HKW06 : Top Randoms

1. i have been working on my conservation awareness and habits for years now, but for some reason, i've stepped it up here. maybe it's because you get charged 5 HKD for a plastic bag in most grocery stores, bottled water is a necessity b/c the tap water is not drinkable, and recycle containers are EVERYWHERE. we have yet to figure out how to recycle glass, but there are containers for everything else including a wider array of plastics than in austin.
2. my missing of my fur babies is increasing instead of decreasing. i have developed the habit of going into random pet stores to buy some trinket or other to send back home...and to pet whatever dog/cat is in the store and will allow it. this morning, i made friends with a pekinese, a yorkie, and a pomeranian that were being boarded in a pet facility near our apartment.
3. i did not realize how many things i was not seeing around me when i am out and about on errands with the kids. i had the opportunity to meet up with a friend sans kids today, and i swear i saw at least a dozen things i had not noticed in the 14 days we've lived in this area. i saw many things that i want to go back and investigate with the kids including a pizzeria, a bakery called vanilla, and that pet facility.
4. we met more people this week than we have in the 43 days we have been here. this has been a very nice turn of events.
5. two weeks ago, we froze our backsides off at night, and in the last four days, the temps have risen so quickly and so high that we now have 3 out of the four a/c units in our apartment on. quinn was up for an hour last night tossing and turning and generally fussing...i think he was hot. when i went into his room to comfort him, i found it very muggy. i had no idea how to turn on/adjust his a/c. josh got it set up today, and i think q will be much more comfortable tonight.
6. our upcoming week is quite full with SOCIAL events. the only chore-related things we have to do this week are go to the post office and receive a delivery from IKEA.
7. i love IKEA...even more than i did in austin. IKEA is crucial to outfitting a home for not-too-much money. and their ice cream cones are delish. and they cost less than 50 cents u.s.
8. even though it pissed me off to no end at the time, i now find myself laughing every time i think about quinn throwing all of his stuffed animals out of his window. what i neglected to mention the other day is that there was a family on the playground when this was all going on. they were looking up in awe as animals fell from the sky, and when we went down to the playground to get those animals, the kids that were down there had piled them all up for us. it was embarrassing yet funny.
9. in less than 24 hours, i have gone from being pissed off at my nook to falling completely in love with it. after a few hours and a lot of head banging, josh found a work-around for downloading ebooks for the nook. he got me janet evanovich novel yesterday. i finished it in less than 24 hours. it helps that i was up until 2 a.m. with an on-and-off fussy baby...gave me lots of time to read...and i could read it with the bedroom light off. i foresee less sleep in my future ;-p
10. after coming home to find thor throwing error codes the other day, i was sure that our brief and stormy romance was off. josh fixed thor the other night...after perusing the online user manual, josh determined that there was a clogged hose and got busy de-clogging it. i have never been so happy to do 8 loads of laundry (this would have been no more than 3 loads in a standard u.s. washing machine/dryer).