Random

 My cousin created this Random Thoughts thing and my random thoughts have never been interesting enough to post... and their still not! But I've been avoiding my blog so lets just get down to brass tacks:

2011 Goals

1. Blog every week Yep, I'm committing myself. You heard it here- every week

Does this mean my blog might get more boring? Probably, but oh well. My sister in law blogs everyday and it's not boring to me. So I figure the people that want to read it will just read it. Even if it's just my parents and my sister in laws. And I can't count a Random Thoughts post more than once a month!

2. Post at least 3 videos of Marie a month.

This is really just for grandparents, so if you are watching a video and think "wow, Rachel, this is excessive." Well yah, it is. And I don't track who reads my blog so I won't be offended if you aren't watching every one.

So lets talk Random thoughts eh?

My other goals aren't interesting enough to post, but one of them is entitled "don't look like a slob"- that's a good goal right? It also entitles me to buy expensive makeup:) Sneaky, I know.

In the spirit of that goal I've decided that once we pay off our student loans I am burning 80% of my wardrobe. A serious bonfire. Of course I won't blog about when we pay them off, but if you happen to catch me dancing around a smoking pile of tattered Ross clothing, you will know it's been a good day for the Millburns.

After announcing that goal to Brett he agreed that I could do that, as long as he can pick out all my new clothes. I have a feeling I will look like "I'm really into sports."

Which reminds me, Brett cut my hair for the first time. I don't know whether to celebrate the fact I finally trust him enough to do that, or lament the fact that I am old enough that i think it's a "reasonable decision."

My friend is throwing me a babyshower in 2 weeks. I didn't fight hard. Sure it's my second girl, but every baby needs a party, right? I just hope people don't spend a lot. I think a box of wipes is a good gift.

The holidays have been surprisingly unsad. I would like to thank Skype, MagicJack, and a fun ward.

The Cove is an interesting movie- it's about dolphin slaughter in Japan, but very informative on Mercury poisoning. We've had to limit our tuna intake, and Marie loves tuna, so that is sad.

 

Lastly, this popular vending machine makes me smile. Didn't know he was a model, did you?

Santa Satisfaction

Santa came to the mall today. 

Carefully coaching her I said, "don't freak out like that kid in front of you. Just sit in his lap and he'll give you a lollipop." She was focused and executed the scene nicely.

                    

 For the record it does feel weird to "train" your kid to like Santa. Maybe comparable to brainwashing.
But I do love this season. Trees, lights, the whole bit. Merry Christmas from Marie!

It's Your Birthday- Japanese Style!

It's a feel good weekend in Japan. Celebrating Brett's 35th Japanese style. How long has he been 35? Ha, well... that's just between us ladies.

(is that Grimace?)

You can blame an A's game on a wedding anniversary for inspiring the extravagant getaways. After that I officially put myself in charge of the Millburn Adventure and Romance Committee. We hold few meetings and spend too much money- but I'm... I mean, WE are efficient.

One of Brett's favorite places has been the Oirase Gorge, so the Oirase Keiryu Hotel seemed like a natural choice to enjoy the end of the season scenery. However, most of the trees where dead. But this is what it looks like in summer:

This is what it looks like when I take a picture:

Still awesome. It was great because hardly anyone was there. It made it easy for us to find a English speaker when I lost the hotel room key.

However, looks like someone stole the legs to our table and chairs...

Just kidding! That's how we do it in JAPAN!!!!!!!!!!!! We sit on the floor!! (exclamation points!)

The rooms really are separated by screens. And they gave us yukatas (robes), socks, & slippers to enjoy our stay in. About half Japanese wore them to dinner and half did not. We were among the traditional half.

After dinner you could enjoy a hot dip here:

They had 3 different areas to soak. One had a bunch of fresh bright red apples floating in it, and the other was outside. Very cool... or hot, actually.

We were able to choose from a Western style room (with a mattress) or the "tradish"- the futon.

"Futon" in English actually means "incredibly uncomfortable/confusing as to why you paid to do this." By the end of the night I had collected every slightly fluffy thing I could find and created a nest in the corner of the room. But still, a good "Japanese experience."

They had a dinner buffet that was off the charts for you mushroom & seafood lovers.
But a breakfast with seafood involved? Hmm. Pass.

I hope the plate doesn't gross you out. But I'm posting it anyways. This breakfast buffet had a lot of seafood, mushrooms, "rice gruel", and fruit. Now you know why Japanese people are so skinny.

Lastly, always remember to put on the special bathroom shoes when you use the toilet. (Brett is so embarrassed by my post...sorry... Happy Birthday Sweetie!)  

Thanks to Brett for being so adventurous. I love this guy. He puts up with my jokes, funny and not. He is an amazing father and the perfect husband. Not a day goes by when he doesn't tell me how much he loves me and how pretty he thinks I am. If I write too much people might get divorced so they could marry him, so I better stop.

Brett, you're the best. Period.

Cape Shiriya, Another Weekend in Paradise

Brett, lookout! There's a huge horse behind you!

Oh wait, there are wild horses everywhere.

It's another weekend adventure with the Millburns. Weekdays here can be pretty draining. The sun rises at 6 and it gets dark at 3:30. It has been COLD with constant gray skies. But life in Misawa also has so many benefits: no chain stores, no constant advertisements, you don't really need a cell phone (at least we choose not to get them), and there is always something different to notice in everyday life. However, the downside is: there are no chain stores, everything is in a foreign language, and sometimes you feel like if you leave the air base you are in no man's land (not to be confused with no man's canyon, we can leave here (but we would still need a plane or helicopter)).  So the weekends are a vital time to get out,  recharge, and remember to be grateful for this experience.

Here we are at Cape Shiriya where wild horses live.

 

We've been blessed with  good friends. Here are Susan and Jeff. He works with Brett. Susan keeps me sane. And their cat lets Marie chase it. It's a good set up.

I would like to note the little red mark on Marie's cheek. It's actually star-shaped and she's had it since birth. Didn't Rainbow Brite have one in the same place?

Marie is WAY into rocks. These shells count as rocks, right?

Japan is so ugly.

And this is a statue dressed like Mario... that is important to the Japanese.... oh man. Sorry, I wish I could tell you more about these statues, but I can't. I HEARD they are to honor deceased children, but I don't know for sure.

Well, I better get back to Marie. She's sick again today. But it's not so bad. Brett came home to watch her while I had a doctor's appointment. When I came back she was eating pumpkin pie. She eats one bite at her kitchen table and then runs back to the TV to watch cartoons with her puppies, gets up for another bite, and has been repeating that cycle for the past hour. There can't be that much pie in her bowl...

A small blog tribute to her puppies:
For the record Marie says Pink Puppy has been named Mommy. I didn't influence this, however I notice Pink Puppy is wearing an apron and never leaves the house. Yellow puppy is Daddy. He goes EVERYWHERE and makes a jingle sound. Not jealous, but this girl sure likes her dad. In consolation though, he has seen his share of nasty airport & grocery store floors. Sorry Brett. Brown puppy is Marie. Not sure why, but  seems like a natural fit. And blue puppy- I am trying to get her to say it's "baby sister"- but all i get is silence when I try to solicit that idea. Well, we're workin' on it.


That is all from the land of the rising sun.

Horse Park

Marie has a new phrase, "I want yakisoba."  A phrase I never uttered when I was two.  Maybe she picked it up from the Japanese preschool.  Either way, we inconsistently give in to her requests.

Rachel and Marie have been talking up this "Horse Park" for a while.  I was finally able to join them a few weekends ago.  It's a sweet park, and a place for us to party.   There are two roller slides.  One is huge, and the other is huger.  Here is Marie and I with our gear to cushion our tushes, ready to take on the slide.  And by "slide" I mean that yellow cage that you see winding up the mountainside. 

We made it to the top of the mountainside.  It was a victorious hike.  I didn't think I could make it, but since my 6-month pregnant wife wasn't complaining I had to keep chugging.  We made it to the top and celebrated with hugs.

And basked in the glory of the telestial world.

I was pretty scared to go down, but I tried not to say anything.  I was mostly thankful we had those wonderful mats to protect us from the wrath of the rollers.

This is how I look while anticipating a sweet run down the mountain.  This is how Marie looks when she poops.

We documented one of the runs down.  We let Marie go down by herself on the smaller slide.  Rachel did a grade A job at filming this backwards.

The next weekend we headed out to "Shipwreck Beach."  Marie raced us out there.

 

They never told us where the beach's name comes from.  But we did see these old boats that somebody put there.  We pretended we were Japanese pirates.  Rachel spent the whole time collecting "sea glass." She's going to make a mosiac of this picture out of her collection. 

The best thing we found in the ships was this apple.  Marie called "shotgun" and ate the apple on the way home.  She rubbed her snot on it so she wouldn't have to share.  Smart kid.

Oh yah, Halloween!

Pardon this late post.

My Mom bought Marie this Aristocats costume last year. How could she not?  However being too small we had to put it off for a year.

Little did we know they LOVE the Marie Cat in Japan. Mickey Mouse & Marie are never hard to find. Anywhere. It's like my mom is psychic! Maybe before our next transfer I'll ask if she thinks our girls should be something they love in Europe. A German hot dog perhaps?  

Gotta love the ward trick or treat. It was cool because we combined with the Japanese ward  and they gave out some fun/weird Japanese candy.

Marie and her Giraffe friend.

Vampire teeth!

Brett and I were in charge of musical chairs after trick or treating. I was being skimpy on the prizes (vampire teeth) until I realized too many kids left my room crying. To avoid the nickname "mean sister Millburn"  we decided EVERYONE IS A WINNER! Yay!

For a few weeks we watched my friends cat, Bootsu.

Marie really likes him, but when we came on Halloween, she wanted to get back to business.

"I got my purse! Lets go mom!"

How could I blame her?

Let's close with a Marie montage shall we? P.S. Don't mind my voice and some slight nudity.