My trip to Guam this week...

How has everyone's week been? As for me? Fantastic! On Monday, I went to a movie with my friend. We went and saw the Accountant with Ben Affleck! Loved this movie so much. This was, so much more than just a boring action movie. It actually had a story with heart. Tuesday morning, I flew out to Guam alone to just pick up some necessities. Got back Wednesday night. Thursday, I spent from morning to noon at the hair salon getting a hair cut and a hair color. And now it's Friday. The weekend is about to begin! Our weekend plans? Stay home watch amazing movies at home and good TV. And enjoy the weekend with the family. : )  So let's get on with the Guam post shall we? : ) Here is a pic from my window seat. Look how freaking amazing and blue the Guam waters are. Absolute tropical gorgeousness. Which is why me and the family will be going there for some R and R real soon. Anyways...

Just exited the airport about to get my rental car. My dad is still enjoying his visit in Denver with our family there. No worries though...I have been going to Guam for the past 15 years and have driven all over Guam so I know exactly where I am going. And I have zero problems getting around on island at all. It's fun actually! : ) 

Micronesia Mall. Since, I didn't have the kids with me, I could skip meals and stuff. So, I was on my way to the grocery store that's also part of the mall. : ) 

These are the grocery stores on Guam, Payless. Like Safeway or Vons or HEB in the mainland US. You know what I mean. This is their grocery chain on the island of Guam. 

Hello gorgeous people of Guam and fabulous tourists of Guam! Don't mind me...I have a list and a purpose today! : ) 

Zooming down the aisle...just zooming down the aisle. : ) I went to 2 Payless super markets. 1 Cost u Less store and Kmart. And called it a day. : ) I was 98% finished. And I only brought 1 suitcase with me anyways... because like I said me and the whole family Noboru, Bran, Noah and myself will be going there soon-ish. So no need to like stock up super hardcore or anything right now. Just a light...essential items type of shopping.

I just picked up a 6 inch veggie and cheese sub from Subway and a pack of baked chips and on the way to my hotel picked up a Vitamin Water. 

Checked into the hotel. I Line Messaged the kids and the hubster. Everyone was doing fantastic. I sure did miss everyone. But, they knew mama was there for supplies. LOL. : ) I ate then showered and blew dry my hair and called it a night. 

Here is my rental car. Super cute. I liked it. : )

I was up so early. Good thing Cost u less opens at like 7-7:30am, the Payless grocery chain are open 24 hours a day which is awesome. I was looking for taco seasoning. But both places were out. @_@ Why does this happen to me? Gah! Anyways...no worries. I'll be back Guam anyways. 

Rice Krispies for a huge 2 pack box is a good deal but still...I prefer buy the generic version if I can. You all know I definitely prefer save money. Cost does matter to me. And that just makes me smart. : ) 

I knew exactly which Payless had Noah's hair gel! And that $7.69 price tag is not the price for his hair gel obviously... it's for whatever's on top. LOL. 

Store brand Rice Crispy cereal and Noah's hair gel. 

1 bean and cheese burrito at Taco Bell at Micronesia mall. It was near 10:30am-ish by now. 

I went downstairs to the Payless grocery store one more time and I picked up some taco seasoning packets instead of the huge one I wanted to buy. I know Costco Japan sells some off-brand or weird brand of taco Seasoning (sorry if you happen to love that one here). But, I just prefer like normal big brand names like McCormick or Lawry's. I had to return my car rental by 1pm. And I was there way before then.  

Got myself all checked in. And boarded my flight. It was a fast quick trip there. But, a necessary trip. And one that I am fortunate to make. And I truly appreciate being able to have the ability for free travel. Because it helps a lot... especially with living overseas. Believe me...it is something I always am very appreciative of and am truly thankful for. This is never taken for granted. It's much appreciated. : )

A very little haul. Again, I only had 1 suitcase. It was just me traveling alone. And plus like I said we will be going back there. I just needed some supplies to tide us over. : )

I know what you're thinking. "Gina, you live in Japan home of the cup noodles." Why would you buy them in the US. Well because...honestly, I prefer the flavors in America more. It's again...the taste I am used to. Also I hate hidden fish or clam powder in instant noodles. For example...Those Knorr Italian pasta soups here in Japan changed their formula and they contain clam powder in them now. @_@ Sucks for me because I am not a seafood fan. I like these simple chicken ones. They don't sell the chicken ones in Japan. I like to have a couple of these in my home. Plus they're cheap. And we all like them. : ) 

Pinto beans. I brought back 12 packs of these. To be fair, I know I'll use them. Whether I am making pork green chili and a pot of beans. Or taquitos and need a side of refried beans for that. Or chili concarne (Wendy's type of chili) I'm actually making chili beans tonight. Wendy's type of chili tonight. I have the shredded cheese and sour cream, chopped onion, little side of ground beef etc all the toppings already here. So tonight's Friday dinner is going to be super yum! A nice healthy hot pot of chili is perfect in this freezing cold weather our part of Japan has had lately. Just going to Guam for these 12 packs was help enough. So...yeah I am *so* glad I went. 

I only had 2 boxes of yellow cake mix left at home, so bought 3 extra. Now that I have been making that homemade from scratch Nutella frosting, I have been wanting to make cakes a little more often. And now I can. : ) 

2 packs of brownie mix. And 1 is for us. And 1 is for...a return White Day gift. I hold onto 1 of these boxes and if the boys get Valentine's gifts then I will have something delicious to bake in return for the girls for White Day. : ) So again things like this...helps. And yeah...I am so glad I went. 

Rice Crispy treats. Will be happening. And this helps. 

2 cans of enchilada sauce. I now have 3 cans in my pantry total. And so, I can relax knowing I can make a tray of enchiladas 3 more times now. I'm relieved. Because I do like to make all sorts of foods. Diverse foods totally happen around our house. Never just 1 type of food. : )  And now I can. 

Cans of jalapenos.

Wish, I could have found the big container of taco seasoning. But it is... what it is. And 6 packets helps at least. That way if we want to make nachos or tacos. We can now. 

If you're American, you'll know...this is Girl Scout cookie season in America. The adorable Girl Scouts will sit outside of Kmart and sell cookies on weekends however I was there on a weekday and they were not there. But...as luck would have it. The owners of the car rental place have a granddaughter. and well....I bought some. They were out of the coconut ones. But, I was lucky enough to buy 2 boxes of Thin Mints. And they even gave me a whole wrapped package, 1 silver tube... a half a box for free. They said...enjoy these on the plane on your way back! And I was really happy for such kindness. I was like...thank you! Wow. What dazzling people...showing such kindness like that! Awesome! There is such goodness in the world. I truly believe it. : )  

Yep, as American as apple pie! : )

I was so happy to buy and bring back some Girl Scout cookies for my kids!

Snickers Peanut Butter Squared are so good. I am making a little Valentine's bag for both Branden and Noah. And 2 of each of these will be going into their Valentine's goodie bags from me. I get only one, which is totally fine, lol. : ) And Noboru doesn't care for sweets much at all. He never has. But he does oddly love Rice Crispy treats... so I will probably make some for him for Valentine's Day.: ) 

Miracle Whip. You know, I pack lunches for the kids for school, so this is helpful. 

Syrup because pancakes happen at our house on weekends and yes I bought a store brand one... by doing that... I saved a whole dollar. : )

Cinnamon toothpaste because it's awesome.: )

Seems everyone and their mama is sick in Japan. And in our town especially. Lucky for us our family has not caught anything, knock on wood. Though the kids have a fantastic doctor just down the street and so do I. Plus our family gets flu shots every year. We all go there to our favorite doc if we need him. However...I just felt better buying a box of Cold plus influenza severe tablets. 24 of those. Plus a bag of cough drops. That way. I can just toss them in the medication box I have in the hallway closet. And if Noboru should ever catch a cold or should I. We would be covered. These are for folks 12 years and over. So Bran could use them too. Noah could not, sorry Noah. : ) Of course we could just walk the 1 minute walk to the docs So Noah doesn't need to worry about ever needing meds at all.. But...I just felt better buying a box anyway. 

Deodorant. 1 for Bran, 1 for Noah and 1 for me. I love the way this smells. It smells very unisex and very clean. And I love it. I started using this first. My kids used something else. My kids would always smell me and say..."mama you smell fantastic"...so now they each have this too. : ) Noah uses deodorant only on gym day or undokai season otherwise no. And Bran uses it daily. They each have a couple each so far, they each have 3 or 4 each right now. And I think I have 4 total for myself in the hall upstairs closet, plus a new one I just opened. We all have a little stock pile of deodorants. Noboru actually has the biggest stock pile which is why I didn't bring any back for him this time. I did ask him if he wanted any this time and he said no, not this time. : ) 

This is a huge box. It says in the pink corner it's a jumbo 4 month supply. Not sure about that.... but it is enough to last a few months no doubt. : ) Again though...every little bit helps. So...was I glad I went to Guam for 24 hours? Yes. 

Bran is all about hair wax now days. But Noah is all about the hair gel. And this one is the best that we like in America...it holds super well and it smells like green apples. Noah's shampoo also smells like green apples. Anyway...that's the long and short of my quick 24 hour trip to Guam. : )

Lunch with Noah. 3 Costco trips. The Girl on the Train DVD. And lunch and Starbucks with my friends...

Just some more miscellaneous random pics from January and 1 from February 1st from our daily life. You know just regular everyday type stuff. : ) Noah had a half day this day at school. Branden was having a full day at JHS, so he was at school. Usually we will have lunch at home, however on this day, I decided let's do something fun. And so, as soon as Noah came out of school at 11am. I picked him up and we drove to the little city nearest our town. And we went and had lunch. There was a special deal they were selling at KFC. 2 chicken breast sandwiches, 1 order of french fries and 1 order of 10 chicken nuggets all for 1,000 yen. I had 1 sandwich and Noah had the rest. Since he's a growing boy. And we talked and enjoyed our lunch together that day. : )

This was the day after Noah and I went to KFC. This was taken on January 11th. And I went to Costco Chiba-New Town that morning first thing. Bright and early, as soon as it opened. I picked up milk- a 2 pack, my boys drink milk like CRAZY, they go through so many cartons a week. And a huge pack of tortillas, these tortillas are delicious, I love them and they're so cheap in price for how many you get. And maple pecan danish for a busy weekday morning breakfast. A glass of milk, a danish and a yogurt for the boys the next day for breakfast, meanwhile I busily packed up some sandwiches and that week, I think I made a big container of potato salad versus mac salad that week. So they took sammy's and a small container of potato salad and a side of fresh fruit. For their lunch. 

Sometimes I go once a week to Costco, sometimes I go every 2 weeks. This was what I purchased January 25th. A huge 2 pack of shredded cheddar and jack cheese. I use this when whipping up some gratin/scalloped potatoes from scratch. Homemade macaroni and cheese. I also use this in my enchiladas or on my tostadas. This cheese has so many uses and so it is always something I keep on hand at my home. Rotisserie chicken. 1 pack of bacon, we have bacon for a Saturday breakfast twice a month. We don't eat bacon every day or every week... but yes we totally do eat bacon here twice a month. We don't live Charlie Bucket lives of torture around here. We enjoy eating good delicious things around here at our house and we're all extremely active and healthy! : ) Fresh pasta. Pasta sauce. Shrimp. This shrimp is such a fantastic deal. I know, I live in Japan and can get shrimp anywhere. But this shrimp is such a fantastic price for the amount we get. This one bag of shrimp, I get 2 meals from it. And it's 2,000 yen for the big bag of shrimp. So it amounts to 1 dinner of ebi fry (fried shrimp) costs just 1,000 yen $US 10 dollars. Which considering how many shrimp Branden gets to eat and Noboru gets to eat and I eat shrimp too. Considering we get 2 meals worth of shrimp for 1,000 yen each dinner. That's too good a deal to pass up. Plus the shrimp is peeled. It's de-pooped or deveined if that word is easier for your mind. So it just makes preparing it even easier...than if I would have bought it with shells and poop line/vein. 

These pizzas are really good for a restful Saturday lunch at home. : )  

Deveined, peeled, chemical free. And at such a great price. Considering the huge amount you get, this is quite the bargain. Especially if you have a hungry teenager in the house. And 2 growing boys. Though my littlest boy doesn't like shrimp yet. So, I prepare Noah a chicken cutlet on nights we eat this. : ) 

February 1st. This was right after we went and ordered Bran's high school uniform. Just a case of eggs. Mozzarella cheese for many Italian dishes I make here at home. And tortillas again. And they give out this magazine once in a while. 

The Girl on the Train DVD came to my home about 2 weeks ago. It was a popular book. My thoughts on the DVD? I honestly...hated it. It was so freakin' slow. Like the first hour...just churned so slowly. It was slower than a snails pace. I literally 2 times during the first hour thought about stopping the DVD. The story just went nowhere for the LONGEST time. It's just she's sad, she's sad. She's having memories. She's an alcoholic so are her memories even real. She's having flashbacks. She's sad again. More memories. For an hour..I was thinking...WTH. Seriously I thought...what in the hell is this? Is something going to finally happen? Or is this just going to be 2 hours of...sadness and flashbacks. Finally the last 30 minutes. She finally remembers what she needs to and I was like...FINALLY the movie is finally moving along. But yep. Would I watch it again? Not by choice. I mean...if a friend came over and said can we watch it? I'd be like....sure. But would I watch it next month or something? Nope. There was so much buzz about the book and about the movie, I bought it sight unseen. And honestly, I regret it. But I'm human and not perfect. I'm sure most of ya'll have seen it already. But if you haven't. Please just rent it. Don't make the same mistake, I did. : ) Aww, live and learn, I guess. : )  

My girl friends and I went to have Indian for lunch. And after that, we went and had a few hour chit chat at Starbucks. 

We 3 are thinking about going to a movie real soon. We really enjoy each others company. It's so nice to have such good friends! 

Ginger Coca Cola...

Has anyone seen or tried these new Cokes with ginger extract yet? 

They're pretty good! I saw them last week and I bought one for everyone in the house to try! I like trying new things! 

Anyway...it's Friday here in Japan already. Have a good weekend everyone! I made homemade pizza dough from scratch this morning. Pizza for supper tonight. The dough is resting in the kitchen in a bowl covered in a kitchen towel. I will roll out the pizza as soon as Noah gets home. Pizza with side salads for balance. And we'll be having that as our TGIF dinner tonight.  : ) We're watching the movie Arrival tonight. And tomorrow night at home we're going to watch "A Monster Calls." Branden got out of school today at 12 noon because there are 9th graders testing for schools still. Some had to turn some form in. Meanwhile for us...you know Bran is out of it. Since he applied and was accepted already. But still...half day for *all* 9th graders today...whether you are still testing and applying or whether you already got in. So that's nice. He's chillin' on the couch right now. And Noah meanwhile doesn't get out of school until 3:45pm. But...Bran and I will swing and pick up Noah together around 3:20pm. Noboru is at work until...10-ish tonight. And that's it really. OMG...it has been so windy here in my town. For like the past 3 days. And a frigid chilly wind. Nothing of ours has blown around yet (knock on wood). But our neighbors stuff was blown all over the street yesterday. @_@  Luckily she managed to get everything. A couple of us helped too. Oh, I have taken down my front door wreath though.. since it has been so crazy windy and I will put it back up once the high winds stop. I would just be very sad if it broke and fell so violently because of the winds and cracked or something, ykwim. So better to be safe than sorry. It will go back up after the winds calm down a bit. Anyway TGIF everyone. : )