Updates!

Just thought I'd let everyone know who I haven't talked with recently, what we've been up to! Joe finally made it back home from his trip to Diego Garcia. He was there nearly a month! He had been told he wasn't going to back until at least November 30th, so I went ahead and bought tickets to fly to the states to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. Then ironically hours after I bought my non-refundable ticket, he calls saying they had a change of plans and they were coming back! Oh well, irony has it's way of sneaking up us!

I of course still followed through with my plans to go to the states. After a grueling 23-hour trip, I made it!!! I flew from Naha, to Tokyo, to Seattle, to Chicago, and then Huntsville!!! So far I'm doing pretty well with the jet-lag and time difference. It's good to be back in the states and see my parents. However, it's so strange to be driving on the right side of the road again, driving so fast (ok, anything over 40mph feels like we're FLYING!), and trying to refrain from saying "thank you" in Japanese to people!

I'm only here for a little over a week but I'm planning to make the most of it! It's only been 24-hours and I've been to Wal-Mart, the mall, Target, & the Dollar Store... I'm in heaven!!! I'll be back December 1st, so I'll be sure to update everyone soon!

Food for thought

1. How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?

3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don't like and like so many things we don't do?

4. When it's all said and done, will you have said more than you've done?

5. What is the one thing you'd most like to change about the world?

6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?

7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

8. If the average human like span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?

9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?

10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?

11. You're having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend if yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?

12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?

13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?

14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?

15. How come the things that make you happy don't make everyone happy?

16. What's something you know you do differently than most people?

17. What one things have you not done that you really want to do? What's holding you back?

18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?

19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?

20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator move faster?

21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?

22. Why are you, you?

23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?

24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?

25. What are you most grateful for?

26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?

27. Is it possible to know the truth without challenging it first?

28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?

29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremley upset? Does it really matter now?

30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?

31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most pasionate and alive?

32. If not now, then when?

33. If you havne't achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?

34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, an walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?

35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?

36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?

37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?

38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work than you actually enjoy doing?

39. Do you feel like you've lived this day a hundred times before?

40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?

41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?

42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremley attractive or famous?

43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?

44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?

45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make one?

46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?

48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?

49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?

50. Decisions are being made right now. The questions is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

November Pedi

I would of thought by now people would be tired of seeing my toes every month. Alas, to my surprise, I get the most comments on these pics than anything else. Here's the latest pedi. It's cute, but not exactly what the picture depicted. It was supposed to be more red than white, and more dark red than a pink (I was trying to go for upcoming holiday colors). It's still cute and it just gives me an excuse to go back before Christmas.

Modesty covers up my back cleavage

There is something to say about immodesty. It creates mini-goals throughout the year that keep a woman fit and trim. For example, each Halloween is preceded by a month of dieting and hearty exercise to prepare for a night of immense stomach and leg baring. Why dress up as something like a clown who wears a baggy suit, when you could be a pirate, and why be a pirate when you could be a sexy pirate? For immodest dressers, the year is filled with these mini-goals: New Years, Valentine's, bathing suit season prep, actual bathing suit season, and then around again to Halloween with things like birthdays, anniversaries, and special parties to fill in the gaps.

Unfortunatley for me and many of you, these mini-goals were kicked to the curb at the onset of marriage. Ahhh, marriage. It seems day after day, the pounds creep up out of nowhere. With no single girlfriends around to "dress up" with (I mean really, hardly any married ladies dress immodest and I felt the need to conform accordingly), and with no mini-goals throughout the year, the lbs seem to find a happy home around your middle. I blame my body now on Coco's (rumor has it one meal has over 1,000 calories), leftover Halloween candy, and all the other delicous places to eat around here (okay we were a little deprived in Columbus and have been over indulging ever since we left).

Is there a way around this dilemma? I guess working out and eating "healthy" could work, but that's just not as fun...

Music to my ears

I developed a deep love for country music my freshman year of college. Until then, I loathed country music. If I heard it on the radio, I'd simply change the station. I was all about hip-hop at the time (I was also living in Germany where techno and upbeat music was the trend... not so much country on the stations).

Going to college in Colorado exposed me to lots of country music, whether I liked it or not. At first, I admit, I tried to rebel against it. I had 3 roommates, one whom I shared a room with, and two of the three of them were die-hard country fans. It was constantly playing in our rooms and I tried to tune it out at first. Then, when I was cheering and joining my sorority, I had a close group of girls who were also big country listeners (several who were from Texas). At the time, I had no car and bummed rides from whatever friends would give me one. It was their car, and what do you know, they played country (aside from rockin' out to Britney every once in a while). I decided since I was being forced to listen to country so much, I needed to learn to like it!

I began to search and download popular country songs that were on the radio. At the time I didn't even know who Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, etc. were (such a shame, I know!). I made myself listen to it in my spare time and before I knew it, I could recognize the songs on the radio (until then, seriously all country songs sounded the same to me!) and even sing along to a few. Over the year, I developed a true passion for country music! I felt there were so many great songs, and many I could relate to.

I still love country, but I do listen to other music here and there, but country is still my all-time favorite. When we moved here to Okinawa, we have one (yes, ONE) radio station that AFN plays for the American's to listen to. They play a random assortment of music from "then" to "now" which gets old really fast. Our friend told us about an internet radio she uses and can tune in to all her favorite country stations from the states. We bought one several months ago and I am so in love with it! I was out of touch with the newest songs being played, and felt out of the loop with country music. But here I am, back in the groove and couldn't be happier.

I found a station that plays all the new country hits and even ones from several years ago. When I hear certain songs, they bring me back to my freshman year of college. Makes me rememeber how exciting and new everything was for me that year. I've been downloading a bunch of new albums from my favorite artists lately so I have some good music to listen to in the car... which sparked my idea for the blog entry.

People always say scent is the strongest sense we have. I have to disagree... but maybe it's because I haven't been able to smell hardly anything for the last several months due to my serious sinus problems. Music really brings me back in time. I hear a song and can instantly think of what year in school I was when it came out, and memories instantly start flooding my mind. Whether it be songs from the 90's that I would hear in the gym (I refer to them as "gym songs"... only former gymnasts really know what I'm talking about), the days of boy bands, Eminem, or country, they all represent different things to me. Sometimes I find myself hearing a song and just taking a few minutes to remember the good times. It mostly happens with country music and I'll be forever grateful for my friends in college introducing me to country! :)

Cycles

Friendships (with girls especially) have always been a tough thing for me. You can throw me into a room full of new people and I can eloquently converse with anyone, but to find someone that I actually connect with and enjoy is a harder feat. I consequently have very few people in my life that I trust and enjoy. It may be my cynical nature but I don't like most people... ouch. So when I find people that I do like, they are usually a part of my life for a long time (or I hope). I develop an unconditional love for these people and they can treat me poorly or call me once in a blue moon but I maintain the friendship. I think once you see who a person is inside, it is hard to picture them differently, even if they go through rough spots once in a while. But I also know that over time, friendships, like people, change.

I remember at the end of high school thinking that I couldn't have better friends, but was also excited to make new friends in college (without thinking twice that I'd stay in close contact with old friends). College came and went, and in my 4 years my friendships had me feeling like I'd met those friends you were meant to stay friends with for the rest of your life. (I remember my senior English teacher saying you meet your "true" friends in college).

I still have some of my friends from high school and college. Our relationships have changed over time because of circumstances and growth, but in some ways they are better. We maintain the level of friendship, feeding off the intimate friendship we once had, but I don't know enough about them anymore or their daily activities to be annoyed or even affected. Is there a cetain line of intimacy in a friendship that shouldn't be crossed, or am I just past the point of intimate friendships? Maybe I am just doomed to have a 4 year friendship expiration date.

Either way, I'm having a hard time dealing with the shifts in my current friendships. I love these people but I feel like I'm at a crossroads. Maybe friendships are supposed to change, like they would be less fulfilling if they always stayed the same. Sometimes you have a great group of friends and somtimes there's no one you connect with. I have felt that way before, but maybe there is something to enduring a friendship transition with old friends while still making new ones. Am I the only one who's ever felt like this?

Okinawa in November

Just a couple of pictures I snapped while I was at a friend's baby shower this weekend. Not too bad for November, ay?!