Crossborder Wedding-- Shoaib Malik & Sania Mirza

Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik and India's tennis star Sania Mirza plan to wed in a unique union bridging the two nations' bitter sporting and political divide. The  marriage, comes two months after Mirza broke off her engagement to a childhood friend. The tennis player became an instant nationwide celebrity as an 18-year-old when she became the first female Indian to win a WTA Tour title in 2005. Malik, who hails from Sialkot in Pakistan's Punjab province, has played 29 Tests, 190 one-day internationals and 30 Twenty20 matches since his debut in 2001.In a bizarre twist in 2002, he was accused by the family of another Hyderabad girl, Ayesha Siddiqui, of marrying her over the telephone. The cricketer denied it, but did admit to being engaged. In keeping with the tradition of big, fat Indian and Pakistani weddings, before the actual reception, members of both families will visit each other and both parties have already applied and perhaps even got the visas.Mirza and Malik will marry in April and live in Dubai

Strawberries

Strawberries facts and trivia:                    


Berries on a straw? There is a legend that strawberries were named in the nineteenth-century by English children who picked the fruit, strung them on grass straws and sold them as "Straws of berries". Another theory is the name was derived from the nineteenth-century practice (ands still today, although most farms use raised beds, enclosed in plastic) of placing straw around the growing berry plants to protect the ripening fruit.


Fragrant - The strawberry belongs to the genus Fragraria in the rose family, along with apples and plums. The name of the scientific classification was derived from the Old Latin word for fragrant. The modern Italian word for strawberry is still "Fragola".

Very berry or not? The strawberry is not classified by botanists as a true berry. True berries, such as blueberries and cranberries have seeds inside. The strawberry, however has its dry, yellow "seeds" on the outside (each of which is actually considered a separate fruit).

Native American Indians called strawberries "heart-seed berries" and pounded them into their traditional corn-meal bread. Discovering the great taste of the Native Americans bread, colonists decided to create their own version, which became an American favorite that we all know and love .. Strawberry Shortcake.

Ornamental value - The English and French also found strawberries used the beautiful heart-shaped berries to landscape their gardens. In fourteenth-century France, Charles V ordered twelve hundred strawberry plants to be grown in the Royal Gardens of the Louvre.

Lovely berries - Strawberries have long been associated with love and flirtation. At wedding breakfasts in provincial France, newlyweds traditionally were served a soup of thinned sour cream, strawberries, borage and powdered sugar.

Seedy characters - On the average, there are 200 tiny seeds in every strawberry. If all the strawberries produced in California this year were laid berry to berry, they'd wrap around the world 15 times. That's enough strawberries to provide every U.S. household with 12 pint baskets.

Are you weird? Respondents to a recent national survey labeled strawberry lovers as "health conscious, fun loving, intelligent and happy." Non-strawberry lovers, on the other hand, were described as "weird, boring, stuffy--picky, fussy eaters who avoid healthy foods."
                 source: http://www.pickyourown.org/

My  entry for : Ruby Tuesday

The Yellow Rose

A yellow rose symbolizes friendship and caring. It's the perfect innocent gift to give to a friend or give to a loved one when you simply want to say "I care". When given to a friend it also means "I'm happy with our friendship."                                                                                                                                                        To see more yellows, click 

                                                                                   

Earth Hour in Lahore

 Yesterday's Earth Hour went largely unnoticed due to lack of awareness amongst the public.Earth Hour serves as a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. People across the world from all walks of life turned off their lights at 8:30pm (local time) and joined together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet.

However, the phenomenon of blackouts is something the people of Pakistan are only too accustomed with. The increasing load shedding has already made lives miserable before even the arrival of the summers. Consequently, the majority of people – those who had power supply at 8:30pm  did not pay heed to the global call and kept their lights turned on. In our area, lights were off from 8:00pm to 12 midnight because of power outage.We only have 14 hours  of electricity yesterday. Citizens of Pakistan in their remarks said that they were facing "more than 15 hours as earth hours daily"  therefore it did not suit them to celebrate it.They urged the government to solve the issue of electricity shortage and only then the event should be celebrated.

Sharing to you a joke on Earth Hour:
                          When asked about the Earth Hour celebrations, a commuter at Kalma Chowk said, “Observing the Earth Hour is a pass time of the privileged and those who do not have any worries in their lives. I have barely had 6 hours of power supply during the last 24 hours and the concept of switching off lights is a joke in the country’s present circumstances.

Cows for Sale

I took these photos  while we were "hunting" for sacrificial animals last  Eid-ul-Adha.This is my first entry for  Camera Critters.             

To view more critters or to join this photo meme, just click on the badge.

Mela Chiraghan

It's a public holiday here in Lahore today because it's the start of the Festival of Lights. Mela Chiraghan or Mela Shalamar ("Festival of Lights") is a three day annual festival to mark the urs (death anniversary) of the Punjabi Sufi poet and saint Shah Hussain. It takes place at the shrine of Shah Hussain in Baghbanpura, on the outskirts of Lahore, adjacent to the Shalimar Gardens. The festival used to take place in the Shalimar Gardens also, until President Ayub Khan ordered against it in 1958.The festival used to be the largest festival in the Punjab, but now comes second to Basant. The festival, now not as popular as it once was, used to be called the Punjab Cultural Fair. It began with a celebration of Hussain's birth, and included the seasonal Baisakhi festival, which marks the beginning of the cutting of the wheat crop. The rest of the festival was celebrated at Shalimar Gardens. The third and final day was reserved for women only, as it still is. In 1958, President Ayub Khan ordered that the mela would no longer be celebrated at Shalimar Gardens. There used to be horses bought and sold at the mela, till the British Raj decided to separate this part of the festivities into the Horse and Cattle Show. The road leading to the tomb of Sufi poet Shah Hussain in Baghbanpura is being decorated, while the tomb itself is being cleaned and some areas are being whitewashed. Nowadays, the festival is marked with the burning of candles  in memory of Shah Hussain. There will also be drum beating and several dhamaals and qawalis and the most favourite part of the festival is the scene when the whole tomb lit up by the hundreds of thousands of lit-candles carried by people.

Burned Christian Dies

For refusing to convert to Islam, Arshed Masih was burned alive and his wife was raped. For more of the news, go here and  here.

Pakistan Day

Pakistan, meaning “the Land of the Pure” in Urdu, celebrates Pakistan Day (known as Yom-e-Pakistan) to commemorate the Pakistan Resolution on March 23, 1940, which demanded the creation of a Muslim state in India.

Pakistan Day is celebrated with various events in private and public offices. During the day, schools hold activities focused on spreading knowledge about the Pakistan Resolution.

To all Pakistanis, HAPPY PAKISTAN DAY!

(Image Credit)

Spring Flowers

Quick Update

How's everyone?I hope all of you are enjoying the weekend as much as I'm enjoying mine.I wasn't able to update my blog for more than a week because I was very busy spring cleaning, sorting out clothes, completing my sons'  requirements for visa application for our planned trip to Philippines in June and our  shifting to either Malaysia or Thailand, after our Philippine trip.Life here in Pakistan is too dangerous nowadays especially Lahore was attacked again by terrorists last week.Twin bombings that killed almost 50 and wounded  a hundred innocent people.Such a waste of precious life.The kids are only staying at home, aside from going to school. I hired a tuition teacher who comes in the evening.Home tuition fees are doubled but what's most important is my kids safety.Load shedding or power outage is becoming worst each day.Sometimes, for 3 hours straight,we don't have electricity.We only have 14-16 hours of electricity daily and it's not even summer yet..And no electricity means no water, since we are using electric water pumps to suck water from the main pipes or else we don't have water at all.Though we have a large water tank, it's not enough considering the fact that we are staying in a  joint family system with 16 family members.Luckily, our niece's wedding  date was  rescheduled on October because the groom's brother is reported missing in the USA.Shopping for the wedding should start now, as  I have to prepare 4 sets of clothes with matching jewelries and shoes.Four sets  of clothings and shoes for my sons too and for hubby, if he will attend the occasion.Just thinking of the expenses gives me headache.I'm afraid to go to bazaars and markets since bombers also attacked one market last December.A lot of women perished in that incident since Moon Market is a popular shopping place for shoes and jewelries especially during the wedding season. We are invited to a neighbour's wedding tonight  but I decided not to    attend due to my "phobia for suicide bombers",  if   there's   a specific   term   for this kind of  phobia,   please   let  me  know.....hahahaha.  Anyhow, I want to extend my thanks to everyone who keeps visiting  my site and dropped ECs during my absence.                                                                                                                            

Zarda - Pakistani Sweet Rice

This plate of zarda was given by our neighbour.For recipe , peep here.

Mellow Yellow Monday

                                                         

Here's my Mellow Yellow entry for this week,  multicolored flowers.For more yellows, just click on the badge.

Sunshine Award

Thanks to Mommy Kero of  The Pink Zest and Kero's Celebration.     

The rules are :

1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post;

2. Pass the award onto 12 bloggers;

3. Link the nominees within your post;

4. Let the nominees know they have won the award by commenting on their blog;

5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award.

I'm passing this award to:  Sterndal Susi,Jhari, Arlene, Tess, Shabi, Riza, MinnieRunner, Faye,Jane, Jenny and Vanessa                

Helping Pakistan's Acid Attack Victims

Scores of women in Pakistan are severely disfigured by acid attacks every year.Pakistan's Acid Survivors Foundation recorded 48 cases last year and countless others are likely to have gone unreported.Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports from Lahore on how one woman is helping the victims to rebuild their lives.

Latest Honor Killing:How A Deleted Cellphone Video Led To Murder

WARNING: Videos that you shoot on cellphone and then delete - may remain in memory. It’s similar to data stored on computer's hard disk, if deleted – is recoverable through a software.

A teenage girl in 10th grade fell in love.Her boyfriend made a film of her (if you get my meaning of film) on his camera phone.He deleted it,but it was still in the phone camera's memory when he passed his phone to his friend, who posted that film in the internet. Now as expected the film spread like fire as in many small towns, so did the word.Now this incident would’ve gone ignored if it wasn’t for a so called "journalist", who saw this film and posted about it in his newspaper,while another local newspaper of that small town also did the same.
The girl was an orphan raised by her mother's elder brother.For 4 days he tolerated the mockery and shame but on the 5th, he murdered his niece.

Carrots, Eggs & Coffee

I was cleaning my "Inbox" today and found this nice story.I thought of sharing this with you before finally deleting it.
A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.' 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.


May we all be COFFEE!!!!!! !

Be Blessed and be a blessing to everyone!

Another Award

I love awards.
It makes me happy.
Loveleng ,Jon JOn Rosaleen and Jenny,thanks a lot for this.

The rules are:
1. Thank & link the person that gave you the award.
2. Pass this award onto 15 bloggers you’ve recently discovered and think are fantastic.
3. Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
4. State 7 things about yourself.



7 things about me:

1. I am 41 years old.

2. I'm a shy person.

3. I love chocolates and flowers.

4. Aside from Tagalog and English, I can speak Bahasa Melayu and learning to speak Urdu at the moment.

5. I'm collecting cookbooks from different countries.(So if you have any country's cookbook, send me and I'll send you one too.)

6. I am not happy staying here in Pakistan.

7. I'm hoping I can visit Philippines this summer.


I'm passing this award to these beautiful bloggers
Jeni Aurora
Liz
Sreisaat
Vienna
Narti
Jhownie
Lina
Fe
juliet
Anna
Emie
Shaine
Vhing
Umi

Sunset

It's Monday once again, time for my favourite meme hosted by Drowsey Monkey.For this week, i'm sharing photos taken yesterday, from our rooftop.    

To join, click on the badge.