Nice Cold Weather

I like cold weather. So, with the recent temperature drop, I feel as if it's a special present from God.

I went out to GuanDu to pick up the bike that Isaiah left at the MRT Station and rode the bike back. It wasn't raining like yesterday. But the wind was blowing. And I was peddling against the wind the whole way. Still it was only 18 kilometers and a very enjoyable bike ride. I was on the bike trail and there were lots of birds flying about. I didn't feel as if I was in Taipei. I should ride the bike more often.

I got back by 2pm and had turkey curry vegetable soup for lunch! A perfect meal after a bike ride in the cold weather.

Then it was time to clean the house.  A load of laundry, things to put away, reorganizing an area... At least I don't have to cook as we still have plenty of leftovers!

Seek Him First!

Sunday Ride

Isaiah signed up for a beach clean up activity which involved riding a bike. So, instead of renting a bike, he decided to ride one of our own. But not wanting to miss meeting up with the rest of the people, he asked me to ride with him.

So, we took off at 7:30 and headed out toward GuangDu. It was drizzling and we thought the event might be cancelled. But it wasn't cancelled, just changed.

When we got there, they cancelled the riding the bike part and were busy trying to get busses together to take the kids to the site. Isaiah had his bike and the organizers helped secure it somewhere.

I, on the other hand, took off on the ride home.

The drizzle got a bit stronger, but I enjoyed riding in the rain.

I got home completely soaked.

After a nice cup of hot tea and a hot shower, it was almost time to head off to church.

Isaiah took the MRT back and Abby also called and said she was on her way home.

By 5p.m. both kids were at church.

Seek Him First!

What A Day! What A Party!

Today started with sending Abby off as she went on an overnight service project to Ilan.

Isaiah slept in as he didn't have to go to tennis practice. He had to represent Nanhu Senior High School for the national speech contest. He did not place in the top 16. A bit disappointing. Alan went with him as I had to get ready for the Annual White Elephant Party.

I made turkey veggie soup, sloppy joes and brownies.

I scrambled to get everything made and loaded in the car. I had to drive very slowly to make sure nothing spilled.

I decorated the place and had prepared extra 'elephants'.

We had about 30 people and everything was just perfect.

Plenty of good food, good fellowship... and good white elephants.

This year -- Abby got a scarf and hat set.  Isaiah got a transformer helmet. Alan got a set of Aztecs Hot Sauce. And I got this set of HTC computer plugs (ha, ha, ha... wish it was a HTC cell phone!)

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Another Errand-filled Date

The temperature really dropped today... but not low enough for students at Nanhu Senior High School to wear scarves or gloves to school. It was only 15degrees.

Alan and I met up with friends who just bought a small suite. It was definitely small, but very cozy.

We then had lunch around the area before doing errands -- going to the post office, paying a bill, buying and ordering things at Costco, making brownies at home, finding table cloths for the Prison Ministry... All in all, it was a very productive time.

I didn't go for a run as there were too many things to get done.

I picked up the kids and we had dinner at home.

Family time this evening -- Abby was packing for her overnight service project. Isaiah was practicing his speech.  I was cleaning up around the house, including doing another load of laundry.

We did spend time to share and give thanks before watching another great episode of Person of Interest. That's the newest show that we all enjoy.

Seek Him First!

PTA Meeting

Yes, today was another PTA meeting. What was the topic for today?

School dress code! REALLY!

Are students allowed to wear scarves, hats and gloves to school? Only if the temperature goes below 13 degrees. I am not kidding. Today's temperature was 17 degrees. So, students are not to wear scarves, hats and gloves when entering the school.

Are students allowed to have t-shirts showing below their school uniform? NO!

Are students allowed to dye or perm their hair? YES!

Are students allowed... there were 8 points that were thoroughly discussed!

The meeting was boring, but I made a list of things to do while I was on campus.

I visited the music teacher. That was great.

I visited the coach. That was 'interesting'.

I visited the Academic Affairs Office. That was fruitful.

And I visited with one of the parents. That was spirit-led.

And at 3:30, I ran home. It was a nice run in the river park. Nanhu Senior High School is about 200 meters from the entrance to the park I go to when I go for a run. Nanhu is at the 0.5 kilometer marker and I go to 9.5 marker. So, to get to where I parked my scooter, it was just about 10kilometers. Perfect!

I had my last Thursday evening tutoring session for this year as I won't see the boy until January 7th of 2016! I can't believe it!

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Booked For May

Back in October, I started looking at plane tickets for May of 2016. At that time, the direct flight was about NT$25,000, but no frequent flyer miles.  For 27,000NT$, I'd get 50% of the miles. So, we hesitated and didn't buy the ticket.

Today, I looked again. For the same flight, to get 50% miles, the ticket went up to 32,000NT$. So, I spent the morning looking at other options.

I finally booked with Asiana via EZTravel, a Taiwan-based travel internet agency.  It's not a direct flight as I will have a 3-5 hour layover in Seoul. But it will give me 70% of frequent flyer miles and it cost only NT$20, 484! That's a great deal.

I leave on May 30th and return on June 14th. It's only 14 days but I get to be in the States for Daddy George's 98th birthday.

I scootered over to one of their offices right in Neihu and paid for the ticket! I had to do that by 4pm in order to have the price guaranteed. And I even got my seat assignment!

I leave in two weeks for two weeks in the States. And I've already purchased my ticket for 2016! I think before May of 2016 I'll be buying my December 2016 ticket!

Seek Him First!

Dropping Things Off, Packing Things Up

My living room has been like a storage room for this past month.  It was time to start getting things sorted. So, that's exactly what I did. Boxes and bags of things -- loaded up in my car and dropped off at two different places. It felt so nice to see a bit more of our living room floor.

Then I took out my carry on and one big suitcase and proceeded to pack. I was hoping that one suitcase would be enough. I am a strong believer of packing light, packing right. So, everything I need must fit into my carry on. I plan to do that for this trip in December. But, I carry a lot of things back for my mom and sister -- packages of coffee and milk tea and snacks. I packed and weighed the big suitcase. It was already 23 kilos. Oh no. I will have to pack another box, hopefully a small one.

While I packed and sorted, I prayed for my kids as they were at school, taking another set of 'big exams'.

I picked up Abby and went for a run. I'm working on running faster, trying to see how fast I can finish 10K. Today was my fastest -- 51 minutes. And my legs felt 'fresh' when I got home. Of course, the weather was super nice, so that really helped.

Seek Him First!