Introducing my BFF ~ Pranav Singh Tanwar

It is with great pride, pleasure, unimaginable excitement, and an ear to ear smile I, Mattu Masi proudly introduce my BFF (Boy Friend Forever), Pranav Singh Tanwar to all!!!

Rohini & Pravesh were blessed with a beautiful baby boy on 18th June 2009 at 14.33 Melbourne time. Everything went off smoothly, and both mother and baby are healthy, happy and doing great!! Our beautiful little bundle of joy was born 3.82 Kg (8.42 pounds) & 51 cm tall. Labor pains and contractions started the night before and Masi was updated via SMS as soon as they started... at that time I was at a dinner gathering at Ginny & Tony's place with Hubby, Mamaji & Mamiji, and they all can attest to the fact that I was very much distracted and constantly checking my cell phone for more news ;-) We all were very enthusiastically and impatiently waiting to hear the news. I so wish I was near by, so I could have been there with everyone. Later that night I kept in touch with both Rajat and Pravesh (the Proud Dad) and was being regularly updated by Pravesh on the progress of the labor. At 5.55 am my time I was woken up by the much awaited text, "Congrats Masi, we are blessed with a baby boy"!! I think I must have started jumping in my sleep... within seconds I was all over the place, waking everyone and sharing the wonderful news :o)

What joy and happiness a baby brings into ones life, and every time I think of Pranav (which is a lot... well almost all the time) I am always smiling :o) I can't wait to meet him, and to hold him, and to play with him, and to spoil him rotten!! :D

He is such a beautiful baby, and I thank his parents for all the hard work, and for bringing him into our lives. Heartiest CONGRATULATIONS to the new parents, grandparents and the rest of the family!!!!

With all our love and blessings for our adorable munchkin,

Huggies & Kissies

Mattu Masi & Sunny Masarji :o)

Incredible India!!

Our heart will always stay in India :)

Amazing video for the new Incredible India Ad, simply love it and now we feel like taking a 3 month long backpacking trip through India!!

No Foolin' 5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

I came across this wonderful, quick, easy and yumm chocolate mug recipe :o) and just had to share it with you all... so the next time you crave for something sweet, some chocolate or some cake... 5 minutes is all it'll take :o) Oh yeah... make sure to use a LARGE mug, as the cake size is pretty generous! :D 

Enjoy!!

What you'll need:

1 large mug

4 Tbsp. flour

4 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. cocoa

1 large egg

3 Tbsp. milk

3 Tbsp. oil

1/4 cup chocolate chips (plus some extra for sprinkling on top when it comes out of the microwave)

a small splash of vanilla extract

Instructions: 

1. Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.

2. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

3. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

4. Add the 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and vanilla extract, and mix again.

5. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Remove from microwave and sprinkle top of cake with chocolate chips.

6. Allow to cool a little, and then dig in!

Pattie Maes & Pranav Mistry: Unveiling the "Sixth Sense," game-changing wearable tech!

I knew it... it was only a matter of time someone was going to create technology like this! I remember watching Minority Report and wondering ... does this really exist? This is really neat technology... must watch! :) 

Susan Boyle

The following video (need to go to the You Tube link to watch it) blew us away... didn't know what to expect, but felt horrible, how the judges and audience were so skeptical and were being disrespectful & laughing at Susan.

Everyone including us were blown away by her performance... absolutely brilliant!! What an amazing voice! Best of luck Susan!

Must Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related

The magic of Sound of Music!

Watching this video brought a big smile and I was singing and danced along :o)... Sound of Music, one of my fav childhood movies and lovely memories associated with it... summer holidays would start and mommy dear would rent the movie for all the kiddies (me, friends & cousins) to watch...

I can imagine mommy dear smiling and singing along as well!!

Although this is a T-Mobile advertisement shot in Antwerp... it's lovely to see, the magic of sound of music and all it's songs still lives!

Enjoy :o)

Childhood memories :o)

... a few treasures from dear hubby's childhood :) 

April Fools!!

Wishing you all a fun filled April Fools Day!!

May you fool everyone around you, and yourself are fool-proof from everyone else's attempts ;-)

Hugs

M&S

What kind of a world are we living in!

An attacker threw a grenade at tourists in Cairo's famous bustling Khan el-Khalili bazaar, killing a Frenchwoman and wounding at least 17 people mostly tourists, as reported by officials. This 650 year old bazaar at any time is packed with tourists buying souvenirs, and the bazaar is widespread inside narrow gallis (streets) and is quiet a maze.  The bazaar was last attacked in April 2005, when a suicide bomber killed two French citizens and an American. 

When we were in Egypt, we visited this bazaar twice and it was quite an experience, a bustling market packed with vendors, locals and tourists... it was one of our favorite places, the most fun and lively bazaar we visited during our stay in Egypt. The market square is lined with outdoor cafes and restaurants and is usually packed with crowds. There are also many historic mosques (one in the square and many others close by). This bazaar is in the old part of Cairo and is always very lively. This attack on Egyptian nationals and tourists is outrageous! I can't even imagine how scared people who were there must have been during this recent attack. What sort of a world are we living in that nowhere is safe. 

It's always sad to hear of attacks anywhere in the world, ones heart goes out to the loved ones of people killed, injured and attacked in these events, but today after hearing about the recent attack in Cairo, I thought about all the people we met in Egypt, especially the vendors we met and bargained with in Khan el-Khalili. I hope they are safe and their families are safe as well. Hope and pray for hatred to end, and for all of us to live in peace.  

People never fail to surprise you!

This one was priceless... on one of the airport reality shows on TV:

Early morning: Male Passenger at the check in counter, realizes he forgot his passport @ home, so he calls his girlfriend and asks her to drop off his passport to him at the airport... no biggie right... well not really... his girlfriend is home getting ready for work in Edinburgh, Scotland... while the guy is at an airport in London, England!

So he asks his girlfriend to catch the next flight which is in 20 minutes as that is the only flight that would make it on time for him to catch his flight from London, so he can be on his way for his vacation! The girlfriend dashes to the airport catches the flight just in time as the gates are closing, reaches London hands him his passport and is getting ready to catch her flight back home to make it to work on time... only to learn her flight has been cancelled and the next flight for Edinburgh is in 7 hours! So she sits and waits at the airport to catch her flight, while her boyfriend leaves for his skiing vacation... and while the camera crew is still on him, he drops and almost looses his passport before boarding his flight!

I could not stop laughing at this one... had to share it with you all :o)

Happy Valentines Day!!

Dear Friends & Family,

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentines Day! And we both are right here waiting for you all to be our valentine ;-)

Love & Hugs

Mattu & Sunny

I stumbled on there pictures a while ago on a design site & simply loved the effect the artist had given her pictures :o) I thought it might be fun to share them with you all on Valentines Day. 

We are going to be Masi & Masarji!!

We have a very special announcement to make & wonderful news to share :o) Our dearest darling Bebeji aka Rohini & Pravesh are pregnant!! We are going to welcome a beautiful little niece/nephew in a few months! We've been super excited since the day we heard the news (a few months ago) and can't wait to meet the little one :o) Attached is a ultrasound picture of the little one waving at us all and saying her/his very first hello! :o)

Dearest Sis & Brother-in-Law... we are so very happy for you both!! Can't begin to tell you how happy this news has made us all... a little heads up just so you both are aware and prepared... you both will be responsible for the little ones deciplined upbringing and we'll be solely contributing towards something even more essential and important in raising a child... teaching them how to be naughty little munchkins and spoiling them rotten :o) Apologies in advance... but that is how it works ;-) 

Congratulations Guys!! Super excited :D

Lots of Love

Mattu Masi & Sunny Masarji :o)

Snowman & Snow Fight time!!

Now it might seem like I am snow obsessed... he he... well I won't exactly call it an obsession, after all it doesn't snow like this in London all the time... it snowed at this scale after 18 years, so it's a pretty unique phenomenon, and I am entitled to a little excitement and snow blogging obsession ;-)

Actually, dear hubby was working from home-office all day and could not leave the flat to play in the snow... had been admiring it from the window, so in the evening we went for a walk and of course had an impromptu snow-fight and made ourselves our very first snowman! :D While we walked around Kew Park, we saw lots of other snowmen creations which were much more grand... and we took some pictures to share!

If this unpredictable weather continues, who knows this snow blogging obsession might continue as well ;-)

Our snowman lost one of his eyes :-O

Christmas in February!!

Unprecedented!!! We had not seen or heard of such things happening in 21st Century London ;-)... SNOW!... and lots of it :o) There is no stopping it, it's been snowing since yesterday and it continues! I woke up this morning and quickly ran to the window to check if it continued to snow and if there was enough all around to admire & build snowmen with... you see I had a dream, under the circumstances it could be categorized as a nightmare! ;-) The nightmare being when I woke up in the morning all the snow had melted away and everything was back to normal... cold for sure after all it is London, but snowless London... so after I discovered it has snowed a LOT, I quickly got ready to head our to take some pictures and to see everything around covered in snow. It's magnificent!... white and absolutely beautiful :o) Mostly everyone is home or working from home... as most buses and trains are not working, so lots of people on the streets with children... snow fights, snow men... it's like Christmas in February!! 

Unexpected snow bring out the children in everyone, but the latest tale I heard from Ginny is a different type of snow excitement! Earlier today, she was standing in her flat and admiring the foot of snow in her balcony and contemplating building a snowman out of it, when she noticed something in the distance... one lonely couple all by themselves in the snow and she noticed the girl was in her bath robe... her curiosity grew and she stood there to see what would happen next... guess what!... the girl took off her robe and now she was wrapped in a blue towel... then to Ginny's surprise she even took off the towel and she was standing in the snow in a BIKINI!... yes a bikini in which she posed for many pictures... LOL... was it a life long dream of hers, a dare, or was she a hindi movie actress shooting for a song... humm... anything could be possible ;-) People never fail to surprise and it seems like everyone is having loads of fun!!

Home sweet home... covered in snow! :o)

I say a foot of snow ;-)!

The local pub @ Kew... deserted! 

Even in this weather someone is riding his/her bike!!

And then there are others riding a different sort of bike ;-)

Let it snow!!!

After two cold winters in London, I finally get to see some real snow :D Yipeee!!!!

As mentioned in the earlier blog I am not a huge fan of cold freezing temperatures, but when it comes to snow... I am a total baby... love it!! We have experienced what I call, drizzle snowed, tiny snow flakes fall but not enough for them to collect on the ground, but today is a different story, it's cold and it's been snowing, on and off all day and there is snow on the streets, cars, lawns... everywhere, it's all white... it's beautiful :) We have snow in London, which doesn't happen to often and it's magnificent!!  Here are some shots we've been taking from the confines of our warm flat ;)

My heart is singing... let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... snow snow :)

A day at Camden market!

After weeks of wanting to go to much heard about Camden market, today we finally went :) ... it was not the best day to step outside... the temperature was negative 2 and it felt more like negative 10... you see I am not a big fan of cold~freezing temperatures, so exaggeration on my part is allowed and acceptable :D Anyways my ears and hands were frozen even through my warm gloves and my warm cap... and by the end my face was so cold, I could not feel it, just pain! After reaching home it took two warm cups of soup to thaw me. 

But apart from the cold... we had a really fun day!! Camden market has been very famous lately due to Amy Winehouse, the media always finds her drugged and drunk on the streets of Camden. Our reasons for going to Camden were not to see her or to get high, rather we had heard a lot about Camden market from other reliable sober sources, the streets being full of  interesting finds to see, buy, eat and experience... sort of a street/flea/antique market. We walked around a lot and enjoyed out day... ate some yumm warm & spicy Jamaican food and poked our noses into loads of stores :) Oh what fun it was, the most exciting bit being, Sunny and I discovering an old comic book store and some old record stores... and we bought each other our favorite childhood comics. Sunny got some Commando comics (war stuff) and I got some Asterix & Obelix :D We both were rather excited after these finds... needless to say on our train ride back home and even after reaching home we have been happily engrossed in our comic books! Oh what fun it is, I actually recall some of the comments and jokes from decades ago, as I am re-reading Asterix & Cleopatra :) Fun fun fun!!! 

The other amazing find was a record of a "Jabji Saabh" path... I saw a picture of Guru Gobind Singh Ji on the cover of a record and just stopped, was rather surprised, delightfully so, to find his face on a cover... was not sure if some rock band was using the image for their record or was it the real deal. So after picking up and reading the details we learnt it was actually a record of the path in the 'World Music' section :) I just had to buy it... never had I thought it would exist on a record... Mom and Dad we are going to borrow your record player and try it out on our next trip!

Hope you all are having an equally fun weekend!

Lots of love

us :)

Ellen's Animals Commercial

Today is a day for sharing favorite commercials... so it seems :) Here is one last post, I love Ellen and this one of of my fav commercials!

Gorilla Cadbury Advert

This is another one of our fav Cadbury ad's... this one came out last year...

Cadbury Eyebrows Dance Advert - Do The Dance!!

Cadbury always makes amazing ad's, this is their latest... come on guys... try it... do the dance :o)

Indian Omaba & Hillary!!

Next time you have a bad day at work, or just a bad day... think about the toothbrush and the toilet paper... your day won't seem that bad ;-)

New Do!

My new winter do... change is coming to America, and history is being made, so I thought why not contribute to it by changing my hair-do! ;-) Well friends, I am looking forward to the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony & Speech this Tuesday!! I still remember the time Bush Junior aka Blunder Bush was sworn in for his first term, we were in the midst of immigrating to the US, and my dear mom sat me through the entire inaugural ceremony & speech. We were moving to a new country and she strongly felt I must watch & learn... I am sure mom you must have changed your mind once the speech started ;-)... after all what would I have learnt from him...

Mom this year I will willingly, proudly & eagerly be watching the entire ceremony!

Change!

Found these posters online...  just had to share it with everyone :)

&

Few more days... and Obama joins office!