Fresh Sashimi

from the local market deli. There's a window where you can watch them slice and prep the fish.

This was awesome sashimi and it was only $5!

The shrimp in the picture we bought pre-battered, we fried ourselves, it was YUMMY!

Decisions, Decisions

Vending machines have a variety of drinks like juice, sports drinks, sodas and coffee. You have an option of getting the coffee HOT in a can right out of the machine. Tommy Lee Jones like "Boss" brand coffee as you can see.

Castle Bakery Okinawa

This is a quaint little bakery and cafe. Yes, every thing tastes as good as it looks if not better.

Our goody box :D

Toenail approves

Nona hangin' with Ronald

We went to McDonald's in town and it was nice. Looks like most Micky D's anywhere, except in Japanese. The food quality was better than in the states, I had to try the spicy chicken teriyaki sandwich. Don't think you'll see that one back home any time soon.

Nona had a blast.

Fitting in

It's always hard fitting in to a new place, a new school and especially a new country.
Dondan having several challenges with this move is starting to open up a bit.
It was really hard at first, he would "tic" and then the "tics" would change, they would go from mild to aggressive from one day to the next. I talked with the school nurse, she recognized his behavior as "tics" and was right on board with what to do and how to help.
Everyone is so helpful. Dondan's teacher is but a phone call or e-mail away and we have contact on a regular basis. She informs me of any changes or concerns she may have. That's how I found out he wasn't eating his lunch at school. We were able to remedy that situation quickly.
Dondan wears his hoody jacket, everyday to school, with the hoody on. It's been down right hot some days, but he won't remove it. I'm thinking it's a security blanket for him, he can "hide" inside his little world, interact and still be part of the world outside.
He's been "burrow" more often lately than not. I've rigged his hammocks in his room to the top bunk part of his bunk bed, but he wants our basement back. It's all we can do for the time being.
This morning I spoke to his teacher and she informed me that, yesterday he finally joined in to play a game with the other kids. It's a start and I am happy for it! He usually sits off to the side and watches or he'll play alone. He will try and mingle without completely being involved. Milling around the out skirts, without making any actual contact, I know it's weird. It's like he's yearning for that friendship, but he doesn't what to do. Everything is just so new and he is coping how he can. I always ask about the kids at school, in his class and if he's made friends. We have a neighbor boy who is close in age for him to play with, but he hasn't wanted to make friends yet. He made a comment the other day in a loud voice saying, "There's NO Jefferey here in Okinawa!" I felt so bad, he really misses his best friend back in Washington.
Dondan's been doing great with riding his bike, we moved him up to a 20" bike and he has a blast riding on 2 wheels. He tries to keep up with Mike jumping the speed bumps and what not. One evening on our walk he threw a rager fit when we wouldn't let him ride down the BIG, STEEP hill. Far be it for me for not wanting him to break his neck. We compromised and let him start from the middle and go down. It worked out fine, no spills.

Mike has no problems fitting in except that his teachers find it weird that he is "too comfortable" in his new surroundings. They can all stuff it and I have no problems telling them that. I've had a conference with one of his teachers and I made it very clear where I stood. That's another story which I will not divulge on here.

Anyways, Mike has made several friends and true to form most of them are girls. He even has a stalker already, go Mike. His best friend so far is a girl named Marissa, she's a very sweet and kooky young lady, who happens to be LDS. Though not into WoW, she still likes mythical creatures and fantasy related things. They are like peas in a pod and have been joined at the hip since they met.

cars and other things that go beep

yes, all the cars beep.
When you reverse.
beep. beep. beep.

Our church is off base, so we have to drive around a bit to get familiar. It takes us about 30 min to get there, because the speed limit is 30 kliks (Km) which is equivalent to 18 mph. We are split up into 2 branches.
It's been fun learning to do everything the opposite way. The gear shift, wipers and turn signal are all on the other side. You can imagine the confusion at first.
I like looking at all the cars, there are so many different kinds. My favorite are the cute mini ones. I'll have to post more pictures of those in the future. Sometimes I don't get my camera out in time. Toenail tells me to stop looking like a tourist, but I don't care. I always take pictures of random things no matter where I am. I like the Toyota "NOAH" there are several variations of this van, the "TownAce" and the "LiteAce" are the more common. There is also the Honda "Thats" and the "Mira". Every one's FAVORITE the Nissan Skyline, I KNOW they are cool and sporty, but EVERYONE has one. So unless it's pimped out, it's really not that special anymore. Toenail wants to get a tricked out Honda Prelude. Maybe when he returns home, there's no point in getting a car and having it sit around while he's gone...AGAIN! We were hoping to have him home for a little while longer, at least six months, but NO! We're not used to him being home yet. He leaves in about a week. When we told this to the kids, dondan's response was, "Nuh-Uh, stop tricking me." When we said we where serious, he about had a conniption.
It takes a major toll on everyone, but I think Dondan has a harder time with it. He jumps in and out of "ticks" constantly and they change so much, I don't know which way is up sometimes.
We are getting a FLAT DADDY in hopes to ease the stress some, for everyone.
Nona has "tea" with Daddy everyday, perhaps she'll take to the 2-D Daddy as a replacement. For a long time she thought he was a computer monitor, that was confusing for her when he returned. Now they are inseparable, leading him here and there. She cries when she sees him leave, he has to sneak out and disappear like a ninja.
Enjoy the pics of around the town...

Pizza nite

a new favorite in our household.
Everyone lurvs them some pizza! We do the pizza kit in a box and it works great for us. Just buy some cheese and your favorite toppings and go nuts.
Dondan and Nona usually stay with the basic cheese. Mike likes to mix it up with a concoction of everything including the kitchen sink. Toenail likes it heavy on the meat, especially bacon and pepperoni. I do it up with spinach, feta and artichoke hearts yummers.
We mix the dough let it rise and split it up into five personal pan dishes. It's alot of fun and we all get to do the cooking!
We decided every other Friday night is Pizza NITE!!

How can you NOT have fun

with a Buzz AND a Woody??
In most cases having both can be a dangerous combination.
Just ask Al... you know from Al's Toy Barn? Toy Story? Come on people.
Nona the yodeling cowgirl likes hangin' with Buzz and Woody!
You can't stop this terrific trio as they embark on adventures great and small.
Stay tuned, cause you don't want to miss favorite episodes like "Redecorating the couch", "These crackers are made for stompin'", "Tea party typhoon" and every one's favorite "You say pricey make-up, I say finger paints!"
It's NEVER a dull moment!

Little Big Planet...

is Big Big FUN! We have so much fun with this game on the PS3. We each have a custom character, Nona likes to watch mostly, but she jumps in from time to time with her own controller.
You start off as a plain "sack doll" and as you progress through the levels you gain costumes, clothing, acessories, stickers and other items. You can even get a little sack doll that your sack doll can carry around, haha.
You can build your own levels or "worlds" the possibilities are endless.
There are puzzles to solve and multiplayer levels to get different stuff, play online with other people and play levels they've created.
I know this sounds like a commercial or something, too bad we aren't getting paid for it.
We <3 this game :D

weight watchers...

but NOT how you would think.
Dondan has always been on the slim side, but I still worry about his weight.
He is just so dang boney, it scares me and Toenail.
We've been buying nutritional supplements and pediasure for a while, for the times he fells finicky about eating. Some days he has an insatiable appetite and other days we have to force him to eat.
I just want him to put on some weight, even if it's just fat so he's not just skin and bones. I know it may sound awful but i'm okay with him getting fat.
He weighs 48 lbs. only cause he's gained one since we've been here.
Nonaz weighs 28lbs and she's 2.
I'm hoping he'll "grow out of it" but I won't hold my breath.
We've been buying weight gainer and spiking his food. We've put it in milkshakes, smoothies, cookies and my latest concoction in brownies.
Everyone knows how much of a chocolate aficionado Dondan is so the brownies went over very well.
He gets to eat them for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. Anytime he wants he can have them. The only catch is he HAS to clean his plate at mealtime, which we DO monitor portions.
For a 7 year old he's very conscious about getting fat. He always makes comments about "not wanting to be fat" or "if i eat that will i get fat?" Honestly I don't know where he gets it, I'm not big on diets or dieting, if i want to eat something i eat it. The only time he doesn't worry about "fatty" food is when it comes to chocolate, he will eat any and all chocolate without hesitation.
At mealtimes he has to make sure he has all the food groups and names them out so we know nothing is missing, weirdo.
So, we are weighing him and monitoring him regularly, even his teacher at school updates us when he doesn't eat lunch. Which he has done only once so far.
Toenail is planning to make random visits during lunchtime, to keep him on track.
Nonaz eats more than he does. It's just bothering me, i'm scared something will happen to him. I can put my thumb and pointer finger together around his bicep, yeah, that small. Too small for a 7 yr old. People can't tell when he's dressed, but at home he likes to lounge in his boxers. Mike always has to say something, most of the time it's comments like, "put a shirt on, I can see your bones, it's gross."
I'm sure his meds are a major contributing factor in his appetite loss, but he's doing so well at school. Where do you draw the line? which do you sacrifice?
I'm going to be more proactive about fattening him up and see how far that gets us.

Dondan's dental diary

Last night Dondan was eating some chewy candy, hi-chews to be exact and his cap came out. He wasn't in any pain but it was still urgent enough to be seen right away.
We were weighing the options of recapping or pulling it all together. Dondan asked the Dentist if he could have a gold cap, needless to say we had a nice laugh about that one. Gangstah! LOL
After the dentist examined it and several x-rays later, it was decided that the tooth must go.
He has another one on the way right below it. It's not a big deal to lose it at this point. He's not looking forward to that appointment in two weeks. I for one am dreading it.
We shall see what happens.

After 2 years of waiting....

It's finally here!!
The laser tv!!! It's on sale if you can afford the $7000 they are asking for it, cause so far it only comes in a 65" and there is talk of a 73" version in the make.
We've been waiting on this for 2 years hoping to get our hands on one. Maybe this year or the next they might have smaller versions.
We are excited and disappointed at the same time. We put off buying a flat panel in hopes to get a laser tv, but when they never hit the stores we were bummed. When the AQOUS sale fell in our laps, well how could we refuse.
Now the laser decides to come out!! Better late then never, but it won't be for a little while till we can get one.

check it out... LASER TV

Cute Poem

Not sure who the author is, but I like the message.

I was shocked, confused, bewildered,
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade,
Who swiped my lunch money! twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor,
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought,
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.
'And why's everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'
JUDGE NOT

Remember...Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian
any more than standing in your garage makes you a car .

Every saint has a PAST...
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

A tasty Christmas salad

I've been having some trouble with the video uploads sorry so late.

It was Toenail's birthday (December) and we thought that would be a great time to spring the delectable Candlestick salad. We told him he was making dinner with the help of my brother-in-law, Josh and a favorite classic recipe, found in none other than, "The Friend" children's magazine. It went a little like this....

I can't seem to load the first part so here is the link

PART 1

And here is part 2

Dear Dyson

i'm sad to say your usefulness has diminished. Though not completely useless, you just can't hang with the carpetless environment, even on bare floor mode. I try to use you when i can, but sadly you must now play second string to Broom Vac.
Broom vac may not be as powerful as you, but is mighty handy and convienient on my hard floors.
Let's just say you don't have to work as hard.

Xtina reloaded

with meds.
So, with the urging of the school nurse at Dondan's school, I thought it would be a good idea to get flu shots. Supposedly it's going around and really bad in the local area yadda yadda.
The kids and I get flul shots on Saturday, I start feeling sick Sunday Morning. yay. what could it be? hmmmm. THE FLU?!
On top of that my sinus' are going nuts, apparently it's bad here for allergies cause according to the doctor, "stuff is always blowing through the island".
oooookkkaaaaaaayyyyyy....
I've been suckin' down NyQuil and sinus meds for the past 3 days, now they load me down with, Robo plus codeine, claritin, Motrin, flonase AND afrin. I thought afrin and flonase did the same thing but, hey i'm not the doctor. She says I have an upper respiratory infection, oh well at least i'll sleep like a baby, thanx to the codeine.
Dondan comes home from school on Monday feels crummy and has a slight fever, I give him some meds and keep him out of school on Tuesday and BAM! He's bouncing back good as new!

Ever wanted to know...

what it was like back in the day during the Civil rights movement?
The feelings, the mindset and the experience as a whole?
Well, if you didn't get to experience first hand and perhaps you can not travel back in time, here is a way to get a first hand look into the past.
I came across a program on AFN (American Forces Network) it was Andrew Young presents: How we got over, it talked all about the civil rights movement and how the University of Georgia with the help of several partners had put together a digital library. There is an extensive archive of news film reels stored at the university of Georgia donated by several different news stations from that time period.
A group of students and professors put together a project to make this information available to the public. I think it's pretty cool, you can see all the unedited news reels and to get the first hand accounts of the happenings. The good things that happened and the bad violence as well. The truth of it is rather harsh. The blatant hatred and ignorance just boils me, but it was the reality of the times. It sad to think that there are still people today with that same racist mentality.
Making this kind of resource available may help to bring about more awareness and understanding in our society, perhaps a more colorblind nation.
Lots of good info!
I really like the interview with Andrew Young in 1971 when he says that in the United States we have to move to a position where a person can be elected based on merit and not on race or national origin. Reporter Whipkey asks Young if he thinks an African American could be elected president of the United States. Young asserts that he believes it will happen "in our lifetime."

http://crdl.usg.edu/voci/go/crdl/home

Enjoy!