Xiǎo Jiǎozi (Little Dumpling)

First, the amazing, awesome, exciting news - there is a half-Asian bun in my oven! Yep, that's right, people, I am pregnant.

Baby Yuen aka "Dumpling"

Next, let me answer a few FAQs:

1. When are you due? May 31, 2012
2. Will you find out what you're having? Yes, in January. And yes, we will let you know.
3. Do you have a name picked out? Not yet, but it will be a secret anyway.
4. How have you been feeling? Fortunate, excited, blessed... and very lucky not to have any nausea! I have had days where I get VERY tired, and I get up about three times a night to go to the bathroom, but I have otherwise had a pretty easy time of it so far. (Please don't hate me!)
5. Was this expected/were you planning it? Yes, very much so. It took longer than either of us expected, but I know it has happened in God's perfect timing. Though I struggled with patience, I also prayed continuously throughout the process and trusted God and His plan for our family. That did not always make it easier, but it gave me peace, hope, and joy when I otherwise would have felt lost and alone. As in all my struggles in life, I can see how God used this to draw me closer to Him and build my trust and faith in Him. Additionally, this experience has helped my marriage grow and mature as well. We are both really looking forward to this next chapter of our lives.

I would be more than happy to answer any other questions you might have. Ask away...

I Will Never Be a Travel Writer, part 2

If you haven't already, you may want to check out Part 1 of our travels. Part 2 covers leaving Madrid, our time visiting family in Barcena, and San Sebastian.

Dec. 17 - After a quick breakfast at Starbucks where I bought my souvenir mugs, we head out of the city in our rental car with Dad driving the whole four hours to his family's town, Barcena del Bierzo in Galicia. Michael met just about everyone on my dad's side of the family. We visited a castle, took a long nap, and ate a late dinner (10pm may be normal for Spaniards but not us) to celebrate my birthday with the whole family. They fed us REALLY well and in great quantities.

Only the demitasses are souvenirs.

A - Barcena del Bierzo, where my abuela lives

One of Michael's favorite things he saw in Spain was the room where my grandma smokes and dries all her own pork.

 After my birthday dinner: Michael, me, Aunt Eva, her son Victor, her husband Roberto, and her daughter Maria (in front)

Alejandro, my cousin Cristina (his wife), Michael, me, my cousin Monica, their mom Rami, their dad Uncle Pablo

Aunt Pili, Michael, me, my cousin Jonny, my abuela, Pili's boyfriend

Carlos's girlfriend Teri, Michael, me, my cousin Roberto Carlos, his girlfriend Jenny, Uncle Carlos

My birthday mil hojas. Three cheers for turning 30 in Spain!

Dec. 18 - My official birthday! saw my cousin's new house, had lunch with the family, left in our rental car for San Sebastian, and arrived after dark. We successfully checked into our hotel in Spanish (no more Dad to translate as he stayed behind with his family), walked around the city, and found a decent but ordinary place for dinner.

Our Nissan Micra rental car. Good thing I still remember how to drive a manual!

Playa de la Concha, San Sebastian - just a few minutes walk from our hotel

Dec. 19 - a very laid-back day as San Sebastian is very small; we mostly walked around taking in the beautiful scenery of the beach and cobbled streets, hike up Mt. Urgull (very unfortunate that we forgot our camera for this), lunch at Bodegon Alejandro, more walking around enjoying the beautiful weather, pinxtos for dinner at Cuchara de Santelmo, churros and chocolate for dessert at Santa Lucia

View of Monte. Urgull with the statue of Jesus on top

Michael wanted to touch the Bay of Biscay

Monte. Urgull at sunset

Playa de la Concha at sunset

Going the distance... together

Michael and I are officially registered for the Columbus Marathon on October 17th. Though I haven't mentioned it in my blog for a while, I am still running. Our Asia trip took its toll on my training, but I had anticipated that. It was part of the reason I started training so early. I've been back on track the last few weeks and Michael has really picked up his training too. I really love that this is something we're doing together. Even though we don't run side by side, we are both committed to our own training plans and encourage each other through the process. We often adjust our schedules to make sure we each have time for runs during the week (whether outside or taking turns on the treadmill), and then we head out together for long runs on Saturdays. We really like the Olentangy trail because it is both lengthy and scenic. We start at the same place and each run at our own pace for half our goal distance then turn around and head back. We meet at the car to stretch and head home. It is definitely a bonding experience that I enjoy, and I'm looking forward to sharing race day with him.

In addition to the joy of running with my husband, completing this marathon will mean that I accomplished my goal of running one before I turn 30. Also, I'll be able to get one of these:

A few months ago I started noticing cars here and there with bumpers stickers that said "13.1." I don't know why I hadn't seen any before, but I figured they meant that the driver had completed at least one half-marathon, the distance of which is 13.1 miles. I immediately thought how cool it would be to get one myself someday. Then, I saw a car with a "26.2" sticker. I can't wait to get mine!

Summer Vacation, part 2

I know, I know... it's been over a month since our trip, and I'm just now getting around to sharing with you. I just haven't been much in the bloggy mood lately. It was a fantastic trip though, so hopefully I do it justice here. As I mentioned, the first part of the trip started in Lake Tahoe where my brother-in-law's wedding was, so we flew to Hong Kong out of the San Francisco International Airport. There were six of us on the trip: Michael, his parents, his brother and new sister-in-law, and me. The flight is approximately 14 hours long. We stayed in Hong Kong three nights, and then we flew to Taipei. That flight is only an hour or so, but they gave us a free snack anyway. (Take note, cheap American airlines!) Michael and I stayed in Taiwan another three nights and then flew back from Taipei to Hong Kong to San Fransisco to Chicago to Columbus. We spent 30 hours traveling home and were ever so grateful to sleep in our own bed that night.

Hong Kong Thoughts
I didn't actually mind the incredibly long flight since I had my own TV screen and could choose from a wide variety of shows, movies, and games to keep me busy. I also was not too terribly affected by the 12 hour time difference between California and Hong Kong. I woke up the first night at 2am but was able to go back to sleep until my alarm went off at 7:00. After that, I slept normally the whole trip. Hong Kong was a lot like what I expected only less crowded. I am used to the big city bustle after living in New York for two years, but I had anticipated much more congestion in Asia than what there was. We stayed in Kowloon, which is kind of like the Brooklyn of Hong Kong, and it is where my father-in-law grew up. All of Michael's aunts and uncles are known by their birth order number, which is common in Asian cultures. We spent most of our time with Aunt 8 and her husband, but Aunts 9 and 10 also hung out with us one day. On our last night in the city, the whole family (two uncles, six aunts, their spouses, numerous cousins, and the six of us) had a huge dinner together. I enjoyed most of the food we ate, and I think they went easy on us for most meals, but I did get to (was forced to?) try a few strange things including durian, a fruit that smells so bad one has to wonder why a person ever thought to crack it open and eat it in the first place.

Hong Kong Highlights

Ferry boat ride from Kowloon to Hong Kong island

Dragon boat races at Stanley

Dim sum with Aunt 8, 10, 9, Uncle 8, and Jason

Tram ride up Victoria Peak with views of the city

The city lights night show. The lights flashed and moved to music.

The Yuen aunts and uncles

The Yuen cousins

Taiwan Thoughts
While in Hong Kong, which is full of international business people and tourists, Stefany and I had a much easier time blending into the crowd than we did in Taiwan where we were often the only white people around. Stefany, with her strawberry blond hair and freckles, caused double-takes from numerous people as we walked down the streets. We also had fewer family members to visit here, just my mother-in-law's parents and youngest sister. I tried more "interesting" foods like quail eggs, stinky tofu, and sea cucumber. It was incredbily hot and humid, especially the day we went to the zoo, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun. We sped up the second tallest building in the world in the fastest elevator in the world to see panoramic views of the city from the 89th floor of Taipei 101. At the National Palace Museum, we saw art and artifacts from Chinese history, and we braved the overwhelming crowds to check out the famous Shilin Night Market. My favorite meal of the whole trip was the xiaolongbao we ate DinTai Fung.
Taiwan Highlights

Taipei 101

 

National Palace Museum

Xiaolongbao aka soup dumplings

So many funny signs

Shilin Night Market

Summer Vacation, part 1

I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in my brother-in-law's wedding on June 12th in Lake Tahoe. This wonderful event kicked off a twelve day vacation for Michael and me. We flew in to Reno, NV on Thursday, June 10th and rented a car to drive to Tahoe. It was our first time visiting this picturesque vacation town in Northern California. I've always loved hanging out with my in-laws, and I feel pretty close to the bride and her family too. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding last year. The weather was colder than I expected, so I ended up buying a cheap sweatshirt to use for the few days we were there. Saturday morning was bright and beautiful for the wedding, and when the wind wasn't blowing, it was quite nice. The photo shoot was fairly windy, however, and I was shivering and covered with goosebumps. The ceremony was beautiful though, and the reception was inside (delicious food too!).

beautiful view of the snow-capped mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe

photo by Andrew Chu

photo by James Glover

We stayed in great rental condos right on the beach, and the whole weekend was spent with family. We even had a make-shift church service led by the officiating pastor on Sunday morning. We also set the standard for the whole vacation of eating well and eating a lot. Fortunately I got in three decent runs while we were there.

We left on Sunday afternoon to drive to San Francisco. We only stayed a night there because we left from the airport in the morning for Hong Kong. With only a brief stay, we still managed to take in some sights. Michael's uncle lives in San Francisco, and he took us to Old Mandarin Islamic restaurant. We followed that with a walk along the beach and a hike through a beautiful wooded area with views of the the Golden Gate bridge.

We also made it over to Fisherman's Wharf where we had dessert at Hard Rock Cafe. It was my first time visiting San Francisco, and even though I know I only skimmed the surface of what there is to do there, I'm glad we made the most of our time.

Climbing Camelback

It's hard to believe I ever thought it was really cold in Arizona. Having spent the last two winters in New York, and now living in Ohio, I've changed my mind about what equates cold. Whereas 60 degrees used to be cold to me, now the 40's are cold. I realize that I was never "freezing" in the low 50's in Phoenix. Silly me. Granted, Phoenix does get chilly at night, but I still spent most of our Christmas vacation joyously reveling in t-shirts and light sweaters. The weather proved perfect for a short hike up Camelback and then some rock climbing led by my very experienced brother.

Camelback Mountain

Austin explains the basics of belaying

getting ready to belay Austin as he leads the climb

repelling back down after making it to the top of Rain of Terror (5.7)

Beau starts his climb

Mike belays Beau

view of Phoenix from the mountain

Thanksgiving 2009

This was my first Thanksgiving as a wife, and all I had to make were the green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. Lucky me! Michael and I drove to Kansas City last Tuesday to visit my brother-in-law and his fiance. We won't get to see them again until their wedding next summer. We left Polo there with his cousin Dito, a lab/shepherd mix. I don't think he missed us all week. On Wednesday, we flew to Albuquerque to spend Thanksgiving with my mom and in-laws.

Our 20lb. turkey

making the sweet potato casserole

After Thanksgiving dinner, we took part in a Yuen family tradition and sang karaoke with really old VHS karaoke tapes and really old songs. It was actually a lot of fun :) On Friday we went hiking in the mountains behind their home.

hiking around Sandia Mountains

Michael's parents fed us well while we were there. You know you're in an Asian family when you use Thanksgiving leftovers to make turkey fried rice.

We are incredibly thankful to have such an amazing family to visit and also a wonderful home to which we return. We have been very blessed this year and find things every day for which we thank God.