With Each Passing Moment...: April 2012

29 April 2012

The Rainy Season

Well, we officially started the rainy season a few weeks ago. I'm now beginning to understand why they call it that. Could be that it rains quite a bit almost every day. :) I'm also realizing that straightening my hair may be a waste of my time. I'm thinking of growing it out and adding some curl to it. Any thoughts on that from the peanut gallery??

Ben survived range week and got sharpshooter on rifle. He was not thrilled with that as he lost his expert from when he was in TBS. :( Even still, he did his best and I'm proud of him. It was a long week for both of us and I am thankful for a restful weekend together.

He has a possible trip upcoming in June that could be several weeks long. We won't really know a) if he is going on this trip or b) when the trip is happening until it is almost upon us. Ahh, the joys of military life. :) He is excited about this possibility as it would give him the opportunity to see Mt. Fuji. I wish I could go too!

We are currently looking for a second car so that I can get myself around on the island. For now I'm throwing myself on the mercy and graciousness of my friends here. They have been wonderful, but I surely do look forward to having some freedom to get around on my own. Hopefully in the next week we'll have something figured out!

24 April 2012

Recipe for a Marine Wife

Recipe for a Marine Wife

1 ½ cups patience
1 cup courage
¾ cup tolerance
1 pound ability
2 tablespoons elbow grease
dash of adventure

Add above ingredients together. Let set alone for many months. Marinate frequently with salty tears. Pour off excess fat. Sprinkle ever so lightly with money. Knead dough until payday. Season with international spices. Bake 20 years or until done. Serve with pride.

"And most of all a deep and abiding trust in our God." This was added by a dear friend from South Carolina.

This was given to me in a frame by Ben's parents when he commissioned in August 2010. This has been a huge blessing to me in the last two years. Recently I've been working on the seasoning with international spices and marinating with salty tears parts. Not to have a pity party on here, but I sure do miss my family and friends in the States. I appreciate your prayers as we continue to adjust to a new home, meeting new people and finding new friends.

Back to the Shooting Range

This week is a busy week for Ben! He is back on the shooting range to re-qualify on rifle. He has to do this once a year. Out here it is busier and harder to get some of the guys out on the range, so Ben was chosen to go since he just got here and is not as busy yet.

Every morning it is an 0230 wake up call for him and departure at 0300. Needless to say, I'm not getting up at that time of the morning. :) I am trying to stay on a 'normal' schedule, but it sure isn't as fun having to say goodbye that early and goodnight at 1930. It is only until Thursday though so we can make it and recover quickly!

Right now my main job is keeping the house clean and coming up with creative menu options. :) That is helping, but I am starting to itch for something to do beyond this. I'm looking into some volunteer positions around the island right now and that is exciting just to know that there are some opportunities.

22 April 2012

Zakimi Castle Ruins

Here are some pictures of the castle ruins that we toured yesterday. They are a bit out of order, but I hope you enjoy!

21 April 2012

Castle Ruins and Farmer's Market

Today we took advantage of some free time and explored the immediate area around our house. About a mile down the road we have a great historic area. The Zakimi Castle Ruins are beautiful and there is a trail (one which I was not up for taking just yet, but soon!) that goes around it that is pretty neat. The castle was built in the 1400s and about all that is left of the castle is the walls. You can still see some of the foundation of a house within the walls. I'll add pictures of this later on.

After seeing the ruins we drove around to find whatever we could find and we discovered a Japanese Farmer's Market. It was really neat to stumble upon this and explore what they had to offer. They had different booths from places around the island (Blue Seal ice cream and snow cones...I really want to try them sometime!!) and then had fruits/veggies and lots of plants.

We bought a pepper plant, two snap dragons and some very pretty white flowers (we have no idea what they are called) for our 'garden'. We also bought some seeds for planting corn and some other flowers.

Our snap dragons and pretty white flowers. The start to our flower section! :)

We definitely have to dig this whole thing up and weed often! We are excited to have a garden area.

Our pepper plant. Ben is SUPER excited about this! These are all his...I don't do peppers. :)

This was a fun day! Tonight we are exploring a new restaurant called Primo Kitchen. Yay for new places!

17 April 2012

Pictures of Yogi House

Yogi House is the name of our new place. Apparently they name everything around here. Not a problem because it helps me out a lot! Well, generally speaking. Unless they have multiple places named the same thing. :)

We have a 2 bed/1 bath (separate) that was recently remodeled. The 2 bedroom happened after they made two separate bedrooms into one. It is a HUGE master bedroom and it is really nice. The pictures I'm posting are unfurnished, but we are getting settled really nicely and I'll have to post more after we get everything put into place. I'm posting a LOT of pictures, so let me know if you have any questions.