Today we get to eat both fruits and vegetables.

Don’t know how credible this whole GM diet thing is. Googling “GM diet”, brings up mostly Indian websites. All of them have the same information that claims that this diet was designed for GM employees and their families. I checked with a couple of very health-concious family members of GM employees that work with me and they have not heard anything about this diet. Looks like someone in India found some very old information that they are publicising. Or they just made up something and are trying to gain credibility by attaching a US connection. That is just silly. If they advertised this as an “Ayurvedic diet”, I would be more inclined to accept it. Anyway, I have lost 3 pounds in 2 days which may not have anything to do with this diet. But, I am going to continue and finish the week-long program and see if I find any benefits.

Summer is definitely gone. I have been too busy to enjoy Fall this year and it is slipping away. This morning, we had our first below-freezing temperatures. On the way to work, there were some snow flurries, too. The snow wasn’t sticking around as the ground is still warm. After watching the weather forecast, I brought in my chaapha (Plumeria) and chameli (Jasmine ?!?). They would have suffered through the cold night. This cold wave is here to stay through the weekend.

After reading about it in draupadi’s journal and getting a glowing endorsement by a friend that we visited in NJ, we started a week-long fruit/veggie detox diet. Yesterday was all-fruit day and today is all-veggie day. Let’s see how it works out for the whole week.

This is one of the most emailed photos on Yahoo. IMHO, whoever thinks that this woman looks beautiful or sexy is mentally ill. As for this lady, she is sick and lots of food is her medicine.

Last month, Ashwini’s best friend, Payton was taken out of the preschool and she started going to another one where her sister goes. Ashwini and Payton were very close friends. They were in the same class with the same teacher for the last 2 and half years. They always used to be together in the class, and in all the activities. When they got to school, they used to search for each other, their faces just lit up with a big smile when they saw each other and they always greeted each other with a big hug.

Ashwini’s teacher and both sets of parents were very worried about this transition. We got them ready for it by talking about the change for about two weeks before it happened. But, we were not counting on the short attention span and short-lived short-term memories of these preschoolers. After Payton stopped coming to school, Ashwini asked about her a few times. She even told me a few times that she missed Payton. But then, the adjustment to life after ‘the best friend’ was seamless. Now, she doesn’t even talk about Payton anymore. There are new friends: Sydney and Annie. These days, Sydney and Ashwini are inseparable, doing everything together. Sydney’s brother is in Adit’s class. So, they visit the infant class together to see their brothers everyday.

After all the changes, Ashwini is now one of the older kids in the class. Now, she is the leader of her small group. She decides what to play and when to stop and do other things. Till just a few months ago, she was the follower. It is very nice to see Ashwini growing up. I think all the social interactions that she participates in at the preschool are going to help her develop her personality and not grow up to be a shy kid.

Update: Thinking about this a little more… I guess small children more easily accept change than adults. It probably gets harder and harder as one ages. It is very difficult for me to make new friends, which was not a big deal when I was in school/college.

I ate my first lobster last night. To get to being of marketable size, i.e. about 1 pound in weight, a lobster takes about 7 years.

If the brand names of cars available in USA are arranged alphabetically, our two cars, Acura and Volvo are the first and the last, respectively.

Interesting, eh!?!?

Adit, seen prowling around the house.

Today, Adit is 9 months old. Last month has been a growing up month for Adit. When I wrote last month’s update, he was still mostly a big blob lying around the house. That has completely changed over the last 2 weeks or so. He can crawl at an amazing speed and follows us, especially his sister, around like a little puppy. The hanging tongue seen in this photo is not just by chance. This is how he is most of the times.

Adit also started to “talk” this month. He finally got down his da-da’s and ba-ba’s along with shrill screams that are reserved only for his sister. It is funny to see how he observes Ashwini’s every move and listens to what she says with great interest.

Adit is still eating the same foods, just more. We’ll be starting some finger foods like “cheerios” and biscuits very soon. With all the increased physical activity, he hasn’t gained as much weight as he did earlier. Strangely, he still likes his veggies more than his fruits.

Last week, I took him for his first grocery shopping trip ever since he started sitting up. He enjoyed looking at all the colorful things in the store. I liked taking Ashwini to the grocery store all the time. Looks like it is Adit’s turn to go grocery shopping now.

Adit got his second haircut last week, as his hair was long enough to go in his eyes and tickle his ears.

Playing with balls is still the most favorite activity for Adit. He also seem to enjoy tearing up magazines and catalogs: complete opposite of Ashwini who never tore any pages from any book. He also likes to stand up holding on to Ashwini’s train table and picks up engines off the track and pieces of track off the table. Defining which are Ashwini’s toys and toys that Adit can play with is the biggest headache for us. Ashwini tries to control Adit’s access to all the toys and he always wants whatever Ashwini is playing with. There some toys that Ashwini never lets him play with. If he sees those toys while Ashwini is not around, he just darts toward them with a grin on his face, grabs them and puts them in his mouth in all possible ways.

Adit has gotten used to his daycare, his teachers and other kids in the class. He seems to enjoy playing there and has a good time.

We were supposed to see Eric Clapton in a concert tonight, but uncle Eric had laryngitis and had to cancel the concert. They’ll reschedule at a later date. Hope we’ll be able to make it on that day.

As we had our babysitter already setup, we decided to go out on an impromptu parents-night-out. We spent some time at Borders and then went to a new restaurant called “Rush Street”. It was just wonderful. They categorize themselves as “Chicago style tapas bar”. We didn’t order any entrees. Just drinks and small dishes from the tapas menu:

• Martini for me
• Peach martini for V
• Roasted goat cheese
• Hummus
• Roasted Garlic
• Smoked Salmon
• Sashimi Tuna

Everyone knows someone in their family or a friend that is affected by heart disease or stroke. To help research to battle heart disease, I will be raising funds for the American Heart Association by walking in this year’s Heart Walk on Sept. 30th.

You can help me reach my goal by making a donation. Please go to my Heart Walk donation page and you can send your support online. Your donation will help fight our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers—heart disease and stroke. You are making a difference.

Thank you for your support.

Went to see Roger Waters of Pink Floyd in concert last night. It was alright, not as good as the “Division Bell” tour in 1994 performed by the other three members of Pink Floyd. That show had so much more production value with richer visuals, better light/laser effects and most of all, better music.

The show opened with “In the Flesh” as we hurried through the hallways of the Palace at Auburn Hills. We walked in just as the song ended and they started playing “Mother”. Here is the setlist:

In The Flesh, Mother, Set The Controls For the Heart Of The Sun, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Have A Cigar, Wish You Were Here, Southampton Dock, The Fletcher Memorial Home, Perfect Sense parts 1 and 2, Leaving Beirut, Sheep.

Intermission

Entire Dark Side of the Moon: Speak to me, Breathe, On the run, Time, The great gig in the sky, Money, Us and Them, Any colour you like, Brain damage, Eclipse.

ENCORE: The Happiest Days Of Our Lives, Another Brick In The Wall (Pt 2), Vera, Bring the Boys back Home, Comfortably Numb.

There were many reviews mentioning Roger Waters was lip-synching during this tour. We were sitting too far back to notice.

Considering that Roger had to replace most of the original band that played music in Pink Floyd, they did a good job in the second half playing Dark Side of the Moon. Gave me a chance to scream my lungs out for more than half an hour till my throat ached. It had been a long time since I did that. “Time” and “Us and Them” were done very well along with the Speak/Breathe/On the run set. Carol Kenyon’s vocals on “The Greatest Gig in the Sky” were very very good.

I was totally disappointed with their performance of “Shine On” and “Wish You Were Here”. We were not familiar with other Roger Waters solo songs that had some political message, but weren’t very musically appealing. “Sheep” was good with the flying pig plastered with political graffitti.

Overall, it was a good show. We enjoyed it a lot. If you missed the show or don’t want to spend $70 for tickets, get the newly released PULSE DVD for the 1994 show. It is equally enjoyable, if not more.

We are back from vacation after spending a week in Washington DC and New Jersey. Here are some highlights:

Ashwini

• visited her first aquarium at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
• went on her first ever subway train ride in Washington.
• went on her first ever paddle-boat ride in the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Adit

• went on his first long-distance road-trip (1650 miles in 10 days).
• got to see the ocean for the first time.
• stayed in a hotel room for the first time at Hyatt Inner Harbor.

V

• went to Flushing Meadows, NY to watch Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick in the US Open final.
• drove us back from NJ to MI all through the night. Her first 8 hour/500mile stretch. We tried to switch, but the kids threw a tantrum. They didn’t want me to drive.

I

• went to see many memorials (Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR and Korean War) in Washington for the first time in over 15 trips during last 10 years.
• sat in the car for 8 hours without driving for the first time.