Alex wanted to help with dinner tonight... We pounded and cut up pork loin into bite size pieces, prepared a marinade of soy sauce, sugar, pepper, minced garlic, and corn starch, then squished the pork around until mixed well. After that we tossed it in some flour to coat before shallow frying until golden brown.

On the other burner, fresh spinach was sauteed with minced garlic and a pinch of salt in a splash of oil.

Dinner was served with rice with blueberries for dessert. (Not pictured: fresh squeezed-lemondade.) Delicious and on the table in about 40 minutes, half that being the prep time.

From 5A skit

5A performed a skit during chapel "At the Pearly Gates on Judgement Day" (Click on the photo for more photos of the skit - Alex was an arrogant businessman, Montana was a guard at the gate, Aidan was St. Peter...there were many other characters waiting their turn - great job everyone!)

From Lam Tsuen CNY

Visiting the touristy Lam Tsuen Village - at CNY! Yes, it was crazy, but a beautiful day... and with friends, what more could you ask? (Click the photo - linked to more photos)

So my birthday happened to fall on the first day of Chinese New Year - some coincidence!

It was a beautiful day so after a late breakfast and chatting with my mom online, we headed outside for a bike ride. I saw a road on the map I wanted to check out and from the topo, it didn't look too steep to climb. Maggie was at her friend's house, so Paul took her bike since we didn't know what to expect. There were four rest "shelters" on the way up and we stopped at one to have a picnic lunch. We made it to the top where there was a nice gazebo and view of Tai Shui Hang with Kau To Shan behind (the hill we used to live on). We checked out the water department flood control dam and ditch before the ride down. It was a fun cruise!

Went out to eat at the Hyatt Shatin for a scrumptious buffet dinner. My birthday cake was meant to be the tiramisu I made, but we had it the day before when friends were over for new year's eve hotpot. I enjoyed a variety of cakes and ice cream from the dessert table instead!

Today, two days later, we decided to go up the hill again, this time with Alex's friends. Paul raced ahead on his road bike for a workout and to record stats on an iPhone app he downloaded. The rest of us moseyed along, but decided to turn around after the 2nd "shelter" since a couple people weren't up for the hill. We zoomed back to a nearby McD for treats and to play at the playground instead.  We'll try to get those friends to the top next time!

School starts again Monday...

Happy New Year! Happy Chinese New Year! Where has the month gone? As is normal during our breaks from school, we try to get outside, play with friends, and eat with friends... Our favorite meal to host is hotpot (fondue) because you just gather all the ingredients and dip them into a pot of water or stock right on the table. Ours is an electric model - like those electric skillets or griddles you can buy in the states, but with deeper sides. I've used it to stir-fry in as well. We learned in Japan that some things cook so fast that as you swish the meat you say "shabu-shabu" and it will be done! (Shabu-shabu is hotpot in Japanese.) As all the ingredients cook, the resulting soup becomes flavorful (like the old stone soup tale) and then you make noodles at the end to enjoy with the broth. We must have had hotpot at least half a dozen times already - it's a great winter warmer with the steam rising off the pot and friends and family gathered around!

New Year's day we had a nice walk in Tai Tam Country Park and dinner at a friend's home on the island. The girls all met each other around age one (!) at the YMCA playgroup in TST and we try to get together once a year.




During the four weeks until CNY break Alex participated in his first soccer tournament that took all afternoon on a Sat,

then the next day woke early to run in a 3k race with his school's jogging team (I ran too since I had to bring him there). His coach got 2nd female overall and Alex was one of the top kids - too bad they didn't track them, only top three overall.

Later that afternoon we went for a bike ride with friends and had dinner outdoors at a Fotan dai pai dong. That was a long, fun day!