Ruchi Sabharwal

Happy 9 months!!

2012-01-06T23:44:00.002-05:00

K, you've completed 9 months today! This was such a fun month! You are learning new things fast and are just so much fun to be with!

Last month you were only backwards crawling but earlier this month you started crawling forward.

and in just a few days you were crawling really fast and are now everywhere.

To keep you secure, we installed safety gates.

You love playing with a basket we have. Sometimes you are in it...

...and sometimes under!

You can now raise yourself to reach out to objects and pull them.

We got you a high chair. So, you are now more comfortable during meal times.

You started drinking water from a sippy cup!

Sometimes, I put you in the highchair, when I am working in the kitchen. This month, I did some baking and Dad gave you a little taste of it; a triple chocolate fudge cookie.

Feeding you continues to be a challenge. Generally your face and bib have more food on them than what you eat! I really hope that changes!

However, you sometimes do surprise me. On very rare occasions, you've licked the food bowl!

You sure love chocolate! I gave you a little taste one day and you licked my finger completely and gave me the best smile! :) So, of-course, I gave you more!! :)

You are our little musician. Sometimes, you can have the music go on forever. You know the magic key, once pressed the music just doesn't stop!

You still love to put everything in your mouth, sometimes even my nose...

...and my cheek!

Arjun and Aanya came to visit you and brought you presents! You enjoyed their company! :)

You celebrated your first Christmas!

We set up a tree and put up a stocking for you.

You reached out for the tree, the lights and the ornaments.

Santa brought you so many presents traveling long ways; covering not just VA but also Portland and Canada! You are a lucky boy! :)

We had a trip planned during the holidays so we opened presents before we left. You picked what to open!

...and there were more in the stocking!

Us together after opening all the presents!

During the holidays, we traveled to Sedona and Scottsdale in Arizona. We landed in Phoenix and drove straight to Sedona to spend a few days there. When we reached our hotel, it was past mid-night and you boys sure were tired!

Next day onwards, we started touring the town and found it beautiful. The red rocks create such a magnificent landscape!

Together, we visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

On our way back,we rested a bit and enjoyed the scenery!

You and Dad having a fun time!

We also hiked in the Crescent Moon Ranch state park.

where you and Dad had some quiet time, sitting on the vortex.

Dad said you clicked a picture while he held the camera! I couldn't have been happier!

We got someone to take our picture!

We drove around the city and stopped on the way to enjoy the views and take pictures!

In the mornings, we basked in the southwestern sun!

Our hotel had beautiful views and a creek flowing. We walked around the property to admire the beauty!

You standing on Dad's toes!

We visited some art galleries in Sedona. You outside one of the art galleries, ringing the bell.

Play time continued while we were traveling! We read and played with the finger puppet!

You sure were amused! You love the finger puppet! You raise your nose when you smile, it's both funny and cute! :)

There was a lot of love and cuddling!

You also found yourself a fun rocker!

Although, we were out a lot, we made sure that you got good rest. You took a few good naps during the day!

Sometimes Dad gave you company even when he was on duty!;)

Now, when you wake up from naps, you rise up and look for us!

You love looking into the mirror and seeing yourself on the other side.

You are now crawling to tall objects and using them to stand!

On the trip you started to say "Mum Mum" and also "Mama". Simply love the sound of it!! :) You probably don't know what it means, but I still love it when you say "Mama"! :)

After spending a few days in Sedona, we drove up to Scottsdale, which had more of a cityscape.

The Anand family was vacationing there too so we met everyone and together toured Frank Llyod Wright's Taliesin West!

It was an hour and a half long tour and you did pretty well.You attentively listened to the tour lady talk! :)

After the tour, you soaked some sun with everyone and had a few laughs as Ammi tickled you! :)

We walked the streets of Scottsdale checking out the art galleries. Sometimes you were in the B'jorn and sometimes in the stroller. When it was nap time, you napped irrespective! :)

One day we drove up to Phoenix to check out the Heard Museum.

During our trip we discovered that you love playing with paper and tearing it up. So, we started carrying brochures with us to keep you entertained! :)

We together went out for food.

Sometimes I gave you some stuff to try like roasted bell pepper, potatoes, some fruit but mostly you relished the water. You love it!

Arizona being a dessert has a lot of Cacti. This is because these plants adapt the most to the dry and hot climate. We saw several varieties in Scottsdale.

While the day time temperature in Scottsdale was warm, the evenings and nights were quite cold. We sometimes sat by the fire to get some warmth.

The trip was all in all awesome! We are now back home where it is cold!

Fun continues irrespective! You spend time playing with not only your toys but also with wires and remotes!

Dad brings in some excitement too!

You have now been waving...

...and are also starting to show your wild side! :)

Today, you had your 9 month check-up. While you are doing good on the height, your weight is on the lower side. I hope you start eating more.

Sweetie, this month you entered a whole new year! It is now 2012!! Last year was amazing and I hope this year is nothing less. Wish you the best of everything in this new year!

You are our precious little bundle of joy who is growing up fast! We love you very much!

Happy Birthday!

Mama

Happy 8 months!!

2011-12-05T15:20:00.001-05:00

K, it's been 8 months today! This was such a fun month, lots of exciting milestones and firsts!

You are in your first winter and you're handling it very well so far!

You started saying your first words!! Your first word was "Ba" and you've also said "Ka"and a few others! You'll soon be talking! How exciting! :)

You continue to push upwards and have been rolling a lot. You crawl backwards, it's cute!

You are now everywhere! You can travel a room from one corner to the other by rolling and backwards crawling and can even go under the crib, changing table and have been found playing in your closet!

When you get tired, you just put your head down wherever you are! Look at you, resting on the lamb's foot! So cute! :)

You have also been pushing to stand!

You are now much better at standing.

On top of that, you took your first few steps!!! I was so excited! :)

Earlier this month, you visited Allentown to meet the Anand family and met Supriya Massi for the first time! You cracked everyone up with your constant head shift; wanting to see everything by moving your head around really fast.

You were so happy to see everyone and they showered you with love!

Playing with Ammi was so much fun!

You even modeled for Ammi in your Indian attire!

You make friends everywhere you go...restaurants, stores, beer tasting! Yes, we took you beer tasting, you were so quiet there (like you usually are), that some people asked us if we gave you beer! I thought that was funny! :)

Flora was the first one to get some K-love!! Since then Ammi, Dad and I have received it too.

It was your first Thanksgiving this month. We celebrated with friends.

You recently also attended Seher's 1st birthday party! There's the two of you playing!

We got you your own chair to help you learn to sit straight.

I sometimes make you sit in the chair to feed you. Talking about feeding...that's such a struggle, you are not an easy eater.

You didn't seem to like anything till you recently tried Sweet Potato and Pear! I am glad to have found something to your liking!

Sometimes you have fun while eating too! :)

Poret's been helping me take care of you during the day. Initially, you took time to adjust to her but now you two are friends!

I love how you stretch your arms and want me to hold you, when I come to you after finishing work.You do the same when Dad comes back from work. We both love it! :)

You recently helped Dad put finishing touches to his first cooking attempt!

You now have a new friend, Mr. Cuddles, the puppy. You love to eat it's ear!

You spend time playing independently; doing all sorts of things.

You spend time with books.

You're quite a reader already! ;)

You love to play with your pacifier string. We don't give you the pacifier, but you love the string!

You love playing peek-a-boo. You and I play it all the time! :)

Sweetie, all in all you are simply AWESOME and so cute!! We love you a whole lot!

Happy Birthday!

Mama

Happy 7 months!

2011-11-06T21:40:00.000-05:00

Kabir, you are 7 months old today! It seems like you were born just yesterday. Time's flying!

You spent most of this month in India having a good time with family and friends.

You reached there when you were less than 5 months and came back just a few days short of 7 months but the time in India passed in a blink of an eye.

This month you lost all your hair!

Yes, you got a head shave (mundan)! It is usually done by a barber at home with a shaving knife but we took you to a salon and had it done with a shaver. I didn't want to take the risk of you getting hurt and I was hoping you won't cry if it was done with the shaver but you did cried some . Mostly you were okay.

With grandparents at home, afterwards.

Sameer our very good friend who is also a good photographer was visiting from Ahmedabad for Diwali. He came to visit us and took some pictures of you! Something I always wanted. :)

You also attended a puja which Dadaji had for you at his house.

Nani Ma bought you a Dhoti Kurta to wear that day. You looked so cute! :)

A lot of family and friends visited.

Aman Mami was there too!

You celebrated your first diwali in India too. We celebrated both at our home and at Dadaji's house!

Before leaving from India, you celebrated Nani Ma's 60th birthday with her!

As a gift you gave her a poem.

She was all smiles and enjoyed reading it over and over again!

We also received pictures from Sumit Mamu's wedding out of which the shots that I cherish the most are the ones of you with your great grandparents and Sumit Mamu!

You can now sit without support

and stand with support!!!

We continued story time. You received a great set of books from the Garg family! Here's me reading to you "The Giving Tree".

You had a nice last day in India being with grandparents. Kanti didi was there too!

Now we are back home in VA and it feels really lonely here after being with family for good two months.

It's already quite cold here, so yesterday we took you out for some winter shopping and got you some warm clothes.

I also took you for your 6 month check-up which was running a bit behind because of being in India. Your pediatrician was pleased with your progress. Getting shots wasn't fun but you were okay soon after. You are a brave boy!

Your food is also expanding now. Apart from milk, you have now been drinking boiled lentil water and have started on solids. The first thing you ate was pureed peas!

Happy growing up Sweety! Wish you cozy winters. Stay warm!

Happy Birthday! We love you a lot!!

Mama

Happy 6 Months!

2011-10-06T09:02:00.002-04:00

Kabir, today on your Dad's birthday, you turned 6 months! How cool and what a milestone! :) You are half way there to your first birthday!! :)

Everyone says you both look alike, sometimes you two even act alike!

You spent this whole month in India prepping for and celebrating Sumit Mamu's wedding!

You went on shopping trips!

Went to your great grandparents house to invite them at the wedding.

There my Anjali Bua tried to teach you to walk! :)

Attended Sumit's Mamu's pooja ceremony which kicked off the wedding celebrations.

Here you met some extended family.

A few days later you suited up for the Sagaan ceremony! A special thanks to Sanjay Shrivastava for taking some of your shots and sharing with me at a very short notice so I could add them to this post.

With Dad and the Groom-to-be!

Met more extended family!

Us together!

Dadaji all happy to be with you!

Dadi Ma too!

Pre-wedding, I did a trial run of the head gear on you.

At the wedding you were Sumit Mamu's sarbala! You sported an ethnic outfit.

Check out the matching shoes which were custom made for you along with the rest of the attire!

I tried draping the head gear on you that day but you didn't want it.

Sumit Mamu is now married! The newly weds visited us post wedding!

In between wedding celebrations you hung out with family and friends at home.

The matching duo!

Sharing hugs!

Max uncle was a whole lot of fun to be with!

I celebrated my first birthday as a Mom with you! You sported a "Party at my crib" onesie that day. :)

Together at dinner that night!

A first this month was getting introduced to two new gadgets!

First to the laptop

and then to the iPad!

You were a natural, playing with both! :)

You also started to pull hair and Dadaji didn't mind at all! :)

Dad continued to experiment and have a good time with you.

Kanti didi has been a great help here; looking after you whenever I've been busy with other things.

Dad's back in the States for work and Sumit Mamu leaves today, so the family met this afternoon to celebrate Sumit Mamu's birthday that is coming up in 2 days along with your 6 month birthday!

Today, you also met your great grandfather Mr. Sushil Sabharwal who retired from the Indian Army as the Brigadier and was awarded the Vir Chakra! What a great honor!

Cheers to the wonderful 6 months that have passed and here's wishing for many many more such months to come!

I love you sweetheart! You are my best bud!

Here's wishing you and daddy a very happy birthday today! :)

Mama

Happy 5 Months!!

2011-09-07T02:36:00.000-04:00

Kabir, you turned 5 months yesterday! :) I have enjoyed each one of these days and months with you.

Every time I think about it, it's hard to believe so much time has passed!

Last month was a very active month for you. A lot of "firsts"! :)

Month 5 started with Dadaji and Dadima still with us in the States and is ending with you in India! Isn't that cool?!? :)

While we were back in the US, you started to converse more and for longer duration. This is you right after our visit to your dermatologist, Dr. Kim.

You also started to laugh. O your laughs are contagious and so adorable!!

You have started to pull things. You can now pull the objects on your butterfly toy.

You can also pull my nose

and my glasses when I come close to you to give you a kiss.

We got some stuff delivered from Amazon, so Dad thought why not make you sit up high! He always has fun ideas! Sometimes they are a little too "fun" and I have to say "No". :)

You are sitting well with support but without support you tumble!

You are now actually starting to use your activity gym ! You are now so active in it!

During Dadima and Dadaji's stay this month, you took them to the Botanical Garden!

K, you love greens. You are always looking up at the trees when we go outside for our walks. You were checking out the trees in the botanical garden too!

You and Dadaji resting after all the walking we did!

Together we all also went to Dad's office one evening!

Before we took off for India, Elly's daughter Stephanie came to see you. She spent the day with you playing!

The flight to India was uneventful. Long for sure, but you did great! You were no trouble at all. You didn't even cry! We were so proud and fellow passengers impressed!

I hope it is the same way going back!

In India, you have been re-united with Nani Ma! Smile just comes naturally when you see her! :)

And you have finally met your fun Rohit Mamu!

Dadaji and Dadima are also very happy to have you here!

It's really hot in Delhi, so you've been staying indoors mostly. We have taken you out some when the weather was better and you have enjoyed it so far!

I hope you have a pleasant rest of the stay here!

Sweetie, I can't say enough how AWESOME you are! I love you LOTS!

Spending time with you is turning to be more and more fun! Yesterday, you turned from your tummy to your back...and not just once but three times!! :) Looking forward to more exciting times and milestones this month!

Happy Birthday, Love!

Mama

Happy 4 Months!!

2011-08-04T22:26:00.058-04:00

Kabir, you turned 4 months today! I want to just hold the time tight and not let it pass, you are growing up way too fast!

So much changed this month, you started to grip things...from the cushion, to your new friend Sophie to our fingers!

You also seem to enjoy tummy time now and can last longer. You started to crawl on your tummy too, pushing your legs back and can cover quite a distance.

And most of all, you are now starting to sit with support!! :)

It is so exciting to see these changes in you.

You are a very happy boy! You give everyone your million dollar smile.

You are also more involved during the story time now. When I read to you, you do "oohs" and "aahs" as if you understand what is being said. It is so much fun reading to you Sweetie! This month we read "The very hungry caterpillar", "The poky little puppy" and also continued to enjoy "Where's the bone" touch and feel book.

You and I together named your very hungry caterpillar, "Calvin". We decided we should give him some name, as it is not nice to call someone a "very hungry caterpillar" all the time. And Sophie is Sophie, you just love her! You can hold her by the neck, you love putting her ear in your mouth and when you hear her squeak, a smile comes to your face! :)

You showed around Dadima and Dadaji! Took them to Great Falls, Clarendon and our all time favorite Reston Town Center!

You enjoyed sitting outside when the weather was nice!

Since last couple month of months, you have been suffering from dry itchy skin. I took you to the dermatologist and discovered that it was eczema. Have been applying the ointment that the dermatologist suggested and your skin is so much better. You feel better too since you are now sleeping more and seem to be more comfortable.

I love catching you smile when you are sleeping, you look so cute! :)

You now tend to take everything in your mouth, whether it is your fingers, mine, Sophie or whatever else comes in your grip and you love to make bubbles with your mouth too! :)

Dad's been having some adventure with you. See he made you sit in the book shelf.

You were happy!

So he raised you even higher!

This month Robin Mamu moved from Portland to Virginia! So you will see more of him now. :)

There's you two hanging out in your den!

...and that's him flying you up high! See how happy you are! :)

You made a trip to Allentown to see Ammi, uncle and Madhu uncle. There's you having some serious talks with uncle and Dadaji!

Being in Ammi's lap and getting all the love is such a blessing. Ammi loves you a lot and has been very concerned about your skin issue.

There's you all happy and relaxing in Ammi and uncle's lounge chair!

We applied for your Indian visa a few days back, for which we had to get your picture taken. We went to Picture People and while waiting for the prints, you and I played!

We also posed for a picture together!

You now turn your head all the way to the back when you want to look at something that's behind you!

Dadaji enjoys spending time with you!

I love lying down next to you whether to read to you or to just cuddle!

Today, was a long day. We went to the Roosevelt Memorial and then to the aquarium in Baltimore.

When we got to the aquarium, you got hungry at the very first exhibit, so you and I spent our time on the couch while others went around to see the fish. You did see the dolphins and the jelly fish at the end! I think you enjoyed that. Watching the dolphins was fun as they just kept coming! :)

FaceTime with Sumit Mamu, after getting back home was the perfect end to an otherwise long and tiring day! You are his laughing buddha...that's what he calls you! :)

Happy Birthday, my love! You are the cutest little thing and I heart you so much!

Mama

Happy 3 Months!!

2011-07-05T23:08:00.042-04:00

Mr. K it's been 3 months today! Can't believe you have completed a quarter of your first year! Congratulations!! :)

I've been on maternity leave all this time and started back part time from today. It was different , I didn't enjoy not interacting with you for the few hours I worked. Let's see how it goes. The good thing is I'll work from home so I'll be with you as soon as I finish work! Elizabeth will be taking care of you while I am away.

Your 3rd month started in Portland. That city was so much fun, we were always out and about. Sometimes to a cafe...

...and sometimes for lunch.

While in Portland, one weekend we went to the rose garden thinking the roses would be in full bloom but alas. Nonetheless, we basked in sun in one of its lawns! Aman was also visiting then.

One Friday, you visited Sumit Mamu's office. The weather there was a bit cold, glad I packed your outerwear. You looked so cute in your hooded jacket! :)

There was a dinosaur's skeleton in Sumit Mamu's office so we had to take your picture with it!

During the last few days in Portland, you developed an infection in your left eye. We took you to the children hospital where the doctor examined your eye and prescribed you anti-bacterial drops. The drops helped but once the course was finished, the traces of the infection came back. So, after we got back to VA, I took you to your pediatrician. While waiting for your doctor, you and I had a little conversation!

Your eye is all recovered now!

You've now been doing tummy time on the Boppy pillow. It's been working out well. You have been lying on your tummy for 10 mins at a stretch and sometimes even more. I do have to distract you with the rhymes but still I'm very happy that you are on your tummy for a longer duration.

You do get tired in between and like to take a little rest.

You continue to get a massage everyday and as part of that you do some exercise too.

You enjoy bath time. You have outgrown the tub that we got from the hospital so now you enjoy a relaxed bath in your whale tub.

After your bath I love wrapping you in your hooded towels and taking your pictures!

It was Father's day this month, so you and Dad celebrated your first! We went for a brunch to Zaytinya after which we walked by the water front and later went to Dolcezza for gelato. Here's you and Dad posing for me that day!

Nani Ma went back to India a couple of weeks back. She was all sad and in tears leaving you.

What brought a smile to her face was you waking up to say bye.

And there's a "Till we meet again, Kiss"!

She misses you a lot. Asks me about you every time I talk to her and is anxiously waiting for this post and your pictures.

Dadi Ma and Dadaji are now here, so you have been getting their love.

Dadaji loves to spend time with you. He plays with you, feeds you and talks to you. He loves you a lot!

Dad enjoys taking you out in your stroller.

...and he loves posing with you! :)

You and I have been going out for walks in the evening, with you sometimes in the stroller and sometimes in Moby. Thanks to iPhone's front facing camera, the picture below is a self click. :)

One of the few developments this month has been that you are starting to hold your milk bottle. Your grip is not strong yet but you can surely hold the bottle for a little bit!! I'm so impressed! :)

You are also smiling a lot more, becoming more and more interactive and your voice is getting stronger. You are usually quiet and say "aahs" and "oohs" softly but sometimes you give out a shout which makes me say "What was that Kabir?"

Talking with you is so much fun. Your reciprocating smiles are just the best gift ever!

I continue to read stories to you.

Elizabeth sometimes reads to you too!

Ammi, uncle, Indu aunty and Vidhu uncle were here last Sunday. They got you some really cool outfits!

You love being rocked to sleep.

Dad and I had a weekend free after Nani Ma left and before Dadi Ma and Dadaji arrived so we invited Whitikars, DiFronzos and Carolls over for dinner at our place. Dad watched you during the day, while I cooked and Flora came later in the evening to babysit you. You were a good baby, behaved very well the whole time. You were with Flora for the first time and you did great! This was the first dinner we hosted since you were born.

I realized I haven't shown you your room, so I took some pictures to share with you what your room looks like.

And your door says:

This is something Sumit Mamu wanted for your room. :)

We have discovered a park which has water fountains in which kids play.

We went there with Nani Ma

and with Dadi Ma and Dadaji too.

You are growing up so fast, before we know it, you will be playing there too! :)

Happy Birthday Sweetheart, you are growing cuter by the minute.

I love you so much!

Mama

Happy 2 Months!!

2011-06-06T16:22:00.077-04:00

Hey big boy, I can't believe it's been two months since you were born! Ammi called earlier this morning to wish you a happy 2 month birthday! :)

The month started with our first Mother's day! I was so happy! Nani Ma is still here, so we celebrated together and went out for a brunch at Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner. It was fun!

It was a month of travel for you. You took a drive to Allentown to see the Anand family! It was you, Nani Ma and myself. Dad was in India then.

I was nervous about the drive as it was about 4 hours long, but you were a good baby, didn't give any trouble at all. Nani Ma sat with you at the back and gave you the milk bottle when you needed it.

In Allentown, apart from meeting Ammi and Uncle, you met Madhu uncle as well! Madhu uncle gave you some funny names like "Mr. Sleep-a-lot"! :) He's a lot of fun!!

During this trip, Ammi gave you your first massage and since then you have been getting them regularly.

After we got back from Allentown, I managed to get a professional photographer home to do your photo shoot!

We also got your hand and foot print taken in clay. A keepsake I will always cherish. It is still in making. Hope to receive it in a few weeks!

Next up was our trip to Portland to see Sumit and Robin Mamu. You, Nani Ma and I traveled together. I was nervous again, as it was going to be your first flight, but you did me proud. You were the quietest baby on the plane!! One passenger said the same thing as well! You slept through most of the flight, waking up in between to be fed.

Traveling with you will be fun as you are such a good traveler and I can't wait to do more and more of it with you!

Sumit Mamu came to the airport to pick us all up and he was very happy to see us all, especially YOU!

When we got home, Robin Mamu was all smiles to see you as well. You two have been having a very good time together. Robin Mamu loves to play with you and rock you to sleep.

Sumit and Robin Mamu's friends have been excited about you too. Some of them have already visited you and even brought you gifts!

Play time with Nani Ma continues!

We also make you do tummy time. You don't like it a whole lot but it's important for you so we do it for short intervals.

You still love to stretch and you do it the best!

In Portland, we have been walking a lot!

We have also been riding the street car a lot.

We go to the waterfront often and even spend time in downtown. You seem to enjoy the stroller ride and sleep well when we are out.

I can't seem to cross a baby store without checking it out to see if we can buy something cute for you and we always do!

Yes, you do get hungry during our outings and are fed right then!

During the weekdays, you, Nani Ma and I have been touring the city by ourselves. Last week, we went to the Art Museum.

Sumit and Robin Mamu join us on the weekends. This past weekend we went to the Farmer's Market and had brunch there.

We have a few other places to check out in the city which we plan to visit this week. Portland has been fun for us all. Sumit and Robin Mamu are wonderful hosts!

Evenings are play time with Sumit Mamu! He sometimes styles your hair with spikes!! :)

You have been very active this month, moving a lot lately. Back home, you used to spend time in your gym too!

You are also smiling a lot more and seem to be recognizing us now too!!

I love talking to you and your smile back to me is the most beautiful thing!

I also love reading to you. We have been reading "Where's my bone". It's a touch and feel book. Back home we were also reading "Hungry Caterpillar" another touch and feel book and also a Jungle book.

Dad's been in India all this time for work. We all get back home the same day. I am sure he can't wait to see you when he returns. When Dad's around, you guys have a good time hanging out together!

There is a discharge coming out of your left eye lately. I called your pediatrician's office and they told me to massage the corner of your nose to see if that helps. I've been doing that and I hope the tear duct opens up with the massage and the discharge goes away.

Sweetie, you are the cutest little thing...so precious and O! so adorable!

We all love you!

Happy Birthday! Here's us at Pok Pok celebrating you! :)

Mama

Happy 1 month!

2011-05-06T15:31:00.036-04:00

Kabir, today you turned one month old! For me, this month started with a big transition. Initial two weeks were a blur and I would cry when I was alone, not that I didn't love you. I actually loved you a lot...you are the best thing that happened to me, it was just very different and difficult being away from work, tending to 2 hour feeding cycles and staying home all day, all week long. I needed a break, so took upon the invite to go shopping with Upaasna and came back home with clothes for you! Since then I am feeling much more settled in my new role and I am enjoying every bit of my time home with you.

Your Nani Ma was here to be with you when you were born. Sumit Mamu, Ammi and Uncle came soon after. It was great to have everyone's company and you got a lot of love and cuddling from all.

One day, Ammi, Nani ma, Sumit mamu, Aman, I and you went to the temple to do a little prayer for you. It was nice to go when Ammi was around.

While Ammi was here, we also celebrated you turning a week old!

Nani ma is here for a couple more months. Her being here has been so much help. I can't even imagine being alone at this time without her support.

Nani ma is enjoying every bit of you. She loves to tend to your needs, cuddles you, plays with you, makes stories for you. It is lovely to see this new bond developing.

Archana, Manoj, Kuntal, Sanjay, Debi, Upaasna, Aman, Umesh, Shuchi, Navneet, Shubra, Kumar uncle are some of the people who came to see you.

Debi also hosted a meet and greet get together for you at her home where a lot of our neighbors came to see you and brought you lovely presents.

You are a peaceful child. You cry only when you are hungry and lately have started to get restless when you want to sleep but can't. O yeah, these days you would only sleep in either of ours arms. You don't sleep in your basket till you are cuddled and put to sleep in our arms first. Your feeding schedule is random. Some nights you wake up every 1.5 to 2 hours and some nights you sleep for 3 to 4 hours at a stretch. Your Dad's been helping me with night time feeding during weekend nights. It 's nice to catch a little break and get a full night's sleep then.

Overall, you are very expressive and super cute. I can just sit and watch you all day and so can Nani ma. Sometimes, I feel you understand things that are going around you...your expressions tell me that. You make the funniest noises, like the tires of the car screeching and pass the smiles that are to die for.

You love to stretch and we love to watch you stretch!

I love taking your pictures, I even take them on the examination table at your pediatrician's office! :)

You have been a healthy baby. Your doctor appointments so far have gone well. You were back at your birth weight at your 2 week check up, which was a wonderful news!

Nani Ma and I take you out for walks in the neighborhood and sometimes take you around in other outdoor settings like Reston Town Center.

Today, to celebrate your one month birthday, Nani Ma and I took you for story time at Kinder Haus Toys and then we had lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. We brought dessert home to celebrate with Dad. Nani ma is also making halwa!

The time has gone by so fast, I can't believe it's been a month since you were born. I have enjoyed every minute of it, even though it was a big transition to begin with.

I wish you the very best growing up, sweetie!

You are precious and we love you a lot!
Mama

Miami over a long weekend!

2011-01-18T21:54:00.034-05:00

I had been wanting to take a trip before our little one arrives (It's a boy and we call him TJ (Tarun Junior) so that's how I'll address him further in my post :)) and also before my doctor restricts me from traveling, which will be soon.

We did have a month long trip to India recently but that somehow didn't count as it was wedding centric and just too busy to relax.

Anyhow, so we had MLK's day coming up, which meant an extra day off for me! To capitalize on that, Tarun and I kept going back and forth on the idea of taking a trip. A week or so back, we decided, we'll stay back and get some things done around the house. It was all decided. The house help and the handyman were called and appointments fixed. Then came Wednesday, Jan 12th. After dinner that day, it just so happened, that we went back to talking about travel and we decided that we should take a trip, as we won't get this time back after TJ is born. Life will be different...definitely nice and a lot of fun but different. :)

We decided, I'll take an extra day off and we'll go down to Miami. We made reservations that night.

The morning of Saturday, Jan 15th, our very good friend Sanjay dropped us at the airport for our early morning (read 8:30 A.M.) flight to Fort Lauderdale. We landed at 11:00 A.M. and took a cab to South Beach Miami, where we were going to stay for 3 nights. The weather was lovely! It was so nice to see the crisp sun out and the water front, on our way to the hotel.

We arrived at our hotel at 11:45 A.M., freshened up and started on our walk to get some food. We walked on the Ocean drive and noticed a nice restaurant, whose name I now forget, but we did manage to get a table there after a descent wait and enjoyed our meal.

The rest of the day was mostly long walks. We went to our hotel's private beach and spent some time walking on the sand.

It was pretty windy, but the sun was nice, so we weren't cold.

We took a nice long walk and then came back to the hotel to take a little break before we continued further on our walk-a-thon (which is a common trend on our city and beach trips). We found ourselves a nice spot by the pool, ordered drinks and just relaxed for a little while.

Soon we were ready to go out again. This time, we decided to go explore the nearby happening place, the Lincoln street, which is where we spent most of our time, last time we were in Miami, almost 7 years ago. We actually went to the Lincoln street, looking for a sweater for Tarun, as he forgot his in the flight and now we needed one for our trip back!

So, we went to J.Crew and discovered that, the particular store was woman's only. Even though, I had no intention of buying anything, I did find some stuff which I ended up buying !

Tarun didn't want to shop/window shop any more that day, so we just strolled on the Lincoln street, passing all the restaurants and looking at their menus. Almost every restaurant had a special/happy hour running. After a while, we decided to eat. The dinner that night was pizza followed by a Hot Chocolate Sundae at Ghirardelli.

We returned to our hotel tired and I pretty much slept soon after.

On Sundays, Ritz has the best brunch in the area, which also happens to be our favorite meal, so we had to have the best! :)

It was of-course a big spread from fruits to salads to eggs station, shrimp and oyster station, cheese station, sushi and the carving station.

I ate a lot! Since I have been pregnant, my appetite has increased by manifolds. I surprise both myself and Tarun with how much I can eat now. I pretty much tried everything except what was available at the eggs, cheese and oyster stations.

It was delicious and I wasn't done. I was actually pretty full, but I still wanted to try the dessert. :)

After our brunch, we were ready to hit the Lincoln street again, in search of a sweater. It being Sunday, the street was definitely crowded. We went to different stores, but had no luck finding a woolen sweater. Of-course why would anyone need a woolen sweater when the weather is in 70's and 80's! We gave up and decided to go back to Ghirardelli for Tarun's favorite banana split!

For Monday, the plan was to just relax in the hotel, spend time in the pool, more time on the beach, get a massage and relax before heading back home the next day but the weather wasn't on our side. It poured all day!

Rain however, didn't stop us from our daily walk! We were out with our umbrellas (courtesy Ritz). Tarun had discovered "Shake Shack" through yelp as one of the highly rated food joints in the area. So, we decided to go there. Shake Shack serves burgers, shakes, hot dogs etc. We both had burgers and also shared a Vanilla shake. The serving size was not over-whelming and the burgers were delicious, loved the fries and the vanilla shake was awesome too!

Did some window shopping and some real shopping; ordered ourselves a full length mirror for our bedroom which should arrive may be next week and then headed back to the hotel.

I was a bit off because of the weather. It was a little cold that day due to the rain and the wind, but I didn't want to be inside, so we decided to sit outside in one of our hotel's restaurants. Of-course, we were not hungry, having had burgers a little while ago, so we decided to order drinks.

While I used some of this time booking childbirth preparation classes for us (we are now registered for Feb 23rd, 24th and March 5th!), Tarun, spent that time reading.

...and then were back talking and cracking jokes!

We ordered a dessert to share. I felt like having Key Lime Pie, but it was not on the menu! However the server was nice enough to arrange it for us.

There's Tarun ready for his first big bite! ;)

Soon, it was time to go for our massages, which we had booked the day before. We both enjoyed ours. Mine was the first pre-natal massage I had, although I do have a gift certificate from my dear brother for a massage at this top rated green spa (Nusta Spa) in DC, which I have yet to go to. I actually had a reservation for it, for this past Sunday, but had to cancel it due to the trip. I am now thinking of going in Feb!

Later that night, we dined at D. Rodriguez Cuba, again a yelp find and the food was delicious!

Now, it was almost time to go back to the land of cold. So, we decided to get up a little early the next day and take a walk on the beach before our cab arrived at noon to take us to the airport.

We woke up at 8:00 A.M., got ready and went out to a french bakery (La Provence) for breakfast, which we had discovered the day before during our walk. After the breakfast, we hit the beach walk. The weather was 78 degrees F. We walked soaking all the sun we could. Tarun tells me, we walked 60 blocks!

We reached our hotel at noon and the cab driver called. We got our stuff from our room, which was already packed and checked out.

Now we are back to the wintry cold, where the sky is overcast and one needs to wear layers and thick coats!

I tried to do a sad impression, but failed miserably. I guess, it's always nice to come back home! :)

I am back energized. Caught some TV with Tarun, spoke to some of my family on the phone, prepared a snack for my team, as I am headed to Harrisonburg tomorrow for a day long meeting. Wrote this blog entry after over an year. (I miss writing, work has been keeping me way too busy, hope I am able to get back in the blogging routine. Amen to that! :) )

It's past mid night and my alarm is set for 5:00 A.M. Although, my eyes are wide open, my mind tells me I should sleep! :) Good night all!

Recent trip to St. Michaels, MD

2009-06-11T19:28:00.031-04:00

Now that we have found the house, our weekends are considerably free. Last weekend, was going to be a weekend where we would have lazed, may be gone out for a hike or made a trip to Georgetown but we ended up in St. Michaels...who knew!!

Saturday started early for Tarun, as he had a breakfast meeting and for me because I was woken up by all the noise from Tarun getting ready to leave for his meeting. After Tarun left, I made a few calls to friends and family in India and I was still on phone when he returned around 10:00 A.M.

As we were talking, Tarun asked me to shower and pack my bag for the night, he said he won't tell me where we were going...it's going to be a surprise! I sure was very EXCITED but at the same time anxious to know what was on his mind?!?!

In any case, he did reveal after some time. While I got ready, Tarun called some B&B's to see if they had a room available. Since this was all happening at the last minute, we didn't get any bookings, so we decided to take a chance.

We left around 1:00 PM, caught traffic on our way but still managed to reach Dr. Dodson House; the B&B on our list, at 3:00 P.M. The B&B, is run by Janet and she did have a room available, which we were shown and we decided to take it.

After checking in, we decided to explore the area. Our first stop was going to be the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. On our way to the museum, we saw an old boat being restored!

After spending some time at the museum, we went to see the lighthouse, which was right next to it.

The views from the lighthouse were amazing.

We later decided to check out the town and grab a bite. After strolling the streets and passing the souvenir shops and summer fairs, we made our way to the Key lime cafe, a recommendation from Janet, our host.

While we waited for the food to be served, Tarun posed for me. :-)

We shared sausages and seafood Risotto for dinner and later ordered Key lime pie for dessert. I'll have to say that dessert was the best, we liked the Key Lime Pie so much that we ordered another one!! :-)

After dinner, we took a long walk by the water. We passed The Inn at Perry Cabin; (where the movie Wedding Crashers was filmed) and caught sight of a wedding.

I later caught a shot of the granddad walking his grandson, towards the shore. :-)

After a long day of walking, we came back to our B&B that night, very tired and had a good night's sleep!

Next day, the plan was to go sailing, the tour which we had booked already. We woke up and got ready. Janet, served us a delicious breakfast (she had taken our orders when we checked-in).

We left soon after for our Sailing tour, saying our thank you and good bye!

We sailed Sail Selina, which is the largest of the surviving vintage catboats. It was our first time on a sail boat and that too a vintage one! The setting was very intimate with only 2 other guests on the boat along with Captain Iris and her assistant Jared.

As we reached near the bay and it was time to raise the Sail, Tarun volunteered to help Jared. Tarun's first time raising the sail!

Jared gave Tarun instructions.

Tarun started soon after

And our sail was up!! :-)

We all shared stories and sailed together for 2 hours, enjoying the beautiful views and the lovely weather!

What a weekend, thank you, Tarun! This was our first trip that was planned on the fly and it was great!! Look forward to more such trips in the future! :-)

Review:Sichuan Pavilion 2.9/5

2009-02-06T15:36:00.009-05:00

A few days back when I was craving Chinese, I yelped Chinese restaurants in DC and picked "Sichuan Pavilion" based on its ratings and reviews. Myself and Tarun dined there with our friend Ashish.

We took a reservation before going, as it was a weekend, but when we reached there, the restaurant was pretty empty, so I guess, it's one of those restaurants where one could just walk-in.

I ordered "Chicken Chailang", a chef speciality. Tarun ordered Fish curry with Tofu, it was our server's recommendation and Ashish ordered a sizzler with 10 ingredients, I forget the name of the dish, but Ashish's was the only dish that was descent, the other two, Chicken Chailang and the Fish sure were spicy but had no flavor at all; an utter disappointment.

For dessert, we ordered Lychee Nuts. Surprisingly, unlike the name suggested, there were no nuts with the Lychees, but it was still nice to end the flavorless meal with a fresh and delicate taste of Lychees in the mouth.

A very disappointing experience overall. In States, I have yet to discover a better restaurant than P.F. Chang's, for Chinese food. It continues to be my favorite!

Food: 2

Service: 3

Pricing: 3.5 (Moderate)

Ambience: 3

Location/Information:
1814 K St NW
(between N 18th St & N 19th St)
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 466-7790

Parking:
Street

Would I recommend it?: No

Review:Belga 4.3/5

2009-01-10T11:18:00.013-05:00

We started off the new year with a brunch with Family and Friends at Belga, last Sunday. It is a belgian cafe with a very warm atmosphere.

Being a Belgian restaurant it specializes in belgian waffles. However, whatever was ordered on our table was really really good. We all decided to order and then share, so we had quite a few things on the table and it was hard to move them around, but this is what we ordered. Poached eggs with Salmon and Asparagus, Green Eggs, Crepes, Waffles with fruits and whipped cream and Banana Waffles with ice cream. Everyone shared the dishes and they were all very good. I especially liked the poached eggs with Salmon and Asparagus and the banana waffles. The banana waffles had a nice presentation and tasted great!

We also shared a pumpkin soup which was ordered for Samadh, (our friends son), which he didn't drink. I didn't think I would like it but it was actually nice. Later, we ordered the belgian fries, another speciality of the restaurant.... yummy, and i liked how the fries are served, rolled in a paper (which looks like a newspaper) and stacked in a metal wire stand.

The serving size is small, so a person per dish ratio is good.

I would recommend taking reservations before hand, as it gets pretty crowded, especially on the weekend.

Food: 5

Service: 5

Super Quick

Pricing: 3.5 (Moderate)

Atmosphere: 3.5

Cozy but can get crowded with no room to walk.

Location/Information:

514 8th Street SE

(between S E, St and S G St)

Washington, DC 20003

202 544 0100

Hours:

Lunch:

Monday through Thursday from 11:30 AM until 3:00 PM

Friday from 11:30 AM until 5:30 PM

Brunch:

Saturday from 10:00 AM until 5:30 PM

Sunday from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM

Dinner:

Monday through Thursday from 5:30 OM until 10:00 PM

Friday and Saturday from 5:30 Pm until 11:00 PM

Sunday from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM

Parking:

Street

Back in VA

2008-12-22T15:34:00.005-05:00

Tarun and Myself are back in Virginia after a little more than 2 years. Well, we did make a trip here last May but now we are here to stay, at-least that's what we say.

What's surprising is that nothing seems to be calling me this time. Since we landed on Dec 17th, I haven't been excited at all. I am actually not feeling anything, I am numb. This seems like any other place to me now...the place I earlier thought could be home.

It has been good catching up with family and friends here but I haven't been super excited like I used to be back in time.

May be I have matured or may be it will all change...we'll see.

Ananda in the Himalayas

2008-11-11T06:02:00.017-05:00

Myself and Tarun made a trip to Ananda early October for 2 nights and 3 days. It was for his birthday and I had made the bookings before leaving for Japan. We decided to take the Shatabdi from Delhi to Haridwar and had Ananda arrange a pick up for us from the train station. The journey was comfortable. When we reached Haridwar and got out of the train station there was our cab driver waiting for us with a placard. We were so disappointed when we reached the car, we had expected a clean well kept car to come pick us up, but that one was, I guess a car used for bringing supplies to the resort from the nearby town, it had some metal bars inside to safeguard stuff. Anyway, we were disappointed and our expectation of Ananda hit its bottom right there.

We reached the resort after a 1.5 hour car ride and were greeted with an aarti by the staff. We were made comfortable in the living area of the palace where we were served a welcome drink made of lemon and ginger (quite refreshing!). Our room keys were handed to us in a short while and a golf cart was arranged to show us the property and take us to our room.

As our driver showed us the property I admired how well it was kept and how lush green it was. Upon reaching our room, we were told that the resort provides white Kurta Pajamas for the guests in their size for the them to wear during their stay. I thought, that was pretty cool and we both ordered our sizes (well they didn't have mine, so I took the smallest they had).

Our room was quite nice and had a nice view of the greens and the valley; only if the sky was clear we would have seen the valley but we still enjoyed the greens!

We relaxed in the resort all 3 days, pampered ourselves with some great massages and caught up on our reading. I highly recommend the Abhyanga massage which is done by two therapist. I believe that is the best massage i've had!

We enjoyed all our meals, the food was simple but tastefully cooked.

The property is well kept and serene and the sight of the guests walking around the property, clad in white Kurta Pajamas makes everything look so pure and simple, which I loved.

The staff is genuinely nice and helpful. On our checkout, we were asked to fill the feedback form and we gave an honest feedback, which means we told them we didn't like our pick up car and guess what, they were extra nice while dropping us to the train station in Haridwar, not only did the driver do all he could to make us reach the train station on time (we started late from the resort, some last minute ticket drama), he also waited to see we board the train. (We didn't know he was waiting till he came to us when the train arrived). We thought that was very nice and then a day or two later we received an email from the resort manager, apologizing for the car at our pickup. This surely impressed us and it showed he cared.

A short quiet trip was exactly what we needed after our vacation in Japan. I had a very relaxing time and Tarun said he quite liked it too, so I was happy he enjoyed his b'day weekend that I had planned for him!

Japan: Day 9: Tokyo

2008-09-26T11:00:00.003-04:00

Today is our last day in Japan, we head back to India tomorrow morning and we wanted to make the most of it. So, we started off by hitting the Tsukiji fish market again but this time not for fish watching but for eating some fresh sushi at Edogin, acclaimed to be one of the best sushi bars in the area. It definitely stayed up to its reputation.

After having some great sushi, I went looking for some Japanese tea and bought some packs of Sencha and Matcha varieties. I also bought a Japanese engraved knife, which I consider my best purchase of the trip!

We later headed to Ginza where we relaxed in a tea room while drinking some hot Japanese tea and then took the train to Shibuya. O boy, was it crowded there! I had never seen so many people cross the road at the same time. Shibuya's four way crossing is said to be the busiest in the world. At one light change, there are hundreds of people trying to reach the other side. It was quite intimidating at first but later I got used to it.

Also, the area is known to be the shopping destination for teenagers and young adults, so that was one reason I wanted to go check it out, but I guess I am old now, coz I didn't like a thing...yes, not even one thing! Since, there wasn't much to do in Shibuya, we decided to spend the rest of the evening at Omotesando. Here, we strolled, talked, people watched and later dined at the Anniversaire cafe and had a nice dinner...our last one in Tokyo...at-least till we come back!

Arigato gozaimas Japan, for a wonderful stay....and here we bow to you. :)

Japan: Day 8: Tokyo

2008-09-25T10:09:00.002-04:00

Today, we went to Roppongi Hills, the most prestigious area in the city, where the Japanese hot shots and the expats live. It has a huge shopping mall, where getting lost is easy. For all the hype it has, I didn't quite like it. I find Omotesando and Ginza way more lively and better areas to shop and stroll.
We had a nice big lunch at Azabu Kyutoku, in Roppongi Hills, which I quite liked...and that's me eating my share. :)After lunch, we headed back to Ginza, where we did some people watching, strolling and some shopping too!
For dinner, we took some food to go and ate in our room at the hotel...it was nice.

Japan: Day 7: Tokyo

2008-09-24T11:04:00.011-04:00

We got up at 5 in the morning today to check out the Tsukiji fish market, known to be the biggest wholesale fish market in the world! It was such an action packed place and for a fish market, it was really clean and not so stinky either.
We saw so many varieties and sizes of fish and some other seafood too.

After touring around the fish market, we had Maguro-donburi (raw slices of fresh tuna over rice, garnished with seaweed, ginger and some wasabi) for breakfast at Segawa, a much acclaimed, little counter restaurant by the fish market itself. It was delicious!

We spent the rest of the day roaming around Ginza and in the evening had sushi for my b'day dinner at Kyubei. It was the best sushi I've ever had!
And that's us at Kyubei! :) Tarun has a big piece of sushi in his mouth.Thanks to Tarun, I had a lovely day overall! :)

Japan: Day 6: Tokyo

2008-09-23T10:15:00.002-04:00

We started our day at the Meiji-Jingu shrine where we happened to see a Japanese wedding procession!We spent the rest of the day at Omote-sando which harbors local and international fashion stores along with boutique shops and O so yummy looking cafes that it is hard to resist walking into at least one of them and enjoying a hot cup of coffee with a short piece of cake!
Among other things in the area, we noticed a FREE TIBET rally and cute Japanese girls giving away some free samples.

Japan: Day 5: Kyoto

2008-09-22T09:20:00.010-04:00

Our day started with a visit to the Tenryu-ji temple which is laced with trails and has some nice zen gardens.

Walking along the trails, we reached the bamboo grove, one of the famous sites of Kyoto, more so because the movie, The Crouching tiger and the Hidden dragon had some scenes shot here.

We later made our way to the Kodaiji temple, stopping at the sites that caught our attention, like the Choin-in temple which has the biggest temple gate in all of Japan!

Kodai ji, again is a temple with massive grounds
having beautifully landscaped gardens with bridges.Later, we strolled in the streets of Gion and visited some art galleries and antique stores and then made our way back to Tokyo in a three hour train ride!

Japan: Day 4: Kyoto

2008-09-21T07:29:00.008-04:00

Today we did the much recommended South Higashiyama walking tour. The tour started with a visit to the Kiyomizu-dera temple, where we walked inside Tainai Meguri, a cave with TOTAL darkness (I had never been in this much darkness before and I was almost scared), symbolizing buddha's belly and then coming out in the light, symbolizing rebirth! After the visit to the temple, we made our way to some of the prettiest streets of Kyoto with traditional Japanese houses, restaurants, inns, tea rooms and souvenir shops.

We walked in rain under our umbrellas almost all the distance, expect for an hour when it started to rain very heavily. This was when we stopped at a tea room and sipped some hot coffee!

We were lucky to sight Maikos too, this was a really exciting moment for me! :)

A traditional Japanese dinner, Kaiseki marked the end of our tour!

Japan: Day 3: Kyoto

2008-09-20T09:49:00.011-04:00

Today, we got up early and caught the 9:30 A.M. train to Kyoto. It was a 3 hr. ride in the bullet train, I slept almost all the way. :)

After reaching Kyoto, we checked into our hotel, which is above the Kyoto station, (The train stations in Japan are amazing, they are a marketplace in themselves, having high end hotels, eating joints, department stores and fresh food stores). Since we were early, (the check-in time in the hotels in Japan is 3.00 P.M.), the hotel staff kept our luggage and asked us to return after the check-in time. We headed to have some lunch. We went to the 11th floor of the station and ate in a chinese restaurant, which we initially thought was Japanese! :) Everything was written in Japanese, so we couldn't really make out what it said. I only knew it was chinese when I saw the pictures in the menu. We both had shrimp wonton noodle soup, which was very nice and filling (We had been hungry, since we skipped the b'fast to catch the train).

After lunch, we decided to checkout some famous shrines and zen gardens in the area. We took bus 5 from the Tokyo station to Nanzen-ji Eikan-do-michi stop. It took us 45 minutes to get there. After getting down at the bus stop, we asked some school kids where the shrine was and they were nice enough to lead us to it.

We started off with Eikan-Do. This is a large temple which was founded in 855 and was renamed to Eikan-Do in the 11th century. The temple is beautiful, the work of art is quite ornamental here and the architecture quite varied. It has some beautiful gardens too. The top of the temple gives a nice view of the city.

After spending about 1.5 hours in the temple, we headed to Nanzen-ji, about 15 mins. walks from Eikan-do. Nanzen-ji is again a temple, it has various sub temples too and some beautiful zen gardens. Since, we were running short of time (the temples here close at 5.00 P.M. and it was already 4.00), we concentrated on the zen gardens. The zen gardens are a work of art, it's unbelievable, how well manicured they are!

Prompt at 5.00, the staff came to close the gates of the temple/gardens. I spent some time taking pictures from outside after it was closed and then we took the bus back to our hotel.

Tarun had really been wanting to eat Udon, since we have reached Japan, so today, I looked for a restaurant that serves Udon and after a lot of looking around, I finally found one. Tarun had an Unagi combo with udon and I had udon with shrimp tempura. We took a nice walk after our dinner and enjoyed a nice pudding cake in the hotel lounge before coming back to our room.

Earlier, the plan was to go to Osaka tomorrow, but we both like Kyoto so much, that we have decided to skip Osaka and do some more site seeing here, tomorrow as well!

Japan: Day 2: Tokyo

2008-09-19T09:19:00.012-04:00

So, the early morning breakfast never happened today, for those who know both me and Tarun, know how much we both love to sleep till late :). Today, we got up past 10 in the morning and headed to the Tokyo station, after getting ready, where we had sushi for lunch at Kaiten-zushi, this is an automatic sushi place!! The sushi here is served on the conveyor belt that runs along the counter! I never knew something like this existed so I was quite excited to see it. So, here, you just grab whatever takes your fancy and you are charged by the number of plates of sushi you eat. The plates are color coded and the the cost is written either on the wall or on the plate itslef. The sushi here, I would say was just okay but the experience was quite unique and I enjoyed it!

After lunch, we took the JR train to Akihabara, Tokyo's electronic town. We spent about 5 hrs here and then headed to Harajuku, where we did some shopping and had an amazing dinner at Fujimamas, a Japanese fusion restaurant. This restaurant not just serves fusion food but employs staff from various ethnicities and so is its clientele!

After dinner, was us back at the hotel!

It has been mostly raining in Tokyo, since we have reached, I really hope to see some sun tomorrow in Kyoto, where we are headed in the morning!

Japan: Day 1: Tokyo

2008-09-18T09:29:00.023-04:00

Myself and Tarun managed to get our visa for Japan just in time to make it to our flight y'day. We flew Air India and had an uneventful flight to Tokyo. The airline was not fully booked, so the staff was nice enough to offer passengers with the option of taking 3 seats so as to comfortably stretch and sleep!

We landed at the Narita International airport at 8:20 A.M. JST and got free from immigration and customs in an hour. Guess what our cell fones don't work here, (Japan only supports the fones with the 3G technology!), but one can rent cell fones here, so we rented one and went looking for the Narita Train station to get to Tokyo. The people at the airport were quite helpful and were able to direct us to the station, where we exchanged our rail passes (which we got from India) for the tickets. We boarded the Narita express train which was exactly on time (here they say, you can set the time of your watch by the train time, that's something, isn't it?!) and reached the Tokyo station in an hour.

You have to see the Tokyo station to believe what I am saying here, I haven't seen a station like this anywhere, it's beautifully constructed and is full of lovely looking restaurants and flower shops, the city impressed me right there!

It's a huge station covered on various levels, it was hard for us to locate where the exit for the cabs was, so we asked the locals working at the station, they were so nice that they escorted us till the cab! (now that's what I call a country which is a good host to travelers). And now I noticed something really cool, the cab doors here open and close by themselves, well I mean that the driver pushes a button form his seat and the door opens for the passenger!
Anyway, we got a cab and reached our hotel, although the check-in time here is 3.00 P.M, the hotel staff did let us check-in early. We got to our room and it was tiny but tastefully done!

After this we got ready and were really craving for some food. We went out and noticed a nice looking restaurant from the outside and guess what, we walked in! Now, the host made us sit in an informal room and showed us the menu, the first thing he told us was the price, it was an expensive restaurant serving pre-fix menu of 7 courses. We decided to try it and were escorted to the dining room, which was very formal. We enjoyed the lunch, portions were small and the food was good.

Later in the afternoon, we explored the city. Tokyo is quite charming, during the day it reminds me of San Francisco in more ways than one, with restaurant and coffee shops scattered everywhere and designer stores adding their glow to it, yet, it is less crowded and is free from homeless people! At night it seems more like Times Square, with flashing neon sign boards and cabs and cars lined up in a jam!

We were in Chuo dori, the main shopping street in Tokyo. The first stop was the Apple store, since Tarun forgot to bring the power adapter, so we bought one (now we have four power adapters b/w 2 macbooks and I hope this was the last one we bought :)). The apple store here is on 5 levels, even the store in NYC isn't spread over these many levels! In any case, then we headed to the House of Shiseido, which is a museum of Shiseido and guess what Shiseido is really big here, it has a restaurant and a tea room and then of-course there is the Shiseido store. After exploring the shopping district a little, where we saw may be a handful women dressed in kimonos (they look lovely), we had Oden (fish cakes, fish eggs, veggies, tofu etc. simmered in a flavored broth) for dinner, it was light and tasty.

It's only been 2 hrs since we had our dinner and Tarun is hungry again! I guess we will go for an early morning breakfast tomorrow! :)

Photography, my newly discovered passion!

2008-08-10T14:09:00.022-04:00

Although I have always enjoyed taking pictures and am popular with my husband for always carrying my camera when we go outdoors, photography has only recently become my passion!

I just happened to take a 10 day intensive course in photography, in June at the School of Fototechnik,Patel Nagar. It was a consecutive 10 day course, meaning having to sacrifice 2 weekends (which, initially didn't seem like a great idea and was making me lean towards not signing up for the course). After some back-and-forth on the idea, I decided to sign up, more so because, the intensive program is held only once a year, at the School of Fototechnik and the other option that remained with me was a regular 6 months program, which to me seemed a difficult and a longer commitment to make and fulfill. Thinking in those terms, sacrificing weekends eventually, didn't seem that bad!

At that time, I possessed, "Sony cybershot", a point and shoot camera, which, is what I took to my class the first day. Anyhow, the photography schools and professional photographers don't have a high opinion about digital point and shoot cameras with respect to their ability to take good pictures, so I borrowed a DSLR (the recommended camera) from a close friend, for my shoots during the course.

The course was a good introduction to technicalities like depth of field, exposure, aperture, shutter speed etc. along with a nice introduction to handling a DSLR. I enjoyed all my classes especially the ones in which we were shooting! :)

So, now my latest possession is a "Nikon D80" with an 18-200 lens and I took it for it's first shoot today, to Humayun's Tomb!

Though I was born and brought up in Delhi, I had never visited Humayun's tomb before, which I must say is a beautiful site for photography. I guess with my newly found passion, I will be discovering the city all over again!