Markets, Cabbage and Activities.

Hi there,

I think I need to put in a disclaimer on Chris' entry. HE tends to impress people with his Chinese and my Chinese in nicely tolerated. Speaking Chinese for me is a humbling experience. I'm trying hard to work on it though.

Life is going along as usual around here. I ventured out to the neighborhood market last week and that was an experience. I took Sara and Anna with me and Anna kept asking me what that bad smell was. Honestly, it was pretty overwhelming. The market is an outside market but sort of in this covered pavilion. It's kind of like a farmer's market. There's a lot of fruit and vegetables for sale. I've never seen half the long bumpy or green leafy vegetables before. There was the enticing bloody beef and pig parts being sold. I'm guessing that's where a lot of the smell was coming from. I steered clear of that section. There was also a ton of sea food there. LIVE sea food. One fish jumped right out of it's little bin and landed in front of the stroller. The guy held it up and Sara reached over and grabbed it. Anna wouldn't touch it. There were tons of shrimp and eels and frogs and other unknown squirmy things. We bought shrimp and some vegetables and headed home.

Our housekeeper Wang lin put the shrimp in a bowl in the sink to keep them alive until dinner. ew! I walked by the sink a few hours later and several of the shrimp had gone A-wall. Or I should say over the wall. About ten were lying beside the bowl in the sink. I put them back in the bowl but.........I'm sorry to say, they were already gone. I didn't watch her cook them cause I couldn't watch them die. Maybe next time.

I took Wang lin to the Carrefour in town and she didn't like it much . She said it gave her a head ache. I have to agree. It gives me a head ache too. For those of you who don't know what Carrefour is, it's like Walmart. She's used to going to the outside markets to buy her food. Carrefour is usually really crowded and there are tons of sales people everywhere. As obnoxious as Carrefour is with it's elevator version of "Dancing Queen" being played over and over, it beats the smelly, bloody beef market in my opinion. I buy most of my food at Carrefour but I still go to the market to buy veggies cause they're cheaper there.

I love having Wang lin make dinner every week night but I have to admit, I'm getting tired of Chinese food. To stir things up a bit, I decided to teach Wang lin how to make a casserole. That's totally American right? The casserole I taught her how to make is called Chicken Tetrazini. Wang lin got such a kick out of how I made everything. After cooking the sauce, noodles and chicken, I mixed it all together and put it in a casserole dish to bake. She thought that was culinary blasphemy to cook everything, put it all together, and then cook it again. She just laughed and laughed. Before I put it in the oven I asked her if she wanted to try it and she shook her head like, "no way lady!" But I insisted. If I'm eating everything she cooks every night, she can try the tetrizini. She said she liked it but who knows what she really thought. (she certainly didn't ask for another bite)

On the weekends I try to make American food to help out the Chinese food burn out. This past Sunday I made meat loaf and cabbage. I know, cabbage sounds gross but it was the only vegetable we had in the fridge. Gabe ate one bite of the cabbage and made loud gaging noises to let us know he didn't like it. When I told him he had to eat it anyway, he got a really bad stomach ache and couldn't sit up any longer. He moaned on the couch for a few minutes and then in his most pitiful voice said, "I think it was the cabbage." BRAVO Gabe! I told him he didn't have to eat it and he was miraculously cured. We had cookies left over from the previous night and Emily asked if she could have one. I said that anyone who finished their cabbage could have a cookie. This evoked some quick thinking from Gabe. With the most serious face he could muster he said, "Mom, I think our family eats too many sweets. It's not good for us. Don't you think all of us shouldn't have any cookies?" Chris and I just laughed out loud. Instead of gaging down the cabbage for a cookie, he was going to inspire us all not to eat one. That way he didn't have to eat the cabbage and he wasn't missing out on anything either. You gotta hand it to him. That was a really good try.

Gabe and Emily start their after school activities this week. Gabe is taking a croquet class and Emily is taking an ornament making class. Gabe also has a Kung Fu class on Fridays. I have stuff of my own too. I have a Chinese tutor on Monday mornings and Tuesdays I go into Hong Qiao (30 min away) for Scriptures study with the other ladies in our branch. Wednesdays there's Play group but I haven't been yet.

We send our love to everyone, especially Chris brother Nate and his fiance Danielle who are getting married this week! We miss you dearly and couldn't be happier for you. If you can get through all the stress of the week before the wedding then you've got it made! WE LOVE YOU. That goes for all of you. Thanks for all your comments. It's good to hear from you.