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. :)