Day 29 | Advantage of today

Question : What did you do to take advantage of this extra day this year?

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday. So i took advantage of today to do the shopping for his birthday gift.

Day 28 | Stressful things

Question : What stresses you?

The thought of the weekends always stresses me. Although weekends are meant to be for relaxing, the thought of doing the never ending housework continues to stress me out always.

Day 27 | A near-to perfect day

Question : What would have made today perfect?

It was nearing perfect as it went as per expected routine . But I think if we plan things for the week it would be more perfect and best.

Day 26 | Annoying me

Question : What is annoying you?

One thing that continuously annoys me is when my husband continues to keep the house shabby while I try my best efforts to be after him cleaning the mess. If he takes something, he never keeps it back. Also he is very very laid back when it comes to doing things which he doesn't like but if its related to photography or his interest he can go without sleep for days to do it. This really annoys me.

Day 25 | My super power

Question : What is your super power?

I believe my ability to multitask is my superpower. It really helps me that I am able to manage a full time job and doing house work independently and to my best capability by multitasking although there is always scope for improvement.

Puffed Chapati !!

Although I make tava chapati's frequently at my place, I never tried doing the puffed chapatis or phulka chapati. Once when we were out for dinner, my husband was impressed by the soft phulka's they served and from then on he insisted me to prepare puffed chapatis at home. Earlier i used to not get very good puffed chapatis but with practice i eventually succeeded. The process of making puffed chapatis is similar to making tava chapati's with one additional step. That's it just one more step and you get supersoft puffed chapatis :)

Ingredients :
Wheat flour - 2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp 
Water - 3/4 cup
Oil - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method :
1) Add wheat flour, salt in a wide bowl and mix them well. 
2) Add water little by little to form a soft solid dough.
3) Add oil and knead it again till it becomes not be too tight or too loose.
Simple test at this stage is when you pick a sample small piece it should be solid and non sticky.
4) Now break the dough into small pieces.
5) Roll these balls evenly using your palm
6) Roll each ball into thin circles evenly by dusting flour as required.
7) Heat tawa and keep in medium flame.
8) Add the flattened out roti dough and wait for few seconds.
9) Once small bubbles begin to appear, flip it to other side.
10) Wait for few more minutes till brown spots appear.
11) Now with the help of a tong,  transfer it to the flame. 
12) In few minutes time, it will begin to puff.
13) Carefully transfer it with tong to to hot pack. 
14) Repeat the same procedure for all other roti balls. 

Holi !!

Holi is the festival of colours. It is one of the most awaited festivals which is celebrated with joy and energy.

Traditionally it marks the beginning of spring and is celebrated for two days  On the first day, known as day of “Holika Dahan”, bonfire is lit symbolizing the victory of truth over evil. People sing and dance around the fire.

In our area too, lot of Punjabi families lit a bonfire and their friends and relatives sang and danced around the fire. It was fun to watch them and also enjoy the celebration.

The next day people is the actual festival Holi where people of different age groups and communities celebrate by applying colors.

Today we along with husband's friend Animesh went to Badichowdi area for watching Holi celebrations. My husband had been there earlier and had told me about how Holi is celebrated in a traditional manner among the Rajasthani community there. When we reached there, the people were just starting with the celebration where they start a procession and then all the women and men gather in circles and smear colors on each other. It was real fun watching them enjoy the celebrations. They invited us to also join them.
After about 1-2 hours, they ended the celebrations and went inside. We then went to a famous jalebi stall and enjoyed having some hot jalebis.

It was definitely a good experience celebrating holi with these people !!





Day 24 | Difference in today

Question : Whose life did you make a difference in today?

Today I made a difference in my life by preparing a schedule and following it as much possible. That gave me a huge pride of accomplishment. Although it was a struggle following it given the distractions and busy schedule, i think it was good i gave it a try.

Day 23 | Felt secure

Question : Today I felt really secure knowing __________________.

Today I felt really secure knowing that I am blessed to be in a family who is super motivated and where there is no end for knowledge.

Day 22 | 3 things to buy

Question : What are three things you need to buy?

Currently the top three things I would need to buy are vegetables for the week, some fruits and provisions.

Day 21 | List of Pets

Question : List your pets.

I do not own any pet. But given a chance I would love to have a dog. I just love how faithful and caring they are.

Day 20 | Car for driving

Question : What kind of car are you driving?

I do not drive a car here. I commute by public transport or at times my husband drops me in our Ford Fiesta.

Day 19 | Morals being challenged

Question : What has challenged your morals?

Food and partying has always challenged my morals. For a girl who was a complete vegetarian and completely against alcohol, sticking to those morals when being with friends is always a challenge. At times we tend to let go of the control and enjoy the food and parties but always come back to a state of guilt the next day.

Day 18 | Biggest Hope

Question : My biggest hope is _____________.

My biggest hope is that my husband tries to find a balance between his professional work and personal work soon. 

Day 17 | Last new thing tried

Question : What was the last new thing you tried?

Making Paneer Chilly dish was the last new thing i tried. It is our favorite dish and I wanted to try making it at home.

Day 16 | Mood Today

Question : What mood were you in today?

I was in normal and cheerful mood today. Day went as expected and fine.

Day 15 | Last thing wanted

Question : Last thing you wanted but didn't get.

The last thing I wanted so far but didn't get is getting new microwave. I and my husband have been thinking of getting one for a long time but it didn't materialize so far.

Day 14 | Sleep Hours last night

Question : How many hours of sleep did you get last night?

I had 9 hours of sleep last night. We slept at 00:30 and woke up at 9:30am

Day 13 | Currently reading book

Question : What book are you reading right now?

I am not reading any book right now. I guess the last book i read was in college

Day 12 | Photos taken today

Question : How many photos did you take today?

I did not get to take any photos today. It was a busy weekend for me.

Ginger Garlic Paste !!

Ginger Garlic paste is one of the essential items in my daily cooking. I make this paste on the weekend and it easily comes for about 10 days. Ginger and garlic have a lot of benefits on our health and I use it in all types of gravy.

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped Ginger
1 cup peeled garlic cloves
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp oil

Method
1) First take ginger and peel the skin.
2) Once the ginger skin is peeled, cut that in to small cubes. 
3) Take the garlic and peel it.
4) Now put ginger and garlic together and dry roast in a pan
5) Once it gets light golden color, switch off the heat and move the pan aside.
6) Allow it to cool.
7) Put them together in to blender and grind to a smooth paste.
8) Store in a clean jar and  refrigerate.

Day 11 | Wish I had

Question : I wish I had ____________.

I wish I had been at my goal weight so that I could eat anything. These days I have been eating out so frequently that I think my weight has been shooting up.

Day 10 | Purchase today

Question : What did you buy today?

I purchased some snack items today. We usually stock some snack items so that it will be useful over the weekend.

Day 9 | Bedtime last night

Question : What time did you go to bed last night?

Last night we went to bed at 00:30. We were watching a movie and went to bed after it ended.  

Day 8 | Largest TV screen

Question : What is the largest TV screen in your house?

Largest TV screen is Sony TV at my house. My husband has been having this since over 2 years and this has been very useful and faithful to us.

Day 7 | Person didn't have to deal

Question : Name a person you wish you didn't have to deal with today.

Without doubts its RV. Wish he would be more interactive and  more helpful to others.

Day 6 | Do today over

Question : If you could do today over, would you change anything?

Yes. I would like to relive the day once again with more understanding and more love.

Day 5 | Health today

Question : On a scale of 1-10 how is your health?

I would rate my health as 6 on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being minimum and 10 being maximum. I need to lose some weight, get back to habit of working out and start eating healthy but otherwise I am getting my periods regularly and doing good.

Trip with cousins !!

Husband had always wanted to plan a trip with Hari and Kaushik. Now with Hari moving for further studies in April this year, we thought better to gather now and plan a trip before he gets occupied with his university admission process.

So last week, we all 4 planned a trip to Maharashtra covering Pune, Alibagh, Kashid Beach, Murud Janjira fort, Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani.

Our temporary itinerary looked like this -
DateDayActivityPlace of Stay
25th JanWedStart to Pune in BusBus
26th Jan
Thu
Reach Pune
Kashid Beach
Freshup and start to Alibagh in car
Reach Alibagh in max 3-4 hrs
Take a room and put luggage and freshup and have lunch
Roam around, visit Birla Temple, Fort , Kashid Beach
27th Jan
Fri
Checkout from room Go to Murud.
Murud
Check Fort, Fishermen village, Janjira and go to Murud for nite stay
28th Jan
Sat
Go to Mahableshwar (4 hrs) and check in hotel and explore Kate's Point
Panchgani
Pratapgarh Fort, Rajpuri Caves, Elephant's Head Point, Connaught Peak and night stay at panchgani
29th JanSunExplore Panchgani and Back to Pune by evening to catch bus to HydBus


We had a blast for sure. One of the most memorable trip with cousins.

Day 4 | Favorite color

Question : My favorite color is ______________.

My favorite color is pink. It represents femininity and also defines you as kind, loving and sensitive to the needs of others.

Day 3 | Last Apology

Question : What’s the last thing you apologized for?

The last thing I apologized was for not understanding my husband. He was trying to say something which was definitely good but I did not get the real meaning of it and shot back immediately with a lot of questions and disagreement which got into a misunderstanding with him. 
Lesson learnt is to slowly try to interpret what he is trying to say and then get back politely if I still did not follow.

Day 2 | Most expensive bill

Question : The most expensive bill I paid last month was ________.

The most expensive bill I paid last month was for weekly grocery shopping. We went to try Balaji Grand supermarket close to our place but unfortunately it turned out to be pricey and we ended up paying Rs3000 for regular provision shopping.

Day 1 | Favorite piece of art

Question : What is your favorite piece of art you own?

I do not have any valuable art. But there is a photo of me in my Chembur home when I was about 10 year old. My parents gave me the pic when they came to visit us. It is a framed pic and is close to me as it makes me nostalgic.