following an unknown path

please meet our apo

This is Lawrance's maternal grandmother.  In Hakka, grandmothers are called "Apo."

Isn't she beautiful?!? :)

sunday lunch

I had one of my favorite things for lunch on Sunday . . . pineapple shrimp.  YUMMY!! (Please note the use of mayo and sprinkles.)

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Lawrance took me to a fabulous restaurant decorated in a very "Chinese" style. It was great!!

wedding reception in usa (part 5)

alternate title: the send off

We left in a horse carriage (part of the inn's wedding package).  We rode around the historic town for about 30 minutes and then came back to the inn.

Here are some of our loved ones sending us off.

 

YAY!!!!! :)

(All photos taken by Jessica at JGM Photography.)

our virtual guestbook

This was a totally random idea I thought up.  I've since seen someone else do something very similar but in a much more elegant, professional way. 

Anyway, what we did was . . . . we asked my cousin to go around to the different tables during the reception with a whiteboard and our digital camera.  She asked our friends and family to write a message and then pose with the white board.

I am SO glad we did this.  It was SO fun to look through the photos during our honeymoon. People said things on the white board they never would have on a traditional guest book.

Thanks Tiffany for blessing us in this way!!!

Below is a random order sampling of most of the photo blessings taken at our reception.

wedding reception in usa (part 4)

alternate title: cutting the cakes

Our cakes were made by our wedding coordinator.  The "wedding cake" was strawberry, while the groom's cake was chocolate.  And, can I just say they were DELICIOUS!!  I don't care for most cakes . . . but this stuff was great! 

The groom's cake has a Chinese "chop" (or seal) that is supposed to be the wedding word for double joy or double happiness inside a door, which Lawrance choose because he and I (two joys) were starting a new home (door).  BUT . . . they left off the bottom part of the "double joy" . . . so EVERYONE--American and Taiwanese--ask us what it means. :)

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Cutting the cakes was a blast!!  Lawrance had no idea what we were going to be doing.  I didn't tell him anything.  I just told him "wait and see."  So, he really was clueless, which made it WAY more fun for us and our guests too.

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Posing with the Cake

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Feeding him a rather large piece, but doing it nicely.

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His reaction. (And, me not wanting to get cake on the dress.)

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Me preparing a SMALL piece for him to feed me.

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He wants a big piece and says, "Now I will show you how we do it in Taiwan."

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As he puts it in his own mouth, I am a bit confused thinking he is going to feed himself.

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Then I realize what he is going to do . . . and EVERYONE laughs loudly as they figure it out too!!

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If you haven't figured it out yet . . . He wants me to eat it FROM HIS MOUTH!!!!  OH MY!!

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After all that drama . . . we move on to the groom's cake.

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Obviously, cutting it together.

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And, to ensure he didn't make me eat from his mouth again, we fed each other at the same time. :)

Yay!!  It was so much FUN!! 

And what was wonderful too . . . is that a big plate of the leftover cake was snuck into the honeymoon suite for us.  We got to enjoy our wonderful cake throughout our honeymoon!  Thanks to whoever did that . . . Mom??  Sarah??

(Most photos taken by Jessica at JGM Photography.)

wedding reception in usa (part 3)

alternate title: the joy of kids at a wedding

We both LOVE kids (I'm not sure why but Lawrance doesn't like to admit it, but by his actions it's clear he does). I think it is so important for children to have adult friends that love and care about them.

Anywho, we so enjoyed having children at our wedding. :)  I couldn't have imagined it any other way!
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Our three junior bridesmaids were such a joy, and oh so helpful.  They were never very far away during the entire reception.  What a blessing these three girls are!!

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The little girls in blue and yellow have two younger brothers, they both totally adored Lawrance.  And, Lawrance returned the love.  You can also see in the background my cousin dancing with his daughter.

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We also had an impromptu dance with the kids present to the song "Skid-a-ma-rink-a-dink-a-dink, I Love You" by the Go Fish Guys.  The same primarily a cappella preschool group that we walked down the aisle to . . . Lawrance loves their music.  Like I mentioned before, if you have preschoolers in the house, you have to check them out!

(All photos taken by Jessica at JGM Photography.)

wedding reception in usa (part 2)

alternate title: special moments with the men in my life

Oh, my PawPaw . . . I love this man.  My grandfather is OH SO special to me.  One of the greatest men I've ever met.

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The new Wu's first dance. We danced to "Someone Like You" by Van Morrison.  The only reason we danced was because Lawrance wanted to dance on his wedding day.

Dancing with my daddy.  We danced to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland.  I cried . . .again.

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I also got to dance with Sam, my younger brother.  He needed to leave a bit early, so right after cutting the cake he asked for a dance before he needed to go; I was happy to oblige. :)  He is so sweet, and he is turning into a great young man!

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And, last but not least, my nephew, "caught" the garter (with a bit of help from his daddy).

(All photos taken by Jessica at JGM Photography.)

wedding reception in usa (part 1)

We had the reception at the same place where we got married, right next to the old tree in a historic inn's reception hall.  Most of the floating tissue pompoms were made by Lawrance (we used these directions to make them). 

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The above photo was taken in the afternoon before the ceremony started.  The one below was taken during the reception.  I love all the twinkle lights!

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Being announced for the first time . . . what a great memory. :)

(All photos taken by Jessica at JGM Photography.)

our wedding reception in the states

Our Taiwanese marriage covenant ceremony is less than 19 days away. So, I thought I should finish up writing about our American wedding before the Taiwanese one happens.

Therefore this week will be full of posts about the various special moments from our American wedding reception. 

We had a blast, and we enjoyed every minute.  

Also, I just wanted to offer . . . if you have any questions about the reception or wedding in America or about the upcoming Taiwanese ceremony and banquet ask those questions here on this post, and I will try to answer them either later this week or next week.

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Here is a tiny preview of what's to come this week . . .

Don't you just LOVE all that color?  We wanted it to be a joyful, happy celebration . . . and that's what we got!! :)

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I only have three "regrets" in regards to the reception . . .

(1) we didn't get a chance to tell everyone thank you for coming.  We ended up leaving earlier than planned because most of the guests needed to drive an hour or more to get home, and they were wanting to get home before it got too late. So, we didn't get a chance to get to every table to say thanks.

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(2) we never played our "game" that my PawPaw made for me.  We didn't have a DJ, and I didn't exactly give the best directions to the person I asked to help with the game, so it just never happened.  And, it just makes me kinda sad that my grandfather spent time and money to make this awesome game that never got to be played. 

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(3) and, last but not least, I wish our "guest book" (photo mat) had been either announced or in a better location, not even half of the guests signed it. :(  I made my dad and brother sign it later after we got back from the honeymoon.

a great surprise

I found these in my desk chair on Friday . . .

I was so totally surprised that I actually cried. 

He choose purple flowers because our Taiwanese marriage covenant ceremony is using the color purple.  And, he knows I don't care for roses. :)

Perfect! 

And, he left them in the perfect place too.  There could have been no better place where he could have left them for me to discover. :)

Thank you, Honey!!! :)

i have a valentine

For the first time in my adult life I have a valentine.

Sweetheart, you are the love of my life!  I love you.

You have totally changed my life . . . for the better in every way imaginable! 

Happy Valentines Day, Honey!!

blast from the past: V-day circa 1983

My sister emailed this photo today . . . my best guess is probably 1983 at our paternal grandparents house giving our NeeNee some V-day candy.

Clues to it being my grandparent's home . . .

1. white door
2. Millionaires and Turtles are my NeeNee's fave candy
3. My hair is straighter and in ringlets, a way she liked to style it.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

taiwanese toy store finds

Awhile back Lawrance and I had fun looking around in a toy store.  We've actually done this a couple of times since--I guess we are just kids at heart.

Here are some of the cute things we found on the shelves. I love that one"kitchen set" includes the hot water heater thing most homes here have and that the other one is a rice cooker with chopsticks and sushi.

I can't wait to have someone to buy these cute kitchen toys to play with.

Then of course what little kid wouldn't want to zip around on his or her own little moped?

amazing photos of lantern festival

Simply amazing photos from China.

language classrooms can be noisy

Here's proof from one of my classes last year:

The first video is of students debating for one minute on simple topics like "tea is better than coffee" and "watching news on tv is better than reading a newspaper."  I tell them "outside yes, inside no" and then they have to support the opinion I've given them.  Since they only have one minute to discuss the topic, they get really loud really fast.  I love it. 

The second video is of an activity I'm going to do in class tomorrow.  Each student has a partner--one sits down with a pen and paper, the other runs back and forth from one side to the other.  Why?  Well, they look at song lyrics, memorize a line or two, and then run to dictate that line to their partner.  First pair to finish wins. 

Of course not all of the activities we do are this noisy . . . but I do love it when my classroom is so loud I can't think. 

red bombs

Tuesday night we folded, stuffed, and addressed all the Taiwanese wedding invitations.  We are still missing a few addresses . . . but this is one major "to do" that we got done. :)  YAY!!!

Our invitations to the Taiwanese ceremony and banquet are traditional Taiwanese in style . . . and yes, they are red with gold lettering.  Lawrance's parents picked them out.

The inside wording follows the traditional form and announces that an oldest son will be marrying an oldest daughter.  And, we chose to go with Chinese only for these invites.

Oh, yeah, and, like most Taiwanese wedding invitations, they are scented too. 

In Taiwan, wedding invitations are known as "red bombs" because receiving one means you must now "pay money" (wedding gifts are not given, but red envelopes with cash inside are given ).  I think it is kinda sad that, like children, wedding celebrations are considered a burden and not a blessing.  Don't get me wrong, Taiwanese people love weddings . . . but to have the first gut reaction to be "oh no, a red bomb" . . . well, that's just sad.

Anywho, I guess this week are bombing close friends and family in Taiwan.

time for a change

I'm attempting to get back into the swing of blogging again. 

First, I wanna ask for Ashley and Kristy's forgiveness in never responding to the awards they both gave me last month.  Thank you for thinking of me and honoring in me that way.  I'm sorry I didn't even take the time to say thanks.

Second, is something I'm excited about . . . and that is that one of the things I've struggled with the most in blogging is responding to comments on the blog.  Typepad emailed me the comments, and I read them in gmail.  If there is a question or I have time to respond, I just emailed that person.  BUT, now Typepad allows me to reply to comments on the blog via email.  Awesome!  So, I'm excited that there is now a VERY SIMPLE way for me to respond to my blog's comments on the blog.  YAY!!

And, last but not least, I changed the look of my blog.  It's my third year blogging, and my third blog design overall.  Maybe it will be a bloggy tradition for me, change the skin and sidebars once a year, kinda like a birthday gift to the blog. 

There are a ton more things I'd love to do to the blog design, but for now, this is what I can accomplish with the limited time I have.  I am struggling to learn to let go of my perfectionism which either monoplolizes my time or paralyzes me into nonaction.  I think planning two weddings in 60-90 days each as well as being married is teaching me to live and let live a little more than I was doing before. 

This is my first non-pink look.  And, I like the simplicity of it, and I love that it is purple. 

Anywho, thank you to those of you who stuck with the blog even with my recent sporadic posting.  And, hello to all the newbies who recently commented and let me know you had surfed by.  I'm excited about getting back into blogging and look forward to some more interaction with my bloggy friends.  :)

Just for kicks, these are my two most recent blog looks (well, kinda).

 

a sea of flowers

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope."
Lady Bird Johnson, Public Roads: Where Flowers Bloom


Part of our Chinese New Year break we went back to Meinong.  There we found a lovely sea of flowers that delighted me to no end.

english spelling is dumb

I am a terrible speller.  I openly admit this to all my students. 

As someone who is incredibly detailed and struggles with perfectionism, it stands to reason that I should be a good speller. 

So, I blame it on the fact that I am a visual learner, and when learning spelling as a child I was always required to spell orally and listen to the words orally.  I just can't do that.  Gotta see it.  I was probably someone that actually would have benefited from a written kill and drill approach to spelling or at least a more creative visual approach. 

Speaking of . . . My bloggy friend Jimmie creatively teaches spelling to her daughter.  I love observing all the fun stuff they do . . . I wish I could have done that too.  Another friend (this one IRL) has her son, a tactile learner, spell out words with his body letter by letter on the floor or spell the words by "writing" them with his finger in mounds of rice or salt on a tray.  Fun stuff.

Back to the topic at hand . . . I also blame the fact that I can't spell on the fact that I can rely on spell checkers to help me.  In fact, since I can "teach" Word to auto-correct my most commonly misspelled words things have only gotten worse. :)

But, some people like this (now) 103 year-old man blame the fact that I can't spell on the fact that English spelling is dumb.