min-myinnersoul

Readers of the blog are perhaps too young to have read George Orwell's 1984. Its a fictional novel about a totalitarian future state where every individual is completely monitored and controlled. In fact the term Big Brother, originated in this novel. Well, here's news for you. Big Brother has indeed arrived - just 27 years late. If you hadn't heard, both Apple and Google are accused of recording and monitoring cellphone locations. Since none of us would move 4 inches from our cellphone henceforth in our lives, surely BB knows where we are and what we are doing. Privacy advocates are up in arms. I come from a different point of view. Is Google and Apple mad enough to want to be tracking my colourful life. That I leave for office exactly at 8.04 in the morning. That I spend the whole day like an idiot in the office. And that I come straight back home. And then go nowhere else. Leading a totally colourless life.  Earth shattering information. Take Gils for instance. We don&#

Why does a Chinese internet company wish to get listed in the US ? I can't fathom the logic. Hence this post. The Chinese internet landscape is a strange one. Almost every one of the global majors is blocked. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Blogger, you name it and it is blocked. Instead there is a carbon copy of each one of them locally in Chinese. For Google, read Baidu . For Facebook, read Renren , for YouTube read Youku or Tudou , for Twitter read Sina Weibo or the dozens of similar clones. These are the ones that are wildly popular, having millions of users, only in Chinese and therefore almost exclusively used by Chinese. Never mind that these  are all censored , watched, bullied, etc etc by the jīndùn gōngchéng (The Great Firewall). This post is not about that cursed censorship. These sites are all by entrepreneur led start up companies , similar to the American originals.  And they all want to list and make huge money. Fair enough. But they seem to want to list in the US. Qi

The other day I ran across a 'new-to-me' blog called I was immediately drawn in. You guys know my stance on God and Christianity, so I was so happy to find this blog. I am even happier to share it with you all. The first post I read was,  How Do I Explain Modesty to my Young Child? Um, hello! This is something that I am definitely interested in, especially having a little girl. It's already hard enough to find appropriate clothing for my 3 year old. A lot of the dresses and shirts are made just like adult clothing..i.e. halter tops and spaghetti straps. That's one of the reasons I make S.R.'s clothes.  I have truly been uplifted reading Rebecca's posts, and I think you will too. So when you get the chance, take the time to visit Mom Seriously and show her some love by becoming a follower:o)

The season for tax returns is just over in the US. Its just beginning in India. Appropriate time to rave and rant on the nonsensically complex process of making out a tax return. No, I am not a tea party activist (I drink coffee and in any case, I wouldn't be seen dead with that rabble). I am just venting steam ahead of having to sit down and do the damned thing. Thankfully I only have to do an Indian tax return, but that is torture enough. Everybody knows that the famed Ramamritham absolutely loves Income Tax. Great opportunity for framing fiendish rules and impossibly complicated forms to fill. Just consider the following evidence. The first problem is to decide what form to fill. There are no less than 8 different forms you can fill. It all depends on whether you are a HUF or a BOI or a AOP. What if you can't figure out what those are and if you figure you are just a human being ??? Not sure - In Ramamritham's lexicon, normal human beings don't exist.  With delicious

Yesterday was E's Easter party, and I was one of the helpers. I'd like to say that it went off without a hitch, but that's not true. It was slightly underwhelming, and of all things, we forgot to bring drinks...DUH! BUT, I got to witness E's very first program at school, and it was so exciting for me...it wasn't spectacular by any means, but it was a "First" for him, and I got to witness it. I even got a little misty-eyed at the beginning. I am really proud of him..he's a good boy:o) I spent Wednesday getting ready for said festivities. After I got home from church, I whipped up this shirt for E.  The inspiration came from   THIS   post. I just made it a little more masculine:o) For teachers' gifts, I found some jars (50% off at Hobby Lobby this week) and filled them with candy. I found the printable from   THIS   post.  These are the  CAKE POPS   that I made for the party. They are supposed to be Easter Eggs:o) Most everyone seemed to really like

Two posts today...weird I know. I am in the middle of helping with E's Easter party, and I had a free printable I wanted to share with you. This is sort of a last minute thing. The other day I ran across  THIS  post over at  Joy Ever After . She had this really cute idea using peeps, and tags. I thought, PERFECT! We can use these printables as party favors for all of the little ones. But then I realized it was for the cards and not the tags that were available for printing:o( So I just spent the last little bit making these.  They are similar, and they will definitely do the trick. To download this printable, go HERE  I'll share the little baggies that we are attaching these tags to tomorrow. Update... You can find a picture of how we used these tags HERE

Yesterday I spent the better part of  nap time doing a little house cleaning...not my actual house, which desperately needs it, but on my blog. I made a new header and created a new button... It was frustrating to say the least because my computer skills are less than mediocre, but I got it done.  Now whether the button is right....who knows??? Let me know if it works....if it doesn't, I am going to go crawl in a whole and lay in the fetal position and suck my thumb...:o) My button does not work...waaaaah:o( Gotta figure out what is going on..stay tuned:o{ Major house cleaning today since I have a few clients coming this afternoon and tomorrow. I am desperately wanting to repaint the dining room...shhhh! Don't tell the hubs;o) And I have to help with E's Easter party tomorrow, so I will be making cake pops today. So much to do, so little time. Have a fantastic Wednesday!!

A very dear friend of my mine is expecting her second baby, and Baby Girl should be here in about a month. So momma bird is nesting:o) She found this beautiful bed skirt at Pottery Barn Kids and fell in love with it, but they don't offer it in the crib size. Plus the twin size is $149.00...YIKES! So I told her I would make it for her:o)   (picture credit to  Pottery Barn Kids ) And this is what hers looks like: (please excuse the flash photography...the room was dark) It was actually pretty easy to make, and a lot cheaper than trying to get it from Pottery Barn Kids. Momma Bird was thrilled with the results, and so am I:o)

This post is about a movie !  It takes some gall for a blogger who knows zilch about movies and doesn't see them, to do a post on something his readers are masters of. But that's the beauty of this medium - you can fearlessly propound  on things you don't have a clue about. I am told actors are key to movies ! This one stars a legend as a hero. Across continents, this man is reputed to be with the midas touch - anything he touches turns into gold. There are assorted villains, but the beauty of the movie is that you often don't know who the real villain is. There is a faceless foreign government, who everybody loves to bash these days (not America - in movies, America is all mom and apple pie). The only slight trouble is that there isn't a very pretty heroine. There is a lady actress who comes roaring to defend the hero , but alas, she will not set Zeno's heart go flutter flutter and her role casts her as a Minister. She does manage to be exotic though, speaking

I missed out on some major yard sales today b/c I have a mission... .plus I don't have any money:o)   This mission WILL be accomplished TODAY.  I have 4 dresses that need to be made for some bridesmaids. The wedding has a vintage feel to it, and from the sound of it, it's going to rock!  Here are the dresses that I am making: Butterick B5032 The blue one on the far right...it's reeeeeally cute:o) And this pattern: Simplicity 2588   These dresses are fairly simple in construction, and I won't have to finish them completely since I will need to do a fitting, but THEY GOTTA GET DONE!! I can't wait to see them completed:o) I hope you all have a fantastic weekend...I really want to start fixing up all of my yard sale finds from last weekend, but these dresses have to take priority. Wish me luck;o) b.t.w....this is day 4 of not having Facebook....I feel sort of cut off from the world...but I am trying to be free;o) If I weren't so stinkin' nosy, it might not be as

The Church of England has taken a line on executive pay. You may ask what has that body got to do with the world of business. Well , there is the small matter that the Church manages a £ 5.3 bn portfolio and is a shareholder in many companies. And, of course, it is a voice of morality, however much you may agree or disagree with it. The Church of England has said that it will not vote in favour of executive pay proposals that have bonuses more than 4 times the salary. While its influence as a shareholder might be somewhat limited, its voice has the benefit of a moral argument. Just a little while ago shareholders in HSBC voted to limit bonuses to a maximum of 10 times annual pay. Readers may pause here to consider the obvious question. Who on earth earns bonuses many times his salary ? This blogger has seen a lot in business. Outside of the financial services industry,  there is virtually no place where an employee can earn 10 times his salary as a bonus. So what's so special ab

Last weekend we had several neighborhood yard sales just down the street from us, so you can imagine how pumped I was. I came back with so many goodies! I had to call it quits b/c I ran out of room in my van:o) Here are some of the big items that I brought home: A Sofa Table.. I was using the drawers to hold down some plastic in plcae while spray painting another project  A small bookshelf...it needs some major love:o) An oak rocker. This chair has perfectly worn arms on it. I was so happy to find it and at such a good price. This guy will be getting a new seat. I have already ripped out the stuffing...which was original...blech! A sweet little pillow form. I have this for sale in my Etsy shop. If you are interested in it, just click on the link in the upper right hand corner on this page. And a small strainer...also for sale in my Etsy shop. These are just a few of the things that I rounded up for the day. I found so many more treasures. The kids were super pumped about the air hockey

We had a birthday party to attend this weekend and it was so much fun! Cinderella made an appearance at the party, and S.R. was IN LOVE! She was Chatty Cathy once Cinderella walked thru the door. I really wish I had brought my camera:o/ Anyway, the Birthday girl needed a gift, and being the procrastinator that I am, I didn't have a gift for her. Saturday night I was racking my brain as to what I could make that would be super fast, but still be super cute...this is what I came up with: This is 100% designed by me...if there is another skirt out there just like it, I promise I haven't seen it. I came up with this particular design because I always have the hardest time judging how long to cut the elastic. Sometimes it's too small, sometimes it's too big, and every now and again it's just right...sounds like something out of the Three Little Bears, right? The waist has button holes and a belt laced thru it. Problem solved:o) You can tighten or loosen to your heart'

Do you drive on the left of the road or the right of the road in India ?? Its not as stupid a question as it seems. Most of the British Commonwealth drives on the left of the road. India, being an honourable member of the Commonwealth, ostensibly follows the British tradition and drives on the left. But as with many things about India, its not all that simple. One of the axioms of Indian roads is that however wide they may be and however many lanes may be designed, traffic flows only in one lane on either side. This is the right hand most lane. The other lanes to the left, if they exist, are used in a multitude of creative ways. So you basically drive on the right and try and find an opening on the left to overtake. That makes you a right hand drive country, right ? Confusing ?? You see, the problem is that only the righthand most lane is open for driving continuously. That is where the truck laden with 24 tons of precariously balanced stuff, the autorickshaw (tuk tuk to some) and the

No society understands the theory of relativity better than India - At least those elements of the theory of time. That time is not absolute , but is indeed relative. That's why the concept of Indian Standard Time is commonly used to explain the Indian's mastery of this subject. That strange introduction is meant to draw attention to the Cairn Vedanta deal, which is again held up by government indecisiveness. Cairn Energy, a UK listed company wants to sell its 62% stake in Cairn India to Vedanta. The balance shares are held by the state owned ONGC. Some time ago Cairn had signed an agreement whereby it need not pay any royalties out of the oil drilled - instead ONGC would pay the royalties. Now ONGC wants to renegotiate this contract as a precondition to a government approval of the sale of Cairn's stake to Vedanta. This post is not to discuss the merits of ONGC's stand. But one of the unintended consequences of the 2G scam is that nobody in the government is now brave

Yesterday I made this dress for S.R. I have been in sewing mode here lately and it's been so much fun! She looked so sweet in it last night at church and had so many compliments. I got to do something even funner than sewing yesterday as well (yeah, I know funner isn't really a word, but that's how much fun it was;o). I got to rearrange my friend's living room. She bought an ottoman, and didn't know where to put it. One thing led to another, and I ended up shopping her house and completely redoing her living room. It turned out so awesome! She was really excited about it as well. So if any of you out there need someone to come rearrange your house...I'm ya girl!;o) In other news... I finally bit the bullet and opened up an Etsy Shop...yep, I caved:o) I have fought the idea for a while now, but with the government furlough approaching, we might need the extra income...just in case. I only have a few items listed, but hoping by the weekend to get a few more up. Lo

Today's post is a guest post I made in Preeti's blog. Preeti is a famous blogger, writer of two books, artist and a very nice and warm person. She was very kind to invite me to write a piece in her blog and who can resist the ask of a pretty and intelligent lady ! The post is here .

Last Saturday was my first time out this year for yard sales. I was pumped and ready to go...but apparently those needing to rid themselves of unwanted junk were not of the same mindset. I only came across 3 yard sales near us:o( I found a few things, but nothing that you would call a "treasure." Anyway, the last yard sale I went to had a lot of dress up clothes, mainly for girls, but they did have a Batman mask. I snatched that up b/c I new that E would have a fit over it. I was right:o) So I thought  I would make him a Batman cape to match. I got busy making it yesterday, and I was so excited to show it to him. He was really excited to see it...and then he put it on... He said, "Where are the holes so that I can fly?" with utter disappointment.  I apparently told him that I was going to make little pockets for him to put his hands in so that he could spread the cape out, but the way I made the cape, it wasn't possible. He then told me that he didn't want i

Yesterday we had some nasty storms. I knew they were coming and new there was a chance of no electricity, so instead of preparing our supper early, I decided to make a dress...b/c you know a sewing machine needs electricity;o) I had the fabric on hand, and I had an inspiration dress. To see said dress, go  HERE .   The creator of the inspiration dress has her own blog,  Girl.Inspired.  She has so many cute ideas, and is one talented lady. I have been following her for a couple of months now, and she has given me so many ideas. Definitely take the time to check out her blog. Here is  a close up of the top of the dress.  When I was making the top, I thought I was being crafty in the way I was constructing the dress. However, I forgot to take into consideration that there needed to be a place for the straps to go...on the back that is:o) So I came up with a quick solution. I put button holes in the back as well, and just ran the strap thru it. Turned out cute, don't you think? S.R. is

If you wanted to understand leadership, you couldn't have done better than to be glued to the TV screens in India yesterday. It was the final of the Cricket World Cup, it was played in Mumbai and India won, setting off a celebration, the likes of which is  unlikely to be seen anywhere in the world - not even if and when Brazil wins the football World Cup in Rio. This post is not about the victory , but about the leadership of the captain MS Dhoni. They say leaders are born and not made and he seems to be a perfect example of that cliche. Early on in his career, some brilliant selector spotted his leadership skills and elevated him as the captain of the country. And today he has pulled perennially underachieving India to the top of the world cricket. Indian teams have been as talented before, but the deadly element in the mix now is a leader. Just look at the calmness on the field even when things are going disastrously wrong. With that steely calmness, he gets everybody to claw the

I cannot believe that Easter is at the end of April this year. We actually get to enjoy having out all the Easter decorations for a tad longer than usual.  I love spring decorating. It brings life back into your home after the hum drum of winter. I hope to be sharing lots of spring decorating with you this month. Here is a little something I made a few weeks ago.... I made this flower arrangement for my mother as a "get well" gift for her surgery. I wanted to give her something that she could enjoy for years to come.  I fell in love with this little lamb and bunnies from Pier 1. I knew I had to use them somehow:o) The flowers were purchased from Hobby Lobby.  This was such a fun arrangement to make. My mother loves most anything with spriggy things coming off of them, so it was perfect for her.  She was very happy with it...or maybe it was the drugs she was on;o) Participating in: