At 2:30 p.m., about one hour from now, Brad and I will be leaving the house on our way to Beijing. First we'll catch a taxi to Tokyo Station. From there we take the Narita Express to the airport. Then fly via Northwest to Beijing. The flight leaves around 7 p.m. We're due in about 9:45 p.m. Beijing time. We'll be spending the night at Beijing Hotel, just a stone's throw away from the Forbidden City. Yowza, we're psyched.

Yesterday a package from Deruta, Italy, was delivered to our door. Funny, but right now, Deruta sounds even more exotic than Beijing or Shanghai. I suspected my family was behind it when I saw that it came from Deruta. Sure enough, it was, dare I say it, my 50th birthday present from my siblings. It is a stunningly gorgeous round platter hand-painted by a Deruta artisan. My jaw dropped when I saw it. It is so beautiful I'm in awe of it and almost afraid to handle it. I'm afraid I'll drop it or chip it or something. This gift is very precious to me.