Homegrown House

My good friend, Janet Wong, has a new book coming out this summer, and on the Creating Connections blog, she asked, "How do you turn a house into a home?"

I loved that question since I've newly returned to my old house and needed to turn it into a new home. First off, my girlfriends came over to SWAK (sealed with a kiss)-paint the entry. Every brush stroke bristled with their love. And then the day after my sister finished her grad school finals, she came over...to paint, too. Despite test exhaustion, she powered on for two days straight, spending two nights over--driven by virtual direct infusions of caffeine and her mission to give me a fresh start.

It's amazing how color can completely alter the feeling of a space. And moving furniture. And changing up my enormous stacks of books, which, let's face it, are the ultimate accessories. Books warm up every room.

And finally...one of my friends in Shanghai, Stacey, gave me a tiny bottle of holy water from the fountain at the Fatima Shrine in Portugal. So today, we power cleaned our house. And then blessed our HOME. Every single room. The perimeter. The backyard. And the front.

Today I am thankful for having a HOME filled with joy and many, many blessings and the promise of future happiness.

Me Speak Cave Man Chinese

My girlfriends turned out in full force after my last post on being called a FATSO in China. I swear, just about everyone emailed me, assuring me that I am not hugely ugly. It's hard to stay hurt or harbor anger when you're laughing...as Mitali Perkins made me giggle when she told me that "in some villages in India, being fat is a compliment."

Or Janet Wong who emailed: "I’ve got to believe that you heard the tones wrong, and instead, they were beckoning you to…fight death…or buy a shed…See peng zi and pang at
http://www.chinese-dictionary.org/"

Ha!

However, I've determined that I need a few quick comebacks in Mandarin. Look, I know when people are making fun of me or deriding me. Yes, yes, in most cases, walking away is the best strategy. That IS what we teach our kids. HOWEVER, we all know that there are certain times when just the RIGHT COMEBACK QUIP does wonders for your own soul--never mind putting the insulter in his / her place.

So. With my 75 Mandarin words I have mastered, I now give you Justina's Top 4 Insta-insults in Cave Man Chinese:

1. Ni erzi de wugui! (You son of a turtle!)


2. Ni shi tongxue de ben! (You are a student of stupid.)
3. Ni he huantuan yiyang! (You are the same as a wonton.)
4. Duibuqi. Qing wen. Ni de mingzi shi bu shi "wo shi men"? (Excuse me. May I ask you a question. Is your name "I am Slow"?)

Do you think the mean people in China will quake in their shoes?

Parting Thoughts

Here I am, on the eve of leaving America to move to China for our year abroad. It's been a lovely whirlwind of family and friends that's often felt like my own Olympic of goodbyes.

My emotions by Wordle:



The week started with a last goodbye with the readergirlz divas where we toasted each other for our great year and conspired on new literacy programs. And then my mentor, Janet Wong, who refused to let me take her picture. She didn't say anything about me blogging about her though.

Then it was on to the annual Meat-and-Corn Fest at our friends Bill & Kristin's home. If there are any people who can make miracles happen, it's these two.



Yes, yes, Kristin is a genius and bestselling author (The Motherhood Manifesto) and political activist (Moms Rising). But Bill? He can preside over Congress. He can start businesses. And most importantly, he can bake! Here it is, my very own China pie a la Bill.


Then my sister and kids ventured to the Puget Sound Blood Center with me. There, we met some of the crew who, after hearing about Girl Overboard, thought we might have some mutual interest in getting more minorities to give blood and register for the National Bone Marrow registry.

Not only is my sister gorgeous, but she'll be attending nursing school in a few weeks. She was fascinated with our tour: from the blood extraction to the bones warehoused at the center for surgeries. I was...faint. Who knew that bones and heart valves could be...freeze dried. (Fine, fine, there's some scientific term for this procedure, but look at this ankle bone for yourself. Freeze dried, yes?)

And then! At last! My buttons from the wonderful Kyle at Button Arcade arrived just in time. (Love Button Arcade.)

As a present for all the wonderful authors who have blurbed my previous novels and my readergirlz crew, I had their book covers turned into buttons.

Shhhh...it's supposed to be a surprise. But I just had to share since there buttons are so darn cute! Can you name all the books and authors? (Major shout out to Lorie Ann Grover who coordinated this project for me as a PRESENT to me! I love that woman.)

And then...the goodbyes. To my mom and sister. (I can't even begin to express how much I will miss them.) To my kids' track team. To my writing mentor, Janet Lee Carey and Janet Wong. To my readergirlz buddies, Lorie Ann, Dia Calhoun, and Holly Cupala.

And one last goodbye to my local library. I love libraries, and I especially love my local one. Let me ask you this: how many librarians come to your house to say goodbye? How many librarians email you to assure you that they will help you research WHATEVER YOU NEED?!


It's a good thing they offered. Because I need a lot. (Of books, that is. And friends. And family.)