Fun Times...

These were the directions we were given to Michael's battalion's Christmas party. Notice that there are only 2 words in English. There are A&W's everywhere in Okinawa. Neither of us can read (or speak much) Kanji. We had to meet up with a guy that Michael works with who has lived on island for a long time (and has a Japanese wife who told him where it was) to be able to find it. Just another new experience on island :)

Another funny thing that happened during this Christmas time is that in church we sang Christmas songs...first in English...and then in Japanese (with the Kanji spelled out phonetically up on the projector). I'm beginning to "get" the vowel sounds now though! Who knew Silent Night could be so informative!?

Our First Okinawan Christmas

It was a different type of Christmas this year...much more laid back. We went to a Christmas Eve candlight service at church and then came home to enjoy the festive movies on AFN. Santa came and filled the kids' stockings and did a very good job at guessing at what they would like.

Here is Pigdog "helping" me wrap presents that had to be shipped back to the states.A couple of days before Christmas they snuggled together..neither willing to relent control of the blanky on the couch.
This is how Christmas Eve ended...me waking up Michael and Piglet to make them come to bed :)

The tree before we opened presents:
Piggy and her stocking (she got biscuits and some special treats):Bailey and her stocking (she got a small mouse with a microchip so it squeaks every time she touches it...it kept her interest and that was the main thing):Michael and his new grill scraper from his stocking:
Bailey all wrapped up in some ribbon...she actually did this herself and we couldn't get her out of the mound of trash for a good while b/c she was having such a good time (she was actually social and we didn't want to ruin it):Piggy snooping around all the boxes:Me and Piglet amidst the Christmas Carnage:
The new purse Michael picked out for me :) He's a definite keeper and he can pick out a purse for me anyday!!
One of the Japanese Shisa that I bought Michael back in September and kept hidden until he opened them!! They go in the front of our house and help keep evil spirits from entering...lets hope they work!

I hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas too!

Gainfully Employed...almost.

I finally found a job!! I start in January working on base for the US Gov't. So...I have a job...I just haven't started yet (that's where the "almost" comes into play). I didn't feel so bad about it taking 2 months either after I heard that the average is just over 8 months!! I told y'all it was ridiculous trying to find someplace to work over here!

I do feel the need to mention that the funniest package we have received thus far for Christmas was from Michael's dad and stepmom---for Piglet and Bailey. I was about rolling out the post office door (from laughing)after seeing the look on the poor Marine's face when he was trying to determine whether or not the package should really come to me. Too funny...

December 11th??

It is over 80 degrees (F) outside, our air conditioner just kicked on, and the ice-cream man just came down our street. Yet our Christmas tree is lit up, the garland is sparkling, our "hooker" lights are doing their best to annoy me to death (our outside lights that blink), and I' m enjoying a small glass of eggnog. What a strange Christmas this is going to be!

It is a great day though. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (numero 5 in the series) came out on dvd today! The PX actually had it for sale too! I really don't care about the ridicule I get from my family about seeing it in the theater 3 times either (twice in the Las Vegas IMAX and it was amazing). I enjoy it and Michael endulges my obsession with the series. What a great husband :)

It truly is a wonderful day. No cold weather in sight and a new HP movie to fall asleep with Michael to(because he isn't deployed this year!) Thank God for all that is good and please remember all those that have to go through this season without their loved ones because they are in harms way overseas.

**Updated** House Video

Enjoy!

Our "Landscaping" Project

This was our big project for the weekend. It seemed a lot easier on paper than it actually ended up being. It was a beautiful day to be outside so it was worth the hard work! We'll see if my tulips actually come up though. The soil over here is textbook clay. I swear you could mold it just like play-dough! If the bulbs can get through an inch of regular soil then they have a chance b/c it is all potting soil on top. Michael actually got really into it--even after he broke our first hoe while getting the weeds/grass out--he then had to go back to the PX to get another one (and some Roundup...b/c I wouldn't be me if I didn't have some Roundup in our shed). At least we have a distinguishable walkway now!

What it looked like before we started:

These were some of the tulip bulbs that I planted. I've never seen each bulb individually wrapped according to the color that they are! I'm glad that they are finally out of our fridge--they've been in there for almost 1.5 months!

Here is the finished project! When the 30+ tulips start to bloom it should be really pretty! (some of the rocks still had some moisture from the bag, but when they dried they were all one color)

OIWC Meeting

Here is a picture of a party that I hosted at our house for my OIWC (Okinawa Int'l Women's Club) culture group. It's quite an eclectic mix! We made baskets to sell at the OIWC Christmas bazaar where we donate all money to local charities. It was a neat experience to play hostess for everyone.

Since last Monday we have been having nothing but trouble with our internet! Today is the first day we have gotten it to work, and that is only because we went ghetto-style and took a 10 m long ethernet cord and ran it from our bedroom, across the hall, and into our computer room to directly hook it to our computer (we've been using a wireless router since we moved in)...and the cord is bright blue. I guess something is messed up outside with the cables and they can't come here until Tuesday to fix it. Yeah...I love computers, especially when they don't work properly.