More magnets

I got even more magnets today! Yahoo!
I only need to get about another 40 or so and I'll be a happy little cherub :)

We started holidays today and do you know how I started mine? With a wart being burnt off my wrist. The pesky little thing re-grew after 6 years a few months back. Oh well, now it will be gone again for I guess another 6 years.

So yes, back onto holidays, I am not ready for them. I haven't really been thinking about them or anything. They are here and I am like, huph... Pretty pathetic huh? I think I am thinking beyond the holiday to packing and moving etc. I am hoping after we get onto the plane I can turn off the 'moving' part of my brain cause I am ooooverrrr thinking and planning.

I need to clean the fishes bowl tonight as it has been upside down again for a fair few days. I am sure it consistently has a middle-ear infection that has affected its balance. Weird eh?!!!

OK, time to vegetate on the couch.

XXX

I got magnets

I pretty boring post today.

We got the shipping assessment done today. So the company who is send our stuff back knows how much we have to ship. Around 6-7 cubic meters, but I think it'll be a little more than that. We'll see.

I updated my Ipod music last night and there is some weird stuff on the charts at the moment. I just look at the US and OZ top 40 charts and download all the new stuff I haven't seen the previous month. SO I don't know if people are actually liking what I am listening to or not. My taste hasn't changed too much in the past 10 years though... Britney Spears still sings catchy songs. I love 'If you seek Amy'.

I just got given 53 big magnets to stick onto the wedding invitations. Ben rocks! He nicked them from the doctors clinic here in Suzhou.

We fly to Guilin on Saturday afternoon for 5 days. It is supposed to be very beautiful. It'll be nice to be away from Suzhou and SSIS for that time. And then the rocket 7 weeks until the end of the year.

More things crossed off the list today

I got a few more thing crossed off the list today. One was buying a silk long-stitch picture. I chose a canal scene of Shang Tang Jie, a famous street in Suzhou. It was 390RMB and I got it for 150RMB. It has a frame, but I will probably get it changed before we come home to be like all the others, it'll be cheap. It's a bad photo, but here it is:

Kane has had his crown put on and it looks really good. No more brown tooth for him. He is annoying the crap out of me the last few days, wanting to wrestle and the like and it is driving me insane. He needs to go out and run or something.

OK, off to make banana and walnut muffins.

PS - I also got the bonbonniere's sorted today.

Pictures and Framing

Kane and I got a few more of our jobs done this week. We went to the suit tailor and talked about the fabric and colours. They are going fabric hunting on Wednesday and will let us know when they have found a similar colour to the one we like. Then we can go and see the fabric before the make the suits.

I picked up my paper cuts from the framer, they look awesome! Here as some pictures:

We went this morning to get 8 big pictures printed and then went to the framers (at the same time I got my paper cuts) and all up, I can't believe how reasonable the prices are. We are stoked!

I have been this morning to get root canal treatment number 3. My mouth is still numb now. I will need to go back next Saturday morning to get it filled if all goes well. Then After the holiday I can begin getting the crown made if there is no more pain.

Kane is watching the ANZAC match at Mr Pizza right now. I have not gone down to join him yet. I am feeling a bit woozy/nauseous, maybe from the anesthetic and the Oreo cookie I just ate! He will go to the dentist tomorrow at 1pm to get his crown put on his front tooth.

On good news, we had some issues with Westpac to do with our interest over the last 2 years and due to Kane's wonderful persuasive writing and Mum's hints, we won! We will be receiving a nice little credit to our account in the next week.

We have the Anzac night at Ebony Restaurant tonight from 6pm, some big-wig from the Shanghai Australian Consulate will be there. We will have sausages in bread, The Last Post and two-up to remember those who have put their lives on the line for us.

... Lest we forget

xxx

Holy Crap

I feel shit this afternoon.

I got up this morning feeling dozy and that turned into a nana-nap at 3-4pm and now a headache and horrible taste in my mouth, my eyes hurt and man my head feels all blown up, like a balloon (I already said that - oops). It's a nasty day today, not cold but windy and rainy and grey.

But I did manage to get my measurements done this morning for my wedding dress, plus the bridesmaid dresses are being made. I need to go back to talk about the veil in 3 weeks which is when I need to have the second lot of measurements taken. After that, I met up with some friends in a touristy area and we bought some paper cuts. It's a Chinese art style where they cut light paper into pictures. Some are amazing. I bought 4 and have taken them to be framed. It's all very cheap, all up I think I have spent $60 today on them and framing. I will pick them up next week when Kane and I go to get some pictures printed and also taken them for framing to bring back home in 2 months and 2 weeks time.

Kane went to the dentist this morning to get his front tooth crowned. He has had a brown discolourment for a few years and it was getting worse. The tooth was dead in the X-ray so he chose to get a crown for it. The temporary one looks great, you can hardly notice it is fake, or that it is temporary. Next weekend he gets the real one out on. Plus it is all covered under school and insurance dental plans. I go for root canal treatment 2 tomorrow. Yay! I am looking froward to that... not.

I hope everyone has a nice week.

Kelly

xxx

Oops

I got the day wrong. Wedding dress measurements are tomorrow ditsy Kelly! As I found out when no one came out to catch a taxi with me this morning! Oh well, lets try again tomorrow. However, Kane and I did go and choose and put a deposit down on two pieces of furniture at Frank's Place. An upright enclosed TV cabinet/book shelf or buffet and a matching long low TV unit with wooden vertical strips in the door on both pieces. It will be delivered to our apartment in 4 weeks.

I had part of the root canal done this afternoon. How horrible. It took 5 injections to numb the damn thing. I was so tired by the end and it's not even finished, he could only get 1/2 way down the root so the dentist is expecting another two visits to complete the treatment. Oh well, anything to be able to eat without that tooth hurting. I have put up with that for nearly 4-5 years, whats 1 more week eh? I am so over dentist visits though, I think this was visit 5 (each one is at least an hour), hopefully I can get everything over and done with here and I won't have to go back unless it's a check up.

Alrighty, I'm going to chill out, tomorrow is another busy day.
Kelly
xxx

A busy weekend ahead

This weekend is going to be mental. Kane and I rode today which gets my exercise out of the way nice and easily, but leaves me shattered. Kane is out playing poker at a friends, while I tidy, try to fix the Norton Internet security program (frikkin thing), and get ready for tomorrow. What is tomorrow I hear you ask!!!.....

Tomorrow is measurements day!!!! Yay!

I go to get my wedding dress measured up, the bridesmaids started from their measurements. Kane is also going to get his suit measured and his grooms men's from their measurements. Stuff is starting to happen :)

But, poooh, I need to have a root canal done at 3pm :( I am not looking forward to that one.

On Saturday night there is a birthday party for Dom, Kane's teaching partner. I am not sure if I will make it due to the root canal, but we'll see how we go. Kane will go for a few.

Then on Sunday, I am going to have breakfast with Kirstin and Erin at Casa Zoe's and then we are going to go to Frank's Place to order some furniture, then go shopping for a silk picture and some paper cuttings to take home to hang on the walls. It's going to be a decorating and culture day! We might try to fit in a power walk if we have enough time too.

Have a great weekend,
Kelly
xxx

The Easter Bunny Came Early

I got a bike today! I have been thinking about it for months and months, first I couldn't find what I wanted, then it got too cold to even think about during winter. But today I took the plunge! I road it home and while the seat is harder than I am used too... I will have to suck it up or get a big fat juicy one. Kane is very proud of me :)

Here he is (the bike I mean):







I will will call him Arbow, its an anagram for the kids-riddle about a newspaper: black, white and red all over. Isn't he spunky? The shop 'Silverstorm', where Kane also bought his bike threw in a lock, stand, bell, drink bottle holder and drink bottle, all for around 2500RMB, which is around $500AU. Much better than what I could get back home for the same price me thinks. And as it is, I will only be using it on the roads here in China and in Wodonga.



Also, today was visit 4 to the dentist to begin work on the molar on the right side of my mouth. I have a temporary crown, and I will go back in two weeks to have impressions made to have the crown on my tooth before the end of the month. Next week I get my measurement taken for my wedding dress to be made :0

HAPPY

EASTER

everyone

Have an egg for us!

Luv Kelly and Kane

xxx

Moari Performance

For a small country, New Zealand is well represented at our school. There are about 15 Kiwi teachers out of 165 here at Suzhou Singapore International School. On Wednesday we were visted by a group of school girls from Rotorua Girls High School. They are in China to do a performance for the New Zealand Prime Minister as well as perform at the opening of a new New Zealand building in Shanghai.

They were supposed to perform at some schools in Shanghai but most of the International Schools are closed for Easter. We are one of the unlucky ones!! (What is an Easter egg in Suzhou I wonder?)

They were wonderful. They sung 2 Moari songs, did 3 dances, one with a pompom, one with sticks, and the girls version of the haka performance. They then got the children up to swing some pompoms to music and song.

At the very end it was requested that they sing the New Zealand anthem, so all the teacher and studnets got up who are from NZ to sing with them. It was a special morning for the NZ expats.

Shanghai

We went to Shanghai on the weekend. We stayed at the Howard Johnson on Huai Hai Lu and we had a great time. It was a 5 star hotel, so it was very beautiful. It was on a great street, far enough away from the hustle and bustle and close enough to walk to most places, including the subway, which will get you all around the city for 3-4 RMB each.


We caught the train from Suzhou to Shanghai and went direct to the hotel, then went across the street to eat lunch at Element Fresh. We went to Tai Kang Lu, which is an old Hutong maze that has been changed into a trendy touristy area full of shops and cafes. Kane took a heap of photos and I bought some Oolong Ginseng Tea. It was a pity about the rain though. That night we went out to a Thai place called Simply Thai for dinner, we had mince samosas, wide chicken and asparagus noodles, massaman curry and rice. So yummy!

Ti Kang Lu

Saturday morning I had the hotel buffet breakfast and Kane went to Macca's for 2 egg and bacon McMuffins. See, the hotel deal we got was 1 free breakfast, to pay for the other is was going to be 148RMB per extra person plus 15% service charge. Not in our budget. We went out to Decathlon for some sports shopping, then we went to the copy market, only to come home with only a pair of sunnies. They were not negotiating at the market on Saturday, I think it was because it was quiet. Then we floated around the Superbrand Mall in Pudong. We had an afternoon snack at Element Fresh, again! That night we went on a cruise along the Huang Pu River. It was a free night with the cruise, dinner and drinks all provided by a travel company we use to book out holidays. It was cold, so we stayed below deck mostly and looked out the windows.

Huang Pu River Boat Cruise

On Sunday, I headed across to Element Fresh for breakfast (3rd visit for the weekend), I had yummy blueberry pancakes, while Kane enjoyed the hotel buffet breakfast and then I went shopping at H&M and Zara on Huai Hai Lu. Kane went back to Decathlon to get a camel back and a red rain jacket. Just before we left the hotel, we once again went to Element Fresh for the fourth time. We went to the train station to watch a toddler being held up by his mum doing a shit on a piece of newspaper in first class waiting room- how gross! Kane took a photo, of the toddler I mean :) Here he is in the yellow...

Have a great week everyone

Kelly

xxx