Japanese Bucket List

Well, I certainly never expected to take almost a year off from blogging.  All I can say is that life got in the way.  I have been meaning to get back to it for weeks now, but it seems hard to know where to start up again after almost a year.  I figure this is the perfect post.  We have a little over a year left in Japan and it has reminded me that there are SO many things that I still have to do.  I have been working on my Bucket List for the past week and am finally ready to share!

One of my favorite things about my time in Seattle was having a Seattle Bucket List and checking things off of it.  It was certainly a great motivator and a helpful planning tool when we wanted to spend a day in Seattle, but didn't quite know what we wanted to do.  Being Type A, I find great satisfaction in crossing things off my list!

1.  Go to a sumo match.  

2.  Eat at Macaroni Market in Fujisawa.

3.  Eat at the Gyoza House.  

4.  Go to MacArthur's Garage in Hon-Atsugi.  

5.  Find the Ebina Farmer's Market. 

6.  Participate in the Bon Odori Festival on base. 

7.  Visit Fuji Safari Park.
8.  Go to Lalaport Mall.  

9.  Go to IKEA Japan.  

10.  Visit the Gyokuho-ji Temple (500 Buddha Temple) near Odawara.  

11.  Visit Odawara Castle.  

12.  See the Big Buddha (Daibutsu) at Kamakura.

13.  Visit Enoshima during the summer.

14.  Visit Enoshima Aquarium
15.  Visit Engaku-ji Temple in Kita-Kamakura.  

16.  Visit Meigetsuin Temple during hydrangea season.

17.  Visit the Bamboo Temple in Kamakura.  

18.  Climb Mt. Fuji.

19.  Take a road trip to the Izu Peninsula.  

20.  Visit Miyagase Lake in the summer.  

21.  Go to a pachinko parlor. 

22.  Go to a shrine sale.  

23.  Go to a traditional onsen.  

24.  Go to the fish market with Kaz-san (he is our sushi guy and takes people to the market with him).

25.  Go to the Mashiko Pottery Festival.

26.  Go to Nagano.  

27.  Ski somewhere in Japan.
28.  See the snow monkeys.  

29.  Go to Matsumoto Castle.  

30.  Go to the Sapporo Ice Festival.  

31.  Go to Hakone.

32.  Ride the shinkansen (bullet train).

33.  Go to Kyoto.
34.  See a geshia!

35.  Go to Hiroshima.

36.  See the Floating Torii Gate @ Miyajima.  

37.  Go to Okinawa.  

38.  Visit the Fuji Five Lakes area (late October to mid November for koyo season).

39.  Visit the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo.

40.  Do a night out in Roppongi.

41.  Go up Tokyo tower.

42.  Get my Starbucks Tokyo mug - I've decided to start collecting Starbucks City Mugs as my souvenirs from our travels!

43.  Go to Shibuya Crossing.

44.  Go to Shinjuku - the busiest train station in the world!

45.  Go to the Oriental Bazaar.

46.  Go to Kappabashi (the Kitchen District)

47.  Visit Meiji Shrine

48.   Go up Mori Tower in Roppongi.

49.  Take a boat ride up to Asakusa.  

50.  Go to Sensoji Temple.

51.  Go to Ueno Zoo.  

52.  See the Cherry Blossoms!  

53.  Tokyo National Museum. 

54.  See the Imperial Palace.

55.  See the Imperial Palace on December 23rd or January 2nd during a public greeting.  

56.  Find my grandparents old apartment in Tokyo.
57.  Go up the Sky Tree.  

58.  Have drinks at the New York Bar in the Park Hyatt.  

59.  Go to the Waterline Floating Lounge.  

60.  Eat at Ty Harbor Brewery.  

61.  Eat at Cicada.  

62.  Stay at the New Sanno (the military hotel in Tokyo).  

63.  Have Sunday brunch at the New Sanno.
64.  Have brunch at Sarabeth's in Shinjuku.

65.  Get popcorn from Garrett's Popcorn in Harajuku!

66.  Go to a Japanese Baseball game.

67.  Go to Tokyo Disney.
68.  Go to the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama.

69.  Eat at Cafe du Monde in Yokohama. 

70.  Visit the Red Brick Warehouses in Yokohama.  

71.  Ride on the Ferris Wheel in Yokohama.  

72.  Go to Sankien Garden in Yokohama.
73.  Go to Hong Kong.  

74.  Go to Hong Kong Again :)

75.  Go to Kuala Lumpur.

76.  Go to Singapore.

77.  Go to Thailand.

78.  See The Great Wall of China.  

79.  Have fun!  

It seems like every time I cross one thing off of my list, I find another to add so I am sure this list will continue to grow.  I only hope that I can accomplish most of it before we leave!  

Deployment Goals

Happy Monday Friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I was going to do a post about our weekend, but we did a lot and I feel like each event deserves it's own post.  So hopefully later this month, after I finish blogging about Hong Kong!  The first three posts for Hong Kong are written, so look for those starting tomorrow :)

As I said last week, J. and his squadron are home for "summer break."  When J.'s squadron was attached to the USS George H.W. Bush, they deployed for 7-8 months at a time.  Here, they deploy twice a year instead of once a year, but for a shorter amount of time and they are able to come home for a few weeks in between deployments.  

The first half of this deployment was eight weeks, but I was able to see J. in Hong Kong, so it didn't feel too long.  I still set goals for myself, as I find that they help me have something to work on while J. is gone and I also like the feeling of accomplishment I get when I can cross one off my list!  

My goals were:

1.  Clean the junk off the radiator in the living room.
2.  Pack up the box in the living room and put into storage.
3.  Hang pictures in the office.
4.  Hang pictures in the living room.
5.  Set up voicemail at Softbank.
6.  Pay off my credit card.
7.  Pay down J.'s Career Starter Loan.
8.  Keep saving 15% of our monthly income.
9.  Keep up with yoga and body pump.
10.  Read The Five Love Languages.
11.  Book Hong Kong trip.

I am happy to report that I accomplished all of these goals, except #4.  However, once I got the living room re-arranged, there wasn't room for the pictures I wanted to hang.  So, I think it's safe to say I accomplished all of my deployment goals!

Time to start thinking of goals for the next round of deployment!

Weekly Intentions - Week 4

It's Tuesday ... 

and you know what that means ... 

Time for an update on my Weekly Intentions.  

Here's a recap of how I did last week:

1.  Workout six times.

2.  Make it to Thursday morning Body Pump.

3.  Walk Lucy four times.

4.  Give the blog a facelift - almost done with this one already!

5.  Create a disaster kit - this is dependent on my plastic file folder coming in to the Depot.

6.  Pick up Lucy's paperwork from the Camp Zama vet.

7.  Fill a prescription I've been sitting on for weeks.

8.  Work on drinking tap water rather than bottled water when I'm at home.

9.  Send a card to J.

10.  Go to bed before 12:30 three times this week - I am determined to accomplish this goal!

I have to say ... I did pretty darn well last week.  Not only did I accomplish most of my goals, but I actually exceeded my expectations.  I didn't workout six times, I worked out seven times.  I didn't walk Lucy four times, I walked her seven times.  I didn't just send a card to J., I sent him a card and a package!  The only thing I didn't do, was create my disaster kit and that's because my plastic file folder didn't come in.  I did, however, update my Japan binder which is where I keep all my important documents.  

Now, on to this week's intentions:

1.  Workout six times. 

2.  Walk Lucy four times. 

3.  Keep drinking water from the Brita instead of bottled water. 

4.  Start taking reusable totes to the commissary instead of using their plastic bags. 

5.  Get Mrs. S.'s house ready for her arrival (yay!)

6.  Write all my thank you's before we leave on our upcoming vacation.

7.  Write blog posts for next week!
8.  Vacuum out Mr. Bag-O's car.

9.  Do some research for our upcoming vacation. 

10.  Create my July calendar!

Are you making weekly intentions?  If so, how are you doing?

What are your intentions for this week?

Weekly Intentions - Week 3

Here is a recap of my intentions from last week:

1.  Check on Mr. Bag-O's house - I am pleased to report that it is still standing!

2.  Blog five times. 

3.  Walk Lucy four times.

4.  Complete six workouts.

5.  Go to bed before 12:30 three times - I suck at this majorly.  Maybe this week?

6.  Drop off donation at The Second Fiddle.  

7.  Email my jeweler about my engagement ring appraisal.

8.  Clean the inside of Suzy (our car).

9.  Call housing about my air conditioner.

10.  Find someone to mow the grass.  

So, I think I did better than last week (yay!) but I know I could do better.  Again, I did well with the important things like working out, taking care of Lucy, checking on Mr. Bag-O's house and taking care of my own house but I am still not doing well with going to bed early!  I've also decided to put off calling housing about the air conditioner because I don't think it's actually broken, I think sometimes it's runs the dehumidifier and when it runs on that cycle it doesn't blow out cool air.  At least, that's what I've heard from other people!  

Here are my intentions for this upcoming week:  

1.  Workout six times.
2.  Make it to Thursday morning Body Pump.
3.  Walk Lucy four times.
4.  Give the blog a facelift - almost done with this one already!
5.  Create a disaster kit - this is dependent on my plastic file folder coming in to the Depot.
6.  Pick up Lucy's paperwork from the Camp Zama vet.
7.  Fill a prescription I've been sitting on for weeks.
8.  Work on drinking tap water rather than bottled water when I'm at home.
9.  Send a card to J.
10.  Go to bed before 12:30 three times this week - I am determined to accomplish this goal!

What are you working on this week?

Weekly Intentions - Week 2

Recap of Weekly Intentions - Week 1:

1.  Create a flower arrangement for the living room.

2.  Drop off donation at the Second Fiddle (it's been sitting in the corner of my room since before J. left)

3.  Trim Lucy's nails.

4.  Paint my fingernails and toenails.

5.  Cross one thing off my deployment list.

6.  Walk Lucy four times.

7.  Complete six workouts.

8.  Call housing about the air conditioner in my bedroom.

9.  Go to bed before midnight three times (why is this so hard?!)

10.  Respond to emails within 24 hours of receiving them.

So I did pretty well with the important goals like taking care of Lucy, working out and responding to emails in a timely fashion, however I kind of sucked at making it to bed early this week.  I went to bed before midnight ONE time last week.  That HAS to change this upcoming week.  I also kind of half completed two of the goals - I didn't drop my donation off at the Second Fiddle, but I got rid of half of the stuff (that counts right?!)  and I didn't paint my toenails and fingernails, but I painted my toenails!  

And my Weekly Intentions for this upcoming week:

1.  Check on Mr. Bag-O's house (I am watching it for him while they are gone and haven't been by yet, whoops).

2.  Blog five times.

3.  Walk Lucy four times.

4.  Complete six workouts.

5.  Go to bed before 12:30 three times. 

6.  Drop off donation at The Second Fiddle.  

7.  Email my jeweler about my engagement ring appraisal.
8.  Clean the inside of Suzy (our car).
9.  Call housing about my air conditioner.
10.  Find someone to mow the grass.  

Some of these are obviously the same as the previous week, but I read that it takes two to three weeks to make something a habit!  I try to workout and walk Lucy as much as possible, but I need to start remembering that that is my top priority each day!  I am also changing my bedtime from midnight to 12:30, I think I would have accomplished this goal last week if it had been 12:30 instead of 12:00.  

Did you set Weekly Intentions last week?  How did you do?

Weekly Intentions

Last week, E. blogged about a list of ten goals that she wanted to accomplish during the week - her Weekly Intentions.  I like the idea of setting small, doable goals for yourself to accomplish over the course of the week and I need you to keep me accountable!  I typically give myself a to-do list each day, but it's nice to see the big picture!  

My weekly intentions this week are:

1.  Create a flower arrangement for the living room.
2.  Drop off donation at the Second Fiddle (it's been sitting in the corner of my room since before J. left)
3.  Trim Lucy's nails.
4.  Paint my fingernails and toenails.
5.  Cross one thing off my deployment list.
6.  Walk Lucy four times.
7.  Complete six workouts.
8.  Call housing about the air conditioner in my bedroom.
9.  Go to bed before midnight three times (why is this so hard?!)
10.  Respond to emails within 24 hours of receiving them.

Do you have any goals you want to complete this week?  If you want to join in leave a comment!  

Seattle Bucket List Updates

It's been awhile since I posted about my bucket list updates!  Since I last posted, here is what I have accomplished:  

4.  Go camping.  I don't think I ever blogged about our trip to Shi Shi Beach on the Olympic Peninsula, but we went camping.  In the rain.  For a whole weekend.  And we had fun.  Can you believe it?  I couldn't. 

41.  Go to Victoria, Vancouver Island.  This is also on the "to-blog" list, but this past weekend my mom and I took the ferry up to Victoria.  It was gorgeous and we couldn't have asked for better weather.  More on that later this week.

42.  Visit the Olympic Peninsula.  There are still a lot of things I'd like to see on the Olympic Peninsula, but I think they will have to wait for another day (or year with the upcoming move).  However, I've been over their twice, so I feel like I can cross it off the list.

49.  Try Japonessa.  R and I went to Japonessa for dinner and drinks a few weeks ago.  We had heard that their happy hour pretty goes all night and that was almost true ... it is from 11:30 to 6:30, 6:30 to 8:00 in the bar and then from 10:00 to 11:00.  We made it during the bar happy hour and paid $22.00 for our dinner.  Total.  And we were stuffed.  It was amazing.  We then splurged on a few of their cocktails and S2 met up with us.  We had a great evening and enjoyed trying their fun cocktails.  I can't find their cocktail menu online which is depressing because they had a bunch of fun ones that I don't remember the names of now!

55.  Go to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.  Check.  And I blogged about this one already, yay!  The tulip festival was absolutely gorgeous and we picked the perfect weekend to attend.  I only wish we were going to be here next April for it!

I am working REALLY hard to try to finish up everything else on the bucket list before next March.  I will keep you posted on my progress :)

Visited States

NavyGirl blogged about this cool site where you can make a map showing all of the states that you have visited.  I loved it!  Here is my map:

Now, I feel like I need to make some disclaimers.  I've only driven through Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Idaho and I've only been to the airport in Minnesota (layover in Minneapolis - I really liked their airport!).  Anyways, I am hoping to knock out Alaska and Hawaii while we are living out west and then I need to go on a road trip through the Northeast!  I'm not sure how I will ever make it to North Dakota, but visiting all 50 states is on my bucket list so I better make it happen someday!

Happy Friday friends!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Update on the Bucket List!

Here are the ones that I've done since I originally posted the Bucket List:

1.  Portland -- I went last September but we're going again this weekend!  Yay for long weekends!

6. Visit Scuttlebutt Brewery - February 5, 2011.  I'm not a huge beer person but I thought their beers were good and they had a pretty good menu for a brewery.  It was also packed at 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday so I'm pretty sure they are doing something right!

Image

14. Experience Music Project - January 17, 2011.  I blogged about our Tourist Day over MLK weekend, which included a trip to the EMP:  

J. looking at the Guitar Tower

46. Ski Stevens Pass - I can't remember if we went in January or February now, but I'm leaning towards February :)  It was a beautiful day when we went and we stayed for night skiing.  It was such a great time!  

50. Visit the Fremont Troll - January 17, 2011.  Also part of our Tourist Day!

That's Mr. S. up top and some randos to the right

51.  Visit the Ballard Locks - January 17, 2011.  Tourist Day!

52.  Kerry Park - January 17, 2011.  I'd like to go back on a clear or sunny day and get some really good pictures of downtown and Mt. Rainier.  

53. Go to the top of the Water Tower in in Capitol Hill - January 19, 2011.  I'd also like to go back and get some better pictures!  

What a gorgeous view!

The elusive Mt. Rainier

That's what we've been up to lately!  We are really enjoying our time out here ... it's so nice to be in a different part of the country and have the opportunity to travel around and explore such fun and interesting places!

Resolutions

Do you set New Year's Resolutions?  Usually I set something small and forget about it by the end of January.  But, this year, I want to set goals and actually achieve them!  So here are some things I will be working on in 2011:

1.  Being more punctual.  I am ALWAYS late.  And it's not a good thing.  So I will be working on being on time or even early.  And I've actually been working on this for the past two weeks and it's going very well.

2.  Get a job!  I don't blog about it much because I try to keep the blog content positive, but my job search is not going as planned at all.  It's been extremely frustrating and stressful and I've come to the realization that it might be a while before I am a real life practicing lawyer.  And that's okay.  But, while I am waiting, I need to be working.  Even if that means doing something I don't want to do.  I applied for a few non-lawyer jobs in October and November and did not get a positive response, but I am going to try again.

3.  Get healthy.  I need to get in shape and start eating better.  And to do this, I'm going to pick a couple of 5K races to run.  And I'm going to do it with friends so I will HAVE to follow through.  My goal is to be in much better shape by the time hiking season comes around.

What are your resolutions for 2011?