Stay-cation

Brett and I travelled home for Christmas. it was wonderful. It was exciting. It was full of activities. And it was not a relaxing vacation. We enjoyed a few days off for Chinese new year by celebrating with a stay-cation. This was our version of vacation: staying in Hong Kong and getting some rest!

Here is Brett checking out the view! (By the way- we are cursed and always seems to find that it's rainy and nasty when we stay at hotels!- it's okay with us as long as we're relaxed.)

I booked us a hotel stay which had some very attractive amenities! And we geared up to relax!

Upon arrival we popped some bubbly and toasted each other. Last year for Valentine's day, Brett was in Hong Kong and I was lonely in Seattle! We were very happy to be together for the occasion! Please note the handmade chocolates that came with the Champagne (there were also strawberries- but they were devoured!) The chocolates had about 4 kinds of nuts in, so I ate those and lucky Brett enjoyed his nut-free valentine from me!

The hotel brought tangerines and Lai See- red packets usually containing money. This pocket had chocolate gold coins inside!

Pink Toes! I got a pedicure and Brett's feet (not pictured) enjoyed a Chinese foot massage!

We were so very happy to stay-cation in Hong Kong. And now we have a great recommendation for a hotel if you'd like to come see us! *Be sure to check out the Chinese New Year post as well. (Just added) Click the top left "Kung Hei Fat Choi" title to see it!

Cheers!

Kung Hei Fat Choi! (Happy New Year)

This post is so long overdue that I'm going to skip right past that part!

Kung Hei Fat Choi literally means I wish you fortune...or "Happy New Year" in Cantonese. You see a kumquat tree and mums- both symbolic of good wishes for the year.

The break was met by some of the lowest temperatures Hong Kong has seen. Unfortunately, most people don't have heat in their homes (us included! brr...) so when you come home to a 45 degree house, it's no fun!

My office took a field trip day to the Che Kung Fair. Here, we found many traditional CNY activities.

Lots of things to buy showed the face of the Tiger, as this year 2010 is the year of the Tiger. 12 zodiac animals represent the different years. They rotate through

as each of the 12 animals hosts a year. There were also many pinwheels and shiny decorations for the holiday.

We banged the drums to scare away evil spirits this year. I decided to make a scary face also!

We had our fortunes

given. You do this by

shaking the cup of sticks until just one pops out.

That stick lists a series of numbers, which corresponded to a certain fortune.

I guess I got lucky because all of my Chinese friends who read it told me it was "all good things." Grace especially delighted in telling us all what our fortunes meant for us!

My coworkers and I decided that 45 degrees wasn't too cold for ice cream!

This is the wishing tree. At Chinese new year, it's traditional to make a wish -

similar to how we might think of a

resolution. Instead, it's a hope for something and in many cases, wishers can plan to make that wish a reality. I wish for better grades in school might mean that you

commit to more studying, for example.

To make your wish, you must attach it (wr

itten) to a bag of rice and throw it to the wishing tree. You have 3 throws or your wish will not come true! I didn't do this because it was expensive, but I have a picture of Grace hurling her wish to the top branches!