This just in:  I think I’ve run out of things to say. 

It’s hard to believe–given my tendency to drone on and on about the most inane topics imaginable.  But it feels true.  The past few days I’ve posted every few days or so in the hopes that something "blogworthy" would happen to me in the meantime. 

So far nothing…

(Well, I did climb a mountain, but you saw those pictures already.  Can’t do any more justice to that experience by writing about it.) 

I wish I could post an animated clip of a guy staring into space as he whistles and paces back and forth with his hands in his pockets.  That’s how I feel right now.  Uninspired, but waiting for the muse to strike.

Christa keeps asking if I’ll blog about Anna reading her first book (actually one of my favorites at her age): Tim Can.  It’s about a guy named Tim who (as unlikely as it may sound) has a head shaped like a tin can.  Tim has a friend in the book who dresses like a 70’s disco fanatic (bell bottoms, huge collar, etc.)  His head conversely happens to be shaped like a…pot.  Hmmmm, coincidence?  The girls don’t get my joke about Tim Can’s pothead friend, but that’s OK–preserves their innocence.

The point is:  Anna is reading!  So, genetically speaking, I now can rest assured that I am truly Anna’s father. Not that I had my doubts at all–she was smart as a whip even in her pre-literate stage.

In other news…I ate Doritos this week.  Oh, they were sooooo delicious.  Christa purchased them for me in Hong Kong and I was saving them for an appropriate "rainy" day.  Yesterday was that fated day so I decided to treat myself to my all-time favorite MSG-laden nacho-cheese flavored chips.  As I sat back and watched an episode of Lost (season 1) I crunched down most of the bag.  They were well worth their weight in gold I tell ya.  I never knew how much pleasure could be derived from a simple bag of chips.  Funny how your perceptions change.

Sarah says funny things.  Besides her current pronunciation tendencies (i.e. pinata becomes Prada, banana is bwanana like Elmer Fudd might say it, and thirsty sounds like dursty) she comes up with some great lines, too.  This morning as I rolled out of bed I heard her say, "Daddy, why are you so naked?"  I guess having half of your normal clothing removed does make a difference to a three year old (i.e. I didn’t have a shirt on…)

Christa continues to be in a state of discomfort.  It’s really a bummer.  Please keep praying that her body will heal AND that we will not have to leave Xining for more consultation with doctors.  Thank you.

If you’re at all interested in a list of (junk) food that I REALLY miss from home or abroad, keep reading.  If not, well, I don’t blame you.  I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel here.  Grasping at straws for something to write about!

More news at 11…

A list of comfort (junk) food that I daydream about when times are tough (limiting myself to 20!):

1. Doritos
2. Cheetos Cheese Puffs
3. Cinnamon Graham Crackers (Trader Joes has the best kind!)
4. Pop Tarts (They have them here at the import store.  Pretty pricey though and my favorite kind is the S’More flavored ones which they never carry.)
5. Orange Kit Kats (Perhaps the greatest candy bar ever invented.  The best place to get these, back in the day, was on the streets of Nepal or at a mom-and-pop shop in northern India.  I did once find a stockpile of them on-sale at an Albertsons in California.  I bought a box of them.)
6. Hershey’s Cookies and Creme White Chocolate Bar
7. Nestle’s Strawberry Quik (The powder that magically turns milk into strawberry milk…)
8. Chili’s Hot & Spicy Chicken Wings (Really I’d take buffalo wings from any restaurant in the States.  I’m not picky.)
9. Fat Tire, Pete’s Wicked Ale, Killian’s Red, Guinness, Newcastle, etc.
10. Take-out teriyaki chicken from John’s place in Mountlake Terrace.  I don’t remember the name of the place, but I could find it.
11. An Auntie Anne’s pretzel with nacho cheese sauce for dipping.
12. A calzone from any reputable Italian restaurant.
13. Breadsticks from Fazzoli’s.
14. Red Robin’s Blue Ribbon Burger.  Oh yeah, plus the french fries with the nice seasoning on them.
15. Pizza delivered to my door.  Preferably, Papa John’s (Canadian bacon/pineapple) with the garlic butter dipping sauce, but I’d easily settle for any American competitor’s pizza if it could be delivered RIGHT now.
16. One dozen freshly baked Krispie Kreme donuts….(This is just masochistic.)
17. Jamba Juice (One of the fruity berry kinds…)
18. Red Lobster seafood entree with those nice cheesy-biscuit things.
19. Vanilla latte from Starbucks.  (I get these in Thailand & Beijing anyway…)
20. Taco Bell Mexican Pizza with nachos.  Scratch that, Taco Del Mar burrito!

I am still thinking of more to add to the list.  This is depressing.