Long Time Gone~

I've been a long time gone, huh?
Well here goes a few things....

Michael Jackson....of course everyone knows by now that the "King of Pop" has died of a heart attack. Now it's being said that he was addicted to painkillers such as Demerol. In spite of all his legal troubles, the accusations against him, and his eccentric behavior over the years, he will live on in the music that has inspired generations....with more to come I'm sure.

R.I.P.

Well, we only have a little over a month left in Japan. Leaving August 1 !!! Ready to get it all over with. I'm sure the next few weeks will go in a blur....hopefully.

Right now the time just seems to be DRAGGING ON...and ON...and ON....

We are going to Hawaii for a few days before going to mainland U.S. I am more excited about that, than the actual move. It's been 10 years since we were there last. We are renting a cottage near the beach. No stuffy hotel room. The owner is giving us an excellent military rate. I'm ready to just sit by the ocean, relax and watch the kids play in the water. It will probably be the last time I get to go to a beach in a VERY LONG TIME!!!

OH Yeah. I've failed to post before about where we're going.... we are going where winter seems to drag on forever.....WYOMING. Now I've said before that I am a sun and beach type person, not a cold, snowed in type person. So yes I want to go to Hawaii badly because I am not looking forward to harsh winters. It's just not me. But I still plan to make the most of it and who knows? maybe I will come to like Wyoming and all the snow?????? We'll see I guess. LOL.

I've still been struggling with my weight. Right now I'm feeling a little down because although I know I've come a long way, I still need to lose some more and also it's disheartening because anyone who has had kids and/or lost a lot of weight, knows there's the sagging skin issue. I know for a fact that no matter how much more I lose, I will still have it and there is nothing to remedy it but surgery which is expensive. Blah, blah, blah, I know. I shouldn't complain. I mean there are more important things in the world to worry about, right? I'm just saying it's a little dissappointing to put so much effort into something and you still cannot achieve the goal you desire.

On another note, I'm slowly becoming blonde again.....it's hard getting all the red out though!

There's many other things I could post about but I don't have the patience right now. Anyway, I don't know how much I'll be able to post in the next few months with the move, but in the words of Ahnold.......
"I'll be back".

Last Post for Today!

Last post for today. Promise. (^-^)

Today we had to go to Yokosuka because my son had a doctor's appointment at the naval base there. It did not go so well! First, we thought that because it's Golden Week, that the roads would be extremely congested. Well traffic turned out to be the least of our problems. Yokosuka is about a 2 hour drive from here, which we've done plenty of times. Easy, breezy.....usually. It started to rain on the way down there and traffic was actually pretty good. I don't know what's going on this year, I guess with Japan also in a recession, many people chose to stay at home? Last year we started to drive to Tokyo Disneyland during Golden Week and couldn't get anywhere because of the traffic so we had to nix it. This year traffic was not as horrible as I'd feared.

Well anyway, things were going fine until we got almost to the Yoko-Yoko road. We decided to pull over at a Family Mart before getting on the expressway to get snacks and use the restroom. Well as we all got back in the car, hubby started to crank it and NOTHING. It was dead. All of a sudden! A dead Nissan Gloria at the worst possible time. We had left early anticipating the traffic, but we were still trying to make it to the base before the appointment. Hubby tried to figure out what the problem was and we figured it must be the battery. Well we'd left the jumper cables at home, OF COURSE! We stood around a while in the parking lot, looking dumb I'm sure, to all the Japanese who kept looking over at us. Shawn doesn't really speak any Japanese at all. I can speak and understand only fragments. Luckily, most of the time between my broken Japanese and their broken English I can make myself understood, so it's never been a huge obstacle. I ended up having to walk over to a Eneos gasoline stand, just a short way down the road, and asking an attendant to come and jump our car. I rode with him in his car back to the Family Mart, where he quickly jumped the car for us. We didn't have much yen on us for the drive, only enough for the tolls and snacks, so that turned into an issue too. The ATM in the Family Mart wouldn't accept our debit card to get cash, so we had to follow him back to the Eneos to pay. 3150¥ for a simple jump! Crazy to me, but we had no choice.

Then, we finally got down to Yokosuka and was a little concerned of course, about the car because of what had happened, but felt better that we were on base and knew we could get help easier if needed. We went in for the appointment and it was CANCELLED! The doctor had some sort of family issue and they SAID they'd been trying to get in contact with all his patients to reschedule, especially us because they knew we were coming from another base. UGH! Well I took it in stride and rescheduled for next week. So now I have to go all the way back down there next week, alone, because hubby won't be able to get off work. Then to make matters worse, when we went back out to the hospital parking lot....the car? You got it. Dead. Again. The office clerk who rescheduled the appointment was nice enough to come jump us off again, but by then we knew we couldn't stay (no NEX shopping!), we weren't gonna turn the car off again. So we headed for home. Traffic had picked up on the way back and so did the rain, so it took us longer to get home, and when we pulled into our own parking lot and turned off the car....turned it back on....Nothing. The car is caput. I know you'd probably think, "just get a new battery!", but the car needs a lot of work so we're gonna have to junk it this week. The JCI (Japanese Compulsory Insurance) is almost due, the Japanese Road Tax is due, as well as the regular insurance on it, it's not gonna pass the inspection, so it's just gonna have to go to the big car lot in the sky.....since we're leaving soon, it'd be stupid to put a lot of money into the car anyway. And were there any messages for us when we got home, from the hospital, who claimed they had tried to contact us to let us know about the cancellation before we left? NO.

So all in all, it was a real "fun" day. LOL.

Anniversary + more updates

On the 20th of April hubby and I had our 11 year wedding anniversary!

WOW! 11 years have come and gone so quick it seems like!

To celebrate, that weekend, we fortunately got a sitter to watch the kids for the entire night (because those who know Japan know if you are still in central Tokyo after the trains stop running, your stuck there until morning or you will pay out the A$$ for a taxi) and so with a reliable sitter, we decided to go to Shibuya and Roppongi for happy times....a whole night out alone??? We didn't know what to do with ourselves........LOL.

No pics of that night though! :-P

This past Sunday, we went to Tama Hills for some family time. Tama Hills is a recreational "oasis" here in Tokyo for the military and DoD civilians. You can rent cabins (some with hot tubs!), camp, hike, play put-put golf, mountain bike, play paintball, archery, and other things like that. There's a lot of history at Tama Hills. It was used for storing ammunition and supplies for the Japanese during the war and you can still see the old bunkers. We went to ride horses, but found out that the kids weren't allowed to ride the trail. You had to be at least 12 years old to ride the horses, otherwise you were stuck with the ponies. Jayden did ride a pony, I rode the horse trail while Shawn stayed with the kids.....it was a nice, relaxing day. I hope we can rent a cabin before we leave, but they get reserved quickly....

Here are some pics we got before the camera went dead:

Cherry blossoms here and gone....

The next day, after the fertility festival, I took the kids to Tama-gawa and to Mitake jinja to enjoy the sakura while they were still in bloom. So pretty, but gone so quick. I will miss this time of year here.

Festival of the Steel Phallus

I've got tons of photos to catch up on! Haven't updated here in a while. We've been pretty busy lately with various things, and I've been feeling anxious about where we're going next. Back to the ol U.S. of A. We find out May 15 where it'll be.

First, I'm gonna post about the Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the Steel Phallus) also known as the Kawasaki Fertility Festival that we went to last month. I'm so glad we didn't miss it this time! The best part to me was the transvestites who carried the large penis shrine, (yes I said penis and transvestites!). It's really something you should experience here in Japan. I'm not aware of any other place that has a festival like this. Well, besides the one in Nagoya, but from what I understand this one's a little different. This one is held a short walk from Kawasaki-daishi station at Wakamiya Hachiman-gu shrine. I believe it's less about actual fertility and more about promoting safe sex, AIDS awareness and a general worship of the "phallus". After a ceremony by the priests/priestesses of the shrine (I'm assuming) and with plenty of chanting going on, then the statues are carried throughout the streets around the shrine. People were lined up everywhere, some stayed on the sidelines and watched it go by, others, like myself, followed behind or in front of the statues trying to get some good photos. I lost hubby somewhere along the way, but I eventually found him back at the shrine! :-)

It was crowded, of course, as most festivals tend to be. But what surprised me the most was that there were tons of foreigners at this one....of course it'd be one like this! We've been to other festivals where you'd see a few here and there, but nothing like this one. I heard British, German, American, and I think even Irish dialects. I don't really care for crowds and people always shoving, so we didn't stay for the whole day. Also, I found the behavior of some of the people a little embarrassing. I guess some people think they can just do whatever they want in another country...and that because of the nature of the festival, it was alright. Oh well I guess. Many people seemed to be drunk before noon that day anyway. LOL. I made sure to pick up some *ahem* souvenirs before we left, then we went to Tachikawa for lunch before picking the kids up from the sitter. I was surprised a few other American people brought their children. We left ours with a sitter cause we didn't want to have to answer questions all day....LOL.

WARNINGWARNINGWARNING

So if things of a sexual nature bother you, look no further than this.....



I had tried to upload some of these photos onto my myspace page, and they were promptly deleted by myspace security, I'm hoping I don't have the same issue here on my blog......it's just a festival after all! No real nudity!

First one short video, this is when they are leaving the shrine and heading out onto the streets carrying the "phallus" statues...



Now various photos (I know, I take A LOT):

Think Spring!

Tired of the weather. One day it's nice and sunny, next it's cold and rainy. Such is Japanese weather.

I am so ready for the spring and summer! The cherry blossoms have started blooming. I'll take some pics before they're gone.



Time
is
ticking.


Less than 5 more months left in Japan, but don't know where our next destination is.

Where we going????????

Anxious.



So much I want to cram in before we leave. Nikko, Disneyland again, Kamakura, for example and this Sunday me and the hubby are going to the Kawasaki Fertility Festival.

Can't miss it this year!

Plum Blossoms and TGIF!

It's been awhile again!! Haven't had much to blog about.
So just a quick post today with mainly pics.

Last Sunday we went to the plum blossoms at Yoshino Baigou near JR Hinatawada station. It was such a nice day. Crowded (that's usually to be expected), but it's supposed to be one of the best places in this area to see the blossoms. The weather had finally cleared up that day. It costs ¥200 to get into the park.













































































Then we got back on the train and went to JR Machida station to try the TGI Fridays restaurant. I think we prefer the Outback Steakhouse in Minami-Osawa more. At TGIF it cost us about ¥11,000 to eat and the Outback is usually only about ¥7000. Not just the price, but the food wasn't all that great either.

When we were almost finished eating some Japanese man sitting at a nearby table asked the waitress to ask us if we'd drink with him. We had to tell her that we politely decline because we had our kids with us. I think even the waitress was dumbfounded that he wanted her to ask us. Then as we were leaving, he kept asking my husband if we remembered him. We did not, and had never seen him before. Maybe he was already drunk? LOL.

Volcanus E r up t i s

Wow it's already been a month since I last posted. So, some updates....

First, I'm much better now after that strange inner ear infection. It took me a full three weeks to feel back to normal. The best way I can describe, it was as if I was extremely drunk. Inside my head I was spinning. I couldn't control it. At first I couldn't walk at all without falling down. Gradually, I got to the point that I could walk, but very wobbly. Even saying it felt like I was drunk doesn't do justice to how very disorienting it really was.

Not a whole lot else has been going on.
Been sick off and on, winter blah...ugh.

On Monday morning, Mt. Asama, an active volcano here on the main island, erupted. I think it was mostly just smoke and ash though. No lava flowing everywhere. It's located about 65 miles northwest of us, but we still got a covering of volcanic ash across this area. Monday morning every car was covered with it, so schools were closed here on base. The kids went out and collected some of the ash and put it in vials to keep. A pretty cool keepsake from Japan, I think.

We are anxious to find out where we are going next. We are scheduled to leave Japan in August, but don't know to where yet. We should find out something next month I think.

My 31st birthday has come and gone.....yea 31. Whoopee! LOL

So yesterday, as a late birthday present, I got a new tattoo. I'd gotten my kokeshi doll last summer when I went to Oklahoma to visit the family. But I always felt like it was missing something. I decided to get cherry blossoms around it to keep with the Japanese theme. A new tattoo shop opened off base recently, right off Rt. 16 across Fussa gate. I decided to go there and not into Tokyo since it was so close. The guy who owns it was very nice and professional. He speaks English, which was awesome. I was always concerned about getting a tattoo done here, because I wanted to make sure I'd be understood as to what I wanted. Also tattoos are pretty expensive here too, from what I've heard, but I thought his price was reasonable. It cost me ¥10,000. I'm really happy with it, though it's hurting like a bitch right now.





It looks much better and feels more "complete". He did a great job. New needles, clean shop, no worries. You can view his website at Material World Tattoo

Knocked on my ass....

What an awesome start to 2009! *{sarcasm abounds}*

I've been really sick and out of it for over a week now. All because of a strange, sudden, debilitating virus called Vestibular Neuritis. It affects the nerve in your inner ear that sends messages to your brain about balance and motion. I'm finally starting to feel better, but am not 100% yet.....

It's probably the worst "virus" I've ever experienced. Worse than any surgery or flu I've ever had. It's very disorienting. I'll give more info later, I'm still recovering.....

See? The gaijin aren't all bad....

These are the things I like to read about. Other foreigners in Japan who help those in distress. There have been many more acts such as this.

Do most Japanese ever get to hear these stories? Probably not. I notice the only stories that seem to make the news are the ones where some gaijin has done something wrong. And in these situations, other Japanese will sometimes not do anything to help, even their own, because they don't want to get involved.

From Stars and Stripes:
Yokosuka Sailors Rescue Man at Shinagawa Station