The Dryer Service Man...

On Friday morning, while Patti and I were eagerly waiting to watch the season premiere of greay's Anatomy, the bell rang and there were the three men coming to clean out the dryer exhaust. Turns out whoever lived here in the past didn't realize that you needed to clean out the lint tray in the dryer and now the exhaust tube from the dryer is quite full.

So they arrived promptly at 10 to "prepare" for the cleaning which was to commence at 1... this meant that they laid some plastic in my storage room and all over the patio furniture - probably would have been easier to ask me to move the stuff, but hey, we must make it convenient for all! They even took pictures of the preparation... then left and returned immediately at 1 to commence the cleaning. Lots of noise and vacuuming later, they got it done and took their plastic papers and left - however, they were outside organizing their truck for another 30 minutes - guess everything had to be put back in its place before they could leave...

Needless to say it's just quite funny to sit and watch the way things are done!

Highlights of the week...

On Tuesday I got my haircut - bottom line is that it cost twice what I would have paid in New York and it took about an hour and 15 minutes for the cut - however, the cut started with a wash with massage, then meticulous cut, followed by a 10 - 15 minute blow dry, and head and shoulder massage. A definite plus to living in Japan! I've had several compliments on it and have been pleased thus far... I ran out of mousse for my curls and have looked in the local stores for something new but can't find much more than shampoo and conditioner - guess since most everyone has straight hair, there's not much need for added volume! I was able to get something at the salon, we'll see if it works...

Wednesday was the ladies luncheon at the Corning Display President's house - I told Chris I felt like I was going to an Officer's Wives Club meeting... it was very nice - it was so nice to talk with other ladies who came from the same area.

On Thursday night I went out for my first Ladies Night here - with the moms of Sydney's class. Interestingly enough, we had a very nice time and ate at quite the yummy restaurant -

Chris has had a very busy week with work and worked his first Saturday - with the economy the way it is, everyone is planning and strategizing the best they can. He's heading back to New York on Tuesday, complete with a very long list of things to collect and bring back... :)

Friday morning, my friend, Patti, came over to watch the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy. Don't know what I'd do without the sling box... it's a device we have hooked up to our TV in New York and we can access it from our computer here - thus enabling us to watch TV live from the US or even tape things and watch later. Whoever, invented it must have been an expat!

We went over tonight for dinner at Patti's house and are now watching Prison Break. Tomorrow morning it's coffee at Starbucks and then off to explore and shop with some other mom's... yeeha!

And oh yeah - still don't have everything put away!

this week...

I started off the week thinking that I would have everything organized by the end of this week... but it's Friday afternoon at 5 and I still have a mess. I did finish the kid's rooms but our room is quite the disaster. After 10 years of marriage, we now have to share a closet and there simply isn't enough space! We will either have to make a trip to Ikea or I'll have to order another bureau to put things away. The drawers of furniture are just so small and shallow...

Reality has set in...

Well, while it's WONDERFUL to have my things here... can I say again how nice it is to have my coffee in the morning????... anyhoo, reality slapped me in the face this morning. I now have to find a place to put everything! I tried to start in Sydney's room today and quite honestly haven't made much progress!

Chris was a speed demon on Saturday and while I took Sydney to her first soccer practice (what a disaster that was! lots of screaming and tears and no playing of soccer) he emptied almost every box and had piles everywhere ready to be organized. We got the living room and kitchen squared away but I am going to take a bit to get the rooms all organized - did I realize I had this many articles of clothing????? and shoes??????? and how many stuffed animals can you fit on a bed anyway??????

Oh well, one day at a time I suppose - I'm off to get Nicholas from the late bus in a few minutes. Can't imagine that he got on the wrong bus again today! I'm sure he'll remember it's bus #4 until he's a grown man! :) Tomorrow will be another first - I'll be off to the American Club to get my hair cut... I'm in such desperate need anything would be an improvement. More to follow I'm sure...

Life is Good...

Good Morning All! I am a happy girl this morning... I am sitting on the couch, with my feet on my nice rug, wrapped up in my fuzzy robe, AND drinking a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee! Granted, the place is a wreck wtih STUFF everywhere - but hey, it's our stuff!

The kids were soooooo excited to see things coming in yesterday - It was such a wonderful site to see Sydney pushing her baby stroller around the apartment and Nicholas playing with all of his hot wheels. It's like one big Christmas morning!

So far everything seems to all be in one piece... We'll see as we move along.

By the way, I added a guestbook to the bottom of the page (my sister always has such marvelous and creative ideas for me! :) Make sure to sign!

Very Important Announcement!

OUR STUFF COMES TODAY!!!!!!!!!! It was schedeuled to clear through customs yesterday and is to arrive here at 9 A.M. - which means it will be here at 8:55. CAN'T WAIT! There are some remnants of a typhoon passing over so hopefully things won't get too wet. More to follow...

Disneyland (Aug. 2008) Part 1