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| FIFA SPECIAL!!..btw,I took this pic jst like that ..so it's not that good anyways thanx to my fav model-my dad.... |
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger would always say in his movies ,"I AM BACK" :D.
Ouuuuch ! ,I just got a kick on my BACK by none other than my blog (warm welcome see) and she is apparently yelling at me ,"Where the hell I was ?" ....Just like a few readers asked me ....I know it's been like 3+ months my blog was left abandoned I believe ..wow that's a huge gap I know :(!....However,no regrets at all as I was spending quality time with my dear parents who came from India to visit me,to take care of me,to pamper me and I am so thankful to almighty for I relived my childhood days...waking upto dad's black coffee,followed by amma/mother's chai/Tea,then yummy hot breakfast ,then movies,evening walks,gossiping ,then wrapping the day with mom made dinner and then mom's never ending chit-chats and me sleeping like a baby ...."True definition of a beautiful life for me! "....I guess God knows that one of my favorite song is from the Hindi movie,3 Idiots ....and so he made those lines come true...including sunshine and rains :D
"Saari umar hum marr marr ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do jeene do
Na na na ..
Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance i wanna grow up once again
na na naaaaa......"
God and his mysterious ways I guess :D .... Yes I grew up once again ....And so I don't regret my absence here infact I am so content this time .....One of my bucket list wish - DONE happily :)....and what was that ?....well ,to do something for my parents ..I wanted to take them to see places ...I wanted them to eat as much different cuisines they can try here...I wanted to buy them or make them the edible goodies found especially in US ...and most importantly,I wanted them to simply relax here,enjoy every minute and take care of them as much as possible....because otherwise since we are so far away from each other or even when I visit them in India I hardly get an opportunity to do something for them...and not merely by cash but by kind, for me matters the most !.....
Well, this is not their first visit to US,infact they came here 4 years ago but their both visit was for the more or less same reason - my health issues (you see,bad phases of life) ....Last time when they came, I was recovering from an illness and I couldn't do anything for them other than lying on my bed and staring at my mom just cooking all day (which I hate to see...not atleast here) ,dad reading some books and watching TV and literally getting super bored with barely any human contact unlike in India where home would be buzzing with relatives and neighbors ...The meds made me sleepy ,groggy and moody, I was minding my own business ...so they came ,they took care of me and they went and I got well....but there was this uneasiness in my heart that it's high time now it should be me who should take care of them not vice versa and sadly wondered, what if they won't be there for the next trip to US...
Being born and brought up in a middle class family,we were and are a very close knitted family ...though my dad took V.R.S as a Financial Officer,it took a while for him to get there ,I saw my parents little struggles and sacrifices to raise me and my brother ..Infact, I never ever saw them doing something just for themselves ,it was just us -me and my brother, the topmost and the only priority...and I am so proud to say that they did their best,the best parents anyone could have ...I owe them always !...however I am not sure if I did good enough anything for them yet...
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| Not a clear pic...my bad ..was not for blogging but still..it's special !! |
So ,though I was completely bed ridden for a month ,by second I couldn't tolerate to continue I slowly started helping amma (actually more gossiping ) ,watching evergreen & devotional movies with dad ,FIFA world cup (my dad is a great soccer fan ) , I bought different kinds of ice creams :P - the sandwich shape,the cones,cups,bars etc and other eateries for my parents every week (pampering time :D)...gave them beautiful dress for mother's day and father's day ,took them to restaurants to try multi-cuisines of US and by third month, I started traveling - took them to see places ,though didn't cover all the places I wanted to show them because after every travel I would be exhausted and sick and on bed for two days...though they would scold me and refuse any further trips,I would somehow convince in my innocent way ....and just before they left ,I prepared different foods for them ,which was infact my amma's biggest wish it seems as she was never convinced that I can cook...GOOD!!..
You know ,as they say,"Old age is afterall like the second childhood and it's our,the children's turn to pamper them back." So I did my bit ,loads of heart to heart talks,laughs,jokes ..we all relished every second, in a nutshell...I felt ,me feeling not well then was nothing less than a boon to me....I literally felt almighty wanted me to be utterly pampered by my loved ones and one of my biggest wish in my bucket list - CLICK !!
When I asked my parents if they have any wish left that I can fulfill for them ...my parents said ," We can hardly think of any (except grandchild which ofcourse is in God's hand ) -We are happy ,we are so content not that we were expecting but that not every parent in this era are lucky enough to enjoy memorable time with their kids especially after their marriage.......As always blessings !!"
"I am not saying that I did something great " or I did my best or I am done but yes I TRIED this time in my lil ways and I will always be willing to do more for my parents and similarly for my in-laws who also had to say the same thing when they visited us last year...but then as life is not a bed of roses so I had my days when I was a total party pooper too :P..well, due to mood swings ,the after effect of the meds I was on ...anyways ,"All's well that ends well" :D..now I am fit and fat.. yes literally FAT :((..(having mom beside me side-effect)...hale,hearty and healthy (touchwood) ..back to square one.....but this time more content !:)...
Like every other sports enthusiast ,we also caught the world cup fever not badly but I would say sweetly ...because I baked a marble cake for my parents ,the first cake I ever baked for them and decorated which my mom watched like a curious child staring at a bakery shop ....Well , what can I say ,"I simply irresistibly impressed them ".....;) because mom doesn't know how to decorate a cake - my pulling-her-leg moment !!:D...
Here's how I made a marble cake decorated with buttercream icing in green and yellow......
MARBLE CAKE
Ingredients
Butter,softened at room temperature - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 1-1 1/2 cup
Eggs - 3 nos.
All purpose four,sifted - 2 cups
Milk,room temperature - 1 1/4 cup
Sour cream - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Baking powder -2 teaspoons
Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon
Unsweetened cocoa powder - 2 tablespoons
For icing -
Readymade Buttercream icing as needed
Green color and Yellow color
Star tip for decorating
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 degree celsius .
- Grease and flour the pan (9 inch preferably).
- Take a big bowl and mix all the dry ingredients together and keep it aside .
- Using an electric or hand mixer cream butter until fluffy.
- Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6-8 minutes approx.
- Add eggs one at a time and beating well after each addition.
- Now , add the dry ingredients mixed above and milk alternately to the creamed mixture (starting and completing with flour/dry mix ).
- Add vanilla,sour cream and just mix well everything.
- Keep about 3/4th portion of batter aside.
- Now pour the rest onto the baking pan.
- Mix the cocoa powder into the 3/4th batter kept aside.
- Pour spoonfulS of cocoa batter on to the white batter in the pan slowly.
- Then using a knife ,swirl the cocoa batter into the white batter giving it a marble effect.
- Now slowly pat the baking pan with ready-to-bake batter on the counter to level it and release the air bubbles which will infact give a smooth levelled cake.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the knife or skewer would come out clean.
For icing the cake I merely crumb coated the cake use this tutorial and decorated it with the star tip like this in green and yellow color...
Now that was a real long post /updates after a long break ...it's time for you to breathe ....
Keep smiling,
