Welcome to Japan!

Today makes a week that Mike has lived in Japan. The first few days were new and exciting for him and Mike said he couldn't believe how green Japan was. He said he flew over Tokyo before landing at Yokota and he couldn't tell where the city began and ended. Then on Friday, I got a call from Mike at 6 am telling me that he debit card was stolen along with some money from his wallet. He said he was at the gym for two hours and noticed right away that it was gone when he checked his wallet outside. Long story short, the jerk spent over $600 in two hours before Mike called our bank and had them cancel the card. Not exactly a warm welcome to Japan but we're grateful not more was stolen out of his wallet. Can you imagine his ID and pilot's license right in the middle of inprocessing? Anyway, we had to come up with a few ideas for Mike to get cash since that was the only debit card he had and we couldn't figure out where we put his checkbook between all of the boxing/moving that was going on. Everything is fine now and we've been fully refunded for the cash that was taken but I'm really bummed that it had to happen right at that second. Every few days, I'm sending another box in the mail to him with some of our x-mas gifts/wedding gifts or things we've collected since September and each time they're mailed, another $20 is gone. This may be the longest three weeks of my life! 

Will moving ever be easy?

On Wednesday, I had to say bye to Mike at the Raleigh airport. He got on one plane and two hours later, I got on another. Leading up to the day that Mike left was pretty emotional for me because as  you all know, moving isn't easy. There were so many things left to take care of that had to wait until the last minute and it made it overwhelming all at once. Because we've lived out of suitcases for nine months, there were more things to pack than suitcases available. That left me to box and wrap them all up as well as pay lots of money to ship them to an overseas location. And lets not forget that we had no address at the time so we had to send it to Mike's sponsor. I'm sorry if I sound negative. I'm really not. I am just amazed and grateful that we were able to get through that week. 

Now I'm back at home and I haven't heard Mike's voice since he left. To get to Japan, we had to pay out of pocket for a plane ticket to Seattle. Mike left at 6pm on Wednesday and made a connection in Houston. He landed there at 1130 at night and had to recheck his bags at the AMC terminal in the Seattle airport. Then, he had sit at the gate at 3 am and wait to board his next flight which was set to leave at 5 am. THEN, when the military hop took off, it made a pit stop in Anchorage four hours later. Finally, the flight took off for its final destination to Yokota Air Base...which was another seven hours. By this time, it was 10 am on Friday morning Japan time and 9pm east coast time. The poor guy traveled a total of 27 hours! Yay...something I get to look forward to. I waited anxiously to get an email from Mike since we both knew that he couldn't exactly pick up his cell phone to call me. I kept checking my gmail and then I noticed that Mike was online at 11 Thursday night! I quickly im'd him and was so happy to see the sentence, "Oh my gosh! I was just writing you an email!" I talked to him online for about an hour and then we made plans to hook up online again in the morning. Mike told me so many cool things that I was too excited to fall asleep. I had that nervous excited feeling that you get the night before the first day of school. I still feel that way actually! I've got plans to meet up with him again in a half hour so I'm hoping to hear some more cool things about our new foreign home for the next three years. 

Now I'm facing my end of the moving to-do's that are still unchecked on my list. None of it is hard, just overwhelming at times. Molly's wedding is making me a little nervous too as I have to come up with an original MOH speech and help her with last minute details. Oh well, all in good time my friends! 

Family Time

Since I've been home, I've been able to spend a lot of time with both my mom and sister in NJ and NY. On one of our trips to the city, my mom and I went to Kleinfeld's where Mol got her first fitting. Here's a pic of what her dress looked like when she first tried it on. 

Then we walked around the city a little bit and I couldn't resist to take a picture of this cute bulldog waiting for his owner inside the coffee shop ; ) 
My mom got a fancy mocha and it brought back memories of Clemson as you can see! 
On another trip to NY, my mom insisted that I snap a picture of this fancy group of dog walkers that we spotted in Central Park. It's so cool to see how these guys do it! 

After Mike got back from SERE school, we went to our first NHL hockey game where the Philly flyers played against the Florida Panthers. 

We also went to a Phillies baseball game the next day against the Braves but because the Braves lost, Mike was in a bad mood...which is why there are no pictures to post of my "happy" husband.

For the rest of the week, Mike and I kept our schedule pretty simple. My mom took a couple days to spend time with us and we went to play miniature golf. I had never played a game of putt-putt until I met Mike and because of all of my years of having a personal trainer by my side, I've become quite the putter! In fact, I actually beat Mike at this game by one point and made the final challenge hole and won myself another free game. Mike handled his loss much better than I thought! 

After the game, we went to a fun place right by my mom's house called Johnson's Farm. 

On Saturday, Molly hosted Easter brunch at my mom's house since Mike and I were leaving for his parent's on Easter. Ben's parents, Helen and John, came along with his brother Howard and his girlfriend Kelly. We snapped this picture after Mike handed out name tags that he made for everyone to wear since Kelly didn't know any of us yet. Notice how my name is supposed to be an egg but looks like a football and how Molly's is shaped into a short bus...

Here's a close up of the fancy tablescape! I made the place cards. 

Mike and I were having a little too much fun with our chocolate bunnies and were making them do inappropriate things when no one was looking! They look quite innocent in this picture ; ) 
For those of you that have been to my mom's house, you know that her basement has this enormous seating arrangement that we like to call "The Sleeping Couch." Mike surrendered to its temptation after a satisfying meal while I snuggled and sipped my coffee. 

Every Easter, Mike and I like to make each other Easter baskets. They're never fancy but each year, we try to outdo the other by making our baskets have something extra special! This year, I found a camouflage basket and I thought I sealed the deal. However, Mike outdid me by hiding 16 camouflage eggs all over the house. It was fun to search for eggs with my little basket...I can't really remember the last time I did that! For the next couple of weeks, we always enjoy munching on the candy that comes with them. In fact, Mike confessed that last night he woke up in the middle of the night and ate one of my Reester chocolate bunnies! Hmmm, guess they're that good that you have to get up at 2 in the morning?!?!
Now we're at Mike's parent's house relaxing and taking in some more family time before Mike heads off to Japan on the 22nd! I won't be leaving until after Molly's wedding but it will be about a month before I see Mike again so I will be sad to see him go : ( I'm sending Mike with our video camera so that he will post some videos of Yokota and maybe even some of our new house! At this point, the hardest thing is saying bye to our family, not the move itself. We both can't wait to get settled and finally unpack our suitcases that we've lived out of for seven months! While Mike's in Japan, I'll be in NJ training for the Broad Street Run. Then on the 5th, I'm flying to California to spend a week with my family in Huntington Beach! It will be so nice to hang out with my cousins and my grandma! I will see everyone soon after for Mol's wedding but my grandmother is too old to travel so it's important for me to spend time with her before I leave the country for good. Then when I get back to NJ, Molly will probably have a lot of little things for me to do during the two weeks leading up to her wedding. It's going to be a very busy time for everyone but we're all so anxious and can't wait! 

 

April showers bring May flowers!

And the rain continues! But you know what? It is so nice to look at your window and to see the green grass and cherry blossoms budding from the trees. Last Friday, when I entered my last post, I actually got motivated to get off of the couch and go for that dreaded 6 miler. When I got outside and got into my running groove, I was actually having a lot of fun...that is until the worst thunderstorm of the century opened up and I was right in the middle of it! I've run my share of rainy days but oh my gosh, this storm was CRAZY. There were lighting bolts crashing around me and I couldn't see through the veil of hail/rain that was pattering on my face. I was pretty far from home and got so scared that I thought I'd knock on someone's door and ask them to let me in. But then I got scared that the door that I would knock on would belong to a psychopath so I basically just sprinted the rest of the way home...with five pounds of soaked clothes to add on to my journey.

Today was no different as the rain continued, except for that I finally have my sweet husband again! He's done with SERE school and is about 15 lbs lighter! He looks like he did our freshman year of college. It's been so nice having him with me again. He'll be on leave for the next two weeks before he heads off to Japan on the 23rd. I am anxious to hear what he'll say about our new home. In the meantime, Mike and I have some activities scheduled like going to the Flyers hockey game tomorrow and the Phillies vs. the Braves baseball game on Wednesday. He also has to have that coveted Philly cheesesteak while he's here. (I hear they're pretty good...I wouldn't know from personal experience!) Then we're going to go to NYC on Thursday and Friday so that Mike can see central park for the first time and stay the night at the infamous shoe box that we call Molly and Ben's apartment. To end the week, Molly is creating a feastive Easter brunch on Saturday where Ben's family and our family will eat to our hearts content.

Well, I'm off to go make Easter decorations using an idea that I saw from Martha Stewart!

What to do when its raining...

1. Sit on the couch with warm peanut butter and banana toast and a happy cup of hot tea
2. Browse through mom's digital cable
3. Goof around on the internet
4. Anxiously await for talk shows to commence
5. Look at the list of to do's for the day
6. Think about that list
7. Get up and continue to think about list
8. Think about that 6 mile run that is supposed to happen today
9. Decide its too cold and snuggle back under the blankets on the couch
10. Browse through mom's digital cable

I've made it to #3 so far...

Goals

This weekend, I had an epiphany and that was to set goals for myself. I do better when I have I routine or a schedule that I follow on a daily basis. Some may call it OCD...others may call it organized. I kind of sit in between the two interpretations. Looking back on last year, I was at the busiest and most hectic point in my life. I moved to New York City and was adjusting to the stress-packed bustle of existence. I enrolled in graduate school where limitless amounts of paperwork and portfolios loomed over me. I worked 25 hours a week with a very angry boss and 19 happy 4 year olds. I tutored before and after work for 3 hours a day. I went to class for an additional 3 hours. I trained for the Philadelphia marathon. I planned our wedding. And on top of everything else, I shuffled back and forth, making plane connections in between to Mike's home (whether it be Oklahoma or Alabama) and helped him along with his struggles through flight school. It was a CRAZY year...

But yet I think I was at my happiest because I felt proud that I could do so many things and accomplish so much. I could not let myself get overwhelmed and therefore followed a rigourous and demanding routine to get me through each day. I was able to grow more as a professional and as an individual. During that time, I could do the things that I wanted to do and I loved every minute of it. Now, I find that I have an endless amount of time but not enough to make a difference. I am so used to not working or having a demanding schedule that I worry I won't adjust well when that long awaited job does come. I have this yearning to do things that are of value and that are respected.

My mom exemplifies that lifestyle as I have experienced these past two weeks being home. She goes to choir practice once a week with performances on the weekends; she's a girl scout leader; she's a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House; she's a great homework helper to Paul's two young boys....these are all in addition to her 40+ a week job. Above all of that, she still knows how to be a great Mom. Molly is amazing too. Her job is so demanding where she is on her feet all day. She gets up a 5 in the morning and sometimes doesn't get home until late at night! But because of her professionalism, Molly is well respected and all of the top executives personally request her to handle their parties because she does such an amazing job at it. And lets not forget about Mike. His work hours are crazy. Presently speaking, he's out in the woods somewhere eating bark (poor guy) but at least he's doing what he loves. Mike is at the end of the pipeline and is finally going to experience and cherish 9-5 work hours. And then there are my friends, the mothers and the prominent workers. I can't even begin to describe what you must go through but know that you have earned my utmost respect and admiration.

I could go on and on about what my loved ones do for themselves and how they make their world and those around them better to live in. I want to be in that place myself. I do my best with my current situation and shadow my mom with her various activities. I've even been offered the chance to be a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House myself and I am anxious to accept it because I want to do things that are of value. Everyone keeps telling me to cherish this "freedom" that I have because soon I won't have it. But you know, sometimes when it's too quiet, your thoughts overtake the white noise and reveal those goals that have yet to be reached. My goals are do things that make the world a better place like working with children or families of the sick. I want to run again so I started training for the Broad Street 10 mile run in May. I want to cook and clean (silly I know) because it makes me happy to see others happy. After the end of May, I will have new goals because with each new situation comes a new reality.

Back on the east coast!

These past few weeks have been very busy with getting Mike ready for his FINAL phase of training in Washington and last minute paperwork to get ready for our move. Our drive across the country was quite interesting because we actually drove through a very bad snow storm. Memphis, TN got hit pretty bad and we were fortunate enough to get stuck in five hours of traffic trying to find a way out of that mess. We pretty much saw snow the whole way back to NC. 

Here are a few videos of our trip! 

Sometimes I wonder about him...

After four days of driving, Mike and I finally arrived at his parent's house in Fayetteville, NC. It was so nice to see a kitchen again : ) Sparky (the family dog) was happy to see us as were his family...although I think by the end of the week, they were ready for us to move on! Besides staying at home, we also visited the UNC campus where his brother Steve is a junior. I went up twice, Mike went three times. I also visited my dear friend Ari in Wilmington for dinner on Sunday and Mike visited his sister Liz at UNC Pembroke. We celebrated Mike's birthday at a Japanese steakhouse on Monday early since he would still be at his training on his real birthday. Then on Tuesday, we packed up the truck again and headed north to D.C. Mike flew out of there the next morning and I continued on to NJ. Now I'm back at home (still living out of a suitcase) and shuffling between my mom's house and Molly & Ben's place in Brooklyn. I will be here for the next few months but I'm trying to find ways to keep me busy. I was thinking about going out to California to see my relatives and am trying to save some extra money since it will cost a lot for us to move to Japan. I was also thinking of substitute teaching but it takes a while to get all of the paperwork together so who knows if that will be an option. Since getting our wedding photos, I've also be going through all 3000 of them and writing down the numbers so that our photographer will make us a photo album. 

So now I have you caught up on what I've been doing. It's mid-March and I can't believe the school year is almost over...that means I haven't been working for almost a year! But I have a feeling God is going to bless me with a teaching position when we get to Japan and this will make all of my waiting and boredom worthwhile. I already got word from a fellow friend of mine that one of the principals in Japan is considering me for a position because they contacted her for an additional reference! Cross your fingers that everything works out!