Zenith of Happiness..

... For any book-lover would be a birthday bounty that looks something like this :-D. It doesn't surprise me anymore that half of these came from my blogger friends :)

Off late, the books I have been reading were failing to get me hooked! None of them transported me wholly into the land of Punjab or London where the books were set!

So I was glad, when I landed upon "More Than Just Biryani" - it took me on a delightful journey to Muslim kitchens (comparatively unknown for me) set in vellore, Bangalore and then Hong Kong! The book revolved around food and is full of lovely anecdotes!The story of a husband besotted by his wife's Shammi Kabab, to a new bride being accepted heartfully by her in-laws family only after she is able to dish out the delectous doodhi halwa, stories of how the matriarch doesn't share her secret ingredient(Glucose biscuit) which makes the most perfect 'Ande Ka Halwa', to how flipping rotis is the first step a young widow takes as she limps back to normal life, to the story of the protagonist for whom food is the only she knows to express her love and how the humble 'Biryani' opens up an all world of opportunities for her!

"More Than Just Biryani" is a book I finished in straight four hours and thoroughly enjoyed! The story crept in so much into my heart that I dreamt of it yesterday night and now I know I'll have to treat myself to a biryani Soon :-D. Its a book I will recommend to every food lover!

Thank You Mr.Museum piece, for taking the effort to read thru tons of reviews and zeroing on this book for me! I am indeed delighted :)

Linking this to AtoZ challenge - Z  is for Zenith Of Happiness :).

An Yummilicious Birthday :)

The one word that describes this Birthday must be - "Yummilicious"! From having my first taste of a custard cake to trying out Japanese cuisine  - we indeed had a gala time!

The custard fresh fruit  cake, came from a bakery next door, who went out of their way to accommodate a cake that was not even on their menu! Of course the choice of cake was spelled out clearly to 'Chocoholic' Pheno:-D

Dinner that day was a Japanese affair - another first! While I obviously cannot vouch for its authenticity, I absolutely enjoyed the experience @ Teppan. Pheno has reviewed it in details here. My abs fav were the Tuna Salad and Sushi- Indeed I have waited for a long time to taste them and they truly dint disappoint me :)

Japanese Cuisine is synonymous with Sushi for me!

For True Fish Lovers - The Tuna salad must be mana!

Linking this to Linking this to AtoZ challenge - Y  is for Yummilicious :). Another post coming up soon on best part abt birthday - gifts, what else :-D

Of Cakes and Tees....

Day 3 of WT Fest and we are literally given a free reign ! "Free Write" it is- You could read more about it here...

Off late I have been having a whale of time organizing  cakes, gifts for birthdays and small family gatherings. That instant smile, the unguarded, non -calculative reaction that pops up as soon as the lucky recipient (:-P) lay eyes on it is all the credit you'll ever need. And it's not as if you need a heavy wallet to do this - all you need is some creativity(nee, strike it out - Google zindabad!) and the inclination to do it! Here is what we have been up to last few weeks.....

My nephew is turning three this week and he is a big fan of spider-man. I got my favorite thaddikaaran to put together this pic for me.... The moment the little imp set his eyes on it, he literally went berserk kissing the laptop monitor :-D. Am planning to put this on a cake(a "picture cake") or print it on a Tee.... I cannot wait to see his reaction then :-D. Thank you Thaadikaaro... U absolutely rocked it!

I absolutely enjoyed putting together this cake for my sister's little fellas homecoming... beautiful rt :-D. The design idea was again courtesy Google. My sister's excitement when she saw this was the perfect reward.....

Now why kids alone, when I got this tee(the pic on it was clicked by him) for my peter-pan last year, he actually wondered aloud "How do you manage to do this every-time!". Now this coming from somebody who thinks gifts are his birth right was absolutely exhilarating :-D

That's enough of self-dabba(self praise) for one day no :)

PS: Nee am neither an event planner nor a baker. Am the perfect "Project Manager" - I can come up with "larger than life" ideas but will need people who can execute it :-P

PPS: Do hop onto Pixie's blog where I have done a guest post for her. While you're there, do read the extra-nice things she has to say about me  :-D

Am absolutely enjoying this season WT Fest of words......

The B'day!

This story is a true account of one of the most memorable Birthdays my sister ever celebrated (Its a part of the family folk lore today).....

She was the newest gal in grade three. But with her incessant chatter she made friends in no time - her best friends n she could be seen sitting cooped at the back of the class talking nineteen to a dozen in Hindi much to her teachers annoyance.

Few weeks into the new academic year, it was her birthday and amid much fan fare she came in dressed in a smart green skirt n a bag filled with goodies. Her classmates eyes gleaned with the prospect of goodies awaiting them. Post class assembly in morning, the entire class sang the birthday song for her and then awaited for the customary goodies to be distributed. But the teacher did not see the 'goodie bag' accompanying her - so assuming the gal hadn't bought along any , sent her back to her desk even as she shooed the protesting class into silence.

What transpired was - the B'day gal n her friends were smart cookies - they had decided to divide the 60 odd chocolates in the bag among themselves! A few minutes into the class, they could be seen munching on these silently! But the cat was belled soon - when a classmate who wasn't given a share of the chocolates couldn't digest this injustice and started wailing out.....

The teacher had to come into the scene and soon the entire story emerged. The B'day gal and her two friends were made to open up their bags n the chocolates were confiscated! After a stern talk-down the B'day gal scowled n distributed the chocs among her preening classmates ;)

Nee its not her B'day today - this is rather the response to the prompt "Birthday" posted as a part of The Writer's Post Thursday Blog Hop.

Here is wishing my little imp of a sweetheart all the best as she is on verge to start a new chapter in her life!

Thankful.....

... Is how I felt at the end of the day yesterday!

Yesterday(Apr 22) was my B'day (That's ur cue to go ahead n wish me :-P). The day started on a ominous note with the news of Husbands 85 year old grand mom being hospitalized! This coming close on the heels of uncles death made my mind go into a overdrive n  jump into worst of conclusions :-/. Everytime the phone rings, I would literally have butterflies in my stomach. Goes without saying that my Bday was the last thing on my mind...

Late eve, slowly things turned around with the news that grandmother was in no mortal danger! Haa the sigh of relief when I heard her voice on phone.

What made the day complete thou are  friends n family who took the effort to go the extra mile to ensure that  my frown is not upside down! From a friend who on knowing that I hv no plans for dinner took the effort to whip up a spl chicken curry for yours truly to another one who managed to sneak in a small cake right under my nose - simply cause they knew that bday is incomplete for me without the mandatory cake cutting n a grand dinner! Not to forget the friend who was my agony-aunt thru the day - haa the pleasure of having somebody who will hear u out n reassure u that things will tide over. Of course there was the gift galore - From books to dresses to 2 wrist watches  (Each meeting my specs of Big dial to the 'T'). 

The best thou was reserved for the last - my 8 year old niece who's still not got over the death of the man in her life - calls me almost post 10 in the night n literally whispers her b'day msg into my ear! Must be the best B'day wish I received this year :)

Definitely a day to be thankful for - To God, to friends, to Family, to destiny for making my day :)

Linking this to A2Z Challenge - T is for Thankful!

My Dear Soul-Sister......

My Dear Soul-sister,

The very word "soul-sister" - took me ages to accept it thou u hv used it liberally from a long time! Maybe simply cause I could not believe that one can love a third person as one would love a sibling.....

The funny part is how the equation changed between us - from a manager - reportee one to a I-am-so-in-awe of u to one today that has some semblance of being "equals". Of course u can still be the tyrannical elder sibling who can spoil my happiness until I decide to see sense :-P

The thing that I love the most thou is the unflinching confidence I have in you that I can throw any verbal missile at you, bombard you with my darkest thots (lemme assure u tht it woul hv made anybody else look at me like a weirdo) without u being judgmental.

You know u have been a strong anchor in times when i lose hope n drown in my own grief! Thank you for being there always!

Here is wishing u on ur B'ay a lotta good luck, good health, more money, more happiness n many happy memories simply cause u deserve them the most!  hope this year sees us breaking the jinx of " Why Bad things happen to good people"! Amen......

Heres a slice of virtual-cake to bring in ur spl day......

Linking this to AtoZ Challenge - D is for Dear N delicious cakes (Cake n pic both courtesy Hubbs)

30 on 30!

*** LONG POST ALERT***

This post was originally written on April 15, a good week before i was supposed to hit 30 n has been sitting in drafts since then. But huh a 6 months post is a good time as any to post it rt :)
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Sigh! Am hitting 30 in less than a week(sob sob sob!) :(. Now I would hv hit this milestone happily only if I had become a mother by then :(. Yea I know age is no bar(K upto some point at least) when it comes to having a baby but well this is more of a personal goal that I would hv been happy to have a tick mark against! Now there is no point in crying over spilt milk. So here's a list of 30 things(in the order they pop up on my mind - that am Happy, unhappy, proud, not-so-proud,of in the 30 years(eeesh! Sounds like a LONG time) of my planet on planet earth

1. I absolutely look up to ladies who hv gone places with their own steam n hv a strong persona! As year tickle by, the person who seems to be right there at the top seems to be my mom(I hv my mouth definitely wide open at this revelation... yea its been a revelation to even urs truly)
2. Delirious that I was always a daddy's gal
3. A great regret of life is that there are mistakes I hv done as far as he's concerned, tht I never got a chance to correct
4. Happy that I hv a hubbs who will unflinchingly be a partner-in-crime
5. I should learn a thing or two from my litt sis - from being happy with what she has(as long as she has her share of dresses that is :-P) N being generous(too much for her own good) n jus having a loving heart!
6. Proud that I hv a in-laws I can be proud of!
7. Not-so-proud of not having made them grandparents yet!
8. Never eva knew that there was a feminist(too strong a word thou) hidden in me - its no more a surp to me that I go ballistic or at least put a token of protest the moment I see anybody being smartie pants!
9. Glad that I discovered that the hobby I enjoy most is reading n devouring books! A good book can ensure tht u don hv a boring moment!
10. Not-so-glad that music, dance, painting don't show up in ma hobbies list!
11. Proud to have gone para sailing .
12. Not-so-Proud that I cannot drive! Restricts my freedom-of-movement like nobodys business!
13. One thing I wouldn't regret having a wee bit more in life is to rake in a litt bit more moolah!
14. Not-so-proud tht I still hv trouble in keeping frnds! One would assume tht 30 odd years was good enuf time to correct this folly
15. I definitely love good things in life ~~ but hubbs has taught me the art of looking at silver lining in even the not-so-goos-things!
16. I should thank this certain friend - sabina (ha yes yes shes shown up here!) for inculcating some dress-sense into me!
17. My biggest insecurities - of growing old alone, of aliments n financial insecurities!
18. I am still a foodies foodie thou I realize my palette aint good enuf to distinguish not-so-good from good!
19. Surprise! Who would hv thot tht theres this (thou tweenie-meanie it is) tiny bone in me that loves homely homes!
20. I wish as a child I wasnt this sad-geeky creature n learnt to shake a leg!
21. Love travelling - N I can truly get into the spirit of the place am travelling - from eating the local food to scourging the local market - yeaaa to me n hubbs for it!
22. Not-So-Happy that I have not got to travel around the world with hubbs n hey a peter-pan time u grew up :-P
23. Wish things came to me a litt easier - ho yes they do work out k at the end of the day but should I pin n crave for it everytime before the apple is dropped into my lap(now wht kind of a similey is tht huh)
24. I betta learn to concentrate on the task-at-hand esp when its not I enjoy! Jus hoping that the hour will pass or tht it will get done magically jus doesn't work.. does it!
25. When you do your homework pretty well, the worst-scenarios never even play out. But huh, dare to do a shabby job then Dilberts principle of "What can go wrong, will go wrong" plays out to perfection
26. To always hv a belief to hold onto - U can cal it god or whatever!
27. When u do something - from work to cooking to home - do it with a intention of doing a good job n not make it a race to finish!
28. Speaking good English isnt really a trademark for well anything(should be commonsense rt - but man! I still hv hangups if the other person cant speak decent english! Phew!)
29. Take each day as it comes! Give things a chance to fall in place, they usually do.
30. Jus be happy :-)

Friday the 13th :-D

Does it spook you? Nee not me... at least one superstition that I don horde on to!! The reason thou is got no scientific bend to it.. its jus tht 13th of aug happens to be ma hubbs bday n I cant afford to be spooked if it falls on a friday rt :)

Today - Friday the 13th also happens to be ma BILs B'day... did anybody say "Devil" :-D

Yummy(licious) huh!

Tales of Absistence.....

Must be this abstinence for close to a month now, that the word "Beverages" pops up the images of Beer, Wine in ma mind :).

The reason for the abstinence, is the fast hubbs is on for his up-coming sabrimala visit. Now knowing him, his concurrence to go on a religious sojourn without kicking up a hue and cry, is a surprise in itself :). The bigger surprise is that he has been able to stay away from meat, booze n smoke(strictly in order of his indulgence) without showing any obvious withdrawal symptoms. Way to go ma boy!

Funnily enuf, the person who is showing the worst withdrawal symptoms - for lack of any kinda "entertainment"(use ur imagination) -  is been errr... yours truly :-O. Added to it is the fact that ma sis is busy entertaining her set of in-laws n Sabs is gone on a self-imposed social out-casting mode! Truly boring times I say :-/. The only relief is been my kindle :)


Well until then here is some food-porn(Dint I tell yea I luv the word) to stare at

Clicked on ma B'day - pic courtesy Hubbs!

              
Linking this to Thursday Challenge - "BEVERAGES" (Tea, Coffee, Wine, Beer, Water,...)

The Bday Dhamaka!

Haaa am announcing it a wee bit late... But I happened to celebrate my 3 decades on earth a good days back(Don even get me started on how old I feel.. A post on it later).

Now what was spl abt this bday was the day in itself..... I don hv my bday date on FB. So that meant almost no-action on the 'Social Media' but what that does translate to is that the people who took the effort to remember the day are the ones who mean something to me (another way of saying that my real close ones can well be counted on the fingers... doesnt sound impressive huh). Bottles of Champagne n beer, Yummy cake, 'Communal-cooking'(Loads of cooking), Pot luck is what the day was~~ Nothing fancy abt them  but the keyword of the day I guess was "Warm"!

Jus before u think that I hv turned all wise n philosophical as I turn 30, Lemme break the bubble n admit that a part of me was still looking for the 'birthday Gift(s)' (Time I grew up huh :-D). Looking back, I guess it was one b'day where each gift I received was picked up so thoughtfully(Not jus-yet-another-random-gift). Lemme proudly announce what all I was bestowed with on the D-Day:

• Goggles with power lens(courtesy hubbs) - My constant grouse abt wearing specs is that I cant sport a goggles over it which made me 'V.Uncool' (you can roll ur eyes) n so this gift! Now before u can pat ma hubbs, I got this(good 2 day later) post clear-instructrions given a month back to him (So much for being Mr.Thotful!)
• Ma ever thotful sis roams around in the hot harsh sun trying to get me the 'Perfect Gift'(and getting horribly tanned in the process) and 'Perfect Gift' she did find! A swanky new mobile ~~ My old one was almost in pieces you see!
• The 'Tongue-In-cheek' BIL(Soon-to-be) gets me a big huge ripe Jack fruit(yea u read it rt) cause thts ma fav fruit! But the sweetest SIL taht I am, I made him cut it open and remove it slice-by-slice :-D(If u eva cut a jack fruit, you will know what am talking of!)
• The eva-resourceful sabs picks up this beauty of a dress for me in 'Happy Colors' jus cause thts so me :)

Now lemme admit, all these peop mentioned above would hv anyways been(:-P) in the 'Default Gifting List',  but the one that was really a pleasant surp was a 'kindle' that a frnd sent me all the way from abroad jus cause he knows I enjoy reading(Speak of Thotful peop!)

N ho yea there are few more peop who figure in the 'default Gifting' list but hvnt shown up yet.. But yea don yea worry, Am open to 'B'day gifts' for a few more days :-D

Before I sign off, You can look at the yum yum yum 'mocha Cake'

Linking this to ABC Wednesday(P is for 'Presents')

Happy Bday Dearie......

...... today as v celebrate ur 100th day, heres hoping that you continue to be ur colorful, happy self spreading  the joy n content in you in all those who behold u.... N ofcourse this post cant be complete till we say a special thank u to ur papa (after all Fathers day jus passed by) cause  he is undoubtedly the one who dedicated his time, attention, efforts in ensuring that you moved from strength to strength even as he endured late nights to early mornings... N come to think of it am yet to find anything(am almost J of u) tht has kept ur papa hooked for so long(Ofcourse am the mama!)

N u dear papa, heres hoping tht you will nourish ur 'real-life' baby like u did this one.... With lotta time, care, dedication  :-D ... I can then rest in peace :-D

Haa tell me, tell me did I get ur imagination to run wild :-D. Well sorry dearies, all am referring to is this ~~ Ofcourse its ma hubbs baby n today is the 100th day(100th post ~~ 1 post per day courtesy Project 365) ~~ So hop on there n join me in wishing the proud papa n his creation a Happpy Bday :-D

Linking this upto Color Deckors weekend wrap up ~~ I know this dint happen over any weekend! But well aint this site a sure shot source of colors ~~ So but ofcourse anything of beauty - Joy links up there rt?

The mandate Happy- Bday Waali Post!

Whats with me n my bdays! What is it that makes me get onto ma hubs throat on eve of every b'day ~~ This time the slight was the missing cake (N I thot a missing gift too... While it was sitting all nicely gift wrapped on my bedside... But I was too Grrrr to notice :-/ )! So despite this disastrous start, the day did go on quite well ~~ After all my mom, sis n niece being around is in itself a sure shot recipe to a gr8 day :)

Ofcourse the more than generous gifts I got ~~ Watch, Books, wallets(Funny how at times the very thing you had in ur wish list for a long time  materializes as a gift from the most unexpected sources!), dresses (My sis came loaded with like 4-5 new dresses :-D) was the topping on the cake! Ha! The fishy dinner had @ Coast -Coast (Koramanagala) jus added the 'yummy' quotient to the day :) Surprisingly or sadly the fact that a v v v v dear person conveniently missed the day dint spoil my day ~~ Realization dawns huh!

 

Yummm!


   Yumm Huh! Nope nope this is not a Bday delicacy... But well no bday post is comp till u hv something to slurpp on.. aint it! Pic courtesy hubbs ofcourse  :)

On another note, as u know me n athletics jus don go together ~~ Last week I hv been tagging along with am hubbs for his swimming classes n well looks like am almost on verge of giving it up :(.... Help! Help! Help!

Tagging this to ColorDeckors weekend Wrpaup!

Yummmm!

I jus had to share this pic with u guys(ofcourse pic courtesy Hubbs) thou the treat was a few weeks nee months ago, but well the very sight of it is an indulgence for the sense aint it :)

Linking this up to the weekend wrapup...... Ha u c the major part of this weekend my status was "To the look n back" courtesy a stomach upset thou that dint prevent me from some retail therapy..... Nothing works like this therapy does to get all ur senses back in full form huh :-D

Esp when u end up getting the very gift u seek for somebody dear that u had in mind thou as ma frnd says, the clarity with which I hv it sketcked is say at a height of 50000 Ft.... Making the task of finding it all the more diff(How do u freeze down on something when u don even know what is tht u want huh) n exasperating(esp for the partner-in-crime .... Thank U sweetheart for putting up with it!)  but still  all the more satisfying :) ...

N did I tell ya tht this shopping expedition did reap in a sexy b'day gift for me ... again thnx to Sabs! Cant ask for more... can I???

How old are you??

I hv a frnd of Chinese origin who gave birth to this cutest cutest cutest boy in April 2010.... N so next week is the cutie pies 2nd b'day... Yeaaaaaaaaaaah n am the guest-of-honour :-D

Ho oh! Wait a sec... did I say 2nd b'day??  N u think thats a typo... Well well u couldnt hv been wronger.... I hv got tht right on dot! Don believe me??? Go on... read it up here..... Basically translates that in a few east asian cultures the day the child is born is considered to be start of year 1... N so the end of year 1 is well start of year 2 n is thus the 2nd bday!!!

BTW the first part was jus a made up story :-D. This piece of gyaan is courtesy ma frnd n her students from tht part of the world!

N heres presenting you with some yum yum cup-cakes(Cup cake is the operative work ... ok???)........... ! Why???? For the bday ofcourse... Of the  fictitious god child :-D  N for some reason I been drooling over this for past few dyas.... which ofcourse means  somebody is supposed to take  hint for the cake I want for ma bday :-D ! Did u jus call me shameless....... I take a bow ....



Pic courtesy Google!


PS:  Sheesh! To think I almost missed this persons bday.... Haaa how soon do I tend to forget ... even somebody who was(is) right at the top of my 'Like' List :( ... why??? Cause well am judgemental, cause I tend to be v v v easily swayed by opinions which come with a dose of on-your-face-evidence!!! But please please please noooo.... I soo don waana this happen.... I so don waana this person to move away from my 'Like' list.... cause well she is my 'Guardian ANgel' ....... Or is it just Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?????????????????????????????

A Sweet - Bitter Start to a year!

Ha here is the promised post ~~ A record of the day my B'day was!

Post reading this I know u gonna laugh at me but please remind me this the next I decide to lose my temper with my hubbs!!! N am shit embarrassed to post this for the whole world to read... but possibly this can at least bring in some much needed calmness n stability in me! N I can think of people who gonna do a ROFL n make me regret this post!

Ha ok a bit of prelude b4 I strart off.... Its for sometime that I wanted to change my Thaali-Chain\Mangalsutra (it currently resembles an elephant chain) to something more sleek n trendy! The traditional but in-trend black-beads magalsutra was shot down as me n black just dont go together! So decided to settle for a simple gold chain n told the hubbs dearest of mine in v v simple n clear terms that this is what I want him to gift me on my my B'day (sheesh!!! But yeap I did tht) But the grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr of a fella had the guts to not to get it.... his excuses included credit card bill(like another 10 or 20k is gonna make a dent on the already inflated number there) to shopping for it along with me(Me knows the reason is he jst simply forgot.... cant get myself to say 'care' so will settle for 'forgot' :-D)

Ha so when the clock stuck 12, yours truly was all preened n happy expecting the gold chain (Had taken an extra precaution to remind him few days back too) n there goes my balloon poof when I learn there is no chain nothing... Thank U! N then I give him shit... loads of it (including starving him to sleep.... Me Bad! Me Bad!)n was generally sympathizing with myself!! U agree this was some start for a B’day :-D

Next day well in the excitement of my niece coming n ofcourse it being the big day some coldness was forgotten but ensured to use every opportunity to rub it in(kick me! Kick Me!)!! But looks like my brain starts ticking in once I hit the Loo... N tht is when it strikes me "Hello! Yesterday this hubbs of mine had called me at office saying house is flooded... yours truly had left all windows open n it rained cats n dogs!! But wasnt the house almost-dry n good to go when I reached!! N hey who stocked up the house with groceries n saved me from hell what with my aunt dropping in the next day(even the bare minimals were missing) .... well well tht is when it strikes the thick headed me tht thou he hadnt got the chain he had ensured tht my b'day had started off without me hving to work my ass off!


N I felt so bloody guilty but most importantly went back to feeling 'A Loved WIfe' status!(Isnt it all abt 'me', 'me' me') As they say....All is well that ends well:) N no people dont come n gimme baashans for this! But but when I was shouting my head off wht the hell was his vocal chord doing....... Couldnt he have opened it n put a stop to all the 'heartburn' but grr he chooses not to n when pointed out tells me cheekily 'when fools talk, wise remains silent'....grr grr grr!!!

PS: N a thank you to the person who was around to hear me getting upset n then feeling guitly abt it without missing a beat (like its something I do day in n day out n it was nothing new.................grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr).... But thank u for being there :) N a no thank U for the person who made my D-Day day inomplete........grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!