It's Tuesday afternoon here in Shanghai. The cold, grey, and rainy weather outside is just a hint of the winter to come. We've had an incredibly mild November and December thus far, but weather reports predict this will all change very soon.

In the meantime, I have been taking advantage of the milder weather and my smaller state. A time is coming very soon when I won't be getting out so much. For now, I am trying to balance resting with getting out and doing things that I won't be able to do once the babies come.

This afternoon is a different story. Normally I wouldn't go out on such a miserable day, but I had to go to the fabric market for the 5th time to try on the same "maternity" jacket that still isn't right.Today, the slightly more modern and English speaking daughter was in her mother's shop. This was the only hope I had of getting the sleeve openings that would fit around Hulk Hogan to get fitted to my arms. In the US this would have cost far less in time, energy, and cash. But alas, there are only 2 stores in this vast city that even carry suitable maternity clothing, and neither have a proper winter coat. So I will return once again on Thursday to see if they finally did what I asked them to do in order to correct it.

Some days I like China more than others. This happens to be one of those days that I don't. But as I sit and write this, my ayi has started cooking some of her delicious food... my disdain is starting to melt away.