{Find a Reason to Smile}

*Today's post is brought to you by the magic of Google Awesome, which, without my knowing, backs up my pictures from my phone and does silly things with them.

The last week or so has been, to be frank, BLAH. There's been a lot of stress and rotten news to go around, for both Jeff and I and people I know, and in dealing with it, I've been focusing on things that make me happy in my life, and bring a smile. 

Like these lovely ladies. They are goofy, moody, sweet, and entertaining to just sit and watch. They are always so happy to see me when I get home in the evening, that I don't even mind cleaning up after them! 

I know, I know. I'm a little obsessed, and everyone things this about their own, but my dogs are pretty darn awesome. Just when I think my day is going to be outright terrible, they pop up at my side and make me laugh and forget myself for a few minutes. 

This Guy. This guy puts up with my impulses, harebrained ideas, and high maintenance temper. I am sincerely lost without this guy.

Oh, to have a space to sit and be. We finally got the Adirondack chairs put together and stained, a canopy for shade, and now, combining watching silly chickens with Jeff and the clown dog duo is now a breezy relaxing activity that I look forward to. 

I'm certainly glad and grateful for the simple things in life that make me smile even on days when I feel less than happy.

{Catch Up}

 Jumbled thoughts in no particular order:
1. I'm cold. I really do alright with winter. considerably more so than with the summer heat, ESPECIALLY better than the summer we spent in Suzhou. I don't know, something about this lingering cold weather has just seemed to affect my mood, my behavior and my motivation to get up and do. There have been a couple of spectacularly mild days sprinkled in and I have taken full advantage of the vitamin D and serotonin boosts that the sun has to offer.  Maybe that's it, I'm just not getting enough sun.

2. Jeff's gone... a lot. Every time I get a twinge of frustration about it I remind myself that it was MY brilliant idea to encourage him to take up this job, and that it is benefiting us. I do get to keep regular contact with him, and I'm doing fine, but it has been a decided adjustment. After two years of nearly constant companionship with the same person, I'm almost having to re-learn what it's like to be independent again. Not to say that I was too co-dependent - but there is definitely a change to how you live and behave when you're in a partnership as opposed to living wholly on your own 3 1/2 weeks out of the month.

3. Cooper has a case of the clingy. Even the trainer that we work with made a comment the other day that she found it remarkable the bond he's been forming with me as the weeks progress. He's very particular, although friendly with everyone. He really does have a hard time listening to others, and if someone gives him instruction, he always looks to me for approval first. It's made training both easier, and much more difficult all at the same time. He is generally eager to please, but some aspects of training, like staying as I walk away to a good distance, is a continuing struggle and forces him out of his comfort zone.

4. SO.MUCH.MOVING. At the end of February as Jeff left to start his job, I moved back into my parents home and out of our town house, and moved all of our things into a storage unit. My dad bought a farm in Monticello, and was supposed to move out a month ago , but due to an oversight didn't move until this weekend. Poor Jeff was home for three days and each of those days was spent helping load, unload, load some more and unload, and set up right up until he had to leave again. He's a good sport. We managed to get the majority of Dad's belongings to the farm, as well as get everything of ours out of storage and into the house. It was a long, tiring weekend for everyone and left us all more tired than when it began. Over the next couple of weeks I'll finish purging, unpacking, arranging, and returning the house to a state of normalcy.

5. WE got a new bed. I'm positive this isn't half as interesting to anyone else as it is to me, but I'm elated. After spending a year as two fat people in China, Jeff and I have developed a deep respect for well made mattresses. They certainly weren't built in China to handle our size... and with Jeff's dilapidated back, it was a long year of mediocre to restless sleep. It has been a markable difference to have a solid, supportive, and comfortable bed that makes for substantial and restful nights sleep.

- Ashley

{Merrily We Roll Along}

Sometimes, I just feel stumped on how to start or focus on a post. There ARE things I'd like to talk about, but my thoughts don't always organize themselves the way I'd like. This leads to frustration, and gaps in my writing. Which of course, leads to more frustration.

Ah well.

We keep our selves busy and ever so slightly chaotic, as usual. Life is never boring for us, even though I think we'd like it to be once and a while. Jeff's gone for several weeks at a time, getting started on his new job, and is excelling at it, not that I had any doubts about that. It's really tough having him absent so often, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. I teased him the other day by explaining that all I really need to do is pretend he doesn't exist and go back to living life like when I was single. I still don't understand what he got so huffy...

Things here in Lexington are in a state of flux. My dad bought a farm in Monticello where he's going to relocate to, and Tyler, (Jeff), and I are taking over the Lexington house. The mortgage is paid off so all we have to handle will be the utilities and incidental bills. Tyler is working on getting into school, and finding gainful employment after returning from his mission and will take the upstairs, which really is already set up much like an apartment, and Jeff and I will maintain the down stairs, which does much of the same thing. It works out great for us because Tyler will  be able to save on living expenses as he starts school and his life as a semi-grown up ( man, I miss college), and Jeff and I can continue to save up for future expenses planned, as well as whittle away at our debts.

It's a great ideal, and we'll get to it eventually. UNTIL then, however, life is a little more hectic. Currently, We're sharing the house with Dad as he packs and prepares to move, my things are in storage, and I'm occupying one of the smaller rooms upstairs. As we all got excited for the closing date yesterday, Dad realized the day before that he had missed the clause in the contract where he had to wait 30 days after closing to move in. It... was a grumpy day in our house. As much as we all love each other, it's a bit cramped, disheveled, and calls had to be made to re-coordinate moving assistance. We'll get through it, hopefully with a stronger sense of patience.

My job is starting to pick up... slowly. I've got 7 clients now, and I'm now trying to figure out how to juggle and multi-task as the case loads get complicated. I love what I do though, and if I could just learn to get over my well ingrained sense of procrastination, I'd be really, really fantastic it.

Cooper is doing pretty well, too, so far. Today he gets to graduate from his first set of obedience classes. Aside from my dad's uncanny ability to negate anything I do with training, he's learning fast, and seems to really enjoy the bonding we get from it. He's a GREAT travel companion, and has already made the trips to Ashland and Bowling Green with me without complaint, and has already gotten to interact with some of my clients. He loves the attention and it's a lot of fun to see how happy he makes others. I really look forward to getting him certified, and seeing his progress as we go along.

I'm So ready for spring. So ready for warmer, sunnier days, and windows down road trips!

What are you excited for?

-Ashley

{To the One I Love}

Two years and counting. Hopefully those who bet on the shallow end of how long we'd last didn't loose too much money...


It's amazing just how much two years can hold. I've tried twelve different times to write a post that could somehow express just how much my life has changed since meeting, marrying and living with my best friend. We've seen hardship, arguments, joy, grief, change ( OH so much change), and I am just enthralled with this man that is my husband. Life is sincerely sweeter and more worth living when you have someone that you can and want to share it with. 

Jeff - THANK YOU for being my lean to, my rock, my punching bag, my object of affection, and my eternal companion. I cannot fathom doing this with anyone but you.

-Ashley

{Snapshot Portrait 2}

The quickest way to get around town in Suzhou is by bus. Jeff makes it look easy. In reality, it's a recipe for crazy stories, awkward stares and proximity to people who find you bizarre and curious, and SO many culture clashes. I've never missed a car this much, and I'm so very ready to have the convenience of independent transportation. Still, it's been a heck of a ride.

-Ashley

{Happy Birthday Jeff}

Jeff doesn't like celebrating his birthday. We're working on it. Last year there was a mandatory surprise party that marked his first birthday married to an awesome woman. This year he got to spend his birthday in China. While there aren't whole lot of people here to help me force this man into celebration, I did manage to make the morning noteworthy with some home-made biscuits and gravy from scratch.* We've come so far with cooking in China with the meager instruments we have. I'm super proud.

Happy Birthday Jeff!
-Ashley

*Jeff helped with the gravy. He's just better at it than I am.

Awesome Super Easy Recipe For Biscuits

Ingredients
2 cups All Purpose Flour (An entire bag of flour costs less than 1 can of biscuits, fyi.)
1 Tbs baking powder (The stuff in the white can, not the stuff in the orange box that you can also brush your teeth with or add in with your laundry detergent...pro-tips!)
1 Tsp salt
1 Tbs granulated sugar (That's the stuff you put in your coffee, not the stuff you find on doughnuts. Mmmm....doughnuts.)
1/3 cup of shortening (Use margarine. It's cheap and you don't have to worry about accidentally buying lard...which would work, but your Hebrew and Muslim friends couldn't join you for breakfast.)
1 cup of milk (If you use one of the non-milks like soy or almond, this recipe is vegan. But, I guess if you're vegan you know that already. Carry on.)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. I know the packaged biscuits only say 375, but that's because their chemical additives make them weak!
In a large-ish bowl (The one you use to make cookies in should be fine. You don't make cookies from scratch? Well, that's a discussion for another day. Also, your family doesn't love you as much as they could.*) mix together all the dry ingredients. Cut in the margarine. That means to cut up the margarine into cute little square pats and put them into the bowl. Then, mix in the margarine (I've found hands work best for this...but when do they not?) until what's in the bowl resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in the milk until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If your dough seems too sticky, add a tablespoon or two more flour. If it's too dry, add more milk.
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface (like your counter top, or a large cutting board placed on top of your counter top). Knead the dough. You don't want to over work it. Just until there are no sticky parts. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Use a round cookie cutter (or the rim of a glass if you're cool like me) to punch out the biscuits. Or, you could just pull off a little less than a handful and call them drop biscuits, if presentation means nothing to you.
Place the cut outs onto a greased cookie pan. Place in the oven for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the tops and edges start to brown.

{Summer Cut}

Jeff has been dying for a hair cut since we got here, and it was driving the both of us crazy enough that we buzzed it off. He even let me do the  job! Jeff ( who is a little sensitive about his hair and appearances, which he fiercely denies) was apprehensive about such a close cut, but I think he looks great, and it's definitely a cooler hair cut for the building heat and muggy summers ahead of us!
-Ashley

{Observations by Jeff}

Scene: Lazy day outside enjoying the sites of Suzhou together

Jeff: So, I've decided that this would be the worst possible place to survive a zombie appoclypse.
 
Ashley: Why? Because there are no guns, and it's a densely populated city and country?

Jeff: Well, yeah, all of that. But mostly because you wouldn't be able to tell the zombies from the old people! They walk and sound like zombies! I'd be running through the street popping off zombies and would acidentally kill grandma over there! I would feel terrible about myself!

Ashley: ...

{Jeff's "Artsy" Picture of the Day}

{The Bund}

The Bund is a huge tourist spot on the river front in Shanghai. It's famous for the impressive architecture and nightlife. Jeff and Rob Landorf walked down there one night while they were out and snapped some pictures of the buildings.

{Tie Shopping}

{Adventures in Chinese Medicine }

Today Jeff and I both got a taste of medical care in a foreign country. We both went for different reasons ( no worries, we're both fine), and it was quite an experience, to say the least. Disney provides us a brokerage service that acts as a go between for us to the hospitals and insurance companies, which is an awesome service when you're by yourself in an unfamiliar place. They make the appointments, they file all claims, and they go to the appointments with you and translate and bridge any language barriers with the doctors. We would have been lost without it.

Even with that help, it was still an anxiety ridden experience, and I'm grateful to be home and done with it. In fact, our first stop on the way home was to starbucks for a hot chocolate just so I could feel some normalcy for a few mintues after being poked and prodded by woman asking me a barage of questions in another language.

Jeff's having some problems with his back, and it turns out he has some damaged vertibrae that may be pinching some nerves. He got an x-ray which made it really obvious there were some problems and then as we headed to the MRI we quickly realized that he wasn't going to fit in any machine they'd have. We are currently stuck in a catch-22  because the doctor doesn't want to reccommend any treatment for him until he can get a better look at what's happening with his nerves, but there's no machine in China ( that's right, in the country, apparently this hospital had the most up-to-date one around) that He will fit in. Apparently there are no open mri's in China, so for now we can't do a whole lot with his back other than medication, heat and rest. Jeff is going to try out acupuncture to see if it does anything for him on Saturday, I'll let him report on how that works out.

On that note, I just want to say how proud I am of him. I don't know how well you know Jeff, but he's pretty self concious about his writing. He's written all his posts so far without nagging from me, and has been great about letting me edit them for your enjoyment. I'm grateful for his willingness to do this, because I feel like his outlook on our experiences is so much entertaining than mine, and that he's honestly who you really want to hear from the majority of the time. He's been great about trying new things, exploring new places, and pushing himself to grow in many aspects of his life. He's a great inspiration to me and I'm grateful to have him.

Until next time, hugs from far way.
-Ashley

{Hopes and Wishes - From the mind of Jeff}

Ashley and I went to church last Sunday. It takes an hour to get there, and meets over a BMW showroom. It was nice to meet new people and get to talk to them. Everyone was asking me what I was doing in china and when I told them that I was “being a loving and supportive husband”  they looked at me funny, and as one lady said “that’s different.”  She even let me know that there is a web site and a group of stay at home Dads who get together and hang out. I just want to make it to our city and start to meet people there. For now though I walk the city while Ashley is busy and find new things every day.

The hotel is just down the road from a large city park. The park walkway is paved with stone blocks, and every day or so I walk by and see people painting on the stones with a big brush.  I keep wandering what it was they were doing, as later in the day the writing is always gone, but never wanted to offend any one by just walking up to them and getting in their way so I just keep walking. But on Saturday, there was a big event going on. There was this group dancing and playing there drums.  And then as I walked into the park there was a lot of people watching this old man paint the stones.  It turns out its just water they write on the stones as signs of hope and love and peace, wishes for joy in their life and what they’re hoping for. It was cool, I asked this old man if I could take his photo and he said yes. This is only after standing there for about 4mins, then having the crowd see me and flip out; I don’t think they had ever seen someone as big as me. I must have taken 15-20 photos with people, if I say so I think after the first three people just thought I was a celeb, that’s why they wanted my photo.

A new group of teachers from Ashley’s program just got here this week and I got to help some of them out by taking them to stores to get things they needed, and show them around.  It feels good to be helpful now and then.

Stay tuned as the Chinese New Year is coming up, and I’m sure there will be photos and more posts to read. I will do my best to show you all what joys and Ashley and I get to experience together.
-Jeff

{Food Talk - From the mind of Jeff ( and ever so slight edits by Ashley)}

I want to take my turn to talk about the food here. The dumplings are out of this world, the noodles are great, the rice and … well everything is good. Ok, ok you got me, the American food here is not that good, but when you are having a “I need something from home” moment its ok and will do.

We ate at a place called the Spice Spirit, and let me tell you the name said it all… it certainly set my sprit on fire. Of course it didn’t help that I (ignored my wife) and ate a chili pepper that prevented me from eating all my meal. (In spite of my doing that) it was very good even with the heat.  The real draw back to living in a hotel is how much we can’t cook, so we have to eat out all the time. It does get old, but most places we eat are really cheap and a meal for the two of was run about 30-40 rmb.  When I don’t eat out I enjoy a cup-o-noodle from the local mart.  Let me tell you guys that in America we have been misled, the cup of noodles here blow the ones back home out of the water.

I am pleased to report that I have been trying new things. One night Ashley stopped and got some meat on a stick… it tasted like pork but let’s be real I have no clue what it was and he put some curry stuff on it. In the morning you can stop and get this egg bread thing, and flat bread that make one tasty breakfast.  The other night we were craving some ice cream and something from home, so we got some coldstone. They asked Ashley how long it would take us to get ice cream home, she told them 30-60 minutes and they packed it with dry ice… yes I played with it. Don’t judge.

- Jeff

{Snapshots of the Jing'an Temple}

As I mentioned in the previous post, Jeff and I took the day to explore some of the more touristy parts of Shanghai today. We spent the morning at the Jing'an Temple, which is just a short skip away from our hotel, and then the afternoon at People's square and the fake market. Jeff's a much better tourist than I am and is always on point with remembering the camera and taking pictures. So you have him to thank you for these:











I'll try to persuade him to write a bit about his take on his experience in the fake market. I'm sure it would be insightful.

In other news, I could get very used to sending my laundry out through a service. Everything came back the next day neatly folded and bundled in little bows. I feel so spoiled!

I officially start working all by myself in a center tomorrow, so wish me luck!

Hugs from far away,
-Ashley