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