Hi everyone, Joanna here from Southern Alabama. The military drags us all over the globe. We are not at all into all the hooah gung- ho stuff. Hubby just loves to fly his choppers and medevac, so here we are. Our daughter and I tag along for the ride. I originally hail from the Netherlands and used to live there and in Germany before I met my husband. Pretty much all my life I have been fascinated by Japanese culture.Despite having had the fortune to travel a lot of the world and see many beautiful places I have not yet been to Japan. I learned about bento when I was searching the web for school lunch recipes for my then picky eater kiddo. It was love at first sight. Bento combines healthy food, portion control and aesthetics and dare I say even spirituality, because you have to be conscious about the food you put into the box and nourish your body with. I am a self professed foodaholic. I hate doing the laundry, but I can stand in the kitchen and chop and stir for hours at end. Cooking is near instant gratification, which is perfect for a gal with no patience like me. Because of my patience issues, my bentos are hardly masterpieces, but I try to still make them visually pleasing. I am totally jealous of the people that can create those beautiful kyaraben bentos.