Suchita_Vadlamani's Blog

I've been pretty good about exercising regularly, but I must admit, I'm getting a little bored.  So, on the advice of a friend, I've decided to check out boxing classes!  WHOA.  Talk about an INTENSE work out!!  Within just a couple of minutes, I was completely out of breath and drenched in sweat.  I could barely make it through the hour!!  And boy, was I achey breaky the next morning.  I'll be sharing my experience in a segment coming up on Good Day in a few weeks.  Stay tuned.

Head over to the  Dogwood Festival this weekend at Lenox Square Mall and stop by the Girl Scouts Booth!  Due to the recent tornado, the group was left with THOUSANDS of extra boxes of cookies.  They were scheduled to participate in the Home Show at the Georgia World Congress Center, but because of the storm's extensive damage, the Home Show was cancelled.  They've still got 13,000 boxes to sell, and they're hoping you can help them  :-)  If you can't make it to the Dogwood Festival, drop by the Volunteer Service Center on Northwest Expressway before the end of April.

There's a big restaurant boom happening in downtown Atlanta.  A bunch of new spots are either already here or coming soon, so be on the lookout!

Spice Market ( NYC)

Maxim Prime

Craft   (NYC)  From Chef Tom Colicchio---you can see him on Bravo's Top Chef

BLT Steak ( NYC)

Legal Seafoods (Boston)

Il Mulino ( NYC)

Tokyo 2020

These are just a few of them....another sign of the growth and downtown development...

Well, it's about a third of the way into 08, so I thought I'd take stock of how I'm doing with my New Year's resolutions....
Keeping in touch
I've taken some big steps to reconnect and stay in touch with extended family and friends in far away places.  It's been so much fun catching up and reminiscing!
Decluttering
I'm a self-admitted pack-rat, so getting organized is always a challenge for me...but I'm definitely trying!   Just today, I put together a big bag of clothes/shoes/books to be dropped off at a donation center.
Becoming more Veggie and more "Green"
I've scaled back on the meat-eating quite a bit .  Feeling pretty good about that   :-)  Participated in "Earth hour" this weekend, so that was cool and I'm keeping an eye on my water consumption and increasing my recyling.  Yeah!
Finances
Nope.  No progress...REALLY need to work on this one.
Sleep
Still MAJORLY and PERPETUALLY sleep-deprived.  UGH.
Fitness
Procrastinating on the Pilates, but I'm going to do a boxing special coming up in May.  I've heard that's a really good and really tough work out!
Computer Skills
Technology continues to baffle me.
Ovbiously, I've got some work to do the rest of  the year!!

American Idol season 5 finalist, Ace Young, stopped by this morning to hang out with the GDA gang!  Keep an eye out for his new album--out in June---and his guest appearance on Bones in May. Yeah, he's talented and handsome,  but it was his big ol' heart that struck me as his most admirable quality  :-)   He loves working with kids---Idol Boot camp---and was recently named a celebrity ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.  A real down-to -Earth, sweet, sincere guy!

Fox and NBC Universal have teamed up to create hulu.com....it's a website offering a HUGE selection of  your favorite tv shows, movies and video clips!  You can watch last week's funny skit from SNL or revisit cool epsiodes from "Welcome Bak Kotter"...they've got everything from what's current to all the old school stuff!

 

hulu.com

check it out!!

Guess I must officially be a true Southerner because I can't STAND the cold! Just thinking back on all those brutal winters filled with blizzards and subzero temperatures in the midwest makes me shiver! BRRRRRRRR. I guess over the years, I've gradually lost whatever little tolerance I had for that kind of weather. So, when I woke up this morning and saw it was in the 20's, well, I just knew I couldn't leave the house without the proper "protection". I pulled out the old thermal underwear and I've got to tell you, I am one toasty, happy camper :-)

Valentine's Day is one of those unique holidays that elicits different emotions from different people...it brings out the die-hard romantics AND the die hard cynics...  Which camp do you fall in?  Or are you somewhere in between?
Do you think Valentine's Day is a commercially-concocted contrived excuse to spend money on overpriced flowers, frivolous heart-shaped boxes of candy, teddy bears, and expensive dinners?  Do you feel like you're being forced to go through these rituals to prove you care about someone?  You've heard of the "Anti-Valentine's Day" parties?  The annual Bitter Ball thrown by a local radio station...and sold out every year....
Or...are you one of those people who looks forward to this day for love and romance all year long. Is it a time to go the extra mile to show that someone special just how much you care? Are you happy to embrace the full range of romantic gestures...from the cards to the sentimental gifts, etc?.  Does the lovely mood of the day just make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
OR...are you kinda in the middle....you begrudgingly get on board simply to make your significant other happy...while secretly thinking the whole holiday is not all it's cracked up to be?
Curious to see what people really think....

I really love sharing my "finds" with folks through my blog... and I recently discovered "Simply Smart" milk at the grocery store  ( I happened to be at Publix...but I'm sure you can find this product at other stores as well).  What  makes this milk so special is that it's SKIM, but tastes like 2%!  And it's loaded with extra nutrients and protein!  So, I came in from the bitter cold this afternoon and made a steaming cup of choclately hot cocoa using my new milk.  It was so rich and creamy...boy, did it hit the spot!  BRRRRRRRRRR. 

Big shout out to everyone at the Gladiators game last Friday night!  I had sooooo much fun hanging out with all the folks who stopped by the Fox5 booth!!  We took tons of  pix and I'll be posting some of them shortly in my photo gallery....   :-)

Talk about a nailbiter... Definitely worth staying up past my bedtime ;-)   I caught part of the pregame festivities -Alicia Keys looked and sounded great.  But I missed Paula Abdul's highly anticipated performance.  Any thoughts on how she did? I heard she was pretty good. As far as the halftime show goes... I'm a big Tom Petty fan and loved that he played all his big hits.  He rocked it out! 

 I wasn't crazy about most of the commercials, but the ones that did make me giggle were:  The Sobe Thrillicious--lizards doing the Thriller dance,  Amp Power Drink Guy using the jumper cables, and the Anheuser Busch "Rocky" clydesdale.  Which ones did you like?

I've got one word for you. YUM.  Mitra is a funky Midtown restaurant serving up great food and ambience!  Eclectic South American cuisine with lots of flair and flava!  I especially loved the pomegranate glazed beef skewers, lamb taquitos, spicy pureed sweet potato dish and crispy green beans.   To top it all off,  I had the tres leches cake...outta this world!!!  Check out this tried and tested Midtown hotspot....Bon appetit!

WOW. Where did the year go? Seems like we ask ourselves that every December! 2007 has been particularly hectic...and I just haven't been able to get everything checked off my to-do list. So now, like everyone else, I'm looking ahead and planning for the new year. Some of the things I'd like to accomplish...

* Spend more time with family...keep in better contact with extended family/friends in far away places
* Get organized and declutter (it WILL happen this year!)
* Try to become a vegetarian..or at least DRASTICALLY reduce meat consumption (been wanting to do this for a while now)
* Make a bigger effort to be "green"
* Focus on finances/investing
* Sleep more (tough with this schedule!!)
* Take Pilates classes
* Learn how to use my new-ish computer :-)

What are some of your New Year's resolutions?

Wow...when the going gets tough...

It's a shame Falcons Coach Bobby Petrino felt he had to throw in the towel, just three games before the end of the season!! His sudden resignation marks the latest in a series of disheartening developments for the team. From losing Michael Vick to losing ten games...and now, losing the head coach...Falcons fans have been put through a LOT this year. We need a coach who's got resilience, dedication and a real sense of loyalty to our Falcons---so, so long Bobby!

Her name is synonymous with Jefferson Starship and rock 'n roll in the 60s, but now, Grace Slick is using a canvas to express her creativity.  The counterculture icon officially retired from the stage in 1989, because in her words, "all rock stars over 50 look stupid and should retire" and "It pains me to see old people leaping around trying to act like their 25. It's embarrassing." Ouch! Wonder what Mick and Keith would say about THAT?!

So, anyhoo, Grace has been painting for almost 2 decades now, drawing inspiration from her personal experiences and friendships with other musicians...Jerry Garcia, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, to name a few!  She brought a couple of really interesting pieces to the studio to share with us. I loved the painting of Jimi Hendrix...super cool. She told me as far as her past is concerned, it's not what she did that she regrets but what she DIDN'T do! For instance, not getting to know Mr. Hendrix as "WELL" as she would have liked..in the "romantic" sense! That's Grace for you...outspoken, funny, and brutally honest!  Even at 68, she's still a firecracker!

By the way, these days, she's a big fan of an Austin band called Del Castillo, who blend flamenco, rock and blues. She gave them a big plug during our interview. If you want to check them out, go to delcastillomusic.com!