February's Belly Shot!

Next month is Lucky's birthday! All is well, though this big belly is getting harder to carry around.
r

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Or Happy Chinese New Year. This year's Chinese Lunar New Year (the year of the Ox) began January 26th & officially ended February 9th.

For good luck & prosperity & to scare away monsters & bad spirits there is a traditional Lion Dance (see pics/video below). This Lion Dance is done all over town during the 15 day celebration. It's preformed at homes, offices & malls.

Mandarin Oranges are given in even pairs during this festive time too. They are considered lucky because they look like gold, the color of wealth. Adam got a nice basket of them from 3M.

Chinese families get together for Reunion Dinners where they enjoy what is called a Steamboat Dinner. Adam & I had the pleasure of eating two Steamboat Dinners. It's sort of like fondue; you cook a lot of raw meat, fish, & veggies in a pot on a hotplate in a broth.

Another tradition during this celebration is the Hong Boa (also known as Ang Pow or Lai See). It's a small red envelop that contains a sum of money in an even-number amount, given by married couples to children & unmarred adults.

There is also the tossing of the Yu Sheng salad (also known as Lo Hei). This is done to bring on good luck & prosperity for the coming new year. It is a raw fish salad with many other ingredients (see pics/video below) & while you toss it you give each other blessings (i.e. "here's to good health, wealth, happiness", etc.)

You also see red everywhere during these 15 days. Red paper lanterns & decorations as this is the "auspicious" color of the Chinese New Year celebration.

Adam & I enjoyed learning about this holiday & celebrating it. Hope you all enjoy what we've learned & seen.

Cinderella

Adam took me to the famous Esplanade Theater in Singapore to see Cinderella. What a guy, huh! Cinderella is my favorite Disney story. The show was great and we both really enjoyed touring the Esplanade.

Chinatown Tour

Treetops (the community we live in) put on a tour to Chinatown this past weekend, gearing us up for the Chinese New Year (1/26). We toured the Chinese Heritage center and learned about how the immigrants came to Singapore, as well as toured a few temples where the Hindus first worshiped. We also saw some of the market which was loaded with cakes, oranges, pumpkins, etc. for the New Year celebration.

BALI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We spent the very first few days of 2009 in Bali, Indonesia at the southern part of the island called Nusa Dua. The beach, pool, food, drinks, spa, & people were all wonderful. It was hard to return to Singapore after such a nice vacation, but not that hard since it's still 85 and sunny in Singapore. Out of all the things we miss about home, winter is not one of them.

Lisa's Monthly Belly Shot!

Well there's no surprise that my belly is a growing. Lucky & I are doing well. We are on the count down, just a little over 2 months now. We cannot wait to introduce Lucky to all of you very soon.

Ringing In 2009......

Good Bye 2008, here's to a healthy & happy 2009! We didn't do much on New Year's Eve, just went out for a nice Mexican dinner at Margaritas and then home to watch the Singapore count down on TV. We went to bed after our midnight kiss and were laughing about how much different our New Year's celebration has become since just a few years ago.

New Year's Day we had fun watching the U.S. count down on CNN and speaking to family. Then we flew to Bali, Indonesia to take in one last trip before Lucky arrives in March.

We hope you all had very safe and fun celebrations. We also hope your 2009 is off to a great start.