Happy Mother's Day!

....To all the moms out there and especially my mom, mom-in-law, and grandmothers. Sorry this is a day late- our internet is out at home until Thursday (and has been since last Friday). Not fun for someone so used to using it any time they wish.

Love you all!

Can't use jet lag as an excuse forever....

But I wish I could! Sorry for my lack of posting; I am just really tired and when not working, trying to avoid the computer for long periods. I hope that by now, if you are reading this you have received my two photo albums on China by email. Things are back to normal, which means that I have piles of things to grade and organize, especially now that it's the end of the semester. Around May 8 I will be finished (am working graduation), so then it will be time to get back to work on my dissertation which I have been neglecting basically since the day I defended my prospectus (as in, haven't even looked at any of the papers since early March). I am hoping to tutor some this summer and will be a nanny for a professor in my department who I work with. She's got two boys and lives close by- it should be fun as well as a good way to keep me busy this summer. I've also got a 3 day trip to Orlando to meet my friend Cathy there to visit with her and her 2 kids, since her parents live there. I can't wait to go to DW with the kids!

What else has been going on? Mmmm.... spending time with Matt, catching up with friends and family, TV, seeing Shira who is visiting from Denver this week, trying to eat healthy, and hitting the Inman Park festival where we found a great side table (will post pics soon!). This week should be busy. The weather is getting warm- as in hot, in a real hurry (forget the 70s- it went straight to the 80s).

Here are a few more videos from China....Enjoy!

Will you take some videos for now?

Since I still can't really form a complete sentence, hopefully some videos will speak for themselves when I'm asked "How was China?" or "Tell me all about China"....I am trying to create photo albums and will be sending those out very soon.

Back home...tired but awake.

I am awake at 4am and can't go back to sleep, so I am not sure how coherent this first post back from China will be...For those that don't already know, my trip home was quite stressful and looong- In a nutshell, my first flight of 3 was canceled and I had to spend the night in Beijing, then take 4 flights total to get home midnight Sunday instead of 6am.

Other than the travel issues, the trip was truly amazing. It was a true learning experience- very exciting, interesting, but also extremely challenging. Because I was the 'supervisor' or team leader, I had a lot to do every day to help my students adjust to teaching there along with adjusting to my own jet lag, the food, and daily living situation. I plan to write much more about all of this, but to sum it up the food was good and I enjoyed the spicy stuff, but since I don't normally eat a lot of rice eating it twice a day every day got really hard for me. The host family I stayed with was incredible and wonderful and I had to adjust to hand held shower and a squatty potty everywhere we went. Overall, the people were the best part and so hospitable. We also go to visit the Panda Sanctuary and several other sites that I am too tired to remember the name of.....

I am trying to upload some video right now but it's being slow. I have a lot from my great Flip that I love...
More to come I promise!

Off to China!

Tomorrow, I am off China! This week has been great- starting with the awesome surprise party (see below), then a great breakfast with girlfriends yesterday morning and one of the best meals I've ever had with my Matt. Tonight, my parents, sister, Matt, and I are heading to dinner somewhere in our 'hood and having cake at our house. The best birthday gift (although I've had some great ones:)- has been seeing family and friends this week and reminding myself how lucky I am!

I really only started packing today, although I've been running around town for a week getting gifts for my host family, essential toiletries (portable toilet paper), and getting the students ready for this trip as well. I'm pretty much ready to go, since I'm keeping the clothes, etc to a minimum (a feat for me). Although it definitely won't be relaxing as I am essentially 'in charge' of 8 students, I know that it is a wonderful and once in a lifetime opportunity. As long as I get through the flight, I know it will be great!

Stay tuned for photos and flip video that I will try to post while I am gone.
Thanks again to everyone who helped me make my bday so sweet!

Surprise!

It is not often that people can surprise me, because I am very nosy and like to plan everything I do myself (OK, Type A, I guess)

So, I was SO surprised last night when we walked into No Mas Cantina with Matt and my sister under the impression that we were just meeting up with my lovely friend Sarah and her boyfriend Dave and SO MANY other friends and my parents were there waiting. Crazy! It was really a big surprise, even though right before we left our house I got an idea since Sarah kept texting me telling me that she 'was dressing cute' and wearing a dress because that was the only clean clothes she had- she knows me well and was trying to tip me off to dress up a little!

Matt pulled this whole party off so well, with the help of my sis and Sarah. What a great night! Great friends, some really fun presents (I am really excited about my new Flip camera thanks to my parents that I can take to China), yummy banana and caramel cake, and most of all the reminder again that I am so blessed and lucky!!

I have much more to catch up on with posting...and will post even more pictures soon!

Exciting stuff!!

So, it's all over (or maybe it's all beginning).....Yesterday, I successfully defended my prospectus! It went very well, better than I expected. I felt very nervous before I began and then as soon as I started talking, I felt fine. It lasted a little over an hour, including questions and comments from my committee. I didn't think I answered their questions very well, but I got tons of helpful insight into how I can improve my study before I begin. It was a great feeling and it's a nice milestone to have done.
Now, the fun begins! I have to get all the permission and details ready to start collecting data in August until next March. It will be very time intensive in addition to my teaching roles, but I am very excited to do this. So, now when people ask me when I will graduate I can actually give a pretty good estimate- December 2010....and that actually seems close!!!
Thanks to everyone who send emails, messages, etc with their prayers and positive thoughts!

So, now, I need to do all the getting ready stuff I have been putting off before I leave for China March 28. There's lots to do teaching-wise before I leave. This weekend, we're heading to Louisiana for our friends' Allie & Brad's wedding. We are excited and hope to spend a few hours eating good food in New Orleans before we head home Sunday.