Chase's Busy Day

Today we woke up at 5 a.m. (still trying to get over jet lag). We watched the sun rise (if you look closely at the bottom right corner you will see a group of men who sing (well, okay, yell) while running.





Around 7:00 Chase fell asleep, but was back up in time to have a couple Cheerios with her Daddio before he went to work. A quick note about Trix cereal in China - it is packed into 5 separate sachets within the box. The manufacturers have also been kind enough to write "not fried" on the box of Trix, just in case there was any confusion.





Just after Daddio left for work, we jumped into a cab and headed to the Shangri-La hotel to meet a woman kind enough to answer "new city" questions I had (like where do they buy meat, produce, etc). She also invited us to sit in on a cooking class they offer to people who choose to live at the Shangri-La. She was also kind enough to arrange a call for me with the head chef, to discuss food/cooking questions in more detail. She is also working to find a retired kindergarden teacher to spend time with Chase during the week. This woman rocks my world.








From there, we headed to the Children's Hospital. I didn't take any pictures. The good news tho - they have a VIP membership, which basically enables you to get immediate treatment from a doctor who speaks English and makes house calls. (Rockin')


We then returned home and headed to the management office to discuss things like telephone bills, internet speed (it takes 5 mins to load a page), utilities, etc. All must be paid, like everything else, in cash.


Now Daddio is at home and I've gotta run!

Room With A View

View from our living room ... I can not tell you how incredibly cold it is here.

Frequent Flyer

Home Sweet Home

We've just returned to Dalian after spending two weeks in Oregon. It was extremely hard to leave Portland. Everything was so easy, so comfortable. Family and friends everywhere.

Now we're back in China, surrounded by people who are happy, nice and helpful, but who do not speak a word of English. I continue to be impressed by the kindness of the Chinese people here in Dalian (with the exception of a few taxi drivers).

While in the US, I found it hard to explain our new home and lifestyle to people. It is harder still to try to convey how challenging the past 6 months have been. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change it for the world, but it has certainly left my head spinning.

Even if I don't know the word in Chinese, it sure is nice to have a place to call home.

Anniversary Dinner

I talked my mom into babysitting so that hubs and I could go out on our *second* date - and celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. We selected an oyster bar we had heard was "excellent," slated to be written up in Bon Appetit's April issue as one of the best restaurants in the country.

In good spirits we decided to start with oysters. Pacific Northwest oysters are sweeter and briney-er than other oysters in the country. Only downside: they are smaller. They were FABULOUS. So we decided to order the chef's specialty, basically whatever the chef felt like throwing together - the best of the best is how it was phrased - but I have to say I can't recall the last time I was so dissapointed in a meal.

Following is what we were served.

First course - three slices of beet with two pieces of frisee lettuce and a dab of goat cheese (I'm allergic to beets)

Second course - four little gnocchi with a poached egg and holandaise sause (good but too small a serving)

Third course - one crostini with marrow-infused bread with steak tar tar on top (after a root canal, I just couldn't make myself consume bone marrow)

Fourth course - Cow gland (it looked like cauliflour and was sort of rubbery so I only took a small bite) on pickled cabbage

Fifth course - Scallops in a chicken liver sauce (UGH!)

We decided to finish our meal with a bang and ordered the banana split - which was great - except one of the scoops was coffee ice cream (which was great but coffee late at night does not agree with me).

On a positive note, we were seated next to a great couple, who we ended up meeting out for drinks afterward. We then hurried home to find Chase fast asleep.

Happy Holidays

Just a quick note to wish everyone a very happy holiday season.

Quick updates on this end. We have officially moved to China, although we are in Portland, Oregon for the holidays. Brian loves his job. China is wild, crazy and promises to be quite an adventure. More on this later (when I have more time).

I had a very dental Christmas - spending most of it in the dentist's chair (root canal, crown lengthening surgery, cavity on the same tooth, night guard). Good times.

My dad and sister-in-law are engaged. Not to each other. A quick blog family welcome Fern and Courtney!

As for Chase, she is a little sick at the moment. But she gave us the greatest gift of all - she learned to kiss and clap on Christmas day. It is outrageous. SO sweet.

Oh and I managed to break one of our digital cameras, which explains why I have not posted anything lately. And why there are no pictures with this posting.

And now on to New Years....

Phuket

Nothing makes you feel more like a sloth than being surrounded by triathletes.

These days I find it exceedingly difficult to get out of bed in the morning (this from a gal who used to bolt out of bed at 5 am to head for the gym). So you can imagine how fabulous one feels when one is surrounded by bright-eyed, bushy tailed triathletes who are out running/ swimming/ biking before the sun rises. I was particularly inspired by (okay, actually kind of annoyed by) a couple uber fit moms (with small kids in tow) who somehow found time in their day to train to be triathletes.

With New Years right around the corner (and New Years resolutions to be made), I decided to take a good look at how Chase and I spend our day to see if maybe we, too, could train for a triathalon. After a closer look, it just might be possible ...

6:15 Chase awakes before the sun rises (a promising start)
6:30 We play quietly while letting daddy "sleep" (maybe this could be where we go for a run)
7:00 Mom finds coffee (breakfast of champions)

Chase eats carb breakie (in bed) to prepare for the day ...




















Swim training begins ...















And then it's time for a power nap ...





















Upon waking, we do some elephant wrangling (to build physical strength and endurance) ...














And then it's time to meditate (to build mental strength) on the meaning of life ...















And then ...

another nap before dinner.















Yep. I'm pretty sure that if we can keep this aggressive schedule up, we'll be ready to participate in the triathlon next year.

Ever Forward

So tonight is our last night in Singapore. I can't say I'm sorry to go. It has been a nice place to spend a month, but I can't say it has won a special place in my heart.

In fact, I have been extremely unmotivated here. Maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's the monsoon rain. Maybe it's that Chase is getting heavier and I don't have a stroller so going anywhere is difficult.

What did I like most? The fact one can find so many Western brands in the grocery store. The people are all extremely kind. The city is so clean. I felt very safe.

Could I imagine living her at some point? Maybe.

I will miss the two ladies I met here; they have been wonderful friends.

I know Chase will miss Erin and Ed. Erin inspired her to crawl and pull up; Ed was her first little boyfriend (he even gave her a goodbye kiss).

Goodbye Singapore ... Hello Thailand ...

Things I Just Don't "Get" About Singapore

State Land "Enter at own risk"signs ... Are there land mines there or what?














A new washer/dryer with a "short cycle" of 2 hrs and a long cycle of 9 hours - neither includes dry time.

Packing

And so we pack our bags again...

Crawling!

A Couple Things That Made Me Laugh Today ...

How Does This Straw Thing Work?

Photo Opp

I forgot to mention that a strange thing happened yesterday. We were at the mall (very exciting, I know) and a woman with her son approached Brian, who was holding Chase, and asked if her they could have their picture taken with Chase.

I'm telling you, this little girl gets a lot of attention.

I'm starting to get a little afraid that she's going to grow up expecting that every time she enters a room, people will want to talk to her, touch her, exchange smiles and take her picture.

But who knows, maybe they will!

I Love Sushi

Learning A Little More About Chase

Yesterday afternoon, Chase and I went over to visit her new friend, Erin.

Erin was kind enough to share her toys, many of which had flashing lights, made noises and had the ability to play songs.

Watching Chase with Erin provided me with insight into Chase's character. As I'm with her all the time and have no one to compare her to, I found watching these two kiddos interact with each other to be fascinating.

Erin, it turns out, is much more of a go-go girl than Chase - she has to be upright and moving at all times. While Erin can't crawl or walk yet, she had great control when it came to pulling up, and used everything she could to support herself in her quest to conquer the living room.

Chase, on the other hand, was content sitting, spending time on her belly or standing, but she didn't have the same level of desire to be everywhere at one time. (Maybe it's because she has already been so many places? Or maybe because she's spent so much time in my lap or in my arms?)

Chase strikes me as a thinker, a flirt, and communicator (she obviously got the flirt and communicator part from me and the thinking part from hubs). Everywhere we go she has to interact with someone new (it doesn't help that people are constantly cooing over her - they are only fueling the fire). She was outright flirting with an older guy earlier in the day and I could tell his girlfriend was a little jealous she wasn't getting the same kind of attention. When he looked away, she would grunt loudly (think Incredible Hulk when he splits his clothes), until he looked and smiled at her again.

At Erin's, she thought about each new toy and would, at times, crack herself up. She was also content just looking at the new books. She did get very excited when she realized Erin had a tambourine, too. She shook it with all her might (she was so focused she was actually holding her breath).

It will be so interesting when she starts to talk ...

Update: December Travel Plans

Once again our travel schedule is "hotting up" (admittedly hubby's never really settled down). The good news is that this should be the last of living out of suitcases for at least a year.

So starting 1 Dec, Chase and I will fly to Thailand to spend a couple days in Phuket. From there, we will move to Hong Kong to await our Chinese visas - while hubs returns to Dalian, China. Once we get our visas, we will join him. And then we return to the US for Christmas.

Bad news: Blogger doesn't work in China.
Good news: I'm working on a new Web site (stay tuned for URL details).

Not sure when/how I will be updating in the weeks to come...

Picking Up More Than Groceries

So I picked up a friend for Chase at the grocery store. Really, I did.

I was lucky enough to see a mom with a girl about the same age as Chase, so I asked her a couple questions about Singapore and the next thing you know, we're having coffee and talking about life as we know it.

Here are the little ladies, munching away on teething biscuits (mmmm, yummy) ...

Chase's Boyfriend

So I met a lovely woman, who has a darling little boy. They just moved to Singapore last week.

I think this woman might just be about the coolest mom ever. Why? Because her little boy wanted a pink stroller to push around. So she bought him one.















On our walk, we saw this Santa.
He was just hangin' out with his pants down.
He was the strangest (and most inappropriate) Santa I've ever seen.




















Should go back and pull his pants up?
Would you have pulled his pants up?

Compare

Singapore on a melt-your-face-off sunny day:















And Singapore on a monsoon-style rainy day: