CNY 2010 Recap

Here are the recaps of how we ushered in the Year of the Tiger. Please be warned that this is a long and winding post that may bore you. :)

Reunion Dinner @ 13th Feb

It was more meaningful this year bcos FIL’s elder brother and one of his daughters, J, came all the way from Canada to join in the celebration. They had planned their vacation perfectly to coincide with the CNY celebration. The weekend before, J together with Hubby had conquered the Mt Kinabalu via the Mesilau Trail. Too bad for Aunty F and daughter, K, they didn’t succeed in their attempt.

Back to the Reunion Dinner prep. As usual, all dishes were cooked by MIL aka Chief Cook…hehe.. The rest of us did our bit of helping as and when required. The guys were assigned to chopping the meats and fish, while we girls (SILs and a few cousins) were in charge of peeling, slicing or chopping onions, garlic, potatoes, vegetables etc. This year’s dishes were more or less the same as last year’s (Sweet & Sour Fish, Chicken Curry, Rendang Daging, Ayam Masak Merah, Mixed Vege, and Chicken Soup) except for the Stuffed Toufu which made it first debut. Dinner was great and the foods and drinks were enough for everybody. :)


While waiting for the clock to hit 12pm, Hubby and another cousin barbequed some chicken wings. When midnight finally came, the guys went busy launching their firecrackers. Soon the entire Keningau Town came alive with ear-deafening sound of firecrackers everywhere and the sky was showered with colorful fireworks. Some sounds like dragon. Well, at least to me, that’s how a dragon should sound…LOL..

My only regret is that I was unable to capture the spectacular view in photos. Vanessa who was so grumpy by then, insisted to be carried by Mommy only. She refused everybody else including Daddy. Her grumpiness had to do with her being tired of playing the whole day and inability to sleep. How could anybody sleep with all the noise outside? She was actually mesmerized by the fireworks but not the firecrackers. She hated them and covered both her ears at the sound of it. After all the noises subside then only she was able to sleep. *relief* The gambling downstairs continued until 2am the next day.

1st day of CNY @ 14th Feb

Most of us woke-up quite late, around 8am. After an express breakfast, we were busy again helping MIL and FIL in the kitchen. While we were busy at work, suddenly we heard the loud drum of the Lion Dance troop. We were like, “Huh?? Why so early??” It was only 10am. Normally, they’ll come in the afternoon when all the guests had arrived with their children. Nevertheless, we went out to watch their performance. Upon seeing only a few of us spectators, the troop or rather, their leader was de-motivated. After some photography session, they did their brief performance. It ought to be the briefest performance ever, barely 5 minutes and they’re done…much to our disappointment. However, there was somebody who was so relieved when the Troop left. That person was Vanessa. She was terrified with the pair of “Lion” that she refused to be photographed with them. Needless to say, she cried out loud when I took her near them. She covered both her ears the whole time when they did their dance..hehe..


Then another unexpected event came in the afternoon, the Junior Lion Troop came to perform. Their debut performance. Except for their leader, the troop was made up of kids/teenagers.



The guests were pretty much the same crowd as the years before. Some came and go after a while but there were also those who stayed long enough to test their luck in gambling. The games of choice are 21 and Lap-Lap Fu for the adults and the Katam-Katam for the kids. No gambling for me this year...was kinda lazy to participate…hehe

2nd Day of CNY @ 15th Feb

Stayed at home most of the time. Doing some cleaning and tidying up around the house. And also washing the dishes and cups. There were some guests; friends of SILs’ and BILs’ came to visit. Hubby was disappointed that none of his friends came over despite their promise to come. :(

In the afternoon, we went to Hubby’s ex-classmate, M’s house. Once again, Hubby was disappointed as his other classmates had already left when we arrived. He was hoping that he might catch some of them there. Nevertheless, Hubby was glad to meet M. It w as the first time the two classmates met each other after completing their SPM. M is now a happy mother of three kids. When two old friends meet, there were soo many things to talk about.

However, our visit was cut short when all of a sudden Vanessa throw-up in the living room. Too much mandarin orange, minuman kotak and cookies…everything campur-campur. I felt guilty for the mess and helped M to clean it while Hubby took Vanessa to the bathroom. After distributing angpaus, we left M’s house.

In the evening, we left for KK. Hubby’s cousin, J needed to do her shopping before she leaves for Canada.
So, like that la our CNY celebration this year. :)

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The hunt for Chinese costume

I’ve learned my lesson. Next year, I will decide early on whether to buy ready made cheongsam or custom made cheongsam for my girl. This year, I wanted to dress her in a red cheongsam but because of my indecisive/procrastinating, I couldn’t find one that fit her well. Yeah, I know, procrastinating is bad but like they said, bad habit dies hard. *smile* Next year, Mommy will get you a cheongsam, my dear.

After searching high and low at all the shops in Donggongon, Segama , Centre Point, Wisma Merdeka , I still couldn’t find her the right one. They were either a size too big or too small or they were not red in colour. Finally, we found this samfu at Servay Hypermarket, Putatan on 12th Feb. Just in time. Well, it’s not cheongsam but I guess, we were lucky enough to find this red samfu and the size is just ngam for my little girl…phew...

Though it’s not mandatory to wear Chinese costume during CNY, but children looks so cute in them. Besides, even without them saying so, I know FIL and MIL would love to see their granddaughter in one. *smile* It’s not everyday that you get to see them wearing such costume…

Alright, answering Just and Mouren’s bonus question, “How much angpau did Vanessa get this year?” *smile* Not as much as last year. But, I’m not complaining. Whatever the amount is, I am grateful for Vanessa’s rezeki. No doubt that all her angpau money will go into her saving. Most (if not all) parents will do the same, right? Or, you have better idea on how to manage your kids’ money? *smile*

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I'm back

Physically, I am back to work. *grin* I can’t say the same about my heart and mind though. They are still on holiday…hahaha…Anyway, here I am., doing a very short post before going off. For five days, I haven’t updated my blog. Gosh, I miss it terribly! *smile* Of course, I miss visiting yours too. I’ll be making my round, blogwalking tomorrow. *wink*

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When Cupid and Tiger arrive together ...

The official day for love and affection, Valentine’s Day and the first day of the Chinese New Year – Year of the Tiger falls on the same day this year, 14th February, 2010. It is only the third time since 1900 that Chinese New Year (CNY) has fallen on the same day as Valentine’s Day. The next time it’ll happen again is in the year 2048!



The entire Year of the Tiger is suggested to be filled with passion and capable of great love. Chinese or non-Chinese alike, let’s take this advantage to express our love to family and friends or even deepen our love with our significant half. :)


*smile* Tomorrow, I’ll be off to my in-laws to celebrate CNY. So here’s wishing you GONG XI FAI CAI, HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY and HAPPY HOLIDAY as well. May this year be an prosperous year for all of us.

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Another mischievous pet story

In my last post, I talked about one of my cat sleeping and scratching hubby’s car. Now, it was my dog, Nino’s turn to act up. Hahaha…no, he did not climb on the car and sleep on the roof. Nothing like that. If he dares to do that, he’ll be long gone by now to another district or another kampung (village). Kena buang daerah le..apa lagi? :)

So what did Nino do? He chewed my book! I had left the book on the table outside for less than 5 minutes. When I returned, the book was no longer there. At first, I thought my maid or mom had taken it inside while I was pushing Vanessa on her stroller. Yes, my two-year old toddler misses her stroller so much. She insisted on a few rounds at the lawn..hehe..Okay, when Mom and maid confirmed they didn’t, I was puzzled. I swear I left it there. Nobody took it yet it was nowhere to be seen? Strange.

Then, I heard some noise at the side of the house. I went to take a closer look and there it was! My book or what was left of it anyway, was dangling from Nino’s mouth. Torn pieces were everywhere on the floor. I yelled at him, half hoping he’ll abandon it. *slap forehead* Silly me. What was I thinking? The yell only stopped his chewing but dropped it? No way. I tried to pull out the book but he’s not going to surrender his new toy easily. Instead, he moved further. He thought I was playing a game with him! *faint* When I finally caught him, I quickly grabbed the book. Eventually, he let go of his ‘treasure’ but not after some tug of war. Phew…Good thing that Nino is a small sized-dog…LOL…

This is what was left of my book. Only the middle part survived. The beginning and the ending was completely destroyed.

:( My heart still ache for not able to read it to the end. Should I buy a replacement to cure this heartache ? Hmmm..I’m thinking about it…*wink*…

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A cat on the car roof

Phew, what a relief! My worries were unfounded after all. *smile* Okay, here’s the story. Hubby was away in Pulau Tiga aka The Surviviors’ Island (It was in that island where the first Survivor was filmed) since Friday for his 3-days company trip. He left his car at home. As I opened the door yesterday morning, my heart did a somersault. There on hubby’s car roof, all curled up and obviously, sound asleep was one of my cat! He must have been sleeping there the whole night. The hood was full of dirty cat’s print and fine scratches.

I was so worried (or, rather paranoid) that hubby will get mad and strangle my cat. Er, strangle? Ah, that is most unlikely to happen. Maybe hubby would scare the hell of out the cat that it dares not to return home again? Maybe hubby would give it away? Neither thought were comforting. :( Kucing ku kena buang daerah? Aduii sedihnya…

I immediately checked the scratches. Please, please…no major damage, please, I silently prayed. I ran my fingernail on the scratches and I didn’t feel anything. Yes! A positive sign that the scratches were not deep! Phew…I sent the car to the car wash. Had it cleaned and the hood polished. Hoping that the scratches will be less visible.

After the wash and polish, thank goodness that the scratches weren’t so bad. And since the car is black in color, the only way you can see the scratches is when the sun hits it at the right angle or when you go up close to the car. Nonetheless, the scathes are well, annoying. When hubby came back last night, I told him about the scratches. As expected, he went straight to inspect the damage. “Nasib baik tida teruk. (Luckily, they were no so bad),” was his comment. :)

Anyhow, its time for us to buy covers for our cars…in case, my cats decided to hop on and sleep on them again. :)

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