Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu

January 1 2012: Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu! (Happy New Year)

We went to the local grocery store the other day. Usually not something I take pictures about, after all, it is just the grocery store. But, it turns out I was glad I had my iTouch with me, so I could take some pictures.
These wonderfully delicious (and expensive) creations are made out of a rice paste. Kind of like marzipan in a way...but rice flour as the base. They are sooooo good. Sweet, but not to sweet. Usually they are just balls of dough. Some with some slight flavoring added in. Like pink balls would be strawberry. Some are just a plain sweet taste. These were done up special in preparation for the New Year's celebrations.
They do look good. That's as far as we got though. Just looking.

Below is a shot of the grocery store, main aisle in front of the registers. (I realized that after 3 years of living here....I had never put up a shot of what the grocery stores look like....I'll have to record the noise of a grocery store next)
Oh, and a last picture from the old year! I was cleaning off my desk (which is a feat unto itself) and came across this from this past summer (2011) while mom was out visiting. We decided to try one of the photo booths at the aquarium. Once you are done doing your spastic poses, then you pick your favorite and decorate with bubbles, dolphins, whatever aquatic sea life you desire. But there is a timer on there, so a bit of pressure to get things done. And it's all in Japanese, so just a little more pressure. (hence the bubble across mom's eye, the dolphin fin cutting down my forehead....not to mention my disembodied head (somehow my shirt, which was a different color than the blue screen, became absorbed into the blue screen color...but Andi's didn't...go figure)
Anyway, Happy New Year to all!

Oh, the official Japanese New Year starts the 23rd of this month (though they also celebrate with the rest of the world on the 31/1). This year is the year of the Dragon!

Christmas 2011

December 25 2011: Well, Christmas Break is a week in. I'm only slightly crazy. (well, just slightly more than usual) There has been some snow so Andi has been able to entertain herself a bit in the yard. Building a "snow recliner" was much easier than a snowman.

The little neighbor girl is finally old enough to come out and play for a little bit with Andi. Andi takes her big sister responsibilities very seriously. So far no unnecessary snowballs in anybodies faces.

Of course with all the question as to whether we would still be here at Christmas....it is once again time for a move and other major life changes (which as soon as we know details, I'll give more details....some already know the challenges we are facing, for the rest....all will be revealed soon) Anyway, with not knowing which way is up, we decided not to unpack the Christmas ornament trunk or get out the big tree. This way ensuring for sure we would be here for Christmas. (Murphy's law dictates that had I unpacked and set up for Christmas in full fashion, we would've been packing out this week) But let's remember we are dealing with the military/government, so any snafu that can be encountered, rest be assured, we are the ones to find it!
As a result, we got a small artificial tree from a local store. Andi got to have full charge of decorating it with items found around the house and a few things from the 100 Yen store. We, her parents, think she did a fabulous job, but we do tend to be a bit prejudiced.

The tree topper she made herself using flowers from the 100Yen store, and the various decorations are home made, or re-purposed decorations from her room. I may put her in charge every year!

Christmas morning: And it was dark o'clock! She opted to get up around midnight to open gifts, so as to play through the night, and sleep all day. We tried to keep things simple for the impending move....hence she asked Santa for a "rolly" suitcase. (carry on suitcase that rotates 360 degrees...I think I want one) A few arts and crafts projects to keep her busy during break, and her most surprising request....to adopt a critter from the National Wildlife Foundation. Wish granted!

I went to bed at the semi-reasonable hour of 2 a.m. Shane stayed "up" with Andi. (he snoozed in his chair) while Andi played and watched movies. At 9 I came out to find this lump that would remain in the middle of the floor til around noon. She had a great time, and loved the "first" part of her Christmas. "Second" part is to come when we get re-settled.
Around 3pm she decided she had recovered enough to go out "ice skating". The road in front of our house, and the road we drive in on have been a solid sheet of ice since Wednesday. The ice is probably about 2-3 inches thick. Even in the sunniest part of the day it's not thawing much. It's not all that cold out, well obviously it's below freezing, but I didn't think it all that bad!
Rosy cheeks though are the order of the day when playing outside.

Below: demonstrating one of her "moves". The girl can barely walk a straight line on a good day, but can spin around and around on the ice without falling. (granted she is in boots and not on actual skates....but still, her dad and I can't walk 10 feet without planting some part of our body on the ice)
So that's our Christmas vacation so far. With the minor detail of me catching one heck of a winter cold, complete with high fever and trip to the ER (what's a Curtis Christmas without one of us going to the ER?). Now we set in for the second week of vacation. I don't foresee a lot going on. I'm not one to drive on roads that are that icy....plus Shane has to work. Andi has a few activities at the youth center to keep her busy. I know, I'll stay in and see if I can get over this "crud"!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Andi's pick

December 10 2011: It was Andi's turn to pick the outing for this weekend. Those are usually relatively safe picks, as she really doesn't like road trips. (something about car sickness....) Anyway, went and picked up one of her friends and went to the base bowling alley. This has also been one of the things Andi's wanted to do for a long time, but due to renovations, the alley was closed all summer, and just reopened in November. I was a little worried when I realized Santa was going to be there. I thought for sure there would be a lot of chaos....but I guess kids who go bowling, are really more interested in the bowling.

Andi's friend wasn't to sure about this Santa. Andi said there was something wrong with him. "He's a bit to skinny!" I said perhaps it was his pre-Christmas weight....gets more bloated when visiting all those houses....
Andi helping direct her ball towards the pin. Because we all know leaning to the side and waving our arms creates a breeze that will alter the course of the ball. Thank goodness I had the clerk put up the bumpers, or it would've been a very depressing day bowling.
Andi had a very action packed Saturday. After bowling and a little recovery time, she went out with the neighbor and her daughter for an evening of bingo. She didn't win, but she said that was ok, she had fun, so it didn't matter.

Then to top off the night, we stayed up to watch the Lunar eclipse.

The shadow started around 10:30pm Japan time (which is around 5:30 am Saturday morning in Salt Lake City....I put this in just mainly for my reference years down the road when time travel becomes a question again)
It was a tad chilly out. We started out with going outside, looking, then going back in for 5 or 10 minutes. As the eclipse progressed, I brought out blankets to sit on on the deck. If it had been summer, this would've been a great time to just sit out under the stars. The one advantage of sitting out star/moon gazing at this time of year....no mosquitoes!

We made it to full coverage, though all my photos always show a little piece yet to go. With the naked eye, we made it to full coverage (is there an oxymoron in there?) but with the camera, always just a little more. We didn't stick around to watch the un-eclipsing. By this point we were very tired and cold. Andi took great delight in jumping into her warm bed.
There are no pictures of Sunday's event. That's because we went swimming. And if I can help it, there will never be a picture of me in my swim-cap! We went to the Misawa City pool, which has the regulation of everybody must wear swim-caps. But it's a great pool, so it's well worth it. It was even better to be inside the building swimming away, while snow and wind gusted around outside! We spent a little over an hour swimming. Shane and I attempting to do some laps, while Andi played with us. We went from being a family of sharks, piranhas, salamanders, and various other sea creatures....it's no wonder I'm so exhausted and confused when we leave the pool....Just how do you pretend to be a salamander anyway?