Exhausted from this weekend

We had a very busy weekend. I am never glad to see a weekend be over, but I don't miss the long drives to where we went!

Saturday we took Ping to a Chinese New Years party in Foxboro. It's an hour away from us. Bill comes from Foxboro. It started at 11 am and went to 3 pm. We had a nice time. It was very crowded and so it was hard to walk around. It was also very hot inside. There were approx. 1000 people there! It was nice to see so many Chinese girls and boys all together in the same place. There were very few boys, but there were a few. The had a buffet of Chinese food. It wasn't good, but we were hungry so we ate it. We also walked around to the vendors. There were a few there selling little things. I got a pair of Chinese shoes hanging from a red knot. They are a traditional decoration. I also got two Rooster jade pendants. One for Ping and one for me as we are both Roosters! Bill is a lame Dragon:) Kidding! The pendants were only $4.00 a piece! Can't go wrong with that, right? There were some craft tables so the kids could color, make a lantern, paint their nails or make bookmarks. There were a few other things too. We didn't do any of that. Just way too crowded at the tables. There was a lot of dancing. Traditional dance as well as the lion dance. That was fantastic. There was a dragon dance and a few others as well. It was difficult to see. This is the first time we have been there. It is common to walk in and throw your coat on a chair. So every single chair was basically covered and yet nobody sat in the damn chairs. So it was a little frustrating for us. Ping and Bill actually sat on the dance floor for a lot of it, but Ping got very restless. They also had a silent auction for various items. Some of them were wonderful. There was a print of two pandas that I wanted. It went for $525.00. I wasn't going to spend that kind of money on a print. Well worth it because it was cute and it was for charity, but there are too many other things that we need that I rather purchase! Lastly they had raffle gifts. You walked around and put your tickets in the bag of the item you wanted. We each got one ticket. There was an option to buy more if you were interested. Honestly, it was too crowded, so I didn't bother.

Ping was in rare form, so I wasn't so happy to be hanging with her! She has a cold. What else is new. She gets rid of one for maybe three days and gets it again. The kid can't catch a break. Neither can I because unlike chocolate, she is more than happy to share her colds with me! Where is my immune system??????? Needless to say, she was clingy and unhappy which frustrated us to no end. It's kind of embarrassing when your child wants to carry on in front of people. I didn't notice others having this issue! She is so well behaved normally, but this weekend she was so beastly!!!!

We left at 3 pm and headed home. We were tired and had things to do around here.

On Sunday, we met Anita and Robo in Norwood. That is also an hour from us f0r those of you that do not know MA! We picked them up at Anita's mom's house and continued into Boston to Chinatown. We walked the streets and watched all sorts of entertainment. It was beautiful out. It was really a nice day to be walking around. We went into a few shops to see what they had. A lot of decorations for the new year. We didn't buy anything. Everyone was hungry, so we decided to try and find a place for lunch. We decided on one place, but since there was a short wait and Ping was short of patience, I suggested we go accross the street. BIG MISTAKE. The place was huge. They were serving Dim Sum which we have never had. Anita and I couldn't help but look at the cart and then each other and say "no thank you!" They offered us menus. Anita and Robo ordered Peking Duck. They brought them the skin. It was scary looking. Then they brought them the meat. We couldn't help but laugh at the entire situation. The table cloth we were dining on was filthy, so I wasn't pleased. Then this weird scary dish comes out. We just had to laugh. Bill ordered rice and General Gao's which we shared. It was okay, not great. Needless to say, we had two bad Chinese food experiences.

When we got to Chinatown, I asked Robo how he scored the weekend off as he is in retail. Sadly this past week he was let go. I felt so awful about the whole thing. He cares about his work. He cares about getting enough rest and leaving early enough to get to work on time. I was just so shocked. He has a wonderful personality, so he will find something else. Anita proceeded to tell me that this was one of the few "bombs" they needed to drop on me. Bombs being things I don't want to know and they really don't want to have to share. I figured that the job loss was the big one. Well at lunch, they dropped another one on me. Now Anita said that it's okay to discuss it, so I am not stepping over the line by sharing it here. However, I wish I had nothing to share. The two of them have decided to divorce after being married for three years. They love each other very much, but can not live together for a myriad of reasons. I can not begin to tell you how absolutely devastated over this I was. I tried so hard not to cry, but I broke down at the table. I love them both and as a team, I just adore them. I know they are very different people. They always have been, but I thought they worked out their differences. You know it's hard living with another person and if you have never done it before, it's even harder!!!!! I was very hurt that Anita had not confided in me that there were issues. I felt like I wasn't there for her or wasn't paying attention. However, Anita has seriously been so busy with a new job that she has been at maybe for 9 months or so, that we don't get to touch base as much as we used to. I was hurt it took her so long to tell me, but she wanted to tell me in person and yesterday was the first time I had seen her since Christmas. I totally understand her thinking and she has every right to tell me when she wants to. I just felt awful that it took so long for us to get together. This is very hard for them. They have to tell all their friends little by little and listen to the questions and advice, etc. I can't imagine the pain that this is causing them. It's going to be a very tough year for them. If this truly makes them happy, I will stand by and do what I can. What else can you do? It's not my agenda, it's theirs. I am just really sad over this. Just over three years ago I was standing by their side at their wedding witnessing a wonderful union. I just hope this pain passes for them and they go on to have much happiness in their lives.

Today was a very low key day. We did a few errands after swim and school and then came home. Just too tired to do much. I didn't sleep at all last night. My head kept swirling around. I am going to sign off as it's late. I am going to upload some pictures.

Mama Out!!!!!

Photos from Saturday:

Ping being silly.

Smile for Mama PLEASE!

Where are your eyeballs baby?

Let's go Mama, I am sick of my photo being taken.

Shot of the room.

First dance.

Traditional dancing.

Very Spanish looking to me.

Traditional dancing.

Traditional dance with headpiece. Looked awesome when they danced.

Another dance.

Lion dance.

Lion Dance.

2 Lions and guy offering food.

2 of the Lions. So cute when they flutter their eyes.

Awesome panda print that I wanted.

Ping not wanting to pose next to air guy! Other kids were punching him Excuse me, is it your property to punch???

Dragon dance.

Dragon dance.

Shoes gone!

Cling monster.

2 Lion dance with children.

2 Lion dance with children.

Raffle items.

Photos from Sunday:

Confetti.

Lion dance.

Lion dance.

Another Lion in the dance.

Red Lion backing up after offering of lettuce and oranges.

Red Lion.

Confetti tubes.

Confetti tube.

Gold confetti.

Watching the tubes being set off.

Anita and Robo.

Anita, Robo, Bill and Ping.

Street scene.

Yellow Lion at another store.

Street shot.

Yellow Lion up close and personal.

Ping and Bill hanging.

Ping building a triangle and playing drums.

Peking duck.

Peking duck with Anita and Robo laughing.