What's been going on.....

The Organic Cafe that I have NOT visited yet.  But apparently the fresh ginger ale and breads are unreal!

Yomitan Pottery Village.  This is what I was very excited for - rightfully so.  The pottery is beautifully done and I was able to scope out what I really wanted to spend the money on.  There are some things that are reasonable, but others that are super pricey.  I told Tony I was going to get the nice(r) things, but just fewer of them!  

Loved the mugs on the upper right.  $25/mug

there were about 5 of these types of buildings all in a small village...

FUN!!!!!

a different view from the first picture

where it all happens

There was also a glass making part of the village that was really neat to see.  This is what I would call a homemade gym they must use on their breaks :)

sorry this picture is small and the following ones....

If you look closely, you can see a guy working in there.  Man, that must be hot!

All the glass they are using!

The shop

This is beautiful church just down the road from our house.  I'm almost certain its use is mainly for weddings.  There is a banquet hall on either end of it.  It was breathtaking.  We were able to snorkel just down the beach from this!

Tony spotting out a good spot to snorkel!  This photo has been through an insta-gram filter FYI.  

But this wasn't - the water is so clear!

After a day of shopping for snorkel gear, we were SO psyched to get out on the water!  Apparently we were having a small typhoon... 40mph winds and a fair amount of rain.  It was crazy!  So we went down to the beach anyways -with wine- juuuuust in case we couldn't get in the water.  Which is exactly what we ended up doing.

Vegetation of Okinawa

So we have had a couple of great days learning about all the plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.  It has been an interesting process as we are not sure what many things are - or more importantly, how to take care of them!  We found a lot of wonderful places in Yomitan where we can get  our plants.  Saturday morning we found a great greenhouse down the road.  The gentleman was very kind and even gave me a couple extra flowers as a "present" (1 of the 5 english words in his vocabulary :)  The plants we bought sure make our place feel more like home...considering we have very little things of our own in this house!

This morning I decided to help Tony in the backyard.  He has been working a bit everyday since we have been here, pulling weeds, raking, etc.  It was very therapeutic (as Tony would say) to do this - and it made a huge difference.  For such a small yard, we have taken out a whole lot of unneeded brush!  As we both know the yard won't be perfect - it will be rewarding to at least try to get it to a healthy point!

Yesterday, we went to the market down the street.  I was a wee disappointed only because of the prices... We got some fun things, but I was surprised that we spent $8 for what we got.  All ok though - it's convenient to grab an onion, carrots, or whatever we need for dinner.  Speaking of high prices - at the commissary (grocery store on base) a 24pk of water is about $3.50 or so (similar to prices back home). We saw a 24pk of water at a store in town for $13!!!  No wonder we were told during the newcomer's brief that it is forbidden to buy things for the locals at the commissary.  Apparently, they all ask a military guy/gal to buy them beer, water, or whatever they can at the commissary because the prices are so much better!

That is all for now.  Enjoy some pics!

This orchid we did not get.  I guess we have other things to buy and save for rather than to splurge on a $300 orchid - but WOW it was BEAUTIFUL!

This is the small greenhouse we went to by our house to get our plants for the house.  It was incredibly hot that day - and of course borderline unbearable inside this place!

couple of our plants (and new pot!)

Working in our yard - you can't see it, but it looks a million times better!  This is 1/149342937423 of the reason why I love my husband so much.  He's amazing at this kind of stuff.  And gets me motivated!

cleaning up!

Hello brightness.  The passionfruit was so delicious...and to be honest, I'm not sure what the other fruit is (but it was good)  I don't think I cut it the right way - but if any of you readers have an idea of what it is, let us know!

The American in Yomitan Village tells all

Ok Bachelor/Bachelorette fans (or closet ones) this blog title is for you :)

I was going to wait until after our long weekend to post some pictures and give an update, but I have a feeling this weekend will require about 4 blog posts to fit it all in!

I thought I would share exactly how I have been feeling since the day I got here.  No filter, unless of course any swear words that may better describe the feelings.

When Tony picked me up from the airport, we took a different way home and went through downtown.  First reaction? dirty. yuck. no thanks.  As every city has it's own "rough" side to it, I felt like the whole downtown was this way.  Luckily, I know that the island is incredibly safe - so that part I had no issue with.  The further we got on the drive (keep in mind it was dark) the better I started to feel.  When we got home, one of the first things I said to Tony is "what is that weird building in the front of our house???" IT'S UGLY and I hope it leaves.  (it's someone's home by the way - so it isn't leaving anytime soon ;)

Now - that was the first 2-3 hours of my initial reaction to Okinawa and it was in the dark.  Things have changed since then... "then" being only 5 days ago!

When I first saw the place in the daylight, I was a bit surprised that we actually did live in an "upscale" neighborhood.  You wouldn't think so at a first glance, but here is why.  The salt water has done a number on the exteriors of EVERY single building on Okinawa.  No wonder it all looks run down!  The typhoons are pretty fierce and there's no possible way to keep up with painting every building.  I can appreciate that.  Our neighborhood (Yomitan Village) is very nice after you begin to accept that fact.  The houses are unique, most are taken care of, and the location is unbeatable.

We are exactly a 7minute walk to the East China Sea.  Between our house and the water there is 1 row of houses and then fields.  I love the fields.  The farmers are always down there, with a small tractor or just on their hands and knees (I seriously don't know how they do it in this heat) and best of all, there is a quiet traveled road between the water and the fields for us to run on.  It is perfect.  Last night I went for the greatest run, ocean to the right, fields to the left, sunset above.  I felt blessed.

Overall, I am very happy here.  Like I said in the beginning of this post, once you can get over the look of the outside of the buildings... this place is a gem.  The people are unbelievably friendly.  For example, when you give a sales clerk your credit card so they can swipe, they return the credit card back to you with two hands, very delicately - and look you in the eyes and say "thank you"
Everything is like that.

One last thing I want to mention is how relaxed the island life really is.  You always hear it...but now I know it.  After 5 days of being here,  I have felt the slow pace life and it's so refreshing.  I can't imagine how I am going to feel after 3 years being here.  Of course there will be times I am going to miss the downtown Mpls life, the bars, the shopping, etc. but this is good right now.  Keeps me grounded.

Here are a few pictures from my run last night around our village.  It will give you a better idea of what it's like.  I am sure there will be more pictures to come!  I didn't get a good shot of the fields, really - and it was getting dark so they didn't come out as well as I had hoped.

Not sure what they are planting here - but it was pretty to run next to and felt a bit like home :)

who they heck knows what this says - I'm guessing either a sign for a business or a random street sign at the corner by our house

from the end of this rock to our front door step: 7mn walk

one of the houses that had beautiful landscape. A block from our house on the next side street over

A hotel about 2 miles down from us.  This is the entrance - to the hotel and to the water.  Haven't been down there yet..but looked like a good spot to catch the sunset!

Vending machines are randomly placed on Okinawa.  At least I won't ever go thirsty on a run!  Just have to make sure to bring some money with me!  There are a couple around that act as landmarks for me - so I know where to turn!

Who the heck knows. But this is the kind of stuff we see daily.

The trip to Japan... oh, how interesting it was

Before I even write this post (again) I need to vent.  I spent nearly an hour writing a draft a couple days ago - only to have it somehow vanish from my computer - so you guys are going to get the cliff note version of the arrival to Japan!

*The Tuesday before I left * - I headed to Des Moines to "sell" my car at CarMax.  Yes, my intentions were to leave without a car that day before I left for the airport the next morning, but I drove away with the car once again.  The dealers gave us about $3-$4,000 less than what we were expecting/hoping for!  It was a rough day to start off the trip.  Our awesome parents are taking care of selling it back in the states, which we are SO grateful for!  Tony ordered new tires to have delivered to his parents house, so hopefully that will help any resale!  Embarrassingly enough, when I was on FaceTime with Merlene and Wally, I asked Wally if he knew how to even put tires on.  After I asked, I realized how absolutely ridiculous this sounded - that's like asking a tennis player if he or she knows how to serve.  Andrew sure got a kick out of that one.  ooooooh, I'll never learn with that Brown family ;)

So anyways, Tuesday night my parents and I stayed at my uncle Tom's place in Des Moines.  We were spoiled with great company AND great wine :) not a bad last night in the states i'd say :).  It was a lot of fun to be with Tom and Cathy - I hadn't been to their place for many years!  It's such a beautiful place!

*Wednesday morning* - came bright and early.  My parents were rockstars (along with Tom) helping me get things organized, packed, and ready to go.  My flight was to leave at 9:37am for Denver.  Mom, Dad, and I had breakfast at the airport, shed a few tears, and off I went to my gate for my flight - THAT DIDN'T END UP LEAVING UNTIL 1pm!  Long story short, there was a storm in Chicago which prevented our plane that were were taking to Denver to never get to us.  I missed the flight to Tokyo.  D@**.  I ended up staying in a nice hotel (thanks Beth Hoden for booking for me) that turned out to be ok.  It was a huge bummer to go another 24 hours without seeing Tony, but If we can do months and months, we can do 1 more day.  In hindsight, it turned out fairly well.  I was able to mark off one connection flight, get a good workout in at the hotel, enjoy room-service, and get a decent night's sleep .

*Denver to Tokyo flight* - It was 11.5 hour flight.  I thought going in it was going to be 13 or over, so this was GREAT news :)  I'm sure most of you will argue with this, but 11.5 hour flight truly isn't that bad.  I slept for a couple hours, watched 3 movies, ate 2 meals, one snack, and all the sake, wine, or beer I wanted (it was free).  If you dive in to the thought of knowing you will be in that seat for that amount of time, you do make the best of it.

*Tokyo-Okinawa* -  Once I arrived in Tokyo, a bit drowsy, and not too sure what to expect...it turned out pretty well.  It took a little bit to get my whereabouts in order.  I first went through customs, got my bags (see picture below), went through customs again - and then checked into my domestic flight.  That was a pain in the butt because of all the bags I had to lug around.  I couldn't see overtop of the cart..sure I ran over some toes on the way.  And knowing how nice the natives are, they would have just smiled at me saying it was ok.  Anyways, the flight to Okinawa was a bit long.  2 hours and 23 minutes.  Long because I was so ready to see Tony, long because I felt like the trip should have been over after the 11.5 hour flight and getting my bags from the carrousel in Tokyo...but one more.

*Okinawa* - Finally.  Arrived.  As I was walking to get my bags, I was smiling ear to ear.  Wide awake, feeling how great it was going to feel hugging Tony in a matter of seconds.  I saw him, BUT he was on the other side of the glass door not able to come in to the baggage claim.  You have got to be kidding me!  So here he was, 30 ft from me and I had to wait about 20 mns for my bags to come out, load them onto the cart - and THEN go see him.  Torture! :)

*Heading through the glass door* -  Stopped the cart, arms wide open, and I was home.

                                                  270 lbs. worth of luggage.  maybe more

5 days pre-Okinawa

I am finally able to sit at a normal computer and write a quick blog!  A few months back I wrote a blog post with the title, "5 months pre-Okinawa".  Can't believe that now it's only 5 DAYS away until I am on flight.  Just wanted to jot some things down quickly :)

Things I am now excited for that I may not have known 5 months ago -

 I love our house.  I love that we HAVE a house as it's been fun just picturing ourselves in it together, unpacked, and settled for an entire 3 years.  A fair amount of people have told me that if this house doesn't work out... we can always move in a year when the lease is up.  I can tell you one thing for sure - this will not happen.  If I don't have to move, you can bet your life's savings on the fact that I won't.

I am excited to eat.  Farmer's markets are all around the island and I can't wait to shop at them and learn about all the different foods!  I'm really excited to get out our new pots 'n pans (Tony is extremely excited) and learn to cook Okinawan style :)

I am excited to get our things out of storage and delivered to the house.  The best thing about moving is starting over on the decorating :)  And well, I don't think there will be a shortage of flowers in Okinawa, so freshness will be in the house for 36 months straight.. 

Apparently, there is a ton of pottery.  This scares Tony.  This excites me.

I am excited to meet new people and hear their stories!  :)

And of course - the thing I am most excited for? To be with my awesome husband :)

Back To Reality

The past few days have been nothing short of a pain in the butt. After my almost month off of work filled with sleeping in, playing tennis, and drinks by the pool it seems I had to face reality. I knew it was coming but I wasn't ready for it to come so soon. I did manage to squeeze out 4 hours to myself on Tuesday to get some golf in before more craziness. Here is a quick rundown of my last few days in the states...I could write way more about the weather while driving across country or the Uhaul mess but this post would be waaaaay too long.

Thursday - pack everything in Minneapolis
Friday - drove to Decorah to rent and load a 5x8 Uhaul trailer and say my goodbyes
Saturday - drove 14 hours finally stopping just past Loveland Pass in Colorado
Sunday - drove final 14 hours staying at Sam and Garrett's
Monday - 12 hours at the storage unit sorting and watching movers pack out Okinawa stuff
Tuesday - 6 hours watching movers pack our temporary storage stuff then selling Jeep to Carmax

Wednesday
Well I had yet another typical Tony airport experience! As I awoke Wednesday from a good nights rest I took my time getting ready because I thought I was supposed to be showing up at the airport at 1030 for a 1230 flight. As I'm on the phone with Tara talking about how we cannot believe it is finally here she asks me to send her another copy of the itinerary.  I annoyingly take out my itinerary that was neatly packed and snap some photos so I can just send her a text. When I do this I realize that my flight is not at 1230 but instead at 1045 and I should already be at the airport! I did some flight changing previously that caused this mix up. Frantically I called a cab and start rushing out the door of the room I stayed in knowing that at best I would arrive 1 hour early-which is 1 hour late for an international flight. Now was when I felt bad for Tara as she was the one getting my crazy texts with many words I cannot include in this post. She might have been more nervous than me and as usual she was ready to call the president of American Airlines to handle the situation. :) My cab finally shows up and I throw my 7 bags in....yes 5 checked with a carry on and lap bag! We sped off for the airport after I tell him the situation and right on script he misses the exit for the airport making us go downtown! I said something not too nice about a cabbie that doesn't even know the way to the airport and he must have felt bad because he started driving like a lunatic. It was seriously like something straight out of a movie shot in New York where the cab is running people off the road! I was pretty happy with this disregard for the law because of my situation and as we got curbside to check the ridiculous amount of baggage I had the agent informed me that while I was flying American I was supposed to be at the commuter terminal because the first flight I had was to LA. No freaking way! After all was said and done I got there about 36 minutes before my international flight...plenty of time apparently as I still had time to grab a breakfast sandwich and go to the bathroom.

The flight from SD to LA was short and uneventful but once I calmed down and as I sat on the plane I couldn't help but wish I had a better last view of the great U-S-of-A. Out of my window was ugly oily pavement everywhere and a smoggy LA view instead of anything nice looking. When I picture the US I will undoubtedly picture how green Decorah was at the wedding or how beautiful Lake Minnetonka was in July. Just wish my last view was a little better than it was.

For the big flight my plane was a large Boeing 777 and thank god I had a window seat as its the only way I can comfortably do a 10hr and 22min flight. I would love to say that I was reading up on my Japan culture, studying for my upcoming drivers test, or learning some words that would serve me well in my first week but instead I was napping and watching terrible movies like The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Makes me sad but whatever passed the time I guess. 4 movies, 2 meals, 1 nap later and I was in Japan! No excuses people it went by pretty quick!

After landing was the customs and new airline mess...apparently they did not like that I checked 5 large bags! They told me 3 of them would be on standby-I didn't know that was a thing for baggage. It all worked out and I got a little lucky again because 2 hours later and right before the flight they informed me that it was not a full flight and the baggage would make it. One last flight, Tokyo to Naha (Okinawa) and it was something like 3hrs 30mins...slept the whole thing.

My sponsor picked me up and drove up to the base roughly 45 mins north on the one small expressway on the island. I got checked into my room and he was nice enough to make the bed, stock the fridge with lots of good food, and invite me to his house on Sunday for a meal with his family. Oddly enough the person they assigned as my sponsor is also my new boss, (not normally supposed to happen like that) right away I was not excited but it has turned out well, I have gotten a good read on him and we actually get along great talking about work, sports, or telling jokes.

After a nervous test this morning I got my new Japanese (SOFA) license and will be looking to get a car in the next day or two. Not sure what I'm getting yet but there is some funny looking cars out here! I also had a housing appointment to see if we had to live on base or if they gave us the option to be out in town. We got what we wanted and because they were above 98% occupancy for my rank we will be living out in town!!! Tomorrow brings more housing stuff to do and I will meet with housing agents and begin looking for a house.

Some of my initial thoughts
- its hot here! (I continue to sweat for like 40 mins after my morning run)
- the time change and jet lag was not that bad at all
- it is impossible to remember to get in the left side of a car to be a passenger
- apparently I am a giant in some parts of the world
- the military is a tight knit group out here
and I cannot wait until Tara is here with me for all of this!!!

3000lbs - going to Japan

Weighed it all 

Was pretty full 

Gonna miss her!!

Can't wait for it to arrive here

Our Blissful Wedding Weekend

Where do I even begin!  The weekend was perfect.  Of course there were a couple (maybe just 1) hiccups along the way - but that was to be expected... I'll start at the beginning

Thursday night.  
Driving from Minneapolis to Decorah - my excitement was over the top.  Of course to eat good food, be with great people, and look forward to the beautiful saturday it was supposed to be - BUT THIS EXCITEMENT was to see the 7 NIECES AND NEPHEWS!  The first one I saw was Mya (who ran clear across the backyard into my arms) and soon to follow her big sis -- Ivy.  Tony also shared in in this love and both girls ran to him with their arms out, as well.  From this point on, I knew how blessed we were and how great the weekend was going to turn out.  The bbq was delicious.. my mom was her true entertaining self - which is quite incredible as you all know.  What I'll always remember about this night?  The people mingling, the kids running around, neighbors stopping by, music playing, and staring at my soon-to-be husband all night long.

Friday.
Pretty worthless sleep the night before - but again, to be expected.  The guys went out golfing while the ladies came to the barn to help decorate.  I LOVED this part.  I was floored by the help from everyone.  Maureen & Molly Beyer from Colorado came to help, my friend, Sam from California, and of course my incredible family.  Between the Beyers steaming the burlap, Amanda irnoning, and my mom and other mom, Merlene, taking control of the seating arrangements - I was taking it all in and letting my control sit on the back burner (that might have been the best part)
All in all, it was such a fun day. 
12:00pm - had to make the call on the tent.  radar for Saturday: 10% chance of rain, high of 81.  No brainer.  Tent CANCELLED.
And then rehearsal!  Rehearsal started at 4:30 and I started getting ready at 4:10!  How did the day slip by that fast?  Pastor Matt was great and everything ran well.

Saturday.
Woke up with the greatest night of sleep in a long while.  I told you I let my control down!  Mother nature on the other hand wasn't too sure.  "She" obviously woke with a bitter taste in her mouth because it was raining ALL morning.  Not pouring, but a steady, WHAT THE HECK WEATHER.COM, type of rain.  the forecast didn't look promising, but there was a chance it would clear up!  I'm guessing Grandma Grady had a few not-so-pleasant words with the weather gods - because it turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL afternoon and evening for the ceremony and reception.  So blessed.  
The wedding was all I ever dreamed of and more.  Once the rain stopped and the sun was peaking, my whole body went into relax mode.  And like my sister, I finally got hungry.  Pictures were great.  With the temperature being 68 degrees, the guys didn't complain and the wedding party was so patient and fun to take pictures with!  I didn't even get that tired of pictures all night, which isn't like me at all!  When people warned me that the day would go by so fast, I guess I didn't really take them seriously or think that it would.  IT SURE DID!

Sunday.
The perfect cap to a perfect weekend.  Brown's had a great brunch at their house!  It was fun to see everyone again and talk about things from the night before.  I was so hungry and all the food was wonderful.  Leave it to my brother-in-law to have a great bloody mary bar, too.  
That afternoon Tony and I opened the cards and presents and then began organizing for Japan.  This was a task.  Couple hours Sunday night and a few on Monday - we finally feel somewhat "put together" and now ready for the move!  Well, just about :)

Thanks to all of you who made this wedding weekend such a joy.  We are so blessed and fortunate to have all of you!

The first day of a month I'll never forget!

When I woke this morning, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.  I've been waking up at all hours of the night lately, which for the first time ever - DOESN'T UPSET ME!  Sure, I think about all the things that need to be done..but mostly my head is just spinning with exciting thoughts!!
Here is a bullet point list of the fun things right now!

• I leave for Cara's wedding (that I'm in) tomorrow
• Tony gets back from NC Wednesday and will pick me up from the wedding in Rochester!
• Friday we leave for WI to spend time with Tony's fam
• Saturday we have our bachelor/ette party in WI as well!
• Next Tuesday our dearest friends from CA fly in to Minneapolis
• Next Thursday morning we pack up and head home
• NEXT SATURDAY WE GET MARRIED!!!!!!!
• and for the following 13 days -there is no plan :)
• Tony leaves for CA on July 26th (not that i'm excited about that)
• I leave for Okinawa on August 22nd! (less than a month apart!!!!)

I won't even begin to label all those with how many haircuts ;)

Sam & Garret Aceto - our friends from CA

Golfing and going to the beach!!

Just thought I would quickly post up some pictures from my time in North Carolina thus far.  I have been hard at work in the course but have tried to find some fun ways to pass my free time.  I have been to the beach twice in the last week and ended up playing golf the last two days!!  Just over 5 days till I'm home for a visit!!

My small room here at Camp Johnson (I don't fit on the bed)

A few days before coming to NC we played TopGolf in Alexandria VA

The Gold course on Camp Lejeune

Another picture from this morning

Unfortunately I have to play with these (every club is different) 

I miss my clubs :(

It has been around 90 and humid so the golf gets a little warm

The beach on Camp Lejeune

Another entrance next to the cottages you can rent

WOBC 3

The last WOBC post……the course is officially over!!!!  I’ve been waiting a while to write that one!  I’d like to say that the last bit flew by but the truth is it has seemed like an eternity for most of us.  The last bit of true hard work had us in the field doing urban operations in TBS’s two different MOUT facilities for a week.  This involved us doing everything from systematically clearing buildings “zero dark thirty stuff” to just patrolling and interacting with locals (role players acting as Afghani’s) proving to us how difficult it can be to command and control a Squad or Platoon in this ever changing environment.  This is some of the best and most realistic training we do as counter insurgency is likely going to be our most common fight in the near future.  To make it a little more realistic we used SESAMS rounds, basically a 9mm paint round that hurts like hell, so if you are hit there is no denying it (if you want a laugh I can tell you about some of the standoffs and tactics we used).  After the last MRE’s were eaten and we did the final hike back (15 miles) we just had a few things left; test, PFT, Mess Night, and weapons/gear turn in.  Because of this easy schedule over the last 14 days time seemed to stall out on us.  We did get some amazing speeches in those last few weeks by many of the top leaders in the Marine Corps and it was great to hear their encouraging words.

After all was said and done I did well finishing 2^nd in the class of 193 coming up something like .002% short.  Even better than that, it was great to have the family come out to see the gaduation and do some sightseeing in DC.  The weather held out for us and we did as much as anyone can do in the given time, needless to say you cannot see all of DC in a little over a day!!  It is definitely a place that Tara and I have vowed to come back to and explore.

I am writing this from Camp Lejeune as I start yet another course here dark and early Wednesday morning.  This is much different though as there are only 9 of us in the Motor Transport Maintenance Officer Course.  This is where we will “learn” to do the things required of us in our occupational field as a Warrant Officer.  It will last 37 days and will be more of a refresher than the last course, oh yeah and best part - no pressure to graduate high in the class!!

Until next time!

My Platoon at MOUT

Arlington

 Korean War Memorial

 Visiting the Marine Corps Museum 

Tara and I after graduation

Out for diner at Pentagon Row