Tagged

Mary called me out so here it is:

Eight Things I'm Looking Forward To:

Watching The Office
Getting my hair PROFESSIONALLY colored (not playing chemicals in my bathroom)
A long run tomorrow
Seeing some friends from a long time ago in June
Watching the kids play football this weekend
The pool opening
Camping at Taylorsville (I know, weird for me)


Eight Things I Did Yesterday:

Laundry (I gave the staff the day off)
Carpool
Ran
Read
Reunion
Talked with a friend
some other mundane task I cannot recall


Eight Things I Wish I Could Do:

Run faster
Play the piano
Speak a second language
Articulate and defend a position more clearly/convincingly
Not have to be so mindful about what I eat
Eat lunch with my sister every week
Spend more time with my three nephews
Sing really well


Eight Shows I Watch:

Friday Night Lights
Survivor
Rescue Me
48 Hours
The Tudors
Glenn Beck/O'Reilly
The Office
Whatever my kids are watching

A Great Quote

Even an eloquent politician can become, as Benjamin Disraeli described William Gladstone, "a sophistical rhetorician inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity."

George F. Will

All Good Things Must Come To An End...

We spent our last day like anybody who has never experienced a five star resort - trying to do and see everything possible and imprint it in our memory. We had room service on the patio and then went on a bike tour of the island. The brochure said it would be easy (for Lance Armstrong). It wore us out!

We came back and had lunch and then had a couples massage in the "spa room" of our villa. As I write, I know Jo will have plenty to say about this whole experience :)

We swam in the ocean took a nap and now are headed for wine and cheese in the villa where Ruler's boss is staying.

There are more pictures on the link - check them out. We turn into pumpkins at 8:15 AM tomorrow and will board four different airplanes for the 18+ hour trip home.

See you soon!

Malaysia

No attempt to be funny - just a quick update from Malaysia! We posted over 150 pictures today from our last day in Hong Kong, our 1 day in Kuala Lumpur, and our arrival at the Four Seasons in Langkawi! WOW!!

Michelle ate Octopus at dinner last night! We ate at a restaurant where they take live seafood from tanks, kill it, cook it and serve it. We have some great pictures - click on the link.

Today and tomorrow we are staying at the most inspiring place we have ever been - we are in a villa, on the beach, and can see Thailand from our front window. Behind us is a huge cliff, we have an outdoor shower, private spa, and basically a private beach.

By the way - we have seen unbelievable KFCs, Pizza Huts and East Dawning restaurants - it's very different than the US - the assets, the food, the hospitality. Pizza Hut in Hong Kong is like a scaled down Cheesecake Factory! KFC is the biggest and best known brand in Malaysia - over 400 restaurants owned by 1 Franchisee who also owns the 200 Pizza Huts.

Anyway, we have lots of stories and Michelle is much funnier on the blog - but we wanted to give you a quick update. We are off to a boat cruise and then dinner.

Kids - we love you!

Family - thank you!

Hong Kong

What an amazing city! No pictures today because of rain but we'll try and take more and put them on once we get to Kuala Lumpur. This is such a great place. More later! Going to dinner.

The Great Wall, Typhoons, and Ox Cheek

OK everyone, this isn't as funny or interesting as Chicken One, but thought we'd give you a quick run down!

Yesterday, we spent the morning at the Great Wall - check out all the pics by clicking the link. The drive home was very scary - the rules of the road are different, kind of an every man for himself situation. We also took a few pics of Olympic hotels and buildings.

We then visited East Dawning, a new Yum Brands restaurant at the airport - basically Chinese fast food in China - could be a big idea - go stock price!!

Then, off to Hong Kong, where we have level 8 Typhoon warnings! It's rained all night, so we aren't sure what will happen today. We are in very nice hotel and Hong Kong looks awesome - can't wait to get out and see everything!!!

OK, we are running late, we'll try to post some more before we leave tomorrow.

Kids - we miss you a ton and love you - thanks for sending me some emails.

GARY - send some more emails today to my email address!!!!!

bye for now

Duck, Duck, Goose?

We started this morning by heading over to a KFC for breakfast. All of the employees greeted and shook our hands as we entered and they served us a variety of menu items - none like what you can get at home. It was pretty good! From there, we headed to Tian An Men Square and then on to the Forbidden City. Tons of history and culture in those places. (Check out our pictures by clicking on the China link on the right side of the blog.)

From there, we went to a Pizza Hut for lunch. The stores here are more akin to a Chili's or T.G.I. Fridays. We were served escargot, onion rings, salad, a huge variety of smoothies and drinks and of course pizza. Not your basic pepperoni pan though. I liked most of it. Of course there, we were greeted by all of the staff and the people dining inside are always curious to see a bunch of Americans show up.

Our groups split at that point and I headed with the rest of the spouses to the pearl market - I saw lots of really beautiful pieces but it was more expensive than I thought and I didn't really know what a good bargain would be. Our guide Wendy helped me negotiate a good price on some silk dragon robes for my guys. NEGOTIATION happens on a completely different level here!

We arrived back at the hotel and had dinner inside. I did not have the duck! Afterwards, we headed to the Red Theater for a Kung Fu show.

Tomorrow, we go to the Great Wall and then fly on to Hong Kong. Many more pictures to come. Thanks M&D for letting us borrow the camera.