This is China

TIC, yes indeed. We had one of those days last week, the frustration has since worn off. There are too many things we love about this country, but a few things that are troublesome to us (like any place I guess), and I am not talking about chicken and rabbits anymore....
David, the Mechanical engineer that he is, says MEs are 'scared of electricity' they are more 'seeing and showing how things work kind of guys,' and since you can't see electricity, there is a problem. we have heard countless stories of near electrocutions, etc. and so we are careful....This is why David HATES nailing stuff into the wall, and has taught me what to do if for some reason he hits something that is 'electrified.' But, he has been a gracious husband and allowed things to go on our wall....
So, as I was doing one of my organizational projects (buying some clothes hanging, bag hanging, you name it hanging racks) I decided to get the guys from the store to come install, since we don't have a drill and they do it all the time....
I wanted two of these hung:


And don't you know, the little guy helping us (he was very little and looked 12), came out of the room, alive thankfully, saying he thought he hit something. Sure enough the electricity in our room did not work. And David says...you see this is why... and I ask why this never happens in the US? Because you are not allowed (and the regulation is enforced) to have an electrical wire so close to the wall...oh...that makes complete sense. Look at the pics, actually looks less than half an inch doesn't it....




And then we ask the guy if he knows someone to fix it...his friend comes over, who looks a year older than him and tries to 'rig something up,' yes, that sounds scary. We call our landlord, who is on break now and doesn't really want to be bothered but he sends someone over who does a much better job, but our landlord doesn't want to cover the hole until he makes sure all is safe with the wires (ie, the wall won't be electrified), his 'call in a few days to fix it' has been over a week now.
I was so proud of myself for going to the shop, finding what I wanted, getting the guys to install, all so David wouldn't even need to be bothered. It looked like my project was going to take two hours....now we are going on 8 days. TIC...
btw, the rabbit and his box disappeared yesterday, and no, he wasn't in our stew!

A very late happy Valentine's day

just found this video that David took and had to post it.

Chickens and rabbits...

We live on the fourth floor of a four story apartment building. Right outside our door is a small stairwell that leads up to a ladder to the roof. On this stair well is all kinds of stuff, an old bike of ours, and then a bunch of our neighbor's things. Months ago they decided to raise little chicks in a box up there. It didn't bother us too much, smelled a little like a chicken coop and the chirping was endless. And then they were gone. Now they have a little white rabbit. He too lives in a box right outside our door. A box that he often gets out of and poops all up and down the stairwell and right in front of our door. Sophia likes to go see the rabbit and pat its ears, but its cuteness has worn off on us. It REALLY smells outside the door, and one day, not that long ago, a friend visited and left the door open and as I was changing Sophia, the rabbit hopped on by us in our house. Our new little sis (Mei Mei, Sophia's JieJie, or big sis) picked it up by the ears and put it outside. We then began the discussion of whether she knew how to prepare rabbit stew...

Sophia's new ride

We finally bought Sophia this little car, everyone has one and she usually tries to steal theirs. This cost us 70 yuan, which is $10, in the states I saw them for $80!!! wow!
We had a little roller derby today with the neighborhood kids, all of which are her ge ges (big brothers). She may be bringin' up the rear, but she had a blast, and they are careful not to crash into her like they do eachother!

Sophia listening and not obeying...

Here sophia listens, understands, and talks her way around the issue. we are trying to teach her 'if...then' statements, and sequence 'first this, then this,' though not really on purpose. One day I used my hands (just because I sometimes do that when I talk), to tell her we were first going on a bike ride, then she could play with chalk. First bike ride, then chalk. She mimicked my every move and said most of the words, unbelievable, I laughed out loud at how silly she made me look. Of course she wouldn't do it again for the video, but this video is a little similar to her understanding.

Sophia listening and obeying, :)

Happy 1 year Anniversary Lee and Laura

David's sister, Laura married Lee Craft last Feb 23rd, and we just happened to be there. Their wedding was beautiful and we were so glad to participate. Here are some flashback photos (I wasn't blogging then)


behind the scenes


beautiful downtown Wilmington, NC, and a handsome groom.


I loved the reception decor!


Pink and green looked gorgeous, and since having a little girl, the colors have become dominant themes in our lives

reception fun


Sophia was almost 8 months old at the time...

my how she has grown since then....

We love you guys, Happy Anniversary!!!