100 Yen Fun: Checkout Goodies

Ever have those days where you walk up to the checkout at the grocery store and the M&Ms stare back at you longingly? Well, that happens here too at the 100 Yen store, except you don't always know what's in that shiny wrapper.  I decided to find out.

These were on display around Children's Day.  I was curious.

Turns out they taste like those wafer cookies that have a soft filling in them.  The strawberry was super sweet and the texture reminds me of styrofoam.  So, I'd skip these in the future.

Hi-Chews are popular.  I have seen these in the states with English lettering.  These remind me of softer versions of Starburst candies and come in lots of flavors (plus, you get two packs for 100 Yen).  I usually pick the up to send my sister, Anoli, or give to our buddy Mike, who is a fan of the Coca-Cola flavored ones.

I grabbed these thinking it was gum.  The Japanese seem to be fans of gum that is made with xylitol, a substance that decreases tooth decay.  However, after tasting it, I found out it was just apple flavored hard candy.  Pretty good, though!

Here are some packs of gum.  I was looking for a gum called Black-black that my friend Gabe introduced me to.  They seemed to be out.  So, I grabbed these two packs.  The brand, Xylish, is pretty common and I've seen it in all kinds of stores: Family Mart, San-A, Lawsons, etc.  There are tons of flavors.  I went with a fruity mint that was pretty yummy, but didn't hold the flavor very long.  Oh, and the pieces are small, like tiny Chicklets.  I haven't quite figured out why the gum on top is referred to as "hybrid."

Next up was a mystery candy, but it was the packaging that caught my eye.

I love how the pieces are like blocks! I'm tempted to hang on to the top two pieces that make animal silhouettes.

Inside each box are two neatly wrapped caramels.  Mmmm!

Not everything is candy.  You can get three of these packets of cookies for 100 Yen.  They are pretty good and teeny tiny and just plain adorable!

This doesn't even put a dent into the many other goodies (including some that didn't look too appetizing to me) that greet people at the registers at the 100 Yen store.  But, it's a start.  Guess I'll just have to go back for more!

Gone to the Dogs

We've got a birthday in the house...

little miss Sadie turns 7 today!

She and Gunnar are sporting matching collars these days from a recent family photo shoot.

I was taking some photos to send to the vendor who made the collars and got this money shot of Gunnar....I love it!

And then there's Sadie, who loves to pose upright in a perfect sit-stay. Do you think my promise of treats had anything to do with it?

And, yup, this guy is still around!

So, when I was trying to take pictures there was a lot of this going on:

Bailey looks crazy here, but really he's great with the IGs.

Hail and Farewell

We attended a hospital sponsored "Hail and Farewell" last night. The purpose of these military events are to introduce new staff to the command and say good-bye to the staff who will be leaving. Thankfully, it's not really good-bye yet...we still have a few more months on island. But, I had to have a picture of us with Jeff and his wife Kristen, who will also be leaving this summer. Jeff and Noa share an office and have worked together for most of their time here. It's been great getting to know them during our time here.

Seawall Strolls

With our new house guest here, our routine has changed quite a bit. Bailey requires daily walks, so each morning I get up at dawn and take him out. I repeat this in the afternoon and then right before bed.

I am really enjoying the time with Bailey. He's trained quite well by his owners. They've used an e-collar to train him.

Basically I hang on to this little remote while Bailey walks with me. I've only had to use the shock function a couple of times when we first walked him. I actually tried it on myself first just to make sure I wouldn't hurt him (shocking yes, hurting no). Now, I barely need to use that function. He responds right away to me. One of my favorite things to do with him is to have him stay in a sit position and then walk away. After 20 yards or so, I "release" him and he comes running at full speed. It's awesome.

Also his tail never stops wagging!

On the occasion that I do see someone approaching, I immediately have him "heel," which he does promptly and will stay like this until I again "release" him.

There's not too much too look at. Our end of the seawall is not frequented since our stretch is mostly made up of factories. I can't even begin to describe some of the odors that come from some of those buildings. Let's just say that it makes picking up dog poo not so bad after all.

There's lots of strange artwork and tagging on the wall. Sometimes I find it artsy...other times I'm just annoyed by it. But, by far my biggest annoyance are the STAIRS. I LOATHE the STAIRS. The STAIRS are EVIL!

Okay, okay, I realize that's a little dramatic, but the six flights up seem like an eternity. I guess I should be happy since I'm trying to get in better shape, but when my calves are screaming at me, it's hard to stay positive.

Still this face makes it all worth it. What a good boy!

Laundry Woes

Ah, the joys of doing laundry in Japan.

These pants just came out of the dryer. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but they are really wrinkled. It looks like they were balled up and I just unrolled them after a washing as a ball. But, no, sadly this is how much of our laundry looks after going through our little Japanese dryer. I would line dry, but we only have so much space and I hate when the clothes are stiff. Also, we at least have a rockin' iron.

I have a theory that the dryer does it on purpose to mock us. Then it secretly laughs when we empty it.

Oh well, at least it was a beautiful day with a lovely sunset.

BBD

Why, who is this handsome fellow?!

This is Bailey - the BBD (Big Black Dog) from upstairs. His parents are traveling for a couple of weeks, so we get the pleasure of taking care of him. He is great with Sadie and Gunnar and is extremely well-behaved.

Here you can see how big he is compared to Gunnar, who was our resident "big" boy until now.

Cars on the Brain

I've got cars on the brain. It could be because in just 3 months we'll be in the market for some cars. We're going with used cars this time. As much as I LOVED having a new car (I {heart} you, Honda Civic), it's just not financially smart at this time. Besides, after living in Oki, where you can get a great ride for just a couple of grand, it's hard to imagine plunking 20K down for some new wheels.

We LOVE Hondas. We scour Craigslist often, even though we aren't even on the right continent yet. We're looking at prices, models, and trying to narrow down what we are ultimately interested in. Here's what we know:

• we'll need two cars
• one of those cars (mine) will be a family car (for our someday expanding family...and, no, not yet....)
• we don't want to spend a lot

It's hard for me to swallow my pride sometimes and realize that I probably won't get the car of my dreams. And, really, that's okay. I'm not really a car person anyway. It doesn't have to be perfect. It does have to be safe. It does need to be reliable.

I know we'll be getting "new" cars soon, so I've been checking them out as I'm driving around. I'm a little surprised by what I'm really liking these days. I've come to love some of the Japanese models. My newest obsession is the Nissan Cube. I think they are so fun!

I know, I know...I'm crazy, right? My friend drives one here are really likes it. I like the Honda Fit too, but it's obviously not as big.

These are both available in the states, but for some reason, I don't find them as endearing. I dunno, maybe they are different models, perhaps? Anyway, we're keeping our eyes open for good car deals and continue to save our pennies for all of these large expenses we'll have upon moving back to the good ol' US of A.

On a random car note....here's a lowrider we spotted the other day. Noa couldn't help but stare:

The "best" part was the TV in the front hood mirror.

I have a feeling this wouldn't fly in the states. Of course, the TVs mounted on the dashboard probably won't fly in the states either, so I guess Japanese cars really are their own breed.

More Spring Toes

Went for a pedi with the girls. Ahhh, what good times! Anyway, here are the results:

Mine are at the bottom (aqua-colored with flowers).

Sink Stink & 100 Yen Fun

So our kitchen is lacking in a few things that I used to have in the states, such as a garbage disposal. In fact, most sinks here have a little mesh catch-all, or strainer, that collects little food pieces and other grimy gunk off the dirty dishes. Here's our sink drain on a regular day:

Remove the top part, and wallah - the metal sink strainer inside:

Since we also don't have a dishwasher, all of our dishes are washed by hand and, I'll admit that we aren't always the best about scraping them off. So, this strainer gets YUCKY super fast. It's a horrible chore to have to clean this it. So, what to do...? We (actually Noa had this brainiac idea) go to the 100 Yen store and pick up these nifty little things:

Simply snap these puppies over the metal sink strainer and presto! Our cleaning worries go down the drain (no pun intended).

Then, put the top on and you don't even notice it.

Tonight when Noa was doing the dishes, he simply lifted the used, food-encrusted net out and into the trash. The sink strainer was still clean and the net was easily replaced.

Hooray for 100 Yen!

How to Make a Shisa

It's spring break! I decided to spend my last spring break in Okinawa staying put, enjoying this lovely island, catching up on some work, and spending time with friends. On Monday, I joined some friends from work for a trip up north for a shisa dog-creating trip.

We arrived to a garden full of hand-made shisa, flowers, and other gems.

Perhaps one reason behind all these shisa on the property is to serve as inspiration in creating your own...more on that in a little bit. Now, on to the process of creating your very own shisa.

Step one, choose a base. These are created ahead of time using concrete and terracotta pieces. They are posed in the traditional stances of shisa dogs in Okinawa.

There are a lot to choose from....

Here is the one I chose.

Next, set down your base in your work area. Your clay is prepared ahead of time. We had a choice of yellow or red. I'm a traditionalist, so I went with red.

The third step is the most fun. Slather the base with the clay, forming the mouth, eyes, teeth and any other parts you want on your shisa. Use terracotta pieces for the ears and tail.

After covering the base with clay, adding the tail and ears, and forming the face, it's time to add embellishments. Shells are a popular choice. I used a lot of sea glass and some in our group used coral or other materials.

Then, let it dry for several days. Here's my final product:

I used mostly sea glass with a little bit of coral for embellishments. The backside shows more of the glass "mane" that I made.

Here is another from the group with lots of shells.

This one has bits of broken pottery on it.

The "artist" in the group made one with an awesome mane of coral. I might just have to do this when I make my second one. Shisa are usually seen in pairs; one is a male and the other a female. So, I'll be back to make the mate. Oh, this one is also texturized using a shell pattern all over. Awesome, right?

When they dry and solidify, the color is a little softer and natural looking. Here are some more shisa from the property. This one was made using the yellow clay.

This GIANT one was my absolute favorite. I just love the eyes. I'm also thinking of using the cute eyes with my next shisa. It's a happy shisa!

This one uses different color clays which really makes the features stand out.

Lastly, be sure to play with the cute French Bulldogs on the property. Too cute! Maybe they are living models for the shisa? Could be!

I'll be sure to post pics of shisa #2 when I make that one.

Easter 2010

Happy Easter from Team Juloa!