Goings on this past month....

Sorry that I havent been around much in the past month. School has been such a rat race, first with report cards (I have over 280 students and each has to have about 6 different grades plus a personal comment about how they are doing. Then, we had to work 2 Saturdays, one of which was for parent interviews. Other was training session. Then we had Christmas projects for the year 7 kids to complete and take home, I went home sparking with glitter from head to toe for a week, the last day we had a covered dish luncheon for the staff and of course little gifties for some. THEN, I packed up my bags and boxes of stuff and headed for the airport to fly to Shanghai. I was 14 kilo overweight, but the guy was so nice that he didnt charge me for it. Probably felt sorry for me!~ Don had to grade his exam papers and proctor two exams at the University, very time consuming and a big deal. When I got to Shanghai, had to go to the grocery to buy stuff and then went to work putting up decorations and tidying things up for the big family gathering and the wedding video and photos. Don arrived on the following Tuesday and we had to go to pick out flowers for the wedding. Thank goodness he can interpret for me, otherwise it would be impossible!~ We chose huge arraingements of white lilies and Stargazer lilies, orchids, and pink roses. There were 5 stands of flowers and tables had candlerings of pure white flowers and candles for each table. Wedding bouquet was blush roses, white orchids and white lilies. We ordered a wedding cake, got a cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse as a cake topper. I had two suits made about 6 weeks ago, when I put on the blue velvet one the skirt was about 3 inches too big, and I had the lady to make them very tight to compensate for the weight loss. But they looked really good and I got a lot of complements including some very shocked moments from my sister-in-Laws! They really could not believe I had gotten so thin, and were concerned although we did not tell them about the surgery..... The dinner party went off very nicely and we had a full house. Thank goodness that it is over! I lost about 8 pounds while I was up there and did really well with the food, except that I ate something that was too sweet one time and got a bit ill from that. I took down the tree and packed everything away at both places and finally things look normal again, we are going back to Shanghai in three weeks for Chinese New Year. It is the most fun in Asia! Wonderful fireworks and great food, most of which I can eat with no problem. In the meantime I have to prepare a trip proposal for my students to go to Greece on a tour in June, since my proposal for Spain was kicked out. The work is neverending. My pants are falling off again, so I need to go to buy a new pair or two. This time a size 14, I probably could squeeze into a 12 but I like my clothes loose. I think I have 2 blouses that fit, everything swallows me, aint it grand???? LOL!!!! I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year! I am thankful for all of you and think of you often....... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Love, Cheryl

Hello Cheryl, Wow, I am exhausted just after reading out how busy you have been. Sounds like you had a terrific holiday though! It has to be amazing to learn all about the cultures of different worlds the way you are able to do. I hope that when my husband retires in less than four years that we will be able to do some worldwide travelling. I am looking forward to it so much! I spent about three weeks or so in Korea in year 2000 and absolutely loved it. The smaller you get, the tighter your clothes will begin to be. I used to only wear loose fitting clothes but I have found now that I like them to actually fit to show off my long desired figure that I finally have back. I still have a lot of loose flab but I am working on that.. It will take time but one day I will be there. Best of luck to you and I hope you enjoy your Chinese New Year when the time comes. Rhonda 240/122

Sounds like you will be retiring at the right time to come for the Olympics in China! I have been lucky to have the opportunity to travel and travel is cheap from here in Hong Kong. Now airfares from US are getting reasonable and you can book a tour in Europe from the internet. It is the best value cause the tour companies get cheap hotel rates and some meals are included, plus the bus takes you directly to the best spots and you don't spend time searching where to go and being ripped off by taxi drivers and stuff. Lots of times the admissions to sights are also paid in the tour fee, so it is a good bargain! I am buying tighter clothes, but still cannot stand skintight which is the style now. But I still like comfortable best! lol......

Hey Cheryl , it is great to hear from you sounds like you had an extremely busy holiday season congrats on the pants falling off and the clothes swallowing you ,that is wonderful news huggggs Sherry

Hey Cheryl, Glad your back. But Oh my.... did you get any rest durring the holidays ? Sounds like you were as busy as a bee & at the same time sounds like fun. I've missed you & I'm glad your back !!! Hope you have a great 2006 !!! Tammy

Happy New Year Cherly, Sounds like you are having a wonderful time across the seas. You are doing so well with your weight loss. Take care and have a good day. Smiles, Jan(Granjan)

WHEW! What a relief that's all over! So glad it all went off without any problems. Sounds like you need a serious shopping spree! LOL Congrats on the continued success. Life is good! HUGS Kimberly

I went on a tiny spree yesterday! Clothes here are very cheap so I bought 4 pants and 5 shirts since they marked them down..... They were about 3 to 5 dollars each piece!

Geesh, I'll just send you the cash and you can shop for me. Bring em home with ya when you come! LOL (like you won't have enough baggage) Still glad to see you back Hugs Kim

I wish that I could do that for all. Even mailing them is too expensive, and I come home loaded every trip cause I cannot stand to waste the baggage allowance. I always look like a bag lady with so much crap! LOL! But I do not have the luxury here of just strolling into a store to try on things. Shopping here is like going to a rummage sale and you have to search thru stuff for your size, then make sure it is not a euro or Brit size. Lots of time the entire lable is cut out, including the size so have to measure too, what a pain. I love the stores in US where you can just try on things and see how they look. You cannot try anything on here and cannot return, so if you make a mistake it is yours! I have made plenty too......