The time came to leave the states again and come back to Tokyo. Well, at least I came back to Tokyo and Mike left to Abu Dhabi, as you all know.
We had such a great time in Houston seeing all of our friends and getting to spend time with them. We wish we could see them more often, but things don't always work out that way. Which means, we cherish the times we do get to spend with them.
So Tuesday came and my bag was literally over the poundage limit for bags. I was at 72 lbs and took out a candle, which got my bag to 67 lbs. That was one heavy candle. Anywho, I made it back with my heavy bag and Mike's golf clubs. I looked funny walking through the airport as my bag is basically as tall as I am and the rolly golf bag was definitely taller than me.
Until we meet again Houston, we will miss you.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
the 2nd weekend
We made it to the 2nd weekend in Houston and what fun we had. We stayed with our friends Kirsten and Jeff and had a grand time.
On Friday night, we walked over to a new bar right by their place, called _____. Kirsten and Jeff are friends with the owner, so we got the goods on what to definitely try. We had a few bottles of wine and some huka! Shiner was even able to join us and had a good time as well!
Saturday rolled around and it was Halloween. We had a few invites to go to parties, but opted to stay in and away from the extra crazy that would be out that night. No worries b/c we had our own party at the Shipp house complete with AMAZING BBQ courtsey of Jeff. It was an all day process and well worth it. Here is our feast.
Jeff and Mike in front of that intoxicating steam of wonderfulness
The spread: 2 racks of baby backs, 2 chickens, 1 pork shoulder....MMMMMM
No worries, we didn't just eat meat. We also had some baked beans, bread, corn bread, and mashed potatoes with bacon & cheddar. Like I said, a feast.
On Sunday, Mike and Jeff left to the bar to watch football, while Kirsten and I enjoyed a quiet Sunday afternoon. We thought they were going to be home earlier, but no, they stayed for both sets of games. At that point I decided we needed something and what better thing to ask for than SPRINKLES.
They needed help, but I'm ok with that, as they came home with the correct thing!
We didn't wait. We grabbed one immediately and enjoyed the wonderfulness that is a Sprinkles cupcake. MMMM
I will now admit that I had 2 or 3 more of those yummy cupcakes before we left on Tuesday.
On Friday night, we walked over to a new bar right by their place, called _____. Kirsten and Jeff are friends with the owner, so we got the goods on what to definitely try. We had a few bottles of wine and some huka! Shiner was even able to join us and had a good time as well!
Saturday rolled around and it was Halloween. We had a few invites to go to parties, but opted to stay in and away from the extra crazy that would be out that night. No worries b/c we had our own party at the Shipp house complete with AMAZING BBQ courtsey of Jeff. It was an all day process and well worth it. Here is our feast.
Jeff and Mike in front of that intoxicating steam of wonderfulness
The spread: 2 racks of baby backs, 2 chickens, 1 pork shoulder....MMMMMM
No worries, we didn't just eat meat. We also had some baked beans, bread, corn bread, and mashed potatoes with bacon & cheddar. Like I said, a feast.
On Sunday, Mike and Jeff left to the bar to watch football, while Kirsten and I enjoyed a quiet Sunday afternoon. We thought they were going to be home earlier, but no, they stayed for both sets of games. At that point I decided we needed something and what better thing to ask for than SPRINKLES.
They needed help, but I'm ok with that, as they came home with the correct thing!
We didn't wait. We grabbed one immediately and enjoyed the wonderfulness that is a Sprinkles cupcake. MMMM
I will now admit that I had 2 or 3 more of those yummy cupcakes before we left on Tuesday.
Monday, November 29, 2010
back in Houston
I got back to Houston on Wednesday evening. Mike picked me up and we headed over to the Toals new house to visit with them. This was going to be the only time to see both of them since they were leaving for the weekend. Jimmy had just returned from NY, so he was a bit out of it as the night went on. We had dinner and played some rock band, which Mike loved.
On Thursday I decided to do some shopping especially since we were staying right across from the galleria. How could I not shop. I picked up some things I needed and some other things, well, I wanted, plus I even picked some stuff up for Mike!
Friday was a good day. My friend Lorena picked me up for lunch and we finally were able to enjoy "GOOD" margaritas together, unlike the ones we find in Tokyo. Here we are at Cyclone Anaya's. Oh what fun we had.
Now if only we could find great margs in Tokyo that make us smile that much.
On Thursday I decided to do some shopping especially since we were staying right across from the galleria. How could I not shop. I picked up some things I needed and some other things, well, I wanted, plus I even picked some stuff up for Mike!
Friday was a good day. My friend Lorena picked me up for lunch and we finally were able to enjoy "GOOD" margaritas together, unlike the ones we find in Tokyo. Here we are at Cyclone Anaya's. Oh what fun we had.
Now if only we could find great margs in Tokyo that make us smile that much.
El Paso bound
I made it safely to El Paso on Sunday and decided I was going to take the little guy, Gabe, to the pumpkin patch with my mom. It was lots of fun, but very dusty. Here are some great pictures of the little man at the pumpkin patch where he and I jumped on the big jumping balloon.
Here he's pumping the water to get the rubber ducks to the other side.
Feeding the goats with mom
Starting the mini corn maze
About to exit at the end of the corn maze
So part of the reason for visiting was to meet Ella, the newest addition to the family. Here she and I am...I like her, she's quiet and doesn't do much!
On this day, I spent it with my dad, so here he is with Ella.
Afterwards, we headed to the stores and took the little man with us. He loves to carry things, so naturally, I let me carry my box of shoes that dad bought!
While in El Paso, I visited with both of my parents, had some yummy homemade food from mom, visited grandma, who told me all kinds of good gossip, and had drinks with my friend George. I even went to Toy r Us. The little man thought it would be wise to show me all the toys he wanted for his birthday and christmas. Good thing, since I bought the birthday present that day.
My time in El Paso was good especially eating the food. My mom is looking forward to my next visit over Christmas, which will be quite long.
Here he's pumping the water to get the rubber ducks to the other side.
Feeding the goats with mom
Starting the mini corn maze
About to exit at the end of the corn maze
So part of the reason for visiting was to meet Ella, the newest addition to the family. Here she and I am...I like her, she's quiet and doesn't do much!
On this day, I spent it with my dad, so here he is with Ella.
Afterwards, we headed to the stores and took the little man with us. He loves to carry things, so naturally, I let me carry my box of shoes that dad bought!
While in El Paso, I visited with both of my parents, had some yummy homemade food from mom, visited grandma, who told me all kinds of good gossip, and had drinks with my friend George. I even went to Toy r Us. The little man thought it would be wise to show me all the toys he wanted for his birthday and christmas. Good thing, since I bought the birthday present that day.
My time in El Paso was good especially eating the food. My mom is looking forward to my next visit over Christmas, which will be quite long.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
States Trip
As promised, I will tell you about our trip to the states back in late October. Mike had to go back to Houston for training and I tagged along. We were able to spend 2 weekends plus the week in Houston and were able to see most of our friends.
Our trip started out rocky, as I got sick on the plane and was throwing up, alot. I even had to use the bag since the bathrooms were occupied. Not good. Here is where I thank Mike for upgrading me so I can sit with him, and where the flight attendants were amazing. On to better parts of the trip.
The first weekend, we stayed with our friends David and Sarah. We got to watch football, hang out, and hang out at the bar. Friday night we went to the Ice House and saw lots of friends, but sorry, I didn't take a picture. Saturday, Mike golfed and I had lunch with my good friends, John and Ty and Michael. Then we watched football and headed out to the bars. Here are some great pictures.
Mike and Sarah playing shuffle board
Mike with Kevin playing bags.
Us with Brian and Jessica
We left early that night since we were still adjusting, but had a great time. On Sunday, I headed to El Paso to visit with my family and meet my new niece, while Mike stayed in Houston to work.
Our trip started out rocky, as I got sick on the plane and was throwing up, alot. I even had to use the bag since the bathrooms were occupied. Not good. Here is where I thank Mike for upgrading me so I can sit with him, and where the flight attendants were amazing. On to better parts of the trip.
The first weekend, we stayed with our friends David and Sarah. We got to watch football, hang out, and hang out at the bar. Friday night we went to the Ice House and saw lots of friends, but sorry, I didn't take a picture. Saturday, Mike golfed and I had lunch with my good friends, John and Ty and Michael. Then we watched football and headed out to the bars. Here are some great pictures.
Mike and Sarah playing shuffle board
Mike with Kevin playing bags.
Us with Brian and Jessica
We left early that night since we were still adjusting, but had a great time. On Sunday, I headed to El Paso to visit with my family and meet my new niece, while Mike stayed in Houston to work.
Thanksgiving in Japan
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend. Mike and I celebrated Thanksgiving here on Saturday since everyone works on Thanksgiving. Either way, it was still Thanksgiving and it was lots of fun. Our friends Jenn and John invited us over to their house for lunch. It was so nice to spend the holiday with friends and make it feel as if we were back home.
So our Thanksgiving was potluck style. I decided to make mashed potatoes since I love them and they are a stable for this day. Well, Jenn mentioned we were going to have any stuffing and I couldn't let that happen since that is another stable. I under took the task of making stuffing, which I've never done before. Here is finished product before it went into the oven. I used a recipe from Epicurious which was a "sausage, cranberry, pecan dressing." I made the whole recipe and didn't realize how much it was going to make, which ended up being 2 of these. It was good though and I'm proud of doing it.
Here is the turkey and our friend John, the turkey chef! I tried to capture this picture before he starting cutting, but you get the idea. We had a bird!
And of course no Thanksgiving isn't complete without the dessert. We had pumpkin pie, a cheese tart thing, a pear tart, and cookies.
It was such a fun day and I'm so thankful for all our new friends we've made here, whom we celebrated with. I'm also thankful for my family, all our old friends, and of course, my wonderful husband Mike, who still puts up with my shenanigans and quirks.
So our Thanksgiving was potluck style. I decided to make mashed potatoes since I love them and they are a stable for this day. Well, Jenn mentioned we were going to have any stuffing and I couldn't let that happen since that is another stable. I under took the task of making stuffing, which I've never done before. Here is finished product before it went into the oven. I used a recipe from Epicurious which was a "sausage, cranberry, pecan dressing." I made the whole recipe and didn't realize how much it was going to make, which ended up being 2 of these. It was good though and I'm proud of doing it.
Here is the turkey and our friend John, the turkey chef! I tried to capture this picture before he starting cutting, but you get the idea. We had a bird!
And of course no Thanksgiving isn't complete without the dessert. We had pumpkin pie, a cheese tart thing, a pear tart, and cookies.
It was such a fun day and I'm so thankful for all our new friends we've made here, whom we celebrated with. I'm also thankful for my family, all our old friends, and of course, my wonderful husband Mike, who still puts up with my shenanigans and quirks.
Monday, November 22, 2010
3 weeks later
and a larger credit card bill than normal (on my part) Mike is finally coming home. I have managed to survive, which there wasn't a doubt about, and have kept busy during this last few weeks. Good thing was I had lots of things to do during the week, so it was only the weekends that got lonely. And that is where shopping came in handy. I tried to do Christmas shopping, but the more I shopped, the more I found things for myself. Not so good, apparently. Anywho, I think I have managed to come out even on gifts for others and things for me.
Normally, I would have put up pictures of things I did, but I gave the camera to Mike thinking he would use it while in Abu Dhabi. What was I thinking or more accurately, I wasn't thinking. I believe Mike took a total of maybe 5 pictures, where I would have taken more. Hhere are some of the things I did, which may have warranted pictures
- concert at someone's house with a great cembalo (very cultural)
- organ rally and free concert
- lunch with a friend who was visiting from Hong Kong
- flea market at a temple where the fall leaves are amazing
- mexican feast here at our house and the mess of the kitchen
Anywho, be creative with your imagination and think of what these would have looked like. I am excited for Mike to come home, but that also means I will have to do laundry every week again, ugh. But I'll do it since its better when he's around.
And now that he is coming back, I can post some of things that we did while in the states and then start fresh with the new things coming up.
Normally, I would have put up pictures of things I did, but I gave the camera to Mike thinking he would use it while in Abu Dhabi. What was I thinking or more accurately, I wasn't thinking. I believe Mike took a total of maybe 5 pictures, where I would have taken more. Hhere are some of the things I did, which may have warranted pictures
- concert at someone's house with a great cembalo (very cultural)
- organ rally and free concert
- lunch with a friend who was visiting from Hong Kong
- flea market at a temple where the fall leaves are amazing
- mexican feast here at our house and the mess of the kitchen
Anywho, be creative with your imagination and think of what these would have looked like. I am excited for Mike to come home, but that also means I will have to do laundry every week again, ugh. But I'll do it since its better when he's around.
And now that he is coming back, I can post some of things that we did while in the states and then start fresh with the new things coming up.
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