catch up!!

well, hello again. it's been a while. i've been in a bit of a rut. the last few weeks have all run into one big day, so i can't exactly tell you when something happened... so i'll just tell you about life in general...

i got a ticket for talking on my cell phone while driving on the air force base here. i was seriously on the phone no longer than 50 feet. i'd seen the cop pull over another lady on my way to the commissary and let her go. apparently either the af hates the army (which i know they do) or the guy was a real prick (which i'm sure is true as well).








seriously, who could ticket a face like this? (man, don't you love photo booth!?) anyway, he handed me the ticket, i gave him the 20 questions about why i was getting a ticket and the other lady didn't get one. he said she was a brief and release, and me, well, i guess i was just sol. he might as well have said "ma'am, i just don't like you" and handed me the ticket. then he said "cellphones are my thing"... seriously, what respectable mp says that!? he was a ssg anyway, so Daddy says that he must have done something bad to get patrol and was probably taking it out on poor women talking on their cell phones.

i started my new bible study, shepherding a child's heart. i read it when we lived in NC a few years back and stopped right around ch 9, when the author said that he spanked his 8 month old and you should, too. i mean, i'm one for discipline... but that's a little rough, isn't it? anyway, reading it with a more open mind, and i'll probably have a mouthful to say in class when i get to that point... but for now its good. i've been trying to direct the kids with a more Godward approach. telling their disobeying is hurting God and not just me and that i, as a parent given to them by God, must discipline them accordingly.

(at the beach)

the clippers broke right in the middle of monkey's last hair cut. i think it might be due to the fact that the last time i used them, they needed oil... of which i could find none... and sprayed pam on them. it took me 5 times of taking the razor appart and putting it back together to get his hair done. still haven't gotten a new set.

we got a wii. i bought it second hand from a lady whose hubby had just deployed and she wanted it gone. she said he only played it once... but they had two controllers, several games, attachments, and when i got home, i found that they'd spilled some sort of brown beverage all over the remotes. but, i got it for about half price, and it seems to be working just fine... so i lysoled it and it's good enough. it sure is fun... and gets the kids up and moving even indoors. and.. uhh... its good for hand-eye coordination, right...!?

(at the carp festival the other day)

the owner of my apartment took me and the kids out to lunch with his wife, 2 grandkids, and his neice. we went to a local buffet place. the company was great, but the food was... interesting... it consisted of 3 kinds of rice, thankfully one was plain white, cause that's the one we ate. there was also some curry, which i ate, and there was salad, some cabbage dish with spam and tofu, yaki soba (fried nodles, yet not the good kind), and pig legs (which are not as tasty as you may think. picture chunks of bones with fat and skin on them). Thankfully there was soba (noodles in broth) and azuki beans with mochi balls. Otherwise, we would have been very hungry. So while we're eating, Mr. Yokura asks me if we're good on time... i tell him that we're fine. he says "you don't have other plans for the afternoon" and i reply, "no, we're fine"... which he took to mean that i wanted to see some of the other buikdings that he owns, like the gas company, and the other apartment that he just built, that looks just like mine, but brand spanking new. it was fun, though, going on our little adventure. i was quite nervous to go, as it was a little out of my shell... Mr Y was the only one of the bunch that speaks any english... but it was a wonderful culture experience that i truly enjoyed. and mel liked riding in his van with no car seat and no seat belt (he insisted that we rode with him, and the only seat belt that worked was monkeys. thank goodness Mr Y is a safe driver... except for the fact that he stopped right in the middle of the road to let a guy pull out... even though we were on the right-of-way. the locals here, for the most part, are terrible drivers.)

hmm... what else...

P's hubby came home today. which means me and the kids are on our own. and i'm pms-ing, which means that i've been in tears or on the verge of tears for the last few days. (keep in mind that we've been together for the last four months more than i'm ever even with Daddy. we've become family more than i can say for most... and def the closest thing to family that i have in this hemisphere.) i'm feeling a bit pathetic... as they live just on the other side of the base, but i feel as though i've moved half a world away. monkey and mel have been playing together REALLY well though. which has been nice. they play house a lot. they were playing house the other day and monkey was naming the dolls. he started with trucko, then mucko, ducko... and yes, you guessed it, fucko. it was hilarious. yet, i stood firm (holding back my giggle) and told him that was not a nice word and not to repeat that again. he didn't even know which name i was referring to. so i just let it go.

(the kids playing bunco after the game ended)

we went to a beach resort for a retreat. originally, it was a church retreat... but then without my notice, it changed to a batallion retreat... one of which we were not a part of... but they kept me on the list anyway, as church staff (since i teach the youth and sing in the prayer team). they didn't tell me of the switch until two days before the retreat... which left me a bit anxious. would i sit all alone? would i know anyone? would it just be me and the kids for 3 days at a family retreat? would everyone else be all lovey with their spouses and leave me feeling left out? then i had bunco... and invited a friend to come on the retreat with me. what an awesome idea that was! my friend, J just had a baby on valentine's day, and she deserved a little beach break!! so we went to the retreat together and had a swell time. it rained and was overcast the whole trip except for the very last bit before we headed home... but we had a fun time anyway. we ate a lot of super good free food, that's for sure. and we made certain that we had dessert with every lunch and dinner that we could. it was great getting to hang out with her for 3 days and enjoyed her company and getting to know her better.

this is a kick-ass recipe for pork scallopini, which i'd never purchased from the store before last week, but certainly will again: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Mushroom-Pork-Scallopini

(yet another photo booth shot. can't beat it)

i'm really getting nervous about travelling this summer. this swine flu is making me very anxious. i can't wait to go see Daddy in May... short fun-filled trips are the best.

the kids are as big and as smart as ever.

i'm sickly obsessed with shoes (only on super clearance, of course). now i need the wardrobe to match.

i have my first fruits growing on my plants... one mango, four oranges, and about 12 passion fruits. i'm so proud.

ok... that's about all i can think of. i'm sure there's more, but i don't need to bore you with it.