Sad news from North Dakota

I was suprised to find this article on my Yahoo headlines tody.

What a sad day for those of us that knew and loved Mr Winky :(

Forest Adventure Park

I know it has been awhile since I updated (dang job..) but this is well worth it!

The kids wanted to go with the church youth group to Forest Adventure Park. I had heard about this place about 6 months ago and said I wanted to go someday so we went along for the fun.

Forest Adventure Park is a Zip Line course through the jungle hills in Onna village. I thought it sounded like fun, gliding gently through the treetops, enjoying the view. Little did I know there was nothing gentle about it! We climbed up rope ladders, clipped onto zip lines, shot like a speeding bullet down each line, only to come to an abrupt stop at the bottom! It was incredible fun, but I will definitely be sore tomorrow!

But like they say a picture is worth a thousand words:

and video is worth even more! This was my first trip down a zip line:

Family Mart

I LOVE FAMILY MART!!!

This is my choice snack shopping destination on island, by far ! Everytime we go in there is a new something to try out. This time it was new Doritoes.

Of Course I don't read Kanji (it wouldn't be as fun if I did) so I was guessing this was supposed to be Fried Chicken flavored Doritos. Seeing it I had to buy it to go with our lunch snack.

Turns out they were chicken flavored, but tasted more like the "chicken" flavor that comes with the cheap ramen noodles at Wal-Mart.

Don't get me wrong, they were yummy, and we ate the whole bag, but The Colonel would not be proud!

Blue Man

This past week was "Class week" at the high school. Chris' class color is blue, so he has spent the entire week in blue and has tried to dress for every special day. He especially liked Celebrity Day and went as a member of the Blue Man Group.

My day off

Today is my day off from my new job. I have finally finished running all of the errands I normally space out over the whole week. It's quarter to four in the afternoon and I have a bit before I have to start preping dinner, so I will fill you in on this new development.

I mentioned a while back that I filled out a job application for the base craft store. I did this on a bit of a whim, as I was told that cashiers there are unhappy because they only get 10-15 hours a week. Sound like the perfect job to me!

Two weeks ago I got a call for an interview, went in and discovered I was being interviewed for a framing position. The frame shop manager didn't care that I had NO experience with framing, other than matting pictures. I started on Monday with a quick orientation, then Tuesday with my on the job training. I was hired with one other lady, Mary. We both quickly learned that "flex scheduling" didn't mean less than part time. I have a 32 hour schedule for the next 6 weeks!

My family will learn to adjust to having to fend for themselves (again) and I will remember how to juggle home, work, church and friends (again). I know I am only 2 days into this job, but so far I really enjoy it. I missed talking with customers everyday and figuring out how to get them what they need.

I will have to try to snap a couple pictures tomorrow to show you my new "office"!

Today's laugh

I was originally going to post about my new job (yes, it's true, I got a J O B !) but then while browsing my knitters forum I ran across a link to this video.


It is only 6 am and I have already laughed hard enough to cry... it's going to be a good day!


VIEWER ALERT: Do not, I repeat DO NOT attempt to drink anything while watching this clip

Posse members: Do you think we could add this to our money making website?

Cars

I am sure one of the reasons for car accidents on Okinawa is other drivers trying to read the messages on the sides of vehicles. The Japanese **love** english phrases, even when they don't really make sense (see kissing shirt to your right!). They include long phrases on shirts, coffee mugs and yes, even on their cars.

I finally got a chance to take a picture of one such vehicle, when no one else was around to see me do it!

Enjoy:

So many posts.... So little time

I made a list of the things I have yet to blog about. Condensing Dave's entire week down into one single post helped but I still have 6 things on my "to blog" list. I guess I will start with the most frightening.

Chris has started to drive. He passed his Base/Japanese permit test and has taken a couple trips out with Lyle. He starts his classroom and official behind the wheel training tonight. Lyle has informed me that I am not ready to take Chris out driving yet, not that I was in any hurry :)

I guess that is a perk to living here on Okinawa tho. Chris will only be allowed to drive on military installations until after he turns 18. The minimum driving age for Japanese is 18.

Time to catch up

Dave left yesterday morning to head back to the frozen tundra of Minnesota. We treated him to some wonderful weather (mid 70's) and lots of sightseeing! It was interesting to watch his reaction to many of the things that have become "common" to us.

The only thing on his to do list when he landed was the Ryukyu Glass Works. Not surprising since glass blowing and lampworking are his side job (hobby that pays for itself!) We filled up the rest of the list with trips to beaches on each side of the island, Shuri Castle, the aquarium, Okinawa Cave, the salt factory and every restaurant we had time for! We also made Family Mart his favorite spot for a little snack :) He was very adventurous when it came to trying new foods :

Don't worry about the face he was making....apple and honey tea turned out to be pretty tasty!

Dave even got to enjoy our tradition of Blue Seal ice cream at the end of every journey.

I am glad he got a chance to visit us on Okinawa! Remember, the invitation is open to one and all!