Bye 2012!

Happy New Year friends! 2012 flew by, didn't it? We had a couple of huge events this year. We welcomed our beloved little boy into our lives. I've learned so much about myself because of him. I'm so thankful every day for a happy (usually) healthy little boy. Ryker is exploring and taking in his surroundings at an exponential rate, and his personality is really starting to reveal itself.

We moved into a new home about a month ago and are still unpacking. Most of the house is set up, but I need to spend some time in organizing my studio. This house feels more like a home. And as much of a pain (and expense) as it was to move, the hassle was well worth it.

Do you all have goals for this year? I have a few that I would like to share:

- work out consistently: I feel better when I do. I want to be strong & healthy, not just for myself, but for my little boy
- read more: I did read a bit more in 2012 than in years past, but I would like to continue to add to my reading list
- make more stuff: as in, art, books, knit, crochet, prints, drawings, anything! I miss making things and I find I'm happier when I do. Plus, Japan has a number of cool craft books and kits that I want to try out while I have the opportunity
- blog once a week: I feel like once a week is a reasonable goal, considering everything else I have going on. Taking care of a baby is a full time job. For those moms out there that manage to work, cook, clean, and excel in other areas in addition to raising your babies, I give you major props. I don't know how you do it all.
- work on school consistently: I'm still working towards a certificate in graphic design, although it is taking longer than I ever imagined.

I know my goals may seem selfish...but I've realized that I need to focus on myself to be a better partner to my husband and better mom to my little one.

I hope your year is one of joy and happiness!

kindness of strangers

i went for a walk a few days ago with little ryker in the ergo.  the weather cooled off a bit (still in the 80's though) as the sun began to set.  as we walked along, i described our surroundings to my little boy and pointed out fun things on our route to the grocery store.  in the store, we had many oohs and aahs and exclamations of "kawaii!!" (cute!!) as people saw ryker's blue eyes and drooly grin.  after we paid for our goodies, we headed out...to find the weather took a turn for the worst.  it was raining.  oh well.  i plopped a burp cloth on ryker's head and away we went.  we passed a couple of small shops and apartments.  suddenly, i hear a woman calling "sumimasen! sumimasen!" (excuse me!) behind me.  i stopped and turned to see a small japanese woman running towards me with an open umbrella.  i gladly accepted her kind offer, bowed and said thank you.

i could not believe how kind and considerate a complete stranger was to me.  i was floored.  that one small act made my day.

things i miss about alaska

dry weather - this includes my clothes feeling dry after being put away for a day, towels drying overnight, the lack of heavy thick air. i'm already sick of constantly feeling damp and gross.

cable tv - a luxury, i know. but even having a handful of regular channels without cable would be nice. especially if we didn't have to pay about $500 to get the regular crappy channels. hulu has its moments, but it doesn't work half the time - even though we are paying for the service.

grocery stores 3 seconds from the house - i miss being able to run out to pick up simple things like benadryl, sour cream, half & half, or peas. now, i have to drive 20 minutes to find out that the store is out of sour cream - for 3 weeks straight.

healthy dog food - it was nice to have a selection of good meals for my pups. if we wanted to mix stuff up, we could try something new. now, we order food a month out and hope it gets here on time. feeding our pups healthy food is just as important as feeding ourselves & our soon to be born baby good food.

coffee - lattes on every street corner and good coffee availability (steamdot and kaladis). not that i've been able to drink coffee due to the pregnancy, but having to wait 4 years for a decent latte instead of a couple more months is depressing.

our local breakfast place - being able to throw on some sweats and drive a minute up the road to have some delicious greasy spoon chow was the best.

lack of mold - the disgusting mold that grows and regrows constantly and makes us sick is probably the most frustrating and soul sucking part of living here. we clean and clean and clean - it seems like we clean everything all the time, to the point that we don't have time to enjoy ourselves.

our old house - i loved our house. there were so many memories wrapped up in our home - it's where we got engaged, where we brought home our puppies vito & mia. i knew we wouldn't be there forever, but i guess i just wasn't quite ready to let go.

winter - the snow and ice and cold is something i miss more than i anticipated. i actually like the cold. i like wearing sweaters and drinking hot drinks. playing in the snow with the dogs was a blast. freshly fallen snow is beautiful.

and of course my family & friends. no explanation needed....i just miss them.

collection of thoughts

you guys, it is raining sideways outside right now. like pouring buckets, howling wind, the whole nine yards. and it's one of the things i like about living on a tropical island.

*****

i've been working on my graphic design classes and just finished a class on design & composition. i took quick a few art classes in college, and most of them seemed to expect that i possess an innate ability to know what a good composition is without anyone ever telling me. this particular class was SO helpful - very straight forward and clearly stated explanations. here's a couple of projects i turned in:

the first two are addressing different kinds of negative space, using the theme "ode to bicycles"

the second image is a poster for a "mostly mozart" concert. i used images on flickr, found under the creative commons license.

what do you think?

*****

last night, during another bout of insomnia, i was perusing some websites and guess what? i found a doula on island who teaches a natural birth class!! just in time too...my due date is coming up quickly. i am so excited to start the class and relieved to have found another way to approach childbirth, rather than the negative stories that i addressed here.

feeling "crabby"

source

i'll admit it...since the big move, i've been a bit of a hermit. in some ways, i guess i didn't realize how much a move like this would affect me. i'm sure a big part of the emotions i'm working through has to do with crazy pregnancy hormones, but another part is simply that i am an introvert. a home body. i like being at home...and am comfortable talking to my pups and my growing belly.

i haven't exactly been motivated lately either (as you can see by my lack of posting). i've never had the opportunity to relax and be lazy - there's always been school, a job, projects to work on, social calls, and occasionally, sleep. i tried to cram more into each day than time allowed. but, after being on this planet for 30 years, i think it's okay to allow myself some time to digest my feelings.

have you experienced a big move? how did you cope? do you have any tips?

the story of nozomi

as most of you know, i have a soft spot for dogs. over the last couple of years, hubby & i have come across a number of lost dogs and have done our best to get them back to their owners. about a month after we arrived on island, hubby took our pups out for their morning bathroom break. a few minutes later, he is calling for me to help him. i put our two pups in their kennels and a moment later, hubby brings in a medium sized dog with long, dirty, matted fur and no collar. she was jumpy and seemed to be a bit afraid of hubby.

i sat on the floor and beckoned to her in a soft voice and she immediately came over and allowed me to pet her. we wondered how long she had been out on her own. as we spent some time with her, we assumed she must have been someone's pet. we fed her and gave her a bath, as well as attempted to groom her - cutting out the matted chunks of fur. let me just say, she had kind of a bad haircut by the end of it. but at least she was clean.

we started making phone calls and trying to get information about where to take her and how to find her owner. turns out, the resources for saving animals are practically none existent. there is an adoption service run by volunteers that deal mostly with puppies & kittens. the vet and kennel on base was no help. the stray facility located off base (even had STRAY in the title) wouldn't take strays found off base. the local pound would only keep an animal for 5 days and then the animal is put down. we were trying so hard to do a good thing and kept running into walls and red tape. so we took her to a vet off base and had her checked out - she didn't have a microchip, was given her first set of shots, was dewormed, and tested for heartworm. unfortunately she tested positive for heartworms; however, the vet was very confident that she would recover with treatment.

after all that she had been through, i decided she needed a name - so i chose "nozomi" which means hope in japanese. we started contacting our small group of friends to get the word out about getting her adopted. as much as we wanted to keep her, it wouldn't be fair to her considering we already have our two pups plus a baby on the way. word got around quickly and we found a family who was willing to foster her until we found a permanent home for her. shortly after she went to her foster home, another family heard her story and gave her a furever home!

sweet nozomi

hooray internet!

hello blogland! we made it to okinawa, safe and sound. after a long and trying month, we have a home and a few adventures under our belts. we just had our internet installed (thank goodness!) and are slowly getting unpacked and organized. since i just found all seven seasons of the gilmore girls, the house organizing is now coming along at a snail's pace. but that's okay with me.

after staying a night in seattle, we started a 26 hour trip to this little island. while the flights were long, we were primarily concerned with our pups welfare. this airplane ride was their first experience flying...and they made it through with flying colors. they are much more resilient than i gave them credit for and am so relieved that they are alright. i'm pretty sure mia and vito have adjusted to okinawan life easier than i have.

we decided to live off base and found a wonderful 3 bedroom home. its so different from homes in the states, partially due to the fact that pretty much every building is made from concrete. one of these days, i'll take some pictures - but it's far too cluttered now :)

i'm 24 weeks into my pregnancy today and things are going well. i have nice bump growing and the baby is kicking quite often. seems to kick more when i eat chocolate....maybe a girl? :) we still haven't found out whether the baby is a boy or a girl and don't plan to unless the doc slips up.

hopefully i'll have some new posts coming up shortly...i do have a few stories to share. i can't wait to catch up on your blogs too!