Tick, Tock?

There's been a lot of baby talking near me over the last few weeks. Lots of talk about strollers, crib sets and gadgets...
So, all this baby talking has got me thinking about me becoming a mommy...is this me subconsciously wanting a little one? If and when, what will my reaction be? Will I be happy? Will I panic? What will it feel like? I become very excited when I hear of others expecting, but I don't think I'm quite ready. TomTom and I are happy with things the way they are; we thoroughly enjoy being selfish and only focusing on ourselves. There is also the fact that I'm also petrified of childbirth. I honestly don't think I can handle it (so if anyone is willing to pimp out their uterus, I will pay!). When all is said and done, if I looked back at my life after 50 years or so and saw myself childless, I think I'd feel pretty unfulfilled. I wonder if I'll know or reach a point where I'll yearn to be a mother...

Is Nothing Sacred Anymore?

I have to be honest, I hate old people using technology! Call me selfish, but dammit! I enjoy the privacy (as ironic as that may be). It's like there is always a question regardless of how many times you've explained it before: how do I do this? or that? YOU JUST DON'T! While there are some folks that are probably more computer proficient than I, they're not the folgies I know!
HM has decided that we should target a younger crowd by using Facebook and Twitter. I'm on Facebook, and as you may have already read, I rant and rave on there to my miserable heart's content! Now, he takes THAT away! He can barely turn his computer on and now he tries to torment me, and others, in our virtual world of freedom. Is nothing sacred anymore???

Hey there, Stranger!

I've been gone a while...I know this. So I wanted to get back into the swing of things with a bang (yes, pun FULLY intended).

I debated whether or not to post the following pictures, but they're just too good not to! I warn you, some are graphic and not for the faint-hearted but while it was tons of fun...it was also a CULTURAL EXPERIENCE.

Last Sunday, BH, Mrs. AK and Mister Mrs. AK went to the Kawasaki Fertility Festival. We had been warned, but it was a must see. We were immediately greeted by flags and that's how we knew we were THERE!

There were tons and tons of people there. A lot of Japanese folks and definitely a lot of Americans. From what I read, this has been a tradition for a gazillion years and ladies of the night would go to the shrine and pray that they'd avoid diseases and such. Now it's changed a bit, I'd say... When we first got there, there were quite a bit of people and then in a matter of an hour or so it was packed! It really didn't seem as though the park could accomodate that many people. Safely. But I hate to sound like a wet blanket...

We soon became hungry. I had had some Lucky Charms on the way there and after 2 hours or so, this little piggie was hungry! BH of course had had Gatorade for breakfast. All together now: GROSS! So we found a radish stand, but again...gross! So we moved along and found a potato stand. I thought it was a fried baked potato stand and my tummy immediately went "Oink!" Alas, it was not. It was a boiled potato that was undercooked on a styrofoam tray with chopsticks to jab at it with. Miraculously, I didn't end up wearing said potato.

After giving up on my potato and crepe (which had BANANAS in it!), we walked around a bit. They had a couple of stands selling novelty items but everyone was gathered near the front of the shrine and so we thought things were going to start and headed in that direction. Well, the parade didn't start for another hour or so. We decided to make the best of things and become one with the Japanese. Why not in front of a giant pink mushroom a la Alice in Wonderland? PEACE!

We moved along to the street where the parade was going to go through and waited patiently. First a priest and some cantors came down the street to perhaps bless something or other. It was in Japanese, so I have no idea what was said. One of them had the fiercest shoes that Victoria Beckham would envy! Then the portable shrines came bobbing down the street. After they came and went, we went back to the park, listened to some taiko drummers and then it was time to go. We decided to skip the bus and head over to Hard Rock for some yummy-ness and finally home! All in all, it was an interesting trip.

Highlight: Spending the whole day with BH.

Not so much: Whole lotta ass

Hello, Oscar!

It's been foreeeever since I last blogged. I've been pooped...I'm sorry. What better way to jump back into blogging than by going over Sunday night, the Oscars.

Even though I was never a big fan of the Oscars, I always found the fashion part of the night to be the best part! It was always very inspiring. My prom dress was "inspired" by Jennifer Garner's Valentino dress she wore for the 2004 Academy Awards:

This year's dresses were a bit of OOH and a bit of BLAH. Here are my top three:

LOVED Marisa Tomei's dress. It was perfect for the Oscar's! For an awards show that highlights the dramatic arts, what better than a beautiful, dramatic dress? Kudos, Marisa!

Another favorite was Evan Rachel Wood. Don't believe I've seen her in a movie or anything and I know she was dating that freak Marilyn Manson, but the girl cleans up well! I love this dress. Whoever her stylist is, they should get a raise! This dress is gorgeous...

The last one to round off my top three......................

Yes, I know! I'm almost ashamed! But alas, I have put on my big girl panties and admitted that I LIKE Miley Cyrus's dress. It's a dress that someone young and spunky can wear, like Miley Cyrus, or someone that lives on the edge of fashion like Sarah Jessica Parker or Diane Kruger (love her!). I love the top, I could do with some smaller petals but it gets a thumbs up for me. It all pulls together nicely: accesories, hair and makeup.

I was torn for the #3 spot as I thought Taraji Henson looked amazing, too! I was also torn because I didn't want an all white/beige list. I thought the Golden Globes were a bit washed out, but white is H-O-T-T!

My biggest LOSERS, where do I start...

BEYONCE, what in the hell are you wearing? Designing jeans is one thing, but a dress to the Oscars??? Did you and Jay hit up a hydroponics lab before getting ready? Momma did you some serious wrong. Definitely FUG!!!

Next, Amanda Seyfried. I loooved her in Mamma Mia. She seems so down to earth, but this dress is so beyond earth's level of ugly. The color, the cut, the matching lipstick...ugh! Save her!

Last and definitely least, Marion Cotillard. Remember she wore that gorgeous fish scale dress last year when she won for best actress? This year she has disappointed the Oscar gods! The dress was not pretty at all. Whoever designed it must have been inspired by a black eye! And the makeup. She must have stopped by Hialeah's Westland Mall to get her Chonga makeup done. Pobrecita.

Anxiety Nation

As some of you may or may not know, Virginia didn't work out for us. When Tom first told me, I felt as though I had been punched in the stomach. I had begun to plan my new life in VA. I went house hunting online, researched schools in the area and in my head, I even saw my babies running in a backyard again.

As I've said again and again, I don't love living in Japan but I don't hate it either. The last couple days have been rough for me. I have this constant feeling of anxiety. As though I'm trapped in a glass box and I can't break through. I think a lot of it is that in nearly three years of marriage, this is the longest we've stayed at any one place and the longest I've worked anywhere. We were in Jacksonville, FL for three months and Kings Bay, GA for nine. I've been in Japan for twenty months!

I haven't been home since and I think I have to start planning a trip soon because I'm going to end up in a nut hut otherwise! I need a breather to step away from work and life here. I miss good ole American/Latin food, family, friends, sun, beach...America. Case in point, V-Day is this upcoming Saturday. If we were home, we'd probably go to a nice restaurant just the two of us. Here, we don't know any nice restaurants and if we did they'd be outrageously expensive and the food wouldn't be very good...bland and odd. I'm stuck in a rut: home, work, home.

Maybe I need a new hobby. Any ideas?

Metropolis

Metropolis is a free weekly magazine in Japan that is in English. You usually find it at locations that you are sure to find Westerners like Outback Steakhouse, T.G.I.Fridays, etc. On Saturday, we picked up a copy at Outback and were perusing the classifieds. Metropolis is NOTORIOUS for it's hialrious personals. My favorite of the week is:

"Male maid? Ladies, hate cleaning? Would you like a maid? I am a transvestite maid that loves to clean. I'll clean your place in exchange for makeup and dressing tips."

I might just respond!

Spoilus Bratticus (defined)

A spoiled wife, also Amy, is a member of the brat species in the spoiled family.

Yes, that is my genus species because I am the most spoiled wife EVER!!! The precious has arrived! Remember my blog on my latest source of lust? Well, my BH has come through! YAY!!!

Honey, in case you're reading this, you have definitely made up for Christmas! I love you!