Somehow, at some restaurant, we came upon the topic of top five favorites. And because we were mid-stuffing our faces, it ended up being top 5 favorite meals. That was at least a month ago so you can tell that it’s no easy task, I mean, imagine, if you were alive for only 2.5 days, what would you have for 3 lunches and 2 dinners?! I mean, afterall, they would potentially be the LAST things you ate.
So, here’s my list:
- Eggs – any kind. Except omelets. And cold ones that are supposed to be hot. Egg salad, egg bhaaji, scrambled, in a breakfast burrito, you get the idea
- Sai bhaji – I can’t eat it every day or even every week, but it’s amazing and delicious.
- Sushi – yes, a good vegetarian sushi that is not way too expensive for what they give you, friggin yum.
- Keema – vegetarian of course – in any style or format – plain and served with rice, seldom mixed with pasta, seasoned well for tacos, quesadillas, or enchiladas, oh lord, im salivating just thinking about it.
- Pending
And then we continued on because finding 5 favorite meals wasn’t enough. Dessert, anyone?
- Carrot Cake
- Red Velvet Cake
- Raas Gulla
- Diamond Mithai
- Tiramisu – made with coffee and not rum (this one is a placeholder dessert until I can find a really WOW dessert)
And then, there are favorite meal accompaniments:
- Boondi Raita
- Toritlla
- Pappad
- Pending
- pending
Snacks that could be a full meal if you wanted:
- Kebabs- veggie – and mom’s only
- Dokla – oh lord, so yumm
- Popcorn – I am a fan of the
- Khandvi – it’s been a while since I’ve had it but so delicious!
- Chaat – paapdi or other – I guess I am supposed to be Gujrati?
And beverages:
- Coffee
- Water
- Sparkling Water
- Sake Bombs
- Champagne
Take some time to think – what are your favorites? It’s not as easy as one would imagine. And you could delve so much further into it to see. Breakfast foods? Dinner items? Movie Snacks? All sorts of nonsense that you can expand on. That’s mine, for now, at least. I am still trying to find out what my last favorite meal is.
with my sissy.. she's no sissy.. 
dijjy, pijjy and rishi-- we look hot AND we rhyme!
mommy and me. we look alike 
post-dinner sillyness. did the sake bombs go to your head??
waiting for the fireworks to begin.. and the year to start
we adopted this tradition where we believe what you do on the first of the year, you do all year long. and so, one year, our neighbor was rolling his suitcase down the street. after inquiring a little more, we found out that he planned to travel that year. i tried it. it freaking works. this year we brought our suitcases downtown because, after all, travelling is a big deal. we chose to take it a bit further and roll with a veil. you know us indian peoples, we make it all a little more difficult/different. no veil, but close enough.
this year, the motto: let’s rock this. mom’s motto: let’s rock this, with a rock. – hahahhaha!
i tried to throw up the peace sign to make it less awkward and instead made it MORE awk-squad!
and after this nonsense- here’s a beautiful picture:
we look awesomeeeee here's a year of success to all!
so a little while back (like a year ago probably) – i had met with swami shantananda and he had told me to learn how to cook. you can see that post here.
it had been looming in my mind for a while and i told mom that this was the weekend to do it. if not now, i’d probably let it go for another year and then it would never happen.
mom and i got the recipe and we got to cooking and here we have it documented for proof:
the main and most important ingredient!
the fillers -
the real magic behind the dish came from the original recipe (and its original cook)
needs to fully cook and then buen provecho!
and so there we have it. also, frikin hilarious. i send an email from my phone to swamiji to show him that i finally learned to make the curry as he suggested. i noticed i didnt have his email on my phone and so i went with the generic: shantananda@gmail.com… not more than 25 mins later i receive this awesome response:
hahahahahahha.... OOPS! but so awesomee!
next: daal, roti and some fancy bhaajis. lets do it.
on a whim, we decided it would be a good idea to go on a trip. who, you ask? my friend elizabeth from work, her sister (because she always wanted to visit atlanta), and myself. within 1 day of speaking about it, we booked our hotel and tickets and done and done, A-town? I’m down!
Here are some pictures from our trip. We got into quite a bit of nonsense, but all fun, all good and all worth it.
our motto fro the trip: live. laugh. love. sleep later!
this was at the airport where we stopped for an adult beverage before boarding. it was just perfect that our table was plastered with a cuervo slogan. and yes, through out the trip, we lived. we definitely laughed and i fell in love. not with a person, but with people. the people of atlanta. so nice. so kind. so comfortable. it was great!
TacoMac was the bDOTc -- saved our night!
The story of TacoMac. Elizabeth’s friend was hosting a party at Goldroom (which we found out later was previously a gentleman’s club), we got ready, headed out there but hadn’t eaten since noon. thankfully our kind cab driver pointed us in the direction of TacoMac where we could stuff our faces. Daniel our server wondered why we were going to Goldroom saying it was a bit on the ‘ghetto side’ – understatement of a lifetime. but, hey, it adds to the experience… or something, haha!
a new spin on Einstein.. grand mimosa!
the next morning, mohit and amir came to get us at the hotel (because it was raining and they are our driving angels) and mohit took us to einsteins. not bagel einsteins but another one. delicious southern breakfast and a grand mimosa. so amazing and def HIT you on yrou way out. we owe you, mo!
amazing cnn tour followed by getting our coke on.
we did our touristy stuff, he dropped us off at CNN Headquarters and we did the tour. incredible, i would definitely recommend it! luckily, at the end of the tour, the sun came out and were able to walk across centennial park to the coke factory. that one, not so much a hit. it’s more of a pay $16, two people talk to you, then you walk around and read everything yourself. and try awful coke products. not a big fan. although, they did have a killer recipe for happiness. i’ll share it soon
overlooking atlanta from the westin, 72 stories up.. beautiful
we came across this idea in one of hte many websites we searched on – the westin hotel has a rotating restaurant/bar. we planned to be there for sunset because who cares when it’s rotating and you have to pay $40 for brunch. so, we sat at the bar (which is when we realized there was no rotating going on) and enjoyed some drinks and took in the amazingness of the view and the sunset.
following this, we took a metro back to midtown. we definitely got lost walking to the hotel (twice!! once in the wrong direction and once we passed our street) and once we got to the hotel safely, napped and relaxed til our evening adventure .. which included more getting lost, more struggles to find places to eat and walking in the freezing cold to find our final destination. and once there, of course, having an amazing time!
day 2: sunday. we met mohit and sonia for their lunch (we ate this restaurant that turned out to be a private club that opens to the public for brunch… we had no idea we were SOO cool and SOO elite!) we walked around virginia highlands. we took a cab to buckhead (where apparently it used ot be the greatest place to be but now there is nada– we probably walked 2 miles [in rainy freezing mist] to get on a Marta [after almost being hustled by hobo-s] and find a place to watch the football game)
our mustaches made us a new friend!!
we landed up at TAP after a ridiculous walking adventure and just wanted to warm up, enjoy and just hang. we had a few drinks, befriended a guy who was walking by and who ended up serving us. we got pens and drew mustaches on our fingers and made quite a few people laugh. it turned out to be incredible. there’s nick-nack in the picture above.
as usual, mohit came to the rescue and picked us up. we went to yeah burger to get some food adn then headed off to his house to eat and hang out.
yeaaa buddy... oops... yeahhhh BURGER! thanks MO for everything!! 
the trip was incredible. we got lost (alot). we laughed (alot). we ate and drank (alot). and we had fun!
thanks atl, i’ll be back!!
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honor at least some of your dreams along the way.
From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard – This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship.
Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings – Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming.
We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends – Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.
It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier
This is a surprisingly common one.
Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice.
They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.
