Cherry Blossom Adventures

I made risotto for dinner tonight for the first time in ages- in fact I don`t think I have made risotto in the last two years so it was a long time coming but when Achan mentioned that she had made pumpkin risotto a couple of weeks back it got me thinking about making it again for us. Luckily, Shun will eat risotto (unlike Achan`s husband- I guess mine doesn`t mind “wet rice”)- Shun wouldn`t eat pumpkin risotto though as he is not a huge fan of Japanese pumpkin because it is sweet (he liked Aussie ones though, go figure) so I had to think up something else.

So I made a bacon, asparagus and sun dried tomato risotto. I did take a photo BUT it is hard to make risotto look good in a photo so I am not going to post it because it doesn`t do it justice.

I made the recipe up, just based it off a normal risotto recipe. The cup sizes I used are Japanese cup sizes meaning 200ml.

Ingredients

2 bunches of asparagus

1 brown onion

1 handful of chopped up sun-dried tomatoes. I bought the kind not in oil but either would be okay.

4 garlic root shoots (this is an extra, if you are not in Japan/China it might be hard to find garlic root/にんにくのめ）

2 cloves of garlic (I used 2 teaspoons of pre-grated garlic from a jar but I guess that is about 2 cloves)

6 rashes of bacon

1600ml of water

4 chicken stock cubes

3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

30g butter

1 tablespoon of oil

1/2 cup of dry white wine (if you don`t have it, leave it out or a bit of Japanese sake might work)

2 tablespoons of parsley. Fresh is best but I just used the one from the spice rack!

2 cups of rice (I just used our everyday Japanese rice, and because it is starchy it works fine)

Method

1. Cut Asparagus and garlic root up and put in a microwave proof bowl with an inch of water- steam in microwave for 3 minutes
2. Bring water to boil on stove and add the chicken stock cubes- continue to boil for 5 minutes then turn off and keep covered.
3. Melt butter and add oil in a separate pan- fry the bacon, garlic and onion until soft
4. Add rice to pan and coat with the oil/bacon mixture
5. Add one cup of the stock and continue to stir until water is gone. Continue to add cups in batches until you have approximately one cup of stock left to add. Half way through this process I added the wine as well. Keep the heat fairly high and stir continuously.
6. Add the asparagus, garlic root and sundried tomatoes to the mixture and stir through. Then add the final cup of stock mixture and continue stirring until all water is gone. Turn down the heat to low. From start to finish this took me about 35 minutes but it is fine to do it for less or more as long as the rice is done and no longer hard.
7. Stir through the cheese, parsley and salt and pepper to taste and serve!

This made enough for us both (with Shun going back for seconds) and enough for his bento tomorrow and one other lunch. So basically 4 serves. If you are doing it for 2 people then just half the recipe!

Shun`s thoughts : Looks like baby food but tasted good. He went back for seconds!

My thoughts: So yummy for a change but I had forgotten how tiring standing and stirring the stock mixture through for 35 minutes or so can be.

Shun has asked if I can make a mushroom risotto next week so I might have to do that!

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It is that time again! Time for another 101 things in 1001 days update.

This month I crossed nothing off completely but I managed to cross off some parts of the list…

93. Go to the cinema 20 times (8/20)

This is now 9 times because I went to see My Sister`s Keeper with Nay in Shizuoka. I had hoped to go see a move with Shun last Sunday (1000yen on the 1st of the month!) but I was sick so we couldn`t go. I still want to try and get to the cinema once more before Goma-chan arrives!

100. Make a budget and stick to it for six months (1/6)

We stuck to it last month as well! So now 2 months- YAY! Plus we are well on our way to sticking to it this month also (our month for money starts on the 25th, pay day!) and have cleared our credit card debt and now working on trying to save a little each month. So far so good.

Things I probably could of done in the month of October that I didn`t (maybe November?! haha)

- Continue to work on photoshop and learn to use it

- Sell something I have made (actually did pretty much no crafting in October and since I am working on quilt now, definitely won`t be selling that. If anything wants something custom made though let me know )

- Get paid to write something - I submitted some stuff the month before and one of the places that would of been for a paid piece rejected the article so I should really rework it and submit it somewhere else)

- Watch the rest of Heroes with Shun- this is a really easy one that I know I should of crossed off by now but we have started watching another drama together putting this one on the back burner. I suppose I should con him into sitting down with me and watching the last 6 or so episodes we have to watch.

- The week long detox- I should of really done this sometime while pregnant and still haven`t done it. It would mean giving up meat for a week which I could totally do (and obviously not drinking right now and limit myself to no more than one coffee a day already) but I know Shun would kick up a big stink if I cooked vegetarian food all week. Maybe I should tell the hospital I am a vegetarian and have vegetarian meals cooked for me the entire time I am there? I wonder if that means I would get tofu? If so then I would have to pass. I hate tofu.

- Complete exercises in my level 1 JLPT study books. Yeah. I keep avoiding this one like the plague.

Really the above things I should be able to do and cross off but I just keep avoiding them. Plus once baby comes I will have even less time meaning they are less likely to get done…I need to get motivated!

The things remaining on my list are getting harder and harder to cross off, although they shouldn`t be really. I just need to set mini goals and stick to them I think. And while I would love to complete everything on my list, anything I do not complete will mean an extra $10 to a charity of my choice.

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I was really really really really looking forward to having Cassie & Khea (and their sprogs!) over for lunch today and I had to cancel at the last minute. Over night my cold took a turn for the worst and since yesterday I have had a bad cough. I barely slept and this morning Shun thought it best to take me to the hospital before he went to work so we got up and dressed early but still had to wait over an hour to see a doctor.

It was my first time using a hospital or clinic, other than my maternity clinic, since coming back to Japan- therefore my first time for one in this area. Shun had to go to the doctor`s soon after we moved to Funabashi so he thought it best to take me to the same place because it is only about a 10 minute walk from our place and is a big hospital although I think I am going to be looking for a smaller clinic in the hope that I won`t need to wait so long next time (and have a doctor look at me properly)

We filled in all the forms- thought it was a bit weird that there was no question about whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding on the forms (there usually is!) and waited (and waited and waited)…I went in to see the doctor and explained I have had the cold since Saturday night and that I wouldn`t have come just for a cold but that now it had gotten into my chest and was causing a lot of pain and I wanted to confirm it was not phenomia or something like that. He checked me over and said “It`s a cold. And now a chest infection. Take these medicines” and started to write a script….Shun interrupted and said “Can she take those while pregnant” and for the first time the doctor actually looked and me, then at the bump (which come on, at almost 35 weeks is pretty damn obvious. Maybe he had just thought I was fat) and said “oh….no. Okay, just go home and rest and if cough doesn`t go away or gets worse go to your baby clinic on Monday” - Shun asked if there was ANYTHING I could take that was safe and doctor refused to discuss it with us and said nothing is 100% safe and he will not prescribe anything and said I needed to go to my maternity clinic and that MAYBE they could give me something.

So that was a waste of our morning. I mean I am glad it is not phenomia and the doctor said he couldn`t hear any asthma in my chest so that is good but honestly I have never felt this bad with just a cold before. I had very interrupted sleep last night and woke up a few times because I couldn`t breathe and actually thought I was dying. Might sound a bit melodramatic but I get asthma and there is nothing worse than not been able to get enough air because you panic and that was how I was last night.

So it is back to resting for me. I had a short nap around lunch time for an hour and then another almost 3 hour nap just before and trust me when I say that if I nap during the day it is a sign I really am sick. If I stopped eating, well that would be a sign I am dying because I never feel bad enough to not eat (although all I have eaten today is vegemite toast, which is the best when sick and always what my mum gave us as kids)- Shun messaged me before and asked if I wanted him to bring home an apple. Both our mum`s used to give us apple as kids when we were sick it seems!

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Idea courtesy of Gala Darling.

• Discovering nice places to walk near our home.
• Coffee catch up with a friend I hadn`t seen in 3 years.
• Public holidays
• Finally starting the quilt for Goma-chan and buying the last of the things I need to make it!
• Kiwi fruit flavoured yogurt
• Having my friend mail me and tell me she has booked flights to visit us in Japan next year on her way to Europe.
• Finally having my sore throat go away!
• Herbal tea during the cold weather.
• Having Shun make dinner on Sunday (Hayashi rice!)
• Blogging everyday this month so far (not sure it will continue but nice all the same!)
• Reading 4000 comments on my blog

What are you loving this Thursday?

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Today I took a stroll along the stream near our apartment. I had to go out to post something to Marianne and the post office is in the Ichiba (market?) which is the opposite way to the train station and therefore not a direction I head in unless I need to post something.

I took my camera with me thinking I could go for a stroll through the Ichiba and see if I could take some photos of the market and the people working but it is so big and I really had no idea where to go so instead I headed out the Ichiba and for a walk along a little river or stream. In Australia we would call it a creek but I am not sure what the correct terminology is here in Japan…

I was hoping to get some photos of the changing leaves but all the trees were already naked and there were no maples or gingko trees in sight as it seems all the trees lining the stream were sakura treets which lost all their leaves over the last month (and they don`t always change colour anyway). It was a lovely walk though and it was nice to take some photos for a change.

I am still supposed to be taking it easy and I am especially since I have had that cold but I walked for about 50 minutes I suppose up and back along the stream, stopping to take photos and sit on the benches provided. It was nice to be outside!

Some photos from the walk…

Towards the Ichiba

I thought it would be way to early for Sakura- They were very small- maybe they are a type of plum blossom

Most of the trees looked like this

There was a guy fishing

Not sure what he would of done if had caught a carp/koi

There were quite a few statues like this along the way without explanations

All the trees along the left with no leaves are sakura/cherry blossom trees which will come alive in spring- nice to know we have so many close by!

I spotted some locally grown produce

and wild tomatoes

There are some more photos here from my walk! Looking forward to when spring hits and I can take Goma-chan for a walk along the path/stream to look at the sakura blooming!

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Japan has been hit with a cold snap- I am guessing it was about 13 or 14 degrees here in Chiba but it was much colder in other parts- some friends even mentioned snow in their recent facebook updates. Not sure if Chiba will be seeing snow anytime soon if at all this year but winter is well on the way and it has left me asking where did Autumn go?

I didn`t go outside today (except to hang out laundry- yes I am just THAT exciting!) but it was even cool inside and I had to find some socks to help thaw out my freezing feet.

I still have a cold but I think we can safely say it is not the flu as I had no temperature at all and despite taking it numerous times a day (Shun rang a couple times from work yesterday for an update and to check what my temperature was, so seriously I think I took my temp 6 times or so yesterday alone!) it has not gone above 37.5- which is hardly a fever. Does anyone know if Japanese people`s body temps are supposed to be so much lower than the average westerner? My standard temperature is about 36.8 but if Shun get`s that kind of fever he goes a little nuts…His standard temperature is 36.1 or 36.2 which seems quite low to me. I still have a sore throat and stuffy nose but I think it is getting better, at least I hope so. Problem is I now have a bit of a cough, which is always the way with me- whenever I get a cold it always ends up in my chest as asthma. Hopefully it doesn`t get too bad…

Public holiday in Japan today meant Shun was home from work- we had made plans to go to Lalaport and see a movie but because I am still a bit under the weather we decided to pass. Sarah will be glad to know that I took her advice and started downloading Flashforward and I like it- so does Shun so we watched a couple of episodes of that together. Always hard to find English programs Shun will watch with me, especially when they have no subtitles.

Last night I also got word that my friend Melanie had her little girl, Misora Rose! I was so excited when the message came through on my phone with a picture and details!!!! I can not wait to meet her but because they will be down in Yamaguchi for 4 more weeks or so it seems unlikely we will meet until after Goma-chan arrives since we live on the opposite sides of the city.

I have a feeling that Goma-chan will be born at exactly 37 weeks (22 Nov) or that he will be 6 days late (19 Dec)- I know those dates are almost 4 weeks apart but I think I must have dreamt it or something but not remembered dreaming it. Is it weird that I think this?

Aussie blog friend Amanda has provided me with many many many facebook messages telling me what to do next with my quilt stuff for Goma-chan so I am thinking I might get stuck into that over the next couple of days. I will eventually need to buy some backing material though but luckily the itoyakado in town has a small material/craft section. Thanks to Amanda for explaining what I need to do in great detail- I think she should do a post on her blog for other would be quilters! Honestly, I am sure I will actually be able to do it now that I actually know what is involved. I am just hoping I do not get too frustrated and quit…

Blogging via email on my phone does not seem to be an option for me at the moment because I use an older version of wordpress and am not wanting to upgrade at the moment- plus my blog is hosted on a server in Australia and my host has mentioned there are some bugs in the later version so I am waiting for a more stable version to come out and upgrade. This means though that when Goma-chan does arrive his “He is here” post might not come until AFTER I get out of the hospital- the good news is though I can update my facebook via my phone so anyone that is friends on facebook will know when he is here!! I can log onto my blog from my phone but only if I use the more expensive browser with cookies enabled and I am just not sure on how much that costs so it might not be the best idea. Oh well, I am sure you can all wait 5 or 6 days for the news!!

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testing-using expensive browser on my mobile! not sure if this will work out but will have to get shun to check how much it costs.

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testing the function to blog from my phone via email! would be nice if the tech gods are looking down on me today!

Update: Well the tech gods were not looking down on me at all. In the end I had to go to a website after emailing to special email then log into wordpress and change the post status to publish- which I can`t all do from my mobile so unfortunately when the baby does come I probably will not be able to put it up on here. So if I disappear for 5-6 days then you could probably assume that Goma-chan has arrived and I am at the hospital!

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34 weeks today.

Goma-chan should be making his appearance into the world in about six weeks give or take a couple of days - or he could still arrive early but I am not sure!

I had a doctor`s appointment on Friday and they were happy with things and said the baby looked really healthy and was about 2.2kg already and that I should just continue to take the medication to prevent pre-term labour for another 2 weeks and continue to take it easy. It was a relief that all was okay and that Goma-chan was looking good.

Goma-chan might still make an early appearance but he is a good size and his lungs would be pretty much full developed by now so if I went into labour, even in the next week, things would probably be all good. I still get fairly frequent braxton hicks contractions, some of which hurt, but nothing really regular anymore so I think the medicine is doing its job. It tends to get worse if I am trying to carry something or if I am walking too much so I guess that is why the doctor tells me to rest! (Resting is still so boring though!)

The ultrasound on Friday showed the babies face a bit but he moved again before the doctor could switch to 3D/4D scan- but you can see it on the ultrasound a little although in a 2D scan it does make him look a little weird. Shun is worried that he has a nose that looks like a pig ( I told him not to say such horrible things!) but I think it is just because in that frame it is showing the skeletal structure more than his ACTUAL nose (at least we hope so! hehe) - he opened his mouth a couple of times and stuck out his tongue according to the doctor.

Here is the video

And here is the EVER growing bump

And also a shot of a present that arrived in the mail for young Goma from my Auntie Gayle in Australia. She is not my “official” auntie but has been known as auntie Gayle my whole life. She is a very good friend of my mum`s and her daughter Meghan is my godmother. It was a huge surprise to get this in the mail as I had no prior warning- some lovely blankets for Goma-chan and some singlets and socks. All very practical stuff which is great! I love the bigger blanket and will probably use it as a play blanket to lay on our rug in the living room. It was so warm and fluffy.

So the bump is still growing- and I gained 2kg in 2 weeks which made the doctor say in English “you got too fat” and I said ” yeah, but you told me to take it easy and up until I was 32 weeks I was walking every day and fairly active so I am not surprised I put on 2kg” (I said that in Japanese) and his response was “Don`t eat”- again in English. I laughed at him and told him in English “you are silly” (which he did not really know what to do about- I doubt ANY patient has ever told him he is silly and laughed at him before especially with the mentality in Japan that doctors know EVERYTHING and are like god`s gift to the world) and he switched back to Japanese and said I need to keep calorie intake down since I am not supposed to do exercise or walking or anything but I am not too concerned and if I am hungry I am going to eat- this is the first time since I have gone to this clinic that they have ever mentioned my weight and he did say that it is not too much to worry about since I had not gained too much up until this point. While it was a lot of weight to gain in a short amount of time it still puts me at only 9kg gained since getting pregnant and these next two weeks I will try not to eat too much junk and maybe get out to do some short walks as long as I am feeling well.

I am not sure how well I am feeling though since I have had a sore throat since yesterday which got worse overnight and brought with it a bit of a stuffy nose and by tonight my body is aching. So far no fever but it started at 36.6 earlier today and is now at 37.2 so I will take it again in the morning to make sure. I do not feel feverish though but with the flu going around and everything I can not be too careful. Hopefully it is just a cold. Does anyone know anything about fevers though if you have had your tonsils out? For some reason Shun`s mum told me that I can`t get a fever because I have no tonsils- and when I thought about it I don`t really ever remember having much of a fever above 37.5 before so maybe there is some truth in that. Does anyone know? The sore throat sure reminds me of the many many times I had tonsilitis as a kid though (had my tonsils out when I was 9 after 5 years of having a bout of tonsilitis every week and waking up with sore throats EVERY DAY)…Hopefully I do not get a temperature because if I do then I am guessing I may have the flu, which would suck. We thought about going to the doctor`s today since Shun could come with me but without a fever I doubt there is much they would/could do and I didn`t really want to go somewhere that might have people that have the flu, even with a mask.

All else seems to be going okay with the pregnancy. I do not get much heartburn anymore since the baby is quite low down. He is still pretty active but now it is usually only his arms/legs kicking or punching me instead of whole body movements since he is already head down. I am not loving the having to pee every 5 minutes (sometimes literally I go twice in ten minutes!) thing but it is not too bad. So apart from the pre-term labour thing and the possible cold/flu all is good.

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Another Thursday, another “Things I love Thursday” post, idea courtesy of Gala Darling.

• Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie mix- when Melanie visited my place when Nay & Sarah were in town she bought these brownies which I loved. I had a different recipe for brownies but I much prefer the “cake” type that she bought and she let me in on a secret that they were just a packet mix so when I saw the mix at the local import food shop last week I picked them up. Made them yesterday and have been enjoying them ever since (which might not be good for weigh in tomorrow at the dr`s!)
• Being almost 34 weeks pregnant- If Goma-chan decided to come early then he would probably be perfectly fine on the outside world albeit a little small. So it is definitely something I am loving this Thursday- and of course I love him too and can not believe we will be meeting him sometime in the next six weeks or so (my god that has come by fast)
• The expression “He is not the brightest button on the blouse” - heard it today for the first time and it had me giggling. I love expressions like that and always love it when I hear a new one (Not the sharpest tool in the shed, not the brightest crayon in the box, etc- do you know any good ones? I might need to start a list)
• Steak for dinner courtesy of MIL- she gave us two pieces of sirloin steak the other day and I cooked it up with some mashed potatoes (plus other boring stuff like vegies but of course the steak and mashed potatoes were the best part!). Have run out of packet gravy sauce (such a shame!) but mum said she will bring some more in December.
• Reading comments on my previous post about how people got their own names and how they named their children- was interesting to read that not everyone had the names picked out and that some even changed their mind from their names of choice. Like I said, we are pretty sure on the name BUT not 100% sure until we meet him and we have added a new contender to the list in the last couple of days which I am really liking so Goma-chan might just be “Goma-chan” for the first day or so.
• Winter PJs- loving that the nights are getting cooler and winter PJs are coming back into play!
• Starting the quilt for Goma-chan- have had the material and inside part for ages but only started cutting up all the squares today. Not quite sure when I will sew them together but probably sometime next week so maybe next Thursday I will be celebrating a finished quilt. Do not have backing material yet but think I will go for a plain colour and just buy it from the itoyakado near the station instead of trying to travel to the Yuzuwaya craft shop in Tsudanuma. Any quilting hints? I have no idea, it is my first attempt!
• Looking through old photos- I posted some old baby shots a couple of days ago but I have also been going through some photos from a couple of years back when I was on exchange, and even before that from Australia plus from when I first met Shun. Might post some favourites over the weekend. I love looking at old photos and having them bring back memories.
• Amazon.co.jp packages arriving at my door- did an order a couple of days ago for the remaining baby things we needed plus a couple of Christmas presents since not sure if I will get much shopping in between now and when Goma-chan arrives. Even though most of the stuff arriving (except one book) is not really for me as such I love having the delivery men drop things off and opening up the boxes. While I bought it all from amazon, some of it is sent from other places so today I had two packages arrive and I expect another two will arrive tomorrow.
• Almost 4000 comments on my blog- That`s right, I have had almost 4000 comments on my blog since starting it almost 4 years ago. I wonder who the 4000th commenter will be?
• Friend Cat coming for dinner and dvd`s tomorrow night- we haven`t had a girls night, just the two of us in AGES. Shun has a work nomikai so won`t be home til late so it will just be us two catching up on gossip and watching dvds.
• Package from Australia- posted about it on the weekend- all those lovely goodies from my mum and family in Australia.
• Sleep-ins - I get the best 3-4 hours of sleep after Shun has gotten up for work (7:45am) because I get the whole bed to myself (and Goma!). Since I have a lot of time for “resting” it is nice that I can spend some of it sleeping!

Okay, now what are the things YOU are loving this Thursday?

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