productive week

This is a super boring post but I had a good week and I'm excited about making progress!

the prints and frames I ordered finally came!  I was so excited to give them to my friends that I only snapped 2 iPhone photos.  This is the 1st time I've ever ordered any of my photos in a large size and I was really happy with how they turned out!

my hiking boots were also delivered this week and I LOVE THEM!  They fit great and they are super cute!  Now I just need to "break them in" so I can climb to the top of Fuji-san in a couple of months! {I'm getting slightly nervous about this.  You are only able to hike Mt. Fuji from 1July-31Aug and I will be in the US from about 30July-15Sept so I really only have 4 weeks to do this.  I want to go during the best possible weather (I need all the help I can get) but I don't really have time to be picky.  I am determined to make it work though!}

This was a very exciting day for us!  NO MORE CAR PAYMENT!  For the last 18 months we've been paying for a car that we don't get to drive ={  It is convenient when we go home to visit that we have a car to drive and when we PCS back to the States it will be so nice to only have to purchase 1 vehicle.

The only thing left to check off our debt list is my student loan.  Thankfully I can see the light at the end of that tunnel and it'll be paid of soon before I turn 30!

I've been making progress on my scrapbook also.  As you can see by the date on this I still have quite a ways to go to be "caught up"!

I know I'm not going to get to check off everything on my 30 by 30 list but I'm making every effort to do as much as I possibly can.

Flavor of the Week {Mini Red Velvet Brownies}

Tomorrow is our spouses club "make it, fake it or bake it" luncheon.  I scoured the internet and Pinterest looking for something yummy to bake and finally settled on this recipe.  The original recipe was for a pan of these brownies but I wanted something "cuter" for the auction tomorrow so I decided to go with bite sized versions.  Luckily there were some left over so I was able to taste one two a few to make sure they were good and they definitely didn't disappoint!

I almost didn't choose this route because I didn't have wrappers that fit my mini muffin pan so I needed to be sure they wouldn't stick!  In order to make this happen I had to get creative.

Are any of you scrapbookers?  I found a new use for one of my tools that is usually used strictly for scrapbooking.  I used a 1&3/8 inch circle punch to cut pieces of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of each cup.  Then I sprayed the sides like a mad woman and prayed!

Thankfully this worked like a charm!  I had to run a knife around the sides of some but for the most part, they just fell right out of the pan!

With our further ado, here is the recipe modified for the mini version

Ingredients

1 (4-oz.) bittersweet chocolate baking bar, chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (1-oz.) bottle red liquid food coloring
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom and spray the sides 2 mini muffin pans.

Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl at HIGH until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Whisk in sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking just until blended after each addition. Gently stir in flour and next 4 ingredients. Scoop 1 TBSP of batter into each cup.

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. {mine took 10 minutes and my oven usually bakes pretty slow so I would check them after about 7 minutes.  To be safe, stay close and monitor them frequently!}

Cool completely on a wire rack (about 30 minutes).

Here is the super easy cream cheese frosting recipe for the top

Ingredients1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar {sifted}
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and salt, beating until blended. Stir in vanilla.

30 in 30 {7 months}

Health/Fitness {0/5}

1} take a yoga class 

2} complete a 5K {Training has begun. Race day: 07APR12.  Signed up to "run" a Warrior Dash while I'm "home" for my brother's wedding}

3} climb Mt Fuji {ordered these super fun new hiking boots so I can break them in...that's a start right?!?}

4} do 1 unassisted pull up

5} pass the Army PT test for my gender/age group {looked this one up, I need to run 2 miles in 20:30, do 17 push-ups in 2 minutes and 45 sit-ups in 2 minutes...I have some training to do!}

Food {3/6}

6} learn to cook lobster {DONE 16Dec11}

7} make gnocchi from scratch {DONE 8Dec11}

8} learn to make grandma's relish

9} try 5 new foods {DONE} 1. natto beans.  2. umeboshi.  3. ratatouille (I know, I know, I'd never had it before and now I'm obsessed).  4. collard greens 5. turnips

10} make Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon rolls 

11} learn to make 5 traditional Japanese dishes, including sushi {3/5}  1.sushi rolls. 2. inarizushi. 3. omelet (they're slightly different than the omelets we eat in the States)

Travel {2/8}

12} drink the Absynth we bought in Prague 3 years ago 

13} visit at least 3 new countries {2/3} 1. Taipei. 2. Australia

14} learn enough Japanese to carry on at least a 5 minute conversation working on this one

15} visit Disney (Tokyo Disney will have to do)

16} visit Hiroshima

17} snorkle the Great Barrier Reef {DONE}

18} ride an elephant in Thailand (this and #17 are trips that will help knock off # 13 as well and are sort of in the early planning stage.  If our vacation locations change, these will have to be changed as well)

19} visit a Japanese Onsen (hot spring) {DONE 31Dec11}

Random {2/11}

20} get out of debt (ALMOST THERE!  STUPID STUDENT LOANS!) still working on this one but we're on track to be done before I turn 30 =}

21} get caught up on my scrapbooks and stay current

22} read 50 books {30/50 and looking for recommendations!}

23} find out my blood type

24} design a logo for BleuDress (or pay someone else to) {working on this one}

25} MASTER all the functions on my camera {DONE 16Oct11 thanks to this class}

26} solve the Rubik's cube or complete a crossword puzzle without any help {I can't even figure out the Rubik's cube using the cheat sheet they include!  I'm working on some crossword puzzles!}

27} save $20K {I have come to terms with the idea that this one is not going to happen thanks to the 3 trips we will be making to the US next year.  I'm not happy about it, but it's a fact}

28} watch all of the Star Wars movies (I've only seen the newest one)

29} renew my CPR certification and keep it current {signed up for the class on 10Mar}

30} be paid for a photograph {DONE 7JAN12...I changed this one back to the original}

10 on 10 {February}

I love this way of documenting my day but always forget about it until it's too late!  I'm glad I remembered this month!

morning workout

chores

I recently found out that not everyone knows about this trick to defog your mirror post shower.  It works like a charm!

mixing black & brown=stepping outside my comfort zone 

yep, I bought some more and I'm not finished yet!

crossing things off my to do list/signing up for my 1st "5K"...go big or go home!

snack time

checking for mail

Coke.blogging.TV

I have an event to attend and the hubby's working late

CrAzY busy!

I knew I had blogged once before about my life being off the charts busy so I went back and searched for it to discover it was almost EXACTLY one year ago! {you can see that post HERE.  That post was 10 days before THE earthquake and it's amazing to think on all that has happened since}  Like I said last year, I prefer my life this way but sometimes the blog ends up on the back burner.  I'm going to try really hard not to let that happen this year.  This must be the time of year where I just come out of my winter funk and start getting out more!  Right now, my month looks like this

Every single day has at least one thing planned.  Some days my only responsibility is to make it to the gym but other days are non stop from 0830-2100!  I still have to schedule a doctor appointment and some of my ESL students in there as well.

I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks.  I have a lot of fun stuff planned, including 2 Japanese cooking classes, a Japanese bead making class and tomorrow, I start taiko drum lessons!

I was invited to attend the local international association's yearly party which I'm also looking forward to.

In addition to everything else, I decided to step outside of my photography comfort zone.  I was hired to take photos of a marathon in a couple weeks.  Ordinarily this would be no big deal but the way this company works is they will hand me blank memory cards at the beginning of the day and after the marathon is over, I hand them back.  No viewing them, no editing them!!!  As a photographer friend of mine said, "That's like seeing your dirty underwear" and I couldn't have said it better!  I'm excited and slightly nervous but it will be good experience {even if I don't have any photos to show from it} and the pay is decent which is always nice.

Among all the craziness, I'm trying to cook healthy {-ish/-er} meals for dinner each night.  Today I went to our local market to pick up some fresh salmon {we only get frozen on base},eggplant and a few other things.  When I put my basket on the check out counter, I noticed it looked {almost} like a rainbow

{snap peas, eggplant, pineapple, salmon, strawberries...just missing something blue}

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On a completely random side note, if you're into the whole singing reality show thing, I plead with you to tune into the Voice and vote for Tony Lucca!!!  He is an incredible singer/songwriter who I have briefly mentioned on this blog once or twice before.  He works so hard and totally deserves this!!!!

Show YOU Japan

We have been in Japan for almost a year and a half now and some days I feel like we have seen everything and some days I feel like there are an infinite number of things left to do and see before we leave!  I have a small list of things we MUST DO in the next 18ish months, including but not limited to

hike Fuji San

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

attend a cherry blossom festival

photo courtesy of Surviving Japan

visit Hiroshima and Tokyo Disney

photos courtesy of Wikipedia and Tokyo Disney


What I want to know is, what do YOU want to see???  I recognize what a wonderful, unique opportunity it is to live here and I'd like share as much of it with you as possible. So, is there something you have always wanted to know about Japan or something you'd like to see me do?  I'm willing to try almost anything {and what I won't, my husband most likely will} and travel within a reasonable distance.  I can't guarantee that I will be able to honor all requests but I'd like to hear your ideas and I'll do my best to show you what you want to see!

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

It was a beautiful day today so the husband and I headed to the Red Brick Warehouse area of Yokohama. 

The area has lost of shops and restaurants and although we did enjoy a delicious seafood buffet

that isn't why we went.  The purpose of our trip was to fulfill my need to ICE SKATE!

It was a great day to be outside but not such a great day for the ice!  It was super slushy and choppy but we still had a great time.

On our way home, we stumbled upon this bakery outside the train station and decided to stop in and check out the pies

The 1st thing we noticed was this sign

Immediately after seeing this sign I realized they were playing American rap music and I heard "mother f&%#ing Cincinnati hats" {anyone have any clue what song that line is from?  I couldn't find it online!} and I lost it.  The combination of the sign, the music and the fact that we happened to step into this innocent looking bakery just in time to hear a reference to my home town sent me over the edge.  I started laughing hysterically!

Once I finally got my laughter under control, we decided to put the sign to the test and bought 4 HUGE slices to try

chocolate and whiskey apple for the husband

banana cream and mile high apple for me

The banana cream was excellent, however I'm not quite sure it is f-bomb worthy.  My husband said the chocolate had a coffee flavor which he doesn't care for, so it was just ok.  The apple slices are on deck for tomorrow!