The Dudleys

As One Journey Ends, a New One Awaits...

2009-01-28T01:30:00.000-08:00

As we are no longer stationed in Misawa, I'd like to invite you to join us at our new blogger home:

www.dudleyohana.blogspot.com

Still working out the kinks, but we plan to have current (and regular) updates in the weeks to come!

Good-Bye Japan! Hello Hawaii!

MAHALO! :)

For all our devoted "fans"....

2008-11-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

We haven't forgotten about you...just EXTREMELY busy these days! We're in Hawaii this week house-hunting and up until today, the prospects didn't look good. Between sketchy neighborhoods, scary landlords (is that Dog the Bounty Hunter???), and teensy-weensy living quarters, Chris and I began to think we were destined to live out of a box at Wakiki Beach for six-twelve months until base housing opened up. Granted the views would be awesome and the square footage certainly wouldn't be a problem... ;)

After having base housing options go down the toilet--can three people actually reside in 900 sq. ft of living space?--we located a townhouse in Kailua that suits our fancy. It's actually quite incredible--mountain and golf course views from TWO lanais (one upstairs, one down), three bedrooms, three baths, a granite-covered kitchen, covered parking, gated access, and 1700 sq. ft of glorious living space. We still have to work out the details and the paperwork, but have offered an oral agreement to rent the property. The owner/landlord is a AF LT Colonel, so we feel pretty good about that...military renting to military always seems to make things just a bit easier! :)

That's all for now. Actually, I'm just taking a break from two papers and two finals to write and let you all know about our exciting residential news. We've been here since Monday and have yet to spend time on the beach. :( I guess an actual 'vacay' in Hawaii will just have to wait...no rest for the weary!

Love,

Amanda

Adventures in Self-Feeding....

2008-11-13T06:33:00.000-08:00

I think someone told Noah that it's not about how much you get in your mouth...but how much you can smear on your face.

Fun with utensils--is it really a spoon or maybe...a paintbrush?

What mess??? I don't see any mess!

Oh no! This means I'll have to have a bath, doesn't it?

We don't have much time to write these days, but thought these photos would most assuredly bring about a laugh or two!

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-31T17:18:00.000-07:00

Noah went on his very first 'Trick-or-Treat' excursion last night! Here he is all dressed up as Stitch--as you can see, he's all excited about the massive amount of Snickers, Hersheys, Sour Patch Kids, and Sweet Tarts he planned on bagging in massive quantities. No, not really, but he played along with Mommy and Daddy's dress-up game with a good sense of humor.

Mommy, Daddy, and Noah actually had a busy night last night. Akiko, who is in charge of one of the English school I used to teach for, asked if we would escort her Japanese students and their parents on base to experience 'Trick-or-Treating' first-hand. So we gathered up a few other American friends and off we went...5 Americans with 30 or so costume-clad (so VERY CUTE!) Japanese kids and their parents, going door to door amongst the American houses saying "Trick-or-Treat!!!!" It was a really neat experience, although Noah thought it was cold...and loud...and not fun, and wailed his desire to be taken back to the car 20 minutes into our night out. You can't blame him--I'd wail, too, if I wasn't getting any of the scrumptious benefits of being out in the cold and wet!!!

We had a really good time, though. I got to see a few of my old students and give them one last hug and a 'good-bye' before we PCS outta here. It's kind of sad actually--for someone who used to cringe at the prospect of a teaching profession, I really did enjoy my time teaching English here and will miss these guys alot.

Well....Happy Halloween from the Dudleys! We hope you have lots to show for your night out--just remember, Reese's cups are our fav and their square little packages fit quite nicely together in a small shipping box to Japan! :)

No Commentary Required

2008-10-30T04:56:00.000-07:00

Diving for Salmon...

2008-10-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

I'm BAAACCKK! Four 15-page papers in two weeks is a killah I tell you!! :)

Now that I have my proverbial head above water, I'll share with you an actual water adventure that the Dudley family and a few friends went on last weekend. Don't worry....I'll get to the Singapore photos, just decided to play catch-up in reverse order.

So, the Rokkasho salmon festival....a very interesting event to say the least. We laughed our butts off as we watched a few hundred people participate in a 3-minute dive after fish in a large blue pool--kids were slippin' and slidin' and shovin', adults were scramblin', jumpin' and divin'--it was like watching a greased pig catching contest, Japanese style. Chris had dreamed about the moment he would wrangle a fish with his bare hands (he does love his salmon fishing, of course), but realized afterwards that the event selling out of tickets and him not getting one was not a bad thing. I don't know who got the worse end of the deal, actually...both fish and people exited the pool a little bloodied. For the fish's sake, I hope they got in a few well-aimed whaps with their tails before being carted off to the cleaning tables.

Salmon stew...just like in a Campbell's soup commercial--mmm, mmm, GOOD!

Adorable little Japanese girl eating yummy, delicious salmon eggs (GACK!)

Noah had a great view on Daddy's shoulders

Just Mommy and Meeee!

The Kuehns (Tim and Monica) and the Milds (Andy and Keli)

The Great Pool of Salmon

The Wranglers. Ready, Set...

GO!

I got him, Mommy...you go in for another one!!!

(insert Japanese subtitles here)

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2008-10-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Chris turned 31 today...wow, time sure does fly by! I get to pick on him for being "older" but I'm not all that far behind. :)

So, if you haven't done so yet, be sure to wish Chris a very "Happy Birthday." I'm sure he'll appreciate all your warm wishes, your love, your generous thoughtfulness...and your reminder that he's no longer a spry young 25. ;)

Happy Birthday, honey! Noah and I love you very much!

Amanda

Singapore Zoo...

2008-10-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

Our first and only posted pic (thus far) of our trip to Singapore...and a cheesy one at that! :)

Chris and I look pretty cute, but poor Noah looks stoned. Probably because about five minutes after this photo was taken, he was passed out and snoozing pretty solidly in that stroller. ;)

When things slow down here a bit, I promise to get more posted. With our slow Internet connection, uploading takes For-EVER!

~ Amanda

Gomen Nasai Present...

2008-10-23T04:55:00.000-07:00

You know what's great about Japan?

This:

Not the little booger holding the box of stuff (although he certainly is cute, isn't he?), but the "gomen nasai" box of goodies that we received today. From a guy. That a man would actually think to make an apologetic gesture with a gift (other than when/if he's trying to get out of the relationship doghouse) makes it extra special. ;) Yeah, yeah...I'm so funny.

So here's the story:

Our car began to give us some mechanical trouble awhile back, so we took it in to a Japanese repair shop in hopes that the mechanic could fix the problem without it costing us a lot of dough. Turns out, the car is doomed to be recycled into scrap metal and spare parts...the needed repairs far exceed the car's value plus the added cost of reinsuring it. When we offer to pay for the inspection (keep in mind it took the guy a couple of hours to diagnosis the extent of the problem), the mechanic graciously refused and apologized for not being able to help us. So, we thanked him and left.

Then, I get a call this afternoon from the mechanic, apologizing profusely and telling us that he still had our title (I assume he used it to get price quotes on parts) and if I would tell him where we lived, he would come by and drop it off. I told him it was no problem, we'd be in the neighborhood later and we'd pick it up ourselves. When we go to pick it up, he's waiting for us with the title and a nicely wrapped box containing the items you see above. "Gomen Nasai...I'm VERY sorry," he repeated and handed Chris the box and the title. We hadn't even noticed the title was not in the glovebox of the car, probably wouldn't have noticed until we actually drove it to the junkyard, and we weren't really concerned about it anyway. The mechanic, on the other hand, was VERY concerned based upon the number of apologies (and the box) he gave us.

So, the box contains this cute little hand towel set. Very nice towels, actually. But that's not my point. Here's what I find so great about this little anecdote: a) The mechanic performed a couple of hours worth of work on our vehicle and when he realized that he wasn't going to get paid for a repair job, he still didn't want any form of payment for his time; b) He apologized for not being able to help us; c) He offered to come to our house to drop the title off (granted it was his mistake, but that was still a very nice gesture; and d) He had a "gomen nasai" goody box ready and waiting for us when we came by to pick it up. My first instinct was to politely refuse and tell him that it was really no problem, but then I would have been perceived as rude. Funny how that works here... :)

As much as I'm ready to leave Misawa, this kind of thing is why I've come to love and appreciate the Japanese people so much. It's not so much about the gift, but the gesture. I've dealt with plenty of repair shops in my time (former insurance adjuster here, if you recall), and this is not the norm--mechanics typically don't make a point of "investing" time and money in customers they can't get a return on in kind. M-a-y-b-e if they thought you could potentially bring them business for their "kindness," but this guy is aware that we're leaving in a few months. He fully realized that return on investment opportunities--in the form of referrals and additional repair jobs--were slim to none.

What a NICE guy. I know when relocating often, they say that there are at least three professionals you wish you could always take with you (if they're good): your stylist, your doctor, and finally...your mechanic.

I'd say he's most definitely trifecta material. Arigato gozaimasu, Date-san!!

Our Art Gallery Conundrum...

2008-10-18T23:15:00.000-07:00

Today marked our last big Asian bazaar shopping spree before heading back to the States - we FINALLY purchased a tonsu (a large wooden step chest), picked up a limited edition print of two koi, a sandalwood carving, and a painting highlighting two beautiful cranes taking flight before Mt. Fuji. Our home has officially become an eclectic tribute to our international travels; everywhere we go, we make it a point to return with gorgeous pieces from that region. Sakura (cherry blossom) pottery and scrollwork from Korea, aboriginal paintings from Australia, hand-woven fabrics and watercolors from Thailand (we actually watched the artist as he worked), silk obis and furniture from Japan, and stuff from W-A-Y back...carvings done by members of an Indian tribe in the Pac NW (we watched them make these too). And that's only half of it. In addition to the international art I've failed to mentioned, there's also the beautiful pieces that Eileen has done, specifically the oil of me poised atop a fallen log at Deception Pass, that hold positional significance throughout our home--adorning walls in the foyer...the livingroom...the hallway...and our bedroom. So very cool.

Soooo...there in lies my conundrum. I have an art gallery for a house and we've run out of room. :) Half of our stuff is lying on and around the bed in the guestroom. My goal for house hunting in Hawaii is to find a house with enough walls to hang everything. I think I'll be sad if I have to pick and choose. :( I also am in need of some serious recommendations for positioning and paint color. I'm TERRIBLE at layouts, color, and design, so I think I'll be employing the use of the people at This Young House, http://www.thisyounghouse.com/ (thanks Jamie for the recommendation!) once I get there. I so love their ideas!

Once we get settled there and I get some good advice, I'll be sure to post pics of all the stuff we've accumulated in the last five years. It'll blow your mind. Once Chris retires from the military, I'm sure we'll need a 4,000+ sq. ft. home to house our collection. It's certainly become quite the past time!

Love to all,

Amanda

It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times...

2008-10-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we're back from our trip to Singapore. How'd it go you ask? Well...the opening line from A Tale of Two Cities seems to best describe our four day adventure. There were great occasions and not so great ones; fabulous evenings at sunset spent dining along the waterfront and a horrible final evening made "complete" by a tired, screaming baby, 2 papers due for school, and a surprise and infuriating restaurant bill for two of $462.00 (yes...FOUR HUNDRED, SIXTY-TWO DOLLARS!); a fun-filled day exploring the city and various Asian museums with a newly-made missionary friend from China, and a 7-hour airplane ride with a wasted guy who puked all over himself 20 minutes after takeoff.

It's hard to ever complain about such vacations being horrible--after all, you ARE thousands of miles away from home and work with the people you love, taking in new sights and experiences. But this trip might take the cake on the "not so fun" factor. It's hard to say...Chris and I are still weighing the trip's positives against its negatives. After our many adventures in countries like Australia, Thailand, S. Korea, and even here in Japan...Singapore was just...well...disappointing. It just didn't measure up. Maybe we're a bit jaded after having been to so many different countries and been a part of so many exciting experiences. *Frown* I hope not.

When I get longer than just a moment to write, I'll post a better synopsis of our travels and include some photographs. At least, the photos turned out really well! Chris managed to get an action shot of two white tigers fighting...how cool is that??

We leave for Hawaii in just over a month to find a new home. Let's pray that trip goes very well and there are no troubles to speak of--no unconsolable babies, no drunk guys who lose all bodily function and no unexpected, enormously expensive dining experiences that just make you wish you'd just stayed home.

Amanda

The Internist...

2008-10-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

So, I had a follow-up visit with my Internist today and I've changed my mind...he's an okay guy. :)

When the the big "D" hammer fell in May, this doc and I were basically the equivalent of oil and vinegar...we just didn't mix. He saw it one way and I saw it the other--it seemed he wanted to quickly prescribe every 15-letter medication out of Stedman's Medical Dictionary that my body could handle and I was quick to tell him that long, drug-induced bouts of nausea, severe migraines and stomach cramps (amongst other unmentionable things) was NOT my idea of "getting better." I suggested supplementing natural remedies--green tea, cinnamon, and dark chocolate--to keep things like "risk of liver and kidney failure" at bay and he would shake his head and comment about "strange and risky" alternative medicine. Oh, the irony...

So maybe he's a little too conventional for my taste (me being a little too alternative for his) and therefore he doesn't need to know the specifics on the 3 tiny bars of DARK chocolate I eat after dinner some evenings, the dash of cinnamon I have on wheat toast in the mornings, or even the green tea with echinacea I like to sip on in the evenings while watching episodes of "The Office." BUT...I do like the fact that he's very proactive (not reactive) in his methods, is beginning to ask me for my opinions in how I should increase/decrease my medications in response to my highs and lows, and has become generally more receptive to any suggestions I might have.

Here's the common problems I think physicians face and hence why I think we initially butted heads: a) They have patients who do little to educate themselves on any condition or chronic illness they may have and develop the "Uh-huh...okay...I will(but I really won't)" response system; or b) they have patients who come in to regurgitate the long list of reasons why they can't possibly begin to fulfill any of the recommendations the doctor has made to improve their health and save them from any lasting ill effects of their condition. Luckily, I don't fall into either of those categories. :) Therefore, when someone like me walks in--well-read, proactive in treating my condition, receptive to alternative suggestions--I imagine I might be quite the handful to deal with...at least initially. :) I know it bothers the heck out of some doctors that I make a practice of reading up on research in medical journals before I go in to chat with them...but I firmly believe in the idea that "an uneducated patient is a dead patient." And I plan on living a L-O-N-G time--like Rose from Titanic, dying an old lady, warm in my bed.

I digress. :)

So, me and the doc jive now. That's my news. There was no fist-bumping or back-slapping or anything, but I was rather touched today when he asked me to come into the clinic some time to educate his other patients, me now being an "expert" on treating and living with diabetes. How cool was that? I think he was only half-serious, of course, but it's still a compliment nonetheless. And just in case you're wondering, my blood sugars are still way off at times and I still get sick from severe highs and lows, but considering that they were originally in the 580s and now regularly fall in the 120-180 range, I've come a long way. Before May, I had no idea just how sick I was...God was truly looking out for me.

So, here's to achieving "normal"...and no longer wanting to smack your doctor. ;)

Amanda

13 Months

2008-10-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken many pictures of Noah lately. It's kind of hard when you're chasing around a VERY mobile little boy, in conjunction with maintaining a daily work out regiment and 30+ hours of school every week. Yep...you read that right. The professors at UMUC expect each student to commit 15-20 hours a week (per class) to participating in discussion boards and group projects, reading our texts, and completing weekly writing assignments. And since I'm taking two classes, school is very much like a regular full-time job. Make that TWO full-time jobs...Noah has become quite the handful! :)

Anyway, we hit "pause" today on Mommy and Noah's over-active remotes and Daddy helped in taking some pretty cute photos of the little guy. He's an amazing 13 months old--complete with unruly blond hair, bright blue eyes, grabby (and grubby) hands, 8 fangs, and a capacity for eating a whole grilled cheese sandwich, an 8 oz. bottle of milk, and a jar of applesauce all in one sitting. Where he puts it all, I have no idea. I guess it's in preparation for the bottomless pit he'll acquire in his teenage years.

Well, here he is! As you can see, we have a little Beethoven in the making. Gotta get him started early--he's got a lot of catching up to do to be as good as Grandpa. :)

Enjoy the photos! Hopefully, we'll have plenty more next week when we return from our trip!

~Amanda

Trip for 3 to Singapore...64 Buckaroos!

2008-10-01T04:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a little more than that--especially when you consider train tickets, meals, and a hotel. :) But when you can fly 3 people round-trip from the Land of the Rising Sun to the Lion City for under what we spend on dinner out some nights, you simply can't pass that up!

Chris has accumulated a great deal of frequent flyer miles over the last two years, and since the airliners are doing all sorts of funky things with their premier status programs, we decided it was better to use those miles rather than risk losing them. So, with two telephone calls and a couple of clicks of the mouse, the Dudley family is set to spend Columbus Day weekend in the company of some Singoporeans. For a married couple who rarely does anything without planning out specifics first, this trip is soooo deliciously spur of the moment! I love it! I feel like we're doing something impulsive and daring. :)

Here's to one last "HURRAH!" before leaving Japan....

53,000

2008-09-22T01:21:00.000-07:00

...that's how many babies in China are sick from formula tainted with melamine. I'm thoroughly disgusted. First pets and now kids...how could anyone EVER willingly poison a precious child????

I thought the Olympics were supposed to be some big turning point for China--yeah, right. Human rights violations...check, government corrruption...check, age falsification of Olympic athletes...check, poisoning children for financial gain...CHECK.

I'm going to go throw up now...

It's Official!!

2008-09-15T07:12:00.001-07:00

Written orders are finally in hand--Hawaii here we come!!! Chris finally received the necessary paperwork to wrap up our journey here in Misawa and begin preparations for heading to the Aloha State. We'll initiate our packout here very soon, so that upon return from GA in November we can get our household goods packed and underway for that long boat ride across the Pacific.

Ahhhh...I can already smell the wonderful salty air from my lanai.... :)

Aloha!

Amanda

Heroism and Sacrifice

2008-09-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

I wrote the following in response to a forum comment regarding John McCain not being a "hero." While you may or may not agree with his politics, I find it hard to ignore the sacrifices this man has made in service to his country. And while I won't elaborate or dwell on the blogger's words (although I thought they were extremely off the mark and very misinformed, but that is MY opinion), I will share with you my thoughts on what heroism is truly all about. Please feel free to share your thoughts or comments as well.

Here's to all the heroes out there.

Love to all,

Amanda

I’m curious as to when heroism became so strictly defined as requiring death or wearing a shiny medal on one’s chest. I’m quite sure that if you speak with a Medal of Honor recipient, he or she could quickly name someone who was a greater hero in their own lives…a teacher, a social worker, a parent, a minister, a friend…someone who is no less of a hero despite the fact that they didn’t die for their cause or receive some prestigious award. Heroes are defined not by the idle words or opinions of those who stand indifferent to their bravery, courage, sacrifice, and service. I think a hero can only be truly defined by those whose lives they’ve positively changed and impacted…and I think their actions don’t necessarily require some dramatic ending or great personal sacrifice to be identified as “heroic.” For you or me, someone who donates a single book to a third world reading program may not appear to be a hero—they didn’t commit some brave act by throwing themselves on a grenade or jumping in after someone drowning. For a little girl or boy who never had the opportunity to read before that book was placed in their hands…that small, unnamed benefactor may most certainly be a hero in their eyes. It may open the door that would have otherwise never been opened. And I don’t think it’s fair or just to deny them or anyone the right to name their own hero.

For me, John McCain is a hero, as I’m sure he is to those POWs who lay bound and broken with him in Vietnam. As are my father and grandfather, who fought in Vietnam and WWII respectively, and came home without ever being bestowed some great honor by their country. They’re heroes because I recognize them as such and their sacrifice touches my life in a profound way....We all experience arduous times, but none greater than those who sacrifice who and what they love most for a cause greater than themselves.

(I feel like a wrote a college essay submission--now where's my scholarship? ;) )

Bedtime...

2008-09-10T04:19:00.000-07:00

As a kid, it really hurt my feelings when my parents would march me off to bed in the evenings. It was like they couldn't wait to be rid of me..."Brush your teeth, put on your pajamas...hurry, hurry, hurry, march, march, MARCH!!!" For all I knew, they threw some fabulous party when my sister and I went to bed--complete with balloons, cupcakes with sprinkles, and streamers--and didn't want us to crash the festivities. Therefore, I resented being shuffled off to bed, night after night, while they enjoyed themselves without me. ME...the one who was suppose to be the most important person in their lives!

Now as a mom to a one year old, I know exactly why your child's bedtime is the most gloriously anticipated moment of the day....

It's called S-I-L-E-N-C-E.

Here's to all the overtired parents out there!

~ Amanda (Zzzzzzz.....)

Air Show...No Show... :(

2008-09-07T00:07:00.000-07:00

I was all excited to go to the Misawa air show featuring the Japan Blue Impulse team--my very first air show EVER! But it rained. So typical....

The static displays were stationed along the runway for everyone's viewing pleasure, but since I see the planes there everyday, I wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of enduring the drizzling rain and crowds of people to do a walk-through. So, we left and did the next best thing--go to one of our favorite places to eat...the sushi go-round! :)

It's not swank, but for about $1.50 per plate, you can't find a better sushi bargain. Salmon is my fav...and this from someone who thought sushi was disgusting only three years ago! Guess you have to travel all the way to Japan to appreciate some really good fish! Even Noah enjoys a mouthful or two. Careful on the wasabi there, mom! :)

There's only one thing I simply can't bring myself to eat, however...the raw horse meat.

I'm pretty brave when it comes to food and usually believe in the "don't knock it unless you try it" way of thinking, but this is just a bit too extreme for even my palate. Apparently, it's quite the delicacy and has a delicious flavor. Ummm...I'll just take their word for it. I like my horses still whinnying and trotting around on four legs.

Well, that marks the end of another weekend here in Misawa. Only four more months to go! Speaking of which, I'm actually getting pretty nervous about our upcoming move to Hawaii. Chris will be away about 75% of the time that we are stationed there and will probably not even be around long enough to help me gather up our bags and dog from the airport, get new IDs, pick up our car, or even unpack our house once we arrive. It's funny how you marry into military life and seem to remain "single" for most of your 20+ year journey.

Anyone willing to volunteer to come a stay with me a week or two in Hawaii to help?? I make a pretty good margarita... :)

~Amanda

Labor Day Weekend Wrap-Up - Misawa Air & Space Museum and the Ryusendo Caves

2008-09-02T20:08:00.001-07:00

Wow! We had quite the fun-filled holiday weekend--spelunking, space exploration, treasure hunting, and more! We were fortunate that Chris was able to have five days off due to a change in his work schedule; we made the most of it, especially since the new school semester begins next week. Oh, joy! ;)

In the two years that we have lived here, we've never made it over to the Misawa Air & Space Museum that lies adjacent to the Air Base. How sad is that? :) This past Sunday was a rainy one, which presented us with the perfect opportunity to explore a fun, indoor activity that Noah was finally old enough to enjoy. The museum had a bunch of really neat interactive stations that allowed even the smallest hands to manipulate--touching, pushing, pulling, and turning gears, levers, wheels, and pulleys. Noah loved it!

On Monday, the weather finally cleared up, allowing us to venture on a beautiful drive down the northern Japanese coastline. Japan is very mountainous, so a 130 km (78 miles) drive takes about three hours or more. Therefore, we opted to split up the drive time between the three of us and not make Daddy do all the tiresome driving...here's Noah readying himself for a "go" behind the wheel.

Heh...of course not! :) We actually took a break at rest stop and I brought the little guy up from his carseat to munch on some yummy animal crackers and fruit.

We finally made it to Ryusendo Park and we were glad to give our legs a nice stretch in the short walk to the caves. Chris tossed Noah up onto his shoulders, unprepared for the little guy's upchuck reflex that was spawned by the long car ride. :) We thought that his spitting up days were over...guess not. :)

Here's Chris cleaning up:

Sadly, I laughed at Chris' misfortune...then got spit up on as well. :( Not so funny when it's you.

When we were all clean from the incident (or as clean as we could be), we traveled on down the gravel path to the caves and stopped at the river to take a couple of photos. If any of you want an indicator of how tall the little guy is, here it is in the photo below. Do a Chris/Noah size comparison, keeping in mind that Chris is almost 6'4" in height. Y-E-A-H...Noah's not so little.

He appears to be prepping for a dive into the river...or practicing his best "clap, clap, clap" routine. I'm not so sure. :) The kid loves water, so we weren't surprised to see that he wasn't frightened by it rushing below him on the bridge. In fact, he was thrilled.

We unfortunately didn't get many photos inside the cavern due to it being poorly lit, but it was a neat experience. I think "ryusendo" in Japanese means "dragon cave" or "dragon waters," but I don't know which. :) It certainly looked like it could be home to a dragon, but I think all it housed were a few thousand sleeping bats, which we didn't get to see due to the penetrating darkness and steep caverns. The walls were cool and wet and water continuously dripped from above. At first, I thought it might be bat guano (Gross!) but I was thankfully mistaken. Here's a bit of trivia: Ryusendo, a natural treasure, is one of Japan's three biggest and greatest limestone caverns. Inside the cave is an underground lake, which is world-famous for its remarkable transparency of 41.5 meters. Pretty nifty!

Well, that's about it for us. We had a great weekend and hope you did as well! The next school term is just on the horizon, so after next weekend I'll have to take a sabatical from blogging for awhile. We look forward, however, to going to the Air Show on Sunday to see Japan's Blue Impulse team perform! They are the Japanese equivalent to the Blue Angels...it should be thrilling to watch and hopefully I'll get some great photos!

Until then,

Amanda

Shipwreck Beach

2008-08-30T02:41:00.001-07:00

Aye, Maties!

Chris and I have overheard others talking about a place called Shipwreck Beach for quite some time now, so we decided to venture out this Labor Day weekend on an treasure hunting adventure! While not in search of gold or silver (as nice a find as that might be!!), sea glass and glass floats are the "treasure" that most beachcombers return with from this particular site. Therefore, my goal was to create a large sea glass display in our bathroom with the pieces we planned to find...although not quite the $600 Spanglish version. ;)

Based upon the massive mountain of shells we saw upon our approach, the location appeared to be an old port used by scallop fishermen. Quite the scallop holocaust....

As you can imagine, the smell was not so pleasant and therefore our gawking over the evidence of the gianormous scallop massacre last only long enough to get these two shots. Other people appeared brave enough to scramble up the side of the thing, but I didn't care to come away smelling like I had just come from the fish market or mess around with the nasty looking eight-legged inhabitants that made the bed of shells their permanent home. I HATE spiders.

Moving on towards the beach, we spotted the first of a series of old ships lining the shore:

And here I began my hunt, scanning the sands and combing through the rocks in search of the white, green, blue, and more specifically, rare pieces of amber sea glass:

At some point, Chris abandoned all care for his tennis shoes and waded in the water to search in some unexplored territory. You'd think we'd have been smart enough to bring sandals...

We filled our pockets with as much "loot" as they could hold, and then we worked our way back down the shoreline to get some close-up photographs of the beautiful old ships.

Here's a shot from beneath:

Below:

And a few alongside:

Stay tuned for more Dudley Family Labor Day adventures! Next stop....the Ryusendo Caves!

I hear there's bats.... :)

~ Amanda

American Capitalism--Reason to be Proud!!!

2008-08-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

A Japanese company (Toyota ) and an American company (General Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile. The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing. Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India
Sadly, The End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last 30 years moving its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages. TOYOTA has spent the last 30 years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results: TOYOTA makes $4 billion in profits while Ford racked up $9 billion in losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads.
TOYOTA makes most of their parts in the US. General Motors makes most of their parts in Mexico.

IF THIS WASN'T TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY..

"Happy Birthday" video

2008-08-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

Birthday Bash!!!

2008-08-24T04:50:00.001-07:00

Today we celebrated Noah's first birthday with a fabulous Winnie the Pooh party! Pizza and cake were aplenty and we provided video games and minature golf for the kids, both big and little, "old" and young. ;) It was a wonderful event and Noah received many nice gifts--books, stuffed toys, farm houses, puzzles...he'll be busy for weeks! It was very special for us to be able to share Noah's first birthday with so many of people who have become such an extraordinary part of our lives over the last two years. Quite a few of them have seen us through some pretty life changing events--the pregnancy, Noah's delivery, my "D" diagnosis--so it was really nice for all of them to join us in celebrating such a special occasion.

Despite only having a twenty minute nap this morning, Noah did VERY well. He smiled, laughed, clapped, and waved...he even managed to hold up his index finger to show everyone just how old he was...a "trick" we taught him just before the party. ;) He's incredibly social, so the large gathering of people did little in terms of lessening his happy mood. Derek Ikehara, Chris' boss, became voluntary babysitter extraordinnaire and a godsend for part of the party, allowing Chris and me a few moments to talk, mingle, and be all-round good hosts. Noah seems to like Mr. Derek very much--here he is offering Noah a bottle of water:

Noah also enjoyed the company of Mr. Tim, one of Chris' many co-workers at CTF-72. He's always good for some playtime and a laugh. Here Tim is peering up from "behind bars," which consequently sent Noah into a fit of giggles:

As for the rest of the party attendees, many of them practiced their putting on the minature golf course, while others enjoyed a leisurely chat:

We finally got to the most important part of the afternoon...THE CAKE! :)

In true first birthday fashion, Noah had his own cake to demolish with his own two little hands. Unsure of what to do at first, Noah quickly assessed the situation, figured out that the pretty display piece in front of him was food (and that I wasn't going to interfere with his intent to destroy it!!), and got down to business. In less than a minute, the kid had cake smooshed between all ten fingers, rubbed it down his front, and then smeared it all over his face before eating it. I'll still be cleaning red dye out of his ears in the morning. :)

We have a great video of all of us singing "Happy Birthday" to Noah, which I'll load in another blog.

After a quick "costume" change, we concluded the party with the opening of all his great presents. Noah definitely enjoyed the colorful wrapping paper and bright cards more than the actual gifts (big surprise :) ), but he did a great job at appearing interested in every present that Chris placed in front of him and presenting big smiles as "Thank You's". What a gracious little honoree!

We hope everyone who attended had as much fun as we did. Thanks to everyone for making our little boy's 1st birthday incredibly special!

Love,

Chris, Amanda, and Noah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOAH!!!

2008-08-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Mommy....what's a dif-tong...I mean..."diphthong?"

Noah turns one today...Happy Birthday, little man!!! Can you believe a year has passed already? Here he is with the Webster's dictionary, already practicing his vocabulary and language skills. If he starts now, he should be reading at the 12th grade level in five years or so. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOAH!!! WE LOVE YOU!

~ Mommy and Daddy

Congratulations!!

2008-08-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

We just received word that my father-in-law's second book, Caleb's Wars, has been accepted for publication--Hooray! Congratulations, Dave! :)

Chris and I are so excited about this book--it's a coming of age story of a young African American boy growing up in the rural South during the WWII era. I think very few Americans are aware of the important role African American soldiers and their families played in this war, including their many sacrifices and hardships, both at home and on the battlefield. As if fighting against Germans and Italians wasn't enough, these brave men also had to combat the racism that constantly plagued them within their own military units. And even though their sons and brothers fought and died side by side with white Americans in Europe, African American families still had to endure being treated less then human...even less than than Nazi POWs who were stationed at various internment camps in the U.S. That's what I find so difficult to swallow--these soldiers were risking their lives for our country...families were losing their children for our country...and yet, African Americans were still treated worse than the enemy soldiers who had slayed America's sons on the battlefront.

I had the chance to get a "sneak peak" before the draft was mailed to the publisher...I read it in a total of four hours. :) Just couldn't stop and do anything else until I finished. Hope you all one day do the same!

Congrats again, Dave! I can't wait to have the book in hand and read it again...and again! ;)

~ Amanda

P.S. For those of you who haven't had the chance to read Dave's first book, The Bicycle Man, here's the link to own your own copy:

http://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Man-David-L-Dudley/dp/0618542337/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219112532&sr=1-2

In 2006, it won the International Reading Association’s Book Award for children’s literature.

Tanesashi Coastline

2008-08-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

For those of you who only ever pictured Japan as one big concrete jungle...think again. The country claims some of the world's most beautiful coastlines, with miles of spectacular beaches, cliffs, and flora and fauna at its water's edge. Chris, Noah, and I discovered this hidden treasure just yesterday, tucked away between the Hachinohe City Port and the mountain ranges to the south. Visiting there felt like coming home--while parts of it seemed like I had stepped out of an episode of Lost with its tropical feel, the cliffside reminded me very much of my beloved Pacific NW. The three of us hiked for several hours, enjoying the sunshine and the cool breeze floating in off the ocean. We then stopped for dinner at this cute little restaurant that was located just atop one of the highest lookout points, just behind the observatory. Noah, Chris, and I then got to share an ice cream cone...the perfect finish to a perfect afternoon.

Noah loves to bounce!

Since I'm the one behind the camera...this is it.

Checking out the dandelions....

...and the cattails

The Observatory

Chris and Noah take a break and enjoy the crashing waves.

Hurry up, Daddy...I'm really hungry.

He's coming! He's coming!

Are you sure this isn't how you do it?

Little Head Banger

2008-08-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

Noah LOVES music and it doesn't matter what genre it falls under--classical, rap, pop, heavy metal, or country (yikes!)--he will stop whatever he's doing to listen and smile. To further encourage this behavior, I've started sitting with him at my keyboard in hopes that he'll become more musically inclined than his mom and dad. Sadly, Chris never really had an interest in playing an instrument and I haven't maintained any sort of discipline over the years at the piano. The hope is that he'll learn to play (and play well) at least one instrument in his life, whatever that may be.

So, here's a video of Noah rockin' out to a little Twisted Sister--it's a little fuzzy, but you can see him "headbang" for a few moments. And, no...I did not teach him that. :)

It's August!

2008-08-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

Tick-tock, Noah, tick-tock…it’s 9a.m. here and that kid is still cutting “zzzz”s. Can you believe it?!?! I almost don’t know what to do with myself. :)

Well, as the headline states: It’s August! And HOT! Five more months to go in Misawa...Yippee! I just finished my summer course load and prepping for my final two classes this Fall. Don’t know how I’m going to manage finals with three weeks of the semester spent in HI and GA, but I guess I’ll make do. :) Chris is currently in JAX enjoying some flying time, while me and the munchkin have spent a relaxing, quiet week at home. It’s been nice—Noah is learning to entertain himself a bit more, so I have a few moments here and there for some “pleasure reading.” It’s certainly a nice break from textbooks on topics like strategic planning and finance. The little guy turns 1 on August 22nd, so we’ve also been planning a HUGE Winnie the Pooh birthday party for him. I still can’t figure out where the last year has gone.

Not much going on here right now other than what’s mentioned above. We are still getting pretty moderate earthquakes around here—either that, or I’ve become “seismically sensitive” since the big 7.0 that occurred a few weeks ago and every little shake (although I wouldn’t describe a 5.3, 30 miles away at 1a.m. as “little”) freaks me out now. Funny…I used to think they were cool. Not any more.

Stay tuned for pics of Noah’s big day in the coming weeks…it should be fantabulous!

Cheers!

Amanda

Contemplating a Jobby-Job....

2008-07-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I made a HUGE mistake today. I opened a door...now I just have to prevent myself from walking through it. :)

Since I'm finishing up graduate school in December, I thought I'd surf the web to see how many great job prospects were available in Hawaii in nonprofit management. No serious intentions, you know...just playing the role of researcher and inspecting the market a bit to see what the potential prospects are and what salary range I could ask for in a few years.

Ha! Who am I kidding??? And why do I do this to myself? For me, that's like holding a warm, fragrant, freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie in front of a five-year old and telling them they're forbidden to eat it.

Well, I got my anwer. There are TONS of job opportunities in my field--in 5 minutes, I found 10 excellent positions (including Executive Director, Program Manager, Philanthropy Director, Director of Development), all with starting salaries of $50-60K. And these are small organizations...I didn't even bother to look into the bigger ones. It's definitely reassuring, though, especially given the fact that the job market is supposed to be so terrible right now.

So, here's the problem--I'm really fighting the urge to send out resumes and test the waters to see if anyone will bite. Being new to the field of management, I'm really, really curious to see how far up the ladder my new degree (well, almost) can carry me. It's killing me. Could I make Development Director out of the gate...maybe Program Manager...possibly even Executive Director? What about a Board of Directors? Is that a possibility? It would be cool to run Oprah's Angel Network, wouldn't it? Or the Gates Foundation's medical programs out of India? Not that I'd ever want to move to India...TOO HOT! :)

It's a real struggle for me to keep the "highly ambitious, career-driven" part of my personality dormant for any length of time. Having held a job since I was seventeen (even three jobs at once during my last year of college just to make ends meet), I just don't quite know what to do with myself if I'm not working outside the home. It's almost like I get this crazy itch that I just can't seem to scratch unless I'm pulling a paycheck. Now don't get me wrong...I stay plenty busy here--I'm up at 6:30a.m. with Noah and bouncing back and forth between him and schoolwork until 10p.m, while struggling to find time to fit in a 45-minute workout and a shower somewhere in between. Yeah, staying busy is definitely not the problem.

For now, my POA for the next two-three years doesn't include getting a full-time, outside-the-home job when we got to Hawaii...at least not during the time Chris will be away. I'm just not comfortable with the prospect of daycare with one parent constantly and unpredictably away and the other never home before 6p.m. That wouldn't be fair to Noah. The rational part of me advises that I have the right take a hiatus from full-time employment (at least for a little while), especially since I never took a break from school and work during pregnancy and Noah's first year. I also know it would be a good idea to relax a bit and regroup before I plunge into fiscal budgets, community meetings, and philanthropic events seven days a week. Who knows...maybe there'll be a quarter of a million dollar career opportunity buried away in grant writing?? ;) Even so, I still feel the urge to attach my resume and hit "send" every time a new job opportunity crosses my computer screen.

So, right now I'm practicing self-restraint and doing my best to avoid any telephone or e-mail inquiries for the moment. Maybe when Noah is a little older. In the meantime, I'll just salivate over various job descriptions and dream of starting up my own little organization some day...maybe I'll realize that dream when Chris retires from the Navy and becomes the official domestic engineer of the household. I have a special daisy-covered apron and oven mitt set wrapped up and waiting for him. He IS the better cook... :)

~ Amanda

7.0

2008-07-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well, I have now been officially challenged on how I react to large and terrifying natural disasters--I'm relieved to know that I DON'T panic.

At about 12:40am last night, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter just 40 miles south of us hit...and hit HARD. For those of you who haven't experienced earthquakes, an epicenter that close means the earthquake is practically right beneath you. I was working late on some schoolwork, felt the initial tremors, and immediately realized that these weren't the minor "rollin' with the waves" type of tremors that we normally experience up in northeastern Japan and give no second thought to. This one was BIG, this one was going to be DANGEROUS, and it had "Oh, %$#@!!!" written all over it.

I bolted for Noah's room and snatched my son out of his crib. Chris met me in the hallway on my way to grab Noah and we stood in the doorway of Noah's room, waiting about a minute or more for the shaking to end. And shake it did--everything on Noah's dressers went flying, my 50-gallon fish tank sloshed water on everything within a three foot radius (we're lucky it didn't shatter), dishes fell, and my Japanese bar (which has rollers) wheeled crazily around the room on its own. Every picture in the house--despite the fact that they are securely fastened--was turned at a 45 degree angle. I still can't figure out how they didn't all fall.

Luckily, we're all okay. Just really shaken up from the incident and sort of tippy-toeing around, waiting for the inevitable aftershocks that always accompany such major quakes. Chris went into work early this morning to help muster everyone in the command and make sure all were safe. Apparently, one of the guys stated that the shaking was so strong it caused his fridge to tip over! Calls have been placed out to the Japanese community, offering Navy and Airforce response if emergency assistance is needed--reports are coming in that roads have been damaged and many have lost electricity. No word on any injuries or deaths just yet....I'm praying that everyone is safe and doing okay.

~Amanda

Little Samurai

2008-07-22T23:06:00.001-07:00

In honor of Noah's 1st birthday (August 22nd), Chris and I took Noah to have his pictures made at a professional studio. And since we're in Japan, what else would we dress him in to fit such a momentous occasion???

A traditional Japanese kimono. :)

He did not enjoy the experience AT ALL. Too many people trying to dress him in odd layered clothing and then get his attention with bizarre toys, crazy sounds, and one UGLY fuzzy white rat of a dog. I would have lost it, too, had that dog been shoved in my face....that was one scary looking animal (I'm still not convinced it was a dog).

Noah protested and lost it a couple of times, but you'd never know it given the how the pictures turned out. Guess the kid is pretty photogenic...we managed to get the above photos of him sans the red eyes, snotty nose, and tear-streaked face. :)

~Amanda

A Visit in November

2008-07-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

That's it--the dates are set, leave is approved, and airline tickets are purchased....we're coming to GA in November!!!

We're arriving November 17th and leaving December 5th, so it'll be almost a two-week visit that also encompasses Thanksgiving! Hooray! I'm already envisioning a major pigout session (or a couple of major sessions--one's just not enough) over scrumptious turkey and dressing, mac n' cheese, broccoli casserole, cranberry sauce, and many, many yummy desserts! And since it is my FAVORITE holiday, I think it'll be okay to secretly ignore the big "D" factor for a couple of days and fudge on my diet plan a bit. Hey...a girl just can't be good all the time! :)

So, for all of you friends and family out there in GA (and anyone in the nearby vicinity) that we haven't seen in a good long time, mark your calendars and start planning for a fantabulous visit with the awesome, incredible and wonderfully satirical Dudley family. ;) We'd love to see as many of you as possible...let's make it happen!

Cheers!

~ Amanda

The Art of Butt-Scootchin'

2008-07-16T18:50:00.001-07:00

Noah discovered a new ability today and it's pretty funny, so I'm hoping you'll forgive the double post. :)

Two months ago, when Noah didn't seem to be physically progressing as fast as other babies due to his prematurity, the pediatrician asked us to bring him in for a check-up between the standard 6 mos and one year wellness baby appointments. At the time, we expressed our mild concern with the fact that Noah didn't seem to have any inclination for wanting to crawl. In fact, he hates being on his hand and knees and would rather be sitting upright or even standing. My thoughts were that he would bypass crawling altogether and go straight to walking as our friend's baby did. The pediatrican said not to worry and that some babies never do, in fact, crawl but find other means of getting around before walking, like slithering on their tummies. He then said not to worry; in fact, Noah's fine motor skills were advanced for his age. Well, Noah has discovered his own means of transporting himself from one place to the next...he butt-scootches. :)

I sat him down in the office today so that I could work on some school work and looked down to discover that he had used his hands and legs to propel himself (on his butt) across the room. Here he is looking pretty please with himself:

And here he is deciding which thing it is he wants to crumple, chew on, and ultimately destroy--Daddy's JPME book or a blank piece of paper. It appears he's going for the book:

Thankfully, he chose the piece of paper (it also helped that mommy moved daddy's book out of range):

After he mangled and "killed" the piece the of paper, he then decided to move on to bigger and better things...like MOMMY'S school books. :) I didn't even let him even have the option of choosing on this one.

So that's it...my kid's talent is that he "butt surfs" better than the dog. :) I'm just glad he's finally becoming mobile. I guess it's time to fully kid-proof our house now.

~ Amanda

P.S. Here's the standard "naked baby in tub with a mohawk" photo we're planning to blackmail him with when he's 16 and starting to date:

He doesn't realize it now, but I'm sure it'll come in handy when he's a teenager and we need the lawn mowed, garage cleaned, or the dishes washed. :)

Fellowship...

2008-07-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I applied for a financial counseling fellowship a few months ago through the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. The program pays for the entire cost of Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) training and testing and also provides a web-based program for online instruction. It's co-sponsored by the National Military Family Assocation in hopes that those awarded the fellowship will help respond to the increasing demand for financial counseling services, particularly in the military arena.

Well...I got it! Yay, me! :) The even bigger news is that I was assigned the minimum number of practicum hours required to complete the program and earn the certification. That's really BIG given the fact that I was facing almost a 2000 volunteer hour requirement to be completed by August 2011. YIKES! I was really worried. Fortunately, I have only 400 hours to do in two years...that's awesome. I guess my years of toiling in the insurance industry combined with my advocacy experience at CADA and my Master's degree really paid off.

So, while I'm a glutton for punishment in the education department (I finish my Master's in December and will be studying under both programs until then), I'm thrilled by this opportunity. And whether I decide to pursue grant writing, an executive directorship, or financial counseling, I'm sure I'll find a comfortable niche that's corresponds well with our frequent relocations and general military lifestyle. That's the plan, at least. I've learned the hard way that flexibility/versatility is your greatest asset as a military spouse pursuing her own career goals. Take that, NAVY!!! ;)

Love to all,

~ Amanda

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

2008-07-11T16:03:00.001-07:00

This is INCREDIBLE! I hope to one day visit as many places as he did--42 countries in all and in only 12 months.

Talk about a means of uniting people across the globe...

~ Amanda

A Visit from the Pope

2008-07-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

I wanted to pass along some exciting news!

The Pope came for a surprise visit today. I had no idea he was even in the area, but he was very kind to grace us with his presence. He didn't stay very long, but bore an uncanny resemblance to a little boy we know. The similarity was remarkable!

What was most interesting was his strange fascination with toy trains, stackable boxes, and rolling monkey balls. He also seemed to have a propensity for being very silly. Who knew!!! I really thought the Pope would have no time for such things...he's such a busy guy and all. I also had no idea he would be so approachable, so easy-going, or so HANDSOME!!

Maybe we should consider becoming Catholic? :)

Love to all,

Amanda (and the Pope)

The animal tamer...

2008-07-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

Since Noah just recently got big enough to fully enjoying the panda Chris brought home a few months ago, I thought I'd share some cute moments with you. Enjoy!

~Amanda

Fear Mountain and the "Wild" Horses at Cape Shiriya...

2008-07-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

To escape work, school, and the ever-present claustrophobia associated with Misawa living, Chris, Noah, our friend Keli, and I opted for a little adventure this past weekend and decided to take a little roadtrip to the upper peninsula. We had heard rumor of a herd of wild horses that roamed free along the northern coastline and thought it would be fun to go in search of them.

After winding up and over mountains, passing through teeny coastal fishing villages, and traveling around the "Obscurity Wood of Hiba" (I kid you not--check out the sign), we finally made our way to Cape Shiriya, the northeastern most point of Honshu and home to the Kandachime horses. The result of two hundred years of crossbreeding between the Tanabu and French Breton breed of horses, these guys' claim to fame is their remarkable ability to withstand northern Japan’s brutal winters. Their name literally means ‘to stand in the frost’.

Our first view of these magnificent creatures involved a pretty amazing display of both their remarkable intellect and fiercely untamed spirit. I managed to capture the moment on camera:

"Hey, Blackie...Quick!! Go get some more change from that tourist. The old man just hung up on me when I told him last week's oats were stale, the hay was moldy, and that we're organizing a strike if something doesn't give ...."

So much for wild. :) I think one too many tourist has offered up a tasty treat and these guys now recognize that humans aren't to be feared. They were beautiful, though, and their imposing (yet elegant) stature reminded us of the Clydesdales we've seen in the States. It appears the Budweiser horses have some Far Eastern competition should the beer company ever be in need of additional "actors."

Noah greets Mr. Ed...

...and shies away from others! (No, the foal isn't dead, just resting)

Keli with one of the babies...

Grazing at the cape...

The stallion...(he's the one that's closer)

Family photo...

Having made good time on seeing the horses, the four of us then decided to travel inland and visit (or revisit in the case of Chris and me) Osorezan, which translates into English as "Mount Fear." The mountain is actually a volcano in the center of the peninsula and is considered one of Japan's most sacred locations. Unfortunately, my nose didn't find it so sacred--I had forgotten just how strong the sulfurous fumes that emanate from the place were and I was quickly reminded upon our approach as I grew nauseated from the "rotten egg" smell. Your nose just never seems to adjust to such things.

Before entering the temple, I took a few photos of Noah, Chris, and Keli at the beautiful red bridge that marks the gateway from "hell" into "paradise."

Given our surroundings, it felt rather eerie to be there with a happy, smiling Noah. The temple is dedicated to the souls of unborn babies and dead children and I felt rather sad to witness the number of pinwheels (each represent a lost child) while in the company of my own little guy. Walking beyond the temple, we noted the piles of pebbles rising from the ground that are built in effort to ease the children's struggle in getting into heaven.

Since it was hot and Noah was getting a little pink, the four of us decided to cut our visit short and head back to Misawa. Although it was a long day trip, we had tons of fun! Here's a grinning Noah to prove it!

Cheers!

Amanda

Hektor...

2008-06-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

Much to our chagrin, Chris and I have realized over the last several weeks that we've become rather dismissive of Hektor and not very kind to our fuzzy buddy over the last several months. With our preoccupation with school, work, personal issues, and most of all, Noah, we've allowed ourselves to ignore all of his good behaviors and focus minimal attention on him only when he's been underfoot or asking for something directly--food, water, to go potty, or sit with us on the couch. (Yes, he actually asks. It's amazing, I know. He sits up to "ask" and can distinguish the difference between specific words and phrases. "Hektor--Do you need to go potty?" **No response** "Are you hungry?" **No response** "Are you thirsty...do you want water?" ***THAT'S IT, THAT'S IT!!! Excited begging motion, woofing, and jumping inserted here.***)

I digress.

We've been rather poor doggy parents, so here is a shout out on the little guy's behalf for being such a great dog:

Thanks, Hektor:

1) For sitting quietly at our feet while we study, read, play with Noah, or watch television.

2) For waiting in the foyer after coming in from the rain, knowing that your paws are needing to be wiped and lifting each one in the process.

3) For knowing that crumbs aren't allowed on the floor or couch and eating treats only in designated places (like taking them to your bed without being told).

4) For taking yourself to bed each night without being told (sometimes ahead of us), and resting there quietly (even when you have to go "out") through the half hour Chris is getting ready to go to work and only after I after get up. This is MUCH appreciated!

5) For not being a yappy, overly-hyper dog, like so many of our neighbors' four-legged beasts.

And especially:

6) For defying the "breed disposition" and not giving in to jealousy or showing any ill-will towards the baby for being displaced in the family....by exhibiting patience, acceptance, and affection towards Noah...even when he grabs a fistful of your facial hair and tugs until it hurts.

7) For knowing what "Go check on the baby" means and following through. That's really awesome!

8) For aspiring to be like Nanna from "Peter Pan"--watching over your little buddy carefully, knowing how to distinguish a serious cry from a whiney one, running to "check" on him when he falls over, and coming to get me when you think I'm needed. And I'm sure in your little doggy brain, slobbery kisses aren't disgusting germ spreaders, but the best medicine for bumps and bruises!!

And in the future:

9) For waiting patiently and lovingly at the window for Noah at 3:30p.m., because somehow you just "know" that's what time he gets home from school each day.

10) For being the always ready playmate that every little boy needs in his early years of development (especially when mommy and daddy can't keep up the pace).

11) And finally: For helping to ease Noah's many hurts, hurdles, and heartbreaks (as only doggy pals can do) as he experiences the rocky climb from boyhood to manhood.

Thanks, pal! Even though we may not have shown it as well as we should have, you've been an incredibly awesome member of our family!

~ Amanda

Grilled Thai Beef Salad

2008-06-09T02:50:00.001-07:00

Chris made this for dinner tonight and all I can say is....WOW. Healthy, tasty, full of flavor...and I don't even like curry, which is a main ingredient in the marinade!

We have always eaten rather healthy, but with my new diagnosis we went in search of great cookbooks in which we would not have to sacrifice taste for diabetic maintenance. Ellie Krieger's (she's a dietician) The Foods You Crave is an excellent source of recipe ideas for someone whose looking to adopt a healthy diet and yet still enjoy some of your favorite foods--fried chicken, mac n' cheese, and even chocolate desserts! YUM!

I highly recommend giving Ellie a shot and buying her latest cookbook. Or, if I've yet to convince you, look up a couple of her recipes through the Food Network and give them a try!

Bon Appetite!

~Amanda

8 Months to GO!

2008-06-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

That's it...only 8 months left here! Woo-Hoo! With time ticking away, it won't be long before Chris, Noah, and I will finally be out of Misawa and on to sunny, breezy, beautiful Hawaii!

A couple of weeks ago, we made our first official step towards being outta here. It was a glorious moment and it made the upcoming move finally seem real. After having driven a 1993 Mitsubishi RVR for the last 6 months (a piece) and a 1991 Toyota Carib before that (an even bigger piece), we elected to utilize the military overseas purchase option and get a Volvo. Hurrah! If you don't quite understand my current state of euphoric bliss over car buying, I suggest you do the comparison:

This:

Versus this: (only in titanium grey)

Ahhhh....NOW you understand! I knew a visual image would help! Sexy, right??? ;)

While I try not to sound too overjoyed with the prospect of leaving this joint (I'll miss you Keli and Erin! You guys are the best!!!), I can't wait to re-experience the simple pleasures of being stateside again. Like driving on the right side of the road, walking through a Barnes and Noble while sipping lazily on a cup of coffee, and even Wal-Mart....you know you've been gone too long when Wal-Mart generates thoughts of excitement! Even when the last mental image you have of the place involves an tobacco-chewin', overall-wearin' guy who picks his nose while commenting to the lady at the checkout counter, "You reckon these har pair of shorts will last me good as my last uns??" Gross.

Our next big step (not for a few months) is going on some house hunting leave so we won't be homeless when we get there. We're facing the decision of whether we want to continue renting or finally cross the line into adulthood and make the biggest investment of our lives. Scary. We'll keep you posted. Hopefully, many of you will consider coming out and sharing a drink or two under our lanai either way! :)

Amanda

A Perpetual Fog...

2008-06-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

Blah....that's what I feel like....just blah.

A better description might be that I feel incredibly hung over--blurry vision, headache, dizzy, can't concentrate, nauseated--but missed out on the "good time" that normally preceeds that particular state of being. And since I'm banned from any and all alcohol consumption, I guess I won't be experiencing the highs associated with the "party in a bottle" effect ever again. Drat....that stinks. I was never much of a consumer to begin with, but it would be nice to have a more temporary condition in which a fun high preceeds the dismal low. That way, at least, I could blame feeling sick on having a really rockin' good time and incredibly poor judgment. ;)

Moving towards a more serious note, we don't have an endocrinologist here in Misawa, so the Internal Medicine doc and I have been playing around with various medications, trying to see what works and what doesn't. It's been a painful process....quite literally. Flu-like symptoms with the occasional hypoglycemic crash has left me feeling very weak and EXTREMELY muddled. Thirty minutes ago, two Navy chiefs just stopped by to ask me about the neighborhood and I can't recall our conversation beyond "pig farm" (there's one nearby) and "high heating bill" despite the fact that they were here for 20 minutes. It's frustrating. Normally I try to be pretty articulate, but chaining a series of related thoughts together and expressing them to others in conversation is definitely hard right now. I'm sure those two chiefs left my home thinking, "What the heck has the smell from the pig farm got to do with increasing winter heating costs?" You know...I don't know. I'll get back to you on that.

The good news is (yes, I'm determined not allow negativity to completely preside over my current emotional state) is that my blood sugar levels have dropped dramatically. Beginning over 500 (extremely dangerous) and battling in the 200-300 for over a week (really not good), I've managed to pull them down to average in the mid to low 100s. I've even had a few reports of 70 after long cardio sessions on Screech, my stationary bike. Yes...I named him. Since we're certain to become life-long companions, I thought it most appropriate. And No...he's not named "screech" for the sound he makes as I pedal furiously no where, but the sound Noah makes everytime I go anywhere near him. They say 9 months old is the beginning of separation anxiety for babies.

I believe it.

~Amanda

Updates...

2008-05-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Some updates regarding the fam:

Noah is doing really well. He's making attempts at crawling (by scooting backwards), has figured out the pincer grasp concept, screams for his "da-da" when mommy doesn't appear to cave upon demand, eats big boy food, and flirts shamlessly with every female within a five yard radius. The head tilt and cheesy grin are his favorite moves...it has a 99.5% success rate with the ladies. For those of you guys who are still single...take notes from the kid!

Chris is finishing up his Master's, with just a few more classes to go, while simultaneously completing Naval War College JPME (Joint Professional Military Education) Phase I certification. By February, both should be complete. He's managed to pull this off despite working 10-12 hour days, making frequent trips away from home, while still finding time to spend with me and Noah. It's amazing how he manages his time!

I have just started my next to last semester of graduate school....VERY EXCITING! The plan is to have my Master's completed by December so that I can begin working towards a financial counseling certification that I have applied for. It's an 18 month fellowship that should take me well into our time in Hawaii. I've also contacted several non-profits and look forward to collaborating with them on grant proposals in the near future.

For those of you who have gotten word regarding my hospitalization last week, I'm out and doing well. We were devastated, at first, with some pretty hard news, but we're coping well and taking positive steps towards conquering "the enemy."

Last Thursday, I was admitted overnight for extremely high glucose levels--my glucometer wasn't even registering they were so high (the nurse said most people like that don't walk in with numbers that high. They come in on a stretcher. Someone is definitely watching over me!). It unfortunately appears to be the result of Type 2 diabetes. We won't know for sure until the tests come back and rule out Type 1. Either way, I will have to carefully monitor my blood sugars and maintain a strict diet and exercise regiment for the rest of my life. The good news is that I'm otherwise healthy--very slender, low blood pressure, kidney/liver/heart functions are normal--so if I can get my blood sugars under control, it shouldn't be too much of an uphill battle. Chris and I already eat fairly healthy, so my only problem area is finding time to work out seven days a week while managing both school and Noah. Otherwise, things are good and the doctor hopes we can avoid any insulin dependency. My weight is still dropping, but I'm hoping to prevent any further weight loss by correcting my glucose levels. I'm at a perfect size for my height and I really don't want to get any smaller. Maybe more buff, though! A six-pack would be awesome! ;)

Just wanted to update you all as I'm sure you've heard rumors and wanted to be more aware of what was going on. We still don't have any solid confirmation yet, but the internal medicine doc answered a lot of our concerns. This is definitely a scary time for us, but as always, Chris and I rely heavily upon our faith to pull us through. It's worked thus far and we pray that every day will only reveal good news and positive results. We're very blessed to have caught this in time and without any permanent damage to speak of. For that, we're extremely thankful!

Your prayers and thoughts are welcome. Please don't hestitate to touch base with us if you have any questions, thoughts, or concerns as well. We'll keep you posted as more information is made available.

Love to all,

Amanda (and Chris and Noah)

The Count Censored

2008-05-13T04:02:00.001-07:00

Okay...so I watched a LOT of Sesame Street as a little kid, but I never saw this version. ;)

We all know he's saying "counting," but the innuendo is ****ing hilarious! ;)

Amanda

South Korea...

2008-05-12T04:12:00.000-07:00

I just finished up another semester of classes on May 5th...THANK GOODNESS! As my reward for a semester well-done, we decided that Noah and I should accompany Chris on a "good deal" trip to South Korea over Mother's Day weekend. For the price of a plane ticket and train fare, the three of us got to hang out in Seoul for eight days (which included a four-day weekend) between two conferences Chris had to attend. We stayed at the Dragon Hill Lodge on the Army base at Yongsan, which is really nice and provides easily access to all the major attractions and shopping districts Seoul has to offer.

Once again, Noah proved to be a great travel buddy--taking the three hour train ride and two hour flight in stride and charming all the flight attendants with his pseudo-shy grins and sideways glances. Before we made it out of Incheon airport, three Korean ladies and one Korean family asked to take pictures with the little guy. Crazy!!! According to all the baby books, Noah should be hitting his "stranger anxiety" stage right about now. I guess Noah hasn't read those chapters or is just ignoring them all together, because he actively engages every stranger he meets. Little did we realize that his airport charm would carry on throughout our ENTIRE trip. More on that later....

While Chris spent the first two days in a conference, Noah and I just relaxed in our hotel room, which was nice given the fact that most of my downtime these days is filled with writing papers or researching grant writing opportunities. I haven't had the opportunity to just veg in ages. Noah pounded a few extra "ba-ba-bas" and watched some Sesame Street, while I read a few People magazines and partook in some Oreo cheesecake, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and good southern-style barbecue that you can't get in Japan....YUM! (We've got one more day here...if I can just find a Papa John's, my mission to replace all the weight I've lost post-pregnancy will be complete!!! :) Naaah...it's good to see my feet again.)

Once Chris was done with his first conference, the three of us began pounding the streets in Osan and Insadong in search of the perfect S.K. loot to bring home. Having grown bored with the insane amount of knock-off Louis Vutton purses, pirated copies of DVDs , and fuschia-colored pimp suits that are all the rage here, we focused on purchasing more higher quality (and legal) items. I sought out hand-made pieces of Korean artistry, including a couple of beautiful tapestries and a large cherry blossom plate that I bought after meeting with the artist in one of the local galleries. VERY nice work. Chris got two custom-made suits for $600 (total), which usually run between $600-1200 a piece back in the States. There's a lot of great deals available in Korea if you avoid the cheap imitations and are looking to invest in some quality goods.

While in Insadong, Noah proved that he was capable of working his "cute factor" in public. Here he is flirting with an unidentifiable woman in the first photo and drawing the attention of a little girl in the second:

Everywhere we went, the Koreans would stare, smile, and attempt to stroke Noah's little hands and face. Surprisingly, he ate it up, cooing and laughing at the attention he received. Photos were being taken constantly--with us, around us, and even from balconies along the street. At times, it would get so bad that we couldn't even take Noah out of the stroller for fear of being pursued and crushed by massive crowds of people wanting to see and touch our blonde-haired, blue-eyed little boy. We would often find ourselves retreating into stores and alleyways just to avoid the hands and the cameras. This must be what running from paparazzi feels like...

At one point, Chris jokingly suggested we set up a booth in downtown Seoul, exploiting Noah by offering $5 photo sessions with him and marketing him as a "good luck charm." "Imagine the money we would make," he said, sarcastically. I can't begin to imagine what kind of attention that would draw or the therapy Noah would one day require to overcome such an harrowing experience. Probably the same level of therapy Britney needs right about now.

As we weaved in and around crowds of weekend shoppers, the three of us ran into some pretty interesting people. The first was a group of Seoul college students looking for an opportunity to practice their English. The girls' names were Candi and Nana (I didn't catch the boys' names), and they were thrilled with the opportunity to speak with us. They asked Chris a lot of questions concerning his job, where we lived, why we were visiting Korea, and then came the following:

Candi: (to me) "You...VERY pretty!"
Me: (embarrassed) Thank you.
Candi: No...You BEAUTIFUL!
Me: Thank you...that's very nice.
Candi: Am I very pretty?
(Nana looks at me and shakes her head "no.")
Me: Yes...you are pretty.
Candi: (laughing) No...she thinks I ugly. That's okay. We think you very pretty.

Here's a photo of our new friends:

And a photo they took of us:

The second was a hilarious hip-hop performance provided by the guys pictured below. SOUL comes to SEOUL!!! So who got served?!?!? ;)

There were also a large group of protestors campaigning against China's forceful repatriation of North Korean refugees. Large signs exhibiting those allegedly tortured and killed by the North Korea government provided a gruesome backdrop to the narrow streets of Insadong. Here's the demonstrators' website: www.444days.org

After a long day, Chris and I took a break and enjoyed some bulgogi beef and kimchi at one of the local restaurants. While I'm not too fond of Korean food, I did give it another go. Noah decided he didn't want any Korean food and just took a nap.

On Sunday morning, Chris and Noah wished me a very "Happy Mother's Day" with a nice lunch and a walk out into the DHL gardens for a little photo shoot. Noah was a little too interested in the flowers and the waterfall to get many great shots of the two of us together, but Chris did his best! :)

We then took another train ride (which Noah loves) over to the Seoul tower in hopes of getting a view of the city. Here's an excited Noah waiting on the train:

The wait for the cable car up to the top of the tower appeared to be more than an hour and a half long, so the three of us opted to get dessert at this fabulous little Italian cafe called, Ncurina. It was located at the base of the Seoul Tower and had an amazing view. They served incredible desserts--I had a piece of apple pie with homemade ice cream, while Chris had the tiramisu. Both were Deeeee-LISH! While we waited for our food, Chris played the role of the cheesy photographer. So who remembers the line, "say pepperoni pizza!!"? :)

On our last free day, we ventured over to one of the castles in hopes of catching a really cool changing of the guards. We were in luck:

There was lots of loud drumming, which Noah appears to LOVE. (BONG!!! **he coos** BONG-BONG!!! **giggle** BONG-BONG-BONG!!! **peels of laughter**)
The kid is terrified of the sound of a crinkled plastic bag and cries at the noises monkeys make, but thinks loud drums are fun and NOT scary. All I can say is that he'd better not be thinking of making a career as a drummer for some heavy metal band some day.

We finally wrapped up our weekend with a trip to...where else? STARBUCKS! Chris and I got a much needed caffeine fix and Noah discovered a new toy in empty paper and plastic cups! What a fabulous way to end a great vacation in Seoul!

Hope you are all having a great week!

~ Amanda

Happy Mother's Day from South Korea!!!

2008-05-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

Noah, Chris, and I are currently in South Korea enjoying a little kimchi and bulgogi beef for Mother's Day! We're having a great time and look forward to sharing our S.K. tales upon our return to Japan. For now, we want to wish everyone a "Happy Mother's Day!"

~ Amanda

Aussie Commercial

2008-04-20T03:10:00.001-07:00

Here's a commercial we saw while in Australia. This would NEVER be approved for general audience viewing in the States! Or maybe it has and I've just been away too long... :)

Cheers!

Amanda

Australia...

2008-04-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

G'Day Mate! Blog capabilities are now back in order. :)

Our trip to Sydney was absolutely fantastic! Chris, Noah, and I couldn't have had a better vacation. We packed in about as much activity as we could with a 7 month old in tow and he did fabulously, especially on both 10-hour flights. Noah was a big hit with the airline stewardesses--they cooed incessantly over what a good baby he was and I think he enjoyed all the attention he received. For parents who haven't flown with small children yet, night flights are definitely the way to go!

Now that I've made two trips to Australia, one to Cairns (destination for exploring the Great Barrier Reef) and one to Sydney, I know I'll never be able to get enough vacation time there to satisfy my interests. The landscape on the eastern coastline is so wonderfully diverse, with rugged "outback" terrain, deserts, beaches, mountains, and rainforests all within close proximity of each other. You could be lying on Manly beach in the early morning, enjoying a mimosa and reading up on the life of sculptor Rayner Hoff, and that very afternoon be drinking your way through a bottle of Verdelho (from Hunter Valley, of course) as you stop for an early evening picnic while overlooking a beautiful sunset in the Blue Mountains.

For our very first day in Sydney (mind you, Chris and I just gotten off a red-eye flight), the three of us just spent several hours at a park near Sydney Harbour. It was so relaxing! We played with Noah on a hill under an olive tree, watching the sailboats glide in and around Port Jackson, the Harbour Bridge, and the iconic Sydney Opera House. The grass there was warm and inviting, and I couldn't resist ditching my shoes and running my toes through it after having spent four months in boots and a ski jacket in northern Japan. Nearby, wild cockatoos and lorikeets--birds I had previously seen only in pet stores and zoos--were wandering amongst the park's visitors, hoping for an afternoon handout. I could have stayed there all day, just watching and unwinding.

We also made day trips to both the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley. During our trip into the mountains, it was raining and the lush green of the peaks were partially concealed by the rain clouds and rolling fog drifting up from below. Despite the gloom, the combination of light and shade created some beautiful shots for the camera. Our sky car guide commented that such rain would normally block all views from the lookout points, obstructing both the valley and the waterfalls. We were lucky—it was beautiful.

Having Noah with us prevented taking in as many “cellar door” visits in Hunter Valley as we’d have liked, but we managed to visit two separate wineries, collect three bottles of excellent vino, as well enjoy the botanical gardens located there. As it was Fall in Australia, much of the flowering plants had ceded producing blossoms, but I did find a Magnolia tree in which blooms were just beginning to open. I was excited…I had traveled halfway around the world from origins in Georgia to discover the same tree of my childhood (one stands in my parents’ front yard) also grew in southern Australia. I smelled the petals and their fragrance brought back many great memories of my youth…watching red cardinals partake of the seeds, climbing and hanging from its branches, and a memory I’m particularly fond of, pelting my sister with the pointy (and painful) cones they produce. ;) Between wineries, we also witnessed a herd of kangaroos grazing beside a small lake. I just had to take a picture. ‘Roos in the wild…imagine that. So, Christopher Robin really wasn’t making it all up…they really do exist! :)

We also managed to go to the Sydney Aquarium (apparently one of the best in the world, or so they say), as well as Featherdale Wildlife Park. If you ever visit Sydney, I would strongly suggest Featherdale over Toronga Zoo—while it is a large complex, you don’t have the opportunity to pet (or chase and taunt) anything at the latter. What fun is there in that?? :) All kidding aside, it was fantastic watching Noah interact with the animals—he smiled at the wallabies, grabbed for the kangaroos, stroked a koala, slept through the bird exhibits (so did I) and reptile house, and did a lot of head bobbing and weaving in the glass tunnel at the shark exhibit. That was really cool…. and the closest I ever want my baby to encounter a hungry, 15-foot tiger shark!!

Manly Beach was also an incredible spot to visit. Noah, Chris, and I rose early Friday morning, donned our swimwear (Noah was super cute in his, but peed his way through both the “waterproof” diaper AND “waterproof” swim shorts), and drove out to play in the sand and watch the surfers ride the waves. Residents of Manly Beach are clearly not hurting for money—I watched “glamour moms” strolling with their “glamour babies” and later drive away in their posh Mercedes. Walking along the sandy beach, I definitely felt like I was in Orange County, CA…I should probably mention that I’ve never actually been there, but based upon television’s all too accurate depictions of people and places, I’m pretty sure it makes for a good comparison. ;) It, at least, presents a good example of what living in Hawaii will be like in 9 months. I digress.

Noah was able to jump a few waves with Daddy’s assistance, rubbed his tiny toes in the sand, and attempted to shove handfuls of the stuff directly into his mouth. He loved it! We then walked the boardwalk up and down the beach, before heading back to Sydney for a final day of shopping and sightseeing.

Well, this is getting long and I’m running out of time as Noah has just finished his “ba-ba-ba”. Our trip to Sydney was a blast! We hope to one day return when Noah is a little older and can actually enjoy and remember all the sites, activities, and adventures!

Love,

Amanda

Sydney....

2008-04-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

We got home from Sydney on Sunday and I'd love to tell you all about our wonderful trip, but the "Blogger" site isn't functioning properly. As soon as its back up and running normally, I'll post a blog with videos and pics of our time in Australia. There's lots of fun things to tell!

Love,

Amanda

Post Preggo Hair

2008-03-26T00:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, so after being pregnant I expected things about me would change--other moms told me that things would sag, droop, flab up, stretch, and even get bigger (not only boobs, but feet too). But no one, I mean NO ONE, told me that my hair would go through a dramatic change. Before Noah, I had lots of body in my hair, but no real curl. Maybe a strand or two here and there.

Here's the before photo:

And this is after:

Not great photos, but you get the point. I've done nothing to my hair in the photos above except wash it and put a holding product on it. Weird, huh? I just want to know if it's going to stay this way or in a few months (or years), go back to the way it was.

Any thoughts?

Amanda

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here's some photos from our Easter morning. Enjoy!

Amanda

Peering in his Easter basket

Hi Ducky!

I can wave "hello!"

Pandas from America????

2008-03-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

While pandas are certainly not indigeneous to the United States, this fuzzy black and white little guy accompanied Chris back from his two-week stint in Georgia. THANKS, DADDY! Noah is not quite big enough for him yet, but that'll change within just a few months, I'm sure.

So, instead of a rocking horse, Noah now has a "rockin' panda!"

My new ride!

Is this how the cowboys do it, Mommy?

These black things on top--built-in chew toys, right?

"Now just hang on tight!"

My two guys...

My new favorite (you've probably never heard of him) actor

2008-03-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

Move over Clive O., Gerard B., and Josh L....there's a new actor on Amanda's favs list.

He's name is Patrick Fabian. This is his photo:

I was watching Reba this morning--yeah, I'm a loser and I have no life--and this guy was guest starring as a minister named Harlan Parks who helps Reba with her son-in-law's "doubt" issues, which are actually her own. It was such a good episode! He was really funny and so believable in the role that I was like, "Man...too bad all ministers don't have such a sarcastic, yet sensible sense of humor (like when he said, "YOU are the QUEEN of Doubt?? Well...in that case, let me just call my mother and advise her that position's been filled!") and know to avoid the 'hellfire and brimstone' speech....it would make everyone want to take a closer walk with God!

WOW....who knew daytime television actors could act! Too bad it was just a bunch of well-written lines (thanks, Reba writers!), but I was inspired. Isn't that what actors are supposed to do...inspire??? :)

He's cute, too, but since he's almost fifty, we'll avoid any further gushing and eye batting! ;) In all honesty, though, it was a really good episode. You should see it.

Amanda

Back to Being "Down Under"

2008-03-05T03:04:00.000-08:00

Well, the bad news is that we're not going to China in April. :( The Chinese decided to try to sell us on the idea of an $800 "infant fare" for Noah to fly to and within their country...without an actual airline seat or meals, I might add. For that price, they'd better have a flight attendant assigned to full-time diaper duty donning babies in Pampers enlayed in solid gold and emeralds. It actually gets more ridiculous...they like Americans SOOO much that they also tried to impose a $180 visa fee (each) for all the members of our tour group--I researched it and it's actually only a $75 fee. No way, Jose. "Why would they do that?" you ask. I'll let you ponder awhile on that one....

Instead of submitting to that kind of extortion, Chris and I decided forego China until Noah is old enough to make $800 really count. Like when he can walk, talk, and carry his own camera and backpack.

The good news is that we're going to Australia instead....going back for me, first time for Chris. Actually, it'll be the first time either of us has been to Sydney. We're so excited! The plan is to see the famous Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, maybe a zoo or two for Noah (and get a picture with a koala and a wallabee), before heading up to the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley. H.V. is the Australian equivalent of Napa Valley in California....VINO!!!! :)

I really like the Aussies and I think Chris will fit right in--they have a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor (like Chris) and are more than happy to live the laid-back lifestyle (also like Chris). It'll be Fall in April there and 70 degree sunny weather, so I can finally get out of my snow boots, gloves, and fleece pull-overs and into sandals, capris, and tank tops. It should be a good trip!

Amanda

Noah Speaks...

2008-02-28T08:13:00.007-08:00

Noah turned six months old on February 22nd. He's now making attempts at feeding himself, helps his mom and dad with clothing and diaper changes (he understands "feet up, Noah" and "hands up, Noah"--pretty amazing!!), and survived his first real in classroom English lesson with some of my old Japanese students. During the classroom experience, he was very patient and EXTREMELY good...a perfect little angel...especially considering that a mob of fifteen 4 and 5 year olds surrounded him after the lesson with many exuberant "ooohhh"s and "ahhhh"s. They would smile at him and he would grin right back.

Here's a video of him saying his first word:

Photos to come!!!

Good Night!

Amanda

Overseas...again????

2008-02-21T17:22:00.001-08:00

Chris and I were discussing the course of his naval career last night and where it might take us--Hawaii (already "booked"), back to Whidbey Island, Annapolis, D.C., San Diego...and then I turned the conversation to mutually-agreed upon, unmentionable territory...ANOTHER overseas tour. Did I just "go there?" Did I open a can of worms? Maybe...maybe not. ;)

As many of you know, I wasn't thrilled, initially, about the prospect of coming to Japan. Three years ago, I had completely different school plans laid out for myself and because I was hearing the undeniable "tick-tock" of a certain biological clock (Chris', not mine :) ), it meant that I was running out of time in achieving them. Actually, the words "not thrilled" do not begin to accurately describe our reaction to coming here...devastated was more like it. Well, God certainly had different plans in mind for us--my career included. But, I've realized that's not a bad thing. Despite my boredom in being in Misawa, Japan has given us Noah and has allowed Chris and I to both complete school. It also paved the way for my career to take a different course, which in turn, allows me far more flexibility, opportunity, and comes with an extra special perk--the potential of being able to work out of my home. :)

(Arrgghhh, I got sidetracked...sorry. Back to future station possibilities)

Several of our friends have had the opportunity to be stationed at various overseas locations in Europe--Rota (Spain), Naples (Italy), Sigonella (Italy), and locations in Belgium and Germany. They all loved it...but who wouldn't love Italy, right??? :) So, I thought, "Why not?" I've lived in North America, lived in Asia, adding "Europe" to that list would be extra-special, super-duper cool! So...let's see...I would then be just be four continents away from having achieved residency status across the globe!!! :) Ha, ha!!

So, we're seriously entertaining the idea. Chris thought he could get us to any of those locations in five years--during his department head tour. I think it would be pretty cool to live in one of those places and use it as a springboard to various destinations in Europe, as well as maybe Africa.

Egypt, maybe? Because I've always wanted to see the pyramids....

Love to all,
Amanda

Out of Sorts...

2008-02-16T05:55:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's the yucky snow that's sitting over a foot high on my lawn...maybe it's all the crappy drivers that cut me off on a daily basis...or maybe it's because I only have 9 channels on my television and can only watch just so much of Dr. Phil and Britney. Ahhh, wait. I don't want to admit that I keep up with Brit-Brit's erractic, highly delusional, bipolar behavior. Back to the weather...let's just say it's the weather.... *sigh*

Regardless of the reason, I'm finding myself becoming desperate to leave this joint. Remind me not to put Misawa, Japan, on any list of "Top Ten Places to Live" anytime soon. I'm really bored, and frankly I'm beginning to wonder if I've grown so accustomed to military life that I start getting a little antsy when I can feel the grass growing under my feet (figuratively speaking--I haven't seen grass in months). Yes, Noah and school keep me very busy, but there's only so much you can do within the confinement of your home and getting ANYWHERE--even to the metropolitan area an hour south of here--cost the equivalent of ordering 25 Tall White Chocolate Mochas at Starbucks, which BTW, is the only reason I'd want to go to Morioka anyway...to drink some Starbucks. Speaking of Starbucks, the base finally got a clue and started offering Starbucks coffee! So, scratch Morioka off my "to do" list--there's no reason for me to go there anymore when I can get my coffee fix here.

I digress... :)

So, I'm beginning to put a list together of things I want to accomplish, career-wise, when we finally get to Hawaii. Whenever I'm feeling a bit blue, contemplating future plans and ambitions is always a picker-upper-- "Numero Uno" being that I put the finishing touches on the degree I've been working on for the last year and a half. I should only have one class left when we PCS in Feb 2009--yippee!! Second, I'm hoping to chase the dream of starting my own grant proposal writing biz. That should be fun. The third and fourth kind of fall into the same category--volunteer work as a member of a board of directors--but in different arenas. I'm looking at being on the BOD of both a charitable organization and an association. Time to put all that knowledge I've been gaining in the virtual classroom to work in the real world. It would be awesome to do both. Actually, I think it's the fact that I'm getting all this "nonprofit management knowledge" and have no way to apply it that's really giving me the itch to leave Japan. Aside from my importnat roles as mommy and spousey, I'm feeling professionally useless. That's got to change...and soon.

Anyway, here's a new pic of the little guy. He'll be six months old this coming week. My little precious one! He's working on his "M" sounds, so I'm hoping it won't be too much longer before I hear the word "ma-ma" fall from his lips. :)

Later!

Amanda

Just the two of us...

2008-02-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

Usually, I'm the one behind the camera taking pictures, so it's rare that Noah and I get a photo opportunity together. Chris managed to get a couple last night of us cuddling together on the couch. He's such a good boy! (and so is Noah!) :)

Love,

Amanda

February Updates...

2008-01-31T20:31:00.000-08:00

Here's what's new for our family:

Noah turned five months old on January 22, 2008. He is eating solids and still "talking" up a storm. He loves his activity gym and taking strolls in his Baby Bjorn.

Chris and I are still plugging away at school. Work is a bit crazy for him right now, so getting in "family time" has proved to be rather difficult over the last few weeks. That leads to my next announcement...

A scheduled family getaway to CHINA!

We're visiting three of the country's cities--Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian--in April and are excited to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Terracotta Warriors. It should be exciting to see how Beijing has prepared itself for the upcoming 2008 Olympics. What an adventure! Noah will be quite the world traveler before he even reaches a year of age! :)

~ Amanda

Winter blues=drastic measures

2008-01-14T03:04:00.000-08:00

When I get bored and need a pick-me-up, I tend to do drastic things to my hair, which usually amounts to either dying it or chopping it off. I guess the winter blues kicked in and once again, my hair was subjected to my desperate need for some sort of transition. I didn't go too crazy, but the process required five hours, lots of bleach and foils and toner, and two...I repeat...TWO haircuts. :) I have massive amounts of curl now (thanks to Noah) and going shorter was the only way to manage the stuff. That and a handy-dandy flat iron....

Pics to come!

~Amanda

Spinning

2008-01-10T02:54:00.000-08:00

I started going with my friend, Erin, to spinning class right before the holidays--I LOVE IT!!! So I was very sad to have to miss this evening's class--Chris was on 24 hour duty at work and therefore couldn't watch Noah.

Unfortunately, it looks like I may have to find a babysitter if I want to make this a permanent routine. As of the end of this month, Chris is scheduled for a lot of travel, leaving me to fend for myself with the little guy. It's frustrating, because this is HARD exercise which I really enjoy doing.

On a positive note, however, I've located the parent/toddler room at the gym which will enable me to work out several times a week without having to worry about making babysitter arrangements. How cool is that?!?! It would actually be nice for Noah to "grow up" in the gym--making it something that he assumes is an ordinary and routine part of one's life, instead of sitting in front of the television all day playing video games. Hopefully, we can get him into golf (I'm taking lessons this Spring) and tennis as he gets older and we can do a lot of family activities on the course and court. Until then, he'll have to settle for the "tummy time"--something which he absolutely hates. :)

~ Amanda

Nishimatsuya

2008-01-06T02:03:00.000-08:00

Nishimatsuya is what the American's refer to as "The Baby Store" here in Misawa. Before today, I didn't even know the store's actual name....we just always called it "the baby store." Shortly after arriving here, Chris and I were introduced to 'Ni-shi' by one of the CTF-72 (Chris' command) ladies. She purchased alot of her son's outfits from the place and showed us some of the "ENGRISH" phrases on her son's clothes. Boy, did we get a laugh!!! Most of it is completely nonsensical. This is partially due to the fact that the Japanese to English conversion doesn't translate exactly and partially due to the fact that the Japanese may like the way an English word looks regardless of its actual meaning. (Take a look at http://www.engrish.com/ and you'll see what I mean). If you think that's ridiculous, don't forget that we see this very trend in the States--how many people do you know (or have heard of) that get Chinese characters--Kanji--tattooed on their arms, backs, necks, and other various body parts without really KNOWING what it is that the character means because they think it's cool. Just last month, an American girl here thought she was getting the word 'dirty' (in Kanji, of course) tatooed on her upper arm. Turns out, that the symbol actually meant 'diseased'..... HA! At least the Japanese aren't foolish enough to cover their bodies in permanent ink with words and phrases that don't make any sense. Okay, I digress... :)

Since having Noah, Chris and I have started adding Japanese clothing to his wardrobe. Aside from the crazy, fun phrases, I personally like the overall quality of the Japanese kids' clothes over many of the American clothing available at our BX. For one, the Japanese don't use metal snaps. Apparently, plastic snaps are much safer for babies as they don't have the prongs that can potentially cause a choking hazard. Much of the Japanese clothing is softer and also survives the wash a lot better than even Carter's. I can also get some things at Ni-shi that prevent me from having to order and pay shipping on items from the States. A snow suit, for instance. Anyway, I thought I'd share--I thought most of you would get a good laugh. Our current favorite is the "Super Monkey Baby" outfit! :) It reads:

"SUPER MONKEY BABY...He is the king of the earth, the king of the universe. The ally of justice."

At the very least, it could make a great Halloween outfit! ;)

Hope you all have a great week!

Amanda

Pics of Noah

2008-01-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

During her recent visit to Japan, Grandma (Eileen) Dudley managed to take a few pictures of the "little guy" in various states of emotion. :) Here's some of our favorites:

Reflecting on his morning...."Wasn't breakfast just Grrrand???" (insert English voice)

Happy Noah

"No, No, NO!!!....Not the CARSEAT!!!"

"Just you wait...I have something special brewing up to repay you for this terrible injustice..."

The little guy is now babbling....almost incessantly. :) He said something the other day that sounded an awful lot like "UUUUGGGAAAA!!" (like the bulldog) His Uncle Daniel, Aunt Joy, and Cousin Aiden would be Soooooo Proud! :)

Love,

Amanda

I Am Legend...

2008-01-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

So I watched director Francis Lawrence's adaptation of Robert Matheson's short story I Am Legend yesterday. It was an entertaining horror flick and good character portrayal of Robert Neville by Will Smith. But as with most movie adaptations of decent literary works, it failed at delivering as great an impact as the original story--I actually read Matheson before seeing the movie. You don't really get the sense of isolation, fear, hatred, depression, etc. that Robert Neville is experiencing. In fact, Lawrence deviated greatly from Matheson's version, making the movie more of a mimicry of 28 Days Later (it could have actually just been called 28 years later) and less about why Neville defines himself as a "legend." Without revealing too much about the original, Lawrence's version just doesn't carry as much impact as Matheson's. In the book, the virus mutated humans into actual vampires. Neville's life is consumed with means of hiding, destroying, and surviving--not only the vampires, but an rising inner turmoil as well. In the movie, the bad guys were simply crazy, fast-moving zombies (ehhh-hmmm...seen that one before???) with an aversion to sunlight who didn't manage to clue in on where Neville was residing until the very end. Kinda hokey...

Anyway, I would definitely recommend reading the book of short stories before seeing the movie. I Am Legend is a short read--less than two hundred pages--and I found the other stories within the book to be equally as entertaining, especially Prey.

Cheers!

Amanda

Killer Icicles and Sleeping Angels....

2007-12-31T23:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

As one of my New Year's resolutions, I've decided to phase out my MySpace page (come on, folks...MySpace at almost 30??? I'm a little too old to be on the "friends list" of 15, 16, and 17 year olds) and more importantly, keep my friends and family back East a little better informed of the Dudley family goings-on in Japanland. I'm hoping that this blog will keep you all happily satisfied with our many dramatic and adventurous tales about our weekly runs to the sushi-go-round, the pleasures of the AFN network, and 9p.m. pajama parties with little Noah. To mix things up a bit, we're hoping to make it to China in April and Australia/New Zealand in September before the Navy sends us off to our next duty station. So, I should hopefully have at least a few interesting moments to blog about. :)

As I document the last year of our residency in Japan, I hope it captures some of the unique, fun-filled, awe-inspiring moments of Chris, Amanda, and Noah Dudley. Last night--New Year's Eve--is a perfect example. While many of our friends were participating in an all-night beer pong tournament and other "drink 'til you puke" games as they counted down the new year, our last moments of 2007 outdoes them all. It went a little something like this:

Ten seconds until midnight a man is lying on the love seat having just slayed two bloody pirates as his knight, "HomeSlice," clamors aboard a ship in the midst of a 3-hour go at his newest PS3 game, "Oblivion." As blood curling yells emanate from the large television across the room, a little boy snores peacefully in the crook of his mother's arm as she nods in and out of sleep. Suddenly, she hears:

"Hey...hey honey....Amanda, wake up!"

(more yelling and pinging as the husband shoots poison-laced arrows into an oncoming

group of bad guys)

"Honey?!?" (ping, ping...THUMP...Arrrghhhh!!!!)

(She wakes up) "Whhhaattt???"

"It's Midnight...Happy New Year!" (Whooosh...ping....) Y-E-S!!!

"Oh, yeah...Happy New Year...."

On a side note: I stepped out of my house this morning to take the pooch to go potty, and I fortunately looked up to note a rather large, menacing-looking foot long icicle. It was poised, suspended just above our patio just ready to dive into the skull of an unsuspecting victim below. Well, I put the smack-down on said icicle...knocking it from its perch above the door and stomping it to bits. Well...until it turned to a big puddle of water, anyway. ;) As Noah lay sleeping inside, his mommy was outdoors in her pink and white lacey pajamas killing deadly icicles and scooping up mounds of smelly doggy poop...Female Warrior Extraordinnaire!!!

Love to all,

Amanda