The Year of the Monkey

Uncle Goose Chinese blocks, Baby Gap pants and onesie

Last year, I celebrated Chinese New Year with baby B growing on the inside. Now, he's a budding baby with growing opinions and a growing curiosity.

 

I gave him his first "lai see" and he was instantly intrigued. He fumbled with it between his hands and put the envelope in his mouth. He looked at it for a long time. And then he threw it. It was so funny.

 

I know I won't have the answers to all his questions about the Chinese culture, but what I don't know we can learn together. And that actually sounds pretty fun.

Happy Lunar New Year!

P.S. Those baby toes though...

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese (Lunar) New Year! We're now in the year of the sheep/goat/ram.

I always feel a bit crazed during this time of the year. I'm still getting over the winter holidays (Christmas and New Years) and now we're going into Chinese New Year. 

I admit, I don't follow traditions as a lot of families may but, I still do things I used to do as a kid. Cleaning the house, eating celebratory foods and wearing red/new clothes to name a few. Sometimes I feel like a "bad Asian" for not knowing a lot about my culture (my parents passed away when I was younger) but I try to keep in mind that what my parents did teach me I can carry on regardless. Hopefully, I'll be able to pass on these "little things" to my baby. It's not always what you do but how you do it, right?

Cheers!

Wednesday Whim - "Red" Hong Yi

all images via Red Hong Yi via Design Boom

With all things Chinese New Year right now, I couldn't help but write about "Red" Hong Yi and her creative Chinese-themed illustrations. Red (her nickname) is a Malaysian artist/architect who cleverly uses lipstick, mascara, false eyelashes, pencil shavings, etc. to produce unexpected and unconventional drawings. She first experimented with makeup as her tool of choice in August but, Red has never been the one to use typical tools to create her designs - she previously used flower petals, a basketball and even rings of coffee stains.  Red plans to reveal 15 drawings during the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration through her Instagram account. I'll definitely stay tuned to see more from her!

Year of the Dragon

image via Daily Mail via EPA

For those of who celebrate it, today marks the first day of the 15 day celebration of the Lunar New Year. It's a wonderful time for the Asian culture and for many, the most important holiday. Families get together, celebrate, gift "red envelopes" to the unmarried juniors, and eat a lot of great food. I have fond memories from my childhood of the joyous celebrations my family and I had together - albeit small in size and short-lived. I refer to those memories often as an adult now. 

Since I don't reveal much about myself on this blog, this may be come as a surprise to some, but my parents passed away when I was younger (at separate times but within months of each other). A lot of cultural references are lost because I can't recall everything but I'm grateful to have what I have. Often, when I reveal this fact about myself, people react in surprise and in shock. This is mostly because they don't associate a person my age to not have either parent alive. But, it's not something I dwell on because I focus on the positive rather than the negative. Not having my parents is a part of my story but not the main subject of my life. When they passed, it was certainly tragic and sudden but my only option in life was to survive and to  keep going. This hasn't been easy but my journey has been an enlightening one.

So, during a time when many family members are coming together to celebrate, it's human nature to "look back" at where one has been and where one is now. I'm happy to have my husband and to incorporate some cultural traditions into a new life.  My wishes and desires continue to change as I continue to adapt to a new lifestyle, but I am grateful to be able to look to my past and extract all the good that can continue to live on in my future.  

Happy New Year!