PASSPORT DIARIES

In Which I Drone On About My Tiny (4-Mo.!!!) Baby

2012-02-03T11:04:00.000-06:00

air guitar

This is Mr. Isaac. I kind of LOVE him!! He is four months old today and this post is 100% shameless gushy blathering that completely ignores cranky days like last week where the annoying construction guys behind us woke everyone up two hours early. Unashamed doting.

As soon as we got in our house (two weeks ago!) Isaac started sleeping longer than two or three hours at a time. He's slept at least 4.5 hours every night (and SEVEN hours one night) for the last two weeks! I'm a new person. And a jinxed person for typing that.

he laughs

good morning!

I no longer have to sit on the floor or an uncomfortable motel couch to nurse the poor guy. Now we rock in the $40 glider I found on craigslist in his beautiful (almost finished) nursery and sometimes he falls asleep in my arms. I love it when his relaxed little sleeping face imaginary nurses. I love it when he presses his lips together and raises his eyebrows in a very cute, very un-baby face. I love it when he stretches his tiny limbs in all directions like a starfish. I love his whole tiny face shining with a glowing smile. I love it when people in the grocery store/on the fishing pier/fixing the sewer line contort their faces and babble silliness to get Mr. Isaac to smile.

kiss kiss

new mobile

I love watching his fascination with his musical mobile. I love folding laundry on top of him. I love how his little fist closes over his stuffed animal as he falls asleep. I love how at Bible study or church he sits quietly in my lap (for now). I love how enraptured he was with Megamind and how he cackled with laughter when Chris made him dance to Michael Jackson's "Bad" at the end.

I love doing baby exercises in the morning where we sing, "Roll, roll, roll the baby gently 'cross the bed! Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, you have a big head!" and roll him from side to side. Or bounce/dance him to "I'm a baby with a smile on my face! I wear a diaper and I live in Pace!" to much baby delight. I love how he lights up when Chris airplanes him around. I love how after he's been chomping on my arm all afternoon I catch little whiffs of Isaac after he's gone to bed. In short, you could say I'm a little smitten.

laundry helper

mr. elephant

Isaac LOVES having his diaper changed and coos and laughs and smiles the whole time. Same with bath time. Same with changing outfits. I reward myself by changing his outfit often and trying to match my baby-cessory to myself. I love it when I put him to bed and he tries to cry, but he's so sleepy his little cries fade into coos and he ends up singing himself to sleep after a couple minutes. I love how he looks up at me with huge, trusting, joyful eyes, oblivious to anything bad. I like watching him learn.

I like noticing big changes, like how much bigger he is than the newborn clothes I just unpacked in our shipment (so tiny! ack!) and little changes, like how hair appeared on his legs last week and his head fuzzed out some more. I like watching him successfully grab mr. giraffe and stuff him in his mouth. I like watching him notice the newly-arrived kitties and the world around him. I like how he mellows out when we listen to "Bach for Breakfast." I like how the cats can be all up in my business one moment, but as soon as Isaac is in my lap they just watch. I like to picture Pounce thinking, "Human kitten = #1 pet."

So! There's your precious tiny baby update. Coming soon: pictures of our new house!

matching mom? no pictures, please.

The Good, the Bad, the Smelly

2012-01-23T08:58:00.001-06:00

I keep waking up completely disoriented; it's hard to wrap my head around the glorious fact that all I have to do now is UNpack, not repack our bags and relocate one...two...three more times tomorrow. There is stuff everywhere, but it's OUR stuff---the stuff we picked up all over the world dreaming of the day we could hang it on our own house walls. I change Isaac's diapers on a changing table and he naps in his very own nursery. We welcomed our first house guests, our Buddy Bayers, as they pass through on their cross-country move. We caught up with old friends and made new ones around our new dining table last night. Ah...it is GOOD to have a home!

So about that home....

We worked hard toward the fun goal of having the guest room and dining room serviceable in record time. But 36 hours after closing, our new table showed up with TWO table legs completely cracked in half. "Oh sorry, we'll bring a new one...next week...and we forgot your mattress pad that you need for the warranty...ok if you need it sooner we can just bring out new table legs but they won't match...ok yes they will but we won't deliver them until two hours before your friends come...and we will still forget the protective bags for the table leaves...is that a chunk missing from your brand new footboard?"

Our storage shipment containing our washer and dryer is MIA.

The drywall guy did a much better repair job on the bashed in drywall patch the second time.

And as we got ready for bed before our friends' early-morning departure what should make an appearance in all bathtubs but several days' sewage! No, the after-hours plumber will not answer his phone at 11:45pm and Chris will have to release the valve in the front yard. Hi neighbors! Yay, day four of homeownership complete!

Then, at 4am when Isaac needed an entire onesie change, I thought I heard a noise in the back yard. I dismissed my paranoia at first, but as I finished snapping Mr. Isaac up I heard the back door rattle. I froze. Here I am with a tiny baby to protect, his bedroom light is on because we can't find any lamp lightbulbs, I'm not even wearing any pants, Isaac is hiccuping loudly and we have an intruder. I walked through the dark living room (yikes!) to get back to the bedroom where I shook Chris awake. "Chris, I heard something." "Mmrurmph." "No Chris, you need to wake up. I heard someone at the back door." "Alright alright, it was me." The plumber had been unavailable, remember? "Sheesh! You can't wake up when I ask you to bring me Isaac 20 minutes ago but you wake up to go outside?! Did you notice I wasn't in bed? And you didn't think to give me a heads up that you were going outside in the dark at 4am?!?! That was REALLY scary!!" This whole time Isaac's baby hiccups are echoing around the bare walls. It seemed a lot more comical around the breakfast table a few hours later.

Anyway, our friends left showerless (sorry...good thing there's that port-a-potty at the construction site next door) and we had the Internet guy, a plumber, and the city sewage crew at our house all before 8:30am.

I am keeping in mind a fine point Roosevelt made in his 1933 inaugural "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" speech, which is that our difficulties, thank God, are only material. He goes on to say that although everyone's savings have vanished and uncertainty abounds, even yet "We are stricken by no plague of locusts." That makes my problem of not being able to wash my hands or flush the toilet seem insignificant and petty, especially when a crew is outside working on the problem.

Hannie, hopefully we will have this fixed before y'all arrive at Casa de Krueger with the kitties next week!

Casa de Krueger

2012-01-18T18:09:00.001-06:00

We live here! If you send us mail it will come to our dashing mailbox and we will step outside and receive it! How novel! As of 4:15pm we are no longer homeless! Isaac is sleeping in his new room.

Beauty That Moves (On): A Motel Living Post

2012-01-18T11:44:00.000-06:00

With any luck this will be our last segment of Motel Living: a guide to better living in makeshift housing. When you are Motel Living it's important to have beauty products that can do double duty and fit a wide range of weather conditions and situations. Packing a moisturizing, clarifying mask can go a long way toward keeping your skin from looking drawn and haggard when you're jet lagged, over-caffeinated and running on too little sleep, but if there's no more room in your carry on, try this tip: empty about five packets of sugar (there should be some near the coffee/tea tray) into the motel lotion. Smooth onto your face, exfoliating lightly, and rinse off. Et voila! Soft and smooth skin! I also find volumizing dry shampoo and a mini straightener very useful (mine came in a heat-resistant pouch that I used as an evening clutch one time in a pinch. It got compliments. I've also used it to iron a hemline and cuffs). Finally, Origins Modern Friction is magic on angry travel skin.

All right! On to the important stuff!! No more Motel Living posts because WE CLOSE ON OUR HOUSE TODAY!! THE ONE WE PICKED OUT MORE THAN TWO MONTHS AGO!!! IT'S FINISHED!!!! WOOOOOOOOO!

And not a moment too soon! We've got to roll out before this baby starts rolling!! This is Motel Living, signing off.

Motel Living: Motels With Tiny Babies

2012-01-15T20:42:00.001-06:00

We live in a motel, now what do you think?

The baby is too big to bathe in the bathroom sink.

The baby bathtub was too big to fit in what we packed,

So we put him on the no-slip mat flat on his back.

A hand towel underneath his head, he gets a tear-free scrub;

This happy tiny baby splashes in the big bathtub.

Thank you for joining us in this second installment of Motel Living---a guide to better living in makeshift housing. This post features Motels with Tiny Babies. It's hard to know what to do with yourself sometimes in a new place. Or in a motel in a new place. Or in a motel with a baby in a new place. Isaac loves the books he got from his grandparents for Christmas and devoured them with gusto (they were delicious). With his own books under his belt Isaac moved on to helping Chris consume flight publications. The soothing sound of Daddy's reading soon lulled Isaac into a snooze.

Another item besides the baby bathtub that didn't fit in our suitcases: Isaac's excellent changing table (thanks Elaine!). Until the fateful day we move into a house I'm using one of the motel desks, which I rearranged to pass as a diaper station. We should have done this sooner instead of changing him in the pack n' play or on the bed and being surprised when...well...the inevitable happened. This is better; just wad up any soiled towels and housekeeping brings a fresh one. Much easier than changing sheets.

Mr. Isaac has lived in this hotel room longer than anywhere else in his short life. That breaks my heart a little. I'm not sure why; it's not like he's loved less for our location. But whatever, here's what's cute: babies playing on the floor. Here's what's not cute: setting your baby down on icky motel carpet. I shudder. Anyway, about 24 hours after we arrived Stateside we invested in this excellent baby floor mat gym thing. The lights and classical music serenade morning playtime and (I like to think) bring some normalcy to our lack of routine.

Mr. Monkey (thanks Chrissy!) hangs out next to Mr. Octopus, and Isaac happily gnaws on his starfish teething ring or samples the frog legs (thanks Han!). He only started getting the hang of grabbing things and guiding them into his maw about a week ago so we still think it's cute. It travels well, too, and around hour nine of driving between Texas and Florida the light-up musical thing got unVelcroed, fished out of the back, and propped up for Isaac's listening and viewing pleasure. Back at the motel at nighttime, Isaac bounces in his jump-up suspended from the door frame (thanks Mom!). This is much less intrusive than the vibrating bouncy seats that just slice your toes off in limited space arrangements. And since he has neither a crib nor a mobile, we find Isaac's lullaby music box encased in a tiny train pillow 100% indispensable (thanks Nancy!). It's the only thing that calms him down sometimes. There is magic in that music.

So there you go---no need to rip your hair out wishing you'd not packed all the baby things when the movers arrived early; babies do just fine in motels with a few modifications. But let's be honest: clearly Isaac is not suffering. The baby stuff is more about my convenience and delight, or at least would relieve my 'sorry you're a homeless baby living in a motel' guilt, so let's get in that house!

Hemingway's Island Grill

2012-01-13T20:57:00.002-06:00

We are slowly revisiting all our old Pensacola favorites! One of the first places we went is Hemingway's Island Grill. I like to pretend I live in a vintage postcard. It makes my life better. Hemingway's smooth teak floors, soaring white walls, and palm frond ceiling fans help me do this. Woven banana leaf armchairs and Cuban travel posters don't hurt either. That's why I like this place, even though I'm sad to say I cannot recommend the food. That's right, I'm always disappointed by my entree, be it the salmon (dry), the vegetable soup (salty), or the Cuban sandwich (tough). Worth going for: the mojitos, the key lime pie, and the decor (because it's secretly how I want my house to look).

Welcome to Hemingway's!

The Cuban---I've had better. Nice lighting, though.

The first time I hung out with Mary, Brittany and Sarah was with some mutual friends (Rebekah, Jacquelyn, Mallory) and we had Hemingway's mojitos by the water. Chris and I liked having mojitos at the topside bar on the roof so much we took my parents and Hannah there to watch the sunset. Its vantage point gives a sweeping view of sandy white Pensacola Beach along the Gulf of Mexico and the smooth azure waters of Santa Rosa Sound. And where does the house key lime pie fall on the color debacle? Should it be yellow or green? Trick question! It should be on a fork en route to my tummy!

Pensacola Beach's eponymous beach ball water tower

The Pensacola Beach Pier

Anyway, so yes, I like coming here for drinks and dessert, but if you're really hungry have a Landshark Lager and a burger or the shrimp boat next door at Surf Burger!

Isaac's first visit to Pensacola Beach at two months.

McGuire's Irish Pub and an Epiphany

2012-01-10T11:52:00.000-06:00

Chris was all excited about McGuire's Irish Pub (600 E. Gregory St., Pensacola, FL) when we found out we were moving back here. I've been a little mystified as to why. Sure, it's delicious, and the thousands of dollars pinned everywhere are quirky, and we had some fun times here (usually with the Butterfields), like when we came with our families (and the Bs of course) after Chris' winging. But it's not like this was one of our super-favorite places then.

Well whatever, I wanted to check out the ringing in of Mardi Gras on Palafox St., so we stopped at McGuire's first. I'm a little gun shy about taking a tiny baby to restaurants where he may scream and I may sweat. McGuire's was perfect---lots of other people with tiny babies, they had those luggage racks for car seats, and the din on a Friday night was loud enough to 1. mask fussing, if Isaac had bothered, and 2. provide the type of background roar that sends Isaac straight into a snooze. Our tiny leprechaun was asleep before our Irish Red Ale arrived.

Daddy: I recommend the Wasabi Steak Burger. YUM.

"Is that burger making you cry?" asked our waitress.
"No, these are tears of joy," I said, wiping my cheeks. "Y'all are serious with the wasabi."
"We don't kid around," she said.

Then we popped a few streets over to Palafox, where a string of elaborate Mardi Gras floats blocked the street and merrymakers in a range of silly costumes partied and threw t-shirts to the crowd. Mardi Gras? In January? Did you know that Epiphany marks not only Hannah's birthday, but also the beginning of Carnival?! I knew Epiphany represents the day the magi found baby Jesus and celebrates Jesus' significance to the Gentiles, but I never knew what exactly ushered in Mardi Gras season. A priest turned out Friday night to bless the participants and the season. This is something Chris and I always liked about Pensacola: people show up for things. The whole street was packed. And this year, we will be showing up for things with our tiny baby, especially some (daytime) Mardi Gras parades!

An Introduction to Motel Living

2012-01-08T22:30:00.000-06:00

We will have been in temporary housing for about three months by the time we close on our house, maybe longer...I don't want to think about it. Instead, I bring to you: Motel Living---a guide to better living in makeshift housing.

In this first edition of Motel Living we'll cover dining and ambiance. Eating out all the time: the novelty wears off. Expensive. Everything starts to seem greasy and unappetizing. So don't. I congratulated myself as I poured this 280mL box wine (Target's cab sauv/shiraz Wine Cube---Thanks, Han and Justin!) into two of the standard-issue tiny juice glasses in our bachelor's officer's quarters (BOQ), "Hee hee, look at us making do with what we have!" I handed one to Chris, who said, "This plastic cup decreases my enjoyment of this wine." "On the contrary," I said, "I was just thinking the opposite." (plastic cheers! clink)

I arranged single-serving cheeses, fresh strawberries and our plastic cups on this nice tray. Ok, it's a red paper plate. Eating on paper plates is less depressing when they are cheerful red.

I sliced some more strawberries onto a box of pre-washed baby spinach and topped with dried cranberries and balsamic vinaigrette. Our main course when we eat in is usually one of those frozen meals, like Bertolli's. They're my favorite at about $5, and you dump the entire bag into one quart-sized plastic Ziploc bowl and microwave it, then scoop it onto (cheerful red paper) plates. Christmas candy for dessert, et viola---we have a decent dinner for one-third the calories and way less than the cost of eating out. Plus, it doesn't interfere with the bedtime of a certain three-month-old:

Another important aspect of Motel Living: Ambiance. As mentioned previously in some tiring rant, we've been in eight different lodgings in the last three months, and living out of a suitcase for six of the past 12 months. Small personalized touches go a long way toward making a temporary location feel like your own. Don't be satisfied with motel decor when they're something you can do about it! Get to work!

I found a set of three Chinese-style vintage English trays for $5 at Alyssa's Antique Depot (4586 Chumuckla Hwy, Pace, FL). My parents got us a set of remote operated, flameless candles for Christmas that make the whole living area smell like vanilla. The six large and medium candles adorn our hearth...er...tv stand. The smallest three on one of the vintage trays atop the coffee table: so cute! The gilt surface reflects their flickering glow.

Other uses for these totally useful trays: One tray relocated to a shelf to corral jewelry and makeup. Brushes and eyeliners look much chicer when their plastic cup lives on a golden tray. Another catches my hotel key card and phone as I come in the door, plus stray pacifiers and floating personal items.

did someone say pacifiers??

That's all for tonight! Future Motel Living installments include: Beauty Products that Travel, Motels with Tiny Babies, and Microwave Cooking for Two! What are your best tips for Motel Living??

For Auld Lang Syne --- Year in Review

2011-12-31T13:32:00.001-06:00

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, January 2011

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne my friends,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia, New Year's Day 2011

Warlord Ladies at the Yamato Awa Odori Festival, Japan, July 2011

We two have paddled in the stream
From morning sun til dine,
But seas between us broad have roared
Since auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne my friends,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Rebekah and Sumie-sensei at Tea Ceremony Lessons, Japan, 2011

Nicole and me at The Peninsula Hotel, Japan, March 2011

And there's a hand my trusty friend,
And give us a hand o' thine!
We'll take a right goodwill draught
For auld lang syne.

Brittany, me and Elaine on our Ichiban Collectibles buy trip, Chiang Mai, Thailand, March 2011

Evacuating Japan with Nicole at Narita Airport, Japan, March 2011

This was more or less what this year's Japanniversary post was going to be about, but now that we're back in the States I guess it makes more sense for the Year in Review post to fall at...you know...the New Year.

Early in 2011 I told my parents, "Living in Japan has been really cool, but we do not have a 'normal.' Chris is always gone or about to leave, or there's some emergency at work at they're working crazy hours. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to fantasize about moving back to the States, having a baby in a stroller, and living in a house with counter space and a Kitchenaid mixer with a pasta attachment." My dad laughed, "If I didn't hear you saying this I wouldn't have believed it!"

Carsen's 5th Birthday Party, Dallas, Texas, April 2011

Luke, Amber and kiddos plus Grandma in Katy, Texas, June 2011

And that was at the beginning of the year, before being detained on an ex-Marine base in Vietnam; before we found out we were expecting a bean; before Chris became NATOPS officer and stayed at work around the clock; before flying to Chiang Mai for work; before Japan's horrifying earthquake, tsunami and radiation disaster; before evacuating with the cats as nuclear radiation reports and rumors climbed and everyone worried whether further leaks could put the Bean in danger; before a surprise three-month evacu-cation in the Crowded House (with its five other house guests throughout the summer, not including my parents, who live there) in Texas without my husband and with our wills and important documents; before Chris and his squadron relocated to do search and rescue in the disaster zone;

Pregnant Lady Riding the Train, Japan, September 2011

Isaac at Home in Japan, October 2011

...before doing that awful trans-Pacific flight for the eighth, ninth and tenth times; before Japan's mandatory power savings turned off the country's air conditioning and stranded a very large, hot and pregnant Mari at home; before selling the scooter; before leaving my favorite job EVER at Ichiban Collectibles; before a surprise ending to our next duty station request and a new job for Chris; before going miserably overdue, then having a 23-hour labor and last-minute C-section; before having the cutest baby ever in the world (objectively speaking); before going to Kyoto with a four-week-old and returning 36 hours before the movers arrived;

Grandma and Isaac, Japan, October 2011

Two Weeks Old, Japan, October 2011

...before living in eight different places in three months, plus having two colds, and a sick baby twice; before saying goodbye to the best friends I've ever had; before moving internationally with a five-week-old; before living out of a suitcase for six of the last 12 months (series coming soon: Motel Living. No, really); before driving more than 1,500 miles in a month with a tiny baby (that's the distance from Toronto to Miami, or from Barcelona to Amsterdam). It's been kind of a crazy year, and I. Am. Ready. For. Some. Normalcy. Boredom even, if you will.

Chris and Isaac at Home, Japan, October 2011

Three Kruegers in Kyoto, Japan, October, 2011

New Years' Resolutions include: Traveling as little as possible. Not being this grouchy monster that has emerged after sleepless nights and constant displacement. To move into our house before the closing date gets pushed back a third time. Planting lime and orange trees in the back yard. Living where all my stuff is. Not starting sentences with, "In Japan...."

One Month Old, Japan, November 2011

Vogue Fashion's Night Out, Tokyo, Japan, November 2011

This New Year's Eve I thought of the last three years: last year we spent New Year's Eve in Saigon and New Year's Day at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The year before we literally rang in the New Year with Hannah and Justin at a temple in Tokyo. Our first year in Japan we went to a party with friends and spent New Year's Day in Kamakura. And the year before that? We had a great time with Hannah and Justin and the Ellers in Houston's Rice Village. This year headed over to Hannah and Justin's (surprise), put our sweet tiny babies to bed, and stayed up until midnight with our parents talking about the year's bests and worsts, and resolutions for 2012. I've always liked the song Auld Lang Syne, and now more than ever I like its sad remembrance of friends far away.

Life Chapel International, November 2011

Ezekiel and Isaac, Texas, December 2011

Now, hallelujah, we are DONE driving across Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to get to Texas and back. The families have met and snuggled Isaac. We had a lovely Thanksgiving with Chris' family and a fun and busy Christmas with mine---that would be my parents, siblings, spouses, and all nine---NINE---grandkids! With Chris' family we went bowling, had quiet evenings at home, mini reunions with extended family, and dinners at a couple of nice restaurants where our usually sedate baby cried loud and developed a fever (um...sorry about that).

Isaac and Grandad, Texas, November 2011

Isaac and Grammie, Texas, November 2011

With my family Chris and I got creamed at bananagrams, played four square, enjoyed mornings and evenings in front of the fireplace, and corralled small people to the park. Chris hadn't been to Texas since Hannah and Justin's wedding in May 2009, so it was great to spend time all together, especially as Luke, Amber and the riffraff head off on their new adventure in Alaska! We'll come visit! ("You're breaking your no travel resolution already," Chris said). Hmm.

Mama, Daddy and EVERYONE! Texas, November 2011

Shortest to Tallest, Texas, November 2011

To Isaac, Love Santa, Texas, December 2011

The Annual Saugier Family Talent Show, Texas, December 2011

As a final note: my two main Christmas presents, about which I am super excited, were a vacuum cleaner (THANK YOU!!) and a kitchenaid mixer (THANK YOU)!! That is how I know I am a boring, mature person, which bodes very well for a nice, normal year! Happy New Year!

LA Last Summer: I Don't Get It.

2011-12-27T09:00:00.000-06:00

Chris picked me up at LAX and took me to experience quintessential LA: traffic. We didn't have plans to spend much time there; nothing about LA really appeals to me. Sure enough, it seemed like one dumpy area after another with some super-swank ritzy areas wedged in between.
Hollywood's Walk of Fame mystified us. What are we supposed to be doing here? Why is this ratty theater famous? What's so cool about taking a picture with a piece of sidewalk bearing your favorite star's name? Are we missing something? Why are all the other tourists so devoid of good fashion sense? Well, we didn't miss lunch. Mirabelle Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard served up a delicious Chopped Mirabelle Salad (for me) and a tasty wrap of some sort for Chris. "Did you save me any fries?" I asked. "...Did you want some?" asked Chris two hours after our reunion, unfamiliar with the eating preferences of Pregnant Mari. Everything seemed brighter as we approached San Diego despite the fact that the sun had long since set. "I've never actually been to LA," my mom, a San Diego native, later confessed. "You can see why we had kind of an attitude toward it." Yes, yes we can.

If you love LA will you please tell me why? I won't judge; I love Houston, after all.

Objectively Speaking....

2011-12-22T11:00:00.000-06:00

baby stink eye evolved into baby wink eye

Chris is holding Isaac in front of him, studiously frowning slightly.

Me: "Uh...what's up?"

Chris: "Objectively speaking, I mean, being completely objective, he really is the cutest baby in the world."

Me: (snort) "Objectively speaking?"

Chris: "Yeah! He is the cutest. Objectively speaking."

Me: "Objectively speaking."

Chris: "Yeah. What?"

Me: (Grin, shrug, grow serious) "Well, yeah. I agree."

Chris: (shrug) "Objectively speaking."

Isaac never slept more than two or three hours until a few days before Thanksgiving. I polled the folks and the in-laws and it turns out Chris and I both survived sleeping on our tummies as babies. Hitherto, Chris refused to let me put Isaac down on his stomach, but after three or four days of him waking up every 90 minutes, we were desperate. I laid him carefully on my side of the bed and he immediately zonked out cold. I was so desperate for sleep that I slept on the floor so we wouldn't have to move him. In Chris' defense, he tried to get me to sleep on his side so he could sleep on the floor, but I was too tired to move. Isaac slept FIVE HOURS. He's slept on his tummy ever since (and has not suffocated yet). Surprise, as soon as he started sleeping in slightly longer stretches my incision stopped burning, I stopped taking pain medicine, and I no longer want to kill everybody all the time! It's a Christmas miracle.

baby it's cold outside

At church a few weeks ago Isaac slept sweetly in my lap, then woke up and smiled quietly at me the rest of the service, grabbing my finger tightly in his chubby hand. "Now this is how I dreamed babies would be!" I thought, recognizing that it will never actually happen again. "A warm, cuddly, socially acceptable pet!"

Dec 3, two months old

This week he's waking up every two to three hours, and last night he spit up all over me, peed and pooped on me. All at different times. But every time I'd change his diaper he'd break into a huge grin, giggle and coo at me.

Babies: masters of brainwashing techniques: sleep deprivation, repetition, dehumanizing of individuals by keeping them (me) in filth, inculcation of guilt, sensory deprivation, group social pressure, etc. So even at 12:30am...and 3:30am...and 6am...and 8am... who could resent this little guy? He's kind of the cutest. Ever. You know, objectively speaking.

Kyoto's Imperial Palace

2011-12-21T23:00:00.000-06:00

Me: "So...the Imperial Palace was kind of a snore fest."
Chris: "Yeah. But I'm glad we did it."
Isaac: (Zzzzzzzzzzzz)

We returned to Kyoto in 2011 with four-week-old Isaac to tour Kyoto's Imperial Palace and Fushimi Inari Shrine. But after we bought our shinkansen tickets and reserved our hotel we of course discovered the English tours were all full for the entire time we were there. Prepared traveler fail. No sweat, we are resourceful; we joined the Japanese tour. That's right, we spent our third Japanniversary becoming authentic Japanese tourists!

When we stayed in a Kyoto temple in May 2009, we arrived at the palace to discover that, not only was it already closed, but we would have needed our passports to apply for the mandatory (free) guided tour. The original Kyoto traveler fail. So please note: Kyoto's Imperial Palace is closed on weekends most (but not all) of the year. You can apply for the one-hour tour in person, or reserve spots online at the Imperial Household Agency website. Do that four days to three months ahead of time and print out proof of your reservation. Also bring your passports---the Chinese family behind us had a problem with their paperwork and did not accompany us on the tour. Also note: four weeks post-C-section, we took a cab from the Hotel New Miyako at Kyoto Station and it cost Y1,600(!!); we took a vicadin and the train back.

It turns out the original palace burned down and the emperor borrowed one of his lord's summer homes or something, and eventually that just became the palace. Then that burned down too, because flames---more than earthquakes---are the bane of Japanese historic buildings, and it was rebuilt into the present structure in 1855. But the palace can't get a break; just 14 years later the Meiji Restoration moved Japan's seat of power to awesome Tokyo, where the party never stops, and tourists began filling out applications for the Kyoto has-been. That could kind of be the history for hundreds of Japanese buildings, temples, politicians, cities, families, etc. So it wasn't the most exciting Japanese site we've seen, but it was the completion of a long standing goal, and a rather lovely warm fall day.

Dance
To greet His Majesty
In Kyoto, His ancestral place,
The Yase-dohji,
The palanquin bearers, dance
Tonight under the young moon.
~Year-end Waka poem by His Majesty the Emperor, 2004, 16th year of Heisei

More Gingerbread House

2011-12-21T21:51:00.000-06:00

Daddy: WHAT, NO FOTO OF THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE? FINISH THE POST BY POSTING A FOTO OF THE GB HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHEESH, AND MAKE IT AN ARTY FOTO TOO.

Passport Diaries Response Team: Um, there WAS a foto of the gingerbread house!! Toward the bottom! It's not very artsy. Maybe I'll redo it.

Mum: Uh, Kent. Check again, dude. It was there (should I be worried, kids?).

Daddy: You are correct. I did not see the two fotos that are together there, the GBHouse and you and Mr. Isaac. Foto good enough, no need to reshoot.

PDRT: NOPE. Artsy foto just for you!

Daddy: That is a very good foto. Maybe you should put that in ur blog.

Our 2009 gingerbread house substantiates Chris' claim that this year's is our best ever.

Life at Life Chapel

2011-12-20T23:00:00.000-06:00

This is one of those posts that has been sitting in the queue for months. Selecting the photos was easy, but even talkaholic Mari can't find words to honor this church that blessed us so much. It's impossible to say how thankful I am to have attended Life Chapel International while we lived in Japan. Our schedule was in constant flux. Our social life seemed to revolve around the squadron, as opposed to the States where we had more time to spend with friends we made at church. But Life Chapel welcomed and befriended us even when we couldn't participate in all the extras we would have liked to.

I waddled into church late in September and Pastor Paul said, "Ah! Mari is here! We thought maybe the baby had come! Please tell someone when you go to the hospital!" And in fact I went into labor early the next Sunday, so I made sure to call Nicole and have her make my excuses. Six days after Isaac (finally) came around, we introduced him to the people who'd prayed him through his delivery. One friend sanitized her hands as soon as the service was over and held out her arms for him. "This is the newest baby I've ever held!" she said. "Before this it was a six-week-old!" Another lady looked at me with huge eyes: "What are you doing here??" she asked, because Japanese women don't take their babies out of the house for a month or two. I shrugged. "Is it ok?" asked Eri, patting her stomach. "Oh, no problem---lots of pain medicine!" I said.

Two weeks later we dedicated Isaac before our brothers and sisters in Christ. They prayed God would protect and bless Isaac as he grows and would call him into a relationship with Christ. Chris thanked everyone for welcoming us into the church body. It was important to me to dedicate Isaac here before we moved, to promise our church we will raise Isaac in admonition of the Lord (Eph 6:4).

Ryo leading worship

But anyway, before all that, we've gone on hikes with our friends here, had them over for dinner, and gone to their places (that remains the only Japanese home we were invited to in three years in Japan). Our names were included on the September birthday cake Tomoko made. We went to festivals together. We had after-church parties. We celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas together for real. Martha and Amanda threw a church baby shower for Yoshiko and me where everyone closed their eyes and drew a baby. "Mari's having an octopus!" Yoshiko giggled.

People keep asking what we'll miss most about Japan. The people, of course. The friends we made, American and Japanese, and our church. It's hard enough to find a solid church in the States, and here in Japan we started off without much luck. But then we came here, where Pastor Paul's sermons always taught me something new and piercing.

Amanda, Morie, Chris, Mari, Shoko, Konomi

They had a going away party for us our last Sunday. We were completely floored. I'm emotionally retarded when it comes to goodbyes; I prefer not to think about it and pretend everything will continue as normal. Looking at everything---everyone---we were leaving made my stomach twist. But I know I will see them again. Like Pastor Paul says: "Amen, mina-san?"

Christmas Post

2011-12-19T21:32:00.001-06:00

Chris has asked me on several separate occasions if I plan to blog about our gingerbread house. "It's our best gingerbread house ever!" he says every time I admit it hasn't yet gotten a post. Upon review, I found I'd started five---FIVE---unfinished posts. This is because I can upload pictures with one hand, but kind of need two hands to type. Both of my hands are usually occupied these days. But here, to delight my husband and finish something for once (a rarity these days), is a Christmas Post! Which, yes, includes the gingerbread house!

Here are some of our Christmas activities these year: picking out a Christmas tree with Hannah, Justin, Ezekiel and my parents; dressing Isaac in his Christmas footie pajamas that feature jungle animals in Santa hats and posing him next to Ezekiel for the Cutest Cousin Picture Ever; having peppermint mochas and fudgy mint chocolate mega cookies at the mall before introducing a very sleepy Isaac to the world's scariest Santa:

(Christmas activities continued): decorating our BOQ room with a pine wreath on the front door and a miniature counter-top pine; doing regular drive-bys of our biggest Christmas present to each other ever: our unfinished house! and looking at lights around the neighborhood; attending the Redneck Christmas Parade; and, of course, building our annual GINGERBREAD HOUSE.

Isaac seems to sleep through a lot of these activities (Santa is ho ho ho-hum). Twinkle lights sparkle on the Blackwater River as you cross the bridge west into downtown Milton. The city has decorated the waterfront with a revolving carousel, trotting horses, twinkling pagodas, and this tunnel of lights that reminded me of Christmas lights in Miyagase with friends last year. As Chris said, "I mean, I wouldn't drive all the way out here for this, but since we live here it's nice!" And speaking of driving, this week we're going to drive all the way to Texas...AGAIN...to let the family Christmas celebrations begin!

Wait, a final note: At our first Christmas season church service this year the pastor encouraged everyone to see the Christmas story anew. I had just been contemplating how wonderful it is to sing the old Christmas hymns for the first time in years. Three years of celebrating Christmas in new ways (Christmas cake! Date night! Romance?!) has me longing for all the old carols and traditions: our family Christmas talent show, lighting the Advent candles, wassail, Nativities, and, you know, thinking about Christ's birth! This year I am burnt out on New and will firmly entrench into Old. Merry Christmas from Florida!

A Redneck Christmas

2011-12-13T15:36:00.000-06:00

It may be uncharitable to say some denizens of the Pensacola area are white trash. Rather, we were surprised and delighted to find we'd arrived back in town just in time to join 15-20,000 for Chumuckla's annual Redneck Christmas Parade. Chris reminded me recently that he grew up rounding up cattle and field dressing deer on the family ranch. So maybe redneck-ville is where the Kruegers fit in the Pensacola line up after all, I mused as we drove through cotton fields and parked alongside a harvested peanut field Saturday morning. I must admit, Thursday nights in College Station were reserved for parking in the cow pasture and two-stepping at The Hall, so living here has all of us tapping into our redneck reserves. That being said....

The Redneck Christmas Parade ranged from rednecks in ernest to self-effacing redneck humor to missing-the-point tacky rednecks.

Every iteration of leafy camo showed up in force: Santa caps, coveralls, overalls, baby blankets, baby slings, jackets for all ages, waders. Many floats had empty dip tobacco cans and bottles of Jack Daniels interspersed with Christmas lights on scrawny trees next to beat up couches on makeshift porches. People went fast and loose with the Confederate battle flag, draping on floats and attendant vehicles. A contingent of Civil War reenactors marched by, flags snapping. Then some floats were just advertisements, like one for trailer homes. It wasn't clear whether other floats had done any special decorating to show their redneckness, like the truck with those awful truck nuts sporting a blowup doll on the hood and a teen girl smoking in the back with friends. Another truck tossed a can of beer to the family next to us.

Which brings me to my next point: it was unclear whether we were supposed to watch the trucks moving by, or whether we were supposed to parade along and enjoy the observers. One family brought an outhouse. I did not stick around to see if anyone was using it. We watched the parade alongside three other families, two of them multigenerational. One kind old cowboy offered us his truck as a windbreak if we got cold. The middle family wasn't very interesting, just a lot of yelling and smoking. The final family---the one that caught the beer---was the best.

Mom and dad were drinking beer when we got there while their teenage daughter played with her baby on a picnic blanket. Two other kids in head-to-toe leafy camo played in the peanut field. Dad had no front teeth. As the parade started, he called to Memaw and helped her out of the car. She watched the parade, smoking, from her wheelchair, calling out in a low, gravely voice from time to time, "Boys! You missed some beads! There's some candy over there!" They were kind enough to each other, seemed nice...and hit the stereotype nail on the head.

Was the parade finished? Hard to say, as the decorations dwindled to within the range of enthusiastic supporters. I carried Isaac, whose big blue eyes in his fluffy zip-up warmie had been awarded an array of sparkly mardi gras beads and two stuffed animals (which, upon inspection, looked a little too used to be given to a baby on the cusp of chomping everything; they were re-tossed to the leafy camo kids next to us). Chris pushed the stroller and we turned back to the car. But what's this? More floats? So are all these trucks part of the procession? And what's all that noise? Sirens and fire trucks led the parade, but now an ambulance was screaming back toward us. All forward momentum stopped and everyone cleared a path. The ambulance proceeded to the middle of the parade. We---rednecked out---proceeded to the car. And to think I was afraid there wouldn't be any interesting culture here to blog about.

On The Road Again---Louisiana

2011-12-08T14:44:00.002-06:00

My family stair-stepped down in height when we crowded around this Louisiana-shaped sign upon moving to Texas 20 years ago. Now our tiny baby posed with Chris and me two hours into this second leg of our new hobby of driving back and forth between Florida and Texas.

The nice Louisiana ladies at the welcome center cooed over Isaac, asking how old he is. He's just turned two months and can turn his precious fuzzy head to smile and wink at everyone. "And you already have him out?" Lady, you have no idea. They gave him a Louisiana pin to commemorate his second trip across the state.

I like the South with its live oaks and draping Spanish moss. Chris' Aunt Kathy gave us a collection of plantation recipes while we were in Houston and I'm excited to try some out!

And We're Saved!!

2011-11-29T15:57:00.002-06:00

Thanks, Houston Fire Department!!

And no, no one gave us free meatballs.

We Are Stuck In An Elevator

2011-11-29T15:43:00.002-06:00

This is Mari, Isaac and a little girl reporting live from the elevator at Ikea. The doors closed as we entered and hitting the Door Open button to wait for Chris and her mom resulted in a screechy breaking noise and all the buttons going dead. The fire department is coming. Do we get free meatballs for this?

Thanksgiving is My Favorite Holiday

2011-11-24T15:15:00.002-06:00

Three wonderful Thanksgivings in Japan are tough to beat. I made my specialty---cranberry sauce---for each.

For the first we joined lots of new friends and headed to the Sharps' home, where I was offered my first employment in Japan in the form of one of my favorite English classes. The next day we moved into our J house with the kitties! Year two saw Thanksgiving at our house, the easiest hosting ever because the Olivers, Mays and Sharps all had their own favorite dishes they wanted to bring. So fun and relaxed! That fall the leaves flamed out into the most glorious colors I could imagine---one my standout memories of the country. And last year my parents visited and we celebrated early since Chris deployed the day before Thanksgiving.

But this year we are back in Texas with our tiny baby, who of course tops my thankful list. Isn't he so handsome? We get to be with Chris' family today and tomorrow head to my family to see all four kids, spouses, and all NINE grandkids in one chaotic bundle!

Last night Chris' mom rocked a fussy Isaac into a peaceful slumber so I could make my two fall favorites: upside-down pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. I told them my family's tradition as I bustled around making a mess in her kitchen:

The night before Thanksgiving I always make the cranberry sauce. My dad leads the men in the Manly Art of Pie Making. Everyone prepares something---kids old enough to be awake are set to work toasting bread and hacking it to pieces with bladeless knives for the stuffing. One year we were short handed and my dad admitted that important job was created solely to occupy us while they got things ready before we were old enough to be of real help. Hey!

And an important aspect of this tradition is the music: The World Turned Upside-Down is music popular in England around the American Revolution. My parents got it in Colonial Williamsburg when we were little and gave us each a copy when we got married. Our copy is somewhere on the Pacific Ocean, but we'll have it in time for next year. The tradition lives on!

I-10 West

2011-11-18T17:25:00.002-06:00

Last night we bought another used car for Chris, bringing our week of start-up purchases and over productivity in Florida to a close. Today we loaded up the Picky Pelican (that would be my 4 runner) and hit Interstate 10 for the 512 mile drive to Chris' parents' house in Houston.

We are probably about over the jet lag, although it's hard to say since we're always tired. Several people suggested the time zone switch would cure Isaac's day/night reversal. This has not been the case. Yesterday, in fact, he napped only two hours between 2pm and 3am. He was fussy and trying to sleep, but kept waking up crying in pain with gas. Very distressing, especially since I avoid gas-producing foods but obviously ate something that didn't agree with him.

Oh well, he's sound asleep snuggled in his car seat now as we cruise over the Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana state lines. Baby road trip! It's fun being back in the South again, riding off into the sunset over rivers, swamps and coastlands. And the nomads drive on!

Jet Lag

2011-11-13T01:54:00.001-06:00

It's 5am and Isaac is sleeping soundly. Chris and I, however, have a bad case of jet lag and have been up since Isaac's 2am snack. Le sigh. I tried to sleep but I kept mentally decorating our house. That's right---our HOUSE!!! we met with a realtor Saturday, found exactly what we wanted and submitted a bid with earnest money this afternoon, just in time to pick paint and tile colors. We should be in by New Years. Then we bought this excellent used car. And Friday we got new phone numbers. Not bad for being here just 72 hours! Now for some sleep. As soon as we get some insurance. And groceries. Thank you to everyone who was praying for this process to be expedited. I know you were many.

A Bittersweet Japanniversary

2011-11-09T10:18:00.004-06:00

We spent our third and final Japanniversary showing Issac the sights in Kyoto. October 29. Three years. So much has happened since we arrived staring at each other in terror as the plane landed at Narita Airport. And so much has happened this year alone: getting sick in Cambodia and detained in Vietnam, a buy trip to Thailand, Japan's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, a surprise three-month separation and camp-out at my parents' in Texas, a visit to San Diego, and---oh yeah---a baby!

I would not say the time seems to have flown by, but these days I certainly do feel like I'm living in some kind of jet lagged time warp of sleep deprivation. All of a sudden the time I had to finish things up in Japan is gone---our bags are packed; we depart in the morning.

"Are you so excited to leave?" several people have asked. No: I'm really sad to leave Japan---the best friends I've ever had, exotic ports of call, the bright lights of Tokyo. But I am SO excited to be heading back to the States---air filters and central air conditioning, being closer to family, counter space, the beach, sink disposals, English.

Three years ago we were unpacking and settling in for fall; here is where I first saw the glory that is the changing of the seasons. And now, back in temporary housing on base, I look around and find the season again has changed.

Sayounara, Japan. Hello, USA!

Fashion's Night Out Japan!

2011-11-05T09:14:00.007-05:00

How to spend a final weekend in Japan with friends I will miss a ton? Fortunately Tokyo always delivers: it's Fashion's Night Out Japan 2011!Mary researched this special performance by Kyoto maiko. "One more thing checked off my Japan bucket list!" she said afterwards. The musician sang and played her shamisen while the maiko, who've been practicing two and four years, danced stories about watching Japanese maple leaves flutter to the ground and the changing of the seasons. Chris and I arrived in Japan in the fall; we'll leave in the fall. I'll always associate fall with Japan, so the dances were poignant and perfect!

Vogue Brazil asked our group---Lauren, Brittany, Sarah, Leslie, Mary, Rebekah, me---to pose for a photo. Rebekah got lots of compliments on her stunning black and red obi tied traditionally and worn untraditionally with a black knit dress. East meets West---it's so us!

After the maiko performance, we strolled down Omotesando Boulevard to Omotesando Hills to support whatever charity this is supporting by...buying t-shirts and makeup bags. We are doing our part. From there we joined the party in Dior and sipped more champagne with our one million best friends. I headed back a little early, but my friends---and the party that is Tokyo---glittered on into the night.

One Crazy Month

2011-11-03T09:03:00.006-05:00

Isaac woke up screaming to be fed at 1am, exactly a month after we heard his baby wail for the first time. Delighted. Chris and I celebrated this milestone by snapping at each other in the wee hours of the morning. No, we actually celebrated with a day of groggy, sleep deprived $ucce$$: the movers finished carting off our belongings, we cleaned for tomorrow's final inspection, and---most importantly---Chris picked Isaac's passport and Consular Report of Birth Abroad from the US Embassy in Tokyo!! Happy one-month, baby---now we can take you to America!

Also, in further success, I wore my pre-pregnancy fat jeans in public for the first time post-baby. In un-success, Isaac has decided to stop sleeping for three-hour stretches at night and wakes up all Mr. Fussypants at 90-minute intervals. I haven't slept more than an hour and a half in five days. So when Mr. Wiggly-kick-you-in-the-stitches-Fussypants comes calling he is sometimes accompanied by my acquaintance Ms. Vicodin.

Anyway, this has been a crazy month (photo: Isaac the day we brought him home from the hospital). Isaac has been to Yokosuka, Tokyo and Kyoto and has lived at home and now in the BOQ on base. He met Grandma, took his first train ride and got his first passport. We celebrated our third Japanniversary in Kyoto just days before moving out. And I am in such desperate need of sleep I've turned into an anti-social grouch.

Isaac goo-ed and grinned up at Chris and me tonight after dinner. "How could anyone not love that smile?" fawned Chris. "I know!" I gushed, "...Except in the middle of the night, when it feels like he's mocking you." Chris agreed: "'Try to sleep now, suckers!'" Besides his blossoming ability to smile and giggle, Isaac can almost hold his head up (photo: Isaac at one month). He can look around, make eye contact, squeeze your fingers, and flash gang signs with his startle reflex. Sometimes he smiles or sticks his tongue out after I do. And Chris and I figured out why we've been at odds (understatement) since Isaac arrived: "I'm in pain all the time, I'm never well-rested, and I'm completely overwhelmed with the move," I told Chris. "So I'm super frustrated, but when the baby's crying and crying, I can't be mad at him---he's a baby; he's supposed to cry. But I can be mad at you for any number of things that wouldn't normally bother me." "So true," said Chris, nodding. That is probably obvious to normal people, but in this month's fog that seemed like quite an ah-ha moment for us.

And here we are at Kyoto's Heien-Jingu Shrine last weekend, adding to the chaos. What were we thinking? We were thinking we wanted Isaac to have seen some of the country he was born in before it's too late, I guess!

Nara's Haunted Primeval Forest

2011-10-31T09:11:00.004-05:00

The sun set early on a rainy late October day in ancient Nara. Water rushed, dripped and fell all around as the light faded slowly to a gray mist in Japan's Kasuga-Taisha Shrine, which the information booth guy said is Japan's highest-ranked Shinto shrine. We found it folded into the Kasagayama Primeval Forest as a chill descended on the already cool day. Stone lanterns loomed up from just beyond the gravel pathway, their vacant faces devoid of light. They did nothing to cut the deep darkness. The slosh of wet gravel beneath our feet drowned out most sound, but indistinct and far off, a shrill cry pierced the hushed darkness. Shadowy shapes shifted before us on the path and Nara's deer materialized between the tree roots twisting on either side. Somewhere we'd taken a wrong turn.

An inhuman scream just ahead froze us in place. A wild-eyed deer---horns shorn off and steam billowing from its gaping snout---wheezed out three hoarse shrieks. I shouted in surprise, tightening my grasp on the baby and Chris; the creature lumbered off and we proceeded through the blackness. Suddenly our shadows lengthened in front of us as we were outlined in a car's headlights. I didn't know this wide, gravel path was a road; I turned to see where the car was coming from or going, but the light vanished and the car disappeared when I looked back.

A creepy old building rose up to our right amidst towering, gnarled old trees with blue and purple light issuing from its high windows. Chris approached the iron gate and a girl in black materialized. "Haunted house?" Chris asked. "Halloween?" But no, this is a very special after-hours Buddhist art exhibition...won't you come in? We were cold and soaked through, but this seemed a little too much like a set up for a bad horror movie, especially in Japan, which is filled with creepy legends of men who fell in love and married beautiful women who turn out to be dead ghouls.

Anyway, we continued and the rain subsided. An iron temple bell tolled solemnly and I thought of:

"Hear the tolling of the bells -

Iron bells!

What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!

In the silence of the night,

How we shiver with affright

At the melancholy menace of their tone!

For every sound that floats

From the rust within their throats

Is a groan...."

"The Bells" by Edgar Allen Poe

Just before we reached the train station, we passed an illuminated pagoda in a complex under construction. High in the rafters of the temple, lights flashed and moved throughout the floor. I'm sure it was just a security detail, but I was still relieved when we got out to a busy thoroughfare. I can't remember ever finding myself alone in the dark in Japan before, and I recommend taking precautions against it...especially on Halloween.

How to Succeed in Natural Childbirth

2011-10-20T06:54:00.000-05:00

Warning: If you're looking for actual info on natural childbirth, look elsewhere immediately.

Warning II: This post contains---at my mom's request and against my vanity---some of those awful first puffy-faced 'meet the baby' pictures. Sorry.

I woke up feeling crappy at 2am October 2. Around 5am I woke Chris and my mom; we ate breakfast, showered, and got to Yokosuka around 8am. Here the guards gave my mom a hard time for not having a special base pass. I'd called the hospital before she arrived and asked what to do to get her a pass so we wouldn't have this problem, but they had no idea. We ended up having to leave her at the gate and Chris returned for her after checking me into the hospital. Lame.

The nurse confirmed I was in labor and guessed the baby would be born in the early afternoon. Woo hoo! They asked about my method of pain management and I told them I'd been practicing the deep breathing exercises as described in the book I'd been reading: "The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth." (laugh here) I mean, my mom and my sister did it au naturale---sans medication---so I was going to try that, too.

Here's where I went wrong: I was prepared to deal with it for a relatively short labor, like my mom and my sister had. Yet the nurse came in again and again and reported very little progression, even after the doc broke the baby's water around 2pm. That was very discouraging.

After I'd been at the hospital past the amount of time it had taken my sis to deliver, and without being anywhere close to pushing that baby out, I gave up and asked for some narcotics. People say childbirth can't be compared to anything, but I thought it was remarkably similar to having a kidney infection added to one of those bouts of travelers' diarrhea that incapacitates you with barfing and cramping agony to the point where your mind is numb with pain and you pray for death. I did.

Anyway, my sis labored with a cute flower clipped into her hair, so I wore furry puffballs. At this point, however, I ripped them out and handed them to Chris. Then the nurse told me no, I still had not progressed AT ALL, so I asked for an epidural. At that point, I felt like I'd thrown in the towel; I also felt hopeful for the first time in hours. Now I could save up some energy for pushing.

Finally, late at night, 20 hours after I'd first woken up in labor, it was time to push. It didn't take long for the doctor to announce, "I see his head! He's blond!" I didn't understand why we kept pushing for so long after that, but the nurse explained the baby's head seemed to be stuck. "Just push as hard as you can and his skull might mold enough to squeeze through!" they said. Then the doctor helpfully pushed the baby back in so we could try it again. And again. And again. "He's transverse, so his head is sideways and I'm not trained in transverse forceps delivery," the doc said after a couple hours, striking fear into my very core. All those things sounded scary.

After three hours of this, she recommended going to the operating room for a c-section. I started to cry---labor fail---but I was secretly relieved because an end was in sight for the first time all day. Now I was really glad I'd gotten the epidural, even if it was turned all the way down at the moment, because it meant less wait before it was all over. "You'll feel pressure, but no pain," someone told me as I incoherently signed form after form. I'd filled out these forms weeks before, thinking, "Waste of time...c-section blah blah blah, disregard."

Again, I'd mentally prepared for labors like my family's. I didn't have another reference point, so when people talked about long labors and c-sections I tuned out. Mental preparation fail. Actually, I tune out when people talk about labor in general---that's scary stuff. I'd hoped I'd be a "The Good Earth" delivery person: the wife is working alongside her husband in their Chinese rice field, announces "It's time," delivers at home alone, then ties the baby on her back and rejoins her husband in the field a few hours later to tell him, "It's a man child," and get back to work. Instead I turned out to be one of those prairie wives who die young in childbirth, leaving her husband alone on the homestead out West. Historic personification fail.

Anyway, I would say I was not mentally or physically prepared to be wheeled into the OR at 1am October 3. "Do you want something for anxiety?" the nurse asked. I declined, thinking, "Why would I need something for anxiety? They're numbing my body and it's almost over." Warning: gross fact: apparently they remove the uterus during a c-section, take the baby out, then stitch up the uterus and stuff if back in. GROSS!

And the baby was stuck in my pelvis, so I'm lying there under a sheet thinking, "Everything about pregnancy is so undignified...do not think about what all that yanking is," as several doctors and nurses pushed and pulled the baby out. Chris held my hand. Then the baby cried. I cried. Chris squeezed my hand, went to check on the baby and came back: "He's beautiful, Mari. He's perfect." The fingers on my left hand were tingling and numb. Then I couldn't breathe. I felt like my neck and lungs were closing; I gasped for air.

"What's the matter, Mari?" the anesthesiologist asked, slowly and evenly.

"I don't know! I'm freaking out a little because I can't breathe! Can I get whatever that was for anxiety?"

"Someone check her vitals."

"Vitals are fine."

I saw the anesthesiologist measuring liquid in a syringe. Then I woke up in a hospital room because a nurse was making a ton of noise banging around on a computer right by my head.

"Where's Chris? Where's my baby? Where's my mom?"

"Oh, you're awake. That stuff usually puts people out for 12 hours and it's only been two. You must have really needed it."

"Yeah, I was kind of freaking out."

"The baby's head was too big to fit through your pelvis, so even if he wasn't transverse you would have needed a c-section."

"What?! All that labor for nothing?"

"No, it's still good for your body to have labored."

"Says you," I thought, but instead said, "Whoa, without modern medicine the baby and I would both be dead."

"Girl, you can't think like that!"

"Well, I'm kind of thankful!" I said.

The nurse shrugged and turned back to banging on the computer.

Chris was right there. It was 3:30am. Two corpsmen pushed the baby in and gave him a bath, then handed him to me. "How would I know if this was my baby?" I wondered. I didn't see him come out. I've been out of it for a while. I thought our baby would look just like Chris. This baby looks like me---huge cheeks and my eyes. Everyone thinks he has Chris' hair. Kawaiiiiiiii! He snuggled at my side until my mom arrived back at the hospital a couple hours later.

She told me she'd been waiting near the nursery for the baby to come out of the OR but instead saw a blue scrub-clad Chris lying on a hospital bed. My freak out---combined with the organs out on my stomach---put Chris over the edge ("I thought I was about to lose my wife!") and he just managed to exit the OR before blacking out. Aren't we a pair. We've done much better since. The baby and I both had to be on a million antibiotics; apparently I'd had a slight fever and uterine infection during labor because it was taking so long. We both had awful IVs that hurt and stung and made it hard to feed him, but after a couple days of people coming in to check stuff every 10 minutes we got to go home. And that is the beginning!

(Tiny) Man About Town

2011-10-15T01:53:00.007-05:00

Chris and I silently sipped coffee in the tatami room while the baby took a morning nap. Two weeks ago we walked six miles with my mom to Hikichidai Park and back with no signs of labor. My, how two weeks will change your life. Chris straightened up suddenly. "Today is the Yamato Shrine Sale!" he said. "No, it's...ooh, you're right," I said. "I think we should go," said Chris. "It's our last chance, plus I want to try putting Isaac in the Bjorn." Ok, maybe every aspect of life doesn't change that much.

Isaac got to meet several of our friends, and I met some new obi and bowls. Chris met a new festival hapi coat. Lots of Japanese asked Chris how old Isaac is. Isaac started to cry and an older woman helpfully informed me he was hungry---by grabbing my boob. I am not making that up. Chris stared at me: "Did she just boob tap you?" I stood there mutely, stunned. I mean, I've heard of people getting groped on Japanese trains, and I've witnessed the lack of personal space around a baby belly. But come on, people---isn't it pretty much an international standard that the chest is off limits?!
I took Isaac on his first stroll along the Hikichigawa a few days ago. We paused at the bridge where I take pictures, and I showed him the graveyard near our house that often smells sweet with incense. I like the fresh air and smiles we get on our walks, but I must admit it was a challenge to defend this tasty baby from all the vulturous mosquitoes. A week prior, last Thursday, was our first full day home from the hospital. My mom suggested driving over to Hikichidai Park and looping around part of the kilometer track to follow the doc's advise of walking as much as possible. I kind of hobbled along, stopping frequently to sit on the park's many benches. My mom snuggled Isaac and was on the receiving end of a knowing look and kind smile from an elderly Japanese man. "He just gave me the 'new grandbaby nod'!" she said. About a year ago I'd driven the Scoop over to this park by myself to look at the changing leaves. This year, I got to come with Chris, our brand new baby, and my mom!

And speaking of brand new babies, will someone tell me why they sleep so peacefully during the day...ONLY? Not really; Isaac usually sleeps ok I guess, but when he turns into Mr. Fussypants it makes me so sad. Not to worry, our big day at his first shrine sale tuckered him out and he's now sleeping soundly in his bouncer.

How to Take a Baby Passport Photo

2011-10-12T07:46:00.006-05:00

Unacceptable baby passport photos are the number one reason baby passport applications are rejected, says Yokosuka Naval Hospital. Fret not---following these easy steps will get you as close as you can come to a passably acceptable photo.

Step one: Acquire a baby and dress him/her in the appropriate travel outfit of your choice. We recommend: airplane footie pajamas (kawaiiiiiiiii!!).
Step two: Find a photo booth. If you go looking for the one that used to be in the food court, someone moved it to the awful no man's land between the automatic sliding doors. Annoying.

Step three: Drape yourself head-to-toe in a white sheet. Look natural. If any part of you appears in the photo, REJECT! If anyone asks what the heck you're doing, wave your arms and make ghost noises. Their fault for asking.

Step four: Insert your 600 yen, select the 'passport photo' option on the touch screen, and prop up your selected baby. Try to distract or bounce said baby while the automated voice counts down from three and shoots a photo. Your goal: eyes open, head straight and aligned with the visual cues. From under a sheet?! Try again.

Step five: Be annoyed that you get only two tries per 600 yen before your session times out and prints whichever ridiculous photos were last onscreen. Deposit another 600 yen. (Repeat steps four and five as needed. Also: wish the "touch the button you like" feature worked in real life: Hmm, screaming baby or sleeping baby...decisions, decisions....) Step six: Resort to a different pose---perhaps sheet-over-arms-holding-baby-head-upright. If photo is head-on and baby's eyes are open, proceed to centering the face onscreen as directed. Be sure to crop out any adult ears/noses/etc that may have sneaked into baby's passport photo to avoid possible REJECT!

Step seven: "Please wait outside for awhile." Maybe that's why they moved the photo booth to the exit...? Step eight: Review your many and varied passport photos. Try not to think about how much yen you just spent on ridiculous baby pictures. Hopefully you've had some success. If any of the photos are more or less upright, eyes open, and do not have floating adult body parts in them, congratulations! Add the picture to the stack of paperwork you're taking to the US Embassy next week!

Land of the Rising Son!

2011-10-11T05:49:00.000-05:00

Introducing Isaac August Krueger, born in Japan on October 3, 2011, and weighing in at 8 lbs. 15 oz.!

Tanaka-Hachimangu Shrine's Annual Festival

2011-09-22T21:24:00.010-05:00

It's taken three years, but ta-da! The name of the shrine near our house is: Tanaka-Hachimangu. Last year I walked the three minutes over here both Saturday and Sunday to watch the fan dancing, kabuki, magic show, etc. I felt a little self-conscious being there by myself most of the time and thought, "Ooo, maybe next year I can bring Chris, or Chris and a baby!"
Saturday night we watched just one performance onstage before everyone broke into Bon Odori around the mikoshi (portable shrine) set up in the middle of the shrine grounds. Some old guys passed out soda-flavored popsicles to all the kids, then distributed the extras to their parents, and us! "This is so cool!" said Chris. "The whole community is here!" We ran into Rebekah, then saw our neighbors, who informed us the fan dancing would be Sunday night this year. Bright and early Sunday morning, we heard the drumming and general hubbub of the mini mikoshi parading through the neighborhood streets surrounded by tiny kids in hapi coats. Cute! No one ever talks to me when I'm by myself in Japan. I get stared at now that I'm rotund, but that's different. Chris, on the other hand, seems to have a welcome sign on his forehead. Amanda and Daiju came over Sunday night and no sooner had we sat down on the tatami mats spread in front of the stage when a very red, very drunk man plopped down next to Chris and proceeded to be his best friend for the next two+ hours. He would crawl in front of me to shout at Amanda and Daiju to translate (sorry, guys!). "There are four types of Japanese dance! This is the modern type of Japanese dance! I know so much about Japanese culture I would like to tell you! But it's difficult without speaking English!" he said...again and again and again. Between Amanda's super-cute puppy and Chris, I felt like our group was in danger of being put on stage and pointed at. Chris' New Best Friend did in fact try to get us on stage at one point, at which time we all pretended to not understand him. I love Japanese fan dancing. I LOVE it. So eloquent, elegant, graceful---the stories transcend language and communicate on a level accessible even to the foreign ear. A journey by ship, a lovers' sad tale; the scenes unfolded before us even as Chris' New Best Friend wriggled and shouted and brought over more beers. At one point a Diet representative for Kanagawa made an appearance. Later the MC announced someone had dropped a bike. "You mean a bike key!" heckled Chris' New Best Friend before explaining to us, "He's my friend so I can correct him." "Not for long," I commented to Amanda and Chris. Anyway, drunk new best friend notwithstanding, we had a really nice evening watching traditional dance and listening to Japanese folk songs with our friends! The most surprising part of the evening was when a young girls' dance group named "She Ain't" got on stage and hip-hopped to Rianna's unedited song "S&M." O...K....and goodnight everybody!

Roke-Dokey

2011-09-21T20:41:00.011-05:00

I scampered around the river checking the water level at 4:30pm Wednesday, about an hour before Typhoon Roke's strongest point hit us. The flood warning lights were flashing, the stairwells were partially submerged, and what's normally a peaceful waterfall gushed torrents of water. But what most impressed me was the noise. We live less than a mile from the southern end of the flight line, so we often get deafening pre-take off jet noise. Our house is at the foot of an embankment, so I'd hear what I first thought was jet noise, only to see rain, leaves and debris come swooshing down the hill toward me. The wind roared its approach anew with each gust. That's when I went back inside.

Three hours earlier, Chris and I had gone down to the river to see the fuss. I've never seen the water level elevated enough to be measured before, but at 1:30pm it was already climbing. By 4:30pm, it had again risen substantially. The storm peaked with raging gusts and power outages around 6pm, and after that the wind died down and rain tapped gently over the mess of broken pots, downed poles and tree pieces littering the ground.

By 9pm the sky was clear, the night was hot and humid, and we took a nice long breezy walk along the river. We counted more than a half-dozen toppled cherry trees, threw sticks in the river, and watched emergency crews secure loosened power lines. "I wonder if the fish are ok," Chris said at the point in the river where they usually swarm. The next day I saw several koi further down the river working their way back up. And all the ducks were back, too.

It's Typhoon Time

2011-09-20T23:13:00.006-05:00

Of course we're having a typhoon right now. During our last typhoon several weeks ago someone told me the low barometric pressure prompts babies to be born, so this typhoon---just five days from the bean's due date---I was curious to see what would happen. Well, nothing's happening baby-wise, but Tokyo is getting such a direct hit that Chris had to come home from work early because they're battening down the base.
Last night and this morning I got phone calls from the Atsugi medical clinic informing me to go to Yokosuka, because at this point the weather is bad enough to warrant barring the base gates and "if you have an emergency, there's really nothing we can do for you or your child here." That sounded boring and impractical, so I've got the storm shutters up and am 'sheltering in place,' just like in March. I mean come on, we're from Houston; we lived in Florida. We know hurricanes. If worse comes to worst, Nicole has agreed to deliver the bean in exchange for naming him after her (my suggestion). But this morning I was still surprised to find the water level along the Hikichigawa higher than I've ever seen it. Nagoya, just on the other side of Mt. Fuji from us, is evacuating for fear of mudslides. And just now the wind gusted so strongly that it lifted up my neighbor's parking cover enough for the supporting pole to go flying (the neighbor bustled out and fixed it).

So in case anyone wondered if life in Japan wasn't exciting enough these days...it is!

This Night that Should Not be Wasted

2011-09-11T19:40:00.009-05:00

"If only I could show them to someone who knows,

This moon, these flowers, this night that should not be wasted."

~"The Tale of Genji"
Last year's harvest moon viewing expedition to Sankeien Garden with Annika, Mary and Peyton ranked high in our assessment of atmospheric Japanese memories; a success in spite of the complete lack of actual moon viewing. The first cool front of the year rolled through, the autumnal equinox aligned with the full moon, and it was just a short time until we would see our long-deployed husbands again in their next port of call. All summer I'd hoped the bean would cooperate so I could show Chris the lovely, moon-lit garden this year. Imagine my delight when the harvest moon viewing fell on my birthday! After a nice morning at church and a long nap, Chris and I arrived at Sankeien Garden just as the moon rose over the treetops. I ordered the same shiitake udon I remembered from last year; Chris had hot soba. Then we walked through the darkened inner garden as strains of traditional Japanese music pierced the sultry night air. We found seats along the tea house wall and watched Shinto Kagura Dance Urayasu against a backdrop of the full moon rising over the oldest pagoda on the Kanto Plain. A spider strung her web between tall bamboo stalks; she feasted all night.

Oktoberfest Japan---Sapporo Beer Station

2011-09-08T03:57:00.006-05:00

Chris and I have wanted to try out Ebisu's Sapporo Beer Station for quite awhile, so a couple weeks ago off we went, sort of to scope it out as a future hail & bail location for the squadron, but mostly just because it sounded like a fun date! This time of year has us remembering our crazy-fun trip to Munich's Oktoberfest three years ago, and the German facade, coupled with Ebisu's European flavor, makes this the perfect place to indulge those memories---or make new ones. Sapporo Beer Station is celebrating Oktoberfest in the outdoor beer garden next weekend, September 16-18! The menu offers a mix of German and Japanese food: German sausages, sauerkraut, bread and cheese, pretzel rolls alongside standard Japanese pub fare, fries and crispy chicken. Chris had a draft Sapporo beer; I had a bottled decent alcohol-free beer. Fun place!

Thanks to the Bunnies

2011-09-08T02:51:00.004-05:00

The Houston Chronicle featured my mom in last weekend's gardening section! We spent a fair amount of time in the garden while I was in Texas (check out the cabbage and broccoli) so she was telling me what she planned to tell the reporter and I agreed: definitely mention the bunnies.

"Ten years after Evelyn Saugier and her husband, Kent, moved from New Jersey, they realized the fall garden is an option in Texas. Although they dutifully plant spring crops, for her, the fall garden is the way to go. No bugs, less heat and harvests well into spring.

In October, the couple will plant lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, sugar snap peas and perhaps beets. Broccoli and cabbage also may be in the mix.

The Saugiers are composters, but Evelyn says their best gardening experience may have been converting a former bunny hutch into a boxed garden.

'That stuff made great fertilizer,' she says ("Vegetable gardeners forging ahead, planting fall crops" by Kathy Huber, Houston Chronicle, September 3, 2011)."

An Ordinary Day

2011-09-07T05:46:00.000-05:00

I was worried I'd be bored now that I'm not working at Ichiban Collectibles. I miss it of course, but being bored? An unfounded fear. These are just ordinary days, but they're the last of their kind: riding the Scoop, enjoying Japan, sans Bean (sort of). Part of me is frustrated that I've wasted my last chance to see Japan because it's been too hot and unairconditioned and I'm too cumbersome to do very much very long very easily. But I've stopped worrying about that, too. We've packed lots of adventures into our three years in Japan, and these ordinary days are a fine time to enjoy ordinary things while I can: Still getting lost in Yokohama Station while shopping and lunching with Brittany, Leslie and Sarah. Teaching my remaining two delightful English classes occasionally. Meeting Mary for coffee near the flower market. Lunch dates with Nicole. Stopping into Ichiban when the shifts change so I can see everyone and do some Christmas shopping. Reading books about third world countries I don't want to visit anymore. My secret favorite thing about being nine months pregnant is: no one expects anything from me. Just walking around as a model of human diet inspiration and birth control combined is enough. So I'm free to buzz around on the scooter and attend 'how to not kill your baby' classes on base. This leaves plenty of time for things like the Bon Odori Appreciation Luncheon, and tea ceremony lessons from Sumie-san with Rebekah and Joyce. Or going to my and Chris' last bazaar and buying each other authentic woodblock prints for our birthdays. Going to Bible study. Spending time with our Life Chapel friends. My last Officers' Spouses' Club meeting. Lazy weekends where no tiny people wake us up 10 times. Walking down the river, getting caught in a band of typhoon rain a mile from home, and not being able to sprint home. Just ordinary days in an extraordinary place.

Parenting Advice

2011-09-07T02:53:00.003-05:00

I'm sure once my kid starts throwing temper tantrums and generally embarrassing me lots of strangers, friends and family members will give me parenting advice, but at this stage I'm not getting much, just encouragement: "You'll figure it out," "You'll be fine," etc. etc. That's all well and good, but finally the Japanese bathroom stall at Oak City Mall took pity on me and gave me some real advice.

"WARNING"---let's agree that's about the best parenting advice ever. But it went even further with helpful tidbits like, "Never leave," "Keep watch," and "Caution, drop!" helpfully illustrated with Japan's standard excellent signage.

A male in my family who will remain completely anonymous could have used such advice when attempting his first diaper change. While ignoring all of this advice at the same time, he heard a THUMP, followed by (surprise) wailing. Fortunately, the wailer was and is fine. Unfortunately, I can't tell you who it was. Ok, unless you ask, and happen to not be his wife. Then I'll tell you. :)

Tea in Jiyugaoka---a Recipe for Rain

2011-09-06T08:04:00.000-05:00

Here's what I like: lunch with friends in Jiyugaoka! This area is consistently named one of the best places to live in Tokyo. We just come here for the tea and cute shops. There are lots of tea shops here, but Lupicia is my favorite. Nicole, Sarah, Mary and her sister-in-law, Brittany, Rebekah and I planned a Lupicia outing a few weeks ago to celebrate all being back in Japan post-evacuation. That morning I stood on my porch and looked up. "I know it rains every time I go to Lupicia, but I don't see a cloud in the sky," I thought, not bothering to grab an umbrella. Two hours later the heavens burst forth with a deluge that would impress a duck. It certainly impressed us. Nicole, unfortunately, got caught in the worst of the rain. She ordered hot earl grey tea to warm up; everyone else enjoyed the iced peach melba tea with our lunch sets, which included a choice of entree, three types of bread---one with olives baked into it, and two desserts. After lunch we tripped around Jiyugaoka, avoiding the drips and looking for sale racks before catching our train home. A delightful summer afternoon with good friends!!

Warning: Belly Picture

2011-08-22T22:35:00.011-05:00

Before I got pregnant I never ceased to be shocked when people posted pictures of their bellies alone as their facebook profile picture, or announced to the entire world measurements of things that should not be mentioned outside groups of close girlfriends. And now that I'm a healthy 35 weeks along I feel qualified to say: I am still shocked. This is the closest I will come to breaking my personal rules of privacy: behold, a belly photo.

The Bean predominantly kicks me in the right lung and upper rib cage. This past week he seems to have dropped. I can tell because I can breathe a little better and because I have a stomachache all the time as he now mostly kicks me in the stomach. Oof. One time I was leaning forward on my arm to look at Chris' computer and a huge lump of baby made a swipe at my elbow. Yiii! Every other day or so he kicks me directly in the lungs so I go, "OOF!" and have to lean back to breathe. "I think you have a very active baby," said my mom. He's going to get twice this big?? Oh. My.

When I left the States in late June, at around 27 weeks, I thought, "Hmm, this whole time only one person patted my belly without asking. I guess I won't have any of those funny privacy invasion stories most pregnant people have, because Japanese people surely won't randomly touch my belly." How wrong I was! Americans don't touch my belly, or if they do they first ask tentatively if it's ok.

None of my Japanese friends (or acquaintance, for that matter) are so inhibited. This cracks me up. "Ohayou! Good morning! Konnichiwa baby!" the bean is greeted every Sunday morning at church with much patting and rubbing. "Good thing I showered this morning!" I said as one friend looped her arm around my bum and put her ear to my belly and rubbed it. "When I meet him, he will recognize my voice!" my friend explained, beaming. Smart!My cute little sister delivered Ezekiel Thomas O'Shay this week with a flower in her hair the entire time. At first I was secretly annoyed that my LITTLE sister had the major life experience of labor and birth before me ("I'll be sure to give you LOTS of advice every time we talk!" she teased right afterwards), but I would not have thought to grab a pretty clippy flower on my way to the hospital. Now I know. Hannie, I stand in awe of you, and I am taking notes!! Congratulations, Hannah and Justin!

Here's what I don't like about being pregnant: sweating ALL THE TIME. And I hate being perfectly round. I hate it when people say, "How are you feeling?" and I say, "Huge and hot," as sweat runs everywhere, only to hear, "Oh, whatever, you don't look that different." What?! I've gained FORTY POUNDS and I'm only at 35 weeks! I've outgrown maternity pants! I have two chins! WHAT looks not different?

My best feature was my (formerly) cute little waist. Even when I gained weight, my waist stayed defined. Now I've barreled out my torso to the point that it's difficult to bend left or right (going forward to paint my toenails is still not a problem). "What surprises you about pregnancy?" My mom asked once. "I expected to chunk out in the middle, but I did not expect my thighs to get so big," I said. "Your thighs have to get bigger to carry around your big tummy!" she pointed out. So true!

I don't really have to run to the bathroom any more than usual. I am WAY more thirsty though, and one day Chris asked why we had a half-jar of pickles in the fridge. I sheepishly told him the missing half of the jar just looked super tasty that afternoon. Chris cocked his head quizzically: "That is so unlike you." "I know! I thought it was just a stereotype!" I wailed. Chris laughed really hard and hugged me. Other cravings include: limes, coconut popsicles, cereal, squishy cookies, and whatever is in front of me at the grocery store. I come home with the weirdest things. Bunny fruit snacks? Laffy Taffy? Unidentifiable tropical fruit? Weird.

People have started asking if I'm nervous about delivering the baby, or excited or ready or whatever. Sort of...I mean, uninterrupted sleeping is nice, even with a bowling ball anchoring my side to the bed. It's nice and quiet in the morning (I am not a morning person. Neither is Chris). Once the bean's here it's pretty much time to get his passport and jet, which makes me sad (even though I'm happy about buying a house). September has a lot going on, so there's a lot of potential to miss something important whenever the bean does show up (like Chris' squadron farewell scheduled within 10 days of the bean's due date). I'm so sad to give up my scooter.

On the other hand, I'm looking forward to carrying the bean in my arms instead of in my tummy. I want to take him to the local fan dance festival, whenever that is in September. I think it'll be hilarious to try to get his baby passport photo. I want to see if he looks like the baby I dreamed about five years ago. I want to buy a house so I can decorate a Southeast Asian Ports of Call nursery with cool souvenirs from our adventures. I want to take a picture of the bean tucked under Chris' chin while they nap. I want to introduce the bean to the kitties. I want to set up a house instead of pack one up. I want to stop gaining weight and start losing it! I want to sleep on my stomach again!

In conclusion, here's a story about dreams and my scooter. About a year after we got here I started wondering when we should have the babies. This played around in the back of my mind for awhile, until I dreamed I was zipping along through the tunnel of cherry trees near home and hit a pregnant lady crossing the street with my scooter. She was fine, but she lost the baby and it was my fault. This sounds like a truly awful nightmare, but I actually woke up at peace: clearly my subconscious is choosing the scooter over a baby at this time, so I won't worry about it anymore until I have a dream saying otherwise! Then last fall I had a dream my sister and I were sitting in my parents' living room in Texas, both pregnant (or maybe I just really wanted to be in the dream...I forget), and my sister was telling us all about the baby. I woke up and thought, "Ah ha! The antidote dream! Time to think about babies! That's weird, though, because of course Hannie and I will never both be at Mama and Daddy's while we're pregnant." HA.

Yamato Furusato Matsuri Festival

2011-08-17T00:20:00.006-05:00

I asked Sumie if it was obvious that I'm pregnant or if I just look fat in a yukata. "Daijoubu," she said. It's ok? ...? Oh well. Lightning flashed overhead as we danced around the stage in early August's Yamato Furusato Matsuri Festival. Every once in awhile we'd get a quick downpour, prompting people to run for cover. I did a double-take when I saw a big, green, fuzzy pickle walked around in a hapi coat posing for photos with kids. (???) We danced on the stage, off the stage, around the stage. I took a break and joined Chris for a sno cone. Then we had another one. Mmmm. We were rather warm on this mushiatsui (sultry, humid) evening after walking the mile uphill from our house to the train station to take the Odakyu Line one stop over to Yamato. On the way we passed another stage and more Bon Odori dancers at our local elementary school. Kids in yukata and their parents were flooding onto the grounds from all directions, but we had to keep walking. After all, we had a train to catch; a train full of very curious Japanese people who stared at the bulgy pregnant American in yukata more than she's ever been stared at in Japan before. Little boys especially were likely to give my tummy, then my face, the buggy-eyed look of surprise. Right back atcha, kid!

Tropical Weather Tea Time

2011-08-10T01:59:00.006-05:00

Hot and rainy, hot and rainy---you'd think we were in the tropics. Between that and being done with work, I've had plenty of motivation to find ways to stay cool. When it's too hot to simmer by the pool, I recommend a Tropical Weather Tea Time! I really really like the Temecula Olive Oil Company. They have a tasting room in Old Town San Diego and two years in a row I've brought home garlic olive oil. Yuuuuum. I used it and their California balsamic in the Tropical Quinoa Salad below, and the dessert recipe comes from their website.

To drink: Lime Sunburst: combine grapefruit, lime and orange juices, plus mint to taste. Garnish with fresh mint.

To eat: I modified a recipe from my friend Rebekah for this Tropical Quinoa Salad (my parents are quinoa fans and it's newly available in the commissary's gluten-free section): Mix together half a bag of frozen mango, one red bell pepper, one 15-oz can of black beans, a cup or two of cooked, frozen shrimp, and two cups of cooked, cooled quinoa. Dress with 2 Tbsp of a light, fruity balsamic vinegar, drizzle with olive oil, and season with chopped shallot, cardamom, galangal, ginger, and a bit of garlic. Serve on a bed of spinach.

Afterwards, let's have tea: Whittard of Chelsea's English Rose tea with milk. A light and floral tea that compliments the strong citrus of the dessert.

For dessert: Lime Olive Oil Cake with a lime glaze. I only slightly modified this recipe from the Temecula Olive Oil Company by using different olive oils and adding a sugary glaze.

Ingredients: 1.5 cups flour; .5 tsp each: baking powder, baking soda and salt; 3 large eggs; 1 cup sugar; .75 cup plain yogurt; zest of 3 limes (what do I do with three naked limes?! I found a way to use them all in this recipe. Read on); .5 cup plus 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil mixed with the juice of one whole lime and several heavy shakes of chili powder, just enough to make the oil catch a little in the back of your throat (the original recipe calls for .25 and 2 Tbsp of that to be Fajita Frenzy Olive Oil. Use that if you have it).

Preheat the oven to 325. Beat the eggs and sugar, add yogurt, zest and olive oil mix. Add dry ingredients and stir a lot. Pour this into a 9-in spring-form pan, or if---like me---you don't have one, cupcake tins work fine. Bake about 40 minutes.

This doesn't need a glaze because it's very moist and tart, but knowing my husband I thought it'd go over better if it had one. I recommend: 3 Tbsp melted butter and juice of the other two naked limes mixed with 2 cups powdered sugar.

To serve, I popped out the cakes, flipped them upside-down, drizzled with glaze and garnished with fresh mint. Hannie and I ordered something at Harrod's in London that came served that way, dusted with powdered sugar; we thought it rather clever. Plus, it makes a nice little plateau for the mint garnish.

The table setting: silk plum place mats from Thailand, bamboo tray from Thailand, blue dinner plates from Japan, Tokyo map mugs from Tokyo, dessert plates from Anthropologie, dragonfly teapot from Japan.

What's Up in WESTPAC

2011-08-09T05:45:00.000-05:00

Here's what's going on in the Western Pacific! We recently went to a Hail and Farewell at one of our favorite local restaurants. We called in 'the bamboo place,' but now we know it's actually called Kushi Bou Zu. My parents and I slurped udon noodles in soup there last fall. When it's cold you can snuggle up under kotatsu---heated tables with blanket skirts. But on this summer evening sliding glass doors opened up the bamboo-enclosed patio to part of the dining room. We had edamame, fried chicken, floppy bacon on greens in a citrus sauce, unappetizing and unidentifiable mushy meat bits that no one ate, and salmon seared by the Skipper himself! I cooked some too. YUM! I like hail and bails. They're 'mandatory fun' events where we welcome the new people to the squadron and the officers tell stories about the people who are moving to their next station. There's usually a set menu; sometimes it's 'free drink,' or all-you-can-drink for one price over a couple hours (alcoholic and non).

It's a good chance to meet and get to know Chris' coworkers and their wives without having to make any plans or effort. That makes subsequent spouse activities way more fun because you already know people. Sometimes we're inundated with mando-fun, especially when all the detachments are home and the squadron squeezes everything possible into a few short weeks before another deployment, but having too much social interaction is way preferable to too little social interaction, I think. Especially overseas or soon after moving. Other news from the Western Pacific includes: this summer the squadron had a change of command, which Chris and I missed, and one of the deployed helicopters noticed that an Indonesian ship seemed to be sinking. They called for help and saved dozens of people's lives! Back on the home front, the Search and Rescue Evaluation that Chris is in charge of as the SAR Officer was canceled because there's no money to send the evaluator to Japan. Instead, Chris will conduct an in-house evaluation himself (this whole situation is unusual).

In addition to his main job as NATOPS/SAR Officer, Chris does routine stuff like start-up checks on the helicopter during and after repairs, and flies various flights like hovering over the water for a few hours while the search and rescue divers practice. In other news, after much uncertainty, we have official written orders to report in December to Pensacola, Florida. So there's your WESTPAC news round-up!

Yamato Awa Odori Festival 2011

2011-08-08T02:49:00.001-05:00

The Tokyo area is not famous for Awa Odori dancing; that distinction falls to Tokushima Prefecture west of here. There, it's a HUGE deal. But here's it's still a big deal, and the biggest Awa Odori festival in the Tokyo region is---surprise!---the July 23-24 Yamato Awa Odori Festival!
This is the red, white and blue-clad American Bon Odori dancers' first opportunity to put our mad dance skills to use. Practices run weekly all summer in an unairconditioned gym. We do some of the same traditional dances every year, so even though I arrived back in Japan halfway through practice season and only caught two practices, daijoubu---it's ok. The HSL-51 ladies banded together to form a nice parade block. We like to represent! Little girls came scurrying out with cold barley tea---ah! So refreshing. Thankfully it wasn't quite so hot since the typhoon brought in a little cool front. I remembered these same girls in their summer yukata serving us cold tea last year as an Awa dancer. Our parade route is short, just an hour and a half of walking slowly and waving our arms around (gracefully). Chris got to see the festival for the first time. Some of the AWA (Atsugi Wives Association, the wives of the JMSDF officers) spotted Chris and asked to pose with him. Luckily, our brief parade route managed to cross the rather lengthy route of the JMSDF Chidori-ren Awa Odori dancers, so Sarah, Brittany and I gathered around Rebekah for a photo. Someone doing Awa Odori for the first time this year asked me when I visited a practice this summer, "Do you miss it a lot?" How to answer...how to answer..."Yes and no...." I said. Dancing Awa Odori was probably the coolest thing I did in our three years here, and I am so glad I did it. Maybe I never learned Japanese, but darn it all if I didn't learn some traditional Japanese dance! That being said, I am so glad I was not doing it this year! Maybe it's the heat, or maybe it's being round, but shoot, it took me two weeks just to blog about this festival. I feel like I expend twice the energy to just get half done with anything. But if I had danced this year, I wouldn't have needed to pad out my waist with towels! Ha ha. This happened a lot last year, and this year too apparently---vigorous dancing resulting in broken geta. These dancers mean business! Speaking of meaning business, shout out to Rebekah: she was selected to be one of the featured dancers this year. That's amazing! Way to go, Rebekah!Sunday afternoon Chris and I returned to the festival with friends from church. For the first time I got to see the food and game booths on the main promenade off the street-side parade route. We saw Japanese people selling American food (questionable), a turtle-catching booth, chocolate covered bananas, okonomiyaki, plastic robot masks, lots of balloons shaped like those big beetles with horns and---what I was after---Japanese sno cones. I will take one of those at pretty much any opportunity these days! We also bought a furin wind chime. In the summer, the delicate tinkling of the furin---literally 'wind bell'---lets you know the wind is blowing and makes you feel cooler. Maybe one of these days.... Anyway, happy Awa Odori festival! You can next catch the Bon Odori and Awa Odori dancers at the NAF Atsugi Bon Odori Festival August 20.

Summer Festival, Summer Storm

2011-07-31T02:34:00.006-05:00

Walking a couple miles down the river a few nights a week is our favorite evening jaunt. Sometimes Chris and I walk along the river the whole time; sometimes we branch off and seek out parks or tiny local temples, where we ring the big temple bells and look around to see if anyone's looking at us (no one cares---everyone rings the bells).

Last night we ventured out beneath a rumble of thunder with a goal of finding a shortcut to the big sports park on the southern end of the flight line. The park had all its lights out to save electricity, but from there we heard faint strains of traditional Japanese folk music and the booming of taiko drums. We soon came upon a small stage surrounded by dancers, yakisoba stands and festival booths where you can catch goldfish. I recognized some of the ladies' yukata, so I think we will see them again at the NAF Atsugi Bon Odori Festival in late August. My yukata may or may not fit by then; we'll see.

Chris and I milled about for a few songs and dances, then continued down the hill toward our best guess of where the river would be. After just a block we passed a temple we found for the first time a few weeks ago; in another block we found the river. Easy! We took a fairly big circuit, but ended up pretty close to our house. The evening was crowded---lots of people rode by on bikes, hoards of kids in yukata stood on corners, adults walked home from Kozashibuya Station and families headed to or from festivals. Fireworks popped in the distance. The river swished past. A middle school student sang a slow song loudly (and rather well). Incense, the heavy smell of night flowers and river water drifted by on the damp breeze. Bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by booms of thunder.

It was only 7:30pm, but already dark. Most festivals are ending early this summer to save electricity. People started to head home; so did we, walking the last few lengths of river in a light rain, then curled up on the couch by the shoji windows and listened to traffic outside hiss by in the rain. A perfect summer evening in Japan.

On the Edge

2011-07-27T05:08:00.005-05:00

I love noting the passing of the seasons with a walk along the Hikichigawa. Chris and I drove to Yokosuka yesterday for an ultrasound to check for fluid on the baby's kidneys. Chris needed to check stuff at work before coming home, so I opted to save him some time and walk the kilometer home along the river. I've walked this path so many times---sometimes with Chris, sometimes with friends or family, mostly alone.

When it first occurred to me two years ago to have kids someday, I thought maybe it'd be fun to walk this route with a baby. Now it looks like the bean (who is already a hefty four pounds, by the way) will arrive just in time for the sakura trees to turn scarlet. I stood on the bridge where I always take a photo and looked down at the water rushing past, feeling the minutes slip by. One month ago I returned to Japan; the baby's due in two months. Today is my last day of work at Ichiban Collectibles. Half the time I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff knowing everything is about to change as I go from a solo international traveler-merchandise buyer-journalist-housewife to Stateside-homeowner-baby-haver-housewife. Maybe that's the real reason they teach you all these relaxation and breathing techniques for having babies.

I tend to get a little fearful before we move, probably because of all the uncertainty and changes: continent, home, friends, church, time zone, Chris' job, my job, having lots to do, having less to do, etc etc. Tottering...cliff...sensation...deep...breath.... Or who knows, maybe the panic is just that in addition to waking up to sleepwalk to the bathroom, we also get jolted awake by middle-of-the-night earthquakes every couple of weeks. That'll interrupt your sleep.

So I was feeling the icy fingers of a deep chasm of panic drift up around me a couple weeks ago and the next morning at Life Chapel International Pastor Paul preached about Peter walking to Christ across the stormy sea, reminding us to focus on Christ amidst out-of-control circumstances and uncertainties.

Then this week guest speaker Keitaro-san spoke about Joshua taking leadership from Moses (and leading the Israelites to a new home). Be brave in the aftermath of Japan's triple disasters, he said. Joshua is already brave and strong; still, God exhorts him three times in one chapter to be strong and courageous. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9)."

Chris found out shortly before our third anniversary that he would be deploying for a small eternity. He gave me a necklace with the word 'fearless' in Sanskrit and English, saying, "Uh, sorry to leave you in Asia all alone...be brave!" Looks like I'll be wearing it today!

Tokyo Typhoon Buffet

2011-07-25T08:19:00.010-05:00

The approach of Typhoon Ma-on gave me only temporary pause about popping over to Ebisu for lunch with my friend Jill's mom at the Garden Place Westin. Jill's mom, Debbie, joined Jill, Chrissy, Kristin and me for many a lunch date and shrine sale in summers past. Those days are gone; those friends all live Stateside now. But lunch lived on with Debbie and me! The Japan Times' Summer Dining Special featured the extravagant Hawaiian buffet at the Westin's Terrace restaurant. What a coincidence; it's also where Debbie was staying. Bonus: we didn't have to dash through the steaming streets of Ebisu between downpours. We began with some fun drinks: bottomless mineral water for her, Hula Party (mango juice, milk, coconut syrup) for me.

Then the buffet: we tried the cold coconut taro soup, garlic coconut pasta, mahi mahi with a mango sauce, pureed ham and mango (skip---tasted like baby food), taro and tuna salad, muscle poke, and more. Just about everything had a satisfying touch of coconut. Yum yum yum!

This is interesting: two separate vegetable-chocolate bars. Try the steamed broccoli, carrots, and green beans with dark chocolate, or salted dried veggies drizzled with olive oil and chocolate. It's called Vernier Kauda Chocolate and debuted at The Terrace lunch and dinner buffets this spring. Apparently this combination of super foods has lots of health benefits. I don't know about that, but the crisp daikon (Japanese radish) with olive oil and chocolate was my favorite.
We avoided the Octopus Poke. Nothing about that looked or sounded appealing. The girl behind me, however, took a huge spoonful. Bleck. Also avoided: tasty-looking squares of beef. News broke recently of a handful, then hundreds, now more than a thousand cows' worth of radiated beef cropping up in Japanese markets. No thanks! The lunch crowd came and went; the beef stood alone. We finished the savories with a small bowl of coconut curry---it was my favorite main dish! Everything was so yummy and we hadn't even gotten to the dessert buffet! Oh boy!! The back of my head was already tingling with a sugar rush. Wait a minute---"I ordered this off the non-alcoholic menu, right?" I asked Debbie of my orchid-bedecked beverage. "Yeah, because it's something I considered too and I was only looking at the non-alcoholic menu." After dessert, Debbie's eyes got big when she glanced over the bill: "Oh no! This says they brought you a Blue Hawaiian! That's not what you ordered!" Indeed not. Who brings a pregnant lady a Blue Hawaiian at lunch?! Oops...sorry, baby! Maybe the steamed veggies and chocolate super foods will balance that out, right? ha ha. Anyway, on to the desserts. Oh. My. We started on the right and worked our way across: guava jelly, grapefruit-lychee mousse, mango creme brule, lime-chocolate mousse, coco-mango cake, lilikoi-caramel mousse, cold coconut soup, mango jelly.... It was everything I love about dessert: tangy, tart, sweet, decadent. Amazing! Afterwards, we enjoyed the rain-splattered view of Ebisu from her 13th-floor room and chatted about Japanese obi, life in Japan, and what's next! Thanks for a wonderful lunch and really fun day, Debbie!

Temple on a Hill

2011-07-22T21:11:00.011-05:00

The idea to build the Goddess of Mercy of the White Robe on a hillside in Ofuna 'in general defense of the Fatherland' gained popularity among Japanese nationalists about a century ago. "By 1934 the outline of the statue was complete, but the outbreak of war in the Pacific ended this steady progress, bringing extensive damage to the surrounding area and halting work on the statue for the next twenty years," says Ofuna-Kannon-ji literature. Chris sees the statue all the time from the air as they buzz around the area in flight and wanted to see it up close. Ofuna is part of the Kamakura District, but the temple is run by Yokohama's Soji-ji. We exited Ofuna Station, found a map in Japanese, looked for a temple symbol that looked like it was on top of a hill, circled the train station, et voila---there was our hilltop statue. Easy. A stone lantern carries an eternal flame in hope of peace, and an alter displays chains of peace cranes behind rocks carried from Nagasaki and Hiroshima's ground zeros. We came here two weeks after I returned to Japan, and climbing the bamboo-covered hill on this sunny afternoon prompted me to say to Chris, "Ok, it took a while, but I am officially happy to be back in Japan!" "Finally!" said Chris. Then, as we looked at the rocks, I took a step back: "Just what we needed, more radioactivity." Chris rolled his eyes and led the way up the stone steps to the statue. Up top, the statue looked out over the city. At sunset that charming 'go home' music chimed across the building tops as the smell of incense drifted up through sun-soaked branches. Happy to be back indeed.

What Do I Want?

2011-07-22T20:21:00.005-05:00

Sometimes you go to a vending machine in search of Pocket Juicer Stand because you can't wait to get to the little square gummy bits at the bottom, or on a cold rainy day when you're hungry but not ready for a full meal, maybe you look for the Corn Potage hot corn soup drink. But let's face it---sometimes you may not know what you want. Between deciding what to feed yourself for dinner, whether to attend the next port call, and where to spend the holidays, we have to make a lot of choices. Relax---Japan has invented a vending machine to solve all your problems. Stand in front of it and a little camera will focus on your face and predict what you want. Easy! I read about these machines in a Reuters article nine months ago before my parents came to visit. We didn't see any in our jaunts around Tokyo, but recently in Ofuna, then again in Shibuya, these little babies have started cropping up. Hint: they use age and gender profiling! Gasp! For me, it recommended a peace juice and a fruity black tea. Chris' suggestions were cola products and black coffee---clearly it doesn't know him at all. The machine thinks the 50+ crowd will want green tea. While waiting for customers the digital touch-screen shimmers between commercials and a product lineup. What I want to know is: does it take my big belly into consideration? Because a machine that could churn out pregnancy cravings---lime juice! French fries! Salad! Crab meat! Coconut pops! Mango!---would really have a following.

This Post Contains Offensive Material

2011-07-22T02:06:00.004-05:00

This is what we would call 'the Pensacola Face.' Yes, it is small-minded, snobbish, immature...probably offensive. And totally justified. When Chris and I first moved to Pensacola, Florida, Chris spent a Saturday morning in the age-old tradition of fixing his motorcycle. He collected his tools and headed out to the apartment's parking lot; I followed an hour later to see how he was progressing and bring him a Diet Coke. Our neighbor beat me to it.

It was still before noon, but he had parked himself in a lawn chair---complete with Styrofoam cooler---and yakked away while Chris tinkered. I'd been cleaning and was still in workout shorts and a tank top---Saturday morning clothes---and I'd wandered out barefoot. The neighbor looked up at me from his parking lot lawn chair. "Hey," he said, reaching for the cooler, "want a beer?" I surveyed the scene: parking lot, lawn chair, beer, 11am, practically still in jammies. I think the piece of my soul dying must have showed on my face because he offered to go get another lawn chair (as if that was the hold-up). "Uh, thanks, but between the non-working vehicle and my bare feet, a beer would make this a little too white trash for me," I said in all seriousness. He laughed and went back to yammering at Chris. I went inside.

Hence the Pensacola Face, rounded out nicely by our 3-D glasses for a 2007 showing of Beowulf or something (top photo). We relived the Pensacola magic last weekend at a 3-D IMAX showing of the Harry Potter conclusion. We find out pretty soon whether we're officially going back to Pensacola or not, so we should get 'blend in' faces back into practice just in case, right? About the only thing that could have made that 2006 scene more white trash would be accepting the beer in my current obviously-pregnant state. So we have that to look forward to.

Make a Wish at the Star Festival

2011-07-12T07:44:00.013-05:00

It's festival season in Japan! Wait---it seems like it's always festival season in Japan. Well anyway, I was excited to finally see the Star Festival last weekend. The most famous in Tokyo is the Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival, held conveniently close to us just a couple stops from Fujisawa Station. Chris and I took the train right over.
'Tanabata' means 'evening of the seventh' and one version of the legend goes like this: the Sky King's daughter worked hard weaving clothes by the banks of the Amanogawa, Heavenly River (Milky Way), weeping with loneliness as she worked. The Sky King was concerned for his daughter so he introduced her to the Cow Herder Star and the two young people fell instantly in love. After their wedding, happiness obscured all thoughts of their obligations: the princess' cloth went unwoven; cows strayed all across the heavens. The Sky King punished their foolishness by separating the two forever, but his daughter's tears and petitions moved him to show a bit of mercy. If she worked hard all year, then the seventh night of the seventh month would belong to the lovers. The princess worked diligently only to arrive at the riverbank and stare helplessly at her husband across the sparkling, bridge-less waters. The princess knew what to do: she wept. A flock of magpies spanned the starry river and the princess crossed to her lover on their wings. Each year the couple toils long and hard for one brief night together, but if it rains the magpies cannot come and the lovers remain separated another year.

If you make a wish on Tanabata by writing it on a piece of paper and tying it to a bamboo pole, maybe your wish will come true! Extra credit for wishes that rhyme (really). What's your tanabata wish?

Sasa no ha sara-sara *The bamboo leaves rustle*

Nokiba ni yureru *Shaking away in the eaves*

Ohoshi-sama kira-kira *The stars twinkle*

Kingin sunago *Gold and silver grains of sand*

(traditional tanabata song)"Cheer up! Japan" read decorations on Hiratsuka's main street of decorations. Others depicted light bulbs with cheerful admonitions to 'off!' And they meant business---my hairstylist, Terumi, told me she and her friends usually head to the festival after work to see the decorations, but maybe this year the festival would end early to save power.

Sure enough, at 7pm on the dot (Japan is nothing if not punctual) police officers took to the streets with bullhorns asking everyone to please go home. Most people complied, standing in long lines to catch buses or heading to the (brightly lit) department stores nearby. And we left the flowing, multi-colored streamers of wishes behind us.

Earthquakes, Tea, and Being Back in Japan

2011-07-11T02:03:00.003-05:00

It took two weeks but I am officially happy to be back in Japan. I was resigned to coming back but I had some reservations. I'm sure everything's fine and safe enough...still. Chris and I thought it smart to take some easy precautions just in case. It's drained my inspiration to blog because I'm sure everyone else is as tired of hearing about radiation as I am. Boooooring.

So to conclude all posts about radiation I will simply reference this excellent, readings-based report in this weekend's Japan Times, which reads in part,

"Living in central Tokyo, more than 200 km southwest of the stricken plant in Fukushima Prefecture, does little to mitigate the anxiety people feel about exposure, as radiation-tainted produce and radioactive hot spots have been found far beyond the boundaries of Fukushima Prefecture. Experts say it is desirable to reduce unnecessary exposure as much as possible...given the uncertainty over whether the radiation could cause cancer years later.

But they also say that given the official figures about radiation-contaminated air, water, vegetables, tea and other food products, the current exposure level in Tokyo is not something residents should get stressed over."

It goes on to acknowledge that at current food exposure levels (about 5 millisieverts per year), the average adult's cancer rate would increase a small percent, but that increase becomes almost negligible when compared to cancer risks from, say, second-hand smoke, bad eating habits, sun exposure, etc.

This article validates what I'd hoped to be true: I'm sure everything's fine, but will err on the side of caution when convenient. Now! I am so tired of thinking about radiation I will not worry about it anymore! Old news: still shaking with aftershocks. So what's new in Japan? It's HOT! I had the good fortune to be in Houston to kick off June with a record-breaking 100 degree scorcher. And after a month of that, I'm back in Japan just in time for rainy season---which usually keeps Japan somewhat cool-ish until mid-July---to officially end 12 days early, ushering in a three-month heat wave that's supposed to top any summer on record. What a great time to be pregnant, enormous, and conserving power!

That's right, this area is operating at about 85% of its former power capacity, so the government is forcing businesses and urging residents to take one for the team and raise that thermostat. The good citizens of Japan have responded so enthusiastically that there have already been twice as many heatstroke deaths as there were all of last summer. I am not at liberty to state my AC power consumption. Give me a break; I'm carrying a tiny furnace. Heat notwithstanding, the five best reasons to be back in Japan have made themselves readily apparent: 1. It's fun to be with Chris again! It's nice to be in our own place on our own schedules, teasing each other with our own silly jokes. 2. Bon odori practice! This is the easy dance where you walk slowly and wave your arms around. So fun! 3. I love having one more month to work at Ichiban Collectibles. There's always something going on, someone new to meet, an event coming up, an interesting topic to discuss, or at the very least, money to make for our scholarship recipients. 4. Seeing friends again! I really missed them!

5. Tea ceremony lessons---I am way out of practice, but I love seeing the new elements we've introduced for summertime: the cold water container lid is replaced by a lush potato leaf sprinkled with droplets of water. This provides a cooling sensation for the esteemed guest. Or enter the ceremony with the tea bowl filled with cold water and squeeze the tea cloth for a cool-sounding splash. These aesthetic techniques may not reduce the sweltering temperatures of the Kanto Plain, but they are going a long way toward reminding me of all the reasons I'm happy to be back!

Sunset USA

2011-06-25T13:08:00.001-05:00

Chris hasn't been home to Texas in more than two years, so it seems strange that since then we've been to both San Diego and Singapore, of all places, twice. Last time we were in San Diego we stayed on Coronado Island; this time we're harbor-side in Point Loma. We celebrated our anniversary in a sun-drenched Old Town courtyard, mariachi music drifting over the bougainvillea to our table. The next night Grandfather took us to Fish House Vera Cruise for a Father's Day dinner. One afternoon we even had time to grab some ice cream on Mission Beach. After the weekend Chris was back to work at his Search and Rescue conference, but one evening, tired of overeating, we took some bread, cheese and oranges we'd hand-picked at Grandfather's house over Point Loma to Sunset Cliffs. Despite San Diego's "May gray, June gloom" we'd had lovely weather...until clouds took over and completely obscured anything resembling a sunset. Oh well. We had a pretty nice time anyway. Overall, it was nice to enjoy some of our favorite things about America together: Ameri-Mex food, easily accessed beaches, burgers, driving on the right, understanding people, newly released movies, delicious salads. And before we knew it, our plane back to Japan was beckoning. We're headed for the final home stretch!

The Five Year Plan

2011-06-22T18:17:00.003-05:00

Chris and I love to plan. Plan plan plan. It's one of our favorite things to do. Our plans often don't work out, like our brilliant plan to get pregnant in December because we'd be together all spring and summer (ha), or our plan to hopefully move to Maryland after Japan (ha ha again).

Our plan to meet in San Diego didn't work quite as planned, but in the end here we both are in time for our fifth anniversary. Ta-da! Five years! This marks the completion of our Five Year Plan, which included (but was not limited to): 1. living overseas and traveling a lot, 2. making our family bigger.

When we moved to Japan I thought, "Hmm, I hope I want to stop traveling and have kids someday." Then Chris deployed a few times and I found myself thinking, "Wouldn't it be nice if it were more than just us?" and started dreaming of babies that look like tiny Maris and Chrises. Now we're anticipating the Bean's arrival and fantasizing about a owning a house with vaulted ceilings, big windows and counter space. Oooo, counter space....

And so the next five years begin!

Back to the Future

2011-06-12T23:08:00.000-05:00

This has been a really weird year. Chris finally got some time off in conjunction with a conference he has to attend in San Diego, but in yet another twist of irony American Airlines won't let my layover last more than seven days. That means I'm stuck in Texas for his first three days Stateside. So frustrating. The good news is, it's possible we may get to fly back to Japan together at the end of that week. Maybe. The REALLY good news is: Chris will drive up to Los Angeles and collect me from the airport exactly three months after I dropped him off at the squadron to deploy north for post-tsunami search and rescue...the day before our fifth anniversary!! I'm not holding my breath yet since Chris is flying out Tuesday but does not yet have a ticket; still, it's one thing that might actually work out. In other irony, we got verbal orders to our next duty station...and we're headed to...drum roll please...

Pensacola?! ...Was that on our list?? (The above photo is Pensacola Beach 2007) Well, as always, nothing is certain until we arrive, but that's the general direction anyway. I'm spending lots of time mapping out real estate online. Then I read that El Nino or La Nina, that wench, whichever one is causing the extraordinary drought conditions here in Texas and fueling the watery chaos and tornadoes east of here, is also setting conditions that will create a bumper crop of hurricanes this summer. I just hope something is still standing when/if we arrive in Florida. Our previous 18 months in sunny Pensacola were overshadowed by our dismal one-bedroom apartment, which offered the only accommodations we could find so soon after 2004's Hurricane Ivan and the storms that mauled the Gulf Coast in 2005.

So this is all rather surprising. At the same time, Houston is broiling under record heat---100 degrees the first day of June. When my dad was interviewing down here 20 years ago he brought us all t-shirts that said, "Houston Hot." That is correct. My mom and I enjoyed some time in the uptown Galleria area one morning, and recently my parents and I visited Hannah and Justin in the hospital. This is the last picture of Justin with his appendix. As Han said, "RIP, Justin's appendix." He's feeling much better.
Chris' little sister, Melissa, is all grown up and headed off to college. She sang in her commencement ceremony and graduated with a ton of scholarships. Congrats, Melissa!! And happy birthday! Beyond that, the evacu-cation (irony...I prefer to vacation with Chris and without my will and important documents) has proceeded pretty normally. Luke and Amber threw a fun half birthday party for their kids with December birthdays, Hannie and Justin moved into their first house, a light fixture in their new digs attacked Daddy and chipped his two front teeth---earning him the new nickname 'Fang'---and I have gained 24 pounds plus one pound of Bean. The kitties now spend the night and most mornings outside and just come in to nap and snarf. Mouse does not bat at wasps anymore. Pounce put on his big boy pants and started chasing away neighborhood tomcats. I'm so proud. And all of a sudden, so happy---less than one week until Chris and I are back together!! It's been way too long!!!!! It was a completely unexpected and unique privilege to get to spend so much time with the fam in general and with my sister while we're both pregnant, and that's been really ideal. But never knowing when exactly I'd see Chris again---especially with so many circumstances and expectations constantly changing---has been difficult. As of yesterday I have a ticket back to Japan (the kitties are staying in Texas), so I'm setting aside my reservations and looking forward to: 1. time with Chris! (maybe I hope I hope I hope), 2. seeing my friends from base and church again! 3. back to work at Ichiban Collectibles, 4. Bon Odori dancing, 5. decorating the house for summer, 6. BABY!!!!!

Houston's Theater District

2011-05-31T11:47:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I babysit my brother and sister-in-law's kiddos when they use their season tickets to the Alley Theater. Imagine my surprise when Amber instead invited me to take Luke's place for a recent showing of Pygmalion! The name is taken from the Greek myth where a sculptor named Pygmalion carves a woman so beautiful he falls in love with her; "My Fair Lady" is the musical version of this play.Amber drove us downtown in their silver Porsche. A Corvette pulled up next to us as we approached the theater, revving its engine and creeping forward. "We're girls...we don't care!" Amber said as the light turned green and we took off. At the end of the play I thought, "Wow! That was much shorter than most plays!" Nope, it's was the standard 2.5 hours, but was so well performed that it felt much shorter. A fine summer evening in Houston! Thanks, Luke and Amber!

Kay's Tea Parlour

2011-05-24T11:12:00.000-05:00

Kay's Tea Parlour in historic downtown Katy was the perfect setting for tea time with Auntie Sonja. This tea room is conveniently next door to the shop where I found my cowgirl boots, plus it got a personal shout-out in the latest editor's note of Tea in Texas Magazine. How could we stay away?
The tea shop advertises European flair, which is easy to offer when it's owned by a Scottish mother-daughter team (I think). Auntie Sonja sipped some iced tea with her roasted vegetable soup. Mum and I shared a big pot of black tea. She had a chicken salad croissant; I had the daily special---yellow split bean soup and chicken pot pie. It's their most popular dish! Yum! After lunch, be sure to stroll through Katy's historic downtown, past the antique stores and the old library where we came when we were little. Mum and I had other plans---it was time to pick up Titus from Katy Elementary just a few blocks away. It seemed so much bigger 20 years ago on my first day of third grade in Texas!

Showers of Blessing

2011-05-22T16:21:00.009-05:00

"I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26Last week my mom's prayer group friends threw a shower of prayer for my and Hannie's baby boys. They prayed for us and our husbands as we become parents, and our babies' safe deliveries, health, and futures. We prayed they will grow strong and walk in the Lord: "He said to them, 'Let the children come to me and do not hinder me, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' And he took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them" (Mark 10:14b-16).My mom, Amber, Hannah and I had to race to drink fizzy pomegranate juice out of a bottle. My mom won by a lot! Hannah and I got last and second-to-last in this game and the 'guess the baby food' game. We have a lot to learn!

It was a wonderful afternoon, and it meant so much to us that these godly women who we've known for years and years would take time out of their weekends to shower us and our babies with prayer and presents. I feel so much better prepared...well no, but encouraged anyway...to take care of a tiny human thanks to their sage advice, jokes, anecdotes and admonitions. But more than anything, it's comforting just knowing people will be praying for us back home. What a picture of Titus 2: 3-4: "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what it good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children."

And who has ever seen anything cuter than a diaper scooter?! Hannah's is a diaper tricycle. Thank you, ladies, for blessing us way more than we deserve. It was not in my plans to evacuate to Texas, but from that came unanticipated blessings: a dual baby shower with my sister! Thank you so much!

Running Commentary

2011-05-21T01:22:00.000-05:00

Life is busy here yet sometimes it seems like nothing's happening. Every day is filled with family time, babysitting, a rotating wheel of house guests, errands, etc., but I'm always wondering whether Chris has received our verbal orders telling us when we'll leave Japan for our next duty station. Will it be this fall? Pushed into Christmastime? Or (eek!) next spring? I've been here over two months. I celebrated Easter with my family. We watched President Obama's live address as he announced Osama Bin Laden's death. I've attended a wedding, a funeral, a bridal shower, a twin baby shower for Hannie and me. I watched an ultrasound where I poked my stomach and the Bean wiggled, then kicked back.

It's been two months since I've seen Chris, and going back to him (and that crazy work schedule) will mean saying goodbye to the kitties for six months or so. Mouse's paw got stung by a wasp and swelled up to five times its normal size, but went back to normal in less than 24 hours. Pounce somehow got outside one night and got in a cat fight that left him with scratches down the right side of his body. Mouse caught a bird; Pounce brought me a barely squirming gecko. I spent Mother's Day with my mom; Chris sent me tulips. Maybe two pieces of clothing I brought with me still fit. I routinely hear my stomach growling...up where my lungs used to be. Very odd. My mom and I went shopping and I said, "Hmm, no matter what I try on, I still look...pregnant. That's why it's more fun to look at baby stuff." My mom said, "And you're my baby, so it's fun for me to see you try on clothes." Later, my mom showed me my baby book. Speaking of books, I've finished "The Double Comfort Safari Club," "The Pregnancy Test," "44 Scottland St.," "A Being So Gentle---the Frontier Love Story of Andrew and Rachel Jackson," and the entire eight-book "Anne of Green Gables" series. And a book about communication in marriage. And part of a Bible study. Blooming magnolia trees fill the neighborhood with their sweet, southern scent. For awhile it looked like Chris might be headed to Las Vegas for a conference; it was canceled, but now he might be going to San Diego at the end of June, in which case I'll meet him there. The military's voluntary evacuation of Japan was lifted more than a month ago, and Chris and I plan for me to return to Japan after his conference.

But doubts remain, especially as some samples of human breast milk in Tokyo taken one month after the tsunami came back positive for radioactive cesium. Isn't the main danger of radiation prolonged exposure? So would radiation levels now, a month later, be higher or lower?

The Mainichi Daily News said this week tea leaves---some raw, some in processing---in Kanagawa (where our house is) have too much radiation for consumption (although tea growers are lobbying to process and sell the leaves anyway!).

My doctor here says after 22 weeks (now!) the baby will probably be fine...probably. Oh yeah, and the baby has some excess fluid on his kidneys that will probably go away...probably. If I can go back to Japan with an estimated date of departure, that would be one thing. But we keep hearing rumors of extensions as we wait for the verbal orders that should have come last week...and of course didn't. I don't want to overreact and be one of those annoying conspiracy theorists or become paranoid about radiation, but I also feel like it's uneducated to pretend none of this could affect the baby. Especially given NAF Atsugi's pretty bad track record in this area. The Shinkanpo Incineration Complex, an incinerator near base that was forced to shut down 10 years ago, belched enough toxic chemicals over the housing area to cause respiratory problems and even death for at least one child, all while the Japan and the military told residents it wasn't that that much of a health risk. So yeah, where does 'doing your research' end and paranoia begin? Perhaps close to where I am, unfortunately, waiting while everything's happening and nothing is changing.

Austin-tatious Turquoise

2011-05-06T22:10:00.011-05:00

In a bid for reelection Davy Crockett famously told his Tennessee constituents he'd thank them for their votes with more faithful service, but if not, "you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas." A year later, 1835 saw Crockett headed southwest toward the Texas Revolution. We all get here sooner or later. It seems kind of sacrilegious to give Cinco de Mayo a shout-out before Easter, but that's coming later as part of a wider recap post or something. For now, lean back with a (non-alcoholic...sigh) beer and admire the gorgeous view of Austin's Lake Travis from the 450-foot deck of the Oasis. Sound familiar? "I'm not big on social graces

think I'll slip on down to the Oasis 'cause

I've got friends in low places!"

I heard a rumor Garth Brooks is talking about this Austin hot spot, but I've also heard it's somewhere in Kansas. Fair enough---'Oasis' is a pretty good name for a bar, I think.
We came here probably 15 years ago with our neighbors, the O'Briens, and the kids' table requested so many lemons to make lemonade while the adults talked that eventually our waiter refused to bring anymore.

The Lone Star State Diaries---Richmond, Texas

2011-05-03T00:19:00.008-05:00

Richmond, Texas used to be synonymous with the hassle of car paperwork. But now that Fort Bend County has opened up a registration office closer to civilization on Highway 99, Richmond can be enjoyed for the historic intrigues of this old settlement and its many charms. Most charming of these: Sandy McGee's (314 Morton St., Richmond, TX, 77469, 281-344-9393). My mom and her friends let me tag along on their lunch date. Try 'The Foodie n' Us All'---crab corn chowder, a scoop of chicken salad and fruit salad with the house poppyseed dressing. Yum!
Just ahead of us in line was your classic Texas police officer. This is the guy you see on warnings to not steal gas, writing tickets alongside the highway or responding to your 911 call all around Texas. They all wear cowboy hats outside. Isn't that so Texas?? I asked if he'd mind posing for Mari's Passport Diaries. He did not.
After lunch we walked down Morton Street while the clacking and tooting of a freight train clambered toward us a block away, then we looped around to the old Methodist church, historic courthouse and past the old Congressman John Moore Home, which is open for tours most days of the week and houses the Fort Bend Museum. It was here we learned that "Fort Settlement" was first inhabited by in 1822 by settlers from Stephen F. Austin's colony.

These settlers were joined by "Mother of Texas" Jane Long, whose husband James Long came to Texas in 1819 with an unauthorized, privately funded army to fight against the Spanish. Her title as Mother of Texas comes from her (self-made, perhaps dubious) claim that her daughter, Mary Long, was the first baby of an English-speaker in Texas. After her husband died, Jane Long established a plantation on her land in Richmond in 1837 and ran the Veranda Hotel. The same year, Erastus "Deaf" Smith, a Texas spy who intercepted critical intelligence from Mexican couriers during the Texas Revolution, died in Richmond, which was one of the original 19 cities incorporated into the Republic of Texas. The town boomed in 1855 when part of Texas' first railroad---the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railroad---came through.

Decades later, Richmond was home to Carry Nation, a rather firm-minded woman who credited alcohol with the failure of her first marriage to a raving alcoholic who died shortly after the birth of their first child. Legend has it this six-foot tall woman would enter a saloon and take an ax to the bar to prevent others from ending up like her first husband. She and her second husband, along with her daughter and mother-in-law from her first marriage and her second husband's children, all moved to Richmond to operate a hotel in this little railroad town.

The family was forced to flee town in 1889 after her husband became involved in the Jaybird-Woodpecker War. The war led to the Battle of Richmond, which resulted in martial law being declared in the town. Essentially this was a war between wealthy, upper-class whites (the Jaybirds) and the whites and blacks actually voted into office once minorities were allowed to vote (the Woodpeckers). Despite several elections putting the Woodpeckers into office, both parties kept shooting each other. The ridiculous end result of all this was the Jaybirds battling their way back into power after a notorious shoot-out and forming a permanent white organization to control Fort Bend County affairs. This lasted about 70 years. Seriously, ancient Texans? Richmond redeems itself thanks to big steps in the field of cattle ranching and by having Moore Cemetery, eternal resting place of M. B. Lamar, President of the Republic of Texas, as well as Jane Long. We stopped at the Richmond Police Station, which used to be the old jail, to ask directions. I like old cemeteries like this one and the ones in Savannah, Georgia, or the forgotten ones in old family estates like on Cumberland Island. I like the well-chosen scripture carved into fading tombstones and it breaks my heart to see the tiny stones over miniature graves graced with mournful lines of verse: "Sweetly sleep, dear lamb, at rest. God brought you home; He thought it best." Who knew Richmond, Texas was such an interesting cross-section of Texas history?

Where There's Smoke...

2011-04-27T23:35:00.005-05:00

I'm kind of at a bit of a loose end here in Katy, Texas. I like following my mom around and all, but it's a little disorienting not having my own schedule...car...home...husband...job...life...you know. The 'military assisted voluntary departure' has been lifted and I'm really happy for my friends who are flooding back into Japan. Hopefully I'll join them one of these days.

For the time being, Chris' squadron is occasionally still flying missions up in the disaster area and even local flights have resulted in Chris' flight gear setting off the Geiger counter. My doctor agreed returning to Japan is probably totally fine, but said with all the unknowns of Chris' exposure and what he's bringing home, he'd recommend waiting until June when the Bean is past the highest risk window for radiation exposure (22 weeks). So hopefully June will see me back in Japan.

I don't understand: 1. baby stuff, 2. radiation risks, 3. certain people not having weekends off (oh wait, that's not what we're talking about), so I asked the Doc to explain x-ray risks to fetuses. Then maybe I can at least have a basis from which to assess risk. He said most of the risk lies in people who are already predisposed to conditions like Leukemia. That would not include me, so he agreed, "You probably don't need to worry. The risk is probably low. In 50 years we might find out it wasn't, but that's the best information I can give you with what we know now." So that was comforting...I think.

Anyway in other news, Texas is under a big fat drought and record-breaking April heat. We pulled off the freeway the other day and stopped to investigate some smoke. A small fire was burning merrily so my mom and I stomped it out (in flip flops---it's 90 degrees here), but soon the gusting wind had fanned it up again...and it was growing. Oops. We observed the nearby gas station, cow pasture and homes downwind, then dialed 911. The operator thanked my mom profusely for calling; a cop car, ambulance and firetruck arrived in under five minutes. The cop probably could have quenched the flames with a gallon of water. Instead he told us to move our car while he accepted handshakes from the firemen and we watched from a distance. Well, if I'm going to follow my mom around at least we can do a tiny public service, right?

The Strawberry Seaside Highway

2011-04-23T19:46:00.003-05:00

This is what Chris and I were doing five days before the big earthquake: strawberry picking! The week before we'd gone on possibly the worst day trip ever---it was cold, Chris had an awful cold, I was nauseous, the bus driver was making everyone sick (literally...gross) and traffic was so clogged that we ended up spending the vast majority of our time lurching around on the bus. So we did not have high hopes for strawberry picking, but we ended up having a really fun day! This cold, clear morning began with sakura lattes and a sakura danish at the most scenic Starbucks ever---good morning, Fuji-san!

We drove through tea-covered hillsides to the Strawberry Seaside Highway. Here, dozens of strawberry farmers grow candy-flavored strawberries in low greenhouses overlooking the Pacific. Peak season runs from January through May. Have you ever tasted Japanese strawberries? They're ridiculously expensive...and so worth it. Mary Fox---great idea to go on this tour! We got little cups of sweetened-condensed milk to eat with as many strawberries as we could pick in half an hour. I was just emerging from feeling nauseous all the time to being hungry all the time. What good timing. Chris and I had a strawberry eating contest and although we lost count, I'm pretty sure I won. Snarf, snarf!

After that we swung over a precipitous drop in a very full cable car to get to Kunozan Toshogu Shine. The only other route involves climbing thousands of stairs from the seaside. Shizuoka Prefecture's temperate, sunny weather had already coaxed some of the shrine's cherry blossoms into bloom and they shone in the sun like so many glistening pink pearls.

All this was built to honor the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. He was buried somewhere else originally, but moved here when an enemy took over the previous hilltop, but then moved somewhere else entirely I think. So what's the enduring point of this shrine...?

A fine question. It was really pretty.

Then we stopped at a fish market for some really fresh sushi on a convenient go-round. We accidentally snagged a plate that cost 800 yen ($10) and it wasn't even our favorite! Oops! We walked around after that, stopping to be grossed out by the enormous tuna head decorated with silk spring blossoms and gaping up at the ceiling, then browsed a shop with more Hello Kitty phone charms than I've ever seen. While I was perusing these and debating whether I needed a Hello-Kitty-in-onegiri charm, Chris beckoned me over: "Come look at this!" "Hmm?" I asked. "Come here!" he said. "Can you hold it up?" I asked, not tall enough to lean over the aisle. "No, I am not holding this up in here," he said. (photo below) Ha ha! This is a kids' store! Japan is so crazy!

Also, I thought it might be funny to note that as of this day in early March, we were congratulating each other on being close to finishing the most challenging part of the spring. Chris' squadron's NATOPS evaluation was finished, I was leaving in just three days for the Thailand buy trip---what I'd hoped would be my last international flight before we moved---and we were looking forward to cherry blossom season and our first real stretch of time together at home in Japan. Ha ha ha! Ah...we make plans; our sovereign God laughs.

West Side Dining

2011-04-23T19:38:00.001-05:00

Neither of these cafes is in Katy exactly, but both are worth a try if you're hungry on Houston's western front. Flora & Muse is a flower shop, bakery and bistro in Houston's new City Center at Town and Country at Beltway 8 and I-10. The whole area is fun---cute and classic shops, events, fountains, live music, lots of restaurants. It's especially fun the few weeks of the year it's actually pleasant enough to sit outside, like it was the day my mom and I tried it out with Auntie Sonja.

They split a panini and salad; I helped myself to an entire pizza topped with Gorgonzola cheese, roasted pears and toasted hazelnuts. Yum! Afterwards we each had a cream puff before strolling through the shops. The main plaza's fountains say, "Living Water" and etched into the stone, "To God be the glory." This is also where we met Chris' family a few weeks ago for a beautiful evening of Mexican food on the patio at Escalante's.

Further west in Brookshire (just west of Katy), is the charming Brookwood Community Cafe. Brookwood is a vocational community for adults with special needs. It's expanded over the years from a residence, small gift shop and nursery to a large gift shop, cafe and wedding facility. Adults who can't live on their own paint ornaments and pottery, bus tables with a partner and help in the garden. Each handmade piece is initialed on the bottom, and proceeds go to the community. Oh, and the cafe is delicious---try the Mesibov Salad, with blue cheese, sugary roasted pecans, apple slices and crispy chicken strips tossed with Brookwood's Mesibov salad dressing. My mom likes the fish tacos.

After lunch we toured the chapel. My mom found this lizard. It's already in the low 90s here in Texas. Texas is hot!

Texas Road Trip

2011-04-14T23:20:00.008-05:00

I wore a pair of hand-me-down cowgirl boots every single day on our one-way drive from New Jersey to Texas when I was eight. I thought they were the coolest ever. My mom teases me for getting really into the Texas history performance at my new school and saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" as I demonstrated my new Cotton Eyed Joe dance skills. I don't remember this. Anyway, I subsequently outgrew these and another pair of boots, but since I've been a big kid I have yet to find a permanent replacement. Until last week. I dreamed about them for a week and bought them today---because seriously, how can I claim to be from Texas if I have no boots? Problem solved. An old Texas truck commercial has some old cowboy drawling, "In Texas, everything is on the other side of nowhere." This is true. My mom and I proved this again last weekend as we left the Katy prairie for Dustie and Ryan's wedding in the Hill Country. The ceremony was in a beautiful chapel on top of one of many rolling hills surrounded by fields of waving grass and serene bovines. Their ranch reception featured barbecue, two-stepping, a big dance I forget the name of, and the chicken dance. I love Texas! Congratulations, you two!!
Back in Houston, I visited my sister in Rice Village. We walked to the Rice University campus where she's working on her Ph.D. for a tour of her office space and classrooms. We circled the school on a beautiful walking trail lined with those trees that bloom in Texas right now and smell like April/May/school ending/beginning of summer/getting married. Then we got frozen yogurt with too many toppings. Han's husband Justin was driving back from College Station and stopped to pick us up some Layne's with that amazing peppery dipping sauce. Yum!! The guy gave Justin a funny look when he asked for 10 extra sauces. Justin tried to explain, "This girl--" the guy immediately nodded and went to get them. In the past month, we've had two cloudy days. Two. Temperatures have ranged from the upper 50s (one day) to the lower 90s (a few days last week). Our day at Rice was gorgeous all day. Back at my parents' house, Mouse has decided he's a daytime outdoor cat. Pounce figured out how to pop the window screens out with his nose.
I am against belly pictures in principle, but I don't think this counts. This is just a sister moment. I think seeing my little sis pregnant has been one of the best parts of being home!!

Singing the Limbo Song

2011-04-12T10:56:00.003-05:00

So while I'm home enjoying Rice Village and shopping for baby clothes with my little sis, Chris has been told to expect to work weekends indefinitely. This week his squadron is ferrying decision-makers between the US bases and Tokyo. After flying for three hours today, Chris' flight gloves were confiscated for having double the allowed limit of contamination. He was within 16 miles of our base the entire day. Lovely.

Mt. Fuji erupting was part of a running joke of 'what else could go wrong?' the week after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear mishap. We can see Mt. Fuji from our balcony on a good day; what would it be like to suddenly see it capped with smoke?

Not so funny, it turns out. Our pastor and friends at church filled Chris in on common thought. Apparently, Japan's previous highest-magnitude earthquake---an 8.6 shaker in southwestern Honshu that killed 5,000 and generated a tsunami on October 28, 1707---came just 49 days before Mt. Fuji's last eruption. For three weeks, from mid-December through the first week of the new year, Fuji-san chunked cinders and ash across our region. Lovely. All this came just four years after a December 1703 quake and tsunami in old Edo---modern Tokyo---that killed more than 108,000 people, most of them in the Sagami area. Our home is in the modern Sagami area, right near the Sagami River and all the train stations with 'Sagami' as part of their titles.

Anywho, contemplating volcanoes is not particularly productive or necessary; I just can't stop thinking about Japan as we wait for news regarding the voluntary departure (should come Friday). Meanwhile, some cities in Fukushima Prefecture are evacuating pregnant women and babies since they're being exposed to a year's worth of radiation in just a few weeks; the Japanese government is expanding the mandatory evacuation zone around the Daiichi nuclear plant; Tokyo has announced the plant has leaked enough radiation and contamination to necessitate raising its disaster level to 7---the highest and same ranking as Chernobyle (with far less radiation than that, thankfully, but still over the level 7 limit).

So that's the news summary on Japan. I'm simultaneously missing Chris like crazy and loving spending so much time with my family. It's confusing.

Sakura, Sakura

2011-04-08T23:46:00.005-05:00

Shikishima no
Yamato-gokoro wo
Hito towaba,
Asa-hi ni niou
Yama-zakura-bana!

"If one should enquire of you concerning the spirit of a true Japanese, point to the wild-cherry-blossom shining in the sun." --Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801), Japanese Poet
I love this poem, which I featured in one of my cherry blossom blog posts our first spring in Japan (all these sakura pictures are from 2009). I think its especially applicable now as sakura trees bloom over a strong and composed people, across a Japan that's endured more than 800 earthquakes and one killer tsunami in the last month. Chris is now back in our home along the Hikichigawa, the most beautiful place in Japan. He's continuing to work crazy hours (there's yet to be a day since the earthquake where he hasn't gone in to work, and yes, it's Saturday there now), but he said the Road of a Thousand Blossoms has in fact started to puff out in cherry blossom beauty. My life was in Japan for now (church, friends, job, Chris' job, home), but my future is elsewhere (baby, the house we'll buy this fall, next duty station, the rest of our lives).

I'm thankful to be in Texas away from the power outages, continued shaking, and uncertainty about what any possible/potential radiation in my off-base Japanese tap water might do to harm the Bean. I'm happy to have held my new nephews, who are just a few weeks and months old. It's so fun to have leisurely dinners with my parents and maternity clothes shopping trips with my sister.

But Japan is always on my mind and heart, and selfishly I'm sad that Chris was in Misawa and I was in Texas for the fun Tokyo hanami weekend I planned seven months ago---complete with hotel and dinner reservations that were canceled when the voluntary departure was issued.

Meanwhile, the cats are loving Texas. Mouse likes rolling outside; Pounce likes afternoon nap time. A week from now, someone will determine whether the departure will be lifted. If that happens, Chris and I will have to decide where to go from here. He asked me to leave before the departure was announced, so its being lifted isn't our own criteria for returning.

Check out this interesting article by Debito Arudou in the Japan Times, which reads in part:

"This is a society, remember, that has never experienced a popular grassroots revolution in its history. The result is that less cultural value is placed on fairness and social justice, more on personal perseverance and knuckling under — even if that means the environment gets poisoned and people die, either as volunteer fire department heroes or as silent victims after long-term radiation exposure. Afterward, we'll salute and mourn those who sacrificed themselves for the system, feeling sad for them but grateful that it didn't happen to us. It's a cost of living in Japan.

One would hope that Fukushima would occasion review and reform. But I doubt it will. Fukushima has illuminated how the biggest problems facing Japan will not get fixed — because the public cannot or will not force the state to take responsibility for its mistakes. Ultimately, this is what breeds Japan's undying fatalism."