E TREE......................................... LEAF FIFTEEN

The Dream

“I will not… Not today…. Yes, when the time is right… not today… But be warned girl. You are making a serious mistake. You’ll never come back.” And the two hands that tortured me left for good. 

That was the dream I’ve been having for the last two weeks. All I ever see is two hands, very white, choking me to death with the same words in a shrill voice. I’m a light sleeper most of the people say because, I dream a lot. But I never see the same dream twice but this one was way out of my hand. I told Cher about my dream. She didn’t pay much attention first but when I was having the same dream repeatedly for the seventh time, she told me to go to Ms. Cleanor. 

Ms. Cleanor did not ask me back anything but she wanted me to forget what I saw and continue my normal routine. I wanted to ask her what if I see it again, but for some reason I skipped that part.

“You should have asked her. I’m not surprised she didn’t take you seriously, must be something not unusual though.” Cher replied when I told her about my meeting with Ms. Cleanor.

“You know what? Dreams are dreams. Reality is far more interesting than a stupid dream Ish. Common, cheer up. We’ll miss the Basket Ball match if we don’t go now.” 

Lose Weight In A Healthy Way.....

Photo courtesy Health & Lifestyle

There is no doubt in the saying that "Health is wealth" because, if not for health we won't be able to continue our day today chores, work and activities to earn money and live. On a previous note, we discussed about the weight "Your weight, Your health", a significant fact that should be maintained in a healthier manner for a healthier life. 

Your weight has a direct association with many of the diseases you are prone to get. Some of the well known ones are,

• Blood Pressure
• Heart Failure
• Diabetes
• Cholesterol
• Cancer
• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
• Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease
• Hernia
• Liver problems
• Dementia
• Renal failure
• Depression
• Varicose veins 

What mentioned above are only a few compared to direct and indirect associations over weight could have to other little known and major diseases.

E TREE......................................... LEAF FOURTEEN

Friends & Foes

“I wonder when we are actually going to get to fight…” Yaarah said while we were all having lunch during the interval after a tiresome training session one day. 

“Yeah, me too. We’ve been practicing for like 3 months and Cleanor won’t allow us to fight actually. I mean common we are all improving aren’t we? And…. We are pretty much through the basic battle techniques now. She ought to let us fight by now.” said Kale who was sitting with us. She was pointedly looking at the next table where another set of girls from our class sat there. 

“Oh no… no, no, no… No you are not Kale!” Cher suddenly cried out loud so that even the other tables could hear. 

“Why? What happened?” I asked Cher. She was looking half amused, half annoyed. Kale gave her a frown look. “I’m not telling them. It’s your business” Cher replied Kale for her look.

We all stared at Kale who was struggling to tell something. She finally looked at Cher for help who immediately started to tell us what Kale thought.

“She wants to punch and crack some teeth out of Blona. It’s been on her mind ever since they were kids some kid revenge thing. By the way, Blona and Kale are from the same neighbourhood.” Cher was smiling and Kale was red on the face like a cherry.

“It’s not like that, she keep beating me from everything I do. And she got into White Lotus just like I did and add to that she is a Rage just like me.” 

“Funny how that happens right? Anyways, you’ll need to drop that grudge right here Kale because we are on the same side now. And sooner or later, we have to face a real fight and the other side can use such grudges against us. That’s what Ms. Cleanor said isn’t it?” what Yaarah said was true. Sooner or later we will face a real fight. 

Your Weight, Your Health......

A problem we often see in most parts of the world is over weight or obesity. Where there are nations with no food at all for some regions even show some amount of obesity. But why? Why do people get fat? We eat, we work out but still obesity is a problem for you?

I've known people who are born fat. Some gain weight over time and then there are people no matter what they eat or how much they eat, they never get fat. Kinda jealous about them right? It's not only food that should be considered regarding getting fat or thin but other facts like, the amount of good fat you eat, the amount of exercise you do, your age, your sex, they all play a part.

First of all, let's see what's a healthy weight......

As you all know, the simplest way to determine your healthy weight is the BMI. BMI means Body Mass Index. BMI is determined by dividing your weight from the square of your height. When you measure your weight in kg, your height should be in meters or else if you measure your weight in pounds, height should be measured in inches. BMI does not measure your body fat but merely gives an idea about the fat in your body. Now the healthy range of the results of BMI lies between 18.5 to 24.9. That means you have proper weight for your height. 

E TREE......................................... LEAF THIRTEEN

Mind Maps

“Either I’m mad or she is going insane” Cher forgot that we are still listening to Ms. Cleanor. “Or maybe I have a hearing problem…” After a moment Cher muttered. Apparently many girls thought likewise. 

“Your powers are not only to benefit those around you but to vanquish evil and fight it.” Ms. Cleanor’s voice echoed ignoring the horrified faces of others present. 

“Evil has many forms. There are evil people around you and your society. There’s evil inside everyone. At some point of life only, you’ll realize that particular part within you. It’s not easy to become a Mind’s Eye unless you defeat the darkness within you. Mark my words girls, to harness your potentials there will be thousands of obstacles and most of those obstacles will be from your evil side. It’s our task to prepare you for that.

Mind’s Eyes in the past have divulged certain methods to defeat your darkness as well as prepare yourselves against your enemies. The most effective ones are game plans derived to train your minds’ powers to battle. They are like games but planned and executed inside your mind.”

Absorbed by this new piece of information, everyone turned to face the stage where a transparent screen kicked into life showing what looked like a flat ground, more like a meadow but with less grass. There were two groups of tiny people on either side formed into what looked like two triangles. Ms. Cleanor spoke “Upper view, Squad 1” and the screen moved to show the overhead view of one triangle. 

Lettuce Servings!!!!!

A little less fat and something tasty for your taste buds??? Well, I just found out a cool combination which is easy, healthy and good for your tummy. I was starving when I searched my whole kitchen for something I could just throw down my throat. I found lettuce which I really like to eat but most of the time, I eat them with rice. Then there was cauliflower and some tomatoes and thought of creating something with all that. The taste was excellent with crunchiness and tomato sauce. I just modified my recipe and try it out yourself to see. Sorry folks, for this one I don't have pictures because I couldn't resist but eat before I could take any photos.

Lettuce & Cauliflower servings

Ingredients 

6 leaves of medium sized lettuce leaves ( washed)

1/2 cup florets of cauliflower blanched for 2 minutes

1 red tomato cut into squares

1/2 tbsp chili flakes

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup Mayonnaise sauce to serve

2 tbsp chopped onion  

salt to taste

Transformation Of Books.... Tangible To Intangible....

I often hear my parents say that they used to read this book or that one or about gossip they used to enjoy in reading tabloids way back in the seventies and eighties. But looking back there and comparing with today, where is the average school kid swimming in the depths of the books? Nowhere. It's possible that someone could raise the questions why use books when there's plenty of other sources to find information quite easily as well as descriptively? Well, the answer is yes there's no doubt that you'll be able to find more accurate and up to date info via other sources but reading is something more.

An Easy Way To Make A Fabulous Greeting Card! Yes, You can do it too!!!

I just love making greeting cards! Don't you? Well, actually my leisure time is spent with matching colours and experimenting new paper arts to create cards. One of my friends birthday is getting close so I thought of why not this. I really don't know what this paper art is called but once made I'm pretty sure that you'll start making cards with this style. I'm only gonna tell you how to make the paper art and the rest of the decoration is up to you. Here we go.

Things you need

A sharp pointed paper cutter (I've used my dad's old surgical blade)

A pair of scissors

A ruler

pencils

A hard board or a sheet of some hard surface

Coloured papers of your choice

Top Ten 'Must Eat Before Die' Cuisines In The World!

Everyone loves food, well don't they? Culinary art is something that keeps evolving as we speak. So it means that there are new dishes and recipes introduced each minute. Food is prepared bound with ethics, customs, traditions and flavours unique to the place of its origin. If we divide food according to the country of origin, you may find slightly similar flavours and look alike food in the same region but never the same taste. That's why you should try these if you love trying tickling your taste buds with yumminess. 

10. Spanish Cuisine

A specialty in Spanish cooking is its regional variation that brings different flavours to the key dishes. A considerable amount of see food is seen may be because of the waters surrounding the country. Common and popular dishes like tortilla espanola, paella, morcilla, migas are mouth watering with the signature regional flavours of Spain. 

Top Ten Natural Ways To Look Young & Stay Healthy!

What if you can stay healthy & look young at the same time? What more do you need! Indeed, we know that there is a lot of pressure to many when it comes to seeing your first gray hair or wrinkle on your face. At the same time, most of the people, especially women try many cosmetic and chemical methodologies to look two three years younger. But have to considered that, it might actually cut two three years of your life? Well, they can if you aren't careful enough. Anyhow, natural methods of becoming beautiful and young have proven to be fruitful as well as friendlier. So let's find out what they are!

10. Drinking a lot of water

Consider your body as a factory. A factory always removes tons of waste and chemicals daily and so does your body. When you sweat, pass urine, exhale or loose water in any other form you remove waste from your body too. So the more you drink water, it's easy for your body to remove more and more unwanted chemical particles and waste from your body cleansing you from inside. The average amount you need to drink a day depends on your weight. It is said 8 glasses a day would do but if you have more weight, you better drink more. 

Another tip is that water can reduce your weight. This is known as water therapy. 

Drink a glass of water with  a drop of lime or lemon early in the morning,

A glass of water 30 minutes before all three meals,

And more water during the day and less during night can help you displace your unnecessary weight. This really works. 

Black Tahitian Pearls and Your Skin....

The pearls that look good both around your neck and in your skin care creams!

Look at the back of your favourite skin care product at the ingredients list and I guarantee you will find the first ingredient is "aqua". 

Aqua is basically water and most commercial skin care creams and lotions are predominantly water. Due to this, most of their moisture and nutrition quickly runs off the dry, wrinkled skin and people find themselves having to use two skin care products: first, a base layer product to moisturise the skin and help the cream get absorbed and second, an anti-ageing product to help get rid of those wrinkles.

But this is inefficient. As soon as the first layer product evaporates, the dry, wrinkled skin returns. And with conventional skin care products, no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to permanently cure your dry wrinkled skin. What you need is a luxurious premium anti-ageing skin care product to help your wrinkles away!

Colour Blocking Nail Art........

Hiya people! Another beautiful day and it's nice to discover that more and more people are now with IshySays! While wondering what to post for you guys, I found this really amazing nail art and I'm sure you'll like it too. Some of you might have already heard of it but to those who haven't try this. It's fun just like our previous one, Water Marble Nail Art. Well, colour blocking nail art is far more easier than water marble one and it requires no professionalism what so ever. See for yourself, all you have to know is match colours! :P

Colour Blocking Nail Art

Things you will need

Scotch tape or an adhesive tape thicker than normal cello tape (Cello tape is okay is you can't find anything else)

Two three colours of nail polish

Scissors

A clear top coat to finish the look

Second Thoughts.....

I wish I was wrong
the first time I ever thought....
Looking back my past,
I fear none but my future....
He was the man,
the one took my heart,
the perfection
I've been looking for
a couple made in heaven....
Busy as ever his life could be
messier my thoughts ever would be,
sinking deep and deeper in my heart,
I wondered and misjudged past....
Having second thoughts
on a marriage that was so full,
was like having burnt your grill
while you could have a great meal....
Thinking he was no longer in love
I decided to re consider my thoughts....
I was wrong, angry and stressed so far,
when he was home wishing
my arms and love.....
                                                    By,
                                                       ISK

Best Ways To Get Necessary Vitamins To Your Body

Vitamins are vital for our body. Just like we can't live without water or Oxygen, other nutrients including Vitamins & Minerals are musts for the smooth functioning of your body. Vitamins however are a healthy aspect that many women ( and men of course) take care to get to their bodies because they are directly associated with your skin and beauty. Well, when it comes to beauty and skin care department, no one can stop us women from trying to get a healthier, glowing skin. Other nutrients do affect but effects of Vitamins are so visible and people often go for them than other nutrients. As you all know by now, Vitamins are grouped into two categories as water soluble and fat soluble. Vitamin D,E,A,K are fat soluble while the rest Vitamin Band complexes and C are water soluble. You should be able to have all the necessary Vitamins on a daily basis. Remember too much or none should be always avoided. So what can Vitamins do to your body?

Vitamins and your body

Vitamins while inside your body helps tissue growth and differentiation, They oversee the metabolism inside your body promoting over all health and protect you from certain diseases. Vitamins like Vitamin C helps Collagen fiber to grow and develop. Collagen is the fiber or the structural component that keep your skin firm and young. With age your body looses the ability to produce this collagen so still at young, if your body keep producing collagen, it won't be a problem much when you are aging. Most of the vitamins are antioxidants. They assist the body functions that are in the process of eliminating waste chemical from your body. Best example is Vitamin D. Important activities like vision, reproduction are maintained well because of your vitamins. I mentioned only the important ones, so it's shown here how much vital it is to get Vitamins into your body. Now let's see the ways to get Vitamins into your body. 

Special Request Easy Lasagna Recipe!!

Howdy! First of all thank you everyone for all those lovely comments and thoughts on our Pizza recipe. Many have tried it and the outcome was fantabulous! These days, I'm in one of my moods of trying lots of  food and beverages. (No dieting at all!!!)  And add to that, one of my best friends who told me that she's going to try our Original Pizza Recipe, asked me to put up some wonderful and easy Lasagna recipes. Well who doesn't love that amazing Italian dish? As a person who adores all kinds of dishes, I highly recommend Italian as something you ought to try every once in a while. They are easy and with the touch of Olive oil and tomato, they are healthier too. So without further ado, here is the recipe. Enjoy!!!! :)

Easy Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

6 to 8 sheets of cooked Lasagna according to package instructions (available in super markets)

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Tomato sauce or puree

For the vegetable mix

1 cup sliced mushrooms ( you can use button mushrooms if you like)
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced red and green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped Onion
2 tomatoes diced
2 tbsp chopped Garlic
1 cup diced zucchini
1/2 cup green peas
1 cup broccoli separated into florets
1 teaspoon of Oregano
2 tbsp Olive oil

For the cheese sauce
2 cups of milk
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

E TREE......................................... LEAF TWELVE

A New Beginning

“I’m a Mind’s Eye. I’m not a Mind’s Eye. I’m a Mind’s Eye. I’m not a Mind’s Eye……..” Whenever I felt I doubtful about myself I kept chanting that to myself. I’m still not used to the idea of being a Mind’s Eye with full powers. And add to that, I learn in a school where Mind’s Eyes are trained to use their powers. Sounds fantastic, hah? Nope! Not to me though. Even with powers I was behind my studies and we were strictly prohibited to use our powers in exams. (Poor Cher!) When we got to know our last term results in 6ht Standard, I was the 11th in my class out of 44 and Cher was 5th. I was a bit relieved actually but not my parents. They were neither pissed nor satisfied but confused because they didn’t know whether to blame me or not. Of course they can’t blame me because I managed all that by myself with all the extra pains and aches from my Mind’s Eye ice braking.

When we were graduated to our 7th standard, our class was divided. Gladly Cher and Yaarah were in my class. We were put in A class this time with a whole new set of students. My 7th standard was the year that marked a great deal of a change in my whole life. Even though we were total strangers, my classmates got along well together. Our class teacher was Mrs. Veene. She was a real nice person to all of us. Soon after we were put into class A we found out something special about our class. That was everyone in the class was known to be best at their Mind’s Eye powers. It was like we were graded according to our powers. 

“You know what?” Cher started to whisper in my ear. “This class has the strangest minds I’ve read. Not to mention, I can’t read four minds out of the fifty and all the other minds are so powerful that I can’t keep reading them. I think it’s because of the training. You know, it’s a bit hard to read yours now than earlier because you are constantly training your mind now. I thought with the training, I’ll be able to expand my reading area. I mean, now I can read everyone within 10m or so but I can’t keep up reading for a long time. I can read none Mind’s Eyes for a longer time now though.”

Creative Coffee Creations..... Everyday Coffee Recipes New In Taste!!!

Hullo people!!! It's time for some cool recipes. Today I thought of posting about Coffee recipes because today is a day that I can humbly say I totally survived because of Coffee (That's because I had a bad stomach and mom was giving me black coffee all the time). Personally I'm a tea person but on rare occasions like when I get a stomachache or when I need to stay awake for long periods, I get along with coffee. If you are interested in a bit of history, production process etc about Coffee, check out our post Coffeed. So what can you make with coffee? I know everyone can make a cup of coffee, but can you make an exceptional signature cup of coffee that everyone will love? Or do you know the exact way of making a cappuccino? I know these are everyday recipes but check out these recipes and I'm sure you'll find something interesting! :)

Iced Coffee Recipe

Ingredients (for one glass of iced coffee 250ml)

1 1/2 to 2 tbsp Nescafe or dark brown coffee powder

150 ml milk

3 tbsp sugar (white)

1/4 teaspoon of the mixture made from equal amounts of ground cardamom and cinnamon

50ml of whipped cream

10ml of chocolate syrup

a drop of Vanilla essence 

Method

1. First, heat the milk, sugar and Nescafe in a different jug until they are bubbling a little. The add the 1/4 teaspoon of the ground Cardamom and Cinnamon mixture and Vanilla essence and mix well. Cool up to room temperature.
2. Then take out the glass you are about to serve. pour the chocolate syrup to the bottom and then add the prepared coffee drink. Chill for 30 minutes. When serving add a scoop of whipped cream.

E TREE......................................... LEAF ELEVEN

The Painful  Truth

“How’s everything at school, honey?” My mom was back from our first parents’ meeting. I thought she was going to kill me for getting only 43 for Maths. However she was not but she was in one of her “I’m worried about you” moods.

“Ummm…. Okay. Why? How was the meeting?” I asked without real consideration. 

“Oh! It was okay. Mrs. Anjaa seems lovely. But there were some surprising things. For example, all the teachers knew who I was and they seemed so glad to meet me. I was treated like the President’s mother.” There was a pause.

“And I asked you about your special diet from your class teacher and she seemed positively unaware about it. You told me that your school wanted you to follow that diet Ish. So how come Mrs. Anjaa doesn’t know it?”  My mom was curious, suspicious and worried now. But still I couldn’t tell her what I was because she’ll think I’m going crazy. I had to lie.

“Mrs. Anjaa doesn’t know mom. It was the Doc at the sick bay assigned me the diet.” But she was still not convinced. I could tell by looking at her expression. God protect me now. 

There were times I actually thought of telling mom and dad about myself but they were not fantasy people. As every parent does, they wanted me to concentrate hard on my studies. But it was a bit difficult for me to keep up with my studies with Mind’s Eye training. Each time I discover a power within me, I collapse and it weakens my body. I had to endure great deal of pain when I use my powers. I sometimes felt lonely because I was different from others and I could not tell my feelings to my parents. All I knew was that, from now on, I had to be more careful. I was glad to return to school after a month’s vacation spent miserable at home.

Bun Family.... Bun Recipes

I just love buns, don't you? Well, it's always handy to know one or two bun recipes to surprise your loved ones once in a while. There are tons of bun recipes and if you can remember we presented the recipes of hot dog, hamburger and submarine in Quick Bites post but I thought of presenting a few easy basic ones for you today. Hope you'll find them interesting!

Basic Bun Dough Recipe

Ingredients

1kg flour

20g dry Yeast

70g sugar

20g salt

10g baking powder

2 eggs

20g milk powder

100g Margarine

water to mix

Method

1. Add all the ingredients except salt, eggs and margarine and mix well in a bowl by mixing in water from time to time until you get a stiff dough.
2. Leave the dough for five minutes and add salt, knead well and keep aside for another five minutes.
3. Add the two eggs and knead again and leave for another five minutes.
4. Add the melted margarine, knead well and keep dough covered for 10 minutes. 

Power +ve....

I'm often told that I think too much of the things that happen around me. Sometimes, I feel like I deserve every badness I've faced and I let myself down thinking that I'm a waste of space. Whether it's my exam results or my inability to make a good pizza I started worrying over every little thing I do wrong in my life. I had enough of people telling me that I need to do this and that but none of them really saw what I wanted to become, what abilities I have and what I want my life to be like. Slowly and irreversibly I started hating each and everyone around me including my parents. Though they meant only good for me, their good became something compared to hell for me. They wanted me to become their pet while I wanted to be the stray basset hound roaming free everywhere. I was told not to go out with boys because they expect nothing less but to corrupt me. When I was sixteen years, I had this phobia kind of a thing whenever I stand next to a boy. I go sweating and shaking and very near to faint. My parents didn't know about this because they were too busy shaping up their own and my life to suit the social standards. When young girls of my age were free, I was in a prison inside my own head. They sought love while I ran away from it. 

There were times when I thought of committing suicide because I felt so down. I kept getting lower and lower marks for my tests. I wished away myself because I was not beautiful. I envied my class mates who had satin like skins and perfect faces without pimples. Why do bad things always happen to me? 

I was the most miserable person in the whole school. People called me "miserable Miley" behind my back. My friends kept their distance with me, not wanting to get infected with my miserableness. I was the loneliest among thousands, the silent moaner in a noisy classroom and the sad face in a bunch of happy ones. I was used to being treated like a scum bag. I hardly passed my tests. My parents lost their hopes on me and they gave up on me, treating me with no higher than a servant. They never actually spent time to talk with me and most of the time I had dinner alone because they were busy with their business meetings and dinner parties. 

I was glad that I was finally getting to say good bye to my dreadful high school. I had enough of it. After two weeks since our last year started, I saw a new face next to my locker. Black hair, tall figure, slim body, a  unique  pleasant smell that was definitely not a perfume and two amazingly beautiful brown eyes were standing next to me. He turned to face me and he had the most amazing smile I've ever seen. "Hi!" he said and the next thing I knew was that I woke up in sick bay. 

Chocolatified........... Chocolate Baked Alaska

Who can get enough of chocolates? Whether it's a simple slab of a chocolate or a creamy chocolate pie or mousse, everyone will love it simply because it's chocolate. A small bite of chocolate can cheer you up in no time. It's scientifically possible as chocolate contain chemicals that can make you feel happy and comfortable.  So we thought of presenting some choco recipes this July, a great way to enjoy your 4th of July with your loved ones and get chocolatified starting off today with delicious Chocolate Baked Alaska!!!

Chocolate Baked Alaska

Ingredients

125g flour

4 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp baking powder

125g Margarine

125g Sugar

4 eggs

1 tbsp Vanilla

1 tbsp Brandy

1 tbsp Strawberry jam

2 pints of chocolate ice cream

For the Meringue

3 egg whites

100g of sugar