Saturday, December 30, 2006

Dani has earrings!


Mommy and Lola took Dani to have her ears pierced today. Poor thing - the senseless ritual torture! At least she looks happy now... Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Christmas Day at the MacDonalds

Here's Dani enjoying a Christmas dance with Diana on her first Christmas Day. See more photos of us enjoying the holiday cheer at the MacDonalds. Posted by Picasa

Monday, December 25, 2006

Christmas Eve

We celebrated Dani's first Christmas Eve at home with nearby family. Dani made out like a bandit! Click here for more photos. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Caribbean Cruise

My birthday present from Michelle was a Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. We spent ten days at sea leaving port from New York and visiting the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten/St. Martin, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Click here to see photos from the cruise.

Click here to see photos from our two days in New York. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Dani and Hannah


Dani's cousin Hannah stayed with us this weekend. Dani really loves Hanna - we expect them to be close friends as they grow up. Posted by Picasa

Having a ball

Watch Dani and Mommy having fun. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Friday, November 24, 2006

Thanksgiving 2006

This was our first Thanksgiving with Dani. We celebrated twice with the Ulmers and Aunt Myrna. Click here to see more photos. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Swimming with Dani


Daddy got a very special treat today when Mommy let him take a turn at swimming with Dani. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Geek-in-the-making

Watch Dani use her mom's laptop. Posted by Picasa

Dani is 6 Months Old


Dani turned six months old yesterday. Here she is enjoying her walker. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Grazin' in the Grass!

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Chris and Ryan Galy Visit

Chris and Ryan came over today to watch the Saints play Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the Saints lost but we had a good time hanging out. And Dani seems to be awfully fond of Ryan. Dani, I believe Ryan is already taken! :-) Posted by Picasa

Boycott Trans Fat!

Gerald Levert’s untimely death at 40 has prompted me to write this blog entry. I don’t claim to know what the underlying causes of his heart attack were but it doesn’t feel like a huge leap to assume his longtime weight problems contributed to his health problems. Sadly, Levert had recently been taping a reality show in which he would lose weight with twelve female fans. His efforts to improve his health apparently were too little, too late.

New information about Nutrition
There’s a lot of new information about nutrition and how it relates to our health. For instance, dietary cholesterol may be less dangerous than consuming foods high in saturated fats (which come mostly from animal sources and some tropical oils). This is because saturated fats cause our livers to generate more cholesterol in our bodies. When the body has more cholesterol than it needs, the excess is deposited in our artery walls leading to the formation of plaque which can clog our blood vessels and cause heart attacks and strokes.

A Killer in our Midst
The most alarming new information is about a silent killer in our midst: Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA) or “trans fats”. While trans fats are found in small amounts in animal products, we consume most of our trans fats from commercially manufactured hydrogenated oils – the result of hydrogenating oils and fat to achieve longer shelf lives for processed foods and to increase the stability of oils used for frying. Trans fats have been shown to increase LDL (or “bad cholesterol”) and reduce HDL (or “good cholesterol”) in such a dramatic way that the National Academy of Science has concluded there is no safe level for trans fat consumption. Researchers at Harvard’s School of Public Health estimate that trans fat contributes to 30,000 deaths a year (I think this is a way conservative number).

Profits over Health
Given that trans fats are so hazardous, why are food companies adding them to their products? It’s simply about increasing profits. Longer shelf lives means products can have later sell-by dates. More stable cooking oils means you can use the same vat of cooking oil to make french fries all day long.

Some Good News
There’s been some progress recently to rid our foods of trans fats. In 2003, Denmark passed a law effectively banning trans fat. In this country, the FDA this year started requiring the listing of trans fat content on the nutrition panel of all packaged foods. New York City and Chicago are proposing health regulations to limit the use of trans fat in restaurant food. Wendy’s say they have eliminated trans fat from their fries. KFC just announced they will eliminate trans fat from all their food except their biscuits by April next year.

Call to Action!
So what can you do? Boycott food chains that are still serving up this poison. McDonald’s promised to eliminate trans fat by 2003 but they are still dragging their feet. Their excuse? They haven’t found a suitable replacement. This flies in the face of reason given McDonald’s has managed to eliminate trans fat in Denmark. Unfortunately, big corporations like McDonald’s will continue to put profits over your health until they have an economic incentive to change. While lawsuits and regulations will help, the best remedy is an informed consumer that chooses to say no to trans fat!

Further Information
Here are some links to start your own research:
· American Heart Association Trans Fat Overview
· Harvard School of Public Health: Hidden Trans Fats Exposed
· Wikipedia Article on Trans Fat
· BanTransFats.com

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween!

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New Orleans

We just got back from New Orleans. We had a great time - the visit coincided with the weekend before Halloween and Voodoofest (free concerts) so there was plenty of revelry to behold in the French Quarter.

This photo shows us at the Superdome where we sadly witnessed my beloved Saints get thumped by the Ravens.

We also took a ride out to see the Lower 9th Ward. The damage is still devastating to see more than a year after the hurricane. Click here for more photos. Posted by Picasa

August entertains Dani

Sunday before last, we had dinner at Baba Neo Restaurant in Mountain View with August, Anand and Connie. Here August had Dani in stitches with her comedic repertoire.

Click here for more photos. Posted by Picasa