Entry for December 02, 2006

We its nearly my bedtime but I thought I would post a picture of our tree.  We went and picked one out this afternoon.  The Boy Scouts had some sort of confusion so we had to wait nearly 2 hours for them so show up.  It wasn't terrible though.   When we got home we started decorating it.  It was a lot of fun.  We decided to decorate it different this year.  We used multicolored lights.  The last two years our tree looked the exact same way.  This year it is totally different and we are both really excited about it.  After we were done decorating it we noticed it had started snowing again.  Yippee it feels like winter!!

I made beans tonight for dinner.  They were really yummy.  I made a bunch of casseroles this week.  It just felt nice to make easy hot meals that leave us with plenty of leftovers for Dave's lunches.  I also finished my Christmas shopping this week, and I mailed out my cards. OH, I almost forgot... I read 6 books in November.  They were all really good.  I might write about them later but  I don't have enough time tonight.  But I started reading Janette Oke books.  I read the first two... Love Comes Softly and Love's Enduring Promise.  They are really nice wholesome books about a family living on the prairie.  I think you would like them a lot Elizabeth.  They are really nice.  I am excited to read another one soon. 

Well, I hope everyone has a really wonderful weekend.  Take care.

The stuffing is all gone!

So it is Sunday already!  I can't believe the weekend is already over. Our Thanksgiving went really well.  Everything turned out perfect and we really enjoyed sharing Thanksgviving with the couple that came over.  She brought a cake for dessert and it was really good.  For some reason this year the Sweet Potato Casserole was so good.  Last year I didn't really care for it, but this year I tasted it and it knocked my socks off!   Dave and I have been eating leftovers all weekend and still aren't sick of them yet.  I did make Turkey Soup last night though so that mixed things up a little.  Last night after dinner we went to see a movie.  Deja vu with Denzel Washington.  Boy, was that a good movie.  It was almost too much suspense for my tastes but I made it through OK. 

Other than that not much has been happening here.  We went to the big sales all this weekend.  The BX has had some cool stuff on sale every day. Plus they give you a coupon for the next day so you gotta go back and use it.  Hehe.   Dave was really excited about his 20% off coupon yesterday and when we went to the store he wouldn't let me shop near him.  I am guessing it has something to do with our 5 year anniversary next month since he was heading in the direction of the jewelry counter.   When we haven't been shopping we have been watching the Sopranos.  Dave's friend lent us the first three seasons on DVD and we are hooked!  We love the show already.

Dave and I decorated our backyard a little while ago.  We put lights along the fence and I put up a few bows on a couple of the fence posts.  It looks really cute.  We even had enough to decorate Wendy's dog house.  I cannot wait until tonight to see them all lit up!! Eeeeee I am so excited about Christmas!! Aren't you??

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  I can hardly believe it is already Thanksgiving.  I am really excited.  I have my bird in the oven and I everything is running smoothly.  WE are really looking forward to dinner.  this is what we are having:



Turkey  *  Stuffing * Mashed Potatoes * Gravy *  The Damn Red Stuff  * Sweet Potato Casserole * Corn * Rolls * Relish Tray * And a desert of some sort( Ruth is bringing a dessert) * 



We are really geeked.  Hope you all have a GREAT Thanksgiving!!  We are going to the Friday Sales I'll let you know how it goes.  We have our eye on a laptop the BX is going to have really cheap.

I was just thinking

I was just thinking how strange my life has turned out to be.  You know in sch0ol when you have to think of where you think you'll be in 5 years and 10 years??  I never in my life would have seen myself here.  It is Wednesday and I am changing the sheets like I do every Wednesday, but tonight I am listening to the info on TV about a tsunami warning.  I am listening to warnings for people on the coast to evacuate and they are talking about tidal waves.  How strange.  And what is stranger is that even though I live like 5 minutes from the Ocean I am not worried and I go about making the bed like normal. 

Here is a list of strange things that seem 'normal' to me:

• earthquakes
  
• fish on a stick ( i don't eat them)
  
• LOTS of orange earplugs in Dave's pockets
  
• Holiday Dinners for two
  
• fish markets in the malls
  
• emptying my ice into a special drain at McDonald's before throwing away my cup
  
• using chopsticks
  
• spending weeks at a time apart from Dave
  
• seeing my family once a year
  
• lots of male cross-dressers on TV
  
• eating rice without soy sauce (its so good on its own)
  
• Stopping for a jet crossing on my way to the Post Office
  
• Getting five thousand yen from the ATM ( the minimum allowed for withdrawal)

I know there are so many other things that I can't think of right now.  I guess it doesn't matter how "strange" my life seems at times.  I have so many things to be grateful for.

So glad its Friday

Boy o boy am I glad its finally Friday.  We had a pretty eventful week. First with the sink problem on Tuesday then on Wednesday we had more trouble.  I was running a load of laundry and the washer drain was clogged!!  I couldn't believe our terrible luck.  Dave went into the Kitchen and it was flooded!!  There was over an inch of water on the kitchen floor.  We called housing and while they were on their way  Dave and I pulled up 5 buckets of water off the floor.  Two guys came and snaked the drain and it was fixed.  But I still had to mop the floor again!!!!  Hey but the good news is that we pulled out the appliances in the kitchen to clean up the water underneath them and they are all clean now. If anything else happens I am going to really be upset. 

Dave has today off.  Not sure what we are going to do today.  He wants to go to a gun store with his friend so I will probably just do some shopping for scrapbooking supplies I need for my next book.   Maybe later after he gets back I will take some Christmas gifts to Pack n Wrap to get boxed up for shipping.  I have ALL of our Christmas shopping done and everything wrapped!!  I am so excited. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

You win some you lose some I guess

It is Tuesday night and what a day I've had!! 

Everything started fine.  I woke up got my daily dose of Roseanne and Dr. Phil, then I headed to the grocery store.  First I went to the BX to buy Dave' some pajama pants.  I buy him pajama pants every year for Christmas and he is down to one pair now so I wanted to make sure I got him a nice new pair.  THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY!!  I couldn't believe it!  I guess all of the men in Misawa sleep naked or something.  I was really disappointed.   I will have to look online to find a pair. 

So, I went to the commissary only needing a few things this week.  I was rolling down the pop/ snack food aisle not wanting to buy anything..... and what do I see??  VERNORS!!  Oh my goodness. I was so excited.  Dave and I talk about how much we miss Vernor's all the time!!  They finally got it in here.  There was a man in the aisle and he was startled when I let out a loud 'oh my gosh'  Then I realized I probably look liked a crazy person.  I told him that they finally have Vernors and asked him if he had ever tried it.  He laughed at me a little.  I don't care how crazy I looked I was so excited.  

On my way home I stopped at the Post Office and I got a package!!  I ordered a ton of pictures the other day and they came super quick! There were 312 prints I purchased.  I am looking to start scrapbooking 2006 after the new year.  I was so happy they arrived so fast.

When I got home I put away groceries and I cleaned a few things out of the fridge.  I filled the sink with a little water to wash a few things and when I ran a trickle of water in the other sink to rinse with I noticed it was starting to gather.  I haven't noticed it running slow so I figured there must be something in the disposal.  I flipped the switch and holy moly the other sink's plug flew out and water started flying out of the drain.  I have never seen anything like that before in my life!!  I was a little confused and after letting the water 'drain' I noticed some pretty funny stuff coming up in the sinks.  I ended up getting a decent amount of chunky water in both sinks just sitting there, so I figured I better just leave it for Dave to fix when he woke up.  Well, Dave was so excited about the Vernors he hardly minded plunging the sink for 30 minutes.  Nothing good was happening and now there was that pond scum looking water gathering in the dishwasher too!!  Now I figured things were pretty serous.  I called Housing and they sent someone out.  Dave had to leave for work before they arrived and I was so nervous.  Dave gave me a long lecture about the disposal.  I guess rice isn't good???  And he said I shouldn't put sweet and sour Pork or Chicken strips down there anymore.   Like I knew that!!!  The only understanding I have about disposals is what I learned on the Flintstones.  (remember they had that pig looking thing under their sink.. He ate everything.) 

When the guy arrived from housing he went at the sink with the two plunger method ..... No luck.  Then he got a shop vac and some other thing that sprayed water down the drain.  Now by this point he said it wasn't the pipes under the sink he said it was something further down the line....... Just a build up over time... So I am thinking this Isn't my fault after all.   SO after awhile he gave up and went back to the shop for  the 'bigger guns' and another guy to help him.  Now I didn't even try to watch what was going on, because I knew I could smell something a little too funky for my enjoyment, so i just stayed in the living room.

After about 45 minutes they announced success and packed their stuff.  Before they left they gave me a lecture about rice also.  Theirs was a lot nicer than Dave's.  So the floor is a mess and the sinks look like a magic cleaner infomercial before picture.( Like when they start to clean something that is so nasty you think yeah but nothing is ever that gross! Well this is!)  It is really nasty.  I have soft scrub with bleach working on the sink and I just finished mopping the floor with bleach water.  I emptied the dishwasher and am running it empty then I will rewash the dishes that were in there when the water started coming up.  Guess this will keep me from leaving clean dishes in the dishwasher from now on.

Not a terrible day I guess.... I think I'll go have a Vernors!!!

It's the Weekend Already!!!

Jeez, I cannot believe it is already Saturday!  This week I have been waking up early and I guess the change has made time go by super fast!!!!  I know I got a lot of things done this week but I cannot figure out how I got to sat already.   We don't have anything planned this weekend.  Dave  might go gun shopping with his friend today.  IF he does, I think I will catch up on some reading. ha ha

I've had such a great week now that I am awake during the day!!  I was sleeping on Dave's schedule which really stunk.  I would stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning waiting for him to get home from work then wake up at noon or 1.  It was really terrible especially since it is dark by 5 now.  He was working really late last week and we weren't getting up until 2 or 3 in the afternoon and by the time we finished breakfast the sun was nearly gone.  I was feeling behind and a bit gloomy.  SO this week I decided to wake my behind up earlier so I can get a day's worth of sunlight.  It feels really great. Plus, I am up in time to watch Rachel Ray which starts my day of on a high note!!  I really love her show.  After Rachel Ray they air two episodes of Roseanne.  That makes me happy also.  I watch while I am dusting and picking up the house. 

We got word from my Mom about our storage unit.  Dave's tools were taken along with his golf clubs,  his bow and a few other things.  Poor Dave.  He is really bummed about his tools and his clubs.  They didn't steal any of my stuff, I didn't have anything interesting in there.  I feel really bad for Dave.  He will enjoy shopping for another tool set when we move back to the states.