Clik here to view.
We're Outta Here!
Crazily enough - and let me tell you, it TOTALLY doesn't even feel real - we will be on a plane this time tomorrow on the way out of Chengdu for our first (of two, this tour) R&R. In fact, I do...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Blue! And Green!
First of all, Happy Father's Day to my Dad and to my husband! My husband's Father's Day gift is where we are right now: HAWAII. Yes, we stopped in Hawaii on our way back to the U.S. on our R&R in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Last Day of R&R
So I know that I've been absolutely nowhere online during our almost-a-month-long R&R. I've not been blogging, I've not been on Facebook, I've not been on Twitter. Thank you to those of you who...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hello From America's Heartland!!
Zachary and James flew back to Chengdu about a week ago and got there safe and sound (yay!), so that's good. Matthew and I have a few more days left here in the United States on our R&R, so we're...
View ArticlePerspective
The other day, Matthew and I got a chance to go to downtown Chicago.This thrilled me to no end, for when I was younger I would visit my Auntie in Chicago and just marvel at the sheer hugeness of that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dipping into the (e)Mailbag
Hello from China!Yes, Matthew and I are back in Chengdu safe and sound, so that's good. There were some United Airlines mishaps (cancelled flights, etc.) along the way, but NOTHING like what happened...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Slashing the Bidlist into Teensy Tiny Shreds
This is the first time James will actually bid, like, for real. Because before this, when he was first hired, it was all just about which Field Office he was going to go for (there were just a few...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Pros and Cons of Chengdu, China: A Bidlist Primer
My dearest darling bestie, Jill, has asked Foreign Serivce bloggers to list the good, the bad, and the ugly about their current posts so that people who either are or will be bidding might have a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In Which We Escape and Then Return (Part the First)
So late last week James had A Work Thing that he had to attend in Which, just in case it's not fresh in your mind, is a city located in the country of Thailand.A few months ago, when James first...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mo Chit Just for You (Our Trip to Thailand, Part the Second)
As tacky as it might sound (and it does, indeed, sound tacky), from the perspective of an English speaker, Thailand definitely has some words that really lend themselves to being initially mistaken for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Me and My Idiot Moron Self
Sometimes I'm so incredibly stupid that I surprise even my own self. (Which you would think would be hard to do because, you know, I've lived with myself so long that by now I should already know the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stupid Freaking Moon Cakes, GOD
I know I keep saying over and over again that I'm going to write blog posts about how much I love China (which I do, seriously), but then in reality I always actually end up writing blog posts which...
View ArticleMy Prediction: An Addition to DS Lingo
I've been following along with the Congressional hearing about Benghazi (my friends Diplopundit and Skeptical Bureaucrat are, of course, doing a great job of summarizing what's going down on that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In Which My Husband Gives Me AMPLE Grounds for Divorce
(Just kidding.)(Sort of.) Okay, so, last week James did the unthinkable - he went back to the United FREAKING States on a trip without me.WITHOUT ME, people. So it was for work. So what? WHATEVER. So...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In Which James Isn't Laughing or Smiling. AT ALL.
Did you REALLY just say that you're going to try to steal my ayi? I. Don't. Think. So! Before I get into the story here, you sort of need to know some background.The background goes like this:When we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Now Why Didn't *I* Think of That?!?!
You guys, this is BRILLIANT. I wish I could take credit for it, but I cannot. If your R&R from your overseas post is back to the States anytime in September, October or around theres, this is the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Friendship, Expat Chick Style
Here's what I've learned about FS friendships: if your friends there at post are with State, then there's always a wall.You can't help it, right? You can't help that there's a wall. Because, really,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Let's Take a Little Walk...
...down a touristy street in Chengdu. No, not all streets are like this one. In fact, very few of them are. But this is a touristy part of town, and that's where Chengdu shines.We're on Jinli...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In Which My Husband Takes One for The Team (Also: Don't Read While Eating)
So it's, I don't know, about an hour after lunchtime here in Chengdu, and my home phone just rang.It was my husband. He was calling from the site of an all-day-long business meeting. He and a couple of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In Which We All Had a Ball
A MARINE Ball, to be exact!Yes, my friends, it's that time of the year again. I can still think back and remember last year's Marine Ball here in Chengdu... time has flown, that's for sure! Y'all ready...
View Article