Happy Valentine's Day

Hi folks,wishing you all a very happy valentine's day.

Trying to gain every one's love is as hard as a rock but once you achieve, it will be as sweet as honey! So forbid anger & vengeance, Love all and even your enemy as yourself!

Got this cake and flowers at a wonderful store near by. cake from La Bonbonniere Bake Shoppe Rt.27 EdisonNJ, this is one of the best bake shop in the whole town , tastes heaven and worth every penny! hope you enjoyed the pictures. Have a great day!

Mahashivarathiri

Today is Mahashivarathiri. Im not gonna explain in detail about it, as you can find plenty of results when you google .Whenever there comes a festival of Lord Shiva i can never forget my most beautiful experience at Tiruvannamalai,which is my mother's native place.

Tiruvannamalai,is one of India's most well known sacred places worth giving a visit. Ramana Maharshi,a saint, lived in a cave on the holy Mt. Arunachala for 17 years and taught the world from his experience of Self-realization. That is where you can find plenty of of foreigners residing to learn about yoga and meditation and seeking for peace and Mukthi Nilai. I feel really bad that why most of us fail to make use of our powerful & precious assets that we got.

We actually lived there for some time during my very early childhood . That's like when i was in my 3rd or 4th grade. We were all staying at our grandmother's house; which use to be a huge one. Plenty of close friends and relatives around. The most popular Arunachaleswarar temple just very close by. We can even see the view of Tiruvannamalai,(Mt. Arunachala). It's fairly a medium sized mountain but it's a powerful place. One can really can feel the presence of GOD his energy radiating from this piece of the earth.

And when i think about the Arunachaleswarar temple, i still get goose mums.... as soon as I put my foot steps into the temple I will feel as though i have entered into a different world which is free from al the bad things that the world consists of. I can smell my peace of mind through the air... this is called the state of " Ekanta - Mukthi" which means - Dwelling in solitude & liberation of man, from the bonds of earth which frees from the birth & death .That will lead us to getting close to the Divinity, the glory of the Lord!!!!

I keep talking about my wonderful experience during my childhood days in Tiruvannamalai. One should definitely visit that place at least once in their lifetime.

Now , i hope you enjoyed the article as much as i did and also the pictures of Mahashivarathiri that we celebrated in a small & simple manner.

Happy shivarathiri to all of you.

Benefits of Home-made yogurt

Everybody is now aware of our health especially our kid's health. Lately we can see most of us going for organic or home-grown or home-made vegetable & products respectively. Im gonna take yogurt topic again and try to make most of the point available or summarized that I gathered from several sources.

Home-made yogurt is an excellent choice of snack for the adults (with lowfat version) and also for the kids ( with whole milk for lean/malnutritioned kids, 2% for medium built kids, and again fat free for obese kids)

Home-made yogurt is a better option compared to store bought yogurt.

Commercial yogurt Manufacturers fill the yogurt aisles with various flavors and brands that occasionally make it difficult to distinguish yogurts. Initially all yogurts contain live and active cultures, but some are heated after they are made which destroy the cultures.

Fortunately, the National Yogurt Association (NYA) established its own criteria for live and active culture yogurt with its Live & Active Culture seal program. Look for the National Yogurt Association's (NYA) Live & Active Cultures seal to ensure that the yogurt you buy contains a significant amount of live and active cultures.

All fermented milk products should be considered functional foods. Why? Because Fermented milk offers so much more than just bacteria: minerals, vitamins, protein, amino acids, L-carnitine, fats, CLA, antimicrobial agents, and much more! A recent study demonstrated the ability of fermented milk to kill H. pylori infections when bacteria alone could not. Another study monitored two groups of people for allergy symptoms. The group that consumed yogurt on a daily basis suffered far less allergies than a control group. In addition, the complex microflora found in kefir have demonstrated a keen ability to stimulate our immune systems, ward of infections from bacteria such as salmonella, and in some cases, even fight cancer.

For kids and especially young girls going through the rapid growth spurts of puberty, getting calcium from dairy products, such as yogurt, may be better for building bone than taking a calcium supplement, suggests a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.


I have already posted the recipe for  Home-made yogurt  in my previous posts. Also pls check out the latest flavoured & sweetened yogurt recipe in my cooking blog.

There are a plenty of yogurt recipes available and i have just made a few at home and im sure everyone knows the recipe for most of the things. Also pls look out for detailed recipes made out of yogurt in my cooking blog which will be available very soon.


Indian Yogurt Recipes:

1. Yogurt-rice /Thayir satham(tamil)
2. Thayir Pachadi ( vegetables in yogurt)
3. Dahi-Batata-Puri (Puri is a flat bread made out of wheat which is deep-fried in hot oil, so that it becomes puffy) Puri is stuffed with Batata curry(potato curry) and topped with grated carrots, yogurt, and sev-(another indian snack made out of gram flour.)
4. Yogurt mixed with sweetned vermicilli and topped with fruits
5. Mor-Kuzhambu - another tamilnadu dish.
6. Dahi vada or Thayir vadai
7. Simply top the home-made greek styled yogurt with unrefined cane sugar!

Some continental recipes made out of yogurt :

1. 
   
   Frozen yogurt or yogurt icecream
2. 
   
   Meat or vegetable kababs with yogurt dipping sauce
3. 
   
   Yogurt parfait
4. 
   
   Yogurt popsicles
5. 
   
   Yogurt smoothies ( with simply any fruit).

Looks yummy is'nt?!! Thats the point. It is a evident that a representation of anything gets more characterisation of the theoritical objects.

Thanks for reading have a healthy & wonderful lifestyle!

Source Courtesy : Natural Stomach Care - Benefits of Yoghurt by Dr.Anil Minocha

Photos by Abi.

Photos a few like - vermicilli yogurt/ yogurt parfait /strawberry smoothie - from the internet.

Quatrain Poetry (tamil):

This quartrain that i happen to read(in tamil) lately has become one of my favourite on the list of poetries i have heard so far. Since i love music its needless to say i also adore the lyrics part of it. My interest thus slowly started to peek on the so called "hi-koo" kavithaigal! I have have been a great fan to read those since long. I read this wonderful "rib-tickling" hi-koo kavithai from the popular magazine "Mangaiyar Malar" . so the poem that i have lately read is here for you :


பல்லவனில் இடிபாடு
பக்கத்தில் தடிமாடு
பெண்மை பெரும்பாடு
பண்பாடு படும்பாடு


Sorry for those who cant read tamil. I can translate the meaning of it for those who are interested upon request.

THanks for reading. Have fun!

Forgetting

Today is my best friend - Jaishree's birthday. We have been best friends for 10 years! cant really believe it. And we became relatives on my brother's wedding , as one of her relative and my relative happen to be cousins! I feel very awful , as i called to just talk to her & forgot about it all. But im glad to have her as my friend as she is very matured, and didnt get upset about it. And the special part is she is gonna be a mom soon.... i cant believe im so forgetful. I absolutely take up the blame , as i have no excuses to make it up . Sorry dear, and wish you very many Happy returns of the day Jai !!!

Indolence

Gee, what a lousiness,upon living silent without any post for a long time?!
Few of my closest buddies kicked me up and been bugging me to post something new. Honestly i was blank!

I had been in the deep recesses& occasionally came to the fore front about doing something worthwhile yet I was cognizant & was silently creating my own hell. I was too busy with my usual life.... is what everybody says; just a reason to escape! and i was no different than the regular folks.

Finally, decided that I needed a change of mind ! So dusted off my old Facebook account and thought i might get into it & see whats going on after say 3 years!!!
Now, kept trying all sorts of permutation and combination of passwords ,ended up with no luck!!!
Hence had to go through the agonizing "forgot your password" page and finally got that link for request of new password.

Holy cow, there was tons & tons of emails and friendship requests, miscellaneous things happening on the facebook which I'm so new to. After a week it got bored~! Then switched to scrapbooking. Trust me its so addictive & expensive. Oh yea any hobby in America will def.ly rip off ur wallet for sure. My poor hubby!!! :))

And i jumped towards photography with my poor little canon digital camera(7.5 mega pixels). Seriously it helped me a lot on many ways. I love photography and i had been taking so many pictures but never thought i should make it as a serious hobby. And then i started to post my own pictures relevant to each article i post in my own blog. This gave me an immense satisfaction. One day, i lost that cutey little pie somewhere and that's it, i had been mourning for a long time about it. Again went to my superman! and cried for help! There you go, He bought me a Nikon D90 DSLR.....

To be continued......

Happy Newyear 2010

Dear Friends, wish you all a ver happy & healthy Newyear 2010. This year's winter seems to be more freezing than the previous ones! Hope to see the spring soon.

Home-made yogurt

Many of us would have probably thought of making our own yogurt at home but wouldn't have been really successful . There are lots of version available in the Internet, on making a home-made yogurt. The one that I'm gonna say is my personal version which i found it working for me. So wanted to share it with all of you. Before we begin we need to understand the process and make sure we have all the things available for preparing our own yogurt. The things needed are very simple and readily available in any grocery store.

Things needed to make yogurt:

Starter yogurt - with active or live culture in it. The label will probably be named as "All Natural"

Milk (whole /2%/1%) but not the fat free milk.

Preparation:

Heat up the Milk up to 2 to 5 minutes depending on the quantity. And make sure the milk is just luke warm. You may heat up the milk and bring to boil and let it cool to reach the luke warm temperature. The trick is to put your last finger in the milk and wiggle around to see if the milk is just slightly warm as a baby's milk and thats the correct temperature.

Now have 1 tsp of starter yogurt (very imp note: already set out in room temperature) for 2 to 21/2 cups pf milk. You may add the starter yogurt to the luke warm milk and whisk it to make sure its properly mixed.

You may transfer the content to the canning jar. Close the lid

Now heat up the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit, for about 2 to 4 m ins and switch it off completely.

Have a fleece or woollen blanket & wrap the canned jar which has the milk mixed with the starter yogurt. And put it inside the oven and close the oven.

Allow the jars to incubate and thus begin the process of culturing. Do not disturb the jar at all which may hinder the process of the yogurt culture, for about 6 to 8 hours depending on the place you are. Like if its a cold region then you have to wait for at least 8 to 10 hrs. If its a normal region you can just wait for 6 to 8 hrs.

After the yogurt is formed you may refrigerate and keep it for a week.

Languorous London

London is one of the most diverse and exhilarating places in the world. Live here and you’ll meet people and ideas from the world over. And as with all great cities, it takes time to get to know the basics.

London is a cosmopolitan type of city, it consists of so many different communities where different nationalities and cultures live side by side.You can find Irish people inhabiting one London area next to Jewish and Muslim people. In certain parts you will meet Greeks, Americans, New Zealanders, Germans, Africans etc. With so many people living here there is a great percent of foreigners .

Travelling across London can at times be difficult, particularly by car/taxi - the average traffic speed in the West End is just 8 miles per hour! The large tube system makes travel through London rapid though at certain times of day it can be overcrowded.

Despite all these good fact there are also some downside of london , which is being the most expensive city in the world, and seems dirty, noisy or overcrowded, with no facilities for the Handicapped or people with kids especially babies in strollers , because there is on Lift/elevator for the underground tubes, its only the escalators. . Whether u like it or not, can or cannot, you have to walk over the stairs .Not a lot of public trash bins are found in the city thus the cause of the dirty scenario. Not a lot of Toilet facilities either. Taxis are highly expensive. Public transports like tubes/trams/buses are much affordable.

One of the problems of the city is , although it is made up of attractive architecture, the city is pretty dull and one often wonders whether much of it is worth the effort. Its either full of bankers or its the weekend and that too in shopping areas like oxford circus and nowhere else u can see a single person. The whole city is haunted during weekends. All the shops are closed within 5.30 pm. And theres no prefference to kids or pregnant woman or handicapped person among the public. On top of which the indisputable VAT tax. Cant really find good Indian/Asian food in central London. The wheather adds feather to the cap! .....windy & rainy most of the time.

It might be a great place just for the purpose of visiting around(tourism) but its not my favourite. No offense. Its just my personal opinion.

London Sight Seeing

Second day of sightseeing london, was quite hectic. Especially with a toddler , bags, stroller, and camera. Yet, tried to click few pictures.

I covered most of the important places. Although couldnt get into each on of them which will be more time consuming.

A brief comment on the places that i went :

• Tower of London : One of my favourite place in the list. An illustrated history and description of this World Heritage Site with the guards. Quite interesting and at times disgusting to hear about the murders that they committed those days. The most interesting and important place for all the tourist is the crown of jewels . What exactly are the Crown Jewels? Basically all the gold and glitter used in coronations: ten crowns are on display, plus scepters, jewelled swords, and the Orb . The most important thing to see here (especially if you are an indian ) is the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond in one of the queen's crown. I am plannign to post a seperate article on the crown of jewels.
• Cruise on River Thames : full range of sights along the Thames, with commentary (sometimes humorous): Houses of Parliament, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the Eye... Highly recommended, for London Sightseeing!
• Big ben : is actually the local name for the bell in the Clock Tower.one of london's best-known landmarks, and looks most spectacular at night when the clock faces are illuminated. You even know when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face.
• The Houses of Parliament, otherwise known as The Palace of Westminster, stands next to the BigBen. It is a royal palace and former residence of kings. The layout of the Palace is intricate, with its existing buildings containing nearly 1,200 rooms, 100 staircases and well over 3 kilometres (2 miles) of passages. Among the original historic buildings is Westminster Hall, used nowadays for major public ceremonial events.
• London Eye : Didnt getinto the capsule. Just clicked few wonderful shots of it.
• The Royal Courts of Justice : was opened by Queen Victoria in 1882 and became the permanent home of the Supreme Court.

To be continued .............

London

So the day of surprise finally arrived. Me, my husband & our son all three landed and took some rest and by the time we could get over the jet lag , our son got sick with high temperature and cold due to the severe wheather conditions prevailing here. It is much cold and windy than NJ.

The pictures above were the places that are located exactly within 5 minutes walk (except one or two)from the hotel where we stayed. For now i guess this is wat it is.

London is made up of very attractive architecture, and each one of them is unique. Looks like many of the main building like St.Pauls cathedral church has even survived bombs from wars. All of them are dated atleast a 2 or more centuries many of them are dated back a thousands of years back, which is a jaw-dropping and interesting fact!

To be Continued ................






Photographs by Abi.

Out of town

I will be out of town on a work retreat of my spouse's , for a while. This time it is to the city of thames. We were actually planning for a trip to this place long since, but couldnt make it. Since it is his business trip im sure it wont be as fun as a vaccation. yet hoping if we can atleast try to buy couple of days(weekends !) to spend ...

Will post pictures as we go forth and some articles whenever i get a chance. See you folks.

No more soda

Soda, pop, cola, soft drink — whatever you call it, it is one of the worst beverages that you could be drinking for your health. As the debate for whether to put a tax on the sale of soft drinks continues, you should know how they affect your body so that you can make an informed choice on your own.Soft drinks are hard on your healthSoft drinks contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients. However, it is what they do contain that is the problem: caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars — or worse, sugar substitutes — and often food additives such as artificial coloring, flavoring, and preservatives.A lot of research has found that consumption of soft drinks in high quantity, especially by children, is responsible for many health problems that include tooth decay, nutritional depletion, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.Why the sugar in soft drinks isn’t so sweetMost soft drinks contain a high amount of simple sugars. The USDA recommendation of sugar consumption for a 2,000-calorie diet is a daily allotment of 10 teaspoons of added sugars. Many soft drinks contain more than this amount! Just why is too much sugar so unhealthy? Well, to start, let's talk about what happens to you as sugar enters your body. When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immune system, which in turn weakens your ability to fight disease. Something else to consider is that most of the excess sugar ends up being stored as fat in your body, which results in weight gain and elevates risk for heart disease and cancer. One study found that when subjects were given refined sugar, their white blood cell count decreased significantly for several hours afterwards. Another study discovered that rats fed a high-sugar diet had a substantially elevated rate of breast cancer when compared to rats on a regular diet.The health effects of diet sodaYou may come to the conclusion that diet or sugar-free soda is a better choice. However, one study discovered that drinking one or more soft drinks a day — and it didn’t matter whether it was diet or regular — led to a 30% greater chance of weight gain around the belly. Diet soda is filled with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin. These artificial sweeteners pose a threat to your health. Saccharin, for instance, has been found to be carcinogenic, and studies have found that it produced bladder cancer in rats. Aspartame, commonly known as nutrasweet, is a chemical that stimulates the brain to think the food is sweet. It breaks down into acpartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol at a temperature of 86 degrees. (Remember, your stomach is somewhere around 98 degrees.) An article put out by the University of Texas found that aspartame has been linked to obesity. The process of stimulating the brain causes more cravings for sweets and leads to carbohydrate loading.Carbonation depletes calciumBeverages with bubbles contain phosphoric acid, which can severely deplete the blood calcium levels; calcium is a key component of the bone matrix. With less concentration of calcium over a long time, it can lower deposition rates so that bone mass and density suffer. This means that drinking sodas and carbonated water increases your risk of osteoporosis. Add in the caffeine usually present in soft drinks, and you are in for even more trouble. Caffeine can deplete the body’s calcium, in addition to stimulating your central nervous system and contributing to stress, a racing mind, and insomnia. Skip the soda and go for:• Fresh waterWater is a vital beverage for good health. Each and every cell needs water to perform its essential functions. Since studies show that tap water is filled with contaminants, antibiotics, and a number of other unhealthy substances, consider investing in a quality carbon-based filter for your tap water. To find out more about a high-performance filtration system, click here. On the go? Try using a stainless steel thermos or glass bottle, filled with filtered water. Enhance the flavor of your water with a refreshing infusion of basil, mint leaves, and a drop of honey.• Fruit JuiceIf you are a juice drinker, try watering down your juice to cut back on the sugar content. Buy a jar of organic 100% juice, especially cranberry, acai, pomegranate, and then dilute three parts filtered water to one part juice. You will get a subtle sweet taste and the benefit of antioxidants. After a couple of weeks, you will no longer miss the sweetness of sugary concentrated juices.• TeaTea gently lifts your energy and has numerous health benefits. Black, green, white, and oolong teas all contain antioxidant polyphenols. In fact, tea ranks as high or higher than many fruits and vegetables on the ORAC scale, the score that measures antioxidant potential of plant-based foods. Herbal tea does not have the same antioxidant properties, though it is still a great beverage choice with other health benefits, such as inducing calming and relaxing effects. If tea doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth, try adding cinnamon or a little honey, which has important health benefits that refined sugar lacks. For a selection of healthy teas that promote total body wellness, click here. Drink up!I hope you find the ways and means to avoid soft drinks. I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me. May you live long, live strong, and live happy!--Dr. Mao- - - - - - - - - -Transform your health and bring quality to your years with Dr. Mao's natural health products from the Tao of Wellness.Discover a high-quality water filtration system that will provide you with pure, healthy water. Order Dr. Mao's new book Second Spring: Hundreds of Natural Secrets for Women to Revitalize and Regenerate at Any Age.Learn hundreds of ways for living a long and happy life with Dr. Mao's book Secrets of Longevity.

Halloween Party 2009

We had a little get-to-gether Halloween celebration at our home tonight , and i should say it was the best party we had ever experienced.It was a family-friendly fun party, with absolutely no scary things in it. Almost 6 families -thats 17 guests took part in this wonderful evening. Kids were given the first preference so all the kiddos were there with their cutest costumes making this Halloween celebration fun and exciting. The highlight of the party is the games for the kids and grown-ups which was really cool. I was so amazed that everybody co-operated and took part in all the activities with so much excitement. Party included a pot-luck dinner, so there were lots of yummy food options. Finally we cut the cake and ended up the celebration. Thanks to all our friends who made this a great blast.

Halloween Safety Tips:

Here are some Halloween candy safety tips that ensure Halloween candy is safe for your kids, and keeping the candy gorging to a minimum.

Know where the candy is coming from. Don’t let your kids trick or treat or collect candy from strangers. Stay in your home neighborhood, and go with them. Or accompany them wherever they are going. Some parents actually drive their kids to other neighborhoods and wait in the car while the kids ring a number of doorbells and trick or treat. It’s best for parents to go with the kids to the door. Although clearly parents do this because the trick or treating in their own neighborhood is not safe or not happening, it is still an important thing for parents to see and meet the people handing out candy to their kids. Don’t let your kids munch on candy or treats during trick or treating. That way you can regulate how much candy your children are eating in one night.

Look through the candy before the kids eat it. When the kids get home, have them dump the candy all over the table, and look it over. Anything with ripped or missing wrappers gets thrown out immediately. Anything homemade, unless you know exactly who made it, gets thrown away. Anything that looks old gets thrown away. Take what’s left and look at ingredients of anything that is unfamiliar, if your kid has allergies or food issues. Once you’ve approved everything that’s left, you can deal with the next step.

Designate limitsOn Halloween night, tell your child how many pieces of candy (usually three is a good number) will be allowed that night. Let him choose his favorites and put the rest away. What you decide to do with the leftover candy is your choice. Here are a few quick suggestions:

The treat box: Have a place for candy that is out of reach. This candy is for rewarding extra effort, such as doing an extra chore or accomplishing a goal for grades or behavior. It’s also great for bribes. (If you clean the basement, you can have a pick from the treat box.) You’d be surprised how much work kids will be willing to do for a piece of candy.

Donating it: Some shelters need supplies for throwing birthday parties for kids who have to stay there and appreciate donations of candy and other birthday party supplies for things like this.

Taking it to work: Let the people you work with get rid of it for you.

Appropriate portions: Decide how many pieces a kid can have per day or better yet, per week. Kids don’t need candy every day – it’s not healthy.

Regift: Some families do this on Halloween night. It involves taking a large part of the candy that is left and putting it into the bowl of candy that is being handed out on Halloween, and handing it out to trick or treaters who come over after your kids are home. It’s easy to do this if you’re running out of candy before trick or treating time is over, and cuts down on the leftovers easily.

One of my favourite Eco-Tip

Instead of throwing old or unused things out, I pass them on to others who want to take them by using freecycle.org. I have found this site to be very helpful in giving an unwanted item a new home. This is really interesting . You could find lots of unused stuffs (as well as used) for free.

For Coffee lovers - Dunkin Donut Coffee - Free sample

Nature at our door step!

Please click the image to view it larger.

It was a rainy day today and very cloudy. A little cold outside , so i had to close the window which i usually open just for some ventilation. And there i found this beautiful deer outside our house, not just one, they were 3 of them. Immediately i rushed in search of my poor little digital camera all over my house and finally found it very near by myself :))

Tried to click few shots, as clear as i could. Since it was late evening and was getting slightly dark i changed my camera's settings to get the pics clear. I couldnt get out because im sure their ears are very sensitive and that they might run away. So i took those pics from my window , which is why you would see the glare in some pictures.

Hope you all like it.

Sarah the Cheetah - breaks the world record

Sarah an 8n year old female cheetah sets a new world record as the fastest running mamal on earth.

A male cheetah in South Africa covered 100 meters in 6.19 seconds. Sarah didn't beat that just once, but twice: She first clocked in at 6.16 seconds and then 6.13 secondsPerfectly designed for speed; small head, big torso, slender long legs with big paws, narrow hind quarters. AMAZING .

Way to go Sarah!! She is extraordinary, and the Cincinnati Zoo has an amazing cheetah program!!! Congratulations to everyone who has put in a lot of hard work on this project!!
An 8 year old smashed the record for the 100m set by a wild male cheetah in Africa. girls rock!

Please enjoy Sara's video . Thanks.

Resource courtesy: Yahoo
Image courtesy : Internet

Navarathiri Season

Navarathiri or Dussera is one of the most important festival in India and is celebrated all over india by various name ( yet will sound almost similar).

Navarathiri (or navratri) the period of nine days and nights when Goddess Durga fought the Asura is celebrated as Navarathiri in Tamilnadu. Its called Dussera in all over india especially in north india.

Goddess Durga is considered as the personification of courage, strength, and power and praying to the goddess, helps one to be blessed with all these qualities especially during Dussera.

Married ladies pray to the Goddess for the well being of the family and children by performing pujas and reciting Lalitha Sahasranamam. Especially the last 3 days of the nine day festival are very auspicious namely the "Aayutha poojai", Saraswathi Poojai" and the "Vijayadasami Poojai"

In Chennai Navarathri is known for Kolu, the festival of dolls . The dolls which are wrapped in dhotis and papers and stored in the attic are brought down at least two days prior to the commencement of Kolu. The doll makers at their best mind power try themselves to be innovative every year and really produces lot of different varities.
Women who are focused with thematic presentations go around ransacking the shops to collect dolls for their theme. To conceptualize any theme a person should be well versed with the epics, spiritual, social and historical facts. Many kolu buffs dish out novel themes like cricket Ganapathy, stone sculptures at Mammalapuram and Ravana durbar.

More to come....

Vaccation to Ocean City, Marryland.

We took a mini-vacation to Ocean City, Maryland and it was great. We had a fab time. Couple of days during end of summer, in Ocean City was hot, sunny, happy and crowded. Daytime highs in the 80’s, sometimes hitting 90. Nighttime lows 65 to 55 degrees which will little colder.Lots of exuberant children and relaxing parents. The welcome board with the flag at the entrance of the city was really a warm welcome to all the visitors visiting that place which is surrounded by the beautiful blue Atlantic ocean around . This place was busily engaged with ferries , mini boats, fishing activities and a lot more.


It was quite a pleasant scenic beauty to do the boardwalk along the seashore. Which wasn't much crowded . It has lot many shops on the walkway, which was really fun for the collectible freaks like me! At the dawn it was getting a bit colder & beauty of the moon, the ocean, and their reflections...was at its best shot! Wish i had a better camera...:( !!

Okay Arts & Craft Lovers...here you go with quite a few shops at the exhibition which was held in the convention center. Actually there weren't many shops when compared to Indian Exhibitions i have seen so far. But whatever shops that was present there had their best products. Products like quilted napkin covers, pillowcases, throws, books, ready-made dessert mix, gems and jewellery shops were being displayed.

One of the most important thing that you can notice once you are in ocean city would be the number of hotel resorts that are present there. I really doubt if a small town like this would have so many beach resorts. The Coastal highway stretch has more than 100 streets in it and you can see the resorts along the streets throughout the stretch which is interesting huh! And the architecture of all the buildings are really nice and pretty tall.

Now, a fun place for the kids called - "The Jolly Roger".
We our son to Jolly Rogers . On the plus side, there were a number of rides for his age ( 2 yrs) he did not have to wait for any rides. And the staff was reasonably helpful. On the downside, we spent more than $35 for the rides .

Note to parents with small children, watch out for the "point system". If you buy points, the each ride costs between $2 and $3.50 for a small child's ride. If your child plans to ride more than 5 rides, you are probably better off with the multi-park pass than the point system. The rides are carnival quality. While I felt ripped off by the point system, it was our fault for not doing the math and going with a pass.

It was as perfect a beach day with a perfect weather. Ocean City, Maryland, is filled to the brim with visitors. It’s the kind of classic, late-summer day that makes people love Ocean City. It inspired me to celebrate by posting a few photos of classic Ocean City.

See you all soon :))

Labor day Vaccation

Yes, ocean city it is! finally decided at the last minute :)) as usual. Ocean City is a great vacation spot for us-only a few hours of driving .Read some reviews that it is such a beautiful resort town. We chose, this place, to relax and enjoy ourselves in this limited time. Hopefully we should be having a great time there with a good weather. Will post vaccation pictures soon. See ya all soon. Happy Labor day!

Vaccation Vagueness!

The labor day holiday is nearing by and we had a usual talk about the vaccation. Where to go? Near or Far? Drive or Fly?...with so many Questions like these really puts us in a confused state, therefore you cannot decide all alone . Vacations don't happen unless you plan for them! Especially with a busy husband like mine. I usually plan things ahead yet will always end up in the last minute . Had been considering quite a few places in mind depending on our criterias. Still theres no definite answer.

Image courtesy - Internet.

Coping with a fuzzy eating toddler!

After having some experience with my 2 year old , i thought i should write an article on this wonderful topic which would benefit many mother like me who has almost tried every single way to make my kid eat some food . I use to get depressed which may sound a little weird but im sure im not the only one around here.

As babies grow into toddlers and begin eating table food, they often become fussy eaters. It is very normal to have a fight with toddlers everyday during the meal time because they don’t want to eat their food.

How to avoid all these struggles? Although im not a doctor , i guess i can share my 2 cents here , so that some of u could be benefitted out of it.

Here it goes :

• You can think of putting your toddler in a daycare , for atleast couple of hours at the beginning , that way they'll learn socializing and other good habits.


• Some kids will tend to eat atleast a little , on seeing other kids eating during their meal time.


• At home, you can make meal-time a family affair.Although it sounds impossible in this busy world, you can try it out atleast 2 to 3 days a week.


• Do not offer your toddler any drinks or snacks if he is too fuzzy about eating. This will definitely make them hungry during the meal-time.


• Cook one healthy meal (which has a maindish-some veggiesor meat-soup- yogurt/Milk)for everyone in the familyand offer it in a plate to your toddler . Your toddler will fight with you at first, but eventually will realize and try to eat. Do not offer any alternatives.


• But make sure you prepare a healthy cum delicious snack that he will probably like it. Dont try to introduce too many new food at a time.Just go one-by-one.


• A toddler's tastebud is very sensitive, at the same time, they tend to eat only when they are hungry. So do not force or bribe them .


• Stick to the routine and serve the meal at same time every day as far as possible. Because some kids are very punctual (like mine). They eat atleast one meal exactly on time, if you make it a little late they become hyper-active and become very cranky in hunger.


• Learn to admit the fact : that toddlers growth during this phase is very slow.therefore they will have only limited apetite. Hence they can eat only a little, and the very little nutrition itself is enough. -- this is a scientific fact and you may refer it with any of your pediatrician. THE GOOD NEWS IS THEY WONT STAY LIKE THIS FOREVER.THEY WILL EVENTUALLY CHANGE.


• Be creative with food. If your child does not like eggs, try giving them egg custard or beat the eggs real fluffy and add finely grated veggies to it and bake them in tiny cookie tray that way they might try to eat them. Basically toddlers likes colorful food with different shapes like toys...


• Call these finger foods playful names that a two-year-old can appreciate, such as:
  apple moons (thinly sliced)
  avocado boats (a quarter of an avocado)
  banana wheels
  broccoli trees (steamed broccoli florets)
  carrot swords (cooked and thinly sliced)
  cheese building blocks
  egg canoes (hard- boiled egg wedges)
  little O's (o-shaped cereal)
  Place the food on an easy-to-reach table. As your toddler makes his rounds through the house, he can stop, sit down, nibble a bit, and, when he's done, continue on his way. These foods have a table-life of an hour or two.


• Dip it with fun : Young children think that immersing foods in a tasty dip is pure fun (and delightfully messy). Some possibilities to dip into:
  cottage cheese or tofu dip
  cream cheese
  fruit juice-sweetened preserves
  guacamole
  peanut butter, thinly spread
  pureed fruits or vegetables
  yogurt, plain or sweetened with juice concentrate
  Those dips are equally nutritious and will serve the purpose.
• AVOID JUNK FOOD.
• Last but not the least , PATIENCE is very very important and you gotto have tons & tons of them!!! :) do not get discouraged or feel bad or get angry when the child rejects your hard work. Its just a child. So you need to be more patient and self motivated.

Hope this will help moms like me.Good luck with your toddler!

Bye Bye Summer !!! :(( Welcome Fall 2009!!!

It is a bit sad that there wasn't much of real summer days this year, and the temperature hardly touched 96 which was the maximum . When compared to the previous years . Anyways, welcome to the Tricks & Treats Halloween/Fall 2009! I kind of like fall season of all the seasons here. As there are lots of things to do around my area. But i hate winters. Especially with a kid, you cant really do much of activities , and tend to get winter blues.

NewJersey is a great place to visit during the fall .Especially there is nothing like coming to the Southern parts of New Jersey . There are many fall festivals including craft shows, pumpkin festivals and more. While in town take notice of all the beautiful colorful leaves on the trees. Golds, oranges, bright reds, and deep greens make it known that it is fall in Southern New Jersey.

Things you do to enjoy Fall around NJ and the Tri-state areas :

• Check out your local newspaper or your county website for events such as fruit picking , like pumpkin picking , apple picking, and so on. Because its always fun for the kids.


• You can enjoy the country fruit festivals like the Chatsworth Cranberry Festival in Chatsworth, NJ, set in the colorful trees of the Pine Barrens. Enjoy the local cranberry harvest with homemade cranberry baked goods, cranberry salsa, cranberry dressing and so much more.


• I always love the South Jersey Pumpkin Show in early October . You'll enjoy a mini-haunted village, scarecrow displays, haunted hayrides, a fall art gallery, a fall garden, a music and food fest, free pumpkins for the kids, kiddy amusement rides, and over 200 craftsman displaying their wares. Various events take place at different times throughout the day. The Pumpkin show is located at: Cumberland County Fairground, 3001 Carmel Rd Millville NJ 08332.


• Delaware Water Gap : A River and its Valley For 40 miles the Middle Delaware River passes between low forested mountains with barely a house in sight. Then the river cuts through the mountain ridge to form the famed "Water Gap." Exiting the park, the river will run 200 miles more to Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at Wilmington, Delaware.There's still more to do; this valley has been a home for thousands of years, and dozens of historic structures dot the park's scenic byways. Source(s):
  http://www.nps.gov/dewa/index.htm
• Please check local website (of yours) for more information :
• September 13-15, 2009 Philadelphia Nat’l Candy Gift & Gourmet Show Atlantic City, New JerseyAmerica’s largest show dedicated to the retail confectioner, is sponsored by the Retail Confectioners Association of Philadelphia.
• September 20, 2009 Cognac and Chocolate TastingCranford, New JerseyChocolate & Spirits tasting event featuring artisanal chocolates to compliment Pour Moi
• October 27-28, 2009 KosherFestMeadowlands, New JerseyKosherfest is the #1 kosher food and beverage trade event serving the retail, foodservice, manufacturing and distribution industries. New Products Competition Oct 15 and 2nd Annual Kosherfest Culinary Competition Oct 27.
• September 9, 2009 WLIW21 Autumn Gourmet ClassicNew York, New YorkThe ultimate "foodie" event in an intimate setting! Lidia Bastianich, Jacques Pépin and John Barricelli team up for food, wine & culinary theater. Live demos, food tastings from around the New York metro area and wines from around the world.
• September 16, 2009 Taste of the VillageNew York, New YorkMake the 7th Anniversary of this event by inviting friends who love extraordinary food from award-winning chefs such as Dan Barbar, named the nation’s top chef in 2009 by the James Beard Foundation, Mario Batali of International Acclaim and Chef Akhtar Nawab of Elettaria.
• October 30-Nov 1, 2009 Chocolate ShowNew York, New YorkThe 12th Annual Chocolate Show in New York will, as years past, feature some of the most world renowned pastry chefs and chocolate makers from all over the world. As such, this show is one of the most exciting gastronomic events, enticing visitors from the entire United States to get a taste of their favorite sweet.

Thanks and have fun during this fall.

Resources :

Chatsworth Cranberry Festival

South Jersey Pumpkin Show

http://www.nj.com/

http://www.state.nj.us/

http://www.foodreference.com/

Image Courtesy :

Internet

Summer Precautions - car interioir becomes an oven!

I came to know about this information while i was browsing and thought of sharing it with all. You may be surprised to find out how high temperatures can soar within the interior of a car during a hot, sunny day.

I have posted few pictures that i got from the internet to illustrate how outside temperature remains constant at 90 degrees but we increase the length of time prolongation within a vehicle here This clearly tells us , it is important to note that the outside temperature does not have to be hot in order for a car to become an oven . Even temperatures considered mild can be fatal during an extended period of time.

Kids and hot cars safety tips :

• Simply, just don't leave kids in the car
• Always lock your car and secure the keys so that your kids can't get to them
• Warn your kids about playing in the car by themselves without adult supervision
• Install a trunk release mechanism, so that they can't get trapped in the trunk
• Get your kids out of the car first, and then worry about getting the groceries, etc., out of the car when you get home
• Make sure that child car providers and day care workers have a plan to make sure that kids aren't left in the day care providers car or van
• Extreme heat has many risks such as that of Heat Cramps, Exhaustion, and Heat Stroke.
• Please be prepared especially those with kids and pets.

Ganesh Chathurthi - 2009

Our Ganesh Chathurthi this year happened to be as simple as it could be as compared to the last year's celebration. We had been travelling a lot around the town . So coudlnt do much this time. But i am immensely satisfied with the fact that i did my own Ganesh Idol using the natural clay. Thanks to the companies that produces such a wonderful product which are so easy to play with and it really makes our life easy when compared to the real clay that we traditionally use. to make the idol. Anyways , hope u all enjoy the pictures .

How to make a simple clay Ganesh idol at home?

Since Ganesh Chathuri is nearing many of us may be planning to make an idol by ourselves but might have no idea how to start. One of my friend sent me this link ,which shows how to make a clay idol of Lord Ganesh by ourselves at home. Im sure this link will definitely give an idea for beginners like me. Have fun making eco-friendly idols at home.

Modeling Clay - Ganesh

Please Click the picture to view it bigger.

This is the one made out of natural clay:



This one is made out of mess free clay :


Every year we buy the clay ganesh idol from near by store or temple, for celeberating Vinayagar Chathuri or Ganesh Chathurthi . But since im not satisfied with the idol they make here in US, i thought of making one on my own. So i planned to buy crayola modelling clay from near by store like Walmart/Target/Kmart .


There are several different types of clay available in the market. Earth tone clay is best for making ganesh idol. Since the store i went did not have one, i bought the white color and mixed crayola paint to get the natural eart tone color .


If expense is not an issue then you can go for "no mess" or " mess-free" clay that is available , you get in different colors or you can buy just plain white and add some redish orange -crayola paint to it and knead the dough and make it into an idol. This mess free clay is an excellent option for begginers, as it would leave no mess in your hand. Very easy to clean.


Another type of clay is the natural earth clay which is also in white. So as i said before , you can just add any water or acrylic color to it ( the reddish orange or browinish orange tone - to give it a natural earth tone look. ) . Its little bit sticky but not that bad as a real clay that we buy in our country... You can always sculpt the idol and incase if it gets dry u can touch up with water and then keep going.

Also i would like to give you a small suggesstion of how to celebrate an ECO FRIENDLY Ganesh Chathurthi without harming our environment:

1. Traditionally, clay was used to make Ganesh idols. Over the years however, plaster of Paris (POP), which is lighter and cheaper, has become the favoured material to mould these idols. POP contains chemicals such as gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus, and magnesium. The dyes used to colour these idols contain mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, and carbon. Plastic and thermocol accessories are used to decorate these idols. Such materials are not biodegradable, hence are toxic.

Solution : Use natural clay and nontoxic paints.

2.With the immersion of these idols in the sea or inland water bodies such as lakes and streams, the chemicals in these idols dissolve in the water veru slowly, gradually releasing its harmful components. The water experiences a rise in acidity as well as traces of heavy metal. The toxic waste kills plant and animal life in the water.

Solution : Immerse the idol made of natural clay and non toxic paint in a bucket of water and sprinkle around the house and plants.

As the basic concept of immersing Ganesh idol is nothing but -what ever the world has offered to us is offered back to the world!

So i did 2 ganesha idol using mess free and the natural clay, but after i finished making the idol my 2 year old son came running towards me @ 200 MPH and made them shapeless !!! :))

Have a happy and Eco-Friendly ganesh chathurthi all of you!

Happy Krishna Jayanthi 2009

I had been meaning to post an article since a month , thats when i came back from my vacation. But someway or the other i got too busy with day to day life and kept going on with it. Also i wasnt sure what to write as my mind was totally blank. I didn't wanna post anything crappy , finally got hold of this beautiful day of Sri Krishna Jayanthi! The birth of Lord Sri KRISHNA PARAMATHMA!

I have always considered him as my dear one,cant really give a precise relationship as it would be lesser that wat i might express. I have had times which wasnt so pleasant , but i was able to go through it smoothly with the help of HIM. There has been many times when I have unknowingly hurt his feelings. But he has always brushed it aside acknowledging the fact that it was from a superficially insensitive but deeply sensitive person like me. Probably he knows that I never ever meant to hurt him .

I mostly communicate through singing songs and kirthis on Lord Krishna where i will always end up with tears of joy/sorrow/happiness all mixed up together. Thereby i will put down my burden at his lotus feet and he has never failed to take up my burden as his!On such beautiful day i present few pictures above. Happy Krishna Jayanthi you all!