The Asian Invasion

There's one time a year that I cannot avoid being Asian and that is around Chinese New Year. The family gets together, we frequent loud Chinese restaurants, mah jong is constantly being played, and we are eating ALL THE TIME.

This year is especially awesome because my aunt's visiting here from Hong Kong and staying for ten whole days!

To do Chinese New Year right, you've got to go to an Asian Supermarket and stock up on uber Asian things - lots of fruit, vegetables, fish, flowers, and you know, whatever it is that Asians buy…

Be warned, Asian Supermarkets around Chinese New Year are nobody's joke.

Make sure there's plenty of delicious seafood on hand. Asians love seafood.

Here I am (hello!) holding a giant bucket of Alaskan Crab Legs. We don't mess around.

Take lots of pictures with your family.

Then get smothered with Ca$h Money.

Of course, Chinese New Year isn't until Monday, but what's the sense in waiting until then when you can celebrate all weekend? 

Just in case you didn't know, Chinese people are pretty superstitious, especially around the New  Year… in case you want to cover all of your bases (it can't hurt):

1. No cleaning! Especially New Year's Day (Monday) no sweeping! You'll sweep all of your good luck away.

2. Make sure everything is tidy and put away New Year's Eve (think Spring cleaning).

3. Don't buy shoes near the holiday (seriously) in order to avoid a rough patch in the New Year - in Cantonese, "shoes" are a homonym for "rough"

4. Pay off your debts and any money you owe to others - it's believed that if you start off the year in the red, you'll end up there as well.

5. Wear something colorful, red is an especially good color to wear since it's believed to bring luck.

6. Eat CANDY! This is believed to sweeten up your year. 

Time to get cleaning!