Looking 4ward to Maui!

4 months from today I'll be running a marathon on Maui! I've signed up for the Maui Oceanfront Marathon on January 25, 2009! It's the first annual Maui Oceanfront Marathon and it just so happens to fall during our Chinese New Year break! The course is on the west coast of the island and is advertised as 42.195 KM (26.2 miles) of beautiful oceanfront and mountain vistas. The race begins in Wailea and ends in Lahaina.

I'm getting very excited and had tickles in my toes this morning as I did my riverfront morning run 4 training.

I dream of running and seeing humpback whales breaching and surfers surfing on my left. And have the Haleakala Volcano and the West Maui Mountains on my right.

Running 4ward! :)

B.O.

On my hike this morning . . .

Man: (in a very loud bellowing voice) Good morning!
Me: (a little taken back by the shock) Good morning.
Man: (still very loud and with distinct pronunciation) You have no body odour!
Me: (well ahead of him at this point and thinking “what?” I just turned around with a glance)
Man: Oh, I’m very sorry.

I kept hiking and wasn’t really sure what to make of that little interaction. I forgot about it until I shared it with Daniel on our walk to work. The hilarity of that exchange hit me with Daniel’s response. He said I have to blog about it. :)

Three sisters all sharing the road of marriage. One married for over a year, one dancing toward that point, and one with the aisle in sight. They share the journey of finding their life long travel companion on the island of Formosa. The beauty of God's design has captured them and enthralled them. They desire the heart of Queen Esther as they serve their husbands and their Lord. One red dress, a traditional Chinese qipao has bonded their path and draped the triplet of love stories. Each one different. Each unique. Each filled with their own twists and turns and arias of amore. Yet the qipao has traveled with allure on each, marked a day of shooting and remembrance, and the union of such loves.

:)

Linda, Beth and I all used the same wedding studio for our Taiwan wedding photos. We all ended up choosing the same Chinese traditional dress. Daniel put them together with his creative heart and a story of sisterhood is unveiled.

Turtle Typhoon

The Typhoon is still pounding our little island. The rain and wind began Friday night, continued right through Saturday and the rain is still pouring this Sunday evening. The typhoon is being called the turtle typhoon as it is moving very slowly. We should have gotten that from the five days it spent over the ocean before visiting us.

Needless to say it has been a most relaxing weekend for Daniel and I in our little rooftop. We have a roof made of steel siding on most of our apartment. We get the rain in stereo sound! It reminds me of rainstorms at home while camping with my family in our good old camper. It's hard to describe what a typhoon is like unless you've experienced one. But I like how Daniel described it, he said it's like being in a car wash. I think that is the perfect description. Our little rooftop apartment has been in this car wash all weekend.

Daniel loves the rain, so he's been out every day with his swimming trunks on our porch. I joined him this evening. I could even work on a few aqua fit moves as we have a mini pool on our porch. The water isn't draining that quickly . . . We also had fun waving at our neigbours who seemed to want to mimic our moves through their windows.

Typhoon tidbits:
- Skyping with Daniel's Mom and Uncle Ed! With the rain pouring we had family with us :) Fun chats with friends too! Lots of computer time this weekend.
- Cats get very cuddly during typhoons
- Jumping in puddles is fun at any age!
- I got very domestic as the rain poured. I made a casserole, soups, desserts, guacamole, and some chocolate chip cookies. I've still got more batter in the fridge!
- We so enjoy Andy Stanley's online sermon's from North Point Church in Atlanta.
- Watching the river rise and fall has been a weekend pastime. And there sure is an interesting amount of debris floating about.
I like what our friend Gabe wrote in response to a staff e-mail about the typhoon with a satellite picture:
"Pick on someone your own size!"
--Taiwan

Super Typhoon

The past few days have been filled with showers, downpours, looming clouds, sunshine and even rainbows as we've been anticipating a typhoon. The typhoon has now turned into a super typhoon and is hitting the Taiwan coast as I type.

seven

7 -Eleven now sells peanut butter m&ms :)
7th heaven is a state of great joy and satisfaction.
7 months of marriage!

Coca Cola with Plum

Daniel and I discovered a new refreshing drink at our favourite tea stand – The Healthy Zone. Usually we opt for the true to it's name healthy zone of fruit smoothies and yogurt smoothies. One of our favourite yogurt smoothies is the one for beautiful skin. I also enjoy their grapefruit green tea as it is made with real grapefruit pulp and makes for such refreshment in a cup.

I once noticed the workers (all dear hearts) opening a bottle of Coca Cola (like the good old fashion bottle) for another customer. They added it to another juice of some sort, but I wasn't really interested in a soda pop drink of sorts. Daniel does enjoy a Coke from time to time, so we asked about their special coke drink during our visit to the tea stand on Friday. Turns out it is a plum and cola mix. They add real dry plums and plum juice to the brown bubbly. The drink is served with lots of ice in the traditional 700 CC tea cups with the plastic seal on top. They are always fun to pop with the straw.

Daniel really enjoyed it and I took a sip and loved the plumy tang with a traditional flavour and really liked it too. After our rooftop cleaning spree on Saturday Daniel went our to get us each one. We enjoyed each sip zonked out on our couch, watching a DVD for the Beijing Olympic opening ceremonies, and beaming at our very clean rooftop abode.