Daily Picture Project - Day 9

Maybe she should sleep later?

"Zzzzzzzzz......"

My Little Hoarder

Maybe it is due to being an only child. Maybe it's separation anxiety. Or maybe it's genetic. My child is a hoarder. She "collects" things in drawers, in bags, in purses, on shelves, inside empty cigar boxes, anywhere there's a crevice. But this year we started the new school year with a goal to manage the collecting! SO, she eliminated ALL Barbie stuff (2 square meters of space cleared), bakugans, broken jewelry, and books. But the hardest thing was to reduce the number of stuffed animals in our house. The girl had over 200! Lat year, we took all but 30 and put them into a box in the basement. She could take one out of there only if she put one back in. In theory keeping the number of loose ones to 30. Though we thought to consider new additions...  Anyway. this year she agreed to 1) reduce the number out at one time to 20 2) give Isabel (our neighbor's baby) the ones that would be fun for a baby to play with and 3) agree to re-look at the stored ones every couple of months and give away any she didn't want anymore. I am proud of her as I know this was hard for her. She says each one has a "memory" and can't bear to part with it! 

So we took some pictures of all them. And hopefully the pile will be smaller by Christmas!!!

Daily Picture Project - Day 8

Wow, start of 3rd full week of school. Time is going quickly. Up late this morning, but had the camera on auto focus (check), logged into vpn (check), placed memory stick onto correct reader (check), uploaded to blogger without error (check). Remember to hit "publish" (check).

"If I lift this three more times, mom will give me my DS back"

Daily Picture Project - Day 7

So, due to technical difficulty, Friday's day 6 picture is just now being published! I was working on the blog format and something went wrong! Hope you enjoy the new format.

Also, my camera was on manual focus. Figured that out AFTER I looked at the pictures. So the daily picture is also a test of my ability to multi-task! BTW, the book in the picture is Cootie Catcher book.

"Cooties? What do I do with them after I catch them?"

Daily Picture Project - Day 6

So, we decided it was pretty boring to do this after 5 days. So we kicked it up a notch! Now we will start doing more interesting pictures. Natalie picks the look and I am to write the funny caption. Sort of like a Daily Cartoon. We are still working on the name for the comic. Please feel free to comment and leave your own funny caption!

"Mom, do I really have to take this umbrella to school? It's not raining"

iPad Keyboard Woes

It has been a while since I provided any feedback on our iPad. Which is interesting considering that I used it almost every day while I was in the U.S. this summer. My observation still is that the iPad is really more for consumption rather than creation. Typing an email on the existing touch keyboard is beyond painful. And those of you who have received emails I have typed under this duress are aware of the inability to send a "quick note"! But alas, there may be a solution coming for the creators out there who own an iPad. A new case which includes a keyboard which works via Bluetooth. Called the KeyCase iPad Folio, the keyboard will go on sale shortly in the UK for £59.95 and will carry a usage time of between 45 to 90 hours. (The iPad's batterly lasts around 10 to 12 hours.)Yeah!

On a side note, it should be noted that this manufacturer, Shenzhen Paoluy Silicone Technology Co., Ltd is in China. AND they also make silicone breast forms. They probably have tons of experience with geeks!

Daily Picture Project - Day 5

Picture day! I think the purple Converse shoes enhance the look, don't you?

Watch TV Shows & Movies Online - Clicker.com

For anyone who is trying to find online movies or shows, this site is great. It has made our expat entertainment life so much simpler! Clicker looks on video sites like Hulu, Netflix, Crackle, all of the TV network sources, and iTunes and Amazon too. Create an account and create a playlist. Now I have one place to go rather than looking at Hulu, then Netflix, then the SlingBox. If it is not available online, then I go buy the DVD's!

Watch TV Shows & Movies Online - Clicker.com

Ganbei With the World in Qingdao

So, spur of the moment, I've determined I am going to experience the 2010 Qingdao beer festival. Raquel & Tracey Thueme put the trip together and Deb Spofford needed a date.  In preparation, I have been taking special care of my kidney and liver, drinking only red wine, water, and green tea. In fact, my preparation has been similar to preparing for a trip to the Indy 500 or Kentucky Derby.

My list of items to take include:

• "Beer" pajamas that Raquel and I had made for PJ-inspired Dinner Cruise - who knew I could wear them again!
• US Flag tattoos for our faces and to ensure we are allowed into all tents with minimal hassle. Everyone knows American's are better drinkers than the German's.
• Beer cozee. The question is which one. Might we be carrying around cans? Maybe litres? Shall I proclaim my love of University (Purdue) or pastimes (Margaritaville). THough since you can buy beer in a plastic bag, maybe the best cozee would be my iPad neoprene case?
• Typed lyrics, in case I forget the words, to three karaoke "go-to" songs to use at public karaoke hot spots - Bohemian Rhapsody, Wonderwall, Paradise by the Dashboard Lights
• Lots of tissues. I can only imagine what the bathroom situation is going to be like. Wish I'd borrowed a Trucker Buddy.
• TWO Water bottles. Endurance is all about hydration.
• Three SUPER cheap rain covers. It is supposed to rain this weekend. I don't want to have to slow down. Plus, with three, I can eliminate the hassle of trying to take them off without ripping them.

I checked out the official website and see that the activities on the Saturday that we are in Qingdao. Unfortunately, it was all in Mandarin. No matter, I have Google, so I let it translate for me. The main activities are (as translated to Chinglish by Google):

• Personal blowing, big cup quick drink, drink a minute speed 
• Women's blowing, big cup quick drink, drink a minute speed

I don't know that means, but I think I can win one of those!  

In the words of Frank Zappa, I "seek the path to the sudsy, yellow nozzle of their foaming, nocturnal, parametric, digital, whole-wheat, inter-faith, geo-thermal, terpsichorean ejectamenta"

Daily Picture Project - Day 4

Smoothie day! Today is class picture day at school which is why she has on the white shirt. Amazing that we made it through a raspberry-peach smoothie with nothing on the shirt! Also of note today is the pattern of waking up before the alarm goes off so she can read before getting up. As if it wasn't hard enough to get her to bed because of the books!

Daily Picture Project - Day 3

Everyone's up early this morning. Plenty of time to read a little Calvin & Hobbes! Also time to finish a small assignment that WE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT! Ah, school has begun...

Natalie's 8th Birthday

Sharing some pictures from Natalie's 8th Birthday parties. This year, only three parties! I am pretty late at getting this done. And we didn't get all of our thanks you cards done yet either. But anyway, thought I would get this out.


Party number one was in Rochester with my family. We ate at Dinosaur BBQ (I highly recommend the mac and cheese) and surprised her with a cake, cards, and some impromptu gifts.

The second party was at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Uncle Tim and Uncle Ted joined us too. 

When we got back, the Ayi also has a gift for Natalie. It was pretty cute!

The last party was here at our house in Shanghai. I actually baked a cake and Natalie helped decorate it. Tom took a picture as I am pretty sure this the only birthday I have ever baked her! Later, we took Natalie with some friends to Maya's, her favorite Mexican resteraunt in Puxi. 

Zhong Biao, our driver, also bought her a gift. A Haibao dancing doll. There is a picture of Natalie with her doll, but the video is much finnier! The doll sings 5 songs, one of which is Jingle Bells. The lyrics are different, but the refrain is recognizable. I love China!

Video

Daily Picture Project - Day 1 & Day 2

Natalie and I decided it would be fun to take one picture of her every school day. At the end of the year, we are going to combine into a single poster. Our only rule is that she must be in the clothes she is wearing to school. It can be before or after school. So far, two days in. I figured if I posted on the blog, I'd be more likely to keep heading towards the goal! Enjoy!!!


Day 1:
New uniform and all!

Day 2:
Ready early, time for reading!

New Kindle Games

Here are two games you can download for your Kindle 2/3 or DX. Very addicting!
Every Word
Shuffled Row