Working Hard in NH

I've been in NH for a little over 2 weeks now and working my tail off! The first week here, I taught the 4s & 5s class for Vacation Bible School at my parents church in addition to helping with some home projects and planning a baby shower for Cristyn. This past week, my mom and I overhauled the living room (painted it, cleaned the carpets and furniture, changed the furniture layout, etc) and did more shower preparation. Yesterday, we held the baby shower, which was a success and I started to pack to head out to my next destination: Colorado.

Thankfully, it hasn't been all work and no play. I've was able to fit in some other activities, like visiting my sister up at Camp Berea, taking a shopping trip at Ikea, and riding with my dad on his ride.

Celebrating Anoli's 27th birthday:

Taking a ride on my dad's Gold Wing:

Spending time with my grandparents:

And finally, throwing my pal, Cristyn, a baby shower:

Here she is opening her Japanese-patterned baby sling from yours truly.
Some of the decorations I made - cute, huh?
Measuring Cristyn for the ribbon game
The girls (L to R): Anoli, my mom, me, Cristyn, and Nancy, Cristyn's mom
The proud parents-to-be: Aaron and Cristyn

More travel photos to come!

Down by the Bay

With Noa deployed and my summer break still in full swing, it was high time I take a pilgrimage to the states. First stop: San Francisco to see our dear friends, Herman and Traci.

Traci took me to a bunch of fun, downtown boutiques in the Mission and Haight neighborhoods of SF.  We also ate at a fun little joint called Frjtz (yeah, who knows how to pronounce that?!).  Frjtz is famous for their fries and exotic dipping sauces (I got spicy Thai ketchup) and huge crepes. These were delicious. And even though the temperatures decided to shoot up, we enjoyed our time immensely (photos courtesy of Traci).

Check out the decor at Fritz:

Big, heaping cups of fries:

Yummy, fruity crepes:

Chilling with a Coke:

More travel updates to come!

One More

In between frantic packing, cleaning, and last minute computer updating, Noa and I were able to step out on the balcony and watch the sunset one more time before he leaves for his deployment for the next 6 - 7 months. 

Beautiful.

Conversation

While waiting in line at Taco Bell 

(yes, we have a Taco Bell on the base):

N: What's a fiesta burrito?

J: It's a burrito with a party in it.

N: Oh....

Olé!

Spare Change & Yennies!

Noa and I keep 2 jars on our kitchen counter for spare change: one is for American coins, the other is for Yen.  Since the jars were filled and my trip to the US is fast approaching (read: SHOPPING!), I decided that it was time to cash it in.  Unfortunately we don't have Coinstar machines here, so I have to roll the coins.  As I was separating out the American coins, I realized that we have a slightly different coin system than that of the states: we don't use pennies!  That's right, no pennies.  None.  Nada.  If we buy something on base, the cashier simply rounds up or down.  That's also how we are given change.  It actually made it kind of difficult when I introduced money to my Kindergarten students because I had trouble finding real pennies to show them.

Anyway, I ended up getting $82 out of my jar.  Woohoo!

However, my pockets, my car, and the chair cushions are still plagued with "useless" coins hanging around.  The Japanese coin that is similar to the value of a penny is pictured above.  It is smaller and very lightweight (I swear it is made out of layers of aluminum foil).  And, it is used out in town.  So, I have a second jar with many of these mixed in. This year, I overheard several of my students refer to these coins as "yennies" and I thought it was so cute.  so now I'm not as bothered by these coins hanging around.  At least they have a cute name and don't weigh that much.

Gunnar Tribute

Look who turned 3 over the weekend!

Me?  Three years old? No way!

Although not as photogenic as Sadie (often I catch him with his tongue out or his eyes closed), I'm usually able to catch a few shots of him looking dapper.

Gunnar is a toy dog.  Sadie is a treat dog.  Gunnar will always choose a stuffed toy to play with.  He especially likes these stuffed balls with squeakers in them.  He'd spend all day chasing them down the hallway if given the chance.

Gunnar despises wearing clothes or anything around his body. When I put clothes on him, he gets very rigid and tense.  You can see how upset he is about wearing this harness.

Occasionally, Gunnar will get this pensive look and you wonder what is going on in that little head of his.

Most times though, he's just a regular ol' goofball and follows me wherever I go.  I call him my shadow.  I just love this little guy and all his silly antics.  Happy 3rd, Gunns!

Around Town

 Wouldn't you go to the dentist more if you knew he/she was a blue-haired British colonel that rode a magic, flying toothbrush?

This reminds me of the dog car in Dumb and Dumber.

Whatever you do, don't use your excavator to dig in the ground right here.

You might make the phone line cry.

And this has to do with the car how....?

Would you like to review why you put this on a trash can...?

Surprise Weekday Getaway

Last week, Noa told me to make sure that I kept my Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday clear of plans because we would be leaving for a surprise getaway!  Since Noa will be leaving soon for his deployment and we hadn't really celebrated our 7th anniversary, Noa thought it would be a good idea to "get away from it all" and spend some quality time together.  

So, on the way to the airport, Noa told me that we'd be heading to a nearby island called Ishigaki and spend 3 days at the Kabira Club Med resort!  I couldn't believe it!

We had a wonderful time enjoying the sun, the beach, the food, the entertainment - everything.  The resort was all inclusive, and although it offered many activities, we spent the majority of the time laying beachside.

Here we are in front of the resort, just outside the main entrance.  You can see the pool and then further on, the beach!

Noa takes a walk on the beach.  The buildings you see are some what the outside of the guest rooms look like.  Also, you'll notice that it's quite green - very different than our "concrete jungle" in Okinawa.

The beach was awesome: white sand, padded beach chairs, not crowded, and umbrellas.  Here is Team Juloa taking a self portrait.

We both loved the food.  Noa loved that every meal was an all-you-can-eat buffet.

We both found this sign outside the nail salon area quite amusing and no, we did not take advantage of this special.

And finally, a photo of the two of us on our last night there.

Green Mail

I received a surprise package in the mail the other day.

Apparently, I've made my point in communicating my desire to clean more "green" and the difficulties of doing so in Okinawa through this blog.  So, my friend Vanessa decided to help me out for my birthday.  The package was stuffed with Method products, which I love.  They smell so good and made it without leaking everywhere!  I especially love the biodegradable wipes and the soy candle. 

Thanks, Vanessa!  I love it!!

Doggie Bar

Okinawans love small dogs.  Mostly, I see dachshunds, poodles, and shiba inus around town.  Occasionally, I'll be surprised to find a local Okinawan walking a golden retriever or a rottweiler, but this is definitely the minority.  It's mostly the Americans who, along with their large furniture, families, and vehicles, usually bring large breed dogs to the island.  And even though I own 2 of the greatest* toy dogs in the world, my heart has always been with large breeds.  I plan to someday adopt a big black dog to add to my pack.

So, you'll imagine my delight at finding this beauty the other night while walking by some restaurants and bars along the seawall with Noa, Meghan, and Joe:

The owners of this Bernese beauty also own a small Oki mutt and a mini Schnauzer.  This pack of dogs "hang out" at the bar where the owners work.  After talking with them a little, they invited me to bring my own pups to the bar for a meet up.  So, it looks like in the near future I'll be bringing my dogs for a playdate at a bar. How crazy is that?!

*Obviously, this is my opinion, but if anyone has met them, you know friendly and loving both Sadie and Gunnar can be.

More Fun Online

My friends at IG Post introduced me to a fun website. 

 Look what I made:

And another one:

If you want to make your own "motivational posters", go to http://wigflip.com/automotivator/.  I'm warning you now, it's addicting!

Eggs

I don't know if this is a Japanese thing, or an Okinawan thing, but they love eggs.  So much so that they put fried eggs on top of almost anything.  

If you order a steak at a restaurant, you'll get it with an egg on top.

Fried rice or noodles?  Yep, gotta top it off with an egg.

What about a burger?  Um, of course!

So, I don't know why I still am amazed at how eggs are continually used to top off food items here.  At least with this one, both the egg and muffin are considered breakfast foods.

Another example of an "egg" dish:

Twins!

As Noa and I prepare for his upcoming deployment, we have had to make a few purchases. This one is my favorite. Now my MacBook doesn't have to sit alone. Aren't they cute?

And bonus, they coordinate with our iPods.  We're so chic.

A Curried Birthday

As most of you know, I love curry. So, what better way than spend my birthday eating a delicious curry dinner at a little Nepalese place right on the China Sea!? That's what we did and it was grand.

Here's Team Juloa on the eve of my 29th:

My curry set: 2 kinds of curry, salad, soup, dessert, naan, and a beverage. Yum!

Noa loves naan bread as much as I do.

Two's A Crowd

Apparently the dogs want more than collars for their birthdays.  I think they'd like a bigger bed for the window.

Done! And Other News

Okay, okay, I know I've been absent from the blog. It's mostly because of school.  I finished out the school year on Thursday and spent all day Friday packing up my classroom with my new para.  As excited as I am for the summer (and much needed break), it's also very sad to see the school year end.  I had to say more sad good-byes to staff members and good friends.  Packing up the room is like packing up memories and I missed having Teresa around.

  But, it's also a time to start thinking about the summer and upcoming school year.  Tate, my new para (I call her Tate, but that's not her first name), and I have big plans.

Here's the last look at the packed up room from this year:

In other news, the dogs got some new collars for their birthdays (Sadie turned 5 in May, Gunnar turns 3 in late June).  In honor of Noa's upcoming deployment, the dogs have official military camo collars to show their support:

I also got them "hound collars" which will be used during our morning walks.  They have a wider base, so hopefully Gunnar won't choke himself as easily.  Here is Sadie showing off hers in a pink skulls fabric.

With the onset of summer comes the mass exodus of the DoDDS teachers here on island.  So, most of our friends leave.  I found time to get together with the girls for one last Cocok's run before summer break.  Here are my toes with some Japanese cherry blossoms:

Pictured toes below: Tritia and daughter Sophia, Jennifer, and Laura.  I love how Tritia and Sophia got matching designs.  Cute! 

Finally, Team Juloa celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary!  Well, actually we didn't get to celebrate yet since I was working during most of my waking hours.  But, tonight we'll have dinner out in honor of the occasion.  Noa sent a beautiful bouquet to school.  I've decided that my new favorite flower is the peony.  They are so big and beautiful!

An Unfortunate Mail Surprise

I have a secret joy: I love getting the mail.

It may be because I don't get to do it very often, since our mailbox is located on the base where Noa works.  In Florida, I would often check our mailbox twice a day (just in case...).

It may be due to my enjoyment of online shopping.

Or it may just be that mail serves as a connection to "the outside world" for me.  

I love getting the mail.  Yeah, I'm strange, I know.

Today I got to check it since I was at a training at a different base than Kinser.  To my surprise and delight, we had some packages.  Unfortunately, this was what I was handed at the counter:  a wet box in pieces in a sealed bag.  Greeeeeaaaatttt.

Here's the culprit: Method shower cleaner.  The bottle is empty.

I could file a claim, but over something that is only $4, it's not really worth it to me.  Everything else in the package was unaffected by the apparent leak.  Well, so much for trying to clean greener...