Yellow Watermelon

Our Ayi has been buying, washing, and cutting up fruit for us since I got pregnant, which has been a huge blessing! It is so much easier to get your vitamins when they're all prepared for you!

Sometimes she brings home new fruits we've never heard of or seen, and a couple of weeks ago, this was it. The name is literally, "yellow melon from the west" (regular watermelon is called "western melon"), but I've never seen it in the west! I was a little worried to try it out. It is so florescent I was wondering what kind of hormones/chemicals/biohazards they created it with :-) However, the taste is nearly identical to a regular watermelon, maybe just a little sweeter. The texture is the same too, the only annoying part is that it is riddled with about twice as many and smaller black seeds than a regular watermelon. Regardless, we love it as a treat to snack on after a long day at work.

Sick...

Being sick stinks. Being sick and pregnant stinks even more. Being sick while pregnant, with grades due and missing your favorite little person's b-day is truly awful. I'm not feeling so cheery about life right now I guess.

I've run a slight fever pretty much all day. I've spent the day alternating between watching Nathan play Wii Mario Kart and trying to grade. Even being on Facebook has been too exhausting. (I recently took some tylenol though and thought I found enough energy to make a quick post--it's waning quickly). Unfortunately sleep has generally alluded me. Could be the whole body pain. I've even been waking up early in the morning from it. Yuck.

Go away flu!

Laugh of the Day

So I'm home sick today, and while not sleeping I've been catching up on what my little 30 1/2 week bun in the oven is up to. Along the way I came across this cartoon and it made me smile :-)



To find more amusing comics the website is here:
http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/cartoons/cartoon32

My 厉害 Husband

As anyone who has studied language knows, some words do not easily translate back and forth between languages. Sometimes, though they have similar meanings, societal connotations do not carry the same weight. For instance, when Koreans translate translate "kimchi" they often refer to it as "fermented cabbage". Wow...that makes me want to try it...(note the sarcasm). In English, the word fermented makes us think of something that has gone rotten (except in cases of wine or other alcohols). In Korean, I believe they think of something that has aged or intensified in flavor. (By the way, though Kim Chi is not my favorite, I know many foreigners who greatly enjoy it.)

"厉害", pronounced "li hai", in Chinese is one of those words that just doesn't translate well. Literally, it means "fierce", but can carry many different connotations. Most favorably, it means someone who is clever beyond belief.

Right before Chinese New Year our school staff had a party to celebrate the new year, and a significant portion of the party was a show of entertaining acts for the rest of us to enjoy. My husband, ever the performer, shocked us all by telling us a story completely in Chinese! Even I did not know he could do something like this, and he kept the whole thing a secret until he walked on stage. The story was highly entertaining and contained a bunch of puns that make the Chinese laugh even if we foreigners don't quite understand them all.

If you listen closely to the Chinese people near the camera, you can hear them talking about how "li hai" he is--needless to say his Chinese teachers are bursting with pride-and so am I!

Hope you enjoy. Oh, and by the way, it comes with subtitles. :-)

And now for some pics...

From Philippines!

Sorry these have taken so long-I never can believe how long it takes to upload pictures onto the internet. If you have Facebook you may have already seen most of these, but there are a few more and a few variations. Hope you enjoy!

We have been safely back in Qingdao since Thursday after a few travel issues (and a lot of money!) :-), and today we started back at work. It's good to be home!

Philippines!

We are so incredibly excited to be spending our Chinese New Year in the Philippines! No more freezing weather, endless beaches and ocean, and yummy mango smoothies at every turn. Nathan is becoming scuba certified, and I am relaxing with nothing to do but read and lay in the sun. Ooh, and snorkeling.

Baby Greene is getting stronger, and often tickles me on both sides at the same time. She's getting less shy of people touching my belly, and has even performed for someone other than Nathan and me. It's really wonderful to have a break from work and just relax. I'm ending my second trimester now, so starting to feel the extra weight and a little more tired again, but over all still feeling good.

Well totally exhausted from an entire day on the boat and a couple good swims. Signing off for now. Pictures to come.

A Glimpse of Our Little Angel

Yesterday we had our 25 week appointment, and everything is 正好(zhenghao), as they say in Chinese. She's already in a head down position, the right size, and everything else is great. Apparently she also has a 高的鼻子， or "high nose". The doctor and technicians were very excited about this, and informed us she is very very beautiful. I'm not sure what the exact meaning of a high nose is, but apparently it's good :-)

Here's a few pics and a short video of the sono. The first part of the video isn't that great, but afterwards you can see her open her mouth and move around a little. Amazing how far technology has come.

She played shy most of the 4D sono part and kept hiding her face with her hand.

From Pregnancy

Finally, a glimpse of her sweet face!

From Pregnancy

And look at those long legs!

From Pregnancy

And last but not least, me a week ago at 24 weeks.

From Pregnancy

By the way, yes I said 'she'! :-)