Christmas Morning

We had a fantastic Christmas this year. It seems to get better and better as Genghis gets older. It started with a Christmas Eve dinner I hosted for family living nearby. The menu included shrimp cocktail and stuffed mushrooms (Walton family tradition) in addition to the ham, mashed potatoes and salad. We had plenty of yummy desserts to end the evening on a sweet note. Genghis then opened one gift from Grandma Susie (who was at our house), and it was a remote control helicopter. Yang loves it as much as Genghis does.

After our guests left, we changed into our new pjs and tucked Genghis in bed. She fell asleep surprisingly quickly, considering how excited she was for Santa's visit.

The video shows Genghis's morning. Her favorite gift from Santa was her drum set. We had a relaxed morning and spent the day together. It was fantastic. Hope yours was as well.

Merry Christmas!

Hint hint

I think Genghis is trying to tell me what she wants for Christmas. I'm pretending not to hear her.

Genghis

Our village (read: house) has been razed by a conquering, pillaging, and plundering toddler. At 33 months old, 37 inches tall, and an impressive 25 pounds, Xiao Mei has earned the name of the most notorious, feared (and loved!) invader of all time. Genghis Kahn. Our little Genghis sweeps across the steppe spreading toys, clothes, food, mom's shoes, and kitchen utensils in her wake. She laughs in the face of sleep, climbs every counter, and breaks through all child locks, including the lock on the door.




She is a master of languages (thanks Dora and Kai Lan!), an athlete, and an artist. She is both loved and feared (feared mostly by Freya, our poor cat). She keeps life busy, exciting, and out of control. She is the cure for overconfidence, self-reliance, and a sense of order in the universe.





She will make history.

Universal Correspondence

The universe speaks to me through fortune cookies. I listen. While I was studying for the bar exam, Yang and I went to Happy Panda for lunch. My fortune read, "you will soon pass a big test." Seriously. I knew I still needed to study, but I was a little more confident after that. (I passed.) While I was pregnant with Xiao Mei, I received a fortune that said I would soon meet a new best friend. The truth of that fortune increases every day. XM is a hilarious little person.

So, I pay attention to my fortune cookies. I have tried to give XM a sibling for quite a while now. Last Christmas day I miscarried for the first time. (How is that for dramatic timing?) We went out for Chinese a couple days later and my fortune read, "Time heals all wounds, keep your chin up." Thank you, universe. I'm waiting for my fortune to tell me that we will add a new person to our family. When I receive that fortune (which I am utterly convinced I will), I'll let you all know. Until then, Universe, good night and good luck.

I went on a cruise to Alaska the beginning of September to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. I was the youngest person on the boat by 20 years. Fantastic.

Here is a picture of an awesome Taiwanese man I met. His business card read "Paly Boy." (It think he meant for it to say "Play Boy.") Wow. I am confident that this picture is posted on a Chinese website of ill-repute. Somehow, I am not as bothered as I perhaps should be. For the sake of reciprocity, I am exploiting his image on my blog.
Here I am with my brother and sister-in-law in front of the Hubbard glacier. I think. One of those Alaskan glaciers, anyway.

Summer Place

Lake Powell used to be my favorite place on earth. It was the vacation destination of choice for my parents while we were growing up. We went every summer.

Then I grew up, moved away, and started my own family. In August I received an invitation from my brother to join everyone on a trip to Lake Powell. It had been over 8 years since I last visited. I had forgotten how much I love that place.

The trip was a blast, and Xiao Mei had a fun time meeting most of her cousins for the first time!







This is me water skiing! I wondered if I could still get up on one ski, and I did it! I lasted about three minutes before I fell. I proved to myself I could still do it, and now I never have to again!

I'm Back

I stopped blogging because of Facebook. I uploaded photos and posted witty little status updates on my Facebook profile, and I assumed that would fulfill my need for sharing the mundane details of my life with others. And, at first, it did fulfill that need. I abandoned my blog to drift aimlessly on the interwebs--an available target for comments advertising various pharmaceutical panaceas and shiny new discos in Berlin (I still regret titling that one post in German). Because of those random, and somewhat disturbing comments, I deleted my blog a few months ago.

But lately, I've been missing something. I had a difficult time figuring out what it was. Then it hit me--I had stopped visiting other personal blogs when I stopped blogging. I felt left out of the loop. I missed reading about the lives of my friends--both close and distant. And I missed telling others about my life. Why say something concisely, in a Facebook status update, when one can use oh so many more words in a blog post? Why, indeed. So, I'm back. Thankfully, blogger gave 90 days to change my mind about deleting my blog.

I promise to make an honest effort to update my blog more frequently. (Thank goodness there is no consideration for that promise, and therefore it is not legally enforceable. Just socially enforceable).

The series finale of Lost starts in a few minutes, so I must go now. Please allow me to leave you with a picture of a lion trying to eat my daughter. I realize there is "safety glass" between the Tsavo man-eating lion and my daughter, but it still freaks me out.

My Loves English

Xiao Mei's onesie says, "My loves flowers." Gerber must give its manufacturing facilities artistic control.

It's been extremely hot these last few days. Here is XM trying to stay cool.





While on a business trip to Klamath Falls, Yang took a break from boring depositions to visit Crater Lake.



Finally, here is XM's first experimentation with make-up (that is my concealer all over her face and hands). At least it wasn't lip stick (knock on wood). The concealer was very difficult to remove! I think I washed her face at least four times before it was clean.