Mei Hao: January 2008

Friday, January 18, 2008

shopping

those that know me know that I love shopping. For me it's the thrill of the hunt. Finding just what I want at a low low price is invigorating. And since Dell has been working the 6pm to 6am shift Henry and I have been spending a good bit of time at retail establishments to try and keep the apartment quiet enough for Dell to sleep. Our favorite place to go is the Pottery Barn outlet in San Marcos. it has many things in it's favor. 1) a 45 minute drive which gives dell and hour and a half quiet 2) Rugs. Henry loves the rug area at "Big Boy Pottery Barn"-- his name and I think a good one since there is a mix of pottery barn kids and regular pottery barn there. In the rugs Henry jumps and bounces, takes off his shoes, and unrolls or rolls rugs to his heart's content. 3)Pottery Barn items at amazing discounts. I sneer at Walmart prices "What, pay that for curtains?! i could get it cheaper at Pottery Barn." It's a fun feeling. My most recent trip had many triumphs-- most things I bought ended up being under 3 dollars, but perhaps the biggest triumph was these curtains for 8.99. http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p9490/index.cfm?pkey=csalrugsol
If any of you have your eye on a specific PB item let me know and I'll hunt for you. After all Dell has 3 more weeks of surgery and he needs some good days sleep.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Going to Bethlehem

Burnet, a sweet little town about 2 hours north of San Antonio, does a fabulous Christmas activity. They turn a section of grass about the size of a city block into Bethlehem. As you walk in you feel as if you stepped back in time. The city is packed with wanderers and locals selling goods, shopping, just sitting in their homes playing games, and then craftsmen going about their business. The scale of the place was remarkable. The bread delicious, the centurians powerful, and the stable reverant. It was a cold day (low 30s or below so not just Texans would think it cold) so everyone but the Bethlehemites were well bundled.

The lepers outside the city

There were Camels!! And donkeys and sheep and all the other animals you'd expect in Bethlehem, but this is Burnet Texas and there were Camels!!!

No Room in the Inn. Though the innkeeper invited us in to warm ourselves by the fire.

The Stable

The stable was set off in an obscure corner of the city. None of the inhabitants of the city were near it. They were all busy with their life and all the visitors. It was really amazing to realize that that's the way it was. There was a star over the stable and I'm sure the shepherds were on their way, but most of Bethlehem didn't notice. This was such a great experience and make the wonderful events of Luke 2 so much more real.

Christmas at the Westin

This was a fun activity that we went to at the beautful Westin hotel at La Cantara. It's free, but oh my does it make you want to stay there.
The activity starts when Mrs Claus leads you to a spot past the pool where a cowboy storyteller (Maken Dust) and his cowboy band tell you Christmas stories and sing Christmas songs.

Maken Dust

The Cowboy Band

Each child is given a bell as part of the story telling and Henry enjoyed swinging his about. After stories and songs at various senic locations about the grounds Maken Dust tells the legend of snow in San Antonio. According to the legend if good children close their eyes, wish really hard and ring bells at the same time it will snow in San Antonio. So all the kids closed their eyes (except Henry who was too busy exploring the pond and lily pads), wished, and rang their bell (Henry did do that). And guess what....