The humidity is killing me!!! I think I can handle the heat…but this humidity ANY NEED???
I am getting bitten by every mosquito in Japan, it’s like they have been invited to dine out with my blood as main course!!!
NOTHING seems to stop the little blighters (again GoMJ diplomatic!!!)
I used to use tree oil which always worked a treat. I now have stuff that is recommended for use in the in the jungle…Yeah whatever!!! More like for garden use rather than jungle…and then it does not even work in the garden. So I am reacting like mad to all these bites so I looked up natural remedies… I found a few, there was one making baking soda into a paste another suggested lemons to strive off infections or even toothpaste…..I went with the deodorant suggestion…I have to tell you pomegranate deodorant seems to be keeping the itch of the bites away… So my thoughts went to…How the heck do you finds these things out… did somebody pick up the deodorant by mistake and use it on mossie bites… did somebody try everything in the bathroom cabinet and this was the last resort. I have no idea, but I am truly grateful whatever the reason…and that somebody then had time to post this find on the internet!!!
So back to the humidity…it has been recommended to have you’re A/C set to 28 degrees…let me tell you it’s not worth having it on! In fact it is cooler outside the house than inside when you have A/C at 28 degrees!
While a lot of people become tetchy and irritable when tired (me included!!!) it seems I get exactly the same way when I am struggling with the humidity…I have become evil…. It would seem more so than ever before. I have no idea why my patience’s is at its limit…not that I ever had very much…
…I mean when I ask where my car keys are…I mean not my fault they are not in the bowl that I placed on a shelf as you come through the door and made clear from day , THAT’S WHERE THE KEYS GO,NOWHERE ELSE, JUST THE BOWL!!!!!!..Even though I was the last person to drive my car and put my keys down……I mean why don’t you know where my keys are…REALLY….you have no idea??? hummm REALLY?
Earlier this evening I closed the windows in my bedroom…put the A/C on and then complained at how useless the A/C was a couple of times ...Then we heard the rain…sounded like a window was open…Arrggghhh could somebody not have closed the windows? I mean really you could not have closed windows…. really???? Oh yeah I closed them…
So I think everyone around me is ready for me to get over myself…I am doing my head in, I am wanting to kick myself - Even though NOTHING is my fault!!!! It really is everyone else who has issues..Not me!!!

So yesterday I took a lady to get some washi paper….I have no blog name for her yet so she is ‘a Lady’
We are going to do some washi eggs together, she said I have 5 eggs ready will that be enough… One will be enough the 1st one will take a couple of hours… I found some Koi paper (finally)….Yayyyy…But never bought it….

Last night I read the book SoM gave me…finished it at 3.15AM (any need)
Got up this morning… Extremely tired…went to IKEA and meet Mrs.A and had some lunch.
No Idea Mrs. A was going to be there when IKEA was planned. Nice catching up…Thanks you Mrs. A
I only went for a couple of things…We did manage to close the boot/trunk of the car.

P.S only 52 days Yeti Moo

Ok So I have not made a cake with soda as yet…to be honest I had forgotten about it until I just seen the last part of my previous mumbling…

Monday I went swimming very early and while the pool was not as cold as it has been. I had trouble getting in… not as in I am old and needing help (that as well may be) but I just seemed to take longer to get my shoulders under and start the tedious task of swimming back and forth…. (I want a water proof ipod!!!)
I told myself that I needed to start the exercise regime again…I will stick to it no matter what…well I have said that in my head, and out loud…Have not actually convinced myself I am telling the truth…especially as I am eating the Cadburys chocolate that I brought home from the UK!!!!

Sunday night I went to bed and was asleep by 9pm….and then wide awake at 11.05 pm….so I stayed awake ALL night….felt the earth move (yes ANOTHER quake) 3.55am – I mean come on ANY NEED????
I had stuff delivered at 8.30am so I was wide awake and feeling extremely moody to say the least….Extremely hot and humid and no ice cold coke in the house….AGAIN – any need!!!!
As it was early when all was sorted I told J he was coming out running errands with me…the look he gave me said it all… But he got in the car without moaning..Well if he did I hear heard him.
We drove into Yokohama and paid some bills…every month I go in and every month the same women walks me through EVERY step and EVERY month I tell her I won’t remember….next month will be no different….
We start heading back to the car and we decided we are going for lunch….we walk into TGI Fridays and j wants to sit in a booth…OK…just remembered last time I was there with Yeti Moo…All the smoke was coming into the non smoking area…not sure how they could advertise the space as non smoking but ok…I look up and see it is empty so hopefully won’t be too bad …I then notice that they have put glass there…the clue that gave it away was a huge yellow sticker in the middle of the glass….how clever am I spotting that??? …We had nice lunch the two of us…him on his phone, me on mine…no whining, complaining, on either side. This was a miracle on my part…believe me!
Drove home and J thought I was taking him to the pool…..how wrong the poor child was….I needed a sleep…Believe me when I say that…in fact EVERYONE needed me to sleep at this stage….(I was cranky and even I was getting fed up of myself!!! REALLY I was) Yes I did have a little 2 hour nap… again believe me the world sighed with relief Monday afternoon…. Yes J did get to go swimming….Eventually
That evening I made roast pork and just for good measure I made a curry as well and also washed all towels and put them in the drier….(I like my towels nice and soft and they were going in that dried no matter what!!!) G must have thought Oooooo curry for dinner tomorrow (little did he know it is my quick fake curry…he could find that out following day!)…He might have been impressed but let me tell you…The curry was made in minutes and cooked in the oven with the roast pork….Well the oven was already on (also as the house was a sauna in that kitchen anyway WHY put myself through this the next night, right? Also…if I do all this in one go and I look like I am a good wife…(while trying to decide myself if I was clever, lazy, not thinking straight or all three)
So Nanna had told me that you could sometime see the from the bedroom window people doing Tai Chi. Well I have lived in the house for 1 year 1 month and 9 days to see this…honest I had not seen this before in the park….So there I am sat on my bed, looking out my window and I see all these older people (See GoJ I can be diplomatic!!!!) I am thinking to myself be careful your going to hurt yourself…Watching it was quite comical in some ways…watching these people. Not sure who was actually running the show…I mean running the class…I did think I wonder what they would think if I go and join the class…Would they welcome me with open arms…(hope not because I bet they were VERY SWEATY!!!!) But I decided against joining them because well if I was dying of heat in the house with the A/C on I could not image what I would be like outside and how I would feel with all these 90 plus year people making me look like a monkey on hot coals…..

Well I wake up this morning to an email from Yeti moo asking if I was in Japan in September…Hummm yes and now I know your thinking of coming over I want you booking your tickets ASPA I thought…I called her and of course she was out…I mean how can she email me that question and not be there to take my call….I mean, REALLY!!! Any need?
EVENTUALLY got through to her…she asked if I minded….'hummm no'…so I said book the tickests…Oh I have to look for some she said (you could'nt you have looked before all this?)…So I think I waited 10 minutes and called her and asked her if she had booked them? Not yet…Come on…ANY NEED???
I called her again…still looking….Well not having this….Called her again after running a few errands (that included me getting a shoulder and neck massage) and she had booked them…..Woooo hooo
A very happy Wendy today…. Thank you Yeti Moo can’t wait to see you and the Puppy Champion!!!

Yesterday I told G and J was would make spaghetti, we had dinner at SoM and she had made everything from scratch…Can’t say she never made the pasta either…. I like making dinners from scratch but not always as easy as you think, getting ingredients, certain dishes (Mongolian Beef for example needs to be made just before serving) and at times just getting of your backside!!!…Well I looked in the fridge and cupboards and that idea went out the window on Friday night.. (but I still said on Saturday I was cooking fresh…) So I went into the freezer and found one I had frozen before going away and passed it off as freshly made… I added a dash or this and pinch of that. Not sure my guys would even know the difference between just made and just deforested…..
So I am blaming my dinner fib on jet lag!
Holy Moly – any need for jet lag….So I have been sleeping at night but waking extremely early…even for me. I have then napped in the afternoon. Kind of works and kinda doesn’t. Well last night I was asleep fairly early, to find I was fully awake by 2am….I was so awake I did even think about going swimming…yes I know bit of a batty idea even for me!
I decided to read for a little bit but my eyes were not quite as awake as the rest of me. So after deciding it would be extremely mean of me to wake the rest of the house by putting TV on in the bed, I went downstairs and watched TV there. I must have dozed of at least three times as I was thinking oh man I will be in the same place with this jet lag if I need another afternoon nap.
Around 8am I wander upstairs and get back into bed. I heard J walking around and then G asked if I was getting up today……so I am assuming it is around 10am at the latest…hummmm nope it was 12.30pm…I mean come on REALLY!!!!! Any need….Now I must have needed the sleep…But is it 4.12pm as I write this I am in need of a nap time….Just no need!!!!
I intended going to IKEA today for some picture frames…Never got there (12.30pm wake up might have been part of the reason) …But we dug out the Wii from under the stairs instead and G fixed it up to the TV…only taken a year, one month and 12 days….but whose counting.
One of the reason I wanted it out was for the Wii fitness…(well if I see it I might use it..I mean I can think positive) While we were away we got J all the sensor stuff for the PS3 so he can do the same sort of stuff as the wii and not sit on his backside while playing…I seen a few games and said Ooooooo I think I might get them …G just looked at me and said and will they be like the Wii in a box under the stairs, he did say that…any need?…..I mean REALLY!!!!
I like the Wii fit ….I can hula hoop with the best of them!!!
While we were in the US, Queenie had a recipe for ribs cooked in Mountain Dew, and they were good. I am not a rib person normally but they were REALLY good!… I have a pork recipe that calls for Dr. pepper and I also made a beef dish with cola that was much better than I was expecting and I had a couple of positive comments from G and J. So today I decided to look up cooking with soda….there are SOOOOOO many cakes made with soda, from cola to 7up…
I have a recipe for cake made with mayonnaise but never with a soda…guess what I am making this week….yep chicken!!!! Only joking I am going to make a cake with soda.
Wonder if it will quench my thirst and my sugar craving all in one?

I am home……Yayyyyyyy I am back in Japan with MY bed!!! AND I HAVE JUST FELT A MOZZIE BITE…ANY NEED? REALLY ANY NEED!!!!!

The day before we flew home J and I had lunch with my nephew. The place we went was a set price for adults and half price for kids.
Well the week before I had gone with J, parents, SoM and Princess Sunshine. When we went in I said 4 adults and 2 children. They said J was an adult and SoM said he has to be under a certain height. So the guy said go measure him…. J was actually in the kids zone height limit…M stood there and she was also under the height limit which made is all laugh…Well the place was not expensive by any stretch I know J…is is not a huge eater… It was an Asian fusion place so I knew he would eat very little going on past experiences in other places…Guess what I was wrong….6 full plates of food – I mean Any need, REALLY?!?!?!
So we are back, I notice that the height marker has moved…and J has grown at least 3-4 inches since we were there 8 days ago. Well like I say J is not a huge eater unless it pizza, bacon or hash browns…(okay not quite true but close) Well this is the day that J eats a small plate of food…I mean come on, REALLY!!!!

The night before we flew I slept fitfully, finished throwing things into my suitcase next morning and headed to the airport…Thank goodness its close.
We checked in, even though I had checked about a million times I was still worried about our weight allowance. We were not even close….but still worried. Checked in and went straight through…Well you can’t go far at Cardiff airport. It takes only 10.6 seconds to walk the length of the airport (and that was a recorded official statistic with a 101 year old lady walking with a Zimmer frame)
It is so small that when you get off the plane in Cardiff you have to actually walking around the building 5 times to give them time to get your bags off the plane and put on the carousel. Even then you can still be waiting.
Well we get to Amsterdam….Get on the plane all settled in and J was a sleep before takeoff.
I watched a few films….glad I never went to the cinema and paid to see them…
Arrived at Narita and we were off the plane through immigrant, collected bags and through customs in less than 22 minutes…I mean WOW!!!!

I was talking to Mrs. A last night and decided what I was going to write here today…but I have forgotten already…I mean REALLY!!!
I know it was about me being as dozing as I look and now as I try to remember the fuzzy doziness has taken over!

I woke up at 11.45pm the first night home, quickly went back to sleep and was awake again not long after 4am.
By 3pm yesterday I guess I could no longer stay awake, so just before G was due home J woke me and said Mom (I mean any need – you are Welsh!!! So my name is MUM!!!) Wake up Dad will be home soon… (What a great kid…even though he calls me Mom)
G came home not long after and asking how was my day blah, blah, blah…. So I say great, I have not long woken up…to which I catch G’s eyes roll as if to say great how much noise will she be making while everyone is else is asleep….Well actually I made no noise…I was asleep before everyone so there!!!!!

Today my car, that G drives is being serviced…Yes my car that G drives…I drive his car…how normal is that for me????

So have to say Jamie has falling in love with baby R. It would be a hard to not. Trying to think of ways to take to take him home. I was thinking hand luggage, well he is under 12 kg and as I have a kindle I don't need to buy books and so that will save weight. Just wondering what the people on the xray machine will think as my pull along goes through with a baby in.... Not sure I could get him past his mum any way ....
SoM might have something to say as I tried boarding the plane with her angels as well.
Went and seen Harry plopper, I mean Harry Potter. Much better than the last one, but come on makeup department you need a bit more make up on them to age them!!!!
Bought Jamie some new shoes. Well seems they were 1 1/2 sizes different each shoe. Hummm really ~ sorted now but the guy seemed put out that I had returned odd sized shoes ~ well it's on the box he said. Well it was not stated I said and your writing need works !!! But shoes changed.

Have to tell you I am ready to go home. I want MY bed.
I want my stove and washing machine.
Also my body is crying out for veggies ~ seems the veggies in a chow mein don't count, curries, mushy peas and the limp bit of lettuce in a Tesco's sandwich does not count either ~ oh well

"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, 'where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night"
Charles M. Schulz

So, we drove to Washington DC without any problems. We decided to get in the car and stop for breakfast sling the way. Well we are in America, we will find a good breakfast right? ~ WRONG. We drove along and after about an hour we said we stop at the next place we find. We picked the only extremly bad place, I think!!! We decide to have Cinabonn, they were AWFUL... There was one choice, the women serving looked like she could do with a holiday/vacation. She looked at me as if I had green horns on my head when I asked for a bottle of water... We then carried on driving to Washington. I having to tell you, DC was pretty awesome....meeting with friends also made the trip.
The only let down for me and it was a let down was there was not water in the Reflecting pool. Looked pretty manky (where the reflecting should be) but otherwise I loved it ~ so did G and J.
We flew to Boston on 'Jet Blue' I love Jet Blue...yes I love something!!!
It was fantastic, leg room, good service, flight on time and so I could on. In fact I would have been happy to fly back to Europe with them. Have to say Jet Blue could teach the other airlines a thing or two! The flight attendants never gave the impression they were doing us a favor by being on the plane ~ I know that can't be the easiest job ~ but come on some of the flight attendants make you wish you had a seat out on the wing of the plane where you can't disturb them... I know not all are like that but there are many who are.
We get to Boston, go pick up our car ~ again lovely people (unlike some of the other car rental places I have seen) gps was not so lovely, she seemed to have a few issues being a gps, one being she had no idea where she was going!!!
We Spent two days in Verere went to the movies 2 days running. First day we went and seen Transforms ~ I can't comment on this movie as I slept for most of of the movie. Next day I went and seen Bridesmaids and G and J watch Green Lantern.
We then drove to MH and stayed with Queenie and family which was awesome ~ we had a really relaxing time. Went on a Duck tour of Boston, went for dinner, laser tag (not me the others) had our first 4th of July, watched fireworks, met new people (All absolutly fantastic) Queenie and family your fantastic hosts!!!
We then drove to back to NY to get our flight back. We drove for a couple of hours and decided to pull of and get some lunch, while looking for somewhere I see a Italian pastry shop. Well ~ I have always wanted to try a cannoli, so off I head and find I can have the original or chocolate and they ranged in size. I went for the small traditional version .... YUCK!!!! I really disliked this and won't be eating another!!! Again, YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!
Well we get to the airport. Checked in, that gave me a headache!!! Seems you need to use a machine before you get to a person... Well when we did get to an actual real human we decided to upgrade to economy plus ~ hahaha, joke was on us!!!!
Well let me tell you, we paid to be kicked by people climbing over us rather than walk an extra few feet. I kept calm (the lovely flight attendant had already told us she was aware and watching) well it got worse and worse. Like I said I kept calm but started to get very, very angry. Within an hour we were moved to nice seats which never including being kicked!!!!

"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, 'where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night"
Charles M. Schulz

Well we flew back to Wales, nice and easy trip. J never slept the whole way which would really blow him out of whack for a few days.

I ate more than I planned or even should have straight away!

So I have had Chippy, Chinese and Indian.... Still not had a Gregg's Cheese savory...But i will!!!!!

 

So we landed, went to GMoJ unloaded...met the most adorable little boy...who gives lovely cuddles. I have fallen in love and want 10 just like him!!!
The drove to see family....nobody seemed to recognize J...my sister realized when she seen G and I...lol 

Seeing my amazing niece and nephew and GS was worth the few thousand miles!!! Good to see others as well.

 

We went to set up a new bank account...easy right ..WRONG!!!

I am not going into that one...but I will say what should have taken an hour max took about 4!!!

took two days to sort out new glasses....come on ANY NEED?????

 

On Saturday we took J to Barry Island which will always be known to J as home of Gavin and Stacy....

Went in the arcades... J and G played Guns ( I know...) I  played on the 2p slots that you drop the 2p in and it pushes money over the edge....I was soooo close to winning..but G cut me off....after playing around 2 pounds worth I am sure I only needed about 30p more to win around 50 p.....

Had a lovely family fathers day lunch...everywhere was full...but I pulled the I live in Japan card and I am never home...blah blah...table for 9 was found!!!!

 

Then we flew to the US on Tuesday....Pretty good flight...was put into the longest que in immigration..then the longest line at the counters...at least another 2 plane loads of people were seen before us!!!! 

J was not to good on the flight...not his usual self... but kept insisting he was fine

We went into New York next day...Went to the Statue of liberty and Ellis island...not happy with the choppy waters!!!!

J went and danced on the key board in that toy store that I cant spell the name of and i am sure spell check is not physic!

Then we walked up 5th and were outside Tiffany's when G said you want to buy a ring...Hummm do I???? Of course...so we bought a new ring that matches my chain...and we had champers...and it did not taste like corn beef...all champers take like corn beef to me...well normally...

J was looking peaky, but wanted to keep going, but we decided to head back...went to the hotel and asked for a Dr...went to the local ER (which was awesome!!!) and they said he was asthmatic..then did a chest x-ray and found he has pneumonia...poor kid...He was given lots of meds which are awesome I might add...

 

So we drove to the other side of New Jersey yesterday...laundry all done...go me!!!!

Then I was in the Gym at 6.17am this morning...so another go!!!!!

 

Today we drive to Washington DC.....

 

Have a great day