Randoms

Friday was our house helper's birthday.  Xiao Ji has become part of our family over the last 6 months, and when she is not here Abigail is always asking for her.  She just graduated from college and turned 23 in one week, so it's been a big week for her.  We invited one of her friends to join us for lunch and then surprised her with a cake.  She cut the cake for us and served us all giant pieces, which we were happy to finish off :)  Cakes here have definitely improved in flavor and sweetness in the last 10 years.  Or maybe we have just been over here too long! 

You can't see very clearly in this picture, but the top of the cake is decorated with fruit, including little tomatoes in the middle!  I guess technically tomatoes are a fruit, but nobody told the bakery they don't taste good with whipped cream!

I have been spring cleaning like crazy the last couple of weeks.  I think there is some wisdom in going through every drawer and basket in your house every few years to see what you really need to keep.  With our upcoming trip back to the States, I thought it would be a good idea to purge our closets of some things we have accumulated in the last 3 years.  I donated about 20 small bags of clothes, shoes and toys.    I still have more to do, but it was a good start.

My go-to meal this week has been chicken and veggie stir fry.  It is so easy, and it makes such a pretty meal with all of the brightly colored veggies :)   I served this meal to a couple of Chinese friends for lunch.  They asked me what kind of food it was.  I told them that it was "American-style Chinese food," and they looked at me like I was crazy!  But I think they liked it :)