Struck by a "THUNDER" Bolt !!

On a sunday evening, I lazily walked out of Starbucks in Forum Sujana Mall here in Hyderabad when suddenly was hit by a thunderbolt.

Stunning Looks..Attractive body...It was totally Love at first sight !! 

My Thunder Bolt

Ahead of me, i spotted this RED Beauty - BOLT from Tata Motors - being displayed at Bolt Arena.  Impressed by this beauty, i observed the need for a thunderous applause as i noticed awesome features while interacting with the Bolt Arena team.

Performance : BOLT is available in both the petrol and diesel form. The petrol variant features new turbocharged unit. The 1.2 litre powerful Revotron 1.2T engine produces power of 90 PS and torque of 140 Nm between 1500-4000 RPM. On the other hand the QUADRAJET 1.3 diesel engine delivers a raw power of 75 PS. Overall these seem to provide an exceptional performance and refined driving experience.


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Safety :BOLT has advanced ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) with EBD (Electronic brake-force distribution) and CSC (Corner stability Control) which ensures your safety in case of emergency braking by sensing the wheel speed, and prevents wheel lock-up while braking, thus maintaining directional control. It also has an active speed-sensing auto door which locks instantly lock all doors when the car will be in motion. There are advanced dual airbags that cushion the impact to protect the driver and front passenger in case of an unexpected event of a frontal collision.


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Comfort: BOLT has a spacious cabin which makes the drives feel even more comfortable. With touch controlled FATC, the car temperature is regulated automatically for utmost comfort. With body hugging rugby shoulder seats and overall wide seats, you are ensured to get better back support, so that you stay comfortable and completely stress free. As we take control of the stylish yet sporty Tata signature steering wheel, its dual texture and integrated smart controls makes power steering take a whole new meaning.


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Design: Bolt has smoked projector headlamps which provide can you with better illumination when zooming down the street. The distinctive power bulge on the bonnet showcases a powerful engine beneath the hood with raw power waiting to be unleashed giving Bolt a strong and sturdy appearance. Premium 8 spoke Tata Motors alloy wheels enhance the sporty appearance of the Bolt. 


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Connectivity:  BOLT has the Bluetooth enabled CONNECTNEXT touchscreen infotainment system developed by Harman. The high resolution touchscreen is intuitive and easy to use, putting convenience and entertainment at your fingertips. Navigation system developed in collaboration with MapmyIndia uses android smartphone to help you reach your desired destination with ease and utmost convenience. One cool feature i noticed was that when not driving, you can relax and view your photographs, videos, and movies on the touchscreen.Another cool feature is that the Bluetooth  enabled touchscreen infotainment system lets you know about incoming SMS and readouts without having to access the mobile phone. Also it uses advanced voice command recognition which lets you make calls without accessing your cell phone . These are great features concerning safety while driving and talking on cellphones. The stereo has 4 speakers & 4 tweeters providing good audio output and clarity to entertain everyone in the car.




Modes: The multi drive function of BOLT allows us to choose between three driving modes - SPORT, ECO & CITY. When you are in for a burst of power at open highways you can choose the SPORT mode. If you want efficiency and unmatched mileage then the ECO mode. The CITY mode strikes a balance between these two. These modes will offer relaxed and comfortable ride in different situations. 


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In addition to all these features, the BOLT also comes in 5 sizzling color variants - VENETIAN RED, PRISTINE WHITE,PLATINUM SILVER, DUNE BEIGE and SKY GREY. 

All these features plus make me eager to #GetSetBOLT ... 




I agreed to test drive this beauty and was presented with a BOLT-band. I wore it in my hand and ready to drive the new BOLT that I am going to win.  

 “This post is a part of the Get. Set. Bolt. activity at BlogAdda.”

No Pimples, No Marks !!

"I am getting married on the 30th. You are coming for it. I am so excited to meet you after a long time", my friend Archana called me on the day of Sankranti to say this. "Congrats.I am so happy for you. Its been long meeting you", I asked back. "Yeah. Few of our friends will be coming too. I will mail you the invite. I am looking forward to meet you all", she said. Archana was my good friend since college. After engineering, she moved to Singapore for work and we have haven't met since 5 years. Now her wedding being fixed, it was a good opportunity to meet her and also our friends.

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I was all excited to go to her wedding. I wanted to look my best that day since we were meeting all my friends there after many years. I started my preparation from that day itself. With just 2 weeks more for her wedding, we friends excitedly started discussing on who is coming and what to gift her for wedding. I decided my saree and accessories to wear for her wedding. The coming Sunday I got an appointment booked at a parlor for facial to pamper myself and look the best. 

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On Monday morning, i woke up with a huge shock. I had gotten several pimples on my face. Argghhh.. No way !! I felt horrible looking at those pimples. The facial had not suited my skin and caused the pimples. But not at this time when i wanted to go and meet my friends at the wedding. I felt really unhappy at work and spoke to my colleague. She advised me "The first step you must take is to wash your face twice a day with a good cleanser having anti-bacterial properties. Pimples leave ugly marks and it is equally important to treat pimple marks as well. Why don't you try Garnier Pure Active Neem Face Wash? The Neem leaf extract along with Tea Tree Oil found in the Garnier Pure Active Neem Face Wash helps in removing pimples and their marks"

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I could not believe how a face-wash could cure pimples but still I started using the product. To my surprise, the pimples diminished day by day. By Friday, i noticed that not only the pimples but also the marks had vanished. That is just 4 days of using this face-wash. I loved that it had natural ingredients like neem and tea tree oil extracts which are known in Ayurveda for controlling pimples. So i started adding it to my daily skin care routine and observed that it helped purify skin by combating 3 factors – pollution, germs and oil. It was convenient,time-saving and suited for all skin types. It made my skin feel clean, fresh and healthy. This itself increased my overall self confidence and i felt happy.

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Finally the day of her wedding came.When i met my friends, we were all excited to meet each other and had a great time. During one of our talks, some of them also asked me about my healthy skin and i recommended them to use GARNIER PURE ACTIVE NEEM. 

For more information on the product, do check out 
bit.ly/GPABlogLinkIndiBloggerActivity and bit.ly/GarnierPureActiveNeemWebsite

This post was written as part of IndiBogger topic on Garnier Pure Active Neem !!

Five Friday Favorites - 30Jan

Whoa..i cannot believe that January is already coming to an so soon !!. As always this week too just flew off very quick. This weekend it is going to be low-key for me. On Saturday, we are just going to reflect how the month went and in the evening go for our weekly date. Sunday is going to be another rest to relax and refresh for the week ahead !

Let me get into my 5 favorite things this week! 
1) Quote :
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This quote is ideal for me this week. As i was involved in multiple things at work, i got distracted from my goals. So i need to focus on my goals and set proper priorities to them

2) Workout :

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I am still following the TIU workout challenge and stick to their weekly schedule.  I am loving the changes that i can see in my body. My energy levels are already zooming up. Really excited about it and feeling proud of myself to have consistently followed it.

3) Food :

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This week, i really stuck to eating fruits every single day as planned which is awesome for me.  I had ensured to add fresh fruits in our weekly shopping list. This made sure that we have the fruits over the week.

4) Movies :

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This Monday, hubby and I watched the movie - A Walk To Remember. I totally fell in love with this movie.   It is an awesome love story which is so sweet, sincere and positive.

5) Moment :

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Well what can i say. This has to be the best best moment I have been waiting for. Today i just got a call from Vice President that I have been promoted in my team. I felt incredibly happy to hear it. Though it has been due since long, it never happened. To think it just happened, i cannot express how thankful i am. Once the official letters are out, it is going to be awesome. But for now, action item is to set goals for my next advancement and work on them. Unlike last time, now i am going to document the goals and really really have to focus on them !!

Linking up to Eat Pray Run DC, Mar On The Run, You Signed Up For What?, Fitting-it-all-in, Housewife Glamour, Jill Conyers, Running 4 Cupcakes, September Farm, The New Mrs Adventures and The Good Life

Wednesday Eats - 28Jan

Today's TIU workout plan read - MORNING BOOTY CALL…KETTLE TONING!
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After having half a banana, I started with TIU kettle-bell routine. As i do not have a kettle-bell, I used a 7 Kg dumbbell instead.


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On completing one round of this intense 35 minute, head-to-toe sculpting routine, I cooled down by following the Love your body Yoga


Love this mug

Once back, it was my favorite coffee time. I love my morning coffee !! I love going through other blogs and inspirational posts while having my coffee. 


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Then i had my favorite Peanut Butter Toast. I just love peanut butter. It is simply addictive for me. It is very tempting for me to have a lot of it so i restrict myself to one spoon. Then I prepared lunch to take for work.


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Around mid morning, i have my cup of hot green tea at work.


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For lunch I had mint rice. Mint has so many health benefits. We make sure to include mint in our meal every week.

 
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For snacks, i have a bowl of fresh fruits. I lag behind in having fruits everyday. This weekend I ensured to add fresh fruits in our weekly shopping list. This made sure that we have the fruits over the week. 


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For Dinner we had Roti and cauliflower vegetable. I simply love cauliflower. It is easy to cook and has numerous health benefits too.

As always, thanks Jenn for hosting!

5 Ways to Overcome Unhealthy Cravings !!

One of the main things i struggled in losing weight is food factor. I would do all the workouts diligently but i did not control what was on my plate. Because of that i did not see any weight loss and slowly lost my motivation. Once I learnt how to control my food intake and overcome unhealthy temptations, there was no looking back.

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What works for me is 80-20 rule. I eat as clean as possible on the weekdays from Monday to Friday and have one cheat meal on weekends. This includes me working out 5-6 days a week and aiming for at-least 30 minutes walk/run everyday.

Today i would like to list down top 5 tips and tricks that worked for me to overcome unhealthy cravings -
1) Remove Temptations :

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Do not stock on unhealthy food in your house which could cause temptations. Instead refrain from purchasing them or buy when you want it. This supports the idea of being out of sight out of mind. If the cravings are no longer in front of you, chances are you may forget about them in few days. I loved eating potato chips earlier and would stock them at my place. So whenever i get to see, i would pop a few of them even when i was not hungry. But once i realized how unhealthy they were, i just stopped purchasing them. The first few days are always the hardest, and you cannot completely eliminate your old cravings. But the longer you avoid your trigger foods, the less likely you may be to want them.

2) Chew on your food :

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 This should be ranked as the number 1 tip that actually helped me. I got this tip from one of my friends. The idea is to chew each mouthful about 30 times before swallowing. For people like me who feel hungry all the time, chewing each mouthful for 30 times prevented over-eating by giving the brain more time to receive signals from the stomach that it is full. So when my stomach is full, i am less likely to be tempted by cravings.

3) Drink more water :

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This will just make you less hungry, and gives you plenty of energy. Many a times especially in the evenings, i would start feeling hungry. This is weird as i just had my tea about 1 hour back. Previously i would consider it as time for snacks and gorge onto a sandwich. But these days as i began to understand my body, i first drink a glass of water and wait for 15 minutes. If i am still hungry, i go for a fruit. In most cases, i stopped feeling hungry after drinking the water.

4) Distract myself :

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If i need only potato chips then it is craving for chips and not actually hunger. This craving lasts for a short time. We should not let ourselves be controlled by the cravings. Instead we should learn to distract our mind by going for a small walk, listening to music or speaking to someone.

5) Indulge yourself within limits :

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 I follow the 80-20 rule here. I always make it a point to have a cheat meal in the weekends. We mostly have it during our date nights. But i make it a point that although i indulge in the temptations i have it within limits. By doing so, i learnt to get control over my body and treat my body with the success by having temptations.

Linking with Jill and Jessica for the awesome theme !!

Sunday Runday 8K !!

This weekend was fun. We had holiday on Monday for Republic day which made it a long weekend. On Sunday I had Officers Training Program in our Toastmaster's club at work. So the entire day went there. I managed to squeeze in a 8Km run in the morning. 

I had my playlist updated, running clothes ready on Saturday itself. So it made me easier to just get ready and get into my running skirts. These days i am totally obsessed on having a pumping playlist ready for my run. On Sunday the temperature was 24. It seemed to have increased over the weekend and quite warm. I had to be back to get soon to get ready and leave for Toastmasters meeting.  So i just wanted to get done with my run and be back. I quickly changed from my PJ's, put on my head-phones and went out. 

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I planned to run inside the botanical garden today. The idea of running through the serene greenery with birds around along with fellow runners made me pumped up. The run started out smooth! I had completed 2 of my projects on Saturday which i had kept procrastinating since many days. So i was feeling very satisfied and accomplished all through. This confidence showed up in my run too and i was able to keep going on a comfortable pace. Initially it was warm outside but as I started to run, it started getting hot. The music and the warmth gave me a good kick-start.

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I crossed half way at 4 Km and made my way back again. I just love my playlist as it keeps me pumped and sets a good mood for the run. I felt very good despite the weather conditions. Finally i completed my 8Km run in 55 minutes !!!

Linking with Healthy Diva Life, Running and Reading, Her Heartland Soul, and Life of Meg !!

Weekly Workout Recap and Menu Planning - 25Jan

Happy Sunday ! This weekend again has been super hectic in a fun way. Yesterday i completed 2 of my long pending projects at work. I was procrastinating and delaying completing them. So i picked it up yesterday aiming to finish at-least one but ended up completing both of them. It was very satisfying and left me with a sense of accomplishment. Today i had been to Toastmasters Officers Training Programs which we were hosting and it went on from morning till evening. This being my first Toastmaster's district level meeting, i was not sure of what to expect out there. But it turned out to be very informative and fun and there were lot of takeaways. I got to catch-up with few folks and also got to meet a lot of new people. There were people from so many different backgrounds and it was a pleasure hosting the event and meeting people there. Also i am thankful for tomorrow being a holiday for Republic day. So i am just going to relax and get ready for the week. 

Even though a fun weekend, I did my workouts in the morning. I am happy to have stuck with the TIU workouts so far. I have followed all the workouts and trying my best to finish the challenge strong !!

Weekly Workout Recap :

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Monday (1/19) - Cupid's Cardio, Love Your Total Body
Tuesday (1/20) - 5 Km Walk, Love Your Arms & Abs
Wednesday (1/21) - Love Your Booty x2, Malibooty
Thursday (1/22) - Love Your Body with Yoga, Love Your Abs
Friday (1/23) PM- Love Your Body with HIIT, Love Your Arms
Saturday (1/24) AM- 5 Km Walk in the evening
Sunday (1/25) - 8 Km Run


Weekly Menu Planning :

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Breakfast :
Vegetable Omelette
Finger millet Pancake
Peanut Butter Toast
Oats

Lunch:
Mint Rice
Coconut Rice
Capsicum Rice

Snacks: 
Sprouted Green Gram
Fruit Salad
Vegetables and Hummus

Dinner:
Carrot and Roti
Eggplant and Roti
Cauliflower and Roti

Linking up to Jill Conyers for weekly recap and menu planning !!

The Day He Lied To Me !!

After moving from Mumbai, Anirudh was my first friend in the engineering college. Infact we came to know each other because he was challenged by a friend to rag me. Since then we had become the best of friends. There was something in him that drew people. He had an amazing personality, good looks, was tall and most importantly was the hunk-in-demand in our college. He was the captain of our college cricket team. He would always be there on grounds playing cricket and hardly attended college lectures. But something had changed from the last 8 months, his school friend Vaishali would keep saying. That was the time i had joined the college. These days he kept coming to classes more. He was with hanging more with our group and more specifically with me. Maybe we get along well. 

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"Do you have a boyfriend", he suddenly asked me this question the other day when we were in a coffee shop. "Why do you ask that?", i asked confused as to why this suddenly came up. "Just like that", he said. "No. I do not have any boyfriend and i cannot have any boyfriend. I have my dreams that i need to chase and have no time for love and boyfriends", i said firmly. "Okay. From tomorrow i can pick you up on my way from cricket coaching", he told me. "You come all the way from Secunderabad to Hyderabad just for cricket coaching!!",I asked with a shocked face. "Yeah!! But you don't worry. I will be there tomorrow", he said. This had become a routine for over a month. Since we used to commute together for a month we got closer and i had started to like him.

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"These days i see you and Anirudh coming together. What is going on girl.", Vaishali asked me with a teasing tone the other day when i met her the other day. "Oh come on. He comes to some cricket coaching near my place.So he just picks me up. That's it", i replied innocently. "Cricket coaching !! What the hell is that now. From when did he start playing cricket again?", she asked me back."What do you mean by that", i asked back. "Well since some last six months he has never played cricket. So it is surprising to me when you said that. Where does he go for coaching there", she asked again in disbelief. "I have no idea about cricket," i replied to her and moved from her. But the conversation kept ringing in my head. I decided to ask Anirudh the next day about this.

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"Well. Its actually true. I am not going for any cricket coaching. I just come here to meet you, to get a chance to enjoy time with you", he replied when i asked him. "But you lied to me. I thought you were coming here for cricket", i screamed back hurt. "I did not mean to lie to you. I love you a lot. But since you were not interested in love i thought of trying to spend more time with you hoping probably you may love me one day," he said. "But that is a big lie. You could have told me directly. Instead you told me a big lie. I trusted you so much. I do not want to be friends with you anymore", i replied totally disappointed. 

After that day, we both hardly spoke to each other. As per him it was just a small lie which was done with a different intention. But according to me that was the foundation of my friendship and if that started with a lie then how could i trust that guy. If he had loved me, he should have had the courage to tell me. Thus by Anirudh saying a lie that day, i lost my best friend. 
This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Asus Go Sleek !!

ASUS has announced the launch of new laptop called ASUS EeeBook X205TA  and a new desktop called ASUS All In One PC ET2040 . These days people are more on the lookout for sleek gadgets. The best of the gadgets combine sleek design with attractive look and feel and impressive performance features.
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When I had a first look of this laptop, it felt quite affordable and looked great. One thing that caught my eye is that it weighs less than 1kg and can easily fit in a small suitcase or carry bag. It is designed exactly what the on-the-go students and young professionals want these days. Also it seems to be designed with smooth curves and tactile surfaces to make it the ideal take-anywhere laptop. I personally prefer laptops which are light weight and easy to carry to any place. For people like me who travel extensively, when there is a baggage limit restriction in flights, the last thing i would want to include is a heavy laptop. 


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I also loved that this is available in four colors: black, white, gold and red. The idea of having a laptop in gold color seems pretty awesome to me.


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In addition, Windows 8.1 with Bing gives EeeBook X205 maximum application compatibility with software and peripherals compared to other OS. Also it has a Connected Standby technology which gives users a smartphone-like computing experience. This really enables to almost-instant resume from sleep mode unlike my current laptop where I do not have the option for standby and need to shut it down every time after use. What seems interesting in the connected Standby mode is that it can listen for notifications and wake up regularly to fetch new emails, live updates, and other similar tasks. For my current work style, where i keep getting frequent messages on chat and email, it can wake up and notify you which is totally awesome. Imagine how cool this will be if like your smartphone, the laptop screen will stay off the whole time and it can keep doing work.


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Unlike most of the laptops, this comes with 12 hours of battery life for an Always On Always Connected experience. For most folks like me who stay connected to the internet for work, i think it will be awesome to have this laptop which promises to last up to 12 hours when browsing the web. So once we have the battery fully charged 100%, the idea of working so long without being connected to the power seems fantastic. This is totally suitable for me on days when i need to work from home and there is a power cut. It has a compact 11.6-inch laptop which means that the level of detail provided by the screen is very good.


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Overall i like that it is perfect device for performing basic tasks like browsing the web, checking emails, doing light office work for casual users. It has got several features that my current laptop does not have and this make me all the more interested in getting this.

For more information on these products, do check out ASUS EeeBook X205TA and ASUS All In One PC ET2040
This post was written as part of IndiBogger Happy Hours campaign topic on Asus Go Sleek! !!

Cupid games this valentine day !!

"It is no more the time that only guys have to propose to girls. Those days are gone. With the month of February round the corner, it is going to be the season of love everywhere. You might get so many ways to express your love to him. Come up with a fun, unique, and personalized gift to propose to him this Valentines Day.I think he also likes you. But he may be hesitant in telling you. Why don't you take that first step?",my friend was telling me the other day. We were the best of friends and she knew how much I wanted to propose AK. 


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"How about I start giving him hints and if he still doesn't get it i send him a personalized puzzle written inside a delicious chocolate cookie box"?, I asked her the other day. "With AK being the foodie boy who loves solving puzzles, i think this will be a very good idea", she told me.


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So the other day, I started out with the idea of doing a personalized puzzle.  I went here for some help and came up with a rough idea of a puzzle which when solved gives the message "I love you.What about you?". As i know AK loves cookies, i came up with an idea to make heart shape cookies. I then started to make the heart shaped cookies and started to feel nervous. I called up my friend and asked her to come and see the cookies. She was impressed by it.


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 "This is fun but how can you make this more customized?", she asked me. "Maybe I can add our initials to it", i thought. But what if he does not like it? What if he did not like the offer itself? I do not want to lose my friend. Too many negative thoughts came to my mind and i got panicked. My friend asked me to relax, think positively and do what i felt good.So i went ahead and got the puzzle and cookies ready and put them in a box. Though the idea of coming up with the gift was scary, executing the idea seemed even more scary. 


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So as per the idea i called him over to my place to discuss something related to a project ;) Well this was the first time i had called him to my place. I think he should start getting hints that way. Since he loves strawberry, I first gave him strawberry juice. CRUSH. Well if he is clever enough he will figure out what I am trying to say.But alas he simply drank that without thinking anything more. Sometimes they can be stupid and so we need to express more than just a drink for them to understand. 


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As we were talking casually,he inquired about the project for which i had called him. I then gave him the puzzle i had created and asked him to solve it. He was shocked. "Where did you get this from?" he asked me. "I just smiled and went to the kitchen to get the cookies. As he was nearing the end of solving puzzles, he started getting the message there. He looked at me and smiled back. I then gave him the heart shaped cookies. By then AK had totally got the message. He was totally impressed by the effort i had taken in making the puzzle and cookies. 


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Though this happened 4 years back, we still cherish these moments. Now i have been married to this wonderful guy who was and will be my best friend. Had I not taken that step to propose him, this would not have happened. 
For more information on Cupid games, do check out http://cupidgames.closeup.in/.
This post was written as part of IndiBogger Happy Hours campaign topic on Cupid Games 2015 !!

Five Friday Favorites - 23Jan

This week just went off very quick. It was a busy and hectic week and i am really pleased with the long weekend ahead. On Sunday I have a training to attend which will take up my entire day. Apart from that I don't have anything planned for this weekend. So it is going to be low-key.  Monday being holiday for Republic day is just a break i need to relax and get ready for the next week. 

Let me get into my 5 favorite things this week! 

1) Quote :


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This was the perfect quote for me this week. Last weekend, I had too many things to be done. On Saturday we went out for a movie and ate outside. On Sunday we had some guests at my place for lunch. So it was very difficult to squeeze in a run that day. But still I somehow pushed myself and made a quick run and felt accomplished. 

2) Workout: 


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This week i felt really sore with some of the TIU workouts. I am starting to love the workouts and looking forward to do it everyday. One of the coolest part of this challenge is that in addition to the physical workouts there are small activities that make changes in your mind. This week on Monday we had a activity to leave yourself a love note. I had never done that before and really loved writing one for myself. 

3) Food : 

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These days during winter, we get lot of peas from the farmer's market. So love to mix that with my vegetables. On Wednesday, I prepared the Carrot Peas Vegetable and it turned out really yummy !!

4) Movie : 

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On Saturday, we were out for the movie - "I"-  with friends. It was after a long time that we had been to a theater to watch movie.It turned out to be a good one. With PC's awesome cinematography and lighting complemented by picture perfect locations, Great acting by Chiyaan, Perfect BGM by Rahman, Mind-blowing makeup and graphics, and most importantly great direction by Shankar, even a normal screenplay just looked awesome! "I" is definitely worth the watch!

5) Best Moment : 


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On Sunday, hubby and I went for a coffee date after long time. We always plan to have a weekly date but for the last 2-3 months something or the other turned up and we couldn't make it every week. But this week we somehow made it happen and had an awesome time. I cherish those moments we are together and the conversations we had then.

Happy Friday!

Linking up to Eat Pray Run DC, Mar On The Run, You Signed Up For What?, Fitting-it-all-in, Housewife Glamour, Jill Conyers, Running 4 Cupcakes, September Farm, The New Mrs Adventures and The Good Life