Celebrations and Festivities

We went out on Jan 1st for lunch and then did a lot of shopping.Our plan to go to Vancouver,Canada, didn't meterialize due to the pouring rain. We came home with a pizza and had a movie night! Yes, we watched 3 idiots, all the four of us and tredded ourselves laughing into the new year!FANTASTIC MOVIE, IT WAS! Usually I always feel that the book is very good, and the movie didn't do the due justice to the book. But for a chnage , when I saw the movie and then finished the book, I felt that the movie was faboulous and frankly, if I was to make a movie, I definitely wouldn't make a movie of this particular book, 3 point someone, as it is so boring!I definitely liked Chetan bhagat's One night at the call centre and the 3 mistakes of my life better than this first book of his.

On Soumya's birthday, I missed my little niece Ananya as it was her birthday too. Unfortunately, since she had a small accident , where she fell from the bed and hurt her lip and had 3 stitches too, she didn't have a birthday party. Poor thing, didn't have her first birthday celebrated! Like in the US, in India it is not customary to celebrate in the weekends, convenience is not the creteria there. Of course, so what if it is not customary, first birthdays are first birthdays, they don't come again ,right?

Anyways, my kids as usual always have two birthdays celebrated, on the actual day of the birthday which is usually a working day, and of course when we have the party in the weekend.So on Soumya's birthday, Jan 6th, I made a cake and cooked all dishes which were her favourite for lunch.After cutting the cake,  we went out to an Indo-Chinese restuerant for dinner. On Jan 8th,the friday, the beginning of a weekend, we had a party for her friends. They played games, did some painting of the wooden photos frames to take home, ate Pizza and Cake. Soumya was happy and felt that she had a great birthday this year too.

I made sweets and savories and prayed to God on all the three days of Sankrathi . I love special festival cooking, and love eating too on festivals. Unexpectededly, I made someone very happy on the bhogi day. Incidentally I remembered that it was one of my mama's birthday that day and searched for his email id and sent him a happy birthday note. He was both surprised and happy ,thanked and blessed me and my family profusely.Good that I could make someone's day!

Suddenly, I got an idea of making a slide show for my brother and sending it to him on his birthday. Actually we wanted to do it for ananya's birthday but it got delayed and so thought of finishing it for his birthday.After all which dad wouldn't be happy to see a slide show with cutie pie ananya's pics in it.Soumya was the one who made the slide and I edited some of the captions she had for the pics, my husband added a happy birthday slide for Rajesh and soon it was on its way electronically to my Dad. I called up my dad and asked him to show the slide show to Rajesh and Sudha.Glad that they liked it!