Daniela's Journey to Tomorrow

Last Post before I get to see my babes....

Hey Girls,

It's about 6:15pm on friday night in Tokyo and this office is still full of people.  You would think it is 9AM in the morning and they are just starting out their day.  I am officially pooped.  We have one more dinner tonight - Shabu Shabu - again since they asked me what i wanted.  They wanted to take me to an Italian restaurant but italian in Japan not so sure. 

I'm hoping for a good night's sleep before i start my 24 hour journey back home which will begin with my bus ride at 9am tomorrow. 

Can't wait to see you guys...Love you...till tomorrow. 

Love, Mommy

One more day....

Hi Girls!!!  I just got off the phone with you not too long ago....Christina you were braiding Daniela's hair.  I can only imagine how nice it looked.  Tomorrow should be a great day for you and daddy.  Spending the day with daddy...how nice.  Christina , as usual you are already thinking ahead...what are we going to do on Sunday and Monday???  Not sure but we will figure something out.  We will definetly have to do the 100th day project for school since it is due on Tuesday. 

DANIELA!!!  I can't believe you talked to me today.  You were worried about my stomach virus.  Such the little caregiver that you are.  HOnestly,  i know i've only been gone for 5 days but it seems like your vocabulary / language has grown.  You sounded like a 6 year old today !!!  So cute.  I miss you guys soooo much. 

Today is my last day in Tokyo.  This morning I took a walk around the town - found a Starbucks !  yippee - and jsut walked aimlessly checking out some stores.  Seeing moms with their babies.  In Tokyo, people ride their bikes often.  It is very expensive to own a car so most people get around in trains and taxis or Bikes.   Mom's get around in bikes .  They have the cutest little seats for their babies on their bikes.  Then in the front of their bikes they have a basket where they put their groceries or whatever shopping they do.  I'll try to get a picture of it today.  I didn't have my camera with me this morning so i missed the opportunity.  =(. 

I'm in the Maersk Tokyo office.  I am getting ready to see some customers the remainder of the day and then a final dinner with my friends and colleagues in Tokyo. 

Tomorrow I start my long journey home.  I take the bus from the hotel to the airport which is about an hour and a half or so.  Check in and wait to get on my way.  I cannot wait to see you when I get there.  I talked to Oksana today and she is very excited about you guys going to Mia's party.  I will be sure to meet you there when i get home. 

Okay cutie patooties...till Saturday!!  I love you very much.

Love, Mommy 

And to my friend Toni - really impressed with your techiness lately...first facebook and now commenting on the blog???  YOur kids will be proud!!!  See you seen my friend. 

Mt. Fuji, Tokyo, and 100th day of School

Hi Christina and Daniela,

It's me again.  Daniela, are you still not talking to me?  It's making me a little sad that you don't want to talk to me.  Your sister on the other hand has made laugh all day.  I spoke to her on wednesday morning and she was cracking me up saying "i love you" as if it were coming from you little girl...she was imitating you.   Just know that i love you.  christina, i love you more.  That's something new you are saying these days.  Very cute.  I say i love you...you say i love you more. 

So it's actually thursday evening in Tokyo as I write this to you girls.  I arrived this morning in tokyo on the bullet train.  super duper fast train.  I'm a little tired tonight.  i woke up at 3am and fell back to sleep till 4.  Then woke up again and read my book...fell back to sleep at 5am...then finally woke up at 615am.  I think i was worried i wouldn't wake up at all and miss the train all together.   The trip was fast 2.5 hours.  I got too see Mt. Fuji on my way to Tokyo.  What an amazing sight.  The day was beautiful today and very clear. You start to see the top of Mt. Fuji (the snow capped top) for about 30 minutes before you actually see Mt. Fuji.  For a while you think all you are going to see is the tippy top.  The train is in and out of tunnels and still you think ...hmmm...okay i saw the top of mt. fuji.  cool.   never did i think i would SEE Mt. Fuji.  All of sudden as the train gets closer, we come out of this tunnel and Mt. fuji practically hits you in the face!!!! You can almost touch it it's so close - it is so big.  It literally took my breath away...it was an unbelievable sight.   I have some great pictures from inside the train.  I can't wait to show you. 

I'm booked at the prince akasaka hotel in tokyo.  right in heart of tokyo.  i stayed here the last time.  i met up with a colleague and we had lunch and we visited with two customers this afternoon.  Since my first meal last night, i've really enjoyed Japaneese cusine.  Last night we had Shabu Shabu.  It's kind of like the American version of Fondue.  Except you cook your meat and vegetables in boiling water in your very own pot right in the middle of the table .   Very cool and very delicious. You and Daniela would enjoy cooking up your own meal.   Tonight, we will also do Japaneese but i'm not sure what.  I'll let you know.  

I'm ready to come home.  I'm missing you guys a lot.  Especially today.   I want to see you guys again.  I wish i was leaving now but i still have two more days in japan before i get to you again.  I know it's a great experience to be here but 4 days without you guys is about all i can handle. 

See you Saturday.  I think I might be able to post one more message to the blog before i head back home.  So check again on friday night or saturday morning. 

I love you guys. 

Christina, how did your show at school go? I'm so bummed i missed it.  And yes, I haven't forgetten about your project to for the 100th day of school.  Maybe I'll try to get something in japan that we can do something with????  Let me see what I can think of....maybe something with paper. 

Love love love love you  so much. 

see you soon.  love, mommy

Kyoto or Bust!

Hey Girls, I just had a huge page typed out and lost it =(.  Anyway, yesterday started out great.  After a good nights sleep, i was at the office at 8:30 am ready for the day ahead.  Our internal meeting went well and I was very pleased at how prepared I was.  Today's meeting at Panasonic should be interesting.  It's difficult to anticipate the tone of the meeting and how it will go but I'm ready as I'll ever be.  After 1pm yesterday, my new friend Yukie and I were off to Kyoto.  The one town i've been wanting to see since my last visit to Japan. 

After a 3 trains and a cab ride to the first temple, I felt really sick.  I began to wonder whether it was motion sickness or Christina's stomach virus.  I convinced myself it was motion sickness.  I told myself that a walk in the fresh air would do me good.  But the nausea was all i could think of.  I didn't get sick but I felt miserable.  I managed to see my first and last temple - the Golden Temple - a beautiful and picturesque sight.  It's gold!  Imagine that! I have two photos.  It was really such a sight.  What a beautiful setting.  But my dear girls, that was the extend of my Kyoto visit.  As we embarked on the next bus ride to the center of kyoto I sadly turn to my tour guide with tears in my eyes and tell her that i have to go back to the hotel.  I feel really sick and need a bed.  So the rest of Kyoto was seen through the inside of bus and yet another train ride.  Mindy you heading back to Osaka is not an easy task...it took us another hour and a half to get back. 

I finally get in at 5:30PM and head straight to bed.  I didn't wake up - only to call daddy - until 9:30AM this morning.  I was so ill!  Fortunately, it is only a 24 hour thing.  As of right now, i've only had toast.  Would love a cup of coffee before the Panasonic meeting but all i could get is ice coffee because a lot fo stores are closed today.  It's a National Holiday in Japan today.  Anyway, I'm much better but i definetly got what Christina had on Saturday.  I wish Casey well and hope he doesn't get it too.  Just my luck - in Japan with a stomach virus....totally missed out on kyoto.  I'm totally bummed out. 

Wish me luck today.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Mochi-san is taking us all of dinner tonight.  Maybe i can get some chicken soup? 

Tomorrow i take the bullet train to Tokyo for the next part of my journey.  Till tomorrow my babies....be good for Daddy. 

Good Morning Osaka!!!

Hey Girls!!! 

Tuesday Morning Japan time. 

Wow!  It has been a long journey but I'm finally in Osaka!  Total travel time from the time I left home till the time i walked into the hotel was a whopping 24 hours!  Can you imagine that?  That's an entire day to arrive in Japan.  The flight from Detroit to Osaka was 14 hours long.  Let me tell you about the plane first....it's ginormous.  Fortunatlely for me I had the emergency aisle exit so I could stretch out my legs comfortably.  Then of course the plane was super empty which meant that no one was sitting next to me so when it was time for me to finally close my eyes I laid across all three chairs.  It doesn't beat business class but her it's better than nothing. 

I got to watch 3 movies on the plane - guess what was playing?  High School Musical 3!  Can you believe it??  What a great movie.  It totally made me think of you girls.  I also saw a great chick flick movie - Nights of Rodanthe - it's a Nicholas Sparks book.  Although, I get bored of reading his books the books definetly become great movies.  It was a tear jerker for sure.  Then I saw the Longshot.  This movie was about a girl who becomes the first girl quarterback!  Daddy would've loved it. 

So now I'm in the Maersk Osaka office.  Everyone is so incredibly nice.  Although everyone here speaks really good English, everyone else in Japan doesn't.  So last night it took me some time to figure out the bus situation to get from the airport to the hotel. 

Today I will spend the day in the office preparing for the big meeting tomorrow.  Then later on this evening a young girl from the office will be taking me to Kyoto.  A very old traditional Japaneese town.  I'll write back to you soon.  It was so great hearing your voices last night.  Too bad Daniela did not want to talk  to me.  She's probably mad that I left.  Surely she'll forgive me by the time I get home. 

Take care my babies...be good for Daddy. 

Love, Mommy

First Leg - 1 hr 33 minutes

Hey Girls, Thanks for waking up with me today and wishing me goodbye! I am going to miss you like crazy but I know that Daddy is going to take great care of tou both. Christina, I hope you feel better today and that you get to go to Jeffrey's bday party. Its going to be warm out so I'm sure you'll have so much fun playing outside. Be good for daddy! Daniela, try to keep the crying to a minimum this week. Don't worry about your hair or if the socks don't line up exactly over your toes. Be easy on daddy. Go to bed early and eat all your dinner. Okay? I love you both!!! I didn't do valentine's goody bags so sorry to all your friends at school! I'll check with you later. We are about to take off to detroit!!! Love, Mommy