The Santa Lottery

I went Christmas shopping with my friends and came across these Japanese Santa's. I didn't know what they were doing, but I thought they were cute and festive, so I took their picture.

Now, here is what I LOVE LOVE LOVE about the Japanese people..... it may even be my favorite thing about them: they are so awesome about picture taking! I am serious. They will let you take a picture of anything, anytime, anywhere. And, if you ask them to take your picture, they never look at you like you are wierd or crazy.

Sooooooo when these guys saw that I took their pictures, they told me to "hold on a second" (choto mate kudusai) and they pulled out their Santa hats for me to take a second picture. Now here is a culture who knows how to MELT MY BUTTER.... happy picture takers! It made my day!!

My friend Hiromi came over to see what I was doing, and explained that this was a Christmas lottery; for every purchase you made, you got a chance to spin the wheel and win a prize. I spun and won 2 $10.00 (2,000 yen) certificates for their mall! It really was a good day :).

A Harsh Awakening

In the middle of the night, I woke up with a start to a little face wearing a Santa hat and Incredible pajamas whispering, "Mom, will you kill the snakes under my bed."

Hilarious. And being the good mother I am, I killed the snakes under his bed with the nearest plastic sword I could find. Stabbed them dead. I even recruited Woody to be on the lookout for future predators when I went back to bed. ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Happy at 36

The day before my birthday, I was at a photo shoot with Shailey. I have really enjoyed her lately. She took these photos of me and its only fair since I relentlessly shove my camera in her face. In this first picture, I am talking to the other girl model's Mom. This is me candid and in the moment. In motherhood I am the most relaxed when I take my kids somewhere and my only job is to sit back and watch them enjoy themselves, like at a children's museum or park. It is the one time I don't feel required to DO anything... it is an absolute pleasure to sit and relax. If I am anywhere else, I always feel the need to be DOING something.

This past summer I created a quote for myself, "Sometimes doing nothing does more for me than doing something".

This was a "do nothing" but enjoy Shailey day.... and I went home rejuvenated. Life is good and I am happy at 36.

Universal Christmas Angel Part 2

A few weeks later, we rode the shinkansen bullet train again back to Universal Studios to film the commercial. When we arrived at the train station, there was a fancy bus waiting to take us to our hotel. Funny story: we waited on the bus over an hour for the other girls to show up. I kept telling Emma, "If I find out our hotel is just down the street, I am going to crack up".... YUP, our hotel was just around the corner. It kind of seemed like something that would happen in a cartoon....get in the bus, sit down, buckle up, wait for an hour, then drive 10 feet, stop, unbuckle and get out....ha ha ha.

Do you love how squishy our room is? The Japanese are very good at conserving space.

Emma and I had a little party in our room... I brought movies, popcorn, Uno cards, and hot cocoa mix. We made the cocoa with the "tea maker" in our room, but did not have a microwave. So we adventured to the convenient store near the hotel to use their microwave. That was a hilarious experience. They had never seen microwave popcorn before. I called Glenn to ask him how to say "3 minutes" (san pun). Then I told the cashier "microwave 3 minutes please". He shook his head like I did not know what I was talking about, cooked it for 30 seconds, then handed me a flat bag of uncooked popcorn. I told him again, "please cook 3 minutes". He again cooked it only 30 seconds. So I asked him if I could do it myself and kind of pushed my way behind the counter (very brazen, I know). The microwave was in Japanese and somewhat complicated, but after a few tries I got it to start popping. I looked up and saw that Emma and I were becoming quite the spectacle, and a crowd was forming (what are these blonde foreigners up to??). When the popcorn was done, the audience squealed in delight and a few of them clapped their hands. I felt like the world's greatest magician!

At the film studio we were given a private dressing room, Japanese style with tatami mats, cushions, and a low table. We started filming at 6:00AM... so in the afternoon I turned off the lights and took a nap in there while Emma played her DS.

Back in her WIG and makeup.
This time Emma had to wear a HARNESS under her angel costume because she was going to FLY! We were told this was the same harness one of the Japanese Power Rangers used.

"I BELIEVE I CAN FLY"

Can you SPY the BLUE MAN keeping a hold of Emma in case of emergency.

During Emma's break time, we ventured out into the city (Osaka). Taking Emma around town in her WIG earned us some funny stares. I felt like I was taking my sweet cancer patient daughter in her wig, for time away from the hospital.

Emma spied a petshop... her favorite place to go. And, believe it or not, the cat she is looking at costs about $4,900 American dollars... that is a pretty normal price and we are not sure why. I assume it is because these are "pure bred" cats with papers?

Then we spied a HUGE CLIMBING NET....

We reached the TOP!
Afterwards we found a cool park with long slides....
This job was like being paid to have a paid vacation. Emma and I had the BEST time. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to have one-on-one time with her. It was an amazing experience. Never in a million years would I have imagined this being my life. What a lucky girl am I!

Finshed product, 6 foot poster at train stations all over southern Japan....

Upclose of Emma from poster one (we think she looks like Aunt Missie here):

Upclose of Emma from poster 2:

Angels We Have Heard on High

Universal Christmas Angel Part 1

Emma got the part of an angel for a Universal Studios Japan commercial and photo shoot. She would have her photo shoot for the poster and then come back a few weeks later to film the commercial. We rode the shinkansen bullet train for 3 hours to get to Universal Studios. Emma was SOOOOO jazzed about this job. When we arrived, she kept pinching herself saying, "is this real??? this is a dream Mom, this is MY dream!"



Emma walking through the park with a crew man on our way to the studio.Isn't she darling in her WIG?? The director told me through the translator that Emma was so easy because she is such a natural! (Brag alert) She was much faster to shoot than the other models. The Moms of the other models and I were secretly hoping we could take the girls on rides after the photo shoot. The translator told us this would NOT be possible. Well, I always say, "If there is a will, there's a way and I've got a lot of will!" I spoke to the director personally and a little while later he surprised all of us with free tickets! The other Moms were singing my praises :).



We got to ride rides and see shows until the park closed. I even talked Emma into riding the SCARIEST ROLLER COASTER ever, called Hollywood Dream! It was absolutely crazy with upside down twists, turns, and dips; a total blast. We watched the Sesame Street 3-D movie in Japanese... not sure we laughed at the right parts, but we got the gist of it...ha!
Here are all three model angels, Anna, Emily, and Emma. I think Emma looks like Emily.

One day down, two more filming days to go...

Santa's Helper

This year, 4 1/2 Jonas was WAY into Christmas! He insisted on wearing something red and white every single day and night... even if that meant wearing red socks to bed. He slept in a Santa hat for 34 nights straight. I have to laugh at some of the outfit combinations he came up with. Jonas is another festive Ostlund.

What did he tell Santa he wanted for Christmas? A SANTA SUIT... and got his wish!

Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho!

TAGGED by Kelly

So I was tagged to open the 6th picture in my 6th folder and look what I found.... my DARLING little boy hanging out at my parent's Indiana land. He was a love bug of a baby... almost never cried or was fussy... he is that way still. He only cries when his sisters torment him into a ball of frustration. He is an absolute JOY.

Funny thing is that for being my 6th picture in my 6th folder, he is actually 6 months old too! Cool.


Now I tag: Kristine, Trisha, Michelle, Lisa, Missie, Jen, and Kim

Color Me Bad

While touring Odaiba, Tokyo with Aunt Gladys and Uncle Bookie, we ran into these girls. We could not help but STARE at them and figured that if you dress like this you WANT to be starred at. The yarn is weaved into their hair. This first girl shaved a good portion of her head and had piercings to give her the look of "dimples"... just darling.

We asked where they were from... FRANCE. Aunt Gladys asked to take a picture wtih them. When my girls start wearing crazy teenage fashions, I will hold onto these pictures and remember it could always be worse.