Start Fresh!!

As I type this, I can hear the loud music  from the 20,000 watt speakers floating in. A DJ has been hired for the evening, caterers have been arranged and the residents association promises to make it a 'memorable' night. There's all kinds of food on the menu, there are games, stalls and celebrations galore. People are getting ready, wearing their finest clothes, planning to party it up to welcome 2017.

Me? I am staying home. There are years when I have given in to the 'popular thing' which is to party hard, and welcome the new year. But now I know I don't enjoy it. I want to start the new year in a way that has meaning for me.

We have a ritual in my home. We light the lamp at midnight, say a prayer, offer gratitude to the Universe for all the blessings that we have, we wish each other and welcome the new year. The next day, we don't sleep late. My grandparents used to say that whatever you do on the new year sets the trend for the rest of the year. So we usually start it on a very positive note. Quietly.

I do believe in making resolutions. Not just on new years, but whenever I have wanted to make a change in my life. New years eve is especially good, as one is in a joyous mood, at 'closure' of an old year. Hence it is as good a time as any.

I had spoken about letting go of the past and making fresh beginnings on Thoughtful Thursdays on Facebook Live . That video went viral and it has got 1.1 million views, 834 shares, 25,000 likes and 4700 comments as I type this.  You can watch it here. I will also upload it on Youtube, for those of you who aren't on Facebook.

I have already started following my resolutions.
Here is my list:

Everyone who has mailed me would have already got a reply. I plan to blog regularly too, as I wasn't happy with the number of posts that I made last year.

And yes:




In my next post, I will share with you something nice, which I have done at my home,  that you can
do in your homes too.

What is on your list? If you share, I am listening.

 Hope all of you join me in  making a magnificent new start

Love
Preeti
__________________________

ps: buy my book :https:/preeti.io/3 
It was among the 35 great reads of 2016. You can see the whole list here: 
Bit.ly/BuzzFeedItsAllInThePlanets  

Updates from me--Some happy things!

Hi there,
How have you been? I  hope the holiday season has brought you cheer.

There has been a lot happening in my life,  since I last posted, even though I posted less than 12 days ago.

I was a part of the Bangalore Literature festival. I felt delighted that my session had a massive crowd, and was very well received, as you can see from the pictures.

A full house

Signing the books

The large screen projecting what was happening on the stage

You can get a better idea of the screen here in this photo

For more photos you can go HERE.

The other BIG news from my side is that It's All In The Planets was featured among the  35 great books of 2016, by Indian authors.

What made me really happy was that it shares this honour along with greats like Ruskin Bond and Amitav Ghosh.

Here's what they said about It's All In the Planets:

 A love story that becomes so much more, and with characters that are beautifully fleshed out, Shenoy’s latest offering is a delight to devour in a single setting.

On the personal front, I had a GREAT birthday. Easily one of the best I have had :) My family planned some great surprises for me. When I came back from my morning walk, this is what greeted me!

 

Of course I had to make a sketch :)

Here's a picture of me drawing it:

 

 And here is the finished sketch

Then Satish told me that we were going somewhere and it is a surprise. We went to Tipu's palace, where I had always wanted to go, to sketch.
I had an amazing time, and this is what I sketched:

After that we went to a lovely Art cafe, where I had a wonderful time with my family. We ended this perfect day with a movie.(La La Land starring Ryan Gosling)
Meanwhile there were tonnes of people calling, wishing.
I do feel thankful for being loved so much.

I have been sketching a LOT and I feel lazy to upload them all here. If you want to have a look, please see my new Instagram Art page: https://www.instagram.com/preetishenoyart/

One of the things which regular readers will know is that I watch  absolutely no television. In the past I have talked about how 'Breaking Bad' had me hooked, and how I watched the  entire 5 seasons on Netflix. Another one which I binge watched in 2 days (It was that gripping!) was Stranger Things. (it is rated a 9 on imdb). Go give it a try, this festive season.





Have you all made your resolutions?
I will be making mine soon.

And I am also going to give away three handmade cards :)
Stay tuned for more.

You can also connect with me on my Instagram(Preeti. Shenoy) or Snapchat(Preeti.Shenoy)  or Facebook Author Page.

Will blog again very soon.
Hope you are all having  wonderful  holidays, and hope you are making many happy memories  with your loved ones.
Warmly
Preeti


ps: Buy the book: http://preeti.io/3

On jealousy and possesiveness in a relationship. Your questions answered!

Off late, I have been crazily sketching/painting. I am into this thing called 'Illustrated Art journalling'. In case you don't know what that is, you can go HERE .
There's a detailed explanation there.

I like to put the date and time in all my sketches as it's a record of my day, what I did, what I saw, where I was at that point in time, and how I was feeling.

Here are two pictures that I did today.

Meanwhile , a video where i went live on Facebook, has got 1.2 million views, 16000 likes and more than 1800 shares on Facebook. I do something called Thoughtful Thursdays, where I interact with my readers live.
For those of you who are not on Facebook or who missed it, I  thought I would upload it on youtube as well. I have just done that and I sharing it here.





I have answered a lot of questions on jealousy and possessiveness in relationships, that people asked me, when I was live. I have also read out bits of my new book, It's All In The Planets. So you can listen to that as well. The whole video is about 22 minutes.

Do watch it and  let me know what you think?
Love
Preeti
____________________________
buy the book: http://preeti.io/3