Welcome Squish!

Squirt, Splash and Stomp got a new buddy for Christmas from Santa! :)

Merry Christmas!

Mark's Christmas Gift to Us

Mark gave us these Christmas Buckets filled with cookies he baked over the weekend.

127 Hours

After Madame Tussuad's which got done super quick, Smita and I went to E Street Theatre and bought tickets for 127 Hours. It was the only movie that wasn't sold out and was going to begin soon. FANTASTIC movie. I highly highly highly recommend it!

This part of the movie gave me an IMMENSE adrenaline rush!

Madame Tussuad's - DC

Madame Tussuad

I didn't think much of the museum. Smita and I had bought groupons for this museum and finally redeemed it today. The museum is definitely not worth the $20 full fare, and it was just about worth the $9 we paid for out tickets. We went through the museum in about an hour and a half - it features American Presidents and some of the First Ladies in the first part, then it tells us about how the wax structures are built and it ends with popular celebrities.

Don't waste your time or money going to this museum.

♥ Johnny Depp

The Stinking Rose

The Stinking Rose has been recommended to me by Uncle David and Noella. I have been wanting to try it for a loooong time and I finally got to do it during this trip to the Bay Area.

The restaurant is known for the fact that it has garlic in all its dishes! the deco inside is nice. All the food we ordered was fantastic! They first gave us the bread basket and the table had a delicious garlic relish. For food, Saurabh got the SILENCE OF THE LAMB SHANK (with Chianti glaze & fava beans, served with garlic yukon gold mashed potatoes). The lamb just melted in our mouth. The spinach that came with it was really really good! The mashed potatoes were okay). I got the Prawn Pasta (Prawns, fettuccine, pancetta, onions in a spicy red pepper garlic oil) It was fantasticccccc!!!

Bread kept warm by the candle below and the Delicious Garlic Relish

Silence of the Lamb Shank

Prawn Pasta

If you are a garlic lover and you are going to visit San Francisco, GO to The Stinking Rose! GO! GO! GO!

Google Campus!!!!!!!

Rish has a friend, Bikash, who works at Google, so we were able to visit the Google campus while in the Bay area! :) It was super cool! I saw an infinity pool for the first time. The campus has over 20 building and 50% of their power needs are satisfied sustainably (small part solar power and the rest from a natural gas plant they have on their campus). In front of where we had parked, there was a large area of empty land that reminded me of the NIST grounds. So, when Bikash met us, I had to ask what the empty land was for. The land is for their Natural Gas plant! :)

We walked around the campus, saw bikes in google-colours that employees use to get from one part of the campus to the other. They aren't locked or anything. People can take them from anywhere to anywhere and just leave them. They have gyms every few buildings. We went into one building where there was a google graffiti board. Also, there, they had about 8 screens set up in semi circular fashion, all connected. And you could use them to view Google Earth, Google Moon and Google Mars! SOOOOOOOOOO FRIKKING COOL! We walked around some more, but it was dark soon. On the campus, there a random LARGE dinosaur skeleton. Haha. We saw a bit of the sculpture garden, walked to the Japanese garden, but it was too dark and too cold!

Loved the campus! They have a couple of terms at Google - Google 10 and Google 100. Google 10 is similar to Freshman 15, where people put on 10lbs after joining good because of all the free food everywhere. Google 100 is, wherever you are on the Google campus, you are not more thn 100 feet from food. No wonder the Google 10!

Random Map Marker on the Google Campus

Google Bikes

A giant Dinosaur Model on the Campus

Look at what I scribbled on the Google Grafitti Board

Google Mars in the background

Sculpture from the Sculpture Garden on the Google Campus - 'No matter how big you are, there is another fish that will eat you.'

Bouncing Cats

I went for Bouncing Cats today at the National Geographic Museum's Grosvenor Auditorium. This documentary is about how breakdance (and hiphop) has affected the children of Uganda, which is considered one of the worst places in the world to be a child. Abramz Tekya, an orphan, took to breakdance as a child since it was something in his life that was his own. Today, he teaches the children in Kampala and Gulu. The movie is heart wrenching (seeing the immense poverty and the horrific state of the child soldiers with ears, noses, hands burnt, amputed and mutilated in ways unimaginable to most of us) and heart warming at the same time. It's heartening to see how the children embrace this dance and enjoy it with everything in them.

The name of the documentry comes from a couple of phrases they chanted to sound like beats when they didn't have music to dance to. They sorta rapped "Bouncing Cats. Baboons n Cats. Bouncing Cats. Baboons n Cats" over and over. It sounded extremely catchy! :) In the documentry they talk to different people in Kampala and Bulu about their lives and living conditions. What struck me was that almost every person they spoke to had fluent english. Often, as an Indian I feel insulted when non-Indians compliment me on my english. This insult stems from the assumption they have that we don't speak english well. Then, it must be hypocrictical of me to be impressed that the people of Uganda speak english quite effortlessly? Even their made up beat is in english and not in swahili or a local dialect! But, I think my surprise was that despite their incredible poverty and minimal education, their command over the english language was really strong.

After the movie, there was a discussion with the panel. Nyla Hassle (one of the producers of the movie) conducted the panel that consisted of Nabil Elderkin (director), Abramz Tekya, Crazy Legs (who went to Uganda and held workshops with the kids on break dancing) and Okot Jolly Grace (who has been involved with Invisible Children from the beginning). I love these discussions after movies at the NG museum!

After the panel, there was food, drink, dance and music! :)

♥ National Geographic Museum. ♥ Goldstar.

The World According to India

This cracked me up!

Ixtapa

For lunch today we took Jess and Adam out for their birthdays. His is today and hers on Saturday. Ixtapa was a nice restaurant. Their chips and salsa were nice, but I liked the ones at Cactus Cantina more. What I did like about their salsa was that it was extremely chunky, big pieces of onions and tomatoes.

For my meal, I ordered the Camarones Catalana (Spanish style shrimps sauteed with olive oil and with green and red peppers, green onion, garlic and fresh basil, garnished with broccoli). It was good, but definitely not out of this world. I don't think I would crave it. The hot sauce, they serve, that I mixed with my rice and beans was hot and yum! They didn't give the sauce in a bottle, it was served in a little bowl.

Camarone Catalana

Also, the free nachos with cheese, beans etc was a nice surprise. To celebrate the birthdays they gave us a piece of Flan and a piece of Tres Leches (Homemade sponge cake filled with a mixture of evaporated and condensed milk, and a sweetened rich cream, topped with homemade whip cream). The flan was nice, but a little too dense for my liking. I REALLLLLLY enjoyed the Tres Leche. Oh also, the server had us sing Happy Birthday in Spanish to Jess. (Adam had already left to go back to work). Haha!

The Delicious Tres Leches

Making of the Great Migrations

I went to the NG Museum this evening to watch the Making of the Great Migrations.

Phenomenal!

Mind Boggling!

Inspiring!

Jaw Dropping!

Those are only a few of the many many superlative adjectives I have used to describe it! I would like to say more about what was in the making, but if someone who is reading this hasn't watched the making I don't want to spoil it for them. I am SO SO SO SO SO glad I decided to go! I can't wait till I own a copy of the seried and hopefully the making as well.

The panel consisting of the producer and photographers after the movie was fun too. It was kinda amazing to see the people up close who have been in INSANEEEEEEE situations during the making of the series! YAYYYY National Geographic!!

After, I had to buy the book that accompanies the series. What a gorgeous coffee table book! :)

Spooky Hollow's Haunted Trail and Hay Ride

Jess, Amber, Houda and I went to Spooky Hollow this evening for their haunted hay ride and trail. We had so much fun...we were EXTREMELY giggly and have not incorporated ' "touche" ' as a source of amusement to us.

We got to Spooky Hollow after dinner at Basset's. We parked and headed to the activity area. While we waited for our group number ot be called for the haunted trail, we decided to go on the haunted hay ride. Equipped with warm cider/hot chocolate on this chilly chilly night we got in line. We were extremely giggly and definitely the annoy group around. Whatever...we had fun! The hay ride was nice...not scary or anything...but fun and not lame either.

After the hay ride, we sat around the bonfire eyeing other people's marshmallows while waiting for our group number to be called.

Once called, we went into the haunted trail like bunch of giggling teenagers. We definitely enjoyed ourselves during the entire trail. Some of the cool parts of it were the 3D house - we put on 3D goggled and walked into this barn type thing, there a man appeared covered in3D paint, we didn't see where he came from and he completely blended it the walls. Houda ended up thanking one of the "scary" people who helped us find the door out and apologising to another she stamped. hehe. , the dark house - we heard and engine revving and smelled diesel as we entered this house where everything was pitch black and we had to feel our way through it, crawl under a wall in this pitch darkness into a corridor with ballooning 'walls' that we had to push aside to make space through, there Houda (who was leading our group) suddenly exclaimed, "I'm sorry!!!! I didn't mean to feel you up!!!!" to one of the actors, walking over the lake was cool, as was the haunted and abandoned school bus.

Lots of laughs later, we emerged from the trail and headed home. :)

Bassett's Fine Food And Spirit

After apple picking, where Jess joined us in the end for the animal feeding we went for dinner to Basset's Fine Food and Spirit. Amber joined us there. It was exactly what Houda and I wanted - hardy food.

As an appetizer we got the Sauteed Clams Casino (Sauteed littleneck clams with green and red peppers and garlic). It comes with bacon, but we got it without bacon. I didn't care too much for it, mainly because it was too fishy for my liking.

Sauteed Clams Casino

As my entree, I got the Hot Roast Turkey (Fresh roasted turkey breast served with herb dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy. Also included house salad). This was good. Not out of this world, but good. It hit the spot I wanted it to hit!

Hot Roast Turkey

Apple Picking etc.

Finally, after ages of wanting to do fruit picking at farms I went apple picking today with Houda. We went to Homestead Farms in MD. They didn't have too many apples left on the trees. But from the two rows that still had apples, Houda was able to pick 10+ lbs of apples and me, 3+ lbs. It was fun! :) :) :)

Also, the apples are DELICIOUSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

One-Zero

This movie was part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival in DC. The movie showcases different stories and their coming together on the day of an important football match for Egypt. I quite enjoyed it. :)

Autumn

The rain, wind and autumn did this somewhere outside work.

Fresh Skies

The sky looks so fresh and clean as the clouds begin to part at the end of a rainfall.

9:30 AM Moon

Why I Missed Boot Camp Today

The first time since April that I've missed class because I didn't wake up on time.

Pearls Before Swine - 9

Go Pig!!!!!!

Bill Cosby - Take 2

We went for Bill Cosby for the second time in as many years this evening. We had gone for his stand-up (well...in his case it is sit down) on Jan 24th last year. It was hilarious! But, this time, I was a tired/sleepy so I remember enjoying the performance in 2009 better. Also, a few of the jokes were repeated so that obviously had a role to play.

At 73 he's just amazing!!! He's old and he doesn't try to hide it. He performs sitting down with a table near him that has a tissue box that is extensively used. His expressions are what make his jokes! I'm so so so so glad I've been able to watch him live twice, now.

I realised late into the show that people were taking photos. I tried to take some of to capture the plethora of expressions he has. I was unable to capture his classic gesture of raising his hand up with his fist closed when he ends a joke that has a the husband victorious over the wife. hehe!

I love the guy!

My Computer has an Object in Zombie State!!!!!!! :-o

Alone In Boot Camp

Today was the first time I was along in boot camp since I started going last year. I wish the solo class had been with Shelly rather than with Edwin. Though, I think I was the only one in class because Shelly doesn't teach us anymore. Siiigh. Catch 22.

I did learn one new thing in class today. Body weight rows. These photos are the best I could find to show what they are. Also, from looking online I found out that body weight rows are EXCELLENT to correct your posture and spince curve (from the bad c-shape to the correct s-shape)

Sstep 1: Start in this position

Step 2: Then pull yourself up with your arms to this position.

Tomorrow's News Today!

Random Baby Post

just due to sheer adorability! DED!

Aloe Drink

I tried Vanessa's aloe drink today. First time I have ever had an aloe drink. This one was delicious! Tasted exactlyyyyyyyyyyy like lychee juice! YUM!!!

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