I imagine most of you have wondered if I still exist!!  It's been some time since I've written.  Life has been quite interesting the last six months.  It's been one of the busiest, most mentally exhausting times of my life.  I took on some new duties at work (basically I took over someone else's full time job in addition to my own) so I've been working overtime nearly every night for almost six months.  It's a position full of details, deadlines, and no room for mistakes.  Things are finally starting to calm down now as the season is wrapping up, so I've finally got some free computer time (my only computer is at work and I'm usually using it for work!).  Needless to say, the down time has been nice as I'm quite tired.  In fact, all of this has got me thinking about what may be in store next.  Should I get another job?  Should I move to another town?  Should I start a career of some sort?  Should I do another overseas job?  There's a lot of options.  Perhaps a transition or change of some sort is near. 

Trying to think of what I've been doing the last six months (besides working) and can only think of a few things.  I went to Seattle this summer for the NHRA drag races (the big nitro-methane cars).  Went on a 10-day cruise through New England for work and won another cruise to the Bahamas, played a lot of Rock Band with friends, did some camping and traveling around Montana, some family drag racing, played softball on the company team, and read a lot of books.  Will be leaving on another work trip to Vegas at the end of the month. 

Well, I have to go to work now, but hope all are doing well and would love to hear what's going on with all of you as well. 

 This weekend, I tried something new.  I had a new adventure and it was something I really quite enjoyed...being on the pit crew for a drag racer.  That's right.  I've become part of the drag racing community.  Mom's fiance is a drag racer and we took the car out for its first runs with a new engine and I must admit I enjoyed getting my hands dirty working on the car.  My job consisted of tightening valve covers, pulling out the parachute pin, charging the battery between runs, checking the CO2 for the transmission, and a few other odds & ends duties.  I had so much fun.  We're going again next weekend.  It's just so fun to watch the car go from 0 to 130mph in only 1/8th of a mile (660ft) and only 5 1/2 seconds from start to finish.  Dan thinks I should get my license to race, but that might be a little more than I can handle. Who knew cars could be so much fun? 

I am so excited!!  I just received my visa for China today which means I can officially go back to China!  I'll only be there for two weeks, but I'll get to see my darling friends and my favorite students!!  I can't tell you how jazzed I am about it.  Three weeks and counting until I fly over the deep blue to Beijing.  Thinking about it, I can't believe that my kids are graduating from college this semester and it's been almost two years since I was there.  I've been craving hot pot and fried rice for two years!... Most of my kids will be there, but there's quite a few that are off in the wide world working their first jobs.  I wish I could see all my kids, but many will not be there, which makes me sad indeed.  But, I can't wait to take a stroll along Guilin Lu and Tongzhi Jie, to buy a cream puff at my favorite bakery, visit "Depend the Little Town of Grove" (an underground shopping area below the supermarket), eat at Chuang Wang Fu,  walk along the moat at Hua Qiao, and see all my wonderful friends.  I can't wait to hear my kids say "Hello, Garsjo!".  And to my girls in China...I'm bringing my A-game and uniform. 

Other than plans for China, life has been fairly slow.  I've been taking merengue lessons (a latin dance) which has been a blast as well as salsa lessons before that.  I sure like this latin dance stuff!  It's great exercise and I get to meet all sorts of folks.  Besides, it helps with the dancing bug that I get from time to time now that I can't do cowboy jitterbug anywhere.  I'm thinking I'd like to do rumba or tango sometime after this. 

I was at a friend's house the other day and we were talking with another married couple about relationships, pre- and post- marriage.  What a refreshing conversation to hear from both sides and to be encouraged and commended for what we have chosen to keep, instead of being like the rest of the world that wantonly throws all away.  In a world where we are CONSTANTLY encouraged to give ourselves at every opportunity to "love" and that a woman's beauty stems from her body and not her heart, it was truly refreshing to be commended for being different.  I don't think we women are told enough that we have a great beauty to offer that has nothing to do with how we look. 

Anywho,....I'm going to China!  Haha!  I hope this three weeks is the fastest of my life so I can leave soon.  China, here I come!