Rockin' America

I will start this by saying:
I LOVE AMERICA - I LOVE AMERICA - I L-O-V-E  AMERICA!
Now with that said, I continue.

If it is not obvious by the statements above, let me tell you - I have made it back to the States for a much needed visit!
Even though our trip started a little bumpy (Mom was stopped in the Tokyo Airport by security for having not one, but TWO pair of scissors in her carry-on!)  They took her aside and took down her passport number and all her informtaion.  It was a nice way to start a 24 hour journey.
But - we got all of the drama out of the way in the beginning and the rest of the trip was pretty much a breeze.
Well, I take that back - I forgot (conveniently) that I had one of the worst allergy attacks I've had since I was a kid.  That made for a lovely and pleasant trip at 35,000 feet!  But I was willing to endure anything to get home.

Safely at home and spending most of a full week suffering from jet-lag, I happened to be up one morning at 5:30 am and decided to wander into the closest Walgreens... I thought I had died and gone to heaven!
I know I looked like a big ole drugged out dork. Why, you ask?
I had on some crazy version of sweat pants and a T-shirt, hair all pulled up on the top of my head, no make-up and I was on about day 3 of filling myself full of Zyrtec and Benadryl to make the allergies go away.
Plus when I walked in, I got to about the middle of the store and just stopped.  Standing there looking around in COMPLETE awe at all the things that I can't buy in Japan!!!!!!!!

It made me realize how many uneeded and usless things I take for granted:
The 12 pack of utility scissors that you don't need but will buy anyway because it is such a good deal -in the clearance bin, only $5.  The 30 diffferent brands of soft drinks, vitamins that I'll never take but with labels I can actually read, the random isle of junk that lets you know what season we are in, trash mags  for only $3.95 (Japan price - $15), Wet & Wild .99cent trashy make-up in EVERY color and last but not least - - two-ply toilet paper!!!!And the list could go on and on and on.

So I stood there - taking it all in, enjoying the weird smell of cleaner and disenfectant mixed with air freshner someone had probably sprayed trying to figure out if they liked the smell enough to buy it.
But - I loved it!  I loved every weird minute of it.

If there is such a thing as heaven...I would have sworn that morning that I had found it. 
and I won't even tell you what I probably looked like when I walked into the Harris Teeter Grocery Store...


I'm enjoying the scenery,
Deeds