Season's Greetings from Joanna (2011)

"Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, The one whom the Lord loves rests between His shoulders"

Deuteronomy 33:12

2011 has been a year of resting secure in God's promises. I am writing this newsletter at the end of a six-week vacation in America with my sister, Julie. I've enjoyed the fall colours, celebrated Thanksgiving, harvested oranges and lemons, visited friends in New York and Los Angeles, seen one of my favourite Van Gogh's, and watched the taping of Anderson Cooper's talk show! All in all, a very good holiday.

This after celebrating the anniversary of my first year in business, which has been going well, thanks to the support of clients from Singapore, Malaysia and China. I've also been blessed with connections to new partners in Germany and US. The independence and flexibility of managing my own time, coupled with the intellectual stimulation of meeting new clients, training partners and coaches are just some of the rewards I enjoy about of being a business owner. Thank you very much for your prayers and words of encouragement, and I look forward to sharing some of my reflections with you in the near future.

The freedom of time has allowed me to discover two important things about myself. Firstly, that I truly love singing and miss using this gift. So in August, I auditioned for the New Creation Church choir and got in! I debuted in early November and look forward to serving with the choir in 2012. Secondly, I have gained a clearer view about my personal mission - how I'm meant to channel my skills, experience and networks to serve in a new field. It is very exciting and I look forward to obeying the call as His plans are further revealed in the next few years.

I pray that you will all enjoy the Love and Grace of God in your lives and homes this season. Until we meet again next year,
Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!

Top 5 Tasty Treats

I can hardly believe that I've made it to the end of my vacation with nary a mention of food that I've had on this trip! To remedy that immediately, here are some of my favourite finds for this 2011 trip to the US.

No. 1 Shrimp and Hot Links Pasta at Johnny Garlic's at Rocklin, California

I love watching Guy Fieri's "Diners, Dive Ins and Dives"on the Food Network and have been wanting to try his restaurant in Northern California for the longest time. The spicy pasta cream sauce was "MONEY!" as Guy would say. Absolutely delicious and highly recommended. And it's not just because I'm a groupie :-)

No. 2 Country Fried Steak and Pies at Marie Callender's

This restaurant chain serves excellent down home Southern style cooking. The very first thing that greets you when you walk in is rows of pies - apple, blueberry, custard, lemon meringue, pecan and everything in between. Went there for breakfast and had my first country fried steak with eggs and hash browns too. All 1350 calories of it. Gulp!

No. 3 Onion Steak at Logan's Roadhouse, Citrus Heights CA

I was carrying a steak craving from Singapore, and the satisfaction factor was met at Logan's Roadhouse. The juicy 6 oz steak was sandwiched between a layer of caramelized onions at the bottom, and topped with deep fried onion rings. That grin on my face says it all!

No. 4 Deep-fried zuchinni at Paul's Diner, Los Angeles

Here's a perfect way to make your vegetables tasty...coat with breading, deep fry to golden perfection, top with parmesan cheese and dip in ranch dressing! Super yummy and highly recommended anytime you find yourself at Paul's Diner located at Buena Park near Disneyland.

No. 5 The Green Room at Chelsea Market, New York City

A rustic yet chic farm-to-table restaurant at the heart of Food Network's HQ in New York. I enjoyed a deliciously healthy spicy sausage and lentil stew for lunch. I'm sure any of the Iron Chefs would have approved of this hearty dish.

From KL to LA

Don't you love catching up with good friends whom you haven't seen for decades? I do!

Kathleen and I were together at the College Ministry at Calvary Church KL in the early 90's, where we had a fair few adventures. Those were happy times, which got even happier when Kathleen met William, fell in love, got married and whisked off to Los Angeles. Kathleen is now practising immigration law while William works at Disneyland. They have two boys, Sam and Jo, who made us feel so welcome and provided a barrel of laughs!

Joanna and Kathleen in her LA home


(L-R) William and Kathleen with their boys, Samuel and Joseph

Happiest Place on Earth?

Disneyland claims to be the "happiest place on earth" and on a cold winter's Sunday last weekend, Julie and I set out to find out if that was true. We had free crew member tickets so that was happiness tick no. 1. Then we found out that parking costs $15 - not so happy about that.

Braving the thousands of baby strollers and screams of cranky kids, we made our way to Tomorrowland for the Star Wars 3D ride. The lines were so long that I gave up and headed for the Nemo submarine ride instead while Julie patiently stood in line for 60 mins to catch the Star Wars ride. We had a gumbo lunch at the New Orleans cafe (waiting time 30 mins), Mark Twain riverboat ride (waiting time 40 mins), Its a Small World ride ( waiting time 50 mins), Christmas Parade (40 mins in total). I must admit that after a full day of jostling with a sea of humanity, the experience was as blood curdling as a ride on the infamous Space Mountain!

Still, there's always a silver lining and I found mine at the Sleeping Beauty Castle. It's the one place that left me feeling that this is one of the happier spots in Disneyland, with or without the crowds :-)

Getty Collection

At the base of the Santa Monica Mountains lies a collection of art treasures attributed to one man, John Paul Getty, who made his fortune during the Depression of the 1930s. The Getty Collection, while not as extensive as the Met in New York or Musee d Orsay in Paris, is certainly a gem of a collection for lovers of Impressionism.

I was so excited to see two of my favourite paintings in one room. "Irises" by Van Gogh, which I had mistakenly assumed was at the Hermitage in St Petersburg and "Haystacks at Sunrise" by Monet. The Van Gogh painting was one of the first prints I ever bought in England, and it hung at the base of my bed for the duration of my MBA studies in 1996. Some of the other artists I was able to identify included Renoir, Manet, Gaugain, Pissaro, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Another amazing feature of the Getty is its stunning architecture and vistas which show off the City of Angels in all its glory. Thanks again to Julie for planning this trip so that I could get a dose of high culture and art. It was heavenly!