Shocking Experience!

Grahm was vacuuming for me and decided to unplug the vacuum with the help of a metal rectangle (off a key chain).  While prying the plug out it made contact with both prongs on the plug.  It fused and melted areas of both the prongs on the vacuum plug and his key chain.  

Fortunately Jason has had to educate me about electricity, circuits and grounds or I would have freaked out.  Charlotte (in this same outlet) inserted my sewing tweezers (again there was melted metal).  After calling the Doctor and having Jason come home and explaining that she could not have gotten shocked, I come to terms with the fact that she was not going to suddenly have serious side effects.  I am still an outlet cover maniac, but don't stress when something like this happens.  Mostly I chuckled and asked him if was ever going to do that again.  Which I don't think he will, his eyes were the size of dinner plates.

Tattoo Artist?

We have a budding tattoo artist.  Let me know if anyone is looking for someone to design their next tattoo.

She was very proud of her artwork (someone was distracting her in the picture) and was convinced that it looked beautiful.

Maybe it just needs sparkles!

The Apocalypse (Picture overload)

Jason and I died in The Apocalypse.  A recent fundraising event required participants to maneuver a 5K obstacle course, while dodging hordes of zombies. The fundraiser was for That Others May Live Charity.
You start off the run with 3 flags on a belt.  If you make it to the end with a flag then you have survived.  They do offer health packs along the course that help you stay "human".  There were 720 runners.  We ran in the single runners event (they had us running in groups of 50).  There were around 250 single runners.  We were in the second wave of runners so we never saw any health packs.

Here are some pictures that I grabbed off of facebook photo albums.  We didn't run with our camera.  It was hard enough keeping track of runners and zombies that taking pictures would have only ended my "life" that much quicker.



The Entree and Appetizer signs are at the beginning of the race.  I thought they were funny.  The other signs are along the course.  They did a fantastic job, it was a lot of fun.  I think this was the best supported run (besides the marathon).



If you look close you will see the back of me.  I am wearing red and black shorts with a tan 2J Honey Farms (My Dad's honey company) shirt on.



Here are some of the zombies.  Zombie positions filled up before they closed the list for runners.  During the race I thought the zombies had the safer job.  Neither job is safe from injury.  One zombie was knocked out cold and ended up with a concussion.



More pics from the course.  The mud was the finale.  Too bad they put it at the end because most people didn't have flags at that point, so why dive in.  There was a crowd at the end that was egging people to dive, slide, flip, wipe out...  There were a few takers.





I already had a picture of this zombie.   I wanted to show the blue tarp to the right.  It is a pool of water that you get to run through.  At this point, you have all your flags and getting in the tank is the equivalent to "safe" in tag.  Jason and another guy cannon balled at the same time.  I was out to survive and not get hurt in the process, so I stepped in quickly.  Then you had the rest the 4.5K run to run in wet shoes.

I made Jason run the course with me and it was his job to help keep me safe.  He was successful for the firs three or four zombie encounters.  Then he decided that he was expending too much energy trying to lead them his way and he started to leave me.  I do not know how to juke.

Jason made it to the last area with all 3 flags.  In the last area the zombies had the upper ground and it was a large zombie horde.  Survival was very difficult.

Jason cresting the hill with his last flag.  I am some where back there (maybe my bare arm to the right?).      He just runs faster than I do through the zombies.

These pictures show Jason with his last flag assessing the situation with the other runners.  That is what you end up doing.  You run until you see a zombie horde and then you kind of pause and decide how to proceed.  Waiting for the pack to catch up or diving in.  Jason likes to dive.

A friend happened to be in this area when Jason came through and took pictures of Jason losing his last flag.  In the third picture you see the guy in overalls grabbing it.  Since there were very few people with flags at this point, they really started to single out the survivors.  The guy with 3, don't know how he made it that far.  

Near the end the zombies started to tackle survivors to get their flags.  I was glad mine were gone.  I did see a runner get tackled only to have the zombies discover his flag was tied on.  There are stories of rude runners hurting zombies and vice versa.  Too bad that people have to play like that, kind of kills the fun.

I had lots of fun and would do it again.  Now I know how to train.  1.  Practice running the distance.  2.  During a 5K run sprint for a 100 yards about 10-12 times.  3.  Play "Sharks and Minnows" to practice juking.

Bumps and Bruises

We have had a few bumps and bruises lately.

Grahm was playing catch with Jason and another kid.  On a loose ball the 2 boys raced and Grahms face connected with the other boys head.



Tennyson and I were squeezing out of the car in a tight spot and I tried to close the sliding door on the van.  Her little leg was bent and her foot was sticking out and I slammed it in the door.  She cried and cried (and I wanted to die).  After some meds and ice she wanted down to play, but that would only last about 30 seconds before she decided it hurt too much and wanted back up in my arms.  That continued for an hour or so.  Then she started playing and walking on it and hasn't stopped since.



Yes, BOTH SIDES!  So sad.

Naha Haarii

Haarii are dragon-boat races, said to have been imported from China, to wish for a bumper year and pray for the safety of fishermen. Dragon-boat races are held everywhere in Okinawa, but the boats used in Naha Haarii are decorated with carvings of dragonheads and tails. The main event comes on the final day, fittingly called the main Haarii, in which 3 boats - Naha (dark green), Kume (yellow), and Tomari (black) - compete for the years grand prize, after a traditional Ugan Haarii (boat-race of prayer). Other events include dragon-boat races by students and the general public, live concerts and fireworks. source




I had to drag Jason to Naha to see the Dragon Boat Races.  Jason is not a fan of crowds or fair like atmosphere.  Sadly I had wanted to race, but was unable to make the time committment this year - maybe next year.  There are 3 military women teams that compete annually.  It looks like lots of fun.  We went to the festival with some friends.  Lucky for us She knows more about the culture and language than we do so she helps guide us to food us land loving Americans will love and choices that are more daring.






We only watched on race.  Even though the boats are really cool to look at the race does not hold 6 children's attention for very long.



We ate yummy food.  In fact I think I could have stayed awhile longer to try some other dishes.  Jason disagreed, something about yen.  We sampled some easy safe things like chicken yakatori and corn on the cob.  It was so hot that after the race we went looking for something cool.  Some nice Japanese vendors led me to Fried Ice Cream.  I love it so I ordered 2.  This is corn flakes and tempura battered.  So it was a chewier coating than the Mexican version, but so yummy.



My friend bought Tako balls.  I didn't get a picture before they were all gone.  You get 6 in an order that are drizzled with a soy sauce based sauce and mayo (they love mayo).  I ate it and didn't mind it.  Tako is Japanese for octopus.  These little balls remind me of aebleskiver that we make on occasion.  We might have to start putting a piece of steak in some for Jason. (My friend says that the fish shaped pancakes are filled with sweet beans or with custard - didn't get to try one).

Snoopy was donated by a passer by.  Tennyson is in love.

After a few hours at the festival we headed back to the cars.  The men had the babies and before too long the 4 year olds could not carry on, so the Moms packed them the rest of the way.  They giggled all they way home.  This is our friend NaRee Malan and her sweet girl Elizabeth.  Good friends have helped make Okinawa home.

   

What do all of these pictures have in common?  Pacifier Clips.  I have had lots of interest in my pacifier clips and thought I would share how I made mine.  WARNING:  NEVER PUT A CHILD TO SLEEP WITH THIS CLIP.  NEVER LEAVE A CHILD ALONE WITH BEADED CLIPS, SMALL PARTS, CHOKING HAZARD.  THIS TUTORIAL IS PROVIDED FOR YOU PERSONAL USE AND YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ITEMS YOU PRODUCE AND USE. These pacifier clips are decorative and can and do break.  Charlotte and Tennyson have both used these, so over the past 4 years I have restrung a few times.  Some survived for 4 plus years.  I have a few tips to save you a few headaches.



Supplies:
Beads - whatever kind you like.  I have used natural stone beads, plastic, and metal beads.
~10 inches Flexible Wire -  mine has a diameter of 0.14 in (great for seed beads) and has a test strength of 10 lbs.  The wire will break if yanked on hard enough and I want it to break if it is getting yanked on very hard.
Crimp Beads - to secure clasp and the end loop.
Clasp - I found mine at JoAnn's or Michaels
Crimping Pliers - Found in the jewelry supply section.

1.  Design your pacifier clip, lay out your beads.



2.  String your beads onto your wire.  I don't usually cut min, until after I have the beads all strung.



More about the clasp.  I found it at JoAnn Fabric or Michaels in the bead area with all the other jewelry supplies.  I like it because it clips easily onto the neckline or collar of any outfit.  It does not damage any of the clothing.  I have had it clipped on velvet and it left no permanent mark.  It is spring loaded, so I just push it onto the neckline until the fabric slips through.



3.  Place two crimp beads on the wire and then the clasp.  I use 2 beads because then if it breaks, I usually have at least 1 crimp bead remaining to keep the beads from going everywhere.  (It usually breaks near the clasp or in the loop from attaching to the pacifier).



4.  You will then thread the tail back through the crimp beads.



5.  You will use the crimp bead pliers to crimp the bead.  Securely attaching the clasp.  The website Beading for Beginners shows you how to do this.  If you have any other questions about beading, they would be a great tool to use.  There are lots of tutorials out there on beading, this is the first one I came across to share.  This is a picture of the pliers (courtesy of Amazon.com)



6.  Now your clasp is attached,  you can now cut your wire (if you haven't).  Cut your wire leaving a 2-3" tail.  You then place two more crimp beads on the wire.  Create a loop by threading the tail back through the crimp beads and some back through the decorative beads.  I like about an 1.5 inch loop.



7.  Crimp the beads and you are done.  Your finished clip should be about 7.5 inches long.

8.  The last step is to thread the loop through a hole in your pacifier (the handle or little holes) and then thread the clasp end through the loop to secure it to the pacifier.

I am sure you could use larger beads - wood, metal or stone and make a great boy version.  Again, please remember that they should never sleep with the clip or be left alone with it.

Storage Issues

I am having storage issues, so I couldn't finish the tutorial.  Hopefully I will have it resolved by tomorrow.  Sorry!