Out and About In Beijing

Today was a great day for the three of us. Daddy woke feeling much better so we got ourselves up and ready for breakfast while Mei Mei slept in a bit. She's still a little surprised to see my face each time she wakes but is settling into it more easily and even smiled a bit at me when I got her calmed down. And surprise of all surprises, she polished off a 6 oz. bottle of formula! Granted, it was seriously doctored up formula but she drank it and we can correct the bad habit later. Thanks to my reader-friend, Amy, for the tip of adding stuff to the formula. Apparently, I got the recipe right!

After a simple and bland breakfast in the hotel buffet, we did a quick load of hand-washed laundry while we waited for Dion to pick us up. And then we were off!

Our first stop was about an hour away, on the outskirts of Beijing, at a beautiful jade factory and store. We got a personalized tour as we were just about the only ones there during the lunch hour. We learned about the 8 different categories of jade quality, the ranges of colors and translucency of jade, and the traditional meanings associated with jade. Then we got to wander around a huge show room of jewelry, statues, statuettes, more jewelry, showcase furniture, and home decor. The intricacies of the carved pieces were amazing.

This huge boat is ENTIRELY jade.

It was magnificent.

A beautiful table and four chairs of jade.

I'll bet it's too heavy for my dining room floor!

The Boss, Shaggy, Dr. D, and Baby BlueEyes....

forever enshrined in jade!

After that, we hopped back in the van and Dion asked if we'd be interested in visiting the Olympic complex. Interested?! ME? HEH! Uhhh, yeah! We're interested! I spoke for the both of us. (And yes, I know there's no Olympic games going on now. Yes, I know that I got to see the complex in 2008. But this is OLYMPIC stuff guys! And we all know how crazy I am about all things Olympic!)

We got to walk right into the campus, stopping on the way for a little snack from a street car. YUM! It was a tortilla like wrapper filled with shredded veggies and a bit of a kick in flavor. Mei Mei, The Boss and I all shared one - which Mei Mei was NOT a fan of at all. She really does love to eat - pretty much anything we offer. (Don't worry, I'm careful not to overwhelm her system with all the new things and I keep an eye on quantity while we're learning her signals and cues!)

This was our first attempt at using the Ergo

carrier that my friend, Lisa, lent me.

She resisted at first, which I'm getting used to,

and then snuggled in to enjoy the sights from a safe perch.

I'm still pinching myself.... I got to stand at the foot of

The Bird's Nest! Aaaaaaaaaaah!

The Ling Long Pagoda, where

most of the broadcasting studios for the games

were located, including The Today Show.

The Water Cube from across the complex.

This sculpture is called "Olympic Torch Relay."

One side was smooth and intricate, the other very rough and primitive.

It is really amazing and beautiful to see up close and personal.

After the ooohing and aaahhing over the Olympic sites, we hopped back into the van and headed to a little noodle house for a "light lunch." Heh. We're learning that there's no such thing when eating out with Dion. He ordered for us and our driver, plate after plate of local deliciousness. We had stir-fried cabbage, noodles with a sweet Peking sauce and veggies, sauteed eggplant with green beans, fried rice, and a chicken dish with little wraps and bamboo shoots. So fresh and flavorful - all of it was just amazing! I really need to hit the internet when we return home and do some recipe research.

Next door to the noodle house was a traditional tea house, where we got a mini-version of a tea tasting ceremony. We tasted about 6 or 7 different teas and learned about the health benefits of each featured tea. Just my luck, the one noted for its slimming and healthy heart properties tasted the worst! I was tempted to buy a tea set for Mei Mei while there but we could tell it was a bit more upscale and we wanted to avoid the hard sale. Big spending at the jade house was enough for one day!

This was our hostess for the ceremony. She was so patient

with all of Mei Mei's interruptions while explaining the right ways

to drink tea and to hold tea cups.

Through all of this activity, Mei Mei did great - even though she was skipping a nap. But man, sitting back in the van for the hour drive through rush hour traffic was no picnic. It was like wrestling an octopus at points. Granted, she's easily distracted and was pretty pleasant tempered about it all but I am sure glad we use car seats in America to restrain our kiddoes. Letting her loose in a car on errand day would be downright insanity! 

Finally, because I know most of you are really only here to see her and her sweet little face, here's one that The Boss snapped of us while we were admiring the blooming forsythia.

It was a beautiful day and I love that we got to spend so much of it outside in the beautiful weather to enjoy our time here and each other. Tomorrow, we've got a lighter schedule so hopefully nap time will still happen at a decent hour. We'll all need it for Saturday's big trek to The Great Wall! 

In Between

In between the moments of greatness and inspiration that the 2012 London Olympics have already provided for our Gang's viewing pleasure, we've had a couple other moments worth noting.

Friday night, for the Opening Ceremonies, we feasted on a plethora of international delights. There was Italian sausage and German franks on the grill. In between bites of old-fashioned American baked beans and Italian pasta salad, there was plenty of good laughs and shared memories over about the Beijing Opening Ceremonies and Li'l Empress' 1st birthday celebration. It was all followed by ice cream (the origin of which many nations claim!) and red, white and blue rocket pops as we watched London strut her stuff.  

Apparently all the excitement proved too much for Li'l Empress. Somewhere in between Team China's appearance and the Maldives' stroll through the Parade of Nations she crashed on my lap.

Sigh. I love it when she falls asleep on me like that.

I know it won't last much longer.

After all, she is almost five. Sigh.

On Saturday, I took the day to help a friend tackle some purging of possessions and re-organizing of rooms and spaces in her home. She's been working the "one room at a time" process on her own for a few weeks and I really enjoyed helping her see her rooms with a slightly different perspective. In between the purging and the re-purposing, she fed me and plied me with iced tea and great conversation. THEN, she blessed me with a trunk full of donations for our on-line yard saling efforts.

There's about 6 garbage bags full of stuff under there!

So all the new stuff coming in inspired me to pare down my current inventory and freshen up my sale album. I went from this, in the living room, 

and, this, in the garage

to just this, in the garage in between breakfast, lunch,

and a few Olympic profiles and errands to W@lmart.

Meanwhile, the youngest members of the Gang are oooh'ing and aaaah'ing over the Men's synchronized diving competition. Which I am watching in between loading pictures and formulating sentences.

If multi-tasking was an Olympic event, I'd get at least a bronze for Monday's labors alone!

My Apologies, In Advance

The kick-off to the London Games of the Olympics is finally here. I'm so excited. I'm a total Olympics junkie. Counting down the days till today. Tearing up all summer long at every ad and every interview. Stalking the sites for the feel good stories. All of it.

Well, admittedly, not all of it. I was planning to have a big international bash here at the house tonight with all kinds of like-minded friends joining the fun. But with everything that's gone on here this summer and the crazy schedule we've kept, I felt the need to go a little more low key. So we're celebrating the Opening Ceremonies with friends. The same friends, in fact, who allowed us to turn our Opening Ceremonies dinner into a dual celebration of Li'l Empress's 1st birthday on the opening night of the Beijing Olympic Games. This could be the start of a fun tradition with our friends. Team USA, Team China, and Team Russia will all be well represented tonight, between the two families!

Given all the fervor and single-minded focus I plan to indulge in over the coming weeks, I'm apologizing in advance for what is sure to be spotty blog updating over the duration of the games.

As one friend so eloquently put it, (hat tip to Heidi!), there's about to be an outbreak of couch potatoes, nation-wide and CERTAINLY here at The Gang's Headquarters. So, I'll see ya when I see ya.

Go Team USA!!!!!

Life and More Life

I had a pithy, snarky post all brewing up in my head to explain the drought between meaningful posts in recent weeks. But in the hours between my intellectual musings and craftings of strategic plays on words and my actual sitting to type said musings and craftings, it has all disappeared. Why, oh why can I NOT get fantastic brainstorms and high-brow humor running out of my brain and onto the keyboard at normal hours of the day? Why must it always start my synapses firing at 2:38 a.m., when I'm rolling The Boss over for the third time? Why must I lay in my bed at 4:23 a.m. cracking myself up when at 4:23 p.m. I was all but prostrate on the floor begging for some relief from the noise and the chaos of five kids and a schizo kitty?

I've been largely absent around here for the last couple weeks, I know. The death of our friend really created ripples and aftershocks that are still being felt. And will be for a long time, I'm sure. The chaos of interrupted routine due to snow, snow, more snow, and unexpected travel followed by more snow has confused us all. Did I mention we've gotten a lot of snow lately? Additionally, our church has been dealing with several losses of family members and sicknesses that require we stand together to care and support. Our own little Gang has been dealing with some things, ranging from The Boss's work atmosphere to a testing toddler. It's been a hard, long season. I'm not all that sorry to see February depart.

I try really hard to be a positive person, to have an outlook that says, "I am blessed. I have much for which I can and should give thanks." I enjoy looking for the things around me to celebrate. It's part of the reason I love the Olympics. I mean, in the dead of the winter, every four years, we get to unite as a nation to see amazing feats of courage and bravery and commitment. We get to see sportsmanship at its best, team work honed to perfection, and character tested and shown worthy.

It's no secret to those of you who know me (and who have been privileged to follow me on F@ceb**k during these games!) that I am a huge Men's Speed Skating fan. Specifically short track. Specifically Apolo Anton Ohno. Yes, I am fully aware of his obvious physical charms. I agree, he's very easy on the eyes. But that's really not why I love watching him skate. I'm sure it won't surprise any of you that I have voraciously done tons of reading on him and his teammates. As much as I can get away with. . . and still be a good Momma and good wife, that is. And everything that I've read just screams of his dedication, his single-minded focus, and his drive to follow his passion. You can SEE it when he's out there on the ice. He's strategic, he's intentional, and he's all about doing his personal best when tested. When viewed through that lens (the lens of what I've learned about him and about the sport), it's nothing short of inspirational. In fact, it reminds me much of the Apostle Paul. He, too, was strategic, intentional, and pressed to offer his best when tested. Please don't read what I am NOT saying. It's just that in this season of my life, I've been watching the Olympics with a different perspective.

I've been feeling tested lately. (NOT just by my adorable Li'l Empress, either!) Oh, I know, it's normal every day life stuff for the most part. But it's no less challenging to navigate. In fact, in my view, the fact that it's normal every day life stuff makes it sometimes all the more challenging. I mean, to choose to view it as a test, as a race to a medal, to race in a way that proves me worthy of the calling He has placed upon me is hard. Most of the culture around me tells me it's just life. It's not that hard. And if it is that hard, "it's just not supposed to be." As if I could or should choose to either ignore it or just accept it. Neither prospect really sits well with who I am. Who I know I am called to be.

Philippians 3:12-14 (TNIV)

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Some of it isn't every day life stuff. Some of it is stuff being revealed within me that, frankly, I find repulsive and ugly. New views of my selfishness. A peek into the utter gunk of unresolved anger. Far too intimate glimpses of unconfessed sin. None of it pretty. None of it pleasant. All of it covered. By His Grace. By His Sacrifice. Yet all of it needing to go now that it's been revealed. It's the training phase that no athlete really loves. But it's the hard work that is required. The proving that tests one's mettle. And gets one over that finish line after a messy, dirty, chaotic fight of life.

And I'm good with that. I mean, I'm good with it being rooted out, in terms of appreciating the end result. It's just the process and the journey that I'm not loving. It's painful. It's messy. But it's worth it. It's that gold-medal round of contest. THAT'S the real life that I'm shooting for. That's the finish line I'm clumsily skating toward. It's what I'm clinging to.

James 1:12 (The Message)

"Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life."

It's Here! It's Here!

I've been counting down this day since, I don't know, before Christmas. . . The opening of the Winter Olympics is TONIGHT! I haven't been this excited since I found out that all 25 of my immediate family would get to be together for a whole day at the holidays! Seriously, I think the only thing I could be MORE excited about is if my Eagles had made it to the Big Game.

For weeks, I've been teaching Li'l Empress to chant with me. I've been humming the national anthem. I'm tearing up every time I hear the I decided to have an Olympics party. I've been plotting and planning a big international feast for friends and family. Last night, I snuck out of the house and went crazy on red, white and blue STUFF to decorate for tonight's party. I've been overloading on NBC's spotlight features on athletes. Instead of reading blogs and keeping my email up-to-date, I've been poring over news stories of weather conditions, opening ceremony plans, injury reports and so on. (If I've ignored an email and it's important, you should probably attach an Olympics story to it. That will get my attention!)

So, in celebration of the GREATEST. DAY. OF WINTER. (so far . . .), I give you the cutest little speed skating fan I know. Try to contain yourself. And yes, I know I'm brainwashing her. It's one of the perks of parenting, isn't it?! :)

It Makes Me Happy

The Olympics are only 10 days away! I'm a huge fan of the Olympics and when I saw this on the news yesterday, it made me so happy. I just had to share it with all of you. I hope it makes you smile.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

See? Happy.

Ready for the Olympics

My Gang has always been mesmerized by figure skating on television. The Olympics are like a two week party around here. Recently the Today show featured one of the men who is hoping to bring home a gold medal. It would be the first gold for American men in like, twenty-something years. When I heard the intro to the story, I stopped and settled in to watch. So did Li'l Empress. It seems that the fascination with spins and leaps and artistic interpretation on the ice has bitten another little Gang member.

While I ran for the camera, she stood "thiiiiiiiis close" to the television and just stared with big brown eyes at the screen for several minutes of his program.

As soon as I turned the camera on? Well, she showed me her short program. Enjoy.

We'll have to work on the gleeful screaming.
I hear those judges frown on that sort of display!

"I tate" means "I skate."

And "wa wa" means baby or baby doll in Chinese.
Interestingly, it's the only Chinese word
she knew when we met her.
and the only one she still uses, even though
we're trying to incorporate some
of the words we've learned over the years.