Last Dance Class

Well, since she's going to be in soccer and we don't know what days of the week that will tie up, for now Mia had her last ballet class. Sad, but we'll get her back in there, I know what a great time she has in there. Here she is with Ms. Tara, her fabulous teacher.

Here's lovely little Aubrey (fresh out of her first ballet class!) looking on intently.

The class poses for me.
For more shots, visit the Kodak site. It's 7:30! I'm off to do the "photographer" thing now.

This Morning's Quote

Yesterday before and during the haircut, I kept telling Mia that her hair grows so quickly that even though we're cutting a lot off, it'll grow back eventually if she wants it long again. (Was that to convince her, or me? Still not sure....) Meanwhile, she was all smiles before, during, and after the haircut, and is loving her new lighter head and pretty cut.

This morning as she rolled over in bed and I got another look at her, I ran my fingers through her hair and she sleepily said, "Mama.... I don't think my hair grew back yet."

Mia's New 'Do

I can't decide - does she look older? Or does she look her age? (which is almost SIX for heaven's sake...)



Had to share these. I took a couple at the salon, but they're super blurry. She was great the whole time, assuring me that she really wanted to do this (though admittedly it was hard for me to watch those gorgeous tresses hit the floor). We'll be back again in a couple of months, and I'm sure it will have grown like a weed. This is easier, cooler for my little sweaty girl, and she's happy. That's what matters. For $8, I am too.

Home Sweet Home

You've been so patient. We've been so busy organizing. Well, it's almost finished, so I thought that after we cleaned extra hard and organized extra hard for guests, a few pictures of the place would be in order.

Here's the right side of the kitchen (counter faces the dining room) - the cabinets are so high I have to use a stepstool to reach them, and we bought that kitchen cart on the end to make more pantry & counter space. That picture on the wall is one of only 3 pictures I was able to hang before I threw in the towel:
And the left (behind the fridge is the washer/dryer) - you can see how tight the counter space is! The obligatory espresso machine, rice cooker, microwave, and banana...haha.:
Living/dining room areas (borrowed dining room table & chairs, new folding chairs we bought, and area rug now in tact):

Mia's delightful room!

From the other angle (2 of the 3 pictures is in there as you can see):

The front entrance - our shoe rack which is perfect for Japan as everyone removes their shoes upon entering homes. On top of the rack you'll notice our Shiisaa and the hammer drill we borrowed from self help that we're returning because it just caused me to curse a lot:

Master bedroom:

From the other side:

Here's a picture of Rich & Craig boxing on the Wii while the kids observed in hysterics:Saw this little guy (about 1 1/2 or 2" long) behind our entertainment center. Hope he got out ok....

Here is me! Yes, I can be in front of the camera too - looking at the extensive menu at Kitakaisen, a great new place we hit on Saturday night:
And Mia - literally shoving the rest of the mouthful of yakisoba in. Who'd have predicted that?Ok, off to hopefully exchange the faulty part of our satellite TV setup - darn thing hasn't worked well since we got it. Now we have NOTHING - and with sports on the way, that's unacceptable. Still to come - pictures of Mia's haircut this afternoon at 3!

Is Anyone Watching This Gem??

Bless his heart, Craig has been downloading TV shows for us since our TV reception is intermittent and I'm not interested in watching repeats of The Biggest Loser and Hell's Kitchen.

We just finished So You Think You Can Dance (Thrilled about the results, and very sad the show is over), and are in the middle of the current season of Top Chef. He also found Mad Men- it airs on AMC, and it is a brilliant "dramedy" about ad men on Madison Avenue during 1960. They smoke like chimneys, the woman's role in the family and the office is insanely archaic and submissive, and the writing is some of the best I've seen on a new show for a very long time.

Matthew Weiner, a former executive producer & writer on The Sopranos, and really shines on this show because he's a fanatic about the time period and getting everything just right. Alan Taylor is one of the directors, who worked on Sopranos, Big Love, Sex and the City, Deadwood, and Rome. Heavy hitter. I'm not sure how AMC ended up picking up this show, but I do know it's available for purchase on iTunes, and if you're not willing to do that - wait for the repeats on AMC or rent it on DVD when it's released. Very interesting and worthy TV in a vast wasteland.

We're Simpsonized!

Thanks again, Edith - these are great. Here are Aviva, Craig & Mia - Simpsonized.

I doubt Craig would wear cargo shorts with black shoes, but that wasn't an option.
And Mia insisted on having a kitty.

One Reason I Do This

If I can help but one military family before they move here, it's a great thing. Did you see Edith's comment?:

"Aviva, hello I just wanted to let you know what a wave of relief it is to know there are bloggers in Japan such as you and Okinawa Hai. I look forward to reading your blog and going to the places you've been to. I hope your second shoot works out and you get the job!"

Edith, you rock! Thank you so much. And I truly hope you have a smooth & easy move. (She's moving to Japan from Norfolk, VA.) And in case you haven't read that post - walls here are concrete, do not bring too many things you have to hang on the walls. And bring lots of storage bins and any shelving units or drawers you have, and your computer desk.

Also, I visited Edith's blog, and she mentioned this site: www.simpsonizeme.com. I'm on the hunt for my perfect picture, but if you make one of yourself send it on over. How fun!