Hillary's Last Hoorah!

Last night, Hillary and Anders had friends over for one last get together before she leaves for her six month deployment on Sunday. Let me just say that we know how to have a party : ) Anders made wonderful food and there were plenty of drinks and dessert to last us through the whole night!

All in all, there were 17 people which included Anne and Steve, Matt and Amanda, Mai and Ryan, Meredith, Kim, Brett and Mallory, Me and Mike, Chuck, Jen and Kira, and of course, Hillary and Anders! The night started out very mellow with happy conversations and clinking of glasses. Then, as the champagne came out and the chocolate box was unwrapped, that's when the real action started. We laughed, we cried and we talked about how grateful we were to have such wonderful friends in our little small world that we live in.

At one point, all the ladies took it upon ourselves to make a cozy spot in the middle of the hallway. I don't know why we chose to sit on cold, hard linoleum wedged between the bathroom entrance and the stairway, but we did. Anne insisted that her husband Steve bring out the cinnamon streusel cake where we cut individual pieces and shoved them into eachothers mouths. We wore glow stick necklaces around our necks or up in headbands in many array of colors. I infamously rapped Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and Kim danced along to the beat. On a side note, all of us ladies have thug names. Hildawg was where it all started, followed by B$ and A-Slice, Lil Kim and M&M. We really take pride in these names. They're like a right of passage to us. Anywho, after I finished my rap, Mike came around an unknown corner and smushed a perfectly fine chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting right into my face. Don't worry, pictures are to follow. Therefore, for the rest of the evening and early into the next morning, our sacred linoelum spot was now littered with chocolate crumbs and sprinkled with beer and champagne. Like I said, we know how to have a good time!

We are all really sad that Hillary is leaving but on positive note, she will be flying into Philly and my mom is going to pick her up! My mom said she's honored to be helping someone is about to deploy and I just think the world of Hillary so I'm really excited she gets to hang out with my mama!

Anne with Miss B

All the ladies!

 

And the gents ; )

 

The exact moment Mike smushed cupcake in my face

And the aftermath of said smushing

FYI I googled how to spell smush and it said it was with a u but I strongly feel that it is with two o's...Hmmmm

"Everybody needs good neighbors"

When I lived in Holland as a little girl, we did not have cable. We merely had our old T.V. from the states that got one fuzzy channel. On this hazy station, a british show called Neighbors played daily. The theme song for this old show is the title of my post, which provides a very good lead for my latest entry. 

On MLK day, Mike and I went to Disney Sea which is pretty much the same as Disneyland but just an extension of it. Anyway, our neighbor Brett (Kim's husband) watched Huey for the day and when we got home, we found this note waiting for us: 

Allow me to type what he wrote. 

Brett's Huey Watch Log

18 Jan 2010: 1124 hrs

-Initial meeting w/Huey

-Took him out hoping for copious amounts of excrement

-Mut to my dissatisfaction, Huey only tinkled 3 times!

18 Jan 2010: 1432 hrs

-2nd interaction; mild concern for Huey's bowel condition as I noticed there was no doo doo butter left in the kitchen. 

-Observation; Huey frolicked gleefully in the field that divides our homes.

-Allowed Maverick to participate in hopes that this sensory overload could possibly trigger leaving brown trout on the lawn. 

-This was to no avail, but Huey was fed the remainder of food left out, which would certainly lead to a brown crayon.

18 Jan 2010: 1622 hrs

-I am happy to report that at 1647 hrs on this day of Monday 18 January 2010, that Huey P. Quinn, passed a majestic brown lawn gnome on the property of Yokota AB, Japan!

-Official Statement: I nearly gave up, but nature prevailed.

-Accolade: Huey was awarded with no more that 1 hour in my home. God Bless America! 

I just love our neighbors! I was laughing so hard that I was crying. This watch log will forever remain on our fridge...unless Huey jumps up and chews it...which he tends to do at times. 

Oh and I know you're probably sick of Huey but with this new camera, I can't resist taking pictures of him! 

Back Home

Aw what a vacation. Actually, there wasn't much time to relax between visiting Mike's family in North Carolina, New Jersey and New York City to see my family, and lets not forget our friend Jim's wedding in Washington D.C. We sure crammed a lot into those two short weeks (and I made sure to get my Target/Starbucks/Barnes & Noble fix .) But now we're back in Japan, the Christmas decorations are finally taken down, and everyday life seems somewhat back to normal. 

 

Although we were sad to say bye to our families, it won't be long until we see them all again. In fact, I'm going to California in February for a whole week to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday. I'll get to see my dad and sister, my auntie woo, and all my cousins, and let's not forget the most important, Grandma Mary ; ) 

Then in March, my mom and Paul are coming to stay for two whole weeks! My mom plans on hanging out with me in my classroom the whole time and Paul plans to go golfing. I already have reservations at The New Sanno and Tama Hills so we're ready.

Then in July, Mike's family will be coming in for about 10 days. Maybe Mr. Quinn will hike Mt. Fuji? All I know is that we'll drop him off at the bus and then he's on his own! 

And then Mooshie and Boo are coming in August! So we've basically got visitors coming all through 2010. When will you come???

Here are some favorite pictures I took with my new D3000 camera that Mike got me for Christmas. All I know how to do is point and shoot but I am devoting time this weekend to learn. This is one of the first pictures I took and I asked Mike to smile for the camera. Do you expect any less of him?

Oh look at my sweet baby Huey. Isn't he the cutest? I just love him to pieces! 

This was taken before Jim and Ashley's wedding. 

No we aren't give you the bird. We're just showing you our love bands while dancing at the same time ; ) 

Yep. I had a great time with the ladies. I also had to show some support for my home by showing my peace signs. 

Mike having a grand ole time.