Update...ōendan, nieces, pirates, travels and bound books....

For CED14-254 I chose to pay tribute the the expansion of cheerleading to Japan...why? Because I love cheerleading...and Japan! According to my research, UCA brought cheer to Japan in 1988, pretty soon camps and competitions would catch on. In Japan, cheerleading is known as  ōendan, and sometimes looks like US cheerleading but it also refers to a larger cheering section that uses drums and sometimes even horns to show support for their team!

Cheerleading has since spread worldwide, but I specifically chose Japan since I have travelled there myself...and 'cause I can contact Dr. Tucker over at ECU with any questions!  (Thanks Dr. T!) My Japanese cheerleader features some funky Harajuku-esque styling and the signature peace sign I remember everyone making when we took pictures. Seriously, it really is a thing!

(Left) Random pic of me supporting my ECU Pirates in Japan (Right) CED14-254

(Above) Hanging out with students in Hiroshima and promoting PEACE in July of 2009.

Next up...we have another niece on the way!  My sister is due in a few weeks (even though she thinks it may be sooner, yikes!) and John's sister and her husband just found out that they are having a little girl.  They had a gender reveal party back home in NC and we couldn't be there but we participated via Skype...and the cats got in on the fun, too!  

Turns out, cats don't actually like wearing dog t-shirts.  Just an observation.

...journey from Mr. and Mrs. to future MOM and DAD to a little girl! That will be TWO new nieces in our future and we could not be more happy! And Mackie and Scooter can't wait to meet their new cousins!

For my next art piece, CED14- 255 (yesterday) I decided to abandon my timeline for the day in favor of creating a piece inspired by our alma mater- East Carolina University!  

They played a tough game against Virginia Tech and ended up winning, so what's a Pirate to do?  

Yup, wear one of my ECU shirts and make a purple and gold cheerleader!

Way to go ECU!

Fun times with my favorite travel partner!

Now up to this morning.

John mentioned peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes.
Memories of our many travels, and stays at various hostels immediately filled my mind. Part of our hostel stays always included these pancakes, kind of a community thing, folks from all over the world cooking breakfast in a shared kitchen.

So we had some, and they were awesome.

Last up...a special bound book arrived in the mail.

It was John's dissertation...and I could not be more proud!