Happy 2015!! **2014 IN PICTURES**

After a long hiatus, I am back with a post for the new year!  Where did that time go?

Sadly, I was unable to keep up with blogging in 2014, in addition to uploading to my Youtube channel for much of the year.  Although I did my best to make up for it by vlogging everyday till Christmas (see my Vlogmas 2014 playlist).

I am not making any New Year's resolutions that I may or may not be able to fulfill, other than a general one - to stick more to a schedule.  I am doing my best to vlog more regularly with a set schedule.  So far, I've done a whole series on my Lucky Bags from New Year's day (福袋).  And I am managing to upload Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays (daily vlogging, feature, and Japanese, respectively).  I will do my best to get them out on time for your viewing pleasure.  I appreciate all the feedback from everyone - it really motivates me to keep going (despite that one person who likes to give me a thumbs down on every single one of my videos - I refuse to mention this at all on camera because I feel it will give them the attention they are looking for).

For now, here is a look of my 2014 in pictures.

January - Asagiri Kogen

February - It snowed and made me so happy!

 

Seriously, look at all the white stuff!

 

March - Went to Ikea for the first time. 

The mini cupcakes were super cute

(but the frosting was meh).

April - Fujizakura Matsuri



Double Fuji! (Can you see it?)

 

May - Frozen finally showed in Japan

(and was called Anna and the Snow Queen).

 

Did you notice I turned blond?

Yes, I was in love with Frozen (and kinda still am...).



June - We went to Kamakura, my fav place!



July - The Star Festival decorations at the station

(the Japanese version of Xmas trees) 

 

I decided I liked to wear dresses!!

 

Hideki bought me the Frozen DVD

(and we watched it together for his first time).



 

 August - I tried to go darker...

but it ended going back to blond.



September - Met Friends in Ginza and had the

cutest mame-zushi ever!

October - I bought a baby pumpkin from Costco to carve!

 

 Krispy Kreme spooky doughnuts from a student.

(More cute than tasty, though.)



 

I made Sanma (Pacific saury) for the first

- I took out the insides and everything!

 

 I got two costumes for Halloween.

 Hideki had a birthday and I made a pumpkin tart!

 We had a my first BBQ here with friends.

Of course, we had marshmallows! :)

 

 Fell in love with green smoothies!



 I did all my nails in minions for the Halloween party!

 And I carved my pumpkin!

 

 November - I was ready for fall! 

Bought my first Ugg look-alikes.

Yay, DECEMBER - VLOGMAS (vlogging everyday till XMAS)

The first day of December marked a trip

to Starbucks to have a long awaited gingerbread

latte (bought this tumbler for myself too).

We went to Disneyland (and I vlogged)!

Mom came and we had a blast (twinsies-style)!

 

 Christmas Bento!!

(I think this is my best bento creation ever!!)

 

It was my birthday on the 20th.

(I made a good wish.)

 

May 2015 be even better!!    Luck is definitely in my court.  But it is my drive that will take me places.  (^_~)v

Sherri

3-4 Days!

Overdue package full of goodies for family members!!  I forgot to send my xmas presents home with my mom for my cousins, so I wanted to make up a special box filled with yummy, fun things from Japan.  My one cousin also has two young children, so I wanted to include things for them to enjoy, especially colouring books and stickers.  There's also a fun kirigami (origami means paper-folding and this means paper-cutting) activities.  They requested some matcha kit-kat and was able to find a ton of matcha chocolate along with many others. The best part is that it only takes about 3-4 days to get there!  Japan has a really cool mail service.  And since I sent it on Wednesday morning, it should be there by the weekend (with the time difference working in my favour). 

 

Click here or this picture below to watch my video on YouTube: 

 

I know they will enjoy trying everything!! 

Love you tons!

xoxo

Sherri

Day Three

Okay, so I am holding up so far.  I  woke up not nearly as hungry.  I had leftover miso soup and the 糸寒天, which had expanded from the nice before and was quite yummy.  To add to that, I had a tofu and okara hamburg　(豆腐とおからのハムバーグ）, celery and yellow pepper　(セロリとパプリカ炒め）, and mozoku　（もぞく）. 

 I made this last night for my lunch.  It's spinach and salmon with mushrooms and a tofu and okara hamburg, to which I added some tomato and cucumber.  For my other sidedish, I included a cabbage salad.  I put a little bit of sesame oil on top and put a bit of salty konbu (seaweed) for topping.  I planned to use the non-oil dressing that we have a work.  It was a really yummy lunch!

My afternoon snack was plain, no-sugar added yogurt.  I love yogurt and was so happy I could still eat it.  That, and cheese ( yes, in very small quantities it is considered good for you). 

 That evening, I was supposed to have a lesson from 9pm and I wanted to eat before I went.  My trainer said he had a cancellation so I could go from 7:30, which was good cuz I wouldn't get home super late.  I didn't have much time to eat before, but I knew I would be starving, so I grabbed some sashimi - hiramasa and maguro.  It was yummy!

When I got home, I was a little bit hungry, but more so, I knew if I didn't eat that I would wake up extremely hungry.  So I ate natto, without the sauce (not yummy).  And some pickles (I ate half shown in the picture and left the juice).  I also drank 100ml of non-fat milk.  I would have drank more, but I was worried about the nutritional content.  And as the serving size was for 100ml, I thought I was safe.

Wish me luck tomorrow!!! 

Update:  

お食事はまだ昨日の残物があるので、それ除いては、特に目立つものはありません。

You have the same food from yesterday, so other than that,  I see no real problem.

そのままで経過みましょう！

Keep going like this!

Today's Meals

Day Two of my program. I woke up feeling like I had a headache. At first, I thought I might be getting sick. Then I realised how hungry I was.  おなかが空いた！(Onaka ga suita! I'm hungry) Well, I will do my best today, I thought.

Breakfast: Leftover soup warmed up in the pot, to which I added a beaten egg for variation.  I had more celery and yellow pepper too.  Plus non-fat yogurt (無脂肪ヨーグルト). 

Snack: Colby Jack Cheese (surprised I can eat cheese) (チーズ)

Lunch:  Tofu and Okara Hamburg (豆腐とおからハムバーグ）, Salad with Faux Crab Meat　(かにかまぼこのサラダ), and Slightly Roasted Green Pepper (焼いたピーマン)

Snack:  Natto and Toasted Seaweed (納豆、焼きのり)

Dinner:  Asparagus and Salmon Dish, Mozoku, Pickles wih Salty Konbu, Miso Soup And Kanten Noodles, Non-fat Yogurt (アスパラとサーモン、もぞく、きゅうりと塩こんぶ、寒天ヌードルの味噌汁), 無脂肪ヨーグルト

Update:  My trainer said (in person) that kani kamaboko (fake crabmeat) should be avoided, as well as balsamic vinegar, since it is made from grapes (thus a fruit).  :(  I really like balsamic vinegar!  But I guess the regular kind is okay, he said - so long as I don't eat it!

A New Way of Eating

It is going to take a lot of adjustment to get used to my new diet. The main thing is no carbs and no sugar. Instead I can have high protein and lots of vegetables. I am going to have to get creative with my cooking.
Last night, I had my first meal. I made chicken balls and added nira, mushrooms, and bean sprouts.  The soup base is made from boullion cubes.  I also steamed spinach and added salmon flakes on top. I put a little bit of soya sauce on this before eating. The last sidedish was some celery and yellow pepper cut up and fried with a little bit of sesame oil and Mrs. Dash lemon and pepper no-salt spice.  As soon as I started eating this I immediately began thinking about what to eat tomorrow. Any suggestions?

Update:  I received an email back from my instructor on my first meal. I translated each line for you.

 

アスパラ、ズッキーニはOKですよ。  Asparagus and zuccini are okay!   (I wasn't sure...)
アスパラは食物繊維も比較的多めなので、オススメです。 

Asparagus is a good source of fibre, so I recommend it!
お食事も問題ないですね。  No problem with you meal!
先日も言った通り、パプリカは一日半分ですのでよろしくお願いしますね:-) 

As I told you yesterday, you can have half a yellow pepper a day. 

残り半日、頑張って行きましょう！  Good luck with the rest of your day!

 

Not bad, if I don't say so myself.  (Pat on back!)