Ahhh....hippies.

This is HILARIOUS! I stole this from an email our friend Chuck sent out and I couldn't stop laughing while I was watching it. "If only there was an organization that was sworn to protect our right to free speech".

Hopefully we can catch the MAC flight on Wednesday to Hawaii! I've officially thrown up my hands and said "It's going to be an adventure!", b/c I can't plan anything! I'm just trying to prepare myself for the charges that will indubitably be charged to our credit card. Oh well, nothing a few mai-tai's or lava flows can't cure :)

St. Patty's Toes

Here are my "St. Patrick's Day toes"...it's as close to being Irish as I get :)

They're cool b/c they're plaid...and plaid is very cool...especially on the toes.

Here are our friends/neighbor's Matt and Katie at my Birthday Bash. We went and ate at a Korean BBQ place in Ginowan City (you cook it yourself on the grill in the middle of the table). Unfortunately, my camera died after this picture so there aren't any of us or Ebeth and Dean--Thanks for coming out with us!

What a Great Birthday!

Thank you to everyone who called (or tried to call anyway)! It was a great birthday--this was only the second birthday that Michael and I have been able to be together since 2003!! He surprised me by coming home early from work and having a cookie cake and presents waiting for me. I was endulged with a new wallet (to match my Christmas purse) and a new Bulova watch :) They are beautiful!!
It took us awhile to figure out the parking situation. Eventually we had to ask a guy "Eigo??" --English?? ...and he helped us out.

This was the outside of the restaurant "Thai Thai" down in Naha, Okinawa:

It quite possibly was one of the neatest restaurants I have ever been to. We sat in these long tubes suspended from the ceiling that had stairs leading up into them. Hopefully you can tell from the pictures:

Here's a crosscut section:Us in our section of the tube (don't worry the beer isn't Michael's--service members can't drink off base right now):
What we saw when we looked down from where we sat (everything was partitioned off by blankets):Michael in front of the "tubes":
A different view of the bar area: Me heading back to the car (the restaurant was on the second floor and the whole stairway was lined in vines/leaves):
God gave me a little present too--I had a new hisbiscus bloom when I went to work in the morning :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

We are done with our "Period of Reflection"! I can have dinner out in town tonight--Yeah!!! What a great present Lt. General Zilmer gave me :)

Japanese Vending Machines

I had been meaning to put a picture up of one of these for a long time now. One of the first things that we noticed when we got over here (besides all the signs in Japanese) were the vending machines!! They are EVERYWHERE! We've even heard that there are more vending machines than people on this island--probably a rumor, but a funny one nonetheless. They serve both hot and cold drinks! You can even get some tasty coffee too. Whatever you do though...don't get the brown and yellow one in the middle on the top (6th from the right)---it is NASTY!!