Beautiful World

Annabels toys are now mine too

2011-07-28T03:10:00.000-07:00

Here is Little Alicia playing with the play gym which was gifted to Annabel by some of our office friends back in 2007. Alicia loves to look at the mirror.

Rapunzel

2011-07-28T02:48:00.001-07:00

Annabel had a competition in her school where she was supposd to dress up like her favourite character. With such short notice, in middle of the week, it was impossible for her dad to go out to bring a costume. The easiest I could think of was Rapunzel :). She learnt few lines to tell about her favourite character too. It goes like this:

My favourite character is Rapunzel, because she has long lovely hair. The evil witch climed the tower with Rapunzels hair. One a day a prince saw her and they liked each other and they lived happily ever after. I like Rapunzel coz she is brave beautiful abd had lovely long hair."

Though not entirely, she managed to say the first few lines in front of the crowd.. A good start to her elocution skills :)

Saturday Timepass.

2011-07-19T03:17:00.000-07:00

Annabel trying out her bubble maker.

Alicia's 28th day

2011-07-19T00:10:00.001-07:00

It was a big day when Alicia baby turned 28 days old. Traditionally, Baby's name is announced on this day. We tied a black thread around her hip and adorned her with some jewels :). Annabel wore a bangle for her.. And ofcourse she enjoyed the Moong dal kheer we made for the ocassion.

Starting to blog again.. With a good news!

2011-07-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

Annabel has become a big sister to Alicia..

Arrival Statistics:

Date: 1st Jun 2011
Time: 9.55am
Weight: 3.2 Kg

Flower girl at my Mama's wedding

2010-09-14T01:17:00.000-07:00

On Mama's wedding day Annabel was very happy to be flower girl. She was dressed in a light orange dress and had bright red and white roses in her flower basket. She was all smiles and stood happily with her Mama an Mami for many photos.

Mama gets engaged

2010-09-09T00:16:00.000-07:00

August was a busy month. Annabel's Mama was getting engaged to Julie on 21st August. Annabel got up early and got dressed in a pretty Purple dress.. We had got her some matching bangles and necklace to go with the dress. There were lot of ppl at home. She was busy running around playing with other little girls and friends. After the engagement reception, she went around collecting lots and lots of chocolates , which everyone offered her. She would not have eaten that many chocolates in a whole month!!

Posing with Binu Mama

At the reception stage

Our Family snap

Anagha's Birthday

2010-09-06T01:16:00.000-07:00

It was Anagha's 3rd Birthday and her parents had invited us over to their home for the Bday Bash! Anagha and Annabel are good friends as they go to the same school and are bus mates. All the children sang Happy Birthday song and little Anagha was thrilled. Then they all got so busy playing, none of the wanted to have any food.. Here are some snaps

Posing in this snap, are Ananya and Adi (Shaji & Lajitha's Kids), Manu( Smitha& Rajesh's Son) , Rohit and Anagha (Biss & Vinoj's Kids)

At the Katraj Zoo

2010-08-31T01:37:00.000-07:00

One Sunday, we along with another famiy friend went to visit the Katraj zoo. The zoo was huge, but the variety of animals was less.. There was White tiger, leopard, deer, elephants etc etc. Children enjoyed a lot, running around, climbing the rails and swings. After spending 2 hours, we were tired.. and also it started to drizzle, so we left the snake park and the reptiles till the next time.

Onam 2010

2010-08-31T01:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Onam to all my dear Mallu friends!!
This year we had a grand Onam party at the Royestonea club house, thanks to Mini and others who organised the event. We had a pookalam, then Thiruvathira kali, Ona pattu, then an elaborate Sadhya and few games. Everyone had a great time. Here are some snaps from the event.

Mulshi Dam

2010-07-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

One sunny saturday, we decided to go around some place near Pune. Jacob "googled" and Mulshi was top on the list for places to visit within 50kms in and around Pune :) We set drive aiming to see a dam.. we drove and drove, but there was no sight of any Dam.. Then we saw few cars halted and walked down to find this small waterfall and a little stream.. Better than nothing we thought and went into the water and took some Pics..

Chachoo's Special Day

2010-06-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

Annabel dear Chachoo has now got engaged! We had a difficult timing explaining what was happening.. We tried to explain, Chachoo will be on the stage with your chachi. We will take photos and u will have to dress like a princess and that u will get lots of Balloons :).

Fruity Sundays

2010-06-08T01:04:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday, Jacob comes back from the Shivaji market with a big loot of Fruits.. The variety is amazing.. Mulberries, Strawberries, Leechies, chikku, figs are some of the exotic fruits we have tried.. Then we always have pineapple, apples, pears, papaya, oranges, Mangoes and bananas of various varieties.. Annabel loves to have these fruits.. Leechies and mangoes are her current favourites.

Promoted to Junior Kg.

2010-05-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Annabel is now in Junior KG. Here new academic year starts in June 1. She will have new teacher and new friends this year. Here are some snaps taken during her school hours last year.

Messy Hands.. She loved this activity a lot! She used to come home and do the same tooo.
Painting a diwali diya in Red.

Modelling air drying Clay.

Musical chair, which her teacher siad she enjoyed a ot

Sports day!! Look she is running with a big smile!

Traditional day. Dressed in Onam attire

Fancy dress competition. She was dressed like a Spanish girl..

Spring @ Magarpatta

2010-05-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

During April, the roads in Magarpatta
were shaded with lots and lots of pretty yellow and red flowers! It was a very pretty sight. Check these photos of Magarpatta Neighbourhood.

Beating Pune heat!

2010-04-15T01:32:00.000-07:00

Its summer here and temperatures are rising! Here is Annabel, having a piece of melon to beat the heat!

Baking again

2010-04-15T01:09:00.000-07:00

When ever I am in the kitchen, Annabel also wants to come and help.. One day after seeing some children baking biscuits in TV, she too wanted to make them at home. So we got busy cooking.. She helped me cut the shapes and I placed them in the oven.

Also we baked a chocolate cake recently and she helped me decorate it with yellow sprinkles. She couldnot wait till i clicked a snap, so a piece is missing from the photo below

Idling near the lake side

2010-03-22T02:31:00.000-07:00

The weekend Escape- trip to Dandeli

2010-03-09T23:48:00.000-08:00

On 5th March evening we decided to venture to Forest Reserve at Dandeli with group of people from work. Annabel was very excited about train journey. She kept saying " chook chook " for every train that passed by.. There were no other children on board our team, so she enjoyed every ones attention. It was an adventure trip with Water rafting, kayaking and Natural jacuzzi as items on the things to do there.. At the Stanley's Farm house resort , there was campfire arranged and tents for the night. The trip turned out much better than everyone expected and all had good things to say. Annabel too enjoyed and for the next 2 days after the return she kept saying she wanted to go back sitting on a train :)

At the Stanley Farmouse

The tents were cozzy
Kayaking on the still river

White water rafting for the adventerous

Natural Jacuzzi

On a mushroom boat

Tired and dozing off !

Last Christmas..

2010-02-05T03:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009, there were lots of events happening.. Here is how Annabel’s changed her approach to Santa everytime we met him Last Christmas..

On 17th Dec, Christmas Carol had come home.. and Annabel cried seeing Santa
On 19th Dec, Christmas at Amdocs, She waited for santa to come, but didnot want to go near him
On 23rd Dec, Christmas at School, she went smiling to Santa to receive her Christmas gift
On 23rd Evening, Christmas in Housing Society, She ran to santa for the toffee
On 24th evening, after Christmas mass at church In Indore, she was asking Mamma where is Santa?
After 25th She kept asking, when will Santa come again :)

We decorated a Christmas tree at home

Look! I got a teddy made from a balloon
Patiently waiting for her to finsih my face painting

I got Presents too , at the Amdocs christmas Carnival..I enjoyed the sparklers on the christmas day with my grandparents in Indore

Annabel turns 3!!

2010-01-29T00:54:00.001-08:00

Time has been flying! And on Jan 16, 2010, it was time again to celebrate another good year that went by. Annabel wore a lovely pink dress, which her grandparents had gifted.. We cut cake at her school and then at home I made a small cake too. Her Mama(my brother) and Chachoo(Jacob’s brother) had flown all the way to Pune , to wish her on her new year! They decorated the house with ribbons and balloons . We all had a wonderful time. Here are some photos clicked on that day.

In her pink dress gifted by her Grandparents

Bursting the party poper at her School Bday party!Her Chachoo and mama decorated the house for her Birthday!

Mama giving her a birthday gift.. She was thrilled to receive the Remote car!! Thank you mama ..

Her Chachoo giving her a Casio Piano.. She loves to play on it.. Thank you Chachoo ..

Happy new year 2010 !!

2010-01-29T00:30:00.001-08:00

Almost a month has passed in the new year.. It has been a very happening month for us, which kept us busy and hence the delay in the post :) . We have moved to a house of our own in Pune. After living in many rented house, it’s a nice feeling to own the house we live in.. Here are some snaps of our new abode!

Nursery-C

2009-12-09T02:42:00.000-08:00

Here is Annabels first Class photo. If you didnot spot her, she is in the last row, in front of her teacher.

Annual day Dance

2009-12-09T02:31:00.000-08:00

Here is Annual day dance video as promised.

School Annual Day

2009-12-08T00:10:00.000-08:00

Victorious Kids celebrated their Annual Day on 5th Dec and Annabel took part in a dance and yoga program. Here she is posing with her dance costume. Videos in the next post :)

Anna says her ABCs

2009-11-13T01:39:00.000-08:00

Anna Dances

2009-11-13T00:03:00.000-08:00

Picture Perfect!

2009-11-09T03:33:00.001-08:00

This is one of the photos Jacob takes pride in saying he has taken! :)

Splendour Country Club

2009-11-09T02:12:00.000-08:00

On one fine Saturday morning, we drove to Khadakwasala to enjoy a day with friends and colleagues. First thing Annabel spotted there was the pool. She took out her toys, jumped into her swim suit and ran to play. She wanted to explore the new place.. She tried the Hammock, the swings and slides in the park. When it was almost time to return, she wanted to go back again in the pool. We all enjoyed and had a pleasant time at the Splendour Country Club.

Cosmos playground

2009-10-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

In the society we live in Magarpatta, has a very beauitful garden. As soon Annabel comes from school, she wants to run to the playground to play on swings and slides. She has some new friends too. Esther, Siddharth, Naomi, Ruth are few names I know. They come home in the evening to watch TV with her and to play with her toys. Here are some photos of Annabel playing in the Cosmos garden.

Touching heavens!

2009-10-06T04:28:00.000-07:00

Dusshera holidays, gave us some time to go around Pune. Our first destination was Sinhagarh. A fort built on hill top. After lots of turns and rounds we reached the hilltop. There were about a 100 steps which we had to climb and then there was this beautiful spot where you get to touch the clouds… We could feel the tiny droplets that made these fluffy white clouds. The view from top was just Awesome!

Be a Follower

2009-09-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

I have added "follower" gadget in the right side bottom. Click it and enter your e-mail id. I will message you everytime i add a new post :)

Happy Onam!

2009-09-08T02:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Onam Everyone.. This year, Annabels grandparents and her Mama were here with us to celebrate Onam. We prepared OnaSadya at home. On saturday, the same week, we got together with our keralites friends in Pune for a Ona sadya.. Children had a wonderful time.. they put together a pookalam and also sat together in traditional way to have dinner.

Ona sadya @ home

Ona sadya @ gettogether

Annabel posing with her friend wearing traditional dress.

Children having lunch together

Posing next to pookalam children made.

When her toys arrived

2009-09-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

For Weeks, Annabel waited for her toys. We used to tell her its on a ship and its sailing to India and she would ask, " will it come tomorrow mama" ? When it arrived few days back, she was immensely happy.. Didnot know where to start with.. Here she is below, holding her favourite doll.

Annabel goes to school

2009-08-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

Annabel has started her school. She is in Nursery division of Victorious Kidss. She loves being at school.. Its amazing to see changes her in her in a week. She now sings her ABCs and many hindi and English Rhymes. Here she is in the photo smartly dressed, posing next to her school bag.

More Good Byes

2009-07-09T02:48:00.000-07:00

Dr.Christos has been Annabel's doctor from the time she was born. He says that Annabel is one of the most well behaved kids, as she never cries or makes a fuss when he examines her :) We took a photo of him with Annabel to treasure in our Album as "Annabel's First Doctor".

At Yaya's place

2009-07-04T06:11:00.000-07:00

Annabel has been going to yaya from when she was six months old. She is very attached to yaya(grandma) and papoo(grandpa) there. Her playmate there is Irini, a girl of her same age. These are the people Annabel is going to miss the most when she flies off to Pune, in the coming week.

Daddy's Project event- Protaras

2009-06-29T01:25:00.000-07:00

We started off early Saturday morning from Limassol. It was a long drive to Protaras. Annabel was too excited to sleep in the car and all the way, daddy and I had to keep singing her favorite song "lakadi ke kathi, kathi pe ghoda" . There was lots of things to see and do there.. At the "Ocean Aquarium" there were fishes of all sorts. They even had some Penguins and parakeets. Annabel loved the pool.. She could not have enough of it.. floating, playing with her toys, pouring water over herself and daddy over and over again! In the evening, enjoyed the musical light fountains.. More photos in WebAlbum

On our way back we drove to see the Agianappa Sea caves.. It was truely a sight! Carvings made by the waves.

Pool Party

2009-06-16T00:11:00.000-07:00

It was a Sunday after noon, Sun was shining bright and there was a cool breeze.. nothing was more perfect than a pool party at this time! We gathered at Guruvinders home, where he set up a pool for the children.. Everyone was enjoying, splashing water, pouring water on others.. But my Annabel seemed extra shy and prefered to play with toys away from the pool!

Rose gardens!

2009-06-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

Agros village in Cyprus is well know for its roses. At this time of year, the harvest is at its best . As we drove into the village, we could smell Roses.. There were Roses every where.. on the roadside and in every house garden. We went to the Rose farm, where they were picking roses to be used in the Factory.. The roses there had very strong scent..We also visited the Factory where we saw how the rose were put in big distiller and rose water is extracted! We got to take some very good pictures too.. More photos in my WebAlbum

Luna Park!!

2009-05-29T04:46:00.000-07:00

It was a lazy saturday... We were getting bored at home in the evening. We decided to take Annabel to the Luna park near by.. From our previous experiences, we knew she was not very keen on rides unless we force her to sit on them! This time it turned out very different !She wanted to try all the rides and when we ran out of coins, she was calling out "Dada paisa pleaseeee" !

NorthCyprus- A relaxing holiday

2009-05-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

During Easter Holidays in 2008, we went to North Cyprus, which is under the Turkish rule. We needed a visa to go this part of the country, though it did not feel much different from the rest of Cyprus. We had a leisurely vacation with few site seeing and eating out at good restaurants.

The places we saw, were the ruins of Vouni palace. Situated on a mountain, it had a beautiful view. We also saw the Kyrenia fort. It was huge, a marvelous piece of architecture. The dungeons showcased some figures of how prisoners were tortured. The view of the Kyrenia Harbour was truly magnificent.

Among the Restaurants we visited, was a Fish meze restaurant on the way to Vouni Palace. We also went to a Chinese restaurant and an Indian restaurant there. They were good and comparatively cheaper than the restaurants out here. We spend most of our time in the River side Holiday village resort. There were flowers everywhere and also it had a nice pool.
It was a nice trip. A one time must go for all the Cyprus visitors!

10 most frequent lies!

2009-05-07T02:35:00.000-07:00

Every day, i tell my 2 year old many little lies to make her do things I want to... This might not be the best way but surely is the way to have less crying.. Here goes:

1) When she won't eat her food: "I will give u a big Chocolate after dinner"

2) When she won't take her bath: "We will give bath to the duckie together "

3) When she won't wear her dress: " Big mosquitoes are flying and it will bite you"

4) When she doesn't want to get ready in morning: "Lets go to park"

5) When she doesnot want to sleep : "I will tell you a new story today" (and i tell her the same old fairy tale :) )

6) When she wants to run down stairs: " There is a lion waiting outside.."

7) When she wants to eat only chocolates: " That is chee chee chocolate.. not good"

8) When she won't tidy up: " I will give all these toy to ur friend Irini"

9) When she hits somewhere and i try to console her " I will give this table a beating for having hit my lovely girl"

10) When she pleads she wants to go to park: "Tomorrow, dear "

These are just few.. But there are many in the list!

Our Israel venture!

2009-04-28T02:33:00.000-07:00

During the easter holidays, we flew to Israel to spend four days there.. Its amazing, that despite all the political problems in Israel, its very well developed and they have no inch of a land that has gone waste! Either its building, or vast agriculture lands or else its land with some forest vegetation! We stayed in Tel-Aviv, a city that never sleeps.. Even at odd hours in the night, u see people cycling and going around.

Day1- we went around Jerusalem, then crossed over to Palestine to see Bethlehem, then drove to Mount olives and to Dead Sea.

Day2- We visited Nazareth, where Jesus grew as a carpenter. Next stop was to Jordan River, where Jesus was Baptised by John the Baptist. We also had the St Peters Fish from a Fish Travern.
Day3- Our destination was Haifa- to the beautiful Bahai gardens, then the large sea caves. We also enjoyed a boat ride.. By then Annabel could not sit any longer in the car for long drives.. So we took her to a park near by where she played till she was tired!
Day4- Our trip was almost at the end. We went around Tel-Aviv, to the SaFari, Carmel Market and then off we drove to the Airport to catch the flight back to Cyprus .

More photos at:
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4

Will Miss you, Tanu..

2009-04-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

Tanu, another of Annabel's friend is moving to India.. They were pals from very early. To get Annabel do something, we would say, " if you do this.. we will take you to Tanu's house" .. She is surely going to miss Tanu ! On a sunday, we called them over for lunch and i made this spider man cake for Manu.. We also got the girls to pose for pictures :)

Exploring Mathkaloni village

2009-04-03T02:32:00.000-07:00

On one satruday afternoon, we went exploring an abandoned village.. We did not know the exact way and had to call up our friend every now and then for the directions.. The village itself didnot have anything exciting.. but the drive was good and we got to take some very good pictures..

A view of limassol City

In midst of flowers

Playhouse

2009-03-26T05:10:00.000-07:00

We got Annabel a playhouse from Jumbo.. She was very excited as we put it together. She loves it.. Its like her private place. She plays Hide and seek in it and sometime even want to sleep in it!

On Green Monday

2009-03-05T01:19:00.000-08:00

On Green monday(2nd March), we went for a drive to the beautiful pebbled Curium beach.. There were lots of families having picnic and flying kites.. Along the beach side there was a horse stable. The horses were a pretty site :) There were also stretches of yellow flowers, as though someone has laid a yellow carpet! We stopped at one of the strawberry farms on the way back for some fresh strawberrries. Here are some picutres taken then.

Colors of Carnival

2009-03-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

This year too, we were at the Carnival.. Annabel was very excited seeing the crowd, balloons everywhere, music and people dancing in the middle of street. She eagerly looked on as each troupe went by.. waving and clapping her hands. Some were distributing toffees, which made her even more excited about the entire event! Here are few snaps taken at the parade!

At Lofou Village

2009-02-17T05:04:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, we went to have lunch at a Traditional Travern, in a village named Lofou. They had a large variety of dishes for the Meze..salads, 4-5 dips, pita with parmesan cheese, Halloumi, Pasta with Minced meet, kolokassi dish, Spinach with eggs, Grilled chicken and lamb with potatoes.. There are few more dishes,but I am not sure of the correct names.. Its a must go for all the food enthusiasts.. On the whole it was a good experience, the drive along the beautiful mountainside and a filling lunch! Through the Streets in Lofou Village

Spring has come! A tree covered in white flowers..

Story time

2009-02-13T07:01:00.000-08:00

Annabel loves to hear stories.. Sometimes its Lion and Cat story, sometimes the Hare and Tortoise, the Elephant and Ant and the list goes on... When stories we know dry up, we read to her from books.. She finds it even more intersting with the colorful illustrations! In the picutre below, Daddy is reading to her the "Baby Jesus" story book.

Who blew the candle ?

2009-02-12T01:31:00.000-08:00

One evening, Rajesh And Smitha were at our home and I baked a cake.. When it came to cutting the cake, all the children wanted their name on it and all of them wanted to blow the candle.. Look at their enthusiasm as they blow the candle!!

I love my car!

2009-02-03T03:40:00.000-08:00

When we step into Orphanides for our grocery shopping, Annabel runs to fetch a car trolley. She loves to have a ride in it and watch people and things around. She also fantasises driving her Daddy's car.. She tries to turn the steering wheel and pushes and turns all the buttons when she is made to sit on the driving seat.

With my Friend Sanjitha in the Orphanides car.

Trying a hand on the steering wheel.

Helping Dad to fill petrol.

Birthday Cakes

2009-01-23T04:03:00.000-08:00

I had taken up the challenge to bake the Cakes for Annabel's Birthday. From a week before the event, i was busy doing some research on the net for the perfect cake and finding shops where i can get some Wilton's decorating stuffs in Cyprus.

Winnie the Pooh Cake

Barney Cake

The receipe for the sponge cake is from JoyOfBaking. The butter cream receipe is from Wiltons decorating site. The characters i made, are based on the BUTTERCREAMTRANSFER method, i came across in this site.

There is a shop in Cyprus, named Pergamos, near the Tsiro stadium. Its a must go for all the cake enthusiast! Check the wikimap link for where exactly this shop is.

Direction to Pergamos: From Troodos roundabout, take exit towards Mitsubishi Fairways. Take the first left and drive straight till you get to a 'T' junction. From the 'T' junction take left . Go straight and you will come to a junction. At this junction Pergamos shop is at your right.

Celebrations at Burger King

2009-01-20T02:43:00.000-08:00

We had a party at Burger King, Makedonias for Annabels Birthday. We had a great time! I hope everyone else too had a good time. Here are some photos from the party..

Ready for the Party .. :)

We played musical chair and spoon race for the little children..

Cake cutting.. I had made this Barney cake.. Barney is Annabels Favourite TV program! She keeps on watching it over and over again.

Birthday Bash!

2009-01-20T00:25:00.000-08:00

Annabel turned 2 year old on 16th of January! It was a big day for us and for her.. We had some surprises planned for her.Early morning we started the day with a "Winnie the Pooh" cake. She was very excited when we sang her the "Happy Birthday " song and blew the candlle..

Later that evening, her daddy surprised her with a gift.. The expression in these photos tells u how happy she was!!

We took her to Galatica (luna park) where she played till she was tired :) It was a beautiful day and a great start for her New Year!

Holiday Cakes

2009-01-07T00:12:00.000-08:00

I baked some cakes during this holiday season.. It was fun to experiment with some new techniques I learned reading several blogs.

The chrismtas cake was the traditional plumcake with dried fruits and roasted almonds. The Icing didnot come out as I expected. It was supposed to be more solid with a shine.

New year cake was an Orange sponge with "paraline crisp" insert. the frosting was with Whipped cream and flowers with icing sugar.

A snowy experience

2009-01-02T02:52:00.000-08:00

This year, it snowed much earlier in Troodos. The day after Christmas, we went to enjoy the snow. It was fun sliding down the slope on a sledge and to play in the snow covered park. On the way back, we enjoyed a hot corn and a rather sweet Cyprus delicacy.

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T04:10:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a blessed New year!

Vacation... Part 2 -At Mahabalipuram

2008-12-17T02:01:00.000-08:00

We visited 3 different states in our 4 week vacation! Maybe that’s why we felt vacation was too short! During the second week, we were at Mahabalipuram near Chennai. It is famous for carvings on rock. It is marvelous to see the elaborate cave carvings that date back to many centuries ago. An interesting aspect of these sculptures is that, most of the sculptures are Monolithic ( made from single rock) despite their huge sizes!!Each rock-cut caves has a story to tell about the God and Goddesses. Below are some pictures taken at Mahabalipuram

Carvings inside one of the caves.

This Elephant sculpture was the cover page of my 6th grade History Textbook!!The Five Rathas-five monolithic pyramidal structures named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhistra, Nakula, Sahadeva).

There were lot of monkeys around to entertain Annabel. We also saw a monkey cleverly opening a pepsi bottle and sipping the remains!!

Vacation...Part I

2008-12-15T07:07:00.000-08:00

I am back again after our short Home leave. We had a good time.. visited many places and saw our relatives and friends. Annabel enjoyed the trip.. she loved to stay outdoors, see all the animals ( cows, dogs, cats, birds) and most of all the attention and care she got from everyone around her.

We stayed in Indore, MP for a week in the start of our trip. Here are some pictures taken there.

Learning to Drive :)

At Sree Maya Restaurant

At MacDonald in Treasure Island, Indore

The White tiger at Indore zoo.

Kozhukatta aka Rice Dumplings

2008-11-06T03:56:00.000-08:00

They are Annabels favourite morning snack.. Infact she loves anything which is sweet.. These photos are taken while she was nibbling at it on one Sunday morning!

You can find the Recipe from this very nice blog Kitchen Mishmash. She as explained step by step of how to make it!

Diwali 2008

2008-10-29T03:19:00.001-07:00

Lighting some sparklers and having some sweets, brightened children's spirits on Diwali day. Here are some photos taken on 28th October 2008.

Oatmeal cookies

2008-10-21T01:16:00.000-07:00

Annabel has been going to a babysitter, Varvara from the time she was 6 months old. She is an elderly lady with a unique and tender way of looking after children. She lets them play without any restrictions and children there seem to be happy always. Children also loves Papoo, Varvara's huband, as he gets them sweets after his day at work. Annabel gives them 'Filaki' (flying kiss) everyday before she comes home with us. Annabel with Varvara

Oneday, Varvara gave us a Cypriot dish made with minced meat. It tasted very good.. we finished the entire plate before we reached home. I did not want to give an empty plate back. So I baked some oat meal cookies early next morning.
Oatmeal cookies i baked
The recipe is from joyofbaking a very useful resource for all the bakers out there!

Medrano circus

2008-10-15T03:21:00.000-07:00

Annabel's First ever circus! Animals always fascinated her. She loved to watch them in TV, in books. We had taken her to Limassol zoo several times, but the Tiger and Leopard there are difficult to spot as they are almost always dozing. The main intention was to see animals at the circus.

The Circus had 10 horses performing according to the masters instructions. This was quite amusing. Then there were Aligators, long heavy snakes! They also showed scorpions, huge rats and some other reptiles. There were jugglers., shooters, trapeze artists doing various stunts.

One of the most interesting was the motorist in the cage. It was amazing to see the 5 motorist inside a cage, driving at high speeds. There were also elephants, 5 camels, a kangaroo, 3 bulls, and 2 Giraffe! We also saw 2 fierce tigers and a Rhino, but they were not brought to the ring.
Annabel enjoyed every moment of the circus. She was clapping and keenly looking at what was going to happen next. We all thoroughly enjoyed being there.

At Limassol Municipal Park

2008-10-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

This Sunday after the church, we went to the Municipal park. There was an event which the Police and Fire force had organized with the public. There were balloons, face painting, coloring for the kids. Police displayed the bikes they use for patrol and also a fire engine truck. The traffic police also had a stall, where they were demonstrating the traffic rules and the kids got a free ride on the little jeeps.

Ready for the trip!

Wow!! a train in Limassol!

Relaxing with Daddy

On the Police bike!

My Toy Room

2008-10-06T03:49:00.001-07:00

Look at My collection of toys!

All my Dolls
My Teddy Bears
My Train set.. You can also see my fire engine in the background.
My kitchen set.. Most of plates and cups are under the Sofa always ;)

But my favorite toy is the TV Remote!

Day of the Sea

2008-10-06T02:36:00.000-07:00

The first Event of the kind in Limassol! It was a charity fair. It had some stalls selling traditional lace work, pottery and few selling donuts, pizza, local sweets. There were also few game stalls like feeding the fish, lottery. This event also showcased a helicopter rescue operation (Air-Sea rescue Operation).

Annabel enjoyed seeing the helicopter and the Balloons and cap they gifted. Also the Donuts from the stall was yummy!

Orange Sponge Cake

2008-10-06T02:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I baked a quick Orange cake. It is quite simple and healthy as it did not have any oil and butter!
Recipe:

2Eggs
1Cup of Flour and 1 tspn baking powder sifted
1/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 tbspn of Orange Zest
Juice from one orange juice.

Preheat oven at 180C. Line a baking tray with baking sheet. Separate the egg yolks and white. Beat the egg white till fluffy and holds stiff peaks. Mix together the egg yolk, orange juice and slowly incorporate the dry ingredients (sugar and flour). Fold in the Egg white slowly till it is well incorporated into the batter. The batter should be of the right consistency. If it is too stiff, add some warm water.

Pour it in the baking tray and bake for atleast 30 minutes. Tooth pick inserted in the center should come clean.

Yummy RasMalai!

2008-10-02T06:54:00.001-07:00

Recently, I have been experimenting some of my cooking skills. Jacob asked me to give a try at his favorite Sweet RasMalai.. I searched through several websites and blogs for a good recipe. I came across Mrs Manjulas website http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/. She has a very good collection of sweets, snacks and savories. I have been trying quite a lot of her recipes and always they turn out excellent.

I made the RasMalai she posted for a Charity event which had an Indian Stall. The RasMalai came out perfect and I have shared this recipe with many friends and colleagues.

Home Vacation 2007

2008-10-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

Home leave is a time that we look forward to every year. In 2007, we managed to schedule it during the Christmas eve.. We had a wonderful Christmas and a good start to the new Year.

We took some time to visit my Grandfather, back in my mothers town in Mailaduthurai, TamilNadu.

We also visited the beautiful church in Velankani. This Church has a history of many miracles. Miri had a good hair cut also done here.There is busy market street behind the church ( as u can see in the below photo) which leads to a beach.

The Tanjore Temple (Thanjavur Periya Kovil) with its marvelous architecture was another interesting stop in our TamilNadu trip. There is a large bull at the entrance of this temple. It is believed that this stone Bull is growing every year and when it touches the Roof , the world would end! Amazing fact about this temple is that, Gopuram does not have shadow at any time of the day!

Time has again come when we are counting down the days to the next home leave.. We are again looking forward to have some nice time with our family and friends back in India.

I Love the Sun! Hot Hot summer !

2008-09-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

2008 Summer has been real nice time. The heat in Cyprus was not unbearable, it was kind of pleasant. Summer gave us lot of good memories with beaches, water parks and some nice outings!

Carnival 2008

Beaches and water park !

Happy First Birthday :)

2008-09-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

The first year went very quick.. It was not an easy year. Nevertheless, we enjoyed every moment of her first year.. the sleepless nights, messy nappies, seeing her roll over, crawl, her first steps, when she first said "mama" "dada"...
The First 6 Months!
Next 6 months :)
Happy Birthday!

My Family

2008-09-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

Married in early 2005, I am now a mother to a lovely girl Annabel. She was born on 16th Jan 2007.. From then, she has been the center of our lives..we cannot think of days without her..

She weighed 3 kilo when she was born.. Our little bundle of joy..

Our first family Snap!

Baptism pictures!
Photos from her baptism. Jacob, on his trip to ISREAL had got some water from river of Jordan. She was baptized with this water.

Signing In

2008-09-23T05:31:00.000-07:00

My dear friends and colleagues inspired me to create a blog of my own, with their own impressive blogs.. It’s also a way to keep my relatives and friends who live faraway to keep updated on what is happening at our end. I would be posting, topics about my beautiful daughter Annabel, my kitchen experiments, my tours and many many more..