if nothing, i'm consistently inconsistent

for some reason, i find emailing, texting, blogging, facebooking, etc to be so hard.  i don't know why that is but i definitely struggle to keep up/in touch via those means.  oh, and the phone.  so basically, if you want to know what is going on in my life, come visit ;)

exciting (ok, maybe that's a strong word) goings on:

it's been beautiful weather, minus the humidity of course.  i went snorkeling this past saturday and it was so beautiful underwater.  the water was really rough so i did get a touch of motion sickness.  it could have been really bad but i made it out of the water without losing my lunch.

i'm crazy busy at work with clients, upcoming inspections, trainings, and lots and lots of paperwork.  it's nice to be busy but now it's getting to be too busy.  it all depends on the day though.  some days, i have a bunch of "no shows" and get lots of stuff done.  of course on the days i hope people will "no show," everyone makes their appointment.

i'm (trying) to study for my upcoming certification test.  nothing makes me procrastinate more than school work.  i have serious anxiety about it but find a million other things to do instead of studying.  tonight i was especially productive;  i avoided cleaning my house AND studying.  

i've watched/seen more movies here than i ever have.  i guess it's how we feel connected to the states.  and everything (except bars) closes early so its the default activity.  my friend is going to set up my xbox to stream netflix then it's really going to be on.

i've come to really appreciate ocean sunsets.  i have an amazing view from my house and try to watch the sun set most evenings.  i wish i had a fancy schmancy camera so my pictures would do the sunsets justice.

i miss everyone like crazy.  it feels like it's been forever since i was in the states but it's only been like 3 weeks.

i really want to go galavanting through asia.  anyone want to meet up for a tour of asia?

update on 31 things

i must say, so far i'm doing much better this year than i did last year.  here's for setting your sights low!


1. hike mt. fuji-done and done
2. live to be 32-in progress; i've survived over a month of being 31
3. make 5 new friends-haven't started yet
4. avoid great white shark breeding grounds (contributed by my bro, Josh)-in process
5. visit at least 3 new countries-haven't started yet
6. get SCUBA certified-haven't started yet; going to take the class after my MAC certification test is over.
7. grow my hair out-in progress; it's to my chin!
8. get a will-haven't started yet
9. get a japanese massage-done
10. go to tokyo disneyland-done
11. go to the states at least once-done
12. get master in addiction counseling certification-in progress; i take my test in 6 weeks...eek
13. read more than i watch tv-in progress
14. save my cost of living money every month-in progress
15. learn basics of japanese-in progress
16. walk the seawall by my house every night-in progress; walked it for the first time last week but haven't been able to since then due to the typhoon.
17. use my vitamix everyday-in progress; not quite daily yet but a lot
18. use less store bought items, make more things myself-in progress; made homemade facial toner.  
19. blog once a week-in progress; you are reading a post right now so that's something.
20. email a friend/family member once a week-in progress; this may be pushing it.  my mom emailed me to say she mailed my boxes and i replied with thank you.
21. actually do the things i pin on pinterest-in progress; see #18
22. get five stars on just dance-in progress
23. read 5 classics-haven't started yet; the memoirs of cleopatra is taking forever to finish.
24. be active in my ward-in progress
25. get laser hair removal-haven't started yet
26. sew one thing-haven't started yet
27. keep a daily gratitude journal-in progress
28. use my craft supplies-in progress; i made an adorable wall hanging with some antique silverware and scrapbooking paper.
29. decorate for every holiday-haven't started yet; to be fair, i was gone for the 4th.
30. only buy things i really love-in progress
31. cut back on dairy intake-in progress; i have to eat all the dairy in my house before i totally commit to being mostly dairy free.

tokyo trip

my friend, amanda, and i decided to go to tokyo with the main goal of hiking mt. fuji but with some other fun things thrown in there, like tokyo disneyland!


here are the highlights of our trip:  


tiniest hotel room ever-

meiji shrine-

summit of mt. fuji-

tokyo disneyland-

31 things in the year of 31

i like to make goals for myself every year on my birthday.  last year i was a bit ambitious (i only accomplished 12 out of 30) so this year i decided to be more realistic.  here are the 31 things i want to do before i turn 31:


1. hike mt. fuji
2. live to be 32
3. make 5 new friends
4. avoid great white shark breeding grounds (contributed by my bro, Josh)
5. visit at least 3 new countries
6. get SCUBA certified
7. grow my hair out
8. get a will
9. get a japanese massage
10. go to tokyo disneyland
11. go to the states at least once
12. get master in addiction counseling certification
13. read more than i watch tv
14. save my cost of living money every month
15. learn basics of japanese
16. walk the seawall by my house every night
17. use my vitamix everyday
18. use less store bought items, make more things myself
19. blog once a week
20. email a friend/family member once a week
21. actually do the things i pin on pinterest
22. get five stars on just dance
23. read 5 classics
24. be active in my ward
25. get laser hair removal
26. sew one thing
27. keep a daily gratitude journal
28. use my craft supplies
29. decorate for every holiday
30. only buy things i really love
31. cut back on dairy intake

my birthday in pictures

typhoon time!

okinawa is located in what they call "typhoon alley" which means we are supposed to get quite a few typhoons.  i was excited for typhoon mawar so i could experience my first typhoon.  mawar was a huge disappointment.  in fact, during the time mawar was supposed to be coming through, it rained less and was nicer than it has been in weeks!  we are getting another typhoon tonight, typhoon guchol.  apparently he is headed straight for okinawa but things change on a dime around here so i'm not holding my breath.  i'm not going to lie, it would be awesome to be sent home from work or told to stay home, watch an awesome storm, and do whatever i want!  my patients keep telling my that typhoons are boring but i would find plenty of stuff to do on a "typhoon day."  i've got a running list including:

-read

-play "just dance" or the "michael jackson experience"

-clean

-craft

-watch movies

-cook

-bake

-eat

-mani/pedi

-blog

-sleep

-skype!

-online shop (let's be honest, i don't need a typhoon to help me find an excuse to hit up amazon.com)

-actually do the things on my "to do" list

-work on my karaoke

-work out

-sort through my clothes

-make concoctions in my vitamix (i'm obsessed!)

-write in my journal

-learn how to sew

-stretch

as you can see, i'm ready for a typhoon!  i also have a ridiculous amount of canned goods and candles.  and bottle water.  and books on my kindle.

6 months, say what?

i have officially lived in okinawa for 6 months now.  i'm a fourth of the way through my contract.  i can't believe how fast time has gone.  i still feel like i'm brand new to the island.  i need to start seeing more of the island so another 6 months doesn't pass and i'm still pretending i have tons of time to do stuff.

i did go snorkeling yesterday with some friends.  i bought my own snorkeling gear and can i just say, who knew snorkeling gear was that pricey?  i wasn't prepared for the prices but i figure that when i get scuba certified, i'll already have most of the stuff i need.  fyi, okinawa is in the top 10 best diving spots in the world.

we went to cape maeda, which is pretty close to my house.  cape maeda is where they do a lot of scuba lessons.  when we got there, there were SO many people getting in and out of the water but we were able to swim away from the crowd.  it was so pretty.  i find snorkeling to be really peaceful.  until one of the guys grabs my fins and freaks me out.  the water is unbelievably clear and the coral is beautiful.  i can walk two blocks from my house and go to a great snorkeling spot.  

after snorkeling, we went to a place called american village.  it's an huge shopping center with restaurants, stores, and a place called "doctor fish."  doctor fish is a place where you put your feet in a tub of water with freshwater carp and they nibble off your dry skin.  it's the weirdest feeling.  i took a video but stupid blogger won't let me upload it.  here is a picture instead.

we also went to a restaurant where you sit around a grill and cook your own food.  it's all you can eat and most of the items on the menu are meat products.  the guys thought this was heaven.  it's pretty good but WAY too much meat for my taste.  i swear, i sweat grease after i eat there.