Frannywanny

It's currently the ghost month in the lunar (Chinese) calendar and this means, it's the season where we try to avoid traveling, making big decisions, signing contracts, making big purchases and getting married. It's the most feared for month of the year as this is when they say, the ghosts and spirits would be most active. Yesterday, the 15th of the 7th month is said to be the worst day of all. During this time, people would offer food to the gods to ask for extra protection and would avoid places like hospitals, wakes and cemeteries. Come the 15th of September (a month from now), the ghost month has officially ended and it's time to celebrate! This day is called the Mid-Autumn Festival  where families gather to have a good meal and enjoy an abundant supply of mooncakes. While I love Chinese New Year food such as sticky tikoy  (glutinous rice cakes), tang yuan (glutinous stuffed rice balls), dumplings and yu sheng salad, Paul's favorite Chinese holiday is actual...

This year flew by in bullet train speed. I can't believe we're a few hours away from bidding 2015 goodbye and saying hello to 2016. People say that time flies when you're having fun. Well, I guess for most parts, that's true but I also have experienced my biggest heartbreak (to date) a few months back when my beautiful Amah lost her battle to ugly cancer and left us all in this world. Sometimes, I would forget that she's gone and would excitedly look forward to flying home to Manila to see her and Angkong. *sigh* On the other hand, our family recently celebrated a big milestone when my sister tied the knot to my new brother-in-law E. That was a really fun occasion and I'm pretty sure that even Amah was up there smiling and watching as the festivities unfold. Anyway, amidst all the ups and downs, this year has really taught me the true meaning and importance of FAMILY. I've been flying back and forth Singapore and Manila for the past months and while a...