...Back.

I'm pretty sure it's been a solid 6-7 months since I've posted a juicy post to update the world on our lives. I don't even know if blogged about Zac coming home (in February), details about our time in Thailand (hopefully you caught the pics on Facebook), or, most importantly, our upcoming addition!

So now that the summer is pretty much over (it's September already!?), I guess it's time to get back to updating. Our lives are no less interesting (well, sometimes) while living over here, and now there's an added layer of interest as we anxiously await for Baby Boy Cook! It's been quite an experience planning, purchasing, and plain ole being pregnant in a foreign country, especially the first time around. So far the pregnancy has gone smoothly and as of 30 weeks, he seems to be growing great and fortunately leaving me with minimal discomfort. We are beyond thankful that everything seems to be going normally and healthily, and it makes us all the more anxious and excited to meet him! He's an active little guy (as I type, my stomach is visibly bumping and rolling as he moves inside). I'm not big on posting pics of my bump, but since very few of you get to actually see me, I'll indulge in a (recent) bump picture.

This is at 26 weeks - 4 weeks ago...but I haven't changed TOO much

Okinawa  has been hit by 2 big typhoons (the Pacific version of a hurricane) already. The first hit Memorial Day weekend (which was a bummer since it cancelled plans we had to head out to a neighboring island to a cabin with friends). The second sat on top of us for a whopping 40 hours, dropping over 40 inches of rain. We have to laugh a little at the hype surrounding Hurricane Irene (though I realize it left a large amount of damage and flooding, which is no laughing matter), when our "little" typhoon left us inside for days. Fortunately we are on the 3rd floor, so no flooding...per se. However after 40 hours of typhoon strength winds, our concrete fortress started showing weakness and with a change in wind direction, water started seeping in through windows and doorways. We spent most of the night taping windows and changing/washing/drying towels stuffed around doors and windows. We had much less damage than many neighbors above us who had completely flooded living rooms and much more damage. While we suffered a bout of cabin fever, we never lost power or internet - we are thankful for that!

I celebrated my 25th birthday on the beach with some friends. It was a WONderful day of sun, beach, and water sliding. My special birthday treat was a new Ipad, which I LOVE, and I think it will come in handy for the hours of holding/feeding the baby soon. If you have FaceTime, I haven't figured it out yet, so add/call me! 

I recently stopped working full time and am now working every other day until...? It has been really nice to have some time to breathe, clean, and rest, especially as everything might get a little bit harder as we near baby time. While it's nice to have time to do extra things (like blog and go to the beach), it's also nice to keep busy and on a schedule. I know once the baby boy comes along, we will be walking in a 24 hour fog, so I'd like to keep as much normalcy as possible for as long as possible. 

ANYWAY, that's enough for now. I will be more active around here in the time to come!

So Sweet

Short story, it just required more than a Facebook status.

Zac was being a wonderful husband Sunday afternoon: he took me to the beach, did dishes, and offered to take care of dinner while I enjoyed some lemonade and Better Homes and Gardens on the balcony. I was looking forward to chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes.

I came in kitchen to the to the smell of the steaks frying, though they looked a little darker and less...crusty...than the normal chicken fried steak. Zac mentioned that the breading just wasn't sticking. I just brushed it off as maybe a different "recipe" than I usually use.

When it came time to make the gravy, Zac wasn't so sure because he had had some trouble earlier this week when he was making biscuits and gravy. I told him to go ahead and try, as gravy is only learned through practice (and a necessary skill for our family!).

As Zac finished up, I started tidying up, putting away ingredients, etc. I noticed the container that Zac was using to "flour up" the gravy....[I keep the baking supplies in those vacuum sealed plastic containers, not the original packaging]...was short instead of the tall container I usually put the flour in. I tasted the white powder, and...it was powdered sugar. Whoops.

So the chicken fried steak and gravy ended up as sugared steak and caramelized gravy . The breading wasn't "sticking" because the sugar was dissolving into the meat. His trouble with gravy making was more of a chemical problem than skill - hey, if he can make gravy with sugar, I think he's mastered the regular kind. Not exactly what was on the menu...but...bless him...Zac gets an A for effort.

Oh, and the result...the meat wasn't inedible, just much more sweet than normal, and the gravy was strangely addicting (it would've been a great dip for bacon...because bacon dipped in gravy is just what everyone wants)...but I've had strange food attractions these days...

The Land of Smiles

It's hard to believe that Zac has been home for over a month now. It's been more than wonderful to "resume" life. I tried hard to continue to live adventurously and fully while Zac was gone, but the best part of marriage is sharing your life with someone else. So resuming and experiencing life together has been my favorite part of having him home!

We had been planning a post-deployment trip since January, way back, when Zac was still sandy. Originally, our plan was to go to Bali...because... why not go to Bali? Unfortunately, because of recent (?) "terrorism" in the Indonesia area, Bali is off limits to military personnel for the time being. I pouted for a little bit, then set out to find a new and improved vacation locale. And oh my goodness. It was probably the best vacation we'll have for a loooong while.

I started checking out places to visit in Thailand, knowing that it was on our "travel list" while we live on this side of the world. Zac had already visited Thailand with the MEU last spring, but was mostly in the field and a not-so-desirable-for-a-married-man port stop of Pattaya Beach (so he was more than happy to take another trip to see the Thai sights). I knew we definitely wanted to make a stop in Bangkok, and then head to a "beachy" location to relax.

We scheduled the trip well after Zac's scheduled return date because, as we have found out on numerous occassions, the military can do whatever they want, whenever they want. Thankfully, Zac came home just in time, about 6.5 months after leaving, which left a little over a month for us to get excited about our trip. It was a little rough, especially for Zac, to go to work straight away without a break after returning. So the trip was heartily welcomed.

I did most of the planning while Zac was in Afghanistan. At first, I got a little thrifty and adventurous and had the great idea to stay in a hostel or small B&B/inn in Bangkok - a little throwback to '06 and my time in Spain. I found some pretty cool deals - small suites for $30 or so a night (you can find all kinds of neat hole-in-the-wall places at hostelworld.com). Then I considered that Zac had been sleeping in a box on a cot for 6 months and probably didn't want questionable sleeping arrangements in Thailand (though he was a great sport in the discussion). So I found a 50% off 5-star hotel in the center of the city with great views and transportation. Part I, done.

For Part II of the trip, we landed on Phuket, Thailand, a very beachy vacation spot. I researched different resorts and hotels (via tripadvisor.com) for top-rated abodes, seeking a (relatively) affordable, but totally luxurious place to stay. The pictures and views looked out of this world. The Thai Baht is one of the few currencies in the world that is OK against the dollar, making it a "reasonable" splurge. (It was well worth it and did not disappoint!)

I'm SURE you're just dying for more, with that juicy backstory. As soon as I get all the photos uploaded and a free moment, I'll finish the trip!!

A Happy Valentines Day

I have to say...Zac really outdid himself this year for Valentines Day.

I received a lovely bouquet of tulips at the office. It's always kinda been a dream for me to get flowers at work...especially since I've never really had a job...so this was exciting.

But the icing on the cake: coming home to a clean house. Ahhh, nothing better than that!! (Take note you men...if any men even read this) Granted, the house was clean a mere 5 days before for Zac's homecoming, but soon became an explosion of camo to be laudered, sea bags, and other military paraphenalia that has yet to find a home. So a big public smooch and thumbs up to my wonderful husband :) Best Valentines ever....which would've been great JUST because he was HOME!

[Side note: YES he's home!! Can't wait to share all about his homecoming!!]

We broke our "tradition" - well, default tradition - of pizza on Valentines day. Through college, mostly because of various testing schedules, lack of cars, etc. we just celebrated Valentines with pizza. This year we upgraded with yummy steaks (compliments of this PW recipe). Most of all though, I'm just so thankful to be able to spend an evening with my love.

A special XOXO to all my lovely friends who weren't with their loves this Valentines for various military trainings, deployments, exercises, or duties. You are loved, even if from afar :)

- End mushy love post -

2010: In like a tiger, out like a...rabbit?

[Ok, maybe a stretch on the old adage "in like lion, out like a lamb"...]

After taking a long break from updating all you fine readers about life in Okinawa, it's about time to get back to it. My lack of posting is partly from a semi-boring life and partly because I was afraid of whines taking over the posts,  rather than the inside scoop of life in Oki (which was the point of this blog, no?). So now I'm back, whine free and ready to roll.

Living in the eastern half of the world, I'm greatly exposed to, of course, Far East culture. A big part of the culture is the New Year and the animals assigned to it. While I don't know much of the "official" descriptions of the said animal assignments, I'd say 2010 (the year of the tiger) was indeed a tiger.

Let me pull out my 11th grade, metaphor-making skills and explain.

Tigers are quite vicious animals, but are sly, quiet, and conniving. Also, for their prey, tigers are unpredictable in their attacks. They are the kings (princes?) of the jungle, beautiful, fast, and feared. I feel 2010 pretty much much follows that description well.

We started the year in true "tiger" style - well, at least Chinese style - as we celebrated in Hong Kong at the stroke of midnight. The busy, fast paced city thrilled us with so many fun places to see and experience. Who would've thought a mere 3 months after moving to Japan we would already be exploring such exciting places?

By mid January, Zac was off on a ship as a last minute replacement on a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) "cruise." It was a mini-deployment, wonderfully punctuated by a rendezvous in Singapore, another beautiful Asian city.

Zac returned around March. Spring and summer flew at "tiger" speed. We explored the island, settled more into our little apartment, celebrated our anniversary "up north," and enjoyed a visit with the Cooks. Oh, and we got a dog and I got a job...can you say changes?

At the end of June, we found out that Zac would be deployed to Afghanistan within weeks. (Sneaky, sly tiger year...surprise/unexpected deployment #2 of the year). Typically (and I use that word loosely, as nothing in the military is predictable or typical), deployments are known of a few months in advance. So it was a whirlwind of preparations and emotions preparing for Zac to leave.

Zac left the day after my birthday for his "tour." (Gee, the military really has some euphemisms for their deployments...cruises and tours...sounds like the servicemen are going on a bunch of vacations!) We spent the second half of the year in separate corners of the world, continuing our adventures in very different ways. Zac learned another (middle) eastern culture, while I traveled to the US, Hawaii, and mainland Japan (twice). Looking back, the time really flew. I can't believe we've made it 5 months, and I'm more than thankful that it's behind us.

I got to end the year with some time off with my parents. I think that was the best Christmas present I could've gotten this year (except maybe a surprise homecoming? ;)) I loved showing them around the island and the place we call home thousands of miles away. The visit was the perfect combination of relaxing/enjoying time together and sightseeing. We rang in the new year cozy at home....quite different from the rowdy Hong Kong new year. As different as, say, a tiger and a rabbit?

So, as 2011 starts, I'm anxious to see what this year-of the rabbit-brings. I hope it is more "rabbit-like"...quiet, comfortable, and steady. Happy New Year!