Cherry Blossom Adventures

Am late getting this posted. Whenever Noah goes down for a nap I think “I should blog” or once he is asleep at night but I just don`t. I guess my blogging mojo has gone down hill a little bit recently…

Update 101 things is 1001 days for June 2010

33. Maintain the weight loss for at least six months  (abandoned June 2009 due to pregnancy, to restart after birth. Managed 4 months before getting pregnant and started again Jan 2010) 6/6.
DONE! Since losing my pregnancy weight by the time Noah was a month old and actually losing a further couple of kilos I came out 3kg less than my pre-pregnancy weight AND means that since I started the 1001 days challenge I lost 10kg, put on 12kg, lost 15kg! That is a lot of yo-yo weight loss/gain in a short amount of time but hopefully I can maintain it now for awhile!

50. Learn how to use photoshop.

This has been a long time coming, and to be honest I can`t see myself using the program much but I know my way around (slightly!) and can do some touch ups if I want. I found it all very time consuming though and I would rather just take photos and upload as is unless I was making something special as a gift or something. But that is just me! It is an amazing program though and the things you can do with it (of which I only know a small amount) is incredible.

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Books read in June

I am still working on “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” – This is without a doubt the longest it has taken me to read a novel before. I guess I just haven`t really gotten into it. I like it enough but all the Swedish names make it confusing and I think after caring for Noah all day my brain is just mush and makes it a bit hard to follow sometimes. Once I am done, while I own the next two in the series, I will probably hold off on reading them until I go to Australia later in the year. I am looking forward to reading a different novel but definitely something that doesn`t require me to concentrate so much (How bad does that sound. Honestly though, I think other mums out there probably understand at least those with under 3s)

Reading Magic- Mem Fox (more on this later)

Top 100 Baby Purees- Annabel Karmel

Oh and in June I probably read over 30 different pictures books (some more than 2 or 3 times!).

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Mem Fox is an author of Australian children`s books and also works on children`s literacy. I recently picked up her book “Reading Magic” which focuses on reading aloud to your children from birth or a young age and the impact it will have on their ability to read later on. I have read to Noah almost everyday since he was born- I usually have a little book in my bag in case we get bored on a train or while out, I read before bath time and at other times of the day and on the weekends I encourage Shun to read Japanese picture books to Noah and I always take books to my in-laws house so that they can read to Noah too (in Japanese)

Noah is not even 7 months old and has approximately 100 picture books in English (and only about 10 in Japanese), We haven`t read all the books we own but have read most of them. Some of the golden books I have though are a bit long so I am leaving them for when he is older.

I love to read. I have always loved to read and apparently I taught myself to read before I even went to kindy. How? Well my parents read to me everyday and I guess that helped.

Reading through Mem`s book I began to realize why I was able to teach myself to read really young. All the things she encouraged parents/teachers etc to do are things my parents did with me and a lot of the case studies in her books were of children reading younger than usual or those that struggled with reading were ONLY trying to learn from a phonics base focus instead of concentrating on the whole words and stories (which you do when reading aloud to children)

Anyway I found the book fantastic. Noah only has 3 of Mem Fox`s children`s books but I will definitely try to pick up some others when we are back in Australia.

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Noah`s napping has turned to crap. He still naps but a couple of weeks ago when his schedule changes (yet again!) and he started waking up  for the day around 6am every morning I would feed him at 6am, do his breakfast about 8am, feed him again at 9am and he would get drowsy or fall asleep while feeding and I would put him down for a nap and he would sleep for about an hour and then at 12 or so when I would feed him again he would fall asleep again.

This meant that he was no longer putting HIMSELF to sleep in his cot because he was pretty much asleep when I put him in the cot. The problem with this is that I spent so much time ensuring he was able to put himself to sleep previously that I knew if I didn`t break him of the habit we would be in trouble and he would start needing me to fall asleep.

When we were out and about he would still just sleep when he was ready in his pram or ergo- not necessarily after feeds but over the weekend and today I have tried to switch it up so that he naps without feeding first (He is not hungry or anything- he would usually have had a feed within 1hr30 mins) and it has been a nightmare.

A good 45 minutes each time of him screaming when I put him in the cot. I would pat him for a bit and he would settle but he would whimper for awhile and then start screaming again. It is not like me hoding him helps as he just gets frustrated. His first 2 naps today he has while we were out at the embassy. Both were very short though- only 25 minutes or so each so he was still pretty tired so I ave just managed to settle him again for another nap. I put him in the cot at 12:30pm and he FINALLY fell asleep at 1:20pm although he was exhausted. He would self settle for a bit but then scream again so I was in and out of his room non-stop.

Any advice? I don`t want him to be reliant on breastfeeding for sleep but I am happy to pat him until he settles or continue to go into his room to let him know I am close by.  Previously though I would just put him in his cot and he would play a bit and then fall asleep. At night he would often be asleep after his bath and feed before I put him down but if he was still awake I would put him in his cot anyway and he would chat” for a it then fall asleep by himself. I very rarely had to go back into his room once I had put him in the cot.

I think part of it might also be separation anxiety setting in because now if he is playing in the living room and I get up to go to the kitchen or soomething he will often turn on the water works.

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I am late with this update- probably because I can`t cross anything off. Just continued with a couple of things like updating each month, maintaining the weight loss and also we applied for credit cards but that was only a couple of days ago. I also have plans to go to the cinema with a friend maybe this weekend- not sure if I will be able to or not though.

Same as I have in the previous months for 2010 I will list the books I read as well.

Take A Change on Me- Jill Mansell
My Darling is a foreigner (ダーリンは外国人) In English (Saori Oguri)
Heavenstone Secrets　- V.C Andrews
7 steps to raising a bilingual child— Naomi Steiner & Susan L Hayes
Also read a couple of magazines!

Now I am reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and am so far really enjoying it! I think Nooh recommended it originally!

What a dull post! Perhaps I will try and write again later tonight once Noah is down for the night (he is napping now but due to wake up any minute) and post cute photos of his first rice cereal experience!

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Am so behind in doing my update for Mar 2010 in the 101 things in 1001 day challenge but here goes…

5. Go to at least two of the following places: Hokkaido, Nara, Hakone or Nagasaki.

Well I went to Nara 2 years ago(!) and went to Hakone last month and I wrote about the trip on here! So Have now been to two of the above places- although I went to the two CLOSEST places. I still hope to go to Hokkaido and Nagasaki sometime soon though!

3. Take a Japanese cooking class or classes

I enquired about these at the ABC cooking studio at Lalaport since I went to a trial lesson with that school once before with my friend Suzy (We made Japanese style Christmas cake, it was fun!) but you have to buy a 12 class pass and I would never be able to get someone to watch Noah that many times. They do do one off classes but it is for certain foods and they are not Japanese style cooking which is more what I am looking for. Does anyone know of Japanese cooking classes I could take that are more Japanese style? It doesn`t matter if it is in English or Japanese.

33. Maintain the weight loss for at least six months  (abandoned June 2009 due to pregnancy, to restart after birth. Managed 4 months before getting pregnant and started again Jan 2010) 3/6

Now done for 3 months! I still weight a little less than I did when I got pregnant with Noah which is great!

72. Get paid to write something

Working on this by taking a magazine writing class through Writer U at the moment. I wish I had more time to devote to the course which is going for most of April but it is obviously hard with Noah (and my brother and Gem still been in town) but maybe next week and the week later I can focus on it a little more and hopefully it will help me get paid to write something!!

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Also, as in recent months, I will share the books I read in March. Only two though Did read a couple of magazines though as well and LOTS of children`s books. Both books read were great though!

Love in Translation- Wendy Nelson Tokunaga

House Rules- Jodi Picolt

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Go check Nay`s blog- she had her baby! YAY! SO happy for both her and Naoki.

I have so many blog posts to catch up on still…also need to start baby proofing as Noah is rolling more and more and today rolled from his back to his stomach for the first time (has been rolling stomach to back for a couple of weeks) after he moved around in circles with his feet for five minutes (before he flipped over). I will have to be on my toes a bit more now!!!

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I actually have managed to cross a couple things during the last month from my list- although I know there will be things left over at the end of the time I am at peace with that but still determined to cross off as many things as I can before the deadline this December.

2. Read a Japanese newspaper or magazine and understand it.

Well I read “おはよう奥さん” a magazine with recipes and things for wives in Japan- still can`t quite believe a magazine like this exists. Now I skipped all the ads in it and I read through the rest. I have to admit after the first couple of pages of looking up every second kanji I gave up looking the rest up so technically I only understood about 50% of it. But, I did do a couple pages each day and read through reasonably slowly trying to get the meaning etc. I doubt I would buy the magazine again but I did like the recipes and have marked a couple to try. I also bought a cook book at the same time with Japanese recipes and have flicked through that a couple times and tried a couple of things from it- so I can read them well enough to do them without help!

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

Maintained my original weight loss for another month and bonus here, I lost another 2kg since Jan 19th! WOOT! Was a nice surprise when I hopped on the scales at the end of Feb! So 2 months down here!

50. Learn how to use photoshop.

I am still working on this but I don`t think I could comfortably cross it off but I do know most of the basics now! Will continue to work through it and hopefully be able to cross it off soon!

66. (Buy) a Polaroid camera

Well technically I didn`t *buy* it but when Shun`s parents asked him what I wanted for my birthday last month he said he knew I wanted a Polaroid camera and that is what they got me! Yay! Along with 5 things of the film stuff so I have snapped quite a few cute pictures of Noah which are now stuck to our pinboard! I look forward to playing with it more!

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

It feels so good to cross this off my list as it has been a long time coming! Shun  & I successfully stuck to our budget for six whole months!!!! We are continuing with a similar system but I would and am working towards trying to save more each month- this will probably happen by me taking on a few more private lessons perhaps as well as getting better at cooking Japanese food since it is so much cheaper to cook that here!

I still have 17 things to cross off my list before December!

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Oh and continuing on from January these are the books I read in February- not much but hey, I still tried to read a little each day. Plus I am not putting down the kids books I read with Noah but I read one or two a day too him!

Grasshopper by Barbara Vine (I didn`t like it- I have passed it onto Nay though so will be interesting to see if she likes it as she read the back cover a couple of months ago and requested I pass it onto her when I was done)

Twenties Girl- Sophie Kinsella (Good book! Usually like her work and it is so easy to pick and put down which is great considering I dont have so much time to read anymore)

Baby Signing (Teach yourself)- Jane Jarvis (Enjoyed it and have referred back to it several times. Noah and I are going to our first baby sign class in April but I already do about 3 signs with him on a regular basis)

I also read cookbooks, many kids books and the “ohayou okusan” magazine mentioned earlier!

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I seem to have lost my blogging mojo of late too- so if you find it please let me know! I guess I feel like most of the things I want to blog are about Noah but that it could get a tad boring for those who read after awhile. I love looking at his cute pictures but I am not sure whether everyone else wants to see picture after picture! hehe

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Okay I didn`t manage to cross anything off the list completely but I have furthered the following:

2. Read a Japanese newspaper or magazine and understand it

Started working on this today! Obviously not finished yet but have started at least by buying the magazine “おはよう奥さん”　−It has some good recipes so far that I am definitely going to try!

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

I made it back down to my pre-baby weight and have started maintainence again. I made it 4 months previously before getting pregnant but have to start again!!! So one month down!

78. Do a monthly update for each month that I do 101 things in 1001 days on my blog (22/33)

Just 11 more updates to go!

100. Make a budget and stick to it for six months (5/6)

Now we have stuck to it for 5 months! We also managed to save a lot more over the last month due to baby money, Shun`s Dec bonus and more!

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In January (this has nothing to do with 101 things though) I started writing down the books I read- I have tried this many times over the years and I use to write a monthly list in my journal (yes, I am THAT kind of person) more so that if I read a good book then I had the authors name so that I could check out others by the same author. Anyway, I don`t get as much time to read anymore as I used to obviously and I figured it might be a good year to start it again seeing as I won`t have as much to record- I used to do most of my reading on the train to and from work (both in Australia & Japan) or while relaxing in coffee shops and now, with Noah, if we are on the train I am moving the pram back and forth so he doesn`t crack up and it is similar in coffee shops!

That said, this month I tried to read a little each day even if it was just half an hour before bed.

The books I read in January are

Call me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural mothering – Suzanne Kamata (Ed)
Baby Love- Robin Barker
Are you my Mother?- Louise Voss
Split Ends- Zoe Barnes
It sucked and then I cried- Heather B. Armstrong

It was a pretty good mix. One was short stories/anthologies (Call me Okaasan), 1 reference/non fiction book (Baby Love), 2 fiction (Split Ends/Are you my Mother?) and I guess It Sucked and then I Cried could be considered a autobiography of sorts. All of them were good but I think I liked It Sucked and then I Cried best though as I had been waiting/wanting to read it for a long time. Suzanne Kamata`s (I read her blog!) book was great too- I am waiting for another fiction by her as I loved her first book (Losing Kei) as well. The short stories/anthologies were really great and I loved her introduction and the stories in the book. I am not sure how much I will read this month seeing as I am trying to read the magazine in Japanese (and my reading is so bad that it will take me A LONG TIME to get through it and actually understand it) but I am sure I will get a couple of English books in as well.

Anyone want to recommend any good books they have read lately? I have heaps of un-read ones on my shelves already but I am always on the look out for more!

Oh and if you missed yesterday`s post- see below! Lots of smiley pictures of Noah!

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A couple months back Suzy wrote about Little Golden Books and I commented that I had already picked up a couple for goma-chan but was still looking for more- especially ones that I had read when I was younger. I had so many as a kid and while I can not remember them all I have managed to pick up a couple that I had when I was younger like “The little red caboose” and “The poky little puppy” among others…

The ownership rights to these books have changed several times over the years but basically the books have stayed the same- very little has changed from the originals- the first of which was released in the 1940s.

I loved books growing up and I still do and we already have quite a collection of English (and a smaller collection of Japanese) books going for goma-chan when he arrives. I know he is not going to be at all interested for at least a year but that will not stop me reading to him all the time- he will just have to get used to it What were your favourite Little Golden Books?

While we have picked up quite a few books- the Little Golden Books are definitely my favourites (along with Possum Magic!)- I think it is the detail in the images that makes them so great.

Of course, as I said- it is not just Little Golden Books that we have.

The bottom two in this photo are the books goma-chan will be able to play with first- soft material books that if needed I can chuck in the wash!

Some old favourites… It is amazing that some of the books I read as a child are still around and going strong. Possum Magic and Dear Zoo as well as the Spot books were all favourites of mine growing up. Would be interesting to hear what others liked when they were younger.

Goma-chan also got a package in the mail last week from his grandmother (which also included something from his Aunt Gem & Uncle Paul)

Spot Dog from Paul & Gem- He is already in the cot.

And to help him sleep- this beautiful sleeper bag from mum. It is adjustable too and it is reversable but I didn`t realize that until later. Inside is mainly green with cartoon nursery rhyme type pictures.

I think goma-chan might already be a spoiled baby…

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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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Ages and ages and ages ago I signed up for  reading challenge here which involved reading eight books in eight different categories during 2008 (with an allowance of up to 8 crossovers). Anybody that knows me in real life knows I am a reader…I have always been a reader, in fact my parents are not sure how but I apparently taught myself to read at age 3 and there are photos of me less than a year old pouring through old encyclopedias (and I unlike most babies I apparently wasn`t just trying to eat them).

I am not sure how many books I would normally read in a year but I would have put it at close to 80 (I originally thought more but have now reassessed)

My original list was on this blog post but due to an international move a couple of months ago when I was forced to leave some unread books behind in Japan I had to rewrite my list and take off the books I knew I wouldn`t be able to read this year. And well, last week I finally got around to uploading it to the 888 blog and now less than a week after that I am actually getting around to posting it on here so i am actually quite proud of my time management skills on this!

Here is my list- Those in green have already been read, those with asterix`s are books I owned already when the challenge started and just so you know I have seven overlaps meaning by the end of the challenge I should of read not 64 books but 57 and so far for this challenge I have read 48 I think. I have been keeping track of the books I read since I started journaling again last August but have now put it on my computer (somewhere?!?) since I was constantly forgetting the books I had read already (and it also helps me remember authors I like!)

Ok, enough rambling from me. Here is the list (Really!)

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)
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
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

Read because I moved back to Australia and got new books!- Choose this because had an unplanned mid year move

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
8. Second Chance- Jane Green

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*
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 (Sep)
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)*
2. Dear Venny, Dear Saffron-Libby Hathorn (same as above)*
3. The Book Theif- Marcus Zusak*
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) 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*
3.South of the Border West of the Sun-Haruki Murakami (Cross over- read in 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)
8. The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini (Apr?)

So who else keeps track of the books they read? Or enters reading challenges?! I know that entering keeps me a little bit more focused and ensures I continue to read a little everyday even if it is just while on the train to and from work. I have read more books this year that are not on this list but only about 6 or 7 so as a total have only read about 55 books so far this year.

My favourite books from the list are Yakuza Moon, Losing Kei, Kitchen, The babymoon, Change of Heart, Count Down & The Kite Runner. Have you read any of these books? Which did you like?

So with 9 books left to read before December 31 I am sure I will fit them all in but wish me luck all the same- especially since their are a couple of pretty thick ones left to go!

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In an effort to improve on my writing I have decided to sign up for Encyclopedia of me which started over at Bella Dia (and which I found out about by reading Laura`s blog here...)

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N is for Nancy Drew…

As a child I could always be found with my nose in a book…Once I bought 200 books at a school fete for $10 because it was the spending money mum gave me but I was on crutches so couldn`t go on any of the rides or walk much.

I am not sure when I first read Nancy Drew…or who gave it to me but I would say I was about nine and I think it was my mum who maybe gave me a three in one book which I probably went through in like a day! It was easy to get a lot of other Nancy Drew books second hand or at the public library!

I loved those books!!! I wanted to be Nancy Drew! eighteen, a blue mustang and a gorgeous boyfriend named Ned not to mention who two best friends (George and Bess I think it was?!) I thought she had it all…Not only that but she had curly strawberry blond hair and was smart enough to solve any mystery! She was a bit like the Scooby Doo Gang, except so muc cooler!

It isn`t even that my favourite books from childhood and adolecence were Nancy Drew (My favourite were Anne of Green Gables, The Orphan Series by V.C Andrews, Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, Alison by Margaret Watts and Dear Venny and Dear Saffron….oh and maybe chuck in some Judy Blume books also!) but they were easy and fun to read and I must have gone through hundreds of them.

I donated most of them to a hospital when I moved to Japan for the first time but once I have children old enough to read Nancy Drew I am going to go out and buy lots of them for them. I do hope my children are big readers like me!!!

Mandy was a sweet valley high junkie! Do you still have them babe? While I never really got into Sweet Valley I did read a lot of teen trashy romance novels from the 80`s (I picked them up at that fete!)….I don`t remember the name of them….sweet teens or something?? Oh and lets not forget the Baby Sitters Club….I think I read all of them also! Actually I read everything including some of my mums mills and boons I think!!

Did anyone else read Nancy Drew? Or did you have a different favourite series and hero/heroine that you read? I have many favourite books from childhood and would love it if you could share yours also!!!!

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• After reading Gala`s site yesterday and seeing that she had made a list of resolutions for her week I thought it would be a good idea for me to start doing the same, especially with only another 2 1/2 to 3 months left in Tokyo…My resolutions for this week are. Study for a minimum of ten hours, no eating after 9:30pm, Go for 2 big walks for exercise, Take more photos outside, Make a walking play list on my ipod , Start working on at least one more thing from my life list, Blog at least three times this week (This is my 2nd post already), Do two loads of washing before Friday, No coffee after 8pm and eat at least two pieces of fresh fruit each day (including weekends!). So I started yesterday and so far so good….Haven`t decided what I will work on from my life list though yet…any suggestions?
• My friend Jen from Somewhere, Something (formally Delightful Jen) has started her own business…It launched today! If you like buttons or things made from vintage fabric then go check out her store maxifunbutton now!
• I joined another book challenge, although this one is pretty simple in its rules….Read 100 books in the year. I can do that… Especially if I count some of the special kids books I read at work (I read about 20 kids books a week to the kids for story times plus when they ask me to read to them during free-time, not to mention the books I read with my private students so I might start recording some of those special ones I read with them, my favourites at least that I will one day want to read with my kids)….I keep a list of books I read in my journal already (Although I should one day add it to my blog) and am up to about 25 for the year so far I think!!
• 
• Yes you heard me right in the first point. Study…Am on a bit of a Japanese study kick at the moment…I want to do 1kyuu at the end of this year or the following year and kanji and reading are my biggest problem areas and it will take me at least six months to learn all the kanji I need! Probably longer! I am usually pretty good at studying when I am on a bit of a study kick…mind you I didn`t do any yesterday!!!
• It was my birthday yesterday, a post will follow about the adventures! Maybe in G is for…
• Where do you start when planning a wedding? How long does it take? I should get started on that!
• Last week I left my pencil case at a post office and an elderly lady ran after me yelling `moshi moshi, moshi moshi` and the reason I didn`t turn around straight away is because I thought she was on the phone…It has been on my mind since. I want to know if she yelled moshi moshi because I was foreign or if she was just a strange lady who would of yelled moshi moshi at anyone!
• I am already filling in dates with stuff to do, and people to catch up with before I leave…It will be sad to leave Japan again, but exciting all the same. I will miss my friends here though, so much…..There is always something exciting happening! And they are such great people to be around..
• Could of sworn I had more to blab on about, but I guess my giant sneezing fit 10 minutes ago knocked the thoughts right out of my head! Have a good week everyone!

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