Ni Hao

That is the general greeting in China, and one of the few phrases I actually learned (and used) while in China. I also used Xie Xie (sounds like Shi Shi) which is Thank You. But the most important phrase I learned was pronounced Boo Shi, and was best used in an angry or annoyed tone. I don't know it's exact meaning, but when told to the local peddlers it got them to leave us alone. But more about that later.

Our trip to China was incredible and amazing. We left with one expectation of what it would be like, but came back with a whole different understanding of their life, culture and history. I am planning on posting our trip over the next few days, but you need to be patient with me as I don't think I have totally processed everything we saw yet.

We started off on Sunday morning. Since I had done most of the packing and prepping on Saturday, the morning went smoothly. We even had time to stop off for our favorite Okinawan beverage - Cold Coffee:

Then we all boarded our shuttle bus to Naha International Airport. The kids were excited to finally be on our way.We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Since the International gate is so small, the check in process can't be started until you are 1 hour from boarding, so we waited.We boarded our plane on time and were soon in the air, on our way to Shanghai. We were served lunch on the plane. From lower left corner, clockwise: Azuki bean dessert, cantaloupe, peanuts, water, fried tofu and chicken with rice and veggies.

Our first view of China was over the skies of Shanghai.

Once we landed we had to go through Swine Flu testing. First test was a thermal scan of our forehead (the black object in the first masked tester's hand). If you failed the scan (Steph did) then you got a digital thermometer in the mouth. If you failed that one (the guy with the back of his head showing failed) you got an old fashioned thermometer. After 5 minutes he passed that one, so I am not sure what step would have been next.

I learned something in the Swine Flu testing process - LIE. I marked the boxes truthfully on our health questionaire for Chris, Stephanie and I. We were pulled out of the immigration line and subjected to another round of temperature testing and questioning. At the end of our interrogation I was told to fill out new forms for all three of us and NOT to check ANY boxes.

After getting through the gates we were met by Fiona, our escort through the airport. I loved that her greeting flag said "Spring Tour" You might wonder why we needed a guide through the airport, as we did until we saw the actual terminalFiona guided us through the Domestic Check in procedure, then started walking us to our gate area. This is a hotel sandwiched between the International and Domestic terminalsAgain let me point out how huge this airport is:After we got to our gate area we took a moment to look around. We thought it was a little funny that the big Ping Pong tournament was being shown on EVERY tv:This is an indoor wall of water:

After a short look, Lyle located ice cream and got a couple scoops for everyone. This was our first purchase using our Chinese money, Yuan. After spending over 200 Yuan on 3 bowls of ice cream we did the math and found that we spent almost $30. Then we learned that ANYTHING with an American brand was going to cost you 3-5 times more than if you buy a Chinese brand. But it was REALLY good ice cream :)We spotted these in the snack bar, Dried Chicken Feet:There were also Duck bills, Chicken necks and other assorted poultry parts. We passed.

Another short flight took us to our destination for the night - Beijing. This is the International terminal building, built just for the olympics. It is shaped after a turtle, which promises Long Life and Longevity.

We boarded our bus and made it to our hotel. We were all tired, and there was a full day planned for us so we hit the beds. Stay tuned for Beijing, Day One!

We're Back

We have literally just gotten back home from our China trip. It was a VERY full week of touring, shopping, picture taking and eating. I have about 1000 photos to go through, a full video camera, four FULL baskets of laundry, about 200 email messages to check and a ton of updated blogs to read.

Don't worry, you will get the full tour details as soon as I get life back to normal (or as close as it gets).

To all the men in my life...

To all of you that are Husbands, Fathers, Brothers, Uncles, Nephews and Sons.

Today is your day to do what makes you happy. Take a nap:

Go fishing:

Go out for a little ice cream:

BBQ:

Or just spend the day with those you love:

Happy Father's day to each of you, wherever you are!

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a sign

I promised you some of the signs we saw while at Neo park. Other than the bird droppings sign (see yesterday's post) we saw this one:And this one:

I am not sure if this is for information or a warning:But the highlight of my day was to see Lyle walking hand in hand with the kids:When I asked why they were laughing they said, "Didn't you see the sign?" You mean I missed one? So I back tracked and saw this one:For those that don't have a magnifying glass handy, my kids had noticed the last line:

Neo Park

We took a trip to Neo Park, which is a Nature park/Zoo. It was a neat experience. We started in the Bird sanctuary, and were greeted by this sign:

As you watch the slide show, you will see Stephanie feeding a Lemur. This was NOT something she was supposed to be doing. She and Lyle went up a set of steps, into an screened area and spent about 15 minutes up close and personal with these creatures, until a park worker came and told them they were in an Employee only area. OOPS

I will have to post some of the fun signs from there another time. Enjoy the animals :)

Fun Food Find

Poor Chris...He hasn't been able to eat popcorn for quite a while now. In North Dakota it was because of the headgear brackets, here, it is because of the actual braces. In ND we were able to buy Old Dutch Puff Corn, like popcorn, but no hulls so it is dental friendly. Here on Okinawa he has had to do without (when we are watching anyway)

Imagine my suprise when I stumbled upon the Japanese version of hull-less popcorn:

I have no idea what the actual name is, we call it Ninja Popcorn (<--insert bad japanese accent here).

I have since found it in a few other flavors, each has a different cartoon on the back, featuring our favorite popcorn ninja in a different predicament. I wonder how he will make it out of this one:

Sunset on the Seawall

Lyle and I went out without the kids a few weeks back. We didn't plan anything special. Just a little shopping at the yen store then we planned on getting dinner out.

After we finished shopping though, we decided to check out the park behind Kadena Marina shopping center. After walking through a nice athletic park we ended up at the seawall and the "famous" Kadena Steps we kept hearing about. It was dusk and the way the diminishing sunlight was illuminating the concrete made it almost beautiful. These photos don't do it justice:

food for thought

Stephanie made these cookies a while ago, but I am trying to clean out my camera (Again). Lucky for you!

Java Cream Drops

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1 tablespoon half-and-half cream
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: In a small bowl, combine coffee granules and cream; set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and reserved coffee mixture. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough in half. To one portion, add cocoa and walnuts. Stir chocolate chips into remaining dough. To form cookies, place 1 teaspoon of each dough on an ungreased baking sheet; lightly press doughs together. Flatten slightly. Repeat with remaining doughs. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 5 dozen. http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Java-Cream-Drops.aspx

And since I have started a food post for today, I will add another photo from the camera:

To Die For Pot Roast I made mine using Zesty Italian dressing mix. The first time I made it I added carrots and potatoes in with the roast. It was good, but the meat was SOOOOO good, next time I increased the meat in the crock and left the veggies on the stove :)

The results are in

Today was the annual dessert auction at church. This fundraiser is held to benefit Women's Ministry. The cakes usually go for high dollar amounts, then after the bidding has ended, the cakes are passed around for all to sample and enjoy. Last year I made my Lemon Meringue Cake and it did well despite no one knowing whether I could cook or not.

Now, of course, those that know me, know I make good food, and wouldn't bring anything to a potluck that doesn't impress. That being said, I was worried today. There were only twelve desserts being auctioned off. One was made by Chris - he made Snickers Cake:
Some of you might remember this one. German Chocolate cake with a ribbon of melted caramel and chocolate chips, topped (usually) with Cool Whip to serve. He included a can of Redi Whip Topping, as he didn't want the cool whip to ruin the cake before anyone got a chance to bid on it. Stephanie made Triple Treat Torte:

She even stood up in front of everyone to describe it: A peanutty shortbread crust, topped with a layer of peanut butter, cream cheese and cool whip, covered with blended vanilla and chocolate pudding, spread with cool whip then sprinkled with chocolate and crushed peanuts. Then there was mine:

My Dulce De Leche Cake. I KNOW it is delicious, I KNOW everyone will love it, but it is not even close to pretty. Both kids have better looking cakes than I made, so I started to worry that their cakes might make more than mine (my pride and reputation is at stake).

But in the end, my cake sold for $55, Stephanie's and Chris' each made $45. And the best part was hearing everyone compliment my kids on doing such a great job!

Don't worry, people commented on my cake too. My ego is doing okay, but thanks for worrying :)

Summer travel

When Lyle first got the orders to Okinawa, we started talking about what our vacation plans might be while here. Being a smaller island the local attractions, while interesting, will NOT take the four years we are here to explore.

We made our ultimate dream list: Austalia, New Zealand, Tokyo, Mt Fuji, Kyoto, Thailand, China. Of course the reality is we cannot afford to do it all, but we planned out our budget and knew we would be able to do at least a couple of places on our dream list.

This year's trip was supposed to be Tokyo. We were going to go over Stephanie's birthday and do Disney at the same time. Unfortunately, my work schedule and Lyle's work schedule didn't fit with the hotel's availability. Combine that with school, Chris' summer job and a base inspection, it looked like we wouldn't leave the island ths summer.

But I happened to see the dates on a China tour through the Marine's Travel Center, MCCS. The timing was perfect and the price was in our budget, so we signed up. The tour group does almost everything, except Lyle's official paperwork. He finished the last of it last night, so it looks like we are good to go!

Our EIGHT day trip is going to take us to three cities, Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. Our list of sites to visit includes the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen square, the Forbidden City, Great Wall, a rickshaw tour, Tang Dynasty dinner show, Terra Cotta Warrior museum, Summer Palace, Winter Palace, quite a few temples, silk fatory, jade factory and a couple flea markets. The tour includes almost all of our meals so we don't have to worry about anything!

We leave in three weeks and I cannot wait!

For those that asked

First off let me tell each one of you that I miss cooking. I still cook for my family, but it isn't quite the same as trying to come up with meals to wow 10+ women. I barely cook desserts anymore, since we can't (shouldn't) eat them, and I haven't made a single appetizer since I moved to Okinawa.


I have piles of fun sounding recipes that I know you all would love, but my family wouldn't touch if you paid them. Of course, wrap it in seaweed and rice, call it sushi and they eat anything LOL


But back to the reason for a second post today (two days in a row I might add). Many of you on Facebook commented that you would like the recipe. Anyone that received a CD of Scrapping Recipes from me has it already (Rebecca, you get extra dessert for noticing!). It is from my favorite cooking website Recipezaar. But I will post it here too, with pictures to whet your appetite. I only made two changes, I replaced the ground beef with one package of Morningstar Farms Crumbles (I love my soy!) and I used a whole 8 ounce can of tomato sauce (didn't want to waste half a can). I served on a bed of shredded lettuce, with Fat Free Sour Cream.

Taco Casserole for the crockpot
8 servings
Recipezaar.com #154912

1 ½ lbs Ground Beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon pepper
9 corn tortillas (5 ½ inch)
½ Cup Chicken Broth
½ Cup Tomato Sauce
10 ounce Enchilada Sauce
6 ounces Cheddar, shredded
30 ounces black beans
11 ounce Mexicorn
4 ½ ounce chopped green chilies
2 ¼ ounce Black olives, sliced

Spray the inside of a 3-4 quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. In large skillet brown ground beef with onion and garlic over medium high heat for 8-10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain well. Stir in taco seasoning mix, salt and pepper. Place 3 tortillas in bottom of crock-pot. Top with beef mixture, broth, tomato sauce and enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with ½ cup of cheese. Layer 3 more tortillas. Top with the beans, corn, green chilies, half the olives and ½ cup cheese. Top with remaining 3 tortillas. Sprinkle with reaming cheese and olives. Cook on high setting for 2 ½ to 3 hours or on low for 6-7 hours. Uncover crock-pot for last 30 minutes of cooking time. Top individual servings with sour cream

A good day to Dye

You are already aware that I am addicted to yarn. Much like my previous addictions to rubber, paper and stickers, it has consumed every craft cell in my brain.


I spend much of my free time knitting, and when I am not knitting I am browsing knitting forums on the web looking for new patterns and techniques.


While browsing one day I started reading about people dying their own yarn with things like food coloring, Wilton cake dyes and Kool Aid. I was intrigued so I decided to give it a shot. I bought my yarn, got some food coloring and found a tutorial online. I even read *most* of the instructions!
I wound the yarn around two dining room chairs and tied string through to keep it from tangling during the dyeing process:
I then twisted it into a hank and let it soak overnight in a vinegar solution:

The next morning I put it into my crockpot with some water and mixed up the colors I wanted:


Then I poured them over the yarn in the crock pot. The tutorial I was using said it would take 1-2 hours then the water would be clear and my yarn would by beautiful. So I put the cover on and went to take my shower. I came down 30 minutes later to find all my colors had run together and my yarn was still cream colored. I assumed the kids stirred it or something, so I added new dye and waited. Again the water muddied, but I left it and let it cook in the crock pot for the better part of the day. I rinsed it, like instructed and watched ALL of the color rinse right off. I ended up with this:
I compained to one of my local knitting buddies, Charlotte, about my wasted day and wasted yarn. She asked what kind of wool I used...... WOOL? I used cotton, I said. That is when I learned that food based dyes only work on animal fibers. Plant fibers need acid dyes (like Rit dye). I reread my tutorial and that information was in the very last paragraph. Who reads the end of a tutorial before they start? Not me!

So I ordered myself some wool and started the process again. AMAZING! As I added each color it immediately soaked into the yarn! I had to remix dyes 4 times and stir the yarn in the crockpot to get as much coverage as possible. Four hours later I was rinsing my cooled yarn:



And wound my very colorful ball of sock yarn.... Now to learn to knit socks :)

Am I old or are they too young

This was more common than not at Stephanie's last band concert:

I might be getting older, maybe I am just too straight-laced. But I REALLY, TRULY believe that at 11-12 years old, girls should NOT be wearing 3 inch heels.

My views of the concert: It was incredible. Stephanie's band director is wonderful. She led this group of middle schoolers and turned them into a REAL band. Parents were smiling, toes were tapping and every song sounded perfect!

Stephanie got a certificate of recognition for playing in both the beginning band and the advanced band this year, one of only 4 to do so.

Shameless self promotion

I was going to email this out and then update my blog, but decided I could wipe two things off my to do list with one task!

The deal: Go to my Creative Memories website here and spend $100, then CM will send you 50 (that's right FIVE ZERO) sheets of 10 x 12 cardstock FREE

The fine print: This is only While Supplies Last, Good June 1 - 30, and only one free paper deal per order, BUT you can place as many orders as you want!

The bonus deal: Every order that goes in will be entered into a drawing. I will draw from these entries on July 7th. The winner will receive a bunch of other CM stuff, some yummy (or not) Japanese treats, and a special other suprise from me!

This is also a great time to bring your Memory Manager software into the next generation. You can download the newest Memory Manager to replace your old Memory Manager for only $9.95. This is only good in the month of June so time is ticking. This will deactivate your old Memory Manager, but the upgrades are well worth it (including the option of deleting duplicate files! for me this alone was worth $10!)