WHAT the...?

well folks, we'll try again..... Greg and I came across this at our favorite sushi-go-round and enjoyed it a lot. First one who guesses correctly will have a prize coming their way!

Good luck....

we have a winner!

Well, after many, many, many guesses, my sister Becky came up with the solution to the first "What the....?" posting on lost-in-sasebo! Unfortunately she did not get the prize, because she already received one for Christmas!

Stay tuned and give a try at the next, soon-to-be-posted "What the....?" installment!

another entry from Greg!

They say time flies when you’re having fun… guess that excuse is as good as any when trying to explain why it’s been so long since we’ve posted something… or perhaps the novelty of Japan just might be wearing off... either way, allow me to take this moment (OK, it’s going to take me a lot more than that, but only a moment for you to read) to get everyone caught up on the last 2 weeks… and since I have a night at home to chill (and Meg is dying from indigestion and an active kid kicking her in the ribs… and everything else that’s in that general area), I have decided to jump on and take another hack at this blog thing!!!

1. Meg grew A LOT – I don’t want to say she’s huge; I am just going to say that I’ve met truck drivers with beer bellies smaller than her stomach!!! And it’s not just me that thinks that (although he put it a little differently) the Doctor thinks that Meg is carrying a whopper of a ‘lil guy in there (she’s at 30 something weeks… hold on… 34 weeks and the Doctor thinks the kid is 5.5 lbs – now I have no idea what that means, but she seems to think that’s huge and since she has a little more experience at this than I do… well I’m pretty excited)!!! To boot, since ‘Lil M is crowded in one specific area (basically all bunched up under the belly button) I think she looks even bigger!!! I personally think it is VERY cool – especially when you see ‘Lil M moving (OK, it’s a little reminiscent of the movie Alien, but it still just blows me away)!!!

2. I’ve been underway for about two weeks! OK, not very exciting and not very out of the ordinary, but we’ve been doing a bunch of inspections and things are going fairly well (i.e. it could be better and it could be worse)… I will say that my worst experience as the First Lieutenant occurred about a week and a half ago… So we have to prove that we can recover a guy who has fallen into the water in “X” amount of time (for ship-board recovery I have to be able to show that the ship can maneuver to pick up a guy in the water in less than 10 minutes). So we wait until it is dark and throw our doll (Oscar) over the side with a life jacket on (which houses a flashing light and a homing beacon) and catch the watch standers by such surprise it takes almost 3 minutes for the guy driving the ship to get the message that Oscar is in the water… and that sets the scene for the rest of the evolutions. By the time we got around to where Oscar should have been we realized the homing beacon was not working… and for the next 45 minutes I got to stand there while the crew valiantly looked for the lost soul (Oscar the dummy), the inspectors told me I failed (about 4 times) but they were curious if we would ever find Oscar, the Admiral’s representative kept looking at me and opening his mouth to say something, but I guess he couldn’t think of anything to make me feel better… and the Captain yelling stuff like, “1st if we don’t find that thing then I’m gonna throw you over and see if we have any better luck with you,” and “1st I could choke you right now.” Luckily for me, the light on the life vest was eventually seen and Oscar was rescued…

Well, I'm heading back out to sea for a stint and we're both crossing our fingers that I will be here for Lil M's arrival. In the meantime, when I get home I'm busy helping get house ready for baby......

Addendum: Greg DID get to attend a Lil M check-up this weekend, meet Dr. Higashijima and see the birth center where we'll finally meet lil M. The picture above is of some monitoring done while waiting to be seen ---- heartbeat still looks like a BOY, though after the weekend Meg's convinced M is a GIRL now.....

Home for a teasing second or two...

Greg's home! For about a day, but still home! I was able to watch the ship pull into the pier yesterday and it was amazing.... a huge ship essentially parallel parking inside a basin. Looked pretty impressive to me. The rain even stopped for their arrival. It was fun to be amongst the other wives and kids, holding up a banner welcoming the Tortuga home. Sadly they still had a full work day (after arriving at 9 am). Greg didn't manage to leave ship until after 8 pm (I joined him to wait for some ensigns to finish their work and got to experience the ladders he daily climbs... no thank you!!) We hit our favorite sushi-go-round for dinner and I impressed him by doing all the ordering in Japanese.... we were close enough to closing time that the rotating conveyor belt was nearly empty!

Greg had duty (mandatory staying on ship for 24 hours doing who knows what...) on Saturday, but I was able to take him a home-cooked meal --- his favorite -- chicken fajitas, black beans and guacamole AND homemade brownies. Too bad no Coronas for him today!

He is off for Sunday daytime and hopefully we'll get some good family time with the dogs and such. The week ahead is busy again including MORE inspections and such..... but we'll see him again next weekend, we'll take what we can get..... maybe he'll even post something on the blog?!?

Hina Matsuri

Happy Girls' Day! This is celebrated in Japan the first week of March. I attended a festival in Saga City, which is about an hour south-east of Sasebo which honors girls by displaying dolls. Families display various settings of dolls during this week, which is meant to bring good luck. Dolls are passed on from generation to generation. Once the week ends, the families are to box them up until next year. If they do not do this right away, their daughter will likely marry late in life!

This tradition started in the Edo Period (1603-1868) and continues to thrive. The dolls are also meant to ward of evil spirits. Hina dolls are displayed in sets of 15, each in very ornate and traditional dress. The detail of these dolls is amazing! Many are placed on red-felt covered platforms in the following sequence: top platform holds the Emporer and Empress, second platform holds three court ladies, each with a saki (rice wine) filler, third platform holds 5 male musicians (one is a singer, the rest have instruments in hand) and the 4th, 5th and 6th platforms vary in what they hold.

We saw a large variety of dolls on display in various traditional houses in Saga. Some were dressed in kimono silk, others in washi paper. These dolls are quite small, though the time spent on each must be hours!

I bought lil M (just in case!) a set of dolls dressed in washi paper and also an antique wooden spindle set of mother and daughter. Like many attractions in Japan, an antique bazaar accompanied this festival... always a fun place to poke around!

30 weeks and counting....

Another belly shot.... this was taken at my favorite tofu restuarant in the Ginza. Notice even my 5'4" height is too tall for this doorway! I think Greg would touch the ceiling! Not to worry as he thinks tofu is "ICKY" and refuses to eat it. Definitely a place to enjoy with my girlfriends instead.

We're getting closer to his return and we are ALL excited for that. Finn and Bonny are grateful for their daily walks, but I think they miss Greg's stamina there.... sadly, I'm fading fast. Greg was just in a mysterious (!) port for a long weekend and we were able to chat on phone 3 days in a row, what a treat! He gives a "shout out" to all. Life aboard is good, he's figuring out his job more each day... though we may be leaving here sooner than later, so if you're gonna visit, start making some plans!

My pregnancy is progressing well. All tests have come back unremarkable. Greg will hopefully come to my next appointment to meet my OB/GYN and see the place. And the live U/S, of course. Our kiddo is growing as expected and besides making me feel heavy and awkward, behaving well.

Strawberry picking

Well, Greg's in the middle of his fourth week at sea and it's starting to feel long. I've been keeping really busy, though and my calendar seems to have an activity a day (at least). Add on a long dog walk each day and time seems to fly. We're doing okay, but certainly looking forward to him being home for a bit (likely only a little bit....)

Greg sends me emails when he can, sometimes daily, usually every couple of days.... I know we're lucky to be able to have that much communication. When I think what it must have been like for my mom when my dad was in Vietnam (and she was pregnant with and delivered my brother), I cannot imagine coping with the long lags between communication. We are sooo lucky with email these days; still, I long to hear his voice and can't wait to see him. OOH I just got a mysterious phone number on caller ID and it was HIM! Maybe I should write about wanting to talk to him more often..... He's good. Finally has some liberty. For security purposes, I'm not allowed to say where he is, though, other than it is HOT there and he misses the Sasebo winter we're experiencing still! He sounds tired, very busy, but successful in his "exercises" and inspections. His ship has gone through a lot with the complete turnover in command, but they seem to be coming together nicely. The picture attached is one of HIS boats that HE'S directing onboard. His ship is currently filled with Marines who are participating in whatever "exercises" they are doing. Since I don't really understand what they do, I'm convinced they are on pirate patrol!

Today I went strawberry picking with the Officer Spouses' Club. It was a nice treat. Japanese strawberries are AMAZING. I could eat them by the kilo, I think! They are smaller and much more tasty than those I've had in the states. Since the only strawberries I've had for the past 4 years were in Saipan and cost $9 a pint, having such access here is such a treat for me! We also made tarts with moshi -- rice flour and made our own whipped cream. YUMMY! The picture above shows the pregnant table.... Ann is 2 months further along than I am. She is due on "girl's day" and I am due on "boy's day" -- both very famous holidays in Japan. She IS having a girl, HMMM for me!