I'm Back!!!!

OH WOW!!! I can't believe that it has really been almost a month since I've blogged. Honestly it's not that I haven't had the time but it has been that I have been figuring out our family plan, adjusting some more, dealing with some behavioral issues with Logan and trying to get as settled as we can with STILL NO FURNITURE lol

While I've been away some pretty cool things have happened.

1. We decided that after Japan our journey with the military would be coming to an end. The effects that Isaac's year away had on our family and Logan just weren't worth it for us anymore and having to do 10 more years of deployments, TDY's and moves just isn't what we would like to do. We think we have settled on a plan and a location for the big change but since its 2 years away we have a little time to really decide.

2. Logan started Karate!! My little guy started Karate and within a week they were sparring! It was waay to much for me to see him punching and kicking another kid at such a young age but he loves it and it is helping him to calm down a little and be more patient, well as patient as a 3 year old can be.

3. I got a part time job! For those that don't know before Isaac went to Korea and we moved to Japan I transitioned from the Air Force into a position as a Banking Center Manager. I really enjoyed my job and was so sad when I had to give it up because the hours weren't feasible for a single mom of a toddler. The opportunity presented itself to ease back into banking here on base so I applied for a Banking Center Service Representative position that was open and within 7 days I interviewed and was offered a position! It sure isn't the pay that I am used to but it is only 30 hours part time so it allows us a smooth transition from stay at home mom to working mom. I am hoping to get into a full time position within a year to help with the transition from Japan to the states and Isaac leaving the military

4. Logan got REALLY REALLY REALLY into board games. It started with Operation, which we already had, and he liked it so much that we put a family board game as a part of our wind down routine at the end of the night. We put out the call to our parents letting them know and in less than 2 weeks we had about 10 games for us to play. So now it is dinner, board game, bath time, book, bed. It's nice and I am actually really enjoying.

5. I tried Shabu Shabu which is basically thinly cut beef cooked tableside in boiled water. It was alright. I'm starting to think I wont find any Japanese food I like besides curry.

6. I wrecked our car. Nothing too major but I just got too far over right, hit a building and knocked our side mirror off the car. It was scary and Isaac and Logan were both in the car which I was upset about Logan being there but grateful that Isaac was. He has yet to fix it and we are now the family with the duct taped mirror. It's so embarrassing but obviously I need some more time to get used to driving on the other side of the road.

7. I got super into Dave Ramsey....again. I am always a Dave follower but sometimes I am more invested in it than others. I am  FPU graduate and an occasional listener when I am not as into it. After we made the decision that we are for real getting out of the military I went all in full fledged Dave and Isaac hates it but he understands and likes the end results. I listen to him every day for the entire 3 hour show thanks to the app and even Logan knows who he is. We are still on baby step 2 but have paid off a ton of debt since starting between our savings and taxes...almost $10,000 to be exact....and I am extremely proud of us. I am not going to say exactly how much we have but I will say that we will be completely debt free before the end of the year and that is a good feeling. It sucks because tat means not as much traveling or exploring until next year but the sacrifice is so worth it and we have 2 more years to travel and explore after we are done.

8.We introduced Logan to tennis and he seemed to really enjoy it. he wasn't that great but hey, he's 3!

9. I became a key spouse to Isaac's squadron. I am hoping to be able to help spouses the way I have been helped along the way.

So hopefully that catches you up on the important parts of this month and I will def get back to blogging on a regular basis now!

Weekend Wrap Up and Career Indicision

It was a 3 day weekend for us over here in Japan thanks to the holy grail of football season...THE SUPERBOWL! We watched it at home since it came on so super duper early on Monday morning here in Japan but there was fun, family and snacks and alcohol (even at 7am haha) Before we get to that let's get through the rest of the weekend

If you follow me on instagram then you already know that Friday was our first real snow day in Japan! They had been talking about the snow all week but since the weather forecast said that it would never get below 45 degrees we never thought it would really stick. We were wrong! It snowed all day and stuck just enough for us to enjoy the view from our windows and play in it.

We played inside during the day because Logan was adamant that daddy couldn't miss his first Japan snow fun but when he got home.......boy was it fun!

There was an epic snowball fight

 

I got photo bombed and ambushed by Logan during my winter wonderland picture (RUDE!)

and then I got a snowball right to the eye courtesy of my wonderful husband. Don't worry there was a massive amount of payback

 

Overall it was really fun and a good way to spend an hour outside with my guys

 

Once we got inside and took of our jackets the boys didn't rest for a minute before they started building. Logan loooooves spending time with his dad now that he is home and they are always building Lego towers and homes.

I was pooped from running away from snowball attacks so we went our regular Friday night dinner on base and then headed home to put Logan to bed by 8 so we could catch the new The First 48 episode on A&E haha

Saturday and Sunday were very laid back and boring days for us. Logan hasn't been sleeping well at all and has basically decided that he is only going to sleep in his bed if I sleep with him (in a twin bed and it's not working out well for me) and if I don't he hops into our bed around 11 and basically takes up the entire bed. Sleep hasn't been going well for me

Monday was of course THE SUPERBOWL! I am a Titans fan by marriage #TitanUp but I love Marshawn Lynch and like the Seahawks so I was rooting for them. I almost cried in that last minute. I was so devastated for them an their fans. The halftime show was awesome and even Isaac was glad that Missy Elliot came on! Logan loved the fireworks and I loved the songs lol The only crappy thing about watching it in another country is that we watched in on AFN which means we had NO COMMERCIALS!!!!!!!!!! Don't worry I am planning to look them up on the internet today

After the super bowl I headed to the education center on base to have the dreaded conversation about my future. The fact that I have had a shot at 2 careers, left them both to be a SAHM and now I will be 28 this year and have no idea what I want to do with my life is really bothering me. I love being a stay at home mom but I also loved having a career so I am hoping that when we leave here since Logan will be 6 or 7 I will be able to go back. I took some time over this past month or two to try to figure out what I would love to do. I think in some capacity I would like to work in the healthcare industry but I'm also interested in Human Resources. In the Air Force I was a Maintenance Management Analyst so basically analyzing statistical data from flying hours to man hours to costs, making reports and giving briefings although that happened much less than the mundane adding up flying hours and reporting on aircraft issues. I have my B.A in Healthcare Administration but since I have some downtime here and a G.I just sitting there why not add to it? I decided some time ago that I wanted to get a degree in Communication Studies. That would help me if I ever decided to try to grow my blog into something, maybe go into media at some point but it is also broad enough that it can boost my healthcare administration degree or help me go into another field if I would like (such as HR).

My realistic job would be to become an office manager of a private practice, my dream job would be to become a SVP of Human Resources or Patient Services at a major metropolitan hospital and my not ever gonna happen just for fun if I could be anything in the world dream job would be to become an entertainment news anchor (Like Jillian Barberie from Los Angeles or be on something like GMA) 

 If you know me personally then you know that going back to school is a huge deal for me because I despise going to school. I am not ever very focused when I go and I tend to "phone it in" but I am hoping to change that this time. Here is a little bit of my school history...

I got my Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare Administration in 2013...and that took 5 years of off and on attendance.  I used the excuse that I was active duty military and I was busy and then I used the excuse that I was a newlywed and then the excuse of I had a baby. I finished and then even though I have always been interested in working in the healthcare industry outside of being a nurse or physical therapist there weren't very many opportunities in the area we lived after leaving the military. I was very lucky and got a job as a Banking Center Manager at Bank of America with no banking experience but they liked my leadership skills and the fact that I did indeed have a degree. I enjoyed that career but thanks to an unaccompanied PCS for Isaac and 12 hour days most of the time with an hour commute I wasn't able to keep that career. (Right before we moved away I got a call to interview for dream job which was the Director of a Residential Care Facility but we had already set the wheels in motion for the move and it was too late to stop)

After a few months of being a SAHM I decided to apply for graduate school and was accepted into a MBA program which I later changed to a Master of Science in Management program. I went to school for my masters degree for about 5 months but being a single mom of a 2 year old and trying to stay sane, maintain my relationship with my husband 6000 miles away and keeping Logan busy I became overwhelmed. I stopped going to school and I was so sad. I felt like a quitter.

 Moving to Japan I knew that my school opportunities would be limited. They only have Masters degree programs through University of Phoenix but it turns out they may be leaving and it would turn into a 100% online program. They have Associates degrees through Central Texas College but I don't need one of those and lastly they have University of Maryland: University College Asia Division. They have both Masters and Bachelors degree programs but only offer Bachelor classes on base (since phoenix has the claim on masters programs) So those were my choices if I wanted to ever go back to school in the next 3 years.

I couldn't really commit to starting a Masters program that would end up 100% online because I think I need the face to face motivation for at least 1 class. with that being said I decided to get a 2nd Bachelors Degree in Communications Studies from University of Maryland: University College Asia Division!!

oh I also decided that since I am here and I have always wanted to learn another language besides English and the Spanish you learn from growing up in Southern California and 3 years of H.S classes why not throw in a certificate of Japanese Studies and learn some Japanese an about the history and culture of this beautiful country we live in. I don't know how or if it will help me in the states but its cool and free haha

So looks like beginning Spring 2 session, March 16, I will officially be a student again getting a 2nd Bachelors degree in Communication Studies and a Certificate in Japanese Studies.

That was my uneventful and possibly life changing weekend. How was yours?! DO you have any career or school advice for me? I would love to hear it so put it in the comments below!

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