Life with the Clarks

Top Ten Reasons We Enjoy Life in China

May 1, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

I’m joining today with Angie at Many Little Blessings for her Top Ten Tuesday.

I’m not sure if these are the actual top ten reasons why, but I was in an appreciative mood today for our adopted home, and I’ve been thinking of this post for some time.

Here are some reasons we enjoy life in China.

Milk delivery. My parents can hardly believe that I remember milk delivery in Canada, but I do. We lived in a rural area, and I’m pretty sure milk delivery–like Saturday postal delivery–held out longer there than other places, but I remember the butter and milk being left at the back door. We don’t actually drink milk (with the exception of JavaMan who uses it for steamed milk for his cappuccino). We do make kefir out of it. (Yes, we’re weird and health-nutty that way.) Our milk is delivered to a little box just outside apartment building door and fetching it each morning has officially been added to our chore list.
China is a fruit-lover’s paradise. And as many varieties of wonderful fruit we’ve had the opportunity to try, it seems like there’s always something new. Today’s in-season treat was Chinese bayberries–gobbled up within minutes of purchase. Yum!
Markets. I just love buying fresh produce and coming home to cook it up. It seems to inspire me in the kitchen. And it’s not just a food-buying experience. I love the interaction with the people in the market. Over time, we form relationships with the people we purchase from. It’s more than a buying experience, it’s friendship.
People love children. Everywhere we go, people express delight at the fact that we have three. They shower them with attention and show their obvious affection. People wonder why my Chinese has improved more rapidly than JavaMan’s. The answer is simple. I’m usually the one with the children, and this is an immediate door-opener. People stop me and ask me questions. They don’t do this when JavaMan is on his way to work by himself. People just love children here. It’s heartwarming.
One yuan bus rides–for adults. Kids are free, although we’re quickly approaching the height where Pumpkin will also owe one yuan. At today’s rates, one yuan is equivalent to 0.157 Canadian/American dollars. Buses go just about everywhere, and one rarely has to wait more than five minutes for one. It might be pretty full when it arrives, however.
Cherry blossoms in springtime. Need I say more?
Custom-made items in no time flat. I’ve raved and raved about my custom 100% cotton-fllled duvet. On Monday I (finally) ordered curtains. They’ll be ready Thursday, thank you very much.
Street food. We’re pretty discriminating when it comes to the food sold on the street. But some of it is amazing. There’s a shwarma-style sandwich (or over rice for the gluten-free folk) that is IN-CRED-IBLE. And what we affectionately call meat-on-a-stick, sold at various locations throughout the city, always lamb, always grilled to perfection by Muslim minority cooks. Are you drooling yet, or is it just me?
At night, it’s actually dark. I mentioned the lack of curtains, right? Well, until sunrise at 5:00 a.m. (the entire country is on one time zone and we happen to be quite far east), it doesn’t matter. At night, it’s dark. Buildings, streetlights and lighted paths are minimal. People go to bed at 10:00 p.m. and all their lights are off. For a large city, there is very little ambient light.
Trying new things. Whether it be food, learning the language, making new friends, exploring a new location or learning how to vlog(!), life in China has pushed us outside our comfort zone, and daily teaches us patience and tolerance, love and laughter.

- Carey Clark

Stick with it Saturday: A New Routine

April 28, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

gym Ever feel like that? While that’s not completely true of me, I looked up one day and realized it had been since my middle daughter was born that I had exercised with any real consistency. There were reasons for that at the time, but over time, those reasons became excuses I couldn’t really continue to justify.

I had worked my way into more consistent exercise when we were back in Canada, but hadn’t begun again here until this week. However, I am happy to report that I think I may have finally arrived at the elusive perfect blend of exercises. I enjoy them, I have variety, and I can feel and see that they are bearing fruit.

So here is a look back on my workout routine for the week:

Monday

Hauled out the mini-trampoline that I own on this side of the ocean. Exercised for 20 minutes because I knew I should. Didn’t really enjoy it much. Not sure what it did for me, except I knew I’d made the decision to exercise and I was following through, so felt good just for that.

Tuesday

Did my first-ever Live Exercise pilates class using the Bodylastics bands we bought while we were in Canada. These were an investment–both at the time of purchase and in weight and space in the suitcase, but they weren’t really that expensive compared with what it would cost to join a gym. We bought them knowing that we wanted a good strength-training solution for both JavaMan and myself that wouldn’t mean having to find, pay for and spend time at a gym.

We are both extremely pleased with them. JavaMan has tried a number of different strength-training routines using them, and is very satisfied. Because of the range of bands available (we bought the Super Strong Man package in order to have enough for him and me, and keeping in mind we rarely work out at the same time). I hoped to use them mainly for pilates.

I didn’t have time to do the whole routine (it was 45 minutes) but put in my 20 minutes, and really felt it–then and the next day.

Get Your Body Back

Wednesday

Took a day off.

Thursday

Did my favorite new DVD workout: Get Your Body Back.

I bought this one just before we left Canada, and I’m really impressed. Technically it’s a post-partum workout, but it’s really just smart exercise–using the shortest amount of time to have the highest amount of impact by doing upper body and lower body exercise at the same time (squats while crossing arms in front, holding 5 lb. weights, for example).

And because it’s designed for post-partum, don’t expect it to lack intensity. You’ll definitely work up a sweat.

Friday

Intended to exercise, but woke up at 4:30 a.m. and was extremely unmotivated. Then, JavaMan was using the bands, and I didn’t think I could handle two days in a row of Get Your Body Back, so spent the time I should have trying to discover some way to spice up my mini-trampoline workouts. I found it!

Saturday

Classical Cardio

Used the five exercises and the tips in the following video by trainer-to-the-stars Tracy Anderson to bring life back to my mini-trampoline exercise. What a workout! Definitely worked up a sweat, but more importantly, I had fun and the time flew by! I’m kind of picky about the music I listen to, and a couple of podcasts with exercise music didn’t make the transition to my new computer, so I listened to Classical Cardio this morning. I found the music totally uplifting and fun, and I enjoyed this workout more than any other I’ve ever done on the mini-trampoline.

Here is the video by Tracy Anderson. I used all five exercise moves as part of my “routine” and rather than trying to switch them up really frequently, just did approximately one for song, switching it up if I grew bored (or tired)! I used Exercise 5 (the dance move) as a transition exercise and something to fall back to if I needed to switch from one of the other exercises, which were more intense.

I’m excited about exercise again! Plan to “Stick with it” again this week.

How about you? Have you found a favorite exercise?

- Carey Clark

Goodbye, Picnik

April 19, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

{Watch for a new video Mandarin lesson for kids from Hold the MSG later today. Video is loading up to YouTube even now.}

I was kind of late to the party with Picnik, the free online photo editing tool, but once I discovered it, I was hooked. While I used my husband’s Photoshop Elements for some edits, in many ways, Picnik was easier, simpler, more intuitive and quicker to use.

So, like many bloggers, I was sad when Google announced it was folding up the Picnik blanket for the last time today, April 19, and moving Picnik to Google Plus.

There are no shortage of tools rushing in to fill the void. They’re all very different, though.

Here’s a sampling of different programs, all online like Picnik, and what they offer:

Splashup – Offers an interface very much like that of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. To my mind, not as intuitive as Picnik.
Dr.Pic – This site is full of ads, which for me was an immediate turn-off. Features are good, but limited. A few features feel clumsy, like resizing, which is done by percent by default (but can be switched to pixel size).
FotoFlexer – Offers to load your photo from your computer or several different sites such as Photobucket, Flickr or Facebook. I wish I could say more about this program, but I wasn’t able to get it to successfully load any photos from my computer.
iPiccy – This tool has promise. There are plenty of features, and the menu bar (though compressed into one long one in the sidebar), will feel very familiar to Picnik users.
Pixlr This tool too, has promise, with a free tool specifically aimed at previous Picnik users. Don’t expect a familiar interface, although there are many different types of edits to choose from.
PicMonkey – This program is the one that to me feels most like Picnik, the most intuitive, and the most fun. They have added a number of new features since I began experimenting with the program a month or so ago that are similar to those of Picnik. It even has a collage feature. There are, it seems to me however, quite a number of features (more than Picnik?) that remind the user that they’re free “for now.” I’m afraid to get hooked and have something taken away from me again.

This is probably the program I’ll be using however.

What about you? Do you use photo editing software? Do you use an online version or something on your computer? And will you miss Picnik?

http://ipiccy.com/editor

Cultivating a Postive Family Atmosphere: Words

April 17, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

{Just found out and wanted to celebrate a little: After the Snow Falls is at its
highest ranking ever on Amazon since release!}

I wrote a post some time ago on the theme of cultivating a positive family atmosphere. The thought has stayed with me as I watch our kids interact.

I guess I’m more aware of it now that we’re here because of how we’re watched. Everywhere we go, people are fascinated by our three kids.

cultivate a positive atmosphere

They do stand out a little in the crowd here, but it’s more than that. With the one-child policy in effect now since 1978, it’s only the older people we meet who know the reality have having more than one child in the home. Sometimes they will approach us and ask perhaps the most common question we hear, “Are they all yours?” This makes us chuckle a little because of course, in North America, we’re used to hearing that applied to families with five or more, but it’s kind of sad too.

If it’s an older person asking me, I’ll often ask them in return, how many children they have. In response, they’ll often smile and hold up four or five fingers.

Sometimes people ask another question: Do they argue? (That’s if it isn’t already obvious by looking at them.)

But it’s funny to me that minds rush toward the negatives of sibling togetherness. What about the friendship? Because of our circumstances, our children have become each other’s best friends, and that’s something I love to see. As we were out shopping for furniture yesterday–certainly not any child’s first choice for an outing– our girls kept each other entertained by telling little stories to each other and walking hand-in-hand. In the end, they had a fun afternoon after all.

But keeping a positive family environment is something we do intentionally. Something we work on. And JavaMan and I have been thinking more and more about what we’re doing right–and what needs more attention.

One area we’re working on intentionally with our children is words. We used to tell our children to use “encouraging words.” We want to build each other up–not tear each other down (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

This was helpful instruction, and immediately curbs a negative attitude, name-calling, or even just a comment that isn’t wholly, uh, helpful.

Not long ago, we visited my sister-in-law’s family, and I heard her make a similar reminder to her son. But she called wholesome words, “Words of Life.”

I like that.

I immediately adopted her designation for positive speech. It’s not just semantics. She’s right. Words have power. They bring life or death:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who eat it will love its fruits. Proverbs 18:21

And remembering the power our words have is an important lesson for children to learn.

Lately, we’ve ramped it up a bit. There are a few negative attitudes brewing under the surface. We’ve talked to our kids about culture shock, and how this affects our attitudes, and how those attitudes are appropriately expressed, but let’s just say there’s a certain overflow that isn’t always curbed.

We’ve adopted another little phrase in the family. In the words of Thumper:

Not philosophical enough for you? Well, there is another source for this admonition. In the words of scripture, it goes something like this:

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32

It’s just a little easier to say the way Thumper said it, don’t you think?

- Carey Clark

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