Off on an adventure

Well blog followers - this will be my last post for some time - tonight in t-minus 7 hours, we will be heading out towards the train station to begin our Spring Festival shenanigans. I wanted to let everyone know what we will be doing so people can be at ease when I don't check in for a long time.

First we will take the train down to Shenzhen where we are going to meet up with our friend Andres - he taught with us last year and is now living in southern China with his girlfriend. We will stay there for about a day and a half and probably travel into Hong Kong since neither Anna or Lili have been there. Maybe a stop to Disneyland?

From Shenzhen we are flying to Bangkok where we will stay for a couple days before heading down to Ko Phi Phi for 5 or so days and then heading over to Ko Phangan for the Full Moon party. We are also planning on taking a couple of yoga classes while we are there that they offer on the beach - we are all oober excited for this, even Luke! Maybe we will all come back yoga freaks. We are also not sure, but thinking about climbing to the highest point on the island to check out the view. Luke and I are definitely going to be diving while we are on the islands and excited to check out one of the top rated dive places in the world. We will stay on that island for a week or so and then head back to Bangkok to meet up with Lili's friend Barbara.

After picking up Barbara - we are traveling to the boarder and crossing into Cambodia where we will spend a couple days in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. I am really excited to see this part of SE Asia and to ride around on elephants around the ruins. Not too shabby.

After our temple visit - we are traveling south to Sihanoukville, where we will be staying on a private island for 30 bucks a day total! (I <3 SE Asia - except for Vietnam, hate that place).

From the beach - we will head back to Bangkok and do things around the city like the Tiger Temple and Monkey Temple (which will be pretty bomb dot com) and then we fly back to Shenzhen before heading back to Zhengzhou.

It will be a busy 5 weeks but we are really excited to get going since we have been planning it for so long! We are all packed and ready to head out the door and now it is just a waiting game.

If you need to get in contact with us for some reason - email. I won't be checking it very often but most of our hostels will have internet. We love you all and will try to keep in touch to let you know that we are still alive and haven't gotten into too much trouble. >.<

Shredding It - Level 2

So yesterday, Luke and I were getting ready for our daily 'shred it' time and decided that we wanted to check out level two. We are leaving for Thailand in 2 days and decided that instead of putting the working out on hold (as we often do on vacation) that we would write down the moves and continue while we are in Thailand. I am still in awe at how motivated my husband is - I am really loving how he is feeling better about being able to do these moves and excited about getting back in shape.

So, after two days at level 1 - we decided to bump it up to level 2 to see if there were some more moves that we liked better. We found that not only was it different - but we loved the feeling we got from this work out. Level 1 is good - but not really as challenging as we would have like it to be - level 2 rocked! Rather than doing all of the advanced movements, I found that I had to do some of the modified moves and it made me feel great, like there was a challenge ahead of me and that I could improve.

After our 20 minutes of intense cardio and abs (strength was still pretty easy) we were sweating and feeling the burn. We are definitely looking forward to continuing this workout in Thailand.

This morning I am not sore - but I am sure after a couple more days of this we will start to feel it. >.<

Not only are we starting to exercise together - but we are also working on eating better. All of you who know me understand my love for the worst food. Moving to China has helped me a lot with my taste buds and forced me to consume more food than string cheese and Taco Bell. So yesterday we had grilled chicken, fruit and juice. I will let you know how our work outs continue in Thailand/Cambodia and hopefully we will be able to stick with it. (My goal is to get Jillian's arms)

Welcome little Corbin Christopher Prudhom

Well not too long ago, my lovely cousin gave birth to her son, Corbin Christopher Prudhom in Oklahoma. My mom was able to visit and says that he is doing extremely well. I hope I get to meet the little guy soon when I move back state side.



He looks sooooo much like his dad. I wish them well and know that they are both going to be amazing parents (no questions there).

Shreding It

So - one of my obvious goals for the New Year was to get back into shape. I was running a lot and feeling really awesome about being healthier earlier this year until I was hit with the flu and sick for about two weeks. I was amazed at how my endurance went to crap and I went from running 7+ miles to 1-2 miles slowly. It also didn't help that it got extremely cold over here in Zhengzhou, negatives even. So sadly, I found myself sitting down on my butt and getting slowly worse and worse.

But, one of my friends motivated me to get off my rear and to kick myself back into gear. (You know who you are miss Emily). I downloaded the '30 Day Shred' video by Jillian Michaels and was excited to start 'shredding' myself into shape again.

I did the work out once before going to Beijing and found it pretty easy - except for those bicycle abs things - wow. The next day I wasn't sore and realized that I maybe needed to kick it up a notch. I was going to go to level two when it dawned on me that I didn't have to do this alone. I turned to Luke, who was playing cards and asked him to join me. Normally I would be met with a laugh, but today, he smiled and got up and did the work out with me.

I was really happy to be doing it with him - he didn't have too much trouble doing it, even with the brace. He found the kicks and things a little trickier than some would but said he would continue to do it with me. I am so excited that my husband and I are getting back into shape. We have been getting a little soft.

When we return from Thailand, I am going to continue with the 'Shred' but also start my 1/2 marathon training again. I am excited to run my race in August and think I will be ready by then. (Cross your fingers).

Officially Grad Students!

Well - this was a crazy weekend for Luke and myself.

We traveled by train Friday afternoon to Beijing and took the Praxis I exam early on Saturday morning. This is one of those lovely standardized tests that we need to take to get into graduate school. Luke and I have been studying for a long time (over a month) and I think I did really well. I am hoping I passed all of the sections but who knows. I dislike testing with a passion. >.< Luke thinks that he is going to have to take the writing section again because he never really liked the sentence correction part of the exam. We should know our scores in 4 weeks and hopefully - they will all be good.

When we returned home on Saturday night, I had received an email from our contact at Concordia and she emailed us our acceptance letters - so we are officially in the program as long as we get passing Praxis scores by the second semester! I started jumping around and dancing when we got the news - my top choice school and to be able to move home this summer is like too much awesomeness. So we will be moving home either late late May or early June. Hopefully we will be able to be back on May 30th but we will see.

We also registered to take the ORELA exam on June 12th - as this is another test that we need to take. Luke will also have to take a Praxis II in his specialty and is considering taking it in Beijing because it is so laid back.

Anyway - I just wanted to let you all know that Luke and I really got into graduate school and can't wait to become masters!

Foreign Expert Dinner

Dec. 31st was the second foreign expert dinner for Luke and myself. It is a very formal event that brings some of the foreign teachers in Zhengzhou together to sit and eat with city officials. This year was very different because not only was it on New Years Eve, but also, I was invited to sit at the head table.

I sat between the vice mayor and someone else who had a very long title - both of which did not speak any English. It was pretty boring, but not bad. At the head table they actually served different food then at the other tables and it was really good.

The highlight of the night was when I was reading my menu and found that we were served 'Grilled American'. I am not sure which course it was, but I am sure that I enjoyed it. >.<

Overall it was a good night that ended pretty early. Here are some photos of the event.

New Years Resolution

Well another year has come and gone and I can tell you overall that is was a twist of ups and downs. Last year we were still in China and heading to Vietnam (one of the worst vacations of all time(because of the location, not the people), teaching in China, visiting America and then coming back to China.

Some 2009 highlights that I will always look back with fondly:
Mexico - thank you Mandy for helping my blondeness. Mexico with Mandy, Cory, Sarah and Jason was fantastic and was, by far, one of our favorite vacations of all time.
People coming to visit us in Asia - thank you for all of you brave souls
Cousin at Christmas time - although this was really recent, it is by far one of my favorite memories in China
Getting accepted into grad school - we are so excited to be attending Concordia in the fall, it is going to be amazing
Road trip USA - Luke and I traveling around the US and being welcomed by all of our loving families
Baby Henry, Corbin, Fiona and Trudgeon - To all of the babies who were born or conceived, we are so excited to meet them all. Henry Li over here in China, my friend Sarah's little girl and my two lovely cousins who are coming along anytime now.

There is so much more I could write about but I am so excited to start 2010 with a bang! Luke and I spent a long time trying to figure out what we could do for our New Years Resolution and really - were coming up blank. It is really hard I think to keep on something really intently for 12 months, ideally I would love to say 'I am going to get in shape' or 'I am going to cut out junk food' but people, let's be honest - that would never happen. So Luke and I decided on a dual resolution: TO BE MORE GREEN.

I guess I really came up with this resolution for a couple of reasons. Our lovely hippie cousin Lili moved in next door and she is very green friendly. So all of the time I have spent making fun of her, she has put more and more information into my head. Another reason stems from my students. For their final exam - Lili and I decided to ask them to give a speech about how they would help the environment since it is getting worse and worse. I guess after listening to over 300 speeches in two weeks the message finally sunk in and I do want to help out our earth. So that is what we are going to do.

And in my effort to help out our mother earth - here are five easy ways to start going green yourself:
1. Bag it yourself - Bring your own cloth bag to the grocery store. This preserves resources by cutting down on the huge number of paper and plastic bags that are discarded after a single trip.
2. Save electricity - There are many ways to trim those electric bills. Wash your laundry in cold water instead of hot, line dry your linens, and use a toaster oven for small heating needs instead of a bigger electric stove. Open windows to let the light in, turn off unneeded lights and appliances, and unplug unused electronics to counter the 'energy vampire' effect.
3. Gas gas gas - Sadly, we cannot all go out and get Hybrids but there are still ways you can help. Every gallon of gasoline you burn produces 19 pounds of carbon dioxide, so it pays to conserve (in more ways than one). Your car will work more efficiently if you obey the speed limit and avoid rapid, unnecessary acceleration. Keep your tires properly inflated and get regular tune-ups. Forget warming up under most conditions.
4. Help a farmer - Check out your local farmer's markets and buy some products from them.
5. Drink from the tap - Those single use bottled waters are actually more harm then good for the earth, they tend to not be recycled. Go and pick up a tap filter today so you can start filling up the glass that way.

Those are just a couple ways to start, and I will continue to post more as I keep going on my green kick. Hopefully this will not just be a New Years resolution, but become more a lifestyle change.

Hope everyone had a safe and fantastic New Year! We are excited to travel in two short weeks to Thailand and then only three short months until we will be moving home. Love and miss you all!