things i need to do, but haven't

So, it's been just under 2 weeks since we returned from our AWESOMELY huge trip and the laundry list of things that need to be done keeps growing. You know that overwhelming feeling, when you realize that you are so far behind in things you said you were going to get to (but didn't)....yeah, i've got that. The yard is a disaster. The weeds are a mile high. A sunflower grew under my bird feeder (a GI-normous one!) The dog made confetti out of a tennis ball, which has now found its way to various parts of the house, as well as a roll of toilet paper. The pantry has been stuffed and re-stuffed with groceries, and the stale food is just in the back now.....grrr....the front door needs to be repainted, the railings need rust-o-leum.....the deck could use a wash, the garage as well.....

So, hmm, so far today I've been to target. Not very productive for a day off, but that seems to be a trend here.

We do have some fun things planned for Labor Day weekend though :) Tonight, Ashely and Billy are having people over....tomorrow is the farmer's market...Nate and Audrey are having people over on Sunday night, and last night was the worship team party, complete with a bow and arrow course (in the middle of Green Hills, mind you). What gathering is complete without great Mexican food and a bow and arrow?

for packer fans everywhere....

ohh, the jet lag

Well, we've been home 5 days now, and the jet lag is still kicking us. Going to bed around 8 PM each night, getting up at 4:30 or 5....it's just so strange. I've never experienced anything like this. It's one thing going to Europe and being 7 or 8 hours ahead, but 13 hours? It's like someone sucker punched you and there's no getting around it. I think we're adjusting about an hour each day or so.

Seeing the Olympics on television is making me want to be back in Beijing. I have to say that this was unequivocally the most amazing trip I have ever or will ever take in my life. As much as I loved Asia before, this just solidified the fact that I am in awe of China, Beijing, the people, the culture, the language, EVERYTHING. It truly is a beautiful country (and I'm not just talking about the cleaning up they did for the Olympics.) It is an incredible city. The people are extraordinary. They love foreigners. It was a great opportunity to practice the little bit of mandarin I've picked up from Pimsleur mp3's. I'm now convinced that this is one language I hope to learn more of. There's a school here that offers adult classes, so I think C and I are going to enroll in them together.

The first few days back were surreal. I didn't want to be home, as much as I like home, I wanted to stay in Beijing a little longer, learn a little more, see a little more. It wasn't a normal vacation...it felt different, like we were part of something (even just seeing a few events) it felt like we were part of something bigger. Knowing how monumental this was for China and experiencing their joy as the Opening Ceremonies got underway....they were so proud, and we were proud for them. I didn't want it to end.
But alas, here I am, back home, back to life as it was, and I can't help but feel like part of me has changed. I don't know what it is, exactly, but I am going to continue exploring it.

For now, I need to finish writing my brief synopsis of each day, so I don't forget it all!

Beijing is AMAZING

I can't even being to describe how amazing it has been to experience the Olympics in Beijing. Wow! I so wish I had been journaling, so I'm going to attempt to get all of my thoughts on each day down in this post, so I have something to look back on while I am scrapbooking this three week journey.

Day 1- Monday August 4th
We left Honolulu for Tokyo on Sunday, August 3rd, at 8:30 in the morning. After a 9 hour plane ride, we landed safely in Tokyo, at 4 PM Monday afternoon. CRAZY TIME CHANGE! The Tokyo airport is probably one of the nicest, cleanest airports I've ever seen! We had fun being in Japan for 3 hours, we even took a picture to prove we were there. Saw some USA athletes on our plane to China. We landed in Beijing at 8 PM Monday evening, where Andrew, Nicole, and Asher picked us up. Our luggage came out quickly, we went through customs pretty quickly, and then took the train back to their apartment (which stops just a block away!) It was a very smooth travel day, with no delays, thankfully!

Day 2-Tuesday August 5th
We got up pretty early (our bodies were so messed up from the 13 hour time change) but Nicole took us to the Llama Temple, a huge Buddhist temple. It was cool, but sad seeing everyone bowing to the idols everywhere. We also ate at a little cafe called "Vineyard Cafe" which serves western food. I had a Ceasar Salad and fries, Chris had pizza. We also stopped at a cool jewelry shop and walked around the city a bit.

Day 3- Wednesday August 6th
Chris and I tried to get into the Temple of Heaven but it was closed due to the Olympic torch coming through, which we never saw, but we talked with lots of local people and had fun bargaining at the Pearl Market. We were out in the city for several hours....we made it back for Tacos at Andrew and Nicole's with their friends "family" Gabe and Helen. We also took some seriously cute pictures of Asher in a chinese headband holding the Olympic flag...SO CUTE!

Day 4- Thursday August 7
Chris and I visited the Summer Palace, and had LOTS of fun shopping for cool Chinese stuff! Andrew and Chris again tried (to no avail) to find the Olympic Torch, amidst a sea of Chinese. I was SO tired, I took a nap, but we all went out for Korean BBQ, which was really fun because you cook the meat and veggies on a pan at the table. Andrew and Chris went out to a concert with Gabe that night, and Nicole and I went home to watch a movie, and chill.

Day 5- Friday August 8th (OPENING CEREMONIES)
Sleeping in is fun. I can't remember what we did this day....and it's getting super late, so I'm going to add to this in the morning :)

beautiful kauai

Our second full day on the island has been amazing...although the roosters keep me awake at night! We went on an ATV tour today and saw the beautiful countryside/mountain range. We met some fun people and swam in a waterfall, saw wild piglets, and got SUPER dirty from the red dirt! It was a great time. Chris drove, so I was able to really take in the view! We saw the mountain from Jurassic Park, and the rope swing used in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I just can't get over how amazing the ocean view is from the lanai.....incredible! I love when the water crashes over the rockes, spilling onto the road. The forbidden island "Ni'Ihau" (prounounced knee-ee-how) is just 14 miles off shore. They have no electricity and the kids take a boat to Kauai where they go to school each day. Amazing how primitive it is, as visitors are NOT allowed unless invited. I just love the history of the islands, learning about the native plants and animals, except, of course the chickens! Aloha!

aloha!

We arrived in Kauai last night, after spending the previous night in Honolulu, just off Waikiki beach. It was amazing! We stayed at a beautiful hotel called Ilikai Waikiki. We arrived in Honolulu at 3 PM (8PM Central) on Friday. Having that much daylight really messed up our system, but I think we're finally back on track. We headed out to the beach, walked along the water, found our way to the international market and had a LATE dinner (11 PM Central Time). We walked around the shops, and I am just amazed at how many people in Honolulu speak Japanese. It's so fun! C had some great conversations in Mandarin with some of the little shop owners. We had a great time, albeit short, in Honolulu. On Saturday we spent the morning at Pearl Harbor, where we took the boat out to the Arizona Memorial. We also went to the Aloha Swap Meet at the Aloha Stadium :) It was fun to take it all in; this truly is paradise. So it's Sunday morning now, and after a good nights sleep, the roosters woke us up (darn those chickens!) and we are relaxing at the house with family. It's a beautiful sunny day on Kauai, so we hope to spend some time outside today. The view from the Lanai is amazing! I didn't know if I'd have access to the computer, but turns out Jan and Ed brought their laptops ;) You can't keep me away for long! Aloha~

leavin' on a jet plane

Well, tomorrow morning we are shipping out on our big trip to Hawaii...then off to China for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing! Woot! I can't believe it's here already! Wow, time flies. We've waited a year for this trip, and it's finally happening. We've spent the past few days packing and preparing things, so I'm feeling pretty confident it won't be too stressful this evening. We leave early tomorrow morning, fly to Denver, then on to Honolulu for the night. We'll be on the island of Kauai with Chris' mom, dad, step-sister, brother-in-law, and kids, which should be SO much fun. We're going zip-lining, tubing, 4-wheeling, and hopefully we'll get a good tan doing so! We arrive in Beijing on August 4th, where we will be staying with one of Chris' good friends, his wife, and their new baby. Since we won't have access to e-mail or the internet for a while, this will be my only post until we return! Please pray for safe travel for us and our family! I can't wait to update with some amazing pictures when we return! much love to you!

i don't love what you do for me, toyota

Lately, I've been doing a lot of research on fair trade companies, and other such things, and I'm really trying to be conscious about what and most importantly WHOM I am supporting with my business. So, I've become very interested in the issues of human traffiking and sweatshop labor. I recently ran across some very disturbing news, and while a whole 10 people may read my blog, it's the only thing I have to vent the disgust I have with the allegations recently revealed about the Toyota corporation.

I know here in America, most of our goods are outsourced and it's incredibly expensive to buy locally, and to buy green, but I want to make sure that I'm not naive to the fact that these things are happening around the world, and that we DO support them by purchasing their products. Take Walmart for example...for the longest time I refused to shop at Walmart because of their practices. Now that the economy has taken a turn for the worse, I've found myself buying into the idea that I need to save money, so I should get a few things there. Now I'm feeling guilty knowing that even one cent of mine has been given to this corporation, which emphatically denies any wrongdoing. I can't sit idly by while people are overworked, underpaid, and basically abused to make goods. It hurts my heart that this happens, and I want it to stop. Most importantly though, I want to be educated about my buying habits. I want other people to be as well. I wish I could do more, and I hope to one day.

Please, read the article HERE

Learn how to shop smart by visiting this website HERE

For a SweatFree shopping guide click HERE

Link to the National Labor Committee HERE

revamped, renewed, reused, repurposed!

I need a little input. I have been planning on doing this project for 3 years now, and it's finally happened! I have refinished a hope chest (READ: old toy trunk) that my parents wanted to toss out. It had some serious problems, and I had to reinforce a few areas by pulling out some old rusty nails, but I decided to upholster the top and paint the bottom. I'm happy with the results, but they didn't exactly work out as planned. I need help deciding if I should try to achieve a crisp white on the bottom, or stick with the "shabby" finish that the paint decided to do on its own. Chris really likes it the way it is, and I think it looks cute, I just can't decide! Anyhow, I still need to replace the hardware, etc...but here are the before and afters. Feedback please!

i can't put my arms down!

Ohh, only six more months 'til I can watch that beloved movie, you know, the one with Ralphie...woot! For some reason, this quote was in my head, because my arms hurt! But actually, it's the other way around, I can't LIFT my arms. Our China trip is just two weeks away (and as a result, I needed some immunizations to stay safe in Asia.) So three shots later, and both arms are in MAJOR pain! They said the injection sites may hurt for a day or two, but the entire upper arm? So frustrating!
So I am just a debbie downer today. I can't help it, I have no motivation of any kind. I could barely manage to wash my hair in the shower, so I've been a lump most of the day. We are going camping tomorrow..we're starting off slow, only going about 20 miles from our house, but hey, gotta start somewhere....
I DID, however, find time to update my layout :) and surf the web of course...