sore thumb

Ol' 2007 is out the door and fresh spankin new 2008 is on her way in. It's been a great year for me. - I started learning one of the hardest languages on the planet (maybe even in the solar system) - Mystery baby #2 was successfully created - Madeleine turned 2 - Phil and I both turned 30 - I got a great haircut that I still like - My parents lived here and then decided to move here - I made some great friends - Oh, and I'm sure there's much more... Today we have class, NY Eve, but no class tomorrow. January 1st is a national holiday here. Yali has both days off for family reasons and because it's a holiday. Phil gets to play Nanny today while I start a new semester. I have 2 new teachers this semester and I'm looking forward to the change. It should be interesting today since I haven't reviewed or studied for over a week now. Speaking of which, I should crack open the book for a bit before I head out. Happy New Year!

Yesterday was a great day. The brunch was a highlight of the day with so many delicious dishes. I'm enjoying some of the leftovers this morning. Madeleine really enjoyed the day and her gifts. We got her a doll house, Sylvanian series. Miriam (Phil's sister) had Sylvanian stuff growing up and so we thought it would be fun to start M's collection. So far she has the house, a dalmatian family, and a kitchen set. She loves it. I was afraid it might be too old for her but she really likes it. She was the life of the party with our friends. She kept everyone entertained with being silly and showing off her Chinese. Whenever she'd get a reaction out of folks she'd say or do the same thing over and over. It's been fun for our friends to see her personality develop since last year when we arrived here. As I type, a beautiful white bread maker is sitting to my left on the desk, my big present from Phil. I was too tired last night to get it set up (it's al...

Yep, he's coming very soon so you better be good, because he is definitely watching you. Kinda like living in this country. Last night the Tompkins came over for supper. I can't believe how much M likes Clinton (their 4 year old). Yesterday morning she didn't want to go to fellowship, "No, fellowship!" she said. "Clinton will be there, Madeleine," I said. Big smile. "Clinton? Okay." We had roast and veggies for supper. The other day at Market I saw this beautiful cut of beef. I thought, "Now how can Phil not love roast made with this?" Phil doesn't like roast, not mine, not my Mom's, not his Mom's, no ones. So, I have this on going goal to fix the most amazing roast that he will love and will change his mind about roast. But, it hasn't happened yet. He eats them but he thinks, "It's just roast". Last night's was very good. Clinton, who is an extremely picky eater, said, "This meat h...

It's felt like a long week for some reason. This is the last day of this semester so I'm sad to know that Annie won't be my teacher next time. She's been so great. Last blog was all about a lifeless object but that brings us much joy. This one will be about a very much alive little girl that brings us unbelievable joy. I can't even explain how much fun Madeleine is right now. She doesn't use the words, "I" or "I'm" she only says "My". So we hear these sentences like, "My tall!", "My Strong!", "My Helping", "My crying". Which is just too cute. The other day Phil thought he heard her say, "I" and it made him sad. If she's still doing it in college we'll start worrying but right now we love it. Our pollution in Xi'an is unbelievably bad, especially in the winter because of the coal used for heating. So, we have many days where we can't see the sky because of...

I can not think of a Christmas tree that I had growing up or at my own house that I didn't totally love. Every year I think our tree is the prettiest I've ever seen. This year is no exception. Mom and I used to squabble every year over how the lights went up. I can't remember why but somehow I think we were both trying to do the same thing and got in each other's way. We were both trying to put the lights in such a way that the tree just naturally glowed and you couldn't see the strings. All those years of fussing must have paid off because the lights on my tree (and mom's) always look perfect. They are distributed perfectly and the tree looks as those it were born wearing lights. As long as it is possible my trees will always have white and colored lights. I've had several adults comment on how they were surprised I liked colored lights on trees. This was before they saw how beautiful my tree is, of course. I can't imagine not having colored. ...

Today is our xmas lunch at the Shangri La. It's a very ritzy place. So much in fact, that I'm leaving school early to get home so I can powder my nose and freshen up. To be frank, I'd much rather eat dinner at the Shangri La. It's decorated beautifully (white lights and tall pointy xmas trees) and it just seems like a place to have a xmas dinner, not lunch. But, no one asked me and I'll take a free lunch any day. Especially, at the Shangri La. Since, my afternoon will be shot, studying wise, I'm also hoping to buy a treadmill today. I brought up the subject to Phil awhile back but we just haven't gone out and bought one. We looked at a couple stores yesterday and I found a few I liked. I did a bit of research last night and so hopefully I'll be able to get what I want today. I'm saying "I" because this is really my thing. Phil hates running and so I doubt he'll use it much. I started useing a treadmill when I was pregnant wi...