We didn't make it to the Cirque Dreams show last week. Jeff came down with whatever I have, so we were both pathetic coughing creatures all week. I struggled through work, trying to learn as much as I could while recovering and hopefully avoiding any additional germs. The kids are smaller, but still funny and challenging and everything you'd think handling a roomful of children would be. I love it.
This weekend the plan was productivity. But the last days of my cold are still kicking. So all I've managed is to pull out all the random papers I have all over the house and make a big pile on the floor to reorganize and make sense of it all. I'm skipping dinner and ordering pizza instead, and hopefully making it to the grocery store tomorrow.
I watched I Don't Know How She Does It today, it was cute and realistic. I was getting visions of my future trying to juggle everything. No rush for that!
Not much on my plate right now besides getting used to the new job. Lots of planning to do. My parents are vising in a few months which will sneak up on me and be tomorrow in no time. I need to figure out what I want them to see of Japan while they're here! We have big plans to climb Mt. Fuji in the summer and I am a) terribly out of shape for climbing the stairs, much less climbing a mountain and b) having all sorts of trouble getting into a workout routine. I have dreams of a big honeymoon for our 5th anniversary (summer 2013), since we didn't have the chance to do a honeymoon after the big day. If that's going to happen, I need to start figuring out what, where, and how we're going to find the money for it. Hm. There was more on my planning to-do list. Maybe I should make a list that's not just in my head.
I should stop avoiding the papers and get to it. Jeff even brought home a label maker for me to use. He doesn't understand my organizing habits, but at least he lets me do my thing. And I repay him by taking care of things like taxes and keeping track of our files, mostly. If keeping track means they're piled somewhere in the house, then that counts, right?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
What Weekend?
I just finished the last week of my old job and will start my new job on Tuesday morning.
I finished the week and was anticipating a weekend of relaxing and enjoying some time with Jeff and some friends before starting the journey of figuring out how to take care of slightly younger children. I gave the kids at my old work lots of hugs and came home happy.
Then woke up Saturday morning feeling like hell. They gave me germs to remember them by. There had been a fever going around, and they happily gave it to me apparently. I spent Saturday fighting to keep my fever down and sleeping off and on the entire day. I was finally able to get rid of my fever this afternoon, and now am just battling a nasty cough. I think my voice is deeper than Jeff's at the moment.
There went my weekend. Tomorrow I must feel better. It's not a choice, damn immune system. We have errands to run and then Tuesday is my first real day at the new job (I've spent a few hours at my new job here and there, but not a full day yet.) and I will not be calling in sick. I don't even have enough sick leave saved up after my last visit to urgent care two weeks ago.
I also have plans Tuesday night.
I didn't even know about this until the day of and since I had work, wouldn't have been able to stand in line anyways. My amazing friend surprised me with tickets! So I need to feel better on Tuesday to get through a full day of work and see this event. Big plans, body, catch up.
My immune system just needs to kick itself into gear.
I'm off to take Nyquil and hopefully sleep some of this off. Although my 3 day weekend is effectively wasted, at least it does give me one extra day to get back to healthy and moving.
I finished the week and was anticipating a weekend of relaxing and enjoying some time with Jeff and some friends before starting the journey of figuring out how to take care of slightly younger children. I gave the kids at my old work lots of hugs and came home happy.
Then woke up Saturday morning feeling like hell. They gave me germs to remember them by. There had been a fever going around, and they happily gave it to me apparently. I spent Saturday fighting to keep my fever down and sleeping off and on the entire day. I was finally able to get rid of my fever this afternoon, and now am just battling a nasty cough. I think my voice is deeper than Jeff's at the moment.
There went my weekend. Tomorrow I must feel better. It's not a choice, damn immune system. We have errands to run and then Tuesday is my first real day at the new job (I've spent a few hours at my new job here and there, but not a full day yet.) and I will not be calling in sick. I don't even have enough sick leave saved up after my last visit to urgent care two weeks ago.
I also have plans Tuesday night.
I didn't even know about this until the day of and since I had work, wouldn't have been able to stand in line anyways. My amazing friend surprised me with tickets! So I need to feel better on Tuesday to get through a full day of work and see this event. Big plans, body, catch up.
My immune system just needs to kick itself into gear.
I'm off to take Nyquil and hopefully sleep some of this off. Although my 3 day weekend is effectively wasted, at least it does give me one extra day to get back to healthy and moving.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
1 year, 101 goals, 1,001 Days
It's been one year since we landed in Japan. How is that possible?! One whole year. One year ago, I was terrified. I was so jetlagged I couldn't think straight. I was overwhelmed by the base. I was so excited to start a new adventure. I was so happy to be out of Lemoore. I never wanted to write another paper again after graduating a month earlier. I was a fish out of water, unsure of where to go now that I was no longer a student and was living in a foreign country.
One year.
Now it feels like home. I have a full-time job, with benefits. I have friends from all over the world. I've learned bits and pieces of a new language and culture. I've tried foods I never thought I'd touch. I've experienced incredible things and heartbreaking events.
Some highlights:
- The Adventure of Getting to Misawa Part 1
- The Adventure of Getting to Misawa Part 2
- A Video Tour of our Apartment
- This is my Temporary Home
- The 8.9 Earthquake, Which Became the 9.0 Earthquake
- It's Been a Long Week (Earthquake and Aftermath)
- "Disaster in Japan" -- A Visual Aid (Still Works!)
- Why I'm Not Incessantly Posting About the "Disaster in Japan"
- Let's Go Out for Sushi!
- Working with Yen
- Something's Not Quite Right...
- Oirase Gorge
- Shipwrecked
- Ryusendo Caves & Amber Museum
It's been a big year.
To make sure the next few are just as exciting, I've decided to tackle a new challenge.
I've created a list of 101 goals to complete in 1,001 days. It's a Day Zero Project. And it starts today.
The Challenge:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on your part). I will document, as best I can, the completion of each task.
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities.
Why I decided to do this:
I've had a handful of friends take the plunge and try this challenge. I started to make a list and stopped, back in California. It's hard not knowing where you'll be living in 2+ years. If I had completed the list then, most of it wouldn't apply to my now Japanese address! Being in Japan is a wonderful opportunity for exploring and trying new things, but it's all too easy to fall into the comfortable couch and zone out in front of the TV. I don't want to waste these years, and I don't want to waste the ones after life in Japan either. Making a list makes all my wants and ideas public. I'm hoping accountability will push me to try the things I've always wanted to try, or want to see or experience before I leave Japan, or whatever the list may include. I also want to share my experiences with everyone, and I think working my way through a list is a great way to do so.
My List
Love
1.
Plan a second honeymoon and take it
2.
Celebrate five years of marriage
3.
Beat Jeff at a game of chess
4.
Make Jeff breakfast in bed
5.
Have five at-home date nights
6.
Watch fifteen Jeff-recommended movies
7.
Let Jeff plans five dates, no questions asked.
Enjoy them.
8.
Plan five surprise dates for Jeff
9.
Write three letters to Jeff
10.
Have a candlelit dinner
11.
Spend the day in bed
Adventure
12.
Renew my passport
13.
Climb Mount Fuji
14.
Go to Tokyo
15.
Go skiing
16.
Go snow shoeing
17.
Get certified to scuba dive
18.
Visit ten cities in Japan
19.
Go somewhere I need a bikini
20.
Go paintballing
21.
Go to the shooting range
22.
Visit my brother in Arizona
23.
Go to five Japanese festivals
24.
Take five ITT Tours
25.
Go to an onsen
26.
Visit Korea
27.
Start planning our trip to Ireland
28.
Make a list of countries I’d like to visit
before I die
29.
See a sumo wrestling match
30.
Ride the bullet train to Tokyo
31.
Take a trip with friends
32.
Collect sea glass
33.
Visit a beer factory
34.
Visit a sake factory
35.
Spend a day at the beach
36.
Go hiking
37.
Go camping
38.
Visit Seattle again
Health & Wellness
39.
Lose fifteen pounds
40.
No soda for one month
41.
Complete Couch to 5K Running Program
42.
Complete two 5K’s
43.
Finish a 1.5 mile run in 14:00 (Good in
Navy Female PRT Standards)
44.
Leg Press my own weight
45.
Get past beginner in Wii Zumba
46.
Spend one week doing Yoga exclusively
47.
Try meditation
48.
Try belly dancing
49.
Try three fitness classes at the gym
50.
Donate blood twice
51.
Volunteer with animals
52.
Volunteer with people
Intelligence
53.
Finish all training for my new job by January
2013
54.
Read one hundred and twenty-five books
55.
Read forty books written before I was born
(1987)
56.
Read fifteen recommended books
57.
Write ten short stories
58.
Attempt to publish something I wrote
59.
Decide on two/three possible career paths, take
steps to make them possible
60.
Pay off all credit card debt
61.
See five digits in savings and keep it that way
62.
Pay off our Dodge Avenger
63.
Complete Rosetta Stone Japanese Levels One and
Two
64.
Complete one challenging Sudoku puzzle
65.
Remain certified in CPR
66.
Learn computer coding/CSS/etc.
Food and Drink
67.
Cook seafood at home five times
68.
Plant three herbs and use them in my cooking
69.
Try ten new slow-cooker recipes
70.
Try ten restaurants in and around Misawa
71.
Try five different kinds of sake
72.
Make sushi at home
73.
Make yakisoba at home
74.
Buy a rice cooker
75.
Make spaghetti sauce from scratch
76.
Bake my own bread
77.
Try five different Baskin Robbins ice cream
flavors
78.
Make ten new mixed drinks at home
79.
Bake homemade cinnamon rolls
80.
Make pot roast
Interests
81.
Learn how to shoot in manual on my Nikon d3100
82.
Frame five pictures of Japan
83.
Gift five of my own pictures
84.
Buy three pieces of Japanese artwork
85.
Write and send five letters
86.
Finish five crochet projects
87.
Finish three embroidery projects
88.
Finish 3 paint projects
89.
Buy a sewing machine
90.
Finish five sewing projects
91.
Take a class at the Arts and Crafts Center
92.
Get a second tattoo
93.
Get a massage
94.
Watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy
95.
Have a Star Wars Day
96.
Get my nails done
97.
Get my hair professionally dyed
98.
Buy a dress and wear it
99.
Host a theme party
100.
Finish a 1,000 piece puzzle
101.
Buy a bamboo plant
I intend to blog as I go, filling you in on my progress and struggles along the way. Think I can do it?
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Time for Your Close Up
I've been playing with my new camera off and on since I opened it on Christmas morning. With being sick and ending up in Urgent Care, my productivity the past two weeks has been stagnant at best, so I'm hoping to start turning that around now that I'm feeling back to normal. I finally finished cleaning up the mess from Christmas today, so I'm ready to move onto the new year!
Here's my very beginner pictures. I'm hoping in a year or two I can look back and laugh, comparing them to how far I've grown!
Our Christmas Tree, 2011.
Star Wars Risk on Christmas Day.
A cute little package of pasta from my parents!
Jeff playing on my laptop.
Coffee!
My new favorite electrical appliance.
My favorite jewelry box.
Even my untrained eyes can see that these pictures have plenty of room for improvement. But everyone has to start somewhere right?
So Fresh, So Clean
Hi! I'm Teri, but you probably already know that. I'm starting a new blog. It probably won't be full of fresh ideas and original posts, but it will include all the pieces that make up my life. I'll do my best to share my life as a wife, an American in Japan, a Navy girl on an Air Force base, a full-time employee of the government, a literature lover, a photography novice, and an occasional kitchen novice. There's some other bits and pieces mixed in, of course. Life is full of surprises.
I wanted to start over. I graduated with my degree in English in 2010. I've continued my love of literature by reading everything I can get my hands on, but my writing has slacked considerably. My favorite form of writing is persuasive - trying to prove my point and get you to agree with me. But that doesn't really come up in my daily life now. So I'm going to flex my hand at writing stories. Nonfiction especially since I'll be documenting my life. But I'm going to attempt to dip my toe in the water of fiction writing as well. That may or may not be shared, since my fiction writing skills are rusty and unpracticed. Along with my writing, I'd like to start focusing on my photography. My wonderful husband gave me a Nikon d3100 for Christmas, and I'd like to dive into the world of understanding DSLR and how to use my camera to the best of my ability. Living in Japan is a once in a lifetime experience, and I want the pictures and stories to last much longer.
So. Here's to new beginnings!
----------------------------------------------------------
Updated:
I have since uploaded my previous blog's posts, since my first year in Japan was memorable and worth sharing. I didn't want to have to keep linking to an unused blog, that seemed silly.
So every post below this post is old blog, pre-fresh start!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Organizing on a Smaller Scale
My big plans to organize and de-clutter got reduced.
First, my cold didn't quietly go away. It's still alive and kicking with a vengeance.
Second, we splurged on a new dresser and small TV for the bedroom this weekend. Our closet has been a little stuffed and we were both tired of squinting to watch a movie in there.
The new additions to the bedroom did get me moving a little on the organizing. I moved books from our overflowing bookshelves in the office to the less filled bookshelf in the bedroom now that the tube TV left. With the dresser, our closet has room to breathe, so I have plans to move some files and paperwork from the office onto the top shelf of our closet. I'd like some woven baskets like I mentioned in the previous post for the bottom shelves of our nightstands so I can shove some more books/paperwork/misc. into the bedroom. But that's for another day. And organizing the slightly less overflowing office is for another week entirely.
We still have plans to check out some furniture stores next weekend or after for some of the organizing goodies I've got my eyes on. But since we splurged on the bedroom, the organizing will have to wait. Which I'm okay with. It's been kind of nice to be able to go into the bedroom and watch TV comfortably while Jeff games out in the living room. Or to game myself, since we moved the Wii into the bedroom. And since we have a bookshelf right next to the dresser, I was able to keep the dresser top un-cluttered. I'll have to take some pictures once I have enough energy to do the little things like make the bed and vaccuum.
Today I'm working on putting the Christmas stuff away and finding places for all our new goodies. And the usual laundry that a week (or two of three) accumulates. I'm hoping my cold will be kicked by the end of the week so I can dig into some of the things I've been wanting to -- organizing, picture taking with my wonderful new Nikon, working out, actually cooking instead of picking up unhealthy foods, etc.
First, my cold didn't quietly go away. It's still alive and kicking with a vengeance.
Second, we splurged on a new dresser and small TV for the bedroom this weekend. Our closet has been a little stuffed and we were both tired of squinting to watch a movie in there.
The new additions to the bedroom did get me moving a little on the organizing. I moved books from our overflowing bookshelves in the office to the less filled bookshelf in the bedroom now that the tube TV left. With the dresser, our closet has room to breathe, so I have plans to move some files and paperwork from the office onto the top shelf of our closet. I'd like some woven baskets like I mentioned in the previous post for the bottom shelves of our nightstands so I can shove some more books/paperwork/misc. into the bedroom. But that's for another day. And organizing the slightly less overflowing office is for another week entirely.
We still have plans to check out some furniture stores next weekend or after for some of the organizing goodies I've got my eyes on. But since we splurged on the bedroom, the organizing will have to wait. Which I'm okay with. It's been kind of nice to be able to go into the bedroom and watch TV comfortably while Jeff games out in the living room. Or to game myself, since we moved the Wii into the bedroom. And since we have a bookshelf right next to the dresser, I was able to keep the dresser top un-cluttered. I'll have to take some pictures once I have enough energy to do the little things like make the bed and vaccuum.
Today I'm working on putting the Christmas stuff away and finding places for all our new goodies. And the usual laundry that a week (or two of three) accumulates. I'm hoping my cold will be kicked by the end of the week so I can dig into some of the things I've been wanting to -- organizing, picture taking with my wonderful new Nikon, working out, actually cooking instead of picking up unhealthy foods, etc.
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