Happiness disguised in pink shoes and baseball

Windows are closing, doors are opening, getting lemons and making lemonade. It's all about perspective and attitude.

Happiness this past week..

new pink running shoes (finally found a pair in my size - 8, and on sale for 4000yen!), the rain coming and bringing the temperature down to a more comfortable 25 degrees (although this is a double edged sword), spending the day in the sun drinking umeshu and countless cups of coke while watching the baseball with lovelies, leisurely walking around city on a sunny Saturday afternoon while slightly buzzed from aforementioned drinks, drinking frozen beer and blueberry beer cocktails at a new beer bar in the city, burgers, pizza and cheesecake at New York, wine at one of my favourite lounge bars - Lotus, listening and singing along to Mariah Carey while cleaning, a weeks worth of laundry (damn rain) done, pretty painted nails, finding my chola inspired headscarf from two Halloweens ago - taking a cue from Miss Kandee and wearing it at every opportunity I get, scented candles (can't get enough), strawberry ice cream, watching all three seasons of Duck Dynasty and laughing so hard at uncle Si, painful physio that makes be feel better afterwards, homemade quesidillas for brunch and all the summer fruit that's coming out - dragon fruit, delicious grapes, watermelon, cherries and peaches! Oh and I brought silicone ice block moulds to try and make my own vegan/paleo friendly fudge bars...

Baseball faces

Hiroshima Carp flying penis balloons..oh Japan

frozen beer and DIY blueberry beer cocktail

NY cheesecake at New York

YES!

Uncle Si you get me err time!

homemade frozen icey treats!!

xx

On repeat

This song by Common Kings is currently on repeat - it's my feel good summer song for this season.

There's something about it that makes my heart sing and gives me butterflies in my tummy...and everyone needs butterflies in their tummies now and then!

Can I wade in you water till I catch a wave? Anytime boo.
xx

Summer Love

Last week had me wondering where the heck rainy season was, now I know where it is, as I sit on my couch and type this on a Thursday morning home from school because all classes are cancelled due to a heavy rain warning.

Last Thursday and Friday was so hot and I was stuck at school with no air con (I will rant about this later, promise!!) all I could do was drink peach ice tea (silver linings!) and dream about the beach, or a swimming pool or another body of water I could submerge myself in! So made plans to head to the beach on Saturday...until it decided to rain all day.

Friday night was sushi night with Tom boo boo. I always heart sushi night - the best sushi in Hiroshima, followed by a little ice cream at Baskin Robins (or 31 if you please) and then a game or two of taiko in the game center.

Saturday was a major bust on the beach plans front, so I spent it sleeping in then starting to sort though all my stuff and packing up the first box to send home. Braved the traffic to head into town to pick up a birthday cake and then headed to an izakaya for a friends birthday dinner. After dinner I drove into the city to meet a friend who was in town for the weekend for a drink, was great to catch up - had been almost two years! Got home at about 2.30am (wowzers what a raver!) but couldn't sleep so watched an episode of Braxton family values..I think I'm addicted!

I slept in again on Sunday but was woken by the beautiful sunlight streaming through the windows. So got up, jumped in the car and headed to the beach. It was AMAZING! The first beach session of the year, lying on the sand reading gossip mags that my parents bought over, drinking 7/11 coffee in big cups of ice, swimming in the beautifully clear (and still a little chilly) water and getting a massive sunburn on my back - that will teach me not to put sunscreen all over oh and eating delicious suika bars in the car on the way home.

Wonderfully relaxing, productive and fun weekend. Now the rain has arrived, but I'm grateful for the day off to sit here and blog, watch movies (sister act 2 is currently playing), do little niggly things like send emails etc. and the cooler weather.

Izakaya food is delicious

Happy Birthday

This cake was like a cake with a custard filled crepe around it?! 

Driving into the city - spaghetti junction!

Beach panorama

I love my hair after swimming in the sea!

Selfies with Shino!

Addiction? Nah, I can stop anytime..honest.

Now I'm off to the 7/11 for a coffee and a big cup of ice!

xx

Parents do Japan - part 1

Golden week was pretty golden - my parents came to Japan for the first time and I was pretty excited to show off this wonderful country I call home.

I picked them up in Osaka and we came straight back to Hiroshima on the shinkansen to rest and get over their jet lag. The first week and a bit we spent in and around Hiroshima prefecture taking in the usual sights - Miyajima, Atomic Bomb dome when it also happened to be the annual Flower Festival weekend, spending hours in Don Quihote and shopping in Hiroshima city, eating real sushi, okonomiyaki and ramen, exploring Naoshima on bikes, visiting one of my schools and watching my lesson, coming to my koto lesson to watch me and my teacher play, going to baseball with my dad and taking them to the top of a mountain to see the beautiful view of the inland sea. They became pretty local at the supermarket near my house, and dad became addicted to Japanese ice cream, yogurt and chips!

It was nice to have them at home, although it did make me realise a few things - living with my parents when I move home for 6 months or so is going to be a real test of my sanity. I'm so used to living alone, not being accountable or responsible to anyone but myself and I've just gotten used to doing things my way. As much as I enjoyed having them over on this trip, my mother drove me insane, demanding, attention seeking and loud...just to name a few but it did get better when we left my house and Hiroshima for Tokyo. Aside from all of that, they had a great time and I did enjoy showing them around, despite being constantly tired.

Miyajima bell ringer

Ramen time

koto lesson

Hiroshima okonomiyaki time

pumpkin at Naoshima

My students playing the shakuhachi for my parents

peace-ful mounter climbers 

baseball selfies and matching carp t-shirts

Hiroshima Carp GET UP!

Don Quihote fun

Part 2 Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto coming soon!
xx

It's a weekend thang

Just like the Koffee Brown song!

The majority of this weekend was spent at home on the couch and in bed, and I don't feel guilty (ok maybe a little guilty).

I still feel like I haven't caught up on rest and sleep from my crazy busy May. The emotional stress of realizing that I am actually leaving and I have to pack up my house coupled with the ongoing drama saga that is TM isn't helping. 

Friday night after koto practice I balled out (hah ok I went to basketball) and actually played pretty well then had some delicious ramen with

Saturday was spent in, catching up in Game of Thrones - I'm almost caught up, almost! Cleaning the house and then getting ready to go to the city for Tokasan - a Hiroshima festival that marks the start of the summer season and the first official festival to wear yukata. Went to the city donned my yukata with the help of a friend and then we drank and ate ourselves almost silly at a beer garden followed by some delicious matsuri food - candied strawberries freshly dipped and I felt in the mood for some character castella - mochiron Kitty and Doraemon! Had fun taking pics on my instax polaroid camera, purikura'd and then caught the last train home.

Sunday was spent sleeping till lunch time. I had big plans for Sunday - clean the house some more, take the car to get cleaned, continue packing. What I acutally did was lie on the couch with a massive headache and watch Game of Thrones, skype LL and get the best news that her and the Baller B are engaged! Although she tells me they won't have a wedding - me and MM will change her mind! Skype my maegami twinsie and plot our mischief for when I return - and get a new fav TV show - hello Braxton Family Values...Kardashians who? Made it out of the house to take the rubbish out and to the supermarket and managed to cooked delicious pumpkin and salmon risotto (with left overs for two more dinners!).

I didn't get too much done, but I did have a really nice relaxing weekend.

Getting my yukata ready for tokasan.

Beer garden delights.

Streetcar cuties.

Big eyes and flawless skin - tokasan purikura love.

Strawberries with a fresh coat of candy.

No matsuri is complete with out Kitty and Doraemon castella!

Mitsukoshi beer garden on a beautiful Hiroshima summers night.

blurred lines

ramen. ate. delicious.

Friday night basketball selfies. We are totes cool.

xx

Return of the Mack

Emotionally dazed and confused.

Just as I feel like I've finally moved on, got rid of those feelings, made peace with what happened, he appears over a year later as if out of thin air. And just like that all those feelings and emotions I fought so hard to forget come rushing back. 

I don't know how to feel - my head says one thing, my heart another. I know which is right & I'm fighting to make sure I make the right decision. 

He keeps popping up when I least expect it, looking fine as hell. He's dangerous and he knows it. I'm perplexed as to why after all this time he's back. Maybe I should just stop thinking. 

This, just to add to the ever growing mountain of stress, emotions & feelings I don't have time for. 

I don't know. But what I do know is I need a shower and something sweet. And come the weekend a biiiig glass of wine! 

What a way to start the week.

xx

A couple of things..

I don't like rainy season. One minute it's raining the next it's sunny, then it's overcast and humid as shit. And with the rain comes all kinds of weird bugs..like the ones that hang around on my car in the mornings and then end up in my car or in my mouth and up my nose when running!

Here I was thinking I was looking super cute wearing my new pink & black flats at school. Turns out I'm giving off the sexy vibe. So many teachers have commented saying "sexy shoes ne". Um ok? When I think of pink I think of my neice and every other little girl who's favorite colour is pink - I definitely don't think sexy!! I talked to my Japanese tutor (a hip young masters student) & she said that it's fully a sexual colour. But my "soft" pink nails were cute. So now there's varying degrees of sexy & cute for different shades of pink? Colour me confused! When I told her that red is generally a colour I associate with sexy she said that in Japan red isn't - only if it's on your lips..? I suppose the pink=sexy thing might stem from the school girl fantasy? No idea but I'm sticking with my pink shoes! 

Sleeping in underwear and singlets is the best thing ever.

Why are Japanese men so freaking complicated? I should know better by now but the heart wants what the heart wants.

Iced tea soy lattes (yep that's what they're called) are far to delicious for their own good, and my wallet. Saving those for once a week.

When one of my co-workers wears his glasses....swoon!

Running does get easier, then harder and then easier. While running last night (my first non-stop 5km in a long while) I was thinking about when I first started running - I could barely run for one minute without stopping and feeling like I'm dying. Perseverance & the Nike + app I heart you!

xx

This weeks happy..

Having some drama with TM so I need to remember and be grateful for all the things that make me happy.

Happiness is..

Fresh cut flowers around my house, scented candles, new shoes arriving on my doorstep and the wonderful that is COD (cash on delivery) my credit card thanks you! Finding a whole box of Prince of Wales tea - not just a few tea bag in a mixed box, but a WHOLE box! My cute new nail art supplies, sushi with lovelies, taking shameless purikura by myself to put in birthday cards (and I just love purikura!), coffee dates with my bitchy partner in crime who listens to my TM problems, eating Costco tiramisu from the principal at school with a cute new co-worker, fresh cherries and pear soda, indulging in season 7 of Keeping up with the Kardashians, reruns of Hotel Babylon, towels fresh from the drier.

xx

More shopping

Finally catching up.

I managed to fill 2 suitcases of shoes and winter clothes for my parents to take back to NZ with them, only to come home after my travels around Japan & to the Philippines with more stuff...

Haul 1 - after farewelling mum off to do some sightseeing alone, dad says he wants to join me shopping in Shinjuku. He then doesn't let me pay for anything. Fathers are the best! 

Haul 2 - in Osaka, we take a stroll after dinner at the best Mexican place in Japan El Panco and end up in H&M buying presents for them to take back to NZ. Mum says she'll get my stuff too. Oh I have wonderful parents! 

Haul 3 - I really only have myself to blame! I went to the Philippines for work and was given a per diem of about 5000yen a day (for 3 days) to cover lunch & dinner, which over there is more then enough. Suffice to say I went shopping. 3 pairs of shoes (one not pictured), 4 pairs of pants, 3 designer (of course authentic *cough *cough) handbags and some jewelry later...

Green spiky flats from a random store in Manila, turquoise and gold sandals from Forever 21 and Purple studded flats from H&M.

Orange, faux leather, pink and black & white patterned skinny jeans all from Forever 21 in Manila (YAY they stock real sizes - not super skinny Japanese ones!!)

Sheer polka dot top from Forever 21, cream satin oversize sleeveless top H&M, sheer black maxi skirt with crosses Forever 21, patterned maxi dress Forever 21 and last but not least black maxi dress from H&M.

Lastly all my jewels from Forever 21 - I'm in LOVE with the wings bangle! Oh and the pink bag from H&M.

Oooweee that's a lot of stuff. And I bought more shoes online today - they arrive on Tuesday and I'm totes excite!!

Now I'm secretly freaking out about how I'm going to get everything back to NZ without paying through my teeth...

hearts, hugs and maxed out credit cards

xx