Droplet of Life

Lion Dance at Hung Ga All Kung Fu Championships

2006-10-21T12:15:00.000-05:00

I competed in this Kung Fu tournament on September 23, 2006. You can read about my experience and see photos of me in action on my other blog.

The lion dances with the Lion Teaser

The Lion Teaser jumped for joy as the lion dance team succeeded in lifting the lion (along with the person who is holding the lion head AND the scroll) on the tall poll.

Quite a balancing act to master, don't you agree?

Katie in her Christmas sweater

2006-10-06T17:44:00.000-05:00

Found an old photo of our cat Katie in her Christmas sweater back in 2002 (she was about 1 year old). It was a sweather made for little teddy bears that I bought from a craft store. My daughter and I managed to put it on Katie, and took some pictures of her, before she started to struggle & try to get out of it.

Look, she is ALL dressed up. Doesn't she look adorable?!!!!! Red is definitely her color!! :-)

See more pictures of Katie & her best friend Whisper

Carnival of Family Life #21 at Play Library

2006-10-05T21:34:00.000-05:00

Welcome readers from the Carnival of Family Life!!

This week's carnival is up at the Play Library. Go check it out! I've submitted a post too -- My Monarch Butterfly.

Also, check out my other two blogs: Echoes of Cold Moon and Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul. Hope to see you there!

Snowy Morning

2006-09-23T20:15:00.000-05:00

These were taken near my house one quiet snowy morning back in January 2005 (Denville, New Jersey). After my kids went to school, I bundled up & headed out to the creek near our neighborhood. The snow had stopped, and the air was just so peaceful and quiet....

My Monarch Butterfly

2006-09-20T20:36:00.000-05:00

I have these pink flowering plant in my back yard that attracts butterflies. Every summer we see monarch butterflies visiting this particular plant. Even though I've seen it so many times, I'm still impressed by how beautiful these butterflies are.

Well, after reading Dr. Wayne Dyer's new book "Inspiration", I'm even more fascinated and impressed by these amazing creatures. Dr. Dyer talked about how the monarch butterflies are born in Brazil and somehow they remember how to migrate thousands of miles and then return to the exact same branch where they were born. He also talked about his own "in-spirit" encounter with a monarch butterfly that he was convinced to be his old friend Jack who loved the monarch. The butterfly stayed with him for hours and he even took a picture with the butterfly on his hand (the photo on his book cover). I wrote an article about this on my other blog called "Living an Inspired Life".

I couldn't get my monarch butterfly to pose WITH me, like Dr. Wayne Dyer did, but I did manage to get some good shots of it. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Moonlight Bonfire

2006-08-15T10:15:00.000-05:00

Every year around late January or early February, my neighbors by the lake host a Moonlight Bonfire Party. Most of the times the ground is covered with snow at that time of the year, yet nothing would stop them from having fun. We would bring our food & drinks, and gather around the bonfire in their backyard, right by the lake. They usually pick a night with the full moon, so you can picture the scene: a beautiful full moon over snow-covered lake, while a happy crowd gathered around the huge bonfire built mostly with Christmas trees.

Yes, you heard me right -- Christmas trees. This is no ordinary bonfire.

Right after Christmas, my neighbors would start collecting Christmas trees and all kinds of old furniture from the neighborhood. I think their record was burning more than 200 Christmas trees at one night!!! Let me tell you, it's quite a sight. The fire shot way up into the night sky, and we speculate that people from miles away probably think it's a forest fire of some sort. It is WILD!

Chinese New Year lion dance dinner

2006-08-14T22:50:00.000-05:00

We went to our friend Jenny's restaurant Nusantara for Chinese New Year lion dance dinner back in 2004. Our friends Ute, Uwe and their 3 kids sat with us.

The lion pretended to swallow Uwe while Ute took a close-up shot

It's customary to "feed" the lion with red envelope (lucky money) for good luck. Miranda got up-close-and-personal with the lion.

The lion prepared for the grand finale: swallowing the red envelope and the cabbage (symbol of good omen)

Whisper and Katie

2006-08-14T22:47:00.000-05:00

We adopted two kitty cats over the years. The black cat is Katie (5 years old), and the other one is Whisper (3 years old). We LOVE our kitties!

Katie (left) and Whisper 2005

Whisper (left) and Katie 2004

Whisper (left) and Katie 2005