So, I've got this friend...

... and apparently she wants me to blog every day. About anything. About nothing. But right now I truly don't know what to say. I'm speechless. Did ANYONE think this day would ever come?!

I guess I'll post this and come back later... if anything worth writing pops into my brain.

Proud Wife Moment!

I have to brag just for a minute... this morning my husband was promoted to Tech Sgt... and I am very proud of him! He has had a really tough year... training for a new career, starting out as the "new guy" here, and learning all the aspects of this new job... plus he tested and was promoted! I rarely get to attend the ceremonies at the base but I am so happy to be at this one!

Now, granted, I was also a bit upset with him. Last night at 9:30, he decided to tell me that I was one of the two people to "pin on" his stripes... meaning I had to get up in front of that whole room full of people. :EEK: I nearly had a panic attack just thinking about it! I was planning to wear denim "slacks" and a nice shirt... but knowing I had to get up in front of everyone, I scrambled to find something nicer that would fit me. I couldn't believe he's known this lil bit of information for two weeks & waited till the night before the ceremony to tell me about it!!!

And I just have to share...

his shoes WERE shiny! teehee

Guess it was a good thing I stopped typing & went upstairs to check, huh?! :rolleyes:

umm, yeah... I need organizing help!!

I think I need the upcoming Get Organized Week tips and challenges more than anyone!!! My scrap space is a serious disaster. I really haven't taken the time to REALLY organize since we moved here. I'm kinda excited about the challenges... but I'm so embarrassed to show them all my messy, messy space!

This picture is just the table top... and a little bit of the closet showing in the upper right corner. *sigh* I am a slob!

It suddenly hit me....

I was driving back to the base this evening and it suddenly hit me... I AM DRIVING HOME FROM THE GROCERY STORE IN JAPAN!!!! I've been here since the end of April and have made that same drive a hundred times, but for some reason, sitting in traffic waiting on a train to pass, it was like... "wow. I just went to a grocery store in a foreign country... and shopped... and purchased specific stuff that I will use to cook!"

Why it took all this time for it to really sink in... I have NO idea!!! :)

Got a haircut...

... and got rid of lots of gray too! :) I like it... it's a little different from what I wanted, but it'll do!

The picture really doesn't do it justice... the pink bathroom gives it a weird coloring... I'll have to get a better picture soon! But, for now, this is my new hair!

Japanese Cooking Class!

Tonight was my first Japanese cooking class! I learned to make gyoza (gee-o-za) ... it's sorta like a pot sticker at Chinese restaurants. It can be deep fried or steamed.... a thin pastry dough wrapped around a meat & veggie mixture.

The teachers were two very nice Japanese ladies that volunteered to teach at the Family Support Center on base. They were VERY patient with us... the language barrier wasn't as big of a problem as the products! All of the packages were in Japanese... so they were trying to explain where we could find them in the closest, biggest grocery store off base. That was fun!

I had a brilliant thought about halfway through the class... I got my cell phone from my purse & started taking pictures of the products!! Now, when I go to the store, I can just use the pictures on my phone to make sure I have the correct items!

I was pleasantly surprised... although it looks like something that would be very difficult to make, it is actually very easy! I will be making this at home VERY soon!!!

My baby started preschool today!

My baby. Ok, so he's almost 4, but still... he is MY baby. And he was SO excited about going to school!!! He wanted to leave the house at 7:00am... but since preschool doesn't start till 8:30am, I didn't think that was such a good idea! ;)

He wouldn't even wait on Tom or me to hold his hand while we walked up the sidewalk to the building... he was in a hurry! All of the new preschool kids were gathered in the front room of the building. When they let us all into Room 7, Noah was leading the pack! Poor Tom got cut off in the rush and finally caught up with us inside the room. Noah started playing with one little boy right away. They found the big dump trucks and cars... and it was ON! :) Noah went all around the room, exploring all of the centers. He was so excited!! I made sure he went to the potty before I left (although it was difficult to pry him from the fun) so he wouldn't be freaked out by going to the potty at preschool.

I was a nervous wreck yesterday and this morning. I was so scared he would cry when I tried to leave... but... no... he barely noticed. I didn't want to just disappear, so I got his attention (again, difficult to pry him from the fun!) and told him Daddy & I were going and have fun! Then we left. I didn't cry. I really wanted to... but I didn't. Tom took me to breakfast at the awesome bakery on base. I didn't want to eat... I wanted to go home & sit by the phone just in case they needed to call me about Noah. But. They didn't call.

I went to the preschool at noon... thirty minutes before pick up time. I sat in my car out in the parking lot... and waited until 12:30. When I went in, he saw me & yelled "There she is!" Some other parents had already made it in to get their kids so he was near the door... and I guess he was expecting to see me because other moms were there. As soon as I got to him, he hugged me and said "I missed you Mommy!" My heart melted!!!!

He had a great day. He has a little problem with staying with the group, following group directions, but that doesn't surprise me since he's never done group activities. He'll get the hang of it soon.

My baby is growing up too fast. :cry:

How does he do that???

How does my husband help clean the kitchen AND make me feel like crap about it at the same time?????

Within minutes of us waking, he was in the kitchen... unloading the dishwasher, hand washing the pots, wiping down the counters, starting a load of a laundry... while I just want a cup of coffee or a grape soda and a few minutes to wake up all the way.

I know he wasn't trying to make a statement or say I didn't clean anything... he just wanted to clean up... but c'mon... it was 3 dirty dishes. One bowl, two pots. Unloading the dishwasher is Andrew's chore... so I was waiting on him to come down for lunch to do that. And it's not like there is a bunch of laundry piled up. There was barely enough for one load of darks & one load of whites. Towels and sheets were washed two days ago... so... WHY?????

Kinda makes me want a husband that won't help sometimes!! But... only sometimes! :)

FOUND A CRAFT STORE!!!!!!

I was annoyed that there were no apples at the commissary since Noah must have at least one apple every day. I knew it meant going to a grocery store off base before dinner. I was not in the mood to go out again. But... I am SO glad I had to go for those apples!!!!

I parked near the Seiyo & walked to the grocery store, browsed a little bit, then bought some apples. I even went upstairs to look around a little bit in the shopping areas... since I was downtown without the kiddo! I left there, walked over to McDonald's for "chicken & fryfries"... then went back to my car. I was kinda bummed that I had all this time but wasn't even in the mood for shopping. So... I pay for parking, pull out onto the main street... and there's slow traffic. I get a chance to look at the stores along that street for the first time. "Hey, there's a book store over there. I bet I could get the Japanese Creating Keepsakes there... and... wait... is it really? OMG. It IS a craft store!" YAY!!!!!

I had to get home since Tom was already cooking dinner... but you can bet your ass I'm going back this week!!!!

Shopping is good therapy!

When I'm mad I like to shop. When I'm upset I like to shop. When I'm sad I like to shop. When I'm happy I like to shop. Pretty much anytime... I like to shop! And I don't even have to buy anything. I can totally browse the whole store, grab a Starbucks coffee and go home happy! :)

Today I was mad about something (not worth mentioning) and got an invitation to go shopping off base. So.... I went. And had a fabulous time! I'd never been to this shopping mall/store/whatever. It is called "Jusco" and it is 4 floors of EVERYTHING!! I love seeing all the Japanese kitchen and household items. The storage solutions ROCK!!! And they have the most fun colors for pots and pans! I so want the bright orange and red frying pans!!!

And I have to say... bento boxes are the best idea EVER. Bento boxes are Japanese lunch boxes. The ones I've seen can be plain black or silver... or they can be bright fun patterns... a lot like scrapbook paper! They have 3 or 4 little storage containers inside for soup, rice, vegetables, etc... and usually come with chopsticks and a storage container for the chopsticks. They are fabulous! Like better than Tupperware!

I like purses. It's no secret. :) I like all colors, fun, practical, small, large... purses of any style. Until I moved here. There are some WEIRD purses here! I probably looked at purses in 10 stores today. Dozens of styles in each store. I think I saw 2 that I liked. One on sale, one regular price. So, of course, I bought the one on sale! :) It's pretty!!

I was gone for almost 4 hours. I came home with one purse & some pastries from the bakery. I figured if I showed up with yet another purse, I'd better have something yummy for my husband!