Feeling Good, Resting Well

I can't describe how good it feels to rest... rest from running that is.

The bottom of my feet feels grateful.

Both my knees are happy.

My back is feeling gaiety.

My shoulders are so relaxed.

They are all very appreciative that we didn't have to run today.

Yes, it's good to rest!  And I'm not the only one who feels that way!




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Isaiah's Coach and Teammates

On FB, many people are following the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  And at Nanhu Senior High School, Isaiah's tennis coach and teammates followed suit.

Enjoy this short video.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10202840071227220



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Five Days of Running

This week I started 'training' of sort... WHY?  Especially when it has been so hot!!???

I (in my jet lagged state) signed myself up for a marathon in November!!!!

What was I thinking?  Oh yeah... I wasn't. I was still in a fog!

I even paid 30US$!!!  Now, I can't back out of this.

So, this week I wanted to see what my legs would do... well, I found out... They don't want to do anything!!!

I set a simple goal -- run an hour a day for six days. (That's 10km a day.)  Today was Day Five!! One more day tomorrow... but as of today, my left ankle hurts.  And my appetite has increased!

And if you read my previous blog, you already know that for one of the days, I had to go run on a treadmill. On that day, I went longer as I thought that running on a treadmill isn't always so accurate. So, instead of running for an hour, I went for 100 minutes, covering a little over 14kms.

After tomorrow, I get to rest. No Run on Sunday!

Which marathon did I sign up for?

It's the Star Light Marathon on November 22nd.  It's on a Saturday! The marathon starts at 3:30 in the afternoon.

My goals are --
To finish.
To run the whole distance.
To survive with a smile on my face.
(And yes, I'd like to finish by a set time, but I'm not sharing what I am aiming for!)

I have the whole month of September, October and November!

Don't know what my legs will let me do next week...


And I'm going to remember this when I hit the 39 kilometer marker --

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Tea Shops in Taiwan

For those who have never been to Taiwan, there are many great things about this place.

Unlike other countries, there are at least one 7/11 and other convenience stores on every block. And these stores are opened 24 hours and provide an assortment of services -- mail a package, pick up a package, buy concert tickets, withdraw money from an ATM, pay your utility bills-- just to name a few.

The other 'store' you can find on every block is the 'tea shops'. Oh, how I love these tea shops in the summer time.  The most well-known is the bubble milk tea. But there are so many other kinds of tea not to mention the fruit juices, freshly made. Unlike Jumba Juice in the States, you're not forking out 3US$. For a freshly made 700cc cup of juice, you'd pay about 1.50US$. Now, one blend that I'd like to recommend, which I haven't seen, is dragon fruit plus passion fruit.  I'd name it the passion dragon juice.  Oh... they can also add a bit of honey into the blend.  YUMMY. I wonder if I can ask them to make me one.

Here are some pictures I found of the different tea shops and the different drinks you can find on this island.  It's one of the best ways to beat the summer heat!






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My Kids Are Growing Up Too Fast

I know this to be true -- my kids are growing up too fast -- but today I was struck with that thought once again.

This happened because I realized that I won't be seeing my kids as much as I was this past school year.

Both kids were part time homeschooled. They had cram school only two nights a week.  We were able to hang out quite a bit.

BUT this school year... WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH...

Isaiah will be at Nanhu Senior High School -- full time.  He has one night a week of cram school. But he practices on the tennis team every night until 6:30 or 7p.m.  On Saturday morning, he also has to practice from 8:30 to 11:30a.m.  In the afternoon, he has cram school from 1:30 to 5p.m.  He also has cram school on Sunday morning.  On some weekends, he will have to travel with the tennis team for school tournaments.

Abby will still be part time homeschooled. Yippy! But because of the high school entrance exam, she now has cram school four nights a week from 6:00 to 9:30p.m.  She has her youth group on Saturday afternoon.  She joined a special school dance group so they have practice almost every week on Saturday or Sunday morning.

We will continue to have our Friday Family Night and church service on Sunday afternoon.

Yet, I can see how things are changing... If they are busy now, I can't imagine what it will be like when they start dating (that would be after they start college)!!!!

I am already learning how to operate LINE and WECHAT.  I think in the future, these are going to be two ways that I will be communicating with my sweet kids...

Let me turn the clock back just for a moment --

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Dreadmill

It was so hot today that I could not go out to run.  I would have melted.  HONESTLY... it was that hot.

So, I took Abby to the Neihu Sports Center. She went for a swim and I went for a run on the treadmill.

There is only one machine that lets you run continuously for 99 minutes.  The other machines are all set for 30 minutes.

The machine I wanted was free. Yippy!

So, I went on and started.

It gets pretty boring pretty fast.  But at least I was not outside under the hot sun.

I'm sure some people might have thought I was crazy. But what could I do?

I just let my legs go, go and go some more and I used the time to pray.  At the end, my legs felt good and if I had time, I would have kept on going.


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Beautifully Finished

In 8 days, the painters finished the old house -- ceiling, walls, balcony, outside stairway, and all the repairs.  I love the colors I chose. And the place looks so nice.  They replaced all the 'bad' cement and after I had scraped off all the moldy areas, they patched and painted over it.

I went over and inspected.

They did a fairly good job, cleaning up the place and putting all the furniture back.

All for a grand total of less than 2,000 US$.

I will update this post tomorrow by adding some pictures.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

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They Are Back!!!!!

Alan and Abby are back from the States...

Alan had a bit of a headache and by 7p.m. he could not keep his eyes opened.

Abby helped me put things away and went to bed at 10p.m.

I will be madly trying to get the house in order as four 23-kilo boxes of "goods" exploded in my living room.






Just in case you're wondering why all these pictures -- I wanted you to know what goods "exploded" out on my living room floor when I unpacked four boxes that Alan and Abby brought back.

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Guardians of the Galaxy

I haven't been to see a movie at a movie theater for quite a long time.  But I told Isaiah we'd go since we had planned to go back in June as part of his graduation celebration.

Tonight, we finally went to see Guardians of the Galaxy.

We went on line to see how people felt about the movie -- it got 8.9 out of 10.

We read a bit about the story line -- it sounded quite interesting.

We saw that it was rated PG 13.

So, I went this afternoon to buy the tickets.

The lady was so nice. She was very patient when I asked how I could get a discount. By using my Fubon Credit Card, I not only got a discount, but two free bags of popcorn and two free drinks.

The movie was exciting and fun and the music (loved all the songs!!) and the characters lured you in.

Yes, Isaiah and I walked out thinking -- they're going to make a sequel because we were left wondering, "Who is Peter Quill's father?"


My favorite character ...


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Summer 2014

The summer is coming to an end. Alan and Abby will be back by Sunday. Isaiah and I have been back since the 7th of August.

It was a very hectic summer, but we did do several fun things.

Here are some pictures.

Running in a 5K

Eating out with family and friends

Vsiting with Alan's mom and Aunt Ethel at their new place

Attending the Nike Tennis Camp for Isaiah

Visiting friends from Pepperdine

Watching the Chargers practice

Yes, it was a hectic summer... but it was also a lot of FUN!

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The Craziness Continues

I watched a short news report about what happened today for the "third selection process".

Before 9a.m., the line started under the hot sun.  People were given a number, like at a bank or a post office. By 10a.m., over 2,000 numbers were handed out.  Parents and students were then seated in the gym where both levels were filled to the brim.  The last report I heard was that before 12noon, there were already about 3,000 students who were trying to 'switch' school.  How many openings were there?  Only about 300 for Taipei City and a total of 540 for Taipei Area, including the outer suburbs.  Most of these students would be going back to their original school.

The reporter interviewed several parents. The comments most heard was -- what a mess this year... this is torture... we don't know what's going on...

By tomorrow, the schools will post who got in, who is on the waiting list and then I think the shuffling will stop.

But then I heard another piece of news that there might be yet another selection process -- what if one school had too many students leaving?  What about the private schools?

Isaiah has decided to stay put.  I feel as if I'm Moses' mother, pushing my sweet baby in a small ark into the Nile, wondering what will happen to him.  I think this quote from Beth Moore is so very appropriate!!


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