Happy New Year Wish

I found the following poem by Joanna Fuchs online and it expresses my sentiments perfectly on this day.

My Happy New Year wish for you
Is for your best year yet,
A year where life is peaceful,
And what you want, you get.

A year in which you cherish
The past year’s memories,
And live your life each new day,
Full of bright expectancies.

I wish for you a holiday
With happiness galore;
And when it’s done, I wish you
Happy New Year, and many more.

Happy New Year!
Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Selamat Tahun Baru!

Barley Tea

It is called "Mugicha" in Japan, "Boricha" in Korea, it is simply roasted barley tea and it's one of the most wonderful things to have on cold dreary days like today.

It is caffeine-free. My google search also tells me that it is a very nutritious cooling drink that helps bring down fever; useful for those suffering from bronchitis and asthma; may help improve blood sugar level; help in reducing bad cholesterol levels; help facilitate proper digestion; may help in cleansing the body of toxins and is believed to be good in relieving early symptoms of colds.

A scoop of roasted barley in a 2-liter pitcher of hot water. Let it steep for about an hour (I like to make it before I go to bed and let it steep overnight), reheat (although it is also wonderful cold in the summers), add a bit of honey or sugar to sweeten it and ... ahhh -- all is right in the world.

Say what?

I got a baked potato bag for Christmas with the following instructions:

Wash and dry potatoes [about the potato].

Wrap potatoes in a paper towel [about the potato].

DO NOT PIERCE SKIN! [about the potato]

Place potatoes in bag and the microwave [about the potato], as usual, according to manufacturer's directions until done. [According to manufacturer of what? The potato? "God, please direct me as to this potato."]

They laughed at me when I asked aloud, but I think something was lost in the instructions ...

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Christmas Fun 2010

Gingerbread houses at the Grand America Hotel:

(This one made me smile -- cookie kids making snow angels ... too cute!)


Lights at Temple Square:





Merry Christmas!
Mele Kalikimaka!
Selamat Hari Natal!

Childhood Cartoon Characters

Making the rounds on facebook this past week was a request to change profile pictures to a cartoon character from your childhood, with the goal of increasing awareness in the fight against child abuse. I changed mine to the earliest cartoon character I can recall, Bobo, the blue bunny with green hair from a children's magazine I grew up reading in Indonesia.

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I saw a facebook friend's posting saying that she had heard that the people who had started this campaign are actually a group of pedophiles (which claim isn't supported in any way -- even by the article she posted on her page). Another friend, Dave, posted a comment in response to this that hit the nail right on the head, "If your kids are accepting friend requests from strangers just because they have cartoon profile pics, then you've got some teaching to do." AMEN! Some people are just total buzz killers.

In the mean time, I am really enjoying the stroll down memory lane and seeing the different cartoon characters from the 70's and 80's.

Lost in Transcription

What I said:

"Hi, this is Inge. I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you!

What Google Voice transcribed:

Hi. This is a man can't come to the phone right now. Please give me a message and I'll get back to you since I can. Thank you.

 Well, it's good for a laugh and the service is overall great ... so far ...

I'm gonna eat you!

Went to Myung Ga with a few friends tonight for dinner.Had some yellow croakers with my seafood tofu pot and all the kimchi and Korean sides. Yum!

You're next!

Chilies

 

Chillies in a flower arrangement ... How cool is that?  I love Roots!

Incredible

Yes, I caved ... I got a smart phone.  It all started with my boss, Steve, who was perfectly happy with his non-smart phone, but was very unhappy with AT&T and their refusal to give him a corporate discount.  Long story short, Verizon offered him an awesome deal on a Droid II and 18% off his monthly bill.  He had so much fun showing off how smart his phone is that half the firm downtown switched over and upgraded their phones and bailed on their previous providers ... including me.

Although, I had to pay an early termination fee to AT&T of about $100, it was worth it.  Aside from being my phone, my Droid Incredible will be replacing my PDA that died a couple of years ago, my GPS that I've not updated maps since 2007, my digital camera that is really bulky, and the mp3 player that I was planning on buying for Christmas/birthday. Have I sufficiently talked myself into the upgrade? I must say, my Droid Incredible is pretty incredible.

Oh yeah, I'll also be paying about $20 less a month with Verizon than what I was paying for AT&T for the same service with a better phone (and portable internet -- MiFi) and a few extra perks ...

Who is awesome?

I saw this when I got on the garage elevator this morning. It's very empowering. I feel awesome!