The title kind of makes you think about cute little kittens or fuzzy little dogs, doesn't it? Come on, need I remind you that I blog about China? This ain't no story about fido. . .
Today I had to make a quick run to Carrefour, like most of you might run to your local grocery store, as I needed diapers and a few things for dinner. I know, just reading the name Carrefour can make shudders go through the bodies of my repatriated friends. Carrefour is French-based megastore that has food and a little bit of everything else - sort of like a SuperTarget or Walmart, only not as nice. Don't get me wrong, Carrefour in other international markets like Europe or Singapore/Hong Kong can be quite nice. But TIC, folks, (this is China); nice is a serious stretch.
Normally, I try to avoid Carrefour, but they do have the best price on the brand of diapers that I use, and admittedly, lately they have been improving in their prices and the amount of imports they carry. So, off I went. Things went well - I got most things, didn't find others - the normal shopping experience. Then I went to checkout. I was standing there people watching (a serious sport here in Shanghai) while waiting for my turn at check-out (not too bad, about a ten minute wait). When suddenly in front of me, I spot a rat running by. When I say in front of me, I'm not talking about twenty feet - I'm talk about 1-2 feet! Although calm and collected on the outside, I must admit that I got a little freaked out.
Now, I have to admit; it was a quick look - that little thing flew by pretty quickly. It honestly could have been say. . . a chipmunk? Although certainly not of the cute Chip and Dale variety. All I know is that it was about the size of the rat and was fast. I suppose one might see a rat in the grocery stores at home, although I have to say it never happened in the 30 plus years I was living in the States. Perhaps just seeing it might not have bothered me so much. But, I happened to notice that two manager-type people also saw this rat go by, but instead of showing concern, they pointed and laughed! Makes me think it wasn't such an odd occurrence.
Which got me thinking. If rats are a regular (or even semi-regular) occurrence in this grocery store, what are they feasting on? The store closes at 10:30 pm each night, which I think leaves plenty of time to hop up on those huge vegetable and fruit tables. What about that meat and seafood left out without any packaging (yeah, not so much with the packaging of meat here)? I continue to get more and more freaked out the longer I think about it. Which probably means I need to stop thinking about it. I've got five more months left here, and I doubt I can go that long without shopping at Carrefour. So, I'll try to banish that image from my mind. But, until then, Bob's doing all the shopping.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
I Love Blueberries
Blueberries are by far Morgan's favorite fruit. Yesterday she went a bit overboard (ooops, I mean I went overboard by giving her too many). However, she had a great look when eating some frozen ones. Unfortunately, it led to lots of pooping today. When I came back from errands, Cathy told me she managed to get off her diaper during nap (I took off her jeans before putting her down) and pooped all over the crib. It was almost cleaned up by the time I got home, so you'll be spared pics of that! :-)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
South Beach Update
I am happy to report that after one entire month of being on the new diet, Bob and I are consistently still losing weight. The first two weeks saw us both take off about ten pounds - definitely a needed reinforcement after the difficulty adjusting to the new food choices. One month in and we are both down about 13 pounds - yeah for us!!!! What's mildly discouraging is that we both have so much more weight to lose, me especially, and with us trying to have a new baby, I am looking at a limited amount of time to actually lose weight before a new pregnancy will change things. At least I can attempt to not gain as much weight this time. Those 40 pounds from the first pregnancy didn't exactly melt off. . .
However, both Bob and I are still making good food choices, and honestly, we don't even miss our carbs all that much. Our limited intake of whole wheat bread or rice is really enough right now to satisfy what we want, and the continued weight loss reinforces our choices. I'm happy to have fruit back on the menu, even if it is less than what I used to eat. China really does have nice fruit choices and I sorely missed them the first two weeks. We occasionally make dinner "on the fly" and don't resort to our old habits of (lots of) spaghetti and meatbealls or ordering pizza. Even our few nights out at a restaurant (Valentine's Day, can you really diet that night?) we made pretty good choices and didn't overindulge.
This week saw me back down a size in pants, which makes me increasingly happy to reexpand my wardrobe that began shrinking since last summer. Now our goal is to make exercise more of a priority. For Bob, he does have a good excuse - he works a lot and often late. Me, that's a different story. I don't have lots of excuses (minus the one week after I fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle - ouch!), so I really just need to get motivated and get my butt back in the gym. But, that day is not today - too many errands to run in the short amount of time I've got while the ayi is here. Of course, I could spend less time on the computer. . .
However, both Bob and I are still making good food choices, and honestly, we don't even miss our carbs all that much. Our limited intake of whole wheat bread or rice is really enough right now to satisfy what we want, and the continued weight loss reinforces our choices. I'm happy to have fruit back on the menu, even if it is less than what I used to eat. China really does have nice fruit choices and I sorely missed them the first two weeks. We occasionally make dinner "on the fly" and don't resort to our old habits of (lots of) spaghetti and meatbealls or ordering pizza. Even our few nights out at a restaurant (Valentine's Day, can you really diet that night?) we made pretty good choices and didn't overindulge.
This week saw me back down a size in pants, which makes me increasingly happy to reexpand my wardrobe that began shrinking since last summer. Now our goal is to make exercise more of a priority. For Bob, he does have a good excuse - he works a lot and often late. Me, that's a different story. I don't have lots of excuses (minus the one week after I fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle - ouch!), so I really just need to get motivated and get my butt back in the gym. But, that day is not today - too many errands to run in the short amount of time I've got while the ayi is here. Of course, I could spend less time on the computer. . .
Year of the Ox
Well, the Chinese have ushered in a new lunar year, the year of the ox, in typical loud, obnoxious fashion. After our first New Year experience in Shanghai when we were homebound due to pregnancy, we swore we would never again stay in China during the new year celebrations. Last year we spent a blissful holiday basking in the sun in Thailand with our good friends, the Faulkners. This year, unfortunately, found us once again at home in Shanghai. Due to the late return from our Christmas trip to the States (January 15), we found ourselves not exactly excited to hop back on a plane one week later for the new year. "We can take it," we thought to ourselves. I should have remembered our original promise. . .
To those of you who don't know, the Chinese New Year is perhaps the most important holiday in the calendar - similar to how most Christians regard Christmas back home. It's the ONE time a year where many migrants or city transplants travel back home to see their families. The New Year is not simply one day on the calendar, as one might imagine. It is a long celebration called the Spring Festival, starting on the New Lunar Year and usually ending with the Chinese Lantern Festival approximately fifteen days later. For the Chinese, they laugh, take a much needed break from work, catch up with families, etc. It's actually a wonderful time of the year for the Chinese with many ritual traditions handed down generations. What we westerners in the city most notice, however, are the fireworks.
Coming from the States, I had always equated fireworks with the once yearly display on the 4th of July. Yes, occasionally people set them off on their own, but with the increasing bans in selling fireworks in many states, this happens more and more infrequently. Of course, you have the late night ballpark fireworks, Cedar Point, Disney, etc., but for the most part, you see fireworks one night a year. Not the Chinese. . . Fireworks here are a specialty. Since this is the culture/country that actually did invent fireworks, I must give them their due. However, fireworks are so commonplace here (and when I say fireworks, I usually refer to the loud, obnoxious, supercharged firecracker type and not the pretty "flower in the sky" type) you can pretty much count on hearing them several times a month, if not more. Open a new store - set off some fireworks. . . Get married - set off some fireworks. . . Feeling a little bored - you get the idea. . . . It gets a little annoying. Not to mention the fact that these fireworks are lit right on the sidewalk and street so that if you happen to be passing by at the time, you had better look out. Life doesn't stop for pedestrian (or any type of) traffic here.
The Chinese New Year is an entirely different fireworks experience. Not only does every family (I kid you not) light off fireworks, they all have their own traditional night/time to do it(imagine 18 million people in the city of Shanghai). So, while one might imagine fireworks going off as we usher in the new year, in actuality, the fireworks tend to be nonstop from just before midnight of the lunar new year to late the next morning or afternoon. So much for sleeping. But, even if this were just for one night, I probably wouldn't mind so much - let them have their customs if I can sleep the next night. But no, the fireworks continue every night through the spring festival, which if you remember, lasts 15 days. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep this holiday.
However, today is February 16, and the new year fireworks are quickly becoming a distant memory. Thankfully, I can once again swear never to be in China during this holiday as we are five months away from moving back to the US. So, next year send your fireworks to the sky, China. I'll be back home blissfully at peace.
To those of you who don't know, the Chinese New Year is perhaps the most important holiday in the calendar - similar to how most Christians regard Christmas back home. It's the ONE time a year where many migrants or city transplants travel back home to see their families. The New Year is not simply one day on the calendar, as one might imagine. It is a long celebration called the Spring Festival, starting on the New Lunar Year and usually ending with the Chinese Lantern Festival approximately fifteen days later. For the Chinese, they laugh, take a much needed break from work, catch up with families, etc. It's actually a wonderful time of the year for the Chinese with many ritual traditions handed down generations. What we westerners in the city most notice, however, are the fireworks.
Coming from the States, I had always equated fireworks with the once yearly display on the 4th of July. Yes, occasionally people set them off on their own, but with the increasing bans in selling fireworks in many states, this happens more and more infrequently. Of course, you have the late night ballpark fireworks, Cedar Point, Disney, etc., but for the most part, you see fireworks one night a year. Not the Chinese. . . Fireworks here are a specialty. Since this is the culture/country that actually did invent fireworks, I must give them their due. However, fireworks are so commonplace here (and when I say fireworks, I usually refer to the loud, obnoxious, supercharged firecracker type and not the pretty "flower in the sky" type) you can pretty much count on hearing them several times a month, if not more. Open a new store - set off some fireworks. . . Get married - set off some fireworks. . . Feeling a little bored - you get the idea. . . . It gets a little annoying. Not to mention the fact that these fireworks are lit right on the sidewalk and street so that if you happen to be passing by at the time, you had better look out. Life doesn't stop for pedestrian (or any type of) traffic here.
The Chinese New Year is an entirely different fireworks experience. Not only does every family (I kid you not) light off fireworks, they all have their own traditional night/time to do it(imagine 18 million people in the city of Shanghai). So, while one might imagine fireworks going off as we usher in the new year, in actuality, the fireworks tend to be nonstop from just before midnight of the lunar new year to late the next morning or afternoon. So much for sleeping. But, even if this were just for one night, I probably wouldn't mind so much - let them have their customs if I can sleep the next night. But no, the fireworks continue every night through the spring festival, which if you remember, lasts 15 days. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep this holiday.
However, today is February 16, and the new year fireworks are quickly becoming a distant memory. Thankfully, I can once again swear never to be in China during this holiday as we are five months away from moving back to the US. So, next year send your fireworks to the sky, China. I'll be back home blissfully at peace.
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