Getting a little more settled now...

Can you believe that we've been living in the U.S. for over a month now? We left Japan April 9th, arrived in the U.S. On April 9th too. And right now the date is May, 16th! Not sure why this picture came out so dark. All my digital cameras are back home in Japan and my only camera I have here is my phone camera. 

Watching TV one evening...

Pic of the kitchen area from the couch. Things are coming together little by little.

Bought a coffee maker. A Keurig. It's awesome and the flavors of coffee we're using right now is we have coconut coffee pods...and we also have Cinnabon coffee pods too. Also, lol, bought an extremely basic rice cooker. I have a nice fancy shmancy one in Japan. It plays music, you can preset it...the whole shebang. But, it will remain in Japan until Noboru comes. I don't want him to not have a rice cooker. So this basic bare bones one, will do until then. 

Getting everything set up little by little. 

You know, in Japan, we had this amazing house that we had built especially for us. With a huge back yard. And everything. Now, we have 2 places to call home until Noboru moves. We have our home in Japan that we had built especially for us. And we also have this 1 year old townhouse in the US we're renting too. It's got an upstairs and a downstairs. This is what the front of our specific townhouse looks like it's right near my front door.It has a nice rock wall for privacy towards the left in this pic, green grass not much but enough. It's nicely landscaped and I always see horses in the distance every morning when Noah and I leave the house and I drive him to school. Straight forward in the distance is where some horses live. 

The window nearest my right is my living room window and the middle window is the kitchen window in this pic.

An almost door shot. : ) There are 4 units per building and 5 buildings. So 20 families live here in these townhouses. Not a lot. And it's quiet.

The kids went from going to the 1000 yen Japanese barber in Japan, to now they go to Great Clips. LOL. Usually the haircut are $15 US at Great Clips. But last week haircuts were $6.99 and that was awesome. 

Old Navy has been having some amazing sales lately. I'm slowly getting used to not everyone being Japanese. I'm slowly getting used to not hearing Japanese everywhere I go. I am no longer surprised to hear English (my native language) anymore. It's really weird. You know...obviously I am American. But living in Japan for 15/16 years, it does change you. And I'm trying hard as hell to change back, as fast as I can. And I am changing back. I'm getting more and more comfortable each time I go to Old Navy and other stores. 

At the mall, Noah picked a pair of Converse low tops for school. 

We also went to DSW. I always loved shopping there when I was in high school and in college in Denver. And this store is as amazing as I remembered.

Bran, got a new pair of sneakers. Because he has gym class and Vans are not really suited for running in gym class. So these were necessary. 

Can't believe my first born son wears a size 11.5 US. That's 29.5 for those of you in Japan. He's only 16 years old, so he's still growing but...holy cow!!!

I figured with Mother's Day coming up the week after the day we were at DSW. What the heck. Plus I needed a new pair of sandals. I really liked the toe design/area. I also loved the $39 price tag. 

Such cute sandals. And I also wanted another pair by the same brand. But ones that looked more like Birkies. But they didn't have my size, I did mention it to the lady and she said, if I let her order them for me online in the store....and since this was my first time shopping in DSW in forever....then I could get a $10 off coupon for that.... so the pair that look like birkies, I got for only $29. They haven't got to my house yet but they should be arriving today, I have been tracking their shipping. So 2 new pair of super cute summer shoes. 

Also, this is so weird if you know me in real life. But, I usually wear a cardigan. Black, navy blue, gray. Something basic. But you know what I mean, if I go to the movies and my arms get cold. Because usually movie theaters are nice and cool and wonderful, but yeah sometimes a little cardi helps. In Japan I had 2 basic gray ones, 1 was from Gap and 1 was from Old Navy.  As for the black cardis....I had about gee whiz honestly? About 6 black cardis in Japan. I had a longer one, a boyfriend one from Gap. A normal length one from Gap. 2 from Old Navy and 2 Japanese brand ones which I loved!!! When we moved to the US. I was so 100% completely focusing on the kids first and foremost. Did I pack both of their randoseru? Yes I did. Did, I pack up all their trophies and medals? From swimming and cross country? Yes, I did. Year books. All their most important things. And while I did pack for myself too. And I knew we were coming back to Japan to bring more stuff to the US too. But somehow in all the packing. I managed to not bring 1 single flipping cardigan. @_@ Like seriously. Noboru at first told me, "I"ll mail them to you in the US." And after he got back to Japan, he said, "just wait until you get back to Japan." The only problem though...is I can't. I literally use one everyday. So while in Old Navy, And Branden looking for a pair of athletic shorts? I went to the ladies section at Old Navy and found a black cardi and a navy blue cardi for 30% off. And I was like...you know what. Get them. Because I desperately need myself a cardigan. I also found this navy t-shirt.  

With palm trees and pineapples all over it. So cute. So yeah, not a bad little haul for Mother's Day. 2 pair of summer sandals and 2 cardis and 1 t-shirt.  

These are the athletic shorts Branden picked. I'm not so crazy about this athletic style of dressing these days for teens. Branden likes this style. And I'm not so crazy about this style, like I said, but I also want him to decide for himself how he wants to dress too, even if it personally drives me crazy. : )

Noah's not been wearing kids size shoes for a while now. But he's currently a men's size 6 and a women's size 8. That's a size 24.5cm for those of you in Japan.

I like that at most grocery stores around where we live, they offer fresh fruit for kids for free, while they shop with their parents. So a kid can have a fresh banana or a fresh Little Halo or something. 

Bits and pieces. Lunch dates with my husband, homemade oatmeal cookies, American Horror Story Freak Show, Christmas shopping has begun and our flu shots 2014 have been taken...

I love when people talk about the everyday aspects of their daily life, I always find it so interesting! : ) I have quite a bunch of day to day stuff to post up, and it'll probably take 2 separate posts to catch up. So here's one, of just the day to day stuff we do around our neck of the woods. : ) This picture was taken on October 1st. No matter what our week looks like, Noboru and I always set aside one day while the kids are at school to have a lunch date. We went to Saizeriya for lunch this week. I had a pizza and salad set/combo. Noboru had a hamburg set and we split the potato gratin.

Yet again another lunch date, this time/week we went and had Indian for lunch, this picture was taken October 21st. I had the kobocha/pumpkin (meatless) curry set and I forget which type of curry Noboru ordered. : )

Yet again back at Saizeriya another week, this pic was taken at Saizeriya on October 28th. I had a cheese pizza and salad combo/set. 

Noboru ordered a hamburg set and we yet again shared the potato gratin, since it's a limited time only. 

Random pic of a blanket washing, this time it was Branden's bedding outside. I wash every one's bedding weekly.

Swim towels in between. : )

Just some basic essentials. Flour, oil and salt. 

Dishwasher powder and house cleaning cream cleanser.

At the local elementary you must carry a packet of tissues and a handkerchief with you and on Mondays in particular, they have a tissue and hankie check. lol. So picked up these to restock our supply, at Cainz Home they were cheap and cute and had a ton in each pack. Enough for Fall and Winter. 

Every couple months we change our nylon shower scrubby towel. And I use shower caps sometimes, like when I am using a hair mask in my hair (deep conditioning treatment). Or coloring my hair. Or if I take a bath and don't want my hair wet...ykwim, that type of thing. Though we haven't taken a bath yet this season. : )

Random drink pic. 11 drinks in this pic (3 jasmine teas). And this week... for example we bought 16 drinks. We do go through lots of drinks, but...we just don't want anyone dying of thirst around here. : ) And yep we usually have a case of Costco water around here too. : ) For enjoying a nice mini bottle of water.

Okay honestly...I think 90% of me says I shared this pic already? @_@ I'm semi iffy on this and if I go to my blog and scroll backwards it could be 5 pages back or so. So...either way... to be safe...just sharing it again. Received this DVD a long time ago. Such a great movie and I am happy I have this. Yeah hmm! I am now 98% sure I shared this pic. In case I did...I am sorry. : ) I'm not perfect clearly. : )

In Fall and Winter I'd say I make beef stew about twice a month. I love it, the whole family loves it, it's so rich and hearty. Rice has to always be plated up on the left hand side, as usual just something I learned only about 9-10 years ago while living in Japan. : )

My 2nd oatmeal cookies of the Fall/Winter baking season 2014. : ) Remember, Noah's undokai is when I made the first batch. These ones I made bigger, it's just the first batch had to be smaller since they had to fit inside an obento box. : )

A couple dozen...

Noah needed a new winter uniform for his elementary school, so we purchased that. 

Ginger pork.

Uniforms drying outside. Noah's new gym pants drying outside and he's lucky in that he has 2 gym long sleeve sweatshirts for school, for his short sleeve tops he has about 4 of those. As for the gym sweatshirts, one is new and the other is "like brand new" and was Branden's, we just put a new name tag on it. Branden's JHS stuff drying outside too. And I did just order Branden 3 new long sleeve JHS dress shirts, they are coming tomorrow/Tuesday.

American Horror Story is so popular in America and the new season is called American Horror Story Freak Show. It's so good, I watch every week, after the kids go to sleep.

I love to cook! I just do! For school weekday breakfasts, we always have something super fast, #1 is... it *has* to be fast. Cereal and toast or over easy egg croissant sandwich. A quick scrambled eggs and breakfast sausage. Hot oatmeal. French toast once a week always and we also have Pop Tarts and yogurt and hard boiled eggs as another breakfast fave. Weekend breakfasts around here are nice and leisurely, bacon (sometimes) and omelets and skillet fried potatoes, orange juice or hot cocoa for the kids and coffee for us. Lunches are usually easy, sandwiches or instant noodles, cup a soups, fresh fruit and yogurts always go with. Nothing too painful. : ) But dinners, are mostly always made at home and made by me. I also don't want to eat Japanese food every single day. I like to mix things up and we like to have a variety for sures. This particular picture was taken October 10th and it was a Friday dinner. Friday and Saturday especially I like our dinner to be fun or extra special. I went to Kaldi and bought corn tortillas, 2 packs of them. Fried them up, after they were crunchy and cooked and lightly salted, I blotted off any extra oil. 

Pinto beans boiling on the stove Friday morning. 

Noah gets out of school Fridays at 3:45pm and Branden at 4pm. At 3pm, I refried the beans. Just a little oil and some hot beans and I started mashing with my potato masher. A little salt for flavor and a tiny smidgen of mozzarella cheese just to give the beans a nice creamy flavor. 

A quick stir. Covered and went and picked up Noah and Branden rode his bike home that day. 

Just about to eat our TGIF dinner...the weekend was about to begin. One of Branden's favorite meals is homemade tostadas. So it was a fantastic night, for us all. : )

Yumm.

Noah needed new sneakers, so we went to our favorite sports store/shoe store in Inzai/Chiba New Town to buy Noah some sneakers (Sports Depot). They always have the newest model and at the best prices for our area.

Two pair.

Noah has been wanting a pair of soccer-y type a shoes for the past year. He's loves soccer but he's not on a team, so I didn't see the need. However, they were important to Noah and so that's what he got. He found a pair in his favorite color yellow and he was so happy. Noah plays soccer in the mornings at school with his friends and on recess. 

22cm.

Not (real) soccer shoes for playing in a real game. But they do have some bumps and grooves and spiky bits on the bottom, and it thrilled Noah to bits. So, we were happy. : ) These were purchased October 13th. : )

And a normal/regular pair, I had to insist...sorry it's my momly duty to make sure he has a regular pair too. : )  These fit different than the yellow pair, so he got these in 21.5cm.

If this is retail price, we did get a pretty good deal. : ) 

Sneakers for Noah for Fall/Winter 2014.

These were the 2013 models from last year and the 2014 model at the back. Noah seems to always get the new version of this specific Adidas shoe each year, for some reason. : ) 

I enjoy watching the show on the OWN channel called "Where Are They Now?" See this guy...see his name...anything ring a bell?

Yep the kid who played Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. He never acted again after that movie and as for what's he doing now? He's happily married and he's a vet for large farm animals. Cows, horses, and whatnot. He has a beautiful farm and he seems really happy and stays out of the limelight. : ) Isn't that a cool update? I thought it was! : )

From the creator of Family Guy, this was so freakin' funny! Like it says..."So hysterical you'll die laughing"...I think so! : ) If you like the crude type of humor they have on Family Guy you'd love this...but likewise if that's not your type of humor at all, don't see this, hahaha. : ) Noboru and I loved it, and this is not for kids at all. 

The 2 DVD's on the left are Christmas presents for the kids. New Transformers movie and the newest Spiderman movie too. They are currently hiding in my closet way up high. : ) and 2 DVD's I bought just for enjoying. I wanted Mom's Night Out for myself (haven't seen this yet) and I thought Bicentennial Man was such a great movie, we have since watched it once...Halloween Night, the boys loved it. : )

You know Branden got this same game while in Hawaii, this past summer, however Noah's been wanting this too, so one for Noah was ordered from Amazon and is also hiding in my bedroom closet for Christmas. It is clear...and true...I have started early on the Christmas present shopping this year! I'm on it, this year ya'll! : )

Trouble maker or new friend? @-@ All September and half of October this 1 frog pictured here loved my laundry poles, in fact he took it upon himself and moved right in. And he claimed this particular spot to sleep in, to hide from creatures wanting to eat him and whatnot. For the first couple days back in September, it surprised and alarmed me, finding 2 little eyes staring at me while wiping my poles down. I'd squeal and bang on the pole with my flip flop while trying to balance on 1 foot...hitting the pole saying..."now little frog you can NOT stay here now scoot...scoot I tell ya" All the while smacking the pole with one of my flip flops. Sometimes he'd hop right out and sometimes he'd ignore me and stay in there, until he could take no more pole whacking. he'd hop down. Feeling a little miffed at me that I disturbed him. I meanwhile feel a little miffed at him, that he has now delayed my laundry hanging and gave me a good scare! I would then shoo him off the back patio... all the way to the grass. And the next day he'd be right back in the same spot. Grrr! This went on for about a month, every morning same routine except I stopped being surprised around day 3 and now I expected him to be there. lol. Finally I could take just no more...and so I had the boys walk him to the field next door...way way away from our house and he hasn't returned. 

November 1st, our family of 4 went and had our flu shots done! Branden is now 13, so he got the adult dosage this year. So the only one who has to go back for a 2nd shot is Noah. They said for us to come back in 3-4 weeks for Noah's final shot and we already made an appointment. This doctors office is just a 1-2 minute walk from our house. : ) Noboru's company he works for... their health insurance pays for our flu shots entirely 100%. And though flu shots aren't 100% sure you won't get the flu...still better than not getting it and walking around totally and completely unprotected. Every little bit of protection helps. : ) So we 3 are done 100% and Noah is 50% done. : )

There is never any wait or huge mass crowds. Most folks in our town head to the bigger town clinic and the wait is hours long. : ) This on the other hand, is a private small clinic inside our housing community so the wait is never a problem. : )  And the doctor is an elderly man mid 60's if I were to guess and the nurse is his wife. : ) And they have known us for ages and we them. : ) They own a time-share in Honolulu and go there yearly, so they like Hawaii and we always have lots to talk about with them, hahaha. : )  Anyway that's enough of a bits and pieces catch up for one day. : ) I'll try and get the next one up in a day or two. : )

Some things that have been on my mind,  that I’d like to just type out and get out there. Robin Williams passing, Joan Rivers and Elizabeth Pena.

Robin Williams passing stunned and shocked me. And when I heard it was a suicide, It was even doubly shocking. Since then, I have read he found out he was sick with the same thing Michael J Fox has and have read other things that perhaps the medication he was on contributed to his suicidal feelings.

For me...I remember Robin Williams on Mork and Mindy and as a Coloradoan, I was even prouder that the show took place in Boulder, Colorado! Everyone I knew owned a Mork and Mindy lunch box or something Mork and Mindy. I owned a pair of Mork and Mindy suspenders, think everyone in my whole class owned a pair. : ) My favorite movies he made were...when he played a tiny part... in one of my favorite movies 9 Months, Robin played doctor Kosevich and was hilarious in this! I also loved him in Mrs. Doubtfire and in Bicentennial Man. And many many other movies, but those were some of my favorite movies he made.

Joan Rivers passing. I was surprised too. I mean...I watch her on the E channel all the freaking time. I have blogged about loving her show “Joan Knows Best” twice last year or the year before that. I love Joan Rivers! She’s never hid any of her plastic surgeries, she’s had and I just sorta thought she’d always make it through, any type of surgery. Meaning, she was no stranger to the surgeons table. So, I was stunned to find out she died..it wasn’t even a cosmetic procedure, it was just a throat thing. She didn’t approve the biopsy they did, she didn’t sign off on that aspect of it. And on top of that... the doctor snapped a selfie during Joan’s procedure. Yikes....do not go to this doctor people! @-@ From watching Joan over the years...I know how close her and her daughter were. I know Melissa must be absolutely devastated. While most of us have a filter...of what not to say and what’s appropriate to say...Joan was always blunt and very honest and so many just always expected and admired her honesty. I will for one...miss you Joan Rivers.

Elizabeth Pena. Loved her in La Bamba, loved her in Rush Hour. Age 55 was much too young too die. I read it was due to her being a heavy drinker. She apparently already had Cirrhosis of the Liver. She died according to TMZ....as her death certificate stated...from complications from Cirrhosis of the Liver due to alcohol. Makes me thank my lucky stars I have NEVER been a drinker. Dying from Cirrhosis of the Liver sounds like an absolutely horrible and painful (yet completely avoidable) way to die. : ( Will miss you Elizabeth Pena, you were so talented. May you have peace.

Have you all been keeping up with the Brittany Maynard story? Right after she was married, she started getting these horrible migraine headaches. She went to the doctor and on January 1st, 2014 found out she had terminal brain cancer. She was first told she could live 6 month’s to a couple years. Then she went back and it was stage 4, extremely aggressive cancer. She moved from California to Oregon to be able to end her life... if she ever wanted to because Oregon has a “Death With Dignity” law there. She set the date for November 1st. And then a day or so before November 1st, said she was not going to do it November 1st and the date would remain unset but she’d do it when she felt....her quality of life was dwindling. She spoke of seizures on YouTube a couple days before. How she couldn’t speak or talk after those seizures...how she went from getting one a day, to many a day. Today, I read online she did in fact, take the pill and end her life, November 1st. If you have the time and want to...watch her interviews online on YouTube. She was only 29 years old. She said she hopes for her husband to remarry and have kids...and how she doesn’t want him, to live his long life alone and missing her. She spoke about her mother..said that since she’s an only child (so am I) and how she doesn’t want her death to cause her mom such sadness that she can’t go on. She thought about it long and hard...and made the decision and choice that was right for her. : (

Anyway some pretty powerful deep stuff...just wanted to get those things off my mind.

In lighter although not happier news....My beloved Denver Broncos lost the football game today versus the New England patriots! OM Gosh!!! Please say it isn’t so! : )

What is the plan today? It’s a holiday here in Japan, the kids didn’t have school, so are both home. Although they swim tonight. Noboru meanwhile is with his fellow Father’s Club dad’s and putting Christmas lights up at the local train station today/this evening. : ) They will all go and eat at a restaurant afterwards, he will be home at 10pm. And my plan? I did some laundry and cleaned the downstairs, this morning. Watched the Denver Bronco game. And cubed some beef, stir fried it and have had the beef boiling all day long (so tender) we will have a delicious hearty beef stew tonight for supper, Branden and Noah and myself, since Noboru will be out. : ) When the kids catch the swim bus, I will just relax on the couch and enjoy my evening. I will go and toss in the veggies on commercials and stuff and set the rice cooker. But for the most part... most of my stuff is finished for today. As soon as I hit publish...it’s relax time for me. : )

Oh...just a little weird thing from me that I wanted to jot down before I forget. You all know how I have always said...my feet were an 8-8 1/2 in America for all my life and then I had kids and my feet became a size 9 and didn’t ever shrink back. It was sorta a bummer. And no, I only gained 20 pounds each pregnancy so it wasn’t like weight gain or anything. Anyway...I just accepted it...size 9/size 25cm feet. I didn’t dwell or harp on it. But I was always honest and shared that story once or twice on here. Anyway...I think my feet are shrinking back now! This is about 13 years too late on the feet shrinking! @_@ Bran just turned 13 and my feet switched size during my pregnancy with Bran. remember when I bought those 2 pair of shoes online in size 25cm at the beginning of October or was it end of September? I forget but anyways they fit 100%. Weren’t too big weren’t too small. Anyway, I wore the big floppy bow pair to Guam last week and as I was walking through Narita airport...my feet slipped out of those continuously like...over and over again. As in...are these my mom’s shoes? @_@ After I walked through the TSA, I actually unzipped my carry-on and switched to my blinged up flip flops. Then, after I got back another pair is suddenly too big also. Again no change in my weight at all. It’s all normal. Are my feet having a freak out...or are they just finally shrinking back to size...I really am not sure. I went and ordered a pair of sneakers online last night, but I ordered them in size 24.5cm. In fact Noboru took a tape measure and helped me by measuring my feet last night and said ,my feet measured a 24cm. @_@...Seriously...wow! So anyway...I will try on the 24.5 shoes and if they are too big, I’ll have to send them back and switch them for a 24cm. @-@ It’s so freaky weird right? Like super weird. Anyway...if this is indeed happening then I guess I’ll be able to go and buy shoes from anywhere I want in Japan. That would be interesting, right! : ) I’m still not 100% entirely convinced yet..but we will see how this whole shoe/foot thing plays out. : )