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Nov. 15th, 2006 07:27 amDo you ever have one of those "off" days? I had one yesterday. It was quite a whopper, too.
I smashed my finger in the cabinet. I dropped a bottle of grape juice which broke and spilled all over the kitchen floor. Later, I dropped a bowl of sauce which also smashed on the kitchen floor. I bashed my toe on the bed frame. I forgot to heat up the tomato sauce for dinner and accidentally served it cold. It was just a clumsy day.
Both times I created the spills in the kitchen, Zou refused to let me clean them up. She cleaned them up for me. What must she think of me?
Mariannette and I have started getting up early and walking. It feels good to be exercising again. There is no doubt that I've gained some weight back since we've been here. Shucks. I really wanted to at least maintain, if not continue to lose. Time to start anew...again...
I dropped my Russian class and have completely withdrawn from school. I feel sooo much better now. I just need to take this year off from my online classes. It takes up too much time just to "live" in China. Laundry must be hung dried, dishes must be hand washed and it takes literally a few hours to do a decent sized grocery trip now that we live on campus. I came to this decision after I talked to my Dad on Monday morning. I was complaining at him about how busy I feel, how I don't feel like I'm doing a good job with home school and that my grades were suffering. He reminded me that I needed to remember what was most important. He's right, and my kids are the most important. Their education is the most important right now. I can pick up where I left off when we get home next year. Thanks, Dad.
Yesterday Zou and I went to the open market here in town. It's so huge! Just rows and rows of beautiful, fresh veggies, fruit and meat. Zou, it turns out, is quite the savvy shopper. For example, I wanted some potatoes because I'm planning on making mashed potatoes this week. I pointed to some that I thought looked good, but she said "Bu how" (no good). We passed several vendors with potatoes until she found some that she liked. Then she proceeded to pick through them, complaining to the woman selling them about how bad they were. She'd pick one up and point to a spot or lump on it and then throw it aside with disdain. It was hilarious. The woman just looked at me with the expression like "Wow, she's one tough customer". This happened several times during the trip. If the vendor asked too much money for something, Zou would practically throw their produce back at them and storm away in disgust. I found it very entertaining. She wasn't being rude, this is a necessary part of shopping in the open market. As I've learned the hard way, if you aren't discriminating in your purchases, the vendors have no qualms about selling you bad products. In other words, it is the purchasers fault, not the sellers, if you end up with a rotten apple. You should have paid more attention and not let them sell it to you. In the past when I've bought apples or such from an open market, I've had to reach in the bag as the vendor filled it up and pluck out the bad ones. The vendor doesn't bat an eye, it's not like they are ashamed for trying to give you a bad apple. It's just part of the deal.
We also bought some pork ribs while we were there. This was a whole new experience for me. On both sides of the aisle, there are wooden tables lined with meat. However, it's not meat cut and prepackaged. We are talking chopped up hunks of pig, whatever part you desire. I think the thing that grossed me out the most was to see a nipple still attached to a slab of meat. I suppose back home it is easier to forget that this meat used to be a living animal. There's no way of forgetting that here. Not only was there ribs, etc, display, but there was also any organ you pleased or layers of fat, feet, just anything you want from the pig. I had Connor with me and he even said "Ewww, gross!" Most of the butchers were women. They placed the meat on a tree stump, and cut it up with a small hatchet. Of course, I couldn't help wondering if the meat had spoiled at all, but Zou seemed pleased that it was fine. Also, since she has nannied for so many ex-pat families, she knows how we are about things. I trust her to take care of us :)
Mariannette and I are planning a Thanksgiving dinner for the students and faculty. I going to try and make a pumpkin pie completely from scratch. I'm practicing Thursday to see if it will work or not. Wish me luck!
I smashed my finger in the cabinet. I dropped a bottle of grape juice which broke and spilled all over the kitchen floor. Later, I dropped a bowl of sauce which also smashed on the kitchen floor. I bashed my toe on the bed frame. I forgot to heat up the tomato sauce for dinner and accidentally served it cold. It was just a clumsy day.
Both times I created the spills in the kitchen, Zou refused to let me clean them up. She cleaned them up for me. What must she think of me?
Mariannette and I have started getting up early and walking. It feels good to be exercising again. There is no doubt that I've gained some weight back since we've been here. Shucks. I really wanted to at least maintain, if not continue to lose. Time to start anew...again...
I dropped my Russian class and have completely withdrawn from school. I feel sooo much better now. I just need to take this year off from my online classes. It takes up too much time just to "live" in China. Laundry must be hung dried, dishes must be hand washed and it takes literally a few hours to do a decent sized grocery trip now that we live on campus. I came to this decision after I talked to my Dad on Monday morning. I was complaining at him about how busy I feel, how I don't feel like I'm doing a good job with home school and that my grades were suffering. He reminded me that I needed to remember what was most important. He's right, and my kids are the most important. Their education is the most important right now. I can pick up where I left off when we get home next year. Thanks, Dad.
Yesterday Zou and I went to the open market here in town. It's so huge! Just rows and rows of beautiful, fresh veggies, fruit and meat. Zou, it turns out, is quite the savvy shopper. For example, I wanted some potatoes because I'm planning on making mashed potatoes this week. I pointed to some that I thought looked good, but she said "Bu how" (no good). We passed several vendors with potatoes until she found some that she liked. Then she proceeded to pick through them, complaining to the woman selling them about how bad they were. She'd pick one up and point to a spot or lump on it and then throw it aside with disdain. It was hilarious. The woman just looked at me with the expression like "Wow, she's one tough customer". This happened several times during the trip. If the vendor asked too much money for something, Zou would practically throw their produce back at them and storm away in disgust. I found it very entertaining. She wasn't being rude, this is a necessary part of shopping in the open market. As I've learned the hard way, if you aren't discriminating in your purchases, the vendors have no qualms about selling you bad products. In other words, it is the purchasers fault, not the sellers, if you end up with a rotten apple. You should have paid more attention and not let them sell it to you. In the past when I've bought apples or such from an open market, I've had to reach in the bag as the vendor filled it up and pluck out the bad ones. The vendor doesn't bat an eye, it's not like they are ashamed for trying to give you a bad apple. It's just part of the deal.
We also bought some pork ribs while we were there. This was a whole new experience for me. On both sides of the aisle, there are wooden tables lined with meat. However, it's not meat cut and prepackaged. We are talking chopped up hunks of pig, whatever part you desire. I think the thing that grossed me out the most was to see a nipple still attached to a slab of meat. I suppose back home it is easier to forget that this meat used to be a living animal. There's no way of forgetting that here. Not only was there ribs, etc, display, but there was also any organ you pleased or layers of fat, feet, just anything you want from the pig. I had Connor with me and he even said "Ewww, gross!" Most of the butchers were women. They placed the meat on a tree stump, and cut it up with a small hatchet. Of course, I couldn't help wondering if the meat had spoiled at all, but Zou seemed pleased that it was fine. Also, since she has nannied for so many ex-pat families, she knows how we are about things. I trust her to take care of us :)
Mariannette and I are planning a Thanksgiving dinner for the students and faculty. I going to try and make a pumpkin pie completely from scratch. I'm practicing Thursday to see if it will work or not. Wish me luck!