Category Archives: life

cheers for 2012!

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A few years back, I welcomed the new year in Japan with friends and colleagues. When we raised our glasses for a toast, before anyone could utter cheers and well wishes for the year, Gali enthusiastically and selflessly exclaimed “to Ate Marj’s love life!!!”. With a cheers as enthusiastic as that, even when everyone had their own wishes for the new year as well, everyone raised their glasses for the toast; a toast for my love life for the new year.

Funny. Because whaddyaknow? It was actually the year Atsushi and I started to become an item.

And so for this new year’s toast, after having had raised our prayers for the new year, I raise this imaginary toast to Gali. Gali, this is for you as my way of saying thank you.

Cheers to Gali’s love life!!!! 🙂

in-laws

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We’re staying over with Hubs’ family for the new year holidays. The past three days had been really interesting and fun that it’s just but right to have this post for them, which I know is not enough to express how thankful I am to them.

As we go drive around for a road trip, my chest swells with thankfulness. We have received a lot of blessings this 2011. But one of the biggest blessings is that Atsushi’s family warmly welcomed me as a new member of the family that leaves me with a feeling of wanting to be a better daughter-in-law because of all the good things they’ve done to me.

Ojichan, Obachan, Otosan, Okasan, Mayumi, ありがとうございました. I’ll do my best to make your son even happier.

Will feature later on the places we’ve been to the last couple of days once I’ve downloaded the photos. Here are some teasers for now.

Free milk from Shionoe (しおのえ), the dairy farm we went to yesterday. Their milk jam is just so delicious!!

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A stopover at Osaki no Hana (おさきのはな) in our road trip earlier for this beautiful view.

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By the loooong Seto Bridge (せとおはし).

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For most part of this evening, we watched videos of when Atsushi and his sister were still kids, with Atsushi as young as four years old (gee that’s almost 28 years ago!). One thing I learned: like how he is as a grown up, hubs was definitely NOT a boring kid as we had tons of laugh with Atsushi’s antics. As Otosan has said, he sure was a comedian. 😀

getting ready for the new year

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It always comes as a surprise that the day right after Christmas, all those elaborate decorations in the malls disappear overnight; making you almost feel like Christmas had been only a dream. In place of the Christmas trees and decors though, these are slowly put on display, like mushrooms that has popped up overnight. And yes, it is for the New Year Japanese festivities.

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Spent a number of new years here in Japan (all spent on shopping because January 1 sale gives you one of the best bargains throughout the year). But this’ll be my first time to really immerse myself with the Japanese festivities. And you bet I’m excited! 🙂

Two things we’re thankful for. We finally placed an order for the Laura Ashley curtains which will be sewn and delivered in four weeks. Yey! Was also able to send a box for my family. I know it’s late for christmas but the box was bigger than I’ve anticipated hence it took me quite a while to fill it up.

Tomorrow’s gonna be a mad dash in the office to issue outputs that needs to be issued before the holidays. Good luck to me! 😀

on dates and muji

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Hubs took me out for a movie date this evening. What else! Mission Impossible of course, which proved to be quite interesting and engaging. Go watch now if you haven’t yet.

We have some three hours to spare before the movie started though hence plenty of time to walk around Colette Mare and shop – for more books LOL. Hubs bought his usual number of book purchases while I bought these for the evening.

I bought these books in a matter of five minutes, too short a time for hubs inside Kinukuniya hence I wandered around Colette Mare looking for a stationery box to house our stationeries which are practically scattered about in the house. Wandered towards Muji, located at the basement of Colette Mare. And it made me smile to see this.

Maternity coats. Truly a big help for pregnant women and moms with newborn babies who has to carry their infants around during these cold months.

Here’s another style but I like the first one better.

Before the movie, there’s dinner of course. To celebrate the evening. A romantic chandelier.

And a platter of freshies arrayed beautifully.

On our way home, hyper from all the action in Mission Impossible, we dropped by Family Mart. Decided to purchase this Muji knickknack.

Seeing it wrapped so simply, as is all Muji food products, I didn’t have high expectations on it. But boy we were in for a surprise. Wonder why it is heart shaped as thus?

Frozen strawberry coated with white chocolate. Simply delicious.

Happy evening. Thankful.

presents and mails

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Monday.
People in the office are so well travelled. Ask them if they’ve been to Europe and you’re sure the answer would be that they’ve been to at least two countries at the other side of the globe. Hence, considering the tradition of bringing home presents/omiyage/pasalubong, there were times in the office when we’d have a motley of chocolates on our desk – like the day I had on my desk a chocolate from Russia, a Ghirardelli bar from California (this one’s a favorite together with Lindt and Godiva and Royce!!) and another piece of chocolate from UK. Sometimes we loose track already who gave the presents as sometimes, our secretary would make the rounds and hand us the chocolates by just saying (sweetly) where they came from.

Today, our “ration” is quite a number as well. (I wasn’t able to take a photo of the flat slab of chocolate from UK though).
This one’s a traditional Japanese sugar candy (I don’t know from what prefecture!). It reminded me of meringue only it’s creamier, and finer and, because I chose the green color, has the teeny weeny hint of green tea (matcha). Ain’t the design pretty?

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Durian merlion from Singapore. Gah, I miss the prawn rolls (and the chicken rice and the chili king crab and the eat-all-you-can shrimps).

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Now, we have a secretary who absolutely loves Disneyland so much that she’ll hand us her omiyage from Disneyland on a Friday or Wednesday making me feel sometimes like I’m time warped (I smile and nod at her as I deeply try to recall if it had been a holiday the day before). Yes, she takes a leave to go to Disneyland. This time, she got us this. Be magical! (Dear Disney, you never fail to remind me to dream ☺)

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The pink Mickey I had before this was cuter (our secretary gave me two of this, yehey).

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Sweet tooth is happy.

Monday and Tuesday, fruitful days at the office. Thankful. And finally, our wedding album is ready for shipping. Yey! 🙂

typhoon Sendong

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I believe I have to take a pause for this and ask for your help. The image of this photo, shared by blogger and twitter Mindanaoan, of a father cradling his muddied, dead daughter just gripped my heart last night that it was a wonder I was able to sleep at all.

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I grew up in Davao and as far back as I remember, we haven’t experienced such strong a typhoon in our area. We’ve always had this thought that our mountains will shelter us from the typhoon. It could be that the people were thinking of this same thought hence they were fully unprepared with nature’s onslaught.

At the time of writing, more than 520 people are confirmed dead. Hubby said, it gave him the same creeps and goosebumps he felt back in March after the big Tohoku earthquake when we lay scared in bed (scared because of the continuous aftershock tremors) whilst listening to the radio broadcast about 700 bodies being washed to the shore akin to driftwood except that they led lives before and loved and laughed and cried and had dreams.

For parties who are interested to help the victims of typhoon Sendong in Mindanao and make donations, please visit the following links:

Donate to Red Cross Phillipines now

Donate to World Vision org now

And as pointed out by Mindanaoan, to those who intend to donate instant noodles and similar instant food, please try to give something else that doesn’t require much water. Water is terribly precious in the affected area now.