Life - or something like it

You are in the shower, happily scrubbing away the grime and cleaning your pores. You are covered in soap and at that moment, the phone rings (Why does it always ring when you are in the loo or shower?). You scramble to grab a towel, come out of the bathroom dripping wet and shivering with cold. You take these efforts, so that you do not miss a call from a friend or family. You rush and pick up the phone to hear a debt management agency on the call. You feel like reaching inside the phone and socking the guy on his face. Not that, I do not acknowledge the fact that the telemarketers are just doing their job. But unsolicited calls can actually cheese you off. Most are selling stuff you will never buy. The enthusiastic way in which they try to sell you things which you don't need, can really grate on your nerves. Plus, the wasted time attending such calls can exhaust anyone. A few days back I had a really weird chat with a telemarketer, that too an Indian with a fake British accent. T

I first heard the word 'makeup' while reading novels. The sentences in the novels 'expertly applied makeup' or 'flawless makeup' always intrigued me. While growing up, my mother had a 'solitary' lipstick, which she promptly forgot to use. That lipstick was used on my elder sister and me as a 'rouge'(hideous blobs of red) to stain our cheeks and also as a lipstick. This was the makeup for the many school plays and dances, in which we participated. My first brush with actual makeup was, when I saw my eldest sister using a compact, lipstick, kohl pencil and mascara. I was not fascinated by it so much...just thought it as a natural part of being a grown up (I still had some catching up to do). That indifference slowly waned as I grew a bit older and started going to college. That time, my elder sis and I shared whatever bits and pieces of makeup we could buy. We shared our lipsticks and nail polishes. Having a separate arsenal was not viable as makeu

The other day, I asked hubs a question. Me: Sweety, do I nag a lot? Hubs: (A perplexed expression on his face) I am sure, I caught him off guard. I tend to do that most of the times. Not being a novice himself, he recovered quickly and said not at all dear. To tell you the truth, I was just doing live research for the post...ha In a relationship between any man and woman, we have already set our stereotypes. A beer drinking, football watching man, who does not give any heed to the woman. A harridan, whose main pleasure is to scream at the man to do chores. We do come across such people in our lives but there are people who have some tricks up their sleeves and do not have to convert their home & hearth into a battleground. You come to know of each other's likes and dislikes after living together for some years. You might on occasion want to escape from the mountain of housework and chores both of you are putting off. The problem happens when one of the parties has a different i

For all you globetrotters, here are a few pointers for people planning to travel to the queen's country. Each country has its own peculiarities. For e.g. India is a vibrant throbbing mass of humanity. It is exploding with colors, customs and smells. Travelers to India have to deal with a lot of customs they find curious. Similarly, if you are coming to UK you need to keep some things in mind. 1) Language : Yes, they do speak English here, you've heard right. There will be times though when you will shake your head and start feeling little bit like a blockhead. The local accent colors the language and makes it sound nothing like the 'Queen's' English. The farther you go away from London, the weirder the accent. God only will help you with the Scottish and Irish Accents. Do not get offended and bash someone up because they called you 'Lov' or 'Lovey'. This is not eve teasing. These are just terms of endearment used by people. 2) Cities : London is not

The pain was unbearable. It was coursing like a knife through her and all she could do was bite her lips and endure it. She kept waiting for relief and prayed feverishly for the end. Suddenly she saw a figure dressed in white moving towards her and she closed her eyes waiting for Salvation. She knew the end was near and was glad for it to get over. And suddenly the figure spoke 'please open wide', she heard a wrenching sound, blood gushed out and finally the rotten tooth was out. This is how one feels during a visit to the dentist. I have a love-hate relationship with the breed called Doctors. Not that I despise them, maybe hate is a strong word. Let's say I am unnerved by them. They are peculiar creatures, if you ask me. I have a strong doubt that along-with medicine they teach doctors, 'How to push the patient over the edge by giving blank expressions, after they ask you questions about your illness'. Very few people can shake a Doctor to his core and my Mom is on

I know most of you will raise your eyebrow looking at the title. After all, you know of my fiascoes with Cooking 1 & 2 . In spite of many years of cooking (palatable food), I still am uninitiated and clueless about a lot of cooking skills. It so happened that nearly a litre of milk had survived near the expiration date and something needed to be done to finish it fast. I keep getting pearls of wisdom from friends who are excellent cooks and know all the tricks to make excellent food. One of them is my eldest sis and she suggested that I make Cottage Cheese (Paneer) from the milk. Here are the tips for the Recipe (For Disaster): 1) Firstly never ever go for suggestions from great cooks. My sister made it sound as if it's a 'game for my left hand'. I, in the heat of the moment actually started believing this nonsense and took up the challenge. 2) Always use a thick saucepan which is deep enough to hold the milk and leave an inch or two of empty space for the milk to boil

Hubs and I made a short trip today afternoon to a town called Penrith in the county of Cumbria. It was a spur of the moment thing. Penrith is an hour away from Lancaster. We saw some spectacular views of snow covered terrain and mountains on the way. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy. Misty Mountains The Journey Highway Paradise Vanilla Ice Intriguing Ruins Please do appreciate the fact that I have clicked all these pictures from a car moving at 80 Mph.