Cherry Blossom Adventures

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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Another month down in my 101 things in 1001 days pursuit…

January was actually quite mellow compared to the crossing off frenzy I had in December. I am able to cross a couple of things off though and also update on a couple of ongoing tasks.

17. Choose or make invitations

This is done!! We will be sending them later on in the week (so something will be marked off for Feb too!)- I will post photos after! We got them made at the same place that did our save the date cards.

19. Finalize menus for reception

Done also! We had our meeting with the venue coordinator a couple of weeks ago and now everything is ready to go. There will be a beef & fish main and a vegetarian pasta option for any one that doesn`t eat meat (I have to remember to ask if anyone is- off the top of my head I can`t think of anyone coming that is but must check!). Also there are prawn fans for entrees and I can`t remember the other entree we choose but I believe it was vegetarian friendly….

After much thinking about it also I decided to forgo dessert at the wedding since we will have wedding cake. I think with nibblies outside with cocktails before the reception, plus an entree, main and wedding cake that dessert would be too much.

25. Decide on a honeymoon destination and book

Did this early on in the month and posted about it but for those that missed it we are going to Hamilton Ssland for our honeymoon. So excited!!!

29. Try Pilates or yoga (At least two times)

I have done a Pilates DVD 4 times or so this month, all in the last two weeks. Plus on Saturday I went to my first yoga class. So I can cross this off- I will continue to do both I think! I would love to try a pilates class as well with an instructor since doing it from a video is a bit hard sometimes as I can`t always tell if I am doing it right. That said with a video it is free (once vid was purchased of course) and I can do it in the comfort of my own home at any time.

30. Go to Aqua Arobics (Or swim laps) at least five times. (in progress)

Working on this, hopefully will be able to cross it off after Feb. I have gone four times so far (but once was tonight)!!! It is a weekly class and I hope to continue with it for awhile since mum & Gem usually come also so it is kind of fun!

32. Lose another 5 kilos (3/5) now (4/5)

So in total I have lost just under 9 kilos since returning to Australia (by .2 according to my last weigh in but more since I weighed myself yesterday on my own scales)…..I really really really hope that this will have hit maintaining weight loss for six months at least by the time I do another update!!! Of course I want to lose more than those 10 but it is a good start…

51. Participate in Macro Monday every week for 12 weeks straight (5/12) now (9/12 if I count yesterday).

I am still going strong with this goal.

64. Take Shun to at least one major sporting game

Shun & I went to the 20/20 cricket earlier in the month- Shun had a great time and it was a really fun night out! I had work the next day (and the day of) so it was a bit exhausting as we got home late but I am so glad we went!!!

I thought for a change I should highlight the things I would like to complete in the month of February- firstly I would like to be able to mark off a 10kg loss in weight, also attending aqua five times or more, send invites for the wedding, buy and organize stuff for favours,  learn how to do self breast exams and am contemplating taking on a week long detox seeing as I have already cut out coffee and alcohol for awhile- it seems like a good time to do a detox. I will need to do a bit more research into this however. Would also like to cross of participated in Macro Monday for 12 weeks straight. I also really need to get my act into gear and organize a trip out to the country with Shun- day trip somewhere perhaps (any suggestions) and also organize a camping trip if possible- if this does not get crossed off while we are in Australia it is okay because I am certain we will go camping in summer in Japan but it would be nice to go while we are here. Lastly, if possible this month I would like to buy my ticket back to Japan- I have been putting it off waiting for test results for my Dad but I probably can`t put it off much longer…

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Time for yet another update on my 101 things in 1001 days list which can be found here along with my previous monthly updates. December was a busy busy month for crossing things off which was a good thing considering I got almost nothing done in November…

17. Choose or make invitations (In progress)

This is in progress. Also choose & paid deposit for suits (which was not on the 101 things list)

37. Learn 10 new recipes (10/10)

Done! I actually learnt a couple of Christmasy recipes in December including how to make shortbread, rumballs, & an amazing stuffing for the turkey. Also, not a recipe as such but I learnt how to glaze a ham!!! (10/10)

45. Try (or learn to like) 5 new fruits or vegetables (5/5)

I can safely say that I can now eat cucumber (it helped growing it ourselves) although still think it isn`t that crash hot & I also tried snap peas for the first time. They are like thick snowpeas? They might be like the snowpeas you get in Japan but they taste different- sweeter. So have tried or learned to like 5 vegies (brussel spouts, cooked carrot, brocolli, cucumber & snap peas!) (5/5)

46. Have another pap smear test

Done- no details needed.

51. Participate in Macro Monday every week for 12 weeks straight (5/12) (In progress)

In progress- 5 down, 7 to go

56. Visit Melbourne

Done, earlier in December. We got to see James, Gen & Alice & had a fantastic time. Like me, Shun loved Melbourne.

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

Now complete- Melbourne at the beggining of the month took care of this. We ate at a great Italian place on Lygon Street & had great seafood at the casino. We ate at a couple of other super yummy places also but these were the first two!

58. Show Shun what Christmas in Australia is really like

I think I completed this one quite well, with the help of my family of course. We had a traditional Christmas Eve dinner with all the trappings, a Christmas morning breaky with ham & crossiants and present opening followed by a Christmas Lunch with extended family. He got thoroughly spoilt by me, my mum & dad & my brother & his gf. I don`t think he could quite comprehend why he got all these presents though because he kept telling me he was an adult not a kid! hehe!

So basically he knows that Christmas in Australia is hot, we eat a lot including seafood & usually catch up with family while at the same time getting presents! That is what Christmas in my family is like anyway! He had a good time.

60. Learn something about wine perhaps do a wine tasting

We did this in Melbourne with James. It was fantasitc & I learnt a lot about how wine is made, how long it tastes & why it tastes so good! We tried about 50 different types of wine on the day from 4 different wineries! Well worth the day out in the Yarra Valley!

62. Go to a show with Shun

Also happened in Melbourne beginning of the month when we saw Wicked! My brother & Gem saw it while they were in NY & thought it was fantastic and they told us it was a must see while we were in Melbourne. Shun & never really been to a broadway type show like this & he found it facinating. Seeing live shows always makes me want to go more & more. The ads for Billy Elliott were up while we were down there & now I really want to see that too!

69.  (Buy) A proper DSLR camera!

Well my parents bought it for me but I have one now! & I love it.

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

In progess- have read the first two and purchased the next 5 on amazon- awaiting there arrival. Another 2 to buy after that I think but will wait until I return to Japan (already have too much stuff to ship back, eek!)

73. Meet at least five other bloggers in real life (3/5) (In progress)

Up to 3 now! I met T from TJKR several times throughout December.

80. Reach 400 posts on my blog

Done!

85. Read 100 books in 1 year

Technically I could of crossed this off for November as I realized I had read 100 books then (From November 2007 to November 2008) – approximately 25 of these books were children`s books & the others were a mixture of fiction, YA fiction & non-fiction.

87. Organize my itunes, delete double ups and make at least three new play lists

This is now done- it is all now organized & I have about 8 great new playlists some made using genius which is part of the new version of itunes. It is great. Getting a shuffle (while on sale) to use while hooping & walking really motivated me to do this. I also deleted over 100 double-ups. Next step, organizing some music for the wedding ceremony since we only have a band at the reception.

91. Finish the 888 book challenge

Done, as previously mentioned. I am proud of myself for getting this done, making a list of books & pretty much sticking to it. I have to say though if I hadn`t been able to change some of the selections (with the international move & all) I would of been a bit stuck. The reason I didn`t rejoin this type of challenge for this year is for two reasons- one another international move & am not sure if I will be able to take all my unread books from my shelves with me & can`t remember what I left behind in Japan & secondly while I want to continue to read a lot I know I should start focusing on getting some Japanese study done especially in the second half of the year if I have any hope of passing JLPT.

93. Go to the cinema 20 times (4/20) (In progress)

Still in progress- saw another movie at the cinema yesterday. Technically this is in January but I thought it best to record it in case I forget.

100. Make a budget and stick to it for six months (0/6) (In progress)

In progress- we have made a budget & savings plan for the rest of our time in Australia & written down how we would like things to go when we return there. We will both be saving a certain amount each month at least & some of that will go towards my ticket home, a honeymoon if we decide to go on one & some other wedding related costs but the rest of it will be put away for when we return to Japan.

Well there it is, my update for December 2008. I count 19 things in progress & 52 completed. I am more than half way through my list!! Woo Hoo!

Back to work tomorrow, so this posting everyday thing which seems to have been happening over the last week will probably come to an abrupt end. Hope everyone has enjoyed their holidays, I think there will be a lot of us returning to work tomorrow- my alarm is already set for 5:30am (I took a longer holiday so I have some hours to make up meaning 9.5 hour days starting at 7am at least for this week)

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Near the end of last year I signed up for the 888 challenge- which challenged participants to choose 8 books in 8 categories for 2008. 8 overlaps were allowed meaning a total of at least 56 individual titles needed to be outline. Due to a mid-year international move my list changed slightly throughout the challenge however the ending was the same- I read all the books on the list below!

Completing the 888 challenge was also part of my 101 things in 1001 days list- so I will be able to cross it off! Reading 100 books in a year was also on my list and between November 2007 & November 2008 I completed this also. I keep track of all the books I read in my diary & in a word document so that I can remember when I read certain books. Sometimes I forget to add some though (usually kids books that I read in the bookshops or to the kids when I was a kindy teacher)- I would of read over 100 books in that year but based on the lists I kept I technically reached the 100 recorded books in mid November. I only started recording the books I read in about August of 2007 but I am glad I am doing it now.

Of all the books I read in the last year my favourites would have to have been the following.

Losing Kei- Suzanne Kamata

The Salaryman`s Wife- Sujata Massey

The Babymoon- Melanie La`Brooy

The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini

Bar Flower- Lea Jacobson

The Book Thief- Marcus Zusak

Overall, I read many great books over the last year and have about 4 books on the go at the moment (2 Non-Fiction, 1 Novel, 1 book of short stories)

I am debating about whether to do the the challenge again next year but with another international move planned it is hard to write a list of books to read over a year not knowing whether you will be able to take the books on your list with you etc. So I think I will give it a miss- but I on the lookout for a good mini challenge for the new year so let me know if you find any good ones.

So, what are the best books you have read during 2008? What do you think I should read in 2009?

Below is my list from the 888 challenge!

Favourite authors- Chose this category for obvious reasons

1. An offer you can`t refuse- Jill Mansell(Jun)
2. Change of Heart- Jodi Picoult (Jun)
3. Wife for Hire- Janet Evanovich (Cross over-mar)
4. Cage of Stars- Jacqelyn Mitchard* (Jan)
5. Prisoner of Earth- Jeffrey Archer (Cross over-Nov)
6. Dear John- Nicholas Sparks* (Cross over- Mar)
7. Lean Mean thirteen- Janet Evanovich (Cross over-Jan)
8. Black Cat- V.C Andrews (Cross over-Feb)

In a series- Chose this category since I have started a couple of different series but need to catch up on them, plus also already had a couple of these books on my shelves

1. Broken Flower- V.C Andrews* (Feb)
2. Scattered Leaves- V.C Andrews (Oct)
3. Lean Mean thirteen- Janet Evanovich (Cross over-Jan)
4. Fearless Fourteen- Janet Evanovich (Aug)
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows- J.K Rowling*(April)
6. Skinny Bitch- Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouim (Jan)
7. Key Lime Pie Murder- Joanne Fluke (Jun)
8. Honky Tonk Kat- Karen Kijewski ( Oct)

Read because I moved back to Australia and got new books!- Choose this because had an unplanned mid year move (This is a major change from my original list- lucky changes were allowed!)

1. Lessons in Heartbreak- Cathy Kelly (Jun)
2. You Drive me Crazy- Carole Matthews (May)
3. It`s a Kind of Magic- Carole Matthews (Jul)
4. Bad Behaviour- Shelia O`Flanagan (Aug)
5.Tales from the Crib- Jennifer Coburn (May)
6. The Babymoon- Melanie La`Brooy (Sep)
7. The Alibi- Sandra Brown (Oct)
8. Second Chance- Jane Green (Nov)

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller- Chose this since mysteries etc are one of my most read style of books, this and chick-lit

1. Bell, book & scandal- Jill Churchill* (Nov)
2. Chocolate chip cookie murder- Joanne Fluke* (Jan)
3. Strawberry Short Cake murder- Joanne Fluke (Feb)
4. Count Down- Iris Johansen *(May)
5. Dream man- Linda Howard* (Feb)
6. Ricochet- Sandra Brown* (Apr)
7. Open Season- Linda Howard (Apr)
8. Play Dirty- Sandra Brown (Aug)

Chick-lit- What I read just as much, if not more than mysteries….

1. Baby Proof- Emily Giffin* (Jan)
2. You Could Do Better- Stephanie Lehman* (Feb)
3. Marshmallows for breakfast- Dorothy Koomson*(Jun)
4. Those Faraday Girls- Monica McInerney* (Mar)
5. Artistic Licence- Katie Fforde* (Sep)
6. Remember me- Sophie Kinsella (Oct)
7. Certain Girls – Jennifer Weiner (Jun)
8. Wife for Hire- Janet Evanovich (Cross over-Mar)

Young Adult/Children Fiction- Thought I should go back to some books that make me the reader I am today, and also read some other YA fiction that has had a lot of good reviews or awards!

1. Alison- Margaret Watts (One of my favourite books as a teenager- reread)* (Dec)
2. Dear Venny, Dear Saffron-Libby Hathorn (same as above)* (Nov)
3. The Book Thief- Marcus Zusak* (Nov)
4. Gossipgirl- Cecily Von Ziegesar*(Jun)
5. Kira Kira- Cynthia Kadohata* (Jan)
6. All American Girl- Meg Cabot* (Mar)
7. On the Jellicoe Road^ Melina Marchetta* (May)
8. Black Cat- V.C Andrews (Feb- Cross over)

Japanese authors/books about Japan- Live(d) in Japan so thought I should try to read some more books that have come from here…

1. In Praise of shadows- Junichiro Tanizaki*(Cross over-April)
2. Snow Country- Yasunari kawebata* (Cross over-Jan)
3. Kitchen- Banana Yoshimoto* (Jan)
4. South of the border, west of the sun- Murakami Haruki*(Cross over-Aug)
5. Yakuza moon- Shoko Tendo* (Feb)
6. Goodbye Tsugumi- Banana Yoshimoto (Feb)
7. Losing Kei- Suzanne Kamata (May)
8. Bar Flower- Lea Jacobson (Apr)

Male Authors- I am trying to broaden my reading horizons a little bit and it seems that most of the books I do read are by female authors…Hopefully this will help me get started on my quest to broaden my reading horizons.

1. The Complete Polysyllabic Spree- Nick Hornby* (Feb)
2. For one more day- Mitch Albom* (Oct)
3.South of the Border West of the Sun-Haruki Murakami (Cross over- August)
4. Dear John- Nicholas Sparks* (Cross over- mar)
5. Snow Country- Yasunari kawebata* (Cross over-Jan)
6. In Praise of shadows- Junichiro Tanizaki*(April)
7. Prisoner of Earth- Jeffrey Archer (Cross over-Nov)
8. The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini (Apr)

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Earlier this year I wrote a list of 101 things I wanted to do in 1001 days…this month I am sorry to report that I crossed nothing off my list. However, I have already crossed something off for December as I am late posting my update however it will have to wait.

I am heading into my 9th month of doing this challenge and I am thoroughly enjoing having something to work towards. But like everything, things change and as I did not cross anything off my list completely in this last month I thought it time to review my list and see if there were any items that might need to be reviewed…

There are several items on the list that I no longer want to do…and since this list is for me, and really me alone, I have decided to update a couple of things. The rules I have outlined for myself is that my new challenges that I put in in place of another must fit into the same category.

Okay here goes…

30. Learn to ski

The more and more I think about this one I know it may never happen. I have tried to ski several times and honestly it just scares the crap out of me. I know it would not something I would actually enjoy crossing off my list as I would have to force myself to do it and be terrified the whole time. So I am taking it off….I do hope to learn to ski one day but I think It needs to be in my own time and I am thinking it might be something I try to do later on in life when we take our future kids to learn to ski.

I am replacing this with

30. Go to Aqua arobics (or to swim laps) at least five times (I am aiming for this Summer)

36. Get my teeth whitened

I had really wanted to do this before my wedding- however spending that much money on something like that when we could put it towards our future has made me think twice so I am removing it from the list. I am using whitening toothpaste though so I am hopefully working towards a brighter whiter smile!

In it`s place I would like to put

 36. Get pregnant (I have until end of 2010)

I am not entirely sure if I should put this in health & self-improvement but it definitely comes under health I suppose.

51. Learn how to use illustrator

I have learn how to use photoshop on my list above this one and I still realy want to learn how to use photoshop but I think really, I put learn how to use illustrator on my list as an afterthought & that was unnecessary. I have no real desire how to learn to use it, sure it would be great if I could wake up one day and just know how to use it but that isn`t going to happen and I think I would prefer to focus my efforts on photoshop.

I had to think quite hard about what I wanted to add in place of this one- under creativity I do not have many goals but I should probably have more as I always enjoy myself when I am doing something creative.So I came up with this based on the little challenge I started yesterday.

51. Post a Macro Monday photo every week for 12 weeks. (I give myself permission to be up to 24 hours late in posting)- If I fail to post one week then I must start the 12 week period again.

70. (Buy) A wireless external hard drive

Um, turns out I do not really need one. I have admired my brothers little portable one for awhile now and I plan on buying one similar sometime soon however I do not think I can keep it on my list as it will not be wireless.

So I left with the dilemma of something else to go in the “buy” section of my list…

70. The rest of the Rei Shimura books  by Sujata Massey (up until the one that came out this year at least)

These were recommended by Sarah and I love love love them! I sped read through the first two & Benay has the copy of the first in the series (Can you keep it for me to give back later? I would like to keep the whole series if possible- You can keep the rest of the books I sent though!)

I have bought the next one & if it arrives with my friend James before he comes to Australia (I bought of amazon.co.jp) then he will bring it for me otherwise I may have to wait until May!

So I have changed four things on my list (of 101 obviously!) & I think I am happy with my choices (Although I can change my mind A LOT!).

Not much of an update for November I know, but while I worked on a couple of them I did not complete any of them.

Hopefully December will be better! In fact, I am thinking positive and I know I will be able to cross off a fair few! My aim is at least five!!!!

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October was a busy month for me and I didn`t get the time to cross as many things off as I would have liked but I did manage to get a couple of things crossed off my 101 list

13. Choose and buy a wedding dress

I have chosen what I want and seen a dress maker and basically chosen the material also- So I guess I can cross this one off. Haven`t completely paid it off yet though!!! I have managed to keep it pretty secret from Shun too, so quite proud of myself. He reads my blog though, or at least looks at the pictures, so I can`t post a picture of what I am going for.

14. Choose and buy bridesmides dresses or material

Done! The style was chosen a while ago but when Clarie was in Brisbane a couple of weeks ago we went and chose the material! I love them and am contemplating getting one in a different colour made for myself because I love it so much! hehe

21. Choose, organize and buy flowers

Done! Had a meeting earlier in October (the same day Clarie, mum & I went to buy the material) and it is all going according to plan!

37. Learn 10 new recipies (7/10)

I have added a couple more to this in the last month- one, chilli crab which we had only recently (It was awesome!) and also a friend at work passed on a recipe for a lovely thai beef curry. Will definitely be making both of these again sometime soon. So now 9/10 down with one left to go! Plan on crossing that off this month.

45. Try (or learn to like) five new fruits of vegetables (3/5)

I now eat broccoli!

53. Do some kind of class either in photography, writing, cooking or something completely different.

I can cross this off now due to sewing classes, which I love! And, I am doing a writing workshop that goes over four weeks (once a week) from mid November.

94. Wake up at 6am everyday for a week

I did this over the last week- ending on Tuesday (I started in October though). I even got up and out of bed by 6:30am on the weekend (The alarm went off at 6am though!)

I am hoping to focus on a couple of things this month for my list, namely getting back on track with my weightloss as over the last two months I haven`t been going to Weight Watchers or following the program although I started back last night. I also want to sew a bag & make a budget. I also need to focus on getting some of the things done that will have to happen while we are still in Australia. Hopefully at least by the end of 2008 I will have crossed off about 50 things- that is my hope anyway. It might be a little too ambitious though….We will see.

For those keeping track 39/101 tasks have been completed.

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I am just over five months in meaning 187 days down ( 814 days left to go!)- For my complete list see here

20. Choose and buy a cake

Done! Shun & I went cake testing a couple of weeks ago and decided on a cake maker, design and everything else. We are very happy with our choice and Sarah-Jane from Cake That! was lovely. It will have a cherry blossom pink and silver theme!

32. Lose another five kilos (2/5)

I can take another kilo off here which takes the total up to 8 kilos since coming back to Australia. It could of been nine but I have had a bad month- I hope to get back on track this month.

48. Learn to sew (again!)

Done! Sort of! I can sew but I want to do a little sewing class I think. I am yet to make much of any interest but I scored lots and lots of cool vintage material from Jen and I plan on making some stuff today from Amy Karol`s Bend The Rules Sewing book. I am not sure what I am going to make yet- maybe a baby bib or little pocket bag…we will have to wait and see. I also have material cut out ready to make a singlet top but I might sit on that a little while until I manage to sew something a little smaller first.

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

I have finished this now. I went to Highgate Hill for the first time last week  and stayed with a friend (I can`t beleive I had never been there before) and then yesterday I went to Underwood to see Jen & Jac (and I made it there without a refedex I might add- with a little help from Jen!) I know that Underwood yesterday is actually in October but I will forget about recording it next month so here it is.

57. Eat at at least 10 resteraunts I have never eaten at before (7/10)

It is now 8! We ate at Wilson`s at Portside for my brothers birthday and it was delicious. I had been to the one at Manly before but this one was equally as good if not better. I love seafood!!!

71. Buy A sewing machine (Or bring my sewing machine in Australia back to Japan)

While buy a sewing machine was on my list it turns out my old sewing machine is still good. I will probably just take that back to Japan with me. So I am crossing this one off the list even though I didn`t buy a new one.

76. Do Nablopomo

I choose September to do this and I was successful. I posted everyday for a month and I am happy that I have now completed it. Would I do it again? Maybe. But not at the moment.

81. Sponsor a child

This is something I have always wanted to do. My mum & dad have had sponser children forever and my little brother has one too. When I was in Japan I was living month to month and it wasn`t an appropriate time but now that I am back in Australia for a little while and have a bit of extra cash I knew I could do it….I hope to be able to continue doing so when I am back in Japan. My sponsor child is a seven year old little girl fro Bangladesh.

There are a couple other things in progress including buying a wedding dress and choosing bridesmaids dresses- I found a dress maker and she is great but we won`t be making the dresses til early in the new year. Also working on completing the Japanese text books I wanted to complete and working on reading 100 books in one year and the 888 challenge.

Overall I guess I am not going to badly…If I have counted right then I have completed 33/101 tasks which is about 30% completed and I still have 80% of the time left to complete the rest of the tasks. I am on track I think…. (especially since I have another 10 or so tasks in progress!. Hopefully I will be able to cross a couple more off the list this month…

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I have been putting off doing an update for the month of August because I barely crossed anything off. But it must be done- and hopefully I will be able to knock more things off the list this month (although blogging everyday for a month is actually taking up a lot of my time but at least at the end of the month, if i succeed I will be able to cross it off the list!)

I started April 1st of this year which leaves me with 840 days from today to complete my list. (While I was at the site  calculating the days for that I also wrote in our wedding date, May 9, and it is only 242 days until our wedding!)

For my complete 101 things in 1001 days list please see here

16. Write and finalize guest list

I have done this! I had to do it because I am sending out save the date cards because there will be people that will have to travel overseas for the wedding and they are now completed and I had to write the guest list before this were printed! So that is one job done- and it is good in a way because now the list is final and it will be one less thing to worry about closer to the time.

Number 17 on the list is choose or make invitations and I can not cross this off yet as it won`t be done til closer in the time BUT I do feel I can put in a special mention here because we have the save the date cards made up! I will put up a picture of the cards sometime soon!

23. Make hair and make-up appointments

Did this for myself and the three bridesmaids when I had my haircut last week (I had mentioned it on the phone when I made my booking a couple of weeks ago but finalized it when I was in last week so it is a bit of a August/September cross over!)

8:30am appointment on the 9 May!

 32. Lose another five kilos (0/5)

Have lost 2 out of 5 for my second lot of 5 kilos! The weight isn`t dropping off as fast as I would like but I will try to persevere.

37. Learn 10 new recipes (5/10)

I had learned five by the end of July and I can now add a couple extra`s into here both with sausages! A yummy sausage/tomato garlic pasta and curry sausages with onions and mushrooms! Both are really simple and I am not sure I can say I “learned” them because I kind of made them up! But hey, they are new recipes at least. This month I am going to attempt to make another couple of new things out of my weight watchers cook books!

Also my mum made a yummy yummy Shepherds pie for dinner a couple of weeks ago when we ate at her house (usually once a week!) which I hope to try sometime soon! It didn`t have pastry (Do they usually?) just more of a beef burgundy middle with mashed potatoes on top!

So that brings that up to 7/10(Not including the pie since I haven`t made that myself yet!)

44. Give up fast food for 2 consecutive months

Apart from subway I am pretty sure I have done this? I do not consider subway to be fast food because

I did eat Japanese curry from a take-away place with Kate M a couple of weeks ago though? Is that fast food?

Ok well lets put it this way- I haven`t eating McDonald’s, KFC,  Hungry Jacks or any of those type of fast food joints in the last two months!

I may have eaten pizza- but it was gourmet pizza and not technically the fast food kind!

45. Try (or learn to like) 5 new fruits or vegetables (0/5)

I tried brussel sprouts for the first time. I didn`t like them but I at least tried them.

I am learning to eat cooked carrot- I am still not a bit fan but I can eat it.

So that is 2 off the list. Even though I might not like them I could eat them if I have to!

57. Eat at least 10 restaurants I have never been to before

That was at 4/10 last time I checked and I can now add three more to the list! However I went to them both in September so while I will cross them off now I want to have a record that 2 of them were in September!

However the one I can cross off was a great little Indian place down in Cleveland! Yummy- I love Indian- Just a shame it does not work if you are trying to lose weight!

So 7/10 (as of Sept 9)

67. A new pair of boots

Done! Bought on sale at the beggining of August at Myer for $45! Bargain right?

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

This is now at 3/20 because I saw Baby Mama with my friend Dani a couple of weeks ago! It was a great movie- light weight but very funny!

97. Get a new address book and add everyone I know to it

Have done this and am ready to send out the Save the Date cards!

I am working on another couple of things from the list and it turns out there are a lot of wedding things I didn`t think of that could of been on the list but arn`t (Like a band, cars etc etc!)

Now that I see everything written out like that I guess the month of August didn`t actually go too bad in the scheme of things! I think I have now crossed off 28 of the 101 things completely and have quite a few others in progress.

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I have been terrible at crossing things off on my 101 things in 1001 days list this past month so am trying to get in the right frame of mind about being proactive for next month so I have chosen September 2008 as my month to do Nablopomo- and post to my blog every day for a month.

I can`t guarantee I will post something of substance everyday but hey, I will try! I guess it is a  matter of getting organized and making sure I leave time to blog everyday (Or at least get my act together and set up posts to be published every day!)

My aim is to get at least one comment on each post I make so you all better help me out with that!

In other news I saw the move “Baby mama” today and it was really funny! I hadn`t been to the movies in what seemed like ages and while there are a lot of good movies out at the moment, my friend Dani, who I went to see the movie with, had seen like ALL OF THEM already! No joke- I have no idea when she has the time to see all these movies but we decided it must be because she is just so much cooler than me* I also think, if Shun and I are going to go out together, a movie with no Japanese subtitles is not really a place we tend to go….cos he would just fall asleep.

*sarcasm is very hard to portray in blog form. Note to self.

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I am a little late getting around to this, as usual! I managed to get a little bit done in July though so better update!!!

For my 101 things in 1001 day list and progress check here

22. Have a meeting with organizer at wedding and reception venue

We did this after Shumpei arrived! It was nice to see the venue and meet the lady that will be helping us get everything together. Shangri-la is lovely and I am really happy with it! Shumpei liked it also, and the best thing there is a hotel on site for international guests (and for us on our wedding night!)

26. Choose and buy wedding rings

We have choosen our rings and have started paying them off!!! Mine is designed especially to fit with my engagement ring so it will have diamonds and blue diamonds in it to match! My something blue will be my engagement ring (then wedding ring!) and Shumpei chose his by looking at a lot of pictures! He was especially happy when they told him it wouldn`t change colour in an onsen! hehehehe! This should actually be in August since we only did this last week?! Oh well it is written now!

27. Get marriage license/Celebrant

I changed this to celebrant because apparently you don`t get a marriage license as such in Australia but our celebrant who we met and choose last month (July!) does all our paperwork for us! It was great to cross some more things off the to do wedding list! Our celebrant is awesome- we are both so happy with her. She is just so nice!

31. Lose 5 kilos (5/5)

Done! Although haven`t been so good in the last couple of weeks but will be back on track from tomorrow. I promise! I have lost more than five kilos so far- yay!

37. Learn 10 new recipies (5/10)

I learnt another two recipies this month. Both were weight watchers chicken recipies that even my dad and Shun liked so that was good! I would do both of them again!

40. Learn how to keep a hula hoop up for more than 2 minutes

I can do this now- In fact I can probably keep it up for 15 mintutes or so without it falling!!! Yay for me!
41. Learn how to do at least one cool hula hoop move!

While I am not very good I can spin the hoop around my knees and neck and I can also bring the hoop from my waist up above my head around my hands although I can`t get it back down?! Working on that now! I can also spin around while hooping and move around too- I am gradually getting a little better so am happy!

47. Knit something other than a scarf successfully

I knit a baby hat! If you go back a couple of blog posts you will see it! I also knit booties but they didn`t turn out so great so I decided not to send them to our friend who had a baby- I will probably give them to my cousin for her dolls!!! It has made me want to get a bit more adventurous- I am thinking of trying to make an adult hat next- any good patterns?

59. Make sure dad buys a dog

Done! We now have Abbey-chan at home with us and she is delightful! Today we went to a dog park and let her run around with 21 other dogs! It was great fun and we are so lucky that it is within walking distance of our house!!! We all went this afternoon (Shun, me and Dad) and we will definitely  be taking her again. She also had her first vet appointment (since she has been with us anyway) and was very brave! I think she has a crush on the vet!

77. Keep journal going for at least a year

Done- and I will continue to keep it!!! I don`t write everyday but there are at least a couple of entries a week, most of which I usually write on the train on my way to or from work!

99. List 101 things that make me happy

I did this in my journal- I will post it one day on here!!!

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