Top Ten Reasons Why I Love My Husband

10.  He ALWAYS takes my feelings into consideration and usually lets me win when I shouldn't.  :(  I can certainly learn from him.  I will admit,  I can be a mega bitch sometimes.  I LOVE YOU MIKE!

9.  He loves me soooo good (bow chica wow wow).  Hence 5 children. 

8.  He's my first, my last, my everything, and the answer to all my dreams....wait....are those my own words?  LOL.  O well.....he is.  Through the hardest times in our life.....he has NEVER discarded me or walked away.  Believe me, if you know my personality......you would want to run like the wind....wait.....I think I've been doing too much karaoke.  LOL.
 

7.  I love the way I could start a sentence and he can end it for me.  The way I try to explain something (VERY VAGUE) and he knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about.  XOXOXO!

6. I love that he will take care of all those nasty tasks that I just don't want to do.  Like changing those dirty ole diapers that run up the back (gag) or puke from one of the kids when they are sick (gag) or even when mommy is sick.  He cares.

5.  I love the fact that we share one passion together (other than our Family).  TEXAS HOLD'EM!!!  I just feel so horrible for him when I kick his ass on the felt.  ;)  What? What?  It's true.  ;)

4.  I love that he loves me no matter how pleasantly plump I am.  He tells me just about every single day how beautiful I am no matter how I look.  He loves me for me (I'm still getting my boobs!).  He makes me feel beautiful inside and out.

3.  I love the way we have grown in our relationship.  How much we truly trust each other as all relationships should.  Without trust....leads hardship.  We are one.

2.  He is the greatest husband I've ever had!!!!  Okay, he IS the greatest husband ANYONE could have.  He's ALL MINE!  He takes care of me and supports me.  I love him for this.

1.  He is the BEST daddy EVER.  He truly takes care of our children.  Makes sure they come first.  Makes sure when they are down that he tries to resolve the issue going through their little brains.  He plays with them.  Helps them with their homework.  Is the doctor when they are sick.  He's their cook, their chauffeur,  their maid, their disciplinary, their friend..........he is the best role model a child could have.  Well......everyone has their flaws.....so I will admit.....if he could just give them less chips.  LOL.  Sorry....had to throw that in there.  :(  I love you Michael Lee Medley!!!!!

IDK

I don't know, but I just haven't been in the mood to blog.  I can't blame it on the earthquake or my Family departing.  I can't say I haven't had the time because I have more than enough time on my hands right now.  I just.......well........too darn lazy, I guess.  I'm famous for starting personal projects and never finishing it.  Mike can atest to this, but the one that I truly want to push forward with is this whole blog thingy.  It allows for my friends and relatives to read and track what is happening in our lives.

So, where do I start?  How about 11 March 2011.  This is a pretty significant day.  I've never been in an earthquake per say.  Sure, I've felt tremors here and there, but WOW.....this was mothernature at her best.  I was sitting in the BN XO's office with a couple other folks.  The BN XO's office is like the hub for people to release all issues.  What's great about it is that when I walk out his door I have my problems pretty much resolved.  Whether it's him or some other random character trying to get results....you leave with an answer.  Anyways, so there we were, trying to resolve issues.  Next thing you know the earth was shaking as if we were in a snowglobe and someone was wanting to see the perty snow rise and fall.  I have to be honest...I wasn't scared in the least.  I was like "WOOOO, this is awesome!"  After we assemble outside (okay.....not a smart thing with all the powerlines and other structures that can easily topple on someone), take accountability, get the ALL CLEAR.....we head back inside.  So, where do I go?  Yes, the BN XO's office.  Hmmm.....where did he disappear to?  Ahhh, he's outside.  LOL.  Where do I go?  YES....outside.  The earth begins to shake again.  Literally, I'm swaying left to right.  It's wicked crazy.  I'm thinking to myself that this is so sweet.  I regret those thoughts.  I surely didn't think of the 2nd and 3rd order effects from this massive quake.  People lost their lives cause of this (God bless them).  Not much later came the tsunami, mad issues with the power plant, and the hustle and bustle to get Families that want to voluntary depart the AO to feel safe.  That's where I am right now in life.  My Family is gone.  They will not return back to Japan.  Following this assignment I will more than likely deploy.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a trooper and can handle the situation, but it does tug at my heart knowing they miss me so.  I would like to think that I AM the glue that keeps this Family together.  LOL!!!  What?  It's true.  ;)  I'm so fortunate that I have such a wonderful husband.  He's not only that, but he's a KICK ASS DADDY!  I know my children are well taken care of and that gives me piece of mind. 

And pray tell what you have been up to, since your husband and kids are away?  Let's see, I plead the 5th!!!!  No really, my days consist of work, coming home and lots of Facebook.  Wednesday is my night to play poker at the Camp Zama Community Club and the weekends I mope around the house.  ALL DAY LONG.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  ;)  I do miss my Family, but it is what it is.  I would prefer it was me gone than my husband.  I just don't think he would be able to handle it as well as I.  Not that he loves them more or he is weaker......it's just........difficult to explain really.  I guess I'm use to being gone.  Whether its a night, week, months.  I can deal with it. 

So anyways, here I am.  Sitting on my la-z-boy.  I have about 3 more months of this and i'm outta here.  I will miss Japan dearly.  I'm not through with her yet though.  So many places to explore yet.  Wish the Family could join me, but I'm not going to mope around the house.  HAHAHA.  Love each and every one of you.  See you on the flip side.

XOXOXOXO

I Stand By My Decision!

There are times in your life that you are going to have to make difficult decisions.  Once you have assessed the situation, laid out the different courses of actions (COA)....final step is to select the best COA and move out.  Don't feel bad because you have onsies or twosies that disagree.  Just make a decision.  There's never a time when the entire audience will completely agree with you.  

Mother Nature

Mother nature can be a real bitch sometimes. Below is a video taken by a lady here on Camp Zama during the largest earthquake I have experienced.  As a matter of fact, it is reportedly the biggest recorded in Japanese history and the 5th largest in the world.  8.9-magnitude earthquake.  Crazy.  So many lives lost. 

Top Ten Things I Would Rather Do Than Run

10.  I would rather eat 30 boxes of ho-hos (mmmmmm......ho-hos) in a 5 minute time limit.

9.  I would rather have a show called "Mike and Jen Plus Ten."  Heck, 11, 12, 13, 14 ,15............

8.  I would rather have bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails (I do need a manicure).

7.  I would rather be doused in petroleum and set aflame.

6.  I would rather someone cut slits all over my body with a rusted razor blade and soaked in a bath full of rubbing alcohol (what's another tattoo or two).

5.  I would rather jump off a 50 foot cliff with a 55 foot bungee cord wrapped around my ankle (that might leave a mark).

4.  I would rather give a speech on the technical comprehension of chemical disruption of the DeLorean to the 3rd power over the letter Z minus 0 given a flux capacitor and a safety pin wearing a pink tu-tu and sporting a "GI JANE" hair-do. 

3. I would rather jump from a C-17 in the middle of Korowai tribe in Papua, Indonesia.  Strapped to my front is a sign that says "long lost tribe member" and on the back it says "I'm a witch."

2. I would rather have my husband give me papercuts for as many times as I have had him stop and get me a cup of joe (BTW...that's a lot).

1. I WOULD RATHER BE THROWN IN A POOL OF FREAKING SHARKS WITH FREAKING LASERS ON THEIR HEAD.

Snow Bunny!

So, for the longest time I felt so sad for my oldest daughter.  As she was growing up I enrolled her in soccer, softball, basketball, cheerleading, hop scotch, kickball, jump rope, 4 square...lol.....you name it.  Unfortunately, she just didn't have the skills.  Couldn't get the fundamentals down.  BUT.....I think we found her nitche.  Her place in the athletic world, if you will.  SKIING!  She completely rocks it.  Not only is she really good at this sport, but she is the prettiest snow bunny I've ever seen.  ;)  Her first time skiing was 26 December 2009 and she has been on several ski trips since we've been stationed here on mainland Japan.  I just hope we will be able to support this passion she has for this sport.  Enjoy the pics.  

 Asia's first ski trip to Tanbara Ski Park

      Skiing Iwappara

Skiing Naeba

Snowboarding Naeba.  She enjoyed this as well.  I know she would rock it if given the opportunity again.

 Asia and her best friend Alex skiing Sapporo

Skiing Iwappara again with her friends Sophie and Sydney

I'm so happy that we are able to give her this opportunity to explore her horizons.  Some people just are not fortunate enough to give so many opportunities to their children and I certainly do not take it for granted.  Life is good to me and my family.

How....Bizaar?

One thing I love about being overseas is shopping the bazaars.  You can usually find all kinds of treasures for anyone that is near and dear to you.  This past weekend I hit the Camp Zama Bazaar, but it was....well....kind of bizaar because there really wasn't much there (sorry MIL....I didn't get you anything this time).  Not what I had really expected.  Much smaller than others that I have been to.  I will say though....it was nice to walk and peruse the items and I saved money.  I give it.....

ONE THUMB UP!

They had a couple rows of tents full of old and new items....cool and not..so...cool products. 

Cool....puzzle box!

Cool....Kokeshi Dolls!!

Cool....Kimonos!!!

Cool...gorgeous blue table ware!!!!

Cool....old man writing in Kanji!!!!!

Not so cool.....toys the vendor probably paid a buck for, but charged us an arm and leg.  Toys that I couldn't say no to my daughter because she stuck out those pouty lips...you know.....the one that mommy can't say "no" to.  Toys that they play with for one day. Not because they wouldn't play with it again, but because it broke.  It didn't break because it wasn't handled properly.  It broke because it was made purely of crap and it was sold to suckers like me.  :(  Anyways....moving on.....

Last, but not least....not so cool....fake hair hats.  These hats make two adorable kids look like complete dorks.  LOL.  I still love them dorks.

At the end of the day, I bought a couple small items and the girls where happy.  That's all that matters!