New Diet Aid

Nutritionist always say to lose weight you ned to watch portion size. They suggest eating off a smaller plate to "fool" your brain into thinking you have eaten more. Japanese scientist have taken it a bit too far tho:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/odd_japan_smallest_ramen_bowl

Korean Yellow Melon

I saw this odd looking thing in the produce section of the commissary last week, called a Korean Yellow Melon. It looked alot like a squash, but since they called it a melon, I figured I needed more info before I bought one.

So I looked it up online, and the description said it was ripe when the skin was yellow, and that it had a taste similar to a cantaloupe. Today I bought one and served it up with dinner. Chris said it was "okay" but the rest of us really enjoyed it. I had to explain to Steph that she was to eat it like a watermelon (after she tried to take a bite, rind and all). It tasted like a cross between a Honeydew and Cantaloupe, but the texture was like eating a firm pear. With cantaloupe being a rarity here I am sure we will all get our fill of Korean Yellow Melon.

The rainy Season

The rainy season is here..... at least that's what the newpaper has been saying for the last week, but the only rain I had seen was sprinkles that barely wet my shirt. Until yesterday. It rained all morning long, not pretty,nice day to curl up with a book rain, but hard blowing sheets of rain that only happen in ND once or twice a year. I do remember this type of rain happening on Guam, but I must have filed it away in my brain under "never need to know again."

Lyle had to go out in it to get to work, but my commissary and post office run could wait :) I spent the afternoon with my pictures and paper and laid out another dozen pages. One more rainy day like that and I could have 2005 done.

Today the weather was better. Still hot and humid but hardly a rain drop to be found.

Day at the Beach

Since Steph is home and we had nothing going on for our Memorial Day, we decided to take a picnic lunch and head to a new beach. Getting there is half the battle for us as we are still trying to figure out how the roads here work. Maps exist, but they aren't easy to understand. We only got lost once today before finding our way to White Beach.

We ate our lunch first, since we didn't want to battle sand, then went beach combing. Chris noticed the crab in it's hidey hole first, so we all went back to have a look. For reference, the hole was about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.I found an orange hermit crab, that Chris tried to claim as his own. But neither kid brought a critter cage along so the little crab stayed. Lyle found a pile of Hermit Crabs. These were HUGE!
My favorite part of walking the beaches here is the sea glass. I have a small container I have been keeping the best pieces in. I am not sure what to do with it yet. There is a lady that makes jewelry for people from sea glass, but I am thinking more along the lines of a knick knack decoration. Chris found the prettiest piece of the day, the bright blue piece in the middle of today's haul.
After a little swimming, it was time to find our way home. Chris did his paper route while the rest of us showered up and got ready for dinner. We decided to try a Mexican place we drive by every time we leave the base. It is called Obligatto's and it was the best Mexican I have had since we left Texas. Who knew you had to go to Japan to find decent Mexican? The owners even have their own tortilla machine. We will definitely be going back there again!

Slow day

Stephanie spent the weekend camping with the girl scouts at Okuma Recreation area on the northern end of the island. With her gone, we stuck close to home. So the highlight of my day today was trying one of the japanese snacks I bought on my last trip through the grocery area of the 100 YEN store.

These looked like Corn Nuts, one of my favorite snacks, so I thought I would try them. We have bought many of the varieties of dried bean snacks this company makes and have loved them all. This pack was no exception. They taste like corn nuts flavored with Wasabi, a win/win for me :)

The only other thing we did today was our normal evening walk, but it had to be cut short due to a swarm of moth like, biting bugs that seemed to be everywhere. Of course, we were walking after dark, something we don't normally do. I guess that is why.

Steph made it home safe, tired, bug bitten and sunburned, but safe. We are hoping to go exploring tomorrow if the weather holds, but since the rainy season is upon us there are no guarantees. On the other hand, if it rains that means more Yen store shopping, again a win/win for me.

Dog Wedding...The video

Turns out Chris took his camera with him to Haru and Chewie's wedding. He got video, but no sound! So for your viewing pleasure :

Today was Marketday, so my whole day was talking to people about scrapbooking. I did get a walk in tho and made it past the 300 mark! Not bad for only 5 months and 24 days :)

Tropical Paradise?

I knew it was going to be the humidity that bothered me. My hair, my skin and my clothes all hate humidity. Everyone has warned me that it was bad here, but right now it is 83 degrees, cloudy and very very humid (okay the computer says 72% but it must be more than that). They say it gets worse. I bet I will be wishing for ND snow by August :)

The photo is my sliding door leading to the back yard. The entire patio was coated in water droplets, but it wasn't raining.

BAM! Yo Joey, I'm a styrofoam cup YO!

Part of being overseas that people don't warn you about is TV. We can buy cable, which is TV recorded on DVD's and replayed 2 weeks delayed. We do get the occasional live item but satellites aren't reliable. We also get free TV via the Armed Forces Network. AFN doesn't have "normal" commercials, we get educational breaks. These commercials are sometimes more entertaining than the show we are watching. This is one of Lyle's favorites!

Potstickers (AKA Gyoza or Dumplings)

I have loved potstickers from the moment I tried them. Almost every Chinese buffet has them and the grocery stores sell them, but I decided to try to MAKE them. So I turned to my trusty Recipezaar.com and found recipe #171506, The Secret to Perfect Gyoza N Potstickers. I went to the commisary and they had ALL the ingredients (amazing) so it was added to the menu to go alongside stir fry pork and soba noodles.

The pork and cabbage mixture made WAY more than I expected.

The round Gyoza wrappers were easy to work with and looked nice when folded together. I ended up with 40 potstickers and half a pound of filling left for the freezer.

Even Lyle (AKA mr picky) liked them. It was hard to walk away from the leftovers. Between the extra soba noodles and potstickers we have lunch for tomorrow all sewn up.

Same old thing

Saturday we took the kids out, but first they had to attend Haru's wedding. Steph's friend Brianna and her boy dog, Chewie, will be moving in a couple months. The two girls thought they should seal their friendship with a dog wedding. Haru was a trooper (I didn't go to take photos) and the girls had a good time, and that is what counts... right?

After the ceremony and Chris' paper route, we went to American Village and Sunset Beach.












Chris and Steph only got to play in the water for a little while, since the swimming has to end at 6, but a little time at the beach is better than none! Lyle and I walked the beach. After the beach we did a little shopping and got dinner. It was a nice evening out.

Tuesday Chris competed in National History Day. He has been working on his project for over a month. He even let me take a picture!



















Although he didn't win, he had a good time.

Sorry it has been so long since i updated. I am going to try to get back to daily posts about nothing. Tune in tomorrow for Potstickers!

This week in Okinawa

Okay, I meant to post... almost everyday! So here is a quick Recap of the Spring week.

On Wednesday Lyle and I went to Members night at the club. The first visit was so fun, we couldn't pass up Free Food and Entertainment. It was just as fun, and the food was good and this time we actually won a real prize. I played Price is Right and was way over on my prices (no prize for me). Lyle played the scavenger hunt and won a Margarita (and smoothie) maker. Perfect for sitting out on the patio during those hot Okinawa days :)

On Thursday Chris had a band concert. He was pretty excited about it since 3 of the 5 songs they were playing were from video games! The band director told about an orchestra that tours the country (US) playing nothing but the background music from todays most popular games. He said they sell out almost everywhere they go! Our band did a pretty good job, even if I didn't recognize the music, or the games it came from.

Lyle had been telling us about the soda cans that come out of the Japanese run vending machines at work. He finally brought home a can so I could share. The Japanese really like their Anime art!

We finally remembered to take a picture of Lyle with his new ride. He really likes his little blue car, and after riding in it (finally) I have to say it is kind of fun :) He can reach his arm across the top of it and we joked that we could carry it to the shop if it ever broke down!And finally, on Saturday we went to a Mexican Potluck at church to listen to a Missionary from China. Part of the potluck was a salsa contest. I sampled a few different Recipezaar recipes until I happened on Pineapple Black Bean Salsa (recipe # 175113). I made a few changes to make it my own and took it in to be judged. I won the prize for Most Unusual Salsa! The prize: a candy necklace that is a work of art in itself. Each piece of hard candy looks just like the fruit it is supposed to be down to the seeds in the watermelon!

The news has been tracking the first threat of a typhoon for Okinawa. Tropical Storm Rammasun (God of Thunder) is supposed to miss us by 500 miles, but it is already bringing wind gusts and bands of rain. Hopefully, we will be able to venture out of the house next week.

Ticker Change

You may (or may not) have noticed my mileage ticker above. It has been changed. The 6035 miles to Germany wasn't enough of a challenge, so I am now walking to my lake in Michigan. I am going to try to get there before we leave Okinawa for good. I am averaging 3-4 miles a day which is pretty good, I think. But even at 4 miles a day, 365 days a year, for 4 years leaves me almost 1000 miles short. I am going to have to kick it up a notch! Haru, get your leash!

Extra, Extra

Chris has his first official job! He is a paperboy :). He is responsible for our housing area. He delivered his first papers last night and also did collections. He received some tips, which he loved, and did pretty good.

Lyle bought a car, so we are now a two car family. I didn't get any pictures yesterday and it is pouring rain today, so photos will have to wait. It is a tiny little car called a Nissan March.

I received a gift in the mail from my mom. She sent me a coin purse! The whole time we were back in the states I searched for a coin purse to hold my american change on one side and my Yen on the other, but never found one that was just right. My mom found one that had two clasps and a zippered bottom, so it actually has 3 pockets! I have already transfered my money, it works perfectly! Thanks mom!