taichung in all its glory and then some

the captain figure man. chinese sistine chapels. boating adventures. jumping pics+short dress=censoring mandatory. $2 shoes. buddhism. taosim. confucianism. unadulterated southwestern food. adulterated mcdonalds breakfast. sun moon lake. ringing the victory [good luck?] bell. thank you cakes. thizz faced gods. what fun.

grammy. chinese style.

who would have thought that hugging this little guy would make me miss my popo so much? i swear he smelled just like her--a mix of mothballs, herbs, chinese food, and love. sometimes i want to just hang out with her all day. and i want to be just like her when i grow up. too bad i will never be that petite. [at 5'4'' i am the giantess of my chinese side]

date night and some more

what could be romantic than eating veggies from a plastic bag on your patio at 10 o'clock on a mattress that you recently dragged out in celebration of the hot weather?



and for some much needed depth to this blog [i look like a total loser compared to amy's blog] let me just share something that i have noticed since being in taiwan more than anywhere else.

it seems like when i am actually looking for answers, strength, whatever, answers are placed everywhere. i could go on forever about this. mostly i have noticed the amount of the Lord's presence and mercy in my life. He loves me and through Him, i am healed. moral of the story: i love my faith. and the love that HF has for me. and my ability to feel that so deeply because of Him. enough of me, down to the good stuff.

"this type of hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with the courage during difficult challenges and gives strength to those who feel threatened by enclosing walls of fear, doubt, and despair" infinite power of hope. president dieter f. uchtdorf
1 cor 2:9
"sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome" come what may, and love it. elder joseph b. wirthlin
D&C 84:88
"get on the path and never, ever give up. you never give up. you just keep on going. you don't quit, and you will make it" the way. elder lawrence e. corbridge
Moroni 12:27
"The tests we face are going to be real. We will know them deeply and keenly and pervasively. Christ's cry on the cross shows that the very best of all His children found the trial so real, the test so exquisite and severe that he cried out not in doubt of His father but wondering why in the moment of supreme agony he felt so alone. We too at times might wonder if we are forgotten and forsaken. We might at times try to pray away an impending tragedy but is really an opportunity. At times, He will not be able to let us pass by that challenge because if he has, everything at that moment will be wiped out. It is because He loves us that He will not intercede." but for a small moment. elder neal a. maxwell. byu devotional address.

by the way, has anyone actually read corinthians? i am finding more treats in that book than anywhere else in the bible. it is amazing. i urge you all [christian or not] to read it.

a package a package a package

mail mail mail mail i love mail. props to mama jo for sending a $46 package all the way to taiwan full of easter goodies for the children. we plan on bringing only the highly commercialized form of christianity to them. then i got the urge to create the other night and the package got put to even better use. what do you think?



p.s. if i am ever reincarnated, i would like to be a dog living in the rice fields where i can drag my belly in wet mud and stroll on the streets whenever i like. thanks.

doomed

i am doomed to a life of computer illiteracy. as much as i want to have a cute blog with amazing banners and quirky pictures, it seems like i am just not destined for it. sorry fans. until then, it will just be bad formatted pictures and lame layouts. maybe if i ever muster the time or energy to spend hours of the computer learning...but that isn't really me, now is it?

here are some pictures from the last few days. amy had the genius idea of having the kids dress up [our theme this week was fairy tales] i contributed nothing other than the backdrop aka my bedsheet. the things you do when you are in a foreign country with little access to "proper" supplies. we got to go to the hot springs in yilan where we bathed in volcanic ash and different "flavored" pools, ate some freshly caught fish, and held some of the day's catch. the car broke down when we were almost home and we had to stuff 13 people in the van. what fun! and of course, took a lot of pictures. happy weekend. hope yours was as silly as mine.

note to self

never leave the country without an appropriate supply of whole grains.

any kashi would work well. next country, my suitcase will be full of cereal boxes.

an ode.

to true herbal tea.
to best friends discovered at a young age.
to kindness.
to mosquitoes.
to their deaths.
to cultural differences.
to a hacking cough.
to a repeating itunes playlist.
to asian children. to growth.
to learning a new language.
to be able to live out ninja fantasies.
to wearing the same outfit each day.
and to not caring at all.