CNY is complicated

i'm only beginning to realise the complexity of Chinese New Year. On Sunday, i had a brief chat with my sis-in-law at church (thank God for her!) and was surprised to find out that there are FOUR family gatherings over CNY that we must attend. and this is just mel's side. my side also has two dinners. quite naturally, there are clashes in timings and dates. so, choices to make and some gatherings will be missed.

i guess it's difficult cos i want to spend time with my own family. i'm used to having time to slack over CNY too - just staying at home and watching tv. but now, with so many different dinners and lunches, it's all a bit... complicated. not that i don't love my in laws - i do! - it's just not the usual CNY.

and there's the added stress of having to buy goodies and stuff for family and self this year. normally my parents handle that kind of thing. i think i've only gone CNY shopping for foodstuff once or twice in my entire life! so it was a bit stressful to think of a list of what we should get, and to decide where to get it from etc etc.

the fun side of this is that we will get to spend more time with both sides of our families, and build relationships with the extended family, so i think that's a good thing. =) and i really liked decorating our home with some simple daiso stuff to make it more festive. theme of our first CNY is PINK! hee hee

and lastly, i'm going to try making my own pineapple tarts! well, ok, i'm cheating on the jam - i bought ready-made pineapple jam to use - but i'm making the pastry, which is a start right? my sis-in-law and maybe a few friends are coming over to join in the baking too! =) so i'm quite excited about seeing my very own tarties in the oven browning nicely (at least that's what i hope and envision for this Sunday)