How to fix a leaking sink

We have a leak under our kitchen sink.

I called the housing company so they could send someone out to fix it. Before they came they wanted to know if the leak was in a pipe - No, the leak is coming from the foam that is on the bottom of the sink. So they say they will be here between 9:30 and 10:00 am the next day (which is today!). The maintenance man came and I showed him where the leak was coming from then went to keep Grace occupied in the other room. He looked at something then had to go back to his car. I hear him saying "ahhh" and "hmm" as he is looking at it again. This might not be good! Then he starts laughing calls me to come look. I am now wondering if something got stuck and that was the cause of the leak?? He tells me that a piece is broken. I have no idea what this piece is. It just looks like a little plastic thing! So I go back to Grace and let him continue to fix the sink. Then he yells across the house "Do you have tape?" WHAT??? Did I hear that right? You want to fix this broken piece of plastic with tape? It has something to do with keeping WATER from leaking and you think tape is going to fix it? Of course I didn't voice my opinion to him, I just picked up the packing tape and carried to him and then watched as he covered the drain holes on the side of the sink (you know, the ones that keep the sink from overflowing if you forget you are running dish water) with this tape. As he was doing this I just kept thinking how frustrated Dustin would be when he hears about them fixing a WATER leak with TAPE!! Then he says "Ok, I talk to office and they order part" Whew! So the tape is only temporary!!

A Japanese New Year

謹賀新年

{kinga shinnen}

Or in English, "Happy New Year!"

We had heard that the Japanese really celebrate New Years, much more so than Christmas. So we were curious about all of the decorations and food so I did a google search and found quite a but of information. I have compiled some of the most interesting facts to share but if you want to learn more google "Japanese New Year"

In Japan, New Years (shogatsu or oshogatsu) is the most important holiday. Much like our Christmas or Thanksgiving day, they clean, decorate, fix a special meal, and give gifts of money to the children. The celebration lasts for several days and most businesses close from Jan. 1 - 3.

{entrances to buildings and homes are decorated with an ornament called Shimekezari which are made of twisted rope, bamboo, and other items to bring good luck}

Much like we send Christmas cards the Japanese send post cards called nengajo. These cards are often printed with the Chinese zodiac sign of the year. If they are sent by a specific date and marked "nengajo" then the post office will save them and deliver them on Jan. 1. However, if there is a death in the family during the year it is not customary to send post cards and a family member will send out a message requesting that friends and family do not send post cards out of respect for the deceased.

{2010 is the year of the Tiger}

{Shimekezari and the Tiger on the entrance of a business}

{Shimekezari on a Japanese home}

{kadomatsu is another traditional decoration for New Years. This is outside out building}

Our Japanese neighbors stopped by this afternoon to wish us a Happy New Year. They brought a traditional plate of Japanese food called osechi and a box of cookies.

{osechi}

{cookies}

Another tradition is to watch a popular TV show called Kohaku Uta Gassen where the red team and white team of popular music artist compete against each other.

They also make two mochi (rice cakes) with an orange (daidai, meaning "several generations") on top and call it kagami mochi. It is a very sticky and is the cause of several choking deaths each year, especially among the elderly. In the days after New Years the death toll is reported in the local papers.

We saw Santa!!!!!

We saw Santa today!!!

We decided that we should go and change our cell phone plan (I think we do this every 4-5 months!) since we won't be using them while we are on vacation and we aren't even using all of our minutes as it is now. So after Grace woke up from her nap we headed to the BX where the cell phone company is. On our way we passed Santa! I was so glad I had grabbed my camera before we left. We were driving down the road and almost to base when I spotted a Japanese guy dressed in red jeans and a Santa shirt! I almost forgot I had the camera but remember just in time to zoom in and snap a picture.

{only in Japan!}

Only in Japan

I thought I would take a break from blogging about our house hunting adventures to blog about our funny adventure yesterday.

For the past couple of months, our friends James & Kelly has been looking for a slide for their little girl. I was helping by putting my addiction to Okinawa Yard Sales to good use! We had both found a few but had always been to late. Finally, a couple weeks ago, I got one!! I was so excited that I finally was able to buy a slide that I hurried to pick it up. The nice man that was selling it took it apart and helped put it in my van. It fit PERFECTLY after I took Grace's carseat out (don't worry, she was at home with her Daddy!) layed the seats down. I was even more excited to put it together so when James & Kelly dropped Maggie off that evening they could see it. So we cleaned it all up and started to put the puzzle pieces together. It was a major pain to get back together because a couple of the pieces just did not want to fit together. Finally, we had it all set up! And Dustin said he was NOT going to take it apart again. So how were we going to deliver it James & Kelly's house? Put it on top of my van!

Here are the pictures:

The slide next to my van

Here it goes...

Up, up, up

almost there

Just a little more..

On top of the van... now to strap it down

All strapped on and ready to go

View from the side. We had to all climb through the front passenger door to get in!

Uh, oh... it flew off the back of the van when one of the bungie cords broke. Dustin had to put it back on the car and then we strapped it back down and I drove while he held onto the slide.

I was laughing the entire way!

Stayed tuned for days 4 and 5 of our house hunting adeventures! I have appointments at 10:00, 11:30, 1:00, 2:30, and 5:00 today. Let's just say that day 4 may have turned up a possibility :-)

You might live in Japan IF....

Here is a "You might live in Japan IF..." list that I found online (well, I put several lists together). I thought it was pretty funny and could relate to some of the things on here!

1. Your 3 year old is throwing a tantrum screaming "but I want yakiiiii-sobaaaaa!"
2. You graciously accept a little candy from a sweet local and actually give it to your child.
3. You think nothing of the same sweet lady holding or touching your baby
4. If you travel by plane for less than 12 hours and make only 1 connection...it's a quick trip.
5. Consider spending $4000 for a car to be a lot
6. Find it perfectly normal to not always know exactly what you ordered to eat at a restaurant
7. Driving more than 20 minutes to get somewhere is far
8. When you visit friends and family in the States and they suggest stopping for a quick bite at Chili's you yell "NO" instead of politely declining
9. You think Sushi Zen is expensive sushi
10. Exclaim "where's the corn?" when you order a local pizza, taco, pasta, anything.
11. Take seeing the ocean every day for granted
12. You start buying turkeys and pumpkins WEEKS before you know you will actually need them (in case the good ones are gone later)
13. You stop mulling over purchases and start buying things you MIGHT need later (eg. space heaters, turkey roasting pans etc) as soon as you see them, thinking it is better to return something you don't need than to need something that is no longer available to purchase - aka the island mentality... (totally me!!)
14. If the BX has something you don't expect them to have, you buy 5 of them!!!
15. You no longer look at the price of gas; you just pull up to the pump and fill-er-up
16. You realize that you are more likely to go through a yellow light than to stop...unlike you used to do!
17. Going 80 clicks on the expressway actually feels like you're going really fast!
18. Seeing motorcycles and scooters using the roads and sidewalks interchangeably doesn't even phase you and they no longer startle you when out of nowhere they suddenly appear right next to your car.
19. You frequently have conversations with family members trying to convince them that yes, they can call you just like anyone else in the US. Dial the number just like any other number. Yes, it really is a normal phone number. We promise.
20. You sit down at a restaurant and don't mind when the other person starts eating his/her meal because it came out 5 or 10+ mins. before yours
21. Your family has at least one ever-so-tacky but delightfully comforting mink blanket.
22. You have patiently explained to those back home more than once "You can use a regular stamp"
23. You find yourself bowing unconsciously instead of saying the ever trite HI!
24. You have bought a dual-time zone clock for your folks back home, set to Okinawa time, yet they still call and say, "Oh...I don't know what time it is over there in China".
25. You get a letter from a pal with eight stamps on it, and JAPAN in large letters across the bottom.
26. You find yourself standing erect at the beginning of a movie.
27. Hey, can either of my kids (both born in Japan) be president? Not that I would wish that on them. Curious, nonetheless.
28. You thought you would never choose decor in an "asian theme" and now your living room resembles a Shanghai Hotel Lobby.
29. Misplacing your ID card gives you a worse feeling in your stomach than losing a credit card.
30. You wish that the military could insert a barcode under your skin instead of having an ID card and orders.
31. There's an earthquake somewhere in Asia and everyone thinks you must have felt something.
32. You find yourself lazily writing "textiles" on ALL your customs forms at the post office, while scratching out some random date and signature. Textiles does cover pretty much everything though, right?
33. You sheepishly-shrug (feeling undeserving) in your seat when a young, cute Marine salutes your car.
34. You have no problem dropping 5,000 Yen at dinner. It still doesn't really seem like fifty bucks to me.
35. You don't lock your car off base. You do lock your car on base.
36. You can meet all your shopping needs, at 11 PM , at Family Mart. Wouldn't be caught dead in a 7-11 after dusk, though.
37. You don't dare step into the commissary when TC-2 is announced unless you are prepared for a line all the way back to the milk!
38. You have junked at least one vehicle or purchased one with a Power of Attorney.
39. Going to the beach doesn't mean packing a suitcase.
40. Even your stomach sweats.
41. Your 2-year old likes to play that he is a gate guard.
42. The furthest you can go on vacation in a car is 1 1/2 hrs.
43. You drive onto your street and your 3 year old asks, "Who's packing out?"
44. Your 6 year old prefers rice balls to french fries.
45. Land of the vending machines- Even on the top of Mt Fuji
46. You buy ant spray, off and sunscreen by the case.
47. You don't leave home without TP or tissue.
48. You "custom order" your furniture that quickly fills your entire house- Wall to wall- through the gift shops/ teak store.
49. You have 2 wallets in your purse at all times- one for yen and one for dollars.
50. To your children all grocery stores are commissary's and BX's- even when you are in the states visiting.
51. You still walk to the wrong side of the car to drive.
52. Any 'ol chicken and biscuts reminds you of chick-fil-a (cause you haven't had the real thing in so long!)
53. Instead of saying "yeah, yeah, yeah" you now say "hai, hai, hai."
54. Your kids don't get excited to go to the beach or pool anymore.
55. You aren't surprised to hear directions like "turn at the sugar cane field and the red vending machine" and " at the cream two story house withe the white box car, take a right" or when you get directions with pictures!
56. Your 10-12 year old car with chipped paint, stained interior and a dent in the door is a sweet ride.
57. You no longer worry about a house fire since you live in a concrete box, yet you are uneasy as your husband zips down the expressway at almost 60 mph.
58. Nobody cares what YOUR social security number is.
59. You watch the superbowl in the morning and the Morning Show at night.
60. At 8 months old, your blond headed baby thinks his name is "Kawaii" and when you take your red headed toddler to the zoo, more people are taking pictures of your family than the zoo animals.
61. No U.S. pennies for change......Yeah! Who else gives change to the nearest 5 cent?
62. When you take cardboard to the park for the slides or else your tush will burn- Awesome ride!
63. The bugs outside are louder then your kids in the next room.
64. Your not an Air Force dependant yet their exercises effect your day to day life every couple of months!
65. It's Nov. 5th and the BX has already sold out of their Christmas decorations!
66. It's the week after Thanksgiving and the commissary finally got in some fresh cranberries--- and it does not bother you because you know you can throw them in the freezer and save them for next year.
67. You know there is a new driver on the road when their windshield wipers go off on a sunny day and they really want to put on their turn signal.
68. Pictures for everything, who needs to learn Japanese or to read congee?
69. Vending machines with pictures to order food- brilliant!
70. You call the airplane that takes you off island the "Freedom Bird" yet you bawl your eyes out as you leave.
71. When you come back from vacation in the states people comment on all your clothes and accessories.
72. Your kids are afraid to live off base in the states, because you keep telling them how dangerous it is compared to Oki.
73. You were so excited when "Chilis" and "Macaroni Grill" came to town that you eat there once a week at least, and promice yourself you will never eat there again.
74. You think that anything over $3.50 to see a movie at the theater is ridiculous.
75. You could drive down 58 in your sleep you have done it so many times.
76. In the local shops you wear a size XXL even though you wear a medium.
77. Your biggest envy in life is when someone else finds a perfect piece of sea glass.
78. 75 degrees feels downright chilly.
79. Anyone who grows cilantro becomes your best friend.
80. A single Starbucks opening is a major change in your lifestyle.
81. You start worrying about all of your friends PCS moves at least six months out, and start hitting the gift shops and local resturants like they were leaving next week.
82. You try to get in at least one more CoCok nail appointment with someone PCS'ing.
83. You call the Dollar Store the Hundred Yen Store or Makeman.
84. Your toddler says Arigato without prompting.

Once you're back in the States:

1. You visit people for the first time their jaws just drop when your whole family walks in their house and automatically lines up their shoes by the front door.
2. Show your ID card to the greeter at Wal-Mart.
3. Everytime you walk into a $-Store you wish you had a 100Y-Shop nearby!
4. Turn on your windshield wipers on a sunny day.