it's been awhile

About seven months ago, our blog was hacked.  It was the middle of the semester, and I didn't have the time to figure it out and restore everything, so I just let it go.  And, even though facebook allows me to keep up with friends and family, on occasion I still missed blogging .

So, I decided to relocate our blog once again--away from a platform that requires constant attention to keep hackers at bay and free.  Hopefully, this will be it's final final home.  I'm not sure how frequently we'll blog, but I do imagine it will be somewhere between less than once a day and more than once every six months. :D

I had all the posts and comments up to 2009 backed up, but I had to copy and paste all the posts from 2010 from my google reader's stored memory of the old blog, which means we lost all comments for 2010.

And, while all the posts have migrated over to this new blog's URL, I've not messed with pages or the sidebars yet.  That will come in due time.

Ob-la-di ob-la-da

Life goes on! Brah! La! La! How life goes on!!


This blog probably needs some virtual dusting since it’s been so long since we’ve blogged.

April and May were busy for us.  I can’t remember all that happened, but I do know we went to three different weddings–two of them lasting what seemed like all day.  I started teaching a new class off campus that eats up my one free weekday for grading meaning my schedule got totally twisted around and my free time disappeared.  We also were privileged to watch a good friend baptize her high school classmate in the ocean.

Several people have mentioned that having a baby will solve our lack of blogging “issue.”  And, boy are they right!!  We would love to have a baby and I’d enjoy blogging all about it, but we are struggling with infertility.  And, that is another reason why blogging has taken a backseat.  It’s something we’re working through right now, and I’m not ready to write openly to the world about it yet.    Maybe one day  . . .

And, kinda like when Lawrance and I were dating, when I couldn’t blog about it yet, it made me not want to blog about anything.  I’m an all or nothing kinda girl–it’s something I’m workin’ on.  If I don’t blog about one of the main things that occupies my mind, I feel like I’m lying.  So, it makes difficult to blog about anything.

One other thing we’ve been working on recently is cleaning out our home and getting our guest room ready because we have company coming.  My mom is coming!!  She arrives tomorrow night Taiwan time.  This will be her first time in Taiwan.  I’m so excited.

So, we have two weeks of school left, and then I have a month basically off and get to show my mom all around Taiwan.  Wuhoo!!

getting back into the groove

I don’t like to blog about blogging, and I like blogging about not blogging even less.  However, I just need to work through why I’ve not been blogging recently so that maybe I can start back again.

Here are some of the issues I’m trying to work around:

This blog is no longer just between me and the “great unknown”Before, my family and friends back in America did read my blog, but family and friends here in Taiwan that I work and live among did not.  I now have to be more careful about blogging about things I don’t necessarily want people I interact with on a daily basis to know–ya know, like the intimate struggles of our lives. ;)  There is something about anonymity that allows us to disclose private things–and there are advantages and disadvantages to that.

This blog is no longer just about me and my lifeEven if it was still Following an Unknown Path and “my blog” . . . the things I deal with no are no longer affect only me.  I have to consider what my husband feels comfortable with in letting the world know about our lives.

Our readership is very diverse
It is very hard to categorize the people (I think) read our blog.  And, like I teach my students, we write to be read, so as writers we must always think about our readers.   When our (presumed) readership is SO diverse it is hard for me to focus on what I should write about.

Unsure focus of our blog now
Actually, I was kinda hoping switching to wuhoo! would help with this.  I had a very clear focus in mind for Following an Unknown Path–it was a blog about a single woman living in Taiwan struggling with her singleness and documenting what life was like in a strange land while depending on God and his kindness.  Now?  . . . well, I’m not sure.  Part of the problem is it really could be so many things.

This land is no longer strange
That’s a good thing for me.  But, it makes it hard for me to think about what might be interesting to people wanting to learn about life here in Taiwan.

There are SO many other blogs out there
What can I possibly have to add to the wealth of info and mass of words that is already out there on the web?

Facebook kinda fills the need for why I originally started blogging
Facebook allows me to quickly and efficiently keep friends and family updated about what’s happening here.

Any words of wisdom?  Any thoughts, suggestions, or encouragement you’d like to share?

(Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.)

the other blog owner

Hi, this is Lawrance Wu, the other owner of this blog. I wanna say hi to every one here. Sorry for being so late to say hello.

Well….my sweet wife, Amanda is going to America. I am a little bit sad (well….sad a lot in fact), but I am also happy that she can have time with her family, enjoy her favorite Mexican food…etc.

OK….I wanna say…………..Amanda, I LOVE YOU and I’LL MISS YOU here………..

welcome to our new blog!!

Lawrance and I are excited about our new blog . . . well, at least I am.  I’m sure he wishes I’d take care of the ever growing mound of laundry rather than mess with plugins and widgets.  :)

I think that I have nearly all our boxes unpacked at our new home here on the world wide web. :)

There are still a few things I need to do after I’ve finished grading finals and tackled that mound of laundry:

1. delete some of the imported posts
2. clean up some of the important imported posts that came over with funky formatting
3. on important posts fix the links that point to the old typepad blog
4. create our about pages
5. clean up the categories
6. bring over the rest of our engagement/wedding blog stuff before our typepad account closes

But, most of the pixels have settled, and we are ready to start blogging from our new home.

Thanks for joining us!!  And please remember to update your links and grab the new feed!

a new year, a new blog

Lawrance and I have started a new blog called "Wuhoo!"  Lawrance picked out the name, and I love it because it includes our last name as well as incorporates a feeling of joy.

Before my year-long contract finishes with Typepad in mid-January, I thought I'd move all 920 blogs and 2745  comments to our new blog. I know that means I lose lots in the realm of being connected and seo-whathaveyous, but since that's not so important to us, that's ok . . . and, currently, all internal links are broken because they will soon point to a soon to be missing blog.  So, some maintenance and tweaking is still needed.


I love the concept behind following an unknown path, and I've loved having this little corner of the web to myself, but it's time for a change.  So . . . we're making a change.


The wuhoo! feed is new, so if you'd like to continue getting updates from us in your feed reader, you will need to visit us at wuhoo! and grab the new feed.  We would also appreciate you updating any links to us you may have on your blog/site.

And, of course, even though we aren't quite settled in yet and even though the pixels are still flying due to us still being the process of "setting up house," we'd love to have you come over, take a look around, and say hi at our new "wu family blog"--Wuhoo!! 

time for a change

I'm attempting to get back into the swing of blogging again. 

First, I wanna ask for Ashley and Kristy's forgiveness in never responding to the awards they both gave me last month.  Thank you for thinking of me and honoring in me that way.  I'm sorry I didn't even take the time to say thanks.

Second, is something I'm excited about . . . and that is that one of the things I've struggled with the most in blogging is responding to comments on the blog.  Typepad emailed me the comments, and I read them in gmail.  If there is a question or I have time to respond, I just emailed that person.  BUT, now Typepad allows me to reply to comments on the blog via email.  Awesome!  So, I'm excited that there is now a VERY SIMPLE way for me to respond to my blog's comments on the blog.  YAY!!

And, last but not least, I changed the look of my blog.  It's my third year blogging, and my third blog design overall.  Maybe it will be a bloggy tradition for me, change the skin and sidebars once a year, kinda like a birthday gift to the blog. 

There are a ton more things I'd love to do to the blog design, but for now, this is what I can accomplish with the limited time I have.  I am struggling to learn to let go of my perfectionism which either monoplolizes my time or paralyzes me into nonaction.  I think planning two weddings in 60-90 days each as well as being married is teaching me to live and let live a little more than I was doing before. 

This is my first non-pink look.  And, I like the simplicity of it, and I love that it is purple. 

Anywho, thank you to those of you who stuck with the blog even with my recent sporadic posting.  And, hello to all the newbies who recently commented and let me know you had surfed by.  I'm excited about getting back into blogging and look forward to some more interaction with my bloggy friends.  :)

Just for kicks, these are my two most recent blog looks (well, kinda).

 

some posts to check out

Since I'm in the middle of enjoying family and getting ready for marriage and planning a wedding, writing about life in Taiwan is not on the forefront of my mind.  But, some bloggers I enjoy reading are still posting some great stuff . . and not just about Taiwan either. 

A new addition to my blogs to watch list is stevewebel.com.  Recently he's been posting about "third culture kids." 

What is a TCK?
You might be a TCK if . . .
Would this stress you out?
TIME Article on TCKs

Guy Muse has an excellent quote about what is ministry at Ministry is . . . .

The Desiring God Blog has been doing an excellent on going series on "Day to Day Observations in Asia" written by a 'Cross-cultural gospel spreader" (what a great term!).  So far the series includes:

Do You Believe in Djinn?
Praying For and Burying the Dead
Faithfulness and Fruitlessness
The Traffic Jam

Of course if you are interested in what life is like for places in the world where cell phones are not the norm check out this really cool video on Mobile Phones in Uganda.  Mobile as in big yellow phone travels around village by bike. :)

And, the Taiwan Prattler posted about idols in Taiwan recently: are they Cute? Solemn? Stately?.

Another site/blog I love to keep my eye on is the Missionary Blog Watch.  The author is always keeping us up to date with great things going in the "missionary blog world."  Recently he's featured Blogs You've Never Read.

blogging about the wedding

I've decided to blog about my wedding here on "my blog" . . . and move my few wedding blog posts over here and keep the wedding blog site purely a site with pages rather than a site with a blog. 

That way I am more likely to blog about it.  :)

So, for the next week, the things that I blogged about the first week of June on our "wedding blog" will post here in the exact same way I posted them at that time--except I will add an "originally posted on" line at the end.

I decided to do this not just to make it easier on me, but also because several people have commented or encouraged me to blog about our wedding planning process.  So, here I am . . . coming back to blogging as best as can at this time in my life. :)

the faces of persecution

A Believer dies for their faith in Christ every 3 minutes according to Voice of the Maryts.
{RSS Readers: Click over to see the embedded video.}

Join me today in praying for our brothers and sisters around the world.

a random meme

A month ago (I'm just a little behind), I was tagged by both Deborah and Lindsey--one loves missions and used to be an MK teacher and the other is a new-to-the-field missionary in the Ukraine! 

This meme is to share 7 random facts about myself to my bloggy friends.  Well, I feel like I've shared so many random things about my life in the last two and a half years there is little left to disclose to the public.  So, here are 7 random facts about me, that I've shared before but perhaps you didn't catch or don't remember.

1. Even though I now call Taiwan home and love living here very much, when I first came to Taiwan in 1997, I didn't really like it very much due to some intense culture shock.

2. I love green tea flavored stuff (for the most part)!!  I've even had the world's best green tea ice cream in the world's tallest building.

3. I am incredibly logical--sometimes this annoys the people who love me most especially since I also tend to be very stubborn firm in my beliefs.

4. I am a self-confessed bibliophile--not just a reader, a book-lover.

5. I've never had a "first kiss" (or a second one for that matter) . . . well, at least not yet.

6. If I'm going to enjoy an Oreo, I prefer it frozen and then dipped in milk. (I started keeping Oreos in the freezer as a way to keep the ants away, and now there is no turning back.  They are best frozen, I promise.)

7. I love oatmeal. It makes me happy. I could eat it for any meal of the day or for breakfast every day of the week for months at a time.  But I don't like it plain--I like it with cinnamon and either with raisins or peanut butter . . . or baked!

Just in case these 7 were too normal or things you already knew and remembered about me . . . here are 8 more random things about me and 8 random facts about my kitchen.

I'm tagging: Sandy, Cahleen, Char, Jen, Michelle, Tabetha, and Sarah
But, of course yall are under no obligation to post if you don't wanna. :)

Here are the "rules" for this meme:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

life is fragile

Would you please join me in praying for Kristy, a newlywed and dear bloggy friend, who lost her new husband this weekend in a tragic boating accident?

my blog's chinese name

Awhile back, when I was changing the design of my blog, I translated the title into Chinese.  I never incorporated it into the blog design, but thought I'd post it here anyway just 'cuz.

Of course it means "following an unknown path," but if we translated it literally it would come out more like this: "taking steps on an unknown pathway." 

If you wanted a more word-by-word translation, it would come out more like this: "Walking Unknown Road/Way/Path On"

And, if you want a character-by-character definition it would come out more like this: "Step Walk (indicates current action--hence "ing") Not Know (particle for making adjectives) Course/Way Road On."

And, if you want it in pinyin, it would be: "Bu Xing Zai Wei Zhi Dou Lu Shang."

And, just for fun, here it is in some different fonts.  The font I used above is my favorite Chinese font.  I like it best because it's fun, but I also like it because it comes with a matching fun English font and they go well together.

Isn't Chinese fun?

Oh, and if you happen to be looking for some fun, free Chinese/Asian fonts (like the one in my blog header) look here.  Kudasai is my favorite, but I also like Japan and Chowfun.

a pictorial year in the life of amanda

Like I've done for the past two years (2005, 2006), I am summing up my entire 2007 in only 12 photos (one for each month).

I took less than half as many pictures this year as I did last year.  This year I only took a little over 4,000 . . . .it's kinda hard to beat 9000 in one year. :)  Nonetheless, it was still not easy to choose only one pic per month, but it is a fun way to showcase the various things that took place this past year.

January: Telling People about Jesus

February: Go to Thailand

March: I Play My Erhu in the Park

April: I Learn to Make Spring Rolls

May: A Fantabulous Weekend Getaway to Neighboring Island--PengHu (which I never blogged about but always intended too)

June: Students Graduate

July: My Cousins Come to Taiwan!!

August: I move to Tainan

September: My First MIRL--I get to Meet Fellow Taiwan Blogger in Person

October: Yuka, One of My Japanese Friends, Comes to Taiwan!!

November: New School, New Students, New Friends

December: Christmas Parties Galore!

Quite different than previous years.  This year was filled with more "風風雨雨"  (wind, wind, rain, rain), a Chinese idiom which can be translated "ups and downs."  But still the year remains a testament to God's kindness.

If you'd like to join me in doing this, please do . . . just leave a comment below with the link to your own pictorial summary of
2007 so we can all go enjoy looking over your year (I tried Mr. Linky, but he doesn't do custom meme's anymore unless you pay).

overwhelmed by generosity

Deb, one of my very first blog readers (by the way I don't think I ever replied to that first comment.  I never answered her question, and yet she still came back for more), was a HUGE encouragement when I first started blogging. 

And, just recently she was HUGE encouragement to me in another way . . . she sent me a box of goodies full of wonderful stuff (shhh . . .don't tell anyone but that box of thin mints is already empty).   She made me a dishcloth in my new kitchen colors, and she picked out a book for me that has several pages about journeys and paths (I'm not sure if that was on purpose or not, but I love it!!).  She even sent me a sunflower from her garden--how fun!!  And, there were lots of other goodies inside too.  I was TOTALLY overwhelmed by her kindness as I opened the package this week. 

Thank you, Deb, for being so thoughtful and kind and overwhelming me with your generosity! 

happy, happy birthday!!

Guess what is two years old today?? 

My blog!  That's right, Following an Unknown Path is two years old today. 

I started playing with the concept of blogging many times in past six years, I even tried to make a "blog" on my website (that after ten years of owning I finally let go of this year), but because I didn't truly grasp the concept it didn't quite work.  I started playing with different blogging platforms starting in the spring of 2005.  But it wasn't until December of 2005, that I created the concept of Following an Unknown Path and got hooked on blogging for real. 

(After Following an Unknown Path was birthed, I carried over some of the content from those other blogs I had played with.  That is why the archives go back into the spring of 2005--in case for some random reason you were wondering why my archives go back further than the birth of my blog.)

Following an Unknown Path has changed quite a bit from its original.  Content, layout, purpose, intent, some of the audience, design and look of the actual posts, writing style . . . .its all changed over the past two years.  I guess--in some ways--that is a good thing.

Honestly, I can't believe it's been two years!  Time goes SO fast. 

There have been times in this past blogging year that I've wanted to throw in the towel and call it quits.  But, I've not done so . . . yet, at least.  I enjoy writing, and I enjoy photography, and I need an outlet for sharing with others what God is doing in my life and what is going on in the world I find myself.  And, blogging seems to be a great outlet for all of these.  So, for now, I continue with my little hobby.

It is also such a blessing to be able to update my family on the other side of the world in a matter of seconds about what is going on in my life.  Now, if only I can convince them to start blogging about their lives so I can keep tabs on them.  (Wanna know a secret?  My paternal grandmother comments on my blog posts in handwriting and my grandfather scans in the letter and emails it to me as an attachment.  Pretty cool huh?)

It's been a neat blogging year since I've actually gotten to MIRL with some other Taiwan bloggers.  I've also been put back in touch with some college friends and their blogs. 

And, twice this year, blog readers told me to go check out some other blog they thought I might like . . . and BOTH times I actually knew these people in real life--just didn't know that they blogged!  How cool is that!?!?

Oh, yeah, and I entered my first bloggy contest and won an x-shot--thanks to readers voting for me! :) 

I've made some neat and special friends as I've blogged about my journey along this unknown path I follow.  Thank you!!  It's been fun, and I've enjoyed getting to "know" you.

So, all in all, it's been a neat journey with both its ups and downs.  However, as I sit here right now looking out over the Tainan skyline, I look forward to another
year of blogging, another year of changing, another year of living in
God's grace and being overwhelmed by his generosity and  . . . being able to share some of that with yall. 

I thought I'd continue a tradition I started last year on my blog's birthday, here are the first lines from the first posts of each month in the past year:

Firecrackers and fireworks--yes they are different (one goes "pow!
pow!" a hundred times and the other "swoooooosh! pop!")--went off all
around my apartment from about 9 or 10pm till about 2 or 3am in random
intervals. (Jan, 33 posts)

Sandy is a IRL friend
who is also a college teacher, tentmaking here in Taiwan. (Feb, 12 posts)

. . . in paths that they have not known I will guide them. (Isaiah 42:16) (March, 35 posts)

My coworker in the harvest has a brother who is also missionary. (A post about how five shirts is too many shirts to own.) (April, 21 posts)

The lens of my camera loves to focus on flowers. (May, 13 posts)

Stacy, an IRL friend who also lives here in Taiwan, tagged me while I was taking my bloggy break. (June, 31 posts)

Take heed of pride and haughtiness of spirit. (July, 36 posts)

Remember when I wrote about waiting and how hard it is. (August, 22 posts)

(When I grow up) I want to be a real missionary like her . . . or her (great book) . . . or her  . . . or any number of the bloggers listed here.  (September, 22 posts)

Ok, so we are not in Japan. (October, 26 posts)

For the past two weeks, there has been only one thought stuck on repeat in my mind about the beauty of kindness: It's your kindness that leads us to repentance, Oh Lord. (November, 8 posts)

My thirteenth year of life was horrible. (December, 22 posts so far)

Well, happy birthday little blog!  Thank you for helping me make friends
around the world!  Thank you for helping me draw closer to Christ.   

And, thanks to all of you who take the time to read and comment (I know I am bad about responding to comments--maybe I could try to work on that). 

I'm glad you stop!

come on ring those bells . . .

Light the Christmas Tree!  Jesus is the King, born for you and me . . .

Welcome to all of you coming from BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes.  Just to let you know, you've safely arrived in Taiwan. :) 

Most of my decorations are the same as last year; the main difference is that I moved this summer, so they are all placed a little differently in my new apartment.  But, I do have a few new things to show you.

Of course if your a little
tired of all the touring, you could just sit with me here on the couch
a little while a enjoy my new tree. (Snowmen booties courtesy of my
NeeNee.)

_
Are you ready now?  If so, here are my snowpeople this year:

 

_
And, here is my favorite little snowguy of all--he just blends right in! :) 

_
In addition to snowmen, I also really like candles.  They just add a certain festive feel to the atmosphere.

_
Here is one of my new things for this year!!  This is a Chinese paper cut of a nativity scene which a dear friend gave me four years ago.  She was living in China at the time.  I only got around to framing it this year.  But, I love it!!

_
The only thing I've splurged on this year for my home is this little jingle bell tree--isn't it so cute?  And, here is what my Christmas card wreath looks like this year.

 

_
I've also gotten a few new ornaments from others and made some paper snowflakes.

The biggest change is that I bought a new Christmas tree.  Only thing is that it looks empty now . . . I love over stuffed, crowded trees that look like if you add one more thing they will fall over.  I guess this gives me room to grow and add and build. 

_
Oh!  I did make some chocolate chip brownies, but they're all gone now.  So, can I offer you some green tea toast instead?  It's really yummy!!  I even tried to make it extra festive for you!!

 

_
Well, thanks for coming to visit me in Taiwan!  Before you head off to visit other homes on the tour, let me just say 聖誕節快樂 (sheng dan jie kuai le) or in other words "Merry Christmas Yall!!"

google me this

I've seen versions of this meme on both Butterfly Kisses, MzEllen and Co. and Lux Venit recently, and thought I could play along.  It is a fun and simple meme where you google images for the answers to questions and then choose one of the images from the first page of results.  Wanna play along?  If so, consider yourself tagged. :)

1. age at next birthday:
 
yeah, the big three-oh is next year.

___

2. place i'd like to travel
 
Know where this is?  Korea!!  Korea has been on my to visit wish-list for a LONG time now.

___

3. favorite place

___

4. favorite things

my answer to this one was "people"  . . . I love spending my free time with people!

___

5. favorite food
 
Thinking of cravings and not what's for dinner tonight . . . I'd have to go with tex-mex or chicken and dumplings--at least for today.

___

6. favorite color

___

7. favorite flower

gotta love daisys and sunflowers!!  They just smile at you!

___

8. town you live in

in case you didn't know, i now live in tainan city.

___

9. name of a past pet
   
do you see a theme here?  growing up we had a dog named rolo and another named kandy.  we had other dogs with non-food names too . . .

___

10. nickname

sometimes my sister calls me minda.

___

11. college major

can you guess?  communication theory.  I loved it by the way!

___

12. first job

My first paid job besides babysitting was filing papers at an insurance company.  I had lots of paper cuts that summer. :)