Epic Catching Up!

Our last post was almost 2 months ago to the day…sorry for the delay but we’ve been kinda in that boring “head down, keep plowing through” mode for a bit. We’re trying to save money for the grand Disney adventure this summer when the kids visit, so it makes for some sparse trips and fewer outings and whatnot. I’m sure you all understand. Sequestration!! ;) So here's our catching up post, at the request of a very good friend and dear reader. :0)

Let’s see…since February the cherry blossoms have come and gone and they were truly beautiful. We live right next to the street that is pictured below and as you can see it is beautifully lined on both sides with cherry blossom trees. I expected the smell to be much stronger with so many trees (and tens of thousands of blooms) but it was fairly mild. They are more lookers if ya know what I mean. But still gorgeous and we took a ton of pics. According to our Japanese students, these blossoms are one of their favorite things about Spring as well…so it’s really not a “tourist” thing at all. J  here: one of my favorite parts of the cherry blossoms is the raining of petals. It is peaceful and amazingly beautiful. We tried to capture it on video but it really has to be experienced. Ohno-san told me the downside to the cherry blossoms is that if the petals get on your car and get wet, they stick like a sticker and are really hard to get off the car. I saw people throwing water on their cars and Ohno-san said they do it to soak the dried petals so they can get them off the car. But running your car through a car wash a few time is certainly worth the beauty of the season. He also said that we have some of the biggest and oldest cherry blossom trees in the area. I feel really lucky to have been able to see it.

We also recently explored the Flower Festival at nearby Showa Kinen Park and it was quite beautiful as you can see below. It was fun to be there snapping pictures of the flowers right alongside the Japanese people. Again, can’t feel like much of a tourist when all the locals are joining in. We are really lucky that this great park is only about a 15 minute drive and/or a quick bike ride away from our house. We hope you enjoy the pics. J here: I really enjoyed people watching at Showa park. The old men in full photographer regalia, replete with knee pads and huge telephoto lenses were interspersed with young couples taking self portraits at arms length with point and shoot cameras. There were also a bunch of girls all decked out in their finest getting their pictures taken. The flowers were amazing as well, but like everything here it is really about the whole experience.  

Back in early February we had the chance to karaoke with some awesome friends of ours for J's birthday. We went back to the great little place in Hachioji and we had a great time. I wish karaoke was a viable job cause I love it so much that I'd love to just do that for a living. But I digress. The experience was so cool! The restaurant had a room reserved for us (Thanks Koji!) and we all sat around a japanese style table that had a dropped area for our feet and legs. So the table looked Japanese but felt western. There was a cordless touch screen menu that you selected what you wanted and they would bring everything in as it was ready. The TV and karaoke machine was in the corner and as soon as we got drinks ordered and our first round of snacks we started singing! It was a blast! Our Japanese friends were pros but we Americans had belted out a few tunes in our times so it wasn't too mismatched. My favorite was Liz and Kojis rendition of "I don't like your girlfriend" by Avril Levine. Dustins made up dirty lyrics to any song he didn't know the words to was also pretty awesome. The Stormans had a few aces up their sleeves too. I think they had been practicing. :)

We also had the chance to enjoy mochi pounding with our Japanese friends back in late February. For those of you who don't know, steamed rice is pounded over and over using wooden mallets (as you can see below it’s kind of like a giant wooden mortar & pestle) and the result is called mochi. The process is pretty simple and made more fun by it being an outside event. Kinda like an American BBQ where you have various grilled foods and snacks and everyone just hangs out. It was quite fun and J and I both got to try our hand at pounding the mochi out. They were very gracious hosts, feeding us well and making us feel at home. They all took turns chatting with us and trying out their English, which made it even more fun. I thought it was awesome when J was invited over to the “men’s circle” to hang out and do their second favorite thing to do while mochi pounding…drink sake! J tried not to drink “too much” but that didn't really happen. It was a great afternoon, though. An unexpectedly intimate Japanese experience. J here: If you really want to know step by step how they do it you can look it up on Wikipedia, but here is what we saw. They use special short grain mochi rice. It was soaked and rinsed for a full 24 hours before the party. They had big plastic tubs full of rice and water. They had a really cool three tiered outdoor rice cooker. It was woodfired and many parts were handmade with pride. The most impressive was the solid wooden pestle that was hand made by our host many years ago to pound the mochi in. He had pictures of the process of hand carving it and the repair of a large crack that developed a few years ago. The hammering method is similar to swinging an ax, so I was pretty comfortable with that part. The interesting part is that at your knee is a Japanese man grabbing and turning the mass of rice you are pounding between blows. If I moved away he would pull me closer to make it safer for him. He would make a noise every time he was ready for me to swing. They were not really words just sounds. I can't type what it sounded like, so I'll just have to tell you in person. It sounded kinda like karate sounds. It had the rhythm of a chain gang. It was really cool. He would even say things in english like "power up" and it would make everybody laugh. It would also make me swing harder and they were all very supportive and cheering. It was really fun!

In March we got the chance to support one of J's troops that was running in the Tokyo marathon. We walked part of the course to be able to see him and take some pics of him running...and by the end of the day we had walked what felt like an entire marathon ourselves. About 10 hours on our feet. And yes, I realize I am whining about walking all day when literally thousands of people ran 26 miles that day. Seriously, I was dog tired but it was a good experience. As you can see from the pics, some of the costumes were really epic! I don't know how some of them ran 26 miles with some of that stuff on their bodies (especially the guy in the full Gene Simmons Kiss regalia...complete with platform shoes!) but it was pretty entertaining to watch. It was a fun experience...minus the tired feet. Speaking of running, it is noteworthy to mention that I myself completed my first 5K back in early April. J has been running with me since I started the Couch to 5K program back in January and I couldn't have done it without him! It was a great feeling to go from "oh HELL no I could never run a 5K" to actually completing it. And not only did I complete the 5K, but I discovered I truly love running and I have made it a part of my lifestyle. J and I run at least 3 times/wk now and I am enjoying the weight loss (10.5 pounds so far) and the feeling of getting stronger by the day.

That pretty much gets us up to Saturday, which was a really fun day with some great friends of ours. Our friends rented a van and invited us to go check out some beautiful sites around Mt. Fuji. It was a really fun day and we got to just relax and have a nice guided tour experience with awesome people. We drove around blaring American music, laughing, having fun and it was nice to feel like we were not in Japan for just a few hours. It seems like such a simple thing, but the road trip feeling was something I didn't realize I had been missing so much until we were finally on one again...good, good times. And the scenery was beyond amazing; the moss phlox around the base of Mt. Fuji was gorgeous. We also took in 3 waterfalls and 5 different lakes. Then, some McD's, a stop at a Japanese truck-stop (complete with Starbucks!) and a nice ride home. Oh and we all took some wacky group pictures too...a great bonus to the day. :)

Then today (Sunday) we got the chance to return to our friend Kumiko's house where we had the mochi pounding event before. It was a gyoza/pizza party and they invited a few of us lucky Americans as well. We enjoyed the handmade wood-grilled pizza that was lovingly grilled for us on their super cool outdoor wood-fire oven. I told J to take good notes so he could make me one someday! I don't know what else you can make on it, but the pizza was delicious so that'd be enough reason for me to own one. Plus, we all know he loves to make things so I'd say everyone wins. ;) We ran out in a hurry and forgot the camera, so please forgive us...but it was a very relaxed afternoon of food and chatting. We are so blessed to know these people and to continue to be invited to what feels like a family gatherings with us being the extended family. J was invited to help prepare the gyoza and he ended up making a couple of batches from start to finish...including cooking and getting a few helpful hints.

So, that about sums up what we've been doing the last couple of months. The weather the past few days has turned gorgeous, which has been welcomed because we had a late cold snap and it seems to finally be over. Hopefully! I hope you're all doing well and enjoying your Spring. Love to all, as always!

The finished mochi balls, complete with a yummy strawberry inside! Oiishi!!!

Our friends making the mochi balls

Some of our lunch snacks

J was a mochi pro!

You had to get a rhythm going with your "helper" as they help you fold the mochi ball

They were so great to watch!

J chatting with the guys. You can also see the big rice cooker here...so cool!

Group effort!

This was the pink mochi, just food coloring though, no flavor. The pink color represents the plum blossom and the promise of Spring (as this is a New Year's tradition)...they also made green using seaweed and the green represents branches and growth. The white mochi represents the snow :)

L getting a hand from one of the experts :)

Let the karaoke begin!

Yummy pizza @ the karaoke place

Koji and J

Loved this edamame! I think it was pretty much all I ate besides cake lol

Workin' it out ;)

L walked in while they were performing and got pulled into the act

View of Hachioji right outside the train station

Ooooo purty lights!

Our group, minus Rebekah taking the pic. Thanks, Rebekah!! :)

Discussing what to order

The cake comes out! I love the inception of R taking the pic of J taking a pic of the cake! Awesome :)

Sake? Yes, please!

Our first real view of the Tokyo marathon

Yes, folks, that is a man dressed as Jesus. I wonder if he made it the whole way?

I had to pet the bunny!! He/she was adorable :)

Sigh. She's so dreamy! She'll always be my fav!! :)

The route in downtown Tokyo

Some of our crew!

DeNiro on the train

ROR

Pimpin' ain't easy!

Found him!!!!

More random runners...almost to the finish!!

Red suit guy

Normal people ran too....and then there's that guy

You know, he's a soccer ball with a reindeer on his head. Pretty much the definition of random!

Bumblebee roll out!

Cap'n Jack!

Not a great pic because of so many people on the sidelines, but that's Gene Simmons....and yes, he was a white guy!! Hilarious!

I woulda passed out wearing this for 26 miles!!

Authentic Japanese character guy

He made it!! Pretty amazing stuff!

Beautiful street on base

Thousands of heavenly cherry blossoms! They only last about 10-12 days so this is really special!

Gorgeous!

Some of the lovely tulips @ Showa park

Close up of one of the multi-colored ones!

As you can see behind me, it was very busy! 

These were some of my favs! I love the shape of them

"vivid" setting...wasn't even really necessary, they were so bright already! But I like how it came out :)

Aww :)

Love this one!

The poppy field

We fell in love with that giant tree back there...

So pretty!

The crew from the Fuji trip 4/27/13

Bein super silly

J's idea was for it to look like my superhero shock-wave was throwing everyone backwards. Pretty convincing, except when we practiced it, I was trying to have a super serious face and I failed when we took the actual pic. 

I love this!!! And this was only the fourth try I think ;)

I really love this pic! Thanks random Japanese guy!!

Moss phlox in front of Fuji-san

I loved seeing so many locals snapping pics like crazy right along with us

I had to photobomb at least one pic...

Don't know what the cute cow sign says but I like this pic anyway :)

Hehehehe at least they can laugh at themselves!

Shanks...for the memories!

Adorableness!!

Japanese tourist pose!

Pretty much perfection

J's "whatchutalkinboutwillis?" face :)

Adorable!!! I was being lazy and stayed in the van taking pics of one of the lakes and  this is what I saw :)

We should probably work on it ;)

Let's Go To the Movies!

Warning: Japan-related content of the following post is roughly 1.47%. You have been warned.

Sitting in the theater the other night watching Skyfall (for the second time), I was struck by how much a good movie really can do for you. I was in a reaaaaally bad mood (thank you, job) and I was just feelin funky and not in a good way. I sat down, the lights dimmed, and within minutes of the cheesy opening “turn off your cell phone” reel I was transported. To a place where there are no money problems (and if there are they are someone else’s so they are no big deal), no worries, no stress…just 2 hours of watching Bond catch the bad guy, make love to several beautiful women, and just look generally badass. The music is perfect, taking you up and down and around in a way that only movie music can do…thank you, Mr. Newman! But it made me really want to do an Oscar review blog, so please forgive the lack of Japan-related content (but hey you were, in fact, warned earlier). And before I get into all that, I must say that I don’t know where our country lost our love of movies…when I was younger it seemed like people were just easier to impress and therefore really enjoyed the whole movie experience. Nowadays there are way too many apps and distractions and it kinda makes me sad to see that era go…but rest assured, there will always be movie lovers in the McVey house, including yours truly.  They can’t make an app for the feeling the movies give you…maybe if they do, I’ll download it and be converted. But I’d probably need an iphone first. 

Anyway, let’s get going cause this could take a moment.

This year there are several  great front-runners for Best Picture, which of course excites the movie lover in me to no end…here’s a mini-review of each one, in case you missed any of them. J

Amour: Sorry, missed this one cause strangely enough, don’t get too many English-subtitled French films in Japan. This better not win best picture or I’ll be pissed.

Argo: Ok, I’m not a history buff and I have no clue how historically accurate this movie is but I thought it was a great story…a little slow in parts, but overall good entertainment. And I was quite frankly shocked and reminded of our Dear Leonardo DiCaprio in the way that Ben Affleck was snubbed for Best Actor for this movie! I mean, come on…this is quite literally the only Ben Affleck movie that I can even stand, aside from GWH. Come on, Oscar picking people...this was a lame snub. Anyway, back to the movie itself, I think the action was good and since I (sadly) knew nothing about this controversy before watching the movie, I was genuinely taken along for the proverbial ride by what happened in the movie. Very eye-opening and in an entertaining way…what movies are all about! The bonus was the super cool 70’s hair (especially Ben's). I give this movie 3 out of 4 stars.

Beasts of the Southern Wild: This movie was messy and raw and a tad painful to watch in parts...and kinda leaves you with the "why did I watch that again?" feeling. Not necessarily a good thing. It was intriguing and made me wonder about the people that actually live in that area of Louisiana and how much of it was really accurate. They seemed to have no shortage of crummy places and questionable characters to film so I'm guessing they were not all extras. It had that semi-serious-artsy feel to the whole movie, which is sometimes really awesome but it didn't really seem to flow with the story very well in this case. I'm sorry, but there is nothing beautiful about a horribly run-down trailer with a 6 year old living in it, no matter how artsy you try to make it seem. But the story was very real, almost had a documentary quality that made it very engaging. And the little girl was amazing and I am not surprised she is nominated for Best Actress...however she has some pretty stiff competition in that category this year so I'm not sure she'll take it. However one thing in her favor is that Meryl Streep is nowhere to be seen this year. I give this movie 2 1/2 out of 4 stars. 

Django Unchained: Ok, first of all, you can't compare this movie to Pulp Fiction. Yes, they are both Tarantino, but I am sorry to say that this movie is no Pulp Fiction. I had heard it was "the new Pulp Fiction" so I had that idea before watching it and I was a bit disappointed. Because really, PF is a masterpiece and pretty much perfection and how can you improve on that? So that was my bad. But if you judge this movie on it's own, as it should be judged, it was a classic Tarantino fun-fest. Plenty of blood, nay, overkill amounts of blood (pardon the pun) in true Tarantino fashion...and following thusly, done in a way that makes you actually celebrate it because it is usually the heinous bad dude that is getting what he deserves and you find yourself cheering that there is now a river of blood where that bad dude was. And there are plenty of bad dudes in this movie. The story was really enthralling and it was very fun to see Christoph Waltz finally play the good guy...and at the same time to see Leo DiCaprio play the bad guy (and do it well). Overall a worthwhile movie for Tarantino lovers (and possibly non-lovers?) and I give it 3-1/2 out of 4 stars.

Les Misérables: Sooo, it's a musical, in case you didn't know...and boy, do they sing pretty much every.single.line! I truly enjoyed this movie and I think it has some decent chances at winning a couple Oscars, including possibly Mr. Jackman for Best Actor! Which he deserves, he was really phenomenal in this movie. I think they cast it very well, even including Russell Crowe...who, by the way, does a wonderful job despite our hearing to the contrary before we watched the movie. I heard he had gotten some flack over how bad his singing was, but I thought he was rather good for a freakin actor. People are just buttmunches, but that is an entirely different blog. I loved Amanda Seifried in this; she is just adorable and has a beautiful voice...and I thought Anne Hathaway did a great job as well but she doesn't have much screen time. I will say that her singing "I Dreamed a Dream" was amazing and brought me to tears! I was very impressed. It wasn't just her voice, which was very nice, it was the true passion she sang the song with. A very memorable scene that could possibly get her Best Supporting Actress. Overall the movie gets 3-1/2 out of 4 stars from me. 

Life of Pi: Ok, this movie made me cry so that must mean that there is something of substance here...at least that's what I'm telling myself. In reality I'm just a giant sap. I have to say that this movie is the dark horse to win Best Visual Effects and I'll be cheering if it manages to beat Peter Jackson. Not to say I don't love me some Petah Jackson, but I just generally enjoyed this movie more than The Hobbit. The story was a bit slow to start, but once the action gets going about midway through you are definitely invested enough in the characters to be intrigued. It was a very unique story and I enjoyed the "voice" of the main character. It reminded me of Cast Away only it had a more upbeat outlook but the survival aspect was just as harrowing. I like movies that make me think and this is definitely one of those movies. Overall I give it 3-1/2 out of 4 stars.

Lincoln: We now enter the “wayyyy too historically accurate” class of movies w/this film…snoozefest! I’m sorry, but the costumes and me wondering if that is what Lincoln really sounded like were the only thing that kept me watching this movie. It was probably epic to some history buff type people, but it could have been a lot more entertaining. That being said, Sally Field was great and I really think she will take the Best Actress nod on this one. I would not be surprised if this is the only win for this movie. I give this movie a 2 out of 4 stars.

Silver Linings Playbook: Ok, yes Bradley Cooper was really good for Bradley Cooper. Was it amazing acting? No. Was it great for him, absolutely. Does that deserve an Oscar? I personally don’t think the movie was all that exceptionally written, but he did go above and beyond with what he had to work with. I enjoyed the “crazy” chemistry between his character and Jennifer Lawrence, but even that wasn’t really all that noteworthy. That being said, a decent movie overall but the replay factor is pretty low and also I was extremely disappointed in De Niro’s performance…we get it, you’re a grumpy asshole. Overall it was a “meh” for me. I give this movie a 2-1/2 out of 4 stars.

Zero Dark Thirty: Ok, now we get to my favorite movie of the year! Even if you are not a patriot, you must respect this movie. I am totally drinking the Kool-Aid on this one because I want to believe that this is exactly how all of this went down. I know it can’t be all true, but for movie purposes, changing it to the truth would probably not make it any less badass. *Spoiler alert* he still dies in the end, so how much does it matter exactly how we got there? I thought they showed the interrogations tastefully and they were mild compared to what was probably done in some cases. Did I “enjoy” watching that? Of course not. But the painful truth is that those things have happened in defense of our freedom…and if you can’t support that then I’m not sure you can call yourself an American. *End political rant* Back to the movie itself, I remember distinctly I was so into the movie towards the end that J had to actually lean over and whisper to me “you know he dies, right?” Thank you, dear, for that comic interlude because it didn’t seem to matter that I knew the ending, the movie was that gripping and it totally had me. Even if you aren’t political at all (like myself) you need to watch this movie. It’s amazing and I give it 4 out of 4 stars. 

For those of you paying attention, here is a spoiler pic from today that constitutes the 1.47% Japan content of this post. Hope you all enjoy watching the Oscars...I am jealous that none of you have to take Monday morning off of work to watch it. ;) Love to all!

Explanation coming soon..stay tuned ;)

"Enjoy My Casualty Life Style"...pretty Boss, indeed.

February already?!

It cannot be....February 2nd already!! I think this is truly the sign of getting older because I feel like time is in fast forward lately. Since Christmas we have been working, of course, and since Jan 1st we started the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover, we have been playing things more low-key. We have to be more careful with our spur-of-the-moment trips and such, but we did have a chance to visit the Nagano area of Japan in early January. The snowboarding trip was an early birthday present to Jonas, who will be turning 30-something on the 9th of this month. More to come on that in just a moment. Let's see, what else have you all missed....not a whole lot, January was a busy month for me with the Spouse's Club as I am the Treasurer and all...I really like the ladies I am working with and I think it is going to be a fun experience. Plus, I am nosy so it is fun to get involved in the ins n outs of how everything in the club is run. :) But back to the money thing, it's tax season already so I have been doing fun things like gathering up Scentsy receipts and whatnot...snoozefest. But part of life, right? I'm sure you're all having your own "tax time fun."

Before we get to the Nagano trip, I must remind you that February also brings us to my personal second favorite event of the year (next to Christmas)...THE OSCARS! And since we are 7,887 miles from the Kodak Theater I had to take time off work to be able to watch the 9am coverage of said event. Yes, yes I DID take time off of work to watch The Oscars. I believe this puts me into some seriously crazy ass category of movie lover, but dangit one really cannot help what one loves. It is still on my Bucket List to have an all-out Oscar Party.....so far I haven't done it but someday soon I hope to have a circle of movie-loving friends that would attend and be as serious about it as I am. :)

Just before the New Year I embarked on a new fitness journey...decided to try to conquer my fear/aversion of running. I realized that I really, really need to find an activity that I can do every week to keep active. Yes, folks, I am 32 and realizing that I need to take care of my heart above all else and be all responsible and shit. Boring! But, anyway, I realized that running is pretty much the least excuses type activity that I can think of....if you have running shoes (and clothes, preferably) and a road then you're all set. None of the "well I don't wanna drive all the way to gym" or "I don't have the right gear" or any of the other roughly 43 excuses that someone as lazy as myself can come up with. Plus, not to be too cheesy, but I realized that my husband has had to work extremely hard at keeping up his fitness and I have never really done one thing to support it. I mean, other than the usual "hey babe, I'm proud of you" or what have you when he passes a PT test. But I'm not sure if the general public is aware of how much the Air Force has cracked down on PT scores and how that affects your career. You don't have to mess up too terribly much on PT before they start taking stripes away from you and messing with your chances of promotion, your money, etc. So, that in mind, my husband has been diligently working each week at making sure he can pass and that that scenario does not happen to our family. And I thought to myself, hey self....you could get your butt off the couch and go running with him, you know. Soooooo I looked up the Couch to 5K program that I have heard so  much about and just decided to go for it. It is a 9 week program to go from the couch to running a 5K (clever name, eh?)...and this coming Monday will be Day 3 of Week 4 so I am about halfway there. And, extremely surprising to myself especially, I am really enjoying it. It is hard, but J is a great supporter and coach and he is giving me tips and helping me literally every step of the way. So that has been a fun journey and I really can't wait to be able to say I DID IT when I get to that last run. Oh and I have become even more inspired and decided that in addition to learning to run, I want to stay in shape with J and pass the Air Force PT test for females when he does his test. So I am adding push-ups and sit-ups to the end of each run so that I can get my numbers up. I have printed out the AF standards for women and I want to make it. So we can both pass together (I hope). Anyway, that is what the next few months holds for us in the way of fitness goals. More to come I'm sure!

Ok, finally we get to the Nagano trip! We wanted to go to the famous Sapporo snow festival that was scheduled for Feb 1-4th (closer to J's birthday) but sadly, after J spent 30+ minutes in line for tickets, it was sold out. So we had to settle for visiting Happo One in Nagano on Jan 12th  instead. The tour was booked through the base's Outdoor Recreation so pretty much everything was included except one meal each day, can't beat that. I must say that I was very nervous as J is an avid snowboarder but I have literally never been on any snow-fun type object except a snowmobile, which obviously requires no more personal coordination than driving a car. We had a 4 hour bus ride very early on Saturday and arrived in Nagano about 9am. It was beautiful (as you'll see below) and it was fun going from zero snow here on base to the snow-packed mountains. As I'm sure most of you probably know, Nagano hosted the 98 Winter Olympics, so that was fun to see the Olympic ski jumps still set up, though sadly we didn't see any skiers that were using them. Anyway, we got our stuff dropped off at the hotel and got geared up and headed out to begin my full day of falling all over myself. We started out both on snowboards with J just trying to talk me through just getting the feel of standing with one foot on the board and the other used as a prop to kinda push myself along on the snow...kinda skateboard style (for those of you who don't know how to snowboard). It was extremely awkward, as I'm sure it is for everyone who starts off...but I think I only fell once because I was moving at a pace that would make a snail die laughing or just die waiting for me. I was kinda terrified but I was trying to be brave so I didn't ruin J's birthday weekend. About 20 minutes into my lesson, I started to fall and J did this trying-to-catch-me spin move and ended up popping his binding completely off his board. For those of you who don't snowboard, this is pretty much death for the snowboarder at least until you buy a new $50 binding. So this means that, all of a sudden, I am the only one with a board on our fun snowboarding weekend. Hmmm...dilemma. So J puts his board away and proceeds to just hold my hands while I keep feeling things out. It goes really well, actually...hey, this is not so bad when I am being held up! I feel like Shaun White's little sister when I am holding onto someone else. ;) But quickly I tire because DAMN just standing on a snowboard is hard work, no joke. So we decide to take a break and I beg, yes BEG J to take my board for a spin so he can finally use the lift and actually have some fun. Plus, I really want to see what he can do. Keep in mind, as you'll see from the pics, this mountain is busy, so once I found a good spot to sit where I could still see him, I could stay for hours and just people watch. Which is pretty much exactly what I did the rest of the weekend. He used up both of our lift cards that we had gotten from a friend and he wore himself out on the mountain. I was kinda bummed that we didn't get to explore more together, but honestly, I know he had more fun being able to just fly down the mountain w/o worrying about me falling or getting run over or smacking into someone else, etc. So it was a great weekend and a great experience, even though I only enjoyed about an hour on the board. Wait, scratch that...about an hour and 15 minutes including the time J pushed me around on the snowboard and I used it as a sled. :) It was a beautiful place and the hotel was so cute and Japanese-y (aka tiny) and we will no doubt visit again in the next few years. Next time, I am going to try skiing, though...it looked a little easier than snowboarding but that is probably a cruel illusion.
J here: I loved the Onsen at the hotel. After riding all day my legs felt wonderful after a soak. It was really nice.

What else is goin on...oh yes, things are kinda crazy at my job but I cannot really elaborate at this time. Lots of changes and some of them are not looking so hot at this point, but I am going to hang in there. Frankly, I like the people I work with and the money is really good...but I am starting to build a scale with which I measure the level of BS vs the pay....so far the pay is winning and I hope that continues but we shall see.

Anyway, I think this pretty much gets you up to speed on us so far in 2013. I truly hope your 2013 is treating you well and finding you happy and loving life. In honor of those fun email "getting to know you" quizzes, here is a snapshot of us right now....maybe you could all comment on your own "currents" and catch us up on your lives too? :)

Current music: Mumford & Sons on Pandora ("Somebody That I Used To Know" Radio)
Current show we are both addicted to: Downton Abbey
Current food we are eating a lot of: rice. Yes, we are turning Japanese. I think we eat rice at least 4 times/wk!
Current weeknight past-time: playing XBox 360 games, mostly Viva Pinata and Batman. Yes, we are both 13.
Current thing we are looking forward to: J's karaoke birthday party next weekend!
Movie we can't wait to see: Skyfall for J (I saw it while he was in Cali...really enjoyed it), for L it is definitely Les Miserables!

Love to all!! As always! :)

The shrine in Ome on New Year's Day...Japanese tradition to "ring" in the New Year

The line waiting to ring the bell

We rang it together after I went, for good luck :)

Can you spot Fuji-san?

A couple getting their car blessed!

The pile of good wishes at the shrine! The bags are full of pieces of paper with wishes for the New Year written on them.

The clouds were cool that day...the statue's pretty cool too I guess. ;)

Line of young skiers at Happo One

Can you spot J? :)

Tried to capture the tons of people on the mountain

The hat was the only way I could spot him! :)

Christmas Parties & Catching Up...

Whew, it's been too long! Sorry, dear readers. I don't know if you've noticed our absence, but I have been meaning to blog for a couple of weeks now and the time and the season is just getting away from us! We hope you all had a great Christmas...we spoiled each other (and the kids) a bit, but it only comes once a year, right? (right??! lol)

Our first batch of pics comes from the Communications Squadron Christmas party waaaaaay back on the 13th of December. It was Masquerade themed, so we had fun picking out our masks and keeping our fingers crossed for a month that they'd arrive in time! I was going to go "all out" and find a big, pink, puffy ball gown (since you're technically supposed to wear a ball gown w/the Masquerade theme) but time got away from me and I just ran out of options...so I went with the standard LBD and called it good. We thought we had a good time that night, even though we didn't win anything...more to come on that! But we did have a good time with the guys that J works with, though!

In case you can't tell because of the masks..this is J and I ;)

J trying on my mask and being silly w/some co-workers

I think I rocked J's mask!

Thanks a lot for the photobomb, horse dude. This WAS my fav pic of me.  Looks like he is trying to eat my head.

Me in the mask competition! Sadly, I did not win. 

Our awesome group

The time between the CS party and the Med Group party on the 20th was filled with work, last-minute shopping, and a hiking trip with our Culture Class friend Koji (see hiking pics below). This is notoriously a hectic time of year for everyone, but I truly felt like the time between the start of the month and Christmas day was literally a blink. I was busy with the ESC (Enlisted Spouse's Club) as well this month, including the Book Club & board meeting (I was voted the new Treasurer...woot woot). Plus I think some of the hectic feeling was bleeding over from last month and being so heavily involved with the Cookie Crunch up until Dec 1st. Myself and one of the ESC members, Dana, helped organize the entire event, which brought over 14,000 cookies to the Airmen that live in the dorms on base. It was really fun to help bring them some holiday cheer when they are so far from home and all things that make Christmas seem like Christmas. So, while it was well worth it, I was already tired when December began...I told Dana that "cookie" was the new "c word." 

View from Mt. Mitake

Shrine @ the top of Mt. Mitake

Koji said that this was a special area to put your dog to pray over him....thought it was interesting!

Cool statue at the shrine

Side building @ shrine

J and Koji

I punked out about halfway up, but this was one of the scenic rest areas :)

The little town you walk through on your way up to Mt. Mitake

Tried to get the lil village framed by the shrine gate. These red gates are said to symbolize the barrier between man's world and the spiritual world beyond the gate.

We had a great time hiking, even though a little over halfway up, I got super tired and punked out and tried to get the guys to leave me behind at the cute little rest area. I was perfectly happy with waiting until they reached the top and came back for me...which should have taken about 2 hours. After about 45 minutes, the guys re-appeared, J telling me that Koji said he was worried about me and they turned back to be with me. I felt horrible, but was happy to have their company again. I felt like a giant wuss but what do you do. You start the Couch to 5K program is what you do! Which is what I started yesterday and I'm feeling today...but more on that later as well. ;)

The Med Group Christmas party on the 20th was awesome. I must say that my co-workers know how to party! The food was great, the decorations and the overall atmosphere was really lively and fun. Sadly, we were 0 for about 63 on prizes won between the two parties, but we still had fun getting dressed up twice and getting to hang with our co-workers outside of boring ol' work. 

Our little stockings, hung by the bookshelf with care. Note the dog's lil bones sticking out of his and the kitty's feathery plaything in his. Yes, they are spoiled!

My awesome hairdo, thank you Allison! :)

The ubiquitous Japanese-peace-sign-cutesy pic :)

My co-worker Maki, tearin' up the dance floor

Lydia and I had matching shoes!! Kinda can't see it, but they were silver sparkly.

Lydia & I :)

 And then the next thing we knew, it was the Sunday before Christmas Eve and we were preparing to have around 20 Airmen join us in our home for our 1st Annual McVey Christmas Eve Movie Marathon. I went just a teensy bit crazy in the kitchen...I made 4 pies, two kinds of cookies, oatmeal cinnamon chip bars, and J helped me with corn casserole, sweet potatoes, ham, and a 26 pound turkey. Actually, I was terrified of the turkey, so that was pretty much all J except the apples and onions that I cut to stuff him with! We basted it w/butter and it was yummy!! We spent about 8 hours in the kitchen on Christmas Eve Eve and it was well worth it, because the next day all we had to do was cook the turkey & do the mashed potatoes & gravy (and heat everything else up) & dinner was on! We fed about 12 people besides us and it was a really great day. The movie marathon went well and we even played some Apples to Apples too...I was so happy to give some of our Airmen a place to just hang out and relax for Christmas. We forced everyone to kick off their shoes and pick a comfy spot...and one of the guys even fell asleep, which I took as the ultimate compliment. I think the whole thing was a success and it really made me proud to open up our home. 

Ok, this was a freakin novel and no doubt it will be 2013 by the time you've finished. I can't believe this amazing year is drawing to a close. If this year brought you even half of the happy times that it brought us then I know you'll consider yourselves as blessed as we do. Speaking of being blessed, we also found a new church home in nearby Fussa at Yokota Baptist Church! We are thrilled to have found somewhere to worship & I look forward to maturing in my faith there with their love and guidance. We love you all; thank you for being our dear readers, without whom this would be truly pointless. Have a very Happy New Year!!

Love always,

Liz and Jonas

PS. I always have trouble with signing our names as a couple. Is this just me? I always feel that, in our masculine-dominated world, the tradition is such that usually the man's name goes first. However, this time I wrote the freakin blog, so I put my freakin name first.