Happy Birthday Oprah...and to Me Too!

Today is Oprah's birthday and by the way, it's mine too.  I always considered it very cool that I was born on the very same day Oprah was born (Jan. 29, 1954)....until today, that is.  You see, years ago when I first discovered we were born on the same day, I had this fantasy that I'd get invited to her birthday party on TV.  Yesterday I discovered that today's show will indeed have an audience of people who have Jan. 29th birthdays.  Yikes!  How did I not hear of this opportunity?  So instead of feeling happy on my birthday, I admit I feel a bit sad and envious.  This means I'm having to work on my birthday---work at trying not to feel bad feelings on my birthday.

Too bad there's no product to instantly remove these negative feelings, like those Tide stain removal pens.  Ok, sure I could make myself some margaritas I guess, but aside from drugs and alcohol, I mean. [Actually I'm eating chocolate right now as I write this.]  Judging from some of the comments I saw on the Oprah message boards, I'm not alone in feeling like I missed the boat, there were quite a few other 29thers who also missed the invitation for tickets.  I think we're all wondering what birthday gifts she'll give the audience.  An ipod or camera, ok, I can live without...especially since I have those already...but I need a new car.

I'm sure you all have had feelings of missing some once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  It could be as trivial as this one, or major like others I've had.  How we choose to console ourselves is really more important and indicative of how successful we are at acceptance and adapting.  Missing an opportunity gives you yet another opportunity:  to prove your strength or crumble.

I'm not sure what eating a box of chocolate qualifies as, strength or crumbling??

Meanwhile, against my better judgment, I will watch the show anyway---assuming my chocolates don't run out---and try to be strong no matter what she gives her audience.  Hopefully she'll give them a trip to Hawaii.

Consider Me Entertained

Did you check out "Entertain Me" Saturday night  on KHON?  It's a new, locally produced variety show like in the "old days" (i.e. when there were no remote controls and you had to stand up and change the channels).  No voting or judging, just plain entertainment: singers, dancers, jugglers, comedians, etc.'  Yay, no mindlessly hitting "redial" over and over for 2 hours.  Huh, what?  Not me, why would I waste my time doing that?

If you're over "a certain age," and grew up in Hawaii, you might recall "Televi Digest" with Barbara Kim.  Oh my goodness, I haven't thought of that show in ages!  "Televi Digest" was a similar variety program featuring Hawaii's amateur performers.  When I was 11 or so, I, along with a couple of other students, performed a tap dance on the show.  Sadly there was no videotape or youTube in those ancient times, so I have no "proof" that I performed on TV.  *LOL*  And maybe that's a good thing, since I don't think we were exceptionally good.  Oh well, at least I can say I appeared on local television a few times.  [FYI I just learned that "Televi Digest" went off the air in 1965, the very year we performed on the show.  Remember my blog post about all my former employers going out of business after I quit?  Spoooooky, huh?]

My favorite performer on the debut of "Entertain Me" was Grant Uchida.  I'm not sure if there's an official genre label for his music--he does parodies of popular current songs as well as his own original compositions--but let's just say he does music comedy like Weird Al Yankovic.  Possibly because he's part of the younger generation, his lyrics are a bit edgier than Al's, I think.  Nevertheless, I thought he was funny and liked his style.  Check out this video.  It's not quite as good as his television performance because it was done on his friend's porch, complete with someone sneezing, friend's laughter, and other extraneous noises.  Das ok, still funny to me....

The rest of "Entertain Me" was "alright". I want the show to succeed because it's good for the performers to have the exposure, and it's good for us viewers to see Hawaii's talent. I still can't get over one performance, not because the singer pretty much butchered "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, but because there was actually a scrolling caption on the screen as he sang with an apology and a long explanation of why they didn't edit this guy out of the show (he's a nice guy, he told us he had a good range, he had to wait six hours to perform, on and on).  Whaaaat?!  I sat there wondering if it was a cruel joke. and I felt bad for the guy.  He would have been better off performing on "Televi Digest"-- no scrolling captions in those days or any lasting public evidence of his performance to haunt him later!

Easy Potluck Recipes

Here are the recipes I promised (by request!). I'm not the greatest cook and frankly I'd prefer to eat than cook, so you know these recipes have to be easy. They're both great for potlucks because you can assemble them ahead of time, bake/broil right before you leave and if it's not hot when served, it's still good. (Although like any dish with mayonnaise, they shouldn't be left out for too long.) The first is something I've done many times and have had requests for. The second is a new one I tried once and liked.

Baked Potato Seafood Salad

4 large russet potatoes (more if small)
3/4 c. minced onions
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine (melted)
1 c. mayonnaise (enough to moisten all ingredients)
1 1/2 c. chopped imitation crab
1 c. grated cheese (I use a cheddar/monterey jack mix)
pepper, salt (garlic salt if desired) to taste
optional: chopped broccoli or canned/froz peas
optional: 1/2 c. bread crumbs, 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Cook potatoes, peel and cube. (I use the microwave to save time.)
Mince onions (you can saute in oil/butter if you want to cut baking time)
Combine all ingredients in a greased 3 qt. casserole dish and top with dry bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes (til bubbly or golden brown--if onions are pre-cooked, then cut baking time to 20-30 minutes).

The great thing about this recipe is that it's quite "forgiving" and you can improvise. Add some cooked, minced bacon, for example...yummmm! Substitute half of the mayonnaise for sour cream if desired.

Here's the second recipe, but I wouldn't make them both for the same party since they have several ingredients in common:

Pan Sushi

1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. sour cream
1 pkg. Imitation crab (chopped and shredded)
1/2 c. minced shiitake mushrooms (soak in water then mince)
1/2 c. green onions (minced)
Combine all of the above and mix (store in refrigerator until just before you're ready to assemble and broil)
4 cups cooked white rice
1/2 c. furikake

Add the furikake to the cooked rice and place mixture in lightly greased 9 x 13 pan, pressing rice firmly into pan.
Spread the crab/mushroom mixture over the
rice. Broil until the rice is brown.
Serve with Korean Nori or toasted nori cut into rectangles (about 2 x 4). Guests can spoon sushi onto nori and wrap it themselves.

I hope you get to try them out and let me know how they turned out!

You May Be Interested...or Not

Just blogging off the top of my head:

I'm such a hermit that I haven't been into a 7/11 store for over a year and even then, never took notice of their hot beverage options. Yesterday, however, I finally discovered what probably everyone else knew (I now recall my sister mentioning this a while ago)...but in case you didn't: For $1.29 you can create a customized yummy cafe latte-type drink that rivals what costs over twice as much in other places. I'm not sure what I created, but it was fun and involved coffee, chocolate creme, caramel, and vanilla. Yummmm! (Larger sizes are available also.)

I heard on TV today that in Switzerland they fine speeders according to their income level. Whoa!!! What a concept that makes so much SENSE!!! All fines should be this way for total fairness, don't you think?? After all, $100 to someone making six figures is nothing and doesn't it make sense that he'd be more likely to speed again?

While I'm giving kudos, I have to say bravo to whoever thought of that American Express commercial with the smiley faces. Wow, I have to say that's a creative commercial that's simple, probably relatively low-budgeted, and charming. If you don't know what I mean, click here. (I would've posted it here, but do I really want a commercial on my blog that we can see currently on TV?) Oh, two other kudos while I'm at it: one to Paris Hilton who showed some sensitivity to a woman at a gas station on "I Get That A Lot" who could only afford to put $2 into her tank (gave her a full tank and some hugs). Also to Mariah Carey who did not email her fans to vote for her and yet won a People's Choice Award for Favorite R&B artist. (Jordan gets email updates from her website). I appreciate when people surprise me in a favorable way by doing or not doing what I expected.

I just found a website with video testimonials regarding Miracle II Soap products, which I sell. I don't "hard sell" these products because I don't like "selling". Pretty funny considering I worked in retail for 15 years then spent the next following 15 years selling my clothing--then again, maybe that's why I don't make the big bucks?! *LOL*

But I digress...I began distributing the Miracle II products when the woman that I was buying them from left the island. She loved the products and because she was financially able to, sold them at cost because she wanted everyone to use them. I took over her customer list and sell them at a small mark-up. I was never able to fully express the benefits of the products so I was happy to find this video today.

[I want to note that I love the Miracle II products even though I don't consider myself a Christian. If they hadn't been recommended to us by our naturopathic doctor, I probably would've been too skeptical to try them.]

Stay tuned for my next blogpost because I want to share a couple of easy and popular potluck dish recipes.