Our Chinese V-Day

I know. I know. This post is late but my computer was down for a bit so, better late than never!
I'm sure that most of you know that here in China, they don't celebrate the same holidays that we do in America, so, it has been really hard to just kinda skip the 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and thank heavans we got to go home for Christmas because that is another one they don't celebrate!! So, as you have probably already guessed, Valentine's Day isn't on the calendar outhere. Last year we didn't even acknowledge the holiday since we had only been out here a month and were still adjusting. This year, I was wondering if we should just not stress about it again, but Joey and I have yet to celebrate a Valentine's together since we've been married. I wanted to at least do a little something extra for him on this day. So, the brain storming began. I wasn't realy sure what I could get for him that he wouldn't see me purchase since anywhere I go, he is with me. I was stumped and my brain actually started to hurt. Valentines Day was a week away and I needed to figure this out sooner than later. Then, it finally started coming to me. The idea of making him a love song playlist and secretly putting it on his iTouch seemed like an easy but cute one. And then writing him a poem seemed like a sweet and sentimental gift. Only problem was, was that I have never wrote a poem before and I only had a week to figure it out.
Writing a poem seems like it would be an easy task, and for many, it probably is, but it didn't come as easy for me. I would write something I thought sounded good and then when I would read it back, it sounded like my lil 5 year old had made it up. This poem was literally one of the more frustrating things I have done, but, after 5 days of writing and re writing, mixed with a little swearing and storming away from my computer, I finally finished it! I was pretty nervous about actually giving it to my husband though. What if it really sucked and I just thought it was sounding good? Getting a crappy love poem for your Valentines gift would be...well, crappy. So, I was really keeping my fingers crossed that I had a little Emily Dickinson talent somewhere in me!
The night before the big day, I waited until Joey was asleep and snuck his iTouch into the other room and added the Love song playlist onto it. I put it back on his nightstand with a little note attatched to it saying that he could only listen to the songs in that playlist for the rest of the day.
The Next thing to get ready was the poem. I wrote it all out on a blank piece of paper in red. Then, I got a lighter and burned the edges of the paper. And of course I burned the crap out of a few of my fingers! Then I rolled it up, and tied it with a red ribbon. I placed the rolled up poem in his computer bag so that he would get it when he got to work.
The next morning, I woke up to a very excited text message from my husband saying thank you and how much he loved the playlist and the poem! I was relieved but still had some insecurities that maybe he was just saying that he loved it so my feelings weren't hurt. He called me later on that day just to say thank you again and said how it was one of the sweetest things anyone had done for him. My insecurities went away after that :)
Here is the poem that I wrote to him:
The Story Of You and Me
Once upon a time, not very long ago,
there was a girl who felt so very lost and alone.
Everyday was a struggle just to make it through, while she tried to stay strong, there wasn't much she could do.
There was a piece of her heart that was missing you see, and the hole that was left brought her only pain and misery.
Where could it be? How could it be gone? Could this pain that she felt ever be gone?
Feeling hopeless and empty, she continued to push on, as life was whirling all around her, she began to sing a song.
A song about love, a song about sorrow, a song of how she hoped for a new tomorrow.
Then one night, as she put on her fake smile, she headed off to work and tried to forget about the pain for awhile.
She pretended to laugh, she tried not to cry, and when the night was over, a guy walked on by.
He was handsome and sweet, knew just what to say that made the girl's breath get taken away.
she pretended not to notice, pretended she did not care. But when he was not looking, she couldn't help but stare.
she loved being near him, loved when he came around, because for that small moment, she could let her guard come down.
Each day that she saw him, she never felt despair, only joy and excitment, her heart even began to repair!
Little by little, day by day, the hurt she carried inside her began to fade away.
Now today is a new day, and all the pain is gone. Not a drop of fear, or a hint of tears lies within her heart. Now there is only room for joy and love, because that guy had healed that girl's broken heart.
Now they are both together, and the story gets better you see, because they lived happily ever after, and the story is about you and me.By~Cassandra Lange
Maybe not the best poem in the world, be he liked it so, that's all that matters :)
I wanted to make the day a little more special for Ava as well, so that morning I made some heart shaped pancakes with chocolate.

Of course she loved them!! Anything with chocolate she will eat!
The rest of my day just went on as normal. Earlier in the week, Joey and I had talked about all of us going to dinner at a Korean resturant that we really like, so, that was all I was expecting. I got Ava and I all ready and when Joey got home, we headed out for our Valetine's dinner.
We walked inside the resturant and headed upstairs, and there was a table reserved that had a Huge bouquet of flowers, and a little bouquet of flowers on it! My sweet husband had gone over to the resturant earlier that day and got it all set up!

And here is the cute little bouquet he got for Ava.

She felt so special!!
As if flowers weren't enough, while we were waiting for out food, all of the sudden there was a Swarovski bag on the table! My heart skipped a beat because I always drag my poor hubby into that store and just "ooh" and "awe" over everything in there! But, it's a little pricey so, I never end up purchasing anything. Now, there was this dainty little bag waiting for me to open! and I did! When I popped open the box, my eyes were filled with sparkles and hearts! A Sparkly hearts necklace to be exact! My husband knows I'm a sucker for anything that sparkles, and this necklace was full of them! 4 hearts. 1 for me, 1 for him, 1 for Ava, and 1 for Ginger.

I had to wear it ASAP!

Isn't it beautiful?! I just LOVE it!
So, that was our fun little Chinese V-Day. It actually was the best I've had yet! Maybe because it really was up to us to have the holiday happen, and also because out here, we really rely on each other. Sometimes you forget how special the people that are in our daily lifes really are. Some people don't like Valentines day, but I think, why not take advantage of any oppurtunity to let our loved ones know how much we love them? I hope my family and friends know how much I love and care about them. And if not, let me take this oppurtunity to let you know right now that I love you! XOXO

Happy Belated Chinese New Year!

I haven't updated my blog for awhile because my computer had some sort of a virus on it. Thank goodness my husband is good at fixing EVERYTHING! Literally, he can fix anything that needs fixing. Lucky for me because unless it's me fixing dinner, hair, or make up, I am a complete moron! So, thank you babe for fixing my computer!!
Ok, so, the Chinese New Year is finally over...THANK THE LORD!! For an entire week, I hardly slept. Fireworks were going off non stop, all day and all night long. It sounded like a legit warzone outside for a week. I don't get it. I mean, I know the Chinese are proud of themselves for inventing fireworks or whatever but why light them off during the day? You can hardly even see them so it makes them not very swesome in my book. Like, who wakes up at 5 a.m. and is like "Hmmm...what should I do first today? Maybe eat a little breakfast? Maybe go for a morning jog? Wait! No! I got it! I should go light off a million fireworks and wake everyone and their kids up! It is going to be awesome!" To each their own I guess!
Not only are they loud, but we live on the 18th floor and the fireworks that are being lit off below us make their way right up to our story and the debris coming off from them is actually hitting our windows. It made hanging up the laundry a very jumpy chore for that week. I would be minding my own buisness and hanging the laundry out to dry, and then a firework would just explode right out in front of me! I may have peed a little on several occasions!
Chinese new year eve was definitely the craziest by far with the fireworks! It was just massive ammounts going off everywhere and as far as the eye could see. It really was amazing to witness. Here's a little video that shows just a fraction of the firework mayhem that was going on that night!

Pretty crazy, huh? And that went on pretty much all night long! Ava loved the fireworks for about 45 minutes and then she was getting irritated because she couldn't hear her movie that she was trying to watch. And our poor Ginger was so nervous with all the noise going on, but she eventually started to calm down. Anyway, besides all the fireworks, our week was very chillax. My husband had the week off of work so we went to the park a few times, went downt to the night markets, stopped at the mall, and relaxed at home and caught up on watching some movies. It was nice to just spend time together and not be bothered with no obligations. It is just so easy to be lazy! Aaaaahhh....That would be the life :) But, we have been back to reality now for a couple of weeks and are counting down the days until we come home!
Happy year of the Rabbit!!

Oh, How We Will Miss The Night Markets!

The night markets sound super sketchy, right? Well, they are in some ways. The night markets is a block that is filled with different booths that people have set up. There are all sorts of things to choose from! Shoes, purses, clothes, jewelry, watches, sunglasses,hats belts, scarfs, perfumes, fans, decorations, pictures, wallets, pearls, luggage, bed sheets, hair accessories, phone covers, electronics, and course, DVDS.
These night markets get a little crazy. There are so many people and a lot of times you can't even stop at certain booths b/c you are just getting pushed on by in the crowd. There are so many people and you have to barter for everything so, it can get overwhelming sometimes. If you stick with it though, you will be very happy with the amazing bargins that you leave with. For example: I have 3 pairs of Uggs that I purchased from the night markets, and guess how much I paid for each pair? 20 bucks!! Are they real? Well, I will admit that while some things say a brand name, a lot of times they are knockoffs, but, these uggs seem legit. The knockoffs actually say "UCG" on the back instead of "UGG". The ones that I bought have "UGG" on the back. They all came in "Ugg" boxes and had the "Ugg" care instructions with them, so, if they aren't real, no one could tell the difference b/c everything looks and feels great.
Another Example of an amzing bargin is my white Chanel watch with cubics all around the face. How much did I get it for? 17 bucks!! It took a whole lot of bartering on my husbands end to get this price but it was worth it!Everything about this watch also seems to be legit, but, like I said, who knows. It either is, or they did such a great job making it look real that no one would know the difference.
And of course, my other favorite things are the Juicy Coture purchases I have made there. Never paying over 20 dollars for any of it.
Besides clothes, shoes, and jewelry being my personal favorite things to buy at the markets, DVDS make the whole family happy. Being out here with only a few english TV channels, Hulu and pretty much any website that let's you watch American TV being banned out here, the DVDS at the night markets are our only way we can see new movies and buy english TV shows. It also give us some comfort when we are feeling that homesickness. They are beyond cheap as well. 75 cents per DVD! Can't beat that!
The newer movies that are out in thaters in America you can also buy on DVD. Some of the copies aren't always the best but who cares when you paid less than a dollar to watch it. Plus, for Ava, she doesn't care if the movie is in HD or not. She is just excited to watch some kids movies! We just bought her Tangled and Mega Mind the other night and she is in HEAVEN! We had to get her all Repunzeled out! Her outfit was Rapunzel, and we had her hair all down with a flower in it like Rapunzel. She was loving it!

I might have a little model on my hands b/c she loves posing!

Oh, night markets! We will sure miss you! Thanks you for all of the amazing deals and "legal" copies of DVDS! You have made our time here in China a little more enjoyable in many ways!