....and on the eighth day, she blogged....because it's Friday!!

Friday almost afternoon morning, sitting at the breakfast counter at my good friend's house with a cup of coffee....okay...so my third cup of coffee....and a view of the southern Rockies (actually the Sangre de Cristos, but that's okay) that is just beautiful....trying to get my new "toy" figured out.

It's a good day.

A week in America has just blown by...we have been spending a lot of time with this

in our sights....

....doing a lot of this....hanging with family and friends...so much laughing and talking.
The boys are loving being here, too.
We love coming to Colorado....
it's a wonderful place for

cousins to play in the front yard....in their underwear, at times....

It's a place we can drive through really bad (where really bad means "Holy Hell....are the windows going to break??") hail storms and then get to drive towards not one, but two rainbows when it's all over.

....where the pick-ups our friends drive amaze us to no end!!

And in our first shopping trip to one of our favorite discount stores (where Debbie saved $20 on her power shopping spree just by applying for a credit card!! Love it!!) we found some great pajama pants that literally, were YELLING "Debbie!!! Dena!!" from the moment we walked into that wonderful store!!

BFFs....in FLAMINGO PAJAMA PANTS....

You really....gotta just love it!!!

Here's wishing you all a wonderful, save $20 kind of day.

And after this post, I'm back on the road again, headed towards home....back to no wireless for a bit...so until I find some....take care!

...and this is why I don't like to "pre-post"...what the frick??

So...here it is...Sunday...I'm borrowing my brother's computer, hoping that the new netbook little computer thingamajigee that I ordered will be here soon...getting caught up on e-mail messages, Facebook updates and all that is going on with Perez....and I did a quick check and found out that my Flamingo Friday, that I had pre-posted did NOT actually post.

Why?

No clue.

Do I actually care?

Well....a little, but....meh. I have a cold beer very near, the smell of rain is wafting through the windows, and I'm thinking that dinner (of which I had absolutely nada involvement in the making) will soon be done aaaannnnddd...I do believe that I hear the sound of chips being opened up which means dip canNOT be far behind!!!

AAaaahhh....'tis great to be here!!!

So.....a little Flamingo Friday....on Sunday.

If the Gods and Goddesses were smiling on us

and

the planets and moons and stars were doing their celestial magic.....

there is a good chance I might possibly be

drinking one of these....
out of one of these....

Because, really....it's my vacation and

I truly belong here...
But...just in case I'm not drinking one of those in one of those really cool glasses (actually, it'll probably be a Corona, in the bottle, on my mom's patio!)...it doesn't really matter...because I'll be
in the States....and that's where I need to be
right now, for just a bit!!

My postings might be a bit sporadic for the next few weeks...
but we'll be back!!
And I'll be rested and (hopefully) tanned and ready to rock!!

Have a really great day!!

More evidence that proves it really is time for Debbie to take a vacation

Yesterday....was a less-than no-energy day. After my afternoon class left, I made myself totally horizontal on the sofa with the remote control in one hand and a glass of iced tea within reach of the other. Not a lot happening on afternoon TV so I was surfing around.

I came across a movie.

A Korean movie.

With Japanese subtitles.

So I watched it for awhile.

(May I take this time to remind you that I don't speak Korean or read very much Japanese at all?!)

Here's what I could catch (or what I thought I caught) from the story:

There was a young couple.

He builds houses.

She worked in an office and may have had a fling with her boss....who now has a slinky woman who spends a lot of time half-sitting/half-laying on his desk. The slinky woman is a bitch.

There's another woman...maybe the man's.....sister (?). Her oldest son is in jail and she thinks he is stupid.

The girls comes from a rich family.

She finds out she has alzheimer's.

She doesn't want to tell her husband, but he finds a note from her doctor and he goes to get the scoop...the doctor smokes a lot in his office and needs to clean his desk.

They decide that even though she is sick, they love each other and they will be strong together.

He puts notes all over the house to remind her about things.

He gets the crap beat out of him. Why? I don't know, but I think it has something to do with that bad guy in jail.

The girl's illness gets worse....she leaves...he finds her...she doesn't remember who he is, but she does recognize his cologne, which is enough for him.

Okay....so at this point....Issei comes home from school.

And there I am....on the sofa....with tears just running down my face.

Issei: Mom? Are you okay?

Mom: Yes, I'm okay. This is just really sad.

Issei: What are you watching?

Mom: I'm not sure....it's Korean.

Issei: What's going on?

Mom: I don't know.

Issei: Why are you crying?

Mom: It's soooo saaaaaaaaad.

Issei: How do you know?

Mom: I don't.

Issei: Ooooookay.

And then I flashed on one of my favorite scenes from one of my all-time favorite movies, The Big Chill.....

What are you watching?

I don't know.

What's going on?

I'm not sure, but...the man in the hat did something bad.

With that scene in my head, I thought of my "I bet we can say more movie lines than you and your BFF can"-friend, Dena...and I started laughing.

With that....Issei went to his room....to do homework...leaving his crazy mother on the sofa.

**********************

Here are some pictures that we took from the 4th of July. Yeah, yeah, yeah....just a few days after the fact...but...I can't be bothered with trivial matters just as that....I have packing for our vacation (which starts in 5 days!) to procrastinate!

Make a Smilebox photobook

And yes....I think I've posted this one before...but, really...it's so good. I needed to post it again!!
Happy Friday, everyone!! Have a great weekend!!!

Happy Birthday, Littlest Man in My Life

Yesterday, the Gods and Goddesses were smiling upon us and gifted to us glorious weather in which to celebrate the birth of a great nation....and the birth of a great little boy!!

Saturday, the sun was shining....the sky was mostly clear...and a cool breeze kept us from getting too hot. We loaded up in the car and headed over to the military base about an hour and a half away, in Sasebo. On the 4th of July, part of the base is open to anyone and everyone and, as I told the K-Man, "This--is the way many people celebrate in the U.S."

There were so many things going on....games, quizzes, attractions, performances, incredible food and, oh be still my heart, Corona beer. A great day spent Americana-style! We all had a great time. We took many pictures but will save them for another post...soon. Today's post....is about the youngest here at Kamp Kuroiwa.....Mr. Koji.

As part of my mission to get stuff organized, I have been going through file after file on the many photo CDs that I have, looking at old pictures and there are just so many I have saved. I have realized that the full CD disc of pictures of now is the old cardboard box full of loose photos and empty albums of a few years ago--it's just not as messy...or as fun to go through, but that's beside the point.

One of my blogging buds did something that I thought was a great idea and I am going to blatantly steal her idea for this particular post (because it works so well, ya know!). Thanks, Suz!! You know I love ya!!

In honor of Koji's 7th birthday.....

Koji's 1st birthday....

**BLINK**

Koji, July 4, 2009

Koji and Issei....Sept. 2002
**BLINK**


July 3, 2009

September, 2002

**BLINK**


July 4, 2009

October, 2002

**BLINK**

May, 2009

July 4, 2002....just a few hours old

**BLINK**


June, 2009

My, oh my, but how the time does fly!!!

Happy Birthday, Little Man....We love you!!

Happy Birthday, America!

I don't know what it is about this video exactly.

The strong, beautiful voices?

The incredible scenery?

The American flags blowing in the breeze?

The Statue of Liberty standing so tall and proud?

The words to the song itself?

Maybe a lovely combination of every element plus a few I can't put a name to.

Whatever the reason....this video never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

God bless America....land that I love.

I can almost hear the mold growing on my shoes

Remember when I vowed a few months ago that I would try to be more like this.

Well....last night...sometime between 1:00 a.m. and the time I woke up...Little Miss Sunshine? Yeah....she got her butt kicked to the curb by this little lovely.

We can blame it on the rain
(that hasn't seem to stop for very long over the past 5 days or so...ergo the light dusting of mold on pretty much every pair of shoes and various other items in the house).
We can blame it on the humidity that has made everything just kind of sticky.

(The hell it reeks on my hair is enough to make the strongest of women...and maybe even some men...cry.)

We can blame it on the excruciating headache that I woke up with and didn't get rid of until about noon...after large doses of meds.

We might even blame it on a particular 6-almost-7-year-old (who is going through some kind of "I am Koji, hear me roar" kind of stage, among other things) and his 11-year-old, oh so very patient (NOT) older brother who is dealing with his own as-yet-to-be-named angst.

Or how about the fact that the three of us are leaving in about 13 days and the idea of packing suitcases has just been a fleeting one.

Whatever the reason.....

.....it was not a very pretty day.

*************
"Are you talking to me?"



"Are you.....talking.....TO ME?"



Just for the record....thanks to some incredibly wonderful ladies this afternoon in a very successful "Circle of Friends Chatting Class", I felt much better!!
We had Poppy Seed Cake and Lemonade (Thanks again, Hula!!)
and
all was right with the world.

Have a great 4th of July weekend!!

If it's not raining tomorrow, we are possibly headed to the park near the military base over in Sasebo to join their annual blow out!! Good music, great food and fireworks....I'm praying for clear skies!!!

...and the adolescent that lives in me? yeah. she giggled.