Posts Tagged by Life
A To Z Challenge: Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
| April 16, 2013 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Blogging Challenges |
My Theme For The Challenge This Year Is Baking! Today’s Letter Is “N”!
As I write this post I hope all of you and your family/friends are safe! I am so sad as to what happened in Boston. I love Boston!! I did have some family members there and they were running the marathon but I am happy to say they are not hurt!
I think today everyone should make these chocolate chip cookies!! I mean, cookies make people happy and can lift peoples spirits! Go make some for someone you care about, today!! Here is the recipe I always use to make my Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies .
Happy New Year!
| January 1, 2013 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Life |
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope you and yours had a wonderful celebration! I am looking forward to this new year! A new year of MORE blogging and hopefully getting out more to do things in Japan. It’s been a little rough here the last few months, curfews and other such not so fun things and it kind of sucked the joy out of being here. Of course other things have also sucked the joy out of being here.
We have 1.5 years left here so I want to make the best of it! We will be picking new orders this summer, we are both looking forward to it! The anticipation is building in me since summer is only months away. As I am typing we are in the middle of a wonderful Misawa snowstorm! You MUST love snow to move here!
I have spent the last, past year focusing more on my baking & baking blog. I also have a project in the works which I am devoting this year, 2013 to. I am assuming it will be time consuming and it has to do with baking if you are interested. For now I will leave you with that until it is developed more. No, I don’t have a bakery yet, not yet…I have to wait a few more short years 
I have many hopes & desires for this new year. I am not wasting my time, thoughts or anything else on resolutions…I have goals and this project is my goal for 2013…not necessarily to “finish” it this year but build and grow it! I am excited!!
I hope this year brings you all much joy, peace & happiness!! Do you have any goals for this year or resolutions?
Christmastime Is Here!!
| December 17, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Baking, Christmas |
Oh…hey! I’ve been busy and not blogging huh? Truth be told, I am busy and I am blogging but on my baking blog. I am doing 25 Days Of Christmas Cookies over at I’m At Home Baking! So, go visit and get to making some Christmas cookies or cookies for the holiday you are celebrating!
We have our Christmas tree, have had it since Black Friday. Packages with Christmas presents are arriving daily for us. We did 99.9% of our Christmas shopping online. The Black Friday sales kind of stunk here.
Midnight Madness was the last sale they just had here this past Saturday…I actually think the sales were better than what they offered to us on Black Friday…we certainly spent more.
I can not believe that Christmas is just about 1 week away! It has NOT been snowing here. We did get a little snow so far this season but not much and certainly not enough! Instead of snow, we’ve been getting rain! This is typically not a rainy season for us at all but temps have been MUCH warmer than they were last year. I am thinking we will be dealing with a much later running winter season this year…I’m OK with that.
So, I’ve been baking, a lot really. I have also been working on a few other projects too, craft like ones and so, I’ve been doing stuff. I know, I still need to finish my Guam posts. I have so many pictures to share…it really is a beautiful place!!! I hope to go back, sometime. Come June we will be picking new orders and figure out where we are moving next! Thankfully time is moving fast.
I have to be honest. I am over being here, we both are. It is time to move along, away. One good thing about being here is a wonderful friend I have made!!! I wish I could take her with me when we move…The odds of us living anywhere close together again is not likely. Her husband is Air Force, we are Navy!
So, what is your most favorite cookie or cookie you enjoy the most at Christmastime???
First Stop Tokyo, Then Onto Guam!
| November 1, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Vacations |
Hello family & friends It has been a super slow year blogging for me. It’s been slow around here in some ways as well.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween We did. We did our traditional dinner & watching of the movie “Halloween” but I threw a twist into this year and decided to hand out candy, which I’ve never done before. Must have handed out candy easily to over 150 kids. Plus my friend Sarah and her little one, Dom came over for a treat and visit which added to my night!
So, it is November 1st and tomorrow I leave for the 1st leg of my “Girls Vacation”!!! Tokyo, I’ve been once already this year, weeks ago, so this will be my 2nd trip to Tokyo this year! My friend & I are staying there for 2 nights. Really don’t have anything planned for Tokyo, don’t really want to be off, running around, trying to see stuff, more of a relaxing and getting ready for the big part of our vacation, Guam!
Guam is known as Asia’s Hawaii. Pictures that we’ve seen look amazing. The hotel we chose, the Outrigger is a 5 star hotel in the middle of everything and on the beach. There is supposed to be a bit of everything. I am excited, nervous, excited and even more nervous. Today I have butterfly’s in my stomach and I know I will not sleep tonight.
Why nervous, well I don’t know exactly. I guess first of all this trip is totally out of character for me, really, it is. Like even more out of character for me than suggesting we move to Japan. Also, I’ve never been on a vacation without my husband, just how we roll,lol. So it is all very new, thrilling, exciting, so much different things going on. I know I will have a blast with my friend
I have vowed to NEVER, ever take the bus again from here to Tokyo and thus far it has been that way and again I will be taking the Shinkansen (Bullet Train)! I love it. Gets us to Tokyo in less than 3.5 hours. A tad more expensive than taking the overnight bus but incredibly worth every Yenny to me.
Daniel will be bringing us to the train station, we are leaving from Hachinohe, not to far from Misawa. We are leaving in the middle of the afternoon, our choice. Will get into Tokyo just in time for dinner and not sure what else. Our flight leaves from Tokyo to Guam on Sunday and again it is only a short flight, about 3.5 hours and we will get into Guam in the middle of the afternoon!
It will sure be an adventure with lot’s of fun. I have to be honest, I will miss my love and my fur-babies but I know they will be here and ready to snuggle with when I get back home!
Season Of The icky Sickies!
| October 27, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Life |
Sorry I’ve not posted or updated in a while. I guess I have just been living and going along,lol. The temps are nice and chilly and getting cold. Soon it will be winter and there will be fluffy white happy stuffs all around to play in..I can not wait!
It seems though everyone is now getting sick and passing it all over the base. Kind of hard not too, small base and I am sure so many people & kids who do not wash hands and other such things….ewwww.
I am afraid of getting full on sick, right now I am on the fence, in the middle. I am kinda sick but not having any defining things wrong. Sore throat, a little coughing, had a fever yesterday, ache.
My husband on the other hand is full on sick, which I why I am afraid…My girls vacation to Guam starts on Nivember 2nd. Trying not to be sick, that would be miserable.
So, I picked up some Airborne and hoping like heck it helps, works, keeps me in the clear. When I get full on cold/flu sick, it lasts weeks..can not afford for that to happen with my vacation so close!!
Also, I’ve been a busy crafting in my craft room, visiting with my good friend Sarah whom is also a crafter. I go to her house once a week, at least try too. I am really happy to have found her and can really call her a true friend!!
I hope all of you out there are doing well, keeping healthy and safe from all these strange storms going on. Apparently my family is to be hit with what they are calling Frankenstorm,lol.
2012 Navy Ball, Misawa Japan
| October 11, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Japan |
In the 11 years we’ve been married and in the military we’ve never gone to a Navy Ball. Honestly, when it comes around we always seem to think about it last minute and then of course I never have a dress and the list goes on…
We talked about finally going this year and there was a dress “shop” run by an American off base…Okay, not really a dress shop but his wife sold dresses to us that she purchased. So, I knew I’d be able to get one for the event.
In September while getting my hair done, my hair dresser told me she had a dress for me to try on, tried it on, looked wonderful and it was mine. Now I had my dress and no more worries.
I wore my shawl all night with my dress because a week before or maybe it had been 2 weeks before I got a nasty bruise on my arm and well it was still very ugly. The shawl fixed that problem.
I did not know what to expect about the Ball, there is not much information out there about it. Now that I’ve gone and experienced it, it really is not a big deal even though it is made out to be. I mean, it is a celebration of the birth of the Navy but aside from that it is a bunch of long, drawn out speeches by people who’s names I don’t even remember.
We had fun. There was dancing, a DJ. The food was delicious as I expected as I love the the steak from our on base so called steak-house. We did dance to a few songs, had a few drinks, was there for many hours, then called it a night.
Would I go again? Sure, but the next time I will not stress out about silly little things some woman seem to make a huge deal about. It was a party, it should be fun, that is all
Lights On The Lake 2012
| September 4, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Holidays, Japan |
This past Saturday we got to celebrate Labor Day with fireworks! We’ve been wanting to see fireworks since we moved here almost 1.5 years ago but they have been cancelled several times, mostly due to weather and the reasons they gave for none on the 4th of July were ridiculous.
There was no parking at base beach, the lake where we’d be seeing them, so they put out a shuttle bus service to take us there and back. We boarded our bus at 6:30pm, they were not set to go off till 7pm, so plenty of time to get there, find a spot and settle in.
As out bus was making it’s way to the North Side, we started driving strange, the bus kept jerking and something did not feel right to me but I shrugged it off. Then we start smelling something, next you know people in the back of the buss say they see smoke.
Our bus driver was a Japanese national and did not communicate anything with us. He pulled us over, got out and looked around the bus and proceeded to move ahead. Then there was more noise and then the bus stopped, lights and AC went out and people got worried and upset.
We were in the middle of being to far from our cars and not close enough to the beach, so walking was out. Finally a woman on the bus got really alarmed and told everyone she was getting off the bus with her child because now there was smoke in the back of the bus.
Everyone got off the bus. The men walked around looking and it seemed we snapped and axle or something and it all looked strange and the bus was leaking some sort of fluid.
Security forces drove by several times and not once did they bother to check us, to see if we were okay or if we needed help. Very odd and upsetting. Eventually another bus came by, an American and he asked us what was going on. I guess the bus driver did not make a call for help…..
So, we did end up getting to the beach with a few short minutes to spare before the first firework went off. It was beautiful, relaxing and a very enjoyable time with my love, even with the nasty heat! After that we headed to the bowling alley and bowled 3 great games! It was a fun night.
Summer In Misawa
| July 18, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Japan |
It is now what I would say is “officially” summer here in Misawa. When the temps reach the 90′s two days in a row and you want it to be over ASAP! If you remember last summer, it was MISERABLE here. I can only say, it is like living in Florida but without AC to cool you off.
Thankfully these nasty temps above 80 should only last a few weeks and then thankfully summer will be gone Can you tell I am longing for fall & winter??? I am dreaming of seeing that first snowflake of the season!
Last year I did not want to do anything in this heat and I imagine I will feel the same way over the next few weeks. The key is to not let it stop you though, you just have to keep in mind, you will NOT be smexy anywhere you go at any time. Maybe for a few minutes, then you will melt.
I’d love to go camping, I think you would swelter to death though in a tent. What do you think?? My favorite kind of camping is beach camping and have not done it in forever. A friend of mine is talking about it and of course it would be fun.
Swimming in the lakes/rivers/streams/oceans are not going to be happening for us. We decided before we moved here that it is just not something we are interested in. If you are curious why, shoot me an email by going to Contact Me and I will mail you back There is an indoor pool here on base but to many people use it and did I already mention it is indoors, no AC…yeah…no.
Sorry, so many negative things but really this country is beautiful no matter what time of the year, each season has it’s wonderful points and summer is the only time I really have negative things to say, but that’s just me, my body and what I like, don’t like.
Yesterday we went bowling. It was closed all last summer when we first got here, so we had no idea it has AC. Yeah, we might be living in there for the rest of the summer! While it was still warmish it was much cooler than our home or outside! We had fun! Bowled 3 games and I played the best I’ve had in a long time!
It is hard to believe that July is half over already! The time is just flowing by! This is good though. There might be a lot going on for us soon, keep tuned in and I’ll let you know as things happen!
How is your summer going??
Non-Traditional Holidays
| July 5, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Holidays |
I hope everyone had a nice & safe 4th Of July in the United States and all over the world!
For us it was yet again one of those non-traditional holidays here in a foreign country. One of those holidays where you really wish for something “normal” and what you are used to enjoying.
One of the most simple and most pleasurable things for me on ANY 4th Of July are fireworks. It is NOT the 4th of July without them honestly. Sadly, last year and this year the base did not give us any, at all.
Last year we had the “Freedom Fest” down at base beach and this year they did “Misawa State Fair”. They really missed the mark with this years stuff for sure. I honestly did not want to go, had ZERO desire, especially knowing there would be no fireworks to end the night.
There honestly was nothing else to do since the base pretty much “closes” down, meaning almost everything is closed, including the bowling alley! So off we went. I was surprised to see as many people there as there were but then of course nothing else was open or going on.
I did not even take my camera, that is about how separated I was from this event. I do not regret not taking it with me. There were lot’s, actually tons of food vendors and game booths set up. Fun for kids, that’s for sure.
Our friends had a booth there, a very nice couple we are getting to know more and more recently! We ended up hanging out which really made the day much more enjoyable for me as I got to chat with my friend, our husbands walked off when they wanted too and got us drinks and stuff when we needed them
We were there till after 6pm and then decided it was time to call it quits. We headed home, had some dinner and then got some stuff to make Margarita’s at home while we played some Kinect games on the 360.
Very non-traditional and not exactly what I wanted but in the end it was alright.
American Day 2012 アメリカンデー2012
| June 4, 2012 | Posted by thesocialfrog under Japan |
American Day 2012 has come & now gone! What a busy, hectic weekend it was for us. It was a long but short weekend all at the same time. We were committed to making 300+ Maine Whoopie Pies for one of the American booths, Maine to sell to the Japanese, as well as any Americans. It was a big job.
It took us 12+ hours of non stop baking & filling to get all the whoopee pies done in one day. We also were able to pack our fridge with all of them. Of course that meant pretty much clearing the whole fridge out but it was worth it. By the end of Saturday night, we were so sore and worn out. Sunday morning came fast.
Daniel was up way early to drop off all the goodies and to help set up an run his booth after he worked the Maine booth for a while. His 2nd booth was Alabama. I was to show up a little later. I tried to squeeze in an hour more of sleep and I was going to get to the parade. Sadly, there was nowhere to park and I ran late getting there and missed the parade. From what I could tell it was the same as last year, so I really was not that bummed.
I was thrilled it was kind of an overcast day, meant it was nice and cool, so I enjoyed the day more and walking around. All of our whoopee pies were sold out before 2pm!!! They were a huge success, which could mean there will be lot’s more of my whoopee pies at other base events this year, we shall see. I am happy the Japanese really enjoyed them, as they are picky when it comes to cakes & frostings.
Daniel worked his booth till around 1pm. Then we took off around the town to look at all the yummy American & Japanese food vendors. Daniel chose a Japanese Sasebo burger. He tried one from a Japanese vendor last year and he was less than thrilled with it and he was determined to find a different vendor and give it another go. Luckily we found another vendor and Daniel like it this time. You will see a picture of him eating it!
I was walking along and saw a Japanese man making his version of a cake bite and it smelled delicious, so I bought a small bag of them for 300 Yen. We continued walking around, smelling all the goodness and really realizing just how exhausted our bodies were from the whole weekend. We decided on one last stop to an Indian place next to the base gate so he could get some curry & I could get some Naan bread to take home.
It really ended up being a great, full weekend and I really did enjoy American Day this year and got to experience it more this year than last. I am looking forward to next year and have a few ideas to throw around and we shall see where that might go too!
Her Glasses Say "F$*K Cops.
Alabama, Daniel's Booth.
Maine Booth, My Whoopie Pies!
My Whoopie Pies!
Hard To Read, Talks About What A Whoopie Pie Is.
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