So... This is us over a year ago when we took everything out of our kitchen to scrub from top to bottom in an effort to eliminate the most persistent black mold I've ever encountered in my short experience of fighting this enemy. What words come to mind when you see this picture? Joyous? Excited? Looking toward a brighter future? Yeah, that's what I thought. But now, I know the only answer: Deception.
     Yes, we thought the problem had been gone. If there was no mommy mold, and there was not daddy mold, how could there be baby mold? Apparently, there's a mold adoption agency based in our kitchen, because the stupid stuff has not stopped growing. Every dish we pick up, everywhere we look-- more mold. We've tried ventilating things, taking out the trash more often, throwing away food that's getting near old, keeping things clean and dry, changing storage containers... and we're at a total loss... We're kind of hoping it's this apartment and figure that when we move, we'll leave most of our kitchen stuff and have a new start... but hope is fading. Bleh!

We were invited on an outing with the young teachers from our school. We asked them where we were going, and they said, "to play" (in Chinese). We shrugged our shoulders, hopped in the car (Actually, Austin followed on a bike because there wasn't enough room in the car), and away we went. Several stops and a long dirt road later, we ended up at the top of a somewhat dried up river, which meant that there were beautiful and amazing rocks to be climbed. We had a great time, Austin and me, just climbing around, chatting with other teachers a bit, snapping pictures, and eating the food Chinese eat when they go on picnics (sour vegetables, dumplings, fruit salad tossed with mayonnaise, etc.). Here are some pictures... I feel like I'm falling in love with Austin all over again.

Some of our friends wanted to take pictures with every rock they saw. This one wasn't bad, though:

A good old self-shot:

I like this next picture. It's right after we saw another huge group having a picnic. Austin and I wanted to take a picture of the two of us, but we had to take it on the run to try to not also capture the entourage of interested Chinese friends following us... We didn't entirely succeed...

I have this issue with certain words. The kind of issue that makes me want to strike their entries from the dictionary, and permanently blot their existence and use from the world.

A few years ago, I met Austin. He struck me as they sort of person who, if made aware of the contents of this list, would exploit it. After making some sort of a statement that he would not, in fact, be the type of person to use it against me, I spilled the list. Worst. Mistake. Ever. Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. Austin was, in fact, a trustworthy guy, and he kept his word... for a while. Little did I know I would end up marrying this Austin, and those dreadful words would eventually find their way into daily conversation in the most unsuspecting moments. When he recently defended the truthfulness of his initial vow to me, he explained that did, in fact, remain true to his word at first and honor my hatred of these words. "But now," he explained, "I have no choice." Here are the words, friends. The terrible words:

moist, creamy, ointment, supple, succulent, postulate, nubs, tender, gooey, nodule, chunky, chewy, cluster, pus, fester, flaccid, smear, follicle, scabies, phlegm, secrete, mucus, salve, flesh, coagulate, curdle, congeal, filmy, balm/balmy

There are more words; i know it. They pop up when I least expect it. Around every corner, in every dark alley, and yes, even in my own apartment, there is no rest from the dreadful list.

We did it. We cut his hair. And we cut it with style.

First, we separated it into 3 sections.

Then, I started chopping. Of course, we took time to lament the loss of hair.

We chopped off the sides, then the middle of the middle, until only an ugly patch in front and a rat tail in back were left.

And when all was said and done, I saw a look I hadn't seen since before we were dating.

As we walked to dinner tonight, I said, "Wow, Austin, you're getting all kinds of second takes from the girls."
Austin just smiled and said, "Well, that's nothing new." What a stud.

Was there any doubt which tissues I'd buy? No, not really.