Transferred to Obihiro

Liz didn't stay in her first area very long. After just six weeks, she transferred to Obihiro. Updates and photos can be found here!

Also, there is a new church policy--everyone and anyone can email her now! Go to her missionary blog to get her email addy.

Mission Updates

Several new updates with pics on Liz's other blog: www.sugiharashimai.blogspot.com

Any comments left on her mission blog will be forwarded to her.

First Mission Email!

 

Elizabeth/Liz/Mei's first email came today!  You can read it on her missionary blog here.

well this is it.

my auntie holli. we did a fun little photoshoot for our last hangout.
taken by willow's photography

 

today is my last day.

last day to wear leggings and a flannel shirt

last day to blog

last day to be alone

last day for 'merican food

last day to hug baby boy

last day to bike without a helmet

the last day i do things for myself.

 

tomorrow i fly to utah and on wednesday, i start the biggest adventure of my life.

i cannot wait to teach people about Jesus Christ, true happiness, and that families can live together forever. i've been waiting since december 5th when i ripped open that letter.

and now it's finally here!

so this is good-bye.

thank you for reading, encouraging, and supporting me :) 

if you're interested, my emails home will be posted on a separate missionary blog.

take care and, of course, happy blogging!

i'll be back in 18 months :)

and so we walked.

this is how i'm breaking in my boots.

i pushed the stroller while my mom taught the little one on the right to puddle jump.

we made it around the block once but i'm making do with what i've got, rain and all :)

life lately

^^isn't he so dang cute?  and his laugh? i die.

i hang out with baby boy all day and, when he's not crying, is the cutest thing in this world ;)

 

said good-bye to my best friends from high school this past week. we don't share the exact same beliefs but i'm happy they're supporting me.

 

said good-bye to my extended family last week. so many people came to my farewell and i felt so much love and support.

 

i made a list of food i want to eat before i leave and we've been slowly checking them off the list.

 

we took family pictures the other day.....i'm not sure what it is about my family but every time we are put in front of a camera we get silly. so silly.

 

down to six days until i leave. seven until i'm officially a missionary.

 

so those thermals that i bought? been wearing them every day since.

 

i watched perks of being a wallflower. i cried.

 

looking all over for the perfect mission dress...and not succeeding.

 

 trying to tie up loose ends. taxes will probably be the last thing i do...

debating on what movie to go see before i leave. safe haven, oz, or jack the giant slayer? i only have enough pennies for one.

i've made santa fe chicken three times this past week (chicken, rotel tomatoes, cream cheese, beans, and corn over rice). my little brother is in love.


bits & pieces : missionary edition

 ^^it's going to be weird not having my own cellphone to check time. guess i better get used to a watch!

 

^^i'm not too much of a jewelry person so this is all i'm taking. i bought cheap jewelry so that if i lost/broke something, i wouldn't be upset.

 

 ^^black and brown shoes. not the most stylish but they're comfy without being clunky. both are the born brand.

 

 ^^i love scarves! sapporo gets really cold in the winter so i'm bringing both summer and winter scarves. plus it adds more variety ;)

top picture l-r: walmart, gift, gift, japan

bottom picture l-r: walmart, romy, marshalls

 

 ^^so many people have told me know how to mend clothes for the mission. buttons fall off, things rip, tear, etc. my mom made this sewing kit for me when i left for college and i'm so glad she did!

^^one heavy duty, one not so heavy duty. l: target r:costco

 

^^took me a while to find the right container for a first aid kit. this is actually a lunch box with three compartments on top. it's big enough to hold all of my medicine, band aids, essential oils, etc. i found it at marshalls in the kitchen section.

^^i usually keep all of this in my backpack anyway so why not bring it? i have a mini make-up bag to put all this in so it doesn't get lost in the big bag i'm going to carry every day.

^^journals! writing! studying! the sister missionaries in my ward recommended separate journals for studying/conferences and personal. for missionaries going foreign speaking, my mom suggests a little notebook for vocab.

 

^^don't forget these!! especially the jump drive so you can get pictures from other missionaries.

 



^^i attempted outfit pictures, i really did. but me and the self timer aren't on speaking terms now so i'll have to bribe my brother. in my upset state, i changed into this. isn't it sad how creepy my smile looks?

 

every missionary will take different things depending on where they're going but this is just a peek of what i'm taking. any suggestions for important items to take? stuff that other missionaries said they wish they had had?
i'm all ears :)

hello new skin. i'm sure we'll get along fantastically.

one of the biggies of living in northern japan for 18 months is that i'm to be blessed with a cold winter. a snowy, freezing, icy, negative degree winter. on my to-buy list were boots, wool socks, thermal underwear, beanies, earmuffs, ski gloves, light gloves, and a heavy duty coat that would go mid-calf. their winters are serious business. and that stuff is seriously so expensive.

i knew the boots wouldn't be cheap so i was prepared for that. but the thermals! there were cheap thermals but $5 but i didn't think those would cut it in -20 degrees. the next cheapest ones were $25, for tops and bottoms alike. there were 100% silk thermals and merino wools and polyester with wicking. i wanted thin ones so i wouldn't look too bulky as well as breezy enough to not sweat like i was wearing a plastic bag. i looked through quite a few and these are the ones that i ended up with.

for tops:
-the varitherm, duofold by champion. they're for high activity, odor resistant, and have moisture control.
-baselayer by koppen. it provides insulation and is supposed to recycle heat energy back to the body (i'm wearing this in the picture).

for bottoms:
-cloud nine performance base layer by hottotties terramar. they have contoured seams, jersey fabric for added comfort, and have quik-dri comfort control. (i'm wearing this in the picture and have been all day, they're so comfy!)
-omni heat baselayer by columbia. these were pricey but they have the omni heat reflectors inside the pants (same as what emergency blankets are made out of) and are still breathable.
---other than the terramar brand (which i bought at big 5), i bought my thermals at dicks sporting goods.

for wool socks, i bought heat holders and powersox. the inside of the heat holders feel like fleece blankets and the powersox are cushioned and are designed to support your feet. i bought all of them at big 5. for boots, i bought sorels on sale at dicks sporting goods. when my brother saw them, he raised his eyebrows and asked if i was going to antarctica haha.

a part of me hopes this is all overkill. i mean, will i seriously need all of this stuff? but the wimp inside reminds me that i don't like being outside for ten minutes during the winter, let alone eights hours. plus, the riding a bicycle in a skirt part means cold breezes up the legs.

none of this is sponsored, i just wanted to share what i learned so maybe others won't have to go to three different malls to try and find quality at a decent price :)

**disclaimer:  it's not cold enough in seattle to test just how warm these are in freezing weather but i've worn them; so far they're comfortable and, of course, have kept me warm :)

let me tell you how excited i am

SO EXCITED.

 

you wanna know why?

 

because...

 

after ten trips

hours on the internet

and dollars and dollars and dollars

later...

 

i am done shopping!

 

and i think i still like it ;)

hopefully if the weather cooperates, i'll get some outfit pictures up soon!

 



this one is for you mama

it was your 50th birthday yesterday and i know you didn't like it.

"fifty already? where did the time go? almost an empty nester? no way!"

(the list goes on)

but first, i wanted to congratulate you for making it to fifty.

not everyone does, you know.

and think of all that you have done!

you served a mission for our church.

you got married to the right person, at the right time, at the right place, and you're still married!

you raised three kids, one who is especially awesome ;)

you've traveled to and lived on three continents.

you're a master gardener, baby whisperer, cat caretaker.

you're adventurous enough to try and grow anything, animal or plant.

you can put any fruit or vegetable in a jar, have it keep, and make it taste good.

you're quite the visionary; you see potential projects from stuff others think is garbage.

and let's be honest, who else do we know that can rock purple hair like you do?

there's a lot more that i know you can come up with

so before you go thinking "so what have i done with my life?" think about all that you've accomplished!

and besides, you've only reached the halfway benchmark; just think of what's to come!

 

love you so much mama.

hanging out with you the past three months has been so much fun.

i'm so happy i decided to come home :)

happy birthday!

ps. and wasn't that a bomb chicken pot pie?

back when friday nights meant party time

back in high school, friday night meant "YES-time-to-hang-out-with-friends-a-sleepover?-sure-why-not!" i tried my very bestest to have plans for both friday and saturday night. and for some reason, felt the need to document any and every possible moment and then, have cute little photo ops at 2:00 am. those photos are gold my friends.

since tonight is friday and i don't have exciting friday nights anymore (or really any exciting nights out), i decided to dig through old pictures.

it wasn't unusual for me to come home from a sleepover with 200 photos from the night so here are some prime ones from just two nights.

**the following photos may contain embarrassing faces, sugar induced hyperness, and plain teenage craziness. consider yourself warned. 

 

thanks for indulging me. now if only i could get some of that energy back... ;)

my valentines

happy valentines day! these boys are the only ones who will be getting any kisses from me today and i am a hundred percent okay with that. none of this "happy single awareness day" junk. i'm happy for those who have found love; the world needs more of it! it's been cute watching my parents exchange cards and remind each other of their love, it's sweet :) enjoy spending the day with your loves! because i sure will be. chocolate covered macadamia nuts, skyfall, and costco pizza ;) cheers!

halfie life + bit of chinese

 

--hanging out with my dad at his school while he teaches japanese classes all day.

--going to an asian store but not realizing it was the day before chinese new year. the place was PACKED.

--picking up my japanese passport! the lady at the consulate had to verify it was me because "i looked nothing like my picture"

--my dad coming home the other night with pizza and sushi for dinner. nothing like a little 'merica and nippon.

--thanks to our chinese exchange student, eating a feast for chinese new year! i'm always up for celebrating another holiday with food ;)

--digging through my mom's desk and finding 25 passports. you would think we've been traveling our entire lives. ha.

--also finding in my mom's desk my little japanese coin purse that i stashed away before leaving for college, and then finding 10,000 yen in it (the equivalent to about a $100)! thanks for making my day coin purse!

--going to costco and buying a giant box of tampax because most stores in japan don't sell them.

--this new habit i have of putting hot sauce of errryyyythang. pizza, chicken nuggets, broccoli, rice...you get the idea.

i like my halfie life. 

^^the family + alex. 

of babies and kids

while i've been home, i've been lucky to find some part-time work watching kids in addition to helping out my mom with her nanny job. so lately it hasn't been an uncommon thing to have two to four kids at the house. but as grateful as i am for the extra cash, frankly, it's really tiring. i'm only on the job from nine to five; imagine if it was 24/7! i seriously tip my hat off to mamas for how much they do, how much they love their kids, and wearing anything but yoga pants and oversized shirts.

surprisingly, all of this baby time has been a happy wake up call. rather than feeling lonely and almost bitter left out for not getting married yet, i feel awesome! i'm clearly not ready to take care of littles or even take care of a husband but i don't have to worry about all that shtuffs for another two-ish years. i know a mission is going to be exhausting hard work but at least i won't have to change any diapers and i'll get a solid eight hours of sleep at night ;) so thanks babies for reminding me to be happy with where i'm at in life; my future babies thank you!

**this isn't meant to be offensive to anyone who is married and/or has children. this is where i'm at in life and i'm happy about it.

Nippon::Part Four::Bits & Pieces



here are a few more pictures of our trip to japan. just one more japan post until i'm done, promise!

 

^^a castle we visited. not an original but a pretty darn close replica.

^^the most beautiful day at the ocean!

^^we like to eat. a lot.

^^another shrine.



^^food. more glorious food.

^^a giant mall that i only had 45 min to explore.

^^of all the stores from america to have, this one?

^^the fam bam. my dad's face kills me haha.

 

^^my cousin's three year old girl. i wanted to put her in my suitcase and take her home with me! 

^^visiting family graves.  

 

 

^^the house my grandfather grew up in.



Nippon::Part Three::Christmas

i wrote earlier that our christmas would be a little different  than the "usual," western style one but even i was surprised at how un-christmasy it was.

christmas in japan is commonly celebrated with christmas cake and fried chicken. most people aren't christian and don't believe in its true meaning, but there are a few who do santa and presents. my family doesn't whatsoever but they believe in cake and fried chicken ;)

christmas day started off with waking up at 5:30 and going on a run with my dad and little brother. we sat at the kotatsu (a low table with a heater underneath) when we got back and it wasn't until 7:00 that i realized it was christmas day! we all looked at each other with wide eyes, sheepishly giggled, and shouted MERRY CHRISTMAS!! to each other. later that morning my aunt and uncle came to pick us up and we left for our mini vacation. the drive took about 3 1/2 hours but we broke it up.

we went to a shinto shrine called konpira. we had to climb 900 stairs to reach the top but there were shops on the way that kept it interesting. plus a creepy middle aged man with his friends who tried to say something to me in english but his accent was so thick, i thought he was saying something in japanese i didn't understand. then he thought my brother was my boyfriend. my mom asked me who it was and i said no idea. the man's friends heard and said don't worry, just a weird man! haha.

after we visited the shrine, we checked into our hotel and oh baby, it was nice. i've stayed at about three hotels in my entire life so i'm easily impressed but man, i liked that hotel (EXCEPT that the creepy man was there with his friends! the hotel was 2 hours away from the shrine and it was about 4 hours since we'd seen them. what are the odds?!)  our christmas dinner consisted of putting half the ocean on a table and i loved it. a lot of it was formal japanese food that i'm not used to but it was fun, tasty, and so pretty. if there was an award for beautiful presentation, that dinner would've gotten it hands down. i ate so much it hurt to move afterwards. i probably say this too much to make it valid but i've never eaten so much in my life.

after we ate, we headed upstairs to put on our yukata and went to the onsen. most people don't understand why anyone would ever want to go to a public bath so i won't try to explain it other than don't worry, boys and girls don't mix and it's fun.

then we said happy birthday Jesus and went to bed. and that was our christmas :)