Our Taiwan move Q&A

 

Well, it’s been about a month since I posted our big news about moving to Taiwan.  I’ve been getting questions about the move, so I figured I’d answer them here for all to read.

 

Source: www.yesandyes.org

Where in Taiwan will be you moving to?

We’ll be moving to the city of Kaohsiung.  It’s located on the south side of the island, and is the second largest city in the country.

Source: www.allanpeters.com

 

When will you be leaving?

We have our one-way tickets purchased already!  We leave on January 15th!

Where are you going to live?

We’ll be living with my parents for awhile until we decide on an area of town to rent an apartment in. 

Source: www.matadorenetwork.com

 

How will you make a living in Taiwan?

Dave and I are currently throwing around two different options:

1. We both work in English cram schools teaching for about 30 hours a week

2. Attend a university full-time to learn Chinese and get support from friends and family

 

 

What language do they speak in Taiwan, and do you already speak it?

Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese are both spoken in Taiwan, however Mandarin is the most common.  I speak very little Mandarin, and Dave doesn’t speak any.  Although he is Chinese he speaks Cantonese, which is completely different.  Our lack of language skills is what is bringing us to consider enrolling in a university full-time.

Source: www.travelchannel.com

Are you going to keep working until you leave?

Well, I am a LUCKY girl and will not be going back to work after this school year is over (woot woot!).  Dave, however, will continue to work until the end of November.  To cut down on our living expenses until we leave, we will be moving in with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew at the end of June.

Source: www.thetaiwanphotographer.com

Will you continue with this blog after you move?

You betcha! This blog will be our main source of updates, pictures, and prayer requests from Taiwan.  I can’t promise that I’ll continue with all the crafts and things, but I will post.  I think this blog will continually evolve as we begin to get settled in Taiwan.  Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to share some awesome Taiwanese recipes with you all!

Source: www.skyscrapercity.com

 

Well, that seems like quite a few answers for now.  If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. I’d be happy to share more!

Trade School session #8- Easy bathroom shelving

 

Welcome back to our final trade school session of May.  I can’t believe I’m saying that…crazy how summer has crept up on us, right?

Well, our teacher today is a dear blogging friend, Rasonda from Lake Cottage Dreams.  She has  a great idea and simple DIY project for us, so without further ado, here she is:

Hello A.O.O.F readers!! It's so cool to be here for another "Trade School" post. I am so honored to post for Sarah and her awesome blog, and I'm very excited to hear about Sarah's new and exciting adventures of her fami-ly. I am Rasonda from Lake Cottage Dreams, as I say in my blog it is my DREAM is to have a lake home someday. However, I am sure it will be a small home and I will need to find many ways to maximize our space. One of the places in our current home that needs the most space is always in the bathroom. There are many ways to create storage like baskets, wall shelves, or even turning a dresser with lots of drawers into a vanity. I am going to take you though a quick and easy tutorial on how to install some over the door shelving with just a few things.

The first step to this project is to measure the area where you are installing the shelf. I installed my shelf over the door in our guest bathroom. It fit perfectly using a three foot piece so I went to Home Depot and had them cut a piece of pine wood (7 1/4 inches) and found these corbels.

Next sand and paint the wood. Use a low grit sandpaper and if you do not like knots or wood imperfections use wood filler to hide the flaws, let dry and sand again. I liked the rustic look so I let the knots show. Also, this is where you would install trim pieces {you can have Home Depot measure those as well} if you want a more finished look. I did not use trim, because of that rustic look I was going for and all.

For the next step you will need to mount the brackets into the wall.

Mount the shelf on top of the doorway trim and mounted brackets. Countersink 2 1- 1/2 inch screws through the shelf and into the brackets. Then countersink 3 more 1- 1/2 inch screws evenly through the shelf into the doorway casing.

For the final step caulk the seams and use paint to touch up any holes and damage done during the install process.

Actually, I take that back... the final step in the adding cute decor and bathroom-y stuff and basking in the glow of extra storage!!

I hope this is as easy for you guys as it was for me... and I hope you revel in your new storage as much as I do. Thanks for reading and thanks so much for having me Sarah! Xo

Rasonda

 

Ok, a few things:

1. I love that she referred to you all as “A.O.O.F” readers…never thought of shortening the blog name to an acronym, but I kind of love it

2. Don’t you just ADORE those corbels? They add instant sophistication and style to your bathroom, and I think adding the shelf on top of the door frame would also make a room seem taller.

3. Rasonda is seriously one of the sweetest bloggers out there.  She is always quick to leave meaningful comments and I love that I’ve met her through the blogosphere! So go and check out her blog Lake Cottage Dreams ASAP.

Now it’s your turn to do your homework.  I know that most kiddos around the country are starting to sing “School’s out for the summer” but not you trade school students, not you.  You have your homework, now go get started!

(oh, and if you do actually do the homework don’t forget to email me a pic so I can feature you and give you a gold star. Kthanksbye.)

Easy handmade baby gifts

 

…and I’m back!

Hey guys! I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last posted.  I was in D.C., then I was recovering from my trip, then school stuff happened-- and yada yada yada I haven’t posted in almost two weeks!

But I’m back to share some ideas for homemade baby gifts.  I made these for a dear friend of mine, Kirra, who is due in a month or so.  She’s having a little girl which is so exciting for many reasons.  One, because everyone I know is having boys and I’m glad there will be a little lady for them when they grow up, and two because little girl stuff is just so darn cute!

For her shower I knew I wanted to give her some hand made gifts, so here’s what I came up with:

Monogram button art:

This project was super easy! Just trace the letter you want on cardstock, then fill in the letter with various shaped buttons.  I used craft glue to stick them on and it dried perfectly clear.  The oval mat I found at the dollar store (2 for $1!) and the frame is from Target.

 

California Love onesie:

My friend is from California, and I know she desperately misses living there.  I wanted their daughter to have a piece of their love for California so I made this onesie.

To make this I traced the shape of California directly off my computer screen.  I just help up the onesie to the screen to make sure the state was the correct size…

 

…then traced the outline of the state onto a piece of paper to make a stencil.

 

 

I took a piece of felt and ironed on some interfacing just to give the state a little stiffness.  This helped when I sewed the state onto the onesie.

 

Using my new stencil I traced and cut the state out of the felt.

 

The next step was to cut a heart our of red felt, and hand stitch it onto the (general) location of their home town.

 

Last step was to pin the felt state to the onesie, and then sew it on using an applique stitch.

 

Semi-hand made headbands

When my friend Kirra asked where to get headbands for her little darling, I immediately thought “I could make some!”

So I set off to the store to search out my options, and came across a pack of 6 headbands for $2.50 at Walmart.  Talk about a steal!

 

I used silk flowers, felt, and some fabric to quickly whip up these beauties:

 

 

For the silk flower head bands I cut the flower head of the stalks using wire cutters.  When you cut off the flower head  a small piece of metal will be exposed, which is bad news for a delicate baby girl’s head.

 

To solve this problem I just hot glued a little felt to the back of the flower.

Then I just glued the felt to the head band.  I even added another piece of matching felt to the underside of the headband so no hot glue would be directly on the baby’s head.

 

Here are a couple close ups:

 

I’m super happy with the way they turned out!

 

And now, here are a few simple ways to gift wrap your handmade gifts.  For Kirra’s shower I didn’t have any wrapping paper, so instead of buying some I just used a plain white shirt box and dressed it up with a fabric bow, clip-on flower, and monogram sticker.

 

I also bought a little metal pail from Target for $1 and filled it up with some baby lotion, head bands, and pink tissue paper.

 

A easy and homemade way to wrap up your gifts!

 

In my opinion, nothing is better than making (and receiving!) handmade gifts!

Trade School session #7- Gluten-free Living

Today's Trade School is not a tutorial, or DIY tips.  It's about something far more important--our health.  I'm happy to welcome Nicolette from  momnivore's dilemma here today to be our teacher. 

She's going to share with us all about her gluten-free life and the health benefits it has provided for her and her family.  For 6 years I was allergic to wheat and eggs (not the same as gluten intolerant, but still a restrictive diet none-the-less) so I can attest to the difficulties, and advantages of this diet.

Take it away, Mrs. Nicolette!

Got gluten? Thoughts on Gluten-free Living




Hey everyone! I'm Nicolette from momnivore's dilemma, where I blog about crafts, health, food, parenting, autism, home, and whatever I fancy.

Two years ago this month, my sons and I dropped this from our diets.  The almighty gluten.

As an Italian girl from Chicago, the heart of all things pizza and pasta, it wasn't easy for me.



Around age 2.5, when my son Moose stopped talking and began to show signs of autism, I dove into a mass change in our diets.   Yes, "our" diet.  I did the "diet" to support him.   It was a blessing to my own health, really.



To say being gluten-free has profoundly changed my life and health, would be an understatement.



Before you embark on a gluten-free diet, I implore you to have a celiac panel run.  I did not do this, because I was unaware that a celiac panel would be inaccurate if you were already on a gluten-free diet.   My doctor suggested that I put gluten back in my diet for two months and then retest.  I refused, because eating even a crumb of wheat now sends me running to the bathroom.



I did test negative for the celiac gene panel, but my gluten intolerance is still quite high in my blood work.  My life proves that you don't need to be a board-certified celiac to benefit from a gluten-free diet.







So, here's a quick run-down of what I've learned over the past two years, should you be considering gluten-free as a lifestyle change.

Positive Changes I've Noticed Going Gluten-Free

• My migraines have reduced 95%.  Prior to being GF, I had migraines several times per week for over 20 years {since age 11}.  Now,  I maybe have them once every two months, and they are much less severe.
• My immune system is stronger.  When I do get sick, I bounce back much faster.
• My skin has cleared up.
• I no longer have to take "seasonal allergy medication".  {My theory on that one, is wheat is a grass.  If you are sensitive to grass, you probably shouldn't be eating wheat.  Just my random thoughts...}
• I am back to my college weight without trying.  I'm almost 33.  So, I'll take it.  
• My energy level has improved tremendously.

What I Wish I Would Have Known 2 Years Ago

• Blogs such as The Spunky Coconut and Elana's Pantry have killer recipes. 
• Too much rice flour is evil.  Coconut and almond flours are your friends.
• Staying away from packaged and processed food will save you money, as buying the gluten-free equivalents of your favorite treats can get rather pricey.  Like a car payment.
• Breakfast cereal, although easy, is the worst thing you can eat first thing in the morning.  Pump up proteins, good fats like ghee and coconut oil, and carbs with fiber! 
• Kombucha helps to detox the body, and should be consumed daily to help heal our guts.
• Soaking, sprouting, and properly preparing foods sounds like a ton of work, but it isn't.  Your health is your wealth.
• Researching diets like Primal, Paleo, GAPS, and SCD make you look outside the grain for great ideas.  

Books I Hope You Consider Reading If Gluten-Free and Healthy Eating Is On Your Radar:

{I named my blog after this book}

Initially, when we went gluten-free, I felt like my life was over.  Going out to eat was impossible.  Birthday parties were a nightmare.

Two years ago, gluten-free wasn't as "trendy" as it is today. I mean like, OMG, Miley Cyrus is GF...lol... 

Gluten-free has been used for over a decade in the autism community to help reduce inflammation. Gluten-free is also used in many a detox diet.



This change in diet has given me my health back.

I hope this post helps someone, as my sharing of our journey has helped many of my readers and close friends alike.

Thank you for reading,

Nicolette

What a great wealth of information! Thanks again, Nicolette.

I guess your "homework" would be to send me an email sharing any experience you or someone you know has with the gluten-free lifestyle.   I can't wait to hear what you all have to say!