Queen B

Beijing Photo Dump!

2012-01-08T22:49:00.003+09:00

I can't believe I never blogged about our trip to Beijing! We went the first weekend in September for 4 days. It was a whirlwind trip, there is SO MUCH to see and do, we were going non-stop from the minute we landed. I had a fabulous time and would love to go back again, we didn't see even 1/4 of what I wanted to see.

The kids, however, were less than impressed. They've become very spoiled travelers and aren't much interested in "adventure". Beijing is a pretty dirty city, you can't drink the water, the public toilets don't provide toilet paper, and you can't flush TP, you just toss it in a garbage can next to the toilet. Really, really gross. Pretty disgusting for even the hardiest of travelers, absolutely unacceptable for my soft lot. Poor Meg has a bit of an OCD issue and doesn't deal well with "germs" so she was particularly uncomfortable for most of the trip. The vendors at all the different tourist spots and markets are also very aggressive, getting right in your face shouting about their "special deals" and in some instances physically grabbing you by the arm and dragging you to their stalls. This really freaked Meg out and on our second trip to the Silk Market, she opted to stay behind at the hotel because she just couldn't handle the hawkers. With her blonde hair, she really stood out and attracted a lot of attention. None of it was negative, people were genuinely in awe and we were stopped often and asked to pose for pix, Meg most of all and even Ethan a few times. The spotlight is not something Megan is at all comfortable with, so again, she was far, far outside of her comfort zone most of the time, but to her credit, she didn't complain at all and really tried to enjoy the trip for the once-in-a-liftime opportunity that it was. She was friendly to everyone who stopped her and smiled for pix like a pro. All that aside, it was an awesome trip for me. I did TONS o' shopping and there's just so, so much to see!

Anyway, here are some of the best pix:

The first of many "Picture please!" moments for Meg

At our first stop, the Summer Palace

Stopping for break at the Summer Palace

In the palace, heading up to the roof tower

View of Kunming Lake from the top of the palace

Ethan about to board the dragon boat for a ride across Kunming Lake

Bird's Nest @ Olympic Park

Kid's Republic bookstore

Gabi and Ethan reading a story in the window nook at the bookstore

Our huge, completely awesome, dirt cheap hotel room at the Hilton Wafujing

At AMP mall, waiting for our table at Pizza Hut (over on the left). It was an actual sit-down Pizza Hut restaurant, haven't been to one of those in YEARS!

Escargot on the Pizza Hut menu, cause what else would you order with your pizza?

One tiny part of the Wafujing Night Market

Snack time! Scorpions, sea horses, lizards and locust. A whole new kind of yakitori!

No caption needed.

Tiananmen Tower (entrance to the Forbidden City)

Another "Picture please!"

A testament to Meg's unease.
They haven't held hands since Meg was 3!
You can see those grandma's in front turning around to look at Meg. They stopped us and wanted to touch her hair, then they gave the kids some candy.

Tiananmen Square

Heading up the Great Wall

Some parts were super steep

Ethan and his "I climbed the Great Wall" medal

Probably my favorite pic from the whole trip. Planking on the Great Wall!

After finding out the waterpark we been so excited about for WEEKS was closed, and it was our last day

The Water Cube (home of the waterpark FAIL) @ Olympic Park

After the Great Wall. Just cute.

Xmas Traditions

2012-01-05T21:26:00.001+09:00

Well, only one tradition really. Every year, when I lived here at Yokota as a little girl, the base would erect giant Christmas cards representing all the different groups/organizations on the base. The cards were painted on giant 4 x 6 foot pieces of plywood and each group designed and created their own unique card. I have very vivid memories of driving around looking at these cards every Christmas, choosing which ones were our favorites, ooo-ing and aaah-ing over the really elaborate ones, laughing at the really horrible ones.

Imagine my absolute shock and unbelievable happiness when I discovered, during my first Xmas back in Japan, that the base has continued this tradition for the last 35 years (probably longer, don't know how long it was going on before my memories!). I was so happy to be able to share this tradition with my own kids!

In the pic above, you can see the cards stretching all the way down the road. There are usually about 35 cards in total.

To add another layer of joy to the tradition, last year Gabi painted a giant Xmas card as her end-of-the-year project for her art class at school. We had no idea it was going to be one of THE Xmas cards. Turns out is was the card to be used in the base display to represent the schools' District Superintendent's Office!

These cards are such a happy part of my childhood Christmas memories, and I'm so glad that now my kids have the same happy memories.

Another Blog......

2011-12-26T22:52:00.000+09:00

....that sacrificed itself so that FaceBook could survive! We're all still here, still doing pretty much the same old thing!

The kids are good, enjoying their Christmas break. They get just over two weeks off, I think they go back to school on January 3. Gabi is managing the HS girls' basketball team again this year, and Meg is actually playing on the JV squad! She's never played basketball before, but seems to be enjoying it (I think she likes the shoes more than anything else!). They're both doing well in school, though Gabrielle's got a major case of Senior-itis and is counting the days until graduation.

Ethan played soccer in the Fall, is still enjoying 1st grade and seems to have developed an affection for Barbies (which he tries desperately to hide and will deny to his death if confronted). I tell him, every chance I get, that all kids are allowed to play with any toys they want, that there are no "boy" toys or "girl" toys, they're all just "toys" and regale him with tales of my Hot Wheels collection and favorite Star Wars action figures that I had as a little girl. He's not at all convinced, and I'm sure he would be teased mercilessly at school if anyone found out. I made the mistake of sending Girl Scout cookies in his lunch one day, and some little shit laughed at him for it! Kids can be such jerks!

Work is good, pretty busy leading up to the holidays, when lots of the military folks take long vacations, so I was trying to cram in as much work as possible that required any input from any of them before they left. I'm actively searching for another job. My current job is scheduled to end in September 2012, and though there is the possibility of a one-year extension, I don't want to be in the same place I was a year ago and be completely screwed if it doesn't happen. I'd really, really love to go to Korea next, but honestly, I'll take anything, anywhere.

We're heading to Guam for 5 days next month. It's already so cold here, I can't wait for some sunshine and beach lounging! Meg went to spend Thanksgiving with her dad, so she's happy to be going back again so soon.

Think that's pretty much it for us! Nothing very exciting or blog worthy! I guess that should be a good thing, considering how bad things were for me this time last year! Wishing everyone (if there's even anyone left) a happy, healthy new year!!!

All I Need is a Chopstick!

2011-10-08T10:24:00.000+09:00

Last night, Ethan and I were leaving the football game, walking behind a dad and his young daughter. Ethan turns to me and says "You know what makes me so sad? When I see other kids with their dads and I don't have mine." FUCK ME SIDEWAYS! How in the hell am I supposed to respond to something like that????? What am I supposed to say? It was all I could do not to bust out crying right there on the sidewalk. It completely caught me off guard.

In the 14 months since DB moved back to America, Ethan hasn't talked about him at all. Never asks about him, never mentions him, nothing, ever. DB calls every once in a while and E will happily chat away, but when the call is over, it's like it never happened. I've tried a few times to bring up his dad, but I may as well be talking to him about the lifecycle of broccoli for all the interest he shows. He's showed no ill effects of his dad being gone, he's the same happy, laid back kid he's always been, so this comment totally surprised me and nearly left me speechless.

Eventually I said, "Well, I bet your dad loves you more than any of those kids dads!" Maybe not the best response, but I was literally at a loss for words, scrambling to find the right thing to say, wanting to ease his pain, while at the same time wanting him to know it's okay to be sad and to miss his dad. I went on for a few minutes about always having his dad in his heart, and even though they're not together they'll always be a family, blah, blah, blah. But in my head I was digging DB's brain out through his nose with a chopstick.

LOL (Lots of Love) for Gaijinwife

2011-09-09T17:51:00.005+09:00

Please say a prayer, send a vibe, burn some incense, do your thing, whatever that thing is, for my friend Katy over at Gaijinwife. Katy literally JUST lost her mom to brain cancer, less than 4 months ago, and has now found out that her dad has lung cancer.

Katy is a bloggy friend, we've never met face-to-face, but that doesn't seem to matter at all, I still consider her as much a friend as any one I've ever clinked margarita glasses with in real life. The internet makes the huge, wide world seem like a really small place and through our blogs, a lot of us have shared many joys and pains, celebrations and sorrows. Katy holds nothing back on her blog, she's honest, funny, caring and real, and she, along with many others, offered me support, comfort and encouragement as I weathered my own shit storm two years ago (although that crapfest was nothing compared to the hell Katy and her family are going through). I hope I've been able to give a little of the same to her in return.

Be strong Katy, know that you've got an army of friends the world over cheering for you and ready to help and support you and your family in any way we can! LOL

Cuteness Overload

2011-07-03T19:15:00.001+09:00

Nyan-chan (tho we all call her Baby Cat) joined our family about 6 weeks ago and is now probably the most spoiled kitten on the face of the earth.

We all fight over whose lap she should cuddle in and whose bed she'll sleep in every night. The girls "prepare" her food twice a day: she eats a mixture of wet and dry food. Since she only gets a little wet food at a time, the rest is kept in the refrigerator and the girls warm it in the microwave before giving it to her!

Initially Meg insisted on changing the litter box everyday. Not cleaning it, actually completely changing out the litter every.single.day, but I convinced her it was a waste of time and more importantly money, so she settled for scooping it 2 - 3 times a day, heaven forbid Nyan-chan should have to use a litter box with pee or poop already in it!

The girls also pooled their money and bought her a "cat condo", one of the those 3-level climbing things with a built-in bed and scratching post, and she has more toys than Ethan does.

Any time any one of the kids walks in the door, it's no longer "Hi Mom!" it's "Where's Baby Cat?" Oh well, at least I'm not the one feeding and cleaning up after her like I usually am when we have a pet, I'll gladly take 2nd place in that case! And she is awfully stinkin' cute!

The big 4-Oh NOOOOOOO!

2011-06-30T11:32:00.000+09:00

My 40th birthday is quickly approaching. Bearing down on me like an out-of-control bullet train, and I'm tied to the tracks, helpless to avoid the impending carnage. People say "age is nothing but a number" and "it's how you feel on the inside that counts!" Yeah, well, guess what? INSIDE I feel 60!!!!

The last two years have really kicked my ass emotionally, mentally, even physically. I'm exhausted, disheartened, disappointed and discouraged. I'm working really hard to get to a better place, and most days I'm okay. Better than okay actually. Most days I'm actually pretty good. But with this major milestone birthday looming in just 13 days, I'm feeling......ill at ease. A little shaky, very uncertain and more than a little sad when I look at where I am at this point in my life. THIS is all I've managed to accomplish in my 4 decades on this planet????? (Shit, in 10 short years I'll be half a century old!!!)

So, with all that negativity hanging over my head, I've decided to accomplish something monumental (well, monumental for me at least):

I'M GOING TO CLIMB MT. FUJI!!!!!

Somehow it just seems fitting, conquering that mountain, reaching the summit. I'm hoping it will be the jump start I need to make forty a FABULOUS year.

So, T-8 days and counting. I'll be climbing Fuji-san next Friday night with two co-workers (both much younger and in much better shape than me!). I am determined to reach the top, to watch the sun rise on this new decade of my life. Wish me luck!!

Beijing, baby! or China, please accept my humble apology.

2011-06-26T21:18:00.001+09:00

Booked our tickets on Friday for 4 days in Beijing, the first weekend in September.

For whatever reason, I've never had any interest in visiting China, at all, ever. It's just never interested me, and I've got a miles-long list of other Asian countries I must visit before we leave Japan, so I had no plans of ever going. Honestly, when I thought of China the only things that came to mind are Communism, pollution and a massively huge population. Then one day, Gabrielle mentioned she'd always wanted to visit the Great Wall. Since she's shown absolutely ZERO interest in visiting or seeing anything at all the entire 4 years we've been here (sadly, she did not inherit my incurable wanderlust) I pounced like rabid cheetah. WE ARE GOING TO CHINA!

Usually, I'm obsessive about trip planning, spending months and months in advance scouring the internet for any and every scrap of information about our destination, picking the perfect hotel, planning itineraries down to the minute, mapping out routes, deciding restaurants and meal plans for every single meal of every single day. I'm always so worried that we'll miss something awesome if the trip isn't meticulously planned in extensive detail (it sounds tedious, I know, but I absolutely love it, it's nearly as fun as the actual trip itself!).

Seeing as China's never been on my travel list and I couldn't think of a single thing we absolutely had to see, I figured this would be an easy trip to plan. Great Wall, check. How will we ever spend the other 3 1/2 days??? After a little Googling to figure out how to entertain three bored kids in a completely foreign country for 3 1/2 days.........holy shit. There is NO WAY we'll see even half the stuff I want to see in just 4 days!!!! I honestly had no idea. How could I not have known how awesome China is? I feel like a stupid shmuck who's been left out of some kind of global secret.

I'm so freakin' excited about this trip!!!!! I think we're going to need to extend it at least one more day. The only thing is, I booked for the weekend right after school starts, as it's a 4-day weekend for me, and a 3-day weekend for the kids, so they'd only miss 1 day of school and I wouldn't need to use any vacation days. But it's China. IT'S CHINA! Surely they can miss two days of school to visit CHINA?!?!?! Even if it's literally at the beginning of the school year, right? GAAAHHH!!!!

Anybody ever been to Beijing? Any tips, advice, "must see" spots?

China, I'm so very sorry I underestimated you all these years and I can't wait to meet you!

Things-I-Love Thursdays #2

2011-06-02T21:58:00.000+09:00

It's been a rainy week, plenty wet to dampen even the brightest mood, but I've been okay, helped greatly by the 4-day wknd plus the additional 1.5 days I took off yesterday and today. What a perfect segue to the first thing I'm loving:

1. I LOVE my job. I'm the only member of my department, besides the secretary I share with the rest of my section, which means there's not a whole of need for accounting for my time or my whereabouts. It's the kind of program that no one ever notices, unless something goes horribly wrong, so I can pretty much do as I please as long as things stay on track. No suspenses, no deadlines, no stress at all, and my schedule is super flexible. I'm free to take off during the day to do dr and dentist appts w/ the kids, attend their school functions, have lunch w/ them. Because my department works independently of all the other sections, with no real deadlines, I can take time off w/out worrying that others are being burdened by having to do my work while I'm gone, or that I'm preventing others from getting their work done b/c my work is missing. There's nothing in my department that will suffer in my absence or that can't wait until I return.

2. I love the brazen bamboo attempting a coup in my backyard. I have a nice, thick stand of bamboo separating our yard from the neighbor's, and in the last 3-ish weeks, crazy shoots of bamboo have started exploding from the ground all over the backyard. That stuff grows FAST, shooting up over 2 feet in less than a week! Unfortunately, I'm going to have to hack most of it down as it's busting through my garden tiles, literally tossing them aside as it springs up, but it's fun to watch how fast it grows and seeing the random places it pops up.

3. I love our new kitten, Nyan-chan, curled up purring on my lap. It's been over ten years since we had a cat and I'd forgotten how sweet and cuddly kittens are. She's also a lot fun to watch when she plays, jumping, pouncing and flipping all around, chasing anything that moves, including the cursor on my computer screen!

4. I love curry, which is weird, because I HATED curry before I moved to Japan, couldn't even stand the smell of it. And then, I was introduced to CoCo's Ichibanya. Everyone around here absolutely raved about CoCo's curry, how addictive it was, insisting I'd love it. The first time I had it, I really wasn't impressed. It wasn't bad, but I really didn't see what all the fuss was about. A few days later, I had the most incredible craving for more CoCo's and I've been hooked ever since. Add some cheesy-garlic nan on the side........pure bliss.

Happy Thursday everyone, it's almost Friday!!!

Things-I-Love Thursdays

2011-05-26T21:31:00.008+09:00

Over the last 18 months (Holy crap! Has it really been that long?) I've hosted far more than my fair share of pity parties. And while things are markedly better in that area these days, I'm still not quite "there". I'm no where near happy, but I am moving towards "okay" at a decent pace. I desperately WANT to be happy again, and I know that a big part of getting there, being truly happy, is being content with where I am in my life, being aware of, and grateful for, the things I have. I heard a saying the other day that expressed the place I'm hoping to reach "We may not be where we want to be, we may not be where we need to be, but we're damn glad not to be where we WERE". I'm still not in that place yet, not yet happy that I'm not where I was, I'm not yet in the place where I'm convinced that I'm better off now than I was then, that here is so much better than "there".

In my effort to reach that happiness place, I'm earnestly seeking to live a more grateful life. I'm reading books on grateful living, started a gratitude journal, I'm giving meditation (and medication) a go, I recite daily affirmations, have inspirational quotes taped on the bathroom mirror, the refrigerator, my computer screen, the rearview mirror of my car, I even carry a "worry stone" in my pocket and every time I touch it, I think of something I'm grateful for. The idea is that eventually, being grateful, living gratefully, will become second nature and when you're grateful, you become a happier person and good things start to happen to you, or maybe you're just in the right frame of mind to start MAKING good things happen, either way, good things are bound to follow.

And so, I've decided to join other bloggers who post "Things-I-Love Thursdays" posts, to remind myself that there ARE things in this life, in this time and place, that I love, that make me happy and that I should appreciate, things I wouldn't have if I were "there", instead of here. So here we go...

I love the weather right now, it's one of my favorite times of year. Summer is on it's way, but we're easing into it nice and slow, nights are the best, very pleasant and mild, perfect for long walks or just sitting on the back porch watching the bats flitting around. Japan has four very distinct seasons, which I love. In the part of Florida I was in before coming to Japan there was only one season: hot. Even after 3.5 years here in Japan, I'm still in love with the changing seasons.

I LOVE my backyard. It's my own private, little oasis, and I've been working on it slowly as the weather has gotten warmer. I have my hammock up and about half of the patio tiles down. I've decided to put two comfy chairs and a cafe table on the porch, then a regular table and chairs under the gazebo (which won't go up until I get the rest of the patio tiles down and it's not a real gazebo, just the canopy type on a metal frame). The kids and I love eating dinner outside during the summer, so I'm really looking forward to finishing up. We had to take a 3 bdrm house when we got here (after 2.5 mths of living in a hotel), but were eligible to move up to a 4 bdrm after 6 mths, but I love my backyard more than I'd like another bedroom, so we're staying put.

I've got kind of a love-hate thing going on with Japan right now, but it's mostly, almost always love, and the things I love here far outweigh the things I hate (maybe hate isn't even exactly the right word, maybe "tired of" or "frustrated with" is better)

The kids and I are going to Beijing in September, our first major vacation in over three years, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the planning part of taking any trip. I spend hours scouring the internet finding just the right hotel, making a list of the must see attractions, printing out maps, planning itineraries. I'm an obsessive list maker and big trips are a major list-making event!

I love that I have friends who automatically think of spending time with ME when they stop breastfeeding! LMAO! Planning a "girls' Tokyo weekend" with my beautiful Niigata neighbor in two short weeks, CAN'T WAIT!!!

I could probably come up with a few more things I'm really loving right now, but this is a good start! Gotta go tuck my pumpkin into bed, tomorrow starts a four-day weekend for us, Monday is Memorial Day in the U.S. and the military usually denotes the Friday before a Monday holiday as a "Family Day", but I'm going into work for a little while, and E will be going to daycare (because he loves it and always has a good time).

SDGH&GL
(this sign-off was shamelessly stolen from GW, but I changed her "QL" (quiet living) to "GL" (grateful living))

Happy Birthday Gabi!

2011-05-14T20:23:00.002+09:00

Proper post w/ pix in the works, but for now:

HAPPY 17TH (crap!!) BIRTHDAY GABRIELLE!

Gabi is spending this very busy birthday weekend in Tokyo (what a life!). Tonight is her school's prom, on her birthday, how awesome is that? At the New Sanno, no less! Gabi is on the prom committee, and they left for the hotel straight from school yesterday to start decorating. Also today were the Kanto Plains Track & Field Finals in Haneda, so she was on the train bright and early this morning from Hiro-o to get to the meet, then rushed back to the hotel to get ready for the dance. She'll spend tomorrow cleaning up and be home after lunch. This is her first birthday we've ever been apart, but I know it will probably be one of her best birthday's ever. Have a great weekend Hootie, you deserve it! I'm so incredibly proud of the woman you are becoming, I honestly couldn't ask for better kid, you're a wonderful daughter and such a great big sister. Meg, Ethan and I love you!!!

No mojo

2011-04-01T18:45:00.001+09:00

No desire to blog at all. Work? Stress? Worry? Don't know, don't really care at the moment. I went to Guam on the 22nd because G and E's accommodations weren't working out as I'd hoped, and I didn't want them back in Japan yet. We stayed until the 28th, until I was out of vacation days and out of money. We're all back in Japan, but I'm not happy about it.

Things seem stable at the moment on the nuke front, but I only believe about half of what TEPCO and the GOJ are saying and I'd feel so much better if there were viable alternative for getting the kids out of here that I could live with. Things are stable physically as well, I haven't felt a single tremor since we returned. Gas and food/water were never in short supply on base and although rolling blackouts have been scheduled nearly every day, they've all been cancelled and we've never lost power. So, other than the fear of my future grandchildren being born with two heads, things are okay. Bleh.

Please don't poo Nuclear Boy!

2011-03-20T22:11:00.001+09:00

And then....

2011-03-15T22:21:00.001+09:00

...what? I don't even know where to begin. The devastation being revealed in the aftermath of the quake and tsunami literally gets worse every.single.day. It's so horrific, absolutely gut wrenching. My heart breaks for Japan and her people, all those who've lost, or been lost.

Recovery efforts are in full swing, and I'm overjoyed to be playing a part. I posted about the commercial planes that were diverted to our tiny air strip after the quake on Friday. Two of the 11 planes ended up staying over night, which meant food and accommodations needed to be provided for the 630 passengers and crew. I'm a Red Cross volunteer here and we were activated to set up the community center, process passengers and distribute meals. It was a busy night, but it was good. The RC volunteers were activated again Saturday evening to clean and stock one of the apartment buildings on base to house the relief teams that would be coming. Another busy day.

On Saturday it quickly became clear that our base, because it's the airlift hub for the entire Pacific Air Force, would also become the hub for relief activity. Relief workers and supplies process through our base on their way to Tohoku. That means immigration/customs, food, accommodations, transportation, even vet/kennel support for relief workers (and search & rescue dogs!) I work in the Logistics squadron, which, as it sounds, is responsible for all the logistical coordination of the disaster and relief personnel and supplies. Plane loads of people and supplies started arriving on Saturday, so we've gone to 24/7 operations. I worked a 12-hour shift on Sunday, 10 on Monday and again today. I'm exhausted, but it's a good exhaustion. It helps to know that, in some tiny way, I'm helping.

Now we've got the impending (or not?) nuclear "crisis". What a cluster fuck! It's so horrible, as if Japan hasn't suffered enough, now there's this. It's IMPOSSIBLE to get a clear answer or any kind of direction. On one end of the spectrum, the "experts" are insisting there's absolutely no threat of any harm, even in the absolute worst case of complete nuclear meltdown. On the far, opposite end, you've got "experts" saying there's a very real, very probable threat of radiation contamination and sickness. It's so terrible not knowing what's going on. Some people saying we should stay, everything's fine. Others are saying go, as quickly as possible?!?! WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO??? Who's right? Both sides provide very credible arguments and seemingly scientific evidence, and they completely contradict each other. It's so confusing, and so scary. I don't want to panic, I'm trying to stay calm, be reasonable, but CRAP! I'm a single parent with 3 kids to consider. I can't sleep, can't eat (not necessarily a bad thing) I've been so torn up over what to do. Stay, or go? Disrupt my kids lives, again, shell out a buttload of money and ship them out of the country, or stay and risk who knows what?

So, after agonizing all day, begging for advice from damn near every person who had the misfortune of crossing my path today, hours spent pouring over every report and analysis of the nuclear situation that I could get my paws on, I've finally decided to send the kids to Guam. It's just not worth the risk. I may head south for a few days myself, not sure yet. Everything is "wait and see" but that's such a scary position to be in. Ugh.

Shaken, but okay

2011-03-11T19:09:00.000+09:00

For those of you who aren't on FaceBook, just wanted to let you know we're all okay. Very minor damage, one of my kokeshi dolls lost her head, drawers and cabinets flung open, and there's one big crack in my dining room wall.

I'm worried about Meg, who is at her dad's in Guam. They've been ordered to evacuate ahead of the predicted tsunami, but her dad thinks they'll be safe in their 11th floor apartment. Obviously I am NOT okay with that decision. They're condo is directly on the beach. But there's not much I can do from here, except pray that he's right.

Narita airport is closed, and Sendai airport has literally been washed out, so lots of planes got diverted to our tiny airport here on the base, so we're packed to the gills with jumbo airliners. I feel sorry for all those people trapped on the planes, who knows for how long. And you know they're not getting a clear story about what's going on, it must be terrifying not knowing what's happening.

This is all very surreal, I can't quite wrapped my mind around everything I'm seeing and hearing. I was at work as the quake struck. People were jumping out of windows in my building. The ground seemed to shake forever. It was only about 4 minutes I think, but it felt like 40 minutes to me. We were allowed to leave work right then, but I stayed for a while to help with safety checks. Phones were out for quite a while, still no cell service right now. Still feeling pretty powerful aftershocks. I'm used to earthquakes after 3.5 years here in Japan, but this one was really scary. Maybe because of the one that just hit New Zealand? Not sure, but this one scared the crap out of me. But, we're all okay.

2011-03-05T22:18:00.000+09:00

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." ~Mary Anne Radmacher

A Toys R Us Kid!

2011-02-13T21:23:00.002+09:00

Over the last year or so, Ethan has told me several times that he doesn't ever want to grow up. He's said he doesn't want to be a grown-up and wants to be a kid forever. I don't know what's prompting it. The first time I told him about all the cool things "big kids" get to do and all the fun stuff he can do as a grown up, but he just got upset (he's a major drama queen). After that, whenever he mentioned it, I'd just assure him that he had a long, long time before he had to worry about growing up.

His b-day is next week. On Friday I asked him what kind of birthday cake he wanted. He replied, "I don't want a birthday, I don't want to be 6!" I tried to press him a little, "But it's your birthday! It'll be a party, just for you, with cake and all your friends!" He started to tear up, so I just dropped it. Gabi piped up "But if you don't have a birthday party, you won't get any presents!" He said he didn't care, he didn't want a party, or presents, he just wants to stay 5 forever. I knew it wasn't a good time to explain that'd he'd be a year older whether we had a party or not, so we just changed the subject.

Tonight at dinner I tried again and he got really upset. No birthday. Period. I feel so bad for him, I have no idea what's going on, what's spinning around in his beautiful brain, what kid doesn't want a birthday party? *Sigh* Poor punkin'.....

So, for now, we've compromised: On Wednesday, the day BEFORE his birthday, we'll go bowling and have dinner at the bowling alley snack bar, (his favorite activity and his favorite place to eat) as long as it's just our regular Family Night and not in celebration of his b-day, but no friends and no cake. I already ordered cupcakes for his class, he's okay with that as long as they're JUST a nice snack to share with his friends and NOT in celebration of his b-day. He's also okay with 3 presents, one from Momo (grandma), one from me and one from his sisters as long as they're presents just because we love him, and not in celebration of his b-day. He wouldn't even go for 4 presents, with each of his sisters getting him one, he said they should just give him one with both their names on it.

The bowling is what I had originally planned, but I was going to invite some of his buddies. Thank goodness I'm such a horrible procrastinator and hadn't actually gotten around to inviting anyone, or ordering the cake, although I had arranged for a friend to make the cupcakes for school, ordered the cupcake toppers from e-Bay and gotten his prezzies. My poor little pooper, I have no clue what's going on. I'll just let it go and see how he is after his birthday, when the pressures off.

And away I go!

2011-02-11T22:01:00.000+09:00

Heading for Guam on Thursday!!!!!! ALL BY MYSELF!!!! I'm already packed. Pina coladas by the pool, warm sand between my toes, KMART 'til I puke! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!! If I don't come back: Lily, you get Meg. Gina, I positive Ethan will blend right in with your crew. R, you know you get the big one.

Good grief, this is going to be the longest 6 days of my life!

Away......

2011-02-04T19:36:00.001+09:00

I need to get away.

Away from the cold.

Away from these kids.

Away from this house.

Away from this base.

Away from Japan.

Away, away, away.

My Characters in Caricatures

2011-01-26T20:25:00.002+09:00

In the fall of 2008, we went to a festival in Tokyo (can't remember now which one) and there was a tiny, old Japanese woman sitting on the ground, under a tree, drawing caricatures. I'd always wanted to get one done of the kids, but for some reason had just never managed to do it, so we settled down on her mat and got one done, Japanese style (she drew in the peace fingers):

(no that's not mini-Richard Nixon)

When we were in Florida this summer we spent a day at a local boardwalk, where there was a guy doing caricatures in a little, mobile studio, so we stepped inside and got one done, American style (Ethan sat for 15 mins, holding up his peace fingers):

I really love them both, and can't wait to get them properly framed and hung. Now I'm kicking myself for not having done them earlier, and more often. Gabi especially was such a fat, cute baby, she would have been adorable as a cartoon!

BFFs an Ocean Apart

2011-01-16T21:02:00.002+09:00

This summer, Gabi experienced her first true heartbreak when her best friend moved back to America. Gabi and Kelekah met the day we stepped off the plane in Japan, and were joined at the hip from that day forward. They shared the same birthday, born literally within minutes of each other, and Kelekah lived in the exact same building that I lived in as a kid (just 3 buildings down from us). And they both had little brothers 11 years younger than themselves. Both are great students and runners, teammates on both the cross-country and track teams for 3 years.

Fortunately K's family had arrived in Japan only a month before us, which meant the girls could count on at least 3 years together. In the military, most families move every 3 - 4 years, so if you're unlucky enough to arrive at a base and become good friends with someone who's already been there 2 + years, chances are you won't be together long.

G and K were completely inseparable at all times, so you can imagine their complete devastation when we learned K's family would be re-locating in July last year, especially considering we weren't planning on leaving Japan any time soon.

But there is a silver lining for the broken hearted BFFs: Technology is a truly awesome thing! G and K Skype regularly, at least 3 times a week. They routinely hook up when one or the other is getting ready for school, and thanks to the portability of their laptops and handy-dandy webcams, they peruse each other's closets via internet "Wear that pink shirt, with those jeans!" "What do you think of this scarf with that sweater?" and even take the laptop into the bathroom to experiment with hairstyles together!

While we were still in the hotel, I found Gabi in the bathroom one Saturday night, pre-hair styling session (which explains the dead wombat on G's head), and found the girls playing a rousing game of UNO, together! Thanks to technology, they can best friends forever, no matter how far apart they are!

We miss you Kelekah!

Happy Bloggiversary to me!!!!

2011-01-14T19:34:00.002+09:00

Yikes! I totally missed my own blog anniversary! Exactly 3 years and two days ago, I started this blog.

Holy crap has my life ever changed in the last 36 months!!! Absolutely nothing in my life today is how I imagined it would be just 3 short years ago. In some ways it's kind of sad, but in other ways it's a really great thing.

I'm so, so happy I decided to start blogging, I have met some of the most amazing people over the last three years, all because of this blog. To be honest, I now have more blogg-y friends reading my drivel than I do people who knew me before I started blogging! I also really love that I have such a detailed account of the last three years, it's so neat to be able to read back and find out EXACTLY what we were doing at this exact point in our lives three years ago, and usually with pictures. It's like a mini time machine!

When I started blogging, I was positive I'd run out of things to write about, I mean, my life isn't really all that exciting, but as it turns out, I have SO MUCH to blog about, that the only thing I run out of is the time to blog about it!

So - Happy Bloggiversary SakuraSlime!

(This is actually Lily, Masa and me toasting on the night I found out I'd made the applicant list for my job! I was so happy that she was there to share that life-changing moment with me! Yet another post I've never managed write!)

Post X-mas

2011-01-10T21:45:00.004+09:00

So I've covered Xmas night, and now the day after, I'll get to Christmas day eventually!

The day after Christmas, the kids and I, plus G and Meg's BFFs, headed to Tokyo for some shopping and to take in the Constellation exhibit at the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills.

Our first stop was Shakey's Pizza. My fave of all faves restaurant. We scoffed back way too much pizza (including some pudding, chocolate sauce and marshmallow pizza! Oishii!) and headed for the KiddieLand toy store. The permanent store is 6 floors of toy awesomeness, but it's currently being renovated, so they've opened a temp store around the corner.

After less than 24 hours, Gabi's Xmas money was burning a hole in her pocket so we headed for H&M and Forever 21 in Omotesando. She found quite a bit of stuff, cute and on sale. Score! She was quite pleased with herself, only to realize 6 blocks and 2 train stops away that she'd lost her shopping bag. M, E, BFF and I were already in Roppongi headed to meet up with Gina and her kiddos for the exhibit. G re-traced her steps but never found her bag :( She left her name and number with the clerks at both stores, but to date, we haven't heard anything on the MIA loot.

We met up with Gina, James and Alexa and quickly decided that none of the kids (the teens more than the toddlers) were interested in the constellation exhibit, so we decided to head up to Tokyo City View in Mori Tower. Not a single person, with the exception of me, was impressed with the expansive views of Tokyo sprawled out below us. How is that even possible? I NEVER get tired of that view! I've lost count of the number of times I've taken in that view, and from so many vantage points: Tokyo Tower, Mori Tower, the Docomo building, the TMG building.....I could literally sit for hours just taking it in.

The boys romped and played for awhile, Alexa slept, we snapped the obligatory pix, Gina and I chatted for not nearly long enough, and then it was time to go. Gina and co had had a really jammed packed weekend and her kids were exhausted, mine were bored and hungry so we figured it was only a matter of time before we hit the melt-down zone.

The kids and I headed up the block to TGI Fridays for more yummy food, before finally heading home.

It was a nice day, it really helped with the ever-so-anti-climatic day after Christmas.

Meg and BFF

James and Ethan

I will never EVER get tired of this view!!

E studying his newest Lego book at dinner

E dancing to the music in his head, and the girls playing charades on the train.

(Our stop on this line is the next to the last one, so we're always among the very last ones on the train and usually end up with a car to ourselves, cause nobody wants to be near with gaijin freaks!)

Xmas Preview

2010-12-30T23:23:00.005+09:00

Had this pic on my phone. The other Chrimmy pix are still on the PC.

We started a new tradition for Xmas dinner this year for Xmas: Christmas Yakiniku!
The kids love yakiniku, Ethan especially loves cooking our own food at our table. This restaurant is a favorite, it's a yakiniku viking (all you can eat) plus has DIY cotton candy and crepe machines! Oishii! (Christmas is not a big deal in Japan, it's just another day, so everything is open)
In the pic is also Meg's BFF, Tasha. She was at our house by 8:00a Christmas morning, just for a quick gift review, then came back after lunch and spent the rest of the day and night.

Once you go Mac....

2010-12-30T19:31:00.001+09:00

Isn't she pretty?

I've made the switch, and so far I'm pretty happy. Still figuring things out and trying to break my old PC habits, but I love my little, pink Mac!

I haven't blogged in a while because my PC went all wonky and wouldn't let me upload pix to Blogger, and I HATE blogging w/out pictures, so I just didn't. Now I've just got to get all my pix and files transferred from the PC (Piece of Crap) and I'll be able to catch up!

All brats present and accounted for!

2010-11-28T23:23:00.000+09:00

Gabi and Meg are home from Guam. Pix coming soon!

Turkey Day Plans

2010-11-21T12:11:00.001+09:00

I've never been a fan of Thanksgiving. I love holidays, all the decorations and celebrations, but for some strange reason, I just really don't like Turkey Day. No clue why. Once I moved out of my parents house, I stopped celebrating it completely. While I was married, I stepped up and did the whole cook-the-turkey thing, or we celebrated w/ in-laws, to make everyone else happy, but now that I'm single again...not gonna happen. When the girls were younger (and I was single) our Thanksgiving tradition was to go to Waffle House for lunch, then go see whatever new animated movie was playing at the theater (T-Day week is always a popular time to release kids' movies in the US).

Now that I find myself single, again, on Thanksgiving, we'll be re-instituting our own Turkey Day traditions. Of course, there's no Waffle House in Japan (sob, sob), so we've had to come up with other ideas. The girls will be heading to Guam on Wednesday to spend the holiday with their dad and bonus mom (they moved to Guam last month! So, so happy that M and G will get to see them on a fairly regular basis now!), they'll return Sunday night. So that'll be their tradition for at least the next 3 Thanksgivings. This year Ethan and I are heading to Yokohama/Yokosuka Thur - Sat. We'll check out Hakkejima Sea Paradise, which has a really cool aquarium, see the USS George Washington, which is in port right now at Yokosuka Navy base, and get in some Xmas shopping while we're there.

To all my US friends and fam - Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble, gobble!

Just a really great day!

2010-11-12T19:32:00.001+09:00

On Wednesday morning, I headed into Tokyo, going to the U.S. Embassy to give some training to a group of 12 people. Nothing lifts my spirits like a trip to T-town. I love everything about that place. I love driving through the crowded streets, I could sit in traffic for hours, just soaking up all the big city vibes. I can, and have, wander aimlessly for hours, and never run out of things interesting things to see.

This was my first trip to the Embassy, and I got a really nice tour of the whole place before the class started. The training went off without a hitch, I even used candy to keep everyone's attention. I'd ask questions about the material I had covered, and the first correct answer got a piece of candy. There's nothing funnier than grown men, in suits and ties, competing for a mini Snickers bar!

After class, we all walked through Roppongi to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. The weather was absolutely perfect, a beautiful, crisp, clear autumn day. At HRC I had the greasiest, cheesiest, most delicious burger I've had in a long, long time. We took the scenic route back to the Embassy, to walk off the burger brick now lodged in my belly.

After the Embassy, I headed for the New Sanno, my home away from home, for a mani/pedi. The foot massage that came w/ the pedi was heavenly after all the walking we'd done!

When I finished in the salon, I popped into the little liquor store at the NS to stock up on my favorite wine coolers, Fuzzy Navel flavor, which I can no longer get here at home.

Then is was time to head to Okachimachi to meet the ever lovely Cecelia. I'd been to Okachimachi a few times, but it was great to see some of C's favorite stores. We parked ourselves at Starbucks and chatted the evening away over caramel fraps and hot tea. It was so great to see Cecelia, I can talk to her about absolutely anything with no fear of judgement. A visit with her never fails to soothe my frazzled emotions, calm my fears that I'm complete nut-job and encourage me to just keep on keepin' on. I'm so lucky to have met her and to be able to count her as a friend (Thanks Lil!).

All too soon, it was time to head for home. I hopped on the subway back to Hiro-o, got my car from the NS (free parking, in the middle of Tokyo!!!), and made excellent time back to the base, not a spot of traffic!

When I got home, the girls had rustled up dinner for themselves and E (Gabi picks him up from daycare most days), and had him bathed, in his jammies, and settled in front of an episode of Pink Panther, all with no prompting from me. (yes, I paid them handsomely).

I was in bed by 9:30p, even though the next day was a holiday! It was the perfect end to a perfect day! (And somehow, I slept until nearly 11:00a the next morning! That never, EVER happens!)

BolleyBall

2010-11-07T20:00:00.001+09:00

As Ethan calls it. Meg is playing volleyball this season and had her first game this weekend. I don't know anything about the sport, I don't think I've ever even actually seen a game before this weekend, but it was fun (and over quickly, I'm favorite kind of game!)

At Meg's level, a full volleyball match is made up of three separate games, the winner is the team that wins the most games (at higher levels it's best out of 5) . The first two games are to 25 points, the third game, if it's needed, is played to 15 points, BUT, the winning team must win by 2 points, so in our case, the last game went to 16 points. I guess if both teams are really good, a match could go on for a long time, but fortunately for us, both teams were pretty stinky, so it was over fast. And Meg's team won! Hooray!

I have no idea where the girls get their athleticism from, I'm the most un-athletic, uncoordinated, non-joiner I've ever known, but they've both always loved sports and between them have tried just about every one for at least one season (and they typically excel at whatever they try). I'm doing everything I can to encourage them to keep playing as they get older in the hopes it'll help them stay active and fit, and less likely to be battling the sloth-like tendencies and sheer hatred of exercise their mom has, when they hit middle age.

Now that E is old enough to join and play his own sports, and I'm on my own, it's kind of tough trying to cover 3 different events for 3 different kids in 3 different places, all on the same day (every sport here plays on Saturdays) especially if someone has an away game, but like everything else, we're working it out!

The last point never made it on the board, but they won 16 - 14.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2010-11-05T18:09:00.002+09:00

3.5 months later! My b-day was actually July 14, but I was looking through my photos tonight and realized that I never blogged about it!

On my b-day morning, I woke up to something tickling my nose, opened my eyes and there was E, holding a red carnation, tickling my nose with it. He'd also drawn a cute picture for me. I got ready for work, headed out to the van, and found this:

In addition to going the the flower shop the evening before to buy the flower for her brother to give me, and helping him draw the pic for me, my sweet, oldest daughter had woken up at 6:00a (during her summer vacay!!!), snuck out to the convenience store and bought me my favorite brekky, a cheesy Tornadoe and large Coke (I said favorite, not healthy)! And when I turned the key in the van, a rockin' "Happy Birthday" song blasted from the speakers. Gabi had somehow recorded herself, M and E singing, burned it on to a CD and had it all queued up in the CD player (remember, M had been the U.S. at her dad's for more than a month by this time).

I promptly burst into tears. I had been DREADING my b-day this year. I was still struggling to cope and recover from the devastation wreaked on our lives by DB, and still had no clue what our future held, whether or not I was getting my job, where we would go if I didn't, etc. And all I kept thinking about was my last birthday. DB was in school in the U.S. but had still managed to have flowers and a balloon delivered to me. Anyway, I wasn't expecting anything good to come from this day. But already, it was shaping up to be one of my best b-days ever.

Later that day, my co-workers took me out for lunch, and when we returned to the office, they had a big b-day cake waiting. After work the kids joined me and my whole office for dinner at Chili's and I celebrated with b-day margaritas. This was also the day my job was finally posted so that I could officially apply for it, and, as we all know now, I got the job, and am in the process of living happily ever after!. It ended up being a really great day.

Update!

2010-10-19T19:39:00.000+09:00

No much going on, which is probably a good thing! We still don't have a house yet, meaning we've been homeless going on 5 weeks since we returned to Japan, but 9 weeks since we actually last had a home of our own. I'm fine with it for myself, the daily maid service still hasn't lost it's novelty, and neither has the big, fat check they give me every month for staying in the temporary lodging facility (TLF)! But it's getting harder and harder on the kids. Especially Ethan.

My heart is breaking for my sweet baby. We drove by our old house today, and all his friends were outside playing, and he just broke down, sobbing, begging me to let us move back to our old house. This is the 3rd or 4th time he's had a break down like that since we've been back. It's just so sad. After the 2nd time, I realized that in the last year, his entire little world has just crumbled down around him, he's literally lost everything he knows and loves. First, his dad disappears off the face of the earth, then we had to give away his beloved dog (as you know, we got Feni when E was two, he called Feni his "brother" and loved him so much), then he had to leave the school he loved as the year ended and he was moving on to kindergarten, then he lost his house, which is the only home he's ever known, and along with that went all his neighborhood friends. My only consolation is that in a few years he won't remember all this loss and pain, but I am worried about how it will affect him in the long run. Have I scarred him for life?

On the up side, all 3 kids are settled in school. None of them had any trouble catching up, they're all happy with their teachers and so far they're all doing really well. Both girls opted not to run cross country this year, they'd already missed nearly half the season by the time we returned to Japan, and knew they'd have extra homework and studying the first few weeks back in school.

Work is AWESOME!!! Several times a day I just shake my head in wonder "I'm actually getting PAID to do this!" Unbelievable. I'm making more money than I've ever made in my entire life (that's actually not saying much, I haven't exactly been the most productive worker over the last 2 decades) doing a job that I *LOVE*. My co-workers are great, I have my own office and a secretary (all of my working life, I'VE always been the secretary!!!) and I'm my own boss. I pretty much set my own schedule as well, as long as the work gets done on time, my time is pretty much my own. Today I was able to leave at 10:30 to go eat lunch w/ E at school. I buzz in and out of international meetings and conference calls everyday, working w/ the Japanese military, as well as people in Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Guam, Hawaii and the US. Just got word this week that I'll "required" to attend a week long workshop in Hawaii next month. Geez, talk about torture! Sigh. Life is good right now. (I was soooooo afraid to actually type that! I'm terrified of jinxing myself!)

This weekend, Sarah and fam will be coming to visit for the day, so I'll get my fix of the adorable Sakura-chan, while enjoying a yummy brunch and great company.

I could go on, but those are the highlights! I still have pix from the States, and some nice ones from Day Two of our Mother's Day trip last May that I really want to post. I'll try to get to it this week, I promise.

My beautiful girl

2010-10-11T20:15:00.000+09:00

Yokota High School Homecoming 2010

Beach Babies

2010-10-02T18:57:00.001+09:00

These were taken on Navarre Beach.

Beach Bums

2010-10-02T18:35:00.001+09:00

While in Florida, we stayed in a little efficiency apartment on the base that was situated about 50 yards from Choctawhatchee Bay. There was a marina w/ a little convenience store and a really nice beach area. We were at the beach, and in the water, every.single.day. sometimes all day long. Most of the time we were the only ones there because summer vacay was over and everyone else was back to work and school.

Ethan over came his fear of the water and swam like a little fishy for hours on end and we all got mega awesome tans!

I really, really miss living near the water and beach!

We had beautiful views like this at every single restaurant we went to, most places had awesome patio dining, which we took full advantage of it (this was at Red Lobster)!

Our lunchtime view at Harry T's in Destin, FL

First Day of School

2010-10-01T22:36:00.000+09:00

G and M, 11th and 8th grade (that's G's pride and joy behind them)

My baby started "big kid" school, full-fledged kindergarten!

Home Sweet Home!

2010-09-20T19:59:00.000+09:00

I can't believe we're finally home! It felt like we were gone for months! Out of my mind with happiness, terrified something tragic is going to happen, I never, ever have this kind of good fortune, where everything just falls so perfectly into place. All the stars just keep aligning themselves as one thing after another goes my way! Scary stuff :(

Although I did have to play the crazy gaijin bitch card before we even left the airport, w/ the shmucks on the terminal transfer bus! Planting themselves and their one little bag 2 steps inside the door, or directly in front of the luggage rack, blocking all access, as I struggle to load 10 suitcases, 4 carry ones, a menagerie of blankets, pillows and loveys, and 3 exhausted kids onto the bus in the 60 seconds it stops! Come people!?!?!?!?! Get a clue! (No, that's not a typo, between the 4 of us, we had TEN full size suitcases!!!!)

Other than that, I am rapidly sinking into Nippon bliss.......

Got E registered for big kindy, he starts on Wednesday. My baby! A school boy!

We didn't get to the hotel until after 10:00 last night, so I let the girls play hooky today, they'll start school tomorrow. They missed the first 3 weeks, but their teachers all know them well and all agreed they'd have no trouble catching up.

Miss Gabi is now the proud owner of 1998 Daihatsu Sirion. She's over the moon excited and keeps looking out the window every 10 minutes, "I just want to see it one more time!". She's had the car for 2 hours and has already been to the gas station (twice: once for gas, the second time to clean her windshield), the conbini, the ATM and to pick up Meg at a friends. All separate trips. And she keeps asking me if I need any errands run.

I go back to work tomorrow, hoping my desk isn't buried under an avalanche of crap to catch up on, but I know my e-mail inbox will be overflowing!

Now we just have to wait for a house to become available (although I certainly don't mind staying at the hotel, w/ the daily maid service and all, plus I'll be reimbursed for all of our expenses!)

I tried keeping up w/ everyone's while we were gone, but there were lots of days I was w/out internet, so I'll spend the rest of the week catching up, I've missed all of you!

There's no place like home...There's no place like home...There's no place like home....

2010-09-12T12:01:00.003+09:00

And this time next week, we'll be there! WOO HOO! We leave the U.S. stupidly early Saturday morning, arriving in T-town Sunday afternoon!

I've got some serious eating and major shopping to do over the next 6 days, but I think I'm up for the challenge!

Just in case you're wondering, over the last 4 weeks I've eaten at:

Dave and Busters (left me craving steak fajitas the whole trip!)
Cafe' Du Monde (A legendary cafe in the French Quarter of New Orleans)
Olive Garden
Applebee's
Po' Folks ("Down home country" food)
Cracker Barrel (ditto. Chicken and dumplings were to die for!)
Chuck E. Cheese
Sonic
Arby's
CiCi's Pizza (all-you-can-eat buffet w/ amazing BBQ pizza)
Ranchito Morin (Mexican)
Dairy Queen (Oh Peanut Buster Parfait, how I'll miss you!)
McD's (Japanese McD's is better)
Fudpucker's

Still need to hit Harry T's, Cafe Graziea and a Chinese buffet (American Chinese food is very different from Japanese Chinese food. Weird, I know), .

From the mouth of my sweetie boy...

2010-09-12T09:28:00.000+09:00

After seeing a Match.com commercial for 100th time:

E: Mom, you can go on Match.com to find a new husband.

Me: I don't think I need a new husband Sweets, I'm fine all by myself, with just you and your sisters!

E: Well, you'll have a husband when I grow up.

Me: How?

E: 'Cause I'm gonna be your husband.

When I explained that he couldn't marry me, he cried :( What a sweetie, sweet mama's boy! I'm sure his future spouse will hate me!

Home (?)

2010-09-05T07:49:00.002+09:00

I have mixed emotions about my hometown. Mainly because I never really considered it my "home". We left Japan when I was 9, moving to a base in Montgomery, AL. When I was 12, my dad retired from the Air Force and we moved to a little, country town just north of the base.

I was devasted. Even at only 12, I considered myself a city girl, and more of a "global citizen" than an American citizen. Moving to this tiny, hick town felt like a death sentence to me.

But like most kids, I adapted and settled in, making the best of my life in Wetumpka, always knowing it was only temporary, and I'd be leaving as soon as I possibly could (and I did). I made a lot of really good friends during my 8 years here, we had a lot of fun, and I have tons of great memories of my time here. But it's still doesn't feel like home to me. My parents have lived here for almost 30 years now, so it's most definitely their home, but somehow, it's just not mine. When people ask me where I'm from, I don't say "Alabama". I just say I've lived all over the place, and don't come from any place in particular (I was born in Missouri, but we left there when I was just a few weeks old, and I've never been back).

That being said, I've really enjoyed coming back and reconnecting, face-to-face with so many of my high school besties, some that I haven't seen in 15+ years. We've strolled down memory lane, shared some laughs and loved on each others kiddos.

Our first day in town, I met up with a bunch of friends at Chick-a-filet for lunch. Later that night, we met up again for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant (my first Mexican food in over 3 years! DELICIOSO!) We stuffed our faces with yummy queso dip and margaritas and spent the evening reminiscing, swapping stories and discovering that apparently I was the ring leader of the vast majority of our.........adventures (misadventures?). Of course, that's not how I remember it at all, but everyone else agreed that I was, in fact, the mastermind behind most of our escapades. Funny how time can blur the edges of your memories......

Note: Donna, Lori and I became friends in the 7th grade, we were all only 12 years old. Debra, Jeanna, Monica and I became good friends during high school.

Anyway, pix from Ranchito Morin:

E devouring his fried ice cream (how fattening does that sound FRIED ice cream?)

Clockwise from the left:

Lori, Monica, Debra, Donna and yours truly (check out my cleavage! Woo hoo!)

Our spawn, L to R:

Daniel, Jesse, G w/ Miss Sylvia, M w/ baby Nico, E and Phoenix

E and Sylvia, both 5 years old.

Tubing on the Chatahoochee River

2010-08-31T11:01:00.000+09:00

Last Saturday, while visiting the BFF in Hot-lanta, we took the kids tubing on the Chatahoochee River in Helen, Ga. It was a great day, the weather was perfect, and we all had a really good time. As always, our time w/ R and fam was waaaaaay too short, but it was definitely better than nothing!

Helaina, Gabi, Meg and Mallory

(H and M are twins, and are only 4.5 mths younger than Meg. All week we were constantly mistaking them all for each other, some how they all look so similar they could be triplets!)

Two blonde ones on the slide, not really sure who it is!

Mata ne!

2010-08-15T10:57:00.000+09:00

OMG!

2010-08-03T17:08:00.000+09:00

I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB!I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB!I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB!

Bats in the belfry.

2010-07-26T22:24:00.003+09:00

Well, in the kitchen pantry actually.Gabi found a tiny, little bat this morning, laying on the ground near the house where she's dogsitting. She thought it was dead, so didn't mess with it, but when she went back to walk the dogs again about 4 hours later, it was wiggling around a bit, trying to get away from the ants that were swarming it. So of course, she had to rescue it. Of course. So now, we've got a bat. In a beetle box. She cut the leg off a pair of old sweatpants and with some bits of wood from our overwhelming stock of beetle paraphernalia, she fashioned a little cozy bat cave, added some beetle jelly and a bottle cap of water, and put it in our kitchen pantry (a cool, dark place). So now there's a bat in my pantry, right next to the microwave popcorn and ginger snaps.

She's actually kind of cute. All fuzzy, with teeny, tiny bat feet. I've never seen a bat up and personal. But I have no idea what to do with her. I don't know if she's just a baby and fell from her, nest (?) or if she's full grown but got hurt some how. She's creeps around in the box, and is eating the beetle jelly. Anyone know anything about bats?

I pray for you......

2010-07-25T14:50:00.001+09:00

I haven't been to church since I don’t remember when
Things were going great ‘til they fell apart again
So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do
He said you can’t go hating others who have done wrong to you
Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn
Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them

I pray your brakes go out running down a hill
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you’re flying high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true

Just know whereever you are honey, I pray for you
I’m really glad I found my way to church
‘Cause I’m already feeling better and I thank God for the words
Yeah I’m going to take the high road
And do what the preacher told me to do
You keep messing up and I’ll keep prayig’ for you

I pray your tire blows out at 110
I pray you pass out drunk with your best friend and wake up with his and her tattoos
I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you’re flyining high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams, never come true

Just know whereever you are, near or far, in your house or in your car,
wherever you are honey, I pray for you.

(lyrics from "I Pray for You", Jaron Lowenstein)

Who's that rockstar?

2010-07-12T21:28:00.001+09:00

My beautiful daughter, of course!

Meg left on June 28 to spend 6 weeks with her dad and bonus mom in Florida. She made the all by herself!!! She's having a great time, going to gymnastics camp every day and soaking up the sun on the beach and out on the boat every weekend. *Sigh* What a tough life. Have a great summer Bub, we love you and miss you!

My Little Phoenix

2010-07-10T21:47:00.001+09:00

Rising out of the ash that was the garden massacre:

My garden is thriving, nearly out of control!

The happy, sunny yellow pretties:

and the bold, bright pink beauties:

found each other in my garden of love, and produced:

How awesome is that?

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiigata!

2010-07-03T21:59:00.003+09:00

Two weekends ago (wow, has it really been that long already?) shortly after THE INCIDENT and my subsequent closer-than-I've-ever-come-to-murder near breakdown, the beautiful, kind, sweet Lily hosted my brood and I at her home in Niigata. Lily and I had never met, and before THE INCIDENT we'd never even spoken before. We'd just been following each other's blogs, and both followed some of the same blogs. But because of the awesomeness that is Lily, she reached out to me, a stranger in need, and opened her home and her heart to me and mine.

Meg, Ethan and I set out early Saturday morning (Gabi had her driving class starting Monday, and I wasn't about to cut my trip short to bring her home, so she stayed behind) anticipating a 5 - 6 hour drive. All the kids travel well, and I'd never driven through that part of Japan, so we were kind of excited about the drive. A mere 3.5 hrs later we rolled into Niigata! I couldn't believe how quickly we'd travelled to the other side of the country!

It was pouring rain when we arrived, but Lily, with all three Chibis in tow, met us in front of Niigata station to guide us to her apartment. On a side note, I drove the entire 300 + km with absolutely no problem, but promptly got lost when we exited the expressway and it took a full 30 min to finally make my way to where Lily was waiting!

Because of the mega-awesome-super-all-terrain stroller she was driving, we couldn't fit everyone in my van, so Lily walked the 3 blocks to her building, while Tomo hopped in with us and "navigated" for me. What a friendly, outgoing guy! As soon as the door closed, he launched into huge description of his favorite Pokemon, engaging the normally shy E in an animated conversation about their favorite battles.

Me: Tomo, should I turn here?

Tomo: ....and then he explodes.....Um, I don't remember.......

Me: Tomo, is this your street?

Tomo: ......then they fly........My street sort of looks like this, but I don't remember.....and there's thunder

Me: Tomo, is that your building?

Tomo:......but do you like Tigamorphamon?......I don't think my building is that color......I love Milaminamon..

We arrived and unloaded the van, then Lily and I ran to McD's to grab a quick lunch for everyone while Meg minded the boys.

After lunch, we set off for Lily's favorite hang out, Tully's. There's a huge open area right in front of the shop, with benches, so we parked ourselves and broke out the bubbles and soccer ball.

Lily took Meg to the furoshiki shop to pick out her very own furoshiki (thanks so much Lil, she loved it and wore it on the plane last week!), then we relaxed with our coffees while the kiddos had a blast playing together. It was so nice, the kids got on like they'd known each other forever! You never would have guessed they'd only met for the first time an hour early. And I felt exactly the same way about Lily. She was so warm and welcoming, I immediately felt comfortable and at ease with her.

We headed back to Lily's and relaxed for a little while, then started working on dinner. We'd planned a Mexican fiesta, complete with tacos, fajitas and all the fixings. Around this time Masa arrived home from work. What a nice guy! Equally as warm and welcoming as Lily. I can only wondered what he must have been thinking when his wife tells him "Honey, I met this woman online, her life is a complete disaster, and I've invited her and her children to spend the weekend in our home!" But there was absolutely no hesitation in his welcome. Maybe he was dazzled by the promise of margaritas?

After a quick, yummy dinner, Lily and I slipped out for little GNO. While Masa stayed home with all 5 kids! What a guy! First we went to a little Canadian pub owned by a friend of Lily's called Northern Lights. Lily was a good girl and only had one small glass of wine, but I quickly scoffed back two yummy Screwdrivers. Then we strolled around beautiful downtown Niigata for a while, finally stopping at Dragon Typhoon (I think) which had a lovely little outdoor deck. Another small glass of vino for Lily, another Screwdriver for me. Then we decided we'd probably better head back and rescue Masa from the mayhem. Back at the mansion I fixed Masa and I some margaritas and the three of us stayed up talking until 3:00am!!!! I haven't been up that late since.....crap, I can't even remember the last time I was up the late. But it was so great. (My pix from that night are MIA, but I think they're on the disc I sent to Lily, so maybe she can post them).

The next morning everyone but me and E were up bright and early, making onigiri for our picnic and homemade banana chocolate chip muffins for our planned b'fast onboard a steam train!

Baby Sora devouring a yummy muffin on the steam train.

E explaining the finer points of Lego Star Wars droid troopers to Tomo

We got back from the train ride just in time to meet Heather and her beautiful girls coming off the shinkansen from Nagano. This phenomenal woman loaded up her girls and spent 7 hours travelling, just to spend 4 hours with Lily and I in Niigata! I was beyond excited to meet yet another bloggy friend for the first time!!! We headed off to a park near the train station, let the kids run wild and chatted the afternoon away. It was such a nice day. The weather was perfect, and the company couldn't have been better.

Masahiko, E peeking from behind, Lily, Reo, Heather and Amy

Homemade Shinshu apple juice, compliments of Heather!

All too soon, it was time for Heather and the girls to head back home, so we all walked them to the station. There was a last minute, mad dash for souveneirs, quick hugs and they were off. I really wish they could have stayed longer!

We headed back to the apartment, and again Masa wrangled the kiddos while Lily and I walked to the grocery store to pick up dinner.

We called it a night earlier this time, knowing the kids and I had a big drive the next day.

Monday morning we made pancakes for brekky, then headed for the Niigata Aquarium. Due to some sort of fishy massacre, admission to the aquarium was free! Score! After hearing that over 7000 fish had died, we didn't think there'd be a whole lot going on, but really, it was just a few small tanks of fish that were affected. The big tank, with the walk through tunnel, was just fine, the penguins were perky and the dolphin show went off without a hitch. It was a great day, made even better by the fact that it was free!

Lily's pancake masterpiece.

(E still doesn't get the whole "peace" fingers, he thinks you're supposed to hold up your age)

Meg and Sora watching the dolphin show

I was really proud of Meg all weekend. She really stepped up, helping out so much with the all the boys, playing with them, entertaining them, wrangling them all without even being asked. There wasn't a single sigh, huff, eye roll or sarcastic remark the entire 3 days! She absolutely fell in love with Lily's boys and was a big help all weekend.

Thank you so much Lily for inviting us. I know it was a lot of extra work for you, and you'll never know how much it meant to me. I really hope you guys make it down here this month so I can repay just a little of your kindness and generosity!

No words.

2010-06-24T20:40:00.002+09:00

Ok, so I do have words. But I was speechless, for a little while.

After the INCIDENT two Saturdays ago, I felt I was really and truly finally plunging off the deep end. I was crushed and confused, feeling desperate and so, so, so, so angry. I didnt' know where to turn, what to do, I didn't know how I should feel or react. For the first few hours I was pretty sure someone would end up hospitalized. I didn't know if it'd be me, him or her, but somebody was damn sure going to get hurt!

And then, at my most desperate moment, there they were. My bloggy ~~friends~~ family. So many people reached out to me, listened, comforted, counseled, it was truly overwhelming, and so humbling.

The beautiful Cecilia, who had never even spoken to me IRL, met me for lunch in Kichijoji, where I poured my heart out over a buffet lunch of pizza and curry at Shakey's. C was so warm and down-to-earth, she offered me comfort and encouragement, reassuring me that I WASN'T crazy and that everything would be okay. Thank you Cecilia!!

My YEES sista from another mista, T, reached out from across the ocean, bitching and raging right beside me, united with me in outrage against people she'd never even laid eyes on before. That her thoughts and feelings so completely mirrored my own offered more reassurance that I'm not a psycho, and that he is a heartless bastard. Thanks T, you're the best!

GW, oh GW! What can I say? Even with her own shit storm brewing, she took the time to let me know she was thinking of me, and offered to help in any way she could.

Then there's sweet, sweet Lily. She listened. And listened. And listened some more. One night we spent nearly two hours on the phone (after I had called and woken her up!). Lily opened her heart and her HOME to a complete stranger and her equally strange kids. She took us in for a long, much needed break this weekend. Showing us Niigata, and in the process, showing me her incredibly beautiful, loving spirit. This weekend was exactly what I needed, and so much more. I came back home feeling such peace, rested and calm, ready for whatever comes next.

And Heather!!!! HEATHER! Spending so much time and money just to meet Lily and I for a few hours! I was so happy to finally meet her, and the adorable Meg and Amy of course. And yes, for those of you who were wondering, yes, she DOES have the sparkliest arm hair I've ever seen!

Keep in mind that NONE of these beautiful, warm, caring women had ever met me in real life. Before last week I had never even spoken to any of them. But there they were, ready to catch me as I fell. Anyone who thinks real relationships can't be formed online couldn't be more wrong, and is missing out on so much love!

A million, bazillion thanks to everyone! You'll never know how much it means to me to know that you're out there, reading, following along and cheering me on! I feel so much less alone, knowing my bloggy fam is here whenever I need them (but let's hope it won't be often!)

Teaser!

2010-06-23T20:41:00.000+09:00

Proper, picture filled post coming soon!

2010-06-18T22:25:00.003+09:00

Officer, I don't know what you're talking about!

2010-06-17T09:54:00.000+09:00

I swear, I've been in Nagano picking cucumbers all week!

Oh HELL NO!!!!

2010-06-12T20:35:00.000+09:00

May not be posting for awhile after tonight, as I could likely BE IN JAIL. My bastard husband has finally gone too far.

Mother's Day (Part I)

2010-06-11T19:19:00.004+09:00

Yeah, late. But I've got tons of pix! That makes up for it, right?

It was actually Mother's Weekend. We made a 3-day extravaganza of my day.

The Saturday before Mom's Day, we headed for the Navy base in Yokosuka. Arrived in the early evening and went shopping at the big, beautiful department store on base. Didn't buy heaps, but enough to put a smile on my face. Several pairs of cute flip-flops, a few pair of my favorite undies (this is the only place in Japan I can get them) some cosmetics and toiletries I like, but that we don't have up here, a new book and some other odds and ends. Had dinner at the food court, I had super yum sesame chicken and egg rolls from my fave, Manchu Wok.

Sunday morning we had b'fast at Chili's. Yes, BREAKFAST, at CHILI's!!!! Our Chili's doesn't serve b'fast, and I'd never seen one in the U.S. that did either. It was YUM! (Lots of YUM on this trip!!!)

Pancakes shaped like chilis!!!

They were soooo good! And that's WARM, MELTED BUTTER at the top! Perfect for drizzling over the pancakes. The best Mother's Day b'fast I've ever had!

After b'fast we headed for Yokohama. We've been there once before, but it was just a quick trip, no time for site seeing. My one goal was to go to China Town.

We started at Landmark Tower. This building is the tallest building in Japan, and has the second fastest elevator in world! We went to the observation deck on the 69th floor. The elevator goes so fast, your ears actually pop!

That's the kids up on the bridge

From Landmark tower, we walked to ChinaTown! It was quite a haul, but as you know, I love, love, love to just wander around. I could walk for hours in the city. There's so much to see. I just love it. And I was shocked and touched that there wasn't a single grumble or complaint from the peanut gallery the entire day, and it was a loooong one. No one whined, no one argued, no one pouted. They all just trudged along, indulging their mom on her day. We stopped for an ice cream, and another time at a playground.

We made it to China Town, and poked around for a while, taking in all the sights, sounds and smells. It was pretty crowded, but lots of fun.

This guy was just cruising around on his bike. He was very friendly and asked me to take his picture with the girls.

Look at those goldfish hanging from his ears! He looks just like Colonel Sanders!

Ethan was terrified of these statues, he wouldn't get any closer,

and bolted as soon as the camera clicked.

It's hard to tell, but there's a 4th pup tucked in there.

Their dad posed them while Mom took the pic!

It was a really great day. We did exactly what I wanted all day. We walked for miles around the city, exploring back alleys, taking side streets just to see where they led. The kids were awesome. The girls entertained and herded Ethan around all day. They're plenty good a tending him, they've had lots of practice, but to shlep him around the city all day (nearly 7 hours when we finally got back to the hotel) doing "mom" stuff, keeping him happy and cooperative, giving him piggy back rides when his little legs just couldn't keep up, distracting him when I wanted to stop and look around at "boring" stuff. Even when I tried to do whatever it was he needed or wanted, one of the girls stepped up and said "I'll do it Mom". They really went above and beyond to make my day extra special. *Sigh* Love my kiddos.

Day 2 coming soon!

D'oh!

2010-06-10T20:24:00.000+09:00

So everyone was going in different directions this evening, I had finals, Ethan had a playdate, Gabi had a practice of some sort, and Meg was going to study with at friend's. Eventually we all ended up back at home, and I was *beat*. Meg and her friend needed to go to the library, but friend's mom was driving them, and Gabi was going to a party, but someone else was driving, so E and I were just relaxing, talking about what to make for dinner.

Ethan heads outside to jump on the tramp, and Meg heads out for the library, then runs back in a few minutes later because she forgot her books. She left again. A little while later she came back in and ran upstairs. Gabi comes racing down the stairs in a panic, the party was starting in 10 minutes and her friends car wouldn't start, could I give them a ride? I hollered up to Meg that I was running G to the party, E's outside so she needs to keep an ear out for him.

Off we go across base. Pick up G's friend and head for the party. As we pass the library, I see Megan coming out the front door with her friend, so I honk and wave.

Wait.

One of my kids in the car with me and one of my kids is walking out of the library. That's two kids. But I have three kids.

WHERE'S THE THIRD KID????????

Crap. My mind is racing, back tracking over the last few hours. Is he still at school? Have I momentarily forgtten that he's at a friends house? Did I forget that'd I'd actually brought him, but he's hiding behind the back seat? (All of these scenarios have actually occured). Did Megan bring him with her to the library? I rolled down the window and asked her where he was. "I thought he was with you?!" Double crap.

I flipped a U-y and flew back home. And there he was, jumping on the trampoline. Completely oblivious that his entire family had deserted him. Apparently, the second time Meg came back in, she was just grabbing her wallet for the library adn somehow she got downstairs (5 feet from where I was sitting) and back out of the house without me noticing.

It was only a few minutes, and he's not a wanderer, he wouldn't have left the yard, and I've left him home alone before to run up the street to grab milk, but the thought of him going into the house and finding no one there, with no clue where everyone had gone just made me feel horrible. I don't know why. I'm not sure he would have even noticed that no one else was home.

I'm normally very scatter-brained, easily distracted and forgetful, so this whole event was never out of the realm of possibility, but this is the first time I've actually gone off and left one of my kids somewhere (I think).

Well...um....see...

2010-06-09T19:40:00.000+09:00

Ethan (totally out of nowhere, while dunking his Oreos in milk): Mom, how do babies fit in your mouth?

Me: Uh?

Ethan (mouth now crammed with soggy Oreos): I said, how do babies fit in your mouth?

Me: Babies? In your mouth? Is that what you said?

Ethan: YES! HOW.do.BABIES.fit.in.your.MOUTH???

Me: They don't. Nobody puts babies in their mouth.

Ethan: Well, then how do they get in your tummy?

Me: ...?...Hurry up and finish eating, it's bath night and you don't want to miss Sponge Bob!

Be careful what you wish for!

2010-06-08T21:35:00.000+09:00

*Sigh* I said in my last post that I wasn't ready to know about my job. Apparently someone has finally decided that this would be a good time to start listening to me! My boss informed me today that there would be another 10+ day delay on the decision..........

I guess no news is good news in this case. It means that once again the Personnel Office has ruled that I'm either not qualified, or not eligible to apply for this position, but that my boss is refusing to accept this decision and is fighting it all the way to the top to get me the job (I just hope I can live up his expectations)!

It's all good.

2010-06-07T17:14:00.001+09:00

I know it's been forever since I said it was getting close to decision-making time for my job. Trust me, it's been even longer for me. But finally, I should know for sure tomorrow or Wed. (the answer is coming from the Air Force Personnel Center in Texas, so with the 14 hour time difference it's a little harder to pin down a specific time) Things got so screwy towards the end of all the paper work, and I had such a tough time getting any straight answers from anyone, that I honestly have no idea which way things will go, it's a straight 50/50 split either way. The anxiety of waiting has been excrutiating. Beyond torture. But now that the time has really come, now that there's every possibility that within the next 24 hours, the decision will finally be made, and I'll finally know whether or not we're staying in Japan. I don't want to know! *Sigh* I don't want to have to start making decisions and making plans. I don't want to have to start letting things go, and choosing other things. I'm kind of happy here in my limbo on no decision, thank you very much.

Right now (and of course, this changes daily) I'm okay with whatever is going to happen. If I don't get the job, and we have to move back to Florida, well, there are certainly far worse things that could happen. Yes, we'll all be heartbroken to leave Japan, especially Gabi. And I'll be beyond disappointed to have lost out an such a fantastic job and the incredible benefits that would have come along with it, but.........yeah, that's about it. We'll be okay. We love Florida, and Ft. Walton is the one place in the U.S. I've always said I wouldn't mind living again. The schools are great, the beaches are incredible (if you don't mind oil slicks) and because it's a tourist town, there's always, always something fun to do. Great shopping, tons of awesome restaurants. Compared to Tokyo, the cost of leaving is ridiculously low, so we could scrape by on just my child support and savings for awhile, as we're getting settled and I'm looking for a job. Having to go back there definitely wouldn't be horrible. So I'm okay with whatever happens, if we stay, or if we go. At least for now, check back tomorrow and I'll probably be beside myself with anxiety and dread, completely freaking out about whatever decision has been made. For now, it's all good.

Summer, is that really you?

2010-06-06T10:07:00.000+09:00

Our weather has been so beautiful the past few days. But I'm hesitant to say that Summer has finally arrived. She's teased and taunted us with her arrival, only to quickly disappear, replaced by coooold, wet weather, several times already this year. We get 2 or 3 days of glorious, sunny weather, the kids even play in the sprinklers and run around in bathing suits all day, only to have temps take a nose dive, sending everyone scrambling for the long pants and jackets they prematurely packed away.

On one such beautiful day, I detached Ethan from the PlayStation umbilical cord he became permanently attached to this winter, and forced him, squinting and flinching and covering his eyes, in to the glorious bright sun light. He promptly found the shadiest spot and:

My garden is recovering beautifully, you can hardly tell there was even a slaughter. I really enjoy puttering around out there, pulling weeds and watering, even though I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing and my plants would probably get along just as well if I never touched them, but it's relaxing and I love watching the progress, anticipating the first pretty, pink blossoms. All the beautfiul greenery has me itching to fill my goldfish bowl and get some little fishies swimming, but I'm worried that Summer will disappear again, and my little fishies would get too cold. I know goldfish like cold water, but I still feel bad when the temp drops too much. So I'll wait until I'm more sure Summer is here to stay.

Oh, how the mighty do fall!

2010-06-04T18:06:00.005+09:00

Remember that post I wrote, just two short days ago? The one where I blabbed on and on about "no more tears" and getting on with my life? Apparently I didn't get the memo.

Today, the thing I've been dreading most finally happened. It went exactly as I knew it would, and I felt exactly as I feared I would feel, except worse.

This base is tiny place. Everyone knows everybody else, and you can't walk 10 yards out your front without seeing someone you know. We only have one of everything, one bank, one post office, one grocery store, so the odds of running into someone you know everytime you leave the house are about a bazillion-to-one. Yet somehow, DB and I have managed to completely avoid each other. I haven't seen or spoken to him at all since early March, and then it was only to drop off his mail. We haven't run into each other at all.

That changed today. We both ended up at the dentist at the same time. I was sitting in the waiting room and he was coming from the back, having just finished his appointment. I was sitting dead in the middle of his line of sight. He had to pass right by me to get out of the building. He walked within two feet of my seat....

...and sailed right on past, as if I didn't even exist. He didn't miss a beat. Didn't pause, didn't stop, didn't speak. Nothing. As if I were a complete stranger. As if I weren't his wife. As if we didn't have an 8 year history. As if I'm NOT THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILD.

I was stunned. Crushed. I started shaking and feeling nauseous. Ended up running out to my car because I couldn't stop the tears. I don't know why I was so shocked.  This is exactly what I've always known would happen. Because I know him. Because I'm his wife. Because we have an 8 year history. I knew this was how he would react, which is why I've dreaded it so much. But when it actually happened. God, it hurt so much.

Yes, yes, our marriage is over. No, I don't want him back. No, I'm not harboring secret dreams of reconciliation. He's a bastard, and I have no desire to ever have him in my life, in any capacity. That's not the point at all.  The point is being so completely dismissed by someone who once meant so much to me, who I loved with all my heart, and claimed to love me. Having MY HUSBAND, THE PERSON I SHARED EVERY DAY OF THE LAST 7 YEARS WITH, THE FATHER OF MY CHILD, act as if I did't even exist. It was worse than he would have treated me if I were a complete stranger. If I'd been a stranger, he still would have made eye contact, nodded, said "Hi" or smiled. That's what he does every time he walks passed everyone, whether he knows them or not. But not me. Not his wife. It was absolutely surreal. I honestly can't reconcile this man, this uncaring, heartless bastard with the man I spent 7 years making a life with. The husband who used to stand outside the bathroom door everytime I'd barricaded myself in there in a fit of PMS-induced, irrational anger and tears, begging me to come out, telling me how much he loved me and how sorry he was being an insensitive jerk (when more often than not, he hadn't really done anything wrong), the man who would look over at me as we snuggled in bed, eyes heavy, and say, out of the blue "You're so beautiful." Through out our relationship, he routinely told me how lucky he was to have me in his life, I good I was for him. And now. I'mabsolutely nothing to him. How is that even possible?

Four hours later and I'm still shaken by the whole stupid thing. I knew I'd feel bad when this happened (and it was bound to happen eventually, I've been waiting for it) but I had no idea how horrible it would make me feel, and I really thought I'd handle it a little better than I did.  I guess I'm an even bigger wimp than I thought I was and it seems I haven't made nearly as much progress towards becoming a sassy, super-fab single mom.

Assclown.

Ummmmm.....

2010-06-02T23:19:00.002+09:00

Just felt like blogging, but it's late, and I'm too tired to put up a real post.

I'm really feeling the blog love right now, and I want each.and.every.one.of.you to know how much it means to me to know you're out there. Taking the time out of your own crazy-busy lives to peek in on mine, to offer your love, comfort and friendship to someone most of you have never even met. It's just amazing, and it means more than you'll ever know. Thank you.

My world these days is sorely lacking in affections and connections, I'm feeling sad and so very alone. As when any couple splits, friends are put in a tough spot, not wanting to choose sides, not wanting to get caught in the middle. Unfortunately, almost all of my friends were friends through DB's* work, so their side was pretty much chosen for them. My two closest friends here have moved back to the States. No one else here really knows about the split. It still has to be kept on the down low for now, for various reasons, and putting on the happy-wife, peachy-life face with acquaintances who don't know is just too much, I can't do it anymore. So, it's just me. All the time. Even work isn't much of a distraction, I have my own office, far away from everyone else. I'm the only person who works in my department now (yes, I'm the boss. no, I still don't have the job) I interact with tons of other people all day, but it's just business. I can't help but wonder if things would be better, or at least less lonely, back in the States? But I really don't think so. At least the kids are happy here. Back in the U.S. we'd all be miserable. I know I'll be happy again, and I know in my heart of hearts this is where I belong, I know this is where I'll find my happy again.

So, what's a sad, lonely girl to do? Wrap herself in cyber hugs and sunny vibes, pull up her big girl panties and get on with the business of making a new life as a sassy, super fabulous, single mom!

No more gray days. No more sad thoughts. No more tears. I'm done with "why me"s. Why not me? I'm the idiot who married him. I'm the dumb ass who sacrificed 7 years of her life with him, having kids and raising a family. No more "what if"s. What if he's selfish, shallow, lazy assclown who never deserved me in the first place? It's time to get myself up, dust myself off and get on with it. Whatever "it" is.

*Editor's note: DB = Dumb Bastard

Spring Break

2010-06-01T20:43:00.004+09:00

This post is way late, but, better late than never, right?

Back in mid-April during the kids' spring break, we headed for Tokyo. I posted about going to check out the Tokyo Sky Tree. The day we left for Tokyo, we decided to stop at Showa Kinen Park, one of our favorite parks. The park is huge, think Central Park (okay, maybe not THAT huge, but it's a big, beautiful park plunked down in the middle of the big, bustling city). They have gorgeous flowers every spring, so I knew it'd be a great place to get some pix of the kiddos. And I was right! We spent a nice afternoon playing, enjoying some ice cream and snapping pix.

Always fun flavors of "sofutu kurimu"

(soft serve ice cream, pronounced so-foo-too koo-ree-moo)!

Cherry Blossom and Green Soybeans! Oishi!

Oki All Day!

2010-05-19T22:34:00.001+09:00

Still need to post about my Mother's Day weekend. The kids and I headed to Yokosuka/Yokohama for 3 days (even played hooky from school and work for an extra long weekend!) It was an awesome trip, and I've got tons of great pictures!

This weekend we're headed to Okinawa!!!! WOO HOO! I.cannot.wait! Gabi made it to finals for track, and they're in Oki this year. The school will be paying for everything, plane, hotel, meals, so I thought it'd be a good time for us to go since I wouldn't have to pay anything for her! I found some dirt cheap tickets, so we head out on Saturday, coming home on Tuesday. Yahoo!

Juicy Juuroku

2010-05-18T15:12:00.003+09:00

(Sorry, couldn't think of a synonym for 'Sweet' that started with a 'J')

On Friday, my chubby-cheeked, sumo-thighed, afro-puffed baby girl turned 16. SIXTEEN! My baby.....is six-freakin-teen! It just doesn't seem possible! I seriously can't wrap my head around it. How can she possibly be that old? It seems like just yesterday that I couldn't close the lap bar on her booster seat because her chunky-monkey thighs were too fat!

Gabrielle Kyne' MaKenzie, my pride and joy. Without a doubt the best daughter a mother could ever wish for. She's so beautiful, so smart and has the biggest, kindest heart of anyone I've ever known. She's so sweet and outgoing, she has a gazillion friends, because she literally never meets a stranger. She's been like that since she was the littlest girl. I couldn't walk 10 feet in the grocery store, with her in the cart, without someone stopping me to tell me how cute and sweet she was. She smiled and waved and blew kisses to everyone, all the time.

She's an incredible big sister, always ready with help, or a hug, for M and E. She helps Meg with her homework, and they still regularly cram together in the same bed at night. She reads to Ethan in Japanese and plays Lego Stars Wars on the PlayStation whenever he asks.

She's a hard worker, so ambitious and such a perfectionist about everything she does. I posted last summer about her first job; she was up at 5:30 every morning, 5 days a week, to catch the 6:30a bus to work, coming home on the 5:30p bus every evening! How many 15 year olds would be motivated to work 12 hour day during their summer vacation? She asked if she could have 2 jobs this summer, "one serious job, to make real money, and one just for fun"! I said no, because she's also signed up to take two online courses over the summer because she doesn't have enough time over her last two years of school to take all the classes she wants! (I know that makes her sound like an unbelievably obnoxious goody-goody, but she's so not like that at all). Anytime I see any of her teachers out and about, they stop to tell me what a joy she is, and how happy they are to have her in class.

I know, GAG! There's nothing worse than a mother bragging on and on about her kid! But I always say that I can brag about G, because I take absolutely no credit for the wonderful young woman she's become. I honestly have no idea how it's happened, but I know I had nothing to do with. She's had the most screwed-up life, and has the most dysfunctional family ever. Over the last 16 years, she's been the innocent victim bearing the brunt of every stupid decision I've made (and there have been MANY), the results of which would have left nearly anyone incapable of living a normal life, much less the joyous life Gabi has created for herself. She has a million reason to be angry at the world, but somehow, she's just the opposite, full of nothing but love and happiness, and she regularly tells me that I'm her best friend.

I couldn't possibly be prouder of you Gabrielle. You have grown into an incredible young woman. I'm so excited about what the future has in store for you, there's no doubt in my mind that you will do amazing things with your life! I love you so much.

2 months

18 months old

2.5 years old

7th birthday, after a day on the boat

9 years old

Just before her13th birthday, in Atlanta

My poor babies!

2010-05-15T20:04:00.004+09:00

I'm not a gardener by any stretch of the imagination. Both of my thumbs are black and moldy. I've killed way more than my fair share of houseplants, flowers, shrubs, trees, even grass! But last summer, inspired and aided by my expert gardener neighbor Sarah, I labored for hours clearing out the brown, dry, overgrown flowerbed beside my front porch. I found a ridiculously hardy flowering bush (at least I think it's a bush) with the most beautiful bright pink and violet blossoms. That thing grows at an astonishing rate, and spreads like wild fire! So, so pretty. Last year I just dropped the seeds in the flower bed, no holes dug, no dirt covering them, and they went crazy! I fed and watered and weeded everyday. I even put up a big beach umbrella everyday, during the hottest, sunniest time, to protect the tender, little shoots from too much sun. I also transplanted a big elephant ear plant (don't know the real name) and had such a lovely garden when it was all grown in. I loved sitting out on the lawn as the sun went down, just staring at it.

Over the long, cold winter, everything died and withered away. There was literally nothing left but dirt. I was so sad, but Sarah assured me everything was fine and that all my beauties would re-emerge in the spring. I watched and worried for weeks, until finally, some tiny, little, green heads began poking their way through the dirt. My scrappy little garden had made it! Even my elephant ear had re-sprouted! I was so excited, and so proud!

The base housing management office has really strict requirements for lawn maintenance, and if your grass gets too long, you get a ticket (3 tickets = your boss being notified that your place looks like crap and you refuse to do anything about it, which could mean a nasty write-up in your file, or even a fine)! They do yard inspections every Tuesday. Yeah, it sucks. So, my lawn mower broke a few weeks ago and I haven't had a chance to get another one and my lawn was starting to look a little scraggly, so I called someone I saw advertising lawn care. Two high school boys showed up this morning and started cutting the grass. I didn't know they were coming today, and they didn't talk to me, or ask what or how I wanted the yard done. But I didn't think much of it at the time. I walked out the front door about 30 minutes into their work to check their progress. You've probably guessed where this is headed.......

I nearly crapped my pants right there on the front porch! One of those little fuckers had WEED-WHACKED MY ENTIRE FLOWER BED!!!!!!!! I swear I started gasping for breath, I was so shocked, just stood there for a few seconds with my mouth hanging open, eyes bugging out of my head. HE WEED-WHACKED MY PRECIOUS BABIES! BRUTALLY HACKED THEM ALL TO DEATH! Oh.my.god. WTF?!?!?!?!

Granted, nothing was flowering yet, and things looked a little overgrown, but that's how I like my garden. I don't like straight, clean, orderly lines, I like my plants to look a little more......chaotic. But it's ordered chaos. It's very clearly a flower bed, a separate area from the lawn, and it definitely didn't look like a bed of weeds that needed to be exterminated!!! I'm devastated! I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to salvage the few little greenies that survived the massacre. Tenderly clearing away the victims, giving some extra TLC to the wounded. I'm so upset. Even my elephant ear! Annihilated! There's NO WAY that beautiful green sprout, trying to stand so tall and proud, looked like a weed!

The plant murderer looke suitable embarrassed and apologized, and even tried to water the bed a little later, but that shit still had the nerve to ask for payment! That elephant ear cost $20 last year! And the rest of the yard looked like crap, none of the actual weeds even got whacked! Ethan could have done a better job cutting the grass with his safety scissors! So I only paid them half of what I agreed to, and they will not be touching my yard again. *Sigh*

This was last year. My goldfish bowl on the front porch, and one of my elephant ears.

About halfway through last summer. That's the transplanted elephant ear on the far right.

My crazy bush just starting out last summer. These are on the side of the house.

This was my "before" picture for this year.

I couldn't bring myself to take a picture post-slaughter. My poor, poor babies!

Ho! Ho! Who?

2010-05-11T22:30:00.000+09:00

Organizing my pictures tonight, and I came across these from Xmas. Can't believe I forgot to post them!

That's ME!

Playing Santa for our Culture Club Xmas party! It was so mcuh fun. The Japanese ladies didn't know it was me and were so shocked when Santa called them all by name and asked about their grandkids and husbands (I've known most of them the entire 2.5 years I've been here).

I also got to snuggle several tiny babies for their first pix w/ St. Nick. I think that was the best part! It was fun to be able to let the mommies get really personalized pix, instead of the rushed, blurry mall-Santa pictures most of us got of our little ones. I was able to take time to cuddle and calm the ones that were scared, and make sure everyone got the perfect shot. Hmmmmm, maybe I've found a way to supplement my Christmas spending?

Matsui Jr. he's not!

2010-05-10T20:19:00.002+09:00

Ethan has started his first season of baseball. This is his first time playing any sport at all. And it shows.

He typically lasts about 15 minutes before the jumping around, dancing, typical bored kid stuff starts. He rolls around on the ground, sits in the outfield picking dandelions and blades of grass, and spends more time watching planes taking off and landing on the runway directly behind the field (and cars driving past, and birds flying overhead, and ants on the ground....) than he does watching the ball.

He has zero hand-eye coordination, he runs, and throws "like a girl" (according to his sisters), and 9 times out of 10, not only is his glove on the wrong hand, but it's also on backwards (???). If he's playing first base, and the ball goes foul past third, he runs after it. But when the balls rolls directly to his feet, he just stands there, completely oblivious.

When the coach yells "Heads up" to let the kids know the ball's coming, E thinks his saying "Hands up" and both his arms shoot up into the air.

His first at-bat, he ran straight for first base, and kept going into the outfield, zig-zagging all over the place, intent on not being "tagged" by the kid with the ball. As the coach shouted from home for him to come back, he turned around and ran for home, straight up the middle, over the pitcher's mound. The second time he went straight from first to third, over the pitcher's mound. He's now graduated to running the bases, in the right direction and in the right order, but he runs w w w i i i i i d d d d e and doesn't come within 3 feet of any of the bags.

But, he gets really excited when it's time for practice and games. And he loves putting on his uniform. And what is it with guys and high-fives? He high-fives everyone, for everything, shouting "Good job buddy!" "Great game guys!"

Fortunately, at this age, the coaches are only concerned with teaching sportsmanship and basic fundamentals. There are no strikes, or outs, and they don't keep score. They just play for 60 minutes, and each kid gets to bat once in every inning. He's having a lot of fun, almost as much fun as we have watching him!

Samurai Daiko! Sore!

2010-05-04T21:52:00.000+09:00

Oh yeah, baby! I've joined a taiko (Japanese drum) team!

We have a Japanese-American drum team on base, there are about 10 of us, and we're taught by Hashimoto-sensei and his wife. Practices are pretty instense, twice a week for 3 + hours each night. Twice a month we travel to the nearby city of Hachioji to practice with a "professional" team, Jinba Taiko, and twice a month, they come to the base to practice with us.

During the late spring and summer, we perform at 2 - 3 festivals per month. Tonight was my 3rd practice. I only know one song so far (which I play veeeeerrrryyyy slowly) so it will be a while before I'm ready to join the team for real performances, but t's so much fun! I have a "thing" for drums and am really loving being on the team. It's a great work out too!

Tokyo Sky Tree...

2010-04-25T17:11:00.001+09:00

...aka the New Tokyo Tower. Blogs are abuzz with the news that the new Tokyo Tower is more than 50% complete, and has crept past the old TT (a puny 333 m high) as the tallest man-made structure in Japan. In case you haven't heard about it (really, where have you been?) here's a link about the Tokyo Sky Tree.

Since we were in T-Town last week, the kids and I decided to head to Oshiage to check it out. I thought it'd be cool for them to be able to one day say "I was there when Tokyo Sky Tree was built!"

It's definitely impressive, Ethan was mesmerized by all the construction and cranes. He loooooooves the old TT, and can't wait for this one to be finished. It's scheduled to be completed in December of next year, I really hope we'll be here to see it!

Tokyo Sky Tree from the Rainbow Bridge over Tokyo Bay

GGGAAAAHHHHHH!

2010-04-18T11:59:00.001+09:00

One of the things I love most about Japan are the four very distinct seasons. I even love the winter, I love the cold, snuggling under mounds of blankets, long soaks in steaming, hot baths, cups of hot cocoa with whip cream. But I think this has been the funkiest, coldest, longest winter ever. And I am soooooo over winter!

Yesterday:

Today:

Quasi-hanami

2010-04-18T11:36:00.001+09:00

Just a few more pix from my sakura street:

I absolutely love sakura against a really blue sky!

Karuizawa

2010-04-15T18:40:00.005+09:00

Back in February, the kids and I were off for Presidents' Day. One of the nice things about living on a U.S. military base overseas is that on base we observe all U.S. holidays, meaning days off work and school, while off base, of course, they observe their own national holidays, so whenever we want to travel on holidays, we don't have to battle the normal Japanese holiday madness with the crushing crowds and insane traffic jams.

Since we STILL don't know whether or not we'll be leaving Japan in August, I'm in full-on count-down-to-leave-Japan mode, trying to cram in all the things we want to see and do in what could possibly be our last 6 months here. Meg and E still hadn't ridden on a shinkansen (bullet train). I took a trip to Hiroshima via shink in June, and the BFF and I took one back from Osaka in September. Gabi has taken 4 shinki trips so far with her cross country and track teams, so I wanted to be sure Meg and Ethan got to enjoy the experience too.

Shinkansen tickets can be really expensive, sometimes as much as a plane ticket, but the ticket price is partially based on how you're going to travel, so if you want to make a short/quick trip, it's not bad at all. So I researched some of the closer desinations along the shinkansen route and settled on Karuizawa. No particular reason other than it is just under an hour ride, which I figured was perfect for the kids, long enough to enjoy the ride, but not so long that they'd get bored. And it was the closest place that I thought might have something they'd be semi-interested in seeing, an outlet mall. Okay, so that probably sounds like something I'd be interested in, but Meg is a full-fledged teenaged girl who loves to shop, and this mall has a LEGO store, one of E's favorite places.

So, off we went. The ticket was way cheaper than I had thought, especially since Meg's Youth fare was 1/2 the adult price, and Ethan was freeeeeee! Score! Seeing as I was spending so much less than I had budgeted, I decided to splurge on seats in the green car (first class). Woo hoo!

We got to the station about an hour early, so we'd have plenty of time for train watching and picture taking.

The kids had a blast on the train, it was definitely worth the money. Something I know they will both always remember. But it didn't end there!

The weather in Fussa was in the high 40's that day, and we had yet to see any snow this winter, so imagine our shock when we flew out of the last mountain tunnel into this:

Turns out Karuizawa is a ski resort too! Soooooo awesome! Meg and E were beside themselves with excitement! The mall is literally at the base of the ski slopes, and the train station is directly across the street. We could see people skiing and snowboarding down the mountain, it's the first time we had ever seen people skiing in real life! (Remember, we're from FLORIDA, the "Sunshine, temp-never-drops-below-40-degrees state").

The mall was unbelieveable too! Over 200 stores and restaurants! It was like a real American outlet mall! We found some pants and socks for both kids on a clearance rack, so I let them romp in the snow and get completely soaked, then they changed into the new, dry stuff and we caught the 4pm shinki back to Tokyo. It was a really great day and I'm so glad we decided to go.

Tadaima!

2010-04-14T22:15:00.004+09:00

A few weeks ago, I decided I needed to make my blog private. As you know, there are certain people who just don't deserve to see this little window into our world.

But I hated it.

There are waaaaay more people peeking in on us than I ever imagined (massive cyber hugs, in a totally non-creepy way, for those who delurked themselves, you have NO idea how much it means to me to know you're out there!!!!!) and it was becoming time consuming to keep sending invites. I also realized that there were a lot of really awesome people I've connected with thanks to this blog, but none of them had any other way to contact me, and vice versa, so I couldn't send them invites to get here......so, after much thinking and wondering and worrying.....I'm public again!

Besides missing all my peeps, thanks to some words of wisdom from the BFF, I realized cannot give certain people that kind of power over my life. I love my blog and I'm not going to let anyone spoil it for me. So, I'm back!

Hanging in.....

2010-04-14T21:58:00.001+09:00

.....and still hanging on. Nothing new to report, kids are good, no job news, my husband is still an ass.......

Took the kids to Tokyo for a night at the New Sanno. We took gobs of pix, I'll post them soon. Yes Mother, I'm sending them to you.

My shrink upped my looney-tune vitamins, so maybe this funk will lift a little and I'll feel like blogging a bit more, but right now, I just have zero motivation to do much of anything.....

Cherry blossoms have come, and nearly gone, and I didn't do any of the hanami I had planned, but the the weather was so cold and dreary this year, so that played a big part in the nixing of my plans. But this is the street I drive to and from my house, multiple times a day, so I still got to enjoy a bit of sakura. For those in the know, this is heading straight towards the East gate, you can just make out the guard shack towards the center.

Trackies

2010-04-06T18:04:00.000+09:00

Meg decided to run track this season. She ran cross country last year, but decided not to this year, and this is her first time running track. She's running the 200m, 400m and 4 x 400m relay. She doesn't care much for sports, but loves being part of a team and wearing a uniform, so she'll join just abouty any sport just for that! She's actually shaping up to be a pretty decent runner! She definitely has the skills, but just doesn't have a runner's heart or spirit.

Gabi is running too. This is her 4th year on the track team. She's running the 400m and 4 x 400m relay, and doing the long jump and high jump. The jumping was a complete fluke. Her running events are always at the very end of the meet, but she'd have to show up at 7:30a for the start of meets, then just sit around all day until her events around 2:00p. She was bored out of her skull, so decided to do the jumping events, just to have something to do while waiting for her runs. Turns out she's actually pretty good, better at jumping than running!

Track meets are loooooooooong. For "away" meets, we leave the base around 7:00a, and don't get home until around 5:00p. But E's a real trooper and entertains himself all day long. He loves going to the meets and cheering for his sisters and the rest of the time he's just plays, acting out stories, playing Star Wars with rocks and sticks (I bring a backpack full of toys and books, but he prefers pretending), running his own imaginary races and all those other little boy games. He loves spending the entire day outside, but I have to make sure he eats dinner on the way home, because it's a sure bet that he'll fall asleep in the van and stayed sacked for the rest of night!

A Music Connoisseur

2010-03-24T20:18:00.005+09:00

Ethan's current playlist on my iPod:

Paradise City - Guns n' Roses
My Humps - Blacked Eye Peas
Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus
I'm a Gummy Bear - Gummibar
Crank That - Soulja Boy
Barbie Girl - Aqua
Single Ladies - Beyonce'
Do You Like Waffles? - Parry Grip
Poker Face - Lady GaGa
Fire Burnin' - Sean Kingston
Crank that Spiderman - Duffle Bag Boiz
Chicken Noodle Soup - Webstar and Young B

Vomitousness (or, Job Update)

2010-03-21T20:14:00.002+09:00

This job stuff is sitting like a ton of bricks, very, very heavy bricks, squarely on my stomache. This hanging-in-limbo business is for the birds. I hate not having a plan! I hate not being able to plan. I'm such a ridiculously obsessive planner. I ALWAYS have a plan, accompanied by lists, and sometimes even charts. Not knowing if I have this job or not, if we're staying in Japan or not, not knowing where in the world we'll go if I don't get it, where we'll live, how we'll survive...........AHHHHHHHHHH! I'm walking around all day, every day, feeling seconds away from a complete and thorough tossing of my proverbial cookies. Both of my bosses keep telling me "Don't worry, you've got it! "It's going to happen, just be patient!" Easy for them to say from behind their full-time, well-paid SOFA status jobs!

And then I think, "What if I get the job?" What if I get the job? Then, what? Do I really want it? What will it really mean for my family? One thing it will mean is that I'll be really and truly on my own for the very first time in my entire life. With three kids. Scarey stuff. I've lived alone before, done the whole single-parent thing, but my ex-husband was never more than 15 minutes down the street, my parents barely 3 hours away. But this time, my nearest back-up will be at least 24 hours, and several thousands of dollars, away.

And then there's my marriage. That's pretty funny, huh? Thinking about what getting this job will mean for my marriage? Gag. I mean,I know my marriage is over, of course it's over, it couldn't be anything other than over. But....... I don't know. It's hard to explain. Maybe it's just that this would be the first step I'VE taken towards an ending. Everything until now has been DB's decision. HE left. HE decided we'd grown apart. HE decided we shouldn't be together anymore. All of it was decided and done without a single discussion or any input from me. But getting this job, and staying in Japan when he leaves. That'd be MY decision. That'd be ME saying "Yes, my marriage really is over." It'll be the absolute end. So final. I don't know why, but the thought of doing that makes me feel so incredibly sad. Could I be bigger wimp?

They say no news is good news. But it's not feeling so good right now.

School Pix

2010-03-18T15:50:00.004+09:00

Who could resist this mug?

Fashionista

2010-03-17T20:47:00.003+09:00

Tonight, I was in Gabi's room talking to her about her day and I noticed that her calendar had a word written on each of the last 17 days, "Green" "Spiderman" "Polka Dot". When I asked her what they were, she replies "My shirts." Huh? "Yeah, everyday I write in what shirt I wore so I won't wear the same one again too soon."

This is the child who has happily shopped at Goodwill and the Salvation Army her entire life, never turning her nose up at a hand-me-down and for the most part walks around looking like she just rolled out of a dumpster (she's clean, but always wrinkled, sporting miscellaneous holes and pen drawings on her pants and shoes, and never, ever matching). She's never cared about clothes or fashion, never worried about name brands, price tags or...ironing. But suddenly she's OCD about not wearing the same shirt twice in one week?!?!?! Oy.

Birthday Post! Finally!

2010-03-14T18:32:00.005+09:00

Only a month late!

Wow, I can't believe my little burrito is 5! FIVE! My last baby is five.years.old! I've always said that if he had been my first, I'd have ten kids by now. He was such an awesome, laid back baby. And that hasn't really changed. He's so low-maintenance, so easy going, and such a mama's boy (in a good way). He's so funny, and such a sweet kid. I laugh now when I remember how I CRIED when I found out I was pregnant with a boy! I demanded a second opinion! I was so set on a 3rd girl, I'd never pictured myself as the mom of a stinky, rowdy, messy boy! But now, I couldn't imagine my life without my angel boy!

For some reason he was insistent on a Diego cake. Diego? Seriously? He hasn't watched Diego since he was 2. He's full on boy now, all about Transformers, Star Wars, battles and shark attacks, construction equipment, and always Tomica. I was sure he'd want a Transformers cake. I even took him to the grocery store to browse the cake catalog, there were some really cool "big boy" cakes. Nope. It had to be Diego. Okay buddy-boy!

Fortunately, he's still at an age where I can get away with just a small, family party. Right now it's still all about the cake and prezzies. I invited 3 neighbor boys that he plays with, very low key, and quick! He opened presents, we sang and ate cake, and I had those boys out of the house in less than an hour! Woo hoo!

I'm just sayin'

2010-03-13T20:36:00.003+09:00

When you complain about not having enough money to pay your bills every time you're approached by the mother of your children, who's asking for money to take care of YOUR FAMILY (when the fact that you have to be asked for extra money in the first place is just sad, and shameful), and you then proceed to spend $80 on a Skype phone, followed by $235 on an iPod Touch and accessories, and over $100 on miscellaneous eBay purchaces, all in less than a month.........

Do your thang!

2010-03-09T14:07:00.005+09:00

Looks like the decision about my job may be reaching the actual decision making phase very soon. Please pray, chant, cross body parts, send vibes, invoke spirits, light candles....whatever it is you do!

As everyone knows, I must have a job on the base to stay in Japan after he-whose-name-shall-never-again-appear-in-this-blog leaves in August. And while I still have time to find another job, they are very, very few, and very, very far between, so my chances of actually finding one would be slim to none. This job is my very best chance.

Although both my direct supervisor and the next boss up have made it known to those inhabiting the top of the ladder that I'd be their first choice for this position, neither of them has anything to do with the actual hiring process. I'm sure that their opinions count for something, but as with everything goverment-ish, filling job vacancies is full of miles of red tape, reems of forms and paperwork and a seemingly endless "Chain of Command" who must all weigh in and give their approval every step of the way. Both of my bosses are very puny links at the veeerrrrry bottom of that chain, so even though they'd be in the best position to choose the right candidate who will work side by side with THEM, in THEIR office, that just not how it works. It's a very tedious, and often extremely frustrating process. I've done everything I can from my end, now we just wait, and pray/chant/cross all crossable body parts, etc. Oy, I feel nauseous.

You asked for it.....

2010-03-06T21:48:00.003+09:00

...an update of the UBs, that is. I've gotten lots of comments and e-mails lately, ever so gently and politely asking how things are going, so I figured it's time for an update.

Things between Otis and me have gone from bad, to worse, to gut-wrenchingly horrible. We can't speak at all without the situation turning into a full blown nuclear holocaust. And I'm not ashamed to admit that 99% of the time, I'm the one dropping the bombs. We text when necessary, but that's the extent of our contact. The last 3 weeks or so have been fairly quiet though, he steers clear of me, and I haven't gone too far out of my to cause him any misery, so that's good, I guess.

He doesn't seem at all concerned about the kids, doesn't talk to them, never calls, rarely sees them (not a surprise), but none of them seem to care. Ethan never asks about him, or for him, and the girls seem equally ambivalent.

I'm still full of soul-torching rage, and if one more person tells me to "let go of the anger" or that "time heals all wounds" I swear I'm going to vomit, after I gouge their eyes out with a chopstick. My burning rage is what keep me warm at night, when I'm all alone in my massive bed, and my thoughts of revenge are what get me out of bed every morning. That's just where I am right now, and I'm okay with that. Of course time heals, or at least dulls the pain, and I fully expect for that to happen, but it's not happening for me yet, so if slashing a tire or two, smashing a windshield or draining a bank account is what I need to do to cope with where I am right now, you know what? I'm okay with that too.

I really wish I could spill it all here, air all the dirty laundry, out him for what and who he really is....but while it really would make me feel great for a few minutes, in the end, a lot of other people would be hurt. Even though this whole horrific disaster has left me more than a little jaded, and caring just a little bit less about other people's feelings, I'm not so far gone that I'd intentionally hurt anyone else, so this minor spewage from my black, shredded soul will have to do (can you say drama queen?)

I go out of my way to shield the kids from all the ugliness, they have no clue how bad things have gotten, or how crazy I've gone. They have no idea there's even any animosity. Yeah, yeah, kids know more than we think they do, blah, blah, blah. They're fine, I promise.

My life is going on, not the way I planned, not the way I wanted, but on it goes. Still hoping and praying we can stay in Japan, I have a new boss who seems to think a full-time position is a definite possibility, but the clock is ticking and I'm still worried.

So there it is. Not pretty, but I haven't castrated or killed anyone yet, I suppose that's a good thing, right?

Earthquakes, Typhoons and Tsunamis, oh my!

2010-02-28T11:57:00.001+09:00

I've never experienced a tsunami warning before. We're far enough in land that a massive wave wouldn't effect us at all, but still........we're watching the news reports of all the tsunami preparations that are going on, definitely a different experience.

The Tokyo marathon is in full swing right now (Ganbatte Malcolm!), and all those runners are crossing the finish line on Tokyo Bay, which is right smack in the middle of the tsunami warning zone

"Su-pa!"

2010-02-25T18:56:00.010+09:00

We live in the Kanto region of Japan, an area made up of seven prefectures, we live in Tokyo. Within the Kanto region there is a core group of about 11 English speaking high schools, 3 are American schools on U.S. military installations, and the others are international schools in the Tokyo and Yokohama areas like American School in Japan, Christian Academy in Japan, Int'l School of the Sacred Heart and Yokohama Int'l School.

Our sports teams all compete against each other throughout the year (and against other English speaking schools throughout Japan and the Pacific) and the kids get pretty friendly playing together over the course of several years, even though they're competitors, they're definitely very friendly rivals. It's so incredibly different from what goes on in the U.S., where kids have been actually KILLED over out-of-control high school rivalries! It's pretty awesome seeing so many kids of so many different nationalities cheering each other on at these different events, and I've met some great people from all over the world as we've watched our kids run at cross country and track meets over the last three seasons, and Gabi hangs w/ kids from all these schools at basketball and football games during her off seasons.

Next month there are two "super" events planned, bringing together a bunch of Kanto schools for some fun. There's going to be an "American" football game, sort of an All Star team made up of players from the American/Int'l schools, playing against a Japanese high school team. And there's a "Kanto Plains Su-pa Dance" being held at one of the Tokyo schools, open to all the high school students of the American/Int'l schools. How cool is that? Our school will take buses to both events. Gabi has already bought her ticket for the Super Dance (my offer to chaperon was met w/ a resounding VETO), and we're all planning to go the football game in Kawasaki (though I've already been instructed that I will not be permitted to sit in the Students' section). ** I could be wrong, but I'm guessing the religious schools didn't include: "CLOTHES MUST STAY ON!" in their event guidelines. If not, should I warn my parent-friends from the other schools that our adminstration felt it necessary to include it in ours?**

Happy Birthday......

2010-02-17T21:43:00.002+09:00

.....to my beautiful boy. I love you so much!!!!! Proper post w/ pix coming soon!

A little something to smile about....

2010-02-12T20:35:00.005+09:00

I'm going to keep the post for O's dad a the top (just FYI, not the "something to smile about")

Some of you may or may not know that Meg's dad, my ex-husband Jason, is deployed to Afghanistan. His team is reeeeaaaalllly far forward with a bunch of Army guys at a tiny, very remote post. Jay is a member of the Air Force's Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers ( Red Horse ), which is a team of construction guys that basically build new military bases, so they're building a camp now, constructing a post office, chapel, dining hall, etc. It's a pretty tough place, when they arrived they had only the most basic, bare necessities, sleeping in tents, eating MRE's, no internet and only hit-or-miss field satellite phones. They've been working hard and the buildings are slowly coming up.

Back in December one of the guys stumbled on some puppies in a cave w/ no mama dog in site, click below for the full story and updates. The pups were gathered up and brought to the camp, and as you'd expect, everyone fell in love with the little mongrels, and now they've launched a campaign to bring them all to the U.S.

Rescue the Red Horse Pups

In the very top/first pic, Jason is on the far left, sitting in the folding chair w/ sunglasses on.

Jay is a huge dog lover, he's got three pups back home in FL that he really misses and having these little girlies (and guy) in the camp has done so much to lift the morale of all the guys and helped so much to make each day a little easier to get through as they count down the days until they can come home.

Every e-mail Meg gets from her dad has some mention of the dogs, and now she's head-over-heels and begs regularly to adopt one.

If you're so inclined, please donate a little bit to the fund that's been set up to rescue these puppies that have come to mean so much to not only the Red Horse guys, but their grateful families as well.

***Although the blog refers to the Pennsylvania National Guard Red Horse team, they're actually a mixed team from several bases, including Hurlburt Field in Ft. Walton Beach, FL

I'm her.....

2010-01-07T22:25:00.002+09:00

...this whole, stupid, horrible mess has turned me into "that girl". You know the one. When you see her, you just shake your head in pity, everybody knows her drama and we all think "Geez, what's wrong with her?" "God, I'd never do that!" "Doesn't she have any pride?". There are times now that I don't even recognize myself. I have said and done things in the last 9 weeks that I NEVER DREAMED I was capable of. And who will I be when it's all said and done? A stronger woman because I survived? Or a sad, broken shell of old myself, because of what I had to do to survive?

Mama mowhawk

2010-01-06T21:10:00.003+09:00

Why yes, I did shave my child's head! How can you tell? Is the huge gash in the back, or maybe it's the squiggly lines, perhaps the huge tufts of unshaved bits strategically sprouting around his melon? Trust me, it looks worse real life! And I'll confess it now, he was MORTIFIED when he first looked in the mirror. He actually cried. I was heartbroken! I thought I'd done a decent job, I mean, HE'S A 4 YEAR OLD BOY! What does he know about the height of chic hair fashion? But he literally broke down sobbing.

However, in typical 4 year old boy fashion, he's over it now, completely forgotten it, as he never looks at himself in the mirror. And of course people are unfailingly polite, gushing with the "Oh Ethan, I love your hair!" as they look at me over his head, eyes wide and "What the hell happened?" written all over their faces.

I love it though. I think it's adorable!

Unbloggables

2010-01-03T09:50:00.002+09:00

Hmmmm.....where do I start? Some of this story will remain unbloggable because I know there are people I love who read this blog and there's no point in anyone else being hurt. I'm still very much tied up in placing blame and pointing fingers, but I'll spare everyone the gory details; I'm definitely not in a place yet to be able to offer an objective, unbiased story at this point (although I'm sure more than a few of you can fill in a lot of the blanks).

And let me get this out of the way straight off the top: To all of you who think it's inappropriate for me to air my family's dirty laundry in such a public place, suck it, this is MY blog written by and for ME. And to anyone and everyone who is or has been hurt by what's going on with my family, and how I'm handling things, I'm truly sorry, I'd never intentionally hurt any of you, for any reason, I love you all, but it's time for me to finally start putting myself first and I'm dealing with things in the way that is best for me.

With that, on with tale: About 8 weeks ago, Otis made the decision that he no longer wants to be a part of our family. He'd actually made the decision many months ago, but Oct. 25 he moved out. He's been staying temporarily in a 2-bdrm apartment across base, and from there will probably be moving into a small place off-base, since the military has rules about 1 active duty person only being assigned 1 goverment house, and obviously the kids and I still live in the first government house Otis was issued, with no plans of moving out anytime soon.

It's been the longest, most painful 8 weeks of my life, and I'm still struggling daily, but there's really not a whole lot I can do about any of it. I knew Otis and I had problems, pretty big ones too, but I never imagined they were bad enough to warrant the ending of our marriage. I'm still so shocked and confused by the fact that we were so obviously living in two completely different relationships. All these months I thought we were just going through a rough patch, like most couples do, but it wasn't anything I thought we couldn't handle and get through together. Meanwhile, O was quickly reaching the point of no return, seeing our relationship crumbling beyond repair and deciding that he didn' t love me enough to continue trying. At this point, he can't tell me where things went so wrong, and obviously I'm even more clueless. A lot of things have come to light in the last 8 weeks that make me believe we have indeed past the point of no return, I can't imagine how we'd ever get past a lot of what has happened, even if he were willing to try (which he definitely is not). So, those are my unbloggables, in a nutshell.

The kids are great and seemingly unphased. They don't ask any questions, Ethan barely realizes O isn't around, and I don't think he realizes at all that his dad doesn't live with us anymore. Otis sees him a once or twice a week. The girls and I talk about it some, I don't push the issue and let them come to me if they feel like talking or have any questions. They know he's gone, living across base, but they really seem okay with it.

Now, I'm scrambling, trying to do whatever is necessary for the kids and I to stay in Japan when Otis leaves, which could be anywhere from April-ish to early August this year. My job still hasn't gone full-time, which is critical. In order to stay in Japan w/out Otis, I have to have my own active SOFA status (Status of Forces Agreement) with the Department of Defense. SOFA status is only granted to non-military people through certain full-time positions (if my PT job goes FT, I'll get SOFA status). Beyond the SOFA status, I also need a full time paycheck to survive. Living in Japan ain't cheap!

There is absolutely nothing back in the U.S. for me: no home, no job (not even any prospects for a job), other than my BFF, no friends, no real family to speak of, at least not any that could take us all in indefinitely. Other than having the kids near their dad, which just isn't reason enough as far as I'm concerned, I really think staying here is the best thing for all of us. We all love Japan so much, the kids are so happy here. I've talked to the girls about going back to America, and they were both horrified by the thought. So for now, the plan is to stay in Japan at least until Gabi graduates from high school in June 2012. Right now I have trouble thinking beyond tomorrow, getting myself through each day as it comes is my only real goal, but hopefully everything else will fall into place in time.

Thank you so much to my friends who have been there for me these last two months, especially my BFF Rob and best buds H and Xta. I know I've seemed a bit batty at times, but I know and appreciate everything that you've done for me and for the kids. I love you all.

Off to bed for me, the kids and I are back to the grind tomorrow after our 2-week winter break. Hope you all survive the first Monday of 2010!

Chicken Little

2009-12-22T16:50:00.003+09:00

I had a huge post all typed up and ready to go: "Blogging the Unbloggables". But I chickened out of posting it. Just not ready to go there yet, there are still a few people who need to know everything, but they're still completely clueless (not my decision), and I'd hate to have them find out by stumbling across my blog, no matter how remote the chance is.

Suffice it to say, we're hanging in there. My good days are nearly equal in number to my bad days now, so that's a positive thing, but the bad days are still really bad.

No news about my job turning full time, which is very worrisome.

All ready for X-mas, I managed to decorate as usual, maybe even a little more than usual this year and I probably went a bit overboard on gifts for the kids, but they deserve it, Christmas morning will be a happy and welcome distraction.

Not the greatest pic, but the smile on Ethan's face is priceless! Look at that huge dimple! He was soooooooooooooooooo excited to see St. Nick, who arrived on the back of a huge fire truck! I thought he might pee his pants (E, not Santa)! This is the first year he really "gets it", understanding who Santa is and what happens Xmas morning, and the first year he wasn't scared completely shitless of the huge man with the crazy white beard, dressed all in red bellowing "HO! HO! HO! Come sit on my lap little boy!"

Hope Christmas finds you all happy, healthy and looking forward to the new year!

So Incredibly Thankful

2009-11-28T21:26:00.005+09:00

Thanksgiving eve found me hosting a full-blown, bring-down-the-roof pity party. Desperately sad and certain that this year I had absolutely nothing to be thankful for.

So wrong.

Happy Thanksgiving from me and mine, to you and yours!

Scholars AND Athletes

2009-11-11T10:37:00.004+09:00

Sorry, but I've got to brag on my kiddos a bit. Since I know I can't take any credit at all for how well they're turing out, I don't think it really counts as bragging though, just an expression of my awe and admiration. I don't know where these kids came from. I was a highly unmotivated student in school, scraping by with barely average grades, I even tried to drop out my senior year! And sports? Unless doing donuts on the football field, under the cover of darkness, then running from the cops has become an accredited high school sporting event, I was definitely not the sporting type!

Meg is loving her cheer squad, they cheered for their first game last Saturday.

Gabi just returned from CC Finals in Misawa, she didn't have a great race, it was freeeeeeeeezing up there, they ran in the snow! But she had a great year, placing 2nd or 3rd for her team at every race. Just got her report card, all A's and 1 B+ ( in Japanese III ). I think she just may be a keeper! Haven't gotten Meg's report yet, but I check their progress weekly and she's doing really well too.

Gabi and her BFF K (in blue) running at Atsugi two weeks ago

Not a scholar or an athlete yet, but he sure is cute!

A little blogging break

2009-11-01T21:13:00.003+09:00

My world is a bit topsy-turvy right now (that's the G-rated description). Quite a bit of crapola going on at the moment, so I might not be blogging for awhile, at least until I can stop the downward spiral and regain my equilibrium.

Work is great though, and the kids are all healthy and coping. A few update bullets:

- Gabi's cross-country season has gone well, they have Far East finals at Misawa, about 400 miles north of here, next weekend. She's enjoying ROTC where she's the Public Affairs Officer.

- Meg got the first half (top) of her braces last month, she's done really well and her teeth already look so much better! She started cheerleading a few days ago, something she's been wanting to do for a while.

- Ethan moves to an English pre-school tomorrow. I'm so sad to move him from his yochien, he loves it and his sensei so much. When I told his sensei he'd be leaving she actually cried! And it turns out he ONLY speaks Japanese at school!!!!! You could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard that! His sensei says he actually won't respond if she speaks to him in English! I'm so happy! I've bought tons of Japanese DVDs and books (Gabi and Meg can both read hiragana and katakana, so they can read all of his books to him) so hopefully he'll retain some of it. I'd love to get him into a Japanese playgroup.

Now that I'm working there's just no way he could stay at the yochien, where of course they follow the Japanese school and holiday schedule, which isn't even remotely close to the American school and holiday schedule, which is what we follow on base. Another bonus is that his new school is less than 1/2 mile from my office, his yochien is about 15 miles in the opposite direction (which equates to at least a 30 min drive here in Japan). Plus, I've blogged before about how worried I was that he'd be really far behind his American peers when he starts kindy next year, and this new school has a really great academic program. So, with a heavy heart, I decided it was best to switch him to this new school that just opened last month.

- Work is great, I'm learning lots of new stuff, and it's all very interesting. One thing I love about the Department of Defense is that they spend A LOT of money on training, so I'll be going to lots of classes, conferences and workshops on their dime, to help me learn about support agreements, international business/relations and other aspects of my job, which is something I'll be able to take with me wherever I go. Work is my escape now, I stay pretty busy, so for those 8 or so hours I can just forget what's going on with the rest of my life. My co-workers are a pretty fun bunch of guys, so they keep me laughing, which is always a good thing. As you can imagine in an office full of only men, there's lots of burping, farting and cussing going on, but they try to be mindful of my "feminine sensibilities". Yeah, right, LOL! Wonder what they'd do if I just ripped a big one? It's actually kind of liberating to be able to let loose with a "What the F$@# ????" every now and again without having to worry about little ears or horrified gasps!

- I took the kids to Disneyland and DisneySea last week, we had a great time, but it was crazy crowded! We'll definitely have to go back again on a day that isn't so insane, like a Tuesday or Wednesday during a non-holiday season.

- I'm hoping to visit Sorbi in Osaka again this month (she came up with her family in Sept while Rob was here, and we went down to her house for 3 days. Still haven't gotten around to blogging about all that). We're planning to drive to Obama, just because it's......well, a town called OBAMA!!!!

Guess that's about it. Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

'Ritaville International - Day 1 (I think)

2009-09-29T13:31:00.002+09:00

Wow, what an awesome 10 days! We did SO MUCH in such a short time. My memory's a little foggy on sthe pecifics, but I've got the major details.

Robin arrived Thursday afternoon, I drove to Narita to pick her up. We got stuck in a bit of traffic and got back to my house in the early evening. We were planning to head out for din-din, but since we were leaving bright and early Friday morning, decided to just relax at my place instead.

Headed for T-town as soon as we put E on the bus. We stayed at the Tokyo Prince hotel, right at the base of Tokyo Tower. The Prince Tokyo's shtick is that they haven't changed the hotel since the early 70's. I was worried that meant we'd be staying in an run-down, 30 year old pile of crap, but it was really nice. It's been very well maintained and everything looked great. They even still have actual keys for the doors! And a huge, FREE parking lot, which is pretty amazing in downtown Tokyo!

We parked the car and struck off for Tokyo Tower, literally a 10 minute walk.

This was a pretty, little park just behind/below the T-Tower. Hard to believe we were smack-dab in the middle of the biggest city in the world!

Looking down on the Prince from T-tower

My foot in Tokyo Tower

In the elevator heading back down

Next we headed for Shibuya to meet the famous Hachiko and take a walk through the busiest intersection in the world. For those of you who don't know, Richard Gere (hubba hubba) has a new movie coming out called "Hachi" based on the story of Hachiko, so I thought it'd be cool for Rob to go there.

We ducked into a Tenkaippin for R's first real Japanese meal, she had a massive bowl of ramen and an order of gyozas (okay, so they're actually Chinese, but they're still very Japanese), she loved them both so much we had the same thing for lunch the next day!

Night view of Tokyo Tower FROM OUR ROOM!!!! How awesome is that?

Our poor, exhausted dogs on our hotel "balcony" .

Unbelievably...........

2009-09-25T20:37:00.002+09:00

...fun, and unbelievably exhausting! Just back (as in 20 minutes ago) from a ridiculously fast trip to Osaka with our best pal Sorbi. Only 3 more days left of Rob's trip. Posts of all our awesome adventures coming soon!

My stomache hurts from laughing.....

2009-09-15T21:13:00.002+09:00

....and I think I peed my pants! This is seriously the funniest thing I've read in a looooooooooong time! The Magic Forest. A seriously awesome post Dutch!

*On an odd note, we have that exact hot dog statue in Narita airport! It totally freaked Ethan out when we were there last week. Who would have ever thought there could be two of those in the world! A hot dog in tennis shoes, preparing himself to be eaten? Weird.

I'm sooooooooooooo excited!

2009-09-15T15:24:00.004+09:00

My BFF lands at Narita in T - 45 hours! Woo hoo! I can't wait!!!!!!

7 or 8 years ago, Rob and I started taking trips together, just the two of us, once or twice a year. We call them "Margaritaville". So far we've been to: Helen, Georgia (a cute little Bavarian-themed town in N. Georgia), Niagra Falls, NYC (hands-down the most awesome trip ever), Orlando, Florida, we had a mini-Margaritaville in Tampa while I was preggers w/ E, we hauled all the kids to Chatanooga, Tennessee for a "Milk-ville"

I've been working feverishly on our itinerary for months, of course, and even now, less than two days before the commencment of Margaritaville International - 2009 (maybe it should be Sake-ville?), I'm still revising, adding, taking away, there's just soooooooo much to see and do, and soooooo little time!

And the 'ritaville bonus this year: our Junior year of high school, we befriended (read: thoroughly corrupted) a Japanese exchange student, whom we nicknamed "Sorbi". Sorb is from Osaka, and a couple of months ago, after almost 22 years, we were all reunited via FaceBook!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorb and her family will be coming up from Osaka on Sunday, and Rob and I will be returning to Osaka w/ them on Wednesday. I so freakin' excited!!!!!

The current itinerary:

Thursday: pick-up at Narita. We'll just hang out at my house and relax, walk down the street to my fave little Chinese restaurant, The Wok, make some 'ritas and yak all night. Otis always asks "You've been best friends for 25 years, how can you still have anything to talk about?" Men! Completely clueless!

Friday: put E on the bus and head for Tokyo. We'll be going to, in no real order yet: Tokyo Tower, Asakusa, Roppongi (mainly for Tokyo CityView), Shibuya, Ameyoko, maybe Ginza if there's time. There'll be lots of aimless wandering too. We're spending Fri and Sat night in Tokyo. Dinner at Mai Thai in Ebisu one night, maybe Yebisu Garden the other night.

Sunday: b'fast at the New Sanno, Shinjuku Gyoen, then back to my house to get ready for Sorb's arrival. Sunday evening we'll have a backyard BBQ. More 'ritas (I'm sure Sorbi will need to be re-corrupted!) and gabbing late into the night.

Monday: Takao-san, then bowling and Thai food for dinner

Tuesday: Hakone, then back here for dinner at a yakiniku place

Wednesday: Heading for Osaka bright and early (via car)

Thursday: Sorb will tour us around and we're going for karaoke that night

Friday: leave Osaka (via shinkansen) around 11:00a heading for Yokohama. Tour Chinatown, Landmark Tower, etc.

Saturday: Kamakura and Enoshima. Head for Tokyo Saturday night, staying in Tokyo again Sat and Sun nights.

Sunday: Harajuku and Yoyogi Park, last minute shopping, dinner at Ninnikuya in Ebisu.

Monday: We'll part company at the New Sanno, Rob taking the bus to the airport, me catching a bus back to the base.

My sweet hubs has taken off work Wed - Fri so that I can ditch that kid o' mine, and he'll drop him at my neighbor's house on Monday until I get home.

Whew! Are you tired yet? I can't wait! I can't wait! I can't wait! Got to get busy on the sign for the airport! And where'd I put my head panties?

School Days

2009-09-14T08:06:00.003+09:00

The girls started back to school on Aug. 31, Gabi into 10th and Meg into 7th.

The start of a new school year/end of summer vacation just doesn't hold much significance for me anymore (except for the gobs of $$$$$ dropped on new clothes and school supplies). While my neighbors were all running around naked and showering themselves in beer, making plans for kid-free lunches and shopping trips, for me it was.....eh. The girls are so big now, so independent, they've got their own lives and their own things going on, perfectly able to take care of themselves, entertain themselves, not much use for ol' mom anymore (unless $$$$$ is involved, of course!) Having them home for the summer doesn't change my routine at all, I'm still able to go and do, lunch and shop, whatever, without needing to deal with them. And they're more than capable of looking after E whenever I need it. Now if I could just get them to cook dinner, and do the laundry, I'd be set!

Hooray for me!

2009-09-10T16:46:00.002+09:00

I didn't post about this before, because I didn't want to jinx it, but now I can tell you...... I GOT A JOB! Woo hoo! It's just part-time right now, which is better for me b/c of Ethan's current school schedule, and my BFF will be here for 10 days next week (double WOO HOO!), but I'm hoping, hoping, hoping that it will turn full-time around Nov - Dec!

It's just administrative work, but that's what I really like doing, and I'll be working on a really interesting project that I think will be challenging without being too taxing, and I'll get to learn about new things. All my administartive experience to date has been in the medical field, so I'm excited to be branching out. The job is just temporary, for one year, so that's perfect too (I always get guilt-gut when I accept a job knowing we'll be moving after only a year or two).

I've worked 5 days so far, about 4 - 5 hours each day and it's been awesome. I love getting up in the morning and dressing up with my heels and jewelry, doing my hair and make-up, as opposed throwing on sweats and a t-shirt and smashing my hair up in a pony. Everyone in the office seems great, but after October, I'll be the only female in the group. Maybe that'll be a good thing, none of the usual catiness and bitchiness or typical office drama and gossip to deal with. Although I do love a good goss over a cuppa as much as the next gal, I can do without all the other junk.

So that's my news! Yay me!