Happy New Year

i can't believe its already been 3 months since I last blogged. many of my friends have noticed and have asked why i haven't been blogging as much, etc. thanks everyone who have showed concern. i've just been really busy with a whole bunch of things. being unemployed since september really gave me alot of time to: think about things, gather projects i've been wanting to finish, spend more mommy and me time with babypork, write more emails, learn new things, find new hobbies, exercise more, catch-up with old friends and much much more.

so let's put the last couple months behind us and move on to happenings these past couple of weeks. well, first of all, it was chinese new year and it was papapork's bday as well that same day. we spent papapork's bday very low-key this year and spent a nice family day together doing everything we loved - eating the yummiest sushi and did some fun shopping.

we celebrated chinese new year with my parents and brother's family at my parents place having the traditional chinese dinner we do each year. this year i've realized that i really do enjoy those very traditional dinners we have over chinese new years. the traditional chinese dishes that all have meaning to the new year... the fish for good luck, the "faat choi" (hair looking vermicelli) which symbolizes "wealth"... the mushrooms, the "no meat" (jai) dish we always eat with taro roots and vermicelli in it plus many others more that i don't even know how to describe. i'm really glad that my mother knows how to make all those fancy asian dishes and sometimes when i sit here to think about it, i get a bit sad to know that the tradition and this culture might slowly get drifted away generations after generations. although i am not born here and i am not an ABC (American Born Chinese), i still can't consider myself 100% true chinese either. the amount of time i spent growing up in the US, the amount of chinese i can actually read and now when i think about the cultural chinese cooking, i am no expert at that at all.

i want to be able to bring down the chinese tradition to my little babypork someday. i want to be able to cook those traditional authentic new year dishes my own mother could do for my own family someday. i must learn it from my mom. i don't want to be the one who ends this tradition that my mother and grandmother and great grandmother have passed down through their generation. i need to continue this tradition for my family.

but i know someday, my little babypork... who is the 1st chinese-american born here (1st generation), i will have to accept that this tradition might slowly get drifted away. i just hope someday, my babypork(s) will at least want to come home to celebrate this special holiday called "chinese new year" with his parents back home enjoying traditional cultural food and have great conversations altogether. and in order for me to continue this tradition for my own family, i will put my heart to learn how to make all those traditional dishes my mother have made for us all these years. (and with the help of papapork who is much better than me in this chinese cultural thing and all the chinese funky ingredients, i think i might just be okay).

and someday i just hope my own babypork(s) will want to continue this tradition for themselves and their families as well.