Sunday

Here's a little glimpse of how we spent today.

It was 77 degrees and beautiful out so we decided to go here:

And then we saw naked little boys frolicking in the water.

Other than the naked little boys it was a perfect Sunday.

Stay warm in all that snow!

xx,

Lauren

A cook in the kitchen?

One thing we love about Hong Kong is the international cuisine. It's pretty difficult to actually find "American" restaurants, so we tend to eat a lot of Japanese,Vietnamese,Thai, Dim Sum, Chinese, and some Sichuan. We tried out a Nepalese spot last weekend with our friends, Daria and Simon. It was similar to Indian and was actually pretty delicious.

Tonight I got a bit crafty in the kitchen. I purchased something new:

And let me tell you, it's amazing how delicious rice is when you make it with a rice cooker.

Here are few hints at my new dish:

The green curry actually turned out pretty well... Just a little tweaking needed for the next time.

Any new recipes you've tried that are worth sharing? I'd love for you to pass them along. We're getting pretty tired of chicken, salmon, and pork chops over here :)

xx,

Lauren

My Neighborhood

As I was walking to the grocery store the other night, I thought I'd take some shots of our "neighborhood". They aren't the best pictures, and I know it doesn't give you a true sense of exactly where we live, but this is my path when I pop into the local store, the Welcome, or Park-N-Shop.

The above picture is right outside the door to our building.

Walking down Robinson Road.

The Welcome!

I'm sorry for the lack of posting, but not a whole lot as been going on. I'm volunteering 2x/week, and hiking a fair amount. Our race is in 2 weeks, so tomorrow we set out for a 25 miler. It'll be our last long hike before the race.

We went to see Avatar last night. If you haven't seen it, you must! It really was so much better than I thought it would be.

Michael is doing well...he's playing basketball with a group of guys about 1-2x week and spends the majority of nights on calls with the States.

Missing you all. Lots.

xx,

Lauren

Big Day

Yesterday was a big day....Bethany and I set out on our 24 mile hike, but a phone call 4 hours in enabled us to cut it short.

Bethany has been wanting a french bulldog for YEARS! Her boyfriend, Sage, has finally given in, and to make a long story short, we ended up picking up the little girl yesterday. She is the cutest little thing, and Bethany is one proud mama.

We had to pick her up from the animal shelter...this was not easy for me! We were looking at the dogs and I just had tears running down my face. Once we saw Charlotte, the tears turned into happy ones. I am so proud of Bethany for rescuing this little girl. If you are in search of a dog, please consider rescuing from your local animal shelter. We found Dudley and Winston (the Vater's dog) on http://www.petfinder.com/  There are so many sweet dogs in need of homes, and I promise, it'll be the best $50 you've ever spent. I almost took another one home yesterday, but my husband was threatening divorce :)

Enjoy some pics of Charlotte "Charlie"...well, we think that's her name!

We took Charlotte and Dudley to Staunton's yesterday night. Staunton's is a dog-friendly bar, so we toasted to Charlotte and had a fun night out with our furry babies.

We called it a night as Charlotte was falling asleep in Bethany's arms. Before going home, Dudley took a ride on the escalator. He's not so sure about the moving steps, but is slowly getting used to it.

Hope you have a great weekend!

xx,
Lauren

Volunteer Opportunity

Today, I met with Mother's Choice...an organization that I've mentioned before on my blog. Mother's Choice is a community organization that helps find homes (adoption, foster care) for children. They have a speech, physical, and occupational therapist on staff. I met with the speech therapist today, and am going to start volunteering there twice per week. I'll be helping in Baby Care with feeding. Some children have feeding disorders and others are typically developing. I had such a great time today cuddling the newborns and feeding the typically developing kids.  I'll also be helping in Wee Care, where the children have special needs. Most have Downs Syndrome, but there are some Autistic and CP children as well.

I'm excited about this opportunity! I think it'll help me feel like I'm doing "something", and more than anything, will keep my skills fresh. It was wonderful being around the babies and toddlers today. I have really missed seeing kids make progress. There will be some challenges, I'm sure! Cantonese is the native language, so when I said a word like "open", "more", or "ball", I was often met with blank stares. Words that used to be second nature in my vocabulary were unknown to the speech therapist: Boardmaker, MBSS, Auditory Output Device, honey and nectar-thick. She was very knowledgeable though, and I'm sure she'll be able to teach me things that I didn't know. Hopefully we'll be able to collaborate on some of the cases and work together. I'll keep you updated on how it goes!

xx,
Lauren

Breakfast for Dinner

As I was walking to the grocery store tonight, I was thinking just how much my life has changed in the past four months. Things are different. Little things...like: driving, grocery shopping, quiet streets, neighborhood get-togethers, walks with the dog. Most of these things I mentioned are ones I miss. I miss driving more than I thought. Getting in the car, putting on a good CD or listening to the morning shows. I haven't listened to a radio station since August, and Pandora doesn't exist in Hong Kong. I miss quiet walks with Dudley around the neighborhood. I miss picking up the phone whenever I want to talk to my girlfriends. I miss going to work everyday (I know, most of you will balk at this one)...but, there's something about having a "purpose", doing something to help someone else. I miss that. I miss Chick-Fil-A. Alot.

I love our life over here, and this isn't a pity party. I thought about the things I miss when going to the grocery store tonight...

This evening, I went to 2 grocery stores looking for chicken sausage (which I know they have). There was no chicken sausage. In either store. I refuse to buy the meat in the Welcome or Park-N-Shop because it scares me. SO, tonight we're having breakfast for dinner because I didn't feel like walking 30 minutes to the big grocery store. Eggo waffles and eggs it is.

As you drive to the Teeter today, and see a dozen varieties of chicken sausages...think of me. :)

xx,
Lauren

The 'Stache is Back!

For the second year in a row, my brother is sacrificing his dashing good looks, and pride, for the sake of the kids.

Adam is participating in 'Mustaches for Kids', a charity that provides funding for teacher-submitted projects to improve Charlotte public schools. Last year, the Charlotte chapter of 'Mustaches for Kids' raised over $65,000 for local classrooms, making it the #3 chapter in the world. Adam will be growing his mustache for 4 weeks, with weekly check-points. He'll be able to shave his face, but the 'stache must stay.

Adam ended up WINNING the contest last year! We were all pretty shocked, but his 'stache was impressive. Please help him defend his title by clicking on his page to donate.  Thank you for supporting him and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools!

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/viewChallenge.html?id=27174&utm_source=dc&utm_medium=email&utm_content=topgiving&utm_campaign=TellAFriend

Good luck Adam!

xoxoxo.

L

New Trail

We started hiking the Wilson Trail today, as we finished the Hong Kong Trail before Christmas. The trial will take us from one edge of Hong Kong to the other, and within sight of the Chinese border. It consists of 10 stages, so we'll do one or two a week, depending on the difficulty.

Today, we did 1 stage, as we had to climb 2300 steps. The views were well-worth the incline though. Enjoy the pics as we embark upon our second trail.

This was our last view of the day. Pretty spectacular. It was a bit smoggy today... We love the pollution here in HK.

Hiking has become one of my most favorite activities here. I can't wait to take you along the Wilson Trial and show you another side of this amazing place we're living.

xx,

Lauren

NYE 2010

The past 5 years we've spent New Years with our friends from Elon. We've celebrated together in Chapel Hill and Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh, Colorado, and the mountains of North Carolina. This year we were spread out all over the world, and I missed ya'll!  Here are some pics from our past few New Years.

Even though we were missing our dear friends, we had a great time celebrating with new friends! Here are some pics as we rang in New Years 2010.

2009 was a great year, full of changes and packed with new experiences. I can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for us!

HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL OF YOU!

xx,

Lauren

Biking in Bangkok

Today may have been my favorite.

When Michael and I went to Germany and Greece after college, we took a bike tour through Munich. It was the most fabulous way to see the city and I loved it! Every time we go someplace new, I look to see if there's a bike tour. We were in luck, and did a half-day tour of Bangkok. We wanted to do a full day countryside tour, but they weren't running it while we were there. Maybe next time.

We saw all parts of Bangkok via bike...we rode through narrow streets along the canal, past Wats and schools, through the poor riverside neighborhoods, and around the back-packers area. We saw lizards sunning, turtles taking naps, chickens, roosters, kittens, and dogs all on our bike path. Here are some pics of our tour:

We came across a school right beside a Wat. Our tour guide commented, "every school yard in the world sounds exactly the same". How true of a statement! No matter what language is spoken, the school yard is full of laughing, screaming, and kids running around. You could close your eyes and would never imagine this playground was in Thailand. Laughing sounds the same in all languages...

We rode around and discovered some more Wats...these 2 are exactly the same. One has been restored and the other hasn't. The one that was restored was beautiful.

We saw some really poor areas of Bangkok too. We rode through the canal streets, dodging anything that would come in our path: street vendors, children playing, a cat and its kittens, potholes and rocks. We saw a man selling fruit from his boat to passing tour boats.

We saw a temple where the Buddhist Monks lived.

And then stopped to play in their garden.

We rode by a small factory that makes beautiful silver bowls. It was 90 degrees outside, and had to be over 110 inside. I don't know how the workers did it. This is the last generation of factory workers, so it will be shut down within the next decade.

We saw City Hall and found out this is the full name of "Bangkok" in Thai. Here is the translation: "Great City of Angels, the Repository of Divine Gems, the Great Land Unconquerable, the Grand and Prominent Realm, the Royal and Delightful Capital City full of Nine Noble Gems, the Highest Royal Dwelling and Grand Palace, the Divine Shelter and Living Place of Reincarnated Spirits". Did you get all that?!?

We ended our tour riding through the backpackers area. I was on the bike the whole time so didn't get any pictures, but it was really interesting to see....lots of dreadlocks, reggae music, outdoor restaurants, and stands selling loads of inexpensive shoes, shirts, and dresses. We retreated to the pool for the rest of the afternoon and went to a fabulous Thai restaurant for dinner, Patara.

We ended our night with a night-cap atop the Banyan Tree Hotel. The views were incredible. Check out this restaurant: http://www.banyantree.com/bangkok/facilities/dining/vertigo.php

The next day we spent at the pool and spa, and then made our way back to Hong Kong that evening. We had a great trip, but it was good to get back. Dudley arrived the next morning :)

I hope you got a small glimpse of Bangkok through all the pictures. We can't wait to go back to Thailand!

xx,

Lauren