Disney Sea and other spring break adventures...

Sorry I have not been around.  The kids were on spring break and hubby even got to take a week of leave.  Woohoo!  Last Monday we surprised the kids with a trip to the Pokemon Center in Yokohama.  We just told them that we somewhere to go that was work related.  But once we got close to the Landmark Tower- where the Pokemon Center is- they got excited.  It was a lot nicer to go on a Monday (as opposed to Sunday).  It was nice and quiet and I could actually walk around without getting run over by an 8 year old.  I am learning that Sunday is not a good day to go to places like the Pokemon Center or any other big touristy spot.  That is like family day in Japan and EVERYONE is out and about.

Thursday we visited Disney Sea.  It is right next door to Tokyo Disney.  Disney Sea is kind of like California Adventure- but smaller. 
We had a blast- in spite of freezing all of our limbs off.  It rained for most of the day- which meant that the park was pretty empty.  We didn't wait more than 5 or 10 minutes for a ride.  My favorite was Journey to the Center of the Earth- it was very imaginiative.  We all enjoyed Ariel's playground- even though it is geared for little kids.  The reason being is that it is all inside- and it is warm!  I can see it being a great place in the summer as well- to get away from the heat this time.

Ariel's Playground.  I have no idea how to take a picture in this kind of lighting- so the picture really sucks.  But you can get an idea of what it looks like- the whole "under the sea" theme.  In addition to the rides, they had different rooms and all kinds of stuff for the kids to climb on/in.  And there is lots of seating for the parents!

The kids like Raging Spirits- which is a 360 loop roller coaster.  It is not really that scary- especially when you ride it over 10 times in one day. (I am not exaggerating either!)  They have the Tower of Terror like California Adventure- but I think here it is not as tall?  Who cares when it's the first couple of seconds in the plunge of death that really flips your stomach!
Oh- I have to warn anyone who visits- do not- I repeat- DO NOT eat at the Mexican restaurant.  Sure- they have the authentic Mariachi band and homemade tortillas.  But everything else- YUCK!! 

There were a lot of school children there- I believe junior high age.  They had their uniforms on and they were all having a ball.  We enjoyed watching some boys trying to push each other in the water (you know those kind of fountains that come up out of the ground at random intervals?)  The girls would occassionally stop to say hi to Sissy.  I am regretting not getting a picture of them (the school girls) with her.  Next time, right?

If I had to chose between Tokyo Disney and Disney Sea- I would chose the latter.   Tokyo Disney does not really have anything new- it is a miniature version of the orginal park in Anaheim.  Of course the food and language is all different- so it is still a must see in my book.

Here it finally stopped raining long enough for some of the characters to come out for pictures.  They didn't make everyone wait in line like they do in Anaheim these days(which I think is totally lame in a way.)

Ha!  Brother thought he was going to get away without taking a picture with Dale.  But good ole' Dale grabbed his arm and pulled me in for another picture!

Some of our other plans were kaboshed due to the very cold and rainy weather.  I really think Mother Nature needs a complaint department- I need to yell at someone!  Friday morning we woke up to rain/snow mixture. WTH??

Here's to wishing for better weather...

update- This was written last week- for some reason I didn't get a chance to post.  I am happy to report that we are enjoying sunshine!!  I have that song in my head- "I'm walkin' on sunshine..."

Someone Thinks My Blog is Beautiful!

Jes from Day to Day Life of an Army Wife has blessed my with a blog award.  I am tickled pink!  Thank you Jes, I think your blog is beautiful too!  I forgot to mention I made your crab ragoon a couple of weeks ago.  It was hit a with my family!  yummmmm

Here the award rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and link back to their blog.

I already thanked you above- but I will do it again.  Thanks Jes!!  Check out her blog- Day to Day Life of an Army Wife.



2. Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers who have a beautiful blog.

Last time (and first time) I received a reward- I knew only like- 3- bloggers.  Now I know more- but this is still hard!!

1. Julie the Army Wife

2. Riding the Rollercoaster

3. On the Move

4. The Ever-Changing Life of a Military Wife

5. The Navy Wife

6. My Sailor's Mistress

7.  Hellcat Betty

Yep- they are all military wives- the most beautiful kind!!  Much love to you all!

3. Contact the other bloggers and let them know they won an award.


4. Say 7 things about yourself.

1. I like white rice with Ranch dressing and a little salt- yummy!

2. Growing up- I always swore I would never marry a sailor (I grew up in San Diego- back when they had Navy bootcamp there).  Look at me now! lol

3. When I met my sailor- I was working as an assistant manager at Petco in San Diego.  It totally creeped him out when I picked up the iguanas.

4. Growing up, I wanted to be a fashion designer and study at Parsons in New York.  I totally chickened out on that one when the time came to apply.

5. I never learned to do a cartwheel.

6. I can't rollerskate.

7. I hitchhiked once.  I was 13 and on a camping trip with my Girl Scout troop in Big Sur, California (don't tell my daughter).  It was super dark out and very creepy.  I vowed to never do that again.

That was fun- I look forward to what everyone else has to say!

Japanese beauty...

The Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) have bloomed!  It is as beautiful as everyone said it would be.  Yesterday we went to the park to take some pictures.

It looks like the ground has been sprinkled with pink powdered sugar- it is so pretty!

That's Sissy walking with her bestest friend.

Pink Blossoms- the majority of the trees seem to have pink blossoms.

The white blossoms are beautiful as well.

A mother and her daughter catching cherry blossoms as they fall from the tree (which happens everytime the wind blows.)  Sissy informed me that if you catch a cherry blossom before it hits the ground- you can make a wish.  We all tried catching them- it was a lot harder than it looked!  But then I figured it out- see how in the pictures they are cupping their hands?  That is how it is done.

I plan on taking more pictures when the lighting is better.  Here's hoping for sunshine!

It's my Blogiversary..

Woohoo (cue fireworks and celebration music).  1 year ago I disovered this wonderful world of blogging (duh- where have I been?)  72 posts later I am hooked!   I have met some wonderful people online and now I have 15 subscribers.  It may be a drop in a bucket compared to others- but I cherish my wonderful readers.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!  Much love to you all.  Maybe next year my numbers will be up to 30?  Here's to hoping....

If you would like to read more- please check out my favorite post from my 1st year....

Cheers!

Health Matters and all that stuff

I think it is a result of my getting older- but I am becoming more health conscious each and every day.  What I used to take for granted seems so precious and precarious now.  Hubby and I watched Dr. Oz the other night- the topic was sleep apnea.  They showed this couple and how they actually would stop breathing in the night while sleeping.  According to Dr. Oz this was 'killing them'.  My step-father had sleep apnea, this is before the awareness of sleep apnea we have today.  My mom said she used to freak out when he stopped breathing and sometimes would shake him awake (much to his annoyance.)  Eventually he developed COPD (due to his years of smoking)- the docs gave him oxygen to breathe at night.  The poor man finally started sleeping well- unfortunately three years later he suffered a fatal heart attack.  At least now I know why he was so grouchy all those years while I was growing up (it wasn't me!) :-)  Poor guy- if only he had been treated all those years ago.

Forward to present time- I think Hubby has sleep apnea.  After watching Dr. Oz I can hardly sleep if Hubby is snoring  (it never bothered me much before.)  At times he sounds like he is choking or drowning- it so scary.  Am I overreacting?  I don't think so.  So how do I convince him to get help?  And how do I convince him to eat better as well.  I am overhauling our meals and what kind of foods we eat.  He seems to think we need meat at every meal- I say we need protein- does not have to come from meat.  I need to get creative here- maybe I should get some vegetarian cookbooks?  I'll just have to make sure he doesn't see them. ;)

So my question is- how do you convince your partner to eat better and generally take better care of his/herself?

On a side note- I am still trying to avoid sweets.  I have given in a time or two- but generally have done well.  I have lost 10 pounds since the start of the year.  My clothes fit better, so that is encouragement in itself.  BUT...

GUYS- close your ears- unfortunately I think most of those 10 pounds came from my bossoms- Hubby agreed with me too.  Darn! 

Why can't we CHOOSE how to distribute our fat?  Of course if that were the case the women would all have double D's and the guys- well you can imagine where that would go..

I think my next post will be about plastic surgery- yay or nay?

This is one long month!

Maybe it is because February is such a short month- but March seems to be the looongest month!  It could be because I want to hurry up and get to April because maybe April will bring warm weather?  Let's hope so.  The sun is out more at least.  The cherry blossoms are teasing us, the buds are getting nice and fat.  I have seen a few blooming trees here and there so far.  But the two big ones by my house I am anxious to see.  They are huge!

Did I mention I am going to a cherry blossom viewing party next week?  Hubby is wearing his dress uniform (the formal one for special events).  The invite says civilain dress is "casual".  Uh, no- not when dress uniforms are being worn!  So I am teetering on what I am going to wear.  I have a beautiful silk baby doll dress- but I am worried it too dressy?  Or maybe it is not dressy enough?  I hate situations like these!  I need to find someone who has been to one of these parties and find out what is appropriate.

I really shouldn't want to rush time- Hubby will be deployed eventually so I should just enjoy our time together.  I looked back on 2009- we were only together 3 months out of 12.  I should be glad he doesn't have to deploy for a year at a time- at least not yet.

Last week was a busy one for me.  So I don't have any new foods or places to share today- nor any pictures.  Sorry- I'll try harder next time....
Cheers!

A Fallen Hero

I usually check my Goodle Reader every morning to see if there are any new posts.  This morning Riding the Roller Coaster posted a link to a very sad post about a Marine Wife and her Fallen Hero.  I had not visited this blog before today, and I do not know her- but my heart breaks for her and her little baby girl.  It is a stark reminder of how precious and fragile life is.  She already has over 200 comments from people expressing their love and support.  I really hope it helps her.