Time Out For Me ~ now from the beach

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Jolly Old England!

It's probably a giant case of Royal Weddingitis, but the thought has crossed my mind, "Why can't we be moving to London instead of Beijing?" The couple of times I traveled to London I thought, "I could live here, I should live here". I've always loved European architecture, European history, European decor and of course European food!... Asian? Not so much!

But, nevertheless, the plan for now does not include anything European...so day in and day out my mind plans and tries to predict what life will be in just a couple of months. Here are some things that keep me up at night. I know there is no use stressing over it, but I am grasping at anything to control right now.

(not in any particular order)

Every place we looked at had water coolers. How will I get my water refills? Will I go pick them up (really heavy) or have them delivered with no ability to communicate?

Will my email work there? It is my only sure fire way to communicate back home. If my email does not work, I will freak out!

Where will I buy a blowdryer when I get there?

What will the walk to the kids' bus stop be like?

Will the gym have windows? I know this is really superficial but one of the housing complexes we looked at had the most dungeoness gym possible. I knew I would NEVER go workout there. So I am very curious if the place we chose will have a sunny gym (it was not complete when we toured).

What and how will I cook dinner?

That is it for now!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mother's Day 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

2011

This Mother's Day was extra special for so many reasons, I am so grateful!

I went to my mom's on Friday and went out to lunch with her and my sister. These roses are my absolute favorite and I was able to pick them from my mom's garden. A simple memory I will always cherish!

Spending time with my sister, who is in the middle of chemotherapy. She is so strong and positive! Spending time with her before I leave is something I do not take for granted.

Going to dinner and a movie with fabulous colleagues...great times with great friends!

Going to lunch with my other sister (on her birthday) and my niece, who is going to away to college soon. Can't let these moments slip away!

Going to my favorite city (San Francisco) to see my favorite team (Giants)! We had the best seats and the best time ever!

My 9 year old serving me breakfast in bed...on a tray...toast (two heels :), cereal, strawberries and bananas, juice. So tender and from the heart!

Hilarious cards from my dog and kids!

A gift card for a massage!

No chores for me all day and a three hour nap!

It really doesn't matter what presents there are to unwrap! My mother's day was perfect because of all the wonderful people I was able to be with!

I feel honored to be a mother!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Lists & thoughts on the move

As you know we are moving to Beijing THIS SUMMER! Forgive me if this blog becomes a psychological outlet for all the emotions and thoughts constantly running through my mind. If that will annoy you, I'd just sign-off now. But I hope some of you stay...I deal with transition SO much better with others.

Now that I am done with my long-term substitute teaching assignment my full focus is on this HUGE transition in our lives! People ask me how I am feeling and it really is a second by second thing. For example, last weekend I WAS NOT going! I was sending my entire family...and Jupiter and I were going to just stay and await their return.

I do have moments of happy anticipation though. Like when I get frustrated with anything regarding our countries educational CRISIS. I just tell myself, "that will be better in China". But mostly I have personal breakdowns...like in Costco yesterday when I kept asking myself, "Will we be able to finish that before we go?" I had to seriously hold back tears in front of the bulk chocolate chips (I probably could finish those before we left).

Mostly I am just handling all of this by making lists! It helps...

A LOT!

Here are some lists that I have been keeping- these are only mine. Hubby has all the other, not so fun, stuff.

What to get rid of

What to buy before July 15th (about the time Hubby will leave)

What to ship on the boat to China

What to pack in our suitcase

What to buy when we arrive in China

How to handle Jupiter's transport

What we will need to buy when we return to the states. Did I mention we already have our flight booked to come home for Christmas?

What other Dr appointments to make

Home repairs for the renters

Updating contact lists of emails, phone numbers, addresses, facetime acct names - there is no Facebook in Beijing and it is even sketchy if this blog address will change so email will be the best way to keep in touch, message me to be added to the list:)

Who to say goodbye to before we leave

My wishlist of what to do with this house when we return (I might forget when I am there...I doubt it)

Benefits, all of the cool things we will do and see while in China...to help me to remember WHY we are doing this!

What would you be worried about if you were leaving the country for *at least* two years?

* do you like how two years now has changed to "at least two years"?

Sunday, May 1, 2011

A girls day out in San Francisco

For my friend's birthday, we decided to go to "the city" for some shopping and food. It was a dream day!

Stop 1- Lunch at Nopalito

Stop 2- The Ribbonerie-

What a glorious shop! I felt as if I were in England.

Stop 3- Leftovers

This is a furniture consignment store. There were two busts that I REALLY, REALLY wanted here.

Stop 4- Crown and Crumpet at Ghiradelli Square

Holy toledo people! I have met my match! This is it for me. Everything about this place I absolutely adored! I WILL visit here again before my asian adventure!

from the banners to the apothecary candy jars to the table cloths....I LOVE it all!

Snack Stop- Kara's Cupcakes at Ghiradelli Square

YUM! I had the Fleur de Sel which is chocolate cupcake filled with caramel filled with chocolate ganache frosting and a sea salt sprinkle.

LOVE this place!

Stop 5- The Ferry Building- Miette Patisserie and Recchiutti Chocolate

I seriously covet those cakeplates on the top shelf!

Stop 6- Ma Maison

I loved that this was right down the block from AT&T park! Go Giants!

Stop 7- Tartine Bakery

I have been hearing about this place for a while now and it DID NOT disappoint! WOW! It just goes to show that if you have good food it does not matter what the decor is like (although this is so very French!) or even have a sign outside. There was a constant line down the street! And everyone was ordering different things...bread, pastries, eclairs, bread pudding, the list goes on and on....definately will be visiting here again SOON!

we decided we HAD to try a sandwich! One of the best sandwiches I have ever had! The bread! Oh the bread!

Treats for home- a mini banana tart and two eclairs! Heaven!

Thanks to my friend, Jennefer, who is 7 months pregnant for a) having a birthday! b) planning this wonderful day! c) bring such a wonderful friend!

Can you believe we actually stopped at the mall on the way home? Oh, and I purposely did not mention a little fender bender that we had after lunch. Yikes!

Utah

Yes, we are LDS.

Unlike most Latter-Day Saints we do not have family in Utah, so it is not somewhere we visit frequently. As a matter of fact, this trip was only my third time to Utah and my children's first time.

We all LOVED it!

Anyone who is LDS, or anyone curious about our beliefs, should visit Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah!

Dayton is 9. He wants to serve a mission when he is 19. "My testimony grew on this trip. I felt the Spirit everywhere I went. "
Emma is 13. She wants to go to BYU, one of the main reasons we took this trip! "My favorite part was the Joseph Smith movie at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. "

I Love To See The Temple

We had many great family moments in Salt Lake. We ate dinner at the Garden Cafe. We visited the conference center, the Church History Museum, the church administration building, and the Beehive House.

It snowed while we were there!

Many of our friends and family members have attended BYU Provo. We are always hearing how great it is! Emma has really grasped onto the idea to go there (Dayton wants to go to Stanford). So we knew we needed to dedicate a few hours to the campus we've heard so much about!

We were very impressed!

I guess we better start saving our money!

Idaho

We decided to head on up to Idaho to visit family and say our goodbyes before our big adventure!

First and foremost- the potatoes REALLY are better in Idaho!

Hubby's brother and sister-in-law live in Parma, Idaho. We piled the kiddos into the car and traveled for 10 hours. It was worth it!