A Very Pink Post

It is cherry blossom season here in Okinawa. Up north the streets are literally lined with fluffy, pink cherry trees blooming in all their splendor. This weekend Brad and I went up to Nago to see these Japanese wonders and weren't disappointed. On the drive up I would frequently point out the window and say loud and fast "there's a cherry tree!" or "cherry blossoms!" to a point where a lesser man would have told me to shut it. They became so numerous up north that my exclamations quickly turned into a simple "ooooooh" or "oh they are so pretty I might die." Pink literally covered mountain sides and branches covered in blooms created canopies over the roads.

Our first stop was Nago Castle and by the hoards of people and lack of parking we knew we had come to a good spot. This castle is free and totally gorgeous in cherry blossom season. There are a bunch of steps you have to walk up and the sides are lined with cherry trees. The walk up leads to a temple and the castle ruins and more cherry blossoms. We explored and then sat on a bench looking down at the fabulous view of the stairs, cherry trees and out to the ocean beyond. We sat in the sun and watched the birds in the blossoms above us, just perfect.






From Nago Castle, we made a stop across the street at the Orion Beer Factory. We wanted to take the tour, but it is currently under construction, so we only could go up for a tasting. The non-driver is given a beer while the driver gets a non alcoholic beverage of their choice and we both got some beer nuts. This is by the way, totally free. Brad, being sweet as can be, let me have the Orion since he knows it's a beer I actually really like, and he opted for a cherry juice drink.




Remember how I recently went to Nakijin-jo? Well, since I went without Brad last time I really wanted to show him this awesome castle. And, I knew that this time around the cherry blossoms would be in full swing. I'm so glad I went back. These were some of the prettiest cherry trees I've seen here.





We went home and finished off the nice day with a bottle of champagne, a good dinner and watched a movie with hedgie. What a fabulous day. Monday morning we got up bright and early to watch the Superbowl live at our friends house through her slingbox. The Marines actually got the day off to watch the Superbowl! Since the game started at 8am our time we all made breakfast foods for the party, so fun. I'm not a football fan, but I had a great time watching the commercials and hangin' with friends. So happy Brad is home. Life is grand!

One Night and I'm Hooked

A few days before Brad came home while we were skyping he told me he got me something. He usually buys me a present or two while he's away on his trips and my thoughts immediately went to dresses or shoes, but then he says "I bought you a pillow." I never would have guessed. He goes on to explain that it isn't a normal pillow, it's a fancy tempur-pedic pillow and that I will love it. He bought 2 of them, one for each of us, and brought them home yesterday. I was skeptical and a little annoyed when I found out how much he paid for them, but after only one night sleeping on this amazing space pillow I'm in love. He got us the SymphonyPillow. It has one side that's better for back sleeping and one for side or stomach sleepers. In fact I have this squishy number propped up behind my back right now as I type this post. Ahhhh so awesome. I will never doubt my husbands choice in pillows ever again.

PS - I don't think we'll be shelling out the big bucks for the mattress any time soon. Yikes, those babies are a small fortune! Anyone out there have the mattress? Is it worth it?

Together Again

After 4 weeks Brad and I have been reunited once again. It may have been pouring down rain, but you better believe I was out there on that flight line watching my love come home to me. I love when he comes home. I always make sure I have his favorite foods and plan to make the meals he likes, I make sure the house is nice and clean and I have a blast dolling myself up for our reunion.
Every time I see his plane come into view I get butterflies and when his plane touches ground my heart leaps knowing hes close to me again and when he walks towards me on the flight line I fall in love all over again.
So happy he's home!

Table for One

Hubs has been gone for 4 weeks and will be gone for a lot of this year. So is the life of a MilWife. I honestly usually really enjoy the first week he's away. It kind of makes me guilty to say this, but I enjoy having my me time, having the whole bed to myself, and doing what I want when I want to do it (aka staying up until 2am reading in bed with the light on) and not having to plan meals. Well, I don't have to plan the meals, but I enjoy doing it and like having having a nice dinner together after our busy days. However, it is nice to just have cereal for dinner once in a while which is usually what I eat for the first week Brad's gone. After the first week however I'm usually craving something hot, green or with more protein. And craving having my husband back.

Some of my easy go-to dinners that I always have when Brad's gone (excluding cereal) are turkey meatloaf and "healthy" spaghetti with turkey meatballs and spinach. I can eat both of these things for a whole week each. I'm not one of those people who hate eating the same thing day after day. (I pretty much lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in college and I still love them.) Last time he was away I made a pot of turkey chili. Do you sense a theme here? Yes, I use lean ground turkey a lot. Since I don't eat beef, pork or any animals other than turkey and chicken ground turkey is where it's at for me.

I also really have a thing for turkey kielbasa and perogies. I love processed meat. Yes I admit it, I'm totally guilty. I love turkey peperoni, turkey sausage and turkey bacon. I really have to make myself avoid it because a) it's super processed, b) it's full of nitrates and c) because I would rather avoid things thought to give you cancer (but seriously, what doesn't these days).

When Brad's gone I also treat myself to quick, easy dinners that don't involve a lot of dishes to clean up, like Amy's organic frozen pizza. My fav is Amy's spinach pizza. Yum. I'm a huge fan of Amy's organics. I love the frozen dinners, soups, snacks and desserts. The commissary doesn't carry very much of it over here, but I'm super happy they have my fav pizza. I also love Amy's canned pea soup, but sadly they don't have it over here.

I make smoothies and salads to cram in my fruit and veggie requirements. I'm putting my early college days experience of working at a smoothie shop to good use these days. Since the fruit over here is pretty expensive and rarely organic (if ever) I buy the frozen bags of organic fruit, perfect for smoothies.

Did you know that all chicken products are frozen over here? Yeah, it stinks. I really don't like frozen chicken I think it tastes weird and it's tougher or something. Maybe I just don't like that it doesn't seem fresh. I have not eaten a whole lot of meat over here, and for me that's not a lot to start out with. I miss my fresh, free range, veg fed, organic "happy" chickens. I miss Whole Foods, Harris Teeter and the amazing HEB in Texas. However, I was thrilled to find a bag of frozen organic chicken breasts at the Kadena commissary not too long ago. At least there's that. I can get organic milk and bread, even yogurt, but something I really wish the commissary would get on board about are the organic eggs.

Why is it that my will power disappears around 10pm? I've always been a dessert person. Unfortunately, since being a child I've been known to say "there's always room for dessert." I have the sweet tooth of a 450 lbs obese person. Becoming diabetic would be so horrible for me. I do let my self have dessert, but try and keep it under control. Some of my favorites currently are the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and No Pudge brownies. The No Pudge brownies are delish and plus you get a serious arm work out mixing up the batter. You only put in a little yogurt, so the batter is super think and hard to mix.

So, after 4 weeks of my weird eating I'm more than ready to start cooking up yummy, healthy meals and enjoying them slowly together at the table rather than standing in the kitchen or sitting on the couch with the tv on.

But, since he'll be gone again in just a few weeks, what are a few of your favorite quick, easy meals?

Lil Weirdo

Tonight was a standard night at our house. I came home from the barn, made some dinner and then played with my hedgie while watching a tv movie.


I was eating a mini pack of skittles left over from Halloween and accidentally dropped one. Gojou was all about this skittle. Hedgehogs do a weird thing called anointing. Wiki puts it this way: "Hedgehogs occasionally perform a ritual called anointing. When the animal encounters a new scent, it will lick and bite the source, then form a scented froth in its mouth and paste it on its spines with its tongue." It's pretty bizarre. It freaked me out the first time he did it and he does it a lot. Thought you might want to check it out:

Simple Pleasures

After getting my hair done and meeting MG, like I talked about in my last post, I was having such a nice day I decided to just keep it going. I went to the commissary to get my favorite brown rice veggie (non) sushi roll for lunch and saw something that I haven't seen in a long time. Raspberries. While I was waiting for my roll to be made up I stood over the berries and picked them up one by one, studying them and trying to figure out if they would be worth the $5 for a tiny carton. At first I put them down and said "oh if Brad were home I would." But, then I thought, why not, I'm going to splurge. I bought those $5 berries. I haven't had a fresh raspberry since we've come here... so, for like a year. In the states I would have only bought organic, but at this point I didn't even care. I ate every. Last. One. of those glorious berries one by one. In one sitting.

After buying my sushi and berries I made a stop on the way home at the flower shop. I hadn't bought flowers in a while, and since I was treating myself to a nice day I decided to buy myself flowers. Oh how my heart sings inside this tiny flower shop. I gaze moon eyed at the buckets overflowing with fresh, colorful flowers. The flowers are always very well priced, but yesterday I got an extra special deal: Y30 for a gerber daisy. Only. I bought 8 of them, all different colors. Brad gave them to me when we got engaged and now that's what they remind me of. I also bought my usual 3 sunflowers and some pretty yellow and pink astros that always seem to last forever. All for about $12. Oh, happy day.

Yeehaw

This weekend Montgomery Gentry came to Okinawa and the USO put on two free concerts at Kadena and Foster as well as did Meet and Greets and gave out free autographs. I'm not a huge country fan, but my friends were going and it's unusual for a big name group to come to Okinawa, so I decided to brave the rain and join the cowboy boot, camo hat wearing Southern rednecks and hillbillies (kidding - kind of) that have been transplanted to Okinawa and go to the concert. They had the concert in a hangar on Kadena, so at least we were able to get in out of the rain. I was very surprised at how many songs I knew or recognized! They put on a fantastic show for us. The air was thick with the smell of rain and alcohol permeating from extremely intoxicated flannel and huge belt buckle wearing concert goers, but we had a blast. Watching the joyous faces of the Marines and Airmen around me sing along to the songs and bop to the music made me so happy. Montgomery Gentry thanked the service members in a very special way by performing and providing this USO tour.


Today I got my hair done and ran over to the Exchange to pick up a few things. It turned out they were doing a Meet and Greet there and I ran into my friend who was there to meet them. I waited in line with her and then (even though I still had wet hair from getting my hair done and was totally not prepared to meet them or have my photo taken) I got to take my picture with them and got their autographs. Not something I ever thought I'd do, but when the opportunity arises, why not. And also, last night at dinner after the show a guitarist and a member of the sound crew were there and we thanked them for the concert. They were super nice guys!