Japan!!

Summer feels so far away now that the relentless Aberdeen rains have set in.  I love the rain though.  Especially when I can listen to it from indoors.  Before summer becomes too much of a distant memory, I want to share about my summer trip to Japan.

I went to Japan to visit my roommate from college and dear friend, Amy.  It's been several years since our good old college days and it was time for me to see her home, family, friends, beautiful country, and experience life with her in Japan.  Life in Japan is quite different!  Some of my favorite experiences: 1) Riding the trains everywhere!  It got pretty crowded at times, but Amy said it wasn't nearly as bad as it can be.  I guess when you can count 12 other bodies touching yours, then you can say it's crowded.  2) Using Japanese currency.  Way tricky for me - I felt so helpless and Amy helped me a lot by helping me pay for things I wanted to purchase.  3) Meeting Lucy, Amy's cute little dog!  She's so adorable.  4) Going to Disneyland Japan - all the familiar Disney characters on the rides and in the parades spoke Japanese!  Did you know that Whiney the Pooh speaks fluent Japanese?!?!  That was a new one for me - ya learn something new everyday.  5) Swimming in the Pacific ocean... on the other side of course.  6) And just hanging out and visiting with Amy and her parents.

Other experiences that didn't make my favorite list yet were memorable: 1) Surviving the HUGE spiders at camp.  I'm SO SCARED of spiders and these guys were the size of my palm and bigger.  One really freaked me out by crawling out of the toilet bowl right before I sat down!!!  2) Losing my luggage on my way there and even when I got back.  I was able to recover my belongings both times, but inconvenient for sure!  Experiencing ofura - a traditional bath house in Japan.  All us girls showered together at camp... let's just say I stood out as the big, white one.  3) Being exposed to the swing flu while counseling at a high school camp.  We had to all go home early because of a swing flu outbreak among some of the campers and counselors.  The good news is that Amy and I stayed healthy!!

Amy was a wonderful host.  We spent a week as counselors for a camp, a weekend in quarantine at her house, and then Amy had the rest of our days together planned out full of all kinds of adventures.  We went city sight-seeing as well as venturing into the countryside with her parents.  We went shopping, ate sushi, and talked a lot.  It was a perfect visit!  I definitely want to go back.  I'm just sad I didn't visit her sooner.  My first overseas experience was good even though my luggage was lost and I was expose to the swine flu.  Oh well.  All of that made for some great memories.  Here are a few pictures from my time in Japan.

Happy October 15th everyone!  It's that time of year again!!!  This is the day that I start listening to Christmas music. :)  This tradition started two years ago when I lived with Kristi Foster.  In casual conversation, we both discovered that the other had the same love for the Christmas season, especially for Christmas music.  Kristi, being a voice teacher has to work with students on preparing for Christmas recital each year so her tradition has been to start the Christmas music search on October 15th.  I loved it so much; I immediately adopted this tradition.  It's nice to have a particular date to look forward to.  Otherwise, the jolly tunes might sneak into my life even earlier.  You never know!  Anyway, after that conversation we decided that on October 14th, we would stay up until midnight and ring in the holiday season with a song dedication of sorts.  Well, we couldn't decide what song to play so at the last minute we went scrambling to her studio, pulled out the caroling books, and had our very own Christmas carol sing-along at her piano.  SUCH good memories.  

   This year was no different.  Even though Kristi and I now live 3 hours away from one another, we both stayed up until midnight, played a few Christmas tunes on our computers and wished each other a happy holiday season. :)  What a dear friend.  The Lord did a really good job when He arranged for the two of us to be friends.  I am truly blessed to know her. :)

  Even if you're not the type to pull out the Christmas music in October, I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy of Chris Rice's Christmas album.  It's all instrumental - just him on the piano.  It's called The Living Room Sessions: Christmas.  SO GOOD!!  It's the first CD I listen to each year.  Happy Christmas music listening to all and to all a good night!

I'm a blogging loser

So, I've failed to blog in FOREVER!!  For that, I apologize to my blog audience of... mmm, probably 3 or 4 people.  There is so much that has happened!

• I went to Japan to visit my college roommate (was exposed to the swine flu)
  
• I left my job at Starbucks and now work for Quigg Brothers Construction as an office assistant (with normal hours and weekends off!)
  
• My new job has moved me to Aberdeen where I live with my sister Bekah and her husband Ezra
  
• My older sister, Suzanne got married on September 12th!
• I'm filling my extra time with ballet, tap, and voice lessons (I'm LOVING it!)
  
• Oh, and we got the cutest kitten ever!  She's a long-haired orange kitty and her name is Tigris.
  

These are all things I need to blog about... and I will... soon.  Isn't the suspense just killin' ya?

I'm going to Japan next month to visit this beautiful girl!  Amy Wood is my dear friend from Multnomah.  We were placed together as roommates our freshman year and immediately clicked.  I remember that first night in the dorms - with lights out, we talked late into the evening from our beds about our common love for musical theater and our own theater experience.  We hit it off!  We were roommates all through college and Amy moved back to Japan (where she's from) upon graduating over three years ago.  She's made several visits to the northwest to visit college friends, but this will be the first time I visit her home and meet her dad, brother, and Lucy (the dog).  I'm so excited that we will get two weeks together experiencing Japan - Amy's home.

I think I'm in love... with a coffee shop.

I don't know why this particular cafe tucked away in the unique Ladd's addition neighborhood of Portland is so special to me.  It just is.  I love the look of the space - the windows, the colors on the walls, the lighting, ceramic mugs; I love the location - it's on the outside edge of a big round about that spits off to about 5 different streets; I love the people - because it's in a residential area, there are tons of pedestrians, bicyclists, joggers, roller-bladers, and they're all very Portland.  I love that!

I guess I have a lot of memories associated with this place.  I have fond memories of meeting friends for coffee to catch up on life.  Also, it was a place I'd come alone to escape and just chill out - journal, read, think, people watch, etc.  Now that I live in Olympia, I find that I really miss Palio's.  Oh, I think this is the first time I mentioned the name of this great little Portland treasure as I see it.  Palio's Dessert & Espresso House.  I honestly don't even know how to pronounce "Palio."  Ha!  I've just had so many different people pronounce it differently, I'm not sure which one is right.  Oh well.  That doesn't matter to me.  I just love this place.  And their coffee it great!  Frothy-foamed lattes, strong yet tasty shots in the americanos, and an amazing selection of tea from what I understand.

If you ever need a place to hang out in Portland, let me know and I'll help you figure out how to get to Palio's.  It's tricky to find.  The Ladd's addition is a VERY unique neighborhood.  It's SO easy to get lost.  Anyway, posted are a few pics of me at my favorite coffee shop over the years.  Kind of a funny love affair.  Me + Palio's Dessert & Espresso House = Love

Shall We Dance?

One of my favorite movies is "Shall We Dance" with Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon.  I own it and from time to time, I pull it out to watch, just because.  First of all, I love it because it's a story line based around dancing.  But what I love even more about this charming tale is the parallels it makes between partner dancing and marriage.

My favorite lines in this movie are said by Susan Sarandon's character - the wife of John Clark (Richard Gere).  When asked why she thinks people get married, she answers,

"Because we need a witness to our lives.  ...In a marriage, you're promising to care about everything - the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things - all of it, all the time, everyday.  You're saying, 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.  Your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness."

I love this speech!  I believe it speaks true of what a marriage should be about.  I believe this speaks true of the human experience in general.  Everyone desires to be noticed.  This makes me long for my life's witness in a husband someday, but it also makes me want to be a truly committed and intentional friend.  I want to have others witness my life just as much as the next gal or guy.  If I can be mindful of that need in others while building friendships, I think my relationships will be richer.

The BEST part of this movie is when Richard Gere's character rides up the escalator wearing a tuxedo and holding a single long-stemmed red rose.  He greets his wife and asks her to dance.  When she says, "But I don't know the steps," he replies, "Yes you do.  You've been dancing with my for 19 years."  What a beautiful comparison to marriage.  I don't know, maybe it doesn't make sense to everyone, but for me - as a dancer myself - I get it!

I highly recommend that you watch this movie.  It's a romantic comedy with a wonderful ending!

Confession

I have rediscovered the joy of Sudoku puzzles.  I don't know what made me think of it, but I remembered that I had an unfinished "Sudoku for Dummies" book on my shelf that I've had since my college days.  I made what now seems like the unfortunate decision to pull it out and work on a puzzle or two.  About a week later and oh... maybe 20 finished puzzles later, I'm finding that I can't go to bed without working on my Sudoku book.  It will be a blessing in disguise when I reach the end!  Don't worry, I'm not as lame as it may sound - I am reading other things.  I justify time in Sudoku as long as there is equal time spent in the Word each day. :)  I'm also reading an incredible book right now that my pastor recommended.  It's basically a little counseling session each time I pick it up to read.  I'll probably blog about that book later.  In the meantime... I think I'll finish this blog post and work on a Sudoku puzzle... or two. :)