Reflection

This is time of year where most people reflect on the last 365 days (and then realize that resolution they made last January was never thought of again after Feb.).   Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again: 2012 has been one heck of a whirlwind year!

1. prepared and packed for a big move
2. made a trip back east to have our last hoorah's with our friends and family
3. had another big hoorah in Reno with our Sacramento buddies
4. took in a family member to help put them on a good path in life
5. made that big move across this big ol' globe
6. adjusted to the new culture shocks of living in Japan as well as military base living (this is a first for both of us)
7. experienced our first deployment together (Matt's 2nd and definitely not his last...)
8. adopted the sweetest and happiest little Oki mix puppy (which has been trialling and rewarding)
9. found out we are expecting our little Jelly Belly
10. had our first homecoming
11. learned our little Jelly Belly is going to be a sweet baby girl <3
12. 1st Christmas with it just being us

This year has had some very stressful and trialling moments, as well as some very special and incredible ones.  Certain life events bring out the best and worst in people in your life. You see just how supportive your friends and family really are. Sometimes for the best...and..I almost typed, "sometimes not"...but that "not" factor is for the best. It is for the best that you clearly see who will only be there for you when it's convenient for them. Unfortunately, I have learned of some of those people (be it a friend or family member) in the last 365 days. 

I'm pretty awful about keeping up with my New Year's Resolution..but I have decided on something I want to make a lifetime effort with: surrounding myself with positive people and situations.  I may have said or thought this to myself time and again (esp after a bad spell of drama!) but ever since creating and carrying this tiny, wiggly, already-loved-by-many sweet bundle of joy something inside me has changed. My thoughts, my attitude, my serenity. I feel at peace with myself and my life choices. They have gotten me where I am today which is happily married, a baby in the works with two fur babies, a college degree under my belt and experiencing a life abroad (which many don't get in a lifetime). 

There are not many things you can control in life, but, you can control who is in it. And, who has an affect on your mental well-being. Who lifts you up? Who brings you down? Who accepts your 2am calls when your husband is deployed and you feel all alone? Who brings a smile to your face when you think about them? Who makes your heart feel heavy?  I'm going to find out who these "Who's" are and make my life a more positive one.  Positivity is contagious and I want that "virus" to spread (at the very least in my heart and mind)!  And hey, the baby feels what mama feels so..gotta do what's good for my Jelly Belly, right?! 

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2012 treated you well, taught you some great life lessons and made you stronger and ready for what 2013 has to offer all of us. I'm gonna go bring in the New Year tonight playing board games with my love, with the pups at our feet, while I sip on non-alcoholic sparkling cider. Maybe I'll even manage to stay awake to see the countdown!  Stay safe!! 

*quick fact: in Okinawa, the locals celebrate the new year by reflecting on the last year and being thankful. They visit their family's tombs and pay respect. They also will gather as a family in one's home and bring food and treats and spend the day with the people who are important to them. 

Oh Boy...Or Girl!

its...A GIRL!!

As most of you know by now,  Matt and I are blessed with a little girl!!  The idea for the gender reveal we chose started when Matt came home from the first deployment with a Minnie Mouse and a Mickey Mouse onsie he bought at Hong Kong Disney (where he went on a day off at port).  That's when I thought it would be a cute idea to have the tech at the ultrasound clinic off base put the gender in an envelope and seal it.  I would then take the envelope, the wrapped gift box and the onsies over to my neighbor who would then put everything together for us.  I also wanted to get a photographer to come over to take some couples maternity shots and capture the moment of Matt and I opening our little present (the photo above shows our genuine reaction!).  Right after this shot was taken is when we both started crying/tearing up. I am so glad we did it this way. It was truly a special moment we will remember forever: heart racing with anticipation, shock, surprise, overwhelmed with joy, tears, laughs, lots of kisses, sniffles, and more smiles and laughs.  Matt is completely thrilled and, if you can't tell, I'm totally surprised..as I have been thinking we are having a boy!! But nope, we are getting a little princess this time around! 

*I have to add: I'm a tad bit nervous about the doc being correct on the gender. His English was limited and I remember him having to ask which symbol means boy and girl (I drew the boy and girl symbol for him to circle..to make it easier). The letter that was left in the box after opening it showed that he circled the boy symbol but then crossed off the title of boy I wrote above it and wrote in "girl" and underlined it a few times.  Luckily, he threw in a photo of the gender parts which definitely looks like "girl" to me. Matt calls me a worry wart, "if he wrote GIRL and underlined it, and added the pic of the girl parts..then it's a girl. Don't worry". lol  We shall see at our 22 week big ultrasound tomorrow! I'm confident it's a girl though :) 

no teeny weeny in sight! Matt says it looks like the baby sat on a copy machine and xeroxed her butt haha

** Savannah Grace  **

Savannah Grace is our baby girl's name we had picked out way before we ever got pregnant. I have loved Savannah ever since my oldest sister decided not to use it with my niece, Jessica...who is 16 now (so that should tell ya how long I've had that name in mind!).  Lucky for me Matt loves that name too!  As for Grace..well I've always thought it was a pretty name, but it stuck with me because of my love for old Hollywood movies and a wonderful actress that came with that era: Grace Kelly. So that's how we have our little Savannah Grace! 

Now, the only stressor I have with going with Savannah is that a very dear friend of mine loves that name, too. Only, for her own potential daughter.  I remember the day I told her over the phone that Matt and I decided on a girl name way back in the Spring or last Fall and the immediate response was, "omg that's my name too!". LoL..I'm like "of all the times we have talked about future baby names I have never once heard you mention it!" She had kept it secret, for obvious reasons that many women keep their baby names close to their chest (is that the saying? I keep saying it over and over and it's making less and less sense! haha).  It's funny...just another thing to prove we have been friends for so long and are that much alike.  I think knowing that neither one of us stole the name idea from each other (the proof is in that one convo we had!) makes me feel better that it won't cause any issues (God, I hope not). I have no regrets...I've wanted a baby Savannah for as long as I can remember..and in the end I let Matt make the final decision between Savannah and another girl name I liked. But...a part of me still feels a little bad. Not in the sense I feel like I've done something wrong, but, I do actually care about my friend and her feelings too. 

 And speaking of my little Jelly Belly...she's kicking away as I type this. Feeling the presence of this little miracle really does put a lot of things into perspective. The big picture is getting clearer and clearer. Things I used to worry about in the past seem so insignificant now.  My purpose in life has shifted a little. Make that a lot. Matt can sometimes tell when I am feeling it because we will be sitting on our recliners watching TV or something and he'll notice I'm not even paying attention and apparently have this look on my face. One where he just looks at me and says, "you're going to be the best mommy ever. You already are. The look on your face right now and when I catch you looking at Jelly Belly on the fridge...". Hearing things like that make my heart swell. Gosh, I love him. 

he's so excited for a girl! He's wrapped around that little finger already..

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!  It's an odd feeling: waking up and not smelling a turkey being cooked, no early Christmas music being played by my mom in the kitchen, the smell of coffee being brewed by my dad because he stayed up really late prepping the turkey and other casseroles with my mom.  Just quiet, here (oh, and the sound of Scuttle whining downstairs to be let out of her kennel).  It's also an odd feeling not having Matt here.   But, don't you worry, I will partake in the eating of turkeys tonight!  My friend, Lauri, is having a Thanksgiving dinner at her house with family and friends, so, I'm excited for that (and so is Baby Jelly!). 

I'd like to list a few things I am especially thankful for this year:

- the new love of my life: Baby Kelly (little Baby Jelly Belly Kelly!)

- a so-far healthy baby

-a comfortable pregnancy (minus the two icky weeks)

-my loving and supportive husband/best friend

- my wonderful family who constantly shows me love and support

- my old, lifelong friends who I love and miss dearly

- my new friends and friends to come who are proving to be wonderful people

- my two doggies who show unconditional love and cuteness

- the roof over my head

-the food in my kitchen and belly

- my freedom

- my california king bed

- getting a chance to live abroad and experience a new culture

- being the person I have grown up to be

- hot showers

- the technology to text/email/facetime family and friend back home

- the fact that my hubby has his own computer while deployed which means I can email him daily

- mine and my family's health

These are just a few of an endless list of things I am thankful for every day. While there are things to complain about on a daily basis (luke warm showers, dog poop, missing friends and husband, rain) it's important to remember and appreciate both the big and small important things in life: the things that give you a reason for living and waking up each morning with a smile on your face.  I hope all my friends and family get to spend a nice long weekend with each other's loved ones filled with laughter, craziness, nostalgia, and new memories.  Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

2-Night Homecoming

Matt and I were lucky enough to have one night together where we could celebrate our one year wedding anniversary!  It really was perfect. I made his favorite: my cheesy chicken enchiladas (or are they burritos since I add refried beans and rice?).  He got home from work, the enchiladas were hot and melty, he took the dogs out while I set the table and placed his favorite beer on his spot (and my version of a beer...a bottle of cream soda!) and we enjoyed an actual meal at the dining room table. We talked about how ship life was and what all he did at the ports and how Hong Kong Disney was.

After dinner, we opened up our wine and love letter box! Matt opened the bottle of wine labeled "7 Daughters" (a sign?!) and poured us a glass (yes, people, I had WINE..a small glass! It's bad luck not to toast with our anni wine!). We sat on the comfy couch and each opened the letter the other one wrote a few nights before our wedding day. I have to say...Matt is a wonderful writer. To read such love and devotion being poured onto paper is something I will cherish forever. We didn't write personal vows for our wedding day and I'm glad we didn't. I honestly can't even tell you what was said up there at the alter. But here, we can sit and soak in all the promises and love and encouragement (and read it over and over). I got teary, that's for sure! I am now going to read his letter to me every time I feel lonely and sad! When he gets home we will write new letters and place them in the box for next year. I am so happy we went with this special tradition. (ps: it's never too late to start this!).

After letters and our glass of wine, he surprised me with a beautiful diamond heart necklace he bought when he was in Malaysia (as well as a little surprise for Baby K but that's a surprise for everyone else for later). He truly is the most thoughtful, loving man and I am so thankful for him.  Cheers to an endless number of anniversaries! xoxo

Mil Spouse Life: Month 4!

It has been four months and one day since Matt, Petrie and I stepped off the plane and ventured into our new island life in Okinawa! In that time we have found out Matt was switching units (hopefully temporarily) , that he was going to deploy shortly for a couple months, and the big one: expecting a baby!

Going through the deployment has been interesting.  I am very lucky in the sense that I get to email with Matt at least once a day (the perks of him being administrative and having his own computer!). Still, communication strictly by email is not the most fulfilling. It's something, but it does not do it justice.

 I have had my hard moments...those moments being sad that he is not here for me to kiss goodnight or wish him a good day at work. What makes it worse is when people will comment on those sad moments saying, "well at least he will be home in a few months" or "at least he will be in a non deployable unit when you move back to the states". Let me make this clear: knowing that he is getting home in a few months doesn't help the fact that right then and there he is not home. Also, nothing is guaranteed in the military. Who says he won't be in a deployable unit? When the Marines need ya, they need ya!   I really do try and be patient when the "silver linings" of my situation are offered to me.  I have been told by many military wives that the people back home don't get it.  Unless they have or are in your situation they will never understand what, exactly, it feels like to have your husband leave for periods of time. And it's not a business trip, it's a trip where they are potentially, at any time, at risk. (I do feel wives of police officers, firefighters and the likes get it more).  I know that people sympathize the best they can and they mean well.  It's just frustrating hearing, "well at least...". At least doesn't help me right now. And more often than not I have already given myself the "at least" pep talk. I'm just having a moping moment and it's completely okay to be sad and to miss my husband. My spirits tend to pick up in a few hours.
Oh, and as a side note: it was harder hearing all the "at least" comments because at the time I was posting moments of loneliness or sadness, I was pregnant and not able to share. Being pregnant and alone is a whole other story!

So, speaking of being pregnant and alone...it's rough! Emotionally, it's very hard.  I don't know if it's like this for every female who just found out they are pregnant, but it's still hard to grasp that I actually am! I keep thinking it's because Matt isn't here to share the excitement with every day. I can't call him up and tell him I am not feeling well and to please stop and get some popsicles on the way home.  I can't call and tell him how the ultrasound went (though, if he was here he would have been there). We can't sit and read this week's chapter in What to Expect... I just feel awful for him.  So, I have been thinking, "well he will be home soon! At the 14 week marker he will be here and we can enjoy this time through week 24 or 25 together!". Then the Marine life rears it's head.  Less than a week before the guys were due to arrive home, Matt breaks the news that him and some others have to go right back out for another few weeks (or more). I don't have many details but all I can think is, "Great. They're taking what little time I had with him and practically cutting it in half.". No more Tokyo Disney..no more Thanksgiving together, no USMC Ball, no 16 week checkup together...I feel worse for Matt than I do myself. I know he just wants to be home with me and the brewing baby and the doggies. I hate that he is missing out.

Well, I guess that's the Marine Corps for ya, eh?  What really gets my blood boiling is this: the person in charge of all this stuff had all the guys check into work by 7am the morning after they returned (and might I add he sent the guys home super late the night before). The only day Matt had with me before taking off again he was made to work. He didn't get home until 7pm. We had our anniversary dinner then went upstairs to bed by 9:30 (I'll share all that in bit!).  Instead of being dropped off at the ship at 4pm the next day like originally planned, the guy in charge wanted them checked onto the ship by 9am. I just feel so jipped! Oh, and icing on the cake? There was a guy who wanted to go in Matt's place (and Matt tried pushing this as well) since I don't believe he has family here...ya the guy in charge said "nope". It's just so frustrating. But I'm hoping these weeks will fly..it's a busy month anyway so I should have a few things keeping me occupied.

Ok, enough with the venting, on with the better parts of the deployment: It gave me to chance to really get to know some girls here. I have made some good friends, one who I see pretty often, and others I would like to see more and get to know better. It's good getting out of the house, even if it's for a meet-up at Starbucks or the Navy Gift Shop. Having these friends really made the process smoother and I am so grateful for that and for them!
Emotionally, I have been pretty great. Like I mentioned earlier, I have definitely had my rough moments, but for the most part I'm good! I wake up each morning knowing I have a purpose: to keep this baby brewin' and to take care of these little furballs who rely on me. I wake up each morning knowing I have a husband who loves me endlessly and who lets me know every single day. I wake up each morning knowing that that is one morning less until he comes home again.

Some people say I'm strong for going through all this. I don't know if I'm strong. I definitely don't feel it. I think I just have no choice and it's impossible to continuously feel sad or stressed without your body breaking down! I know I couldn't have done it this well without the love and support of my friends and family (and Matt!).  I would like to clear up how I may have come off earlier in this post: I truly do appreciate any and all words of encouragement. Sometimes I may not absorb it as gracefully as I should when I'm feeling mopy and stressed. But in the end it is all welcomed and it really does help me get through the days. Thank you <3

Two Pink Lines!

I know this is very over due, but, for a few months I have not been able to open my mouth except to a select few!!  As almost everyone knows by now: Matt and I are expecting our first Baby Kelly!! To say we are thrilled is a gross understatement!

So how did we find out?

Well, Matt left on a Tuesday morning to deploy. I remember him saying that the perfect send-off gift would be for us to test positive on a pregnancy test.  I took a couple and they kept coming back negative (which, honestly, every time you get one line and you've been trying...it's disappointing).  I took another on Wednesday and, possibly, again on Thursday...you know..just in case! Negative. Negative.  Friday came around and I hauled booty around the outside of the house gathering all the stuff outside to put away for Typhoon Bolavan.

Saturday: I wake up, the storm is brewing, and I make a cup of coffee (and play with the new laptop). Come 1pm-ish I go upstairs to use the bathroom. Apparently I like to pee on sticks when I'm bored and going through a typhoon alone because I saw the very last test sitting under the sink. I thought, "well, Matt won't be home for months and this won't be put to use for a while, so might as well use it!".  Every time I took the test I stare really hard, because they say even the faintest of lines means it's positive. I really thought it was just another wasted one. Then I look down again and what do I see? The faintest of pink line #2! I swear my heart stopped, my body went numb, I smiled and said aloud, "holy shit. oh-my-God...oh-my-God..holy shit..oh-my-God" while pacing around not knowing what to do next! I look in the mirror and think to myself, "you're pregnant! You are no longer Lauren, Matt's wife. You're now in charge of a teeny tiny of cells forming into a cutie little baby that will change your life forever: you're a mommy."   I try Face Timing my bff, who obviously was in bed and didn't get my messages, so I Face Time my older Sissy. I was in shock! All of a sudden I just start crying! Haha. It was great to unload the huge news and have someone to laugh and cry about it with. Then, out of the blue, Matt calls literally 5 minutes into the call and my clever savvy planned way of telling him went out the window. I just cried. He freaked out, got in him concerned Marine husband tone asking who did what..then I told him. Silence. Then a laugh. I think he was more in shock than I was! I can't even remember the rest of the conversation..it's all really just a blur!

The upcoming weeks were still very surreal. Is there really a baby in there? They won't give me an ultrasound until I'm at 11 weeks so waiting until then was torture. How do I know if it "stuck"? How do I know if it's developing? My two weeks of morning sickness were the only proof my body was changing. Well, that and my boobs really hurt.  For the most part, I just felt nausea and didn't actually get sick sick. It's awful going through that and not having my husband here to baby me. The last thing I want to do it get in the car, with all that motion, and go to the store to get the only foods that appealed to me: popsicles and applesauce.

Yes, they spelled our name wrong..so now we call it Baby Jelly Belly 

Finally, week 11 came about and I got my first ultrasound!! My friend, Lex, came with me so I wasn't alone and she took a few pictures of me going through the appointment!  They caught me a little off guard bc this exam was not the wand and jelly rubbing over the belly, it was a wand that was inserted internally and pushed way up to the uterus. Talk about uncomfortable. The baby kept wiggling around so the nurse had to keep adjusting the wand, rotating this way and that, pushing further up. I did not like that!!   The first view I saw of Baby Kelly was of it kicking it's legs so fast and then "swimming" away out of the picture! The nurse jokingly asked me if I had coffee right before the appointment haha! We finally were able to get a good shot of the little one and measure the heartbeat, which was fast and strong, going at 150ish. Oh, and baby is due May 4, 2013! (or that would by May 3 back in the states).
After week 8 or so my nausea went away so I've been feeling great and like an actual human!! Of course, I have the symptom of being tired a lot, but I push through it. These days the dizzy spells are kicking in. I am also starting to show! Some days more than others..and that's thanks to gas and some bloating, thanks to those hormones a'soarin'!

I am now 14w 2d and all I can think about is my husband coming home to us and being able to share at least some of the experiences with me :)  The countdown is so close!!

Things That Go CRUNCH in the Night

One thing my yard does not lack are tiny little snails. They are all over the place! Every time I take my pups out I walk into the yard and each step I'm bound to hear a little crunch or a pop. These teeny snails have shells the size of a pea and they crawl all over the grass and, at night, on the sidewalk as well. It's gross. I don't mind them, I mind the fact that I'm smooshing them! Am I the only person who feels guilty when they kill a bug?

On another note not related to snails and bugs: we are two weeks into our deployment! Two down, eight more to go! I know that sounds like a lot, but time is flying. Before I know it'll be three weeks down, then four, then only a month and half left. There's still so much to do before Matt gets home: finish painting the living room, decided I want to paint the hallway, hang up my hooks in the kitchen so I can hang up my aprons and make it look a little more homey, decorate for halloween, finish Scuttle's shots so I can potty train her for real, and finish ordering the gosh darn wedding albums! I'm almost a year into my marriage and still have not ordered those suckers! It's so hard to choose 65 photos out of a million that I want to showcase! And I have to pick 12 of the Magic Kingdom photo session for the Bridal Portrait Album...I can't pick just 12!

Anyway, Matt is doing fine. He says the ship is much like Ground Hog Day..wake up and do the same thing over and over again. He's been working out a lot which he is proud of. We get to email every day (well I email him a few times a day and I usually hear from him by bed time) so I feel like we are caught up in each other's lives, at least. I had a sad morning today...I was sitting in my living room watching my dogs play and watching Golden Girls while drinking a small cup of coffee and just thought, "how wonderful would it be if Matt were here sharing this morning with me?"  It's been forever, it feels, since we have laughed out loud together. It's not the same chuckling to yourself while typing something funny in an email. And it is not the same when you get a delayed response hours later with the person chuckling back.  But, it'll have to do for now.  I just can't wait for him to come home.

Scuttle is now officially taller than Petrie! She is still light as feather, but she's got gangly legs and giving Petrie a run for his money! She is definitely a trouble maker but her cuteness makes it a little more tolerable! She has gotten a little bit better about chewing on the legs of my furniture. I haven't seen her do it in a while, but, I don't want to speak too soon. Watch, I'll come downstairs in the morning to find a missing leg on my end table! She's already torn her bed to shreds, so she is stuck with old t-shirts to lay on in her crate until she can prove to me she won't have me waste money on another doomed doggie bed.

Well, it's time to go crunch on some more snails while I walk these dogs. Crunch, crunch! Good night!

Typhoon Bolaven

This is a little something I typed last night (I was upstairs at the time and not connected to the internet):

It's late Sunday evening (well..if you consider 10:30 late) and the storm is officially here. The eye  of the typhoon is over this tiny island doing it's work. For once, I am grateful for the cold layout of the housing which is completely concrete and nothing to write home about. Things feel safe and sturdy.  It's funny: Matt leaves and the sky is literally falling.  The electronics act up and now the worst typhoon in 13 years is hitting us. Just me and the dogs.  This weekend has been alright, though.  I find myself counting my blessings a lot. I am so thankful for my little family and I can truly say I am happy. Yea, my husband is gone a few months at a time here and there, and that will always suck…but he comes back to me to pick up where we left off. I can huff and puff all I want about how deployments seem unfair when the military moves the whole family here (I've heard multiple wives complain how it's a cruel joke) but it's WHY they are in the military. It's their job: to do what they can to prevent future harm to our country and to help other countries in need of assistance. So the rest of the states can sleep easier at night knowing they/we are guarded.  I'm proud that my hubby takes his job seriously and with pride and determination. He doesn't resent the Marines one bit.  Sure, he will miss me, but, that comes with the territory. Right? 

So anyway, back to the sky falling (the typhoon)…it's super windy right now and I'm stumped how to let my older dog know its okay to pee on the pad I left in my bathroom. I'm not trying to risk him flying away if I take him outside! lol (we are ordered to stay inside anyway, since we are in TCCOR 1E : Emergency). I have a feeling sleep won't come easy tonight. *sigh. 

Lately, I'm still feeling tired.  Tired and blah. I'm not depressed or anything, especially since I have been lucky enough to hear from Matt a few times since he's left! But my body just feels tired and I feel run down. My throat feels like I'm about to come on with a cold.  I'm drinking plenty of fluids and trying to not over-do things. I'm probably stressed and don't realize it and it's deciding to teach me a lesson.  

Here's hoping to sunshine tomorrow and hopefully a trip to the beach this week with a fellow MEU wife friend! We could definitely use the sunshine and some fun time for US and just get out of the house! I have chores and errands to run, so if the rain could be done with after tonight, I'd really appreciate it. You listening, Typhoon Bolaven?! 

Now, it's almost noon on Monday and though it sounds windy and loud outside, we are officially in TCCOR-1R (recovery). That means we still have to stay inside but workers can go out around the island assessing damages and cleaning up branches and tending to power lines.  Hopefully we can get this show on the road because I would like to be able to take my doggie outside to pee instead of him having "accidents" inside. Poor guy. 

I moved Petrie and I back downstairs last night after the storm got super loud and a little scary.  The three of us (P, Scuttle and I) had a little slumber party. Well, they slumbered. I tossed and turned (this couch is not the most comfortable).  The doggies have been extra cuddly and sleepy this morning, which is a first for Scuttle! I can't believe it's almost noon and she has only gotten up once to use the pee pad! 

Ok it's time to start thinking about lunch. I hope I get an email from Matt soon :)  I like knowing that's he's alright and hangin' in there! I can't wait for him to come home to our little family! 

xoxo

Day Three

Third day down...who knows how many more to go!  I will say this, though: my spirits, today, have definitely picked up. It's probably the first time I am feeling a little more confident (and optimistic) about this deployment period.  I know it's only three days in and feelings are likely to change on a daily basis, but, today I will own the confident feelings!

I feel like the electronics in the house have felt this is the perfect time to go on the fritz. The charger to my Netbook no longer charges the computer.  The five-year-old laptop we use has no internal battery and has to be plugged in. Not only that: it decides that since I can now play Netflix on it, the cord connecting it to the TV (so I can watch movies on the big screen) is not working anymore. It worked just fine yesterday! But today? No, no, no. Today is Lets-Play-a-Joke-on-Lauren day! So, I decided that tomorrow I will be hauling my butt down to the BX (Air Force base exchange...like a giant Target that has everything) and buying a new computer. I am thinking of going with the Mac Book Pro. Gonna go big this time around! Bye bye, old computers!!

I was able to get out of the house last night and today (which is a refreshing feeling!). My friend, Lex, invited me to a jewelry party she was invited to which just so happened to take place on McT (the base I live on). I took her up on the offer thinking there is no reason not to go. I can be that girl that turns down invites and stays inside all day long, or, the girl that doesn't mind staying inside but actually takes opportunities to see the light of day (or dark of night, in this case). The party was cute. I left with the purchase of two new necklaces: a long strand faux pearl (every girl needs pearls for just the occasion!) and a silver necklace with a square silver pendant that has sparklies swirling in a design that reminds me of a seashell. I thought it appropriate to remind me of the island life.  When I got home, I cleaned like a mad woman! I put away clean dishes and washed dirty ones, vacuumed, mopped, dusted, lit candles and started some laundry. I was a happy girl this morning knowing that I didn't have to do any of that today!!

Today, I went to take our loaner car back to the off-base auto shop and get our van back (I think a belt needed to be replaced). I managed to find my way there without a hitch (thanks to the pin on google maps!), get the van and make my way to the shopette where I stocked up on a few snacks in prep for the typhoon coming up. Did I mention that? There's another typhoon coming our way that's supposed to hit big on late, late Saturday or early Sunday. My mom said it's supposed to be the worst one in 13 years. Wonderful.  Oh, well, I'll deal with that concern when the time comes.  For now, I'm just glad to have gotten out of the house and I have plans to do so again tomorrow. It helps the time pass :)   Petrie has his grooming appointment tomorrow, so, after I drop him off at Kadena I'll take that opportunity to run by the BX and look at computers. Maybe I'll go to the commissary and do some real grocery shopping.  Anyway, today's been a decent (emotionally) day!  My mom and one of my sisters messaged me today, checking on me, which definitely made my day a little brighter..rain and all!

I'm going to go now and think about cooking a real dinner tonight. No Ramen. No grilled cheese. As much as I'd love them, comfort food should be reserved for a day that I need extra comfort or I'm not feeling well. That doesn't mean I can't have a brownie for dessert, though.  ;) 

Here We Go...

Well. He's gone.

Day 1:

We woke up early and got the last minute items in order: DVD's to go in his DVD pack, gave him a letter I wrote him to read on the ship, and a couple of other tasks.  7:30am came and we started our drive to the port.  He dropped off the first trip of belongings on the ship while I had to wait in the car. He came back and grabbed the last of it and that's when we said our goodbyes. You know, I was doing fine, emotionally, until that very last minute.  That's when my chin started to quiver and it was hard to look him in the eye (because I hate for him to see my cry). We gave each other a few kisses, big hug and I remember him telling me, "You're amazing. You're strong. I love you."  I got in the car and he came back to have me roll down my window for one last kiss. That about sent me over the edge.  I had to drive off right away since we were in a spot I wasn't allowed to park (we already were warned once).  I managed to find my way back home. I dropped my purse on the counter, immediately changed into a comfy t-shirt and pj bottoms and then made my way into the living room where the doggies were frantically demanding attention. That's when I broke down. I cried for a few seconds and pulled myself back together and loved on my fur babies.  Then I would break down again for a few seconds and then pull myself back together. This repeated itself for maybe a half hour until my exhaustion just took over.  I had my Golden Girls on (one of the best feel-good shows) and a batch of brownies baking in the over (don't judge, a fellow wife gave me permission to eat and do whatever I wanted that day. So I decided to indulge in sad comfort food.) After I ate, I put on X-Files and passed out with my napping dogs.  After I woke up I felt a little better.  I felt like Matt is away on business and it will be okay. The rest of the day and night I just felt tired. Worn and tired.  I cooked Ramen for dinner and opened a beer Matt had bought for me. Since I had figured out how to hide the IP address here I could watch Netflix, finally (Netflix is US based service so the IP address here wouldn't allow Netflix to work...until now!)! So I had dinner while watching a marathon of the Walking Dead (great distraction) and polished it off with another brownie.  I went to bed upstairs with Petrie and put on I Love Lucy to fall asleep to.  I did hear from Matt, though! They hadn't sailed off yet so he was able to find a spot on the ship where he gets service and we chatted a little on how each of were doing and we wished eachother a happy three year dating anniversary. I miss him so much already and it hasn't even been 13 hours!

Day 2:

Today has been more gloomy and tiresome than yesterday.  Today is rainy, gray and thunder-y: much like my mood.  When the dogs are awake they are being naughty. It's like they are extra hyper and they are just not minding me today! Today isn't the best of days to try my patience.  Oh, and the power went off earlier too...I thought, "great! what else?!".  It's still raining and gray but at least the power is back on.  Petrie is upstairs sleeping and Scuttle is tucked in behind my knees (as I'm layin' on the couch) snoozing away looking more like an angel puppy than the puppy I dubbed earlier as "Sharp Tooth".  A friend has invited me to a jewelry party tonight here on this base so I think I'm going to go to that. I think getting out of the house will do me a little good (though, at the moment, I feel even too lazy to shower!).  Until then, I think I'm going to just cuddle on the couch and take advantage of this sleepy day and put on a good classic movie on Netflix. I found a few Barbara Stanwyck films that look interesting (she's an American actress from the 30's and 40's. Remember, I love, love, love old movies).  Hopefully my gray mood will pick up.  For now, I'll blame it on the weather. 



T - 11 Hours....

In about 11 hours I will be dropping my husband off for his deployment out at sea (sigh).  I'm not the happiest camper at the moment.  He's at the ship now dropping off the majority of his bags while I'm here with the dogs waiting for him to come home so we can spend what will be our last evening together for the next 3 (ish) months.

I could really use the support of my family and friends, this being the first deployment we've ever been through together (his 2nd). Just someone asking how I'm doing makes all the difference.  Funny, excluding the wives here, I haven't been asked that question except a couple times from my mom and a couple of my in-laws (do I let my close friends know I need them? Or should they already know?).   How am I doing?? Well....

I'm anxious.  I'm tired.  I'm a little run down.  I'm edgy.

I've never lived on my own, either. So a lot of things are new to me.  Sure, I've moved out of my parent's house but I've always had a roommate/s (older sister, 3 girls @ WVU, now Matt).  Chores and responsibilities that are normally split are now all up to me.  I had my first taste of realizing I don't know what the hell I'm doing when the internet wasn't working this morning.  Matt was at work and my dad was kind enough to Facebook chat with me on iPhone for an hour or more walking me through all the different possibilities of what could be wrong and how to fix it.  I don't know when recycling and the trash comes and I am not even sure what to do with the dumpsters. Do I leave them in their spot?  Do I bring them out to the middle of the cul-de-sac?  The simplest of things that I never thought to make a point of knowing...because Matt took care of all that stuff.  How about cutting Scuttle's nails? I had to have Matt hold on to her so she wouldn't wiggle so much!  In time, I'll get the hang of doing all these things on my own because I have to.

I know some of you may be chuckling at me : "Lauren, you don't know how to take out the trash??" "Lauren I've cut my dog's nails millions of times..it's not that hard" " I know how to hammer a entertainment system together and build my own patio/deck and garden...you've got it easy".   Yea Yea...these things are easy, and I'm not actually stressing about them...they were just the eye-opening realization of, "crap..this is all my responsibility now..how did I not even know this" lol .

I also hate being alone. I love it in the sense that I like my alone time...but I really get lonely when Matt's gone.  I go a little stir crazy when he's gone on business for just three days! I'll handle this time he is gone, because I have no other choice. But man, does it suck. 

Matt's on his way home (yay!!) so I gotta cut this short.  But, like I said before, I could use a lot of support and distraction! Please feel free to shoot me a message just shootin' the sh*t.  I have a feeling I'll be checking FB and blogs a lot.  :)  I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did, and I'll tell you all about when things settle down tomorrow.

XOXO

Pre-Deployment Stress/Anxiety

Prepping For My First Deployment (Matt's 2nd)

"Stress is something that we, ourselves, create and it depends on how we interpret situations and relate to the world"

I read that in one of the two books shown above and I completely agree. I know, for me, most of the time it's a mind game. Once the stress ball gets rollin' it's really hard to back track. Since learning that my husband will be deploying shortly after moving in, I have pushed the thought way back in my mind. People would ask how I am feeling about the situation and I would respond, "oh, I'm not feeling anything yet, we still have plenty of time before he leaves."  And then Thursday the tenth rolls around. I sit up in bed looking at the calendar on my phone and think: Shit. We have only 10 days left together?! (3 days have been added so now he leaves the 23rd...one week left...)   The next day I could feel my anxiety and apprehension growing.  Slowly, but surely, it started taking over. I started feeling hot, a little shaky, unable to think completely clearly, my chest was tight and it was hard to take a deep breath, my patience was non-existent and I would cry at the drop of a hat (yes, come 5pm even Scuttle escaping her pen made me cry in frustration). These are not feelings that I like to have! Matt came home and was ever-so-helpful with the pups and helping me get our comfort food dinner started.  I took a Xanax because at that point I was beyond calming myself down.  Ten minutes later, I was feeling the zen I've been craving and have been pretty calm since then. I don't like relying on medication to help with my emotions or anxiety. The only times I really ever took Xanax was when I had my extreme fear of flying and public speaking (when you've had a panic attack during/towards the end of a presentation, you realize you probably need to be prescribed something). In this case, though, I felt it was appropriate (plus, trying to have babies, ya gotta keep that bad stress out!!)

So, I read in one of these two books that "anticipatory grief" is a real thing, and I believe that's what I have been going through. The anticipation of taking on full responsibility of the dogs, myself, the house, everything makes me really nervous. Is the car in order? How are the bills going to be paid? Will I get to talk to Matt on the phone? Where is the off base vet? Oy....  I honestly feel, though,  that once the day comes that Matt leaves, I will be okay. I will be. I'm healthy, I have family, I have friends, and I have my dogs. I am not in any danger, so I will be okay.  I am nervous, but what else is to be expected?? "A worry is something you can't do anything about, and it's unproductive.  Turn it into a concern and ask what the worst case scenario would be and how you could plan for it if it did happen. Then set aside time to worry and move on"

So, I found it interesting when reading about the top stresses in life:

- moving (check! first to Cali, now here...)

- marital separation (check!)

- pregnancy (or lack of it, in my case...but check!)

- death (thankfully, no check)

- changing jobs  (trying to find a job so semi-check!)

- major changes in responsibilities (check!)

- change in sleep habit (check but it's evened itself out now that I'm adjusted)

hello...does this sound like everyday military life at it's best?! It's no wonder why all of a sudden I was on the verge of a panic attack..so much going on all at once it's a bit hard to digest and accept. 

Whether it's 9 months or 1 month, any separation from someone you love is really tough (especially in a foreign land!). While it's hard, I am grateful that this first time around is about three months (though rumor has it he leaves again shortly after) so light at the end of the tunnel is not too far away.  It's a bummer that he will be gone for our one year, but, it's not that important to feel sorry for us.  There is no reason we can't celebrate to the fullest when he gets back on island! 

Proven Stress Reducers:

- get up 15 minutes earlier and leave before you have to (that way any set backs and/or traffic won't push your stress to the limit)

- restrict amount of caffeine, alcohol and junk food

-don't procrastinate (ooh that will be a hard one for me)

-avoid unproductive, negative, "high maintenance" people

- set aside "me" time

-count blessings. For every wrong there are a dozen thing right

-exercise

and a few of my own that I'm adding to help myself out:

- don't play the "if only" game. "if only I lived closer to family" "if only my best friend lived closer". We find ourselves wanting what we don't have. Make do with what you do.

- blogging more (be prepared for more random posts...my hubby knows to check my blogs to see what I'm up to and how I'm doing on some days, so I will be posting for him!)

-  I want to try one new recipe/ week, thanks to Food Network and Foodnetwork.com

- I have the Base Housing Project to continue! I would like to have it all finished by the time Matt gets back in November..so that project, alone, will be a handful!

I have to get ready now for my pre-deployment briefing. Thanks for listening! If anyone has any other stress reducers that has worked for them, please feel free to let me know!! I have nothing but time, here, on my hands!

Feeling Accomplished

I did it! I managed to drive around the backwards island of Okinawa and not only successfully get to where I needed to be without getting lost, but I came home without one scratch on this van of Matt's!  I have to say, now that I got the initial shock of the roads out of the way, I feel it can only get better from here. I can breath a big ol' sigh of relief. Is it sad that I feel a sense of accomplishment??

Matt got home late last night (around 10pm or so) and we immediately set out to practice the routes I would be driving today (that included driving towards Matt's work so I can drop him off in the morning and then the route to Kadena Air Force Base to meet the girls for lunch). Last night was pretty intimidating. First of all, I don't see that well at night while driving. The bright lights of the cars and the street lamps and the buildings..it all gets very distracting and very glare-y (that can be a word, right?). Well, anyway, I got the hang of it pretty quick. Matt was very impressed at how well I took to driving, assuming I would be freaking out (I realized that I'm the sort of person who gets a quiet calm focus when I'm faced with a really intense situation. Focus now, freak out later).  Today was much easier, I feel.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day, the traffic wasn't too bad, and I am thrilled to know that there are only a couple "main highways" I need to know how to get to in order to get to the important places.  Once I get those burned into my memory I can start venturing onto the side streets and getting a better lay of the land.  I'm happy to report I didn't have to use my iPhone map once while driving!  Matt did a great job of giving me the short play-by-play of how to get here and there.

Lunch today was great, by the way! The girls were super nice. We went to this pizza place called Bella Napoli over by the sea wall. It was on the second floor and our table was right next to a window wall that looked out over the gorgeous water. I wish I thought to take my phone out to snap a picture. Oh well, next time I will!  Food was good, convo was good...I only wish I wasn't so darn shy! I hate it. Some people who know me may not realize that I'm really shy, but I am and it takes a lot for me to open up and keep up with a conversation the first few times of getting to know someone.  I just hope no one thinks I'm rude or boring if I'm not asking a bunch of questions and talking up a storm. Ah well...that's for another post. Until then,  I'm going to go back to watching Mobsters and open up a bottle of red while I wait for my husband to come home :)

Braving The Streets

Hi all! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and for those who live in Oki, I hope everyone stayed dry! I didn't leave the house after Saturday night.  Sunday was mainly grey and drizzle-y..but come Sunday night? Oh boy, did it rain, rain, rain!! Monday was very rainy and windy as well...great days to have the excuse to just cuddle up on the couch in my jammies and watch Hulu with the pups!

Now it's Wednesday (actually, I thought it was Tuesday when I started typing this post...oh how the time plays mind tricks on me!) and I am about to start the Swiffering and dusting because the doggie trainer is coming by the place tonight. I'm really excited to get some good tips on training two dogs (let's face it..Petrie can use some brushing up on) and finding ways to get the doggies to be in the same room and not feel the need to play hard, hard, hard. Too many drinks have been knocked over on the coffee table due to the fact the two little fur balls wrestle their way under it and end up knocking their heads on the table. The cleaning never ends with these two! ha!

Tonight is also the big night that I am practicing driving around the island! Normally, I would have waited until the weekend so I can practice during the day, but since a couple new friends have invited me out to lunch tomorrow, I figure I must the driving now. My anxiety has risen quite a bit at the thought of venturing out, on my own, tomorrow to not only drive around my base, but to drive all the way up to Matt's work and back, then drive to another base further south to find a restaurant I have never seen and ,furthermore, figure out how to park a big minivan (Matt's car). The GPS system here is a joke. It's basically just reading a map on your phone, hoping your blinking blue dot is moving on the road you're supposed to be on.  Not much of hands-free help, is it?! I really don't want to drive. The thought of doing so without much practice is freaking me out. I'm sweating right now just thinking about it!  But when asked out by new friends (whom I've yet to meet..they're mutual friends of a new friend here who were kind enough to reach out to me) you just have to take up the offers! It's how you get out. It's how you meet people and make better friends.  It's living a life of your own that doesn't just consist of talking to doggies all day and waiting for your husband to come home so you can get started on dinner.  I'm excited! 1.) these girls seem super nice. 2.) we are eating at a place that serves pizza...pizza! I've been craving a good pizza since moving here!  and 3.) breaking the ice with these roads will be awesome. I can maybe even start borrowing the car more often (until I get my own) and start going to the gym. Gotta get back into my size 4's!

I'll update you on how everything goes! Imagine being on a small island with tons and tons of Asian drivers...then throw me into the mix...the thought makes me laugh. As long as I remember to drive on the left side of the road I think I will be okay.  *sigh...here we go....

The Home Front

So, I know I have been talking a lot about the food and local cuisine, but I haven't really talked much about how the house is coming along!

We are the corner unit of a 4-unit multiplex.  The outside, so far, is still looking bland and a little dirty but seeing what some of the neighbors did with theirs gives me a few ideas. I actually ordered a painted wooden sign from Etsy that reads, "Home Is Where The Marine Corps Sends Us" with smaller wooden signs hanging from that which read where you've been stationed. Since this is our first duty station (I don't count Sacramento) together, ours is going to show Okinawa, Japan. I'm pretty excited for it to arrive! Next chore will be to figure out the rules about planting flowers and plants. I may just have to go with big planter pots (which may be the better way to go since the poisonous Habu snakes hide out in unkempt shrubbery! No thanks...). 

The "hospital kitchen" with it's stainless steel counters, grocery store floors and yellowed plastic counters, has come a long way now! The very first thing we did was paint the cabinets a pretty blue color. It's not quite as light as Sky Blue, but it's still pretty light. Yesterday, I finished painting the walls in the kitchen white. With little splashes of red, pink and yellow, the kitchen is really cute (and clean/crisp). My goal is to always have fresh flowers in there :)  Another thing I love about the kitchen? Sunlight!! That's something that was sorely missed back at our old apartment. This kitchen is big enough to set up our tall cocktail table as our new breakfast nook area, complete with red flowers, Mickey Mimosa glasses, and a couple red and yellow Mickey plates (something you'll notice in the kitchen is that it is very Disney..we went a little crazy shopping on our honeymoon lol). 


With furniture set up in the house, it doesn't look as bland and blah as before.  I have decided that I want to paint the living room now.  We have an oatmeal colored couch and ottoman, black entertainment center and a black dining room table with black chairs. Actually, the correct term is Espresso but whatever, it's black. Sitting in here now I am craving some color! I'm thinking of painting the walls a shade of yellow. Maybe a light marigold color? I think it would lighten the room a bit plus it would go along with the color scheme of the kitchen. Problem is that at the Makeman (local Japanese Home Depot) store there was only two yellow options and they were not what I was looking for: pastel Easter egg yellow and bright neon yellow. I would ask if they could mix the two, but it's very hard finding English speaking workers and my pocket Japanese language book doesn't really have any "can you mix these two paints?" options!  The search will continue.

Moving on..going upstairs, we painted the banister a raspberry pink color. I know, it's a little out there, but when else will I get a change to paint a pink railing? Um, never? The stairway is so depressing, with it's yellow lighting, hospital floors, yellowed walls...I just had to add color! I also want to find black and white paisley print contact/wall paper that I can stick to poster board then apply that to the stair risers. I think the hot pink will make more sense, then.  We haven't touched the two extra bedrooms, but we did paint our room a light, fairytale blue. It really makes all the difference. Our sheer ivory curtains are being shipped here as we speak! The room is just big enough for our Cal King bed and a small night stand. Oh, and the small entertainment stand with our TV on it. That's it. Our dressing rooms are the first guest room for Matt and mine is the walk-in closet in our master bedroom. I just painted some of the bathroom white yesterday. I have to wait to buy more paint before I can finish. In the meantime, I'm really debating on painting the yellow plastic cabinets the same hot pink color or the leftover blue from the kitchen. What do you think? If a bathroom is going to be stark white then it needs a good contrasting color, I think.  Matt is such a trooper letting me paint things girlie and pink lol

Well, that's the little tour of our new home! Now that we are getting settled, I think I want to stay here versus move all over again (for when they have to renovate). I can't handle the thought of all our things being packed up again only for me to have to unpack again and repaint again and put my body through stress...you guessed it..again! But, we'll do what we have to do. (Just don't mind me bitching about it part of the time! )

BTW Here are some ocean shots from a rest stop we found:

Okonomi-Yaki

Okonomi-Yaki

These were the savory pancakes I was talking about in the previous post.  They aren't the typical pancakes, though, that's for sure! 

We (Matt, myself and two of our new friends..the hubby works with Matt) sat down at a table that had a little grill in the center of it.  As we open the menu, we realize we have no idea what we are looking at.  I think the translator had a heck of a time making the American version, because there were "?" marks after many of the descriptions, the word "strawberry" was written "starrury" (lol..I'm realizing the "mocking stereotypes" aren't that far off from the truth) and this time there weren't any pictures..just a couple drawings of what the food is supposed to look like.  Eventually, we just point to the one that sounds the best and hope that it's the dish we came there to try.  

After 15-20 minutes or so our waitress came to our table and set down all our "pancakes" on the grill. We weren't really sure if we were supposed to wait, flip them or start eating.  Matt figured out that the grill was on long enough to add a little heat and sizzle to the concoction since the cook already cooked them in the kitchen (our order was so large they couldn't mix it up and cook it in front of us) .  We grabbed our tiny spatulas and cut off little pieces of our dish and placed it in our bowls to then eat with chopsticks (which I'm getting pretty decent at using!). 

Let's talk about the food:  Interesting is the best word I can use to describe it.  I didn't love it or hate it.  The first half of the pancake was pretty good but after that you just get tired of it. I had my fill of the flavors. That's just my experience.  The pancake I had consisted of eggs, bacon, "pizza cheese", onions, thin-sliced beef, chicken pieces and a hint of curry powder. That is mixed with (or in between)  the two pancakes.  Once it's cooked it is smeared with this sweet/tangy BBQ/soy sauce type sauce and then drizzled with this white sauce (not sure what it was, maybe some kind of mayo mixture?). It all was definitely filling, but not sure I want to race back for more. Like I said, I got my fill of the flavors halfway through.  The one I got was called the Depo-Yaki.  Matt got one that was stuffed with cream cheese and "pizza cheese" (as they call it) which I hear was pretty awesome. Maybe I'll have to try that if we are ever in the mood for that place again :)

Whether I like the food or not, I'm really glad we are deciding to brave the unknown and try new cuisine and restaurants.  I realize I'm starting to get a lot better at understanding the basics of Japanese: sumimasen (excuse me), aritgato gazaimas (thank you very much), konban wa (good evening), okanjo onekai shimasu (the check, please) and so on. It's a great way to learn the language, the body language and their culture!  Note: it is not okay to stab your chopsticks in your rice and leave it there. You have to lay your chopsticks down. (Just something I learned at the newcomer's brief!)

Other interesting and useful facts:

- the already-noted chopstick in rice fact

- do not pass food from your chopsticks to another persons chopsticks. Keep the food on the plate and let them grab it or you can set the food on their plate. Passing the food as well as keeping your chopsticks propped up in your rice has something to do with their funeral traditions.  When a person dies, they actually keep the body in the house for a whole day before burial. There is a tradition they use with the passing of their ashes or when they are in the room for the day, you keep a set of chopsticks stuck in what would have been their rice.  I'll review the research and get back to you on the specifics.

- do not take pictures of tombs. Has something to do with capturing their soul.

- many locals do not like you taking pictures of them. They fear by taking a picture of them you are actually capturing their soul 

- when you want to call one over, don't use the hand gesture of your palm facing up and wiggling your fingers towards you...they feel that's how you call a dog. You are basically calling them lower class. Instead, they use the gesture of the palm facing down and waving the fingers towards their body. 

- it is insulting to them if you tip them (at least off base). So don't tip! $$$

- they don't have the same customer service in terms of serving at a restaurant. Once you order, they don't like to bother you. You may be sitting at your seat wondering, "why haven't they come by to ask if I want a refill??".  They are waiting for you to call them over (this is where saying "sumimasen" would come in handy) or , even better, a lot of the time they will have service buttons at the table! You simply press the button and a light or ding will go off in the back and they will come right over!  

- slurping is normal here. In the states it is very rude and poor table manners to slurp. Not here. They will pick up their bowls of soup and just slurp away! 

Those are just a few I can think of that I like to keep in mind!  The more I learn, the more I'll share  :)  

Crocodile's Restaurant

Crocodile's Restaurant:


For date night, Matt and I decided to check out this restaurant I discovered, called Crocodile's Restaurant, on OkinawaHai.com. It's a place located in American Village near Kadena AFB. Let me start by saying American Village is quite a site at night! The huge ferris wheel is lit up different colors, the shops/bars/restaurants are all bright and colorful with music playing.  It was crawling with people, especially since the day and night on Friday was beautiful and had a nice breeze (something that is appreciated at hot and humid times!). We must have walked by three karaoke joints on the way from the parking lot to the Croc's!

Okay, on to the star of the blog. I read on line that this place has a fire show on Friday and Saturday nights. Unfortunately, since there was the threat of rain, they didn't have the fire show. So, Matt and I decided to sit inside and check out the decor. It was a really cute place! Very beachy and Japanese at the same time.  We sat at a table next to what looked like a turtle aquarium in a beach theme, but really it held some sort of little bird in there. Cute! Our table, of course, came supplied with a big bowl of bamboo chopsticks and our host came by with damp towels to wipe our hands (which reminds me, not once, in a Japanese food establishment, have there been napkins available. It's always a washcloth or nothing. Weird, huh?) .  Matt and I were given the drink menu. Matt only ordered a pineapple juice because here on the island a DUI is .03. That's, what, a beer?! I ordered a Moko Moko..some mango based blue cocktail which was pretty yummy.

I read reviews of the place and noticed that everyone raved about the fried crocodile. Interesting, huh? We ordered a plate of that for our appetizer..and let me tell you..it tasted just like chicken! The batter was light and fluffy and there was an interesting salsa on the side to dip it in.  For dinner, we ordered steaks (filet mignon for me and ribeye for Matt) and mine was complete with a shoulder of snow crab. Yum yum and yum!! Our meals were brought out on sizzling cast iron skillet platters served with steamed vegetables, baked potato mounds and white rice (everything comes with white rice!).   The steak cut like warm butter and the crab legs came with four different dipping sauces (the garlic butter being my favorite). 


For dessert we shared a scoop of coconut ice cream! It was smooth and creamy and very..well...coconut-y! This is a place we will definitely be frequenting again soon! Tonight we are checking out a place (again, in American Village) that can be described as serving "savory pancakes", with lots of different types of fillings and condiments sandwiched inside, such as : chicken, garlic, onions, shrimp, etc., etc.  I'll give you the inside scoop after we check it out! Bon Appetit!

Home Sweet Home

Hi folks! We just got our wireless internet working so now I can get back to blogging!

Matt and I moved into our new home Saturday the 14th (the same day we brought Petrie home from the kennel!) and I have to say: we love it here (never thought those words would be coming out of my mouth).  We immediately bought paint and paint supplies and got started painting our bedroom a fairytale blue and the kitchen cabinets a pretty sky blue. We still have more painting to do but those were the musts before the inspector came Monday, as well as TMO (the movers with all of our belongings).

The day we went to pick up Petrie from the kennel Matt and I spotted a litter of puppies up for adoption (so cute!). So cute, in fact, that the next week we went back and adopted one! Her name is Scuttle (from The Little Mermaid) and she is 9 weeks old, white, fluffy and has a big brown patch over her left eye. My two doggies are getting along much better than I had anticipated. They play play play for a good 20 minutes followed by a (blissful) two hour nap. Those naps are my window of opportunity to unpack boxes and get the house in order.

Let me backtrack a minute :

The very first week we were here in Oki Matt went to check in to his new unit (12th Marine HQ-- did I say that right?). At the end of the day he comes back to the hotel room and tells me they transfered him to another unit called the MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit). Basically, the MEU goes on ship and is "on-call". Since Marines are the first to respond to trouble in other countries (I like to compare them to the SWAT team who breaks down the doors and charge in). The MEU has to be able to reach the other countries in 48 hour notice, which is why they sit out at sea. The MEU, I've learned, also deploys quite often. The very day Matt came home and told me of his unit transfer is the day he also told me he is deploying in August for 2 1/2 - 3 months. Seriously?? I know the deployment isn't as long as other deployments, but it's still a deployment (and my first to go through) and  on top of that: we just got here! I don't even know how to drive yet. I guess I should make a list of projects to start (training a new puppy being one of them) and start making friends, pronto!  (I hear there is also a chance he will deploy again within the year, but I haven't heard any details on that just yet). 


So last week Matt and I decided to skip cooking dinner and venture out of the house to eat. I looked up local restaurants on OkinawaHai.com and came across a ramen "shop" a few miles from us. Talk about yummy! Thankfully the website came with a picture because the sign outside of it is all in Japanese and we would have passed it right up! It's hard for me to call this place a restaurant. It's tiny and as soon as you walk in you walk right up to a bar. You sit down and look at the menu (they had an English version). The cook and kitchen is in front of you on the other side of the bar. They greet you and you basically point at the picture you want (since their English is very limited..fine by me! The point is to exercise our Japanese! We are in their country, after all). We were served a huge bowl of curly noodles in a broth that has been cooking for 14 hours that day! It was topped with sliced pork, sprouts, and some shredded purple things I didn't recognize (cabbage? seaweed? anyone know?). Matt and I grabbed our chopsticks (since these restaurants don't carry forks) and slurped away! We were told that, here, it is perfectly normal and acceptable to slurp lol   Oh, they also had whole garlic cloves and a garlic press for you to add freshly pressed garlic into your soup..now that just made my night. Mmm Mmm Mmm..

Well, the puppies are still napping so I'm going to take this time to order more curtains (for the kitchen) and start hanging pictures on the walls. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Moshi Moshi!!!

We made it!! We arrived Friday night 7:30pm (Okinawa time) safe and sound! Let me start out by saying it was a smooth flight, with the 2 layovers being the most exhausting, and landing in Okinawa during it's sunset was beautiful. Really a great first impression of the little island.

After we landed we got our stuff, went through customs and our sponsor was there at the exit waiting for us.(  For those who don't know what a sponsor is, he is someone who is responsible for setting us up with lodging reservations, getting our dog set up in a kennel, making housing appointments and driver's license appointments, etc., etc.,) Ryan has been amazing. He happens to be the person that my hubby is replacing at work, and since he is on his way out he has been staying at the same lodge as us and has been ready and willing to take us anywhere we need/want to go!

The island is beautiful. Different, but beautiful!  The cars are all pretty tiny. So are the roads. The outside of shops and houses aren't the prettiest but with all the rain and typhoons you can't really expect the upkeep to be amazing, but the insides are nice. It's really neat driving off base and seeing all the road signs and shop signs in Japanese writing! It's pretty humid, but nothing I didn't endure in Virginia or Louisiana so far.  So far, our schedule has looked like this:

Day 1: Saturday

Ryan, our sponsor, took us by the BX where Matt dropped off his uniform to get pressed, they got their hair cut, Matt and I signed up for a cell phone plan and went to the "dark side" with iPhones. We went to breakfast at a place off base called Rose Garden. It was nice! Definitely will go there again, I hear they are famous for amazing french toast! After that, Ryan brought us by a beach to check it out and go for a little walk.  We then went to visit Petrie at Karing Kennels. Poor thing looked pretty scared but we were able to bring him out in the yard area and play with him for an hour or so. He seemed to be eating and drinking and "going potty" well, so that's all I really care about at the moment. He's healthy,that's all I ask for.

Day 2:  Sunday

We relaxed until about 11:30 then got ready to go meet our new friend Lauri for lunch. She took us to this really cute coffee shop which has so many choices for coffee and drinks as well as a full menu, which I've never seen before. We had a light pasta dish, which came with soup and salad and dessert at the end of the meal.  I didn't have coffee but I did try their mango soda. Yum!! I may have to put Coke on the back burner for a while!  Lauri was pretty amazing, she gave us lots of tips and advice for the island, she showed us around and took us to her and her husband's house off base. It was so cute! Very Japanese and their kitchen was amazing (black counters, candy apple red cabinets..very unique!).  After that, she dropped us off at the lodge and Ryan took us to visit Petrie again and then we went out to a Japanese steakhouse called 4 Seasons. Matt ordered a Mai Tai and it came in a whole pineapple! It was pretty funny. And very manly :)

Day 3: Monday

Today was a trying day. Got up early, ventured out and it was raining. All. Day.  We had our housing appointment and was told only 2 places were available for us to choose from. They were the same exact floor plan and literally right next door to each other. The whole point in being shown different places is to see the different styles and you get to pick which one suits you better. I almost wanted to cry when we walked into the multiplex. Everything was a dingy yellow and the floors were the floors you see in a grocery store. Yuck and yuck. The lighting is harsh and yellow. Hello migraines. 

Let me count the positives because I really need to focus on that, seeing as how we really don't have a choice on where we want to live: it's two floors, there are three bed rooms upstairs and two full bathrooms and lots and lots of closet and storage space. While the bedrooms are small, there are three of them so we can make do. Downstairs, the kitchen is pretty roomy...there's a washer/dryer, dishwasher, stove, lots of storage space, and a sliding door that leads out to a patio. There's a half bath, a decent sized living room (which will have to share with a dining room table) and a large storage space underneath the stairs, where we will probably keep all of Petrie's toys and water/food bowl. So while it is ugly, it's do-able: with lots of paint, rugs, and furniture. 

Ryan brought us by where Matt will be working, got lunch at the chow hall, then we brought Petrie by the vet to get him checked in and cleared, medically, brought him back to Karing Kennel, and then came back here to the lodge.

I know that's a pretty detailed account of the last couple days...but Mom might be interested :)  Things are going pretty smoothly, so I am very thankful for that!! Tomorrow we take our written driving test and Friday we pick up the keys to the new place!!  Lots to do, lots to do!!

Thank you, everyone, for the kind words and well wishes!! Matt and I are so excited to get this party started and check out all that this island has to offer! xo

So Long, Sacramento...

It's Sunday night. Sittin' here with a beer while the guys are hanging out on the couch watching/playing video games. Everything is packed up and sitting in the car. Petrie is snoozing Lord knows where. The time has come. It's our very last night in Sacramento and who knows when we will be back.  It's crazy to think that for such a long time (a few months) I have been counting down the days until we move. Not necessarily out of excitement, but to give me an idea of how much time I had to left to do this and that. To see the people I care about. And now the countdown is over! One more bedtime (as a kid my parents went by bedtime countdowns for our trips to Disney World..smart idea to get a kid to go to bed without argument!) until we drag our butts out of bed and start our road trip to Seattle!

The last week here has been great! Last weekend we went to Reno for a last hoorah with "the group" (the Sac friends). That was a blast! Then this week we went out to karaoke a couple times, went to dinner, made a trip to San Fransisco to see the Walt Disney Museum (very, very informative..highly recommended!) and then today took care of errands and went to dinner with a dear friend and her family.  This week's been a great way to say goodbye to a place we have considered home for a bit of time.  I will miss the people I have come to know and love very much!

While leaving here is sad I am also super stoked for our trip! I'm excited to get on the road with the hubs and Petrie and just spend time as a little family. Matt's mom is driving up from Portland to Seattle to see us once more before we take off on Thursday, so that's nice. I'm not really sure what the plans are for the 4th but I don't care. As long as I'm with Matt, I'm happy! First thing Thursday morning (5:30am) we check into the airport and our flight takes off at 8am! Surprisingly, I'm not terrified of the flight (as of yet). I bought three books to put on my Nook, I bought some ZzzQuil (Nyquil's sleep aid! Made just for me, I think!) , and have a portable DVD player. I think we are all set!

I am so, so, soooo looking forward to finally having my own space. For so long we have either slept on an air mattress, a hotel bed or a friend's bed. Definitely thankful to have a bed, period, but it's going to feel so good to have our own bed back. Our own kitchen utensils. Our own closet. Our own everything. I can walk around the house half naked (ok, or actually naked) again! Hopefully, it won't take too long to have a house available to us once we check in. Matt told me our household shipments are already waiting for us in Japan, so now we just need a place to unload it in!

Looks like things are moving along. My biggest stress at the moment is Petrie. I read the documents wrong when it came to his rabies shots. I thought it said he had to have at least two before transporting over, but really it said he had to have two post microchipping (and one of his two was prior to getting microchipped). Along with that, the most recent rabies shot had to be no more than a year and no less than thirty days before arrival in Oki. Well, his most recent shot was March 2010 (you starting to see why I'm stressing now?) Although it's good until 2013, the transportation requirements say he should have gotten another one this past year. He got his shot today. Matt thinks he will be fine, as his blood work papers show his rabies anti-bodies are great and, in total, he has three rabies vaccinations. I don't understand why microchipping and rabies shots have to relate! The point is, he got his shots. The point is, he is microchipped. So what if he got a shot before he was chipped?!  Irritating. So, keep your fingers crossed for us that everything goes smoothly.

Our cell phones are being turned off when we leave, so the only way I can keep up with everyone I know is through wi-fi and Facebook. I'm going to try posting blogs along the way, internet permitting.

Thank you Sacramento for the great memories! West coast friends and east coast family and best friends..I love you dearly and will miss you terribly! Our door is always open for anyone wanting to venture out to Okinawa! Scuba, snorkeling, pineapple park, temples and beaches..the list of activities goes on and on.

Good night!

Dreams of "One Line or Two?"

Remember my post from a while back talking about my reoccurring pregnancy dreams? Well..they're baaaack. This time, though, I'm not dreaming about having that belly or that it's "time", but it's all about the stick. In one week I have had 4 dreams revolving around me peeing on the stick, seeing the plus sign, and being ecstatic, yet freaking out. Freaking out because Matt is right outside in the next room and I want to tell him the news in a special way so my dilemma was how to compose myself to where I don't give it away! There are times I pee on three sticks just to make sure! It's so real that when I wake up to Matt getting out of bed for work I have to ask him if it really happened or not (obviously I'm still in a daze with sleepiness haha). 


In that last post about the dreams I was questioning what it all meant. Was I ready? Was I scared? Was it symbolic for new responsibility coming into my life?  I'm pretty sure, now, that I am having these because I am ready.  Waiting for that news. Excited. Nervous.  I stopped taking the pill so, of course, the thought of that possibility is always in the back of my mind.

Speaking of going off the pill...what a trip. For years and years I have been ingesting those extra hormones and I never realized what a difference it made in everyday life. For instance, food I like and dislike. Since going off of it, I find myself craving more juice, broccoli and mangoes (to name a few). I'm not into soda as much as I used to be (hell froze over). My mood swings are different, especially when a certain "aunt" visits. Matt has even mentioned noticing a difference, which he claims he finds very amusing lol. What else...oh, that "aunts" visits are awful. I've never experience cramps but now? Holy heck. So, all in all, it's interesting! Very interesting noticing my interest and now dis-interest in many foods.  Just thought I'd put that out there!