Salty and Sweet

I've made a lot of things in my life, more meals than I can count, a beautiful daughter, more than a few mistakes but on Sunday I added another skill to my already immense list of accomplishments. I made salt. Yes salt. On Sunday we headed to the Gala salt factory for an outing and they offer a program where for 1500 yen you can make your own salt. It's a fairly simple process, you take concentrated sea water and heat it while continuously stirring slowly with a wooden stick until the water evaporates which then leaves pure Okinawan sea salt. Then you move onto a table where you grind the salt to your liking with a metal spoon, finally you spoon the salt into a small handmade pot. The whole process took about 3o minutes and everyone got a chance to help. It was a really great experience, one that made me really happy. As I walked back to the car holding my tiny earthen pot in my hand I was so proud of what I'd done. I think it's because I use salt every single day in every single thing I cook. It is a necessity in cooking and represents a core ingredient which every chef or cook relies upon. To have made it with my own hands was exhilarating. Before I became a serious student of the culinary arts I just thought salt was salt, nothing special. But as I read more and more cookbooks the fundamental teachings all discuss the importance of seasoning. Every chef has their favorite type of salt many love kosher salt, which is what I use, others like more refined specialty salts like grey salt of pink salt. Okinawan sea salt has been featured in Gourmet magazine as an example of a simple process making an exemplary product. The quote in the magazine was something like, their simple process and pristine waters make a salt that truly tastes of the saltiness of the sea and elevates any food it graces. I will use my special salt sparingly but I will use it and go back to make more when ever I run out.

After the salt factory we visited Zampa beach for a little relaxation in the sun. The beach isn't open for swimming until April 1st but we were still able to set up our beach chairs and soak up some Vitamin D. Gabriella and Greg braved the chilly waters to get their toes wet and look for fish. We forgot some of the key ingredients for making Gabriella happy at the beach, mainly a swimsuit and her sand toys, but she persevered with what she had. When we headed back to the car we were ready for a sweet snack so we stopped at the purple sweet potato confectionary factory and had some yummy ice cream. The factory is basically a huge souvenir shop where travelers can pick up special snacks and cakes to take home to family. We sampled a few treats but were really more interested in the cool, refreshing ice cream. With our sweet tooth satisfied we headed back home.

He Will Rock You

Last night was the intern graduation party at the Habu Pit. It's a great accomplishment for the Japanese interns to complete a year of training at the Naval Hospital Okinawa. This party is the way to celebrate their success. The interns put together an amazing program. There were many stars of the evening, the interns themselves as well as some of the doctors who took part in the evenings entertainment. Greg was one of those doctors, he reprised his halloween costume and strutted his stuff as Freddie Mercury. In front of his superiors, fellow physicians and coworkers he sang out his heart in a karaoke version of We Will Rock You. It was truly an inspiring piece of work. My personal favorite was the air guitar solo at the end of the song. The whole room erupted in applause at his arrival and sang and cheered with him until he skidded off stage at the end of his performance. It was hard to top such a magnificent performance but the interns turned in a stellar video which featured their version of the USNH news. The pinnacle of the video was the hospital's version of the Thriller video starring many of the hospital staff including the CO and XO of the hospital dancing like the zombies in the video. It was fantastic to watch.

After the party we went out to karaoke. It was the first time Greg and I have ever karaoked together and I must say we make a great team. I had such a good time singing with all our friends, we even heard and maybe tried to sing a long with a few Japanese songs. Although I wasn't able to stay out all that late since we had a babysitter at home I did manage to sing a few songs, have a peach soda and some french fries before I had to head back to get Gabriella. Greg of course kept the party going to the wee hours of the morning.

**Check out the video of Greg's performance.

Size does Matter

I'm not a big fan of numbers especially numbers on a scale or the number of my dress size. There are a few times when that hasn't been the case. When I was actively doing boot camp I looked forward to seeing my weight drop off as I worked hard each week towards my goal. As for dress sizes I haven't really been shopping since I went home to the states for my cousin's wedding. At that time I was still loosing weight so the only thing I bought were a pair of jeans and some long sleeve shirts. Yesterday as I tried on dress after dress only to realize that they were all hopelessly big on me I decided to try to find a better fitting dress. I've never really liked shopping at the exchange because there are very limited plus size clothes. As I walked through the dress section of the exchange I pulled a few dresses off the wall wondering if they would fit. The size seemed completely ludicrous but the dress was beautiful. I held it up to myself and it seemed like the possibility of it fitting was there so I took it into the dressing room. As I slid myself into the first dress I was pleased to see how well it fit, it was a very pretty navy blue. I was also thrilled that it was a size 16. All the other dresses in my closet are size 22. The next dress was black which I was already leaning towards because I had shoes to match but it was a size 14 and I didn't really think it was possible for it to fit me. It was with ecstatic elation that I pulled that dress over my head and fastened the tie. I studied myself in the mirror and was thrilled at how well the dress fit me. It did show off my pregnant belly which is to be expected, but the rest of me looked great in it. I did a little dance of joy and jumped up and down a few times, it was a wonderful moment. In that one moment I saw the strides I've made in weight loss over the past year. I've changed both mentally and physically how I exercise how I eat and how I perceive myself. I can wear dresses from almost every section of a department store. I can fit into a dress that isn't deemed plus size and look good. It was a big wow moment for me.

Market Day

This morning after a week of procrastination I finally dragged myself to the grocery store. But one grocery store isn't enough here on Okinawa. My first stop was the JA fresh market, this is my favorite produce market. Today I was there first thing in the morning which usually doesn't happen. I like to wait until Gabriella is out of school because she loves to peruse the vegetables. This morning the vendors were still putting out their vegetables and many of them were still warm from the fields. Each vendor happily explained why their products were superior to the others around them mostly in Japanese but a few could speak english. One lady was putting out some delicious looking napa cabbage and although I didn't plan to buy any but her enthusiasm was contagious and I purchased one. I got a full bag of vegetables and fruits for about $15 US, a fantastic deal for a lot of delicious vegetables. My next stop was the Mini Mini egg store where I picked up a basket of eggs. I was going to get some cream puffs but they weren't made yet. My final stop was the commissary to get all those groceries that are only available on a base. Those include bread, milk, asparagus, canned foods and cheese. I managed to do all these errands before pick up time for Gabi's school. Now our house is fully stocked with healthy foods and I'm ready for the weekend.

Flower Child

Monday we headed to the northern part of the island to a small village called Higashi to see their famous Azalea festival. We left directly from Gabi's school after pick up. The drive north was a little farther than we expected but we had some snacks to help sustain us. There is nothing more perfect for a road trip than Cool Ranch Dorritos. We stopped at a Mangrove park for our picnic lunch. They had a really cool raised walkway that allowed visitors to walk through the mangroves without damaging the fragile roots. We saw some very interesting crabs, they had one giant claw and then one small one. I'm sure one of the Japanese signs explained the species but the language barrier and our lack of patience led us to skip right by them. After our brief rest we continued our journey to Higashi. The Azalea park has over 50,000 blooms according to their pamphlets. There were a lot of beautiful flowers and the traditional festival snack foods. Greg and Gabriella shared a strawberry frozen yogurt while I just stuck to water. It was a beautiful sunny day which was slightly marred by the sandstorm blowing in from China. Even the slightly sandy air did nothing to take away from the splendidly kept gardens. We traversed the paths, up and over bridges and down into small ravines. On the way home we stopped for dinner at Jam's Steakhouse, it's a tepanyaki restaurant (think Benihana) with a very eclectic decorator. Gabriella really enjoyed trying some new foods including goya and bok choy. Our chef made some delicious food, my favorite was my prawn which was huge. They cook the whole thing including the head and the exoskeleton. To demonstrate the incredible decor I would be remiss if I didn't mention the aquarium in the toilet stall featured in the ladies room. It was quite a surprise and frankly a little shocking. However, while using the facilities Gabriella pointed out the "nemo" fish and a sand crab in the tank. It was a great day out together as a family.

Walkabout

When I was in junior high I read a book about children going on a walkabout in the Australian outback. I can't really remember the plot points of the story other than these kids going on this long walk. Saturday Gabriella and I went on a walkabout around Okinawa. We started out just after noon heading towards Araha Beach. We lovingly refer to that beach as Pirate Ship park, because there is a huge pirate ship playground. As we headed out of our base we happily soaked up the sun. Gabriella and I were completely decked out in sun hats and bug spray we were ready to go. We made a quick stop for lunch and a cool drink at Mike's Tex Mex. After a quesadilla and some guacamole with chips we continued on our walkabout. Our next stop was the bunny store where we browsed the baby clothes and toys talking about the twins. We left the store with a new pair of capris for Gabriella and a maternity shirt for me, both purchased for under $10. As we walked towards the park Gabriella started to get excited. Once we moved through the metal bars into the park she took off at a run, quickly climbing the ladder to the mast to begin to captain her pirate ship. Her imagination helped to imagine this playground is really the Jolly Roger sailing the high seas. She made friends with a few Japanese kids and once again proved that the language of play trumps all other languages. Soon she and her new friends were running up and down the ship squealing with joy and talking to each other, each in their own language, without missing a beat. After a while we moved on to the beach where Gabriella played with the sand and dipped a few toes in the water. The sand on Araha beach is like powder and very soft. I dipped my toes in the warm sand as I watched Gabriella collect shells and play in the water I felt content. I don't think we've spent enough time at the beach here, I plan to remedy that this summer. When the wind got too strong we decided to start our walk home. As we got closer to home we passed a girls softball game and slid into the stands to cheer for an inning. When we finally returned home to a cool drink of water and a lounge in our chairs. We were both tired but content, needless to say we both slept very well.

A Visit from a Very Special Fairy

Well I suppose it was bound to happen, I mean the dentist told us her bottom teeth were loose and that she'd probably loose them once she turned 5. However, never did I expect Gabriella to run downstairs crying with a bloody mouth and a tooth hanging by it's root. But that is exactly what happened. She and our neighbor were playing upstairs in her room when I guess Gabriella had one of her plastic princesses in her mouth and Destini pulled it out of her mouth almost taking her little tooth with it. Her mouth was bleeding slightly and when I wiggled the tooth it was clear that it was coming out of her today. With many tears and sweating, all on Gabriella's part, I managed to wiggle that tooth right out of her mouth. While she was pretty traumatized by the whole experience the promise of an ice pop and a visit from the tooth fairy was enough to help her put on a brave face. Through watery smiles and heaving sobs she repeatedly said how excited she was to get a visit from the tooth fairy. Before we moved here I made sure to bring my tooth fairy pillow (just in case) and I'm thrilled that my little girl will use the same pillow I used when I lost my very first tooth. I must admit this is the first milestone that she's reached that really made me think about how fast she's growing up. This was certainly very very unexpected for both of us.

A Whole lot of Maybes

We had our 15 week ultrasound on Monday and received a lot of positive news. The babies are doing well, moving a lot and are right on target for growth. We could see baby B flexing fingers and arching it's back. Baby A was not in a picture taking mood, but was still active. The whole ultrasound was done by a wonderful doctor. She immediately put me at ease, complimented me on my progress and explained about the road ahead. What we didn't find out in this ultrasound was the sex. Neither baby was really cooperative about giving us a clear shot so for now we will wait and wonder. The doctor did say she could only see one placenta, which means there is a distinct possibility these little ones could be identical. However, she prefaced that by saying the placentas could be squished up against each other and therefore actually be two of them but it appears as one. Also on the sex front, there was the absence of a penis so therefore it could be a girl but she wouldn't say with any certainty because of the angle we were seeing. So it was an appointment with a lot of maybes. I'm still praying for healthy and hoping for blue. We did find out one thing for sure, these babies will (hopefully if no complications arise) be born sometime between August 12th and August 19th. So mark your calendars, in pencil just in case you need to erase, the window has been set.

Like Father Like Daughter

Many people that we've met both friends and strangers have commented on how much Gabriella looks like me. I'm always flattered because I think she's the most beautiful little girl on the planet and I have a few relatives who completely agree with me. I think there are a lot of ways was are similar, we watch TV with the same zoned out expression hearing and seeing nothing else but what is on the screen, we also have a similar timber to our speech and we share a few facial features. There are some ways she's very similar to her daddy. The first is that she has his ears, they are exact replicas and I love them. The second is that she has his love of puzzles and games, activities they love to do together. I've never seen two more dedicated people when working a puzzle. Another similarity is their love of desserts. While this isn't an innate trait but one learned through countless lessons on Greg's part but it truly demonstrates how similar they are. I use the picture above as a perfect example. That picture was taken on Sunday at the Butler Officers Club, Gabriella and I were there for brunch. It's important to note that Greg was still en route from the states and that Gabriella constructed that massive dessert all by herself. I did pour the soft serve into the bowl, but the rest was all her. When I tried to limit her toppings she said "daddy says I can put a little of everything". I wonder what the two buns in the oven will inherit from us and what we will mold into them.

A Break in the Weather

Saturday was actually sunny and warm, a combination that has not occurred on Okinawa for the past week. It has been cloudy and downright chilly which is definitely not what the weather was like this time last year. I do feel like this year I've gotten more use out of the few winter clothes I brought here but now I'm ready to pack them away. We started the day with ballet class which is one of Gabriella's favorite things to do. She loves wearing the leotards, tights and ballet slippers. They finished the choreography for their spring recital and it looks adorable. She's going to be dressed as a fairy and dancing to a song from the Tinkerbell movie soundtrack.

After ballet we went home and had a delicious breakfast before doing some puzzles. Gabriella has gotten really good at her Tchaikovsky ballet puzzle book, she barely needs my help anymore. We had a simple lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and apple slices. We'd just finished our lunch when we got a call from our friends inviting us to go for a walk. We joined them on a trek off base to Sunset Beach for a little vitamin D boost. Lathered up in sunscreen and with a few kids in strollers, not Gabi of course because it would stunt her ability to run like Carl Lewis, we headed off base. Sunset beach is directly out our gate down about 2 blocks, it takes very little time to walk there and it's beautiful. Although the beach is still closed to swimming for the "winter" the sand itself is still open to play. Gabriella informed me that the water was warm enough for feet but too cold to go swimming. The kids played in the sand for a while before it was announced that the next stop was Yogurtland. The clammer of children dusting off sand and putting on shoes was quite a sight. We walked to American Village, a collection of shops and eateries which houses my favorite Ramen place, sushi go round and of course Yogurtland. Gabriella and I each got our own cup of yogurt, she completely overloaded hers with sprinkles, gummy things and cookies. I got vanilla wafer yogurt with chocolate rice crispies and strawberries on top. It was a great treat after a walk in the sunshine. Once our faces were covered in yogurt and toppings we headed home. After a pit stop to play on a playground Gabriella and I headed home for dinner.

Making the next Einstein

The discussion of playing music to your unborn children in order to make them smarter is a much debated and completely unproven theory. Lately television has been boring so I've been listening to a lot more music. As the music of Darren Hayes pours into my ears I wonder what the little babies think of it. I wonder if the ridiculous lyrics of Ben Folds Five or Cake have any positive or negative effect on them. I've read stories of parents claiming their child instantly calmed when they heard songs played to them while in utero. Gabriella did listen to a lot of Beatles while in my tummy and she does like their music, but I attribute it to playing it often for her after she was born and the fact that their song Here comes the Sun was featured in Bee Movie. It's curious to think of all the things that I do that effects these new little lives inside me. What I eat will help them to grow, the exercise I do helps to stimulate blood flow to them and apparently the music I listen to may help them to be smarter. The concept of nurturing while in the womb is the subject of many many books. As I've perused the twin books collection on Amazon I've passed a ridiculous numbers of books claiming ways to make your child brilliant while still gestating. Personally I'm doing all I can to keep these two fed and comfy in their water world. I don't think I need to add an hour of Mozart pulsed through my stomach on a specially designed speaker system, which happens to retail for $150. My attitudes towards necessities have shifted dramatically from when we were preparing for Gabriella's arrival. This time instead of wanting everything I want just the basics. Not the latest and greatest but the time tested and simple. Oh how time has brought maturity, the understanding that these babies will turn into great people not because of what they have but what we teach them.

Water Water Everywhere

I've really been trying to eat properly these past few days and stick to my pre pregnancy diet plan. While I've kind of fallen off on a few food choices like cheese I have been sticking to drinking a gallon of water each day. I use to have these really cool 32 oz bottles and I knew I had to drink 4 of them to reach my water goal. Well I have misplaced both bottles as of late so I've transitioned to pint glasses. I have 8 pint glasses of water throughout the day and boom that's my gallon. All this water does have some draw backs, firstly I've had to buy ice because I never remember to fill up the Britta filter and I don't like to drink warm water. Next, there are enumerable trips each day to the bathroom. Yesterday I went 11 times. The good thing is that I know it's helping my blood flow easier, helping my digestion and I'm pretty sure I'm at very low risk for dehydration.

This week has been busy, Greg is gone this week at the USPS conference. He's having a great time seeing old friends, eating delicious food and drinking lots of kind beer. While he is gone Gabriella and I have been staying busy. Monday we watched the Oscars together, Tuesday we went to lunch and Library time with our friends and today we had gymnastics and a special dinner and a movie date with friends. Our dinner tonight is spaghetti and meatballs and we're watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I've hidden an entire bag of baby spinach in the sauce and meatballs, I hope no little ones notice.

Gabriella misses her daddy very much, especially when she asks for something and I say no, she has no one else to turn to. I've also tried to keep up with the never ending dessert requests which is usually Greg's responsibility. All and all we are doing well but missing daddy.

A Sunday and a Monday

Although we haven't been to too many birthday parties on this island we have been to a few. Each one we attend has something great about them. Yesterday was our good friend Luke's 2nd birthday party. His parents held it at their house which is right next to a huge playground. It was such a great place because the kids could eat and then go play. There was no party games which makes everything much less stressful, since no one gets hurt feelings about not getting a prize. Gabriella's birthday is coming up in less than a month and we are starting to discuss what she wants for her birthday party. I think we may end up having it at home, it would be great if our playground reopens in time. The one thing that Gabriella has decided is that she wants to invite every person she knows including her teachers. It should be an interesting month what with Easter and her birthday so close together.

Today we are watching the Oscars together since Gabriella's school has a staff development day. So far her favorite part was the John Hughes tribute and when Up won for best animated movie. We've been doing a lot of cleaning up today, her room has been reorganized and so has her cave. Hopefully she will be able to keep it clean and neat especially when friends come over to play.

What a week

The second half of this week seems to have been exhausting, yet I don't remember doing anything too strenuous. Thursday morning I had an appointment with the OBGYN, everything with the babies is going well. It was a really quick appointment and because Gabriella was home sick from school she went with me. She looked so cute with her mask on, I insisted she wear one so we wouldn't get every pregnant woman in the waiting room sick. Everyone gave her some strange looks, but she didn't seem to notice. My appointment was suppose to be at 10:40, but of course we didn't actually see the doctor until almost 11, which is typical. We were out the door by 11:30 so that gives you an idea of how quick the actual appointment was. I did get a quick glimpse of the babies on the ultrasound but Gabriella was far more interested in them so I allowed her to stand in front of me so she could see them clearly. They are confirmed di/di twins, which means they have their own amniotic sacs. This is good because it means that there is no chance of their cords getting wrapped around each other and they have no chance of getting twin to twin transfusion syndrome. They were moving around excitedly and their hearts were beating strong. I have another appointment in 2 weeks, which if this keeps up I'll visit the doctor another 12 times before I give birth, not including any lab visits.

On friday I took Greg and a few of his colleagues to the airport. It was a harrowing journey because not only was I driving the Delica, a beast of a van with a pension for stalling, but I was under a time crunch to get to the airport and back before Gabi's 11:30 school pick up time. We left the house at 9:45 and picked up the visiting cardiologist and his resident. Next I had to take them to the Westpac hotel so they could drop off their keys. As we pull into the Foster gate all the cars were stopped waiting for a helicopter to take off from the landing pad at the Macaroni Grill. Apparently someone had a hankering for some italian and needed it stat. We waited there a good 10 minutes or more before that helicopter finally took off. The next task was getting gas, a seriously annoying issue which took another 10 minutes or so. Finally on the road to the airport we arrived with no further delays at 11 am. That meant I had 30 minutes to get back to the base. I made it in 45, which meant I was 5 minutes past the grace period and I owe Gabriella's school $5 on Tuesday. I felt so terrible when I picked her up, she was the last child left at school and she seemed relieved to see me, I think she thought I'd forgotten about her.

Friday night was pretty low key we spent the evening relaxing which was a nice break from our normally busy evenings. Saturday included ballet class and a playdate with a friend from class. Gabriella and her friend played wonderfully the whole time and her room didn't even look like disaster when the date was over. After the playdate we went grocery shopping and to the commissary. Now that our house is fully stocked I'm confident that we can make it through the rest of the week without making another trip for provisions. We had dinner with our good friends, it was a delicious roast, and we got home in time for bath time and bed.

Back to the gym

I suppose I've been lax in the last few weeks with my exercising. Today I feel like I made up for it. I started with my normal Zumba class, it was really crowded and I had a few new dances to learn. It was quite difficult learning the new steps in such a crowded class but I managed. I think it's really fun to dance with all the other girls, twisting and shaking to the music. The second class is a core toning class and usually I skip it but today I decided to make up for missing class on Monday. The toning class is only half and hour but we work a lot of muscle groups into 30 minutes. Today we used weights and did a lot of upper body work, it was nice to actually get a workout other than cardio. I feel like some of my muscles are already losing tone because of lack of use. I haven't been able to pick up my best 40 pound weight in over almost 2 months. I don't think Gabriella realizes how in shape she kept me. I barely made it home in time to shower and change before I had to leave to pick Gabriella up from school. I hope I'm not too sore tomorrow.

What are you going to be when you grow up?

It's a pretty benign question that is asked many times throughout childhood. Today was the first time I think it's ever been put to Gabriella by another child. Riding back from the library with her friend Sophia in the backseat I overheard their conversation about their future careers. Sophia wants to be a doctor and Gabriella wants to be a rock star. Yep a rock star, I didn't realize she knew what a rock star was but she's determined to be one. Sophia seemed a little surprised by her answer, but sallied forth with her reasons for becoming a doctor. Gabriella countered with the suggestion that she may consider becoming a doctor after her stint as a rock star was over. At least she knows that being a rock star isn't always a lifelong job. The whole conversation made me laugh.

I wonder what these two buns in the oven will be when they grow up. Hopefully not freaky dressed alike twins at the end of a hotel hallway.