following an unknown path

the wu's year in photos

Even though I've let my blog slip majorly in the past few weeks and months, I couldn't let my blogaversary and annual tradition of choosing one photo per month slip past.

This will be my fifth year to do this:

2005--was my third year in Taiwan, and I started blogging
2006--my sister got married and my brother came to Taiwan
2007--I moved to a new city, and my cousins came to visit
2008--I met the love of my life; we dated, got engaged, and then married . . . it was perhaps the most perfect year of my entire life. :)

I think I took less photos in all of 2009 than I did in many of the months of 2008.  Kinda makes me a little sad, and makes me want to resolve to take more photos in 2010.  Anywho, not analyzing anything right now, which I am OH so tempted to do.

Let me get right to the point . . . below you find a month by month look at our 2009 using only one photo per month.

January: We celebrate our first Chinese New Year together in Meinong

February: New Life Bilingual Church in Kaohsiung starts meeting

March: We marry again . . . well, ok, we celebrate our marriage covenant in Taiwan with our Taiwanese friends and family

April: I have my first birthday as a wife (aka, I turn 31)

May: Some of our friends marry . . . and Lawrance is the MC at their wedding banquet

June: We start our summer Sunday afternoon tradition of eating ice after church

July: We go on several dates during the summer . . . Thai food, the beach and more

August: We celebrate our first anniversary in Kenting

September: Sadly Wu Mama is diagnosed with liver cancer

October: Lawrance is a clown (well, maybe he always is one, but at least he LOOKED like one this time)

November: I start studying Chinese again (This is my awesome Chinese teacher)

December: Law's parents help us to decorate our tree . . . a Wu family first!

apricot chicken delight

The first half of this semester was hard.  Weird schedule, lots of new pressures and responsibilities, and a lack of energy.

Unfortunately lack of energy is a vicious cycle--no energy to cook good stuff = eating out; eating out = not always eating the best foods; not eating healthy = no energy. 

So, during the midterm week, when I wasn't grading tests or catching up on laundry.  I searched for some recipes to turn into the 30 meals project that Carrie, my RA in college (well, and my college roommate's sister-in-law) told me about on this post. (BTW, thanks Carrie!!)

My requirements were that the recipes:

• could be made in less than 20 min,
  
• needed to be low-carbish,
  
• needed to delight mine and my husband's taste buds, and
  
• could be made with things easily found in Taiwan.

Finding meals that meet all four requirements was no small task!

Although Lawrance is generally easy going and not too picky about food, finding things we both love to eat often has proved to be a challenge. 

So, my first recipe test was something I found at Cooking During Stolen Moments: Apricot Chicken.

It was SO easy and best of all packed full of flavor!!  

I kinda went a bit overboard using freshly cracked black pepper and might have used extra garlic--so our's was not only tangy, but spicy too--she does say to season to taste. :)

This is probably the least low-carb recipe I collected since it uses apricot jam, but it is definitely something I'll be making again before too long. 

Side-note to anyone in Taiwan wanting to give this a try: I used half of a jar of Carrefour brand apricot jam (french name on bottle) to cover 6 chicken breast quarters.

my two clowns

like grandfather,

 

like husband . . . or something like that. :)

I love my two clowns!! 

Besides sharing a similar costume idea, my two clowns both LOVE children and are also both great big kids at heart!!  Gotta love my clowns!!

crab crossing

Life on a tropical island is never boring!

Lawrance and I saw this really cool street sign . . . "crab crossing." 

And, Sandy saw this one for "beware of falling coconuts" that she posted on her blog a few days ago.

how we celebrated

To celebrate our first year of marriage, Lawrance and I went to Kenting for three days.

We had a great time just being together, relaxing, and being in a beautiful place!! 

As for "anniversary traditions," we've decided to read our vows to each other each year and to write and then read a card to each other each year.  We'd also like to make it a tradition to just get away for at least one day to be together alone.

This time, Lawrance choose for us to read our vows and cards to each other on the beach.  We got there a bit late (after sunset) so we used his cell phone as our flashlight to read to each other on the darkened  beach.  It was really sweet.

{we first took a tourism train--to kaohsiung--huge seats}

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{we had yummy chicken fajitas, just like we did at our wedding}

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{we rounded the tip of the island and got to the "other" side}

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{our room had a balcony with a view of the ocean}

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{sunset from our balcony}

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{we couldn't eat our wedding cake (since it's in mom's fridge) but we did get to eat oreo cheesecake}

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{natural gas coming up from the ground}

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{Law lit sparklers from the natural gas fires and wrote me this message "1-4-3: I Love You"}

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{Law got to go Go-karting for the first time}

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{Law picked out this really cool bed and breakfast for us to stay in called the "beach house"}

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{great view from our third floor room}

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{the white and blue is so fun!}

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{it's main drawback was that it had REALLY steep stairs}

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We did go to the beach twice . . . but those photos are on Law's cell phone.

And, even though we used 50 SPF, we both still got sunburned. :(

how do ghosts eat?

Sarah Beth, an MK in Peru, asked on my last post:

That's interesting. Who ends up eating the food? In Peru we have something very similar. They put tons of food on top of the graves of their family members and leave it for several hours. But when midnight comes, the family eats the food! I wonder about the logic... what is it like there??

Something similar happens here.  The food and drink offerings are made first before the paper money is burned.  In order to offer the ghosts (at ghost month), ancestors (during ancestor worship), and idols (at temples and Chinese New Year), incense sticks are stuck into the foods or food packaging.

After a set amount of time--it varies from family to family and holiday to holiday and probably other factors too--the offering table is taken down and the food brought inside. 

The family will then eat the food. Many college students have told me waiting for the tables to come down at Chinese New Year (after midnight) so that could eat the goodies was one of their favorite parts of the yearly holiday.

I have been told that the "spirit of the food" is eaten, they are after all feeding spirits.  Some have told me that because the spirit of the food has been eaten the food tastes bland and stale.  Others have told me that because the spirit of the food has been eaten the food tastes better, as if it has been blessed.  And, then others admit to the food not being that much different at all.

The offering tables are set up differently from area to area and family to family, just like every American family decorates their Christmas tree differently.  But there are also differences in setting up an offering table to idols, ancestors, or ghosts. 

At Ghost Month, often a basin of water and a hand towel can be found on or near the offering table so that their "honorable guests" can wash their hands before partaking of the meal being given to them. These two flickr photos (here and here) show ghost month tables with the typical basins with hand towel out front. 

Not to be confusing, but I don't have any Ghost Month photos easily accessible.  What I do have is photos I took last November outside of my school.  I noticed everyone was setting up tables with drinks as the main offering.  (I have no idea who or what was being worshiped.)  And, at many tables instead of the traditional little red wine cups, there were bottles of coke and tea boxes.

{seven traditional little cups with rice wine}

{seven cans of beer from a restaurant}

{seven lemon tea boxes from a resturant}

{seven bottles of coke}

{coffee boxes from a grocery store}

a day of rest and a thankful heart

Sunday, after worshiping the most high God and fellowshiping with our church family, Lawrance and I took a three hour nap.  I guess we were tired.  :)

When we woke up, Lawrance asked if he could invite me to the beach.  I said, "Yes!!  Let's go now, before the sunsets!!"

We got there and were actually surprised to see so many people there!  Last time we were there it was during the school year, and we were the only ones there. :) 

This beach is only about 8 minutes from our house . . . we should go there more often.  And it's cool because the sand is black.

So, here we are last spring and this summer . . . then just dating and now married 11 months . . .

God is kind! :) 

I am so thankful to my very generous AbBa Fu (Daddy God)  who has given me such a kind, considerate, patient husband who cherishes me, protects me, meets my needs, and invites me to go with him to the beach!! :)

honeymoon muffins

(aka Grandmother Smith's To-Die-For Carrot Muffins)

I'm not sure how many of my cousins were given a batch of these to eat on their honeymoons, but I know my sister and her groom got a batch, and so did we. 

That's how good they are . . . you will want to eat them on your honeymoon.  (Ok, so maybe the real reason you want to eat them on your honeymoon is because you are trying to save money broke after the wedding and they are easy to pack and carry.  BUT, being practical doesn't make them any less yummy).

So since I've not enjoyed these treats in nearly a year, I was really craving some.  So, I pulled out my grandmother's recipe and made a batch.  If you follow her recipe you are going to get a "yeild" of several dozens of muffins.  I mean come on . . . it calls for 9 eggs, 6 cups of carrots, and 3 cups of oil!!

At first I was trying to figure out how to half the recipe--but how do you put in 4.5 eggs?  Then I figured out she must have TIPPLED the recipe.  There was no way I was only going to make a mere 1/3 of a batch . . . I wanted extras to freeze for later. 

So, on Saturday I made this GREAT, BIG, HUGE batch of carrot muffins!  YUMMY!!!!

I also discovered that Grandmother must shred her carrots because I grated mine . . . . and there is a difference (in texture, not taste).  So, if you are wanting to "hide" the carrot aspect from children, I recommend shredding, not grating the carrots.  But, if you are wanting them to feel more "hearty" then grate them instead.

So, without further adieu . . . here is my grandmother's recipe for Honeymoon Muffins. :)

6 cups flour (I used 2 cups whole wheat, and 4 all purpose)
3 ¾ cups sugar
6 t soda
6 t cinnamon
1 ½ t salt
6 cups grated carrots
1 ½ cup raisins
1 ½ cups coconut
1 ½ cups pecans
9 eggs
3 cups oil
3 shredded apples (I left the skin on--this makes them SO moist)
6 t vanilla

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in carrots, raisins, coconut and pecans.

In separate bowl, combine eggs, oil, apples, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture. Stir only until combined. Spoon into lined or greased muffin tins.

Bake at 350°F for 15 – 18 minutes.

Like I mentioned before, these muffins freeze very well.  Either let them thaw on their own or pop them in the microwave oven for just a bit and eat hot.

I bet you can't eat just one!!

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Also, thanks for the several ideas about recipe storage.  They were very helpful!! :)

unfortunately and fortunately

I now like chocolate for more than one reason.  Lawrance came home with a new chocolate-colored camera last week.  

After we got the new camera, we, unfortunately and fortunately, learned that our older camera wasn't as broken as we thought.  (Unfortunately since we didn't "need" to buy a new camera, and fortunately because now we each have our own camera.)

At first we thought it was just the perpetually shaking shutter, which rendered the camera useless even with power.  And, then since "fully charged" batteries were not able to power up the camera for more than five seconds, we assumed that it was dead for sure.  

When we got the battery charger for the new camera, we noticed our older camera batteries fit inside, so we charged our old batteries in the new charger.  We discovered that the perpetual shaking of the shutter stopped once the batteries were charged with our new charger. 

So, it wasn't our camera that was broken.  And it wasn't our batteries that were bad.  So, it must have been our older battery charger, right?  But, the sad thing is . . . the charger wasn't broken either.  The charger was just dusty, so the connection was bad. 

So, I got a new camera all because we have lots of dust in Taiwan.

So . . . the moral of the story is if you think you have a bad camera or bad batteries, make sure the charger is clean before you reach your final verdict on the state of your camera. :)

Anywho, here are some of the photos we've taken with our new camera:

{our Sunday ritual of "ice"}

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{cutest bug zapper ever}

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{one of Law's fav snacks--dried tofu--kinda like "tofu jerky"}
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{where I teach English on Fridays--at a livestock research institute}
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{buying a train ticket}

about this time a year ago

. . . Lawrance asked me to be his wife.

Ahhh . . . what happy, happy memories!

God is KIND!!! :D

"Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!  What joy!"
(Psalm 126:3 NLT)

apartment tour: our living room

In my opinion, our living room is comfy.  We've not finished decorating it yet.  We have a few more pillows to add.  And, the things along the wall with the TV aren't permanent.

We are blessed by having a huge window in our living room.  And, it has a "window seat"/ledge.  Of course it is too scary to actually sit on since we live on the 7th floor and it is ALL WINDOW. :)  So, we keep wedding photos on it.

 If you were to sit on it and look out across our home, this is what you'd see.

We keep two baskets by the front door.  One for guest slippers and one for Gilby's toys (which he has too many of and needs to declutter).

In between the living room and dinning area is a "little hallway" to the bedroom.  Next to the front door in this little hallway is our shoe cabinet.  And. here it is open and closed.

Here is a close up of the things hanging on the walls in our living room in addition to our new wall hanging that is. 

And that's all for now.  We have a guest bedroom, a study, and a hall bathroom too, but they are still in need of a bit of "spring cleaning" that will hopefully take place this summer.  So, that would make it summer cleaning, but that just sounds so totally wrong!  Anywho, thanks for coming along this week and touring our home from afar!  :D

apartment tour: our master bathroom

Like I mentioned yesterday, I totally love our tiny tropical master bathroom.

All our monkey stuff came from my bridal shower in the States--from my aunts.  

When one of my aunts asked me about the back story of the monkeys my simple answer was "I took my kid brother to help me register. :)

I later double checked with Law about the monkeys and he LOVED them too.  

So . . . as a result, this room saw the largest transformation due to marriage. :)

It truly is tiny. :) (The photo's kinda blurry. oops.)

Some of the really cute monkey stuff. :)

When I visited Japan, every home I stayed in had a calendar hanging across from the toilet.    I have NO clue if it was just coincidence or if it is an actual Japanese cultural thing.

However, I kinda liked the idea. So, every time you hear nature's call you can review your monthly appointments. :)

Can you see why I love it?  Isn't it SO cute?? :) 

Tomorrow, the last day of our apartment tour, I'll show you around our living room.

apartment tour: our master bedroom

We've not hung anything on our bedroom walls yet . . . it is on my to do list . . . maybe this summer.

The doorway to our bedroom is kinda unique.  It opens right up into the bathroom and to the left is the bedroom.

My bedroom used to be light tan and blue.  In order to keep most of the decorations that I have (lamps, wall hangings, flowers) but make it a bit more masculine, we decided to juts change the bed linens.  When I was back in the States, I fall in love with this duvet cover that added a dark brown.  So, my best friend gave us the duvet cover as a wedding gift.

Our closets.  Unlike in America, they are not built in.  Here is a little confession . . . I take up two and a hallf, Lawrance only takes up half of one . . . poor guy.  However, he does get twice as much dresser drawer space--so maybe it's fair after all. Nah . . . it's probably not! :)

Here is totally boring photo . . . but this is what you can see from the bed.  It is our dresser and make up table.  Along with our laundry baskets.  I'm not sure where I got the idea from, but we sort our dirty laundry as we throw them into the right hamper--lights, darks, and towels/sheets.  (I don't like the baskets out in the open, but it is practical and there is no where else for them to go.)

And, that's it for our very simple master bedroom. :)  Tomorrow, I'll show you our tiny tropical master bathroom that I just LOVE! :)

apartment tour: our kitchen

Welcome to our tiny kitchen.  It is literally about 2-3 foot wide to about 7-8 foot long.  We can stand side by side, but passing each other to get back and forth is not easy.

It didn't take long for me to begin to despise what I once appreciated . . . kitchen counter space!!! 

At first I was SO happy with the counter top space.  Very quickly I began to complain again that they were too small.

If you are standing at the door way to the kitchen, this is what you will see:

Stepping past the new fridge, you'll see the sink with the dish dryer over it.  Of course if you want see exactly this view, you're going to have to step outside onto our porch. 

Turning around to the left, you'll see this on the right:

and this on the left.  It is our "pantry."  And, yes, it is all totally open--no pantries are needed when you shop fresh at the market daily (which I don't, so hence the need for a pantry).

At the end of the kitchen, if you turn around, you'll see this.

Right behind our sink are double glass doors leading to our laundry porch.
  

And if you come back to the kitchen doorway and look the other way, you'll see where we eat. That's our bedroom door in the background.

This photo taken from our bedroom doorway shows the kitchen/dinning room table and cabinet where we store all the dry baking goods and Lawrance's snacks as well as keep our rice cooker, little oven, and cookbooks.

There are some random facts about our kitchen here.   And, if there's anything else you wanna know, just ask. :)

Up tomorrow is a look at our master bedroom.  See you then!

apartment tour: from the front door

My mom and sister have both been asking for photos of our apartment.  So, I took a few.  And thought I'd share them this week.

Standing from the front door here is what you can see . . .

Looking right:

Looking a little less right:

Looking straight ahead:

Looking kinda left:

And, looking very left:

Coming up next . . . our kitchen.

And, here is what our apartment looks like empty; taken two years ago before moving in.

sometimes gilby thinks he's a cat

Since you haven't seen much of him recently, here's a picture of gilby, our silly, silly dog who sometimes sits on the top of the sofa.

Oh, and just for the record, I think Lawrance might love Mr. Gibs more than I do. :)

I also just found this silly photo of him sitting on the same spot on the same sofa . . . He's dressed for one of the Christmas parties we had at our house last year.  He's proudly sporting a Christmas shirt from Auntie Sarah and an elf costume from Nonny (his maternal grandmother). 

 

Ok, so maybe I'm the silly one. :)

guojong & meishiang's banquet

The wedding banquet started around 12:30 following the wedding ceremony at the church.

First, we signed the guest book and gave the people at the table our wedding gift (a red envelope with cash inside).  They immediately record the names on the red envelope and the amount of the gift.  In modern Taiwanese culture, the majority of the money given at the wedding goes towards paying for the banquet.

And the banquet room was really festive with balloons everywhere!

After the guests had found their tables and sat down, the bridal party and bride and groom entered the banquet hall.  The flower children came in after the groomsman and maid of honor, the only thing that indicates that they are there is that someone had tied helium balloons to their wrists.  (The man speaking the Chinese . . . that's my hubby, he was the MC of the banquet.)

Thanking all the guests for coming by toasting from the font stage.

Since I didn't get many photos of the food from our banquet, I made sure to get a photo of EVERY SINGLE dish taken at their wedding as well as some of the drinks.

There were around 25 tables.

Here's the view of our table.

After a few dishes . . .bride and groom enter again, this time with the bride in a new dress.

Games and tricks on brides and grooms is a HUGE part of most wedding banquets.  This very private couple didn't want to be embarrassed.  So, Lawrance and I came up with a game for the new couple to play.  He asked them questions such as "who fell in love first" and "who will hold the remote control to the TV."  Then they decided who and held up a photo of the one they thought was the answer.

Their "punishment" for not agreeing with each other was for MeiShiang to find (with her hands only, eyes closed) some black file clips that Lawrance had hid on GouJong--one for every question "wrong."

They also had the really sweet idea to "reward" their guests with a "lucky draw."  They asked their guests to leave words of blessings on little cards and then drew out 30 of the blessings to read aloud during the banquet.  Those whose blessings were read aloud were given homemade mango pudding as a reward.

They then went table to table toasting their guests ten at a time.

After the toasting, they disappeared for awhile and came back with the bride in dress number three and ready to give away the bride's bouquet.

They had a really unique way of giving away the bouquet.  They called all their single friends--male and female--up to the front by name. Then handed each one a red string.  One of the red strings was attached to the bouquet. The one with the lucky attached string got to keep the bouquet.  The rest went home with consolatory chopsticks.

 
After the banquet, they stood at the door and "song ke."  They passed out roses (the first time I'd seen that) and candy as they said goodbye and thanks for coming to their guests.  And of course took time to take photos with their guests too. :)

The happy bride waves "bye!!" :D

guojong and meishiang's wedding

This past weekend, Lawrance and I had the privilege to attend our first Taiwanese couple wedding as a married couple. (We attended a wedding in Taiwan earlier this year . . . but both the bride and groom were American.) 

It was a sheer joy to watch these two friends--both believers--commit to living life together forever.

The elder who helped them with their vows so totally STRESSED that this was a forever thing. He even made them take 10 seconds to reconsider their desire to marry and gave them a chance to back out guilt free if they wanted to.

Because the churches here are small and because the wedding party is usually just one best man and one bridesmaid (in white too), usually the groom comes down the center aisle before the bride.  So . . . here comes the groom . . .

and the bride too . . .

Lawrance was able to get the cute flower girl to smile for the camera.

They repeated their vows together at the same time both facing forward. I'm glad they got to say vows at all though . . . because many times Taiwanese weddings have no spoken vows.


He rolled her veil (a Taiwanese tradition) SO SLOWLY . . . it was obvious he was cherishing each moment.
SO SWEET!!!


The elder who led them in their vows, also had the privilege of stamping their (unofficial) marriage certificate.

They honored their parents by giving them bouquets of flowers near the end of the ceremony.

Then both sets of parents stood up, faced the wedding guests, and bowed in order to show their appreciation for the guests' attendance.

What followed next were several group photos with the bride and groom front and center. :)

And, finally, after much coaxing (from me and my hubby), we finally were allowed to get a photo of just the bride and groom.

And, then, after some major begging, we were able to get a photo of the newlyweds kissing--well . . . at least of him kissing her on the cheek.

Before we all headed off for the banquet, Lawrance and I were able to get a photo alone with our friends on their wedding day.

sticky idols

Idols are literally EVERYWHERE in Taiwan.

When I was at our local walmart/target-like store, I found these: 3M sticky idols. 

I was truly taken aback at first, but then I remembered that this is Taiwan, the island of a thousand gods.

Father, please continue to have mercy on the Taiwanese people giving them more time to respond to your grace.  Soften their hearts and open their eyes.  Set them free from the idol worship that binds them.

a surprise gift

There is a eighty year old man at our church who is a master calligrapher.  He has gifted several of members of our church with calligraphy. 

We were his latest recipients.  He gave us this print that is 1 Corinthians 13.   

He told us that he gave us this artwork because (1) he sits behind us in church and enjoys seeing us arm and arm and (2) I have good English (I wonder why?? *smile*).

We've been told that this print is worth as much or more than our new fridge!!  And it (the calligraphy, not the fridge) was just given to us folded in a brown envelope!  WOW!!! :)

Lawrance and I got it framed last week, and then Law hung it up in our living room this week.  Law enjoys doing calligraphy himself; and, he absolutely loves our new living room art work.

We are SO blessed!

lawrance cooks on fridays

We both work mostly in the afternoon and evening--somewhere between 3-9ish.  So, we usually have our mornings together, so our "big meal" is lunch time.  Monday to Thursday I do the cooking, but since I have class on Friday mornings, Lawrance has been cooking on Fridays recently.

When we married he could fry an egg and boil instant noodles. 

Law's mother is an excellent cook, and she prepares three meals a day every day.  They hardly ever ate out.  Moreover, she grows her own vegetables organically.  Very healthy, very frugal.  (Confession: this knowledge kinda scared me after I found out . .. I knew I'd never be able to live up to that.)

Anywho, one day he got the random idea to call her and ask how to make shrimp and fried eggs.  Then he started playing around with other dishes. 

Let's just say . . . I'm blessed. :)  I always look forward to lunch on Fridays.