Good Bye, Unspoken words!

Some introspection on blogging(thanks to blogathon) led me to conclude that my blog might see better days and treatment if it was a dedicated book review blog than a mix of everything. So, very soon(hopefully tomorrow,), am doing a revamp of the blog http://beinggaya3.blogspot.com/ now called the 'Unspoken words'and will henceforth be called 'Living a Thousand Lives...'

Not having the heart to trash the other non-book related posts, I have moved them to http://gaya3speaks.blogspot.com/ and this blog will be my 'Unspoken words'. Though, I don't have any idea of posting regularly here(unless I really feel an urge to say something). Good Bye, Hope you come along tomorrow to check my new design. I will be so thankful if you give me some feedback on tbe new blog :)

DIY Pillow box

Last-minute necessity is the mother of DIY. I made this pillow box for a gift card as I yet-another-time forgot to get a gift card cover. There are lots of links on the internet to make one, here is a quick link to the one I followed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0sI5i7Ev5o. 

Micro-bharatham!

Living in a Cave -That's exactly what I feel about myself, every time I login to twitter. Oh, twitter! Why am I taking forever to adapt to you? Though I appreciate your design, I feel like am entering a forest where too many birds are chirping and I feel lost amidst all those hashtags trying desperately to catch up from where I left.

But Facebook is warm, I should say, its like entering your friend's home and relaxing with a cup of coffee listening to all their stories and telling mine. I use Pinterest too but am never bogged down by its tangled web. But twitter, sigh! I hope its a matter of time, as I have hoped many times in the past. The reason behind letting out such an alarming sigh is that I came across something so new to me, #TwitterFiction. Specifically Mahabharata in tweets. Or should I say Microbharata, as rightly mentioned elsewhere. Audacious, isn't it? This herculean task was done by Dr.Chindu Sreedharan for 1605 days through 2628 tweets. Recently, it has been published as a book by Harper collins (Look at what the description says, passing a camel through a needle's eye. Bang on!). Am overwhelmed.

Madly in Love, with ME!

Today's topic on Tamil TV talk show Neeya Naana was something I was thinking about last week. The discussion was about promoting and projecting one self(Warning: Extreme prattle ahead!). With the social media(blogs included) providing the perfect spot light, its a Me, Myself, Mine era.
Its the time for Selfies, "Me time"s and self-indulgence. You read, watch, eat, drink, feel, ponder and celebrate on social media. There is a 'Me' in the real world and there is a 'Me' in the virtual world. Slowly and silently, the idealist in everyone takes over and envelops the real 'Me' in the virtual world. The gap between the two 'Me's grows in proportion to the flaws that I want to overcome, those I wish I never had. Those who know the real 'Me' develop a distaste for the virtual 'Me' that I am not. Those who know the virtual 'Me' have trouble adapting to the real 'Me'. Projecting oneself falsely or rather idealistically happens in real world too but the problem with the virtual world is the amount of control one has in doing so. The point am trying to make is not about the pros or cons of the social media. Rather, its about the transformation that is happening within us. There is a perspective shift from earning something to deserving something. A surge in the level of consciousness about self. Letting go of the consciousness happens consciously too. And sadly, we want the world to know that as well.

Review: Where is the cake?

Where is the Cake?

T.T.Khing

I have never reviewed a baby book on this blog. But this book takes the cake.:) Where is the Cake? is a picture book with NO words and that's exactly what makes it interesting. This book follows the stolen cake of Mr.&Mrs.Dog and their chase behind the mouse thieves to get back their cake. As the chase continues, there are many other characters each with their own little story throughout the book. Like the baby bunny, mischievous monkeys and more.

While it is important to read books with rhyming words to your babies(for their language skills)  picture books with no words cannot be overlooked too(for vocabulary). They give you a blank canvas and you develop the story in your own words with possibilities for introducing new words every time you read the book. And this book only makes the possibilities endless with all those little stories. I would say that this book can be enjoyed from as young as 1 year till 3-4 years old.

Below is a snapshot of a random page from the book,

1KBK

1000 Books to read before Kindergarten -  I came across this wonderful initiative today while browsing randomly. Check their website, https://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org. If you think its too high a target, they direct you to think of it this way. Reading 1 book per night makes it 365 a year and by 3 years one would have crossed 1095. In US, most children start Kindergarten by 5 so that gives them a lot of time. They have also compiled a wonderful collection of books that can be found here. Libraries in US are spreading this initiative among their members.

Updated Bingo

Below is the updated Bingo for 2014. Another incomplete challenge, sigh! Check here to know what it is. I had to drop two books as I couldn't fit them in any of these boxes. Clearly,the year 2014 was the year of Indireads. I read 4 novellas from Indireads and already reading one now in 2015 too.

Tweet tweet tweet

My definition of social media,

Facebook = Personal life moments.
Twitter = Observe the world around you keenly and Voice your opinions.
Blog = Yap, yap, yap.
LinkedIn = Where I think I should be, Ahem!
Pinterest = Ready reference
Youtube = Timepass!

As you can see, I view twitter more as an intellectual media and hence my absence(or minimal presence) is justified. Digging deeper, the truth actually is I have never been comfortable with the whole design of twitter inspite of the fact I embrace technology quite well. The time has come to explore twitter more fervently (am running out of ideas for marathon too!).  So, I hereby add 'becoming a tweep' to my new year resolution list (come on, we are only a week into the new year and resolutions are still in vogue).

A Child's Play ;)

A picture post! This was the play area I setup for my LO in the corner of my living room. I really liked this space though I wished I had an entire room :) I regret for not taking a good quality pic that shows the complete stuff.

The part under the table was done completely out of diaper boxes and other cardboard boxes.The box above the table held stuff like books from the library, puzzles with many pieces, small magnetic letters etc that I did not want her to pick on her own(not anymore!). Above this toy box, I had pasted alphabet flash cards which is not shown in the picture. I particularly liked the small containers tied to the gate on the side as it was at the right height for the kiddo and neatly held small toys. We tucked in folded play tents behind the gate and that was perfect too.

The reason for posting this is that we are moving to another home soon and this is going to be dismantled and discarded! Am looking forward to see how the setup at the new home is going to turn out!

Virtual book club

As if the challenges I take aren't enough, I decided to follow the Virtual book club for kids :) It  focuses on books and book inspired activities. Am planning to do this to introduce new and popular books to my LO  and am going to try and incorporate activities based on the book as well. I generally pick books for her at the library based on my understanding of what she might enjoy. Somehow, acclaimed books never catch our my fancy. Hoping this virtual book club will change it. Below is a glimpse of the featured Authors list.

Beating around the bush!

New year starts with a bang bad weather accompanied by cold and fever! I did a cheat post yesterday and day before yesterday(ok, today too!). As I keep wondering what to post on this blog and browse aimlessly, I decided I wanted prompts! I exploited most of prompts from Maya last year, so I need a fresh bunch. So here they are, inspired from here. I handpicked them as per my taste. Feel free to use them if you would like to!

• You’re locked in a room with your greatest fear. Describe what’s in the room.
• Describe your last attempt to learn something that did not come easily to you.
• When you were 16, what did you think your life would look like? Does it look like that? Is that a good thing?
• “Think global, act local.” Write a post connecting a global issue to a personal one.
• If you could un-invent something, what would it be? Discuss why, potential repercussions, or a possible alternative
• Write about the last disagreement you had with a friend or family member — from their perspective.
• Write a piece about a typically “local” experience from where you come from as though it’s an entry in a travel guide.
• Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a member of the opposite sex for a day? What do you think life would be like?
• Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a child. What became of it?
• Describe your ultimate escape plan (and tell us what you’re escaping from).
• Tell us about a sensation — a taste, a smell, a piece of music — that transports you back to childhood.
• Head to your favorite blog. Scroll down to the third post in the list. Take the third sentence in the post, and work it into a new post of your own.
• Go back to a blog post you always thought could be better, or were unsatisfied with — now, fix it.
• Pause whatever you’re doing, and ask the person nearest you what they’re thinking about (call someone if you have to).Write a post based on it.
• Have you ever had a random encounter or fleeting moment with a stranger that stuck with you?
• Interview your favorite fictional character.
• Tell us about something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail (and tell us why you haven’t tried it yet).
• Write a review of your life — or the life of someone close to you — as if it were a movie or a book.
• Often, our blogs have taglines. But what if humans did, too? What would your tagline be?
• We all have something we’d like to write about, but that
• doesn’t really “fit” our blog. Write it anyway.
• Who is the one person you hope isn’t reading your blog? Why?
• You win a contest to build your dream home. Draft the plans.
• If you could be a “fly on the wall” anywhere and at any time in history, where and when would you choose?
• Do you consider yourself funny? What role does humor play in your life? Who’s the funniest person you know?
• Grab the nearest book. Open it and go to the tenth word. Do a Google Image Search of the word.  Write about what the image brings to mind.
• Explain your biggest regret — as though to a small child(probably your kid).
• If bloggers had their own Halloween and could go from blog to blog collecting “treats,” what would your blog hand out?
•  Was there a toy or thing you always wanted as a child, during the holidays or on your birthday, but never received? Tell us about it.

New year, new resolutions!

Last year, i had set myself a target of 20 books. I managed to read only 15. Again, this year am setting my target to 20 hoping to reach it atleast this time!
This was my last year bookshelf

Blogathon!!!! #1

Am doing a blogathon again this year and I hope to complete it this year as well. There are a couple of other things I want to do this year on the blog. One, I started a Mahabharatha characters series last year but never went beyond 'E'. I hope to do that as well.

Also, I want to read every other blog participating in this blogathon this year which is no simple task(43 bloggers so far!). As a start, I have added everyone to the Bloglines(Check here to know what Bloglines is about). And am sharing it here so that anyone interested in following the blogs participating in the blogathon can make use of it. Click here for accessing it!

My mantra for 2015 is going to be this..



Wish you all a Happy New Year!!!