Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

We finally got our tree finished today. It looks so pretty. We went with a red and white Cardinals theme. Yes, my husband goes crazy for his Cardinals but this was actually my idea. There were some pretty ornaments with cardinals on them, a cardinal tree skirt and some cardinal bells that were cute. So I bought those and then added some other red and white ornaments and it just looks so very pretty. I am going to take some pictures of the tree and the front of the house tomorrow and add them on here. Tonight we got to have some alone time since our kids went to spend the night with my friends kids. We went out to dinner and did a little Christmas browsing. It was a really nice and relaxing evening. And on another note, I found some hair wax at Atsugi. I know that this sounds so uneventful but you have to understand that living here has made it hard to find lots of items. The commissary doesn't carry creamed spinach but carries several brands of regular spinach. And corn tortillas only come in every now and then. So when I do get to find items that have been hard for me to find, it is like a small victory. :)

Turkey Day Trimmings

Thanksgiving went off pretty smoothly. I had an epiphany while roasting my turkey. I decided to turn the whole thing over 1/2 way through so that the top was sitting in the juices. Then towards the end I flipped it back again to make sure the skin on top was nice and roasted. It worked out beautifully. The turkey was so moist. I mean, I have never had turkey that moist. I was so proud of my idea. :) We had 6 guests over (plus the 4 of us) so it was a small gathering but there was a lot of laughter and a ton of food. The Japanese women I work with enjoyed it all and took quite a bit home later. That night Donnie and I decorated the rest of the front of the house. We put up our big, inflatable snowman snow globe. It looked awesome. Then we snuggled up inside to watch some tv and have some family time. I have so much to be thankful for.

My son had his first fight

My son is not a violent person. From the time he was a baby, he would give up his toys to other kids if they cried for them. He is sweet by nature. He is also very sensitive. Since we have been in Japan he has been teased by a couple of kids at school. He does have friends but it is still hard when you are teased. Well, I think everyone has a point where enough is enough. He was getting teased in class today so he punched the other kid. He was sent to the principal and had to call his father. My husband explained that he is not to hit and then told the principal that Jacob has been teased a lot since we arrived. One thing I love about this principal is that she doesn't put up with any BS. She told Jacob he has permission to leave his classes at any time if there is a problem with kids teasing him. I have a feeling that people are going to think twice about teasing him anymore. He is not a small boy and he showed Donnie how hard he punched the kid. Donnie said it hurt so I am sure the other boy felt it. Especially since Jacob hit him in anger. I hate to advocate violence but I am glad that my son stuck up for himself. I hate thinking of kids being mean to him. We all know how mean kids can be. Maybe now the meanies will think twice about doing it to my baby!!!

Ode to a Liar

One of my biggest pet peeves is people who lie. I know that sounds so generic but it's true. I know that everyone thinks that there are valid times to lie. To spare someones feelings is one example. And to an extent I can see that point. White lies can seem so innocent. What I'm talking about is blatant lies. People who lie so often that they can't even remember what lies they've told. And it kills me because the more they lie the more they start to believe their own bs. They tell it so many times it becomes their reality. And what about when they get caught in a lie and instead of just coming clean they keep lying. Which only makes it worse and makes them lose all credibility. Furthermore, you get to the point where you just stop believing them, even in those rare moments that they are telling the truth. Their words become static in the background. Aaaarrrrgh! Liars suck!!

Loss of Life

What a sad day. I just found out that a friend committed suicide. He had gotten into a situation that he felt he couldn't get out of. How horrible to feel that helpless that you take your own life. To feel you have nowhere to turn and noone to turn to. Is there anything that is ever really that bad that the only solution is to take your own life? Now we have lost all the great things he could have accomplished. And his family has lost a precious member. We have lost a friend. And the world of bodybuilding lost a champion. All because of some mistakes he made in his life. We have all made mistakes. All done things that we wish we could take back. Things that we regret. What makes some of us spiral downward to the path of suicide while some of us find that glimpse of hope that helps us pick ourselves up? Is there a fine line that we walk with any small thing that can make us fall to either side? On one side we perservere, we triumph, we choose life. On the other we can't take it anymore and we choose death. Do any of us ever really know how we would handle every possible situation that may come up? Do we ever really know what we would and wouldn't do? I hope we all choose life. We all realize that with choosing death we don't just kill ourselves but we kill our hopes, our dreams and our potential. We leave the ones we love with grief, sorrow, questions and loss. I hope we all remember to take that extra time to tell the ones we care about that we love them. Take that time to ask how they are doing and if there is anything we can do for them. I know that there are no guarantees but at least we know we did all we could do but they chose death anyways. To all of my family and friends....I love you and could not bear to lose you.

Just realized that my posts show up behind since I am in Japan. My "Dreary Monday" post looks like it was written on Sunday but trust me....it has SO been a Monday today! LOL!!

Ever have things that bug you to such an extreme that you continue to dwell on them in your head and they literally make you feel sick to your stomach. This can happen with any emotion that is attached to what is bugging you, good or bad. The thing is that no matter how you replay in your mind you can't stop feeling mad/sad/happy/disgusted/annoyed/worried etc. You can say you are done dwelling on it but you just can't put it out of your mind. I'm not saying that this happens with everything that happens in my life but there are times that I have such an emotional reaction to something that I just can't let it go. Anyone have any tricks to purge your brain so that you can get some rest instead of tossing and turning?? Trust me, I've tried meditating and after just a few moments my mind starts to wander. It's like there's a hamster on a wheel in there. UGH!!! I am so utterly frustrated tonight and it's driving me nuts!! So, although this didn't purge my brain, it did help a little bit. Good night!

Dreary Monday

What a dreary day it was today. It started out cold but before long it was raining. It is amazing to think that yesterday we were enjoying the warm sun. As soon as I got off of work I raced home to jump into some nice, warm flannel pajamas. I know that the winter weather is inevitable but for some reason I am just not mentally prepared for it this year. Maybe I just need to go to the tanning bed and fake some warmth. :) And why is it that when you get all uglied up in your pj's and cozied up on the couch your husband will come in and want to go somewhere?? Granted I did tell him that we would go back to Atsugi today because the Christmas lights are WAY cheaper than they are at our PX, but seriuosly, it is so crapola out today. Blah. So, back upstairs to change and out in the rain to get to the car. We got the lights. 300 isicle lights for $7.99 when they wanted $19.99 here. Why is it that the NEX can sell some items for way cheaper than we do? Now I am back home and have dinner in the oven. I'm back in my snuggly pj's and cozied back up on the couch watching Dr Phil. Hopefully no more outings for tonight.

Sales and shopping are a beautiful thing!!!

Today is a beautiful day here in Japan. We are actually comfortable outside in short sleeves. The sun is shining and it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It has been cold but it seems to keep throwing us a beautiful, warm day now and then. So, now Donnie is outside hanging Christmas lights and the kids are down the street at the park. I have the house to myself so I thought I would take a few minutes to type a few words. Earlier we decided to take a ride to Atsugi Naval Base to look for a few Thanksgiving decorations since we are having quite a few people over for Thanksgiving dinner. Well, they had some leftover Halloween stuff for 75% off so we decided to take a look. We got these cool flame lights for only 50 cents a box. Then we also bought some Thanksgiving table toppers, a couple of candle holders and a banner. They were also marked 75% off...I guess they don't know the difference from Halloween and Thanksgiving!! :) Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I got the 2 packs of lights, 4 table toppers, 2 candle holders and a banner for $9.98!! You can't beat that!!

Popping the Blog Cherry

Well this is my first time starting a blog so a little patience is in order. I've always wondered what I would write if I had a blog. Always thought it would be too much effort to sound witty all the time. But after reading some of the other blogs around I realized that most of them are just innocent ramblings on the happenings in their lives so here goes...I had a job interview on Friday. I don't think I will get the job. I am more than qualified for the position but the interview lasted all of 5 minutes. (And I do really well in interview situations. I have never not gotten a position I applied for.) And to top it off, the interviewer didn't speak very good English. From what I understand, the other applicants were Japanese and I am assuming that the interviewer will be more comfortable with a Japanese employee but you never know. So, keep your fingers crossed for me. I should know something early this week, I think.