Mini Book

This is the mini book i'm working on with summer theme. I made it out of a beer carton. The flaps of the carton were around 4x6 so i just cut up the whole carton roughly around that size. Fun thing to recycle !! I painted with some fun acrylic paints on the unprinted side. Also just to keep the eye in the album i painted rough black borders throghout the album. I'm planning on putting some pictures of what we did this summer...hopefully it'll be done soon !!



Have a great day !!

Scrap chic Contest

My local scrapbook store Scrapchic boutique is running a contest where i had to use the word "friends", use 2 patterned papers & 2 techniques. So i made this layout & as i did not have a scallop border punch i hand drew it & cut it. I did some hand doodling on the page and some inking as 2 techniques. Journaling is "Because of you i've never missed my best girlfriends back in India. Thank you & i love you ". Ohh and i used Valerie Salmon's sketch #65. Now i need to pass on some coupons to my friends to get them to visit the store & vote for my layout !! :d

Moong Dal Soup ( Green lentils soup)

This is a heart healthy soup. Great in taste, low in fat, high in nutrition.....Very Filling

• A cup of Moong dal (split or whole) & pressure cook them for around 15 mins.
• Once they are boiled just crush them with a hand mixie.
• Heat 1 teaspoon of ghee/oil, add some cumin seeds, when they start to splutter add 1/4 tspn hing (asafoetida),1/4tspn haldi(turmeric) & quickly add some curry leaves and 1 green chilly sliced in half.
• Garnish with some coriander. As variation you can jazz it up with garlic, onions....

ENJOY!!!!!!

Wooohooo !!!

Debbie Hodge had a giveaway on her blog, i just had to leave a comment on her blogpost and guess what... i won !!! How exciting can this be !! I enter such giveaways pretty much everyday & have never won..but i won this time around..just feels great !!! cant wait to get the goodies !! :)

July update

We had a good 4th of july weekend, had a few bbq parties, and a memorable trip to Greenville, SC. & in between all of this, i attended a scrapbook expo in gwinett center, took some classes at the expo and finished 3 pages for the europe scrapbook and started a mini album. Will post pics soon of everything once i finish them..though i'm thinking of posting some sneak peaks. Till then some family pics.:)

Laurel Park

This playground is nice but more friendly towards kids ages 3 and above just because of the height of some of the slides. Though there is a small play equipment nearby too for toddlers but its not challenging enough. There are quite a few swings & the slides are quite swirly. They are fun even for parents !! ( i've tried one of them!!). There's a small pond near the park & a small walking trail. The pond has lots of ducks & there are picnic tables around it. You can call them if you want to reserve some spot for birthday parties. We enjoyed the ducks & just sitting near the pond & relaxing. It was good.

Amenities:

• 13 Lighted Tennis Courts
• 1 Mile Track
• 2 Ponds
• Sand Volleyball Court
• Outdoor Basketball Court
• 2 Pavilions
• Picnic Tables and Grills
• Open Play Field
• Playground

More info - http://www.mariettaga.gov/departments/parks_rec/parks/laurelpark.aspx

Hammond Park - Sandy Springs Playground

This playground has the basic slides and everything..umm its highly OK. There's not much challenging for the kids and the thing that i did not like was the fact they did not keep the average height of toddlers in mind & the walking spaces were not at appropriate height. The other thing is that the walking space just before you slide down has small leaf shape like grooves..which a toddler could grab onto to support itself while walking are quite sharp and could hurt their soft fingers. Behind the infant-toddler park is a playground for big kids. There is a small sandpit in between the two playgrounds. There is also dogwalking trail which i felt was the only plus of the playground. The big kid playground is quite similar to the campbell high school park but the only difference was that this one felt much dirtier !! Even the picnic shelters near by were quite dirty & somehow there was just a rotten smell near the big kid playground. Did not seem hygenic at all !!

HAMMOND PARK
705 Hammond Drive
Atlanta, Georgia 30328
(404) 303-6176

Located at the corner of Hammond Drive and Glenridge Drive in Sandy Springs

Facilities:

• 2 Recreation Centers
• Gymnasium with Gymnastics Hall and Game Room
• Soccer/Flag Football Field (Lighted)
• 4 Tennis Courts (Lighted)
• 2 Outdoor Basketball Courts (Lighted)
• 2 Multi-purpose Courts
• 3 Picnic Shelters
• 2 Playgrounds (1 Handicapped Accessible)
• Picnic Tables
• Walking Trail
• Restroom/Storage Building

Blog readability test

I came across this while i was surfing on the net & its reallly funny !!


hmm...need to work on my blog more to upgrade its level !!

Happy Father's Day !!

Hey everyone !! Today for Father's Day I presented Anish with a small mini album which i made from a kit at my local scrapbook store called Scrap Chic Boutique. The ladies from the store had put together this mini kit & they helped me make this for Anish. My first ever mini scrap album :d !! I was soooo excited while i made it & presented it to Anish !! :)). You can check the album photos from my slides. The other thing I did was a photo cube for my dad who just got back from his vacation in Alaska. It was cool, simple, quick & very easy to make !! I've put a template for you to follow & it also has directions of how to stick it !! Now to end this post...i found this cool poem from the internet...

Fathers are Wonderful People
Fathers are wonderful people
Too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
As often as we should...

For, somehow, Father seems to be
The man who pays the bills,
While Mother binds up little hurts
And nurses all our ills...

And Father struggles daily
To live up to "HIS IMAGE"
As protector and provider
And "hero or the scrimmage"...

And perhaps that is the reason
We sometimes get the notion,
That Fathers are not subject
To the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad's heart,
Where no one else can see
You'll find he's sentimental
And as "soft" as he can be...

But he's so busy every day
In the grueling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
To his partner and his wife...

But Fathers are just WONDERFUL
In a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
And accolade of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires
To fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
And to bring them happiness...

He's a guardian and a guide,
Someone that we can count on
To be ALWAYS ON OUR SIDE.
- By Helen Steiner Rice

Europe Scrapbook

Kidscape Village - Campbell High School Playground

This playground is really appropriate for toddlers from 18 months to pre - teen kids. This is quite a big park compared to the other playgrounds I've been yet & its an amazing park for growing kids. They have all sorts of bars, swings, slides & ways to challenge your kid physically !! I would say to take your infants young ones to smaller parks where they are more comfortable and then shift them to this park. Usually the big kids are running around in this park & how much ever careful they are or you are you dont want your kid bumping into big kids games !! This playground also has that pyramid kinda structure which is generally scarry to climb !! But the kids are more comfortable climbing them !! Ohh they have some convenient restrooms too & there's a softball field right next to the playground ! I've heard that you can call the county people & reserve it for some time if you want to play some game.
Fun thing about this park is that there's always an ice cream truck lurking around tempting young ones..if you are the liberal type parent who treats their kid sometimes then this park is for you & if you are the "NO SWEET" type parent then just be warned !!

Map

Centennial Park

The best thing about this park is that they have over head shelter right where the kids play !! A saviour in this severe heat and helps avoid some sunburns too !! I loved this park..not the usual...it had different levels for your toddler to try walking on. The curves specially making it hard & challenging them to walk straight. As with summer vacation already started there were lots of big kids playing around with the small ones !! The bongo drums were the favorite of the big kids...creating their own rhythms & dancing to their own moves !! Just having fun !! Arent the kids supposed to be doing that anyways !! :)

Piedmont Park - Mayor's Grove Playground

Piedmont Park - Mayor's Grove Playground
Address :- 400 Park Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30306
Contact :- 404.876.4024 ( community center), 404.875.7275 (park)
Google Map :- http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS268US269&q=400%20Park%20Drive%20NE&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Features	Ranking	Comments
Age appropriate activity	9	Mainly for toddlers and infant swings, few challenges might interest big kids
Playground Variety	10	They have lots of cool stuff to raise music awareness, some nice apparatus to check your kid's body balance. It really stimulates minds of kiddie people !
Overall Safety	10	The playground is very safe, its not linked to any major roads or highways. Its nicely tucked inside this huge park and even the slides and the swings are very safe.
Ground Type	10	Ground has a rubber kind of carpet ( which I prefer than wooden chips )
Cleanliness	8	From my naked eye it seemed clean but obviously you need to have purell handy !
Picnic Facility	7	Well Piedmont park is actually a picnic area but i'm ranking it 7 as near this playground They just had 1-2 picnic tables so only if you are lucky you could et by chance for yourself to have a picnic or a party there !. When this blog was written on 6/6/2008 the picnic shelters were under construction. Call park to reserve shelters though they are bit far from playground.
Restrooms	0	Yeah I know they are public restrooms they are bound to be dirty, but this one was really filthy !! AVOID at all times !!!
Parking	8	Its a bit of a walk from the parking spot on Park Rd to the playground, strollers recommended for infants & toddlers. Ample parking on 10th street too.
You may like to know		Nice lake with ducks. For adults nice walking trail and lots of restaurants nearby. An awesome place for kids and adults alike. Many performances in park during weekends and weeknights. Check website.

Whatz Cooking !

Paneer (homemade cottage cheese) Tikka Kathi Rolls

prep time :- 15 min.
cooking time :- 20 mins
makes 9 rolls

For the paneer tikka filling
1 cup low fat paneer cubed
1.2 cup tomatoes, deseeded and diced
1/2 cup capsicum, diced
1 teaspoon oil

To be mixed into a marinade
1/4 cup low fat curds, beaten
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1/4 teaspoon garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon bengal gram flour
1/2 teaspoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste

For the Chapatis
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup low fat milk
salt to taste

For the filling
1. Add the paneer and tomatoes to the prepared marinade and toss lightly
2. Leave aside for 10 min.
3. Heat the oil in a non stick pan, add capsicum and saute for 2 minutes
4. Add the paneer mixture and saute over a high flame for 4-5 min




For the Chapatis
1. Combine all the ingredients and knead into a soft dough
2. Divide the dough into 9 equal portions.
3. Roll out each portion into a thin chapati
4. Cook each chapati lightly on a griddle on both sides. Keep aside

How to proceed
1. Divide the paneer filling in the center into 9 equal portions
2. Spread 1 portion of the filling in the center of each chapati and roll up tightly
3. When you want to serve, cook the rolls on a hot griddle

Handy tip
You can wrap each roll in lettuce leaf too.
To add some zing to the roll spread coriander-mint chutney inside the wrap
Serve hot with some ketchup and chutney.



Bon Appetit !!

Celebrations !!

And it started with my birthday combined with my parents' 28th anniversary as they are just a day apart. We went to a local italian eatery Osteria del Figo which is our favorite. We ended the night with delicious tiramisu & awesomme panna-cotta :)

Then it was Vedika's turn. We celebrated her birthday at piedmont park in downtown atlanta. It was more of a get together with all our friends.

Vedika's 2nd birthday with yummmy Pooh cake :)



While the Grown ups played kiddie games, the kids enjoyed themselves at the playground

Sticking straws in the hair !

Lemon and spoon race..

In all just some fun times :)

Ohh Darn !!!

Now this site is not letting me upload pictures !! :(..Well am gonna try again later...

Cya till then !!

Out and About !!

Have been ignoring my blog..was just lacking some mojo. I know barely anybody reads it but then I'm writing for myself. So lured back here again :). So what have i been upto lately..apart from ignoring my blog...i got a very nice mother's day card and cd with some of my favorite ad jingles from DH :)...my parents were here...spent some good quality time with them...celebrated my birthdayand their anniversary, planned & celebrated Vedika's birthday ( finally !!), and went and checked out some playgrounds for vedika :)

Just having some plain summer fun !

Promised Land Playground

In our search for different playgrounds, as Vedika keeps getting bored by going to same park, we found this !!..Its an Eastside Church school playground in Marietta. Its a perfect playground for growing toddlers and even little kids. The height of the slides & swings are just perfect enough to challenge young toddlers and kids physically ! They have a small sandpit and a different play area for young babies too with both kinda swings for babies & big kids. The whole playground has a very stimulating for minds kinda feel to it. In all it was a good find !!..I know we'll be going there often. :)

Happy Wednesday everyone !

ABCs...

Yesterday Vedika and I made an alphabetics & numbers chart...from here. I needed to get some dishes done and what i did to keep her occupied for that time was cut the letters & gave them to her to fill colour in them. Well it kept her occupied for around 15 minutes...and then i helped her finish it. Then we glued them to a white foam board..and voila an alphabetic chart !! Doing the whole thing takes only 30 minutes and it keeps your toddler quite active the whole time ! Ohh and the foam board was from Michael's for 0.99cents !

Spring Fling

Vedika had Spring Fling at her school on friday..and her class was in charge of the Big Wheels Race and you can see that she just likes posing more than racing !!! Though she did have fun bouncing in the inflated castle !...& there she is fishing for some fun prizes :)

Moving Birthday !!

Guess what !! my daughter's birthday has actually become a moving birthday !! It was earlier this month but due to crappy weather every weekend and dh travelling most of the time, we had been postponing her birthday every weekend and now hopefully we'll celebrate it after my parents get here. I know most of our friends were anticipating it much sooner, but sorry everyone hopefully we'll send evites soon :).