Secrets of the Models in Our Family

Dewey:

“At the end of the day, it all comes down to exercise and I make sure to get plenty of that.  I walk my master (or mistress) several times a week, every day if possible, in all kinds of weather.  I put some aerobic oomph into these walks by darting left and right to the rhythm of “Dewey.  Dewey”.  Also, I try to smile a lot.  The way we canines do it is by wagging our tails. With all due respect to humans, wags beat smiles. A wag is a clear expression of happiness and love and appreciation, whereas a human smile should never be taken at face value. There's the classic 'polite' smile (when there's a to-do between two dogs that are being walked, their masters and mistresses will typically give this smile). Then there's the smirk. And what about the completely mysterious Mona Lisa smile? Tell me if you don't prefer wags to smiles!

Kyara:

“I make sure to get my beauty sleep. Where and how you sleep makes all the difference.  I  personally, am partial to the master and mistress’s bed. They try to offer me my cat bed instead. When they do that, I give them the look (the one which says “where’s the fluffy pillows, and who’s going to wake you up in the morning, besides, sheesh!”)  I also watch my diet.  Even if I pursue lizards, small birds and insects, I very rarely eat them.  In fact, I drag the remains of whatever I catch through the cat door into the house, providing ample proof of my dietary restraint. Periodically, I visit the ocean, with my master and mistress in tow, where the sea air does both them and me plenty of good.  Staying fit and looking good is not rocket science. You just have to find your own version of "Kaiser Permanente Thrive" and stick with it.

Bella:

I am always up to a good sprint and make sure to get one, either at the dog park, at the beach, at Heather Farms, or even when I'm stuck at home. In fact, every day, I practice my sprints using the stairs in our house (humans call this doing ellipticals).  Me and this neighborhood cat play a game. The way it’s played is that she climbs on to the fence between our houses, presumably to get my goat - not knowing I do not have any goats. Anyway, the cat intrusion being both an invasion of my privacy and territory, I dart up and down the stairs so I can bark at her from different heights – it’s great exercise and I get a chance to exercise my vocals as well. Speaking of goats, I actually do know a farmer and he once had many goats, now only chickens (no, his name is not Old McDonald and I'm not making this up). If you ever need an introduction, I can absolutely hook you up.

Oscar:

Travel is my thing.  It keeps me young and invigorated.  I am a frequent flyer between the East Coast and the West Coast.  I have been a walker in both cities (I guess I am fairly unique in this respect). The difference between New York and Cali is day and night.  New York is all Sex and the City – lots of legs wherever you go, California open spaces. Friendships also help me stay young.  I regularly visit with Bella and she with me and we often stay over at each other’s places. Oh, yes, and one last thing...I watch tv to relax.  I am a bit surprised at the lack of tv channels in California, though. All we have in our house is Fox News -  24/7.

P.S.  Hope you enjoyed this post on the models in our family. If the models in your family have some tips for these models, do share them with me so I can pass them on.

P.S. 2: As always, thanks for reading and wishing you a day full of smiles, real smiles, that is,  - not polite smiles, smirks, or Mona Lisa smiles.

Secrets of the Super Models – How Many Of These Questions Can You Answer?

Sex and the City DVD Set: $3.99, 
Confidence 2-in-1 Elliptical: $134.99.  
Good Health: Priceless

1. Who helped Heidi Klum lose the weight after each of her 4 pregnancies?

1.  David Kirsch
2. Tony Horton
3. Nina Leavins
4. Shaun T
5. Leandro Carvalho

A: David Hirsch.  David Hirsch had a phased plan for Heidi, which included avoiding all foods that cause bloating in Week One and Two such as dairy and fruits. You can find out more about David Hirsch here. He promotes his NY Ultimate Body Plan with the following line: You don’t need liposuction or plastic surgery to get a better body.

The other names on the list above are just as well-known in fitness circles.  In fact, you may remember Tony Horton from my previous post, Raising the Bar. Even if you are fit, you might want to read it, because it contains Tony’s super easy recipe for making your own granola bars.  The post also mentions the Institute for Healthy Lifestyle Habits run by Personal Performance Expert, Nina Leavins. Nina Leavins is a fitness expert who promotes herself as a leading authority on weight loss for diabetics and you can find out more about her here.

2. Which of these workouts did Giselle Bundchen do prior to having her baby?

1. Brazilian Body Surf Workout
2. P90X
3. Insanity
4. Turbo Jam
5. Body Gospel

A: Brazilian Body Surf Workout - a pool workout which is a mix of running, jumping and water resistance training and was designed by Brazilian fitness expert Leandro Carvalho, whom you can read about here.  People have also had great success with P90X, Insanity, Turbo Jam and Body Gospel. If you want to learn more about P90X - which was designed by Tony Horton - my post Raising the Bar has some details. When it comes down to it, one exercise regimen may be just as good as another, if you commit yourself and do it correctly and consistently.

3. Which of these is true about Tyra Banks?

1. She worked with Heather Bauer to develop healthy eating habits
2. She does not smoke or drink alcohol
3. She used to watch Sex and the City while doing ellipticals
4. She tries to add a side of veggies like spinach to whatever she eats
5. All of the above

 A: All of the above 

4. Which of these is not true about Karolina Kurkova, the Czech model’s regimen?

1. Snacking on nut milk made from scratch
2. Eating quinoa and brown rice
3. Doing a We Care juice cleanse in Palm Springs
4. Drinking green fruit smoothies
5. Living on lettuce and water

A: Living on lettuce and water

P.S. My next post is Secrets of the Models in Our Family. Did you fall off your chair? Well, I need you to get back on, so you can mark the date on your Google or Yahoo calendar. In this very special post, I will reveal the secrets of D, B and other models in our family. So don't forget to check back in on this blog Saturday.

P.S. 2: Thanks to Mastercard advertising for the inspiration behind the photo-caption in this post.  I have always loved their "priceless" campaign. How about you? What are your favorite ad campaigns? Of the ones mentioned in my previous posts, which one do you think is totally rad? - the Slim Jim campaign mentioned in Top Recipe Secrets, the Holiday Inn Express Toothbrush campaign mentioned in The Carpenteria Times or the banned Hyundai campaign also mentioned in The Carpenteria Times? Do tell.

P.S. 3: As always thanks for reading and wishing you the very best of health in 2012.

The Not So Secret Life of The American Teenager

One of Tanita's boards

Observations on Pinterest – 4

Recently, I asked my daughter if she pins on Pinterest. She said she had created boards, but had not been actively pinning.  So then I asked her if her friends had Pinterest boards.  She cobbled together a few names for me, but told me (or informed me if you prefer Mangalorean-speak) not to get too excited, because the boards did not have much on them either.

Which made me ask the question - how could these early adopters (and frequent users) of My Space, Facebook and Twitter be on the slow boat when it came to Pinterest?

But thinking about it a little more (reflecting on it in Mangalorean-speak), it made perfect sense.

There’s an age and a stage of life when you want to categorize and save information.

And teenagers are not there yet…..

Though they eat (and my, how they eat at times), I don't think you can interest them in recipes at the moment. In fact, the time when they would be into cooking in the way that Pinteresters are rabidly interested in cooking may not come until college is over; possibly even until they exit their 20’s.

(I think back to myself and how late in life I came to cooking –you don’t want to know and you don’t want to follow my example.)

Also, most teenagers Tanita's age have no income, let alone discretionary income. And no credit cards either. So pinning fashion items would simply be torture  to them, I suppose - creating desires without any means to fulfil the same.

(Plus in Tanita’s case, what if a parent’s simplicity trip is dampening some of the enthusiasm?)

Finally, pinning is related to nesting – setting up your first home, with or without a soul-mate or spouse. And then having or adopting babies, pets or crafts.

None of this is on the near horizon for these teenagers.

(It's at the nesting stage of life when they’ll want to save the information for getting a wine stain off a cream carpet. Or getting superglue off of one’s glasses, the answer to which is revealed in my post Advice from the People we love to Hate.)

So until then, what should we expect of teenage Pinterest boards?

The regulation bicycles, backpacks, guitars, sneakers, prom dresses and updo’s?

Well, let’s take a look….

Tanita J’s Pinterest boards:

Octopi

I Love the Bay

My Photography

Culture

Typography

Ciara E’s Pinterest boards:

Weddings

Inspirational

LOLZ

Summer

Health

Nick C’s Pinterest boards:

Cars

Photos I Love

Cameras

Places I’ve Been To

Products

Caroline C’s Pinterest boards:

Cute

Books Worth Reading

Things I Want

For the Home

Bucket List

Of course since I can’t resist self-promotion, I am now going to bring the conversation back to moi and my use of Pinterest boards (since I am unsure if you got the message from my 4 previous posts on Pinterest:):))

I use Pinterest to categorize the posts on my blog.

My "Oh Bangalore" board

And since vacays are a big deal on Pinterest, I thought I’d point you in the direction of my Oh Bangalore board. 

On this board, you’ll find 3 must-read posts on Bangalore written by guest-poster Ajay Sachdev, which are as follows:

Oh Bangalore – Part 1

Oh Bangalore – Part 11

Oh Bangalore – Part 111

Warning - after reading these posts, you are probably going to want to pack your bags and head straight to Bangalore. If so, have a good trip. 

P.S. 1:  As always, thanks for reading and wishing you well in 2012.

P.S. 2:  The teenagers in this post are past or present students of Taylor Elementary School and Santa Teresa High School in San Jose.  Santa Teresa High counts among its news-making alumni, Michael Burry, the lone-wolf investor who made money off of the Housing Crash and whose story is told in the Michael Lewis book "The Big Short".

P.S. 3: The Ajay way to say "have a good trip" is to stick one's leg out when someone is walking by and then say "have a good trip". Right, Ajay? You didn't think I'd remember that from our MAA days, now did you?

Observations on Pinterest – 4

Sparrows Board - one of my 17 Pinterest boards

People are coming up with creative, whimsical, nostalgic, delectable, useful, off-beat – all sorts of ideas for Pinterest boards

Nina H has a Pinterest board on doors

(It’s about the iconic 1960’s band…………NOT!)

Carol S has a Pinterest board on art painted rocks

(Which rocks!)

Leigh L has a Pinterest board on DIY Kids Halloween Costumes

(The cure for the common princess, ghoul and goblin)

Theatre Mania has a Pinterest board called Broadway Shows

(Listen up, culture vultures)

Divya S has a Pinterest board called: Things that remind me of my childhood- India in the 80's and 90's  

(A charming walk down memory lane)

Dalai Mama has an Old Boats Pinterest board

(You'll love this board if you are into the ocean, Sea Ranch, that sort of thing - and you are inspired to write poems like this):

Minoo Jha has a Pinterest board called Sparrow’s Board

Which is my contribution to the "whimsical" genre of Pinterest boards. If you want to read the posts on Sparrow's Board (a compilation of posts on Twitter and tweeting - in which one post builds upon another), here’s the order in which you need to go:

Dear Dick Costolo

Spizella Arborea Strikes Again!

Bye Bye Birdie? Yeah, Right!

Spizella Arborea Has A Change of Heart.  How Tweet!

Spizella Takes on a New Target: Sheldon Cooper

Cheep Thrills ! Spizella Takes On Sheldon Cooper With A Bird Quiz

P.S. As always thanks for reading and hope you do something wildly different and fun in 2012, even if it’s only creating some original Pinterest boards.

Observations on Pinterest - 3

One of My 17 Boards on Pinterest

No More Mind Reading

It’s the end of guessing what to get someone for Christmas.  

The end of wondering where to take Ms  Right or Mr Right on a holiday.

The end of having to take something back to the store because (slap yourself on the side of the head) did you ever see them wear hoop earrings, ever. Ever?  Did you? Did you?

The end of looking at a Macy's or Nordstrom's catalog in sheer clueless terror.

The end of Valentines Days ending with you feeling like a geek, a frat boy, a prep girl, a slouch or an insensitive boor.

Special occasions need not have you in a “conniption fit” anymore…..

……because right now to find out what floats anyone's boat….

…. all you have to do is check out their Pinterest boards.

Alan S’ desires and interests – as revealed on Pinterest

Travel Here (Vacations)

cYcle (Bicycling)

i wAnt ThaT (Gadgets)

Stacia R’s desires and interests – as revealed on Pinterest

A Home Without Limits (Home Décor)

Can’t Help Myself (Rings)

Outdoor Dreams (Fun Stuff for the Outdoors)

Galaxie A’s desires and interests – as revealed on Pinterest

some kind of style (Clothes)

stay here with me (Décor)

let’s gather and be married (Weddings)

Paul S’s desires and interests – as revealed on Pinterest

Favorite NYC Restaurants (Eating out in New York)

A Pinboard by Paul (Kicks)

Want List (An assortment of Bags)

Minoo Jha's desires and interests – as revealed on Pinterest

Minoo Jha (also known as what’s-your-name-again) is the author of this blog and uses Pinterest to organize and categorize her posts. Currently I have 17 boards, including:

My Life as I Live It

I Heart Bangalore

&

Sparrow’s Board

P.S. Like every soul who writes, my desire is simply  to have people read my posts. So thanks as always for reading and please visit again soon.

P.S. 2: Thanks also to my walking pal Becky for introducing me to the phrase "conniption fit". Whenever I feel jaded (as when I've been subjected to an overdose of corporate speak), I think of this phrase and the world is alright again).

Observations on Pinterest – 2

One of my 17 Boards on Pinterest

You’re in the company of celebs and at least one 'what's-your-name-again' when you pin on Pinterest.

Mark Zuckerberg pins on Pinterest

Movies

Products

Guess Where

Group Bucket List

Katie Couric pins on Pinterest

People I admire

Great Quotes

Shoe Gal

Décor I Heart

Places I Want to go

Martha Stewart pins on Pinterest

Oscar Night Recipes

One Pot Wonders

All About Tailgating

October Fest

Valentine Sweetness

Yoko Ono pins on Pinterest

War is Over. Multilingual

Book Recommendations by Yoko

Yoko Ono: Vertical Memory

Imagine Peace News

Yoko Ono's 13 Days Do-It-Yourself Dance Festival

What's-your-name-again pins on Pinterest

Beep Beep

Speaking of Which

High School Muse

Talking Money

Advertising Daze

P.S. No prizes for guessing who's what's-your-name-again. Assuming you want to read what this person has to say on different subjects, do not pass go, do not collect $200, but go straight to Pinterest.  There on the Beep Beep board, you can sample some of what's-your-name's auto related posts; on Speaking of Which, you can check out what's your-name's public speaking posts and the oratory habits of Mangaloreans; on High School Muse, you can enjoy posts written by or about the students of Santa Teresa High School in San Jose, on Talking Money, investment and personal finance related posts, and on Advertising Daze,  some very enjoyable advertising related posts, including the must-read A Short Stint in Advertising by Ajay Sachdev.

P.S. 2: What's your name again thanks you for reading this post and looks forward to seeing you back here, or on Pinterest again soon.

Observations on Pinterest – 1

One of my 17 Pinterest Boards

Observation 1:
Now everything in your life that deserves a category of its own can get one...

David C’s categories on Pinterest…

Comedy

Creatures

Swag

Food

Neat Spaces

Errin H’s categories on Pinterest...

Gluten and Dairy Free

Success Among Friends

General Noms

Gamer/Nerd/Geek

Science Teacher

Ariel S’s categories on Pinterest...

Sweet Southern Belle

A Star is Born

Home Sweet Home

I call him Prince C…for short

A Girl’s Best Friend

Sheila M’s categories on Pinterest…

I Won What!!!!

Home Economics 101

New to Me

Book Report

Note to Mom

Minoo Jha’s categories on Pinterest (compilations of my blog posts)...

Ajay’s Arcade

Cindy’s Corner

The Lobonagar Chronicles

Lessons from My Personal Heroes

The Big Bang Theory...

...plus 11 more boards and counting. 

What will your Pinterest categories be? Can't wait to see. Also, while you are checking out different Pinterest categories, I'd love to know which ones you find the most interesting and why.

As always, thanks for reading and do stop by again soon.

The Mangalorean & The Big Words

When my daughter was younger (four or five years younger than she is now), she made the observation that Mangaloreans (yours truly included) use extra big words when they speak

So I thought it might be fun to do a “How Would a Mangalorean Say?” post (with a little bit of exaggeration here and there for added flavor).

Here goes...

Normal Person:

My kids play together while I work.

Mangalorean:

The offspring entertain each other while I attend to my business affairs.

Normal Person:

Be back soon after changing my clothes.

Mangalorean:

I will return presently in more suitable attire.

Normal Person:

Can I say something?

Mangalorean:

Can I interject with an opinion?

Normal Person:

Did you see any animals while walking?

Mangalorean:

Did you encounter any wildlife on your trails?

Normal Person:  

I have to use the bathroom.

Mangalorean:

I need to utilize the facilities.

Normal Person:

Can you help me?

Mangalorean:

Can you provide me with the necessary assistance?

Normal Person:

I am thinking of visiting India.

Mangalorean:

I am contemplating a visit to the motherland.

Normal Person:

I would like to climb Mt Everest one day.

Mangalorean:

I am desirous of scaling the heights of Mt. Everest.

Normal Person:

That was a great meal.

Mangalorean:

That was a gastronomical delight.

Normal Person:

Can I get back to you?

Mangalorean:

Can I formulate an appropriate response?

P.S. If you know someone (Mangalorean or not) who talks like that and have examples of your own to share, send them on to me  for my collection and possible future publishing on this blog...thanks.

P.S.  After publishing this post, I am afraid to attend an NCMA event. What if they throw "sannas" at me?

As always, thanks for reading and please visit again soon!

Cheep Thrills! Spizella takes on Sheldon Cooper With A Bird Quiz

Spizella’s Bird Quiz

There’s an organization in Germany devoted to Donald Duck called German Organization for Non-Commercial Followers of Pure Donaldism which has had an annual convention in Stuttgart for the past 32 years...

       True

       False

       Charming, but made up by Minothi

Donald Duck is the mascot of the University of Oregon:

       True

       False

       Charming, but made up by Minothi

Snoopy’s favorite bird in the Beagle Scouts is...

       Harriett

       Conrad

       Woodstock

       Bill

In the movie Mary Poppins, how much do you have to pay to feed the birds and in what container is the food sold in?(Hint: the answer is contained in a song in the the movie that is reputed to be one of Walt Disney’s favorites, and in which he specifically asked for one of his retired actress friends to be cast)

       A 1 lb canister

      A five pence cup

       A two pence bag

       A two pound box

In the movie “The Party”, Peter Sellers playing Hrundi Bakshi says the words “Birdie Num Num” to whom?

       To a macho actor who gives him such a painful handshake, Bakshi is forced to plunge his hand into an ice-pail (unaware it contains fishy-smelling caviar)

       To the lady whose tiara his Cornish hen goes flying into

       To the movie director he continuously interrupts by sounding a bugle

       None of the above

In which movie is this scene recounted by somebody:

“This afternoon my neighbor placed a handful of cooked rice on the terrace of her house. A few minutes later I saw a pair of crows, a few pigeons,4-5 squirrels, a grayish brown bird(maybe a female pheasant) and a green parrot enjoying the buffet.”

       Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

       Mary Poppins

       March of the Penguins

       None of the above

In "Life With Feathers", a 1945 cartoon, a henpecked lovebird tries to commit suicide by getting a cat to eat him.  After Life with Feathers, the cat went on to star in a popular Cat and Bird cartoon series along with a little yellow bird.  Who was this little yellow bird? Thufferin' Thuccotash, if you don't get this one!

       Daisy Duck

       Tweety

       The Road Runner

       Foghorn Leghorn

Which of these is not a relative of Donald Duck?

Clan McDuck

             * Angus McDuck
* A to the Power of 4 McDuck
* Dingus McDuck
* Fergus McDuck
* Gideon McDuck (Scrooge's brother)

         * Hortense McDuck (Donald's mother)
* Hugh McDuck
* Jake McDuck
* Malcolm McDuck
* Matilda McDuck

            * Patricia from Down Under McDuck

            * Quagmire McDuck

            * Scrooge McDuck (Donald Duck's uncle)

            * Sir Bertie Bangalore Wooster Duck
* Sir Eider McDuck

            * Sir Quackly McDuck
* Sir Roast McDuck
* Sir Stuft McDuck
* Sir Swamphole McDuck

Which bird made famous both in comics and on-screen vocalizes only one sound that happens to also be the name of one of Minoo Jha’s Pinterest boards?

       Daisy Duck

       Captain Flint

       The Road Runner

       The Little Red Hen

And finally, who is featured in more posts on Minoo's blog?

       Sheldon Cooper

       Spizella Arborea

Answers: 1) True 2) True 3) Woodstock 4) A two pence bag 5) Hrundi Bakshi says Birdie Num Num to a caged macaw. He gets the idea from spying a bowl of bird feed marked Birdie Num Num next to the macaw's cage. 6) This could be a scene from a movie but it is not; it is a real life experience recounted to me by A to the Power of 4. 7) The bird is Tweety ( "I thought I thaw a puddy tat” 8) A to the Power of 4 Duck, Patricia from Down Under Duck and Sir Bertie Bangalore Wooster Duck  9)The Road Runner 10) Do you have to ask?

P.S. Spizella would like to thank all those who helped him achieve the milestone of being featured in 6 posts on Minoo Jha Life Strategies - beating Sheldon Cooper who is featured in only 5 posts.  A special thanks to A to the Power of 4 and Patricia from Down Under for providing input for Spizella's Cheep Thrills Bird Quiz. If you want to read all of the Spizella posts (in which Spizella expresses some very real bird concerns to Dick Costolo, the CEO of Twitter), you will find them on my Sparrow's Board on Pinterest. If you want to read all of the Sheldon Cooper posts (Spizella says he doesn't care two hoots for them and you shouldn't waste your time), you will find them on my Big Bang Theory Board on Pinterest.

P.S. 2: As always, thanks for reading and hope 2012 is going splendidly for you!