Quick update

Since it took me SOOO long to change my background last time I figured I would put one up that would work through August :) When I return to Okinawa I will get better about updating the blog. (I know I have said that before :)
Right now I am in the states and David is on a ship somewhere in the Pacific. I will be returning to Okinawa at the end of March. In April I will be starting a job at the Child Development Center on base. David should be home by May.
I WILL WRITE A LOT MORE WHEN I GET BACK TO OKINAWA!! LOVE ALL OF YOU!!

YAY!!!

I forgot my password to the blog and everytime I tried to recover it the information was sent to me in Japanese but I finally figured it out. I have tons to post so check back in a few days for pictures of us from this past month.

Hama Sushi

I know this is random but I thought it would be something different to show everyone back home so I took pictures of our lunch one day. When you sit down at a restaurant over here the first thing you receive is a cold cloth to clean your hands followed by a pitcher of water. (Which is wonderful during the summer). The other thing that is different over here is that at a lot of restaurants offer "a set". Different restaurants include different items in their sets but normal you get a drink, soup or salad and then a sample of items on the menu. David and I normally order a set when we try somewhere new because we get to sample more and ultimately have a chance of liking something that we ordered ( since most of the time we have no idea what we are ordering) lol

Housing

Here are a bunch of different pictures of different houses/apartments around where we live. They are all from inside my car because I felt funny about standing on the street taking a picture of someones house. :) A LOT of people live in apartments (some are very small).

Staying Busy

We thought these were funny because a couple years ago when we were in Gatlinburg TN they had the same exact ones there. :)
I haven't posted anything in a while because I've been busy but I'm not exactly sure what I have been doing :) David has been in training in Guam the last two weeks so I have tried to stay busy and only been home to sleep. David will be home this week and we have several Christmas parties to attend when he returns.
Our Christmas tree is up and I hope that all of our Christmas gifts make it home in time.
My parents will have skype running during their Christmas party so hopefully we will get to see a lot of you then. Everyone else we would love to see you too our skype ID is rikki.stelter.
Since David will be gone January- June of next year I am considering going to Tallahassee. Just when I think I have made up my mind one way or the other I change my mind again.
I don't really know anything but wanted to let everyone know that everything is good and that we are thinking of you all.
I have been taking pictures of different types of houses around Okinawa and will post them soon. :) I love all of you!!!

Sorry there are a couple double pictures

I accidentally posted a couple pictures twice. I am still learning how all of this works. I promise by the time we leave here I will be a pro. (I still have three years to work on it) :)

Planning....

This past week has been devoted to preparing for the holidays.I am trying to get our Christmas cards and gifts out early this year since I am not sure how long it will take to get to everyone.
The disappointment of the week started as a great idea, I made Christmas ornaments but they are too fragile to ship :( So I will be bringing them home with me next time I come. I made a bunch so everyone will get one. Here is what they look like :
They have sea glass, coral and shells in them. That way all of our loved ones will have a little piece of Okinawa.
The exchange and grocery store on base have done a wonderful job decorating and supplying the shelfs with items that people will need for the holidays.I am grateful for this not just because they have the items I desire but also because it feels like we aren't so far from home when we see Christmas stuff everywhere.
This Thursday we will be celebrating Thanksgiving at our friends Angela and Phil's house. Phil and David (along with Chris) will be separating from their current unit in December and joining a different unit for a year. The three guys will be leaving in January on a ship for 5 months. They will get to travel all over and have the opportunity to spend a week or two in several different countries. While on the ship they will be in training. They will also be the first ones called if a new conflict should arise or if there is a natural disaster in the area. I am hoping that neither occur and David has the opportunity to take online classes and see this side of the world.
We are continuing to try new things this week we went to a place called Mos Burgers. They are a chain restaurant on the island and most are located close to a base so I figured it would be easy to order, it was not :). I'm not sure who was more confused the girl that worked there or us. The food was ok (the fries were good) :)Here are some pictures from our visit to Mos.



The sign below is posted downstairs in our apartment complex. I'm not sure if you will be able to read it but David and I often smile at the grammatical errors that are made in the signs around town. After reading my posts you probably think that the Japanese are rubbing off on me. - I always have a few errors myself) :) Down the road for us there is a sign that advertises C Food. It always makes me smile.
The other picture is of a place called Jusco. There are many of these around town and are probably the closest thing to a mall that Okinawa has. There is a grocery store on the lower level and the other levels have items such as clothes,home goods, electronics, specialty shops and a food court. We haven't bought anything from Jusco but it is always fun to go inside and look around.


We hope that everyone has a great week and a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

We love you guys!!!