A little of this and a little of that....

So I am not sure what i have to post about this week, usually i have a general idea of a topic to share but this time i am looking back at the photos i have on my phone and will go from there....

Since finding marshmallows in Shanghai we had to make some rice crispy treats!  What a treat for me and Blake liked them too!  I think Brian snuck one so far but he goes to work during the day so we'll see how many he gets!  In addition, continued my cooking at home from Pinterest this week, made some teriyaki chicken, chicken pot pie filling both in the crock pot and they turned out really delicious!  Last night was chicken enchiladas and then raspberry crumb bars for dessert, YUM!

Out to find Picture Frames:  As you may have read, last week i was able to find a shop that would print photos for me, I want to hang some larger ones around the house so I translated the usual 8x10 into centimeters and had them printed.  This week the adventure was out to find picture frames!  I wish i would have done this backwards so i would have know 8x10 isn't a popular size in China!  We went to Nandajie and outdoor mall with lots of shops (and a McDonald's that serves breakfast!) an after going in a few stores it was pretty apparent they not only had small frames but didn't have many, I was in search of 10 frames!  The next stop was an indoor "stuff" mall, these malls seem to have categories on floors, the first might be all women's clothing, the second floor is children's clothing, shoes, etc.  the third floor in this particular mall was the "stuff" upon getting up to the floor there was a frame shop right in front of me and what do you know, they have a frame that clearly says 8x10!!!!  I was very excited and quickly asked how much and how many they had on hand, 25 rmb for one frame or 20 each for 10 frames....SOLD!  I was happy to be getting the right size, no care in the world that they were plain white and have no personality!  So i was able to purchase my frames and continue on.

In the additional shops on this floor I found a little bit of home in a plant shop with some mini cactus!  There also appears to be an abundance of nutcrackers around Changzhou in many stores that they keep out year round.  I am not sure if the Chinese people have any interest in these nutcrackers or if they think foreigners search for them year round.  Either way it was entertaining to me and come the holidays I will know where to find one!  The last photo below is a bizzare display of contact solution that i found in a small shop, at least that is what i could gather from looking at it that is why there were so many bottles out on the shelf?!?!?!

 A trip to the nail salon:  I have gone to this same nail salon twice since being in Changzhou however i usually have been with someone else.  Today was my first day going alone to the nail salon...they have a menu in English so i can see what i want but the translations are on an entirely different page so i am not always sure what i am going to get when they say "ok".  Today i was going in for a manicure and pedicure.  Mind you friends in the US, there are no massage chairs when you walk in, there are three sofa like chairs with ottomans, a few nail stations where you can sit to have your nails done and a back room.

So I am instructed to remove my shoes, put on slippers provided and sit down, and given a nice cup of hot water (hot water is good for your health, why drink cold water).  The first lady starts to take my gel off and proceed with the manicure.  The second lady after a comedy of noises and her coming out of the back room limping has a large wooden tub with garbage bags in it and warm water.  I am instructed to place my feet in the water.  Once they have soaked for a nice long minute she beings to take the large file to my heels, clean them up and dry off my feet.  Next i am getting the nails trimmed and she is painting my nails.  Once she has painted them she flags over another lady to tell me that they will take much more than 10 minutes to dry and in Chinese yells at the lady to get a book and use it to dry my nails faster.  

Meanwhile i am still having my manicure, they do 2 nails at a time, i haven't figured out why but they paint 2 nails with one coat then under the dryer and back and forth until you are done.  Once the gel has been applied your nails are dry and good to go, at this time a plastic basin is brought out with water in it and my hands are washed individually with some sugar scrub then rinsed by hand and dried off.  After all of this is done and three people have verified my toe nails are dry, lotion is applied in a patting method, no massage, no rubbing of the feet or hands.  Then, all set and be on my way as all 5 people in the nail salon get up to send me off in a very friendly way :)

Adding to the list of things you can't find in China (at least easily)....
Velveeta Cheese (American's love their processes cheese)
Macaroni and Cheese (made from scratch this week)
Chocolate Chips (who doesn't want chocolate chip cookies???)
Pillsbury anything....no biscuits, no cinnamon rolls, no cookies ready to bake!! 
Rolos - I have found Snickers, Reeses, Kit Kat bars, York peppermint patties
Canned Chicken Broth, its all bouillon here!
Chocolate Milk- but i found Hershey's Syrup!
Sonicare Toothbrush- You all know my terrible luck with my teeth so i use the electric toothbrush for a great clean!  We have tried three different adapters and can't get ours working and to replace it they only seem to have the Oral B battery operated tooth brushes :(
Vegetable Oil- At least for certain, i purchased the one below, it says its edible!

I seem to think of things when i am out, i will have to start taking notes!
 
Things you can easily find in China...

Rice-(what did you expect)  You go to the grocery store to not only find 20 kinds of bagged rice but you can also purchase bulk rice so its fresh for the day!

Soy Sauce-(for every member of the family) They have soy sauce for babies, for kids and for the rest of us!  I have seen at least 20+ different kinds of soy sauce each time i go to a different store, apparently there is a need for all these different kinds and brands.  I will be sure to buy the for babies though when our little one comes along :)

Vegetables- There are always fresh vegetables at the market, I have to go to specific markets for potatoes and lemons (fruit i know), not as popular as you might think here in China. 

Pizza-  There seem to be a number of Italian food restaurants in Changzhou.  We have tried pizza at many of these, a new restaurant Monkey King opened and we dined in last Friday to enjoy some yummy pizza, however, tonight was our first pizza delivery!  It was nice not to go out for dinner and not to cook!  I did have trouble getting pepperoni pizza though over the phone and ended up with two cheese pizzas and adding our own pepperoni and baking it.  Not quite Barro's or Streets of NY but it will do!

This week we receive our container from the US that we shipped in April so that should be an exciting post!  hopefully Customs didn't take anything :)