A Thing of Beauty is a Joy ForNEVER..!!!!

“She's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd She is a woman, therefore to be won” -
William Shakespeare

There is no denying that it is the beauty that first catch the immediate attention of a person. Life is never fair. Some are lucky to be born with beauty and others like me strive hard to look beautiful. And in our stuggle to attain the beauty, the cosmetic companies give us due suppot. Beauty is addictive and every human being has a natural instinct to look beautiful. With the big cosmetic industry nothing is difficult. Spent some bucks and you can be the way you want...well..almost.

Cosmetics are are substances used to enhance or protect the appearance or odor of the human skin.(source;Wikipedia). A more accurate definition of Cosmetics is given by US FDA, The term "cosmetic" means (1) articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance, and (2) articles intended for use as a component of any such articles; except that such term shall not include soap.- FD&C Act, Sec. 201 (i)

Why this much talk on cosmetics? That is because I read a review of the book "Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry -Stacy Malkan" here. The practices in the cosmetic industry really shook me up. The very famous and branded multinational companies selling the products with ingredients that triggers cancer, reproductive and neurological disorders, and hormone disruption, with full knowledge. I was shocked to know that Placenta is used in Skin moisturisers and toners.

With many campaingns many companies have come forward to sign the "Compact for Safe Products", which states that cosmetics and personal care products made by our company anywhere in the world meet the formulation standards and deadlines set by the European Union Directive 76/768/EEC to be free of chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation or birth defects. If this is of any relief, I would like to braeak the relief that Several major cosmetics companies, including OPI, Avon, Estee Lauder, L'Oreal, Revlon, Proctor & Gamble and Unilever have thus far refused to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. List of the safe cosmetic companies is here.

Gerbera Died and Jasmine is in Coma : A lesson learnt :(

It was all my fault. I didn't take care of them the way, I was supposed to. With many other things running around the mind, their thoughts didn't even enter my thick head. I was inside the house, with the shades drawn, wearing two sweaters, and with the heater on. The poor things were standing in the balcony in this freezing cold, without food for last 4 days. Today morning when I suddenly remembered them, I ran to them with water. But by then the Gerbera was almost sunk to the base of the pot and the Jasmine was trying hard to stand straight with all its leaves shrivelled up. With pangs of guilt conscience aggravated with J's lecture on "fulfilling resposibilities", I tended it, pruned it, changed the soil, watered it and shifted them from patio to the bedroom window.
I had thought about bringing them inside last week but postponed it because I felt lazy to do it. I am feeling sooo bad ... "if only I had been a little thoughtful and brought them inside last week...". This incident taught me the importance of doing the right thing at the right time, but at the cost of my plants. I wish I could do something to make sure that the fragrance of Jasmine never leaves my home....

Am I too filmy ???

December 2nd holds special for two reasons. One, it was the first snow of the season and second, my home pregnacy test showed two parallel blue lines.

And when I told the positive news to J , who was banging on the bathroom door impatiently, his reaction was a "wow", with a big dazed smile plastered across the face.

And I stood there expecting for more reactions (P.S. We planned to be in family way since August) . Afterall that was what I saw in all films, (atleast when pregnacny is from wedlock).

Recovering from the surprise , J came near me and hugged me tight and I thought "now he is going to sweep me off the floor "(though I preffered any other room than bathroom for it ).

Hugging me he told, "Now that you are going to be a mother, be regular in your diet. Take food on regular time, never skip your breakfast, add more vegetable in your diet, avoid sausages and other junk food". (I am addicted to sausage). And he released me from his speech and hug, with final advice "always think good and dont think too much".

Now I dont know which is the most difficult part in his set advises cum orders, taking breakfast daily, skipping sausage or thinking good always. Well, I zero in on "thinking good always and not thinking too much".

Are we becoming too practical ? Is sweeping off the feet too filmy?

In almost all the movies I have seen , the scene will be either two of these.

Scene 1 : Husband returns home in the evening, tired from the days work. He finds in his house, either the parents or (in some cases,) neighbours sitting around his wife. He becomes tense and asks them the matter. The reply will vary according to the films, but most will be " you are not just two anymore" or "your wife will tell you" or sometimes some sly comments like "after doing everything you are asking us the matter" with a lot of giggling in background.

Scene 2 : The wife is sick, nauseating and dizzy. Dearest husband takes her to a doctor ( in most cases, lady doctor; with a poster of baby saying "shhh...." cellotaped in the wall), who conveys to him the happy news.

Whether it is the scene 1 or 2, the climax of that scene will be all the same. The highly elated husband, jumping with joy, picks his fragile wife from floor, raises her to the ceiling and rotate her till the wife begs to leave her down.

After J's " non - sweeping from the floor" and "we planned for it attitude" , I sat thinking (totalling going against his last piece of advice).

Is the mordern day marriages too open that there are no elements of surprises left ?
Are we too open and communicative that makes us predictable?
Isnt those filmy pantomime sometimes necessary? Doesnt it invigorate the relationship? Afterall this is once or twice in life occassion.

or is it as simple as this" I Am Being Too Filmy"...??

I Baked my Cookies Right

Whew, after two tiresome attempts and resultant absolute failures I finally baked my cookies right. I am an infant in the baking world. Till this August I didnt know even the basics of baking ...ssshhh...
My first attempt in baking was Brownies!! Brownies and subsequent batches of cakes came out so well that I started believing I am a natural baker.
Armed with confidence I tried baking my first batch of cookies but it was a complete washout. The reason is that I added a little milk to make the batter loose .(I thought the batter for the cookies should also be loose like the cake batter). Result: cookies in form of crunchy sheet cake. The second time when I baked I did a new mistake. I didnt put enough gap between the cookies. I put around 20 cookies in the small cookie sheet!!! I didnt expect the cookies to expand sideways. And the result , another batch of slightly burned sheet cookies.
I partially accepted my defeat until I saw the recipe of snickerdoodles in "Cooking Light". I toyed with the idea of making snickerdoodles for a week and finally decided to go for it. Voila, after 30 minutes I had 25 snickerdoodles in my snack box. Cool isnt it? Perseverance do help:D .
(PS: All the "I"s in this post is I + J. J is inevitable while I bake as he is the one who whisks the batter )