The Countdown Has Begun!!!

Well, we now have less than six, yes six months left here on our little island in the middle of the ocean. I really can't believe how quickly our time here has gone. It probably has a ton to do with how busy Nate and I have kept ourselves and also... we have really great friends here.

We were back in the states for 32 days in Nov/Dec this year, and it was great! Really makes me look forward to our move back! We spent Thanksgiving with our families, but the majority of time was spent traveling all over tarnation for Nate's residency interviews. (He's applying to pediatric dentistry residencies.)

So, Christmas has passed and new years is right around the corner. I must admit, I am really happy that this is our last year to spend the holidays so far from home! As great as everyone here is... it's just not the same.

Now it's crunch time to fit in all that we need/want to do before we head back to US soil... so perfect time to come up with a list!

TO DO:
Find out where we are moving.
Deborah visits.
Sell a bunch of stuff at the flee market.
Vietnam/Cambodia trip. Mar 2-9
Ishigaki Island trip aka... ClubMed. MLK weekend
China trip.
Ann visits?
Clean out closets one more time.
Whale watching tour.
Motorboat course.
Advance Open Water Diver course.
See more of the Ryukyu Golden Kings.

ETD from Oki... mid June. Nate's last day of military commitment is June 23, 2010! Orders should be arriving soon!

Japanese Fish Print

Nate and I recently went spearfishing (where I speared my first fish)... and I also got the chance to try my first attempt at Japanese fish printing. I had done this very briefly back in high school (10 years ago) and it was with rubber fish. So... all in all it turned out ok. In the future I need to get better ink and also better cloth... not one of Nate's old white t-shirts! But it was a lot of fun and plan on giving it another shot soon!



cleaning the fish with vinegar and sea salt





inking the fish



cloth is layed over the inked fish and then you rub to transfer the ink

my finished product



Typhoon Chaba

Typhoon Chaba is headed towards Okinawa!

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/wp201016.html

Not bad... especially if you are really hungry.

For dinner tonight: Chicken Fajitas!
All of these bags of goodness came in the big one.



Get to know why MRE's are good for you!



 

Before the Mexican Rice was ready to add.



Meal, Ready-to-Eat!
I am not sure where our cheese or tortillas were, but Nate had mentioned something about how the cheese was not very healthy! haha

 I was actually quite surprised that the meal was not that bad! Nate said the snack crackers are an even blend of Cheez-its and Cheese Nips. I had the Irish Coffee and that was pretty much spot on to your local gas station coffee/cappucino (in a good way).

Japanese Fish Prints

So if you have not gotten the memo, Nate is obsessed (yes, obsessed) with spear fishing. He has developed a real love for the sport. I love it too... not the spearing of the fish, but I love watching how passionate he is about his new favorite hobby and also the fish are delicious!

Anyway, the real reason for the post... Nate has had three of his catches printed by a local Okinawan fish print artist and they have turned out really cool.

Well, when I was in high school I learned how to make fish prints with fake, rubber fish. I actually had told Nate that I would like to try and print one of his fish. Then one of our friends found a place that a "professional" could do it for us for a small fee. Needless to say, they picked the pro. Go figure.

Now I am more motivated than ever to learn how to do a proper fish print with a real-life fish. I have been reading about it on the internet and found THIS helpful website and thought that I would share it!

Here are some pics of the spearfishing to fish print process. I will be sure to document when I do my first fish print! Stay tuned...

Bringing his catch (Emperor Snapper) to the surface

At the surface and ready to put on his stringer

Flash forward a day or two... finished print of said fish!

Operation Smile

Here is a little information about Operation Smile
Who We Are: Children’s Charity Organization

Healing children's smiles. Making the world a better place.

At Operation Smile, we measure ourselves by the joy we see on children's faces. We're more than a charity. More than an NGO. We're a mobilized force of medical professionals and caring hearts who provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate.


More than 200,000 children are born with a severe cleft condition each year — often unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile. In some places these children are shunned and rejected. And in too many cases, their parents can't afford to give them the surgeries they need to live a normal life.

That's where we come in. Since 1982, Operation Smile — through the help of dedicated medical volunteers — has provided free surgeries to children around the world. With a presence in over 50 countries, we are able to heal children’s smiles and bringing hope for a better future.


Thanks to the generosity and spirit of volunteerism shown by our supporters, we heal thousands of children per year and, today, more than 150,000 girls and boys have a new chance at a new life because of our work. With your help, how many lives can we change tomorrow?

Okinawa Style Party in the USA

A group of local teens made this video for the Far East Drama Contest! It is really entertaining and if you have not been to Okinawa.... it gives you a peek at a lot of different parts of the island. Enjoy!

catching up with photos...

Tootsa doing what she does best

On the trolley on the way to Rog & Amanda's reception!

The bride and groom on their special day! May 22, 2010

June 10, 2010 - Happy Birthday, Nate!

Family vacation 2010 to Turks & Caicos

Emily came to visit Okinawa in May 2010!

Climbed Mt. Fuji - July 2010

Monsy hanging out

Tokyo March 2010 - Cherryblossoms at Ueno Park!

The Sengs visited Okinawa! July 2010

Our campsite for Nate's birthday weekend.

Typhoon Kompasu

After spending the majority of the day waiting for Typhoon Kompasu to hit (currently is), I have spent plenty of time on the internet. Go figure.
I have found that I have not posted a blog post in quite some time!

Lots has been happening here in Okinawa...

I recently got back from my last buy trip to Thailand. I have one more trip to China for work and that will be my last and final buy trip! Sad... but it's time.  My travels for the gift shop have included 4 trips to Thailand, 2 trips to the Philippines, 1 to Vietnam, and now 3 trips to China.

Nate was planning on deploying up to Camp Fuji today, but plans got delayed due to Kompasu's arrival. He should be heading out tomorrow or Thursday for a couple weeks. Despite the promise of having to climb Fuji for the second time this summer, he is VERY excited to head up to mainland. He has been told there will be opportunities for live fire, grenade throwing, etc... All things guys love to do!

We have about 10 months left on island! It truly has been amazing how quickly our time on our little island here has gone. We look forward to spending the last months here traveling, hosting visitors, & just enjoying this little place we call home for now!

Like I always say... I will do my best to keep up at posting!

Tootsa Turns One!

Support Team Thompson

Ann will once again be participating in the Race for the Cure Indianapolis in April!

Support Ann, Craig, Ella & Makenna!!

Back from Thailand!

Nate and I arrived back to Okinawa yesterday with news of an earthquake and tsunami possibly on it's way! It turned out that the tusnami didn't hit Okinawa, but a small tsunami did hit northern mainland Japan.

We had a wonderful trip to Thailand and will have many pictures to send out once they are uploaded! Some of the highlights of our trip:

Chiang Mai
-going on a trek
-laying with big tigers
-Nate bottle feeding a baby monkey
-Nate getting two suits made by a tailor:)
-eating grasshopers and worms: (

Phuket
-SCUBA diving off the coast of Phuket
-taking a speed boat trip to Phi Phi and Khai Island (we went to Maya Beach where the movie The Beach was filmed
-renting a scooter and exploring the island for a day

Bangkok
-going to seeMuay Thai fights (Thai Boxing)

It has been a while since we have been in touch with a lot of people! We hope that everyone is doing well and we look forward to catching up with everyone !!!!!!!!

Our February donation has gone to Oceana. Check out their website if you are interested!

He's a Spearfisher

Here are some shots of Nate's spearfishing adventures!

He calls these big daddy and little guy... not sure what type of fish they are.

Grouper on the left & a parrot fish on the right

up-close on the teeth

Another grouper....

 Nate & Ray at Okuma with their fish.... 3 of these were Ray's.

Nate with his gun & a stringer of parrot fish.

Helping Out Where We Can

So with the New Year comes resolutions ... and of course we all have/had them. I had been trying to figure out what Nate and I were going to do for other people this year as part of our resolution.

Well things got busy and my plans got pushed to the side .... until one day on Facebook (go figure) I came across a post by Kate Weikert that Susan had re-posted to her wall. It was a lovely note Kate had written about (I am doing her eloquent writing no justice) giving and donating what you can, when you can. No gift is too small. To make a long story short ... what she wrote inspired me to get back on track with my "what we can do for other people" part of my resolutions. (If you would like to read what she wrote just let me know and I will email it to you.)

After talking with Nate about this we have decided that we are going to make monthly donations to charitable organizations that benefit areas in crisis or anything that relates personally to our lives or anyone we know at that time. We decided upon a money range that we would donate each month. Then came the hard part of finding which charity to donate to (there are tons of them) and so on. In Kate's post she had mentioned Charity Navigator, so I headed to the internet and spent some time researching on http://www.charitynavigator.org/. There is so much helpful information there! Please check it out!

In the wake of the Haiti earthquake we have decided that we wanted to support the people of Haiti and the many people who are helping this tragedy for our January donation.
We finally decided upon the Save the Children organization and their "Haiti Earthquake- Children in Emergency Fund "

We plan to post each month what charity we will be donating to and also their website if you are interested in donating or just learning more about the organizations we choose.

Help out where you can! Donating blood is also a great way to give! If you have been to any "third world" countries you will be turned away. Nate and I are not qualified to donate at this time. :(

FYI... A lot of companies will match your donations! If you donate, check to see if the company you work for takes part of that specific organizations matching program.

Just a little fun fact: You can provide a family with a goat for only $30!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010!

Nate and I rang in the New Year at our apartment with friends.

We watched cool fireworks from our porch. So pretty! I love how much the Japanese love fireworks!

Happy New Year to all!