Food from the Commonwealth

So, I decided to switch things up a little bit last night for dinner and attempted to make fish and chips, and I must say that it turned out quite well.

Now, this is something we definitely won't be eating every week or in fact every month....and maybe not even every 6 months....because it is deep fried....so not the healthiest thing...but it was nice for one evening.

Here is the very easy recipe that I used from the BBC.

If you don't feel like clicking on the link, here is what I did. It is slightly modified from the BBC.

Ingredients

3 Potatoes

Vegetable Oil

250 grams of flour

500 ml of water or milk

4 fish fillets

salt and pepper to taste

To Serve

Lemon

Tartar Sauce

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes and cut into strips or wedges. Dry and set aside.

2. Make batter using milk and flour. Add salt and pepper to season.

3. Heat the oil for frying and then add the potatoes. Cook until browned and can pierce with a fork. Remove from oil and place on paper towels.

4. Dip the fish in the batter and then fry in the oil for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

We also served with some peas....I mean have to have some vegetables right.

Ramblings

So, here are the random bits that have been going on here recently:

• Recently, I love reading housewife blogs by women in Saudi Arabia. I love these blogs because they are updated almost daily (hmm...maybe due to boredom from living in the Magic Kingdom?). However, they offer a lot of good insight into living in a different culture/religion.
• I've started waking up earlier in the morning to try to help me get more accomplished during the day time. I think this has been working out really well. I'm able to finish most housework by the time that Ten gets home, so we have more time to just do nothing in the evenings.
• Following from above, I'm also trying to start dinner prep in the afternoon. This allows me to sit down and fully enjoy dinner time with less clean up after.
• We have started an online baby registry. I thought that this would be a lot of fun, but online registry is kind of a pain. So, luckily my sister has volunteered to go out and register us for things that we need....Thank you!!
• One of my New Year's goals was to read one book a week until I'm able to clean out space on my shelves. This has been going really well, and I'm almost finished!! Amazing pace I've been keeping.
• Finally, we found some walking trails near our apartment....it even says that one goes through a forest?....hmmm...I am quite looking forward to going exploring this weekend!! 

Yoga Time

I am so happy to be up and moving around again. The ankle is definitely on the mend, so today I decided to start a regular exercise routine. Me and the husband used to be gym fanatics, but the past year has been so hectic so we didn't have the time to go....and no this isn't an excuse....hahaha. We absolutely love the gym!

Anyway I've always wanted to try yoga, and I'm told that this is one of the best exercises to do during pregnancy. Not only does it help keep you in shape, but it also helps prepare for labor and delivery. So, I ordered this DVD from the U.S., and I absolutely love it.

I always thought yoga would be too complicated to do without an instructor, but with this DVD that's not the case. I love all of the poses to increase balance and improve breathing. Really fun and doesn't feel like that much of a workout to be honest, especially when they remind you to smile while doing different poses...haha. Also, I'm glad that this video will be good for after the baby comes as well.... :)

There are so many pregnant gals in my family right now and tons of people that I went to school with are pregnant too. I'm really curious to know what kind of exercises everyone is using or has used during their pregnancies since this DVD probably won't be enough of a challenge.

Let me know here or on Facebook please!! :)

Delusional or Hopeful?

Okay, so I think I may be slightly delusional. 


The story starts with a basic fact: Ten went to Hong Kong on Sunday and won't be back until Friday. Very simple.


So, before his trip I was planning all of the wonderful things that I was going to do in my mind. I had images of early morning yoga followed by a healthy breakfast, baking breads and cookies, scrubbing the apartment down until it was absolutely spotless, catching up on some admin stuff and reading, maybe a trip out to a cafe, and a even a day out with a friend. I mean I could achieve a lot without having to do laundry every day and not having to cook three meals for two.


Well my friends, this little plan was a delusion. So far, my week has turned out nothing like the above. Sunday and Monday were pretty much spent on the couch watching episodes of All American Muslim and Gangland. I mean not a total waste since these programs are a bit on the educational side....right? And today wasn't a whole lot better. I mean I did at least shower and straighten up the apartment, and I was able to catch up on some reading. (FYI: Currently trying to read a book a week so that we can clear out some space in the apartment....might I add that our books are painfully boring and academic...so not as relaxing as it sounds...haha)


Anyway, I also came upon some stumbling blocks. I realized that indeed making it up the giant hill to go to Starbucks or to go anywhere is rather difficult when you can't walk properly. Also, I can't really bend my ankle, so the cleaning part isn't as easy as well....and yoga...what in the world was I thinking? As for baking....well it's just me...so I would have way too much for one person...so that will have to wait.


This leaves me stuck inside with not a whole lot that I can actually do. However, I'm not giving up hope yet. I still have three whole days where I might be able to start on some of these projects....here's to hoping that when I wake up tomorrow...the ankle will be completely healed...haha

21 Week Update!!

I am still here everyone, but haven't felt like blogging much. Hopefully, I will get back in the groove of things. However, I did want to give an update on how things are going in the baby department.

Today, we have officially made it past the half way point at 21 weeks, and we are pleased to announce that we are having a baby GIRL!!

Here is the most recent pic of baby girl....

During the ultrasound, she was moving around like crazy. For the rest of the day, she was kicking me non-stop. I think that she may have been irritated at all the poking...hahaha. 

Anyway only 19 more weeks to go!! I have been assured that the second half will pass more quickly than the first, so we are looking forward to finally meeting the little one face to face in a few months.

....and the continuation

I will hopefully check this post for grammar errors since Ten said that the last one was terrible, but did I mention that I was extremely tired?

Anyway, so the first evening that the family arrives Ten decides that it would be best to go to the countdown at Zozoji. My mom grabs my all time favorite scarf from my closet, and off they go. Well, I guess everyone forgot that I couldn't walk. They left me sitting in the dark and cold. No one thought to turn on a light or the heat....haha. When they found me lying in the cold, dark bedroom when they returned; my mom mentioned that oops she had lost the scarf. I have no idea how you lose something that is tied around your neck. They proceeded to look through pictures to pinpoint when the scarf went missing....not that that does much good...but oh well.

Let's see...New Year's Day rolls around and they head off again to Meiji Jingu. On the second, I can finally hobble around on my crutches and am talked into going to the Emperor's New Year's Greeting at the Imperial Palace. I am really glad that I went though as the message was really nice, and it's not something that you can do very often. This was followed by a quick trip to Shibuya for shopping where a little girl steps on my foot. By the time I make it back to the apartment...I am in greater pain than the day before...sigh.

The third goes relatively smoothly with a trip to Kamakura to see the Daibutsu...which is always impressive. I absoultely love it there. I also finally got my murasaki imo korokke (wasn't that special). The next day, we headed to Disney. This was maybe the worst Disney trip ever. It was crawling with people like never before with ridiculous wait times. Also, being pregnant and injured meant that I got to sit outside a lot in the cold. So, I had nothing to do but eat. I think I ate everything in the park: pizza, cream puffs, roast chicken, ceasar salad, bread, honey popcorn, hot cocoa, and a caramel apple eclair...yes, that is basically all I did.

The next day we decided to stay at home for the morning since I was beyond miserable at this point. However, things were about to take an all time turn for the worse. My mom checked her email, and they had found out that my step-dad's mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. There was a lot of silence and then some debating about what to do. Not only is it Stage 4, but it is not treatable. After much discussion, it was decided that they needed to see her as soon as possible. This definitely turned out to be the right choice as when they arrived in Phoenix she had already been hospitalized.

Anyway, the next few hours were spent on the phone with the airlines (terrible, terrible people). We were told that it was impossible to get tickets, etc. However, with Ten where there is a will there is a way. Needless to say, he got the route changed and a flight out for that day. This sent us on a mad dash to get them to the airport. I hobbled along the road to get them to the train station. We barely had enough time to get them on the train to the airport, but off they went to Phoenix to see his mom.

We then realized that Ten's mom had already arrived in Tokyo, so he went to her hotel to meet her...and I crashed on the couch until they got to our apartment.

So, now here we are on the 8th and finally able to rest. I feel like the first week of January was a whirlwind. We are very happy that we got to see my family, but it definitely wasn't the trip that we expected. I hope more than anything that the rest of the year isn't as hectic or bring anymore bad news.

On a positive note, tomorrow we reach 20 weeks in the pregnancy!! Half way done! It has passed so fast!! A longer post on that later in the week.

Be careful what you wish for....

Remember that post where I talked about our pretty uneventful Christmas and how we would make up for it on New Year's? Well, as I sit here surrounded by clean laundry on the floor, a bag of vegetables sitting out since yesterday in the corner, two electric kettles boxed up next to the wall, and just general messiness everywhere....I'm thinking that uneventful would have been just fine.


Also, I have no idea where to begin. This may have to be a part one, part two type of entry....


So, got a call from my mom and step-dad on the 30th...saying that their flight was delayed by a whole 24 hours. Kind of sucked since they would lose a whole day here, but I mean can't be helped. Also, pretty easy to rearrange the schedule.


I put off grocery shopping until that night since there was no rush, so when Ten came home...off we went. Well, I was walking on a completely flat road....with no steps...when all of a sudden my ankle popped....and then the other ankle popped. Down I went on to the pavement. All that was running through my head was...How stupid do you have to be to twist your ankle while walking on a flat service....dumb...dumb...dumb. 


Ten helped me hobble back to the apartment, and after a few hours of not being able to walk at all and being in intense pain...we decided that the hospital was best.


However, it would have be completely impossible for me to hobble down the four flights of steps and then up a hill to catch a taxi...so, we called 119 (or equivalent of 911 in the U.S.). 


Our tiny apartment was quickly filled with at least 7 rescue workers (paramedics and firefighters) who were taking my temperature, checking my ankle, and asking about if the baby was okay. I also noticed that they removed their shoes before coming in...kind of smiled to myself there. These were probably the most polite people I have ever met in Japan. They even made arrangements to send me to a "foreign friendly" hospital...since Ten insisted English speaking doctors would be best.


So, off we went to the Red Cross where I was X-rayed and checked out by a not so friendly doctor. Turns out I had sprain my left ankle pretty badly and the right one was also moderately sprained. Also, the nurse informed us that there was about a 50-50 chance of the baby being okay....ummm....she completely didn't know what she was talking about. When the OB/GYN came in....he explained it was about 99.9% safe to say that the baby was indeed fine (which is what we kind of thought as well...I mean I didn't fall down steps), but we opted to have an ultrasound just in case....indeed Baby was not phased in the slightest.


So, off we went back to our apartment around midnight...where I was forced to have Ten partially carry me up some steps....but that was so uncomfortable I decided to crawl up on my hands and knees for two flights....I felt like a lame dog at this point that desperately needed to be put down.


Anyway, off to bed we went....but little did we know more was about to come...which I will continue in Part 2.


Also, not to self...I need/want to make some goals for the New Year...which I will also post...after using the weekend to recover from sheer exhaustion.