Cherry Blossom Adventures

Yay, I managed to cross a few things off my list for the month of September. Also working towards a couple of other of my goals.

4. See Sumo

Done- Read about it here. Definitely glad to have this one crossed off since I had been looking forward to seeing sumo live for a long time.

34. Learn how to do self breast exams

Done- since the midwives at the hospital want me to do breast massage anyway I thought it was about time.

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

We have done this and stuck to it for the month of September and are now into our second month. Last months and this months budget do not allow for much saving but from November the credit card debt will be gone and we will be able to put a little bit away each month. We are monitoring our money a lot better and for this pay period (25th Sep-Oct 24th) we are both writing down all that we spend as well to make sure our budget reflects our needs and hopefully this will also show us where we can afford to save a little bit more.

I am also currently working towards the following tasks-

92. Watch the rest of Heroes with Shun (up until end of season 3)
72. Get paid to write something
50. Learn how to use Photoshop
52. Sell something I have made (well I hope to work on this one before baby comes- anyone want to buy something I can make)
8. Complete all of the exercises in `shiken ni deru kanji to goi`
9. Complete all the exercises in `kanzen master` grammar book for level 1 of the JLPT.

So 2 things fully crossed off this month and another couple underway including sticking to our budget.

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Had lunch with Khea & Missha today and just had to show a couple of photos that we took of me & Missha, and Missha with her mummy! She has grown heaps since I last saw her (2 weeks ago) but she is still so tiny. In the first photo I love how Missha is looking at me- I bet she is thinking “Who is this person and why is her belly nudging me?” – for some reason whenever I hold other babies, especially anywhere near my bump, Goma-chan goes nuts kicking them. Feel a bit bad for Missha actually but hopefully Goma-chan will be better behaved in real life and realize he shouldn`t kick girls!

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Well another month has passed and I didn`t do much towards my list, yet again. Definitely a good thing that I got so much done that first year as I am allowed a few months lax time now I suppose…

49. Sew my own handbag

Done. I guess it is a handbag. It is to carry my knitting projects etc so they are more portable.

Here is a picture- bit blurry though. There is another one on flickr, but this one shows the inside pocket.

And that was the only thing I managed to cross off in July actually.

Shun & I are closer to getting our budget organized- once next pay comes in we can finalize a couple of things and will hopefully have it well under way, and working, before baby arrives.

This month my aim is to cross of AT LEAST two things on my list.  One is a definite (Sumo later this month!), and I just have to decide what other one I should cross off.

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In other news- I am so exhausted these last couple of days and am wondering if I am low in iron. I hit 26 weeks this Sunday (so look out for another belly shot and baby update) and have a doctors appointment tomorrow, my last in my second trimester. I think I will ask them to check my iron levels since I am prone to being low in iron anyway. I don`t have the energy to do anything- and when I do do something, like go to do the shopping, or meet a friend, then I come home and feel as if I need to have a 4-5 hour nap. I have not been this tired since first trimester.

I wrote, just a couple of posts back, that I had received a lot of packages recently. Mum mentioned another one is on its way this week. Another thing though is that so many friends, and friends of friends, and people I have met through blogging and online forums have been so helpful to me in the last couple of months. So many people have been so generous offering up things for goma-chan etc. A huge thank you to all of you (you know who you are!)- Shun & I are so grateful! I never thought I could make so many friends through online means but it has been fantastic. Just on the weekend we went to a friend`s place to pick up a lot of baby stuff that she no longer needs for her little one including a pack and play and car seat and more. Goma-chan is one lucky baby

Ps: Wrote this whole post with title 101 things in 1001 days update for July 09 and published it before realizing, crap, it was actually an update for August. Told you I was exhausted lately.

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16 months ago I made a list of 101 things I wanted to complete in 1001 days- I have managed to cross something off every month until now. In July, I did nothing off my list…

I have however found a pattern for a bag I want to sew, bought sumo tickets for September and we have started working on a budget but will know more once Shun`s next pay check comes in and August is actually a month I have work (on Saturday`s) wheras next month I won`t have the same income come in. Hopefully we can finish watching Heroes sometime this month maybe? That said August is halfway through and I haven`t managed to cross anything off yet…

Oh well, maybe the end of August or maybe September will allow me to cross more off the list.

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In other news:

- We are going shopping for some baby stuff this weekend. Off to Ikea to look at baby cots and then to Akachan Honpo for some neccessities and to try out prams. Shun assures me we will get whichever one I like online for a lot cheaper so I am allowed to only “test” them out at the shop. I figure a pram is not something I need really 4 months before the baby even arrives but hey, better to be prepared. Plus Gaijin Wife, Christelle and Cassie in Fuchu have kindly offered up some of their old baby things which I will be eternally grateful for! Gotta love bloggy and forum friends!

- I sent a long list of stuff off to mum that I want her to get me (sorry mum!) and also a gift card that we got for our wedding that she can use towards it. Things like Winter breastfeeding friendly PJs for the hospital (so yes went a size or two bigger as I imagine the baby weight doesn`t just melt off, which is a shame!) and other goodies. I also bought six cloth diapers (will attempt it and if I manage to do cloth diapering will order more- without a dryer though not quite sure how I will go there) and a baby ergo online from an Australia site and shipped them to my mum`s place. That way she can bring them over when she comes on December 26th.

- A long time ago I worked for a company and wrote a couple of articles for them as well as worked there- one article I wrote was a review of a resteraunt called Good Honest Grub which was based in Harajuku. It sadly closed soon after that when the owner needed to return to his home country of Canada. But Good Honest Grub is back, now in Ebisu and I am off there on Monday with Cassie and Nana for a “girls” lunch date. I am really excited because they used to have the best food made from really fresh an interesting ingredients. Their dips and smoothies were to die for!

- I went out to Yuzuwaya this morning briefly (craft shop) to get some Rigilene as I am going to attempt to sew a nursing cover. Also needed some clasps for bibs as I have three bibs all cut and ready to sew but I haven`t gotten out the machine yet. But the non-fun part of ironing and cutting is done so hopefully the sewing will take place soon- maybe even this afternoon (don`t hold your breath). Anyway, after i left Yuzuwaya (two stops away from me by train in Tsudanuma- just want to say the one there is SOOOOOOO not at as good as the one in Kichijoji where I used to live) I felt so sick and had to go to a cafe to sit down for awhile. I seriously thought I was dying…my stomach hurt, i felt nauseous and dizzy…I didn`t know how I would make it home. After a bit of a rest though I felt much better and when I finally did get home it was nice to just sit down on the couch and do nothing.

- I was going to try and go to Nagano during Silver Week but sadly with baby expenses and other expenses and my lack of work I have had to postpone the trip- I am hoping I will make it one day to visit with Heather and her girls though. Sarah (and probably Nay!) will visit in September when they come to get Sakura`s passport and I really really really hope to get to Shizuoka sometime before the baby is born to see Nay`s place.

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June was a slow month and I did not cross much off the list- that said I guess that stands to reason seeing as there are not quite as many things to cross of anymore. Coming back to Japan though has made me get off my but and cross off some of the “Japan” related items. Hopefully will get to Hakone when my brother and his gf comes and visits next year as they plan to go. Plus looking to get Sumo tickets for the September session in Tokyo. So slowly, but surely, I will continue to cross things off.

6. Get Japanese drivers license

Done! Was quite simple although a little time consuming. As an Australian I didn`t have to do any practical driving tests but I needed a translation of my license (purchased from JAF) and a lot of other documents including photos when I went to the Chiba driving centre. It took all day as they only take applications between 9am-9:30 and then again from 1pm-1:30pm and we arrived at about 10am meaning we had to waste three hours. Don`t make the same mistake I did!

It is done now! I have not yet driven though- but I know I can if I want to! Oh and you can`t smile on your Japanese license which means in my photo I look kind of dead.

10. Find a decent apartment that Shumpei and I are both happy with (once we return to Japan)

This is done! YAY! We move in on the 18th and it is a great place that we both like. Will be sure to take some before and after photos when I get a chance. We are still organizing moving trucks, internet etc etc.

8 & 9 on my list involve finishing text books for JLPT level 1 study. I am back working on these texts and also going back to do some more basic kanji writing using elementary school texts for writing practice since my kanji knowledge went down hill when I was back in Australia (and it wasn`t that great to  begin with!)

Okay that is all. Wow, I really didn`t do much towards my list last month. By my count  76/101 tasks are now complete with several more in progress.

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Well this is long overdue considering it is the 11 June today. (By the way, happy birthday mum!)- before I get started though I just want to say I had a lovely day today with no morning sickness AND yesterday Shun spoke to the insurance boss at his work and I should have health insurance by next Wednesday. Shun eventually got fed up (especially after spending 3 hours at the Nakano city hall) and went to speak to the “big boss” (His words not mine) and the “big boss” said he would make sure the paperwork would be sent off immediately. I will believe it when I see my actual little cardboard insurance card but I think I am well on the way to having health insurance (I did enquire at the town hall here about going on my own insurance and they suggested I wait it out and come next week if I still didn`t have it- they were really lovely)

Okay, so a bit over a year ago now I started a list of 101 things I wanted to complete in 1001 days and each month I do a bit of an update so that I know (and anyone reading knows) how I am going…

May was a busy month for crossing things off!

28. Get married

Well we did that! Shun & I tied the knot on May 9th 2009 after 4.5 years together!  I have said it before, but it really was a beautiful day!

33. Maintain the weight loss for six months (4/6)

Okay well in April, it was my 3rd month maintaining the 10kg+ that I lost and I managed to still stay under the 74kg mark for May. Although have creeped up this month already (Half a kilo over   ). Obviously being pregnant is not going to make maintaining the weight loss easy so I kind of have to forfeit this for now. However, after bub comes, and I get back to 74kg or less (I hope) I will begin the six months maintenance again. So this one is not going to be crossed off anytime soon…

36. Get pregnant

Okay, technically this happened in March, but I am crossing it off in my May post since obviously I have only recently announced this. But Yay! We are expecting a baby in December!

63. Visit a city I have not been to before (In Australia)

I am not sure if “Hamilton Island” is considered a city. But I guess the Whitsunday`s kind of is and we went there for our honeymoon!  This was my last thing to cross of from my “while in Australia” section of my list so that was lucky!!! I haven`t done a proper post about our honeymoon yet but we had a great time although it was a little short. I got a bit sick near the end (more morning sickness) but we enjoyed lazing around and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef!

73. Meet at least five other bloggers in real life

I was up to 4 for this one! And then on the last day of May I met Khea when Khea, Nay, Sarah & I went to Ueno park for what was going to be a picnic but turned into a lunch instead! It was great to finally meet Khea after getting to know each other on FB and through blogging. Her & I are catching up again next week for coffee in Shinjuku and it is nice to have made a friend that is fairly close to me!

83. Save enough money in Australia to return to Japan and start up life again here

Well, Shun & I have mangaed to do this through what we saved in Australia (through me working, and my tax return), what Shun had saved in Japan and our wedding money we are pretty set to be able to start our life up here again. We have more than enough to pay the down payments on a new apartment to rent, buy some new furniture if needed (we had a lot of stuff in storage here though already), pay all our hospital costs for baby and enough left over to still have some savings and an emergency fund for a flight back to Australia in case I need to get back there quickly for my family. I had my doubts about this one as I am terrible at saving and Shun wasn`t working much in Australia but it all worked out well!!!

So five things fully crossed off for the month of May and a couple still in progress (study, blog updates for this list etc) and one put on the back burner (weight loss maintenance ). Will update my list connected to my blog now!

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Can you believe I am on time this month with the update? April isn`t even OVER yet!

I didn`t manage to cross much off my list this month but I did cross off a couple so here goes…

33. Maintain the weight loss for at least six months (3/6)

Have completed a third month of maintaining my weight loss!

39. Stop biting and picking at my nails.

I have been a nail biter/picker my whole life and I have now stopped and my nails are actually looking quite good! So this is a huge accomplishment for me! I am quite proud of myself. I have been using nail stregnthener on and off for a couple of months and it has really helped. It is just in time for the wedding too!!!

88. Back-up my computer

Done! First time I have ever backed up my mac and I have had it for almost 18 months!!!!! It was simple and I will try to do it every two months or so! Probably should do it more often but I know I won`t…

89. Organize my photos and put all my photos onto cd`s as a back-up

I organized them all a fair while ago now but I had not backed them up or made copies but I have now done that! Plus I have them all on external hardrives and the newer ones (for 2009) on the recent back up of the mac  so I have it sorted. It would be so bad to lose any of my photos so I feel much better now that I know I have several copies of them!

92. Go to the cinema 20 times (7/20) to (8/20)

Saw “17 again” with Shun a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was good- i found it quite funny! Very light weight but an easy to watch film all the same!

I know of at least three things I will be able to cross of by the end of May as well, so that will be good! Only three crossed off this month as well- with a couple parts crossed off for some tasks.

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Several weeks back Shun & I went up the Sunshine Coast with mum (and in the end Dad too!) to babysit my Auntie`s doggy, Ziggy while they were away for a wedding. It was a lovely weekend and on the way back to Brisbane we got to stop off at Montville and Maleny!!! It was our much anticipated trip the country- some would say “That is not the country” but for city dwellers like Shun & myself it seemed pretty country to me.

It was a beautiful beautiful place and while the weather wasn`t the best I think it added to the charm.
Here are some pics from the trip plus more can be found here on flickr.

View from Montville at lunch time!

The magpie in Montville while we were eating lunch!

A tractor- That is how I KNEW it was the country!

Montville and Maleny had a lot of crafty shops!! So Shun was trying out the merchandise!

Cow!

Shun & I after lunch in Montville!

Glass House Mountains shot on the way home to Brisbane.

Day before country trip- Shun & I after lunch at Mooloolaba!

Ziggy the dog- our babysitting charge!

It was a lovely weekend!!! Plus we got to cross going to the country off my 101 list!!!

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We are well into April now so I am behind on updating my list but better late than never. The end of March marked a year since I started my 101 things in 1001 days list…

Sadly, I did not get much things crossed off my list this month- in fact a couple things I am crossing off actually happened in early April but so I don`t forget I will mark them off now.

24. Organize and buy stuff for wedding favours

Done- and we have decided what we are doing and are getting made as I type (not by me!) but I will help Melinda (who is making them) next weekend as time is passing quickly and it is now only four weeks til the wedding. Eek!

33. Maintain the weight loss for at least six months (2/6)

Two months down!

39. Stop biting and picking at my nails (still in progress)

I am happy to say I am doing a lot better with this- not well enough to cross it off but I am hoping within a couple months I will be able to cross this off for good. They are much better than they were and I don`t bite them anymore but still pick at them when I am bored/nervous.

54. Make at least one trip out into the country with Shun

We went to Maleny & Montville last weekend and it was lovely- photos and post to follow!

70.  (Buy) The Rei Shimura series by Sujata Massey

I have now purchased them all- number 3 & 4 are on there way to Australia right now so have not yet read them but I have them!!! I can not wait to read them although won`t be able to finish the series until we are back in Japan I imagine. Then I will be able to re-read them all again! hehe

73. Meet at least five other bloggers in real life (4/5)

I can add another to the list- I met Cassie from Sassymoo a couple of weeks back as previously mentioned!!! Now just one to go (I probably won`t stop there though!)

79. Keep track of my blog stats and referrers by checking at least once a week (for a year)

The year is now up! Sometimes I get completely random searches that bring people to my blog- the most recent surge of searches has come from “pee cone” something I wrote about when I first started blogging!

93. Go to the cinema 20 times (7/20)

I went to the movies and saw “Mall Cop”- it was okay but I wouldn`t recommend it. I can not beleive in the entire year I have only seen seven movies at the cinema- I need to get out more

100. Make a budget and stick for it to 6 months (no longer in progress)

Sadly, this is no longer in progress as we have more than blown it I think- we will sit down and work on it again in a couple of months once we are back in Japan.

I know I only do these updates more for myself than anything but since this marks a year of the challenge so I guess it is a bit of a milestone of sorts- If I counted correctly I have completed 65 out of 101 things- so well more than half and I still have a approximately a year and eight months left to complete the others. There are a couple on there which I now know might be unachievable in the time frame (pass level 1 of JLPT is the one that comes to mind as does get paid to write something, or sell something I have made as well as a few others) but I intend to keep my promise to donate $10 to a charity for each of the items I have not completed after the 1001 days. I just need to decide which charity to donate to…

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11 months down in my 101 things in 1001 days challenge…I managed to cross a couple of things off but not as many as I probably could or should have.

18. Send all invitations

Done- they were sent earlier in the month. We have even started getting RSVPs which is very exciting…soon will be the fun part of figuring out where everyone will sit…

30. Go to aqua aerobics (or swim laps) at least five times

Completed this. Will continue to go most weeks leading up until the wedding…

32. Lose another five kilos

I am extremely happy to finally be able to cross this one off as it seems it has been a long time coming. I managed to have lost just over 10kg at the beginning of the month meaning I can also cross of my first month of maintance. I am still trying to lose a bit more…

33. Maintain the weight loss for at least six months (1/6)

One month down and five more to go. I have to stay under 73kg for this to be accomplished.

51. Participate in macro monday every monday for 12 weeks straight (12/12)

Done! Will be my 13th tomorrow. I am really enjoying it but think I would of had more fun if I had my camera to play with.

68.  (Buy)A plane ticket back to Japan

I am very happy to cross this off the list!!!! We bought my ticket back the other day and changed Shun`s flight date also. We fly out of Brisbane on May 25th which is a Monday. Shun will start back at his work the following Monday and I will begin my job hunt after we land (if not before)

94. Go to the cinema 20 times (6/20)

Saw two movies this past month. One with my mum & Gemma last weekend. We saw a really girly flick called Bride Wars. It was funny in parts.

Then yesterday Shun & I went to the movies and saw Gran Torino! I didn`t mind this one but it was a little violent in parts.

We are sticking to our budget quite well although had a couple large outgoings this month with my plane ticket, changing Shun`s ticket etc. I am also still on top of our monthly tasks.

This month I want to try and organize the wedding favours so they are ready to go, go to the movies again, back-up my computer plus put all our photos on CD as back-up (I have sorted them though!), meet another blogger, and try to figure out what sort of trip the country Shun & I can do. If possible would also like to blow the dust of my Japanese study books and get stuck into them…

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I am an impulse shopper (and an impulse eater but that is a different story)

Today I bought something crazy. I have no idea what I was thinking.

I went into the health food shop and bought a lemon detox diet starter kit (google it- you will find a lot of interesting stuff some good some bad)

I am getting close to the weight I want to be and I have gone about it a fairly healthy way through a healthy diet and exercise. I just feel like I needed a little kick in the right direction to quick start the loss of the last five kilos I want to lose.

I did have a look online last night at it but I looked at the main Australian site which of course was very comlimentary with only good comments about the product. Once I got home though I thought about it a bit more and did a bit more research and decided it wasn`t for me. With my history of migraines and other health issues I really do not know what I was thinking…

I want to do some kind of detox but no solid food at all for 7 days is not the way to go about it. It is on my 101 things list and I know I have to start thinking about when I will do it and what sort of detox I will do but I am not really sure where to start so any suggestions would be welcome.

Does anyone want to buy the starter kit from me? I will not use it…I know that. It is unopened (except I read the phamlet inside the box but none of the other parts are open). It was not cheap but I will sell it for half price ($50)…any offers? I can not believe I spent $100 on something I will NEVER use. GAH!

I hate being an impulse buyer…

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