Baseball in Japan

I had to go to the baseball field to meet the athletic director, who was giving me a letter for a scholarship application for Troy. One of the cool things about baseball here, is that it is very popular (an understatement) with the Japanese, so the team gets plenty of opportunities to play local schools (unlike football, where there was only one local college team they could play and other than the rival military high school on island, they had to travel off-island to play other military high schools in the region). Anyhoo, I just had to share this with you.

Behind the visiting (Japanese) team's bleachers:



Behind the home (American) team's bleachers:



I LOVE these little contrasts!

More Vegan Food

Just thought I'd share more of what I'm cooking lately. I am LOVING this new way of eating. I am amazed at how eating such a variety of plant based foods makes me feel like a million bucks!


Yes, there is a lot more preparation required, but the way I feel after eating stuff like this is SO worth the extra time.



This is Kidney Bean Coconut Curry. I found the recipe here.

It was SO delicious. I hope you give it a try!

This is it!!

The day Jake has been waiting for, talking about, obsessing over, relentlessly pestering everyone with....has FINALLY arrived!


The day he got to leave for his Yoron Island adventure! This is a Japanese cultural exchange program. It is mostly children from mainland Japan, but each year, 200 American 5th grade students from Okinawa are invited to participate. A few children from Indonesia participate as well.

In order to be considered for selection, you must submit a packet, which includes writing an essay about why you should be chosen to go on this trip. You also have to be willing to live with a Japanese family and eat only Japanese food...whatever you are served. You're not even allowed to bring any snacks, other than a lunch for the ferry ride over. Oh yeah...and convince your parents to cough up about $500 (small detail). This is where most of the pestering came in. ("Mom...{fill in the blank number of} days until payment is due...have you made the transfer yet?") Was it wrong that on the day the money transfer was due by 2 PM, when he came home at 3:30 and asked me (for the 30th day in a row) if I had made the payment, I freaked out and acted like I had totally forgotten? Really? But I stopped as soon as the tears started to well up in his eyes? What fun are kids if you can't mess with them? Sheesh!

Oh well, I'm sure by now he's forgiven me.



So here we are at zero-dark-thirty, lining up with several hundred of our closest friends at the drop off point. Jake's school just happened to be the drop off point for all the schools, island wide, so it was very convenient at least.



Here he is, all checked in, name tag and color-coded group bandanna in place.



Does he look like one happy kid, or what? He even has his favorite onigiri lunch packed to sweeten the deal.



{"Dude...sorry you got stuck with the pink bandanna group. It's all good...we're in Japan, no one will notice."}



This is where they are headed...down to the ferry port in Naha. From there, it's about a three hour ride to Yoron Island.



Here's a closeup of his credential. He looks so official!



One last shot before we leave...



Hope you have the experience of a lifetime, buddy!

Steppin' Out...With My Baby...

We had a lovely walk yesterday. It was quite a treat to bring my favorite person along.

Check it out here.

Flashback Friday...Patrick

In honor of Patrick's upcoming 16th birthday, I thought I'd share some of my favorite images of his first year with you...






Couldn't you just take a bite out of those cheeks?



















I LOVE this picture. He's only 10 months old here, and look how sure-footed he is. He was my earliest walker. At six months, he used to climb that Little Tikes play structure (in the first picture) and slide down (head first) and repeat. Then, at nine months (to the day), as though he just had an epiphany that this whole crawling thing was SO yesterday, he simply stood up and walked across the room. In no time, he was running.

Is it any wonder he runs cross-country and does all manner of cool parkour* moves?

Next week...more Patrick Palooza. Stay tuned!

*Google it!

A Kinder, Gentler Diet

I was watching an episode of Oprah the other day, which included the makers of the documentary, "Food, Inc." as well as Alicia Silverstone, actress, vegan and the author of the book "The Kind Diet".

At first I found the subject matter mildly interesting, but within minutes I was transfixed. So much of what was shared resonated with me. When it was over, I added "Food, Inc." to our Netflix queue and logged onto Amazon to send "The Kind Diet" on it's way.

One of the biggest messages I took away from the interview with the "Food, Inc." producer, is how cheap calories are ruining our country's health. The cheapest food is always the most processed, least nutritional...but it's cheap and fills kids' bellies...so the majority of our country lives on it. But we are paying an even bigger price with our health. This producer posed the question, "Do we want to pay a slightly higher price now for real, whole, nutritional food...or a MUCH higher price later through the cost of our health care (and I would add...the LOSS of our good health...can you put a price on that?)?

Alicia Silverstone (who, although I recognized, I couldn't have told you what she actually performed in) talked about how her health was transformed through using food as medicine and giving up things which were toxic to her body...how she gained energy and lost the fatigue and puffiness and feels like a million bucks. That's what I want...to wake up feeling like I have actually slept...to not have to drag myself through the morning and feel exhausted by dinner time.

When the book arrived, I read it in two days and was excited to get started. Since many of the ingredients are Japanese, it's been easy to find lots of produce, beans, sea vegetables and other ingredients (like miso) in the Japanese markets, but finding some western ingredients has been more of a challenge. It's not like we have a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods over here. The commissary is it, as far as western shopping, and I've spent a couple of long shopping trips scouring the aisles...and mostly, have found a lot of what most of America eats...lots of processed "pseudo-healthy" foods full of lots of what we don't need (sodium, fat, hormones, chemicals, preservatives). There are a few gems here and there...but it has been very challenging to find substitutes for dairy, sugar and eggs for cooking, and meat substitutes (other than beans and tofu) like those made from grains, that are more readily available in the States.

The (not so) funny thing is, reading this book, I've found so much of it is right in line with The Word of Wisdom* but we (as a church) usually just focus on the "don't drink or smoke" parts...and not on the "only eat meat in times of famine and cold" and "eat plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables" parts.

Anyway, the author is vegan, so she doesn't use any animal products at all...but she has done a lot of research, and I've used some of her footnotes to read more about some of the things that intrigued me. This post could be really long, so I'll just get to the point by saying that four days ago, I decided to try 30 days meat, dairy, sugar and caffeine free. The caffeine shouldn't be a problem...it just means I'll be drinking water (yet again) instead of Diet Coke on the rare occasion I eat out on the base (off base usually only offers water or tea, anyway). The sugar is going to be a challenge, I know. I really don't like beef or pork, anyway...so that shouldn't be a big deal. Chicken...and especially seafood...will be tougher. (Although from what I read in her book about seafood...whether it be fresh from the sea or "altered" from the farm...makes it seem a whole lot less appetizing right now. Same with the chicken.)

At any rate, more importantly than what I'm giving up...I am having to eat a whole lot of yummy, whole, fresh food. Which has meant more prep time...but I'm really enjoying it so far.

My plan has been to make the same thing for the whole family, but to also offer meat on the side (like turkey breast or fish) so they can add it if they like. Surprisingly, everyone but Jake (who is worried we are all turning into hippie freaks) has jumped on the bandwagon to one extent or another. Troy and Patrick even read the book.

Here's an example of what we're eating:


Rice Pilaf with Caramelized Onions



Baby Bok Choy Drizzled with Ume Vinaigrette



Dinner is served!

These recipes are both from the book, which contains LOTS of yummy stuff. I'm also looking for more via the Internet and a great site called Vegweb.com. SO many recipes to try!

Do I think I'm going to become a Vegan? No. I think I will occasionally eat fish and chicken. But I want to spend these 30 days sorting out what feels right for my body and detoxing from all the garbage I've been feeding it, and I'll take it from there. I'll let you know how it's going.

* (from Mormon.org) "A law of health revealed by the Lord for our physical and spiritual benefit. In this revelation the Lord commands us not to use alcohol, tea, coffee, tobacco, and harmful or habit-forming substances, and promises blessings for obeying this commandment."

Anyone know what kind of tree this is?

When you leave our neighborhood and turn left...you see these trees lining the road on either side:


I never paid them much attention...until these gorgeous blooms appeared on them.



No leaves...just blooms that range in color from yellow to orangey-red, depending on the tree.



This is what they look like up close.



Any ideas what kind of trees they are?

"I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ....

...of Latter-Day Saints. I know who I am, I know God's plan, I'll follow Him in faith...."



I love that song...and I love this sign. I love that our Church is the same the whole world over...whether you are in Salt Lake City or Switzerland, Oklahoma or Okinawa...the hymns are the same, the lessons the same, the buildings look virtually the same, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the same. No need to "church shop" when you arrive at a new location. You let your church leaders know where you live, they let you know where and when you are assigned to meet. SO easy!

Since Cliff is a Chaplain, every October we have to {get to} attend General Conference...all sessions. It can be overwhelming...especially considering it's followed up with two more days of more spiritual feeding at Chaplains' Conference (and we leave SLC feeling like one more spiritual thought will tip the balance and we'll explode).

Anyway, I bring that up because I love it when we get seated in the section with all of people wearing headsets for translation. The reason I love it is when it's time to sing. I LOVE to hear so many different people singing the same songs in their native languages all together. It may sound like an unorganized jumble to some...but to me it's sweet harmony. It moves me to tears.

(Trivia: We share our church building with an Okinawan ward {rather, they share it with us}. On Sundays, we meet at nine and they meet at one. We also share use of the building during the week for other activities. Because of this, we sometimes get the opportunity to eavesdrop a little. {I wonder if they find us as fascinating as I find them?} There are also Karate lessons taught on Tuesday nights for free {by their Bishop...Mr. Miyagi, no less} and Japanese language lessons on Thursday nights, also free.)

I'm not quite sure why hearing/seeing the Gospel in other languages is so emotional for me. (And don't get me started about people sharing their conversion stories in broken English...that gets me really blubbering!) I guess it's because the Spirit knows no language barriers...and when we are coming together to share with one another the MOST important thing...all the other things which make us different...either don't matter, or we embrace them and appreciate them in each other.

Yeah, maybe that's it! Anyone else have any ideas?

What's that on your neck?

Cliff hates lipstick. He probably wouldn't care if I ever wore makeup if it meant he didn't have to deal with kissing me while I'm wearing lipstick. When I'm wearing it, I just get barely a peck of a kiss, which he immediately wipes off, just to make sure.

So imagine his horror, when one of the kids asked, "Dad, what's that on your neck?"



Oops! It had probably been a couple of hours since I unknowingly put it there, too.

Oh well...at least it shows he's loved!

Return to Kokusai Street

Cliff came home early from Korea! Woohoo! He was supposed to be gone for a month, but returned a week earlier than planned, as they needed to start getting people home on available planes. How often does THAT happen? ("Sir, we have to fill up this plane with available bodies. We know it's leaving a week earlier than you planned on returning...but we need you to sacrifice and take one for the team...") With so many people we know being there at the same time, it was fun to see all the spouses' Facebook updates like...."I'm so happy right now, but I can't tell you why till tomorrow." (We're not allowed to share when and where they are coming and going...until it's old news.)

Anyway, Cliff was eager to go do something with the family. My walk on Kokusai Street a few days ago was still fresh in my mind, and Cliff thought it sounded great.



Here we are, waiting to cross the street to the indoor market. We decided to hit that first as we didn't know when it closed. It was a good thing we did, because a lot of shops started closing up as we browsed.

On our way, I told the kids they each had to pose with at least one character. There are MANY to choose from. We took them through the night, but I'll post them all right here for easier viewing. Cliff and I started things out:



And yes, Lisa...this is the only photo taken of me the whole night.
(I'm the photographer!)



Troy



Patrick



Patrick...again.



Coreena Jellybeena



Jake the shake snake



Here's the entrance to the indoor market.



The first alley we looked down, we saw TONS of cats. They looked pretty healthy, too (unlike the mutant herd of cats which surrounded me on the water front {that are still giving me flashbacks}).



And yes, I mentally inventoried the contents of my purse to make sure it included hand sanitizer (two kinds....CHECK!) before I let them near these guys.




Lots of pig heads....fake AND real!



And this drunk badger with pot-belly and man-boobs. Not sure what his purpose is, but he seems popular. We keep running into him everywhere. Anyone know what he represents?



We walked all the way to the end of one row (which was very long). Here we are trying to decide whether to head back the same direction, or try another route. We opt to go back, but try some of the alleys.



Some of the goods for sale...



Lots of fish, too.



These boys were darling with their newspaper creations. This was some sort of instrument. Or a cross-bow. It was hard to tell.



Which way now?



This cracked me up! This guy was using a lint roller to pick up stuff off of his front mat. It did make it look nicer, though.



By now we were starving and looking for someplace to eat.

(Trivia: Something I've noticed here, when restaurants include pictures in their menus and in advertisements, the pictures are generally very bad. Not like American food advertisements where you can see the water beads glistening on the side of the fresh tomato. You can usually barely tell what is in the photo, and it doesn't look very appetizing. But wax food, on the other hand...usually looks very true to life and very appetizing.)



This was a riot! This is supposed to be the lucky cat. (You know, the one that waves?) It licks its paw constantly. I wonder what the owner/trainer puts on it? Anyway, we threw a couple of bucks in his jar and got a pic with the cat...AND a bonus plastic flower.



Loved this beautiful stained glass...but not sure what it is.



Thought this was cool, too. I wonder if the view costs extra to get your hair done overlooking Kokusai Street?



We couldn't decide where to eat, so finally ended up at Charlie's Tacos.

(Yes, there's one on Kokusai Street, too!)



Most of us got some variation of this.



With the exception of Patrick.



Just a few more shots of the nightlife...



I thought this one was a little artsy.



We packed up Lopez and headed home...




And got some video footage of our exit.



Then we headed North on the 58 to home...



And got some more pics on the drive.



Pachinko is HUGE in Japan. I used to think that it was like casinos in Vegas or on Indian reservations. It's not. The gaming is similar (except you are trying to get tiny, metal balls into various holes) but you don't play for big jackpots of money. You still PAY money to play like Vegas, but you are playing to win prizes...like cans of SPAM or Pringles or stuffed animals. But it's for adults. I'm dead serious.

(Trivia: We had a Pachinko game in our house when I was a kid. It was lots of fun. I don't know where we got it, and I didn't really get the point of it, but I loved those little steel balls rattling down the pins as they fell...and the plinking sound the lever made when you pressed it.)



These places are everywhere.

Goodnight, Kokusai Street! Can't wait till someone else needs a ride to the airport and I can walk you again!