In No Particular Order

It's about time for some more random facts about my life.

I'm not wearing any long johns! I actually haven't been for a week now and I'm not sick or cold at all! I am, however, noticing that I could use a new pair of jeans that fit.

Last week I bought a bunch of yarn and have completed about 10 phone covers. These will be gifts for my new friends here. The rest of the yarn will go to a blanket as soon as my mother sends me the pattern. (Wink, wink; nudge, nudge; that's a reminder, mom!)

There was a sheep tied up outside a restaurant near where I work for a few days. This evening, he was gone. Someone had a fresh dinner.

There's a large Russian market downtown that I finally visited this past week. From there I bought some Russian ornaments. They're super cute soldiers with a string to pull that moves their arms and legs up and down. I'm really hoping they won't break in transit.

I made dumplings again with some girls from work. Perhaps I will learn to cook yet!

Also at the Russian market I found the most amazing wooden bowls. I didn't buy any (yet) since they were a bit more expensive but if I don't return to purchase them, I will definitely return to photograph them. The bowls wouldn't be able to hold your cereal and milk, but they could be used for salads, fruit, or decorative stuff. There were also some multi-sectioned platters which would work great for veggie snacks. Anyway, the amazing part was the the bowls were collapsable! Each bowl was made out of the same piece of wood, but then cut into rings (circles if the bowl was perfect, ovals and other contours if the bowl looked like a pear or what not) which could be pressed down to lay flat. Some of the bowls even had a handle, making them into a basket. I really think I will go back and buy one because not only is it useful, but it's a piece of art, and it'll pack well in my luggage!

In May, I am going to travel east for a week to visit five fabulous friends!

There is a baseball sized bruise on my tush from falling on the stairs. It's still a chore to bend over and I haven't sat comfortably on the couch since.

There's a coffee shop I've been introduced to that's just down the street. While I would pay up to four US dollars for coffee in the states, I find it difficult to pay 16 RMB (about 2 USD) for a gourmet cup of coffee at this store, especially when I can eat a typical delicious and filling dinner for only 3 RMB. So while I enjoyed the atmosphere of the coffee shop and relished in the lack of smoke that is overwhelming in every other public building, I doubt I will become a regular customer.

After having it for about a month now, I finally figured out how to capitalize letters on my phone when storing names and sending text messages!!!

My arm is sporting a new red purse. It smells like leather although it may not be. Whether or not the leather is genuine, I'm just excited that the price was less than 6 US dollars!