A Gift to Cherish

I have fond memories of spending time with my grandmother. She was my constant companion in my childhood. She is the one who helped me conquer fear of the dark. She helped me become more confident and express my opinions in front of the world.
She has been my best friend guide and philosopher who has stood by me whenever I needed her. She was a very outgoing person always taking part in debates and school plays.
She loved all extra curricular activity and even convinced her parents to let her learn how to play the harmonium and the guitar. It was quite a feat for a girl of her times specially as she came to from a very traditional and conservative family.
Despite all the restrictions she was undaunted and pursued her hobbies, passion and ambitions.

She inculcated the same values in me too. She always told me to be my own self and express my opinions without any fear. Her most prized possession was her wedding trousseau. She had preserved it and always said that she would give it to me on my wedding day.
Another of her prized possession was her wedding album. She cherished going through it time and again and love sharing the anecdotes and about the events from her wedding ceremonies.
Since my grandfathers job was a transferable one they were constantly on the move.Moving from one city to the other. This constant repacking of the goods took a toll on her wedding album. It became worn out.
In one of the shifting she discovered that her prized possession was no longer with her. It seemed that either it had been misplaced or lost in transit.
She was greatly saddened by this and often remembered her loss.
A few days back I discovered a roll of negatives while going through some old boxes in the attic. To my  delight they were the negatives of some of the photographs from her wedding album.
Since grandparents day was just a few days away so I decided to plant a special treat for my grandmother.
I have invited her to my place on the 10th of September that is Grandparents day and plan to prepare her favorite dishes. I have got those negatives printed into photographs and arranged them in an album.

I cannot wait to see the expression when my grandmother sees her wedding pictures once again.
It would be an incredible moment to cherish and my way of celebrating grandparents day and #LoveJatao for my grandmother.

I look forward to hear from you how would you celebrate Grandparents Day. Do share a selfie with your grandparents on Sept. 10, 2017 on Twitter or Facebook with #LoveJatao & tag @blogadda to win a goodie from Parachute Advansed.

          

Simple yet luxurious

I decided to visit the land of Gandhi. As always I wanted a comfortable hotel which is not only luxurious but also central and well connected with the city.
I booked my room with Courtyard Marriott Hotel, a lavish resort in the capital city of Ahmedabad. It offers a perfect blend of comfort and convenience. It’s ideal for business and leisure travelers.
The hotel amenities and staff make every guest feel relaxed, refreshed and cared for.
The hotel offers fascinating classy facilities to make the vacation an unforgettable experience.
It’s located on the prime location in Gujarat's commercial capital. Its in the business district, within a 15-minute walk of Gulmohar Park Mall, ISCON Mall, and ISKCON Temple. Vaishnodevi Temple and Kankaria Lake are
also within 5 km.
The hotel offers 164 grand rooms with four plush variations like Deluxe Rooms, Executive Rooms, Deluxe Rooms and
Executive Suites. The rooms have carpet flooring with sophisticated ambience. All the rooms are centrally air conditioned. Rooms are equipped with 1 king or 1 queen bed, rollaway beds permitted, cribs, pillow top mattress, duvet and chic furniture like chair and desk with ergonomic chair for comfort. Alarm clock, safe (surcharge), & electrical outlet, iron & ironing board, complimentary bottled water, coffee/tea maker, facility of voice mail, speaker phone, and television with remote control, premium movie channels, cable/satellite & Ipod dock are the additional benefits. All the rooms have well equipped marble bathrooms with shower, hair dryer, robe and slippers.

High speed wired & wireless internet (surcharge) is provided to help the guests in remaining connected to the world.

Deluxe Rooms also offer connecting rooms and newspaper is also delivered on request. Executive Rooms have an executive access to lounge, complementary non alcoholic beverages and business services (surcharge). Both Executive Rooms and Deluxe Rooms are non smoking with connecting rooms. These rooms offer a well stocked mini bar
and mini refrigerator. Separate living rooms and well stocked mini bar and refrigerator are also offered in Executive Suites.

I decided to book the Deluxe Suite with the King Bed. This room overlooked the pool. Wired and wireless Internet access (surcharge) kept me well connected, and the flat-panel television kept me updated on news and entertainment. A minibar, a coffee/tea

maker, and a refrigerator were provided. The private bathroom has a bathtub and shower, as well as bathrobes, slippers, and complimentary toiletries. Air conditioning and complimentary bottled water were included, as well as a desk with ergonomic chair for comfortable reading and writing.

Dining options include MoMo Cafe, an all-day dining restaurant and Bayleaf, an upscale north-west specialty restaurant. Java+ is a 24x7 coffee bar. 24-hour room service is also available.
MoMo Cafe is an in house coffee shop serving local delicacies and global favorites. The place is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and offers a la carte menu with appetizing Western, Asian and Indian cuisines.

The hotel has a full-service spa. There is an outdoor pool, a 24-hour health club, a bar/lounge, and a coffee shop/café.
Other amenities available to guests include 24-hour room service, WiFi, and wired Internet.

I enjoyed the Spa Services at the hotel.O2 has 4 treatment rooms. Services include massages, body treatments, and manicures and pedicures. Body treatments like massages manicures and pedicures help to refresh and unwind after a hectic day.

The business facilities in the hotel include electrical outlet, desk level, speaker phone, voice mail and two line phone.

The tour desk of the Courtyard by Marriott Ahmedabad helped me in visiting the city’s main sights including the Sabarmati Ashram, home of Mahatma Gandhi.

This hotel is rated for the best value in Ahmedabad.

I must say it’s an "Amazing hotel, great staff, great food and services".

 “I am blogging about my luxury stay experience for an activity at BlogAdda in association with MakeMyTrip“

Mumbai calling

I am neither famous nor a celebrity. They are always shown to be enjoying life, a luxurious one at that. You need not be a celebrity to enjoy and experience luxury.
Just plan your stay at Mumbai and you can live just like the rich and the famous.
Like me you need to book your stay at Novotel a hotel located at the plush locality of Juhu.
Luxury and nature are its trademarks. The hotel is just a little distance away from the sea beach.
The luxurious interiors and the luxury of the sea view are the twin luxuries one can experience and enjoy here.
The moment I stepped into the hotel I could feel that I have stepped into a luxurious and opulent landscape.
I was welcomed by smiling members of the hotel staff who helped me put my bag through the security scanner at the gate. When I entered the main glass gate I found myself standing in a large lounge. On the left was a seating area supplied with ample reading material and fitted with a number of big screen television sets. On the right was the reception area. It is here that I presented my id and reservation papers for verification and was handed over my room key.

A member of the hotel staff took care of delivering my luggage to the room assigned to me. The room was big and spacious. It had air conditioning and a LED TV apart from
Free WiFi, a work space.

As a guest I had access to the following.
Lavish buffet breakfast
Choice of  4 restaurants
24-hour fitness centre,
O2 Spa,
Sauna and
Choice of flexible spaces for an event in case I needed to hold one. I could do all this without stepping out of the hotel.
As part of my booking I had received free wifi and free breakfast.

Watching the Juhu beach from my window was indeed a luxury that I was looking forward too.
However that is not the only place from where I could watch the sea. As a hotel guest staying at the hotel I promptly walked up to the pool and went up to the edge of the structure from where I could watch the waves and the beach.
Sitting here on an easy chair and relaxing was a luxury I was hoping to enjoy for a very long time.
The option to order a drink from a wide selection of menu only enhanced my enjoyment.

I had the option to walk past the swimming pool and go down the flight of stairs to a guarded gate. Passing through this gate gave me direct access to the Juhu beach right from my hotel.

When it came to food and drinks I had quite a few options at the hotel.


Gadda Da Vida is a Chic sea lounge where one can order a cocktail and bite into some snacks while watching the Arabian sea.
I loved eating at Gadda Da Vida as it offered not just food but also a magnificent view of the sea and I was lucky to get a seat on the out side. The food was good and the ambiance ecstatic. It felt like I was teleported to a beach side restaurant in Goa yet I was in Mumbai. It sure did feel special.
Bageecha: This place offers some fine Indian dining options.
The Square : They serve Pan Indian food the whole day.   
Olio is the place for Italian style dining and I found the pizza made at the wood-fired pizza ovens to be extra special
Sampan : When ever I wanted to eat Chinese food this is the place I headed.
Peche Mignon my favorite and Juhu's only French Patisserie, presents a lavish array of fresh and vibrantly flavored pastries and breads with a variety of chocolates.

Need I say more?
Good food, relaxing atmosphere and easy access to a clean beach a stay at Novotel Juhu Mumbai offers all this and the best part it you can just stay at the hotel and see Mumbai's who's who walk in and out of the hotel. Some are staying there, others are there for an event or meeting or simply to enjoy the good life that Novotel Juhu Mumbai has to offer.
For me this is luxury at its best.

 “I am blogging about my luxury stay experience for an activity at BlogAdda in association with MakeMyTrip“

Chords of Love

Relationships are like silken threads. Their course does not run smooth. There are many moments when we face upheavals and experience chords of discord. It is very important for us to get out of such situations as fast as we can. This is very important to make the course of our lives run smoothly.

Our lives are a perfect weave of moments that make our lives interesting and noteworthy. In this texture are woven our relationships. Every one faces a bad hair day and similarly we often face bad relationships. When these bad moments take a sudden turn for the better then they leave a indelible mark on our memories. T hey come to the forefront again and again making us relive those moments once more.

Living with our family and specially our siblings give rise to many intolerant situations.

We find it hard to ignore the attitudes and actions of our siblings, but then something happens that upturns the table completely changing the situation that was causing us anger and aggravation.

I was not the only child but had a brother a few years younger to me. He was my complete opposite, very active never sitting still and always tampering with the gadgets

Opening them apart to see what was inside. He was always living in a world of his own .

He did not care for the feelings and emotions of others. It seemed that he was himself bereft of finer feelings. He was like a bully and I was in constant fear of him always wondering which favorite thing of mine would fall prey to his curiosity. As a precaution I started keeping my precious things under lock and key to keep them safe from his prying eyes and damaging actions.

He was the youngest child in the house and every one pampered him. Inspite of all his provocations no one ever scolded him and this made him more of a nuisance. He was super confident that all his actions and their consequences would be ignored by one and all. I was the only thorn in his happiness because I constantly reprimanded him for his deeds. He looked upon me as his enemy. My constantly locked almirah was a source of great curiosity for him. He always loitered near it and tried to open it but got frustrated on finding it locked. One day being in a hurry I left the keys on the table nearby.

After nearly an hour I came back to my room and was shocked to find the contents of my almirah strewn on the floor. On the table lay my most prized possession, my Mother of

Pearl  watch. It was all opened up and all its parts spread on the table. This sight was the ultimate for me and I sat on the chair weeping inconsolably. I felt that my world had come to an end.

Suddenly I felt an arm on my hand and I looked up to see my brother tying his favorite watch on my hand. Their  were tears in his eyes. This act of his brought a sudden turn in our relationship. Although his watch was a plastic one it seemed at that moment to me the

most valuable. He wiped my tears and we shared our favorite chocolate to mark the moment. Now that plastic watch is my most prized possession and it brings back the memory of that day which changed our relationship

 “I’m blogging about my #MagicOfWarmth moment at BlogAdda in association with Parachute Advansed Hot Oil”

Healthy food and Habits Will keep Your Heart Healthy

No matter what your age, you can take matters into your own hands to help reduce your risk of heart disease. It’s never too late to live heart-healthy. We all can get up 50% healthier heart only by taking a few #ChhoteKadam in the Right Direction.
So what are these #ChhoteKadam?
1.Eating Better is the key that unlocks the door to a healthier heart

 
Eat a healthy balanced diet.
Ensure that your diet has a variety of fruits and vegetables and includes foods that are good sources of vitamins A and C.
The amount of food you eat also depends upon the portion size. Opt for portion control so that you do not over eat. Larger servings and portions can lead to overeating so try to reduce the serving size. Knowing how much food to consume at one time can help you avoid overeating and gain weight. Try to supplement your food with salads and green leafy vegetables.
Limit alcohol and avoid tobacco smoke.
Healthy foods are the fuel our bodies use to make new cells and create the energy we need to thrive and fight diseases. When your blood pressure stays within healthy ranges, you reduce the strain on your heart, arteries, and kidneys which keeps you healthier longer. Eat a heart-healthy diet, which includes reducing sodium. Get regular physical activity and maintain a healthy weight. Manage stress, If you have too much fat especially at waist there is a higher risk for such health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. If you’re overweight or obese, you can reduce your risk for heart disease by successfully losing weight. The better night’s sleep you get, the healthier your heart will be along with exercise and eating nutritious foods.
2. “Stay Active” is the next key that helps you heart get healthier.

Feelings of stress surface when you think of everything you need to do.It is very important to make physical activity a top priority in life.Walking, even short brisk walks for as little as 10 minutes throughout the day, can provide enough physical activity to keep your heart in shape. Your goal should be to get 40 minutes of exercise three to four times per week.Water aerobics and yoga are all great exercises.Take 20 minutes for yourself.
Control cholesterol.When you control your cholesterol, you are giving your arteries their best chance to remain clear of blockages. Cholesterol is a waxy substance and our bodies use it to make cell membranes and some hormones, but when you have too much bad cholesterol (LDL), it combines with white blood cells and forms plaque in your veins and arteries. These blockages lead to heart disease and stroke.Good heart health depends on many factors. It is important to exercise, get adequate sleep, limit stress and physical activity boosts mental wellness.A little care will keep your heart smiling and healthy.

3. “Being Happy ” is the next important #ChhoteKadam or key to unlock the door that leads to a healthy heart for you. If we are happy your stress levels drop automatically. Being happy is the perfect antidote for stress. Being happy is also a state of mind that helps the body feel rejuvenated.

To be happy one can talk to a friend or go watch a humorous show or a movie. Have fun indulge in something you enjoy and do things that make you happy.

Take these #ChhoteKadam or baby steps towards getting an up to 50% healthier heart.

“I am joining the Saffolalife #ChhoteKadam initiative in association with BlogAdda and follow these small steps for a healthy heart.”

Your Heart needs Positivity

Stress is that invisible enemy that can play havoc in ones life. If left uncontrolled it takes a toll on our heart. But what if we would repel all this stress and make the heart 50% healthier that too by following a few small steps or #ChhoteKadam

However before we go further and talk about these #ChhoteKadam it is important to understand stress and what it does to us. Sometimes we get so used to living in high stress conditions that we feel something is amiss when stress gets reduced. Take for instance the following situations. If you have experienced any of these most common situations then you have experienced stress.

Stress can happen to anyone and impacts people in different ways.

When one is under stress, they normally

- eat to calm down.

- speak and eat very fast.

- drink alcohol or smoke to calm down.

- rush around but do not get much done.

- work too much.

- delay doing the things needed to be done.

- sleep too little, too much or both.

- slow down.

- try to do too many things at once.

We all deal with stress in our lives. Stress can come from work, from relationships, from health issues or from a combination of the three.

So Lets us start taking taking the #ChhoteKadam one at a time.

The first and the most important thing to do is “Being Happy ”

Being Happy is not as difficult as people believe it to be. Being happy starts with a smile try it .Try smiling at people you meet and they would smile back. Look at yourself in the mirror and smile. Count your blessings and recollect the good things that have happened to you in your life. Every time something good happens keep adding to this list and soon you would realize that the list and your life is overflowing with reasons for “Being Happy”

Let us take the next #ChhoteKadam

Eat Better: To give your body the right nutrition and fuel to be healthy is very important.

It is good to know your right weight according to your height.

Good food is not junk food. Good food is all about a balanced diet that has a balance of all the nutrients needed by your body.

Eat not just the right food but also in the right quantity. Excess of anything is bad. Seasonal Fresh fruits and vegetables are a must include in every meal.

Water and other fluids like fresh and vegetable juices and soups can also add to the nutritional value of our daily meals.

The next important step is to “Stay Active” You would not believe what a wonderful thing can happen to you simply by staring active. 

When you are sitting on the couch doing nothing invariably thoughts invade your mind. A lot of times these thoughts are negative and cause you stress. Besides some physical activity is essential to shrug off the effects of the sedentary life styles that we lead.

You could begin by a walk in the park. A walk post your meals is a good way to stimulate your body and digestion. A walk in the park or in close proximity to nature has a soothing effect on you. It lowers stress boosts the immunity and helps you take in more oxygen.

Even if you start by walking a few minutes a day you could build up on that. Swimming is a great way to stay active and fit. Moving against the waters has a very relaxing effect on the body.

Yoga, pilates, Zumba, Aerobics, Cardio there are so many options to choose from. Start small take the baby steps or #ChhoteKadam in this direction and build on it. Do not be over enthusiastic and do a lot of exercise in one day and then not exerciser for several days. Just as we need food every day so do we need to “Stay Active” and get healthy.

Though these #ChhoteKadam may seem to be small and elementary but by taking these small steps or #ChhoteKadam you can reap huge benefits and help your heart get up to 50% healthier.

“I am joining the Saffolalife #ChhoteKadam initiative in association with BlogAdda and follow these small steps for a healthy heart.”

File your Tax returns and open a gateway of opportunities with H&R block

Does the title of my post surprise you? If that is the case then read on.

Suppose you have set your goal as buying a new house and need a loan for the same. You may approach a bank or a money lending company. They would ask if you file your income tax return and would ask for a copy of the income tax return filed by you. In case you are not able to furnish a copy of ITR or income tax return they would reject your application. So the dream of getting a loan for your dream loan goes up in smoke all because you could not furnish a copy of the ITR as you do not file your tax returns.

Now let us take another scenario. You are bright and talented and find a suitable job in U.S.A now for you to go there you have to apply for a VISA. As part of the documentation you are supposed to furnish your ITR or Income Tax Return. If you cannot provide this copy your VISA application would be rejected. This is not just a case for those seeking a job. Even those going on a tourist VISA need to furnish a copy of their ITR for getting VISA. So no ITR means no VISA and no VISA means you cannot go to that foreign country you always wanted to go to. If you do not file tax return then it is bye bye international travel.

By filing our tax return we are doing our duty as a responsible citizen and this in turn also enhances our financial credibility and the possibility of getting loans.

There was a time when the process of filing tax returns was long,complicated and cumbersome however with the concept of e-filing and a platform called H&R Block the process has become very simple.

All it takes is a few clicks of the mouse to send your required information to H&R Block and your tax is filed. So no more worries and tensions. Let H&R Block prepare and submit the return for you that too from the comfort of your home or office.

“I’m taking the #TaxPledge to file IT returns with the easy Income Tax efiling option from H&R Block at BlogAdda.”

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 “I’m taking the #TaxPledge to file IT returns with the easy Income Tax efiling option from H&R Block at BlogAdda.”