I'm Teri. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. I love to read and play with animals. I grew up wanting to be a vet without the science part, and I still wish I could save all the animals in the shelters. My love of reading grew with me, so I just finished my Bachelor's in English. I haven't decided where that's going to take me yet, but for now I have an intense love of all things literature. Outside of my always-growing book collection, I enjoy watching movies with my husband and going on new adventures. We like exploring new places and trying new things. I'm learning to push my comfort boundaries a little more! I used to be that kid that only ate bread and butter and only did things I was already comfortable with.
I have an amazing husband, Jeff. We got married in 2008. We have that ridiculously cheesy "high school sweethearts" love story -- we started dating my junior year. He joined the Navy and I went to college, and after a few years of being an ocean apart, we got married and moved in together. We've been stationed in California for a few years. He has an incredible sense of humor and he challenges and supports me. He's a huge movie buff and he absorbs every bit of trivia and random knowledge he hears. Besides his huge collection of movies and video games, he also loves reading as much as I do. It's a good match, but we always need more bookshelves ;)
We've adopted two cats and have made them part of the family. Guinness and Fiona have loud personalities to fit in with this little family and they like to be in the center of the action. They're as different as night and day, and they have a love/fight relationship.
Guinness is the strong, silent type. He prefers sleeping on fluffy beds and playing while laying on his back, and he's my savior for killing nasty bugs and critters in the house. He can catch a fly out of thin air, and for that I let him steal my pillows.
While Guinness curls up, Fiona sprawls. She takes up as much room as she can on a bed, couch, or chair. She meows louder than any cat I've ever heard and she will literally have a conversation with me if I let her. She also purrs louder than a phone on vibrate. She will eat anything you put in front of her and she has a favorite toy she brings to Jeff to play fetch with. She's the loud one in our house.
Outside of my little family, I have a really incredible support system. My parents, my brother, and my in-laws are an amazing group of people who support my husband and me in our journeys and choices. I become more like my mother every day and I cook like my dad, making a mess as I go and preferring to just throw things together to using measuring cups. My family is the most important thing in my life, and I love to laugh and share stories with them.
My little family is preparing for our biggest adventure yet: moving to Japan! We'll be stationed in Misawa, Japan for three years. Jeff's been stationed in Naples, Italy and deployed to other bases in Japan twice, but I've never lived overseas so I'm terribly excited/nervous!! We're hoping to travel and explore as well as try the local food and learn some of the language. Misawa Air Base is in a rural area on the north end of the largest island, and it's supposed to be beautiful with mountains, snow, and the Pacific ocean. We're packed and ready to go explore!
For more info on Misawa Air Base: click here!
Keep up with this blog and I'll be sharing all the ups and downs and little adventures of living in Japan, as well as the everyday adventures of life in general. I promise a lot more pictures along the way :)
