Japanese glass beads

Today my friend Miho took myself and 2 other ladies to make Japanese glass beads.  

We got some instruction from this kind gentleman.  He was very patient with us!

Then it was out turn to pick some colors and give it a try

 I obviously enjoyed myself

 TO {red} N {yellow} BO {blue} DAMA {green}  {I knew all but the green}

TONBODAMA=glass beads

 Our friend Miho is a seasoned professional at this

 Once you are happy with your shape and design in goes into the pebble bath to cool off

 The shop also has a jewelry making area

Plus it is a coffee/tea shop

Upstairs was an area with more seating where we were served tea & chocolate while we waited for out beads to cool

Our finished products

For our 1st time, we were all pretty impressed with how well they turned out!  Here is mine =}

{the fabulous owner also sent us all home with a gift but I am going to give mine to someone so I can't show you yet!}

After craft time, Miho took us to her favorite noodle shop for lunch. When we pulled into the parking lot, the line was out the door.  "People were waiting outside in the cold for these noodles?  They must be good!", I thought and I was not disappointed!

You walk in and everything is completely open.

You get to watch them make everything!

This guy rolls out the dough.

 Then laid it on top of the slicing machine.

The next guy comes over and puts the dough through the slicer which makes the noodles.

 The noodles are placed into a huge tub of boiling water and then fished out with these giant nets! {pun intended}

 Then you place your order {what size bowl you want and if you want any special sauces added}.

 Next you can choose some tempura to go with your noodles.

 Which is also cooked fresh right in front of you.

Then you eat!

Udon noodles with shrimp and eggplant tempura and an inarizushi.  YUM!

These are 2 things that I never would have experienced if it weren't for a friendship I made through church.  Miho, I am eternally grateful to you for sharing this part of your culture with me!

I plan on recreating this day with my mom when she gets here.  OH!  I think that is the 1st time I've mentioned that on here.  

MY MOMMA IS COMING TO VISIT!!!!!!!

In just a few {5 or 6} short weeks, she will be here and I cannot wait!!!  She will hopefully be here just in time for the sakura {cherry blossoms} and the warmer weather.  It's going to be so nice to show my mom this amazing country.  This is a once in a lifetime trip for her and I'm so glad she decided to come.

recovered?

I might have kicked this jet lag thing in the butt for the 2nd time in the past month....maybe...hopefully!

My trip home was significantly less painful than my trip to the US.  My total travel time was 24 hours instead of the 36 it took me to get to the US and I only had one lay over instead of 2.  That one lay over was a bit of an adventure though, I had a 45 minute connection in DC which, for those of you that don't travel very often, is not a lot of time.  It didn't help that my flight left Cincinnati 15 minutes late.  I literally sprinted through the airport, knocking people out of the way (sorry old dude, you were moving too slow for me and no matter how many times I said excuse me, you just wouldn't get out of my way) and hurdling luggage to make it to my flight on time.  I'm sure I was a sight to see, but I was determined not to get stuck there.  I made my flight with only a few minutes to spare and luckily there was no one in the seat next to me so it was a pretty comfortable 14 hour flight.  I made it home just in time to be shaken into a deep sleep by pretty good aftershock.  Nothing says welcome home like an aftershock huh?

I have been waking up really early in the mornings (0700 is really early for me) but I don't mind too much because I've been waking up feeling rested and just in time for NHL playoff hockey puck drop on this side of the world.  The strangest part of this episode of jet lag for me has been CRAVING dinner in the morning instead of breakfast foods (get your minds out of the gutter, I'm not prego).

I tried not to waste any time getting back to my "normal" life. Lunch with friends. Social time with my awesome neighbors.  PWOC Bible study.  Teaching English lessons.  COOKING!  Gym.  I figure if I'm busy, I'll stay awake. 

I also made time to finish a craft project that has been in the works for months now

 I am IN LOVE with my menu board! 

(and yes, I realize I spelled Kielbasa wrong...I may or may not get around to correcting that)

To top it all off, Jason returned safely from Sendai last night.

  He is currently out wearing a clown suit getting some tests done to make sure he isn't radiating is as healthy as when he left

It's so nice to have our family together again without any TDY's in the near future.