happy anniversary..!

the past 10 anniversaries were celebrated without the gals... this year... not that we do not have any caregivers cos we can always drop them off at our neighbour's... but rather... thought that it would be nice to have them around... and involve them in the celebrations too...

it started with shopping... hubby went on the shopping date with rachelle... while joanna was with me...

we went to takashimaya @ shinjuku... we separated for 2 hours... to hunt for a present for each other... it was a nice experience... the gals had a say as to what gift to buy... or a say in the choice of design...

the gals enjoyed the shopping dates... =)

we met up later and went for dinner at sizzler... the gals were so eager for us to open our presents during dinner...

hubby got me a purse from paul smith... rachelle helped choose the design... and they thought that the usual browns and blacks were too boring... and felt that this one was the most 'me'... =)


joanna and i really had a hard time... shopping for hubby is never easy... so we had to think through his daily routine... thinking wad could make his routine more enjoyable... something that enhances...

hubby drinks a lot of coffee when he reads or writes his papers... he usually drinks from his usual 100yen coffee cup... sometimes he forgets that he still has coffee... or that the coffee turns cold to fast...

and so... we got him a bodum desktop tumbler...

joanna felt funny that my gift to hubby was so cheap... compared to what hubby had spent on mine... but hubby told her that it's really the thought that mattered... and he liked the tumbler...

though hubby and i miss shopping together... and winding down in the evening after dinner over a drink... it was meaningful with the gals... =)

COSTCO warehouse

finally visited the much raved about COSTCO yesterday... heard of how cheap stuff there are... and i was really excited about getting there...

so together with my 2 korean neighbours... we set of in the morning... it was an hour drive...

when we reached there... i was so overwhelmed by the size of everything... everything was so huge..! things are definitely cheaper... cos instead of buying 10 eggs at a time... you'll have to buy 30.. at least... of course... the more you buy... the cheaper it gets...

after about 2hrs there... i was SGD200 poorer... =P

however... my fridge is now bursting at the seams... bought lots of pork and chicken... even prawns...

my verdict...

yes... costco is cheap... but unless i share what i buy with my neighbours... i'd be wasting more food cos i dun think we can eat fast enough before the foodstuff expire...

so for me... i'd still visit the nearby supermarket for the daily stuff like bread... ham... milk... and veggies... then for heavier things like rice and beer... i'd go online to order and let them deliver...

and maybe once a fortnight... i'd visit Jusco... to buy things like coffee and frozen stuff...

costco..?
only when my neighbours wanna go... then i'll tag along...

irony

it all started out with me thinking that i would probably be talking more with the idian lady next door... i mean... there is no language barrier... we both speak fluent english... she has a son that is the same age as rachelle... our children even go to the same school...

little did i think that i'd be spending most of my time now with Munjoo (korean lady next door)... the major problem between us was language...

funny how things turned out... i hardly see nor speak with the indian lady... in fact... i am now friends with 3 korean ladies in the building... one is Munjoo... then Munjoo's neighbour... and Munjoo's neighbour's friend who lives one floor down...

the 4 of us started going out... wad i thought initially was a shopping trip... and since then we have been to each other's house for tea... coffee... lunch... and we are often seen passing dishes of our own cooking for each other to try... especially at dinner times...

we have even started our very own english and japanese study group... which are on every thursday...

so how do we overcome our language barrier..? we act... charade... make sound effects... hand gestures... and though it often resulted in the meanings lost in translation... we do have a good laugh at each other...

especially for Munjoo... her neighbour (Yi-san)... and myself... we are closer... maybe cos we are on the same level... and the fact that we have 2 daughters each... =)

wad tickles me most is the sharing of food amongst the 3 of us... i would receive a plate of their home-cooking... and not wanting to return an empty plate... i'd prepare something and place it on the plate... and return it... then the cycle continues with Yi-san... then i'd share my chicken curry... they'll share their kim-chi rice... ... ...

it's fun... =)

scrapbooking

got started after dinner...
managed to only paste pretty papers on 2 pieces of cardboard from the album... =P

but felt that it was fun... something that i can do... it was somewhat therapeutic...

right now... i need to choose the photos that i want... so that i can really begin on the album... but think choosing which photos go into the album would be the toughest part of the process..?

anyways... let's see how i progress from here... =)

cheese cake

and so the gals and i baked today...

as we began... i first measured out the ingredients... only to realise that i do not have a kitchen scale... so i was not able to measure 50g of sugar... nor 30g of flour... so how..? estimate lor... using tablespoons... =P

and also... i dun have a proper mixing bowl... nor a whisk... so we made do with the largest soup bowl that we have... and a coffee-cup sized metal stirrer as a whisk... and boy... it was really hard work to get the egg whites and sugar to fluff up..! think my right arm is aching from all the 'whisking'...

then it was time to bake it in our new rice cooker... set it to bake for an hour... and was actually not too optimistic about how it'll turn out...

after an hour... the rice cooker chimed... and we were so excited... so anxious... to see how it'll look like... if we had succeeded...

i opened the rice cooker... and we all squealed with joy... it looks great..! smelt delicious..!

carefully inverted the contents onto a dish... cooled it... and put it into the fridge... for dessert after dinner... the gals and i couldnt wait...

right after dinner... rachelle took the cake out... armed with the bottle of fresh cream... ready to devour the cake...

it was so easy to cut the cake... it felt moist as the knife glided through it...

the slice looked really good... tasted ok... nice... texture was right... maybe estimation for sugar and flour needed to be more accurate... but all in all... very good for the first attempt..!

shared the rest of the cake with our neighbour and the security guard (they call them managers here)... my neighbour was so impressed that it had come from a rice cooker... and had asked for a cooking demo tomorrow..! =)

next project... will try doing a sponge cake with it... rachelle has since asked that her birthday cake be home-baked... so i gotta perfect it in time for her birthday... i have about 3 months... haha...

baking and scrapping

went shopping yesterday... all by myself at Shibuya...
bought a new... and bigger rice cooker... and got myself a portable HDD as my lappie's memory is running low due to the many photos in it...

i'm especially pleased with the rice cooker... it's actually cheaper than my portable HDD... and IT BAKES..! =)

read thru the manual... yep... all in 日本語... took ages... and then realised that there is this cake function... and there were 2 cake recipes in the manual too..! but alas... after figuring out the ingredients... i jus couldnt decipher the instructions...

so i went online and searched for an english one... after much searching... googling... i found it..! the exact one for the machine..!

so i am gonna bake a cheese cake today...

another thing that came with the shipment... was my prezzie from ribena... a pack of scrapbooking materials to help me get started with the hobby...

as i opened the package that she had packed... it was loaded with little pretty things... i sure hope i do justice to the things that she had given me..! she even wote me a step-by-step instruction sheet to get me started... so sweet hor.. =)

this will be my first attempt at doing both things... never have i baked anything for a very long time... in fact... it was since home economic days in secondary school...

and never have i scrapped anything... ever... never had the courage to do so... cos dun wanna make pretty things look ugly after passing through me... =P

nonetheless... let's do it..! =)

lost weight

in the shipment... was my weighing scale too... and it confirmed that i had lost some weight... hahaha... =P

it could be due to various reasons...

a lot more walking...
a healthier diet (jap food)...
or...

ngiao... cos everything here is so expensive... so eat less of the expensive stuff... like meats... seafood... =P

think it's a combination of all the reasons la...
wadever the reason... yeah..!
lost weight..! =)

besides jus losing weight... my clever machine tells me that i am healthier too... body fat has gone down... even the tough fats around the vital organs have decreased too... and my metabolic rate is increased..! woot..!

shipment is here..!

after a long day out with a friend... about 10hrs of walking and shopping and eating at お台場(Odaiba)... we headed home for some drinks...

as we entered our building... the manager told us that there are 3 boxes for us..! the gals squealed with delight... and i was absolutely glad that they have finally arrived..! =)

the next day... we unpacked... gals were great... they unpacked most of the stuff... since most of them were their books anyway... and all their books were nicely sorted out and placed in their bookshelf... so proud of them eh...

my many packets of pre-mixes were in the boxes too... and as i looked through each one... i realised that the rice-cooker that we currently have... is not big enough for me to cook chicken rice... nor claypot rice...

the one that we have is a really tiny one... 3 cups of rice... max... and at times... the amount is not even enough for the 4 of us... the gals were often seen fighting over the last scoop of rice from the pot... =P

so with the anticipation of cooking for more guests to come... family and friends... we have decided to get ourselves a bigger rice-cooker...

i jus came back from the supermarket... chicken was on offer.! so i got ourselves 2kg of chicken... and we're gonna have chicken curry tonight...! singapore style...!

happy... =)

what happens after death?

heh... not that i'm being dark here... jus that the message i heard yesterday... had set me thinking on the topic... and also how the pastor is able to speak so freely...

i like the way the pastor preaches here... maybe it's cos it is not a multi-racial... multi-religious country like back home... so maybe he does not need to be overly sensitive..? but then again... are we to preach the Word differently in different cultures..? maybe so... the approach may be different...

but the way this pastor preached... i like... no apologies kind... hard facts... in your face kind of message...

he made a few 'spiritual principles' from the story of the rich man from Luke 16:19-31... saying things like... 'if you dont know Jesus... you are going to hell'... woah... made me really sit up and listen for a while...

but of course... ultimately... he speaks of the hope we have when we have Jesus as our Saviour...

i like this statement... or definition he made on death...
'death is the moving from a temporal earthly life... to an eternal life in either heaven or in hell'...

never really saw it that way... we always talked about eternal life after we die... but seldom do we question... if it's eternity in heaven... or in hell... felt that it was a very good gospel message...

looking forward to more 'tough teachings' preached... =)

thursdays

usually on wednesday nights... i'd begin to think of excuses to not go for the japanese class (crayons)... mainly cos of the company that i will be with... purely koreans...

not that i dun like them... they are beautiful people... it's jus that a lot of effort has to be put in jus to communicate... using a bit of japanese... a bit og english... a whole lot of animation..! =P

last week they were jus talking about having english class with me after lunch... after crayons... and gosh... they were serious..! i was not even prepared yesterday to conduct any class with them...

but they came prepared... korean-english dictionary in hand... and notebook and pen...

guess yesterday was rather informal... we talked over tea... they asked me a few questions... i taught them english while talking to them... getting examples of what they had jus talked about... i was even able to share some parenting tips to them too..! =)

after yesterday... i am more motivated to really prepare to teach them english... yesterday may jus be the 3rd time we have gathered... but i think the relationship between us is growing... very fast actually...

this group of ladies are actually quite fun... already... we have made plans to go swimming... leaving the kids with husbands... go for evening bicycle rides... go to a huge supermart (costo)... and even a date was set to drink together..! happy hour during one of the afternoons..! ha... =)

mom's day prezzie

the place that we are staying... is a rather hilly area... and the nearest supermart is about 7min walk away... and buying milk and other heavy stuff can be a rather daunting task... not to mention... muscle building too...

so we have been looking around for a trolley bag... but the ones that we have seen around here... are either too large... or too expensive... like over SGD150 each... way beyond wad we were willing to pay for...

so we were jus shopping on mothers' day... when hubby chanced upon this trolley bag... i liked the print... the colour... even the price... jus about SGD53... it was jus perfect..! and i asked for it as a mothers' day gift to me... =P

the bag is so cool... and it's a reisenthel..! we jus love this brand of shopping bags... and their range of reusable bags...

when the bag is not in use... the wheels cleverly fold in... and the entire bag can be folded nicely into a pouch... such a clever design i tell you... =)

i have since used it twice... once to the nearby supermart... to get milk and yogurt... jus to test it out... see if it was easy to pull...

the second was today... ventured to jusco... which is jus a 20min train ride away..! was so happy to have gone there... all by myself... so proud leh... and i returned with the trolley overflowing with groceries... and another bag of veg in hand..! =P

i am so glad that i have this bag..!

lost in translation

korean drama continues...

there came a knock on my door at about noon yesterday... after much guess work... 金さん's wife (munju) told me that lunch (焼そば) @ namsan's house... asked me if i had forgotten...

still stunned... i said i'll be over in a while...

as i changed... i recalled that last thrusday... namsan's wife (李さん) mentioned something about 焼そば... 12pm... and when i confirmed with Munju if 李さん was saying that she had family coming over on monday and they are having 焼そば..? she said 'yes'...

so now i know that it was an invitation..!

as i entered the house... i saw another lady whom i have not met before... guessing that this is the 'family' whom 李さんhad mentioned... it turned out that this other korean lady (Pakさん)... speaks a little bit more english... but still... i was not able to understand much form her...

initially... after she had introduced herself... i reckoned that her husband works in the korean embassy... but then later... she mentioned that her husband is in the army... so as of now... i dunno who she is... =P

during lunch... korean drama began... they would talk for a good 2 min... and the translation offered me was jus a 1-liner... hmm... so i had to guess a lot... rather tiring... really... and still maintain a smile on my face...

then the conversation soon developed... and they had wanted me to teach english to them..! after our regular jap lesson on thursday... we'd do lunch and then continue to learn english... *faint*

how to say no leh..?

then we had to decide on a location... i would have gladly offered to open my house to them... but i really cannot 'tahan' one of the ladies son... about 2yrs... a rascal i tell you... and the korean's way of bringing up a child is soooooo different from wad i believe... you should read all about him in "little korean boy"

but the beauty of it all is that... amongst the 4 korean ladies... 3 are christians... and are praying that Munju will become one too...

so... let's see wad happens this thursday...
will we have english lessons..?
will we understand each other..?
will i eventually discipline the little boy..?
hahaha... i really dunno... =P

little korean boy

i have learnt that the koreans have a different way of disciplining... their child up-bringing beliefs are jus so different... from mine at least... this is wad i witnessed over lunch yesterday...

this little boy... maybe about 2-3yrs old... emptied the contents of a dustbin on the floor... the mom... continuing her lunch conversation... went calmly over... picked up all the litter... and put the dustbin back to its original place... all the while... the boy jus stood and watched...

then... he did it again... and the mom... did the same thing again... she did not address the misbehaviour wadsoever...

then the boy went into the master bedroom... took out a little trinket box... and again... emptied the contents on the floor... and the mom... said nothing again..!

throwing his half-eaten bun into the pot of 焼そば repeatedly... slamming the piano cover... drinking from other ppl's cup... snatching... whining... were jus a few of the misbehaviour that i noticed during my very short time with them...

dare i play host to them..?

Kobuchizawa

we got invited to our host family's house last weekend... a one night stay at their house in Kobuchizawa... in Yamanashi prefecture... which is about 2hrs away by train...

織田さんand wife picked us up from the station... as it was around 9pm... we couldnt see much during the ride to the house... from about 100m away from the house... he pointed to us which one was his... and we jus couldnt stop 'wow-ing' from there...

on his land... there were 2 houses... a small one... and a big one... we were ushered to the bigger house... it was beautiful... like a cottage... a lodge... so cosy... so relaxing... it was indescribable...

we were then shown our bedrooms... 織田さんand wife will be at the smaller house for the night... we felt very blessed... a little uneasy cos of the impeccable hospitality shown... but soon relaxed...

dinner was BBQ lamb from Hokkaido... yummy..! even the gals loved it...

after dinner... we stepped out of the house to see the millions of stars that were in the night sky... simply breath-taking..! never have i seen so many stars in my life..!

by the time we were done eating... showered and all... it was already 2am... and were to be up by 8am... the hosts have planned for us a day of sight-seeing in the Yamanashi prefecture...

i knew we were gonna have an amazing day ahead... when i opened my eyes the next morning... and looked out from the window... mountains...!

after a relaxing breakfast... we went about sight-seeing...
(photos are posted on FB)

the visit ended with 織田さんtaking us to the train station at about 4pm... we were all exhausted... but agreed that it has been the most memorable weekend since coming to Japan... =)

mothers' day

while snoozing in bed... about 6.30am... i noticed that my bedroom door was closed... remembering that we had kept it opened the night before... didnt think much of it... went back to snooze...

then i heard my microwave beep... this time... i got up and opened the door... rachelle immediately stopped me from getting out from the room... and asked me to go back to bed... told me to wake at only 8am...

i knew what she was up to already... =)

couldnt sleep after that already... waiting for her to call us up...

breakfast was ready by 7.30am... and she woke hubby and i up... she had made for herself a cheese omelet before making our breakfast... so clever... settle her own tummy frst...

hubby had a ham sandwich and black coffee... and i had a ham sandwich with japanese 0-cha... then as we were having our breakfast... she went on to make joanna a smiley faced ham omelet... and then woke joanna up in time for her breakkie...

i then asked her what made her think of fixing breakfast for me... her reply was the sweetest... she said she had awoken early... and was thinking that she has not done anything for mothers' day... and then thought of making breakfast for us...

then why not only for me..? why for the whole family..?

her response... so that i dun have to fix their breakfast... she even said she'd wash up after breakfast... but hubby beat her to that... =)

so sweet hor...

this gal is growing sweeter by the day... feel that she has changed much since coming to japan... she does not lose her temper as easily as before... and is also more loving towards joanna... =)

after breakfast... we headed for church... and then lunch... and then shopping at shibuya... and since it was my special day... they were instructed by hubby... not to whine nor complain... =P

hubby bought me a gift... a reisenthel foldable trolley... very mothers' day gift indeed..!
but a much needed one... as i do all the groceries on foot... and we're living in a hilly estate... it can get quite tough when i'm buying milk and other heavy stuff...

ended the day by getting half-priced sushi from the nearby supermarket... and sat under the night sky while savouring the sushi... gals had the space to play after dinner...

all in all... happy... =)

shopping trip..?

after our our first meeting with 金さん's wife (Korean)... hubby has encouraged me to bring her about... to my favourite haunts for groceries... and shopping...

and so... the very next day... i plucked up courage and walked over to her place... jus before setting off for my regular exploratory walk around the estate...

金さん was at home... and they were going to visit the ward office to settle some stuff... so was not able to go with her... so this was attempt #1...

attempt #2...
we were all in a little coach... on our way to meet all our host families... and in that coach... 金さん asked if i could take his wife out shopping... so thinking that both hubbys will be at shool... i suggested the very next day...

but in the coach... i felt that nothing was confirmed... i suggested 10am... but they looked doubtful... and then we were interrupted with instructions by another lady... so to me... nothing confirmed...

it was very much later that i knew that the next day was a public holiday... hubbys are not required to be in school... so yeah... we could go out... as a family...

then the next day... my doorbell rang... yup... it was 金さん's wife... all ready to go... hai... so i apologised profusely... trying to explain that i didnt know that the appointment was confirmed... since our husbands were gonna be at home...

then attempt #3... this time we got the day and time right... she appeared at my door... and i was ready to take her about the estate...

when we came out from the lift on the first floor... there were already 2 other korean ladies waiting for us... then she asked of we could go together... but of course... the more the merrier... i thought...

as we walked out from our compound... the other 2 ladies were walking in front... somewhat knowing exactly where they were going... never mind... i jus followed...

during the journey... machiam like i watching korean drama... hahaha... didnt understand a word they said...

then after about 5min... we entered a building... looked like an office building... i thought to myself... wow... there's shopping here..? so i asked... where are we... think i asked about 3 times... no one could tell me... all they could say was 'crayon'... so i figured... we;re here to get some art stuff...

then we reached the 9th floor... eh..? looks like classroom leh... then was directed to one of the rooms... we sat down... i was still blurr what i was in for... and we were given some forms...

it was then that i know... it was a japanese class la... crayons is the name of this group of ladies... all volunteers... to help non-japanese residents to learn the language...

chey...

so after 1.5hrs... they said let's do lunch together... one of them suggested ramen... and off we went...

it was crowded at the ramen shop... so we had to wait a little... while we were waiting... again korean drama began... then we were given the menu... they kept pointing to the 'special' for the day... and jibberish-ing... so i looked at the other menu... and was really looking forward to having a hot bowl of veg ramen...

then the lady walked into the ramen shop with the menu... came out empty handed... suspecting that she has already placed orders... i asked what they were having... she pointed to the 'special'... and then i asked again... are we all having the same thing...? she nodded her head...

oh great... i dun even have a say in wad i ate for lunch... hahaha... it was super interesting with them...

after lunch... i really needed my time alone to browse in the supermart... so i took my time and suggested for them to go back earlier... if they are done with their shopping... which they did...

haha... think this is gonna be a weekly affair... since this is jus the 1st time... will keep this going for sometime... and see how la... we should then develop our own language where we understand each other... i hope..! =P

so blessed

truly the Lord blesses beyond measure... beyond what we could ever imagine... or think of... my heart sings of His goodness... His loving-kindness forever more... =)

though we had great plans... before even embarking on this year-long trip... to visit... to tour... the many places in... and about japan...

and since coming here... with the gals in school... and hubby in the course... planning for a real trip seems difficult to do...

that is why it amazes my soul to see how the Lord has blessed us... with the many opportunities... to visit... to enjoy...

last week we had the privilege of visiting Saitama prefecture... where many ppl who work in tokyo stay... managed to experience the quietness of the suburban... the relaxed pace... the beautiful scenery... and of course... their impeccable hospitality... not forgetting the mouth-watering food prepared for us...

and tonight... we are making ur way to our host family's 2nd house... which is located a little farther than Saitama... where deers... wild boar... can be seen from their house..!

this is gonna be a great experience for us... i jus know it... =)

we have another 2 invitations from hubby's assigned buddy from the course... at the end of May... we've been invited to his place for a meal... and he too... has a 2nd house... which is about 50min... by plane..! wow..!

the buddy's mother is a teacher... she teaches others how to make tea... which means... we would have the privilege of having our own tea ceremony..! in his house..!

cant wait..!

then later in oct... there are plans to join a missionary from our home church... for a weekend chalet... at the foot of Mt Fuji..! i saw the photos of the chalet... and really wished i was there immediately... the sights were awesome..!

and for all these things... we are immensely grateful...
not that we have asked... but we have been blessed...

how great is our God... =)

Golden Week

we approached the week with no plans whatsoever... cos it was ridiculously expensive to be travelling or touring during this period... besides... the sea of people everywhere deterred us from planning a getaway...

but we still managed to spend the week nicely... rather spontaneous... rather fun..! =)

Ueno Zoo
on friday night... we sat around and thought what we should do during the golden week... then
we decided to visit the ueno zoo... cos it was convenient... no need to change train...

the zoo is huge... actually... i felt that it was more like a park... with lakes... bridges... lots of trees... and the animals were scarcely placed all around the zoo...

gals did not enjoy the zoo... largely due to the fact that the animals are in cages... that didnt make the gals very happy... unlike the singapore zoo... where animals roam freely in their large enclosures... the animals at the ueno zoo were kept in relatively small cages...

moreover... the zoo was filled with more people than animals... it was difficult jus to catch a glimpse of the animals...

but gals were still happy at the end of the day... cos there was a mini amusement park at the entrance of the zoo... hubby got them 3 rides each... and left them to decide and queue for which ever rides they so prefer... then hubby and i waited outside the park for them...

Saitama
then on sunday... we got invited to a friend's house for lunch... 上林さん is from the college that hubby is attending the course... he looks into the welfare of the foreign students... like our accommodation... and the family's needs... like getting the gals into the public school...

上林さん came to pick us up in his MPV... we were prepared for a 1.5hr ride to his place in saitama prefecture... however... on the way there... joanna felt queasy and threw up in the car..! she felt so bad and so did we... so we had to make a stop to wash her up... and clean the car...

continued on the journey... joanna sitting on her wet skirt... felt bad for her... but she was not complaining... but i knew that she was uncomfortable... so i requested for us to stop by any stores where i could get her a new skirt...

and so we did... and the rest of the journey was more comfortable for her...

there were traffic jams on the roads... all in all... we took about 3.5hr jus to get to his place...

lunch was great... sukiyaki... learnt how to make it their style and cant wait to try it out myself..! tried new foods... food that i would not buy when i am out alone at the supermart... but they were oishii..!

with the lunch... we had beer... followed by coffee liqueur... then some sake... and ending all off with a slice of strawberry sponge cake... and coffee... heavenly..!

the gals also had a whale of a time with his elder daughter... children are jus so borderless... with no common language... they played so well together... lots of laughter... and giggles...

their common language... pokemon... and NDS lite... thank God we brought along ours... =)

by the time we were done... it was about 7pm when we left his place... and by the time we reached home... it was about 9.30pm... then i made a quick dinner... dinner was served at 10pm...

it was a very tiring day... but it was meaningful... =)

Roppongi Hills
we had initially planned for us to go to Gotenba for some serious shopping... it is a place where duty free outlets congregated... placed is a famous spot for shopping... but hubby received an sms invitation for dinner...

his ex-japanese classmates had invited us for dinner... it was also to celebrate one of their friend's birthday... and so we postponed our Gotenba trip... anyways... we still had lots of time to do that one...

didnt do much on monday... hubby had an assignment due on thursday... immediately after the golden week... so he spent some time working on his assignment...

dinner was at Roppongi Hills... a very nice restaurants... it was a good time with friends... even the gals enjoyed the dinner... nice... =)

Yokohama
and so Gotenba was pushed to tuesday... but on monday night... we asked ourselves if we were planning to buy anything in particular there... both of us said nothing... and so we decided to postpone the trip there again... and do something that would involve the gals as well...

and so we spontaneously chose to visit Yokohama... jus like that... no planning whatsoever... jus go... =P

set off for Yokohama right after breakfast... it was jus a 40min train ride from where we are... reached the station... went straight to get ourselves a visitor's guide and map... and headed off on foot...

we fell in love with Yokohama... it was really nice... near the sea... cos there were ports and piers... we saw ships... tall buildings... even a big amusement park..!

the family went on quite a number of rides... it was fun... lots of screams and laughter... gals were very grateful to us for bringing them there...

but we were on foot most of the time... it was really tiring... think we walked over 3km... ending up in chinatown... which was very crowded... too crowded for us to settle dinner there... so we headed somewhere near home...

ended up back at Shibuya for dinner... went to a tonkatsu restaurant... and dinner was truly satisfying... nice... =)

yesterday was the final day of the golden week... we spent the entire day at home... hubby needed desperately to complete his assignment... which he did by 11pm... =P

phew..!
that's our week in a nutshell..! =)

blog time

yeah..!
finally... i have time to blog..!

it's been a week-long holiday here... they call it the Golden Week... 3 consecutive public holidays and a weekend...

have done many things... jus didn't have the time or the energy to do so... at the end of the day... i could hardly keep my eyes opened while manning my 'cafe'... hee... =P

now i realise... how nice it is to have the whole morning to myself... think i'm getting used to this... =)