Sweet dreams are made of these ...

... who am I to disagree?

Dreams fly high. It is these dreams that are the manifestation of what our heart yearns for with its every beat. These are our private dreams so fiercely personal to us that we protect more often than not from the world outside our own selves.Society shackles our minds and bodies with innumerable chains. Dreams know no bondage.

Dreams fly high. 

Sweet dreams are made of these: blue blue skies flecked with soft tufts of white clouds, gentle winter sunshine, wind caressing cascading black locks of hair, a crisp white shirt, a silky turquoise and sunshine yellow Parisian scarf flying in the cool breeze, green green grass which smells like nature, a clear straight smooth road with no signals, a golden orange sunset speckled with red rays, a red convertible with the hood down, the guts to dream, freedom to just be one's true self, to eat what strikes one's fancy and not worry about calories, love; the innocence to love without the fear of getting hurt, creating another human being and feeling part of the circle of life, swimming in the deep azure ocean, being content with life, being happy.

Dreams, you haunt me so. I lock you inside my heart and destroy the key. Dreams, why do you not let me be free? Dreams, let me not pine for things I cannot have. Dreams, you are my hopes which are not caged and can fly free.

Dreams, fly high, for me.

Recipe for Nirvana; Ingredient: Expectations

What is it that you seek? If you could give up everything you owned in this world to achieve this 'one goal', this one ultimate elixir of life, what would it be?

For most, the answer would be unadulterated crystal clear pure decadant happiness.

Next question, how do I get there?

One of the most important things I have learnt so far to get to this state of eternal bliss is to keep expectations of others low – to the bare minimum. When you have expectations, you have preconceived ideas of what the outcome of a particular situation should be. The lower you place the 'bar' of your expectations, the easier it will be for you to get over it and move forward. Ever had the joy of looking into your wallet and discovering the ten bucks you thought you had spent? Why does this make us happy? It is because we weren't expecting the money to be there. The same goes for receiving a call from a friend you haven't spoken to in years. Now let us reverse the situation. How many of us have been let down on occasion by our own expectations of others? I know I have. Spent hours by the phone waiting for a call; spent months complaining about a job; spent years comparing my achievements to those of others. For a long long time, I've held others responsible for my happiness. This is like hoping someone else would give me some sugar to sweeten my tea while it is still hot. It seems almost juvenile if we think of expectations in this way.

When you are free of expectations, you are open to all outcomes that life has to offer. This becomes a win-win situation for the pursuit of happiness. This is like saying, "I know I need sugar for my tea, I'm going to find some myself." If along the way, I find a kind soul who could spare some sugar cubes for me, it would be great.  It would be even more awesome if I could find someone to always do this for me, but life isn't a bag of free sugar cubes.

One thing I have learnt is that the recipe to my nirvana is known only to me. Only I can make this and only then can I be truly satisfied. Although I do not know the complete recipe to mine yet, I know have some ingredients. Sure, I could ask someone to make this potion for me. Sure, I could borrow your recipe and tweak it. The end result must be mine. Only I know if I'm craving savory or sugary, spicy or umami.

The question is,  

"Do I want to take the effort to whip up this delicious scrumptious piece of nirvana or am I willing to settle for a store-bought generic version?"

Bang Bang (My baby shot me down)

I just happened to be browsing through Grooveshark to get my music fix when I stumbled across one of my long lost loves "Bang Bang" by Nancy Sinatra. I remember hearing it as the title track in "Kill Bill".
I love everything about this song. The guitar, her voice, the lyrics ...
Then I got to thinking if Kill Bill were ever to be made in Hindi, which actress should star in it as "The Bride". Even though I do not like her much, the only name that comes to mind is Priyanka Chopra. I think she'd look pretty alright in that yellow outfit and could drop a few kicks and punches too with panache.
Now, what about Bill? No clue ...  Suresh Oberoi? Kabir Bedi? ....

P.S: Now that I am trying to get back to blogging, my initial posts would be most annoyingly random.

Proof that men can sell soap as effectively as women.

... now where do I get me some of this ?

From www.thedoghousediaries.com

Winding up with the April Posts

Ok .. so I've neglected my blog for more than a month .. and never got around to finishing the posts for April.

So here goes ... really really quickly ...

A website : www.megavideo.com ... love it ... I get my sitcom fix here
A YouTube video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9WmKre5O2I&feature=related
Whatever tickles your fancy : I'm gonna buy myself an emerald and diamond ring soon..
Your day : My day today was ok ... family stuff in progress
Your week : Exhilarating
This month : One with many firsts
This year : Very different from the other 25 years I have lived
Plans for the next 365 days : Sooo many plans ... lets see how that goes :-)
Whatever tickles your fancy : I'm baking cuppie cakes tomorrow !

So that does it ! Finally !

Day 21 - A Recipe

Yummy Fried Prawns

Ingredients

Prawns  (shelled, de-veined,washed) – 500 gms

Spring Onions/Onions (chopped) – 1 medium-sized

Tomatoes (chopped) – 2 medium-sized

Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tablespoon

Chopped Garlic – 2 to 3 cloves

Curry Leaves – 8 to 10

Red Chilly Powder – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder – ½ teaspoon

Salt – To taste

Oil – To shallow fry

Coriander Leaves  - To garnish

Method

1.       In a non-stick pan, heat some oil. To this, add the onions and curry leaves.

2.       Fry the onions till they become translucent. Add the tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, chopped garlic and spices.

3.       Cover the pan and cook till the tomatoes soften.

4.       Add the prawns and cover and cook till the prawns are done.

5.       If there is some liquid remaining in the pan, you can turn on the flame to high and sauté till the desired consistency is reached.

6.       Garnish with some chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with roti, dosa or steamed rice with kadhi.

Day 20 - A Hobby of mine

Cooking ... it is not just a hobby ... it is a passion ... seriously ...