Chinese New Year Madness

Have I mentioned that Chinese New Year is getting to be more of a chore and no fun anymore?

So much work done, and then we pack our bags and just scoot off to Penang on the second day of new year.

I'm sorry but I felt so cheated!

After everything done, I only got to see the house spick and span for ONE day. I came back to BJ straight from Penang on the fourth day of the new year. And when I go back during the hols I'm sure the mess will have piled up by then.

Spring-cleaning is a waste of time. Especially if no one visits.

All I can say is thank God for angpau-s.

Our reunion dinner:
From left: Some leftover Siew Bak from prayer offerings, White chopped chicken (literal translation from hokkien here), Curry prawns!!, bak kian, Tu tor th'ng, and abalone with mixed vege.

It doesn't look very appetising here, but it was YUMMY!! =P
I spend my days in the vista starvation camp now, remember?

And mom baked 4 cakes in total, and we actually got to keep 1 and a half for ourselves. ^^

The chocolate cake I slept with cos the fridge was stuffed full already... DELICIOUS~

Moist and not too sweet with just the right tinge of chococolaty bitterness. MMmmm...

The fruit cocktail cake: Refreshingly lightweight sponge cake topped with jelly and fruit cocktail agar...

Mom's very own trial-and-error recipe.
It looks better when the cake is whole, but we finished more than half before I remembered to snap a pic.

And this is the moth my mom got all excited about....

She was hoping that it would die a very pretty death and remain on her plant as an ornament.

But unfortunately it's time wasn't up yet. And so I made paper fishes out of angpau packets and hung them on the plants.
That's actually the part I dread most of all the new year preparations. And I've been holding the position of ornament-hanger @ plant-decorator for as long as I can remember.

But apparently I'm not creative, so I guess someone else who's more creative can have the job next year?

The 15 days of the chinese new year are not up yet.. I can hear fireworks almost every night here from my room.

So, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
MAY THE YEAR OF THE RAT BRING MUCH JOY AND PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS AND ABUNDANCE AND HEALTH AND BEAUTY AND SUCCESS!

(It was supposed to stop at 'joy and prosperity' but then I got greedier and greedier.. hehe)

May all be well and happy. :)