last minute ingredients

just wasting a few minutes while Miitsuketa! is on and K is happy watching. Once it is finished I am going to drag her out to the shop 3mins up the road to grab some atsu-age for our Zucchini Champuru tonight. I am soooooo bad, always forgetting half the ingredients, so we are lucky that within 5 mins walk, there are 3 supermarkets that I can go to (ranging in size). I usually end up going to the closest one which is like a small conbini type. Pretty soon they will know me by name. The other day I had to use up all 3 supermarkets as I forgot stuff 2 times, and another time went back to get ice blocks after dinner!!

I took K out on a lunch date today, just the 2 of us!! We had to take the car down for a service in the morning, and it wasn't finished until 11:30am, so I thought it would be much easier just to swing past ye ol' family restaurant for lunch than go home and bother making anything. K was really good, we sat at opposite sides of the table - usually I sit beside her, so I think she felt really grown up (she made me sit on the other side of the table btw! lol)It has been ages since I have been to Saizeria, and I have to say this time may be the last for a while.. very average (although super cheap) but too greasy - I felt a bit blaaa afterwards.

Tonight's dinner is going to be "wa":
salmon
rice
wakame miso soup (K's favourite)
niku-jaga and
zucchini champuru.

Last night J had drinks after work, so K and I had a quiet easy dinner (mine was baked beans on toast! hers was vege soup with potatos) and monday night was left over quiche from when lunch (had friend over) so this is the first meal I am cooking all week, lol!

Right, tv is about to finish (sings at top of voice...."Ai no tamago!") so gotta get K in some pants (she is nappy only) and go for our mini walk.

some kiddy songs to start the day

I mentioned in a previous post about K's fav show at the moment, it is a cute show, even the opening song is catchy (it always has K dancing around the room excitedly):



As for the songs in the show, I gotta admit, I love to sing them at the top of my voice too!! Especially the egg song, which is sung by Tortise Matsumoto from Urufuus - saw their concert in Oita many moons ago but they didnt sing this song...lol!


"That is some kinda chair!"


"Luuuuurve my eggs!"

the good, the bad and the mouldy

I ended up fleeing the icy cold bed last night, throwing the raisin bread rolls in the freezer and setting up camp on a foldout mattress in the living room. Was almost asleep in 2-3 mins, when J came out asking what I was doing (as I had an altercation with a noisy toy of K's trying to get to the mattress....)

All about today -
The good:

was a lovely day at playgroup today, which was held at a local air-con playroom, esp since we hadn't been for a while. Was great to chat away and let K run riot (which she did, lol) on the toys.

another good - I finally got a replacement bag. mine has been fraying at the edges for a few weeks maybe months now. I am usually a bag-lady (luv my bags) but have had serious trouble trying to find "the one" this time. It doesn't help having a toddler there, as anything more than 2 mins in one section and there is usually an incident of some sort (today K knocked a shelf down). Anyway, my new bag is bigger than the old one b/coz I only ended up having to take 2 bags or more with me anyway with all the junk I carry around for K (my idea to keep a smaller bag so I would not lug the junk around never really worked)

the bad:

you know how when you are driving and there are pigeons in the middle of the road, and you slow down, and J always says "you don't need to slow down, they are faster than the car!" so this once, you don't slow down...well, you know what happens in that situation?? yep, I ran over and killed a pigeon on the way to playgroup. I was mortified, seriously. I have never killed a bird before. I felt soooooo bad. sorry little pigeon. I will always slow down from now on.

if you buy something like 1500yen worth of stuff at the supermarket, the car parking for the playroom is free, so after playgroup we went to get some stuff for dinner. Of course I couldn't remember anything I wanted, so was scowling the aisles to get enough stuff to add up to 1500yen....got some eel for dinner (we SO need the energy burst) and some yogurt....then had to fill the basket up with milk to make up the difference!! lol. Of course thought of a million other things I should have bought on the way home...but since K doesn't want to sit in the trolley, or push it, or hold hands in the supermarkets anymore, most of my time in there is spent chasing her up the aisles trying to get her to come back.

and the mouldy:

the humidity at the moment is getting to me. there is actually nothing mouldy *yet* but I am just waiting for when the whole house ends up a shade of green. I am not a fan of the 5th season in japan

not really mouldy, but it seems that I am in a green-buying phase. I never used to wear green, but recently I have accumulated a mass of green items: shirts, skirts, and now my new bag is a light olivey green. I hope I don't go mouldy too.

(yawn)

am sleeping under doona as J reckons too hot already - as my left arm is abt to fall off with frostbite. cant sleep- too much going thru my head like:

*i should put the raisin breadrolls in freezer
* must wake early tomorrow (today) to get ready for playgroup - no more lazy morns

* that song なんか椅子 from k's fav tv show みいつけた

aaargh!! just want to sleep...but that is what stops me from getting to sleep.
fingers crossed and eyes closed. i might try counting sheep

R-chan is back

The PIL looked after her for the week my visitors where here, but we went around yesterday to bring her home(yay - we missed her!). Also went to the yummy sushi joint for a late birthday celebration for MIL slash father's day celebration. It's nice to have R back! But of course we are coming into a week of rain, so walks are not going to be fun (not going to happen most likely).

K drew alovely little picture for J for father's day...we are waiting to give it to him when he wakes up.lol. He has been on a training course for the last 2 weeks, and has to write a report every night after he comes home. Add to this out visitors and going out eating every night (and having a few with it!), and he has been pretty full on so he deserves a good rest. We may not see him before lunchtime. But I think that today is going to be a very lazy day for all of us - just what it should be when it is raining and dreary outside. Happy Father's Day!!

some of the visitors are gone...

but some remain.

The ants are still here. Still finding new ways to screw with my head and come out of random wall holes. *sigh* at least there are only ever a few of them now, not the marching band that came out the first two times.

My family visitors from aus have gone home. It was sooooo sad to wave them goodbye - made me realise that I am all alone AGAIN. (well, obviously the ants still here for me tho). We had a great time with them but MAN am I worn out. Seriously. And this time it was a pretty laid-back schedule, I think (but they did call me the "tour guide from hell" on several occasions....hmmmm.....)

We did:

Mon 8th: Imperial Palace, Akihabara, Meiji Shrine, Omotesando, Harajuku, Tokyo Tower(at night) (ok, this WAS a big day of sightseeing, I admit)
Tues 9th: Asakusa (Sensoji) and then ferry (水上バス) back to Hamarikkyu Gardens
Wed 10th: Kamakura (Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine, Hase Kannon Temple and Daibutsu)
Thurs 11th: Shopping at 100yen shop and Donkey (Don Quiote)
Fri 12th: Mt Fuji (drove up to 5th station), Lake Kawaguchiko
Sat 13th: Hakone (Owakudani, Hakone Shrine)
Sun 14th: Odawara Castle
Mon 15th: souvenier shopping at Oriental Bazaar, Omotesando
Tues 16th: final shopping

And we ate (and ate and ate):
Mon 8th: lunch- teishoku, dinner -
Tues 9th: lunch- at the asahi beer bldg at Asakusa (pretty average actually), dinner - yakiniku at the most delish place where the meat is the size of steaks from home (seriously)
Wed 10th: lunch - burgers and taco rice at Kamakura Hawaiian restaurant (hehe) dinner- sushi
Thurs 11th: lunch- okonomiyaki
Fri 12th: lunch-cafeteria/shokudo food, dinner- Izakaya
Sat 13th: lunch - conbini snacks, dinner-Sukiyaki
Sun 14th:lunch - yakisoba, dinner -Sushi (again)
Mon 15th: lunch - crepes in Harajuku, dinner-Yakiniku AGAIN!!

I think they got to try a lot - they loved the yakiniku and sushi!! But we are ALL going on a diet now!! (After I eat all the yummy chocolate they brought over for us!! yuummmmm.)

Yesterday I did 5 loads of washing - pretty amazing for the middle of rainy season....you should see the lounge room lol! And today I am going to sit on the sofa and eat chocolate and vege out (and catch up on emails). I am soooooo getting old....when *I* need to take a holiday after people have taken a holiday to come visit us, lol!!

ants in my pants

the little buggers are still out there. I was doing a "go-ricki" type victory dance today, after having NOT seen a single ant since 3pm yesterday afternoon when.....yep, 3 or 4 of them came scuttlering (is that a word??if not it should be) out. aaaaarrrrggggh. They just keep on finding new holes to come out of. I have blocked off the entire length of the skirting boards in the dining room with talc powder (looks like a mini cocaine convention). I am still on the warpath = I want these ants gone. Am just worried that with K and D arriving tonight, and with us being out sightseeing most of the week, and the ants will regain territory.

bloody ants

battle of wits

we are under attack.

the ants are marching 2 by 2, 10 by 10, possible 100 by 100 and they are heading my way.

it started a few weeks ago, just all of a sudden. a few ants here, a few there. I wiped, destroyed, made a more concious effort to keep sink area clean etc etc. But still they came. Today, I think I have made a breakthrough. I knew I was only tackling half the issue with my swipe and kill technique, but I just couldn't work out where the little buggers were coming from...... until today. I *think* I located their port of illegal entry. If I was living in a house, I could pour boiling water down and kill the enemy, but alas, living on the 2nd floor of a 3 story apartment building, well, let's just say I don't want to scorch the downstairs neighbours.
So I sprayed some vinegar/water around and in the hole, and blocked it up with enough talc powder to keep it smelling as sweet as a baby's bottom. Then wiped all the floor and bench and cupboard surfaces I have seen them in. I am waiting for them to send reinforcements and for the cowards left to come out of hiding so I can go on the attack again.

I also think I am going to have to stop singing the "ants go marching" song with K as I don't want to encourage them.

rain is my friend

It's raining again today. which is good- it means that I won't be able to find any excuses to get out of the house, and instead spend the day getting ready for our visitors K and D who arrive sunday night. They got a cheap flight on Jetstar, but have had their flight over here changed 3 times on them already... and no longer have a direct flight, but have to stopover in Cairns for 3 or 4 hours...hmmmm. makes me wonder if it is worth trying to travel with Jetstar even though they are dirt cheap.

Anyway, I have been slowly getting ready anyway- you know, getting all the washing/ironing out of the way, decluttering the living areas, and of course taste-testing the kahlua to make sure it is ok for them (I am still not sure on the last point, so will probably have to do another taste-test tonight - or even around 3pm this afternoon if I do my head in trying to clean K's pigsty tee-hee)

Just having a cuppa to start my engine then it will be all go for me today (positive reinforcement - I am hoping if I keep saying things like this, I might actually get something done!!) Tomorrow is a bbq at a friend's place (on the roof of their bldg) but it looks like rain tomorrow too, so I think K and I will flag it, but J will probably go along. Sunday I thought we might head out to the airport a bit early and check out some shopping around Makuhari - I have seen a Carrefour there (yep, just googled it and it is there, but it looks like it is part of an Aeon mall...hmmmm. I wonder if it is worth even going to??) We might also pick up some important supplies (read: muffins and meat) at Costcos too. We'll see how we go.

J has a work party tonight - they are going to a mexican joint!! He said if it is any good, he will take me there too. First I have to use up the rest of the BOX of refried beans cans we bought at Costcos last time.....tonight K and I might be having mexican at home too. Hmmm - what can I make with refried beans??? better go google that one now......

gracing the table today

yep thats bottle brush

courtesy of mil's garden, yay. btw, am liking my milk bottle for a vase look!