Cake!

Wow! I love Chocolate Cake (and Nancy)! Pants loves me so much she made me one from scratch for my 33rd birthday! So delicious, and I somehow managed to spread out eating this fantastically dense, moist, rich concoction of chocolate, SUGAR, and buttercream frosting over an entire week instead of gobbling it up in one piggy-like sitting as I was initially inclined. Good thing I just got a Wii Fit. So yes another birthday has passed. I can't complain - life is great! 33 is a palindrome and prime. I suppose now I should stop betting on 32 at the roulette tables. So on my 33rd birthday, I had some deep thoughts.

1. Why don't more people ride bikes? They are awesome!

2. If we gave the U. S. Peace Corp the same budget as any one of the branches of the DOD what kind of world would we live in?

3. A robot that actually does the dishes. (I mean from my table dirty to placed back in the cupboard clean and dry. )

Sadly number 3 is more likely in the future than the other two. Did I mention I love chocolate cake?

More Japanese Engrish

"Sparkling soda"

I think they meant "splash" with the liquid center!

Fall Flashback

Just found these photos from November 2008 and had to share the beautiful Autumn colors around our neighborhood here in Japan. Enjoy!

An unknown variety of color Cherry Tree

Cypress Tree

Uncertain about the tree but pretty!

A red bush

Better Late Than Never!

We're back! Well at least I am... since Maximo is floating around somewhere in the vast Pacific Ocean. He's been deployed for nearly a month now and time is passing slowwwwwwwly but also fast at the same time. Kind of difficult to explain... I stay busy but miss him all the time.
Anyway, I have a lot of blogging and photos to post from the past 3, maybe 4, months so stay tuned!

Kua 'Aina Burgers - Omatesando, Shibuya

The latest: I went out for a GNO (girl's night out) with some of the squadron wives. We decided to have dinner at Kua 'Aina Burgers in Omatesando, a neighborhood in Shibuya and attend the Jason Mraz concert. I had the avocado burger and it very good! Not as good as the $50.00 burger at the New York Bar (a whole other blog entry for later) but it was tasty and not too japanified. The concert was fun; my friend Mari of Passport Diaries and I were disappointed that Jason only sang songs that he liked and not the ones we know and wanted to hear. My favorite quote of the night, "That burger better be better than this concert!" and it was!

Japanese Engrish

October - Halloween!

Even mother nature helped decorate this month! Where ever I walked outside, there were spider webs like the one below.

A creative neighborhood display!

Halloween is a funny time in Japan. Everywhere you go, the Japanese have put up decorations and they go all out! But... that's all they do. No costumes, no trick-or-treating, parties, etc.

But on base, things were quite festive. Most Americans invite their Japanese students to trick-or-treat and it was busy! We had a steady stream of costumed kids for 3 hours straight. At one point, we had a line going down the walk! We set up shop with the neighbors and enjoyed margaritas while passing out candy (at least 25 - 30 bags worth!)

My adorable neighbor, Madison, and me!

Moooooo!

October - Out & About in Tokyo

I went out with a couple of girlfriends in Tokyo last weekend. I began the day with a haircut at a Japanese salon - it was a fabulous experience! My stylist consulted with me throughout the entire appointment to make sure I was pleased with what he was doing. The attention to detail was amazing: They place a warm blanket over you when you get shampooed to keep you from getting cold and you actually have a footrest and a head rest so you aren't straining your neck while laying backwards over the sink. My hair was shampooed not once, but twice and I was treated to a heavenly head, neck and shoulder massage. I highly recommend getting your haircut out in town!

As we walked, I spied an angel trumpet vine growing like the one that Maxwell and I had rescued while living in San Diego. Our vine now lives with Robin of Various and Sunday (my former neighbor). Thanks for taking care of our "love fern"!

I love Japanese signs - they have a wonderful way of conveying the message through pictures!

You can leave your cat, but not your dog.

Usually you can figure out the signs by the pictures. This one still has me wondering.

Next we ventured over to Tokyo Tower. It is the world's tallest self supporting steel tower, 12 m. higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Our view wasn't the best since it was cloudy. I'll have to return on a clear day!

Jill, me, and Kristin

Looking down - yikes!