pinku

Nearly missed a day

Well I started this post about babywearing in winter but that'll have to wait for a later date. It's 11:52pm and I haven't posted today yet. I have eight minutes to publish something - can't let the 'must blog everyday of November' side down now.

Thanks for all your great input on 'those' boots! You made me laugh. Funny that a shoe can evoke such emotion in people.

I think I may go for something like this....so I can feel luxurious in the privacy of my own home!! But you know I'll probably end up just buying another pair of 1000 yen ($10) uniqlo slippers or as they say in Japan 'room shoes'!

Saturday

Hi it's Saturday here and we are about to leave and go play at Musashino 0123. Oh and check out the new Twist Collective if you haven't already - it's a good one! I've already cast on for Mary Jane - a lovely wearable top that will be the first knit for ME in a very long time!

Random Keitai pics Thursday

Japanese newspaper headlines - Massive win for Obama - the whole of America rejoices!

the toilet slippers at our rental house - I just don't get it! Does the little girl not want the toilet paper?

Jake at our local zoo because duh, he's cute and nearly all of my photos on my mobile are jake photos! I've been getting a little lazy about his 'fashion' lately. I usually put him to bed in a bodysuit and a sleepsack and then he usually keeps that bodysuit on during the day and then I just add stuff on top - here his Swedish Lindex penguin bodysuit from Uncle Chris is paired with a cute hoodie top by Moujonjon gifted by my host family, knitted pants by me (am totally going to make more of these - really wearable and cute), and Me-In-Mind shoes.

Co-in-k-dink? Celebration?

Oh my goodness people, I just realized that I started this blog on my son's birthday FIVE YEARS AGO - how's that for a coincidence? I totally did not realize. Little did I know when I posted that entry on the 21st of October 2003 that I would give birth to my son four years later on the exact same date. I think this is a sign that I have to blog more. Pinku has been such a GREAT addition to my life - it has allowed me to make SO many friends. I really do love the concept of 'blogging', especially crafting and now mama blogging.

So all this means that not only did Jake turn one last Tuesday, Pinku also celebrated its FIFTH birthday, so to commemorate this occasion I've decided to blog everyday in November. I feel a little nervous making this committment seeing how my effort in the 365 flickr project ended after 34 days, but that is more than a month so maybe it is an achievable goal!!

Ok gotta go and compose some blog posts ahead of time as starting tomorrow I have six days off work and we are going away for three of them - holidays are always a good time!! See you everyday in November!

It's your birthday Papa Dawg!

Happy birthday Daz!! I have to admit your jokes are pretty funny and you are good at making up new words. You are doing a fantastic job of being a SAHD and I really think that not many men could handle it. You are one of a kind! Jake and I love you SO much! We are very lucky to have you.

photo by martine cotton

photo by martine cotton

Dude, I'm back at work

and that ain't no April Fool's joke.....

It's actually my third day back and it's not that bad. Darin has now become Mr Mum (or Mom as you Americans like to say) and we are all doing ok. I only cried once when leaving the house and have only choked up a few times after seeing other mums around town with their babies, Maclarens and o-balls. In preparation for his stay at home dad role, Darin wanted to rent the movie Mr Mom. I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't be of much practical help, but hey it'd probably be funny.

This is the face I had to leave at home Tuesday morning......it was hard.

Work seems unnaturally normal to me...um, except that my brain is in a constant fog from the lack of sleep. It's weird. I also just took a work phone call and they wanted to have a meeting now but I gotta run and pump. I was also simultaneously trying to purchase six bags of disposable nappies at the same time too. I told them I was free in half an hour. Weird. It's like I'm leading a secret life.

Luckily my work is pretty flexible and they have allowed me to work four days a week for the first few months and my hours have been reduced to 10 to 4:30 and with an hour lunch and two 20 to 30 minute pumping sessions, I really only work four and a half hours a day - the days are flying by so far. Darin also brings Jake to work during lunch once a week so I get a quickie cuddle. That baby smell is quite addictive.

I wasn't sure how my work would deal with the fact that I needed to pump at work. I had recently received a memo before coming back to work that encouraged mothers coming back to work to continue breastfeeding....BUT only during the night and they encourage using formula during the day. Anyway, considering that in a building of 3000 or more people I am the ONLY one pumping, they have generously offered the use of an unused meeting room for me to pump. It has two sofas (not that comfy), a great view (although I close the blinds), a cupboard to store my pump and running water to wash the parts afterwards, oh and of course let's not forget a very handy lock on the door to prevent any shocking incidents! Yay!

Hopefully I'll be able to blog a little more often (thanks work!) now. Ok gotta get back to work. I have Jake's five month update coming soon but it'll probably be next week before I get around to it!

Weekly wrap-up

Ok, so in less than 24 hours I'll be on a bus to Narita Airport. Exciting!

Tonight I have to squeeze in some last minute shopping and then Claire and I are going to watch the FINAL episode EVER of GG - we are preparing tissues, chilli cheese fries, and delivery pizza (that's what GG would do).

Today I also managed to do some more last minute shopping at Muji and Cibone during my lunch break. At Cibone I spotted this overpriced crochet table. I think it was selling for over $1300 - whaaaat? Maybe that should be my next project - a crochet table!!! Way to make some cash.

See you in a week!!!

An afternoon in Harajuku and Omotesando

If I was a good blogger there would be some relevant photos to accompany this post but there aren't (well not many). Although I haven't been blogging I have been enjoying myself. I do have some photographic evidence.

Awesome photo care of Martine Cotton (aka Frangipani) - hope you don't mind that I borrowed it!!!

I think we were singing the Greatest Love of All by Whitney H. You can see all of Martine's great photos from Andrew's Sayonara party on FLICKR. Lucky that some of my friends take photos even though I don't. Sorry.

It was a great night but we are all really sad to see Andrew go. We'll miss you.

On Sunday Darin and I had the pleasure of showing Myra, T and Buddy  around Omotesando and Harajuku. We had brunch at Le Bretagne and luckily we got there at 11:30 because the place was packed by 12. If you go on a Sunday you might want to make a reservation. It was Easter Sunday and since Easter is not celebrated in Japan, we don't really celebrate it either, BUT we were super lucky because Myra gifted us with our own little easter egg packages and we got to watch Buddy do his easter egg hunt in Yoyogi park. So cute! Thanks guys we had a great time. Again I took no photos. Sorry.

We had a hanami party a week earlier too and our photos didn't turn out too great. I did manage to get up at 6am to snag the perfect spot at the park. Luckily we only live a two minute walk from the park so I went in my pajamas, took a pillow and a blanket and slept there. The weather was awesome so it was *kinda* like impromptu camping.

here's our spot

I excelled and also made baba ghanoush, guacamole and cupcakes!!!

the sakura were pretty and we had a nice view all around us. best of all it was 24 degrees that day. bring on the 20s I say.

BTW, I really loved all of the comments I got on my last post. It totally felt like I was having a virtual slumber party - remember those (well the non-virtual type)??!! Wouldn't it be awesome if we could all gather in the same place at the same time and have a massive slumber party.

Hello Happy Spring!

Ok to be honest it's freezing in Tokyo. We had a glimpse of spring a couple of weeks back but since then it's just gotten plain cold. I figure this is winter's last hurrah, so there is hope on the horizon. Just look at the happy new spring banner that Darin designed for me - it makes me smile every time I look at it.

I haven't been posting lately because to be honest...I haven't been knitting. I did knit a pair of socks and two pairs of slippers for my host family in Aomori (didn't take photos - silly me) and I knit the upside down daisy hat from Itty Bitty Hats for one of my students who gave birth to her baby girl last Thursday. Didn't take a photo of that either. Bad blogger I am.

There is hope on the horizon though like I said because I will eventually finish that silly pentagon shrug from Vogue Knitting and the cherry blossoms are due to bloom soon adding a lot of pink happiness to our lives. To be honest I actually prefer when the petals fall off the trees and the whole park turns green actually!!!

Here's some recent photos:

C&J at the Bar Jap show with strange man in background

Yuko from Jap Kobo performing a song. The hair was amazing. Her voice was Kate Bush-esque. And if you take a quick look at the guitar player sitting next to her he is also amazing.

The Ume (plum blossoms) have ended now, but here were some pretty ones in our park

And here's the mini Days Burger from Pancake Days in Kichijoji. It's so tiny and cute. You must try it some time. Yes, it's a hamburger with pancakes for bread.

How's spring in your part of the world? No need to answer if you are from the southern hemisphere. I don't want to hear about sunshine or warm weather. Just yet.

Something for the ladies...and guys?

I've been meaning to post this photo for a while and considering it's a Friday you all deserve a treat!!

Family version of a photo of Darin and Tyler at the men's rotenburo at Maguse Onsen in Nagano. You actually couldn't really see anything except for a bit of flank. You might be able to see something if you look really closely at the guy actually in the hot springs!!

An amazing view that's for sure. Darin tells me that his view in this photo was even more amazing. Please note an old Japanese guy offered to take this photo of Darin and Tyler and he was also naked and kinda squatting when taking the photo. TMI?

On a completely unrelated topic, there is a yarn sale on at Mitsubaya in Tokyo for all you local knitters. It's basically 20% off all yarn including some Rowan. The sale is on until the end of February. I picked up some tweed regia to make a pair of socks for my host mum in Aomori. I'll be there next weekend. Snow here I come.

Have a great weekend!!