No More Okinawa.

In Okinawan conclusion, I really did enjoy my time on that tiny island.  Really.  In the months since we left I find myself missing the people and the places and the experiences uniquely Okinawa.

Being that Okinawa Andi no longer exists, update your bookmarks, change your Reader links and please enjoy Andi of Arizona.

Quickly.

Canada is my new favorite place.

This is Matt's new favorite song.


And some GSP eye candy (ins a Habs jersey, no less) just because I didn't see him, only his hometown.  Oh well.

V is for Vacations.

Since we've been married before we got married, Matt and I have taken quite a few awesome vacations. Shall we happily remember them?

December of 2004, I left the U.S. for the first time to visit Matt at his University in Beijing. It was a pretty amazing trip, and oh yeah, that was when this happened --->

On our honeymoon to New York City, when after wondering aimlessly down Broadway we stumbled upon The Ed Sullivan Theatre, home to the King of Late Night (always and forever in my heart, at least) and got tickets to see his show LIVE.  Our amazingness was expounded (and my heart nearly stopped beating) when Dave allowed Matt o ask him a question before the show ("Where's the best pizza in Manhattan?" and dear, dear friend Dave bought us the best pizza of our lives.  David Letterman bought us a pizza.  Best. Honeymoon. Story. Everrrrrrrrr.

<--- Us before the show.  Soooo EXCITED!!!

Then, quite sadly, the vacation life stagnated because we were dirt poor.  Oh, well, we had each other and all that jazz.  Two years into our marriage, we got our fancy little three year vacation in the form of orders to Okinawa.

So for our third anniversary/pre-deployment leave, we decided to go big and spent a week at the Amari Coral Resort in Phuket, Thailand.  We spent most of the week walking around window shopping or drinking fruity drinks at the lobby bar.  Pretty amazing, right?

It was really hot and sweaty in Thailand.  And we didn't trust any of the locals to take a picture of us and give our camera back.  That's my excuse for this terrible picture. --->

I didn't really think the Thailand vacation could be topped until  (dun, dun, DUN!) we met up in Buenos Aires.  I fell in love with South America immediately. 

Matt spent a year in Mar del Plata, Argentina his Senior year of high school and so I've been hearing about this country for the last 8 years.  While debating where to meet for Matt's mid-deployment leave, Argentina was a natural choice (even though I wanted to go to France).  We spent two weeks enjoying and exploring the huge city.  We ate more beef than I can really even comprehend.  And more good food than I've had in two years in Okinawa.  We went shopping and saw art.  Rode the subway and pet a pretty disgusting stray dog that just looked sad.  Mini-theme park!  Empanadas!  Eva Perone!!  It was such an amazing vacation and will probably go down in the books as "Best Ever."

Vacation, Part 4: D.C. and West Point.

Okay, okay...  I know.  I never finish things.  I promise to be better about that.  And I'll finish the alphabet I left off on over a year ago.  But really this time.

So, after a lovely sunny stay in Florida, Matt and I flew to D.C. to see his very pregnant sister, brother-in-law and nephew.  We got to see their beautiful new house for the first time and taste tested several flavors of Wegman's Ice Cream.  Carrie is the ultimate hostess and I always love staying with them. 

After our brief stay in D.C., Matt and I took Carrie's car and drove through five states to be at Andrew's graduation from West Point Military Academy.  How flippin' cool is that?  The commencement speaker was ...  President Barack Obama!  Pretty neat.  Super-pretty neat.

If you squint really hard you can see itty-bitty President Obama with his hand on his heart.  --->

Now, let me just state for the record, that, despite my disgust towards Glenn Beck and the fact I can barely wait Fox News without screaming, I am a conservative Republican, through and through.  But hearing Marine One fly by, watching the caravan drive into the stadium and seeing the leader of the free world walk out was pretty doggone exciting.  I got chills.  Gosh, I love America.

Also, let me tell you first:  I paid attention to the President's speech.  I really, really did.  But, for me, it was not as interesting as the fact that I had just told my mother-in-law about photo-bombing, and she thought it was a hysterical concept.  We took turns photo-bombing each other and other people.  It was pretty awesome.  But we were paying attention.  Most unfortunately, all of those fun photos are on her camera.  I got this one, though:

<---Sorry ladies, he's all mine.

After the ceremonies and sufficient family time, we hopped back in the car to drive back to D.C. to catch our last domestic flight - back to Travis AFB.

Vacation, Part 2: Arizona.

Returning to Arizona always brings me a feeling that I never really thought would be possible. It brings me a feeling of coming Home. I always feel like I'm telling a bit of a fib when people ask where I'm from and I say "Arizona," but I suppose that's a story for another time.

We spent about a week in Tucson - hitting up The Gap (I went at least twice and touched absolutely everything in the store), relaxing at home, seeing old friends and making new ones. Mom and Dad-in-law took us to Tubac, AZ one morning for some Arizona centric shopping. It was like the Sedona area without the red rocks and the vortex-kitsch. It made me wish I had more spending money and more luggage space. And more spending money.

We spent Mother's Day in Phoenix doing something all mothers would love - going to a Diamondbacks game. Matt scored a sweet "Los D-backs Beisbol" tee shirt to support our Mexican brothers. Or maybe just to piss people off.

From there, Matt and I drove up to Flagstaff, probably my most favorite place ever. After a morning of Brandy's amazing Eggs Benedict, we decided to if anyone remembered us at church. We were excitedly welcomed home by Pastor Paul and made plans to meet for breakfast the next morning to catch up. I love our church family.

Crystal met us for dinner at Fratelli Pizza (a.k.a. the best pizza in the world, ever) and we spent the night at a casa grande she scored for the night. Hot tubbed it up in the cool, dark Flagstaff night. Amazing. Perfect. Best ever. (E-mail me those pictures, pls, Crystal? You know the ones I'm talking about... :D)

We bummed around the hometown for a while that day then early the next a.m., we hit the road to catch our flight to Tampa.

Buenos Aires.

And now the post you've all been waiting for - Mid-Deployment Leave! WHAT UP! (Yeah, I've been watching too much How I Met Your Mother. I love you, Barney Stinson).

Well, this vacation started out in the worst possible way: with an e-mail from Orbitz telling me that the longest flight of my incredibly long trip was canceled. After over an hour on the phone and many tearful explanations, I was rerouted and an extra connecting flight was thrown in there. I ended up getting there closer to when Matt got there than had been planned. Be still and know.

We spent our first week in the Recoleta area of BsAs at the Park Plaza Unique Hotel. We ate steak. Lots of steak. On one of our first days we took a short bus tour that gave us ideas for the sight seeing we did. We went to the Museo de Belles Artes, featuring both international artists and Argentine artists. We spent some time at the Recoleta Cemetery, where Eva Peron is buried. We spent a heck of a lot of time talking about food and looking for places to eat and eating. On Saturday we went to the art fair and bought our first piece of artwork from Don Roberto Solima.


[Click here for more pictures that I am too lazy to re-upload]

Our second week we stayed at a fantastic Bed & Breakfast in another part of Buenos Aires (I don't remember which part because I have been home for so long - I know I should have made this post right she I got home). We spent a lot of time watching movies (Sherlock Holmes, Valentines Day and Avatar) and a lot of time window shopping and probably should have spent more time sight seeing. We're such home bodies, even on vacation we just want to chillax and not do anything.

We had an amazing time; it was so great to be together again. Knowing he'll be home soon was a good feeling too. Keep his group in your prayers big time and I'll let you know when he's home safely.

Holiday Cheer.

I think that best way to spend a "Buy 10, get one free" coffee card is on a large peppermint mocha. Happy Holidays to all!

Relocation.

I have a new job. Well, really, it's the old job, just at a new location. A new, happier, less stressful location. Cheers!

Vacation!

Wow. Vacation is awesome. Matt and I just got back got back a week or so ago from a lovely week in Phuket, Thailand.

We left super early Saturday morning and arrive at the Okinawa Airport before it even opened. That's so Okinawa. Seriously, what other international airport doesn't open its doors until 6 am? We flew from our home-island to mainland ("Fantatic Fukuoka") to Bangkok to Phuket. Tiny layovers, just enough time to grab our bags and find our seats (when we knew we needed to grab our bags - they almost stayed in Fukuoka... oops!).

When we got to Phuket, we hired a cab to take us to our hotel... Oh.my.goodness. Driving in Phuket is NOT like driving in Okinawa. Drivers go twice as fast. Every other vehicle was a motorcycle. And pick up trucks! I hadn't realized that there really aren't any in Oki until I saw so many of them in Phuket. We also saw a bevy of 7-11's and quite a few Family Marts. I love you, Family Mart!

We stayed at Amari Coral Beach Resort, just south of the Patong Beach city limits. The view from our room was spectacular and the resort was just a short walk to the shopping and eating available in Patong. The room was small, but had a nice little balcony that we spent a lot of time on. Here is our breath-taking view:


We used a lot of our time to just relax and enjoy our time together. We did a ton of shopping (although a minimal amount of buying). We ate such amazing food I can hardly believe it. One night we took cooking lessons at the hotel - invite me over and I'll make you some Pad Thai or Red Chicken Curry. We even ate at Molly Malone's Irish Pub TWICE. After my amazing pastie the first time, Matt had to go again to have his own pastie. He gets food envy pretty easily.

Thai people are very good at sales. Or at least wearing you down so you eventually buy something. As we walked through Patong, we were be inundated with calls for "Taxi? Taxi?" "Tuk-Tuk?" "DVDs?" Several reached out to shake Matt's hand which is just shady. There were tons and tons of illegal/bootleg/knock-off products. Shoes, clothes, CDs, and a shocking amount of faux-Tiffany's jewelry. I'll admit, I was tempted. But my annoyance at the Thai sales tactics overshadowed my need for some Tiffany's Wannabes. Most places I didn't even want to look.

We visited a store that called itself "The World's Biggest Jewelry Store." The Thai selling technique was in full effect here and I just felt uncomfortable the whole time. I knew we wouldn't be buying anything too expensive and I didn't want to waste the lady's time. I got a small sapphire ring after being forced to try on most of the jewelry in the sterling silver collection. It is quite lovely and I am sure I will get a lot of use out of it.

I did a lot of poolside reading while Matt spent hours swimming to his hearts content. I read Freakonomics and got a start on The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Matt read one of Gladwell's other book, Outliers, between the hotel and Japan Immigration. He really enjoyed it. We actually bought a lot of books and I snagged a copy of The Prisoner of Azkaban - WITH THE BRITISH COVER! Yeah, I rock.

We also spent a lot of time in the hotel lobby, looking out over the ocean drinking fruity drinks. Every morning we ate the continental breakfast that was AMAZING. Great foods from all over the world... We gorged ourselves there daily.

What else, what else? I can't think of anything... I'll answer and questions I can... Maybe I'll post more later... I have been a terrible blogger lately. Anyway, I will leave you with this:

Music.

Last night, I was finishing off the iTunes card Matty got me for our anniversary. I checked out the suggestions from the almighty iTunes Music Guru. I saw Diane Birch's album "Bible Belt" and almost paid it no mind considering it was right next to a Dave Matthews Band album. Um, no thanks.

I was curious as to whether this was a Christian CD or not so I investigated, and I love what I found. Diane Birch is beautiful. Her album cover is a close up of her face and she has a 60's pop quality in her looks that is also found in her music. She reminds me of Eva Cassidy, Karen Carpenter, and a tiny bit of Norah Jones with a contemporary something that is all her own. I'm in love.

Also, I was just looking through her album notes and guess who plays the sax? That's right, "Blue" Lou Marini from the Blues Brothers. Seriously, I was meant to find this amazing album... Love, love, love.

E is for E! and Other Mental Garbage.

I blame it all on Hope.

My favorite college roommate had a predilection for spending hours a week in the tub with Star Magazine. And back in the days of "Are Brad and Angelina dating? OMGOMG, is she pregnant?! Oh man, that sucks for Jen..." it was easy to get sucked in to the whirlwind of celebrity gossip. I found myself sneaking her copies of InTouch into my room to devour and eventually copying her style of tub-time gossip mongering.

After getting married and moving on to my unemployed existence in Virginia, I would keep E! on during the day for "background noise" on those long, lonely days. I couldn't leave Shoppers or Target without a glossy in my hands (and I spent a lot of time at Shoppers and Target). I'd try to quit, but would always be lured in with more details about Anna Nicole, Britney, Jessica Simpson... People I never really, truthfully cared for.

Well, when we moved to Okinawa, it seemed as though the curse would be broken. By the time the mags hit the American stores here, the new was as stale as, well, a month old weekly. I missed the birth of Jamie Lynn's bundle of joy. How could I live with myself? How could I go on, so out of touch with the world of those starlets?

The answer: Celebitchy.com. Oh, and a subscription to InTouch.

Don't hate.

B is for Best Friends.

As kids, we believe that we can only have one "Best Friend" at a time. I have been fighting against this delusion for much of my life.

As an Air Force kid, I was always "the new girl." The one plopped into the class after friendships have been made and solidified. The one in the clique by herself when everyone else buddied up. It wasn't until sophomore year of high school that I really, truly learned what a best friend was. And it seemed as though everyone else had it wrong.

A Best Friend is not just someone you sit by in every class or call every evening. And you can most certainly have more than one.

My best friend is someone who, regardless of what is going on in her life, would always ask me how I was first and sincerely wanted to know the answer.

In the past few years, I've realized that my mom is my best friend. We have the same nutty sense of humor and the same compassionate heart.

I have a best friend who I've hardly seen. We forged our friendship over a year of rough waters, while she was in Phoenix and I was in Flagstaff.

A best friend is someone who sets aside 5 hours in her busy schedule so sit and sip coffee (and raid Justice: Just for Girls) so I'd felt like I'd done something that week.

And a best friend made me feel closer when I'd just moved to the other side of the globe. Ask me how that works...

These women are all my best friend, each in their own beautiful way. (And I'm sure I've missed some.) They each enrich my life and I am luckier to have all of them now, than to have ever had a partner in Earth Science class.

A is for About Andrea.

So this little idea piece is stolen quite shamelessly from Hootenannie, Annie Parsons, probably my most favorite blog to read, ever, ever, ever. I think the reason I don't blog as much as I should (or as much as people want for me to blog) is because I don't have the parameters I need. So from here on out, every Wednesday I will post an entry inspired by the next letter of the alphabet. It gives me the direction I crave and the time table I need.

What can I say ABOUT ANDREA?

I have always considered myself to be ARTISTIC, and I thrive on creative endeavors. I never really know what to say around people and even when I think through what I am talking about I still come off incredibly AWKWARD. Although I've always considered myself quite AFFABLE, it seems as though a lot of times my quiet demeanor causes people to think I am cold or stuck up. I promise I'm not! An ATTENTION to detail is something that I pride myself on, be it with my friends and family, my job or just in every day trivial life. It's also the reason why I kick butt at Cash Cab. And I would be remiss to forget the one word I use to describe myself most often: AWESOME. I think that says it all.

Like the deserts miss the rains...

Things I miss (possibly just because I know I can’t have them):

-Panera Wild Blueberry Muffins and Cinnamon Crunch Bagels. And the Frontega Chicken Sandwich. And the Baked Potato soup. And chips. So, Panera Bread in general.

-Target. Not a single Target on this Island. And so far, nothing even resembling a Target. Since moving into the dorms my freshman year, I have relied on Target for everything. Mascara? They’ve got it. Something to wear to a wedding? Check. Neato one dollar thingamajigs? In excess.

-Pizza Chain Restaurants, furthermore good pizza places. My dear friend Stacee has brought it to my attention that it may be possible that my husband and I are pizza snobs. Fair enough, but I think we earned that title the day our dear friend David Letterman gave us a pie on our honeymoon. Ah, digression. Pizza here is terrible. Or at least the one place we ate was terrible. Think of the worst pizza you’ve EVER had and subtract about ninety taste points. Thank goodness for the Secret Family Recipe.

-Dry heat. Self explanatory.

-Coldstone Ice Cream and Frost Gelato. It was both good fortune and a curse to discover the beauty that is Tucson’s Frost Gelato Shoppe. Good fortune to have experiences something so very delicious and not a curse because I crave it. And there is really never a time that I am not craving Coldstone.

-Wendy’s. Something about Wendy’s just conjures up great feelings of nostalgia. Maybe it’s because Theatre History class was never over until our crew was done with their Frosty’s. Maybe it’s the late night drive-thru runs. The “good-good” commercials do not help this craving.

-Non-tempura fried shrimp. Beer battered shrimp is my seafood restaurant stand by. Tempura shrimp generally tastes like shrimp dipped in oil. Fried shrimp here = Tempura shrimp. ‘Nuff said.

-InTouch Weekly. My guiltiest of guilty pleasures. The Island is not without InTouch, it’s just that the issues you can find are at least three weeks old. At least. By then, the news is proven, disproven, or just plain no one cares any more. And although I can get all my celeb gossip online, there is something cathartic about flipping through my favorite glossy at my own leisure. Oh, and I definitely miss “Who wore it better?”

Things I will probably miss when we leave the Island:

-Vending Machines EVERYWHERE. I never fear about having low blood sugar while driving here thanks to the plethora of vending machines. You literally cannot drive a kilometer on this Island without driving by an inexpensive drink machine. And it’s not just soda – it’s tea and about a million other types of drink that I’m not quite sure of but just can’t help but try.

-Cutesy-ness. Everything here is cute. Signs all have cute cartoons here. I saw one for a hospice that had a very happy old man in a tub with his family/caretakers all around him, equally happy. You can find all sorts of items emblazoned with the cutest things you could ever think of. And, it’s the home of Hello Kitty. You don’t get cuter than Hello Kitty.

More to come, I'm sure.