Bits and pieces

These were the last 2 DVD's we rented for October. No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. This was funny, it made me laugh. I thought it was definitely a good rental and I am glad I saw it. The other one was, the Unknown with Matt Damon. In my opinion this movie was very slow. Without giving too much away. I'll say this. The first 10 minutes of the movie, amazing. Really captured my attention. Had high hopes for it. But after that, it had 3 different stories all happening they did all tie in eventually. But, again it went on and on and on.It didn't leave me wanting more, it had me happy the movie was over when it finally finished. Sorry to say that. Noboru also didn't care for it at all. I could sort of see where they were going with this, it just took way too long to get there. Felt like an eternity getting through that movie.
First 2 for the November rentals. Nanny McPhee Returns. Loved this! Our whole family loved Nanny McPhee the original one, Branden said he actually liked this one better then the first one. Both Branden and Noah laughed a lot during this. And this is a possible spoiler so don't read ahead if you haven't seen it yet... I won't say who, but a character from the original Nanny McPhee movie is in this one...and you won't realize it until the end. How they tied both the movies together like that, I loved it all the more. 2 thumbs way up for this one! The other one is Red Riding Hood, we haven't seen it yet, Noboru and I will watch this tonight after the boys go to sleep.
Still at it fitness wise. But, I must say, my October fitness minutes were crap. 855 fitness minutes. And ranking #9. Horrible of me, honestly. I have done so much better all the other month's, this year. In my defense though....I was extremely busy so I guess I should be proud I even could accomplish that. But ehhh. I know, I could do better. So, started November 1st, I've gone full throttle. Okay maybe that's much of a stretch but I've treadmilled 5 days a week. And done core training 3 times a week. I've really kicked it up a notch for this month. And I need to. October left me feeling really out of shape. Sigh. Anyway, I am in it for the long haul. So, I'm back to it. I swear, nobody can be harder on me...then me. : ) Ugh, well I'll get there. ; )
Hmm, I spy with my little eye...4 boys in the back yard. 3 elementary school aged boys and 1 yochien little boy back there. Branden, Genki, Keita and Noah. All having a beyblade battle. : ) In the privacy of our backyard, no one to bother them. I will sometimes bring out something. A big bowl of popcorn, or a batch of steamed sweet potatoes. Some drinks. Leftover Halloween treats. : )
Not my weekly shopping but my mini midweek run to pick up a few misc. things. This time, it was for extra containers of the big yogurts. And apples, these are the yellow ones, you can see from the price 298, each bag of 6. I also get the reds for about 9 apples for 500. Either way whoever has them, I'll buy them for my apple crisp. They're both sweet. Not too tart like the green ones, though we love those too, just not for crisp though. And I like buying my fruits and veggies as cheap as I can get them. I bought 2 bags, so ended up with 12 apples for 600 yen. 9 apples with go for the crisp and the rest can be for cutting up and just plain enjoying.
Mikans 100 yen a bag. I do prefer when they have a big sale on them and they are 150yen as many as you can stuff into a bag day. That is my favorite day to be at the store. They also have, how many pieces of chicken you can shove into a bag about once a month, I like that day too. : ) LOL. You ought to see me, the one lone foreign mama and the Japanese mama's trying to stuff as much as we can into our little clear bags, lol. It's quite fun really. The prices on fruit, etc surprise me when I go to the bigger cities. So much more expensive.
Last week we had curry we'd be having that night, rice on the side. So, I ran to the bakery to get 2 fresh baguettes of bread, I sliced and buttered them. Great for dunking your curry with. The bakery treats were for dessert. I really like Japanese bakeries, they make great things and not too overly sweet.
Another Nissen catalog came for me, this one I had been waiting for.
The catalogs for royal special members come in hard cover more like books, about half the time.Which makes them heavy and hard to carry, I prefer the normal paper catalog, much lighter. Though I guess the bright side is we get our catalogs earlier then most. I got the Spring catalog for 2012 over a month ago. And already ordered some cute cargo mini skirts, for Spring. Some of their clothes are really weird or not my style. But a lot of them are really my style and preppy and more my speed. Also to be fair, I order for the kids too. And blankets, house stuff etc. So it's not just me. Am I glad I'm a royal special whatever member? Honestly I really don't mind one way or the other. I've been one for a few years and I can't really see any major difference at all. : ) Sorry Nissen. : ) Gomen ne~
Saturday, this most recent Saturday Kouiki-kun came over to play. As you know, Kouki's little brother Kaito, will be in Noah's class come April. It's awesome that Branden and Kouiki are friends and in the same class. The dad's, Noboru and his dad are both in the father's club. And now Noah and Kaito will be future classmates. Each year we live in our tiny little town, we get closer knit ties. Our relationships and bonds grow deeper and deeper. This is one of the families we gave the cupcakes to on Halloween.
Nabe season has begun. In the colder month's. It's very common for us to have a 1 pot meal once a week. Curry one week. Cream stew the next. Beef stew the following week. And nabe another week. Something big, easy to cook all in one pot. I also like to make a big pot of chili concarne. Also, with the help of my cookbook, a big batch of pork green chili is amazing with a torilla, side of rice and beans. Anything in a big pot. That will warm our bodies and tummy's to the core. Yumm. The only thing about me when it comes to nabe though. Is my dislike of fish. I know...I know. My husband loves fish and it truly boggles his mind how someone could dislike it. But there you go. : ) And fish dashi is often found in nabes. And so often it is a challenge to find a nabe without it. But, my husband went with me to the store Saturday after the boys were done playing. And bless his heart, he read the back of the ingredients of many nabe pouches...he's such a star, lol. He found these. Branden also read the back of them to double confirm, ha! : ) And so we have spicy miso nabe. And Coco ichi nabe. These sound great to me. I also took a pic of each of them on my cell. And so when I shop during the winter without hubby which I do 99% of the time and I prefer it. Anyway.... now I know which ones to choose. But to be fair I do, do the same, Noboru dislikes onions hate could even be more like it : ).... and often if we cannot find the ingredient lists on potato salads etc, I will be the official taster/guinea pig to make sure there is no onion and he is safe. So yep, we help each other with that. : )
We had this one Sunday.
This one is for next week.
Also I made sweet and sour pork the other night. I really like this.
With nabe season here, and with that sale on these last week, we picked up 3 packages of them. So 9 total inside.
I swear my husband makes the prettiest nabe. Right down to the carrot flowers! All white meat chicken, and chicken balls. And many veggies. Daikon, cabbage, mushrooms, bean sprouts, etc.
Boiling away. The boys always love nabe night. I think Noboru does too. Everyone gets all chatty Cathy around the nabe pot.
We do switch seats for nabe night. The boys have to sit on the farther parts of the table. And they tell us what they want and we'll pick it out and put it in their bowls for them. Just makes us feel a little safer is all. As the veggies decreased a bit, we added udon. Yumm.
This morning our neighbor. Cut us a branch from his kaki tree. He brings us fresh kaki every 2 weeks in Winter. It's free, it's sweet and so delicious. Okay don't laugh at me or anything....but honestly....it's hard not to feel we're blessed. We live in a tiny quiet town. Surrounded by kind people and neighbors and friends. Fall's here, Winter's approaching. We're sort of getting all tucked in for the colder weather so to speak, not doing too much. Hanging home mostly. Watching good TV, renting good dvd's. Eating nice big one pot meals like chili, baked potato soup, nabes, curry. Just quietly, peacefully living.

November busy scale/meter. Not so much. I'm not working this month at all. Which is fantastic. Considering how October was so crazy busy... it will be nice to have a quiet month. Exercise wise, I'm trying *really* hard!

October was all about Halloween and getting into the swing of Fall. Now November is all about Thanksgiving. Every bit of my attention and focus is going on that one big huge meal we're already looking forward to. My dad is coming to Japan to spend Thanksgiving with us.

Also, Branden, Noah and I are going to Guam really soon. Which means, I am working on my shopping list. Checking the pantry and then back to the list, rechecking the pantry and then back to the list once again. Checking the meds upstairs and then back to the list. The movie I will take the boys to see while in Guam will be Puss in Boots. The commercials for that crack us up. We will be there for 2 nights. 3 days. Just enough time to get everything on my list for Thanksgiving and Fall/Winter food stocking up. And enough time to eat some good eats. And even time to take in a movie with big popcorn and nachos with the boys.

Hmm, any last minute tidbits to say. Jackson's doctor found guilty. Anyone keeping up with the trial? I have a little bit. First thing I read this morning that was on the news was that Doctor Conrad Murray found guilty. Will he go to jail, directly to jail, or will he fight it and be out on appeal. I'm not really sure. I'll have to watch the news this evening and see. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries divorcing. Kardashian filed for divorce from Humphries after 72 days of marriage. I watch the Kardashian reality TV show. I admit I own 2 of the seasons on dvd. I did watch the wedding on TV a few weeks ago. Still catching up. I like the Kardashian family. And I liked Kris too. He seemed more like a quieter type though and more like a night of fun for him would be... sitting at home watching a dvd type guy versus wanting to be in the limelight, true he is a proball player but he did seem to avoid the limelight to an extent. And I admit I wondered how their marriage would be, they both seemed like very different personalities. I did hope for the best. Anyway...just sorry to hear their marriage ended. What a bummer.

Anything else? Next week our family is going to get our flu shots. All four of us. Luckily Noboru and I only have to get 1 flu shot since we're adults. But Branden and Noah will have to go back a month after for their 2nd flu shot.

Noah's backpack/randoseru arrived before Halloween. 2 days before Halloween? Something like that. I'll post pics and stuff when I get a bit more time.

Haircut

It's 9:25am right now, and Noboru is just about to leave the house with Branden and Noah this morning. He's taking the boys to the barber to get their haircut. They haven't had their hair cut since a few days before we left to Osaka. I am meanwhile waiting for the mailman or the Kuroneko man (or both). We're expecting that Uniqlo and ipod shipment today. I have 1 load hanging out right now and a load in the washer as I type and I'm hoping to get out shortly. I have my hair in a pony tail. I washed my face this morning in the sink. And freshly brushed teeth. Wearing comfy shorts and a tee. I'm not planning on going anywhere today. Unless you count the backyard to hang the laundry. ; ) Noah's eating yogurt right this second and Branden is eating leftover augratin potatoes that he nuked before they run to the barber.

I'm thinking I should probably do 20 minutes of treadmill after I get the laundry hung. And maybe 15 minutes of a DVD. And am starting to think "what's for dinner" I am thinking I'll make sweet and sour chicken tonight. But we'll see, I still have lots of time to decide still. I baked brownies for Noboru last night as sort of an anniversary dessert, we had it with vanilla ice cream. It was pretty good. I haven't had breakfast yet, as soon as they leave which should be any second. I think I'll have a strawberry yogurt and a cup of coffee before finishing up with the laundry.

My comments came back from the "last bits from GW" post that blogger temporarily removed. They came back last night. But then this morning...I had 2 extra identical "last bits from GW" posts up on my blog. On different days even. And everything.Talk about surprising the heck out of me this morning! : ) I gather they're still working hard on the picture heavy blogs like mine.
Anyway....Happy Sunday everyone! : )

What an excellent weekend!!! : )

So, did everyone have a nice weekend? We had an excellent weekend here. Not a whole lot going on, but it was nice to just unwind and chill out all weekend long. On Saturday evening, we had hot (meaning temp wise, as in baked) pepperoni sandwiches. Except Noah wanted a hot ham and cheese instead, so he had that.

Cut the sizes of the bread according to who was eating it. ; )

Sprinkled the cheese on top and whacked in the oven for a bit.

This is what we had for dinner Saturday night. A hot pepperoni sandwich, with hot melty cheese on a crusty baguette with crunchy lettuce. A bowl of pasta and a blueberry tea with ice.

A close up of this little beauty. The pepperoni all crispy around the edges, oh man! Gotta make one of these again real soon!

Sunday morning at 10am the doorbell rang, it was "the boy next door" He's such a good wholesome kid. And since he actually really lives right next door, that's why we call him the "the boy next door" I think you can see the boy next doors legs going down the slide. B meanwhile was on the top of the playground with striped sweatshirt. They were playing beyblades and whoever lost had to slide down the slide. These kids, I swear invent the most interesting games.

There he went sliding. B had to slide down many a times too. ; )

Branden and the boy next door played from 10am, to 5pm when the bell rang in the neighborhood for the kids to go home. Oh yeah at noon when the lunch bell rang, the kids went back into their own houses. For lunch though. : )

Noah meanwhile, played basketball with Noboru. Just dribbling contests. And then finally switched over to playing soccer later. A good day was had Sunday. And the weather heated up to a nice warm 49-52 degrees F. Okay certainly not Summer temps but boy did it feel like a nice change of pace.

The Gap/Old Navy package arrived Sunday. Getting mail on a Sunday always surprises me because we don't get mail on Sundays in the US. So, definitely caught me off guard. Even emailed my dad....."My package came on a Sunday, definitely not in Kansas anymore ; )" He got a chuckle out of that one. And no, I'm not from Kansas, but you kwim. : )

The Gap 3/4 length sleeve cardigan and Old navy dress for myself were perfect fits.

Slipper flip flops. lol.

Noah needed some socks. And the polo's were $6 each before the sale went off, glad I picked those up when we did.

Noah needed socks. : )

4 polo tops for Branden and 2 pair of flip flops, I was happy to get all of the tops on sale and the flippies were also on sale. Of course the sales off now, but glad we caught it before it ended. Nothing wrong with catching a good deal and getting while on sale. Smart actually. The navy blue hibiscus flip flops were only $2.50 when on sale, and you know in Japan, at shogako they swim and their uniforms are navy blue swim suits/trunks. And a pair of flip flops are also needed. Figured these being navy blue and at $2.50 each were perfect. So Branden's flip flops for shogako this coming Summer are no worries now. That is a load off my mind.

These were all washed on the fast cycle and are now hanging in his closet and same goes for Noah's stuff too. I have 1 last package coming. And then I won't need to get anything else for the kids or myself. So this hopefully is nearly out of the way real soon.

Baked a homemade cheesecake Sunday early afternoon while the hubster and the boys were outside in the backyard.

And made nikujaga for dinner last night. And cheesecake for dessert.

Dessert for Sunday. My cheesecake this time is thicker then last time and I think I got it down right. I meant thicker as in not talking about the actual consistency of said cheesecake, but am talking about the actual thickness/widthwise of the cheesecake. Last time I split the cheesecake batter between 2 and this time I made 1 big fat cheesecake and we prefer this way. Noboru loved it. So did the kids. Oh yeah and can't forget me too.; ) I liked it too.

What did we watch this weekend? Well, we watched the 2 DVD's this weekend. They were great! Definitely worth watching. 2 big thumbs up on those. Watched American Idol, both Saturday and Sunday. American Idol is just so entertaining you know, it really is. Some people, just really make you wanna scratch your head and wonder, why? ; ) Meanwhile some have got some amazing talent. What else have we been watching lately? The show on the Fox Life channel, called "How I Met Your Mother" I have caught every single episode so far and I love this show! All of the characters are so funny. I've also gotten into Glee recently! It's a new series on the regular Fox channel here in Japan. And it's hilarious. It's such a good show. Other then that, still been watching Cold Case though they've been showing the last 2 episodes on heavy repeat for the last week or two. Watching the Ghost Whisperer. Kids are still into Wizards of Waverly Place big time and Hannah Montana. B and Noah think the Jackson character is funny.

Tomorrow, is the goodbye to the blue badges curry lunch. So I better not forget to pack, a plate and a spoon and a trash bag, etc, for Noah.

Yesterday was a sun shiny day, but today looks a bit cloudy and cold again. Am definitely waiting for Spring. Have a fantastic Monday everyone! ; )

Bits from the weekend!!! : )

Okie dokie, so, Noah and I went to pick up B and Genki on Friday, and got a bit of shocker because the one teacher who usually walks the kids down. Told me that Branden's head hurt today. I told her, "thanks for telling me" (in Japanese of course) but was a bit surprised because, my kids have the healthiest immune systems ever! You guys who read this blog can even attest, they are like never sick. Maybe once a year tops. Heck, thought it doesn't matter, I seriously don't think
they weren't sick all fall and winter or Spring at all. And I mean not even once! That how freakishly strong their immune systems are! Weird, I know, lol! So, yeah, telling me my child's head hurt or anything was a bit of a surprise to me. Hmm. So, I made sure Genki and B got safely into the minivan. And as I was driving down the street with the 3 boys (Noah was with us too obviously) and since Momo-chan is a 3rd grader, she stays at school later, which is why I will usually take to her school but don't bring her home, since she stays an hour later then the boys! : ) I asked Branden right away, in the car, "what happened", "are you ill", he told me, "I threw up at school today" Okay now I wondered why they didn't even call me at home!!!! I woulda been more then happy to go and pick up my son! This sorta made me upset! Anyways, I was just glad to have my son. I dropped off Genki at his home. And we went home too. He said he had a headache. And Genki helped him by going to the teacher and told the teacher, "Branden kun is sick" (yup that Genki is a true friend) and at that moment, B went running down the hallway to go vomit in the bathroom. Luckily for him he made it and didn't make a mess. But man! So, anyways, I stripped him down threw his clothes in the washer just in case and then the dryer. Meanwhile, I gave B, some Children's motrin/ibuprofen to squash his fever. It did, it brought it down immediately. I threw him in the cool shower, and he got on a clean pair of house clothes. He said, he felt better but I made him stay home Friday and rest! No playing with his friends that day! : ( Also, the boy that sits next to Branden has been out sick since Wednesday. He missed school Thursday and Friday. First worry I had was, "oh gosh whatever that kid had he must have passed it on to my kid" ha ha ha. Horrible thing to admit, but honest. : ) (and no he didn't infect B at all, lol), The boys who sits next to B has strep throat. Yikes, btw! But Branden, luckily didn't get any of that at all, thank god and his mom, was very responsible as soon as she knew her son was ill, he had kept him home. Anyways, we had a quiet dinner Friday night. Chicken chow mein. By dinner time Branden was feeling back to normal and we all had a good dinner.

Saturday morning, I checked Branden that morning, and yup, he had a mild fever that was still intent on lingering some more. Though the rest of him felt fine and genki. However we decided that he should stay home and forgo the tinier undokai (big one is in the fall) Branden was really sad about it, and he cried! (he usually whines for nothing, so I knew he was just really really sad for missing undokai) : ( He loves sports of any kind and really wanted to go! However, we didn't want to possibly make others sick if B had anything at all (don't wanna infect anyone either, lol). Which he didn't. And #2, we worried he could get worse. So one day to rest, was what we decided. So, we gave him some fever reducer Saturday morning. It squashed any lingering bit of fever that was hanging around and it didn't return. By 2pm, he was 100% back to normal. The person who was in charge of this sorta stuff and also the president of the kids club and who was running the small undokai happens to be my close good friend, Rumi-san! Remember I brought her the Costco rolls, that's her. Anyway, she was nice enough to bring the treats that they gave to each of the kids after the undokai. Yup, she saved Branden's for him. So this is what he got. He was really happy with the treats! : ) And I was quite happy she did that for my son! : ) Huge brownie points for her from me, no doubt!!! : )

Saturday night, I made buffalo wings for dinner! : ) I baked 2 packs of them in the oven with the McCormick seasonings! : )

The 3rd pack of wings, Noboru asked me to try this sauce. We had seen it at the store every week forever and we've never tried it before. So, I said, sure what the heck! (turns out this sauce rocks!!!)

While the 2 packs were off cooking in the oven. I meanwhile followed the instructions of the back of the other pack. It said to roll the wings in flour and fry in a bit of oil. So, I did that! : )

Our dinner! What the four of us had Saturday night, we had buffalo wings, green beans, rice, and a salad! : ) Not a fancy meal but I good basic one nonetheless! : )

This is what the buffalo wings sorta looked like with the Japanese sauce packet. After I fried thoroughly, I placed them in a bowl and put the sauce on it and made sure they were all sauced up and ready for eating! I was really unsure if I'd like this sauce or not! However, I must admit, I loved this flavor of sauce, it makes a lovely tasting chicken! I will be buying this again but next time, I would like to try it on chicken breasts! Anyways, yeah this sauce is delicious, I think I just found a whole new meal to cook here in Japan! Yay! : )

Sunday morning, you know, I went to the salon and got my hair cut and colored! It came out excellent! Exactly like I wanted! It's always amazing to me, how a totally different "hair do" can change your mood or feeling! I look completely and totally different. Though I looked fine before, lol. I now feel, cool, funky, flirty, sexy! Okay, okay, silly and dorky to say, but I really do, love my new hair do a whole bunch! Anyways I love my new hair cut! No pics, sorry! : ) Meanwhile while I was at the salon, Noboru took the boys to the mall to play games! Like an arcade, if you will! : ) Sunday, we had cheeseburgers at home. With some of that ground round, we bought at Costco. I fried up some bacon. We had cheeseburgers anyway we wanted. Bacon, lettuce, any toppings you like. I also fried up some french fries. Dinner was great and simple as usual! And also, Branden did get to play with the kids in the neighborhood on Sunday, all afternoon in fact, until our cheeseburgers and fries were done! : ) After dinner, we all got clean and Noboru and Branden read some Japanese books together! Then the boys went to sleep! I meanwhile had an iced coffee and watched TV in my night shirt, until I was dead tired! : ) Monday, I decided to make some sweet and sour chicken! No big deal, I have made this many times throughout the years! : ) However, they have a new sabuta sauce out now. This one has "black vinegar", I usually use the normal one. But, I had been wanting to try this one, just for the heck of it! : )

Just a basic flour mix, of salt and pepper. And a bunch of lean chicken breast cut up! In a bag because I don't want yucky hands. Ha ha ha! : )

Shook the bag and voila, that was easy! : )

Monday nights dinner! Hmm, it looks just like the regular sweet and sour, however it wasn't. Let me give you my honest opinion! : ) Or the opinion of my whole family, how's that?! : ) Now Noboru, he said this was the best, he loves this one, it's the sabuta flavor he grew up with in Osaka, whenever his parents would go have Chinese at some restaurant. Okay, so he loved it! Meanwhile let me give you my thoughts. As I was squeezing the sauce into the pan, I was over come by a strong and I do mean *strong* smell of vinegar! With fan on high, the smell was still noticeable. And I was not sure by the smell, I would like this or not. So, yeah the heavy smell, made me question this meal completely! The boys walked in the kitchen (and yk kids are so bluntly honest, here's what they said)..."what is *that* smell mommy???" "Is that cheese?" Noah agreed, "yes it smells like cheese mommy." Noah said, "are we having cheese for dinner?" No, I said! LOL! (kids! : ) Okay now they mentioned that cheese comment/thing, now I was thinking, like what kinda cheese? "Limburger or Muenster cheese or what?" LOL! I said, let's just eat it kids! Trying not to show my own questions about the strong odor. Okay so the kids and hubby were all eating. Hmm. Kids were gobbling it down. Husband was praising this meal while gobbling it down! I still had yet to take a bite because with the strong smell, I worried how it would taste (big chicken that I am!!!), so, I finally bit the bullet and I took a bite. And another and another! The taste was fantastic. It was actually pretty good. It's just that strong smell thing. It really caught me off guard! And this is the funky information that I have to add because it's true. After we ate. The boys and I seemed to burp a lot. Now, I am not a belching type gal! Unless, the fizz gets me from a soda, I will seldom burp. I'm just not a burper, lol. The boys neither. So, it was unusual that I was burping like 5 in an hour. And the worst thing is the smell of the burps! Highly offensive and the flavor of the burp? Hmm, let's just say, it wasn't so pleasant! So, Noboru wants me to make this one again right away, he is a fan of this now. And while I do like the flavor of this. The smell of the food and the burps. Ummm, I think I will just stick with the regular Cook Do Sabuta sauce from now on. I am sure my husband will be disappointed, lol! : )

In other news!!! On July 3rd, our yochien year books, will be ready to be handed out! So, for the graduating yochien class (the mommy's), we all decided to go and have lunch someplace, all catch up with one another and that way we can also pick up our kids, their year books at the same time! I am looking forward to this lunch on July 3rd, very much! Can't wait! : ) It's going to be a nice mommy's lunch thing! : )

Still working, on working out! Nope haven't given up at all! : ) Yup, I'm still at it, I find I don't do it everyday like I was at the start of the year. I work out on my treadmill about 3 times a week, however I do my sit ups every single day. And I have decided the other day that starting this week, I am going to try and shrink my meals a bit. Just my servings for myself, is all. Not a diet at all. Just if I can make my meals a bit smaller for this next month and see how that works. Anyways, it's just a test. I'll see how it goes! : ) Because I do like to eat and do have a healthy appetite and have no intention of starving throughout the day and night either, lol, so we will see! : )