Well, this about sums it up

U-S-A! U-S-A!

Y'all, it is good to be home on the Fourth of July. (Funny how the entire United States is 'home,' now, isn't it?) There were sparklers, there were meats on the grill, there were slaws and beers and party games. And this morning, I wore my pajamas to the coffee shop. USA!

I'm having a great time visiting Melanie, Tony, and baby Nason in northern California. They are such a beautiful family, and the baby fits right in. Check it out:
Melanie and I met when we were sixteen and I moved to Key Largo from Maine (eek!). We hit it off immediately, and spent our high school years doing Calculus and History projects together, playing designated driver for some of our friends, and trying like heck to get boys' attention. One of those boys was Tony Valle, who became Mr. Melanie a couple years ago, and one of my dear friends to boot. Mel and I were each others' maids of honor, and planned to have our kids at the same time and try to make the Navy station us together. So far those last two haven't quite worked out, but we're still hopeful.

Since I arrived we've had two baby-free "dates" - once to the coffee shop and once to the grocery store. Nason will be three months next week, so it's tough to be away for long, but we've had fun! Here's Mel, baby-free for coffee:
and here's me, in heaven in Monterey with a little man snoozing in the carrier.
Nason is unbelievably good-natured. He cries when he wants something - food or to be changed or a bounce on somebody for a while - but the rest of the time he's smiley and burpey and absolutely adorable. And, thanks to his Mommy, I even got to feed him one of his first bottles.Yeah. I make dorky faces.
Now that he's such a big boy, he can alternate bottles with nursing so Mel can be away for a couple hours at a time. We're going to test that theory this week. Maybe kayaking?

Yesterday, for the Fourth, we went to two parties: a big shebang for mostly families with young kids, thrown by Mel and Tony's baby photographer, who spent her toddlerhood in Yokosuka! I had a chat with her mom, Katherine, who lived in Yoko on her own for two years, while her pilot husband worked away from home 85% of the time. No Skype, no email, no overseas phone calls - we are PAMPERED these days. Those women must have been made of steel.

Next was Eric and Jen's soiree, around the corner from Mel and Tony's house. There were about a dozen of us there, and the guys work together, so there were lots of beers and games and laughs flying around over there. Eric is learning Chinese, which is MUCH harder than Japanese - no alphabets! tonality! poor guy - and another friend was visiting from Vegas. The ladies dominated a game of Cranium and the baby fell asleep to the hoots and hollers and sparklers.

What a trip. I miss my husband, who has spent his four-day weekend cleaning our house, and I can't wait to see him next week in Washington. But for now I'm cuddling the baby and loving my friends, and wishing my stay here could be longer.

...and I'm in!

After a ridiculously easy, direct train ride from Yokosuka practically to my gate, then some wine and dinner at Narita, and a plane trip made pleasant by washing down Ambien with more wine, I have arrived on the Monterey peninsula. Melanie, Tony, and baby Nason are lovely, and I'll have lots of pictures soon.

About that Ambien: I'm usually not a medication person. But seriously: coach seats should COME with Ambien. It should be pillow, blanket, sleeping pill. The wine is free on ANA (woot! I never understood why it was free in first class. What do they have to drink about? With the legroom and reclining seats and, you know, wealth) and I just snoozed, watched a movie, and snoozed some more, and I was here before I knew it.

Time to visit and relax and cuddle the baby for a spell. Aaahhhhhh...

I'm off

for international trip #2 of 2009. The super easy, no-problem train ride commences in a couple hours, followed by a quick hop across the Pacific Ocean. I can't wait to see my girl in the Bay Area!

Catch you soon.

Travel

The night before the last time I was headed to the airport for a flight to the U.S., I discovered that I was having my third miscarriage, and would be in bad pain and deep sorrow for the following week or so. I was also flying space available, and sending Josh off to go live on a ship on the deep blue sea for a month - so I suppose I need't mention that I was a mess. I leave again tomorrow, a week ahead of Josh, for a West Coast vacation, and I was really looking forward to easy travel this time. We have tickets! On commercial airlines! And people picking us up at the airport and phone lists and rental cars and plans.

Then today happened. So far the bus to the airport filled up within one day, from plenty of seats left to 10 overbooked, and the rental agency finally sent a plumber over to address the leak in one of our walls. To wit:
I took those before he cut giant rectangles out of the sheetrock.

My kitchen cabinets are empty, the pipes are rusted, and it can't be fixed before I leave. We're forbidden the dishwasher, and now I'm on a mission to figure out how on earth to get to the airport by train. Oh, and did I mention I'm saying goodbye to one of my best friends here, who will be moving home to Texas while I'm gone?

Le sigh.

Friends in the house

Now that I'm a professional layabout, our lives have gotten a lot more social. This weekend was no exception, and we had a great time.

Well, it started before the weekend, actually. One day last week we took the train toward base and met Eric, the band's new tuba player. Josh is his sponsor, so we've endeavored to help with Japan survival skills, including the train. We all rode together to Mabori-kaigan and stopped at our neighborhood ramen shop for dinner. Mmm...ramen...That place does not disappoint. Eric and I had miso ramen, aka the best kind, while Josh had soy sauce flavor. We all doctored it up with crushed garlic, chili oil, and vinegar. YUM.
The fellas did a pretty good job of including me in the conversation, kind of. Okay not really, but whatever. Eric's wife arrives with their two dogs in August, so we'll have them over together and retreat to our gendered corners. Anyway, the sky that night was gorgeous.
Then yesterday the three of us met up again to go look for the house Eric is considering, out in Hayama. He knew which roads to take, which is huge for someone so new to Japan! But the details in the neighborhood got a bit sketchy, so mission failure. Still, we had ice cream cones and a nice breezy walk, so it was fine.

Sidebar: everyone should live in Mabori, where the streets are marked and wide enough and near-ish to base. I'm just saying.

Today, Sunday was rainy and dreary, so naturally Josh and I played Wii Fit all morning. We discovered that I'm better at hula hoops, Josh is better at all the strength exercises (duh) and also he is required to put down a tarp or something before attempting any of the aerobics - the swiffer that can handle his workouts has not yet been invented. Kelsey and Mack, we cleaned the board. Cleaned it well.

And it's lucky for our friend Dirk and his family! Dirk, his wife Taeko (apologies if I spelled that wrong), and their kids Sonya and Caillou came over for coffee and a visit this afternoon, and no one could resist the call of the Wii. I wish I'd thought to take pictures of us chatting, eating fruit bars, making fools of ourselves with the hula hoop game, and laughing together. But I didn't, so you'll have to take my word for it.

Know what I did remember to photograph? PRESENTS!They brought us a beautifully wrapped package of traditional Japanese treats.
And my personal favorite: homemade yogurt! Dirk has this down to a science, and it even made an appearance in our salad dressing at dinner tonight. Oh, and can you guess what their last name is?
Hint: it's not "plain" or "full cream."

Now it's eight p.m., and the rain keeps falling, so we've traded in the Nintendo for a documentary. Only four days left until I head for Cal-i-for-ni-a! WOOT. How lucky are we to have such good friends on two continents?

Wii Fit...into only our fat clothes

But wii're working on it! I LOVE the Wii Fit, y'all. Then again, I generally love any new exercise for the first week or so, so who knows whether this one will last. But having it in my living room, ready to go any time, is great motivation. No need for fancy workout clothes or even shoes, and I can go at my own pace and shower when I'm done. The games are fun - ski slalom is a favorite - and the hula hoops are the best aerobic workout, even though it's supposed to be for balance. I like the thing, and I think I'll buy one.

I know some of you out there have this system, and I have a question for you: how long have you owned it, and how often do you use it now? I'm concerned that the novelty will wear off and I'll stop wanting to play/exercise after a couple months, so is it worth the cost? It's really fun now, when I unlock something new every day, but does that last?