Pig Year !

it has been a while since i last updated my blog. Oh my~ what have i been doing?

I thought i would be able to have more time to update my blog after starting a new life but Noooo.. i am busier and hardly sit down. Many times, i have stories i wanted to tell in my brain but they somehow never get translated into words T__T Please, can someone please quickly, urgently develop an app that can read my mind and turn into words? 

CNY is almost over. It's the 11th day of the lunar new year today. How time flies! i love CNY because it's the season all long-lost relatives and friends meet up. It makes u wonder, why we don't do it more often? Why do we only gather once a year when tomorrow or next second, one of us could be gone.. ahahaha, i hear some of you saying, 'aiyo, why u so negative one?' :P  Life is fragile, when u reach my age, u will understand ^^ 

Another reason why i love about CNY is that, it's time to eat all i want without looking at calories (although it seems i never bother to look at calories *oops*), an excuse to buy new clothes although i never stop buying even after CNY. I even get worried when i have not bought any clothes for CNY! hahaha, it's crazy i tell u... but am loving all these excuses!

This year, we received auspicious words from the calligraphy master. it's now hung at our entrance. So everyone walking in and out will be blessed. 

Wishing u always safe wherever you go

You know what, if you do direct translation from Chinese to English of the above, it reads: Blessed Out In. Ahem, Where did you mind wonder off to....? :P

Happy Blessed 🐷 Year！

大🍊大利， 合家🍎安

旺年的歡樂~

農曆新年過了，大家回歸到原本的生活了嗎？

還是還在繼續大吃大喝？

還是後悔當時吃太多，現在連過年衣也有點緊了？

還是像我一樣，多買幾件鬆鬆垮垮的衣服，讓我自以為還是可以繼續大吃大喝？ *墮落*

過年前，答應朋友去參加他們獅子會的討論會。

他們說要給老人院安排一個旺旺年新年 party。哇，這是一定要的呀！

有人提議說，可以給每位老人家一個小小的紅包。因為有時麵包車來到，能走動的老公公老婆婆們開心的出去瞧瞧，但看著琳瑯滿目的食物卻沒錢買。其他的會員覺得是個好提議，但由於 budget 有限，決定不給紅包。

我和朋友聽到這個決定，心裡有點點心酸的。小時候，我也最喜歡麵包車，菜車，冰淇淋 uncle 嗶嗶的來到我們家。我媽媽會給我一兩毛錢，剛好可以買一樣東西。對的！很久以前，一兩毛錢比牛車輪還大，真的可以買到東西吃呢！現在一兩毛連停車費都不夠呀！ T__T 哎， 往事只能回味..... *我老了嗎？哈哈*

Anyway, 我們倆過後跟朋友說，紅包錢由我們來負責。因為我們覺得這是一種意義！讓老人家在這個新年裡，拿到一點點零用錢，買到的不是食物而是千金難買的回憶！

我們把這事情跟身邊的人分享，沒想到馬上就籌到了紅包錢。有些還來自國外呢！真的很感激善良的大家呀！

後來自己又覺得，如果由我們自己去派紅包，感覺好像怪怪的。好像大選前，有些人到處派紅包拉票的感覺，呵呵 （純粹個人感受，我不會因此要坐牢吧？>.<）

我在想，如果能找到一位財神爺來派紅包，應該會更好。老爺爺老奶奶從財神爺手中得到红包的話，他們會有一種被保佑祝福的感覺吧~ 但但但... 要去哪裡找財神爺呀？

這時就要靠神通廣大的朋友們啦~ 找了同事幫我打電話，結果還真的找到呢。只是問題是，他的收費有點高 >.<

雖說我也不能要求人家免費付出，或許他也是在為莫個善事在籌款, 但幾百塊對我來說真的有些吃力 :(

我跟他說，其實是用來娛樂老人院的老媽媽老爸爸們的，不知可否收少一點呢？或是允許我過後包個紅包回饋他。

他說他平時的收費就是這樣的了。

噢，明白了。

有些失落， 心裡一直祈願能找到收費在負擔以內的財神，因為真心希望老人家們有個特別的 party。

隔天，朋友來我家拜年，我提起了這件事，她說可以幫我問問一位朋友。第二天她跟我說，她朋友願意借出他們公司的可愛的卡通財神裝。而且還免收費！哇, 真的是菩薩心腸呀。

你知道嗎？當你真誠的希望別人好時，老天一定會派天使來幫忙的！深深體會！感謝大家拔刀相助！

當晚，由一位朋友的朋友 volunteer 當財神。財神一出場，老媽媽們開心的大呼叫呢！有些拍手，有些笑的好燦爛！

財神小心翼翼的把紅包及吉祥橘子交到每位老媽媽老爸爸的手裡，他們感激快樂的雙手握著財神爺的手。有幾位狀況比較嚴重躺在病床上的老人家當然也沒被忽略，可愛的財神把紅包橘子放在他們的床邊。

有位行動不便的阿姨堅持要站起來。我們大家只好扶著他。他緊緊握著財神的手，用客家話說“謝謝財神爺下凡來看我。請您保佑我，讓我順順。我的腳很痛，請您保佑我....." 看著這一幕，聽著他這麼許願，真的很感觸。原來財神不僅給老人家們帶來歡樂，同時也給了他們希望......

還有一位眼睛看不到的老伯伯邊摸財神邊開心的說，真的是財神啊。有鬍子的。呵呵，好可愛~

看著老伯伯老媽媽們開心的模樣，一切都值得了。其實你有沒有想過、一直以為自己在幫助人、事實是他們幫助了我們呢～ 

這是我第一次來到獅子會的老人院。說實在的，我和朋友們有些驚訝。因為我們沒想到原來這裡有這麼多狀況比較嚴重的老伯伯老婆婆！跟之前去的那家真的有不一樣。

印象深刻的是一位老伯伯。他拉拉我的手，叫我把他輪椅上的布剪開。我還真的差點去拿剪刀呢 後來我想，這塊布應該是護士綁的吧，以避免老伯伯擅自走動。我馬上跟老伯伯說我現在沒剪刀，等下才去找。老伯伯說，天快黑了，他要在天黑前去買山豬肉。他要烤豬肉。啊~原來老伯伯是失智的老人家。

朋友說，大家有空可以多去看看老人家。他們很開心的。朋友們、還等什麼？走吧！

財神送祝福~

财神装真的很热！

CNY reflection

After all the hectic cleaning to get ready for CNY, it kinda makes me reflect...

Why on earth do we make ourselves so tired before CNY? I know I know, CNY is the time we celebrate one year of hard work, forgive and forget the bad, welcome new luck and better future... But the hectic cleaning? I really don't see how it fits in :P 

I hate to admit it but it just shows how little i do everyday to keep the house i live in, clean @.@

 

Yes, I am a responsible person. I don't like to give excuses of how busy life is and i don't like to blame others if i haven't done my part. I have lots of cleaning to do before CNY simply because of my laziness,  the dirt and dust accumulate for a year and by the time i want to clean, they have already become too stubborn to remove or part of the fixtures! 

This doggie year, I will try to clean as often as I could. I think if I force myself to do it on a more regular basis, sooner or later, it will become a habit. Let's see how long this lasts hehe...

Oh, i have to share this for it would be sinful not to. My friend nicely delivered homemade cookies to me this morning. Am so touched that someone actually took the trouble to make these at 4am! The cookies are soOOoo cute! I kinda have a good feeling for 2018. It's gonna be 旺旺旺.  Doggie year, I am ready for you! ^^

My friend's creation

So cute!

Doggie year is coming

The year of doggie is just around the corner. It's this Friday to be exact *excited*

It has been raining everyday last week, making it difficult to do some CNY chores. But it also makes it cooler to be doing CNY chores. See? There are always two sides of a coin, it depends on which side one chooses to see. How about seeing both sides? :P 

Me shopping in the rain :P

Love the old fashion way of displaying tit bits

I am ashamed to say, I haven't done much CNY preparation. Yes, AGAIN!! But I am confident that everything will get done before the doggie visits for i am someone who will only become productive and efficient when deadline is near T___T   If you plan to follow my step, beware, because you should only act like this provided you can take pressure ;P

We have bought drinks and cny tit bits and most of the house are already cleaned. We have even put up CNY deco. Mum, being in charge of CNY design, this year she creatively put some cherry blossoms on her plants. Hahaha i bet the plant which never flowers must be happy that it's finally full of pink flowers!

Even Tiger had his bath, which he didn't like very much. He tried to escape but of coz, he has a smart owner who made sure he had no place to hide ;P  

In the year of dog, the appropriate word to put is 旺. Sound exactly like Tiger's barking! :P I sense that it's gonna be a very very prosperous year ahead *fingers crossed*

I have a colleague who is looking hard for ways to make sure she is prosperous all year round. She said she went everywhere looking for coconuts which she wanted to display in her house during CNY. 

Coconut? i have never heard anything auspicious about it. She said she wants a coconut that will 'explode". Explode? Wouldn't it be easier just to light firecrackers if she is looking for "huat dao bao"? haha... And i have never heard of coconut that will explode by itself haha...  Her respond made me laugh so hard. She said, if the coconut explodes, it means "yiah dao bik" (Hokkien. I have no proper English phrase for this haha...). 

Then she also looks for small golden pumpkins. She said pumpkins means "pump kim" in Hokkien which means pump-in gold. Oh.... hahaha... She also wants to get a big chunk of charcoal wood. I have seen a lot of kopitiams putting this near their cashier counters but i thought it's for getting rid of odour since charcoal is commonly used for this purpose. My colleague kindly explained to me that, apart from 'sucking' away the odour, it can suck in money too @.@. I totally salute her for being able to associate everything with money!

You are welcome to copy her ideas. For me, i just wanna keep it simple as life is already complicated as it is :P

鸡祥如意！

明天過年啦！

這幾天收到了很多祝福語。但事情太多，沒時間一一回复。

雖然沒回复，但我一直沒忘了祝福大家。

因為大家好，我就好。大家不好，我也會擔心。所以為了不擔心，當然希望大家都很好~ 呵呵

有人說，今年沒什麼過年氣氛。

我雖然過的很忙碌。過年前因為工作，連辦年貨的時間都沒有。

昨晚終於過了一個段落。今天才有空上來寫寫心情和更新一下狀況。

我倒覺得今年很有氣氛呀。應該這麼說，氣氛是自己製造，感受的。

上班前我也打掃一下。回家飯後還沒去開夜工前，我立馬也動手動手動腦一下。時間有限，要善用。話說我是一個緊急關頭時才有效率的人 ：P

過年前，我收到了3個紅包喲。呵呵~ 驚喜！

这把年纪了还有红包收！羡慕吧？呵呵

我媽好會佈置。看，多可愛呀~

我家有年兽！

我已經準備好了。你呢？

祝大家鸡祥如意，大鸡大利！

Welcoming Year of Rooster!

CNY is 10 days away! YIKES! time flies!

Haha, same reaction year in and year out (read here , here) 

Oh well, people are often driven by deadlines. The nearer the deadlines, the more efficient the person will be!

Last weekend, my mum and I did a lot of tidying up. My mum did the most though.

We had our home cleaned. The 1 inch thick dust was finally removed.

We had our algae-covered cement floor, wall, fence and drain cleaned. 

We bought some pineapple tarts, cashew nut cookies, kuih momo, sambal rolls, cheese sticks from hardware store where we bought paint and brushes.

We painted our washed-out wooden fences. It was harder than imagined. No wonder people always say, you don't know how hard it is until you have done it yoursef! INDEED. I will never ever underestimate anyone's work from now on.  We did regret starting it but... once we saw the result, we were glad that we had started it.  

Although i feel super duber tired after all these cleaning, but deep inside, i feel good to see how our poor old house now shines. Although it isn't professionally done and we didn't cover many areas, but at least it now looks more decent than before. And for some reason, i sort of feel that our poor old house which has given its live to provide a home for us, is now smiling happily..... hahahahaha, too much cleaning must have made my imagination a bit wild :P

Now I know i could accomplish a lot if i want to even when i don't know how to. If you never never do, you will never never learn. If you never never do, you will never never realise your strength. 

When there is a will, there is a way. Indeed 

Partly painted fence
Not so professionally painted;p

New Discovery

I thought I should write a post here, just to leave a footprint since 29/2 only happens once every 4 years. How rare~

On this “auspicious” day, I think I should write something happy, something positive. After all, we only get to live this day once every 4 years.

The week before CNY, it rained EVERYDAY in Taipei. Although it’s inconvenient especially when we had to bring the whole house with us.  What to do when there is an 11 month old nephew with us?

We told my sister that may be she should create a fan page for YY. He attracted sOOooo much attention! Even strangers stopped and looked at him and told my sister how handsome and adorable YY is haha….  Too bad we did not meet any Star rearcher or else YY could star in some baby commercials in Taipei and make some money to subsidize our vacation :P

2 days before CNY, it suddenly stopped raining. Could you imagine how happy we were! It was a breezy afternoon with a bit of sunshine, Jane and I decided to cycle around. We went to the nearest MRT station to hire U-bikes. Then, we cycled EVERYWHERE aimlessly. It was great fun! We even cycled to the eatery my parents like when they were there 2 years ago.... just to see whether they would be opened the next day. Too bad they were close for CNY preparation. What to do? it's a big event after all.

We had come to Taipei countless of time. Every part of it feels familiar to us. Somehow, Taipei feels different when we cycle around. I don’t know why but I like the feeling.  I discovered nice places which I didn’t see before when walking. I cycled in a big city full of crowds and cars and high rise buildings, somehow I felt like I was cycling in a park! It’s strangely amazing!

On the first day of CNY, the city was practically empty. We cycled on 忠孝东路 like we owned the street! We cycled back and forth and sang 忠孝东路"骑车‘9遍 at the same time.. I know, we were over-excited haha... 

Discover Taipei via U-bike

The weather during CNY has been great. Jane and I went cycling at every chance we had but we still have a lot to cover. The next time we cycle, we plan to explore this little old place located in the heart of the modern city called 四四南村。Oh, i can't wait~ 

我回来啦！

好久不見！大家還好嗎？

好久沒更新我的部落格了。我知道你們想我，所以不論我多忙，還是要update一下。說我貼心，其實是怕太久沒更新，你們以後都不來了 :P

這新年，我過得很充實。

法國的小侄子終於要到廣州跟爺爺奶奶首次見面，一起過年啦~

貪玩（還是念家）的姐姐提議，在回廣州之前，先​​到台北玩耍。問我們要不要一起到台北來個 Pre-CNY　團圓。 哇，可以不用飛几十个小时到法國探望他們，當然去呀， 呵呵~

但...我們家的爸媽永遠不能給我們肯定的出國的日期。每每問他們，他們都說‘看先’。媽媽這次倒是爽快一些。他說‘我們二十九去，過年初三回來’。哇，我媽媽這麼豪爽呀！ 1月29號到2月10號是整整13天耶~ 這下我可先問問我姐姐們，老闆了。畢竟真的很長。

由於大家分散在不同地方，決定一件事情變成了一個挑戰。在等大家的回應期間，我趕緊先請我的旅行社朋友幫我 reserve 飛機票。簡單的放個名字可以鎖出較低的價格嘛，呵呵~ 這是經驗之談因為本人花了很多冤枉錢，只因為我的爸媽很愛最後一分鐘也下不了決定 T___T　吸取以前的'痛“，這次我當然要機靈一點，動作快一點。有句話說'功夫是假，手腳要快！” 哈哈，的確没錯~

不巧，我的朋友带團出國了，我只好請她的助理幫忙~  我對我這次的效率真的感到太自豪了！接下來就不用擔心機票漲價啦！可以放心了等待姐姐的回复了。耶！

幾個小時後，我朋友的助理打給我說機票已經訂好咯，問我什麼時候過去拿。我愣住了一下。只是放個​​名字而已，有需要拿票嗎？後來才發現，她誤會了我的意思，竟然出票了！歐麥卡！我們的台北之旅就這樣陰差陽錯的被確定了~ 心裡百感交集~

幸好後來姐姐們也很合作，喬出時間配合我們。老闆也爽快的批准了我的長假。真的感溫啊~

要去台灣前幾天，真的超級無敵的忙。除了要完成手上的工作外，還要打掃家和買年貨準備過年。雖然年初一到三不在家，但接下來還有12天是新年，當然不可以馬虎。另外還要準備給姐姐和侄子帶回法國的東西，打包行李，換錢等等。時間不够用呀，真希望一天有 48個小時！

要出國前的前几个晚上，媽媽抱怨說，為何要那麼早去台北，"害"他要在短短時間忙上忙下，有點累。唉呀，要29號去可是他自己說的呢~ 結果她回我說，他提議農曆29去台灣的。

農曆29和陽曆29差整整9天吶！我沒想到媽媽給我農曆日期呀~ 這真的是一個大烏龍！

機票和時間都弄錯～　好吧，看來我們是注定要去台北這麼多天的了，就順緣吧，呵呵~ 就這樣，我們在台北玩耍了13天，留下了美麗的回憶，當然還有爆炸多的行李！

Family time in Taipei!

離台當天，我和爸媽的 check in luggage 一共 93公斤。除此之外，我們還有8件手提包和行李。真的快把整個台北帶回來了，呵呵~

Ready to Welcome the Monkey King :P

Chinese New Year is 11 days away~

I bet everybody must be busy with the preparation at the moment.

This year, we started the cleaning, decorating and stock replenishing processes a bit earlier. Yup, lesson learned last year.. hehe... 

Everything is faster this time because my super mum is doing most of the work. 

There is a Chinese saying "To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools" (工欲善其事，必先利其器). I so strongly agree with this! Effective tools do make work and life easier and increase my efficiency too!

When I was in Uni, i came across a statement in one of our tutorial rooms. It reads: "Dear Boss, you can't use yesterday's tools to do today's job and be in business tomorrow". So true. Everything is changing so fast and if we do not change ourselves, one day we will be left behind. That's the way the world works. So u can either sit there, complain about the speed of change and wait for things to change to suit you, which rarely happens... or you could upgrade yourself to beat the speed of change. The choice is in your own hand. After all, you are the writer of your own life...

This year, I use 3 effective cleaning tools  - a vacuum cleaner, Amway multipurpose cleaner and my spin mop. Of course, the most important cleaning agent is ME hehe.. without me, these 3 items are useless. Agree? hehe

I did major makeover at some areas of my home. I re-arranged the setting, vacuumed and then mopped the place. In no time, it becomes spotless. Man, how i love that I was able to complete more tasks in less time! 

My home is now ready for CNY~ 

Have a blessed CNY!

不能過年的心情

最近常聽電台的‘幫到你’單元~

很佩服大家的勇氣因膽小的我，不敢讓全世界聽到我心裡的慾望或愛恨的表達。我...我...真的很保守低調！呵呵~

有次有位年輕人請DJ打電話給他主管，問他為何批准了其他同事的假期卻不讓他拿假。機票住宿行程都弄好的說~ 結果主管說這位員工手上的工作沒做完，做事態度不佳所以不能放假。哇，全國都聽到，這樣很拍謝吶~

過年前，他們有個新春版的"幫到你"~ 就是幫在國外不能回家過年的遊子打電話跟家人表達愛意。聽著遊子們在遠方訴說不能回家團圓的難過心情，我也想起了我自己以前在國外沒得過年的心情~

我記得那是14年以來第一次沒跟爸媽和弟弟一起過年。當時媽媽的好友很好意請我們3姐妹去吃團圓飯。看著2桌不認識的人家開心的團圓，我的心裡突然酸酸 的。好想念我的爸媽喔~ 年初一還得去上課，心裡也很不是滋味。為了彌補失落的心情，我們週末到唐人街去~ 雖然新年的裝飾不多，但看到同樣是黑頭髮黃皮膚的人們，有一種說不出的親切感！

有一年，我們的洋人數學老師還說，聽說今天是華人新年喔，祝亞洲的同學們新年快樂~ 既使只是聽到簡單的一句，我的心裡也是暖暖的。呵呵，原來快樂可以這麼簡單！

也因為有了這樣的'心酸經驗'讓我更珍惜跟家人好友一同團圓的時光~ 大家千萬不要等到失去了才懊惱， 也不要因為擁有而不珍惜。從現在開始一定要好好珍惜每個身邊的人事物喔~

CNY Activity

CNY holiday is over. Am now back to reality, back to work.
The end of CNY also means weight gain T___T
Never mind~ I will deal with that later...

For the past 6 days, my only activity is eat and eat and eat.  Hahaha, life has never been simpler! 

I love looking at a few corners of my home. I simply love the festive feel! The pomelo fruits are from the backyard. Not only do they signify peace and health, they look so pretty in the house too~ Of course, after being combined with some CNY deco :P

Jenn's creations :P

I'm ready for CNY!

I think I'm super... i know you may think i seem boastful but go on and read, u will agree with me hehe... :P

Years ago, i did a big clean up for my room. It was a pain but the result is so wonderful that I sort of forget how i almost gave up and was tempted to just shove everything back inside the cupboards, underneath my bed and pretend they don't exist... :P

Since then i have been wanting to do the same for the rest of the house but  I always have reasons so I could push it aside (i'm a procrastinator remember? hehe). After so many years, the long outstanding project finally kicked off. At first, I only wanted to do a simple clean up such as throwing away the rubbish, vacuuming the house, getting the CNY glasses & containers washed... However, one thing led to another, I decided to do a thorough clean-up for the house to give the house new life. I know! I'm such a perfectionist! haha...

I cleaned from 11 am til 11pm yesterday (i did take breaks in between la hehe) and I'm so happy with my progress! I did not just clean the area AROUND the items, I actually took everything out, washed them and put them back! So that the house is clean inside out hehe...  I apologised to the spiders and ants for I had destroyed their homes during the cleaning... so sorry~ 

With my high efficiency and determination, I am confident that the I will be able to complete it before CNY which is in 3 days time~  Wish me Luck! I must say, it feels great to live in a sparkling home :P

My great helpers this year~ 

CNY is just around the corner~

CNY is 1 week away. I didn't realise until I checked the calendar!

Because of my oversight, I have not decorated my home and I haven't bought CNY tit bits and soft drinks T____T

Yes! I can't believe that I am so unprepared! :(

Actually, it's not surprised since I'm always a last minute person :P

Anyway, there is no use crying over spilt milk. No matter how frustrated you get, how much you complain, things will not get better. So instead of whining, I take rectification actions. I know! I am such a practical person! :P

I completed 90% of the tasks in 2 days. I know! I am such an efficient person, when I want to be :P Well, you should only be a procrastinator IF you possess this special quality! hehe...

• CNY tit bits - Bought (although i still keep buying. Hmmm.. i think i have inherited mum's buying habit ;P)
• CNY soft drinks - Bought
• Put up CNY deco - Done
• CNY songs - Bought
• CNY must-have honey mandarins - Bought
• House cleaning - 50% completed

I have even gone to the wet market to get stuff requested by my mum. Although she is in France now, she is still able to participate in CNY preparation. How amazing is that?! haha.. I wish she could give me a complete list though coz after i've bought what she instructed, she gives me more things to buy. Which means i have to keep going to different places or back to the same place to get new things T___T

I have never known that buying CNY stuff can be such a time and money consuming task! My mum has always been the one to make sure that the house is cleaned, well-stocked and nicely-decorated. I just contribute here and there. I gotta salute my mum for being such a superwoman!

This year, I wanna thank my colleague for making my life easy. really easy because I ordered almost half of my CNY tit bits from her. All I do is sit back, relax and wait for her to deliver everything to me! :P

My mum didn't think I could clean the house without getting any outsourced maids to help. Well, with my secret weapon, I'm able to clean the house by myself (my dad is in charge of washing the floor :P). Thanks to my taobao purchase last December （more about that later), hehe...  I plan well right? hehe... 

HaPpY GoAt YeaR!

感恩好天氣~

過年時我們'半家'到台灣旅遊~ 說半家而不是'全家'因為只有我爸媽，我，Jane和我小弟~ 兄弟姐妹分散在世界各地不同的城市，要來個大團圓真的不是件容易的事~

因為難得去台灣過年，當然希望有個好天氣。我爸爸最怕冷，我們去台北前，他每天都看天氣預測。台灣天氣冬天很潮濕，幾乎每天都下雨，溫度也很低。我爸還說如果天氣太冷，他不想去了~ @_@ 我爸是出了名的任性，說到真的會做到的~ 

我和Jane愛去台灣，因好吃好住好玩好熱情好多好朋友！我們希望爸爸也跟我們一樣（話說我媽早就愛上台灣了，呵呵)。因為我們想每年都去台灣過年！呵呵~

因為是春節，飯店超難訂的！吃年夜菜的餐廳也訂不到！Jane打了10個餐廳但都没位子了。不是說經濟不景氣嗎，怎麼到處都爆滿呢？>__<  難到真的要睡天橋下，除夕晚要喝西北風了？我們一封求救的email, 台灣朋友們大力幫忙，結果訂到了東區的一間大飯店，年夜飯還吃到了好吃的潮洲料理的醉紅樓。我爸媽對年夜菜贊不絕口。他們愛死台灣了~ 還說要再去！耶！

醉蝦，醉鴨，醉臘味，金玉滿堂等+好酒+家人= 馬上幸福！

朋友們告知說春節期間的台北通常很濕冷。至少過去的幾十年都是這樣。他們還幫忙準備了很多暖暖包~ 我和Jane一直默默地祈願，希望在台灣的那段日子溫度不要太低。應該是上天感受到孩子們的真誠，在台灣的一個星期，竟是台灣這幾十年來的好天氣！天氣預測的冷氣團突然消失了，爸媽帶了一箱冷衣和暖暖包沒派上用場。每天都 22度以上！超幸運的！

因好天氣，我們在新北投的小溪泡脚；有幸看到路上開的滿满都是美美的櫻花樹；在冬天的台北里，我們穿著短袖衣服趴趴走；在九份，淡水老街和夜市開心的從街頭吃到街尾再吃到街頭；在十分放天燈為大家許下願望和看到火車從身邊經過十分幸福；到深坑老街吃吃喝喝，這果然是臭豆腐的小國。老街的空氣全都是臭豆腐的味道！我們還到新竹有名的護城河邊的特色餐廳享用美食和好酒；到台中探望媽媽的太極老師等等~ 

快樂的时光~ 

快樂的一星期就這樣過了~ 满满美好的回忆，也带了胖胖的身材和60公斤的行李回家！

一部份的行李~ 

打包时快崩溃了~ 

东西太多，行李箱装不下！哈哈

我們離開後，台北的溫度立刻下降~ 現在每天下雨，才8度10度呢！我們好幸運，遇到了好天氣！我爸媽這次很滿意，下次還要來環島呢！呵呵~ 開心呢！

马年快乐！

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

What have u been doing? been eating lots of junk food, drinking lots of fizzy unhealthy drinks, doing absolutely no exercise at home, stomach bulging out like u have just swallowed a cow?  It's good. Because that's part of CNY! hehe....

I started the abovementioned routine a bit late.. well, it's better late than never! haha... This CNY, we did lots of eating and lots of walking. Technically, i shouldn't have any problem with putting on weight. But food in Taiwan is too good that my input is greater than output, thus i came home looking like a snake that has just eaten a horse (马上有肚腩 T____T）

As all of us are scattered around the world, we first spent CNY with Jane and my youngest brother in TW. Then we came back to continue the celebration with 2 of my sisters & families. Something funny happened on the 4th day of CNY. After dinner, my 2nd sister asked her kids to help cleaning up. I was happy to be relieved from my usual chore and went upstairs to rest (checking FB actually :P). While enjoying my break, i suddenly heard a loud scream from downstairs that the kitchen is flooded. I threw my phone away and ran to the kitchen.

O.M.G! Did storm sweep through our kitchen without me knowing?  There was water everywhere. And there was a small 'waterfall' at the storage area!

It turns out, one of my nieces stacked too many pots and pans in the storage area below the sink and accidentally detached the connecting pipes, so dirty water came straight down from the sink above instead to the drain outside @_@ As it's CNY, i couldn't swear so instead i said "猪笼入水” (water flows into pigsty). It's an Auspicious saying in Hakka/ Cantonese which means that wealth inflow hehe... ("猪笼入水” - 吉祥语，这是香港俗语，意喻在新的一年，财富像水源源涌入，大家都发财).

I quickly removed all the pans and pots while dirty water continued to come straight down and tried to connect the pipes. When i finally did that, I had to scoop the excess water out from the storage area, wipe every corner and dry the kitchen. By the time i was done, i was exhausted.  So I ended up more tired & spent more time cleaning up the kitchen than if I had done the dishes myself haha...

Life is indeed like a Kinder Surprise. A surprise pops up from time to time to spice up your life.... haha

马年快乐！

馬年新希望

我記得小時候媽媽要去北京旅遊。她吩咐我們乖乖聽爸爸的話，她會買禮物給我們當獎勵。媽媽上機場前，我跟媽媽說我要一隻白馬~ 那時我喜歡白馬因為乾乾淨淨的，感覺很夢幻。雖然後來沒有馬兒但還是被媽媽的北京紀念品收買了~ 我那年代的小孩子真的很好騙！哈哈~

馬年快到了~ 到處都看到馬娃娃~ 娃娃好可愛但我始終沒有買~ 小時候我的夢想是家裡有很多很多的娃娃。長大了卻覺得娃娃一兩個就好，太多沒位子放而且容易收集塵埃~ 長大了，考量好像也變多了~ 小時候幸福很簡單，長大後簡單是幸福，這句話說的也太貼切了吧！

那天我和老朋友逛街。她說她買了今年特別出版的馬娃娃。一隻$34。如果一次買2只，優惠價是一共$58。結果她買了2次。問她馬娃娃有特別功能（討厭！我幹嘛那麼實際啊？哈哈）？她回我說，沒功能，就買來收藏而已，只能擺著。喜歡我朋友直率爽快的格性！喜歡就做但也因為這樣她常'不小心'超支，哈哈....

之後老朋友說她把錢都花在馬娃娃上了，接下來沒錢買其它想要的東西了~ 我跟她說，那就再馬的上面放錢吧~ 因為這樣就會... ..

馬上有錢！

她聽了又哭又笑的~ 哈哈哈哈.......

                  朋友买的马！                         

   

 

It's CNY next week!

Unicorn is coming to town hehe... Okie, am dreaming....

CNY is next friday! Wow, time flies! Are u ready to welcome the Year of Horse (i still prefer Unicorn though :P). For our family, we think we still have plenty to do although my home is already quite well-decorated and clean.... 

My mum is the Head of CNY preparation as usual. These few weeks, she has been busy buying all sort of CNY deco from red lanterns, big and small, CNY fire crackers (fake ones of course) to all sort of little CNY decoratives to hang inside and outside our home. My job is too put them up since i have got long arms and legs hehe... 

Everyday I go back from work, I find something new. Things seem to pop up from nowhere haha... I think my mum is creative and kinda has good sense in decorating. There are many CNY decoratives but I don't find it too much... In fact, our home now comes to live with all the redness!! Not that it's not alive before but the reds definitely add more happiness to our home! Even Tiger loves it! (Okie, he didn't say so but I can feel his excitement too when he saw his CNY tit bits :P)

So CNY! I love!

 This year, I washed the balcony again. It's fun to be sliding around in soapy water hehe..... And i love looking at the patterns on the floor.... It reminds me of my childhood...  古早味？

See how hardworking i am!

I like to drive thru the China Town too. Love the way the street looks~ Everything looks happier at this time!!! la la la....

Can we have the lanterns there all year round! pls....

I think the happiest one right now is my tummy, for mum has bought many different kinds of tit bits. Awww... i'm hungry just by looking at them! More tit bits to come.....

I want to eat!

Gong Xi Fa Cai! 

May all your dreams come true!

Last day of CNY

Chinese New Year is officially over (but it's still CNY to me which means the non-stop eating frenzy continues :P)... 

Last night, we had a simple meal at home. When the sky turned dark, the firecrackers and fireworks show began until it started to rain at around 10pm.  The whole neighbourhood was so alive! It really felt like we were at war or something, except this is the sound of excitement and happiness... Of course, at times I worried too coz we were also polluting the air :S

Tiger didn't really find it amusing at all though. When our neighbours played firecrackers, he started to bark.. It's like, he was yelling "BE QUIET!!!" haha... When fireworks explored above his head, he looked up and barked at them as well... At the end, he got really tired and just ignored everything and rested himself in the garden... I bet he must be thinking " since i can't beat them, I might as well ignore them" hahaha....

The scariest thing after CNY is my weigh. After all the uncontrollable eating, I wonder how many KGs I have put on! It is pretty hard to resist those high fat high calories food during CNY you know. They are just on the table right in front of me and it's not polite to reject them... So, I joined everyone else and ate and ate and ate..*weak will power*.. til now, I still haven't had the guts to weigh myself. I'm just not ready to accept the truth >__<  but judging from my skirt and pants, I think the outcome will not be so pleasant.... T___T Jane on the other hand is the brave one for she weighed herself on the 7th day of CNY and found herself heavier by 4kg... She reckoned that 4kg is on her face instead of her body.. what do u think? haha

Yay... waiting for our Vietnamese hor-fun!

Looks like both of us have really round face... but i like to think of it as 福气满满！ *self-consoling* I have to put the blame on my sister... because from the very first day we arrived Perth and entered her house, all of us were 'blessed'.

Like other Chinese, my sister has words of good luck hung at her front door... It is said that, by hanging these at your main entrance, these blessings will come to you all year round... So, what happens when these words were hung by one of my nieces who doesn't understand Chinese? It's still a blessing to all who lived at or visited her house BUT in a different way... 

You see, my sister asked for "getting rich"  and "good fortune"... which sound very good on their own... unfortunately when you combined the Chinese words, they actually mean "getting fat" (發福) haha... Spotted it and told my sister.. She explained it to her daughter and we all laughed hysterically.... 

Getting Rich on the left

Good Fortune on the Right

發福 = Getting Fat

Thanks sis for the extra pounds! Would be great if these were actually British Pound which she enclosed in the angpow! 

CNY Down Under

I'm back! .... to reality >___<

How was your CNY? I had too much fun and had to drag myself back.. so, where have i been?

Just like all our previous CNY, my parents made last minute decision on the country where we will be celebrating CNY. This year, they picked Perth. Golden CNY... Hmm...

I thought airfare to Perth would be cheap since it's summer at the moment and everyone would want to escape from the heat instead of flying there to be baked... haha, i was wrong. Flights were quite full and as usual, we ended up with expensive airfare... well, it's alright because spending time with all my loved ones during CNY is gonna be priceless!

I took a midnight flight to Perth this time... I was planning to fall asleep and wake up in Perth but... my plan didn't happen because I was surrounded by babies and toddlers who didn't need to sleep for 5.5 hours T___T You see, half way thru my sweet dreams, I got woken up by their cries.. or them knocking into me when playing at the aisle, or they accidentally pulled my hair while trying to stand up.. or they kept screaming for their parents to play with them... Good that I only need to deal with them for 5.5 hours.. I can't imagine how their parents do it everyday! Well, i guess if they were my kids, i would put up with their naughtiness too... but with limits :P

Then I decided to hide myself under my shawl, blocking myself from all the insanity... Then in my little sanctuary, i fell asleep... BUT not for long because I got woken up again... Darn! This time by the captain's announcement! Seriously, I don't really care how you fly your plane. I don't need to know details of how far I've flown, how many metres I'm above the ground, how fast the plane is travelling at.. I just want to SLEEP and reach my destination safely and on time.. haha, i can see you nodding your head in agreement. I don't usually complain because I am grateful that the pilots take me to where I need to be but it's midnight.. we want to sleep... You know what? It would be great if their announcements could be made in writing so I could read when I want to and best of all, if things don't turn out the way they say, at least I have black and white as evidence buahahhaha... Ok, i was just kidding. I think I am still insane after the 5.5 hours of torture....

I arrived Perth at the crack of dawn. 5.20am to be exact. The rising sun created layers of colours in the sky. It was beautiful! While waiting for Jane who would only arrive at 645am, I stood outside the airport feeling Perth, the place I used to call home...

Fooling around at 530am

Everything felt so familiar. The heat, the summer breeze, the smell of air and the scenery are just the way I remembered... The air is fresh and smells of dried grass.. The sun was so bright that I could hardly open my eyes... The wind was a bit warm and dry and I felt my skin started to tighten up... Nothing has changed, even the toilet smells just the way I remembered, in a good way la hahaha... Well, I don't know how to describe it to u.. I can show u pictures of things/ places I remember but not the smell, taste and the feeling.. I guess there are certain things that just cannot be substituted by technologies.. you see, we can take pictures and videos to remind us on wonderful or not-so wonderful events.... but not the smell, taste and our feelings.. Hmmm... there, this is an idea to the inventors out there...

Memories of my teenage years flooded back.. This airport used to be my happiest and saddest place... Happiest when I came to pick my parents and saddest when I sent them off....

Clear blue sky

Our family reunion was super duber great! We had dim sum and dinners together... these were the craziest times because getting a place for 25 people is almost impossible. With such big crowds, we were the noisiest in the restaurants because to talk and to be heard, we practically had to scream haha... We totally disregarded others in the restaurants.. Yup, we lived in a world of our own. A few times, I felt envious eyes on us.. I bet people wish they had a big family like ours too.. We could throw a party without having to worry that it would be a boring and quiet one haha... Don't believe me? Just take a look below...

p/s: no reunion is complete without good food :P it's cny so naturally, red is the theme!

I really love that there are so many of us in the family.. Although I didn't enjoy the heat (42 degree celsius), I really enjoyed spending time with my loved ones.... so many of us but too little time!

The colour of happiness

The unfortunate has happened.... I know it will happen one day but i didn't expect it to happen so soon... oh well, there is nothing I could do to stop it anyway... but I know i could have been nicer to lengthen its life... 

Guess what? am now typing with a laptop which i borrowed to use.. my trusty old friend was sicked 2 weeks ago.. Initially, i didn't think it was gonna be anything serious coz i only had problem connecting to the internet. So i called Dr. Network to help. He spent a few minutes clicking here and there and doing a whole lot of tests which i had no idea what they were... then he said "there, u can now connect to internet...But......" great, i love and hate that word! "...but, i think u should send it to the workshop for more checking coz there is something weird about your laptop." huh? serious? something weird about my laptop? well, at least i wasn't the only weird one! ha! Like user, like laptop i guess :P

So i obediently sent my laptop to the workshop for diagnosis... 2 days later, i got a phone call... Dr. Workshop asked me if i have backed up my stuff. Yes, i have! Countless of time... on countless HD to be exact so in case one fails, i still have other back-up... Everyone must have a plan B right? 

He said "good, coz your laptop needs to be retired...." @___@ I was devastated! I really love my laptop! Because it hasn't given me any trouble at all for the past 3 years! Sigh, life is strange.. one second you are strong and healthy, another second you are pronounced dead! :S

Okie, it's CNY soon,  let's  talk about something cheerful and ... RED like....

Big and sweet strawbies my friend bought for us.... And also fresh strawberry milk! yummo!

They scream "EAT ME!" haha

Strawbies milk~~ Must try!

These are very yummy...! Some people said red colour will immediately brighten up your day... I didn't know that eating and drinking something red can also cheer u up! 

Also, i bought myself a pair of pink shoes for CNY! Aren't they charming?

Do u like my new shoes?

Even Tiger gets something red!!

Be happy everybody! ^^