Happy New Year!

New Year's Breakfast Tray from Friend

Happy New Year, everyone!  May 2018 be filled with good health, joy, peace, and prosperity.

Daughter and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home.  Earlier in the day, she had gone to Little Tokyo, the Japan town area of Downtown, with one of her friends, to spend time together (they've been friends since 7th grade and probably consider each other to be their best friend), have lunch, and do some shopping.   She left around 11:00 a.m. and came home around 4:00 p.m.  She brought me a bag of raisin buns and a bag of cream swirl buns from the Japanese bakery there, because she knows I love them. 

I spent the day, relaxing, reading blogs, posting comments and writing up my own blog posts.  I also called my cousin and we spoke for a little bit, but had to cut short our conversation because she was going out to lunch with her daughter and a friend.

After daughter came home, we went out to run a few errands - to put gas to the car, to the pharmacy to pick up my medications, and to the grocery store to buy bread, milk, some snacks, and a gift card.  My groceries came to $10.31.

My cousin called me back in the evening, to finish our conversation.  I had also called one of my friends, earlier, to invite her to tea, and left her a message as she didn't answer the phone.  She, too, called back in the evening, saying she had turned off the ringer on her phone and hadn't known that I had called until later.  I offered to come and pick her up, then, but she was making her dinner, already, and doing laundry, so we agreed to meet later in the week.

Daughter and I greeted the New Year with sparkling apple cider and then, I did the traditional boiling of milk (until it overflowed to symbolize prosperity) and making milk rice.  We ate some of the milk rice and then, daughter and I did facials to start off the new year with self care!  She had bought some peel off face masks when she was out shopping, earlier, with her friend, and insisted on sharing them with me.  We took some selfies of ourselves wearing them - we looked like we had dressed up as zombies for Halloween!  Just some silly mother-daughter fun to celebrate just being together.

This morning, I received a phone call from my friend S, saying she was at the front door - she had brought me the platter of New Year breakfast, pictured above!  Two squares of milk rice with some spicy onion sambol nestled between them, some fish curry in the plastic bag, bananas, traditional Sri Lankan sweetmeats, homemade milk toffee squares, homemade marshmallows, and chocolates.  She did this same thing, last year, too.  I gave her the gifts I had bought for her and her daughter, before she left to drop off more trays of New Year breakfasts to her other friends.

Now, I am watching a rebroadcast of the 129th annual Rose Parade.  One year, when my daughter was about 4 years old, we went to Pasadena to watch the parade in person, but we haven't gone since then.

Later this afternoon, we will go to an aunt's house to her annual New Year's lunch.  I will give my cousin P a ride there and back.     

Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to greet 2018 with my daughter
- New Year traditions
- New Year's breakfast being brought by my friend S
- Family gatherings
- My blog friends

I look forward to another year of blogging and sharing.  I will do another post with New Year Resolutions and January's Monthly Goals, etc. 

I wish you all a very happy and blessed New Year.