It's Been a While!

Wow!  I realized the other day just how long it had been since I posted anything on here!  I have not abandoned my blog, I've just neglected it!  Truth be told, Amber hasn't really been up to too much here in Asia!  

I spent the month of May back home in the states, and once I got back here, I started school in June.  There's nothing too exciting going on there.  However, I did go to my very first Army Ball, and that was...interesting.  I will fill you in on it!

In my last post, I promised that I would tell you all about the Fertility Festival that I went to.  And, I will.  Hopefully I'll be writing that post in the next few days.  Please remember that there will be photos, and these photos aren't for everyone!  I'm sure that you don't want to have to explain to your child what that big phallic symbol is that Ms. Amber is sitting on, or holding, or...you get the picture!  

I am sorry that I haven't been on here in so long, but I'm sure you will enjoy my next post!  Be looking for it this week!!!

Year of Firsts

Wow!  This year has brought me so many "firsts!"  The biggest of these, of course, is this is my first deployment.  I am also living in a foreign country, by myself, for the first (hopefully the last!) time.  I had my first tearful Army goodbye to a family that is PSCing back to the states.  I'm a first-time Space-A traveler, or I soon will be (fingers crossed!).  There are more, but I guess I don't really need to get into all the small stuff.

You know, I never even knew there was such a thing as a spouse's first deployment.  Every time someone asks me, "Is this your first deployment?" I want to respond with, "Umm, it's not mine, it's my husband's!"  It does get easier day by day.  It makes me feel guilty to admit that, though.  I mean, he's there, and I'm here...free!  I can go to the market, the px, the BAR!  Jeremy doesn't get to do any of those things!  Sometimes, when I'm having a good time, it dawns on me that he can't, and I get sad.  I'm guessing that's pretty normal.  I have been pretty productive here lately, though!  I made, and COMPLETED, a to-do list!  What?!  I can't remember the last time that happened!  So, yeah, I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now!  As far as my "first deployment," I think that I'm handling it just about as well as any first-timer does!

Japan, Japan, Japan!  Living in another country for the first time is not nearly as scary as it sounds.  However, I am fully aware that if I didn't live on this Army post that I'd be freaking out!  With the exception of driving on the left side of the road, living on post is just like living in Small Town, USA.  Which means that it's a lot like being back home.  Even the climate here is similar to Mississippi!  It's hot, cold, rainy, and windy-all in the same day!  For everyone back home, during the summer, it's even MORE HUMID here than there.  I wish I was making that up, but that's the God's honest truth.  It's so humid it literally takes your breath away.  When I stepped off that plane last September, I thought I'd traveled through a portal straight into hell.  They say it's even worse in August.  God help me!  I think I got a little side-tracked, but, since my whole point was to describe my life here, I think it worked out pretty well.  It is true that when I drive off post I am very much in a foreign country.  For the most part, though, the people are really nice, and understanding of the language barrier.  I'm sure they do wish that we'd just learn how to speak Japanese, but, they're nice enough to keep that to themselves.  Or, maybe they're not, but how would I know?  They could be saying anything to each other.  I don't speak Japanese!

I've spent so much of this first month since Jeremy left crying, that I was just about all cried out when my friend, and her family, left.  I thought I'd be fine, because, when you look at it objectively, I've only known them for a very short time.  I talked to one of my friends back home more often than I talked to her.  The thing about emotions is, they are not objective.  They definitely aren't logical!  They just kind of sneak right on up on you!  I did get a little tearful saying goodbye, and then more so after I left them and headed home.  Saying goodbye just isn't easy.  It doesn't matter how long you've known someone.  And, in this situation, this is my first duty station.  I'm still new to all this Army life stuff, and, this was one of my very first "Army wife" friends.  I learned from her and her family, and I will definitely miss them and the fun we had!  In the interest of being honest, it also makes me a little nervous.  I mean, I knew, and liked, this family.  Who is taking their place?  Will I like them?  Will they like me?  Will I get on their nerves because there are still so many things I don't know, and I ask too many questions?  Ugh!  This is not like the show at all!  Everyone is supposed to stay in the same place for like six years!  Haha!

Ah, the joys of flying Space A.  First of all, Space A = Space Available.  This is a military flight, and when they have extra space that isn't taken up by cargo and such, they make seats available to soldiers, veterans, qualifying dependants, DoD employees, etc.  I don't have it figured out.  I don't understand the process, or lack thereof, at all.  So far, I have "registered for travel" at Yokota Air Base.  I'm hoping to leave on May first.  Apparently, the next step is to show up on the 30th and sign up for the next day.  Then, on the first, I show up and see if I made the list.  They have categories to decide who gets on the list, and in what order.  I'm a category three, so there are only two categories ahead of me.  I'm hoping that means that I'll get on the flight I want instead of having to wait, or flying into somewhere that I hadn't intended to end up.  I don't know exactly how I'm getting back, either, but the people at Keesler are way more helpful than anyone here, so I figure the first week I'm home, I'll go there and ask questions.  I'll just fill y'all in on this first once I've actually done it!  It's going to be an adventure!

There is one more first that I want to tell y'all about.  It's not as big as Jeremy's deployment, or my living on my own here, but, it is so unique that it merits its own post.  Japan has a festival every year called the Fertility Festival.  Feel free to Google it between now and my next post if you want, but I would suggest (especially if there are children around) that you don't use Google images until you are fully aware of what you'll be seeing.  On that same note, my next post will also have photos, so it may not be "good readin" for the faint of heart, strictly religious, or just plain ole uptight!  I won't be offended if you choose not to read, but I did think it necessary to prepare you before hand so that I don't offend you!  You have to understand that the Japanese culture is very different from our own, and our views on what is offensive (or suitable for children, for that matter) are not the same.  That being said, I can't wait to share my experience!

Doing What Feels Good

Here's the deal:  I'm sure that there is some method that is proven to be the best, most mentally health conscious, way to deal with your husband leaving you for a year.  I'm sure that there are studies, and I know there are no shortage of people that will give you their opinion.  The fact is, though, only you can decide how to deal with the unique-to-you emotions in your heart and thoughts in your head.  My personal experience, just based on these last few weeks, is that there is no right way, and nothing you do is going to help.  There is nothing you can do to stop the sudden gush of tears that always seem to come at the most inopportune times.  There is nothing you can do to fill that empty void left in your bed.  And, there is most certainly nothing you can do when that wave of sadness, that is so powerful it takes your breath away, washes over you. 

You can try!  Perhaps the best advice that I was given just after Jeremy left was, "Just do what feels good to you."  Two different people told me that.  What feels good to me?  I love to lose myself in a good book.  I read three that first week.  I love tv shows about crime, the real ones and the fake.  I pretty much made like a little camp on my couch.  I like a decent white wine, (a few reds) and I love a good vodka (not a fan of the cheap stuff).  Thus far, I've called my mom, my sister, and even my 93 year old grandma after drinking too much of these.  (In the interest of full disclosure, I have also found a Japanese drink that I love called Chu Hi, and I believe that at least one of the phone calls was a direct result of Chu Hi consumption)  I also love to shop!  As of now, I have three pairs of new shoes that I have yet to wear. 

What's my point?  My point is that while doing what feels good to me makes me feel better in the moment, I still have to face that empty bed each night.  I still have to wake up each day and be a productive member of society.  That's the hard part!  It's exhausting to pretend all day long that you're just fine, and he's just fine, and everybody is happy.  Doing what feels good to me has gotten me through these first few weeks, but I can't keep going the way I am.  My house is a wreck, because, let's face it, cleaning the house does not feel good to me!  I've gained weight from eating all those awful snacks (and not much else) that make me feel good. 

If I hadn't spent these last few weeks doing what makes me feel good, though, I think I'd have lost my mind.  While just doing "me stuff," I could stay home, and not have to face the world.  When I felt up for some human interaction, I could go shopping.  I have an amazing husband who understands that shopping really does make me feel better, and, when I'm sad, he'll tell me to go shop.  To be clear, he doesn't want me out spending a fortune, and I'm pretty good about finding sales, so he doesn't worry too much about my spending.  I needed this "me time" so badly.  If no one had told me to do it, though, I think I'd have been filling my time trying to do things for everyone around me.  Volunteering is great, and I enjoy it.  But, sometimes you do have to take some time for just you. 

The funny thing is, I wasn't even going to take their advice.  For almost the whole first week that Jeremy left, I was doing great.  I was practically patting myself on the back for being so mature and handling everything so well!  Then, out of nowhere, I fell apart.  I was at Zama, at our FRG meeting, actually.  In hindsight, it really was the silliest thing that set me off.  I don't want to go into what exactly happened, because, it really was that minute.  It was all I could do to hold it together until the meeting ended and I could get in my car.  I didn't cry the whole way home, but I did cry for a good part of it.  I managed to run into the commissary to get some necessities; (junk food) I could tell I wouldn't be leaving my house for at least a couple days.  When I got home, I cried all through making my frozen pizza, all through making my first drink, and I don't think I stopped crying until about drink number three.  That's when I started to get mad.  I got mad because of the FRG meeting, mad at myself for falling apart, mad at Jeremy for leaving me by myself in JAPAN, and mad at the Army for sending him away. 

That anger lasted until the next morning (er, afternoon) when the sadness, and the tears, returned.  What happened to the girl, that just the day before, had everything together?  I don't know exactly what happened.  I believe that I never really had it all together.  I really believed that I was doing well, but deep down, I was just on the edge.  That must be true, because, all it took for me to go over was the smallest little thing.  Truthfully, though, it doesn't really matter what brought me to the point of breaking; it doesn't really matter whether or not I really did have it all together before that meeting.  I needed a few weeks of doing what makes me feel good!  It may not be the healthiest way of dealing with what's going on in your head or your heart, but it's effective. 

Now, however, I have a messy house to contend with, and lots of weight to lose.  But, as one friend, who's been in my shoes, pointed out:  I've got a whole year to do that.  That's the only upside.  Yesterday I finally started to feel like a real person again.  I actually got started with couch to 5k again, and, possibly even more importantly, I took out the trash.  Haha!  I woke up this morning, (yes, in the actual am) feeling much better! 

Do I miss my husband?  Oh, I miss him every single waking moment.  Jeremy is my heart, my soul mate, and I know that he is the better half.  But, I can't be the wife that I want to be for him if I'm wallowing in sorrow.  It's weird, but I've also felt guilty.  No one told me that I'd feel guilty.  I also can't be the wife that Jeremy deserves if I'm consumed by guilt. 

To that end, yesterday was my new beginning.  I'm not going to say that I won't have some bad times, but I'm at least headed in the right direction.  I know some of my friends and/or family back home have been concerned about me since Jeremy left.  There were a couple of nights I was worried, too.  I didn't think I could do it.  But, y'all, I'm going to be just fine.  And Jeremy?  Well, he'll be just fine, too. 

Fun and Food

I get to see my husband very soon!  Time has really just been flying by since I got to Japan.  I have enjoyed every second that I've gotten to spend with Jeremy.  He's been in the states since the beginning of January, and the time since he left has really been dragging by.  I've gotten to know a few people better, and gone to some pretty cool places while he's been gone, but I'm ready for him to be home! 

By this time tomorrow night, I will once again be with Jeremy.  I am so excited!  I'm more than ready for him to be home.  I've got some pretty cool surprises in store for him.  He's got a Valentine's Day present, anniversary present, and a couple other happy's waiting for him.  He will get his first surprise on our front porch, before he even steps foot in our house.  Once inside, he'll get to open his Valentine's gift.  On Monday, our 1st anniversary, he'll get another present.  Unfortunately, Jeremy won't be home for very long before he has to leave again.  I know that he's not looking forward to leaving any more than I am wanting him to go.  Because of that, I got him another surprise for that very long trip.  I'm hoping that it will take his mind off the unpleasantness of his journey.  I love shopping for him.  I love the look on his face when he opens a present that he really likes.  So, I really hope that he likes all his gifts as much as I love picking them out and preparing them for him.

Ok!  I don't want to get too sappy!  Instead, I'm going to fill you in on what Amber has been doing here in Asia!  Japan can be a lot of fun!  I have eaten some new foods, shopped at some interesting places, and gone to unique attractions. 

The food here isn't anything like the "Japanese food" I had tried back home.  First, there are ramen restaurants everywhere.  They actually have places where you order out of a machine.  I was like, "What?!"  I still haven't been to one of these yet, but, apparently, you walk in, put your order into a machine, and then go sit at a table.  I think the next time I go for ramen I'm going to try one of those places.  I've had ramen at a few different places, and it is really good.  I wish I had a picture to share.  I need to start taking photos each time I go out to eat.  They don't just serve you a bowl of noodles.  It's a bowl of all kinds of stuff and also noodles.  Of course, it depends on what you order, but I've had ramen with pork, with seafood, mushrooms, spinach, and a bunch of other stuff that I couldn't identify!  You do eat ramen with chopsticks, and I had never used them before moving here.  My skill at using them is a work in progress, to say the least!  I've also been to a couple different yakiniku places.  The first one I went to was a buffet style place.  I didn't really understand exactly what was going on when I first got there.  I picked up a plate at the beginning of the buffet line, and when I got to the food...it was raw meat.  It was all kinds of different raw meats.  I didn't get very much, because I wasn't really sure I wanted to eat raw meat.  I mean, who would want to?!  When I got to our table, though, there was a grill in the middle of the table.  Yes, I did feel kind of stupid.  Now, if you knew when I said yakiniku that I'd be cooking my own meat right there at my table, please don't laugh (too hard) at my ignorance!  I had never heard of this before.  Let me tell you, though, I loved it!  I have gone to two of these restaurants now, and loved them both.  I found another new food that I love as well.  It was just a simple beef and rice dish from this tiny little restaurant right off post.  It was delicious!

Y'all know that back in the states we have a ton of different "dollar stores."  Here, we have 100 yen stores.  I love them!  They have all kinds of neat stuff.  One in particular, is in Machida.  It's like the super star of 100 yen stores.  It's either four or five stories.  Yes, it is that big!  It has so much stuff.  I just went to it for the first time last week, and I was in heaven!  Not everything in the store is 100 yen.  Some things are more costly, but nothing in there is actually expensive.  This store had a huge arts and crafts section.  They have toys, makeup, all kinds of kitchen utensils, cleaning supplies, food, a few clothes, hand held fans, and I could keep going.  They have really got everything!  And, I bought a little bit of everything!

Of course, I've done some other shopping as well.  The train stations, and the areas right around the train stations, are full of shops.  Granted, it's hard for me to find clothes that fit out in the economy, but I find all sorts of other things.  I have found that I love Japanese shoes.  Some of the shoes are sized simply by S, M, L, LL.  When they're sized that way, medium fits almost every time.  I've also found cute hats, earrings, and lots of cute hair clips.  My friend showed me this one store close by the train station in Ebina that has crazy good prices.  I found a cute cloak there that cost 750 yen (about $8).  I also found a pair of slippers there for only 450 yen (about $4.80).  That store made me very happy! 

One of the most fun things I've done since I've been here was go to Hello Kitty Land.  I never knew such a place existed!  It's pretty small, and all indoor.  They have some cute shows, and their parade is awesome!  During the parade, a hoop lowers from the ceiling, and this little boy grabs hold of it, and it goes back high in the air.  This kid then starts flipping all over this hoop.  He looked like he was about seven years old.  He was so young and unbelievably talented!  They also had this thing that looked like a seesaw.  A person was laying on one end of it, and someone jumped on the other end, sending the first person flying.  Someone else catches them with their feet while laying on their back, and starts tossing them in circles in the air.  It was so fun to watch.  I was just as mesmerized as the kids!  We also got to tour Hello Kitty's house, which was really neat.  They had a small boat ride that took you through all things Hello Kitty.  We ate lunch at a buffet, while Hello Kitty put on a show.  It was my friend's daughter's birthday, and they really make a big deal out of birthdays there.  They give the kids a crown, a cape, and let them sit front row for the shows.  They also brought a cute Hello Kitty cake to the table at lunch for the birthday girl.  The whole day was just a really good time!

I also visited an aquarium.  It was so much fun!  They put on a dolphin show, and a sea lion show.  I know we have those back home, but I had never actually seen one.  It's crazy to go to these places and hear all the people speaking a language that you can't understand.  During the shows, they were all speaking animatedly into their headsets, and it sounded so weird to me!  This aquarium had some really beautiful sea life.  They had jelly fish that I had never seen before.  In all honesty, they had all kinds of creatures that I had never seen before!  There were ginormous crabs.  These crabs were so big they scared me!  There were also a bunch of adorable penguins.  The aquarium was located on a beach where, even though it was about 40 degrees outside, there were a ton of surfers.  I want to go back again when it's warm out and stay for a few days.  There's an island not far offshore (you get to it by bridge) that I really want to visit. 

Japan has so much to see and do.  I hate that I'm having to explore it without Jeremy, but that's the life of an army wife, I guess.  I'm giving myself a mission for my next post:  Take pictures of food!  I want to share all the neat, weird, crazy new foods I'm trying.  I can't believe I haven't thought to take pictures of it until now.  I am going to fix that, though. 

I am looking forward to tomorrow night so very much!  I have missed Jeremy so much, and I just cannot wait to see him.  There is one place that I want us to visit together before he leaves again.  If it works out like I'm hoping, I will have some pictures and a pretty cool story to go along with them before too long! 

Oh, life is such an amazing journey.  There are so many twists and turns.  You just never know what will happen next.  I never imagined that I'd be living in Japan.  I never imagined that I could be as happy as I am with Jeremy.  I certainly never imagined that I'd be sharing my journey online.  I look forward to each new day, to each new adventure that comes my way.  I also look forward to sharing it all!

Christmas with a Hint of Culture

Wow!  I cannot believe that the holidays have come and gone!  Jeremy and I had a magical Christmas at Disneyland Tokyo.  The magic of Disney is just contagious, and you can't help but be happy when you're there (even if you are facing a 130 minute wait for an attraction).  I learned something new about my husband while at Disney:  we have the same favorite character.  Now, if the character was Mickey, it wouldn't really be that surprising, but, our favorite is Goofy!  He has always been my favorite.  When we went to Disney World when I was a kid, I can remember being very insistent that we must see Goofy's house.  We did see his house, and there is a picture to prove it at my parents' house.  Jeremy and I did get to "meet" Goofy this time, and we got a picture.  We had a blast!  We ate, rode rides, ate, saw shows, ate, met characters, ate, shopped, and then we ate some more!  Granted, it was freezing while we were there, and going into a restaurant did guarantee us a warm place to sit, but still...it seemed like every time I turned around Jeremy was eating!  Going to Disneyland with Jeremy was hands down the most fun I've had in a really long time.  Many of the cast members spoke English, so we didn't have to worry too much about a language barrier.  I think that Jeremy and I will go again while we're still here, but the next time we'll go during a "down time."  I have never seen so many people in one place at one time before in my life! 

If you'll bear with me, I'm going to tie that massive amount of people at Disneyland in with something that happened to me a couple of months ago.  What you must understand is that the cultural difference between Americans and the Japanese is huge.  Their crime rate is very low here, and part of the reason for that (in my opinion) is how highly they regard honor.  For instance, if a young adult walks into a 7-Eleven here and attempts to buy alcohol, they are not going to get carded.  Here, if you're buying it, then you are of age to drink it.  Honor.  Also, I left my iPhone in a restaurant at Disneyland.  Someone found it, turned it off, and turned it in to lost and found.  Honor.  The Japanese also have impeccable manners.  However, as I learned, the meaning of manners is not definitive.  Each different culture has their own version of manners.  That brings me to a couple of months ago.  There is this market not very far from where we live that I had been wanting to try.  Fresh fruits and veggies can be very expensive on post, and everyone said that the prices are much better off post.  They are, by the way.  I wasn't sure where parking was for the market, and Jeremy asked around for me.  We were told that there is a parking lot right behind the market.  I went to the market, and, sure enough, there was a parking lot behind it, and behind that parking lot was another tiny parking lot.  I wasn't quite positive where I should park, but I went with the one directly behind the market because that made the most sense to me.  The lot was empty, except for my car and one other. 

I did my shopping.  This market is small, but full of good stuff.  Some of these fruits and veggies I had never even seen before!  I walked back to my car only to find that the one other car in the lot had moved and was blocking me in.  This Japanese man that looked to be in his 50's comes out of the next closest building and tells me that I'm not allowed to park there.  Yes, he did speak English.  Now, I'm from Mississippi, and southerners are known for our manners and our hospitality.  I said, "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know."  He said he called the "Japanese police," and that I'd "have to pay."  I said, "Okay, sir, I'll pay.  I'm sorry."  I knew very well that I was in the wrong, and when you're wrong, the best thing to do is admit it and apologize.  So I did.  Repeatedly.  He was standing very close to me, which was a little unnecessary.  That's the thing about cultural differences, though, in Japan, it is not bad manners to stand very close to someone.  I mean, he was definitely in my bubble!  He repeated himself about the police, and then told me this:  "It's always the same with you Americans.  You are all the same!  You say, 'What does it matter?  I'll only be 5 minutes.'  Five minutes is too long!  You cannot park here.  You Americans!  You are all the same!  No manners!  No!  Bad manners!  You have very bad manners!"  Keep in mind, during the entirety of his tirade, any time he would pause, I would say, "I'm sorry sir.  I will pay.  I know it's my fault."  Back home, I wouldn't have been so nice about it.  Here, though, I am a guest in their country.  I represent not just myself, but my husband, the army, and the USA.  Yeah, this one girl from Mississippi does actually represent all those things every time I leave post.  It's crazy!

The man did eventually let me go before the police arrived.  I figured that he probably gets sick of Americans parking where they're not supposed to.  I was understandably a bit shaken after that encounter, but feel like it was a lesson learned.  I'll just look for the pay to park signs off post from now on.  Problem solved!  Remember the massive amount of people at Disneyland from earlier?  I can honestly say that honor and manners do not apply at Disneyland.  Yes, my phone wasn't stolen, but beyond that, it was a free-for-all!  These people would run right into you, and not even acknowledge it.  There weren't any apologies for their behavior, either.  I didn't notice any difference between the adults and the children.  They push and shove you right out of their way.  They jump in line in front of you and don't even care.  I have never, in my life, seen so many rude, obnoxious, people in one place before.  That includes Mardi Gras.  In New Orleans. 

Don't get me wrong.  We loved Disneyland!  Even the rudeness of the guests was not enough to overpower the magic that is Disney!  What I guess I am trying to say, what I wish I could say to that man is this:  No, sir, not all Americans are alike.  Are you just like those crazy people at Disneyland?  Do you just abandon your manners at first sight of The Mouse?  Yes, sir, I do have manners.  I was born and raised in Mississippi:  I respect my elders.  I say yes ma'am, no sir, please, and thank you.  I will hold the door open for the next person, and help you pick something up that you have dropped.  I will say a prayer for those in need even if I don't know them.  I am more than just an American, I am a Southern Lady.  I am sorry that you've had problems with Americans in the past, but just as I don't judge you for the behavior of all of those Japanese in Disneyland, you should not judge all Americans based on the actions of a few.

Whew!  I've been holding that in for too long!  Isn't it funny, though?  Everyday in my news feed on Facebook, I hear about race relations.  I hear how this person must be racist because...and that person because...   Over here on the other side of the world, though, all Americans are the same.  That man didn't call me white, he called me American.  It seems like everyone should stop concerning themselves so much with the color of their skin, and start being more concerned with being American.  I'd even go so far as to say that we should start being GOOD Americans.  I'm not going to expand any farther on that, though.  This is not the outlet in which I choose to preach my politics.  I'm just giving a little food for thought.

On to new business!  Jeremy is in the states right now.  I wonder if military spouses ever get used to the frequent separations from their love.  I am not sure that I will.  The house is so empty without him here.  I have no one to cook for every night.  The cats are starting to feel it, too!  Scrappy wanders through the house "crying" periodically.  It's the saddest sound.  It this meow that so mournful it pulls at my heart strings.  And Snowflake?  She doesn't get out of bed much.  When she's awake, she's all over me.  If I'm asleep on my back, I'll wake up with her on my chest.  It's cute, but sad, too, because she didn't do it when Jeremy was here.  They both have to be right next to me in the bed every night.  I'm beginning to wonder if that is why I can't get rid of this cold!  I can't blame, them, though.  I have been pretty down in the dumps since Jeremy left, too.  It's hard for me to get motivated, but I'm trying to make myself get at least one thing accomplished everyday. 

The good news is that Jeremy will be home for our anniversary!  I'm so excited for that!  I know that part of what I signed on for with this life is that Jeremy will miss birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, so that makes him being here for our first anniversary that much sweeter!  I have a plan for what we'll do developing in my mind, but I'm going to keep it a secret.  I can't have him reading this and spoiling my surprise for him! 

As far as the new year, I did not make any resolutions.  I don't ever keep them, and I feel horrible about myself when I fail.  All I want from this upcoming year is to make it through it!  It's going to be a long one with Jeremy gone for most of it.  There are things that I want to get done while Jeremy is away, but I'm not calling those resolutions.  They are more like time fillers until he gets home. 

I hope that every one's year is off to a great start, and I am looking forward to keeping you all posted on what's new on my side of the world throughout the year!

This Time of Year

I guess I've had a case of writer's block here lately!  My goal was to start doing at least two entries a month, and I failed.  I didn't even manage ONE in November!  Boo!  I'll seriously try to do better!

I love fall.  It's my favorite season!  Of course, now it's more like winter, but that's okay!  We have had a beautiful fall here!  The leaves on the trees really do change color, and they are so pretty.  The wind blows pretty hard here, and when it really gets going, it looks like it's raining leaves!  I love it!  I just think that fall never lasts long enough!  I just really start enjoying it, when all of a sudden, it's full blown winter!  It's not just how beautiful things are outside during fall, it's the way I get to decorate inside, too!  I love my dining room that time of year!  I'm having a hard time forcing myself to switch out table cloths and place mats.  However, I did get my Christmas centerpiece put together, so I'm on my way!

 

Jeremy and I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  I'm so glad that it turned out well.  "Firsts" are so important to me!  This was our first Thanksgiving together, and it was also my first time cooking it on my own.  Jeremy was a really big help!  I couldn't have stayed sane without him!  He also cooked his green bean casserole, and it was as yummy as always!  I know that cooking a meal that size can be really stressful, and I wanted to enjoy the day like everyone else, so I started cooking on Tuesday!  It worked out perfectly, though.  I baked on Tuesday, made the sides on Wednesday, and, on the big day, all I had to worry about was the turkey and ham (and warming everything up, of course).  We were so relaxed, and just really enjoyed ourselves and our company.  The only thing that would have made it better is if the turkey would have turned out better.  Live and learn, though!  It was my first turkey, so I'm allowed a little room for error.  I found a marinade, and injected the turkey the day before, and that is where I failed.  I should have made my own, because this one was just too strong!  My uncle thoughtfully gave me a recipe, so I'm going to try that next year, and hopefully that turkey will turn out to be just as good as the rest of our meal was this year!  It was my intention to invite the single soldiers from Jeremy's office, and a couple others from his unit, so that they would have a good Thanksgiving while being away from their own families.  I didn't have the turn-out that I had planned, for reasons I'm still not entirely sure of myself, but one of my most favorite people here was able to come, and for that I am very thankful!  We had good food accompanied by good conversation, and you really can't ask for better than that!

Now, Jeremy and I aren't far from our very first Christmas as a married couple (and our first while together in the same time zone).  I love Christmas!  It really brings out the best in people!  I love the search for that perfect gift.  I love the look on the face of the recipient when they open it.  I love taking the time to hang every ornament in exactly the right spot.  I love hanging stockings, and then filling them with little happy's just right for that person (or cat).  More than I love opening my own presents, I love watching people open gifts that I have put real thought into.  I love children at Christmas!  I wish that we could see our nephew and niece open their presents, but I'll settle for the pictures.  I'm going to miss being at my grandma's house on Christmas Eve, but I'll be with my husband, and there is nowhere I'd rather be than in his arms.
 

 

  Our plan is to be at Disneyland Tokyo for Christmas.  I waited too long to make the reservations, though, so we won't be staying on property, but we are okay with that!  I found a nice hotel near Disneyland, and, just being in the park for Christmas will be magical!  We haven't gotten to take a honeymoon, so we're really looking forward to this.  We had hoped to go to Bali in January, but Jeremy will not be here, so I'm really looking forward to Disney!  I need this Christmas to be perfect, because it's not only our first, and our honeymoon, but I won't be spending next Christmas with my husband, so this one just has to be perfect!  Honestly, though, as long as we are together, I'll have exactly what I want for Christmas! 

I love the holidays!  Yes, the holidays...it is okay to call them that.  I'm referring to more than just Christmas.  The holidays start with Thanksgiving, and they go all the way through the New Year.  I love the food and being with family.  Okay, I'll stop going on and on!  I'm turning into a sap in my old age!

I really like being here in Japan.  I finally forced myself to get started learning some of the language today.  There are some sounds that I have a hard time making, but I am not going to give up!  Jeremy had bought "Instant Immersion" Japanese while he was still in Germany, and, today, I finally got tired of staring at the box, and put in disk one.  Now, I'm just going to have to make myself stick with it!

In addition to taking the first step in learning the language, I have gotten into a little volunteering to occupy my time.  I volunteered to be the secretary for our FRG.  We had our battalion Christmas party this past Saturday, and we invited the kids from the Bott Memorial.  That is an orphanage here, and every year, we do an angel tree for those kids.  Jeremy and I adopted two angels.  On Saturday, all the kids got their gifts right from Santa Claus.  The looks on their sweet little faces were priceless!  Jeremy and I helped to set up, and we, as a battalion, put on a pot luck dinner for those kids as well as all the battalion families.  I made my grandma's squash dressing, her corn casserole, two pumpkin pies, and Jeremy made his green bean casserole.  A bunch of other people made all kinds of food, too, and it turned out to be a lovely lunch!  Everyone had such a great time!  All the kids got to play and have their pictures taken with Santa.  It was just an awesome day!  I'm hoping to find more things like this to get involved with, not just at Christmas, but year round! 

If I don't get around to making another post before Christmas, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!  I hope that you are all enjoying this time of year as much as I am! 

 

 

 

 

 

I just thought that I'd throw in a few photos: That is our adorable little car. I told Jeremy that I wanted something small. He found this, and it's perfect! It's a Nissan March, and thanks to its size, it is the perfect car for these tiny Japanese roads! Jeremy did awesome in finding it! That's a good hubby! These other photos are of our living room. I love this room. It's so homey. We spend so much of our time here. We got lucky, it's a really nice sized room! The half moon table was Jeremy's idea.  It's really pretty, and it sits right next to our door.  I'm finally adding these photos as promised, although I hadn't intended it to take this long!  Once again, Merry Christmas!

Making Japan Home

Wow!  So much has been going on that it's hard to know where to start!  I guess my biggest news is that we finally made it into our house, and all of our things are here as well!  Yay!  In the interest of being fully honest, I must admit that not ALL of our things made it here, but MOST certainly did!

Our home is like a townhouse.  It's much bigger than the one Cara and I shared in Hattiesburg, though.  Thank God!  I'm surprised our friendship survived that!  Jeremy and I decided that it is important for us to be comfortable in our home.  It is the place that we will spend most of our time while we are here, and to that end, we bought some furniture, instead of using all army supplied furniture.  I think that it's awesome that the army has furniture that we can use, and we are using some of it, (like our whole dining room) but, like I said, we wanted to be comfortable.  And, comfort comes from owning your own things...your own comfortable things!  If army beds are any indication, then I'm sure army couches aren't very comfortable!  We bought a new living room suite and a new bedroom suite, and we love them both!  Falling asleep on the couch is just as easy as falling asleep in bed!  Truth be told, I had picked out a different living room suite, (one that didn't show Scrappy's fur quite so easily) but once Jeremy sat on this couch, he was done.  There wasn't any valid reason to not go with this furniture as opposed to that I had chosen, so I let him win this battle!  Honestly, I love it, too.  I have no complaints!  As for the bedroom, we both saw this set and loved it!  We got lucky there!

We also got a CAR!!!  I love my little bitty car!  I told Jeremy that, given how small the road are here, I wanted a little car.  We found the perfect little car, and we both wish that we could bring it home when it's time to go, but we know that isn't going to happen.  It's just too expensive.  The car is a silver Nisaan March.  They don't make them in the states, but they should!  I do have my driver's license here, and I am slowly, but surely, getting used to the tiny roads.  Driving on the left hand side of the road doesn't really phase me, it's the narrow roads that are killer!  Roads that, back home, would be considered one-way, are two-way traffic here.  No joke!

We have gotten out some more, as well.  We went to the Tokyo Game Show.  It was an adventure!  I'm not a gamer myself, but Jeremy most definitely is!  I didn't think I'd like it, and told Jeremy he could go without me, but I'm glad I went.  His friend, Nick, went with us, and he and I got lots of cool pictures of people (mostly girls) dressed in costume.  It was seriously neat, and every guy's dream of seeing hot Asian women in costume!  Don't worry, ladies, there were some guys dressed up, too (although not nearly as many lol)!  They gave out all kinds of free stuff and let people play the newest games.  It was a really good time!
 

 

  

  

 

I hosted my first soiree (haha) as a married lady, and although, I had hoped more people would show, it was a fun night!  Saturday afternoon I started getting stressed about being behind with the food and thinking I wouldn't be dressed on time, but everything came together at the last minute!  I had done so much on Friday that I was just kind of taking my time on Saturday, and it caught up with me.  I was a little late coming downstairs, but still managed to make it down before most of our guests arrived.  It was a housewarming party, and Jeremy invited the people that he works with, and their families.  I invited my friend Brenda, and her two kids.  Brenda and the kids came on Friday and left on Sunday, and I loved having them here!  It's so nice having someone from home within driving distance!  We made it a late night girls night, with Brenda, three other army wives, (one of those wives is also a soldier) and myself heading out to the bar on post.  It was such a good time!  These ladies really make me feel like I'm at home here!  They're a lot like my girls back home (no one get jealous, haha)!  Given how nervous I was to come here and make new friends, I think it's amazing I found them so quickly, and am undeniably thankful for them.

 

 

Oh!  The day after the housewarming, Jeremy and I went to Machida to meet and have lunch with two of his WoW friends.  I was a little nervous about it, but they were completely normal, nice people.  They're a married couple, and both are in the air force.  He's stationed in Japan, and she also will be sometime soon.  It was a nice lunch, there weren't any of those awkward lapses in conversation that sometimes happens when people first meet.  They were having some kind of festival going on that day in Machida.  We could see part of it from the window by which we were sitting.  The people were in full traditional dress, dancing, playing drums...there was even a monkey!  After lunch, Jeremy and I stopped and watch them dance for a while.  It was really something to see! 

 

 

 I have been having such a great time here with my husband!  For some reason, though, I haven't been sleeping very well.  For at least a month, I've had insomnia really bad.  It usually takes me forever to fall asleep, and once I do, I sleep for no more than an hour and a half before I wake up.  I don't mean wake up, look at the clock, and fall back asleep.  No, I wake up, eyes wide open, and can't get back to sleep.  Some nights I just toss and turn.  I long for those nights!  They are few and far between!  At least with the tossing and turning, I'm asleep for the most part.  When I wake up, though, I'm awake.  I do eventually fall back asleep, but usually it takes me an hour or more to fall asleep, and then I wake back up in about another hour.  It's starting to affect my personality and my ability to get things done during the day.  I'm going to the doctor on Monday, though, so y'all say a prayer!

I miss all my friends and my family back home, but don't y'all worry about me, because I'm well taken care of here!  Jeremy is a wonderful husband, and I am making some really good friends!

One more thing!  I know I didn't include any pictures of our house and our car, but, I will very soon!  I am going to start blogging more often, it's just that so much has happened recently that I haven't had the time.  No worries, though!  I'm on top of it!  Filling y'all in on our life is very theraputic for me!