I'm happy

You may ask what are some of the things that I am happy about. Maybe it's because I haven't told you in a while or maybe it is because it's good for me to think about all those things. I think there are quite a few.

1) This post. Maybe because I feel the same way and I'm not just saying that.

2) This song.

3) Wonderful friends. *Fēi cháng hǎo. 非常好.

4) An upcoming trip to Shanghai.

5) New, black backpacks and the fact that my friend has the same one. Oh yeah, we bargained for them together. :)

6) Fresh ginger + hot water.

7) Dates with Leah at McDonalds.

8) Burger King dates with Lydia.

9) The color gold.

10) The Chinese language!

And much more than that.

I'm going to elaborate on #4 a bit.

On Sunday night Lydia, Leah, Becca and I are jumping on a train and heading to Shanghai until Tuesday! We'll spend the whole time with my big sister Rachael and the five of us girls will do some more galavanting around humongous Shanghai. Can't wait.

What are you happy about?

With much love,

love, a

*The Chinese I used means "very good" or "very wonderful" and the characters mean the same thing. hehe.

eleven on the 22nd

My little sister Beth is turning 11 tomorrow. She is definitely happy and she might just be bouncing off the walls. Her mood is 100% and I for one, know I'm going to miss my ten year old sister. Love you Bethy! Try to sleep well.

Oh and here is a new song that I really like. Oh, oh man.

Oh and Mat Kearney's wife is named Annie. Really sweet eh?

She's a really good ballerina.

Love, a

a little something to be excited about...maybe

Hey, so I'm thinking that when I get to 60 followers I'm gonna do a small giveaway of sorts. I think you might be excited about this so keep your eyes open. Want a small hint as to what kind of giveaway it is? Here you go: "Send away".

You know what's sweet? A little baby sister curled up in your arms in a big, red jacket, sucking on your finger with sun shining in her face. Yep, really, really sweet.

I'm gonna miss you Xin Ya.

Hey girl.

Love, a

just look

1) Excited to be doing this soon! Flying across the world to my "home" for a long visit.

2) Love this Ferris Wheel right across the canal from me. Suzhou rocks.

3) Looking forward to Spring. That's all.

4) Crazy hill covered in pink flowers. Really crazy huh?

Love you all! I hope you enjoy your Saturday like I'm mine.

Love, a

Camera.

Hey! Anybody want to win a FREE camera? Click here.

Thanks guys!

Love, a

delighted

Oh my goodness, thanks so much to all of my new (and faithful) followers. You guys are the best and I'm so thankful for each of you! I'm pretty darn happy.

If you haven't already seen my interview go here. Thanks a ton Katie.

This past Thursday and Friday I was in Shanghai with my older sister Rachael. A few of us went over on Thursday and then my little sister Becca and I spent the night in her apartment.

Friday morning the three of us girls galavanted around Shanghai in the rain. We ate breakfast near Rachael's house at a place called Wagas, where we sat next to the window and people-watched. We ordered coffees and called the cashier "soldier boy" just because he couldn't understand. We stepped into malls just for the fun of it, we laughed a lot and enjoyed all being the same height. (Literally!). We then jumped on the subway and sped underneath the city until we popped up again and found a cafe. We sat at the cafe for hours while snow came down in smalls heaps. Snow! It was really lovely and the flakes were big. We ate, talked a lot, smiled at people and at three, it was time to go. My sister Rachael said after we left she thought "why aren't they staying for a week?" "I'm confused".

Notice the little gray building with the square cut out of the top of it in the background? That's the 4th tallest building in the world. Look at this picture of it. Pure craziness.

The whole day I wore my special red hat and we all had big hoods over our heads to keep warm. We got to the train station and Becca and I boarded the train to go home. We waved to Rachael, yelled several last inside jokes and then turned around and slid our tickets through the machine.

Kudos to Rachael for being the best, and Shanghai? You're pretty sweet.

You might just want to listen to...
This
this
this
this
this
and
this.
These songs kept me company on the twenty minute train ride back home to Suzhou. Outside it was misty and I think it was probably a mix of rain and pollution. It was lovely though.

With lots of love to you all,

love, a

p.s.

here I go

This was a long time ago. The view from where I sat, doing school was like this. The top of the wall that I deemed good for self-portraits stood like it always did, like this. The weather was rainy but obviously warm, because all I had on was my beloved cardigan. Ooo, I can't wait for days like those.

Yes, this is the view that I'm talking about. Only I took this when I was outside.

Oh man, ignore the socks.
Tan tank-top/Target
Gray shirt/Target
Jeans/Traded with my sister for them.
Cardigan/Shanghai street vendor. (Yes!)

While chatting with Katie, I told her my favorite Florence and the Machine songs. She then told me her favorites (which I hadn't really listened to yet) and now they've definitely topped mine. Here's number one and here's number two. Like 'em?

Today was full of slightly weird adventures. They were fun all the same and they add to the beauty of living in another country. Oh, but my cousin's basketball game wasn't all that weird... no, not really weird at all.

Now why don't you go drink a cup of hot water with a chunk of fresh ginger in it and watch Mrs. Potter like I just did.

Happy Saturday friends!
Love to you all.

Love, a

p.s. I'm having a bit of a hard time coming up with good titles for my posts. Especially when they don't have a specific topic.