Bleu Dress and Dress Blues

Flavor of the Week {Mini Red Velvet Brownies}

2012-02-14T21:12:00.001+09:00

Tomorrow is our spouses club "make it, fake it or bake it" luncheon. I scoured the internet and Pinterest looking for something yummy to bake and finally settled on this recipe. The original recipe was for a pan of these brownies but I wanted something "cuter" for the auction tomorrow so I decided to go with bite sized versions. Luckily there were some left over so I was able to taste ~~one~~ ~~two~~ a few to make sure they were good and they definitely didn't disappoint!

I almost didn't choose this route because I didn't have wrappers that fit my mini muffin pan so I needed to be sure they wouldn't stick! In order to make this happen I had to get creative.

Are any of you scrapbookers? I found a new use for one of my tools that is usually used strictly for scrapbooking. I used a 1&3/8 inch circle punch to cut pieces of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of each cup. Then I sprayed the sides like a mad woman and prayed!

Thankfully this worked like a charm! I had to run a knife around the sides of some but for the most part, they just fell right out of the pan!

With our further ado, here is the recipe modified for the mini version

Ingredients

1 (4-oz.) bittersweet chocolate baking bar, chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (1-oz.) bottle red liquid food coloring
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom and spray the sides 2 mini muffin pans.

Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl at HIGH until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Whisk in sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking just until blended after each addition. Gently stir in flour and next 4 ingredients. Scoop 1 TBSP of batter into each cup.

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. {mine took 10 minutes and my oven usually bakes pretty slow so I would check them after about 7 minutes. To be safe, stay close and monitor them frequently!}

Cool completely on a wire rack (about 30 minutes).

Here is the super easy cream cheese frosting recipe for the top

Ingredients1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar {sifted}
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and salt, beating until blended. Stir in vanilla.

30 in 30 {7 months}

2012-02-12T14:12:00.000+09:00

Health/Fitness {0/5}

1} take a yoga class

2} complete a 5K {Training has begun. R~~ace day: 07APR12~~. Signed up to "run" a Warrior Dash while I'm "home" for my brother's wedding}

3} climb Mt Fuji {ordered these super fun new hiking boots so I can break them in...that's a start right?!?}

4} do 1 unassisted pull up

5} pass the Army PT test for my gender/age group {looked this one up, I need to run 2 miles in 20:30, do 17 push-ups in 2 minutes and 45 sit-ups in 2 minutes...I have some training to do!}

Food {3/6}

6} ~~learn to cook lobster~~ {DONE 16Dec11}

7} ~~make gnocchi from scratch~~ {DONE 8Dec11}

8} learn to make grandma's relish

9} ~~try 5 new foods~~ {DONE} 1. natto beans. 2. umeboshi. 3. ratatouille (I know, I know, I'd never had it before and now I'm obsessed). 4. collard greens 5. turnips

10} make Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon rolls

11} learn to make 5 traditional Japanese dishes, including sushi {3/5} 1.sushi rolls. 2. inarizushi. 3. omelet (they're slightly different than the omelets we eat in the States)

Travel {2/8}

12} drink the Absynth we bought in Prague 3 years ago

13} visit at least 3 new countries {2/3} 1. Taipei. 2. Australia

14} learn enough Japanese to carry on at least a 5 minute conversation working on this one

15} visit Disney (Tokyo Disney will have to do)

16} visit Hiroshima

17} ~~snorkle the Great Barrier Reef~~ {DONE}

18} ride an elephant in Thailand (this and #17 are trips that will help knock off # 13 as well and are sort of in the early planning stage. If our vacation locations change, these will have to be changed as well)

19} ~~visit a Japanese Onsen (hot spring)~~ {DONE 31Dec11}

Random {2/11}

20} get out of debt (ALMOST THERE! STUPID STUDENT LOANS!) still working on this one but we're on track to be done before I turn 30 =}

21} get caught up on my scrapbooks and stay current

22} read 50 books {30/50 and looking for recommendations!}

23} find out my blood type

24} design a logo for BleuDress (or pay someone else to) {working on this one}

25} ~~MASTER all the functions on my camera~~ {DONE 16Oct11 thanks to this class}

26} solve the Rubik's cube or complete a crossword puzzle without any help {I can't even figure out the Rubik's cube using the cheat sheet they include! I'm working on some crossword puzzles!}

27} save $20K {I have come to terms with the idea that this one is not going to happen thanks to the 3 trips we will be making to the US next year. I'm not happy about it, but it's a fact}

28} watch all of the Star Wars movies (I've only seen the newest one)

29} renew my CPR certification and keep it current {signed up for the class on 10Mar}

30} ~~be paid for a photograph~~ {DONE 7JAN12...I changed this one back to the original}

10 on 10 {February}

2012-02-10T18:19:00.003+09:00

I love this way of documenting my day but always forget about it until it's too late! I'm glad I remembered this month!

morning workout

chores

I recently found out that not everyone knows about this trick to defog your mirror post shower. It works like a charm!

mixing black & brown=stepping outside my comfort zone

yep, I bought some more and I'm not finished yet!

crossing things off my to do list/signing up for my 1st "5K"...go big or go home!

snack time

checking for mail

Coke.blogging.TV

I have an event to attend and the hubby's working late

CrAzY busy!

2012-02-08T19:36:00.002+09:00

I knew I had blogged once before about my life being off the charts busy so I went back and searched for it to discover it was almost EXACTLY one year ago! {you can see that post HERE. That post was 10 days before THE earthquake and it's amazing to think on all that has happened since} Like I said last year, I prefer my life this way but sometimes the blog ends up on the back burner. I'm going to try really hard not to let that happen this year. This must be the time of year where I just come out of my winter funk and start getting out more! Right now, my month looks like this

Every single day has at least one thing planned. Some days my only responsibility is to make it to the gym but other days are non stop from 0830-2100! I still have to schedule a doctor appointment and some of my ESL students in there as well.

I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks. I have a lot of fun stuff planned, including 2 Japanese cooking classes, a Japanese bead making class and tomorrow, I start taiko drum lessons!

I was invited to attend the local international association's yearly party which I'm also looking forward to.

In addition to everything else, I decided to step outside of my photography comfort zone. I was hired to take photos of a marathon in a couple weeks. Ordinarily this would be no big deal but the way this company works is they will hand me blank memory cards at the beginning of the day and after the marathon is over, I hand them back. No viewing them, no editing them!!! As a photographer friend of mine said, "That's like seeing your dirty underwear" and I couldn't have said it better! I'm excited and slightly nervous but it will be good experience {even if I don't have any photos to show from it} and the pay is decent which is always nice.

Among all the craziness, I'm trying to cook healthy {-ish/-er} meals for dinner each night. Today I went to our local market to pick up some fresh salmon {we only get frozen on base},eggplant and a few other things. When I put my basket on the check out counter, I noticed it looked {almost} like a rainbow

{snap peas, eggplant, pineapple, salmon, strawberries...just missing something blue}

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On a completely random side note, if you're into the whole singing reality show thing, I plead with you to tune into the Voice and vote for Tony Lucca!!! He is an incredible singer/songwriter who I have briefly mentioned on this blog once or twice before. He works so hard and totally deserves this!!!!

Show YOU Japan

2012-02-05T16:21:00.001+09:00

We have been in Japan for almost a year and a half now and some days I feel like we have seen everything and some days I feel like there are an infinite number of things left to do and see before we leave! I have a small list of things we MUST DO in the next 18ish months, including but not limited to

hike Fuji San

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

attend a cherry blossom festival

photo courtesy of Surviving Japan

visit Hiroshima and Tokyo Disney

photos courtesy of Wikipedia and Tokyo Disney

What I want to know is, what do YOU want to see??? I recognize what a wonderful, unique opportunity it is to live here and I'd like share as much of it with you as possible. So, is there something you have always wanted to know about Japan or something you'd like to see me do? I'm willing to try almost anything {and what I won't, my husband most likely will} and travel within a reasonable distance. I can't guarantee that I will be able to honor all requests but I'd like to hear your ideas and I'll do my best to show you what you want to see!

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

2012-02-04T22:50:00.001+09:00

It was a beautiful day today so the husband and I headed to the Red Brick Warehouse area of Yokohama.

The area has lost of shops and restaurants and although we did enjoy a delicious seafood buffet

that isn't why we went. The purpose of our trip was to fulfill my need to ICE SKATE!

It was a great day to be outside but not such a great day for the ice! It was super slushy and choppy but we still had a great time.

On our way home, we stumbled upon this bakery outside the train station and decided to stop in and check out the pies

The 1st thing we noticed was this sign

Immediately after seeing this sign I realized they were playing American rap music and I heard "mother f&%#ing Cincinnati hats" {anyone have any clue what song that line is from? I couldn't find it online!} and I lost it. The combination of the sign, the music and the fact that we happened to step into this innocent looking bakery just in time to hear a reference to my home town sent me over the edge. I started laughing hysterically!

Once I finally got my laughter under control, we decided to put the sign to the test and bought 4 ~~HUGE~~ slices to try

chocolate and whiskey apple for the husband

banana cream and mile high apple for me

The banana cream was excellent, however I'm not quite sure it is f-bomb worthy. My husband said the chocolate had a coffee flavor which he doesn't care for, so it was just ok. The apple slices are on deck for tomorrow!

And so it begins...

2012-02-01T21:44:00.000+09:00

It happens every year. We all know it's coming yet it still seems to sneak up and smack us in the face. This year it's starting sooner than usual. I've been reading all about it on other milspouse blogs and still I was NOT prepared at all!

What am I talking about you ask?

PSC SEASON!

Today I found out that one of my 2 best friends here is leaving {PTL that the other decided to extend a year so we will now leave Japan about the same time next year}...sooner than I was hoping for! In just a few short weeks my dear, dear friend Melissa and her family will leave Japan and I'M NOT READY!!!

I've talked about Melissa a lot on my blog over the past 18 months.

She was the very 1st person I met ~~when~~ before we arrived in Japan.

Since then, we have caused some trouble

Celebrated holidays together

shared family traditions

volunteered together

shared American traditions with our Japanese friends

and most recently celebrated the new year together

Melissa, the rest of my time here in Japan will not be the same without you and your family. Your friendship means the world to me. I can't wait to create more memories with you in the time we have left here together! Knowing you're leaving makes our morning ~~runs~~ ~~jogs~~ ~~walks~~ chats so much more special to me. I promise to get up ~~without complaint~~ every day in order to fit in as much time with you as possible!

{ps, all the photos link back to old posts with details}

2012 New Year Party

2012-01-30T21:08:00.001+09:00

Last week the Sagamihara Friendship ladies hosted the ZaCSA {Zama Community Spouses Association} members to celebrate the new year in proper Japanese fashion. Last years party was so much fun, I couldn't wait to see what they planned for us this year. As much as I loved last year, this year was even better. They completely outdid themselves this year! The ladies were beautifully dressed in formal Japanese kimonos

the entertainment was amazing

we even got a turn to play

This was actually my 2nd time getting to play Taiko drums. I posted a video of me playing the drums last year HERE.

This year I got to play with one of my best friends and it was so much fun! {random side note, I love how my hair looked that day}

After trying Taiko for the 2nd time, I decided that I really enjoy the rush I get while playing and want to take lessons. One of the ladies is helping me out and I start in 2 weeks!

and the food was delicious {as always!}

my friend just emailed me this photo of me digging into all the yummy food!

We played the same bean game as last year {you move different sized beans and peanuts from one bowl to another using chopsticks. the smaller the bean, the more points they are worth}

I'm proud to announce that for the 2nd year in a row I was a part of the winning team. I kind of kick a$$ with chopsticks!

After our yummy lunch and the game, the ladies treated us to a beautiful singing performance

we had time for a few more photos before we had to head back to base

A group photo of all the ZaCSA members who attended

Melissa and me with all of the Friendship Sagamihara ladies {these are the awesome ladies we are blessed to teach on Wednesday's}

and us with this years President an VP, Eriko and Sachiko

On our way back, I had my 1st up close encounter with the protesters that sit outside of our base every Wednesday. They post signs

and just sit there peacefully. It's unlike any "protest" I've ever seen before. I heard a story today that the protesters even call someone on base to let them know when they will be late. I love that they can get their point across without shouting and violence.

I stopped by the mail room before going home and received the best surprise!

This came from Lauren, my brother-in-law's fiance {the one I have things in common with. The one who told me about their wedding in person and not via her facebook status. The one who was considerate enough to tell us way in advance of their plans so that we could plan to be there. The one I was secretly hoping would ask me to be in their wedding!!!!!!}. I cannot wait!

Pinterest Challenge

2012-01-28T12:00:00.000+09:00

When I first joined Pinterest a few months ago, I promised myself I wouldn't waste hours pinning things and then not going back and actually doing some of the things I pinned. I haven't had a problem sticking to that yet! So far, I have

cooked crispy Parmesan asparagus and mini loaded potatoes as part of our anniversary dinner

learned THE BEST KITCHEN TIP EVER. I no longer have to dread recipes that call for "shredded chicken"

made scrabble coasters

decorated delicious cookies

cooked a yummy enchilada pasta

turned all of my hangers backwards. As I wear something I hang it up the normal way so in 6 months I will know exactly what clothes I haven't worn and I can toss them out! {yes, I color coordinate my closet!}

my awesome neighbor saw this idea on my board and made it for me for Christmas

painted my nails super fancy, something I NEVER do

created a beautiful wedding present for my friends

FINALLY found a way to organize all my scarfs!

ate these zucchini boats as an afternoon snack

Today, I hosted a "Pinterest party" at my house. I invited about 10 ladies and we decided to make a craft and share some food that we had seen on Pinterest. I created a board that all of us could post to where we shared a few different ideas before we finally agreed on making a recycled magazine craft {For us, access to materials is a serious deciding factor. Many of the ideas we liked would have required us to ordered supplies from the States and until we saw how this was going to go, we didn't want to make any huge investments}. Having that joint board was wonderful. Everyone was able to pin the food they wanted to bring so we didn't have 3 people bringing the same thing. The craft we chose ended up being incredibly time consuming and I didn't finish until about 2 hours after everyone left {about 5-6 hours total}. I was thrilled with the outcome but my hands are sore and I will not be making another! Believe it or not, I took ZERO photos during the day. I was just so busy having fun with friends, I totally forgot! The one photo I do have is of my finished craft

We are planning to get together again next month and since I won't be the host I promise to take more photos!

I think I have far exceeded my goal to actually use/do/create/make the things I find on Pinterest! Who knew this website would end up being a reason for me to throw a party?!?

{I tried to link all photos back to the original ideas but if they don't work, they can be found on my Pinterest page HERE!}

***Edit***

I just found this Pinterest Challenge link up over at The Trendy Treehouse

What great motivation to try more new things found on Pinterest!

Cookies

2012-01-26T18:11:00.000+09:00

I am admittedly no Bridget of Bake @ 350 but occasionally I do like to bake a decorate sugar cookies. When I decided to host a "Pinterest Party" I knew right away that I would be making cookies.

I'm constantly being told that I'm creative but truthfully I'm just really good at creating my version of other people's ideas {and that is exactly what I tell people when then say to me that I am creative}. This time however, I can honestly take credit for the idea that resulted in my creation. I highly doubt that I am the 1st person to make cookies like these but from what I could find on the internet, I may be, I cannot find any like them anywhere!

Bridget would most definitely kick my booty in a cookie decorating contest but for someone who doesn't do this very often, I am super proud of these cookies!

I used Bridget's cookie recipe but since I don't like almond, I just used all vanilla extract instead. Usually when I do cookies like this I make my own royal icing but I cheated this time and used store bought cookie icing.

I cannot wait for the party on Saturday!

Business Idea

2012-01-23T21:13:00.001+09:00

It's no secret that I love to cook and I love to share my passion for food with others {hence half of my blog posts revolving around food}. The husband and I have been talking about ways I can contribute more to our family financially without cutting into my social life {because that is important} and our travel desires{a full time job isn't going to allow me to take 30 days off for a wedding in June and 45 days off for 2 weddings in Aug/Sept plus additional time off for leisure travel}. I think we may have found a solution. My husband has been telling me for years now that I should teach cooking lessons to new wives. Living in Japan, this idea presents interesting new possibilities. There are quite a few soldiers who marry local Japanese girls who aren't used to cooking, or even eating, foods that we as Americans consider staples. I know if I married a Japanese man I would have NO CLUE how to cook the foods he grew up eating and would jump at the opportunity to have someone teach me. I am thinking about offering classes in classic "American" comfort food: pot roast, lasagna, chocolate chip cookies, meatloaf, chicken & dumplings, chili, apple pie, beef stew, fried chicken, etc. and potentially taking requests from husbands =}

GAH! I can't believe I'm actually thinking about starting a "business"! Before I go any further, I'd like some input from my fabulous readers. I have questions.

Knowing that I have no formal training as a chef {yet...I'm seriously considering culinary school after our time in Japan}...

1}Would you be interested in taking a class like this as an American who just doesn't know a thing about cooking?

2}Would you be interested in taking a class like this if you had married someone from a different culture?

3}How much would you be willing to pay for this class?

4}Would you prefer one on one classes or small {3-4 students} group classes?

5}Have you ever started a business while living on a military base? {I welcome ANY and ALL advice, I'm sure there is going to be a lot of paperwork involved}

6} AM I CRAZY?!?!?!

As of right now, this is still in the brainstorming {out loud} stage. I may realize there really isn't a market for it or it just isn't worth the effort to get it all started {legally} and toss the whole idea out the window. For now I'm just collecting ideas and asking you lovelies for your thoughts! Any words of wisdom, thoughts, comments or questions are welcome and appreciated!

And because I don't like blogging with out at least one photo, check out this gorgeous Turkish pottery I picked up today

the kind man that was selling this pottery at Yokota AFB today said he'd be making a stop at CZ in a few weeks...I'll be saving my ~~pennies~~ yen to buy some more when he gets here!

Anniversary dinner & a special request

2012-01-20T14:08:00.001+09:00

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary! We feel incredibly blessed that this was our 3rd year in a row that we were TOGETHER! I don't know many military spouses that can say they have spent 75% of their wedding anniversaries together and we are incredibly grateful to say we have.

He surprised me by taking off from work early and bringing me flowers ~~after a few not so subtle hints~~

I cooked one of the most delicious meals either of us has ever eaten last night.

Most of it was pretty simple and I would recommend ALL of these recipes!

*lobster {http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/23/earlyshow/living/recipes/main1434430.shtml}

this is actually the lobster I ordered last year for our anniversary in Hawaii and I was lucky enough to find the recipe online!

*mini loaded potatoes {http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/11319}

these were PERFECT! every single bite had the perfect amount of each flavor. these will become a regular menu item in out house and that is speaking volumes because we rarely eat potatoes

*crispy Parmesan asparagus {http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/03/crispy-parmesan-asparagus-sticks/}

these were good but next time I'll leave out the flour and probably add more Parmesan and a little garlic powder

{both the potatoes and asparagus I found on pinterest}

we followed that all up {hours later} with homemade cheescake and fresh strawberry topping!

The cheesecake is now sitting in my husbands office. I did not need that sitting in my house. I would have eaten it for breakfast lunch and dinner today!

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I also have a HUGE favor to ask of each of you!

Our dear friend Haley has been nominated for the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year and I would appreciate if you would vote for her HERE! She is a West Point graduate, veteran, mother, Gold Star spouse and is working to make employment easier for military spouses. I can't think of anyone who deserves this honor more than she does!

Nagano

2012-01-19T13:00:00.000+09:00

One of the best decisions Jason and I ever made was to get married over a 4 day weekend. Now, every year when our anniversary rolls around, we have a long weekend to celebrate! Last year we went to Hawaii {thanks to a TDY}, this year we chose to stay closer and we went to Nagano for 3 days. I was just happy that we were spending our 3rd anniversary in a row together. I'm pretty sure that might be some sort of record among the military community!

The weekend was...interesting! Overall we had a great time but the weekend definitely had it's high and low points.

Saturday morning, we boarded a Shinkansen bound for Nagano. It was Jason's 1st time to ride the bullet train

When we arrived, the package we had paid for through the travel office on base included a free bento or lunch box. We had no idea what to expect of these bentos but they ended up being delicious and we couldn't have picked a better lunch if we tried!

We had a few hours before we were able to check into our hotel and thanks to the awesome system here that is called "black cat"{for a very reasonable fee, this company will ship your luggage to your hotel, usually in under 24 hours. It truly makes traveling within the country a breeze! America should take note.}, we didn't have any luggage so we walked up a beautiful shop lined street in the snow to check out a temple in Nagano city

at one of the side temples, I spun a wheel to save myself from pain and suffering

once we entered the main temple

we noticed a long line of people waiting to see a man ornately dressed at the front of the temple {I assume he would be the equivalent of a Priest in a Catholic church}. We weren't going to join in because we weren't really sure what was going on {we assumed it was some sort of prayer or blessing but it could have been anything!} but a kind Japanese gentleman saw us and pointed to the line and said "dozo! dozo!" or "go ahead! go ahead!" so we joined the line. We watched what others were doing so we knew what to do when it was out turn. Each time a person would step in front of the man in the fancy clothes they would place their hands together and bow slightly as the man pressed his gloved hands onto their head. The kind man in front of us showed us to put some change into a dish and step in front of the bigwig. We did as we had seen each person in front of us do and I can only hope that the man prayed kind words upon us. I really wish I could have taken photos of this man in his fancy robes or asked questions to find out exactly what was happening. I REALLY need to work on my Japanese!

After our visit to the Zenko-ji Temple, we took another train then checked into our ryokan, or Japanese hotel. This was my 1st time staying in a ryokan. It's slightly different from a traditional Western room in that there isn't a bed. In the evening, a futon mattress is laid out for sleeping.

The room set up for the day

the sitting/eating area

us in our yukatas with our beds laid out

This is where I realize this post is going to be LONG!!!! Oh well, I don't want to break it up. So...

After we checked into our hotel, we took off in search of dinner. We chose a chanko-nabe {WikiPedia's 24 hour black out is messing with my ability to easily link unknown Japanese words on my blog...point taken} place. When we walked in, there was only one table occupied

to make a REALLY LONG story short, by the time we received our food {the same thing EVERY OTHER TABLE ORDERED} every table was full and had their food!!!! I was LIVID but since I don't speak the language, I couldn't really do anything about it but sit there and stew {pun intended}! A very kind family at the table behind us realized what was happening and started sharing their food with us. They spoke little to no English but were still extremely kind to us foreigners. The woman kept saying Jason was "macho"...I am NEVER going to hear the end of that one. They had an adorable 6 year old son who spent the entire evening shouting any and every English word he knew, "APPLE!", "SUGAR!", "MONKEY!". Their kindness completely turned my mood upside down and I ended up thoroughly enjoying my evening {and, I hate to admit, the food was well worth the wait}.

Day 2 was spent in Shiga Kogen which is home to some of the slopes that were used in the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games.

I might have spent most of my time ordering hot chocolate from a vending machine !

my little ski turtle did so much better than his 1st attempt last year. Instead of just flying down the hills screaming "sumimasen" {"excuse me" in Japanese} he actually slowed down and attempted to teach himself to turn and stop

That night for dinner, Jason decided he wanted to try the "western" restaurant the hotel staff had told us about. When we arrived we found a menu with no photos and no English.

In case you can't tell from the prices, he was reading this upside down and understanding about as much as he was when he tried to read it the right way.

One of the VERY FEW words I can read in Kanji is "chicken" so we each pointed to an item under the chicken section and what we were served was one of the best pieces of chicken I have ever put in my mouth!

For the 2nd night in a row what started out as a not so good dinner experience did a complete 180!

Our 3rd day in Nagano was my favorite! We hiked along a beautiful trail for 30 minutes in the below freezing temperatures to visit a wild monkey park

I have never in my life, up until this minute, called snow "beautiful"...it was truly breath taking!

and the monkeys?!?! THEY WERE SO ADORABLE!

"this is fun, but how will I ever get down?!?!"

they spend a lot of time keeping warm in one of the natural hot springs

a huge crowd showed up right before we left

this guy was hanging out in the tree eating a snack

After visiting the snow monkeys we grabbed a warm bowl of soba {Japanese buckwheat noodles that are very famous in Nagano}

and headed home.

Today is our actual anniversary. I'm looking forward to cooking a delicious lobster dinner followed by some cheesecake that is chilling in the fridge =}

30 by 30 {8 months}

2012-01-12T12:00:00.000+09:00

{7/30}

I doubled the number completed since last month!

Health/Fitness {0/5}

1} take a yoga class

2} complete a 5K {race day: 07APR12. Training starts as soon as I return from the US}

3} climb Mt Fuji

4} do 1 unassisted pull up

5} pass the Army PT test for my gender/age group

Food {3/6}

6} ~~learn to cook lobster~~ {DONE 16Dec11}

7} ~~make gnocchi from scratch~~ {DONE 8Dec11}

8} learn to make grandma's relish

9} ~~try 5 new foods~~ {DONE} 1. natto beans. 2. umeboshi. 3. ratatouille (I know, I know, I'd never had it before and now I'm obsessed). 4. collard greens 5. turnips

10} make Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon rolls

11} learn to make 5 traditional Japanese dishes, including sushi {3/5} 1.sushi rolls. 2. inarizushi. 3. omelet (they're slightly different than the omelets we eat in the States)

Travel {2/8}

12} drink the Absynth we bought in Prague 3 years ago

13} visit at least 3 new countries {2/3} 1. Taipei. 2. Australia

14} learn enough Japanese to carry on at least a 5 minute conversationworking on this one

15} visit Disney (Tokyo Disney will have to do)

16} visit Hiroshima

17} ~~snorkle the Great Barrier Reef~~ {DONE}

19} ~~visit a Japanese Onsen (hot spring)~~ {DONE 31Dec11}

Random {2/11}

20} get out of debt (ALMOST THERE! STUPID STUDENT LOANS!) still working on this one but we're on track to be done 4 months before I turn 30 =}

21} get caught up on my scrapbooks and stay current

22} read 50 books {27/50}

23} find out my blood type

24} design a logo for BleuDress (or pay someone else to)

25} ~~MASTER all the functions on my camera~~ {DONE 16Oct11 thanks to this class}

26} solve the Rubik's cube or complete a crossword puzzle without any help {I can't even figure out the Rubik's cube using the cheat sheet they include! I'm working on some crossword puzzles!}

27} save $20K {I have come to terms with the idea that this one is not going to happen thanks to the 3 trips we will be making to the US next year. I'm not happy about it, but it's a fact}

28} watch all of the Star Wars movies (I've only seen the newest one)

29} renew my CPR certification and keep it current

30} ~~be paid for a photograph~~ {DONE 7JAN12...I changed this one back to the original}

I cannot make this stuff up!

2012-01-08T10:41:00.002+09:00

All week I've been thinking, "I should blog", "I should blog" but now I'm glad I didn't. I can't think of a better 1st post for the year than this one. Yesterday my day started off quite normal. I taught an English lesson to Risa, my faithful Saturday morning student then had lunch with Jason, just like we do almost every single Saturday. After lunch I was so excited to shoot my 1st ever maternity session for some friends! Things were going GREAT! The clients were GORGEOUS, had some great ideas and were really into the session. We were getting some great shots

I took the above photo then decided I wanted to make some small adjustments, including getting down a little lower, so I sat down and this happened

Not sure what "this" is? Let me tell you. It's a fishhook...IN MY A$$!!!! I sat on a fishhook and it ended up stuck in my bum!

I admit, it was slightly funny but it HURT! I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or cry.

I called my husband and while he was on his way to our location, I figured, "there isn't anything I can do about this right now, we might as well get a few more shots in", so we did, and they are some of my favorites from the day

My husband arrived and we spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out how to get that thing out of me. Luckily, we didn't have to cut my favorite jeans off of me but we couldn't get it out! We do not have an ER here on our base. We have no access to a DR on the weekends so we called a medic friend of ours and he generously came over to take a look. We decided since the hook wasn't exactly clean and it was a fairly large size, it was best if we drove to the ER on Yokosuka {about an hour away}

Here I am with a fishhook in my hip {I'm only sharing this photo because 1, you can't really tell what part of my body it is and 2, it was in an area that wouldn't be covered by a bathing suit}

At the ER, the doc gave me some lidocaine and made a VERY SMALL incision {turns out I have VERY tough skin, rhinoceros hide as my husband called it and it took the doc a while to make the incision} and pulled it out. I now have a very small hole where the hook was and it just feels like a bruise.

Thankfully my tetanus is up to date and I didn't have to get a shot! I do NOT like needles!

This turned out to be a day I will never forget!

December 31, 2011

2011-12-31T21:28:00.003+09:00

Today was the PERFECT end to a crazy year! We traveled to Hakone to spend the day at an Onsen. It was great to relax and reflect on all that has happened this year.

Before we could go, we had to take care of a little business. The Japanese don't view tattoos the same way we do in America and tattoos aren't welcome at most onsen's so we had to do some covering of my husband's Ichthus tattoo

Once we arrived, I started in the main spa area while Jason went off to get a massage

We met back up and spent some time exploring inside for a bit

then headed outside in the SNOW to hit up the water slide and explore the "caves" a bit...it was about 40 degrees outside at this point!

we floated in the salt bath for a while...it was so strange. It was easier to float than stand in this water.

but it made your skin feel funny so we had to rinse off afterwards

I loved the rose bath! It was scented with some sort of red powder but they also had tons of roses and rose petals floating in the water

back outside, there were also green tea, sake, coffee, charcoal and wine baths. It was freezing out so we ran to the top and jumped in each one for a few minutes, I snapped one quick photo and ran back inside!

we went with some great friends and it made the day that much more enjoyable!

The ~~best~~ ~~worst~~ most interesting part of the day was getting our feet sucked on by a bunch of fish

{please don't mind our pale, out of shape winter bodies! whose idea was it to wear a bathing suit in December anyways?!?!?}

Ok, so I spent most the the time holding my feet out of the water or trying to keep the fish off my feet. It was just a little too weird for me!

We came home so relaxed that we decided not to go out tonight! The husband is asleep on the couch and I'm blogging & watching chick flicks. What a perfect ending to 2011!

Top 11 of 2011

2011-12-31T12:00:00.000+09:00

For me, one of the best parts of blogging is looking back at old posts. I decided to recap some of the best moments of the past year. Here are my most viewed posts of 2011

1. Japanese New Year Celebration

2. EARTHQUAKE

3. Straight Up

4. Read or Write

5. All Cooked Out {THE most popular post of the year!}

6. The Perfect Summer Drink {Strawberry Lemonade}

7. Contact Card {not sure how this one made the list lol}

8. 10 on 10 {iPhone edition}

9. Rockabilly

10. Crafts

11. Christmas Wishlist

#homefortheholidays {part 2}

2011-12-30T16:25:00.000+09:00

We're back in Japan! We had such an amazing time at home with family but it really is nice to be HOME!

Here's a ~~brief~~ photo recap of the rest of my trip {in no particular order}

the husband and I on Christmas Eve

My handsome hubby and his brother showing off their high school letter jackets

It isn't a trip home without a ride on the Anderson Ferry. Some of our family lives in Ohio and some live in Kentucky and there is a ferry that takes you and your vehicle across the Ohio River. It cuts our drive time in half! {plus Jason's grandfather's cousin owns the ferry, so Jason always gets out to say hi, even in the rain!}

my brothers have this game called Cuponk, it's basically like beer pong with one cup and no beer but it kept the boys entertained for hours!

I got to attend a hockey game with some of my favorite girlfriends

I was so excited to have my husband with me after a week in Cincinnati by myself

I'm not sure if this was Alaska, the North Pole, Russia or what but it was a beautiful sight during my flight back to Japan

On Christmas Eve, we stopped at a gas station for some beverages. My husband walked out with beer and I decided I wanted OJ, a pickle, gummy bears and some gum. I swear I'm not pregnant!

Jason ordered his grandmother a potted flower for Christmas, however, when it arrived it was just a pot, 2 bags of dirt and a bulb. So he and his grandmother planted it together.

we put my brothers gifts {sake and sake glasses} to use immediately

I got to spend some time with my college BFF during my layover in Detroit. We don't get to see each other often {the last time was at our big wedding over 2 years ago} so I was very grateful she came to the airport to hang out with me for a bit. Please excuse my tired look. This is what happens when I have to wake up a 0330 for a flight!

Jason's brother Nik and his FIANCE! They waited to tell everyone about their engagement in person and I ruined the surprise more than once. I SUCK at surprises!

us on Christmas

celebrating Christmas with my mom, and siblings. I cannot believe we got such a good photo in so few tries!

I learned how to play ~~and became addicted to~~ a new game

the shirt I bought my husband. He loves him some LMFAO

We ran into friends we met here in Japan at a casino in Indiana. We both have family in the same area but didn't think we'd have time to meet up. Little did we know we'd randomly run into each other!

it hit 63 degrees one day while I was home. A lot of people were disappointed it wasn't snowing at Christmas time but I was loving the warm weather!

My cousin saw one of our wedding photos on the NBC Nightly news one night. This is just a screen shot, but you can see the news clip here if you're interested. It was part of a story about Brides Across America

I FINALLY got to meet our cousin's baby boy, Wyatt, just 2 days before his 1st birthday! He is the sweetest baby. I'm so glad we finally got to meet him!

Just thinking about everything we did makes me tired. Tomorrow we are celebrating NYE at a Japanese Onsen, or hot springs, and I CANNOT WAIT! It's going to be the perfect day of relaxing. I can't think of a better way to end 2011.

"It's the freakin weekend...

2011-12-22T00:38:00.000+09:00

baby I'm about to have me some fun"

Any R. Kelly fans out there? Ok, me either but I always get that line stuck in my head when I have a really great weekend. This past weekend would be one of those. I cannot stop singing that song! I am amazed at how much I have squeezed into my time here.

I was a little sad on Friday because I was missing things back in Japan. My husband was in a grappling tournament and although he didn't do very well, I still would have liked to have been there. Luckily I have some awesome friends who sent me lots of photos including this one of him on top of some dude

Friday night was the holiday ball and almost everyone I know and love at CZ was there so I was really bummed to miss it. Again, my friends are awesome and took photos ~~for me~~!

Saturday, I went shopping with my sister then had lunch with my friend Caitlyn {photo FAIL}. After that my BFF cut my hair and styled it all pretty for a wedding I was going to

Beth and I met when I dated her best friend back in HS. Neither of our relationships with the guy lasted but our friendship has. I'm not sure either one of us would have survived HS/College without each other. I am so so SO glad I was able to be in town for her wedding!

It was GREAT to catch up with friends I haven't seen in years. LOVE you AndyJ!

KSteel, I miss you more than you know!

Sunday I got to attend church at my "home" church and it was WONDERFUL! I love that church and the family that comes with it. One of my most favorite people in the world drove down from Columbus to attend church and have lunch with me {photo FAIL #2. Rebecca, how did we let that happen!!??!} After lunch I did a little shopping then had dinner #1{it's all about the food when I'm in town} with my cousin. She lives in Cali and it is very rare that our time in Cincinnati overlaps. This trip we had about 24 hours where we were both in town so we made time to see each other and I'm so glad we did.

From there I was off to dinner #2 with 3 of my 6 bridesmaids from our wedding. Again, it was great to catch up with them. I hate that we don't get to do things together more often. I LOVE these girls!

{better photo coming soon}

Monday {I know that's not the weekend but it's my blog and I want to keep going} we went shopping for the BM dress we will wear in my brothers wedding in June. We had to drive all over town to find the dress in the size I wanted but I really have no time for alterations since I won't be home again until just before the wedding so I wanted to be SURE it would fit. Once we found it {these aren't the color}, it did fit perfectly but I cannot afford to gain a single pound between now and then! It's a good thing I'm going to attempt the C25K again once I get back to Japan.

Between stops at David's Bridal, we stopped for dinner and this is how my wings were served to me. In an egg carton, I loved it!

Yesterday, I found myself eating at chatting some more.

I had lunch with my buddy Steve. He was stationed in Japan many years ago so it was good to get to share stories.

And dinner with Heather

{I'm getting better at the "take a photo with everyone I see" thing}

Today I have lunch and dinner plans again then I get to go to a HOCKEY game and immediately following the game I'll pick Jason up from the airport! It's going to be another great day! The rest of our time here is pretty much dedicated to family and is going to be crazy busy so I probably won't post again before Christmas. If that is the case, I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!

#homefortheholidays

2011-12-17T14:14:00.003+09:00

It feels so good to be "home" with my family. I've been here 3 days and done SO much already. My husband had a "kick-jet-lag-in-the-a$$" plan that I almost stuck to and it worked flawlessly. I stayed away on the flight from NRT-SEA then checked into the USO in Seattle and took a 2 hour nap. {if you are military and don't use USO's when you travel, you are missing out. Seattle has one of the best ones I've ever seen (I used to work for an airline, I've seen A LOT of them). The bunk beds they have totally saved me on this trip} Then, the plan was to stay awake until I made it to my moms. I made it until I was about 2 hours from home before I passed out! I was tired, hungry, crabby, irritated {I can only tolerate rude travelers for so long} and I decided it was best for everyone involved if I just slept for a bit. Because of that extra nap, instead of going to bed right when I got in at 1930, I was able to stay up and play some games with my family. It was a great 1st night! I went to bed about 2300 and woke up at 0400 but managed to force myself back to sleep until 0800. I have been on an EST schedule ever since. PERFECT! Last time I flew home, I slept for like 36 hours straight! I'm glad I followed my hubby's genius plan and didn't waste a day sleeping.

In the short time I've been here, I did some hard core shopping with one of my besties

{I'm so glad I budgeted an insane amount of money for this trip, I'm going to need it!}

and knocked something off my 30 by 30 list!

I COOKED LOBSTER ~~TAILS~~ PERFECTLY!

{I'll cook them again and take better photos/share the recipe soon}

They may not look like much, but they were DELICIOUS! Even my mom who doesn't care for lobster liked it!

I've also been putting Pinterest to good use.

I painted my nails all fun for a wedding I'm going to tomorrow

{originally seen here}

and MADE a gift for the bride and groom

{originally seen here}

I'm having a great time so far and have a TON of things planned for the rest of my/our {Jason gets here Wednesday} time here. I hate that we can't do everything/see everyone but I'm trying to do/see as much as possible without stressing out or going crazy. Hopefully I'll be able to post a few more short updates and spare everyone one super long post later!

30 by 30 update {9 months}

2011-12-12T16:28:00.001+09:00

9 months left in my 20's???? GET OUT!!! Where is time going? I just cannot accept that I'm about to be 30! This list doesn't look much different than it did last month, but I'm making plans... I'm still at 3/30 but I should have a few more to checked off next month!

Health/Fitness {0/5}

1} take a yoga class {I made a new friend recently who is really into yoga, we will be going together soon}

2} complete a 5K {race day: 07APR12. Training starts as soon as I return from the US}

3} climb Mt Fuji

4} do 1 unassisted pull up

5} pass the Army PT test for my gender/age group

Food {1/6}

6} learn to cook lobster {cooking my mom and sister lobster while I'm home next week}

7} make gnocchi from scratch DONE {did this last week!}

8} learn to make grandma's relish

9} try 5 new foods {3/5} 1. natto beans. 2. umeboshi. 3. ratatouille (I know, I know, I'd never had it before and now I'm obsessed). 2 more to go

10} make Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon rolls

11} learn to make 5 traditional Japanese dishes, including sushi {3/5} 1.sushi rolls. 2. inarizushi. 3. omelet (they're slightly different than the omelets we eat in the States)

Travel {1/8}

12} drink the Absynth we bought in Prague 3 years ago maybe on New Years??

13} visit at least 3 new countries {2/3} 1. Taipei. 2. Australia

14} learn enough Japanese to carry on at least a 5 minute conversationworking on this one

15} visit Disney (Tokyo Disney will have to do)

16} visit Hiroshima

17} scuba/snorkle the Great Barrier Reef {DONE}

19} visit a Japanese Onsen (hot spring) {planned for 31 Dec}

Random {1/11}

20} get out of debt (ALMOST THERE! STUPID STUDENT LOANS!) still working on this one but we're on track to be done 4 months before I turn 30 =}

21} get caught up on my scrapbooks and stay current

22} read 50 books {24/50}

23} find out my blood type

24} design a logo for BleuDress (or pay someone else to)

25} MASTER all the functions on my camera {DONE thanks to this class}

26} solve the Rubik's cube or complete a crossword puzzle without any help {I can't even figure out the Rubik's cube using the cheat sheet they include! I'm working on some crossword puzzles!}

27} save $20K {I have come to terms with the idea that this one is not going to happen thanks to the 3 trips we will be making to the US next year. I'm not happy about it, but it's a fact}

28} watch all of the Star Wars movies (I've only seen the newest one)

29} renew my CPR certification and keep it current

30} complete a photography project

I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Tomorrow I take off for 2 weeks in America and probably won't blog again until 2012.

Spreading Christmas Cheer

2011-12-10T12:37:00.001+09:00

Today I invited one of my ESL students to my house to make some Christmas treats. Risa was my very 1st student over a year ago and she has come to see me almost every single Saturday since. She is definitely my most consistent student and it shows. Her English has improved immensely! Today was all about having fun and just enjoying each others company, no text book involved. I'm incredibly proud that we have gotten to the point where that is possible.

We started out by making a Christmas tree pizza

I used a small cookie cutter to cut star shape pepperoni and a bell pepper star for the top. It's a little lopsided but it still tasted DELICIOUS!

While the pizza cooked, we decorated cookies and brownies.

We made melted snowmen cookies that I originally saw on PINTEREST

I love this guy, we decided he was all dressed up for a night on the town but must have left early while the sun was still out =}

and I used a cookie cutter to cut brownies into tree shapes

We made a huge mess but had a great time so it was worth it!

I look REALLY tired, but here we are with some of our snowmen!

She's the cutest

We already have plans to make a gingerbread house & men next year! Thanks for the great memories Risa!

Domino's Pizza & a little venting

2011-12-04T16:56:00.001+09:00

Who knew that the pizza chain I have avoided for 10 years {I worked for the football team in college and after each home game we would order enough Domino's for each player to take home a whole pie and we ALWAYS had left overs so I would ALWAYS go home with 3 or 4 pizzas and munch on it all week. I haven't been able to eat it since} would be the one thing that would cheer me up when I was having a rotten day?!? There is a small carry out/delivery location right outside the gate that we pass every time we walk to the train station and until now, we have avoided it. I've heard awesome things about it and the one pizza joint we have on base is garbage so I have no idea why we waited over a year to try it but it's probably best that we did. Now that I know how good it is, I doubt I'll be able to stay any longer!

The menu is huge and contains your traditional American style pies, like pepperoni {that one is actually called the "American Special"} and a deluxe with mushrooms, pepperoni, green pepper, and onion with cheese and tomato sauce. They have a Margarita which is the pie our friends all rave about, so we tried on of those. We also selected a BBQ garlic chicken pizza which was AH-MA-ZING! It had chicken, BBQ sauce, corn{a little strange, I know, but it was good}, slices of garlic and cheese. The menu also features some very not traditional {by American standards} options as well including a"Charcoal Grilled Chiki-Teri" with teriyaki sauce instead of pizza sauce, broccoli and mayo {I want to try this one next time} and a one that was topped with asparagus and eggplant! They also have NY & Chicago style pizzas, salads, pastas, subs, chicken wings and nuggets, french fries, soups and desserts. It was a bit pricey, we paid 3,500 yen {about $50} for 2 "medium" pizzas but hey, that's what COLA {Cost Of Living Allowance for you non military folk is money the military pays you to compensate when you live in an area that has a high cost of living} is for right? We will definitely be going back to try some of the other options! Luckily for our waistlines though, the cost is enough to keep us from making it a frequent habit.

They give you this super handy bag for carrying your pizzas

Their "medium" pie next to my {NEW} 15.5 inch laptop...not the same as a medium in the States

The BBQ chicken {my favorite}

The Margarita {Jason's favorite}

Buster {out of focus} really wanted some but we were greedy and didn't share!

So what had me so irritated? We just found out {ON FACEBOOK} that we will be making a THIRD trip home next summer! {before I go any farther, I must say that I understand it is unreasonable of me to expect others to plan their lives around us, but these are my feelings and this is my blog so deal with it or leave!} When we moved to Japan, our plan was to visit the States ZERO times with exceptions made for weddings&funerals. We have all of our lives to live in the US but only 3 years to live in Asia so we wanted to spend all of our money&time visiting some amazing countries in this area. As you know, I already made one trip to the US because it was free. On top of that trip, we decided to travel home for Christmas to be with Jason's ill grandmother. We also have come to terms with the fact that we would be making 2 trips home next year, once in June for my brother Craig's wedding and once in September for Jason's brother Nik's wedding. 3 trips to the States in 10 months is A LOT! It's a lot of time, a crap load of money and an incredible amount of stress, mentally and physically but we don't want to miss out on these monumental moments in our siblings lives. On Thanksgiving, we found out {ON FACEBOOK} that Jason's other brother got engaged. We are thrilled for them and were extremely relieved when we found out they picked a weekend consecutive to the weekend their other brother is getting married. Then yesterday, we found out {ON FACEBOOK...can ya tell that part REALLY pisses me off} that they decided to move their wedding to Aug. I'm not sure if they think we are made of money or if they flat out didn't even consider us into their plans. Since we've found out all of this info via a freaking social media site, I'm leaning toward the latter. I'm so angry that I'm supposed to give up my plans for someone who cares so little that they can't even pick up the phone {I'd even be happy with an email!} to tells us. 3 trips between June-Sept , plus a trip this month is just insane! Even if Jason only takes a week of leave for each trip, that's 30 days of leave which doesn't leave us with much for things we want to do. PLUS, at $1500 a ticket, that's $12,000 in plane tickets! {ok, so we have some miles and will be able to get 2 of them that way, but still, $9000 is SO MUCH MONEY I CAN'T EVEN WRAP MY HEAD AROUND IT!!!} That's not to mention the money we will have to spend on dresses/tuxes, gifts and general travel expenses. We had plans to travel and a goal to save $20K next year which have obviously gone out the window. I know it's incredibly selfish of me but just as much as each of these couples have plans for their lives, so do Jason and I. Where do we draw the line and say our needs must come first? We could never choose to attend one but not the others so that isn't an option and not attending any isn't really an option we're willing to look at right now. I guess I just have to suck it up and accept that traveling and saving money isn't the plan the Lord has for us.

If you made it through all of that, cheers to you, I owe you a beer or a brownie or something!

LOVE

Christmas Wishlist

2011-11-27T15:03:00.000+09:00

Now that Thanksgiving is over{I just finished the last of our leftovers for lunch}, I thought I'd share my Christmas wishlist with you

Lat year, I asked for this necklace and didn't get it

but that's ok, because I found this one that I like even better!

I also still want a flash for my camera

I have a camera strap that is cute but NOT comfortable when it's hanging around my neck so a nice padded cover would be nice! One with a pocket would be awesome so I will ~~hopefully~~ stop loosing my lens cap!

{I need a 30" strap with a pocket to fit a 3" cap}

after seeing one of the pros at PhotoFest use a tablet like this, I've been dreaming of owning one. I think it would make me hate editing much less!

a battery pack/grip would be nice too but isn't super high on my wishlist

Enough about the camera!

I've heard great things about this kitchen gadget

and while we're talking about my KitchenAid, I'd love a new glass bowl

I recently acquired a new computer and I want a skin for the keyboard, in purple of course {my old one has so much gunk in it from using it for recipes in the kitchen!}

What do you want for Christmas this year?

Crafts

2011-11-17T17:12:00.001+09:00

Recently I've received a lot of complements on a few of the craft projects I have around my house, so I thought I'd share them with you. Plus I've been seeing variations of some of them on Pinterest and in ~~most~~ all of those cases, I like my version better {so what if I'm biased!}

1st I have my photo clock.

I've been seeing the scrapbook paper version on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I originally saw this one in a magazine years ago, done with a child's school photos {1st grade:1 o'clock, 2nd grade:2 o'clock, etc.} and decided to display our wedding photos this way. I bought the frames for cheap at Walmart and the clock piece I bought on EBay. {the clock part of it was actually pretty difficult to find} It is NOT easy to put this one up and when we moved last time, my husband said if I wanted it up, I had to figure it out. All the angles are slightly off where you would expect them to be because of the location of the holes in the frames but IMO it's totally worth all the effort. It's great for taking up a lot of space on a large wall.

*****************************

Next is my travel map.

I saw this one on another blog a few years back but for the life of me cannot remember which one! {If it was you, I'm so sorry I'm not giving you credit!}

There are also versions of this one on Pinterest

Source: younghouselove.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: thethorndykes.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I ordered my 36x24 inch map from Map Center {they will ship to APO just FYI} and glued it to a piece of foam board with spray adhesive. I took it to a craft store and had them frame it WITHOUT GLASS so I could put the pins in it. I have intentions of using different colored pins for my, my husband and our mutual travels and extra large pins for places we have lived but I haven't ordered the extra pins yet. {I'm going to do that RIGHT NOW!}. We chose a world map, but you could use any map of your choice.

*****************************

My most recent addition is my family scrabble board

Here is one version I saw on Pinterest

Source: remodelaholic.com via Marianne on Pinterest

My aunt and uncle have had one of these in their home for many years and I love it, so I copied it! We play a lot of board games, including scrabble, so this is perfect for us. I used the names of all our parents, siblings, and siblings spouses {technically fiance's since none of them are actually married yet}. I wanted the old style board, so I ordered that and 2 packs of letters on EBay. If you do this, I would recommend writing out all the names you plan to use and counting out all of the letters you need. Between Jason, Jes, Jamie, and Jeff, we needed at least 2 J's which meant 2 packs of letters {I didn't want to use any blanks}. I hope when my sister finds a man, his name fits! Then I have to figure out our children some day...but for now, it's perfect!

If you have any questions let me know and I'll do my best to answer them!

HAPPY CRAFTING!

Sharing

2011-11-16T17:00:00.001+09:00

Today, my friend Melissa and I prepared a traditional Thanksgiving meal for 25 of our Japanese ~~students~~ friends. Neither one of us has ever cooked an entire meal for such a large crowd but we pulled it off beautifully. Aside from the issue I had making the gravy {sorry ladies, that's why lunch was delayed today!} everything turned out perfectly. Our menu included

Turkey

Ham

Stuffing {my family recipe}

Angel Biscuits {Melissa's family recipe}

Green Bean Casserole

{my family uses the French's recipe, hers uses the Campbell's so we made a small dish of each}

Broccoli Casserole

{again, different family recipe's so we made 2 dishes, mine is similar to this one}

Sweet Potato Casserole

Cranberry Sauce

Corn

Mashed Potatoes

Pumpkin Pie & Pecan Pie

Each of the ladies also had a small bag of my homemade chex mix to take home with them.

I'm still in shock that we fit all 27 of us into my house, but after a little living room furniture tetris, we made it work

After we ate, we played Pictionary for a while. Melissa and I drew while the ladies guessed. Here are the words we went through. They did AWESOME considering Melissa and I are NOT artists!

Melissa and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves today and I ~~hope~~ think the ladies did too! Miraculously, my house was clean and back in order by 430 which made me really happy, I expected it to take me days to clean up!

I am so grateful to know these women and be able to share our American traditions with them!

{I cannot believe they got Buster to sit for a photo! He never does that for Jason and me}

Speaking of Buster, he was so well behaved today...well almost. He was great while the ladies were here. After they left and we cleaned up a bit we had to return the tables and chairs we borrowed so we loaded up Melissa's van and headed out. When we returned, I found the dog INSIDE the trash bag eating the food scraps...apparently I had forgotten to take the giant trash bag we used outside before we left! I couldn't be too mad at him, it was funny and totally my fault!

30 by 30 update

2011-11-12T09:00:00.000+09:00

Today I am 10 months away from turning 30! I still can't believe it. I meant to do a post every month to keep track of my progress but I missed last month so we're starting now, 2 months in. I'm not as far along as I would like to be on this list but I'm working on it. So far, I've only completely {3/30} but some are partially completed or in progress.

Health/Fitness {0/5}

1} take a yoga class

2} complete a 5K

3} climb Mt Fuji

4} do 1 unassisted pull up

5} pass the Army PT test for my gender/age group

Food {1/6}

6} learn to cook lobster

7} make gnocchi from scratch DONE {did this last week!}

8} learn to make grandma's relish

9} try 5 new foods {3/5} 1. natto beans. 2. umeboshi. 3. ratatouille (I know, I know, I'd never had it before and now I'm obsessed). 2 more to go

10} make Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon rolls

11} learn to make 5 traditional Japanese dishes, including sushi {3/5} 1.sushi rolls. 2. inarizushi. 3. omelet (they're slightly different than the omelets we eat in the States)

Travel {1/8}

12} drink the Absynth we bought in Prague 3 years ago maybe on New Years??

13} visit at least 3 new countries {2/3} 1. Taipei. 2. Australia

14} learn enough Japanese to carry on at least a 5 minute conversation working on this one

15} visit Disney (Tokyo Disney will have to do)

16} visit Hiroshima

17} scuba/snorkle the Great Barrier Reef {DONE}

19} visit a Japanese Onsen (hot spring) {planned for 31 Dec}

Random {1/11}

20} get out of debt (ALMOST THERE! STUPID STUDENT LOANS!) still working on this one but we're on track to be done 4 months before I turn 30 =}

21} get caught up on my scrapbooks and stay current

22} read 50 books {24/50}

23} find out my blood type

24} design a logo for BleuDress (or pay someone else to)

25} MASTER all the functions on my camera {DONE thanks to this class}

26} solve the Rubik's cube or complete a crossword puzzle without any help

27} save $20K

28} watch all of the Star Wars movies (I've only seen the newest one)

29} renew my CPR certification and keep it current

30} complete a photography project

What Ifs

2011-11-07T13:45:00.000+09:00

I saw this on Sarah's blog and thought it was fun, so I'm stealing it.

It's a really cute little post, so I hope you enjoy! =)

What if I were to get pregnant? It wouldn't be the end of the world but we're not quite there yet. We LOVE kids and eventually want to have our own but we have some things we want to do before we have children, like pay off all of our debt which will be done in about 6 months...then we'll have a serious chat about when.

What if I could have any job in the world? I would love to be a travel photographer. Get paid to travel and take photos? Yes, please!

What if I had a day all to myself? I'd probably go crazy. I need some social interaction in my life, daily.

What if I could get married all over again? I'd do it in a heart beat. A perfect chance to spend more time with everyone we love. I'd definitely hire Bobbi+Mike this time! It's the only regret I have from our 1st/2nd wedding.

What if I could live anywhere in the US? This one is interesting. This could be a very real possibility for us in the {somewhat} near future. Jason is considering a break in service to go back to school and get a 2nd bachelors degree in nursing. IF, and that's a HUGE IF, we choose this option, it will mean we can choose to move anywhere in the US that has a 2 year nursing as a 2nd degree program, which is basically anywhere. We've narrowed it down to a half dozen or so options: San Diego and Boston are at the top of that list.

What if I were to have more children? Let me get through the 1st one, then we can talk about more.

What if I could have any talent in the world? I wish I had some singing skills. I love singing but I'm AWFUL!

What if you met me in real life? The 1st thing that you'd probably notice is that I'm loud. My volume control is broken.

What if I went back to school? Blah! I really should go back and finish my degree {especially if my hubby is about to start working on his 2nd, not to mention the Masters he already has} but I just don't have the desire/motivation to do so. I probably wouldn't do very well if I did go back now, because of that lack of motivation.

What if money weren't an object? We'd travel more and donate more. I cannot wait until this is our reality!

What if I could meet one celebrity? I'd probably pick a "celebrity" chef, like Alton Brown, just so I could pick his brain!

What if I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life? Just 1?!?!?! For clothes, probably Express. They have a pretty large variety of casual everyday, work appropriate and fancy party clothes.

What if I could choose an animal/pet? Other than Buster, probably a horse.

What if I could go on a trip right now? And money isn't an issue? AFRICA! I want to go on a safari so bad!!!!

What if I had to choose between a house cleaner and professional chef? House cleaner, please!!! I can cook for myself, it's the cleaning up part that ~~I suck at~~ I'm not very good at.

What if I had the option to get plastic surgery? I'd say no thanks.

My favorite holiday is getting close!

2011-11-04T11:16:00.001+09:00

My favorite part about Halloween is when it's over! I'm not a big fan of the holiday and I just see it as one more hurdle to get past before we finally get to my favorite holiday, THANKSGIVING! Apparently everyone around here has decided to skip straight from Halloween to Christmas this year, I cannot find a single thing Thanksgiving related but they sure do have everything set up for Christmas already! I'm determined to give Thanksgiving the attention it deserves.

I try so hard every year to wait until Halloween is over before I start my Thanksgiving plans but when I started seeing turkeys and pies on the cover of all my favorite food magazines in the check out aisle I just couldn't resist.

{all photos courtesy of Google Images}

I started my plans 2 weeks ago. Last year I posted two VERY detailed explanations of all the prep work I do for this holiday. You can read those here and here if you're interested. I'm warning you though, I go above and beyond , to the point where some may start to call me crazy. This year I'm hosting two full meals, once on the 16th for about 30-40 Japanese ladies that I {and my friend Melissa} teach English to and once for a bunch of friends on Thanksgiving day. In between those two full meals, I'm also making stuffing/dressing for a church lunch and a turkey & stuffing/dressing for our unit FRG meeting. That adds up to 3 turkeys, 4 batches of stuffing/dressing, and 2 servings of each of the sides that go along with the meal, like green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, pies, etc., all in 9 days. While most people would see that list and throw in the towel or recruit help, I am super excited about all of the shopping and cooking! I can't wait to get started!

Anyone else excited about Thanksgiving?!?!?

Treading water

2011-10-27T19:33:00.000+09:00

PHEW! I feel like I have been treading water for the past 3 months and someone finally threw me a life preserver. I'm well aware that my life has been crazy because I chose it to be, and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but man is it nice to relax a bit!

Since my last post, I spent 6 days in Ofunato where I did some more gutting, laid some bricks at a park, distributed winter items to families in temporary housing and learned how to play ground golf, a game many elderly Japanese play that is very similar to putt-putt. Sadly, that trip was my last to Ofunato, at least for now. I would like to return in the spring to volunteer some more and if that's not possible, I hope to visit again as a tourist some time before we leave.

I also spent 3 days at a photography workshop in Yokohama. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for PhotoFest Japan 2011, I just hoped to learn a few things about my camera and a thing or two about photography in general. Any expectations I had were far exceeded! 10 minutes into day 1, class 1, I learned how to do something on my camera that I didn't think was possible and it just kept getting better from there. Basically, there were 3 professionals that each taught a different class on a different topic every hour. Participants were free to attend which ever class we were interested in. We also went on a few different outings and were able to drill the pro's with tons of questions. I learned a ton, met some great people and got to work with a few models {a 1st for me...unless you count ones that are related to me}

At the end of the weekend, we had a "contest" among the participants. While none of my photos were chosen as favorites by my peers, one {we were only about to submit 2 each} of my photos was selected by the pro's as an honorable mention ~~and what they think is way more important.~~

Here is that photo

and a few others from the weekend

The most important thing that happened since my last blog post however, was this

Hubby {far left} finally got his company command!!! It's been quite a roller coaster getting to this point but it's here and we're excited for this part of our journey here in Japan! I'm sure there will be many vague, ranting posts to come regarding this topic =}

All Hands Project Tohoku

2011-10-12T20:52:00.000+09:00

I leave tomorrow morning for a 3rd week in Ofunato with All Hands. For those of you that have asked or are interested in what kind of work we do up there, please watch this video. In fact, even if you don't care about the work that is being done there, you should watch this video anyways!

Six Months of Project Tohoku from All Hands Volunteers on Vimeo.

Fun Sunday in Tokyo

2011-10-09T12:00:00.000+09:00

Last week I received an email letting me know that some local photographers were getting together to participate in a Worldwide Photo Walk I already had plans to meet up with some All Hands friends in Tokyo before they took off in different directions all around the world so I decided to join the photo walk as well and make a day of it. The group was headed to Harajuku which is one of my favorite places to spend a Sunday afternoon so it was perfect. The weather was great, the people were great, and some of the photos were even great.

Here's the whole group, pre-walk

We started in Yoyogi Park. I love these guys, I talked about them before here

He's my favorite, I can't get enough of his hair!

how cute are these two

choosing the right song

sometimes they pause to help each other with their hair

she's totally adorable

Then we moved over to Takeshita Street which is famous for its shopping and its street fashion.

We saw these guys giving out free hugs and kisses on the way over

Takeshita St. people watching is some of the best

that's actually a dude under there

After the photo walk, I met up with friends at an izakaya which is a Japanese all you can eat/drink for one price restaurant/bar. It was such a bittersweet night. Everyone had a lot of fun but we all knew when the night ended, it would be the last time we would see each other...at least for a long time!

Toby and me, love him!

with Chris, he and I worked together every day I was there the 2nd time around

half of the room

I LOVE THESE GIRLS! Lucky for me, they both live locally =}

Military Life

2011-10-08T17:13:00.001+09:00

Earlier this week, I read chapter 30 of the Army Wife Handbook {it was given to me as a gift, I figured I might as well read part of it}. Today I attended a 6 hour class at ACS. Anyone want to take a guess what is about to happen?!?!?

Almost 2 years after my husband graduated from CCC {Captains Career Course}, it's almost time for him to take company command. In less than 2 weeks, I will be the proud wife of the ICORP FWD HHC company commander. Along with his new job title comes the responsibility of maintaining the company FRG {Family Readiness Group}. What that really means is, since no spouse has stepped up to lead said group {it's usually led by a spouse of someone in the unit under the supervision of the CC}, that it falls on Jason's plate. This leaves me with 2 options. 1. Let him do it which in turn means more work for him which leads to less time to spend with me. or 2. Step up and volunteer to lead the group myself. Since I actually enjoy spending time with my husband, I have chosen option 2. The only problem with this is that until recently, I have never even attended an FRG meeting {we've been through a string of unusual units/circumstances}. I basically have NO clue what I'm doing but if it makes my husbands life easier, I'm going to do my best to figure it out! I pray that a more experienced wife steps up and offers to help me but for now I'm trying to suck up as much information as possible. {Any advice/resources/thoughts/comments/experiences would be appreciated}

Just when I thought my schedule was going to calm down a bit, I've realized it's probably going to do quite the opposite. I picked up an English teaching gig as a sub for one of my friends, at least once a month. PWOC has started back up again. I was elected secretary of the photography club on base. {I wasn't even around for that one, I received an email the morning after the meeting I missed saying "Congratulations!...." lol}. The spouses group here has kicked off a new year. I'm still teaching my regular students. I started taking Japanese lessons. My volunteer projects. This blog. Holiday season. Now the role of FRG leader?!?! Thank God for my Lilly planner or I might just lose my head! I really need to schedule in time to go to the gym too before the pounds creep up on me. I wanted to start taking some classes and get to work on finishing my undergrad degree but that is going to have to wait until I see exactly how much time these commitments are going to take up.

I have always thought my time management skills were above par but I guess we are going to find out here in the next couple months!

And because I can't post without a photo, here is a shot of me and some of the awesome girls I met through All Hands hanging out in Tokyo

Ofunato & All Hands

2011-10-05T23:23:00.000+09:00

Until recently I assumed that unless I tell someone {outside our little milspouse community} about my blog, they don't know it exists. I found out I am mistaken. Apparently when you mention a NGO on your blog, they notice. Last week I returned to Ofunato to do some more work and my first day back my favorite volunteer coordinator {love you Toby!} mentioned my blog. My jaw dropped and I believe my response was "how the %&*$ do you know about that?!?!?" Sometimes I forget that people can find my blog by a simple Google search. I promised my friend a write up, with words this time, so here it goes.

Here I talked about my trip up last time and I posted a bunch of photos here but I didn't really talk about my experience with All Hands. I will admit, I was a bit nervous on my way up the first time. Going into unknown situations does that to me {and the all the complications on the way up didn't help} but all those feelings were wiped away once I arrived. The staff were wonderful. I had a quick "orientation" then dumped my stuff and was put to work {I arrived in the middle of the day and they gave me the option to hang out or work the rest of the day}. The normal arrangement is to work all day then come back to base for dinner {which is always homemade my some awesome Japanese ladies} and after/during dinner, they have a meeting to introduce new volunteers, discuss the work that was done that day and the work to be done the next day and leaving volunteers have an opportunity to say goodbye. At the end of the meeting, they ask for 4 volunteers to do dinner dishes. Those 4 people have 1st choice of work for the next day. After they sign up, it's a free for all to sign up for the next days work on the board. Somehow, over 11 nights, I have managed to only be a part of the mad rush once!

This was the board last week

This was the board around the last time I was there

Our numbers dwindled and they've gotten even smaller since I left last week!

{the project is coming to an end}

So on a typical day buses leave base no later than 0815. Depending on how far way the work site is, you work from 0900ish-1200 then break for an hour lunch. We eat bentos everyday, which is a very typical Japanese lunch. Then we work from 1300-1600ish before heading back to base. The work week goes from Wednesday-Monday with Tuesdays off, that way if people want to come volunteer on the weekends when they are off from their regular job, they can.

So, that's basically how it all works. Obviously my experience didn't suck or I wouldn't have gone up for a second time and I wouldn't be going up for the third time next week.

And here are some photos from last weeks trip

building a fence at a park

weeding

one of the best lunches ever

bugs

harvesting rice to be made into sake

some kids came to help

which turned into a friendly mud fight

froggy kisses =}

the field after the rice was harvested

the house we gutted

I'm responsible for about 90% of this mess =}

I leave one week from today to go back up for a third week and I cannot wait!

Sister visit

2011-10-04T23:35:00.000+09:00

Wow, I've been gone so long that Blogger went and changed things on me and now it's like I'm blogging for the 1st time! I cannot believe how much I have neglected this blog, but sometimes living life is more important than blogging about it. I'm going to try my best to play catch up this week but I have another busy week planned so I may not get too far. I have taken several thousand photos that I need to make time to go through and as I get through the photos, I'm going to try to write up the blog post that goes with them. Starting with my sister's visit!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my sister surprised me for my birthday by showing up at my door in Japan. Since I didn't know she was coming, I wasn't able to plan anything in advance so the 2 weeks she was here were pretty crazy {hence the lack of blogging}. We started with the basics

riding the train

shopping at the 100 Yen store

learning to use chopsticks

and making drink choices

we had a BBQ to celebrate my birthday with our awesome friends and neighbors

{the husband took a craptastic photo of the ladies, I had to do some crazy editing just so you could see our faces}

Then Steph and I took off to Kyoto for 3 days of sightseeing and sisterly bonding.

It was incredibly hot while we were there so we'd spend the morning site seeing then head back to the hotel around lunch time to let our clothes dry out a bit and have some lunch, then head back out again in the evening. Despite the heat, we saw some amazing sites while we were there

{I love reflections...I could have spent the entire day here}

love me some symmetry!

we fed some monkeys {they were wild, we were the ones inside the cage}

and our favorite part of the trip was getting to play dress up as Maiko!

I posted this photo on Facebook and my mom asked who the Japanese girl next to me was lol

After Kyoto, I had to spend a few days local because I had students scheduled {and by that point, I definitely needed the Yen!} so we just hung out around the house, cooking and playing games and being sisters

can you touch your elbows and wrists at the same time while holding your arms out? We tried to convince my husband he was the weirdo because he can't do this...he didn't agree!

Then we went to SUMO! It only happens a few times a year and it just happened to be in Tokyo while she was in town so of course we had to go. None of us had a clue what was going on, but we had a great day anyways!

after SUMO, we headed to Shibuya to experience the huge crossing there

while in Shibuya, we stumbled upon an awesome punk rock bar which was the perfect way to end our night

I also learned a valuable lesson that night...do NOT wear this dress without a belt!

Her last night in town we thought we'd try to do some last minute things but Typhoon Roke had other ideas and we just ended up stranded in Tokyo looking like drowned rats!

Definitely NOT the way we had intended her trip to end, but it was definitely memorable. I could not have asked for a better way to begin my last year in my 20's!

After she left, I spent 36 hours resting and recovering from her visit before I left for Ofunato round 2, which is where I will hopefully continue the recap tomorrow =}

If you read all the way to this point, thanks for sticking with me. I'm making it a point this month to spend some time relaxing and thus blogging more!

CHEERS!

SURPRISE!

2011-09-10T23:29:00.001+09:00

So this girl who looks a lot like me showed up at my house on Thursday

That's right folks, my sister made a surprise visit to Japan! I had a suspicion someone was coming but I had no idea who or when and was completely surprised when she walked in the door on Thursday evening instead of my husband.

We've already eaten lots of yummy Japanese food

Rode the train a few times

Done a lot of shopping and sight seeing

And started the birthday celebrations a few days early

We have a crazy busy 2 weeks planned and I probably won't do much blogging but I'll be back with a full recap as soon as I can!

This is by far the best birthday surprise I've ever received. I'm so grateful that she thought to do this for me and for all the assistance my husband provided to make this happen. I am truly a blessed woman!

~ Posted from my iPhone

1 year

2011-09-01T12:00:00.001+09:00

We have officially been living in Japan for a year now. 3 months into this tour, I felt like it was never going to end. Now, I can't believe it's going by so fast!

Today marks 1 year of

*living in a foreign country
*being 8,000 miles away from friends and family

*squatting to pee in public restrooms

*living on a military base

*not understanding a word of what 90% of people around me are saying {I'm fixing this, I start Japanese lessons next week!}

*having access to some of the best public transportation in the world

*eating super fresh sushi

*being taller than 90% of people around me

*seeing movies a week or more after everyone else

*near daily adventures with my husband

*using chopsticks daily
*"hai", "konichiwa", "arigato"
*getting to know some awesome Japanese ladies
*driving on the left side of the road
*teaching English
*shopping online
*Skype
*being 28 (I can't believe I'm going to be 29 in a few days!)
*feeling massively out of the loop
*not being able to stream movies/tv shows
*missing birthdays/weddings/holidays
*exploring a new country
*trying new foods
*life without our favorite American restaurants
*100 Yen finds
*eating the freshest Fuji apples! YUM!

and it's been one of the best years of my life!

Ofunato

2011-08-31T13:21:00.001+09:00

I've been home for almost a week now, thinking about what to write in this post. I am not good with words so I think I will just let my photos do the speaking.

The work was difficult, mentally and physically but we also found some time to enjoy ourselves as well

Hopefully Ofunato hasn't seen the last of me. I'm planning on returning a few more times between now and November to do some more hard work and meet more amazing people!

Only me

2011-08-19T22:03:00.001+09:00

My mom and grandmother have always said to me "only you". Seriously, sometimes the craziest stuff happens to me. Today {1st of all, I had a post scheduled for today and I have no clue where it is} I attempted to make my way to Ofunato to start my week of volunteer work.

Here I am, all packed and ready to go {I officially suck at "pack light"}

Unfortunately, I didn't make it that far. I was supposed to get into Ichinoseki by Shinkansen {bullet train} and have over an hour to change to a local bus that would take me to Ofunato. The transportation system here is notorious for being on time. Not today. APPARENTLY, I have been unable to confirm this, someone committed suicide by jumping in front of my train. I truly hope that is not the case but unfortunately it does happen quite frequently here. After stopping twice, for about 2 hours total, I knew I wasn't going to make the last bus to Ofunato. Upon arrival in Ichinoseki, thanks to some awesome translation skills by a total stranger, I was refunded 1/2 of my train ticket price and set out in search of a hotel. It's times like these I REALLY wish I had taken the time to learn more Japanese {I start private lessons in 2 weeks but I should have stared a year ago!}. After 2 "no"s and a taxi ride {my 1st in Japan} I found a hotel with a vacant room and I'm about to crash for the night. Tomorrow I will, God willing, take a bus to Ofunato and then the real fun begins!

~ Posted from my iPhone

don't give up on me

2011-08-12T18:45:00.000+09:00

Believe it or not, I haven't forgotten about my blog, I've just been too busy to post lately. We spent 12 glorious days in Australia...

enjoying picture perfect views

exploring a rain forest

snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

holding aligators

feeding kangaroos

holding koalas

enjoying more picture perfect views

whale watching

visiting national treasures

and just being over all rock stars

7 hours after we returned to Japan (the journey from Australia to Japan is a whole other blog post for another day), our local VBS started and I spent all week taking photos of super cute children while they worshiped Jesus.

It was AWESOME but exhausting! I'm so glad to relax for a few days...but only a few days. Then, next week, I'm heading to Ofunato, Japan to help All Hands with their tsunami clean up efforts.

I stole this photo from their facebook page to show you what the area still looks like 5 months after the deadly tsunami swept through the town.

Obviously there is still TONS & TONS of work to be done and I'm glad I am able to help out. I don't know how much internet access I'll have there, other than my iPhone, so I probably won't post again until the end of the month.

Thanks for sticking with me!

I'm in love!

2011-07-28T15:17:00.001+09:00

If it weren't for this

{$13 USD! I'll never forget shaving cream on vacation again}

I would never leave here

~ Posted from my iPhone courtesy of the free wi-fi at McDonalds!

Checks

2011-07-27T16:32:00.001+09:00

I've been working on my 30 by 30 list today! As I write this, I'm on a bus en route to Narita airport to check off country number 2 of 3 of #13: visit at least 3 new countries. I'm headed to Australia for the next 11 days where I'll get to check off #17: snorkel the great barrier reef. I feel so incredibly blessed to have these opportunities.

Another blessing in my life is the wonderful Japanese ladies I have met while living here in Japan. This morning Sachiko invited me and 9 of her Japanese friends into her home to teach me how to make my favorite japanese treat, inari (sushi rice wrapped in a sweet piece of tofu).

While we were there the ladies also taught me how to make sushi rolls! (2 checks for #11 on my list, learn to make 5 traditional Japanese dishes, including sushi)

It was a great morning of fellowship filled with lots of laughter and even more delicious food

I am incredibly grateful to her for opening her home to me and allowing me to create memories I will cherish my entire life! THANK YOU SACHIKO (and everyone who came out this morning)!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

mini triathalon

2011-07-25T13:00:00.002+09:00

This weekend our base had it's 1st annual sprint triathlon. I had some friends who were competing so I woke up at 0600 to go take some photos. I do not know how people get up that early every day. I could barely function! I am definitely not a morning person.

Luckily, it was a beautiful day

after swim area

my buddy Andrew during the swim

after the swim

swim to bike transition

the bike with a slight view of the mountains (I wish we could see Fuji from here!)

the finish

dull

2011-07-24T19:26:00.001+09:00

Dull is the best word I can think of to describe this blog lately. Yuck! My apologies. It's not going to get any better, as I'm about to leave for an 11 day vacation.

I did go out today and ~~eat lots of yummy Thai food~~ take some photos for some friends of mine. They warned me it was going to be a long, painful day because they are, "terrible at this". I think I took less than 50 photos all day. They NAILED IT on the 1st try each time! What do you think?!?!

can't decide which of these I like better...

I'm so proud of these. I'm secretly glad that they're having a hard time choosing one, it makes me feel good about my work!

Do you have a favorite?

shopping in Japan part II

2011-07-18T16:16:00.000+09:00

It's obviously been pretty boring around here lately. I guess boring isn't the most accurate word, I just haven't done anything blog worthy recently. I've spend most of the last 2 weeks either laying by the pool or watching movies in the AC. The heat/humidity here right now makes it almost unbearable to be outside. I did venture out today to do a bit of pre-vacation shopping (PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one that NEEDS new clothes before vacation). There is a nearby town that has tons of little boutique type shops and I typically stick to window shopping, but today I actually went into some of them and bought a few things. I've talked about shopping in Japan before and I figured I'd share today's finds as well.

I own about 7 or 8 plan white t-shirts/tanks but no "cute" white tops, so I picked this guy up for about $20 USD

and this shirt for about $18 USD, that I found in a REALLY busy store so I didn't try it on...

and I didn't notice how GINORMOUS the arm holes are until I got home and tried it on...good thing I have plenty of plain white tops to wear under it!

I just thought this shirt was cute and it was on sale for $15 so I picked it up

All 3 of these tops are size L! The clothes here are not made for women with my measurements, that's for sure!

And my favorite find of the day, this skirt. It was the very last one on the clearance rack, originally about $65 and I paid $25 for it. I'm in love!

even if I do have to hike it up and wear it around the smallest part of my waist for it to fit!

I know a lot of Americans here that don't care for the Japanese styles, but I LOVE it! I just wish it weren't so hard to find items that actually fit me!

ROCKABILLY

2011-07-12T22:25:00.002+09:00

**Warning, this is going to be another long post with lots of photos!**

I've posted about our favorite restaurant here in Japan (you can read about it here) but I don't think I shared one of our favorite things about the place. This guy, the owner, has a lot to do with why we love the place so much

He doesn't speak any English, but we rock at hand gestures. He's so fun and full of energy and his hair is the bomb!

I've always had a fascination with the 1950's and greasers so finding this place was like finding a rare gem for me. This led me to wonder what else might be out there in Japan so I did some research and found these guys. I HAD TO CHECK THEM OUT! We finally decided to go on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we could not have picked a more perfect time to go!

From ~~eavesdropping~~ talking with a few other people that were there, we found out that there are actually multiple groups of these dancers out there and they never really get together, but the day we went happened to be some really important guys birthday and they all got together at the same place and time to celebrate. JACKPOT!

Everyone gather around him and presented him gifts

before the dancing began

this guy definitely wins the best hair award!

(major bonus points if you know what they're singing here)

this guy is the Japanese Joseph Gordon Levitt!

this kid was my favorite part!

seriously?!?

I loved him!

and a few misc photos

yay for a coca-cola shirt!

her jacket says Lebels...like Rebels...ha ha =}

and a video of the dancing

10 on 10 {iPhone edition}

2011-07-10T21:10:00.002+09:00

I've been wanting to participate in this fun photo project I saw a while back but I just never think about it...until today! The idea is to take 10 photos on the 10th of each month, one an hour for 10 hours. I didn't have my camera with me for most of the day, so these are all iPhone photos, but I think this is a fun way to document your day.

Today we babysat a couple of cuties

we played tennis

my husband taught them how to be creepers (aka, searching randomly through Google earth)

we went to church

then to lunch, where we got lots of cherries in our lemonade

we attempted and failed at nap time

we went to see Cars 2 (which I loved, and all the stuff that they show about Tokyo was hilarious and true)

due to the lack of nap time, one of us didn't make it through all of the movie

we went to the park

where we played until mom and dad came home

We had a really fun day, but we're exhausted and going to bed early tonight!

4th of July Weekend Recap

2011-07-07T10:22:00.002+09:00

I haven't enjoyed a 4 day weekend this much in a long time. Our weekend was filled with the perfect balance of excitement and relaxation.

The 1st day of every month, a Shrine a few towns over has a huge flea market type sale. They sell a variety of used Japanese goods like kimonos, obis, pottery, and small trinket items. There is a West Point cadet here TDY for a month and she wanted to pick up a few of these items so some of my neighbors and I took her to the sale on Friday. It was was crazy hot but a lot of fun looking at all the stuff. After shopping we had lunch at the TGI Fridays there.

While we were out shopping, Jason spent the morning/afternoon fishing. He had me convinced to eat this guy for dinner...until I saw it mid-cleaning! YUCK! I prefer not to see my food in that stage.

Friday night we went to a local Mexican joint with a bunch of our neighbors. YUM!
(sorry no photos)

Saturday morning I had an ESL lesson, then Jason and I spent a few hours at the pool over at Atsugi. Our favorite thing about spending time there, McDonald's fountain soda for me and Baskin Robins ice cream for him. 2 things we can't get on our base

Then we headed to the 4th of July celebration at a park on our base.

They had a petting zoo set up and I think that was everyone's favorite part of the afternoon.

we really miss our "binny pig"

The kids were fearless around the animals

so were the adults

yes, that's my husband with 3 rats crawling on him!

We had a great time with friends

found the cheapest form of entertainment ever!

and Jason and I even put on a little show!

There's a bit of a back story to those last 2. We are both big fans of ska music, so at our wedding, we had the DJ play a song by Reel Big Fish called "Sell Out". Here we are dancing to this song at our wedding.

My mom likes to refer to this as "crazy dancing" but it's actually called "skanking". As you can see, out of the 200 people at our wedding, there were 6 of us that knew what was going on. It's one of my most favorite moments from our wedding day, one I will definitely never forget! So, when the Army band started to play this song on Saturday, I forced my hubby to go out in front of all of Camp Zama (and probably most of Atsugi) and dance with me. My neighbor was kind enough to snap a few photos of us doing our thing.

After some fun at the park, we returned to our neighborhood where we had a fabulous view of the fireworks from our neighbors house.

Awesome neighbors, Cristy, Melody, myself and Kristin

some of Camp Zama's firework display...

not to shabby for not having a tripod

We had a great time celebrating America's birthday together

We spent the actual 4th of July relaxing at the pool with some friends.

It was the perfect way to end the long weekend!

(Sorry this turned into the longest blog post ever!)