Audis and inside jokes

I HATE BLACK AUDIS.
I don't know why, but some of the worst offenders of traffic laws and the laws of physics are drivers of Black Audis.  Actually, that's not true, I do know why.  People (in China and in other places in the world too) who drive black Audis are generally either government officials, or have way too much money.  Both conditions give the driver a license to be a jerk.  If a car is driving the wrong way down a one way street it is more often than not a black Audi (or a cab driver, but that's a whole nother story).  A black Audi will not stop, it will run you down and keep on going.  A couple of days ago, I saw an Audi parked across a whole lane of traffic.  At first I thought he was trying to park, you know angle himself against traffic, to back into a sidewalk parking space, but as I got closer I realized that there was no one in the car.  I doubt it was an accident because I didn't see any other cars (or drivers) no shattered glass on the pavement.. No this car was just parked across a lane of traffic because he could.  *sigh* I used to think Audis were cool cars too, now just looking at them makes me mad.

But, lest you think that I am all road rage.... Babes and I have an inside joke.  We've had them before, but I think this is the first time that she really realizes that it's an inside joke.  I'm going to let you guys in, but you can't tell her...  It's from Megamind (one of my favorite movies now) nothing special, just the way he says hello, he says "ollo"  Now whenever Babes thinks I'm not smiling enough she pops her little head up and says "ollo".  And I have to say, it always works.  And the opposite works too, if she's being mopey for no reason and I pull a long face and say "ollo" she breaks out into the biggest smile.
It's like I told my brother, one of the best things about having kids is having someone to back you up in your craziness.  I think the best example of this (last random story I swear) happened when Babes was
not even 3.  We were in my sister's car and she took an off ramp a little too fast.  I grabbed the oh s**t handle of the car with both hands and screamed "ooh noooo!"  and from the back seat my little girl chimed in "we're all gonna die!"  I've never been so proud. 

Bread and Sandwiches

I finally got myself together to make sourdough bread using the starter that a friend of mine gave me.  Apparently this starter is from New Mexico around the time of the civil war.  I have been interested in trying sourdough for about a year now, but have never had the nerve to try it.  BUT  with someone else's starter I was ready to give it a go.
I didn't just start with a plain old sourdough though, I am always trying to add more grains to our diet so I started out with Bernard Clayton's Oatmeal Sourdough bread.  It's pretty good.  It made a really pretty loaf, and the inside was pretty soft.  The recipe made one big loaf and four mini loaves.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

Using this bread I made feta and tomato sandwiches which are awesome!  I spread feta onto the bread, then added sliced tomatoes, basil, and olives.  Then pan fried them like a grilled cheese sandwich.  Superb!

A Museum and Crickets

This past weekend we went into downtown Chengdu (is it still downtown, if you travel uptown to get to it?) to visit the Science and Technology Museum with Babes.  The Museum itself is not bad.  There are 4 or 5 floors (we got there late so we kinda ran through it) and lots of hands on activities for the young ones (and us adults) to try out.  Despite the fact that it was a Sunday afternoon it was not too crowded.  Some of the more popular activities were crowded, with little kids zooming in and out constantly, but we were able to do a fair amount, and did not get pushed around too much.  There is also a 4D theater, which is supposed to be pretty neat.  What's 4D you might ask, well I asked the same thing.  Apparently it's a 3D movie with touch added to the experience as well.  For instance, if an elephant sprays water, you will get shot with water, or if there's a breeze blowing, they will pipe wind through the theater.  Sounds cool, and I think when Babes is off for her 2 week break we are going to head back for a more in depth exploration of the museum.
On our way out of the museum we found ourselves in the midst of some sort of anime convention.  At first we saw a girl in a Japanese school girl outfit, and I thought strange, but you know how kids are...  Then we started seeing more and more people in school girl uniforms, or with pink wigs, or other costumes on.  I don't follow anime so I can't say which one it was, but I think it was a particular series as most people were dressed in similar costumes.
Along with the costumed kids, I saw this

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

You can't really see it, but it's a bicycle full of crickets.  The noise was unbelievable!  And when you got up really close you could see giant cricket legs (ok they weren't that big) sticking out of the holes.  So creepy.  I thought I should buy one so that I could take a picture of the bug inside, but I couldn't bring myself to get any closer than picture distance.

The relative freedom of 4 tv channels

We only have four TV channels.  Not four channels that I like to watch, or even four English channels, we have four channels.  We have a sports channel, a news channel (that is half fox news and half CNN)  voice of America (which is often in some language that I don’t even recognize) and a Chinese channel.  The news channel and the sports channel will sometimes become something else.  The sports channel will sometimes play US sitcoms and dramas, and the news channel will sometimes have morning shows, but in general, when I flip on the TV there is nothing to watch, or completely inappropriate things to watch, like Dexter will be on in the middle of the day, and the morning shows are on at night (this is what happens with a 12 hour time difference).  When we moved in we asked about getting local cable, but the wiring in the building is too old so we can’t get that.  Then we asked about Satellite, but it is pirated and the Consulate will not condone that either.  So we’re stuck with four channels.  At first I was mad about it.  I was stuck in the house with a 3 year old with nothing to distract her (you’d be surprised how much ½ an hour or an hour of TV for a kid will restore mom’s spirits, particularly if it’s been a bad day).  But I’ve come to appreciate it.  
When we’re in the US, I will often flip on the TV without any plans to watch anything and I will waste a good ½ hour just flipping looking for something to watch.   I would sometimes do it more than once a day and before you know it, you’ve just killed 2 or 3 hours doing nothing.  Now I have to plan to watch something.  I have to think about it ahead of time, order the DVDs or find it on Netflix, and then when I’ve got some time to kill I can sit down and watch it.  I think I spend about the same amount of time on TV, but it’s usually something that I want to see.  There are even days when we don’t turn on the TV at all (at least not until after Babes goes to bed).  Grant it, it’s still not edifying my mind or enlightening me somehow, but it’s better than the frustration of mindless flipping.  

Kunming

I am sitting here trying to figure out what was it about Kunming that made it so beautiful, it's hard to put into words.  Thinking about it critically, it wasn't the city itself.  While not the dusty dirtiness of northern Chinese cities, Kunming did not have any of it's own special charm.  In fact, I think I only took pictures of one temple, and a gate here and there.  But underneath a crystal clear blue sky even the shabbiness of the buildings seemed pretty.  And now that I'm thinking about it, that has to be what it was.  The blue blue sky, the green green grass, and the sparkles of the sun dancing off the lake (in the park near our hotel).  The weather was awesome.  Right on the edge of being hot, but never quite making it.  In the background there are mountains, and lots and lots of greenery.  In some ways it reminded me of Southern California.  I think coming from the land of the perpetual grey skies (Chengdu) it was shocking just to see blue skies.  Anyway, a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Some views of the lake, and also of the really Yum yum yummy Yunnan food.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE how much variety there is of Chinese food?  Just one district over from Sichuan and already you have a completely different food experience, instead of a mouth numbing intestine burning dining experience.  There is a sweet/sour burning that sets your mouth on fire, but does not burn in your intestines for days.  Also lots of fresh fruit and edible flowers.  What's not to love?

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

Chutney and baby booties

It's been awhile since I've done a what I'm cooking post.  Mainly because the farm subscription has been boring.  I understand it was winter, things don't really grow in the winter, but MAN did I ever get tired of greens.  However, two weeks ago I got a two handfuls of long green hot peppers (I looked it up and this was the best name I could find), which gave me pause.  In the past, hot peppers would not have been a problem, I would just chop them up and add them to everything.  But since Babes has been with us, I can't take the heat, and she can't either.  So what's a woman to do with the hot pepper bounty?  CHUTNEY!  I don't think I've ever had chutney before this winter when NY galpal and I went to do a cooking class at Camaje.  In the class we did a whole Indian menu, and most of it was pretty simple, and Chutney is SO good.  Which is what I ended up doing at home too.  It started off as "well let me make chutney with these hot peppers"  And then since it was vegetarian night I thought I would make Eggplant fritters with the eggplant in the fridge, but instead of making them Italian like the recipe called for I added a barrage of spices to turn them into Curried eggplant fritters.  Add some random stir fried veggies, and curried Indian chickpeas and you have this:

From Blogger Pictures

In other news, I have been knitting a flurry of baby related items.  For my new niece (Welcome to the world Niecey!), And for two little boys that are due to arrive in our community before the fall.  So just for the awww factor, here are a some baby booties for your viewing pleasure.  All were knit with local self striping yarn.  I love this stuff, except for the tendency for the stripes to not knit out the same.   From Blogger Pictures From Blogger Pictures

The classiest McDonalds I've ever seen

Last week I had to go downtown to get my camera lens fixed. I left right after I took Babes to school, but ended up getting there WAY before the Nikon store opened. After looking around, McDonald's seemed to be my best bet for a place to sit down and wait without going too far. When I walked in though, I thought for sure I had wandered into a restaraunt or something. This place did not look like any McDonald's I've ever seen. (It was though, and I had an egg mcmuffin to prove it).

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

I do NOT live in the US

I do NOT live in the US.  There I've said it.  Now if only I believed it. Part of the problem with being an expat (as opposed to immigrating) is the feeling of being neither here nor there.  I've lived in China now for over a year and I don't feel like I live here.  Point of fact, I don't really have a "home" (unless you count where my parents live).  DH constantly gets mad at me when I say I'm going "home" for Christmas, or when are we going "home" for a visit, etc., but I have to say I do not feel that China is home.  Yes, DH, Babes, and Honeydog are all here with me, all our crap is here, but it feels temporary.  I don't know how to explain it.  Maybe it's just the mental attitude, as an expat, everything is temporary.  I know that we are only going to be in China for two years, and then we'll go somewhere else.  I also live outside of the everyday life experiences that your average Chinese person would have.  I don't pay local bills, I don't really use local internet (I can use facebook and blogger through a proxy).  I don't think of myself as Chinese.  I'm not trying to raise my daughter to go through their educational system. 
But at the same time I don't live in the US.  Every month we spend away I get a little farther from that culture and what's going on now.  Some of it I'm very happy about.  For instance I am only vaguely aware that there have been some massive panic attacks over plastics.  But it is very weird to not have an idea of what's super hot, or what kind of music is on the radio right now, or even what TV show everyone is talking about.  I'm not following politics or even major news. 
So where does that leave me?  Or worse, where does that leave Babes?  Will she be one of those kids who claims to be American, but has only visited on holidays?  Where will she think of as home?  One of the many featureless apartments that we live in overseas with our Drexel heritage furniture (the brand of furniture that is furnished in USGovt housing worldwide)? 
I know she's getting more life experiences and a much broader perspective than she could have in the US.  And she will be getting a better education (in most cases), but still I wonder if this lifestyle will help or hurt her.  Would she be better off with more stability and less perspective? 

So you think you have traveled

This is what I thought before I had Babes (and I only have one, I can't imagine 2, 3, or 4).  Traveling as an adult without kids is stressful.  There are hotels to book, tickets to buy, clothes to prepare….a hundred and one little things to get sorted out to ensure a pleasant journey.  With a kid there are a million and one little things to take care of so that the possibility of a pleasant journey is there.    In the past, once I was on my way the stress of traveling eased and I could relax and enjoy myself.  After all, if I had my tickets, my ID, and packed clothes to wear everything else would sort itself out.  In fact, when I met DH I found my perfect traveling companion, he liked to have a plan, so I only had to pack my bags and show up and he took care of the rest.  I like to think we were perfect together, he found exciting things to do and I never complained, provided companionship, could read a map and navigate us to almost anywhere. 

Now that we have a kid though, it is a different kettle of fish altogether (what the heck is a kettle of fish? Why did I just use that expression).   In the past it was always my goal to walk on board a plane with just my tiny purse and a book.  More than anything I hate carry-on luggage.  I hate the overhead bins, I hate jamming crap under the seat in front of you and I hate everyone in front of you who is trying to do that.  Now I LIVE by carry-on luggage.    There are toys, snacks, changes of clothes, blankets, books, and a myriad of other things that need to be carried on for a 24 hour journey. 

BUT, and Mister Business Man this is directed at you, I can get myself, AND my four year old through security faster than you can with your stupid laptop, and I resent the look I get when I get into a security line ahead of you.  We know the procedures, and we are prepared.  My child and I wear loose fitting clothing with no unsuspecting metal parts that can set off a metal detector and shoes that will easily slip off when we get to the front.  I pack all my liquids in an easily accessible place so that I can whip them out and then back in when I need to.  And even when we had to use a stroller, I only needed more than a few seconds once… the first time, when they told me that I would have to put the stroller through the machine and, well it was my first time traveling with a baby and I had no idea how to do that with one hand.  Whereas you, Mister Business Man always seem surprised that you have to take off your shoes, and take your laptop out of the bag.  IT SAYS IT ON THE SIGN, how many times have you traveled?  Oh and your stupid belt…  How many times do you need to travel before you figure out you have to take it off ahead of time?  I remembered after the first time I traveled, many many years ago, and haven't worn one to travel since.  You can't be that busy, I remember to do all these things AND I am watching a four year old who is trying to lick the security rails. 

Once on the plane, I used to kick back with my book, for a bit, and then I'd sleep the rest of trip, or maybe watch a movie or two.  Now I'm lucky if I can watch a movie all the way through if they play it three times on the plane.  And sleep?  Ha I can get maybe an hour or two!  You may be thinking how hard can it be?  You just sit in a seat.  But then you must not remember being three.  Three year olds have the very short attention spans, unlimited energy, and boundless curiosity.  They have to touch EVERYTHING.  They have to squirm, kick, jump, wriggle, flop…..  I could go on but you get the point.  So as a concerned parent I have to be vigilant against the child kicking the other passengers, annoying the other passengers or being entirely too loud altogether.  So it's a constant struggle to stay one step ahead of the active mind of the child before she finds something to amuse herself.  I can't wait until she's a little bit older and we can do littlest pet shop toy sets.  

And then there's the jet lag…….               

Mashawna

LuoDai

This past Saturday we went to the newly built ancient town of Luo Dai. The weather was actually pretty nice, it was warm enough to be outside in light jackets, and the sun actually shined every so often. I'm not actually sure what it is you are supposed to see while you are there, but the town was nice. A paved pedestrian area lined with shops, snack places and restaraunts, sprinkled with a couple of old temples and gates. It was great scenery as well as excellent people watching. Chinese people seemed to either be getting rides in pedi cabs or these weird wheelbarrows with seats decorated with flowers and playing music. I know it sounds weird, but these things were all the rage. Way more popular than the traditional pedi cabs. It was also very popular for young ladies to dress up in 1980's style prom dresses and take a prom picture (I don't think they were taking prom pictures, but that's what it looked like). Since it was one of the first nice days we had it was pretty crowded. Babes, of course, was the center of a lot of attention. It always amuses me when people almost walk into one another because they can't stop staring at my beautiful daughter.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

crafts, cars, and lunch

I finally finished one of the two baby sweaters I've been knitting for the little baby boom that has been going on in my world.  My brother and a good friend from college are both having babies this summer so I decided to knit them baby bear sweaters. It was just supposed to take two months, but I wanted them to look awesome AND I was super busy in the US so they bled into a third month.  They also required me to seam which I've never done on such a large project but I found an excellent online guide at Studio Knits.

From Blogger Pictures

Also yesterday I went to get an oil change, all by myself.  Now, you might be thinking to yourself "so what, getting an oil change is no big deal"  But you'd be wrong.  First of all, they are doing construction up and down the airport expressway so while the Toyota dealership is only 15 minutes away, it took me over 2 hours to find the place.  I could see it almost the whole time, but I could not for the life of me figure out how to get there.  I kept getting closer and further away, closer and further away.... When I finally did make it there it was during lunch time and all the front office people kept trying to get me to go get lunch.  But I told them, in my toddler Chinese, that it took me forever to find the place so I would just wait because I wasn't leaving.  Now onto the second problem....  How much do you know about what they are talking about when you get an oil change?  I know that there's a filter involved, and oil, but that's about it.  Now, imagine trying to conduct this business in a language you barely speak.  None of my Chinese involves anything to do with cars.  Basically I told them, Change Oil, and if they asked me anything, I said just Change Oil.  They tried to sell me the expensive oil (I think) and I said, no, just the common oil, and then they asked something else, and I said Change Oil.  I'm sure they thought I was none too bright.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

On the bright side, they took pity on the poor lost foreigner and fed me lunch at the Toyota Employee cafeteria.  The food was pretty good.  It didn't look great (Chinese food served buffet style almost never does) but it tasted pretty yummy.  And they washed the car.  So I got the signature Toyota service oil change, lunch, and a car wash for about $50 US.  Not cheap, but I found it myself, got it done-in Chinese, and made it back in one piece.  All in all a successful trip!

Lemon Tea Bread Muffins

Just to keep posting. Here's some pics of muffins I made from the Lemon Tea Bread recipe in the Southern Living Cookbook. Very different from my usual muffins, but it has gotten me thinking.... Lemon leftover oatmeal muffins? While searching around I also came upon strawberry muffins... Lemon Strawberry Leftover oatmeal muffins? Stay tuned for more experimenting.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

The only thing is I think I over mix my muffins. I rarely get the rounded top.... I'm going to have to do some research...

Pasta Pasta!

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

This week in an attempt to cure my doldrums on returning to post I decided to finally crack open the pasta making attachment I got for Christmas this year.  And I have to say WOO HOO for the proper equipment!  I made pasta by hand once a long long long long long time ago, but the resulting mess was horrible.  The noodles were thick and spongy and just generally unappetizing.   Plus it took FOREVER!  With that in mind I blocked off a huge chunk of time for pasta and sauce making, but swish swish!  I was done in half the time.  I LOVE MY KITCHENAID!  The pasta making attachment zipped the dough through in no time, and then lickety split cut up the pasta into thin noodles.  I am so excited!  We can have fresh pasta all the time!

escape plan

The events in the Middle East over the last month has highlighted one of the things that I fear the most about the foreign service.  An unplanned evacuation.  As a foreign service family there are a lot of hardships and difficulties that we deal with on a day to day basis.  Most of them are minor and can be dealt with, or ignored.  You know, not understanding the local language, frustrations over local customs that you might not understand, not being able to find a peanut butter that you like, etc.  Not a big deal.  But as the events in Libya have shown sometimes things can go from unpleasant to serious in a matter of weeks, if not days.  Or they can go from bad to worse in a matter of hours.
Since they evacuated the embassy in Egypt I've been trying to figure out what we would do in such a situation.  We have an emergency bag packed.  It's got a change of clothes, our passports, toothbrushes, Honey's rabies certificate, etc.  But, like in Libya, what if we have to evacuate quickly.  What would happen to Honey?  What about all the pictures and the little things that I've collected over the years that have some sort of emotional significance (like Babes' first pair of shoes)?  Would that stuff get packed up if things stabilize?  Will it get torched by the locals?   And poor Honey, the thought of having to leave her behind breaks my heart.  DH claims it's my fault for wanting a dog, but she has added so much to our lives, I can't imagine leaving her to her fate.
There are so many things to be thankful for while we live overseas, but there is also danger, frustration, and loneliness.  And yes, we signed up for it, and yes, we know it's a possibility that the country we are living in could destabilize under your feet, but it's a price we are willing to accept because we think the work the Embassies and consulates do overseas is very important.  

New Hope

The past two weeks have found me in the suburbs and surrounding areas of Philadelphia.  In an effort to do something different I met a friend in New Hope and Lambertville.  I think this is one of those "revamped" small towns that now cater to the antiquing set.  It is basically a town that consists of a main street, and several smaller streets that spoke off the main one.  There are lots of furniture shops, restaurants, coffee houses, and general kitsch shops.  Very very cute, and very very expensive.  I know I'm cheap.  Yes, I admit it.  I'm cheap, but I will sometimes pay for something if it's quality (not always, I like to shop on sale), but this is a recent development.  DH has been working hard to get me to spend more than $50 on a pair of shoes, or pay more for the expensive phone that will last longer than a year.  And I have slowly started to listen.  But this stuff is expensive!  Which is unfortunate, because some of the furniture they had was really cool, funky, and a little odd.  Perfect for us!
But that's ok, I figure we can save up (that's my answer for everything)!  In the meantime, as we were meandering the shops I noticed some hand knit items, so I casually wandered over to see how much they were, just curious.... and I was BLOWN AWAY!  Yes I used all caps on purpose.  I saw socks for $15 a pair!  Scarves for $80 and those little knit flowers that I love to do for Zora and can churn out in an hour $12!!!!!!!!!!!  People have said that I should sell my stuff, but I always thought that what I would have to price them at, no one would pay, but I guess I was wrong.  SO CRAZY!  I'm totally going to open a knitting boutique next year!  TOTALLY!

The US

As you can probably tell, I'm in the US now.  Firmly ensconced in the in-laws house in Philly, well, the suburbs of Philly.  I've been visiting friends.  I've got internet - unfettered internet, I've got a cell phone, and a new ipod touch.  We have a car, an ATM card, and credit cards, and stores glorious stores!  Oh and grandparents!  Life is good.

San Fransisco

I lived in Southern California for 9 years...  The last two years of high school, summers and winters in college, and three years of law school, but I have Never been to San Fransisco.  I know, I know, it's shocking, but SF was nine hours away by car and expensive by plane, and I never found the time, or the travel partners to get up there. 
So it was with great excitement that we planned to make a 2 1/2 day stoppover in SF on our way back to the East Coast for vacation.  Unfortunately, during the same time we planned our trip things in Cairo heated up.  Now how, you might ask, do the protests in Cairo effect a trip to SF?  Well, I'm glad you asked, see DH is a consular officer, these are the people in an embassy or consulate who issue visas, passports, and perform general American Citizen services.  When things in Cairo went to pieces most civilized countries sent extra diplomats to the area to help their citizens in Cairo safely evacuate to another location.  The US is no exception.  DH volunteered to help process American Citizens in trouble, those who might need, visas for family members, or update passports, or birth certificates, or the like.  He was gone for less than a week but missed SF altogether.  In the grand scheme of things, not a tragedy, and generally speaking, I am capable of traveling on my own and having a perfectly grand time without him, but!  And it's a big but!  It IS a big deal when you are traveling to a new city, jet lagged, AND with a jet lagged 3 year old. 
Even with all that, I LOVED SF.  It feels like a newer cleaner East Coast city with the beautiful California skies and coast line.  It's hard to say how much of my impressions of CA are colored by Chengdu.  After months of gray colorless skies and damp cold weather, the pale blue skies of CA, the beautiful sparkling water, and the general greenery of the city were like music to my tired eyes.  The people were also blessedly polite.  I almost wanted to shop and by things because I found every thank you, every have a nice day, every smile to be a salve on the wounded veneer of my heart.  I KNOW Californians are not that polite so I know at least this was due to the wretched grumpiness of my dealings with people in China. 
But I loved it so. 

Shanghai

I finally published this post that I started way back at the end of January....

I'm finally back from my whirlwind tour of China with my sister.  When I worked in the consular section in Beijing I always thought it was crazy that Chinese business men would go to America for a week and see 10 American cities.  But, this is the second whirlwind tour of China that I've done, so I guess it's not that crazy.  After spending several days in Chengdu, Sis and I flew to Shanghai.  While in Shanghai we stayed in the French Concession.  Granted we were only there for a day, but Shanghai is a very pretty place, even with snow melting into mud puddles on the street.  As we breezed through (no time to stop and look, we only had a day to see everything we could) the streets I couldn't help but notice the little bakeries, the small clothing shops, and even tinier coffee shops.
Unfortunately we had to whisk ourselves right out of the French Concession and into the very heart of Shanghai.
It is easy to see how Shanghai can be considered to be one of the cities of the future.  It is growing at an amazing rate, clean and modern.  In comparison to Chengdu, traffic flows nicely, people follow traffic laws, and pedestrians stay on the side walks and in cross walks (for the most part).  The Shanghainese are fashion conscious and stylish. 
When I see Shanghai, I am reminded again how Americans are losing sight of what's important.  Yes, American cities are at a disadvantage, after all how many US cities can boast a population of several million people, but still, the city center in Shanghai is bustling.  Lights, shops, eateries, all centered around a fairly busy pedestrian street.  The subways are clean and efficient, and there are buses that connect the distant parts of the city (so I'm told, Chinese busses still scare me, the maps are in Chinese, and the streets often fly by too fast to read a map). 
Seeing all this, I wonder what the world expo was like.  I'm sorry I missed it, I've been told it was a sight to behold.

cool Picture

I just love this picture

From Blogger Pictures

New Year!

It's the New Year (yeah I know I'm late) and we are already back in gear! After the child and husband mutinied I was forced to leave the tree up an extra week, but it's finally down. I don't know why, I think it's parental influence, but having the tree up past New Year feels a bit like clinging to the old year. I like to have Christmas done and put away so that we can get onto new business!
My sister is coming this week and I plan on taking a TON of photos and we're doing a bunch of traveling so I hope to take some time to update the TRAVELING part of my now non-travel related blog. Maybe I should change the description of my blog. Because really it's now more about stay at home mommying overseas. We don't travel NEARLY as much as we used to. *SIGH* I miss it. BUT little sis is coming and then we are headed back to the US to try to visit EVERYONE, and then when we get back, well I don't know.
But for now Happy New Year everyone!

A tale of two Christmases

We have come to that time of year when the annual battle between Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas begins. On one side of the battle are people who are not Christians, or who firmly believe in the separation of church and state and the freedom for everyone to practice their own religion. On the other are people who are Christians, and know that most of us in the US are Christians, and that even though we say we are a secular country we all know deep down that the US is a conservative Christian country.
Unfortunately, the issue is not as cut and dry as it seems. I have argued this with my mom on countless occasions because, even though I'm Christian, I don't believe that we should force everyone to say Merry Christmas. I'm for keeping Christmas a religious holiday that we celebrate in our own ways and not making it a mandatory observance for everyone.
In the US there are two Christmases. You might try to deny it and say that no, Christmas is the biggest religious holiday that there is and that's all there is to it. But you'd be wrong. Take a look at the Christmas decorations, specials, cards, and entertainment. You have your religious, Christian celebrations filled with the birth of Christ, nativities, and celebratory songs. Then there is the secular Christmas, dominated by Santa, reindeer, snowmen, gifts, and songs about Santa and snow.
And while we are forcing everyone to celebrate Christmas the secular Christmas is gaining ground. If you look at the Christmas specials they show on TV only one or two even mention the nativity or the birth of Christ, the rest are all about Santa, presents, and snow. All of the decorations in the stores are of the secular kind, and most of what people focus their attention on are presents. This was amply demonstrated last year when DH was talking to his language teacher about Christmas. He mentioned that I was going home for Christmas because it was a big Christian holiday and his teacher said that she had no idea that Christmas was a Christian holiday.
I know that it is the case here in China. There are Christmas decorations out everywhere and I'm fairly certain that most of the people with decorations in their windows are not Christians, nor do they have any idea what the holiday is about other than Santa and presents. Is this what the founders of the "stores against Christmas list" were after? Did they want to create a holiday that everyone celebrates, but which has no meaning? I think the fundamentalists are shooting themselves in the foot by insisting that everyone honor Christmas, pretty soon they are going to wake up to a world in which Christmas is presided over by Santa.

To market, to market to buy a ......

For today's adventure I went off to the great big lotus market (called hehuachi in Chinese). I've been to this market once before about two months ago. It is huge and sprawling and a bit overwhelming. Last time I went I had to take a taxi, which took me 45 minutes. However between then and now the new subway line has opened up and getting on the subway and heading north took maybe half that time. Unfortunately as we were on the subway heading north there was a HUGE fight on the train not half a car away from us. From what we could tell, it was between a man and a woman who didn't know each other, and it might have started over a seat. But they were angry. They were pushing, shoving, kicking, yelling, screaming... I'm talking high drama. I was impressed with the security though, by the time we got to the next station there were security waiting to take them off the train. I swear, the pent up anger in people here.
Ah, but the market. This market is crazy. They have just about everything there. For example, today the people in my group bought Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, stationary, wind chimes, ribbon, painted pictures, seat cushions, fabric, metal snaps, buttons, wall stickers, and toys. We could have also bought rugs, plastic flowers, purses, cross stitch kits, costumes, aprons, blow driers, irons, and furry pants. Plus hundreds of other things that it would take me all day to name.
I think it would take you at least a year to go through every single stall there. Every where you look someone is selling something or other and for cheap. I didn't even bargain at most places because the price was so low to begin with that I couldn't see how the people would make money. For instance a bought about 30 buttons for a dollar. How are you going to make that cheaper, and is it even worth it. Sure I could have gotten it for 75 cents, but why?

One of those women

So yesterday I went to my first Holiday Planning meeting as a wife of a diplomat. I have always avoided such things in the past by either working or leaving post. But this year I am in town and my child is too big for me to say I'm too busy. *sigh* I've crossed over and become one of "those" women. It's not bad I guess. I am involved in what happens over the holiday, and I can steer events towards things that I like or Babes likes, but still.
I knew this before though. We've only been at post 3 1/2 months and I've already been to 3 maybe 4 potlucks and I'm pretty sure we've got at least 3 more before the end of the year. So I've decided that I need a casserole warmer. But all the ones I have found are so old fashioned. You know, big sunflowers on the top and what not. I've decided that if I'm going to knit or crochet one I need to put something cool on top. But so far I can't find a 3 dimensional pattern for a Darth Vader helmet or tie fighter. *SIGH* I might just have to make the lame sunflowers.

Spiced Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins

From Blogger Pictures

Thanks to Halloween and our regular vegetable delivery I have found myself with an over abundance of pumpkin. I cooked some, pureed it and stashed it in the freezer and I'm going to put some in Chili tonight, but this morning for breakfast I decided to try to spice up my regular oatmeal muffins and combine it with a pumpkin gingerbread recipe that I found on the internet. The result was very good, if I do say so myself. Here's the recipe:

Spiced Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins

• 1 C flour
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 C pumpkin puree
• 1 C leftover cooked oatmeal
• 1/2 C molasses (I'm wondering if this could be reduced to 1/4)
• 1/2 C raisins
  

1. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients
2. In another bowl mix together eggs, pumpkin, oatmeal, molasses and raisins
3. Add to dry ingredients mix until just moistened
4. Spoon batter into lined or lightly greased muffin cups
5. Bake at 350 until muffin centers are slightly firm.

Enjoy!

Halloween

From Blogger Pictures

Look at this picture. You would think I took it in the US. But no, I am still in China. One of the local neighborhoods put together Halloween trick or treating for the kids. There weren't a lot of houses participating but for my 3 1/2 yr old it was perfect. She got to walk around in her costume knock on the doors of houses, some decorated spookily, and do her trick or treat thing. How awesome is that?

This week's bounty

From Blogger Pictures

So this is what came in our bag this week. Not as exotic. Lots of potatoes and greens. But it's good that we like cabbage, especially fried up with garlic.


Although, is this grass? The closest thing I can come up with is wheat or barley grass.
And of course the ever mysterious:

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

In other news I've been playing around with Picasa and blogger and trying to work out how to post pictures on the blog without tearing out my hair--the great firewall makes it very hard to post pictures to blogger (blogger being blocked of course) but Picasa is not and so far this seems to be working. We'll see.
I am working on a travel post, so pictures of Xian and Beijing to come!

Purple sweet potatoes!

As previously mentioned we are part of an organic farm co-op and last weeks delivery bag held a bunch of potatoes.... or so I thought. I was all geared up to make mashed potatoes or something when I washed them.... imagine my surprise, then when I started peeling them and discovered this.

From Blogger Pictures

That's right, these bad boys were bright purple inside. I was put out for a minute, but I had actually purchased a few of these from the store and was able to look up the chinese name online. These are called chestnut sweet potatoes. In English they are just referred to as purple sweet potatoes (an english search for chestnut sweet potatoes yields squat). They are apparently popular in Filipino cuisines.

From Blogger Pictures

I looked around for a recipe that would not require too much effort as dinner time was fast approaching. I decided on making a sweet potato Gnocchi with walnut cream sauce. The purple sweet potatoes have a much milder flavor than regular sweet potatoes, even though they are bright purple.

From Blogger Pictures

I think it might be cool to serve this to guests, after all how often do you get purple gnocchi?

food glorious food!

Today I finally got around to cleaning out my refrigerator to see what was in there. It turns out that I still had quite a few vegetables? in there. Our weekly delivery from the local organic farms has been both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand I am able (forced) to try out all sorts of new and unusual vegetables that I wouldn't necessarily have the courage to try. On the other, I usually have no idea what the things are that arrive in our weekly bag. Also, while some of my experiments with winter melon have proved edible, winter melon is by no means something I want to eat all the time, yet we get a LOT of it. Anyway, here is what I found in my fridge. Some of these things are obviously some sort of potato. I think they might even be sweet potatoes not of the orange variety (I even have purple sweet potatoes but more on that later). I have no idea what the big thing in the middle is. I think it might be bamboo.... but I could be completely wrong.

From Blogger Pictures

There were also some really big radishes included, but I can't find the picture, and I want to post this!
We also bought some tiny bananas. I have been told that they are super sweet, but I will of course, never try them since bananas of any type make me gag (I have only just recently been able to contain my revulsion enough to be able to make banana muffins, but it's still horrible!)

From Blogger Pictures

But they are really cute.
Anyway, I am going to stop here so that I can post this tonight. Coming up Buddha's fist and Purple sweet potatoes.

Long time no post

I see that it has been almost a month since I posted. Well, I've been busy! First off our shipment came which means that I had 150 or so boxes to unpack. That's a whole lot of boxes. Then to make matters worse our maid quit the day the boxes came. Which was not a problem for the unpacking I would have been very annoyed had she tried to help put stuff away, but it was a problem for the clean up after the boxes were empty. I probably shouldn't complain I didn't have to move myself. I just stood around and watched while the movers came, put our stuff into boxes, and then waited while they brought the boxes to my house and even opened some of them and unpacked them.
But aside from unpacking everything and getting it all put away I've been cooking using our surprise organic vegetable delivery. We've joined something like a farm subscription where we get a once a week delivery of fresh vegetables to our house. It's a little like the Iron chef because I get a green bag full of mystery ingredients and have to come up with something delicious to feed one husband and one toddler to eat for dinner. Luckily I have more than an hour to do this in, but it is more challenging because I often have no idea what the things are in the bag. I have taken some pictures and I will post the mystery vegetables and what I've done with them soon.
And finally I've been knitting up a storm... or rather a cloud of clothes? I've made myself a tube top, a REALLY large sock (which I unraveled) and a purse that I gave away before I took pictures. I am currently knitting Babes a sweater and I will post pictures of everything.... I am going to try to get back into the habit of posting more regularly but it is tough. I can either watch tv and knit for an hour while Babes has her quiet time or I can come here and type..... well, you can see what has usually won the day... Promises Promises!

Taxi Taxi

When I came to Chengdu I expected the worst out of its Taxi drivers. After serving in Beijing, where the taxi drivers often did not know where they were going, I had no hope that the drivers of the smaller more provincial capital would be any good whatsoever. I have been pleasantly surprised. From what I understand, Taxi drivers here are locals. You must be a Chengdu resident to drive a cab. This is fantastic! I have only had very few instances getting into a cab where I have told a driver where to go and he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. And usually if I can give a good land mark they can get me pretty close. Why is this unusual, you might ask, well Beijing drivers often were not from Beijing. Chances were they got into the city the week before and were now driving cabs all over the place. Often I'd get into a cab, tell them where to go, and they'd start driving. A few minutes into the ride I'd realize we were going the wrong way and I'd ask them where they were going and they literally had no clue!
I also don't have that problem of getting into a cab and having that frustrating, I want to go to Yashow! Yashow? YAshow! Yashow? yaSHOW! yashow? YASHOW! oh Yashow! Chengdu people seem to have a better time with foreigners speaking Chinese than they did in Beijing. I only have to repeat myself once, and generally I do not get that Look the animal is speaking stare. People seem nice and generally want to help.
The only problem is that Taxis are hard to find. Some people say they are too cheap so drivers can afford to pick and choose who to pick up because everyone can ride. And often it's not just me who can't get into a cab. There are lines of people along the street trying to get a cab to stop. Some days it's next to impossible to get one.

Fighting the hordes

Before I got to China this time I *promised* myself that I would try to contain my China rage (like road rage, but directed towards Chinese people instead of drivers). The last time we came, I spent an absurd amount of time on a one man (well woman) battle to change the way Chinese people do things. For instance, instead of joining the crazy mob of people waiting to get serviced at a counter, I would line up and then grumble loudly at the people who were cutting in front of me. Or, when walking on a side walk I refused to move when honked at by a car trying to park. This time, I said to myself, over and over and over, I would try to do things the Chinese way. Sort of go with the flow instead of swimming upstream.
But it's hard. We've been here about a month and already I've broken my rule any number of times. I've walked slowly in front of black Audis driving on the sidewalk, I've grumbled loudly about my place in the grocery weighing lines, and I've stared aghast at women letting their babies poop on the floors of stores.
I am getting better though, these instances do not work up my blood, I am not super angry for minutes after, I fight through and move on. I've even gotten to the pushing and shoving point, I mean, what good is it to be larger than everyone else if you can't use your size to make people get out of your way? I try to keep it within acceptable levels, though, I move to the end of the crowd, but I will defend my position in the mob with elbows and hips. And, I am ashamed to say, I stole a cab from a guy yesterday (I got fed up after five people took cabs in front of me after coming out of no where) he was hot (I still feel bad about it). Hopefully I don't get too caught up in all this, and I will be able to go back to the civilized world one day.

In Chengdu!

So we have made it to Chengdu. It feels like we've been "going to Chengdu" forever and a day, and it feels weird to have actually made it. We didn't get to come directly here so we did arrive here in the middle of the night (or so it felt) with our traveling circus all jet lagged, but to be honest the flight wasn't that bad, nor was the jet lag any worse than going anywhere else.
Chengdu is a bit of a gray city. I can't tell if it's cloudy all the time, if it's pollution, or what. I think it might be a little of everything because I haven't lived in a place this thunderstormy (yes I just created an adjective) since Texas. Since we've been here there has been a thunderstorm on average every third day. Which is good, because Chengdu is pretty green (compared to Beijing, not Taipei) and I think it's cleaner than it would be if there was not so much rain. The people here are friendlier than Beijingers so you will see smiles on faces (sometimes, though not a lot) and they generally make an effort to understand what you are trying to tell them. I have not gotten that LOOK the animal is talking look here at all.
Our housing is pretty nice, we are in a great/pretty central location. There are three expat restaurants within walking distance of us and a cornucopia of local restaurants as well. We are not too far from several big shopping centers and we can get to the Carrefore and Auschan (European supermarkets) with a short cab ride. There is also an Ikea really close and several Ito Yokado's that we can get to.
On the whole I think the city is going to be a good place to be for two years. DH can walk to work, and there seems to be a pretty active community of spouses so that Babes and I can get out and about without going stir crazy.
More soon when it stops raining everyday. We've been trying to go on an adventure for over a week!

Moving out....

I sent this as an email to a friend and I liked the way it turned out so much that I decided to repost it here. Keep in mind this was immediately after all the stuff was taken away so I was feeling a little melancholy...

So we are all moved out. The post pack out empty house is always so sad. There is all this dust (and dog hair) and sometime the ghosts of pictures on the wall. I'm sitting in my empty house all alone and trying very hard not to move my head because if I sit very still I can pretend that nothing has changed (the furniture stays with the place, only the trimmings are gone).
The empty house that you are leaving is so different from the empty house when you arrive. When you first get to post, bleary eyed from the plane ride, the empty house is cold, strange. There are corners in unexpected places, new doors to learn, and a host of minor annoyances to get used to. The house you are leaving, is warm and comfortable. The doors and windows known from thousands of glances, the quirks figured out, but the drawers empty of their familiar usefulness. When you are leaving there is the lingering sadness of good times, and the gentle sound of a chapter closing. When you are arriving the air is heavy with the fear of the unknown and the hopes that you have for this space.
This life is full of so many comings and goings, as babes gets older it is going to get even harder as it will not just be my ghosts in a place, but hers as well....

Crafting update

Lest you think that I've been neglecting my cooking duties (which I have) and just generally slacking, I thought I'd let you in on what I've been up to. We are moving in three weeks (YIKES!) and instead of packing, and preparing the house, I've been furiously sewing trying to finish the frakking quilt that I'm making for babes. I can't do that while watching TV so I've also been knitting up a storm, and just generally crafting all around.
Anyway, here's some pics of what I've done.
First, I melted some broken crayons in the oven (350 for a few minutes until they're soupy, then popped in the freezer until solid) to make some big crayons for Babes.

I finished up the dress and purse I made for Babes.

I knitted this dress from the pattern I found here, the purse is here (but you have to be a member to see the pattern).

Then I designed and knitted myself a purse. (I might put the instructions up later if I make another one). It's my first design project and I'm pretty pleased (ok I didn't design it myself, it's a copy cat of another purse that I have, but I reverse engineered it myself!)


I'm still working on the quilt. I haven't finished yet, but I have hope that I might finish during today's nap or tomorrow's.

My hair is just like Mommy's

I never thought I would get words of wisdom, or universal truths, from Battle Star Galactica, but I did. At one point, Adama is talking to his son Lee and he says and I quote loosely, "when you have children, you see yourself reflected in their eyes." It struck me as true when I heard it, and as I thought about it more I realized that I believe it. When I see my daughter look at me in her eyes I see love, trust, and her absolute belief in my perfection looking back at me. I'm her mom. I am her first role model, and her first model of feminine beauty. In her mind, when she thinks of what a woman should be like, her first thought will be of her mother.
And then it struck me. We are not losing our girls to image disorders through unreal images in magazines, or to super skinny tv and movie actresses. We lose our girls even before that. What is a girl supposed to think when she sees her mommy, the most perfect being in the world and mommy has nothing but negative things to say about herself? How is she supposed to feel when the hair that "looks just like Mommy's" is constantly being changed and treated to "make it more beautiful" on Mommy's head? Or when people tell her she has her mommy's eyes, nose, legs, hips, or whatever, and mommy spends all day talking about how much she hates her eyes, nose, legs, hips, or whatever. And she is watching us. I cringe now thinking back on all those mom's groups where spent the whole two hours talking about dieting, or tummy fat. I don't want her to think that her thighs, or butt or whatever are less than ideal.
We can talk about the media and the unrealistic expectations that these images place on our daughters, but she's watching. How is she supposed to believe what we are saying if we are essentially saying to her, "You are beautiful just the way you are, but Mommy just needs to lose 15 lbs"?

Hao Ke ai!

So Babes and I went to the zoo yesterday and had a blast! I won't gush anymore about how wonderful a place the Taipei zoo is, or how much I like to go there... I've done enough of that. Instead I'm going to talk about the exhibit/celebrity status Babes has where ever we go in Taipei. Taiwanese people LOVE little kids. Men, women, girls, boys they all like little kids. Which is great, it means that you can take your child many places that you might not think about taking them in the US. We take Babes with us all over the place, restaurants, museums, malls, on the bus, subway, taxis, everywhere! And for the most part no one ever looks at us strangely for bringing a kid, and usually there's at least one other kid there too. And Taiwanese kids stay up late so often there are kids out doing things when Babes is already tucked in bed and well on her way to dreamland.
The downside to this is that it sometimes feels as if Babes is something akin to a celebrity. Not only is she a little kid, but she's different. She's got curly hair, big eyes, and long lashes (yeah, I'll admit it, she is pretty cute). Taiwanese people LOVE her. I have much sympathy for celebrities these days. There are many times when I'm sitting having lunch with Babes, and after we turn down the fifth person for a photograph, I just want to scream "WE JUST WANT TO EAT OUR LUNCH IN PEACE! PLEASE!" But I don't, because they mean well, instead I ask Babes if she wants to take a picture with these people, and inevitably she says no, and then I apologize to the nice people and say "I'm sorry, she doesn't want to take a picture." Then they look disappointed and go away.
And for the most part people are truly good hearted about it. They say "hao Ke ai!" meaning how cute. They mention a feature, they giggle, sometimes they offer her something (candy, toys, pens, pencils), sometimes they ask to take a picture, and then they leave us in peace. Very seldom do people take liberties, and it's mostly teenage girls (or old ladies) who try to touch her hair, or give her hugs. I generally don't mind it, because these people are teaching Babes better than words not to talk to or trust strangers. It's a little sad that she's becoming shy, but in the long run it's better.
Sometimes it's a little annoying. Although I usually get a kick out of kids trying to get together enough English to ask us for a picture. I love the discussion that goes on, and then the sacrificial lamb with the most English comes forth to stammer out a question. I usually feel bad denying them, I can see how much courage it takes. But Babes is pretty adamant about not wanting a picture. She will smile, sometimes, and sometimes wave, and she might answer a question, but generally no pictures. After a day of this at the zoo, I think even Babes was fed up with the attention. As we left the zoo, I heard her repeating over, and over, "hao ke ai! Hao ke ai!"

Friday night

We've been trying to find things for our racially/culturally/religiously blended family to do together. I've been taking Babes to church on some Sundays, we celebrate some of the Jewish Holy days as well as the Christian ones, and since she has started to understand more we have Shabbat dinner on Friday nights. As a Protestant I find the whole thing a little odd. My brand of protestantism does not have quite so much ritual. In fact, thinking over things, I don't think there is anything of ritual at all as a Baptist.... no wait, there is communion... which could be a smaller version of the shabbat ritual I guess.
But anyway, on Friday nights we gather around the table. I lay out the freshly baked Challah on a plate with some salt, and a glass of wine in a special cup. When the sun goes down Babes and DH light a candle. Then we sit at the table while DH says a prayer over the wine and we all take a sip. After wards we have a ritual hand washing then return to the table where DH breaks the Challah and holds it in his hands and says a brief prayer over it. Then I say grace and we eat.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the fresh baked Challah.

7-11

One of the good things about living in Asia (specifically Taiwan) is 7-11. Now if you are from the US you are probably thinking, "what? 7-11?" Because you are thinking of US 7-11 a dirty, dingy, badly lit convenience store where you can buy overpriced milk, chips, and an assortment of low-grade fast food. 7-11 in Asia, is a bright, friendly, well-lit place where you can do almost everything.
Let's start with the food. Babes and I often pick up lunch at 7-11 (it's on the way home from her school). They have a pretty good selection of semi-fresh things, from weird sandwiches, hand rolls, and noodles to bagels and thousand year old eggs. They also have a small selection of frozen things like dumplings, and LOTS of dried noodle packages. Babes and I often pick up Fantuans (which are like triangle shaped hand rolls) and/or a package of instant noodles. The rest of the stuff is just like any other 7-11; chips, sodas, juice, bottled teas, alcohol and convenience items.
And then there are all the other services that 7-11 provides. I have paid my phone bill at 7-11, added money to my transit card. You can pay your water and electric at 7-11, your cable bill, your cell phone bill. I have seen people send packages from 7-11 and I have heard that they will make travel arrangements (but I can not confirm this from personal experience). You can also pay your parking tickets, no need for meters in Taiwan, they print you out a bill and you take it to 7-11 and pay. You can also buy concert tickets! Who needs pesky government agencies when you have 7-11? And with one on every corner (sometimes both corners!) most people can make all of their utilities payments on their way to work.
Yes Sir! 7-11 in Asia really is your one stop shop, open day and night!

Lame Duck

*SIGH* We have now reached that place in an assignment where there's not enough time left at post to start anything new, but not yet soon enough that we are actually leaving. I have actually put it off here longer than I usually do because I've been in denial that we are actually leaving. But I REALLY feel it today. I am antsy and bored, but I don't want to do anything. Add to it an antsy child who is *supposed* to be home sick from preschool and you have one irritated mommy.
The Foreign Service is very good for people who constantly like a change, because there are always new challenges, but this lame duck period is frustrating.
It's like the last semester of high school or college after you've been admitted to the next college or grad school. You don't feel like studying, you don't really want to leave, but you can't wait to get out. Similarly, I don't want to start packing because it's too soon, I don't want to start anything new because it's too late. I'm not looking forward to leaving, but I'm anticipating getting out.

**On another note, a friend of mine is going in for her final fertility treatments this month, if you are so inclined please pray for a successful visit, if praying is not your thing please send happy conception thoughts her way. She really is the sweetest person I know and would make a wonderful mother.

So I thought I was doing something

I have been so smug and proud of myself this year. I thought that I was making healthier choices because I generally walk or take the bus where I want to go. Most of the time I walk with Babes so we walk, and we walk, and we walk. When we go to the store it's a 45 min walk. Walking to the bus stop is 10 min. Walking to friend's houses from the bus stop 15 min or more. I thought I was getting TONS of work outs. But no. Since Babes has been going to school I've been walking by myself at regular speed. It turns out that the store 45 min with Babes - 10 min tops by myself. The bus stop is just a hop skip and a jump away, and it really is faster to just walk to the grocery store than to get on a bus.
I knew Babes had little legs and likes to walk slow, but I didn't know HOW much she was slowing me down. And let me just tell you, it's not usually a pleasant 45 min. to the store, it's a grueling drag on my patience and arm. Because after about 20 min the rest of the time is spent dragging a whining child who doesn't really want to walk anymore, so I get to the store/home/wherever wiped out and irritated.
However, this explains why I haven't really lost any weight. I'm not really exercising, just taxing my patience. Ah well, it's worth it not to have to drag a stroller around.