I'm so Happy it's spring (officially Saturday) aren't you? 

I just guest spoke at the International Beauty Show and the International Esthetics Cosmetics and Spa CONFERENCE. This year it was the best ever! The snow stayed away and the sun shined down on the convention ctr. for 3 beauty filled days.

Background story really quick...

I Blogged this once before and got OOPS! several times.Now, I am trying again. Pardon me if it shows up twice.

For those of you that don't know, I have, what I've come to learn, is likely the lowliest job on the planet. I work the front desk at a doctor's office.Well, I exaggerate, but somedays I do feel like the least respected person in the world. My administrator is cold as ice,  some of the technical staff think that all front desk people (myself included) are developmentally delayed (like, really, all we ever do is answer the phone. How hard could it be?), and a very small percentage of our patients, I imagine, get their rocks off kicking small, fluffy puppies.

We are all at the edge of our seats, media whores, anxiously waiting the sentence for the final Dubose brother here in Jacksonville, FL. For those of you that don't know the story, here's a quick recap. A man, an uncle to 8 year old Dreshawna Davis, robbed 3 brothers, at gunpoint, even forcing one brother to take his pants off in public. The 3 brothers, in retaliation, went to Uncle's house and sprayed the house with bullets.

Well it seems Heartbreak Hotel ruffled quite a few feathers on my ex-fiance's side of the fence. His family decided that my entire post was literal and took it as so. They continue to tell me that I will amount to nothing and call me derogatory names. They say blogs are just outlets to hide behind because I have nothing real to say. Well I'm not hiding. I'm not ashamed of what I do. It just pains me to realize that my ex-fiance painted an untrue picture of me to his family. We called everything off before I wrote that blog. We were not together.

My daughter is 2 yrs and 3 months old, she still has problems sleeping. I seem to have combatted the going to sleep, but it's the staying asleep that is the problem! I have two older boys who share a room, my daughter shares with me and her dad because we only have a two-bedroom house. We are hoping to move, but it could take a while. When she wakes up she will scream and scream until we have to give in and put her in bed with us.

Right after I posted a blog today about Half the Sky and the oppression of women around the globe, I went to that website I mentioned (www.worldpulse.com).  Here I am on Skirt talking about how we can transcend all this oppression and violence, and the next thing on my screen is Join me on the Bridge- a global campaign to show how we can build the bridges of peace and development for our future.  The campaign is sponsored by Women for Women International (www.womenforwomen.org/bridge). 

Let me just preface this story by saying that when it comes to alcohol, I am a liquor drinker. I can handle 6 shots of tequila better than 1 glass of wine. So when Skirt! Wednesday Wine at 9 came around, and my best friend Cassandra and I decided to call in together with a bottle of wine, I knew that it would be good times.

Yesterday as my 5 year old daughter, Scarlett, was getting dressed, something, I don't recall what, prompted me to ask her if she changed her underwear. "Yes" she yelled from her room. "Are you sure?" Without missing a beat, "Yes, I'm sure!" Suprisingly, she had just cleaned her room, and the laundry was done. I walked in and pulled the contents out of the hamper. Her PJ's, one of my T-shirts, and a renegade sock that didn't make the laundry.

Harajuku, Tokyo, is a world of its own. Harajuku is one of Tokyo's popular cities to visit or just to go there to see the very colourful or almost crazy style of dressing that japanese teens embrace.

Street fashion plays such a big part in Harajuku. Its funny because there are even special tours that take you through the ever changing streets of Harajuku - one of the trendiest areas in Japan.

Japanese pop cultre is a highly distinctive collection of fashion, art, music and other forms of expression apprearing in both mainstream society and underground subcultures.

Lots of young japanese follow overseas trends, of course many wanting to be like the western world, but what makes the japanese stand out is their personalized trends and styles that to us outsiders may seem to border on the bizzare.

Its crazy what you see; from maid outfits, dark gothic make up, cute victorian-stlye costumes and multi colored dressing.

The girls' hair tend to be always covered with brightly coloured clips, micro mini pin hats to ribbons and almost anything you can imagine!

For these teens, spending time in Harajuku is practically a necessity. The style trends that you see in the streets of Harajuku and Shibuya come and go.

Yesterday, I could have used a mental health day.  I have heard of these gems yet never been entitled to cash in.  My job does not afford me any accomodations for sickness beyond 5 days and even then I must be deathly ill. Out of 365 days a year, I am allowed to be sick for 5.  That includes doctor's appointments.

So, I drove to work with tears washing off my freshly applied makeup. The quick bounceback of mine seems to be more of an emotional suppression and when the dam leaked - it poured.

I feel better today. Alot of the water is "under the bridge" and I made the most out of dealing with people when I would have much rather accidentally disconnected the phone. I may not have alot of sick leave, but I do have health insurance and a job either of which many would be more than thankful to have themselves.  My beautiful daughter will not remember this man as anything more than a distanced memory.  She is coping well with the sudden mommy-can't-afford daycare and our doggy needs a new home shift of financial and domestic status. 

Soon, I'll be losing the couches in the family room, which are not mine and never were and will replace them long before I ever replace him.  Both, with something carefully chosen that I really, genuinely like.

So...., i have been living in Japan with my military stationed husband for almost 3 years now, and last night he told me we just got our orders approved to move... to Jacksonville, Florida!

I was so happy to hear that, but now its time to say goodbye to my favourite cosmopolitian city; Tokyo.

I swear this city never sleeps, there is always something happening whether its during the day or at 2am.!

I first moved to Japan in late 2007, to be with my then soon to-be husband. We had met in my hometown Brisbane, Australia. It was one of those whirl-win romances and i chose to follow my heart and move to Japan to be with him instead of moving to London as I had planned. I know... right, kind of a big jump. Though, like they say follow your heart and you won't be wrong (hopefully).!

Donna Deegan (right, wrapped in pink against the cold pre-race morning) with Dr. Edith A. Perez, MD, Hematologist/Oncologist Researcher, Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic.  Both ran in today's marathon.