FIRST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 . Bubu and kuttu are heading off on a vacation to San deigo now!! Please post your anniversary wishes on this blog and we’ll try to make it come true :) ta-dah!!!
will post pics when i get back:)

VALENTINE'S DAY

As always i did plan a lot for this day , and this time i decided to make plenty of personalized edible stuff lol:)
so here goes the list of non-edible stuff , i bought two black t-shirts and painted "bubu" and "kuttu" on each of them with a cute heart on it , then a personalized valentine's day card and a video

The edible stuff includes a chococlate mouuse cake, a vegetable bouquet ( actually I can include this under nonedible stuff coz I used  purple potatoes never mind! , a bread basket ,bubu’s fav seek kebab, strawberry jelly and a cocktail :)

Bubu got me lots of tops, box of hugs and kises and a red rose:)

PONGALO PONGAL!!!!

The festival is celebrated for four days in the month of “thai”. Pongal in Tamil means "boiling over" or "spill over". The boiling over of milk in the clay pot symbolizes material abundance for the household.

The first day -Bhogi Festival:

The first day of Pongal is devoted to Lord Indra, who is the supreme ruler of clouds that give rain

The second day- Surya Pongal:  

On the second day of Pongal, a puja is performed. Rice is boiled in milk, outdoors - in an earthenware pot, and is symbolically offered to the Sun God

The third day-Maatu Pongal:

 The third day of Pongal is celebrated because Lord Shiva once asked Nandi, his bull, to go to earth and deliver his message to the people - to have an oil bath every day and food once a month. But Nandi got it all mixed up when he delivered the message, and told the people that Shiva asked them to have an oil bath once a month and eat every day. Enraged Shiva cursed “Nandi” and said that due to this mistake there would be lack of grains on the Earth. He banished the bull to live on earth forever and help people plough the fields. It is also known as Mattu Pongal, the day when cattle are worshipped 

The fourth day -Kaanum Pongal: 

The women in the house pay respects to their brothers on this something like a rakshabandam in the north

THANKS GIVING - THE ULTIMATE SHOPPING FUN

It was 7 in the morning , bubu and me set out on our hunt for goods , the first thing we had on our mind was the dining table with 4 chairs from Fry's market place , then we bought a couch, a cupboard, table lamps, drawers etc from IKEA , curtains, sheers etc from big lots and then we got loads of stuff for kitchen bathroom etc . WE hired a pick-up truck, carried every single thing by ourselves to our house in the 1st floor, poor bubu he did most of the carrying . Finally we got back home only by 7 midnight , Then we assembled everything all by ourselves and set up our "HOME" Finally i can call it home :)
Bubu-Kuttu's house was all set and now let me do a little bit of flaunting. " HAVE IT , FLAUNT IT !!! "


OUR LIVING ROOM

It might look small but then both of love it this way

OUR KITCHEN
I say "our kitchen" coz my bubu helps me a lot in the kitchen , rarely does cooking but helps me with the dishes :)

OUR BEDROOM

OUR BATHROOM

HOW IS BUBU AND KUTU'S HOME?? PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS

BUBU'S BIRTHDAY!!!

Soon after we got back from LV , I had to plan for my bubu's birthday, i wanted to make him feel really special on his birthday i did have couple of plans in my head but then some of them were practically impossible to implement using his credit card and still keeping it a surprise so i sought the help of my cousin and booked a limousine( coz i remember bubu telling long time back that i ve always wanted to go on a limo) This is how i planned his day , at midnight i booked a limo and we went on a ride and cut his birthday cake inside the limo and then came back home and gave his birthday gifts - i got him a tshirt, jeans and a shirt . The next day i made his favorite breakfast - idli and muton curry , wait wait i had one more surprise i baked a cake for him and sent it through one of his colleague , it was heart shaped chocolate cake - i knew bubu will be super embarrassed looking at the cake in his office but then i wanted to see him all shy ;)
Then in the afternoon i made chicken curry , chapati , gulab jamun and rasmalai - all his favourites . In the evening we went out for dinner to our favorite thai restaurant:)

A TRIP TO SIN CITY

YES! Las Vegas!!!!!!!!! It was my first tym to place like that i mean " A SIN CITY" where u find the three things which is considered bad in every religion

Madhu- in tamil means Alcohol
Maaadhu- in tamil means women - the name "Las Vegas " says it all apparently" Las" in spanish is a femine noun
Sudhu - in tamil means gambling , what is LV without gambling

It was my first visit to a casino and i sat on slot machine , no lesser than 5 minutes i lost 20 bucks so i got up from that casino and i decided to try my luck in another one . I did try my luck till midnight ;) We stayed in stratosphere in a suite and the rides were closed due to wind chills , visited the Belagio, Venetian,  MGM Grand, Cesar palace etc etc . I had so much of fun over there but then when it comes to penning it down i have nothing to write , i guess you never explain the kind of fun u have in Las Vegas. I definitely enjoyed the trip and it was our first trip together jus the two of us so lets call it a Honeymoon trip :)

KODAK MOMENTS

THALA DIWALI

Its called " Thalai diwali" coz its our first diwali after the wedding .

The exact day of the festival is decided by the position of the moon. According to the Hindu calendar, Amavasai or 'no moon day' is considered as the perfect day to celebrate Diwali.This dark night comes after every fortnight and in the month of Kartikai, it marks this festival of lights and diyas. The festival is reckoned with Lord Rama's victory as the King of Ayodhya after his return to the kingdom from 14 years of exile along with his wife Sita & brother Laxman after killing the demon, King Ravana. The festival is celebrated by lighting diyas and candles to drive away the darkness of Amavasai.

I didnt get the feel of diwali in Phoenix like the way i used to in India but then didnt want to make it even more boring so i decided to make some sweets for diwali and morevover my mom told me she got us plenty of clothes and will  send it through my cousin finally i had something to look forward to . On the day of diwali we woke up at 4 30 in the morning and we took ganga snanam and wore our new clothes , did some pooja and then Ashok gave me this Spa coupon for diwali which i didnt ecpect at all . The diwali which i thought would be boring was spiced up by loved ones :) Thanks ma , Thank you daddy  , Thanks bubu ( thats how I call them!)

Paal kolukatai

Thatai

Masala peanut

Seedai

Jelabi

Gulab Jamun

Nine Nights - November- "Navratri"

Navratri  stretches over a period of nine days, with each of the nine days being dedicated to one of the nine forms of the Goddess.Mahishasura, the mighty demon, worshipped Lord Shiva and obtained the power of eternity. Soon, he started killing and harassing innocent people and set out to win all the three lokas. The gods in swargaloka appealed to Lord Shiva, to find a way to get rid of the demon. To protect the world from the atrocities of Mahishasura, the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva united their powers and created a divine female warrior, known as Goddess Durga. Mahishasura, when he saw the divine beauty of Goddess Durga, got mesmerized. So fascinated was Mahishasura by Goddess Durga's beauty that he approached her with the intention of marriage. The goddess agreed to marry him, but put forth a condition - Mahishasura would have to win over her in a battle. Mahishasura, proud as he was, agreed immediately! The battle continued for 9 nights and at the end of the ninth night, Goddess Durga beheaded Mahishasura. The nine nights came to be known as Navratri, while the tenth day was called Vijayadashmi, the tenth day that brought the triumph of good over evil.
Neivedhyam can be anything , usually in Tamil Nadu they make sundal so decide i ll stick to the normal trend of making  sundal everyday along with one more special Neivedyam.
 so here goes the list

DAY1

PINEAPPLE FIRNI AND GROUNDNUT SUNDAL

DAY2

JELABI AND CHENNA DHAL SUNDAL

DAY3

CHAKKARA PONGAL AND KARAMANI SUNDAL

DAY4
PEDA AND BLACK CHENNA SUNDAL

DAY5

KALA JAMUN AND GREEN GRAM SUNDAL

DAY6

CARROT HALWA AND WHITE CHENNA SUNDAL

DAY7

DRY FUIT HALWA AND MUNG DHAL SUNDAL

DAY8

PINEAPPLE KESARI AND GREEN PEAS SUNDAL

DAY9

RAVA LADOO, GULAB JAUMN, VADA AND PINTO BEANS SUNDAL

Trust me it was the sundal which made each day interesting more than the sweets coz both of us would break our heads to decide which pulse goes into making the sundal .

Navratri pooja

FESTIVE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER

KRISHNA JAYATHI - meaning birth of "Lord Krishna"

Lord Krishna was born on the midnight of the eight day after the full moon of Sravana month. The star of the day was Rohini, so it is known as Ashtami Rohini. The meaning of ashtami is "8th day after the full moon". This day is also known as Janmashtami, ashtami day of the birth. Even my bubu's birth star is "rohini", no wonder Krishna was and is my fav God -( I know it sounds goofy!!) We usually celebrate Krishna Jayathi late in the evning coz Krishna was born at midnight . Krishna is worshiped in his many forms, from that of an innocent baby to an adult who can preach the Gita.South Indian homes decorate the front yards and floors of their homes with kolams for all festivals and celebrations For Krishna Jayanthi it is customary to draw the little feet of Baby Krishna going from the front door to the place where the pooja is to be conducted. Even i did draw one at the entrance and one near my pooja room

Suddenly i realized i didn't have a picture of Lord Krishna at home so i drew one myself , and celebrated Gokulashtami, i made vadas and aval payasam at home. Aval ( pounded rice) is supposed to Lord krishna's favorite

GANESH CHATHURTHI- meaning birth of "Lord Ganesha"
It is observed during the hindu month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) A life-like clay model of Lord Ganesha is made and the size of this idol may vary from 3/4th of an inch to over 25 feet. Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda and Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, and Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted in the temples , we were lucky enough to visit the "Maha Ganapathy temple" when they were reciting the vedas , its a popular belief that even hearing these vedas is supposedto bring good charms .On Chaturthi day we celebrate Ganesha's birthday and then honor Him as our beloved guest for ten days. Then on the tenth day, called chaturdashi, we bid Him fond farewell at the ocean shore or banks of a river- symbolic of the fact that we will all dissolve into earth one day

I made a very small idol of Lord Ganesha at home using turmeric paste at home. we also make rice dumplings (kolukattai / modhaks) and sundal which are supposed to be Lord Ganesha's favorite. On the third day i dissolved it in tap water and poured the water on roots of a flowering tree near my house

Our first festival togther

ADI PERUKU

Adiperukku is a monsoon  Tamil  festival celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month of Adi (mid July but last year it was on the 3^rd of august ) Its like a thanks giving to monsoon which fills the rivers – the lifeline of farmers.  My dad being a marine engineer, even we owe a lot to the water bodies :) The festival is celebrated in full fervor by people residing along the Cauvery River bank. ‘Perukku’ in tamil means rising – indicating the rising water in rivers. The festival is essentially a form of Nature worship. All of us can’t afford to go the Cauvery banks so in India my mom worships the tap from which the Cauvery water comes (mordern version or rather lazy version of Adi peruku) I did the same in the US but then instead of Cauvery it was “Salt river “. So mine is pseudo version of Adi peruku , whatever it is we had fun :)

I made all these all by myself that too without tasting it :) From left corner appalam, masala vada, sundal, curd rice, gulab jamun, malai ladoo, coconut rice, tamarind rice, lemon rice, potato curry and avial Thanks to my bubu ,he'll never stop me from making any dish and is also ready to taste even the weirdest dish which i find online. After all practice makes a man perfect!!