Thief

I use a commercial shared kitchen for the business, and it's a great concept. Except that it's a little like living with roommates again. You never quite know who's drinking your milk or eating your frozen burritos. And you want to maintain a good relationship, so if someone drinks your milk here and there, who cares?

So anyhow, I bought a case of mini chocolate chips. 12 bags in a case. So when we open it up and use one, there should be 11 left. 12-1=11. Basic math. But... there were only 10.

Okay, no big deal, I tell my bakers. It's fine. Just one bag. It's bound to happen. It's like $2. Whatever.

And then we go back the next time. I count. Only nine bags.

My one baker says, "Leave a nasty note! They're STEALING from you! From US!!!"

I mulled over it for the next couple of hours and finally wrote this:
Hi. :) We're so flattered that you love our chocolate chips so much. Next time we go in on an order, we can definitely order more for you. Just call us ahead of time: xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thank you so much!
And then I left it inside the box.

I don't want to be rude, and I really don't want to rock the boat. But honestly, I feel a little bit like Ross:



I don't know. Maybe I was too snarky.

Sushi night

For some reason, whenever D's parents are in town, I always feel like it's my Japanese duty to make sushi. Even though they can probably get better sushi at Isobune or Kirala in Berkeley.

So anyhow, here's what we had for dinner last night, along with my mom's delish miso soup. This was modified to include imitation crabmeat (so not the same, but oh well), eggs, carrots, and cucumber. So maybe like a kani-tamago-ninjin-kyuri roll. Or a kantaninkyu roll?

Mystery Bun

Today while shopping at Super H Mart (one of two Asian supermarkets in Naperville), I challenged C to sample a mystery bun. If you know C, he has a very limited non-sweet diet (which includes McD hamburger, fries, hot dog, mac n' cheese, dinosaur nuggets, and fish sticks). I told him the mystery bun was sweet and of course his eyes lit up. So he gave it a try. After three rounds of bun samples, C was fooled into eating a "sweet" Chinese Green Onion bun. I am glad deep down he has my "gourmand" genes. After checking out, C told me that he "Super H loves me". I don't know if that means he loves me as much as he loves "Super H" but I'll take it as a compliment.

First in line

Last night, my friend Rasa and I went to see my favorite folk guitar artist ever.

Although he didn't sing to me specifically like he did last time, I did manage to strategize my way into his life. Via being first in a very long line at a post-show meet/greet. Embarrassing, I know.

And really, not for nothing. I somehow convinced the tour manager to give me his contact information. Next time they're in town, I have ins and welcome permission to drop off cupcakes. AND I got this great picture (and an autographed CD for C) out of it.

He's super talented. Beautiful lyrics. Amazing melodies. Quirky inspiration. I like him a lot. Go iTunes Joshua Radin. (Wow, I wasn't even paid to write this. Word-of-mouth marketing works when it's something this good.)

P.S. Thanks to new friend Jessica who saved the day by taking this picture for me (and actually followed through with sending it over) when my phone died. :)

Is this a bad sign?

So I'm starting a cupcake business. If you're reading this, you probably already know this.

Well, I went to a Chinese buffet today for lunch, and even THEY'VE hopped on the cupcake bandwagon. Because it complements greasy, garlicky food so well.

Clockwise from top left: fried green beans, teriyaki chicken, Chinese donuts, pork potstickers, and yellow cake from a box topped with gritty shortening-based frosting with air-brushed food coloring and sprinkles.

I hope this isn't a bad omen or something. Next thing you know, we'll see them at Indian buffets on Devon.

The Chinese donuts though? Pretty darn good. I'll keep that idea tucked away in case this cupcake thing doesn't work out.

China Trip

So, D and I just got back from China and Hong Kong.

Here's a slideshow of some pictures.


Some noteworthy experiences...

Hong Kong:

• Seeing old friends and meeting their spouses/fiances/kids.
• Victoria Peak and Stanley. Seeing the richie rich of the Hong Kong elite and their seaside mansions.
  
• TST and the entire market scene. Haggling. Our Cantonese-speaking friend doing the wheeling and dealing for us.

Crossing the border:

• The Great and Spacious Building in Shenzhen. I thought we weren't ever going to make it out of there alive. But D got two suits for $200. What a deal!
• Having no clue whatsoever what we were doing once we got into China. What? Take a bus? Where? How far is it to the airport? An hour? And it only costs $3? or $30? or $300?

Shanghai:

• Seeing a million bikes in Shanghai. Literally. A million. And thus, the widest bike lanes we've ever seen in our lives.
  
• Trying to find church. "It's by a Starbucks," we tell the cabbie. He stares back and then spews out something in Chinese. D and I look at each other, then proceed to laugh and pray that we'll make it somewhere, anywhere, alive.
• A charter bus ride to nearby Suzhou. The driver decided that tailing new middle-class drivers and honking at them ferociously was appropriate. And passing on the right at what felt like 80 mph.
  
• Pointing. Charades. Gestures. "We want to go here. Do you speak English?" The reply: something in reallyreallyreallyfast Chinese.
• Seeing a million silkworms. And watching how silk is made. And being yelled at for taking a picture of it.
  
• Seeing pedicab pedalers hauling a family of four and all their luggage uphill to the bus station.
• Witnessing some of the most grave poverty we've ever seen. Chinese men selling towels and hair accessories outside of their shanties for pennies, hoping to earn a living.
• Shopping in Shanghai. Ribbons. Lace. Eyelets. Embellishment heaven! Fake purses. "Jade." Dollar stores that were really 2 RMB stores (about $0.30). Haggling. Walking away. Aggressive salespeople. Desperate for business.
• A cruise on the Huangpu River at dusk. There's a light show in Pudong. Kind of Disneyland-ish, but also, we couldn't believe how much building was going on over there. Insane.
• Taking the Maglev at 400km/hour from Shanghai to the airport. I think it took all of 10 minutes.

Beijing:

• The flight from Shanghai to Beijing, with a plane full of first-time Chinese fliers. Buckle seat belts, tray tables up, seats in the upright position? No way. Volume down when talking to your friend? No, just holler at them from across the entire airplane. "Ohhhhhhhh...." when the plane descends. And a burst of applause when the pilot successfuly lands. Once we're on the ground - no need to wait to taxi to the gate. Half the plane is up. Hilarious.
  
• Tiananmen Square. The Forbidden City. Instructing cabbies strictly by pointing at pictures and grunting. Finding the best cab driver in the entire country of China - the death cabbie who took driving lessons from Jason Bourne.
• The Paralympics. Cheering on USA's Men's Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball team right when we needed a dose of good ol' America. Watching the USA beat those Aussies.
• Waiting for what felt like hours for a cab. And being bypassed for other Chinese people. Because, well, that's how it is.
• Great Wall and Ming Tombs. Finding Five Star bathroom facilities, and discovering those that were NOT. Ewwww.
  
• Getting an hour long massage by blind Chinese men in a pharmacy at 11 p.m. for $8.00, following dinner at what is possibly the biggest mall in the world.

Xian:

• Randomly happening upon the coolest street market in the world in Xian. Tons of food. Tons of knockoffs. Tons of handcrafted goodies. Nuts. Pomegranates. Sweets. Muslim Chinese women. A mosque in China.
• Getting my toenail almost ripped off by a mad dash of people in a bus. Hint: never wear flip flops in China. Ever. And ride the bus for experience only. Otherwise, you won't get a seat. There are just too many people.
• Stepping into a puddle of fish guts, loogies, and who-knows-what-else. In flip flops. See hint above.
  
• D getting beaten up by a local Chinese woman for refusing to pay for a picture that wasn't theirs to collect money for to begin with. At first, "10 RMB! You have to pay 10 RMB!" D: "No. We're walking away." "Fine, 2 RMB! Give me 2!" "No!" {whack. kick. punch. D and I running for our lives.}
• Terracotta Soldiers. Just, wow.
• Sesame buns for $0.25. Pork dumplings for $2.00. Some sort of bland, nasty bread for $0.10. You get what you pay for.

The trip home:

• Reading. Finishing entire books on the 17 hour journey back.
• Coming home to a happy and excited son who was even more thrilled to get a space shuttle for being a good boy while mom and dad were away.
• Getting sick 24 hours upon returning, and having a husband drive me to the ER at 10 at night for fear that I had contracted Bird Flu, SARS, parasites, or malaria. The diagnosis? E, none of the above.
  

What an experience! And we're so glad to be home. Thanks to all who made this a ridiculously fun, once-in-a-lifetime adventure for us.

Fourth of July Fun

It just so happened that Steph, Paul, and clan were in town for the 4th of July this year, so we got everyone together for a BBQ. This included my parents, Scott/Becky, Nan/Greg, Pam/Steve, and Lynne. Count 'em. That's 13 adults. And 13 kids. Talk about a 1:1 ratio.

To keep the kids happy, we set up a slip-n-slide in the backyard and let the kids go crazy on our play set. But unusually for July, the weather wasn't as warm or humid as it should have been, so instead of cooling off, they froze. I guess kids don't mind so much, though!

Despite the fact that I don't like to cook, I enjoyed preparing for this event. I actually made fresh sausages for the first time and made a bunch of desserts and salad. Everyone pitched in and brought something - so helpful! Thanks to all for coming and hanging out with us.