What to do next...

Life here in Nanjing is really great.  I am not going to lie.  I honestly feel like I am in a fairy tale right now.  I know that part of that is because I am probably still in the honeymoon phase.  I also attribute it to my attitude.  I consider myself a positive person.  I know my cup is half full not half empty.  I have control over how I react to what life throws at me.  I also attribute my positive attitude to my faith.  I know that I would not have made it this far in life without God's help. Also I know people who are "Debbie Downers" and it does not seem like a good way to go through life.

My life these days consist of Thai Chi, having lunch with my girls, shopping for groceries and other fun China finds, weekly massage and soon a Bible study that I will be attending on Wednesdays.  I was laying in bed the other night and thinking how great it is to be able to do all these things.  But I know that God did not send me to China so I could spend the next 3 or more years doing the a fore mentioned activities.  But that is where I am stuck right now, wondering what else God wants me to fill my time with.  As I was thinking about the next few years, I thought that as much as I love how my days are filled right now, it will get old after a while.  I could spend the next few years just doing these activities, but it is probably not the best use of my time. ;o)

I worked in non-profit before leaving Michigan and working with the less fortunate, underprivileged or however you may classify that demographic, was and still is my passion.  I do not feel like God has blessed Michael and I so we can just bless ourselves.  I know He gives to us so we can give to others.  So I just emailed a couple of non-profits I found, The Amity Foundation and Hopeful Hearts.  The Amity Foundation seems a little bit more up my alley because of the type of work they do, but Hopeful Hearts helps children with heart defects and one of my best little buddies Luke was born with heart problems, so that is an issue close to my heart as well.   I look forward to hearing back from them to hear how I can get involved.  I will keep you posted.

Thanks for listening to my little rant.  I know it is not that exciting, but I am just trying to share the process I am going through as an expat trying to figure out life in the Far East. ;o)

I will leave you with a few pics of what I have been up to as well.

this is my new friend Izzy ;o) a cutie pie...she and her mom and I went to the flower market in our neighborhood

my friend Mira, Izzy's mom, buying Orchids..these huge orchids are less than 10 dollars a piece

we attended an Italian dinner/Halloween party on Saturday

this is Carms, the cook, the food she made was AMAZING!

Bruschetta and roasted peppers!!! YUMMMY!!!

Michael dressed up as an Italian Stallion!

Tiramasu and Cassata Cake!!!

more yummy desserts

one of the plants I got from the market...the roots are just in water and you can put a fish in the bottom, I guess they just feed off the roots, I am going to get a fish and see how long it lasts!

a couple other cuties...including the shabby chic ceramic pots, they were less than 3 dollars a pop...I do love China prices!