July fourth

Happy birthday, America.

The 4th of July isn't celebrated in China, except maybe at one of the local expat bars....offering Budweiser and hotdogs and burgers at a discount. We've yet to find good hotdogs this side of Hawaii, so the plan is to stay home, cook up some good ol Australian filets and baked fries. 

That's American, right?

I'd much rather be at our usual Fourth of July hangout (miss you Morgan and Julie!) waiting for the city of Thousand Oaks to light off their display of fireworks and eating good watermelon and BBQ, but for this year, we will make the most of what we've got. 

This morning Sal and I made a cake. This one pales in comparison to what I'm really capable of, as our oven is a countertop toaster oven, and our only pans are bread loaf pans from IKEA. I used my last box of funfetti cake mix  since this is a special occasion. The funfetti is saved for special occasions since we smuggle it in our suitcase to get it to China. The stuff is like Gold,I tell ya. Forget saving the best bottle of wine, it's cake mix  (and green enchilada sauce) we savor 'round here.

So, with our whole hearts and best attempt at celebrating, Happy Birthday America. If there's one thing we leave this experience with, its our gratitude for our freedom and those who fight to protect the Land of the free and home of the brave.