day 10

10. Double digits. A milestone. And shopping day for me. My favorite day thus far. Part of it has to do with the fact that I didn't sweat much at all today. It was the first day that I haven't had to take two showers. See, shopping IS therapeutic. And it does make things all better.

We paid Angela, from Ladybugs n Love, to take us shopping today. I had a very specific list of things to buy and I wanted to make sure we didn't pay too much so it was worth paying her to help us find good deals. And we, I did. Andy pretty much sat off to the side and entertained Hope while I shopped. I was in a major shopping mode and got everything I needed in less than two hours and two stores. Probably still seemed like torture to Andy. He seems to not understand or appreciate good shopping skills. I'm not sure any male does.

Hope immediately latched on to Angela. She is Korean and speaks Chinese. I think Hope was just thrilled to have someone around who could speak her language. Our adoption guide and our tour guide have both been male so this was the first time a female has been with us for a day. And Hope could not get enough of her attention. She was a non-stop Chinese chatterbox. The funniest thing was at lunch when Hope raised her small water glass and says in Chinese to Angela, "Cheers!" and tries to clink her glass with Angela's. Angela starts laughing and tells us what she said. Where in the world did she get that?! Angela thought maybe she was in a foster family at some point and saw that or it could have just been something she learned while playing with kids at the orphanage. Andy and I could not stop laughing.

Can't share too many shopping details b/c that might spoil some surprises. So that's all about that. Hope took a two and a half hour nap today. I swear I heard the Hallelujah Chorus in my head when she finally dozed off. Ah, I love nap time. It's almost as good as shopping.

Then it was Groundhog Day from about 4:30-8:00...try to stay as long as possible in our air-conditioned hotel room, walk, eat, walk. No pictures today. Imagine me shopping and Andy and Hope waiting. I'm smiling. Andy is not. And Hope is bouncing off the walls and running. Heaven for me. Not heaven for Andy.

Two more full days left in Beijing. I think we're going to the Temple of Heaven tomorrow b/c it has a nice park area. Will post when we get back. Off to bed now. G-night.