600th Post!

Can you believe I've come up with 600 things to write about over the past 2+ years? Or that this blog had 12,000 hits just this last year? OK...so half of those were probably from my mom...but that's OK...I know she's my biggest fan. {Love you, Mom!} Since there are so few comments, I'm always amazed to see how many hits this blog gets. Thanks for reading, even if you're among the ranks of the lurkers. {I won't call you out or anything..."De-lurking Days" and the like on other blogs kind of bug me. I figure if you want to say hello, you will. And I would LOVE it if you do...but no pressure.} =^)

Anyhow, I guess this calls for another give-away, doesn't it? I've been thinking about this over the past week, wondering what I should offer to celebrate. I wasn't really coming up with anything and I almost decided to skip it...but I'm a sucker for traditions and just couldn't.

So, I consulted my capable assistant (Jake) on what to do. He came up with the following idea (for the most part...I refined it a bit). It's sort of like "The Price is Right," only with Yen. The next four pictures are up for bid (so to speak). ONE of these product groupings is worth 600 Yen. You guess which one it is, and you win them ALL. That's right...Showcase Showdown...ALL of these lovely prizes will be yours.

Let's get started!



Is it Prize Package Number One? {Tasty Treats of Asia}



Prize Package Number Two? {Extreme Motherhood: Lunch Edition}



Prize Package Number Three? {Rubber Dog Doo and Friends}



Or Prize Package Number Four? {Pen Pal Palooza}

Be the first person in the comments to THIS post to answer correctly, and you could win all this free crap these fabulous prizes. They can all be yours...IF...The Price is Right!


There are no restrictions...prior winners may play. I receive email notifications as comments are posted, so I'll know the order in which comments come. One guess per person....unless you make a mistake and need to change your answer, then you can retract and repost...but if you retract, your prior answer is void. I will notify and post the winner within 24 hours of publishing (hopefully we'll have a winner by then).

Good luck!

{Image}

500th Post!!!

It's celebration time again! What are we celebrating, you ask? We are celebrating the most consistent journal I have ever kept! Just over 2 years ago I started this effort, and sometimes it's hard for me to believe I've posted here 500 times. {Those of you who know me in real life, I am imagining you saying, "Psshhh...big surprise...like she ever shuts up, anyway!"}

What would a celebration be without presents? I would LOVE to send you a care package of fun stuff from Japan. Just be the first person to leave a comment on THIS post, answering the following:

{At which movie did my brother Jimmy sob through the ending?}


I do have to make a couple of rules:

(1) I'd like to spread the love far and wide, so if you are a previous "grand prize" winner here on Imperialstuarts, please be understanding and let someone else have a turn. (It's mostly the same stuff, anyway!)

(2) If you are here on Okinawa, you aren't eligible, either. It would be nice and convenient to deliver it to your door...but it would be kind of anti-climactic to bring you the same stuff you probably already buy here. Thanks for being awesome.

Good luck...I hope you win!

Like a Lobster Santa...

Image found here...(because you know you want one!)


All of us military peeps here have post office boxes. There is no UPS or Fed Ex house delivery...it's USPS, period. When you get a package too big for your box, you get a long, yellow signature card instead (usually with lots of other names crossed off and your name listed at the bottom) which you take up to the counter, and a nice, young Marine retrieves your package. We call these cards "golden tickets". Golden tickets are coveted. In most cases, you know when you have a package coming, and anticipate the golden ticket that accompanies its arrival. Even if it's just replacement vacuum cleaner bags or an extension cord you ordered, there's just something about getting a package in the mail. When I haven't ordered anything lately and know there won't be any golden tickets waiting for me, I'm less motivated to drive over and check the mail.

Well, imagine my surprise on Thursday, when I found an unexpected golden ticket...and THIS is what the nice, young Marine brought to me:


You might not be able to tell just by looking...but this sucker had "care package" written all over it! I just had a feeling. You see, the Whitakers were the winners of our 300th blog post contest. We sent them some Japanese goodies, and Jen even asked if there was anything we'd like from the Northeast in return. All I could come up with was maple syrup, and well...the commissary sells that.

Since Patrick was still in Korea, we waited until he was back. But then Coree was at a slumber party on Friday before he even returned...so we actually waited until Saturday night when we could all be together to crack open the coffer...



I was seriously coaching them because I was worried the mob mentality would overcome them and they would just start shredding the box.

This is some of the sweet treasure we found inside:

Love this shirt!

And this...and can't wait to use that lobster cookie cutter!

All we can say is, WOW! We were so impressed with all the goodies from Maine. So many yummy treats (even maple syrup) and fun lobster and moose paraphernalia. Even sweet notes and pictures. It was all just awesome.

Thanks for making our week, Whitakers...and way to be stealth!

Love,

The Stuarts

Like a Japanese Santa...

Some of you might remember, the winner of my 400th post trivia contest was Gina Baynham from Australia! Gina found my blog from a comment I left on another, about a year ago. She left a lovely comment here and we've been keeping tabs on each other's blogs ever since.

Gina's family emigrated from Ireland to Australia several years ago, and (much like we did while preparing to move to Japan) started a blog to document their adventures and keep in touch with family back home in Ireland. I have loved learning about her family and I'm certain if we lived in the same town and had met that way, we'd be friends "for real".

Well, sweet Gina did this blog post to document the big "reveal" when the package arrived. It was even more fun to see them opening the package than it was to shop for the contents (and I already knew what was inside).

Just thought I'd share it with you here.

That's all.

*HUGS*

(photo courtesy of Flickr Japan images)

400th Post!

Is it that time again, already? Man, I talk a lot. Somebody shut me up!

Well, since I've reached another milestone, it's time for another giveaway.

I would love to send you a Japanese care package with some of our favorite things.

I'm going to make this easy on you. Just answer one question. The first person to leave the correct answer in the comments to this post wins.

In which Shakespeare play did Patrick perform, and who did he play?

(Hint: I'm making this easy...you don't have to dig very deep here.)

Good Luck (as if you need it)!

*Giveaway Alert* Another Milestone!

Whoa, I'm going to need to pace myself...we are at 300 posts already!

300 Posts in 1 and 1/2 years. Wow! That's like...like...I don't know, you do the math.

Anyway, we need to celebrate with another giveaway, me thinks!

But what shall I give away? Why...another Japanese care package, of course! (That way I can be vague for right now...and then send you whatever I feel like shopping for at the time!) Rest assured, it's all good stuff...totally worth your trouble.

So...what's the challenge this time? Seeing as how we're all busy and I seriously need to get to my Christmas card list...all you have to do is be the first one to leave a comment on this post and it's yours. That way you can spend more time decking the halls and such.

Good luck...and thanks for reading!

And the winner is...

Congratulations on winning the second care package go to the Lovely Lisa Lamont!

I hope your family and the Nelson family each enjoy your loot...I've had fun shopping for all of it!

Thanks, everyone...for your comments and for your love/friendship/etc....and there will be other giveaways...so stay tuned!

GIVEAWAY ALERT! Happy Anniversary Imperialstuarts!

With this posting, I am celebrating two milestones today:

#1: I started this blog ONE year ago today, with my first posting about Patrick's 8th grade graduation and the magical time that is the beginning of Summer vacation!

#2: This is my 200th post!!

How does that saying go, regarding the blogging phenomenon?
"Never has so much been said by so many to so few"...something like that?

Oh well, it's at least been cathartic for me...not to mention, provided Blogger doesn't pull the plug, the most comprehensive journal I've kept since my high school days.

So, since I celebrated my 100th, I should most CERTAINLY celebrate my 1 year anniversary and 200th post, occurring on the same day, shouldn't I? That's what I thought.

And what's the best way to celebrate? A giveaway, of course!! So, do you think I should have another contest like I did for my 100th? No thank you! I'm not counting out 200 of anything! This time Cliff came up with the idea. We are going to do a little blog scavenger hunt quiz. I have chosen 12 questions from my past year of blogging. Be the first one to post all the correct answers as a comment to this posting, and you will win a special Japanese care package. There will also be a second chance to win a runner-up care package. Just please leave me a comment TO THIS POSTING and I will randomly choose a winner from these comments.

I think that some of my previous winners will attest to the quality of the prize packages...so please don't hesitate to leave a comment. If you don't have a Blogger account, you can leave an anonymous comment...but don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!

The deadline for entry is 12 AM (midnight) EST on Saturday, July 4th (That's 1 PM on July 5th, Tokyo time for you "locals"). I'll announce the winner in my Monday posting.

Good luck, and thanks for all the positive feedback this past year. We miss our family and friends and wish you could ALL come visit so we could show you first hand all that we love about this place (but not all at once...Japanese accommodations are just NOT that spacious...even American Japanese ones)!

Here are your questions:

(1)- What beverage does my family love, but I despise?

(2)- What famous speaker did Coree and I travel to San Diego to listen to?

(3)- Name one of the three plays we saw at Moonlight during their Summer 08 season.

(4)- What restaurant was LDS Chaplains' Conference "Navy Night" held at in 2008?

(5)- What television star was I photographed with at our first Marine Corps Ball?

(6)- How was the cat let out of the bag on Cliff's rose bouquet delivery surprise? (one of two answers will do)

(7)- What was the "first order of business" for Lisa's visit to see me?

(8)- What celebrity was Coree photographed with on our mother/daughter adventure?

(9)- Where did we take Jake for his last birthday?

(10)- What outfit does Troy like to torment his mother with?

(11)- Where did we take Patrick to eat on his last birthday?

(12)- What was the super-surprise gift we got for the kids for Christmas of 2006?

Wow! A lot can happen in a year, that's for sure! Good luck!

And the Winner is....

OK...so I got Amy's shipment sent off to her...and I've put this part off long enough! It's not that I was avoiding it or anything...I was just trying to figure out how I was going to randomly select the winner...and how all of you, my friends and family, would know that I did this honestly...without bias. I'm sure you trust me, but still...it just seemed like I should put forth some sort of effort to keep up appearances.

Well, the Accounting firm of Ernst & Young was not available...SOOO this was the next best thing I could come up with:







Congratulations

Janette!!!

You are the winner of 3 packages of my favorite kinds of Japanese candy...and they are delectable! I'd tell you what they are called, if I read Kanji...so instead I'll describe them. My number one fave is a 90% dark chocolate covered crunchy cookie/biscuit kind of thing. The next one reminds me of the Godiva dark chocolate key lime truffle, but it is some other kind of lime-ish citrus fruit filling. Those are both "upscale" chocolates. The third can be found at any grocery checkout. It comes in different fruit flavors (grape is my fave) and the flavor/texture is like a cross between a Starburst and a gummy bear. I hope you love them all!

Thanks for helping me celebrate my 100th post. This was fun...I'm going to do more in the future, because when I see cool stuff, I just want to share!

So, I guess I should ask Janette...since she's lived here before as an Air Force brat family member (back in the day)...do you have any requests?