Cross My Fingers

and see if this will work. I am finding that posting on Blogger is a crap shot, so if it seems like I have not posted anything in a while check out my Facebook notes or my new Buzznet account (windwraeth.buzznet.com/user/).

Well, the apartment that we are currently in is starting to grow on me. It needs a major facelift before I would consider moving, but it does have some perks: the view is great, there is more space for Bean to run around in, the subway hub is a 5 minute walk, security is tighter, fewer apartments are under construction, and we live next to a cute little park. Here are some pics of the view.

Sugo Creek, barges run up and down the river moving construction supplies and dirt.













View of the buildings surrounding the subway line. Line 3 and 4 run past the apartment 24/7.





Pic of the little park that is next to the apartment complex. Groups of people practice tai chi and play badmitten in the morning.

I am laughing so hard

that tears are rolling down my cheeks.

The apartment that we are temporarily staying in is "The Money Pit". If you have not seen this Tom Hanks flick you need to. Pretty much everything is broken here. I went to start a load of laundry and flooded the bathroom/laundry room because the drain for the washing machine is horribly clogged beyond what I can fix. I found that the frig and freezer is broken as well--food that I put in it last night was either hot or melting. AND, to top it off, as we were cleaning out the kitchen we found that the sink pipes leak and that someone stuffed moldy curtains into one of the cupboards. Last night Dam and I commented that this place would be nice if a few thousand dollars were invested in replacing the floor, repairing the water damage to the walls in the hallway, updating the bathroom, add a stove to the kitchen, and replace the cupboards and the fridge. Now I am not sure that I would ever rent this place.

Dead on my feet, emotionally beat,

but ready for more. This last week has thrown us some nasty curve balls. Friday, on the taxi ride home from helping friends move we were rearended. We're all fine, sustained some wiplash, and scared Bean silly. The kicker was that we were two blocks from home.

Saturday night/Sunday morning Bean woke up numerous times and would not go back to sleep with out much coaxing. This was a rare occurence since he has been sleeping through the night since he was 4 months. During one of these wake ups I some how turned off my alarm and we did not wake up in time to go to church. Our ward meets at 8:00 am, and I try my hardest to get to it every week. It just did not happen.

Last night, right after we had finished dinner, one of the water mains for the apartment broke. What made this comical was that the pipe is located in the ceiling, right above the dinner table. Just seconds after I move Bean away from the table water starts pouring out of the light sockets in the ceiling. Our living room looked like Niagara Falls. Out of shock and reaction to Bean's hysteria I forgot to video tape event. Luckly our neighbors were home, who knew where the shut off valves to the water supply to apartment were. Once the water stopped falling we had three to four inches of standing water. The next hour was spent sweeping water into the drains in the bathroom. I am very grateful that I have an Ayi. Because of her I keep the floor clear of clothes and toys. The only water damage was to the ceiling in the living/dining area, the drapes in all the bedrooms, the furniture and the wood floor. None of our belongings were damaged (all the furniture belongs to the land lord). One of our friends let us crash at their place last night and we were able to pack up our things and move into an apartment today.

The move is temporary and should only last a week. The temp apartment needs a lot of cleaning before I will feel comfortable here. I'm just glad that Bean does not have to share a room with Dam and I tonight. We both, Bean and I, do not sleep as well when we are in the same room together.

I Am Lucky

In so many ways I am lucky and blessed. When I am upset or worried I have to remind myself that

1. I have a husband who loves me and who calls every now and then just to say how much he appreciates me ( it makes my day).

2. I have one of the happiest babies in the world. Even on his worst days he is easy to take care of.

3. I have a great ayi (ayi is Mandarin for aunt, they are hired help who do things from clean the house to take care of the children). It is so nice to have a break from taking care of the apartment two days a week.

If Only I Were a Native

Dam and I went to the fabric market the other day to get Dam a suit. At the fabric market you can have clothes tailor made for next to nothing. To give you an idea what the fabric market is like try imagining a three story flea market just for fabric. Apparently this is not the only market in the city. I can't wait to see the other one.

While we were there Dam wanted to pick up some fabric to use as a sash for his pirate costume (we were going to a pirate murder party later that week). We asked a friend what was the asking price for some of the linen fabric--we had been quoted a price, which seemed quite high. He told us a much lower price, but since we were foreigners it was expected that we would pay much more for the fabric. In the end we were able to talk one of the venders down to a more reasonable price.

Find of the week

Every where we go there are people on the street selling things. The most common thing that I buy from the street venders are fruit and veggies (cost a lot less than at the local grocery store). Once in a while there will be a street performer.



Not sure if the monkey was supposed to steal the whip, but I am glad it did.

Trouble

Bean has become trouble! He's still the happiest baby in the world, but now he scoots all around the apartment. The little guy loves to play with the things that you do not want him to be playing with: power cords, opening and slamming shut drawers, cell phones (just to name a few). Bean almost destroyed my cell phone the other day (slobbered it to death). Yesterday I took the handles off the drawers of the entertainment center. Bean's favorite game had become open and slamming shut these drawers. I decided something had to be done before the little guy could slam his fingers in the drawer.

The two best things.....

in life are pets and children. Sadly, Dam and I had to sell our dogs this week. Their caretakers, back in the states, couldn't take care of them any longer and bringing them to China would be cruel (we live on the 28th floor and the girls are used to going out to a fenced back yard whenever they wish). To fill the void we now have turtles! During the 4 1/2 years that we have been married Dam and I have owned many different reptiles: snakes, bearded dragons, uromastyx, and geckos, but never turtles.

We have three turtles. I can only guess at what type of turtle that they are. Dam bought them at a small pet market that is two blocks from the apartment.

Find of The Week

Got this from a friend who works for 3M. Here's a little piggy to clean up your pig sty.

Zhongshang Park

There are many different parks in the city. Unfortunately many of them require money for admittance, but Zhongshang Park is one of the few that are free. The park is beautiful with bird sanctuaries, open areas for kite flying and, manicured gardens. Another plus is that the park is a few blocks from the subway, which makes for easy access.