What did YOU do today?

I ask it everyday!  The boys walk in the front door from school, and I immediately bombard them with 3 routine questions:

1--How was your day?
2--What did you do today?
3--What did you eat for lunch?

Don't ask me why I ask them about lunch, because almost every single day it is the same reply from Tyson (rice, carrot sticks, and a ham and cheese sandwich from the school cafeteria).  Bracken and Parker's lunch selections only tend to be a little more interesting as they have a  "Food Court" style cafeteria that offers several different selections.  Mundane responses or not, everyday I continue to ask them these same questions, and every day they answer my annoying questions followed up with "What did YOU do today?"

So, here's a special blog for my boys---"WHAT I DID TODAY", on my Monday...

First things first.....Every day I must change some US $ to Chinese RMB before starting the day's work---can the US dollar value stop dropping please???

Next, Preston and I stopped by our favorite fruit market to stock up the next couple days....and visit our Chinese buddies..

These guys ALWAYS hand-pick the BEST fruit for me, and today was of no exception!!  This bag of strawberries I'm holding must have been "sugar infused"----soooo delicious, and not a mushy one to be found--It's no wonder our family can devour a bag a day!  And a bonus, if I tell them I need the fruit for a birthday or special celebration they bring in the "laoban"  boss for serious fruit selection.

Next, we headed over to the real local's "Chinese market" located next to the fruit market for a brief "field trip".  I never buy anything here, but LOVE, absolutely LOVE to people watch, and Preston and I have made great friends here with the locals!   I take that back--I have made great friends, Preston only tolerates every Chinese touching his WHITE SKIN/WHITE HAIR.  It takes all he has not to bust out screaming everytime he is admired, but I tell him they only want to be his friend, and if he isn't nice he can't come to the market with me next time.  This ALWAYS leads to a pasted fake smile, and an unfriendly "NI HAO" when they say hello to him---baby steps! 

Just outside the market every week you are sure to find the man known to sell the freshest and plumpest chickens in Shanghai.  He saw me coming and happily picked out the best chicken for me.  I heard squawking and saw loads of feathers flying.  I graciously thanked him, but quickly came up with a reason why I didn't need a fresh one today before we moved on....

.....to the fresh fish selection.  This man proudly assured me the fish are caught and brought in daily.  Anything I want-LUCKY  ME!!  I told him there were so many choices that I would decide and possibly be back......(when I decide one day seafood is close to even being tolerable)  Preston was definitely amused and could have stayed for hours, but because of the seafood smell....it was a MUST we moved on.....

Until I saw the beef choices, and then I immediately terminated our field trip and found the nearest exit!

After our market outing, we decided we actually did need food at our house, but opted for our neighborhood grocer for shopping instead--Carrefour.  Preston looks forward to our weekly visits here, and makes sure we don't forget the important stuff---Blue Gatorade, Apple juice, and Yakuit (yogurt.)  He is always a great help, and we are grateful when all the eggs make it home to our house in one piece. 

Monday's are Chinese class days which is one of my most favorite things about living abroad--I LOVE learning new languages!!  Mandarin has been even more of a challenge than French, but thankfully, my Chinese teacher from Beijing is patient and equally determined to help me get this language down!!

And yes, after a hard day's work I did head over to "Head to Toe" where they not only have the most fabulous foot massages, but also the most darling staff in Shanghai!  I not only get an amazing foot massage, but an hour of laughs with these friends.  One of the biggest bonuses of living in China--just minutes from our house!

All this in a day's work!  Luckily, we made it home just in time to welcome the boys home from school, and with a big hug and smile I asked each one of them.......How was your day?  What did you do today?  What did you eat for lunch?? 

 HAPPY MONDAY!