Author: Nikki J.

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Girls Trip to Singapore

IMG_2981When it comes to leisure travel, this year has been remarkably slow. Chuck’s schedule is itinerant, and we haven’t been able to lock anything down. One night, after imbibing a few spirits, I spoke with girl friends about taking a short getaway trip of our own – somewhere the guys wouldn’t miss. Singapore, perhaps? I knew Chuck wasn’t interested in Singapore, but it would offer all the essentials for a cosmopolitan girls trip – food, shopping, dancing, and shining lights! It would provide a glitzy adventure to balance our laid back lives in Okinawa…

My friend Sally agreed to book the trip with me, and we set out on our long weekend adventure full of energy, laughter, and hope. Never mind that we ended it hungover and exhausted, despite our best intentions to avoid such a scenario… but I guess there are some lessons we will just never learn! Continue reading →

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Annie, I need you…

Annie Bean was the cat that everyone liked, even if they typically didn’t like cats. And when I say everyone, I mean that fairly literally. Many people close to me passed through Annie’s life at one point or another, making note of any number of various traits: her laid back demeanor, her pleasantly plump figure, or her sassy self-assuredness, juxtaposed with her surprisingly social and tolerant approach to strangers.  The fact that Annie was so known, liked, and even loved has made her memory that much stronger and the comfort that much greater in her untimely passing.

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An Easter Update

It’s hard to believe that Chuck and I will hit our 2-year mark in Okinawa in just a couple of weeks.  One year left sounds like both a lot of time, and no time at all. Much has been done, and yet there is still so much to do!

I didn’t mean for this blog to turn into a travelogue, in which I only update when I go somewhere exciting. Even if no one ever reads it, I want to look back on it myself and remember all the adventures I had, big and small. So, here’s a quick re-cap of what we’ve been up to since our Thai Holiday, in reverse chronological order.

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Thai Holiday: Phuket

Originally, I had planned for Phuket to be the relaxing part of our vacation. I was thinking a resort with its own beach and everything on-site so that we wouldn’t have to leave if we didn’t want to. The only thing I would schedule was a boat tour of the Phi Phi Islands, which had been on my bucket list for years…

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My Favorite Holiday

Seriously, Halloween is my favorite. There’s no other time you can dress up and be silly and act ridiculous for no good reason. Plus, who doesn’t love a good spook? Not that I’ve ever dressed as anything “scary” in my whole life, but I enjoy the haunted house/forest/corn maze thing, whenever I have the time to go on such an excursion or plan such a party.

This year, I did not have the time for an excursion, but we did have a party planned. There was also  a second, unexpected party that required a last-minute costume #2… because I never duplicate costumes 🙂 Please excuse the poor-quality cell phone pictures!

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Celebrating 5 Years

IMG_2670Every now and again, Chuck and I get so caught up in the separate things we have going on in our lives, that we start to lose touch with each other. This calls for what I have dubbed a “reset”, when we share openly and honestly over a glass of wine (or scotch, in his case.) We talk about what has preoccupied us individually, and then what we miss in each other. I hope this is something we can maintain over the years, because it goes without saying that communication is vitally important in a healthy relationship.

This particular exchange was well-timed because it was mere days before we celebrated five years of marriage.

Our reset made for a truly enjoyable, distraction-free October 8th. I think we both felt relaxed and in-touch with each other. We don’t typically exchange gifts on our anniversary (opting for a trip somewhere, instead), but – unbeknownst to each other – we both ended up purchasing items that we had been wanting for a while – an XBOX One for him, and a Kerrie Hess painting for her.

We enjoyed a romantic and satisfying dinner at Soupcon, a favorite local Okinawan cafe, before wrapping up a last day of work and jetting off to Kyoto!

I think it’s been our best anniversary so far… and I know there will be many, many more to come 🙂