Today= a buzzing city

Here's my journal entry for today... and I'm not sure if you'd call it a journal.

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012.

Today it was actually hot. Sweating became a reality again. The city buzzed as I walked through Times Square, shooting random pictures with my sisters, and for some reason the warm weather reminded me of home... actually it kind of always does.

My cold Coco drink tasted really good and of course it made me thankful one more time that I live in China. (I actually live in China isn't that weird!!!?)

As we drove past the lake on our way to dinner, it looked rather calm... but the gray-blue water with the silhouette of the Suzhou skyline was gorgeous. That lake is my favorite. It makes me sooo happy everytime I go by it. 

I think Suzhou is ready for Summer... I didn't say the people are ready for it... just the city.

Shirt and tank: Target.
Jeans: Random, Chinese store.
Belt: Fake market.
Shoes: Auchan. (My new ones, which by the way, I got a pair of red ones and white ones yesterday!)
Glasses: Fake market. (I love my glasses so much).
Backpack: Guan qian jie. (Walking street).

Three sisters! Photos taken by Elisabeth Jones.

Hugs and kisses, a

It's been a warm, happy week.

Today was an I'm-not-kidding-you really warm day. And it made me very happy. I hung out with my brother and his friends again which was super great. We flew kites, threw frisbees and talked and smiled.  I soaked in quite a bit of sun, thank the Lord. I got home at about 5:00 pm and went straight back out to get myself some noodles, chips and mango from the market for my dinner. I rode my bike and watched as the last bit of sun fell behind the city. Sometimes (due to the stinkin' pollution,) the sun goes down blazing orange and you can practically stare right at it. Weird... and just a little bit cool.

This whole week has actually been pretty warm. Even when it's been rainy it's still been warm.

Except Friday... My brother and sister just informed me that Friday was not warm? Okay. :)

Love you all! I've had a fantastic week and hopefully I'll get another post together about the other highlights of it soon.

I'm off to watch Young Victoria. It's a sweet movie :)

Check out this crazy good song. I really want the whole Cd. Oh and my brother William did an awesome rendition of this song. To bad you can't hear it. :(

I like this color a lot. I have nail polish similar to this color... except it's just a tad orange-y-er.
How has your week been? Warm? Happy? I hope so.
Love, a

pizza night!

I'll just admit it... I take a lot of breaks. I haven't been taking a ton of pictures due to the memory card on my brothers camera being broken and I don't always just want to write.

Tonight we ate pizza like we always do and like always, it was great. Today started out rainy and bleak but by noon the sun had come out and the rest of the day was pretty lovely. I'm sooo looking forward to warm days and the coming Spring months. I just love warm weather so much.

I got a new pair of shoes! They are amazing. I might go back and get a couple more pairs just because I love 'em so much. :)

And of course other stuff has happened in my life in the past week but for now I think I'll finish there.

Have a favorite picture? I really DO love comments.

Love, a

skyline

Taken form the very bottom and from the very top of the 4th tallest building in the world.

Pretty sweet huh? Shanghai skyline is simply fantastic.

Photo credits go to my big brother Andrew. (Edited by me).

Today I'm wishing I was home to watch my other big brothers play. I'm gonna miss seeing it a ton!

Love, a

現在

Right now I'm successfully finishing my algebra and listening to this brilliant, Chinese artist. She's new to me and I'm taking to her quite well. Thank you to some of my best friends for sharing this music with me!

My tomorrow holds more school (as you all know), hanging out, pizza with friends and then a sleep over with the same friends. I'm looking forward to it because they're the best.

Yesterday held some excitement too... after church I went with my brother Andrew to a small, Chinese service where we met up with some of his Chinese friends. After the service we went to KTV (karaoke) which was super fun. It's pretty common here and the Chinese seem to love it. We all sang for a couple of hours and then we went out to dinner. We had north-eastern Chinese food. Pretty delicious! At about 8:00 pm Andrew and I headed home on the bus. I really enjoyed hanging out with them and am excited about getting to know them better.

10:00 pm: I'm sitting in the dark, finishing my math, listening to "Scream."

Oh, and Suzhou is warming up :) Hurray!

What have your past few days looked like? Did you eat any Chinese food? hehe.

The post title means something like "now" or "right now" in good old mandarin.

Goodnight.

Love, a

something like perfection...

...to me. I really love this picture. The background completely catches my eye. The yellow boat, the water and the green trees lining the little, Suzhou canal. And then there are my two sisters who are absolutely gorgeous. Becca's gray hat, Bethy's orange scarf, it all matches.

What do you think?

Happy Sunday friends! 

You all make me happy.

Love, a

paper cranes

I would suggest listening to this song while reading my post. This one might do the trick as well.

Aren't paper cranes amazing? 

Tiny, half inch ones you know?

I really want to do something with them one day.

Maybe a video? A music video? 

More pictures?

Maybe decorate with thousands of them in some room? A future room maybe?

Okay, there are already a few too many question marks up there so I'll stop.

Here are the photos friends!

  FYI, the cranes are normally very colorful but I choose to turn them all to black and white for this particular post.

Which one is your personal favorite? I think I like #3.

Much love, a

a happy tuesday to you too

Today I ventured around Suzhou's "college town" by myself. It was so darn warm and it made my time incredibly enjoyable. I had my jacket off the whole time and it was just plain peachy. My Dad and I jumped on the 2 express bus and when we got there we went our separate ways. I think he had a nice day too. 

First, I walked into 85° Cafe and ordered a cappuccino, then I walked around and shopped for my sister's upcoming birthday. I did buy something for her and maybe she'll reveal what it is when she opens it on the 10th... who knows.

I bought myself some red/orange nail polish. It's really great. I think it'll match the outfit I wore today: my new jeans, dark gray sweater, brown belt and white converse. The cashiers saw the writing on my hand (I had to remind myself to get my Mom a coffee) and they told me "Hen Piao Liang!" or "Very beautiful!" Hah. I like living in the midst of Chinese people.

Oh and this morning my sister and I rode bikes down to our market. Also a great addition to my day.

In about an hour I'll leave again... this time for pizza. 

Happy Tuesday!

Love, a

p.s. The college town I'm talking about is basically five colleges very near to each other and right in the middle of them are coffee places and a shopping area and all sorts of other stuff. There are also tons of students there (naturally) which makes it really fun. <3

p.p.s. Did you notice the new picture/category things on my sidebar? Just go ahead and click on 'em!

big jackets and rain

Sitting here with a cup of frothed milk in my hand and sweet music cheering me on, I realize that you probably aren't getting the same feeling as I am while writing this. Everything kind of mixes together and it all makes me happy and relaxed. The music (currently this mix) the warm room and the fond thoughts are some of the things I'm talking about. Today I was thinking about a time when my brothers were here. My oldest brother Matt and I were in Shanghai together and one morning for breakfast we went to a cafe where we sat across from each other at a big, wooden table and shared a coffee. My brothers are simply the best and I miss 'em all. I really do. 

Today I went out and sat on my front porch swallowed (I like that word) in my Dad's jacket. The rain had slowed somewhat and I just sat there and thought and listened to music. It was nice.

Today I'm thankful for...

Music.

Brothers.

New Jeans and a new belt.

Pictures.

New Chinese friends.

Rain.

Memories.

And facebook. hehe.

There are probably a million others but for now I'll leave you with that.

Can you read it? It's a quote from a really good book I just finished.

Love you guys!

Love, a

Oh hey, I'm back

Hey there wonderful people. So, I'm back from Shanghai. Of course we had a blast, and I'm so glad we had another opportunity to go. We always have so much fun. We just can't help it! We got home Tuesday morning and the rest of that day I was running around and I was just a bit busy. I took about 6 bus rides that day, most of them by myself. I don't mind though... it's actually really great.

A couple mornings ago we met up with friends at our favorite noodle place downtown and then we walked to this huge park and watched all the old, Chinese people dance and sing. An old man set up a little speaker and plugged in his music. Then an old lady started singing in the traditional Chinese way. Another man danced with big, red fans and lots more people just sat around, talking and watching. Sometimes huge groups of people gather and dance all together. Most of it is just they're way of exercising.
That sort of thing is very normal here by the way.

Today is Friday and I've got a bit more school to do and the giveaway to figure out. I will indeed be figuring that out soon and hopefully everything will be ready super quickly.

Oh and I'm still listening to Mat Kearney extensively. (Katie)

And with all that said, I'm just happy.
Aren't you happy it's the weekend?

Love you all.

Love, a

p.s. I'm working on my blog right now... I have several options for the header and I'm figuring out everything else as well. Also, notice my background? Pretty indiscreet. Fun, fun, fun!