We purchased our house in 2005. An apartment on the ground floor in Ghaziabad, U.P that was just right. If you look at it from outside it’s a nondescript, yet-another three storey building. But inside the ground floor apartment is my personal heaven. (Or at least I wanted it to be )

Between paying off home loan and stuff we kept the plan for renovation-beautification on hold until last year, when we managed to put some cash away for this purpose. That’s when I decided to pursue my dream. In the course of searching for proper guidance I discovered the site called Universal Class and found that they have online courses, rich with content and well within the budget. I ended up taking their course on Interior Decorating and also managed to get a certificate of outstanding performance through the assignments I submitted. (Yeah, modesty is my middle name )

Armed with all this info I created a floor plan and a mood board for my house.

We did get major pieces of furniture created (mostly wall mounted so as to save floor area), painting for all the rooms, added wall art pieces and other accessories.

How’s that?

If we use the internet in a constructive way, there are millions of learning, growing opportunities out there. In today’s world knowledge is really at your finger-tips, may it be from any field, any area.

I used the site “Universal Class” for interior decoration stuff, but that’s not all that they do. They have 100’s of courses in various areas (from Entrepreneurship to  Medicine related, from Mathematics to Crafts) which people with less time and resources can avail of.

So, what are you waiting for? Head out to your favorite learning place on the net and start working on your dream today.., And yes, don’t forget to share with us and rest of our readers if you know of any such learning centers / courses which they can benefit from

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Monday: Oats upma Tuesday: Vegetable cutlet with bread Wednesday: Sprouts and nuts salad Thursday: Spinach, cottage cheese (paneer) stuffed parantha Friday: Fruit chat (Each student had to carry a fruit and the school folks prepared chat in school) Saturday: Corn and veggie pulao

Here is the “Oats Upma” recipe for you. Rest will follow

Ingredients:
1. Oats – 1 cup (Quaker Instant Oatmeal)
2. Water – 2 cups
3. Onion – one medium
4. Tomato – one medium
5. Peanuts – a handful
6. Green chillies: about 2-3, vary as per your taste
7. Spluttering:
     Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
     Asafetida: 1 pinch
     Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.
     Oil: 2 tsp
8. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Finely chop onion, tomato and green chilly.
2. Keep water on flame and start boiling it.
3. Roast oats till they become crisp and keep aside.
4. In a kadhai, heat 2 tsp of oil and add peanuts. Roast till crunchy. Remove and keep aside along with oats.
5. In the same oil add mustard seeds, asafetida. When these splutter, add chopped green chilies and onion and sauté till onion turns translucent. Add tomatoes. Sauté till tender. Add turmeric and mix well.
6. To this mixture add, roasted oats, peanuts and salt. Mix well.
7. Turn off the heat and add water which will be boiled by now. Stir to avoid lumps and cover for about 2-3 mins.
8. (Optional) Garnish with grated coconut and / or chopped coriander leaves (cilantro).
Serve hot.
To save time during morning rush, I pre-prepare the oats+peanuts+onion+tomato+salt mixture the night before and refrigerate it. In the morning I simply heat-stir this mixture a little, add boiling water and get my oats upma ready to eat.

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