OAARS 5K Spay Day Fun Run/Walk

Yesterday we participated in our last OAARS walk of our tour!! The turn out was great and it was good to see all our friends and their furkids. The girls had a great time. McKenzie was a trooper and walked the entire route. Maggie on the other hand spent more time in the stroller than she did walking. It is funny what a few months can do to a dog. In December we did the same walk and Maggie managed to walk about 3/4 on her own. Maggie did manage to finish the race out of the stroller.


Cesario and Clay were right behind us with McKenzie and Zora.


We will always be thankful to OAARS for allowing us the opportunity to adopt Maggie.

The Hard Reef

When we were stationed here on the last go around we used to go to a bar called The Hard Reef. Needless to say that we'd not been back there since we got back to Okinawa in 2008. We ran into Lisa earlier today and she mentioned she'd be going. We were trying to think of something to do this evening besides just going to church and dinner. So after talking to Lisa we decided to join her. She said she would be picking up some pizzas from Pizza Hut to take the the workers there. We called Stephen as we knew Liz was gone to see if he wanted to join us and he agreed. So here is how the night went down!

We arrived at Lisa's around 800pm. We parked at her house and walked over as it is only a couple blocks. We walked in with pizzas in had which she gave two to the staff and we kept one for our eating pleasure.


We were sitting around enjoying ourselves reminiscing about the times we'd been there back in the day. There were a group of young Marines there, several that were really drunk. One made his way over and sat almost on Stephen's lap. He could barely speak and looked like his face had been burned to a crisp. He stayed a few minutes trying to communicate with Stephen and he finally got up and staggered away. The whole thing was so funny and we realized that he was "That Guy." The military has a campaign to bring awareness about excessive drinking.


Who is That Guy? That Guy is anyone who drinks too much alcohol and loses control with humiliating results. When you see him in action, and the consequences he faces, he’s a reminder to all of us: “Don’t be That Guy!” And let’s not forget… girls can be That Guy, too!

Dinner with Friends

There is nothing better to break up the weekday monotony like going to dinner with friends!! I had talked to Jaimel about getting together with Karen as we knew she would be leaving the island soon to relocate to Washington. Karen's husband Rich, our former ACS director, had always talked about this great place called Umizora. We recently discovered it when we went there for my birthday. We could think of no better place to go as we knew Karen loved this place, so did we and I wanted to take Jaimel and Reggie there. Dinner was fantastic as always and the company was even better. We'd planned to meet there at 600pm and figured we'd be there a few hours. Next thing I know I looked at my watch and it was 915pm. With all the eating, talking and laughing we had done the time had flown. We said our farewells to Karen but being military it is usually never goodbye but see you on the flip side. Although the evening was fabulous there was one important person missing and that was Rich!!!

ACS Crew & Tomoko

We have had many changes at work with people leaving and new people coming on. As well as people from Camp Zama coming down to help out in our time of need. The first new member is Bino.

Bino is going to be our information and referral guy!!


Cheryl Rendon is here from CZ helping out and Cynthia is our MFLC that is here on an 8 week rotation. Last but not least there is Tomoko who is not part of our ACS but is a good friend who is always looking for a good time.


We decided it would be fun to go to Poco a Poco for the all you can eat and drink plan. You are given 3 hours with a set menu of food and drinks that you can order from for 3,000 yen. We ate, laughed and enjoyed each others company. It is always fun to be around new people!!

McDonald's introduces the Texas, Miami, Manhattan and Idaho big-meat burgers to Japan. Customers say 私はそれを愛している

McDonald's is rolling-out a line of "Big America 2" burgers in Japan.

The fast food giant is Japan's top restaurant chain by number of stores is introducing the Idaho, Manhattan, Miami and Texas burgers to pay homage to the American company's homeland, and its thirst for heavy-calories and fat-packed meals.


The Burger Idaho features a quarter-pound beef patty, melted cheese, strips of bacon, onions and pepper-and-mustard sauce. To honor the Idaho potato, it features a circular block of hash brown potatoes atop the beef patty. The calorie count: 713.

The Texas 2 Burger—with chili, three buns, cheese and bacon—comes in at 645 calories.

The Miami Burger only has 557-calories--only slightly less than a traditional Quarter Pounder with Cheese. The burger does not have the expected Cuban, Jewish or "South Beach Diet" influences one might expect from a Miami Burger. It is meant to evoke the spicy flavor of the American South, or what McDonalds Japan refers to as southwestern “tacos” in their description. It features tortilla chips—not as a side dish, but placed atop the beef patty.

And the Manhattan Burger features an artisan bun, a slice of mozzarella cheese, fresh lettuce, onions, and a slice of pastrami.


As the Wall Street Journal points out, McDonald's has been bowing to consumer demands for healthier food offerings in the U.S. But in Japan, McDonald's is banking on oversized burgers stuffed with nachos, hash browns or chili to stimulate sales and profit.

Could this be a similar strategy to that of the tobacco companies who began promoting cigarettes outside the U.S. when smoking in America began to decline?

"I believe we are not going in a completely different direction to the U.S.," a McDonald's Japan spokesman said. "Consumers in Japan see beef as what McDonald's can offer, and it tastes good. It's our core competency."

Valentine's Day

This is truly one Valentines I will never forget. We had made plans to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Naha. We left the house around 1130ish and made our way down Highway 58. When we get to the light at Lester Cesario decides he is going to make a turn. I immediately ask why we are turning and he said we had an appointment. I am thinking to myself maybe he made an appointment for a couples massage or something. As he is making the turn he turns to me and hands me 2 Volvo booklets. One is the XC90 and the other the XC60. At this point I am completely shocked because when we had talked about it in December he had no intentions of buying me a new car because the one I left back home was still in great condition, which it is, but he said it was his turn to get a new car. I in turn agreed and was fine with the decision. As we pulled up the XC60 was sitting outside and he says that one is nice but I said the one in there, XC90, is what I want. Well that was until I got in it. It was way TOO BIG for me. It seats 7 and just seemed entirely like too much vehicle for me. Plus what were 2 people and 2 dogs going to do with 7 seats!! I really was not fond of the XC60 until I got in it. It was so amazing and the funny part is it is only 8 inches shorter than the XC90 but it only seat 5 and the leg room in the back is awesome. We gave our down payment and it will go into production on 4 April and will be making its way to the USA around 22 April. We ordered it in white and is coming completely loaded. We are so excited to pick it up!!


We spent the evening with Stephen and Liz. We went to Sam's by the Sea for an early Valentine's Day dinner. We had a fabulous time as usual!!!

10 Canine Commandments

I found this today online and it was too good to pass up!!!

1. My life is likely to last ten to fifteen years. Any separation from
you will be painful for me. Remember that when you buy me.

2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.

3. Place your trust in me - it's cruicial for my well-being.

4. Don't be angry at me for long, and don't lock me up as punishment.
You have your work, your entertainment and your friends. I have
only you.

5. Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don't understand your words, I
understand your voice when it's speaking to me.

6. Be aware of however you treat me, I'll never forget it.

7. Remember before you hit me that I have teeth that could easily
crush the bones in your hands, but that I choose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being uncooperative, obstinant or lazy,
ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not
getting the right food, or I've been out in the sun or in the cold too
long, or my heart is getting old and weak.

9. Take care of me when I get old. You too, will grow old.

10. Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say: 'I can't bear to watch
it', 'let it happen in my absence' or 'I am tired of you'. Everything is
easier for me if you are there. Remember, I love you.