Tis the season?

Well it's official I'm already in Christmas mode. Yesterday I pulled out some Christmas DVD's for Gabriella to watch and we've already started compiling some presents for the folks back in the states. I feel I'm already behind slightly since I think I had more presents purchased at this time last year. I'm most proud of actually ordering my Christmas cards from Shutterfly this weekend. I'm now confident that they will get here in plenty of time for me to address them and mail them to everyone in time for Christmas. It seems Christmas comes so much earlier here because all our gifts need to be mailed out by December 1st in order to guarantee their arrival before Christmas Eve. Although I'm not the only one who's getting into the spirit early, Santa was at one of the exchanges last weekend posing for pictures. Plus Starbucks already has their holiday coffees out, although sadly no eggnog latte again this year. Perhaps they will have it in Hawaii, I'll keep my fingers crossed. In my mind Okinawa has been decorated for Christmas since Halloween, but it may just seem like that because they love Christmas lights year around.

Advent officially starts in 2 weeks so really the Christmas Season is right around the corner, in fact just thinking of that makes me a little nervous. I still have so many gifts to buy and ship.

Before and After

Today was a run day and my God was it hard. We did this very short loop that included climbing up 4 flights of stairs and sprinting up the hill. I call it the hill because it's the same hill I sprinted up a while ago. This time the hill was not the problem, the stairs were the killer. I managed to do 7 laps in an hour. I have no idea how far it was but judging by the amount of sweat pouring off me I know I was working hard. In fact my heart was still racing even after I drove home, showered and laid back down in bed. This was the first time all week that I went back to bed after boot camp. I feel like I could go back to sleep right now and I might after Gabi goes to school.

This was a great workout and a good way to end my first 12 weeks of boot camp. I've come a long way in 12 weeks, I'm 30 pounds lighter, I can run without being chased, I choose to exercise and feel great after I do. I've also changed mentally, taking time to appreciate little accomplishments as much as big ones and I'm happier with myself and my life. This has been a great class and I can't wait to see what the next 12 weeks brings.

Veteran's Day BBQ

Yesterday was Veteran's day and as a rare treat Greg had the day off. We celebrated by throwing a bbq. Of course it wouldn't be a bbq without a last minute grocery store trip. Actually there were 3 stops on our last minute shopping trip. The first was Jusco, Greg wanted to check out the Japanese beer selection and I wanted to get some non oil marinade. We found out the Greg is very handy at Jusco because of his ability to read some Japanese. I can't wait to take him back and made more use of this skill. Our next stop was the shopette where Greg stocked up on 2 six packs of beer for the party. Unfortunately there was no Newcastle, but he did get some Stella which is better than a sharp stick in the eye. Our last stop was the commissary which was thankfully open on the holiday. Once we were all stocked up we headed home for a quick chat with the Montoya's on the computer and then I got down to the serious business of cooking. We served turkey burgers, hamburgers and brats. I made some fresh salsa and guacamole and a veggie tray for appetizers. The party was a great success and I think everyone had a nice time. I also managed to unload a substantial amount of candy from my pantry.

This morning in boot camp we used some very cool equipment, boxing gloves. It was a hard Ab workout but at least I had fun wearing the gloves and punching the air. I think I'd like to try a combat fitness class sometime. It seems like it would be a good work out and the opportunity to punch anything sounds intriguing. Later today is Cardio Funk, it's bandana Thursday so I'll be heading to the 100 yen store to pick one up to match my outfit.

So, I weighed myself today and I lost 1.5 pounds since the last time I weighed myself which was before vacation. I'm kind of astonished. I didn't stick with my exercise plan while I was in California and I certainly faltered slightly on the healthy eating plan. I'm happy I'm still loosing although it makes me think how much could I have lost if I'd stuck to the plan. Oh well, I don't have a time machine so I suppose I'll never know.

Another Week Begins

At the request of my brother in law I will try to keep the blog from becoming exercise-centric. Yesterday was my first day back at boot camp and although the workout we did was hard it wasn't mind numbingly terrible. My legs are sore today, but that's to be expected. We did get some cool recipes, one which I'm cooking in my oven right now. Anyway Gabi and I ran a lot of errands yesterday after school. We had to return some pruning shears, get some groceries at the commissary and pick up some eggs from the mini mini. I now feel like I'm back in the groove, my fridge is stocked, my calendar is updated and finally I'm back to working out. I can't believe how much I missed it. Gabi and I also went to the sushi go round for lunch, it was so delicious. I think that's what I'm going to miss most when we move.

Today I expected a hard work out because we don't have class on Veteran's day. But instead of a hard workout we got sent to the baseball stadium to run. However, in a decision I'm sure to regret later Rachel, Angie and I ditched the stadium and went to work out at the Lester gym on our own. Rachel because her knee is hurt, Angie because it was "raining", and me because I'm a lemming. I got a good work out on the elliptical machine and even did some sit ups. I'm sure I'll get an ear full at Cardio Funk tonight about our little disappearing act, but it was worth it.

Yomitan Village Festival

There are a lot of festivals here on Okinawa. Realistically one could probably find one every weekend. This weekend was the Yomitan Pottery Village Festival. We took our new sponsor family to check it out. The festival was full of food booths and games for Gabriella to play. We got a lot of tasty treats including slushies, gyoza, and draft beer for Greg. I was even able to buy some more Okinawan Sea Salt. There was entertainment of course. We saw the sign language choir, the prefectural orchestra and the biggest draw was the giant boat play. It's called the Play of Taki, which commemorates that Yomitan was instrumental in opening trade between the Ryukyu Islands and China. The boat is huge as the picture attests to and there were Eisa drummers and stick dancers. It was a really fascinating and impressive display. Jet lag eventually caught up with Gabriella so we called it a night. On the walk out she was able to win a giant Stitch for the giant Pearl she already had. It was a great festival one that we highly recommend.

Back on Schedule

Yesterday Gabriella was up at 6:45am. She was ready to get her day started even though she had been in bed for a mere 8 hours. I on the other hand was completely not ready to get up, but I was overruled. Breakfast was a pretty relaxed affair, cereal for her an egg for me. We walked to school like we normally do and she was thrilled to see all of her friends. When I picked her up a few hours later she was sweaty and happy to tell me all about her day. I asked her if she was up for going to hula or if she wanted to take a nap. "Hula!" was her response. So after a quick lunch of peanut butter and jelly we went to hula. Once again Gabriella's boundless energy prevailed and she made it through the class with no signs of exhaustion. On the other hand I was trying not to fall asleep while reading my book. After hula we had one more stop to make the dreaded Toys R Us for a birthday present. I felt like a Navy seal, I just wanted to get in and get out without anyone noticing. Before we even walked into the building I informed Gabriella that we were just buying a present, not looking for anything for her and to keep the asking to a minimum. She readily agreed and off we went. The trip to the store was blessedly short and an awesome birthday gift was found with in the first few feet of entering the store. Gabriella tried out a few of the little computers and some of the musical instruments but not once did she ask me to buy her anything. At least I don't think she did, by that point my ears were already asleep. The drive home felt long, I was using all my concentration to keep myself on the right side of the road. The relief I felt as we pulled into our parking spot and opened our front door was intense. I collapsed on the chair in the living room and just relaxed. I didn't sleep though because I had email to check. One such email was Greg informing me that there was a movie and pizza night at the chapel. I certainly wasn't interested but it did sound like something Gabriella would like. So later that evening Greg and Gabi walked over to the chapel for pizza, ice cream and the incredibles. I went to bed a little after 7 being too tired to even cook myself anything to eat for dinner. I woke up just after 6 in the morning and feel much better. Ready to face the day, starting with a cardio funk class.

California Dreaming

My poor blog has been forgotten on this trip but since I only have one more day in California I thought I would take some time and do a post. Today I drove 120 miles on 6 different freeways to visit 3 sets of friends. I honestly forgot what it was like to drive here. Not that I haven't been driving the whole trip, it was just today that I realized the differences between driving here and in Okinawa. I saw more cars today then I have probably seen total on the island, heard more horns, saw more middle fingers thankfully none were pointing at me. I'm starting to miss my quiet island life, my kitchen, my simple days and my island friends. I've loved seeing all my family and some of my friends while I've been here. I've been remiss in not being able to see all of them on this trip and for that I'm truly sorry. I think today I even missed boot camp a little, just a little bit and the feeling quickly passed but it was there and deserves to be acknowledged. This has been an amazing trip, I've been blessed to see my family, share in many celebrations and remind myself how lucky I really am. But now I'm ready to go home. I think back to a year ago when I considered California home, now Okinawa is home to me. What a difference a year makes.