My once a year, ladies exam

Every year 3 huge buses come to our town. They're 3 very modern buses. They come to make sure us ladies in Japan stay healthy. This is not the giant health check where they test you from top to bottom and take blood and test for everything. This is simply a pap smear checking and looking to make sure, no one has ovarian cancer, or anything else bad going on down there. And the other 2 buses check the breasts. If you're older and over 40 you will get a mammogram and in 1 bus tests for that. If you're younger and under 40 you'll have an ultrasound type exam on your breasts and be in the ultrasound bus. So 1 bus for pap smears, 1 bus for mammograms and 1 bus for ultrasound type breast exams.They sent all of us ladies in our town a letter 2 month's ago. Last year you could choose from 4 dates. This year we could choose from 3 dates. I picked the date that best fit my schedule and that of the boys school schedule (meaning couldn't book this appointment at say 1pm if Branden or Noah had a half day for example, ykwim : ) So, I picked the day and called the town office and had the date written on our home calender. Anyway, last week, while Branden was at school and Noah had already begun his Summer vacation. Noboru stood home with Noah and I went to my yearly ladies check.

I went in, they called my name. They took my blood pressure. The lady told me I have low blood pressure. Granted she said....not too low but low-ish. Alrighty. And then they sent me to bus #1, the papsmear/vaginal check. That went well, didn't take so long.

Next I went to the breast check. I entered the ultrasound breast exam bus. You know...this bus is my favorite. They always play pretty loud 80's music. I've blogged the songs they played the last few years. When I walked in this time last week. The theme to the Breakfast Club was on. And I wondered to myself...wasn't this song playing last year too? : ) Then I wondered...I bet they're using a CD. Then I wondered...who bought the CD...was it the ultrasound tech lady? She seems like the one who picked this music. Yeah...I bet it was her I thought. : ) So, there I was taking off my top and bra covering myself with the navy blue hibiscus towel from the top part of my body. Tan flat front khaki shorts. The song changed and the lady opened up my curtain...please come in, she said in Japanese. It's very dark in the room. The only thing you can really see is the lighted illuminated screen and buttons of the ultrasound machine. I laid down on the bed/exam table. She said...lay down relax and banzai your arms please, lol. : ) And so I did. : )

Aha this was the same lady I've seen for years, I thought to myself. I told her...your hair has grown since last year. Last year it was a a little above your shoulders and a bob. All one length is how I told her in Japanese. She was very happy and surprised I'd remember such a thing. She said..yeah yeah that is right, I grew it out. Yours is a little longer now too. I know, I smiled as she was ultra sounded my first breast. Another 80's song played.

As many of you know, my mom had breast cancer. Beat it. But it totally affected our whole family, we were all so worried, so wanting to help...but also feeling so powerless too, cancer sucks. There's just no other nice way to say it. It was hardest on her. So when the 80's loving ultrasound tech, got to my 2nd breast, she stopped midway. I think knowing my family history it's no wonder, the usually calm me. Could feel my heart now beating out of my chest. I think at that second my blood pressure just went right through the roof. If she finds something..I don't want to know. I thought. Oh no, that's so stupid... of course I would want to know...I'd *need* to know. Of course I'd want to know. As you can tell, I was thinking a thousand different things during this 30 second time frame here! Finding it fastest equals best results, any logical person knows that. I could not even swallow for about a second or two.... I just stood there like a statue. with my hands above my head still.... laying down. I had to know....I would be in freaking limbo land for the next month waiting for results. Are things okay....I just spit it out. Yes...things are fine Mrs. Blank. Okay...you know my history, so just please always tell me.: ( This time she smiled and said...I just happened to run out of gel. And I needed more. Ohhh. @_@ Huge relief flashes across my face. Phew. : ) Yes, I think I am officially her most nervous patient ever. And for that...I am truly sorry. And I am aware.... I always ask her if things are okay. : ) I know this. I just can't help it.: (

I know this will always be a sore spot with me. The one thing that always scares the absolute heck out of me. And it's understandable why. I like that bus..I like the music and I really like that lady too. But my gosh...never do I ever feel.... as vulnerable as when I am sitting on that examining table.:(

It should take 1 month for all the results to be mailed to my house. The bright side is...at least I go for my yearly check ups. : ) Anyway hopefully the results will be mailed to my house quickly and all will be good news. And I will not have to think about it so much, at least for the next 10-11 months. : ) I still do the monthly checks in the shower though. Just making sure all seems okay. : ) Anyway...long story short, I went for my yearly lady type exam last week. : )

Branden's breakfast obento, SATC 2, conference with Noah's sensei, and something rather serious.

The morning, that I had to make Branden that breakfast obento. I woke up at 5:30am, as usual. Checked email but no chance to internet surf for me that morning. It was straight to the kitchen for me and started in on breakfast.

Getting things all sorted. Let's see, what did I make that morning and what was I trying to get all situated. Skillet fried potatoes, cheese omelet, crispy bacon, an english muffin, and a slice of watermelon. Some fresh fruit in the mornings is always nice, I thought. ; )

Was going to do little obento cup/type containers in here but decided for this case it was smarter to use the bigger silver obento cup instead. So that's what I did.

And there it was. The bacon was so long, I had to just break it a bit so that it would fit diagonally on both side of the obento. So again, omelet, skillet fried potatoes, bacon, toasted english muffin with a mini Philly cream cheese and a mini strawberry jam if needed. And a little wedge of fresh watermelon and a box of orange juice.

Yumm. ; ) When Branden got home, he said his class thought his obento was so cool. They apparently all ohhed and ahhed over it, including the teacher. Goodness, so what did everyone else bring for breakfast I said. Everyone brought onigiri. Except 1 girl brought spaghetti for breakfast. I had told B, if I had known everyone else was just going to send onigiri I could have done that too. However I didn't know, plus my kids prefer the breakfast I make anyway. And this is what we eat for breakfast. And they did say..."breakfast obento" so. Ahh well. And it came back empty empty empty.

Here's an update on our garden. We at the start had 2 bell pepper plants. And if you can see in this picture, there is indeed 2 plants here. Except 1 is dead and 1 is alive. :( The kids while playing soccer had accidentally kicked the ball onto the bell pepper plant. So 1 is okay and 1 is not with us any longer. R.I.P. little bell pepper plant! : (

Also if you can see my bell pepper pic close up. I don't have any bell peppers on here. Not even itty bitty ones! Jogo-san's veggies were light years ahead of mine... development wise. Perhaps I planted these too late? I don't know. We will see. I'll keep you updated though.

The tomato plant on the other hand is really doing well, he's huge.

Look at all these baby tomatoes! I'm doing a little happy dance because I feel like we're doing the right things regarding the tomatoes. Knock on wood. I hope the tomatoes keep growing and start to turn red. : )

Little frog taking a snooze on one of the veggie plants.

The zucchini is also flourishing! He's really stretching out and growing by leaps and bounds. Hmm, wish I could say the same about our bell peppers.

We're getting lots of zucchini on both plants. The zucchini are really growing fantastic this year.

The cucumber plant is doing great as well. he's gotten so big and has many little cucumbers sprouting all over.

And a few huge ones as well. I think in the background you can see the smaller ones too. So if I were to grade myselfon the gardening so far. I would say we get an A plus for the zucchini, the tomatoes and the cucumbers. The verdict is still out on the bell peppers. Come on bell peppers get with the program! ; )

The corn is growing well. Except the ones I was growing myself, they died. @_@ Hmmm. All of Noboru's corn is growing well and big. And all my corn fell flat and bit the dust. : ( So we're all in all doing okay regarding our gardening. We're still learning. And we're definitely getting there.

The first cucumber. Noboru doesn't care for cucumber so he let me eat it.

I gave it a good cleaning/rinsing. And peeled it and ate it with a sprinkling of salt. So good. The stuff you grow on your own and then get to eat. The feeling is 10 fold isn't it? A feeling of accomplishment and a job well done for sure.

On Wednesday of last week, after I dropped off both Branden and Noah to both their schools. I went to the place in my town to get the ladies cancer check (s). The bus on the far left is the pap smear bus. The bus is the middle is for older ladies, 40 and over to get actual mammograms. And the yellow and green bus is for us younger ladies who still get a breast check but the ultra sound type instead. So, I went into the building. With my form they sent to the house. Me, my Oprah book and my towel went and checked in. I gave them the form and they gave me a paper and I waited for my name to be called. Me and about 20 ladies sat on a few benches. I didn't recognize anyone in this cluster of ladies. Which was fine, I opened up my book and read a few pages before they called my name. Mrs...so and so-san. Oh yes, that's me. So, I went into the next room and filled out a questionnaire. When was your last period. Has anyone ever had ovarian cancer, checked no. Has anyone in your family ever had breast cancer? Checked yes. Whom? My mother. Kept filling out the questionnaire and then they called me yet again. I gave her the questionnaire and she took my blood pressure. She said it was normal. Then I went to another station. And they gave me my #. And talk about complicated enough...just by doing this all in Japanese, but now with the # thing, that was a bit complicated. If you're # is odd you will go through the red door and if you're # is even you'll go through a blue door. On the bus.@_@ Ummm okay, I thought. Looked at my number. And made my way onto the bus. But took my shoes off before entering the bus. The pap smear bus I really dislike. And it's not because of the actual pap smear itself at all. I dislike it because it is so loud in there. Hmm. Let me back track. So, I enter the pap smear bus and me and about 3 ladies are undressing from the waist down all in the same room. We then wrapped towels around our bodies from the waste down. That part was okay. I don't mind dressing or undressing in front of people. So then I went into the red door. And from the second I entered, it was so tense. And it's not just me because I'm a foreigner. I can hear the nurses and doctors with the others too, they are tense with everyone. So, I entered and they told me, put your feet in the stir ups. Okay so I did. Then there's about 3 ladies bottoms (from the waist down nurses all dressed obviously) I can see, because my face is covered by a sheet divider. So they don't see my face and I don't see theirs either. Anyway, I hear...scoot your butt down, more, a little more, open your legs, a little wider, okay a little wider Stay still, don't move! Hmm didn't think I moved a single dot but okay. All the while saying these things in a very frenzied chaotic sorta speaking. Definitely not a relaxed type atmosphere I got in the US. So, they're still giving commands. And then, it's over one says, yes yes it's over.. the other one concurs. Yes over.. the 3rd lady said. You can get off now, yes.. you get down off the seat. What the main one says the others say too, sort of like a lame echo, lol. Anyway...was glad to get that out of the way. Felt sorta slimy down there after that. Sorry TMI. And then I went into the main hall yet again. And there I saw, Kouiki-kun's mom also waiting. Goodness, I thought she had just probably also went through that rough pap smear thing I just went through. Well bright side we're both concerned at least and came for the tests. Yeah good us, I thought. : ) I smiled and gave her a Japanese type head nod, she head nodded me back. ; ) And I sat. The older ladies the over 40's had to hold their papers. They had different colored papers from us under 40's. We had to give our forms to the lady. After waiting a while. Kouiki-kun's mom went into the under 40 bus. And I waited about 12 minutes, she left and then they called me next. I entered the bus. And it was a completely different feel then the pap smear bus. This bus was quiet serene and calming. Not zen or anything don't get me wrong, it was a test I know that. But for instance there was music playing. And we all had private dressing rooms in here, so we weren't all thrown into 1 awkward room like on the pap smear bus is. When I entered my private changing area, the Eurythmics, Sweet dreams was playing. As I undressed, I wondered to myself. Is this the video where Annie Lennox wore that man's suit and had the red dyed hair? Or was it another video/song? See, I could actually have time to collect my thoughts in this bus. As I was slipping off my bra and about to wrap a towel around the top half of myself. Spandeu ballet came on, True. I hadn't heard that song in ages. I found myself quietly going..."lalalala la, I know THIS much is TRUE. ; ) I know I know I know this much is true." LOL. It was very quiet. The lady opened my room and brought me into the ultra sound room. She told me to lay down on the bed, put my basket which held my clothes under the bed. And to just lay down and relax. The room was dark the only thing illuminated was her machine. Her ultra sound machine. I laid down. And another 80's flashback hit played. And she did one breast. And then another. This was the same lady who did this to me last year. I recognized her face, and her shoulder length bobbed hair and I knew she remembered me too. : ) I felt really relaxed being in here. Much better then that chaotic pap smear bus. That pap smear bus..really needs to work on their people skills, honestly. ; ) When she went to the next breast, is when Madonna's Borderline played. She plays good music I thought. : ) She and I chit chatted a bit during this. I had confided in her, "you know my mother had breast cancer you know" She replied very softly. While 80's music quietly buzzed in the background. "Yes I know, she said, it's been on your forms since last year, I always double check yours" Huge sigh of relief. Oh thank you, I told her. She gets me. I thought. I'm so blessed. Then she said...you must be a little nervous. "Yes, I am a little", I told her. Then silence....."But I think I'm in good hands" I replied. She shook her head. And then it was over.

And I went into the little changing rooms that are for after the test is done. Behind this curtain.

Yep, the test was done.

And I wiped all that warm gel stuff off my breasts afterwards with the wet tissues and then dried them off with the tissues. Got dressed and handed the lady at the start, my paper that I had completed all of the tests, and she..."have a good day-ed me" and I told her the same. And into my car and home I went.

So Wednesday after the kids came home from school. Branden played on the front porch with his DS game and his friends came. All together. It was 4 or 5 boys and 1 little girl from Branden's class as well. They stayed until the bell rang. Then they went home. I had brought out a 2l iter of pink lemonade, cups with ice. A big bowl of popcorn and some candy. They all scarfed those down happily. And right before one of the boys left, he told Branden to keep these snacks. And then he went to our housing community tennis courts for his mom to pick him up. He doesn't live in the housing community we live in, is why. One of the boys who came. I told Branden to give him the snacks back. So Branden rode his bike to the tennis courts and tried to give the snacks back. The boy was with his mom now. The boy told his mom the snacks we provided and so the mom told Branden to please keep these snacks for us. Since he was nice to her son. So now we ended up with these nice snacks. Which was a nice surprise. And yes when B goes to play at 1 specific persons house I also send B with snacks of his own and a drink. That way he doesn't just expect them to provde it and we don't. Anyway...this was nice. I have never seen Calpis filled marshmellows before. But they were good both Branden and Noah said. The senbeis both were good the shoyu and the brown sugar ones. Very old school flavor, excellent crunch too . : )

Which now brings me to Thursday. After the boys were off to school, we made it to our movie. Sex and the City 2.

We each got a popcorn and drink. Went in and sat down. It was an excellent movie. So much happeneing in the 2nd SATC. We went to the store aftwards and picked up some steaks. Steaks and baked potato and a simple goma salad Thursday evening. Then I checked my email. And this is sort of very serious you guys and believe you me. I debated even blogging this or just keeping quiet about it, so please understand what a big deal this is for me to be able to share this, it took a lot for me to share this with you all.You all know how important my dad is to me. Anyway, I got an email from my dad last Thursday around 3:30pm. He said he wasn't feeling really well. He had been having heart pains all day and it felt like a 1000 needles stabbing his heart. From the second I read this.....everything on my mind. What I did that week. What I had to do Friday (games meeting). Everything seemed so small and not to matter at all anymore. My dad...god how do I even talk about my dad. The love I have for my dad. When my parents divorced, I felt so torn, who do I live with? I love them both, as I should. But when it came down to it. I had to be with my dad. I can look at my dad's face and know instantly what he's thinking. Without even a single........word. I called my dad immediately. My dad is lucky in that 95% of his dear friends in Guam are doctors. Yes, actual medical professionals. He golfs with them and goes to the same congregation as he does and some also live in the same condo plex my dad does. So, my dad went and got checked and my dad's blood pressure was 180! Which is not just high, it's flat out scary high. The doctor gave my dad new medication. And my stubborn dad went home. He is now fine. But this gave me an absolute scare. Gave my dad an absolute scare as well. As some of you know, he had, had a quadruple heart bypass the year before Noboru and I got married, the year we got engaged. My dad eats very little meat, he's practically a vegetarian, though he will eat meat on occasion... while we're there perhaps. He'll eat a burger once a week. Or a slab of ribs at Tony Romas when we're there. But maybe 1-2 times a week tops for my dad is when he conssumes meat. But yeah....this was so unbe..freaking unbelievably scary for me you guys. I got the worst sleep last Thursday night. Tossing and turning worrying about my dad. Friday morning, I knew I had that Summer festival meeting that morning. I told Noboru Friday morning...forget the summer festival...no offense. But my dad comes first. So, I called my dad after sending Branden to school last Friday morning. He said he was fine. Are you sure? Are you certain? You're not just lying trying to make me feel better are you??? Yes I asked all these questions. And more. ; ) I was wrecked. I checked the flight. I called my dad back even yet again. "Do you want me to fly to Guam today?" Because you say the word and I'm there. I'll go back and pick up Branden pull him from school. Not to worry a bit dad, I told him. "Gina...I'm really fine, stop worrying so much, YOU'RE going to have a heart attack!!!!" Okay well if you're sure. So, then I finished making Noah's lunch. Got my makeup on and got a dress on. And right before I left...I called my dad one last time. Are you sure dad, you don't want me to come? No, honey I am quite alright. Please Gina don't worry so much. Go to the school, I know what you have today. Okay well if you're sure.....so one more time are you sure? Good bye Gina honey, please don't worry so much.

So, I arrive at the school. Walk Noah to his class. Did I have a chance to shave my legs last night? Now I am looking at myself, I look okay, but are my legs shaved? Hmm, honestly I was so out of my mind the night before, with worry I don't remember what I did in the shower that night or what I skipped. : ( I went upstairs and into the room I was the first person there besides the head of the games commitee lady. See this room, this table had many mama's working hard on this table last Friday. Many lovely Japanese mothers and 1 American mother. We worked and worked and talked and talked. This keeping busy was sorta good for me last Friday it kept my mind occupied. Kept me thinking. I cut many red goldfish and added the eyesI did all sorts of stuff at our Catholic yochien last Friday. At around 10:40am, I left. It was decided, I was working the first half of the Summer festival at the Jenga game. A big giant sized jenga, lol. @_@. So 1 hour of work and then 1 hour off and getting to enjoy it with my son's. Then we get to go home. So that'll be cool when the festival happens. And no, I did not tell anyone about my dad's scare from the yochien. I don't often open up and share private or serious things like that. If you ever saw the first Shrek movie? How Shrek said, he's like an onion...because they have layers? lol. I'm sort of the same way, I'm afraid. ; ) Anyway...

This is the room upstairs where we worked last Friday morning at the yochien. I'm glad I worked so hard. I definitely did my fair share for the Summer festival that's for darned sure. I went to all the games meetings we had. And I'll be there the day before the Summer festival to help set up as well. Second week in a row I haven't gone to lunch with my friends at the yochien. : ( But in my defense though, after the games meeting last Friday, all I could think about was getting home and calling my dad to see if he was okay. I got home and sure enugh called my dad the second I got home. Dad!!! Are you okay?! I'm completely fine. I was just taking a nap until you called me. Whoops okay sorry dad....yes you should rest. Sorry please get some sleep. Wanting to call my dad back again. Going absolutely bonkers with worry over here yet not wanting to be a complete pest either. So, I waited. Until he emailed. Yippy. He emailed me. A 3 sentence one. I'm feeling fine...going to run to the store to get some veggies and fruit, I'll email you later. As soon as I got that email. I called my dad. @_@ "Gina! I was just on the way out the door!" Yes, dad I know....I got your email. But.....are you sure you should be mobile? Gina! Yes, okay dad, sorry. I'll hang up now. ; )

Okay....so it seems my dad is on the mend. He says he's feeling completely back to normal. His pills seem to be working. He's taking 1 for cholesterol and 1 for his blood pressure. And he has an emergency nitroglycerine tab for emergencies. So, I should probably relax. I should probably try not drive my dad bonkers anymore by my calls since this news. And dad, when you read this I am truly truly sorry. It's just I have been going out of my mind with worry about you. I love you. I love you so much. And frankly I'd be lost without you. We are so close you and I. And....I guess logic went out the window. And worry took it's place. I will try my best not to call you 10 times a day to ask if you're okay. I'll try. I promise. : ) Okay...if I can just call you one more time tonight before bed, that would put my mind at ease a smidge. And perhaps one tomorrow first thing in the morning, as well. Or am I pushing it? ; )

Noah's, parent teacher conference was last Thursday, before dad's email. Anyway, the Yayoi sensei. Said to us this year.....that last year when Noah entered school he was very happy but very shy. This year she said, he is very out going. Very friendly and talkative. She said he has no bad behaviors in her class at all. She said actually he is very nice and gentle to the younger red badge class kids. He's helpful to them. We got the same sort of comment about Branden as well. So this made us quite happy, he's a good boy. Basically she said Noah is a very smart boy and very considerate of the others in the class. She said that Hiraku-kun and Noah are best friends. We knew this already. And she said, if Noah's is late or not at school (only think he missed 1-2 days this semester tops), H-kun will ask the sensei all day...where's Noah-kun? Is he okay? When is he coming? So, apprantly they're very very good friends. She also said, he has no problem with Japanese, he speaks it with the sensei's and all his friends with no problem. So, we thanked her and then we left. So he had a very positive remarks from the teachers this semester. Well done Noah!! We have a conference for B coming up this month as well.

Health check up finished, How we spent our 4th of July, Family game night, and yup it's Hawaii for sures!!! : )

Last week, like I said in my last post, we went to Toys R Us to get just a few things for Noah's upcoming birthday. : )

The hubster and I went. Didn't buy a whole lot as usual. Just 3 presents from us. : )

After leaving the toy store, we went to Don Quijote. Noboru was actually looking for something specific but didn't find it. However we bought a pack of curry senbais and left. Then we headed to go have some lunch together, just the two of us since the kids were at school. : )

We went to the Osho, a Chinese food restaurant, everytime we go have Chinese we always go here. It's so good. This pic was of my lunch. The servings are huge. I had to take half of mine to go. It was just too much food. Noboru and I sat and ate, talked a lot and then headed home. Anyway that was one of our days from last week. : )

One of Noah's obento lunches. Yakitori on a bed of rice, some steamed green beans and 3 fries. Some apples and 2 jellys. Leftovers basically. : ) I've made yakitori twice this month so far. Ha ha ha. I think I was in a yakitori type mood maybe. : )

A quick picture of Noah from last Thursday or maybe it was last Friday? I forget the exact date but it was sprinkling in the morning as we were on our way to the yochien. : )

And yup, I did do my half of the butterflies. : ) They were due Monday July 6th but I turned them in anyway on Friday July 3rd. : ) I didn't wanna wait to the last second, yet I didn't wanna do them too early either. LOL. Worry wart that I am, so I thought Friday was a good safe choice. Ha ha ha. Thursday afternoon, I did the faces like they wanted. And then I thought maybe they looked a bit plain. So, next thing I know, I am tracing the butterfly wings with crayon then adding polka dots. Honestly it was just a lot of fun! And I kept thinking how the kids would be happy and like those happy not scary, lol, butterflies. So, I just enjoyed myself a lot. : ) And then.....dundundun!!! I started thinking..... Should I decorate the back? Or should I leave the back plain? Decisions decisons. : ) : )

And sure enough as in the pic, I decorated all the backs of my half of the butterflies. Ha ha ha! Anyway I was pretty happy with how they came out and I hope the kids like them. If the kids like them that will make me happy.

Also on Friday July3rd, was my breast exam and pap smear. My appointment was at 1:45pm. It was definitely pretty interesting. But I am so glad I got it done. See those 3 big RV type vehicles in the pictures? I'll explain. Okay first I arrived at the place with Noah at 1pm. I was a little early. Hoping they could sort of let me go before 1:45pm and lucky for me, they did. Anyway I went into the building. Handed them my paperwork. And sat down with about 8 other ladies. For our town in the summer, they have 3 days and all day long during those 3 days, you can get an appointment to get checked for free. I was at first thinking it was going to be like a cattle call type thing, but not really at all. Anyway so I am sitting down. Most ladies that were sitting looked to be in their 50's. Though 2 younger ladies around my age also came. So it varied in age. They called my name and I went in the back. Once there, they tested my blood pressure. She said I have excellent blood pressure, no need to be concerned. Okay, that is good to know. : ) And then she walked me to the next station. At the next station they said my # is 14 and to go to the great big RV to the far right, but in the picture you are looking at it was the far left. The RV with the orange swirling stripe on it. They did not allow Noah to go in the RV's so the lady working there, watched Noah while I went into the RV. I had no idea what to expect when I entered. It was pretty quiet. There was like a lady doctor and 2 lady nurses in the front behind a curtain. One came out and told me and 1 elderly granny type to take off all our clothes from the waist down. And to cover ourselves with a towel. They had sent a letter to my house suggesting for anyone getting the exam to bring a towel and I brought my great big peachy coral colored type towel with me that I have had since I was a uni student, but it's one of my favorite towels. Okay so the nurse told us to get undressed and then the nurse left. It was just me and the granny type lady. We didn't speak to one another and we tried not to make eye contact. I think we just wanted to respect each others privacy and basically she didn't wanna see my gaijin parts anymore, then I wanted to see her wrinkly granny bits. So, I faced the other way, got naked from waist down and covered myself with my old faithful towel. I think we both felt relieved after we got covered in our towels. They called me first. Not by name now, they called me #14 (the other parts of the test they called me by name : ). It felt pretty anonymous, phew. In the US, when you get gynecological exams, you lay on a flat table, unmoving table and place your legs in stir ups. However, after having Noah in Japan, I know it's different here. So, I laid on a table but it was more like a seat, they did have stir ups, but just as I sat down. And yes there is even a curtain between my face and the doctor, so I can have even a bit more privacy. : ) Anyway as soon as I sat down in the chair with stir ups, they shot it up high in the air, the chair must have hydraulics or something. But I felt like a car getting a tune up, or a car at Meineke or the Jiffy Lube. The way that chair just shot me in the air like that. @_@ She tested me for cancer down there. results are not back yet. But I think I'm fine. When they were done, the chair was lowered and I left. Never actually seeing the doctor though I heard her voice. I went back into the room where the granny was still standing with her towel. And now we just smiled a quick smile at each other. And I got dressed and they called her in. I was dressed and leaving when 2 new ladies were sent in there. I never went into the middle RV. I wonder what's in there? Anyway, by now, they told me to go to the last RV, the yellow one with green stripes and before I went inside they instructed me to be naked from the waist up but to cover with my towel. It was seriously dead silence in there. And I do mean, complete and total dead silence. I actually got worried after folding up my shirt and bra that no one was in there at all. The lady came into get me but spoke very soft, very soothing type voice. It was an ultrasound type breast exam, no painful machine like I worried about. She laid me down on the flat table, still softly talking. She put that gel stuff on my breasts, same type of stuff they used on my tummy when I was preggers. The gel was really warm. She searched my left breast first, she took a very long time. Just being thorough. But of course worry wart me....thought, "she's taking too long, should I be worried?" Anyway she was very thorough and she didn't say anything really like, looks okay. No cancer. Just nothing. Just when she was finished with both breasts, she gave me a tissue to wipe off. And then I went and got changed. I was finished with my exams completely by 1:30pm. I felt so so so relieved and proud of myself for going and getting this done. I am sorta nervous about the results, but I think they'll be fine. : )

Yup, glad I went last Friday! : )

Last Friday, I made a simple curry. It was the weekend and I knew I had to make something but I didn't wanna be in the kitchen forever. So, this was pretty great. : )

Dinner last Friday.

We really are pretty big on the family time around here. And last Saturday, around 8pm, Noah had already fallen alseep. We whipped out Jenga. : )

I really love this picture a lot. Because it captures the whole mood so well. The big smile on Branden's face. And goodness... look the whole thing was balancing on that 1 thin red wood piece.

We played 2 rounds of this. Oh yeah, ahem. Guess who knocked down the jenga from this picture? I did. : ( Bummer. Ha ha ha. : ) Branden knocked it down the 2nd time though. And Noboru is feeling just a bit too proud of himself for not knocking it down. So hopefully B and I can get a rematch soon. : )

My dad, sent Noah this birthday card with some money in it for Noah to pick out a gift he wants.

Thanks dad. And yup, I had Noah call and thank grandpa via skype. : )

Grandma Mitsuko sent a sweet card and a gift card from Toys r us.

I'll try to translate my best....."For the Noah that's always happy" : ) And you know, most people that meet our kids irl, that's usually the first comment they'll make, 'they're such happy kids" . And yup, we had Noah call and thank grandma Mitsuko too. : )

An ichiman yen gift card. Does that mean we will be making another trip to Toys r us. @_@. Aw well, it's okay. : ) : )

Last Saturday morning the Flying pig stuff came. Smallest order in the world I think. 2 things.

Just an inflatable pool for the boys.

And a freakishly big bag of tortilla chips.

Saturday July 4th. American Independence day. Anyway I thought since it was sprinkling off and on that day for us here. So a BBQ for us was unfortunately out of the question. : ( But, I decided to bake a homemade from scratch apple pie. Yummmm! : ) What's that saying again....as American as apple pie. : )

Cinnamon, lemon juice, a bit of flour for thickening. brown sugar, etc etc. : )

This smelled so good. : )

And homestyle cheeseburgers. I figured our meal should be American for the 4th! Ha ha ha. : ) It's not very often that we make cheeseburgers at home but when we do, they are so good. : ) I had lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mustard and ketchup. Apple pies all done by now in the pic. : )

Real cheddar, crispy fries. I was so ready!!! So was the rest of the family. After we ate, is when we showered and then later that night is when we played jenga. : )

So good! : ) Just proves, you can take the girl out of America, but you can't take the American out of the girl. : ) So, happy 4th of July for whoever else celebrated it. : )

Had to get Branden ready for another smallish field trip. Just around the inaka near the school someplace. But with a bit of preparation, I got him ready for it. : ) I always translate my list in English. Fishing pole, rainboots, bait, bucket and towel. : )

You know how Noboru is in the dad's club at the elementary, right? Well, 2 of B's classmates dad's told Noboru that they were having their kids wear fishing boots. I said, fishing boots??? I just didn't get that, why not use regular rain boots? Now you know Noboru's hobby is fishing anyway. So he listed me like 5 reasons why B needed fishing boots. (shakes head) I just didn't get it and still don't, ha ha ha. But Noboru insisted and said he will use them a lot. etc, etc. Errr anyway. Hubby went and bought B a pair of boots for fishing. It has to be a guy or man thing. Or perhaps a fishing type guy thing. I am still shaking my head in wonderment about it. Ha ha ha. : ) Anyway they did make Branden happy. And now Noboru and B and some of his coworkers and their sons are all going to go on a father and son fishing thing soon. So, hopefully he'll use them then too. @_@ : )

And just when I thought the end of school drawing near, means no more things to buy, is when we got anther note saying Branden needed origami paper by Tuesday. Yup, it's neverending, ha ha ha. @_@. Good thing to have a good sense of humor about it though. So a trip to the 100 yen, and 3 packs later. And that was that. Oh please no more notes home with new lists of stuff to buy. Ha ha ha. : )

My friend and neighbor down the street Rumi-san (karaoke partner and bowling pal) brought over even more potatoes this week. These are humongous potatoes. They're downright giants! Ha ha ha. I am going to have to do something really nice in return but I am still thinking what it should be. : )

Last weekend, I got sucked into Youtube. My husband likes and watches Youtube quite a bit. However, I tell my husband basically everything. We're really close. Anyway I was talking with him about what a bummer it is that Kyle XY was gone off satellite. And he said...."It's on Youtube, just watch it there." I checked and sure as heck, he was right. So, I started watching where I left off. And I basically had 6 episodes to watch until reaching the end. I watched those last weekend in bits and I am so glad I got to see those like that. However now I am a Youtube convert @_@ and I have been checking out other shows now. I watched cycle 12 of America's Next Top model from start to finsih this week and loved it!!! Absolutely loved it!!!! Watched that in bits all this week. Now I am trying to decide what to watch next. : ) : )

Sunday, this past Sunday I made chicken noodle sooup. Just simple. It was very nice.

Sunday, I put name tags/stickers on all of Branden's stuff. All of it was due to be at the school on Monday.

Monday July 6th and yup, more rain showers. : ) Branden going into the elementary with his fishing pole, boots, bucket, etc etc. : ) And funny, as I dropped him off I saw a few other of parents dropping off their 2nd graders with fishing poles too. : ) Different grades do different stuff, I think the 3rd or 4th graders went on an overnight trip. Another grade went on a big field trip far away someplace. : ) And meanwhile the 2nd graders have been in full fishing mode by the sensei's. : ) : )

Monday morning after both kids were sent to school, Noboru and I went and had breakfast at Mc D's. We haven't been in there in ages, we usually eat at home and if we eat breakfast it's usually Coco's. I had an egg mcmuffin combo. : ) He had the sausage mcmuffin combo. : )

He was searhing on his wireless, something about our upcoming vacation.

Same Monday, ha ha ha but now it's after school and Kumon. I had B try on the new jinbei we bought for him to wear to Noah's summer festival. Size 140cm. Good size. However, he needs new sandals to go with the outfit. The ones he had last year are way too small. Besides the getting the actual yochien ready for the summer festival us mother's also have to get our kids ready for the festival too. ha ha ha. So, yup, this festival has me occupied lately a bunch still. I now have to track down a bigger pair of sandals for B. As for Noah, I will have him try on his jinbei and see if anything needs replacing. We'll see. : ) : )

Nope, not a growth spurt, B's sneakers were trashed though, but yup, he's still a 21cm for now. He had used them full time since December. So, a trip to Narita's Sports Authority was in order for Monday. Goodness were we busy this past Monday or what? Ha ha ha. : ) : )

They were a really great deal at 30% off and I think they came to 2500 yen or so.

Anyway, the next day, July 7th was Noah's birthday. I'll make another post for that since this post is getting too long anyway. : )

TV Talk: Am still watching Ghost Whisperer. Dexter 3rd season. Gossip Girl is getting so good. Finished watching Kyle XY thanks to Youtube. : ) Watched America's Next Top Model cycle 12. Loved it so much. Did anyone else catch ANM cycle 12? If so who did you like, what did you think? At first at the beginning Allison sorta freaked me out with that whole, she loves nose bleeds stuff. I was like...she what???? And when Tyra said she got nose bleeds as a child and Allison simply said..."jealous" I was like...eww ewww eww! @_@. Ha ha ha. But she sorta became pretty cool towards the end and I thought she became a good model towards the end too. My favorites were Fo, London and Aminat (sp?) I am now thinking about watching the older episodes of ANM on Youtube because on satelite in Japan, we have seen up to season 2, so we're REALLY behind and now that I can watch the whole thing on youtube, I might catch a few seasons/cycles that I haven't seen yet. I think for us with sattelite, we are now getting season/cycle 3 soon. But it's so cool I can catch all the cycles via Youtube. Oh dear, have I opened up a can of worms by becoming a Youtube fan??? I would like to watch all cycles on Youtube. We'll see. : )

Vacation update: yes we're going to Honolulu for sures. The flights are just seriously that open. And we can tell by now it's gonna happen. We already booked the hotel and booked the rental car. So everything's already set. Funny little blurb though. Guess who will also be in Honolulu? The Yuka-sensei. Yup, Branden's teacher. Remember her sister is getting married and they will have it at a small chapel there. Like a wedding type package thing. Anyway, not many people are going but the Yuka-sensei and her hubby and 2 kids are going for 2 or 3 nights. They aren't staying so long, but they will be there while we are also there. Ha ha ha. I told B, "you watch you'll be swimming or walking around in Waikiki and all of a sudden you'll hear...Branden-kun!!!! An it'll be Yuka-sensei. LOL! She's a very friendly nice teacher. but yup, there's a chance while strolling Waikiki we'll bump into Yuka-sensei and family. : ) She knows we'll be there already (9 nights sleeping and playing in Oahu, then don't forget the travel days too....the 1 day travelling to Honolulu from Japan, in the first place and 1 day for travelling back to Japan makes 11 days. B and her have been nonstop getting excited about it. This is her first trip overseas. Yay Yuka-sensei!!! You can do it. :P And another of B's classmates is there right this minute, enjoying himself with his mom and dad and sister, He's a good friend of B's.. : ) I doubt she'll need it, but I am thinking of giving the Yuka-sensei our hotel information, just in case they run into trouble. And we could help just in case. I'll have to ask Noboru what he thinks first though. : )