Extracting the Sweet Tooth

I wrote this post on January 2011 but never published it, probably because I never finished it. There is no Plan B:

I plan to reduce my sugar intake to one teaspoon a day, primarily to lose weight. I have done that successfully in the past and managed to lose several kilos. Off late, I have been giving in to the temptation of having cakes, halwas, pinnis, chocolates, candies, and pretty much everything under the sun that is made of sugar - blame my work place and winters!

Here is my plan of action to reduce my sugar intake:

Plan A: Consume one spoon of sugar in the morning tea.

This will ensure I do not have a workaround of having sugary biscuits with sugarless tea later.

If I get a sugar craving then I will opt for sugar-free Orbit chewing gum.

- If I have not had sugar in the morning, then finish one piece of chocolate in about 5 bites. This will ensure I spend a lot of time eating chocolate but don't eat a lot of it.

Well, 5 years and a lot of weight ups and downs later, the sweet tooth remains rooted firmly in my mouth. I am nine months post partum so technically I am still in the safe 'just had a baby zone' but I know for sure can't blame the baby anymore for the extra kilos. It's all ice cream. Right now I am really motivated to go back to this one teaspoon sugar plan but I am leaving for this India this weekend and cannot not eat when at home, right? But I really want to lose this extra weight. Argh.

So most likely I will come back 5 lbs heavier. I already have 10 lbs to shed. That takes the total to 15 lbs to be lost immediately. Argh again.

So I take a pledge to go to my 1 teaspoon sugar diet on Dec 17, 2015. Exceptions will be made on Christmas, and New Year. No deviations whatsoever. I have done this before, can do this again.

I am Alive

The last time I posted on this blog, I was battling swine flu and wondering if I will be able to make it for my trip to Thailand. Well, everything worked out well. The Swine Flu week was one of the best times of my life. Stayed at home with my husband for an entire week, saw a hundred movies, ordered in food, and enjoyed a perfect Staycation.

I didn't post for a long time because a couple of comments on my previous post asked me if I was alright. I thought it was hilarious if people came to the blog, saw no new updates, and wondered if I were alive. I know not funny, but so funny, right?

I am alive and doing well and a lot has happened in the last five years. I have moved cities and countries, bought a house, and have an adorable baby girl to boast about.

Why have I decided to come back? Well I found my first 15 minutes in the last ten months when I have absolutely nothing to do. Nothing in my to do list and that feels weird...unnatural almost. So I decided to make these few minutes productive and wrote this post.

I will try and write more often. The joy of coming back every now and then and reminisce about what was going on my mind is priceless.

See you again.

Swine Flu and More

I had made a very strong decision a while back that I will not clutter my blog with 'dear diary' kind of posts. But I am in a bad phase of my life right now, and writing a diary makes me feel better. So here I go with another frustration vent out:

1. I tested positive for H1N1 on Sunday. I have Swine Flu. I always thought my only contact with this so called deadly disease will be through the innumerable news articles. But no. I am suffering from it currently.

2. Point 1 would not have made much of a difference had I not been married. I am taking medicines and hopefully will be fine by Thursday. But Now my husband may end up catching the flu as well and the thought is scary!

3. Point 1 and 2 would not have made that big a deal had we not had a vacation planned at the end of the week. Now we may or may not end up going.

4. Losing a long awaited vacation is a blow on it's own. But Point 3 won't have mattered that much if we were in a position to postpone our lavish airlines and hotels bookings. Everything is non-refundable. Losing a vacation plus all the money. OUCH!

Too much uncertainty in my life right now. Whoever said "Uncertainty and Expectations are the joys of life" is a LOSER!

Veni's Handwriting Font

My husband has this habit of stumbling upon some of the most interesting things that one can do online. He recently shared the website www.fontcapture.com that converts one's handwriting into a font. I've always been slightly proud of my handwriting. I've always considered it to be neat to say the least. But the result that I got from this website was a rude shock! I'm convinced that this handwriting font of mine will seem like a labyrinth to the reader.

My current state of mind is disappointed - Something that I thought was at least average if not good is looking horrible.

For more details and instructions on how you can create a font of your handwriting, please read my husband's blog post.

Shahi Paneer Recipe

Ingredients

Paneer - 250 gms

Onions - 3

Tomatoes - 2

Oil - 4 tbsp

Milk - 1/3 Litres

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Dried Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Tomato Ketchup - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1 - 1.5 tsp

Preparation:

Chop the onions

Cut the tomatoes into 4 pieces each

Grind the tomatoes into a fine paste and keep them there

Procedure:

1. Heat the oil in a kadhai.

2. Add onions to the heated oil and cook until they turn reddish pink.

3. Take the onions off the flame and add to the mixer that still contains the tomato paste.

4. Grind the onions and tomatoes together until they turn into a fine paste

5. Reheat the oil in the kadhai and add the tomato and onion paste to it. Keep the flame low.

6. After 2-3 minutes, add all the spices, paneer, tomato ketchup, and milk to the kadhai.

7. Heat for 5 - 10 minutes

Shahi Paneer is now ready :)

TV Time

Have been catching some glimpses of a few TV shows these days. As I have mentioned in my previous post, reality TV (read Indian reality TV only), is one of my guilty pleasures. What follows below are my views on these shows that I have been watching on and off.

Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao: Well this show is nothing but Big Boss in a jungle, made creepy and all the more irritating by odd insects and Akashdeep Sehgal. If he indeed is like that, then he deserves some of the archaic punishments like being hung by his nails. This guy really needs an intensive and comprehensive course in etiquette and social behaviour.

Sach ka Saamna: I hate the controversy going around the show and just don't want the parliament to ban it. A thorough entertainer at the cost of some very normal people. But I strongly feel that some of the questions are very vague and related to thoughts and emotions, which are very volatile and vulnerable. In such cases, the accuracy of the polygraph test is close to 0! But the best part of the show is when the player opens the darkest secrets of his life in front of family, friends, and society, only to lose at a later part of the show. Rajeev Khandelwal's consolation of being brave and accepting truth is not of much use :)

India's Got Talent: Enjoyed a talent reality show after a long time. The contestant, coming from all parts of the country with a variety of talents were an absolute pleasure to watch.

Rakhi ka Swayamwar: First thoughts about the show - who are these mad men who have come to the show to marry this ugly wolf and humiliate themselves and their families? Well got no answers. The highlight of the show, undoubtedly, was Rakhi's broken English - Its hurts, I will go to the Canada, mujhe appke mothers aur fathers se mil ke bohot kushi hui, ha ha ha, I can still laugh thinking of this! The next was Rakhi acting all coy and docile! Well we all know how the woman talks and behaves. The show was a complete failure in terms of hiding that it is scripted show.

Tere Mere Beech Mein: This show is Farah Khan's failed attempt to make a mixture of Koffee with Karan, Oye It's Friday, and Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai. She does not utilize the comfort she already has with the guests to engage in personal conversations that viewers will love to hear, but sticks to stereotypical topics like ma ka laadla, chote sheher ke log, and beti ban sakti hai ghar ka beta. And really, someone please pay attention to Farah's costumes, make-up and the set - they're horrible!

All in One Go

There are several topics about which I sit down writing but am never able to finish the posts. So I thought I will delete those five odd drafts from my account and just publish the a sentence or two.

Terrorism in Kashmir, 9/11 Attacks, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Mumbai Attacks, Economic Recession - I have seen history being made in front of mt eyes for years now.

My Guilty Pleasures - Dress-up games, FB Quizzes, Coloring the MS Excel data I work with, Reality TV shows, finding the perfect template and gadgets for my blogs, and browsing thousands of templates available in Google docs.

Because of my job of writing online text ads, only inter-capitalized sentences look pretty.

With age, it just becomes more difficult to like people around you.

Cooking a meal and then have people appreciate it is one of the most satisfactory moments if one's life.