosted by Indiblogger.

Grab The Second Chance That Life Throws At You

Procrastination is not a trait that I am particularly proud of to possess but it is definitely a part of my characteristics. Every year my New Year resolutions contain items that were put off from the last year and invariably end up in the list for the next year too. But this year I am adamant to at least strike off some of the things that I have been relegating to the future.

Have you watched the movie Dasvidaniya? I have and it was interesting to watch a man with limited time in his life try to check off the things in his bucket list. Do I have a similar bucket list? Of course I do but unfortunately none of the things are ticked off the list. What if I find myself in a similar situation like Vinay Pathak in the film? What if I found out that my days are numbered? Would I want to fulfill some of the desires that I never found time for? Would I crave to risk my life on an adventurous journey? Yes, I would! I would do everything that my heart wished for.

With a second chance to live my life, I would unquestionably want to accomplish these below three things in life. I have been procrastinating them for a long time because of trivial reasons like shortage of money or time but I have realized that there is no right time like now.

Take a solo vacation- I have never travelled alone and every time I think of having the independence of deciding what I want to do on a vacation and not be dictated by time or a schedule of a family member, my heart leaps with joy and excitement. I love spending time with myself, so there is no doubt in my mind that I would enjoy my solo vacation. I would love to travel to Switzerland, Venice, Rome and Italy. I would eat what I want, visit the places that I liked, stay in places that I love and if I so wanted I would just spend the whole day lazing around. It would be adventurous but it would be exhilarating and liberating too.

Write a full length novel- Ok, so I have been postponing this from a long time. When I worked professionally I would complain that I didn’t have enough time and now that I am at home, I complain that I don’t have enough motivation to write. Although a million ideas run in my mind, I don’t have the discipline to sit, plan and write a full length novel. When I read blog posts from writers about how they follow a dedicated writing schedule, I wish I had their discipline and their perseverance. I would love to see my words in print and my name amongst famous and successfully published writers.

Open a book house- As a child when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said I wanted to become a librarian, and they would stare at me strangely. A librarian is not particularly a lucrative profession but for a bibliomaniac, like me, it is a dream profession. An unlimited access to books and plenty of time on hands to read as many books as I want-what more do I want? But with my friends joining Engineering course and earning high salaries by being software engineers, my mind wavered. I went with herd mentality and decided for a hefty paycheck, sacrificing my love for books. But even now, when I allow my mind to wander, I dream of being surrounded my millions of books and having company with like-minded people. If I was given a second chance to opt for my career, I would want to open a library where people can wander in, select a book, and if they so desire, they can put up their feet, drink a cuppa, and relax with a book. For a mother, like me, with no peace at home and my kid clambering all over me whenever I pick up a book to read, this kind of library is a heavenly sanctuary.

There are only a few handful people who can say they don’t require a second chance in their life to accomplish whatever they have repented not doing. And I have listed out the three things in my bucket list that I wish I could do, if I was given a second chance in life. What are the items you would want to strike off in your bucket list?

“This post is a part of the #SecondChance activity at BlogAdda in association with MaxLife Insurance”.

My Journey from OR to AND- #UseYourAnd

Life is full of irony and sometimes God goes out His way to prove that to us.

My mother and I are close. In fact when I was a teenager we were more like friends rather than mother and daughter. I confided in her about my crushes or if I liked a guy in college I could, without any hesitation, talk to my mom about my infatuation. I grew up without my father and I have seen my mom struggling to bring up her 3 children. She had to rebuild her life after the death of my father and from being a mere housewife, she had to venture into an alien world where women went to offices and worked alongside with men and were solo providers for the entire family. I have always been proud of my mom, for her courage to stand tall in any adversity.

Me and my mom.

Isn’t it an irony that my fate and the fate of the woman I am so proud of is poles apart and is as different as day and night. When my dad was alive, my mother was a housewife. When she stepped outside alone it was to buy groceries or for ferrying her children from school to home. Her home, her husband and her children were here world and apart from managing the finances of her house, she was blissfully unaware of other finances. You can imagine her horror when after the death of her husband she had to work in a bank and she had zero knowledge of the banking domain. Not only she had to financially provide for her family but she had to single-handedly educate and raise her children. Definitely a daunting task but she stood tall and though I am sure she would have felt like quitting on more than one occasion, she did not.

Time can be a tough taskmaster, testing one’s perseverance and resolve but my mom did beat Time in its own game. She proved that she can be a housewife AND a mother AND an independent woman who can provide for her own family.  Just because a woman is a housewife, it does not mean that she does not have the capability to venture into the professional world and contribute financially to the running of her family. She proved everyone wrong who assumed that homemakers are just good for making rotis and taking care of the household chores and tutoring their children in the evening. My mother was never there for the Parent-Teacher meetings at my school but she was there for me when I wanted to confide in a friend. If that is not an indication of a successful and dedicated parent, then I don’t know what is!

Source-istockphoto.com

Now let’s shift the focus on to me for a little bit, shall we?

I am a software engineer and after earning a degree in Engineering I worked for more than a decade. I am an independent woman who used to earn a 5 figure salary and financially contributed more than my husband. Yet, I chose to give it up all and opted to remain at home, foregoing my financial independence and my career. Some said that it was a foolish decision, to give up my career when I had a good job and a lucrative paycheck. Why did I sacrifice my career despite the well-meaning advices from concerned relatives? I decided to do it for the sake of my daughter.  IT career takes its toll on the employer’s family life and every time I left my daughter at her daycare I felt that I was missing out on the most important phase of her life. At work, I could not think of anything else but home and my child and when I was at home, I worried about the deadline at work. For a working mother, balancing her professional and personal life is like walking a tightrope and I had a feeling that I was not doing justice to both facets of my life.

There were many who wanted to rub salt on my wounds and commented on my incapability to smoothly run a household. They would snigger at my failed attempts to prepare a decent dish in the kitchen, ignorant of the fact that most of my free time at home was spent at having quality time with my daughter. After all I had precious little time to spend with her. I was frustrated and had no peace of mind. When finally things reached a breaking point, I opted to give up my career and send some time with my family. Of course the break was not temporary and although I am at home I still earn by doing freelancer writing work.

Source- istockphoto.com

I transformed from an independent, career-orientated women to a housewife for her family. I am a homemaker AND a writer AND a software engineer AND a loving mother AND a self-made woman. What I find irksome is that we woman are forced to prove ourselves time and again by a society with double-standards thoughts.

Although our destinies may be different, my mother and I are unconventional women because we chose our own paths irrespective of what society dictated for us. We have the spunk in us to decide what we wanted to be. We refused to be shackled by a particular role defined for us and freed ourselves to find our own individualities.

“This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus“.

Pimple, Pimple Go Away, Never Show On My Face Again

In my adolescent years, the most common question that was hurled at me at all our family functions was ‘Why are you so dark skinned’ or ‘ Wish you had inherited your mother’s fair skin rather than your dad’s dark, oily complexion’. I was bombarded with unsolicited advice from garrulous aunties about mud packs or facials that would lighten my complexion, all with the guise of concern about finding a suitable match for me.

Because of my oily complexion I was an easy target for the ugly monstrous pimples. As I grew up, I spent a small fortune on skin lightening creams and parlor treatments to get me a clear, fair skin. Going to college was disastrous because I was introduced to an environment where every girl was highly conscious of what she was wearing or how she was looking. Every day when I got up, the first thing that I did was check my face in the mirror and find out if any new pimples had broken out or if the existing one’s had reduced.

Source-istockphoto.com

There were days when my acnes were so bad that I wanted to skip going to college. If there was no policy of requiring minimum attendance, I guess my full time course of graduation would have turned into a correspondence one. I did learn a few tricks to cover the ugly pimples, like applying too much makeup or covering the part of pimple affected area with a funky hairstyle. But of course, I couldn’t go through an entire day in college looking like a ghost with bad makeup from a B-grade horror movie, could I?

So eventually someone would notice the zits and comment on it, or even worse, they would make conversation while eyeing the acne on my face. How I wished that I had the power of invisibility during such moments. I would listen to any advice on how to cure myself of pimples and then follow them devotedly at home. From applying toothpaste and keeping it overnight, to crushing garlic on the zit, to squeezing the pimples, to applying lemon juice on it- I have tried it all. The most unbelievably gross advice that I received on how to get rid of pimple is- to apply my spit on the zit as soon as I get up in the morning.

Source-istockphoto.com

While a pimple may be just a physical problem it takes a huge emotional toll on the person suffering from them. Loss of self confidence and self esteem are the most important psychological effect of pimples.  I used to be shy and I avoided talking to my classmates because of my appearance. Apart from my circle of friends I never tried to make new friends or participate in the college activities because of my lack of confidence. Withdrawal from social life, depression and anxiety are also symptoms of psychological effects of pimples. I avoided going to family functions because I knew the conversation with my relatives would eventually end up on my appearance and how my mother would have a tough time finding a suitable boy for me.

Although my acne problem reduced (no thanks to the expensive treatments) as I aged, the scars on my face are still present as a souvenir from my teenage days. Few weeks back I had another attack of acne and the dark spots on my left cheek are painful memories of the dreadful days.

Black spots that are reminders of ugly acne

There are a number of factors causing acne. Stress, hormonal changes, oily complexion, unhealthy lifestyle, too much use of makeup, exposure to dust and pollution are the main culprits causing pimples.

Source- istockphoto.com

Over the years I realized pimples cannot be avoided completely but I can prevent their occurrences by following some simple rules.

Wash your face regularly and use a face wash to keep your face clean and to keep those pores dirt-free. Use herbal or Neem face wash like Garnier Pure Active Face Wash that washes away the excess oil on face and keeps the skin pores free from impurities.

Always, always wash away your makeup before going to bed. Use makeup sparingly and avoid application of excessive cream that clogs the skin pores and does not allow it to breathe.

Keep your hair dandruff free and wash your hair regularly, especially if you have long hair or if you have oily hair.

Avoid going out in harsh sunlight and if you must, then make sure you have generously applied a good sunscreen lotion on your face, neck and hands.

Avoid binging on junk food. Some say what you eat shows on your face. I don’t know how much of that is true but I avoid eating fried food. I eat fresh fruits and vegetables regularly and I try to have one day in a week where I avoid all the sinful stuff like chocolates, chips, and ice-cream and consume only fruits, soups and steamed vegetables. This is not only good for the skin but also detoxifies the body.

Drink plenty of water. I cannot stress on the importance of water in our daily diet. I have recently developed a habit of consuming a glass of warm water with lemon juice and honey as soon as I get up in the morning. This not only gives you clear skin but also aids in better digestion.

Avoid stress in life. Remember that some things are just out of our control and no matter what we do they do tend to happen. Just blame fate and accept them calmly. Have at least 8 hours of sleep and do indulge in rejuvenating and relaxing massages.

Exercise! Get plenty of fresh air. Exercise helps in reducing stress and it gives you a glowing skin. Exercise makes you feel good about yourself and blesses you with a glowing face and a fit body.

So that’s some gyan that I shared from my own experiences. Do add to the list if I have missed out on any more tips.

A good physical appearance can boost your self confidence and give you that much needed to push to achieve your dreams.

Source- garnier.in

This post was written for Garnier Pure Active Face Wash Contest hosted by Indiblogger. Click here to find out more about how Garnier can help you in your fight against pimples.

Family vacations with kids- Teddy Travelogues

Lots of things change in a couple’s life after a child is born, and after Advika came into our lives I have to say that our life has turned topsy-turvy. In a good way though. My husband and I travelled a lot during the initial phase of our marriage and it was usually a spur of the moment trip. Like that weekend when we decided to pack our things and head to Pondicherry. It being a long weekend we had to struggle to get a bus to Pondicherry and fortunately for us we were able to confirm bookings for a day in a resort. Being spontaneous had its own fun during unplanned trips. But after our daughter was born, impromptu trips were out of the question.

Although initially I was a little skeptical about taking Advika along with us on vacations, I confess there were several trips that turned memorable because we had her along with us. For example, when we visited Mysore zoo we did not think we would enjoy the trip, but yet we wanted to go there as it was Advika's first visit to a zoo. She was around a year old and she had just started identifying animals from the pictures in her books. So it was absolute joy to see the amazement in her face when she looked at the giraffe, zebra, deer, tiger and lions. It was one trip that we laughed a lot.

Advika's trip to Chamundi hills in Mysore

The solo traveler 

Honestly she is not a fussy kid but she does not like confined places and gets really cranky when a) she is hungry and b) when she is sleepy but she is not able to nap. But then I guess this is how all kids are. :)

Source- http://www.istockphoto.com/

We have to plan meticulously when we travel with her. I think having a good vacation with your kids all narrows down to planning and able to anticipate what may go wrong. Of course some things are out of our control so don’t fret too much if things don’t go according to your plan. Just flow with the tide and relax and let your kids have fun too.

Source-http://www.istockphoto.com/

We have gone for vacations with my daughter to Mysore, Chikmagalur, Ooty and Goa, which are all places closer to Bangalore. We have travelled along with her in train, bus and car journeys. We always plan our trips such that most of the commuting is done during the night, since she is a sound sleeper and usually sleeps unperturbed. Travelling in an airplane is something that we have never tried with her but there is always the next trip. The important thing to remember is the kid’s comfort.  So here are some tips that come to my mind that could make your vacation with your kids more fun and enjoyable.

When selecting your destination or the places you want to visit, make sure that your kids would enjoy it too. Take them to the zoo or a water park or a water fall or a garden where they have plenty of space to wander about and play. If you want to visit, say, a museum, and you know that your kids may get grumpy and mischievous then leave them with your husband and go alone. :)

Confirm your hotel bookings before leaving. You don’t want to arrive with cranky kids in tow and then learn that your hotel reservations have been cancelled.

Always carry medicines and first aid, keeping in mind the kind of weather of the place you are visiting. Read up about the destination on the internet. Carry medicines for common cold, nausea, stomach upsets, and small injuries. Being prepared is the key here.

Remember to carry little snacks and drinking water wherever you go.  You never know when your kids may feel hungry and you don’t want to run in search for their favorite snack.

Carry board games for older kids or your toddler’s favorite toy. If your kids like to read pack their favorite books. Just something to keep them occupied when there is nothing to do on the vacation.

Get your kid involved in the planning of the vacation. Let him/her help you in packing. Show them photos of the places that you are going to visit on the internet and explain the various activities that you would be doing.

Plan your time such that the kids get ample time to spend in each place you visit. Don’t rush them around and also plan your itinerary so that you get some time to rest indoors too. Remember kids get cranky when they are tired.

If your kid has just begun to walk or is still in the crawling phase then it would be advisable to carry the pram or buggy along. Although it may add to the already overloaded luggage you will be thankful for the pram when you can easily strap the kids in it after they are tired of walking.

If you are visiting a crowded place and there are chances of the kids getting lost in the crowd, a low-cost mobile with the children would come in handy. If the kids do get lost do not panic, request the managers of the place for help.

And finally remember you are on vacation. So relax and do not fret too much about what may go wrong. Let down your hair, laugh a lot and have fun.

Source- http://www.istockphoto.com/

Happy holidays and have a fun vacation with your family.

This post was written for Teddy Travelogues contest hosted by Indiblogger.