CATS

So my last post was a rant about Lexington and UK, but before I get into my weekend, can I just say that UK played some mighty fine basketball this weekend. I don't care who your team is or if you even like basketball, both games this weekend were so interesting to watch. It didn't hurt that we are now on our way to the final four. I did have to wake up at 6 AM and go into work to watch the game, but I'm not complaining.

On Friday we had a field trip to Okinawa World, a place that is an assortment of Okinawan-based attractions. It is interesting to see how the life of an American child in the school system is so different, interesting, and rich in Okinawa. At Okinawa world there is a cave, habu (snake) museum, snake show, souvenir shop, brewery, Eisa performances, and garden. Yeah, it kind of seemed like a random assortment of things. My favorite part was the Eisa show. They had traditional dress, drums, instruments, and dance. It was so entertaining, but unfortunately they did not allow photos. I also actually like snakes, so the snake museum and show was interesting to see. The kids got to take their pictures with a python over their shoulders or holding a small snake.

Field trips are absolutely exhausting. It was so fun and the kids really enjoyed it, but I was worn out. I had to take a nap as soon as I got home. That evening, I met up with some friends to celebrate my friend's birthday. We went to one of our favorite restaurants. We had such a fun time talking and hanging out. I sure do miss Jake, but girl time has been so fun. How is it that girls can talk for hours and hours on end?

How cute is this dolphin cake?? I didn't make it, I'm not that talented. 

Happy birthday friend!

Saturday I watched the Cats play and then went into my class to work for a bit. One of these days, I won't work at all on the weekend. But that weekend was not this one. I have eaten out about 2 times total in the past month and I haven't been making all of the recipes that I had wanted to while Jake is gone. We have a Thai place that is right down the street from our house. Jake won't eat Thai after his food poisoning our last day in Thailand, so I decided I should try it before he gets back. I walked in to see if they had take out, and within 10 minutes I had ordered and was out the door. They were so kind and friendly. They even gave me a bowl of pineapple to eat while I waited. I really love the restaurants here. I got the basil chicken and it was delicious. I want to go back to Thailand!

This coming weekend my friend and I are going on our trip to Ishigaki Island! So on Sunday we decided to go down to the outlets for a little shopping. If you are like me and stopped shopping at Gap for awhile because of their bland clothes, do yourself a favor and start shopping their again. There stuff has been so cute lately and has such a J.Crew vibe. I like shopping way more than is necessary, but I don't shop that often anymore, so I have to take advantage when I do.

Sunday evening I took Lexie for beach walk. The weather is finally starting to be consistently warm. I thought that it would be very warm at this point in the year, but many places in the States are warmer than it is here. I thought I was moving to an always warm tropical island! I hope the weather is good on our trip this weekend! I just need to make it through this week and then I am onto our trip and Spring Break!

I know things have been a bit boring around here lately, but thank you for sticking around with me during this crazy adjustment time. I promise lots more exciting adventures are coming!

Officially Official

So you may have notice, but things look a bit different around here. I loved my original design by Marquis at Simply Clarke, I couldn't resist getting a new one when I won a giveaway over at Niecior's Notes. Amanda did such a great job! I was super picky because I knew exactly what I wanted. She worked with me through all of my crazy demands and hundreds of changes and gave me exactly what I was wanting. What is it about a new blog design that feels so refreshing? Also in the giveaway, I won a domain name. Amanda hooked me up and I am now officially bellblissblog.com. I never felt like I needed to have my own domain name, but now I understand why bloggers say it is so important. Thank you Amanda!!

Now onto my weekend. Friday was a half day at school, but after a couple of meetings, all I did was come home and sleep. Thank you sickness and thank you children with germs. I slept for a significant amount of time and woke up Saturday morning feeling so much better. Saturday I attempted to get up early to clean and workout, but that didn't really happen. You win some, you lose some. It was a beautiful day so after making food for a cookout later in the afternoon, Lexie and I decided to go for a walk. The men working in the field behind our house decided it was "take your goat to work day" and had a goat tied up along the sidewalk. Lexie was really interested in it, until it made a really scary noise at her.

On our walk, we like to climb this huge hill, just for this view. It was a perfect day in the bay, as I like to say.

Later that afternoon, my friend and I drove up north for a little BBQ and bowling. I hadn't been bowling in such a long time. I am still as bad as I used to be, but I randomly bowled a 90 one game. That is probably the highest I have ever bowled. And how did I forget how ridiculous bowling shoes are?

Sunday I spent the entire day in my classroom. I planned on going in for a couple of hours, next thing I knew I had been there for eight hours. We have this important visit this week and I had to make sure my classrooms and lessons were ready. I feel like my classroom is finally coming together and I hope to share pictures here in the next two weeks or so. It has been a long process, but I am really enjoying it. 

As much as I have been enjoying teaching, I feel like I haven't gotten to enjoy this beautiful island lately. I have been feeling a bit down about it because I want to make the most of every moment we live here. When we first got here, we were exploring every minute of the weekend. I haven't even tried many new restaurants lately. I miss our adventures every weekend. Maybe once Jake gets home and I have gotten in a better routine and balance with teaching, the adventures will resume. Until then, I still enjoy waking up to this every.single.morning.

And Then I Ended Up in a Onesie

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes! I had a great birthday and birthday weekend. Even though I spent Friday, my birthday, and yes, my birthday is pi day, at work, it was a good day. My students were so sweet and it was a fairly easy day. That evening, some of my friends and I went to a restaurant out in town that had an awesome atmosphere and great sushi.

After dinner, we headed over to the officer's club on base for the St. Patrick's Day karaoke party, just to find that it was cancelled. So instead, we went back to my friend's house and had a dance party. There is just something about dance parties that can make you so happy. I wanted to get in sweats, so my friend brought me out some options. One option was an oscar the grouch onesie. When the question is a onesie, the answer is always a yes. And that's how this happened.

I even slept in the onesie, and it was the best nights sleep I have had in awhile. I now know why babies sleep in them. They are fabulous. 

Saturday I did a bit of shopping and took myself to lunch. I really enjoy hanging out with myself, is that weird. I don't mind going to eat alone or shopping alone. I think it is relaxing and I don't feel bad for wandering around the same aisle for 20 minutes. I ate at the best cafe and had an incredible grilled chicken sandwich on naan bread. I am constantly finding cute cafes here and I love it. 

Saturday evening I went to an all green St. Patrick's Day party. All of the food was green, pickles, broccoli, guacamole, mint brownies, key lime bars, green jello. Not only did it look pretty cool, the food was so good! I cannot believe how much I ate. I can't go to potluck type parties because I lose all self control and just can't stop eating. I made my famous spinach dip and a fruit rainbow. I saw it on pinterest and it turned out pretty cute!

I wore my favorite green J.Crew pants, because green is my favorite color, but of course, the green onesie came out later in the evening. It was the hit of the party. Onesies for the win!

Sunday I spent most of the day in my classroom. I wasn't planning on spending so much time there, especially since it was such a nice day, but I was on a roll with decorating and couldn't stop. I also had to set up our classroom library. I have finally started to grow my collection of books. I bought 65 books for $40 off of a Craigslist-type website here and was so excited! My mom also sent me some of my books from when I was a kid, which was fun. 

I finally managed to rip myself away from my classroom and headed to the beach with Lexie. I have been surprised at how cold it has been here lately. I know I can't complain because we aren't getting ridiculous amounts of snow like most people in the States, but I really thought it would be warmer right now. Sunday was so beautiful and made me so excited to experience spring and summer here on the island.

Overall, it was a great birthday! I am so excited to see what this next year in life brings me. It sure started with a bang, and a onesie.

Therapeutic

Our weekends are usually packed with activities. Ever since we got here I haven't wanted to waste a minute. I want to see and do and eat everything. Weekends seem so short so we try to enjoy every minute. On Friday, as I was shopping for the 3 day Dr. Oz cleanse I was starting Saturday, I decided that it would be best to just hang around home, that way I wouldn't be tempted by food and tempted to shop, since I am trying to do a "no spend" March. I hate to admit it, but my first thought was, "if I do nothing all weekend, what am I going to blog about?" That's when I decided to take a weekend to focus on myself. How often do we just sit and focus on what our minds and bodies need?

This weekend was nothing short of therapeutic. I slept in later than usual. I drank tea and did yoga in the morning. I drank my Dr. Oz smoothies all day long. I took my vitamins and other supplements. I cleaned. I read. I did projects around the house. I blogged. I thought about the future and wrote down my goals and dreams. I ran. I gave myself a pedicure. I took Lexie on walks. I took a detox bath at the end of everyday.

I read the most inspiring book I have read in a long time, Cold Tangerines. It is about enjoying and appreciating life's little moments. Thanks Julia for the wonderful book and I can't wait to read the next one!

There were a few paragraphs that really hit me:

"The only option, as I see it, is this delicate weaving of action and celebration, of intention and expectation. Let's act, read, protest, protect, picket, learn, advocate for, fight against, but let's be careful that in the midst of all that accomplishing and organizing, we don't bulldoze over a world that's teaming with beauty and hope and redemption all around us and in the meantime. Before the wars are over, before the cures are found, before the wrongs are righted, Today, humble Today, presents itself to us with all the ceremony and bling of a glittering diamond ring: Wear me, it says. Wear me out. Love me, dive into me, discover me, it pleads with us."

We all want to do good in the world, to make a difference, to make a change. We try to fight all of the bad in the world, and we never stop to appreciate the good in life. We always talk about the wars and the diseases, but never talk about the little victories, the good deeds. We are always looking to get somewhere, not appreciating each day and what it holds. 

On wanting the big, movie-worthy moments in life:

"The Big Moment, unfortunately, is an urban myth. Some people have them, in a sense, when they win the Heisman or become the next American Idol. But even that football player or that singer is living a life made up of more than that one moment. Life is a collection of a million, billion moments, tiny little moments and choices, like a handful of luminous, glowing pearls. And strung together, built upon one another, lined up through the days and years, they make a life, a person. It takes so much time, and so much work, and those beads and moments are so small, and so much less fabulous and dramatic than the movies."

I know I am guilty of wanting and wishing for the next milestone in life to happen. We all think that these milestones, graduating, getting married, having babies, are the defining moments of our lives. Those moments are few and far in-between, were as the little moments are the ones that tie everything together. I know I have to appreciate the little moments in life instead of waiting for the next big moment to come around.

During my therapeutic weekend, I decided to write a letter to my future self. I want to remember this stage in life. I want to remind myself what makes me happy and to celebrate the good and enjoy the little moments. I wanted to document such a happy time in our life as a reminder when we face hardships and struggles. I wanted to write down all the things I love about Jake, because I know there will be days in the distant future that we will struggle and I will need a reminder. 

This weekend was just what I needed. This cleanse wasn't easy, but it was nice to focus on self-control. My body and mind feel renewed and now I am ready for whatever life is going to throw at me. When was the last time you had a me day? 

Linking up with Monday Morning Gossip and Funday Monday

The Good and The Bad

The good or the bad first? I'm going to go with the bad, just to get it out of the way. Jake left today (Monday) which was a day earlier than scheduled. Bummer. I survived the last time he was gone so I know I can do it. And thanks to the good later on in this post, I will be a very busy girl. Since this was the last weekend Jake was in town, you would think we would spend it doing fun things together. Not exactly. Even though we had a fun evening of fiestaing (I made my famous enchiladas) and playing games with friends, Jake had the work the rest of the weekend. Double bummer.

On Saturday night we had a date night. We haven't had a nice date in awhile, so we went to a semi-fancy restaurant right on the water called the Sea Garden. The restaurant was beautiful and it had such a fun atmosphere. We got there just in time for a beautiful sunset. We got a grilled chicken salad, the best cheese fondue of all time, and delicious California rolls. Other than it being a bit cold sitting outside, it was a fun evening.

On Sunday I was able to have lunch with a friend at a cute cafe before she left for the States(yep, jealous). It was a beautiful day and we were able to sit outside with a beautiful view of the bay while eating super yummy food! I had a bowl of cheese-topped chicken curry. It was different than regular curry and it was pretty darn good!

After lunch, we sat outside on my deck talking. It was a bit cold, still boot weather, but warm enough to sit outside with a blanket. It was fun to be outside and to catch up! I can't wait to use our backyard all of the time this summer!

Jake was able to make it home in time for a beach walk and grilling out.  We sure are going to miss our Sunday night beach walks together. 

Sick of beach pictures yet??

And now for the good. On Friday and on twitter I had been hinting about some exciting things going on. I needed some time to process, but now I am ready to share the exciting thing going on in my real life. If you thought I was going to announce a pregnancy, you were way off, sorry. Last week I was offered a full time subbing job at the school on base here. As of March 10th, I will have my very own 3rd grade classroom. I am so excited to finally have my own class! It will have it's challenges, especially coming in in the middle of the year, but I know that I will learn so much and it will be a great experience. It is the next step in my journey of teaching. I am going to be super busy, lesson planning, arranging my classroom, etc., but I really can't wait! 

The exciting things in my blogging life will hopefully be shared towards the end of the week! So stay tuned!

Linking up with Monday Morning Gossip and Funday Monday

Valentines and a Beach Camping Trip

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's/Presidents Day Weekend! We definitely had a great one! On Friday night, our friends had us over and we cooked a wonderful Valentine's meal. It was so good! We had steaks, potatoes, salad, bread, and mushrooms. And no meal would be complete without some chocolate! It was such a fun evening. 

My Valentine

Our husbands surprised us by telling us they are sending us to Ishigaki Island for a birthday getaway. They will both be gone for our March birthdays again this year, so they wanted to do something nice. We are so excited for a little girls weekend getaway to a beautiful island about an hour south of Okinawa. Thanks boys!

The beautiful Ishigaki Island (photo credit)

One of my favorite things to do is make Valentine themed breakfast, so that is what we did Saturday morning. Turkey bacon that failed to look like hearts and heart-shaped egg in a frame. The rest of the day was spent running errands to get ready for our camping trip the next day, walking on the beach, and grilling out that evening. My new favorite thing is to get a local cabbage and grill it!

Sunday I grocery shopped in the morning and then watched the Cats lose, unfortunately, and then we packed up and headed West for an evening of camping on Torii Beach. The weather was great. It was slightly overcast with a little breeze, perfect for snuggling up next to a fire. We made a fire, grilled hotdogs and brats, made s'mores, and watched the sunset. It was pretty much perfection. We ran out of firewood around 9, so we decided to head to bed. We slept great, besides being woken up by a cat raiding our campsite. In the morning we packed up quickly and rushed home because we got a text from the person who went to take Lexie out that she wouldn't go outside. At the point we had been gone a good 18 hours, so when we got home we were surprised she hadn't gone to the bathroom in the house. I guess her diva tendencies allow her to hold it for long periods of time. 

S'mores

It was such a fun, relaxing weekend! We foresee many more beach camping trips in our future. 

Linking up with Monday Morning Gossip and Funday Monday