Happy New Years!!!

Well it's New Year's Day and we thought we would go out to breakfast with friends. They have a son who is about a month older than Lilia. We decided to go to City Diner which is open 24hrs and enjoy their extensive breakfast menu.
We walked in and I didn't that it was also a bar. We head upstairs to the seating area and we walk past this women in a short dress conversing with a man. You can tell they are both still drunk. The man leans out towards Lilia to say hi. I pull her away. So we sit down and after we order our food the craziness starts. Two Asian women, still dressed up from the night before and a non-Asian man are sitting at a table on the other side of the restaurant. The two women start arguing and one of the women knocks the other's glass of wine and it spills all over the booth. These women are obviously still drunk as well. They argue more , pretty much the whole time we were there. It kept going between moments of blank looks and silence and arguing with even some slapping. Luckily it never got heavy。I just can't believe that they didn't get kicked out!
The kids had a great time climbing around on the empty booths and we enjoyed some good conversation!

This week will be a bit strange with a holiday and all. It's always nice when you have a day off in the week, but it always throws you off.
This is also the week we normally would have our Christmas conference. It's always a good time with great music and good talks. Plus the beds...oh the beds! King size, four star hotel beds! So nice. Just one perk of the job.
However, with being overseas this year, we don't have to work New Years Eve! It's the first time in maybe 5 years. This year we are hosting a party at our house for our friends with kids so we can at least have fun, and celebrate.
In the city there are New Year's celebrations, but they are probably at clubs with lots of drunk people looking for a one night stand. Not our cup of te阿

Next...

We have family coming to visit soon. We're so excited. I'm sure they are looking forward to it even more! Dave's mom, youngest sister and a friend Lauren are coming Jan 5-13. We can't wait to show them around our city and give them a little taste of what life is like here.

Lilia's friends on Christmas Day

I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus

Our friends Russ & Rebecca

Playing with her new toys

Presents

Dave's Favorite Present:
Leather messenger bag

Katie Favorite Present:
A dress to wear in the summer

Lilia's Favorite Present:
A plastic juicer set

(Pictured is Dave's new bag and Lilia's new puppy purse.)

Presents under the tree

Christmas Abroad

Well we did it. We had our first Christmas overseas! It was actually good, fun and memorable! So last night we finally went to bed at 11. I woke up at 6:30 on my own because I was so excited for Lilia to wake up and for us to celebrate! She didn't get up until shortly after 7. Lilia will be 2 in March so she's not at the age yet where Christmas morning is this crazy thing where paper is flying and she's excited about presents. When we came out into the living room, she didn't even acknowledge the presents. That's ok. My friend said that next year will be more like that.
We opened presents as a family. Then we had brunch with our group, exchanged presents and watched Elf. When Lilia woke up from her nap we went to our friend's house where the other families were to celebrate with them. That was fun too! "Santa" showed up and handed out gifts. It was really neat.

Christmas Eve

Well it's Christmas Eve and Lilia's asleep. All the presents are wrapped and we have only to wait till morning. I can't sleep! I'm such a kid when it comes to Christmas, and having a toddler doesn't help. Dave and I are up watching some boring Nixon thing to help me get tired. He's such a selfless husband because he's ready for bed!

Christmas Eve's Eve

It's Christmas Eve Eve and I don't have all my presents wrapped. In fact I just bought my last gift this morning! I'm usually never this last minute. (Sorry if this makes all you last minute shoppers feel bad.)
Tonight we have a fun celebration at a friends house. It's bring your own hot chocolate mug and we'll sing songs, eat good food and hang out.
For Christmas Eve I have no idea what we're doing! It's weird to maybe not go to church. We'll see what conspires...as we dream by the fire. We'll face unafraid, the plans that we made. Walkin' in a winter wonderland.
Oh, and the weather...super cold. As I've heard though, this is a spring day in the park compared to what you all are experiencing. Yesterday here it was in the low 30's and today is in the low 40's. There is ice on the pond in our complex! I guess that mother nature heard it was the first day of winter and decided to get her butt in gear. Gee thanks mother nature!

Ye Olde Gingerbread Village

I've never built a gingerbread house before, let alone a whole village. One family here makes it there tradition to build a village just before Christmas and each year has a theme. This year's theme was "Medieval Village." Each of us contributed and it was so fun. I made the little house with the lemon wedge above the door. I also made the front gate and the sign. What makes the village though is the Christmas tree. They cut circles out of graham crackers and layers them up, then coated it with green "cement." We even had a mini strand of fake lights to add. I think I want to make something like this next year too! Maybe just on a smaller scale.

The Workers

our complex

Earlier this week they started to put up Christmas decorations at the entrance to our apartment complex. It looks nice; they have a reindeer covered in lights and they strung lights around the trees and the front gate. They also put lights in the tree pictured as well as hanging a few large ornaments.
However, for some strange reason they decided that if they just added these colorful mushrooms to the Christmas decorations, it would be just right! Every time we pass them we laugh and make a comment. It's really hilarious!

Our Danish Christmas, or as they say "glædelig jul"

We enjoyed a 4 course meal with Jeff, Henrietta & Christian. The first was a drink of red wine cooked down with spices, raisins and chopped almonds. The second was the picture shown. It was slices of bread with butter. The silvery fish is herring and the orange is salmon topped with dill mustard and fresh dill. This was served cold and I liked it a lot! Next came the dinner. We had pork, homemade meatballs, salad, potato salad (Danish style), potatoes warmed and red cabbage. After this we had to sit for a while and let things settle down before we ate dessert. To finish it all off we had Danish rice pudding. It was good, but not as sweet as we are used to. It was a really fun night and we got to try a lot of new things!

Santa Hats

Lilia & Christian played really well together.

A Danish Christmas?

Tonight friends of our invited us over for a Danish Christmas dinner. Dave met them at an expat fair. She's from Denmark and he's from PA. They have a son named Christen who is a few months younger than Lilia. We hung out with them at a park in October. They're a neat couple. We'll let you know what it's like!

A Christmas Party

Last night we had a Christmas party at our house with the school's baseball & softball team. It was so much fun!!! There were about 16 people and they came over for games, singing and food. Something so different about parties is in America people go straight to the food and snack all night long. Here they didn't go for the food until they were invited. Some of the snacks we had were fruit (not usual for an American party), potato chips, oreos, candy and another snack that I can't explain. We had candy canes broken up for people to try, but not many did.
Lilia had a great time too. She didn't go to bed until 9:30! She loves having people here so they gave her energy. She's such a Brindley!

The whole group

Singing Christmas Carols

The snack table

Photo taken Dec 12th 2008

This is Lilia about this time last year...

The Weather

I'm a feelings person and I'm visual. In order for me to empathize with someone I need to visualize the situation and understand what it would feel like. So I thought I would tell you what the weather's been like so you can empathize with us!
This has been the most beautiful fall I've ever experienced. It's hasn't gotten very cold and when it did it only lasted about a week. It's been in the 50's a lot. And it's hardly rained!!! I think that's the best part. We've had blue skies so many days in a row I've lost count. With missing home so much it's nice to have good weather to brighten your days and not get you down.

Sweet girl

Lilia's sleep schedule has been off lately. She's been waking up early and I have no idea when to put her down for a nap. She the kind of kid that's go, go, go and rarely shows you signs that she's tired. I had to go to Carrefor this morning before tutoring so I took the chance that we'd make it. I thought, 'Oh, we'll only be an hour total.' Well I underestimated my shopping trip by a half an hour! Poor sweet Lilia fell asleep on the way home with her shovel in hand that she insisted on bringing. I guess the slow smooth ride of the bike put her right out. I was even able to bring her in the house, take off her shoes, hat, scarf and coat without her waking!!! I don't think that's EVER happened. Hopefully she'll be out for a bit and I can relax.

Lilia, Jesse, & Jack Hudzina last January

Lilia's future husband...

Our really good friends, the Hudzina's have two handsome boys and a third on the way. Jack is the oldest, almost 4, and Jesse was 2 in Oct. Well when we lived in West Chester Lilia loved playing with the boys. Jack would make her laugh so much. Danae just wrote me this in an email...
My dad said that Jack told him the other day that when he gets
older, he's going to get married and come out and live on the farm.
My dad asked him who he was going to marry and Jack said in all
seriousness, "Lilia, when she comes home from China".

I'm gonna ring her neck!

I'm sure most of you are familiar with those large canisters of water where you have a stand and a spout. Our family used to keep coins in those large clear water canisters after we were done with one. They are huge. So almost everyone has one here because you can't drink the water. It's called a water tong. Tong is the measure word for the size bottle it is. So it's on our 2 1/2ft tall counter and pushed to the back so Lilia can't get to it. Well I guess she's grown because this morning she emptied about 1/3 of the water onto the counters and floor!!!!!!! I was so furious. I didn't even know where to start, plus I had to keep her out of the kitchen. The water on the counter was about 1/4 in deep. Well it's all cleaned up and my fury has subsided. I guess we have to put the tong up on something now!

Dave got me the hat & scarf.

My Birthday

Today (Sunday the 14th) is my 29th birthday. Last night we got a babysitter and Dave took me out on a date down to the river. We ate at a really nice restaurant and then walked along the river at the views. It was so nice to get out, just the two of us and celebrate.
This morning Lilia didn't wake up until 7:30!!! It was a nice b-day present since she's been getting up at 5:30 for the last week. Then I open cards and presents from Dave and lots of family and friends back home.
Thank you so much to Lisa, Jayme, JR, Kim (thanks for the hot chocolate), Bill M, Angela, Josh, Evie, Dan Naylor (dude your card was hilarious!), Genevieve, Samantha, Chris Carr (I loved your update of American sitcoms-Dave), Ajja & Pam!!! I felt so loved to open and read all of these cards.
Then we went to this great restaurant for b-fast with our Sunday morning group. I got a free slice of dessert. I chose Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies Pie, but Julia it wasn't as good as yours!
Then on Wednesday night I am going to an amazing dessert place called, Whisk with some girl friends.
All in all it's been a great birthday! Thanks everyone for making that happen!

Buildings from the 20's

The View Along the River

My 1st Haircut!

I just got back from my first hair cut here. It's is such a pampering experience. I arrive and Marc, my hair stylist, consults me on my new cut. Then they bring me back for a washing. This is my favorite part because they massage your head as well. This goes on for a good 5 minutes before they bring you over to the chair. They offered me a cup of tea, complimentary. Then Marc goes and cuts my hair. I told him how tomorrow is my birthday and my husband is taking me out on a date. He says he wants to make my hair special for my date! He likes curly hair and he said that my hair is too big on the sides and not big enough on the top. Hence the "After" shot! Tomorrow I'll style it normally and we'll see how good of a job he did.
Lilia pointed to me and started to laugh! I asked her, "Does mommy look funny?" She said, "Yes." Gee, thanks sweetie!

The Before & After...

Liz- Everyone Loves this sweater! Thanks.

Lilia playing with her Asian friend

Christmas Party to Remember

We just came home from a wonderful Christmas party with 50 or so of our friends. It was so much fun. There was good food and lots of friends to catch up with. We also sung some Christmas songs in the local language, which was super challenging. We also sung some favorites in English. Lilia had a great time too! There was one girl in particular, maybe about 8 years old, that she clung to.
I volunteered for a game where you had to fill in the lyrics against another opponent and I won. Then a group of people did a dance number. It really was a great time. I've never celebrated like that, I hope to incorporate it in the states some how.

On a Funny Note

As I was just saying things are hard, Lilia is our joy and she really makes us laugh. I tell her "I love you" several times a day. I'm just that kind of person. I often ask her do you love me? Her reply is always "No." I ask her, "Do you love daddy?" "No." Do you love oranges?" "No." (She really loves oranges.)
So this morning Dave was trying to teach her "yes" to reply to our love question. He would ask her "Do you love mommy?" She would say, "No." Then Dave would put his arms high in the air and say, "Yes." As if to get her to answer the same way. He kept doing it and after a few times I think she finally said "Yes." We were laughing so much though because her no is so sure, so definite. I'm glad she at least shows me she loves me! She is willing to give us hugs and kisses! Actions speak louder than words.

The Holiday Season is Hard

Each day for me is different. Sometimes throughout a day I have happy times and times when I am sad. It's really hard to be so far from home over Christmas. Both our dad's birthday's are in Dec and so is mine. That's just adds to the challenge. Tonight we have this great Christmas party and I'm excited for it. Then I just put on Ray LaMontagne's "Be Here Now" and I started to cry. It's kind of a melancholy song, but it just put me over the edge. I really miss my family and friends and I am ready to go home. Keep us in your thoughts.

A culteral thing

Something here that gets to me is how all the grandmother's give their opinion about how Lilia is dressed. Come first signs of fall everyone starts wearing long underwear. Then as the months get colder they put on more and more layers. Well especially with kids they are sure to tell you that she's not wearing enough! Today is so nice out, maybe the the 60's. Lilia has on tights under her pants. Then she has a long sleeve shirt, a zip up sweatshirt over that and then I put a light jacket on her. Well one grandmother felt her jacket then pointed to her grandchild's sweater. As if to say, "look she's wearing a sweater, that jacket isn't warm enough." I don't hear these opinion every day, but some days when many people give me their opinion, it gets under my skin. I guess I just care too much of what they think.

Lilia's First-Ever Reaction To Santa

German Christmas Market. Das is good.

Lilia petting reindeer

What Next!

Dunkin Donuts has just arrived. In fact I think it's only been here no more than a couple of weeks! We paid a visit on Saturday just to check it out and compare the taste. I don't love donuts, but it was worth a taste. We even gave Lilia a piece. She liked it.
The store was all orange and pink. They have these cool comfy chairs around tables which invites you to sit and chat for a bit. Dave got coffee, but I didn't ask him how it was. The only place that does good coffee in Asia is Starbucks.
I feel so bad for this country. With McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and now Dunkin Donuts, we're introducing them to our obesity problem. You don't see many overweight people here, but they are more frequent with younger kids. It's sad. That's the price for wanting to be more western!

Christmas in Asia

There are Christmas trees decorated and lights up all around town. Especially when you go the more tourist-geared places or even western places you see that Christmas is coming. I even saw a sign on a store window that said "Christmas Sale."
I was given a 2ft fake tree by a friend here. You can buy trees, fake and real (just potted) but they are a bit pricey. We are pretty sure we're only this school year so it wouldn't make sense to spend all that money on something we'll use for one year.
I'm excited that we have a tree! I was able to buy decorations for the tree and the home at my local flower and craft market. They have an entire floor of Christmas shops. And the prices are very good. I even got a few ornaments that I really love on sale!

Our Christmas decorations

Our 2ft. Christmas Tree

Lilia saw some older girls with an umbrella and she wanted one as well. We thought it was super cute so we bought her one. It was only $2. She loves it and insisted on carrying it around.

Local candy that tasted like peanut butter taffy