Exciting news that some of you have already read and know is that I am going to get a tattoo. Recap: I am doing a Big Butterfly a little below my belly button, with green ivy leaves on both sides, all the way to each hip bone and a few hibiscus flowers on each side. It is to cover my tummy tuck scar and help me feel better and more self confident. I have been working with an artist to get just the right design that I will love forever. You have NO idea how many different style Butterflies there are! If it was not to cover my scar, I would not be doing it, but it has been almost 3 years and my scar is not fading like my others and I dont want to wait another 3 years, who knows, by then I may not want to wear a bikini the way I do now. Oh.. and for any of you that are ready to start criticizing me about how this is soo NOT me.. STOP now. I have thought LONG and HARD about this. Talked with my husband, family and even my parents. This is not something I am just doing on a whim. This is something that we have been discussing for some time and I am finally ready to make this leap. I did a HENNA Tattoo in Hawaii to get the idea of how it looked and if it was going to be able to do what I wanted and both Josh

and I LOVED IT!! I know a real tattoo will be different, but in my eyes, BETTER!! So please just be happy for me and hope that my pain tolerance is high!! Considering I have very little feeling (cause of previous surgeries) in the area of where I am getting the tattoo, I think for the Most part I will be OK. However not the WHOLE area is numb, so scared about that. Plus the top area is numb in areas, but not sure how it will have under that area with a needle going in and out. It will be a Xanax pill (help with my anxiety) before I go to the appointment and a Pain Pill (left over from previous surgery) in the Middle of the appointment. And YES, I talked to the artist about this and it is fine to take both of those. Just not Illegal Drugs OR being Drunk. So I think for my first time, I am taking all the right precautions to make this experience, hopefully, as pain free as possible and as enjoyable as possible. We were going to start the tattoo tonight, however I decided to let my artist make a original drawing of the different picture ideas I brought him and wanted to combine. So he is working on the design this week, I will look at next week and we are going to start it on the 22nd.

Tattoo Information:

This ladies scar is a lot thinner

then mine so she was able to do a

thinner and much smaller tattoo then mine.

Very close to what my design is like.

Except it will be on my belly, butterfly is

much lower, vines are thicker and longer with the flowers much smaller.

This is another lady who’s scar

was thinner and not my style, but I

am just trying to show examples.

DUGAN - JAPANJUNE 2009

http://inkaddictiontattoostudio.com/Portfolio.html

BEFORE

AFTER

That is the link to the page that gives a good example of what my scar looks like and how it can completely be covered up.

Now that we have internet up, it seems we update most of you daily on facebook. So didn’t think I needed to really do a 1 week update last week. A lot of the same stuff everyday right now. Cleaning, Cooking, Unpacking, playing w/ Mackenzie and relaxing w/ Josh, when I can. So not going to do the day to day update this time around. I will save you all the pain! I will try to be more brief, but we all know that is not really me, so you will have to hang in there if you really want to know what all is going on.

Josh was sick of Memorial weekend. So although we still did some running around to get some things we needed to get this house more suitable for us, he just felt awful the whole time. I left him at home sleeping all day one of the days. He seemed to have a big cold or a slight case of the flu. It never got too serious of course, or we would have to the ER, however it pretty much ruined his Holiday weekend. He just laid around and slept for most of the 4 days he had off. However, he is much better now and feeling Great this weekend! So we hope to get to have some fun this weekend, since the house is ALMOST complete.

Nothing too exciting going on with Josh's work right now. Just a lot of in processing paperwork and meetings. However, I think next week things are going to start picking up for him at work and he is actually going to start getting busy with his real job. He just text me that he is going to start flying again next week. Sucks that as soon as I get the house all in order, he has to really start working again. That's OK though. Since he had to do all that work before leaving to come here, he did not take hardly any leave time. So we have a lot saved up to take some time for us later. Already planning a couple weekend trips to

some of the other smaller islands around here.

The house is really coming together. I have every room gone through and cleaned up now. There are just a few things we still need that are not all that cheap, so we are slowly having to get those things to actually "Complete" the house. For instance, we have had to spend like $500 just on transformers for our important electronics. This house was great that the Major appliance's in the kitchen were already built to have the American voltage. So Fridge, Dryer, Stove, microwave..etc.. are running fine. But for our computers, tvs, dvd and blue ray players, phones, alarm clocks etc... we have to have a transformer to protect those items by giving them the right enough voltage to work and these things are not cheap. $100-200 brand new and so we searched and have been getting them used from people leaving the island for $50-100 each, but it still adds up when you need as many as we do.

We are down to only needing a Storage Shed, Towel Cabinet, Oven Drip Pan, Ice Trays, Ice Bucket, Hoover wet/dry Vacuum for all the tile that we have and lastly a Pot Rack for the wall (to save space in cabinets, since so limited and also to help not let the PINK get chipped off the pots/pans that Josh bought me for our anniversary). At least that is all we can think of that we need right now.

Was going to let Justin start school, but they said he did not need to since he had good semester grades from Oklahoma and that they would be testing on stuff he had not studied. So has spent most of his time on his Xbox Live playing with his friends in the states. I will be glad to get him out of this house too and exploring with me. I just know we are going to

have some awesome family time on this island.

Mackenzie is in hog heaven living this close to the ocean. SHe spends a lot of time outside just staring at the Ocean. She absolutely loves the beach and wants to go daily. I look forward to taking her there a lot while we are here. She is definitely in the terrible twos! Talks back, says NO, Sneaks into the fridge, Yells at her brother..etc.. I will be glad for her to turn 3 and get past this stage!

Sorry for all the confusion about the phone numbers there for the first week. However, it is all taken care of now. I guess during the transfer of number from AT&T to Vonage, there was a about a week of split service, where I could call out on the Vonage phone and it would show my cell 405-664-5023. But then if you tried to call it, AT&T was still receiving the calls, so it just went to voicemail. It is completely transferred now and so we can make and receive calls from that number.

We had some neighbors move into the other side of our duplex last weekend. They are a younger couple, she is 21 and he is 25, Tara and Adam. They have a little 1 year old boy named Noah and are looking to have another one soon. He is in the Army, special forces, so he will be gone probably half of the time they are here. He seems to be a very bright young man whom is already and E-5 and up for his E-6 board next year (for those who know what that means) Being 25, that is very motivated. They seem to be very nice and we have had dinner together once and visited a couple times. We think we are going to enjoy having them as neighbors.

The Family Stuff!!

KARAOKE-JAPAN STYLEKARAOKE -Karaoke was brought into the world around 1971 by a particularly inventive Japanese singer who leased tape recorders for sing-alongs. Translated as “empty” (kara) and “orchestra” (okesutora), karaoke was initially a novelty concept for entertaining businessmen in hotel rooms. By the 1980s, however, karaoke went global.

Karaoke bars and shops are spread all over the country. However, in Japan, karaoke is done a little different than back home in the US. It is not execution style where you go in front of the whole bar and blast out a song, but instead, you have a private room (karaoke boxes) for just you and your friends. Each is equipped with a karaoke player, screens, and microphones. One can also order drinks and food in most karaoke boxes. Such rooms are available in various sizes: from rooms for only two persons up to large party rooms.

With a remote control one enters a title, and within a few seconds the video clip of an instrumental version of the selected song with written lyrics appear on the screen.

Many karaoke bars are open 24 hours. You hire a room with a group of friends for around $12 per person per hour. This sometimes features an all-you-can-drink or an all-you-can-eat deal.

As you will see, I have already had the pleasure of this experience 2 times back in 2002, while visiting Kristi & Jeff.

Mary’s Adventures w/ Karaoke

A karaoke box in a skyscraper in Shinjuku, Tokyo, featured in the movie Lost In Translation.

Awesome Black light rooms. The Lights move to beat of the music!

This is a larger karaoke room then the normal. It is for 15-20 people, like for birthday or business get togethers!

We PROMISE to take whomever comes visit us out to experience these great Japanese ways of Partying the night away!!

I am Sorry Kristi, but this is the ONLY pic I have w/ me in it! I am taking all the rest!

NOTICE: The red top being worn by the girl in bottom pic is now on Eric! (side pic) This was actually MY top!! For some reason on our 2nd trip to the bathroom we all started exchanging clothes.. No idea why!! Just sounded good at the time to our drunk selves!

* TRASH THE DRESS *Some more exciting news is about about a photo shoot that I will be doing next Saturday.. A photographer here on the island saw some of my wedding photos and asked if I would be willing to do a "TRASH THE DRESS" shoot with her. She needs one for her portfolio and said the shoot would be complimentary. So, I brought my wedding dress with me and I am looking forward to this photo shoot. For those who don't know, Trash the Dress, is a photo shoot that is kind of like burning your school books after you leave school – celebrating the stress relief after the wedding. When the wedding is over, you have two choices of what to do with your dress; suffocate it in a plastic bag and hope that your daughter will want to wear it in 20 years, or you can put it back on and have some fuN! Trashing the dress has caught the attention of the media and is becoming a hot topic on bridal forums. The website, www.trashthedress.com , has already been featured on "Good Morning America," "ET- The Insider," National Public Radio, and in The New York Times. I have a lot of examples that I have found on the internet that I will share with you now, as well as our pics next month.

FUN AND GAMES - JAPAN STYLE

KARATE -means "empty hand". Okinawa is known as the home of the karate. Karate is a style of unarmed martial art for the purpose of self defense and building discipline. Karate was introduced from China during the 14th century when Okinawa was prohibited from having weapons. The Karate seen today is said to be a mixture of the martial art of southeast asia and chinese kung fu.

SUMO - is Japan's traditional sport and it originally started as a shrine ritual to show your strength in front of God. Tournaments are held in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka in odd numbered months. Even though SUMO is favored mostly by elder people, its popularity has spread to younger generations due to the great achievements of foreign sumo wrestlers these days.

PACHINKO - is a pinball game that is very

popular all over Japan. Players buy a handful of small steel balls and feed them into a machine. Then the player just lightly holds the handle and

flips the balls attempting to place them in the winning hole. When the balls fall into the winning hole (the one on the center) the player gains

dozens of additional balls to continue the game. And with the amount of the balls you earn, you will be able to exchange them to prizes such as

snacks, cigarettes, and commodities.

BULLFIGHTING - Okinawan bullfighting began as a pastime for farmers who raised the animals. The sport eventually grew and became a sort of tradition in Okinawa. It is a popular form of amusement here. The contest begins with the bulls locking horns and

attempting to wrestle the other to the ground. A winner is declared when the opponent submits by turning tail and running from the fight. The bulls are traditionally trained to not intentionally hurt each other. However, in the heat of the moment, a bull might occasionally gore his opponent, which immediately ends the fight.