I Heart Faces...I mean Feet!

This week at I ♥ Faces, the theme is feet. And while I am sure baby feet will steal this category....I decided to enter my favorite thing about feet over here in Okinawa!! The pedicures!! You have never had a pedi like one from a Japanese salon. They are meticulous about their nail art for starters, plus they give a mean leg massage. Here is my very first experience 2 years ago...and it is still my favorite design so far.

Check out other people's feet (that sounds weird) over at...

Monday Mortals

This week's mortal is none other than myself. The Fam Bam and I ventured off to Kinser pool Sunday and they have not one, but two diving boards. I'm all about getting my dive posing on!! It brings me back to my childhood and the days of backflips, backdives, front tucks, and oh yeah I forgot about butt busting (don't ask...the ones who know what it is appreciate a good butt buster). So here is my best pose that George managed to get (I did a toe touch, and a front flip as well...but he didn't get them).


I'm sooo going back....

Sanity in Photos

I have been keeping my sanity lately by diving into my photo hobby. I spent most of the weekend taking and editing pictures...it calms me! And I needed that! Friday I went out with my neighbor to look for some good photo ops. We stumbled upon this really awesome Buddhist Temple, visited the Nakagusuku Castle, and also the "Haunted Hotel".

I guess the Haunted Hotel is off limits to Army peeps (I thought it was only Marines), but George tells me when I start uploading, "You know an order just came down that we aren't supposed to go there...", OOPS! I thought I was over the whole "breaking the rules" phase. Hee Hee! I guess I can't hide who I really am. It was creepy there and cool. FULL of spiders and graffiti. Imagine this place after sunset though...I don't think I would have went in.


But there were some great spots...and shots!



The castle is before you get to the hotel. It was definitely what you would call in "ruins". I almost busted my a$$ several times from the uneven steps and such...but the view from the wall was amazing!!

I may have been channeling my inner diva once or twice...I mean come on, it IS a castle right?!


The temple find was a total fluke...all we could see was this pretty red building in the distance and so we made a quick turn to be nosey! What a payoff...

Tara got some good ones here (b/c she is savvy with her camera and took pics like a spy even after the lady told me no pictures). She got one of me kneeling in the temple...believe me, I had PLENTY to pray about!!


I tried to act on her stealth-like photo skills, but only came up with this one...but you can see the two guys from the above picture praying to the three monks(?) chanting away. I wish you could have heard it...it was astounding and piercing.


They had some shrines located at the bottom of the steps that you could cleanse your hands and also one that looked like a fertility shrine...

...this is about how close I went to that one (with the zoom on). I don't need anymore free fertility, thank you!

There is also a bunch of good luck charms and wishes spread throughout the entrance way and leading up to the Temple. I can't imagine how old some of these are....

Very cool adventure...

Saturday, Geo had a softball tournament (shocking, I know)....so the boys and I (Saige was at a friend's), decided to make a trip to the Botanical Gardens. JD was our tour guide (he would like me to call him "Explorer JD")...and Teage was our bird/insect finder. We happened to go about 2 hours before they closed, so we ended up having the whole place to ourselves practically. It was nice! More priceless shots...

This dragonfly landed right in front of me...I ♥ dragonflies!!

My new favorite things to shoot are lotus flowers...they are always so flawless!

These carp were everywhere, and the lips on these things...I'm talking Angelina all the days!!

Gotta love some outdoor recreation...thanks for looking!!

Foodie Friday

This is kinda funny...I went with my neighbor on a daytrip hunting for good picture spots. We stumbled upon some good ones that will come out later. Of course, in the plans there was obviously lunch to be had and I thought, "Great, I can get a Foodie Friday shot as well". So I had my camera ON the table ready to shoot my Open Faced Sandwich that I ordered at the Transit Cafe (love that place). The heat level must have fried my brain that day (I had a river in my cleavage it was so hot...ok and puddles under my boobs) because I started scarfing that crap down like nobody's business once it hit the glass-topped wicker table. About 2/3 of the way into my chicken, I realized I hadn't taken the picture yet...OH $hit! So here is what's left of my dish...it looked way better before I mangled it and added the dressing to my salad. You can even see where I tried to lay my prosciutto atop my greens to make it look more presentable. Anyway, it was delish. The bread even...I can't even begin on the toasty bread. Magni-fique!!

Making my own Circle of Angels

I posted my Wednesday without Words with a picture of one my Angels I have around the house. Last week, while I was staying at the Perez house, I got a call from Geo saying my angel shelf in the stairwell had fallen and all my angels had broken...except for my Hope Bear (because it is stuffed). I almost cried. I have been collecting angels for about 12 years and my favorite ones were the ones that made it to the shelf. The shelf I bought at Ikea in Germany and was a heavy, sturdy, classic piece that could fit in every room. The shelf is in tact of course...but its tenants are gone. I should have seen the sign in this happening...a bad omen if you will. A sign that my husband needs to stop telling me we have orders...unless I am holding them IN MY HAND!!

Yes, I am just sick about it...I know he means well and WANTS to give the good news we so desperately have been waiting for....but CRAP, I don't think I can handle one more peak or damn valley! He got an email from the main personnel division saying we are all set and so that snowballed into him telling me from the other room "We have orders"!!! I tried to disprove him right away because it seemed too good to be true and my hope meter has been bobbing on 'hopeless' the past weeks...but he assured me that it was the message we had been waiting on. The next day he was sadly told that message was automatically generated and the orders were still waiting on Germany's reply about JD.

*Crush*

So the wait is still not over ...at this point I have raised my arms to Jesus, the Angels and surrendered. I give up! There MUST be a reason for all this stress and last minute planning ahead of us. I will let you know when I figure that part out. I think my husband feels bad about leading me astray...but he's too proud and disappointed himself to say that I think. So we are trying to pretend like it's not happening so we can refrain from going MAD! That's the latest and it sucks...

So you can see now why the angels' demise was a little more devastating than just a 'shelf falling and breaking'. Hence the clay angel post on Wednesday.

I decided to make a new circle of Angels...and started last night making my first Kokeshi Doll with some of my friends here. It was fun and helped occupy my mind a great deal. Here's a little history on The Kokeshi...they are handmade wooden dolls originally from northern Japan and used as souvenirs for visitors. They have been used to represent a healthy child, ward off evil, prevent fire, or used as simple massage tools. So, we had a great girl teaching the mini class to us and I got my creative juices flowing...

Here's how it started...


And the whole gang...I mean GANG exactly how you think. We ride deep yo!!


My final product...I think I will call her "Round Eye Angel".

I love the way her face and hair came out. Her obi, which is on her back (made of purple and red crepe paper and ribbon), has been officially changed to wings! My new angel will look good on the updated shelf in Germany.

Speaking of angels ....I have to give a shout out/bon voyage to one of my good friends here...Angel!

She is a joy and sassy...just how I like them! Thanks for being always keepin' it real...there's not many of us left :o)

Oh, I also wanted to mention that my very own angel, Saige, has been quite the little fashionista lately. Her and her friends have been upgrading their t-shirts with new designs. I bought her this book a while back that has 101 ways to reform your t-shirts. They got really into it and her first creation was not too shabby. I love where she cropped the middle. I went in her room and found SEVERAL of her clothes in a pile to "fix". I need to go through that I think...knowing her she is about to cut up one of the new ones she just 'had to have' in the store. "Expression is good, expression is unique"....that's my new chant!!



Hark...I think I hear an angel coming to save me!! Please hurry! Until next time...

Wednesday without Words

Sports In Action with Pets

I am contributing to the I ♥ faces blog entry this week. The theme is Sports and Pets. I am using a photo of the hubby running for Army Week. I must say, he was smokin' em! I love the look of determination on his face and the look of the others who are desperately trying to reach him :o) Shout out to all the Soldiers who love Sports...like my husband!!



My second entry is of our Oki Mix, Poquito. His tongue makes me smile here. He's one of those "in your face" dogs...but hey,who wouldn't want this face in your face??!!