photo via steamy kitchen
My inlaws spent a good portion of their lives in Hong Kong, so to celebrate the Eve of Chinese New Years, we got together for a traditional family feast. And last night... boy did we feast! Our meal included noodles for longevity, dumplings for wealth, fish & chicken for abundance, shrimp for happiness, and sticky rice cake for a rich, sweet life & family reunion (didn't realize the dessert was so symbolic until I looked it up!). We don't follow all the traditions... basically it's just a great reason to get the entire family together for good conversation and yummy food!
Happy Vee took a nap yesterday (hallelujah!), so with my free time, I decided to make some felt "fortune cookies" (a la Martha Stewart, which I mentioned here), and stuff them with Dove chocolates and a condensed version of everyone's personalized "2011 Chinese Fortune". For the kids I went a step further and added some hopeful predictions like "will learn how to use the potty" and "will become a better listener".
Happy Vee took a nap yesterday (hallelujah!), so with my free time, I decided to make some felt "fortune cookies" (a la Martha Stewart, which I mentioned here), and stuff them with Dove chocolates and a condensed version of everyone's personalized "2011 Chinese Fortune". For the kids I went a step further and added some hopeful predictions like "will learn how to use the potty" and "will become a better listener".
i cut out a step or two and sped up the process by using color-coordinated pipe cleaners & a hot glue gun
my "cookies" weren't holding together, so i put a little dot of hot glue on the top rim. worked like a charm!
And, just for fun, here's the general forecast for 2011
The Year of the Rabbit
Most Rabbit years are quiet, positive and inspiring and 2011 looks to be heading in this direction – a refreshing change after the fast-moving and quite dramatic Year of the Tiger. Family, diplomacy and personal development will all be highlighted in 2011. Once again alternative sources of energy and green living will be under the spotlight. The arts and culture sector of society will very busy producing amazing works of art and staging important exhibitions throughout the year. Love, romance and family life are well-starred, with a renewed appreciation of loved ones and friends. Overall, it should be a fun and relatively peaceful year. Even though aggression, violence and war zones will still be in evidence, the Chinese Rabbit year favours peaceful solutions and diplomacy, so there will be a feeling that all is not lost and that hope is still very much alive.
via moonslipper.com
Peace and diplomacy? I'm all for that! Happy New Year!
