later

Exercise 6/6: 100 squats
Time: NA

Japanese Language Proficiency Test in 10 hours.
Wish me luck!

Studying my ?????? off!!

Exercise 5/6: Billy's 8min Cardio and Abs Workout
Time: 35min

Study Study Study Study Workout(#5...just finished) study study study study workout(#6...later) study study study study study sleep JLPT Test!!!!!!

First Night in December!

Exercise 4/6: Tae Bo
Time: 40 min

I can't believe it is already December! Mom and Dad M come in 23 days! Christmas is in 24! I only have 2 weeks of school left! (I just took the 3rd week of December off from work...I would only have 1 class to teach that week :-P) It looks like Colin and I get a week's holiday together before Mom and Dad come. The kids are in school until the 26th...yuck! The Japanese don't officially celebrate Christmas so it is a school day. We haven't decided yet whether they will go or not. They will ONLY go if Gramma and Grampa can come see their school that day (since it is the last day of classes).

Chillin' with my boy.

Exercise 3/6: Walking and frisbee
Time: 45 min

Took a walk to the post office to pick up 2 packages. (Thanks, Mom!)
Mixon offered to keep me company, and Selah had just gone to a friend's house, so we headed off together. When we returned, we played frisbee till it got dark, then walked over to pick up Selah. Pretty light workout...but we were moving AND spending time together. :-)

Then we came home and made a big batch of curry & rice. This is a Japanese staple. It is pretty mild over here for the most part. Although you can definitely get HOT curry here. The curry comes in blocks of (almost) dry paste...that is the best way to describe it. You add it to a pot of boiled veggies and meat of choice. (It looks like stew) Then you put it on a plate BESIDE white rice. So, half the plate is white rice, and half the plate is curry. Then you MUST eat it with a spoon...not chopsticks...not a fork...A SPOON! (lol)

The kids at Colin's school freaked out on him when he ate his school lunch of curry with a fork. They wouldn't leave him alone...so he kept eating with his fork. :-P One night we had one of my students and her sister over...we served them curry. As an experiment, we put out chopsticks, forks and spoons, just to see what they would take if they had an option. When I cleaned up supper, I put all forks and chopsticks back in the drawer because they were untouched!

Let's enjoy curry and rice!

Genki Teacher Day

Exercise 2/6: Calisthenics/Volleyball
Time: 30 min

It is exam week. This is how it works: first 3 periods in the morning are exam-time. Then the students go home to study. This goes on all week. In the meantime, teachers are madly marking and preparing the next test. This afternoon, though, was the yearly First Aid/AED training + Teacher Volleyball . So, I sat on a cold gym floor for 1:30min, learning how to use an AED in Japanese! (fun times! :-P) But after that we got to play a couple games of volleyball. THAT was fun. :-)

100 posts!!!

This is now 101, but I just noticed on my dashboard that I had hit 100! (Not that anyone cares but me...but, yea me! ;-) )

Exercise 1/6: Karate
Time: 1:30

Do scroll down if you haven't visited recently. There are lots of new entries AND PICTURES! :-o

Study break update...

Yesterday,
Exercise 5/6: Abs Workout
Time: 27 min

Good 'ol Billy!

Just now...2:07 pm (9:07 pm Saturday, PST)
Exercise 6/6: More Frisbee!
Time: 30 min

Maybe we will have to find an Ultimate Frisbee League in Kamloops next year. Anyone know of one?

Happy Belated Birthday Rachel!!!!

My wonderful, sweet, alway-remembers-everyone's-birthday, sister-in-law, Rachel Zalinko, had a birthday on Friday.We missed it. (We suck. Sorry, Rach.)

Rachel is a cool Aunt, a loving sister, a doting mother, a faithful wife (not to mention a "pastor's" wife!), a wonderful daughter (in-law) and Grand-daughter(in-law), and a great friend.
You wear many hats, Rach but you wear them with Grace.
We love you!
We miss you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
お誕生日おめでとうございます

Exercise=study breaks

Here are some more pics from the hike we went on a couple of weeks ago...


Fall Colours!!!















View of the valley below...











...more fall colours...















That's me grilling yakisoba! (yes, with chopsticks)

















Here is Selah with one of her best friends, Konomi-chan, eating grilled meat and onigiri (rice wrapped in seaweed - they eat this in place of our sandwiches)



As for today...
Exercise 4/6: Cycling/Frisbee
Time: 1 hour

Until December 3rd I am buried in my Japanese books. So, I am going to use my exercise as study breaks. I think it will help me stay focussed (sp?) and alert. At the very least it will keep me from becoming fused with my desk!
This morning, the fam went for a bike ride to the castle and played frisbee. Great weather for it. Slightly overcast, not much of a breeze and about 12˚C. Lots of fun.





This is the view from where we play frisbee...

Thanksgiving #2!

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2006
Exercise (3/6): Walking
Time: 1 hour

Okay, so I take it back...but I didn't understand how much walking we would be doing! Plus the "fitness trainer" said it definitely counted! ;-)
We had a great time in Nagoya and needed the walking cuz we ate WAY too much. We were planning to go the Hard Rock Cafe but it was closed that evening. :-P So, we walked to Sakae (the shopping district of Nagoya) and went to the restaurant we ate at last year on this holiday...The Outback Steakhouse and Grill. Now, this may not seem like a big deal to general western readers...but it has been a year since we have eaten like this! We shared an appy and and an entree and were still WAY too full. (I will take that as a good sign!) Lots of ribs...
Then we walked to the Apple store (for Macs....not fruit) and looked around. Cool shop! Then we had to take and hour and a half to walk, ride the subway, ride the train, walk to the car, and drive back to Ogaki. Back in our own town, we went to the late show...yea,...we were milkin' the babysitting for all it was worth! ;-)
Happy Thanksgiving...to Americans and Japanese...
Nagoya is all decorated for Christmas. It was very pretty at night, all lit up.
(Gasp!) A picture! On MY blog!

Time to Catch Up!

Sunday, Nov. 19th, 2006
Exercise 1/6: Karate
Time: 1:30

Due to the weather getting colder, the workouts are getting more intense as well as the warm-up time is getting longer. Can't stretch and work cold muscles hard. (There is no heating in the gym)

Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006
Exercise 2/6: Tae Bo - 8 min Cardio + Abs workout
Time: 40 min

Wednesday, Nov 22, 2006
Exercise: Walking around Nagoya....(mmmm, doesn't count. :-P)

Tonight, Colin and I are going on a DATE! Now, this may seem like no big deal to y'all...BUT IT IS!
We haven't been out by ourselves (on a date) since we left Canada over a year and a half ago. The Japanese don't seem to have a concept of babysitting...or of married people actually spending free time together. :-/
Anyhow, some other JETs figured this out and have bent over backwards to make us arrange a time! (thanks, guys!) So, I am meeting Colin the the big city of Nagoya for supper tonight and we will do some Christmas shopping and see a movie! Woohoo! All while our children are having a blast with trusted friends, Josh and Miki.
(All this to say...I will have to find a time to do a make-up work-out for tonight...)

Studying my ?????? off!!

Saturday, Nov. 18th, 2006
Exercise 5/6: Frisbee with Colin
Time: 30 min

So I am a bookworm right now. I have a Japanese Language Proficiency Test on Dec. 3rd. I totally bombed level 4 (lowest) last year and so, logically, I enrolled in Level 3 this year! :-P
Anyhow, I am madly studying. But, for a study break, Colin and I went to the local shrine and played some frisbee. (that's just not something you hear everyday, eh? ;-) It is the largest space to play nearby. We were wondering how old the original structures are. They look real old and weather-worn. (Hey! Maybe we should ask a local or something...ya think?)

Sunday, Nov. 19th, 2006 - 2-3pm (deadline is 4pm...)
Exercise 6/6: Frisbee and Karate practice
Time: 1 hour

We enjoyed yesterday so much that we went back. :-)
Off to Karate later tonight.

TGIF

Exercise 4/6: Tae Bo: Abs
Time: 27 min

We missed Karate last night, so I am going to have to do a make-up work out between now and the deadline! :-P

Last night

Wednesday, Nov. 15/06

Exercise 3/6: Tae Bo
Time: 40 min

yep. Worked out.

Abs night

Exercise 2/6: Ab work-out
Time: 25 min.

Getting better!
The day I "look" better, I will hold a huge party. Maybe it will be on "the other side", if you know what I mean. I am doing this for my health, not my looks! (okay girls, repeat this 100x! ;-) )

I recently read a quote by Nicole Ritchie regarding her botched plastic surgery. She actually said, "I will never be perfect again."
Awwwwwww, poor baby! :-P

Let's just keep at it.
Ganbarimashou!

A new week underway...

Exercise 1/6: Tae Bo-Mission 2
Time: 40 min

It is getting cold real fast. Our warm fall was lasting a long time and now Mother Nature is making up for it. The thing is, in Japan, there is no insulation in the houses and no central heating. It is just as cold inside as out. You may think it is nice to have a high of 15˚ at this time of year. Sure!! Except, that is also the temperature of my office! Soon the big ol' heaters will come out...the ones at work are propane. The official date in Japan for turning them on is December 1st nation-wide, so until then, it is long undies and lap-blankets!

At home, working-out is a great way to keep warm...although I am finding that I am soon going to have to make the time to shower immediately after. It is too cold to walk around in sweaty clothes while making supper!

People do heat their homes...with portable kerosene heaters. The heaters are turned on only when you are in that room and they reek! The bathroom has no heat...thus the reason for fluffly toilet lid and seat covers!!!! (I had never really understood those as a kid ;-P) It is also why many toilet seats also have a warming function...which some of you may remember me mentioning last year.

Community BBQ

Exercise 6/6: 3.5 Km walk
Time: about 1 hour

Walking with the neighbours for some unknown cause...I LOVE being illiterate! (sarcasm :-/)

(mmmm. I posted the above at about 8:45 am my time and then actually did the walk at about 11am...but I knew I wouldn't be home in time to post it before 4pm... just in case you itunes gluttons out there were wondering about this post ;-))

The cause turned out to be enjoyment of fall leaves in the mountains...not a raise-money-kind- of-thing apparently. We filled up 4 buses and drove about 1 hour into the mountains. Then we hiked for 1 hour to a group BBQ site. This was SO interesting! The shelter had long benches for people to sit on (logs split in half and stained). In between each row were long concrete thingies shaped rougly in a u. We were split in groups of 8 and each group was given a "BBQ Pack" to make a fire in the concrete u. Once the coals were ready we put a grate and a grill across the top of the u. Then we spent the afternoon cooking veggies and meat and yakisoba and fish (whole) and it was so fun! btw the cooking utensil of choice here is chopsticks! Even for a BBQ. I am sure Colin will get around to posting pics on our family website...eventually.

Oh, and after, while we were waiting on the buses, we played some games. We did a ring-toss in pairs: You throw a ring at your partner at the same time and catch your partner's ring with the same hand. Colin and I quickly achieved this...and then being gaijin, had to try something different! ;-) We used 3 and tried juggling as a pair. (we got applause for that) Then we used 4 and tried doing it with both hands simultaneously. That was HARD...but fun.

The other game was a first for me. The equipment were long baton-like rods (but too long to actually do any baton twirling). The women lined up (maybe 7 or so) and held a rod upright in each hand with the bottom touching the ground.

• One person said, "ii se no rei" (ready, here we go) and
• we replied "don don pa".
  
• On the "don don" we tapped out batons on the ground to the beat (1-2), and
• on the "pa" we let go of our own and reached for the person's batons on our right.
  

The goal was for everyone to catch the next person's batons before they fell...and count how many times you could do this in a row as a group. Very fun.

Remembrance Day

This is totally unrelated to my blog-topic, but as I am half a world away and cannot take part in a moment of silence with my country-men, I thought I would express my appreciation here.

Whether you are a pacifist or not, in agreement with Afghanistan or not, etc, I am sure we can all take a moment to remember, reflect and apprectiate the sacrifices of our Canadian soldiers, living and dead, who defend/have defended our country and its people as well as attempt to extend peace to our struggling world.

Please click here to read "In Flanders Fields".

Biking with the kids

Exercise 5/6: Biking
Time: 2, 30min rides

Colin is at a "work event" tonight, so the kids and I managed to squeeze in a ride to the video store before dark....then we ate supper at McDonald's. :-o (hey, I had a salad...and some fries....and a chestnut-custard pie.) Well, good thing we had to ride home again to! ;-)

Now we are waiting on a student of mine to arrive. She comes every week to hang out and watch English movies! :-) (Yea, the same girl we visited her family with this past summer). Tonight she is bringing her sister and we are watching Cheaper by the Dozen 2. I was remembering that we went to the first movie with my parents in Calgary. I wanted to see it with my Dad because he read the book to us as children because it was one of his favorite books growing up! So, here's to you, Dad! I will think of you half-way round the world as we watch Steve Martin mutilate the original story. ;-)

Oh, and check this out! I was blown away by reading my sister-in-law's new blog and finding MY blog mentioned! Who knew l'le ol' me could inspire someone else with my daily battle. Cool! That inspires ME! Thanks, L-A!

Blessings Anyone?

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006
Exercise 3/6: Lower Body Work Out
Time: 25 min

Opened the last of my new Billy Blank's DVD's today. Wooowee. That hurt. (But it is a good hurt, if you know what I mean. ;-)
I have noticed that the BB work outs have been helping my overall endurance and strength in Karate. (yeah)

Speaking of which:
Thursday, Nov 9th, 2006

Exercise 4/6: Karate
Time: 1:15

One of the rules of the Dojo in "no socks/shoes", so we enter with bare feet all the time. Tonight was the first night that the gym floor started to feel cool to the touch. By the end of December, it will be painful. Colin's parents will be visiting about that time. They should get a good kick out of seeing us dance around trying to keep our feet off the floor as much as possible! (If they can stand the cold sitting through a work-out! ;-)

As for the title...
We are right in between Canadian Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving. Also, the Japanese holiday of "Labor and Thanksgiving Day" in on the 23rd as well. (We are crashing a full-on Turkey Dinner with some American ALT's that day!! My mouth is watering already) Anyway, the other night I was laying in bed thinking about all the things I am thankful for. So here are some of the things I came up with:

I am thankful for

Hot cups of tea to wrap my hands around
Hot coffee in the morning
Hot baths to soak in (see a pattern here?)
Covers to bury under
Children to snuggle with
A Hubby to keep me warm (he may differ with me on that...since he is the warm one ;-)

Friends to share joys and sorrows with
Family near and far that I love and love me
Canadian Soldiers willing to fight/die for me (us) (btw, wear a poppy!)
A God who knows me (us)

What about you?
What are YOU thankful for?
Please share your comments.