Friday, August 31, 2007
A night on the town
Carmi would be leaving work early today because of the holiday weekend so Eliana tagged along. I got off at 4:00 pm myself and we all arrived home at about the same time.
Carmi and I needed to go to Concord on an errand so we just decided to make an evening of it. Our first stop would be Olive Garden for an early dinner. However, Eliana was in one of THOSE moods where nothing satisfied and this was her attitude for most of the ride. Oh she was an ill tail!
What’s the best way to cheer up a grumpy Empress? Take her shopping, of course! So after dinner we headed for Concord Mills Mall to find clothes for school and the China trip.
Zac Efron (of High School Musical fame) brought an added smile. She tried to sneak this shirt but I caught her.
A huge carrousel was smack dab in the middle of the food court and daddy ponied up 2 bucks for a ride. He’s such a softie.
My dogs were starting to whimper (in other words, my feet were tired) but we stopped by Books-a-Million for a story before heading home.
Going to work with mom
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Canon SD1000
I’ve been wanting one of these bad boys so I thought a trip to China would be the perfect justification.
I follow the blog of a Worship Pastor who used to lead music at Sandals Church in Riverside, CA but moved to a new ministry opportunity in Atlanta, GA just this past week. He and his wife traveled to Korea last November and adopted a precious baby boy named Losiah.
While in Korea, he created really cool videos each day of their journey. Turns out that he wasn’t using a video camera, per se, but a tiny Canon SD600. I knew right then that I wanted one.
Last weekend, I purchased the Canon SD1000 which is small enough to fit in my shirt pocket.
I don’t know that I can make videos as good as his - because he has a Mac and I’m stuck with a PC - but I’ll try.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
First day of kindergarten
Today was Eliana’s first day at kindergarten. Carmi and I were a little later than usual getting to work this morning so we could walk Eliana to school and take her to her room.
As we approached the building, we saw one of Eliana’s best friends from preschool - who also happens to be in Eliana’s class - getting out of her mom’s car and I yelled to get their attention. When the friend saw us, she came running across the school yard yelling “Eliana! Eliana!” It was pretty sweet as they walked in together holding hands.
The kids in kindergarten are having a staggered start week. Today was the only day this week that Eliana goes to school. It was a full day but the first official week starts next Tuesday.
I guess she had a good day. I haven’t been able to pull much information out of her. Maybe mom will have better luck when she gets home.
Monday, August 27, 2007
A floss a day
A floss a day keeps the dentist away so we better get to flossing. Eliana had her 6-month checkup this afternoon and she has 3 small cavities.
The dental assistant who cleaned her teeth asked me about Eliana’s diet to determine a cause for the decay. We don’t keep sodas at the house so she only gets soda on very rare occasions. She drinks juice but I water it down considerably. Now she does like her candy.
We brush her teeth twice a day but it’s probably hereditary more than anything else. A November 2005 article from the china.org website stated that only 2 percent of Chinese between the age of 35 and 44 have healthy teeth.
10 reasons I’m ready to go back to China
Last October, on the anniversary of the day that we landed in China in 2002 to bring Eliana home, I gave 10 reasons I was ready to go to China.
Today I thought I would give you 10 reasons that I’m ready to go back to China:
10 - I want a cuddly Olympic mascot.
9 - Do white chocolate mochas taste the same on the other side of the world?
8 - The squatty potty experience.
7 - Eliana wants to look for Big Bird.
6 - 14 straight hours of Gilligan’s Island on the flight to Beijing.
5 - Reactions when Eliana yells “Yeehaw cowboy!” with her southern drawl.
4 - Dumplings!
3 - To climb the Great Wall again and prove just how unkind the last 5 years have been.
2 - Carmi needed a good excuse to buy more shoes.
1 - I want a cuddly 2-1/2 year old named Karys.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Notice of traveling to China for adoption
This is a sweet document to receive in the mail.
China regulates Buddhist reincarnation
This is too funny and in case you’re wondering…no, I don’t believe in reincarnation.
Source article: MSNBC
In one of history’s more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is “an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation.” But beyond the irony lies China’s true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region’s Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.
At 72, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since 1959, is beginning to plan his succession, saying that he refuses to be reborn in Tibet so long as it’s under Chinese control. Assuming he’s able to master the feat of controlling his rebirth, as Dalai Lamas supposedly have for the last 600 years, the situation is shaping up in which there could be two Dalai Lamas: one picked by the Chinese government, the other by Buddhist monks. “It will be a very hot issue,” says Paul Harrison, a Buddhism scholar at Stanford. “The Dalai Lama has been the prime symbol of unity and national identity in Tibet, and so it’s quite likely the battle for his incarnation will be a lot more important than the others.”
So where in the world will the next Dalai Lama be born? Harrison and other Buddhism scholars agree that it will likely be from within the 130,000 Tibetan exiles spread throughout India, Europe and North America. With an estimated 8,000 Tibetans living in the United States, could the next Dalai Lama be American-born? “You’ll have to ask him,” says Harrison. If so, he’ll likely be welcomed into a culture that has increasingly embraced reincarnation over the years. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, 20 percent of all U.S. adults believe in reincarnation. Recent surveys by the Barna Group, a Christian research nonprofit, have found that a quarter of U.S. Christians, including 10 percent of all born-again Christians, embrace it as their favored end-of-life view. A non-Tibetan Dalai Lama, experts say, is probably out of the question.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Kindergarten open house
Today was open house at Eliana’s new school. Carmi took the afternoon off and the three of us went as soon as I got home from work and could tidy up a bit.
The first item of business was to visit Eliana’s room and meet her two teachers. No other families were there when we walked in so we spent several minutes introducing ourselves.
You know how a dog or cat will check out every square inch of something new? Eliana was just like that. She didn’t sniff but she touched everything while moving across the room from one corner to the next.
Carmi mentioned our journey to China in three weeks and told them that Eliana would miss two weeks of school. At first, I got the impression that the teachers thought we were simply taking a vacation. When they realized that we are bringing Eliana a sister home, they became very excited for her.
Carmi told them about our online journal. She suggested that the class could visit our website every day and follow Eliana’s adventures halfway around the world. Both ladies liked the idea and I really believe they’ll make an effort to do just that.
By this time, other families were coming in. We completed our visit by touring the gym, library and cafeteria before stopping by her room one last time per the Empress’ request.
Eliana did NOT want to leave. I think that’s a good sign.
Portable DVD player
Boy I tell ya…Eliana gets all the toys this trip.
We went to Best Buy last weekend and ordered a lovely Toshiba 9” 16:9 widescreen LCD portable DVD player which arrived at the house yesterday. It has built-in virtual surround sound, dual headphone jacks and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery offering up to 5 hours playback time. There was also an 8-hour external rechargeable battery at Best Buy that I plan to purchase.
This little beauty, along with the Leapster, should provide sufficient entertainment for an Empress on a plane for the better part of a full day.
Once in China, we’ll scope out some children’s DVDs in Mandarin for Karys.
{extended}Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Charlotte radio host in ‘Survivor’ cast
Not only is Survivor in China this time around, which is cool, but one of the contestants is local to us.
Source article: The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte radio personality Leslie Nease will join a professional poker player, a grave digger and a WWE wrestler as a cast member of this season’s “Survivor: China,” CBS announced Monday.
Nease, a talk show host on Christian station WRCM-FM (“New Life” 91.9), has been off the air this summer while the series was filmed in China and won’t return to the radio until after the finale of the 15th installment of the popular reality show.
“I think it was everything she had wanted or hoped for,” said Joe Paulo, WRCM’s general manager.
Nease, 38, of Tega Cay, S.C., and a mother of four, became hooked on “Survivor” in the third installment and has applied to be a cast member for every subsequent season. She will be one of 16 vying for the $1 million grand prize when the show debuts at 8 p.m. Sept. 20.
Nease is one of three contestants with S.C. ties. Also in the cast is Jaime Dugan, 22, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who moved to Spartanburg at age 14 and is now a senior at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, majoring in public relations; and Erik Huffman, 26, of Greenville, S.C., a Furman graduate and member of the band Florez, now living in Nashville, Tenn.
This year, the series will open in Shanghai, then move to HuangPu Mountain’s Mi Tuo Temple for a Buddhist ceremony where the castaways will be told to leave their worldly possessions behind, CBS said. They will then be marooned on separate islands on Zhelin Lake in Jiangxi Province.
CBS said there will be two tribes initially—Fei Long (translation: Flying Dragon) and Zhan Hu (translation: Fighting Tiger). Each group will get a copy of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” for motivation and assistance throughout the game.
As in past seasons, each tribe will get a chance to find a hidden immunity idol, which can stave off elimination at tribal council meetings. CBS said in the beginning, immunity idols will be plainly visible at each camp, though the castaways won’t know it.
Nease joined WRCM in 2004 as co-host of the station’s “Family Friendly Morning Show” with Gary Morland, and took over the midday shift about a year ago. A part-time fitness instructor, Nease is the author of “Body Builders: Cross Training.”
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in China
In China and throughout many Asian countries, people celebrate the Harvest Moon on the 15th day of the eighth month of their lunar calendar. The date in the Western calendar changes yearly and this year it falls on September 25.
The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is a little bit like Thanksgiving here in the US and is second only to the New Year celebration in importance to Chinese people. On this special day, Chinese people worship in temples and hold happy family dinners at home. It is a time of family gathering.
After nightfall they stroll under the stars to view the brightest and fullest moon of the year. Children run around with bright, colorful lanterns in many different designs and shapes. It is also a romantic night for lovers, who sit holding hands on hilltops, riverbanks and park benches, captivated by the brightest moon of the year.
The adults usually indulge in eating many varieties of moon cakes with hot tea. For generations, moon cakes - measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness - have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served during English holiday seasons. Other traditional treats include pomelo, persimmon, steamed taro dipped in sugar and roasted chestnuts.
Confectioners start baking the cakes, which are made with gray, moon-colored flour, as much as a month before the festival, In fact, some bakers make all their profits for the year from moon cake sales alone.
Moon Festival altars are adorned with five dishes of round fruits, such as apples, peaches, pomegranates, grapes and small melons. The round shape symbolizes the moon, as well as family unity.
Families, relations and friends gather to enjoy the full moon, a symbol of promise for abundance, of harmony and luck. Some will beseech the beautiful Moon Goddess of Immortality for protection as well as family unity.
There are many legends and different ways to celebrate the Moon Festival. Central to all of those celebrations is gathering of family to enjoy the company of one another.
Carmi, Eliana and I will be in Guangzhou during the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival this year. In Guangzhou, a huge lantern show is a big attraction for local citizens.
{extended}Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Our China itinerary
Our itinerary is tentative because there are still details for our agency to work out. We’ve got some extra traveling this time around. For the moment, though, here is what our schedule looks like:
Sep 14
Fly out of Charlotte, NC at 10:00 am.
Sep 15
Arrive Beijing at 3:00 pm China time and check in at the Wangfujing Grand hotel.
Sep 16
Tour Forbidden City in the morning. Take afternoon train to Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province, and check in at the Hebei Century Hotel.
Sep 17
Take taxi to Baoding, apply for Karys’ passport and return to Shijiazhuang. We have requested to visit Karys’ orphanage in Baoding but don’t know yet if we’ll be able to. This is also the day that Karys becomes ours but we also don’t know if this will happen in Baoding or Shijiazhuang.
Sep 18
Sightseeing in Shijiazhuang
Sep 19
Sightseeing in Shijiazhuang
Sep 20
Sightseeing in Shijiazhuang
Sep 21
Receive Karys’ passport.
Sep 22
Take train back to Beijing and check in again at the Wangfujing Grand hotel.
Sep 23
Tour Summer Palace and the Great Wall.
Sep 24
Fly at 10:00 am from Beijing to Guangzhou and check in at the White Swan. Karys will have her health checkup.
Sep 25
Consulate appointment.
Sep 26
Swearing-in ceremony.
Sep 27
Return home!
I’m already tired just thinking about it!
{extended}Monday, August 20, 2007
Travel approval
Carmi and I received word today from our agency that the China Center of Adoption Affairs (also known as the CCAA) has approved our travel to bring Karys home. So it’s official!
For the benefit of those who haven’t previously been following our journal (shame on you!), we leave in 24 days on Friday, September 14th and return on Thursday, September 27th. Our travel group will include me and Carmi, our 5-year-old daughter Eliana who was adopted from Shaoyang, Hunan in 2002 and Tema, one of Carmi’s sisters.
You can see pictures of Karys here and here.
{extended}‘Musical 2’ debut smashes ratings records
Wow…Eliana and Carmi were a part of history.
Source article: CNN
Disney Channel’s highly anticipated “High School Musical 2” danced its way to history Friday night when 17.24 million viewers tuned in, making the original movie’s debut the most-watched basic cable telecast of all time.
“Musical 2,” a sequel to the successful 2006 movie that has spawned all manner of spin-offs, surpassed the previous record holder, ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” game on September 23, 2006, which averaged 16 million viewers.
It also shattered the previous basic cable record for an entertainment program, surpassing the 12.5 million viewers who saw the 2001 premiere of the TNT Western “Crossfire Trail.”
Overall, “Musical 2” was the most-watched program on television since the season finale of Fox’s hit drama “House” on May 29 logged 17.26 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Additionally, “Musical 2” ranked as the most-watched TV telecast ever in kids 6-11 (6.1 million) as well as the most-watched entertainment telecast ever (and the second-highest-rated overall, behind only the 2004 Super Bowl) among tweens 9-14 (5.9 million).
The numbers, which include an eye-popping 9.4 million cable homes, would be even higher if the fact that many kids and parents nationwide gathered to watch at viewing parties was taken into account.
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“Breaking the viewership record is terrific, but records come and go, and what’s really important is the impact the ‘High School Musical’ movies have had on kids all over America and all over the world,” said Gary Marsh, Disney Channel Worldwide entertainment president.
“Musical 2” also dwarfed the broadcast competition to become the most-watched Friday telecast in more than five years. It drew as many viewers as the Big Four broadcast networks combined and led Disney Channel to its second Friday win in the entire Nielsen universe after the cable channel’s victory from 8-9:30 p.m. on July 19.
“Musical 2” had emerged as the TV event of the summer for preteen girls, who for weeks were planning parties tied to the premiere. As a precursor to the records to come, an encore telecast of the original “High School Musical” on Thursday drew 6 million viewers, an astounding 78 percent of the 7.7 million who watched the premiere of the film in 2006 and good enough for third place overall on the night behind only Fox and CBS.
In a sign of the franchise’s meteoric rise from cable telefilm to cultural phenomenon, the second installment’s marketing campaign included a giant billboard ad on Sunset Boulevard, a spot normally reserved for blockbuster features like “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Since the first “Musical” movie premiered, it has become a global phenomenon and a lucrative franchise for the Walt Disney Co., spawning successful DVDs, CDs, games, live performances and lines of clothing and merchandise. “Musical”-related consumer products alone are expected to bring in $650 million in sales in fiscal-year 2008. A “Musical 3” feature is in the works at Walt Disney Pictures for release next year.
Although Disney Channel is handing over the “Musical” franchise to the company’s feature division for the third movie, “there will be a lot of ways to keep it alive in the hearts and the minds of our young viewers for years to come,” Marsh said.
In addition to reruns of the two movies and replays of the music videos spawned from them, Disney Channel soon will premiere “High School Musical: The Music In You,” a musical-documentary from Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple that chronicles the efforts of students in Fort Worth, Texas, to produce a “Musical” stage adaptation.