Very Interesting...

I have a longer post about Shanghai coming, but to spark interest before doing so, I had to mention a few interesting things I've noticed over here...

People are obsessed with Justin Bieber.  I understand this is a phenomenon in

the USA, too, but just picture yourself walking down the street and

someone singing it in"Engrish" very very loudly,

on a regular basis.

The chinese are obsessed with their pets.  For example, they dye their poodle's

hair multi colors (imagine a blue tail, pink ears, etc.) and in the

picture above, the poodle is wearing pink shoes.

This is very, very common.

To give you an idea of just how obsessed they are with their animals, last night

after dinner, my husband and I were walking around with some friends

and saw a woman carrying her very fat cat in a baby bjorn-like

device.  Again, this is not a surprise, however, it's

typically dogs being carried in this way.

Lastly, I don't know that I will ever get used to children going to the bathroom

on the street, in planters, etc.  It's just a very interesting experience

and no one seems to have a problem with it.  I guess all

 cultures are different and I will embrace it

and go on with my day!

Where's Elliott?

So when I found out my mom was going to pass last year, one of my best friend's son, who was 4 at the time, asked my friend if this would cheer me up...

Little did he know, I would keep him and he would become a comforting element in my life over the next year.  His name is Elliott.  Call it childish, but he travels everywhere with me, and I've made my poor husband embrace this addition to our family, too.

As a tribute to Elliott, my blog will sporadically feature "Where's Elliott" postings.  Hopefully one day soon you'll see him at the Great Wall!

Elliott at the Marriott in Little Rock on our road trip.  He's a Platinum Rewards Member.

At the hotel in Lexington. He liked the motif.

Cozy on the long flight to Shanghai for his first visit

Derby Days

I am very lucky to have grown up in the gorgeous state of Kentucky, a state known for it's bold and beautiful thoroughbreds and horse racing.  On a recent trip to my home state, I took a tour of Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

The starting gate inside the museum

"One thing about Kentuckians, is that they are extremely hospitable.  They definitely have the Southern charm down to a tee." - Nigel Barker

Johnna loves the derby hats

A man created a replica of churchill downs including the grandstands, horses, people, etc. and came to Churchill Downs to sell it for $1 million.  They asked him what he was going to do
with it if they didn't take it off his hands... they now store it for
him as a display until he figures out what else he can do with it.

The sacred area where only the winner of the Derby every stands, no matter how many races are run at Churchill.

The old scale they used to use to weigh in a jockey.  Apparently jockeys are very superstitious so they won't let Churchill take it out or change anything about the "Back of house" of the place because they think it would be bad luck.  Therefore, it looks nothing like I expected!

 Another cool thing we learned in the scale room was they want the races to be as competitive as possible, so they have a list of guidelines where you can get 5 pounds added to your horse to make the race more even.  Now they use a thick foam pad that goes under the saddle and the jockey weighs in and out and everything that goes on the horse, including the saddle and padding, but they used to not weigh out and they would just add lead weights to pouches on the saddle.  The jockeys weren't monitored as closely as they are now with video cameras, etc. so they would drop the lead weights out throughout the race.  This is where the term "getting the lead out" came from.

Silks worn over years past, including the blue and white diamonds worn by Ron Turcotte when he rode Secretariat.  Surprised that a big winner would wear the blue and white?  I think not!

You can't tell from the picture, but the ping pong table is badly warped, but the jockeys won't let them replace it, again because they're superstitious.

The jockey's locker room - Again, not updated.  The only new item I noticed was a plasma TV.

The iconic twin spires

I highly recommend going on a tour of Churchill Downs.  We took the "Behind the Scenes" Tour and it was so worth it.  It's beautiful and interesting and you see a big part of Kentucky's history.

Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky

So this was my friend's first trip to Kentucky, and while it wasn't under the most perfect terms, I managed to introduce her to a few Kentucky experiences.

She ate her first Kentucky Hot Brown on her birthday and loved it!

Now this isn't "Kentucky" but it is Danville (my hometown)... She ate at Guadalajara and experienced white cheese dip, which I missed so much while I was in Texas.

She drank an Ale-8-1, the only soft drink still in existence that was

invented in Kentucky.

 She ate beer cheese, which is a spicy, cheese spread,

great with pretzels or Fritos Scoops!

We also got to go on a tour of Churchill Downs.  I lived in Kentucky until I was 24 and had never toured the premises.  It was very cool.  Another post to come about it!

The best part of the entire trip was the fact she left with a Kentucky shirt and flip flops for herself, as well as a shirt for her husband and son.  She is a Oklahoma State fan through and through, but all she's heard from me for more than

3 years is Big Blue this, Kentucky that, SEC this, Wildcats that.

One her flights back to TX, 3 people yelled a comment at her similar to

"Go Big Blue" or "Go Cats", including 2 of her pilots.  She got a

small taste of the Big Blue Nation.

Thelma and Louise

On a happier note, I was still able to road trip to Kentucky with an amazing friend of mine.  She is like a sister to me, with a little "foster mom" mixed in.  She opened her home to me for months while I was finishing things up in Dallas and Todd was already in Shanghai, and I'm so thankful for that time with her.  We grew very close and I cherish our friendship.

It was nice to be in a car with her, enjoying life.  She was there when I got the news about my father, and would have completely understood if I just flew home or hopped on a plane or in the car with Todd when he flew back in, but I wanted that time with her and wanted her there, and it was a trip I will always remember.  And might I add, she spent her 40th birthday in a car with me for 9 hours finishing our trip to KY!

When you're in a car for 14 hours, you listen to a lot of music.  We listened to everything from country to rock to pop, and 2 wonderful CD mixes made by a wonderful friend of mine.  My friend particularly enjoyed the songs "Move my jacket" (which was actually "Moves like Jagger" by Maroon 5) and "You'll Think of Me" by Keith Urban where she thought he sang "Take your cat, but leave my sweater" because men hate cats according to her. She couldn't believe he would sing "take your cap".

The best song of the road trip which ended in tears from laughing so hard was "Bohemian Rhapsody".  We totally pulled a Wayne's World moment

without even trying.

These moments are probably not funny to anyone but us, unless you know us very well, but they were unforgettable to me.  You would have to understand our sense of humor, because this is the same person who made me crack up by saying things like "I'm breathing like a fat person" when eating a double cheese burger dripping with mayo, and who commented randomly in the airport "I think the Chicago airport smells like sausages... wait, no... Saaaaaa sages."  It's the little things in life and it was these things that made me laugh and smile during a hard time.  So thank you, Johnna, for being an amazing friend, being there when I needed you most, and for being as big of a dork as me.

"The difficulties of Life are intended to make us Better, not Bitter"

I'm posting a lot of blog submissions close together because my last few weeks
in Dallas didn't go exactly as planned.  I suppose that goes with the theme of
my blog, though.  Life is uncharted territory.  There's no way to predict what
is going tohappen moment to moment.


The last week I was in Dallas, I received the tragic news my father had passed away.  His death came only 9 months and 1 day after my mother's passing.  While I know these were two defining and life changing events, events many would say are very difficult to overcome, I'm in a very good place.  If anything, these events have made me realize how amazingly blessed I am.  When these events happened, I was surrounded by the love of family and friends I probably took for granted.  I leaned on people who fully supported me and allowed me to grieve in a way that was best for me.  People were there for me without end,
but knew I wasn't broken and I would survive these events.

While I would have much rather have had many more years with my parents,
I feel so lucky and thankful for the time I had.  They adopted me and saw me grow up, graduate high school, graduate college, fall in love, get married, and go out on my own knowing I was going to be ok and live to be the daughter they raised me to be.  I have a friend who lost her father when she was much younger than me, and he didn't get to see her become the woman she is today or be there on her wedding day.  Now that is what I call tragic, because she's a beautiful person and he would be very proud of her.


I know these events will effect and change me in ways I am completely
unaware of, ways I may never notice or understand, and ways no one
may ever notice or understand, but I do know I will never forget
how blessed I am or take life for granted.


So thank you to everyone who has been there for me in my life, especially over the last year of my life.  I couldn't have gotten through it without you, and definitely
couldn't have the strength to try to come out on top without
every bit of love and support I've received.

CSI: Dallas

I used to think I wouldn't be able to be a doctor or nurse because I couldn't handle blood, however, I think it would only be smells that would get to me after the experience I had tonight.

One of my very best friends here in TX opened her fridge to get something out and proceeded to drop a pint bowl with lid (for my Crate peeps) filled with baked beans on the ground.  The bowl broke and proceeded to cut her foot.  Only people who know her would understand what happened next.  Instead of freaking out or crying or anything a normal person seeing their blood pool on the kitchen floor would do, she instead in a sing-song voice said "I need help.  I'm bleeding."  Her husband and I came running and couldn't believe the damage done.  It looked like a small scale version of Dexter!

Her husband took care of her while I cleaned up the mess.  I don't know that I'll ever look at baked beans the same again.  In her humorous fashion, she repeatedly apologized for ruining dinner because we wouldn't be able to grill out now, and told a story about how she did the same thing one Christmas Eve by slicing her finger a minute before they were to sit down to eat, and she had to go to the ER to get stitches.  She also said I solidified our friendship because no one had ever cleaned up her blood but her husband. : )

My friend is completely fine and received 6 stitches.  I will go with her to get them taken out.  I guess my adventures have started even before I get to Shanghai!

The Big News

In case you haven't heard, I am moving to China... Shanghai to be exact.  My husband describes it as "New York on crack".  I've only been to New York once, so I don't really know what to expect, but I'm excited!

My husband got an offer to work for his company's brand new office, and after some intense discussion, we decided to make the move.  He has been there since the middle of May, the day before my birthday to be exact.  I will follow him later this year, after I finish work in Dallas, visit him for a few weeks, and spend time with my family and friends back in Kentucky.

I want to use this blog as a way to keep everyone up to date on our adventures, starting with my last weeks in Dallas.