Come Walk with me

I am part of a Biggest Loser contest online. Just two more weeks in this round to get those pounds off. You can join me on a walk. It stopped raining long enough for this walk.

Here we are leaving the village. You can see the trash cans on the right. Often, I will pause to throw the trash as I leave the village. We are going to turn right and head up the road. Grass and trees and no cars. I live in the middle of nowhere.
We keep walking. Here is the little drink stand/restaurant. I have never eaten there but I recently saw some foreigners there. That is where I met my friend when we walk together. She is not yet back from her summer vacation so I am walking alone.
I have to pause for the little "green go man. Actually I have to push the button so it will change. As I wait, I walk in place or do the side step.
Now we are on the other side of the road. You can see the nursery. I don't know what they grow but at New Year they have lots of orange trees.
There are the mountains. It is still a bit cloudy.There goes a double decker bus. We ride that bus often from the train station to our village.
We keep walking. We are walking fast so we can get this walk done before it starts to rain.There is some new houses that they are building. Most of the village house are 3 levels with an apartment on each level and about 700 sq feet.
We are getting close to where we are going to turn around. The road starts to go uphill and it is about time to get home. The walk back is much of the same. There is a mini bus or light bus. Those seat 16 people and everyone has to be seated so if you want to be sure to get a seat ride the mini bus.
We are going to go down a side road to another village. I want to take a picture of the banana trees that I found.
There is the banana tree.
Here is heading down to the village. This village is about a 10 minute walk from the road. Which means a walk to the bus. Heading back up the road towards our village.

Now we are entering our village.We are going to wind our way back to our house. I think I once stood in our apartment and counted about 10 houses that I could see.
Here is our door. We live on the 1st floor. Let me open the door and you can come on up. Yes, I said up. Here the 1st floor is what we might think of as the 2nd floor because you have Ground then 1st and 2nd.
That was a good walk. It was about a 30 minute walk. Now you probably need a towel and big glass of water.

What does this say?

A few years ago at Christmas I said "I don't want any toys that require batteries or make noise." That came from all the toys that we had received that had batteries and made noise and drove momma nuts. Everyone followed that request except one sister-in-law. She tried to say that she was giving K an educational toy but it required batteries and made noise. I do still talk to her.

Well, for the past year and a half K has had her Leap Frog Refrigerator magnets. She has played with them some. I am obsessive in the sense that we have to keep all the letters together so they stay in a basket on top of the refrigerator. They are on the refrigerator just the top and not the door. K knows where they are kept and she will ask for them. We have a rule that she plays with them on her blanket.

The other day as she was playing I was listening to her repeat the sound with the letter and she did a great job with some of the sounds. I then showed her the M and asked what does it say and she replied /m/. I showed her the P and she said /p/. I think she has also learned the D sound as well.

For the post part I really don't think that many toys of today that claim to have educational value really do but this one I will say has some educational value.

Now I am beginning to think about that master's thesis that I edited where the discussion was teaching letter sounds before letter names. I might just have to research that a bit more.

I tried to get a short video clip of her saying her letter sounds but she saw the camera and decided not to perform.

This is a picture of her working on her numbers. That picture was taken a few months ago. It is August and we do not wear sweatshirts either in the house or outside of the house. Not when the temperature and humidity are both in the 90's.

Lessons about God from raising a 3 year old

I have learned so much about God and our relationship to him as I raise my now 3 year old.

This morning as my husband put Miss K in the highchair and she was fighting with him, I heard him say "I am going to win this so you might as well sumbit now." We remarked how God must say that to us sometimes. We want our way, we fight and kick and God says "just submit, obey me."

Today was one of those days that I think I said "no" so many times that I might have worn it out. I wonder if God has days like that with us, we disobey and he says "no", we do it again and he says "no" again.

I get frustrated, and tired but it is wonderful to know that God is loving and long suffering with us.

Have you seen this?

I can't believe what they are giving away this time. Check out this giveaway.

I don't think I have ever won anything. I was thinking about that a few weeks ago and I couldn't think of a contest that I have won. Oh, well.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

and I need to do laundry. The forecast for the week is scattered showers followed by scattered showers. That is a problem because my washer and dryer are on the porch. I can do a load quick when it is not pouring but drying it is a problem so we created a drying room. We brought the drying rack in the house and put it in the tub and then put the dehumidifier in there and a few hours later my clothing is dry.


We now have clean dry clothing.

Using up an Apple

I don't like to eat apples if they are too soft. I like crisp apples that crunch when you bite them. Every now and then I buy apples and don't eat them before they lose their crispness. When that happens the easiest thing is chop it in small bits and cook with my oatmeal water. I cook the apples for a few minutes before I add oatmeal and then it is a nice addition to our morning oatmeal and I used up that non-crisp apple.

Pass the ketchup

I made ketchup the other day. I found the recipe on Hillbilly Housewife. We can buy ketchup here but I wanted to try to make it just because I could and also because I do think it is cheaper. I don't eat ketchup. I put it in a few things that I made. My husband eats it on his scrambled eggs. I think that must be a man thing. Anyway, we had meatloaf the other night so that was a test to see how it fares against the stuff you buy.

His first remark was he could taste the vinegar. I wasn't sure if that was good or not. He did say it was good and even better than store bought. So that is a recipe to keep.

It uses tomato paste which is cheap and spices that you have around the house except I had whole allspice and not ground so I skipped that. I might add a bit of garlic powder or onion powder but it has no high fructose corn syrup.

Here is a fun ketchup fact. Do you know that the word is based on a Chinese word. Ketchup is from Cantonese and Catsup is from a bit of a Malay Chinese word. So I think it is fitting that living here I would make ketchup.

Made in China

I know that is the buzz right now as so many products in recent weeks have been recalled that were "Made in China" for various safety reasons. My blog is usually just a nice place to share pictures, projects and not political issues but this one is close to my heart in a way. I spent years working in international manufactoring, live on the border, and have visited many factories.

First, I think we need to consider why things are "Made in China". One of the major reasons that things are made in China is because of price. I spent years working in international manufacturing and know that if something was labour intensive we generally had it made in China. Why is price an issue? Because Americans want to buy things at a cheap price. They want to save money. They are greedy. Price really sums up why things are made in China.

The retailers go to the distributors and say that they want to buy it for a lower price. The distributors who used to make it in the USA and most likely now buy it from a China factory go to the factory and say we need to make it cheaper. There might be some easy ways to save money but then factory wants to make money as well so they might look at ways to save money so that they can continue to make their margin.

What is China's reaction? Now this comes from one factory owner in China who I talked with recently. China is beginning to force factories to make more high end products. That is the government but honestly the factories are going to do what they can to continue business and so they will make what they have been making. The government does not want to continue exporting low end products. In that particular area they are have two days a week without power. Well, this owner was getting a generator so that he could continue production. A fraction of what he produces goes to the USA but he has customers in many other countries.

I will say that I think the Chinese factories are to blame because they are not following the specifications that were given to them by the USA companies. Based on my own background I am quite sure that the factories involved in these recalls are going to be paying in many ways. There cost saving idea has backfired.

I think another part of the blame goes to the American greed. We want more and more and want to spend less and less and honestly we don't care about the quality until we hear that it might not be save. Living overseas I have seen in various ways that it appears that Europeans are more demanding of quality then Americans.

I think it is difficult to avoid the "Made in China". I did read of one person who tried to do it and I do applaude her for her efforts. I just spent the past week unpacking and jokingly have said that I brought a number of things back to the motherland.

In my opinion the bottom line issue is greed. Greed on the factory's part in wanting more money. Greed on the distributor's part in wanting more money. Greed on the retailer's side for wanting more money. Greed on the US consumers part that is you and I and our desire for more and more at less and less.

So if we hold some responsibility what are we going to do?

Now back to my nice little blog about things I am making and things we are doing.

Works for Me -- Storing Trikes & Bikes

This is not my idea or my house but I thought I would share how it is done at my parents' house. They have the best driveway for grandchildren to ride bikes and trikes on. It is paved, flat, and long with a basketball area so needless to say lots of bikes and trikes stay there ready for grandchildren to visit.

My dad put two hooks up and then hung a metal bar on some chain and there is a great place to store bikes and trikes. I think I counted 10 hanging there.

Tag - I'm it

So I have been tagged. I really should be careful who I play with online but this is from a friend and is rather fun. Now you will get to know a bit more about me.

4 jobs I have held
1. Mowed Lawns
2. Picked chickens
3. Candy shop
4. Logistics Manager

4 movies I can watch over and over
1. Sabrina with Harrison Ford
2. The Princess Bride
I am so not a movie buff

4 places I have lived
1. Akron, PA
2. Denver, PA
3. Geigertown, PA
4. Lynnwood, WA

4 TV shows I watch
TV - what is that? I only watch when we are in the USA
1. HGTV
2. Food Network

4 places I have been on vacation
1. Pukett, Thailand
2. Malecca, Mayalsia
3. Italy - got a new passport there
4. Kunming, China

4 favourite foods
1. Dark Chocolate
2. Good's potato chips
3. Chocolate cake with white icing
4. Hard pretzels

4 websites I visit
1. local weather
2. Hearthkeepers
3. various Down Syndrome sites
4. various blogs - I like the people that update and have lots of pictures

There you go a few things about me.

Party Success

Miss K's party was a success. We had a few games. We played "pin the bow on Hello Kitty" and then drop the Hello Kitty clothespins in the jar. I was suprised how much even the older kids enjoyed that game. We played pass Hello Kitty and the twist was the person that has just given Hello Kitty to the next person got a treat. Okay, being fair and even, everyone got a treat. The party favor bags were fun. I had gathered all kinds of things before we came at various places around the city. I found little containers at the Japan Dollar Store, stickers at the stationary store, tissues and candy at the grocery store and a few other things. I even made a special gift bag for my 9 day old niece -- just a container and a washcloth.

It was a fun party and we have a year till we do it again.

Ramdom Reflects from Here

Coming from one of the most densely populated cities in the world we are amazed how big everything is here -- the houses, stores, cups of soda, and yes, even the people.

I am enjoying being able to run the washer and dryer at the same time.

I am reminded how easy things are here. Need something just get in the car and go to the nearest store. I am also working to be careful that I don't get greedy and buy everything that I see and think that I might want or know I want. One of the things that I have been learning is just how much we stuff we have available to purchase here and how easy it is to do that. Personally, I am learning to live with less. It is a slow learning with a few purchases that were not necessary.

I think one other thing that I have noticed this year coming home is the fact that now it is acceptable and fashionable to wear your lingerie in public.

Miss K is having fun in the sand box, the big grassy yard, and even learning to ride a tricycle.

I get to see all the new gadgets that have come out. My mom had to show me how to use her new can opener.

Things here are not marked with how many trans fats they contain.

Those are just a few of the reflections that I have had this past few weeks as we are adjusting to being here for a few week.s

My baby turned 3 today

Three years ago she entered our lives at just 6 pounds 1 ounce. We didn't know what all was ahead of us. We just had our first child. Three days later she had her first surgery to correct her stomach. We thought that was all and that she was fine and then learned about her heart. At two weeks she had her heart surgery.

When I filled out the order form for first child, I admit, I didn't check the box marked "Down Syndrome". God gave us what he knew we needed. We needed Miss K with Down Syndrome. We needed to love her, push her, encourage her, laugh with her, praise her, train her, teach her, hug her, tickle her, kiss her and all those other wonderful things you do with babies. We were able to sit and watch how God has shown us that he cares for her and us. It began with the hospital bill, then the PT, the free exam at University of Washington, then the EI center, and the list is more than we can recall.

I have a dear friend whose Chinese name is Kai-lene. I loved the sound and so we began to look for English names and liked what we picked. The English meaning isn't that great boomerang but we had a direct translation into Chinese and we liked that meaning -- victorious and beautiful. The middle name is one that my husband liked. We had two spellings and different meaning based on the spelling. We had planned to spell it one way but then last might sitting in the hosptial room as we were filling out the paper work we looked and realized if we spelled it the other way each name would have a letter that went below the line -- g, y, and another y. Only and engineer would engineer a name.

Today she speaks some words, she is a great eater, she walks, she laughs, she climbs out of her Pack 'N Play. She says "bye" when she doesn't want you around in a very independent way. She loves her baby. She is not delayed in whining or in stubbornness.

She is a joy and a blessing to our family.

This was a few weeks ago but shows her independent spirit.

She's back

This is a cousin funny. My one nephew, B, was filling my other nephew, M, in on what had happened while M was on vacation.

"She's back. That girl, she's back." B said. "She walks and is bigger."

He was referring to Miss K and not to me. I do walk but I don't think I am bigger.

Another Milestone

Yesterday I watched as Miss K finally was able to reach her leg up over the side of the Pack 'N Play. I told my mom and Bo. We chatted about it and Bo and I decided we had 6 months to even a 1 year before she would have the upper body strength to push herself out.

We put her down for her nap in her Pack 'N Play. I went up to get her up for dinner. I opened the door and the Pack 'N Play was empty. I looked at the dresser and found a little girl standing enjoying pulling the clothing out of her dresser drawer.

So much for a year or even 6 months. She is now climbing out. Oh no, what am I going to do. This morning Bo did see how she does it. He saw her put her leg up, put her head down and then begin to roll.

Pondering what to do with my baby who is not so much a baby.

Worshipping as a Family

We somewhat fell into taking Miss K to the worship service with us as the church we attended when she was born did not have a nursery. I could sit up on the 2nd floor and watch the service on video or train her to sit with us. We began at that time training her to sit with us. I do remember one Sunday that she laughed as she was looking at her Bible story book.

Since that time we have talked about what we want to do in regarding to this. Do we put her in nursery? Do we keep her in church with us? Slowly over the past few years we have come to decide that we want her worshipping with us. I love to see her enjoy singing and praising God with us. She will even raise her hands. Over the past year we have been working to have her learn to just sit. I will have a pencil or maybe a container of Golfish crackers if necessary but I save that until I really need it. I learned that if I get them out early just for her to have them then she wants something else and she doesn't sit as quietly.

Today I felt affirmed in what we are doing. The sermon was on prayer. She had a few pieces of paper and two pencils but a few times I noticed her folding her hands. It was so cute to watch her try to hold those papers up against her chest and at the same time fold her hands. She was listening to the sermon. She heard the pastor say "pray". That encouraged us to continue training and teaching her to worship God with us together as a family.

Jetlag

Jetlag - that is when your body is one place and you are trying to catch up to your body. As an adult I understand why in the middle of the afternoon I am ready to crash or why I wake up at 3:30 wide awake are ready for the day after that nap. But a 2 almost 3 year old has no clue why in the middle of the night her tummy is acting like it is the middle of the day and she is hungry. I was shopping and had her in the cart and she put her head down on the bar and feel asleep. I knew it was jetlag because she is social and loves to be out and she has moved to the point of going and going like the Energizer bunny.

Last night we arrived at Grandpa and Grandma's and she was fussy and tired. She feel asleep at 7:00 and woke up at 6:30. Yeah! I think we are on this time zone.

Home Sweet Home

If only, I knew where that was. Questions regarding home seem to leave expats staring into space and wondering how do I answer that. "Where is home?" Do you want to know where I live in the foreign counry? Are you asking where I lived before this? Maybe they want to know where I grew up. I don't know, "where is home?" That is a question that I ask myself and wonder.

Then you come "home" or to be complete in my terms return to your home country and the question is "Is it good to be home?" "Yes, no, wait, I am not home, well, maybe this is home." What is home? The people here speak my native language, the food is familiar but wait which side of the road do you drive on, do I ask "where is the lift?", no, I need to ask "where is the elevator?" So am I home. I still don't know. I do know that I am enjoying being here.

So if you meet someone who lives overseas and you ask them "where is home?" be prepared for a stare and maybe some fumbling of words as they try to figure out how to answer that question.

Pausing and Pondering

I sat in shock for a bit of time this morning. I am still pausing and thinking. I know my blog is not usually full of deep thoughts but today I am pausing and pondering.

In April we had traveled to visit friends and during the Sunday fellowship I met someone. I had heard her name numerous times but actually met her that day. She greeted me during greeting time telling me that I had a cute daughter. She then told me about her sister who also has Down Syndrome. She told me her name and then we went through the list of people that we knew. She was there in that country helping homeschoolers and working with special needs kids.

This morning I talked to my friend that I had visited and mentioned this gal as a resource for homeschooling and special needs and my friend said, "oh, you didn't hear". She died. Old people die, sick people die not people in there 30's or so. It was about a month after our visit. She had pneumonia and went into respiratory distress.

This was someone that I met once. We talked briefly. In many ways I didn't know her and yet in a little way I knew her. She loved special needs kids, she loved helping people, and she loved Asia. Now she is home with Jesus.

I paused to think about how short life really is, it is a fading flower. So how am I going to spend my days. Do I want someone to remember that I got angry and yelled? Do I want my last words to be complaining?

I want to say "I love you more." I want to smile. I want to laugh. I want to give praise to God for all that he has given me. I want to love. My days may be long or short but Lord help me to fill them with your praise and for your glory.

Arrived or maybe I should say survived

We got to the airport in plenty of time which is the way I like to do it. So far no problems. The flight is overbooked. Bo has premier status or something like that so they move him to Economy Plus row 17 and Miss K and I are in row 65 with middle seats. Not much we could do at that point. The guy said he would put a note in the system and work at the gate. Finally, I got 17A and Bo got 17B and Miss K was in 21B. Yep, 4 rows behind us. Well, Miss K and I were in row 17 and S just 4 rows behind us. We all were in Economy Plus. Miss K and I had bulkhead seats which is wonderful because I have room to reach the toys that she threws.

I think I overpacked as far as things for inflight entertainment. Our flight departed at 6:30pm so in just a few hours she was ready to sleep. She did colour some, use her stickers but the winning items was baby and a wipe. Baby's nose, ears, hair, fingers, toes, and belly were washed quite a number of time.

She enjoyed her own bag of pretzels. Her hair is very fine and combined with the dry air she had lots of static and a very bad bed head after the flight.

Now we are in the next step of travel. Getting over jetlag. Our first night here she did great. Now it is early in the morning, the sun just came up and we have been up for 2 1/2 hours. Why is it at 3:30 that you wake up?

Inflight Entertainment Challenge

Here is my challenge entertain a 2 almost 3 year old for 12 1/2 hours inflight. She will have her car seat but she has not sat in that since last summer. Last year before we left I had her practice sitting in it. Oops, we leave in 11 hours and I forgot this year about practice time in the car seat.

Let's see what else I have to keep her entertained
New Colouring book with colored pencils & a few crayons as well
Stickers - just coloured dots but she loves stickers and those are cheap
Stuffed animals - most of them are just little Happy Meal toys so if they get lost or thrown around the plane no problem
Books
Baby doll
Bags - she loves bags so I have a few little bags that can hold all kinds of goodies
Aqua Doodle
Washcloth
DVDs - if necessary they can be played on my computer
Snacks
Cup for water (can't take a water bottle this trip but we have her favorite cup)
Tylenol
and when all else fails Benadryl which I need to make sure is less than 3 oz

In a few hours I will report what worked in providing inflight entertainment. I am hoping that since our flight is an evening flight that she will sleep.

Done

Most children go through the "no" phase. When they say "no" to everything. Not Miss K. She will say "no" if you ask a question. "K, do you like Sichaun opera?" Her response, "no", which is true.

She is in a "done" phase. When she doesn't want to do something she says, "done". Depending on what it is I will respond, "no you didn't even start to eat your broccoli." She signed "done" and now says it.

She was "done" at the Great Wall.

K is for

Last night Miss K was playing with her MagnaDoddle. Her daddy decided to join the fun and so he wrote her name on the MagnaDoddle. She saw that and said her name. Okay, it is the short version of her name but her name.

A little bit later she had an alphabet book. She saw the letter "b" and said "b".

Time for me to read Teaching Reading to Children with Down Syndrome again. I was flipping through it last night and it talked about how some children will be able to read and talk before they can just talk. We will begin to focus on reading. I had done Doman's Teach your Baby to read when she was young. I still have all the cards that I made from that. Now we are going to move to some smaller cards.

July 4th Fun

Five Minutes for Mom is hosting a July 4th Fun with lots of giveaways. Go there to enjoy the fun.

More Training Needed

Well, I posted the other day about child training. Please do not think that I have arrived, have completely trained her. We still have a ways to go as was seen at lunch today. It was one of those moments when you know you still have work to do. One of those things that catches you off guard. One of the times that you try to say "no" while not laughing.

We were enjoying a nice lunch with our dear friend, B, Miss K had a hot dog, french fries and daddy had shared some of his broccoli with her so that was added to her plate. I was turned looking at my sweet husband and telling him something when I saw a piece of broccoli land in his lap. I look at a innocent looking two year old who has turned her head to look at things behind her. I look at our friend, B, and she is trying not to laugh. She saw the whole thing and did say that Miss K had a great throw. She put her arm back and then let go. I guess it was good aim as well as it landed on daddy's lap.

Back to training.

Wordless Wednesday - I Scream, You scream We all scream for Ice Cream

Works for me Wednesday - Dishcloth Stew

My grandmother is 91 years old and she spends her days knitting dishclothes. I am younger than that and spend my days using dishclothes. I wash them but after a few weeks even with regular washes they start to smell and that is when I make Dishcloth stew.

I put some water in a pan, add some bleach and the dishclothes and boil them for a few minutes. The dishclothes do get a bit lighter in colour but they smell better after that. To me smell is more important than bright colour.

Some of my stash. Usually when I see my grandmother I give her some more yarn and then in a few days I get some more dishclothes.

Date Night

Often our date nights consist of putting Miss K to bed and if we are still awake and have any energy we will have a root beer float or play a round or two of Word Racer our favorite online word game. I do feel that it is important to have those special times together even if it is just at home. Last night was special.


We got a date night last night. Our dear sweet friend is visiting and she offered to watch Miss K so we could go out for an evening. Our first stop was the tailor. Bo wanted to get a shirt made. Actually, we went to the fabric part of the shopping center, bought the fabric and then found a tailor. He will pick up the shirt on Saturday. We turned down all the offers to buy DVD's copy watches, purses and a few other things that the vendors were selling.

Our next stop was Wal-Mart. It has been months, almost a full year since I have been to Wal-Mart. I can't say I am going through withdraw I kinda like not going there. Anyway, we walked there and didn't buy anything. Wal-Mart doesn't look like it does at home. I did see a few of the yellow smiling face. There is a commerical on the train about this guy who buys his girlfriend a meal from McDonald's and she thinks that is the greatest thing in the whole world. We laugh at it but I will confess that was what I was offered and had last night. Let me add a bit more. We considered our options -- a Korean restaurant, a seafood restuarant, a Swenson's that looked empty which is not a good sign, a Mexican that we never could find, and McDonald's. We opted for McDonald's with the condition of Starbuck's coffee afterwards. The thing with McDonald's is you know what you will get. That can be good and bad.

This was a medicine shop that we found last night.
We then went home. It was a bit strange to go to another country for a date night but was a fun outing. I think it is closer to go to Starbuck's there than here except that crossing the border going through immigration twice takes a bit of time.

Child Training

One of my biggest responsibilities as a momma is train my child. Training involves so many areas of life. Training to sit during a church service, training not to touch things, training to come when I call, training not to pull all the clothing out of the boxes, training to say "please" and "thank you" as well as training to help and work.

Some days I feel like I have not done a good job training especially when I see all the clothing pulled out of the boxes (we don't have a dresser rather two boxes that hold her clothing on the changing table) which happened this morning. I should have known she was quiet and in her room which usually means she found the clothing.

One of my big goals is to focus on lifeskills because those are things that she needs for life. My goal for her is that she will be independent and be able to live on her own if she desires. I like the Montessori aspect in teaching lifeskills to children.

This week we have been working on washing, drying, and putting dishes away. She knew how to put her dishes in the sink and would put any dish that she found dirty or clean in the sink. We have a bookshelf in the kitchen as our pantry so clean Tupperware containers are in easy reach. Washing is fun because it involves water. She has watched daddy wash with his brush and so she needed a brush too and don't forget soap. She would scrub the bowl and then we would give her a towel and she would dry it.

Then I would open the dish cabinet and let her put it away.
We also started to work on setting the table. I opened the dish cabinet and let her get her bowl out. She then put it in the sink to have it washed. I guess we need to work on that a bit more.

We still have lots of training to do but it is exciting as we take little steps in this direction.

Between the Raindrops

It is the rainy season here. The five day forecast is Rain of some sort everyday. The 10 day forecast looks the same -- scattered t-storms, scattered t-storms, party cloudy, mostly cloudy. Getting things dry and keeping them dry is one of the challenges of the season.

So between the raindrops I have been trying to dry clothing. My washer and tiny dryer which is smaller capacity than the washer are on the balcony.

I have been going to the grocery store. It is a 20 minute walk there and 30 minutes back. It is uphill with a stroller full of groceries and a 2 year old along. I did manage to do that between the rain the other day.

Between the raindrops I bought an umbrella. I had one with me but then gave my backpack to my kind husband who offered to carry it for me but we were going two different places. I was racing home before the rain but as I got to our train station the downpour began. We take a bus from the station to our village. I knew with that much rain I would get soaked. I headed to 7-11 to buy an umbrella they rip-off the people that forgot their umbrella -- $79 for an umbrella. I knew I needed one but I wasn't going to be cheated. I then headed around the corner to the Japan Home Store like a dollar store. I got one for $29. Guess what by the time I did that shopping and bought an umbrella it was just drizzling and I could have run home from the bus stop without getting soaked.

One neat thing here is that most buildings have plastic bags that you can use to put your umbrella in as you enter the building so you don't have to carry your dripping wet umbrella around so that it drips on the floor and makes it slippery.

Wrong Candy Bar

Sometimes guessing by the picture doesn't mean what you think it means. I love mint and chocolate so when we were traveling and I found this candy bar, I thought yum that looks good. It looks like chocolate with mint inside. Hey, it is Hershey's and I am loyal to Hershey's. I bought it for a treat as we traveled to our next destination but forgot to eat it. We got home and I decided to eat it. I needed a treat and reward for unpacking. Just the perfect treat a mint and chocolate bar.

My first bite told me that I was wrong. Yuck! That green leaf is not mint but rather green tea. Green Tea and chocolate do not mix. I then read the label a bit more carefully and did see the characters for "green tea".

So the moral of the story is things are not always what you think they are. Sometimes that is not good.

Refried Beans Results

I pulled my recipe from here. Actually, I just used that as a guideline. I threw some dry pinto beans in water last night to soak, this morning cooked them a bit with some chopped onion, cumin, and garlic powder. Then added some more cumin and chili powder and cooked a bit more. I then mashed them and let them side. Any extra water was soaked up. I had added quite a bit of water.

My husband said they tasted good just needed a bit more spice. Okay, I can add a bit more next time. They were easy and a cheap part of the meal.

Menu 6/11

We leave in just two weeks to spend some time visiting family. So that means time to inventory and eat some of the food that we have around here.

Monday - refried beans burritos. I decided to use some of the pinto beans we have around here and make my own.

Tuesday - oven BBQ chicken which I will do in the crock-pot with mashed potatoes, green beans, salad and even dessert. We are having company so that is the reason for the full meal.

Wednesday - stir-fry beef with broccoli

Thursday - Indian food with our friends at the local restaurant. I think this time we are planning to meet them instead of the many times that we just run into them there.

Friday - scalloped potatoes and ham which I found in the freezer

Adventures in Shopping

First of all, the shopping that I am about to describe is not shopping in our city but rather shopping while on vacation. Here in our city it is calm unless you go to the tourist area and there all you get is someone asking if you want a copy watch or a tailor made suit.

Usually around any major attraction you would find the entrepreneur looking for an opportunity to make a buck on the tourists. Usually the line would begin "hello" and a pause and then "okay" which was the question, "you want to buy what I am selling." I actually did get hit by a lady trying to sell me some postcards. I didn't buy anything from them but decided that there postcards might have been a deal after paying the hotel lobby price.

One guy was selling silk bags. If you know me, I love silk and I love bags put them together and I am in double love. She said "3 dollars" wow that is a good price and I had wanted to buy some bags. I said, "okay". Then I learned he wanted US$ not the local money. That made mad. I felt like he is cheating me. I let him know I wasn't happy that he lead me on and walked away.

We went to a market area. It was organized in the sense that each vendor had there own area and for the most part they would stay in that area saying "look". It might be a clothing vendor, or a silk vendor, but if you didn't like one vendor you could always go to another vendor. I had a few things that I wanted to buy. I would look at something and ask "how much". They would grab the handy calculator and type in a number. Then the negotiating began. I knew I had to go very low to find a price that I would like. I wanted to buy some silk journals. The girl was asking 95 each. No way would I pay that. I had bought two on a recent trip and knew what was a fair price. I told her 15 and I would buy 4. She quoted a price but it was still higher than what I wanted to spend. I told her no and walked away. She called me back with an offer. Nope, wasn't good enough. I knew someone else would have them and they would either come to my price or I would cave in and pay there price. That gal really wanted to make a sale. She called me back again and sold them to me for 65. Yes, I got 4 for 65 which is much less than her original asking price.

I knew that someone else would sell it to me. If you want it too bad, you might end up paying too much. I also had an advantage in the sense that I knew what was a fair price not by standards from my home country but by standards from where we live and other places we have traveled.

As we walked through, the sales people would try to show a dress for Miss K. They would put it in front of her. I even had someone put something in her hands. Now that was mean because I had to grab it out of her hand and give it back.

My husband did say that I had a gift for negotiating and getting a good price. I bought a nice scarve and got the price to 20. Later that day another vendor quickly moved to the price of 20 so I am wondering if I could have gotten a better deal.

I had one vendor tell me she was giving me a good price because she liked my daughter.

So if you are shopping in this region. Be willing to walk away, go low in your offer, and have fun. Shopping is an experience and an adventure and you can come away with some great deals. Here are some of the finds. I can't show everything because some are gifts.

Minority Report

Living overseas and in a place where we stick out because of our skin colour you get lots of stares at times. Our city is very international and around here we don't feel those stares too often but during our recent travels we knew we were stared out. The people have seen foreigners but seeing foreigner children or babies is not as common and so Miss K got lots of stares, comments, touches, and pictures taken.

It is a challenge as a mother to protect her from the stares. touches, and photos. Because of her special needs I am sure even in our home culture she would be noticed. When she is in the stroller is it a bit harder than when I am carrying her in the Ergo. I will admit that I found people there a bit pushy and in your face. I did say no to having her picture taken and had some accept. I had one lady beg and plead.

That part of being a mother overseas is hard. I want her to be friendly but also don't want to force it on her.

I think this gives us a glimpse of how she was feeling.

A Friend - Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesday post check here.

Toddler Size Memories

Miss K is 2 almost 3 and she loves to look at my scrapbooks. The problem is the 12 x 12 are just a bit too big for her to flip through plus right now I have lots of pages. It is two books in one.

Last summer when we were in the land of plenty I found a 6 x6 scrapbook for $1 at one of the craft stores. I bought it because it was cute and I can hardly resist paper, stickers, paper, albums expecially when they are a good price. I even bought some of the insert pages. Then it sat on my shelf with all my other fun supplies.
Until I decided to make a book just for Miss K about Miss K. Called "Miss K's A, B, C's". It is still a work in progress.

C is for cousins and D is from Drum

S and T

I am excited about this project and brainstorming different things for each letter that tell bits and pieces of her life so far. It is a simple book but one that she loves and most of the pages are just plain white at this time.

It works for me to have a book just her size.

Preserving Memories

Last week I helped a friend do a scrapbook of her past year here in Asia. She travels quite a bit for work. She will be home visiting friends and family for the summer and so I helped her put together her memories of the past few months. It was fun to help her but also to look at the pictures and remember trips, people, even food.

I also spent some time working on a scrapbook for my father-in-law who turns 80 this year. He sent me an envelope of pictures quite a number of them were from the 1920's or 1930's. I had fun putting them together into a book that he will be able to look at and enjoy.

I also work to keep current on family events and also things happening in K's life. I have recorded our travels this year, visits to various museums, the markets (I love markets), and many other events. I enjoy the creative outlet. Some pages come together and I love the way they look and other pages are just there recording a memory, place or event.

To me it is important to preserve these memories. Living overseas we see and experience so many things that we do want to remember them. In my book from our last city, I have pictures of the "big green store", the "green tablecloth restaurant", my grocery stores, and so many other memories. We can't remember everything. I think one of the funny things that I did there were all the convenience stores. We lived in the city and had a convenience store on every corner and in between. There were different stores 7-11, The Family Mart, the Smiley store (that was what we called), and a few others.

We are preparing to go on a short vacation later this week. I have been doing some reading to understand the history of where we will be going and also getting my cameras ready. Yes, I will take both my digital and my 35mm film. I still have one and love it.

Can't wait to see what memories we will make during this trip.

Don't Miss This

Just in case you don't check my family blog. I want to share my weekend project here. Our Miracle.

Life is Precious

I so agree. If you have not seen this it is worth watching but you might want to have some tissues handy. 99 Balloons

It made me pause and think about celebrating every day in a special way.

Fine Motor Skills

I enjoy the fact that for the most part Miss K doesn't put things in her mouth. Now we can move to fine motor activities. Here is one we were doing the other day. Putting coins in the bank. Someday that will move to a geography lesson but for now it is fine motor putting all the miscellaneous coins from various trips into the slot. It is hard work because some of those coins are small. I watched her hold the coin, move the coin in her hand and then finally get it in.
I enjoy finding creative ways and various activities to work on various skills.

It's a snap

I love candles. They make our house special good and also help to cover the smells of neighbors cooking dinner or sewer smells. I live where garlic and lots of it is used for dinner. There are lots of smells here. Anyway, I like candles. Votive are my favorite maybe because it is fun to bring a few of them from home they are small and lightweight and I don't have to worry about the glass breaking like a jar candle.

When the candle gets burnt down, then the question is how t get it out of the glass holder. It is easy. Just pop it into the freezer for a hour and then use a table knife and it will snap right out.

Tired but Happy Feet

I think I did things in the wrong order today. The first thing I did was meet a friend and go for a foot massage. Aghhh, that is one of the most wonderful things. First they put them in warm water to get the blood flowing and then look out feet and body. Actually, the girl that did my massage was not too rough. It felt wonderful. It was a nice treat. I did hear there is a place in my town that is nice and cheap. I might have to try it again or just wait until vacation next month.

After that we headed to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch. Yummy. That is my favorite place here to eat. There are so many good things on the menu that it is hard to pick which one I will have to eat this time. The Greek Pizza is on the menu for a limited time so we had to have that. We ordered an appetizer and as soon as it came a certain 2 year old was grabbing (remember the name Grabber Gal). She ate that and a bit of pizza crust.

Then we continued our running around down. We took the ferry across the harbour as that is the fastest way to get there from where we were. The options include the subway or a bus. We had a 2:30 appointment at the consoluate. They don't have Citizen Services on Wednesday afternoon but we had an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. Then I saw our name on the list and pointed to that. Oh, yes, they do fingerprinting only on Wednesday afternoon so you can go up to the 2nd floor. It was quite there and they have toys so Miss K was happy.

We finished that and I had to go to the toilet (that is what they are called here). The guy told us there were public toilets around the corner and he said "they are clean and tidy". For public toilets I do give them a high rating. Actually for any toilet they get a high rating. There was paper in the stall, soap, and a hand dryer.

I took Miss K and we came home but first we had to walk to the MRT (subway) station. Thankfully it was downhill. It was only the 2nd stop so I was able to get a seat which is always a blessing.

We stopped at the mall which is always crowded as I wanted to get some baskets and since I was there get some feta cheese as that is the cheapest place in town for feta. Most things at that grocery store are more expensive. The milk is $10 more for the same thing you could get at another store. One of the things you learn is where you can get things and who has the best price.

I came home. Oh, I rode the train from the mall to our stop and then had my driver take me home (doesn't that sound impressive when all it was really was the next taxi in line). My feet were tired and needed a foot massage when I got home.

One of the challenges of living in the city it you can't throw things in the car when you go to the next place. I have to carefully think what orderI want to shop and how I can get everything home.

That is my day. I did make dinner. Now I am going to play Word Racer which is our favorite online word game.

Problem Solved - Not Quite

I decided that I could make some diapers for baby. K has cloth diapers why not make some for baby. I know a few people suggested it but I saw that after my great idea.

I came home this afternoon. I did a quick online search for free baby doll diaper pattern. Nothing. I decided to be creative and using some paper made a pattern. Then I pulled through my fabric box and found some fabrics. Mom, do you recognize these fabrics? Since it is just for baby they don't have to be thick or fit snug.

I was pleased with the fit. I dressed baby. When, K got up from her supposed to be nap. I showed her baby with the diaper. The first thing she did was take the diaper off and say "done". A little bit later I said "baby, needs a diaper". So K goes her to room and gets another disposible diaper. No, I just made new cute diapers for baby.

Anyway, baby has two diapers and neither one is on her. She is still without clothing.

Oh well, I had fun being creative.

Another Milestone

I don't know where this milestone is on the developmental charts but she reached that milestone today. The one of taking baby dolls clothing off and now we have a baby doll that is lacking clothing. Somehow taking the clothing off is easier than putting the clothing new.

I do have to add this cute story that goes along with that. Miss K wanted baby's clothing off so being the fun momma that I am I took the clothing off. Then Miss K took baby and put her on the changing table which meant she had to throw baby up there. Miss K then pulled a diaper out of the bag and wanted to "change" baby's diaper. I think baby is only allowed one diaper. Maybe I should be a fun momma and make some diapers for baby.

New Twist to an Old Problem

We live in the city, a large crowded city. We take public transportation so we don't have to worry about finding a parking space or walking from the parking lot to the destination. In the USA sometimes if you go to a large church, you have to allow the time to get from the parking lot to the building.

Yesterday we didn't have to plan on allowing time to get from the parking lot rather we needed to allow time to get from the first floor to the 18th floor where our service was. When you have a few thousand people gathering in the building at the same time for various services it can take time. I will say it is organized the elevators are marked with which floors they will go to and you get in line for the floor that you want. We made it but a bit late.

I love quilts

Lisa has a book that she is giving away. I love piecing quilts it is the quilting that I don't enjoy as much but I am going to overcome that and finish the quilting.

Anyway here is the book.

It happened

One thing I have learned with summer weather and summer clothing is the shirts are not always tucked in or have snaps at the bottom. This morning I am having my weekly Chinese lesson when I look over at Miss K who is sitting in the highchair watching a video and notice that she has taken off her shirt.

I could handle pulling up her dress. I knew that would happen and we would talk about how a lady doesn't do that but taking off her shirt. I didn't think it would happen but it did.

Help! How do I deal with this. Better get out my books and see if they have any suggestions.

Raising a city slicker

I grew up in rural America. We had a big backyard and even a cornfield beyond that. Our little town didn't have any traffic lights. I remember when McDonald's came to town.

Now I am raising my daughter in a foreign country and in the middle of one of the world's most densely populated cities. I see little ways that she is learning city life. She loves to ride the escalator while her cousins love to ride the riding mower. She has amazed us in the sense that she knows when to get off. I remember as a child my mother telling "walk now". Not her, she knows when to walk.

Now the question is what will she do on the two acres of grass at my parent's this summer. I once told a friend how much land my parents had and she said "they could raise rice there." My father wasn't quite ready to plant rice in his front yard.

Here she is doing one of her favorite things.

Sorry it is not the best picture. I was a few steps ahead and had to make sure I knew when to step off so I only had a few seconds to snap the picture.

If the shoe fits

Yesterday morning, I joined the masses and I mean masses as this is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, as I had an early morning appointment with my ND on the island which means an hour and 15 minutes if I want to walk at a normal pace and sit in the waiting room for a few minutes or an hour if I want to walk as fast as I can and be out of breath when I get there.

As I walked from the train station to the subway it was quiet except for the sound of shoes click clacking along. I guess it was too early to be talking on your cell phone. It was full of people going to work and not out for the day with a friend. My shoes were not click clacking along. Birkenstocks don't click clack. I am amazed at the shoes that people wear and walk around the city. Heels at least 3 inches, pointy toes, and things that I don't think my feet would even let me get near them.

I am all about comfortable shoes especially if I have to walk distances or just anywhere. Maybe some of that goes back to having foot surgery when I was 13.

I have two pairs of Birkenstocks and love them. I recommend buying the real thing. I bought my first pair more than 9 years ago. I did get them resoled last year and right now they need to be glued but other than that they are as good as ever. My new pair is now almost 4 years old.

My other favorite shoes are my Clarks. I just had to retire a pair that I had for 4 years. They were worth the investment. Last new I bought a pair to replace those. The same shoe except black instead of brown. I also found a pair of Clark sandals at a cheap for Clarks price. Those are a bit more dressy than the Birks.

Of course, I have sneakers. They are great but not quite dressy for those times of going to the business district of the city. I have a pair of New Balance sneakers. I think last summer I bought a less expensive model. I wish my sneakers had an odometer.

For me it is worth it to buy good quality shoes. They are good for my feet and they do last. They make walking the city much easier.

I've been tagged

I have been tagged. I can't believe someone actually reads my blogs and tagged me.

So here are the rules:

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. (I can do that.)

2. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. (I don't know 8 people that blog that would not kill me if I tagged them.)

3. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and asking them to read your blog.

Eight random things about me. Okay.

1. I am a paper monster. Scrapbooking has only brought out that monster. I remember as a child loving all kinds of paper. I am slowly using the paper but do buy more along the way.

2. I love bags -- you know various purses, backpacks, and bags like that. My husband knows that and laughed at Miss K one day as she had a bag and was giving him a long speech. He thought she was telling him all about her bag. She got that love from me.

3. I have 3 sets of inserts in my passport and I got a thick passport to begin with. That means 3 times I have had more pages added. It is thick. The name change is on page W but there are now 3 page W's. This is my passport that was issued in Florence, Italy which is another story.

4. I have not driven a car, van, or anything since last September that is 8 months. Do you think I will still remember? Give me my Civic and I will be happy.

5. I like Pepsi when I am in America and Coke here.

6. I wash my floor on my hands and knees. I have not found a good wet mop here and so I have resorted to my hands and knees but I think it was my mother who taught me that is the best way to clean the floor.

7. I have a Chinese teapot collection. Chinese teapots are not necessarily pretty flowers and such rather various shapes, sizes, and colours of clay.

8. One more I need to think of one more random thing. Why is this so hard. Hmmm how about I am starting a ribbon collection that will rival my paper collection. In the garment, fabric district I have found some wonderful ribbons stores and so I have been getting some for sewing and scrapbooking and maybe even making cute hair bows.

There 8 random things about me. Now the hard part I have to impose on 8 people to tag. Maybe that should have been one of the 8 random things I hate to impose on people even if it is someone that I am paying to do something for me. So if 8 random people want to be tagged, let me know.

Nicknames

I was thinking of the various stages and the nicknames that Miss K has gotten along the way.

Pumpkin - This was her first nickname. We couldn't call her sweetheart or honey because that confused us. Were we talking about her or me. Pumpkin seemed to be fitting. She even had a t-shirt that said "Daddy's little pumpkin."

Miss Wiggles - she might have low muscle tone but she can wiggle. Her favorite time to wiggle was during diaper changes. I just got a picture of her at BSF story time and she is wiggling off the helper's lap.

The Octopus - Have you ever tried to dress an octopus? Have you ever tried to hold an octopus in church? I guess it is related to Miss Wiggles. She then had octopus sandals last summer. I miss those shoes.

Miss K - that has to be said with a bit of a southern accent. Nai Nai calls her that and we do at times.

Grabber Gal - The superhero that grabs things. Arms longer than her body, reach beyond the normal length grabbing what should not be grabbed. Related to Grabber Man, her cousin.

Mei Mei - most often she is Mei Mei (little sister) only on rare occasions is she "jie jie" (big sister).

I think that is a list of nicknames at this time. She did get called "xiao jie" by one therapist which is funny as it is "miss" like a young lady.

What name will she get tomorrow?

Mother's Day Album

The mother's day album is now ready for viewing. I have enjoyed looking at all the pictures of moms and their children with a little bit extra.