Nihao, Cupcake!

Ella Publishing May Take 12 Challenge :: Stepping Back in Time [China-Style]

It is time for yet another Ella Publishing Take 12 Challenge!!

CONFESSION: My twelve photos are not actually from May 12th. Shhhhhhhhh! I had a very special day on May 11th. I had a very special day on May 13th (Mother's Day). On May 12th... not so much.

Don't get me wrong. We had a fun day, but it was not a day that was conducive to good photos. Nor was I in the mood to force myself to take photos, as much as I tried.

I call myself "The Moody Photographer." And when the mood isn't there, I don't take photos.

So, I decided to do my layout with the TWELVE photos that did inspire me. On the 11th I went on a special tour with a group of other moms who live in Beijing. We went to a village just outside of the city. It is the one place in the world that makes the special glazed tiles (many 3 dimensional) that adorn the buildings at The Forbidden City, the city gates (including Tian'anmen Square), the temple buildings in the parks, etc.

It is a workshop where they mine shale in the local mountains. They turn that to clay and packing molds by hand, they create these amazing decorative tiles.

After which, they dip them in glaze (made from cobalt, copper & iron) and fire them in old fashioned kilns. 

 

I love these mock old Chinese coin brads I got from Michaels. They come with two other Chinese-esque brads that are equally as cool/beautiful.  

One reason this trip was so meaningful to me was that I have taken ceramics classes at various times in my life; for two years while in Japan, one summer in college when the visiting professor told me I should be an artist and in California with my kids at our local community center. [How cool that they had Mommy & me ceramics classes,no?!]

I chose this paper from the Far East (Die Cuts With a View) paper pack because the crackling reminded me of the dried mud turning into clay in huge troughs at the front of the workshop. 

 

I wanted the attention on my photos so I chose a sketch (Template 1 in the Template packet) from the Ella Publishing Take 12 Guided Inspiration Kit. And I LOVE how it turned out. The photos are definitely the stars of this layout. They tell the stoy.

There is more journaling I would like to add, so I might add a 6x12 insert and if there is space, I might add a few smaller accent photos along with my journaling.

I just loved this day. 

I loved interacting with the artisans, being able to be right in the heart of their workshop - literally stepping over the wet clay shapes waiting to go into the drying room (essentially a giant oven).

This is the drying room. Notice how the pieces are different shades of grey? The darker pieces are the wet ones and the lighter grey ones are almost dry and ready to go to the glazing workshop.

It was like stepping back in time to simpler times before over-litigation and the chaos of the modern world got in the way.

A day like this is one of the magical treasures that seem to happen or find you when living abroad. It's a wonderful surprise to find amazing things that still seem undiscovered. Hard to find any more!

Oh! I almost forgot! The best part was that we got to take home some of these amazing tiles. The lady who organized the tour is fascinated with the mythical creatures on the tiles that adorn the roofs of the Forbidden City. 

This is my lion.

It is this fascination that inspired her to arrange the tour. She worked on our tour guide the entire time trying to convince him to let us purchase a tile or two and he finally broke down when she told him, "My life won't be complete until I get to take some of those animals home!" With that, they opened up their storehouse and we had a great time shopping in the dark, dusty (such thick dust you wouldn't believe it) store house, picking out our treasures that cleaned up very nicely. 

This is my dragon.

To see all my Flickr photos from the outing, including photos of the village with a faded painting of Mao Zedong (I'm pretty sure that is who it is) on one of the walls and a train rushing past within mere feet of us as we stood on a bridge, click here.

To see all of my past Take 12 Layouts and the corresponding posts, go here.

More inspiration from the Take Twelve Design Team:

Like the Car
Janette Carter-Kincaid
Scrap Inspired
Scrappy Wife, Happy Life
Day by Day
Right Here-Right Now
The Scrapbooking Haven Diva
Scrapworthy Lives
People of the Scrapbook
My Little Blessings
Life is Sweet
A Swoop and a Dart
Endless Possibilities
Yeah, Write

Visit Ella Publishing Co. to link up your layout or photos for a chance to win this month's prize.

 

A Family Story for Storytelling Sunday

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I'm linking up at Sian's blog for Storytelling Sunday (first Sunday of every month). Sian shares a story and invites others to tell a story on their blog and join her linky party. If you have a story to tell, why not think about joining in?!

I'm excited to get this story documented today. I can't believe I managed to get a scrapbook page made as well!

Here is the journaling:

Guilou: This is likely a word we heard while we were sitting at a table in public in Golmud, China in 1997. We were traveling with our friend Bob (from London), who we met on the road. Bob studied Mandarin in Beijing so he was our translator. On this day, we were sriting postcards and since foreigners were a rare sight, we attracted quite a crowd. Bob made a sign (in Mandarin) asking for a few kuai (about 5 cents) to watch the show. Unfortunately, we didn't get any takers so our only take away was a good story!

It is a short but sweet one today. I hope you enjoyed it.

#LOAD212 - Day 8 {Jodhpur Fort}

Even though I have been keeping up with the LOAD (Layout A Day) Challenge, I haven't been posting my layouts here every day for a couple of reasons. Sometimes I have something else to post and other times, I have other people in my layouts that aren't in my family so I keep those layouts only in private galleries.

The papers for this one as well as the sequin-type things at the top were purchased on my trip to India at a neat paper store in Delhi.

What's the most exotic scrapbook supply that you have ever purchased? Where did you buy it?

To see everything LOAD related on my blog, click here.

To see everything SCRAPBOOK realted on my blog, click here.

 

Ella Publishing Take 12 Challenge :: Layout & Jetlag

 

I can't tell you how much I love a project like this. Take twelve photos on the twelfth of every month of the year and then make 12 layouts, of course! Give me a photography challenge and I am there. And taking everyday photos is my favorite.

On the 12th of January this year the boys and I had a 13+ hour flight across the Pacific to be reunited with their Dad who was back in Beijing, China. Not the most exciting activity to take photos of. But there in lies the challenge, no?

We take this flight four times a year - twice there and twice back. It has been a big part of our lives for the last three and a half years. This should be documented. I try to take one or maybe two photos every time we fly but I have never tried to "tell the story" of the flight. I am so glad that I did! I love how so many of the photos turned out.

I used template #12 from the Ella Publishing Take Twelve Template Pack. It was so easy to use! I am still suffering from jetlag - there is a 16 hour difference between California and Beijing - so I didn't want to spend a lot of time on my layout. (I need more sleep!) This template was perfect and it's so cute! I used digital papers and ribbon from Tracie Stroud Designs to add some color. The simple text is Arial.

 

DID YOU TAKE TWELVE??

Did you Take Twelve and make a layout? Join the link party at Ella Publishing! There are prizes. But hurry, you have to link up today (Jan 18).

Do you want to Take Twelve but didn't do it on the 12th? Not to worry, it isn't too late! (Link party for prizes closes today but feel free to link up next month and/or leave me a link in the comments [here and/or at Ella's blog] and I'll come see your page.) In fact, Ella Publishing has a discount on their TAKE TWELVE Inspiration Kit just for procrastinators. Angie Lucas even gives tips on cheating on the blog. I'm all for cheating in scrapbooking if it gets another story told and a memory documented! It all counts, right?

Don't forget to check out the Take Twelve Flickr group and post your photos & finished layouts.

Check out the blogs of the other Ella Publishing Take Twelve Design Team:

 

Like the Car

Nihao, Cupcake!

Janette Carter-Kincaid

Scrap Inspired

Scrappy Wife, Happy Life

Day by Day

Right Here-Right Now

The Scrapbooking Haven Diva

Scrapworthy Lives

People of the Scrapbook

My Little Blessings

Life is Sweet

A Swoop and a Dart

Endless Possibilities

Yeah, Write

 

PROJECT LIFE

I loved the photos my boys and I took on the 12th so much that I came up with a way to integrate more of them into my Project Life album. I'll post that tomorrow (Beijing time) along with my finished Project Life layout from week one that was meant to be posted on Tuesday. (Jetlag is a killer!)

 

FAMILY x 12 Blog Hop {January 5, 2012}

Welcome to the first FAMILY x 12 Blog Hop of 2012!

Every month on the 5th, a small group of us have a blog hop to keep each other accountable in our efforts to take more family photos throughout the year. Our goal is one family photo a month.

How lucky that the blog hop landed on a Thursday because not only do I get to use my photo for the blog hop, but I get to use it as my link up for EMBRACE the CAMERA at The Anderson Family Crew Blog. I love participating and try to as often as I can.

The goal of both events is to encourage ourselves to get in front of the camera with our families and loved ones so it is a perfect match!

My family photo this month was taken on our family holiday in Purgatory, Colorado the week before Christmas. It was my husband's idea. My father was born and raised in Durango (25 miles from Purgatory) and loved it. He took us every other summer when we were growing up. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1989 and I have only been back once. My husband had never been. It is a gorgeous place and definitely holds a very special place in my heart so it was wonderful to see it again. It has changed alot, but it is still the quaint, charming town I remember. Now, we hope to go back again but this time in the summer as there are even more things to do there at that time of year, as there are in the winter. I can't wait to go camping, hiking, jeeping and finally ride the narrow gauge train from Durango to Silverton.

 

Here's a bonus photo of me with my kids and mom in downtown Durango in front of the historic Strater Hotel where my father worked as a bellboy in his youth.

 

A nighttime view of Durango all decorated for Christmas.

 

And another family photo in Zion National park on our way from Durango to Northern California to be with family on Christmas.

 

GIVE AWAY

Before I send you off on the blog hop, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you I was having a HUGE giveaway on my blog right now! I have one space in Ali Edwards' ONE LITTLE WORD class at Big Picture Classes to give away. Comments are open until 9 PM PST tonight. Read the giveaway post for more details.

 

CLASSES

Anyone else taking any classes this year? I am! Right now I am doing TWELVE. with Stacy Julian at BPC, Reclaiming My Time with Karen Grunberg, ONE LITTLE WORD with Ali Edwards, 12 Days of Christmas with a bunch of teachers at BPC and have just signed up for my very favorite...

LOAD!  

Anyone else doing LOAD? I have been participating since 2008 and haven't missed one yet. It's intense, but so much fun. What is LOAD? It stands for Layout A Day - so basically you produce one layout a day for a month and Lain supplies motivation, prompts (optional) and even video inspiration for the first time!

 

OFF YOU GO...

Now on with the blog hop! Next on the list is Ruth. If you should get lost along the way, there is a complete blog hop list and the end of the post, so you can return here to find your way.

 

Margie   http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog <--- You are HERE.

Ruth   http://www.chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com  <--- Go here NEXT. 

Jo           http://www.mrsbeee.blogspot.com

Monica   http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com

Patricia  http://patoliveira.wordpress.com/

Carol Anne    http://www.scrappingthoughts.com

 

MORE STORY BEHIND THE BLOG HOP

The reason I started this hop is because I realized after a trip to Singapore and then a trip to Kyoto, Japan, that I never took a family photo during either amazing trip! How could that happen? Then, I saw a post on Tara Whitney's blog last December that she made a goal to take a family photo once every month in 2010. Her photos were wonderful. Many are just her family hanging around the house. I don't think any of them are formal and posed but they are all very fun. I was so INSPIRED and knew I had to try this. I was lucky that some blog friends wanted to play along. They have guaranteed that I won't forget my goal. And the month when I did forget, I cheated! As long as I take a photo at a time when the month hasn't ended some where in the world, my photo still counts. 

Because the most important thing is that we get more family photos. The time that our loved ones are with us is fleeting, so capturing ourselves together as we are now, is priceless.

One on One: November 1 One Little Word Blog Hop

 

Welcome to the One Little Word monthly blog hop! For those of you that are new, One Little Word is a class at Big Picture Classes, taught by Ali Edwards. A group of us students join together on the first of every month to share our projects. My blog is the first stop. Don't forget to keep going - there's lots more inspiration to follow.

 

This month I am letting the photos speak for themselves. I quickly set up a selection system for myself to narrow down my nine photos for the prompt. I decided to select from all the photos I took between February (our last photo prompt) and today. The photos were already rated 3 stars and I quickly went through and tagged the ones that said SERENDIPITY to me.

I hope you enjoy!

 

Now on to the rest of the amazing participants for more fabulous inspiration. You won't be disappointed! Next on the hop is Julie Ann. If you should get lost along the way, please come back here and you will find a list of all the participants just below.

Thanks for stopping by! See you next month, if not before.

 

But before you go, I hope you don't mind if I ask for your opinion, please? There is a photo contest coming up at the end of this week and I am trying to decide which photo to enter.

This is the contest description:

Community members are invited to make photographic journeys into their understanding of 'truth' in the contemporary urban context.

This may manifest itself in many ways: the truth about congestion, architecture, 
population, pollution, wealth, poverty etc. There are no boundaries regarding 
subject matter as the idea of 'truth' is essentially subjective and personal.

Here are the two I am considering:

I see this photo as the truth of modern Chinese culture. We are in the back streets of a Chinese city and although the conditions are poor and the mother in the background is dressed in modest clothing working outside her home. The little girls are posing for the camera nicely dressed in their namebrand, albeit fake, clothing. Notice the Chanel zipper pull?

This second photo tells the truth about someone. We are first drawn in by the bright colors and pretty items on the surface but at second glance we notice the stains, the haphazard sticthing to repair the fabric, as we look longer, we notice more details and get a glimpse into who this person might be - the scissors, the old fashioned needle, the keys, the coin, what looks like a thumb drive on the key chain.

If you have any other thoughts that pop into your head about either photo and how they relate to the theme of truth, I'd love to hear those too.

Now back to the blog hop! Thanks for letting me steal you for a few minutes. I had to take the opportunity since I knew I would have a higher volume of visitors today. Thanks!

EDITED Nov 6, 2011: Unfortunately, the photo contest has been postponed until early February (after Chinese New Year). They didn't email until the day of the original due date. Oh well! It is just as well, though, since I was only the second entry. I really appreciate everyone's input. It was really very helpful.

And don't forget, Julie Ann is next on the blog hop!

 

November 1 OLW Blog Hop Participant List

 

Margie              http://xnomads.typepad.com/

Julie Ann            http://julieannshahin2.blogspot.com

Lisa                 http://backtoallen.com/writers_blog

Sam                  http://learncreatedo.wordpress.com

Jenn                  http://studiojenn.blogspot.com

Cheri                http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com

Jan                  http://mysimplelittlelife.typepad.com

Debra                http://blakleyhomeplace.blogspot.com

Nikki                http://www.inkyart.com.au

Monica            http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com

Rebekah            http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com

Lynn                 http://crafty-creativity.blogspot.com

Amanda            http://scrappnbee.blogspot.com

Jill  http://jillconyers.typepad.com/

 

31 DAYS of CREATIVE INSPIRATION:: Day 15 {Color Inspiration}

This is the 15th post in a 31 Day series: Creative Inspiration. Check out all the posts here.

It is the Color Combo Blog Hop today! This is the third time I have participated (I think?!), but it is a monthly event and lots of fun. We are given a color combo and can use it to make something, anything we want. It is a great excuse for me to crank out a scrapbook page especially if I haven't done one in a while, which I haven't.

You should have found your way here from Sue's blog. Thanks to Amy for hosting.

Color does great for inspiration, don't you think? And so does a challenge? And what better deadline than a blog hop? More great support for an online habit, like I discussed in yesterday's post. Blog hops are awesome like that.

And today you get to experience one first hand. Hop on to the other blogs to see what the other ladies did with one of the color combos. We were given three to choose from. I chose this one:

 

Here is my scrapbook page. I purchased the patterned paper (yellow & gold) & the dimensional flowers in Delhi, so I thought they were perfect for this page which is about our Elephant ride in Jaipur, India in the state of Rajasthan.

I still need to add journaling. I want to ask my kids about their memories of this exciting and unforgettable ride. And I just realized I misspelled unforgettable, the title! So I am not quite done, but you get the main idea!

What inspires you? Is it color? If so, what is your favorite color combo?

Next on the hop is Michelle. Please continue on as there are lots more color inspiration after me, all with a fall color scheme. If you should get lost, see below for a list of all the participants on todays' hop!

Thanks for stopping by and please come again!

www.abstractsmixedwithextracts.com

http://suealthouse.blogspot.com

http://xnomads.typepad.com    <--- You are HERE now.

http://michelleroycroft.blogspot.com  <--- Go HERE next.

http://throughthecameralens.typepad.com/

http://scrapyourlife.net

http://spud-pickle.blogspot.com/

http://curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com

http://1200somemiles.blogspot.com

http://sugarandscrap.blogspot.com

http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com

http://handmadebykirsty.blogspot.com

http://adriennefalzon.blogspot.com/

http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.com

http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

http://scribblesstickingstitchingstroking.blogspot.com/

31 DAYS OF CREATIVE INSPIRATION: Day 10 {Drive-By Travel Photography} 10 on 10 @ Shimelle.com

This is the 9th post in a 31 Day series: Creative Inspiration. Check out all the posts here.

Today I hope to inspire you with 10 special travel photos on the 10th of the 10th month for Shimelle's 10 on 10 link party. Anyone can join - it's simple. Blog about any ten things of your own creation on the tenth of the month, go to Shimelle.com and link up.

My husband and I came to Beijing in 1997 right after we were married. We stayed for three days and did all of the typical tourist things. We took photos at all the expected places, Tian'anmen Square under Mao's portrait, The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, etc.

What we forgot to take pictures of were the ordinary things - the crowded buses, the two line subway, the large boulevards dominated by bicycles, the blocks and blocks of old courtyard homes (hutongs), the street food, the people.

Now that it is 2011, Beijing is unrecognizable to me. It looks nothing like it did when I was here 15 years ago. I would love to look back at my Beijing holiday photos and remember how it was back then. To see how truly remarkable the change has been.

But I can't. I don't have any photos.

With the way I take photos these days. So. much. of the everyday. It is hard for me to fathom how I took virtually no 'everyday' photos back then.

What was I thinking?

No foresight for what was to come. None! 

Our first camel sighting in Rajasthan.

I want to remember what is unique about the places I am fortunate enough to visit. The tourist attractions, I can buy a postcard if I have to. The everday sights, the back alleys, the back roads, the villages - it is up to me to get those on film.

Now when I travel, I cannot take enough photos. I thought I took a lot before. I refuse to admit how many photos I take in a day now. It's embarrasing.

But now I have gems like these.

 

Do you know what is unique about all ten of the photos in this post?

Each one was taken from inside a moving vehicle. 

Imagine if I didn't get these amazing sites captured on film? 

In fifteen years, this India, which is developing rapidly, will be unrecognizable. I want to remember these places how they were when I got to visit this past June.

The photo above and the one below were taken from inside a Toyota 4 Runner with the windows tightly rolled up and the A/C blasting - Rajasthan is SIZZLING HOT in June.

This photo was taken out of the back of a rickshaw. That's my husband on the back of the motorcycle with the son of the owner of our Haveli (centuries old home) where we were staying. He picked us up from the station and arranged for a motor rickshaw to take us there. Paul couldn't fit with all our luggage (5 daypacks). Later in our trip we would count 15 people in one motor rickshaw, so I'm not sure why we couldn't manage one more person in ours!

This photo was taken from the back of an open air gypsy (jeep type vehicle) returning home from our camel safari.

I'm linking up at Shimelle.com today for 10 on the 10th.

 

5 BONUS DRIVE-BY PHOTOS

I find this photo humorous for some reason. Do you think it's funny? If so why? I can't quite figure it out. Does it seem like a quirky ad for coconut shampoo?

I love the glimpses of the everyday in these photos.

Most of them are straight out of camera (SOOC). I think they will look even better if I spend a little time cropping some and brightening them up. I shoot in RAW, so as many of you know that typically means they are a bit drab until they get some loving care.

I'm dying to crop out that edge of the cart on the right of the photo below. That will make that picture so much cleaner.

You don't need a fancy camera to be a DRIVE-BY PHOTOGRAPHER. In fact, I know a few of these photos were taken with my Canon Point & Shoot on SPORTS MODE.

 

You can see the glare from the car window on this one. I'm in the 4 Runner again.

I had hardly a moment to frame these photos, so as you can imagine I had far more pictures worthy of deletion than saving.

But look how many are worth saving.

I took this one out the window of our train while it was leaving the station. Is it just me, or does it seem counterproductive to SWEEP off a train track.

 Tomorrow is Project Life Tuesday. Not only will I be posting my photos, but I'll give you a peek into my album.

 

 

31 Days of Creative INSPIRATION Series

Introduction

Day 1: Design Your Own Cupcake

Day 2: Storytelling Sunday

Day 3: Scrapbooking (Week in the Life Album)

Day 4: Everyday Photojournalism (Project 365/Project Life)

Day 5: Family Photo Fun - FAMILY x 12 BLOG HOP

Day 6: Links to Creatively Inspiring People (all writing a 31 Day series)

Day 7: Healthier (But Still Delicious) Cottage Pie

Day 8: Photo Walk

Day 9: Fun Photo Story

Day 10: Drive By Travel Photography

Other topics in the works for my 31 Days of Creative Inspiration Series: 

Photography - I answer the question, 'How do I know if I should buy a DSLR camera?', Family Photo Fun ideas from around the web.

Recipes - my husband's delicious salsa, HealthIER (Yet Still Delicious) Recipes

Scrapbooking - My favorite mini album, 30 minute scrapbook challenge

more Cupcake Ideas, craft ideas...

AND LOTS, LOTS MORE (I'm posting for 31 Days straight, remember?!)

And to find more than 700 other blogs participating in the 31 Days series, go here. There is a huge variety of topics to choose from.

India: Rajasthan – a Photo Book from Paper Coterie

India: Rajasthan  created by: Margie S.

A random grouping of some of our favorite photos from our trip to India in June. Unfortunately the order of the pages have been mixed and I am in the process of working with customer service to get this straightened out, so please excuse the strange order of things.

via www.papercoterie.com

Click on the link to view my book.

FAMILY X 12 August Blog Hop

Ok, so my biggest blogging fear came true! I totally blanked on posting this month's blog hop and I am the first blog on the hop!

I think that is a sign that life is more stressful or chaotic than I am admitting perhaps! But, that doesn't mean I can't keep plowing forward and doing my best and publish my post a few hours late. Please forgive me!

Last month I had to cancel the blog hop at the last minute due to my husband's sudden illness, so this month we bring to you two months worth of family photos.

 

JULY FAMILY PHOTO

As many of you may know, we live in Beijing and for the summers the kids and I come to California while my husband stays in Beijing to work. Most summers he is able to come join us for a couple of weeks but this year there is just too much to do at work. It also didn't help that he missed two weeks of work due to his scary illness earlier in July. This means that our immediate family was not all together at any time during the month. So, instead I present you this photo of me with my kids and my mom. If it were not for the hop, I know I would not have remembered to get a photo of all of us with my mom. So even though it isn't exactly a family photo, it is a treasured photo none-the-less.

 

JUNE FAMILY PHOTOS

This is our family in Ranthambhore Wildlife Park in Rajasthan, India on a tiger safari. We were lucky enough to see a tiger in the afternoon taking a drink at the watering hole.

 

Later in the evening the hotel's chef invited us into the kitchen to see the Tandoori oven. He showed us how he makes naan, chicken and vegetables. So interesting!

The next person on the hop this month is Melissa.

And if you should get lost along the way, feel free to come back here to find a list of all the other participants and their blog addresses.

 

AUGUST FAMILY x 12 BLOG HOP PARTICIPANTS

Margie  http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog <--- You are HERE
Melissa  http://www.melissagross.blogspot.com  <---Here next
Carol Anne   http://www.scrappingthoughts.com
Ruth  http://www.chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com
Patricia http://patoliveira.woodpress.com/

Monica  http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com
Jo  http://www.mrsbeee.blogspot.com

 

Tiger Safari and other India Memories

I'm back for one post, anyway. This happens a lot. I go away on holiday and my routine of posting gets interrupted and I find it very challenging to get back in the groove. It didn't help this time that 48 hours after I returned I got a nasty flu bug. At first I thought it was something I caught in India, but it turns out it is going around here in Beijing at the moment. In fact, my husband is on day #3 of his turn with the bug.

Today I will share a couple of photos and some India memories that I've had written for more than a week now.

In this photo below, see if you can see the tiger in the distance. It was my 'proof we saw a tiger' photo.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: our family joke - 50% of the world's mangos come from India (true fact but we brought it up over and over again during the entire trip).

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the taste of magos, especially smoothies & shakes of that flavor, will forever be the taste of India to me

I WANT TO REMEMBER: sharing the excitement of seeing a tiger in the wild with my young sons - nobody was too cool, or too hungry, or too tired, or too young to appreciate the gift of the moment

I WANT TO REMEMBER: our visits to several Indian sweet shops - they were usually air conditioned and offered a refreshing place to rest and try out some of the local food that was of interest to the whole family. We all ended up with our favorites.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: Braden warming up to the locals on the street unlike he does in China.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: Braden making friends on a train with an Indian boy his age.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: an amazing vacation that included the perfect balance of adventure and luxury, excitement and relaxation.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: my real ayurvedic massage in the hotel spa

I WANT TO REMEMBER: croquet with the family on the lawn by the pool

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the family at the haveli where we stayed in Jodhpur - their kindness & hospitality

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the warmth of the people, the country overwhelmed with poverty & filth yet teeming with life (human & animal), culture, color, hospitality & spirit

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the soda cart vendor who sold us 2 7-ups outside the Red Fort - he gave us a fair price and then helped us locate our driver without expecting anything in return

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the service and warmth of the staff at our hotel in Rathambore

I WANT TO REMEMBER: swimming with the kids in the cool pools at both hotels.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: complimentary mango sorbet at the pool as well as the instant trays of ice cold water, sunscreen and spray bottles

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the man who picked us up at the Agra train station right after Reece warned me that this was not a vacation. We were being watched closely with curiosity (not many foreign families hang out at train stations, I imagine). He handed us cold, wet cloths to wipe our brows, ice cold bottled water and took care of our bags. He whisked us off to the Oberoi in Agra with its amazing view of the Taj Mahal complete with live Indian music playing below, an amazing terrace that over looks the palatial grounds with the Taj Mahal in the background, complementary fresh lime juice (also a taste of India) and a golf cart a 100 meters from the entrance to the Taj.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the protest we encountered that blocked our road to Rathambore. The melee that ensued on the road and how brilliantly our driver handled the situation. He turned our car around in the middle of the road and got us out of there ASAP. We found an alternate road that hadn't been blocked yet and drove through back roads until we were out of the state where the protest was held and safely in Rajasthan. Our safety was not in jeopardy but our road to our next destination was!

I WANT TO REMEMBER: how calm and collected we were in that situation. All of our travel in developing nations and living abroad in foreign lands has prepared us to be calm and not scared.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: how good it felt to feel confident in a land that intimidated me 14 years ago.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: such special times with the kids, sharing with them the magic we experienced 14 years ago before they came into our lives.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the lessons my kids learned by seeing how kids have it in other parts of the world. Now when I tell them they are being ungrateful for complaining about soggy bread in their eggs benedict, they take me seriously and shape up even if it takes a few minutes.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the families and other local tourists who stopped us and asked to take photos with us - kids and parents alike.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: how Nicholas still likes it because it makes him feel a little like a celebrity

I WANT TO REMEMBER: thouroughly enjoying the luxury of two of our hotels

I WANT TO REMEMBER: enjoying the two days & three nights of our trip when we were roughing it - two nights in a clean but minimal backpackers haveli and an overnight train (A/C class with private cabin). I felt like I was really visiting India.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: walking the streets, interacting with the people, purchasing things, photographing the sights

I WANT TO REMEMBER: how my blisters that were getting infected miraculously cleared up when we arrived at the luxury hotel after two days in the backpackers haveli!

I WANT TO REMEMBER: how Paul basically interviewed every waiter, waitress, hotel staff, naturalist guide, driver and haveli owner we encountered and ended up knowing more about them than their own families by the time we moved on

I WANT TO REMEMBER: I accidentally drank water from the man selling me 2 SD cards for my cameras - his bottle was the same color as the one I just threw away and was sitting right at my elbow - oops! I live dangerously.

 I WANT TO REMEMBER: buying a mango on the street and tasting its delicious refreshment in the desert heat of Jodhpur (around 117 degrees F)!

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the kids fascination with the ancient observatory in Jodhpur. They wanted to go back to take the audio tour at a cooler time during the day.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: Braden pasting his face up to the window to watch the three musicians playing traditional instruments during our meal. They were so good-natured about it and interacted with him and me as I was trying to take photos. His shyness was hardly noticeable in India.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: how Nicholas loved the special bears and hats the hotel staff left for them on our day of departure

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the fancy dessert plates the staff left for the kids in their rooms with their names written in chocolate - Reece gobbled his down before I could get in there to take photos

I WANT TO REMEMBER: the curious little people in the train station there were fascinated with the foreign family.

I WANT TO REMEMBER: my favorite time is days spent doing 'things' with my family.

 

Two quotes I saw on Steve McCurry's blog that really speak to me:

"The traveler sees what he sees.
The tourist sees what he has come to see."     
- G. K. Chesterton

"The World is a book,  and those who do not travel
read only a page." 
- St. Augustine

 

Other things I've seen on the web lately worth noting.

Here is a blog post by my blog friend Linda who wrote this article in response to a question I asked her. Thanks, Linda! It includes information on British beach huts I never knew I didn't know!

http://linda-lindasphotoblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/beach-huts.html

 

A freebie! Digi poloaroid frames are all the rage and you can get a whole set for free here:

Free digi Polaroid frames

http://www.fuzzimo.com/free-hi-res-blank-polaroid-frames/#comment-8221

 

Some great journaling prompts from Ali Edwards

http://aliedwards.com/2011/05/13-everyday-life-journaling-prompts.html

 

A little late on this one, but an important blog post by Shimelle. This topic is close to my heart as you see poor children without education in developing nations when you travel and I feel so helpless of how I can help. The group she highlights seems to be a great way to do something productive.

http://www.shimelle.com/paper/1067/five-ideas-for-scrapbooking-with-girl-power/

McDonald's in India

Some more unedited photos. My computer problems and my bad flu are preventing me from dressing up my photos like normal. This will have to be enough...

While in India for over a week, the kids were craving some Western food (though, truth be told, they did eat a lot of Western food throughout the week), so we searched out a McDonald's. My husband was also keen to go since it is fun to see what is on the menu at McDonalds around the world.

India did not disappoint.

There was no beef or pork on the menu! I have a picture of a sign stating this. My 10 year old son insisted on taking the photo since he and my 12 year old son were so shocked to find no hamburgers. I will have to post that photo later since I have yet to download it on to my computer.

The cow is sacred in India so it is against the law to kill a cow or any animal, for that matter. Or so we were told. I'm not sure the specifics of that law, but based on the plethora of animals every where, I would not be surprised. 

We tried the Chicken Maharaj Mac and the Spicy Paneer Passion and Spicy Paneer wrap. I love the chicken sandwich's name - Maharaj, of course, is the name of some of the royalty in Rajasthan and Paneer is a popular cheese served all over India. If you ever eat Indian food, I'm sure you've seen it on the menu.

Simple things like an exotic menu at a Mc Donald's in Jaipur, India made me smile this week. 

I'm linking up at The Simple Things.

 

FAMILY x 12 June Blog Hop

This is another photo that I cheated on. It was no longer June in India but it was still June in Hawaii, so this is going to count. I am so amazed how an entire month can go by even with this challenge such a forefront in my mind and yet I still don't take a family photo all month long!

In the interest of time this one is not edited. I have come down with a case of traveller's stomach flu, I'm guessing. I have a low fever and keep visiting the bathroom. Glad it waited until I got home.

Not to mention I was greeted by major computer problems that I've been working on since last night.

So without further ado, please visit Melissa next.

But before you head off, if you are interested in joining us for this monthly blog hop, please send me an email and you can join us on July 5. To see everything FAMILY x 12 on my blog click here.

 

 

Margie  http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog <--- HERE
Melissa  http://www.melissagross.blogspot.com <--- Go here next.
Carol Anne   http://www.scrappingthoughts.com
Ruth  http://www.chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com
Jo  http://www.mrsbeee.blogspot.com
Sharis  http://www.airbs.blogspot.com

Patricia http://patoliveira.wordpress.com/

MonicaB   http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com/

 

Ten on Ten: 1st Day in India

This is my first post after a little blog hiatus. I was in India with my family for the past ten days. It was an amazing trip to say the least. It is a rough place to travel but at the same time the people are really wonderful and the country is steeped in culture, history, spirit and life. It is possible to travel comfortably there and with a history of service and luxury, they know how to treat guests. We had the perfect balance of relaxing holiday and adventure. I'll look forward to sharing more about our trip in the days to come, but for today I am only going to share my ten most favorite photos from our very first day in India.

Our first day was spent in Delhi while my husband was at a business meeting so it was me and my three boys (ages 12, 10 & 6) navigating Delhi on our own in the 107+ degree heat. We hired a taxi from our hotel and went to see the Red Fort & do a little shopping (obviously not my sons' idea to go shopping). It was nothing special so don't expect anything too spectacular from these photos. But the rest of our trip was just spectacular.

(In the interest of time, I did not edit these photos. They are SOOC. Please forgive!)

 

I'm linking up over at Shimelle.com as part of the Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers class.

 

 FAMILY X 12 MONTHLY BLOG HOP TOMORROW

Tomorrow come back to the blog for another FAMILY x 12 blog hop to see more beautiful family photos. And if you'd like to join us, please let me know (email me or leave a comment and be sure to sign in with your email address). On the 5th of every month (except this month) we share our one family photo for the month.

My Big Blue Marble Pen Pal

Remember a time when making friends from far away meant putting pen to paper, a trip to the post office and lots of waiting time between correspondence? There was no such thing as email, Skype, message boards or forums. Heck, there was no such thing as the internet! Wow, have things changed. I'm feeling ancient just writing that.

Well, way back then, in the technology dark ages, I wrote away to the TV show The Big Blue Marble for a pen pal! I wrote to the girl they matched me with for more than a decade but eventually we lost touch.

But tonight, she found me through Facebook! How amazingly cool is that?! I have no idea when we originally found each other, but I do know we originally found each other all because of that show. (edited to read: Apparently she is the one with the better memory - she just told me via FB that we were 10 when we started writing.)

Here's the show's intro from YouTube:

 

And the lyrics to the theme song:

The earth's a big blue marble when you see it from out there . . .
Closer, getting closer, perspectives start to change. Things look a little strange, as we get closer.
Closer, growing closer, no need to be afraid our troubles start to fade, as we get closer.
Together is a word we must learn to understand, if we ever want to get to know each other better.
Together is a word that holds tomorrow in it's hand, tomorrow's just another day to get together, and...

Get closer, closer, closer…

Such a great message. It was back then and still is today.

Back to my story...

Andrea and I started writing to each other probably sometime in elementary school and we wrote back and forth all through high school until we were able to meet the summer after I graduated from high school.

It is horrible because right now I can't remember which state she was from. I want to say New Jersey or some where in the North East. I know I used to have her address memorized but my brain is over stuffed with other things like kids, Mandarin Chinese, husband's travel schedule, recipes, etc, etc that it has been pushed out the bottom (it has nothing to do with old age - my brain is just getting full).

Anyway, that summer one of my best friends and I drove my little green VW bug up to Northern California. We met up with Andrea, my pen pal, in San Francisco at the Esprit outlet! How 80's is that?! I was scared to death to drive in San Francisco with all the really steep hills (my car was a stick shift!) and funky lane changes - so different than the suburbs (I was only 17) - but somehow we made it.

Andrea and I continued to write back and forth over the years but then eventually lost touch likely sometime in our mid-20s? I'll have to see if she has better recollection than I do. And now, out of the BLUE tonight while I am sitting at my computer, I get a Facebook email from none-other-than her! I cannot believe that it never occured to me to look for her on Facebook. I was beyond excited! We exchanged a few emails before she had to get offline to pack up her stuff to run off to her job in Iraq of all places! She spends one month in Colorado (near my Dad's hometown & favorite places in the whole wide world) and two months in Iraq.

I think it is quite a coincidence that we are both abroad. I suppose if we were both curious enough about people in other places that we would write to a TV show called Big Blue Marble, it is no surprise we are out exploring that big blue marble as adults!

I cannot wait to go home this summer and start digging through my old photos and my memorabilia boxes to find pictures of us in San Francisco as well as bags of her letters I know I have saved! Of course, it is no surprise that I saved every one, is it?!

So, I am sorry, readers, you will have to wait a few more months to see photos of me, dressed in a bright yellow mini-dress, and my penpal, dressed in a blue v-neck sweater, standing in front of the San Francisco Esprit outlet on a beautiful but windy day.

How about you? Any fond memories of a childhood pen pal?

Wuzhen, China & My Pursuit of Photography

I went to Wuzhen, China for a photography workshop. It was a chance for me to get out of Beijing, have a break from motherhood in between two weeks of my husband being out of town, but most importantly to try out my newfound photography skills that I have been working on the past nine or ten months.

I can't say that my results were all disappointing. If I compare the results from this weekend to the very first weekend photography workshop I took last year, I'd definitely say there was improvement. But, I also cannot say that I was as pleased with my results as I was hoping.

The good news is that I saw a glimpse of my own personal style. One that I like. The other good news was that I now know what I need to do next to take my photography to the next level. The part I find frustrating is that I think I already knew what I need to do to improve before I even went on the weekend.

Hearing it from someone else made it that much clearer, though. It also helped me decide that I need to stop pussyfooting around and get serious. I need to find a story that is important to me and tell it in photographs. I need to get permission to be somewhere and then concentrate on my photography rather than worry about how much longer I should stick around the random person before I feel uncomfortable and bolt.

You see most of my practice has been wandering around Beijing with a friend(s) looking for people or things to photograph. You see, for a shy person like me, even in a place as friendly as Beijing is to a caucasian woman with a camera, this can be intimidating and nervracking. It's 90% all my own hang-ups and I know this, but it is still a huge challenge. One I have made progress on, but still is always hanging over my head while I shoot in these situations. Very likely, preventing me from relaxing and most importantly THINKING while I click away.

Since I've recieved this feedback, there's been a switch with in me. I'm not sure what it is and only time will actually tell if it is a permanent change. So far it feels different.

The other positive thing about getting that feedback on my individual photographs was that I knew he was right! I had told myself those same things in many an internal conversation. Problem was, I also convinced myself of the opposite and sometimes an outside party would agree.

Without hearing it from someone with professional credibility, I didn't know which side to believe. Now I do.

Som of my other photos are 'good,' per se. Nicely framed, in focus, reasonable lighting, most often an interesting subject, but beyond that - ho hum! Now these are my words, not his. But let's be honest! The thing I love about photography is those magical photos. Those perfect photos that are more than just a snapshot. That are even more than just a good image. Those complex images that take more than just luck. That is what I want to be able to achieve. I have a good foundation, but I am not there yet.

And as disappointing as that is to make that realization. If I were already there, then the goal wouldn't be as compelling. It would be far too easy to achieve. So I continue.

Many of the photos I have liked over the past few months, I have been pleased with because they had achieved something I wasn't able to do before. They were one small step in the right direction. There are still huge flaws with those photos, but they are the ones that mark improvement.

Sometimes it is easy to get stuck on the glory of those small accomplishments and forget that I still have a long way to go.

I have a lot more to say on this topic. But, for now I will let you check out the photos from the weekend I've selected to share. Pursuing photography is a long process. Whether or not I ever make it my profession or if I just pursue the ultimate photograph in my free time, it is something I want to do.

Week in Photos with an excursion to Wuzhen

Hello again! It has been another week between posts. I will include my week in photos with Simple Things again this week. Scroll down to see which photo I chose...

Sunday, March 13

Passing time while waiting for our brunch food by listening to something on Dad's phone. Likely a recording of themselves.

Monday, March 14

Reece HATES all vegetables as well as fruit except apples. I usually let him get away with not eating veggies, but every so often, I insist he eats some broccoli since it is the best food out there.

Tuesday, March 15

Every week Braden brings home one of these that acknowledges something important he does at school. This week's acknowledgement reads: We honor Braden for showing the virtue of gentleness when he practiced singing and used clam gestures and motion.

Wednesday, March 16I relish watching him grow in his independence. Though not to be overshadowed by his absolute love of FRUIT!

General safety is not a huge priority any where in China. Even at Braden's school that is so diligent and organized, things we would never dream of at home, do occur (like when I visited the classroom and one of the five year old girls carried over a tray with a teapot full of hot water and poured me a cup!). This week he learned how to peel and cut an entire dragon fruit under the supervision of his teacher! I know he didn't use a super sharp knife, but could you ever imagine that happening at home?? He is an enthusiastic fruit eater (maybe an addict?) and helped prepare the fruit 3 days in a row until they told him it was someone else's turn. Now he loves preparing fruit at home. Fine by me! I love the help.

Thursday, March 17

Braden lost another tooth! you can see two spaces on the bottom now. Hurray! Though he was kind of sad when this one fell out. I was waiting for him to get ready to go home and he was holding his gloves in his teeth and out it came!

Friday, March 18

I took a 3 day travel photography workshop this weekend. After a morning of travel to our destination of Wuzhen, a water town near Shanghai, China, we headed out to start capturing photos. I was on this bridge taking scenery photos when I noticed this man heading in my direction. I kept my camera to my face, waiting for his approach, with my focus point set exactly where I wanted it (furthest right hand point) and when he came in to position, I made a slight turn and CLICK! I knew I had it. One of my favorite photos from the weekend caught in the first hour of the workshop.

Saturday, March 19
We ventured away from the touristy part of Wuzhen and quickly encountered this guy. He was selling these straw hats from his wooden cart. He approached me putting one on my head saying in Mandarin 'Pretty! Pretty!' Of course he was trying to sell me one. One hat cost about $3USD, but I didn't need one. I told him I couldn't carry one and he showed me how to carry it easily! Funny. While we were conversing, I knew I had to take the opportunity to take a photo. I put the hat down and turned away. Meanwhile, my photography partner came up to help translate. He took a picture of the man's hands demonstrating how to easily hold the hat. When my partner turned to go, the man started to harrass him for money for the photo he took. It didn't even include his face - it was just of his hands. He was getting agressive and grabbing at clothes. My partner looked at me and asked me what he should do. We had a brief consult and decided it was better to give him a small sum to avoid any violence. He gave him just about the equivalent one USDollar and that did the trick. It's unfortunate and it will probably encourage him to do the same to the next tourist. It is a tough call to make. It is better to be safe for sure.

Check back later today or Wednesday and I will be posting more photos of my trip to Wuzhen.

Best Shot Wednesday - Jiaozi Restaurant in the Hutongs

If you are looking for the Project Life Tuesday post, please go here. I mistakenly put this web address and wasn't able to figure out how to delete it. Please forgive me!!

IMG_7995.jpg, originally uploaded by Xnomads.

For Chinese New Years Day we ended up in this restaurant for a traditional meal of Jiaozi (dumplings). And at one point, all of these workers came out of the kitchen and just stood there staring at the few of us diners in the restaurant. Then at the same time, they all got back to work. Perhaps their break was over?

This photo is so China to me. You so often see people just staring with a blank look in their eyes. Since living here, I have learned that people work long hours with very little time off. Sometimes 15 hour days with one or two days off a month. I think if I worked that much, I would always have a dazed look on my face.

Chinese New Year Fireworks 2011 (Simple Things)

 

IMG_7491.jpg, originally uploaded by Xnomads.

It is really no simple thing to live in a different country and get to experience first hand their traditions and celebrations. This takes place nightly and directly in front of our apartment complex. It is not what I would call safe, but it is spectacular.

The only opportunity I have ever had to have fireworks explode directly over head!.The ashes from this firework landed directly on my camera!

This is the end of one of those famous strings of firecrackers. When fully rolled up in a coil, it is about thigh high! Unreal.

One of the door men from our apartment complex gets help unloading more boxes of fireworks.

That blast to the right is a firework blasting off as the two helpers on the left are setting up some more.

Street view of more fireworks shooting skyward. Notice the man on the three-wheeled cycle pass the fireworks set to go off as if it's just an ordinary circumstance. No extra clearance or anything.

I was directly below the fireworks as they went off. My camera and I were covered in ashes.

It was incredibly loud. I should have brought ear plugs. I was afraid by morning my hearing would be gone!

Another firework explodes through the city streets. Only meters away from apartment buildings and offices.

A father-daughter pair share in the fun... 

and danger!

The scene on the sidewalk in front of our apartment complex in the Central Business District, Beijing.

The police stop for a moment to enjoy the fireworks while on their rounds. I caught these guys looking up but the waved me away as soon as they saw me aim my camera in their direction.

The clean up begins before the smoke dissipates.

Inches of red debris from all the fireworks. Fifteen more days of the same to follow.

Not safe, but it is incredible. A once in a lifetime experience for sure.

My husband bought some for my kids. They will let them off tomorrow night as it is the fifth night of the New Year and a special day for the God of Fortune.

Simple Things - Ice Chairs

This is about as simple as it gets! An ice chair that has seen better days, but it sure makes for a fun afternoon!

http://rebeccacooper.blogspot.com

Two friends and I go out once a week to take photographs around the city. This day we picked Houhai Lake which has been frozen over for the winter. We decided to rent ourselves some ice chairs and picks (used like ski poles) and explore the frozen lake.

These are my photography friends and an Australian friend visiting from Germany.

When you need a break from your ice chair, you can stop here and play ring toss. Perhaps you could win a prize. While I was taking photos, the money collecter came over and told me I couldn't take photos. Since living in China, my personality has completely changed. In English, I asked him why? Why not? I took another picture or two and he left. I then decided I wasn't getting very good pics anyway so I moved on. In China, if someone can't give me a good reason why I should or shouldn't do something, I just go forward with it (within reason). It's just the way you have to be here. So many people are uninformed and insist they have correct information when in fact, they do not. So, you learn more and more to trust your gut, and do what you want or need to do until you find otherwise.

These boys were amused by us. They followed us around the ice and loved when I took photos of them. The boy on the left could speak some English. In Chinese he told me the ring toss game wasn't any good. Later on he caught up with me again and told me in English that he was going to be in New York and DC over Spring Festival (next week) to play the flute with his school! Good for him! 

Who knew? A Cloakroom on ice! I'd never seen one of these before. Have you? Those white things are racks for your shoes. And you can see people sitting on benches in front of them putting on their ice skates.

Alright, so if you were unimpressed with the cloakroom on ice because you have seen them one too many times, I bet you have never seen a sheep robot that carries children in a rickshaw! Have you? I'd only wished that I caught a photo of one of these lovely things actually carrying a child. They seemed to be more popular over in the child section of the frozen lake. When I bring my kids back this week, I'll have to find one with a child in it or see if my youngest is small enough to take a ride! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity if ever there was one!

You do agree that these robots look like they should have a starring role in a horror film, don't you? We were pretty creeped out so we decided to take care of this one before she came back to haunt us in our dreams. Think Twighlight Zone where this thing keeps turning up in your hometown and follows you around Target, Walmart, the supermarket. Maybe she shows up at your son's soccer game, your daughter's basketball game, your husband's weekend cricket match. No matter where you go, she is there, coming towards you. You....CAN'T...GET...AWAY....

And then she invites her friends.....(that first one is Bono in Chinese ice robot form).

I'm not exactly sure what these guys were supposed to be doing. They just sat in the middle of the ice the whole time we were there. They each had a metal square can at their feet. Perhaps they were meant to go around the ice and collect trash? Either way, they didn't seem to mind our shenanigans. My friend slid me by them more than one time so I could get some closer up pictures.

Here's a pretty good one. This is the guy on the right.

Here's the guy on the left.

Here's a chain of ice chairs that passed us by. See how they place their feet on the ice chair in front of them to stay connected. This one had an ice bicycle in the front to propel them faster forward. This group looks as if they won a prize at the Ring Toss on Ice game.

Ah, back to our security guard/trash collector. He wasn't fazed at all when our friend posed with his imaginary friend, Bluce. Frankly, I think they are so bored that we added a little novelty to their day. I'm sure they were thinking, 'Those crazy waiguo ren (outside country people)!'

Here's a good shot of a guy having a great time on an ice bike.

Here's the poor person in charge of checking in and out the ice chairs. Notice the handheld computer used to swipe the card we had to purchase at the small wooden ticket booth at the entrance of the ice. So old fashioned, yet so modern.
It is very cold standing on ice all day. My toes took several hours to thaw. I wonder how long it takes his (her?) toes to thaw at the end of a long day of checking out ice chairs? What do you think?

 

OLW BLOG HOP - Feb 1

Don't forget to come back on February 1st. The ONE LITTLE WORD Blog Hop starts right here. We have 34 participants who will be sharing their One Little Word project for January.

ONE LITTLE WORD is a class over at BigPictureClasses.com and is taught by Ali Edwards.

Best Shot Wednesday 4

Isn't this little child absolutely adorable?? In China, the way the children are dressed, you can never be sure if the child is a boy or a girl just from their clothes. I refer to this cutie pie as a 'she', but I honestly don't know if that is accurate. Please bear with me!

This adorable child was walking down the narrow alleyway (or hutong) and I just had to take a photo. I'm usually too shy, but I got the feeling from her father that it was OK. I squatted down a bit and knew I had to work fast as she wouldn't be in this perfect spot for more than a moment. I instinctively focused on her foot because I didn't have time to establish a focus point on her face. I did this because I figured her foot is on the same plane as her face so if I get her foot in focus, her face should be as well. Luckily, in this case, it worked!

I'll submit this shot for the Sweet Shot Tuesday at my3boybarians.com that I discovered a couple of weeks after I started my Best Shot Wednesday feature.

Thanks for stopping by! xxxx

Doing this artists' village tour tomorrow...

Songzhuang Contemporary Artists Village Tour through the China Culture Center. 

You may already know about the Dashanzi's 798 Art Zone with many contemporary art galleries. But the Songzhuang artist village is different - located in Tongzhou County of Beijing, the community is made up of younger freelance artists whose artworks have been sold to galleries in China and abroad. In 1995, when the Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) artist community was dismantled, a handful of the original artists moved to Songzhuang Village in Tongzhou County in pursuit of bigger studio space, cheaper rent cost and a quieter environment to continue their creative works.  Over the next five years, drawn by the village’s idyllic charm and beautiful scenery, more artists decided to move into the area, thus confirming Songzhuang’s position as the largest artist community in China.  Today, Songzhuang is home to roughly 2,000 artists, including painters, sculptors, poets, writers, art critics, and photographers. They are scattered in several villages of Songzhuang, such as Xiaopu Village, Renzhuang Village, etc. The artists are relatively young and famous for their contemporary and radical artworks. Most of them are freelancers and their artworks are shown in 798 galleries and galleries and museums in Europe and US.Obviously the village houses are not enough for these rapidly increasing artists. Then more and more newly constructed rental studios have been established from 2006-2009 by the local government for the newly arrived artists. A modern and high class Songzhuang Art Museum is establised near the lake, boasting the best village level one in the world.

via www.chinaculturecenter.org

There are five of us. Should be a really fun day out.

Celebrating Blog Friendships

Today as part of the Blog Friendships celebration I wanted to THANK all of the friends who have stopped by my blog over this past year. Thanks so much for visiting, showing your support and especially leaving me comments.

As part of the celebration, I thought I would show you what I have been up to recently in my little corner of the Blogosphere...

During my little blog hiatus I was focusing my energies on improving my photography. I do think I have improved, however, I continue striving to do better and just when I feel happy with my progress, I realize I still have a long way to go.

I thought I would post some of my favorite images from the past few months and further down a few of my favorite scrapbook pages from October's Layout A Day. I hope you enjoy them!

(Don't forget to read all the way to the end of this post, where you will find the letter you need to collect for the puzzle to win the grand prize on Jo's blog as well as the link to the next stop on the Blog Party.)

Please let me know what you think!

Now for a few favorite scrapbook layouts I made in October:

 

TEMPLATE: Simply Tiffany Designs PAPER: Jessica Sprague BRUSH: free download from a class at Jessica Sprague

 

TEMPLATE: K Pertiet (altered by me somewhat - changed orientation of photo & moved them around as well as added white borders to each photo and shadowing) Font was also changed and I added the white outline around the page.
FONTS: Arial Narrow & Pea Steele
BACKGROUND PAPER: Jessica Sprague

  

All four layouts I did for Lain Ehmann's October Layout A Day. I hope you enjoyed them.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll come by again.

The letter you  need to collect from my blog is T.

Now it is time to head off to Deb's blog at www.debs14.blogspot.com. Deb lives in Hertfordshire, UK. I find it interesting that I have recently been given the nickname of 'Debs' because many years ago I did a six month work study program in the UK and I worked at Debenham's in Cambridge! My new friend from London found this quite funny and has called me Debs ever since. The other thing I have in common with Deb is that I love Hertfordshire! I spent a week out in the countryside there staying with my friends' grandparents in 1991 and fell in love! And now my husband's company is based out of Herts though we are currently living in Beijing, China! Small world!

Happy blog hopping & come back again!

More Travel Album Pages

 

Supplies: Patterned Paper (DCWV Taj Mahal), White Cardstock (Bazzill), Journaling Pen (American Crafts)

A quick post tonight. Tonight's pages are more pictures of Kuala Lumpur.

Don't you love the pattern of the hotel room carpet?

Journaling entry from daily travel journal:

(by Paul)

7/11 - Friday - 1997

We wanted to get out of Travellers Moon, so we phoned up the Coliseum. He said he had a room but when we lugged our bags over there, the clerk said no rooms were available. This added to the pain of a 10 ringhit taxi ride to get there. Luckily the place next door - The Rex Hotel had rooms. The Rex was a basic Chinese flop house with concrete floors for 30 ringhit a night. We put our gear away and headed out to explore the town. We tried to find a bookstore but couldn't. We changed money at Maybank - 2.12 ringhits per 100 Japanese yen. There was a guy in a trainer.with a huge rifle working as security. He was ugly had blond hair and a limp. (added by Margie: He told us how to get to a bookstore where we bought LP's SE Asia.) After we went to a traditional Malaysian craft museum - batik and embroidery. Finally found the post office and headed back home by bus. We met a guy from Madagascar on vacation. We also met a Chinese man who lent him money cause he had no change.

We got back to the hotel and ate peanut butter sandwiches for dinner. It was a long day. Oh yeah- we killed a big roach when we got home. (Margie - Today I think we also went to the Central Market bought a Netcard to use e-mail & send some messages.)

7/12 - Saturday - 1997

(Margie) We tried to get an early start so that we could make it to the post office and to the tourist office. We chose to skip the p.o. because it was open on Sun. and go straight to the tourist info center. The lady was very helpful. Then we walked down the street to the planetarium - which had very interesting architecture. We saw a movie about the Grand Canyon there. Then we walked towards the bird park where we saw a monkey knock over a trash can and then saw the rest fo the family up in the trees. Then we met a nice Italian couple who were also looking for the bird park & we finally found it. We entered and saw lots of birds. The highlight was the horn-bills. After the bird park we walked home to the Rex. On the same street was a night market so we (come back tomorrow to read what was on the next page of our journal...)

LOAD - Day 5

Here are my album pages for the day. Please excuse the glare. If I have time tomorrow, I will see if I can't take a better picture.

 
Supplies: Patterned Paper (DCWV Taj Mahal), ink (Memories), pen for writing on photos (Slickers)

I decided to try writing on my photos tonight because I got some new Slickers pens that claim they are good for that purpose. I didn't like the results. The pen nib was too thick. Ideally I would like a fine tipped white marker to write on the photos, but I cannot find one. Let me know if you have a white pen you use to write on your photos.

These are photos we took from the train on the way from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur. Children playing so close to the tracks and women selling delicious meals at each station. There literally is not a bad meal in Thailand. That is, if you like Thai food!

From our corresponding daily journal:

(written by Margie) It was pretty comfortable, though with the windows open. (Referring to the high temperatures.) The local people who were sitting around us seemed nice. At first we couldn't find our seats because we didn't know where the seat numbers were. It turned out they were on the bakc of each seat. We had gotten the conductor to ask and flet a little silly once we realized that. It just goes to show you how we expect everything to be like it is at home. We met a nice English guy traveling with his girlfriend - they were going to one of the islands. A woman came aong and asked us what we wanted for dinner - we ordered from a photocopy menu printed in English & Thai. At 7:00 pm she brought us our dinner. It was just as good as the other food we had in Thailand. The ride was pretty good - the scenery was really nice - lots of jungle and shanty-like towns. The only drawback of the train was that our clothes got filthy from the open windows.

July 10, 1997 - Thursday

(written by Paul) The night and early morning on the train was strange the windows were all open but it was pitch black outside so we couldn't see out. It felt like we were on some kind of Universal Studios tour that takes you through a dark tunnel, yet this tunnel lasted 10 hours. We go to the border at about 8:00 am. We got off the train to go through immigration. Pretty smooth except there were many signs telling us we would receive the deaht penalty if we took drugs into Malaysia. Malaysia is a Muslim country and is very tough on drugs but you can drink in most places. There are many Chinese and Indians in Malaysia so the Muslims are very tolerant. We got back on the train and headed to Butterworth we changed trains in Butterworth - Malaysia trains are much nicer. Second class was air-conditioned and had videos, so the 6 hour trip Kuala Lumpu (KL) was quite comfortable. We arrived in KL at 8:00 pm. Our 29 hour journey from Bangkok was over and now a new city. We had originally planned to work in KL but still were not sure. We checked our Lonely Planet copied pages. We tried the Coliseum - full; another homestay had the wrong number. Finally we called the Traveler's Moon Lodge, an old standby according to the LP. They had space, so we took a taxi to the guest house. In contrast to Thailand the fees are fixed from the train station - our first example of ultra-organized (compared to Thailand) Malaysia. Travelers Moon was a bit dirty and all-in-all not worth the 8 ringhits a night for a dorm bed. We had a great Chinese meal around the corner that night.

Malaysia had great Indian and Chinese food. The place had a great chicken in black bean sauce - a bit pricey though 27 ring.

Here's a picture of the filler pages with the corresponding daily journal pages.

More pages tomorrow!