Weekend snapshot

I'm back from Osaka, Japan. I have much to say about our babymoon to mainland Japan. But it's Sunday night and I'm tired. And a little lazy. Actually really lazy.

Here is a snapshot of our weekend in Osaka/Kyoto:
-- Visited five Buddhist temples
-- Toured a Japanese castle
-- Ate every chance I got, including ice cream at noon today
-- Completed the Philosopher's Walk, but we aren't any smarter
-- Saw thousands of red maple leaves, pressed five into my travel book
-- Loved my babymoon/birthday trip. I can't wait to return for the cherry blossom festival in a few years with little Volkmann.

Thanksgiving Past

This is our first Turkey Day without turkey, football, family or friends. And even though this holiday will be a nontraditional one for Benny and I, we are taking the time to stop and reflect on our blessings. We are thankful for our friends, family, our stubborn baby, our jobs, our home and our life which allows us to travel to new places this week. I'm also thankful for elastic pants, pumpkin-flavored coffee creamer, ice cream and online shopping ... definitely the Internet.

Today we will write a new page in our Thanksgiving history, which has been fruitful no matter where we were and who we were with. Here is a quick look at our past Thanksgivings.


Thanksgiving 2007: Benny experiences a Wille Thanksgiving at my mom and dad's house in Iowa. Benny had the honor of carving the turkey. I had the joy of telling my 20 aunts and uncles and 25 cousins that we were moving to Japan in the spring.


Thanksgiving 2007: We invited the Olsens over for pre-Thanksgiving meal. I love leftovers that much.


Thanksgiving 2006: I spent Thanksgiving in Colorado with my mom, sisters and the rest of the Wille family. Benny spent the holiday with friends in Yuma, Arizona. I think Andrea and Tammy have photos from that holiday.


Thanksgiving 2006: Again, I made a pre-Thanksgiving meal for Benny and I. Since we spent that holiday apart, I wanted us to share it on the Sunday before the holiday. This was the first turkey I cooked. Quite an accomplishment.

Thanksgiving 2005 and 2004: My memory is a little foggy here, mostly because I can't find any photo documentation of what we did. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think we spent one Thanksgiving in Yuma, where Andrea's mom, Becky flew in from Pittsburgh to make the meal. A group of us ate her terrific cooking at the Yuma townhouse, so that must be Thanksgiving 2005.

That leaves Thanksgiving 2004 at Matt and Roxanne's house in Yuma. That's the first time I had a turkey deep fat fried and Roxanne's delicious cooking. I remember us playing with the fryer later .... something with Twinkies. I brought my "Better than Sex" cake to share with everyone.

Thanksgiving 2003: I flew home to spend the holiday with my family in Iowa. (Until this moment I didn't realize how often I've spent Thanksgiving with the Willes in past years.) Benny spent 8 hours in traffic trying to get to Los Angeles to spend Turkey Day with college friends who now live in California.

Thanksgiving 2002: Benny flew to Wichita Falls, Texas, to visit me over his holiday break. We drove to Fort Worth where we ate turkey with my favorite lady in Fort Worth: J.R.

Thanksgiving 2001: We got in a big fight right before this holiday break and nearly broke up. We didn't talk through the week, but patched things up when we returned for the Iowa-Iowa State game (the muddiest football game in history) on Friday. That was the last fight we had.


I wonder where we will be for Thanksgiving 2009 ....

Baby Volkmann's Room: The Reality

The nursery is a work in progress. It's not nearly as cute as the photo from the Web site, but I think everything will come together before the baby's arrival in late February.

First of all, I took Alicia's advice and told Benny to turn the storage room into the entertainment room. Therefore the entertainment room became the baby's room. This room has a lot of window, so the baby will have plenty of natural light. And it's the only room in the house that doesn't have wood paneling, so I hope the baby appreciates his/her white walls.

After three cups of coffee on one Sunday, Benny moved all the furniture between the two rooms. He even changed the light fixture, since I liked the light fixture in the former storage room and wanted it in the baby's room. (Isn't my hubby the best?)


Then we bought the crib that I've been eyeing at the on-base furniture store since August. We got the mattress and a green rug with bits of tan and brown in it. I thought the rug looked like grass, so it fits in with the baby's baby farm animal theme.
I ordered the bedding set, cow night light, three animal cartoon pictures and a growth chart from this Web site. The items have been shipped and should arrive shortly.

I emptied a chest of drawers so that Baby V has some place for his/her things. I still need to find a new place for my things, but for now that's a low priority.

Last Saturday while I talked to my sister Colleen, Benny assembled the crib in the less than an hour. I barely got off the phone in time to take this photo for the baby book.


So we have a bed, sheets, a rocking chair and carpet. I think we are baby ready.

Missing Dana's wedding

My Iowa State buddy, Dana, got hitched on Saturday. I was planning to call her on Saturday night (her Friday morning) to wish her happy thoughts on the day before her wedding. But being a silly prego lady, I fell asleep waiting for the clock to click over to 10 p.m. local time (actually I fell asleep in the movie theater an hour earlier) ... so that phone call didn't happen.

Then on Sunday morning I wanted to call, but I didn't want to bother her on such a busy day. But I was thinking about her over breakfast. Benny and I were eating pancakes when I commented "Dana is married and enjoying her reception right now. This exact moment."

Then we proceeded to debate over whether or not Dana will change her last name to match Nate's last name. We need Dana to make a ruling on this discussion.

If we lived in the United States, I would have been at that church. There is no doubt about it. Nothing would have stopped me from being there for Dana's happy day in the same way she was so supportive of our wedding four years ago.

But with the Pacific Ocean separating us and my enlarged stomach, it wasn't an option. It makes me sad to miss Dana's big day, but I know she understands.

Congratulations to Dana and Nate. Best wishes from the V-Team.

Baby Volkmann's Room

This is the vision.

While Michelle is reading

and trying to complete 100 pages for her bookclub tomorrow, you get a reading from the book of Benny:

We're going to Kyoto in two weeks, and I can't wait. It's almost like the can't-sleep-the-night-before-going-to-Disneyland feeling. We haven't even been there yet, and I'm already thinking we're going to have to go back. There is just way to much to see and do in the most traditional city in Japan. So I found out on last Monday that our guided tour was cancelled because they could not get 20 people to go on it. We had already put down a deposit (refundable) six weeks ago, so we were a little bummed out. Three weeks to go until Thanksgiving, can we get there another way? Wait a second, the Japanese don't celebrate Thanksgiving, we'll just do it on our own. Sounds easy, except for some reason, it was tricky finding a room in Kyoto for Thanksgiving. So we're staying in Osaka, the second largest city in Japan and only an hour away by train (not just any train, but the bullet train). We're staying close to a train station. It's really a blessing in disguise, since we found some great walking tours of Kyoto that we would not have been able to experience with a guided tour driving around the city on a bus.

We haven't been to Osaka yet (not including a transfer at the airport) and I'm already thinking about the okonomiyaki amongst the other things to do in Osaka. And of course, we are going to have to go back. There's the language (and great website), even though we can't read characters quite yet (besides exit and entrance). And of course, way too much to see and do.

Two reasons were heading to Kyoto:
1. Birthday present for my baby momma
2. Last flight for Michelle before she's not allowed to fly anymore, therefore the last big trip for the V-Team as a dynamic duo before we become the terrific trio

Quick note on our last trip to Tokyo at the Shibuya Crossing on a Saturday night. My original video (see below) was yanked because I put Jimi Hendrix music to it like a Quentin Tarantino film. It was like the Times Square of Japan (or so they say). This madness repeats itself every 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Throughout the 30 minutes we watched in amazement, no one was run over although there were some close calls.

Only because Patti asked

In this photo, I'm 24 weeks pregnant (six months). My belly continues to grow each week. Last week it measured in at 38 inches. Last night it measured 40 inches. I'm blessed with a long torso, so the baby has plenty of room to grow in my middle, which may explain why I'm not growing out very fast. (Co-workers still tell me I don't look pregnant, which makes me sad.) But I have a feeling that growing wider and wider will be come over the course of the next two months.

Tokyo Day Two

We got up bright and early to brave the subway. Our destination: Tsukiji Fish Market

This wholesale fish market is the largest in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Since neither one of us has been to a fish market before, it was on my list of "must-do's" while we were in Tokyo. This market handles all kinds of seafood with some it arriving frozen from as far as Africa.



Notice how Benny was positioned safety behind a bunch of mopeds trying to soak up all the action. It's amazing how much is going on and how much business takes place. The whole market is like an orchestra without a conductor. It's amazing no one got run over during the time we were there. (Or maybe there were some casualities, but no one stopped to notice.) No tourists were harmed in making this footage.



I first read about Tsukiji last summer in a Vanity Fair article about the growing popularity of sushi. At Tsukiji you vist the fish market and then eat sushi for breakfast, just as the Japanese do. Benny had the freshest sashami ever. It smelled great. I ate miso soup since I'm prohibited from raw seafood during the pregnancy.



After the fish market we went to Hama Rikyu Garden. This is considered to be the best garden in Tokyo. It has been there for 300 years and traditionally was a duck-hunting grounds for the Tokugawa shoguns. In 1871, the Imperial family turned it into a relaxing place for tea. There are several tea houses on the grounds. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant met the Imperial family at this garden. The winter isn't the best time to visit the garden, but it was still pretty.




Then we took a 30-minute boat ride on the Sumida River to Asakusa.

Asakusa is a traditional area of Tokyo. We went to see the Sensoji Temple, which is the oldest temple in Tokyo. It was founded in the 7th century. On this particular Saturday it was packed with people. There was some kind of holiday and people brought their daughters, ages 3, 5 or 7, to the temple to offer gifts and pray for good fortune. Odd numbers are lucky numbers to Buddhists. I should have taken a photo of the cute Japanese girls dressed in kimonos, but it was so packed, I didn't even think of it.
This is the entrance to the walkway to the temple.

Along the way some college students approached us and wanted to practice their English. So we spent an hour with them. (I'll write more about this in the future. It most likely will be a posting turn column.)

For dinner we went to a shabu-shabu restaurant. Shabu-shabu is kind of like fondue, because you cook your own food. (I'll talk about this culinary experience in more detail in a future post. Be on the lookout for it.)

We ended the evening in Shibuya Crossing. This is Japan's busiest intersection. Since there are five electronic billboards at this intersection, it is nicknamed "The Times Square of Tokyo." It was featured in the movie "Lost in Translation."

Six degrees of separation from America's historic election

Election Day is always an exhilarating day.

It's a day spent dreaming about America's future. In the morning, you have no idea who will lead our country for the next four years. But the time you go to bed, you can say a prayer for the country's newest leader. No matter who wins and who loses, it is the one day you can mark on your calendar and say history will be made today.

This year I felt an outsider.

Through our military television satellite we don't get any commercials, let alone political commercials. My family, who has been bombarded with political ads on the Iowa airways from more than two years, would say this is a definite advantage. But without these ads, I took a more active approach to learning about the candidates this year. I would watch whatever news shows I could get through our satellite dish. Any programs that weren't shown, I watched online. The Internet is a lifesaver when living overseas.

I read both Obama's book and McCain's book. I read my Time magazine weekly and the Stars and Stripes newspaper daily. But through it all I couldn't help but feel six degrees of separation from this week's presidential election.

My absentee ballot was signed, dated and mailed three weeks ago. This was before former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Obama and Gov. Sarah Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live. Since my vote was cast, I've felt like my job was done for this election. I had no choice, but to wait for the rest of the country to catch up and cast their votes.

Election Tuesday was completely anticlimactic. The day was quiet and strangely calm in Okinawa. It didn't seem quite right. People weren't leaving work to go to the election sites. People didn't have “I voted” stickers stuck to their clothing. And you don't see election posters on the street curbs.

It was a strange feeling knowing that the presidential election – one that will shape our country's future – wasn't happening on Tuesday in my time zone.

I woke up on Wednesday morning, expecting to know the election results. But we didn't. We didn't know anything, except that some Americans waited in line for hours to vote. I was amazed to see the crowds gathering in Washington, D.C., and New York City.

At 8:30 a.m. election television anchors recapped the day's events. At 9:30 a.m. I read that the polls were closed. Ballots would be counted. Votes would be announced soon.

My excitement slowed. I didn't think we would hear the results of the presidential election until 2 p.m. But at 1:15 p.m., I was eating my lunch while Sen. John McCain gave his concession speech from Phoenix, Ariz. At 1:30 p.m. I watched Sen. Barak Obama give his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago. And one line struck a cord with me:

“And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.”

This line reminded me that even though I'm not living in America right now, I'm still an American. My heart melts for the red, white and blue. My eyes moisten when I think about sacrifices of our nation's military.

This week I realized that the best way to appreciate America-- its democracy and its freedoms-- is to pack your bags and say good-bye to our great country.

It's an old saying, but it's honest: Separation truly makes the heart grow fonder.

The Benny who cried wolf

I played a few pranks back in my day, but I think I may have played too many and turned into the boy who cried wolf. I could be the lone reason Norm Coleman loses (IF THAT HAPPENS--or Al Franken wins depending on how you look at it), after all, my antics occupied the precious time of one of his pollsters.

See the unedited version of events that my sister Patti went through on the night of Nov 3 below.

SO last night around 9:00 pm our home phone rings. We are too cheap for caller ID so contrary to what everyone thinks we really have NO idea who is calling us.

Anywoo I pick up the phone and it goes something like this....

caller: Can I talk to Patricia please?

me: (thinking to myself....hmmm...this is suspicious. nobody calls me Patricia) This is.

caller: This is so-and-so and I'm calling on behalf of Norm Coleman....

me: (TOTALLY interrupting him) Benny? Is that you?!

caller: no ma'am. This is so-and-so (I don't remember his name because I was totally convinced that it was Benny) and I'm calling on behalf of Norm Coleman and I'm conducting a survey....

me: ha ha Benny! Whats up!

caller: ummm...I'm really trying to conduct a sur.....

me: (interrupting again) HA HA HA! GOOD ONE!!! You TOTALLY had me! Whats up!

caller: *sigh* I'm trying to conduct a surv.....

me: (interrupting again and now I'm getting sarcastic) OH! Hmmm....9:00 pm? Don't you think it is a little late to be taking a "SURVEY", Ben?!

caller: *long sigh* and then a little laugh. no really. I'm so-and-so calling on behalf of Norm Colman. Can I PLEASE just ask you a couple questions.

me: (now I'm totally confused. It sounds like "Benny" is getting serious!) uh. ok. sure?

caller: 1st question - ***now I can't remember what the questions were because I was too busy focusing if this was Benny or a real Norm Coleman rep.

me: (the question sounded pretty serious) huh. So this isn't Ben? Are you sure?

caller: no...

me: huh. I'm sorry!

***now he asks a couple more questions and I still have no idea what he is talking about because I'm not listening... just waiting for him to say ha ha just kidding it IS Ben.

fast forward to the end of conversation....

caller:all right that is all that I have. blah blah blah Thank you for your time.

me: huh. sh*t...I'm sorry. I obviously thought you were Ben...and I was OBVIOUSLY wrong! sorry for being a pain and have a good night!

LOL....that poor guy had to think I was crazy! I'm sure he put a big "DO NOT CALL" next to our number!!!

That is my funny story. LOL...I'm guessing that since you haven't called back to say "just kidding" that it really wasn't you!

PAGE TWO:
I'm not one to kiss and tell when it comes to who I voted for in the election, but I did get a hilarious email that depicted me as an Obama supporter. I'm not going to confirm or deny who I voted for or supported, but this video is pretty good.

I pray there was no one out there who failed to exercise their right to vote. Don't be that idiot. I found it ironic to hear the radio/TV commercials this morning declaring GET OUT AND VOTE when our absentee ballets had to be mailed more than two weeks ago.

And now you know the rest of the story.