Life Being 24

Since beginning a new year of life, I have had a revelation. I looked back at who I was in middle school, high school, and my first few years of college, and quite frankly, I'm embarrassed! The way I treated people, my attitude on life, my constant need to find myself better than others...

I wish I could find a way to apologize to people without awkwardly hunting them down and giving them a random apology. Apologies over email or FB seem so shallow, as if one is afraid of face to face contact. The only thing I hope for is that these people who I have wronged will not hold it against me. Maybe I will run into them again one day and be able to set things right then.

Blogging Without a Computer

It sure is hard to blog without having a computer handy. In Japan, Alan and I use our iphones for everything from email to Facebook to googling for answers to questions. So when I finally do open up my computer again and try to use it, I am met with an old battery that won't hold a charge.

To recap, Here's what has occurred in the months (yes months) since I last blogged.
I went back to Japan and spent time with my hubby before he had to work again. We took a trip to Tokyo and visited Disney, the Ueno Zoo, the Ueno Museum of Nature and Science (which was huge!), and the Tokyo Tower, Japan's version of the Eiffel Tower. Sadly, pictures are still in Japan so I'll have to upload them when I get back.

After our Tokyo trip, we tried to get back to life as usual but Alan began working long hours and I hardly ever saw him. I went back to subbing at the school which I loved and it helped pass the time. I have  been reading like crazy, oftentimes 4-5 books a week. Finally, about a week and a half ago, I flew back to the States to spend the summer with my family and friends.

I can say one thing though: I am beginning to hate going through Customs and Immigration when flying between the two countries.

Heading Back to Japan

I am filled to the brim with emotions tonight. I have two flights tomorrow that will bring me to Tokyo, then a bus ride to Atsugi. I feel excited yet anxious, happy but sad, sleepy but restless. I am overjoyed at the thought of seeing my husband again, I have missed him so much. It has been two months since we have seen each other; two months that was only supposed to be two weeks. I'll say, this has been the longest two weeks of my life.

To celebrate being back together, Alan and I are taking a honeymoon. we didn't have one after the wedding because we were married so close to Christmas (two days before). This will be the first trip that Alan and I will have taken together, just the two of us. I'm excited about this as well. We are planning on seeing several sights around Tokyo, Disney, the Tokyo tower, and maybe even a concert.

Maybe I can rest tonight. Luckily my trip tomorrow is not nearly as long as the trip to the States. I pray that it all goes uneventfully.

The Boat Ride

Daddy took us out on his boat for a most excellent, relaxing ride through the bayou. After putting in, we began to putter, and did just that! Putter! We lazily rode along, watching the banks, remarking on the houses we saw, and calling attention to any wildlife.

There were many beautiful houses right along the edge of the bayou (think river). One in particular had an outdoor chess set in which the pieces were about three feet tall and a large chair, over ten feet tall, like the ones my granddad made that my mom had set out on the front porch when we lived in Georgia. Another house had a beautiful cabana by the pool, a place that I would frequent everyday if I lived there.

We saw many birds of different kinds, seagulls, osprey, and red-winged black birds. A huge nest was built in a dead tree high above the water and the mother and father bird could be seen flying about it.  The seagulls congregated around the fishermen we passed on the shore, hoping for a bite of whatever bait the men happened to be using.

Perhaps the most exciting of the wildlife we saw was none other than, an alligator. He was lurking near the shore when we puttered by and sank lower into the water until we passed so that you could only see his eyes and the tip of his nose.

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

Last night I was so excited to finish reading this book that I went to bed early just to read. After finishing, I must say this was an awesome story! It did have a couple sections I skimmed over because of content, but otherwise a wonderful book.

You meet Jacob, a worker for a circus, right before a disaster occurs in the menagerie. You read as animals stampede, people scatter in all directions, and a man is killed... Then you meet Jacob many, many years later. Jacob is in a nursing home when a circus sets up across the street. The residents in the home are excited with these new sights and hopes of going to see the spectacular show.

Then you're reading about young Jacob again, finishing school to become a vet when his parents are killed in a tragic accident. He learns his father's veterinary practice has gone under and he receives no money, the house is repossessed by the bank, and he is all alone with nothing. He makes the decision to get away and jumps onto a train that is passing through. It just happens to be a circus train.

The story alternates between younger Jacob and older Jacob, experiencing life in the circus and life inside the nursing home. The chapters of older Jacob in the home really opened my eyes to what some residents must be thinking. How lonely it must be, how it must feel not to be wanted by your children and to be placed under someone else's care instead.

I really love this book. I am excited to see the movie to see how it compares!

I Have a Fantastic Idea

Movies can have great stories, but sometimes they contain things viewers would rather not see: language, nudity, violence. There are many products out which help people to edit their movies by downloading filters so they can bring them down to a family friendly rating without dulling down the movie. Why can't someone do this for books on a kindle? I  mostly try to stick to Christian Fiction because I know graphic scenes and language are kept to a minimum. These stories get old after a while, like reading only history books, eventually you crave something new.

The book I am currently reading, Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen, has a wonderful story, I can't wait to finish it! However, I'd really rather not get a detailed description of a stripper's dance, certain male reactions, and the like. Would it not be acceptable to say that the stripper was dancing minus the graphic scenery? How much harder would it really be to create a "reader friendly" version for those who would rather leave those things behind?

One Home of Many

I was born and raised in Northern Georgia in a rural community. Here I lived for 21 years of life and will forever call it home. I drove through the countryside to visit a very dear family and was nearly brought to tears. I drove down a road and noted all the changes made to local businesses and how the flora has grown and the trees so green. I turn down another small street and pass the butcher's shop where momma used to buy the best meat and yeast rolls you've ever tasted. I keep going through the street lined with houses whose front yards contained evidence of children and many hours spent in the dirt planting flowers. I come to the four way stop and continue slowly, passing the cemetery where my sister and cousin are buried side-by-side.

There are so many memories down this road, such as when momma and I picked up our pastor because he had car trouble. My car overheating and waiting until daddy could pick me up. The house with the llamas. An old house where the nicest man used to live before he passed many years ago.

I pull into the driveway and blink back more tears, telling myself that I'm being silly, but glad to be home.

I Love My Kindle

For Christmas this past year, my aunt MIL, (long story), gave Alan and I Kindles. We tore them open and have barely been able to put them down since! Well, until Alan stepped on mine and I had to get a replacement. :)

In the last two days, I have downloaded 17 books: free! Sometimes they are not so grand, but I have found a few that I really enjoyed. I just search Amazon.com about once a week and look at their top 100 free books and get my fill. The most recent book I read was Alice at Heart, by Deborah Smith.

In the beginning you meet Alice, in strange circumstances with strange habits: swimming nude in the mountain lake in frigid temperatures, webbing between her toes, and a diet comprised of canned tuna. Then you meet Griffin, a treasure hunter who, in the midst of an accident, hears a woman calling to him underwater. As the story unfolds, Alice and Griffin find their true homes. There were a few intimate moments of the book, but nothing that could be compared with a "romance" novel. If you like books that make you wonder and pull you into a captivating story, I think you will enjoy this one.

Banananananana.... Bread

We love bananas, but sometimes they don't all get eaten before they are very spotty. I think that's why God gave someone the idea to make delicious, wonderful, banana bread.

Mom and I used a Paula Deen recipe to make the banana bread today and it turned out delicious!!
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 ripe bananas (we used 4)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x5 in loaf pan. Combine butter and sugar and beat till fluffy. Add banana and mix till mashed. Add everything else and mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 50 minutes.

We also added 1/2 c walnuts for a nice crunch. :) Spread a little cream cheese on just before eating and you'll have a little slice of heaven.

Bear vs. Elk

Driving through the mountains of Colorado, you'll see various signs along the highway warning of animals that may choose that particular spot to cross. We were fine until Momma saw the sign for the bear. She grabbed my leg and gasped, "Did you see that?" I asked, "What, the bear sign?" Momma went on to say how much she hates bears and hoped we wouldn't see one.

A few miles later I saw a sign similar but for elk and I grabbed Momma's leg and gasped, "Momma, did you see that?" She nearly screamed thinking I had seen a bear and then realized I was talking about the elk sign... I got her good.

Going, Going, Going

Momma and began our trip back to Louisiana today. We decided to take a different route that shaved nearly two hours off our driving time! And, lucky for us, my oldest nephew Oliver decided to begin sharing... his cold with Nana and Aunt Kk. Instead of driving and getting home sooner, we opted to stop and sleep for a bit.

Funny story: I dropped Momma off at the hotel entrance and went to park the car. As I was walking in, a guy, probably college aged, was walking out. Either he wasn't looking where he was going or I smelled really bad because he ran into the door on the way out! It was slightly humorous. Good, old-fashioned America's Funniest Home Video funny.

While we are taking a shorter route I am missing the old, abandoned buildings we frequently saw on the trip up. Those houses and barns were so interesting! One day, I would like to drive that way again and stop to take pictures of those places. Abandoned buildings surrounded by prairie and blue sky. Georgeous.

Life as a Military Wife

I love all my friends dearly, especially those who are military wives because we are all in the same boat. (No pun intended.) But... if all we do is complain about missing our husbands and wanting to be back home, what kind of life is that?

When we married our husbands, we knew (or should have known) what we were signing up for. Long days of work, his life being ruled by the military, being seperated (sometimes planned, sometimes not), long duty weekends, unexpected working days, and leave requests being denied. We knew that life was going to be hard, we would get the "short end of the stick", and that there would be times when we wanted to sit down and cry in sheer frustration. If we let this get us down, we are only making ourselves miserable.

So chin up! We all know it's hard, we are all going through it, and there's not a thing we can do about it. Look for the bright in life, the silver linings, that extra $40 you forgot in an old purse. We'll make it through. Just think about how estatic you will be when you are finally reunited with that special loved one of yours.

Aunt Kk

"Do, do , do, do, do, do." That's the sound of Oliver talking and playing with you. Way up high and way down low, he loves making noises. He has a workbench that Nana and Pops gave him and we like to hammer on the bench, hammer on Aunt Kk's leg, and hammer on Oliver's toes.

Oliver loves his guitar, playing songs and singing new lyrics. You should see him dancing around with his guitar and putting on a show. He loves music! Singing songs is one of our favorite past times.

The blocks are a fun toy too. Stacking the blocks by color is Oliver's way to do it. He likes to make sure the colors match. He has a toy that you put balls into the top and they wind their way down to the bottom and he likes to make sure the balls match there too. The red ball has to go in the red hole and the green one in the green hole.

He sure is a bundle of fun. This is really the first time I have been able to spend quality time with Oliver and I am loving it!

Traveling Fool

I have decided that enjoy traveling. I guess it's a good thing considering.

Sunday afternoon we began receiving calls that my nephew was being born, over three weeks ahead of schedule! Luckily, he arrived with no complications, just a healthy baby boy. Mom (Nana) and I (Aunt Kk) jumped into the car within about two hours of hearing the news and began the long journey to Denver, Colorado.

Momma and I are great traveling companions. We like similar music, chat up a storm, and have similar driving styles so we don't drive each other crazy. We took turns driving every 2 1/2 to 3 hours so we were always fresh and driving safely.

As we were leaving Dallas headed towards Oklahoma City, a storm decided to honor us with it's presence and dropped some rain, blew fierce wind, and even gave s a few hailstones. We decided it was time to pull over for a while. Sitting under a gas station, we watched the rain, the hail (which never got any bigger than a peanut), and the changing winds and were soon back on the road.

Driving through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado we began to notice something. Every small town (and larger ones too) have their own museum of some sort and had signs placed along the interstate begging travelers to stop by or else we'd miss "the largest prairie dog in the world". Some places were as simple as "so and so's" childhood home but one of my favorites was the Land of Oz. We never actually stopped, maybe on the drive home.

In Kansas we began seeing signs for "Post Rock Country". Momma and I kept wondering what post rock was and finally decided it must be a landmark like the chimney rock. Then we saw fences with rocks as their posts. Oh! That's a post rock!  A light beige in color and always shaped in perfect squared posts. It was fascinating seeing all the fences made with this rock, even houses and grain silos made from it as well.

la Madeleine

Momma and I went to Kohl's, one of my most favorite places to shop! (Yes, most favorite!) We both found some cute things and I scored on a purse for only$3.50!! Kohl's is a short drive away, in the next town over and amongst an up and coming community. Previously, Momma had been driving through and had seen a restaurant that we loved to get dessert at in Atlanta, la Madeleine! We had neve eaten in the cafe portion, only getting yummy to-go treats like a Strawberry White Chocolate Cheesecake. Heavenly.

We stopped for lunch after a morning of shopping and were pleasantly surprised! You walk in and go through the line, ordering your food (most of the time it gets to you before you leave the line) and paying at the end. Momma ordered a chicken salad crossiant with a side of the house pasta and I ordered a Mediterranean salad with chicken. It was delicious!

We were hoping this restaurant would have the same cheesecake as the Atlanta one did, but they did not. Instead, we selected many small treats, perfect for a tiny dessert after a meal. Lemon tarts, fruit tarts, creme brulee tarts, strawberry cheesecake, tiramisu, fruit parfait, and a chocolate cake layered dessert. Momma and I also bought a couple lemon madeleine's to eat on the way home. Oh man were they good!!

Strawberries

In Japan, the strawberries are always delicious! Sweet and rich in flavor! Strawberries are in season here in Louisiana and boy are they good. We have eaten through 4 boxes of strawberries already in the last week. I would love to share a recipe that has become a family favorite, Crunchy Strawberry Salad.

1 pkg ramen noodles
1 c chopped walnuts
1/4 c butter
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp soy sauce
8 c romaine lettuce
1/2 c chopped green onion
2 c fresh strawberries, sliced

Break noodles into small pieces and saute them with the walnuts in the butter until golden, about 8-10minutes. In a jar (or screw top container) combine oil, sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce and shake well. Combine all ingredients and toss just before serving.

When we make this, we skip the butter step to save a few unnecessary calories and you can adjust the dressing to you taste, sometimes I like to use less oil and more red wine vinegar. This is delicious by itself or with a grilled chicken breast on  top of it.

Also, we like to make Strawberry Pie, a quick and easy, hard to mess up, recipe.

1 graham cracker pie shell
1 package of strawberries, sliced
1 c sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 c water

I like to begin by pulling a few of the "not-so-pretty" strawberries out of the package and mashing them up really small. I put these strawberries in a sauce pan, add the water and bring to a boil to get all the flavor out of the strawberries. Then you can strain it if you want those little strawberry pieces out of the glaze. Combine the sugar and cornstarch and add to the strawberry essenced water and cook until thick. You can add a few drops of red food coloring if you want the glaze bright red. Allow the glaze to cool then combine the glaze and the strawberries, mixing thoroughly, and pour into the pie shell. Refrigerate a few hours until set. Serve with whipped cream!

I have also made this pie using a reduced fat graham cracker pie shell, splenda, and a tad more corn starch and it turned out delicious.

Suntanning Squirrels

Here in Louisiana where mom and dad live, there is a large population of squirrels: large in quantity and large in size. Everywhere you look, you can see squirrels eating, running, playing, and even tanning! Well, we say they are tanning. You can see them laying on the ground, legs up, eyes closed, and enjoying the sunshine! Typically they lay in the road because we figure that is the warmest spot. Except today is cloudy and I saw a squirrel suntanning... Hmm...

Settling In at the Gym

I came out extremely well in a gym membership today. I had seen a "no contract" offer posted at a gym near mom and dad's house and decided that I should check it out. As I walked into the gym today, I quickly figured out.. it was huge! There are two sections, one for children and one for adults. It has multiple group classrooms for yoga, bodypump, spinning, and more that I haven't even heard of. The enire second floor is reserved for cardio equpiment, strength training equipment, and a core workout area complete with mats, balls, and free weights. The ladies locker room is amazing, furnished with lockers (made from wood, not metal), showers, sauna, and hot tub. The gym also offers wireless internet for those of us who simply cannot be away from the internet, a cafe complete with coffee and nutritional drinks, and outdoor heated pools for anytime swimming.

Leaving Japan and...

A week into staying at my parents, a storm begins brewing threatening flash flooding, hail, and tornadoes. Whew! I thought I was getting away from the natural disasters but they seem to have caught up with me.

So far, no word as to when I can go back. I am looking into joining a gym today so I can have something to keep me busy (also it'll keep me healthy).

I've been shopping and I think I'm set now, got a few more clothes since clothes shopping in Japan is semi difficult. Everyone there is extremely trim so unless you follow suit, clothes could be a challenge.

Latest news from Japan: plutonium was found in soil samples around the nuclear reactors, but right now it's no higher than levels naturally found in soil in other parts of Japan. The TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) chief says that right now, he has no plan as to how to they are going to fix the situation. There is a large portion of underground water that has been contaminated with radioactive particles. Also, they are still trying to fix leaks from the reactors. Aftershocks are still occurring with the rolling power outages and very cool weather (they had snow last week!). The sea water used to help cool the reactors left behind salt residue that has to be cleaned out not mention the sea water itself became contaminated with radiation.

Please keep Japan in your prayers.

Green Onions

In all my 23 years of being alive, I was told today that I was using green onions wrong! Typically, I would begin with the green end, trim a little, then begin chopping until I got down to the light green part and stop. Momma was watching me and asked if there was a reason I wasn't using the ends. I just thought that was the way to use green onions. Momma went on to tell me about my great grandmother who would eat a "sweet onion" at every meal and eat the lower portion of the onion leaving the dark green parts. I guess you learn something new everyday.

I'm still adjusting to driving here and can proudly say, I was able to stay on the right side of the road! (Only by repeating "right side, right side, right side") Once in a parking lot I forgot for about a second but luckily Aaron was with me to remind me. :)