fancy

In case you didn't know, I have a really fancy job with a really fancy Web site and a really fancy staff picture and bio.

You can check out the fancy link here.

Oh, and I'm having a competition with the guys at work to see whose bio page gets the most views. If I win, I can mercilessly taunt them with my popularity, so help a sister out and click on the link, will ya?

face the music

A few of you already saw this on my mother's blog, but for those of you don't regularly read her words of wisdom and wit (seriously ... what are you waiting for?), here's the link to Adam and I singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside" for the senior missionary couples on our New Year's Rockin' Eve.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

By the way, I'm not kidding. That New Year's night with the senior couples was totally rockin'.

the farewell tour

All right. This is a long one, folks. But I tried to keep it peppy, so as to avoid blogging you to boredom.

Let's hope it works! (And if it doesn't ... lie, people, lie!)

But without further ado, here's "the farewell tour" of our trip.

First up, The Peak, which is a hilltop view of the city.

Isn't this beautiful?
We dined with this (well, a version of this*) as the backdrop —
ooh and ahhing all the while.
*Confession: This fancy photo was NOT taken by yours truly.

But first, we had to ride a tram to the top,
which travels upward at 45 degrees.
Here are Mom, Dad and I waiting for the ride.

Next up was Ocean Park, which is an amusement park filled with rides, aquariums and ... (drum roll, please) ... pandas!

Is it just me, or is he smiling at me?

Unfortunately, Mr. Smiles was the only active panda in the bunch.
Meet the rest of his family: The Lazy McLazersons.

We got our inner-child on and posed with a man in a shark suit.
We rode cable cars to the other side of the park.
(Hong Kong is very hip when it comes to transportation.)

And we went to the Jelly Spectacular, which truly was spectacular.

Then, Adam finally got some "street food."

It wasn't his first choice of who-knows-where-that's-been-and-ew-what's-that-smell "street meat," but the sweet potato would have to do.
Pretty potatoes.

And finally, we saw Big Buddha, nestled in the mountains of Lantau.

To get there, we once again had to ride by cable car, which was completely ensconced in mist.
So we rode along, enjoying the misty memories, when suddenly the cable cars stopped dead in their ropes. Now, one of the cable cars (sans people) had infamously fallen to its demise during a test run a year or so ago. So when the cable cars stopped ...
... Adam did this.

... and I very calmly and rationally freaked out.
(Sadly, the above photo is not a dramatization.)

Luckily we made it (phew!), and we saw this beauty up close.
But not until we climbed 256 stairs to the top.
(Yeah, I counted.)

The good news is rather than admit we were tired, we just stopped for well-timed snapshots. Genius, eh?
Oh, and Adam took to Asia's tradition of flashing the
peace sign in Every. Single. Photo.

So long, Hong Kong.

happy hong kong

There's been a lot of "happy" during our first week in Hong Kong.

Here are just a few of the downright delightful details — thus far. (In no particular order.)

1. The skyline

Isn't this gorgeous? My parents live among these beautiful buildings, which overlook the Victoria Harbor.
Photo courtesy the fabulous Sister Garn.

2. The mother's touch

This photo doesn't do justice to the beautifully decorated tree in front of their stunningly circular window. My mom is magic.

Many of you already know about her famous table settings.
Here's just a snapshot of what we've enjoyed this Christmas.

3. The virtual Christmas

Most of our family is back home in Utah, so we had a Web Cam Christmas — complete with a talent show and testimony meeting. Here are Erin and Emma singing "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
In case you were wondering, Adam and I sang "Baby, It's Cold Outside" for the second year in a row — by request. Yes, we're that good at it.

We also had a virtual Sister's Night. We're basically the Jetsons.

4. The temple

We took in a session at the Hong Kong temple.
Beautiful temple.
Photo, once again, courtesy the fabulous Sister Garn.
Us looking fancy in front of the temple.

5. The shopping. Oh, the shopping.

Adam and I have made out like bandits.
The best part, though, is I've finally found a world where Adam likes to shop! It's a happy world.
This is Stanley Market, which has ah-ma-zing deals.
This is the Jade Market, where we got too many wonderful things to count. (Think jewelry and home decor.)

6. The yuck

Adam has been obsessed with getting some "street meat," seen here.
No, thank you.

7. The 'Happy Feet'

Adam, Dad, Mom and I all went to "Happy Feet," where we got a 50-minute foot massage. Afterward, Dad did a little jig in the elevator. His feet were that happy.

7. The sights

We walked up the famous Pottinger Street in Central.
We rode the longest continuous escalator in the world.
Yes, the world!
We waded through crowds and crowds and crowds of people — a Hong Kong standard.

And we posed with a Foo Dog in front of the Peninsula Hotel. Foo Dogs are thought to bring protection and happiness, so bring it on, 2009!

Well, Zai Jian for now.

Up next: The Peak, Big Buddha, Ocean Park and more.

merry blogging — day 7

Well, it's been merry. But as the great John Denver sang ...

"All our bags are packed, we're ready to go."
We'll see you kids in 2009.

merry blogging — day 6

OK, so this is really day 7, but it's not my fault.

Adam and I gave each other this for Christmas, and I was a wii bit distracted.
Forgive me?

merry blogging — day 5

So this next post isn't really holiday-esque, but it is a very merry occasion. I changed my hair ... again. This time it's a touch more brunette, with just a hint of red. I really like it.

But the best part is when I got to my office this morning, co-worker Shelley told me my hair looked like Suri Cruise's hair. You know, TomKat's daughter.

I was pretty flattered she compared me to the most stylish toddler around. Until, of course, I realized I was flattered to have my hair compared to a toddler's.

Suri has a fuller bang, but other than that I'd say our 'dos were cut from the same block.