Fugu, anyone?

Last night, Mr. Top Gun and I went to dinner at one of our favorite places here in Okinawa- Yoshi's!! There is actually a HUGE story behind Yoshi Hachi and why he is so famous here, so I shall give y'all the short version of it: You know that little ol' sushi roll called the CALIFORNIA ROLL? Well, Yoshi INVENTED that! Yes, he actually invented it. He apparently started out in LA, way before the sushi craze began in the U.S., and quickly realized that americans did not have a taste for raw fish- just yet, so he invented the California Roll and the rest is history. Seriously, he is a HUGE celebrity and after living in LA for about 12 years, he moved back to Okinawa and opened his restaurant which has become the place to "Be seen," on island. All the celebrities who visit the bases here, from Tiger Woods to Danny Glover to the various NFL cheerleaders- they have all signed his walls and their pictures are hung all over the place. Very cool!

Mr. and I arrive after making reservations (because if you are in the 'know' here,  you know you do not just walk into Yoshi's... you CALL hours ahead of time to get a seat.) We order our usual Teriyaki dinners and sushi rolls, and then Mr. Top Gun orders this:          


               FUGU. Yep, that's right. We ate the deadly BlowFish.   

                                         


             The good news? We survived! The odd and interesting news? Here ya go: Mr. Top Gun ordered it and as soon as it arrived at our table, he wasted no time in consuming it. He delicately drizzled the lemon over it and popped it into his mouth, while I looked at him like he was nuts (and all the while hoping nothing horrible happened to him...) I asked him what it tasted like and when he told me it tasted like the really good O-Toro (fatty tuna) that we love, I popped it into my mouth too! It was GOOD! Really, really mild and delicate in flavor and not fishy at all. The lemon and scallions were a fantastic complement to the deadly fish ;) We continued on our feasting, devouring the Alaskan roll (salmon and cream cheese) and our Teriyaki dinners complete with: Miso soup, rice, assorted tempura, Japanese salad and beef for Mr. and chicken for me. *Yes, we do enjoy Japanese food!*


                                                       
                                                                    It's Yoshi!

Japanese sushi bar= Perfection! Can you find Yoshi?

                                                    
And then comes the funny part... After about 15 minutes, Mr. and I started feeling a bit odd. Our tongues, cheeks, mouth, and lips were numb and I swear I got a headache almost instantly. It was a warm sensation, then it just became annoying and felt like we had just gone to the Dentist and had our mouths numbed up with Novocaine! This lasted for a good 45-50 minutes, in which time Mr. decided to google 'Fugu' and discovered some interesting facts (AFTER WE ATE IT!)


1.Fugu (Blowfish) is the second most deadliest thing you can eat. Great!
2. Fugu contains a neurotoxin, so it paralyzes it's victim. Meaning that you eat it and you don't feel pain- you just become paralyzed and die from asphyxiation. Nice huh?
3. The fugu apprentice needs a two- or three-year apprenticeship before being allowed to take an official test. The test consists of a written test, a fish-identification test, and a practical test of preparing fugu and then eating it. Only 35% of the chefs who take this test pass it...
4. Any establishment who serves Fugu must have the licences of the chefs certified by the Japanese Government on CLEAR DISPLAY, for all to see.
5. When you eat the fish, you are being poisoned. Removing the sac is what keeps you from dying- but the entire body of the fish is streaming with poison- you just won't die from eating it...
6. It is best to eat Fugu in the winter months, because they fatten up. This would explain why our Fugu tasted like the fatty tuna.
7.Fugu is also the only delicacy officially forbidden to the Emperor of Japan, for his own safety. *Peons may eat it, not the Emperor though.*
                                               

My attire for the evening... Courtesy of my awesome MIL!! 

I am wearing Mr. Top Gun's flight glasses though ;)

Love it!!!

                          And the Top Gun's live another day ;)

Happy Birthday, Mr. Top Gun!

It's official... Today, August 19th is Mr. Top Gun's Birthday!!

I think blogger is retarded because they date my post a full day behind, and we are almost through his birthday here in Japan!

To Mr. Top Gun,

I can't believe I am celebrating another birthday with you. These past three years have flown by (hehe, get it?) and I am so blessed to have you in my life! I love you more today than I did yesterday, and I shall love you more tomorrow than I do today. My love for you will never falter, even if times seem tough and the world seems like it is out to get us- I will always be right beside you, no matter how far apart we may be. Thank you for choosing me to be your Mrs. Top Gun!! You are by far, the sexiest man alive, and I have the life long privilege of having you for the rest of my life.

Oh, Mr. Top Gun you've come a long way, since your days of being a 'swimming champion!' You still have that gorgeous auburn hair though! Don't you LOVE his long, flowing hair here? And check out those lips... He still has the most kissable, luscious lips today! Mr. Top Gun is going to kill me for posting that, but whatever. It's his Birthday!!

Happy Birthday!!! I love you!!!

A night at the Churrascaria

Is it possible to be in a meat coma? Well, I think it is because that it exactly how the Top Gun's currently feel after eating at the most delicious Brazilian Churrascaria tonight. Mr. Top Gun and I joined my parents for an evening of food, wine, fun, and MEAT. Lots and lots of delicious and juicy meats! If you have never been to a Churrascaria, I highly recommend you go to one- it's well worth the price tag and the service is phenomenal. I literally took a sip of my iced tea, and a few seconds later the waiter was filling my glass up again. Now, that is service! We had neat little cards that we could turn over to say: "More meat please," or "No more meat, thank you." Our cards pretty much stayed on the more please side (green side) for the entire meal. They offered over 12 different types of meat, and I ate every selection except for the lamb and the sausages. Mrs. Top Gun doesn't eat lamb- at all... yuck!

Mr. Top Gun enjoyed all 12 selections of meat, and he also polished off a 6 layer chocolate cake (with a little help from my Dad.) I had a bite of the cake, but couldn't stomach anymore to eat after stuffing myself full of sirloin and filet mignon. My Dad enjoyed the salad bar along with us, and helped himself to a Mexican Coffee for dessert- the coffee had Patron tequila in it and packed a nice punch! Below are some pictures from our night out.

Sleep? What is that?

We survived day one of moving and packing. We are alive, but completely drained and exhausted. The good news is that everything went off without a glitch yesterday! We had the most phenomenal moving crew, and they came in to our storage unit (half of our other stuff has been in storage for ever) and went to work- without me having to 'bark' orders at them, which made the move sooo much easier. However, I discovered that I have a secret addiction... I have TONS of DISHWARE!! So much that a good 1o huge boxes were filled and packed to the brim with them. Hey, in my defense I entertain a lot, and I am required to have a lot of china and dishes and fancy glassware. Besides, what woman doesn't need her Kitchen Aide Artisan mixer and all the matching red Fiesta Ware? In all, things went great! My parents stayed with us to supervise and provide some much needed comic entertainment during our long 11 hour day. My Dad and Mr. Top Gun left mid-way through to bring us all back delicious tacos from the BEST little Mexican meat market/restaurant, and we sat on the floor eating them together.

We are dead tired this morning though. Today is our last day of packing at the house, when they come for our express shipment items. As of late, we still have not received a phone call from them stating what TIME they will show up. *Ugh* I have a bad feeling about today, but I'm really trying to stay positive. Mr. Top Gun said he is so tired he feels as if he were out all night drinking, and woke up with a nasty hangover. I feel the same way, and have a lack of sleep induced headache. Isn't PCSing a joy?

Crate number one being loaded!

Mr. Top Gun rolling my Dad in on the dolley. Dad is sitting on top of our HUGE tempurpedic mattress topper, and the other guys are the movers. I think it looks like my Dad is on top of a giant jelly roll!

Scanning and Surveillance...

The light bulbs that had to be taken out from one of our lamps. Naturally, my Dad stepped in and took them. He also swiped about 10 rolls of the good packing tape. Yes, that's my Dad!

The Crates have arrived, the Crates have arrived!

Yeah for PCS! Not really though. Hopefully today goes quickly, but I'm not so sure about that. Can I go to bed yet?

What Mr. Top Gun really does...

I have days when I have questioned as to whether or not Mr. Top Gun is really 'working' when he leaves for the base, due to the fact that leaving the house in full flight suit and with flight bag in hand- yet returning a mere 20 minutes later... Hmm... what are they really doing on the flight line? I finally found the answer, and this picture says it all! *THANKS to BLACK HAT IN THE CORNER* She e-mailed this to me earlier today, so she totally rocks!

What do you want to know about Mrs. Top Gun? Ask away!

I am posting this early, since tomorrow I am going to be running around like crazy getting my nails done, shopping and cleaning Casa Top Gun. So, here it goes...

*What do you want to know about Mrs. Top Gun?*

I know there are some burning questions out there, so ask away! Nothing is off limits.