I'll take you in my backpack

11/25/11 It's the day after Thanksgiving (still Thanksgiving Day in the US) and what better thing to do than zip through the trees, wind in my hair, hang upside down...really bringing out my inner primate! That's right, finally made it back to Forest Adventure! I don't know how time slipped away from me, but somehow it did and now I have 3 weeks until I leave this wonderful paradise and I had yet to make it to Forest Adventure for some zip lining. I almost forgot how much I love this place. I could literally spend all day doing this! So fun! What is not fun is the harness. It pinches, it squeezes, it bruises and if you're lucky it will leave blood blisters (isn't that the sign of a good time?!). I'm pretty sure the man who tightened mine up to his liking was into S&M. Some of my favorite things about Forest Adventure, that would never fly (ha!) in the US are: -nominal instructions prior to getting onto the course -safety, who needs safety? In the sta...

10/22/11 Finally, a day that didn't involve getting saturated in rain! It was absolutely beautiful today! I may have been a little eager when I put on my bathing suit, sundress, sandals and bolted for the door with my camera! The swimsuit probably wasn't necessary. One does crazy things in the presence of weekend sun! Visited a World Heritage Site called Sefa Utaki, it is a Shinto Shrine that has been recognized as a sacred place since the earliest times in Okinawa history. The shrine consists of a lot of caves and rock formations with breathtaking views of the sea. It all has ties to the Kingdom of Ryuku, although there are no structures standing on the property anymore. After that took the scenic route, literally drove the entire southern part of the island. Went through some quaint villages, along the sea, through the mountain (if you want to call it that) until we eventually made it back. Books Read: Catching Fire

9/23/11 How can your day be bad when it starts off with this? All of the photos were conveniently taken from my balcony this morning! The sunrise was gorgeous, my pictures don't do it justice! Happy Friday! Books Read: Start Something That Matters

9/19/11 Checking in safe and sound from Okinawa...more to follow when I wake up from my jet lag slumber (in approximately 2 weeks!) Books Read: Hunger Games

6/6/11 So I went out on an evening adventure that turned out to bring more laughs than I've had in a while! Right next to my hotel are the classy establishments of "Club G Spot" and "Ballscratchers" which I've been meaning to get a picture of since arrival...I got way more than I bargained for last night while walking around Tumon!!! Enjoy your pornographic tour of Guam... Club G Spot Club G Spot and Ballscratchers Dirty massage parlors I took normal pics too! Orchid growing out of a tree Definitely NOT ESPN Zone! Obama bobbles Whitening Soap Worms and Crickets that are flavored Many choices in the bug department However does one choose? The Other Green Meat Duck Me, sex toy in a mini mart Pepero Nude Carved wooden penis' Obama flippies You read it right...Placenta Soap. Also a "whitening soap" Whitening face wash My favorite pic of the entire evening. Cool snail! To...

5/28/11 Today I ventured out to a new eatery called Sugarnomics. This place was fantastic!!! For lunch I had a grilled cheese (3 different yummy cheeses) and peppered bacon sandwich. The beverage was called a Milo Dino and it was amazing. Dessert was salted caramel chocolate cake, and a mint brownie to take home for later. It's my birthday I can splurge today. Tomorrow I will be attempting to work some of that off! Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake Milo Dino I realize my reading has been slack...I'm working on it. It's tough to read when one eye isn't functioning properly! Books Read:  Russel Brand's Booky Wooky The Last Ridge

3/8/11 Tonight I enjoyed another evening of Origami and wow have my skills improved. I made an amazingly beautiful box and all kinds of little baskets. As usual I was loaded with gifts before leaving class, this time receiving an Origami Shisa dog, and an origami purse with matching high heel shoes! I hope to be able to recreate some of these items at a later date, but we'll see! I've purchased a Japanese Origami book here in the event that I can't. Books Read:  Dress Your Family in Corduroy Gifts Origami baskets

11/26/10 Since leaving for college decades ago (at least that's what it feels like!) I've grown accustomed to some Holiday's away. And, this might come as a surprise, but I kind of like it! Perhaps these holiday's away have turned me into a bit of an anti-social, but I kind of like that too! Fact is, holidays usually bring way too much eating, some family bickering, more eating and gluttonous behavior, and a side order of sleep. Perhaps my non-traditional holiday isn't everyone's ideal, but I will tell you that I rather enjoyed myself. Yes I missed my family (that includes the surrogate family who has taken me in for years and years of Thanksgivings since I have lived in St Louis) but here's the upside; I didn't over eat (well maybe a few too many bites of popcorn at one of the two movies that I enjoyed), there was absolutely no family bickering (I had lovely conversations with all family members, let them know I was thinking of them, missed them, you ...

Books read: Sh*t My Dad Says 9/18/10 It's that time of year...the polka is playing, the beer is flowing, lederhosens are dusted off, beer maids are a plenty, and morals are at an all time low (not mine of course!) You guessed it, Oktoberfest! Here in Fairbanks Oktoberfest is held at a local restaurant/brewery, Silver Gulch Brewery. I checked the weather before leaving my hotel and it said 64 degrees and sunny (the event didn't start until 7:30pm) so I wore the short sleeves and brought a light jacket, after all, 64 is beautiful. Right. Oktoberfest consisted of a large tent outside of the brewery, thankfully that had a large bonfire going (although I don't know how much of a good idea that was once people really got drunk, I didn't stay long enough to find out!). It turns out that 64 didn't last long and it dipped down into what felt like 30 to me, but was probably 50. Everyone kept ranting about how beautiful it was outside while I kept creeping closer and c...

6/16/10 The time here has quickly come to an end. Tomorrow is my last day of work, and in an effort to part ways with the lovely city of Yokosuka Japan I have come up with a list of things that I will miss terribly when I am back in the U.S. *I won't be leaving Japan for another two weeks though because mom and I will be traveling around like crazy kids, I will keep the blog updated!* 1. Lemon soda (lemon squish I believe is the name) it comes in a black can that has yellow polka dots and is amazingly refreshing (even has lemon pulp in it) 2. Sushi-go-rounds (and just good, fresh sushi in general) 3. People who sing to greet you as you enter/exit their stores (yes they are that friendly here!) 4. The Kit Kat hunt (2 more weeks left and I'm determined to expand my collection!) 5. The Toto Washlet (really there are no words) 6. Everyone backed in to parked 7. The triangles (seaweed wrapped around a triangle of rice with some sort of surprise (usually fish) in the middl...

Otherwise titled: The weekend away (for luxury and pampering) from the dump that we currently reside in! For some reason I don't think that whole title will fit within the blogs settings! At any rate, we went to Tokyo, really we checked into the hotel (which seemed like the Biltmore compared to where we have been staying), and then headed out to Shibuya on a mission. My mission was to find at least 1 new Kit Kat flavor to bring to my collection. I failed miserably (I know, disappointing!) I was able to finally capture (photographically speaking) the smoking man that I walk by daily. I mean, wouldn't this guy make you want to smoke a pack of Winstons?! Don't lie. I mean, do you think you could pull off those jean shorts...I THINK NOT! Thank you Winstons. Shibuya was pretty swell...it's just one of the many sections of Tokyo. There were tons of different stores and eating options. We opted for a little Italian joint (I know Italian in Japan...blah blah) and it was...

5/22/10 Whenever I travel I really like to read, and with this being an exceptionally long trip, I've had the opportunity to read more than your average vacation! Thanks to my handy Kindle which is conveniently loaded with no less than 9 pages of book selections at any given time, I have options! Something else that I like to do when I travel is to keep track of the books that I've read, so where better than this blog. If you have no interest, feel free to skip the post. If you want my opinion on the books, I'll gladly share it, just ask! So far I have read: 10 Hours Until Dawn Three Cups of Tea It's Not Me It's You... Magical Thinking The Year of Living Biblically Superfreakonomics In the Heart of the Canyon I will update the list when I finish more books and would love any good recommendations from the readers out there!