So, I have been pondering a question in my head for quite awhile now. Since, I haven't came up with a right or wrong answer yet...of course, I haven't really researched it much...I thought I would pose it to my blog readers.
The question:
What do the pets of vegetarians eat?
Honestly, I never thought of this until one day I was in a grocery store here, and they had vegetarian dog treats. I bought a package and took them back to my dog and my brother's dog who seemed to like them OK. However, in looking through the different bags of dog food, I didn't see any without some sort of meat ingredient included.
Anyway, I had sort of forgot that I was trying to figure out the answer to this question until today. I was in a different grocery store here and was looking through the freezer cases (which by the way, any local corner convenience store in the U.S. carrys more frozen foods than any of the grocery stores here). Well, in the freezer, there were frozen packages that were labeled "Minced Meat Dog Food" with a large photo of a dog's head on it. This was in the freezer right next to the chicken sausages, salmon sausages (first time I'd seen those also), and mutton cubes. So, the next obvious question is: is this food for dogs or food for humans that is dog meat?
I haven't heard of "dog" being a meat of choice for human consumption here in India. In China, dog is a delicacy, and one of our friends did have it once...not by his choice...but he did try it just to be polite.
Anyway, I didn't pick up and inspect the frozen package today. Maybe next time I'm in the store I will. Either way, I don't think I'll be purchasing any any time real soon. However, maybe some of my friends here with dogs would be willing to buy some and cook it up...just don't invite us over for dinner that night!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Christmas at My Grandparents' House
Christmas at my grandparents' house every year is very informal. We snack on appetizers all day long and then order pizza for dinner. After eating for awhile, we have a grab gift exchange, and then we go back to eating. In between eating and opening gifts, I did get a chance to catch up with my grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins and to see how big my cousins' kids had grown in 6 months.
Talk about torture...for both the kids and the adults. Getting the kids to sit still and not having anyone crying to get a Christmas photo is nearly impossible. All the kids (and some of the bigger kids) want to do is open the gifts. However, we started the tradition of the Christmas photo a number of years ago, and it is now fun to look at the old photos to see how much the kids have grown over the years. So, now the older kids know that this is not optional, and they must sit still for at least a couple of minutes. The kids range in age from the oldest being 12 1/2 to the two youngest being 1 1/2...let's just say that it isn't quiet at all at my grandparents' house on Christmas.
Here's a photo of my grandparents. (Special note to Grandma & Grandpa: I bet you never thought you would be seeing a photo of yourself on the internet for the whole world to see!) In typical fashion, Grandma has to hold Grandpa's drink while he and Jaidin open a gift and my aunt watches.
This is a photo of my cousins' girls, Katie and Piper, dressed in the Indian outfits that I brought them. They are both 1 1/2 years old with Piper being older by about 2 weeks. (Special note to Becky: How does Katie like seeing the photo of herself?) Aren't they cute?
Christmas at my grandparents' house was fun as always. Looking forward to next year!
Here's a photo of my grandparents. (Special note to Grandma & Grandpa: I bet you never thought you would be seeing a photo of yourself on the internet for the whole world to see!) In typical fashion, Grandma has to hold Grandpa's drink while he and Jaidin open a gift and my aunt watches.
This is a photo of my cousins' girls, Katie and Piper, dressed in the Indian outfits that I brought them. They are both 1 1/2 years old with Piper being older by about 2 weeks. (Special note to Becky: How does Katie like seeing the photo of herself?) Aren't they cute?
Christmas at my grandparents' house was fun as always. Looking forward to next year!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Snow, Sleet, Freezing Rain, Rain, Snow...
This was pretty much the weather pattern the entire time we were in Illinois...plus obviously, it was COLD!!! Last December, we had great weather with none of the above, but this year was a completely different story. I guess we couldn't luck out two years in a row.
Not driving much in over a year combined with the bad weather was not a good thing for us. We slid off of our parents' ice covered driveway into the ditch. S wasn't happy because he had to cancel a whole day of meetings. Of course, this had to happen on the day that my dad and brother were gone out of town working. Luckily, our neighbors came by, and we were able to push our vehicle out of the ditch. One other time, we were backing out of the garage and hit our parents' truck. This wasn't really weather related except for the fact that we were looking for the piles of snow and other obstacles that are always around my parents' house. No damage to the truck, but our Envoy needs a new bumper. Let's see, I also filled the car up with gas and drove about 30 miles with the gas cap off. Oh well, at least we didn't go off and not pay for our gas this time...that happened to us in May when we were back in Illinois. All of our car incidents were minor, but given the number we had in the few days we were back, I hope that when we do eventually move back to the U.S. (and have to start driving again) that it isn't in the middle of winter!
So, here are some winter related photos from our trip:
My brother plowing the driveway out. Does the truck have any tires???
The dogs like to play king of the snow pile. Before it started to melt, the snow pile was so high that they could barely make it to the top.
My brother's chocolate Lab, Riley, and my yellow Lab, Libby, actually sat still in the snow for about 2 seconds in order for me to snap this photo. They love playing in the snow!
Not driving much in over a year combined with the bad weather was not a good thing for us. We slid off of our parents' ice covered driveway into the ditch. S wasn't happy because he had to cancel a whole day of meetings. Of course, this had to happen on the day that my dad and brother were gone out of town working. Luckily, our neighbors came by, and we were able to push our vehicle out of the ditch. One other time, we were backing out of the garage and hit our parents' truck. This wasn't really weather related except for the fact that we were looking for the piles of snow and other obstacles that are always around my parents' house. No damage to the truck, but our Envoy needs a new bumper. Let's see, I also filled the car up with gas and drove about 30 miles with the gas cap off. Oh well, at least we didn't go off and not pay for our gas this time...that happened to us in May when we were back in Illinois. All of our car incidents were minor, but given the number we had in the few days we were back, I hope that when we do eventually move back to the U.S. (and have to start driving again) that it isn't in the middle of winter!
So, here are some winter related photos from our trip:
My brother plowing the driveway out. Does the truck have any tires???
The dogs like to play king of the snow pile. Before it started to melt, the snow pile was so high that they could barely make it to the top.
My brother's chocolate Lab, Riley, and my yellow Lab, Libby, actually sat still in the snow for about 2 seconds in order for me to snap this photo. They love playing in the snow!
S's first time on a snowmobile! Don't ask me how he grew up in central Illinois and has never been on a snowmobile before...he's such a city boy!
So, what do you do when you are snowed and iced in out in the middle of nowhere in central Illinois? Strip off wallpaper! My mom wanted the wallpaper off of her kitchen walls. Didn't have to say that twice as S hates wallpaper, so off it came. It actually wasn't too bad off a job with three of us working on it (plus our helper...our cat, Tobie). Tip for those of you who have never stripped wallpaper before...liquid fabric softener mixed with water. Just spritz it on the glued paper backing of the wallpaper, and it scrapes right off.
Anyway, the weather here in Chennai has been much better than the weather in Illinois. It has been getting into the low 80s every day, and even with the humidity making it feel like it is in the 90s, it is actually tolerable outside. Now, if it would only stay like this the rest of the year, I may never want to leave! I don't think we'll be so lucky, but one can only hope.
Anyway, the weather here in Chennai has been much better than the weather in Illinois. It has been getting into the low 80s every day, and even with the humidity making it feel like it is in the 90s, it is actually tolerable outside. Now, if it would only stay like this the rest of the year, I may never want to leave! I don't think we'll be so lucky, but one can only hope.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Lobster = Wine
When S and I lived in Beijing, we made it a point to make friends outside of the people that S worked with. No offense to his co-workers, but sometimes it is just nice to have dinner when the talk isn't all about S's company...plus it is nice to meet people who aren't from central Illinois or have never lived in central Illinois...one of my favorite things about being an ISE is meeting people from all over the world. Some of these non-company friends are now friends for life.
On Saturday night, S and I went out to eat with some new non-company friends that I had randomly met. This couple is American and have lived in Chennai for about a year now. However, they haven't met a lot of people due to their work and travel schedule. S and I are very lucky to be overseas with a large multi national company. We have a great benefits package plus there are other American ISEs here with our company. This means that we already have a built in network of people to meet. I can't imagine being the only American ISEs in an area for a company. However, this happens quite a bit for other people. While initially it was somewhat difficult for me to meet non-company people here...people with kids I feel have it a little easier because you can more easily meet people at the school or through play groups...I have slowly been building up a network of non-company friends here. Now it is time for S to start meeting the husbands. He hates the idea initially, but he always ends up having a good time when we get together with these couples.
So, back to Saturday night (and to why Lobster = Wine)...we met up with this couple at a restaurant we had never been to before. It was an Italian restaurant set outdoors. Another very nice evening sitting outdoors...a definite advantage to living in Chennai in the winter! We had a great time sitting, talking, drinking wine, and eating our food. Soon though, it was time for the evening to come to an end.
We ask for our bill. When it comes, one of the items listed is lobster. Well no one in our group had had lobster. Luckily...before we started complaining that our bill was wrong...our new friends knew at this restaurant that lobster was the code word for wine. Huh? Why not just list wine as being wine? Well, Chennai is located in the state of Tamil Nadu in India, and Tamil Nadu is a dry state.
Yep, that's right...in a country where one could probably use a drink more often at the end of the day than in other places...alcohol is hard to come by. You can't buy it in stores...legally that is. A lot of stores that are frequented by foreigners will sell you alcohol, but it's not on the shelves...you have to ask for it. A friend of mine buys her wine from a local person who comes to her house with the wine in black garbage bags. I have heard of people driving down to Pondicherry...about a 3 hour drive one way to the next state...to get beer and booze. The problem with this is that foreigners can't buy it in large quantities...so we would have to have our driver get it. Plus, I guess if the shopkeepers see the driver loading the alcohol into a vehicle with foreigners in it or a car with Tamil Nadu license plates, they will write down the license plate number and call ahead to the checkpoint at the state border. At the checkpoint, I guess cars with foreigners are almost always checked for alcohol making it nearly impossible to smuggle any into Tamil Nadu.
So how do S and I cope with living in a dry state? Well, we are only social drinkers. We have never drank at home unless we are having someone over for dinner. If we go out to eat and are by ourselves, we very rarely will have a drink...we just stick to water and diet Pepsi. So, really this isn't a huge issue for us. Also, here in Chennai, it is legal for a restaurant to serve alcohol if they are attached to a large hotel. Of course, then there is a large tax on top of the price of the alcohol.
So, the next time you are out and get a bill with lobster on it when you haven't had lobster to eat, only become concerned if you are eating anywhere but in Chennai, India...lobster is slang for wine here.
On Saturday night, S and I went out to eat with some new non-company friends that I had randomly met. This couple is American and have lived in Chennai for about a year now. However, they haven't met a lot of people due to their work and travel schedule. S and I are very lucky to be overseas with a large multi national company. We have a great benefits package plus there are other American ISEs here with our company. This means that we already have a built in network of people to meet. I can't imagine being the only American ISEs in an area for a company. However, this happens quite a bit for other people. While initially it was somewhat difficult for me to meet non-company people here...people with kids I feel have it a little easier because you can more easily meet people at the school or through play groups...I have slowly been building up a network of non-company friends here. Now it is time for S to start meeting the husbands. He hates the idea initially, but he always ends up having a good time when we get together with these couples.
So, back to Saturday night (and to why Lobster = Wine)...we met up with this couple at a restaurant we had never been to before. It was an Italian restaurant set outdoors. Another very nice evening sitting outdoors...a definite advantage to living in Chennai in the winter! We had a great time sitting, talking, drinking wine, and eating our food. Soon though, it was time for the evening to come to an end.
We ask for our bill. When it comes, one of the items listed is lobster. Well no one in our group had had lobster. Luckily...before we started complaining that our bill was wrong...our new friends knew at this restaurant that lobster was the code word for wine. Huh? Why not just list wine as being wine? Well, Chennai is located in the state of Tamil Nadu in India, and Tamil Nadu is a dry state.
Yep, that's right...in a country where one could probably use a drink more often at the end of the day than in other places...alcohol is hard to come by. You can't buy it in stores...legally that is. A lot of stores that are frequented by foreigners will sell you alcohol, but it's not on the shelves...you have to ask for it. A friend of mine buys her wine from a local person who comes to her house with the wine in black garbage bags. I have heard of people driving down to Pondicherry...about a 3 hour drive one way to the next state...to get beer and booze. The problem with this is that foreigners can't buy it in large quantities...so we would have to have our driver get it. Plus, I guess if the shopkeepers see the driver loading the alcohol into a vehicle with foreigners in it or a car with Tamil Nadu license plates, they will write down the license plate number and call ahead to the checkpoint at the state border. At the checkpoint, I guess cars with foreigners are almost always checked for alcohol making it nearly impossible to smuggle any into Tamil Nadu.
So how do S and I cope with living in a dry state? Well, we are only social drinkers. We have never drank at home unless we are having someone over for dinner. If we go out to eat and are by ourselves, we very rarely will have a drink...we just stick to water and diet Pepsi. So, really this isn't a huge issue for us. Also, here in Chennai, it is legal for a restaurant to serve alcohol if they are attached to a large hotel. Of course, then there is a large tax on top of the price of the alcohol.
So, the next time you are out and get a bill with lobster on it when you haven't had lobster to eat, only become concerned if you are eating anywhere but in Chennai, India...lobster is slang for wine here.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
What's New in Chennai?
Not too much, but I'll give an update to those of you who care about our boring lives. Sorry about how long of post this is...you might want to grab a drink and a snack before reading any further.
Let me first flash back to before we left for the U.S.
Yes, we did receive our food shipment about 5 hours before we were to leave for the airport. Luckily I was all packed and ready to go...and luckily the delivery people were notified by a few different people to get our food to us ASAP. I guess originally we were scheduled to have our stuff delivered last...ugh, that would have been a nightmare. Since the delivery people weren't planning on bringing our food to us so soon, they had to unload about half the truck to get to our boxes.
I started sorting through the boxes to check for bugs...no ants this time, but instead we had two boxes with mold in them. The culprits:
Yep, that's a can of tomato soup and a can of mandarin oranges. One box also had a freshly smashed cup of applesauce in it. While I worked on putting away the food, S had the fun task of washing gunk and mold off the two boxes of canned goods.
In the end, I got all of the food put away. Having just received the shipment, it did make it hard shopping for food while I was in the U.S. Our next shipment goes out the first week of February. I kept thinking that I didn't need anything because I have X number of it in my pantry already. However, then I had to think that I will be using the stuff up. It really is hard to buy food in December that won't be consumed until March, April, and May. Since my mom is in Florida for the winter, I'll probably end up ordering some more food online right before the shipment goes out...or talk my brother into picking some stuff up for me. Anyway for now, we are good.
Let me first flash back to before we left for the U.S.
Yes, we did receive our food shipment about 5 hours before we were to leave for the airport. Luckily I was all packed and ready to go...and luckily the delivery people were notified by a few different people to get our food to us ASAP. I guess originally we were scheduled to have our stuff delivered last...ugh, that would have been a nightmare. Since the delivery people weren't planning on bringing our food to us so soon, they had to unload about half the truck to get to our boxes.
I started sorting through the boxes to check for bugs...no ants this time, but instead we had two boxes with mold in them. The culprits:
Yep, that's a can of tomato soup and a can of mandarin oranges. One box also had a freshly smashed cup of applesauce in it. While I worked on putting away the food, S had the fun task of washing gunk and mold off the two boxes of canned goods.
In the end, I got all of the food put away. Having just received the shipment, it did make it hard shopping for food while I was in the U.S. Our next shipment goes out the first week of February. I kept thinking that I didn't need anything because I have X number of it in my pantry already. However, then I had to think that I will be using the stuff up. It really is hard to buy food in December that won't be consumed until March, April, and May. Since my mom is in Florida for the winter, I'll probably end up ordering some more food online right before the shipment goes out...or talk my brother into picking some stuff up for me. Anyway for now, we are good.
A photo of S's pop supply for the quarter. The sad thing is that not only will all of this be consumed before the next shipment arrives but also that what you can't see is the other stash of pop we have on the other side of the room that also will probably be consumed.
Critter update: we returned to our house in Chennai to find a dead rat in one of our rat boxes. So, that's rat number two. We also found a dead frog in our gecko room (sun porch) plus I saw another frog (or maybe it was a toad...never could quite figure out the difference between them) in the same room last night. Our driver told me that while we were gone there was one snake in the yard. So that makes snake number 6 (but who's counting?). I've only seen one gecko so far, and it was in the gecko room. None in the house, which is a good thing. However, we do have a gazillion ants in the house. I've been feeding them Terro that I brought back with me, but so far I'm not sure it is doing anything but attracting more ants.
I've been working (very slowly) at getting the house organized and cleaned. We took down the Christmas decorations, and I've unpacked our suitcases. I've got most of the laundry caught up. S did some cleaning in the house, but there is still a lot to do. Now, I'm working on putting away everything out of our suitcases and getting the regular decorations back out. Plus trying to get fixed everything that broke while we were away. We came back to two A/Cs being broken, and the door handle on the bathroom broken. Only in India would these things break when we were away and not being used. We completely turned off all of the A/Cs before we left. Plus, the bathroom door that won't open is on a bathroom that we don't even use. How then did it get broke?
S and I went out for the first time ever on New Year's Eve. We had a great time at GRT Temple Bay (it's a beach resort) in Mamallapuram, which is about a 30 minute drive from our house. The party was outside, and it was a beautiful night. This made me realize why we don't go out in Illinois for New Year's Eve...who wants to travel around in the cold???
So what exciting will be happening with us in 2008? Well the first few months will bring traveling and visitors. S will be making a trip to Beijing at the end of the month. Normally, I would be figuring out a way to go along, but one of my Beijing friends will actually be coming to Chennai at this time while her husband does some work here. She'll be in town for 2 weeks and is coming to see me and India. Right before she leaves, another friend from Beijing will be coming also for 2 weeks. They will overlap for a few days, so for over 3 weeks, I will be busy with them. I'm very excited to have them coming to see me, and I'm looking forward to showing them "Incredible India."
S will also be making a trip to Singapore in February, and it sounds like hopefully I'll be able to go along with him. I've been in the Singapore airport quite a few times, but never seen the country. I've heard that the shopping is great, the food is great, and that it is very clean. I can't wait to see it for myself.
Then in March, my cousin and my aunt are coming to visit us. I'm very excited about this! My cousin really wanted to come to Beijing, but it just didn't work out before we moved. Then she said she wanted to come see us here. Since she works for a school district, she was going to come in the summer when she is off of work. I suggested that she come over her spring break because it should be cooler than the summer months will be. Not wanting to make the trip alone, she somehow talked her mom, my aunt, into coming with her. My aunt also works for a school district and just so happens to have the same spring break as my cousin. She told me that India wasn't really on her list of places to ever go to (and honestly I don't really blame her or anyone else who doesn't have the desire to come here). However, she thought about it and decided that if I could live here, then she could come survive here for a week visit. Plus, she said that if she were in my shoes and lived in India that she would want people to come see her. Very true! So, I'm really looking forward to their visit!
Besides this, our company has 4 or 5 new families moving to Chennai this month and next. It'll be good to meet some more people and to be able to help them out in anyway that I can. S and I will also be starting to plan our vacations for the year. Right now, we don't know if or when we will be making another trip back to the U.S. before Christmas. I'll keep everyone posted on that issue. We are planning to probably go to Hong Kong & Macau maybe in April. I just found out that good friends of ours will be in Thailand in August for a week, so maybe we'll make a trip there to meet up with them. Plus I would like to make it back to Beijing sometime this summer...probably not for the Olympics...and I would like to go back to Europe again...just haven't decided which country yet. Hopefully, we'll also be able to travel around India...have to make sure that I make it to the Taj Mahal while I'm living here.
2008 is definitely shaping up to be another busy year for us. I have decided that I'm way to busy to try to keep our house in order, and thus I am finally hiring a maid. We are definitely in the minority among foreigners by not having a maid. I can't think of anyone else that I know here that doesn't have at least one maid working for them. It's almost like taboo and unheard of not to have someone working in the house for us...I'm sure our driver and security guards have had conversations about why we don't have a maid. I've said all along that I would get one if I happened to hear of one looking for a job. Well that's just what has happened. A friend of mine had to move across town, and her new home is too far for her maid to travel to daily. Since her maid only works a few hours each day and lives close to me, it should work out well. Plus I feel good about hiring someone who comes highly recommended from someone I know. I think she is starting next week, so I'll let you guys know how it is going.
Well, congratulations if you have read all the way to end of this very long post. For now, I think I've pretty much covered everything that I can think of. Tomorrow I'll try to do a post about our trip to Illinois. In the meantime, have a great day!
Critter update: we returned to our house in Chennai to find a dead rat in one of our rat boxes. So, that's rat number two. We also found a dead frog in our gecko room (sun porch) plus I saw another frog (or maybe it was a toad...never could quite figure out the difference between them) in the same room last night. Our driver told me that while we were gone there was one snake in the yard. So that makes snake number 6 (but who's counting?). I've only seen one gecko so far, and it was in the gecko room. None in the house, which is a good thing. However, we do have a gazillion ants in the house. I've been feeding them Terro that I brought back with me, but so far I'm not sure it is doing anything but attracting more ants.
I've been working (very slowly) at getting the house organized and cleaned. We took down the Christmas decorations, and I've unpacked our suitcases. I've got most of the laundry caught up. S did some cleaning in the house, but there is still a lot to do. Now, I'm working on putting away everything out of our suitcases and getting the regular decorations back out. Plus trying to get fixed everything that broke while we were away. We came back to two A/Cs being broken, and the door handle on the bathroom broken. Only in India would these things break when we were away and not being used. We completely turned off all of the A/Cs before we left. Plus, the bathroom door that won't open is on a bathroom that we don't even use. How then did it get broke?
S and I went out for the first time ever on New Year's Eve. We had a great time at GRT Temple Bay (it's a beach resort) in Mamallapuram, which is about a 30 minute drive from our house. The party was outside, and it was a beautiful night. This made me realize why we don't go out in Illinois for New Year's Eve...who wants to travel around in the cold???
A photo of me, S, our friend JC, and his friend who is visiting Chennai. We had a great time with unlimited food and drinks, entertainment, and of course fireworks at midnight. The best part of the night...having a built in designated driver. I don't think the combination of alcohol, jet lag, and India driving would have been a good thing for us to attempt. Of course not getting home until 1:30am didn't help much with the jet lag. We did get some sleep, and then we were able to watch the ball drop in New York live as our CNN channel was covering it, and it was 10:30am our time.
S will also be making a trip to Singapore in February, and it sounds like hopefully I'll be able to go along with him. I've been in the Singapore airport quite a few times, but never seen the country. I've heard that the shopping is great, the food is great, and that it is very clean. I can't wait to see it for myself.
Then in March, my cousin and my aunt are coming to visit us. I'm very excited about this! My cousin really wanted to come to Beijing, but it just didn't work out before we moved. Then she said she wanted to come see us here. Since she works for a school district, she was going to come in the summer when she is off of work. I suggested that she come over her spring break because it should be cooler than the summer months will be. Not wanting to make the trip alone, she somehow talked her mom, my aunt, into coming with her. My aunt also works for a school district and just so happens to have the same spring break as my cousin. She told me that India wasn't really on her list of places to ever go to (and honestly I don't really blame her or anyone else who doesn't have the desire to come here). However, she thought about it and decided that if I could live here, then she could come survive here for a week visit. Plus, she said that if she were in my shoes and lived in India that she would want people to come see her. Very true! So, I'm really looking forward to their visit!
Besides this, our company has 4 or 5 new families moving to Chennai this month and next. It'll be good to meet some more people and to be able to help them out in anyway that I can. S and I will also be starting to plan our vacations for the year. Right now, we don't know if or when we will be making another trip back to the U.S. before Christmas. I'll keep everyone posted on that issue. We are planning to probably go to Hong Kong & Macau maybe in April. I just found out that good friends of ours will be in Thailand in August for a week, so maybe we'll make a trip there to meet up with them. Plus I would like to make it back to Beijing sometime this summer...probably not for the Olympics...and I would like to go back to Europe again...just haven't decided which country yet. Hopefully, we'll also be able to travel around India...have to make sure that I make it to the Taj Mahal while I'm living here.
2008 is definitely shaping up to be another busy year for us. I have decided that I'm way to busy to try to keep our house in order, and thus I am finally hiring a maid. We are definitely in the minority among foreigners by not having a maid. I can't think of anyone else that I know here that doesn't have at least one maid working for them. It's almost like taboo and unheard of not to have someone working in the house for us...I'm sure our driver and security guards have had conversations about why we don't have a maid. I've said all along that I would get one if I happened to hear of one looking for a job. Well that's just what has happened. A friend of mine had to move across town, and her new home is too far for her maid to travel to daily. Since her maid only works a few hours each day and lives close to me, it should work out well. Plus I feel good about hiring someone who comes highly recommended from someone I know. I think she is starting next week, so I'll let you guys know how it is going.
Well, congratulations if you have read all the way to end of this very long post. For now, I think I've pretty much covered everything that I can think of. Tomorrow I'll try to do a post about our trip to Illinois. In the meantime, have a great day!
New Year's Resolutions
Here is my list of resolutions for 2008. Pretty much the same list that I've had the last few years.
1. Read more books.
2. Scrapbook more.
3. Exercise more.
4. Blog more (a new one for 2008).
5. Travel more.
6. Be better about remembering birthdays and anniversaries on time.
7. Learn more about the culture of India.
Not a terribly exciting list. My resolutions are more of goals than resolutions. I keep it pretty simple in order to actually accomplish these goals. Any improvement on the previous year is considered a success in my book. I don't understand why people make resolutions that they are just going to break in the first week. "Don't eat chocolate." Yeah right, like you are never going to eat chocolate again in your life. How about instead "eat less chocolate" or "only eat chocolate once per week."
Also, I feel that my resolutions can be added to at any point during the year. If you want to improve on something in your life, why wait until January 1 to start? If say for example I think of something that I want to do or improve in my life on November 21st, do I have to wait until January 1st to begin? No, just start whenever you think about it. I think most of us know the areas in our lives that need improvement, and I think it is silly to wait until a specific date to begin. Just do it now!
All of my above resolutions are pretty vague...I think I used the word "more" in about every one of them. However, in my head, I have quantified most of the resolutions. But once again, if I actually put in writing exactly how many books per month I would like to read, then it's just setting myself up for failure...and who wants that? Not me.
So, how did I come out on my resolutions for 2007? Well like I said, most of them are listed above. I have just renewed them for 2008. Overall, I would say that I did pretty good with my resolutions. At different points during the year, I was better with certain ones then with other ones. For example while living in Beijing, I was really good with the exercise one. However, moving to India that one sort of became a lot harder to do. No more built in gym where I lived, and no more nice sidewalks with places to walk to. However, on the other hand, after moving to India, my resolutions to read more and scrapbook more picked up. These things pretty much didn't happen at all while living in China. Average everything out for the year though, and I think I came out pretty good in the end.
So, good luck to everyone who made resolutions for 2008. I wish you well with achieving your goals. I have a feeling that 2008 will be another great year!
1. Read more books.
2. Scrapbook more.
3. Exercise more.
4. Blog more (a new one for 2008).
5. Travel more.
6. Be better about remembering birthdays and anniversaries on time.
7. Learn more about the culture of India.
Not a terribly exciting list. My resolutions are more of goals than resolutions. I keep it pretty simple in order to actually accomplish these goals. Any improvement on the previous year is considered a success in my book. I don't understand why people make resolutions that they are just going to break in the first week. "Don't eat chocolate." Yeah right, like you are never going to eat chocolate again in your life. How about instead "eat less chocolate" or "only eat chocolate once per week."
Also, I feel that my resolutions can be added to at any point during the year. If you want to improve on something in your life, why wait until January 1 to start? If say for example I think of something that I want to do or improve in my life on November 21st, do I have to wait until January 1st to begin? No, just start whenever you think about it. I think most of us know the areas in our lives that need improvement, and I think it is silly to wait until a specific date to begin. Just do it now!
All of my above resolutions are pretty vague...I think I used the word "more" in about every one of them. However, in my head, I have quantified most of the resolutions. But once again, if I actually put in writing exactly how many books per month I would like to read, then it's just setting myself up for failure...and who wants that? Not me.
So, how did I come out on my resolutions for 2007? Well like I said, most of them are listed above. I have just renewed them for 2008. Overall, I would say that I did pretty good with my resolutions. At different points during the year, I was better with certain ones then with other ones. For example while living in Beijing, I was really good with the exercise one. However, moving to India that one sort of became a lot harder to do. No more built in gym where I lived, and no more nice sidewalks with places to walk to. However, on the other hand, after moving to India, my resolutions to read more and scrapbook more picked up. These things pretty much didn't happen at all while living in China. Average everything out for the year though, and I think I came out pretty good in the end.
So, good luck to everyone who made resolutions for 2008. I wish you well with achieving your goals. I have a feeling that 2008 will be another great year!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
100th Blog Post
One hundred blogs posted on the internet.
One hundred blogs posted.
Take the time to read one blog.
Ninety nine more blogs on the internet.
(sing to the theme of 100 bottles of beer on the wall).
One hundred blogs posted.
Take the time to read one blog.
Ninety nine more blogs on the internet.
(sing to the theme of 100 bottles of beer on the wall).
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