Progress on my Deployment Goals

So, just a quick progress update on how the goals are coming along!

1. I have lost weight. Not enough yet, but about 5-6 lbs. so far! Swimming, running, biking, belly dancing and more are helping.

2. Have walked the dogs all but two days since Scott left. I blame the insane hangover and the torrential downpour for those two days. However, very proud that we have been out and walked more than 2 miles almost every single day!

3. Scrapbooking... a little let down on this one. I did get two more pages done in one album!!! I will have to buckle down on this one a little more.

4. Culinary wiz - I have learned one dish. Just one. However, it is delicious and I want to make it ALL the time. So, I have to stop making it and learn a few more.

5. See Japan - does going to the Beef and Garlic Festival again count? Haha! I have been so busy with Navy Ball and such that I just haven't been out. I hope to get up to Hakkoda for the changing of the leaves in the next couple of weeks. Not sure when they will change. Also hoping to get to Hirosaki for the Chrysanthemum festival later this month or in early November.

That's the quick update... yay for still being on track! Oh, and I have a couple new friends in the house. They are Darrell Allejandro, the Chinese 5 Color Hot Pepper Plant that is pictured on this page, his brother Darrell Herman, the green and white fern thing, and Darrell Penelope the green and pink fern thing... Scott wanted to name them all Darrell for the Bob Newhart Show characters. The middle names are the ones I wanted to use originally. Yes, he whined when I said no at first! Big baby.

Takko Machi Beef and Garlic Festival!

This year's trip to the Beef and Garlic Festival was fantastic! First of all, we did not get lost for 2 hours. YAY! Second, we got there in time to get the rotisserie beef. Yes, they rotisserie a half-side of beef. AND IT IS SO DELICIOUS! Don't get me wrong, I love steak on a stick, as the picture indicates, but the sliced, rotisserie beef was more scrumptious than I can describe in words. The yakiniku garlic sauce they had for it was pretty amazing as well. Third, they are now serving fried oreos in Takko! And what is better than fried oreos you say? Fried oreos with whipped cream on top of course! And last, but not least, I was surrounded by great friends. Miyuki, Karin, Kari, and Bailey are all wonderful ladies and it was so fun to stuff ourselves together in Takko!

So, in order to not feel so guilty about eating this giant smorgesborg of food I ran well over a marathon throughout the week. Well on my way to getting back in shape. Now that we have the whole not guilty about eating thing out of the way, here are some of the yummy treats we enjoyed: rotisserie beef with garlic yakiniku sauce, fried garlic on a stick, steak on a stick, garlic fries, a chocolate/vanilla soft serve ice cream, chocolate covered banana with sprinkles on a stick, and of course fried oreos! Wowsers! Had I not been so stuffed, I would have totally gone back for seconds. Oh, and sweet, little Karin let us have some of her cotton candy on the way home too!

We also stopped at the Nambu Town farmer's market to get some fresh fruit and veggies on the way home. The whole market smelled like grapes. The most wonderful scented grapes EVER! So Bailey bought some plums, those were great! I picked up some amazing looking corn on the cob, can't wait to make those! I also bought a pepper plant, hope I don't kill it :) Oh, and Miyuki bought some of those yummy smelling grapes - they were good! Kari bought some apple juice and some pears, hopefully she brings me a pear when I make the corn and we can swap, cause they looked goooooood!

Of course I needed to stick to my goal of walking the dogs at least two miles, so when we returned home Miyuki and Karin helped me take the boys on a 3 mile adventure. Brewster and Darby were really excited to have other people around. All in all, it was a good Saturday. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Scott were home.

Navy Ball is this coming Friday. It is going to be a long week of running, swimming, P90X, and dieting. My new dress is beautiful, now if I can shrink my boobs enough to fit into it :( If not, I have a back up from a couple years back. The new one is so pretty and looks so great, except for the smooshed boobs part. Surely there will be lots to post about in the next week.