not your typical burger.

Busy day yesterday. So action-packed, in fact, that it went until 3 am and I am just getting around to writing about it this afternoon. 

Jeff and I rode our bikes around for most of the day (since my toe is preventing me from walking for any extended period of time) and stopped for lunch in Harajuku.  I got what was apparently the popular "ladies choice" with avocado and onion as the topping rather than meat.  I'm sorry, but who needs additional meat as a topping on their meat patty?

Oh, and if chopsticks scare you: look! a knife and fork!

Notice the lack of bun and heaping plate of white rice that is served with the burger.  It was really really good and topped with a soy/wasabi sauce.

After that we stopped at one of the ubiquitous creperies in Harajuku.  This one is so cute in a little trolly car-like thing.

Taking the obligatory while-we-wait self portrait (please excuse the camera shadow under jeff's nose - he is not a dirty chimney sweep) 

After that, we had a few friends over to hang out.  Since the trains stop running at 1 a.m. if you're out after that, you have to wait until they start running again at 5 a.m. to go home.  We stayed up with them until about 3 a.m. before I crashed.   When those guys get chatting...

Mata ne,

Melissa

Melissa Homemaker

Today I made a casserole. Yes, that's right.  See?

We had some leftover breadcrumbs from the stuffing I made for Thanksgiving and darn it I was going to use them.  In case you're interested here's what I did:

1.  thank your lucky stars you were able to find celery in japan.
2.  preheat the oven to 350 f (or guess where 350 might be on your inaccurate metric oven dial).
3.  in a pan stir fry two chicken breasts, a diced onion, and a full celery stalk (diced) until the chicken is cooked through.
4.  mix over low heat one can of condensed cream of asparagus soup (its what we had), plus one can water, and a can (not condensed) of cream of chicken soup (i actually used a bag of what i think was cream of chicken soup with veggies in it.  the package was in Japanese so i grabbed it and prayed i was right).
5.  the recipe i found called for a half cup of butter so i used about an eighth of a cup and that was probably not even necessary, but i mixed it in the soups and then added the veggies and chicken to the pot and stirred it all up really well. (its not necessary to actually cook this stuff, cause you're baking it - its a casserole, remember?)
6.  pour all that stuff into a 2 quart baking dish and dump the breadcrumbs in (maybe like 4 cups worth? or whatever you have leftover from thanksgiving) and stir that stuff up too.  i guess you can do this in the pot you were using before, huh?  well i didn't.
7.  bake for 30 minutes or until it looks done.  i usually take things out right before i think they'll burn on top, and that usually works.  tonight the cassarole was more goopy on the inside than normal, but you should see the oven i am working with here. 

It turned out really well actually.  Jeff and I ate the whole thing.  I'm turning into a regular not-so-desperate housewife. 

Aside from going out to buy ibuprofin (nonsensically spelled with an eve at the begining) for my toe and scouting out some English lesson locations that's all I did today.

Hopefully I'll be more interesting tomorrow.

Mata ne,
Melissa

No blue. Just black.

Today we laid low.

Got up at a reasonable hour.  Did some productive work.  Got ready to go out for a run.  I slipped and broke my big toe (OUCH. Not pleasant. Do not recommend it.).

I will spare you the nasty picture of my swollen black toe.

Jeff went for a run while I rode my bike.  Hung out at home some more and iced my foot.  Hobbled out for Turkish food. That wasn't enough for Jeff so we went for gyoza and edamame too.

Now home drowning my misery in my new favorite drink, Chu-Hi (thanks, Leigh!) and Meiji chocolate covered in peanut butter. 

It's amazing, though, you'd think this day would suck, but I spent every single moment with my husband, and I couldn't be happier.  Going to bed with a smile on my face.

Mata ne,
Melissa

Back on the wagon

It's not like I don't have the time.  In fact, I have literally nothing on my schedule.  At all.  But for some reason not having a schedule makes it that much harder to get on a schedule for working out.

But that's all changing now.  Maybe I'm inspired by Jeff's marathon training plan.  Or it could be the fact that all the clothing in Japan is too small for me. Whatever.  I'm going to do it and I'm starting today.

See?  Try and catch me.

Time to break out the themed sweaters.

Good morning, December.  I wasn't expecting you so soon, and yet, here you are.

I should have seen you coming, I suppose, as I can't escape the drone of Christmas music, elaborately decorated store windows, and present pushing commercials even in a country where the overwhelming majority of the population does not celebrate Christmas.

Good bye, autumn.  You will be missed.

I just love this picture.  I can't get enough of it.  This is the last time, I promise.

Being December 1, it is our favorite toy good friend Bridgette's son Connor's first birthday!!

What a cutie!  Happy Birthday Connor!!

We look forward to playing with you when we get home!

Mata ne,

Melissa

Flattely will get you nowhere

Today, for the first time in quite a while, I was a productive member of society.

I took part in a survey about my smartphone usage.  And I am eagerly awaiting financial compensation for my time!  Who knew my blackberry thumbs would come in handy some day?

That might not have even been the most imporant thing accomplished today.  This morning I took Jeff to get his haircut.  In the train station. First the guy cut/used the clippers on Jeff's hair.

Then he vacuumed Jeff's head.  Like with a vacuum.

Jeff said it actually felt really nice.

Since we'd traveled all the way to Yokohama for the survey, we decided to walk around a bit there and  went to the requisite mall-attached-to-the-station.  While buying Jeff the espresso maker he's decided he can't spend the next nine months without (he's such a coffee snob), I spied this little gem:

Now I know flattery will get you nowhere, but I am not sure the same can be said for flattely.

This is just the tip of the bad English iceberg.

Mata ne,
Melissa

take it easy

Ahhh.  Quiet Sunday.

Today we relaxed and did some work (yes, I studied Japanese) at a coffee shop. I spend an increasingly large amount of time looking at the side of my husband's face.

Still thinking about the wonderful Thanksgiving celebration even though I couldn't be with family.   So thankful to have friends to share it with!

Big day tomorrow.  Heading to Yokohama in the morning - details to come.

Mata ne,
Melissa