Little things I miss....

I began writing a list of things that I never really appreciated until I moved to China and thought I would share them so that y'all can make sure that you think of us when you use or buy one of these things!

• Butter that is individually wrapped in sticks and that has the tablespoon markings on the wrapper
• Boxed broth (occasionally you can find a can of chicken broth but usually you have to buy the base and add the water to make it) I know it doesn't take that long and I'm sure lots of people make their own but I'm a fan of the box!
• Bottled salad dressings...I know they aren't good for us but they are nice to have on hand.  I paid $15 for a bottle of Newman's Own Ranch dressing and I'm confident I probably won't see it again!
• Frozen vegetables....Fresh vegetables are plentiful here and I'm thankful for that but it sure is nice to have a few bags in the freezer when you couldn't get to the store that day!
• Graham crackers....they don't exist here, period!
• A variety of crackers.  You can get Ritz crackers and Goldfish.  Forget about Triscuits or saltines!
• Ground coffee.  We are not coffee connoisseurs...All these people say that freshly ground beans taste better but I can't tell.  What I can tell is that that I have coffee grinder that can grind about 10 beans at a time and it makes a royal mess!
• Flavored coffee creamers.  Again, I know it isn't good for me but they taste really good in my coffee! 
• The Pillsbury Dough Boy....oh how I miss that pudgy little boy and all his refrigerated product goodness!
• The deli counter in the grocery store.  We can get sliced ham here and that's all folks!  No turkey, bologna, chicken, roast beef, or any other wonderful varieties that we used to love.
• To be continued....

By the way, I'm sure that when we move back to the US, I will be thankful that I was forced to give up all the packaged preservative filled junk that I mentioned above.  Just keep reminding me of that :)

Kuala Lumpur

We have settled back into our school, work, and home routine after our Chinese New Year Break.  We were in China for the week before the official start of the celebration, left for Kuala Lumpur, and then returned for the fifth day.  We picked the wrong day to come back!  Firecrackers and fireworks began around 5pm that night and continued through 7am the next morning.  We learned later that they believe that the firecrackers will draw the attention to them and bless them with good fortune for the next year.  These people should be rolling in money with the amount of noise we heard!  I was interested in taking kids to the lantern festivals that are held on the 15th day but it had rained all day!  Hopefully, next year we will be able to see some of the traditional decorations and events. 

 

We had a great vacation in Kuala Lumpur!  We didn't know how much of a western style city this was.  We frequented Chili's and Dunkin Donuts because that made us feel like we here home. 

 

We took the kids on the cave tour that I mentioned in a previous post.  They made it up all those stairs with no problem.  The area was really neat to see but I have to admit that all those monkeys jumping around made me nervous.  They would get very close to you and were literally everywhere. 

 

 

 

Glad we can say that we went but I'm not sure we would go there again.  On that same tour, we stopped at the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory.  It was so interesting to see the factory at work.  Besides that, we ate breakfast on the 37th floor of hotel that is across from the Petronas Towers.  This gave us a wonderful view of the city. 

 

It was about 90 degrees each day so the kids were able to swim each day and we were also able to shop!  Jared was able to buy a pair of shoes there which he can't do in China!  I spent a ridiculous amount of money at Bath and Body Works.  Normally, I don't shop there all that often; however, it is hard to find foaming hand soap, hand sanitizer, and those plug-in style air fresheners in China.  Everything was about double what I would have paid in the US so now I know to stock up over the summer!

 

The weather is starting to warm up slightly which is wonderful.  If it could just stay above 50 degrees for an entire week, I would be ecstatic!  I know the kids want to be able to get outside more and I think it would improve everyone's mood to know spring is on the way.  We are going through a little slump now.  Everyone is really missing our stuff.  Sea shipment should be here in less than 2 weeks.  Hallelujah! I think it has also finally hit Landry that we aren't going home and that he has to continue going to school all day.  He really liked having his afternoons free with me.  I'm hopeful that with warmer weather and all of our stuff that we can make our house a home settle in more. 

 

We only have about a month until Spring Break.  We are headed to Phuket, Thailand for a beach getaway.  I know we will have a great time there! Doesn't it look amazing?

 

photos courtesy of Bing Images

 

I think we can handle a week of vacation there :)