Rachel and I figured out we’ve known each other for 11 years now – since before her first son out of three was born. Now that she’s moved to Montana, married a great guy, and has a daughter, it was time for a visit.
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Paperless Lifestyle
Shopping List on My Phone
We bought a big whiteboard from Costco for about $20. It was a great deal because it came with pens, an eraser, and it’s magnetic to boot.
We have three columns for stores we often frequent for shopping: WinCo, Freddies, and Costco. Whenever we think of something we need to buy, we just add on to the whiteboard. Ideally, I would use Outlook notes to do this, but Jenni and I find it easier to just write it on the whiteboard.
When it comes time to grocery shopping, I use the digital camera on my phone to take a snapshot of the list and reference it when we are shopping for groceries or household items.
My PDA Navigator
One of the best uses of the internet is getting directions. I’m glad that this technology came of age soon after I started driving. It’s very convenient and I can’t imagine finding places without it. MapQuest use to be the big one early on, and I use to print out directions through them. I would then fold them and tuck them away in the car after I reach my destination. I would have a collection of papers of directions to places, but unfortunately, I wouldn’t always label where they were to.
After I bought a PocketPC PDA, I used a better alternative, Yahoo Maps, to get directions. Then I would save the “Print-Friendly” version of the directions as a web page file on my PDA. The reason I use the “Print-Friendly” version is to remove all the ads and extra junk that’s on the web page.
Now I don’t have to print any directions, have the filename describe who I’m going to, and keep them saved on my PDA’s memory for future use.
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Sleepless in China
As I mentioned in an earlier post, it was difficult to sleep on the hard beds in China (I didn’t like that a third of the trip was spent in rooms with two separate single beds either. I had David push them together one night). But there were other factors that disturbed sleep just about every night while there.
- Cars honking. They honk all day and all night in Beijing. I think it’s part of the requirement for driving there. Even out in the peaceful countryside of Huangshan, we would hear cars blast their horn as they went rip-roaring the through curves in the road to warn everybody they’re coming. Our room had a great view of the bend in the road our hotel sat on.
- A construction site right outside the window.
- Someone buzz-sawing in the morning.
- Strong wafts of cigarette smoke coming from the windows or hallways.
- Someone ringing the doorbell (they have doorbells for each room) or calling your telephone at midnight or 6am.
- Tourists getting up at 4am and
talkingshouting in the hallway.
But now that I’m home, and thoroughly enjoying my soft bed, and I am even tired enough to sleep through the construction next door to our own apartment.
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Cultural and Pregnant Experiences
All kinds of advise comes your way when you’re pregnant. Some you take with a grain of salt, and others come in really helpful. My mother-in-law was born and raised in China, and every once in a while she’ll share her ideas she grew up with of what to do or not do during pregnancy. Some of it is really different but I try to keep an open mind. I am thankful she is open-minded, too, when it comes to my final decisions about my body and baby. She’s really supportive. I’m blessed to have her.
All kinds of advise comes your way when you’re pregnant. Some you take with a grain of salt, and others come in really helpful. My mother-in-law was born and raised in China, and every once in a while she’ll share her ideas she grew up with of what to do or not do during pregnancy. Some of it is really different but I try to keep an open mind. I am thankful she is open-minded, too, when it comes to my final decisions about my body and baby. She’s really supportive. I’m blessed to have her.
David and I decided to go to China with his parents before I got pregnant. And so, when we found out our baby was on the way, David’s mom wanted to know if I still wanted to go.
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China Trip Chapter 1: Dream Come True
Jennilyn and I had been dreaming of going to China since we’ve been married. I had an opportunity to visit China with my family in 2005, but I declined because Jennilyn had returned from Japan fairly ill. While I had no regrets in staying behind while my brother and parents had a great time in China, I looked forward to the day I would return to China.
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Mariachi Band Prayer
Perhaps an over-spiritualization of the situation, but we got to bed around 1:30 AM after organizing and facilitating the Portland Swing Dance Club’s Spring Swing weekend. It had been a long day and we had no trouble falling asleep.
We woke up to a drum pattern rattling outside. Then it was a full on Mariachi band playing somewhere near the outside of our apartment at 5:30 in the morning. They played loud and proud. At an hour, possibly six hours from that point, we might have happily walked outside to enjoy the live music. At that hour of the morning, we were groaning at who would be so inconsiderate!
Jenni popped in her earplugs. They finished their song. The next drum beat started and we groaned. Then I prayed to God half-asleep, something along these lines:
Dear Lord,
Should I not be praying for the leaders in our congregation, our city, our country? Am I not to ask you to increase our faith? Why am I praying to you, oh God of the Universe, about silencing a Mariachi band outside our apartment? Please stop them from playing more music. We would like some sleep!
Thanks Lord. Amen.
After three lovely songs, I heard some shuffling from nearby apartments. The band stopped playing and we returned to sleep. I’m thankful that God answers prayers, and no prayer is too small—or too strange.
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Life After High School
Back in high school, all I wanted to do in life was get married and raise a family. But as graduation creeped closer, I realized I couldn’t just sit around waiting for “Mr. Right.” I also remember wanting to stay a senior because I was having a lot of fun, and college and beyond was kind of scary to think about. But someone once said to me that “There is life after high school.” After striking out on a few adventures of my own, I adopted that saying for myself.
In following David’s lead, I too would like to peek into the last 10 years as it is also my 10 year high school reunion this year.
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Happily Two Years After
Our second year of marriage has strengthened our relationship with each other and with God. By now, we know each other’s faults and tendencies fairly well, but we both put effort to always think the best of each other. We’ve been committed to forgive and love as the Lord does for us. Sometimes it’s hard, but our closeness has been worth the effort.
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Godspeed Canon A80
I know you’re not supposed to get attached to material things because, in the end, you can’t take it with you, but there’s one item that has a lot of sentimental value to me that I believe it’s worth preserving its memory on our blog.
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Pregnancy and Pac-Man
Yesterday David took me to my second prenatal appointment. (That’s right! I’m pregnant, and over my first trimester at that!) We got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. I was so happy I cried.