Preeti Shenoy's Blog, page 54
February 21, 2015
5 tips to improve your relationship (blog marathon post 21)
Highlight of my day today was the harvest from our terrace vegetable garden.
Here is what we harvested:
a) 1.75 kgs of tomatoes.
b) Some long beans.
c) 400 gms bitter gourd.
d) Some sprigs of Parsley
e) A bunch of Spinach
f) A bunch of Rocket leaves
Here is Satish posing with the harvest :)
I always feel gardening is a lot like relationships. Here is why
1. You need to invest a lot of time in both.
2.If you neglect it, it withers. If you, in your enthusiasm over-water it, it dies. In relationships space is the equivalent of water. Too much and your relationship suffers. Too little and you kill it.
3.You need a lot of patience for both. You do not get results overnight, in a week or even a fortnight :)
4.You need to weed out the pests ;-) Don't allow them. They creep in slowly without your realising it and you have to be extra careful.
5. It needs a lot of nutrition. In a garden we need to give it nutrients. In a relationship the nutrients are loving gestures like a hug, a kiss, expressing love, a small thoughtful gift or anything that makes your partner feel loved.
In case this post has motivated you to start your own garden, here is a guide I wrote.
If it has motivated you to think about your relationships, that's great too :)
You can tell me what you think in my comment box. Go on! Don't be shy or scared. I do not bite :)
Till tomorrow--happy nurturing and a happy happy Saturday!
________________________________________________________
My new book is no.7 in the HT neilsen list top ten best selling fiction today! Yay! Another title is at no. 3
Buy it at just Rs.102/- !!!
Amazon: http://is.gd/Ithappensamazon
Flipkart: http://is.gd/Flipkartithappens
http://preetishenoy.com/
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Here is what we harvested:
a) 1.75 kgs of tomatoes.
b) Some long beans.
c) 400 gms bitter gourd.
d) Some sprigs of Parsley
e) A bunch of Spinach
f) A bunch of Rocket leaves
Here is Satish posing with the harvest :)
I always feel gardening is a lot like relationships. Here is why
1. You need to invest a lot of time in both.
2.If you neglect it, it withers. If you, in your enthusiasm over-water it, it dies. In relationships space is the equivalent of water. Too much and your relationship suffers. Too little and you kill it.
3.You need a lot of patience for both. You do not get results overnight, in a week or even a fortnight :)
4.You need to weed out the pests ;-) Don't allow them. They creep in slowly without your realising it and you have to be extra careful.
5. It needs a lot of nutrition. In a garden we need to give it nutrients. In a relationship the nutrients are loving gestures like a hug, a kiss, expressing love, a small thoughtful gift or anything that makes your partner feel loved.
In case this post has motivated you to start your own garden, here is a guide I wrote.
If it has motivated you to think about your relationships, that's great too :)
You can tell me what you think in my comment box. Go on! Don't be shy or scared. I do not bite :)
Till tomorrow--happy nurturing and a happy happy Saturday!
________________________________________________________
My new book is no.7 in the HT neilsen list top ten best selling fiction today! Yay! Another title is at no. 3
Buy it at just Rs.102/- !!!
Amazon: http://is.gd/Ithappensamazon
Flipkart: http://is.gd/Flipkartithappens
http://preetishenoy.com/
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February 20, 2015
A doll for my dolly. (blog marathon post 20)
Here is a doll that my daughter and I made entirely from waste material! Isn't she GORGEOUS? We were really pleased when we had finished. We never expected it to come out this well.
Here is another picture.
It was an old vest that had seen better days that formed the body. I just drew a rough pattern by hand, without any reference . I just went by my guy feel. Here is what I had cut out ( from both sides).
Then began the task of stitching it. I stitched all around by hand, leaving a tiny gap for the stuffing and then turned it inside out, stuffed it with poly-fibre from an old pillow which had seen better days, and closed it by stitching around it.
My daughter joked that at this point the doll looked like Augustus Waters.Okay? Okay. :)
Then we completed the body
And finally, we stitched the hair and the frock.
We used beads for eyes. And I used embroidery thread to stitch the mouth.
Both of us fell in love with her, after we created her.
We haven't named her yet though.
What would you name her? Tell me in my comment box.
_______________________________________________________
Buy my books : http://is.gd/preetibooks
http://preetishenoy.com/
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February 19, 2015
A warm mail and a small clarification (blog marathon post 19)
Here is a mail which I shared on my Facebook author page today.(shared after taking the permission of the writer, of course)
I get many such mails. And for me, the knowledge that my writing made a difference in someone's life and helped them makes it all worthwhile. This is bigger than any award that anyone can confer on me.
One another thing that I have to clarify is how some people who feel connected with me, because they have read ALL my books, and ALL my posts,think that my expressing my inability to help everyone who writes to me is rude on my part.
I had a reader tell me this face to face (as 'well intended advice' of course) and I clarified immediately that I definitely cannot help all who expect to be helped because they have read my books and of course I will say so, without mincing words! Another reader wrote to me pointing out that I sign my books 'with love' to 'people I haven't met' and therefore it is 'rude and shocking' when I say that I do not know about the existence of some people and hence do not appreciate their writing me long mails which share their personal problems, expecting me to advise them.
Honestly I think it is rude on the person's part who writes me the mail, demanding advice about their problems. I can't fix your life. And if you write to any other author whose books you have read, I doubt if you would even get a reply! (If you do, that is great. I would encourage you to write to them and seek their counsel)
There is a limit to what I can do! And there is a limit to being obliging too!
I think all of us at some point have to learn to say a firm no to requests that are unreasonable to you.
Else you will be walked over.
Till tomorrow---take care and learn to say no :)
______________________________________________________________
Amazon: http://is.gd/Ithappensamazon
Flipkart: http://is.gd/Flipkartithappens
Crossword: http://is.gd/Ithappenscrossword
http://preetishenoy.com/
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February 18, 2015
A post card from jaipur and from Rock Garden :) (blog marathon post 18)
Yesterday morning, I was in Chandigarh and had about an hour or so before we boarded our flight to Jaipur. So I visited the Rock garden and had a WONDERFUL time!
Here is a pic from the visit!
By the time our flight landed in Jaipur (and we had to take a flight from Chandigarh to Delhi and then another flight from Delhi to Jaipur) it was nearly 5.00 pm and I barely had time to get ready and rush for the event.
But I think we managed more than fine considering the circumstances :)
And here are, as promised in the last post, some pictures from the Jaipur launch of 'It Happens for a reason'.
We had a full house!! If you want to see more pics, you can check out my Facebook Author page--links on the right. Almost every newspaper in Chandigarh as well as Jaipur featured 'It Happens for a Reason' To see the full Media coverage, you can go here. (Go on ! And do check it out :) )
Now I am back in Bangalore. Oh the joy!
Nothing like home sweet home.
I felt like I could sleep for the next few days. And I felt I had earned it.
But then I had to write my newspaper column! Which I did :)
I rewarded myself with something I love doing--but I will leave that to you to guess.
Ciao! Until tomorrow--stay happy!
_______________________________________________
Buy my books! http://is.gd/preetibooks
http://preetishenoy.com/
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Here is a pic from the visit!
By the time our flight landed in Jaipur (and we had to take a flight from Chandigarh to Delhi and then another flight from Delhi to Jaipur) it was nearly 5.00 pm and I barely had time to get ready and rush for the event.
But I think we managed more than fine considering the circumstances :)
And here are, as promised in the last post, some pictures from the Jaipur launch of 'It Happens for a reason'.
We had a full house!! If you want to see more pics, you can check out my Facebook Author page--links on the right. Almost every newspaper in Chandigarh as well as Jaipur featured 'It Happens for a Reason' To see the full Media coverage, you can go here. (Go on ! And do check it out :) )
Now I am back in Bangalore. Oh the joy!
Nothing like home sweet home.
I felt like I could sleep for the next few days. And I felt I had earned it.
But then I had to write my newspaper column! Which I did :)
I rewarded myself with something I love doing--but I will leave that to you to guess.
Ciao! Until tomorrow--stay happy!
_______________________________________________
Buy my books! http://is.gd/preetibooks
http://preetishenoy.com/
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February 17, 2015
A fabulous event at jaipur! (blog marathon post 17)
Have just got back from the event at Crossword Bookstore Jaipur and it was a FULL House.
The event was just fabulous. Great turn out, a lot of interaction and a lot of fun.
One reader gifted me silver earrings with Topaz that she made herself!
I am exhausted now as I have taken two flights to get to jaipur today---and as soon as I came, I rushed to the venue---without even having lunch, as I landed at Jaipur only at 4.45 pm, and had to reach the venue by 6.00 pm--after a whole day of travel.
An extremely slow Internet connection here and so I shall share pictures tomorrow.
G'nite folks and thank you for turning out in such great numbers and thank you for all the love.
----An exhausted me.
_____________________________________________________http://preetishenoy.com/
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The event was just fabulous. Great turn out, a lot of interaction and a lot of fun.
One reader gifted me silver earrings with Topaz that she made herself!
I am exhausted now as I have taken two flights to get to jaipur today---and as soon as I came, I rushed to the venue---without even having lunch, as I landed at Jaipur only at 4.45 pm, and had to reach the venue by 6.00 pm--after a whole day of travel.
An extremely slow Internet connection here and so I shall share pictures tomorrow.
G'nite folks and thank you for turning out in such great numbers and thank you for all the love.
----An exhausted me.
_____________________________________________________http://preetishenoy.com/
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February 16, 2015
One fine day--- at Chandigarh! (blog marathon post 16)
This is what I woke to this morning.Slight drizzle, cool breeze and a mood of melancholia.Love it as I sit gazing out of the window sipping a warm cuppa.
Then I visited three book stores--Capital Book Depot, English book store and Browser book store.
This is me with Ajay, the owner of the Capital book Depot. Can you spot my titles in the background? :) I met up with readers at Capital Book store--and it was wonderful. One of the readers was so overwhelmed when she saw me that she cried! I was stunned. I gave her a hug.
I had to meet the press after that which i did and I was exhausted. But I had another event at Whistling Duck Chandigarh. By the time I ate lunch it was 3.30 pm. (I was starving)
As soon as I entered the venue, rows and rows of my books greeted me. I was so happy I had to pose for a picture
The event was wonderful. Members of the Chandigarh Literature society attended it.
I spoke about my journey from a blogger to an author. And there were a lot of questions which the audience asked.I also read out from the book.I
Signed a lot of copies too.
All in all , an excellent day, though exhausting.
And tomorrow I leave for jaipur. If you have friends in jaipur, do tell them I will be at Crossword bookstore at 6.00 pm.
I am beat, exhausted, tired,burned out and over taxed.
You can recharge me by leaving me comments :) So please feel free to use the comment box.
G'nite folks--and will blog again from Jaipur tomo.
_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_)_
Buy my books: http://is.gd/preetibookshttp://preetishenoy.com/
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February 15, 2015
Love is in the air. (blog marathon post 15)
Greetings from Chandigarh!
Those of you who want to meet me at Chandigarh, can come to the Capital Book Depot , sector 17, Chandigarh at 12.00 pm on 16th February. I will be there for about an hour.
I have another event in the evening which is an invite only event, and in case you are keen to attend, do write to me and request an invite.
For today's blog marathon post I am doing a Sunday Stealing Love-is-in-the air-Meme
(click on it to know what it is)
There is what they have asked:
Love, to you.
Define love in your own words : Love is being there for each other, come what may. Love is life itself.
What do you want in a relationship?
A sense of being heard, a large degree of trust and freedom and also belief in me, knowing that I would make wise choices.
What do you contribute to a relationship ?
An element of fun, full and complete support, unconditional love and acceptance of flaws, for I am not perfect either.
Currently.....
Do you have a Valentine? Yes and I miss him very much as he and I are apart right now. Can't wait to be together.
Describe the perfect V-day date in your opinion: Long conversations, a well cooked meal, some quiet time and expressing and re-affirming what we mean to each other.
Dream Date? Right now,my dream date would be my bed as I am exhausted and need to sleep.
What is your crush's name? Saurabh. For further details and a picture of him, click here.
Do you believe in love at first sight? No , but I believe in lust at first site. If you want to know what I mean, watch this video:
This or that
Chocolates or Flowers....you must pick one!
Flowers
A short kiss or a big hug?
Big big big hug.
Cute and dimwitted, or Average and brilliant?
Average and brilliant anyday.
Miscellaneous
Turn-ons? Intelligence and wit combined with humility, Sincerity and a fit body.
Turn-offs? Intellectual Arrogance or plain arrogance , selfishness and bad manners
What thing should a guy never say to you? Wanna do fraindsheep with me
How do you feel about kissing on the first date? I wouldn't. I would make him wait :)
__________________________________________________________
Buy 'It happens for a Reason' at a great price:
Amazon: http://is.gd/Ithappensamazon
Flipkart: http://is.gd/Flipkartithappens
Crossword: http://is.gd/Ithappenscrossword
http://preetishenoy.com/
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Those of you who want to meet me at Chandigarh, can come to the Capital Book Depot , sector 17, Chandigarh at 12.00 pm on 16th February. I will be there for about an hour.
I have another event in the evening which is an invite only event, and in case you are keen to attend, do write to me and request an invite.
For today's blog marathon post I am doing a Sunday Stealing Love-is-in-the air-Meme
(click on it to know what it is)
There is what they have asked:
Love, to you.
Define love in your own words : Love is being there for each other, come what may. Love is life itself.
What do you want in a relationship?
A sense of being heard, a large degree of trust and freedom and also belief in me, knowing that I would make wise choices.
What do you contribute to a relationship ?
An element of fun, full and complete support, unconditional love and acceptance of flaws, for I am not perfect either.
Currently.....
Do you have a Valentine? Yes and I miss him very much as he and I are apart right now. Can't wait to be together.
Describe the perfect V-day date in your opinion: Long conversations, a well cooked meal, some quiet time and expressing and re-affirming what we mean to each other.
Dream Date? Right now,my dream date would be my bed as I am exhausted and need to sleep.
What is your crush's name? Saurabh. For further details and a picture of him, click here.
Do you believe in love at first sight? No , but I believe in lust at first site. If you want to know what I mean, watch this video:
This or that
Chocolates or Flowers....you must pick one!
Flowers
A short kiss or a big hug?
Big big big hug.
Cute and dimwitted, or Average and brilliant?
Average and brilliant anyday.
Miscellaneous
Turn-ons? Intelligence and wit combined with humility, Sincerity and a fit body.
Turn-offs? Intellectual Arrogance or plain arrogance , selfishness and bad manners
What thing should a guy never say to you? Wanna do fraindsheep with me
How do you feel about kissing on the first date? I wouldn't. I would make him wait :)
__________________________________________________________
Buy 'It happens for a Reason' at a great price:
Amazon: http://is.gd/Ithappensamazon
Flipkart: http://is.gd/Flipkartithappens
Crossword: http://is.gd/Ithappenscrossword
http://preetishenoy.com/
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February 14, 2015
World Book fair Delhi and a Bloggers meet (blog marathon post 14)
So was at the World Book fair Delhi, where I had a fabulous session. Here I am just before going inside the hall for my session
And this is just one side of the audience. I couldn't capture the other side as it wouldn't fit into the frame. We had a fabulous turnout and a great time!
After that I headed out to the Westland stall, and also the Amazon stall. We clicked some interesting pics at the Amazon stall.
I also signed the author's wall.
Amazon tweeted about it:
It was just awesome to connect with bloggers--all of us like minded people who completely understood each other, when we spoke of our online experiences. They didn't believe that i had two children till i showed them the pictures :)
It was great connecting with them. I made some new friends today and as is evident from the pictures, we had an amazing time.
I went shopping to after that and bought some stuff to gift my loved ones, which I am very happy about.
I leave for Chandigarh tomorrow. Those who want to meet me can come to the Capital Book Depot on 16th at 12.00 pm for book signing and an informal chat.
Good night folks.
I shall blog again from Chandigarh tomorrow! I am glad that even though my schedule is extremely hectic I am managing to keep up my blog marathon.
Till tomorrow--stay happy and smile! :)
________________________________________________
My books! buy them : http://is.gd/preetibooks
http://preetishenoy.com/
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And this is just one side of the audience. I couldn't capture the other side as it wouldn't fit into the frame. We had a fabulous turnout and a great time!
After that I headed out to the Westland stall, and also the Amazon stall. We clicked some interesting pics at the Amazon stall.
I also signed the author's wall.Amazon tweeted about it:
We have a visitor! @preetishenoy hits the Amazon stall at the World Book Fair. #CrazyAboutReading pic.twitter.com/jPWNDxdxv5Then I headed for a bloggers meet at CCD.
— Amazon.in (@amazonIN) February 14, 2015
It was just awesome to connect with bloggers--all of us like minded people who completely understood each other, when we spoke of our online experiences. They didn't believe that i had two children till i showed them the pictures :)
It was great connecting with them. I made some new friends today and as is evident from the pictures, we had an amazing time.
I went shopping to after that and bought some stuff to gift my loved ones, which I am very happy about.
I leave for Chandigarh tomorrow. Those who want to meet me can come to the Capital Book Depot on 16th at 12.00 pm for book signing and an informal chat.
Good night folks.
I shall blog again from Chandigarh tomorrow! I am glad that even though my schedule is extremely hectic I am managing to keep up my blog marathon.
Till tomorrow--stay happy and smile! :)
________________________________________________
My books! buy them : http://is.gd/preetibooks
http://preetishenoy.com/
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February 13, 2015
A talk at the Lucknow University and Lucknow lit fest (blog marathon post 13)
The folks at Lucknow University are fabulous!I had a wonderful time there this morning, where I gave a talk, about 5 lessons I learnt on my journey from a blogger to an author.
Prof.Nishi Pandey, who is the Head of Department of English and Modern languages, And also the Director of Planning and development board , Director is Ineternational collaborations and the International Students advisor is a warm and wonderful person. I loved conversing with her. Her depth of knowledge and her perspectives are refreshing and I enjoyed every moment spent with her.
The students of the University came up with some intelligent questions and I enjoyed answering them. One of them made this lovely card for me, and cleverly used all the titles of my books to convey a super-sweet message! Here we are posing with the card. In the picture is Prof.Nishi Pandey, Vishaka (who made the card) and you know who the third person is :)
This is what she wrote inside the card:
Thank you Vishakha and the University of Lucknow. Let me confess--I loved interacting with all of you too!
Here is a picture of me with the staff and students of Lucknow University who attended my talk.
And here is Prof.Nishi Pandey and me at the Lucknow lit fest.
And here I am posing in front of the Scientific Convention center , Lucknow, where the litfest is being held.
All the pictures above are clicked by Kush Tripathi who was really kind to not only click the pictures, but he also ensured that they reached me on time for my blog post. Thank you Kush!!
I shall post more pics when I get them.For all the new readers of my blog, you can get all my posts in your inbox as soon as I write them, by subscribing to it from the box on the right side.
I will be at the World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan, Delhi tomorrow, Hall no.14., Author's corner at 1.00 pm. Come and meet me!
Signing off for now, with the warmth of Lucknow and happy memories of a fabulous day.
See you tomorrow!
___________________________________________________________________
Get my latest: Amazon: http://is.gd/Ithappensamazon
Flipkart: http://is.gd/Flipkartithappens
Crossword: http://is.gd/Ithappenscrosswordhttp://preetishenoy.com/
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Prof.Nishi Pandey, who is the Head of Department of English and Modern languages, And also the Director of Planning and development board , Director is Ineternational collaborations and the International Students advisor is a warm and wonderful person. I loved conversing with her. Her depth of knowledge and her perspectives are refreshing and I enjoyed every moment spent with her.
The students of the University came up with some intelligent questions and I enjoyed answering them. One of them made this lovely card for me, and cleverly used all the titles of my books to convey a super-sweet message! Here we are posing with the card. In the picture is Prof.Nishi Pandey, Vishaka (who made the card) and you know who the third person is :)
This is what she wrote inside the card:
Thank you Vishakha and the University of Lucknow. Let me confess--I loved interacting with all of you too!
Here is a picture of me with the staff and students of Lucknow University who attended my talk.
And here is Prof.Nishi Pandey and me at the Lucknow lit fest.
And here I am posing in front of the Scientific Convention center , Lucknow, where the litfest is being held.
All the pictures above are clicked by Kush Tripathi who was really kind to not only click the pictures, but he also ensured that they reached me on time for my blog post. Thank you Kush!!
I shall post more pics when I get them.For all the new readers of my blog, you can get all my posts in your inbox as soon as I write them, by subscribing to it from the box on the right side.
I will be at the World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan, Delhi tomorrow, Hall no.14., Author's corner at 1.00 pm. Come and meet me!
Signing off for now, with the warmth of Lucknow and happy memories of a fabulous day.
See you tomorrow!
___________________________________________________________________
Get my latest: Amazon: http://is.gd/Ithappensamazon
Flipkart: http://is.gd/Flipkartithappens
Crossword: http://is.gd/Ithappenscrosswordhttp://preetishenoy.com/
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February 12, 2015
Postcards from Lucknow (Blog marathon post 12)
Landed in Lucknow today. Lucknow is a beautiful place. I am having a FABULOUS time here. This is Rumi Darwaza, which is an amazingly beautiful gateway built under the patronage of Nawab Asaf Ud-daulah and is a brillant display of Awadhi architecture.
This is the Chotta Imamwara built by Mohammed Ali Shah in 1839. If you are interested in it's fascinating history you could read it here.Apart from the above I went around all of Lucknow, ate the amazing Makhan Malai , visited La Martiniers college and also went shopping. All thanks to Prof.Nishi Pandey who heads the department of English at Lucknow University, where I will also be giving a talk tomorrow, before my session at the Lucknow Litfest.
Then I take a flight to Delhi!
Signing off for now as I have had a long long day, travelled a long long way and have another hectic action-packed day tomorrow.
Good night and don't forget to leave me comments!
____________________________________________________________
Nielsen bestseller .No. 7. Read it yet?
Amazon: http://is.gd/Ithappensamazon
Flipkart: http://is.gd/Flipkartithappens
Crossword: http://is.gd/Ithappenscrossword
Tomorrow I would be giving a talk at the Lucknow University.http://preetishenoy.com/
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