Happy Birthday Lucy!

I know we don't talk about this much, but the truth is, John and I have a daughter too!

And our sweet Lucy-Lu has turned 5 today! She is a Valentine's Pup!

Lucy at Shi Mao (our compound/high-rise complex) in Shanghai. It had a dog park and lake! Right in the center of the city!

Lucy was in Heaven!

Pooped after a hard day of playing at the park! Of course, the ball is never too far. (Again in Shanghai) I can't believe we let her on the beds back then. I kind of feel bad about that now.

Carter and Lucy are really becoming friends! It is the sweetest thing. Carter LOVES to "throw" the ball for her! She always tries to bring it back to me. I'm not sure if the 2 feet throw is up to her standards for fun. Ha ha.

We had this bed of Chinese silk made for her at the fabric market in Shanghai. Can you tell, she was our first child? Poor girl really took the back seat when Carter came along. :(

Lucy, we found this picture under your bed!!! This must have been taken while Daddy and I were out of town and the Sexton's were watching you!!! We are very disappointed in your decisions!! (Those Sextons are very irresponsible!) Your grounded! ;)

Lucy, we love you and had no clue we could love a dog this much!!

Fabric Market & Other Updates

We picked up our clothes! Much to our surprise....they turned out great.

Except for the shirts John ordered. They were a bit too snug. A sudden need to grab a dropped pen or to reach out to take something from a co-worker, actually, moving his arms within 6 inches of his body and he would be wearing a ripped shirt. That is not even considering if he tried to move or slouch his body. They looked great and would be perfect for a robot though.

So we will pick up his NEW shirts later this week.

Here are my two new coats and John's pants:


Coat #1: Heavy...very heavy but short and can be worn dressy or casual. It also has a belt which is tied behind my back in the picture. This coat is already being used every day. (Please excuse the closet.) LOVE IT!

John's pants: Candid Shot! Pants fit nicely and look really nice! I can't believe they only cost 20$.

Coat #2: Not-So-Candid-Shot. The coat is light weight and great for spring or fall! I can't wait to wear this coat!

Pants From Behind: (Honestly...not-so-candid-shot either. We crack ourselves up.) He got three new pair of these dress pants in different colors. This is the light cocoa (my favorite), charcoal gray, black with a shimmery white thread.

And in Lucy News:

Lucy is doing well! She is finally making new friends at our twice-a-day doggie group.

This is Anna and Lucy. These two have been playing chase alot lately.

This is Sweetie, Lucy crept out of the picture, but you can see her tail.

Don't get me wrong though...

...her tennis ball is still #1. BFF.

As I'm typing this, I just went into the living room to check on Lucy, and there she is, curled up with her ball again. This is a very common pose.

DVD's of the Week:

Revolutionary Road, My Best Friend's Girl, Into the Wild, New in Town

Lucy in Hiding

Lucy has been playing pretty hard lately.

There is a dog group in our compound who meet twice a day to let the dogs play off their leashes. And boy do they play....not Lucy of course. She just wants me to throw her tennis ball. Go figure. But needless to say, she works up a pretty good slobber.

With that being said, Lucy needs a shower.

So John called her to the bathroom.

No Lucy.

He called again.

Still no Lucy.

So we looked behind our bed.

No Lucy.

We looked behind the curtains.

No Lucy.

Then we peeked across the room.

And this is what we saw.

A bit closer...

So we did what any dog parent would do. We laughed, took pictures and let her think that her scheme worked.

Well, I guess it did. No shower for Lucy.

Lucy, We're Home!

We are officially in Shanghai, China!

And here begins our newest adventure!

Lucy and I met up with John just under a week ago and were so excited to see him waiting for us at the airport. He has been here for about a month...just enough time to work out some of the kinks* that go along with moving to a whole new country, once again.

Our newest home is in the Shimao Riviera Compound. While a compound may not sound too inviting, it basically means western community. To me it feels like I'm on a cruise ship or a resort in the middle of a city. There are seven high-rise buildings surrounded by pools, parks, gardens, and two club houses...and that is what makes up our "compound."

Here is Photo Tour 1 of new home.

Welcome home! 45E. That's right, 45th floor. We are pretty high up there.

This picture was taken in our foyer. Behind me is the front door shown in the first picture above. To my left is the semi-private elevator, which drops us off right here inside the foyer of our apartment. To my right is another table and mirror much like the one above. (Confusing, I know)

Okay, now I'm in the house. See the door to the foyer/elevator at the left? You can choose to go to the left toward the closet or to the right. On this tour we are going to the left.


Dining room which opens to living room too.

Here is the living room! Love the floral couches? So do we. ;) Honestly though, awesome view of the river and all of Shanghai. Pretty nice tv too.

Master bedroom from living room entrance.

And another angle...with the Luce-inator creeping into the picture!

Master bathroom...complete with bidet and tv. I wish the water was clean here and that we could just use the bidet as Lucy's water bowl! How easy would that be? Am I sick? No? Maybe?


And the opposite view from me standing in the tub!

Photo Tour 2 will come later when I have the patience to upload them onto here. It will feature the kitchen, guest rooms, other bathrooms and scary maid's quarter.

*kinks include: finding a place to live, negotiating club house membership, finding places to eat, figuring out how to get around when everything is in a different language with different characters, deciding how to plug-in our electronics with plugs from the US, Norway and China....and most of all kinks include finding a hair dryer and hair straightener with ceramic plates. Way to go Johnny!