When I met Shun I had already kind of gotten used to having everyone around me smoking and he was no exception- he had been smoking since 17 (was 23 when I met him) and it didn`t seem like he was going to be giving up anytime soon. Then we moved in together, didn`t have a verandah and I was not about to let him smoke inside and then we both got really bad colds and in that time he didn`t smoke. So when he got better I said ” why don`t you just quit since you haven`t smoked for the last 3 days anyway” and he did. He still smoked socially but I think I saw him smoke two or three times (one was the night the madman smacked me on the head with a beer glass and cracked my head open and Shun had to catch a taxi to the hospital) in the 18 months he quit (although I know he smoked more than those 2 or 3 smokes).

Then last year, in about October, he announced he was smoking again. I already knew (I wasn`t stupid- I washed his clothes) and I said fine- but that if we were to ever have kids he would need to quit when I got pregnant and he agreed.

Except lately my dad has been smoking again (after quitting when I was 2- he hadn`t smoked in 20 years) and so whenever Shun would go out for a smoke, Dad would follow. Now with the history of cancer in our families (my father obviously, plus 3 of my grandparents, two aunts etc etc- and Shun`s dad had cancer quit smoking when he found out and Shun`s grandfather died from lung cancer and smoked til the end) I was starting to get worried and I kept saying to Shun if he kept smoking he would get cancer and where would that leave us…and so one day he asked me to bring him home some nicotene patches…so I did and he has been trying to cut back on the cigerettes the last five days as well as using patches

My dad says he will quit again if Shun successfully quits. Dad only smokes about 6-8 cigerettes a day at the moment and I think he could give up quite easily so I hope he does.

Shun was smoking a pack of 20 a day and is now down to 5 a day max (only had four yesterday and has only had 2 so far today) so I am hoping that the quitting works.  Send positive quitting thoughts please people and any  helpful hints are welcome!!!

It is on my 101 things list to get one and I am desperately hoping I can con anybody planning on giving me a christmas present into putting in money so that I can get this (I figure Mum, Dad, Brother and gf & Shun might…)

Aren`t they beautiful…

The problem is I can not decide which one i want more…

I have always owned Olympus cameras personally although I have used a Nikon DSLR before as that was the camera we used to take photos at the preschool I worked at…

The Olympus E420 is cheaper. very compact and light for a DSLR and has in built image stability. The Nikon D60 has had good reviews, and I have used a Nikon DSLR before (I can not remember the name of it).

So I need help- which would you choose and why? Have you used either of them and maybe could perhaps offer a little guidance.

At the moment it is just a dream, and by the time I actually get a DSLR there will probably be a million new ones on the market. I am off now to try and rationalize to my family and Shun why this is what I want for Christmas…

My little brother turns 21 today…I vaguely remember when he was born or at least I remember been dropped at my grandmothers house in what seemed like the middle of the night (Although probably would of been only about 8pm). I was 2 and a half when he was born and don`t remember much except that he was a big fat buddha of a baby (10 pound 10) who constantly sucked his thumb and had a shock of white hair. My brother was born with his thumb in his mouth and at the hospital after he was born a nurse joked that if the pizza man came it would be for him because he looked like he should of been on solids from the word go.

My brother and I got on quite well when we were younger but as he headed into his teenage years our relationship was a little strained. I think all teenage boys go through that grunting stage though? He is ok though, most of the time. I am hoping the older we get the more our relationship will become more adult. At the moment though we still seem to annoy each other too much! Although he took care of a lot while I have been away including supporting both my parents when they separated and also was hear to support them again when my dad had a bad turn in 2004 when I was in Japan on exchange.

He is not so little anymore- he is over 6 ft tall and while I am tall he still towers over me! He came to visit me in Tokyo the first time I was living there as a student. He had just turned 17 and we went to one of my favourite bars in Kichijoji on his first night there and Abe-san, the owner of the bar, said ” So this is your older brother?” and I replied ” no, my little brother” and he took one look at me and one look at him and said “But you are underage which makes him very underage… so am I going to get in trouble for serving him beer? What will your mum say?”. The first time I ever saw snow was the next day, and I got to share it with my brother.

Despite hating piano lessons when he was younger and giving up within the year he has now found his musical talent and taught himself to play the guitar (He is left handed- he taught himself originally on a right handed guitar upside down before getting his own left handed guitar!) and now plays the piano again as well. When I am away in Japan he sends me CD`s and the names of bands to check out so that I don`t  lose track of the Australian music scene!

His hair is kept pretty long now. In fact in this shot above we had very similar haircuts- I paid a lot for mine yet his just grew like that and ended up like that because he didn`t cut it!

He has been with his girlfriend for three years now and she is great. They suit each other and she is lovely- in fact her and I probably get on better than he and I do most of the time but at least she keeps me up to date with what is going on with him!

Last night we had a family dinner at a seafood restaurant at Portside. It was so delicious and it was lovely. He did not want a big 21st party or anything so we decided dinner would be best. There was 9 of us altogether. Mum, Dad, me, Paul, Shumpei, Gem (his gf), Gem`s parents and Gem`s little brother. I hope he had a good night also- I think he did

Happy 21st Birthday Paulie! I love you!

It isn`t like we have a lot of expenses here in Australia…my dad lets us live here rent free and while we contribute to groceries each week that is the extent of our “living” expenses. On top of that there is our train tickets, petrol (which isn`t too bad because I don`t use the car much during the week) and social outings! My parents are also helping out A LOT with our wedding expenses so there are only a couple of things that Shun & I will be paying for ourselves.

Looking at that, I should be saving a lot right? Well I have hardly saved anything since I have been here…but I really really need to try harder. When we go back to Japan we need to have a bit of money behind us if we want to buy a car and to put down key money and bond on a new apartment.

Last night Shun & I were talking about money. We have talked about money before but not really to much extent…I know that Shun`s salary is not great (compared to a salary for the same job in Australia it actually quite shit…) and I know that if I go back to teaching for a couple of years before we have kids then my salary won`t be great either.

Later on down the track when we have kids I would like to be a stay at home mum for awhile…even if it is just for a couple of years. During that time I would probably still do some private English lessons but I would like not to work full-time. The main reason for this is that I want our children to be bilingual yet if I am not with them often enough in their first 3 or 4 years then their English would probably be minimal.

Unfortunately I know we probably wouldn`t be able to make ends meet if we only had one salary coming in. So I really really need to try and save more while we are here this year. I also need to figure out what I will do for work when I go back to Japan and what I could do to work from home once we have kids. So I really need “good saving” vibes from all you dear readers (and ideas of how to keep money coming in after children!)

I felt really bad asking Shun what he thought we would do for money once we went back to Japan knowing that his salary is not great. I felt like I shouldn`t bring it up but I am a big believer that if we talk about things then we could come up with good solutions together. He seems to think it won`t be a problem and luckily he is a lot better with money that I am…I need to learn how to be better! I still can`t help but worry though…

Tiff, whose blog I have only discovered in the last couple of days (although who I know comments on a lot of blogs I read so it is not the first time we have come in contact) needs our help to help her 2 year old daughter Ivy who is pictured below (and the photo was taken by her mum, Tiff)

Little Ivy is very sick. She has Pemphigus. There is a treatment that could help her but the Australian National Blood Authority has denied Ivy`s parents request to receive this treatment.

The following was taken from Veronica`s site here who has started a petition for us to sign trying to make the Australian National Blood Authority stands up and takes notice and stops denying this beautiful little girl the right to a normal life.

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Ivy is beautiful and Ivy is sick. Ivy is only 2.

And yet, at age 2, Ivy has seen the inside of a hospital more times than anyone should have to. Ivy has a rare immune deficiency IgG. Because of that, she has Pemphigus which is an autoimmune response to the IgG  [please note, these are photos of Ivy's pemphigus blisters and they may be a little graphic for some people].

These are horrible conditions that no adult should have to deal with, let alone a child.

Ivy is currently on Prednisone and Mycophenolate to help control her symptoms and blistering; however, these drugs suppress her immune system, on top of the deficiency.

Ivy’s mum says “…she was never good at mounting a response to infection but the meds make it worse.”

She frequently ends up in hospital on IV antibiotics, just to help control the infection in her ears that never seems to completely disappear. She cannot be exposed to a simple virus in fear that it will land her back in hospital for days at a time.

She can’t go to the playground to play.

She can’t attend playgroup.

She can’t head to the supermarket with her mother.

She might never be able to go to regular school.

She is only 2.

However, there is a treatment that would give Ivy a good chance at normal life.

It’s called IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) and it is a transfusion of immune cells that would bolster Ivy’s own immune system and help her fight infections in a normal way.

Think about it, a chance at a normal life. A life that doesn’t involve frequent hospitalisations.

Unfortunately, the officials at the Australian National Blood Authority have denied the request for Ivy to have this treatment. This treatment that could very well keep her out of hospital. So far, all appeals have been in vain.

As Ivy’s Mum says on her website:

“My little girl is going to have a life of hospital admissions and illness, some chronic, some life threatening, because some guy in an ivory tower decided she could survive without this medication.”

How is this fair?

What if it was your child? What if it was your sister’s child? Do the rules change for daughters of the officials? How come someone with a big stamp gets to say yes or no to this little girl’s chance at a normal life?

It shouldn’t be like this.

All I am asking for is 2 minutes of your time. If you could just head over here and sign our petition, we might be able to get enough support to convince the National Blood Authority officials to change their mind.

Ivy is only 2. She deserves a chance to be normal.

Please, a minute of your time could make all the difference for Ivy.

Sign Petition

Between the***** & ***** was taken from here

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I ask anybody reading this to take the time to sign this petition. And if you have a blog, to help spread the word so that we can help this little girl and her family. Please visit Tiff or Veronica`s site for more information and to keep up to date with the happenings in this case.

Go to the petition here. There were 758 signitures at the time this was published.

Thank you.

Introducing Abbey (As in Abbey Road). We will be able to bring her home on the 19th of July (The week after Shun arrives, so not one but two very exciting things to look forward to!)

It has been a long while since we have had a puppy, so there is so much to buy. It will be off to the pet shop next weekend I think to buy collars, beds, leashes, toys, food bowls, food etc etc. What else will we need? Any recommendations? I can`t wait til we bring her home.

Today I received my first ever blog bling…..The `You cheer me up award` from leechbabe! She has cheered me up immensely today by giving me my first ever blog bling!

The original award comes from A Nice Place in the Sun!!

The creator of the You Cheer Me Up award had three things in mind for the recipients:
* bloggers who make me laugh until my face hurts
* bloggers whose writing voice comforts me when I’m feeling lost
* bloggers who inspire me when I’m feeling blue.

The award instructions are as follows…

If you are a recipient of the You Cheer Me Up Award, please find the blogs that cheer you up, copy the code to post on your sidebar and pass Ethel and Lucy across the blogosphere. You can use what cheers you up in your post, or copy this one, but please send your award recipients back to the original post on A Nice Place In The Sun to get a copy of the award code, post the image and read the instructions. I want to try to maintain a page of original and ongoing award recipients, so feel free to let me know if you’ve received an award when you pick up the image code.

Now to pass this award on…I have never done this before but I have decided to limit it to five people (even though I would love to give it to everyone) and I have decided to give it to people who I don`t think have ever gotten blog bling before….So that I can hopefully cheer them up in the same way leechbabe did for me!

So here goes, in no particular order!

Nay: It goes to Nay because her and I are in very similar stages in our lives and I love and look foward to her blog posts. We also keep in contact separately to our blogs and it is great to have made another friend who I know will be in Japan for awhile!!! Can`t wait to meet you babe!

Sara: Similar to Nay we are in similar stages in our lives, both engaged or married to a Japanese guy and I am always happy to see when she has posted again. I am so glad we are bloggy friends and can`t wait to meet her in real life! Both hers and Nays posts, and their thoughts, often mirror my own so it is great to have that comfort out there. We mail back in forth on facebook quite often and it is always a pleasure to hear from her!

Sushi: Sushi aka deanne, always makes me laugh. And after our hooping adventures on Saturday I can`t wait to meet up with her for hanami again a couple of weeks to get our groove on again! The funny youtube videos she finds always make me laugh! Plus she is teaching me to hoop,  and hooping is exercise and exercise releases endorphins and endorphins make people happy!

Jen: Jen is one of the first blogs outside of Japan that I started reading regularly! She writes just what she is thinking and her energy rubs off on others! She is such a nice girl and is always there to cheer me, or someone else up if they need it. Can`t wait to go out for coffee again soon! Or Haloumi!

Enny : Enny, well what can I say. Whenever I need a laugh I go read her pigeon post! It is the funniest thing ever! And I love hopping on to her blog and seeing her big smiley yellow face! hehehehe. She is a funny girl and I was super lucky to meet her a few months back when she was in Japan!

So girls I pass this on to you and now it is your turn to pass it on to those that cheer you up!!!

Off to put my bling in my sidebar! Yippee!

It is her little brother that is staying with me in Tokyo this weekend…he also has his own little piece of cyberspace real estate (his words, not mine!) and his observations about his journey in Japan thus far are more than a little amusing…

Mandy has stated me as her blogging inspiration (well her inspiration to start a blog anyway) which is very flattering! Although she is a much better writer than me, she has always had a way with words and is now off having an adventures in London living with her Dutch boyfriend. Seriously, go read her blog….(and her little brothers also!)