Overdue Blog!

(Have you seen this boy?)

Well, apologies are due -- it has been awhile, but I do have an excellent excuse --

well, I actually really don't but I had to start this long over-due blog somehow!

It's been almost one week. We've had lovely dinners out with friends -- a great Saturday shopping trip, worship on Sunday and today is President's Day, which I guess is an American Holiday ... I'm not sure what exactly they celebrate, but Jay got to stay home from work today, so it was nice to spend time together.

Last Thursday we went for sushi (again) with our friend Werner, he's so great -- and watched this completely bizarre movie called 'the secret'...
[Sidebar] I guess it was just on Oprah too, so you know it's full of it ... basically a really good 'half truth' or quarter-truth ... just to show how dark our world is becoming, the New Age movement comes in many pretty packages. Just my opinion. [end sidebar]
Werner is a really cool guy, and we've been hangin' out with him alot, I baked him some cookies.

Friday night we practiced for Sunday (worship team) at this new Chinese church, GORGEOUS building, I couldn't believe it, looked like a museum or something...but I have to say (for those who are keeping tabs) that worship practice went better than I ever remember,

I wanted to take more photos, but we were so busy, Jay just snapped this one, Evan is the worship leader, such a cool guy. He's from L.A., used to really live hard but went to re-hab, became Christian and totally turned his life around, I really love his heart for music and worship.

Saturday was a 'sad' day to begin. You may remember our good friend Mr. Palmie Palmerton, my Birthday palm tree from Jay, he started dying and the good folks at the neighborhood Home Depot agreed to take him back -- it was hard to say goodbye to my little palm, but I don't think he liked it here anyways, and instead we got a vacuum! (YAY! -- you have NO idea how gross our floor was) and a cool little tropical fauna, which I haven't named yet, at the risk of getting too attached to something that will die on me again (it's almost as bad as owning goldfish)

We shopped around and went to the beach, DOG beach that is, a place where dogs and their people can run free, unbound by the rules of society or city parks. Jay and I laughed inside to think of what our parents dogs would do running free on a large sandy beach filled with other dogs, sand and ocean ... oh my ...

and Sunday, well Sunday was church (worship went well) and we went for dinner with our friends the Hayes' (the family who graciously let us stay with them when we first came here) it was a wonderful time, I am so blessed to know people who have such great hearts for God, and who can share their wisdom with us.

BUT! (and this is now, totally un-related to the Hayes) on the way home from church, our car was making this weird 'thumpy' sound (which greatly distressed Jay) so I had to take over driving it into our little stall while Jay investigated the rear of the 'mobile' for noises, and somewhere along the way the water bottle that I had in my purse (that all good vocalists should carry) spilled, all upon and within the purse and it's contents, including my camera, which needless to say when we got in didn't work anymore!!! So I spent the night fretting and wondering what I was going to do and mourning my beautiful old piece of digital out-dated technology, sad about all the photos that I had lost, and secretly rejoicing alittle inside because that means I can purchase a NEW camera!

However, when we woke this morning, Jay said we should try 'airing it out' and letting it dry out in the car (one of the only places that you can dry things in this city) and behold, the darn thing came back to life! Which I'm actually really happy about, because I don't have to spend $1000 on a new and improved machine, and you guys all get to see our photos from the last week -- so enjoy!

till next blog =) A.