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Thursday, July 23, 2015
Clowns, Clowns Everywhere
Be careful if you get pulled over by these clowns!
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Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Single Parenting/Parenting Single
It's been fantastic being able to finally take things a little easier (because parenting is anything but easy) getting over the jet-lag (midnight wake-ups, midnight snacks and midnight visitors) and spending time with my family. They have certainly made the transition home easier by welcoming us with open arms, upside down kids and all.
Lots of NJ turnpike, car sick kids (nothing like throw up at exit 14 and the nearest rest stop near exit 10), swimming, shopping and family and we are 1/4 of the way through our visit. Hard to believe but time is flying by.
I'm still enamored by the amount of available kosher products in the stores. I'd have to say when people ask me what am I most excited about being back, I'd have to say the selection at the store.
We've been in the US just over 2 weeks and about to reunited as a family tomorrow afternoon. We could not be more excited. I'd say I'm capable at parenting my kids solo but I certainly say I miss my co-pilot. Thankfully we've been able to find some sort of crazy balance and support each other being so far apart.
Lots of NJ turnpike, car sick kids (nothing like throw up at exit 14 and the nearest rest stop near exit 10), swimming, shopping and family and we are 1/4 of the way through our visit. Hard to believe but time is flying by.
I'm still enamored by the amount of available kosher products in the stores. I'd have to say when people ask me what am I most excited about being back, I'd have to say the selection at the store.
We've been in the US just over 2 weeks and about to reunited as a family tomorrow afternoon. We could not be more excited. I'd say I'm capable at parenting my kids solo but I certainly say I miss my co-pilot. Thankfully we've been able to find some sort of crazy balance and support each other being so far apart.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Fortune Cookie Friday
You will be hungry again in one hour.
Apparently there are many theories why one is hungry so soon after eating Chinese food over other ethnic foods. I came across this blog create by "Five Hungry Jewish Guys on a Quest to find the Best Chinese Reasturant on Long Island and NYC". This blog has done agreat job of collecting the top 10 reason why you feel hungry an hour after eating Chinese Food.
1. A Chinese gentleman I work with told me that this is due to the effects of mono-sodium glutamate (MSG), which, in addition to enhancing the flavor of food, acts as an appetite stimulant, leaving the consumer with a sensation of hunger, despite having eaten. In some people, MSG produces even less desirable effects, such as headaches and nausea.
2. It could be the high glycemic load– there’s white rice, there’s white noodles, there’s sugar and white flour somewhere in the main dish, there’s more white rice, and then there’s a fortune cookie made of sugar and white flour. It spikes your insulin, you get full fast, and then you crash and need more food. An interesting experiment would be to make a typical American Chinese restaurant type meal using wheat flour, brown rice, and an unprocessed sweetener such as rapadura or agave nectar, and to give it to people who didn’t know what the experiment was about and seeing if they got hungry again soon after eating it.
3. Chinese food is traditionally very low in fat, and it’s the fat in food that keeps you feeling full longer. The Chinese themselves tend to fill up on carbs (rice, noodles) and mostly vegetables at their meals (they eat MUCH less meat than we do in the West), so it may be that you’re actually not eating enough (you say you don’t eat too much)! I don’t think it’s MSG, as that’s simply a flavor enhancer derived naturally (from beetroot), most Chinese restaurants don’t even use it any more (and haven’t for years), and those that do would only use a tiny, tiny amount.
4. While there is some protein in any of the meat options you have, the rest are full of carbs and sugars. This will make you feel extremely full right after eating, but usually once your body has processed the carbs and broken them down to just sugar, your body is hungry again.
5. Researchers now believe the culprit may be carbohydrates. More specifically, certain types of carbohydrates, including rice and pasta. These carbohydrates have a high glycemic index (GI), which means the body needs to produce extra insulin to digest them. Certain diet doctors believe consuming these carbohydrates can cause overeating, since excess insulin causes the blood sugar to plummet, creating a hungry feeling.
6. Noodles and rice are the staple of most Chinese dishes. Both are very easy to digest and turn to sugar which your body uses very quickly. So if you eat a dish high in simple carbohydrates likes noodles, rice, or potato, you may get a sugar spike and a burst of energy followed by tiredness and hunger.
7. Because real Chinese food is very low in essential fats and essential amino acids. They also tend to be high in empty calories (white rice, refined flour, refined sugar) which has lots of calories but no nutrients. When you don’t give your body essential nutrients, it will make you hungry until you have consume enough of them.
8. Typically Chinese buffets tend to load the food up with MSG so you feel fuller after eating less. Thus they save money because you’re not eating as much as you normally would.
9. The preservatives are most likely making you dehydrated. Dehydration often gives you the false sense that you are “hungry”.
10. Chinese food is full of sodium. Sodium is salt, if you didn’t know that. Salt makes you thirsty, that’s why at the bar they serve peanuts for free or pretzels so that you will order more to drink. So really you are thirsty not hungry.
Apparently there are many theories why one is hungry so soon after eating Chinese food over other ethnic foods. I came across this blog create by "Five Hungry Jewish Guys on a Quest to find the Best Chinese Reasturant on Long Island and NYC". This blog has done agreat job of collecting the top 10 reason why you feel hungry an hour after eating Chinese Food.
1. A Chinese gentleman I work with told me that this is due to the effects of mono-sodium glutamate (MSG), which, in addition to enhancing the flavor of food, acts as an appetite stimulant, leaving the consumer with a sensation of hunger, despite having eaten. In some people, MSG produces even less desirable effects, such as headaches and nausea.
2. It could be the high glycemic load– there’s white rice, there’s white noodles, there’s sugar and white flour somewhere in the main dish, there’s more white rice, and then there’s a fortune cookie made of sugar and white flour. It spikes your insulin, you get full fast, and then you crash and need more food. An interesting experiment would be to make a typical American Chinese restaurant type meal using wheat flour, brown rice, and an unprocessed sweetener such as rapadura or agave nectar, and to give it to people who didn’t know what the experiment was about and seeing if they got hungry again soon after eating it.
3. Chinese food is traditionally very low in fat, and it’s the fat in food that keeps you feeling full longer. The Chinese themselves tend to fill up on carbs (rice, noodles) and mostly vegetables at their meals (they eat MUCH less meat than we do in the West), so it may be that you’re actually not eating enough (you say you don’t eat too much)! I don’t think it’s MSG, as that’s simply a flavor enhancer derived naturally (from beetroot), most Chinese restaurants don’t even use it any more (and haven’t for years), and those that do would only use a tiny, tiny amount.
4. While there is some protein in any of the meat options you have, the rest are full of carbs and sugars. This will make you feel extremely full right after eating, but usually once your body has processed the carbs and broken them down to just sugar, your body is hungry again.
5. Researchers now believe the culprit may be carbohydrates. More specifically, certain types of carbohydrates, including rice and pasta. These carbohydrates have a high glycemic index (GI), which means the body needs to produce extra insulin to digest them. Certain diet doctors believe consuming these carbohydrates can cause overeating, since excess insulin causes the blood sugar to plummet, creating a hungry feeling.
6. Noodles and rice are the staple of most Chinese dishes. Both are very easy to digest and turn to sugar which your body uses very quickly. So if you eat a dish high in simple carbohydrates likes noodles, rice, or potato, you may get a sugar spike and a burst of energy followed by tiredness and hunger.
7. Because real Chinese food is very low in essential fats and essential amino acids. They also tend to be high in empty calories (white rice, refined flour, refined sugar) which has lots of calories but no nutrients. When you don’t give your body essential nutrients, it will make you hungry until you have consume enough of them.
8. Typically Chinese buffets tend to load the food up with MSG so you feel fuller after eating less. Thus they save money because you’re not eating as much as you normally would.
9. The preservatives are most likely making you dehydrated. Dehydration often gives you the false sense that you are “hungry”.
10. Chinese food is full of sodium. Sodium is salt, if you didn’t know that. Salt makes you thirsty, that’s why at the bar they serve peanuts for free or pretzels so that you will order more to drink. So really you are thirsty not hungry.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Missing Most from Shanghai
What am I missing most while I am in the United States from China?
I'd have to say Liz my pilates instructor. I was quiet surprised with myself that I actually like pilates. Thinking it was totally going to be laying on the the mat breathing and finding my qi or chai, it was actually quiet the opposite experience. It's active, it's strength training, it's made my back feel so much better (working that "core") and I think the breathing helped me too. Liz is calm and understated in her experience and ability which makes me feel so comfortable doing it.
Right now, aside from my Beloved (which I think is pretty obvious) that is about all I am missing from Shanghai right now.
I'd have to say Liz my pilates instructor. I was quiet surprised with myself that I actually like pilates. Thinking it was totally going to be laying on the the mat breathing and finding my qi or chai, it was actually quiet the opposite experience. It's active, it's strength training, it's made my back feel so much better (working that "core") and I think the breathing helped me too. Liz is calm and understated in her experience and ability which makes me feel so comfortable doing it.
Right now, aside from my Beloved (which I think is pretty obvious) that is about all I am missing from Shanghai right now.
Disney Shanghai 2016
Apparently 12,000 Chinese workers are quickly building Disney Shanghai. As if us living there isn't enough to visit, see you in 2016!!
Disney Shanghai: Go Inside $5.5 Billion Theme Park in China
https://goo.gl/ezQhnp
Disney Shanghai: Go Inside $5.5 Billion Theme Park in China
https://goo.gl/ezQhnp
The Whirlwind in Full Affect
Over the jet-lag and through the turnpike with friends near and far to see! The fun has begun!
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Your Questions Answered...
Below are a list of questions most asked when people have seen me for the first time or hear we are visiting from China.
1) How is it to be home?
GREAT
2) How is life in China?
It's very different.
3) Do you like living there?
Like living anywhere, it has is pros and cons but we are enjoying the adventure and making the most of it.
4) Do the kids speak Chinese?
The are learning. My son understands a lot, can count, sing songs (but please don't ask him to perform, he will not). He learns Chinese in school and has an amazing tutor. My daughter also understands Chinese and is learning to speak in Chinese. Our Ayi speaks to her in Chinese and she understands just about everything she asks her to do.
5) What do you miss most about from being abroad?
Family, that is certainly the hardest.
6) Where are you going to live when you come back?
Our apartment in NY. If you asked us a year ago if we'd be living in China I'd have answered "yeah right". I see you NEVER know where life will take you, literally, so we have a plan but who knows!
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1) How is it to be home?
GREAT
2) How is life in China?
It's very different.
3) Do you like living there?
Like living anywhere, it has is pros and cons but we are enjoying the adventure and making the most of it.
4) Do the kids speak Chinese?
The are learning. My son understands a lot, can count, sing songs (but please don't ask him to perform, he will not). He learns Chinese in school and has an amazing tutor. My daughter also understands Chinese and is learning to speak in Chinese. Our Ayi speaks to her in Chinese and she understands just about everything she asks her to do.
5) What do you miss most about from being abroad?
Family, that is certainly the hardest.
6) Where are you going to live when you come back?
Our apartment in NY. If you asked us a year ago if we'd be living in China I'd have answered "yeah right". I see you NEVER know where life will take you, literally, so we have a plan but who knows!
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Monday, July 13, 2015
Max for the Minimum
TJ Maxx is truly a great store. I went in looking for a new wallet and I left with a wallet, a robotic arm grabber toy and a Frozen suitcase (for my daughter, not for me). The luxury of walking down the aisles and seeing the potential of all those clothes and shoes fitting me was exhilarating.
On one hand I've come to terms with walking by and into stores in China and know there is a 3% chance of me finding something I like AND that fits. I am usually buying clothes for the kids. Now in America I walk by many many stores and think of the 97% of things I COULD buy.
Being the organized person that I am, rest assured my dearest Beloved, if you are reading this, I'm sticking to my list. My long list...
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On one hand I've come to terms with walking by and into stores in China and know there is a 3% chance of me finding something I like AND that fits. I am usually buying clothes for the kids. Now in America I walk by many many stores and think of the 97% of things I COULD buy.
Being the organized person that I am, rest assured my dearest Beloved, if you are reading this, I'm sticking to my list. My long list...
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8th Days a Charm
It may not be over but I am willing and hoping to say the worst of the jet-lag is behind us. After 8 very long nights and very long days everyone slept generally normally. Much like adjusting to life in Shanghai, I have been distracted from my own jet-lag because I've been dealing with the jet-lag of a 1 year old and a 4 year old but if anything can be said about it, they are troopers.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Home Sweet Home
15 hours of flying, 9,000 miles plus a ride home down the NJ Turnpike we have arrived. Despite the horrific jet-lag, harder to manage than doing a solo flight with both kids, we are so happy to be here.
My Dearest and I have been talking about what will be the FIRST thing we want to eat when we arrive. I've posted about this idea in general about what do we miss most from America and how we can get just about everything in China. Now that I am here....I wouldn't change my thoughts, there aren't any major cravings or desires to eat cheese.
I was VERY excited to go to #Shoprite. The idea of walking into a supermarket and knowing there are 25+ aisles of kosher food options AND the food has a standard of regulation from the FDA was so delightful. It was so nice to walk down all the aisles not just the 4 "Imported Goods" aisles at Carrefour.
Aside from enjoying the Supermarket experience the other major difference in mainly am feeling is using tap water. Brushing teeth, cooking, drinking. Not a second thought to take from the tap. It really feels like a luxury every time in tun on the water and think how much cleaner it is that Shangahi. I am not taking it for granted that's for sure.
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My Dearest and I have been talking about what will be the FIRST thing we want to eat when we arrive. I've posted about this idea in general about what do we miss most from America and how we can get just about everything in China. Now that I am here....I wouldn't change my thoughts, there aren't any major cravings or desires to eat cheese.
I was VERY excited to go to #Shoprite. The idea of walking into a supermarket and knowing there are 25+ aisles of kosher food options AND the food has a standard of regulation from the FDA was so delightful. It was so nice to walk down all the aisles not just the 4 "Imported Goods" aisles at Carrefour.
Aside from enjoying the Supermarket experience the other major difference in mainly am feeling is using tap water. Brushing teeth, cooking, drinking. Not a second thought to take from the tap. It really feels like a luxury every time in tun on the water and think how much cleaner it is that Shangahi. I am not taking it for granted that's for sure.
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Saturday, July 4, 2015
I'm Leaving My Wife Behind
My mom is a very wise woman for MANY reasons. For this instance, she would say often how she needs a wife. Married for nearly 43 years, my parents juggled 4 kids, work, carpool, soccer, hebrew school, proms, camp, college applications, life stuff with minimal help. My mom would often not have enough hands to do everything she needed, eyes to watch everyone, or be everywhere she wanted. She needed a wife, someone to take care of the things so she could be where she really needed to be.
Come to China and you too can have a wife, or as we call her Ayi (literally translated as Auntie but meaning nanny). The Ayi's become apart of your family. They do the cleaning, the ironing, the bed making, the dusting, the dishes, the cooking and the childcare. They do it all and happily.
Some would say I am on "vacation" while we are here in Shanghai. I merely feel I have a wife. Ayi helps me in a way that I can spend time one-on-one with my kids and make me feel safe and comfortable when she watches the kids; all while happily mopping and ironing and cooking. It truly is amazing.
I am leaving for the airport soon to travel to the States for the summer with the kids and I am leaving my wife and my husband behind.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Fortune Cookie Friday
See the light at the end of the tunnel.
I really could go in many different philosophical directions with this fortune.
I think Dr. Leo Marvin may have said it best, "Baby Steps". The basic concept of this page-turner is take life one step at a time. For me, the light at the end of the tunnel is not the big picture/end result. It is more of making the most of my time, getting through my day and feeling good about it.
I really could go in many different philosophical directions with this fortune.
I think Dr. Leo Marvin may have said it best, "Baby Steps". The basic concept of this page-turner is take life one step at a time. For me, the light at the end of the tunnel is not the big picture/end result. It is more of making the most of my time, getting through my day and feeling good about it.
Painting afternoon
Letting the paint be the art...or something like that.
After
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Before
After
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Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Don't Hassle Them, They're Local.
Don't hassle them, they're local.
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Made in China
We are preparing for our relocation to the States next week by doing some souvenir shopping for the family. I use the word "relocation" because traveling with kids is not a vacation. It is merely packing up from where you are and re-locating somewhere else doing the same thing you'd do with your kids just in a different location.
According to Merriam-Websters dictionary online a vacation is defined as:
:a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel
: the number of days or hours per year for which an employer agrees to pay workers while they are not working
: a time when schools, colleges, and universities are closed
None of the above apply to me.
I digress. I am curious, however, what you think of as "souvenirs" when you think China. Everything seems to made here but what would you want from here.
According to Merriam-Websters dictionary online a vacation is defined as:
:a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel
: the number of days or hours per year for which an employer agrees to pay workers while they are not working
: a time when schools, colleges, and universities are closed
None of the above apply to me.
I digress. I am curious, however, what you think of as "souvenirs" when you think China. Everything seems to made here but what would you want from here.
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