Bad Hair Day

So I needed to get my hair done, and most of you know how nervous I was about that. I wouldn't go down the street because I figured they hadn't done that many white people's hair. John and I kind of got into it cuz he stated that I was being prejudice. So he asks the guys that does his mom's hair and this gentleman says that he's done white people's hair before. I specifically asked if he'd dyed white people's hair, to which my husband replied "he's done it"...

So off we go... this is just to meet him. He tells John that he can MATCH (pertenant word) any color. He asks what color I want my hair. I reply "The same color it is now." To which he replies "Which one?" Yeah, I know ... First Clue ... But I have faith or rather hope that he knows what he's doing.

The next day we go back. After about 15 minutes of trying to explain that I want a weave, we give up and decide an all over color will be fine. Yes I'm aware that idiot is written on my forehead! He starts by putting princess leya ear shields on me. I tried really hard not to laugh, and probably would have succeeded if I hadn't looked over at John. Now this man is painting my hair (no, not a play on words) while having a quizzical look on his face. It takes him probably 45-60 minutes to get it all on and now he's off doing other things.

John turns to me with concern in his eyes and asks "Is it suppose to look blue?"

To which I reply, in a very calm voice, "No, no, never had that happen before."

John: "Does it always take this long?"

Me: "Don't know. I've never had it sit on my hair for more than 15-20 minutes."

John: "Do you want me to tell him to wash it?"

Me: "Since it's blue and fastly approaching white, we may want to consider that option."

John: "Where'd he go?"

Great, now he's disappeared. My first thought is that he's screwed up and scared to face me. (I still think that's why.) About 10 minutes later he reappears and tells me it's time to wash it. - it's been well over an hour. Now when they wash your hair over here, it comes with a head massage. It was awesome!!! Almost enough to make up for the hair, but not quite.

He washes it and returns me to my area. You need to understand that I'm now sitting sideways because I can't bring myself to look into the mirror. My husband tells me it looks "golden". I did not however believe that he meant the color of gold. That is indeed what he meant. I finally get the courage to turn around and almost cried. There's my hair - gold and white. But the gold kinda looks more orange than gold. And to top it all off, because the new hair color is in such contrast with my old, you can still see my roots. How fun!!! We pay we leave... I'm still not talking. My kids are just starring. They want to know why I colored my hair yellow.

My husband then informs me that I can tell him "I told you so"... to which I reply "Do I really need to say it outloud? Seriously? Do you need to be told that, or is that just something that you should already know?" He tries to make me feel better by asking the kids "So how does mom's hair look?" My loving son, who always tells me I'm pretty or beautiful, looks at me and states "Do I really have to tell you?"

That night my husband tells me I look like the Elf off of Lord of the Rings. The next day he pretends to shoot an arrow at me from across the room.

Don't go to school the next day - Yogi (friend - not bear) texts me and asked where I am. "Bad hair day" is my reply. Go to school the next day - she takes one look at me at burst out laughing. And it's one of those snort laughs, like when you're drinking something and someone does or says something unexpected and milk comes out your nose. She then apologizes, says "Sorry, but it's damn funny! What did you do?" So all throughout class she keeps looking over at me and giggling. Her comment yesterday to me was "When are you going to do something about (pause to circle her finger in the air around my head) that?"

So I still haven't fixed "that", I figured I better wait a couple weeks so that it doesn't end up falling out. Because then the next blog would be "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow". My husband is way impressed that I can laugh at it too.

So for those of you who skimmed through the pictures to find one... seriously? you thought I would take a picture... yeah, right!! This ranks right up there with when I was 7 months pregnant with the girls and put on a purple swim suit and Janet told me I looked like a grape.

So needless to say, no pictures...

Anyway....

We went to the beach last weekend and it was fabulous. Yule's friend lives in a gated community by the ocean and they have a community swimming pool. It was the perfect temperature!! They make you wear a swim cap though. And we were the only ones out because everyone thinks it's too hot.

We made it through our first Typhoon. It did pretty extensive damage down south and 11 people died. They showed pictures on the news of how roads just fell away from underneath. It was crazy. Supposedly it's pretty safe in the city though. I didn't think it was that big of deal. Just a lot of rain and wind. But then again, it went mostly over the middle of Taiwan, not the northern part where we live. I'll let you know if a bigger one hits us.

I also felt MY first earthquake the other day. Apparently there was a really big one when we first got here, but I didn't feel it cuz it was at like 1:00 in the morning. I guess we have little ones all the time. Kind of like California. Once again, not a big deal, especially when I can't feel them.

Our stuff finally arrived this past week. It was awesome to have dishes and silverware again. And I'm just waiting anxiously for John to figure out how to hook it up. We were way excited. We now have our computer set up and we're hooked up to the net. Hopefully I can respond to you guys a little faster now that I don't have to wait to go down to the coffee shop to do it.

This is the swimming pool at the gated community. It was the best ever!!

This is kind of like a bay before the actual ocean. They have a ton of vendors and games that the kids can play.

More Pool....

Dad, Mom and Kids hanging out at the beach.

Jordan contemplating her next plan as the sun sets.

Food & Consequences

So.... Let's talk about the food... Lots and Lots of Food!!

You can eat any time of day you want and for the most part, eat all most anything you want. You already are aware that the fast food chains are open 24/7 and most of them deliver. There's Sushi and Shabu Shabu (Hot Pot), and barbeque (not BBQ - this is food you cook at your table ontop of hot coals), of course any type of noodle you can imagine and then there's street food. "What is street food?" you ask. Well let's introduce you to the basics....




First we go to the street.... duh! While the two pictures may look the same they are of two different places. Some of the best street food is to be found at the night markets. More on night markets later... way too much to crame into this tiny spot. And yes, there are usually always this many people.

Let's walk thru...
Below you find a pot of "Stinky Tofu"... You smell it far prior to ever seeing it. It's name doesn't do it justice. It is not a stinky smell, but rather a putrid smell!! And supposedly, the stinkier the better. People swear that once you taste it, the smell no longer stinks and you crave it. We want to know who the hell decided to taste it in the first place? I mean seriously, whoever it was did not have a nasal cavity!! And no, we won't test the theory!! Try thinking of sweaty feet, rotten eggs and baby diarhea (ok I agree, that went a little far) and then putting that object in your mouth. Nope, nope, ain't gonna do it!!



Walking on... rather hastily...
This is also a crowd favorite. Oysters and eggs. Yeah, don't ask, didn't try it either. But at one night market, there must have been at least 10 stands or more that sold it, and all were busy!


If seafood is more to your liking, we have that as well.
Actually there is multitudes of seafood... well figure being an island and all. These are shrimp. No, not lobsters growing into adulthood, but actual shrimp. They grill them for you, and then it's up to you to take the shell, legs, tail and head off yourself. We took a picture of John pointing at them so you could get more of an actual size. Of course they're fresh -- everythings fresh!!! And no, sadly I can't get past ripping the head off of something to eat it. Tail, legs, shell - sure, no problem, but not the head.





Speaking of LARGE things...
There are all kinds of sausages... Although nothing quite the flavor of what we have in the states. Most of their sausage is sweet or spicy. Sorry, not a lot to say - it's sausage.



Moving along...
Here is one of Ashton's favorites. It's quail eggs on a stick. They crack open the little eggs and then fry them in the round little grill and then shiskabob them. They are actually quite good.



Now we get to desserts...
These are like cakes with fillings. You can get cream, taro (it's a root like a radish), red bean (yes beans - very sweet), green beans, and some places do things like chocolate, ets... They are fabulous when they are hot, not so much so when they're cold.


And the fruit... well I don't know what I'll do when I have to go to the grocery store to buy fruit. It's big, juicy and fresh... and they typically cut it up for you. What more could you ask for.


So what happens when you live in a place with sooooo much food. Well obviously you gain weight. And yes despite the two hours of walking every day I personally have gained weight. Those of you who are laughing... well.... you SUCK!!

Any hoo.... Casey's tooth was hurting and we could see that she had a cavity so we took her to the dentist. We left the house, literally walked across the street and went to the dentist at 7:00 at night... Apparently the door we walked thru transported us back in time about 25 years...

Many of you know that I kept complaining that John was moving us back to the 70's... huh I couldn't have more accurate. Take a look at the dentist office, the instruments.......the spit sink!!! Do you feel the sway of the song "I've got you Babe" by Sonny & Cher.. I knew you did!!
So he drilled it and fixed it and all that without any novicaine. Wow!! And when we left, it only cost NT$500 .. US equivalant = $ 17 ish. Now he was a friend of John's dad, so we don't know if he gave us a discount or not. Regardless!!

Now let's explore the bug of the week....

The following was found on my roof (already dead - hell no I wasn't about to try to kill it... it might fly me off the roof)

I was told it is a beetle, yeah I know, it looks like a fly to me too. It lives in the trees and makes a sound like crickets, only faster and much louder. And apparently, according to my husband and the great delight of my children, if you catch one, tie a string to it and then swing it around, you too can make the above mentioned sound. Weeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is how my children reacted to finding Seth Brundle's grandchild. (1986 movie.... "The Fly" .... there ya go, I knew you'd catch on)

So until the next time..... WE LOVE AND MISS EVERYONE!!!

Great guessing on the What is it? !!!!