日本好き嫌い ・Japan--love it and/or hate it

The snow at the bottom of the road was non-existent but
slowly as I climbed there were patches and then it completely covered
the road up to the top. Not a long hike, just a mere 25 minutes
to reach the peak of Mt. Ino. Perfect for a quick endorphin fix.
The crunch of the snow. The thawing of my fingers, then my toes.
So glad I kicked myself out the door to get here.

This is Kye's good friend, Masaya. Actually, they've known each other
even before they were born! I was fortunate enough to meet his mother
at a prenatal class and we became quick friends. We fell out of touch
for quite a few years...until the day of my daughter, Jamie's, entrance
in to her kindergarten. It was the day her daughter, Anri, joined the same
school! We both had kids three and a half years apart--a boy and then
a girl. But I digress....
This is Masaya. Since moving to Umi, Kye and Masaya have seen each other
just about every Friday. We have dinner and one of the kids end up staying
at each other's house. Today is no different. Jamie went to Anri's to stay
the night and Masaya came to stay at ours. And the two boys are hilarious
to watch. They are so similar in some ways, and so different in others. They
both love the same kind of games, and have the same sense of humor. There
are some big differences: Masaya will pretty much eat anything in front of him
and a LOT of it, and he's quite smart. He's got a sensitivity that I hope Kye can
learn from. I am happy that Kye has such a kind, FUN friend. I hope their friendship
lasts for their whole lives.

I have no time to read these days, something I adore doing, so I've resigned
myself to listening to books these days. That's where Audible.com comes in.
A great audio book downloading site, Audible has many great titles
and entertaining narrators.
I'm presently listening to the Steve Jobs bio and
am getting quite wrapped up in it (him).
The listening makes my daily commute to Yame
so much more bare able!!

It's almost the end of summer vacation here in Japan. Kye's finished pretty much all of the homework that was assigned, and recently we've been working on his Special Report: Sharks! He's really dug going to aquariums and seeing the different kids they have, and the boy knows his sharks!
Which means that this mom knows a whole lot about sharks, too.
The long hot summer days are hopefully coming to a close, bringing the cool mornings and evenings. Kye doesn't seem ready for vacation to be over, but I'm ready for my regular schedule to be back in place!!

I can't tell you how crazy I am about my children...when they are asleep! Tonight it is just too hot in their rooms to sleep so they took over ours.

Today is Monday. I ran out the door with toast in hand to make it on time to work today. The hour drive went without a hitch as I listened to To the Best of Our Knowledge, an NPR radio program via a live stream of WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, also via the This American Life app. Ok, kind of confusing? Not if you own an iPhone.

After work finished I ran a few errands and then did a whole lot of nothing. Well, not true. I did call my dads to wish them a happy fathers day, and chatted with my sister on Facebook, and had a wonderful lunch, albeit all by myself, but did kind of have a friend with me...yep, my iPhone. I need to give her a name...we are pretty tight these days. She connects me not only to my family and friends, but the outside world. And in spades. I recently found a podcast aptly named iPhone Slutz. I might have to put myself in this category. On the podcast they review apps, but it's pretty funny, too. Lots of swearing, but good advice.

My passion of late is photo apps for my iPhone. Above is a pic I made using an app called Percolater and Diptic. Fun stuff! But now, it's time to go to work. Must put my buddy down for awhile!!

最近の友達と言えば、はい、そうです。iPhoneです。いつも、持っています。アメリカのラジオ番組をよく聞いたりしています。だけど、いちばん楽しんでいるのはフォトアップです。いっぱいあります。いろんな写真を取れるから、とても面白い。上の写真もそうです。

この月曜日、あまり仕事にならなかったけど、Ao　Cafeでランチして、1人でのんびりランチをしました。
iPhoneと仲良く。

I am a volleyball player. Have been since high school. I dabbled in softball a little, but after catching a pop fly right between the nose, I've never really warmed back to it. But volleyball, now that is a different story! In my senior year of high school I started playing outdoor ball and fell in love with it! Mostly played grass doubles, but loved going to the big sand volleyball tourney in Seaside, Oregon.

Now I'm a mom and unfortunately don't get to the beach much these days. My kids are still a little too young to teach the art of a good pass or spike. Sigh....

Kye is now on a soccer team. I hate soccer. The footwork just kills me. Frustrating as hell when you get up against someone who has fancy footwork. But, Kye seems to dig it so I will have to resign myself to becoming a soccer mom. Ugh. A soccer mom.

In approximately one month we will be in our new house....Kye is settling into his new 2nd grade class pretty well and while Jamie usually sleeps on the way up to Umi she is doing well in her second year of kindergarten. Me? Well, April is kind of a slow work month so I am adjusting to the idea that my whole world will be completely different before I know it! I'm actually pretty excited for the change. Even if I can't seem to get rid of these two cancer sores in my mouth!