HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!

Wish all of my friends and family a great New Year... with much better things, good health and the will to make each day count...

I have read many New Year resolutions, and a greater percentage seems to be about weight loss!

Anyway, not to feel left out, I have made a few resolutions too...

• To just focus on the joy of creating, and keep at my art and craft... and not to draw back because of any insecurities...(there are a few!)
• To be a better housekeeper than I have been . I love decorating and designing rooms, but hate the cleaning part of it... it is not too bad, but I know  I could be better...!!
• To learn to bake 

I know myself very well, so no lofty goals for me... This is something I can do on a bit-by-bit basis and make a difference. Anyway, I have already started on these in a small way..so I just have to keep going.. 

Will let you know how I fare..

It's been an okay year as far as I am concerned, nothing  great, but nothing so bad either... though a lot of atrocities and bad news abounded all around us... 

Hope the news gets better next year...

Wish all of u a superb year to look forward to... 

My 100th Post!!!! - A tribute to fellow bloggers...

Wow!!! Already at my 100th post.. !!!!

I have a lot of things to post about, but I thought that this particular post should be dedicated to my fellow bloggers who have come to mean sooo much to me.

I started blogging after reading the blog of my college friend Arundati.. She is a great cook and makes the most lovely chocolates, and I am proud to count her as my friend.

 Cindy, who introduced me to Entrecard.., she is a high achiever, and she has a great blog..

I have to mention Raaga, whose blog I had been following for some time, and finally I found a few weeks back that she was living in my next building block!!! How wonderful is that?

The Muse and her blog have become an integral part of my life.. her words, her ability to invoke beauty in things, just inspire me every day.

And entrecard has brought a lot of lovely and talented people into my contact. Just to name a few, Nancy, Nicole, Hot Rocks, Jenn, 

Kat, rkdsign88 ..............................................................

This list could go on and on... 

Iam amazed at the kind of talent they have, and they all inspire me in one way or the other... 

Thank you for your wonderful blogs... 

Jaipur - Our onward journey

This was another successful trip in our books. We were actually planning the trip with some of our friends, but unfortunately, they couldn't make it. Jaipur is 250 kms from our place, and we had decided to make the journey by road, with my husband and our friend taking turns driving. 

We decided to go ahead since all arrangements were made. So we started off, and slowly, either side of the high-way had a lot of fields with yellow flowers... reminded us of some scenes in the hit hindi movie, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Later, we figured that the fields were filled with yellow mustard flowers, which were one of the main crops of Punjab and Rajasthan.

Even the road-side restaurants had well-tended lawns and play areas. So the journey was not as tedious as expected. 

Other than a small hitch with our accomodation, our whole trip was an unforgettable experience.

Watch this space for more on our trip.. some of the places we visited were so great that they each deserve a post...!!! 

Christmas tree ornament - Handmade from scratch!

I was sure that I wouldn't be posting any more till we came back from Jaipur, but i couldn't resist this... 

Since my daughter was not well the last week ,(Many thanks to all of you who wished her well) she hadn't been to her playschool..and I did not know that I was required to get her a gift worth Rs. 15 to 20, which would then be exchanged...

Now, to get something that would actually be a good gift is almost impossible.. and with kids, there should always be chocolates with the gift or a gift with the chocolates.. otherwise things do become disappointing... 

So finally I decided to make a tree ornament and buy some nice chocolates to add to the gift..

The whole thing was made in 2 hours.. I had to wait for the paint and the varnish to dry on each side, to paint the next layer..

The mould is the cap of Lays Stax... similar to Pringles chips..

I used a ceramic -like powder and glue to make the disk. Poked a hole with a pen refill.

Used acrylic black to paint the base. coated with varnish, painted Holly in red and green for that Christmasy feel.. higlighted with silver and looped some silver threads through the hole..

The thread ends were treated to a coat of clear nail polish to keep it from fraying..

When I finally rushed to my daughter's playschool, I was told they had pre-poned the celebrations and had already distributed the gifts... :(

Anyway, I am happy I made something and can develop on this idea.. 

So my friends, how do u like it?

MERRY CHRISTMAS ..........

I will be off the blogosphere for a few days, since the Christmas holidays are near... have a trip planned to Jaipur... hope things go as planned...

Meanwhile, my blogging had already slowed down since my daughter has not been keeping well, and has been demanding my full attention...

My entrecard activities have also suffered due to this..so please bear with me.. I will try to do full justice as soon as I get back...

So, MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone... hope Santa brings u great things...

Hearty fare - Mixed stew

It is getting cold ..and time when we crave hot food made with the minimum effort...

Chicken - 300 gms (approx) (boneless or not, cut into small pieces,according to choice)
Bacon - 30 gms (may substitute chicken sausages / luncheon meat etc..)
Onion - 1 meduin (peeled and chopped)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Green pepper (capsicum) - 1 (finely chopped)
Carrot - 1 (cleaned and cubed)
Tomatoes - 2 large (chopped into cubes)
Celery - 1 stalk
Bay leaves - 2
Pepper corns - 1 tsp (crushed)
Chicken stock - 1 cup
Black-eyed peas -1/2 cup (approx) soaked overnight or for half hour in hot water
Leek - 1 stalk (chopped fine)

In a pressure cooker, saute the onions till golden, add the bacon , then the leeks and the garlic,saute... then toss in the rest of the ingredients one by one . Close and pressure cook for 4 whistles.

Season with .....
Salt to taste, Soy sauce and some vinegar.

I did not add any potatoes, but those maybe included if needed.. however, the peas make a good substitute.
I just cooked some fragrant basmati rice, and while it was still hot, I added a 1/2 tsp ghee, salt, finely chopped celery leaves and coriander leaves, and sprinkle some crushed pepper and 1 tsp lemon juice. It was a very satisfying mix with the stew. Try it......

If you have found an improvement in my picture, it is all because of my dear friend who took the trouble to give me some pointers... Thanks A, ... I am working on it...

Butterfly award - For the Coolest Blog Ever....!!!!!!!!!!

Wow... I have no idea whether my blog is the coolest ever, but coming from my talented friend, The Muse, that is a very high accolade indeed, for me. I display my award with pride... and I would surely have awarded this to Muse, had I received it first... her talent is awesome..as are the rest of the people whose blogs I have chosen, to pass on this award..

In order to accept the award, the rules are as follows....

Put the logo on my blog

Add a link to the person who awarded me

Nominate outstanding blogs that I follow

Add links to those blogs

Leave a message to those nominees on their blog.

It is a bit difficult to choose from so many amazing blogs,

Arundati , Raaga, Rose Works jewellery, Kat , Floresita, and Hot Rocks...

I would like to nominate many more, but these people are really special and talented...and I enjoy their blogs a lot..

Thanks to all of u for enriching my life..:)

Bear-y Special Meme

I got the invitation from Mariuca, to take part in this Beary special meme..

-START COPYING HERE- Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a powerful Genie Princess named Mariuca who was known throughout the land as the friendliest, most popular blogger in the blogosphere kingdom. Adored and admired by international visitors and commentators from around the world, the Genie Princess travels the blogosphere on her magical flying carpet, always looking for ways to share her good fortune with others.Over the past two years of blogging, Mariuca has met so many new people, from all walks of life and all over the world, each one bringing a little of their culture and lifestyle when they visit and comment on Mariuca’s two sites. So on her 2nd Blog Anniversary, Mariuca wanted to celebrate with all of her international blogosphere buddies by hosting a bear-naming contests at Wishing On A Falling Star and Mariuca’s Perfume Gallery and to pass her two lucky, cuddly teddy bears along to the winners who came up with the best names.On the opposite side of the world, from the moment Roxy (the prolific Roxiticus Desperate Housewives blogger) and her sweet daughters London and Maddie saw the teddy in his personalized t-shirt and blue muffler at Wishing On A Falling Star, they knew that he needed to come to live with their family in Mendham, NJ. The three New Jersey girls named him immediately and burst into a wonderful song for BEAR-iuca:

BEAR-iuca, BEAR-iuca, amazing teddy cheer.
BEAR-iuca, BEAR-iuca, we’d love you to come live here!

Mariuca received 16 possible names for the Mariuca Teddy Bear, making it hard for the Genie Princess to choose just one…then Alakazam! A bolt of lightning delivered the perfect way to share BEAR-iuca’s good fortune to bloggers around the globe. While the soft, stuffed, cuddly BEAR-iuca is on his way to live with Roxy, London, Maddie and Rex in the Roxiticus Valley, the Spirit of BEAR-iuca is racing through the blogosphere to bring happiness, holiday cheer, and beary best wishes to everyone who welcomes him into their online home and passes along the BEAR-iuca good luck charm to ten friends.Please play along with us by following a few important rules:1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Spirit of BEAR-iuca badge of teddy bear cheer.2. Pass along the Spirit of BEAR-iuca and his cheery badge to as many people as you like.3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Spirit of BEAR-iuca.4. Once Roxy and the Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List.4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!BEAR-iuca LOVES

1. Mariuca 2. Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 3. Mariuca’s Perfume Gallery 4. Roxy’s Best Of... 5. Bay Head Blog 6. Roxiticus Best Blogs 7. Emila's Illustrated Blog 8. Metz - Empty Streets 9. The Spirit of Blogging 10. Speedcat Hollydale Page 11. Snapshot 12. purplefrogcat 13. Turn-u-Off 14. Simple Life 15. A Little Girl Talk 16. Life in the Lapadula House 17. Spicybugz World 18. The Mom With Brownies 19. Our High School Homeschool 20. Our Five Dangerous Boys 21. The Big Dog 22. LadyJava's Lounge 23. Moments of My Life 24. Life is too short to be ordinary 25. A Great Pleasure 26. Time Goes By 27. Life According To Me 28. Laketrees 29. This is a miracle 30. Porcelain Doll 31. Moms...CheckNyo 32. Wonderful Things In Life 33. Sweet Nothings 34. Hot Shit Form Here 35. Not Just a Mom Site 36. The Life of a Mom 37. Wiehanne Lounge 38. The Painted Veil 39. My Crossroads 40. Little Mermaid 41. LOVE's Haven 42. Also Mommy 43. The Journey 44. Comedy Plus 45. Making sense...(somehow) 46. The Modern Mom 47. Stay At Home Mom 48. Picture Clusters 49. Maiylah's Snippets 50. Sweety tots 51. My Discoveries 52. A Life to Remember 53. Rekha 54. Crissy's Haven 55. Crissy's Library 56. Crissy's Zone 57. Shopping Blog 58. Crafts and cooking 59. Asian Mutt International 60. A Simple Life 61. I AM KCAT 62. A Girl For All Status 63. Berry Blog 64. Carnation 65. Pinaymama's Diary 66. Life's sweets and spices 67. The Callalily Space 68. Butchay 69. Blessings in Life 70. Pinay Mommy Online 71. The Ruby Posts 72. Day Break 73. R...E...B...E...L?!? 74. VDAY CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 75. Just the Tip of the Iceberg 76. Honeysweet Learning Center 77. Vsk8shop 78. A Diva's Hammer 79. YOU Next!

And since it is my turn to pass on the cuddles, here goes....

Arundati , Raaga , The Muse ,Jenn , rkdsign88 , LizzyT , Kristin, Robin , Anna and Nancy

All of the above are fellow bloggers, whose blogs bring me the warmth and happiness that hugs from a cuddly bear would.. So I pass on the love to them too...

Awe-inspiring... Dilli Haat

Had a nice day out with my daughter, my friend and her son, to Dilli Haat. I had gone there once before, and enjoyed the lovely stalls full of beautiful hand-made stuff, proudly displayed in tempting arrays...

But this time the displays were even more better..the stalls had colourful canopies over them, the walkways had lovely artefacts lined on either side, which was a bit stressful for moms like us, with two mischievous imps..and to top everything, there was live entertainment ..dancing,drums etc..

We all had a very memorable time...especially our tiny tots..

Palak and Channa dal (Spinach and split bengal gram)

My hubby is no fan of spinach curry and I can never resist when I see fresh, beautiful spinach. So to keep us both happy I opted for a dry preparation. This is quite easy to make.

Channa dal/ Split bengal gram - 1 cup (washed)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Spinach - 1 big bunch (leaves washed one by one and finely chopped)
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp
Shallots (small red onions) - 3
Green chillies - 2
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Garlic clove - 1

For tempering
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Dried red chillies - 2

Pressure cook the channa dal with turmeric powder(3 whistles). once the steam is off, just let the water evaporate.
Mince the grated coconut, green chillies, shallots and the garlic. I just pulse twice and they are done. Do not add water.

Now, in a wok, add oil and when hot, add the mustard seeds and red chillies. Add the Spinach , the cooked channa dal and the minced coconut. Cover and cook for 5 monutes or till the spinach wilts. Add salt to taste.

Enjoy hot.

Blog revamp

Hi, I have revamped one of my other blogs about prayers, myths and such.
have also changed the blog address. the new one is

http://prayersnmyths.blogspot.com/