Technology...It's saving my sanity!

So, we've been living here in Japan for a little over a month now. Japan is a wonderous place, but I certainly have nothing to do here at home. Our household shipment won't arrive until December 2nd, supposedly. This whole time we have been sitting, eating and sleeping on loaner furniture. In Sicily we called it flinstone furniture because it all was hard as a rock. Same goes here. Thank goodness for Stella's mini/travel dvd player. Stella gets to watch her cartoons on it during the hours we are home, and I get some peace in the evenings after she is asleep to watch movies of my own. Whew! If it weren't for that awesome investment of $70, I would be up a creek without a paddle. My back has been killing me for weeks, so I finally had to break down and buy one of those camping lounge chairs. So for about 2 hours a night, my back gets some relief sitting in that thing watching movies. We finally were able to buy a car. So it is much easier getting to the base now. Before we had to take 2 trains that took about 30 minutes. Once on base, we had to either wait 20 minutes for the base bus to come around, or walk all over the place. Not an easy feat because this base is built on a small mountain. Yippee for excercise without trying! Although my calves are paying for it on a daily basis. Last night we received the kimonos we ordered for 7-5-3 day. They are even more lovely than I imagined. I am so excited to share in this wonderful holiday next weekend. I am so greatful for all these opportunities that we can participate in while we are here. Most importantly, that Stella gets a chance, no matter how young, to experience different cultures. I was lucky enough to be raised with the opportunity as well, and am pleased to pass this along to her. I hope she will continue to have these chances!