busy weekend....LOTS of photos and randomness

I started out the weekend by making this yummy chex mix that I'll serve on Thanksgiving.  It's a friend's mom's recipe and I always request she make when I'm in town because for some reason hers always tastes better!

This is a copy of the recipe I used for a cookbook some girls and I made at FLW

 It's so simple to make.  First, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Then, you start with a box each of rice, wheat and corn chex cereal, a bag of pretzels and anything else you'd like (peanuts or rye chips are good.  this time I added bagel chips and I LOVE THEM) in a roasting pan.  Like the one you cook your turkey in,  it needs to be that big or it will not all fit!

Then you mix the butter, oil, Tabasco (more or less based on how spicy you like it), garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce in a separate bowl and pour it over the dry ingredients and mix it all together and put it in the oven.

Every 20 minutes, remove it from the oven, stir and add a little more Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt then return it to the oven.  Repeat for 2 hours and you end up with 3 gallon size bags of yumminess =)

It's a million times better than the stuff you buy from the store.

Then I ran out the door to head to Tokyo.  Some friends and I (the husband was being a punk and didn't want to go) attended a Japanese Military band concert.  There were a lot of marching bands, including the Camp Zama band

 but then....the real fun started

I wish you could hear their amazingness, but I was so excited that I didn't even think to take a video! ( I love the emotion on these guys faces)

Such a cool experience!

Saturday I taught English lessons to 2 of my students.  I was dreading it because I was so tired and just wanted to sleep in, but my students are awesome and they make it worth dragging my butt out of bed!  After my lessons, we went to the Navy base near by to check out the bazaar they had going on.  We ALMOST finished all of our Christmas shopping there (I'll post photos after Christmas).  We just have to pick up a few bottles of sake and find something for my sister and we'll be finished =)

Saturday night we went out for Mexican food for a friends birthday and then headed to the bar on post for some karaoke.  I was DD and man o man was it an entertaining night!   My husband, our friend Melissa who I've mentioned a time or two on here, and the birthday boy finished off the only bottle of Jose Quervo that they had at the bar then moved on to Patron.  They opened a brand new bottle for them, which they finished and then moved onto a 2nd bottle...it was an interesting night!

Everyone at dinner (it was fitting that the birthday boy's name is Mike)  (funny story, turns out the chick on the far right and I went to the same college at the same time and have quite a few mutual friends but never met each other in Michigan and now both of our husbands are stationed at the same base in Japan....it really is a small world.  That makes 2 people I went to college with that are stationed over here...CrAzY!)

I love that the karaoke system has a smiley face that cries when you aren't doing well

and they had songs in all different languages

I love this crazy guy

before the 3 of them finished the bottle of Jose

 

these girls and I are going to get in so much trouble here, I can just tell

the 5 of us that closed down the bar: Me, Jen, Melissa, Jason and Mike, the birthday boy =)

Today I convinced my husband to go see the new Harry Potter movie with me.  There is a theater a few train stops from us that plays movies in English with Japanese subtitles so we headed over to check it out.  When you buy your ticket here, you choose your seat which I think is really nice.  I thought it was going to be annoying to watch a movie with subtitles but I completely forgot they were there after a few minutes.  I did snap a picture on my iPhone so I could show you all

I hope they don't bust me for copyright infringement for this!

I loved the movie but it was kind of strange that no one left when it was over.  Everyone sat and watched EVERY SINGLE credit!   I have never done that in my life haha.  It wouldn't have been so bad but, unlike every theater I've ever been to in the states, this one was super hot inside!  I would definitely see another movie at that theater.  It was really nice by American standards and like I said, the subtitles didn't bother me one bit!

Tomorrow is last minute shopping and pie making day in preparation for Thanksgiving...I'm so super excited!  I cannot wait to eat this food I've been working on for weeks now!