Oh Happy Day

Today is quite possibly my favorite Holiday.

Since I can remember it's been a big deal in my family. On my Moms side it's always been important because their is a tradition on that side of the family to get married on Thanksgiving when it falls on the 23rd of November ( I continued this tradition). So you can see how this has been a big deal. Also I love turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

On Dads side it was a time where we could all come together and it was pretty entertaining. Also grandpa made the best rolls (well he bought them, but they were still the best).

Growing up with a pretty big extended family, Thanksgiving was all about spending time with family, and all the fun and drama that comes with it. Now as an adult, living the traveling military life Thanksgiving is about friends, and little to no drama. I can't say which I like better, they both have ups and downs.

Last year we started a tradition with our friends of Sushi. Hey we are in Japan, why not do it Japanese style? This year our neighbors are having a big Thanksgiving lunch/dinner, and me never being one to pass up Turkey, added our names to the list of attendees. I am so excited this year because we get to have our Japanese Thanksgiving for dinner and American Thanksgiving for lunch, the best of both worlds. Turkey and Tuna.

OH! and I am making a ham, and my house smells freaking amazing right now.

Doozers?

when you google 'Japanese Construction Workers' this image is on the first page:

That is not what they look like. I've spent the last two days having the windows in my house opened and I've had half a dozen workers in and out of my house. For some stupid reason of the 24 windows my house has only 8 of them opened. The rest were sealed shut and had the handles taken off so I could not open them if I tried. Well now I have 15 that open!! yay! but that's not the point of this post. I'd like to talk about Japanese construction workers. Paul noted to me once, when we first got here that the workers resemble Doozers, remember Fraggle Rock? well you just compare and tell me what you think.

do you see the resemblance?

I've been thinking

I am taking an introductory Political Science class this term. I know very little about politics and feel that in order to make informed decisions as a voter I should be educated. I've always had some general beliefs, I am not sure yet if I am Left or Right, Liberal or Conservative, or even if I am a Republican or a Democrat. I hope by the end of this term I can have a better grasp on what I am, and what I stand for.

So far I believe that:

Freedom of religion. we should all be free to follow any religious movement that we choose, without persecution.

Women should have equal rights, and be treated equally in the work place.

but I also support women in traditional family roles. I think that being a mom, being a home maker, being a housewife are all honorable jobs. I 'd love to stay at home and raise babies. But there are other things I want more.

I strongly think that EVERYONE should be REQUIRED BY LAW to recycle, reduce & reuse. I would not go to far as to call myself an environmentalist but I don't understand why we should create so much trash and waste out of things that can be reused. We have the power to keep our planet healthy and we should do so.

I am pro-choice. My body, My choice.

I think everyone who is legally in this country should have low cost health care available to them. There is no reason in our country today people should be without health care. I think every one has the right to be healthy.

I support the death penalty. I also don't think it need to be humane. It's the death penalty, it's supposed to be scary, that's why we have it.

I support Freedom of Speech. But I think there are certain instances that there should be limits to this. Like those assholes that picket soldiers funerals. There should be laws against disrupting funeral services, and religious gatherings.

People who are cruel to animals should be severely punished. This includes animals that are bred for food. they should be kept in humane conditions for the duration of their lives.

Another strong belief of mine is same sex marriage. I don't understand - why not? Everyone has the right to love, everyone should have the right to marry.

Pineapple Park

Andrea and I went to the pineapple park, in the rain last weekend.

we had a lot of fun, despite the rain.

guess what i've been doing?

i've been knitting!

it's a neck warmer thing for Paul, that he can pull up over his mouth/face when he gets cold. it's almost done!

and andrea will be here in 18 ish hours!!!

Decorating

Andrea will be here in 2 days woot!

and her room is ready!

my favorite thing about her room is the rug

the curtains are pretty sweet too!

Favorite things of the week

I love my Paul Mitchell spray hair wax

I love my cooking (just wish i had my P to cook for)

I love H2O Almond body lotion

Most of all this week I love my blonde hair.

Where does your food come from?

I just got done watching Food Inc

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

That is the blurb from their website, i strongly recommend that you watch this film. Quite interesting the things you don't know about your food and where it comes from

Next time you worry about germs

did you know that when Europeans came to the Americas that roughly 9 out of every 10 people were killed. The numbers are estimated around 75 Million people inhabited the Americas (North, South & Central) and 90% of them died. Why? it wasn't all by the sword, it was mostly from sickness. Europeans brought with them many diseases like small pox, which spread rampant through early civilizations and people died in massive numbers. so why did all the Americans drop like flys and Europeans were fine, because the Europeans had been exposed and their ancestors had been exposed to these germs for thousands of years, so they had build up a bit of a resistance. The Americans had no resistance, they were not in any contact with Asia and Europe so they had not been exposed to Eurasian peoples since they crossed the Bering Strait in 20,000 BC. No common contact, no mild germ exposure, no defense.

The reason I am sharing this is, being a germaphobe only sets you up to get sicker, not exposing yourself to mild germs prevents your body from building needed antibodies that can help you fight when "the big one" comes and you get really sick.

I need to follow my own words because I am a germaphobe, I carry hand sanitizer with me, I wash my hands dozens of times a day. it's sort of sad. But after an enlightening discussion in my history class ab

out this, I have decided to not be such a spaz because a cold wont kill me, in fact I think I'm more likely to die from exhaustion considering my current schedule than I am to get a deadly flu (swine flu you stay away!)

also recent studies show that antibacterial soap can do more harm than good, causing bacterias to mutate and form more resistant strains (ever heard of MRSA)

Don't Belive Me? READ

and since it's on the internet we know it must be true, becuase the internet doesnt lie! (serious thread, needed humor)

Infused Vodka

from Left to Right- Ginger vodka, pineapple vodka, pineapple vodka in the making

Take some fresh pineapple, (i used canned for one batch and it just wasnt as good but it still quite drinkable) put it in an airtight container, like a big pickle jar, fill it a lot with chosen fruit, almost to the top, next fill with vodka, the more distills the best, i used absolute it’s all i had on hand, put in fridge, for at least 3 weeks, mine has been about 3 months, and it’s perfect. i’ve read if you add sugar the flavors infuse faster, but i dont want to rush a good thing. after letting it sit, when flavor has reached your liking, strain fruit (cheese cloth works best so you can ring out fruit) into permanent container an ta-da you have fun vodka!

can be done with nearly any fruit, and many veggies. just nothing squishy like tomatoes. (that would be nasty anyway) peaches, raspberries, blueberries, pears, apples, all good choices. you could even try mixing fruit for fun flavor! cucumber for vodka martini hot peppers for bloody mary ( this one is my next endeavor)

i also made ginger, it wasnt as great, but not bad. havnt found what to drink it with yet…