Not only was it a food day, it was also finding out about visa EXTENSIONS!! pretty cool shunks.
Today we tried out a Panini cafe.

We walked into the EMPTY cafe, and were like um ok....either it's empty because the people just like to have take-out from here or they're really not that good.
I have to say the settings weren't too fancy, but it was cute. Italian flag theme and yellow lighting, with one pink carnation in a vase on each table.

But it was cheap, only 20 kuai for a panini and a drink, so we figured 'hey, try out the place, and if it's good, great. If not, then it's not too heavy a loss' :P

A look at the menu and I chose a ham and cheese while Phil tried a beef and cheese.
It took a while to arrive, but when it did, we were pleasantly surprised.
The bread was nicely grilled top and bottom, there was abundance of lettuce, the bread was fresh, and the ham and cheese was tasty.
And I cannot believe I didn't take a picture of the food.
Serious face-palm moment.
Moving on, we amused ourselves with looking at their menu and seeing how many typos we could find.

I have to say, orangeade is pretty cool.
Ice Lemo Tean is cooler.
After that, we headed to my place to pick up my backpack, passport and other papers necessary for visa extension, and headed to Kecun.
We got there (Jiefang Nan Lu) early enough, but the lines were long (or so we thought) and we figured we could kill two birds with one stone and get some home shopping done while waiting our turn.
Off we went to Yide lu. Picked up 10 cans of tuna for the home, and I got a bag of almonds (YAY!) and Phil bought me a box of Jasmine tea. So sweet! I am now seriously addicted to tea.
On the way back to Jiefang, we spotted a KFC and decided to have a yumyum. They're having a special promotion for their soft cream ice-creams, and twisted cruller and egg tarts. We got egg tarts and twisted crullers.
When we got back, we missed our number call by 3 people....3 PEOPLE!! Arg. Our new number put us behind 30 strong. Sigh.
At least we had our KFC snack to keep us pacified.
We got the necessary information for when my visa expires, which is such happiness. That means that next month I won't have to make a trip out to Hong Kong, but that means no sending my 'Christmas box'. Sorry my family, you'll have to wait a bit more.......
Home to have an English class, and a cup of hot Jasmine tea,

Last night we watched The Mist, because I was already halfway through with the Novella. It was sort of similar to Buried, only in the ending. This one however didn't hit me half as hard, if anything, I almost expected the ending. What I did enjoy was the fact that no matter how they butchered the novella of Stephan King, his sort of weird is always fascinating.
Maybe it's just because I'm a huge fan of book is better over movie. 
Ah well.
Super random note is how the soldier guy who gets mobbed reminds me of one of the Ito family....Lol

it was a total piss off. i've never had a movie annoy,frustrate, and enrage me all in one.
goddamit!
Buried.
i hate the injustice of it. bleh.

current status is annoyed enough to strangle Phil. and i did.
i realized though, i brush my teeth after watching a movie that annoys me.
GODDAMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
don't watch the movie.

Today is the beginning of another school period, until Chinese New Years where we will have maybe 2 whole weeks without school!
Anyhow that's off the topic. Today while I was giving Broderick Math, and prepping Ryan for an upcoming spelling test, Broderick looks out the window and declares loudly "THE CAT IS BACK AGAIN!"
Apparently there was a cat he was keeping an eye out for in order to feed her.
He nearly leaped out of his seat, and after a reminder to ask to be excused, and doing so, he shot off to Mommy's room.

She gave the green light that after he finished his school he can go out and feed the cat, and he was off with Bella's dog food (love how earnest he gets sometimes).
He finished school lightning fast, and was bundled up as soon as you could count to 60.
A few minutes later, out of the corner of my eye I saw a bundled Broderick zipping by so quick after a patch of orange.
Soon after that he was hollering excitedly that "I CAUGHT THE CAT!"

There was so much triumph in the way he held the cat, and the cat looked placidly content in his arms.
She was named Curry, and allowed to sniff out the house and make her way around. Broderick ran to Michelle to ask if they could keep Curry (he kept getting mixed up calling her Milo and Curry). Michelle said the classic 'if your dad says yes we can' so he was off again. Big Phil said we could keep her for a while.
There was much rejoicing.

Once school was done, lunch was eaten and their chores done. It was some intense playing with Curry time.
Broderick had the idea of introducing Curry to Bella, and Bella got a punch on the nose.

And that was the excitingness that was getting Curry.

Recently it's been pretty active on the exercise front. Have played basketball again, and managed to shoot a few hoops, played badminton and received praise from my Phil (which is pretty good, because he's actually really good) and today I did...dundun! 60 push-ups in sets of 10. Yea pretty proud of myself there.
Then I did some hoola hoop, while listening to music, and even though it's not anything really intense exercise wise, it was enough to keep me warm in my jogging jacket and T-shirt underneath.
Yay. Happy Nina.

It's amazing how fast time flies. I can still remember celebrating 2010, and now it's already the 2011.
But my god how much the last year gave me!
I should make a list of all the things I've either 1.Accomplished 2.Was given 3.Experience and 4. Learned
It was a very truly rich year.

How I celebrated this new year was not quite so different from last years. I stayed home, I drank champagne, and enjoyed my family.
Only this year it was with my new family.
Phil and I arrived home from Shiqiao with my new GREEN SHOES! (Converse) and socks (desperately needed, I was matching a Stitch sock and a random grey one togetner :S).
The plan really was to go to another home and party the night away, but both Phil and I didn't really feel like it, plus coming back home from said house, even though it wasn't far by taxi, by the time we would be ready for home there would be NO and I repeat absolutely no means of transportation except foot.
So we watched...dundun! StarWars Episode 1. Where Quigon Gin and Obiwan show up.
We watched till 11:45, and then Phil's dad comes up and says we're going to do the countdown by the TV and open up a bottle of sparklies(aka.champagne) so that's what we did.
After me freaking out with "HAPPY NEW YEARS!!" and Phil shushing me, it got a bit cold being downstairs on the marble floor.
SO!
What I did was, there was the cork from the champagne, so I grabbed it, put it over the flame and drew myself a moustache.

So I'm there cracking up with my cork beard while everyone gives me the 'ok nina, that's nice', but still interested enough to see what I'll do next,so then I move to Ting Ting,and get her to laugh at me. Then surprisingly enough, Sam says 'Hey Nina, give me a Hitler 'stache' So that's what I did. Then I got Phil to join me.

And then Lou Lou (younger sister)

Then Phil's Dad got in on it as well, which was pretty cool. Louie gave him eyebrows then I added a pitchfork goatee. But no photos of him, because he won't allow such things.
Anyhow, once that died down, Phil and I went back to watching Star Wars till 3, and I thought oh man I need to get back home. So I walked back home, and that was my New Years. How was everyone else's?

Today, Phil and I went to the zoo.
To see pandas and giraffes.
The best part of it was, was that it was all for free!
That's right, we got 3 tickets to any Chimelong attraction, you could chose between Amusement park, Safari Zoo, Water Park, or the Circus.
For me it was either the circus or the Safari Zoo, since they had tons of pandas.
And so we went to the zoo.
Woke up nice and late, had a brunchy lunch of corn soup and cereal for breakfast (plus gingerbread) then headed out the door into the lovely sunshine for the Hanxi station. Phil's younger brother, Sam, came along with us to use the other ticket, as they would expire this year.

Pictures will have to come later since I'm blogging from Phil's computer, but I shall say it was so much fun! First we saw flamingos but our main aim of the day was giraffes and pandas.
Pandas and Ressa Pandas came first, hurrah!
Then Phil's giraffes, which are always cool with their slanted backs and long black tongues.
Then we went to see the monkeys, where Sam had moments with the monkeys and we tossed gingerbread to the Rhesus baby monkeys. The older ones were such greedy ones, and would swipe the gingerbread right out of the air and then gobble it down while the baby monkeys looked on with sad eyes. Poor things. We tossed a some more until a few of the baby monkeys had some gingerbread to eat.
I felt like a kid again, oohing and cooing at the animals at the zoo, but it was great.

On the exercise front, yesterday I did 30 push-ups, in sets of ten, so I don't know if it counts as saying 30 or just 10 3 times. Ah well.
I got myself a nice hula hoop for Christmas, and it's been quite fun hooping, since it's been such a long time since I last hooped.
Pictures will come later, and now I'll have an English class in a few mins so I'll leave you here.
So close to new years you guys! What are your resolutions?

So sorry everyone.
Christmas has left me for a loop.
There was food, there was wine, and there was lots of fun stuff going on.
I have to keep this really short because I'm using Phil's computer and he needs to do work related stuff.

On the exercise front, I managed to do 15 push-ups, and just today I played a whole game of Basket-ball!
Lol.
I doubt I'll get in any 'EXERCISE exercise' like the good old days of Tae-bo and Scary Lady, but oh well. I'll live.

Now off to take apart the gingerbread house.

As I type I'm sipping a chamomile and honey tea while the curtains the boys helped me pull down are in the wash.
Merry Christmas Eve you guys!
A recap of yesterday for you, and a few other things, and then I'm off to help with Christmas Eve cooking.

Yesterday's Visa trip went smoothly, minus the fact that the limo bus that goes to and from HK was BOOKED OUT, so I took the train back to Guangzhou after securing my new visa.
Last note about visa's. Phil found a place here in Guangzhou that will extend your visa for you, no trips out of china, and SOO MUCH cheaper. God is good.

On the exercise front, hahaha, I got in a 45 min yoga exercise "Bryan Kest Power Yoga" and now my shoulders are all kinds of sore! I was surprised and really disappointed at how weak I had gotten. In the very beginning of the exercise, they ask you to hold Chataranga pose for maybe just 1 min....probably less, and I was seriously DYING. And all i could think of was "Meg, that push up idea is so on!" After a few downward dogs, and then it was ok, it was just the first part that I had to push myself.
Right after the yoga, i had a nice nap on my mat while Phil thought of a lovely surprise. Outside barbecue for dinner! So after pulling myself off my mat (amazing how comfortable it gets on a sheet of rubber :P) and putting on my jacket, we headed out for the regular outside barbecue places.
I had oyster for the first time in my life, and it was soo yummy! I had no idea.
Then after getting the stuff I needed for my trip to HK, Phil and I watched Ip Man. A movie/biography of Jet Lee's teacher. It was pretty cool.
Catch you guys later, and I will tell you so then I will have to.
I'm going to look into how to put in pictures on here without having to break a paragraph for every photo. It's just a bit of CSS so it won't be too difficult.
Alright that's it.  Have a good Cmas Eve, and I hope it's as yummy as ours.

Yes I did! And it was lovely. I skipped 1000 times in 6:35 ......without the rope LOL!
My god, my arms have gotten so weak that by 300 they're reeally tired. Man what happened to those good old Tae-bo days when I would use my resistance bands WITH the weights inside. Sigh. Much has changed since then.
On to a happier thought though, I have now proved to myself that it is indeed capable, now I've just got to get the body moving....
Another resolution I've decided on, I'm going to start doing yoga everyday, come hell or high waters. I won't be doing hours long sessions, far far from, but more along the 20-30 mins area, but hey, every bit counts. :D
On to a more yummy topic, I made cornbread!
I don't know about you, or if you've ever read 'Little House On the Prairie" but I've always wanted to taste it, it sounds so good when it's being described. I had the opportunity, when Michelle told me that we had cornmeal and wanted me to use it (YES!)
So cornbread was made.
and it was yum.
The end.
OH YEA! WISH ME LUCK FOR MY VISA TRIP! (this thurs)

  Sorry for such a hasty post yesterday. I wanted to stay true to my resolution, but I’m wondering, if it’s going to sacrifice quality for just for the sake of posting…I don’t know. Ah well, enforcing good habits is a balancey thing.

So what really happened yesterday was this.

Ryan and I had a day all to ourselves because Broderick had a modeling job, and the parents were both out working.

First thing we did? Well, we did half of our school work, and then had some craft time. Ryan got to making a Christmas card (to himself) while I did some coloring (lol, it was fun). Once we both had enough of that, it was on to making some bread.

I had already made bread with Broderick, and it turned out great, so of course, Ryan wanted to have bread that he baked as well, so we got started right away.

For those of you wondering, here’s the recipe, it’s super simple-as stated- and egg free!
Simple Bread Recipe
Pictures down below

After that was Children’s Smile, and it was once again brought home to me just how very communist it still is in China.

I was talking with one of the fathers who help out with our weekly thing, and he was remarking how amazing it must be to be in a family of 11 children. I said well yes it is, once you get past the familiarity it is quite amazing.

Then he told me how he would love to have more then one child, (his son is only 3 months old now), and how strict the punishment is if you have more then one.

I have to admit it was pretty shocking how China still holds to its one child policy, and the safeguards they put in place to ensure that no one tries to skirt the rules.

After talking about that, we moved on to schooling, and home schooling, the benefits of living with a lot of people/ having many brothers and sisters, and we ended with agreeing to learn one word a day, in Chinese for me, and for him, in English.

I’ll keep you updated on how that goes. For Sunday, my word of the day was ‘Elbow’ Zhou. His word was elbow as well, haha. He also taught me shoulder ‘xiou ma’ and knee ‘xi gai’