You know Chinese New Year is around the corner when the weather turns scorching hot and unbearable! It’s so hot that even Rooney, official pet number one can’t take it, lying down in the oddest position at the garden terrace to stay comfortable!
Forget the sploot, this position is better to chill. Poor fella…
We had two public holidays in a row in the middle of the week, Wednesday and Thursday. And suddenly, it’s February already! My… my… where did time go? While it was nice to have a two-day break, honestly, it’s wasting precious time when another long holiday is coming up soon.
This year, the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year falls on 16th February and as usual, I am unprepared. With work catching up and the urgency to finish up as much as possible before we break for the holiday, I find myself hardly having any time to prepare for the festivities. Throw in my carving and wanting to play golf, 24 hours in a day is simply insufficient to prepare. Sigh…
Somehow marbles in a gum ball machine does not sound quite right. So I didn’t go ahead with the idea. I was mulling why I gained weight over the past three months. Yes there was the eating and drinking during the holidays and festivities which I don’t deny but I don’t think it was excessive. Maybe just richer and more hearty than my usual intake plus the lack of exercise played a part.
Then it dawned on me that the main culprit for the unwanted weight gain was the snacking on Chinese New Year titbits in between meals. Yes in between meals. Hah! I should know better that this is indeed bad but I couldn’t help myself.
Resistance has been futile towards the fried seaweed, pineapple tarts, peanut cookies and love letters! Oh… those love letters… so good. These once-a-year yummies are a must-eat during Chinese New Year whereas chocolates are not necessary must-eats but mood dependent. So laden with sugar those titbits, don’t expect to not gain weight.
Thank goodness the festivities are over and the cookies are almost gone, I should get back to shape in no time.
And to comfort myself that it’s not the chocolate’s fault, I bought not one but two bags of M&M’s because I know I will not eat them at the pace like I do with love letters. Thoughts of filling up my gum ball machine crossed my mind. Hmm…
During Chinese New Year, the pet shop was closed and we were not able to buy live prawns to replenish for Meow-meow the arowana and Tuna the crayfish to eat. But luckily, there were some leftover clever ones hiding in Meow-meow’s big aquarium. So hubby was able to fish out one or two for Tuna to survive on.
By the fifth day of Chinese New Year, I noticed Tuna was not very active and most likely conserving energy. Every time I walked passed the little aquarium, he would be hiding in his little pot. He would not rush out with his claws raised as if to frighten me even when I squinted at it. A morbid thought crossed my mind: he was dying a slow death because of hunger! Yikes.
Thankfully by the sixth day (of Chinese New Year), the pet shop opened and we were able to replenish the food. And after several days, Tuna’s back to its old self again, flaring his claws at me whenever I walked near his abode.
One evening, he was about to do the same thing to me when his actions backfired. As he rushed towards me, the overhanging fake tree tickled him and suddenly, he was popping like a popcorn instead! It was rather funny.
Maybe we should not straighten the tree to its original upright position so that Tuna can pop and not lunge at me whenever I get close! Hehehe…
After much thought about the M&Ms for my gum ball machine, I have decided not to fill it up. Sigh… A friend suggested to mix the plain ones and the peanut ones if I was undecided. What a brilliant idea! Tempting, very tempting but I have to go on diet and having a chocolate dispensing machine within my reach may thwart my plans.
The Chinese New Year celebration is almost over with one last Chap Goh Meh dinner with Mom and my sibling’s family tomorrow night, so I have to stay disciplined and go ahead with the diet intention.
I need to lose all that weight gained from the constant eating since December last year when M1 came home for Christmas. Also because I feel a psychological expansion of my waistline when I put on my only pair of Levi’s and it feels tight. Not good especially when the Levi’s is those stretchy ones. Thank goodness, I was back at the gym earlier in the week to get things going.
So for now, the gum ball machine remains a decorative item and not a chocolate dispensing machine. But… me being me, I couldn’t resist the chocolate temptation and gave in to getting a small packet of M&Ms. I reasoned that the diet starts only next week, a little now wouldn’t hurt. Weakling.
Today is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year and like all previous years, we officially return to work on this auspicious day.
What makes today even more significant is the fact that we start off the Year of the Fire Rooster at our new office!
Yes, we moved at the beginning of the year and I am very excited at this new beginning. May 2017 be filled with exciting and abundant design projects to be a happy and prosperous year indeed.
Over the years whenever we return to hubby’s hometown for the Reunion Dinner, we would also play a round of golf at the nearby golf club. This year, the customary routine had to be modified slightly because we came back a day earlier than our usual four days, three nights stay.
We are playing at our golf club today. Looking forward to some good golf to work off all that food consumed!
We came home by yesterday after the family Reunion Dinner on Friday night. The drive home wasn’t that bad as it took five and a half hours, an hour more than normal.
Every year during the Chinese New Year exodus, the drive both ways would be a long crawl with almost bumper-to-bumper traffic. On Friday, it took six hours and the return, a half hour less, far less than I had originally anticipated prior to the start of the trip.
There were a couple of years it took us ten hours just to get home, hence the fear. So I am thankful we arrived home with nothing close to those sort of hours yesterday.
There were several accidents along the drive up north but I wouldn’t call them accidents; just mere breakdowns of single vehicles. Not even any contact of two vehicles and the slow down was unavoidable, causing some stretches of the drive to be a crawl. I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.
The time with the family was all about eating. And we had good home cooked meals by the Aunty. Now that we are back here, it will be more visiting to other relatives and more yummies to savor!
We officially go back to work on Thursday.
Today is the Reunion Dinner and for the first time for as long as I can remember, we are just leaving home the day itself and not a day earlier to attend the occasion. We just could not leave yesterday because of reasons worthy of another story or two. This year, the dinner is with hubby’s family up north.
I anticipate a ten hour-journey for what is normally a four or five hour drive. Oh well, we are prepared with much music choices, sandwiches, chips and drinks for the car, I just hope traffic will be kind. Who knows? We may arrive on time.
Here’s wishing everyone a very Gong Xi Fa Cai and may the Year of the Rooster bring you much happiness, success and prosperity that you will want to crow about it all year long!
Just when I thought the weather change has arrived indicating Chinese New Year is around the corner, it has changed again. Global warming?
Even the birds know it. When it rains in the morning, they don’t get fed and they come right up to the terrace boldly, waiting for seeds to be put out at the table instead of in the tray on the wall. This morning I woke up to cloudy skies again. The breeze is cool and rather strong.
Another wet day ahead?
Angieneering 
Remarks