updated(4/3) trip calendar

Back to life

We have been home for a week!! It doesn't feel like it to me, but Dave told me last night that the time is going by slow for him. I have been working on a couple Christmas gifts this week. And I started the 9th Stephanie Plum book last weekend and I finished it yesterday. All of the boxed we mailed home have arrived and I have unpacked them so I feel like I am getting lots done. Last Saturday I planted my cosmos. I cannot wait to see if they do better this year since I planted them later. They were pretty last year but they didn't grow very tall, I think it was because I planted them before the 2 month rainy season, so maybe they didn't get enough sun to shoot up tall. Then last fall I noticed tall cosmos in late august, so I thought maybe I shouldn't plant them till the end of July... SO I am excited to see what happens.

Wendy has had a tummy ache since Saturday. I called the vet and they said to give her a bland diet for two days. We had to do that once with Puppy and we were told to give him cooked rice and browned ground beef. So I was sorta shocked when they told me to give Wendy boiled chicken, cooked rice and pumpkin! PUMPKIN?!! I assume that she ate it this morning but when I woke up she was sitting next to the closet that we keep her dog food in. I think she was trying to trick me into feeding her. But I hope this helps her. On Monday she was going out so often to do her business I thought about sneaking her some Imodium to see if it would help... But I didn't. I just felt bad for her, and I felt bad for me because she kept farting really bad.

I am in my 13th week now. I really miss coffee. I go to the doctor next week but just for the girly type exams. No fun baby stuff. Dave did hold Melissa's little chicken pointer thing over my belly and it did the male swing. Dave got a super excited look on his face. I kind of hope it is a boy because Dave wants it to be a boy so badly. It doesn't matter to me, but I want Dave to have what he wants. Plus right now Dave and his brother are the last McMath men. His brother has 2 daughters and I don't know if he will have more kids or not. But if we have a boy then at least the McMath name will go on.

Oh, while I remember. We went to our storage until while we were home and sure enough all of Dave's stuff is gone. It looked like there were two stacks of storage tubs missing too but I cannot think for the life of me what could have been in them. oh well, we have lived without those things for more than 2 years now so we won't miss that stuff I guess. I just hope the dirty low life dirt bag that stole our stuff gets what he deserves. But I really am trying to get over the feeling of being violated like that. we are just pretty disgusted. What is wrong with people?

I gotta go and start my day. Have a great day everyone!! Take care.

yippie we are home!

We arrived home yesterday. Our flight was fine a little bumpy and super long but going through Immagration was easy so that means a lot to me since last time was such a mess. We are unpacked and are so happy to be home and spend time with Anna. I am making BBQ pork sandwiches today for the 4th and then we might go see fireworks.

We hope you all have a great 4th!! Be safe.

EXCITEMENT

  Eeeee. I am getting so excited. I have been trying not to be too excited about our trip home, because if I am too excited the days will creep by so slowly, it will drive me nuts. But now that it is just over 3 weeks away I can't help it. We have lots of stuff planned .... Tiger Game, 4 days up north at our family cabin, a Toby Keith Concert, a BBQ with our friends from Luke who just happen to be in Michigan now doing recruiting, a quilting day with my sister, I am throwing a purse party.... and lots of other stuff too. Then this morning I checked my email and somehow I get a Detroit concert update and I usually delete them but today I opened it and my FAVORITE band is going to have a concert in Detroit while we are home. And it just so happens to be on our only day with nothing planned yet!! Isn't that fate?? SO I bought tickets and emailed Dave at work and he is so excited too!! And I have so many other things to be excited about... Like expecting our first baby!!! And Dave's new job is working out awesome for us!!( obviously because he has only been at this job for a month and we got pregnant!) Oh!! AND that books swap thing I signed up for is great!! I already got my first book and I have mailed out a bunch of books and most have arrived already! And I have a bunch of new books on their way to me!
I am just really happy...
p.s. This picture is of the old cabin up north. No one sleeps in it anymore, they use it to store the lawn mower and snow mobiles. But when my mom was younger her and her 4 siblings and her parents and her grandma all stayed in there. it is so tiny and there is no toilet. but its fun to look around in there. There is a really old fridge and old furniture.. . But the house that was built to replace it is so nice and roomy and it has a bathroom! Dave and I love it up there... Except there are wild animals.

I am so excited

We bought plane tickets yesterday to go home this summer and I am So SO excited. We already have lots of stuff planned. My sister even said something about getting married while we are there!! Wouldn't that be awesome if we got to be there?!!

So while I am so excited about going home this summer I have to work on packing for our trip to Tokyo next week. We leave on Sunday!! I already have Wendy's stuff all packed for the kennel and we drop her off tomorrow. I picked out all of our clothes and what not and folded it nicely so all I have to do is put it in the suitcase and finish up with last minute stuff Sunday morning after we finish getting ready. I cannot believe it is Friday already!! Whew

Oh, I just finished a really great book a little while ago. It is called The Honk and Holler Opening Soon. It was written by the same author that wrote Where the Heart Is. I thought it was just as sweet as her other book. I am really glad I ended up buying it. Sometimes when I am buying a book on amazon I start looking at the recommended books they list for you based on what you are buying and I end up buying the recommended books. That is how I found and bought this one and I am glad.

Well, I better get a start on dinner. I will blog if I get a chance while we are in Tokyo since we are taking our laptop and we have dial up in our room.

P.S. with my excitement over going home I decided to post a photo of the last time we were home together... February 2005!!

my favorite things from the places I have lived

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I was talking a walk this morning and the sky was so blue and beautiful I was in awe. I started thinking about the places I have lived and how each of them have their own natural beauty. So I thought I would list my 5 favorite things about the places I have lived.
I was only a baby when we moved from Louisiana so I wont do that state. Hehe
Michigan- I think about all of the things I miss from Michigan everyday! Not only my family, but the things that growing up I came to know well, and when I go home and see these things they are comforting and bring back lots of memories.
1. The TREES- I never knew I loved trees so much until I moved to Arizona where there aren\u2019t any. I love BIG huge climbable trees. I love them in spring, summer, fall, and winter. They are so amazing. I love walking down a street lined with trees. It is so pretty and it feels like your hiding under them. And when your watching the sidewalk you see the little slivers of light that made it through the cracks and were able to reach the ground. And I love walking through the woods. Its like a whole other world in there.
2. The Birds- In Michigan everyone I know owns at least one bird feeder. And almost everyone has a handy bird book, so when they are drinking their morning coffee and are watching their bird feeder they can quickly look up the new birds they spot, and report the sightings next time they are catching up with family and friends. I cannot tell you how many get togethers include new bird sightings by someone. I miss this A LOT! There is always a bird chirping to listen too. I stil love waking up to the sound of birds chirping.( who doesn't) I remember how fun it was to spot a robins egg. They are so pretty.
3. The LAKES- Oh how can you come from The Great Lake State and not think of them all the time???? The lakes in Michigan are AMAZING. Growing up we only lived only 45 minutes or so to Lake Huron. Lake Huron is my favorite even though most everyone complains about the Port Huron side because it is rocky. I don\u2019t care I love it there. I have only been to Lake Michigan a handful of times but it is really beautiful.
4. Fall- When I moved to Arizona I was bitter all fall because I knew I was missing a beautiful Michigan Fall. When I was a kid I loved how the streets looked after everyone had raked their leaves into the street. It was so amazing to me all those leave! I remember walking home from the bus stop, crunching leaves with every step I took. I loved scuffing my foot along, then looking back at the one clear line of sidewalk.
5. I am sure this isn\u2019t true, but it seems to me thinking back that it always snowed on Christmas Eve. I am sure it didn\u2019t, but I guess the years that it did made a huge impression on me. I remember one Christmas Eve we were going to a party on my Mom's side of the family and we picked up the pizza from the pizza parlor because we lived in town. We picked it up and were driving out to the country where the party was and it was snowing so pretty, and on the light poles the Christmas decorations were lite up and it was so magical. I think of how it looked that night over and over every Christmas eve.
Arizona- I don\u2019t think of Arizona quiet as often as Michigan, but at times I definitely think of the beautiful things I saw while living there. I would go back happily if we got orders there again.
1. The Sunsets- If you have ever been to Arizona you know exactly what I mean. They are amazing day, after day, after day. I never thought sunsets could be that beautiful. Someone once told me that they are so nice because of the pollution but when you see them all you can think of is, only God can make something that beautiful, not smog.
2. Tumbleweeds & Dust Devils-If you have ever seen a tumbleweed blowing across the road or been in awe at a dust devil you can see why it made my list of favorite things. They are both so cool Where we lived in Arizona there were a couple of open spaces nearby and when driving past them we would often see big swirling dust devils. They are really neat. We drove through one once and it shook the car a little bit. It was really cool. Being from the Midwest I had never seen a tumbleweed and every time I saw one in Arizona I would feel the need to shout, \u2018hey look a tumbleweed!\u2019 Guess I am easily impressed. Hehe
3. Monsoon lightening- Since we basically lived on a huge cement slab the lightening hardly ever came really close, but it was so flat in the valley that you could always see lighting really far away. It was hardly ever raining where we were but we could see all those lightening bolts and they were amazing! We would often sit outside watching the free light show. I think the Arizona lightening makes an impression an anyone that sees it.
4. The endless sunny days- I don\u2019t know the real average number of sunny days in Phoenix, but I would guess something like 300 of 365 days are clear and sunny. The day we left Arizona it was especially sunny and beautiful. It was January and something like 80 degrees. It was a beautiful day to remember Phoenix by.
5. The Mountains- I think anyone that lives near mountains know why they are so impressive. I cant say you ever get sick of looking out your window and seeing mountains. Living on Luke AFB there was a really nice mountain range just behind the base. To get out of the Valley of the Sun you have to drive through some mountains and it always felt good coming back, you get through the final mountains and look and you can see the nearly the entire valley. It so great!
Japan- Since I mostly dislike living in Japan it feels weird to like certain things. But while living in a foreign country isn\u2019t my bag, there are very beautiful sights here that I am glad I have been able to see.
1. Blue Skied Winter days- It is so odd to have a foggy grey rainy summer then when winter comes this place is totally beautiful. (The complete opposite of Michigan) Nearly every day is blue skied and sunny. When a snow storm is coming it is so obvious because you can see it cutting across the blue sky. The mountains are snow covered and so amazing against a blue background. I haven\u2019t had trouble with winter blahs here since almost ever day of winter is so cheery
2. Green overloaded Summer- The first summer we lived here we were driving to the mall and I realized it gets crazy green here. The back roads that we drive down are lined with basically unkept forest. It is natural and beautiful looking. There is one picture in the slide show from that drive that first summer. You can see what I mean. I guess all that rain makes everything SUPER green!
3. Snow Covered Trees- I love nothing more than driving by a line of trees after fresh snow has fallen. The trees are so beautiful covered in snow. Our backyard has pine trees and in the morning when I let the dog out I am always caught by how pretty the trees look with the new snow on them.
4. Rice Paddies- driving by the rice paddies is so neat. You see these fields that are flooded then you see these perfectly straight lines cutting through the water. It is so cool. Then in the fall when the rice is cut and hung it is a sight to see. Just seeing fields with all these tee-pee things of rice makes you think about how that rice is going to be at nearly ever meal the Japanese eat!
5. Cherry Blossoms- You know I like trees by now and when they are full with cherry blossoms it is a real treat to see. I will never ever in my life be able to explain how pretty they are. I am really lucky to have 4 years here to take in the beauty of the Cherry Blossoms. There is a stop sign on the way to our house and right there, there are three trees that so are beautiful when they have their blossoms. When I stop at that sign I always feel like lingering to look at them longer.
Well, that\u2019s all I have to say about that.

Drew and Mike

I don't think I have laughed this much in weeks. I was listening to a radio show from home tonight since there was nothing on TV, and I am feeling less homesick. I always feel less homesick after listening to Drew and Mike on WRIF. They are funny guys sometimes crude but I enjoy them a lot. But tonight they were talking to a Doctor that is out to put an end to stinky farts. It was more than entertaining. You know how sometimes you laugh so hard it puts you in a totally different mood for hours.

I am off to bed now. Feeling happy. Hopefully I can sleep tonight. Last night I laid awake for hours. It was upsetting. I didn't fall asleep until after 3 am but I didn't sleep in late so I feel tired. I hope that I can sleep easy tonight.

http://www.wrif.com/

Yuck what a bad day

Well, it wasn't terribly terrible, but you know when your day starts out really crappy and the rest of the day your just in a bad mood?  My sister called and woke us up this morning at 7 am to tell us that our storage unit in Michigan was broken into!!  We had a lot of our things shipped to Michigan and put into storage when we moved to Japan.  I guess the cops didn't think much was missing. Looked like they went through our storage tubs.  I mostly had extra kitchen stuff in the tubs.... but we did have some really important stuff in there I hope they didn't break!!  All of Dave's childhood ornaments, my Christmas village, my Great Grandma's record player and records( which I have blogged about how important those memories are to me, but I guess its the memories that are important not the actual player. But I want to be able to play the record for my kids one day and tell them about her you know??)  The thing I am guessing is gone is Dave's big 373 piece Craftsman tool set that was setting right by the door.  I suppose his bow is gone too.  He had a box with some really delicate toys from his grandfather which would be broken if the thieves didn't take the utmost care going through the box.  I am guessing that if you were out to steal stuff from others you wouldn't waste time taking great care not to break things though. So probably should be prepared for a lot of broken stuff eh.

So after that I tried to go back to sleep.  When I woke back up we went about our day.  Nothing terrible happen just stupid stuff annoyed the crap out of me.  You know when your just in a bad mood???  Looking forward to a new day tomorrow!! 



Saturday is the Salmon Festival.  We already bought one ticket so Dave can catch a salmon with his bare hands!!  I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!! 

We had a really great day yesterday.  We drove to Aomori to see the Big Buddha.  The drive there was so beautiful.  All of the fall colors were amazing.  We had a really great time at the park.  It was so peaceful and beautiful.  I posted a photo album, check it out.

Thought I should blog before I forget what I have done...

I have  a little more than a week left of my trip but I thought I should blog now before I forget everything that I have done while here in Mich.  I had a little trouble getting thru  immigration in Detroit as you may have read in my previous blog.  I thought that was going to be the beginning of a horrible trip but it hasn't thankfully.  I spent the first few days just enjoying being in America again.  Amazed by commercial on TV,  overwhelmed by the huge grocery stores with so much new stuff Ive never heard of,  new cars on the road.  The first week I was here Melissa and I went to a scrapbooking crop in Lapeer.  We had such a great time and we got a lot of work done.  Melissa  finally got past crying and actually scrapbooked her pictures.  LOL  It was a little rough for her but I really think she is proud of the really pretty pages she has all finished.  I am proud too.   

The week after I got there Melissa and I went to get our haircut by some fancy foreign guy.  He was dramatic and went a little scissor happy on my hair.  I thought I would get used to my short new do but now I thoroughly despise it.  My hair grows fast though so hopefully in a couple months It wont be so damn short. 

I got to go to my mom's band concert the  first weekend I was in the states.  It was really fun .  I have always liked going to her concerts and have found over the years hearing about the concerts make me really homesick like missing a holiday homesick.  I had a really great time and Melissa also enjoyed the music I think. 

Melissa and I stayed busy visiting with Jennifer one afternoon, looking at her Colorado pictures.  My mom and Jim came over for dinner one evening and Jackie came over for supper too.  Everyone at my moms house was sick the first week I was in MI so I kinda stayed away for a bit until that cleared up. 

We went to Chicago  on Tuesday(mar 7).  We woke up early to ride the train from Lapeer to Chicago's union station.  It was fun and of course it was cheap.  Melissa and I walked around the station once trying to find the street we needed.  We ended up walking all of the way to our hotel.  It took us a while but the weather was nice and it was fun to walk around and see everything.  We checked into our hotel and didn't waste anytime, we headed straight for the navy pier.  The pier happen to be just down the street from our hotel.  We walked around a little and ate at the jazz restaurant there.  It was nice.   Melissa got a bag of Oprah's favorite gourmet popcorn, cheddar and caramel.  We went to our hotel changed and got a cab to Zanies Comedy Club.  It was really fun, there were four comedians.  The last comedian was the funniest.  I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt. 

After Zanies we went to BLUE Chicago a blues bar.  It was really COOL.  Live blues and a one drink min.  We sat there for awhile just enjoying the entertainment.  Their was one influenced Canadian that kept asking us to dance..... but what happens in Chicago stays in Chicago.  LOL    We walked home from the bar even though it was late.  Chicago despite the homeless seems very safe.  We were really pooped since  we had woke up that morning at 4 am to get ready for our 6am train. 

The second day of our trip we woke up and headed to a really cool place called Hot Tics.  They have half price show tickets the day of the performance.  We got tickets to Menopause the Musical.  We headed over to the theatre only to get a cab who didn't know how to get there!  He was lost for  30 minutes of our 45 minute ride.  He didn't charge us though.  We felt bad for the guy.  LOL  We ate at a little diner across the street from the Apollo  Theater.   We went to the 2 pm show and had a great time.  It was really fun.  We got a cab who knew his way on the way back to  the hotel.  LOL

We got a tip from our hotel to check out this place called   Howl at the Moon.  It is a dueling rock n' roll piano bar.  So we ate dinner at the Melting Pot (YUM YUM), and headed to the bar.  (Both the melting pot and Howling at the Moon were  really close to our hotel.)   It may have been the best part of our trip!  It was so fun, singing along to all of these requested songs.  Those two guys knew all of those songs it was crazy!  We spent a few hours there and headed back  to the hotel to turn in a little earlier than the night before!  LOL

We woke up a little earlier on  Thursday and decided we would do all of our sight seeing  during the day and catch a show in the evening.  So we walked up and down Michigan Ave.   We went to the American Girl store, the Orvis store,  Burberry, and a couple other places.  We went to the Hancock building and got lots of great pictures of the city from up there.  Then we headed over tot the Sears Tower to see what we could see from up even higher!  We rode the subway to downtown and walked the rest of the way to the Sears tower.   It was really cool.  

We walked around downtown a bit and walked to Greektown for lunch.  It was yummy we ate at a place called Athena's.    Afterward we took the subway back to  the magnificent mile area and walked around a bit longer.    We went to the  Uno's Pizza for dinner.  Unos is  where the Chicago deep dish was created.  It was good, more of an experience than  the best pizza ever. 

After Unos we headed over to the Briar Street Theatre to see the Blue Man Group.  What a trip that show is.  We had a really great time there and loved the ending with all of the toilet paper.   It was just such a cool show.

  We headed back to our hotel and turned in for the night.  We woke up the next morning and had to get ready to leave.  We went to the train station .  We had a little bit of time at Union Station so we tried a real Chicago Hot Dog.  LOL  That's what the hot dog stand claimed anyways.  LOL  It was a good dog and it was a great way to end our Chicago Trip.  

After we got back home I decided if I was going to see my family I needed to go stay at my mom's.  So that's it where I have been.  I went with my mom and dad(Jim) to my grandpa McNary's house to look through old pictures yesterday.  I am planning on making copies this week. 

I am going shopping with Ben today which should be fun.  Tomorrow is Jackie's 17th Birthday so we are going to dinner which will be  really cool.  We are going to great lakes crossing to the Japanese place there. 

Well, that is really it so far.  LOL  I know Dave has been working  a lot, and is hating keeping the house up on his own.  One day he told me he thinks taking care of Wendy must be all I do all day since she is driving him crazy.   He is working while she is home sleeping and when he gets home it is time for her to wake up and eat and play.  SO she has been a little bothersome to him.

That's it so tata for now.

My trip to Michigan so far

Well, I have been here for almost two weeks.  it is really nice to be in the States.  I wish Dave would have come though!!!!  I have been able to get a ton of scrapbooking done.  And spending time with Anna has been great! 

Melissa and I are going to Chicago tomorrow morning.  We are riding the train from Lapeer to Chicago and we are really excited.  Oprah will be on Spring Break so we wont get to seee her show.  Whatever, we are still going to have a lot of fun we are looking at dinner theaters in Chicago.  The murder mystery  gangster style sounds like fun.  I am sure I will take a lot of pictures but I will have to wait until I get home to post them because Melissa's Internet is so F-ing slow it makes me want to scream. 

Hope everyone is doing well. 

made it here... sorta

I arrived in Michigan yesterday.  Long traveling whipped me out.  I had a little trouble getting into America.  Had to be interrogated.  Cried a bit, wished I never left Japan.  LOL  But I am really glad to be in USA finally.  Ill write a little more about narrowly escaping a full body cavity search later.