Happy Valentime's Day!

No, that's not a typo...that's the way we say it around our house. Well, Brian and I don't, but we don't count anymore :-) Ella awoke this morning very early to ask if it was Valentime's Day. She has been so excited about taking her cards for her friends to school. They made valentine bags for the cards, and Ella wrote her name on each card. That's quite a feat when you consider there were 18 cards. When she got home, we had to go through each card to see who they were from.

Ella has really fallen in love with the movie Cinderella. She loves to sing the songs and dance around. She's had a pair of slippers for a while, but she just got the dress for Valentine's Day. She wanted to put in on immediately, and of course, we had to wear the shoes, too. She's such a girly girl one minute, and then the next she's kicking her soccer ball around the house trying to score under the chair in our office.

This morning she told me that I was her valentine and that when she was a mommy she wanted to live with me. I hope that all of the above is still true when she grows up. I would love to be her valentine forever, and I would love to grow old with her. What a sweet little Cinder"Ella" she really is...

Happy Chinese New Year!

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Ella had a great day today sharing Chinese New Year treats with her friends at school. She picked out red Chinese take-out boxes to fill with gold wrapped chocolate coins, noise makers, fruit snacks and lots of other goodies. She also took several items we bought while in China to share with her class. Her teacher said that Ella was very prould of the things she showed her friends. That made me smile when I heard that because we want to embrace Ella's Chinese heritage and want her to feel proud of that heritage. It's a part of who she is and, really, it's a part of who we are too. Here are a few pictures of her getting her treat boxes ready:



Happy Chinese New Year to each of you!

The Rat

Being born a Rat is nothing to be ashamed of. In China, the Rat is respected and considered a courageous, enterprising person. It is deemed an honor to be born in the Year of the Rat and it is considered a privilege to be associated with a Rat. Rats know exactly where to find solutions and can take care of themselves and others without problems. They use their instinctive sense of observation to help others in times of need and are among the most fit of all the Animal signs to survive most any situation.

Years of the Rat
First in the cycle, Rat Years begin the sequence and recur every twelfth year. The Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which each Rat year actually begins.

The Sign of the Rat
Being born under this sign determines many talents, as well as other characteristics that may not be so commendable. Rats are very lively and need a lot of mental and physical stimulation. They can be calm and perceptive, but sometimes their brains can cause a mental restlessness, tempting them to take on too much, only to discover they are unable to meet their commitments. Rats are blessed with one of the best intellects going. Add to their intelligence a curiosity and a bright imagination, and they seem as sharp as a needle.

The sign of the Rat is the first sign in the cycle giving Rat people exude great leadership qualities and are good at taking the lead. They don't mind a lot of responsibility and they demonstrate a strong presence that other people respect. For those with the Rat nature, status and monetary satisfaction are the greatest motivation.

CHARACTERISTICS
Smart, Magnetic, Well-liked, Affable, Quick-witted, Surreptitious, Selfish, Protective, Calculating


New Year Sweet Dumplings
2 ½ ounces black sesame paste, red bean paste, or creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp superfine sugar
1 ½ cups glutinous rice flour
1 ounce rock/lump sugar
Combine the sesame paste with the superfine sugar
Sift the rice flour into a bowl and stir in ¾ cup boiling water. Knead carefully (the dough will be very hot) to form a soft, slightly sticky dough. Dust your hands with extra rice flour, roll the dough into a cylinder, then divide it into cherry size pieces. Cover the dough with a tea towel and, using one piece at a time, form each piece of dough into a flat round, then gather it into a cup shape. The dough should be fairly thin.
Fill each cup shape with 1 tsp of paste and fold the top over, smoothing the dough so you have a round ball with no visible joins.
Bring 1 liter of water to a boil, add the rock sugar and stir until dissolved. Return to a boil, add the dumplings in batches and simmer for 5 minutes, or until they rise to the surface. Serve warm with a little of the syrup.