Cherry Blossom Adventures

Spent the day at home today with Shun and Abbey (and dad for some parts- and even mum came around for a walk and a coffee!), lazing about and crossing off some stuff on my weekly resolutions list! So yay for me! So lets review- my list was as follows!

- hoop at least 10 minutes everyday - I hooped outside today for about 30 minutes while Abbey watched, most of the time sitting right at my feet as I hooped! In the end Shumpei had to call her over because I was so scared I would step on her….but she likes to sit in my shadow in the shade!

- track the food I eat in my little weight watchers book and do at least 4 walks! - I did this and I counted points plus I went for a half hour walk (But we were out for an hour because half of the hour was spent playing with Abbey in the park, running around, then Shumpei minded her while I went for a fast walk with mum and dad!)

- blog another 2 times- Well this is once and the next post will probably be all about our new little addition Abbey!

- Contact wedding celebrants (at least 2) and set up meetings for sometime in the next couple of weeks!- I am going to email two people I have found now and try and set up some meetings!

-Study Japanese for 3 hours! - I did this today!!! Kanji! I don`t think I remember any of it but I did at least do it! It has reminded me though how far I have to go because honestly my retention for kanji sucks and new words sucks (I am a lot better with grammar!)!!

- Plus one bonus that I was going to add today! I have decided it will be to start a new knitting project!

So I a putting it out there- I want a cool, easy pattern for a baby hat (or boots!)…preferrably with the name of wool I can get in Australia. I don`t even know where to buy wool in Brisbane though- Maybe Lincraft? Suzy if you are reading please pretty please send me the pattern for that umbilical cord hat we talked about! I am thinking that might be the one!!! But if anyone else has any ideas let me know (I will also search on ravelry!)

Hope everyone else had lovely lovely weekends- I know it is a long weekend in Japan too (for those lucky enough to be there) so I hope everyone is having fun!

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I am inspired to do more. I have so many things on my to do list and so many things I know I need to do yet I don`t really seem to be getting to any of them….I believe I am in what some call a “rut”! I have spent the last couple of hours surfing around on blogs I read and looking up stuff and I realized that I need to take action- I need to get motivated.

My friend Mandy wrote “Have thought that perhaps instead of making so many to-do lists and planning, I should actually just take action and practice what I preach.” and continued on to write things she was working on for her 101 things in 1001 days list and she has already marked ONE OFF in just a day and I realized I need to be more like that! Jen had a rough couple of days and had to make a couple of hard decisions but she has bounced back and written about what she is going to do with her life and her plans sound so amazing (and yes I am jealous!) and again it made me realize that I too can achieve what I want to do! Deanne at Suzhizume (who has moved to a new location-update your links and reader all!)  is one of the people that inspired Jen and she is definitely worth a mention because she is such a fun loving, awesome, down to earth person (Who I have had the pleasure of meeting quite a few times- she is the one that inspired me to get some hula hoops!) who decided what she loved and is doing it and while I haven`t quite figured out what it is I love so much that I want to do I figure crossing some stuff off my to do list etc is going to help me head in the right direction!! She is such an inspiration! Another inspirational girl is Gala Darling, oh how I heart thee! This lady got up and went to New York and now has decided she wants to live there and is making her dream into a real possibility. If you have never read gala`s site then you simply must start now because it is fantastic stuff and I am so jealous (yet again!) of all the stuff she does- and she always does it so eloquently! She is a great writer, and I totally wish I could be more like her! And she used to do weekly resolutions which is what this post is actually all about!

I journal, and sometimes, after reading about them at Gala`s site ages ago, I write my own weekly resolutions in my journal and I realize that it is time to bring this back into my life- and sure it is another list but I do love lists and they do help keep me motivated! So here goes, here is my weekly resolutions for this week!

- hoop at least 10 minutes everyday

- track the food I eat in my little weight watchers book and do at least 4 walks!

- blog another 2 times

- Contact wedding celebrants (at least 2) and set up meetings for sometime in the next couple of weeks!

-Study Japanese for 3 hours!

-  and since it is nearly midnight I am going to think about this last one and make a decision on it by Monday! Or perhaps one of you might have an idea of something you think I should try and acheive this week in my weekly resolutions!

Thank you to all my bloggy friends out there- some of you I have met in real life and others I have yet to have the pleasure but the joy I get from following your adventures and reading your comments, advice and inspirational writing makes my day! I only mentioned a couple of you who have inspired me in the post but trust me, it is not only those I mentioned! My goals for the week might not seem like much but to me they are important and I promise I will try really hard to acheive them all!

Hugs to all, xoxoxo

Ps: All is going well with Shun- he is also inspiring me of late because he is trying so hard with his English already and it makes me realize how slack I have been with my Japanese study hence the mention in my weekly resolutions! Oh and in other news we picked up Abbey today and she is just adorable- Shun and I played with her all afternoon and it was delightful!!! And while writing this blog post- it was interupted by a howling little dog….but I went down to see her and she is doing ok now- I think she just woke up and forgot where she was for a minute!

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• Shumpei arrives in the morning and I am so excited. I still can`t quite believe that he will be here in Australia until next June. The next time we return to Japan we will be married?! I have just finished doing a quick clean up of the house and now I just have to wait until morning!!!
• I lose .9 at Weight Watchers last night- This means I have lost about 5 and a half kilos since coming back to Australia!! I am actually quite proud of myself! Only another 10 or so to go!!!!
• Wedding planning is crazy- I don`t know how people do it! I am now on a hunt for a celebrant, entertainment and transport (I didn`t realize we would need transport?!) and those three things weren`t even on my list of things to do for the wedding on 101 things in 1001 days- because I guess I didn`t really realize we would need them! There is just so much to do and I am excited, I am, but seriously there is only so many wedding dresses I can look at online before I want to gag! I am thinking I might go dress hunting in Septemer (8 months before the wedding?!). In other news I think I have found the person I want to bake our wedding cake- a cherry blossom one of course! Although I don`t need to order and organize that until after Christmas!
• I have been sick for the last couple of days (It may have aided in the weight loss because I certainly wasn`t good on the weekend!)-just a cold but I missed work on  Wednesday and Thursday because I could barely get out of bed!!
• I have had a craving for soup recently- I don`t even really like soup usually but I want to learn to make it and enjoy it- Anyone have any good, healthy soup recipies!
• I am loving the hula hoop (although not much in the last 2 days)- I can now keep it up for awhile so am now onto trying to learn cool hula hoop tricks so I can get more into the hula hoop dance craze!!!! If you are interested in hooping yourself - then check out my friend Deanne`s new website about her hooping adventures in Tokyo or if you want some cool hoops and are in Australia (or overseas) check out bunny`s site and go to her shop to buy some super awesome hoops!
• I have been reading up a storm recently (as well as watching big brother- I know it is sad but I just can not help it- It is so addictive- I am watching it now!)
• I am just so happy that Shun is joining me in Brisbane tomorrow- did I mention that already? I love him and have missed him so much over the last two months! I can`t beleive I will be seeing him in just 12 hours!
• Have a lovely weekend everyone!

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I didn`t get the job I went for as a Student Coordinator at the hospital. I had the interview the week before last and found out last Friday when the HR manager rang me. I was really dissapointed because I had felt like they had led me to beleive I had it in the bag and then they took it away (At the last minute they received an application from somebody that had a lot of experience doing a very similar job-where as I only have experience doing it for the last 7 weeks). I was depressed about it over the weekend but now I am more like “It obviously wasn`t meant to be” and I probably didn`t get it because something better and more suited to me is going to come up! Yay for positive thinking!

So I finish up this temp assignment next week and then I will be looking for another temp assignment to keep me going. I am happy to temp for the year it is just a little bit unpredictable and there is a chance some weeks I won`t have work which could screw up trying to save a little bit.  But I am trying not to think about the bad stuff that could happen if I can`t find work because in the past I have been really lucky and something has always come up!!!

Shumpei comes in just five sleeps! Saturday morning I will be going up to pick him up at the airport! He rang last night while he was at a goodbye party with Cat, James, Leader and our other friends (From when I was at uni in Japan) and I spoke to a couple of them. It was so good to hear Cat`s voice- I almost cried! I miss her and everyone so much…We have spoken a couple of times since I have been back in Australia but everytime I am just so happy to talk with her. Last night I also spoke with Leader and Junni- It was weird to be speaking Japanese again to someone other than Shun!

In other news if I lose .5kg on Thursday at weight watchers I will have lost 5 kilos since coming back to Australia!

Look out for P is for….. tomorrow!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Before (Jan 2006)

Now (Mar 2008)

I am overweight…I never used to be but it has crept up on me since I have been back in Japan the last 2.5 years. I am not going to state my weight but my BMI is 28.8 (Some of you smarties might be able to figure out my weight from that if you also know my height) and apparently anything over 26 is considered overweight….

I stated on my 101 things in 1001 days that I wanted to lose five kilos then another five but the reality is to go back to the weight I was when I left Australia in January 2006 I would have to lose about 18 kilos. Yep…you heard (read?) right 18 kilos in less than 2.5 years. You can`t really see much in the first photo (Europe Jan 2006…One of the few photos where I am not wearing a big bulky coat) but even in my face and arms you can see that I weighed a fair bit less.

I put on 10 kilos when I was 19 and in Japan on exchange and when I went back to Australia I lost 8 of them in the first 2 months from not really doing anything. I am hoping the same thing will happen when I go back to Australia this time but I don`t like my chances….but I am determined to lose weight.

So in preperation for returning to Australia and starting a weight loss program ( I will be joining weight watchers with my mum) I have decided to give up COFFEE and ALCOHOL for the month of May (There is one exception, I wasn`t going to have an exception but upon mentioning my decision to my closest friends here in Tokyo they all said I was crazy because my going away party in on May 10th and will be the last time for more than a year that I can go out with my Tokyo friends and let loose….so the 10th is the exception on the alcohol ban…but I am going to make an effort to drink water between each drink and stick to wine and stop before midnight even if we end up at karaoke!).

I would like to do a mini detox at some time during May also but might have to wait til I am back in Australia because for the next two weeks Shumpei`s mum will be cooking for us and I don`t want to say no meat to her because I would hate to be an inconvenience (and while I am in her house she won`t let me prepare my own food)

The other thing I am going to try (From May 1st if not before) will be crossing off EFT  every day for two weeks off my 101 list. I think it will be a good opportunity to get my mind ready and intune with my body for the weight loss I want to achieve!

While be in Chiba from Sunday and also hope to try and get a little exercise everyday….even just 20 minutes! I spend way to much time on the computer watching TV when even while doing that I could be doing some stretches or some kind of exercise! I think I will have to have a mini checklist of all my goals for each day. No coffee, no Alcohol, 20 mins exersise, EFT! hehe!

I feel that by putting this on my blog that maybe it will keep me more motivated and more honest. A lot of blogger friends are starting there own weight loss plans recently and I think reading their progress will also help to keep me motivated. Wish me luck (or give me hints!)

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