Tokyo!

Better late than never, right?

I'm all about opportunities. A few weeks ago, Benny went to Yokosuka (an hour outside of Tokyo) for three days of Navy work stuff. Seizing this opportunity, we both took Friday off of work and spend the weekend together in Tokyo.

The weather was cool and damp. Our first day in Tokyo was raining, but I didn't mind. I only wish I would have packed my rain boots.
Michelle at Ueno park with her umbrella (yeah), but no polka dot rainboots (boo hoo).

We spent the afternoon at Ueno Park, one of my favorite places in Tokyo. I have never been to New York City, but Ueno Park is what I picture Central Park to be in NYC. It is this huge park in Tokyo and once you are walking around inside the park you forget that you are visiting a city of 12 million people. It's green, quiet and peaceful. In the spring, it's THE PLACE to visit for the cherry blossoms.

Ueno Park is home to several national museums, including the museum of science and nature. We went to this one and luckily for us, it was open late on Friday nights.
The dinosaur in the poster was actually a swimming dinosaur that paleontologists found in Japan. Scott and Luke would have loved this place.

Can you find Michelle in this picture with the life-size whale? No wonder Jonah could fit in the whale so easily, IT'S HUGE!

This picture is in honor of my friend Sue, similar to a picture I took of Sue with Sue the dinosaur at the Field Museum in Chicago.

This is the kind of bat that causes power outages in the middle of the night because it flys into power lines with its 3 foot wingspan.

We've always been amused with dried out astronaut food, but who would have thought they'd have Takoyaki? Oh wait, we are in Japan... nevermind.

After Ueno Park, Baby Volkmann was kicking like crazy. There are two ways to read these movements. 1) Baby Volkmann was excited to hear Daddy's voice after not hearing his laugh and jokes for five days or 2) It was hungry.

So we stopped to eat at Hard Rock Cafe Tokyo.

The Hard Rock Cafe at the Ueno train station also has lovely souveniors like keychains, at an everyday low price of 3000 yen ($30).

Normally I'm not a fan of eating at worldwide chains on vacation. I prefer the Mom and Pop places where the locals dine, but Hard Rock was all decorated for Halloween and since I'm pregnant and emotional, I need the atmosphere to avoid homesickness. Plus I really wanted to order this Spooky Burger, which was on a special Halloween menu:
Thankfully for this cheap engineer, the food was not as expensive as the souveniors. We had to wait about 2 minutes to chow down on this scary guy because all the other tourists that didn't order the spooky burger wanted a picture of ours.

We wrapped up day one by taking the subway back to our hotel and crashing. We set our alarm for early. We had a whole second day of sightseeing ahead of us.

My shopping paradise

Tuesday I fought for five Christmas ornaments.

Yes, you read that correctly. Time didn't go so quickly that you flash forward to late November or early December without realizing it. Relax it's only October and it's not even Halloween yet.

But the fact remains. I shopped for Christmas decorations in sunny weather that made me sweat. Let me backup. I'm getting way ahead of myself.

There are three mercantile gems on Okinawa: the Marine Corps Gift Shop, the Navy Fleet Gift Shop and Kadena Gift Corner. These three stores are operated respectively by the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force officer spouses clubs. The workers are volunteers and the money raised is given to Okinawan and American charities and scholarships.

The items are imported from our Asian neighbors. Volunteers go on buying trips several times a year to places like Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines and Vietnam. They also sell local Okinawan specialties. The stores carry everything from furniture to jewelry. It is shopping paradise for me.

The best part is how affordable the items are priced. Since the shops are non-profit, the mark-ups are minimum. Think Pottery Barn, World Market or Pier One Imports items, but for half the price. Even Benny can't complain too loudly.

Prior to Tuesday's shopping undertaking, Benny and I have purchased a teak wood rocking chair from the Navy shop for the baby's room. It currently is the only piece of furniture we have for the baby's room.

When I heard the Marine Corps Gift Shop was having an opening for its Christmas store, I knew I had to be there.

I arrived at the store 30 minutes after the doors opened and it was already chaos. Two check-out lines were 20 ladies deep. It was a miniature Black Friday, but I didn't have the Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch.

The confusing scene nearly made me walk out. I wasn't in the mood to battle for Christmas ornaments. But then I heard the carols playing and I remembered my goal. I wanted an Okinawa Santa. It was the only thing I wanted.

As I nudged my way through the store, I looked at various Santas from around the world. I spotted Arabian Santa. I touched Thai Santa. I smiled at African Santa. But I didn't see the Okinawa Santa because every one was already sold and gone. Every single one.

No worries, I could purchase a Japanese version of Saint Nick. Nope, those were liquidated too. But at least I saw what one looked like. A woman was holding four of them. She said she was sending them to her sisters in South Carolina. I couldn't help but whine in my head. I only wanted one for my house here in Okinawa. It would be a holiday reminder after we've left the island of our time here.

But I was out luck and holiday cheer.

Then one woman suggested I buy the Chinese Santa and tell everyone it was the Okinawan. I bought that Santa, but I don't plan to dub it as an Okinawan version.

Instead I want to order an Okinawa Santa directly from the gift shop. Apparently I wasn't the only disappointed shopper this week. It will arrive with the next shipment from the Philippines, sometime in April. It will be the perfect companion to my Chinese Santa.

That Okinawa Santa will be mine. Let there be no doubt about it. Even if I give it to myself for Easter.

No such thing as a free...

You guessed it: Dinner.

Mongolian BBQ tonight at the Kosano Dining Room during my conference with some of the leadership up here in Yokosuka. About 13 of us gathered around the table after a social hour with some extremely good microbrew telling sea-stories (mine were short being the most junior guy there).

While filling our bowls with our selections to be stir-fried along the (and I'm not making this up) 50ft table, I was the third in line. The little sign at the end of the 50ft table posed the challenge of the day: "If you could guess the price of your dinner within 5 cents, it's free." At 65 cents a pound ($10.40 per pound for those of you keeping score at home), the two gentlemen in front of me came in well over $16 for their meals and guessed over a dollar off each. I compared the weight of my bowl to theirs and deemed it much less, but how much less was difficult to decipher. How much lighter was I? Should I guess $13.75 or is that too light? I don't know, I thought to myself, I did add quite a few vegetables (green, yellow, and red peppers, bean sprouts, carrots, bamboo sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower). Then I got to the meat. Throw in some pork, beef, lamb and wait, they have calamari? Toss that in too. What about the spices? Garlic and ginger, pepperochinis, jalapenos. This is going to be hmmmmmmmm good.

What could go better than getting all my favorite flavors at once (besides wondering how it would taste together, would all the flavors play well together)? Getting all my favorite flavors at once for free!

I thought to myself, I don't think I'm over $14, maybe I'm just shy... like $13.80? No, I did throw an extra slice of lamb... definitely $13.95. My final answer: $13.95.

Judges ruling (aka scale), remember it has be be +/- $0.05 (this isn't The Price is Right): $13.87. The price was wrong, B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-benny.

Call in the manager for the instant replay, after deliberating for 0.5 seconds (enough time to do the mental calculations) and seeing the difference in price was $13.95 (guess) minus $13.87 (actual) = $0.08 = Full Price Dinner for Benny = $13.87. The ruling on the field is confirmed. I was not about to join two other proud customers who got their dinners for free. No, I was the first runner up, the silver medalist for our group.

When we weren't dancing at the Navy Ball

Other events during last weekend:

Participation in a Volksmarch. I kept waiting for the event organizers to make the connection that our last name is Volkmann and we were walking in the Volksmarch. But they didn't say anything. Lame.


Isabelle's birthday celebration. We attended our first two-year-old birthday since we were two years old ourselves. I thought the polka dotted theme party was a great success. And the children were well behaved. Benny only said that there was a lot of children. There were eight children. Eight. Doesn't Benny know that's how many children I want to have in our household some day??!!???


I wrapped up Sunday by attending a book club discussion meeting while Benny watched college football. The weather was perfect. No rain. Sunny, but not sweaty weather.

Baby Momma Drama

We almost had major baby momma drama this week.

For a month, Benny and I have had plans to attend the Navy Ball. I thought it would a fun way to hang out with the Navy folks. I was extra excited when Benny said he needed to wear his formal white uniform. He hasn't wore that uniform since his graduation from Officer Candidate School in 2003.

After the initial excitement of dinner and dancing left, I remembered that I needed something to wear to this formal occasion. Orginially I wanted to order a black prego gown from A Pea in the Pod (expensive maternity clothes that I'm obsessed with, but haven't ordered from yet). I found a sale on sale for $150. After discussing this wardrobe investment, Benny and I decided that I would wear my brown bridesmaid dress from Tammy's wedding. Actually it was the ONLY formal dress in my closet that fit me ... and this was before I had a baby belly. To remember how pretty I looked in this dress in July, just click here.

All was fine and dandy until Columbus Day. For some reason Baby Volkmann choose six days before my big event to push out my belly. Is it huge? Not by any means. But it is round enough that my co-workers have noticed that I'm expecting.

I tried on the dress Monday night. I weighed Benny's reaction. His face said it all. This dress was tight. Much tighter than it was in July. Baby Volkmann was pushing this dress to its limit.

But solutions were limited. It's not like I can run to Dillards and buy a replacement dress. I visited an on-base dress shop and look at the 20 dresses they had. None of them were maternity dresses. Then I visited an off-base shop that caters to Americans. Again, no maternity dresses. But I did try on several dresses, that were either too tight in the pelvic zone or too loose in the back/chest area. Nothing fit better than the brown dress I had. I was back to plan A.

To add insult to injury, I couldn't get a hair appointment at my beauty salon on base. It was already booked for the day. Same goes for the spa, so I didn't get the pedicure I wanted. It was up to me to style my hair for this formal event. I can't even style my hair on a normal day. Saturday was going to be a challenge.

In the end, my flat iron was my friend. My hair wasn't perfect and not nearly as great as when my sister Colleen curls it. But it wasn't frizzy and it wasn't standing on end. That made me happy.

The dress fit well enough for me to eat two salads, dinner and two pieces of cake. And I truly had fun at this ball. The program was emotional, but centered on the Navy and its role on the war on terrorism. The speech was short and to the point. And the dancing was fabulous. I've never seen so many sailors on the dance floor. It was like "High School Musical" meets a Village People music video. Yes, I was the one who requested "In the Navy." I truly smiled when the guys in their whites were shaking their butts on the dance floor along with this disco song.

In the Navy ....

One, Two, Three Strikes...

Oktoberfest was awesome, yes. Definitely the BEST I'd ever been too.

But I went 3 years without hearing "Achy Breaky Heart" and I would not be disappointed if the streak was extended indefinitely. Not to mention that the Oompa band could have been playing any other Oktoberfest tune... Strike one for Billy Ray Cyrus.

Michelle and I went out for dinner to celebrate our "Over the Hump" party on Friday night. We had planned on supporting the special olympics fundraising event at Chilis on base. But the line of 40 people out the front door put a kabosh on that, baby momma can't wait to feed the Ken/Barbie-sized baby in the belly. So we settled for the closest dining facility, the Rocker All-Hands club on Kadena, 2 minutes away. The lights were dimmed just right to see Michelle's smile over over the glow of the candlelight. The food: delicious. The Seafood Chowder was good (not as good as San Fran), and the Asian Flank Steak au jus melted the tastebuds. The Cheesecake Factory Key Lime Cheesecake was tart enough for Michelle to make a little sour face. It was like watching our niece Ava take a bite of the lemon that looked so good, but was oh so sour as we all giggled like schoolkids. We laughed, giggled, talked about last week's adventures and our upcoming trip to Tokyo next weekend. And then the music went from classical to you guessed it "Achy Breaky Heart". Strike Two.

The count is currently at 0-2, but I really don't want to hear Achy Breaky again. Some may say "I just don't think you'll understand." But I don't understand it, nor do I want to try to understand it anymore. Just file it away in the archives to never be heard again. Just because Hannah Montana is popular, let it be. We don't need to bring back her dad's music.

Still on the baseball theme. How do the Rays go from sweep the Red Sox earlier in the season, to playing like a group looking like they don't want to win?

One year ago

One year ago, Benny came home from Iraq. It's crazy how fast time flies. It seems like he has been home forever. Maybe it seems like such a long time because since his homecoming we moved to Japan, started new jobs and are expecting our first baby. But all that happened in the last six months. Where did the other six months go?

Tonight I'm planning my Over the Hump Celebration.

During a deployment, the service members and their families both separately mark the halfway point of the time apart with an "Over the Hump" Party. I remembered we had a barbecue on the beach in California with the NMCB 4 spouses. I think Benny had a softball tournament and cook out at his camp. It's something of tradition and motivation. This small party with co-workers and friends reminds you that the end is in sight.

With this in mind, I declared Friday as our Over the Hump day for Baby Volkmann. We are halfway done with our first pregnancy. Only four and half months to go!!!

Autumn is awesome

Editor's note: Another column owned by the Times Record News.

Celebrating the autumn season in 95 degree heat doesn't work.

Recently my Japanese cellular phone, which is preprogrammed to alert me of calendar holidays, displayed "autumn equinox." I was happy for the reminder since I certainly couldn't predict the seasonal change on my own. The weather was hot and sunny. The perfect conditions for a day at the beach – not chilly enough for hot apple cider or a sweatshirt for an evening football game.

Instead this handy reminder in my mobile reminded me of something more emotional: I miss autumn.

Autumn is my favorite time of year, especially if I'm living north of Interstate 80. I'm a big believer in taking a long Sunday drive in October so you can “watch” the leaves morph from boring green to vibrant red. I adore any culinary treat that is pumpkin flavored, including the pumpkin scones at Starbucks. And this time of year is the best time of year to make a batch of chili so you don't go hungry watching college football on Saturdays.

Autumn is awesome.

But duplicating the traditions of a Midwest fall season is a lost cause.

When I lived in Wichita Falls, I was fairly bummed by the diminished fall colors until I saw the trick or treaters. See in the Midwest, specifically northern states such as Iowa, it is not uncommon to receive winter's first dusting on the evening for ghosts and goblins. It is common to have a cold constant rain, so children wear their jackets while begging for candy. Not the most delightful of situations. This said, I appreciated the mild temperatures of autumn in northern Texas.

Then my husband and I moved to Yuma, Arizona. In this desert climate without trees for miles, I was really homesick for apple bobbing and pumpkin carving. And I wasn't the only one. Several of us reporters held a jack 'o lantern carving evening. We were pretty proud of our accomplishments. We complimented each other's pumpkin as we ate the roasted seeds. The event was a success until the next morning when I checked my pumpkin. It caved in and started to rot overnight on the patio. That night I learned an important lesson. Jack 'o lanterns are best in locations where nighttime temperatures hover near freezing. I didn't attempt to carve a pumpkin the following year.

In California, I was finished with fall. I simply mocked the sweaters, scarves and gloves on sale at my local Target. Surely, there wasn't a reason for winter wear when the temperature never dips below 55 degrees.

This October I didn't know what to expect, so I've kept my expectations low.

The base exchange, our on-base department store, put up a small display for costumes, wigs and makeup. But it was the seasonal display of autumn scented candles that caught my nose. Maybe my love for autumn was encased in wax and I could return to it by striking a match.

Being an Iowa farm girl, I first put my nose inside a candle named “Harvest” with maize pictured on the label. No bad, but a bit earthy for my home. Too much dirt smell, in my opinion. I opened the Autumn Wreath jar. Again, not quite right. The Frosted Pumpkin candle was a bit too sweet and without enough pumpkin to keep me happy.

Then I found it, the perfect autumn scent.

It was called Spiced Pumpkin. It was the smell my memory has been missing. This candle is my taste of home in Okinawa. It's my bit of autumn.

I guess I haven't given up on creating an artificial autumn in Japan.

To piggyback on Tammy

Earlier this month, Yuma friends, Jeremy and Andrea, moved out of the beloved townhouse. This was a place of many memories from our time in Arizona. Tammy wrote a lovely memory post about it. Benny always said this townhouse was a "marriage saver" since Fran's departure was our housing gain. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary in this townhouse. It's the place where Rachel earned her "Expect Less" T-shirt. She was locked in the second bedroom and couldn't open the door. Benny rescued her by climbing the side of the townhouse and entered through the balcony. We toasted Benny's wetting down as he became a Lt. JG. This townhouse was the location for various birthday parties and football watching Saturday afternoons. I think there were more than a few evenings where we solved the world's problems by staying up late, talking and drinking wine there.

Here is a trip down memory lane from the V-Team perspective.










My only regret is that I don't have any photo evidence of Tammy's time at the townhouse.

Zicke zacke zicke zacke hoi hoi hoi

Oktoberfest came to Okinawa Saturday night.

The event was organized by my employer, Marine Corps Community Services and was held at the Officer's Club on one of the Marine Corps bases. My co-workers told me before hand that it is one of the best events held all year. A great party. The entertainment is an oompah band that travels from Germany to Okinawa for the event. And since the head chef of the O-Club is Wolfgang from Germany, I had high hopes for our Saturday night.

We were handed our Oktoberfest steins as soon as we walked in the door. It was all the Munich beer Benny could drink. My stein was filled with Sprite. It was all the bratwurst, spaetzle, potato salad, red cabbage, sauerkraut and apple strudel I could eat. When all was said and done, we had a barrel of fun.

Benny was in his element with all the German chanting and toast yelling before each round. I was happy to dance to polka music (at one point, Benny and I led everyone in the Chicken Dance) and sing along to "Roll Out the Barrel." When the band played "Achy Breaky Heart," I was a little disappointed. But most of the crowd was drunk, so I was probably the only person who was annoyed with the selection.

On the ride home, Benny kept commenting how this was the BEST Oktoberfest that he has attended. Since it was the second Oktoberfest we have attended and the first one was in Yuma where they served Corona and had a Mexican music playing, I had to agree.

This was the best Oktoberfest.

Snorkeling in the Kerama Islands

Last Saturday Benny and I enjoyed some fun in the sun. We FINALLY went on a snorkeling tour of the Kerama Islands like we have wanted to do since June. The islands are located about 40 kilometers west of Okinawa. Coral reefs surround the uninhabited islands, so it is a diver's and snorkeler's paradise.

There was several reasons why we waited so long to do this tour.
1) We've been busy.
2) The tour is limited to 30 people, so with thousands of Americans on island, it's competitive to get on the list. I signed us up for the Oct. 3 tour (the last one for this year) a month in advance. Earlier in the summer I waited until three weeks before the tour. That time we were on the waiting list.
3) With typhoons blowing by and regular rain storms, the tour has been cancelled and reschedule several times.

But last Saturday was our day to go to the islands.

The one-hour boat ride was pretty rough getting out there. One 10-year-old across from me looked like he was going to lose his cookies. Luckily he didn't.

Out at the islands, the weather was perfect. Not too hot. Not too sunny. We returned to Okinawa at 5 p.m. It was a long, but relaxing day on the boat, especially for me.


While I was doing my favorite thing on the boat:

Benny was doing this:


Yes, folks. That's MY husband. And the father of my child. The man who is a child jumping from the top of the boat into the water.

Tea time

Being stationed in Okinawa for three years allows ample time to experience the local culture. You don't have to swallow it all at once. You can take it in through tiny bites.

Recently I experienced a taste of Japanese culture -– I attended an educational trip to learn about a traditional tea ceremony. Participating in the delicate art form of tea sipping while sitting on a tatami mat is No. 1 on my top 10 list of things to do while living in Okinawa. Other activities on this list includes taking a karate class – since Okinawa is the birthplace of this martial art; arranging flowers in an ikebana class and putting brush to paper in a calligraphy class.

The morning started at our tour group's meeting place: the base bowling alley. Within a few minutes a van of ladies and children was heading south toward Naha.

The teaching started immediately as our tour guide gave us a short history of tea in China and the methodical tea ceremonies for the Japanese. Even though our group was all women, tea ceremonies weren't historical a female-only crowd. It was an event for royalty and warriors.

We arrived at our teacher's home and were immediately immersed in the traditions of tea. Following the same rules that applied to samurai and their swords, we left our purses outside of the tea room. We changed out of our flip flops and into wooden sandals. Balancing on the sandals that were too small for my large feet, I waddled through the narrow garden on a path of uneven rocks. I wanted to reflect on feng shui gardening and my oneness with nature. Instead my inner klutz was occupied with fear of an embarrassing fall on the pilgrimage to the tranquil water fountain.

Once there, my nervousness continued as I dipped the ladle in and poured the purifying water over my right hand followed my left. The act of pouring water over your hands and sometimes in your mouth to purify oneself is a routine when attending shrines and temples. This basic ritual makes me nervous because I'm always worried about mistakenly keeping my hands over the fountain and contaminating the entire water supply.

A few steps later, I removed the sandals and crawled through a hole-like door. The act of entering our hands and knees is purposeful. It creates an atmosphere of humility. It's a reminder that despite our status in the world, in the tea room we are all the same. At last I entered the room and breathed a sigh of relief.

Our instructor kindly explained the rules of the room to us. Traditionally we would sit on our knees during the entire two-hour ceremony. Today she permitted us sit comfortably, but asked that we return to our knees as we drank the tea.

The biggest surprise was the tea cups. We drank from a shallow bowl and shared it between us. The first type of tea was thicker and bitter than other type I've drank. The second one was a lighter version and easier to swallow. It wasn't Lipton, but it wasn't bad.

I truly enjoyed the quiet and solemn environment of the tea ceremony. I appreciated the Buddhist teachings that were incorporated into the appreciation of the tea. And just because I've crossed this activity off my international to-do list doesn't mean that I'm done with green tea.

I want to take this introduction to the next level. Eventually I want to host a tea ceremony for my American friends.

It will be a nice balance as I unleash my inner strength in a future karate class.