Parenthood - Overrated really?

A few days ago I read an article which I will have the link below for you. You must read it I say!

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/blink/stop-the-lies-about-parenting/article5709875.ece

The title of that article 'Stop the lies about parenting' just had my immediate attention and I just had to read it! No doubt a well written article and clearly articulated the essence of her topic very well. I also agree that it takes real guts to be honest to your feelings and also to come out and express them. So kudos to that!

However, focusing highly on one aspect of life "Parenthood" and categorizing it as "Exhausting" isn't fair enough. As you grow you get ready for many phases of like, schooling, college, marriage, friendships, career, business, so much and each phase is tiring, exhausting and takes away a lot of energy from you. So, is being a parent. It is tough, it is very tiring at the end of the day but you do it, right, why? Because you love it! It is not something you sign up for like the author's remarks. It is your choice of bringing a life into this world and like all your decisions respect that, be true to it. It is a part of your life. Life changes all the time and you adjust to it. Period.

You love being a parent just like you love being at your office slogging 9 to 9, which is also not an easy task! True it is rewarding sometimes and sometimes not, which is in the case of everything you do in life. I am not saying romanticize the whole thing saying that having a baby is complete bliss, obviously mothers would agree it is not 24/7 full of bliss, you will have your moments but trust me it is a life changing experience and it indeed is the best one just like for few of my friends sky diving, scuba diving or even getting a tatoo changes is. For me personally, being a mother is, it changed my life in all ways. I agree I crib, I feel tired but it was my decision to be a mother and the end of the day when I put my baby to sleep, I thank God for her. It surely doesn't feel anything like exhausting! :) 

Again this is my personal opinion, just like the author had hers! You are entitled to yours! 

Until next post,

Love,

Adi

(Image courtesy: Google images)

Happy Meals! :)

I quite enjoy eating out and trying out new cuisines. But after having a baby my social life has been reduced to zero (Not that I am complaining, I get to have the best company in the whole wide world). Having a meal at my favorite restaurant (peacefully) isn't really possible most of the time. That really propelled me to try out stuff at home during the weekend, to make the weekend a little happening if I may call it! (Sigh!) (Couple of drinks can really help)

You cannot have all the ingredients that go into making those amazing meals that you would go out for, but surely can make meals comforting enough to have with a weekend drink or two with your family & friends! So, if you like you could try these out at home to pep up your weekend or when you have friends over, you can try them out by using these simple ingredients!

Sharing few of my happy meals! 

Dip Dip Dip - Hummus it is! - Well, mostly now everyone knows about this middle eastern delight since it is now a regular in most multi-cuisine restaurants. I am personally a big fan of this! I don't really dish out Falafel or Shawarmas with this but its a great healthy dip to have with chips, finger foods, salads, breads, or even on its own. You can store it in your fridge and it remains good for couple of days!

You would need: 

Feeds: Appox Four or five people

1/2 Kg Chickpeas
5-6 cloves of garlic
White sesame seeds (toasted)
1 Lemon
Paprika powder (if you can find it) or one red bell pepper
Olive oil
Salt to taste

Easy Dip - Hummus 

Just soak the chickpeas overnight and put it to boil in a cooker for three or four whistles. Now in a mixer put the chickpeas, white sesame seeds, garlic, salt and a dash of lemon and churn it away! Keep the water you boiled the chick peas in and you could use that to mix it. Bring it to a mayonnaise kind of consistency since it is ideal for dipping away and coating your finger in! Slurp!

Pour it in a dips bowl, garnish it with olive oil and paprika powder! 

If you don't have paprika powder you could roast a bell pepper and just mix it with the chickpeas. You will get a reddish looking hummus but the same flavor. 

Homestyle Chicken Wings

You need:

Feeds: One dozen chicken wings for 2-3 people 

One dozen Chicken wings
2-3 tablespoons of ginger and garlic paste 
One large tablespoon full of curd
Chilli flakes or chilli powder
Pepper powder
Fresh Coriander or Dhaniya finely chopped
Turmeric or haldi
Olive oil for cooking
Salt to taste
Lemon & Onions to garnish

Homestyle Chicken Wings

In a bowl mix the chicken wings ginger and garlic paste, curd, salt, haldi, red chili powder or flakes, pepper powder and dhaniya a little bit of olive oil. You could marinate it for about an hour or two. This really enhances the flavor trust me. 

In a non-stick pan put olive oil and place the wings as it heats up. In order for them to cook well, place four or five wings at one time. This allows them to cook well. After placing the wings, cover it with a lid. After few minutes remove the lid and turn the wings. Once they achieve a brown color on both sides, cover the lid for 5-7 minutes after which let them cook without covering. At the end of ten minutes you will have your wings crisp on the outside and cooked succulent from inside. I cook it on low to medium flame. 

Dish it out and serve hot with onions and lemon. 

Note: Cooking time depends on the utensils you use and the size of the wings, so chances are that it may vary. 

Well, I have many more recipes to share with you and will do so in my Happy Meals series part 2! :)

Until next time,

Love,

Adi

Be your spiritual guru!

Please don't get swayed by the title of my blog entry, I am not spiritually inclined towards one faith or other. I just believe what my heart says and feels like doing. It is just that I sometimes feel that I do a lot of introspection and self-inspection/correction or whatever you call it, hence I call myself my spiritual guru! :)

I strongly believe we all are capable of handling our problems on our own. Only when we think of sharing our "mental drama" as I call it we magnify the problem and make it bigger than it already is. Take your issues to yourself and you will handle them without taking a toll on your personal life.

With few easy steps you can deal with your inner tensions and issues and at least feel calm as you try and solve them.

Step 1.

Be angry, think all that you can about that "problem", feel all that you are feeling. Yes, the first step is to feel what you are feeling and do whatever is coming naturally to you. If you can avoid a natural outburst (if your tensions involve another person) do that since outburst and saying stuff which you know you are saying in anger. You might just regret it
later on!

Go to your bathroom or bedroom and weep a little if you feel like. It works for me if I just let myself be.

Step 2. 

Try keeping the problem aside and do what you love doing the most. It can be like surfing the net, watching TV, listening to a song that peps you up, talking to a friend, cooking, walk, whatever that diverts your attention from your problem. 

In the time of problem or an issue it is important to make yourself realize that there is a world beyond your issues which might just look big at the moment but will soon subside and you would be back to doing things that you do everyday!

Step 3.

Apologize if you have to! 

Even if its not your mistake. Do that! At the expense of sounding preachy I would go ahead and say that definitely apologize. Not only it boosts the ego of the other person it surely makes you a bigger person. It will certainly not making you any less and not prove anything that you are wrong or anything. 

Step 4.

Write it down. No I am not your school teacher telling you to make a personal diary!

You can just scribble on a piece of paper and even throw it afterwards. But penning down your thoughts surely is a stress buster. 

But please no Facebook & Whats App statuses! Trust me the world doesn't need to know and will not help you dealing with it at all.

Well, I can't say that these things will certainly help you dealing with your issues but will surely build your inner strength.  


If you agree please comment and please share what you do when you are facing a problem. 
Comments are most welcome! :)

Until next time,

Love,

Adi

Guess who is back!!

Hello everyone!

I am back to what I love doing the most and I cant tell you how happy it feels. I was away for a long time from this space as a lot had happened in the year and a half. Life changed like no one could ever imagine. 

Well, without dwelling further into what happened, I would happily *grinning as I write this* I am going making this blog alive! Yes! 

Also, since the last year brought me the most precious of gifts ever, my baby girl who all of six months has already taught me so much and made me a different person all together. I will share my experiences in one of my posts soon!

Well keeping my return post short and sweet, I will see you all soon as I work on my new posts.

Love,

Aditi :)