Travels, Part 1

I know, I know....I've been a little absent from the blog lately. I have a good excuse though - I've been traveling! Spring break brought Team Juloa to the lush island of Kauai, Hawaii to meet up with Mike and Jess. 

Since I have A LOT of pictures, I thought I'd break up the blog entries a little.  Tonight, I leave you with some of the beautiful views and scenery we experienced on the trip.  Tomorrow, I'll write more about what we did.   Enjoy!

The Beauty of Kauai, "The Garden Island of Hawaii"

Noa took this photo from the sky (we got to ride a helicopter!)

There were lots of mountainous regions with hidden waterfalls all over the landscape.

The beautiful waterfall that we hiked to in the rain.  It was worth the long hike.

More waterfalls.  To give some perspective, the white spot to the left in the photo is another helicopter.  This was absolutely stunning.

I thought these trees were so interesting!

The sun starting to creep down at the end of the day.
A coastal view from one of our hikes.

Miles and miles of white, sandy beaches!

Finally, the view from our place.  We were right on the ocean!
Stay tuned.  More photos to come and more travel adventures!

Plans, Schmans

I had my whole day planned out today:

1. get up, go to work
2. leave work early to take the dogs to the vet (for annual shots)
3. drop dogs off at home, go to the commissary
4. buy groceries, bring home, change
5. go to the gym, work out with Noa
6. go home, eat dinner
7. go to bed

I made it all the way to number 4 when I realized that my night would not be as I had planned.  Instead of coming home, dropping off the groceries and then changing to go workout, Noa and I jumped in the car to head BACK to the vet with Sadie.  Unfortunately she developed an allergic reaction to one of her vaccinations today.  Her whole face was swollen.  The poor thing looked like she suddenly had the face of a shar-pei.

I tried to get a picture, but she wasn't feeling very photogenic (guess I wouldn't either if I was her).

She had to get a couple more injections to keep the reaction from spreading and to minimize the swelling.  She'll be on Benadryl for a few days.  Thankfully, we're already starting to see improvement.

Well, back to my "plans" - I'm skipping to number 6!

The Many Faces of Curry

Let me start this post by saying that I am a picky eater.  Although I've expanded my food horizons from when I was younger (I think I ate bologna and cheese sandwiches for lunch all through elementary school), I still have very specific tastes.  However, one food that I have suddenly learned to love over the years is CURRY!  I think it started in college when I was in India for a summer.  Come to find out, the Japanese have a curry too!  The Japanese curry is different that Indian curry in that the variety is meats/veggies mixed with the curry and/or the level of spice.  My favorite is chicken cutlet curry.  One of the curry places here - popular with Americans - is CocoIchbanya.

My dish: chicken cutlet curry, naan bread, and oolong tea (iced).

The service industry in Japan is amazing.  Look, they are even polite when they have to put their foot down!  The sign reads: "We're sorry, we can't sell beer to a driver.  Thank you for your cooperation."

Noa and I sat at the counter and watched the cooks dish out rice from this huge rice pot.  I couldn't resist getting a picture of our reflection.

Thankfully, they offer "half order" which are basically a smaller size that a huge plate (gotta watch that portion control!).  I found it comical that the menu states these are intended for "ladies and children."

And for those with food allergies - there's even curry for you!!

On Sunday night, we met up with Meg and Joe at Istanbul, a Turkish restaurant near the seawall.  Wouldn't you know, I just had to try the Turkish curry dish on the menu.  

Quite different than the night before!

It went down well with some Turkish beer!

I split baklava with Noa for dessert, but Megs decided to try the Turkish ice cream.  She asked the waiter what made it different from regular ice cream.  Among the variances, one interesting feature is that it's "sticky."  Even the little guy on the container demonstrates it.
And then Meg did too.

Champions!

I had to do some photo gathering in order to blog about this past weekend's events.  Sorry it took me so long.

First big news: Noa completed his first triathlon!  He did great and he even got to participate with a bunch of friends from church.   Pictured below are Laura, Jason, Noa, Kent, Tom, Jessie, and Kevin. 

He crosses the finish line!

Not only did he finish the race, but he was on call the night prior and delivered a baby hours before competing!  What a guy!

Second big news: Team Juloa proved to be true poker champions this weekend!!  We went to a poker party on Saturday night in honor of our friend Kent's birthday.  I paired up with Noa (I had never played before) for the big game.  It was pretty fun, although I can't believe how long the game went.  I also learned that your not supposed to show your cards after bluffing - whoops!  

Look we made $50!  

What a team!

Couldn't Help It

I had to take one more quiz.  You know I just can't pass up this kind of quiz!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

After church today the I went with "the girls" to grab brunch and much needed pedicures at Cocoks.  We had a blast!  Here are our toes from today (mine are the red ones on the bottom with the daisies):

Here's a shot showing the huge paint selection.  It's so fun to watch them create toe art. Using a very fine tipped brush, they create a work of art on each toe using actual paint! In Okinawa, it's more common to see folks - especially the Americans - with toe art than without.

Emily pointed out this really strange sign hanging in the shop.  I thought it was odd, so of course, I had to take a photo.

Laura had the most intricate design.  It was copied from one of Gunnar's dog collars!  

I'm already looking forward to the next Cocok's trip!

Random Fun

I was reading my friend Tara's blog (see sidebar: Giggles-n-Gulps) and came upon her entry called "Random Fun" and I just had to partake in some of the activities.  Click on them if you'd like to see what your score would be.

This one was weird, but I secretly enjoyed it.  Maybe I've been around kindergarten too long.

20

This one is definitely subjective, but also quite enjoyable. I can't believe all the colors I missed!

40

Again, strange, but oddly fun!

$4575.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.

Okay, read this and read this well....if there's ever a zombie apocalypse, I'm toast. Save me!!

17%

Catching Up

I'm a little behind on blogging (sorry). I have some catching up to do.

First, the weekend....

I finally remembered to bring my camera to this unusal Okinawan restaurant called Jet City Burgers. We went there on Saturday night with some of Noa's coworkers. This place is so unique - at least I've never been to a place like it. Some of the really cool things about the place:

• right on the water, near Araha Beach and really small, quaint
• creative menu items - I like the terriyaki curry wrap
• signature item: avacado - they put it on everything
• the decor! Check out the outside:
  

The service is great (of course, this is true in most Japanese establishments). Here is the nice girl who took our orders. I think she thought we were nuts for wanting to take her picture.

More reasons to love this place: these signs. They make me smile.

After dinner, we met up with Meg and Joe (who are in the process of moving) to grab dessert at the local Lawsons (it's like a convience store) and then take a look at their new apartment. Meg and I stumbled upon some cute Japanese goodies. Look at this adorable Haagan Daas!! It was a perfect serving size. The flavor is Kokuto & Kuromitsu (I have NO idea what that is and I wasn't ready to try it....yet).

On Sunday we went furniture shopping with Meg and Joe. One store we visited carried these HUGE mirrors (which baffles me because Japanese homes and apartments are tiny!). Anyway, I had to take a photo because I was quite amused.

Normally, I walk right by candy machines (although I am a big sweets person), but this one had something called STONE CHOCOLATE in it. I had to try it.

It was indeed chocolate, and pretty good chocolate at that. Meg decided to go for the pink candy that had a very sweet strawberry flavor. I loved how the store provided little cups to put the candy in.

On to today....let's just say that today didn't start well. Mostly because I got a flat tire on the way to work. Thankfully, Noa and I changed many flats back when we lived in Massachusetts, so we knew what we were doing. I feel bad for the Turtle (that's what I call my car - I think it kinda looks like a turtle) but hopefully the situation will be completely taken care of by tomorrow. For now, I'm driving around with a golden donut on there.

Don't ask me why I look so happy in this photo. I was actually pretty bummed about the flat.


Finally - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to JESS!! Today's her day! Happy Birthday to you all the way from Okinawa, Japan. Wish you were here!

The "New" Dog Park

Okay, so technically speaking, it's not a dog park. It's a completely fenced in old baseball field without a "no dogs" sign.  Now it will be referred to as "the dog park" by me, since Okinawa nor the military here have embraced these wonderful places yet and it's the only place I can let the dogs run safely.  Jenn and Perry showed me this field today and the dogs had a blast. It was great to see them running again with doggie friends again.

Nala shows off her great big tongue after running after the tennis ball.

Miko, Nala's sister, tried to keep up with the pack, but she wasn't quite up to their speed.  She's awfully cute though!

Sadie, Gunnar, and Nala decide to play right by Jenn.  It was great to have my two socialize with a bigger dog since they don't get much interaction with other dogs nowadays.  Also, I love doing dog stuff with Jenn and Perry because they hold similar views as I do when it comes to raising and training dogs.

Sadie by the fence.  

Nala loves tennis balls.  She and Sadie sometimes raced to see who would get it first and Nala usually won since Sadie doesn't want the ball THAT much.  Nala, on the other hand, likes to also play keep away with the ball in her mouth in addition to fetch.

Sadie did get her turn with the ball.

Gunnar hanging out with Perry, the only other guy around.  

Going Green

Although the BX/PX and Commissary offer many things you'd find in the states, there is a lack of "green" products.  I have a strong desire to use safer products in my home, especially with the dogs living in a small apartment.  So, I was so pleased to find that drugstore.com delivers some of my favorites!  Anyone who would like to switch to greener products should try Caldrea or Mrs. Meyers.

Well, I'm off to go scrub the tub!

Freedom!

Good news!

Okinawa Restrictions Eased

Weekend Fun

In spite of the lockdown, we were still able to find fun things to do this weekend.  We had the opportunity to see the off-Broadway play "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" with a bunch of our friends.  And, not only was it a musical (you may remember that I'm quite fond of musicals), but also a dinner theater setting, complete with cheesecake for dessert!  I loved it!

Our friends had connections with the director, so we also had front row seats.  

Sorry for the bad photo, but look how close we are to the stage!

Here we are looking very happy!

Also, we had some beautiful weather on Sunday.  I happened to catch this picture of the sun's rays coming through the clouds while we stopped at the shoppette briefly.  I've been meaning to post a picture from this angle of Camp Foster.  You can see a bunch of the military buildings, some buildings past the confines of the base, and then the ocean.  I love being able to see the water, especially when it's under a brilliant looking sky such as this.