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Is it me or are high school proms a rip-off these days? In my day, there were no high school proms so my folks got off lucky . These days, they have a graduation ceremony where we have pay like $50 for our teen to receive a bunch of flowers and scroll on stage.

Then there’s the formal high school prom held at a hotel, no less! Mind you, my kids are not even in private schools. During Steev’s time 3 years ago, we paid $75 for the prom held at a somewhat obscure hotel.

These days, it’s not just high school any more, we’re also leading the high life! The school has ‘moved us up’ to a posh 5-star hotel where we have to fork out $180 for the dinner and dance. Remember we haven’t factored in the cost of that evening gown, purse, shoes, accessories and hairdo yet !!

Not to say that I’m a Scrooge or anything when it comes to one-time events like these. But is it really necessary to have an event this posh for teens who, by the way, aren’t making their own money yet and still have a long ways to go before they should even think to spend half that amount for a night out?

I think they’re doing just fine without being given the impression that they need to live beyond their means to have a good time! The organizers, of all people, should know better! What are they thinking?

So hard to believe Tyson’s been with us for a year now. He came to us when he was about 6 weeks old and yesterday he turned one! In this year, he’s gone from cute and playful… to super inquisitive and destructive… to more controlled and sociable now.

He looks forward to his evening walks to the park and visiting with his friends who live down the road. Before, he used to be intimidated by the bigger, less friendly mutts but now he feels he’s big enough to stand up to them .

Before, we used to worry that he would charge right out to the road and go missing. Now he seems to keep himself in check and even if he does wander outside for a quick sniff or two, he knows to turn around and come back home.

Just look at this cheeky face he puts on when begging for treats!

Well, he got a nice juicy fake bone for his birthday so you can bet those poor puppy dog eyes lit up like stars ! He got tired of his bone after one day. Now the girls stick treats into both ends of the bone and His Greediness is loving it again.

Happy Birthday, Tyson, we love you and though you’re such a little garden destroyer, we’re glad you’re one of the family!

We’re on a vegetarian diet today because it’s Wesak Day. The good thing was we didn’t have to wake up early this morning, not that my kids need sleep aids, as we already went to the temple yesterday.

Well, technically we should be going today but in previous years, I’ve had to drive round in circles looking for a parking spot. Finally I had to drop the kids off and then, I ended up not being able to even step out of my car – which was defeating the whole purpose of me going there!

So this year, I decided to go a day earlier. I’m sure the Buddha won’t mind. In fact, He’s pretty flexi and understanding so it really doesn’t matter where I pray. In fact, I’m talking to Him every day in my heart. So it’s cool between the Buddha and I .

Happy Wesak if you’re celebrating . May you be well and happy!

I’ve been holding my breath all morning (well, since last night actually) in anticipation of Steev’s first driving lesson. I still can’t imagine my firstborn, my baby driving a car. Gimme some time, I need to get used to that thought .

At the appointed time, the driving instructor pulls up outside our house. Steev tells me later the car is so freakin’ small that he can’t stretch his legs all the way even with the driver’s seat pushed to the max, all the way back as far as it would go .

After the initial briefing, Mr DI allows Steev to drive round the block. Many times. The car’s a stick shift so it’s one big balancing act with the clutch and accelerator. I’m not sure who even drives stick shift any more but we don’t have any other choice. On the bright side, it’s probably something to brag to his grandkids about .

What a great weekend! We spent the better part of it at a wedding on the in-law side. Friday night, it was raining elephants and gorillas. Visibility was poor and parts of the highway was flooded when we drove out to the bride’s open house.

As usual, each time we see the clan, there are the exclamations of how big the kids have grown and the repetitions of names, ages and school year to jolt everyone’s memories. Now that my teens are old enough to answer those questions themselves, my days as a human tape recorder may be numbered .

Saturday morning, we were off to the church wedding and reception. The bride was radiant, of course. Thankfully too the service was short and sweet, and the day got noisier as more of the clan crawled out of the woodwork whom we’ve not seen in ages.

The hotel dinner party that night was huge. There must’ve been at least 800 guests. In the midst of camera flashes and toothy hugs, Steev bumped into a guy from college that he vaguely knew. Someone he would say hi to as they passed each other in the hallway between classes.

In the small talk that followed, that guy turned out to be a cousin (?) Steev never knew he had. Can you imagine that? Right now, we still have no idea who he is but I’m sure with a little nosing around, we’ll soon find out he’s related to us. It’s the first time we’ve ever encountered something like this. Have you ever found a long-lost family member through casual conversation?

While it’s the same old, same old every house we visited this year, ours isn’t. We’ve got a star attraction to show off and he has, so far, got everyone we know going ga-ga…

… yep, that would be Tyson, our beauty king of a baby beagle. Isn’t he cute? He smiles too and yelps when he hears his name. Tyson’s been with us for only about 5 months now, so he wasn’t around last Chinese New Year. This year, our visitors were surprised to see happy little Tyson at their feet.

Hip2bDad’s best buddy dropped by with his family. Their 2 teen boys are around the same age as our 3, and as young families, we’ve spent many fun times together checking out new playgrounds, comparing toys, wondering which baby jogger city mini to buy and trading child-proofing stories.

We could easily tell that Hip2bDad’s buddy was quite taken with Tyson and was indicating to his boys that they too should probably get a pet when they return home. The only problem is they live in a condominium where space may be a constraint. We don’t think that’s going to stop him though .

Anyhow, back to Tyson. He’s getting all the attention from our festive visitors as well as from Raine and Skye. Since they have a week off from school, they have all the time in the world to pamper, sneak him forbidden snacks, spray him with water to cool him off in this heat, take him for walks and of course, Tyson is only too happy to pose for photos. We love you, Ty. You’re the cutest!

We had a small trickle of visitors yesterday so it was all nice and manageable, nothing like the hordes of 20-30 relatives who used to descend on us like a swarm of locusts. Most of those cousins are now either working or studying all over the globe.

Today I’m going to be cooking our Kickoff Lunch. It’s the first meal of the new year that traditionally business families and their staff would enjoy as they kick off the new business year. It’s a tradition in our family as far back as I can remember.

So yep, Chinese New Year is, as some of you may know, one big feast stretching over 15 days so you can imagine how much food is involved . From big meals at restaurants (which we try to avoid unless invited) to crunching cookies, cakes and all things sugar-laden at every house we visit.

After lunch, we’re off to visit a couple of relatives and as usual, there’ll be lots of gossips and thank goodness conversations will typically stay clear of problems and negative stuff like checking out jointsupplementreviews.net for minor ailments.

It’s pretty quiet this year. I like it this way. At least we have time to savor the week-long school break, laze around all day, gobble heaps of mandarin oranges and tangerines, watch some movies at home, have a few laughs.

Admittedly I’m not a very good Chinese chef. Blame it on me not being very Chinese-y, I’m actually much more confident cooking Western food than I am Asian food. I would’ve loved to bring my entire brood out to Friday’s for pasta and pizza, but I have to instill some appreciation for Chinese customs and traditions in my young ‘uns, don’t I?

So this being Chinese New Year and all, I have to at least pretend to whip up a few simple Chinese dishes to make my ancestors proud . So here’s what I cooked for our CNY reunion dinner lunch (find out how our dinner became lunch) today.

Stir-Fried Kai-lan with Crispy Scallop Bits

An everyday dish of stir-fried Kai-lan (Chinese kale) funky-ed up with crispy dried scallop bits became a big hit with my say-no-to-veggie teens .

Claypot Pork Ribs and Tofu

My kids are big fans of Claypot Tofu (recipe is at my food blog) and I cook this quite often. But Claypot Tofu and Pork Ribs with carrot flowers and a sprinkling of wolfberries? Now that’s something different. Raine loved this and said it’s a brilliant idea to use pork ribs.

Spicy Thai-style Crispy Chicken

And my very popular Spicy Thai-style Crispy Chicken (recipe is on my food blog) with shredded carrots, cucumbers and onions is a hit with the kids as usual.

Braised Mushrooms with Phoenix Claws

And then we have Hip2bDad’s and my favorite Braised Mushrooms with Phoenix Claws. The name itself is enough to invoke sheer horror in my kids’ eyes. Phoenix? Actually there’s nothing pre-historic about this at all. Phoenix Claw is just a nice name for chicken feet !

Lotus Root Soup with Japanese Baby Scallops

And finally, we have my Lotus Root Soup with Japanese Baby Scallops which turned out so sweet and flavorful I would’ve hidden the entire pot to savor when no one’s watching .

There! Are we going to need diet pills later? I doubt it since there’s nothing very fattening here. And I think I might just have saved us a couple of hundred bucks cooking at home.

Here’s wishing all who are celebrating, A Happy and Prosperous Year of the Tiger. If you’re traveling out of town, have a safe journey. And to those who are not, have a Happy Valentine’s Day and a great weekend   .