Bootcamp-Week 6

6 weeks ago I signed up to do an intense workout program called "bootcamp." It is normally 3 months long, but in my moment of insanity I signed up for a second session meaning I will be in it a total of 6 months!! Many people told me not to expect results right away. They warned me that you may even gain weight in the beginning as you build muscle mass. They were so right! Tha past 6 weeks have been so discouraging as I didn't lose ANYTHING.

Out of nowhere this week I LOST 5 POUNDS!!! I am so excited! I have 15 to go to get back to pre-pregnancy weight. I am trying to think of rewards to set for myself as I hit 120, 115, and 110 lbs. We have a fabulous place here where you can get amazing nail art done like this:




I also considered getting myself a new bottle of perfume or one of the 1 hour massages they offer on base for $30! What a deal! I already know I am for sure getting a photo session done just of me once I reach my ultimate goal. I had a photo session done of myself right before Steven got home from his last deployment because I had been working out HARD (2 hours plus a day) while he was gone. I sent him the pictures while he was still in Iraq. Then, less than a month later we were pregnant with Gwen. I want to have another set of photos taken when I reach my goal. I still look at those photos from back then as motivation.

100 Yen Creations

I got this little bottle at the 100 Yen store. It is very similar to the Starbucks Frapuccino bottles, but easier to find around here and cheaper too! 100 yen is about the equivalent of 1 US dollar. Our 100 Yen stores are FAR better than US Dollar stores. I made this bottle for my friend whose husband deployed. I still haven't decided if I would like to give her the version with a photo or without. Obviously that is me in the picture and not her. I would like to go print out a picture we took of their family recently, but 1) I haven't done that yet and 2) I want to do everything possible to keep their family safe during this deployment so I would prefer not to post an actual picture of them. Therefore, you get to see me instead so you get an idea of what it would look like finished either way.

I ran 2 different sizes of the Nestabilities Large Rectangle scallops through my Big Kick to make the frame for the photo as well as the stamped image. The image comes from the retired 2003 Stampin' Up set "Simple Somethings" and the sentiment is from the Close to My Heart set "Say It in Style." Both are stamped in Close to Cocoa and colored in with Stampin' Pastels.

World's Largest Tug-of-War

What is this baby so happy about?


Her new zoo toy of course! This thing is bound to drive any parent insane, but Gwen sure does love that little penguin she has in her hand. The little track turns on it's own and she loves throwing any toy (or non-toy object) she can find on it to watch it go around. Gwen has also learned to shake her head "no" vigorously. Everything is "no." She always coincidentally does it at such perfect times that Steven and I are usually rolling on the floor laughing.

Do you see this cutie?! Keep him and his mommy and daddy in your prayers. His daddy found out about a week ago that he will be leaving this upcoming week to go to Afghanistan for a YEAR! This little man will be 15 months old when he returns. That breaks my heart:

Each October, Okinawa has the world's largest Tug-of-War festival. We went today. It is hard to get pictures as you are pretty much focused on trying not to get crushed by a sea of people the whole time (at least that is what I was trying to do because I am slightly claustrophobic so I was pretty much panicking). Can you believe this rope weighs over 40 TONS?!! I was not able to do the actual tug-of-war part because we had Gwen with us and we kept her in her stroller to keep her from being crushed. It was too hard to move the stroller through the crowd. Steven and our friends Mark and Kaley participated in the Tug-of-War and our side won! Here is a video about the Naha Tug-of-War:

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=pNN97gOcYTE

Family Vacation Time

We went on a family vacation this past weekend. We were able to go to several places I have been dying to go to since we arrived on island including the Churaumi Aquarium, a restaurant called Ufuya ("Big House") where you eat amongst waterfalls, and a local resort called Okuma.

The Aquarium was AMAZING!! The entire thing overlooks the ocean. Gwen was so excited to watch the dolphin show. She even started making fish faces. What a cutie!







Ufuya serves various kinds of Soba, one of the main dishes in Okinawa. My mom didn't like the food, but she liked the atmosphere. Soba is basically big, thick noodles in a broth that has a very, very mild fish flavor. I DO NOT like any seafood or fish and I will definitely eat Soba because the flavor is so mild. Trying to find this restaurant was quite an adventure and I think really showed my mom and Chris what our life is like almost daily with the language barrier. We stopped for directions several times and the local Japanese kept throwing their hands up in the air trying to make gestures to help me with directions. Finally someone drew a Kanji symbol I had seen while driving past a nearby street so I figured out that was the street I needed to take. Once we arrived at the restaurant, the menu was in Japanese as usual. My mom kept asking me what meat was on the various dishes and I told her time and time again that I did not know. She just had to pick a picture on the menu that looked appealing and point to it when the waiter came. :)

Gwen went to her first birthday party- a carnival. It was for Steven's Gunny's 2 year old daughter. Gwen got her face painted with a little heart and all, but it quickly came off when it started raining.

More "Me" Time

So I got a little more "Me" time this afternoon so I made my second card. I made it using the Close To My Heart stamp set "With Love" in SU! Old Olive and Chocolate Chip ink. The rest of the materials were just some extra cardstock and ribbon I had around the house from scrapbooking.

Creative Session

While my mom and Chris have been here, I have been able to spend a little time crafting. I also got my Stampin' Up order in the mail so I sat down and whipped out a card. This is my first-ever card so be nice. It took about 10 minutes. I hope to really get into this more:

My mom and I also painted these adorable ghosts yesterday!