Just When I Thought I Blogged Enough

So...to clear up any confusion that may occur when trying to pronounce my blog name "Pretty Much LiQi Designs," here's the story behind it. I grew up overseas in China. Yeah, different! It was honestly an amazing experience and I treasure all my memories from being over there. It still feels like I just moved a few weeks ago and I consider where I lived in China to be my hometown to this day. I always will.
In China, you don't "translate" your English name into Chinese because it can't literally translate. Most foreigners (meaning anyone that's not Chinese) either have a name chosen for them by a teacher or friend or they have a name made up that SOUNDS like their English name...but may not actually have any meaning at all. For example, Mark would be Ma Ke. When spoken, it does sound like Mark but I'm not sure if it means anything at all.
Being one to go for sentiment and meaning, I wanted a REAL name. Something that MEANT something. For the first few years we lived there, Chinese people struggled to pronounce my English name and finally, at the age of 8, I was given my Chinese name. Ironically it was given to me by a man I barely knew...and to this day I feel its meaning relates to me better than my English name ever has. I always have found it interesting that someone who knew me so little gave me a name that fit me so well. LiQi is my Chinese given name and it is pronounced "Lee Chee." So don't feel silly if you've been saying "Lee Quee" Designs all this time because that's a common mistake. Being a culture that marvels at beauty, my name literally means "Unique Beauty." Although I like to say it means "Pretty Weird" because technically it can be translated that way. "Pretty Weird" made me think of "Pretty Much," a term I use often. So the "Pretty" works double fold. And there you have my blog/etsy shop name.
I have always been one to do things different or my own way. And the word "Qi's" meaning really encompasses that idea for me in who I am. So I can't think of how a better name could have been chosen for me.