This past week was a little bit slower on the work front, which was great.
My sister and I were both away from home for my dad's birthday, which was this past Friday, but we are looking forward to celebrating together over the holidays. Christmas will be very special this year for a number of reasons, but it will also be my parent's 40th wedding anniversary.
My sister and I decided to get my dad golf lessons for his birthday. He has his first lesson set up for next week and we're hopeful that this can be a new fun (or maybe just very frustrating?) hobby to keep him occupied in his retirement. Speaking of retirement, I was chatting with my mom one of these past mornings and I got completely turned around after a while trying to keep track of the countries they're planning to visit next year. So far it's Mexico in February, Iceland in March, Greece and the Mediterranean isles cruise in May.. and then something about Norway and Oslo, Ireland and Scotland, and the French Riviera after that?! Phew!
Nothing else too crazy or interesting to report - I channeled most of my energy into running errands, getting stuff for and packing up my hospital bag, ordering items off of Taobao... oh and getting sick. Bah! I've been fighting a stuffy nose, a bit of a dry cough, and a generally stuffed up head/sinus passages all week.
I can't seem to get to sleep easily anymore, and I wake up pretty early every morning. My sleep during the night is still relatively uninterrupted, though I've been informed that that is about to change very soon as I progress later into my third trimester.
Our new helper has started with us and suddenly life has become incredibly convenient and wonderful. She has been engaged in a top to bottom complete scrubbing, washing, dusting and mopping of our apartment. She is also making our meals, packing my lunch for work, and helping with our laundry. She's been pretty great so far - has a good comprehension of English, is very energetic and motivated, and can joke around with us. With two children of her own, I'm hoping her expertise will come in handy once the baby arrives. She told me that a little baby is the "perfect therapy", because no matter how hectic life is, they're just so perfect and sweet and will put you in an amazing mood. Hah! I told her I was pretty skeptical, but ok, I'd have to trust her on that one.
I made her a recipe book (hole punched and with labels and dividers, because I can't resist) and so far she has made us eggs and toast in the morning, bacon, ham cheddar cheese and tomato sandwiches, guacamole, and, for dinners - steak with spinach and mashed potatoes, and chicken and dumplings. She makes pretty simple Chinese food (stir-fry minced pork with chives, stir-fry cauliflower with pork, sauteed bok choy) and soups (pork bone broth with tomatoes, onions and potatoes, or noodles in pork bone broth with ginger and winter melon) , but that's pretty much what I like.
To cap off the week, on Friday night, we hung out with some friends and enjoyed some amazing, home cooked (but still fancy) cuisine followed by dessert (I bought a fruit salad and little cakes from the Mandarin, which were all very tasty), paired with water (for me) and whiskey (for Michael). It was a perfect end to the week.
My sister and I were both away from home for my dad's birthday, which was this past Friday, but we are looking forward to celebrating together over the holidays. Christmas will be very special this year for a number of reasons, but it will also be my parent's 40th wedding anniversary.
My sister and I decided to get my dad golf lessons for his birthday. He has his first lesson set up for next week and we're hopeful that this can be a new fun (or maybe just very frustrating?) hobby to keep him occupied in his retirement. Speaking of retirement, I was chatting with my mom one of these past mornings and I got completely turned around after a while trying to keep track of the countries they're planning to visit next year. So far it's Mexico in February, Iceland in March, Greece and the Mediterranean isles cruise in May.. and then something about Norway and Oslo, Ireland and Scotland, and the French Riviera after that?! Phew!
Nothing else too crazy or interesting to report - I channeled most of my energy into running errands, getting stuff for and packing up my hospital bag, ordering items off of Taobao... oh and getting sick. Bah! I've been fighting a stuffy nose, a bit of a dry cough, and a generally stuffed up head/sinus passages all week.
I can't seem to get to sleep easily anymore, and I wake up pretty early every morning. My sleep during the night is still relatively uninterrupted, though I've been informed that that is about to change very soon as I progress later into my third trimester.
Our new helper has started with us and suddenly life has become incredibly convenient and wonderful. She has been engaged in a top to bottom complete scrubbing, washing, dusting and mopping of our apartment. She is also making our meals, packing my lunch for work, and helping with our laundry. She's been pretty great so far - has a good comprehension of English, is very energetic and motivated, and can joke around with us. With two children of her own, I'm hoping her expertise will come in handy once the baby arrives. She told me that a little baby is the "perfect therapy", because no matter how hectic life is, they're just so perfect and sweet and will put you in an amazing mood. Hah! I told her I was pretty skeptical, but ok, I'd have to trust her on that one.
I made her a recipe book (hole punched and with labels and dividers, because I can't resist) and so far she has made us eggs and toast in the morning, bacon, ham cheddar cheese and tomato sandwiches, guacamole, and, for dinners - steak with spinach and mashed potatoes, and chicken and dumplings. She makes pretty simple Chinese food (stir-fry minced pork with chives, stir-fry cauliflower with pork, sauteed bok choy) and soups (pork bone broth with tomatoes, onions and potatoes, or noodles in pork bone broth with ginger and winter melon) , but that's pretty much what I like.
To cap off the week, on Friday night, we hung out with some friends and enjoyed some amazing, home cooked (but still fancy) cuisine followed by dessert (I bought a fruit salad and little cakes from the Mandarin, which were all very tasty), paired with water (for me) and whiskey (for Michael). It was a perfect end to the week.
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