I'd like to say I'll do this again but who knows.
My day, in photos:
Studying Linguistics at the Free Speech Cafe:
to make up for last week's missed weekend snapshot, as we were on vacation, here's another one we took from mutton lake's rental cottage... say hello to the red toad i found.
from our cottage rental's beach...
Most of the photos in the main posts on this site are now on display in a more aesthetic setting at my personal URL, LanoraMueller.com.
Some of the text content from Writing Travel is also there, but each page in the new photoblog design is limited to a single post, that is, a photo. Had to do it, as this page is getting too cluttered with bits and pieces.
Writing Travel will focus more on writing, editing, publishing, and self-promotion for writers and journalists. As time permits, I'll roll out a new design here as well.
Please let me know what you think of the new WordPress format. I'll also be moving the photoblog to PhotographingTravel.com as soon as I can get that domain forwarded or transferred away from Google.
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After an 8-inch snowfall blessed us with a snow day on Friday, this morning we woke up to another several inches and a truck that would not start. Thankfully, a boost from the battery charger woke up the truck and my daughter's school had a late-start morning because of last night's Super Bowl party (don't ask).
My travel commitment today is a trip on the train to Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital to support a cousin who is having surgery. Temperatures are mild, and there's not much of a wind. The snow is beautiful, at least for now, until the drizzling rain turns it into slush. So is the lightning that is beginning to flash on the southwest horizon.
My trip in won't be too onerous. I am resigned to the extra expense of a taxi from Ogilvie Station to the hospital, and taking an early afternoon train gives me enough time to putter around a bit this morning.
Here's to more frequent trips, even if they're local ones, and more frequent blog entries. Please take a look at my photoblog, Lanora Mueller Photography, for some new photo posts there.
]]>this past saturday, chaeli and little zack (her 'fiance' - poor little dude - doesn't even realize his decision was already made for him by our very aggressive, little daughter) had a play date at the zoo. which turned out to be a fantastic day both weather wise and company wise. his parents seem really nice before but we got to spend more quality time with them and found them great to hang out with. they also have a younger daughter who was a hoot, too.
anyway... the photos of the kids...
Part 2 of our China Trip!
After we left Shanghai, we went to Xi'an next. Xi'an is such a beautiful city full of history, rich culture, and gorgeous sights. One of the first things we saw in Xi'an was the Terra Cotta Warriors.
Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses is a collection of 8,099 life-size terra cotta figures of warriors and horses located near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. The
figures were discovered in March, 1974 near Xi'an in the Shaanxi
province. I was pretty stoked that I figured out how to use optical
AND digital zoom on my camera finally! 
Look at this close up shot! There's supposed to be hundreds of thousands of these terra cotta figurines buried still, each with their own unique face and holding bronze weapons. The warriors also had color, but once exposed to air, the color only lasts about six minutes. The Chinese government are currently trying to figure out how to preserve the paint...
The
Terra Cotta Warriors are so popular in Xi'an, you can even see them
wearing Xi'an's latest fashions. So wrong, and yet, strangely
amusing... 
Here's a photo of our traveling group: there's me, Dan, Master Trainer Lu Yi, Catherine, Jenny, and Mr. Chew. 
Here
is a photo of the infamous Donkey Skin dish that we ate. For any of
you who have tried jelly fish, it was similar to that dish...otherwise,
I'm not sure what I could compare it to. It was spicy, that's for
sure! 
After lunch, we went to Huaqing Hot Springs (Huaqing Chi). Huaqing Hot Spring is known for its dainty spring scenery and the romantic love story of Emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Yang Guifei in the Tang Dynasty. Of course, we couldn't understand a word of what the tour guide was saying to us.
While
we didn't get to take a hot spring bath there, we did get to wash our
faces in pure hot springs water for 3 rmb! Shwanky!
Xi'an
was absolutely gorgeous! In Xi'an, there was also a great Islamic
Market as well as great costume shops there - when Dan and I get more
acrobatics training, I'll be able to buy one of those hot costumes!
That's enough from Xi'an...now we're getting into really interesting - our next stop: Wuhan!
]]>How great it is to be home! I took a long hot shower with my premium
Japanese shampoo and soaps, got to make a simple dinner, and am now basking in
non-smoky glory while sitting back in my "obviously too scandalous for China"
tank tops! *sigh* Bliss! 
Our trip to
Shanghai was pretty sweet – Master Trainer Lu Yi had some hot water spilled on
his wrist by a stewardess (didn't burn him, but surprised him) and Dan did a few
magic tricks for the people around us and the stewardesses – this resulted in
First Class Snacks, unlimited drinks (alcoholic, 1 liter bottles of water, etc),
and fresh fruit (not cut up crap). Dan
took full advantage of the treats! 
Here's a photo of Cheng Huang Miao (also known as Yuyuan Garden and Bazaar)!
It's a beautiful place to walk around – if you don't mind elbowing people
aside. There's a lot of things to shop for here - Qipao's, slippers,
bags, knick-knacks at the 2 yuan shops (about 24 cents an item), clothing,
wallets...the list is endless! It's also where you can get the
BEST siew-lung baos.
Here I am in the line for the alleged baos…all kinds of people were waiting for these baos – at 10 yuen for 16 dumplings (that's $1.24 US) I couldn't blame them!
Here's a guy we saw sitting around
while waiting in line – I thought he was hilarious because he was smoking this
HUGE pot pipe (it was at least 3 ½ feet long) and NOBODY cared! His friend looked like he had a pipe that was
made out of a Nalgene bottle. There was
also a kid who randomly took a pee near the bao line. *sigh*. 
Welcome to
China.
Food is a great thing in
Cheng
Huang Miao…food vendors are
EVERYWHERE! They have a LOT of different foods on a stick. Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz would've had a
hoot if "Something About Mary" was filmed in China. Here's Dan with a crab ovary soup in a bun
(you don't eat the bun). YUM!
While in Shanghai, we visited an
acrobatics school that would potentially be a school Dan and I would train at in
the future. If you ever thought that you
had a bad day at work – you're a big ol' pansy!
Here's a 7 year old girl learning how to do a one armed handstand. 
And these two boys – they had to
stay in this position for 45 MINUTES. I'm shocked that the top kid didn't pass out
from all the blood rushing to his head!
Watching those kids made even us feel so tired, so we went to Xin Tian Di, hit up a shop, and got manicures/pedicures. (Even Dan!)
My nails look soooooo beautiful! It's too bad they looked so bad when I removed them back in the States. But that's another story... ..ce.com/images/blog/smileys/lazy.gif">
Shanghai was so great, we returned for one last city jaunt on the last day of our trip! But until then, we were packing up and getting ready to hit up the next city…Xi-An! Here's one more photo of Shanghai for the road: Lujiazui and Pudong (also known as the Bund)! Beautiful!
More photos later!
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