First things first!

Nate is having some pizza, mentally preparing himself for his new house, new neighborhood, new room, and new school bus. But first things first! That's my boy!

our new house!

Yaaahoo! We got a townhouse in Ikego, on the base, and we are moving next week. It is happening so fast and my head is spinning. Note the BIG AMERICAN washer and drier, the dishwasher in the kitchen, wow, so happy about all of this. Notice the white white white. The inside of the house looks to be pretty much indestructible, even for me, the kids and a crazy little dog. the downside is that the Navy gives ten days notice, so we give ten days to our landlady and neighbor. That seems a bit sudden, but it is clearly laid out in our lease. Also, it only gives us ten days to pack our lives up and move them over. Of course the housing office, has said that we must move ourselves, the Navy will not move us. Why? Oh, th epolicy clearly states that blah blah blah....anyway it does clearly state that I have ten days to pack up an get out before the navy cuts off our housing allowance and we pay rent on our house here. So it makes good sense to get going!

First, after having coffee and surfing the net a while, doing a bit of shopping on the base, Nate and I went to the commissary to see if they had any leftover boxes. Yes, a nice, handsome young Japanese man did happen to have a million boxes, all neatly folded, all Fritos boxes. I made a brilliant comment like, "Gee, that's alot of Fritos". He said "Yes, Americans like their Fritos. Have to have....sell lots of Fritos...have to have..."

Bless his wee heart. And was there ever a truer statement?

Cut the cake!

Aww, so cute!! Captain Krentz lets the children of the returning IA's cut the Welcome Back cakek with his fancy Navy sword! Look at their cute little faces! They were delighted with the whole sword thing. I wanted to lick the frosting of, but everyone thought I was joking. They were laughing. Or was it the nervous twitter you get when you're reacting to a crazy person. It was darn good frosting. Captain Krentz is a really nice man, even if he is Jose's boss, I really like him alot. He and his wife Kathy, who has become a dear friend in the last year, have raised 7 kids together. A good Catholic family! They had an Easter egg hunt for all of the hospital kids and hid eggs all over the yard. Kathy helped us get into our townhouse on the base and has offered so much advice and encouragement over the last year. Once, she even pulled me out of the way of an oncoming car when I was chattering away and a Japanese car almost ran me over. Seriously, I am going to miss them both when they move this summer.

Lunch for Returning IA's

Yesterday we, the Oakleaf spouses, gave a lunch for the returning IA's (individual augmentees) and their families. This was the pretty cake we had at the lunch - it actually tasted great which I must say was a suprize, and the frosting was good too. Total we had maybe 40 people, including several kids. Chef Clement did the cooking, which was a treat for all of us. He is a really nice guy whose wife is in the Navy. Like the rest of us, he is here without a job and finding volunteer things to do. But he also teaches cooking classes at the community center. I have taken a class in making truffles, brownies (to DIE for!!), treats, pot roast and roasted veggies, chicken soup and chicken tortilla soup, and I missed the bread and rolls class, sadly. Anyway, for this deal he made an awesome meaty, sausage and pepperoni lasagna, salad and homemade sourdough garlic bread. the portions can only be described as gargantuan an everyone was cheerful and appreciative.

Nancy made this punch with sherbert, raspberries and ginger ale. We teased her that it was a lovely punch, and she was just a lovely gal, and this would reflect well on her husband's carreer. We snorted and guffawed a bit when Mimi said that back in the day, a woman's behavior was reflected on her husband's review. What is that? Wow, must be 1954. Sometimes, actually, when I need Jose's signature allowing me to drive our car and sign the kids up for school, I think I'm stuck in a time warp. Jose has lovingly given me full unlimited POA with no expiration. Oh...ha...haahhh....but I digress....

New Lawn and Errand Boy Wanted

Interviews for my new lawn and errand boy starting soon! Jose and I found out that he will be going IA, otherwise known as Individual Augmentee, at the end of the month. He will be going a board a ship and working as part of Project Hope, for the Navy. This will take place all around the Carribean and South America. He will basically be gone until early December or so, hopefully with a little reunion time in the middle. I am so proud of him, and I know he'll be great at it. He also speaks Spanish which can only help. I'm going to miss him very much. He has always been my calmer and more sensible half. I am not ready to be a single mom! Yikes! We have been married 14 years and never been apart since he went to training school for the Navy. But I know that many other military wives have been through this over and over, so I'm not alone. Aw, heck, I don't care about them, this is me!
Ok, I'm done complaining for now, I have to put on a brave face for the boys, and show them that Moms can run the show, and have adventures and travels in Japan too, not just Dads. First step is our trip to Hiroshima, just me and the boys, at the end of May. After that, we will fly to MN for a month. Whoo woo! We can't wait!

more cherry blossoms

There are still cherry blossoms everywhere! We have had a few chilly days, in the upper 40's and rainy until today, that have apparently made the blossoms last longer on the trees. When the wind blows, petals will begin falling off of the trees. Since the trees are everywhere, my windshield had petals on it by the time I get home. Note the unique Japanese style tree trimming - just cut off the branch where you want it to stop. you will see a hilarious tall tree "stub" in front of our house.

Tilapia with Red Butter Sauce

Here is a fish dish which I tried last night after finding the recipe in the commissary. It is really fast and good, although I found the sauce to be a bit thick and have cut the flour down to 1Tbsp. Yum.

Tilapia with Red Butter Sauce

4Tilapia fillets
1 small box of frozen Green Giant spinach
3Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 minced red pepper
1/2 minced onion
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 c chicken stock

First, season the fish with salt and pepper and cook with a bit of olive oil spray.

Drain the spinach, add 1 Tbsp butter and saute the onions for 3 mins then add the garlic and cook another 3 mins then add the spinach. Lay this spinach in the bottom of your platter. Make popeye sounds.

For the red butter sauce, melt the remaining butter and then add the bell pepper. Saute for 4 mins then add the flour and cook for 2 mins. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock and cook 3-5 mins.

Top the spinach with the cooked fish and add a good spoon of the red butter sauce.

Yell for the kids and threaten them if they do not at least try the fish.