I Suck At Chinese New Year

Saturday started off with a very nice treat. The day prior, my friend (Aimee) sent me a link about how Friendly's was offering free Fribbles as a sign of customer appreciation. The offer was too good to pass up. (Thanks Aimee!) Naturally, Karen and I decided to treat our twenty two month old daughter (Briana) as well.

So off we went to Friendly's for our Fribbles. Might I add, the Fribbles were very delicious. Briana even enjoyed hers. She looked happy as a clam sucking down her strawberry Fribble. I don't think I've ever seen her so content.

Anyway, later that night all of us went over to my parents for dinner. My parents hosted their annual Chinese New Year celebration dinner. Too bad I suck at Chinese New Year. For anyone curious, the Chinese new year is today. It's early this year. And it so happens to be the year of the Dragon, which is supposed to bring good fortune. I actually think this year is a water dragon, which means water will be powerful this year. So beware of floods.

My friends (Marc and Kelley) came to my parents' dinner this year. All this time, I never realized that Marc actually wanted to partake in the dinner. Consequently, I had never invited him and Kelley during the celebration of Chinese New Year. Oops! So this year was the first time they attended the dinner.

Also in attendance were my mother-in-law and father-in-law, my cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin), and my friends (Andrea, Jen and Bill). Normally, as with most family gatherings, I get a little stressed particularly because I'm running around between helping my parents with the food and entertaining their guests. This year, however, was a much different story.

I was definitely more relaxed than in past dinners. I think probably the reason was Briana and her ability to entertain everyone while I helped my parents. Needless to say, I thought dinner was great. I enjoyed the food that my parents made. It was delicious and definitely better tasting than the food from Chinese restaurants. But of course, I could be biased.

I must say, however, that I feel like I did not get to socialize as much as I would have liked. Poor Bill spent a good chunk of time watching some awful Chinese soap opera with my cousin. I did, however, find out that Jen has already made an appointment for her driving test. She's taking the test some time in February, which is pretty exciting.

Anyway, like I said, it was a great night celebrating Chinese New Year with family and friends.