5 1/2 weeks down... 2 more to go

I know it has been 6 weeks since I have last updated this blog. Our homeleave has turned out to be extremely chaotic. Much more than I thought it would be. I have slept in 8 different beds and driven well over 3,000 miles. We have gone to the beach, camping, an island, shopping, fireworks, multiple cookouts, restaurants, hell on earth (AKA Chuck E Cheese) swimming, jet skiing, and many more just to see all the family and friends we can squeeze in.  I still have a trip to Illinois, my family reunion, a stupid wonderful 5-mile race, and LOTS of shopping before the kids and I leave in 2 weeks. All that and we are still going to miss seeing people while here. Matt flies back to Japan in less than 36 hours. It is just so hard to fit everything in that we want in such a short amount of time.

Don't worry I have been carrying around two different digital cameras so I have some great pictures, as well as some thoughts to share from our time back home. It has been wonderful to be back, but it has also been very different. I promise to be back blogging soon. So sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of your break from my "Ramblings from Life".

After 10 months...

We are heading back to the states for our summer home leave!  I am not sure who is more excited –– our family & friends or Visa.  It is weird to think we haven't been back in 10 months. On one hand it seems so long ago and on the seems to have flown by.

Last summer we had only been living in Japan for 4.5 months before we came back. So it really wasn't all that long. I think after 10 months of living in the "bubble" coming home will be strange in some ways.


So what  am I looking forward to? (Besides the obvious family and friends)

1. Target, Gap, Old Navy, Kohls, the mall, and heck, even Walmart. Bring it all on. The clothes in my closet are begging for some new friends.
2. The cereal aisle. I may even sing a tune as I stroll down the aisle. 
3.  The deli counter. I will kiss the deli person as they give me real turkey and real cheese. 
4. Whole grain bread
5. Being able to order a real salad
6. Panera, Chipolte, Chilis, Danny's BBQ, Sunny Skies, Dairy Queen, Osers... and the list goes on.
7. Mexican food!
8. Sweet tea
9. Borders, Barnes and Nobles... any bookstore filled with English books. I may cry when I walk through the door. 
10. Getting my eyebrows waxed
11. Being able to walk through a store and know what everything is
12. Walking down the street and not having everyone look at me as if I am from another planet (Although I do have to say I don't get as many looks as Matt or the kids with my dark hair)
13. Grass -- I am so tired of concrete.
14. Reading street signs, billboards, heck anything!
15. Drive thrus
16. Going one day without saying "Wakarimasen" (I do not understand)

Hmmmm, from the looks of that list I may gain 50 pounds this summer. 

What am I not looking forward to?

1. Flying by myself with 3 kids for 18 hours each way.
2. Remembering which side of the road to drive on.
3. Driving everywhere. I actually enjoy all the walking and the train. You don't realize how much time you spend driving in a car until you have other means of transportation.
4. Living out of suitcases for 8 weeks. By week 4 last year, I was done. 
5. Sleeping in 12 different beds in 4 different states over 8 weeks.
6. Trying to see and make time for everyone and everything in the short time back. Our calendar looks like a road map.
7. Dysfunction
8. Poor customer service and then being expected to tip them. 
9. Jet lag
10. Being away from Matt for 4 weeks.

Only 5 days!  Watch out America... here come the Jacobs'!

11 days

We are in countdown mode. Only 11 days until the kids and I leave for our home leave back to the United States. It honestly seems like yesterday that we got off the plane wide-eyed and with no idea what we were getting ourselves into. And now, almost 5 months later, we are going "home" for almost 8 weeks.

The next 11 days will be swamped with end of the school year activities, packing, making lists, parties and spending time with new friends. (It will be a great time to burn fat with all we have to get done) I am sure before we know it, the kids and I will be sitting in the taxi heading to the airport for our long adventure back to North Carolina.