~ Gong Xi Fa Cai ~ 恭喜发财!! ~

Happy Chinese New Year Friends!!

It's the year 4707, and time to welcome the Year of the Ox!

As I was browsing the internet for information and images I came accross this story of how the years got their names. Since it is Chinese New Year I thought this was the perfect time to share it.

How the Years got their Names

The gods chose 12 animals to name the years after, but the animals argued about whose name should be give to the first year. Each animal thought he was the most important and should be given the honour. They had a terrible argument. The gods decided to settle things by having a swimming race across the river. Whoever got across first would give his name to the first year, second to the second year, and so on.

That’s not fair! said the smaller animals the rat, the hare, the snake and the rooster. Everyone knows the big animals like the horse and the ox will get there first.

Well, you never know! said the gods.

So the animals lined up along the bank. Ready, steady, go! called the Gods, and they were off. It was surprising to see how well they all swam. The ox was in the lead, for he was the biggest and strongest, but the hare and the snake weren’t far behind him. The worst swimmer was the boar, who was fat and out of condition. Grunt! Grunt! He panted breathlessly; I don't care if I never have a year named after me! And he gave up.

But the rat didn't give up! He cared very much indeed who won the race. He was so determined that he paddled and paddled until he caught up with the ox. He quickly jumped onto his back and held on tightly until the ox had very nearly reached the other side, ahead of all the other competitors. Then he jumped off onto the dry land he had won the race just ahead of the ox!Ha! Ha! he laughed, I'm the winner!

The ox had to settle for being second, followed by the tiger, the hare, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the ram, the monkey, the rooster, and the dog.

And finally, last by a long way, came the boar, panting for all he was worth!

This story came from: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/

Some other good sites for info., crafts, cards, recipes, and other misc. stuff associated with Chinese New Year are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year or http://www.theholidayspot.com/chinese_new_year/




Here’s hoping this year brings much happiness, love, fortune and joy to everyone!

Best wishes for a prosperous year of the Ox!

Here Comes The Ox

Yesterday I spent most of the day studying but Larry & I did manage to get out for a little walk. It was cold but very nice to be out in the fresh air and getting some exercise. My weigh in on Thursday went well, I am down another 2.4 lbs. We are quickly approaching the last few meetings remaining in our 20 weeks program and I hope we can gather enough people to do it again. I am happy with my results but still have a long way to go. Having the support of co-workers and friends has really been a big benefit in the weight loss process.

I have finally finished Jocelyn’s blog header that I have been working on. Here is the link to her blog “Hanging By One Red Thread”. She is a fairly new blogger so stop by for a visit.



Last week our kitchen stove decided it was going to go to appliance heaven so Friday our new stove moved in. Today I am going to make corn chowder and bake peanut butter cookies to test it out.


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Tomorrow is the beginning of Chinese New Year. 2009 is the year of the Ox. I’m sure lots of you are out celebrating today so whatever events you are participating in I hope you have a wonderful day! Our local Chinese New Year celebration is being held next weekend. I can’t wait to see everyone and celebrate the year of the Ox…hopefully this will be the year we see “Maggie's” precious little face.

牛年吉祥！~ niú nián jí xiáng ~ Good Luck in the Year of the Ox!

Was It The Right Decision?

Right after Christmas my co-workers & I started taking the C*P*A payroll course. The first part runs for 8 weeks and there are two more parts after this one. It is hard to concentrate on studying when you have worked all day doing the same thing that you go home to study. My brain is in overload, lol!!! We are in the middle of the first application and it is consuming all of my evenings and spare time when I usually read blogs and post. I am not getting to follow what everyone is up to and I really miss it. I have been trying to keep up with some of you on F*aceB*ook. If I have not already added you please feel free to contact me by email or just add me by clicking on the link on my sidebar.

I have been tweaking my blog a bit with a new header and some fresh colours…hope you like it! I still have some things to change...like the fall/autumn graphics on the sidebar but that will be a weekend project. I have a new header to work on for my friend Jocelyn. Once I get her header completed I will put a link here to her blog. She & her husband are waiting for their 2nd child from China. They should be getting the referral phone call very soon!!!!! WooHoo!!

We have some "stuff" going on right now with our adoption. Since we switched to the special needs (waiting children) program, as most of you know, we need to update our homestudy…again, to include this change. Our social worker moved quite a while ago and so we have had to find a new one to do this update. I am now waiting to hear from our new social worker with our first meeting date so we can get the ball rolling with our SN adoption.

While all this stuff is going on we were also trying to decide if it was in our best interest to switch agencies due to some recent changes they have made. After weeks of difficult consideration we started the process of switching agencies; but after some good conversations over the last 2 weeks with our current agency Larry & I have decided to remain with them. This was a very difficult decision for us and I really hope we have done the right thing...

How do you really know if what you have done is right??



Weigh In tomorrow…ugh! I really need to work hard at getting back on track with my eating since the Christmas holiday. I hope I didn’t do too badly!




So there you go that is a bit of an update of what has been happening with us over the last few weeks.

I probably won’t be posting all that much while I am taking the payroll course but I will post when I can and I will be thinking of all of you out there in blogland and missing you.

“Hello…My Name Is Nikki, And I Am A Neglectful Blogger…”

Ok, I Suck At Posting But Let Me Explain…

I know you all have been busy as well and you don’t want to hear my excuses but here it goes…Christmas decorating, work,Christmas tree (*see note below), Christmas presents, visiting, Christmas baking, appointments, educational courses, Christmas Wrapping, company, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day…did I mention...

C – H – R – I – S – T – M – A – S!!!!!


~Here is a slideshow of our Christmas tree and Christmas Eve at my Mom's
house. As you will see my tree is "excessively" decorated and therefore
takes many hours.

* Approx. time for lights - 8~9hrs.
* Approx. time for decorations - 6~7hrs.

I believe I may be a little anal when it comes to the
Christmas tree, lol! But I learned from the best...my Mom's tree is on
page 5 of the slideshow...see what I mean!?!?

More Christmas pictures to come!

We had a wonderful Christmas, busy as usual and filled with lots of friends and family. We enjoyed lots of relaxing time together and had a lot of fun with our “wee” and new “wee fit”. These are amazing game systems, so fun & interactive.

Here is a picture of the fantastic gift we each received from my best friend Lisa. She makes these personalized licence plates and they are completely tailored to have what you want on them! These were such a surprise!! We LOVE them!

I plan on getting her to make more so I can give them to friends and family as gifts for upcoming occasions. Here is a close of each one...

I can’t wait to put this on my car!!!

While I was "otherwise occupied" we hit another LID milestone…2 YEARS!!! It’s hard to believe it has been that long since we were officially logged in.

Some days it feels soooo long ago and others it just feels like last week we were sending the documents off in the mail. Either way, we are and will hang in there until we are holding our precious little bambino!

Today was our first ~“Wait” Watchers~ meeting since the holidays and I was sure I had gained weight after stuffing my face all over the Christmas break but guess what!!!!!!! I LOST!!! Ok so it was VERY minimal but hey…I didn’t gain! I am now over the 25lb mark!!