Okinawa-rama

Live Over Okinawa

2008-12-03T19:42:00.002+09:00

Watch live video from Joe and Kelly on Justin.tv

Hi All,

We've kinda moved all our stuff over to www.facebook.com. So I wouldn't expect many posts on here.

BUT, I'm going to try and broadcast the view from our second floor window. It'll usually be the day view (Okinawa Time) and be looking towards the ocean.

Join us on Facebook.

Joe

Korea Trip and a Bunch of "Firsts" for Gabe

2008-10-10T16:21:00.014+09:00

Me, Kelly and Gabe decided to try and fly to Korea via Space A last week and it was quite the adventure. I'll let Kelly get into more details, but I'll post the pic's. There were many first's for Gabe, which made it fun for me and Kelly.

Heading over to Korea we flew on a C-130:

Kelly and Gabe's 1st C-130 Flight

Gabe's 1st Ear Plugs - C130's are LOUD!

Gabe's 1st Bus Ride - Osan AB, Korea to Seoul, Korea Gabe's 1st Korean Beer - O.K., not really, but he wanted that bottle

Gabe's 1st Backpack Ride - He did good

Gabe's 1st Subway Ride - The Korean Women LOVED him.

Much more pictures to follow. This was only the first day...

Week in Review Part I

2008-09-22T07:57:00.006+09:00

Okay. So here's the week in review in as long as it takes for Gabe to wake up.

1) Gabriel is a whopping six months old. HALF A YEAR! Goodness gracious. He's growing a third tooth. He's reaching out for me. His fuzzy hair is getting a little longer, but still light. He's still doing those crazy push-up things and still not crawling. If you hold his little hands so he doesn't tip over, he'll stand for a pretty long time. He's eaten squash, sweet potatoes, peas and bananas. And this weekend we shared some minestrone soup. Don't know if that's a bad thing or not, but it was just the broth. He seemed to like it anyway.

Updates from Joe

Well, Kelly was off to go do something, get her hair done, her nails did, save the planet, something...I had to watch Gabe and eventually feed him from a bottle. Mind you, I wasn't intimidated or scared, because I have maaaadddd baby watching skills. I'm like the Air Jordon of babysitting. The Tiger Woods of entertaining the young’uns.

Anyhow, I digress. I haven't fed Gabe from a bottle in quite a while, but he seemed to do really well the last few times I tried and besides, if you stuck a steak in front of the boy he'd probably eat it. There are times I’m afraid he’s going to try and eat some kid if I don’t watch him.

Well.....1.5 hours later. Gabe is SCREAMING like a maniac (People, he SCREAMED for an hour and a half!!). I’m trying to hold him this way, that way and the other way, still won’t take the bottle. I finally lay the crazed monkey on his back, hand him the bottle and say “Feed Yourself.”.....And can you believe HE FED HIMSELF...No seriously...He did...I have pictures...

Notice the Fresh Tears.

Guess who comes home, no more than two minutes after he settles down. Notice the freshly done nails on the bottom left and the look of "I don't need you sucka" on Gabe...

To be continued...

Original Japanese Version of "The Office"

2008-09-19T22:06:00.003+09:00

I bet you didn't realize that The Office was originally a Japanese Show:

Random Shots

2008-09-16T09:46:00.002+09:00

Well, I'll be! If Gabe didn't just fall asleep just now all by himself, without even a peep or a screech. Anyway, just wanted to get a few more pictures up of the goings on here. First off, Gabriel has started eating baby food. Yeah! He actually seems to really like it. I had big dreams of staying off the jarred stuff and making it all from scratch. But, I succumbed to convenience...for now at least and we have carrots, squash, sweet potatoes and peas lined up for him. I tasted the sweet potatoes and squash and thought it was nasty, but he seemed to like it!

Yummy!

Delish!

The other day, Gabe and I were hangin' outside and getting some air. Our Japanese neighbors came out -- the whole family -- mom, dad, two sons, plus a couple of other folks I didn't recognize. They had a tiny baby with them and beckoned us over. So, Gabe and I walked over and found out that the baby was their niece's son and two months old. My neighbor took a picture and disappeared into the house. Not three minutes later he came out with this picture of us: the two moms w/ our babies. I don't know if you can tell, but it's even laminated! I can't believe I don't remember our neighbor's names. I've asked a million times and keep forgetting to write it down and now it's too late to ask again. I mean we've known them almost three years now! Anyway, the baby's name is Natsuha, which means "summer".

This last shot is of a tiny little neighborhood festival they had down the road from us on Sunday night. My neighbor lady, whatever her name is, told me about it. There were kids there doing careful, slow-motion fan dances, there was what looked like an Okinawan opera type thing. Here you have kids dressed up as shisa. The old lady next to me (who grabbed Gabe and held him the whole time) said "shisa dance"! It was so cool. I loved the intimacy of the whole thing. It really was just a neighborhood gathering, under a bright full moon, young and old sitting on mats on the closed off street under my favorite banyon tree. I had a little love burst for Yomitan that night. I wish we had more photos, but for some reason, it just felt odd taking pictures while we were there.

Playtime with Gabes

2008-09-16T09:40:00.001+09:00

Here are a couple pics from two weekends ago. Joe was doin' some fishin' and I was chillin' w/ the Gaber in the yard.

Here he is with his new favorite toy.

The world from Gabe's perspective.

And the boy with his crazy mommmy.

Gabe's Yoga Buddies

2008-09-05T23:23:00.001+09:00

A day of vegetables and more

2008-09-04T22:22:00.006+09:00

I've never been a big produce person. It looks beautiful. I want to be into it, but whenever I buy veggies, they sit rotting in my crisper. Then I signed up for this service called freshinoki, a produce delivery service. They pick up fresh, locally grown veggies from a market up north and then deliver them to your door. It's great, no thinking involved. But, not really cheap at $25 a bag.

That didn't really bother me too much. The good thing about that price is that I felt that I HAD to use up those veggies or it would be a waste of money. I threw them in everything. Lots of stir-frys, soups and salads. But in the end, I still couldn't keep up and so, still, there are vegetables rotting in my crisper.

So I quit the vegetable delivery and made a pledge to visit the neighborhood produce market by myself, saving money and giving me a little more control over quantity. I further pledged to buy the vegetables not according to what I planned to make with them, but by what looked good instead. One of the things that I liked about the produce delivery was the figuring out what to do with all that eggplant or pumpkin or greenbeans. (You don't get to choose what's in the bag. It's a vegetable surprise.) Buying food for the ingredients sake, rather than the recipes' was a little funner for some reason. Like a little cooking adventure.

Today I hit the market. I only had 1000 yen (about 10 bucks) and got eggplant, a giant yellow onion, three garlics, lots of long green onion, a bag of bright carrots and a small pumpkin. Is that expensive? I never bought enough fresh vegetables in the states to even know!

Anyway, I don't have any pics of veggies so I'll throw a few random pics from today up instead:

Gaber and I went to a B-day party today. That's Teresa on the left and Angie (the b-day girl) on the right.

Here were a couple of the gifts. They are kokeshi dolls, a traditional children's toy/ now collectors item, from mainland Japan.

When we got home, Gabe bounced.

And bounced.

For dinner tonight we went to a restaurant shaped like a barrel of beer. (So, yeah, all those vegetables I bought today...still in the fridge.)

WAIT! I do have a picture of the vegetable market. Here it is:

Zamami Island

2008-09-01T12:17:00.014+09:00

Back from the Keramas. We had a FANTASTIC time. Sun, surf, friends...and fish! The first day, Joe took off w/ Masaki and his son, Kazuki to begin the hunting and provide food for the party Saturday night. Meanwhile, Gabe and I caught up on our sleep in the minshuku (Japanese inn...it had been a long, fussy evening the night before), watched some Japanese TV, and hung out at the local beach shack for some ice cream and playtime. When Joe got back, dinner was ready to be served at the minshuku: ginger pork, tofu/goya salad, fried fish and a bunch of other stuff.

Our minshuku - simple, clean, friendly, and like three minutes from the beach.

Gabe's first time in a high chair!

Here's the dinner the minshuku prepared for us. I was dying of hunger by the time it was ready, but it was tasty.

This ice cream/soba (noodle)shack, became our favorite hangout during our three days on island. I especially liked on the second day, when the sweet lady who ran the place offered to take Gabe off my hands while I ate and then she disappeared w/ him somewhere across the street. Perhaps surprisingly, it didn't phase me a bit. He just LOVES Okinawan women. I knew he'd be in good hands.

On the right, Masaki, Joe's co-worker/friend/spearfishing buddy and his son, Kazuki.

The next morning I got a little snorkel time. And we tried out Gabe's new swim gear.

I think I will love the above picture forever. Look at poor Gabe's eyes.

Mom...dad...what the hell are you doing to me?!

Chad and Kay joined us later on in the morning.

Then, Chad and Joe and Masaki and son went a spearin' and Kay, Gabe, and I got to bond on the beach w/ a bottle of chilled wine. This old man came up and told us we should try to bathe the baby naked this time, instead of in a bunch of clothes (like we'd done that morning.)

That night there was the party at Masaki's friend's place. Actually it was his friend's father's place. It was his 90th birthday and take a look at him jammin' on the harmonica!

Grillin' up the ocean's bounty. Joe speared that big mutha in the middle.

Uminchu.

A little music added to the festive atmosphere.

It was a really fun night. Everyone was so friendly to us. Joe was a rock star for his lobster/fish catching abilities! Gabe got lots of love from the girls. And I'm re-inspired to study Japanese. As we headed home, we took a look up at the sky and it was magical - so many stars. Just spectacular. I saw two shooting stars and Kay saw a whopping five. I wish I could have caught it on film. Well, here are a couple more pictures of our weekend instead. We spent one more day on Zamami before heading home. I saw a turtle while snorkeling and loads of humongous fish.

Lovin the view

Masaki's other son, Hedeki.

These guys were pretty scary

Shisa at the gate.

He was just chillin near the beach

Trip to the Keramas and the Smoker Chicks

2008-08-28T22:03:00.002+09:00

If you look out the window on a clear day, you can see some islands in the distance. If it's really clear, you'll make out some buildings on the islands. I've been looking at this year for almost three years now and wondered what was going on over there. What's it look like? What are people doing?

Tomorrow, we're going to find out! Joe, Gabe and I are hopping on the ferry and joining our friend Masaki and some of his buddies for a spearfishing/guitar jam extravaganza in the Keramas! From the little information I can get out of Joe, I gather that this is a "man's weekend", but they are nice enough to "let" me come join in the fun / give Joe a guilt-free spearfishing pass. Fine with me. I'm island hopping!

Hopefully Gabriel cooperates with the vision of relaxed beach bumming I have in mind. Or we could just boil in the sand under our shade tent, crying and sweating together. We'll let you know how it goes.

Guess what? This is totally off the topic, but I've made friends! Bad friends! I've made friends with the 16 year old smoker girls who hang out behind the church down the street. I met them on a walk one day and then took them some chocolate chip cookies. That's when I interrupted them secretly smoking! (tobacco, folks) I was like, oops, sorry! quickly dropped off the bag of cookies and ran back home. Ever since then, we've been pretty friendly. They love Gabe and whenever I take him out in the evening they come out and check out the baby. Last night they even stopped by the house for a visit. We invited them in and there was a lot of awkward silence. They speak no English. Joe and I no Japanese. They are 16 (I think they lied and are 15). I'm 32. They smoke. I don't. I wondered if their parents would kill me if they knew I invited their children inside my (a stranger's) house. Hey, I took them in off the rough and tumble streets of Yomitan, right? Anyway, we all hung out and watched Gabe do his tricks on the floor until I told them I had to give him a bath. So, it was...interesting.

Okay, off to watch School of Rock. Have a good weekend!

Hidden Camera on What Japanese People Talk About

2008-08-26T21:48:00.001+09:00

Hiro's Coffee Farm

2008-08-25T08:18:00.009+09:00

I'm back on caffeine. Well, I've been back on caffeine, but now I am actively searching it out and dragging along Joe and Gabe in pursuit of my addiction. About two weeks ago we went to a place called "Good Company", a shop where they roast the beans up for you fresh while you wait. Not a couple days later, I heard about Hiro's Coffee Farm, a place way up in the northern countryside of the island where this guy, Hiro, lives with his family and grows beans the way he learned to on his uncle's farm in Hawaii. He's got a little coffee shop there on the farm and chickens and everything. When my friend told me that Hiro actually gave him a coffee plant, that was it. We were there.

It took a couple of hours to get up to his farm, driving on the expressway, through the mountains and up the coast. Gabe was cool and snoozing in the back. We passed scenery like this:

And this: (my artsy shot)

and took the obligatory self-portrait with own hands shot.

Actually, all that was on the way back, so I'm kind of lying. But, still, it was part of the trip.

Finally we got to Hiro's.

We poked around for a bit. Hiro's consisted of a couple little open air shacks and a picnic table or two. Still though, it somehow managed to be a magical, otherworldly place. Maybe it was the windchimes. Or maybe it was something in the coffee. Anyway, peace and tranquility just kind of melted over me there. And Joe too. It's one of the few places he wasn't ready to bolt out of after emptying his glass. So they must be doing something right.

Here's one of the chickens that was strutting around.

Here's Hiro:

Here's his coffee. (Note how you get a whole pot! There's a potwarmer by each table so your coffee stays hot. Love that.) He has 1000 trees on his farm, which has been there for about 20 years. He roasts it right there too, so the whole place smelled umm ummm good.

Here's the inside of one of the little coffee shanties. Check out the floor covered in coffee beans. Paradise....

And here is the Garcia family happily awaiting our brews. Gabe just wants to go out and play with the chickens.

After we drank our coffee, I wandered around and took pictures, watched Hiros son at the roasting machine, and wrote a little something in the guestbook. Meanwhile, Gabe and Joe stretched out under the shade of a tree and caught a cool breeze. This is Hiro's daughter and granddaughter. They were so sweet with Gabe and let him join in on their game of ball.

Here's the stretching out bit:

I have so much admiration for people who, out of little more than sheer creativity, can create these special little pockets of beauty that make the world just a little bit better. Thank God for them. Hiro and his family and their little oasis gave our family the gift of a sweet little Sunday.

Push-Ups, Jinbai, and the First Supper

2008-08-19T19:28:00.012+09:00

More Push-Ups by Gabe. I've got him doing 10 per day. Hopefully I'll have him up to 30 per day, by his first birthday. Still trying to get him to do some sit-ups.

Gabe and his Jinbei given to us by the lovely folks at Jakkepoes

Gabe trying to feed himself and Kelly showing some boobage.

"Me want to eat spoon!"

"Yummy!"

Daddy Getting in the Action.

A Taste of Okinawa

2008-08-14T08:40:00.002+09:00

Tonight after dinner I took Gabe out for an evening stroll. Usually we walk in the morning, but now with the heat being so intense, I’ve changed up my routine. As it turns out it’s much better now. During the day it’s pretty quiet. But in the evening it’s all action. The neighborhood is alive.

Tonight we left pretty late. It was about 7:30 and getting dark, but I wanted to take Gabe out to my favorite spot, a little lookout point where you can see all the way past Kadena and down to those two red, white and blue towers that look like rocket pops. In the evening it’s really lovely, with the twinkling city lights and all. So, off we went, walking our way through the tiny little alleys. Those huge fruit bats were swooping around. I’m sure Gabe was like, what the hell mom?…It’s dark, there are big-ass bats out everywhere. But hey, I’m exposing him to Japanese culture – enriching his young life. So he can’t complain.

We passed the church, hung a right down a small lane, bid “konbanwa” to a couple of kids biking by in baseball uniforms, and then passed a house with several cars out in front. Hmmm…something was happening. I looked into the window of another house and saw a large-ish family gathered together in their tatami room. Behind them was their family shrine with what looked like food in front of it. That’s when I remembered that today was the first day of Obon, holiday in which families pay respect to their dead ancestors and welcome them for a three day visit from the spirit world.

Since it’s so hot out, practically everyone keeps their windows open and because of the dark you can see right inside everyone’s homes. You can hear everything inside too. Pots clanging, fans whirring, people chatting. Okay, so this is probably terrible, but I was totally slowing as I walked by people’s windows and peeking (staring) inside. I’ve read about Obon, sure, but what really happened? What was going on in these houses, down the street from mine, but a world apart? Houses where people sat on pillows on the floor at their low tables and pictures of ancestors hung at an angle from the wall. Where rice cookers and pineapples sat on kitchen counters and little kids chatted comfortably with their grandparents. Or maybe great-grandparents?

Gabe and I kept on walking and I kept trying to play cool as I peeped into people’s homes to find Obon evidence. In some houses there were family gatherings. In some, nothing. (Usually, the eldest son has the family shrine in his home, so during Obon the family members come together at his house to pay their respects.) A few homes had electric candles at the foot of the front door or real candles lit inside and food set out. Here and there I caught whiffs of incense. Not as much doing as I thought I might see, more just a feeling. A feeling of preparation and family. Kind of like the day before Thanksgiving.

So, we just walked around and took in the neighborhood and before you know it we found ourselves back on our street. It was dark and time to head back inside. I walked the stroller up the steps and through the gate, opened the front door and a blast of air-conditioned air hit me. Joe was sitting at the computer. The Olympics was on TV. And just like that, Japan was gone and I was back in the U.S. again.

Gabe the Gymnast

2008-08-13T10:46:00.003+09:00

Lately Gabriel seems to be taking a liking to gymnastics. (Maybe we've been watching a little too much Olympics?)

Surprisingly, Joe is cool with that. He says gymnastics will help him in his mixed martial arts career.

And just so you don't think it's all work and no play around here. Some smiles...

Gabe Featured on our Local Pancake House Blog

2008-08-12T10:36:00.009+09:00

Here's Gabe at our favorite (and only) Pancake Restaurant:

Jakkepoes

Its translated from Google translator, so it sounds "weird".

This place is one of the contributing factors on why Gabe was (and is) such a large baby. Kelly has done a fine job keeping these guys in business by eating there multiple times a week.

Just doing our part of keeping the local small businesses thriving.

Good Morning

2008-08-06T18:30:00.000+09:00

Sometimes I'm really happy to be in Okinawa. Sometimes I'm not. But today I am. It's 8:45am and Gabe and I are already back from a children's birthday party. Which probably doesn't sound so fun and exciting, especially being that it began at 6:30am. But it was at the beach. And 6:30am at the the beach, at least this beach, it was all shady and cool. And no sunscreen was needed. And kids were playing in the water, grass and sand. And the woman, Shyla, who gave the party took guitar lessons especially for that day, so she could sing Happy Birthday to her son. And it was a sweet and tender moment. So, maybe it's not really being in Okinawa that's making me feel happy today, but moments like these that could happen anywhere.

Here are some pics of Gabriel with his friend, Liam. I guess Gabe has no idea yet that Liam is his friend. But, anyway, here they are:

More New Mexico

2008-08-06T18:05:00.010+09:00

Joe, Gabe, Tio Dom and Cousin Xochilt

Tia Erika and Prima Xochilt

Joe, Kelly, Grandma and Gabe

"You Looking At Me Sucka."

Grandma and Gabe

So Happy Together

"HIIIYAAHHHH"

Xochilt Karate Chopping Gabe

Gabe Updates

2008-07-31T17:14:00.010+09:00

Gabe has been a very busy 4 month old.

He started doing Push-Ups:

Sit-Ups:

Sit-Ups w/ Big Toe Sucking:

and Teeth-Ups (Those little white nubs are actually teeth):

Joe

New Mexico! Onward!

2008-07-29T16:51:00.002+09:00

So, after a week in lovely North Carolina, we set out to the Southwest. New Mexico. We started out our stay there with a little roadtrip -- me, Joe, Gabe, and Joe's mom. We headed for the south and saw some pretty dramatic scenery. Here's some of it:

This was taken at the site of some ancient lava flows. I don't remember the name of it, but I'm sure Joe will fill me in.

While we waited for the public library to open in Alamogordo to use the internet, we took a drive up the mountainside. I saw my first real live roadrunner there. Unfortantely it's not captured on film. Think a much smaller version of the cartoon.

We took a drive through White Sands National Park. The sand dunes were pretty spectacular. I've gotta say, New Mexico's natural treasures are quite impressive.

We made an effort to climb up one of the little dunes on the side of the road. Gabriel was NOT having it. This little photo op you are seeing right here took a lot of effort, folks. So I hope y'all appreciate it.

Chun Ae's about to fall down the dune. She's a good sport.

Yeah! We made it. Now let's get the !%&TGDUQYU@&!! back in the car.

Tasha's Wedding III

2008-07-22T10:03:00.007+09:00

A little rain shower cooled the air and by the time of the wedding, the weather was clear and the light was perfect, making for a gorgeous little ceremony. We all waited at the top of a little hill for the bride to arrive. Teresa and her dad's violin music floated through the air. We waited a little more. Teresa and Mr. Skrypczk played a little more. Hmmm... Where was Tasha? Ahh... there she is. Girl's gotta make an entrance. Tasha's dad zips her up to the ceremony in the bridal golf cart, drops off his daughter and continues on his way past the wedding gathering. Where was he going? A little more waiting, while Mr. Henderson flips a U-ey, and then the ceremony could begin. It was beautiful. The bride was radiant and Thorsten handsome and standing up there I saw such love in their eyes. I love a good wedding!

I wish I had pictures of the after reception party, when we tore up Tasha and Thorsten's room, per German tradition - fingerpainting their mirrors, leaving alarm clocks in their drawers, plastic bugs in every knook and cranny, and much much more. But I'll leave the chaos to y'alls imagination.

Anyway, congratulations Tasha and Thorsten! We love ya.

Oh Tasha!

There they are!

Love this pic.

Smooches!

The happy couple!

Kelly gets two escorts. Nice!

The girls prepare for paparazzi time.

Awww...snuggles.

The proud papa!

Tasha's Wedding Part II

2008-07-17T08:58:00.004+09:00

Friday was wedding day for Tasha and Thorsten. Time to beautify. But first a trip to Starbucks.

Of course, we've got to get those fingers ready for ring wearing...

And how about that hair!

Amanda treated us to chocolate covered strawberries to ease the pre-wedding jitters. Did it do the trick, Tasha?

We apply makeup.

And make table numbers.

We are down to the wire, with last minute dress adjustments and a plastic cup of champagne or two.

Ah! Beautifaction complete. Now it's time for business!

Tasha's Wedding Part I

2008-07-16T07:51:00.003+09:00

So, a few days into our trip, we headed north to Stafford, VA to help our friends Tasha and Thorsten celebrate their marriage. Thorsten is from Germany, so the day before, instead of a rehearsal dinner, we celebrated "Polterabend", a German custom in which guests bring their old china, smash it to the ground, and watch as the bride and groom to be sweep up the pieces together in a symbol of all the hard work that they will have to face as a team in their marriage...or something like that.

The smashing was fun, I must say, and so was watching Thorsten's buddies dump the carefully swept up pottery shards to the ground again and again and again, so that their cleaning task went on all night long.

Home Sweet Home

2008-07-15T09:02:00.005+09:00

So, I've been home now for one full day. It's good to be home. Although, since I've been home the following things have happened: my car battery died. The TV broke. (fixed now, thank goodness). My car radio is busted. Poor Gabriel has been dealing w/ his jetlag, which seems much worse coming back here than going to the States. And he's certainly exercised his lungs since being home. Luckily, he did well on the plane, and the big tub of earplugs Joe bought for our airplane mates went unused.

Now we're just trying to get back into a routine, and I'm just praying that our three weeks of jetsetting didn't cause permanent damage to his little baby development! Well, he can't complain too much, 'cause whatever disruption he had to his routine, should be more than offset by the outpouring of love that that he received on this trip. Grandparents, friends, aunts, uncles and cousins. Flight attendants. Old Japanese ladies in restrooms. Old American ladies in nursing homes. That little guy got showered with affection. He's probably missing it all now, stuck at home w/ mom...and broken TV, car, and radio!

Well, I've got loads of pictures and will put them up here in installments since I can only write during naptimes and I here the young 'un rousing.

Let the parade of Gabe Love begin:

Mom, Gabe, Dylan and McKenna

My sister and G-man

Greatgrandma and Gabriel

Here's the whole Race family

Daddy's Day and More...

2008-06-16T11:42:00.007+09:00

So, in the spirit of Father's Day, I thought I'd post a few shots here of Gabe and Dad, bonding together in front of the computer.

Gabe's been doing all kinds of nifty stuff over the last few weeks, including:

FLIPPING! from his back to his belly. And his belly to his back.
Grabbing everything in sight and then putting it in his mouth...including innocent bystander's fingers.
Peeing in mommy's hair.
More and more babbling.
Sleeping through the night...hoorah!
Getting eczema (or however you spell it).

Oh, and he's had his first non-relative babysitter, Mary Beth, while mommy went to a meeting for a children's book I'm working on and which I hope to fill you in on a little more in the near future. In the meantime, here's Gabe and Mary Beth:

Let's see. What else? Well, I have been dying to show off these cute pics for awhile now. They are a few weeks old.

I dare you to say you've seen a cuter baby butt than that! Now really.

More pics are on their way up here, but I'm gettin' hungry, so until next time...

xxooo

Gabriel Goes Camping

2008-05-27T08:43:00.002+09:00

We decided to go camping this weekend. We went to the beach on the northernmost tip of the island, called Hedo Point. Our friends Kay and Chad joined us. Kiyomasa, Nana and their baby, Nobu also met us up there but didn't spend the night. We got our little camp set up and Chad and Joe immediately hopped in the water to go spear fishing. The rest of us chilled out in our little shade tent. And it soon got hot. Veerrryyy hot. I felt so bad for my little one and made a little icepack for his back to cool him off. Nobu didn't seem to be too bothered by the heat. I wish I had a picture of him. He's just a few months older than Gabe and all hair and chubbiness. If Kiyo and Nana send us some photos, I'll post them up here. Meanwhile, here's some images of our adventure. In the evening, by the way, it was much more pleasant. Chad and Joe caught a bunch of lobster. And the next day, we changed our camp location to a shady beach under a bridge, of all places. Kay and I snorkeled and found a really cool shipwreck not far from shore. We saw some enormous lionfish, a bunch of puffers and all kinds of other stuff. Chad and Joe then went out and came back with another lobster and about 3 other fish. We cooked them up the next day and Joe made a delicious lobster bisque.

Okay, here are those pictures.

Gabe prepares for his first "swim".

And...he doesn't like it.

Kay tossing a horseshoe.

Joe and Chad watch from the sidelines before getting in on the horseshoe action.

Check out the concentration there.

More pictures to come...

More pics from last week (Gabe Week 7)

2008-05-23T22:22:00.003+09:00

These were taken by Aviva last week at Kaho's house. Cool, huh? I love the last one of Gabe with his little buddies! That's Liam on the left, then Gabe, then Yuenna. Yuenna is moving with her mom, Kaho and fam. to DC soon.

Pictures from Last Week

2008-05-23T21:57:00.004+09:00

Meredith took these pics last week. He's already grown up so much since then. He had his first shots and rolled over three times! Tomorrow we're going camping in our new used van, so we'll put more pictures up here for ya soon.

Stroller Strides and Container Gardens

2008-05-19T09:45:00.004+09:00

It's been awhile since writing. My mornings have actually been busy since starting Stroller Strides a week ago. It's kind of a "mommy and me" workout program, where you are doing ladder runs, squats, crunches and the like while hanging onto your stroller and singing nursery rhymes. It's a surprisingly good workout, plus I get to re-learn childrens songs that I haven't heard for a good 25 years ("the bear goes over the mountain", et al). I also get to eye other peoples stollers and develop a covetousness that I didn't know existed a mere three or for months ago. There are double decker strollers, side-by-side strollers, strollers in which the kids sit high up on their seat like a mack truck driver. Plus all manner of toys hanging from the strollers. My stroller is the sole non-jogging stroller in the group. Gabe just sits in his little carseat which I then plop in a stroller frame. He sits facing me and has an exciting view of mommy's flabby abdomen, while all the other kids get to face outwards watching the world go by. Not that Gabe minds. He's asleep the whole time. That carseat is like a baby sleeping pill for him.

This weekend we went on a little family expedition to get some gardening pots. Joe and I saw this guy on the news who gets all of his family's food from his yard. Everything in it is edible. So we were inspired and decided to start ourselves a little container garden. The first step was to get containers. We packed up the baby in the car and headed north about an hour to this place that sells pots from Thailand. There were pots of every size. Then to one side was a gorgeous little garden, and in the garden a pond dotted with clay pots in various levels of submergence. These were filled with water lilies and lotus flowers. I was even more inspired, despite my poor gardening history. The last time I started a gardening project I was probably 12 years old. I hoed up the back yard and ... that's about as far as I got. I grew some pretty impressive weeds though. But anyway this is a new dawn, a new day. I'm an adult now. A mom. I can do this! I think.

We chose three pots and a clay fish for a mere $35. On for vegetables. One for decorative plants and one for a little water garden. Here they are:

The fishy

Our pretty pots

A before shot of our little garden. Wish us luck!

Crocodile Tears

2008-05-08T21:37:00.003+09:00

Today the baby was very VERY clingy. Mommy, don't put me down clingy. Mommy, if you put me down I will cry and cry and cry crocodile tears clingy. So, I held him tight and hugged him and the tears would stop. And part of me would feel kind of good that I held such powers. And I'd look down at him amazed that this little guy was my little guy. So, it really wasn't all that bad.

Gabe Cheese

2008-05-05T21:27:00.001+09:00

more gabe pics

2008-04-30T10:07:00.004+09:00

Here are just some random Gabe shots from last week. He's growing up!

Here's Gabe with Kamiko-san, our mama-san.

Look, he's almost as tall as Kamiko-san!

A Lovely Weekend

2008-04-30T09:26:00.005+09:00

It's been a nice, nice, nice couple of days. Weatherwise and also just general well being. Gabe has had three nights in a row of long and lovely sleeps, only waking up once. And thus, mommy, daddy and baby have all been feeling mighty darn good.

This past weekend, in fact, we made it out and about for a mini adventure. The quest? Go find Koi Noburi, these really nifty koi fish shaped kites that are flown at this time of the year to celebrate Boys Day, and take pictures of them. In some cases they are flown en masse and create a really stunning image. Here are some about 15 minutes from our house.

We went on a long drive up to Motobu as well, where Joe thought there would be another fine spectacle of Koi Noburi. Oops, all we found was this measely little string. Still, they are pretty, and we had one of the really great drives that you can have here on a sunny Sunday in Okinawa.

But we needn't have traveled so far to see the Koi. We've got our own flying right in front of our house. They were a gift from Joe's co-worker. I just think it's fantabulous. What's the symbolism? The top fish is the daddy of the family, the red one is the mommy and the little one on the bottom is the little boy. If you family has more than one son, you add another fishy. Daughters, sorry, no fish for you. (You get dolls for girld day though, so don't feel too left out.) Anyway, take a gander!

TMI

2008-04-30T09:23:00.002+09:00

Okay, moved my last post away from the gorgeous pictures to this separate Too Much Information post. But it's the same as before. Probably shouldn't have written it at all (according to Joe), but I'm just documenting reality. So I'll keep it here, just don't read it if you don't like reading about strange incidents w/ my mammories.

***

Something strange happened today. I was feeding Gabe when all of the sudden my boob went beserk and turned into a milk-spraying fountain. It was just spurting uncontrollably out of me and arching into the air, like when you watch Saturday Night Live and they have a fake blood gush scene. Needless to say, Gabe couldn't handle it and I had to run to the trashcan so I wouldn't douse the whole room with my lactation.

Gabe and his zits

2008-04-26T22:18:00.005+09:00

I stopped by my friend's house a few days ago where we were treated to an impromptu photo shoot. So here are some new shots of my little lovely.

Gabriel Mateo...Race?

2008-04-19T11:20:00.003+09:00

For all of you that insist that Gabe takes after Joe, here's a little something to chew on:

My sister, Kimberly Race Verdi, two days old

My son, Gabriel a few hours old

He takes after my sister! Take that!

Thirty Days Thirty Nights

2008-04-18T09:20:00.003+09:00

Gabriel is...let's see. He's 30 days old today. Thirty days! I predict that I'm gonna be one of those moms who's like "The time goes by so quickly. Cherish these moments!" He's getting longer, heavier, louder, and more alert. He spends more time staring at himself in the mirror, or staring at some random point in space. And like his mommy, he spends about thirty minutes stretching himself awake, only his wakeup stretches are accompanied by snorts and grunts. I don't think mine are. Well, maybe grunts.

This week has been a week of getting into the groove. Joe went back to work this week. My parents are gone. During the daytime it's just me and the boy. So far we've: eaten, slept, taken a long walk, done errands on base, eaten pancakes (surprise), gone to the garlic restaurant, and had a guest over for dinner, and eaten and slept some more. Exciting stuff. As you can see there is a lot of eating involved. Last night I even made lasagna. I was pretty proud of myself for that one. Part of me really wants to flourish into this domestic goddess role, now that I have the baby and all.

That part of me wants to give up drinking caffeine. That part of me wants to vacuum my house everday. To finish writing thank you notes. To write regularly on this blog. To quit watching TV. To make bentos for my husband.

The other part of me just drank a cup of caffeinated coffee, even though I know it'll probably keep Gabriel up tonight (and I'll be tired in the morning and want coffee even more...the vicious cycle!). It's surfing the web for adventures to go on this weekend. Is there a festival? A market? A concert to go to? (Ohhh! Salsa night? Are babies invited?!) It's plotting out a daytrip to Naha with my son...screw showering, vacuuming, thank you note-writing, and this goshdarn blog writing.

Gabriel is a month old! It's time he sees the world!

Pancake House Visit!

2008-04-12T10:20:00.003+09:00

Joe and I have been regulars at our local pancake house since it opened in January. The place is amazing with the most beautiful and satisfying pancake confections ever. So, they must have been concerned when I didn't make an appearance there for over three weeks! (Egads!) Yesterday, Joe and I returned bringing our own little flapjack with us. It was a beautiful reunion with smiles and hugs and oohs and ahhs over our new addition to the family. And then they gave us this!

It's just the sweetest and cutest little baby gift, I think. It's a little Japanese boy kimono - "Jinbei" along with the "geta" (the wooden sandels) and "kabuto" the hat. I mean, come on, how amazing is that? Gabe loved it. Just look how excited he is in the pictures they took and put on their website

Week Three

2008-04-11T09:59:00.007+09:00

So, I realize that looking at pictures of other people's babies is not #1 in the excitement department. But do you think a little thing like that's gonna stop me from pasting my little precious all over this here blog? Here's Gabriel in his third week. It was really busy:

He cried again. For some reason I love baby crying pictures...

He said goodbye to grandma and grandpa. Look how sad he is.

He tried out different hairstyles. This is his Pointdexter look or is it turn-of- the-century Texas saloon owner?

He tried out a bottle this past week for the first time. Note the suspicious gleem in his eyes.

He also got some exercise. Here he is during some tummytime. He's building some bulk. Shoulders, back, neck. He's started doing a little swimming in place action that is pretty impressive!

My parents left on Wednesday after a two week visit. It was a sad departure with tears shed. Gabriel was fussy all day afterwards and missed his grandma and grandpa. Joe and I have been subsisting on moms pot roast for the past two days. Now it's gone and sadly...I have to cook again. But I'm postponing that fact with a trip to the pancake house today. Hopefully it will provide me with enough nutrients to throw something together for dinner.

I've begun the post baby Kelly self-improvement plan. It started while mom was still here with a trip to Cocok's to have our nails did. And as usual, Cocok's did a fine job. I wish I could go there every day. Then I FINALLY got my haircut at my favorite local hair salon, Tarm Powder. As usual, Takako, the owner and sole hair cutter there did a fab job as well. She speaks as much English as I do Japanese, which is maybe 10 words. We do great with that, somehow, and chat for about an hour and a half. Anyway, I got a bob, for lack of imagination. I'll have to post a picture at some point. Then yesterday, I got my hair colored, well the roots done.

THAT did not go so well, unfortunately. The lady, not my normal woman, turned my roots orange. That wasn't what I had in mind. But what could I do? She was a nice lady. A really nice lady. We had just been chit-chatting like buddies for over an hour. How could I tell her that her work sucked? That she had ruined Takako's beautiful hair design? That my self improvement plan had been put on hold? Well, I couldn't. So I'll just go around hoping nobody notices.

The Boy

2008-04-07T15:19:00.002+09:00

My boy's got an attitude!

And his mama's love handles...

(thanks meredith for the pics!)

Week Three

2008-04-06T13:35:00.003+09:00

Sitting here on the floor between feedings. It's Sunday morning and we're recovering from last night. Gabriel's lungs have developed - so that now when he has an opinion about something...and it seems he's becoming more and more opinionated, he expresses it in a full blown, red-faced, raging screech.

Last night he had lots of those screeches.

This morning though he is sleeping like a baby, arms sprawled out and limp. It must be grandma's magic touch!

This week we took Gabe for his 2-week well visit. He did a great job, pooping and peeing on the nurse and showing off a healthy weight of 10 lb 14 ounces. Good job Gabe!

We also took a couple of excursions this week. We were quite adventurous and went to the aquarium, along with every other child in Japan, apparently. It's vacation time for Japanese kids and it was packed. Oops. Gabe was looking around wide-eyed like what the hell is going on here! I, in the meantime, was feeling like all the Japanese old women were looking at me and thinkin what a bad mommy I was for taking my baby out amongst all these people. (From what I'm told Japanese babies usually stay at home for the first 1-2 months). But anyway, at least is was nice to get out of the house...even when we got to the car and found out the battery was dead!

Grandma and Grandpa leave this week. I am NOT looking forward to their departure. It's been so very very nice to have them around here keeping us company, being warm and loving to their grandson, doing all kinds of nice things around the house. And now, soon, real life will begin.

And the baby is crying and his face is reddening and it's time for me to go...

Gabe is a Week and Three Days Old

2008-03-30T13:38:00.004+09:00

Here are some things we've learned about Gabe:

1) Sometimes Gabe is very happy...

2) And sometimes he's not.

3) Sometimes Gabe likes to look like a Pirate. This is his "one eyed Jack" look...

4) And sometimes he just likes to look cute.

5) Gabriel likes to hang out with Grandma

6) And Grandpa!

7) Sometimes he just likes to hang out with the fish...(of course)

And sometimes Gabe is just hungry. Like now.

The Birth of Gabriel Mateo Garcia

2008-03-25T10:02:00.019+09:00

So, as you know little Gabe Mateo Garcia was born last Thursday, March 20th -- a week past the due date. He was worth the wait. Just look at him!

I got a lot of suggestions as to how to induce the labor, from spicy foods, to walking, to well...other things. And the "other things" seemed to do the trick and I started having contractions early Wednesday morning at about 1 am or so. They kept on strengthening throughout the night but were kind of all over the place as far as length and intervals went, so I wasn't quite sure what to do. Do I go to the hospital now? Do I keep hanging out around the house? By about 7am the pain was enough for me to wake Joe up and let him know it was time to get ready to go. At least I'd feel like I was doing something. Here's a picture of me as we head out the door posing like this picture of my mom, who was heading out the door to have me 30+ years previous. And another "last couple shot" of me and Joe. I almost collapsed after the camera snapped.

We got to the hospital and they said I'd only dialated 2cm. That's it?! Are you kidding me? I still had 2 more to go before I would be considered to be in "active labor". They suggested I walk around the hospital for awhile and check back in after 2 hours to see how I progressed. It took us two hours to make 2 laps around the hospital. I wondered what passersby were thinking as Joe and I shuffled along the sidewalk, stopping every few feet to cling to him for life until the contraction had passed. Here's a picture of me shuffling through the hospital. I was really pissed that Joe thought it was a good time to snap a photo. He told me I'd be grateful for it later on...

Finally we made it back to Labor and Delivery. They checked me out and told me I had dialated to 3 cm. Apparently this wasn't enough and they sent me home, where I spent much of the next 10 hours or so in the bathtub. I did manage to catch some of American Idol too, so I guess staying home was good for something. But by about 8pm or so I'd had enough. This pain had to be leading somewhere, so we headed back to the hospital.

I had dialated to 4cm, but they said I could still go home. Hells no. I told them to check me in. I wanted to feel like progress was being made, I guess. They told me to walk around some more though. We did. Then I came back and they hooked me up to an IV and a bunch of baby monitering stuff. I had requested intermitent monitering in my birthplan, meaning I could walk around and the staff would just check the vitals every now and then. But the navy corpsman (kind of a medical technician type) said no, I was attached to this stuff for good. By this time, I was too exhausted to care. I had him hook me up comforted somewhat by the promise that I'd get to use the birthing ball.

For some reason I was really eager to use the birthing ball - basically a big inflatable yoga ball. It just has always sounded cool to me and I thought that it would be the one tool I'd need help me have a natural childbirth (no meds). And it was, indeed, comfortable to sit on the thing. So comfortable, in fact, that I practically stopped having contractions. And that was the end of the birthing ball. And the beginning of the epidural.

It didn't take much convincing to get me to take it. Well, none at all. I was like bring it on. But after I got it, I wondered if I'd made the right decision. First of all, I started shaking uncontrollably. That was weird. Then they started doing all these things to me -- giving me a cathater, putting a moniter up in me and onto the baby's head, making me wear an oxygen mask etc. I couldn't feel my right leg at all and I was miserable. But at least I could sleep a little. Poor Joe had to sleep in the armchair at the end of the bed.

Morning time finally arrived and with it a new doctor, nurse and corpsman. The nurse was the main person who was taking care of me. She was great. She seemed to really know what she was doing, was down to earth AND was a fellow Carolina alum. We compared notes on different places on Franklin Street. By about 8am she told me it was finally time to push. She grabbed one leg, Joe grabbed another and the real action began.

I pushed and I pushed and I pushed. I even accepted the offer to check out the "fruits of my labor" in the mirror. The nurse kept telling me she could see the head. I couldn't...and then I could! My little man's head was emerging. And I kept pushing and pushing and my epidural was wearing off and when it did, boy I really pushed. I threw up and pushed some more. Finally the doctor made an appearance. Joe was still holding on by my side. He was really good. I didn't feel the urge to yell at him about how he put me into this situation or anything. His encouragement was helping me.

When the doctor arrived on the scene, things really started changing. She was doing something down there (they had taken the mirror away at this point), something painful and something good, 'cause I started to feel the baby making his way into the world. (Joe later told me it looked like she was ripping my vagina open like a bag of Doritos...nice) And then the doc, the nurse, and Joe all started shouting "push, push, push, push!!!!" really fast and boy I did. And I started making some crazy "caveman sounds" according to Joe and crying and then...all at once he was out! Just like that. I was crying and they put him on my chest to hold real quick before whisking off to be cleaned and prepped and whatever they do and Joe cut his cord and I watched from my bed. And they gave him back to me for his first feeding.

Joe and Gabe and I spent the next two days in the hospital. Gabe slept in the room with us in his little bassinette and Joe slept in this really uncomfortable looking convertible armchair. Gabe and I learned how to nurse. Joe took care of diaper and swaddling duties.

And then, we went home! So here we are and have been for the last week which, between being teathered to Gabriel by my breast, doing laundry and catching up on sleep, is how long it's taken me to write this post. Hopefully I'll be able to update the site more often though. At least with pics of our boy 'cause he's pretty darn cute and who wouldn't want to see weekly updates of that little choochie face?!

Love and miss y'all at home.

xxoo Kelly

Tick tick tick...

2008-03-09T21:09:00.004+09:00

Today Joe was super-duper productive. Cradle crafting. Shelf putting together-ing. Dinner cooking. What a good man. I on the other hand indulged in a little napping and book-reading. (Three Cups of Tea...so far, so good. Makes me want to travel in remote areas of the world and be a do-gooder.) After Joe's fine dinner, I got a little bug in me that said "maybe I'll have the baby tonight", so we took a walk and I made Joe take these pictures:

Joe the Eyebrowless

2008-02-24T16:57:00.003+09:00

So, Joe decided to get a haircut. He also decided to allow the hairdresser to "trim" his eyebrows.

Oops...she slipped! And cut off half of it.

Then she decided to tackle the other side to "even it out"..

Now Joe likes to wiggle his eyebrows seductively at me and watch me squirm.

2008-02-24T16:46:00.004+09:00

So, only about three more weeks until the little man arrives. In the meantime, you can check out my belly (and Joe's) here.

Fashion!

2008-01-21T11:58:00.000+09:00

These pics are a little old. We had some friends over for Thanksgiving and their twin girls worked it in a little fashion show. There was music. Flashing flashlights. And two outfit changes. I think they've got a future...

"Backstage"

Carolina rocks the "Italian widow" look

Victoria the bohemian

Victoria as stylin' granny

Carolina brings together cultures in her ecclectic look

Joe's Stinky Fish

2008-01-21T11:38:00.001+09:00

Joe went spearfishing the other night. Here are some of the funky things he caught:

Click a closeup on this one. I don't know what it is, but it's purdy.

Joe's been hunting for this little beauty for a long time now. It was like his Moby Dick. Finally he got it though. Check out the dripping slime. Umm...tasty.

This is a cuttlefish. Joe said they had quite a fight after spearing it and was blinded by its ink. Pretty soon it'll be fried up in tempura. We gave it to some Japanese friends who can figure out how to make that happen.

Just in case you haven't seen

2008-01-19T23:22:00.000+09:00

Here's a video of the baby from a couple of weeks ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg3jjrOX6og We actually went back for another ultrasound today, but couldn't see anything. He was hiding his face behind his arms, and legs too. (He was so flexible it made me nervous.) I felt a little like I was invading his privacy. I just want to see him in real life instead.

The Year of the Rat

2008-01-19T22:31:00.000+09:00

It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new year.

2008. The year of the rat. Or is it the mouse? My Japanese friends keep saying mouse, and that does, I admit, have much cuter, more appealing ring.

But I think it's the rat. And my son will be a rat. It's his year. According to Wikipedia, the rat person is clever, cunning, highly organized, a natural leader. In short, the complete opposite of me.

***

A couple of days after New Years, I decided to visit a couple local temples to check out the New Year's scene. The first one was the Futenma Shrine, near Camp Foster. The place was packed. I video-taped the pandemonium, but I don't think it really did the experience justice. Actually there wasn't much to do there, or really all that much to see. But still, being amongst all those people and participating in their cultural tradition, I got that wave of feeling "in it", that "I'm smack dab in the middle of a learning experience" rush which strikes me every now and then when I'm in a foreign country...or on vacation. And which I LOVE. So I'm so glad that I decided to get my butt off the couch and go, and that I had baby in belly so that I could live that with him. I picked up a couple of temple souvenirs for the baby room - a good luck rat arrow and a carved cedar rat - to remember the experience, and for luck of course.

***

Last night, we had another great moment of living in Japan. We being me, Joe, Kay, her boyfriend Chad, and little G in utero. We were at a bar actually, well, a yakitori house right here in our lovely little village of Yomitan. I love this town. Love it. Anyway, we sat at the bar on stools made of tree trunks and proceeded to meet practically everyone in the joint. First, this man who to me looked like a Japanese Floyd Mayweather, who was drunk off his booty and who I thought could well be homeless or a fisherman living on his boat or something, but who turned out to be a baker, who walked to his bakery and brought us back two plastic grocery bags stuffed full with his cookies and who offered to give us Okinawan cookie baking lessons. Baking lessons! Yes. Yes. Yes. I'm in.

Funny, meeting people in a foreign country local bar. People are so open and friendly and when you are sober, as I was, you often start out with suspicion or just lack of enthusiasm. Like, "Am I gonna be stuck with this fellow all night 'practicing my English'". I mean it's really pretty selfish, 'cause there always ends up being a story.

Another guy we met there was this businessman originally from Tokyo, just off from work, still dressed in suit and tie. He didn't look Okinawan, what with the suit and it turns out he runs this big sweet potato product tourist place down the road. And he likes to "playfully" punch people on the arm. And to practice his English. For example he looked at my glass and asked,"Why are you drinking water?" Joe let the him know that I was pregnant, to which the man replied, "Oooohhhh.....I...thought...she just fat!....haa...haa..haaa!..." And added, "I was going to....recommend....walking..."

Pretty good stuff, huh. I mean, now there's a conversation you just can't take away from us.

Okay, I'm off. Time to go for a walk...

Or eat some Okinawan cookies.

GOTTESWEIBCHEN shout out!

2007-11-17T09:34:00.000+09:00

This is to all my G's (Joe suggested that abbreviation...'cause "it sounds Gangsta") Just wanted give y'all a shoutout on your girls weekend! Wish so much that I could be there. But, I have important things to do. Like sit by my scrapbook with a box of tissues, with Come on Eileen playing mournfully in the background.

Let's try to webcam it tomorrow. BA, when are you done with your school stuff tomorrow? I'll try givin' y'all a call your Sat night.

-k

ps Don't drink too much apple juice

2007-11-16T17:28:00.000+09:00

Ma and Pa Race Visit Okinawa

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And here are a couple more!

2007-11-12T10:30:00.000+09:00

Ask and you shall receive

2007-11-12T09:53:00.000+09:00

You asked for baby bump pictures, you got baby bump pictures. These were taken by my badass friend, Meredith. She just signed on to be photographer numero uno for The Studio, this crazy popular photography studio here on the island. So when she asked me and another friend if we'd like to join her on a practice photo shoot to try out some ideas, what else could we say but, but "hell yeah".

Here are some of the pictures taken off Gate 2 Street near Kadena Air Base. The bump's not too visible yet, but I thought they were pretty cool.

Baby Time

2007-11-10T16:59:00.000+09:00

I've been soaking up the baby knowledge this week. What to expect. What to buy. What (not) to worry about. What (to) worry about. And I'm realizing just how many moms I know. I'm joining a club! With about 9 months of initiation.

I like the club. It's full of good people. And I like hearing their stories. About the blessings of baby wipe warmers. The God-send that is colic pills, or "miracle blankets", pack and plays, belly bands, lactation specialists, and more and more. About the hell that is learning to nurse. About staying home with the baby or going back to work. About feeling the baby move for the first time. Everybody's got a story to share, folks with babies, folks without kids - I love them all.

Keep 'em coming. I must catalogue them all. Only 4 more months before I'll need to flip back through them and put them to use!

It's a Baby

2007-10-26T16:58:00.001+09:00

Here's the first view of our baby:

Here's my boys junk...

2007-10-02T17:43:00.000+09:00

The last day of Obon, a holiday which celebrates, with food, prayers, drinking, and eisa, the three-day long visit of the ancestors to earth from the spirit world. A couple of our Japanese friends, Yoshitomo, also affectionately known as "Bambo", and his brand new wife, Ruka, invited us out to see the best of the best Eisa teams. The Goya team and the Sondong team. These two teams, both hailing from the Goya and the Sondong neighborhoods of Okinawa City, supposedly represent "true" Eisa. Shirking off the forces of change like women drummers and new modern songs. Here's a video:

Wow! An update!

2007-09-11T21:51:00.000+09:00

It's about 10pm here and I just got finished teaching my class. It went a little long, but it was fun. I'm really enjoying these night classes. We sit in my dining room, drink coffee and juice, and just kind of shoot the breeze about Okinawa. In the beginning the lessons were more structured, like my college classes: a little grammar, a little vocab., etc. But in the past month, they've devolved, if you will, and to my benefit.

You see, each week now, my students basically spend about an hour answering all of my tiresome questions about Okinawa and Japan. So, while they are practicing they're English, I end up getting lots of free little culture lessons. (And Joe too, since he's usually hanging around somewhere.) Today, for example, I was asking about the ubiquitous Japanese "ooOOooohhh" used in response to almost any mildly interesting comment. To me, this is an expression you make when you are surprised, really interested, or hear something juicy. So, sometimes I'm in class and telling my students, I don't know, let's say I'm talking to them about my weekend, and I'll get a chorus of "oooOOOooohhs", and I'm thinking, "I must pretty good damn storyteller. They're loving this!" Well, no, apparantly, they're pretty much saying "uh huh". "Same sound, different meaning," they told me tonight, to which I replied, "oooOOOoooohhh".

Anyway, for some audio reinforcement of this "lesson", I clicked on "Iron Chef" on Youtube. Of course, I downloaded the only episode in Iron Chef history in which every other comment wasn't punctuated by an ohh here and an ahh there. Oh well. I did get to ask the question nags me every time I see the show though, which is, "Is the Iron Chef Master gay?" (I mean, he always wears that Liberace outfit after all, and the discriminating way he looks at that glass of wine...)

Well, my students actually laughed at me! "Nooo!" they said. "He's a very famous Japanese actor." (Oh, well then!)

"But, what about his clothes?" I asked.

"He's supposed to look like a prince of the Iron Chef Court." Who knew?

Also, it turns out that the Iron Chefs are in fact real chefs with real restaurants (I'd thought maybe they just cook for the show). And one of the judges, the old lady who's on all the time, is Okinawan. Muy interesante.

Well, here's a look in case you want to watch for yourself.

Also, I was looking for some other Japanese show so you could hear the ooohhhs I was talking about. Instead, I found this:

Funny. Why do I watch AFN?

All right, well that's my post class lowdown.

By the way, in case you are wondering, no I haven't learned 10 words a week. Although tonight I learned that "naruhodo" means, "I see!" or "Indeed!"

So there.

Adventure...less

2007-08-14T18:19:00.000+09:00

Hi ho. Kelly here. I'm posting just to post because, sadly, there's been somewhat of a dearth of adventure here. Would that I had fascinating tidbits of Japanialia for you daily. But oh not, not me, because my life nowadays follows this basic daily routine: wake up, plan lessons, go to work, listen to crappy Armed Forces Network radio shows, teach some classes, eat a granola bar, go to Starbucks, plan more classes, watch Oprah, eat leftovers, teach more classes, watch more TV, the end.

What is up with that?

What is up with me going to Starbuck's for goodness sake? Why not go somewhere where the menu is in Japanese? It's like I'm trying to be boring!

I've settled into a hum drum American life here. I've stopped trying to learn Japanese. I've stopped eating Japanese food. Something must change. I need to challenge myself. My goal then this week is to:

a) Not plan classes at Starbucks.
b) Instead plan at places I keep wanting to visit but keep putting off: Cafe Le Blanc, Cafe Kitchen (Yes. Realize they're not Okinawan, but at least not American coffee chain.)
c) Learn 2 or 3 new Japanese phrases which I will practice with students and report success of on blog.
d) Shop at local grocery store and/or produce market.
e) Exercise off base - jogging on village track. If have enough courage, join old people in morning exercises routine.

They are humble ambitions. But, hopefully, do-able. So...wish me luck.

-K

Okinawan Southern Islands

2007-07-30T07:44:00.000+09:00

Just a few pictures from our recent vacation to the southern islands of Okinawa. Iriomote, Ishigaki and Taketomi. To see the complete set of pic's click below:

Vacation Pic's

Kelly Getting Ready to Snorkel.

Waterfall from our hike.

Our Super Secret Snorkeling Spot

Typhoon Man Yi

2007-07-14T12:40:00.000+09:00

So, yesterday we went through QUITE a storm. With wind gusts of over 100 mph, it put all of last years typhoons to shame. Fortunately, Okinawa is built to handle these kinds of winds and our concrete home took Man-Yi in stride. So, while the winds were howling and at times I feared our front door might be ripped off its hinges, I managed to spend the entire day in comfort in front of the TV. My film list included: Swept Away (the Italian 1974 version), Il Postino, and to keep with the foreign film sweep, the entire 5 hour Pride and Prejudice mini series. (To Joe's credit he actually lasted all the way till Pride and Prejudice before complaining.)

Here's some pictures:

Sugar cane field behind our house

Our palm trees take a beating

Street in front of the house

The sugar cane fields got obliterated

Some serious wind

A Perfect Hour

2007-06-22T14:36:00.000+09:00

Living overseas, you're away from your friends and family. You miss out on family gatherings, holidays, the passage of seasons. The shoots of spring daffodils. The rusty hue of autumn. Weekend farmers markets, etc.

So, thank God for the perfect Okinawan dusk, which we witnessed here last night and which my picture taking skills don't do justice. (But which won't stop me from snapping away anyway.)

Nakamura House

2007-05-15T21:51:00.000+09:00

We've lived on Okinawa for a year and a half and I've driven by the Nakamura house a good dozen times. Heck, it's only 5 minutes from my work and we've never made the time to visit. Well, we finally got off our behinds and decided to see what all the fuss was about this old Okinawan landmark. When we first arrived on island, we actually meet a girl whose family lived in the Nakamura house back in the day.

There isn't a whole lot to see and you can tour the whole structure within 30 minutes. But it was cool to see how the "old" Okinawans lived and how a traditional house was set up. Anyhow, for more info here's a website:

http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~knaka/english/

Here's a few pictures of our visit:

Roof of the Nakamura House

Entry into the Nakamura House

Me and Kelly posing by her "most favorite" Shisa

Artsy Farsty Picture of a Pot

Building and old Well Pulley

Shisa Guarding the Entrance to the House

Roof of the House

Shisa on the Roof

Joe

Comprehensive Park

2007-05-13T11:48:00.001+09:00

We have a park here in Okinawa called Comprehensive Park. Despite the promise of a wide range of park activities that its name suggests, Joe and I have never felt compelled to visit. Until yesterday.

Why oh why did we wait a year and a half to visit this wonderful place? It's got a full-on water park, with slides and pools and a view of the ocean. (Unfortunately, according to the sign, the admittance of tattoed people is verboten. Sorry Joe!)
There are walking paths, a couple of running tracks, a weight room, and dance classes. There are ponds where you can buy boxes of fish food to toss into the mouths of the most desperate carp I have ever seen. (Feeding fish is, bar none, Joe's all-time favorite park activity. But seriously, the Japanese park carp are worse than pigeons in their frenzy for food. There were one or two of them yesterday that I thought were gonna jump out of the water and bite my hand off.)

There are tennis courts, camp grounds, a bicycle race track,and playgrounds. You can rent bicycles there. If you are feeling really ambitious, I suppose you could even ride a unicycle. I saw not one, not two, but THREE little kids teetering around (successfully!)on unicycles. Crazy.

I didn't see a cafe, nor a zoo. A few months ago, Joe and I met a man married to the designer of the park (he was an asssistant designer). Maybe we should complain to him. Nahhh...the place was awesome. Besides, in our couple hours there we didn't even see the whole thing. Who knows what else other kinds of excitement Comprehensive Park holds in store!

Advice?

2007-05-11T21:11:00.000+09:00

How do you keep a bird from roosting on your side-view mirror? The daily avalanches of poop on the mirror, window, and side of my car is becoming much...too...much.

(A mini scarecrow perhaps?)

Any advice is welcomed.

-Kelly

The Girl in the Cafe, a review

2007-05-05T17:51:00.000+09:00

I just saw this wonderful movie called, "The Girl in the Cafe". It's about a "dedicated civil servant" who meets a woman in a cafe and invites her to join him at the G8 conference in Iceland. And then you learn some stuff about global issues.

It sounds like an absolute snoozer. But, it's sweet and tender in the vein of Lost in Translation or Love Actually. And it stars Bill Nighy, the guy who played Love Actually's aging rocker.

So, just so you know for your next Netflix order/video store. (If you see it, let me know what you think!)

Ami's Place

2007-04-30T10:35:00.001+09:00

One of my favorite things to do in a foreign land is to ingratiate myself with local barmen and women. Call me a lush, but what better place way to gain a little insight to the local language and culture, than by consuming an alcoholic beverage or two and chatting up the poor captive bar staff? For me, the quality of food or beverage I'm paying for isn't of primary importance. What I appreciate is friendliness and hospitality. In fact, it's not beyond me to buy stuff I don't even like or need, just to get some good quality local folk time.

In Yomitan, there are just two places where I might consider myself to have earned the right to call myself a regular. One is actually a hair cutting joint called, "Tarm Powder". The other one is the bar. It's called www.sobeichuan.com
I love it!

Why do I love sobe.com? Because the people are just so freakin' friendly there! It's run by a young couple just moved from Tokyo. Their names are Ami and I remember their names because Ami left a note on the car windshield (after leaving it at the bar to take a cab home)thanking us for our visit and asking us to come again! Now, if that's not going above and beyond, I don't know what is. Ami also ordered me one of the Don't Worry Be Happy t-shirts she wears as a uniform after I told her I liked it (after just one visit there, mind you!). It's really cute. I wear it all the time.

And www. seems to attract customers who are just as kind. On Friday I went and talked with an older bike shop owner/taxi driver, who after only about 15 minutes of chit-chatting picked up my whole tab. Not in a sleazy, "I'm trying to make a move on you" way either. In a "I'm an unbelievably nice and generous person" kind of way. A couple of weeks ago, a hip 60 year old lady transplanted from Tokyo, invited me to join her and some companions to a traditional dinner theater. Wow!

Anyway, I always seem to leave www.sobe full of feelings of wellbeing and rightness with the world, having invariably being treated with warmth and kindness, having eaten well and spoken with friendly and interesting people. And that's the kind of experience I seek, not just here, but anywhere. I hope that I can return the kindness.

Our House

2007-04-29T20:06:00.000+09:00

I thought it was about time I post some pictures of the house. Joe will probably kill me when he sees this, 'cause the house is a total mess (note Jiff Peanut Butter tub, and stick of deodorant...right on end table where it belongs). But oh well, I figure you should see the real Garcias. Plus, Joe's in Thailand where he can't do anything about it, for now.

Anyway, this picture is of our living room:

Here's our dining room/living room. Can you see that table under the window? Joe made it! All the other stuff Uncle Sam made (sofa, dining table, china cabinet, etc.)and will be returned to him upon move back to U.S.

We got this table about a week ago at one of the bazaars on base. It's supposed to be an antique. I'm starting to fall for the whole "Asian look", I admit.

Hold on! That's not a table. It's a desk!

\

Sorry the pictures are blurry. Flash isn't working on the camera.

Belly Dancing

2007-04-27T10:31:00.000+09:00

Last night I went to my first ever belly dancing class. It was on the third floor above the bento restaurant in Chatan. I went with my friend and workout partner, Kay, who had found the place on-line. Tired of working out in a gym, and in an attempt to forge bonds with actual Japanese people, we figured Japanese belly dancing class was the way to go.

We were late, of course, and the 1.5 hour long class was already well underway when we arrived. Ladies were on the floor stetching out, toe to toe. The place was packed! Fortunately, they were all very friendly and accomodating. Someone appeared with a couple of mats for us and we scooted into position on the floor joining the group for "hip opening" stretches.

I learned a couple of things in my belly dancing lesson.

1. While I may have been flexible in the fifth grade, or even the tenth. Now, I am not. I guess I should have hopped on the yoga bandwagon long ago.

2. There's nothing like gyrating your body in skintight pants with shirt tucked under bra, in a room of 20 similarly dressed Japanese women to make one feel...how shall I put this - overnourished.

I had never seem my belly fat move with such vitality. In fact, I was under the mistaken notion that my belly was somewhat lean, at least compared to the butt, thighs, and hips. These problem spots, I realized, had allowed me to conveniently overlook my belly jelly.

Had I been dancing in a room of American women, I might have been able to blissfully continue the self deception. Here, however, that was absolutely not possible. I quickly untucked my shirt and pulled it back over my stomache, and there it stayed for the remainder of the class.

Despite the whole jelly belly business, belly dancing was awesome! I totally dug it and plan to go again as often as possible. My respect for Shakira has grown a thousand fold. Wow! It's hard stuff.

Hotness

2007-04-24T21:33:00.000+09:00

On Monday, I went on another field trip with the frame gang. We went with Danielle, my underwater dive photographer friend and honorary frame gang member. (She mats and frames a lot of her work at the shop, a lot of the time.) Danielle is also a fellow ESL teacher. She did some translating and stuff for a student of hers and as thanks got 10 free passes to this stone spa place. She invited us to use them up with her.

I'd heard of the Japanese bath houses before - places where you need to bathe in order bathe. Where you shield your private bits from view with some tiny washcloth thing. Where tattoos are forbidden so as to keep out Japanese mafia. They seem like "real Japan" to me, some secret world that I haven't had the guts yet to enter. I didn't know if this stone spa place was considered a bath house or not, but I hoped so.

We got there, all 6 of us, and entered the small building. We took off our shoes and put them in numbered lockers before approaching the front desk. The lady at the counter smiled and extended hand her hand to take the keys. In return, she handed us metal baskets containing three neatly folded towels and a set of pajamas. Pajamas? What were they for? I thought we were supposed to be naked. Did we wear the pajamas and then remove them? Hmmm...

We all hung around the desk wondering what to do. We did have two Japanese speakers with us, but they had never been to such a place either. They were just as clueless as the rest of us.

Somehow, we managed to find the locker room. I took off all my clothes and put on my pajamas. Sue, Danielle, Rachel and Erica more modestly decided to put bathing suits under their PJs. "At least the bottoms", they agreed. I was kind of proud then of my bravery at deciding I'd go in the buck, like I figured all Japanese did. I figured, what the hell, I had seen naked 80 year olds on a regular basis in my gym locker room in Vermont. If they can prance around naked, so can I! (I must qualify all this by saying that I was under the assumption that the sauna room as NOT co-ed!)

After we changed, we picked up our baskets of towels and wondered, (very loudly and obnoxiously - I felt sorry for the other patrons!) what we were supposed to do next. Fortunately, there was a cartoon picture on the locker room wall with what looked like instructions. I noticed in that the cartoon girl in the picture was fully dressed. Sue translated.

You lay on your front for five minutes, then flip over on your back for ten minutes, then go outside to take a break, then go back in and do it all over again. Okay, easy enough. Purpose: to rid body of nasty toxins and impurities.

Tentatively, we entered the door into the room that we were supposed to do the laying and flipping in, still unsure of the state of undress we were supposed to do it in.

The room was hot. F*ckin' hot. It was small and hot with no furniture or windows, with little concrete dividers set in the floor, separating the "heating booths", if you will. There were two ladies already in the room laying silently on the floor of their stalls. They were fully clothed. I felt relief, I admit, but also disappointment. I had wanted to put my bravery to the test.

Following one another's lead, we all spread our towels on the stall floors and laid, face down, on top of them. Our heads rested on these surprisingly comfortable wicker pillows. I looked at the clock. Five minutes.

I was already sweating before I even got on the floor. I could feel the stickiness of my hair against my scalp. My pajamas clinging to me. It was hot.

I like the heat. I like saunas. But this was hot one some excrutiating level. The tiled floor radiated heat through the towel. It felt like being locked up in an unmoving summertime car. With no air conditioning. (The stones of the "stone spa", were in the floor tiles, I guess. There were no warm stones placed on your back, or anything like that. It was just like a really really hot sauna.)

I flipped over before my five minutes was up. The sweat began to soak through my pjs in unlikely places; like my shins and forearms. I saw that there was some kind of laminated pamphlet in the corner of my stall. I reached for it. Thank Godness, I thought, a distraction.

It was a cartoon, in Japanese of a family, going to a spa. I think. A mom, dad, grandpa and little boy. The family seemed to be telling the boy that they were off to the bath house. The boy exclaimed something with glee. Then he got reprimanded. I guess he was too joyful. I flipped through trying to make my own little English language story for them...but I just...couldn't...concentrate.

I looked up. Five more minutes. I wondered if this was some kind of awful device to cook foreigners.

Okay...we had all had enough at about the same time and got the hell out of there. We were soaked. It was break time. We sat in the cafe-style break room comparing notes about how hot we were. Sue got up and came back with a tiny scoop full of salt and distributed a little to each of us. "We're supposed to eat it" she said. The salt was strong and weird tasting. We sat in the break room for a long time, chatting, watching the rain and reading Japanese magazines.

We went back in for round two.

Ahhhh. It still sucked. But, we endured. Although, none of us felt able enough to do the recommended third round. We just hung out for "break", basking in the toxin-free-ness that we were supposed to have gained from the sweat bath, and decided to call it a day.

Would I go back? Well, sure. The sense of relief you got upon exiting the hot room, made it almost worth it. And who knows...maybe I dropped a pound or two in the process?

Sketchy Parks

2007-04-22T20:12:00.000+09:00

Today I dropped off Joe for yet another exciting work expedition in a foreign land. It’s such a downer, driving to the airport, mecca of travel adventure possibilities, depositing loved one to go and have them (without you) and exiting the airport for continuation of mundane life routine.

But, this particular day was a Sunday and I didn’t have anything to do. And Sundays are the days that I like to hop in the car and just drive and see where I’ll end up, and what I’ll end up doing.

So, I left Joe at the airport and headed to Kokusai Street.

I’ve been to Kokusai Street several times before. It’s kind of the “Broadway” of Okinawa. Although, having moved from New York City to Okinawa, I have to admit that it’s somewhat of a stretch. It does have a Starbucks on it, but that, and that it’s a street are pretty much where the similarities end.

But, having lived in Okinawa for over a year now, Kokusai Street does, indeed, seem the happenin’ place to be. I decided to park my car and check out the little seedy side streets shooting off from Kokusai.

Being just a little bit before 10am (on Sunday remember), Kokusai Street had that slow morning after Saturday night drunken feel, where the only people up are hearty tourists, the odd shop owner, drunks, and people like me in search of … well, some kind of experience.

I checked my little Japanese change purse. I only had 1100 yen. (about $10) I’d need a couple hundred at least to pay for parking. My experience would have to be cheap.

I passed the Starbuck’s and I admit, half longed to go in. Nothing like a jolt of caffeine to jump-start adventure. But, I’d already had my “Coffee of the Day, Tall, Hot-o, Onegeishimasu”, at the Drive-thru Starbucks, so I moved on.

I decided to cross the street and stroll (with purpose mind you) up one of those seedy Sunday morning back alleys. It would bring me back to those good ole days of stumbling home through early morning developing country side streets in full go-out gear while people are going to church. Only it was about 10 am, and I wasn’t in a developing country, and I hadn’t been out all night (I got home at about 7:30pm last night… whew!) and the people weren’t going to church.

But, it kind of had that feel anyway. I remember it was on a vacation in Costa Rica (walking downtown on a Sunday morning on the “Broadway” of San Jose) that I began to draw comparisons between the developing nations of the world. There was that same kind of dirt and grime of the city streets, litter in the gutter. There was the morning sunshine, the awakening of the city. The sound of metal storefronts being lifted up. The self absorbed silence of people preparing to embark on a busy day: business women in still full makeup, uniformed schoolkids heading to school, shop owners sweeping their storefronts. The start of the hustle.

Okay, so maybe it’s not a developing nation thing. Maybe it’s a city thing. It’s the same in New York City as it is in Busan, Korea as it is in San Jose, Costa Rica, as it is in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. It’s gritty and grimy and somehow I like it. It reminds me of good times and being alive. And that’s how I felt this morning, exploring my little city.

I moved up the side street eager to see new things, curious eyes hidden behind my enormous sunglasses. Almost everything was closed and the odd bicyclist slid on past. I kept walking and the alley deposited me into a covered street market. I had been there before. Row upon row of shop selling almost the exact same thing, ceramic shisa lions, seaglass jewelry, weird Okinawan candies or bottles of awamori with habu snakes embalmed inside, pottery and hand-blown Okinawan glass. And of course the inevitable array of Chinese Cheap Stuff: plastic clocks, polyester old lady shirts, small uncomfortable-looking slippers and faux running waterfalls.

Anyhow, most of the shops were closed, so I kept on walking. This covered street market thing (just alleys covered with plastic roofing like you’d find on a shed) - I had thought it was just two long streets running parallel to one another. But today, I discovered it was a gigantic, incomprehensible maze. Alley after alley tumbling into one another, and they all looked the same. Eventually, I didn’t care what I saw, I just wanted out of the gloom and into the natural sunlight.

Finally, I made it out blinking into the light and was excited ’causeI’d ended up in a spot that I had never been to before…and I saw food! Trying out local foods is an essential part of any adventure, in my mind. I stopped at the nearest street-food stand. It had a lot of fried stuff in it, and I like fried stuff. I got the most familiar looking item. I was hungry and didn’t feel too adventurous, well at least when it came to satisfying my stomach. It was an Okinawan doughnut, only 30yen (like a quarter). It was greasy and good and the lady gave me a whole packet of tissues to clean my greasy fingers with. I crossed the street, doughnut in hand, to what looked to me like really old-timey, run down Asian buildings. You know, the kind with tiled sloped roofs. There were clothes drying between them, a little canal, people emptying crates of God-knows-what. Although the area looked old and foreign and therefore interesting, I began to feel really out of place, ’cause there were no apartments, or stores or any reason whatsoever for a sober gaijin like me to be wondering through there. So I just to continued to gnaw on my doughnut, cool-like, and moved on.

The next street led me to a park. Yes, a park! The most, sketchy, adventuresome of places…where random people approach you and propose any number of sordid and vile things. I decided to walk though. It was daylight, how terrible could it be? (I told myself, knowing just how terrible a day-lit park could be, especially a rundown one like this one.) I walked up a windy path to the peak of the hill and looked down.

Yes, the usual suspects. Woman reading newspaper…or is she? Man staring into space. Other man with bad shoes, doing something… I moved down the slope, there was some interesting activity below and I walked towards it. A cafe, perhaps?…No, it’s a glass blowing studio. But of course.

It was hot as hell there, and I was just on the periphery of the studio. Three or four people were inside, silently heating glass, blowing glass, shaping it and cutting it. I sat on a bench out front and watched, sweating, dear lord, I wanted to pull my shirt off.

An old man across the plaza where I sat gestured. I ignored. Who, me? He stood up and shuffled towards me, belt somewhat asunder. Yes, of course to me (magnet that I am for oddballs in parks.) He pointed to the glass blowers and beckoned me to stand up and look, really look at what they were doing. So, okay, I did. He mimed blowing glass. He flicked his hand to the blowers. Yes, indeed, they were blowing glass. He said, “okay…okay”, gestured, and shuffled back to his bench. I looked at the glass blowers, watching keenly (as instructed), looked toward the old man and smiled appreciatively, “arigato gozaimasu” and sat again. The glass was very pretty, I admit. The man stood up again, approached me and the glass blowers, did some more gesturing. He was helping me out, sharing his knowledge. A glass blower turned around a wooden sign in Japanese. What did it say? “Finish”, the old man muttered and motioned to me to check out some other studio where they were making shisas.

But I didn’t go. I was hot. I felt fulfilled. I had had a cheap oily doughnut, walked through a sketchy park, had some strange old dude approach me, and witnessed some glass making.

Ahh…a perfect foreign country Sunday morning. (And I didn’t even have to step on an airplane.)

Gimme Five

2007-04-19T08:34:00.000+09:00

NPR informs me that today is National High Five Day. So, I wikipediad it. Here's an amusing article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-five

Botanical Gardens

2007-04-18T19:25:00.000+09:00

This Sunday was a rainy, dreary day. But, Joe and I decided to take a trip to the Southeast Botanical Gardens regardless. Low and behold right when we got there the sun came out. Here are some pictures:

Entering the Gardens the maps confused me:

This purty flower is called a Jade Vine:

Oh my gosh! The vines are attacking Joe!

We fed some fish. They were HUNGRY! Check out that big sucker in the middle!

We fed some goats too! It was a nice little trip.

Baby Gecko

2007-04-17T20:43:00.000+09:00

So, we have Geckos in our house and apparently they're multiplying. I personally enjoy having the Geckos around the house. The Okinawans consider it a sign of good luck and besides they eat the bugs. Kelly insists we don't have any bugs and I tell her; "Of course we don't have any bugs, the Geckos ate them all."

So here's a picture of the newest addition to our household.

Geckos RULE!

Is your dog feeling depressed?

2007-04-16T22:03:00.000+09:00

The Man Tryin' to Keep a Brother Down...

2007-04-08T22:15:00.000+09:00

Funny show from England. The Militant Black Guy. If your offended by foul language, you might want to skip this.

"Stay off the Grass...Do I look stoned to you!"

Balls Of Steel Militant Black Guy - Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

Funny Star Wars / COPS Parody

2007-03-30T10:59:00.000+09:00

For you Star Wars / Cops Fans.

Almost Famous

2007-03-16T20:29:00.000+09:00

So, guess what I did today? I really made it big. I was on AFN! Armed Forces Network, radio that is. Actually my hands and boobs have already been featured on AFN TV, in a commercial for the frame shop. (I wouldn't let them get a shot of my face...so they just focused on me putting a frame together.) This time though, I had a speaking part! It was an interview with our local shock jock, Sammy Fienmann, of "The Sammy Fienmann Experience". I was on talking about the ESL program for Central Texas College, for which I will begin teaching this coming Monday. I spoke for probably, oh...5 seconds, which felt like, oh...about 5 hours. My voice shook with fear the entire time. And a boyscout troop in the studio on a field trip got to witness the whole thing. Ah well, maybe I should go back to television!

Boobs, hands, voice! Who knows what's next for me and AFN!

Catch Some Fish

2007-03-14T05:14:00.000+09:00

BrickSmack.com

Example of The Training I'm Getting Here in GA

2007-03-10T10:06:00.000+09:00

OC Spray

2007-03-09T06:29:00.000+09:00

I'm at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center going through a Defensive Tactics course and we had to get sprayed by OC (or Pepper Spray) today. It sucked bad!

We had to place somebody under arrest after we got sprayed. I'm pretty good, because it usually takes me a good minute to feel anything. But after that minute, I can't open my eyes, tears start to pour, snot begins running out of my nose and my whole face burns. It gets really ugly. Here's some pics of what happens.

Friday Night

2007-03-03T19:16:00.000+09:00

Here's a picture of me and Joe and our friend Kay from a week or two ago.

Perfect CD

2007-02-27T22:16:00.000+09:00

Today I'm making a CD for my hairdresser. I think I've told many of you how cool she is. She's got a surfboard in her salon for goodness sake. She's got a little yappy dog that hangs out there too. How many doggies do you see in American hair salons? Her music selection makes me drool. An entire wall of the shop is lined with CDs. Usually, she plays loungy samba type stuff or Okinawan music. She even made me an Okinawan music CD. Isn't that nice? So, she deserves a good mix. But as I make the mix I wonder: Do I give her a CD of music she'd like? Of music that I like? Or of classic American stuff? I haven't heard her play any really good American music since I've been going to her. If it's American, should it be old or should it be new? Actually, what am I saying, I've pretty much finished putting together the whole thing. I've got Garth Brooks! Stevie Wonder! Roberta Flack! Doc Watson! Snoop Dogg! Girl better love it!

Take me out to the ball game!

2007-02-24T20:26:00.000+09:00

Today Joe and I joined a couple of friends to go see some baseball. The Japanese professional teams come down to Okinawa this time of year to do their spring training. We caught a game between the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the Yokohama Bay Stars. Joe was pretty pumped up about seeing a team with the name of "Ham Fighters", and was more than ready to plunk down 1000s of yen in baseball caps and t-shirts with big 'ole pigs, or at least hamhocks, emblazened across. Unfortunately, there was not a ham to be seen. (Somehow the mascot was a kind of squirrel or chipmunk...with a mohawk). Nevertheless, it was a wonderful afternoon with weather that was just perfect for sprawling out on a blanket on the grass, snoozing under the sun, and watching some ball. Snacks included yakitori sticks, chicken 'n fries, and snowcones. Yum! In the end, guess who won? Our team, the Ham Fighters.

Here's a picture of their mascot, B.B. in some baseball park in mainland Japan.

2007-02-24T11:24:00.000+09:00

Needless to say, I did not agree with the findings of the jury, but in this day and age of CSI: New York/Miami, juries want to see DNA evidence, hair samples, fiber samples, something they've seen on T.V. Unfortunately, a majority of cases don't have forensic evidence and if they did, people usually don't report a crime until weeks to months after the fact.

At least this guy is out of the Marine Corps and hopefully he won't carry his "habit" out into the civilian world. A half victory for the good guys.

Okinawa Marine Found Guilty of Unlawful Barracks Entry

By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, February 25, 2007

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — After a three-day court-martial, Marine Cpl. Christopher McKinney was found guilty Friday of two counts of unlawful entry for entering the barracks rooms of a female Marine and was given a bad-conduct discharge.

Full Story

2007-02-24T00:24:00.000+09:00

Well, I spent the better part of a year doing an investigation on an alleged "serial rapist", the trial began this week and I must say I was disappointed with the outcome. I'll post the article of the results if it comes out, but here's what was recently released from the Stars and Stripes.

Jury to Begin Deliberations in Okinawa Sexual-Assault Trial

By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, February 24, 2007

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Deliberation was to begin Friday in the trial of a Marine corporal who is accused of using a glitch in the programming of magnetized card keys to sneak into the barracks rooms of four female Marines while they slept.

See Full Article

It's Gotta Make You Laugh

2007-02-22T21:47:00.000+09:00

OK, so I have this sick sense of humor where I LOVE watching people get the living crap scared out of them. I've watched this video tons of times and it still cracks me up. You have to watch the video more than once to really appreciate how freaked the guy gets. ~Joe

Old pictures!

2007-02-08T23:07:00.000+09:00

Here's some cutie-pie pictures of my nephew, Dylan. I'll have to get some of McKenna up here soon too! -K

Happy Birthday Joe!

2007-02-08T22:57:00.000+09:00

Today's Joe's birthday! To celebrate his youth, he went on a birthday run around the entire army base! (I'm still in N.C., so I had to pine for him from afar.) Happy Birthday Joe!

The New Seven Wonders

2007-02-05T00:18:00.000+09:00

Check out this website where you can cast your vote for the "new" Seven Wonders of the world. Among the wonders under consideration: The Great Wall of China, Macchu Picchu, and the Statue of liberty.

www.new7wonders.com

What is Muay Thai?

2007-01-10T21:43:00.000+09:00

Muay Thai is referred to as "The Science of Eight Limbs", Hands (Fists), Elbows, Shins (Kicks), and Knees are all used extensively in this art. A master practitioner of Muay Thai thus has the ability to execute strikes using eight "points of contact," as opposed to "two points" (fists) in Western boxing and "four points" (fists, feet) used in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts. Muay Thai is an especially versatile, brutal, straightforward martial art.

From Wikipedia

Muay Thai Traditions

2007-01-10T21:30:00.000+09:00

Before the bout, fighters perform Wai Kru (Respects to the Teacher) AKA Ram Muay (Boxing Dance). All Muay Thai fighters must use the Mongkon (head band), which is worn until completion of the Ram Muay, and the Prajed (Woven Armband). The Prajed contains a small Buddha image and is worn throughout the match. These items are sacred and highly respected, which bestow blessings and protection.

Thai Fight

2007-01-10T21:23:00.000+09:00

This was the best fight of the evening, but I filmed the slowest round...

Girl Fight

2007-01-07T14:01:00.000+09:00

These girls can't be older than 12 years old, but they are fighters. The girl in red caught about 3-4 vicious elbows to the temple, look at her swollen face at about 1:05. She came out banging after she felt what happened to her face.

Real Thai Fighter

2007-01-07T13:11:00.000+09:00

This guy is a current Champion in Thailand. Here's how a real Thai Fighter trains.

Thailand Visit

2007-01-02T22:57:00.000+09:00

Kelly and I just returned from Thailand. We did 5 days of Muay Thai Kickboxing training at Fairtex Pattaya and spent 4 days in Bangkok. I've got a bunch of vidoes I still need to edit and post, but here's a Video with the photographs from our visit (You'll never guess the soundtrack) and a video of Kelly Muay Thai Kickboxing. I'll post more this week.

Joe

Photos of Trip

Kelly Muay Thai Kickboxing

Welcome Rossi William Santelia!

2006-12-23T23:24:00.000+09:00

Just wanted to welcome little Rossi William Santelia to the world. Born on December 9th 2006. A little Christmas present! He's as cute as a button and we can't wait to meet him. Congratulations Rebecca and Michael!

Tug of War

2006-12-14T18:13:00.000+09:00

The tug-of-war dates back to 1600, when it served a dual purpose. Villagers from east and west did honorific battle for victory as a sign to shamans who predicted the future. The prayers were for a good rice harvest. The second motive was to instill peace and stability into the lives of seafarers of this island nation, and to ensure their safety. The Naha rope is constructed in two sections: the mizuna, or female, and uzuna, or male. Before the heaving begins, those two sections are brought together and connected with a pin called a kanuchi, representing the unification of East and West Naha. The tug-of-war rivets spectators during the hour-plus event, after which knives come out for everyone to cut ceremonial pieces of the rope to take home.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...kinda

2006-12-07T21:15:00.000+09:00

So, it's Christmas time and we've started a new rotation of holiday music and that frame shop. Thank God, at least a month's reprieve from "Laffy Taffy" and Celine Dion. Back at the house, we are gearing up in our own slow and steady pace. I'm happy to report though that we have a Christmas tree. A real live Christmas tree no less! It's only about five feet tall or so. And it's naked...I think we have three ornaments. But it's a tree! And it smells good! Actually, I tried my hand at ornament making, hot gluing sea glass to a store bought glass ball decoration. However, I failed to take into account the collective weight of the glass until I finished. It's probably about five pounds.

Even the weather is starting to take on a wintery turn. It's dropped down into the 60's and people are taking full advantage of the cool temp. to sport their cute winter gear... sweating all the while. Yes, I admit, I'm one of them.

Hope your holiday season is great!

-Kelly

PS I got the ball pictures back. You'll just have to take my word that they looked great, 'cause I sure ain't posting them!

Done With the Dress!

2006-12-03T21:13:00.000+09:00

So, perhaps you are wondering whatever happened with the dress? Well, since I had no need to write procrastination blogs after finishing it there were no updates. Sorry! But, amazingly, I did actually complete the sewing of the dress. Not only that, but the flaws were disguisable enough that I could even wear it in public! Well, fortunately for me I had a great help with Kanako-san, the obi tying instructor. She spent about an hour with me on Tuesday morning tying the obi and teaching me how tie it as well. She also brought along a bag of obi cords to accessorize the obi. I chose the one I liked the best and then she fashioned it into a flower shape, which she then sewed onto the bow. It looked great. That night, I took my portion of the dress, the skirt part, and hoisted it up over my chest. Then I took the obi and wrapped it around my boobs so tight that I could hardly breathe. I mean it was holding my skirt up after all - it needed to stick. Joe helped me tie the obi. (First you tie it in the front and then scoot the bow to the back.) And ta-da! A dress. An extremely uncomfortable and fragile dress. But a dress nonetheless.

Below are a couple of pictures of the dress-making process. We got a full length portrait of us at the ball which I'll put up later, but these are just of the back.

P.S. I wore about three different slips so there was no seeing through the thing!