And try not to feel the least bit guilty considering I haven't made it to the gym for two weeks. Or more...??? Let's just stick with two. But it was my birthday and actually, Jason ate half that piece because on Sunday he got up early to bake me a cake so we could take it to our friends house to share during our regular Sunday morning gathering. Mud Cake. Usually, I'm not a cake person -- I prefer apple pie or more specifically these days, lemon meringue pie made with honey instead of sugar and in less of a quantity than the recipe requires -- but this time, I wanted a cake.

So the baby enjoyed its first taste of birthday cake.

Anyway...

So we decided to go to the theatre to watch a movie. I wanted to watch Tim Burton's, Alice in Wonderland, but it was done showing already (only 2 weeks!). I was a little unsure of Clash of the Titans and the other option was How to Tame Your Dragon which I didn't know anything about. I could only envision a theatre full of Chinese parents who brought their kids to expose them to English only to have to translate the entire movie for them because they're too young to read the sub-titles. In short, a very loud theatre. So Jason went to ask out of curiosity, when Iron Man 2 came out. Not knowing the movie's name in Chinese, he did his best to describe in Chinese what can be translated as 'the red man made from iron'. The girl looked at him rather oddly and said 'Ah, its already playing sir.' Like he should've known that. But its not posted on the wall as playing, I point out. But no, after trying his best to describe in Chinese and a short game of charades to make sure she knew which movie he was talking about (oh did I mention sound effects? Only boys can do that.) she says, "yes...that's the one."

Mind you all four ticket vendors where 'helping' at this point.

So we bought tickets. No English on the tickets. "That's odd." Jason notices there's no "# 2" anywhere by the movie title. "Oh well." We're pretty confident that "the red man made from iron" is a pretty apt description not to be confused with anything else. Our main concern was that we forgot to clarify if the movie was in English or only had English subtitles.

The nice thing about buying Chinese movie tickets is that you buy assigned seats. The not so nice thing is that sometimes Chinese don't care and you have to argue with them to get out of your seat. Fortunately, none of that happened and we settle in with our mints (its my birthday and I wasn't going to spend $10 on a tiny dixie cup of Haggen Dass ice-cream...even my cravings have their moral limits). Roll the previews. This is an awful long preview for Clash of the Titans...um this is not Iron Man 2.

So we watched Clash of the Titans. And actually it turned out to be pretty good. And it was in English (always a bonus!). And it was 3D. And some Chinese family still brought their under 6 year old and had to interpret the movie for her but at least it was only one family and they were several rows back. However, we both really enjoyed the movie. A bit graphic but Sam Worthington makes up for it I think. Even if he did keep his shirt on the whole movie.

Sometime in the future, I'd like to make more of a point to celebrate this day. The last few years (except last year -- last year I kind of forgot Earth Day), I've made collages with my kids or recycled plastic bottles into mini composting systems with my kids at the daycare. And then I would go work in or at least water and enjoy my small patch of earth in my community garden and eat fresh veges for dinner. For now, we had a massive storm last night and its still a bit drizzly this morning. But how nice is it to lie in bed listening to the thunder play a kind of timpani-like percussion line? Or peak through your curtains at the most fantastic natural display of fireworks as the lightning dances across the sky? I know it may not be brilliantly lit different colours like Chinese fireworks (I can hear all the Chinese saying "psh, that's nothing on our Spring Festival celebration). But I say, God has made nature to be so much less obnoxious to anything we as humans try to put together. So I suppose you could say, Earth celebrated early today.

I think that's the first full on storm, complete with thunder, lightning and all the works that we've had since I've been in China, now that I think of it.

So I'm hoping next year, that I'll have a little roof garden. Maybe we'll have a little recyclable celebration with our Chinese friends. It is our mandate after all, to take care of the earth. But for now, since we don't have a little place to call our own, I thought I'd share a little trailer of a project that I've become interested in. I'm not sure if I'll participate...I secretly hope, our baby will be born on the day of filming so we can capture his/her first few hours and submit that. I've even thought of going to some tiny country that barely anyone knows of to increase my chances of being selected to participate. I've also reasoned with God that its for occasions like this, that I really need a Canon D7.

And of course I cried when I watched it. Oh the joys of being pregnant. But I do love this world. I don't love certain things like stinky tofu or car alarms or that tobacco companies in China are bent on causing everyone to die of emphysema but I truly believe the world is full of beautiful people, things, places. Most of which need to be seen in order to be believed and definitely to be understood. You never know unless you go.

Happy Earth Day!

So what came first? The chicken or the secret recipe?

How about it? A drumstick with a Colonel Sanders head or a scarily Mao-like impression?

And 'dainty' makes it healthier right?

It's not copy-right infringement if it's not exactly the same, right?

From what I can work out, we're at week 12, Baby and me. 196 days to go (thanks babycenter.com for getting my hopes up). Does anyone else just want to eat lemons all the time? I think I could totally base a diet off of lemons right now. That probably has something to do with the remnants of this horrible cold I'm getting over and the fact that after a week without any nausea, its back in fuller force than before. TMI but I can't spend more than 30 minutes on a bus without wanting to puke and last night I did (although I made it home first). Dear God, please don't let me be one with nausea until the fifth month! Or...the whole 196 days I have left (give or take a few...I'm going with take)!

Anyway, when I was little, we used to have this little book from the Golden Book series with delightful illustrations. I can't remember if its called "How Big is Baby?" or "Baby is SO Big!" but my mum is looking for it for me (thanks Mum!) cause I thought, how cute would it be to make a baby book based around that little story (can anyone say "nesting"?). I also thought it would be fun to do weekly installments from now till Baby comes in October...from pin head to pumpkin (because it's an October baby of course!). Although I'm not real keen on carry a pumpkin around and wouldn't in the least bit mind if Baby came while still a rock melon.

So bear with me...you can puke or smile...whatever your body feels like. I cried at the beginning scene of that new Star Trek movie the other day...you know...the part where the captain's wife is giving birth and he's talking her through it on the cosmic phone thing 'cause he's not going to be there...it doesn't take much these days. Gee Baby! What have you done to your mother?!

How big is Baby? Is Baby as big as the head on a pin?

Well, at first, yes but now...

No! Baby is bigger than the head on a pin.

Then how big is Baby? Is Baby as big as a sunflower seed in Daddy's palm?

Well, at one point yes, but now...

No! Baby is bigger than a sunflower seed in Daddy's palm.

Well, what about a kidney bean? Is Baby as big as a kidney bean?

Once Baby was as big as a kidney bean...

And in the same week, Baby grew to be the size of Daddy's wedding ring...but now...

No! Baby is much bigger than a kidney bean or Daddy's wedding ring.

Then how big is baby?

Is Baby the size of a kumquat that Mummy bargains for at the market?

When Baby was 10 weeks old, Baby was the size of a kumquat that Mummy bargains for at the market. But now...

Is Baby as big as a box of matches, almost double the size of the kumquat?

Last week, Baby was as big as a box of matches, almost double the size of the kumquat.

But now...as best we can tell...its week 12...

Baby is a little smaller than a mobile phone.

Small enough to fit in one's pocket. Big enough to make us marvel. Ears...fingers...toes...just incredible.

How big is Baby? Baby is sooo big!

Two posts in one day?! When does this ever happen??? And its not even the revolution I'm talking about...

I've had a secret crush on Jamie Oliver -- aka the Naked Cheff -- for years now. Before I die, I want to eat at his restaurant in the UK. I'm pretty sure Jason knows about my previously secret obsession since I'm gushing so much about how I think Jamie's a hero for trying to save America. Yup, you heard me. He's trying to save America from obesity. How, I hear you ask? But teaching people to cook and cook well! Many of the bloggers I like to read (food bloggers tha is) have been building my excitement over this TV series he's doing in the US right now. Imagine my excitement the other day when I found out I can watch it on hulu!I tell you, its not a show for the faint hearted but I hope you'll watch it cause it could change your life...or at the very least, your kitchen. I'm busy conjuring up ways to get him to come to China and teach me to cook! These people don't know how lucky they are!!!

(Can you tell how stirred up I am with the amount of exclamation marks I've used....???)

Anyway, here's two clips to whet your appetite -- so enjoy!

Well, the weather outside is frightful...

...wait...

...wrong season for that song...

...but seriously we had better weather than this at Christmas time!

It's flipping 12 C today (about 53 F) when only three days ago it was 29 C (84 F) and its wet, raining, just plain all round miserable. Although, I did manage to wash my floors and they are now clean and dry after 2 weeks of over 95 % humidity. 95 % humidity is just another way of saying that it's dryer outside than inside. Mind you, it has fluctuated between 14 and 25 C the whole two weeks and cement buildings take a while to get truly cold and then forever to warm up again. And a refrigerator cold cement building slowly warming up to anything over 25 C (I'm giving up converting it for you, sorry) means, as we like to put it, the buildings start crying. In fact, I do believe I've solved all those ridiculous 'sacred mysteries' about all the statues that cry in the Catholic Churches...its just got too warm too quickly and they're stone so they don't warm up as fast...its science people! It still doesn't help me wash my floors that are covered with water though. So today, even though the humidity is at 88 % since the weather is cold and the building is still warm...my floors are clean...for today...

And gee, its raining and we only have one umbrella! So I graciously told Jason he could use it and I'll stay home from the gym. Aren't I so nice? I do have a cold so that helped solidify that decision...although he wasn't that keen on walking to school in the rain umbrella or not...

Anyway, I thought I'd write about our Easter. I hope you don't remember my aspirations from last year...it sort of all got blown out the window with morning sickness (which I seem to be more or less on top of these last few days) and the fact that Jason was trying to organise a cultural exchange programme for 16 people that arrived in our city on Good Friday...and that every other foreigner in our little posse of friends seemed to forget it was Easter weekend in the first place. So it's a little hard to organise stuff when you're under the weather and haven't any help.

But I'm proud of my one accomplishment.

I taught the kids at the orphanage to colour hard boiled Easter eggs.

Again, it was cold and rainy (or warm and rainy...can't remember other than the pouring rain) and cement buildings don't let in the best of light so my photos are crap...not to mention its hard to take photos of yourself teaching the kids to colour eggs when you're the one doing it too (I don't even have the baby yet and I'm fully wishing for an extra set of arms!).

I wish you could have been there to see their faces! They were so amazed to put the eggs in the water and see them change colour when they came out! These are seriously the best behaved kids in the world...they all waited their turns...no one fought over anything...they all complimented each other's eggs...and the look on their faces when I told them that when they're dry, they can still eat them...

(It pains me to see how blurry this is but it was the best I could do with out a flash...look at how happy she is!)

One little girl looked at me with the biggest eyes and said, "Oh no. This is the most beautiful egg in the whole of China. I'm never going to eat it." Ok so maybe its now they stinkiest Easter egg in the whole of China. Or perhaps she knows how to make the century eggs. (By the way, she said it Chinese and I can understand now so that makes me happy!)

On a side note: I always find it interesting that as westerners, we always say "....in the whole world!" but here in China, they only ever say "...in the whole of China!" Are we westerners are little conceited I wonder? Hmm...

Then we made Easter baskets until my fingers where dead from cutting and folding and talked about the real meaning of Easter. Inevitably of course, the question came up...what do coloured eggs have to do with all that? My answer? I don't know really, its just something they do in America...

Ok, I know its done in other countries too but we don't do it in Australia -- although I think we should because it is fun -- but my Chinese isn't that great yet, ok!

And I did make Hot Cross Buns...but I forgot to take a photo. So I accomplished two things this Easter!

Tóahūa hūayuǎn

(Peach Blossom Garden)

During the Spring when the blossoms come out, every year the Chinese will make a pilgrimage to a peach garden somewhere to find 'lucky in love'...

Happy 100th post!

I know, I know...but I'm not ready with this week's post let alone my 100th...

let's pretend I'm taking a late Easter holiday...

It's been crazy around here.