Hey y'all,
We're on our way home. This has been a crazy trip - busy, good and bad. We're so indebted to everyone for looking after us on the way, and we're sad to leave. But Josh can see, and we've got some whole wheat pasta in the suitcase, so the trip was a success. We get in on Thursday, Japan time, and I'll try to be more attentive shortly thereafter.
P.S. I can't believe I'm going back to an Ivy-free Japan. C'est la Navy. :(
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Vision
He can see!
I was waiting to post until I could upload a few pics of Josh with his shades on, or seeing things sans glasses for the first time, but I've been torturing everyone by not posting.
Josh's PRK surgery was a success (so far), with a super easy and painless procedure followed by about twenty hours of sleep. He's a little sore now, using drops every 30 minutes when he's awake, and taking a fair amount of ibuprofen and Percocet.
The procedure is really remarkable - the lights from the laser were all blurry, then it did its thing, and immediately he could see it perfectly. The docs are hopeful for 20/20 vision or better, and he should be pretty well recovered in a couple days.
You can go ahead and keep those fingers crossed for a safe - albeit dry and uncomfortable - plane ride to Tokyo on Wednesday. And wish me luck now that I can't hide his glasses and do whatever I want while he can't see.
I was waiting to post until I could upload a few pics of Josh with his shades on, or seeing things sans glasses for the first time, but I've been torturing everyone by not posting.
Josh's PRK surgery was a success (so far), with a super easy and painless procedure followed by about twenty hours of sleep. He's a little sore now, using drops every 30 minutes when he's awake, and taking a fair amount of ibuprofen and Percocet.
The procedure is really remarkable - the lights from the laser were all blurry, then it did its thing, and immediately he could see it perfectly. The docs are hopeful for 20/20 vision or better, and he should be pretty well recovered in a couple days.
You can go ahead and keep those fingers crossed for a safe - albeit dry and uncomfortable - plane ride to Tokyo on Wednesday. And wish me luck now that I can't hide his glasses and do whatever I want while he can't see.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Fingers crossed!
and four-leaf clovers and brilliant, careful doctors. Josh is having PRK surgery in the morning, which should correct his vision after decades of glasses. The risks are pretty minimal - they do dozens of these per week - but it's still surgery, and I'll be happy when it's over. Fingers crossed!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Chilly Cali
I haven't even been in California for almost a week, but I can't stop thinking about it. Having a friend like Melanie is one of those gifts in life, the ones you know you don't deserve but can't imagine living without, like electricity, or Democrat parents. Ha! Seriously, I love that girl so much, and we had a great time every single day.Here are some shots from my last day in Marina, last Wednesday. Mel and I bundled up the baby and headed for the famous Pebble Beach drive, a little less than an hour from her house. First, two pics from my "don't drop him!" series.
These were taken at the Lone Cypress, the symbol of Pebble Beach. It's several hundred years old, and gorgeous.
Thanks, random German tourists, for capturing the shot!A little further down we found a harem of seals (yes! it's called a harem!), lounging on the beach and rocks. They cracked us up.
And in a matter of moments, everybody on the beach decided to cool off in the surf for a bit. SPLASH!
You may notice we had lots of time to take pretty pictures and enjoy the scenery. This was due to Melanie's incredibly consciencious son Nason, who slept through the entire ride. He missed the seals, but the ladies got to talk and enjoy the ride, instead of switching off sitting in the back and singing while getting motion sickness. Thanks fella!
After the drive we stopped in Carmel for lunch, where we had California in a nutshell: roasted garlic, goat cheese, olives, and an artichoke. No wine, alas, but the food was fantastic.
Nason even got to eat - another bottle! He's a champ, switching between nursing and bottlefeeding beautifully.
Mel got to handle one of those less-glamorous parts of motherhood while I finished up the food.
By the end of the day, we were all tuckered out. We managed to rally for a nice dinner in Monterey, though. 
Whoops! I mean:
Now I'm in Washington, loving my in-laws' and friends' hospitality, recovering from an unexpected Pacific Northwest sunburn, and counting down to Josh's laser surgery. More photos and stories, I promise. Until then, cute:
The Left Coast
I know, I know! I need to blog. But I've been having so much fun over here in California and Washington that I can't seem to find time to write. Today I'm going to hot springs with my buddy Christie, and I'll have the camera. Promise to write more later, if I'm not collapsed into a pile of relaxed goo. So...not much chance I'll actually write...awkward.
I'll do my best though. Here's some cute to tide you over.
I'll do my best though. Here's some cute to tide you over.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Bye for now
Internet, I have so much to tell you about. It's my last day in California and I have had such a great time with the Valles - there have been beach walks and long drives, French toast and Lebanese dinners, big laughs and midnight meltdowns. But before I get to all of that, I need to say goodbye (for now) to a couple of dear friends. The Ivys, our sponsors and friends for the last year, are leaving Japan and the Navy to start a new life in Texas, and we are going to miss them so much!
Beth, Alex, Hannah, and Faith welcomed us to Japan on August 1, 2008, at the Navy Lodge. They came bearing a laundry basket full of snacks and supplies for our stay, took us out to dinner, and lent us their bikes for a few weeks. Even before all that they'd been answering our questions, making our reservations for the bus from the airport, and just generally helping us stay sane during that crazy move.
Once we settled in, though, was when the good times really began. There have been dinners and trips to Ikea, there have been long talks over coffee and knitting, there was a sleepover and even karaoke. Beth and I have spent quiet hours on my couch or hers, talking about marriage, children, love, God, feminism, sex, faith, and how to make the most of our Japanese lives. Our two families really connected over this past year, and their absence will be a void when I return.
Last Wednesday, a few hours before I headed out to the airport, Beth met me on base for one more cup of coffee and a chat. I think it was good for both of us that I went on vacation - we didn't have to say goodbye forever, just a few weeks! even though we both knew better. The Ivys have touched my life and I know we'll see each other soon, even if soon means when those little girls are teetering around in high heels and worrying about the SATs. Love and light will follow all four of them, I know.
Beth, Alex, Hannah, and Faith welcomed us to Japan on August 1, 2008, at the Navy Lodge. They came bearing a laundry basket full of snacks and supplies for our stay, took us out to dinner, and lent us their bikes for a few weeks. Even before all that they'd been answering our questions, making our reservations for the bus from the airport, and just generally helping us stay sane during that crazy move.
Once we settled in, though, was when the good times really began. There have been dinners and trips to Ikea, there have been long talks over coffee and knitting, there was a sleepover and even karaoke. Beth and I have spent quiet hours on my couch or hers, talking about marriage, children, love, God, feminism, sex, faith, and how to make the most of our Japanese lives. Our two families really connected over this past year, and their absence will be a void when I return.Last Wednesday, a few hours before I headed out to the airport, Beth met me on base for one more cup of coffee and a chat. I think it was good for both of us that I went on vacation - we didn't have to say goodbye forever, just a few weeks! even though we both knew better. The Ivys have touched my life and I know we'll see each other soon, even if soon means when those little girls are teetering around in high heels and worrying about the SATs. Love and light will follow all four of them, I know.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Attention: ladies of the Bay Area
I am here to inform you that the two men pictured below are, in fact, single:
Pay no attention to the lady with the baby. No need to worry about her right now. But the fellas? Good with kids!
Quote from Hang: "That's the most dangerous game I ever played. The kid has a floppy neck and a dad in the Navy."
And what need I say about Abe? Suave, even when pushing someone else's stroller.
I give you the least-nerdy nerd reunion ever. Abe, Hang, Melanie and I were among a group of about twelve in AP Calculus, nine years ago, at Coral Shores High School (go, whatever our mascot was!). We all had to work together to pass the AP exam, by which I mean Abe and Hang had to help us learn and we had to put up with their rolling their eyes so hard they sprained them. HA! But we all made it, then went to college and lost touch. Mel and Hang reconnected years ago, and this week it happened that we were all within a hundred miles of one another, so we met in the middle for lunch and a reunion. And we had such. a great. time.
Mel and I drove to Santa Cruz from Monterey, with baby Nason, and Abe and Hang each drove from Mountain View, where they live less than a mile apart. But they didn't know this until today! Mission accomplished. We walked about ten blocks to Saturn Cafe, a great vegetarian restaurant where salads, fries, pad thai, and many veggie burgers were had. The guys gallantly fought over who got to pay for lunch. Since they were the only ones at the table with, you know, jobs, Mel and I demurely averted our eyes. Even Nason got a snack, and I'm sure the nursing baby didn't make the guys uncomfortable at all. No problem.
Then, because life is awesome, my flip flop broke and I had to walk barefoot to a shoe store. So if you're wondering why anyone would Google "is it possible to get chlamydia of the foot," now you know. But I bought new flip flops and we headed to the gorgeous boardwalk and seaside, schlepped the stroller across the sand, and enjoyed the sunny weather.
Abe and Mel had shaved ice, but I was too cold for that.
It was really incredible catching up for an afternoon. Mel is really the only Coral Shores friend I keep up with, other than the odd Facebook update. Hang and Abe are both in the tech industry, doing great, and seemed so different than my memories from a decade ago. I wonder how different I seemed to them - if, like them in my eyes, I seem more at ease in my skin, happier, softer around what used to be some harsh edges, and altogether wonderful. I hope so. It's funny about getting older. I can see in the photos how my looks have changed, but I forget how much growing up I did in college and beyond. How sure I was of, oh, everything in high school, and how this lifelong march toward loving moderation has progressed.
I guess all there is left to say is that I could have hoped that these old friends could be good friends again, years later, but I wouldn't have put money on it. What a gift, and I hope we can shorten the distance between this visit and the next.
Pay no attention to the lady with the baby. No need to worry about her right now. But the fellas? Good with kids!
Quote from Hang: "That's the most dangerous game I ever played. The kid has a floppy neck and a dad in the Navy."
And what need I say about Abe? Suave, even when pushing someone else's stroller.I give you the least-nerdy nerd reunion ever. Abe, Hang, Melanie and I were among a group of about twelve in AP Calculus, nine years ago, at Coral Shores High School (go, whatever our mascot was!). We all had to work together to pass the AP exam, by which I mean Abe and Hang had to help us learn and we had to put up with their rolling their eyes so hard they sprained them. HA! But we all made it, then went to college and lost touch. Mel and Hang reconnected years ago, and this week it happened that we were all within a hundred miles of one another, so we met in the middle for lunch and a reunion. And we had such. a great. time.
Mel and I drove to Santa Cruz from Monterey, with baby Nason, and Abe and Hang each drove from Mountain View, where they live less than a mile apart. But they didn't know this until today! Mission accomplished. We walked about ten blocks to Saturn Cafe, a great vegetarian restaurant where salads, fries, pad thai, and many veggie burgers were had. The guys gallantly fought over who got to pay for lunch. Since they were the only ones at the table with, you know, jobs, Mel and I demurely averted our eyes. Even Nason got a snack, and I'm sure the nursing baby didn't make the guys uncomfortable at all. No problem. 
Then, because life is awesome, my flip flop broke and I had to walk barefoot to a shoe store. So if you're wondering why anyone would Google "is it possible to get chlamydia of the foot," now you know. But I bought new flip flops and we headed to the gorgeous boardwalk and seaside, schlepped the stroller across the sand, and enjoyed the sunny weather. 
Abe and Mel had shaved ice, but I was too cold for that. It was really incredible catching up for an afternoon. Mel is really the only Coral Shores friend I keep up with, other than the odd Facebook update. Hang and Abe are both in the tech industry, doing great, and seemed so different than my memories from a decade ago. I wonder how different I seemed to them - if, like them in my eyes, I seem more at ease in my skin, happier, softer around what used to be some harsh edges, and altogether wonderful. I hope so. It's funny about getting older. I can see in the photos how my looks have changed, but I forget how much growing up I did in college and beyond. How sure I was of, oh, everything in high school, and how this lifelong march toward loving moderation has progressed.
I guess all there is left to say is that I could have hoped that these old friends could be good friends again, years later, but I wouldn't have put money on it. What a gift, and I hope we can shorten the distance between this visit and the next.
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