Cherry Blossom Adventures

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!

Popularity: 4% [?]

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!)

Popularity: 64% [?]

Last weekend on Saturday it was a beautiful beautiful day. I would say it was probably over 20 degrees also which was nice for a change…I went to Shinjuku Gyoen, took off my shoes and hooped for a couple of hours with Deanne and Leila in the perfect Tokyo sunshine!!!

It was my first time hooping (well since I was like 5) and I had so much fun. I was terrible at it, but it didn`t matter because I enjoyed it so much!!! My stomach muscles ached for days after…..but I can not wait to do it again. Thinking of buying myself a hoop once I am back in Australia!!! Both Deanne and Leila are super good at it and it was great to watch them do their moves….I hope one day to just be able to keep the hoop up and spinning for more than a minute! I think when we do hanami in a couple of weeks that I will have another chance to give hooping ago if Deanne can bring some extra hoops! Yay, I can`t wait….and here are some photos from the day! Please don`t laugh at me!

Popularity: 20% [?]

• Firstly big congratulations to Sarah and Ryohei who should of gotton married today. They were filing the papers anyway, hope it all went by with out a hitch….Congratulations! All the best for your future together
• Well I have started to tell more people Shun and I are engaged….it still seems weird to say though…perhaps it comes with practice….like I still refer to him as my boyfriend in Japanese instead of fiance (Mainly because konyakusha, the word for fiance, is kind of weird)…I think we have a place for the wedding….It is thankfully the only thing that needs to be done before I return to Australia (book a place I mean)….I had no idea that there was so much stuff involved in a wedding though…really….It all seems a little crazy. Did you know you need a theme? Or at least a colour scheme? My mother has informed me of the above….
• I think I am going to sign up for 101 things in 1001 days…..Maybe start in April. Since writing my life list (Which I am still extremely proud of by the way) I have lacked some motivation and I thought that if I had an end date it might help…..plus with all the wedding stuff I have to do I thought it might be nice to include some of the wedding stuff in the list too….A couple of bloggers that I read are also doing it and they blog each time they cross something off….perhaps something like this would keep me more motivated.
• I have a lot of random photos from this month and now seems as good a time as any to post them! Firstly, I met my friend Jen`s baby boy last week and he was adorable….also got to see Jen and Emma who I had not seen in months and months…..It is hard to believe I will be gone in May, Jen in July and Emma most likely before I return to Japan in 2009….



• Second, The ume are out…And when the Ume come out it means Hinamatsuri is close!

• Thirdly, I don`t usually post many photos of my kindy kids here, although there is a school blog if you ever want to check it out which has lots of photos uploaded by Ai the owner if you are interested but this video was too good o pass by. Deanne, it is for you firstly and foremost since I know what a diehard hooper you are! Ahh..the video is screwing up my formatting….so if you want to see kids hooping go here…

Popularity: 21% [?]

Stumbled on this over at Enny`s blog which led me to here…The writing in Red is from Sarah at`He Loves Me Not`

Peach has taken this thought a step further. She’s recruited me, Ariel from From Fuck Up To Fab, Ms R from Woman of Experience and Vi from Village Secrets to put together a book for charity, written by bloggers. Here’s where you come in: we would like you to submit (to bloggersforcharity@yahoo.co.uk) a written piece about something you’ve been through from any aspect of your life that you want to share. It can literally be about anything: your relationships, your past, a road not taken, being a parent, an illness, or your regrets, etc. We’ve called it You’re Not The Only One to reflect the camaraderie of blogging.

Proceeds will go to War Child, and blatantly following in the same fashion as Shaggy Blog Stories, we will be publishing it through lulu.com. This is a no upfront fee Internet publishing site that will take $9.15 per book sold if we make it no longer than 200 pages. We’re pricing the book at $17.50 so $8.37 will go to straight to the charity. Because the cost lulu.com takes increases according to how many pages we want published, we do have to stick to the 200 page limit so we can’t guarantee you’ll get your submission in for sure. The absolute maximum length for submission is 1500 words (but we’d rather not have too many at that length. In fact you may stand more chance if your piece is on the less wordy side).

We’re really excited about this and think, if we get the quality we know is out there, we stand a good chance of getting some great PR.

A small note, we’d prefer it if you submit stories you’ve not published outside the blogworld. A piece from your own site is great, but not from a previously published hard copy book—lulu or otherwise. That makes this exclusive.

To summarize:

• You must be a blogger with a live blog
• It must be about something you’ve been through, amusing or serious or any style you like.
  
• You can submit in your blogname and remain anonymous, or not, up to you.
• It can’t be something previously published outside the blogworld, but anything from your blog, or something entirely new, is fine.
  
• Try to keep below 1500 words.
• You must pimp the book on your site and buy it if you make a submission to be in it!
  
• Please LINK BACK TO THIS POST to spread the word!
• DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 29th, 2008 for submissions.
• Send your submissions to me at bloggersforcharity@yahoo.co.uk

If it’s hugely submitted to, we’ll do another one later in the year… so get writing!

P.S. Does anyone fancy designing the cover for us? Get in touch (bloggersforcharity@yahoo.co.uk)!

So yeah, I have decided to submit something also..You should do the same!!! Even if my piece isn`t selected I will definitely be buying the book once it comes out…Congratulations to these bloggers for taking their love of blogging to another level…lets all help them out and support this wonderful charity!

Popularity: 40% [?]

After dropping my friend off in Shinjuku so he could catch the Narita Express to the airport I went over to Kinokuniya to pick up some Japanese text books (decided to start studying again) and stumbled upon `The Tokyo Look Book` by Philomena Keet with photography by Yuri Manabe….It wasn`t the first time I had seen the book…I had even seen it reccomended on a couple of blogs and had flicked through it a couple of times either in Kinokuniya or Tower Records in Shibuya….There are several English language books that delve into the Tokyo/Japan fashion scene but this is by far the best I have seen so far in my travels. So I bought it because my stomach was starting to hurt again and I wanted to get home to my warm (Ok well warmer than outside at least) apartment and sit down.

I like reading about fashion, while I am not a very fashion concisious person, nor do I know much about Japanese fashion labels or the styles of fashion seen in Tokyo, this book was easy to understand and a very fun read. Consisting of over 200 photos by Yuri Manabe and writings by Philomena Keet a British national who has a PhD in Anthropology the book takes you on a journey through the Tokyo fashion scene from the well known Shibuya Girls, the Cos play kids of Harajuku and the decked out Louis Vouiton and Chanel females of Omotesando and Ginza fame. Not to mention the last chapter titled `Young Men at Work`….I am always up for a look at the hot Japanese guys in suits and Nikka (work men pants). I live in the city and some of the things Ms Keet spoke about I would never have known if I hadn`t read her book….while I had heard of Sibuya girls, and the Lolita Cos players I had no idea that they were so influenced by their favourite music bands (most of which are visual-kei) or that certain brands were held at such high esteem.

I bought this book Sunday and had it finished by Monday morning (Monday was a public holiday) and I would of devoured it in one sitting If I hadn`t been so sleepy on Sunday night! Anyone into fashion, or who likes looking at pop culture or Japanese culture should check out this book….In fact anybody who is anybody should check out this book because I think you would be hard to find someone that walk away from reading it without feeling at least something!

The book also consisted of some profiles of popular fashion designers or shop owners here in Tokyo!

This book made me want to go out and take photos of all the crazy and cute fashion I see on the streets of Tokyo…although I am not sure if anybody would pose for me if I asked!

Popularity: 23% [?]

• Did not believe it was possible to spend as much time on the Internet as I seem to be doing lately. Between blogging, reading other blogs, keeping up to date with aussiebloggers forum, facebook, email and trying to choose a theme from wordpress because I am planning on moving my blog over to there next month I seem to be spending my whole time on the Internet. Do you have any ideas for a good WP theme? If you haven`t already checked out the Aussie bloggers forum too…you should…now.
• I survived my first week back at work last week. Now onto the second week!
• Going snowboarding/skiing in a couple of weeks….I am actually just going for the snow….Shumpei assures me that I will like skiing more if I try with him but I think it is a lost cause!
• Have had a lot of bad news coming from home lately….I am sick of bad news. Give me good news. I might be going back to Australia earlier than July now…not sure….Will know in the next couple of months or so though. Even if I return earlier, Shumpei will still follow me over in July as planned

• 
  
  
  Discovered a new blog yesterday by a young girl named Laura called twenty five days to make a difference…..if you have not heard of this blog then you need to go check it out now. Put her banner up on your blog also to help her reach her goals…..It is always inspiring to see somebody trying to make a difference as Laura is, but even more so to see it in somebody so young. Basically each month she chooses a different organization to help and tries to raise money to donate to them.

• I swear I had more to write about but I have now forgotten…I guess I need more sleep…and to spend less time on the Internet!

Popularity: 9% [?]

Shumpei and I met three years ago today (yesterday) and I hate to say it but it was love (or at least lust) at first sight! For gods sake I still remember what he and I were both wearing when we met. We take the 15th of Jan as our anniversary because while we technically started dating a week later we met on th 15th and for us it seems to ring truer as an anniversary (That said for the first year I think we thought of it as the 14th before we realized that we must of definitely met after midnight…..I know this because I went to watch a soccer game an ebisu pub with some friends which would of been playing later…..and we went to another bar before heading back to where we lived at the time…..and Shumpei was at a party at the dorm I was living in at the time)…..I remember walking into the room (third floor kaikan kitchen) and thinking ” My god that boy is hot!”….My gay friend (which whom I have very similar taste) also took a liking to Shumpei….and I will never forget the conversation where he tried to tell him he might be gay! (I am serious about my friend and I having similar taste….his old bf was sooooo hot…….and he had seen pictures of some of my ex`s and had fallen in love by looking at their pictures…A little freaky deshou?)

I worked late tonight because I had a private lesson. I bought a bottle of wine on the way home before getting in about 8:30…..we had tea in the apartment and it was nothing real special but here is a pic

And our wine “乾杯！”　（Cheers!)to celebrate our three years

Oh and lets not forget the happy couple (By the way it is hard to look happy and half decent when you have worked 8 hours plus done a 2 hour private lesson, cooked dinner and not eaten until 10pm)

Love you Shun! Here is to many years to come!!!!

Lost of kisses and hugs!

Popularity: 9% [?]

I have been working on my life list for a couple of months now…and I wouldn’t`t say it is finished….It will be ever growing and changing I think but for now this is where it is at. It is a list of things I want to do before I die….some of them are big things and some are small! This will be a long post though….the list as over 150 things on it…I have a smaller list of personal goals also that are connected to this life list!

1. Pass Level 1 of Japanese Language Proficiency test.
2. Live in another city other than Brisbane or Tokyo
3. Do a detox
4. Have a baby
5. Learn another language
6. Visit all of the Australian states
7. Become financially independent.
8. Keep a decent journal for at least a year (Have done this before when I was younger)
9. Find an exercise routine that works for me
10. Own/work/or get involved in a bookshop
11. Get back down to a comfortable size 12.
12. Visit Vietnam
13. Visit Korea
14. Visit America
15. Visit Russia
16. Visit Egypt
17. Visit South America- at least one place
18. Go on a cruise
19. Work in a job that i `love`
20. Go off anti-depressants for at least six months
21. Own own home
22. Knit something successfully other than a scarf
23. Learn to sew well enough to make things for my children (and bags for myself)
24. Work on my creativity: Keep up knitting, jewelery and card making etc
25. Go on a road trip
26. Go to the ballet
27. Own a really decent camera
28. Learn to cook Japanese food properly- take lessons
29. Learn how to ski properly
30. Grow a successful vegetable and herb patch
31. Go see sumo
32. Take a hot air balloon ride
33. Climb Mt. Fuji
34. Start playing the piano again (Does not mean just once a year!)
35. Get a dog
36. Visit Ireland
37. Learn how to meditate
38. Have something else published (in paper form)
39. Do all night karaoke with a bunch of friends at least once a year
40. Teach Shun how to go crabbing
41. Learn how to play Mahjong
42. Give a large donation to charity
43. Take a photography class
44. Take a drawing class
45. Take a course in massage
46. Be able to read and understand a Japanese newspaper
47. Keep a reading journal and read at least 100 books in one year!
48. Get better at housework
49. Learn to make soup (and like it!)
50. Start an on on-line etsy shop (With what I don`t know!)
51. Learn how to bake proper cakes/cookies/cheesecakes etc
52. Go to Nagasaki
53. Decorate my whole house with Christmas lights one year
54. Learn how to do pilates or yoga properly…join a class
55. Get in contact with at least 5 old friends who I am no longer in touch with
56. Sponsor a child
57. Wear a kimono and visit a shrine in it
58. Get married
59. Hold a successful dinner party
60. Make pasta from scratch (Like Jamie Oliver!)
61. Reread my favourite childhood books
62. Start collecting books that I want to read to my children
63. Tell someone I love them everyday
64. Start writing letters again in particular to my Grandma.
65. Make jam
66. Learn how to bake bread and get a bread maker
67. Buy new flowers for the apartment/house as often as possible
68. Do some volunteer work
69. Go to Disney sea with Shun
70. Go to Paris with Shun
71. Learn how to use photoshop
72. Get a perm
73. Learn to be able to drink red wine
74. Go skinny dipping
75. Go to a private onsen with Shun
76. Worry less
77. Make a will
78. Learn to save money
79. Stop using so many plastic bags
80. Learn how to play the guitar
81. Be a bridesmaid
82. Improve at been a teacher
83. Print photos from Europe/China and other trips from the last couple of years and make albums
84. Go to the opera
85. Try to see at least one concert or musical a year
86. Make a quilt
87. Stop biting my nails
88. Go on holidays with my mum….and pay for her
89. Take my dad to see the snow
90. Live back in Australia again for a year
91. Invent a recipe and publish it on the net
92. Start eating at least three more vegetables
93. Visit Hokkaido and Shikoku
94. Learn to belly dance, pole dace and hoola hoop
95. Write a book (even if it is short)
96. Let someone read it
97. Spend a day at a day spa…shout a friend
98. Take Shun to meet my Grandma in NZ
99. Learn to fly a plane
100. Enter 50 competitions in one year to see if I win anything
101. Watch the sunrise on the beach with Shun
102. Clean out my closet and give away/throw away 25% of it
103. Go camping on the beach again
104. Meet another 10 more bloggers in RL
105. Write a poem
106. Go snorkeling on Great Barrier Reef
107. Attend my high school reunion
108. Visit Nara
109. Revamp my blog or start a new one
110. Complete the two reading challenges I am doing at the moment (Japanese lit challenge and triple 8 challenge)
111. Join another soccer team
112. Try Ikebana
113. Try Calligraphy
114. Stay in a five star hotel on my own money
115. See the current seven wonders of the world
116. Stop eating fast food for 3 whole months
117. Learn to roll my `r`s
118. Make a New Years Resolution and stick to it
119. Encourage a friend to do something they have never done before
120. Show my mum more of Japan and show my dad Japan in particular take him to Hiroshima
121. Have my portrait painted (maybe a family one)
122. Be more patient
123. Achieve sleeping on airplanes.
124. Knit a pair of socks
125. Beat my mother at Trivia pursuit
126. Start collecting something….maybe something old! Like old Christmas ornaments or something…
127. Visit Prague
128. Visit Berlin
129. Get my Japanese drivers license
130. Find the perfect pair of little black heels
131. Try EFT again
132. Watch less TV
133. Try out coloured contacts
134. Learn how to use illustrator
135. Take lots more purikura
136. Bake an apple pie from scratch
137. Take a make-up class
138. Wear outrageous makeup in the middle of the day and not worry about it
139. Get properly prepared for earthquakes like get an up to date emergency bag
140. Translate something from Japanese to English and get paid for it
141. Track down the game bubble bobble and play it with my brother
142. Crash a party
143. Live back in Kichijoji
144. Get flexible
145. Go to the Olympics
146. Take Shumpei sailing
147. Participate in a yacht race (Done small boats but nothing that could be considered a yacht as such)
148. Learn how to play didgeridoo
149. Have a fruit tree
150. Write a song
151. See Kabuki
152. Review first aid and CPR and get my certificates
153. Go backstage of a concert
154. Attempt to play shamisen
155. Change a tire on a car by myself
156. Try frogs legs
157. Appear on TV for something
158. Run 5km without dying
159. Have a mud-wrap
160. Live to 100 and get a letter from the queen
161. Learn how to do self breast exams
162. Invent something
163. Buy a Polaroid camera
164. Get my teeth whitened
165. Smoke pot with my mum
166. Go back to the Louvre
167. Get up every day at 6am for a week
168. Find my old journals and read them
169. Leave a book somewhere, like book-crossing
170. Go to a concert with my dad
171. Learn to make soap and candles
172. Travel somewhere with my little brother…not fight at all the entire time.
173. Learn to be a light packer
174. Give up coffee for an entire month
175. Complete all the things on my life list

I am going to print this out and keep it in my diary and add to it overtime. I doubt I will add my additions to here everytime but who knows I might. This is my list as of January 7th 2007. Wish me luck!!!!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Autumn is well and truly over…and the freezing cold has arrived. The weekend had leaves blowing everywhere….and me wrapped up like this watching Shumpei`s soccer game

• Leave for Australia on Saturday for 2 and a half weeks and still haven`t packed….and tonight was the last night I was going to have time to pack. Maybe I will do it after this but I doubt it….I will probably leave it until Saturday morning!!!
• I got my first Christmas card yesterday courtesy of Amanda!!!!I love Christmas! Thanks Amanda!
• Have been working on my life list and am thinking about posting it on my blog….Instead of new years resolutions I will have my life list and start working on things from that….Except I have over 200 things on it now….written down in my journal…Who else has a life list? What about new years resolutions?!?
• Have read one book for my Japanese Literature Challenge so far….I am not very good at writing book reviews but will eventually do a post on the books I have read for this challenge…
• And to finish up some photos from the last couple of weeks….Jon`s goodbye party, Youichi`s Birthday, Nabe party at James`s parents house…not in any order!

Popularity: 7% [?]