New Toy #3

We have finally come into the cell phone technology era. For years, hubby and I had just phones. Yes, the salespeople at the store would just stare at us when we requested a cell phone that just made phone calls-no camera, no data, no messaging. Well, with the end of our latest cellular contract, we decided to take the leap. Yes, that's right. We are Smartphone users with full plans.

It has been strange getting used to the new technology. I can text message now - so weird! I have to say that it come in handy. Just last night, I was able to send a message to a friend who was at a concert. He got the message - no screaming over the phone or disturbing those around him. The phone also has a calendar function. It has been fun getting all of my various events loaded into the phone. There has been a lot of syncing between the phone, my computer, and my ITouch. I have been working the past few days to update my "people" as well. I have been eliminating the duplicates and cleaning up my entries (finding those entries that make you say who is this person?) It has been a lot of work, but I think I am finally ready to get the most use out of the phone.

My biggest issue is with my ITouch. I love my ITouch. It is a great device, but lacks the phone and camera functions of my new Hero. For now, I am carrying both with me, but I am wondering how long it will last. I really don't need the ITouch any more -the phone does everything it does and more. I just don't want to part with it.

It is always fun to get a new toy. With the new toy, you also get to buy new accessories. I got a great hot pink case for my phone that makes it look less plain and helps to differentiate my phone from hubby's exact same model.

I am happy for now, but I wonder what the next great thing in cell phones may be. I hope we can just enjoy this one before it becomes obsolete.

Menthi

I had the great pleasure to be able to travel to one of my lifelong best friend's 40th birthday party this past weekend. My friend is of Indian descent and decided to throw herself a Goddess party. In true Goddess fashion, one of the traditions that my friend wanted all of her fellow goddesses to experience was menthi. Menthi is the process of putting henna designs on the hands (and sometimes the legs or other places). It was a unique experience.

The artist (and believe me, she is truly an artist) cleaned the back of my hands and used a small, fine point funnel to apply a mud colored paste to the hands. All of the designs were done completely freehand. The paste had a pleasant tingly feeling as it dried. After about 10-15 minutes, the paste started to turn black. The artist then used a lemon water mixture to apply to the black harden paste. We tried very hard to keep our hands stable and to not smudge the design. As it dried, it sometimes fell off in areas, like small scabs (gross, I know, but true). There were little pieces of menthi all over the condo - it was like a rampant rabbit pooped all over the place.

We kept the paste on our hands as long as we could, and eagerly awoke at about 7:30 am to see how our hands looked. Leaving black pieces all over our respective sheets, we went to the sink to wash off any remaining bits. Under the faucets, we got our first glimpse of the gorgeous work. I absolutely love my hands now. It looks like lace on my hands. I am sad to notice a difference already in the quality of the henna. I wish it would stay longer that the week or two, but it just gives me an excuse to do it again. Soon.