List Making (my favorite past time)

so i'm setting my goals for the weekend, and it's already a 1/4 of the way over! but i have aspirations!

If today i can: 

• finish my debate research 
• get at least 1/2 way done with my position paper 
• get two more math chapters done

then tomorrow I am going to:

• dig up my garden section of the yard
• plant my cucumber & oregano starters
• plant my plethora of basil
• get another set of starters started
• maybe buy myself a hibiscut and plant it in the yard (yeah i know that's not what It's called but it's an inside joke)

On a slightly related note; I'm so sad, I found the most beautiful flowers here, so gorgeous! then I googled what I thought they were, and low and behold they are Azalea's. super poisonous, and since my dog eats EVERYTHING, they wont be in my yard. I still really want one and may try to pot one and put it out front. 

okay off to work on my paper, yet to be started, but due thursday, because i am the PROCRASTINATION QUEEN! 

(i would like you to please not point out that i am further procrastinating by looking for cute little icon about procrastinating. because that's so ironic the world is going to cave in on itself if you even think about it)

my favorite thing about my hair so far

so far my favorite thing about super short hair is:

I can wear lip gloss again, i havnt worn lipgloss in years because i hate when my hair blows into my mouth and gets all stuck in my lip gloss. now no matter how hard i try my hair isnt reaching my mouth!

LIP GLOSS!

why not wednesday

why not cut all your hair off and nearly burst into tears because you think you hate it?

why not then go home and try to make yourself like it with styleing, only making it worse?

why not wash it and try one more time?

this was me this morning, happy, short, well medium length hair, but i really wanted it shorter.

this is me after my cut, yes i look like an ugly boy, you dont have to remind me, i stared at that face in the mirror for over an hour trying to figure out how to make it cuter. and if you look closely you can see that i am about to cry. 

(i dont have a picture of the first styling trial, but my hair looked dirty, matted, and more or less just like the above picture)

then we have now,  re-washed, re-styled, makup applied, and a new shirt (not new but clean-er than the other one) and now it's starting to grow on me, no more tears!

i really sort of almost like it

i'll still probably go back in a month and get it cut even shorter, so it looks less like a bowl cut.

Were moved in! (and the drama that goes along with it!)

Saturday i had class while the movers did their packing, and by the time i got home from school it was almost time to head over to the new house! i was so excited! things were going exactly as planned!

we arrived at the house and the unpacking began, and damn we have alot of stuff! i felt very guilty every time i had to tell them something was going to the third floor but you know what i'm not carrying my bed all the way up there so whatever. then we get to the dresser, for christmas Paul got me this awesome dresser that matches our entertainment center. but its huge! and heavy. they couldn't get it up the second flight of stairs. so i sort of got pissed. it's going up damn-it! well after about 20 min they got it up the stairs, thankfully! 

that night Paul had duty. so i got to spend the first night alone, i got alot of unpacking done. at about midnight i got a call from Paul, he had locked his keys in his car at Foster (about 45 min away) so i had to head down there and get his keys out. when i got back i decided to go to bed, so i grabbed a movie and my laptop and started watching in bed. i fell asleep half way through my movie and when i woke up i turned on the light to put away the computer and i saw on the wall across from me a GIANT WOLF SPIDER. now we all know i am an exaggerator but i swear on my life this thing was the size of the palm of my hand (legs and all). needless to say i started to scream, and panic. i was alone, what i am gonna do! that thing could easily kill me!

the house searching commenced, i was looking for anything i could spray on it, preferably some sort of bug killer but any spray would do. All i could find was shower cleaner, hairspray, & spray sunscreen (hey he may get a sunburn!) so i went back upstairs and attacked, i sprayed and sprayed until i was sure he was stunned and wouldn't leap at my jugular. i found a bar (that is for mounting in a doorway for pullups) put a shoe on the end of it and smashed him! 

now before you get all PETA on me for killing him, i don't mind smaller spiders, they eat bugs, they kill flys, they still creep me out but i would let a small spider live and just shoo him out any day, but seriously this thing was way to big to be alive in my house and there was no way i could catch him without risking serious bodily harm on myself. (like the spider eating me)

sunday was uneventful, monday they turned on the hot water and we were allowed to shower again! (rejoice!) then monday night we ran out of water and couldnt figure out how to turn it on. hahaha! Tuesday they came to deliver our fridge, washer, stove and my desk. and the stove didnt fit. so i called the housing agency, and they told me how to turn the water on, and sent a guy over to make the stove fit. 

finally all is well, we are nearly done unpacking, my office is almost done, the bedroom is making major progress, we need a few things downstairs, like a bar type thing, and a pantry because we filled all of the cabinets with my cookware and dishes. 

i will get pictures ASAP, i need to finish unpacking which should happen this weekend if i can catch up on homework today and my debate paper tomorrow. 

oh and Aiko loves her backyard, she constantly wants to be outside, and Taco loves the house he runs up and down the stairs all day and night, he may loose some weight afterall!

Found It

i found my ipod!!!

YAY!!!!

(it was hiding in a basket under a book that i never looked under, because why on earth would my iPod be under a book? dur!!)

now maybe the rest of the weekend will go just as good as that!

i'm off to bed, then it'll be school for me and moving day for Paul! then after school i get to join in the moving day festivities! (i wont deny i am hoping it's mostly done by the time i get out at 1pm)

yippie! i cant wait to be in the new house!

even though it'll be with no washer/stove/or fridge for three days and no hot water for two days, and no internet for four days. but we'll have each other! and some movies, and some microwave popcorn!

To Do List

remember that big list i posted a few days ago, we'll lets look back and see what i've accomplished:

•    
•    
•    

oh yeah thats right. NOTHING!

and the movers come tomorrow at 9 am (i have about 24 hours to finish my  list)

oh, well except my moving plan, i did that because that was fun

and Paul turned off the cable yesterday so i'd be more productive. 

so the new list (some items from previous had to be removed due to time constraints) :

• pack the bathroom
• finish the laundry
• finish the dishes
• to the hardware store for a lawn edger
• pick up keys this afternoon
• pack my stuff that i dont want the movers touching
• try to get clothes down to donation place
• put away finished laundry
• wash all blankets and sheets
• move plants and clean porches 
• take all pictures off the wall
• wash all the rugs
• stay off the computer (yeah right)
• finish my libs paper (all i have to do is write like two paragraphs i almost was done last night when i quit)
• try to do some math homework because i am frightfully behind right now. due to the busyness of this week, and my sleeping all day wednesday.
• eat the remaining pesto because it wont last all weekend (this shall be fun)
• don't forget about the dog, she needs walking every few hours
• try to find time to talk to mommy and daddy since i wont have a real net connection for 4 days. :(
• take down curtains in BR
• enjoy our last day in base housing

see what happens when you procrastinate, now my list is like a million years long, thankfully its 9 am and i've already started the dishes and laundry and i am about to get a box for the bathroom and start there. so i'm on a roll! and it's all mostly little things so it should be a piece of cake. and when i get done i can do homework!

signing off for who knows how long!

Alana-Banana

meh

today was just a bad day, i woke up at 3 am and the room was spinning (and no mom i wasnt drunk/hungover) i didnt know why it was happening. i got up to pee and i fell in the hall, hit the wall, i felt like i was really drunk i was totally disoriented and dizzy as all hell. after a few min it subsided and i went back to bed,  then at 5 the dog had to pee and she woke me up, same thing again, i stumbled down the hall and out the front door like a drunk. after a few min i was fine. then i went back to bed, we (dog-doo and me) slept until 10 (super late for me as of lately) and i was dizzy still! i got up and felt like crap, i was sore all over and just exhausted. no exercise for me today. i took a shower and in the middle i dropped my face wash leaned down to get it and when i stood back up my head started spinning and i was seeing little stars everywhere. it was awful. Paul says i'm probably dehydrated, i ran two days in a row and didnt give my body a chance to rehydrate. i sort of suck and hydration. then this evening i noticed my depth perception is sort of messed up.  things were sort of pulsing in my vision. 

i'm going to keep pumping water but if i still feel like this tomorrow i'm thinking i should call the doctor. 

Things to do this week

• pack the things i dont want the movers seeing/touching
• start my paper on Deportation
• do more research on Drinking Laws
• make plan for Paul and Movers since i'll be in class
• shit i have to finish stuff for that class on saturday too! SHIT!
• run at least two more times this week
• call cable company about shutting cable off
• find my damn ipod
• pack/prepare plant life for move
• catch up on math homework
• throw stuff away
• donate old clothes 

damn thats alot, and i'm sure i'm forgetting stuff

Taco-san

who has the hairiest feet in the whole wide world?

Taco does!

who loves to find the sunny spot and nap?

even if he has to stretch to get into it?

who love's his little sister, even though he wont admit it?

who's the best at pretending to be asleep?

who can take up the whole chair?

(playstation remote inserted for size reference)

i love my big hairy boy!

Just an update

my weight went back up today a smidge but i had chili's for lunch yesterday and some beers after dinner, i was at 158.6 and today 159.8 but i'm not too worried, Monday is my 'official' weigh in day and Paul and i just did a 5 mile jog to the beach and back in 80 min so i'm thinkin i killed quite a few calories, i should be okay tomorrow.

we move in one week, we had the mover guy come yesterday and give us an appraisal on moving cost, it's more than i had planned. this is getting expensive, first we decide to move, thats about 5,000 dollars out of pocket just for deposits and renter fee's. then we get a bill for our insurance which was due this week, that was $800 dollars, then we realized we'd have to pay someone to move our shit, thats $750, then Paul's water pump went out on his car, that another $800 dollars, and now we notice my car needs at least 2 new tires, desperately.  at least another $200 dollars. i think it's about time i get a job, or there will be no school for me next term. i'm gonna wait until after we move and then after i get my term paper done for my current classes then i'll find a job. the CDC (child development center) on both the bases close to us are hiring so i'd imagine i'm a shoe-in (i know i'm so conceited when it comes to my job experience and stuff) but i've never been fired and i've gotten EVERY job i've ever applied for(i'm also really picky about applying). people just like me. 

i'm nervous about moving, the dog is going to a friends house but i dont know what to do with the cat, i might see if said friend can lock him in her spare room for the day, because i have school that morning so i can supervise the animals.  i'm also terrified that once we get into the new house that the cat will get out and excape into the jungle (which is right next to our house) and become a jungle cat, or a tiger(<-- thats me making light of my fear, trying to deal with it).  but i'm seriously afraid  he'll run away, or the dog will get out. and we'll never see them again. 

what i want

One of these

and no i'm not a wino, but thanks for asking.

Battle of the Bulge (my life story, seriously)

(i think i've been through this before but i feel like talking about it today)

I've battled my weight since i was in high school. I was a very skinny, petite, short and a little dorky when i was younger, i was luckily blessed with a high metabolism and i was very active, i swam all summer, rode my bike everywhere. then high school things slowed down for me, i hit puberty, started to drive, started to drive to the drive through.  i remember going to McD's and getting a double cheese burger, and then whatever i was really gonna eat, then stuffing the cheeseburger down my throat before i got home so no one knew i was eating it plus the food i actually brought home. So needless to say my unhealthy relationship with food started as soon as i was able to enable myself. i don't eat to comfort myself, i don't eat because i'm depressed or anxious, i don't eat because i'm bored, i eat because i like to eat, eating is fun, and it tastes good. i love food, there are so many different kinds of yummy food, from ice cream to Sushi, given the chance i'd eat either until i puked. 

i remember my Senior Prom, i was the fat girl, well i wasn't the fat girl, but i was one of them. i quickly became depressed. I blame my weight for my bad decisions in my youth, i wanted to be accepted, i wanted people to like me, i wanted to be cool, but i didn't think i could do that as the fat girl, i tried to not be fat, i would go to the gym, i was running, but i loved food way too much, i ate mexican food nearly every day. 5 years ago I met my husband i was even happier, someone loved me, for who i was. Then it got worse, i think at this point i stopped caring how big I was because someone loved me. 

I've been back and forth for over ten years with my love of food and hate of exercise, two years ago i finally got to the point where i didn't hate exercise, in-fact i really like weights, but i still hated cardio, which is a key in serious weight loss. Over the last year i have tried and failed at maintaining a workout routine, i like the gym here, i really do, it's nice, it's clean, it's quiet (most of the time) but i just HATE the treadmill. well why dont you run outside you say? because it's hot, and what if i got too far and couldnt make it back, and what if i got kidnapped, or i fell down and broke my ankle, or got lost, or......  all excuses. 

This week i started running outside, off base, i decided to run to the gym. even though this 'run' was mostly a fast walk/jog i still made it to the gym, which i found to be packed because it was lunch time and every Marine and their, well, brother was there. not an empty machine in the house, not that i would subject myself to working out with Marines anyway, i have a bad enough self image. so i decided to just go home. my lap took me an hour and a half. When i got home i calculated the distance it was almost 5 miles. i know thats terrible time a 18 min mile but you know what i felt good, i felt great! i wanted to go out and do it again. so two days later i did. i know two days isn't sticking to a routine, but i LOVE jogging outdoors, the air, the birds, the scenery. i love every second of it. i finally am enjoying cardio, plus the terrain in Okinawa is very hilly so i'm burning quite a few calories even if i am not running as fast as i can. i've been using gmaps and i've plotted several routes around where we live now and our new house, i'm so excited! i cant wait to run again, i think i'll do it tomorrow This week i ran T & Th but my goal starting Monday for first few weeks, is every other day M-W-F and a shorter run on Sun starting in March (or earlier if i'm ready) will be every day alternating distances (long run, short run). last night i plotted a new 5 mile, that may be rougher because i'm pretty sure it's even more hills than i did this week, but i'm excited. 

i should also note that i've made a pact with my love of food and my body, if my body lets me exercise as much as my heart and brain want to i wont make it stop eating yummy food, now i wont let it over indulge, or secretly eat double cheeseburgers, but if i want ice cream i will have ice cream.  as long as i can keep up with the running i can eat what i want, in nice size not huge calorie portions. 

operation ruin the crock pot

i remember a few years back my mom telling me about how dad had turned the crockpot on, it got hot, then he added water. this cracked the crockpot, ruined.

well today my husband, in keeping with family tradition, ruined my crock pot. 

even though earlier this week i tried and failed to ruin it on my own, i had made a pork roast, and it cooked too long, i had left it and gone to school and Paul had no idea what to do with it. so he left it alone, all of the liquid cooked out and though the meat was still surprisingly good, most of the liquid had dried to black,  crispy grossness. 

today i managed to save the crock pot by putting some water in it and turning it on high, long enough to soften all the gunk. i took the lid off and placed it on the stove, and cleaned the crock out and went to school. 

Paul gets home turns on the stove to make a snack, accidentally turns on the wrong burner and just walks out. little does he know he is heating up the lid of the crock. after some time he smelled something burning. he went outside to see if there was a fire, nope, back inside.. into the kitchen, and there the plastic all melted off the lid, when he tried to move it, it had gotten so hot the glass shattered. 

so mom dad ruined your crock, paul ruined my lid, if we combine our remaining pieces we have one complete crock pot! so do you still have that old lid sitting around?

go ahead and laugh

as many of you know in japan you drive on the left side of the road.

and i've been in Japan for  a year this week 

and today as i was leaving an on base hardware store there was a japanese guy in a maintenance van heading straight for me, i though "what is he doing, this road isn't one way, he needs to get over on his side!" then i realized, it was me who was on the wrong side of the road. 

as i got back over on my side and i passed him and his passenger, they were laughing hysterically.

i was (and still am) mortified.

silly american.  

Today in a nutshell

1. went to the dentist
2. i have two cavities
3. and a wisdom tooth (that 4 years ago i was told would probally never form into a tooth)
4. had to re-schedule my tooth cleaning because dental is stupid
5. went for a jog
6. did 4.75 miles in 90 min (outside on hilly terrain!) 
7. did a little studying
8. put dinner in the crock (that was actually this morning)
9. tummy felt rumbley
10. ate some soup 
11. now i feel like my tummy wants to evacuate my body
12. fighting the urge to puke (current)
13. and i have a test tonight in Philosophy so i cant skip school
14. oh and my charger for my mac is about to take a shit, it's all fallin apart, thats gonna be at least 80 bucks 

i really hope i do okay on this test, and i really want to take a nap, but i have to leave for school in 20 min :(

Lost

if you were my ipod where would you be?
last time i saw you (that i remember) i was charging you on my laptop, this was about 2 weeks ago, maybe more. (poor ipod doesnt get much use) now i want to use you and i don't know where i put you. well i guess i'm off to the gym without you :(

Nago Cherry Blossom Festival 2009 pics and commentary

THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY

LONGEST FLIGHT OF STAIRS EVER!!!!

BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S WORTH IT

FIRST SET OF STAIRS: DONE!

FORGET THE STAIRS, ALANA'S TAKING THE RAMP

PAUL AND JOSELYN FOLLOW, 

PRETTY PICTURES ARE TAKEN

I SWEAR HE WAS MAKIN FACES 2 SECONDS BEFORE

MORE STAIRS, OF COURSE PAUL LEAVES US IN HIS DUST

LONG WAY DOWN, 

BUT I'M STILL FEELIN GOOD

(i'd like to say this is me on the inside, but this was really me on the outside, there was like thousand's upon thousands of stairs)

THEN PAUL RESIZES I'M FARTIN AROUND 

WE MADE IT TO THE TOP, AND THE BLOSSOMS WERE SO PRETTY!

I T TOOK ME 5 MIN TO GET THIS SHOT RIGHT, I LOVE IT!

HALF WAY DOWN

PRETTY BANANA AND JOSELYN

VIEW FROM THE HALF WAY DOWN DECK

3/4 OF THE WAY DOWN BANANA SAYS NO MORE STAIRS, I'M TAKIN THE RAMP. AND THE PAUL AND JOSELYN FOLLOW

PAUL DANCES US A LITTLE DANCE (HE'S A SILLY BOY)

PRETTY TREE GROWIN OUT OF THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN

AND WE POSE AGAIN, CAUSE WERE HOT LIKE THAT

AT THE BOTTOM, MY KNEES STOPPED WORKING, I'M SITTIN WHILE THEY ARE SEARCHING FOR BEER AND STUFFS

MORE SITTIN FOR MY BROKE ASS

DANCERS 

LOOKIN CUTE

HERE COME THE EISA!!!

PAULIE LOVES HIM SOME EISA 

THESE ARE THE GUYS WHO MAKE THE EISA MUSIC AND SING FOR THEM! THEY ROCK

THESE CHICKS WERE AWESOME TOO!

LOOK AT THOSE CRAZY HEADDRESSES 

THIS GIRL WAS SUPER FOCUSED

COOL STREET GUY DOING NEAT MAGIC TRICKS AND SUCH

LEAVING WE SAW THE COOL LIZARD ON THE WALL 

(THIS THING IS LIKE 2 STORIES TALL)

SO TIRED, WE ARE