1) A house that isn't in chaos. Several readers brought it to my attention that I failed to post any photos of our home clean and decorated. I'm hoping to get that done this week so you can see the finished product of the move.
2) Weekly movie nights. We got Netflix. It was Benny's idea and I was thrilled. So far we have watched "Grizzly Man," a documentary about a guy who lived among bears in Alaska for 13 summers. Is he crazy? Is he dumb? Or is he actually trying to escape the realities of the modern world? This complex documentary explored these questions. We also saw the first DVD in the HBO series "When the Levees Broke," the Spike Lee film about Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. With the flooding in Iowa being compared to Hurricane Katrina's destruction, watching this film has an eerie feel to it. We are looking for movie recommendations, so please e-mail any my way.
3) My first successful 5K. There was a 5K at Kadena Air Force Base on Saturday morning and Benny and I were debating about getting up for it. I was ready to turn off the alarm clock and continue sleeping when Benny mentioned that if we went to the race we could wear our matching running shirts. I was up. When the race started, I started to jog even though there were several people I could have power walked with instead. And I kept jogging and jogging, telling myself slow and steady like the tortoise and the rabbit fable. I finished in 37 minutes. Even though I have finished many 5Ks before, this was the first one where I ran the whole way. This is a HUGE accomplishment for me.
4) Michal Kors at the base exchange. Benny has been pleased with the lack of shopping I'm able to do because nothing fits me at the Japanese stores and my size is picked over at the base exchange. Until last week. That's when I found the Michael Kors rack at the base exchange. All the clothes were excellent, but I limited myself to black slacks, white button down and a blouse Benny is referring to as a my "art teacher" shirt.
5) June is a bust. I thought I could attend multiple tours, classes and workouts this month. But June is prime PCS season on island (translation: military folks are moving out or coming in). And this period of transition means constant cancellations. For example, I went to the pool for water aerobics last Tuesday. The pool has been drained. It's 99 degrees out and the pool doesn't have water in it, whose idea is that? I attend a pilates-yoga class and at the end the instructor says she is a PCSing, so this was the last class. Benny and I signed up to attend a group dinner night through the Marine Corps base on Friday night. We were going to a shabu shabu restaurant in Naha. It was cancelled due to lack of participants. Same with the traditional Japanese art classes I planned to take this month.
6) My nose in a book. I don't plan to write much this week since I need to read 700 pages before Saturday morning's book club meeting. Yes, you read that correctly ... 700 pages. I'm happy to see that my fellow Okinawa book club members are serious readers. I'm scared that I won't be able to keep up. Lugging around the nearly 1,000 paged "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett, makes me feel like Charlie Brown reading "War and Peace."
7) Dance moves. Thanks to Becky's posting about dads cutting up the rug in some kind of contest, Benny is pumped to learn some new dance moves before the July weddings. One is a salsa move where I fall back terrified into his arms. The other one is a dip where I look like I might hit the floor before he twists me back up. When practicing this move Sunday night, we discovered that if I was 4 foot tall it would be a much easier move to accomplish. Any advice on these moves from ballroom dancing couples out there? Loren and Karin, perhaps?
8) My favorite AFN program. Actually it isn't an AFN program it's a PBS documentary, but I'm watching it on AFN, so I'm giving "Carrier" the prize. My parents told me about this 10-hour documentary about the crew of the USS Nimitz. Then this film detailing Navy life started airing weekly in one-hour segments on AFN. I'm obsessed. I really feel for this people and when they are promoted my heart sings. When they mess up, I'm deflated. Plus I'm learning a lot about the Navy in a more entertainment way than when I ask Benny to explain the numerous alphabet terms to me. Check local listings. It's worth the time investment.
7 comments:
You can also watch full episodes of 'Carrier' at http://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/. :)
sounds like you need amazon.com. slogging through "into thin air" right now. roxanne's copy. quick read. ken follet? wow. go michelle.
First of all, I'm jealous your house is no longer in chaos. I hate my house, it makes me sad. I have had no bathroom walls for two months and we're over budget by 7k and not finished. Can I cry now? Second, you've totally got me wanting to see the grizzy man thing because the trailer was interesting. I may have to go to blockbuster! I'm afraid Netflix would have me in front of the TV too much and DVR is bad enough?? Third, CONGRATS on finishing the 5k jogging! I knew you could do it! It just gets easier!! Unless your prego and you feel like its not your body anymore. But, doc says I can keep jogging so I will!
Arrr, we tried watching the first few episodes of Carrier online to get caught up, but were denied. Apparently copyright laws, blah, blah, blah, + overseas IP address = out of luck. But for $40 we could buy the set on amazon already. We're waiting. Netflix denied us being able to watch some of the "available now" movies too since we are not in the lower 48. Bummer.
I recommend The Wire, if you haven't seen it. Just finished season 1 and I am HOOKED! It's next in the queue when i get home!
Check out "King Corn" and "Autism: The Musical." Nate and I really like those two -- meaning we stayed awake for the docs. Also lovin' "Weeds."
We added the recommendations to our Netflix list. Thanks.
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