We were out of milk, and with two very regular milk drinkers in our house, I was encouraged to go grocery shopping at 5pm. Since I didn’t have a dinner plan prepared, we decided to couple our shopping trip with a quick bite to eat at the E-Mart shopping center. While waiting for Michael to finish his tutoring job so he could meet us, we spent some time walking around the newly remodeled area and found lots of outdoor seating. One particular area has many tables staged in front of a large jumbo-tron tv screen. You can find these jumbo-trons around Tianjin usually playing advertising. However, to our surprise this evening, we discovered the World Swimming Championship Competitions which are currently being hosted in Shanghai. I was surprised to notice Michael watching intently and saying, “I miss swimming.”

With no outdoor pools around in Tianjin, and in the hot days of late summer one has to find interesting things to do indoors to avoid the heat and unhealthy pollution.   The kids and I discovered a lovely way to pass the afternoon.   The newly remodeled historic Astor Hotel in downtown Tianjin offers high tea each afternoon from 2 – 5pm.  If you want to read more…here’s a short summary of The Astor’s history (taken from their website):

This year for Rachel's birthday Maddie and I (Michael was in Shanghai) wanted to do some really special decorations.  So we spent a while looking at blogs and finally came to one about party decor, among other things.  Something that really stood out to me as a classy/elegant party snack were cake pops.  If you are not familiar with this little "sweet tooth delight" then you may think of it just like it's name; it is a cross between a cake and a lolly pop.  Any ways, Maddie and I felt that these were a necessary treat for this special event so we went to work making them.  Let me tell you it looks and sounds easier than it is!  First we made a cake, cooled and then crumbled it up.  To the cake we added frosting.  This created a thick and sticky blob of cake (more delicious than it sounds!).  Then we formed balls and put them on wooden chopsticks (for the cake pop handle).  Now, here's the difficult part: the chocolate coating.  It definitely takes a learning curve to do this step.  Our first 5 cake pop were too big and the chocolate to thick that they all broke and did not stay on the stick.  This became very frustrating, as you can imagine.  So, Maddie and I added milk to the chocolate and made the cake balls smaller.  Both highly improved our results.  The cake pops finally stayed on the sticks, and though they were not as beautiful as the recipe picture (when is it ever as pretty as the picture?), they still tasted amazing!  The next day we made bright pink icing and drizzled it on top of the chocolate cake pops to complete the finished look.  Though after making the first five cake pops I was ready to totally give up, I am glad I kept trying and finally produced delicious, and not altogether ugly, cake pops for one of Rachel's birthday surprises!

Tips for those of you who would like to try making Cake Pops:
1. White chocolate is probably better than melted milk chocolate chips
2. You may add paraffin wax to the chocolate to beautify the end product
3. Thin your chocolate
4. Make smaller cake balls
5. Put your cake pops on sturdy sticks 

This year for Rachel's birthday Maddie and I (Michael was in Shanghai) wanted to do some really special decorations.  So we spent a while looking at blogs and finally came to one about party decor, among other things.  Something that really stood out to me as a classy/elegant party snack were cake pops.  If you are not familiar with this little "sweet tooth delight" then you may think of it just like it's name; it is a cross between a cake and a lolly pop.  Any ways, Maddie and I felt that these were a necessary treat for this special event so we went to work making them.  Let me tell you it looks and sounds easier than it is!  First we made a cake, cooled and then crumbled it up.  To the cake we added frosting.  This created a thick and sticky blob of cake (more delicious than it sounds!).  Then we formed balls and put them on wooden chopsticks (for the cake pop handle).  Now, here's the difficult part: the chocolate coating.  It definitely takes a learning curve to do this step.  Our first 5 cake pop were too big and the chocolate to thick that they all broke and did not stay on the stick.  This became very frustrating, as you can imagine.  So, Maddie and I added milk to the chocolate and made the cake balls smaller.  Both highly improved our results.  The cake pops finally stayed on the sticks, and though they were not as beautiful as the recipe picture (when is it ever as pretty as the picture?), they still tasted amazing!  The next day we made bright pink icing and drizzled it on top of the chocolate cake pops to complete the finished look.  Though after making the first five cake pops I was ready to totally give up, I am glad I kept trying and finally produced delicious, and not altogether ugly, cake pops for one of Rachel's birthday surprises!

Tips for those of you who would like to try making Cake Pops:
1. White chocolate is probably better than melted milk chocolate chips
2. You may add paraffin wax to the chocolate to beautify the end product
3. Thin your chocolate
4. Make smaller cake balls
5. Put your cake pops on sturdy sticks 

When my kids were little and we were on outings around town, after getting them all out of the car, I used to lead them in a group and call out, “Come on little ducklings!” They would usually follow along in a line, looking ahead to the “mama duck.” As each of our family birthdays roll around, the girls and Michael have begun a habit of decorating the dining room in various themes. You may have read about Jessie’s garden party or Maddie’s slumber party and seen pictures of the creative ways the kids decorate for one another. Well, to my surprise, this year for my birthday, the girls came up with a duck theme. They had place cards for each person in the shape of a duck, and made posters and signs with little ducklings following their mom. I’m so thankful for the kindness and creativity each of my kids show me each day and especially on my birthday.

When my kids were little and we were on outings around town, after getting them all out of the car, I used to lead them in a group and call out, “Come on little ducklings!” They would usually follow along in a line, looking ahead to the “mama duck.” As each of our family birthdays roll around, the girls and Michael have begun a habit of decorating the dining room in various themes. You may have read about Jessie’s garden party or Maddie’s slumber party and seen pictures of the creative ways the kids decorate for one another. Well, to my surprise, this year for my birthday, the girls came up with a duck theme. They had place cards for each person in the shape of a duck, and made posters and signs with little ducklings following their mom. I’m so thankful for the kindness and creativity each of my kids show me each day and especially on my birthday.

Last year, 9th grade, I was so happy to be able to take my Dad's Freshman course, Digital Citizenship.  In his class I learned a lot about the software and hardware of computers and how they work.  Additionally we talked a lot about digital social networking and the enormity of the internet.  It boggles my mind to think that my Dad used a type writer for one of his previous jobs!  On the other hand, it is almost more mind boggling to think of how computers, like a living organism, stores and finds information.  Anyways, over the past year taking his class and in the experience of owning a laptop I have come to shocking realizations of the mammoth digital network.  For example:  I recently got a Tumblr account.  Tumblr is a cite where people post, reblog, and comment on (mostly) art work.  I found it very interesting how this cite created an environment of sharing your work and encouraging others with theirs.  In this aspect I have understand how easily talent can be shared and appreciated today.  Being in a school with a "one laptop per child" program I have also discovered a "con" to the digital network: it becomes a mask (for some).  In a school where everyone from middle school up uses a computer I have observed (in more than a few cases) people who become more confidant online than in real life.  It's not always bad; say there was someone who would never sing to anyone's face but they record their songs and share them, that's not bad at all.  There are some, however, that do and say things they wouldn't in real life.  Whether it's bad things, or just uncharacteristic of their personality – the internet is not a second chance on reality!   I say – "If you wouldn't say it, don't type it".

Last year, 9th grade, I was so happy to be able to take my Dad's Freshman course, Digital Citizenship.  In his class I learned a lot about the software and hardware of computers and how they work.  Additionally we talked a lot about digital social networking and the enormity of the internet.  It boggles my mind to think that my Dad used a type writer for one of his previous jobs!  On the other hand, it is almost more mind boggling to think of how computers, like a living organism, stores and finds information.  Anyways, over the past year taking his class and in the experience of owning a laptop I have come to shocking realizations of the mammoth digital network.  For example:  I recently got a Tumblr account.  Tumblr is a cite where people post, reblog, and comment on (mostly) art work.  I found it very interesting how this cite created an environment of sharing your work and encouraging others with theirs.  In this aspect I have understand how easily talent can be shared and appreciated today.  Being in a school with a "one laptop per child" program I have also discovered a "con" to the digital network: it becomes a mask (for some).  In a school where everyone from middle school up uses a computer I have observed (in more than a few cases) people who become more confidant online than in real life.  It's not always bad; say there was someone who would never sing to anyone's face but they record their songs and share them, that's not bad at all.  There are some, however, that do and say things they wouldn't in real life.  Whether it's bad things, or just uncharacteristic of their personality – the internet is not a second chance on reality!   I say – "If you wouldn't say it, don't type it".

A few days ago Mom, Maddie, and myself all headed out on an errand at a shopping street called BingZhunDao.  We were picked up by a female taxi driver with a spacious and clean car. The first half of the journey was uneventful.  However as we stopped at a red light the driver pointed out of the taxi and said something to my mom, then my Mom jumped out of the taxi. When she hopped back in she was holding a pair of white sunglasses.  Apparently both the driver and my Mom had seen them in between the car lanes as we drove up.  The driver wanted to see us all try them on and we laughed about the coincidence.  It wasn't but five minutes after when all the sudden the driver herself hopped out of the taxi at a stop light and jumped back in holding a pair of pink sunglasses!  We were all laughing as each of us tried them on, at the request of our driver.  Then the taxi driver told us to take a pair. Not wanting to reject the gift, I took the white pair (seeing that the pink sunglasses suited her better).  It turned out to be a very funny trip to BingZhunDao!