My first YouTube Video : How I got rid of my acne

Hi Everyone,

I just uploaded my first video on YouTube @ my beauty and fashion channel and it is me talking about how I got rid of my acne.
I wrote a blog post about this here  .I am happy to report that as of now I am totally acne free (touch wood!!!) .I have yet to successfully remove the scars though!!!
Anyways here's my YouTube video:

Do have a look guys.
Hope it helps and hope I can reach out to you better by adding videos to my repertoire.
I would love to see you comments and know how you feel about this.
If you likeee that please give the video a thumbs up and subscribe because that would mean the world to me.

Have an amazing day,
Love,
Pooja

Picking up where I left off

Hi Guys,

I have been soo soo busy with lots of stuff that's been going on with my personal life.My little one has been one sick baby.....he is currently recovering from an ear infection....my dad needed surgery....
Seriously......its been a bad time...health wise,for the entire family.
But hopefully all that's in the past and I am looking forward to spending lots of good times with my loved ones....and with you guys....seriously I missed you guys.....but now that we are together.....everything is alright again.Have a cuddly bear:

My next post will be an update on my efforts to keep fit....and my exercise routine.....
See you then.
Lots of Love<3 p="">Bye,Bye!!!!

Don't give up......give it time

Hi Everyone,

I used to be one of the greatest beginners of all time :) ......in the sense that I specialized in beginning things but not finishing them.....somehow my enthusiasm fizzled once the newness faded and my beginners luck gave out.
I am sure we have all been there.....unless you are one of those perfect people.This is not for you.

Things always started well.....I was feeling it......full of enthusiasm....everything going well.But then the things would start getting tougher....usually the third day onwards.....progress became slow.....I would always feel like doing some thing else.....things just didn't seem to move forward.

Now I am better at sticking to things because I have learnt not to be too hard on myself when I slack.I simply pick up where I left off.
I have learnt that every body slacks off,the most successful are the ones that pick up where they left off the quickest.

Best of Luck,
Love,
Pooja

New Mom : Make the time to stay healthy....and beautiful

This is specially true of new mothers (and old).....taking care of our own selves gets left at the very bottom of our list of priorities.We have so much to do,specially those of us that balance home and career and kids.Our own needs get ignored in the rush to make playtime for kids,make it to that early meeting in office and keep the bedsheets clean.All these tasks are urgent and important ,I agree.We moms don't ignore our health intentionally.....there's just no time.

I have a strong willed 10 month old bundle of energy and some time back I noticed that I was drinking very little water and exercising not at all.I decided to work on changing this and below are some things that worked for me :

1) Buy a cute water bottle and keep it filled and close at hand : Drinking at least 3 litres of water is essential for maintaining a healthy skin and body ,as every expert and celebrity and their sister and their dog know. Now the extra minute it takes to fill that glass of water,plus the fact that I have to leave my 10 month old alone to get it,often puts me off the water.And sometimes its impossible to leave the little one alone.So having a cute bottle (mine's red,my fav color ) filled  and with me at all times, makes a huge difference.

2) 30 sec exercise : There are some lulls in your day,no matter how busy you are.While you wait for your tot's milk to warm up,while you cook....you get the picture.Use this time to stretch,jog in place or just jump.remember,it all adds up.

3) Your little one is your best exercise equipment : Yup,they are cute....they are handy.....they are fun......and they tag along where ever you go.......your tiny tot is your home grown,absolutely free and incredibly cuuuuuute gym equipment + coach :)......maybe I am exaggerating a bit....or a lot.But you can make her playtime a lot more fun by jumping an,hopping and dancing to nursery rhymes....or any other music she loves.Tone your muscles lifting him,do crunches with him on your legs.Be creative.....the sky is the limit.

Now go ahead and surprise people with your slim,toned body and glowing skin and leave them wondering where you get all that time to exercise.

have agreat day my lovelies.....and love your self to bits....you deserve it!!!
Love,
Pooja

First post from my Galaxy tab 2

Hi every one,
This is my first post using my Galaxy Tab 2.
I must say the typing is really easy using the "Go Keyboard" which is a free app for android.I use the "pink " theme and I absolutely love it.
I use a free app called "Bloggeroid" to write and publish my posts. It allows me to add pics to my post and till date I have found it perfectly satisfactory.Here's a screenshot of what the app and keyboard look like when in use.



As a full time mom to an 8 month old, I seldom have time to sit in front of a monitor so this is really useful for me.Hope this helps some of you guys as well.

I wish you a beautiful day,
Love,
Pooja

Live as if you are Immortal

Now this will really rub some people the wrong way,people who go by the creed "Live as if today is the last day of your life.....and so on".No I firmly believe in "Live and let live" so to each their own.......but seriously.....would you quite smoking if today were your last day on earth?
Are you not a whole lot more likely to quit if you knew you would have to live with a bad lung and resulting discomforts for eternity?

I have found that when I live with the belief that "I am Immortal........I will always be".......I am a lot less likely to get angry or frustrated with people and circumstances.I feel a lot calmer and at peace.I am more patient.I am less likely to pig out and eat junk food,which is a sign of frustration I my case atleast.
What do you think?

Love,
Pooja

New Year Resolution

Hi Everyone,

I am really excited about the new year.......if you're a regular reader then you know how big I am on "beginnings" and anything new.I love starting new things....this year I would like to see myself finishing or keeping up faithfully with at least some of the things I start.So that's my New Year Resolution ,to actually see the projects I start through to the finish......And be regular and consistent with any ongoing projects.Amen.

So tell me guys,whats your new year resolution ?

Love,
Pooja

Hi Everyone,

So the world didnt end and we are all here to meet 2013....Hooooooooooooooryyyy for us!!!!!!!!!!


I Wish you all a very happy 2013!!!!

May the new year bring you all the happiness and good luck you ever dreamed of......May 2013 be a year of mellow warm love and good cheer......Happy New Year you guys!

Love,
Pooja

Towards Happiness : What's the worst that can happen.....Can I handle it?

Hi Everyone and I hope you're having a great day!

Now I believe in being positive.I believe in concentrating on things that stand for love and happiness and letting the negative stuff wither and die of neglect.
So when I first read about dealing with issues by determining the worst that can happen to you ,and making provisions so that you can deal with it.....frankly.....it didn't cut any ice with me.It simply didn't float my boat.Why look to the negative ,I thought.

But then I was faced with some really serious issues ,one of which was giving up my career of 8 years to be a full time mom to little Dugdug.There were also some other issues which are too private to be shared here.Anyways I was totally overwhelmed and unable to concentrate on anything.I was having trouble simply getting out of bed,even that looked like a huge chore to me.
It was then that I thought,what is the worst that can happen.On the economic front,my giving up my job reduced our monthly income by half,so at worst my efforts to build a career working from home would fail.At worst,we wont be able to manage with a single income and would have to dip into our savings to fulfill our day to day needs.In case that happens,I reasoned,I could stay with my son for another 6 months and rejoin my job once he is a year old.I realized I could live with that scenario.The worry lessened.Gradually I applied the same reasoning to my other problems and realized that I could live with and handle most of the worst case scenarios.This exercise made me stronger and more confident of myself and I could look at things realistically rather that despairing about them.

Strangely ,this exercise in negativity helped me become more positive.
The important thing,however,is to look at the worst,find out if you can live with it,and then leave it alone.Having seen the worst ,The important thing is to not dwell on it but use it to free your mind of the fear of unknown consequences.

Love,
Pooja 

Happy Mommy : Making time for yourself

Hi Girls,
Being a new mom was overwhelming to begin with.Mornings turned into nights without warning as one chore followed another.I had resigned my job but between feeding him every 2 hours and keeping him clean and healthy,I found absolutely no time at all for myself.I wasn't exercising,I wasn't writing......almost everything took a back seat as I struggled to do all my mommy duties and recuperate from the c-section.

Now,as a mother of an active 6 month old,I am a full time mom and homemaker and believe me its a full time job.But I have found ways to make time for what I love doing......I am still learning the ropes but here are a few insights I want to share :

Take help when you are offered it : You love your kid and want to spend every waking moment with her and do all her stuff yourself.....I know I know......still if some one trusted offers to look after the baby while you take a much needed break or a relaxing bath....then go for it.

Its OK to be less than perfect : In other words, know whats important to you and don't sweat the small stuff.Taking care of the baby is important,sharing your thoughts with your spouse is important,exercising important and so is watching a comedy movie when you really need to unwind and the baby is asleep. So the house will be a mess some of the days ,some days you'll be too exhausted to cook and will have to order out.The neighbours and your mother-in-law may raise an eyebrow but let it go.They'll get over it.

Don't try to please all the people all the time :Your mom thinks the baby should be bathed before 12p.m.,the neighbour tells you its important to wake her up by 7,the mother-in-law insists he be fed and put to sleep before 9 at night.Everyone will have advice for you and those close to you may want to run your life,insisting that their way is whats best for the baby.Some of the advise may be actually good.Don't give in and go nuts trying to live up to every one's expectations.Do what you feel is right.If I feel its ok to bathe the baby at 1 and if doing that allows me to grab an exercise session,I will do it.

Be selfish some times,it'll help you stay sane : If you don't feel like cooking,order out......if you feel like reading a book rather that taking than cleaning the home then read your book......you deserve a break whenever you need it.

Think in terms of minutes not hours : Things have changed.You will no longer have hours to yourself.You will,however ,have the odd 10 min or half an hour at your disposal.Grab the time you have and put it to the best use you can.Watch a movie like a t.v. serial,10 min at a time.Do some light exercise.Train yourself to enjoy the minutes you have rather than complain about the hours you don't.

Find new ways of doing things : Innovation is the key.Walking everywhere took a long time till the wheel was discovered.Device your own ways of doing things.When I didn't have the time to join the aerobics class several of my friends were going to,I started my own walking+stair climbing regimen.I walk for 10 min for warming up and then climb the stairs up to my 12th floor flat.I cool down by walking for another 10 min.Its not aerobic dancing and kickboxing but its something.And I get to talk on the phone with my best friend .....and sometimes my mom.....

Hope this helped......what do you say?

Love,
Pooja

My Life Right Now......

Sorry for not being around for soo long......I have really missed talking to you guys......that's the absolute truth there.....
Again,I will be using the extremely handy excuse that I still have a 4 month old to look after,and believe me that's a full time job in itself.And although its a job I love very much,it leaves me with very limited time to do other things.
And,well,I have also been suffering from an extreme lack of motivation.
I may not have shared this before but I have been battling mood swings and a feeling of listlessness ever since I had my son.Tiny Dugdug is a joy most of the times (even when he is fully awake at 2 in the morning and wants to play) but I have been having trouble getting myself interest in anything else.

As you may or may not know(I wrote this in a blogpost), I have been holidaying with my parents in Lucknow for the past month.For people who are not from India, Lucknow is the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh or U.P.I was born and brought up in this city and left after 12th Std to pursue a Bachelor of Technology degree in engineering.Aaaaaaaaaaaanyways (I stray soo much,I hope I am not boring anybody),I am in Lucknow right now and will be here till 20 Nov.My husband Sujoy will be coming to Lucknow on the 13th and then we will all (Sujoy,Dugdug and I) leave for Hyderabad on the 20th. Again,as you may or may not know,Hyderabad,the capital city of Andhra Pradesh or A.P. is home for the HappinessNLove family ♥.

Here's the view from our house in Lucknow :

Well,this means I get to spend Dussehra and Diwali and all the other minor festivals with my parents and sister!!!!!YAY!!!!!And Sujoy will be here for Diwali which is like the biggest festival for North Indians so double YAY!!! YAY!!!
Planning to put up pics and I might even vlog about this and more......hmmmm maybe......maybe.......we shall see.......

Anyways.....lets see how things work out......
I will see u later....
Bye!Bye!

A happy thought for a lovely today!!!

"Get happy in anyway you can! If you have to runaway from home, do it. If you have to go to the beach everyday, do it. Do anything that you can do to get happy. In most cases it does not involve action because in most cases if you take action in your effort to get happy, some boom drops on you….get happy in your mind. Find a way to make such peace with where you are, that you allow your gap to close.

Get happy! "

This is a quote by Abraham-Hicks (Read more about them here),and here's a video that goes with it.Do watch :

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umxO5YK5NSU

 

Awesome video,awesome quote.

 

Have a Great Morning guys,and a great day!!!!

Au Revoir!!!

I give myself freedom to be me

I twisted my self this way and that,
To fit the mould of perfection,
Somebody's conception of what was right for me.......to please the crowd that will not be pleased.

I made a mockery of my soul,
But could not hold the deception,
For true colors will show............you can only act for so long.

But today I let go of the fear of loss,
Of displeasing the crowd that will not be pleased,
My heart is strong with love and truth..........I give myself freedom to be me.

Its easy to give in to fear,
To admit defeat and despair,
But it takes a brave heart to carry on........with the belief that the sun will shine again.

I wish you happiness,
Au Revoir
 

My new Samsung Galaxy Tab 2!!!

Hey guys,

Bought myself a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 a few days back and I must say I am loving it so far.

I had been thinking of buying a tab for many months now.
With a 3 month old I simply can't  sit at a table and work for any significant length of time.
Hence the tab which is so easy to carry around.It's specially useful to me when my son is breastfeeding while asleep because he can keep at it for a full hour at a time and it can be really boring.

The feature I love the most and will probably be using a lot is the Polaris Office app for creating office docs.I use it to write blogposts offline and upload them to my blog later.Infact one of the reasons I chose Samsung galaxy over the hugely popular Apple iPad is because the the Apple one doesn't allow you to save docs offline.I had also heard that the Write app available with the apple one has a lot of glitches and doesn't work all that well.Anyways I shall keep you updated on my favourite apps and other useful stuff.

Oh! almost forgot....... I bought it @The Mobile Store at the Saharaganj Mall in Lucknow where I am right now and it cost me Rs 19,800 (358US Dollars) with an additional Rs 400 (7 USD) for the white cover.

Below are a few pics.Is not my Marylin Monroe wallpaper the best!!!!

Au Revoir,
Have a happy day!!!

Update : Where have I been

Now I have been away for a long time and I could always give the "I have a 3 month old baby so I no longer have time for any thing" excuse,but you know what,I'm not going to do that.
The truth is,if you really want to do something then you can always find the time to do it. I'm holidaying at my parents house and I have my mom ,sister and dad to help me with the little one. So, yes, many times a day I find myself just lazying around, feeling a bit bored so I guess I do have the time........

Its the inertia I guess,I have no better word for it.....its what prevents you from doing something constructive ,something creative with your time.........I am sure we've all had times when we feel sluggish and just lie there watching the television.....thats me most times now a days.....when I am not feeding the kid that is.....

When I was a kid I used to say to my dad,"Dad I am unable to study.......I just don't feel like it", and my dad always said,"Just pick up your book and a pencil and start reading,even if the words themselves don't make sense.Just go on reading and at some point the interest will come.Just start,don't think about it".
You know what,it always worked.

So that's what I did today.........got up and started doing things I actually like doing,instead of drugging myself into stupor with novels and t.v.
Entertainment is different from happiness after all and gets old pretty soon.
I am doing something that makes me happy now.........its a good feeling I must say.........

Have a happy day,
Au Revoir

Hi Everyone,

Here is a famous poem by hindi poet Dinkar.
This was requested by arunks123@gmail.com .So arunks123@gmail.com,here's the poem you asked for.


Lohe Ke ped Hare Honge


Lohe ke ped hare honge, tu gaan prem ka gaata chal
nam hogi yeh mitti zaroor, aanso ke kan barsaataa chal.

Siskiyon aur chitkaaron se, jitna bhi ho akaash bhara,
Kankaalon ka ho dher, khapparon se chahe ho pati dhara.
aasha ke swar ka bhaar, pavan ko leking lena hi hoga,
jeevit sapno ke liye marg murdon ko dena hi hoga.
rango ke saaton ghat udhel, yeh andhiyaari rang jaayegi
Usha ko satya banane ko jaavak nabh par chitraata chal.

Aadarshon se Aadarsha bhide, pragya pragya par toot rahi,
Pratima Pratima se ladti hai, dharti ki kismat foot rahi.
Aavarton ka hai visham jaal, nirupaay buddhi chakraati hai,
vigyaan - yaan ar chadhi hui sabhyata doobne jaati hai.
Jab-Jab mastishq jayi hota, sansaar gyaan se chalta hai,
sheetalta ki hai shah hriday, tu yeh samvaad sunaata chal.

Sooraj hai jag ka bujha bujha, chandramaa amlin sa lagta hai,
Sab ki koshish bekaar hui, aalok na inka jagta hai.
In malin grahon ke praron mein koi naveed aabha bhar de,
Jaadogar! apne darpan par ghiskar in ko taaza kar de.
Deepak ke Jalte Praan, diwali tabhi suhaawan hoti hai,
Roshni jagat ko dene ko, apni asthiyaan jalaata chal.

Kya unhe dekh vismit hona, jo hain almast bahaaron mein,
phoolon ko jo hain goonth rahe, sone- chaandi ke taaron mein.
Maanavta ka tu vipra, gandh-chaaya ka aadi pujaari hai,
Vedna-putra! to to keval jalne bhar ka adhikaari hai.
Le badi kushi se utha, sarovar mein jo hansta chaand mile,
Darpan mein rachkar phool, magar uska bhi mol chukata chal.

Kaayaa ki kitni dhoom-dhaam! do roz chamak bujh jaati hai,
chaaya peeti piyuush, mrityu ke upar dhwaja udhati hai.
Lene de jag ko use, taal par jo kalhans machalta hai,
tera maraal jal ke darpan mein neeche-neeche chalta hai.
Kankaabh dhool jhar aayegi, ye rang kabhi ud jaayenge,
Saurabh hai keval saar, use tu sab ke liye jugaata chal.

Kya apni un se hod, amar-ta ki jinko pehchaan nahin,
chaaya se parichay nahi, gandh ke jag ka jin ko gyaan nahi?
Jo chatur chaand ka ras nichod pyaalon mein dhaalaa karte hain,
Bhattiyaan chadaakar phoolon se jo itra nikaala karte hain.
Ye bhi jaayenge kabhi, magar, aadhi manushyata-waalon par,
Jaise muskaata aaya hai, vaise ab bhi muskaata chal.

Sabhyata-ang par shat karaal, yeh arth-maanvon ka bal hai,
hum ro-kar bharte use, humaari aankh mein ganga-jal hai.
Sooli par chadha maseeha ko ve foole nahi samaate hain,
Hum shav ko jeevit karne ko chaayapur mein le jaate hain.
Bheegi chandniyon mein jeeta, jo kathin dhoop mein marta hai,
Ujiyaali se peedit nar ke man mein gaudhooli basaaata chal.

Yeh dekh nai leela un ki, phir us ne bada kamaal kiya,
Gandhi ke lahu se saare, bhaarat-sansaar ko laal kiya.
Jee Uthe raam, Jee Uthe Krishna, bharat ki mitti roti hai,
Kya hua ki pyaare Gandhi ki yeh laash na jinda hoti hai?
Talwaar maarti jinhe, baansuri unhe naya jeevan deti,
Jeevani-shakti ke abhimaani! yeh bhi kamaal dikhlaata chal.

Dharti ke bhaag hare honge, bhaarti Amrit barsaayegi,
din ki karaal dahakta par, chaandni susheetal chaayegi.
Jwaalamukhiyon ke kantho mein kal-kanthi ka aasan hoga
Jildon se lada gagan hoga, phoolon se bhara bhuvan hoga.
Bejaan yantra vichrit, Goongi Moortiyaan ek din bolengi,
Moonh khol khol sab ke bheetar shilpi! tu jeebh bithaata chal.

Lohe ke ped hare honge...

Child Care : Making his/her highness poop

Now every parent knows this is a tough one ,namely , making a baby that hasn't pooped for 4 days.....give up all the stuff she has been storing.
We all know that storing up all that excess material makes kids cranky and uncomfortable.......

Now our newborn used to poop 6 to 8 times a day till he was about a month.
Then suddenly it was poopy every 3 to 4 days.We used to wonder how uncomfortable he must be......he used to become really irritable by the 4th day........believe me we almost had a mini celebration everytime he downloaded (:

Then my sister suggested something she discovered online.....and it really worked...... hallelujah!!!!
What I did was this.......I applied warm water to his poopy exit area using some cotton wool .
I was rewarded almost immediately with a mediocre fart.....followed by a wholesome blob of pottyness.......YAY!!!!

So try this out fellow mums and dads.......and do share if this worked for you.

Au Revoir!

Getting Rid of Acne #2 : It takes time....Don't touch your face

Hi Guys,

Sooo I planned on putting up weekly updates on how I was doing with my acne issues......but I realized that weekly updated were impossible because .......I saw no results at all in the first week.
So I decided to really wait and report back when I have thoroughly tested the products I have been using and see some significant difference in my skin condition.
Now I am happpy to tell you guys that my skin has improved a lot but I would need more time to perfect my skincare routine and share it with you.
I have learnt something ,however,one very important thing.......which alone can be the deciding factor on whether you have clear healthy skin.This has contributed a lot to clearing my own skin.......and here it is:

Do not touch your face

I can't stress this enough guys,do not,repeat not,touch your face.My acne cleared by almost 50% over 3 weeks once I decided to stop my self every time I realized I was touching my face.No one's perfect and I did slip a couple of times but even then the difference it made was significant.

More on this later guys,pics and more coming up.....journey towards clear skin continues.....so tay tunes and keep the faith.

Au Revoir

Getting Rid of Acne #1 : Acne Attack

Hi Everyone,


I got a mild case of adult acne as soon as my little Dugdug was conceived,and it stayed with me throughout the 9 months of pregnancy.I can only guess at the reasons behind it........pregnancy hormones,stress (I was under a lot of stress during pregnancy due to different reasons) ,touching my face and picking at the pimples (ewwwwwwww ........ stress again I guess.....).
I guess all these contributed to different extents to the acne.........but touching my face repeatedly and irritating the sores with my nails definitely was a huge reason why I broke out so bad.


Anyways guys,get ready now for some highly unsavoury pics of my face ,with the breakout on full display in all its glory.I took these on 19th June when my acne was at its worst.Don't watch this on a full stomach......you've been warned.

So as you can see it was pretty bad.
I believe its gotten a bit better since then.I plan on putting up weekly updates on how my skin is doing, along with details of products I have been using and which of these seem to be helpful.


Au Revoir guys!
Have a great day!

Paulo Coelho Quotes