Good Morning!

Good morning, sweetheart! You stay in bed and drink the coffee I made for you, while I let the dog out and feed him, and get the boys up and ready for school. After that I'll run the dishwasher and throw in a load of clothes....

Yuri Rocks!

My new pal Yuri is one rockin seamstress! Together we made this reversible tote bag, which looks simple but to me, was unbelieveably complicated. To be honest, I secretly wanted to quit and throw the fabric pieces in the closet. It took us two days and two sewing machines. Her $99 NEX special is far superior to our expensive, complicated one and works more consistently. Jose, if you are reading this from across the globe, I know you are thinking that the problem always lies between the machine and the chair, and I'm sure you're right! Anyway, we are going to make her a smaller but wider version for a "handbag", then later this week return to Kamakura to get more fabric for our next project, whatever that may be.

Stitching Instead of Bitching!

Well, my new neighbors are very crafty and like me, have some free time on their hands. They have inspired me to dig out this cute little kit I ordered last winter and have not really used. It is from amazon.com called "Stitch-It Kit" by Jenny Hart. I thought this pattern of hers was a bit creepy and wierd and not at all matronly. So it was the prefect way to touch up this sweet, dull little pink t-shirt that I never wear and was about to donate to the Second Hand Rose. Her patterns are fun and quick to do, and she encourages people to have fun with things and experiment. So this was how I stayed out of trouble for a good hour.
As I sit here, Frankie is playing Club Penguin and whistling. It is always a good sign when Frankie whistles, a sign that all is well. Except of course, Dad being gone.

Frankie and Nate

Frankie and Nate have been handling this deployment thing like troopers. It seems like Nate tested limits quite a bit for the first few days, to the point where I was about to wring his sweet neck. This was always the point where I would call Jose over and let him take over with his low booming voice, and Nate would always straighten up. But just as my delicate lovely hands are clenched and moving towards him, I realize he is learning that he has to follow the rules even though Dad is gone. Especially now! Frankie spent a few days in his room doing top secret Frankie stuff, with the door locked. Since the computer is down in the kitchen, there is very little trouble he could get into there. They don't mention Dad unless it is very quiet around the house, at night before bed.
They are making new friends at our new house though. Twice this week I have had to go to the neighbors and fetch one of them at 8 oclock at night to come home. Last night Frankie went to the movie Iron Man with a buddy from the Yokosuka base, and Nate spent the afternoon back and forth between our house and the neighbors who had an X Box. We had pizza for the second time this week. I'm wasting away over here, Jose. Ha! Its their favorite meal. Little monkeys!

Starbucks

Thankfully Starbucks has taken over the planet and we can enjoy our overpriced coffee drinks here across the globe. Starbucks has helped me more than I can say, to cope with our move here and the deployment. That is where we have our book club every month so noone has to clean their house and make snacks, that is where we meet when we have to bring the kids and let them run around the place while we chat. Here is one frappucino I won't be getting: yep, coffee jelly, just like it sounds. I have eaten many a dessert here that looks like a hot fudge sundae and there is the coffee jelly that looks like chocolate, surrounded by sugary red beans and topped with a scoop of ice cream. I imagine this would taste just like that. Mom, I only wish I could ship you one of these! :)

Japanese Convenience Store Treats

I think Japanese convenience store treats deserve their own special category in this blog. Here is some yummy (?) ramen we picked up for the boys a couple of weeks ago. Yep, UFO flavor. It was a mysterious seafood salty soy sauce curry mix. In the convenience store, it looks just like the inside of a gas station but without the gas pumps outside, and they are on every other street corner. 7-11 is here, now "7 and I holdings". They have a whole isle of different flavor Ramen noodles, a bath of mysterious fish cakes floating in sea flavored broth, fried chicken and "american dogs" rotating endlessly under warm lights, and refigerated sushi and things which actually have enough preservatives to go for weeks in a hot car and look exactly the same (guess how I know this...)

Navy Marine Corp Relief Society

This week I started training to be a caseworker at the Navy Marine Corp Relief Society. Although this has some social work principles involved and will be great experience, it does not require a degree of any kind. In fact, the best experience for the job would a being a military spouse who has moved around alot, heard the lingo, and kept a sharp eye on her husband's paychecks. Yesterday we went through doing a budget with a client and let me tell you, it was grueling even for someone with an MSW. I'll admit that I have never once looked at my husbands LES (leave and earnings statement), and my favorite way of budgeting is to go to the ATM and see how much money it says is left in the bank, then take some out. Balance a checkbook? Ha!
The Relief Society has scads of money donated by military all over the world to help service members in need. One example might be a service member who has a death in the family, needs to fly back to the states immediately, and doesn't have an extra $1300 lying around for a round trip ticket. One common problem is the Navy makes a mistake with your pay and you are stuck for a month with no pay - the NMCRS gives what they call a bridge loan repayable when you are reimbursed by the navy.
It is heartbreaking that there are women here, especially at a foreign duty station, who do not have jobs and are completely dependent on there husbands, who go to sea and who are able to restrict their access to the bank account and their pay. A military marriage takes faith in the other person and love, imagine being stuck with no money, three kids and no power of attorney. Unless Jose granted me the permission, I would not be able to get a job, buy a car, even sign the kids up for school!!! Since I know him and we've been married for 14 years, we laugh about this but it still pisses me off.
The woman still needs the husbands permission to get financial assist from the NMCRS, because it is set up to help the service member, not the spouse. After all, the assist might be in the form of a loan in which the repayment would be taken in allotments from his paycheck. Ay yay yay!
So many rules and policies to remember!
I think this, overall, will be a rewarding experience and certainly, service members and their families will be helped in times of crisis, so that is what to focus on.