Preeti Shenoy's Blog, page 87

Pictures from a wonderful trip. Blog marathon post 8

Place: Bentota and Colombo, Srilanka.

Year: 2011

Month: December

Occasion: My birthday



Discovered the beauty of mangroves for the first time in my life.







And the wonderfully colourful masks.







A kitten which  was smitten.



















So smitten that it even followed me everywhere as soon as it woke up. I was so tempted to smuggle it back to India!













And beautiful baby turtles in a turtle hatchery.





Lots of happy memories like the Buddhist temple we visited, the thousands of fish which nibbled at my feet, the beaches, the shopping and the really chilled out feeling.





A beautiful place for a vacation (although I must say it was a LOT like Kerala)



For Information about Srilanka and holidays there click here.

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If you like my blog, you might enjoy my books :) Grab them here. (You don't need a credit card. You can pay cash on delivery) or if you are an Amazon Fan, you can grab them here

 And you can interact with me on my FB page. I almost always reply :)











http://preetishenoy.com/

A few more cards I made. Blog marathon post 7

A big thank you to all of you who left comments on the previous posts, especially the post about mothers and daughters. Each and every comment is read and cherished and appreciated.

Apologies, I have not been able to reply individually, because of the blog-marathon i am currently doing.

(Forgivable, right, considering you get a new post every single day? thank you--I know you're sweet that way :) )



Today I am sharing with you pictures of cards I made. You can check out the whole album here.

I had made so many and now they are all sold! A lot of people messaged me on FB asking if I would sell the cards. Handmade cards sell anywhere between Rs.100--Rs.250/- I think handmade cards are anyday better than the usual ready-made, mass produced, run of the mill cards.



There is a LOT of effort which goes into making cards. For the cards I make, the accessories are  all sourced from my various travels. Whenever I see a nice thing which I can use for card making, I buy it and add it to my supplies.



Here are the pictures of the recent ones I made. (all sold)





 This card seemed apt for that friend who loves cats!







 I have used a shiny blue sparkling paper as a background to set off the red and white quilled roses.





 A student bought this card as a gift for her teacher.







Another student bought this for his friend. He was very keen to have this one.





I like the fairy in this one. Adds magic to the card, don't you think?







 And I like the quilled roses in this one. Once you learn how to quill those roses, it becomes addictive! I can't seem to stop making them now!







 This was a card made fairly quickly--just a cheerful peppy card which one can send for no occasion.



For me making cards is a great way to de-stress. Usually I make one card a day. A portrait I make takes many hours and is spread over days. But with cards, there is instant gratification!



Any of you make cards as well?

If so leave me links, would love to see them!

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If you like my blog, you might enjoy my books :) Grab them here. (You don't need a credit card. You can pay cash on delivery) or if you are an Amazon Fan, you can grab them here


 And you can interact with me on my FB page. I almost always reply :)















http://preetishenoy.com/

On mothers and daughters and BFFs. Blog marathon post 6.

My daughter is at an age which is wonderful. (She will be eleven soon). She is at a stage where she is not a baby anymore and does not need her mother all the time. Yet she is not old enough to not need me at all. That feels good, actually.



She is my hair stylist and fashion consultant. These days we go out together,just she and me--Girlie time. We really have a ball. We check out clothes, shoes and people. We joke and laugh. I love her chuckles, her little snippets of wise observation, her crystal clear logic and her fantastic sense of humour. I see a lot of myself in her, yet she is so different from me.







 She loves her art, just like me, and this is a picture she recently made. Her individuality and style is so darn different from mine, and yet I see in her that same angst I felt as a child, when a picture I created did not match up to the expectations inside my head.



 Her BEEEEEEESSST friend is Nikita.

The other day she came upto me and said she wants to gift Nikita something really unique, something that "you do not get anywhere, even if you pay a million rupees."



We put our head together and finally decided to create a fridge  magnet. My daughter wanted roses on it.  "Maaa Nikita will looooooove the roses," she said with great  joy and longing, her eyes shining at the prospect of making something so beautiful for her best friend.



We tried many times, to make roses out of polymer clay. We made beautiful roses but when we tried to stick them on the base, they went out of shape. We tried many times but were unsuccessful each time.

My daughter's face fell.  I tried suggesting that we could make something else instead of a rose. But no, said my daughter. Roses it had to be and nothing else.



Of course, I could not disappoint her.  So I quilled a paper rose. And then added some satin ones as well. She wanted  to write 'Purvi Nikita BFF' (best friends forever) on the magnet.



When my daughter went for her shower, I quickly created this little magnet. And  I made a little bag to put it in and gift it to her friend.











When she saw it she let out a ear-shattering scream in pure delight. She was overjoyed.

"Ooooh mummy, you are the BESTEST mom in the world," she said and hugged me real tight.



Her friend Nikita was over the moon, to receive such a gift.



If only my daughter knew--I would make a million more magnets for her.

I really would.



After all, she is my BFF but it will take a while for her to know it yet :)



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If you like my blog, you might enjoy my books :) Grab them here. (You don't need a credit card. You can pay cash on delivery) or if you are an Amazon Fan, you can grab them here

 And you can interact with me on my FB page. I almost always reply :)











http://preetishenoy.com/

On fickle friendships and people who walk away. Blog marathon post 5

Madhuri and me



A friend of mine and fellow Author Madhuri Banerjee (who wrote 'Losing my virginity and other dumb ideas') wrote this very thought provoking post on friendships in her blog. Interestingly, I had the exact same experience as Madhuri, for almost all of my book launches.



A lot of my fans and readers attended my launches (and I was very happy they did). But the people I considered 'my  very good friends' did not. And it wasn't as though I had not communicated to them how much having them there means to me, and it wasn't as though they had an extremely pressing reason for not attending. There were absolutely no excuses given too nor a call or a text asking how the launches went. They were at home, they chose not to attend as they felt it was 'too much of a bother'.





Mayank and me at the Pune launch









Some of my good friends did make an extra effort to attend and I felt grateful for their presence. (One friend came all the way from Chennai to attend my Bangalore launch, and another drove all the way from Mumbai to attend my Pune Launch).











It made me wonder for a long time, if I am judging a friendship based on one particular incident of attending or not attending an event, that meant the world to me.



I thought a lot,  drew some conclusions, made some decisions and moved on. Honestly that is all one can do.



You cannot predict how a person will behave tomorrow. My rock-solid dependable pals are truly very few--ones I can count on my finger tips.



That is why when Madhuri says

"It's
a strange universe of fickle friendships."

and

"  Friends moved on. New people through twitter came into my
life. They were tweeple. They weren't friends. Old friends found new
friends. Then I was alone. I wondered if I had "invested" enough? Hadn't
I done what was needed to rely on them? Or was it another expectation
from life that was being tested for me to understand that one cannot
have ANY expectation. That maybe "friends" are like the weather. You
can't predict when they'll be sunny and when they'll be moody."

I tend to agree one hundred percent.




Strangely, one of my earliest posts  written in 2006, was about friends walking away when I needed them the most.  I was not a published author then. I was merely a hurt, shattered soul, trying to find some solace. (read the said post for a brilliant  piece of writing on people in your lives for a reason, season or lifetime, by Brian Chalker)



Today I seek the same answers, when I am at a great point in my career. (three books behind me, all best-sellers, working on fourth)



Why do people behave the way they do? It is because they have their reasons which make sense and seem fair to them, inside their heads.



You cannot change that. You cannot make someone stay in a friendship if they want to leave.



And today I can say with confidence (and perhaps a certain amount of pride)  that life is really too short to bother about the ones that left. What matters are the ones that are in your life, at this moment.



You can do nothing if people change.



All you can do is make new friendships, or hope like hell that your old rock-solid dependable ones, stay just so.



___________________________________________________________________________







If you like my blog, you might enjoy my books :) Grab them here. (You don't need a credit card. You can pay cash on delivery) or if you are an Amazon Fan, you can grab them here



 And you can interact with me on my FB page. I almost always reply :)










http://preetishenoy.com/

5 instant pick-me-ups. Blog marathon post 4

It isn't easy, this modern life.

Deadlines, E-mail messages that have to be replied to immediately, meetings, travel, work-pressure, things on the home-front, kids, daily chores and a fifty things that are unaccounted for.

It is only natural to feel bogged down, exhausted and unfocussed.



How does one keep one's spirits high in this daily hustle and bustle? Here are five instant pick-me-ups that work for me every single time. And they aren't too hard to do either.




1. Music



 Billy Joel had said "I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive
expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter
what culture we're from, everyone loves music." I can't agree more. I think what happens is that we listen to music as a 'background' track. What we should instead do is take five minutes out. Go to a place where you will not be disturbed. Plug in your ear-phones and close your eyes and  LISTEN to that one song that speaks to your soul.

I did that this morning and it worked for me. Here is the song I listened to:



(It is pure magic, the violin at the beginning. Do hear)














2. Breathe deeply



 Most of us in our daily lives do not breathe right. Each of the cells in our body require more oxygen than we are currently providing them. So breathe deeply. To the count of ten. You will be surprised how much this very simple thing works as a 'pick-me-up'. Try it!



3. Drink green tea



For me, green tea works as a huge de-stressing thing. I like to sip my green tea (you just have to dunk in the tea bag in a cup of hot water. You can do it even if you are working. You just need to keep some green tea-bags in your desk). Do not add sugar or milk. It may feel odd in the beginning if you are not used to it, but it will grow on you. And it is a great anti-oxidant and good for losing weight too! In ancient china, a book was written more than 4000 years ago which extolled the use of green tea for " positive effect on the five vital organs, especially the heart. The book discusses tea's medicinal qualities, which include easing the effects of alcohol , curing blotchiness, quenching thirst, eliminating indigestion, preventing fatigue, and improving brain function. "( quoted from the wiki). If it worked then, it works now! I do not know about modern claims and tests, but I know for a fact that green tea does help me calm down.



4. Go for a short walk:



 If your office has a landscaped space, take a break. Go for a short walk. Notice the greenery, Notice things around you. Try to find three beautiful things. Take a picture of them! Capture the moment. This little break tricks your brain into activating that part of it, not used when you are at work. This can work if you work from home too.



5.Look into the mirror and give a WIDE smile to yourself:



Make sure no-one is around when you do it! Look into the mirror and meet your own eyes. Tell yourself that you are awesome! Long time back I had watched the video of a little girl do this exercise. It was amazing what she did without the slightest bit of hesitation or self-consciousness! (I do not remember where I saw it.(I tried searching for it but could not find it. If any of you know what I am talking about, please do share the link with me). Yes, you ARE awesome and you deserve a smile!Go ahead and reward yourself--give an extra large smile..Like this:









There---you are smiling too aren't you?

trust me when I say that smiling is infectious :).

Whatever it is that is bothering you, this too shall pass!



So here you have it--my five instant pick-me-ups. Simple but really effective.They always work for me.

Try them and tell me if they work for you too.



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If you like my blog, you might enjoy my books :) Grab them here. (You don't need a credit card. You can pay cash on delivery) or if you are an Amazon Fan, you can grab them here


 And you can interact with me on my FB page. I almost always reply :)












http://preetishenoy.com/

Snapshost from my Garden. Blog marathon Post 3.

If you have joined me just now, this is a series of a blog marathon that I am doing. the first post was about making a portrait and what goes into it.

The second asked "Are you in a drift mode?"



This is the third. I am sharing some snap shots from my garden. Gardening is something that gives me immense joy. It is indeed amazing to grow something so magnificent and watch it bloom. Such beauty in flowers! I can spend hours in my garden.



To grow any plant, you really need just good soil, a container, some manure and daily watering. Even if you live in a flat or an apartment, you can grow them in pots. They instantly transform the place and add magic to it. If you live in India, all you have to do is drive to the local nursery, get a few plants and then call your local 'maali' who will happily re-pot them for you. Make an arrangement with him to add manure and loosen the soil, once in fifteen days or so. All you will have to do is water the plants on a daily basis. Not too hard really, is it?



Here are pictures of my favourite blooms from my garden.





 This is a creeper that goes up my white picket fence. White and yellow. Tranquility!







 I really like this one too.





 And this :) There are about 10-12 of them right now in my garden.







 Pretty, isn't it?







And this one here seems to be telling me, "come on and dance and enjoy life!" So colourful!



The thing about plants--you love them and they love you back.

The best part--they bloom! :)

___________________________________________________________________



If you like my blog, you might enjoy my books :) Grab them here. or if you are an Amazon Fan, you can grab them here



 And you can interact with me on my FB page. I almost always reply :)


















http://preetishenoy.com/

Are you in 'drift mode'? Post 2. Blog marathon.

Most of us go through life, in 'drift mode'. We want to badly do something, but we are not willing to swim against the current. We badly want to try something, but we are so afraid of failure. We want to follow out hearts, but we fear the repercussions. We make excuses saying 'If I do this, I will come across as selfish, I would really like to do this but ________________ prevents me from doing it, I want to but I lack_______________". (Fill in the blanks suitably)



We comfort ourselves with statements like above and we continue living life, in 'drift mode'.



I did this for a long time myself. I did not really know what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to be a good mother, and a good human being, but of course that was not enough. I was certain that I would never take up a corporate career, leaving my kids in a day-care or a creche , and so I spent almost all my time with them, when they were little. I read to them, played with them, talked to them, taught them cycling, we had discussions, we laughed and  I did enjoy it.



Gradually they grew up a bit more, and did not need me around so much. Then my beloved father with whom I had a very close relationship (we would talk every single day on the phone) died all of a sudden, and the this 'drift' which I was comfortably swimming along in, suddenly stopped. I was lost. I had no clue what to do. There was no 'current' to carry me along anymore. I was shocked. I was scared. I was terrified. I discovered for the first time, that there are really no guarantees in life.



I went through a really hard time, broken, shattered, devastated emotionally.Those days, I rarely smiled. Finally I found my calling in Art and Writing. I had nothing to lose anymore. All that I had , all that mattered had ceased to exist when my father died. I went on to write three books, (all on the best-seller lists) and I am working on my fourth now.



Looking back, I know this happened only because I was forced to step out of 'the drift' I was earlier so comfortable sailing along in.



If you are in a drift mode, I urge you to stop. I urge you to step out of your comfort zone and take a stock of where you really want to go. If you are content with your life right now, it is great. But if you are not, then do take time out and think about where you want to go.



Contemplate, spend a few days, spend time alone and listen to the voice of your heart, whispering to you. It may be feeble at first, because in drift mode, we have ignored it for so long, that what it has been saying has been lost in the din. But listen carefully and you are sure to hear it. It will give you immense joy and untold happiness, once you begin to hear what it says.



Follow it. Chase your dreams and LIVE your life.

It's so short. Make it worthwhile.

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If you like my blog, you might enjoy my books :) Grab them here. or if you are an Amazon Fan, you can grab them here


 And you can interact with me on my FB page. I almost always reply :)










http://preetishenoy.com/

Blog marathon once more. Post 1--a portrait of a good friend.

Okay folks--Going by the huge encouragement  I have got on FB as well as twitter, where I asked if I should do a blog marathon again (have done it twice--once in 2009 and once in 2010), I have decided to take the plunge and do my third now, starting today.

Wheeeeeeeeee :)



So starting today, for the next 30 days, this blog will be updated daily! :) On some days, when I am too tired to write a new post, or if I (or you!) feel bored hearing the sound of my own words,there might be guest posts by some interesting people. Some days, there might be just a picture that I might want to share with you and sometimes maybe even an interesting video I found or a dish I cooked.



Either ways I promise you  all good stuff :) Not 'filler stuff' written to just make a post. (Readers who have followed my blog marathons do know that).



It would be great if you could join me on this journey by leaving me a comment, just so I know you hear me. I might not be able to reply individually like I do for all my posts, but I will try. And definitely will be looking forward to reading what you have to say as comments do matter to a blogger.



My first post is a portrait of a very good friend Ajay, that I completed yesterday. He was so pleased with it, that he has made it his display picture on his FB as well as BBM :)



The portrait took me about 14 hours to complete.(I did it over three days, not at a stretch)







When I put this up on FB, a few people  who do not know that I do portraits,commented asking which software I use! Some asked how I do it. So I thought would put up these early pictures, which explain how this portrait developed.







The first step to a portrait is an accurate line drawing. You should not start shading until you are absolutely convinced that the line drawing is correct. Even the smallest millimeter can make a huge difference in the final look of the portrait. So you have to take measurements and see that the outline is PERFECT--only then can you hope for a good resemblance. A mistake many beginners make is that they start shading straight away even when the proportions are wrong.Then they wonder why there is no resemblance to the subject in the finished portrait.



 When I make the line drawing I also mark the light and dark areas. I use a very very light pencil (2H) so that the lines do not show in the final portrait. I also use masking tape in the side to hold my work in place, on to the drawing board.







Some people like to do the eyes first. I started with the hair. The hair took a LOT of work, as it has to be built up layer by layer. I prefer doing the hair and eyes first, because these two areas are my 'darkest darks'. All other tones will be in comparison to these darks. In pencil portraits, there are many shades of gray and you have to very observant to see which shade of gray brings out the light, and how dark a shading should be for a realistic effect.



As you can see, there is beginning to be a likeness in the picture above, but still there is a long way to go.



I usually play music when I do my art. When I was making this one, the music that was playing was maula mere maula , Snow patrol's Chasing cars and Aerosmith's "I don't wanna miss a thing"

(click on links to listen to the songs)



After I made the eyes and hair, I went on to the lips and other parts. I had to lift off, smudge, blend, lift off , smudge, blend (techniques in pencil portraits) endlessly till I was satisfied.



Making a portrait as you can see is a lot of hard work.



But oh the joy!! :)



So there--for the first post of this blog marathon, you got three nice songs to listen to, apart from knowing how a pencil portrait is developed. Wasn't that interesting?



Good night folks! See you tomorrow.  :)



__________________________________________________________________________________




If you like my blog, you might enjoy my books :) Grab them here. or if you are an Amazon Fan, you can grab them here


 And you can interact with me on my FB page. I almost always reply :)
















http://preetishenoy.com/

A gift for someone you love :)

This is a pencil portrait (it is different from a sketch) I completed on Sunday. It took me about twelve hours of work. I am surprised when people who have read my books, tell me that they did not know I  also paint and make portraits.I do indeed accept portrait commissions, and am currently working on a commission, apart from writing my fourth book.

Most people who receive a portrait of a

The candle and the flame

Come dance with me

Said the Candle to the flame

I so badly want to, but I can't

And I am playing no game



Why not, the candle wanted to know

Everybody should be able to dance if they wanted to.

Ah my friend, if only life was so simple

There are rules to be followed, through and through.



All you need is a bit of a will

A little imagination and lot of desire

I will make your