Elfing ourselves!

It's that time of the year again...
...That's right, it's time for an elf video dance!

From one little elf family to yours,
We wish you all a warm and lovely holidays
& a happy New Year 2010!

With elfing love,

Mona's answer!

Earlier today, I took Mona with me to the doctor's office...
Nothing unusual, just having a little check up and Mona was just being her usual self, chatting with the nurses and showing up her new dances moves to the other little kids in the waiting room. She even shared her sultanas with one of her little new-made friends...


While I was having my check-up, doctor Alice was chit chatting with Mona, and Mona, sitting on her chair, casually responded to her while still eating her sultanas.
Then doctor Alice asked Mona: 'So Mona, what are you going to do this Christmas?'
And Mona nonchalantly replied: "We are Baha'is! We don't celebrate Christmas!"

I just cannot explain to you how I felt when I heard Mona's answer!


I was at first surprised of her brief, but very honest answer, because I really did not expect her saying that.
And then I also immediately felt really proud of her for being able to define who she is and be able to proclaim it high and without fear!

I am really proud of my 3 year old little girl...

She is a Baha'i.
I am a Baha'i.
We are a Baha'i family.

Much love to you and yours during this Holiday Season!

P.S: Don't know what the Baha'i Faith is? Then click here.

Last Minute Gift Ideas!

Looking for some last minute gift ideas?
Well look no more, you have come to the right place!

As some of you know, I have just recently launched my new photography website: 'Sabby Nur Photography' and this morning I just posted some gift certificates for portrait sessions for this holiday season.

Please feel free to check it out here and order a gift certificate for your favorite person and/or for yourselves, as the gift certificates do not expire and can be used whenever you want.

Also if you know someone who might be interested, please feel free to share this post and links with them.

Thank you for reading,

And don't forget to keep cool, drink your water, and eat lots of fruits!

Lovingly,

Arising to Serve - Baha'i Video for Free Download

http://www.bahai.org/arising/

"It is hoped that the film will serve as a source of learning,
encouragement, and inspiration to those who,
in response to the summons of their Lord,
are arising to serve their fellow citizens in every corner of the world."

http://www.bahai.org/arising/

Baha'i Video "Arising to Serve: Glimpses from 41 Regional Conferences" is available for free download on the official Baha'i website: http://www.bahai.org/arising/

Enjoy and re-live the experience!

Much love,

Ghormeh Sabzi - The Recipe

Ghormeh Sabzi or The Persian Green Herb Stew is most definitely one of my favorites dish in the Persian Cuisine. But it has not always been this way...
By far and large, Ghormeh Sabzi, is not what one would call a 'pretty' dish, and if it happens to be your first time tasting it, the colour and smell would not seem very inviting.
Ghormeh Sabzi is a dish that you have to try, at least a few times (well, at least in my case), before your taste buds starts to really enjoy the bursts of intense flavours of this very dark green stew of herbs when eaten with the aromatic rice (cooked the Persian style of course!).

It's hard to believe that the only Persian dish I was familiar with before I got married to my Persian husband was Adas Polo, also known as Adas Pilaf (Rice with lentils and raisins)...
But a marriage of cultures can certainly produce some miracles, and in my case it sure did. Firstly with our beautiful daughter Mona and now with me cooking Persian Cuisine! ha! Who would have thought that was possible... lol...
I have been quite adventurous lately in learning how to create those delicious Persian dishes and one that I have almost perfected is of course the very famous Ghormeh Sabzi.
And since I cooked it today totally from scratch, and had some requests for sharing the recipe, I thought I might as well do it here.

So here is what you will need:

(Tumeric)

- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp of tumeric powder
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 750grams of lamb, chopped into chunks (Beef or Chicken can be used too)
- 1 cup spring (green) onions, finely chopped (green part only)
- 1 1/2 cup of spinach, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro (coriander), finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fenugreek leaves, finely chopped
- 1 can of red kidney beans, drained
- Juice of one fresh lemon
- 1/2 cup of leemoo-amonee (dried lemons, approximately 5 to 6 dried lemons)
- 1 tsp of dried lemon powder (optional)

Leemoo-Amonee (Dried Lemons)

Note: The herbs can be purchased already chopped, either in sachet as dried herbs or in can, but this recipe is of course used with fresh herbs (Sabzi)

(Dried chopped herbs for Ghormeh Sabzi)

Cooking Method / Directions:

1. Saute or fry the onion over medium heat in a couple of tabespoons of oil, until it is a deep golden brown. The Persian called this piaz-daagh.
   
2. Add the tumeric and fry for another minute or two.
3. Add the meet chunks and toss well to coat in tumeric. Add salt & pepper and the optional dried lemon powder and allow meat to cook until browned well on all sides.
4. Meanwhile, in another heated and well oiled pan, fry the herbs until they are fragrant and they starts to deepen in colour. Watch them carefully as they will go bitter if burned. You want them to be a deep, dark green without blackening.
5. Add the fried green herbs to the onion and meet mixture and stir well.
6. Add about 2 cups of water to the mixture. You want it to be a 'slurry', but not 'soupy' mixture.
7. Add lemon juice, stir it well and turn the heat to low, cover the pot and let it simmer for about 1.5 to 2 hours.
8. About 1 hour through the simmer, add the leemoo-amonee (dried lemons). Crack them a little bit and add to the stew, making sure to push them down into the liquid. They tend to pop back up, so try to cover them down with the meat to keep them submerged. Do not add the dried lemons any earlier, or they will turn the stew bitter.
   
9. And finally add the drained kidney beans and let the stew cook/simmer for another 30 to 45 minutes.
10. Make sure to taste the stew to check on the seasoning and sourness of the stew. (Add more lemon juice if needed, but before you do, press down on the dried lemons to get them to release the liquid they've absorbed.)

And your Ghormeh Sabzi is ready!

Serve with Polow (rice) or if you want to go country style try them with Lavash bread (Persian bread).... so yummy!

Oh and just a little bit of advice, if you are serving this dish to a first-timer, make sure to not serve your guests the dried lemons, they would scream in horror when they bite into what they think is a nice chunk of meat! lol.... (no jokes!)

You are Invited to Serve the Faith (dot) com

Hi guys, I just saw this post on Baha'i Views by George and I just had to share with you all... it is so cleverly done and straight to the point.

Here it is, folks. http://www.servethefaith.com

The latest and greatest invitation to teach the Baha’i Faith.In 4 minutes and some seconds. Cute. Cuts through the confusion. Done by some people you might know. Devon Gundry, the guy with some great songs AND the co-creator of SoulPancake. And how about Golriz Lucina, also of SoulPancake. Here she is on Twitter. And here is her blog. These guys design good. -gw

For my brother, Anis...

Happy Birthday!



We love you
Bisous
xoxox

For my brother, Brian...

Happy Birthday!!



We LOVE you!
xoxox

Stand By Me - Andy, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora

Iranian singer Andy sings 'Stand By Me' with superstars Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.

It's pretty cool, both Andy and Jon Bon Jovi starts the song in farsi... check it out!

Late night happenings...

My neighbours... a couple who just moved in next door... are way too loud!

From the moment they moved in a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that they were loud, specially at night, but I think last night top it all for me!

Last night at 3am i was woken up by loud banging noise, as if someone next door was moving furniture around or something. I immediately thought that there was a robbery next door or something like that, because it really sounded as if someone was throwing things around in the apartment.
I quickly got out of bed with my cellphone in hand, ready to call the cops if necessary... and when I listened closely, I could hear them laugh and talk... I was relieved that is wasn't a robbery but still pretty angry with the loud noise that woke me up...

So I went back to bed and tried to find my sleep back... but to no avail... because around 3.30 am they started to be loud again...
At first, I thought they were having a fight or something because lots of 'F' words were flying around pretty loudly by both of them... but then I realised that no they weren't fighting, they were just hmmmm... how can i say this.... they were just 'having a good time'.... 'getting it going on'.... if you know what I mean....

I was utterly shocked and disgusted by the whole thing... they were really, REALLY loud!! I could hear everything!!! absolutely everything!! lol (I find it funny now, but it really wasn't funny last night... I was sitting in my bed, in total shock at their loudness and the vulgarity of their words in such a moment and hoping and praying that my daughter doesn't wake up and ask me what is going on!!!).

Oh wait, it gets worse....

So after 10 minutes of 'you know what noise' (thank goodness it didn't last long), it got a little bit quieter... the guy went outside for a smoke... how do I know you ask, well... because of all the noise he made unlocking the doors and talking to his wife from outside!

And then a little bit after 4am, they had guests over!! yeah!! GUESTS over at 4am in the morning!! WHO HAS GUEST OVER AT 4AM??????
Sabby's new neighbours of course!!!

They had a couple over, the lady was walking with her high heal shoes all over the place... and I could even hear that!! They were making noise with the dishes, the guys went outside quite often for smokes and while they were out were laughing and talking quite loudly to each other and to the women inside the house....
At least they didn't put the music on and started dancing...

I think I fell back asleep around 5am, even with all the pretty loud noise still going on around me...

I want my old neighbours back!!!

My daughter is an artist

My darling little girl is a bubbling little artist....

Tonight, after coming back home from the Baha'i 19 Day feast, I was busy typing the feast's suggestions on my computer files when Mona asked if she could do some drawing... I thought ok, that should give me at least 15 minutes to finish my LSA work.

A few minutes later, little miss Mona came to show me her art work.... LO and behold, this is what I saw:

Mona decided that her creative talents are limitless and decided to unleash them on herself... she tried to paint a cat on her face with a PERMANENT MARKER!!!!!!


She even painted her tongue!! HER TONGUE PEOPLE!!!!!!

It took me 30 minutes to rub the thing off her cheeks... and still her cheeks are light pink!!

I have nothing else to say other than this is what you get when you leave a 3 year old girl to do an unsupervised art activity!!!!! LOL!!

Funny and cute sayings...

I need to write these down before I forget them, it's mostly for me....

Mona has been saying a lot of cute and very funny things lately.... I love how her speech and vocabulary is expanding each day and how she uses them correctly.... it's a joy to have little 'chats' (as she likes to call them) with her.

(Mona's first 'ABC' letters - writing lesson with mum!)

----------------------
Me asking Mona: "What would you like to eat for dinner honey?"
Mona answered: "Mummy cook pasta please, you are a good cooker!"

My daughter thinks I'm a good cooker! Isn't that awesome! lol...

(Mona eating Miso Soup and Sushi @ the Sushi Bar)

-----------------------
Mona wanting to sing in the microphone while watching her tv shows, so I gave her the microphone and she took it in the living and came back two seconds later and asked:
"Mummy where is the plug for the microphone? There is no plugger in the living room!"

NO PLUGGER!! I was shocked... i mean we need a plugger for the microphone dear heavens!!! lol
----------------------
Early one morning, Mona got out of bed, came right up to my face, stroke my cheeks gently, and said in a very soft and gently voice (her niece voice as she likes to call it):
"I was wondering if you can put the cartoons and playschool and backyardigans and little Einsteins and cartoons again on for me please." and then gave me the biggest grin ever!
She was so irresistible that I jumped right out of bed, gave her a big kiss and put the tv on for her!

Can you believe what she said!?! She used the word "I was wondering" in it's right context! And she only just turned 3 years old like not even 3 months ago!!!

(Mona, pretending to read one of mum's books!)

---------------------------
We've got this cute little game between us when we say 'I love you' to each other, and it goes a little something like this:

Mona: "I love you mummy!"
Me: "I love you too Mona!"
Mona: "I love you more mummy!"
Me: "No, I love you more and more Mona!"
Mona: "No mummy, Iiiiiiiiii Love you MORE (almost yelling on the word more)!!
Me: "No, Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii love you more, for always and forever!"
Mona: "No Iiiiiiiii love you forever and in the whole world!!!"
and even before I get the change to reply back, she says: "I win!"
LOL....

(Mona and me)

-------------------------------
During toilet training...

Me explaining to Mona that nappies are for babies and that big girls wear underwear and that when she stops wearing nappies, she will be able to do the things that big girls do, like go to school and make new friends at school, and do lots of crafts and play with the other children at school. Because I told her that she cannot go to school if she is still wearing nappies and that she needs to become a big girl to go to school. She doesn't like it when I tell her that she is a baby! lol...

Mona replies back by saying: "I am a big girl mummy, and big girls wears nappies, babies wear underwears!"
When I told her again that she cannot go to school if she is wearing nappies because there is no one there to change your nappy. The teacher takes the big girls to the toilet, not change their nappy, she answered: "You can come with me to school to change my nappy!"

(Mona pretending to be a lion with the brand new toilet seat!)

LOL!!
I finally decided that it was useless discussing this subject with her, because she will always come up with a pretty good comeback and I won't know how to reply back!! (3 year olds do have a lot of comebacks, believe me!! lol)
So, now I just do the toilet training... no more nappies.... end of discussion.
(I have actually hidden them in one of the top shelf of the cupboard and told her that there is no nappies left, only underwears! lol... seems to be working right now...)

-------------------------------
And my favourite of the moment:

At very random and odd times and places, Mona will say to me:
"Mummy I love you soooooo much! I miss you soooo much!! You are the best mummy in the whole world!" (she uses her hands to show me how big the whole world is.... so cute!).
And it just melts inside when I hear her say it and I just want to squeeze her little cuteness and kiss her to infinity!! I love my daughter!

(Mona and her baby 'Alice')

Vlog # 2 - Mona & Sabby - May 09

The Adventures Continues....

Here is our video blog no 2 and it's an update of what we've been up to at the end of May 2009.
Mostly having fun at Rundle Mall on Saturdays, Mona loves to go there to see the different shows that are on, specially the 'Statue Lady' which she loves to watch but is still a bit intimidated by her... and she also loves loves, absolutely loves going in the lift that is outside of one of the building in Rundle Mall where you can actually see the outside Mall... and of course not to mention going into the big toy shop 'ToyRus'!

Also in the video, bus trip, dinner with family, face painting for which I had to pay for the very first time and which was a total epic fail, because firstly Mona didn't like it and had me remove it from her face literally seconds after it was painted on her face, and secondly because it was and look really bad... the lady was trying to paint her face just like her little 'Hello Kitty' plush toy that she had with her, but like I said, it was an epic fail!!
And there are also some more funnies and sillies that Miss Mona did this past few weeks and on the second part of the video, you can hear Mona in the background singing 'Tiny Seed' from Dawnbreakers Collective.

Hope you enjoy the video as much as i did creating it... (using Corel Video Studio and as you can see tried a lot of different things lol)...

Thanks for watching and take care everyone!

Celebration of the Declaration of the Bab

Oh dear heavens!! It's finally done!!
The video for the celebration of the Declaration of the Bab that is....

I've been struggling to make this video since the 23rd of May!! Windows Movie maker (the program i use to make videos) just doesn't want to work anymore... I've download quite a few other programs that wasn't quite as good, till finally two friends (Daniel and Matt) recommended Corel Video Studio. Thanks for your help guys!

So here is the video of our little Baha'i Community's celebration of the Declaration of the Bab which was held on Friday 22 May 2009.

The video starts with an Intro from Mona naturally..... and the actual celebration started with dinner, then the program consisted of readings from the Baha'i Holy Writings. Michel (the French man) did the chairing and I did the readings. In the middle of our first readings, Mona who was sitting with a friend of mine, came running to me at the stage.... she stayed there the entire time!! lol...
The Baha'i Rock Band 'Hidden Cords' did a great performance on that night. They sang prayers and other songs in between each readings. And during their final song, Mona got up and started to dance.... so typical of her! She actually wanted to go sing on the stage with the band.... she told everyone at the beginning of the celebration that she wanted to go and sing with the band... but she chickened out at the end... lol
And we ended the celebration with tea and sweets and lovely chats...

We were really happy of the overall outcome of the celebration, we are a very small Baha'i Community and we wanted something big and dignified for this celebration and it was just that!
Lots of friends from the neighboring communities came and they all brought along some friends too. The night was a great success and the Local Spiritual Assembly was very happy and thankful to everyone who help us make this night a success.

Hope you enjoy the little montage I made, keep in mind that I'm just learning and experimenting still with Corel Video Studio.... not so happy about the outcome.. but their must be a first in everything right!

A letter to my mother...

To my beloved mother, Sylvana Dholah

Maman,
When I was 5 years, I so wanted to be just like you...
I admired your beauty, your elegance and your grace.
I would pretend to play 'school' and be a teacher just like you. For me, you were the most intelligent lady in the whole wide world.
I remember putting on your high heel shoes, your handbag on my shoulders and some of your clothes, all of which were way too big for me, I would put on your jewelery and make-up, just to be you for a brief moment in time...


Throughout the years, as I grew up and got to know you more and see you for the woman you truly are, and not just as my mother, my admiration for you just kept growing stronger... there couldn't have been any other better model for me to follow...


I envied your strength in times of tests and trials,
your perseverance to keep going on when you felt weak and tired,
your unwavering Faith in God and Baha'u'llah even in the darkest hours,
your dedication to perfection,
your compassion for the many people who came to you for help and support,
your love and the way you cared for my father, my brothers and me,
your patience towards your children when we would not be the little angels we now are (and God knows how many times we were not quite little angels),
the many sacrifices that you made without a second of hesitation for us and your loved ones,
your encouragement and your ongoing support throughout all of our up and downs,
I envied your cleverness and intelligence and how quickly your brain would work to figure out a solution to all the problems we faced throughout the years,
the way people would looked up to you as an example,
I envied your love for literature and words, and the way you always seek the good in everything and everyone you meet...

Maman, you blessed not only our lives, the lives of your own children, but the lives of so many more, all of your students, all of your 'adopted' children, you have been an example for each and everyone of us...

Maman, I could never express how much you have shaped me into being the person I am today, I know I still am not perfect and there is still lots for me to learn and grow from, but I don't think I would have ever been able to face what I have been through in life if it wasn't for the pillar of strength that you have been for me throughout the years....

And even today, in this dark moment of my life, I still look up to you...
I only need to look back into my memories of you to know what I have to do now...
I wished I would have listen to you more often and taken notes of all the wisdom you shared with us... maybe things might have been a little bit different in a lot of ways.... but who's to know what the future reserves for us....


Now that I am a mother myself and I have a daughter of my own,
I can only wish and pray that she loves me as much as I love you today!

And maman, now that I am 30 years old,
I still want to be just like you maman!

Je t'aime Maman!

Happy Mother's Day 2009

We love you so much mami-joon!
Bisous from Mona & Sabby
xoxox

Photography & Photoshop

I was playing around with photoshop today and also uploaded some shots of flowers that I took on Saturday and wanted to share it with you.... so enjoy!

Mona





Flowers & other random shots

I'm still alive...

Yes I'm alive and kicking actually....

I know I have been a very bad blogger lately and lots of you have sent me emails asking me where I was etc. I'm sorry for all those who were worried about me... but I am still here and doing well... was just a bit quite busy with other more important priorities in my life right now... not that this blog is not a priority, but you get the gist of what I mean right ? right.... :)

So this blog is due for a very very long update and because there is so much to catch up on and since I am really busy and my focus and priorities are elsewhere at the moment, I decided to do a vlog (video blog) instead of writing a huge and long update...
I know that some of you have been persistently asking for some updates and videos from us, well, your requests have been answered.... and I know someone very special in Mauritius who will be finally happy and excited to see this long vlog... (right maman?) lol...

Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that I am not going to update my blogs anymore, oh no, you can't get rid of me that easily.... I got lots of resilience you know... actually resilience is my middle name.... lol...., it's just that for now a vlog is much quicker and easier to do....
I actually enjoyed making this vlog for you all, so I might do more of this in the future...
I've gathered some video clips and pictures from the last few weeks and compiled them into a video... and it really starts brilliantly with a great intro by Miss Mona herself and it ends with a funny and quite hard to follow story narrated by Mona.. but you just have to look at the way she narrated the story!! She is really talented (no not biased at all!!!!). And oh dear, the ending is just too funny!!

Really, you should just stop reading this right now and just scroll down and go watch the video, but don't forget to come back up here to finish reading yeah! lol...


Hmmmm, let me guess...... you're still reading, aren't you? .... Go watch the video already!!! (I've got the most stubborn readers of all, don't I? lol just kidding guys...)

So yeah, I'll leave you guys with the first in a series of many vlogs (this vlog is from Ridvan to May 09) and we hope that you'll enjoy watching it and have a laugh or two!!

Love you much guys and hopefully you'll read from me very soon!
Take care you all...

A Voice From Prison

Voice From Prison is a poem dedicated to the seven Baha'i leaders of Iran, who are currently imprisoned and who faced the anniversary of their arrest on Thursday 14 May 2009, along with new and extremely grave accusations, after spending a year in jail without formal charges or access to their lawyer, Shirin Ebadi.

"Despite their obvious innocence and the call by many for their immediate release, these seven men and women have been in legal limbo for a year now, against all international human rights standards," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

A Voice From Prison (English Poem)

Music and Poem was written and is being read by my mother in law, Shahla Ghotbi-Nabilzadeh.
Videos by Sabby Nur.



A Voice From Prison (Farsi Poem)

"Moreover, their families have recently been told of a possible new charge - 'the spreading of corruption on earth,' which goes by the term 'Mofsede fel-Arz' in Persian and carries the threat of death under the penal code of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Ms. Dugal.

"The sequence of events surrounding their detention exposes a shameless travesty of justice. Notwithstanding their having been subjected to intensive interrogations, it took a full seven months before they were given even a single pretext for their detention. On February 10, 2009, the Iranian Student News Agency quoted Tehran deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad as having said that the investigation of these individuals was complete and that 'the case will be sent to the revolutionary court next week' and that these Baha'is are accused of 'espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.' The international protest expressed by governments and civil society was immediate and widespread, causing the Iranian authorities to review their approach.

"Now a new wrongful accusation reportedly has been added some three months after the investigation was supposed to have concluded. The charge of being spreaders of corruption was used against the Baha'is who were executed in the years immediately following the Islamic revolution. That it may now be resorted to in this case is a further demonstration that the authorities have no basis for any allegation against these seven individuals, other than blatant religious persecution. This action against the Baha'i leadership reflects the government's sharply increased persecution of the entire Iranian Baha'i community of more than 300,000 members

Mona's first Baha'i Prayer in Farsi

Ever since Mona has learned how to say Baha'i Prayers in English, I've been wanting and meaning to teach her some Baha'i Prayers in French, Farsi and Arabic.
So far Mona knows 5 Baha'i prayers in English and 2 Baha'i prayers in French (she can sing and read the English ones, but for some reasons, she can only sing the French ones... lol).

I decided that now was a good time to incorporate the Baha'i Prayers in Farsi (Persian). But since I only know one very small prayer in Farsi, which my husband taught me while we were dating, I needed to learn some more before teaching them to Mona.

So last week, when we were at my mother in law's house, I recorded Mona's grandma saying a very small Baha'i Prayer in Farsi for children. She said it very phonetically so that we can both learn it easily. And we have been watching her video everyday since then.
And of course when Mona saw that I was recording a video of her grandma saying a prayer, she wanted to be in the video too. So with her khaleh (auntie) Roya, we recorded a second video, this time with Mona repeating the words after her khaleh.

It's a very small Baha'i Prayer for children from 'Abdu'l-Baha and here is the video of Mona with her beautiful khaleh Roya teaching her how to say the prayer in Farsi:

And the English translation of the Baha'i prayer for children is:

"He is God! O God, my God!
Bestow upon me a pure heart, like unto a pearl."

-'Abdu'l-Baha

And then, I asked Khaleh Roya to chant the 'Difficulties' Prayer by the Bab in Arabic, so I can record it and try and attempt to learn it myself...
I really love the way khaleh Roya chants this prayer, she chants prayer so beautifully.
And again, Mona wanted to be in the video.... so she sat in front of khaleh Roya and tried to sing along with her, pretending she knew the words to this Arabic prayer... lol.. it was quite cute to watch actually...

And here is the English translation of the 'Difficulties' prayer by The Bab:

"Is there any Remover of difficulties save God?
Say: Praised be God! He is God!
All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!"
-The Bab

More cuteness from our trip to the Zoo

Some more cute shots from our trip to the Zoo...
I promise you that this is going to be the last post about 'ZOO' for a while!!! lol

Enjoy...

Mr Tiger and Miss ButterflyMona and Ajay, ROARing like a Tiger!! lol

Mona, straight after getting her face painted like a butterfly,
tried to fly like a butterfly...

She kept on moving her arms in up and down motions (like flutter of wings)
and she kept on persisting that she could fly
till about until we got home I think....

Still trying...

Yep.. still trying to fly... she told me several times:
"mummy i can't fly like the butterfly, it's not working!!"
I swear to God, it was her own words!! lol..

Awww... this shot of Mona and Ajay is just written cuteness all over it...
They look so cute and sweet together
and Ajay had his arms around Mona while taking the pictures!!

Here they were both roaring like a Tiger!! lol... so cute!!

What photo shoot would be complete without a shot of
Mona making a funny face, lol, as usual...

I love this picture below and how it turned out!

It was a really blurry shot, but I really like the way Mona looked on it, so i edited it (quite a lot) on photoshop and gave it this kinda of grungy look... which made this totally out of focus and missed out shot totally rocking now!!!

( I LUV Photoshop!)

And to end this series of shots from the Zoo, here is a picture of me and my beautiful butterfly...