Happiness Thus Far

It's good to be home. :)

Adventure with An Yang! (Part 1)

Our lovely and brave heroine looks quite smart with her tidily packed, light-weight suitcase! But perhaps she packed a bit too light for upon arrival at the airport she realizes her trip will be quite quiet without her iPod charger! Oh no! 

However that disappointment can't last long as check in goes smoothly and she and her trusty side kick whisk smilingly through security.

They decide immediately to toast the first leg of their journey with the mermaid's sweet elixir. They place their orders and request a sweet snack and travel mug as well. Starbucks bags in hand they proceed merrily on their way to gate 24. Suddenly our heroine stops! Raising one elegant hand to her mouth she gasps, "But my drink!"

After dashing back to claim her neglected beverage she sheepishly but sweetly takes her place to await departure. 

As boarding time arrives, another realization begins to dawn: ketai! She frantically searches her pockets, her bags, her memory for her missing cell phone, but it's nowhere to be found! What to do??

You Get What You Pay For (Sometimes)

100 yen stores are miraculous. For the equivalent of $1, you can buy a whole variety of useful and interesting things. I bought most of my Halloween costume, my thanksgiving decorations, my christmas decorations, and my car decorations at 100 yen stores. They are far superior to dollar stores in the U.S. Far. 

You have to be careful, however, because sometimes you get what you pay for. This is the tale of two recent (ish) bargains.

 Do you remember the green nail polish I bought for my Halloween costume? I was so thrilled with it at the time, but when I removed it a few days later, I saw that it had turned my nails a creepy yellow color. Not cool. Well, it's been nearly a month and a half since Halloween and my nails? Still half-yellow. 

Though it's difficult to tell in this photo. 

On the other hand, when I was Christmas shopping the other day, I needed a pen to mark my list. So, I grabbed this blue one at the same 100 yen store. Not expecting much, I ripped open the package and discovered the BEST Pen I've Ever Owned. It's perfect. It is incredibly sharp which makes my handwriting look super neat, it's a great color, the ink flows at the perfect rate, and the grip is so... grippy. This pen is so fantastic that it makes me want to write real letters and put them in the mail. Seriously.

So, send me your mailing address. You're getting a letter! Really, do it. I mean it.

And that is the tale of the 100 yen stores. They are a must, but shop with caution.
The end. :P

Thankful Thanksgiving is Over!

On Thursday afternoon, I left work a little early (with permission) to finish the last minute shopping, cooking, baking and decorating for my big dinner. There were butterflies in my stomach the whole time. 

My lovely friend, Neave, was luckily on-island for the event, and proved to be an incredible co-host. She cooked, mashed potatoes, cleaned and washed dishes, and generally just kept me alive and sane. I don't know how I would have coped without her!

My final project was making these place settings. This was a pretty simple task, as I'd had my guest list finalized for days, and had printed out the names earlier in the day. 

 

I also made some last-minute additions to my centerpiece. The herbs are fresh from Kazuno's garden. Aren't they lovely? This pumpkin has been around since early October but is holding up really well. Maybe the candle wax sealed the freshness? :) 

At around 6 p.m., the mad flurry of preparation died down and my apartment was actually pretty peaceful. Neave was putting the finishing touches on the cranberry sauce and made me go take a shower and get ready (bless her). The lamp and candle light glowed happily, Christmas music played happily, and Neave and I breated a sigh of relief. 

Then, the guests arrived. Chaos ensued as the bell rang, rain started to pour, guests arrived dripping, some friends tried to cook their food last minute, people started to mill around my smallish apartment, and I tried to figure out what to do with allll the amazing food the guests were bringing. 

Kazuno supervised the cooking of our turkey, Timu. He was delicious. 

Neave was, once again, a God-send. She saw everything that needed to happen and asked me about it, made sure people had pre-dinner drinks, and then ushered everyone to the table to start the meal.  As I asked everyone to sit, I realized that I, as hostess, should give some sort of speech or toast or something to get started. A bit shaken by the chaos and the sheer number of my guests, I mumbled something about being thankful and then ran off. Note to self: prepare for that moment in advance, next time!

 Overall, I think the dinner was a success. Once everyone was seated and happily passing food around, conversation started to flow. I had carefully planned the seating so that people were sitting next to others they knew or who I thought they should know, and I am pretty proud of how things turned out. :) There was PLENTY of food, as well. Everyone pitched in with a side or a drink, and my fridge is still packed to the brim! AND I made everyone take stuff home!

In the end I was only slightly exhausted but incredibly happy, and since everyone pitched in to help clean up (especially Kazuno and her sister Rino: my heroes.), I was able to fall into bed around midnight.

It was such a fun process to plan this whole party from start to finish, to brainstorm with my friends, and to watch it all happen as if by magic. I had the best time, but I am so glad it's finished! :) Yesterday I cleaned and re-arranged some more so my apartment is almost back to normal.

Now to start planning for Christmas... Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Prep

Happy Thanksgiving, family and friends!

I'm hosting a small Thanksgiving dinner at my apartment this year. I've been trying to keep the numbers down, but I still had to borrow two tables from my school and buy some more dishes. 

 Luckily, my dish set is sold at the 100 yen ($1) store. Win! 

I've been prepping all week. Shopping, deep cleaning, making turkey cookies. 

 Last night I did some more prep cooking and baking. I made a pumpkin pie, prepared my candied yams, baked some more cookies, and cooked mac & cheese... just for fun. :) 

I also set up my table. Now all I need is the silverware and the food! 

Oh, yes, and the guests. :)

Last night I was so excited I couldn't sleep. Tonight's the big night. *Deep breath* Here goes!

It's my first grown-up dinner party. What do you think?

 Click this link for pictures of the turkey prep on Kazuno's blog. They're kinda hilarious. 

Mid Year Conference (MYC) 2010

Each year, Okinawa JETs from all of the islands gather together in Okinawa City for two full days of training and madness. A variety of presentations are given from past and current JETs on topics ranging from "Eating Healthy in Okinawa" to "Interesting Games and Activities for Mid to High Level High Schools." My friend, Sarra, and I presented the latter. We put weeks of work into a detailed 25 page handout, but kept our 90 minute presentation as light and entertaining as possible. It was nerve-wrecking, but awesome. Especially when we played holiday pictionary. Here is a favorite drawing: 

Since this was an official work event, the dress code was professional, the days were long, and the general mood was serious. However, once the clock struck 5, all sense of professionalism was lost. Two evenings of fun ensued. :)

M is for "MmmmMMMmmmmmm...." 

On Thursday night, JETs split into their "Blocks," or regions, for a dinner party. Since I am the "

Blockhead" for the southern region, I put together a little dinner at an awesome burger joint: Seaside Jet City Burgers. A ton of people made it out (including some orphaned Naha JETs) and we had a great time. The burgers were, of course, incredible. Yay, JETS at Jet City Burgers!

Y is for "Yatta!"

On Friday night, the lovely Laura organized a crazy fun event: costume kickball! A surprising number of JETs put on their crazy and ran around the park for a couple hours. We even had a couple of Japanese kids join our games. They had more talented than all of us put together. Super fun! 

C is for Crazies! 

After kickball, a smaller group got together at a local mall. Neave and I stayed in costume, just for fun, and enjoyed the strange stares we got. We took "purikura" pictures and ate delicious indian food. Nom nom nom. 

Before MYC started, I was honestly dreading it a bit. It's a lot of work and a lot of sitting and learning, but I thoroughly enjoyed it this year. A lot of the workshops were really helpful, and presenting a workshop was almost like being back in college. :) I'd missed the stress, a little. The best part of it all was seeing all the JETs who live off on smaller islands in the middle of the ocean somewhere. I wish we could all get together a lot more often! 

How Happy was Halloween? THIS Happy.

I know some people balk at the idea of celebrating Halloween because of its roots in paganism, its dark and twisty side, or its consumerist emphasis, but I just can't help but love it. Modern Halloween doesn't have anything to do with pagan beliefs, and who doesn't like to be spooked by a ghost story now and then? Also, let's be honest, what holiday ISN'T commercialized by now?

 If you get past those complaints, how can you not love October 31st? A holiday that let's you pour out your creative energy, make (and eat) delicious treats, host and attend parties, and wear numerous costumes? Yes, please! 

Here are a few of the many, many, many things that made Halloween 2010 especially happy for me: 

 

From the top left corner:
1- Playing Dress Up: Angel 
     A simple, quick, and cool (read: not hot) costume for my 2nd year classes
2- Pumpkin Pancakes
     Oh. Yes. Yes. Yes.
3- Harry Potter Lesson
    An incredibly involved, super fun class. x10.
4- Carving Pumpkins
    with some special first year students and two amazing CouchSurfers. :)
5- Halloween Party
    at one of my churches. Super fun. :D
6- Pumpkin 1 
    which was carved at my...
7- Carving Pumpkin Party.
     Max looks good in a maid's apron, huh? We also carved...
8- Pumpkin 2
    The lovely Shisa O'Lantern.
9- Playing Dress Up: McGonagall
    For that Harry Potter lesson mentioned above.
10- Snickerdoodles 
    Baked and photographed by the excellent Angelo. Savored and devoured by me.
11- Costume Fashion Show
    Fun with 2nd year students.
12- My Angel 
    Crafts with my adopted Japanese family, including their youngest sweetheart. <3
13- Playing Dress Up: Poison Ivy
    I really, really love wearing costumes. :)

It's a mermaid! An Elphaba! A Pippi! No, it's a...

+

+

=

or, a more goofy, less awesome version: 

Kuddos to Barb for guessing correctly (via email). :) 

Happy Halloween! (^_^)~

Halloween Costume: Guess What!

Here's a little sneak peak of my costume for tonight. It's not my first Halloween costume of the year, nor my last, but it is my biggest. :D I am so excited to put it allllll together tonight.

Can you guess?

Side note: I bought this nail polish at the 100 yen ($1) store last night and am so happy with it! Yay!

Halloween Week: And We're Off!

Whew. Monday's work is barely over and I am already exhausted. This is going to be a tough week! BUT a super fun one. 

For my first year students, Oral Communication and Debate classes, I modified and built on last year's Harry Potter lesson. The students totally eat it up. 

For the second years who already experienced Harry Potter, I put together a couple of challenges, such as as a monster costume fashion show. :) 

Here are some picture highlights from the first day: 

Finished Decorating the Classroom

Harry Potter Crest and Modified Lamp: fun! :)

Monster Costume Fashion Show: Struttin'

Also, the JET newsletter, The Yak, just came out. I submitted an exaggerated article about Shishimai which is pretty different from the blog I posted. Check it out HERE if you want to read it. :D 

Adventure Always

Wherever I live, whatever my age, I hope I never stop exploring.  

Because there is no better way to beat the mundane than to discover the unexpected. 

Like a two hundred year-old tree in the capital city. 

10/10/10

Oh, just typing that date gives me a little rush. Don't you just love it? 10.10.10. Beautiful.

If I ever get married (...), I want it to be on a date like this one. Yep, I am one of those girls.

And I would go even further. I'd have ten bridesmaids, ten cakes, ten dresses, ten receptions... or ... something like that.

Ha ha! Sorry, just rambling. :P

In honor of this lovely date, here are ten things that made me smile (or "Things That Have Made Me Giddily Happy") in the last busy, busy week.

1. Decorating my apartment for fall. Check!

 2. Wine and cheese party with Kazuno and Tim. Yum!

3. Exploring with Travis: Aha Falls!

 4. This tree house at Beach Rock Village. Isn't it excellent?

 4. My Ryukyu Dance class! 

5. Travis joining in on the fun. :D 

6. "Watching" the world's largest tug of war by eating delicious italian food, hanging out on a rooftop, and getting coffee with these crazies. :) 

 7. These people. :) 

 8. Playing with this precious little girl and seeing her family one last time before their move back to the US. Gonna miss them so much!

9. A (mostly) clean apartment.

Not Pictured.

10. Change. ;)