Happy New Year! There will be plenty plenty (of things to do) in 2020!
My friend, Janel Hunt, challenged me years ago to pick a word that will be a theme or motto for the year. Last year was Change. This year: Roots!!
We constantly pray for God to show us and teach us what we need to know during this travel that we can remember and apply when we establish a new home in Virginia.
We know that our lives will be different and intentional when we return. We are excited to spend time with family and friends.
What will be your word?
Another friend, Annette Everhart Brown, asked us to come up with a word that starts with the first letter of my name. I pick Bless. Rob is Research.
Today we slept late, lingered a long time at the breakfast buffet, then we watched the original Jumanji on TV.
We went to the mall to learn that Taylor Swift turned 30. Who knew? Also, her fan club is called Thai Swifties.
This is the first day for not handing out plastic bags at this store. A drop in the bucket, but one has to start somewhere.
Rob found a cool Japanese restaurant called Mo-Mo-Paradise in a nearby mall that featured hot pots.
We arrived late and it was still a one hour wait time even though it was 2:30pm. That’s when you know that it is a good restaurant.
Our waitress did not speak English so we tried our best to figure out what to do. She went and got another waitress who knew a little English. We still weren’t sure, but we were to choose two broths which they brought in a yin yang divided pot and put on the burner.
Shabu-shabu is a Japanese hot pot dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled in water and served with dipping sauces.
We ordered beef and pork meats. It came sliced as thin as Arby’s, but we had to cook it in the boiling broth. Oh…kind of like fondue except you throw it in and retrieve it with chopsticks.
We go to their salad bar to pick out vegetables that we will keep throwing into our hot pot cauldron.
But what about this 4 pots full of liquid? I assume that these are to calm down the boiling broths that are fogging up my glasses.
And what about these cage free eggs? I started to observe the table next to me for some visual pointers. She noticed us and asked if she could help. Yes, please.
She told us that the 4 pots contained sauces that we could put on our meats as well as spices in other pots. Oops. I wasn’t supposed to put into the broth.
I asked her if I was supposed to put the egg in the boiling broth. She giggled respectfully. We are to beat up our egg and dip our meats in it. I hard-boiled it when she wasn’t looking.
Rob finished the meal off with some charcoal ice cream. He was thrilled with this unusual all you can eat experience! This is going to be a GREAT year!!
Looks like a great meal and a great start to the year! I think my word might be “Adventure” unless you can help me think of something better.
Happy 2020 to you two world travelers. You look very happy ringing in the New Year with much to look forward to this year as you continue – then conclude your travels, return home and enter the wonderful world of grand-parenting. My B word is Better (to be better physically, mentally and spiritually).