Wang Lai!

ok gonna cheat abit today. today's picture is part of the pineapple. this is a common cny decorative item. the pineapple lantern. and I realise red and green really go well together!

anyway Chinese loves using pineapple as a symbol of wealth. cos it sounds like 'Wang Lai' in teochew dialect, which means 'wealth come'. as for me, I'm just thankful for the pineapple tarts during cny! woots so yummy!

Preparing for reunion dinner (20/365)

I don't mean to be advertising for Skylight. Just so happen that the soup stock we are preparing to use for reunion dinner is Skylight's Abalone Superior Stock.

I'm never a person to use chicken cubes, or stock or even canned stock for my steamboat. I prefer boiling my own stock. This year, due to busy schedule and generous relative, mum decided to use this instead.

But i have to say, i would have still preferred my own stock!! =)

Lucky Bamboo

there are a few typical plants people buy for decorative purpose during cny like the pussy willow. and I'm sure most of you would have come across the Lucky Bamboo (aka Fortune bamboo).

it's usually refer to as 开运竹, which means 'bamboo that brings good fortune'. guess its more fengshui related. the funny things Chinese come up with.

i don't believe in fengshui but I find this plant interesting. the one I found is the mini version stacked in layers. there's also the big ones that can be twisted into different shapes. I'm sure you will come across them this cny :)

福 （19/365）

this is a common sight during the cny period. You almost can see this word all over. But do you know the true meaning of it?

The right half of "福" (fú) (meaning blessedness) may be reduced to "一口田" (yī kǒu tián), which means literally, 'one mouth [and] padi-field.' One who has a padi-field to provide for himself can be happy. But this happiness is temporary and partial. A buffalo can have the same level of happiness if it is given a field to graze in.

True blessedness goes beyond the emotional feeling of happiness.

The left half of "福" (fú), "礻" (shì), which means 'God', gives the answer to true blessedness. In addition to being materially satisfied, one needs God in order to be truly blessed.

True blessedness is an everlasting joy that comes about because our sins are forgiven and we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

green amidst the reds.

who says cny must be all red. I can find green festive things to join in the cny series too! and the first green item I found is...Pomelo!

so did abit of googling and here are some facts about pomelo:
- largest citrus fruit in the world!
- signifies abundance as the chinese word for pomelo sounds like 'to have'
- one pomelo is usually shared among a family during cny, symbolising unity.

i like how the pulps burst in my mouth when you eat it. you cant get pomelo all year round, unlike apples and oranges. they are usually only in season in mid-jan to feb which is the cny period. so yes, go get one now!

Cookies, tarts and many more (18/365)

when it comes to cny, how can we forget about the goodies!! my house only has 3 persons in it and this year, we have so many cookies that i doubt we can finish! need to open up the house for more people to come!

Mandarin oranges (17/365)

i'm going to start a series for cny. Anyway this is my month to blast the redness all over the blog! Anyway. mandarin oranges are always used during Chinese New Year. Do you know the meaning behind it?

Mandarin oranges (桔) are very popular and welcome in Guangzhou. In Cantonese, the Chinese character 桔 (ji, meaning orange) and has the same pronunciation as 吉 (ji, meaning harvest and good luck). Besides this special meaning, the mandarin orange has a beautiful golden color which adds to the lunar New Year festive atmosphere.

There we have our CNY lesson 1. Stay tuned.

good old guides cookie

isn't this nostalgic? did you buy those cookies from your guide friends last time? well this is one of the old tins I kept from last time. it's the mint choc flavored one. actually these cookies taste like Tim Tams. I wonder if the guides still do sell them annually?

while waiting...

randomly noticed that novena mrt station is actually painted green! the things one notice when you bother to slow down and take in your surroundings.

this might not be a big discovery. but in life, you may learn and notice new things if you were to slow down and wait. well, as the saying goes, 'good things come to those who wait'. hmm.

The Red Bin (16/365)

have i not open my eyes big enough to notice red bins around? but i thought they are always green? anyway, even dustbins in red look so pretty!!!everyone please throw your rubbish in pretty bins and don't litter, k?

blister be gone!

yesterday's range session resulted in a huge blister on my finger. protected it with a plaster. as with most of my stuff, I like them with colours. who uses boring ugly plasters when you can get cute colourful ones!

Vintage (15/365)

i love vintage! especially if they are red in colour. I want something like that in my house next time, so pretty! Project 365 has made me fall in love with red ever more than before. =)

swing it!

sticking to my resolution of staying fit, started my day early and headed to the driving range to hit some balls today! been a year since I brought out my clubs to play! managed to get the swing back abit! but having blisters is no fun :( ouch.

Mcdonalds is even more convenient than ever (14/365)

From the old days where i eat macs to now, mcdonalds has made it really really convenient to all to buy. sooner or later, maybe masters can be accepted too??

Sneaky!! (13/365)

I know this picture don't look entirely red but look closer! And this picture might not be that appealing but trust me when I say I took a huge sneaky effort to take this picture. This pair of shoes are worn by this small boy. So eye catching that I had to take it as my red item of the day. Kudos to my effort!

Friday commitments

after 2 months of free fridays, cell has resumed for the year. it was nice being back and fellowshipping. though I'm a teeny weeny sad my friday plans with friends have to be shelved for now. but yes, always good to be in the presence of God! =)

and what I always look forward to is the food after bible study! =p today we had fried rice and green grapes! so there you have it, my picture of the day!

dj in the house!

Yoyo what's up! had a company event at zouk today and I had my hands on the turntables! how cool is that! =p like how many famous dj touched these turntables and I had my chance today! woohoo =) party on!

i hate fast food chilli sauce! (12/365)

i love all chilli, belachan, sambal, tom yum, whatever, you name it, i love it. but somehow, i hate fast food chilli sauce, be it from mos, kfc or macs. so whenever i go to fast food places, i will ask for ketchup. one of my friend always laugh at me saying, "only small kids eat tomato sauce!" ("___"!)

celebrity spotting

mid week booster - night out with drinks and pretty lights. always nice to just talk and laugh with the ones you are so comfortable to chase the work blues away. =) and add alittle celebrity spotting to spice up the night!

For red stripes (11/365)

Red stripes. This is what this blog is about! When I saw this, i knew i had to take it for my red item of the day! =)