Happy Chanukkah!

It's that time of year again... Damian and I have lit the menorah each night, but unfortunately we have both been sick so I haven't quite had the energy for making latkes (potato pancakes) and applesauce yet this year... maybe tonight although we are attending a Chanukkah party at the Chapel of Hope on base tomorrow night and there will be latkes there so I don't know if Damian can handle 2 nights of latkes in a row... I sure can... they're my FAVORITE!!! I bought Chanukkah flowers the other day... they are just random flowers that have been dyed bright blue, but they look nice next to our menorah! We also have a cute little poinsettia right next to our fake tree although the pine scented candle makes it seem a little more real.

Not much going on here this week... pretty quiet actually. Damian has been back to work this week although he was home sick yesterday... I can't believe Christmas is just a few days away... it really came out of nowhere this year! I am missing being home for the holidays but thank goodness for skype that helps us stay connected! It is crazy to look back at our year and think of EVERYTHING we have done in just a years time... Last year at Christmas we weren't even engaged yet... that was the day AFTER Christmas when we were exploring San Francisco and since then we have had a crazy little year... We got married in March in Hawaii... finished up our last semester of Grad school and graduated with our Masters' in May, had 2 wedding receptions in June, one on the East coast and one on the West, Damian left for Japan/deployment in June and I spent the summer hanging in NE studying for my boards, then I moved to Japan in August and then Damian got deployed again, we traveled in Singapore and Hog Kong together and Damian got to see Thailand and South Korea, then homecoming in November and our first Thanksgiving/Chanukkah/Christmas as a married couple and in Japan!!!!! Phew.... that's exhausting just thinking about this past year!

Thanks to my Dad and Sue for the personalized holiday M&M's!!! Love it! Happy holidays to everyone, Happy Chanukkah, Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year to all our friends and family all over the world!

Japanese Phrase of the Day:
Nihongo hanasemasen (nee-hon-go hah-nah-say-mah-sen): I can't speak Japanese