Thursday, June 3, 2010

Things Are Busy
















1. It's the Last Week (as in tomorrow is the Last Day) of school. My husband is a teacher so this is a big deal. And it's busy. End of the Year Dinner, End of the Year this and that and everything you can imagine. But it's over soon.

2. Everyone is taking turns getting sick. It's been a week and a half, and slowly, day by day, we rotate who is hugging porcelain and shivering all cramped up in bed. Pathetic and sad and a bit time consuming.

3. Everyone is leaving. We live in an international community so every summer people head out to return to their various home countries for a few weeks or even months. This is our summer to stay in China, so it seems like everyone else is abandoning us, but they aren't really. With lots of people traveling, and lots of people moving apartments right now, it feels incredibly busy-- lots of meals to prepare and people to look out for.

4. Did I mention we've been sick? I have the last one to go down moaning on the couch right now, after a long evening of not keeping anything down. We're out of fresh blankets, and pillows.

5. I am taking a class. I am taking a class!! My sweet and attentive husband gave me my first prime lens for our anniversary. That equals, my first upgrade! I also just happened to get into a much-coveted workshop for beginners on one of my favorite photo sites, clickinmoms. It's a four week course and I just finished my first assignment. So much fun. My kids are already asking me to stop taking so many pictures:)

The end of school this summer also means the beginning of a long season of separation for Josh and I. He is doing his Master's and has to travel to Beijing for 3.5 weeks to take summer courses. It's not feasible for the rest of us to join him that whole time, so he is leaving on Monday (our anniversary) and returning at the end of June (on our son's birthday). I told him he is single-handedly sabotaging all our family holidays this summer but that I am fully supportive:) And then he popped out this wonderful camera surprise and I was so thankful for this sweet way to keep me motivated and busy while he is away. Of course, the lens doesn't babysit so it doesn't solve EVERYthing...
















As part of my class, there are different locations I have to take shots in and get appropriate exposure, etc. at different settings. I took Scout and Curls to this little park tucked away in a corner of an apartment complex up the hill today and was struck by how much character there is in it! Quite honestly, this class may just help me to see some of the beauty of my surroundings... I was already appreciating the city so much more in the span of just a few hours.
















So next week will be even busier, sans the husband-man. We have some "summer camp" plans in the works... as in, me being the director and the campers being my kids. Not sure how much of that I will pull off. It may just mean baking cookies and going for walks.

I had a friend ask for healthy lunch ideas... which made me laugh. Peanut butter and jelly anyone? I did try to carry carrots and cucumber sticks instead of crackers the other day. And I made my kids eat kiwi in the morning, which they actually found that they liked. But I am not good with lunches. Anyone else have healthy, China-friendly lunch ideas? So far my goals for the next couple weeks include kids camp, photography class, preparing healthy lunches, and keeping my sanity intact.


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