Guam trip. February 2013

Friday evening, Branden, Noah and myself flew to Guam. Our flight was at 6pm-ish. And we were at the airport at 2:50pm. A little early but perfect time to check in while nobody else much was there. Get through the TSA with zero line. And basically breeze to the gate and then just wait. The boys played their 3DS XL. I did buy them 2 cheeseburgers each from McD's and they shared a medium french fries. I meanwhile the only thing I ate all Friday was a banana. @_@ I was busy all that day and plus we picked the boys up early from school and left immediately to the airport. I didn't feel like eating McD's at all. However I did buy a jasmine tea (no sugar) and the boys and I shared that at the gate.  And I meanwhile read my book, I got for valentine's day. It's not a heavy deep book. It's just purely comic relief and if you are a mom it will make you laugh out loud for sure. The huge windows at Narita airport were all fogged and we wondered is it snowing outside or just still drizzling rain? Friday was bitterly cold. We caught our flight. 3 hours later we were in Guam. The 2nd I exited the airplane, heat and humidity hit me, it felt great. I could feel it as I walked the Jetway. Definitely different then the weather I just left. My dad was waiting and all smiles to see us. We went right to my dad's condo. And we went right to sleep. It was 11pm-11:30pm and I was exhausted. Both Branden and Noah went to their bed and were zonked out in 5 minutes or less. Me too. The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed. And starving! We went to Denny's for breakfast. Branden had a Grand Slam, Noah had the kids chocolate chip pancakes with bacon and sausage. And my dad had an omelet. We were stuffed. We were deciding to shop first or hit the movie first. I decided to get the shopping done and out of the way, so we could just play and enjoy afterwards. Oh yeah I had the banana pecan wheat pancakes with crispy bacon and scrambled eggs.

Cost u less near GPO, right away. You do not need a membership. This is like Costco and no, Guam doesn't have an actual Costco. There are 2 Cost U less stores and they carry different things so it is worth looking at both. Such as Cost U less near GPO doesn't carry the bean and cheese burritos where the other one does. And vice versa on many things.

Girl Scout cookie season! Yay!! Love these cookies so much! Knew we'd buy some on our way out of the store.

The moms and Girl Scouts were so nice! So many Japanese were snapping pictures. And I did ask them, do you mind if I take a picture and they said "go right ahead!" : ) They were awesome!

Like the sign says $4 a box and it's for a great cause! So yeah, I will always buy these, whenever I see them! I ran to 2 Cost U less stores, Kmart and Payless Micronesia mall. I also got an eyebrow wax. : ) We dropped off all the food back at my dad's condo. And I didn't really buy all too much.

Right on time for the movie. Called "Warm Bodies." A comedy zombie movie. Where the zombies could be turned back to real people again. So many families and kids enjoying this movie. The movie was actually pretty full. But we were first in the theater and we got the best seats, dead center and perfect row too. We had a large popcorn and 2 large sodas.  When we got out of the movie it was still good timing.

Before the movie before us, let out, both Branden and Noah played the Terminator game at the movies while we waited for the show before ours to let out.

The 3:35pm showing. February 16th.

Noah wanted some tacos. So 3 tacos for Noah.

Branden had chicken strips and mashed potatoes. My dad had 1 chicken breast.

I had 2 bean burritos. This was not really dinner more so a snack. A light meal, because if we had left Guam without the boys tasting/having tacos or chicken strips they'd be sad, so we had to squish this in there somehow. : )

Many many tourists. Given the horrible tragedy, it was still very nice to see so many tourists still out and about. That made me feel happy seeing them, still enjoying themselves.

This is a pic of the sign of the ABC store where it happened. We did drive down that road during one of our comings and goings that day. I did see all the stuffed animals, water and notes of condolence on that road. To see it first hand was honestly very shattering, to be honest with you. I took no pictures from the actual site out of resepect. And no, we never left our car we just happened to be driving down the road.

I wasn't hungry at all, and I mean at all. The burritos were enough for me. However Noah started to get hungry around 7pm-ish. Saturday night. We were by now at my dad's condo just resting. Then around 7:30pm Branden started to get hungry. Again, I wasn't hungry, neither was my dad. But if my kids are hungry, feed them, I will. ; ) We went to Pizza Hut. 1 pan pizza, pepperoni and mushrooms.

Being silly these boys. After dinner we went back to my dad's condo and we all said good night at 9pm. And yes, my dad and I did end up eating pizza too, hahaha. I was exhausted. And I knew my flight was leaving the next morning at 10:30am. So I had to be there (at the airport) around 7:30am. Because the tour buses that bring the Japanese back to the airport and they come in groups of like 200 or 300 or more. Get there around 8am. And then the lines get insanely long, so me getting there *before* the tour buses is best.

I can never sleep well or deeply when I know I have an early flight to catch. My alarm was set at 6am, but I woke up around 4:50am. Laid in bed staring at the ceiling for about 10 minutes then I went into my bathroom and started brushing my teeth, putting my makeup on and flat ironing my hair. At 5:40am when I was done, I woke up both Branden and Noah. They have done this a million times, so they woke up quickly, went to the bathroom, washed hands, brushed teeth, got dressed. and at 6am, I went to my dad's bedroom door and knocked, and said I was dressed. He was awake too, he was reading in his bed. At 6:20am we went to Denny's for breakfast. I had a veggie and cheese omelet, hashbrowns and toast and coffee. Branden and Noah had chocolate chip pancakes. Noah had this for the 2nd time this trip. ; ) We went back to my dad's and I started pulling things from the fridge. I knew the time I wanted to be at the airport, 7:30am. So, I had 30 minutes to pack up. And we left. The boys did not miss a single day of school. They did get out an hour early Friday but they didn't miss the whole day at all. I hugged my dad a great big bear hug at the drop off area at the airport. He said, I love you to Branden and Noah and they him. And we left. Check in was empty, thank goodness! And we checked in, went through the TSA's fast. And then sat at our gate yet again. And I went back to my book at the gate yet again.

Noah getting ready to sit down on his seat.

Next to the reading light is all sorts of chargers. You can charge your ipod or whatever you'd like. I didn't need it, but it was nice knowing it was there at least.

TV screen.

Branden getting settled and about to drink his orange juice. He sat next to Noah flying to Guam.  But, Branden said he might sleep this flight and he asked not to sit next to Noah for flying back home to Japan. Which is fine, no worries. Noah is a little happy smiling chatterbox. And maybe Branden would like to watch a movie without having someone nudge you and tell you something 100 times. : )  I was going to sit alone but since he asked, I said okay. So, Branden took my seat.  And he had just the best time.

So, I sat next to my delightful little chatterbox extraordinaire. hahaha. : )

You can't really even see my bag. The boys put their backpacks in their spots too.

This is a very big area for us passengers. You just saw there's a fairly big cubby to place your bag if you want to. And there's also a place for your feet to go when you sleep or want your feet up. The leg room is amazing.

Also, you can get a nonstop massage if you want. Branden and Noah didn't want one, but I must admit, I got a fantastic massage for 3 hours. For the entire flight. Oh, it was heaven, free of course. My shoulders, my back, my thighs and butt. Hahaha. I felt like putty by the time I got off the airplane.

The pic that says "zzz" and it is a picture of 1 lone line, that means it lays flat to a bed and it really does.

Branden did take a little nap after he ordered his meal, but he woke up before the meal cart rolled around.

And like a Lazy Boy or recliner, more of the actual seat rolls out and your legs are elevated on a cushy couch piece for the flight.

Curry chicken breast, mashed potatoes, bok choy, cesar salad, shrimp salad, dinner roll and a tart.

They had about 60-80 movies easy. They had the classics like Bridget Jones's Diary and Breakfast at Tiffany's and the original Willy Wonka. And they also had all the new releases you could imagine. And the kids movies choices were amazing.

Noah eating his meal. Nobody sitting to the left on the other row near Noah nobody sitting in front of Branden or me either, the first class was pretty dead/open.

Branden smartly watched as many movies as he could fit into the amount of time he had. Me too. : ) 

After dinner and watching a little bit of a movie, Noah wanted to sleep. So, he slept the whole flight. Aww, he wasn't even a little chatter box this time, bless his heart.  And he is a very good boy he just loves to chit chat, "look at this part of the movie" "This is the best part, watch this" "what are you doing?" lol those types of things. : ) What movies did I watch on the plane back and forth. I watched, "Devil" About 5or 6 people trapped inside an elevator and 1 of them is the devil, you must figure out who it is! @_@ I also watched, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" This had the actress all grown up now of course, but she played Hermoine Granger in the Harry Potter movies. Emma Watson. This movie was fantastic. I also watched House at the End of the Street.With the actress who played Katniss Everdeen, from the Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence. I watched 1/2 of the "House at the End of the Street" there and the other 1/2 back home to Japan. : ) So anyway that's our trip in a nutshell. It was super short, from Friday night to Sunday morning. So really we only had the whole Saturday to enjoy, but honestly that was enough to unwind a little and to get to enjoy a movie and the day with my dad and the boys. And Branden and Noah enjoyed themselves a lot and me too.  All in all, it was totally worth it for us to go and get away for the weekend. And this whole week, we are back to the land of the bitterly cold winter season. It snowed the other day but turned to rain after a few hours of snow (melted now of course). : ) And school schedules, Kumon schedule and swim class. hahaha. So yeah it was a nice weekend getaway, at least. : )

Also side note: I clearly must have been suffering from a serious brain fart the other day! Because I was under the assumption/impression we were heading to Hakone this Friday/tomorrow. The other night, I was speaking to Noboru and I mentioned grabbing a few snacks for Friday's trip. Judging by his facial expression. Clearly I was off on my dates. I said, "are we not leaving Friday." he said, baby we aren't leaving this week. I hate getting things wrong like this. Gah! This mix up caused me to recheck everything in my calendar for February, just in case. Everything else is fine. But yeah weird I got the dates mixed up. I'm usually really on top of things like this. So we are not leaving this week. Soon, really really soon, but not tomorrow type soon, lol.
 

Planting potatoes for the first time

Growing up, in Colorado when I was a little girl. We had this massive front yard and this massive backyard. We had 2 flower bed areas near our front porch and a long flower bed in front of the big 5 or 6 foot privacy fence that separated the front yard from the back yard. But the front was primarily grass/lawn. And the same with the backyard, it was mostly lawn. The back yard we did have a strip for flower garden and our rhubarb on one side in the backyard. 3 car garage and then a massive square shaped vegetable garden near the peach tree and closer to the garage. Anyway, every Spring, my dad would plant his garden. He had a garden every year for pleasure. Watching something you grew from your care. And then getting to it eat. Every Spring though, my dad and I would go to the nursery and pick the plants that we'd grow for that year. I loved getting to help pick. The smell inside that massive nursery. I could smell soil and flowery smells and baby plants. My dad did all the hard work. He turned the soil over. He planted them, though sometimes I helped. but it was 99% all my dad. To be fair, I also helped weeding. : ) But my dad would water them sometimes with the big American style water sprinkler that moved back and forth (it also helped water our lawn and garden at the same time, hahaha. Or he'd use the smaller/medium area sprinkler, that could do just the garden and sometimes he'd water it by hand with the hand sprinkler.  And then later in Summer, when we needed something for our salad or for our side dish, I'd run out to the garden and pull it or take it off the plant. That to me was the best part! Then I'd bring it into the house and wash it up. Here in Japan. Our backyard is primarily grass and yard. And we have only a little strip for a garden. We did that on purpose. Because we wanted the yard mostly for sitting and lounging. However, We have been itching to start gardening. One year we grew zucchini and that was fantastic nothing went to waste. Another time we grew tomatoes. The problem though is it made more tomatoes then we could actually eat. We only use a handful a week and yet we were making handfuls by the day. So, many rotted before we could eat them. We tried freezing them. So sadly, we decided tomatoes were not a good match for our family. : ( Then we tried cucumber. I love cucumber. However again. I eat about 3-4 a week. For salads. But again we were growing about 5 a day, we cut those next day there's 3 big ones again, cut those next days there's 4 or 5 again. It was too much.  And finally last year we planted zucchini again but the typhoon wiped him out. @_@ So, back to the drawing board. This January when Noboru and I were on one of our lunch dates. We said, what should we plant? I said let's not plant anything we can't use 100%. I hate wasting. And although we gave many cucumbers and tomatoes away, after a while not even friends wanted them. : ( Even they were sick of them by the end of the Summer. : ) Okay, fair enough. So Noboru said, we go through potatoes a lot. I said, true! So we thought, we won't waste any. Then we vetoed cucumbers and tomatoes. we use them just not enough to grow them. Then we said, why not lettuce and why not zucchini. So, we decided on potatoes, zucchini and different varieties of lettuce this year. That's it. Of course it's too early for zucchini and lettuce right now. But not for the potatoes. All the DIY's around here have the potatoes out. It seems the right season for our area. So we bought a small bag of planting potatoes.

While my dad has grown 2 rows of potatoes all my childhood. I have never grown potatoes at all. Neither has Noboru. Thank goodness for great directions on the back of the bag. And also thank goodness for all the farmers also buying potatoes while we were because we picked their brains and asked them a ton of questions. One thing they all agreed is to use ash for the potatoes. @_@ I never heard of this. But they all chimed in and piped up. Apparently it protects against disease? @_@ Again, I'm new to all this. But since these farmers were all 60 plus years old and they seemed to know their stuff. Also Noboru read online and read so many potato posts in Japan by Japanese. And he also said they rec'd ash. Again, we have zero idea, but we used ashes too.  We also cut the potatoes like this drawing said to. And let it dry a bit. But not shrively wrinkly type dry though, lol.

Okay this is probably the least romantic thing to do on Valentine's day, so bare with me. : ) But, since Branden, Noah and myself were leaving Japan the next day. and given our potatoes were dry but we were worried they'd look mummified by the time we got back on Sunday. We had no choice but to plant them Valentine's day. : ) Where did we get the ash? The BBQ. Hahaha. : )

We cut it up like the picture, we spaced each hole the amount the back of the directions said to. And now we will just wait and hope for the best. I hope, they flourish and we end up with a nice size haul of potatoes. I worry that they won't grow, that they will get a disease or be stunted somehow and when we dig them up at the end of Summer or whatever, that nothing will have grown. That would be a big time bummer! Big time! : ) So, anyway, I will now keep you all updated. No, I won't make like weekly potato posts or anything, lol, but maybe just a little blurb once a month should be enough. I am crossing my fingers you guys! Man I hope we grow some nice potatoes this year. Do I think we'll end up with like 1000 potatoes? No of course not, but even if we grew 50 healthy potatoes that would still be sort of cool. Please potatoes grow, healthy and good and delicious. Hahaha. : )

Valentine's Day

Sorry, as usual I am about 4 posts behind. hahaha. : ) Anyway, I did want to talk about Valentine's just a teeny tiny bit. Noboru asked me in January what I would like for Valentine's day. I told him, I'd like 1 book, 1 DVD and maybe a small box of chocolates or maybe a camera case. He said, get the chocolates *and* the camera case, I'll get you those no problem. He said just throw what you want into the Amazon cart and he'll take care of the rest. Bless this man! Such an awesome husband! So totally thoughtful always. And no, I don't mind in the least picking out what I'd like for Valentine's day. It saves my husband having to rack his brain. And plus he's not a psychic. I know some households might want the element of surprise and that's fine, if that's how you do it, but that's not how we roll here at our house. So, I don't mind throwing what I'd like in the cart at all. Not at all. I often do the same in return because that way no disappointments for V-day, birthdays or the like. I also kept what I would pick to about 5,000 yen to 6,000 yen most. The book and DVD, came from Amazon.com. They were both what I had been wanting and they were both affordable. The chocolates, we both threw into the cart while we were shopping together one afternoon. He said, "oh I know you love these.", I said, "I do, I do." And they were only about 450 yen. So, again, something I really liked and loved without it costing an arm and a leg. And the book and DVD got here fairly fast. And we did order those in January. So, smart to order ahead of time. I was not disappointed come Valentine's day. : )

I found my camera case from Amazon.jp

My old camera case was orange cost only about 800 yen and I liked it a lot but I used it to death. And I really mean pieces of the orange color material had ripped off and it looked horrible. So I needed a new one. I fell in love with this one. It's so cool. It's in a lovely caramel/camel color and it was only 1,600 yen. About $17 US. The comments on amazon.jp said it looks so much pricier then it really is. And I agree. It really is gorgeous in real life. I did show Noboru online and asked him what he thought. He said, he loved it so much if he had a camera he'd pick this case too! : ) So, I know I made the right choice. Also, it must be a gray day when I took this picture because it's lighter and prettier then this color. It is the color of the pic down below.

A close up. The strap is nice and long and has 3 adjustments. I was actually worried the strap would be too short and like strangle me type short. But it is actually really long and can be shortened. I am so happy with the length of this strap. I used this Friday on my trip to Guam. I had a flight attendant and the waitress at Denny's mention how cute my camera case was. So 2 compliments on the case and I have only used it since last Friday. And again it was nice and affordable. And I love it. And I also like that I can walk hands free and still carry my camera with me. Okay, okay, I'll cool it about my camera case already! : ) But, I do like it. I like it a lot. Probably one of the coolest things to have received for Valentine's day.

And inside my chocolate box was this heart. Don't laugh at me or anything, but I am so lucky to be married to my best friend in the whole world.

Branden brought home these Valentine' day treats from 2 girls from elementary school. The one on the left is from M-chan (best 5th grade swimmer girl) and the one on the right are from A-chan, the prettiest girl and most popular girl in the 5th grade class. @_@ Hahaha.

They both went very detailed this year. with heart dangle as part of their tie and the whole shebang. Oh dear, now I better start to think about White Day. Hahaha. : )

A-chan went all out with her homemade choco lollipops. And chocolate dipped heart marshmallow. And she only gave treats to 2 boys. Branden being 1 of the 2.

They also brought home a V-day surprise from yet another at Kumon. Gah! yeah, I better start thinking, White day. @_@

I bought Branden and Noah these. One Piece V-day chocolates. I had bought these end of January as soon as they started displaying V-day stuff is when I jumped on these.

Again nothing hugely expensive or fancy. I just spent 120 yen each however they loved getting these from me. And they had pirate loot inside to boot! : ) I will never forget my 2 boys on Valentine' day. Even if it's something small like how I did on Setsubun by buying those oni cream pans. : )

And no, I didn't forget Noboru. I bought him a special box of chocolates. And I also made him a pan of brownies.  He loved the brownies and he loved the chocolates. : ) Plus we're going to our special Valentine's family get away this coming week, all 4 of us. And we'll be soaking in that chocolate bath. And the other baths too. And get to stay the night at the hotel and just enjoy ourselves as a family. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Valentine's day with your loved ones. : )

Heading to Guam this weekend

Branden, Noah and myself will be flying to Guam this coming Friday. We’re just staying the weekend. My dad’s picking us up and we’ll be staying in my dad’s spare bedroom at his condo. His spare bedroom is pretty huge. Easily about 12 tsubo sized bedroom, plus with it’s own private bathroom/shower in there as well. And there’s 2 full/double sized beds in there, so my dad has a nice guest room. Just trying to give you a visual/idea. : )

 It’s just a relax and rest and unwind type of trip. Eat lots of yummy things (Yogurtland, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut or whatever) and we’re going to the movies too. We have already picked a movie.

And I admit, it'll be nice to get out of this cold weather, even if it's just for a little while. : )  Noboru can't go with us to Guam this time, but we're going back there in March to see "Oz The Great and Powerful" And plus we're going some where next week as a family here in Japan. So he's okay. Anyway, that’s just the latest of what’s happening in our neck of the woods. : )