I feel like Christopher and I grew up a whole lot over this week in the strangest of ways.

It’s been a rough couple of months emotionally, trying to recover from what I have since dubbed a “job miscarriage”, where a job opportunity for Christopher fell through. It had been something we had for months been looking forward to transitioning into after he completed his masters program (which incidentally was this month). The hope (though not the possibility) of similar jobs in the same industry has also been severely dimmed. It’s been a bigger letdown than we have let on to many. Our future has been a big question mark. It’s not so much about money. I know we will be taken care of financially – we really have been – but learning to deal with not getting what you feel you earned/feel entitled to, learning to be patient, and trying to figure out where our new place is in the world, and redefining our purpose and function has been an adjustment. We feel like we’ve been fighting to be grown up and have been unsuccessful. We got married. Now we need a career path and to grow our family. Until that happens, we feel somewhat adrift and in a limbo state of being somewhat adults, but not quite as grown up as we’d like to be.

It’s times like these that you really learn to appreciate the most meaningful things in your life that the world cannot provide. Family is at the top of my list at the moment.

My sister Su got married last weekend to a wonderful man and into a wonderful family and thanks to them, we were able to gather the WHOLE family in once place for the first time in 3 years. That was really, really special. We are still getting over the homesick.

It was a really beautiful wedding. My sister and I are almost as different as night and day and we did approach certain things differently, but the overwhelming feeling I felt that day, especially from the deeply spiritual morning tea ceremony and sealing, was that we are ultimately bound together in the long term by something so deep and so true. We have our personality differences, opposing strengths and weaknesses, which bring our own challenges and paths, but I really truly get that they lead to the same place. We’re headed to the same place together. There’s something so potent about that realization for me. I have always loved her and known that my sister is a really wonderful person – much better at doing the right thing the right way than I am – but for some reason just observing her this past week and being there during this highly important transition in her life has unfolded a whole unexplored layer of respect within me for her. Isn’t it really great to have a younger sister to look up to?

Tonight, she and her husband took a good few hours out of their honeymoon trip to spend dinner with Christopher and me in our home here in San Bernardino. There’s something so nice about family visiting the place you call home! And unlike the busy, cluttered time we had pre and post wedding with all the family around, this time we had enough time and quiet to talk, really talk about lots of things, not excluding our family and its issues and our own marriages/relationships. Tonight, I’m really, really grateful for having a sister.

More than this one sibling relationship though, Christopher and I have found ourselves saying things and hoping for things that while may be so natural to most are so uncharacteristic of us. We’re supposed to be the vagabond adventurers that run to far away places seeking new and unique experiences. We’re never content being in one place for too long. We’ve embraced the fact that we will always live far away from family. But why does settling down and having a place to grow roots and call home no longer sound so scary? It actually sounds appealing. Why do we find ourselves wanting to be closer to family all of a sudden? Is it true that we actually positively thought about calling Utah home?! We want to own a house somewhere- seriously?

I feel like we’ve leveled up in our perception of our relationship with family. This week, I got to deepen my appreciation for the role that family plays in our life, not just the immediate families we grew up in, but also the relationship with cousins, uncles and aunts, in-laws and grandparents. From the family time that we got in Utah with both sides of the family, I got a brief glimpse of the eternal role families and family relationships play in the eternities. Because of that, I have a new perspective and want to live more unselfishly. While Christopher and I truly love our families and deeply desire to be in a position to be able to do generous things for them, we have defined ourselves for being fiercely independent and are used to mostly doing our own thing. Something’s changed, though, at least for me.

For example, we’ve always been really eager to have children. For us. I love children. Naturally, I want my own, to learn to be a parent, to see what they are like, to move on to the next phase of life. Now, more than that, I really feel the yearning to have children to share with our family. Su’s marriage and mine have evolved and grown our family. I see how having our children will be the next step in growing, changing and deepening our relationship with each other. There’s more layers to family relationships that we will be able to explore only when we become parents ourselves, our parents become grandparents, our siblings become aunts and uncles, and our children develop relationships as cousins with each other. Family relationships are one of the few where the growth and increase of one member can also mean growth and development for another. And that’s just it. The thing that separates family from everything else is that ability and possibility of growing together as a unit.

I feel like I now really get where our family relationships are headed and how they are going to be a part of our life, and we a part of theirs over the long term. Forever, in fact. I see how we’re meant to grow together and separately. I have a clearer idea of what it takes to keep the family close as each sibling grows up and leaves home. I see that part I need to play as the catalyst and gatherer for family time.

In my observations, I’ve noticed that on each side of extended family, you might find that you have a set of cousins, aunts and uncles that you know better, are closer to, or even like more than any of the others. At first, I thought that it had to do with commonalities, like personality, religion, having children the same age etc. While that helps a lot, often times, the one family you know better happens to be the same one everyone knows better because they actively act as the gatherers, and make spending time with extended family a priority. I think that maybe, just maybe, I could be that person for my family. I know I can. I hope that I will.

There are still so many things I need to work out with my own family. I need to call home more often. I need to learn how to really communicate with my parents. I need to learn to keep up with my siblings and parents’ lives, be involved in their struggles and their triumphs. I need to actively do more for them. I need to learn to really show them how much I love them and how important they are to me. I’ve never been particularly good at being a long-term friend, especially when distance is involved.

For the first time in my life, however, I feel like I have it in me to actually be successful.

Wow, this outfit was from weeks ago! Sorry I’ve been petering out on the pictures. The project has been completed for such a long time now that I’m not excited to share the outfits with you. And sometimes, you give an outfit enough time and I stop liking it as much.

This however, while nothing fancy, was a fun one to imagine up and see how great it worked in real life.

Judging by these pictures, you would have no idea how out of it I was that day. The weather was perfect, I had kept busy, I knew my outfit looked good – everything should have been peachy, but I just wasn’t feeling it inside. Kind of sad, no?

But wow, the pictures have a huge impact on my long-term impression about an outfit. This was so simple and straightforward, yet is probably one of my most favorites to date. <3

p.s. I love hats. They make the simplest things pop.

This was a Sunday outfit. What is there to say? I love it. I love the colors, I love how adding a belt makes extends the skirt to give it a high-waisted effect. I love doubling necklaces up as bracelets. I am having fun.

You’d think my final week with this challenge would be tired and uncreative, but quite the opposite, this is some of the most fun I’ve had all 30-ish days. I guess I’m feeling the clock ticking and want to make sure I squeeze the best stuff out of this challenge.

Just a few more days – I’ve got too many more ideas to be ready for this to be over!

I love this outfit! You have no idea how many re-iterations I’d created before settling on this one. This was not what I set out to wear at first. I think the only thing that remained from my original plan was the gray cowl top. The other options weren’t bad either, this was just the best. The old Fei might have put something similar together, but I would not have thought to add a belt or a flower there.

I heart remixing!

This set I have mostly felt blah about (with a couple of exceptions), but I haven’t quit yet! Things have been busy around here and we’re just a little backlogged with photos. The hardest thing about this challenge really is dealing with the pictures, both working out the logistics to find time to take them and then to edit them and post them.

The 30 item limitation really is cake. There have been days where I’ve just been in gym clothes and pajamas, but for the most part, I’ve really been keeping to the 30 items, even on days where I have no evidence. I’ve turned this 30 day project into a 40+ day one. I guess it’s good for the budget. The no buying new clothes limitation has actually been nice. I really don’t need any and I have no desire to spend any money at the moment (feeling very poor).

Just one more set to go, stay tuned!

I am missing the ultimate accessory for this outfit: MICKEY EARS!

Yes, this is what I wore to Disneyland (but we did not buy me Mickey ears even though I would have rocked them proudly). We made an impromptu trip on Tuesday, the 5th (that’s how much of a slacker I’ve been with updating) because Christopher’s extended family from Utah were in town. Well, close enough to actually being where we are anyway.

We had a mini reunion here on the West Siiide. Christopher and I are so used to being far away from family it was great to be reminded that we actually do have family in California, and that the ones in Utah are also somewhat within our reach.

I was only expecting to meet them for dinner, but the husband did some number crunching and decided that we could justify spending the money for a day at Disneyland. You should have seen my reaction/ heard the sounds that I involuntarily made in my excitement. It was better than those Disneyland ads. They should have filmed it. Darn.

We’ve been married for nearly a year, and dating+married for nearly 4, and yet, I was really comforted to know that Christopher also finds it important to spend time (and some resources) on extended family. It should be something I already know/ not a big deal, but I don’t know… it just gave me warm fuzzies to know that we share that priority.

It was my second time at Disneyland, but Christopher’s first. It was so fun watching him enjoy the rides. I thought that he might dislike the lines and the crowds, but I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable a day it was for him. We won’t be hurrying back at the next opportunity (we have other experiences we’d like to spend our money on), but it was really a ton of fun. Family should come to our neck of the woods more often!

Oh, and forget that silly picture. This was the one I really wanted to post:

Sometimes, you can just throw a ribbon on and call it a belt.

I actually kind of liked how this combination turned out, but I do feel like I over accessorized it a little. I really have a hard time using that bracelet right. It won’t stop me from trying, though!!!

That ribbon actually came with the skirt, but I’ve hardly ever worn it together, as the skirt doesn’t ride on the perfect place on my waist for tucking and all the tops I wear would just obscure the bow. I guess this works.

Pearl necklace as inspired by Elaine from Clothedmuch (except that I used a pearl necklace instead of a ribbon)

Yep, my dress is tucked into my skirt, and I’m wearing black with gray. As long as you throw in some red shoes for color it’s all good!

Yes, yes they are. And so are sunnies.

I’d only ever worn those out of necessity. Currently, I only own one pair of sunshades – and that one pair took me countless shopping trips to track down. Everything I try on just looks too huge on my little face. Don’t like. Eh. I’m no fashionista. One pair of shades is sufficient.

Scarves. I have a handful of scarves, but most lack the texture I like to really use them as accessories (plus, they’re too warm, I only ever wore scarves for freezing cold weather). I have a goal of using scarves as accessories more, but that requires spending money on buying scarves. So far, the pretty scarves I’ve seen everywhere cost $12.99 (this includes Target – I am sad). Um, no thank you. That’s way too much money to spend on an accessory.

Hopefully, next trip to the thrift store will yield something cheap but pretty.

For spectacles. Yes, I grew up in a commonwealth country. Don’t judge.

So, not my favorite day. Squinty glasses eyes, no texture, weird combination of colors – what was I thinking? Bleh. I nearly decided to skip that day and not post these pictures, but I put the outfit on, I might as well count it.

Earrings: China, Necklace: Gift (J.C. Penny?), Bracelet: Styles for less.

Christopher had his jeans rolled up because he was cleaning the bathroom. Gave me ideas.

Hmm, I could’ve sworn I had rolled them up a *little* higher than that. Ah well. Maybe I did have a growth spurt over night…

This is a very Fei outfit, although I’d never put it together that way before. I guess mostly because everything but the top and earrings were acquired fairly recently (since December), and it had been sweater weather. Also, I’ve only ever worn that top with skirts since previous to last month, jeans to me were what you put on when you want to clean the bathroom.

See, my fashion sense and personal style is evolving!

Wow, when you break it up to just 6 days a time, time flies! Only 2 more recaps to go and this thing will be over? That basically means that I can wear most things only once more. I’m not sure I’m ready!

This was a week of highs and lows. Lows in the first 3, highs in the last 3. I hate, hate, hated day 15. I’m sure many of you will think it looks ok, but for me, that whole outfit just says 0% creativity, 0% inspiration, and 100% bleh. How can you rock an outfit when you’re not impressed with any part of it? I really wanted to love day 13, but something was off about it all. Plus, all the layers made me both look and feel fat, but at least it was a new idea and I put some effort into (and I think I wasn’t having the best day either, which tainted the memory of the outfit). Day 14 was ok. Nothing too special, but I felt happy enough to wear it.

The temperature had dropped for those few days, and I think that had a lot to do with why I was feeling blah about dressing up (my 30 items were not equipped for it!).

Must be, because once the weather got warm again, I was bursting with ideas. I had a blast with day 16 and 18, and I really like how day 17 turned out in hindsight.

Welp, I thought I would be running out of juice by now, but I’m still going strong. Can’t wait for the days to come!

Which days in this set were your favorites and otherwise?

Earrings & Bracelet: campus vendors, Lace cami: Cato (gift from MIL), Belt: Rainbow

Hahah! I am so pleased with myself for putting this combination together (I thought this up in bed last night, and woke up this morning crossing my fingers that it would work). If I had to put this top and the skirt together before (which I wouldn’t have because of the lack of contrast, but have done with the same top in different colors), I would have just pulled the shirt over the skirt. Very typical outfit I would throw on in the summer. This one called for more creativity.

I rather regret adding this shirt to my 30 items. I chose it because I never wore it as anything but an undershirt – which is what it was meant to be and should remain – and I thought it would be a good opportunity to use it creatively. I thought it complemented the color scheme of a lot of my items well. It does, except that I forgot I never wear it on its own because IT LOOKS HORRIBLE ON MY SKIN.

Ugh.

So, to make it bearable, I paired it with a white lace cami (which you can’t see because this photo is so washed out). This skirt has also been tricky because it’s not always a flattering length. Here’s a leeetle secret about cheap skirts from China – they have elastic waistbands, which means you can’t really tuck tops into them, BUT you can wear them above your waist under your ribcage and hide the elastic under a BELT! Muahahah. The belt also was really nice for adding contrast between the pink and the white. I would have worn a different belt, but you’ve seen all the belts I own. This one worked best.

I feel like there’s more I could do with this outfit, like there’s something missing (I’m still learning to accessorize, ok) but it’s a great start. Feels good.

Because it’s RULE BREAKING MONDAY!

(Um, that’s not me, by the way, that’s Elaine. She’s an awesome Mormon fashion blogger. You should check her out.)

Blue on blue on blue? Yeah. That’s some serious rule breaking right there. ‘Cause I’m cool like that.

Well, that and I have been pulling out hairs trying to find a new way to wear these last few pieces within the rotation (why do I still insist on wearing everything an equal number of times, I don’t know). And when the cardigan just doesn’t look good over, try wearing it UNDER!

Today’s Accessories
Earrings: Yangshuo, China
Belt: Goodwill
Bracelet: Actually a necklace (I used to do this a lot because I didn’t have any bracelets) from campus vendors.

Do I like this outfit? Eh, I had fun putting it together, but the husband really didn’t like the blue thing. This isn’t my favorite way to wear this dress, but it’s much better than last time.

Plus, it makes my legs look like they go on forever. Definitely a plus!

What happens when you match 3 items that were gifts, which you didn’t wear often, or were stuck wearing the same way over and over?

This:

I *love* this outfit. It may not be the most flattering (this top really needs to have a deeper neck, I cut my body in so many parts I look shorter etc), but I had so much fun putting it together.

Actually, this was one of the first outfit ideas I had when I started this challenge. However, I was saving this to wear on a Sunday. With one Sunday outfit already planned, and Stake Conference (choir “uniform”) stuck in between, it was a long wait.

Hope you think it was worth it!

HUMP DAY! Or the “I just don’t care” day.

This is something I would throw on without thinking in the morning when I’m heading out to babysit (expecting to get baby food on my clothes). I am wearing “I don’t care hair” and all the makeup I have on is some concealer, eyeliner and lipgloss so I don’t look like I just woke up, even though it’s the end of the day. But you can’t even tell in the pictures :)

Note to self: When doing a 30 for 30 in SoCal, pick items for 2 different seasons. I don’t know why I thought summer had begun.

Why did I choose this particular outfit when it was FREEZING outside (freezing by my standards)? Ugh. I don’t know. Probably because I was feeling lazy and wanted to stay in my gym clothes all day and this was a good way to use up items I couldn’t think of interesting ways to wear (without using other items that I’ve saved for other things, that is).

The stars and the pink is very fun and very me, and I love it. However, it is very difficult to dress UP, which is something I’ve begun to love more and more. I tried, I added a necklace. I’ll find a more creative way to wear this next time, I promise.

I might have skipped a day yesterday… or more like wasted one.

I didn’t cheat, though. Thursday, which should have been day 14, I had to get ready in a hurry. I put together an outfit from my 30 items and left the house with no makeup at all (*gasp* I haven’t done that in a while since I’ve been making an effort to dress better). By the time I’d come home, though there was still daylight, I was tired and decided I hated my outfit. All the layering I had done was weird and just didn’t work. The thought of putting on a little makeup just for a photo did not make me happy. Plus, who wants a failed outfit etched into history? Definitely not me.

So we scratched that day, and started anew.

This is simple, but much better. Seriously, I don’t know what I was thinking when choosing to include some of those items that are impossible to work with. Hopefully I’ll figure out an acceptable way to deal with them soon!

Sorry this was a little late. My poor photographer/editor husband needs a break.

What a fun 6 days! I’ve been enjoying the variety and hope to keep it up.

Days 8 and 10 were my favorites, even though neither were “spark of creativity” outfits, simply because I felt they were truly me. I particularly love the color scheme in Day 8 and the fact that I got to wear my favorite flower. Day 11 is probably next in line – cute fun (though I wish I could take back the blue bracelet- I keep trying it on with everything because I want to figure out how to wear it!) Day 9 was probably my freshest idea out of this set, but they are not my favorite colors. I missed my bangs in Day 7 and Day 12 was gray, drab, and made me look fat. I loved getting to wear my hat, though!

Which was your favorite and least favorite?

Note to self: Any updo is possible with enough bobby pins and hair spray. However, don’t do it on a rainy day.

Usually, we take pictures right after I’m done dressing up. Today, without my personal photographer around when I was ready, and with a busy evening ahead, we weren’t able to coordinate pictures during daylight. Getting these pictures daily requires a lot more logistical planning than you might think.

Most days, the pictures are taken when I’m fresh and awake, and bursting with creative energy after putting something together. Today, you get tired, worn out after a long (for me) day, makeup-and-hair-been-on-for-over-7-hours-without-touchup Fei. This day leaves me grateful that I have a photographer husband with mad photoshop skills.

…ROCK IT!

Today, my goals/limitations were

1) Wear my gray dress
2) Wear my ballet pumps

Many reiterations of outfits later, I settled on this:

This is my favorite hat! Actually, it is the only hat I own. I’ve always loved hats but never used them to accessorize, because I was shy, and mostly because I had a hard time finding hats that fit and look good on me. Now that I’ve found this one, I’ve gotten more adventurous with trying them on. I will acquire more soon.

Note: I am wearing a gray cardigan underneath the dress.

I did not intentionally make today a gray day, but that is how it turned out. By the way, there are a bagazillion ways to wear this dress!!! It was so hard deciding how I was going to wear it today. And would you know it, this was a dress I had only worn on average once or twice a year because I didn’t know what to do with it. Huh.

That’s what the 30 for 30 is all about: wearing what you own, and owning what you wear.

Sometimes, your hair can be your statement piece. Like this:

Tunics, jeggings and heels are BFFs.

Do you like my hair bow? Youtube taught me how to do it.

You probably didn’t notice, but I took 2 days off. Sort of. It was Stake conference weekend. On Saturday, I actually put together something from my 30 items (you should be proud of me, of all the things I wanted to wear for that special occasion, my grey dress was not on the top of my list). However, we were busy that day and didn’t have time to take a photo – and the thought of having to put that back on just for a picture doesn’t excite me. I’ll wear it again another day. In that light, this is actually technically Day 12.

Sunday, I sang in the choir. We needed to wear pastel tops. As I did not have one, I had to break my no shopping rule to go to Walmart to purchase it (but not on Sunday). I spent $8 on something cheap and cotton, and it’s a little too big for me. Oh well. I’ll probably grow into it. I did wear it with a skirt and shoes from my 30 items, but mostly because that’s what worked best. I probably should have taken a picture and posted it anyway, but well, I gave my husband photographer a break.

I’ll try not to cheat so much from now on, but I make no promises ;)

Would you believe that this is the first and only blazer I’ve ever owned, and I’ve only had it for a month? Ladies, this is another one of those wardrobe must haves (I mean, have you seen What Not to Wear?) It creates the perfect level of dressed up casual that I love. Now I just need to get another in a slightly different cut and lighter color…

Today’s Accessories:

Necklace: $4 from campus vendors
Earrings: $1 for 3 pairs from campus vendors

This ensemble of items is nothing special, because it is the obvious way for me to wear them, but I actually really love it because currently, it is very me.

Yay for outfits that fit.

p.s. 7 weeks after I passed my driving test, I finally received my driver’s license in the mail today. Now I’m an normal person with a normal ID. Woot!

Since it’s St. Patrick’s day, I had to wear the green items I had like this:

First time I’ve reused a piece of clothing in this challenge. Different, no?

Finally, I got to wear my favorite accessory – a flower in my hair! It brings me back to the good old days on the tropical island of Hawaii.

Ah, tucking. Why did I never tuck anything in before? I love these pants and wear them often, but have never tucked anything into them. The lovely buttons on them have never seen the light of day before.

Here’s a recap of the last 6 days of fun I’ve been having:

In the first 6 days of this challenge, I have used 22 items out of 30, repeating only one pair of shoes once. And well, so far, every outfit has had a personality of its own, which has been my intent. Hopefully that random variety also reflects a little on the diversity of my personality.

Which day is your favorite so far and which is your least favorite?

Hmm. That’s the second patriotic reference I’ve made. Except that I’m still a Malaysian citizen.

Hah, I found a new way to wear this dress after all – and yes, I wore red with blue. Deal with it.

Well, in today’s case, it might have literally looked like there was more of me than I would have liked. Oh well.

Again, this is a combination I found only because of the limitations imposed by 30×30. Love it.

It has now officially been one year since I left Beijing to start a new life in California. What a year it has been! I miss my Beijing life all the time, but I love our little life here, and especially do not miss long distance romancing. What better way to celebrate than by wearing what the 3-year-old I babysit calls my “jammie stars”.

Look ma, I mixed prints! That’s something I would have never done previous to fashion blog stalking. I’ve had the polka dot sweater for years and had only ever worn it with a black tank underneath. Thank you, 30 for 30.

Sometimes, you go into something with one thing in mind, and then on a whim decide to change the plans a little and it turns out so much better.

Today was one of those days. I had today’s outfit planned out the night before, with gray shorts and flats intended for the bottoms (I was going for something “monotonal”), and then I pulled out the white skirt, and everything changed into a boho-inspired look. So I added a scarf to complete the look.

See?

Those of you who know me would know that I don’t make a lot of things with my own hands. I like to cook, but that doesn’t last very long. I got into knitting once, and made a total of maybe 3 scarves. Picked up crocheting, made the same beanie the wrong way over and over, and kind of forgot about it.

I’m not your typical artsy-fartsy-kitchy-cool Mormon housewife.

However, as I’ve been venturing more and more into my new hobby that I like to call “personal aesthetics” lately (it is about as expensive as it is shallow), I’d become increasingly frustrated with the lack of organization in my dresser drawer dedicated to pretty things. Especially my earrings. I had those dangly things stored in a tiny little box that I basically had to empty out every time in order to find a matching pair.

So, naturally I googled some homemade solutions for organizing earrings, and I found this great idea, based on the philosophy that pretty things should be displayed and not-so-pretty things should be stored in pretty things. I thought it was a great idea. Of course, all I did was store the idea away and never got around to giving it a try.

Until yesterday. In the mood for a project, I headed to Walmart. The results?

Plus a quick, temporary solution for organizing the few bracelets and bangles I have.

For the Earrings:

Cheapest large frame they had at Walmart: $5

Shelf Liner (enough for many more projects): $3.97 – any surface that has the holes you need will do. Sushi mats, chicken wire, burlap… this happened to be the cheapest thing I could find. Plus, I wanted it white or clear. It worked out.

Superglue: $2.97

Earrings sold separately. (But if you’re cheap like me you can get 3 pairs for $5)

I stuck the shelf liner onto the glass of the frame, and that was it. Honestly, the hardest part was arranging the earrings. I still have 10 more pairs I couldn’t fit on there. Time to get another frame!

p.s. I’m so pleased with myself!

For the Bracelets:
All I did was slide my bracelets onto a roll of paper. I could’ve used the inner core for paper towels, but I wasn’t thinking ahead and wasn’t about to waste a whole roll. In the future, when funds permit, I will put them on a pretty wall mounted paper towel rack. Pictures to come when I finally get around to executing in a few years….

I know this update is more than just a little late but hey, it’s not Chinese New Year yet, and as my dad always says, “Better late than never!” so I suppose this is just as good a time as any.

There are so many ways to measure a year and so many new beginnings that it has become very hard for me to keep track of events within a fixed frame of reference. When I was looking back on 2007, I was very surprised that all the events had happened within the last year. To me, it was as if the year started with the school year in September and everything before (and there was MUCH that happened before) was lifetimes away.

2007 has certainly been one of the most eventful years of my life – and all in great ways. The year was very good to me and it was packed and filled to the brim with good times, great memories, new experiences and adventures, newfound friendships to last me a lifetime – and last but not least, love.

Work, Study and Growth
This past year saw me settle into more confidence and competency at my job as a Montessori pre-school teacher to 2-3 year olds at an international school here in Beijing. I started and completed a distance Montessori training program for 0-3s , received my teaching diploma and subsequently received a substantial raise for the new school year. The job continues to be a large source of fulfillment and enjoyment in my life and I am truly grateful to be blessed with what I consider the best job in the world for me right now on all fronts.

I spend my days doing what I enjoy most: loving and caring for children dear to my heart, thinking of ways to best serve their needs – socio-emotional, physical and intellectual – singing and dancing, reading stories, laughing, smiling, teaching and inspiring. The amount of organization, self-discipline and meticulousness required for me to be the best teacher I can be still does not come easily to me, but trying to practice the Montessori method has been a good experience of learning, growth and self-improvement for me. I love the people I work with and savor the trust and freedom I have been granted at my job which allows me to work for my own fulfillment. Time passes quickly at this job and the breaks are many – and quite long – leaving me plenty of time and resources for travel.

Recreation: Dancing, Travel and Friendships
Looking over pictures of 2007, I was surprised at just how much travel I was able to do over the last year. In May, I had the opportunity to go to Ulanbatar, the capital of Mongolia, with some friends. Getting there was an adventure I will always look back on with pride. Later that month, I finally paid a visit to the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an after 2 years of being in China and, to cap it all, the Lindy Hop scene in Beijing surprised me with a scholarship that enabled me to attend a huge swing camp in Herrang, Sweden for 3 weeks in July.

Herrang was certainly one of the major highlights of this year for me. It was my first time in Europe, my dancing improved somehow (or so I was told), I got to be a part of a radio feature about the camp, but mostly, I made a few special friends who I will keep close throughout this lifetime. These few special friends opened to me a whole new fountain of knowledge on personality typing, an interest I rediscovered earlier last year that has brought me the fulfillment of an intellectual pursuit in the field of psychology which I love so dear. This vocabulary for describing and understanding myself and others is something I have used every day since. It has brought me a clearer understanding of myself, who I am, my strengths and my weaknesses.

Swing dancing continues to be an important part of my life. I got to swing dance on the Great Wall this year, in Sweden with people from all over the world, and competed in China’s first swing competition with my awesome dance partner, Vinny. It was my first time having to work with a partner for a competition and though we came in at a close 4th, we had a ton of fun and all that hard work showed in our dancing.

Love and Romance
Sometime in May, a life-changing thing occurred: I finally caved into peer pressure and joined Facebook rather reluctantly. I didn’t regret it, though. This networking site allowed me to be reconnected with many long lost friends, particularly those from past college days, one of which was more significant than others. Now that the timing was right, Christopher Wyatt and I recommenced our email correspondence that had begun 2 years prior while we were both at BYU-Hawaii and he wrote an article for the school paper about the blogging scene that I was a large part of there. Not having a chance to really get to know each other then (I was in a relationship at the time and had moved to China shortly after anyway) we spent 4 months getting to know each other long distance via email, chat and video conferences before Christopher moved here to study Chinese (an strategic move for his future career) and to further our relationship. It’s been an incredible 4 months together. I was completely smitten before and am still utterly in love now.

Since he’s been here in September, we’ve both moved into nice Chinese apartments in the same neighborhood which is 2 kilometers away from church, work, school and swing dancing (everywhere we need to be) and our lives are very much intertwined. He’s joined me in swing dancing and playing Dungeons and Dragons (also something new for Faye in 2007) and I try to help him with his Chinese. He is currently serving as the Young Single Adult Representative in the branch and we’ve had many opportunities to have them over at “our place” i.e. his apartment including Christmas when we cooked for about 15 people. After spending Christmas in Beijing with the single adults, we had the wonderful opportunity to travel together to Southern China to a beautiful place called Yangshuo and spend the new year there. It was my first time going that far south in all my time here in China and even in the browner, colder month of December, it was paradise to me.

This relationship has been the most significant positive change for me this year, and certainly the most bounteous of my blessings. Where there was much personal and spiritual growth on my part this past year, this relationship only continues to reinforce this journey of self-discovery and self-mastery. We’re working on following the first part of the advice we’ve been given about having a “long courtship and short engagement” and so far, it’s going great! You may have noticed the shift in pronoun usage since Christopher has come into the picture. How “we” are doing has become much more important now over how “I” am doing.

Home and Family
Minor troubles prevented us from going back to Singapore where my family is now for Christmas this year, but I got a wonderful visit from Mom in October. It was the first visit I’ve had from family in my 2+ years of being here. She got to meet Christopher (it was just after he had moved here) and visit historical places in China that she had always wanted to see like the Great Wall and the Forbidden city. She was also there when I went bungee jumping for the first time. That was exciting! My family has been blessed this year with having my sister Su on a full-time mission in Oakland, California. There she has been serving with and teaching the Chinese people I am unable to share the gospel with here.

The Year Ahead
All in all 2007 has been an incredibly memorable year, one that I will always look back on with fondness. To those of you whom I got to know and love over this past year – thank you for making this year such a wonderful one.

2008 promises to bring some changes ahead as I feel my time in China is almost up and am gearing up to leave China – though exactly where and when is still undecided. Whatever it is, I know it will be good. Chinese New Year brings the year of the Rat, “my year”, and I have a feeling it will be a great one!

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Pictures of our trip to Yangshuo over Christmas break now up on Facebook!