Quick Update

Things have been pretty busy around here! I had my first Okinawa Int'l Women's Club meeting last night and we have some really neat events planned...in January we are planning on having our Japanese counterparts dress us in kimonos to have a traditional tea ceremony and in May we may take a quick trip to mainland Japan so they can show us around--I'm so excited! Not to mention that I'm hosting everyone at our house in November to bake cookies and get ready for a Christmas bizaar where we will sell the baskets we make. I'll definitely need to remember my camera on all these excursions!

Here are some recent pictures of the kids and Michael:

Bailey had crawled under the blanket from behind the couch, out from under the blanket on the frontside and then gotten stuck between the couch cushions :)

Oktoberfest!

Our first Japanese Oktoberfest was so much fun! The O-Club flew in a German Oompah Band and they also had traditional German food, beer and wine (all picked out by the German chef)! It was delicious...I even met a fellow Lambda Xi DZ there--she's married to a guy from A&M that Michael knew from his days in the Corps!

Us with our commemorative beer steins:

Here's one of the songs that the band liked to play...


Michael had to have the bartender fill his stein up with wine...numerous times:We both had A LOT of fun!
What was left of Michael's plate:
The playing of the long horn thingy:
Our first cab ride home--we were very responsible drinkers! I think the cabbie was a little annoyed with us by the time we got to our house though :) We got to do the "walk of shame" to retrieve our car the next day too.

Cute Toes

I've decided to not give up pedicures over here. While in the states I have a hard time justifying the expenditure b/c I can paint my own toes just as well. I can't do this though! You can't see it, but there is even a design on my little toes! It's a much more rewarding experience in these salons too...extremely relaxing.

Whenever we leave the house this is our final view...sometimes Bailey is there too and it makes me not want to leave. It's funny to see them when we come back because they're so excited.
A couple of snapshots...we really are OCD when it comes to these two!

A BIGGER Embarrassment

Ryan pointed this article out to me...I may be embarrassed of Franchione's actions, but it doesn't compare to the embarrassment I would have if I had been a Red Raider and this was associated with my school:

Texas Tech bans T-shirt of Vick likeness hanging Texas A&M's dog mascot
Associated Press
Updated: October 9, 2007, 6:40 PM ET

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech has banned the sale of a T-shirt bearing the likeness of Michael Vick hanging the dog mascot of rival Texas A&M.
The red and black shirts, with text that says "VICK 'EM" on the front in an apparent reference to the Aggies' slogan "Gig 'em," was created by a Tech student who was trying to sell them before Saturday's game in Lubbock.
The back of the shirt shows a football player wearing the No. 7 Vick jersey holding a rope with an image of the mascot Reveille at the end of a noose. Vick, who faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal dogfighting charge, is suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
Tech officials late Tuesday announced the fraternity that sold the shirts was suspended temporarily and will face judicial review for allegedly violating the solicitation section of the students' code of conduct.
The school said it wouldn't allow the sale on campus of items that are "derogatory, inflammatory, insensitive, or in such bad taste."
No more shirts are being produced, the school said in a release.
A&M officials, in a statement, thanked Tech administrators for "their response and action regarding this matter."
Geoffrey Candia, the creator of the shirts who is with the Theta Chi fraternity, told The Associated Press they were taking full responsibility. "We realize the shirts shouldn't have been printed," he said.
He told The Battalion, A&M's newspaper, for Tuesday's editions that the university prohibited sale of the shirts on campus through his fraternity. He said he originally had wanted to give 50 percent of the proceeds to an animal defense league in Lubbock "because we knew there would be a controversy about the shirts, you know, animal rights, stuff like that."
Candia told the newspaper about 300 had been sold. He had hoped 500 would be sold before Saturday's game.
In a posting on his Facebook site at about 4 a.m. Tuesday, Candia wrote: "a little tshirt get aggies all worked up... its a t-shirt people!"
The controversy comes about 2½ months after Gerald Myers, Tech's athletic director, announced a campaign to promote good sportsmanship across the campus and at athletic events. The words used in the effort are honor, respect, pride and tradition.
Myers did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
"You can't make light of a situation like that," Tech media relations spokesman Chris Cook said. "That is in poor taste and poor judgment."
Robyn Katz, president of Tech's chapter of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, said her organization "wouldn't take a dime" from Candia.
"If he really wanted to help promote anti-animal cruelty then he would donate time" at a no-kill shelter," she said. "He's really doing the Tech community a disservice. There's plenty of other ways to promote a rivalry."
Hostility between the two schools is nothing new.
In 1999, after a Tech football victory, Red Raiders fans pelted Aggies players with batteries and taunts. Tech fans tore down the goalposts and paraded them past the Aggies' bus.
In 2001, about 1,000 Tech celebrants tore down the goalposts, marched them the length of the field and pushed them into the A&M section of the stadium. Aggies threw ice and a skirmish ensued.
Then there were the tortillas. In 1992, Tech fans began tossing them like Frisbees onto the field during games. A year later, hundreds of tortillas -- many carrying unprintable messages -- were thrown during an A&M game.
The rivalry is not confined to the gridiron. Controversy followed two men's basketball games that A&M won in Lubbock.
In 1994, after a one-point, last-second decision, a jumble of punches and pushes broke out between the exiting Aggies and angry Tech fans. Aggie coach Tony Barone and two of his players ultimately paid $5,000 to settle a lawsuit stemming from the fight.
In January 2000, referees counted A&M's shot in the final second to give the Aggies an 88-86 win. Then they overturned it. Then they overturned it again, giving the victory to A&M.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

to quote Ryan, quoting Ron Bergundy..."You stay classy Texas Tech".

An Earthquake and An Embarrassment

We're still not 100% sure, and there is no way to confirm (as far as we know)...but we had our first earthquake yesterday. It scared the begeezus out of me! My lucky mom (who wasn't thrilled we were moving over here) was on the phone with me as it happened. Michael thought it was just artillery, but we haven't had rounds go off since we moved here. In Lejeune it was a daily occurence to have our house shake...not here. Living so close to an Air Base we have had to become accustomed to crazy big planes flying overhead...but no artillery. I stepped outside and saw one of our neighbors...he thought it was an earthquake too. Cement buildings just don't randomly shake!

On a completely different topic:

Regardless of the Aggies football record this year, I believe Dennis Franchione should be fired! What an embarrassment to the Aggie legacy. Who thinks that SELLING insider info to anyone (including "boosters") is a good idea...let alone legal! I also think that Bill Byrne (AD) should be fired as well, because he knew what was going on and chose not to stop it. It is embarrassing that their names are associated with the university that I cherish and love so much. They obviously have no Aggie Spirit or integrity and they do not deserve a spot on campus.

Sushi Time!

We finally got around to making our own sushi rolls! We only used cucumber, crab meat, avacado, cream cheese, sesame seeds, and wasabi mayo (a California Roll of sorts) in these ones. Maybe next time we'll actually use some fish! I was the lucky one that got to make the sticky sushi rice (that was a trip!)
All of our ingredients:

Michael rolling the first batch (we definitely got better with more practice).

I rolled this one! It was fun to use our new sushi set too. That wasabi on the table is probably the hottest wasabi we have ever had--it's awesome! Michael picked it up at Jusco when he had to buy more dried nori (seaweed).

Enjoying the fruits of our labor!
Yumm!

The "Farmer's Market"

These next two pictures were on the expressway on our way to the "farmer's market". Notice the King Kong on top of the building.Everywhere you go there are hibiscus' growing! The side of the expressway was covered in them!
SO.....

We get to the "farmer's market"...and I will give Michael the benefit of the doubt, it looked like it was a market for produce. From the road anyway. Once you stepped out of your car the nastiest smell ever hit your nostrils! I think there was sewer runoff that ran directly underneath the market...you could see a "stream", and I definitely wouldn't be surprised if it was raw sewage. How people were able to buy and/or eat some of the food they were selling there was beyond me (just because of the stinch). It made me physically ill...we were only able to stay long enough to get a general picture that this was more a "flea market" than "farmer's market". There were even women there selling items that they had obviously gotten from the commissary and were re-selling (illegal).
I think this was Michael's reaction to:

this.all I can think of for a caption is: WTF?!?!

This was an interesting event for us, to say the least.

A Small Amount of Beach Time...

We found this beach after the "farmer's market" just off the side of the road. The water was SO warm (~85 degrees F). It was stunningly beautiful.Our traditional pose :)

I felt something prick the side of my foot while we were walking back up to the car and this is what hit it! I took a picture in case I died from it (just kidding everyone)...even I'm not that dramatic!
...it is still gross though, huh.

A New View

We took a wrong turn when trying to head to the "farmer's market", but ended up finding this neat lookout point! In the picture right below you can see some of base housing (where we live!).Directly below us were these older men playing croquet.

Expensive Fruit!

Having been raised in a highly productive farming state, I was used to picking my own raspberries, strawberries, peaches, apples, cherries, etc. from my parent's backyard! Now it is only a distant dream...over here the fruit is so expensive! I haven't seen one strawberry yet...anywhere. This is how they package their Asian Pears, peaches, regular apples, etc. It cost just under $10 for these 2 Asian Pears!

Here is an apple and a white peach (the peaches are some of the sweetest I've ever had though!)

...and our kids have decided that they can "share" the sunbeam now (instead of fighting for it)-- personally though, I think Bailey got tired of fighting and just fell asleep).