Cherry Blossom Adventures

Happy blogiversary to me

Happy blogiversary to me

Happy blogiversary to Cherry Blossom Adventures

Happy blogiversary to me.

That`s right, one year ago today this blog was started. I can`t believe how much has happened in the last year, and it seems that doing a bit of a wrap-up is the thing to do on your blogiversary!! But really, that is why I have archives!!! I certainly didn`t think I would last a year…

Seriously though in the last year a lot has happened! Firstly I started a blog, then Shumpei and I moved in together. And that is still working out (and once we are back from Australia we will be looking for a new, bigger, apartment!), I visited Australia once last August, I got my dream job, hated it in the end, quit and didn`t work for 3 months. Started a new job in which I sculpt children`s minds and I am actually loving that, I went to Okinawa, I went to Nagano and tried skiing for the first time, Shumpei and I had our first Christmas together, I went to my first Japanese wedding, I had more nights out (and hangovers) than i can remember, most of which were lots and lots of fun and laughs!! Overall, it has been a pretty good year!!!

I think cake is in order to celebrate a year of blogging!!! Lots of cake…I wonder I could convince the people at the cake store to actually write `Happy Bloggiversary Lulu` on the cake….

Post number 173 and there have been more than 840 comments. Plus I average about 70 visitors a day. Who are you people?? Most of you are looking from America…I didn`t even know I had any American readers which is interesting!!

Am off to Australia tomorrow night, so posting might be a bit sporadic for the next week. Will try to post from Australia perhaps!!!

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Well technically I have finished the spring reading thing challenge because I reached my goal of ten books. To read about the challenge see here. I chose 20 books and had to read 10 of them between March 21st and June 21st.

I ended up sticking to what I know and like pretty much throughout the whole challenge. In other words, authors I like and chick-lit. Even though I have finished the challenge now, the rest of the books that were originally on my list are now on my `To be read` list…for anytime. My original post, that included my list can be found here

I didn`t end up reading any classics as such…despite a couple being on my list. I will get around to them eventually!!!!

I am not a book reviewer. I don`t think I could do it…but I thought I should at least post up the books I ended up reading for the challenge and give a comment or two.

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks

I usually always like Nicholas Sparks` books. This one was good too. I just don`t think I liked it as much as some of his others….That said the story was still really well written, and I always enjoy books that have a twist at the end, even If I could see this one coming from the beginning. It is good though because I don`t always read a lot of books by males and I really should read more of them.

The Memory Keeper`s Daughter by Kim Edwards

Fantastic. Anyone who hasn`t read this should go buy a copy now. It took me a little while to get into it, but once I was in I couldn`t stop. I can see why this has been a best seller. I am taking it back to Australia so my mum can read it because I know she will love it too.

It makes you think a lot, about how you would handle having a mentally handicapped child. People deal with this everyday.But I doubt I am the only person, who when they imagines what their children are going to like, imagine a child that has problems or is sick.

Something borrowed by Emily Giffin

Chick lit. It is pretty much what I read most of the time. The books that I read that are non chick lit have usually been best sellers or by authors I have read before and loved (For example Nicholas Sparks, Jeffrey Archer, Murakami and Jodi Piccolt)

This book was really good. And while it was about a girl who has an affair with her best friends fiancee you can`t help but want her to win the battle because her friend is a bit of a bitch. I am sure everyone has had a friendship that was slightly toxic. Someone that you got on with really well but when the friendship ended you look back and think `What was I thinking, that person was a real bitch`…One of those people that always had to be better than you, put you down etc etc. Well if you have ever had a friendship like this (or are in one and think it is time you move on) then you should read this book!! Easy read, but not just a normal chick-lit quick read.

Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes

I like Marian Keyes. I usually pick up her books as soon as they come out. I almost always enjoy books by British and Irish females as well!!! This is a book of short articles, most of which have already been published in newspapers in Ireland etc. There were also a couple of other never before published pieces. I think I enjoy reading these kind of short articles/stories more now since I keep a blog. It makes me jealous though that people can spin out a fantastically written piece and put into words the way I wish I could put stuff into words.

The best thing about these sorts of books too is that you can read one story, put the book down and come back to it anytime. You can mix and match and read it back to front if you want to also!

Mad River Road by Joy Fielding

I am not sure how I cam across Joy Fielding in the beginning. I have a feeling though it has only been in the last year or so that I have started reading her books. She is a suspense writer i guess you would say. Her books are usually fairly easy to read, quiet compulsive and usually have a twist at the end. I love the twists. I didn`t see this one coming either!!! Anyone who likes suspense/crime novels, but isn`t into all the blood and gore that sometimes come with them, should check this book out! Or other books by her.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

I will definitely have to check out more books by this author. I have heard great things about her and am so glad i finally read this book. It is about four sets of mothers and daughters who are Chinese, and Chinese-American. It deals with cultural identity and the mother-daughter relationship that any female with a mother could relate too! I liked it…would love to hear a suggestion for the next Amy Tan novel I should try!!

Diary of a mad mum to be by Laura Wolf

I am always a sucker for books in diary form. I don`t know why. The first one I read as a kid was Zlata`s diary, I was about 10 or 11 and I couldn`t even contemplate how a girl my own age (at the time) could be living through what she was living through (A brilliant YA novel that everybody should read)

Anyway back to my love of diary form books, of course this one is not as thought provoking as Zlata`s diary it is still a good read. Fairly typical chick-lit book!!!! I liked her crazy friends!

Shopaholic and baby by Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella`s books are always good for an easy read, especially if you like chick-lit. I think I am just over the shopaholic series though. This one and the last one have been a bit too much…I still read them, and I wouldn`t say I didn`t enjoy them I guess I have just read a lot of other good books recently that it hasn`t rated really high on my good books list. I recommend the first two though!!!

The Botox Diaries by Janice Kaplan and Lynn Schnurnberger

It was just ok. I will read pretty much anything and this was ,like I said, Ok. I guess I am chick-litted out a bit though…Probably number 10 on the list of the books I have read.

Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Another great book. It is these types of books though that make me realize I really do not know enough about history. Anyone with an interest in history, especially Asian modern history should read this book. It makes you realize how lucky you are to have access to education, books, technology and freedom.

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I went on a little book shopping spree the other day with James too. He took me to Kinokuniya in Shinjuku. I have been to the one on the otherside of the station but never to the one connected to Takashimaya. I have no idea why I have never been before! I got new gossip mags (I am a sucker!) plus six new books. All of which are by authors I have read before….Two which I can not wait to read include Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult and Thinking of you by Jill Mansell. Have just started Thinking of you today….I want to read Nineteen Minutes so much but am saving it for the plane ride next week! I know If I start it now I will forget to pack, eat and possibly go to work!!!!

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Letter from the easter bunny. (On snoopy paper!)

`Hey Lulu, this is the Easter Bunny. Sorry I am a bit late but I had trouble getting the ceiling fan in the envelope so I decided to just send the eggs. You will just have to throw the eggs in the air. Lots of love, Bugs.`

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I received a package in the mail yesterday. Last week I asked my dad to send some easter chocolates for me to give the kids at school. We are actually studying Easter a bit late because the real easter was over Spring break. Plus I am pretty sure Orthodox churches celebrate a week later anyway..so we figured it was OK!!!

When I was younger (Actually technically until I was 17 and went to Japan!) my father hid about 200 eggs every year. Sure, when we were younger we thought it was the easter bunny but as we got older and no longer believed in the easter bunny he would still hid the eggs, bunnies, presents etc every year. (I am not exaggerating by saying 200 eggs, I swear sometimes it was more!) As he got older too he started to write down were he hid them so that we wouldn`t find any two weeks later when cleaning the house etc!!!

Before he had the great idea to write down where he hid eggs though one easter when I was about 10 or 11, my brother and I woke up early and started hunting. After finding about 180 eggs we thought…`yep that`s it, we have them all!` and Dad agreed. It was actually quite a hot easter that year. We were still using the ceiling fans during the day at least.

Well my mum, later on Easter Sunday (or possibly even the next day) turned on the fans only to be showered in easter eggs (solid ones!). Yep that is right, my father had had the brilliant idea to hide eggs on top of the fans. But then forgot he had done it.

Needless to say the next Easter the first thing we did on Easter Sunday when we woke up was turn on all the fans in the house, (And look under the bottoms of chairs, it was around that time that dad also started sticky taping eggs to the bottom of chairs trying to trick us!!)

I think my dad might still have hidden eggs this year, and might in fact be waiting for me to come home next week so that I can hunt for them all!!!!

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Panita, a Thai friend, was in Japan this past week and on Sunday we all caught up for drinks and dinner at an Okinawan restaurant in Kichijoji. It had been 2 and a half years since most of us had seen her so it was lovely to see her and to see that she hadn`t changed a bit. I have mentioned here before that I used to study in Japan at a university here. Panita was here studying at the same time as me (and Cat and James who frequent on my blog!). Panita is one of my only friends that I have that when we speak to each other, neither of us use our native languages (although I have a Korean friend and we use Japanese too). That always seems a little surreal to me but the longer I live out of Australia the more normal it seems….

Here are some photos of Okinawan food and old friends! The food was really nice, as was the place we went too. I haven`t actually eaten Okinawan food before really except for a little when I was in Okinawa.

Panita (Panni!) is second from the left!

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Saw a sign for a restaurant in Yokohama the other day. Garlic Jo`s! Yep that is right, everything they serve has garlic….and lots of it by the look of it! Interesting concept…

Went to Yokohama for a date on Saturday with Shun. We went to China town and ate lots of chinese food (I love chinese food!!!!!!!!) and then went to Queens square and the hotel/shopping area of Yokohama. I pretty much forgot to take photos but here is a couple. I love china town, everywhere has there own one but no matter where it is I love it. I love the stalls and shops, the people, the food and the atmosphere.

I actually really like Yokohama, and if I wasn`t living in Tokyo, or had to live here for work, then I would love to have a place in Yokohama. It is just such a nice place! (Plus it is close to China town…always a plus!)

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Is it just me or is seeing a dog wearing shoes just wrong? I used to be horrified by all the dogs here that wear clothes (and hats, and sunglasses and raincoats etc etc) but I got used to it. My guess is one in three dogs I see walking around are wearing some kind of outfit (So far the best one was a dog dressed in a matching pink jogging outfit same as the owner!) But shoes?

Why? The dog I saw wasn`t limping of anything…and its legs seemed ok (I thought maybe the shoes were because it had problems with its legs or feet perhaps) but nope, I think the owner just decided to put shoes on his dog.

There are shops here that sell only dog clothing. I mean not just shops for dogs that sell everything from clothing to collars to leads etc…I mean shops that sell ONLY dog clothes. The first time I saw one I thought it was a shop for baby clothes..then I realized my mistake!

If you google shoes for dogs about a million sites come up. I guess shoes for dogs are in at the moment….

* Photo stolen from google images.

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• Dot points are great for when you have nothing of substance to say, but still a lot to say!
• I realized today that I can (still!!!) ride a bike while it is raining, holding an umbrella and talking on my phone. I thought I had lost this talent when I was a student living here but I guess I still have it. I only almost fell off once!!!
• Talking about rain, I am sick of the stupid weather here recently. I swear global warming will be the end of me (or of all of us!). It is hot one day, cold the next, then really hot and it rains, out of the blue. Like today, the weather was nice all day then all of a sudden, without warning, the clouds moved in and it started pouring. I know Spring brings rain, but seriously the weather is getting out of hand. It is so hard to decide what to wear in the mornings, or whether I will need a jacket.
• Only 2 and a half weeks until I go to Australia (with Shun this time). I am getting very excited. Oh and only four months until I go to China. By then it will be 18 months since I have last traveled overseas (apart from between Australia and Japan)…I really can`t wait. My mum and I have obviously traveled together before (Bali, NZ, Thailand) but it has been awhile so I am looking forward to that too!!! Next year I plan to do Korea and Vietnam as well…any hints on places I should see in China, (or for future knowledge…Korea or Vietnam?)
• I am slowly adding more and more to the`foods that I can eat` list going on in my head. I am not a huge fan of a lot of Japanese foods…in fact I only seem to like the unhealthy ones which is a big waste of time!!! For example I never used to drink miso soup…now I could actually say I like it (although I like homemade more than the instant stuff) Even daikon is growing on me…Although I still hate the grated daikon you put on fish!!! Uckkk….
• I planted my new garden yesterday for spring. Not sure if it will work because some days my little window area doesn`t get much sun but this year I plan to grow sunflowers, pansies, some other purple flower which I don`t know the name of in English, and these little heart plants that I got from shumpei ages ago. I also cleaned up two plants I got for my birthday and set them up outside, they weren`t doing so well in my apartment. In the vegetable pot I have shallots, asparagus, basil and tomato’s. Most of it is all seeds so not sure if it will work but hopefully we will be having some fresh vegetables late June early July! Will eventually get around to taking a photo and posting it!!!
• Japanese TV is addictive. No matter how stupid some of it is I can`t help but watch it.
• Two new students at preschool. A German boy and an Indonesian girl. The German boy started last week during Spring school. He tends to speak to us in German and we just sort of guess at what he saying…but apparently he went home and told his mum that he doesn`t need to learn English because we understand all of his German…and sometimes speak it back to him. We have never spoken German to him (OK except for I love you and Good morning…the only German phrases we know!). The Indonesian girl started today ( age 3) and her mum said when she dropped her off `She`s a little shy now but she should be fine` after one word answers all morning she just started talking and did not stop. Her parents speak only English to her so her English is very good…and she just talked and talked and talked. Washing her hands went like this ` First the soap right?` `Then water, wash wash wash wash` `Turn tap off right?` `This towel is for tables right? And this one is for my hands…OK I understand…are you going to wash your hands too?` And it went on and on and on…she talked to herself, to us, to her friends, to the toys…I was so surprised since in the morning she had seemed so quiet. She was a real cutie though…I think her talking was partly nervous talking anyway…hence always asking me if it was `Right?`…. I had no idea that even children did nervous talking. I am a nervous talker…if there are silences or if I don`t know people real well I just talk and talk and talk and don`t stop. I wonder if I was the same as her when I was a child?
• I have another cold. Yes another one. I am always sick. I am still waiting for the fantastic immune system I had last time I was teaching kids…It took three months to build up and then I never got sick. I guess being out of the business for awhile meant that I lost that. It`s been almost three months now since I started teaching again so I hope this is my last cold. (I also hope that the cough I have had for six weeks, which is mostly from asthma I think, goes away soon. I went back to the doctor and he just gave me THE EXACT SAME MEDICINE I HAD TAKEN BEFORE…I don` think it works.
• Had a lovely weekend…Had mexican food on Friday night to celebrate Cat`s new job. Actually Catherine was here the whole weekend actually…James stayed Friday and Mai stayed Saturday night so the apartment has been busy I guess. Saturday just hung around here, oh and searched for easter eggs at the shop but no luck. Then Saturday night I went to a park near Tsukiji (The fish market) which had all the trees lit up for the change of seasons. It was lovely! Sunday had coffee with Mai, lunch with Shumpei and then Shun and I just cleaned the apartment and lazed around for the rest of the day. Oh and I am happy to report that Shumpei finally had a haircut (After months and months and months)!!! (I know you will be happy to hear this mum!)

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Do not rub your eye when you have curry powder on your hand/fingers. Because then your eye swells up, goes red, stings like crazy and you can`t see. Luckily, now, 2 hours later, my vision is returning to normal.

I`m an idiot.

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Well Cherry blossom/Sakura season is almost over…Hanami parties have been had and lots of photos have been taken!!! I thought it was about time I actually got around to posting some photos!

I actually went to one hanami party this year, the one I organized (although then we merged with Deanne and Masao from Tokyo Made for their pink party and they basically did all the work!!) and we were a bit early. And basically there were no blossoms. But we still had a blast…and our own little tree!

This past weekend would have been perfect for a hanami (blossom viewing) party/picnic…although it was fairly cloudy it was still fairly warm and the blossoms were out in full bloom! Shumpei and I headed to Shinjuku Gyoen (A park in Shinjuku which is about 15 minutes from where I live by train) and paid our 200 yen (I had no idea that you had to pay into some parks…I was also shocked when we were in Okinawa and you had to pay to use some beaches…Seems crazy doesn`t it?) to enter the very crowded park. It was lovely though. And I really want to go back in Autumn to see the difference between seasons! I had never been before, and I certainly hadn`t seen the cherry blossoms there before, so it was a great day out! I took way too many photos!

Then yesterday we headed out to Chiba to Shumpei`s parents place. We are supposed to go back there once a month but it had been ages since I had been there, almost two months. I hadn`t been since before my birthday anyway and was shocked to find present waiting for me there from his parents and his brother and his brother`s wife. Also after dinner I go a cake with happy birthday written on it. And they sang for me! Birthdays are not a big deal in Japan (Much to my dismay!) but I was really happy (and surprised) that they had remembered and gone to so much trouble!

This was my cake!!

It deserves to be a big photo don`t you think! It says `Tanjyoubi omedetou` which means happy birthday in Japanese! I love Japanese short cake too!!!! Plus the let me eat the white chocolate birthday message thingy! It was yummy!

We also went out to Chiba to see the sakura out there. Right near Shumpei`s parents house is a small creek that has sakura trees all along it. The best thing is that they have lanterns in the trees so at night it looks especially beautiful. They call it yozzakura (Night sakura) and it really is stunning. The photos don`t do it justice but that didn`t stop me from taking a million shots while I walked along with Shumpei.

We also went to see some Shidarezakura at a local temple (Well we thought it was local but in the end it was a 30 minute bike ride away!) we took Holly, the dog! Shidarezakura is the type in the photos…It is hanging down! (I was going to explain it better but I can`t!) The shidarezakura tree in these photos is more than 400 years old!

There are a couple more photos here if you are interested! I love this type of year and I am sad to see that the cherry blossoms will all be gone soon (Although when they are all falling, petal by petal, is also a great time to go to a park cos it is like it is raining flowers!) But I am very excited cos now that Spring has started properly it means golden week is almost here. And during golden week I am going back to Australia for a quick visit!!! Yay! I am so excited to see family and friends, go shopping and go to a cafe and be able to have a nice sandwich. Oh and eat all my other favourite foods. And cheap fruit! Oh I can`t wait!!!

Quick question: When you played hide and seek when you were a kid did you just face away from the person that was `up` put your hands over your eyes and just stand or sit there? My brother used to do something similar to that. He would always go to his bedroom sit down in the middle of the room and cover his eyes…I guess he figured he couldn`t see anyone so nobody could see him. I thought it was just him. Turns out though it is fairly normal for kids to be that stupid and think that that works. A little boy (age 4) in Spring school at work at the moment does that whenever we play hide and seek at the park. It is the funniest thing to watch!!!!

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Shumpei and I play by fairly lenient rules…can`t you tell? Bored at 1:30am last night we decided to play a game to pass the time…perhaps we should have just slept! Last night was the first Saturday in ages that I have been home, doing nothing. It was actually quite nice to have a night in. I won scrabble by the way…

Yesterday we went to Shinjuku Gyoen to see the Sakura too! Awesome. Will post photos soon!!! The flowers are in full bloom now and will probably only last another 5 days or so as well so we are heading to Shumpei`s parents place to check out the blossoms out that way! Luckily the weather, despite being a little cloudy, is actually quite nice!

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