Pooja Vidhanam

Sorry friends,
late again.. its been almost a week that the pooja is done and I am posting it now. Please excuse me for this. Everytime I decide to sit and blog down, something or the other comes up and I get distracted towards something else. Hmm...
And now, without any delay here goes the pooja vishanam (pooja procedure):

This vratam is performed by sumangali's (married woman) for the well being and long-life of their husbands. This vratam is particular followed in southern India mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. This festival is performed in the month of Sravanam/Sravana Masam (aug-sep) on the day of Sravana Sukla Sukravaram which is on a friday that comes after the full moon day.
On the previous day of this pooja, in the evening, we take bath,clean our houses and the pooja mandiram and by evening/night, we arrange and decorate the pooja place and the kalasam/kalash to which we offer prayers the next day. Next day, that is on the pooja day, we get early in the morning, take head bath and start preparing the naivedyam (food items) for the goddess.
Actual pooja procedure:
For this Vratam, Kalash (sacred pot) is the main important thing. Kalash can be made of anything (gold,silver,brass) according to their will and wish. As said before, I arranged the kalash the previous day itself. The goddess is to placed in the Eesanyam(East). I have arranged everything on a table.Cleaned it, put rangoli with rice flour, in the center have put pasupu, kumkuma (turmeric and sindhoor powder) and akshithalu (uncooked rice mixed with turmeric), on that I placed the kalash, poured some water, put 1 roopu(coin), 1 red flower and put 5 beatal leaves/mango leaves(stem of the leaves should be facing inside the kalash) on the kalsh kept the coconut ( washed and after that applied turmeric) and placed a red blouse piece on the coconut( the coconut stem should be facing up to which you place the blouse piece in a cone shape). This is the one, that is worshiped on this day.
My mother used to put a Silver Varalakshmi face (the one shown in the picture below) to the coconut, but putting the face is not observed in all families depending on their traditions and customs.

After I got married, as per the tradition at my in-laws place, only mother-in-law is supposed to keep the face and so I followed my co-sistes who make goddess face with turmeric. So, again following the same path, I made the goddess with turmeric and flour.
We begin our pooja with the Vigneswara pooja (Ganesh pooja-any hindu festival is observed by starting with ganesh pooja. Lord Ganesh is called Vighnadhi Pathi which means Vighna-obstacle, Adhipathi -master).
We make small triangle like pieces with turmeric mixed with water one for lakshmi and one for lord ganesha (as shown in the pic).
After the vinayaka pooja, follows the actual lakshmi pooja. After that pooja follows the story as to when and how this pooja started and by whom and also why this pooja is to be performed? After that, we offer all the food items prepared to the goddess lakshmi and offer our prayers. As a part of the custom after the pooja, we bend on our husband's feet and seek blessings from them.

In the evening, we invite sumangali's to our home, treat them as Varalakshmi, offer them Tamboolam ( betal leaves (2), blouse piece or any dress/saree, pasupu, kumkuma, vakkalu, flowers, fruits).