Picture-a-thon: Squid Shirt

Here is the promised picture of the squid shirt the butcher's wife gave me.



When I wear it I want to say: "See this tentacle? It's actually shorter than all my other tentacles, but you can't really tell, especially when I twirl them like this."

Trivia: What movie is this quote from and who said it?

Picture-a-thon: Anniversary May 29, 2010

Here is a brief summary of happened in pictures in the last few months.

Alvin and I went to Beijing for our anniversary, and although we were struggling on our anniversary with the news of our impending miscarriage that happened on June 1st, Alvin still wanted to take me out to a nice restaurant.

We went to Maison Boulud, a restaurant of famed chef, Daniel Boulud. The restaurant was super expensive; this is the most expensive restaurant we have ever been to in our life. The food was really good, and the service is the best I have ever seen anywhere. We ordered a shrimp platter for appetizer, and every time I peeled two shrimps, the waitress would change my plate. I felt like it was such a waste, so I tried to eat the shrimp as fast as I could before she changed plates. The most I ate before the change was three. Also, I asked in English what type of cheese was in the quiche, and she said she didn't know. A minute later, she came back and told me it was gruyere. Wow, she actually cared to ask and tell me.














For appetizer, we ordered chilled shrimp and crab salad. They gifted us tuna tartar and quiche, and a raw tuna salad.


We ordered beef short ribs and black cod:



Here are the desserts we ate: We ordered two (creme brulee and blueberry cheesecake), but were gifted three extra desserts (petit fours, madeleines, and chocolate ganache). The chocolate ganache was delicious and it had gold specs on it.



Overall it was a good meal. I remember that Alvin and I had some really good conversations about having hope in life even if things don't always turn out the way we would like it. I'm still glad we were able to be together on our anniversary to celebrate, even amidst our grief.

We are doing a lot better these days. I was extremely tired in the month of June, but I have a lot more energy. I was glad to have some rest during the summer and we are now back in school again.

Maui - Wish You Were Here

In the last few days, we have seen a little bit of rain here and there, which has led to some beautiful views of clouds passing by the mountains to our west. It doesn't rain here as much as I would like it to, so I'm thankful for the days when I can sit by the window with a hot cup of coffee to see overcast skies and light drizzle.

I shot this picture (cropped digitally) from our window, looking northwest, yesterday just before sunset. Sometimes when Bethany and I are biking westward on this road looking to the west at the low mountains and the hovering clouds, we feel a little bit like we're in Maui, looking at Haleakala Crater in the distance.

If I had told you that this picture was shot on an inland part of Maui, you might think it'd be plausible, right? You would never have known that we live in the middle of a desert without any ocean nearby for hundreds of miles.

More Things Kids Here Do - Ride Motorcycles

Not too long ago, we were at a potluck for some of this city's foreigners, hosted at a local restaurant that is down the street from a motorcycle repair shop.

Whether it was just for a joyride or to impress the group of foreigners... from out of the blue rode up this boy that looked like he was probably 5 years old. He was riding one of those mini-motorcycles - gas powered, loud, and moderately fast (at least for their size).

In the past, I've only seen teens or adults ride these things. Motorcycles are motorcycles... and so even the mini ones don't look to be too safe if you're on the roads. But I have never seen a little boy ride one. And this boy... looked like he knew what he was doing. He came by, revved his engine a number of times, did a few circles, and then sped off back towards the motorcycle repair shop.

So... chalk another one up for things we see kids here do which I feel like we rarely see kids in the States do. Play with fire, firecrackers, and fireworks - completely unattended by adults. Carry real-looking machine guns through the streets. And now... ride motorcycles.