So today marks a new lunar year – the year of the ox.  Since the new year started during the week, most of the festivities that accompany the three to seven days of celebration were celebrated during the weekend.  I celebrated the Lunar New Year (Tet, as we call it in Vietnamese) yesterday with my sister and brother-in-law with a humble sushi meal.  I made sure I ate noodles for longevity and sushi (fish) for prosperity. Today, I ate a special square shaped cake called banh chung, which is a traditional Vietnamese cake given as a New Year gift to family and friends.  My mom sent me some li xi money in traditional red ornamental envelopes for good luck.  As you can tell by the picture, I found these cool gold foiled envelopes to use in place of the red ones.  I usually save some of the money received to buy some lottery tickets before then next lunar year — so wish me luck.

I truly love my culture and all the customs and traditions that comes with it and Tet is one tradition I will practice and enjoy for the rest of my life.  I wish you a Happy New Year full of good health, luck, and prosperity. Take care.

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The one thing about kids I have learned is that they love to do anything and everything, even if it is for just a short amount of time. Gavin was just the case, he would play with his toy cars for several minutes, then run to go up and down the slide a couple times, he would then ride is scooter to only throw the scooter down several minutes later and return to playing with his cars.  He wanted to fly the kite, feed the ducks, blow bubbles, eat grapes then honey bears, play in the water to only tell his mom, after putting on his swimming shorts and water shoes, that he didn’t want to play in the water no more.

You truly don’t know what to expect with kids, but at least you get to see their faces light up with each activity they decide to do. Enjoy.

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So during my holiday break, I was fortunate enough to be able to go and watch the Longhorns play Ohio State at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.   Besides the fact that my family and I had to drive to and from Albuquerque to Phoenix through a snowstorm, the trip to watch the game was so worth it.

We started off the Fiesta Bowl day with breakfast at Sprinkles Cupcakes in Scottsdale, where they had special cupcakes made in honor of the Longhorns (see below).  When I saw those scrumptious cupcakes so neatly displayed behind the counter, my New Year’s resolution went flying out the door. Good news, I didn’t gain a single pound during the trip, bad news, I didn’t buy enough to bring home.  So after scarfing down these delicious cupcakes, we headed to the stadium to do some tailgating in the nice warm Arizona weather.    Of course, after tailgating we went to the game where the Longhorns went on to win 24-21.

I almost didn’t have any pictures of the game to share because they almost didn’t let me bring my Canon 5D Mark II into the stadium.  I charmed my way in though and here are some pictures of the trip.

cool cupcakes huh?

yes, even the original horses from those Budweiser commercials were there…

a local reporter talking with some excited Longhorn fans…

Hook ‘Em!

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