Year of the Dragon

 It's Chinese New Year so we celebrated like we always do, at our favorite Chinese food place. And I'm talking real Chinese food - not that Orange Chicken and Kung Pao that you get at Pick Up Stix.
This dinner is full of things you'd look at and never think of eating like seaweed that looks like little black worms and sea cucumber (you've seen one at an aquarium).Yep, if your mind is picturing that gelatinous log at the bottom of a touch pool, you've accurately identified it and, yes, it tastes just as bad as it looks. It's the one thing I leave alone on meals like this. The rest is pretty stellar. The scallops are cooked to perfection, the hoisin and chili oil sauces go well on everything and the shark fin soup is, well, a controversial staple. I guess next year they're outlawing shark fin so I'm taking advantage of the traditional Chinese dish until they take it away. I completely understand why it's being outlawed- I actually think it should have been done before now. It is, however, one of Tyler's favorites. Here he is, downing his second bowl.

For the next little segment, I'm including some pics that I had Will take of me with some family members so I apologize if it looks like I monopolized the evening and jumped in front of the camera at every moment. I don't often get pictures with my mother-in-law so I wanted to make sure I took one this time. Another is of me and my girls. Black and white looked better than color of mommy at an odd angle with wrinkles. Just think of it as me being artistic. =) The 3rd is a picture of me and my oldest niece, Candace, under the absolutely stunning florescent lightbulbs. What's with the lighting? Anyway, isn't she beautiful? I don't see her a lot since she's in college so it's always good to catch up with her and hear about her exciting life.

 See? So many pictures of me. I'll give you a breather and put in a picture of the family around the kid's table.
We actually do kind of have a kid's table when it comes to dinners like these. As much as everyone loves the kids, we usually don't want to sit at a table with them because they are like vacuum cleaners when it comes to food. There isn't much left after they're done...and they also tend to like the dishes that I like so it's an even bigger competition. Of course, after course 3, the other 7 courses are the "even-though-I'm-full-I-guess-I-can-fit-more-in-so-I-don't-feel-rude" courses. Anyone who has ever been at one of these dinners can whole-heartedly agree with me on that one. I'd probably have to run another half marathon just to burn off half of the calories.

It was a fun night celebrating the year of the dragon (my year!!) and it's already looking like a year full of blessings and fun! My kids are loving the red envelopes as well. A little extra cash never hurt anyone...