Roaring in the Year of the Tiger!

新年快乐， 万事如意！

Getting ready for the roaring Tiger

With the year of the Tiger greeting us in less than two days, let's see ....

1. Wash the car - Checked! After being in the queue for 1 entire hour and killing time playing Bejeweled Blitz on my iphone. After an hour, I still couldn't beat the hubs high score of 168,400!
2. Pamper my nails - Checked! Thanks to the wonderful ladies @ Polished Nails & Spa
3. Pack ang pows - Checked! This year's nicest ang pow packets - The Hour Glass. They were PINK!
   
4. Buy new dress - Checked! I decided to go traditional this year with a lovely qipao I picked up from Shanghai Tang. No surprise what colour it is. It was screaming "buy me! buy me!"
5. Buy kueh bangkit - Checked! Checked! Read previous post for word for word account of mission kueh bangkit!
6. Buy new PJs - Checked! PJs are a huge affair in the Koh family. For me, slipping into new ones to bed on the eve of the New Year is probably one of the longest tradition I've been keeping to. This year's comfy M&S's PJs come courtesy of the hubs! : )
7. Get a haircut - Checked! I only trust Ashley's pair of hands & scissors!
   
8. Visit Chinatown - Checked! I'm 30 and till today, I do make it a point to visit Chinatown before CNY. When we were younger, going to Chinatown during CNY was a big thing! I remember my dad will carry me on his shoulders when the crowd got so bad and we'll go in search of our white rabbit sweets! Today, although the atmosphere is not quite the same - you see more stalls selling German bratwurst and Takopachi than white rabbit sweets - its still radiates a nice festive and celebratory mood fitting for arrival of Spring!
   

Well, looks like I'm all ready for the roaring year of the Tiger! I may prefer Christmas over CNY for the message it means to me but I enjoy the tradition that comes with celebrating CNY. The red decorations that fill the house, gathering at grandpa's place with my cousins munching on keropok and peeling mandrine orange (for my lazy cousins), the kumquat tree that brightens up our garden, the smell of mom's yummy chap chye & hae cho.

I don't understand why some Chinese are proud that they don't celebrate CNY. I actually feel sad for them! I feel blessed to have a family to celebrate the festive with!

Mission Kueh Bangkit

Our Sunday saw me go into a frenzy over finding Mr Harry's Nonya Kueh shop. If I could only have one Chinese New Year cookie, then it has to be kueh bangkit. Not any kueh bangkit, only Harry's! Kueh bangkit is a light coconut cookie made from tapioca flour. Its hard to the bite but the good ones should melt in your mouth. I remember how when we were kids, my sister and I use to help my mum make rooster-shaped kueh bangkit and we'll dot each cookie with a little red dot to represent the rooster's eyes!

So back to my story. We headed to Joo Chiat on Saturday evening intending to get our yearly supply of kueh bangkit from Uncle Harry's Nonya shop only to find that an Everything With Fries cafe had taken over! Sigh, another victim of the cafe culture! Disappointment was an understatement. I considered making do with the ones from a competitor - Glory - but theirs were hard and bland, I couldn't bring myself to waste $10 on a bottle.

I spent a good part of Sunday searching for leads on where Mr Harry may have moved to only to find a cyber geek's post on Hardware Zone asking if anyone knew where Harry had gone. Convinced by mid afternoon that Mr Harry has called it a day altogether, I reluctantly picked up a bottle of kueh bangkit while visiting Chinatown only because (a) the lady boss promised me it was melt-in-your-mouth material and (b) it was a reputable shop in Chinatown so how bad could it be! We put it to the test immediately on the car ride home - everyone agreed it was OK, it did melt in our mouths but something was just not the same.

Still undeterred by the fact I already had a bottle of kueh bangkit at home, I continued on my cyber search. God must have known how much I wanted my bottle of Harry's kueh bangkit cos I eventually stumbled onto a post in Juicy & Delicious reminiscing about the closure of Mr Harry's shop. While reading, it appeared clear that Uncle Harry had decided to call it a day . To my absolute delight, she provided a contact at the end of her post! The rest, they say is history. By 8pm, after more than 24 hours of searching, I was reunited with my kueh bangkit - now there's meaning to my Chinese New Year again!

Getting my Priorities straight

From time to time, the hubs and I like to think about how we want to do up our apartment after we shift in. Not that we'll be moving in anytime soon, but its just one of those silly things we talk about. And so being me, I've also been telling him how I visualise the master-bed room in every possible configuration to see if we can indulge myself in a walk-in wardrobe.

Today, while reading the Sunday papers, he laughed to himself and proudly exclaimed that he found a solution and that I just might have my walk-in afterall . . .

Not amused! :p

Loving a Broken World . . .

Surely children weren't made for the streets
And fathers were not made to leave
Surely this isn't how it should be
Let your Kingdom come

Surely nations were not made for war
Or the broken meant to be ignored
Surely this just can't be what you saw
Let your Kingdom come
Here in my heart

I will live
To carry Your compassion
To love a world's that broken
To be Your hands and feet
I will give
With the life that I've been given
To go beyond religion
To see the world be saved
By the power of Your Name

Surely life wasn't made to regret
And the lost were not made to forget
Surely faith without action is dead
Let your Kingdom come
Lord break this heart

Your name
Is a shelter for the hurting
Jesus Your name
Is a refuge for the weak
Only Your name
Can redeem the undeserving
Jesus Your name
Holds everything I need


Lyrics by Lincoln Brewster

Daniel & Janelle

We welcomed a new member into the Koh family yesterday. It was a beautiful day for the newly minted couple. What stood out for me has got to be my cousin Daniel's thank you speech to his Grandma, spoken in what must have been the most sincere Hokkien words I've ever heard.

So far, the Koh grandchildren's weddings have been traditional by Grand-dad's standard. As we were kept well entertained by my coming-of-age teenage boy cousins over dinner, I couldn't help but imagine what their wedding will be like say ten years from now. It'll be interesting and I look forward to that day!

Dear Lord,

Just as the change of seasons refreshes the Earth
May the new year bring renewed hope and strength
that comes only from You such that the year will be a good one.
One that benefits me in spite of trials or obstacles
And one that lets me witness God's hand upclose in my life
Such that I'll end 2010 knowing that You have walked every step of the way with me.

Amen

In a while, we'll bid 2009 goodbye. Perhaps we can just slow down, quieten our feasting and partying hearts and reflect on the year past; His grace that came along with those challenges, His mercies that was new every morning, His love so steadfast, so unconditional, His providence that was always more than we needed.

May your 2010 be one filled with God's abundant love and blessings!

Blessed New Year!