Hawaii (Nov 29 to Dec 03, 2010)

Thanks to grandpa and grandma, we had a great vacation in Hawaii!

Big Boy Bed

I was so scared by how close DD almost fell off the bed a couple of times that I kept postponing transitioning him to a big boy bed. We have finally got him a full size bed. Keeping my fingers crossed that he wouldn't fall off his new bed (so far so good, but I am praying!)

My Favorite Restaurant in Taiwan (Dec 10, 2009)

I may be biased, but I must say that Taiwan is the culinary capital of the World! 食養山房 is my favorite restaurant in Taiwan for its location (in the mountain), its deco, and of course the food. For $30 per person, we each get an individual ly prepared 8 course meal, which is different from the usual family style meals in Taiwan. Even though it is located deep in the mountain, it's usually fully booked. I had to make reservation one month ahead and could only get a table for Thursday lunch (with no view.)

(Very peaceful Zen-style deco)

Mandarin and Taiwanese family names

I am used to dealing with the complex and sometimes confusing familial relations and names in both Mandarins and Taiwanese in Taiwan, but it's interesting to read an American expat's attempt to organize them in one blog. I am not counting on S or DD to remember all of my relatives and how to call them. ^^

Mandarin and Taiwanese family names

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Weekend Trip to Taichung and Nanto

Last weekend we went to Taichung to visit families. We enjoyed hiking the mountain trails by the city to get lunch. It was a hole in the wall, but we loved the food. After lunch, we hiked back to a scenic spot to have coffee, cakes and enjoyed the view of the sunset.


That night, we drove to Cingjing/The Evergreen Grasslands to spend the night. Thank God, my cousin was driving, because I have no nerve to drive in the mountain roads! We stayed at the Florance Resort Villa. The balcony in our room has a breathtaking view of the mountain range. On Sunday morning, we spent a few hours in the Evergreen Grasslands. It was a steep hike to reach the farm, but DD had so much fun chasing the sheep and got his first horse riding experience. (My camera ran out of battery again, but thanks to a kind stranger who took pictures of DD on the horse and emailed them to me!)

More Family Visit

DD had a great time playing with cousin H. Can't believe that they were both babies when they last saw each other in 2007!!

Day Trip to Yi-Lan

My cousin took us to Yi-Lan for a Day trip. We visisted the Dongshan Park and National Center for Traditional Art, then ended the day with a feast at this restaurant that has no menu.


For a total of $90USD, we had a 9-dish dinner enough for 8 people (even though we only had 6 people!) We had no clue what the chef was going to cook for our dinner and was pleasantly surprised by every dish. My camera ran out of battery in the middle of the meal!


(Ready for our feast)


(First dish)

(Second dish)

(Third dish)

(Fourth dish- hot pot style)


(Fifth dish)

(Sixth dish)

(More dishes, but my camera ran out of battery!!)

Meeting Baby Chloe

I thought it's best to stay with my aunt again, because DD can attend the same school he did last time we were here and my aunt can also help me care for DD. I am working in Taiwan for the first three weeks when I am in Taiwan.

My brother, his wife and Baby C came to spend a few days with us in Tao Yuan before they went back to Thailand.

DD loves his cousin C so much!!

November Highlights

1. DD had a fun Halloween dressed up as "James." We didn't take him out trick or treating, but the school held a "Treat or Truck" activity.


2. On Nov 5, DD had another accident and he lost his "miracle" tooth this time!! My poor baby was all bruised, in tears and hurting so much. However, he bounced back in just a few days.


3. We didn't have any offer on our house, so we decided to take it off the market.

4. DD and I drove to the Bay Area to spend Thanksgiving with S and his cousins. They had been so kind to let S stay with them since August, so we were so happy to take them out for a nice dinner. We also looked at a couple of homes that we are interested in purchasing. S also got us tickets to "Train of Lights." DD had so much fun that we had to "drag" him away from the train after the ride was over!




4. It's been two years since I last visited family in Taiwan. After learning that my brother and his wife will bring their new born daughter back to Taiwan for a month till early December, I decided at the last minute to bring DD back to Taiwan. Traveling with DD by myself was no small feat, but we arrived back at Taiwan safely on Nov 29. DD actually slept 10 hours out of the 13-hour flight, even though Mommy didn't get much sleep with him taking up two seats!

5. On Nov 30, I underwent a complete physical exams for a mere $700USD! The extensive physical exams included a colonoscopy and gastroscopy.

October Newsletter

1. We had two open house with great feedback but no offers were made.

2. Both S and Mom's birthdays are in October, so we had fun with them in Vacaville and Napa!

3. S bought a putter for DD, so DD is now officially a golfer! I am sure father and son will have lots of fun on the course.

September Newsletter

1. September was another busy month. We finished cleaning up and declutter our house to put in on the markte. The staging ladies did an amazing job staging our house!

2. Since DD was having such a difficult time in his new school and intermediate class, the principal suggested that we put him into the beginner pre-K class. It worked!! After a couple of days, DD stopped resisting going to school and only had two potty accidents in September. I supposed he likes hanging out with smaller kids!

3. DD had fun attending J's B-Day party. He enjoyed the jumping house and the great cake, because mommy let him have the icing!

4. We also went to the Apple Hill to get great apple pies and enjoyed the beautiful weather. However, we didn't let DD pick any apple.

5. Since DD loves train, we took him to two train rides. We get free train rides as part of the Railroad museum membership.

6. S's family visited us in September. We had fun with the kids.