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Weekly Goals Update – 7 October 2012

11:17:00 am

Personal

My new House Guests!!

4:17:00 pm

Celebration, Personal

Cub’s Birthday Post (and some kiddie party planning tips)!!

11:40:00 am

So as you guys know, Cub turned four!! Thank you all for your lovely wishes :-). So as I promised, here are some details of Cub’s party.

This is the first time we a proper party for him, usually it’s just us and a cake with candles and some gifts. Since he’s actually got some friends now, we decided to do more this time.

An important point was budget – I didn’t want a huge mega-bash for him. ‘Frugal yet Fun’ was my motto throughout. Here’s a breakdown of what I did, which might help if you ever want to plan a party for kids.

First off, I made a plan which listed everything.

1. Guests – How many kids? (and parents, if any; I left the parents out :-), but included siblings). Apparently, the thumb rule for number of guests is age of the birthday child + 1. I ignored this and there were around 10 kids at Cub’s party :-).

2. Theme – I wanted a theme, but he’s in a transition phase from trains to construction vehicles – he hasn’t let go of one and isn’t a 100% into the other. So I decided on a general ‘Birthday’ theme :-).

Getting supplies to match your theme is a bit of a challenge in India, so unless you have the time, talent and resources to go the DIY route, I’d suggest you stick to something common like:

Animals – Jungle, Farm
Cartoon characters - Dora the Explorer, Ben10, Chota Bheem, Mickey etc
Superheroes – Super/Spider/Bat man. (Iron Man/Green Lantern would be a challenge)
Cars
Princess

3. Invitations – I printed out these from the internet:

Of course, if you have a theme, go with it. There are some brilliant suggestions by Poonam here.

Online kids stores are a good place to try for supplies - First Cry, Disney, Hoopos are some options.

4. Party Supplies – I got candles, party blowouts, paper plates, paper cups, napkins and plastic forks from a local store, but ordered these party hats from FirstCry.com:

You can of course, go the whole hog and buy everything in matching sets online, especially if you have a theme. I opted for the store, because I got stuff cheaper there.

5. Decorations – Again, go with your theme. I reused some decorations we already had, including the Happy Birthday banner. All we bought were packs of balloons. Whatever your theme, balloons are a MUST. The kids had a lot of fun playing with them.

6. Food and Drink – An important point to remember here – do not overestimate kids’ appetites. And keep it as healthy as you can, with something unhealthy and yummy thrown in for balance. This is what we served:

Chicken nuggets (Can be substituted with potato smileys/wedges)
Chocolate Chip cookies
Homemade vegetable sandwiches
Small bananas
Fruit Juice
And of course, cake

I tried to keep a balance between sweet and savory. Try to avoid colas, they do nothing but harm kids’ bodies. Also, be sure to ask parents beforehand about any diet restrictions.

7. Party Games – Again, go with your theme. Since ours was simply ‘Birthday’, we opted for classic Birthday Party games:

For the Donkey game, I used the donkey and tail from here. Here’s how poor Eeyore looked after he was all printed and pinned up.

For the Animal Farm game, I made little slips of paper with pictures of animals (since some of the kids were too young to read) and the kids each took a slip and began making the corresponding animal sounds to locate their partner. I collected some animal pics from the internet and it looked like this:

P.S. You can download it if you want, I don’t mind :-).

For the prizes, I used inexpensive stuff like little plastic lunchboxes, pen stands and fun photo frames. Keep in mind that games like Animal Farm will have two winners. Also safe to keep a gift or two handy for ties :-).

Don’t forget the music!!! You’ll get loads of suggestions for kiddie music online, but here’s my top pick :-) :

I also put on a kiddie CD on DVD for the kids to watch while they ate.

8. Goodie Bags – Not necessarily theme dependent. We made the goodie bags out of newspaper and ribbon. We downloaded little ‘Thank you’ tags from the internet and filled our bags with these:

Little Play doh tubs ( I bought a Play Doh Party pack)
Paint Boxes
Chocolates
Bookmarks

Other good options are stationery, crayons, little wind up toys. Or you could give just one toy or book instead of a bag of little stuff. I learnt to make the newspaper bags from here.

9. Gifts – We’re the kind of people who open all the gifts after everyone’s left :-). Whatever you choose to do, make sure you have a designated space for the gifts and a time to open it up. Cub got a huge haul, with all kinds of stuff from this:

to this:

and loads of things in between :-). We gifted him blocks – ‘My First Lego Set’, ordered from First Cry. They have quite a lot of stuff and good service.

Cub is totally into legos and it is turning out to be a really good buy. I think we’ll get some add-on sets later; for now, this is a really good starter set and I would recommend it to anyone just starting out on legos.

Important points to remember:

1. Try to get someone to help; I did this all by myself, and I could’ve really used a helping hand.

2. Keep your camera charged the day before.

3. Start planning a month in advance. That way you can score the best deals and have enough time to receive your online shipments. Also, I used Evernote to help with all my planning.

4. Consider a little extra for everything. You don’t want to disappoint anyone :-).

5. Plan for more games than you think are necessary – it’s no fun for the kids to sit around doing nothing!!

So that was how Cub’s birthday party went!! It was a lot of fun – all the planning, organizing and shopping. But the best part was seeing the kids really enjoy themselves and get involved in the games – it really was worth it!! And here’s a pic of the delighted birthday boy about to cut his cake:

Personal

Weekly Goals Update – 30 September 2012

12:05:00 pm

Food

Recipe for the Week – Ice Cream Cake with Oreo Crust

5:52:00 pm

This post is sooo late; I actually made this for Eid and planned to post soon after!! Anyway, this recipe is actually derived from this Banana Split Ice Cream Cake recipe and the ganache is from here. Now lets check out my version!

This cake is really, really easy, though my instructions regarding the timings may appear complicated. Instead of listing out all the ingredients first, I’ll go layer by layer.

Note: You’ll need a springform pan for this. If you don’t have one, you can line the base of any pan with cling film so that it overflows out from the sides. When the cake is done, you just lift it out by the extra cling film.

For the Base/Crust:

20 Oreo cookies

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1. Crush the cookies in a mixer till they resemble breadcrumbs.

2. Mix them with butter until completely moistened.

3. Press into the base of a spring form tin and freeze for at least 15 minutes.

Note: Don’t press the base too hard or it’ll be difficult to cut once frozen.

For the Ice cream layers:

½ litre chocolate ice cream

½ litre vanilla ice cream

1. Place chocolate ice cream in the fridge for 30 minutes to soften.

2. Whisk well to make it smooth and spreadable.

3. Spread over the Oreo base completely, smoothing the top.

4. Cover with cling film and freeze for 1 hour.

5. Place vanilla ice cream in the fridge for 30 minutes to soften.

6. Whisk well to make it smooth and spreadable.

7. Spread over the frozen chocolate layer completely, smoothing the top.

8. Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours.

For the Ganache:

150 g dark chocolate, chopped

150 g cream

1. Bring cream to just a boil and then simmer.

2. Pour onto chocolate pieces in a bowl.

3. Let it sit a while and then stir till completely melted and smooth.

4. Spread the chocolate ganache over the top of the frozen vanilla layer, smoothing with a spatula.

5. Cover with cling film and freeze for 2 hours.

Before serving:

1. Invert the cake tin onto a plate.

2. Wrap a hot kitchen towel around the cake pan, hold it there for about 30 seconds or till the cake loosens and slides out.

3. Remove the bottom of the spring form and turn the cake right side up on your serving dish.

4. Freeze again for 10 – 15 minutes.

5. Cut using a hot, dry knife to get clean edges.

There, easy as pie, isn’t it?? It’s the perfect dessert to make ahead for a dinner party, so you can focus on your other dishes :-). I’m sorry I didn’t take too many pics, I remembered it only after doing the vanilla layer.

Notes:

1. Check the note about the base above.

2. You can make as many layers as you like, just remember to soften the ice cream in the fridge beforehand and to freeze well in between each layer.

3. You may add fruit or nuts or both.

4. Options for garnishing are unlimited.

See, this must be the most customizable dessert ever!!! And though it doesn’t need any skill of any sort, the end result looks like you’ve worked hard over it!!

So guys, do try this out and let me know how it went!!

Personal

Weekly Goals Update – 23 September 2012

11:52:00 am

Well, well, well. Now when was the last time we saw a post titled like that?? No, don’t answer that, I don’t want to know. What I do know is that it has definitely been long enough to make me forget what my resolutions were at the start of the year. Yeah, that bad.

I’ll admit I am ashamed of myself, but I don’t want to feel so low that I just sink into the depths of despair and give up. So I decided to get back on track.

First, I had to do the obvious, going back to my January posts and re-reading my goals. (That’s one of the best parts of having a blog, you have written records of pretty much everything in your life :-)) Well, unknown to myself, I have kept on track with a few of those goals, while the ones that require conscious action have been, well, ignored. So let’s see how I stand with respect to everything right now:

1. Quality time with Cub – Quality time is going well, though book reading has been low this month.

2. Less Nagging – This I’m very proud of. I just automatically cut down nagging and sweating the small stuff. Can’t imagine how it happened. Wonder if the hubby’s putting something in my coffee.

3. Regular Prayers – More regular and more focused too, although there’s still room for improvement.

4. More books – This year, I’ve read about twice the books I read last year. Though initially I had to push myself, now I just pick up and read – no pushing required!

1. Organized blog posting – I was kind of at the height of posting in August, due to the Ramadan Challenge. But then I began to lose focus.

2. Current Affairs – Well, I do read the paper more, but still not that into news channels.

3. Adventurous style – The InFB remixes are something I look forward to, and I’ve got rid of all my boring clothes, but there’s still not been as much change as I’d like.

1. Cleaner House – Hmm. I don’t know why, but nowadays, just thinking of cleaning tires me out. As a result, I’m now looking at blurry windows, dusty fans and crumb ridden rugs.

2. Fitness – This has been terrible. My workouts are really irregular and I think my bad time management skills have a part to play. In spite of this, I have (somewhat) learned to control my portions and am about 4.5 kg lighter than I was at the start of the year :-).

And that’s how it’s been, friends. This week is going to be really busy for me since it’s Cub’s birthday week :-). The little guy turns four and we’re planning a kiddie party for his friends in the evening and a dinner party for the extended family later. I thought about going for a theme, but he’s kind of in between trains and trucks, so I decided to go with a general ‘Birthday’ theme :-).

How has it been for you guys so far?? Resolutions still going good, or are you planning an overhaul?? Do let me know!!

books

Book Review – Love in Crazy Times

9:50:00 pm

Title: Love in Crazy Times

Author: KV Gautam

Plot: The story is a gripping tale of search for love and freedom, braving heart-breaks, evil bosses and family pressure. The protagonist Amit is a daring middle class guy who chases both love and dream of starting his own business. He is faced with the hypocritical Indian society and the corrupt business class on his path. His victory is not easy and comes after a long trail of personal and professional setbacks.

The story also shows how India, after the economic liberalization, is offering immense opportunities as well as challenges to young people. It’s also about the cultural gap between a small town and a metro, and how parents find it difficult to adjust in a fast changing nation.

The story, narrated in the first person by Amit, is set in Delhi from the period of 2005 to 2011. The story follows life of Amit, a small town boy armed with optimism and confidence, who comes to Delhi in search of a job. The story also narrates personal and professional struggles of his friends, Suraj and Shantanu, who came to Delhi from Lucknow and Kolkata respectively.

It’s a racy and pacey story that has elements of romance, humor, emotions, drama and a bit of social message.

Review: If the plot you’ve read above seems kind of similar, it may well be because you’ve read Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Revolution 2020’. If you have read it, it is hard not to draw parallels between the basic settings of both books. However, the protagonists are quite different and their destinies also turn out different.

Before getting into the story, I’d like to say this: if you’re the type who gets mad at typos and grammatical mistakes in reading material, this book will enrage you. The editor of the book has done a really bad job, and the number of such errors is just too many to be listed. Had that not been a problem, this book would have made a much better read.

As it stands, the story starts out in a promising way, but unlike the protagonist’s description in the plot, Amit appears to be an insecure and whiny kind of individual. He does however have a few amusing opinions on his friends and colleagues. Overall, the book seems to describe the workings of a simple but insecure and sexually frustrated young man, struggling to find his bearings in modern India.

Another thing that jars the narrative is the sprinkling of random incidents throughout the book, which don’t seem to have any relation to the plot. You keep waiting for the random bits to gel together somewhere along the way, but they stay that way, disparate.

Verdict: Not really high end literature, you could give it a try without too many expectations.

Newer Posts

Older Posts

Weekly Goals Update – 7 October 2012

My new House Guests!!

Cub’s Birthday Post (and some kiddie party planning tips)!!

Weekly Goals Update – 30 September 2012

Recipe for the Week – Ice Cream Cake with Oreo Crust

Weekly Goals Update – 23 September 2012

Book Review – Love in Crazy Times

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