You know that axiom about "if you fail, try, try, again"? Well we think it's a philosophy to live by, and one that applies to our choice for newest addition to the AT:LA team, Abby Stone. Abby tried out the last time we were hunting for new editors, being passed up by literally a coin toss. But we always remembered her enthusiasm, fun sample posts, and her "can-do" attitude we're always looking for in a contributor, making her a unanimous choice to join us. So please help us in welcoming Abby to the LA team! Here's her first post for AT:LA:

With Chinese New Year coming up on February 7th, and to get a jumpstart on the Spring Cure, we're going to thank the Kitchen God, one of the Chinese deities who watches over the household. It is said that, as goes your kitchen, so goes your house and your life...

We're crossing our fingers; by getting on the Kitchen God’s good side, we’ll not only assure our refrigerator and pantry are blessed but my future as well. The Kitchen God doesn’t do thank-you notes though; this guy demands an offering. So this week we’ll clean out the old food from our kitchen, make a toast to a paper effigy of him with sweet wine and candies (so when he reports on what I’ve been doing over the past year, he’ll only have sweet things to say), set fire to the image, and scatter the ashes to the wind. Finally, we’ll tack up a new image over our stove and watch my luck grow. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

-Abby