recovered?

I might have kicked this jet lag thing in the butt for the 2nd time in the past month....maybe...hopefully!

My trip home was significantly less painful than my trip to the US.  My total travel time was 24 hours instead of the 36 it took me to get to the US and I only had one lay over instead of 2.  That one lay over was a bit of an adventure though, I had a 45 minute connection in DC which, for those of you that don't travel very often, is not a lot of time.  It didn't help that my flight left Cincinnati 15 minutes late.  I literally sprinted through the airport, knocking people out of the way (sorry old dude, you were moving too slow for me and no matter how many times I said excuse me, you just wouldn't get out of my way) and hurdling luggage to make it to my flight on time.  I'm sure I was a sight to see, but I was determined not to get stuck there.  I made my flight with only a few minutes to spare and luckily there was no one in the seat next to me so it was a pretty comfortable 14 hour flight.  I made it home just in time to be shaken into a deep sleep by pretty good aftershock.  Nothing says welcome home like an aftershock huh?

I have been waking up really early in the mornings (0700 is really early for me) but I don't mind too much because I've been waking up feeling rested and just in time for NHL playoff hockey puck drop on this side of the world.  The strangest part of this episode of jet lag for me has been CRAVING dinner in the morning instead of breakfast foods (get your minds out of the gutter, I'm not prego).

I tried not to waste any time getting back to my "normal" life. Lunch with friends. Social time with my awesome neighbors.  PWOC Bible study.  Teaching English lessons.  COOKING!  Gym.  I figure if I'm busy, I'll stay awake. 

I also made time to finish a craft project that has been in the works for months now

 I am IN LOVE with my menu board! 

(and yes, I realize I spelled Kielbasa wrong...I may or may not get around to correcting that)

To top it all off, Jason returned safely from Sendai last night.

  He is currently out wearing a clown suit getting some tests done to make sure he isn't radiating is as healthy as when he left

It's so nice to have our family together again without any TDY's in the near future.

I HEART FACES PHOTO CHALLENGE: PETS

I will be the 1st to admit that I am not a cat lover but my sisters cat is way more photogenic than my dog.  Over the month that I spent living with my mom, we saw about 25 days of rain.  We all felt the way Stinky Butt (yes, that's his name) looks, a longing for some sunshine and the chance to get outside and play!

I'll be back with a real post after I recover from the 24 hours of travel and brutal jet lag I'm suffering from!

end of the road

Well, it's official, I have an itinerary and I'm heading back to Japan on Monday.  I'm leaving the day before my BFF's birthday and 4 days before a concert that I was really excited to attend with my girlfriends, but after the day I had today, I'm ready.  Jason won't be there waiting for me =( but he should be returning from Sendai shortly after I get back.

So, let me tell you about my day, because I know you're dying to hear.  I had one last thing to check of my USA to do list, get a new drivers license (mine expires in a couple months).  I've put it off till the very last minute because  I dread the BMV.  My biggest fears were confirmed today.  My experience there today totally SUCKED!  I was concerned about having to show proof of residency because I have ZERO mail that still goes to my dad's house.  I thought my military ID would be ok, but I was still worried they were going to hassle me about it.  Well, that part went surprisingly well.  I had all the necessary documentation and passed my eye exam with flying colors.  Then she looked me up in the computer and informed me that my license was suspended.

EXCUSE ME?!?!?!  SAY WHAT?!?!?

Yep, I have in fact been driving with out a valid license since SEPTEMBER (including while I was in Japan because my Japanese license is only valid with a current US license.  YIKES!).  Apparently I have an unpaid speeding ticket in Missouri from 6APR10 and this is the 1st I'm hearing of it.  I could have swore I paid it but I can't find proof since I had to pay with a money order and I can't find the receipt.  So now I'm feeling like a 15 year old while my mommy drives me around and having to go through a ridiculously ancient process to get my record cleared.  Luckily I have an awesome friend still in MO that is going to help me out and hopefully it will be all cleared up by the end of next week.  Hopefully!  I was super relieved to find out the other day that my ESL students are waiting for me to return but until I get this cleared up, I can't pick them up at the gate and take them to my house like I normally do so I don't know what I'll do.  UGH!  It sucks, but I guess I'm glad I found out this way and not by getting into an accident in Japan or something stupid.

On a completely random side note, while my mom was carting my but around town today, Gwen Stefani's "Holla Back Girl" came on the radio and my mom admitted to me that she used to think the lyrics were "Harlem Black Girl"...oh how I love her.  I'm going to miss her like crazy when I leave!

I also have a pretty awesome photo for this weeks 52 in 52 but I can't post it quite yet, so I'm going to skip this week and I'll come back to it a little later.

bad blogger

I've been just a tad busy the past 3 weeks.  I can't believe I've been back in the US that long.  They announced yesterday that it's time for those of us that left Japan to start heading back.  They will provide us a ticket any time in the next 365 days but 10 days from yesterday the benefits we have been receiving will cease and if we stay beyond 30 days we will be removed from our base housing and the green suiter will be moved into the barracks.  I will most definitely be returning before that point, but we're not sure EXACTLY what day I will choose to depart just yet (the 10 day window ends the day before my BFF's birthday...I'm having a hard time accepting that).  I don't imagine the next 10-14 days will be any less busy that the previous 3 weeks, but I promise to keep every one up to date and post more frequently once I do return.  I have a ton of catching up to do, it's been a GREAT 3 weeks!

14/52 {envy}

Celebrating 50 happy years of marriage, that's something to envy!

me with me grandma's brother and his bride of 50 years

I miss my husband terribly, but I'm so grateful to be able to celebrate moments like this with my family!

12&13/52 {hands&shiny}

I was so focused on my trip around the world that I skipped week 12, so I just combined them =)

Pedicures with 3 of my favorite ladies was just what the doctor ordered after 36 hours of travel!

Military Life, A to Z

So I'm a little late, but I was busy spending a few days at Ft Campbell with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend before he left for his 1st deployment

I was only supposed to be there for about 36 hours but thanks to mother nature, his flight got cancelled and we got to spend an extra day with him before we said goodbye for real =(

Yep, that's right, I was in Nashville when the tornado's hit that area on Monday.  The power went out at the airport and the rain and wind was crazy.  I have officially survived my 2nd natural disaster in less than a month!

Back to the original point of this post

A lot of ladies posted multiple words for each letter, but I kept it to one.  Here's my list:

Airborne

Boots

Command

Deployment

Engineer

Flexible

General

Hoorah

Infiltrate

Jumpmaster

Kevlar

LZ (Landing Zone)

Mission

NVG (Night Vision Goggles)

Orders

Promotion

Qualify

Rank

Salute

Tanks

Uniforms

Voluntary

Weapons

XO (Executive Officer)

Yellow ribbons

Zama