Eight Things I'll Miss about My House in Japan

Once upon a time, long ago and in a land, well, not so far away, I requested list requests and promised to make said lists "soon." I'm not so sure that this qualifies as soon, but the time has come! I think that I'll fulfill Heidi's request for things about leaving Japan in multiple lists, and since this is our very last weekend in our house here before we move into a hotel for a week, I'm going to talk about my beloved home here. So here goes: Eight Things I'll Miss about My House in Japan:

1. The bathtub. Our bathtub is digital. Seriously. We set the water level and water temperature, hit the big green button, and walk away. When the bathtub is full, it beeps upstairs and a lady talks to us from the intercom downstairs. Awesome. It's also huge and has a built-in seat. Chloe loves swimming in it.
2. Our heated toilet seats. Even in summer, I love these things. And can you say "Michigan winters?" Yeah. We all need one. After two years of such a civilized amenity, sitting on something cold feels, well, just a little bit barbaric.
3. The in-room heating and cooling units. I know, central heat and air are preferred by all, right? Not me. You know how your bedroom is freezing if your living room is toasty, and your living room is sweltering if your bedroom is comfortable? We haven't experienced that in years. Each room or area of the house has its own wall-mounted unit, right up by the ceiling, and you adjust the temperature to what you want it to be in that room only. It's quick, you get the temperature you want where you want it, and it saves a lot on electricity (or gas - they're electric heaters, though). 'Nuff said.
4. My patio, back deck, and balconies. We have a sliding glass door in every room of our house that opens onto some kind of outdoor space (except the bathroom). I love it, love it, love it.
5. Our fish broiler. We don't have an oven, not a real one, anyway. In Japan you get a stovetop with a fish broiler built in instead. It's perfect for fish, but I've also cooked burgers and chicken and who knows what else in there. Sniff, sniff.
6. The different transportation options. I know that this isn't strictly about my house, but it sort of is! We have a car, so if I want to drive to Jusco and get lots of groceries, I can. If I want to go into Sakae and not worry about parking, I can. If I want to toss Chloe in the stroller and jog over to 7-11 or someone's house, I can. In Michigan, not so much. All car, all the time. Poor Chloe's going to be spending more time in that awful carseat than ever!
7. The wood floors. Just because I like them.
8. The shoe closet. Do you know how convenient it is to just toss your shoes into the shoe closet when you walk into the house? No wandering around trying to figure out where you took them off, no big mess in the bedroom closet, and it keeps the dirt in the entryway. Do you think it would affect the resale value of our house in Michigan if we tore out a wall to put one in?

Eight Random Things about Me

I've just been tagged by Erica and Heidi to tell you eight random things about myself. It is also my first tagging, so I feel like I'm part of the Kool Kids' Klub now. :) I'm still not sure what my eight things are, but here goes. First, the rules: 1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts. 2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. 3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. 4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. 5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog. Thing One. I'm typing one-handed with a baby in my lap who wants to help. It's slow, makes for a lot of typos, and I wish they would have taught me how to do this in high school typing class.

Thing Two. Speaking of which, I think that my mandatory high-school typing class was the single most useful class I've ever taken, ever, even though I didn't think much of it at the time. Thanks, Mr. Bessette!

Thing Three. I went to a yoga class once a week for about a year before Chloe was born. I really liked it, and I miss doing it now. It was amazing how much better just that little bit of exercise made me feel - the lower-back pain that I'd been fighting for years went away entirely within a month or so and is only beginning to return now, in a much milder form.

Thing Four. I am completely preoccupied with my "I want to explore everything but I can't move by myself help me NOW MOM NOW" kid right now. I don't know why.

Thing Five. I do my housework in fifteen-minute increments (thus yesterday's saga). Housework is, um, not so much my favorite and tends to completely overwhelm me because it is never done - so why start? Then I feel like crap because I live in a hole. Many of you have observed the literal trash heap I lived in for years because of this (and yes, I do know what literal means). So I have a schedule of chores that I try to go through every week and set my timer for fifteen minutes for most of them. If I don't do the given chore on a given day I'm not allowed to do it on a different day, I just have to wait until next week. Today I'm going to wash a window, clean out the fridge, and update the budget (that one will take more than fifteen minutes).

Thing Six. I heart Miffy (see photo, left). So does Chloe, though she doesn't know it yet. I have a rule that I can't come home with more than one Miffy item anytime I go to Toys R Us. That's how much I heart Miffy. Thing Seven. Last night I made a kind of lemon spice stir-fry with pork, snap peas, and tofu. It was pretty good except that I let the pork get too tough. Thing Eight. While writing the above thing, I wrote "pork" as "prok" at least six times. There. I did it again. What's up with that? Whew! I did it! I have to say, this format actually works pretty well for me and seems like a good way to end the blogstipation I've been experiencing. So here's the deal: It's reader participation time! Leave me a comment saying what kind of list you want to see here and how many items you want on the list and I promise that said list will appear on this blog soon. And no, I won't define soon. My one rule is that I'm going to limit list length to eleven items, because eleven is my favorite number (Thing Nine!) and it's my blog so I can make any rule I want. :) I tag Ben, Sammy, Anita & Bryan, Megan, Steve & Mariko, and Chris. I take no responsibility for those who never update their blogs or decline participation. But Ben, this should help your three-posts-a-week scheme!