Booking Through Thursday
| May 17, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under BTT |
Today’s Question Is:
If you had to choose to live within a novel, which would it be?
I honestly did not have to put too much thought into this question, my answer came very easily to me. It would have to be “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland“. Sound strange to you? I mean, if you really wanted to have adventures daily, this would be the novel to live within. Very exciting, scary and of course different. It would be fun & an experience for sure. How about you?
Happy Birthday Baby!
| May 13, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Birthdays |
Happy 35th Birthday To The Love Of My Life!
Our very first run-in with the Kinect was at a Best Buy in the United States, well before we moved here to Japan. Daniel instantly loved it, I was not fully sold on it, although it looked fun. Fast forward to April, the Star Wars bundle comes out with the Kinect and I knew I’d be getting it for him.
So today was a happy day filled with some gaming. The Kinect is cool, can not deny it and got to play with it a little myself this evening. He also got several other games to enjoy on it. It was a nice day filled with some “have-to-do’s” but it was a wonderful day with my love! Happy Birthday Baby!
Book Review: Still Walking by Rob Oliver
| May 10, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Book Reviews |
Synopsis
The autobiography of Rob Oliver. At 21 years old, Rob was paralyzed in a body surfing injury. Faced with major life questions, he was forced to reassess his whole outlook. The book chronicles his experiences, looks at his attitude and shares the lessons he’s learned. Rob talks about his rehabilitation, returning home and moving forward with his life. The book shows his determination to “Live Life to the Fullest”. The writing is straightforward and honest and the stories are engaging. Not only is it easy reading, it’s one of those books that is hard to put down. You’ll smile, your heart will be touched, but most of all you’ll be inspired. By the end of the book, you’ll agree that, paralyzed or not, Rob Oliver is “Still Walking”.
My Thoughts
One of my more favorite genres to read are memoirs/biographies because I love the personal journey each one takes me on. I love to read peoples truths. When asked by Rob himself, if I wanted to review the book I jumped on it.
As I read through Rob’s personal journey, I wondered if I could be as kind and gracious and find as much humor in the situations as he did. Would the grace & love of God sustain me? Robs new life happened suddenly, when life was supposed to be carefree and fun, on vacation. It started off like all the others when he was seriously injured body surfing. Anyone would ask themselves “why me”? Rob had the choice to either slump deep into depression or choose to live a new life. A rebirth in a way, having to learn to do things again due to the injury causing him to be paralyzed.
His now wife whom he was dating at the time is an amazing woman and it is so easy to see that God placed the two of them together, perfectly. Both rocks for each other when they needed it. She could have left and he would have understood. Rob brings us through his incredibly road from healing to rebuilding his new life, lessons learned, the importance of family, friends and most of all the comfort he drew from his faith in God. There is much to take from Robs book to apply to ones own life. We all struggle and deal with tragic things. What makes us different is how we each handle it.
Still Walking is a fast read but very worth it! I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I GIVE THIS BOOK
From My Balcony
| May 7, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Japan |
Today it is beautiful outside. It started out darker & rainy, which I also consider beautiful. It is in the mid to upper 60′s. Perfect weather, can it stay like this all summer? I know what’s coming and am not looking forward to it, but I hope that heat stays away till at least mid June. I go out onto my balcony. There is much noisy construction going on where the animal shelter used to be, across from our home.
I think to myself how I am not sure what is worse…dogs barking all day, starting at 6am or building construction all day that starts at around 8-9am? Which would you choose? I feel the suns rays on my face. How I’ve missed the sun during the winter. I have a love/hate relationship with it.
There is a little chill in the breeze that swirls around, moving with it are smells letting you know that spring has sprung. The aroma from the cherry blossoms I am surrounded by, bring a smile to my face. They are beautiful and will no longer be in just a few short days. The grounds are already littered with the pinkish, white petals. Reminding me that everything only lasts for a season.
I snap pictures of all the trees around me, hoping I might catch something interesting that I can not fully see until I process all my photo’s on my computer. I also capture several pictures of a very large and scary looking spider web which almost makes me want to run inside. I had an unfortunate event happen last summer on our bedroom balcony that has left me scarred,lol.
I take it all in and remind myself that life is good, even with all the stuff that is going on in the background, that creates unpleasant noises, feelings…the every day, that is my life.
Is spring a time of rebirth or renewal for you?
Incase you did not notice, in the picture above you can see a bee under the cherry blossoms on the left 
Welcoming May!
| May 1, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Japan |
May is one of those “perfect” months. You know the kind, it can get warm, yet it is still cool. Things start blooming, windows are opened, more time is spent outdoors. The sun starts rising at 3:30am and starts setting later, around 6:30pm. Of course there are some negative things like allergies if you have the misfortune of suffering with them. I did in Florida, not sure about here yet though.
In 30 more days, on May 31st we will have been living in Japan for 1 year! ONE YEAR! The time has flown at a great pace though. As much as I do like it here, I am already looking forward to our next adventure, although that is still 2 years away,ha! We missed all that May has to offer last year. The biggest thing were the Cherry Blossoms!
The two pictures up top were taken this evening of the Japanese Cherry Blossoms we have growing outside. Daniel came into the house after walking the dogs and surprised me with a little bundle of them! They are absolutely gorgeous and smell wonderful! If you’ve never gotten to smell a natural one, don’t depend on the artificial scent you find in perfumes, body lotions and shower gels, they don’t compare.
Thank you to all who visited, commented or followed me through the April blogging challenge I participated in. It was fun. I may participate in something similar some other time, in the future. Today the temps here reached 80…UGH. I am not a huge fan of heat, so be prepared to listen to me whine about the heat this coming summer. I’ll get over it, like in the fall!
The month of May is a great month for a few reasons; Daniel’s Birthday is on the 13th, mine is on the 25th, we go to Sendai, Japan on the 26th to enjoy some good ole Japanese Baseball!!
We were suppose to go the the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival this past Sunday, but as life would have it, it did not happen because I was very sick. It’s alright though as they were just only starting to bloom, so next year we will plan the trip to do mid-May rather than end of April. There are plenty of Cherry Blossoms to see all around here too, right outside our Tower, all over base, out in town. We will be taking pictures and I’ll be sure to share them with you too.
Blogging From A To Z Challenge: Zen Garden
| April 30, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Blogging Challenges |
Today’s Letter & Final One Is Z
Thank you to all who have followed, joined in, and commented through the month of April! Today concludes the April Blogging From A To Z Challenge. It has been a great experience for me to share with you about all things Japanese I’ve been learning and experiencing. Even though this challenge is over, come back and visit me as I am always writing about places we go, visit and shop at.
We are winding down year 1 since we moved here to Japan and still have 2 more years to experience. So please join me in my daily life, not always exciting but sometimes, it really is!
Today I am going to talk a little about Japanese Zen Gardens. They are a big thing here, of course. The Japanese know how to relax and de-stress in their own homes with Zen Gardens. I have gotten some quick looks at a few from the car as we drive by Japanese homes, but have no pictures of my own to share.
They are so incredibly different to, especially rock ones. If I find some public ones, I will be sure to share them here on my blog. If you would like more information on maybe how you could create & enjoy one in your neck of the woods, you can find information HERE.
Blogging From A To Z Challenge: Yen
| April 28, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Blogging Challenges |
Today’s Letter Is Y
Welcome to the A To Z Blogging Challenge for the month of April. I’ve not participated in anything like this before but thought it might be fun. I’ve decided to go with a “theme”. My theme is Japanese. I currently live in Japan and I thought it would be interesting to pick a word or place and ”teach” it to you in Japanese.
¥ or Yen is the Japanese currency. Today’s rate against the USD is: 1 Japanese yen = 0.012439 U.S. dollars. As you can see, it is not in our favor in the least. It has not been since we moved here. When we take Yen out, we loose money but it honestly does not bother us much. We want to live & experience Japan so really there is no choice unless you stay on base forever and never go outside the gate. Not an option for us.
The Yen is just as annoying as the USD in several ways. There is change, lot’s of it too. There are “bills” but those are less annoying than the “change”. My least favorite being the Yennies!!! Yennies are the equivalent of our US penny. Not useful, wastes pocket space and sometimes just gets thrown out!
I took pictures of Yen to share with you. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask & I will answer you in the comments
Basically You Can Look At This Like A $50
Basically You Can Look At This Like $10
Basically You Can Look At This Like $5
Basically You Can Look At This Like $1
Basically You Can Look At This Like A Nickel
Basically You Can Look At This Like A Dime
Basically You Can Look At This Like A Penny
Blogging From A To Z Challenge: X
| April 27, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Blogging Challenges |
Today’s Letter Is X
Welcome to the A To Z Blogging Challenge for the month of April. I’ve not participated in anything like this before but thought it might be fun. I’ve decided to go with a “theme”. My theme is Japanese. I currently live in Japan and I thought it would be interesting to pick a word or place and ”teach” it to you in Japanese.
X has proven to be the most, if not impossible letter to find something to share with you. One and the biggest reason is there are no Japanese words that begin with the letter X. I searched for several days and I am sad to say I’ve come up dry & with nothing interesting to teach you today! Tomorrow is a new day, a new challenge!
Blogging From A To Z Challenge: Washi Doll
| April 26, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Blogging Challenges |
Today’s Letter Is W
Welcome to the A To Z Blogging Challenge for the month of April. I’ve not participated in anything like this before but thought it might be fun. I’ve decided to go with a “theme”. My theme is Japanese. I currently live in Japan and I thought it would be interesting to pick a word or place and ”teach” it to you in Japanese.
Washi Doll In Japanese Is: Washi ningyō
Japanese Symbol For Washi Doll: 和紙人形
There is one woman left in Japan that makes these beautiful Washi Dolls, like the one in my picture. This is a Washi Doll I purchased from that woman in October 2011. Her name is Eiko Ohyama, she is 73 years old. I am so thrilled to have a piece of her work & she also signed it. I am counting on her being at the Far East Bizarre this year too because I plan on making several more purchases of her dolls. They are beautiful, amazing, all tell a different story. They are also very detailed for being made of paper. It is proudly displayed in our family room.
If you would like to read about the history of Washi Dolls, please look HERE.
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