so sweet..

It sounds crazy: $1,000 for an ice cream sundae?

The Golden Opulence Sundae, the "World's most expensive sundae", was created to celebrate Serendipity's 50th Anniversay last year. (If you are paying attention, the 50th anniversary is the "golden" anniversary. Get it?)

Made with "5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world's most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela's coast. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It's sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac. The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgenceserved with a petite mother of pearl spoon and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel."

Wow. Now that's spectacular. Worth $1,000? Well, I'd like to find out, if only I can get out of paying my rent this month...

check out these pics...

angelina jolie. leonardo caprio, madonna and britney spears.

Does money make you happier?

Does money make you happier? Or does being happier in the first place allow you to earn more money later, maybe by way of greater creativity or energy? Or does some other factor produce both money and happiness? There's evidence for all three interpretations, Lucas says.

In any case, researchers say any effect of money on happiness is smaller than most daydreamers assume.

"People exaggerate how much happiness is bought by an extra few thousand," Oswald said. "The quality of relationships has a far bigger effect than quite large rises in salary.... It's much better advice, if you're looking for happiness in life, to try to find the right husband or wife rather than trying to double your salary."

FUN FOOD FACTS

Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.

Reindeer like to eat bananas.

Maine is the toothpick capital of the world.

Every year, kids in North America spend close to half a billion dollars on chewing gum.

American's eat about 18 billion hot dogs a year.

The oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old.

The man who played the voice of bugs bunny was allergic to carrots.

Apples are more effective at keeping people awake in the morning than caffeine.

Every time you lick a stamp you gain 1/10 of a calorie.

Yams have 10 times more vitamin C than sweet potatoes.

Here’s some interesting facts and trivia about chocolates…

The first attempt at making a solid chocolate product came in the
1700’s, when Mexican nuns raised money for their convent by producing
and exporting solid chocolate bars.

The first “chocolate box” was introduced by Richard Cadbury in 1868,
when he decorated a candy box with a painting of his young daughter
holding a kitten in her arms. Cadbury also introduced the first
Valentine’s Day candy box.

Chocolate Toxicity In Dogs - Did you know that chocolate can be lethal
to dogs. About 2 ounces of milk chocolate can be poisonous to a
10-pound dog. The same holds true for cats and other household pets.

Chocolate doesn’t cause acne. This is just another myth about
chocolate that has been disproved by doctors for some time.
The ability of the sugar in chocolate to drive up blood sugar
(glycemic index) is about the same as oatmeal.

Pongal - The harvest festival

Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festival of South India, mainly Tamil Nadu. Pongal falls in the mid-January every year and marks the auspicious beginning of Uttarayan - sun's journey northwards. Pongal festival lasts for four days. Celebrations include drawing of Kolam, swinging & cooking of delicious Pongal.

Pongal is a harvest festival - the Tamil equivalent of Thanksgiving. In an agriculture based civilization the harvest plays an important part. The farmer cultivating his land depends on cattle, timely rain and the Sun. Once a year, he expresses his gratitude to these during the harvest festival. With the end of the wet month of Margazhi (mid December to mid January) the new Tamil month of Thai heralds a series of festivals. The first day of this month is a festival day known as "Pongal Day". Pongal means the "boiling over" of milk and rice during the month of Thai.

life is beautiful...

Everyone says, "How the time flies." The days go by and they are years, and the years finally become our whole life. Each daily portion can be wasted, or it can be a pleasure, before it is gone forever. If a bedtime review of the day concludes that we were too stressed, too busy, didn't accomplish anything, didn't have any fun, then it has been another lost piece of precious life.

Perhaps we are putting off our enjoyment until we have more time, or money, or some other improved condition. The trouble with that is that it might never happen, or it may be too long in coming. It's so important to accept this time, this very minute, as something of tremendous value that will very soon be gone forever. There are many ways to ensure that we make the best of our time here on earth.

In our daily routine let's include time to enjoy others and thus ourselves. Look and wonder at the trees, fields and mountains, smell the flowers, hear the birds, and watch the clouds in the sky.

Don't worry be happy...

Storms come our way. People let us down. Life sometimes becomes difficult, especially when our health is compromised. Too many times bills come due, yet our money runs short. All of these things try to steal away our joy.
There are some things we can do, however, that will help us keep our joy even in the most difficult circumstances. Do you want to become a joy-finder? Following are a dozen things that will bring joy to your life.

1. Smile, even when you want to frown.
2. Sing a happy song.
3. Hug someone.
4. Say “I love you” to those who have hurt
you.
5. Open the windows and let the sunshine in.
6. Count your many blessings.
7. Understand that it’s not having what we
want that makes us happy, but wanting
what we have.
8. Focus on the positive.
9. Tell yourself that you feel good.
10. Concentrate on what doesn’t hurt.
11. Enjoy the “priceless” treasures in life.
12. Be grateful for everything, even the trials
we are facing.

new year wish

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective

Happiness is too many things these days for anyone to wish it on anyone lightly. So let's just wish each other a bile-less New Year and leave it at that.

hello...

Hey sangs...your blog is wonderful. Just like you. ALL THE BEST, and wish you and your family a very happy new year.

A Happy New Year recipe..

Take twelve whole months.
Clean them thoroughly of all bitterness,
hate, and jealousy.
Make them just as fresh and clean as possible.

Now cut each month into twenty-eight,
thirty or thirty-one different parts,
but don't make the whole batch at once.

Prepare it one day at a time
out of these ingredients.

Mix well into each day one part of faith,
one part of patience,
one part of courage,
and one part of work.

Add to each day one part of hope,
faithfulness, generosity, and meditation,
and one good deed.

Season the whole with a dash of good spirits,
a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of play,
and a cupful of good humor.

Pour all of this into a vessel of love.
Cook thoroughly over radiant joy,
garnish with a smile,
and serve with quietness, unselfishness,
and cheerfulness.

You're bound to have a Happy New Year.