Redefining my smartphone experience !

With the progress in technology, we have witnessed a lot of changes. Many of these changes have primarily caused a huge change in our lifestyle too. The very basic example is use of smart phones in our lives is smart phones. Imagine 5 years before having a basic smartphone was considered a luxury and now it has become a basic necessity. Over the years, people have seen the reason why a smartphone is called one. Agreed basic phone is also wonderful no doubt but the amount of convenience that a smartphone provides you would be no where near to a basic phone. With a smart phone, communication has become highly convenient. People have more options now with the vast availability of apps to perform the same feature of calling and messaging. This makes communication even more suitable even if you are in the same area or at an international place. 

I remember the last time I went abroad, all my folks were really worried because i would be out of network. They urged me to get a local calling number to communicate about my whereabouts. But these days, with internet connection easily accessible at many places and with the availability of so many apps, communicating to your loved ones even when you travel abroad has become simple. Who wouldn't want that now? 

Just the other day, I read the launch of the ASUS Zenfone 2  and I was completely amazed. With its  high end processor, slim design,sleek features, long battery life you are rest assured of falling head over heels in love with this Asus Zenfone Smartphone. Just as if the already features in a smartphone weren't already enough ASUS Zenfone 2 has even more awesome features that would just redefine your smartphone experience. Below are my view of top 5 reasons for that -

1. Luxurious Ultra-thin Ergonomic Arc Design:

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ASUS Zenfone 2 has a new stunning design. It has a Arc’s case which tapers to an incredibly thin edges for a beautiful look. With its brilliant display it gives an enriching viewing experience where everything we can see is brighter, bigger and more beautiful.

2. ASUS Zenfone’s power performance:

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Powered by super quad core Intel Atom with a dual channel performance, ASUS Zenfone can make your everyday performance and gaming experiences way faster. What this means is we can enjoy great gaming experiences and smooth video playback without trouble of streaming and experiencing slowness. It also allows us to multitask along with surfing so that we don't have to wait.

3. ASUS Zenfone’s Pixel Master:

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Taking incredible pictures for me on an Android phone is a breeze with PixelMaster Camera which is a new technology from ASUS. The Zenfone's camera can capture up more light for photos and videos in low light environments—so you can grab all the action out without a flash

4. ASUS ZenUI:

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ZenUI uses intelligence technology which ensures no need of complicated process but providing users for a simpler smarter process. In addition it has the provision of availability of having multiple colours to match the multi-colored ASUS ZenUI options, allowing me to customize my phone reflecting as per my mood and personality.

5. ASUS Zenfone 2’s Boost Master:

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With ASUS Zenfone 2, we can charge our phone at double the speed. The common problem with many smartphone is the draining battery consumed by the numerous apps. But ASUS Zenfone 2 has definitely heard people's problems and come up with an awesome solution. ASUS Boost Master technology is the ASUS-exclusive technology that charges devices much faster than traditional speeds. This guarantees less restriction and more mobility.

For more details on ASUS Zenfone 2, click here
http://www.asus.com/Phones/ZenFone_2_ZE551ML/

Share your load with Ariel !

Isn't it surprising that in the 21st century, what women these days are achieving. We should celebrate being women and having the opportunities to do things that our mothers and grandmothers were not allowed to do. They were expected to stay at home and do the cooking and the cleaning. But sadly that has just been carried through with the added work of running the family too.  These days women are running hand in hand if not more than men in every walks of life. But sadly they are still solely assigned the household responsibilities than men of the family. 

When it comes to housework, labor is still shared unevenly. How many times have you heard of men cleaning the bathroom, or doing the dishes. Now when such distribution of labor is done before children they would also pick the same things that their parents do and this will never change. 

Men should realize that they also have equal responsibility in the household chores just like women. So instead of just watching TV or surfing the internet they can help their women with the laundry.

Some ways that women can help themselves and make men help them in the household chores -
1) At a high level, a reason why a lot of men don’t want to clean is obvious: it’s not fun. The rewards of the other two traditionally female household tasks—childcare and cooking—are palpable. Your kid’s smile, a delicious meal. But not so with cleaning. So try to make the activity fun.
2) Women need to let go of feeling guilty. They need to realize that men also need to share the household load with them and must let go of feeling guilty of seeing their men wash the dishes or do the laundry.
3) Try to have a healthy conversation with the men on how much they would like if he would join them in sharing the household work. Initially, they may not join you but you need to create an urgency and train them to do the work. Doing them repeatedly would help them change their mindset and help you in the long run.
4) Ladies - let go of the perfection. When some of the few men who come on their own to help the ladies, try to cooperate with them and do not set high expectations and expect them to be a perfectionist. Try to see the good thing that you are delegating the work and getting an additional hand.

Ariel being the leading detergent brand asks men to take the #WashBucketChallenge and helps in cleaning clothes of the family. With Ariel's one-wash stain removal washing clothes is easy and fun.
This is also promoted by some of our celebrities like Gurmeet Chaudhry who pledged to take the load from his wife Debina



Like wise the actor Kunal Khemu also took the #WashBucketChallenge for Soha Ali Khan Pataudi.


So If all these amazing man come forward to #ShareTheLoad ! Its high time for you men to take the  #WashBucketChallenge. 

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This is the pack sent to me where I took the  #WashBucketChallenge challenge 

Sweet Toast of Love

Visit to my sister-in-law's place in Singapore and the first thing that comes to my mind is the awesome Kaya toast. Kaya toast is prepared with kaya,sugar, coconut milk. butter and eggs. It is normally served for breakfast as a toast along with coffee.

I came across this during my visit in 2013. I had some work in Ang Mo Kio are and i took MRT from Queenstown to Ang Mo Kio MRT Station. It was around 7AM in the morning and i had missed to eat breakfast at my place. By the time i reached Ang Mo Kio MRT Station i was famished and hunted to see a coffee shop. As i was searching my eyes fell on Ya Kun Kaya Toast joint. It was fairly crowded and I assumed they serve best coffee. As i entered the place, I got the aroma of Kaya everywhere and asked them about it. Then i ordered a plate myself along with coffee. What came blew me totally away. 

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There were slices of Kaya toast along with pieces of boiled egg and a huge mug of coffee. From what it appeared it seemed a huge breakfast for me. I started with a small bite and was unstoppable from there. The toast was simply delicious and became my favorite. 

From then on, every-time I wanted to eat outside I always searched for Ya Kun Kaya Toast joints in that area. In fact these days many have it for snacks as well. What started as a breakfast option, is now even seen as a snack at many places. This toast is easily available at many places in Singapore. You can get it in every corner from food court stalls, MRT Station to outlets in shopping malls. 

For more details check here -
http://discover.stayfareast.com/

A day in my life - My Moto

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I came across this beautiful quote by Lee Konitz. First love deserves that place as it is special and memorable. Remember the first time you got a new watch you still treasure it even though its ages old now, even though it may or may not be working. I still do that. Likewise first laptop, first camera and the list goes on. If i choose Moto E as my first smartphone it would be special to me. I will be totally dependent and hooked to my phone. It means everything to me. Let me run you through a day in my life and will show you how addicted I am to my phone.

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Time: 6AM

The alarm on my phone rings and wakes me up. I get to set a tone for my alarm and set my day. It gives me the option to set multiple alarm and snooze options so that i push myself out of bed.

Time: 6:30AM

I can just pop-in the earphones and go for a nice morning run listening to audio-books. With running apps in my phone i get to know the pace of my run along with the calories burned for the day. Also by listening to the audio-books, i keep myself engaged and gain some personal development.

Time: 7-8AM

As i am having my morning coffee, i can plan my day and prepare my to-do lists on the phone. I can set reminders on what needs to be done for the day and schedule everything on my phone and calendar app.  If i would want to have some music on while getting ready for work, i can easily play the music app and still set the tone for the day.

Time: 9AM

As i get ready to leave for work, my phone shows the maps and guides me the way. It can also update me the status of traffic and any diversions i have to take on my way.

Time: 11AM

My phone alerts me of my mid morning break which means i need to go for a quick walk and also hydrate myself with water. This is the time that automatically reminds me to have my snacks. While doing this i can attend calls, check mails and other messages.

Time: 1PM

My phone alerts me for lunch. I can then go through the news through App while having a wonderful lunch. This allows me to multitask and get all the updates happening around.

Time: 3PM

During tea break, my phone is the rescue to catch on any updates on Facebook and other social media and be connected with my folks. With the front camera feature, I can easily take some selfie pictures and share them across to my friends and family.

Time: 6PM 

On my way back from work, i like to listen to my favorite list of calm and peaceful songs to de-stress after a busy day at work. 

Time: 9PM

After having dinner, i would update my food journal app with my daily food intake so I can keep track of the calories consumed. I then take some time to blog of my day from my phone.

Time 11PM

With all this done, i know that the battery life still soaring. Then i get back to bed with my phone next to me and retire for the day!

So you can see how dependent I am on my phone and how it means so much to my life. I am thankful that I get to choose Moto E as my first smartphone as it provides all these and many more awesome features without requiring you to spend a lot of money. It is packed with the right touch and style for today's generation.

This post is written for new Moto E. Please visit http://www.startwithmotoe.com/

Breakfast with Guptaji’s family

When my work timings shifted to morning 7 am, i was glad that i could be home early by 4 pm. But there was one thing worrying me and that was about having breakfast. With this work timings, there was no way that I could prepare lunch at home and take for work. Forget breakfast. I planned to get food from our office cafeteria.

For years i have always skipped breakfast and hogged on my lunch. Staying with roommates, for few days I would get up and have coffee before leaving for work. But on some day I would even skip coffee if i got up late.

While at work, my team would gather at 9 am for breakfast. I would get to taste amazing items brought by my team mates and share my sandwich which i got from office cafeteria with them. So many of them would get their breakfasts and other food from home even though they had to get up early. In particular there was one collegue Shalu Gupta who most the most awesome breakfast items out of cornflakes.  One day she got Almond Strawberry Cornflakes while another day she would get Choco Cornflakes Peanut Chikki. Yes you read it right cornflakes chikki. I was bowled over on seeing it. When asked how she gets time to prepare them she said it just takes 10 minutes. I was completely astonished. In just 10 minutes she prepares such wonderful breakfast items with so much varieties by adding cornflakes. This also makes them healthy and easily doable. Everyday she would get some new variety. I realized that not only me but everyone around would come over and take a bite from her breakfast.

For a foodie lover like me, tasting a bite from Shalu's box became a daily routine. In fact i always look forward for what she has got for the day. When it just takes so less time for preparation i am amazed at the variety that can be made for breakfast. All this makes me just wonder if i get to go to Shalu Gupta's house, i might be able to get many wonderful ideas for breakfast. Guptaji’s family definitely has an amazing list of recipes for every occasion and everyone must just be dying to visit their house. Maybe if i would go to her house during Ganesh Chaturthi, she would offer me Cornflake Sesame Modaks/Dumplings. If i would go to her house during summer, they might offer me to have cool Chunky Monkey Shakes which are not only tasty and delicious but also healthy as it has cornflakes added to it.

If i get an opportunity to visit their house, i would love to learn the different recipes from them. If i can start doing that in my home and teach them to my family, even we could have healthy breakfast everyday with great variety. With the rush of busy mornings, it is very easy to skip breakfast in between our list of other priorities. But a quick and easy breakfast can definitely be magic. The items which Shalu Gupta gets are things which can be packed in a box as well as eaten at home.  She has an idea of breakfast for simply every occasion. Be it any festival or any particular season, her breakfast menu changes based on that. Also she has breakfast option even if you are short on time. While talking to her the other day, she suggested me to have a cornflakes shake that took less than 10 minutes to prepare. So it completely gives you no excuses why you should skip breakfast.  One more thing i realized was by having breakfast for 1 month, I found myself having more energy for the day. Earlier when I was skipping breakfast, I would eat a lot of food for lunch. But recently since I have started having Breakfast, i realized i have reduced portion sizes for lunch. So I would really want to visit Guptaji’s family for breakfast and would like to thank  for teaching the value of breakfast by making it simple yet healthy that there is just no excuses left for anyone.

For more details check here. And also check out the videos here.

Pursuit of Happiness

For many years the words happiness and success went hand in hand to me. I would think that if people were successful then they were happy and vice versa. But what exactly is success? This is a very relative term and each person define their own success. Then what is happiness? How do you define happiness? Wikipedia defines happiness as -"Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy." What do you need to do so that you start and end your day being happy?

Now let me show you a glimpse of my day. As soon as the alarm goes on, I would snooze it multiple times and then finally rush and get up, then run to make our coffee and then rush to get ready for work. At-least this was how my mornings were. It was the most busy part of the day. Then the rest of my day would go in work. After work, it would be having dinner and going to bed. From the time my work timings had got changed i observed that I spent most time at work and very less time for myself. I did not read any book or learn anything new over some years. This was my routine for over 2 years which i realized was very terrible as I had to slow down and take control of the day and not have the day control me. As i tried to reflect on my day, i realized that i had not accomplished anything and this did not make me happy. Day after day, this rush of daily routine was just making me tired. I felt the need to restructure my day and inculcate some good habits which would help me plan my day and make me productive and learn something which in turn would make me more happy and accomplished. 

I watched many of my friends and read online and found that many of them had what they called a morning routine. This routine had them start their day with exercise, followed by reading a good book, then preparing a to-do list for the day. Initially i was overwhelmed because i never had time to do all this in the morning. But  i saw that nobody ever has time but they make time. If you need to make changes which would make you happy then you need to take effort to make that change. 

So i planned my day and started getting up early at 6 am. Then i go for a morning walk and then come home for a hot cup of coffee. While having my coffee i would plan my day and include my study and reading to be done before 8 am when my entire family wakes up. This way i am giving 2 full hours for myself to do things i want. This was a small sacrifice i had to do by getting up early. Daily i would get up and do my exercise and study and i after 2 months I found tremendous change. I observed that I was having more energy and my confidence level had improved. In fact so much that because of exercising, i had lost a few kilos and received compliments from some of my friends. All this made me feel very accomplished and happy. At the end of the day as you can see I had made some changes in my routine which improved my mood and energy and made me happy. These are the small things in life that makes me happy.

For more details check here -
http://CokeURL.com/96jnc.

Memorable Trek

Few months back while having dinner with my husband, I was telling him,"I am fed up. I need a change.The monotony of this life is killing me.Let us go for a vacation".To which he hit upon an idea. He said,"How about going for a winter trek to Kedarkantha in Uttarakhand". While i did not get convinced with his idea, i decided to give it a try.

We booked our tickets and started with the preparations required to go for the trek. With our backpacks on in end of December, we reached Dehradun. From there we got into a bus Sankhri.  On reaching there, we stayed at Hotel Swargrohini Palace for the night before the trek.What a view from our room. We could already see mountain peaks covered with snow ahead of us. As night approached, we had to pile on layers to save ourselves from being frozen.

The next day morning, we all were given a briefing and introduced to our trek guide. With that we started the trek climbing one step at a time.  2 Hours went by and by now it was starting to get exhausting. We hit the snow patches soon, stopped to rest for 15-20 minutes and then continued with our trek. From there, we could see snow everywhere. The trek was getting more and more challenging with every step. Finally after 9 hours,at around 2 pm we reached Juda ka Talab camp site.The pond was covered by a thick frosty layer.We rested around the lake in the sun and had our lunch.

As it got colder in the evening we lit a bonfire .We had our dinner and we retired to the tents into our sleeping bags after a tiring day. 

At around 2 am we were awakened by our guide. He asked us to pack our bags and start climbing right away for the basecamp and we had to reach the summit before sunrise. It was pitch dark everywhere. So with flash lights on and trekking poles, we started climbing once again. Badly chilly winds, ear pains, reducing atmospheric pressure, reducing oxygen, tiredness from last day, we kept climbing. After about 2 hours of walking in deep snow and we reached the base camp.The view from the base camp was panoramic. We were all excited for the final push to the summit. As much as exciting and adventurous the journey was, it was very challenging both mentally and physically. I and my husband had to stop several times and motivate and push each other to finish the trek. We took a lot of pictures along the way. After 5 hours we finally stood atop conquering Mount Kedarkanta. It was surrounded by mountain peaks covered in snow. 

What a memorable feeling it was. For last 2 days, we were totally out of mobile coverage and no other distractions. I and my husband were together in this journey and our only goal was to have the strength to push through and finish the trek. I learnt many things from this trek like never to give up on the challenges that life throws but to keep pushing through them. In the journey of life we get distracted by so many things and we often quit. But if we keep pushing and focus on our goal we will be successful. 

This post was written on the topic "Together" provided by Housing.com.