Another Lazy Sunday Update

I meant to get over here and write something a week ago, but my ADD got in the way and I just today remembered, and have my laptop open in front of me. I also changed the actual URL for the blog, which I'll go into below. So here we go with an update!


- Remember how I was sick for a couple weeks? I seemed to get better for almost a week, then whatever it was came back again and knocked me out for *another* week. Ardeo told me to go the doctor, but I never got around to it (notice a pattern?!)... I did, however, get over it and have been fine for almost a week now. Bonus news: I was the only one in the house to get sick AT ALL! The Lysol has been dispensed liberally all over the place and I think we'll all be just fine now.

- Also, remember that I told you about us quitting smoking? Yeah, we're still not smoking! I think my being sick helped me in that I only used the gum for a week or so, got sick and just -quit- because going upstairs for more gum was just.too.much.effort that week. Ardeo is still using the gum - he had to get another box of the 4mg; he discovered that 2mg is still not strong enough for him to use exclusively - and together we've only given in a few times. Fortunately, those times were excellent reminders for us, and now we both agree that we cannot believe we smoked for so many years. It really does taste like an ashtray! (I think I had a hard time accepting that as fact, even though I'd heard it from *so* many people over the last 20 years. But it is so true!!) So here's my honesty: since 9/9/10, a date that's easy to remember!, I have smoked four cigarettes and regretted each one. Three of those happened while I was up visiting Mom over a long school weekend, so I can only tell you about myself there; Ardeo said he bought a pack over that same weekend, but I think it lasted him a week or more. One pack used to only last us one day, so that's still good in its own way.

- While I was sick I managed to get a lot of reading out of the way. I enjoy reading, but over the last 7 years or so I hadn't really given myself the time to read anything that I liked (as opposed to kids' books, you know). I have an iPod Touch that's a couple years old and *loaded* with apps. One I recently found is iBooks; I have at least 25 books on my virtual shelf and have slowly worked my way through about half of them. The most recent one - I read it in its entirety this weekend - is The Book of Adam by Robert M. Hopper. {Click the author's name to purchase a hard copy from Amazon} I only wanted to mention this here to remind myself to write a little more about the books, and iBooks.

- The kids are doing really well in school:
We're waiting for the boy's report card to come home, although I can see his grades online through a site called Infinite Campus. (That's a link to their home page, which is different from where I sign in to view both kids' schedules and grades. Not all districts use this site, to my knowledge.) We know what his report card will say, but I'll still have to sign a hard copy for the school. They just finished up a food drive at his school so I'm expecting the card to come home tomorrow. Since a new quarter began a week ago, his schedule has changed for two classes. He's had to drop Lego Robotics (replaced by Geological Studies), in which he earned a 90/B. He *loved* this class! It's just what it sounds like - they built little robots with legos, then attached little motors to the robots and programmed them to make it through an obstacle course. During open house night, I got to see some pictures from class while we parents wandered the room and listened to the teacher. It looked like fun! It also reminded me of my own Industrial Arts class in 7th grade, which later came in very handy when I went to trade school for HVAC/R.
Anyway, the other schedule change was from Life Skills (i.e. balancing a budget and career options, with a dash of Home Ec) to Art. He earned a 72/D in Life Skills, but it was solely due to missing homework/classwork - some things haven't changed. He loves to draw, and had this Art teacher last year, so I think he's looking forward to having a doodling class for 9 weeks. He should get an A, again, just like last year! At his age, an A is worth $5... if he gets a D, he owes us $2, so he's still getting life skills! :D
I had scheduled a conference with the girl's teacher last Monday, but she was out sick (it's that time of year already!). The teacher sent home the papers we'd have gone over, let me know I could contact her with any questions or concerns, and I could sign and send the packet back in the next day. I've emailed her teacher a few times since the start of the school year, and she is so great and so easy to get/keep in touch with, so this was not a problem at all! As expected, this child is scoring very high on tests taken so far for the year and is breezing through her homework when she has any. (She gets that from her father - I did *not* do so well in any school year! LOL) By the end of second grade, each child in her school has a goal of 50 Accelerated Reader points earned. So far, Miss Hurricane has 20.2 points and averages 97.9% on each quiz she takes (again, that'd be her father's DNA showing); we're only 2 months into the school year, so I think she'll make the goal by Spring Break.

- I mentioned up top about changing the URL for this site. It was a small change I made sometime in the last week, but I don't remember exactly what prompted it. I think I was poking though all the settings looking for something and noticed that I *could* change it. I didn't think about what effect that may have on anything (do I ever look before I leap? Not usually.) but I now see that if you were to type the old URL into your address bar, you're gonna get a blank page that says the site doesn't exist. So, right here is where I'm going to drop all the info so I can still be found! Luckily all my old posts are still linked on the sidebar, and I have them saved on my hard drive, so nothing is/was lost.
The old URL was -> http://amphitrite-and-poseidon.blogspot.com/
The new URL is -> http://amphitriteardeo.blogspot.com/
See, it was a minor change, but big enough to have an effect on anyone who might follow us. Most of my followers are related though =) I love you all!

~*** As of January 4, 2011, I have reverted back to the original/old URL. Sometimes I just get that proverbial 'wild hair', so I changed it; I then found out that it was causing some issues for some readers, so I went back. As you'll see, you didn't miss that much! ***~

I think this is long enough for one day. I'm going to post this and get on writing about that book - I loved it - and looking for more by the same author! *adds yet another name to the reading list*
Halloween pics should come within a couple weeks (since you know I'm behind on pictures as well... another story for a different day!).
Namaste!
~Amphitrite + Ardeo

A video, for fun

I'll admit to giggling like a fool when I found this one... in honor of Halloween coming up, and to go along with my picture for the month, I give you a classic song:



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♫♪ Giddy-up [a-oom-boppa-oom-boppa-mauw-mauw]
Giddy-up [a-oom-boppa-oom-boppa-mauw-mauw] ♪♫

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I think that has to be my absolute favorite part of the song. It also reminds me of my uncle Freddie (Dad's cousin, not Fred/Grandpa's brother) and a barn dance from years and years ago, which brings a smile to my face without fail. I will try to describe my memory:
Great Uncle Jim (Grandpa's brother-in-law) has a big farm - now run by his sons and grandsons - not too far from where I grew up. We would go visit a few times a year, but every Fall they would hold a barn dance which we attended a few times. Just what it sounds like, family and friends came over to dance and play games, mostly in the barn by the house. Their house is a typical white-with-black-shutters and has a porch the length of the front of the house. The barn I remember is right next to the house, rather than another barn across the street (also theirs), which I believe held some of the machinery.
Anyway, one year - which in doing the math makes me think it was probably 1985? (*maybe* 1986? but I think it was before the Challenger tragedy) - Freddie was having an exceptionally great time dancing to every song. I remember it was already dark outside, but Jim & Ell had all the lights on so everyone could see where we were walking. Bro and I were running around with Freddie's three kids, and I'm pretty sure we were playing hide-and-seek or tag with all the cousins in attendance, but I stopped to get a drink or something just inside the barn. I saw Freddie dancing with Aunt Bo (my mom's sister. I need a bar graph to explain.), my mom and dad were dancing together near him, I saw Dave and Becky dancing, and a few other couples (who are now fuzzy in my mind's eye) all enjoying themselves - "Elvira" is the song that was playing, and I watched Freddie take Bo by the hand and give her a ballroom-dance type of yo-yo move... it's hard to describe, but I smiled at the time and it still makes me smile to this day. I remember that moment getting stuck in my head as, "that is the kind of husband I want! ♥♥"

Freddie died about 15 years ago, when he was only 39. He was always having a good time, he really did love deeply and much, and lived many of his days to the fullest. He was so cool! He raised two excellent men and one lovely lady, and now has 5 grandchildren. He is missed and still loved by many, and I'm glad to have that one magnificently clear memory of his smiling, fun-loving face!

Oopsie - overdue update!

It's not so much an "oopsie" as "too much has happened, so I haven't even thought about writing anything" if I'm being honest here.
What has happened since my last post:
- Sept. 9, we quit smoking. Still we are ex-smokers! Not sure when we can officially call ourselves "non-smokers", so I'm sticking with EX for a while.
- Sept. 19, my paternal grandpa got a helicopter ride to the hospital two blocks from here. I live about halfway between him and his birth city, and he still has family there, so was visiting. He turned 85 a few months ago; he's also had a few bypass surgeries over the last 20 years, but is otherwise as healthy as can be. He was hanging out with his younger brother when he felt funny, and said so. Uncle Fred called his local hospital, who decided that they should send him here (two hours away by car) where the heart center is better equipped. I found out that Grandpa was in town after my parents and Dad's sisters all arrived at the hospital (because I didn't hear my phone ring... ugh). Mom came here and took me to the hospital to see everyone; it was around 10 p.m. on a Sunday night, and Ardeo was here to stay with the kids. I figured I'd be back by midnight anyway! Long story short - Mom slept here in the hide-a-bed, Dad and Uncle Fred stayed at the hospital, and the girls got a room downtown (I don't have enough room here, otherwise the option would have certainly been offered!); it was a bypass thing, he got a new stent, and was good to go home on Tuesday! I believe he is already back on the golf course as well!
- Sept. 22... the first night I felt sick. I'll spare you the details, but I was sick for almost 14 days. I seriously am not sure even *today* that I'm 100% better, but I am definitely able to function normally now. The downside to this is, I think the boy caught it from me, or at least a little of it. House bleaching starts tomorrow!

Yeah, being sick really took it out of me. Ardeo was in charge of everything while I laid on the couch or in bed, all complainy and sleeping most of the time. But I'm glad to be much better now - I even made dinner on my own tonight! (This is not normally cause for celebration, I just haven't been able to do that much work at once since the day I got sick!)
Lately, the most I'd been able to do was think about posting here for you... that was as far as it ever got until tonight. I've spent the last couple days reading other people's blogs (I'll link them in my sidebar soon) and laughing like a loon over some of the stories.
Okay, so I've just been informed that it is movie night, and the kids want to get this ball rolling! They have the rest of the week off (first Fall Break for this district in the 7 years we've attended!) and so are rearranging our 'schedule' regarding movie night and pizza night. Fun times ahead, and I will do what I can to take/post pictures! (Ardeo still has all the good pics on his computer... I'll get to that soon as I can, too. Promise.)

Love to all,
Be well,
Namaste.
~A~

Want to win some Avon? Check this out:

*****
This is an old post - giveaway ended Oct 15, 2010!
*****

My sister-in-law is giving away some Avon goodies on her site ~ check her site out!

She is giving away THREE different goody bags, and all you have to do is subscribe to ShawnAnn's World via email. Plus, you can get extra entries for other things (follow her on Twitter, retweet the giveaway, "like" her on Facebook, etc.) if you'd like to increase your chances of winning! The giveaway ends on October 15, so you have one month left ~ if you Tweet, you can retweet up to 10 times daily.... and each tweet counts as a separate entry :D

Not enough time for a family update tonight, but I wanted to toss this out for everyone. Click the button above for ShawnAnn's World to go right to the Avon Giveaway, and I'm going to put her button here in the sidebar as well so you can find her anytime. Good luck, and have a great day!

September 9, 2010 - I quit.

Maybe it's still a bit early to say so, but today is Day 5 without a cigarette - only using nicotine gum - and I wanted to mark the date here. Who knows, this may even get me to write a little something every day for the next few weeks!

I did try to quit (cold turkey) 3 years ago but that time didn't stick. Here I go again, and it's a little easier this time around.
I started smoking regularly the summer I turned 12. A few months ago, I marked the start of my 33rd year. That's 21 years too many!
Mister Twister was born a few months after I turned 21, so that seems to be a good number right now and will likely help my mind stay focused on quitting. The kids are already proud of us for not having smoked only a few days yet - it's good to have the little reminders from them about breathing better and all that... they are smart kids!



It feels a little easier this time, and probably because I've known we were going to quit for a few months now. Ardeo and I wanted to quit smoking before the big move, but in the midst of trying to plan and move that far, we never did "get around to it"; the best we did was found nicotine gum on sale for $10 off early in June. We went from saying 'we ought to quit soon' to 'we really should quit now' to 'well, we're poor and this isn't helping' - so I pulled out the boxes of gum for us. 2mg for me, 4mg for him; on Wednesday, 9/8, we smoked the last of our cigarettes before bed.



I've never been the kind who could wake up and *immediately* go out for a smoke. I snore like a man, so I would often wake up with my throat hurting even if I hadn't smoked much the previous day. Thursday morning wasn't bad for me; I think I had Miss Hurricane off to school before I even thought about 'needing' that drug. All day I think I only had 4 or 5 pieces of gum; once it's chewed so many times, it gets very difficult to chew anymore, like any "old gum". There's also the side effect (personally) of heartburn and hiccups. Also, I'm a gum-popper and I can't blow very good bubbles with this stuff!

All righty... today begins Day 5 for us; 4 days was my previous record for not smoking, so I think I'm well on my way. I'll write more tomorrow ~ it's time to get the boy off to school!

Routines

Just a little update today...
August 11, we started a new school year. We have all the kinks worked out of our new morning routines; the kids both go to bed and get up with little problem, neither has missed their morning or afternoon bus, and dinner is always eaten by around 7 (although I'm still shooting for 6 every evening). They have each made 'new' bus friends, and I talk to the other parents every morning too. So far, so good!

Wednesday evening, I needed to turn in a few library books. Well, the car would not start, so that didn't happen. Luckily I was able to renew the books online and avoid overdue fees :) So yesterday, after both kids were off to school, Ardeo and I did a little research to try to diagnose the car problem ourselves hoping it would be an easy fix. We decided that it could be a problem with the fuel pump; the tank is full, yet we couldn't hear the fuel pump doing anything. We walked up to Auto Zone (about 3/4 mile away) to get the manual... Murphy's Law came into play here. They didn't have the manual for *our* model year, but the years *surrounding* it. Came home with a bottle of starter spray stuff (I don't remember, he did all the work) and tried that, which didn't work. Oh well, right? We talked last night about what to do with the car, our options being: ask family who know about cars, ask friends who know about cars, or call a garage and see about having it towed and fixed properly. We are looking at the cheapest option here!! I'm ready to just be done with it, maybe get a new-to-us car (ours is a 1997) and be done with it - or, take the city bus/walk everywhere. Unfortunately we do not have the ability to get a new car, so fixing on the cheap it is... wish us luck!

This morning, I decided to go for a walk in between the kids' buses. That looks funny written out like that - here's how my morning went, and I intend to do this every school morning:
5:40 - I wake up, have my breakfast, make oatmeal for the kids, and enjoy my 30 minutes of news without interruption.
6:20 - wake Miss Hurricane so she can eat and get ready for the bus.
7:05 - her bus leaves. I start walking toward the run-down mall (it's really just a parking lot anymore) to walk around the lot, then back home. [This is .96 mile, according to MapMyRun.]
7:35 - back home before the boy gets up!
7:45 - Mister Twister gets up; he eats, showers if needed, and gets ready.
8:35 - his bus leaves. I walk the other direction and go through the neighbourhood behind us, coming back up a main thoroughfare (with only a bike lane - no sidewalk!) so I can loop back home. [This is 1.8 mile.]
9:15 - I am back home and have almost 2 miles in for the day! Now I can have my second cuppa! :D


Hopefully I sleep well tonight, and maybe I'll take the short walk tomorrow.
Also, I just found what I want for Christmas ~ hey Mom, click that link for 'second cuppa' - I still prefer tea! (Seriously, that's a cute cup, I love it!)

Yummy PG Tips

Have a beautiful, feels-like-autumn weekend!
~Namaste~

Festival Weekend!

Yesterday, the family and I were looking forward to a few things going on in our city this weekend.

First up, the Freshman are moving into their dorms, so we knew traffic and getting around could very well be hairy. (I wouldn't say the city's traffic flow is really set up for this sort of influx of people...) We wanted to stay on our side of town, and if we could help it, stay very far away from downtown!

I knew there was a Greek Festival just up the street (i.e. within walking distance) from us. I found their website and saw the menu, and decided that we should at least go there to have dinner - gyros, Greek salad, spanakopita (I loves me some spinach!), souvlaki... it all sounded *so* good. I also knew that this festival was being sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Church here (which was fine) and that money collected was going to the Shriner's Fund, also totally cool. But when we got to the festival... it looked like there weren't many people there. Our kids were certainly the *only* kids we saw, although they had two bouncy houses in the parking lot. We also saw (outside) a Gyro stand, but not much else. I saw a sign on the door of the temple, and just inside was a table where they were collecting the $2 admission fee. Okay, no problem. We walked in, and Ardeo looked a little further into the building - he said it looked like a Bingo meeting... so we all went back outside (no one in line behind us, only one ahead of us) to talk about this. We decided that it was probably only for members of the church, so we left. The kids (Miss H, mostly) were disappointed because we had talked this up so much, and everyone was really looking forward to going! Since we had no idea what else to do that didn't involve going downtown-ish, we came home to have dinner here.
While cooking dinner, I looked on the website again - and noticed for the first time, that a portion of funds collected were going to the Shriner's Fund, and the rest of the money was going to the church's building fund. Honestly, I felt kinda duped. That info wasn't mentioned *anywhere* at the actual event, nor was it mentioned on the news this week (after the noon news, my NBC affiliate runs a spot highlighting what's happening and coming up around town/not too far from here). Anyway I'd rather have known this before going, because we can get good Greek food in the mall and I know exactly where that money is going! I'll donate to the Shriner's Fund separately... thanks.
(I'm sure that makes me sound like some kind of jerk, but I don't attend any religious services anywhere, therefore I do not want my money going to a church's building fund. A church/temple/mosque/synagogue doesn't have to be big and fancy, for Pete's sake.)

Red beans and rice for dinner, thank you Zatarain's!

After dinner, I did a quick search to see if anything else was going on nearby - especailly if it didn't involve driving through a sea of lost Freshmen! I got lucky, found a community calendar, and found the perfect thing:
Japan Festival!
Started at 3 and was wrapping up around 9 last night, at the same park where my MIL's family has their annual reunion. I knew a secret shortcut :D
So, this festival was put on by the Japan/America Society (of our state - find one near you here), it was only the one day, and I lucked into finding it.
{I don't know if I've mentioned it here, but Miss Hurricane's school has a Japanese teacher; (I asked Mister Twister, and he said it wasn't offered until she got into Kindy in 2008.) she has been learning Japanese at school and really enjoys it. Even I have learned basic phrases, as her sensei sends home a monthly newsletter for parents to help the kids study/remember what they've learned. I think we must have had an influx of Japanese families move to the area recently, but we've also had a Toyota plant near here for about 15 years. Japanese students also learn English during their junior-high years - why not bring their language to our country too? /ADD storytelling}

ANYWAY - it was only 6:30 when I found this festival. Knowing how to get there, I thought 'we could easily be there by 7 or so, that gives us a couple hours, let's go!'. Ardeo didn't feel so well after dinner, but told me to go ahead and take the kids - he knew as well as I did that Miss Hurricane would enjoy it. Mister Twister enjoys Japanese culture from the point of their video games and manga/anime/cartoons, so he wanted to go as well. Sounds good to me!
Off we went. We arrived just after 7, while the koto performance was in full swing. (This isn't the lady who played last night, but here's a video so you can hear it: Japanese Koto) Her music echoed throughout the area, which was situated just beside the lake - it was absolutely awesome, beautiful music! While the kids and I walked around a banjo player started working his magic too. I'm sure everyone knows what a banjo is... :-) He was really good too; I love music, so I enjoyed having some background music as we walked around the festival.
We talked to the lady at the front booth first, who told me a little about where everything was located ('travel to Japan' booth over there, 'try on a kimono' up that way, food is all over here, etc.) when Miss Hurricane shyly said to her, "Konnichi wa." - I told the lady that she was the only one yet learning the language, so she also greeted the kid and then said something we did not understand one bit... LOL I told her "she's only in 2nd grade, I don't think she's learned quite that much yet :D ". She told said kid that's okay, that she was happy to hear of young ones learning Japanese at school, and that she said "Hello" very well - I think that kind of catapulted Miss Hurricane's confidence and interest in trying to at least say the basics to all the vendors we were going to see!
We got a flyer with info on our local Society and walked through the gate (no admission fee - sweet!); immediately to our right we could smell and hear the food cooking up. Remember that I said we'd just finished dinner? The Boy Wonder, who is newly 12, said "That smells good, can we try it?". ...Ha... didn't you just eat, son?! :D I said we'd come back before leaving, I wanted to see everything that was there first. Miss Hurricane just took off on me - walking very fast toward a booth with Hello Kitty items e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. This is akin to this child's idea of "heaven" these days, why would I expect her to wait for us?? LOL
The boy found his wallet and had it with him; she and I looked for 10 minutes to find her wallet, but never did see it. She asked me about 50 different things with amazing speed; again, I said we will come back around, "let's see what they have over here". She stopped at every table/booth to ooh and aah over the things laid out for sale. She also greeted everyone with "Konnichi wa" and told the vendors 'this is pretty!' or 'this looks nice!' or 'that smells good!' (followed by "Mom can I have this pleasepleaseplease?" - child, patience! heh...).
We managed to get over to the free stuff tables, where I was hoping to spend most of our time. We found an origami table (we made a horse - it looked a little sickly due to Miss Hurricane's not-yet-honed folding skills), a taiko teacher (Mister Twister was watching in awe), and a place where anyone could try on a kimono. The kimono booth was where the kids both jumped in and said "I bet they let you keep them!" (this was not the case...) - I only had my phone with me, but the pictures actually came out pretty well! Evidence:

Try on a kimono!

Kimono-clad siblings

Mister Twister-san

Pink obi! :D

She found a fan to borrow!

They did have to return the kimonos after about 10 minutes, which allowed them to have about 30 on hand that everyone could try on for a bit. They also had the sandals (you can even get special socks for the sandals!) if one were so inclined to go all out - and both kids went for it (sockless)! I have to say, I really like the picture of them next to each other. I'll have to keep that one handy for when they start fighting over stupid things... "look, you guys can get along! See?!?" (they typically get along *great*, for which I am totally thankful!!)
I know this is getting really long already, but I'm almost finished. When I tell a story, I try to stimulate your brains as much as I can in the same way a good author can use words to fill your head with a movie-like fluency! (Props to all my English teachers in middle and high school!)

The kids returned their kimonos after the picture-taking, and just one booth to our right they found a little kiddie pool filled with small, round balloons. For $1, you get to go 'fishing' for a yo-yo balloon. Miss Hurricane went after a pink one (of course) while her brother just watched and tried to coach her in the art of balloon fishing. After a few minutes she did 'catch' her balloon; it was tied to a rubberband with a loop, and weighted with a little water inside so it would act like a yo-yo. She told the vender "arigato" and went went on around to the other booths. I managed to keep the kids away from the giant TV hooked up to a Wii!



















The next booth we saw was the 'travel to Japan' one, which was a table with a bunch of brochures laid all over it - the kids walked fast by him... The next booth was personalized calligraphy, again for only $1. Miss Hurricane said Konnichi wa, and the ladies writing grinned from ear to ear and said Konnichi wa right back. They had simple paper fans on which they could write any kanji character (or phrase) we wanted.

All three fans!

"Tiger"

"Cat"

"Beauty"

Guess who owns which fans? :D











While the fans were being beautified with kanji, the Taiko group came on stage. Again, I don't have video of this group, but here is an example for you: Japanese Taiko Drummers. That's a 5 minute video, leave the new tab open and listen while you finish reading here! ;) (I don't know what the girl says, but I think I heard 'itadakimasu' at the end, which sounded familiar - might also mean 'enjoy'? I will ask MH's sensei as soon as I can!) Also, if you saw the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing 2008, that's pretty similar to this.
Now, let me tell you something here - it's one thing to see a video of this, but another entirely to actually *be* there. You can seriously feel every beat vibrate your whole body, even from 50 yards. Totally awesome. (Can you tell I'm a child of the 80's? Just wondered if it shows.) I wanted to close my eyes and feel the music... but, watching both kids I had to keep them open. This looks good for home use: Big Bang (Portland Taiko).
At this point, it was about 8:30 and people started leaving. The last event was a folk dance in which the audience could learn and participate. Mister Twister decided he had to have some food, and even offered to use his own money for it. He got some food and drink while Miss Hurricane and I browsed the few booths still open.



Joseph-Beth had a table there full of manga, and he chose a Naruto book (written in English but still read from right-to-left, or back-to-front in this case). He has liked Naruto for years now, and he did take his time to peruse the books there before finding #48. Ardeo has watched the series (in Japanese, with subtitles) together with the boy, so his buying #48 wasn't just a whim - he's read quite a few from the school library.



Miss Hurricane wanted a few of the Pokemon critters, but being that they were special-issue *and* imported from Japan, they were a bit expensive. I did get that vendor's business card and we just might consult with Santa about that. :) I know we could find other Pokemon products from Amazon, among other places. What we did find for her was a Hello Kitty mask ($5, not bad really), and she thought this *perfectly* complemented her new Neko* fan, so now she wants to be Hello Kitty for Halloween. I just might work on that for her!

*(I know that link is for Maneki Neko, but that's something you'll see if you go out for Chinese food anywhere too!)

Most everyone had left by now, and Mister Twister was still eating. I'm not sure the name of it, but his food did have (cooked!) octopus and squid, and he said he liked both tastes! There were noodles and vegetables too, the seafood wasn't the main ingredient. He got a cold bottle of true green tea (as did I), just like this one:  Ito En (Oi Ocha) Japanese Green Tea, 16.9-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 12).  We usually get those from "our" Japanese grocery on the other side of town; I'm pretty sure this vendor was from their restaurant part of the building.  Miss Hurricane wanted some sort of peach drink, although it looked and tasted more like strawberry - it was carbonated and sweetened, but she didn't like it, so the kids traded drinks.  Again, I'll have to take the empty bottle up to her school and ask her sensei, because it is written entirely in Japanese.  I liked it as well, but she and I enjoyed the green tea better.

All in all, we had a great time!  Ardeo was sorry he missed out on it, but even when we got home around 9:30 he still wasn't feeling very well.  I was sad knowing that it was only a one-day festival; the three of us definitely wanted to go back today had the festival still been there!
I hope you enjoyed reading about this little piece of Japan here, and maybe I tossed out some links that you'll enjoy too.  On a related note - I now think it might be more fun to learn Japanese rather than Spanish... or, I suppose I could shoot for a linguistic trio!

I am already looking for something to do this coming weekend. The kids have labor Day weekend (Sa/Su/Mo) soon but we may go up to Mom's. I have no idea if she has any plans though, but our next chance to visit would be October.

OH! I also have a new family member!! My cousin Jenn delivered another beautiful baby girl on the 18th - right in between her big sister's and mother's birthdays! As soon as she's able, I'm sure she'll update her blog with the info - but with a newborn, give her some time :D I know everyone is super happy for them, so congratulations!!

That's all for now, folks. Much love and be well!
~A