Full of Thanks

 

I'm full of  a lot of things- and thanks is certainly one of them. This has been an amazing year- one that has taken me on a crazy journey of  differing experiences and emotions. Bottom line? God is good. While we generally are at Will's parent's celebrating Christmas at Thanksgiving or with my family in NJ or FL, this year for obvious reasons we had Thanksgiving in Taiwan. We had a bunch of friends over, had the traditional turkey and the not-so-traditional sushi- all of which was fabulous. With everyone bringing their own specialty we had quite the eclectic meal...sausage on sticks, homemade rolls, homemade chocolates, glutinous balls with sweet red bean paste, cranberries, stuffing, mashed potatoes.....it was fabulous. Really, I can't say that word enough. FABULOUS. We've developed our own little family over here and to be downright mushy, it was heartwarming to spend a holiday like Thanksgiving with a group of people that you have grown to love. 'Tis what the season is about.

 

Go Take a Hike Big Ballerina

I sound like such a mom here, but have you seen Kung Foo Panda 2 when he says, "my old nemesis......stairs."- Well welcome to my Monday hike. Holy crap Taiwan has a lot of stairs. I say this the following day after the Excedrin has been popped and I pray a mysterious fire alarm doesn't go off in the building. In case you're not following...I can't move. seriously. You have no idea what I would do for a vat of icy hot right now. But let me back up. As we've detailed many a' time before, I am not known for my athletic prowess....and I love using that term. Athletic prowess......In fact, I'm pretty sure every blog post I write, my lack of athletic prowess comes up. But in an effort to further humiliate myself, why not share more childhood memories? I was that kid not chosen first in gym class, the girl who walked the mile, and the adolescent who rolled her eyes once it came time for the Presidential Fitness awards. I was however, a non-athlete with heart, as evidenced by my unsuccessful tryouts for the girls basketball team in 6th, 7th and 8th grade. Maybe it was my height?! The coach, clearly feeling pity upon my uncoordinated self, awarded me the consolation prize of being named team manager. Pushing the buzzer pacified my urge to run up and down the court while making lame attempts to achieve a lay up. The buzzer became my friend. Ok I think that's adequate story time in order to set the tone. Back to my un-athleticsm and the fact that I agreed to go on an all-day hike with my Tai Chi class. 

I equate myself as the big sore thumb amongst slender graceful fingers. The women in my Tai Chi class accept me unconditionally, are unquestionably patient and offer a warmth and camaraderie that I cannot adequately express with words. With only the slightest hesitation that was quickly overruled by excitement and a whiff of adventure, I agreed to go on this hike, organized by a local travel agency. We met up at 6:00 A.M. at the MRT station in order to travel together to Taipei Main Station; so we could then depart from the bus station.(*deep breath*) Oh GOD help me.  You guys do know that I'm not a morning person right?? I am however a sucker for adventure. (Which is what I kept repeating to myself over and over..adventure…adventure). After discussing with Will and my mom what to pack, I set out, armed with a backpack full of bandaids, socks, bug spray, a change of clothes and a baggie full of TP. I was ready to rock and roll. Did I mention there was a fine, spraying mist that was steadily getting heavier? There were approximately fifteen of us, and a tour guide who, while I didn't understand anything she said ( as I don't understand Mandarin), seemed to really know her stuff about the local flora. Our hike began at the Tsaoling Historic Trail, about an hour and a half from Taipei. It was here where we walked/hiked for approximately four hours. There were a lot of steps on this hike. I think I  may have alluded to this point earlier.  No really. A LOT…just for those of you who may have been wondering. 

Yes, this would be me.

The views? Completely worth the constricting muscles I was experiencing in my calves. The stairs led us up and down the mountainside allowing us the privilege of brownish green grasses blowing in the wind, a multitude of waterfalls and random butterflies the size of small birds. (Which if I'm being honest I initially thought were rabid bats). It was all simply beautiful. Along the way there was shelter coverage, pit-stops and in one instance  the option to even purchase some hot ginger tea....which I unfortunately have a taste aversion to since my unfortunate experience with a gingerbread muffin from Dunkin Donuts last year....*Bear with me while I stray for a minute....well, a minute more. I have to insert a brief side story.* It was at this point in the hike that I struck up a conversation with a woman from another group. We made some informal conversation about where we were from and she mentioned that she plays rugby here in Taiwan. She also mentioned that I looked like a "sports girl" on top of asking me if I was interested in playing rugby. I say this with pride despite the fact that the only portion of my body exposed to the elements were my calves. I also mention this despite the fact that my husband burst out laughing when I told him aforementioned side story..Anyway, being labeled un-athletic as we have solidly discussed earlier, I will cherish her comment forever. (That alone was worth going on this hike). Back to the story. After our hike  was complete, the journey took us to a walk- through of a local temple  and an amazing view of the Ancient Canyon and rock formations that resembled tofu.( I am not making that up. The sign actually said that). The day progressed as we then traveled to Dong Bei Jiao hai yu where we toured the crab museum (who knew they were so smart?) and then onward to Yilan Hot Springs. But back to the crabs for a moment. Did you know that crabs cut their own legs off as a matter of survival? Crazy town. I have to say that one of the perks of this stop was enjoying a cup (ok two cups) of complimentary coffee while sitting at a fish tank inspired table. The decor gave you an underwater vibe, replete with floating puffer fish above our heads. The more adventurous opted to walk closer to the waterfall- which from a distance looked amazing. ( I needed to leave a little for next time). Leaving the resident bunny, which was hopping around the playground, and the homemade makeshift bubble container outside for kids and adults alike to play with, we headed to Yilan to the hot-springs. Hot-springs!!!! I was both excited and terrified at the same time. First, I was not prepared (mentally) to submerge myself into raging hot water, though I have been wanting to do so since we've moved to Taiwan. The question as to should I or shouldn't I that was burning in my mind(no pun intended) answered itself when we walked into the local hot-spring  (jiao xi wenquan). A sign for a certified fish "spa" caught my eye. I was intrigued by fish eating my feet. For a mere 80 NT you could submerge your feet into the water and watch as the fish come and snack on your dead skin. As I did just that, I likened the feeling to pins and needles with both feet feeling as if they were asleep. It was difficult to stifle the giggling, being that these little guys were going to town on my tootsies. I was done when a not so small fish swam over and started eating more than his fair share. Adventure does have its limitations. After I left my new little friends behind, I gingerly walked over to the free hot springs foot soak. 

 

Fish Food

You can't beat free and it felt      AMAZING after a day of being on  my   feet. I have to be honest  though…not  knowing what to expect,  I really had no idea it was going to be  quite that hot. I know, I know, HOT springs. I get it. But this was seriously hot, like boiling. Sorry, just setting the scene. Being that there was a group of other women soaking as well who looked like they were lounging in lukewarm bathwater, I tried to look cool, like I belonged. I lasted about 7 minutes. Good enough. I'll have to gear myself up to full body submersion next time. I found out upon my arrival back to our meeting spot one hour later that there was an amazing bakery one street over. It was probably for the best that I was blissfully unaware of this factor, as I have a deep love for carbohydrates. The bus ride home was surprisingly swift and I had a ton of pictures and memories that were captured in what was, all in all ,an amazing day. I do believe that if my calves agree,  I would happily go on another hike/exploratory day if given the opportunity.…all in the spirit of adventure of course. 

uh..............(P.S. It was raining)

The "Bean Curd" rock formations.

Go Ahead. Shoot Me.

 

Makeup Prep

I was a bit nervous today.Why you ask? The Wyatt had his first modeling shoot. I vowed not to become one of those heinous Toddler and Tiara mom's...(which I've only seen once..I swear it) or the "Beauty Pageant" mom who pushes her kid into adult situations in a desperate attempt to reclaim a part of her youth that would have never happened anyway. I think I succeeded. I just wanted to make it through the shoot to be honest. I knew it could go one of two ways..either a monster would be created and he would LOVE it, or he would be bored within the first 15 minutes and we would be trapped in photo shoot hades. I'll give you a minute to guess how it turned out.

He liked it. A LOT.

Actually, he didn't want to leave, he offered to model more clothes, asking the other little boy, soooo you with me? Hahaha. The kid said no. Wyatt modeled his last outfit solo. What a boy. I was so proud.

               

Pretending to be Iron Man. Shocking.

A day in the life of the Big Ballerina

No, not me..but courtesy of the Blind Melon
album cover. Startling resemblance.

So, I feel that while now out of my writer's slump, I have so much swirling around in my head, I'm not sure where to even start.  A lot of what I have to say can be stuffed into other sections..but well it's my blog, and I can put it wherever I want, right? Yeah. Right. So on that note.... 

Can you all believe it's November? I mean Wow. Will has been here one year, and I'm a couple months shy of hitting that milestone. I am blown away- truly. I think I say that a lot. The longer I stay here the more I fall in love with the country....or maybe it's my new lifestyle...Hmm. Though I try not to think about it too much since I've got a little ways to go, I'm nervous about my re acclimation back to the US....but I guess that'll make for more blog fodder at a later date. For now, I'll try to focus on the here and now. With that being said, I miss you all, so let's catch up with one another shall we? I'm sure you've been biting your nails to the quick, sitting on pins and needles waiting.....waiting......holding your breath just WAITING to know what I've been doing with my life. I'm still doing Tai Chi a couple days a week, though my other workouts haven't been quite as hardcore....or existent really. I think I'm OK with that. My life is not the gym and I'm OK with that. Think I should emphasize that point one more time? I am however sadly aware of my size in comparison to the rest of the class....and the country for that matter. I find that this is when my self deprecating humor comes in handy. When speaking of size it kind of reminds me of Kindergarten. Roll with me here. Yes Kindergarten.Though I don't have the picture with me here as proof, you'll have to take me at my word.... I used to be a ballerina. Stop. It's not nice to laugh. I can hear you. So this picture I'm thinking of, has the whole class dressed in their soldier outfits, replete with hats and shiny red sequins....and there I am. Dead center towering above all the other kids and uh, sturdy looking. I never had what one would call a waif like figure. And for the record, my growth spurt ended in, like, ...kindergarten. So needless to say, all I think of is this image when I'm surrounded by small Asian women with all of their amazing flexible tai-chi-ing"ness" around me. It makes me feel a bit clunky and awkward. Despite these horrendous drawbacks, I really love the class and the women in the class are just lovely. In fact we are going for an all day hike on Monday. That, I'm sure will be an interesting blog post. Hmmm, what else?-I've joined a book club which meets once a month, and women's bible study once a week. I've of course got the room mom gig going on and I started volunteering every Monday at the Garden of Hope Foundation; an organization dedicated to working with women, children and youth who have experienced sexual assault/exploitation and domestic violence. They had an annual conference this past Monday and Tuesday with speakers in from all over the world who were sharing innovative practices as to how they empower women/children/adolescents within shelters. I had the privilege to take part and assist in the preparation process of the conference and it was just fantastic. What else? If it works with picking up Wyatt, I participate in activities with the Community Center, go out for coffee breaks with friends and maintain Wyatt's social schedule of 2-3 "play-dates" a week, cooking, swimming, hip-hop and upcoming soccer?! How do you mom's with more than one do it?? Crazy town.But can you see why I have such a good time here? There's no shortage of stuff to do..fo sho. Mo to come. 

Martha and the White Snake

Bowling

treat containers

KA sing-a-long

Uh..ball toss.

Being called Martha Stewart and a wacko simultaneously always makes for an ego booster. Now if I were to do some soul searching, I'd have to admit that one.... or both of these comments was deserved. 
Welcome to the plight of the room mother. I jest not. You do to little, mothers wonder where their monetary donation has gone, fourteen 4 year olds' revolt, are bored and verbally assault you with ruthlessly honest comments and the teacher just shrugs his shoulders with a resigned sigh, unsurprised because the bar for room mothers is set just that low.* Deep Breath* OR, you have me. A terrifying blend of both Clawson and DeSchryver- a drive that won't quit, an unsurpassable work ethic, over achiever and an innate desire to be the very best, to "be" the bar that no other room mother will be able to live up to. I know. I can't stand me either, but can we say mission accomplished? I am officially the whack job room mom who clearly has waaaaaay too much free time. I'm not saying any of this for a pat on the shoulder or an ego stroke.... I was actually starting to embarrass myself. That might have occurred when I forgot I hadn't put my white duct taped, googly eyed juice boxes out. 

The juice boxes

So here's the thing, I actually had no idea what I was going to do, until I saw a post on Facebook about this site called pinterest. I was cooked from there, because they have simple, easy, ADORABLE ideas, and as they say in project runway, I have an editing problem. From the homemade flying bats, to the chocolate pretzel spiderwebs, to the homemade frosting, cookie decorating, coconut bowling, toddler sized ball toss and witch pitch game, ......it was clear that I may have gone slightly overboard. But you know what? Who cares? Other than the fact that it was the teacher who called me a wacko, he also admitted that it was a great party. The moms had fun, the kids were riding a fabulous sugar high as they actually played the games and the bar was set just a little higher. Yeah, I will attempt to wipe the self satisfied grin off my face... In a minute.Well, after this exhausting day, you think I'd just phone in my night early? I think not. Enter William Cooper, husband extraordinaire with a planned date night of a Whitesnake concert and dinner. (*Side Note* We LOVE that we have found a babysitter). If you hadn't noted that that was implied, I want to spell it out. You have NO idea. Anyways, we were having issues ordering the tickets online, so we took a chance and bought at the door. However, first we had to figure out where we were going. Will, being a directional guru of sorts had a general idea, but it took my powers of observation ( i.e. Couple with tight leather and stone washed pants on)...and following aforementioned couple on a hunch that we were most likely going to the same place. Bingo. 
The line for tickets was, uh, small. Like 4 people in front of us.... So tickets were not an issue. We even got bumped further up towards the front with our cheap tickets. Apparently their promoter was a bit off with this trip to Asia. Their loss. The crowd was good, and the band was particularly awesome despite David Coverdale's affinity for his mic stand. Pure Awesomeness  ensued and I have the t-shirt  to prove it. Nothing spices up a marriage like a rock concert..... Oh. Mr. Big AND Richard Marx are coming soon too. Splendid. 

In a Rut....Hoping to emerge soon.......

Feeling as though a lot of my creative energy is going to other places and I've got nothing left when I try to write. I'm trying to pry myself out. I'll emerge soon. Promise.

Bad Case of Déjà vu

We had a great day-the beginning of a long, glorious, Moon Festival weekend. With a superfluous amount of family time on our hands we decided to check out the local sites. A short MRT ride away stands Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall which is flanked by the National Theater and National Concert Hall. Being that Wyatt fell asleep on the MRT ride, Will climbed the Memorial steps solo, though took a fantastic Lincoln-esque (Chiang Kai-Shek) pic from the top. Wyatt woke up, was pacified by some M&M's and ran through the fountain. All was well with the world, only getting better with a yummy meal at a burger/salad place called Forkers and  a sweet treat at Coldstone to wrap it all up. Could it get any better? I mean really!?
Oh, and the answer is no, no it really couldn't.

Why? Well, upon our return back to the SOGO where our bikes were parked and LOCKED up, Will's wasn't there. We looked. We searched. Are we stupid? Do we not see it? At this point Wyatt is becoming frantic (being as his new cup holder had just been installed hours earlier), I'm getting pissed and Will is completely calm. Too calm. The bike had been stolen. Three down. Unbelievable. I have a string of other things I would like to insert at this point, but again, I make it a point to make this blog as child friendly as possible. We go inside to the smashingly dressed information desk girls (I've been trying to nonchalantly take a picture of them since we've gotten here....still trying) and then work our way over to the police station, as is the protocol. *Sigh* Will is telling me to watch myself, as Wyatt is observing every itty bitty reaction of the both of us since the incident began. I mean, he's been through this before and for some reason, I feel as if he's watching me closer this time. Is this a test??????
Oh, and the answer to that one is Yes. As I'm learning, life with a child is always a test. Have I mentioned I'm not a quick learner? Anyway, we enter the police station, attempt a feeble explanation that there was a theft and wait for someone who can understand us. This occurs a bit later and we traipse back over to SOGO where the "incident" occurred. After some expert miming we walk back to the police station. Our officer is in plain clothes and I see Wyatt trying to run up beside him with 'The Wyatt' swagger. Here we go......Will and I can both see that Wyatt is trying to check out the guy's belt for a holster with a weapon of any kind. He ends up disappointed and instead begins telling the guy about his stolen cup holder. As I'm trying to reign my anger in about the theft and Will is apparently trying to not let any of his out; we are both trying to use this as another teaching moment. I am, however, struggling. Wyatt is discussing the specifics of what superhero he can become in order to go into this person's garage and get his bike back. I am trying to tell him that we don't take matters into our own hands, that this is why we have gotten law enforcement involved. We cannot become vigilantes!!!! The timing was also perfect as we have been discussing God's Rules (10 commandments) within our devotionals this past week. I asked Wyatt what one of the rules were. He stated Don't Steal. Yuppers. Will asked for a second one and Wyatt said, Don't Kill. I swear, it's as if this kid is in my head.
We get to the police station and after another long wait, the officers say, what do you want us to do..what do you want to happen? Not that I blame them, because Will and I both know there is nothing they can do. HOWEVER, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs; It just isn't right!!!! #$*%&! It needs to be reported because people can't steal other people's things and get away with it dammit! (That felt better. My apologies kiddies). The officers really did try though. We even got to see the tape of the guy jacking our bike. Who are we looking for? Asian male, early twenties medium to average build. Uh, sure. The video that we watched no less than 5 times incited me to a slow boiling rage. This guy, who's face was unfortunately blurred, walked over with such confidence and unlocked Will's bike with a "bump"(is that the right lingo?) key. Then rode away. Jerk.
SO......I'm a work in progress and thus far Wyatt has not armored up...despite his grandiose plans to "sneak out" with Will in the middle of the night to uh, check things out. Fortunately for all of Taiwan he failed to set his alarm.