Dong Dong Dong Ciang!

Yoohoo.. ah there.. I almost forgot I have a blog. Whops. It's high time for some updates..

Quick look at my calendar. CNY has passed, Valentine's Day's over. And February is almost coming to an end.
If you haven't realised, we're already one-sixth through the 'new' year already.. no longer new it is.
Ghee. Isn't that fast or what?? Ok backdate to Jan for now..the rest I’ll probably leave till next time.

Now what about Chinese New Year.. it does hold a different - and deeper - meaning to me now, especially after I've stepped into the working world. Attitudes and perspectives change.
I'm glad it did.

New Year's Eve was spent doing some last minute spring cleaning at home.
I've come to realise how effort- and time-consuming it is just to tidy up one small tiny corner of the house, so you can imagine how much work it takes to cleanup the WHOLE house.
I did some tidying up and sweeping..not much compared to mom but I was already better than last year!

At the end of the day, it is a good thing to know that I feel motivated to help out the house bit by bit.. feels like I've grown up and it comes with a greater responsibility for this home and I want to do more for my family.
Only thing is I know myself too well - I'm a lazy pig and I can't help it. But! I will strive to improve from now on!

In the past, ang paos during chinese new year probably meant a lot because red packet=lots more $$$, but I seemed to have grown out of it.
Now that I'm working, ang pao is more like a 'bonus', and so the pinch doesn't come that much.
But food still is! That explains why I got a really bad cold and cough that lasted me for one full week after CNY ended... :-

I shall skip the details here, but the one most important thing about Chinese New Year to me is the way it reinforces our family values. Mom prepares the stuff and I will get all excited to help decorate our living room. I enjoy the process, and the end - seeing all the red and goldie stuff hanging around the place, it really brings out the cheery festive mood right in our own house.. I always like things the traditional way :)

There it’s about having dinner together, sitting at the table together and chatting away about anything under the sun. Whatever frustrations or unhappiness in the past does not matter anymore coz everyone’s just together as one family and you knowing that pa, ma and siblings are there for you. It’s this genuine feeling of content, security and happiness. Smiles and laughter. Blessed to be together.
I enjoy it and I truly appreciate the simplicity of going back to the basics sometimes. This badly needs to be reinforced especially in trying times in our daily life, and I’m glad Chinese New Year was a chance to discover this feeling all over again.