Wok 'n' Roll

Parties and golf

2010-06-14T21:13:00.004-05:00

These last few weeks in Japan have been filled with fun. We continue to make memories with the friends we've met here, and the reality that our adventure will soon end is starting to set in.

My sweet friend, Miyoko, recently organized a yukata party for my friends, Meagan and Emily, and me. We all sewed our own yukatas by hand and jumped at the opportunity to show them off. We spent the afternoon trotting around Nagoya and had a nice little lunch at a French restaurant.

Emily got to wear the infamous wig this time. We bumped into a television crew at one point, and the cameraman asked her if she was Lady Gaga. Ha!

The following day, I made my golfing debut. Miyoko and her family invited Travis and me along. We went to a very nice golf course close to the city. I had never really played before and had only hit a ball here and there when I was in high school. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. We played a full 18 holes, and I really enjoyed myself.

I was terrible and usually lost track of my strokes after 10 so I have no idea what my score was.

After our full day of golf, Miyoko and her family hosted us for a farewell party. I managed to not shed any tears, but it wasn't easy. As usual, we had a delicious meal with them and lots of fun. All of the people sitting at this table plus a sweet 12-year-old girl will be making the journey to St. Louis and to my hometown in August. Should be a blast!

The following day, we attended a super-classy wedding reception for Ryan and Ayako.

We got all dolled up, and I was able to wear my bridesmaid's dress from Courtney's wedding. It's possible, you really can re-wear them sometimes!

This picture is of Meagan, Ayako, me and Emily. Meagan, Emily and I all had our hair professionally done for the party. Our styles weren't exactly what we had imagined, but it was so much fun. I felt like I was going to prom all over again--just with less awkwardness, and I didn't get a wrist corsage.Ryan and Ayako (Ryako) cutting their cake. They are such a wonderful couple and have already overcome so many challenges. Ayako is leaving her home in Japan to move to America indefinitely. Talk about commitment! I can't wait to spend more time with them in the U.S. Ryan sang to Ayako at the reception, and I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye in the place. He's quite talented, and it was so sweet.

Well, that's all for now. I hope to blog again soon. We spent last week in Cambodia so I have lots of exciting pictures to share with you.

Beach Camping

2010-06-02T07:04:00.002-05:00

I am convinced that the best kind of camping is done on a beach. We headed to Fukui prefecture last weekend and discovered what might be the most amazing campsite in the world. Well, that might be a stretch, but it was really nice, and to top it off, we were the only people there! We had been wanting to see the Japan Sea for quite some time, and we finally headed towards it last weekend with some friends. We ended up finding a campsite, which wasn't opened for the season yet, and we were able to camp alone and for free. It was very relaxing, and nothing beats unzipping your tent door to face the ocean.

Here are the boys: Travis, Zac, Zac's college friend, Top, from Thailand and Eric. They were manly enough to build us a great fire that lasted the entire evening.

The girls were outnumbered, but we managed to have a great time together. Notice the nuclear power plant in the background. Always a nice touch.

An obligatory shot to capture our Japan Sea adventure. We later found out after returning that the area where we camped had once been a location where Japanese families were kidnapped by a certain neighboring country. And, I don't think I realized just how close we were to that country. Kind of creepy, but we made it back safely.

The next morning, we went on a really short hike to check out some of the interesting rock formations in the area. They were really beautiful, but unfortunately, most of the shore was covered in trash. We saw everything from old refrigerators, to shoes, to diesel engine oil barrels. Kind of hard to appreciate beauty when you're surrounded by trash. Japan is typically spotless, too.

Today marks 28 days until our return to the U.S. I'm so excited, but the transition is certainly bittersweet. We've had an amazing time living in Japan, but it's not always been easy. We've experienced challenges here, and I can't wait to get back home to family and friends and Target. :) I'm not naive enough to think challenges won't exist there, too, but I am anxious to be reacquainted with so many of the comforts I've missed. Travis and I have spent half of our marriage in Japan, and I've lived in Nagoya for the same amount of time I lived in St. Louis. It's surprising how comfortable I've become here, and I'm really going to miss it. I never would have predicted the experiences I've had over the last two years, but I am grateful for every single one of them.

The journey not the arrival matters. --T.S. Eliot

My first 10K

2010-05-24T22:13:00.009-05:00

As I'm sure you remember, we lost our friend, Dan Shinozaki, to cancer last February. This year, we dedicated a 5K/10K race to him. He ran the same 5K race with several of us last year. Around 35 of his friends ran or walked in the race. It was a rainy and dreary day, but we gave it our best. All of the pictures were taken by Alex. She's an excellent photographer and devoted her day to taking lots of shots so we can all remember this celebration.

This picture is of part of the group before the race. It rained on us the entire time. Aren't the shirts great? It was so neat to be a part of such a special event. I wish Dan could have been there, too.

Who are these goobers? Travis and Ryan both ran the 10K race in their wacky Vibram Five Fingers.

I believe Travis finished in around 44 minutes. I finished in 64 min. and 41 seconds. Not a record-breaker, but I'm pleased with the result. I was also the only girl who ran it from our group. Maybe I'll try to break 60 min. next time. But, probably not.

This picture is from the night before the race. We hosted a "carb dinner," which was really just an excuse to get together and pork out. We had a great time together. And, I'm excited to say that all of the couples at this table will be in the United States of America as of July. Yessss!!!

Life's more fun when you're wearing a wig

2010-05-19T19:19:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, we threw our friends Ryan and Ayako (Ryako) bachelor/ette parties. We had such a fun time. The girls and boys started off separately and eventually joined back up in the end. We got all dolled up and wore wigs. Can I just say that everything is more fun when you're wearing a wig? In fact, I kind of wish I had a collection now. Just imagine, you could pick curly or straight, long or short, green or blue, every single day. Wouldn't that be great? Enjoy a few pictures from that evening.

We had a lot of fun, and I can't wait for the wedding!

Me as a geisha

2010-05-18T23:05:00.002-05:00

I shared my birthday story with you not long ago so I thought I would also show you a few of the professional shots that were taken during my maiko transformation in Kyoto. I think they turned out really well, and they look nothing like me! What do you think?

New Zealand Road Trip-North Island

2010-05-17T20:16:00.006-05:00

Our most recent adventure was a trip to New Zealand. Visiting New Zealand was certainly a dream come true. We'd both wanted to travel there, especially after seeing the gorgeous scenery in the Lord of the Rings movies.

New Zealand didn't disappoint. It seems like traveling to New Zealand from Japan would be much shorter than visiting from the U.S., but it's still a LONG way down there. We flew from Nagoya to Hong Kong, which took four hours, and then from Hong Kong to Auckland, which took around 11 hours. Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted when we arrived. But, that didn't stop us!

Here's a brief breakdown of our trip: Auckland, Thames, Coromandel, Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Rotorua, Gisborne, Napier, Lake Taupo, Tongariro Crossing and then back to Auckland. I designed the trip to be relaxing. We avoided long rides in the car so we could be sure to get out and enjoy as much as possible. We stayed in a combination of B&Bs, hostels and hotels, which made for a fun and interesting experience. You'll have to ask Travis and me about those experiences! We did lots of hiking, which was quite important since we also did LOTS of eating.

New Zealand's scenery is hard to describe, but I felt like it was a combination of Hawaii, Ireland and the American Northwest. There are many volcanoes and gorgeous coastlines, which reminded me of Hawaii. The countryside is filled with rolling green hills covered in sheep, which reminded me of Ireland. It's also mountainous and covered in redwoods, which reminded me of the American Northwest. In other words, it's pretty much paradise.

Below are several pictures from our trip. Perhaps too many. :)

This photo was taken along our drive in the Coromandel Peninsula.

This is one of the secluded beaches we walked to. I was so surprised to see no one on the beaches. We visited New Zealand during their fall, but it was still very warm in this part of the country.

This photo is of Cathedral Cove, a popular tourist attraction. We hiked for around an hour to see it.

Another tourist attraction in the Coromandel Peninsula is Hot Water Beach. At low tide, you can dig your very own hot tub! The water underneath the sand is so hot it was boiling in some places.

Here's Travis digging his tub.

The highlight of our trip was hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which has been called the best one-day hike in the entire world. It was 18 kilometers (about 11 miles) long. But, it was well worth it.

At the beginning of the hike, I was a little worried because it was freezing. We saw lots of icicles along the streams, and I was really nervous that I was going to freeze to death on the top of a volcano, but after a couple of hours, it really warmed up, and we were stripping off layers in no time.

For the first few hours of the hike, we were able to see Mt. Doom (Lord of the Rings) by our side. Breathtaking.

After one of the more grueling parts of the hike, we were greeted by the Emerald Lakes. Just amazing! The scenery was so unique and beautiful. A bit nerve-racking to see the ground steaming in several places, though.

The hike was so much fun, and I highly recommend it. I will say that after six+ hours of non-stop hiking, I earned the biggest blister you have ever seen! I have pictures, but I will only share them upon special request. ;)

Another trip highlight was a visit to Napier. The city was flattened by an earthquake in the 1930s, but it was completely rebuilt as an art deco city. It was totally adorable, and it may make it on my list of Possible Places to Retire. It was that cool.

Napier is located in Hawke's Bay, a famous region for New Zealand wine. So, of course, we had to do a tasting.

We had a really fun time. The wineries were beautiful, and of course the food and drinks weren't bad either.

Prior to visiting New Zealand, I read some information on the road conditions there. The roads were in great shape, but they were certainly treacherous. They are extremely curvy and narrow. Plus, we were traveling during logging season so we met several trucks along the way. Thank goodness Travis doesn't mind driving.

One of the funniest experiences we had during our trip was driving along and meeting a huge herd of cattle on the highway.

I was raised on a farm so I was somewhat familiar with this sort of thing, but we really didn't know what to do. There were so many of them! One of the farmers told us to, "just drive through them." So, that's what we did. It was hilarious.

We visited the town of Rotorua, which is famous for all sorts of funky geothermal activity. We visited a park there, and it completely blew my mind! The B&B where we stayed was also located right next to a redwood forest.

We had a fun time exploring the forest, and then Travis had the great idea that we should run through it. Ugh. Speaking of, I ran my first 10K in Napier! We ran a total of 15 miles on this vacation. At one time, I thought I wouldn't run 15 miles within my entire lifespan.

We also visited the town of Mount Maunganui, which is also now on the list of potential retirement locations. We climbed the mountain and were rewarded with a 360-degree view of the surrounding area.

What do you think of my Mickey Mouse t-shirt? I swear, Japan is getting to me.

Another one of our trip's highlights was a visit to Kerosene Creek. We heard about it at our B&B and packed our swimsuits. After visiting some other areas, we headed there. It. was. incredible.

The weather was a bit chilly that day, but the creek's temperature was perfect. It felt like a hot bath. I couldn't believe it just existed there naturally. It may have been my favorite part of the entire vacation.

We ended our trip with a couple of days in Auckland. On our last day, we took a short ferry ride to Devonport, an adorable little city filled with lots of colonial architecture, cute cafes and shops.

We took this picture from the top of Mt. Victoria, an inactive volcano.

New Zealand was a great vacation for us, and I can't wait to go back to explore the South Island, which is typically the more popular of the two islands for tourists. It was an extremely relaxing and easy vacation. I'm sad it's over.

Speaking of over, today marks 43 days until our move back home!

Almost a month?

2010-05-12T19:33:00.002-05:00

Oh no! Why didn't someone tell me it's been almost a month since I've updated the blog?! Wow, so sorry about that. We are really swamped right now with all sorts of preparations for our big move (only 48 days away), and we're trying to make the most of our last bit of time in Japan. All of that has made for very little free time. Anyway, I promise a few blog posts are headed your way. Don't give up on me! Look for a post about our recent road trip through the North Island of New Zealand. Coming soon!

Birthdays are the best

2010-04-14T07:43:00.004-05:00

I'm a little behind since my birthday was at the end of March, but it was so great that I have to tell you about it. I received lots of nice cards and gifts in the mail from friends and family back home, which made me feel so special. Sometimes it's hard being away from home on your birthday because you feel forgotten, but I certainly didn't feel that way! So many of you called me, too. Thank you so much for that! It meant so much.

On my actual birthday, I had to work late. But, when I got home Travis had sweetly prepared me a dinner of delicious Thai green curry. It was so good. And, he pulled a beautiful cake out of the closet! It was beyond delicious, and I helped myself to two pieces that night, one for breakfast the next morning and more for dinner the next night. It didn't last long!

The following Friday Travis arranged a big dinner with several of our friends at one of my favorite restaurants. It was so much fun, and we followed it up with some karaoke, which was a blast. It was one of my favorite nights.

Here are the girls. We had such a great time singing Black Eyed Peas and No Doubt. These girls are so much fun to be around! Our boys were there, too. But, I think they were too busy rapping Gin and Juice to pause for a picture.

The next day, Travis took me to Kyoto for the weekend. We had the best time there, and it was undoubtedly one of the most memorable weekends of my life. Travis made reservations for me at a photo studio where I was able to dress like a maiko, an apprentice geisha.

The process began with a full makeover. My makeup was done in the traditional style, and then I chose a kimono and wig. Afterwards, I headed to the studio to have professional photos taken.

Travis took a shot of me during the photoshoot. It was so much fun!! I was actually really surprised by the photos. They turned out wonderfully, and I'll try to share some once I receive the finished pictures.

After the photoshoot, I took a stroll near Kyomizudera. At first, I was so embarrassed because everyone stopped to stare and point. After a little while, it became kind of fun. Travis kept going to the other side of the street so he could watch all of the people marvel at the super-tall-foreign-looking geisha. As you can imagine, many funny comments were made (at my expense), too.

Lots of tourists, like the Chinese family pictured above, asked to take pictures with me. I wonder if they felt cheated.

After my short career as a geisha ended, we grabbed lunch at a local restaurant and headed out for some sightseeing. Kyoto was incredibly crowded, since we went on the peak weekend to view the cherry blossoms, but battling the crowded sidewalks and traffic was well worth the effort.

Travis booked a ryokan for us to stay in. It was a beautiful place tucked in the side of a mountain right outside of the city. We were able to enjoy a couple of onsens there, and the food was incredible. Some of the cuisine was a challenge, but it was so beautifully presented.

This picture is of the walkway to our ryokan. It was very quaint and picturesque there.

The next day, we headed to Kyoto again and explored a few different areas. We did a little bit of shopping and enjoyed snapping pictures of the cherry blossoms in full bloom.

We stopped to take a picture underneath a walkway canopied by cherry blossoms. It was incredibly beautiful, and I felt like I was in some sort of wonderland.

Speaking of cherry blossom wonderlands, they are almost gone. We were able to spend a few days in parks enjoying them, but now it's cold and since it rained almost all day yesterday, very few are left. I am really going to miss them next year.

This last photo is a tribute to the cherry blossom. They come and go so quickly. Reminds me of a little thing called life...

I heart Japan.

2010-03-24T19:34:00.005-05:00

I've got some catching up to do. We've been quite busy these last couple of months, but we've been having a really great time. With only about three months left, we're trying to seize every opportunity.

Late last month, we headed to Hakuba for one last ski trip. We celebrated Ayako's birthday, and we had a wonderful time. Things didn't exactly go as planned when it took us almost two hours to rent all of our gear, but we still managed to enjoy a fabulous half-day on the slopes. I even learned how to turn both directions on a snowboard. I still have a long ways to go, but I have fallen in love with it. It's so much fun! I can't wait to head out to Colorado and try it in the U.S. I'm going to miss the Japanese Alps so much, though!

This picture is of the four of us in our Passo. We actually traveled with a really large group, and we had a hard time finding space for all of our gear. I can't remember the exact totals, but we fit something like six snowboards, four pairs of skis and ski poles, four persons worth of luggage, boots, three Americans and one Japanese all in our little car! It was pretty hilarious.

I told you we went with a large group! Seventeen of us slept in the same room, too. I'm telling you, we have to bring the slumber parties back to the U.S. It's always such a fun time.

This picture was taken after an afternoon of bowling with our Japanese family (as I like to call them). They really do feel like aunts, uncles and cousins to us. I beat Travis in both games of bowling, which I don't think has ever happened before. Then, we pigged out on some yakiniku together. I can't believe how much food we ate!

On one rainy Saturday afternoon, Travis suggested we visit the Toyota Commemorative Museum, which has been on our to-do list for a while. It is a very nice and well-done museum in Nagoya. It explains the entire history of Toyota, and it's very interactive. I really enjoyed it for the first hour and a half, but I was losing patience for the last sixty minutes. As you can imagine, Travis loved it and could have spent the entire day there!

The picture above is of me with a huge loom machine of some sort. Toyota's initial endeavor was looming.
Here's Travis in some sort of futuristic chair thingy. Unfortunately, it was disabled so we could only take pictures in it.

Another evening, we went to dinner with Travis' close friend and Japanese tutor. He suggested a himono restaurant.

It's basically sun-dried fish. It reminded me of jerky. It was much better than I expected, but it did taste extra fishy.

We also attended a huge flower expo at the Nagoya Dome, which is where the Chunichi Dragons play baseball. I won some free tickets so we decided to check it out.

We had a nice time scoping out all sorts of flowers from around the world. There were especially lots of beautiful orchids to view.
Several days later, a friend of mine invited me to take an English tour of Yagoto Temple. It's funny that I never even realized a five story pagoda existed in Nagoya! The temple tour was really interesting, and we were able to take part in a traditional tea ceremony afterwards. I enjoyed it but had a little trouble understanding some of the worship styles explained. For instance, within the temple, individuals can get a stamp card. If an individual goes to the temple to pray seven times for seven months (once a month), they have their card stamped each time. After accumulating seven stamps, one is assured to have a long and prosperous life. Really?! A point card for prayers?

Last weekend, Travis and I took a day trip to Ise, also on our list of places to visit before we leave Japan. In Ise, we visited Mikimoto Pearl Island. We were able to tour the museum, see lady pearl divers and of course see some gorgeous jewelry.

Here we are at the entrance. We had a great day!

At Mikimoto Pearl Island, you can watch lady pearl divers called ama dive hourly. They wear no scuba gear and must have been freezing!

How's this for the cheesiest photo of the year? We actually learned a lot about how Mikimoto pearls are cultured. Did you know that inside every Mikimoto pearl is the shell of a mussel from the Mississippi River? Yep.

We also visited Meota Iwa, known as the sacred rocks of marriage. The larger rock represents a husband and the smaller, a wife.

See, I said we've been busy! And, I didn't even include everything. We're so excited to be moving back home, and we look forward to catching up with all of our friends and family. The move will be bittersweet as it represents the closing of a unique and exciting chapter in our lives. This is experience has far exceeded all of my expectations, and not a day goes by that I don't thank God for this amazing opportunity.

Only a life lived for others is worth living

2010-03-15T07:49:00.002-05:00

Upon our return from Hawaii (in the airport actually), we learned that one of our good friends, Dan Shinozaki, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. We were, of course, completely shocked and devastated by the news and immediately began praying for him. We began thinking of ways we could be good friends to him during his battle and began making plans to visit him in the hospital. He was staying in a hospital nearly seven hours away so a quick trip wasn't feasible. Exactly one week and one day after we found out he had been diagnosed with cancer, Dan passed away. As you can imagine, we have been trying to cope with the loss of our friend ever since.

We were able to attend his funeral service at his family's home in Japan. I am so glad we were able to go to the service because it was wonderful to meet his parents and brother and sister. After meeting them and being in their home, it was so easy to see why Dan was such an amazing and kind person. He was the type of person that immediately put you at ease. He always listened attentively and showed genuine interest in others. He was such a kind and caring person, and he's already missed so much. He had a magnet featuring, "Only a life lived for others is worth living," a quote by Albert Einstein. Dan lived those words.

This picture was taken after the 5K last year. Dan is in the middle holding #547. He was planning to run the 5K race with us again this year. We will run it in his honor instead.

I don't know what else to say. I will never understand why things like this happen in life, but I have already learned so much.

You have no guaranteed tomorrow.

Dan would have been 28 this coming Friday.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'" Psalm 91:1-2

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Kauai...can I go back yet?

2010-02-19T00:44:00.005-06:00

It's difficult to express our Hawaii trip in a blog post, but I'll do my best to hit some of the high points of our vacation. I'll start by saying that our trip to Kauai was my favorite vacation to date. It really couldn't have gone better. The weather was great. It was relaxing, and everything fell into place. Travis and I had a great time together, and we were surrounded by the most gorgeous setting I have ever experienced. I'm not sure I've ever felt so strongly about a vacation destination before, but I must say, I don't think it can get any better than Kauai. It's such a unique place. Kauai has gorgeous mountains, canyons, lush green forests, gorgeous beaches and beautiful rivers. You look one direction and you see desert and then turn your head to see the most lush and greenest fields you've ever laid eyes upon. It's just incredible. Mountains to one side and white sandy beaches to the other. I know you think I'm probably exaggerating or getting some sort of a kickback from a tourism association or something, but I really did love it that much.

We stayed in a small condo owned by a couple from Indiana, and it turned out to be the perfect place. We were able to save some serious cash by cooking almost all of our own meals and packing lunches. It was especially fun to finally grill some enormous steaks, too. Staying in a condo was so convenient and far less of a hassle than staying in a hotel. We didn't have to worry about someone cleaning our room everyday, and we had so much more room. It was really great to have a fully supplied kitchen, and we didn't have to constantly think about where we would go for our next meal. I would highly recommend going that route if you want to stick to a budget.

Travis and I enjoyed several different transportation methods on our trip. We traveled by plane (obviously), sailboat, teeny tiny plane, Harley and Chevy Cobalt. Quite a variety, huh?

This is a picture of us with our friendly pilot. We toured the entire island of Kauai by air, and it was breathtaking. I was a little nervous at first, but once we were in the air, I relaxed and had a great time. I think it's worth noting how cute Travis looks in this picture, too. :)

This is a shot of the Napali Coast taken from the airplane. We later were able to see it from a sailboat, too.

One day we rented a Harley to tour the northern part of the island. I'm sure you can imagine whose idea that was. ;) I was pretty terrified for the first hour and did nothing but pray, but after that I relaxed a bit and even had fun. We rode the bike for almost the entire day but had to cut it a little short because of rain. Of course we didn't have any rain gear so we just tried to pretend it wasn't raining. By the way, if you're in a car and you see someone riding a motorcycle in the rain, it's not polite to point and laugh.

One afternoon, we took a sunset cruise down the Napali Coast. We had a wonderful time despite my very poor wardrobe choice. I'm not sure why I thought a short sundress made of lightweight fabric would be a good choice for a cruise along the water. Let's just say our fellow passengers almost got a different kind of whale show. Speaking of whales, though. We saw soo many! It was just amazing. We were close enough to hear them "talking," and we could hear their blowholes. It was just the coolest. They were popping up out of the water all over the place and pulling out their fins to slap the water. It almost looked like they were trying to high five each other. I was too emotional to take any pictures. I refused to take my eyes away from the water so you'll just have to imagine it. It was a dream come true for me.

We also did a lot of hiking during our trip. We didn't tackle any major hikes, but it was a great way to get some exercise and to experience Hawaii. Plus, I was super excited that there are no snakes in Hawaii! It really is heaven on earth.

We spent our last day in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. We flew into Honolulu and met up with one of my friends from high school and his wife. He was nice enough to pick us up from the airport and to drop us back off. We found out the night before that the airport was sold out of rental cars, and if we were able to track one down, it was going to cost $170 for one day! Yikes!

Our first stop in Honolulu was Diamond Head. We climbed to the top of it and enjoyed a great view of Honolulu. There was an impressive mix of cultures there, too. We saw people from all over the world. And, in some cultures, it's apparently okay to take your shirt off when you're hot even if you're only wearing a lacy bra underneath.

We went to Pearl Harbor and climbed around on the U.S.S. Missouri. Since Remington (my high school friend) and his wife, Olga, are both in the Army we were also able to go on a couple of the bases there. It was so interesting, and I think I must have driven them crazy with all of my questions.

To end our vacation, we headed to Waikiki for dinner. We ate at a place called Tiki's. I had some crab and goat cheese macaroni and cheese, and it was scrumptious.

Overall, I'd have to say our trip to Kauai was a perfect vacation. In fact, I think I'm now suffering from some sort of post-Hawaii depression, and I'm worried that the only cure might be more Hawaii!

* I forgot to mention that we celebrated 11 years together on our trip. Isn't that just crazy?

Snow last weekend, sand this weekend!

2010-02-05T23:57:00.002-06:00

It seems excessive, and maybe it is, but we're heading to Hawaii today! I found a really good deal a while back, and we're able to use miles for our flight. We're heading to the smallest island, Kauai, and I can hardly wait. I have always wanted to go to Hawaii, and I'm so excited I'm able to have the opportunity. We woke up to snow in Nagoya today so it seems like the timing couldn't be more perfect. And, I've always dreamt of seeing a humpback whale in the wild so please, please, please let that happen! I'll be sure to post pictures soon.

Hakuba again

2010-02-01T22:06:00.004-06:00

The alarm went off at 3:40 a.m. on Saturday morning so we could hit the road early with a couple of friends. Off to Hakuba we went! We met a group of about 10 others there for a fun day in the snow. We spent the entire day snowboarding on Saturday. Travis went for a half day again on Sunday, too. I opted out of day two and read a book and magazine in the lodge instead. It was quite relaxing.

Hakuba is so beautiful. I'm pretty sure it's one of my favorite places on the planet.

Travis has been so patient with me while I continue to try to snowboard. I've really started enjoying it, but as you might expect, I'm a slow learner. He never makes me feel bad for being slow or for needing to take breaks to enjoy the scenery.

Travis' face in this picture shows how he was really feeling. We chose a difficult and speedier course, and we decided we should stop and snap a few photos because they might be our last. We had both just endured a couple of pretty nasty wipeouts before these pictures, and people were zipping past us at incredible speeds. Ahhh!!!!

The mountains are just amazing. I can't believe how small I feel next to them. Being amongst them is such a humbling experience, and I'm so grateful I get to enjoy them.

This picture cracks me up because I definitely look pregnant. And, I'm pretty sure snowboarding when you're pregnant is a really bad idea. Rest easy, I am not. I was actually working so hard that I started sweating terribly. I had to take off a layer, roll it up and stuff it in my jacket. Aren't you glad I shared that with you?

After snowboarding all day, we headed to an onsen with some friends and then went back to our cottage for dinner. After dinner, someone had the great idea to build human pyramids. It was so fun! I ripped these pictures off of facebook. Hope my friends don't mind.

Here's the girls' pyramid. Only one hand!

And, the entire group! What a fun picture. We couldn't quite pull off the top, but we got pretty darn close. Lorie (the topper) had to push all the camera timers and then try to climb to the top really fast. Needless to say, it took us a few tries.

This weekend was a lot of fun, and I felt like a kid all over again. I mean, how often do you get to have a big slumber party with all of your friends? I don't know why we don't do it more often. When I get home, I'm totally throwing a slumber party. Who's in?

Running, out of milk

2010-01-28T04:50:00.003-06:00

I don't really have a lot to say, but I'm home alone and waiting for my dinner to cool. Just thought I'd share a little bit with you before we head out of town again this weekend. I'm a bit tired so this may not make any sense at all. Props to you if you actually read it!

Things are going quite well in Japan, but we've been extremely busy lately. It seems like we have something going on every single night! It's certainly nice, but it leaves me a bit exhausted . For instance, tonight was a little bit tiring. Travis and I haven't had a whole lot of time to hang out with each other so I was really looking forward to heading home after work to have dinner with him. So much so that I planned everything out just so. You see, I had to work at a location about 45 minutes away from our house by train. Getting there requires me to first take the subway, and then I switch to a different train line and go from there. Once I arrived at my final destination, I put in some extra effort so I could get home as soon after work as possible. I went ahead and purchased my return ticket to avoid any extra stops on my way back home. I finished work at 6:16 p.m., and the train I was hoping to catch back to Nagoya was set to leave at 6:24 p.m. If I missed this train, I'd have to wait 30 min. in the freezing cold. My job is about a ten minute walk from the station. So, I decided to sprint the entire way, which is about a half a mile or so. I was also wearing dress clothes. I looked like a huge dork, but I was determined. I finally arrived at the station with about five minutes to spare. I was so relieved and excited. I was already dreaming about the delicious dinner I was going to make and was so excited that I'd be home earlier than I originally thought. I was breathing hard, but I decided to call Travis to tell him about my incredible feat. When I opened my phone, I saw that I had a voice message from him. It said he was going to have dinner with a colleague since it was his final night in Japan. What?!! All that work for nothing? Of course I didn't mind. It was just quite funny and kind of a slap in the face. All that running for nothing!

I HATE going to the grocery store. I feel bad even saying that since I am constantly thinking about all of the individuals suffering in Haiti. I can't imagine how excited they would be to even get to eat a hot meal right now. And, I'm complaining about going to the store. But, I still don't like it. In fact, when we lived in the U.S., I sometimes did not enter a grocery store for three to four weeks. It's not something I'm proud of, and I've improved drastically. The whole "lack of a full-time job thing" really doesn't leave me with a good excuse for not going. Anyway, tonight I kept debating on whether or not I should go. It is cold, and I didn't feel like it. Plus, I have to carry my groceries up two enormous flights of stairs. But, we were out of milk. So, I started thinking about Travis and about him making oatmeal in the morning. He'd have to use water instead of milk...So, I convinced myself it would be worth it. I walk in the store, pick up a few other random items and head for the milk. And, no milk. There was milk, but not the milk that I ALWAYS buy. The only milk available was the heavy cream kind. I have to wear a swimsuit soon so I don't really need anything extra sticking to my thighs. Ugh. So, we still don't have any milk.

Props for making it through my rant! We're heading to Hakuba on Saturday, so I promise a post with lots of pictures is soon to come! Oh, and the weekend after this one, we're heading to somewhere AMAZING. Can't wait to share it with you!

Onsen experience

2010-01-22T01:02:00.003-06:00

When we leave Japan, I will miss the onsens. Onsen is the Japanese word for hot spring. To be honest, when I first heard about onsen experiences, I was pretty freaked out. You see, the only way to enjoy an onsen is in your birthday suit. And, they are public. Now that I'm over the initial shock of getting nakey in front of strangers, I really enjoy them. Of course they aren't coed, so it's divided between gals and guys. For Americans, the concept is a little bit strange, but I can assure you it's well worth the embarrassment. It's a very relaxing experience, and the water always has some sort of special mineral content, which I'm sure has taken decades off of my skin.

It's worth noting that going to an onsen requires following a very specific procedure. First, you enter the dressing area and disrobe. You typically bring a small towel, about the size of a dish towel, to be used as a "modesty" towel. If the towel is provided to you at the onsen, it's usually really small and doesn't exactly cover a lot. So, after you're in the buff, you gracefully and confidently walk to the shower area where you shower with multiple other women. Each woman has a little plastic stool to sit on and a wash basin to wash with. At this point, it's extremely important to scrub like you've never scrubbed before. Wash, wash, wash. Once you feel like you're squeaky clean, do it again, just to be sure.

After you're finished showering, you can enter the hot spring. Your towel and hair must never enter the water. I usually just put my towel around my hair. Then, you relax and enjoy. Many of the onsens have an indoor and outdoor bath so you can enjoy both of them. Also, some have hot baths and cold baths. And, many have multiple baths with various mineral contents specific to different benefits.

I won't sugarcoat it completely. It can be extremely awkward at times, especially for a foreigner. For instance, last weekend, my friend Megan and I went to an onsen. We were chatting while immersed in the water, and the woman next to us would not stop staring at us. It was an evil-kind-of stare, too. But, after living here for a year and a half, I'm used to it. It's just a little bit weirder when you're naked.

Hakuba

2010-01-21T03:04:00.003-06:00

I'm watching a movie called "Easy Virtue" right now with Jessica Biel. And, the dog in the movie looks like a smaller version of Skittle. Now I'm all sad and stuff.

Onto more exciting topics, we've been doing great here in Japan. We've settled back in, and so far we've had a lot of fun. Having an oven has made me so much happier. The only problem is that I keep baking, which means I keep eating. I'm going to have to figure out how to bake and then get rid of all of the goods as soon as possible. Perhaps it's time to meet the neighbors?

Last weekend we headed with a couple of friends to Hakuba. You might remember that we went there last summer, too. It's where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held, and it's just beautiful there. I really can't get enough of the place. I hate cold weather, but at least when there are gorgeous mountains to look at and hot springs to enjoy, it's worth it. And, there's also an amazing Mexican restaurant in Hakuba. I miss Mexican food more than anything so it's such a treat to eat it there.

Last year I tried snowboarding for the first time, and I was pretty terrible. I decided midway through the season to try skiing. And, I was pretty awful at that, too. So, last weekend I decided to give snowboarding another whirl, and to my surprise, I had improved! I can now successfully get up on the snowboard every time I try, and I can make it down the mountainside with no falls. Unfortunately, the flatter spots kill me, and I still can't turn. But, not falling every ten seconds definitely makes the sport more enjoyable.

Here we are with the entire group.

When I saw this snowboard in the rental shop, I just couldn't pass it up. I was quite amused by it.

It is such a beautiful place.

We booked a hostel for the night, and we weren't expecting luxury. But, we also weren't expecting what we got. Ha! Fortunately, the boys weren't scared to sleep on the drool-stained pillows so Megan and I could have semi-clean ones. It really wasn't too bad, but it was pretty amusing. And, thankfully the fumes from the heater didn't kill us in our sleep.

Last weekend's trip was the first of several. We already have plans to head back to Hakuba twice in the next month. So, expect some more snowy pictures. Until then, keep it real!

Don't forget about Haiti

2010-01-13T22:56:00.002-06:00

My heart is so sad. I'm thinking about all of the families in Haiti frantically searching for their loved ones. We can't do much, but we can do something. So, please do. You can go here to donate: https://www.compassion.com/.

There's no place like home

2010-01-06T18:12:00.006-06:00

All good blog posts start with an apology, right? So, allow me to say sorry for the following pictures being in a strange random order. I really just don't have the patience to reorganize all of them so this post might seem a little out-of-sorts.

Anyway, we are now settled back into Japanese life after a long and relaxing vacation to the U.S. Our home leave trip was everything we could have hoped it would be. Although we didn't have enough time to visit with everyone and weren't able to see everyone we would have liked to, it was great! We were able to catch up with lots of family and friends, and boy, did we eat! It's really not very nice of one to binge on junk food for four weeks and to boycott exercise, but that's what I did. And, I am paying for it dearly. After a trip to the gym yesterday evening, I am hurting! Body, please forgive me.

So, let's get started with some pictures to highlight our trip home.

We finally got to meet Sawyer Lee, and what a cutie he is! Tim was bouncing and twirling him in this picture. He just giggled and giggled.

This picture is from Christmas Eve. Christy, Charity, Julie and I have been friends since we were infants, and we still remain very close. We stay in touch throughout the year and usually always manage to get in some quality time around Christmas. This year we spent the entire day after Christmas shopping, eating, getting coffee and TALKING. I swear, there wasn't 30 seconds worth of silence the entire day. We had the best time, and we've decided we're more like sisters than friends.

This picture is of Travis and our newest niece, Jensen. She is such a cool baby, and I just love her to pieces.

I was able to visit my Grandpa in the Veterans' home twice, and Travis was able to join me the second time around. I am continually amazed that I still have all four of my grandparents. I think that's unique these days, and I never take it for granted.

And, of course, I was able to love on my Little (or not so little) Skittle! She's sweeter than ever, and I enjoyed getting to scratch her big round belly lots.

On our last weekend in Missouri, I was able to visit with some of my favorite girls in St. Louis. I met Sarah, Andrea and Maya at my previous job, and we have been friends ever since. We had a great time catching up and sharing lots of laughs. We started off at a favorite Mexican restaurant and then enjoyed more conversation over some Kaldi's. I am so thankful for their friendship and encouragement. And for the fact that they put up with me and my quirkiness.

While in St. Louis, we were also able to visit with several other friends, but I forgot to take pictures. Oops! We also got to attend our home church, Summit Community, and that was wonderful. Oh, how I have missed it!

One of the best parts of our trip home was a getaway to Las Vegas! Travis and I had never been before so we joined my brother, Jonathan, and his hottie wife, Holli, for a few days in Vegas. We had such a fun time shopping, exploring, getting dolled up and of course, eating! My brother even surprised us one night with a cruise in a limo down the Las Vegas strip and dinner at Tao, a posh Asian fusion restaurant. It was so much fun!

We also watched the Blue Man Group. It was an interesting show to say the least. I enjoyed it, but I think I prefer the Cirque-style shows more. I'm still happy I watched it. It was just a bit strange to me.

We also saw La Reve at the Wynn. It was awesome! It's a Cirque show without the Cirque name. I heard that Mr. Wynn didn't want the Cirque name on the show because he wanted his own name on it, so that's the only real difference. The entire show was done in the water. It was gorgeous. We sat on the very front row, which was actually cheaper because of the risk of being splashed, so we could see the dancers and performers up-close. I was mesmerized the entire time and absolutely loved it!I stayed one night at my brother's house and got to spend some time with my nieces and nephew. This is a picture of Johanna and Jordan right before they went to have family pictures made. These girls are so precious! I love them so much!

I was also finally able to see my oldest niece, Jordan, show off her gymnastics skills at a meet in Fayetteville, Ark. She is so talented. I was awe-struck by her abilities. She just flips around those uneven bars like it's nothing, and her floor routine rocks the house. I am so proud of her! The above picture is of me and Jensen watching Jordan at her meet.

Well, I guess that's it for now. As you can see, we had a great time at home. I wasn't able to capture nearly all of our experiences, but I do want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who let us stay at your house, eat your food, use your laundry detergent and drive your cars. We are so grateful for your support and thoughtfulness. We look forward to seeing you all this summer!

Home Sweet Home

2009-12-07T04:57:00.006-06:00

Hi, there! Sorry for the delay in posting. The last couple of weeks in Japan became very hectic, but now I'm in the great state of Missouri. We enjoyed a second Thanksgiving meal with some sweet friends before I left and had to say goodbye to some of them, which made the last couple of weeks in Japan bittersweet. It was great to know I'd be heading home shortly, but it was also sad to know things will be much different when we return to Japan. Such is life, I suppose.

My journey home was uneventful, which is certainly a good thing. The flights were easy, and everything was on-time. The flight from Nagoya to Detroit was 11.5 hours. Boy, that's a long time on an airplane. It went by pretty quickly, though. My Mom and Dad were waiting for me when I arrived. I hadn't seen my Dad in nearly a year so it was certainly a joyous moment to be reunited with him. He immediately drove us to Texas Roadhouse because he knew the first thing his daughter would need was a big 'ole serving of red meat. :) It did not disappoint.

After arriving to my parents' house, I was able to meet my sweet and adorable new niece, Jensen. She is such a doll, and I was so grateful that Holli, Jonathan and all four of the kids made the trek down to see me as soon as I got home. It was such a fun and warm welcome back. My grandparents came over shortly after. I am beyond blessed, and I will never forget it.

I spent yesterday attending my childhood church, and I felt like I received a giant bear hug for two hours straight. It felt so nice to be in an American church, and the message was great. We've found a church home in Nagoya, but I still miss church at home so much. It was fun to see so many familiar faces and to see so many faces I have never seen before, too. It seems like everything changes and nothing changes all at the same time.

Yesterday afternoon, I also had lunch with two of my best high school friends, Amanda and Ashley. We stayed at the restaurant for over three hours, and it was so much fun to catch up with each other and to know that no matter where we live or how long it's been since we've gotten together, everything falls right back into place. I am so thankful for their friendship over the years, and we have shared some sweet memories together.

I'm sure you remember me talking about Christy and Tim's new baby, Sawyer. I got to meet him and spend last night cuddling and playing with him. Oh, he's such a doll and such a good baby. I love seeing Christy as a new mom and Tim as a new daddy. I am continually amazed by all things baby, and I can't believe all of the work and care that goes into caring for a new life, but seeing the look in Christy's eyes when she sees her son assures me it's all worth it. She is such an awesome mom and has transitioned into the role perfectly.

Skittle is great. She's fat, but she's happy. We've had a sweet reunion, and it will be so hard to say goodbye to her again. It's comforting to know that my parents love her, too. They have been so gracious to adjust their lives for us. I often give them a hard time because Skittle weighed 9 lbs. when we left and now weighs 12 lbs., but I am so thankful for all that they've done to help us with her. And, Travis' parents have always eagerly watched her for us when my parents travel. So, we're quite fortunate to have such a supportive family.

Travis will be coming home to join the fun next Saturday afternoon. He spent last weekend in Okinawa and ran his third marathon. I've talked to him a little bit via e-mail, and he told me that he finished the marathon in 3 hours, 55 min., and 53 sec. His goal was to finish in under four hours so I am very happy for him! We'll have to celebrate with some Taco Bell. :)

I'm sorry there are no pictures on this post. I left my laptop in Japan with Travis so I haven't had the chance to upload any pictures yet, but I will be sure to do that soon. Well, I should get going. My plan for the day includes a trip to Target with Christy and Sawyer, and I'm hoping to arrange a trip to Panera in there somewhere. May seem mundane to you, but you can't even imagine how much I've missed Target and Panera. I cannot wait!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T02:07:00.002-06:00

In case you're worried about how Travis and Jessica will fare during the Thanksgiving season, worry not! I promise we're doing okay.

See? We're taking part in the gluttony just as all of you are. :) Allow me to identify some of the foods in the photo:cheesy corn (made my yours truly and always a huge hit), two kinds of stuffing, chicken (turkey is nearly impossible to find in this country and the ovens are tiny so we improvised), salad with BACON, cranberry sauce in the shape of a can just as it should be presented, green bean casserole (pretty sure this cost a fortune to make, please be grateful for things like cream of mushroom soup, green beans and crunchy onion things-they are NOT cheap in Japan), GRAVY, potatoes, bread complete with honey butter. Not pictured: homemade apple pie, pumpkin pie and chocolate chip cookies.

I have a feeling that the construction paper Indian headresses might not be politically correct, but they sure are cute, aren't they? This picture makes me sad. Jessica and her husband, Chris, will be moving back to Tennessee in December. They weren't supposed to move back until next summer, but things change. I am going to miss them so much. Jessica is such a fun and warm person to be around, and I am so happy to have made so many memories with her. And, Travis and Chris get along splendidly. They are such a fun couple. We spent an amazing week with them in Singapore and Malaysia, and I hope we'll be able to travel with them again. I have to stop. I'm seriously becoming bummed. I hate goodbyes!

On a happier note, Happy Thanksgiving from the Hartmans! We hope to see many of you in just a few short weeks! And, boy are we thankful for that. What are you thankful for? Or shall I say, for what are you thankful? Please do tell!

Oh, and I forgot to mention, we'll be hosting another Thanksgiving dinner with some more friends on Saturday. Life's rough.

SpendYourself

2009-11-22T07:08:00.005-06:00

Two blogs in one day. Sheesh.

I wanted to write a post about a company called, SpendYourself. A friend of mine from college, along with her boyfriend and some others started the company, and I'm a big fan. The company's focus is to fight for social justice through selling t-shirts specific to various causes. And, the causes the shirts represent are ones that weigh heavy on my heart. For instance, SpendYourself has two t-shirts for sale devoted to stopping human trafficking and to helping men and women trapped in the sex industry. I already bought two of their t-shirts, and I'm planning to buy more. I encourage you to check out their site here to learn more about the company. The site also features a very interesting blog. Additionally, they're offering a contest for two individuals to win free t-shirts for an entire year. The contest ends Nov. 30th so hurry, and check it out. Oh, and if you're reading this, you just might be getting a t-shirt for Christmas.

Asuke and Tea Ceremony

2009-11-22T06:51:00.003-06:00

One thing I'm thankful for right now: elastic-waist pajama pants. Whew. We just got back from our first Thanksgiving celebration, and it was fantastic. We'll have another one next weekend. It was a potluck, and we had so much delicious food. I completely overate, and now I'm feeling the pain, but it was worth it. I am so grateful to have good friends in Japan to celebrate with and feel very blessed to be able to have the opportunity to indulge in all things Thanksgiving even while living abroad. I know it's been a tough year for many so I don't want to lose sight of the fact that I am blessed beyond measure in so many tangible and intangible ways.

We've been staying extremely busy lately. We're heading home in just a few short weeks, and it seems like we have so many things to do between now and then! We've been running around like crazy, and we're going to have to say goodbye to many good friends in the next couple of weeks so it's going to be hard! :( We aren't leaving Japan until next summer, but some of our dearest friends will be heading back to the States in December. :,(

For now, I'll share a few recent pictures with you. Last weekend we traveled to the nearby town of Asuke. It is absolutely gorgeous in the fall. They even illuminate the trees at night. I was overwhelmed by the beauty. Japan doesn't get nearly enough credit for being an amazingly beautiful country. Before moving here, I never knew how truly gorgeous this country is.

We had a really hard time capturing good shots because the lighting was strange, but I think this one turned out pretty well. We relaxed next to this river for a while, chatted with our friends and snacked it out.

You can see the trees lit in the background. Such a cool idea. People in Japan seem to appreciate natural beauty a bit more than Americans. I could be wrong, but after experiencing hanami (cherry blossom viewing), and the fall season, Japanese people really know how to make an event out of enjoying the outdoors. Droves of people drive just to view these gorgeous trees, and an entire festival is organized around it. While there we ate some of the most delicious food, too.

The next day, my friend, Miyoko, invited me to a tea ceremony along with some of her friends. I had been to a tea ceremony before, but I had never gone in kimono. There were around 200 people there, but we broke off into small groups and rotated through the different stages of the ceremony. It was certainly a fun and unique experience. I am so happy I've had the opportunity to live in Japan and to experience Japanese culture.

Here I am outside of the entrance. The garden surrounding the tea house is beautiful. Japanese gardens are always so incredible and relaxing. In case you're counting, this was my fourth time to wear a kimono. I think I might be a professional now.

Ibigawa Marathon

2009-11-12T00:45:00.002-06:00

My super-human husband ran another marathon last weekend. His self-motivation and determination continue to amaze me on a daily basis. I'm quite grateful for a husband who strives to be healthy. That boy loves a challenge! Perhaps that's why he married me. Wait, I think I just insulted myself.

Travis ran with a few of his co-workers. This picture was taken before the race. Understandably, they weren't quite as enthusiastic after the race.

Travis approaching the finish line. I am so proud of him!

Afterwards, he was desperate for some protein. And, wouldn't you know a massive earthworm was just waiting to be snacked upon.

This was the final shot taken after the race. Travis is planning to run another marathon on December 6th in Okinawa. You may remember that he ran that one last year, too. I won't be able to cheer him on this time because I'll be in the good 'ole U.S.A.! I'm just a little bit excited to be going home! Only 23 days from today!!!!

Oh, and just in case you're still trying to decide whether or not Travis really ate that worm, he didn't. It just made for a funny picture, and it shocked some of the kids nearby.

Halloween

2009-11-02T18:41:00.007-06:00

We had a really fun Halloween weekend. We went to a Halloween party at a friend's house and then we enjoyed a Mexican fiesta, complete with delicious 7-layer dip, on Sunday. Such a fun weekend.

Here are some pictures from Halloween night. Hope you enjoy.

Travis and I dressed up as peace & quiet. I had a lot of fun doing his makeup, but I thought he looked super creepy. Especially without the red-eye taken out.

A couple of our friends, Zac and Emily, dressed up as a cormorant fisherman and cormorant. I thought it was extremely clever.

This picture is of some of the girls at the party.

And, here are the boys.

Brian and Lorie dressed up as Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife, Beth.

Megan and Frank were Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

Ryan and Ayako (Ryako) are the cutest couple. Ryan's costume won the prize for the best. He wired the rabbit's eyes to light up, and he even installed a voice changer inside. He could stand against the white wall and blend in, but when he turned on his red eyes, it was terrifying! Ha!

This picture of Travis and Chris cracks me up. Chris and Jessica dressed as the Snuggie folks on the informercial. They looked hilarious, but I somehow managed to miss getting a shot of the two of them together. Jessica walked around carrying a ball of yarn with her knitting needles, and Chris had his duster and cleaning solution. Pretty funny stuff.

This last picture cracks me up, and it freaks me out at the same time.

See what I mean?

Thornsberrys do Japan

2009-10-30T01:50:00.010-05:00

Hi, all! I know some of you are waiting to hear an update on my family's recent visit to Japan. So, here goes!

My mom, brother and oldest niece all made the long trek to Japan to visit us. We had a really fun time, and it was so great to see my family and to show them a little bit of our life here in Japan.

They arrived on a Saturday evening, and we left early the next morning to spend a few days in Tokyo. While there, we did a lot of sightseeing and went to Tokyo Disney Sea. After that, we spent a few days in Nagoya, made a short trip to Arimatsu and then visited Kyoto. I was so impressed with their willingness to try some funky foods and to walk a million miles. Their karaoke skills weren't too shabby either. My niece is only nine, but she is so mature and well-behaved. She's just a pleasure to be around, and I must say, my brother is a great dad, too. It was cool to see what an amazing father/daughter relationship they share. My mom was such a trooper and rode all the rides with us at Disney, climbed about 800 stairs and even tried some raw fish! Oh, and she arrived bearing gifts, which included a freshly baked batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Wish I had some more right now.

Here are several pictures from our adventure.

Here we are early in the morning waiting for the shinkansen (bullet train) to arrive. While in Tokyo, we walked and walked and walked. We explored the areas of Shinagawa, Asakasa, Akihabara, Harajuku and Ginza.

Here's a pic of Jonathan in Ginza. He really liked this area. Mom, Jordan and I skipped this little jaunt and opted to relax for a while instead.

The next morning, Jonathan and Travis woke up around 4:30 and headed to Tsukiji fish market.

They enjoyed some of the market's famous sashimi for breakfast before heading back to meet us.

From there, we went to Tokyo Disney Sea. I had been wanting to go there for a long time so I was so excited! I hadn't visited a Disney park since I was four.

Here's a cute picture of Jonathan and Jordan with some characters. Is it bad that I don't know who these characters are? Somebody help me out.

Me and Jordan at Tokyo Disney Sea. I love this girl so much!

Disney Sea was pretty crowded, but the weather was amazing, and we managed to ride three rides, enjoy a couple of shows, do a little shopping and eat some tasty treats. After a LONG day at Tokyo Disney Sea, we headed to the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel where the five of us shared a room. :)

This picture was taken in the hotel lobby. It was a really nice place to stay.

After the concierge showed us to our room, she showed us some pajamas that were left for our use. We said we'd brought our own and wouldn't be needing them. But then, we saw this:

That's when we knew we ALL had to put them on immediately.

Prison camp photo. Priceless in my opinion.

After our Disney getaway, we headed back to the city to explore Tokyo a little more.

We had some ramen for lunch, explored Asakasa and did some shopping, checked out some electronics in Akihabara and then made our way back to Nagoya via shinkansen.

After our exhausting Tokyo adventure, we spent the next few days in Nagoya. One morning we headed to Arimatsu and met up with my friend, Miyako, to make some shibori, Japanese tie dye.

Here we are with our finished products.

The night before my family left, we had dinner with what I now consider my Japanese family. You've heard me mention Miyoko in several other posts, too, but she has become a great friend to me and has helped me to enjoy Japan in so many ways. Once she heard my family was coming, she insisted on arranging a dinner for them. It was one of the best parts of their trip. We met up with Miyoko and her family and enjoyed a great and very traditional Japanese meal. We even ended it with some karaoke! Jordan sang some Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, and it was pretty much the cutest thing in the entire world. My mom busted out some Carpenters and did an awesome job with that one. My brother is now known to Miyoko and her family as a "great rapper" since he successfully performed "Gold Digger." They also requested he sing Michael Jackson a few times. Not sure he ever intended for that to happen, but we all enjoyed hearing his version of "Thriller" and "Billie Jean."

Here we are at dinner. Miyoko and her family have plans to visit us in Missouri after we return next summer, and I'm really looking forward to it. Her dream is to experience "country life" in America. I'm pretty sure I know how to help her with that one. :)

Early the following morning we headed to Kyoto. We did some more sightseeing and shopping there.

And, we bumped into some geishas on the way out. How cute is this picture?!

I think that pretty much sums up their visit. I am so so so happy they came, and I can't wait to see them again in December. We made some fun memories, and I love that I have pictures WITH my family in Japan. Thank you for coming to see us!

Typhoon, Travis gets older, Reese's and visitors! Wow, what a random title.

2009-10-16T08:47:00.003-05:00

Has it really been two weeks since my last post?! Eek. So sorry about that. Anyway, here's a little update on what's been going on in Japan.

We experienced our first typhoon. When I first heard we were expecting a typhoon, I really wasn't too worried because it seems like most things are blown out of proportion here. But, then I began thinking about it and the catastrophic results from the typhoons that recently struck American Somoa and the Philippines. I still didn't take much action, and I didn't even get it after I went to the grocery store and noticed it was much more crowded than normal, and people everywhere were stocking up on supplies. Anyway, late on the night before the typhoon was set to arrive, I decided I should start doing a little research. Bad. Idea. I started reading articles about how the typhoon would be the biggest in ten years, and read that the last typhoon of the same size killed 95 people. Ahhh! We didn't even have a flashlight in our house. So, I did what any smart person would do, I put our passports in Ziploc bags, found a couple of head lamps we used for climbing Mt. Fuji, filled the bath tub with water and went to bed.

Travis woke up around 5 a.m., and told me it was looking pretty crazy outside. The wind was nuts, and there was lots and lots of rain. So, I had to check it out.

This picture is of a girls' school near our house. I believe our area received around 10 inches of rain in a very short amount of time. Strangely, after only about two hours all the water on the softball field and tennis courts was gone. The public transportation system in Nagoya was shut down for several hours but overall, very little damage occurred, and life went on as usual.

We also celebrated Travis' birthday last weekend. We had so much fun! I organized a birthday dinner, and 21 people showed up! Wow. He is a pretty popular guy, I guess. We went to an Okinawan restaurant near our house, and we had a really good time. We took lots of fun pictures, but this is the only one I have of the entire group. We were making funny poses. This picture was supposed to be "blue steel" from the movie, Zoolander, but someone made a funny right as the picture was taken so some people couldn't hold their pose. ;)

The following day, Travis and I headed to some mountains not far from our house to go camping. We had a really fun time, but it was much different than what we're used to. We paid a pretty penny to sleep in a glorified parking lot, and the biggest draw of the place was that you could see cows grazing. Anyone who knows my upbringing knows that seeing cows grazing isn't exactly a phenomenon for me. It's a funny memory, though, and we got to roast marshmallows so it was worth it!

Lastly, I received a fun surprise last week! My friends, Maya and Andrea, both of whom came to Japan to visit me sent me a really fun package. It was so nice and unexpected. It was full of all kinds of goodies, but I must say the photo below captures the highlight of the package.

If only you could see this bowl now. Travis and I just couldn't believe how many Reese's we had and thought we would never even be able to make a dent in the huge pile. Well, let's just say you can almost see the bottom of the bowl already. ;)

I know I said "lastly" in the last paragraph, but I can't leave this out! My mom, brother and oldest niece are currently en route to Japan at this very moment. I am beside myself with excitement, and I just can't wait to show them my Japanese life. We're heading to Tokyo early Sunday morning, and we'll be there for two nights and three days. Then, we'll spend some time in Nagoya before heading to to do some sightseeing in Kyoto. I am so happy they're coming, and I'm extremely grateful that my brother's wife, Holli, is so supportive of this adventure. She's a mom to four so I know these next ten days without her oldest daughter and husband will be a challenge. Thanks, Holli!

Black Eyed Peas

2009-09-29T08:24:00.002-05:00

We recently went to a Black Eyed Peas concert! Oh, man, it was a blast, too. We hadn't been to a concert in ages so it was great to finally see a show again. I really enjoy listening to Black Eyed Peas' music because it typically puts me in a great mood. And, it makes me want to dance or push myself a little harder on the stairmaster. Or, sometimes it makes me dance ON the stairstepper, which I think Travis finds embarrassing. Anyway, most of the lyrics are rather ridiculous, and I'm sure I've lost a few brain cells in the process, but how can you not like rocking out to them?! Anyway, here are a few pictures of the fun we enjoyed.

Here's our group hanging out at the subway station before the show. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. It really was sad how excited I was, but man, it felt great. Oh, and I stole this picture from Ayako's facebook pictures. I feel like I should say that for some reason.

Here's a pic of me with my pretty friends, Ayako and Jessica. I'm pretty sure we danced for two hours straight.
The show was only the second of their E.N.D (new album) tour. I'm pretty sure they took their show to Japan first to work out all the kinks before going worldwide, but it was a really fun concert. It was extremely high energy, and Fergie was awesome, and super hot. But, I will say she looked like she recently had some work done. Her cheeks were really tight and puffy. I still like her, though. Even if she has an accident every now and again.

Here's another shot of the set during their show. This was during their song, "Generation Now," which isn't my favorite. But, they played a lot of patriotic video footage during the song. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Oh how I miss home these days...

I know what you're thinking! They bought shirts?! Yes. Yes, we did. I know. I know. But, they say all of the Japan cities on the back, and you're seriously looking at two Americans who miss their motherland. Little things like concert t-shirts make all the difference. Don't ask me how much they cost. The memories they represent are priceless.

Chicago vs. Nagoya

2009-09-23T03:21:00.005-05:00

Recently, my good friend, Heather, and her mom, Mary, made the trek from Chicago to Japan just to see us. Ok, well, maybe not just to see us. ;)

Heather and I were randomly placed together as roommates our freshman year at Mizzou. And, we've been great friends ever since then. We lived together three out of our four years of college. The only year we missed was due to Heather joining a sorority. She had to put her time in at the sorority house. We had so much fun together during those four years, and I really can't imagine what it would have been like without her. We laughed so much, and cried some, too. She's a great friend, and I don't really believe our meeting was random at all. We were definitely put together for a reason. Oh, and I just have to mention that you should have seen the filthy apartment we shared in downtown Columbia our senior year of college. Domestic disputes, nasty carpet, homeless folks in the stairway, paper-thin walls, a rusty tub, mini-stove, irritable garbage disposal and wood paneled walls were among the luxuries we enjoyed.

I derailed. Back to the trip highlights.

Travis graciously picked Heather and Mary up from the airport after work while I anxiously waited for their arrival. After they arrived, we went to a delicious sushi restaurant so we could win them over right away. The next morning, we headed to my favorite place in Japan, Kyoto. I think this trip marked my fifth trip there, and I have plans of returning next month. Just can't get enough of the place.

This trip was the most unique, though, because we stayed overnight in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. It was such a fun experience. Upon arrival, we were greeted with authentic green tea and some Japanese desserts. After that, we left the inn and explored the city a bit. After returning to the hotel, we put on our yukatas.

Here's Travis and me posing in our traditional Japanese room complete with paper screens, wood carvings and tatami floor.

Shortly thereafter, Heather and Mary joined us for dinner. We ate dinner in our room in our pajamas! The food was a bit difficult to handle as it was very traditional. Much of it was raw, and some of it was unidentifiable. It was all presented beautifully, though, and I think I at least tried it all. It was certainly a very unique and authentic Japanese experience. We had a great time laughing through dinner. The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast in our rooms in our pajamas again! Breakfast proved to be no less challenging, but it was still a ton of fun.

From Kyoto, we headed to Nara. We walked around Nara Park and enjoyed lunch at a quaint little French cafe. Heather and Mary checked out the world famous Todaiji Temple, and then we headed back to Nagoya.

We managed to relax a little bit after returning to Nagoya because the next day we headed to Shirakawago, Takayama and Gero with my friend, Miyoko, and her husband.

We took this picture at one of the rest stops in Japan. The view was really beautiful. I love the rest stops in Japan. They always have very clean restrooms and lots of good snacks to enjoy. They also include a gas station, so they're quite convenient.

Our first stop was Shirakawago, a village famous for its thatched roof buildings and homes.

We took a little jaunt up a mountain and enjoyed this view. The photographer suggested we make triangles with our hands to resemble the shape of the thatched roof houses. We also enjoyed some really yummy snacks atop the mountain.

After Shirakawago, we headed to Takayama for lunch and sightseeing. It was my first time to Takayama, which is often described as a little Kyoto. The town was calm and beautiful. I definitely would like to return there sometime soon. After leaving Takayama, we headed to Gero, a town famous for hot springs. We didn't have time to fully enjoy the hot springs, but we did stop off to enjoy a free foot spa with a nice view of the mountainous region.

We returned to Nagoya and decided to spend the next day relaxing a little bit and did a bit of shopping. The following day, we visited my friend Miyoko at her home and dressed in kimonos for the day. I feel like I'm almost Japanese now that I've worn a kimono three times. As always, the day didn't disappoint, and we shared some good laughs together.

My Japanese friends tried to teach us how to pose properly. This was our attempt. After taking a few pictures, we headed to a nice lunch and then to sing karaoke. Singing karaoke in the middle of the afternoon feels a little strange, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

The following day, we headed to Gifu to watch cormorant fishing on the Nagara River. It was my second time, and I enjoyed it once again. The weather was perfect, and we had a really fun time.

We also got to see this beautiful sunset.

The next day was the last day of Heather and Mary's visit. I was so sad they had to leave, but we had a great last dinner at a Brazilian restaurant downtown despite the fact that the owner was quite interested in Mary. That was a bit annoying, but she was a good sport. Afterall, it's not easy being beautiful. ;)

Here we are enjoying our final dinner. Several of our friends in Nagoya joined in on the fun, too, and we were able to enjoy dancing to some Latin tunes as well. I'm so glad they came to visit us.

Malaysia

2009-09-18T18:59:00.009-05:00

After spending a couple of days in Singapore, we hopped on a short flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We quickly settled, enjoyed some awesome Turkish food and began the Malaysian leg of our vacation. Here are a few of the highlights.

We went to Batu Caves, a Hindu shrine, near the city.

Travis and I posing before climbing the stairs.

We climbed 272 stairs to get to the top, and it was oh so hot!

The inside was pretty neat, but it was really dirty. I was a bit shocked considering it's a revered religious site, but there were heaps of trash laying around and wild monkeys and chickens wandering. Oh, and there was a guy with a python. EWWWwww...

Here is one of the many monkeys we saw while visiting Batu Caves. We saw a ton of monkeys throughout the trip.

After visiting Batu Caves, we made friends with a taxi driver who agreed to take us to our next destination, a nature park with several waterfalls. We spent a couple of hours hiking around and playing in some natural waterfalls. Not a rough way to spend a day.

The waterfalls were quite impressive.

We played in this one for quite a while. The water was freezing, though.

On the way back down, we stopped to feed a crowd of monkeys.

After returning to Kuala Lumpur, we managed to find one of my favorite stores, Forever 21. There are no Forever 21 stores in Nagoya yet, so I was absolutely thrilled! It was the biggest one I've ever seen, too.

I could have been there for hours.

We stumbled upon a great Raggae Bar in Chinatown. The music was great, and it brought back sweet Jamaica memories for me. Bob Marley will always have a special place in my heart. I heard about three of his most famous songs twenty times per day for a week during our honeymoon. :)

And finally, here are our vacation buddies, Chris and Jessica! We had such an amazing time together. I'm so grateful for the memories we made on this trip. Definitely the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Malaysia and Singapore are well-known for durian, also known as the stinky fruit. Chris and Jessica ate it the night before we arrived in Singapore so Travis and I were anxious to try it. Chris described it as having a "spiral-perm-kind-of taste." And, I must say, he was pretty much right on.

I actually kind of liked it. It reminded me of an extremely sweet cantaloupe. The texture reminded me a little bit of a mango, but it was more slimy and stringy.

We really enjoyed the tea in Malaysia. It was super sweet and delicious. This picture of Chris and Jessica was taken at a little hawker stall. We told a taxi driver we wanted to eat the best satay, and he dropped us off here. We were a little nervous since there were absolutely no tourists there, which is actually usually a good sign, and lots of cats were roaming around. But, I'd have to say his recommendation was perfect. We enjoyed some amazing satay. The funniest part, though, was when we asked what kinds of satay we were eating. The waiter knew a little English and told us, "Chicken and meat." So, we asked him what kind of meat we were eating to which he responded, "Meat." Oh, right... We tried a couple of more times to figure it out, and then we just gave up. Perhaps it was cat?

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur are awesome. Really beautiful buildings that certainly make Kuala Lumpur's skyline spectacular. Another sidenote to add, Al Jazeera has an office inside, which brings me to another topic.

We were told by a few locals that Malaysia is 70 percent Muslim. By the way, I have not verified that statistic, but I know it was around 60 percent in 2000, so it seems about right to me. I had never been to a predominantly Muslim country before so it was certainly eye opening. We saw many women wearing burqas, and many of them only had their eyes exposed. Even the bridges of their noses were sometimes covered. The most interesting scene was around the pool where the women would sit quietly near the pool in full burqa while their husbands enjoyed the water. Let's remember that it was 100+ degrees outside. Not. Fair.

Also, I think Kuala Lumpur has been experiencing a rise in fundamentalism as well. As a result, we had to walk through metal detectors every time we entered our hotel. Additionally, all vehicles had to be searched for explosives. I didn't feel uncomfortable or unsafe for some reason, but the experience was a first for me.

We spent another night traveling to a neighboring town called, Kuala Selangor. We took a van taxi there, and wow, the ride was interesting. It was extremely curvy and the setup of the van required two of us to sit backwards. I don't struggle with motion sickness, but even I was beginning to turn a little green.

Alas, we survived. We went to a seafood restaurant on the river for dinner. The food was okay, but not the best we enjoyed and unfortunately the most expensive. By the way, by expensive, I mean around $12/person. Not exactly expensive, but for Malaysia it was a little pricey.

After we left the restaurant, Travis decided to inform us that we dined with an enormous rat the entire time. I guess I was kind of glad I didn't know beforehand because I would have been freaking out, but still!

Our main motive in traveling to Kuala Selangor was a nighttime firefly cruise, and it was certainly worth the long and treacherous van ride. We boarded a nice wooden boat and enjoyed an hour-long cruise along a river lined with trees filled with fireflies. It was amazing. Felt like Christmas, but it was much greener if you know what I mean. No electric lights here. Just trees lit by thousands of fireflies. Awesome.

When booking our hotel, we found a really great deal. And, I thought I would just ask for a room with a great view of the Petronas Towers for kicks. It never hurts to ask.

This is the view we awakened to each morning from our corner room on the 22nd floor. We also had a corner window and could see the KL Tower as well. I was impressed. And just think, all I had to do was ask.

And, my favorite part of Kuala Lumpur might have been our hotel's pool. It was amazing. In Japan pools are rare, and if you find them they are packed full of rugrats. So, we spent several hours enjoying the amazing pool, which included a swim-up bar.

Well, that does it for our Malaysia re-cap. If you're traveling to Kuala Lumpur soon, let me know. I'd love to give you some recommendations.

Singapore

2009-08-26T18:43:00.007-05:00

To quickly update you since my last post, Christy and Tim named their son Sawyer Lee. Everyone is doing well as far as I know. I sent them a flower arrangement at the hospital to congratulate them. Later, my mom sent me a few pictures of Tim and Christy in their new house. I saw a pink arrangement that looked like the one I sent on their countertop, and I thought, hmmm, I wonder why someone would send pink flowers. So, I went back to check my online order, and apparently I clicked the "It's a girl!" arrangement instead of the "It's a boy!" arrangement. Ugh. Sorry about that.

But, since this blog is about Singapore, I should move on. We had a great trip to Singapore and Malaysia. We spent three nights in Singapore, three in Kuala Lumpur and one more in Singapore. But, to make things simpler, I am just going to write two blogs, one about Singapore and one about Malaysia. So, both will likely be lengthy and include lots of pictures.

It's always overwhelming to try and write about a vacation because there's no way I can include it all. So, I'll just try and hit some of the highlights. This vacation was different for us because we met up with another couple and traveled with them. It turned out to be wonderful. We got along great, and it was a blast. I'll show you pictures of our vacation buddies in the next post.

This vacation had a theme for me: food. Oh, how I love to eat. We had an amazing time trying new foods and flavors from all around the world. Singapore is a great place for a gastronomic adventure.

We began by going to Little India. Having never been to the real India, I can't say whether or not the one in Singapore is an accurate depiction, but it seemed authentic to me.

Here is one of the streets in Little India. It was bustling, and there was lots of horn honking.

I really like this picture of a sari shop. So many beautiful colors and fabrics.

I had henna done on one of my hands. It was actually the second time I have had henna done. For Julie's wedding, all of the bridesmaids had henna put on their hands. I love the stuff, and I kind of wish it were permanent.

And, here is the finished product.

We also had a mission while in Little India: to eat fishead curry. We watched an episode of Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods when he was in Singapore, and he ate at a restaurant famous for fishead curry. So, we went there, too.

Here's the famous dish. It was really creepy, especially because the fish had scary little sharp teeth. It was also extremely spicy. Like burn-your-face-off hot. I preferred the other chicken butter curry dish we ordered, but it was interesting to try, I suppose. It's also worth noting that Travis, a miniature Andrew Zimmern, decided he, too, would have to eat the eyeball. I couldn't even look at him while he did it, but I will describe it to you. The eyeball had a hard plastic-y shell that had to be "peeled off" in his mouth. Then as he bit into it, there was a hard rocky center. But, he said the overall taste was good. Right... I am okay with never knowing what it tastes like.

We decided to try and branch out a little so we ate with our hands. It was pretty fun, but kind of difficult. I don't think we were aggressive enough. And, my fingers were stained Cheeto orange for the rest of the day.

We also happened to time our visit to Singapore with their National Day celebration. It's when they celebrate their independence. I was so excited that we would be able to see an amazing fireworks show since we missed the big ones in Japan this year.

So, we went to the riverfront to wait for the fireworks. It was so crowded. People were absolutely everywhere. And, we waited. And waited.

Here's a picture of the river. As you can see, the bridge was packed with people. The people on the bridge had purchased tickets for the show as well as the parade, which we were not able to see.

And, we continued to wait for the fireworks. We waited for around two hours, and we saw about five minutes, if that, of fireworks. The fireworks we saw were pretty amazing, but five minutes?! It was quite a disappointment. Apparently the show was scaled back this year. That information would have been helpful earlier, but oh well. You live and you learn. I want those two hours back, though.

After the fireworks show, we headed to Chinatown. Certainly worth the walk. Love me some good Chinese food.

Here's a picture we took along the walk. It is a great city/country. So much amazing architecture, very modern and clean.

While in Singapore, we also headed to Sentosa Island. It's a little island a short distance from Singapore. It's under heavy construction right now. Several new hotels, casinos and a Universal Studios are being built there. I think it might be pretty cool in about two or three years, but for now, it's a little on the cheesy side and quite over-priced. The beach there is ok. It's all man-made, but it could make for a fun afternoon. Unfortunately for us girls, we were traveling with some eager boys who didn't want to lay around on the beach and soak up the sun. Ok, maybe we were soaking up rain and not sun, but we were really trying hard to pretend it was sunny.

Sentosa Island does have a huge merlion, though. And, it was pretty neat-o.

Large and in charge.

Singapore is a shoppers' paradise. Besides having all of the name-brand and big name stores you can imagine, it also has lots of little markets where you can haggle down prices. I, personally, hate the whole haggling process. I always walk away feeling ripped off and guilty for trying to argue with someone over fifty cents or a dollar. It starts messing with my head, and I don't even realize I just spent thirty minutes arguing over fifty cents. Anyway, it can be fun for a little bit, like five minutes.

Here's a picture of one of the busy markets on Bugis Street. Talk about sensory overload. There was so much techno music in this place, and each stall was playing their own tune so it was a bit crazy. Felt like a dance club in there.

Another evening, Travis and I went to check out Raffles Hotel. Unfortunately, our travel buddies came down with some icky food poisoning and were unable to join us. They were all better by the next day, though. Thank goodness!

It's a really beautiful hotel over one hundred years old. Our plan was to go inside and drink Singapore's famous drink, the Singapore Sling. But, it was going to cost us $23 per drink, and it's a lady's drink so we obviously bowed out. We were actually sitting in the restaurant talking about how ridiculous it would be to pay that much for a drink, and no one waited on us for the first five minutes. So, that was our sign, and we snuck out. $46 saved. Can you imagine? After taxes and a few weird fees, that would be over $50 for two drinks. Dumb, I tell you.

After visiting Raffles, we headed to the Arab Quarter for some Egyptian food. I had never eaten at an Egyptian restaurant before, but boy oh boy, it was terrific. I was quite familiar with hummus, but I had only eaten falafel once before. We ordered way too much food, but it was so tasty! I think middle-Eastern food might be my new favorite. Or, maybe it's Chinese. But, I also really love Indian food. Oh, goodness, guess I still don't have a favorite.

We read about another restaurant in Singapore that, according to Anthony Bourdain, serves the world's best dumplings. I only had to read that once before I was sprinting to the restaurant. Ok, not really, but it certainly didn't disappoint.

Here are the chefs preparing the dumplings. They were awesome. We had a few different types and the best hot and sour soup I have ever tasted. There were people lined up outside of the door, and that was certainly a clue we had to eat there. It was a wonderful combination, my favorite, in fact: cheap and delicious!

On the last day, Travis decided we should visit Singapore's urban rainforest. I believe it's one of two in the world. We didn't see a whole lot of wildlife, but we did see wild monkeys and huge ants. The hike wasn't too difficult, but it was super hot! When we finally reached the summit, we read that we were only one degree from the equator. (By the way, we knew this before we went on the walk, but it was still cool.)

And, here's a picture of me along the trail. It was nice to get away from the city for a little while.

I could go on and on about Singapore, but I should probably wrap it up. I undoubtedly left out so many things about this trip, but if you're considering traveling to Singapore, I would suggest going for it. I know, I say that about every place. But, Singapore is very safe, clean and modern. It's also one of the most diverse places I have ever visited. We saw people from all over the world. And, since English is spoken there, along with many other languages, it would be such an easy place to live. Well, in my opinion, anyway.

It's also worth noting that there is a huge amount of governmental control in Singapore. There's really no freedom of speech or free press to speak of. Also, chewing gum is forbidden as is spitting on the street, smoking in a non-designated area on the sidewalk, and many others. The customs form upon arrival warns that drug trafficking is punishable by death. I didn't test that one, trust me. Anyway, it's a great place to spend a few days, but I don't want to idealize it too much.

I was planning to end this post with a really cute picture of Travis and me, but somehow I deleted it so please use your imagination. :)

Baby Sherrer is here!

2009-08-19T22:49:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a great day. One of my favorites. A perfect little boy was brought into the world by none other than my dear friend, Christy. I am so excited and overjoyed, I can barely contain myself. I spent yesterday afternoon staring at my computer screen just waiting for an update. I was beside myself. Fortunately, the labor was quick (I didn't say painless, just quick), and I didn't have to wait to long to hear, "It's a boy!"

Tim and Christy didn't find out the sex of their baby until he made his grand entrance, and it was so fun to be surprised. I am so happy for them. He is so precious and perfect, and I can't wait to meet him. He doesn't have a name yet because they're still deciding.

Oh, and it's worth mentioning that Christy gave birth without any pain meds. None at all! She is a tough one, I tell you. If you remember, she even made the trip to visit me last March in Japan. She was already 4-5 months pregnant, but that didn't stop her. I'm so glad she came, too.

Isn't he so precious?! It's so hard not to be home right now because I really want to hold him. I guess I'll just have to be patient. I am dying to hold my new niece, Jensen, too. She is sweet as pie.

Here's a pic of the proud mommy and daddy. They are going to be great parents. I still can't believe Christy is a mommy now. We have grown up together, and have been friends since we were babies. Our families are close, and I feel like her having a baby is the closest thing to myself having one. Wow! She's going to be an awesome mommy. I know this because she learned from one of the best!

Sumo

2009-08-17T00:12:00.005-05:00

We just returned from vacation last night, and we had a great time. We took tons of pictures, and I am looking forward to sharing them with you soon. But, before that, I want to show you some sumo pictures.

Travis and I were able to watch the sumo tournament in Nagoya two times this summer. We purchased tickets, and then we were given two tickets as a gift from Travis' supervisor. It was really fun to watch, and it was certainly a cultural experience.

Besides watching the sumo tournament, Travis and I also watched a couple of sumo practices in Nagoya. We woke up early on Saturday morning to watch the sumo wrestlers prepare for the matches. It was really interesting, and I certainly gained a whole new respect for the sport after watching the intense practices. I never thought of sumo wrestling as being too physically taxing. I thought they just got to eat, get fat and run into each other. Seemed like a dream job to me. It's actually hard work, though.

Here is one of the practices we watched. You can see some of the on-lookers in the front.

And, here's another picture of the practice. Many of the wrestlers were covered in lots of cuts and bruises.

Here I am on the way to the stadium. This wrestler was nice enough to let me take a picture with him. Travis and I were both shocked by how good he smelled. Probably sounds strange, but he was freshly showered, and smelled so nice.

Here's a shot of the stadium. We watched the tournament on the very last day so it was quite crowded.

This picture is a bit fuzzy, but the wrestler in the orange was enormous. I can't remember his exact weight, but I know it was pushing 600 lbs. Unbelievable.

Here's a shot of the wrestlers before their matches. Sumo is a very interesting sport. Well, to me, at least. There are many rituals and rules I never knew about until actually attending the match and doing some background research. If you travel to Japan during the summer, I would highly recommend trying to get tickets. The tournament travels to different cities so it can only be seen during certain months and seasons.

Motown Philly Back Again

2009-08-08T01:40:00.007-05:00

Well, I can add Sean from Boyz II Men to my random list of celebrity encounters, which by the way, includes some BIG A-listers like Billy Ray Cyrus, Naomi Judd, Rudy Guilliani and more. (Okay, maybe not really more, but you get the idea.) But, I did see Mike Myers last summer in Kyoto.

Anyway, I'd like to take a moment to tell you right now about a time when I bumped into one of the Boyz at Hard Rock Nagoya.

We went to Hard Rock to celebrate our good friend, Lorie's, birthday. While there, one of our friends noticed a man and woman sitting in a booth near us. He mentioned he thought he was one of the singers from Boyz II Men, and we shortly confirmed by comparing a photo on his iPhone. We also realized it was highly likely because Travis had just listened to an interview with Boyz II Men on a local radio station. We quickly began to wonder if there was a concert that night. We discovered that there was going to indeed be a concert. So, we began scheming and thinking about whether or not we should drop some serious dough to hear "I'll Make Love to You" live.

Shortly thereafter, our theory was confirmed. After the exit of the first alleged Boy, we saw Sean, another of the Boyz, snuggling with his lady friend at a booth across from us. Everyone kept encouraging me to ask him if there were anymore tickets available for their show. I was way too big of a chicken, and he appeared to be laying some sugar on his lady friend so I felt far too awkward. But, we soon noticed he had disappeared. Uh-oh, we lost our chance. But wait, no, we didn't. I got a little burst of courage and decided to approach him while he was paying his bill with my friend, Ayako. I simply approached him and told him I was interested in purchasing tickets to his show and asked if he knew whether or not any were left. He responded by asking my name and said he would give me and my friend, Ayako, free tickets to the show. Awesome, except for the fact that we were there with a group of 13. So, I mentioned that we were there to celebrate a friend's birthday and that there were actually 13 of us there. He took my name and phone number and mentioned he would have his manager call me. Right...

Well, about two minutes later, he called! I never thought I would hear someone say, "This is...., Manager of Boyz II Men," on the other end of a call. But, sure enough, they hooked us up with 13 free tickets (the most expensive ones, too), which actually ended up being 14 free tickets because we forgot one person. Oops.

Here we are with Sean from Boyz II Men. He was super nice. I never dreamed he would give us free tickets. I just wanted to know whether or not the show was sold out because no one was answering the phone at the ticket office. Just goes to show that sometimes you just have to go for it, I guess.

The show was set to start only about an hour or so after we had finished our birthday lunch so we rushed over to the venue. While standing outside, we quickly began to notice that everyone entering the building seemed really dressed up. They weren't exactly wearing what I expected to see at a Boyz II Men concert. Well, that was because the concert was not exactly what we anticipated. It was actually a Boyz II Men concert in collaboration with The New York Symphonic Ensemble. Ha! It was great, though. They sang all the classics, and we had a really fun time. Especially considering it was free!

Here's a picture of Boyz II Men performing with the symphony on-stage. I realized I must have been way out of the loop for a long time because I didn't even know there were only three of them left. I was still expecting there to be four. Oh, and did you know they've been singing together for 18 years? Crazy! Their voices were absolutely amazing, too. I couldn't believe how great they sounded live.

The best part of the entire show was when they decided to end it with "Motown Philly Back Again." I don't know if that's the actual title, but that's what I'm calling it. It was great! We all went down to the front of the stage and boogied down. It was a great and unexpected night!

Sew a yukata by hand=check

2009-08-08T01:12:00.003-05:00

Hi, there! I'm coming to you from the Tokyo airport. We have a few hours to wait before boarding our flight to Singapore. I am so excited! We'll be meeting a couple of our friends there to enjoy a week-long vacation in Singapore and Malaysia. Can't wait to tell you about it.

Anyway, I've been wanting to blog about my yukata for a while. You may remember my mention of it last summer when I first started sewing it by hand. Well, almost one year later, I finally finished! It was a struggle for me because I found the whole process to be a bit boring, and it really tested my patience, but now I am so happy to have it finished. I think it will be an item I treasure for a long time. But, I'm not sure it will last very long because I'm pretty sure I forgot to reenforce most of the stitches.

The picture below is of my yukata debut. We attended a Tanabata party hosted by my yukata sewing teacher. There was a ton of great food at the party, and we had a great time.

Here it is! What do you think?

Many of the girls in my class were overly ambitious (well, in my opinion anyway) and also sewed their husbands a yukata. So, they finished two yukatas in way less time than I sewed one, but whatever. Travis' yukata was purchased. There was no way I could handle making another one.

We wore our yukatas the second time to watch the final day of the sumo tournament in Nagoya. I'll post sumo pictures soon. We joined our friends Chris and Jessica at their place so we could try and help each other construct our outfits.

Here Jessica and I are attempting to watch a Youtube video on how to tie an obi. We eventually figured it out, and I think it turned out pretty well. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture from the back.

And, here we are. Looking pretty sharp if I do say so myself. The funniest part of the day was when we all proudly walked into a ramen restaurant near Chris and Jessica's apartment. We were immediately greeted by the restaurant owner pointing out that all of us had layered our yukatas incorrectly. They are supposed to be layered left over right. Right over left is how dead people wear them in their coffins and is also the way we were all wearing them. The best part was that I confidently explained to everyone exactly why we needed to make sure we layered our yukatas correctly, but I had it backwards. Oops. Wasn't much of a problem for the boys because they could easily fix the issue, but there was no way Jessica and I were going to be able to retie our obis. So, we just rolled with it.

Lastly, here's a picture of Travis and I sweating at sumo. I think he needs some bushy chest hair and a gold chain to really complete the photo, don't you?

Road Trip Part 3

2009-07-23T03:31:00.003-05:00

I wish I had a good excuse for why I've become such a blogging slacker, but I don't think the whole "I've been busy." line is going to cut it. I mean, who isn't?

Anyway, this blog will finally conclude the Road Trip portion and will hopefully be the end of my blogging hiatus.

To finish up our time with Mike and Maya, we headed to Kyoto, one of my very favorite places in Japan. It's such peaceful and lively city. Not many cities can encapsulate both.

Fortunately, we had great weather for Mike and Maya's entire trip. I completely overreacted and warned them that it would be rainy and super hot. The rainy season and extreme humidity held off, and I'm currently experiencing both. Yuck. Anyway, here's a photo of Mike and Maya at a shrine we found right off of the Philosopher's Path, a beautiful walking path through Kyoto.

Here's a shot of a cute Japanese family taking a stroll along the path.

And here we are in front of an aqueduct. If I weren't feeling so lazy right now, I would look up the name and give you some background, but I'm just not feeling it. Sorry.

After spending a great day in Kyoto, we returned to Nagoya and enjoyed the city for a couple of days. The following Saturday, we headed to Aichi Bokujou, a neat little outdoor area where a small farm can be observed. Obviously, I wasn't interested in the whole petting a cow thing, but I was certainly excited to eat some of the fresh ice cream. Was delicious, by the way! We spent the afternoon barbecuing over an open firepit, eating ice cream and checking out farm animals. It felt like home, and Travis was sure to point out to all of his Japanese co-workers that I am very familiar with the smell of cow poo. Thanks, Travis.

Here we are with some of Travis' co-workers.

That evening, we headed to the Nagoya Dome to watch a Chunichi Dragons' game.

Aren't you impressed with our team spirit?! We had a great time and enjoyed some good eats, too. It was a perfect way to end an amazing time with some great friends. I am so happy Mike and Maya came to visit us. We made some fabulous memories together!

Road Trip Part 2

2009-07-09T02:38:00.006-05:00

Better late than never, right?

Off we went to Kobe! Kobe was a really nice city, and we had a great time. Our main goal for Kobe was to enjoy some infamous Kobe beef, and that we did. We were able, with the help of our hotel's concierge, to find a reasonably priced steakhouse. The steak was outrageously delicious. I'm not one to get too excited about red meat (Sorry, Dad.), but it was absolutely amazing.

This photo is of the beef shortly after it was placed on the grill. It was cooked to perfection and then cut into bite-sized pieces. MMMMmmmm.

After stuffing ourselves silly, we headed to a local izakaya (a casual bar) where we enjoyed good conversation. Some of which included some brainstorming for our new business ventures. Watch out, world!

The next morning, we headed to Kobe's port to soak up some sun and let our hair blow.

Our next stop was Chinatown. While there, we feasted on some yummy Chinese food for lunch. One funny experience worth noting is that the wait staff at the restaurant where we dined must have assumed we knew no Japanese because as they led us to our table, which happened to be located upstairs, they announced over the intercom that some foreigners were on their way up. Who says that?

After that, we went to a sake museum and learned how sake is processed from start to finish. Following the presentation, we were able to sample various types of sake. I'm not a big sake fan, but it was interesting to try a few variations even if they were all gross.

And, here's a photo of the Hartman family posed in front of some booze.

After returning to Nagoya for a brief night's sleep, we ventured to the neighboring town of Gujo-Hachiman, which just so happens to be famous for manufacturing artificial food.

Check out this bowl of ramen. There is no way one would ever suspect it to be fake. I am continually amazed by the authenticity of the artificial food created here. Outside of almost every restaurant is a display of the food you can purchase inside. It is all made from wax and plastic, but it looks so real! And, once you receive the food you order, it will look exactly like the display! Great, right?

While in Gujo-Hachiman, we were able to try our hands at making our own food.

In this photo Maya and I are creating tempura batter for shrimp and a variety of vegetables. The tempura is made from wax and is then draped over the shrimp and veggies.

Here is the finished product cooling in a bowl of water.

After making our tempura shrimp and vegetables, we made lettuce.

Travis cradled his lettuce to perfection.

After making plastic food, we took a short hike to Gujo Hachiman Castle.

And, Mike and Maya posed in front of the castle for us.

Still to come: Kyoto, a BBQ and a Nagoya Dragons game!

Road Trip Part 1

2009-06-26T00:57:00.009-05:00

Is it really Friday already? This week has just flown by so fast. I had every intention of blogging much earlier in the week, but time just got away from me.

Before I begin to tell you about the adventures we had with Mike and Maya, I want to mention that yesterday marked one year since we moved to Japan. It's hard to believe a year has already passed, and I'm stoked to be here for another one.

While Mike and Maya visited, we packed a lot into a few days as is our normal style. For starters, we went to Gifu to view cormorant fishing. Gifu is famous for cormorant fishing, which involves using birds to catch sweet trout. Check out the link if you would like a better description.

Here's a picture of all of the cormorant boats lined up on the Nagara River. It was a beautiful sight. We weren't able to eat any of the fish, but it was pretty neat to experience the process.

The next morning, we woke up very early and headed to Hiroshima, which is about a 6-7 hour drive from Nagoya. While there, we visited Peace Memorial Park where we saw the A-Bomb Dome and toured the museum.

Visiting Hiroshima was very surreal. The city itself was quite beautiful, but it was also a bit haunting. It was interesting to tour the museum and to learn about the devastation that occurred as a result of the atomic bomb being dropped; however, it was also a bit discouraging. Much of the story surrounding the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan was omitted making it seem as though the bomb was somewhat randomly dropped there. That whole Pearl Harbor thing didn't come up a lot if you know what I mean.

After visiting Peace Memorial Park, we visited a section of Hiroshima famous for okonomiyaki. We enjoyed a delicious okonomiyaki dinner as well as fresh oysters. The okonomiyaki in Hiroshima is quite different from the Osaka-style okonomiyaki served in Nagoya.

This photo shows the serious multi-tasking that was taking place.

After a couple of hours at a local karaoke bar, we decided to hit the hay. The next morning, we took a short drive to Miyajima, which I have now dubbed my favorite place in Japan.

We took a ferry over to Miyajima, which is famous for the red torii gate pictured above. This photo was taken mid-morning so the tide was still low. A few hours later, the area where we were standing was completely covered with water.

Miyajima is a beautiful island, and so peaceful. The streets were beautiful with streams running along them, it was mountainous and there was so much greenery. We took a cable car up Mt. Misen, and then we hiked the rest of the way to the top to enjoy a beautiful 360-degree view.

It was well worth the hot and sunny climb to the top.

And, here we are atop the mountain.

Next up: Kobe and Gujo Hachiman.

$$$$¥¥¥¥

2009-06-21T23:05:00.003-05:00

I promise to blog about our road trip adventures with Mike and Maya very soon, but you have to check out this article. I knew living in Nagoya was expensive, but I had no idea just HOW expensive. This article ranks it as number three in the world. Whoa.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

2009-06-21T08:32:00.003-05:00

Whew! We have been going non-stop these past couple of weeks, and I have lots to blog about. But, before diving in, I wanted to wish my Dad a very Happy Father's Day!

My Dad is one of the boldest and smartest fellas I know, and he's an awesome public speaker. He also has one hell of a mustache. But, besides all that, he's a great father to me. He has raised me to never back down and to always stand for my beliefs, despite who I'm facing. I certainly haven't met every challenge with that kind of zealousness, but it's not because I didn't know how. Thanks for your encouragement and example, Dad. I am sorry I can't celebrate Father's Day with you, but I'm certainly thinking of you. In fact, I just watched some Fox News in your honor, and now I'm going to read American Rifleman.

Boy fun and visitors!

2009-06-10T07:32:00.004-05:00

Well, I snuck a few pictures from the boys so you could see how the bachelor party went down. Looks like they had fun, but there's no way they had as much fun as we did.

They went to a Nagoya Dragons game.

And bowling. Apparently a few other activities took place, too, like going to a Japanese onsen (spa) at 2:30 in the morning. Silly kids didn't get home until after 5:00 a.m.

In other news, this lovely couple will shortly be making their Japanese debut.

Mike and Maya are on their way right now! I can't wait to see them. They are such wonderful friends to us. They were a huge help to us right before we made the move to Japan and were there to encourage us when we started to lose it. We have big plans for their visit. We'll be going to Hiroshima, Kobe, Gujo Hachiman and Nara. So, I won't be blogging for a bit, but when I do, it should be chalked full of fun tales from our Japanese road trip adventure.

Surprises

2009-06-06T21:22:00.004-05:00

There's not much I love more in life than surprises. Not bad ones, of course, but the planned kind. I love being surprised, and I love surprising other people. Yesterday, some friends and I surprised our friend, Megan, with a bachelorette party, and we had a blast! The boys also surprised her fiance with a bachelor party so maybe I'll share some of Travis' photos in the next post.

We started the event at the other Meghan's apartment. We have formed a book club, and we disguised the party as our book club meeting. So, once Megan (the bride) arrived, she quickly realized we had thrown her off track, and we were actually going to have a wild night to celebrate her!

We enjoyed some snacks and gave her a pop quiz on her fiance and headed to dinner. She did surprisingly well because those questions were hard!

Here we are at Wolfgang Puck's. There was also a wedding reception there that night so it was neat to see the bride and her friends dressed to the nine. Her dress was crazy. It reminded me a lot of the dress in The Wedding Singer, but her hair was bigger with a huge flashy flower accessory.

When planning, we racked our brains for something silly and fun to do after dinner, and then we found it. Next, we went to watch a drag queen show. Yes, mom, I know you are proud. It was a hoot. I must say I wasn't exactly prepared for what occurred, and I'll spare you the details, but it certainly made for a funny memory.

Here we are with some of the "girls." The "girl" to the farthest right of the photo had amazing hair.

After the show, the night was still young so we opted to head to a dance club. None of us are what I would call, clubbers, but sometimes a girl's just gotta dance. The club was a little swanky, but we had so much fun! Japan is such a safe country, which made going to a dance club so easy for us. We didn't have to worry about any scary creeps trying to dance with us because all the guys were too scared to even approach us so we just danced for hours with abandon.

I must say the most memorable portion of the night might have been the scene in the dance club bathroom. Oh my word! I have never seen so many girls primping. And, I'm not just talking about a little powder on the nose and some lipstick reapplication. There were curling irons plugged in and everything! One room was entirely devoted to vanity. And, the club is dark! The effort put into appearance in Japan is astounding.

Anyway, we had the best time. It was the most fun night I have had since moving to Japan. My feet are paying the price today, but it was definitely worth it!

Oh, and dancing is a great cardio work out. Here we are sweating from dancing so hard. From left to right, Megan, Beth, Jessica and some skanky girl with her bra strap revealed. Just staying classy.

Corteo was awesome

2009-05-27T20:42:00.004-05:00

Our anniversary is over so now I have to wait a whole year for the next one. Who am I kidding?I treat everyday like it's my anniversary. :)

Travis was able to leave work a little early, and we went to a great Asian restaurant that serves food from Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. The food is delicious and the prices are reasonable. Not a bad combination.

Here's a photo of our meal. It was quite tasty.

The restaurant just so happens to be located around the corner from Mister Donut. And, you know I love me some donuts. We were very deep in our selection of donuts, each representing a year of our marriage. I would expand more on the reasoning, but I just don't think you would understand. (If you believed those last couple of sentences, you obviously don't know me very well. Would have been a nice thought, though. We got as far as the donuts are circles representing our eternal love for one another. Gag me!)

After dinner we went to watch the Cirque du Soleil show, Corteo. It was so incredible. Just might have put the Chinese acrobats show to shame, although the lack of safety precautions taken during the show in Beijing added to the excitement. Corteo was breathtaking, and I strongly encourage you to see a Cirque du Soleil show if you never have. Last night was my first time, and I'm now a devotee. I want to see as many of them as possible.

Loving today

2009-05-26T20:53:00.005-05:00

I am in celebratory mode today. It's my three year wedding anniversary, and I can hardly believe it. I love reflecting back on the day I married Travis so I thought I'd share a few pictures and some of our wedding story.

We had a small destination wedding in Jamaica, and it was so fun! My parents, Travis' parents and my paternal grandparents were able to attend.

Here's a picture of us on our way to Jamaica.

We stayed at the Sandals resort in Negril on the famous seven mile beach. It was beautiful.

This picture was taken on the eve of our wedding. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to be getting married the next day. After seven years of dating, it was such a sweet feeling.

It was soo hot on our wedding day so the coordinator moved the wedding location to under a couple of palm trees. The ceremony was short and sweet, and I never wanted it to end. I tell Travis all the time that I wish we could get married again and again (to each other, of course). It was the most amazing day. We memorized vows we created together, and neither one of us forgot any of them. Whew!

We had a champagne and cake reception. The cake was a funky Jamaican rum cake, and I'll never forget how tasty it was.

It was so great to have my grandparents there.

Ahhh... I would love to have that white sand between my toes right now.

Our families flew out the morning after our wedding, and we enjoyed several more days for our honeymoon.

Here we are at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.

We woke up to a room service breakfast on the beach, swam, laid in the sun, napped, ate some more, got ready for dinner, ate some more, slept and repeated the sequence each day.

It was rough.

We've got big plans to celebrate this evening so I'll share more later. That's all for now!

Still kickin'

2009-05-24T22:34:00.004-05:00

I survived! I ran my first 5K yesterday, and it was pretty fun. Well, after it was over, of course. I accomplished my goals-not to stop running and not to finish last. I aim high, right?

It might have only been three miles, but I was stinking proud of myself.

Travis ran the ten mile race in 75 minutes. Not too shabby, huh?

Here's the whole group of us. We had such a fun weekend together. Now, I have to motivate myself for a 10K.

Kawaii and a 5K

2009-05-20T19:42:00.006-05:00

Hello, there! Whew! It's been a busy week, and it's only Thursday. As you know, I've started a part-time teaching job. I am an assistant teacher at an English studio, and I've really been enjoying it so far. It's pretty fun, but it certainly requires a lot of energy. Yesterday, I taught six classes, and tomorrow, I'll teach seven. I get tired just thinking about it. Don't worry, I know it's probably not as hard as the work you all are doing, but I have been out of the working routine for a while now so sliding back into it is an adjustment, and I'm not even full-time. How did I ever work 40+ hours a week?

Anyway, I just have to share a few photos with you. I've mentioned before about how cute things are in Japan. I mean, seriously, I feel like everything is cute or at least an attempt at cute. The below two photos are of some donuts from a place I love called, Mister Donut. They serve all kinds of donuts, and I think they're great. They're much lighter tasting than Krispy Kremes so I feel like I can eat more. They also refill my coffee cup when I'm there-a rare treat in Japan. I nearly squealed when I laid eyes on these donuts...

Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen?! The "burger" is a thin piece of crunchy chocolate, and the buns are donuts. The "ketchup and mayo combination" is some sort of strawberry, and I think the green one is either kiwi or green tea flavored. I actually didn't eat them. I brought them home for Travis to enjoy. Oh, and don't think I didn't enjoy a donut. I certainly did.

I'm sorry, but I can just barely handle their mini-cuteness. They also have "French fries" you can purchase with the "burgers."

In other news, I am going to attempt to run a 5K on Sunday. I have been training a little bit but really only for the last 2-3 weeks. I know a 5K isn't that long, only 3.1 miles, but for me, I feel like it's an eternity. Travis and I ran the full length last weekend, and I was able to do it without stopping, but I'm nervous about this weekend. He won't be running it with me since he's opted to do the 10 mile race instead so hopefully I can manage on my own. I've got some new killer tunes on my iPod, but I think I'll definitely need a divine intervention to go with them. I'm no athlete, and I'm certainly not a runner, but hopefully this run will inspire me to achieve my half-marathon goal.

This picture is of me, Lorie and Ayako. (My head is always huge. Always. And, now I am starting to realize why Japanese people keep calling me Snow White.) I really like these girls, and they'll be running the 5K with me on Sunday. I hope I can keep the drama low as I tend to get quite dramatic while running-heavy breathing, red splotchiness, random outbursts promising my ensuing death, etc. Hopefully my next post will be about my successfully finishing the 5K. If there is a next post, that is...

Beijing Part III

2009-05-16T23:49:00.006-05:00

I'm going to wrap up the posts about our Beijing trip with a few more pictures highlighting my favorite parts of it.

We spent one afternoon exploring Beijing's modern art district. The area is called Beijing 798 Art Zone, and it's full of old armory warehouses converted into galleries. Funky cafes and shops line the streets, and art is available for purchase. We had a great time checking out all the funky paintings and sculptures. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford any originals.

We also traveled to the Summer Palace. Although it was picturesque, it was also extremely crowded, which made it pretty much impossible to enjoy.

We climbed to the top and enjoyed a view of the lake surrounding the palace.

Here we are in front of the lake at the Summer Palace. There were so many people there, but you can't even tell in this photo.

One of my favorite attractions was the Temple of Heaven. It's a beautiful building and nothing more than that to me.

The coolest part about the Temple of Heaven is the huge park surrounding it. It's so full of activity. We saw old couples dancing, kids playing badminton, people practicing thai chi, Travis ran into some kung-fu fighters and lots of aerobics classes were taking place, too.

I don't have any pictures of my favorite part of the trip, seeing a Chinese acrobat show. I actually obeyed the staff's request to not take any pictures unlike many of the audience members. I purchased the cheapest tickets available, but somehow we ended up three rows from the stage, dead center. It was the most incredible show I've ever seen. My chin was on the floor the entire time. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were pretty much no safety measures implemented, and I had to try hard not to scream. I was so nervous watching the show, but it was truly incredible. If you go to Beijing, please go and see the acrobats.

The last picture is of a sign outside the Silk Market that I found rather amusing. Maybe you will, too.

As always, thanks for reading about our trip. If you're considering a trip, Beijing is definitely worth the effort. It's dirty and polluted, but it's full of history, lively and inexpensive. And, most importantly, the food is delicious.

Beijing Part II

2009-05-11T22:23:00.006-05:00

One of my favorite parts of traveling is eating. Well, actually, eating is my favorite thing to do. Period. I love food and especially trying new foods. I'm not as adventurous as Travis, but I loved the food in China. It was so flavorful, and I'm happy to report, we never got sick. Just thought I'd share a few photos of some of the dishes I enjoyed most.

This photo is of one of the Peking duck meals we enjoyed. Peking is another name for Beijing. In Japanese, for instance, Beijing is Peking. Anyway, it was delicious, and it's served sort of fajita-style. You place the duck in very thin pancakes and add plum sauce and cucumber slices. Delightful.

It doesn't look too appetizing, but this dish consisted of mashed potatoes and cabbage, two of my very favorite foods.

Most of the food we enjoyed in Beijing was spicy! Look at all of that chili sauce. This dish was chicken with red chili sauce.

We ate these on a couple of occasions. I can't remember what they're called, but they are fried spring rolls with potato inside. The ends are capped with roasted sesame seeds.

Mutton is very popular in Beijing. This dish consisted of lamb spare ribs, I believe, with lots of chopped peppers.

One evening we went to Beijing's famous snack street, which I have recently been told appeared on the Amazing Race. We saw all kinds of crazy things on sticks-sharks, centipedes, star fish, snakes, venison kidneys and LOTS of bugs. While there, Travis proceeded to indulge in one of the snacks. Enjoy the video below.

Pardon my commentary. I was a bit disgusted despite having seen him eat several abnormal items on many occasions.

Knock-offs also abound in Beijing. There are so many. I really don't understand how they can be sold. We saw everything you could imagine-knock-off make-up, iPhones, jewelry, shoes, tools, toys, everything! And, it doesn't stop at clothes and electronics.

Notice a resemblance?

How about with this one?

Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!

2009-05-10T00:18:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to take a second to wish my mommy a Happy Mother's Day! Those of you who know her know how awesome she is, but for those of you who don't, allow me to tell you. My mom is truly an amazing woman. I could go on and on about her forever. She is extremely giving and selfless. (In fact, my dad warned Travis when he asked for my hand in marriage that I don't have a servant's heart like my mother. Ha! It is true, though. I don't even come close.) Anyway, she is a great mom and friend to me and makes me laugh. She faithfully prays for me, and if you know her, she is most likely praying for you, too. She doesn't care about what's popular, just what's right. She has done so much for me in my short 25 years on this earth, and she continues to help us out on a daily basis. She helps sort our U.S. mail, ships us stuff, lets us leave our furniture with her, she bought my car when we moved, she lets Skittle live with her while we're in Japan, and there's a lot more that she'll probably remind me of later. :)

Mom, thanks for everything you do for me and our family! Thanks for birthing me, too. I'm sorry for being huge when I was born.

*Photo by the one and only, Brett Laxton.

Beijing Part I

2009-05-08T02:35:00.007-05:00

We've been back from Beijing for a few days now, but I'm just now getting around to blogging. I thought about blogging several times, but I never knew where to start, and I still don't. We crammed so much into five days! Instead of trying to capture it in one post, I'm going to break it into a few. Hope you don't mind.

I'll start by saying we had an amazing trip. It surpassed my expectations, and it was filled with surprises-some welcomed and others, well, not so welcomed.

On another note, I'm continually amazed by how many people lump China, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan and other Asian countries into the same category assuming they're all the same. I will be the first to admit that I never realized how different and unique each of the countries are from one another until moving here. The contrast is astounding. Especially in the case of China and Japan. I would almost describe them as completely opposite. In fact, I think America is more similar to China than Japan is similar to China. I'm not saying America is similar to China, just that it's more similar to China than Japan is to China. Kapeesh? So, please, for the love of Pete, don't ask me how I like living in China, ok? I live in Japan. Not China. Not that I would mind living in China. I think I could hang. Just trying to make the point that they are VERY different countries.

Ok, enough of that ramble and onto the good stuff...

We began our first morning in Beijing with a walk to Tiananmen Square. We were neither prepared for the crowd that awaited us nor the amount of trash-can spitting we would encounter. Spitting in China is quite common, but at Tiananmen Square, it's strictly reserved for the many trash cans throughout the square. It was an interesting place to be, and we were quickly made aware of the pride Chinese people have in their country. Or at least they did a great job of making it appear as so. Lots of flag-waving, etc.

This picture was taken at Tiananmen Square.

Across the street from Tiananmen Square is the Forbidden City. We went there next. Well, actually, we took an accidental detour to a tulip garden first. We thought we were entering the Forbidden City, but we actually ended up paying to enter a huge tulip display. I dig tulips so all was okay. Plus, we got to see our first Chinese argument there. I must say I really loved the public display of emotions in China. In Japan, people are generally very reserved so it was quite refreshing to hear someone get angry and start screaming at the gardeners for not allowing them to trample hundreds of tulips in order to capture a great photo.

After some Chinese tulip admiring, off to the Forbidden City we went. We visited China during Golden Week so everywhere was CROWDED. We experienced our first queue at the Forbidden City, or shall I say lack of queue. It didn't take us long to realize we were going to have to throw some 'bows to hold our places in line. Again, it was actually a bit amusing because in Japan, it seems like most people love to line up for everything. It's so organized here. In China, it's the total opposite. If you turn your head for one second, several people have already cut in front of you. Might get old after a while, but I kind of liked plowing through when I had the chance.

Here I am in the Forbidden City throwing up the perfunctory peace sign.

The next day, we headed to the Great Wall. Prior to our trip, I worked my tooshie off to make sure everything was in order, or so I thought. Travis and I try to stay away from organized tours as much as possible because we typically find great satisfaction in figuring things out. Except, of course, when things go array.

We woke up early and prepared to meet a driver I hired to take us to the Great Wall. After he was about fifteen minutes late, I decided we should try to call him. So, the receptionist at the front desk helped me out. Once on the phone with him, he told me he had forgotten. What?! How could he have forgotten? We only exchanged about ten e-mails discussing the time, date and cost. Ugh. It wasn't a huge deal because he ended up arriving within 45 minutes, but I quickly understood the importance of follow-up. Always follow up. Always.

The ride to the Great Wall was absolutely terrifying. I can't even begin to describe the death defying acts our driver performed. Just imagine a two-and-a-half hour game of chicken. That is what we endured. After a while, I just decided to close my eyes.

We finally arrived to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. It was raining. Grrr... Did we have an umbrella? Of course not! Lucky for us, about 47 stalls waiting to pounce on wet tourists awaited. So, we bought an overpriced umbrella. I commented on the fact that although it was expensive, it seemed like a really nice one. It was big enough to share, seemed heavy-duty and was even kind of cute.

As soon as we got to the top, it broke. Welcome to China, Jessica and Travis. There we were on top of the Great Wall with no umbrella and soaking wet. It was awesome. Ok, I'm exaggerating. It wasn't raining all that hard. It was mostly a steady sprinkle, but it was chilly and windy!

Fortunately for us, the rain subsided within about half an hour, and we were able to enjoy the beauty surrounding the Great Wall. We had a wonderful time climbing to the highest point and soaking up the experience. I even consumed a pricey and expired Snickers bar atop it.

We really went to the Great Wall! Yes!

It was absolutely beautiful. This picture isn't the best one since there was a rain drop on my lens, but I am too lazy to try and re-upload another one so just take my word for it. I really wasn't expecting it to be as pretty as it was, but it was just amazing. The mountains surrounding it were spectacular, and it's just sooo long.

After the Great Wall climb, we were famished. Our driver took us to a dumpling restaurant away from the tourist traps. It was quite an experience. The restaurant didn't exactly meet American health code standards or even come close, but we closed our eyes and shared thirty of the most delicious lamb, pork and beef dumplings I've ever eaten. I love Chinese food.

Next stop, Olympic Park. Despite the white-knuckle ride, I was able to take a short nap on the way back to Beijing. Just continuing to prove my inexplicable ability to sleep in almost any situation. It's quite a talent, I tell you.

Here's a picture of the Bird's Nest, which you probably remember from the 2008 Olympics. We weren't able to go inside because Jackie Chan was there practicing for a concert. Go figure.

Well, I think I'm going to have to wrap things up. I'll write more about Beijing soon. Thanks for reading!

Welcome to the world, Jensen!

2009-04-29T01:44:00.003-05:00

Konnichiwa from Tokyo! Just sitting here in the lounge at Narita airport awaiting our flight to Beijing, and I have some fabulous news to share with you!

Jensen Kate Thornsberry was born today! She's a beauty. Weighs 5 lbs. 11 oz. My brother had his laptop in Holli's birthing suite so he Skyped us in. We got to say hello to everyone before Jensen was born. Then, we had to leave to head to the airport in Nagoya. Once we arrived at the airport, we quickly hooked the computer up to the Internet and called them back to hear the most beautiful cry in the background! And, of course we got to see her precious little face. It was incredible to be a part of such an awesome time for my family. Sad I can't hold her, but I'm so grateful I got to see her when she was only one hour old. Thank goodness for technology these days. It certainly makes living abroad much easier. I am so ecstatic to be an aunt again. I love my nieces and nephew to pieces. And, my brother and Holli are awesome parents. What a great day!

Here we go again

2009-04-27T18:52:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow we're leaving for Beijing! So, I most likely won't be blogging for a week or so. Check back soon for pictures from our trip.

Move over, Martha!

2009-04-25T20:36:00.002-05:00

Since moving to Japan, we have, of course, missed a few things from home. On the top of that list is biscuits and sausage gravy or should I say, was the top on that list. I am happy to report that we successfully created a delicious Ozarks breakfast yesterday morning.

Thanks to a couple friends here, they passed along a delicious breakfast sausage recipe. We combined some spices and ground pork. The tricky part was the biscuits. Travis bought some buttermilk biscuit Bisquick mix last time we were home knowing full and well we don't have an oven here. It pained me to see the mix every time I opened the cabinet door. Until we decided to give them a shot on our gas stove. I know this isn't the most novel concept, but for us, it was. We successfully cooked the biscuits in a frying pan with a lid. And, alas, we had the most amazing sausage patties, biscuits and sausage gravy. It can be done. No Jimmy Dean and no oven.

After the biscuits and gravy breakfast, I got really crazy. My mom sent me a carrot cake mix with cream cheese frosting for my birthday. She knows we don't have an oven, but she thought I could take it to a friend's house to bake it.

For a few weeks, I opened the cabinet door to hear the cream cheese frosting mocking me. I often considered ripping off the foiled seal, grabbing a spoon and devouring it, sans cake. But, because I have incredible self-control, I resisted. Until yesterday.

After seeing the success of the biscuits, I decided to try baking the cake on the stovetop in a sauce pan. And, after two rounds of baking, it worked. Only took about 15 minutes for each layer. It's the most delicious cake I have ever tasted. It's extremely moist because of the lid used while baking, I suppose. So, I must say, the Hartman House is a happy place to be this weekend. Take that, oven.

Mission Accomplished

2009-04-21T21:35:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I set out on a mission: to open a Japanese bank account. I recently obtained a part-time job, thus having a bank account of my own became necessary. And, I'm happy to report, I was successful. I was able to use the little bit of Japanese I know, and I accomplished the task.

I had to laugh a little, though. I followed an example to fill out the form, written entirely in Japanese, to begin the process of opening the bank account. I basically copied it for the most part. The gal helping me took notice of one box I had checked. I checked a box to receive just a basic ATM card and bank book. Much to my amusement, she took the time to point out that I could actually receive a Disney-themed bank book and ATM card. Of course I complied! I mean, how could I not?

Here's my new bank book.

I love many things about Japan. One particular part I enjoy is the lack of separation between what we would classify as "kid items" and those more appropriately reserved for adults. For instance, it's very common to see an adult carrying luggage adorned with Winnie the Pooh or Minnie Mouse. Likewise, many adults opt to decorate their cars with Lilo & Stitch. Travis has mentioned many occasions when seemingly well-respected and somewhat intimidating upper-level management will join a meeting and proceed to sign documents with a Rescue Rangers pen or answer their cell phone decorated with Little Mermaid or Donald Duck. I, personally, think it's great. I mean, who really wants to grow up?

And, she left...on a jet plane

2009-04-19T03:09:00.005-05:00

We just returned a while ago from dropping Andrea off at the airport. So sad to see her go, but it was great to spend some awesome time together and to make memories that will last a lifetime. Below are a few more photos of some of the highlights from her visit.

We spent three days in Tokyo. We saw a ton. It was exhausting. Lots of blisters, but it was worth it.

One morning, we woke up at 4:00 a.m. and headed to Tsukiji Fish Market, the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. As soon as we arrived, we were invited by a friendly Japanese man to ride on the back of his motorized fish cart. We eagerly agreed without knowing what we were getting into. It was a white-knuckle-kind-of ride, but it was fun for sure.

This picture is of the famous tuna auction. It starts around 5:00 a.m. and ends around 6:15 a.m. almost every day of the week.

Big expensive tuna.

And some more.

After watching the auction, we headed to breakfast. We consumed what was quite possibly the freshest sushi in the world. It was delightful, even at 6:30 a.m.

And, it's us again in front of the Tokyo Tower. We spent the rest of our time in Tokyo exploring the city's sites, gawking at the fashion and relaxing in Tokyo's parks. After returning to Nagoya, we took a day off to rest and then headed to Kyoto.

Here we are in front of a peony tree outside of Ninnaji Temple.

And, here we are in front of the five-story pagoda at Ninnaji Temple.

Travis caught a neat picture of the pagoda behind a Japanese maple.

And, here we are again in front of Kinkakuji Temple.

We capped of Andrea's trip with a delicious meal at an okonomiyaki restaurant. It was quite possibly the best meal I've had since moving to Japan. I am pretty sure the waitress had a crush on Travis so we got some extras, like dessert and potato wedges, thrown in. She didn't realize I was his wife until the meal was over.

Since Andrea arrived, I told her we would have to try some karaoke. She was reluctant and skeptical claiming she hates to sing in front of anyone. After our last dinner together, we convinced her to give it a shot.

And, as you can see, she changed her mind. :)

We rocked out to No Doubt's "I'm Just a Girl." I mean, we really really rocked it. It was amazing. Trust me.

Well, I better scoot. Travis is making a new recipe-Kentucky burgoo. I feel a rumbly in my tummy. Anyway, lots of exciting things happening here. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long for the next post.

Japandrea

2009-04-13T01:45:00.004-05:00

Hi, faithful readers! Sorry for abandoning you lately. I've been busy enjoying Japan with Andrea. We've been running around Nagoya like crazy, took a day trip to Inuyama and spent the weekend at a cabin located at the base of Mt. Fuji. Early tomorrow morning, we're heading to Tokyo for a few days. So, I don't have much time to write now. Here are a few pictures to tide you over.

Here's Andrea in front of the Osu Kannon Temple. By the way, she timed her trip perfectly at the peak of cherry blossom season, and the weather has been amazing every single day so far.

Here we are at sunset in front of Mt. Fuji.

Easter morning Fuji looked beautiful. It was certainly a nice little Easter surprise to find it waiting in the crystal clear sky.

I hope you had a great Easter and took time to remember why we celebrate it.

Hanami

2009-04-06T21:06:00.003-05:00

Sakura (cherry blossom) season is in full swing, and we've been taking full advantage of it. It's a huge deal here, and people really know how to enjoy it.

We spent Friday night walking along a river lined with cherry blossoms. It was breathtaking.

Unfortunately, it rained all day on Saturday so we enjoyed the view from the car.

This is a shot from Kyoto we took the previous weekend.

And this one was taken near Nagoya Castle the previous week.

On Sunday, Travis had a baseball game so I went to cheer him on.

After Travis' game, we took a picnic to a nearby park to enjoy hanami. Hanami means flower viewing in Japanese (hana=flower and mi=view). It basically consists of friends and family enjoying the cherry blossoms by going to a park, barbecuing, drinking and playing games. After Saturday's rain, Sunday was so beautiful. We spent the rest of the day "park hopping."

The weather here is beautiful, and Andrea will arrive around 6 p.m. this evening. So excited!! Hopefully we'll be able to see sakura for at least another week or so.

Heehee

2009-04-03T00:49:00.000-05:00

Goodbye, 24!

2009-04-02T04:57:00.006-05:00

I know many of you will be shocked to discover I turned 25 on the last day of March. I know you're thinking I am wise beyond those years, but it's true, I really am THAT young.

Birthdays are bittersweet for me. I really love my birthday because I feel like it's a 24-hour hug. Unless, of course, you celebrate it in two time zones like I did. In that case, the hug lasts longer. I am always amazed by how kind people are to me, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy. But, I hate them, too, because it reminds me that I'm not the only one getting older. I suppose that's how the cookie crumbles.

Anyway, I had an amazing birthday, and I think I am still glowing from it. I didn't have many expectations for my birthday this year since we are so far away from home, but I was floored by the amount of cards and gifts I received. Thank you all so much!

My birthday started with an early wake-up. Travis and I had a conference call at 6 a.m. so I had to get up extra early. I awoke to presents from my hubby, a poured bowl of cereal with a note "to add milk," and a fresh pot of coffee. It was a great start to the day, and I committed to spending the rest of it in my P.J.'s reading magazines and watching movies. Contrary to what some of you may believe, I don't do that every day.

Travis came home from work and surprised me with some birthday treats before we headed out for my birthday party.

We met a group of friends at a favorite restaurant. The couple in the bottom right of this picture are my friend, Beth's, parents. They are visiting from the U.S. and had just arrived a couple of hours prior. Now that's devotion! I was so overwhelmed by how many people came and by all the gifts I received. I couldn't believe the generosity and thoughtfulness. I felt so special.

Here I am opening one of the many gifts I received. I must say, though, the gift pictured was one of my favorites. For those of you who don't know, Japanese people often wear surgical masks to prevent spreading or inhaling germs. Not sure how well it works, but I'm now completely numb to how strange this seems to people not living in Japan. I don't even notice it anymore. Anyway, I was talking one day about how manufacturers should create surgical masks with funny expressions and faces. I especially thought there was a need for a "Billy Bob" face mask with the grotesque smile and jumbled teeth. Anyway, much to my surprise, it exists. My friend, Megan, gave it to me for my birthday. It's not quite as exaggerated as I would have created, but it's still pretty funny. I'll take pictures. Don't you worry.

Travis also insisted on making me dinner the day after my birthday. It was pretty amazing, too.

When he told me he wanted to make dinner for me, I secretly began hoping he would make scallops, and he did! They were huge and so tasty, too!

Now, I have to wait a whole year for the next one.

*P.S. I planned a very malicious April Fool's blog, but I chickened out and decided to make my brother the lone victim.

Vacancy at the Hartman Hotel

2009-03-30T01:03:00.006-05:00

Christy's gone, and I'm sad. But, we had a great time together. Here are a few pictures of our adventures.

We put on kimonos, which as you know, was not a first for me. I must say, though, the second time around was more enjoyable because my hair was a bit more manageable. Additionally, we enjoyed Italian food for lunch instead of a traditional Japanese meal.

The best part of the whole experience was by far Christy's 'do. She donned a wig for the day, and it was hysterical. It was so cute but also very bizarre.

After lunch, we headed to a karaoke club and sang a few duets for our Japanese friends. We didn't do so hot on the N'Sync and Madonna tunes, but we sang a mean version of Alan Jackson's* Chattahoochie. Our people would have been proud.

*Side note: My freshman year of college, Christy, Charity, Julie and I all drove to Nashville to enjoy a big country music festival. During the Alan Jackson concert, I caught the guitar pick he threw into the audience. Well, I might have had to pick it up off the ground so I didn't actually catch it per se, but anyway, it's still on my dresser at my parents' house.

We went to a Chunichi Dragons game at the Nagoya Dome and afterwards, we shopped till we dropped. The next morning we got up early and headed to Kyoto.

Here we are in front of Kinkakuji, the Golden Temple. After that, we went to Kyomizudera Temple and then to Fushimi Inara.

Here is a picture of Travis and me at Fushimi Inara. You might recognize the orange tori gates from the movie, Memoirs of a Geisha.

Christy's visit fell right in the middle of sakura (cherry blossom) season, but unfortunately, the weather has been a bit chilly and the trees didn't bloom quite as early as expected. In fact, only about 20% are bloomed right now. Although many are still waiting to bloom, we were able to see several in all their glory. This picture was taken on the grounds at Nagoya Castle.

Because of Christy's current situation (she's prego), she was eligible for priority seating on all the trains. For some reason she never took advantage of it, but we did sneak a pic of her in front of the sign.

By the way, she is the most low-maintenance pregnant gal ever. I think I used her pregnancy as an excuse more than she did. I kept telling Travis we needed to take breaks and buy snacks because of the baby. And, I am pretty sure I ate for two the entire time she was here.

We had such a wonderful time making memories, and I can't believe that the next time I see Christy, she'll be a mommy! Wow.

Ok, well I'm off to the grocery store. I think I'm craving pickles and ice cream. :)

Tokyo

2009-03-25T19:04:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, we headed to Tokyo. It was my first time there, and we had a great time taking in all the sites. My feet, however, are still sore from all the walking.

We left early on Saturday morning and went to Tokyo by shinkansen.

We saw a pretty nice view of Mt. Fuji.

We packed so much into the two days we were there that I couldn't possibly try and capture all of it here. So, here are some of the highlights from our weekend.

We enjoyed an amazing view of Tokyo from Roppongi Hills. The observatory was open-air, and we had great weather for it. Travis appears annoyed by my affection in this photo.

We spent some time walking around the grounds outside of the Imperial Palace.

Here we are in Kabuki-cho, an area famous for Tokyo nightlife and other things not worth mentioning.

We spent the night in a capsule hotel, which was actually much more comfortable than I had anticipated. We stayed in Akihabara, a section famous for electronics.

The next day brought a little rain and a lot of wind. This picture is outside Harajuku Station. Like much of Tokyo, it was very crowded.

We also visited Meiji Shrine and were pleasantly surprised when we were able to witness several traditional weddings.

My friend, Andrea, will be here in a couple of weeks, and I'll get to enjoy Tokyo with her all over again. It's such a lively and interesting city. So much to see and so many people. Not sure I could make the city my permanent home, but it's definitely great for a few days.

Package from Missouri

2009-03-19T20:16:00.007-05:00

Things here are great. Christy arrived on Tuesday evening, and it's been such a joy to have her here with us. We've been busy running around and seeing Nagoya, but the best part has just been hanging out together and being able to catch up. We've been friends since we were little girls so it's very refreshing to see a familiar face and spend time with someone who can truly smell what I'm steppin' in.

We went out for dinner at a yakiniku restaurant, and Travis cooked for us. Christy even tried some cow tongue for the first time.

We went to the Nagoya Station area to do some shopping and people watching. We also went to the Marriott near there to take in a cool view of the city.

This shot is of a huge and beautiful flower arrangement in the Marriott. It smelled wonderful. How cute is Christy with her round little belly? I just love it.

Thursday is ladies day at the movie theater so we watched Benjamin Button. It was long, but I enjoyed it. Made my wheels turn a little.

Tomorrow we're off to Tokyo!

In just a few loong hours...

2009-03-16T23:41:00.001-05:00

Christy will be here!!! I am so excited! Christy is going to be our first visitor, and I cannot wait to see her and her baby bump. I'll update you soon on all the fun we'll be having.

White Day

2009-03-14T02:30:00.004-05:00

Today is White Day in Japan, which is like a girls-only Valentine's Day. On Feb. 14th in Japan, women give men chocolates, usually homemade. The men, on the other hand, don't give any gifts. Valentine's Day in Japan goes beyond romanticism. It's common for female co-workers to give chocolates to their male co-workers with no feelings attached. One month later on March 14th, White Day, the men respond by giving more expensive gifts to the women who gave them gifts on Valentine's Day.

I wonder if Travis will be observing White Day today. :)

What up?

2009-03-09T03:35:00.002-05:00

Not much here.

Just thought I'd share a pic of me and my lizadies.*

*"My lizadies and me" just wouldn't have sounded as cool, right?

Just a couple hot products

2009-03-03T20:57:00.004-06:00

Shopping in Japan is always an adventure. I'll have to start making more of an effort to capture some of the funny products we've seen.

If you're having trouble growing facial hair, worry no more. And, I'm sure you'll be able to find whatever color you need because the hair patches come in light black, dark brown and gray. Talk about diversity! Oh, they retail for around $29.

I'm not entirely sure what this product is for, but I believe it's some sort of dietary supplement. I wonder who thought this product name would be appropriate.

Nagashima

2009-03-02T23:08:00.005-06:00

I just finished the most delicious and monstrous apple. Man, I love the produce in Japan. It's pricey but delicious.

Last weekend we headed to Nagashima so the super-human I married could run a half-marathon. There really isn't much to see in Nagashima, but we hit the highlights and made the most of it. And, it's less than an hour away.

This dude finished the half-marathon before Travis, and I think we all know why.

Finish line!

After the marathon, we grabbed lunch at the nearby outlet mall and then rode the longest roller coaster in the world. That's right, folks. It was awesome. We rode the Steel Dragon 2000, which is the world's longest and fifth tallest roller coaster. It goes up to 95 mph, and it lasted four minutes.

Here we are in front of the Steel Dragon 2000.

I watched many people ride the roller coaster while Travis was running, and I noticed the ride was never completely filled. So, I assumed most people were probably smart enough not to ride a roller coaster in the winter. It was quite chilly. We entered the park later that afternoon only to realize we were going to have to wait in line for a loooong time. The ride was never full because they were only filling it halfway each time. Ugh. We waited in line for almost two hours, but we were determined to ride it so we dealt with it. I felt warmer just looking at all the girls in line wearing shorts and high-heels. Why on earth would one choose that attire for a day at an amusement park? I'll never understand it.

Oh, and why didn't you guys leave me any good questions? I only got an anonymous one about my mama. And as far as I know, she's doing just fine. Thanks for asking.

So, do you like it?

2009-02-26T18:10:00.006-06:00

The one question I'm asked more than any other in reference to Japan is, "Do you like it?" To which I typically respond with a nod and say "Yeah," with a little bit of a high-pitched inflection at the end of the word. But, it's just not that simple. I really can't answer that question with a yes or no response. So, from now on, instead of answering, I'm just going to tell whomever asks me to go and read my blog. Of course I'm kidding, but I'll attempt to answer it here.

If you are wondering if I'm happy here, I am. That doesn't mean I wake up every morning and can't wait to start the day, but it means that overall, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I have always wanted to live in a different country for a period of time, and now I have that opportunity. Additionally, I enjoy experiencing a different culture and meeting new people. There's also part of me that gets enjoyment from being out of my "comfort zone." Again, I don't feel like that 100% of the time, but I like what it does to me and how it makes me feel. I think it's good to be in a situation that so many continue to live every day. It helps me relate a little.

Plus, as you know, I LOVE to travel. Being located in Japan has given us so many opportunities to travel Asia. Just being able to travel within Japan has been an incredible experience, too.

If you ever ask if I'm homesick, I'll most likely always tell you, "Not really." That answer has recently begun to change. I'm not homesick in the sense of crying a lot of tears or hating it here, but I do find myself exhibiting some signs. My patience in the crowded train stations has been a bit short, and sometimes I want to elbow store associates in the face when they greet me with a loud, "Irrashaimase!" Irrashaimase in Japanese is really only used when greeting customers or potential customers. It basically means, welcome and how can I help you? Anyway, it can be quite irritating when screamed loudly by each associate every time you enter an establishment.

But, most of all, I'm beginning to come to the realization that barring any major disasters, I won't be going back to the U.S. until December. I know that's not very long in the grand scheme of things, but it still makes me a little sad and freaked out. My best friend is pregnant and so is my sister-in-law. It kills me to think I won't be there to welcome these new little people into the world.

So, in a more lighthearted spirit, I am going to give you a list of some things from home I miss. I know there are people all over the world living in impoverished conditions so I'm not acting like I'm suffering or anything like that. But, I do miss some of the luxuries I enjoyed at home. Not saying I couldn't live without them, just merely mentioning that they made my life a little easier.

Clothes dryer: We have a pretty tiny washer, and I have to dry all of our clothes on a little drying rack. We've had a lot of rainy days lately.
Oven: I was no Susie Homemaker in the States, but I have really been craving some cake and cookies.
El Maguey for Mexican food: This restaurant was more than just a cheap Mexican restaurant with cheap margaritas. For Travis and I, it meant so much more. Every time we had anything of importance to discuss, we took it to El Maguey and chatted for hours. Can you really think of a better atmosphere in which to discuss the meaning of life?
Target: Oh, how I love Target. I just want to go and walk around for hours, even if their store layout includes a bunch of shelving running through the middle of the store making it very difficult to find wandering husbands.
Last, but certainly not least, I miss my Little Skittle. I just want to scratch her big round belly.

So, there you have it.

If you have any other questions for me, just leave a comment, and I'd be happy to answer them. I don't feel like I've given you a great picture of Japanese culture yet so please ask away!

Mostly about nothing

2009-02-23T00:49:00.004-06:00

I don't really have much to blog about but, I like blogging so I'm going to do it anyway.

We had a relatively uneventful weekend, but it was great to stay in Nagoya and relax. Friday night, we just took it easy, cooked at home and watched "Changeling," which I enjoyed. Any movie over two hours is too long in my opinion, but I thought it was pretty good. I am an Angelina Jolie fan, but I had forgotten the movie was based on a true story. Had I known that, I think my perspective while watching it would have been a bit different. Anyway, have any of you seen it? Did you like it? I typically don't enjoy watching movies a whole lot, but since moving to Japan, it's become one of my favorite past times. Thanks to everyone who gave us iTunes gift cards for Christmas!

Saturday we ran some errands and met up with a few friends for dinner. We met several new people, another one of my favorite past times. I love meeting new people and learning their stories.

Travis made a pot of beans on Sunday. I don't know why it makes me giggle to type that. I think it's probably because I feel like I need to say it with a southern drawl. It reminds me of winters at home. My mom put beans in the crockpot, and let them cook all day. She'd make cornbread to go with them, too. I never thought we would be able to recreate that meal here, but Travis did a mighty fine job. Cornbread and all. They were quite delicious, and as usual, I doused them in vinegar.

We also ran some errands, and I bought a new shelf. I never thought a $20 shelf would make me so happy, but I finally have a place to store some family photos and some of the knick knacks we've accumulated on our travels. Just making our house a home. That's what I do.

After that, we finished season one of "Dexter." Do any of you watch that show? I am really starting to like it. I just can't stand Dexter's sister. She really gets under my skin. Anyway, just curious if any of you are fans, too.

Ok, so I'm sorry this blog was a little lame. I'll try to do something blog-worthy soon.

Bangkok and Phuket

2009-02-17T18:40:00.008-06:00

We've returned to Nagoya after an amazing trip to Thailand. This post will likely be long, but I'm also writing it for myself so I won't forget some of the details of our trip. So here goes...

We began our trip in Bangkok. We booked a hotel in the heart of Chinatown and true to the reviews I had read, the hotel was a quiet refuge amidst an overwhelmingly busy neighborhood. Chinatown definitely provided a sensory overload. There were so many strange smells of street food being grilled, exhaust from heavy traffic and occasionally a little sewage stink mixed in. It was a crazy place to be, but there was so much to see and absorb. We had a great time roaming around and taking it all in.

The first night we arrived, we took a tuk-tuk, pictured above, to a Thai restaurant for dinner. Tuk-tuks are everywhere in Thailand. They are typically faster than taxis because the weave in and out of the traffic, which makes for a terrifying ride.

The next day, we headed to the weekend market, which didn't disappoint. It was very hot and humid, but most of the stalls in the market were sheltered so it wasn't so bad. You could buy almost anything there, quite an eclectic mix. We didn't do a lot of buying, but we did do a lot of looking.

We enjoyed lunch at an outdoor restaurant at the market. The picture above is of the nice lady who made my pad thai. I couldn't get enough of it during our trip.

Soon after, we went to a famous show in Bangkok called, Siam Niramvit. It was the most amazing production I have seen yet. I haven't seen Cirque de Soleil, but it's supposed to be at that level. The show told the story of Bangkok's history and was complete with elephants and an on-stage river with boats. One of the actor's even dove into it. It was way cool.

After a couple of days in Bangkok, we flew to the southern island of Phuket. It was beautiful but quite touristy. We stayed near Kata beach, which is a little calmer than the most popular beach, Patong. Nonetheless, we were vacationing alongside LOTS of other tourists from around the world. Throughout our entire trip, we never met anyone from America. Most of the vacationers were from Italy, the UK or Australia. We were called "Aussies" by almost all of the hagglers we encountered.

On a side note, if you ever travel to Thailand, be prepared to be harped constantly. As "white people," we were approached repeatedly by cab drivers, store workers, tuk-tuk drivers and people at the airport. Everyone had an incredible deal to offer us. It seems that in Thailand every price is negotiable. In fact, the taxis in Bangkok only recently became metered. Before that, as a passenger, you had to negotiate a price with your taxi driver. Many of the drivers still try this approach unless you insist on them using the meter. It's shady and gets really old really fast.

Back to Phuket...the first evening we were there, Travis discovered we would be able to watch a muay Thai boxing match. I wasn't too thrilled since I hate seeing anyone in pain and can barely stomach UFC fighting on TV, but I agreed. I don't know too much about boxing in America, but I do know the rules are quite different in Thailand. The boxers received points based on how many elbow and knee hits they got. This, of course, made for a very gory fight. We saw lots of blood and even a match between two females and several knockouts. It took a few minutes, but it started to grow on me, and I ended up really enjoying it. I think the reason why I enjoyed it so much was because all the boxers seemed so respectful and had really great sportsmanship. I assume they actually enjoy it. Oh, and we got free t-shirts.

The photograph above was from the craziest match. The boxer you see is 19 and from Australia. We watched his 39 year-old father box right before him.

The next day we we went for an elephant ride. I was a bit concerned because I had heard about the trainers using ear hooks on the elephants, and it sounded a bit depressing. Well, it was a bit depressing, but not because of the ear hooks. Elephants in Thailand are highly revered so the ones we met were well cared for. The sad part was the sights we saw during our ride. Phuket is full of poverty-stricken people, and I don't think I was prepared for how bad it really is. We saw many homes without water or electricity and young children and dogs digging through piles and piles of trash. It was pretty heartbreaking, but it opened my eyes a bit more. I have been so spoiled living in suburbia and Japan.

After our ride, which provided us with a breathtaking view of Kata, we got to play with the cutest baby elephant! She was so sweet and was trained to give "kisses." It was a wonderful experience to see such an incredible creature up-close.

You might be wondering why I don't have any pictures of this experience. It's not because I made it up. I promise. More on that later.

One of the best parts about traveling to Thailand is--it's cheap! I enjoyed a pedicure for $6. Well, sort of enjoyed. It wasn't exactly spa-quality, but you do usually get what you pay for.

When I decided to get a pedicure, I was just expecting the usual. You know, just ONE color. Well, the pedicurist brought out some nails with all of these designs on them. And, I thought, what the heck, why not? I mean, for $6, can you really turn down any extras, especially when they're already included? So, I picked one thinking she would put a design on only the big toe, which is typical in the U.S. Nope, she proceeded to paint flowers on every single one! Oh my word! It was a bit outrageous, and I felt like I was about 7 years old. Anyway, I'm still wearing it, but it's starting to rub off already. I can't say I'm too sad about it, either. Oh, and excuse my sunburned feet. I never claimed to have cute tootsies.

We spent a couple more days enjoying the beaches. We took a day trip to Phi Phi Island, which is wear the movie starring Leonardo Dicaprio, The Beach, was filmed. I wouldn't recommend watching it unless you just want to fast forward to the beach scenes. We also went to Monkey Beach, which is exactly what it sounds like. It was a small beach filled with little monkeys. We visited Khai Island, which was my favorite of all. The water was crystal clear and the most beautiful I have seen. We did a little bit of snorkeling, and Travis saw a few sharks. I don't think they were huge, but it sounds like they were 4-5 feet long. That probably means about 1-2 feet? :)

After Phuket, we went back to Bangkok. On the way to our hotel from the Bangkok airport, we had an unfortunate camera mishap, which is why I have no beach or elephant pictures to show you. One wrong push of a button cost us all of the pictures on my camera from the first six days. Ouch!

We spent our last few days shopping and enjoying bustling Bangkok. One morning, we went to the Grand Palace where the following pictures were taken.

One of the most interesting parts about Thailand is the love they have for their king. His image is all over the place-restaurants, shopping malls and streets.

Here is one of the thousands of images we saw.

There are also Buddhist shrines and images everywhere. Here is one near the hotel where we stayed. It seemed a little ironic in front of the Burberry store, but whatever. People were selling items to place on the altar all over the place-flowers, beverages, incense, statues, birds...I was surprised by all of the Buddhist images, too. There was so much gold, and every single taxi we entered was filled with Buddhist regalia.

Traffic in Bangkok is insane.

Lastly, one of the highlights of our time in Bangkok was a dinner cruise on the river. Travis and I celebrated our being together for ten years and Valentine's Day by consuming delicious Thai cuisine while floating down the river on a wooden boat and watching the sun set behind the Grand Palace. Not too shabby if you ask me!

Thanks for reading! Guess you made it through.

Off we go!

2009-02-06T02:20:00.001-06:00

We're heading to Bangkok tomorrow and then to Phuket so I won't be updating for a bit. Hopefully I'll have lots of fun stuff to share when we return. Sayoonara!

Superbowl Monday and Naga-YES!!!

2009-02-02T21:15:00.008-06:00

We threw a Superbowl Monday party last night, and it was so much fun! I was shocked at the quantity of food and the deliciousness of it all. We had several staples-buffalo chicken dip, seven-layer dip, chili, chicken wings and so much more. Since we're a day ahead here in Japan I DVRed the game, and we watched it last night. Most everyone just ignored the sports news and did their best not to discover the final score prior to watching the game. I, not being so clever, accidentally saw the result when reading someone's facebook status. I was very annoyed, but I should have known better. Anyway, it was fun to celebrate an American tradition together. Unfortunately, everyone left all their leftovers here so I now have four bags of various types of Doritos in the cupboard right now. Not cool.

Here's a shot of some of our grub.

Gear switch...

Last weekend, we went to Nagano. It took around four hours to get there, and it was certainly an exciting drive.

I had never seen so much snow in my life, but all of our cars did surprisingly well with our snow tires and chains.

Here's the lodge where we stayed. We had an amazing time, but the lodge was lacking in terms of cleanliness. Eek.

Not long after our arrival, we hit the slopes. The snow and mountains were beautiful, but it was a little difficult to capture any good shots with all the snow blowing around.

I chose skiing over snowboarding this time, and I think I might have to make that a permanent choice. Although I had several wipeouts, my tush felt much better after a day of skiing than it did after a day of snowboarding. But, I need to learn to remember I have poles in my hands when I'm near others. Travis almost lost an eye on several occasions.

After carving up the mountains, we headed back to the lodge and enjoyed the most delicious fajitas I've ever tasted in my life. We all contributed some groceries, and the boys cooked up our dinner. Before you go off thinking what nice boys we must have, the real reason for their cooking was that the kitchen was less than tidy, and all of us girls decided we weren't sure we could handle the stench and ickyness of it. So, we persuaded the boys to do the cooking instead.

We spent the rest of the night playing board games, and the girls enjoyed a spontaneous '80s dance party.

The next morning, we enjoyed some French toast and headed off for some more skiing and snowboarding before driving back to Nagoya.

All in all, it was a terrific weekend, and I'm pretty sure I won't soon forget it.

Kimono kraziness

2009-01-28T20:02:00.007-06:00

I am on my way to turning Japanese. I have been tutoring a gal for a few months now, and she invited me to bring a friend to dress in a traditional Japanese kimono. So, I agreed, and it turned out to be quite an adventure.

Dressing in a kimono is no easy task. It took us about an hour and a half to get completely ready. We began by putting on "underwear," pictured above. After that, we put on a slip, which looked like a lightweight kimono.

My student, Miyoko-san, had arranged to have our hair done. My friend, Beth, went first and had her hair put into a cute little bun. It was very plain and simple. The hairdresser asked me if I wanted a "cute style" or a "Japanese style." I opted for the Japanese style. After having seen the result of Beth's hair style, I assumed mine would be similar. Much to my shock, it was not.

So, how do you like the rat's nest on top of my head? I was literally in pain from trying to hold in the laughter. I appreciated the effort, but it was just so unexpected. I didn't even know my hair would get that big.

You wouldn't believe the amount of ties and restriction-type bodice thingys that are under kimonos. It felt like wearing control-top panty hose (not that I have ever worn any) x 100.

Here I am from the back. The obi (yellow belt thing) almost balances out my badonkadonk. Maybe I should always wear one.

Here are the itty-bitty shoes I attempted to wear. They were WAY too small. Like my socks?

The socks were supposed to clip shut in the back, but as you can see, my cankles are too big. The stairs were no easy feat, by the way.

We went for a traditional lunch in the city. It was quite tasty and nice. The little brown squiggly things on the rice are little whole fishes. I just pretended I didn't know what they were and shoved them down the pipe. It just really creeped me out that they had round black eyeballs.

This picture does a better job of capturing the grandeur.

Here's a photo from the restaurant. I dig my outfit.

One of the ladies that joined us for lunch was wearing the scarf in the picture above. I half-heartedly made a comment about it, and the next thing I knew, I was wearing it! It felt really eery to have an entire dead animal wrapped around my neck. Eek!

We wrapped up the afternoon by enjoying some little cakes and coffee at a posh little place in the city.

Mildly amusing

2009-01-26T18:24:00.005-06:00

We've been settling into life in Japan, and everything is strangely starting to seem normal. We had big plans of heading to Nagano last weekend, but apparently everyone in this country also had the same plan. We'll have to try to travel there again soon. Instead of heading to the mountains, we spent the weekend relaxing. It was a welcomed change to the usual hustle and bustle of the weekends. We watched movies and cooked a lot.

We did venture out Saturday afternoon to take a stroll around a little outdoor shopping area, and I snapped a few pictures of things that made me laugh and remember that life here is anything but normal.

Although this vehicle would look perfectly normal in my hometown, I can assure it seemed absolutely outrageous in Japan. You should have seen the driver trying to navigate his rig down the narrow streets of Nagoya.

This patch could complete any outfit.

While we were out it started snowing, but the snow was like none I had seen before. It fell in tiny round pellets and didn't melt instantly. It reminded me of little balls of styrofoam.

Strange stuff.

Snowbeard

2009-01-22T04:36:00.002-06:00

We took advantage of being so close to the mountains again last weekend. Below is a picture of the result.

Field trips are fun

2009-01-18T23:39:00.004-06:00

I've been quite busy lately, but fortunately I've been busy with fun stuff. Below are a few pictures from my most recent outings.

I went to Tokoname to make an ojizo-san. I think he's supposed to protect travelers and children, but since he was crafted by my two Christian hands, I have decided he's just a cute little figurine.

This is the meal I enjoyed in Tokoname. I love to take pictures of food. Perhaps that's because eating is my favorite pastime.

Last week my Japanese tutor invited me to join her on a trip to the neighboring town of Arimatsu. Her sister lives in Arimatsu so the three of us went to learn about the ancient Japanese art of shibori.

Hand crafting shibori, which is often used to create beautiful Japanese kimonos, is no easy task. We were able to observe part of the process, which is pictured above. The fabric's pattern is first hand-marked marked with washable ink. Then, the craftsperson stitches on each dot. After that, the fabric is meticulously "wadded" up. The ink is washed from the fabric, and then it is dyed. The process can sometimes take months for just enough fabric for one kimono. Additionally, since there are many types of shibori, the craftspeople become specialized. The same individual works on the same piece until it's completed. Talk about needing serious patience!

Here's a photo of the lunch I enjoyed in Arimatsu. Apparently I was carb-loading.

When we were walking around Arimatsu, we stumbled upon a kimono exhibition. We went inside and enjoyed looking at a huge variety of beautiful kimono fabrics. Some of the kimonos were more than $5,000, which didn't include all the necessary accessories that go with it. Wowzers!

Please pray for baby Harper

2009-01-17T07:20:00.001-06:00

I don't know her personally, but I feel like I do. Please pray for baby Harper. Her mom's blog is here.

Thornsberry Family Pics

2009-01-12T20:44:00.007-06:00

My family had not had a professional photo taken together since I was 11, and it was time to change that. I really wish I had a scan of the last picture we took so you all could laugh. My mom made us all dress in western wear. As if my buck teeth weren't enough to deal with, I was forced to wear the ugliest brushpopper and bolo tie. My mom wore a teal green western dress with fringe. My brother got to wear a much tamer outfit, but I do recall it including a lot of denim, and well, my dad's wardrobe really hasn't changed since then. He just wore a button down shirt and blue jeans. Anyway, it was pretty grotesque.

So, this year I decided it was time for replacements, and my good friend, Brett, took them for us. He is based out of Kansas City, but he also travels around quite a bit. I think he did an incredible job. Here are a few of my favorites.

If you would like to see some more of the photos, you can find them here. All of them aren't included there, but you can go to Brett's website to see the rest.

Owwww

2009-01-11T22:08:00.004-06:00

This past weekend, we headed to the mountains to snowboard. I, being extremely challenged in all things, was terrified. I recalled my first skiing experience and could only imagine the worst. And, as anticipated, I was terrible. Despite being the sorest I have ever been in my 24.5 years on this earth, we had a blast! I spent most of the time on my fanny, which I could have sworn had enough padding, but it was worth it. I'm sure it will take many more attempts before I will actually make it down the mountain, or even 100 yards without falling flat on my rear, but I am definitely going to attempt it again.

This picture really cracks me up because it almost looks like I knew what I was doing. I can assure you that seconds after this shot was taken, I fell again.

Here I am with Beth. She did a great job of encouraging me.

We've both decided that "coaching" in marriages is a terrible thing. Cheerleading is the only way to go. Oh, and we learned this the hard way. We almost ended our marriage atop this mountain. Only kidding, of course.

I've gone public

2009-01-08T02:40:00.003-06:00

So, Travis and I have some friends that have been writing down long-term and short-term goals together for years. I have greatly admired their pursuit in accomplishing them. I think there's a lot to be said about putting something in writing. And, since it is that time of year to make promises and attempt to get back on track, I've decided to make a little list myself. I also think if I post them on my blog I might be more likely to actually complete them; however, I could just be setting myself up for public failure.

Here goes it...

• Read the entire Bible in one year.

• Run a half marathon. (Stop laughing, Jonathan.)

• Visit at least three different countries.

• Blog 100 times.

• Increase Japanese conversation and comprehension to at least an elementary level.

So, feel free to offer your encouragement, but if I don't accomplish some or all of them, I don't want to hear a peep!

Back to Japan

2009-01-06T18:34:00.007-06:00

Thanks for your patience while I took another little vacation from the blog. We are now back in Japan and getting settled back into our routine. I wish I could tell you that I've already finished unpacking, but I just can't seem to make myself do it. Oh, well.

We had a great time at home. We spent most of the time visiting with our families and enjoying the company of our friends back home. I ate like Ruby used to and enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you to all who contributed to my gluttony and to those that let us stay in your homes.

We don't have plans to return to the homeland until next December so the longest stretch is ahead of us. It's going to be really hard to be away, but I know 2009 is going to be a great year.

Enjoy a few pictures from our trip to America.

Silver Dollar City, which is appropriately nicknamed "Steal-Your-Dollar-City," robbed us of $94.00, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. We consumed a hefty amount of grub at the buffet, drank some hot wassail and watched "The Christmas Carol." This photo is of Travis and my sweet niece, Jordan.

We visited my brother and his family in Ozark several times during the trip. Of course it wasn't so much to see him as his cute family. This photo is of me and my youngest niece, Johanna. She insists on wearing pajamas while at home, hence the princess nighty.

Travis tried to teach her how to take a photo Japanese-style.

One of the fondest moments of the trip was the annual Trivial Pursuit game we play on Christmas Eve. It's always a competitive game and we play "men" vs. women. Although the males' egos needed the win much more than we ladies did, we defeated them for the second year in a row.

Here's a picture of Travis and me on Christmas Eve.

Tim and Travis were inseparable for much of our stay. I think they're hetero-lifemates or something. As you can see, Tim grew an incredible beard that had to be captured indefinitely. I continue to marvel at the many photos we took of it. Unfortunately, it's now gone. This picture will help all of us to remember it. Thank you, Tim.

On another note, we also received quite a surprise from Tim and his wife, Christy. They told us news that they are expecting a baby! Whoa. I'm not even going to write anything about the beard and its incredible fertility powers.

On Christmas Eve, my brother and his family were invaded by a nasty illness so they were unable to join us on Christmas day as they usually do. So, my parents and I had the great idea to drive an hour and a half to visit them. Although it was wonderful to see them and to enjoy a little family Rock Band, I later paid the price. I still say it was worth it, though. I mean, this picture has fame written all over it.

This picture just makes me laugh.

Towards the end of our trip, we headed back up to St. Louis and spent some time with our dear friends, Mike and Maya. We spent one afternoon at the City Museum. If you have never been to the City Museum, I highly recommend checking it out. I'm not sure how the place stays open because I swear there are law suits waiting to happen everywhere, but we had a great time climbing all over the place.

And, we even managed to find a place to relax.

We took this picture on our last day at home. Our little Skittle is doing well. I know many of you have been concerned about her physical condition, but she seems to have lost a few pounds. By the time we left, she was leaping onto the couch with only one try. Now we'll just have to see if she can keep it off.

I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year. 2009 is so my year.

Okinawa

2008-12-11T23:15:00.006-06:00

We just returned from Okinawa a couple of days ago. We had a great trip. It's hard to describe it all in one blog post so instead I'll just pick out some highlights.

Travis and I were very excited about the budget vacation we planned. We contacted and made a reservation through a Japanese travel agency, which was no easy feat. We had to fill out all of the forms, etc. in Japanese. Anyway, we got a great deal! But, we also learned that you usually do get what you pay for.

Here is the luxurious bath tub/shower room. It was, well, red and rusty. Nevertheless, it served it's purpose. And, so far there are no signs of any foot fungus.

I took this picture from Peace Memorial Park, which was the highlight of our visit. The Park includes a large memorial area recognizing all Japanese and American lives that were lost during the Battle of Okinawa. We toured an extensive museum, which was quite interesting. I had never been to a war memorial based on another country's perspective. So, it was fascinating to read stories of accounts from the Japanese point-of-view. Regardless, it was a somber and meaningful experience. Mostly because my maternal grandfather, whom is still alive and going strong, fought on Okinawa in the famous battle of Sugar Loaf Hill. He was the only survivor from his troop. I'm so grateful to be able to better understand what his service to my country really meant and to have seen firsthand where he risked his life.

After we finished up at Peace Memorial Park, we headed to the Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters. We were able to tour the tunnels used during WWII. While at the site, Travis found a book outlining the Battle of Okinawa, and we realized we would be able to easily track down the exact hill where my grandfather fought. So, we headed there.

And, here it is, well pretty close anyway. This picture was taken near Shuri Castle, which is very close to Sugar Loaf Hill. This view is of Naha, Okinawa's capital. It's easy to see why this location would be essential during battle.

Switching gears...we also went to Nago Pineapple Park, which was a pretty goofy tourist attraction. Anyway, I love pineapple more than any human should so we had to check it out. They had pineapple everything-lots of different cakes, chocolate, wine and more. While there, we decided to indulge in a little dessert.

Okay, maybe it wasn't so little. It was delicious, though.

Another highlight was going to the local market in Naha. The spread of meats and fish was astounding.

You could purchase any of these fish and take them upstairs to a restaurant where they would cook it for you.

We also visitied the Okinawa Churuami Aquarium. We went with the family who invited Travis to join the marathon this year so it was especially fun to watch their two-year-old and four-year-old become mesmerized by the fish.

This window actually set a Guiness Book of World Record for being the largest acrylic window. Additionally, the pool is home to a 7.9 meter whale shark.

Lastly, we enjoyed a variety of Okinawa's traditional cuisine. Most of it was delicious. The picture above, however, is of pig's face on the left and pig's ear on the right. It was not so great, but I can now add pig's face to the list. Yikes.

If you would like to see some more pictures from our trip, go here and here.

It's hard to believe, but Travis and I fly home tomorrow for Christmas! So, I most likely won't be updating the blog for a few weeks. Off to finish packing...

Finisher

2008-12-10T21:28:00.003-06:00

So, here's a little video of Travis. The first part is before he ran the marathon and the second is afterwards. Pardon the background noise. I'll post some pics and an update soon.

Okinawa, here we come!

2008-12-04T03:15:00.005-06:00

This weekend we're headed to Okinawa where my super-human husband will run his first marathon in Naha. We'll spend a few days sightseeing and stuffing our faces. Can't wait to share the adventure with you when we return.

In the meantime, enjoy the below picture of a shisa, which are found all over Okinawa. They are believed to ward off evil spirits and are a cross between a lion and a dog. Scary, huh?