It's been 1 year!

Well, I can't believe it, but it's already been over a year since we've been here in Okinawa!!! I must admit, it went be REALLY fast!!! I can't believe that in that year, we really haven't had the chance to travel around yet! It's okay because one of our New Year's Resolutions is to travel, travel, travel!!! It's easier said than done (okay, I know that sounds like an excuse!) but trying to get leave approved, making arrangements for the dogs, taking time off work... it's so trouble-some! Anyway, we plan to make a trip to Tokyo in April so keep your fingers crossed Joe can get leave approved. We also have our minds set on making trips to China, Korea, Thailand, Hawaii, and possibly Australia!!! We'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

In the last year, we've experienced and gone through a lot of changes!!! New "home", new cars (driving on the other side of the road), new phones, new language to become accustomed to, new culture, new friends, new jobs, new bases, new everything!!! We are enjoying our time here and trying to make the most of this assignment, but we do admit, we're anxious to see what our next assignment will be! We're ready to head back to the states and be able to do some of those big "firsts" a lot of our friends have had a head start on such as buying their first house, new cars, and starting their families.

It must be the military brat built in me, but I'm continuously keeping me eye on the future and dreaming about what it holds! I think that after three years here, we will definitely be ready for a change of pace. Island fever has affected Joe and I in different ways at various times. Simple leisure's like shopping at the mall, eating at a specific restaurant, or just missing family and friends sometimes makes being thousands of miles away that much harder at times.

Our lives are constantly full of changes and surprises. We're excited and ready to see what's in store for us!

Bowling

Last night we got a group together to go bowling. It's one of Joe's favorite past times and we haven't been in quite some time! I remember Joe's senior year at the Academy, we used to meet up and go bowling nearly everyday towards the end of the year! Anyway, I was pumped to score over 100 every game! My highest was 124, which for me, is awesome!!! Joe scored the highest of the night, 180, even with a cracked ball (see my Project 52 for a picture). It was a fun night!

February Pedi

Love it! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Joe and I had a fun Valentine's Day. Well, for the most part. Joe had homework to finish for his class in the morning, and I spent it cleaning up the house. Then we went to see "Dear John" and went out for Thai food for dinner! We ate sooo much yummy food! We came home and rented some movies to watch and just enjoyed eachother's company. Oh, I forgot to mention we exchanged gifts a little early! I let Joe pick out a Blu-Ray player, and he bought me the new Ed Hardy perfume and lotion (I'm really not a big Ed Hardy fan, but the perfume smells awesome!). We had fun, depite the fact it was pouring rain and we had to walk quite a ways from the parking lot to the restaurant (and I was in a dress/heels but luckily we brought our big umbrella)! Hope everyone else had a wonderful day!

Love/Hate Relationship

I have a strong love/hate relationship with working. When I don't have a job, I find myself bored out of my mind, wishing I had a job so I could go shop and buy all the cute things I find (as a result of having too much time on my hands). The days seem to drag by slowly, and I feel like I'm wasting the day by sleeping in too late, spending too much money, and counting down the hours until Joe gets home.

When I actually get a job, it's a complete 180 and I am SO busy that I hate not having any free time! Sure, I love the extra money for shopping, but because I am working so much, I hardly have any time to do any!!! Not even just that, but really hardly any time for anything at all. It seems the house is constantly in need of major cleaning, the dogs are depressed from being "alone" all day (even though Joe usually comes home during lunch), I don't have time to keep up with half my resolutions (blogging, sewing and playing with my camera have taken a backseat).

Subbing has been amazing and I thoroughly enjoy it! I've met some great teachers (I love to observe other teachers and learn new techniques and ideas for the classroom) and connections. It's a great job because I love being in the classroom and honestly, my day flies by soooo quickly! I'm still tutoring after school. This means, the days I sub (which has been everyday for the last month, and usually several times a week if I accept the offer for the day) I come home from subbing and tutor until 5:30 or 6:30 in the evening, depending on the day. I work, tutor, come home for dinner (Joe's been great and having dinner ready for those days I don't get home until late!), un-wind and watch a bit of TV, take a shower and get ready for bed. Oh, and of course the weekends go by WAY too fast!

My question is, will the cycle ever end? Why can't there be a happy medium?

Cherry Blossoms

We ventured up to Nago to see the Cherry Blossoms and the festival! These cherry blossoms are the first to bloom anywhere in the world each year!!! The blossoms are all along the sides of the stairs that lead up to castle ruins. We lucked out and it was a beautiful sunny and warm day. We had to walk up nearly 700 stairs to get to the top of the ruins, but oddly enough, we didn't really see much of any ruins. In the middle, there was a small little house that we saw Japanese people putting coins in this little bucket, ringing the bell, and saying a prayer. The blossoms were gorgeous and I couldn't snap enough pictures! We saw nearly half the squadron at the festival (it really is a small island!). Our friends also showed us to this really neat waterfall that was off the beaten path. It was so scenic and peaceful! I guess since the cherry blossoms are already bloomed, spring/summer must be on its way!!! Yay!

Doggie Birthday Party!

Heh, this weekend we went to a birthday party... okay, it was a joint birthday party for our friend, Staci, and a friend's dog! It wasn't the greatest weather (overcast and some drizzle) but that didn't stop all the pups from having a blast!!! I'm think there were about 8 dogs who came to party! It was our first time letting our pups off the leash, so we were a bit nervous. Brody did great, he ran around with all the dogs and had so much fun. Unfortunatley, my predicitons about Kella not being able to be trusted proved correct. After about a minute off the leash, Joe had to chase her down because she was trying to make a dash for it! Needless to say, she stayed on her leash the remainder of the party. Julie also made special doggie cupcakes and goodie bags for the pups, along with a homemade cake and icecream for people. It's always fun to get together with people from the squadron. It was a good time, despite the yucky weather!