"It's the freakin weekend...

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

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}

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}

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) {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

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

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