Pediatric Dental Office Decor

We're working on decorating Doug's office.  It's being painted this week.  After that, new carpet will go in.  Then we'll need actual furniture.

Green is really tricky!!!

The theme that we've come up with is...
*drumroll*

vintage modern.

Vintage because I love it.  Modern because it's "in".
(This part has all been decided, so don't try to change the theme.  It's TOO LATE!)


So, here you have our logo.  Very modernish, right?  Say right.

(And no, you still don't get to know my last name, Creepy Stalker.)

Then we have the following as options:
THIS is where I need your input.  Let me know what you think about the following items:

1.  Super modern couch by Herman Miller.

2.  or this Ballard Design more classic couch.  (Comes in many colors.)
--or something else entirely...???--

3.  Wall Art from Land of Nod.  I really love these but they're $89 each!  (But that includes the frame.)

4.  Also from LoN.  $129 on stretched canvas.  (I really love this...it includes so many places I love.)

5.  What about a giant bouncy ball machine?  Is this a need or a want???

What do you think?  Which couch would you choose?  Which art would you want to see as a parent?  What magazines do you want to read and what would make YOUR dental experience better???
What are your thoughts?
HELP!!!

(For my full "wish list" see my Emily Dub Pinterest board titled "Office Decor Wish List")

Exercise-Schmexercise

I'm skinny.
Tall and skinny.

Always have been.  Can't help it.  Born that way.

So much so that I was regularly asked at medical appointments if I had an eating disorder.
Addiction to sugar, junk food and laziness an eating disorder?  Then yes.  I had (have) one.

Throughout my whole life, I've been despised by females who actually exercise and eat right.

Except, not so much these days.
Without doing a dang thing differently, I've gained weight!  What the...?!?!

See, I hit my 30's, had my fourth baby, lived through an earthquake, and then changed countries.
And somewhere in there, my metabolism slowed down and my general sluggishness wasn't rewarded with continued skininess!  I put on weight!!!  The nerve!

Instead of being underweight for my height (5' 9.75") I'm now (probably...no scale) somewhere in the upper "normal" range.  At least 20 pounds up from my previous "normal".

No, I'm not really whining.  It's no biggie, except my clothes are getting super tight and my energy level isn't exactly increasing.

So for a good two years now I've been contemplating exercise.  (These things can't be rushed in to.)

It had to happen sometime.  Can't put off health forever.

With that in mind, Doug bought me a nice road bike for Christmas last year.  (50% off after Thanksgiving.)  I rode it twice in Misawa always planning to REALLY get into biking once we were settled here.

I just got my bike last week and today I went on my first ride.

Yes, I wore shoes and a helmet and yes, I'm scowling.

It was hard.

But the reason I picked biking is because it inevitably includes periods of time when you can stop pedaling and coast.  And heaven knows I like me a good exercise where I just sit still with the wind rushing through my helmet.  (Running, obviously, is not for me.)

Hopefully there will be more rides to come.  Because my clothing budget is $0 right now so I can't afford a bunch of new pants and loose, flowy shirts.

Wish me luck!

And now a bonus blog post courtesy of Healthy Friend Janeen who now resides (and rides) in Germany!  (Lucky Duck!!!)

-----

From Janeen's blog  
Bikers and Cars Beware!
April 2, 2011


A huge success in my life is convincing someone else that bicycle riding is the best sport in the world!  (darn tootin!) You are outside, you get to go fast, you can socialize and you are working out!  I just can't see it getting any better than that.  Our friends, the infamous Doug and Em, have seen the light (well, kind of).  I have to give a little background.  

Emily does not exercise at all!  And never has. (Sometimes I think it's amazing we are friends, really, but we married opposites, too, she is a lot like Merrill and I am like Doug, it's scary - I digress, back to my story:).  She says she's allergic to exercise because her body starts to itch.  [This is completely true.  I AM allergic to exercise.  Itchy Leg Syndrome is a real malady!  There are literally dozens of us!]  


I remember going on a walk with her last spring on a beautiful day and she belly ached the whole time about everything I liked about it.  hahaha  So Doug started riding last year on my old De Bernardi bike.  He's about the same build as Merrill so it was pretty funny seeing him on my little bike, but he was hooked so he didn't complain too much about the bike size.  Doug thought it would be awesome to go for rides with Emily (which it will be!)  So Emily got a bike on a sweet sale weekend around Thanksgiving last year.  

It was a gorgeous day outside and she took it on it's maiden voyage around the block!!!!  With her jeans on and lovely Ugg boots!  Rockin biker outfit, Em!  I hope your bum wasn't too sore today from your jean seam.  :)

When I ran into get my camera this is what I came out to!  What a goof!

Anyway... here she is!  We are all so proud of her! I called her later in the day and I told her she needed to start going to Pam's spin class M, W @ 11:30am.  By then, she will be up and ready to tackle the workout!

She's going so fast she's a blur!

---


(I never did make that spin class.)

Paradigm = SHIFTED!

Once, my friend Lyana told me she lets her kids fold and put away their own clothes, and then my brain popped, because WOAH!  I hate folding laundry!  Who knew I could shove it off on to them?!?!  That little bit of information changed my life!!!

So now I'll share something with you:
While sister Bethy was here, school lunches came up.  I mentioned that Max makes his own lunch and has since 1st grade.  Last year, he made Sam's too.  This year, both boys will make their own.  My job is to make sure we have ingredients on hand.  The rest is up to them.  And then Beth's brain popped a little because SHE hates making lunches and her kids are 6th and 4th graders!  So now maybe she'll make them make their own lunches and her life will be changed!  For the better!  And she'll forever praise my name like I praise Lyana!  And so will YOU!  Aren't you all glad I'm a blogger?!?

You can thank me later.

P.S.  (She also noticed my stash of plastic grocery bags all tied in loose knots and laughed at me.  But it's not just for the sake of my OCD!  It's so little kids don't pull them over their heads and suffocate!  Which my boys inevitably try to do when confronted with a bag of any kind--plastic or otherwise!!!)
---
And yes, we had a great time with Doug's big sister.  She brought her best friend Steph (basically a member of the family) and her two kids and we LOVED having them!  The boys LOVE getting to know their cousins after a three year drought.  We went to the beach every day, rinsed off with a swim in the pool, and then feasted on half healthy/half unhealthy food every night.  It was fabulous and we want them to come quarterly!

(So if you're planning a visit, better book the guest room STAT!  It's filling up fast.  And don't forget the cost of admission is a PICTURE for my WALL!)
---
Pictures will be posted...eventually.

Umm...Kashi!

One great thing about being back in the states?  More selection.  My first trip to Target, I grabbed every single Kashi item I hadn't tried yet.  (We had VERY FEW healthy grocery options at the Misawa Commissary.)

 I may have grabbed a few other things while I was there.

(And now I really must stop spending money because Doug hasn't started working yet.  So ya know...no income and all that...)

A Few (a lot of) Little (back in America) Things

aka:  17 blog posts combined into one!

*When we got to town, we were greeted by all four of my siblings and my mom!  We got to have a mini-family reunion and the boys got to see lots of cousins they haven't seen in three years.  It was typical of all our Call-kid reunions: full of drama but highly entertaining.  (My dad and his wife Claudia also came down for a visit so we got to see them also.)

Faezer and Jay-bird: Caught mid silliness.

*Costco and Target are all that I hoped they'd be.  And more.  I love them.  I want to marry them.
They're also exactly what Doug expected they'd be:  Places I spend too much money.
Poor Doug.

Call Girls with Dale-bud

*I may have gained some weight since my arrival.  Not sure why...?

Best Picture Ever?  Yes.

*We have super cute kids in our neighborhood.  They brought these over the first day we were here:

*After being in Japan, where the HIGHEST freeway speed we encountered was 70 KPH (43.5MPH), driving the speed limit here feel like reckless driving.  People keep racing past and around me and I realize it's because I'm going 20 under.  It's terrifying.

*I can't for the life of me remember which side the drivers side is when I need to get in the car, or how to turn on the blinker not the windshield wipers.  And yes, sometimes I forget which side of the road I'm supposed to drive on.

*Sam had to be dragged (yes, literally) to school kicking and screaming the first two days.  Last night he cried himself to sleep.  He said "I DON'T want to live in California!  I HATE school, I DID NOT want to move to the states, and I WANT TO GO BACK TO JAPAN!!!"  Poor kid.  Have I mentioned he doesn't like change?  (*Note to self:  Inform neighbors that we don't beat our children.  Sam just screams really loud when he's upset.  Which is a lot.)

*Yesterday was our 11 year wedding anniversary and we got to spend part of it in the temple we were married in.  (Followed by lunch at Rubio's and a cupcake from Sprinkles.  It doesn't get much better than that.)  And I decided that, yes, I would marry Doug again even now that I know he has the sense of humor of a 13 year old boy.

*After three years of NO visitors (aside from the H family's post earthquake stay), we've already had one overnight guest!  My high school friend Naomi came down from L.A.!  I had a great time blabbing with her by the (community) pool and the boys loved her.  Her visit was made even better when we went to the beach and dinner with two other awesome high school friends.

Felix, Nome, Me, Wahine

*My friend Kristen, shown on the right, helped us house hunt.  She is amazing and deserves to be sainted.  I'm so happy we're neighbors!!!

*We took a trip up to Monterey, CA to visit the afore mentioned H family.  Camille got baptized and we were thrilled to be able to be there.  It was a quick trip, (not the driving part--that part was long) but we had a blast and were so happy to see Tami, Wes, and Kiddos again.  It was, as Wes said, "EPIC!"

I told Doug to fix my wonky bangs, but he DIDN'T

*San Diego is paradise.  Every morning is foggy.  Then the fog burns off and it's pleasantly warm the rest of the day.  If it gets too hot, open all the windows and let the breeze in.  Things are blooming all over the place.  Colorful hot air balloons pretty up the sky.  We have hibiscus and jasmine and roses and rosemary and lavender and all sorts of smell-good stuff in our yard.  (And I'm going to start some veggies in pots soon, and when our ship comes in, I'll buy some dwarf citrus trees!!!)
Paradise I tell you!!  (And NO EARTHQUAKES!*)

*And I love our house.  It feels like a mansion compared to our Misawa 4-plex.  (Though the base housing had more storage.)  Cute, no?  The boys each have their own room (Gray gets a closet) but have to share when guests come.  It hasn't cut down on fights, but I'm still hopeful.

Box monsters

*Favorite part for the boys?  Garage door, hands down.  They fight over who gets to push the button to open and close it.

*Oh, and did I mention?  NO MOSQUITOS!  You can go outside at dusk and not get eaten alive!  (I don't know what they're spraying around here, but Misawa needs to get some.)

*But wait--San Diego isn't totally perfect.  It does have crows.  Not the monster mutant crows of Misawa, but I've seen 'em.  (Even the Garden of Eden had a snake in it...)

*And speaking of visitors,  (weren't we?) we have a batch coming tomorrow.  Two aunties (D's seesters) and two cousins are en route from Utah even as we...blog.  Yay!


Yep, it's good to be home.

*Yes, I know California is earthquake prone.  And it'll probably have a huge one now that I've moved here.  But I don't care.  All that matters is we haven't had one here yet!  Days and days with NO TREMORS!  That's huge, people!

Here's the Dealio...

Many moons ago, Doug found a practice "For Sale" in the San Diego area.
(My dream locale.  Where I finished high school.  Where we got married.  Where I've been wanting to move back ever since I left as a 20ish year-old.)

He contacted the seller/Dr.
She interviewed him via Skype.
He flew to California and met her in person.
After weeks and weeks of waiting (and an earthquake), she finally offered to sell him the practice.
We started making all necessary (extensive) preparations to buy the practice.
(lawyers, lenders, accountants...)
It would have cost a LOT of money to buy the practice.  (Turns out they don't give these things away.)
BUT it would come with equipment, staff, and patients!
We planned our move here.
We signed a one-year lease on a home.
We researched local schools and local church congregations.
I mapped all nearby Libraries, Costcos and Targets.
We directed our "Household Goods" to be shipped to the port of San Diego.

And then...

three weeks before we left Japan...

the seller changed her mind.

She backed out of the deal.

We don't know why.  (But we have our suspicions.)


Then Doug's heart stopped and his brain exploded a little, and his stomach turned into a giant bleeding ulcer.
      I took the immediate role of therapist/counsellor/cheerleader.
("It's going to be okay!!!  You're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggoneit, little kids like you!!!")

Luckily, on his last trip to the states, just for kicks, he'd looked over an available office space for lease in the area.  It's next door to a General dentist and is all set up for a Pediatric dentist.  It's in a great location on a busy, high-visibility street.

The same day we got the mind-exploding news, Doug called about the empty office space.  It was still available.  He asked for the lease paperwork.
We decided to lease it and start a practice from scratch.

With three weeks to go before unemployment and no pay check and no benefits and no security and no anything.  Except a house and office we couldn't pay for once our emergency fund ran out.  
(Yes, thanks to stupid Dave Ramsey, we have a hefty emergency fund.  Or at least, it seemed hefty until we moved to expensive here and had to spend a bunch of it!)

So yeah, it's been a stressful few weeks.

Since we've been back, Doug has done the following:
Filled out mountains of paperwork
Met with a bazillion lenders
     and vendors
         and Doctors
Hogged the laptop  (The desktop is still in transit, hence my spotty blogging.)
Gotten 58 new gray hairs
Secured financing to start a practice
Purchased us a second car (our mini van has been in storage for three years)
Made a bazillion phone calls
Eaten numerous "business" breakfasts

And a million other tedious things.

He's also gotten a part time job at an office about an hour away.
It's only three days a week, but it will see us through until his practice takes off.

Which it will.
Because he's Doug and he's awesome and little kids love him.

As for me, I'm keeping busy unpacking, organizing, donating, hanging, and throwing away a whole bunch of stuff. 

While also feeding, clothing, cuddling, chasing, disciplining, kissing, hugging, refereeing, supervising, separating, and time-outing four {extremely noisy} boys.

Oh, and I'm working on the colors/theme/feel/decor/accessories/"brand" for the future office and website.

Um hmm.

And it turns out, having your husband home 24/7 in these circumstances, doesn't actually feel like an extended vacation.  (Maybe an extended hellcation.  But forget I said that last part 'cause we don't say the "h" word.)  Not that I don't love having him around.  It's just we're not dealing with optimal circumstances here!


But despite all of the afore mentioned stress, we're happy to finally be "home".  We're happy to be back in America. We're really happy that the whole dang country isn't shaking every five minutes.  We're thrilled we don't have to move anywhere ever again if we darn well don't want to.  And we're extremely glad things are progressing in the job department.

We've even managed to have some fun!
All of my siblings and my mom were here to welcome us home.
Visits to the pool and beach have been squeezed in.
The weather has been perfectly beautiful.
Breakfast out has been eaten.
Friends and new neighbors have been good to us.

So life is good.
Prayers are heard.
Prayers are answered.
And life goes on.

And that's the dealio.

Friday and Saturday in Hawaii

Friday was an especially fun day for Sammy and I.  Since Doug and Max got to swim with Manta Rays, Sam and I got to swim with dolphins.  You'll pardon my 80's if I say it was "totally rad".

The deal is, you get on a boat, they provide snorkel stuff, and then the boat drives(?) to where they know there are usually pods of dolphins.  When they spot a pod, they let you hop off the boat so you can swim with them.  (or near them.  Or actually usually quite far away from them because shockingly, dolphins tend to keep moving.)

Anyway, I've never seen a dolphin up close, so I thought it was extremely cool.

So here's what happened.  The boat went to the first stop.  There were dolphins everywhere.  We were all suited up and ready.  We jumped in the water.  Sammy, who has been practicing with a mask and snorkel for a few weeks, looks down, can't see the "bottom" and freaks out.  He did not like swimming with fins, and a noodle (instead of a life jacket) and he did not like the depth of the ocean.

It took some persuasion to get him to try again, but he did it.  We swapped out the noodle for a life jacket, ditched the fins, and went to an area where you could see the ocean floor.  (It was super clear water.)  Sam jumped in, stuck his face in, and popped right back up.  "I SAW ONE!  I SAW A DOLPHIN MOMMY!!!"  It was, again, totally rad.

During one stop, our "driver" spotted a pod and stopped.   Everyone (there were about 11 of us) jumped in and started swimming away from the boat.

I looked in the opposite direction and saw a dolphin jumping in front of the boat and headed towards it.  When I started swimming, I realized I was surrounded by dolphins...they were just all below the surface.  That's when I saw the mommy and baby swimming together in the distance.  Very very cool.  I wish I could have gotten closer but they were a bit ahead and swimming away from me.  

For the last stop, we left the dolphins behind us and went to snorkel a reef near the shore.  Since this area was relatively shallow, this is where Sam did the majority of his snorkeling for the day.  He actually got pretty far away from the boat and looked at the reef and tropical fish with me.  For a little while, he let me hold his hand and swim with him.  It was fantastic day and that was the icing on the cake!

(And now I really need to wrap this up...)
Saturday:  We did some stuff.
We took a red-eye "home" through L.A.
It was a horrible flight.
It was delayed.  Children were cranky. Bags were lost.  Then found.
We finally made it HOME to San Diego on Sunday morning.

HOORAY!

(More tomorrow.  Or the next day or day after that...)

Thursday in Hawaii

So much to blog, so little time...

Gotta finish up Hawaii so I can talk about my NEW HOUSE!

So, Thursday was our VOLCANO day.  Since we stayed in Kona, the volcano was a ways away.  Therefore, trying to get the boys excited was next to impossible.
"We have to drive for TWO HOURS?  Why can't we just go to the POOL?!?!?"
Little ingrates!
But we shoved 'em all in the car and set off anyway.
To break up the trip, we made two stops along the way.  First, to the southern most bakery in the United States for some Hawaiian sweet bread.  (YUM!):

Handsome group!

 Next, to a volcanic black sand beach:

Neato!

Why yes, I did take a smidge for my sand collection!

Turtles chillaxing

(Aside:  So, we're standing around oohing and ahhing over the sea turtles, and a Japanese gentleman gets really excited to see them, walks over, and happily smacks one on the face to get it to move.  The Americans gasp and say "NO!", and my arms automatically come up and cross in front of me making an "X"; the universal Japanese sign for 'no' or 'stop'.  He didn't touch the turtles after that.) 

"I know I'm adorable!"

Yes, I did buy my shirt at Costco, and yes, Gray did eat more sand.

Playin' in the waves.

Finally, we arrived at the volcano visitor center.  They gave us maps and told us what the "must-see" attractions were for single-day visitors.  Here are a few:

In a lava tube tunnel.

The boys walked across this caldera.  I stayed in the car with sleeping Gray.

Barren landscape cleared by flowing lava.

Cute buzz boys.

Smoking volcano!

Smoking volcano after dark.  Sweet!

We stayed for quite awhile but only managed to see a little bit of the "park".  It was really amazing.  The boys were disappointed they didn't get to see an actual eruption, but seemed to think it was cool anyway.  The glowing crater was pretty close, so that got high marks.

We'd definitely recommend a trip to the volcano if you're ever in the area.

More tomorrow.  Hopefully I can wrap this trip up!

Tuesday and Wednesday in Hawaii

Quick Overview:

Tuesday:  Arrive in Oahu, transfer planes and fly to Hawaii aka "The Big Island", drive to Costco (YAY!) to buy food and an underwater camera, check in to Outrigger Kanaloa at Kona, go to beach at Keauhou Bay  (Pictures in yesterday's post), go to hotel pool, watch sunset from pool, stay up too late.  (When we first arrived on this island, I noticed a lot of areas that at first I thought were torn up asphalt parking lots.  Turns out, it was lava rock.)

Wednesday:

Jet lag kept us all asleep until 10.  After a slow start, we went to a small farmers market on the resort property.  Bought two mini pies (Key Lime and Lilipoi!) and a fresh coconut.  The coconut seller macheted the top off and we drank the milk then ate the flesh.  (Is it just me, or does that sound...wrong.)

Next, went to a crowded beach.  Didn’t stay long, but got two yummy snow cones to split.  Saw a few sea turtles. (SO COOL!)  Got torn up on the lava rock.  Baby Gray ate rocks.

Left and drove quickly to Wal-mart.  Bought life jackets, camera float, pool toys and some more food.

Raced back to the hotel and dropped of Mom, Sam, Gabe and Gray and the four of us went straight to the pool.  Then Doug and Max raced back to town for the night time Manta Ray scuba tour and didn't get home until late.  Everyone had a GREAT evening.  (Despite me having to watch a bit too much of the Disney Channel with Sam and Gabe.)

(Below is an underwater video of the manta rays.  I'm just blogging it for Doug because he's been monopolizing the lap top enough as it is lately!  Our desk top computer, along with all our "household goods", will arrive on Friday.)

  More tomorrow.  

If Doug will share the computer!

HAWAII!

I have too many pictures to post them all individually, so I started messing around with collages.  Didn't want to download Picassa onto our laptop, (it's on the desktop which is in transit) so I thought I'd try Smilebox.  But I don't need my collage to sing and dance, and I don't love having a huge logo at the bottom.  So I guess I'll keep experimenting.  In the mean time, feast your eyes upon the cuteness of our boys at the beach.  Yes, that's lava rock Gray is eating.  And he loved it!

"I'm So Far Behind I Think I'm First"

Pretty sure I had a "Garfield" poster saying that when I was a kid.  Or maybe it was on one of those posters you could get at the Book Fair and one of my teachers had it hanging in her classroom at Butler Middle School...?  And maybe it wasn't Garfield but an adorable gray kitty in a track suit...?  Hmm.  I'm sad that I'm thinking about this.

Anyway, what I wanted to say before I got sidetracked by that little cat tangent, is that I'm so far behind in my blogging that I don't even know where to start.

We've been doing lots of stuff lately.
Fun stuff, not so fun stuff...all sorts of stuff.

I.e., we've moved.

Sorta.

We're actually still in transit.

In Hawaii.

It's called "Circuitous Travel" and your tax dollars are paying for it.
("Sorry Suckas!" as Max and Sam would say...)

We've had a great trip despite the jet-lag and occasionally whiny/irrational/ungrateful/tired/bratty but adorable children.

No really!  We have!  It's been fun!  But we're ready to get to California and start building a practice without a 16 hour time difference and poor Skype connection interfering.

So that's what's going on.  I plan to do a few pre-dated catch-up posts when life settles down, but it may never settle down again, so no guarantees.  (Not that you give a rip about our Hawaii trip, but when did lack of audience interest ever stop anyone from sharing vacation pictures?  Huh?  That's right:  Never.)

Now we know where everyone stands.   Oh wait...I actually don't know where you stand.  Are you FOR vacation photos or AGAINST?  Or would you rather just talk about how we're going to decorate Doug's new dental office?

Thoughts?
Feelings?
Confessions of love?

I want them all.  Comment on!

On Swearing and Such

One of my favorite forms of teenage rebellion (as a...ya know...teenager) was swearing.*

As a good Mormon girl, sex and drugs didn't appeal to me.  (Not like anyone was offering anyway, but still...)  So, as a good Mormon girl, wanting to be a hellion, but a righteous, church-going one, I thought I'd just try incorporating a few "Bible" swears into my vocab.

I was instantly hooked.
(Don't try this at home, kids!)

H-e-double-hockey-sticks came first.  (Probably originally said "H-e-double hockey sticks!")
Then "D-a-m ("Oh no you didn't!"  "Oh yes, I did.")...n".

When I left Utah for California and REALLY wanted to shock and awe my new friends with my daring and originality, I pulled out the not so biblical  starts with "s-h" ends with "i-t" word.  (So sorry Mom.)

College expanded my horizons.  And my vocabulary!
Another (seemingly Biblically sanctioned) few words crept in on special occasions:
"Bas_ _ _ _" always got a laugh and so, usually, did the alternate for donkey!  (Which I now refer to only as "a-double".)

Life was good.  I pierced my ears a few extra times, died my hair unfortunate colors, and swore to my hearts content.  (But was otherwise a paragon of virtue.  Okay, well there may have also been a little too much NCMO, but that's neither here nor there.  Anyway, where was I...?  Oh yeah...)

Then I met Doug.

And he LOVED ME JUST THE WAY I WAS!!!
In fact, I think he was attracted to my wild potty-mouthed side.  (Just like I immediately fell for his nerdy, tennis-playing-side.)

So, obviously, we (quickly) got married and lived happily ever after.

EXCEPT FOR ONE THING!
As soon as the minister said "You may now kiss the bride..."
(there was no minister saying any such thing.  Mormon's don't even have ministers.) 
...DOUG NIXED THE SWEARING!!!
(Something about not being dragged swiftly down to h-e-double-hockey-sticks by my heathenism...)

OF COURSE, being the loving, adoring, dutiful, submissive wife that I am, I tried (and still try) hard to curb my rebellious tongue.  And...

I'm 100% successful in front of the kids.
100% successful in front of most friends and neighbors.  (You're such a bad influence Janeen!)
73.2% successful in front of Doug.  (Sometimes it's worth it just to see him shake his head at me.)
0% successful in the privacy of my own thoughts.
33.3% successful in front of my siblings.  (Doug's and mine.)
and heck, I think I'm just about
100% successful here on this wonderful, PG-rated blog!
(Pretty dad-gummed impressive, if you ask me!)
(And I told you already--I'm not British so "bloody" doesn't count!)

Why am I telling you all this?  So that you know that what I'm about to say comes from the deepest part of my soul.  And that there is no other way for me to describe to you the sheer expanse of my feelings.

And so you'll reflect, that in comparison, what I'm about to say could be much, MUCH worse.  (Okay, not that much worse, but still worse.)

Are you ready?

I just want to say...

...that moving sucks.
(especially across countries and continents.)

And saying good bye to friend, after friend, after friend sucks!

And trying to start a Pediatric dental practice from freakin'** JAPAN is super sucky!!

And while I'm venting, EARTHQUAKES ARE THE SUCKIEST OF ALL!!!

HA!!!

There.  I said it.  Think of me what you will, Judgey McJudgerson!

Sincerely,
Emily-Potty Mouth-Dub


*Another super original thing I did was wear a lot of black.  Not ALL black like a goth.  Just a lot of black t-shirts from the local DAV.  And occasionally black nail-polish.  Mourning my lost childhood and all that, ya know?!

**I would like the record to show that I have never, ever said the dreaded and diabolical "F" word.
(No, I don't mean FART!)
Oh wait...except that time I told my mom I was about to watch the movie "Huck Finn" and it came out wrong.

---

And now I must apologize to my mother, mother-in-law, and all of my aunts.  Please don't take it personally.  It's no reflection on you.  I was born this way.

*Doug is shaking his head at the fact that I wrote and published all this on my blog.  Poor man...!

A Few Little July Things

*People often ask me:  "When do you find the time to blog???"
Today's answer?  1:15 a.m.   What can I say...I'm a night owl.
{(My usual answer?  "It's what I do while you clean your house.")}

*I just finished listening to the audio version of "Unbroken" from Audible.com.  (I l.o.v.e. Audible)  It's about an American soldier held as a POW in Japan during WWII.  What an amazing story!  Makes me feel proud and wimpy and patriotic and wimpy.  Also, I'm in awe of our current relationship with the Japanese!  We (and they) have come a long way since the 40's!  (I highly recommend the book, btw.  4 stars.)

*Did I mention we got a house?  WE GOT A HOUSE!!!  WAHOO!
And by that I mean, we signed a one year lease on a rental.  And we're super excited.  It's by a big park with a Rec center and has access to a community pool!  And it has a GARAGE!!!  Something we've never had before!

*So where exactly are we going?  The San Diego area.  (Mind your business, stalkers!)  I will say this:  The temperature RARELY gets over 75 (or below 60) and we're ten minutes from the beach.  a.k.a. HEAVEN!

*And what will we be doing there?  Buying an existing practice with actual patients and a guaranteed income?  Oh no...that route is for sissies!  Doug will be starting a BRAND NEW pediatric dental practice!  From scratch!!!  So uh...save your kiddie cavities and come visit us!  You can sleep in my new garage!

*Actually, we've decided you can only come visit if you a] came to visit us here in Japan, (that eliminates...all of you) OR, b] if you sent us a Christmas card, family photo, or goodie box during the last three years.  The rest of you, well...we accept bribes.  Good luck.

*Hey, it's so early, it's tomorrow!  Happy 4th of July, everyone!!!  Isn't America awesome?!

*And now I'm must wrap this up.  Doug gives me a hard time if I try to sneak in bed after 2.

'nite.
zzzzzzzzz...

Happy Birthday Gabey!

Poor Gabe.


Here it is June and I'm just realizing I didn't write about his birthday.
At least I REMEMBERED his birthday!  I'm not that out of it!


So he's four now.  And has been since last month.
(Seems like forever ago.)

He requested pizza for dinner!

Gabey is a very sweet kid.  He's happy and lovable and occasionally whiney.  (But we forgive him because he's happy and lovable.)

I made him a dragon cake...saw the pattern on "Family Fun".

Gabe loves his Mama the best.  I know this because he says "I yuv you Mama!" about a thousand times a day.  And then kisses me with his cute slobbery lips and says "I'm a kissing monsta, Mama"

Gabey spends his days romping around with his buddies, begging for popsicles and pieces of gum, and getting filthy dirty in the back yard.  (A dish scrubber is kept near the tub specifically for his feet--he's shoe averse.)  Never has a child led such an idyllic life.

Buddies:  I, G, and A

A few more things about Gabers:  (Hard "a")He's an obedient boy.  Sometimes we marvel that we have a son who actually obeys and doesn't get into TOO much mischief at this age.
He still thinks "peacock" is a siyee (silly) word.
He loves to play with his friends, and WISHES he could play Legos with his big brothers more.
He loves whatever his brothers love.
He loves Baby Gray
He has a great imagination and can entertain himself.  (Miraculous!!!)
He loves helping me in the kitchen
He loves his friends


And we love him!
Happy Birthday, Buddy!

100 Days Post Quake

Hi Friends,

Thought I'd pass this along.  Anna is one of my former pottery students.  I asked her if I could publish this here.  She's just started a blog.  Check it out after you read the following!  Everything below is property of Anna!

Hello,

My name is Anna Kenkel.  I am a US Air Force Reserve Officer, a high school history teacher, an Air Force Wife and mother to a baby girl.  I have the priviledge of living in Misawa, Japan, which was impacted by the March 11th 9.0 earthquake and tsunami.  Our town has recovered, but many communities very close to us are still suffering.

               We woke up this morning to yet another big earthquake – a 6.7 about 50 miles from us.  I’m not sure how many we have had up to this point, I only know we surpassed 1,000 months ago.  I then find out that 6 people died from the shock of another earthquake.  6 people whose shelter I visited just hours prior.  Did I meet these people?  Did my presence help them in any way in the last hours of their lives?  I will never know.  Even with these frequent reminders of the tragedy that changed the lives of Japanese just over 100 days ago, I have become ignorant in the preceding months to the suffering that is still occurring just 100 miles south of us.  Yesterday, I had an incredible opportunity to wake up to reality by seeing the devastation and desperation that is occurring as you read this note.  I am still trying to process everything I witnessed.  I am physically and emotionally drained from this trip.  I would like to share my experiences in hopes that you may be called to act in some small or big way and don’t become blind to needs of those who still suffer.

               It took us a long time to get to Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecure mostly because it is ruggedly remote.  You have to take windy, often one-laned mountain passes to reach this area of Japan.  I can only imagine how this has hampered recovery efforts.  Finally, after nearly 4 months, debris blocking the roads has made this area accessible.  I was first struck by the beauty of this area.  You are admiring the green covered mountains and then, like a slap in the face it appears:  absolute devastation.  My first thought was this must be what a war zone looks like.  Yet, as I got closer and deeper into the destruction, I thought this must look more similar to Hiroshima, August 6, 1945.

               As we drive through the streets of Otsuchi, there are very few structures still standing.  Those that remain are either burned out shells of their former selves or mangled pieces of concrete and steel.  Beyond that is just dust and debris.  Every inch of this city is covered in silt, dirt, twisted metal, missing shoes, warped parts of cars, torn sweaters, broken pieces of homes and perfectly preserved photo albums of lost loved ones.  We pull into the parking lot of the former city hall.  A hollow building with a giant clock forever preserved with the time the tsunami struck.  I later meet the only survivor of this building who hung on to the roof for over 12 hours as the oil in the water and buildings near him burned with fury.   He may never fully recover from his external wounds, let alone those he carries within him every minute of his life.

               Our guide introduces us to a local man who happens to be a famous jazz musician in Japan.  He wants to show us the remains of his home and take many pictures.  He pleads to us to share Otsuchi’s story with the world.  His desperation for any help, especially our small group of mostly American women and students, lingers with me.  That’s when I realize how bad the situation really is.  He continues to apologize that he is unable to serve us tea as we are staring at what appears to be a car in the middle of his house.  We also discover from our guide that as he is showing us the pieces of his former life a DNA test is being conducted on the remains of a man who resembles his father.  He tells us he drove to pick his father up at the Dentist’s office when the earthquake happened.  He didn’t make it.  He saw the wave fast approaching and had to turn around if he had any hope of surviving.  He was able to save an elderly neighbor, but not his father.  Imagine, the guilt, the torture.  However, this man is smiling.  He is thrilled outsiders are here.  He has felt as if he and Otsuchi have been forgotten by Japan and the rest of the world.    

                 Otsuchi had 15 minutes from the time the earthquake struck to the time the ocean unleashed its wrath.  I was amazed there were any survivors since the higher ground is quite a bit away.  Survivors told us the wave appeared to be a giant cloud as high as the local mountain summits drifting to shore due to the dust kicked up by the water.  They had no idea the sea was about to crash down on them.  I walk through the streets trying to absorb every image and to attempt to grasp the terror experienced here on March 11th.  I see a single child’s boot and a backpack lying on the ground.  I cannot fathom the idea of a small child being swallowed by the freezing ocean water and debris.   What would Lily think if she found herself in the same situation?  I see a man on a stationary bicycle. Odd.  I quickly realize that is how they pump gas.   2011 and a stationary bike is needed to make a vehicle run.  I then see a man polishing his semi-truck in typical Japanese fashion.  It looks perfect and shiny as if it just rolled off the factory line.  The irony of this glossy, beautiful thing amidst the destruction almost made me laugh.  We continue to press passing mile after mile of debris hills nearly 50 ft high.  I was told they recover human remains on a daily basis.

              Finally, a reprieve!  We head to the only surviving elementary school in the area.  Four schools have combined in this very crowded building.  We play games, pass out new backpacks filled with school supplies and share American treats.  On the surface, they seem like average children and we have a blast with them.  They are happy, smiling, giggling.  That outer façade hides the fact that every single student has lost at least one loved one.  A parent, a sibling, an aunt, a grandfather, a cousin.  Twelve students in the school are still waiting for someone to recover both Mother and Father so they can finally say goodbye.  Imagine being in school and every one of your friends is grieving, coping and trying to figure out how to move on.  Imagine seeing your town lying in ruins everyday and living by the water that caused so much pain.  How do you recover?  At 5, 6 or 7 years old, would you be able to understand it or would it simply be too much to bear?  During our time at the school, I was struck by the power of simply showing up.  You could tell by their smiles how much it meant to them that people cared and remembered them.  I truly believe Lily, my 6-month old daughter, made a difference through her smiles and giggles with the students.  I learned it does not take much to make a difference in the lives of people who have so little.

                    We ended our journey at one of the numerous shelters to drop off supplies.  This one was a small, un-air conditioned building sitting in 90 degree weather.  Every inch of floor is claimed by the surviving members of families.  There is no plan for their next step in their dim future.  The government is ignoring this part of the affected area.  This city is poor and has many elderly.  All the city officials were killed, so they have no politicians petitioning for their needs.  They desperately need help.  They need someone to remember and care.  The musician surprises us with an impromptu concert.  He lost all of his belongings, including every instrument.  A 90-year old lady from the south of Japan sent him a 150-year old wooden flute.  I listened as he played Amazing Grace for us while tears flowed down his face.  I could not help but to leave my own tears on this beautiful and broken land.

                NOTE:  Next month, I am climbing Mt Fuji with my family and I will be doing so in honor of Otsuchi.  I will be climbing to 5 stations.  If you feel inclined to help, I am asking people to sponsor each station I reach.  I would like people to pledge at least $5.00 for each station for a total of $25.00.  All money will go to an Otsuchi Relief fund for survivors.  Its skips the bureaucracy and goes directly to those in need.  If you are interested, please contact me at anna.kenkel@gmail.com.  Pass to your friends!