Cold Coffee
Happy Monday!
I, like many many millions of people am addicted to Starbucks. I loveee their seasonal coffees and their cold coffees and frappuccinos (Java chip, yummm)
Anyway, It can put a dent in your pocket so I decided to go ahead and make the Cold Coffee at home and boy, was I glad that I did. It tastes just as yummy AND I get to control the ingredients I put in to my liking AND I don't have to fork out $5 to $6.
I never realized how easy it is to make your own Cold Coffee at home - It just takes few very basic ingredients which are easily available in most households.
I took 1 cup of milk with 1 scoop of Vanilla ice cream, 2 tbsp of Cane sugar, ground coffee (approximate) and 1 tbsp Coco powder. I blended all the ingredients and topped it with a bit of Whipped cream - YUMMMMMMMM!
The bad thing about this discovery is that now I'll spoil myself to a cup everyday ;)
Friday favorites!
I haven't had the chance to share my favorite musings in a long time - so here I take the opportunity to share some oldies but goodies!!
Enjoy the beautiful weekend :) - The fun and snow filled holiday season is finally here.
Holiday treats: Christmas Sugar Cookies
Having a li'l kid in the house is so much fun - they definitely know how to live in the present moment AND ensure that you do too - It also means that all holidays/festivals come way sooner than expected and we have no choice but to join in on the fun.
We must've celebrated Diwali for the whole month this year; same for Halloween and now Christmas. Our Xmas celebrations started in early November, tree was up by the 2nd week of November and treats are being prepared already :)
Our first treat for tis' season was Christmas sugar cookies - they turned out delicious and crispy, just the way we enjoy them! There are a million recipes out there on the net and we just picked 1 random one which was eggless.
It was Yummy to say the least!!
10 questions Tag
1. Your first childhood celebrity crush?
Hmm. Don't quite remember but I remember writing a letter to Amir khan which my mom found and got really upset about..lol2. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Cookies n' cream without a doubt - I could eat a tub in 1 sitting3. The best gift you’ve ever received?
The love of my life, my O!4. If you could learn any new skill, what would it be?
Singing - I feel super envious of those who can sing.5. Your favorite holiday destination?
Thailand6. The nicest compliment someone’s given you?
That I am always living in the moment without worrying about future or thinking about past7. You win the lottery. What’s the first thing you spend on?
Woww!! What WOULDN'T I spend it on - depending on the amount, I would honestly make a huge donation first to Care for Children8. The high point of this past weekend?
Diwali party for sure!9. Cat person/Dog person?
Dog since we have one - cats are sneaky and just not trustworthy lol10. What do you order at Starbucks?
Java chip frap for the most part but Pumpkin spiced Latte during fall
Long hiatus
It has been super long since I've checked in - I figured now that things have settled, It's about time I get back to doing what I love - which is writing and blogging.
Wow - I don't even know where to begin - a LOT has happened since my last blog post which I believe was sometime in July; since then, we've made major changes and biggest being that we wrapped up our life in one state, packed everything up and moved to a new one. It was overwhelming to say the least. While it was exciting on some level, it was bittersweet for the most part. Mostly because we've had to move away from our closest friends who'd become more like a family to us. Our family which was a few hours drive away is even further so not as easy to just make a 'weekend trip' anymore.
Anyway, all said and done, change is constant and obviously a part of life and I believe for once in my life, I embraced it with open arms and loved every minute of it. The biggest joy has been to see my kiddo make the smoothest transition of all. While he misses his best friend back home, he has made new friends super easily and has adjusted to his new school and environment with utmost ease. He's a born traveler so we're super proud of how well he's adjusted to new everything. Doggy has not been so happy because she doesn't have the rabbits to chase anymore or even a huge yard to play in but she's coming around and hopefully, will settle in sooner than later.
Festivities began in October so it's been even more fun and exciting - we got to enjoy our first Navratri in this state and it was great fun. We were lucky enough to go visit our friends for Diwali so that was a super blast. Kiddo just celebrated his 4th birthday and now Thanksgiving and of course Christmas is around the corner.
Looking forward to lots more excitements ahead - Loving every moment of this life and so grateful for everything that the god has blessed us with!
Wow - I don't even know where to begin - a LOT has happened since my last blog post which I believe was sometime in July; since then, we've made major changes and biggest being that we wrapped up our life in one state, packed everything up and moved to a new one. It was overwhelming to say the least. While it was exciting on some level, it was bittersweet for the most part. Mostly because we've had to move away from our closest friends who'd become more like a family to us. Our family which was a few hours drive away is even further so not as easy to just make a 'weekend trip' anymore.
Anyway, all said and done, change is constant and obviously a part of life and I believe for once in my life, I embraced it with open arms and loved every minute of it. The biggest joy has been to see my kiddo make the smoothest transition of all. While he misses his best friend back home, he has made new friends super easily and has adjusted to his new school and environment with utmost ease. He's a born traveler so we're super proud of how well he's adjusted to new everything. Doggy has not been so happy because she doesn't have the rabbits to chase anymore or even a huge yard to play in but she's coming around and hopefully, will settle in sooner than later.
Festivities began in October so it's been even more fun and exciting - we got to enjoy our first Navratri in this state and it was great fun. We were lucky enough to go visit our friends for Diwali so that was a super blast. Kiddo just celebrated his 4th birthday and now Thanksgiving and of course Christmas is around the corner.
Looking forward to lots more excitements ahead - Loving every moment of this life and so grateful for everything that the god has blessed us with!
Excuses!
Lack of time. Lack of ideas. Writer's block. Too lazy. Tired of posting recipes. Distracted. Moving. Feeling blah. Meh!!!
Meal in pictures: Medu vada!
A while back, I made these delicious Medu vada along with Coconut chutney and sambhar to go with it. They were surprisingly easy to make and turned out absolutely delish!
Thursday tip: Keeping a 5 minute journal
I don't know about you, but I am always looking for ways to learn new things especially about myself and trying to keep improving myself; some methods work, some fail miserably and some work for a short time but it is best to have tried something & failed rather than never having tried at all.
Anyway, some incidences took place in my life in last few weeks that had me introspect again; I kept looking for an answer to find out where the issue lied and as a result, stumbled upon the "5 minute journal" idea.
It's a great initiative for anyone looking for ways to improve themselves or need clarity or does not want to settle for 'daily routine'.
I started writing mine just about a week ago when I was on vacation and only do it when I get a few minutes in a day. I do not follow the typical guideline of writing style and only write what works for me and end it with one positive and one negative quality about myself which helps me more than anything else at this point and time.
It's nice to look back and reflect on what affected my day/mood/writing style and how - In general, I realized that Meditation for me is the 'saving grace'. More on this in the next 'Thursday tip' :)
Anyway, some incidences took place in my life in last few weeks that had me introspect again; I kept looking for an answer to find out where the issue lied and as a result, stumbled upon the "5 minute journal" idea.
It's a great initiative for anyone looking for ways to improve themselves or need clarity or does not want to settle for 'daily routine'.
I started writing mine just about a week ago when I was on vacation and only do it when I get a few minutes in a day. I do not follow the typical guideline of writing style and only write what works for me and end it with one positive and one negative quality about myself which helps me more than anything else at this point and time.
It's nice to look back and reflect on what affected my day/mood/writing style and how - In general, I realized that Meditation for me is the 'saving grace'. More on this in the next 'Thursday tip' :)
O's lunch box: Cheese quesadillas
It's been summer school for a while and while the school hours are short, I do enjoy the short break even if it's for a few hours and only for a couple of days :) - Don't get me wrong, I love my kiddo to death and there's no one I'd rather be around than him, but he can be a LOT to take 24/7..lol - He now talks non-stop and is a bundle of never ending energy; and to be honest, I hate to say this, but I'm getting too old to keep up with the kiddo lol!
Anyway, This is what was served for O's lunch box - Cheese Quesadillas, along with some pista (he thinks it's candy and calls it Pista candy), sunflower seeds, strawberries and his favorite yogurt.
Recipe: Veg. Manchurian
We love Indo-chinese food in our household. This is one of those dishes that is a staple when we go to an Indian-Chinese restaurant since it's just so delicious. Since we don't have an Indo-chinese restaurant where we live, I chose to give it a shot at home following THIS recipe.
It turned out pretty delicious :)
Indian version of Fruit salad
Prior to leaving for our vacation, I had made use of all the leftover fruits we had by making the Indian version of "Fruit Salad". Quick, easy and delicious :o)
Vacay (Picture overload)
It has been such a long time since I've had the chance to post anything thanks to the beautiful weather and of course, summer break. The last thing one wants to do is sit down with a computer when it's so nice out and there are so many things to do.
Anyway, It was a nice change of pace for us since we went away on a 'mini break'. Kiddo had a fantastic time with his cousins in Michigan; after that, we made a quick weekend trip to the beach and stayed at a fantastic Bed & Breakfast place. It was so nice and relaxing to be there.
But alas, we're back home - Home Sweet Home!! There's indeed no place like home and I'm thrilled to be back.
Anyway, It was a nice change of pace for us since we went away on a 'mini break'. Kiddo had a fantastic time with his cousins in Michigan; after that, we made a quick weekend trip to the beach and stayed at a fantastic Bed & Breakfast place. It was so nice and relaxing to be there.
But alas, we're back home - Home Sweet Home!! There's indeed no place like home and I'm thrilled to be back.
Update on organization challange
Last Thursday, I posted about challenging myself to be more organized in 21 days; this is sort of an update on that list.
One of the biggest accomplishments thanks to taking this challenge has been, cleaning out my hoarder hubby's closet - I finally managed to talk him into getting rid of stuff that is old, worn out, doesn't fit or is just plain ridiculous. As a result, he has a beautiful and specious closet ready to be filled with more goodies :)
Some of these are sort of an everyday chores/battles for me so I don't consider them crossed off, but here's what I've managed so far.
1, 2, 5, 10, 19 and 20 are done - the rest, I'm totally dreading :)
Eggplant Parmesan
Hubby is an adventurous eater, but picky at the same time. It's weird but there are certain fruits and vegetables, he'll only eat a certain way; for example, he will only eat Eggplants if it's in Bhartha texture.
Anyway, the other day, he was away so I decided to make Eggplant Parmesan for kiddo & I - It turned out to be super delicious. I just followed some random recipe on google and omitted eggs.
Thursday tip: A challenge for myself and anyone who's up for it!
I feel like I just got done spring cleaning, yet my house looks like a bigger mess than before; it's Thanks to a puppy who's refusing to potty train and a 3-1/2 year old tornado whose name starts with O and ends with R. He's out to absolutely destroy anything that I've just cleaned up.
It's funny because up until he turned 3, he was my biggest helper. He loved everything nice and neat and loved to clean. If there was garbage laying anywhere, He would scold me for it and go put it away - he would put away his toys and always kept himself nice and neat(which he still does for the most part), but now, it's a whole different story!! now, he'd rather do nothing but play because everything else will 'take a really wong wong time' or 'bau vaar wagshe' :o)
Any who, I've decided to take up this 21 day organization challenge starting today - which I feel will keep my sanity while getting things done at the same time!! Let's see how far I get ;)
It's funny because up until he turned 3, he was my biggest helper. He loved everything nice and neat and loved to clean. If there was garbage laying anywhere, He would scold me for it and go put it away - he would put away his toys and always kept himself nice and neat(which he still does for the most part), but now, it's a whole different story!! now, he'd rather do nothing but play because everything else will 'take a really wong wong time' or 'bau vaar wagshe' :o)
Any who, I've decided to take up this 21 day organization challenge starting today - which I feel will keep my sanity while getting things done at the same time!! Let's see how far I get ;)
Nails of the Month - May!
I am really getting into the whole nail polish thing lately and thought of sharing. I'm slowly trying to learn nail art and when I succeed, I will share more pics, but for now here are my nails for the month of May. This Sinful colors nail polish is surprisingly cheap and long lasting
Thursday Tip: know your produce!!
Although they seem like a nuisance, the stickers or labels attached to fruit and some vegetables have more of a function than helping scan the price at the checkout stand. The PLU code, or price lookup number printed on the sticker, also tells you how the fruit was grown. By reading the PLU code, you can tell if the fruit was genetically modified, organically grown or produced with chemical fertilizers, fungicides, or herbicides.
Here are the basics of what you should know:
- If there are only four numbers in the PLU, this means that the produce was grown conventionally or “traditionally” with the use of pesticides. The last four letters of the PLU code are simply what kind of vegetable or fruit. An example is that all bananas are labeled with the code of 4011.
- If there are five numbers in the PLU code, and the number starts with “8″, this tells you that the item is a genetically modified fruit or vegetable. Genetically modified fruits and vegetables trump being organic. So, it is impossible to eat organic produce that are grown from genetically modified seeds. A genetically engineered (GE or GMO) banana would be: 84011
- If there are five numbers in the PLU code, and the number starts with “9″, this tells you that the produce was grown organically and is not genetically modified. An organic banana would be: 94011
Side dish: Cucumber & Tomato raita
Now that warm weather is here, we're looking forward to having dishes that cool our tummy, heart, mind and soul ;) Yogurt being one of those things, we try and have Raita with our meals as often as we can.
Raita is basically yogurt mixed in with a couple of ingredients and seasoned to perfection with s&p and sometimes Cayenne peppers. In this case, we used baby cucumbers & tomatoes.
Lunch ideas: Veggie wrap
The other day, kiddo was at school and Hubby and I were home chilling - We had decided to go out for lunch but changed our minds at the last minute, so I put together this Veggie wrap with whatever I had available on hand - It was delicious of course since you can never go wrong with a wrap ;)
Happy birthday to me!
I've been feeling all sorts of weird lately!! a lot of feelings & thoughts that are very much unwanted and absolutely unnecessary keep popping up in my head making me feeling super frustrated.
Anyway, Today is my birthday :o) and I'm considering today is a new day and new beginning to more positive ME!!
A good friend once told me that in order go not be too harsh(hard) on yourself, only look at your own progress from your current 'self' to 'you' last year (along with not ever comparing yourself to anyone) Unfortunately, I feel I haven't improved myself much lately so things certainly need to change!!
Thankfully, it's never too late so I'm making some resolutions on my blog, on the Internet, and for the world to see so that I can stick by them.
1. Spend no more than 2 hours a day online - check any of the social media sites, either once or day or DEACTIVATE.
2. Wake up happy - especially with a thought that I will have a good day today or that I will do something good today.
3. Do at least 1 good deed a week (though it should be per day, but I'm starting off slowly here).
4. Be more appreciative of all that I have because clearly, I'm very blessed!
5. Be more optimistic about life and enjoy it more.
6. Start rigorous workout again. (I think this is the missing piece to the puzzle - I was super happy and active when I worked out regularly and felt good about myself)
7. Make an effort to be more kind, gentle, sensitive towards others (especially my husband)
8. LIVE!
9. Meditate daily - wether I like it or NOT!
10. Fall in love all over again with myself, my family, my life!
Anyway, Today is my birthday :o) and I'm considering today is a new day and new beginning to more positive ME!!
A good friend once told me that in order go not be too harsh(hard) on yourself, only look at your own progress from your current 'self' to 'you' last year (along with not ever comparing yourself to anyone) Unfortunately, I feel I haven't improved myself much lately so things certainly need to change!!
Thankfully, it's never too late so I'm making some resolutions on my blog, on the Internet, and for the world to see so that I can stick by them.
1. Spend no more than 2 hours a day online - check any of the social media sites, either once or day or DEACTIVATE.
2. Wake up happy - especially with a thought that I will have a good day today or that I will do something good today.
3. Do at least 1 good deed a week (though it should be per day, but I'm starting off slowly here).
4. Be more appreciative of all that I have because clearly, I'm very blessed!
5. Be more optimistic about life and enjoy it more.
6. Start rigorous workout again. (I think this is the missing piece to the puzzle - I was super happy and active when I worked out regularly and felt good about myself)
7. Make an effort to be more kind, gentle, sensitive towards others (especially my husband)
8. LIVE!
9. Meditate daily - wether I like it or NOT!
10. Fall in love all over again with myself, my family, my life!
Friday musings
These random musings had me giggling like a little school girl so thought I would share :)
Thursday Tip: Water..water..water
With summer just around the corner, everyone obviously gets into the mode of fitness, being outdoors more often and just enjoying the weather. What a lot of us forget however, is to keep our body hydrated. Someone told me long time ago that by the time you feel thirsty, your body is already very dehydrated.
This chart explains it all so I will not get into the nitty gritty of why 1 needs to drink lots and lots of water, not just during summer but throughout your life..all day..errday ;)
How time flies..
We've been busy attending several birthday parties lately; most of them for kiddos who are turning 1 - It's been so much fun as most of these kids were just tiny li'l babies not long ago and now they're toddlers, just like my monkey.
I can't even believe it's been 3-1/2 years since my little chunky monkey was born. He was born a preemie so was the tiniest thing ever, but caught up faster than ever and was consistantly chunky with cute chubby cheeks until he started walking of course..now he's tall and lanky and FULL of energy - I have yet to figure out where his energy comes from because he's certainly not eating enough to keep up :-)
Anywho, attending these parties made me wanna go back and take a look at my kiddo's moments from when he turned one!! I remember him being super sick from an ear infection on his 1st birthday so we had to cancel his party because we were also flying out to India the very next day and I wanted him to feel his bestest for the travel. We did end up having a very small and intimate celebration with just friends and family as it was also Diwali which was just PERFECT!!
Thursday Tip - How to clean berries and make them last longer!
I bet we've all had this happen. We bring delicious strawberries at home and after having a couple, we let them sit on counter or in the fridge. And within a day or 2, they are shriveled and turn moldy..YUCKK!!
Well here's a tip to make them last much longer. Take your strawberries, put them in large bowl and fill it with cold water. For every 2 cups of water, stir in 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar. Let them sit for 5 minutes or so, drain the water out and put strawberries on a towel or paper towel to dry. Once dry, store them in an open container in the fridge :)
21 "get to know me" questions TAG!!
1. Are you named after anyone? Nope.
2. When was the last time you cried? Been a while, thankfully!!
4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? hmmm...yes & no!! I'm a great person to hang out with but can be opinionated & outspoken
5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Unfortunately yes!! ALL the time!!
6. Will you ever bungee-jump? Yes - Skydiving was thrilling so Bungee jumping is def. on my bucket list
7. What’s your favorite cereal? Honey bunches of Oats!!
8. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Their smile!!!
9. What is your eye colour? Light brown
10. Scary movie or happy endings? I don't do scary movies, so def. happy endings!!
11. Favorite smells? My hubby's cologne and my kiddo!!
12. Summer or winter? SUMMER!!
13. Computer or television? Computer
14. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home? India
15. Do you have any special talents? Probably raise my eyebrows one at a time??
16. Where were you born? India
17. What are your hobbies? Tons..reading, writing, cooking, chilling, facebooking, hanging out with my kiddo is probably my favorite though
18. have any pets? Yes, a puppy named Skylar!!
19. Favorite movie? Not a huge movie buff but Dirty dancing, The English Patient, Life is beautiful tops my list; Hindi would be 3 Idiots
20. Do you have any siblings? Yes… An older sister and a younger brother
21. What do you want to be when you grow up? umm..a li'l late for this question as I'm pretty 'grown up' lol..but I would love to learn another language sometime in the near future!!
Side dish: Mushroom & Peas curry
Hubby is a huge fan of mushrooms..Me, not so much! Anywho, to make him happy, I made this Mushrooms & Peas curry sort of side dish a while back - It turned out absolutely delicious as I couldn't even taste the mushrooms ;) so it's a win win!!
A mini trip & Skylar
Over the weekend, we decided to take a trip to Newport, KY to check out the Aquarium. We'd been wanting to take kiddo and his best friend on a road trip for a while, so thought this might be a great opportunity and it was. We had a great time as a family and hanging out with our friends was an added bonus.
The Newport aquarium is very interesting and well worth the time and money. It is very reasonably priced and if your kids like Sea life, they will definitely like this aquarium. If you take your time you can spend about three hours walking through this aquarium. There are also lots of interactive activities for kids to do.This is very kid oriented. It has some nice views of the river as well. It was educational, Peaceful and didn't take long to walk through, I also loved that it sat on the Levee, which just gave us even more things to do. We loved it.
On a separate note, Meet Skylar. She's our new puppy that we adopted couple of days ago - she's a yorkie and so so cute!! She's only 11 weeks old so I was a bit stressed and apprehensive about having her join us but, her wonderful personality just won us over. She's still adjusting to us and seems pretty docile; gets along great with the kiddo and gets nervous pretty easily, but that's expected of a puppy, especially in a new environment. We look forward to spending lots of fun moments with her :)
O's lunch
Today's lunchbox: Bow tie pasta w/ veggies sauted in Pesto sauce
Sides: an orange & cucumber sliced along with mixed nuts(Not pictured)
O's lunch box: Veggie tikkis
I did not have my camera available to so had to take one with my cell phone - Anyway, for O's lunch, I served him Veg Tikkis (bunch of vegetables binded and then pan fried) along with his favorite sides :)
Thursday tip - make your nail polish last longer!
Take a cotton ball, dip it in Vinegar and swipe it on your unpolished nails - once dry, continue with your manicure :-)
Praying for Boston!
My heart aches for the victims and their families of Boston tragedy. Even for those who were not hurt, this will leave a permanent scar and will forever be 'cautious'.
And then there are rest of us. Scared and waiting for the inevitable. Could I be next? Could my family, my child be next? What if I drop my kiddo off to school as usual and then never see him again? What if my hubby goes to work and then never comes back? What if I happen to go somewhere and never return to see my precious family again??
I feel as if it's bound to happen sooner or later. This world has become such a cruel, cold, violent place that the uncertainty is what will kill us off eventually. Everyday I drop off my kiddo, and then sadly keep an eye on the news, just in case!!! I can't help but panic and wonder.
O's lunch box - Vegetable Sevai
Spring break is long over and schools are officially back in session. Which means an exciting but hectic schedule for all mommies and the battle of lunch on daily basis. If you're lucky like I am, if variety is served, half the battle is won :-)
My kiddo loves Sevai - the sweet & the spicy version of it!! If you don't know what it is, learn more about Sevai here! It makes for a great breakfast or lunch which is light and quick.
It's a nice change from the usual spaghetti & pasta while giving him the same texture. For his lunch, I served him Vegetable Sevai with a side of an apple, his favorite fruite & nuts along with a Kellogs bar.
Friday musings: Pet edition
We're seriously considering adopting a puppy dog - main reason being that li'l O begs and begs and begs every single day (and night). I've been avoiding it until now but I think I'll have to give in sooner than later.
Don't get me wrong - I loooove doggies and pets in general - It's just the training and Having to clean the 'dirties' that I'm not all that excited about. Kiddo and hubby will get to have all the fun and I will be stuck with the cleaning part ;) but what the heck, my kiddo will be super happy and we'll be able to provide a home for one of many animals that need a shelter and love!!
So, keeping it with the subject, here are some Friday musings - Doggie special!!
Don't get me wrong - I loooove doggies and pets in general - It's just the training and Having to clean the 'dirties' that I'm not all that excited about. Kiddo and hubby will get to have all the fun and I will be stuck with the cleaning part ;) but what the heck, my kiddo will be super happy and we'll be able to provide a home for one of many animals that need a shelter and love!!
So, keeping it with the subject, here are some Friday musings - Doggie special!!
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