Blogathon 2018 - Day 5 - A pictures post!!

So, I finished reading "Black Suits you". You can read a review here. As the book is a thriller I am not giving away any more details. Yes! but if you aren't gonna read it and want to know the story, let me know!

I was already reading "The Enchantress of Florence" by Salman Rushdie and have started "All the bright places" by Jennifer Niven. Reviews will follow shortly.



I love when the books I read have some beautiful quotes.. like this one in "All the bright places"

After a long time, I zentangled last night.. The result isn't as fine as I expected, but some more practice and I will be back on track!

Ramblings of a waiting soul!

Thank God it's Friday!! :)
#Blogathon2018

Blogathon 2018 - Day 4 - Black Suits You - A book review

Black Suits You by Novoneel Chakraborty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Black Suits You by Novoneel Chakraborty is a thriller love story. It is the love story of Kiyan, an erotic novel trilogy author. The book takes the readers on a ride with some good suspense - and that is the only reason I wanted to complete it.

It begins with Kiyan and Anaysha's love story and unwinds with Kiyan being seduced by Kashti. Kiyan is portrayed as a recluse with no social contacts till he starts making public appearances to promote his books. And then he finds an admirer in Kashti - and a dangerous one at that. And he cannot stop but fall in her trap. And then there is a mystery gift which he gets from Kashti and his life changes.

I will not give any more spoilers as that would give away the suspense, so go ahead and read it. But do not expect too much. It is only and only the suspense which made me read it.

View all my reviews

Blogathon 2018 - Day 3 - How the Pune riots are affecting lives and general updates

We had a normal day yesterday if we ignore the brief spell of rumors about the riots in Pune and Mumbai. It was in the news about a strike being called today. Some schools and offices were closed today. But here I am, sitting in office. It has been eventful - we have a lot of photos and videos distributed about the violence in a couple of areas. I cannot see anything on the news, but a lot has been said. There is a rally, which I heard is peaceful and has a lot of police protection. But the normal life has been disrupted. This is seriously very disturbing. There are parents sitting here worried for their kids at school. Many of them got calls about closed day-cares and schools and had to rush home. All this when we knew that their journey home could have been difficult in itself. I do not know how much of what we know and see is true. The photos and videos are very violent, pelting stones, burning buses - and I still do not find logic in the reason to do so. I have been asking people not to share such stuff on the social media. I really doubt if these things help. My sister has been advised not to go to the hospital - she is a doctor and had an OPD in the evening. If the doctors aren't safe and cannot reach the hospitals, will the patients be any safer? I am worried about all my loved ones and have been calling everybody to know about their safety all this time not being aware as to what we will face on our way home.

A lot of ranting has happened!! So, change of topic!! I got some really awesome smelling incense sticks from a handmade items stall put up at office. Every morning and evening at home now smells heavenly. I am happy I have reached day 3 of blogathon 2018 after completing the 31 days of happy I did in December. I shopped. Shopping makes me happy :) I love eating fruits and winters mean more of oranges and grapes. I am happily devouring them... I am reading "The Enchantress of Florence" by Salman Rushdie and "Black Suits You" by Novoneel Chakraborty.. and I am enjoying my reading time with my blankie and hot soup or coffee...
Cheers to good times!

#Blogathon2018

Blogathon 2018 - Day 2 - What I have been upto today!

Sometimes I am at a loss of words, I do not know what to write about. Today is one of such days. I have been blog hopping since morning trying to find something I can write about. I read some really good posts, but I still do not know what to write.

I took part on a lettering competition on Instagram and here is my entry for day 9 -



You can find me on instagram by the handle @thecreativepaw.

We came early from office today. The situation was a bit tense as there had been riots a day or two ago. The stakeholders are planning to call for a strike today. No cabs were available and there were rumors of more riots. I find such things very disturbing. The common man suffers. Many of my colleagues had to rush home to get their kids from their day cares. Cabs weren't readily available. A couple of years back, the hubby and I were returning from a dinner party and riots broke. It was one of the worst days of my life where I actually feared for our lives. We were half way home when we encountered a lot of people barricading the highway. It looked like a road accident,so we proceeded cautiously, only to be pelted with stones. The men had iron roads and they tried their level best to hit our car. Among all the chaos and increased heart beats, the hubby drove in reverse on the highway for more than a kilometer. The other roads were also closed and we had to find refuge at a friend's place. The journey back to their place was also difficult, with us having to check all the turns and be safe. I understand that there is anger in people but disrupting everyday life and hurting people is no answer to anything. How does any problem get solved by pelting stones or burning vehicles? We all dread such situations, but I really do not know what to do except to try and be safe.
Please be safe.

#Blogathon2018

Blogathon 2018 - Day 1 - 2017 Realizations!!

Happy New Year everyone!

Thanks to Ani , I am taking part in Blogathon 2018.. I have just finished writing for the last 31 days, I faulted twice, but eventually came back on track. I blogged about happiness and thanks to the #31DaysOfHappiness, I searched for at least one happy thing everyday..

Wish I will be able to keep it up for Blogathon 2018 too and write one post everyday...
Do hop in!

I have had realizations and graying hair. So, for today I am going to write about what I am going to take ahead in 2018 and what I am going to leave behind with 2017.

1. Love and respect myself

I am going to love and respect myself more and more. I have realized that I must love myself the most, because if I do not, then it is easier for others to make me for a ride. I love a lot and I love everybody, but the same doesn't come back to me. Often, I get hurt due to this. I start giving so much importance to others, that I tend to ignore my needs and desires. I have decided to stop this.

2. More TLC to myself

I am going to show myself some more TLC. I have been such an ignorant brat this year - only 2 salon visits - once for eyebrows and once for haircut. Compare this to the older me, who'd treat my hair to luxurious spa sessions and skin to awesome massages. No wonder I have graying hair and awful skin now. 

3. Surprise and gift myself

Given that I'd buy myself novels, soft-toys and stationary every now and then, I am surprised that I did not do so since a long time. But since the last 3 months, I have started again and let me tell you it feels so good. I love the things I buy and when the parcels come, I feel so happy. I play my own Secret Santa, and why shouldn't I?

4. Keep my hobbies alive and learn new crafts - for now it is crafting and water color painting. Draw/paint/make something new everyday as this makes me feel more lively than ever

5.Try being more happy. Avoid negativity. Avoid relationships that hurt

Words, actions and people have hurt me a lot. Some relationships have changed so bad that I wouldn't want to look bad. There were times when I haven't been wrong at all. I have been taken advantage of. People really close to my heart have hurt me so much that I find it difficult to even be in the same company. And I do not want to go back. I am going to avoid all the negativity and hurt. I have been depressed to a level where all I wanted was solitude. So, I am going to close my eyes to such people, no matter what the relationship. I am going to talk less about them, as even remembering brings back the hurt.

What have you guys decided to do?

My Secret Santa gifts!!

On a side note, we had a fun Secret Santa at office. I have joined a new team and it was a great time to get to know my colleagues. We played some games and exchanged gifts.. and I got not one but two novels. Both the novels are new for me and I am waiting to finish the current novel I am reading so that I can read the new ones!

#Blogathon2018

Day 31 - Happiness is...

Happiness is.. walking down the memory lane..

This has been an eventful year, on both the professional and private fronts for me. So, it feels good to be here in my blankie in front of the television sipping some hot soup with yummy bread sticks.. and do nothing.. As I walk down the lane, I am happy that I took up drawing, reading and writing once again. The hubby always spoke about not getting enough-of-his-space and I did not understand why did he feel so. Now as I look back at all my hobbies I have taken up again, I see how relaxed we are and in a better space in terms of our relationship. I realize that I was trying to do so much for him and so less for myself that I ended up entering his personal space. This hurt not only our relationship but also me as a person. I gave up reading, gave up writing, no painting, no new hobbies, my plants were ignored.. But the last year, I tried catching on... I spent some dedicated time on myself, be it the gym or the clay art.. I happily doodled and explored water colors. I do not know if I can carve a future out of my hobbies, capitalize them, but I do know that they give me a pleasure beyond words and are a big stress buster. I am happy that I stopped to smell roses, took the vacations I wanted and explored crafts I hadn't earlier. I got myself some really cute soft toys and read novels from some really good authors. We even got me a book rack to store my treasure. I had a stationary shopping spree and I am happy with what I collected. So, now that I sit back and contemplate I am happy about 2017 and hope for an even better 2018!

How was your last year?

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#HappinessIs
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Day 30 - Happiness is...

Happiness is.... the kiddo feeling better!!

So we were super tensed and confused when kiddo's bike skid on the road. He had multiple injuries and it was really terrifying. We went to an orthopedic at the earliest as his shoulder hurt a lot and he had a feeling that it was on the verge of a dislocation. The assistant cleaned his wounds and the doctor took care of the shoulder. An x-ray done and he was given a plethora of medicines and a shoulder immobilizer and subscribed to three weeks of physiotherapy. He was in too much pain and the clinic was too far away, so we thought of not going for a physiotherapy that same day. We saw an ophthalmologist for his eye injury and she said it was fine, it would heal and we have a follow up in another weeks time. That sorted, we wanted to take a second opinion on his wounds and the physiotherapy part. There is a doctor in the same apartment and he offered to come home to check on his injuries. He said they were healing and relieved us of half of our stress. Thankfully, a search of practo and an orthopedic appointment later we were more than relieved. He said that the kiddo did not need any physiotherapy, he needs rest for the shoulder and suggested some movement for the right hand as the injuries are on the joints. The doctor was good... he spoke calming words and boosted up kiddo's spirits. We came home happy and relieved. The kiddo is doing better now. Thank you for all your prayers..

Please please wear your helmets when you ride, no matter how near or far you are to go to. You might be a really good rider but the same cannot be said about other people on the road as well as the road conditions! So please be safe. Life is really precious. Wounds hurt, no matter what age you are.
Strap your seat belts on, do not drink and drive.. Be safe than being sorry!!

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#HappinessIs
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