Cherry Blossom Adventures

I missed my May update of my 101 things in 1001 days (because I was having a break from blogging!) so am combining May and June. I haven`t crossed off as many things as I would of liked but have crossed off a couple so here goes…

5. Go to at least two of the following places: Nagasaki, Hakone, Nara or Hokkaido (1/2)

Well I went to Nara!!! When I was visiting Sarah down in Kobe we went to Nara and you can read all about it here. So there is one of the four places knocked off the list. Will have to wait until I return to Japan before I manage to get to any of the other places!

 12. Choose a theme or colour scheme

We have done both. The colours will be pink and silver and the theme will be cherry blossoms because we wanted to have the Japanese influence too.

15. Find and book a photographer

We have found one and she is fantastic! Her name is Sylvie and she is going to be fantastic and I knew as soon as I met her that she would be perfect. I can`t wait for Shumpei to meet with her too. She will be doing an engagement shoot also as part of the package so Shun will meet her then. But he has seen her work online (If anyone wants her website details just message or email me!) and he loves her too!

 31. Lose five kilos (4/5)

I have lost 4 of the first 5 since been back in Australia. So YAY! I had another lose at weight watchers on Thursday so have lost 3.4 since joining there and have lost almost another kilo before I started. I can`t really notice the difference yet but I am excersising a lot more than i usually do!!! I don`t love excersise yet but at least I am walking most days and hooping a bit also. The next step is to try a class because I really want to try pilates or yoga! There is a pilates class at my mums gym at 8:15am on Saturday`s and I think I will try that next week.

35. Do EFT everyday for two weeks

I did it near the end of May and through the beggining of June and haven`t done it since so I either wasn`t doing it right or it just doesn`t work for me. But I did give it ago!

38. Give up coffee for a month

I did this!!! It was a lot harder to give up than alcohol…and for the first week and a half I had a shocking headache! But I did it and I probably won`t be doing it again any time soon! It has curved my coffee buying habit a little bit though. I can stick with instant for now!

43. Get back into a proper skin care routine including suncreen everyday- Keep it up for at least 3 months (3/3)

I started this while I was still in Japan and have kept it up. I haven`t really noticed any difference but I guess I will keep it up anyway! In fact my skin has been terrible since I have been back in Australia and I don`t know why. Maybe I need to change the products I am using?

55. Go to five suburbs I have never visited before (3/5)

I went to Jimboomba to look at the puppies and pick Abbey. I went to portside, not really sure what the suburb is though?! and then yesterday I went to runcorn to visit Nay and her family and I think that was my first time to go there also! So it is a lot easier to knock off suburbs in Brisbane I haven`t been to before than I thought it would be!

57. Eat at at least 10 restaurants I have never been to before (4/10)

I love eating out! (Probably why I have problems losing weight!) so this is a really fun thing for me to knock off my list. I went to a great Japanese place with my dad at portside called “sono”. It was really yummy but pretty expensive. I also went to another place at Portside when my friend Clarie was in Brisbane…I forget the name but it was the one right on the river. It was very yummy also, great hummus and tabouli!!! Lastly for mum`s birthday we went to a little pizza place in Manly which was cheap but tasted it great. Will definitely be going back with Shun!!!

Oh there is actually four, I almost forgot. I went to a vegan/vegetarian place with Deb for her birthday several weeks back.It was in west end and I had a great vegan curry!!!

 61. Go to a concert

I saw “something with numbers” on Friday night with my friends Dani & Nicole at a club in the valley! They were ok, not really  my type of music though but I still had a great night out and it was great to see some live music!

65. (Buy) A hoola hoop

I bought two! Having a lot of fun with them but still haven`t really figured out how to do it real well but am having fun trying!!!!

 73. Meet at least five other bloggers in real life (2/5)

I met Nay several weeks back and again on Saturday! And it was great! I love meeting bloggers in real life and really hitting it off. I have been really lucky and almost all the people I have met through blogging have become great friends! It is also nice to meet with people that are in similar situations to me! Nay and I get on really well (I think!) and I will miss her when she moves to Japan in September but we will definitely be catching up once I am also back in Japan! Road trips around Japan will definitely be happening!

UPDATE: OMG, Sarah just brought it to my attention that I forgot to include her in the bloggers I have met list!!! I am so sorry babe! I didn`t forget I had met you, please don`t think that!!!

 75. Introduce some kind of ad system on my blog

Done! I am now a member of BlogHer! So far so good!

93. Go to the cinema 20 times (2/20)

I went and saw Sex and the City! Twice! I am also really really looking forward to seeing Mama Mia! in a couple of weeks! It looks like such a great film. Will have to take Shun to the movies too…something that isn`t too intense so he can follow the story line even if there is no subtitles!

Well there you go, that is what I have been up to! I have a couple of other things in progress but you can follow along and see what I have already done by checking out my 101 things in 1001 days page here which I am going to go update now. I know I should write about each thing as I mark them off but I find that this monthly update works better for me (and isn`t as boring for anybody reading!)

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When I came back to Australia, after a long flight, all I wanted to do was have a shower. So after getting to dad`s place I hopped into the shower, rinsed my hair and reached for the shampoo. But there wasn`t any…and there wasn`t any under the sink either? So after hopping out I asked dad where he kept it and he pointed to his head and said “Lu, as If I need shampoo” and then I realized he was right, he has no hair and therefore no need for shampoo.

Dad came home later that day with some shampoo and said ” I asked the lady in the shop and she said this is a good one” and my response was ” Great, is there conditioner too?” and he looked blank and said ” I thought it was all in the same bottle”

Yes, as you can see it has been awhile since my dad has used either shampoo or conditioner. Us living together was going to take a little getting used to. I just bought the same conditioner that matched the shampoo.

But now it is almost finished and I am thinking about what I should get next. What shampoo do you use and why? The one that dad bought was Wella Balsam, which is reasonable but it has been a long time since I have used shampoo from Australia and I need some hints on the best way to go!!!

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Today Dad and I went to Jimboomba to see some blue heeler pups and we made a decision and chose this beautiful little girl.

Introducing Abbey (As in Abbey Road). We will be able to bring her home on the 19th of July (The week after Shun arrives, so not one but two very exciting things to look forward to!)

It has been a long while since we have had a puppy, so there is so much to buy. It will be off to the pet shop next weekend I think to buy collars, beds, leashes, toys, food bowls, food etc etc. What else will we need? Any recommendations? I can`t wait til we bring her home.

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Despite my best efforts this past week, I found out I put on weight at my Weight Watchers meeting last night. Only .5 but it is still a bit of a blow. I know that that last week I wasn’t so good….I didn’t walk as much as the previous weeks and I had quite a few meals out which always makes it hard to control portion sizes and what you eat. But this week, since Sunday, I was really careful. I walked everyday for at least 45 minutes and I planned out my meals and tracked what I was eating.

I am determined this week to lose 1kg or more…my next meeting is next Thursday. So far in the four weeks since I joined I have lost 1.9…..Which does not seem like much to me. I did lose about 1 kilo in May also because I gave up alcohol and coffee So altogether in a six week period I have lost 2.9kg (I can cross it off on my 101 things to do in 1001 days). The problem is I had lost more, but I put on so it really doesn’t seem like much.

I really hope that my hoola hoops arrive today or on Monday so that I can do some extra exercise in the garden, hooping away! I also want to go to a Pilates or yoga class. Plus keep up the walking. I think aiming to walk 4 times a week, about 45 minutes each time is a good aim. Especially if I want to do a class as well. I will be walking tonight with Dad.

I was so pissed off at myself last night because I had put on, and before that I had been doing so well, losing about a kilo each week (Although I missed last weeks meeting because I took dad to an appointment). My biggest problem is I don’t really like exercise and unlike some people who go to the gym and say they always leave feeling great, I never get that feeling. I push myself to do exercise but because I don’t enjoy it, it is always a struggle. I wish I was one of those people that had that huge endorphin rush after exercising because then maybe I would be more likely to actually want to do it.

I remember when I was younger, I was so skinny and when I remember how much I weighed then I can’t imagine every getting back down to that. In fact my goal weight is above that anyway but I still wish I could return to my pre-university/Japan weight! I do know that now, because I have struggled with it that once I do lose the weight I will be more likely to continue with the healthier eating habits and the continued exercise. It is just a matter of getting the weight off first….

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Taken in Okinawa in 2006.

I wish I was here. It is starting to get a little cool in Brisbane now, especially in the mornings. Two winters in one year hardly seems fair (Although 2 summers next year will probably be worse).

Today was not a good day. I had a car crash, technically my first one. I ran up the back of someone, and it was my fault and I have a sore head. But their was almost no damage to the other car, and fairly easy to fix damage on mine. In fact just some minor panel beating work…I was just a bit more in shook than anything else. Hope everyone else had a day that was better than mine…..In other news I got a haircut, and it looks cool (I think!)

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I think I am ready to start blogging again…I can`t promise it will be regular but Dad is out of the hospital and I am getting settled into my life back here. I think I was a little overwhelmed at first with all that was going on…coming back to Australia has been a huge transition for me and not having Shumpei around has also made things a little lonely. Even though I have family and friends here I had been relying on a completely different set of people in Tokyo and when I got back here I had to try and adjust.

Work is going well, still temping for UQ as student coordinator for medical students and I am really enjoying it. I have applied for a permanent position but they know I will only be here until next June so I am not sure if I will get it although it would be nice if I did. If I don`t though I am not too worried because I will just go temp somewhere else once this role is finished.

Shumpei has finally set a date to arrive and he will be here on July 12th, a little less than 4 weeks to go. He is getting very excited I think because he will be finishing up work at the end of next week and then will be able to relax for and get ready for 2 weeks before he comes.

In other news I have booked a photographer for our wedding. I am going with Sylvie from http://www.papillonstudio.com.au/ who was recomended by somebody at work. She was the first photographer I met with and I had an instant connection with her (so did my mum) and while I had planned to meet with other photographers (I had a list of those to contact!) I decided on meeting her that I didn`t need to. She really is lovely and I can tell she will do a great job of taking beautiful photos on our wedding day. She is local to the south side of Brisbane and has actually done weddings at Shangri-la before (where we are having our wedding) and taken photos down near the manly bay which is exactley what Shun and I wanted to have our extra shots done. So she is perfect! Next step is to find a celebrant and to book cars…..Then I might start looking at dresses!!!!

I did join Weight Watchers almost four weeks ago now. In my first two weeks I lose 2.3 kilos and then lost track a little and didn`t go last week cos I was at a doctors appointment with Dad but I am trying to get back on track this week with the walking and watching what I eat. I will go back this Thursday and while I don`t think I will have lost due to the last not so great 10 days but hopefully I won`t have put on either. I think since returning to Australia almost five weeks ago I have lost about 3 kilos altogether though so it isn`t going so bad. Hopefully once i get back on track with excersise and eating better and tracking what I eat then the weight will start to come off again.

I also ordered two hoola hoops the other day online from here and they should arrive sometime soon I hope! I think they get sent out of Sydney? So I can`t wait to get them and start doing some hooping!!!

I caught up with my friend Clarie (she is also one of my bridesmaids) while she was in town this last week which has been great. I hadn`t seen her since I was home at Christmas and she is now living in Mt Isa so I do not get to see her as much as I would like even though I am now back in Brisbane…..trust her to move away as I am moving back! I did some much needed shopping with her over the weekend and we caught up and had a look at some possible bridesmaids dresses! Having bridesmaids in three different countries is going to be a challenge!

I also saw the Sex and the City movie with my brothers girlfriend Gem (Who turns 21 tomorrow the darling thing!) and it was awesome. Definitely worth seeing even if you weren`t a Sex and the City addict!!!

Well I think that is enough of an update for now but I just want to say thanks to those who commented on my last post and also those who sent me personal emails or facebook messages. I am sorry If I did not respond to you all but it did mean a lot. It is nice to know that I had a lot of people thinking of me and sending good vibes to my dad. While he has awhile to go yet he is improving a lot and will hopefully go well.

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