I realize this is a little late, but had to fill everyone in on what a fantastic birthday I had. My birthday festivities actually kicked off 10 days before my actual birthday when Andre and my girlfriend Zar threw a surprise party for me. Let me preface this story by saying, I make it next to impossible for people to surprise me. Especially Andre...I pick up on EVERYTHING!! Plus, I ask incessent questions and want to know everything!! That being said, Andre is a terrible secret keeper. So that, combined with my being so nosy...well, you get the picture. Anyway, for several weeks the boys had been talking about having a guy's night out. So we said fine, we will have a girl's night out! With this alibi in place, Andre was able to keep secrets becuase anytime he was acting sneaky and I asked him questions, he would say..."It's official guy's business, I can't tell you!" And I would drop it without much bother, because I knew this was legit. So that Friday night I went over to Zar's and we had a few drinks and were just hanging out with a bunch of girl's. People were complaining about being hungry, and then they "spotted" this restaurant near the apartment pool and said we should go check it out. I didn't think much of it as we walked over there. As I rounded the corner to the pool, I saw a big group of people including the BOYS! My first thought was, uggghhhh...why are we crashing the guy's party??!?!! Then, I saw the huge banner that said Happy Birthday Kelly and everyone yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" We proceeded to eat and drink and have a huge pool party which was an absolute BLAST! I was totally surprised! Andre later told me that Zar had told him that if he ruined the secret she would slit his throat...it must have worked! ;)
My actual birthday weekend, we went to Hong Kong. Several of our friends from Dongguan joined us there. We went out for Mexican food on Friday night. On Saturday we hung out, then went for a Harbour Cruise at night. It was really beautiful because the skyline was all lit up, and they even did a light show to music! It was pretty impressive. After that, we went out in LKF (which is a really popular bar district and there are always a TON of foreigners). The next day we went to the champagne brunch at the Intercontinental Hotel. It was a fantastic weekend, and fun was had by all!!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
What a month!!
July has come and gone leaving us hot & SWEATY!!! At the beginning of the month, I thought...it can't possibly get any hotter than it is now. Boy, was I wrong. This is the hottest, most humid weather I have ever experienced. Right now, it is 3 in the afternoon and the temperature on our sun soaked porch is reading 126.3 degrees. Last night as I was talking to my family, (who were complaining about wearing long-sleeves) the temperature was reading 101.7 degrees...at 11:30 at NIGHT!! We can't seem to get a break, and I have a feeling August has more hot weather and sweat soaked clothing in store for us!!
Ralphie still continues to adjust to his life in China. He is not a fan of the heat. We take him outside where he immediately does his business and then pulls us back to the apartment. He collapses on the floor panting, and occasionally takes dips in his water bowl when he knows we aren't watching! ;) He has made some friends here and enjoys playing with them. He still continues to be shy when we have guests over, but is warming up to some of our friends who come over frequently. He actually makes me feel like a bad Mom when he cowers away from people trying to give him treats, but then bounces around the apartment like a crazy dog when only Andre & I are here. Hopefully he will get used to everyone soon. After a month and a half, though, he still isn't used to our maid. The good thing is that he usually doesn't bark when she comes in anymore, but he still runs away from her if she gets too close for too long, or she talks to him a lot. He appears to still be freaked by the Chinese language. I am sure after a year or two of living here, he won't even understand our English anymore!! :)
I was supposed to start work on the 6th of July, which fell through at the last minute. The government mandated that all summer schools & programs close for the summer due to H1N1. Because of this, I won't start until August 17th (MY BIRTHDAY!!). This will be orientation, as the students don't start until the end of the month. I am really anxious to start, and I know I will have many fun stories and pictures to post then!!
Andre has been busy visiting factories and travels around 2 times per month. He enjoys staying busy & does not like times that are slow.
I have a week off at the end of September/beginning of October and we have just booked tickets to Malaysia. We will be staying 2 days in the city of Kuala Lumpur and then traveling to Langkawi Island to relax at the beach and spend some time snorkeling and doing some diving. We are REALLY looking forward to this vacation, and have heard some really wonderful things about Malaysia.
I will be sure to update again after my birthday. I know I will have lots to share as I start my job and we spend my last free weekend in HK with friends to celebrate the big 2-7! :)
Ralphie still continues to adjust to his life in China. He is not a fan of the heat. We take him outside where he immediately does his business and then pulls us back to the apartment. He collapses on the floor panting, and occasionally takes dips in his water bowl when he knows we aren't watching! ;) He has made some friends here and enjoys playing with them. He still continues to be shy when we have guests over, but is warming up to some of our friends who come over frequently. He actually makes me feel like a bad Mom when he cowers away from people trying to give him treats, but then bounces around the apartment like a crazy dog when only Andre & I are here. Hopefully he will get used to everyone soon. After a month and a half, though, he still isn't used to our maid. The good thing is that he usually doesn't bark when she comes in anymore, but he still runs away from her if she gets too close for too long, or she talks to him a lot. He appears to still be freaked by the Chinese language. I am sure after a year or two of living here, he won't even understand our English anymore!! :)
I was supposed to start work on the 6th of July, which fell through at the last minute. The government mandated that all summer schools & programs close for the summer due to H1N1. Because of this, I won't start until August 17th (MY BIRTHDAY!!). This will be orientation, as the students don't start until the end of the month. I am really anxious to start, and I know I will have many fun stories and pictures to post then!!
Andre has been busy visiting factories and travels around 2 times per month. He enjoys staying busy & does not like times that are slow.
I have a week off at the end of September/beginning of October and we have just booked tickets to Malaysia. We will be staying 2 days in the city of Kuala Lumpur and then traveling to Langkawi Island to relax at the beach and spend some time snorkeling and doing some diving. We are REALLY looking forward to this vacation, and have heard some really wonderful things about Malaysia.
I will be sure to update again after my birthday. I know I will have lots to share as I start my job and we spend my last free weekend in HK with friends to celebrate the big 2-7! :)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Our Photo Page
I have created a page on Shutterfly that I will be using from now on to upload photos. If I have your e-mail address, you should have received an e-mail with the information. The address is http://andreandkelly.shutterfly.com. Continue to check back to this blog, as I will still be updating it.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Ralphie's in China!!
For those that don't know...we finally decided that we couldn't live without Ralphie any longer!! He has been staying with Andre's parents since we left in October and we have been going back and forth on whether or not to bring him since we left. However, we finally decided that we wanted to bring him back with us, and I am so HAPPY with our decision. He has been adjusting wonderfully! He was definitely sick of his cage and ready for some love (AND FOOD) when he arrived in Hong Kong, but since we arrived in Dongguan (after he got over his doggy jet-lag) he has been happy and well adjusted. He has some friends (Potter & Penny, dogs of our friends' here) and we have been walking them all daily. He is still not quite sure about our maid, but I am convinced it is because he doesn't understand Chinese! :)
I took some pictures of him in this new place, but unfortunately it is not allowing me to post them. Hopefully this block on blogspot will be lifted soon, and I can post some really cute photos of our guy. Until then, Ralphie says "Ni hao" to all his friends back home!
I took some pictures of him in this new place, but unfortunately it is not allowing me to post them. Hopefully this block on blogspot will be lifted soon, and I can post some really cute photos of our guy. Until then, Ralphie says "Ni hao" to all his friends back home!
Wow!!
Sorry for the HUGE gap in my posts. For those that don't know, I was back in the US from May 12th - June 16th and SUPER busy with seeing and doing everything I could while I was there. Being able to spend that much time with family and friends was a huge blessing, but I am happy to be back home for awhile.
This website, blogspot, is now being blocked here in China. I have finally discovered a way around that, which is allowing me to post this now. Hopefully this continues to be a way for me to share info with you all!!
I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying summer! :)
This website, blogspot, is now being blocked here in China. I have finally discovered a way around that, which is allowing me to post this now. Hopefully this continues to be a way for me to share info with you all!!
I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying summer! :)
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Happy Birthday Andre!!! Part 2
In an effort to do something special for Andre's birthday, we went in to Hong Kong for a long weekend. Andre had Friday off for the Chinese Labour Day, so we left on Friday after lunch. Our friend Idah was kind enough to let us crash at her place, which was nice because Hong Kong hotels are small and EXPENSIVE!!! On Friday night, we went to Wan Chai for Mexican food and margaritas with a group of friends. Then we ended up at this bar where we danced to some really old school songs. After that, we went to Lan Kwai Fung where we had one drink and then called it a night.
Saturday, we took a ferry to Lantau Island with our friend Zar and a guy she works with. Lantau Island is where the HK airport is located. Once we arrived we took a bus to a fishing village called Tai O. All of the houses were located over the water on stilts. These people make their living by selling whatever they catch to tourists. If I had seen pictures of this place first, I never would have believed that it was located in Hong Kong.
After we spent some time in Tai O, we headed out to see the giant Buddha statue. This statue is the world's tallest outdoor seated bronze Buddha.
From the giant Buddha statue we took a 25 minute cable car over the mountain to the other side of the island where we did some shopping, and then took the subway back to Idah's place.
I have to admit, I was kind of scared...we were REALLY high up!! :)
But, it was SO beautiful!!
All the Chinese people in our car were asking to take pictures with us, and doing their best to speak the little English they could!
That's the HK airport on the left of the photo.
That night, we went out with Idah for a nice dinner at a steakhouse called Wooloo Mooloo. It was a pretty good dinner, and we had the waiters sing "Happy Birthday" to him.
Us, with Idah.
Finally, on Sunday, we went to a champagne brunch at the Intercontinental Hotel. The brunch was so lavish with tons of fresh seafood, foie gras, meat, cheese, and the BEST dessert buffet I have ever seen!! It was a great way to end a lovely weekend!!
Saturday, we took a ferry to Lantau Island with our friend Zar and a guy she works with. Lantau Island is where the HK airport is located. Once we arrived we took a bus to a fishing village called Tai O. All of the houses were located over the water on stilts. These people make their living by selling whatever they catch to tourists. If I had seen pictures of this place first, I never would have believed that it was located in Hong Kong.
After we spent some time in Tai O, we headed out to see the giant Buddha statue. This statue is the world's tallest outdoor seated bronze Buddha.
From the giant Buddha statue we took a 25 minute cable car over the mountain to the other side of the island where we did some shopping, and then took the subway back to Idah's place.
I have to admit, I was kind of scared...we were REALLY high up!! :)
But, it was SO beautiful!!
All the Chinese people in our car were asking to take pictures with us, and doing their best to speak the little English they could!
That's the HK airport on the left of the photo.
That night, we went out with Idah for a nice dinner at a steakhouse called Wooloo Mooloo. It was a pretty good dinner, and we had the waiters sing "Happy Birthday" to him.
Us, with Idah.
Finally, on Sunday, we went to a champagne brunch at the Intercontinental Hotel. The brunch was so lavish with tons of fresh seafood, foie gras, meat, cheese, and the BEST dessert buffet I have ever seen!! It was a great way to end a lovely weekend!!
Happy Birthday Andre!!! Part 1
On April 30th, Andre reached a big milestone...turning 30!!! Luckily, we have some AWESOME friends who really wanted to celebrate this special day with him. We ended up going to dinner with 20+ friends at a local Chinese place, having cake at our apartment, and then going to a bar. A good time was had by all...especially the big guy!! :)
Here I am, slaving away on Andre's birthday cakes.
We had a TON of food!!
Half of the group...enjoying their dinner.
Andre, gracing us with an entirely inappropriate song that everyone LOVED. :)
6 cases later...
I made him a cheesecake AND a chocolate cake. I am quite the cake maker!! ;)
After the cake, everyone had lots of energy to burn. This is Andre dancing with our friend Zar.
And this just isn't even RIGHT!! haha
Some of the guys, busting a move!
He was REALLY getting down!!
After this picture was taken, security showed up because we were being too loud and we left for the bars. What a night!! :)
Here I am, slaving away on Andre's birthday cakes.
We had a TON of food!!
Half of the group...enjoying their dinner.
Andre, gracing us with an entirely inappropriate song that everyone LOVED. :)
6 cases later...
I made him a cheesecake AND a chocolate cake. I am quite the cake maker!! ;)
After the cake, everyone had lots of energy to burn. This is Andre dancing with our friend Zar.
And this just isn't even RIGHT!! haha
Some of the guys, busting a move!
He was REALLY getting down!!
After this picture was taken, security showed up because we were being too loud and we left for the bars. What a night!! :)
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