9 Days Overdue

Little bit behind on the Japan updates . . . or I suppose you could say I just haven't done them!
We finally slept in today—till 10. It was a milestone—proof that I think jet lag is over. It did take quite some time. I'm sure the 4:30-5 sunrise didn't help!!!

So our adventures and milestones to date include but are not limited to:
--Purchasing our first car. This included testing for our driver's license at 11:30pm—which we are so thankful for. Yesterday we drove our car to the store and to babysit Miss K, and to a Japanese HomeDepot/WalMart type place. Super fun—J bought a rice pillow and a huge rear view mirror for my car. Today we took it on an adventure to a nearby lake for a Labor Day weekend picnic (just us) and exploring down town.

--Putting a deposit down on a house—in fact, the 3rd house that we “loved.” This house happens to be green. And it doesn't have the worlds greatest driveway (or one at all, really). But the inside is wonderful and it has a 2 car garage—which was a HUGE “selling” point for us as we have heard nothing but stories of the crazy winters . . . and since one of us will probably have many days of going into work before the sun rises, it only made sense. We will have TWO guest rooms—which you can take to mean that you SHOULD come visit us! And if all goes well, we should move in the week of Sept. 20.

--Exploring a Sunday afternoon fish market. J bought scallops—no surprise there. And I ate ice cream (also, really, no surprise). It was much fun—similar to Korea but MUCH cleaner.
--Shopping at a Japanese mall with the girls. Much fun—we had to find “indoor” shoes for Miss K to wear at preschool. I bought a Y780 long sleeve shirt—about $8.00—because ohmygosh I should have packed way more “cold” clothes than I did. It fits oddly, but it works. I see lots of online shopping in my future. We had lunch at the food court and I had “Pepper Lunch” and it was AMAZING. What I ordered was a pile of rice with corn and green onion on top with raw meat surrounding it. THEN, it came out on a SIZZLNG hot pan and I mixed it and cooked it myself . . . it was SO yummy!
--Buying pillows. Labor Day sale, what can I say. We tossed several pillows before we left AZ and so . . . now when you come visit you'll have new pillows.
--Golfing. NOT ME. Just J. With the boys. He loved it.
--Shopping at Y100 Store . . . OHHHH, it's literally across the street from our new house. It will take all my money I'm sure. This store, a “dollar store” is AMAZING. IT has everything in the world. It's huge. It's exciting. It's awesome. I love it.
--Signing up at the library. Because my life wouldn't be complete if I couldn't go to the library weekly. It's sad though . . . it's not near as wonderful as other libraries, and I kinda thought it would be, being in Japan and all? Not so much. Guess it's time to read some new authors.
--and . . . CELL PHONES. We both have them. His is black, mine is white. AND for a month, we get unlimited calls to the states! Well, I mean, we could keep it, if someone wants to pay the $30/month for it :) But for now we just got it b/c it was the best way to get the cheapest phones. And we still have Skype and plan to use that the most. Regardless, if you get a random call that starts 080, it's one of us.
So far so good! AND . . . drum roll . . . although I would have loved to go see this with my mom and sister before I left, The Time Traveler's Wife is playing tonight, and my DARLING husband is taking me. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW . . .