New Cabinet and China!

In March, I purchased eight place settings of Noritake china. The pattern is Stoneleigh. I may go back and purchase 4 more settings. It was a steal at $156/box of 4.


Close-up on the pattern. (Click the picture for a closer close-up.)



New display cabinet! Looks great right where I thought it would. Sayonara, cube-cubby!

Newness

Dining room. The cube-like hutch is what I'd like to replace. Ignore the Styrofoam in the corner, remnants of Ikea (my entry way is full of cardboard...).


Desk area... vermy messy... ignore that too.


back wall



Table with accessories...exciting, I know.



Living room couch, coffee table (that i want to re-stain) and window treatments.




New entertainment console! I just have to figure out what ot do with the stacks of DVDs... I think I will buy a big sleeve and just discard all the actual cases.... Ideas or comments??

Bazaar Findings

Washi-paper covered eggs. Real eggs! I plan to hang them from something or other around easter time. They're just perfect.

Pink crane napkin rings


Blue-white-gold-tan dragonfly-crane napkin rings.



bluish fishing glass balls.

Also purchased some jewelry, and wine charms.

Zoorasia

All the Japanese kids were SCREEEAMMING because -- this tiger was pacing right in front of the window!!! It was crazy! Every time he turned around, his nose almost touched the glass. He was literally inches from the kids, separated only by glass.





Me and the peacock.


Okapi! This animal is like a cross between an antelope and a zebra. Native to Africa. I'd never seen one before.



Ah! CUTE JAPANESE CHILDREN!!! They all had matching outfits on. The outfits reminded me of the Madeline book series. So cute. They were a little loud, but they are so cute it made it all better.


Our group in front of the elephant. From Left to Right: Kelly, Annie, Laura, Gizelle, Lauren.

On Monday, Kelly, Laura, Lauren, Gizelle and I went to Zoorasia. It is the closest Zoo to us, and is about a 25 minute drive, or a 25 minute train+bus ride.

Axe And Care Packages

Anyone coming to visit should bring hair product for dave. His favorite is the small purple-ish jar on the far left. Axe hair product

Also, I have heard rumors that food on the boat is not great and availablity is even worse. So perhaps care packages with some goodies that are moderately healthy and can last a long time (Does such a product exist?) would be a good idea. And pictures!

A Message from Dave

A message from Dave.

Hey boo.

I had flight deck integrity watch (underway) this morning. I had to walk around in khaki’s on the flight deck at 0630 inspecting chains and aircraft to make sure that everything was in order. It was raining, so I got a little wet, and I got relieved early by the Flight Deck Officer, which was nice. However, at 0830 I got woken up by Crusty in my room saying that there had been an issue with a FLIR on an aircraft that had fallen off due to bad bolts. I had to get dress real quick, and he brought me to the CAG to explain why I wasn’t on the flight deck standing my watch, because the FLIR was lost, and it’s an expensive piece of equipment, and we had to submit a Class B report about it. So I was a little nervous. I was basically sweating bullets while the guy in charge of the air wing questioned my ability as an officer, pilot, and watchstander. After the questioning by CAG, Crusty hurried us to the ready room where everyone was busy putting together the message, figuring out exactly how much the FLIR costs, and giving me (and tyler who was supposed to relieve me) dirty looks. Finally, Crusty stands us up in front of the Skipper who looks at us and informs us…..that there is no such thing as Flight Deck Integrity Watch (underway), and we were yet again victims of a new guy prank. The CAG came down to the ready room and laughed and thanked us for being such good sports about it all. I was merely relieved that I would still make O-3. Afterwards I watched two of my guys go to Captain’s Mast. So that’s my morning. How has yours been? Love you.

Dave

After today's killer Body Pump, wherein I did a shoulder-lift exercise with 5lbs on each arm and decided I should not use 5lb free weights ever again - we had a big Ikea trip planned. Obviously, I only went for curtains and clips. So obviously I came back with much more. This new entertainment console could not be passed up - even though I paid more than 120$ for it here... Imagine it in white, and laid out long-ways. The middle rack is perfect for cable box, dvd player, and an Xbox. The top and bottom shelves will have baskets to hide things in.

It balances out because I purchased this new guest bed for 40$. Yes, fourty. Amazing. It is a full-double, so Jenny and Sam beware. But the upcoming matress will more than make up for it's small size.

Our group was large, and I think we will all agree not to travel to Ikea with six other women anytime in the near future. Just a lot to keep track of, everyone with different needs, and Heather and I purchased a lot of furniture so it becomes more time consuming. We even had an Ikea-freshman with us. Lauren had never been to an Ikea - can you just imagine the overwhelming the came over her? Too much visual stimuli there.

Much thanks to Gizelle, who let me borrow her car to bring my new items home in. And to Kelly and Laura for their patience. And to Heather and Lauren for their help moving my items upstairs - we all know particle board is no feather. And last of all, many thanks to Dave, for in addition to funding this trip, is deployed and therefore had no say on the items or their prices. (But he finds me financially responsible.)

Mango and Sticky Rice

My absolute favorite dessert: Mango and Sticky Rice, usually only to be found at my favorite Thai restaurant, Thai Thai. Well, Thai Thai, you may be off the hook now. Thanks to AllRecipies.com, I found a recipe for the dessert. I substituted tapioca powder for cornstarch and cooked the rice in coconut milk with about 3 tbsp sugar, instead of regular water. And I had no clue how to cut a mango properly. But it tastes delicious!

Oxfam: Trailwalker Japan 2009

A wife in my squadron just participated in the Oxfam: Trailwalker Japan 2009. Oxfam is held throughout the world, though not in the States. It is a 100km hike/run. Other host locations include, HongKong, Australia, South America, Canada, and Europe. There are many teams, each made of about 5-7 people. The hike takes about 2 days, although some crazy teams do it in 16 hours! What! Danielle's team predicted they would finish in 36, but completed the hike ahead of schedule at 33 hours! They hiked for almost 33 hours straight, over night, no sleep. There are checkpoints throughout the course. A support team meets the hiking team and provides food, a change of clothing, a change of shoes, some uplifting convesation and friendly smiles. Laura, Christy and I drove to one of the checkpoints and met Danielle.

It was very inspiring to see so much support, not to mention meet people who want to hike 100km!!




Not the nicest weather. Laura and I were completely unprepared for it. When we left Atsugi, it was 3pm and 79 degrees, and sunny. We were not prepared for the rain and the temperature to drop 30 degrees! The hike was held in Odawara-Hakone, a very mountainous region to the southwest of us. It's very beautiful, when you can see more than clouds!





Our trailwalker, Danielle! "Only" 36km completed after 9 hours of hiking.





This is how unprepared Lala and I were - We used the Kirkland Dog blankets from the back of Christy's car as a jacket. They were very effective actually. Thank you, Mable, for sharing with us.



Danielle at the Finish!

Chigiri-e

Chigiri-e (chi-geer-ee-eh) is a Japanese art-form using tissue-like paper and glue. The paper is carefully torn and placed to to create this watercolor-like artwork. Below is the one I made. (Yes, I MADE this, with my own two hands!) There is a class at the MWR building twice a month. Next week I will go and make something completely new and different. Booya!

My Two Classes

I have picked up two English classes here. The first one isn't my style: as much fun as younger kids are, I need a little higher brain capabilities to make it wholly gratifying for me. My first class is split in two parts: first, 2 8-yr olds (boy and girl), second, 5 students 10-11 (2 girls, 3 boys). My 8 yr old girl won't even recognize letters! AH! Meanwhile, her classmate, the 8 yr-old boy, speaks fluent English and speaks English at home. Oiy. All he wants to do is talk about High School Musical. Then one of my 11 yr old boys would rather bash his head against a wall than learn anything from me. So that's fun. I want to teach them about verbs and nouns and direct objects..... but i have to teach them the vocabulary first. I have hopes for my older class that it will become more fun for me. The second class I picked up is a 33yr old man- we meet at Starbucks and talk for an hour. I'm looking forward to this as a good way to learn more about Japanese culture. The first class pays $80 and the second pays $20. On Monday I am subbing for a class - I get $100 for 3 hours! Woot!

It's Official.

Dave's on deployment. Boo. While I am "used" to him leaving for a few weeks at a time, I am *not* used to having no animals to keep me company! The house is SUPER quite without the clicking of little(big) dog toes, and the random scurrying of cat paws. No one to wake me up and ask to be fed or taken out also means I can sleep till noon (bad). I've been trying to keep my days structure. So far I'm on day two. Yesterday I did nothing. Nothing. I had dinner at my neighbor's and watched a chick flick. Today, I was up at 745am to go to base for Body Pump. Oh man, that kicked my butt! I'll be sore for days, I'm sure. I'm going grocery shopping today, and if I can find some fresh sage, I will attempt to make ravioli from scratch (!). Cooking keeps me busy, but it's not as gratifying when I'm only cooking for one.

The good news is that Dave will be home for a few days in June, so this won't be that long without him. Also, he has very regular access to email, so i can get updates. I'm sure once things get in gear he won't be able to email me more than once a day, but right now I'm enjoying 2-3 emails a day.

In other news, I am highly annoyed with Shutterfly. I ordered a "brag book" of the animals, and a customized calender with all my photos. I placed the order April 20. Via online tracking, I know the order made it to New Jersey (??) on April 27. Just in case you didn't know, today is May 21. Where is this stuff!?!? My 12-month calender is May 09 to May 10.... I'm already going to miss the first month :( So I'm getting highly irritated. Blah!

Bob-Fest

Today is Bob-Fest. The invite:

Friends and friend's husbands,

You're invited to Bob-fest. Shish-kabob- fest. Food and beer to be provided. Bryce has agreed to entertain us. Additionally, Rock Band has been hired for live music. Admission is free. Pass the word.

Festivities kick off 'bout 5.

-The Piggly's


Ps- Dave got a new call sign. He is no longer Bollywood. He is Piggly. Because he's from the South and that's where Piggly Wiggly's are... And someone realized that Piggly Wiggly sounds like Piggly Wrigley. Hahah, he obviously doesn't like it. So they all like it :) I think it's funny.

Moving Day!

Today, the movers will remove our Stick Furniture (Military Loaner couch, table, chairs, bed, etc..) and will bring OUR FURNITURE! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm most looking forward to:

1) Our Bed! Ugh- this stick bed was like sleeping on sticks...

2)My kitchen! I'm tired of running over to Kristen's to borrow a can opener, or a muffin pan, or whatever!

3) Our couch!! Man, this stick couch was built to match the bed in terms of comfortablity. A side note: Since we bought our couch in February, Dave will have spent a total of 10 days on it before he deploys. Sad.

The mover should be here annnny minute. :)

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

May 8th is National Military Spouse Appreciation Day.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

Additionally, I came across this article - Thanks Kelly and Annalisa. We are all getting ready for the guys to leave - the Big D. For most, if not all, of my friends here, this is our first deployment. I know it's imminent approach is affecting all of us. I know for me, I'll break down after Dave leaves - gotta put on the happy strong face while he's here, right? Like Kelly, we've been filling out "Just In Case" paperwork - who to notify and how, etc.... Not really uplifting things. This article makes an interesting point: As military spouses, we are constantly aware of death, or at the very least the potential death - it's no longer "unexpected," it's rather expected. Everyday Dave comes home from flying is a friggin' miracle. (So morbid, I know)... But for everyone else, it will always be an "unexpected death."

Yay!

Annie Czapp has just informed me she is using her tax refund to visit me in Japan!

YESSS!! This is a very good idea!!

New Conklin!

My friend Katie had her baby boy Friday night.





Cutest freakin' family!

Ity, Bity Living Space

super large crane beside the carrier


In preparation for D-Day, Dave and I drove out to Yokosuka on Saturday. After navigating our way there, we were able to find the George Washington - the GW - aka, Dave's future home. After sweet talking our way on board, we found Dave's future room. Let me tell you, it looks like summer camp bunks, but I am NOT jealous.


Dave, Tyler and Laura in their summer camp bunk. A 6-person room, but lucky boys, there will only be 5 guys in it.



Lockers and sinks- what more will one need?



Personal Space: 3x6ft. No curtain. Yet.




Ready Room - the only question is - will the fuseball table make it to cruise? Some say the tipping of the boat handicaps the game.




There's a One Wire out there somewhere.... Atop the carrier, where the magic is made.




Tyler and Laura in front of the GW.







Dave and I in front of the GW.

A Tiny Bit of Tranquility

Our Carps, flying high. May 6th is Children's Day.



The big ones are for our children - duh, Mav and Slider. The two smaller ones are for the parents, Dave and I.



This is the only peaceful spot in the apartment, currently. Everything else is loaner furniture. But i really liked the contrast of the off-white crushed paper lamp (right) and the white of rose patterned curtains. With the brushed sliver of the lamp stand contrasting the etched silver-gold of the Dubainese vase. And then of course fresh flowers. I bought 10 unopened peonies for $5.50 - Quite a steal!

Babysitting Bryce

Bryce is my neighbor's 3 year old son. We actually have the same birthday - how cool is that? On Wednesday night, Dave and I babysat Bryce while his parents went out to dinner. While Dave was still at work, we made pizza. I had already had the dough made, but Bryce got to help me roll it out, make the sauce, and sprinkle the cheese. Bryce was a good little chef.


Bryce mixing the sauce...




spooning it onto the dough.




Adding the cheese (the center ended up with the most)...




And checking on it in the oven.