2007
31
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.
2007
31
2007
30
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.
2007
28
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.
2007
28
While I (used to) do my best to stay fit, I’m lucky if I can make it 2 miles without sucking wind and getting dizzy. What makes that all the more embarrassing is that this 8-year-old can outrun me - by about 2,200 miles.
Source article: China Daily
Little Zhang Huimin has a big - and long - dream: To win the marathon at the 2016 Olympics.
The host city for the Games nine years away has not yet been selected but the eight-year-old has been mapping her route methodically.
On Sunday, she reached Beijing after running all the way from Sanya in South China’s Hainan Province - covering a staggering 3,560 km (2212 miles) in 55 days, or about one-and-a-half marathons a day.
And the tanned girl, who weighs only 20 kg (44 lbs) and is 1.25 meters (4’ 1”) tall, has an attitude to match her ambition.
“Give me milk. I want to drink milk,” Zhang shouted in a high-pitched voice at her father and brother, ignoring the media thronging the room in a modest hotel.
After shooting for a TV program yesterday afternoon, she was nonchalant, almost dismissive, as she answered questions dressed in a white top, orange pants and a pair of brand-new pink sports shoes - all provided by her sponsor, a sportswear company in Guangdong Province.
“I feel happy”, said Zhang, when asked why she likes to run, and then threw the empty milk carton on the floor.
Her idols?
Olympic 5,000-meter gold medalist Wang Junxia and 110-meter hurdles ace Liu Xiang.
In another interview, she said Zhou Chunxiu - who won this year’s women’s London Marathon - was the one she wanted to emulate.
“I want to be a champion, too,” she said tersely and skipped into the other room.
Her father Zhang Jianmin was left to respond to reporters.
“Too much self-confidence might be to her disadvantage with the spotlight constantly on her,” admitted her father. “We will get home soon. I don’t want her to be spoiled (by the media).”
He described the regime on the road to Beijing.
She got up at 2:30 am and ran an average of 70 km (44 miles) , wearing out 20 pairs of shoes in the process, he said.
Only twice she rode on her father’s motorized bicycle - when she was chased by four wild dogs and when it was too dangerous to run down a steep mountain road, he added.
Systematic training, rather than talent, helped her finish the long run, the father said.
The young runner started with 3 km (2 miles) a day since she was three and was hitting 23 km (14 miles) daily by the time she was seven.
Training starts at 3 am and lasts until 9 am to avoid the heat in the tropical province.
Her father, who always runs by her side, feeds her three bottles of milk and two eggs during the run.
Experts said such a regime could damage the girl’s health and affect her growth.
“It is an extremely hard running process even for an adult,” said Liu Hong, director of the China School Sports Federation. “The running will certainly harm her.”
Zhang tried to fend off criticism of child abuse in some media. “I never impose my will on her,” said the father, an amateur runner himself.
“You can force your child one day. But you cannot force one to wake up early in the morning everyday if one doesn’t want to.”
For little Zhang, running is more about jumping and playing, rather than a chore, he said.
2007
27
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.
2007
27
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.
