If only pregnant women give more attention to their maternity clothes...

I don’t have to say that if only pregnant women give more attention to their maternity clothes, they would be surprised how beautiful they would appear.

Certainly they are really missing something called ‘being lovely’.

That’s what came to mind when I came across Happy Mum – a maternity clothes store at London that provides a wide range of tempting, stylish and comfortable maternity clothes and fashion. The website claims that all their products are designed and produced exclusively in Europe.

Happy Mum was created 7 years ago in search of something special for ‘moms to be’ combined with a stylish and feminine look.

I am glad somebody is giving all the attention that ‘would be mothers’ really deserve.

Pregnant women who would like to look more sexier than ever after delivering the baby, should check in what is in store for them at Happy Mum.

How to adjust to the aging mind.

I was casually browsing the book shelf under ‘self development’ shelf. I came across a book titled, “Adjusting to aging mind”.

I flipped through and was aghast. The book is written for aging people! I thought it should have been written for the young people who actually find it tough to adjust to minds of the aged people in their home.

What do you say?

You cannot keep harassing elders to adjust to the whims and fashions of the younger generation. Haven’t they been doing exactly that all these years? Now, it is the responsibility of their growing children to adjust to their parents and other elders in their family.

 "Your memory may be less efficient," Park says, "but your knowledge about how to do it may be better” says Dr. Denise C. Park, director of the Roybal Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Illinois.

Youth are annoyed that the elders cannot remember important daily tasks to be carried in their absence.

That book I glanced motivated me to write a book meant for young people teaching them how to adjust t the aging minds.

Opticians-are you listening?

I came back empty handed from my shopping today at the Forum Mall in Bangalore. I went to buy a few things including a pair of sun glasses for my husband but none on the display racks were attractive. May be the display itself was not done consumer friendly.

I think sunglasses display  should be done with the third eye; I mean from the customer’s eye . The problem with most of the shop owners in big malls is, they end up getting satisfied without ever asking for genuine feedback from the actual visitors to the shop.

If you wish to sell sunglasses, then it could be as easy as buying sunglass racks and letting people decide, but while you’re at it you, should make the job even easier to the client.  

If you place your sunglass racks facing the entry point of your store, then you hope that the customer was searching for sunglasses to begin with. Customers are more conscious of what they buy when entering a store than when they are leaving, with that mind, if you decide to go with this approach, you will attract customers that came to your store for sunglasses (among other things.)  I would recommend this method if the prices of your sunglasses are higher than normal, as you will not attract as many impulsive buyers as the second approach.

I would recommend a rotating rack which is easy for customers to easily reach out for the one that is placed on the far end of the rack without the help of the salesman.

The beginning of my proof reading business.

I am starting a short stint with proof reading of articles. One of my online contacts, a middle aged woman from Philippines, asked me if I would be interested in working as a proof reader for her friend’s web site.

I agreed without a blink because I thought I am god at it picking up mistakes in others’ work.  Oh, who else is not adept at that?

The first piece of web content was a short review about “Vintage T-shirts”. Yes, I had heard of it before. And that helped me to quickly finish the work and sent it. I suppose it is yet to be reviewed by new employer.

In case if you have not heard about Vintage T-shirts, they are good though the price range is rather high and of course the demand is also high and the supply is notoriously low.  For most the vintage T-shirt is a dream. The dealers of that brand are seemed to be happy bunch because of excellent sales year long.

Do you know the power of your own expectations?

Expect what you want and see them rolling in in reality. In addition when you set your expectations, don’t  set too low because, when an expectation is set, automatically your mind is bent towards achieving them. It begins to line up assembling the required resources, knowledge and the  people. You only need to recognize them and act accordingly.

You must know how to use these resources that your mind has organized. It has done its job. The ball is in your court now. If still unsure, again wish a plan to be revealed.

It would come your way though not blatantly as cosmic forces don’t come in flesh. You might see a movie, read book, hear news that present the latent plan of action. Something would inspire you.

Your expectations have life in them. They are dynamic forces. Don’t kill them.

Signs of depression in early ages.

I don’t remember exactly when I read these sentences authored by Thomas Szasz but I remember them clearly.

“In the United States today, there is a pervasive tendency to treat children as adults, and adults as children. The result is unruly children and childish adults”.

I would put it this way: “The result of this changing trend in the west is anxious children and not unruly children.”

Do you agree?

Today, the most discussed and researched subject in the west (India is not lagging behind) is eliminating the anxiety and panic in children.

Before diving deeply in to the subject, I would like to speak a word of caution to the contemporary young parents. Majority of the parents today cannot spot the beginning of panic disorder which would invariably lead to anxiety in their children.

Symptoms of childhood anxiety:

There are a lot of differences between anxious adults and anxious children. So, don’t look for symptoms of adult anxiety. You would then ignore your child.

As a parent, you should learn to be aware of the budding of anxiety in your child. 

Anxiety symptoms in children:

·         Avoiding going to school

·         Reluctance to meet your eyes

·         Edgy

·         Throwing tantrums on trivial matters

·         Social avoidance

These are just the beginning indications of the presence of anxiety. Clipping it early would save your child from slipping into depression.

Fresh news about the the world of perfumes and celebrities.

What is a Designer Perfume?I was awestruck when I stumbled on to an advertisement that read, “Cheap, designer perfumes for men and women”. 

We have all heard of designer sarees, designer furniture but designer perfume?  I called up by personal beautician and asked her what she has to say about it.

Here are the salient points from her reply.

Years ago, cosmetics companies got celebrities to endorse perfumes like Estee Lauder, Chanel, and Guerlain.

When celebrities, such as Elizabeth Taylor, first introduced designer perfumes decades ago, the reaction was mixed. Some critics felt that celebrity perfumes were just a fad

It is a different story now. Celebrities don’t want to endorse other companies’ designer perfume. They all want perfumes in their own name.  However, some celebrities turn the design tasks over to professionals and simply give their approval on the finished products. Other celebrities are involved in the process from the conceptualization stages to the marketing of the designer perfume.

Jennifer Lopez who was reported to have worked for a cosmetics company once likes to be involved in the production of her own designer perfume. Having once worked at a cosmetics counter, she knew exactly what she wanted her signature fragrance to smell like. She even had the bottle design include a pretend diamond ring or necklace on the neck in tribute to her penchant for wearing jewelry.

I was amazed at the beautician’s informed knowledge. Sitting in a remote place in Bangalore, she seems to be a well read woman.

What girls look for in men!

At my age (btw, I am 55), I need not bothered to read an article in Yahoo! that went by the title,"What girls look for in men!".

Well, the vanity in women would not fade away till death-right? I am no exception. I clicked on the title mainly for two reasons.
1. Did I look at the man I married 28 years ago?
2. Has the present generation has changed and if so, what do they value in men?

The article in yahoo! was short sweet. Whoever wrote it must have been an old woman. Here is what I recollect from that article.
1. Men should be tall
2. Arms should be visibly big
3. Men should wear a very mild perfume
4. Should wear a ready smile
5.Hair should not be oiled
6. No bulge in tummy

After school activities.

The academic year is coming to an end and the students are waiting to break free from me. However, teacher’s duty is not yet over. For millions of parents around the world, the year does not end with the final school bell. There have to find ways to keep their children active throughout the holidays usefully.

Keeping children happy, teachers and parents have devise after school activities.  Teachers know that after school activities thrive only if they are backed by sufficient parental involvement.

Many children attend guitar or violin classes, followed by ballet and squeeze in some time for play dates in between just before they rush home in time for bed.

I am contemplating on drawing out some unique activities this year. I have looked into creative scrap books made by a few Aussie students. On a business perspective, I am thinking of motivating some students to learn wedding decoration.

Let me see how it all goes.

Are you about to become an heir to estates?

It is a well known fact that lawyers lack sense of humor; I accept a few exceptions here and there. I am not offending any particular lawyer but you know, these pointless arguments pop up unobtrusively and the case is always closed without the need for a judge. (Smile)

I remember reading somewhere in the Internet, “Lawyers often think that the jokes are not funny, and non-lawyers fail to understand that they are not jokes”.

In our group of friends, one aspired to be a lawyer and that too she wanted to specialize on inheritance rights just because her family too was a victim in one such prolonged inheritance case.

We were all surprised when she kept her up her promise and dorned the black lawyer gowns a few years later. She soon started appearing in inheritance cases involving celebrities.

After a long time, we met at my house once. We heard several outrageous stories. She then shared her knowledge about probate advance. It is a sort of advance cash assistance to the expected beneficiaries of a will and this made her work less stressful because her clients were temporarily relaxed.

I am again ditched.

I was shocked at the behaviour of my maid which was highly indignant. The way she replied to my questions was very odd. She was never like this over the years and I thought she was rather impolite.

Actually, she is well educated and employed too in a secretarial firm. She visits our neighborhood once a week to help 3 families with odds and bits.

I hired her to organize my files and papers which used to be in mountains at the end of Saturday. I am actually paying her for my untidiness.

The weekly help abruptly stopped coming without any notice. When communicated over phone, she said she won’t be resuming her weekly trip since she is now on her own. I was surprised as I know that she is a regular visitor to several payday loans online resources.

On further prodding, she said she started her virtual secretarial service and she is now happy that she need not depend on payday loans henceforth.

Hmm… what a lady!

Is Internet useful or harmful?

This is a much debated topic especially in third world countries where parents who still live in an era they were born and refuse to accept contemporary cultures however convenient they may be.

Some parents while embracing Internet and smart phones in their life don’t agree when their children do the same.

Very biased-eh?

There is widespread opinion that young generation doesn’t read books, journals, magazines and newspapers these days.  I wonder really why should they if they have excellent possibilities to find everything necessary on-line. Except information, you can find a lot of other different things that can widen your outlook. 

You can visit Louver gallery with famous Mona Lisa, sitting comfortably in your armchair in front of computer screen.

You can also order different services. If you log on to Internet you can purchase anything you can imagine. Just clicking a right button, you can order term paper or pizza, or tickets to a rock concert. Your term paper order will be done easily; pizza will be tasty and day - just wonderful due to Internet services.

Internet without doubt is a blessing for those who have no time and opportunities to go shopping. Besides commercial part of Internet one can also find a wide range of ways of communication. You can chat; use ICQ, instant messengers or an e-mail.  

New daughters-in-law should read this.

My daughter-in-law’s first declaration when she came into our family was she has ‘mageirocophobia’. I stared at her; in fact every one of us did the same. She understood immediately that we did not catch up with that new word mageirocophobia which she explained sheepishly as fear of cooking.

We laughed out loud! Don’t all the new daughters-in-law have the fear of cooking? Mostly it is used to escape from the kitchen duties.

I sent her into our kitchen just to heat the milk in microwave. She was speechless when she entered the kitchen. It is an ultra modern one with just about every kitchen gadget you have heard of. She gladly announced she would shed her cooking phobia soon,

Ah, a little bit of more on ‘mageirocophobia”.

Sufferers of mageirokos can feel extremely intimidated by people with skills in cooking, and this intimidation and feeling of inadequacy is probably the root cause of the disorder for many. 

Now, it was my turn to give back something to her. Without any expression, I told her, “I hope you don’t have ‘pentheraphobia’, another common fear that grips new daughters-in-law.

It is about the fear of mother-in-law!

Inspired by

http://listverse.com/2009/08/13/10-more-extremely-bizarre-phobias/

What is the implications of social media marketing.

After joining several Facebook groups, Google + groups and after establishing several contacts through Twitter, my social circle has expanded considerably. Though nurturing new social friends is time consuming, I enjoy every bit of it.

There are so many wonderful people out there in India. It seemed to be a waste of time spent thus far. Looking back, I have been living as a frog in the well with a stupid assumption that I know the world. Real கிணற்று தவளை.

I thought I would not find too many women bloggers out there. Again a wrong assumption. Women equal men in the blogosphere. Almost all of them are pursuing their blogging as a way to earn part time income. Women especially in northern part of India don't idle away their free time. Since they have a broader social outlook, it is easy for them to establish their online presence.

If you spend time in social media just for fun, I am sure you may not meet meaningful friends.

Nice world out there.

Desserts after lunch in South Africa.

It was a lively get together yesterday with middle aged South African woman from Bloemfontein.  

When we treated our friend from South Africa to a lunch yesterday, we decided to make our traditional Akkara adisal and serve it as a dessert. After she swallowed a spoonful of it, her face lit up brightly. The mixture of hot ghee and jaggery is so heavenly delicious.

In South Africa, the desserts after lunch included malva pudding made of Apricot fruit. She told a few more desserts that were all unheard of by us. For example, do you know that Dom Pedro which is an ice cream with a little drop of milk and a shot of your favourite whiskey? It seems liquor is one of the ingredients in South African desserts.

Another sweet delicacy is called “koeksisters”, a sort of pastries. Another favourite of theirs is a spongy cake called “ystervarkies”, dunked in a homemade chocolate sauce, rolled in coconut!  Hmmm… sounds so sweet.