11. 12.

Until recently, I didn't realize that traditional anniversary gifts differ depending on where you live. For example, in the US the gift for your fourth anniversary is linen or silk, while in the UK it is fruit and flowers. However, all the big ones are still the same in both countries: silver for the 25th, sapphires for the 45th and diamonds for the big five-oh. I also learned that this tradition is not followed in Japan.

But it is in our house.

Shin likes the idea, especially the gift of leather for your third anniversary. Before you get any funny ideas, he was thinking along the lines of a new motorcycle jacket, nothing kinky (as far as I know - we'll see in two more years). So, for my day of our anniversary weekend, I decided that we would get paper gifts for each other.

Like with many things, Shin is not very timely in his gift giving. He just bought my birthday gift a week ago (my birthday was in October). It was purchased alongside my Christmas gift and they are both being delivered this coming Monday.

I should take a moment and be fair to my loving husband.

He is a very busy guy. He works nights seven days a week, and sleeps during the day. He only ever takes time off when we have something special planned, in fact our anniversary marked his first day off since we moved at the end of March. Needless to say, shopping is not at the top of his 'To Do' list. Taking this into consideration, I decided that part of my anniversary plans would include picking out our paper presents together. And what better place to do that than at a bookstore!

A little while ago, one of my students was describing a bookstore that she had visited in Kyoto called Keibunsha. It sounded so cool and when she showed me a picture of all the goodies she bought I was sold! She also told me about ガケ書房 (Gakegake), another bookstore not far from Keibunsha, that sounded just as good. She mentioned that they have a section specializing in old / discontinued comics which I thought would be right up Shin's alley.

We ate breakfast and set off for Kyoto in the morning on the 12th. We decided to go to Keibunsha first and we were not disappointed. They had lots of great architecture books, cookbooks, stationary and a small gallery in the corner. I'm not sure how long we spent browsing but it was long enough for The Bean to remind me that I hadn't eaten in a couple of hours and we still had one more shop to visit before lunch. Most importantly, I picked out my anniversary present; a book about the life and paintings of my favourite Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama.

This is me at a Kusama exhibit in Osaka last March.

We then headed to ガケ書房, and again we weren't disappointed.

Shin spent the majority of his time reading through the comics and graffiti art books, while I tried to figure out how they had attached the car to the outside of the building. This shop was quite a bit smaller, but we spent almost as much time inside. Between the two of us, we probably went through every book they have. For his anniversary present, Shin picked out two coffee table books about graffiti art and I found a cookbook specializing in recipes for pancakes. Gifts were bought and we left happy campers.

If you're ever in Kyoto and are looking to do something aside from visiting temples and shrines, I highly recommend both of these bookstores.

Thanks Noriko!

In the afternoon Shin and I headed to Arashiyama where, the year before, we had wedding pictures taken with my family. 

Luckily, it was a Monday so the place wasn't too overrun with tourists, as it often is at this time of year. We bought some ice cream and had a lovely stroll through the bamboo forest and surrounding neighbourhood, enjoying the autumn colours.

Of course, when I say stroll, I mean waddle.

As evening grew closer, the temperature started to drop and we were ready to head back to the heated car; feeling rather exhausted but jubilant after celebrating our paper anniversary.

Happy first anniversary Shin! xo xo xo

2011

2012

11 . 11 .

On November 11th, 2011 Shin and I were married at city hall in Osaka. There was no ceremony, just the two of us filling out paperwork and presenting our identification. We exchanged rings in the back of a taxi on the way home; a friend of ours commented that it was all very "rock star".

Of course that wasn't all we did.

We followed up our rock start visit to city hall by dressing in traditional Japanese kimonos and visiting one of the more famous and beautiful sightseeing spots in Kyoto, Arishiyama.

The next day we celebrated with friends and family with a more traditional reception. We exchanged vows, ate, drank and were merry. It was a fabulous couple of days.

It's now one year later and we are celebrating our first anniversary! What a year it has been. We moved at the end of March, I started a new job at the beginning of April and of course The Bean entered the picture not long after that. 

The Hiranos don't mess around.

When it came to celebrating our first anniversary we figured that, much like our wedding, it should be a two day affair. So Shin made plans for the 11th and I made plans for the 12th.

After working on the morning of the 11th, I headed home and was greeted by the arrival of some maternity clothes I had ordered online. Woo hoo, something to wear for our big weekend! Already off to a good start. After ripping open the box and playing dress-up for a while I noticed that something was missing.

My husband.

Where was Shin?

I knew that he had planned to borrow his parent's car for the weekend but had said that he'd be home by the time I finished work. The pouring rain outside, coupled with his propensity for being late meant that he was probably both stuck in traffic and of course running late. Perfect time for a nap. I woke up an hour  later, still no Shin.

Hmmmm.

He was now about three hours late and in my books that's time enough to warrant a phone call. After about 6 rings Shin groggily answered the phone,

"Where are you!?"

"Sleeping in the car."

Shin's parents live between 45 minutes to an hour away on a normal day. Throw in some rain, and keep in mind that it was Sunday, the time almost doubles. But sleeping in the car...? Apparently, Shin was really tired on the way home and didn't think that he'd make it without a nap. So, he pulled over for a ten minute snooze.

An hour and a half later he was still snoozing.

Shin reassured me that I had no need to worry, and that he would be home in plenty of time to get ready for our evening out. Under my breath I muttered "better late than never" and hung up.

Although the 11th was Shin's day to plan anniversary fun, I had a little surprise up my sleeve.

There were many aspects of our wedding that Shin was happy to let me take care of, but one of the things that he had some very strong opinions on was our wedding cake. He didn't want the usual fruity cream cake that is served at most receptions in Japan, and when I suggested a cupcake tower he was hooked. I realize that cupcake towers are by no means new or unusual in most places, but they are pretty much unheard of in Japan.

What to do?

Of course! Ask the Sugar Fairy, to make our wedding cake. The Sugar Fairy is a  baker and maker extraordinaire, and luckily for us she is also a very good friend. Although it was a monumental task, she churned out the perfect cake!

We had planned to freeze some for our first anniversary, but the Sugar Fairy advised against it and promised to make us an anniversary cake. And, so she did.

While Shin was making his way home I made some coffee and took the cake out of the fridge. Shin had forgotten about the promise of an anniversary cake, so when he (finally) got home he was totally surprised. We sat down and toasted our first year of marriage.

Cake before dinner, why not!







After finishing our dessert we got dressed up and headed out to the restaurant. Shin had reserved us a table at a famous teppanyaki restaurant about an hour drive from our place. I was convinced that we wouldn't make it in time for our reservation, as it had taken Shin so long to get home, but the rain had let up and there was no need to stop for a nap. For once we were actually early!

Then we ate.

And ate.

And ate.

Each table at the restaurant had its own chef, so all of the courses (eight in total) were perfectly timed and the food was cooked exactly as we wanted. The two most exciting courses for me were the seafood course and the steak course.

Delicious!

I had never been to a teppanyaki restaurant before, so this was a big treat for me. On our way home with bellies bursting, Shin pondered where we would go with The Bean for dinner on our second anniversary.

But I was too full to even answer.

みかん (Mikan) .

みかん is our cat. And she is 'special'.

About five years ago I was in the market for a cat and found her on the Internet. She belonged to a family that had gotten her at the same time as their son was born. The family had hoped that the cat and baby would grow up together. Unfortunately (for them), the baby was terribly allergic and she had to go.

This is where I came into the picture.

Arrangements were made for the whens and the wheres of the hand-off, and on a brisk December morning a friend and I set out to get her.

As the family was quite desperate to find みかん a new home, I think they may have exaggerated a tad when they told me about her.

Exaggeration #1: She loves people, especially children.

みかん in no way whatsoever likes children. Whenever friends bring their kids to our house she hides in the closet until they have not only left the building, but are out of the neighborhood and well on their way home. As for big people, that is very much hit and miss. She either loves you or heads to the closet. There is no method to feline madness.

Just ask my mom.

Last year my mom stayed with us for about a week. I think みかん graced us with her presence sometime around the time my mom was getting ready to leave...only to crawl into my sister's lap. A good impression was not made.

Exaggeration #2: みかん never, ever scratches.

Actually, this is more of a full on, slap you in the face lie.

She scratches everything: wallpaper, wood, curtains, the sofa and best of all me. If you have been following along in our little baby making saga, you may remember that I have a thing for white leather sofas. In fact, I used to have one (paired beautifully with my fake teak furniture).

Until the cat destroyed it.

Actually, strike that. Until the cat destroyed THEM. Nail holes up and down the arms of the sofa and teeth marks (revealing the true nature of my "teak" coffee table), is what this non-scratching cat gifted me with during our first year together.

On any given day if you take a quick look at my hands and forearms, you can also find evidence of our cat that "never scratches". These little welts of love, are usually the result of me not wanting to get out of bed at 4 a.m. to feed her royal highness.

Eventually, she gets fed. Every night.

Exaggeration #3: みかん is never noisy.

Liars!

In the summer most people leave their windows open. A fairly normal practice unless you are the owner of one howling cat. I have trained myself, yes myself not the cat, to approach the apartment with ninja silence. If みかん hears my voice, keys or shoes she begins howling in a voice loud enough to set off the neighbor's dogs, make babies cry, and wake the dead.

Trust me, nobody needs to be welcomed home by that symphony.

Aside from these few unforeseen character flaws, みかん settled right in and now I don't know how we'd live without her.

Better rested I suppose.

Anyway, as charming as 'The History of Me and My Cat' must be, it's about time that I get to my point.

みかん and The Bean

みかん clearly loves me more than Shin. This is evident in the welcome home howling (which Shin never gets), the way she wedges herself between us if Shin gets too close on the sofa, and her attacks of bulimia.

Right, I forgot to mention the bulimia.

There are times when a social engagement has kept me out late, maybe all night, and on the rare occasion for the weekend. Let me assure you, this hasn't happened recently. Upon returning home the first thing I do is feed the cat. Then, she promptly eats and vomits up said food. みかん adjusts the volume and location of said vomit in order to correspond with the length of my absence. A weekend away will guarantee Exorcist-style vomit on my pillow. This also never happens to Shin.

Isn't it nice to be loved?

Getting back to my point, what is going to happen when The Bean arrives?! How will we keep the cat out of the crib? What if みかん and The Bean both require an early morning feeding at the same time? How many rolls of paper towel does one need to stock up on, in order to clean up cat and baby vomit? Did I mention the jealousy when people spend too much time in my general vicinity? And of course, みかん doesn't do children.

I have no clue about how this is going to turn out. Part of me thinks that there has to be some sort of bonding that goes on between pets and babies. The other part of me has nightmares of cribs filled with cat vomit.

I suppose only time will tell. 

S#%t people say.

I would like to think that there are times when people say things without really thinking them through. Perhaps they are having a rough day and not focusing. Or they don't realize that what they have just said could be taken the wrong way...by a hormonal pregnant woman.

Who knows.

Whatever the reason, recently there have been a few occasions where I've laughed off comments that in retrospect were probably a little off colour. Unfortunately, as I am not a great judge of my own sensitivity, I think that it's probably better to smile and nod rather than fly off the handle and start throwing things.

I've made a mental note of some of the keepers to share.

S#%t People Say

"Wow! Are you having twins?" - From a total stranger.

"Is that good for the baby?" - I was eating chocolate. Maybe not the best thing for the baby, but damn good for mama.

"Your face is fat." - Sigh.

"You're due in February? I thought it was much sooner." - Enough already!

"You must really like that, you're eating a lot!" - The speakers of the other zingers shall remain anonymous, but interestingly this one was said by my darling husband. You would think that he'd know better by now.


You may notice a trend here, most of these comments are directed at what I'm eating or my size.

Yes, The Bean and I are growing steadily. In fact, it feels like we're expanding as each day goes by. I've had to hang up my last pair of pre-pregnancy pants and just realized that although I am currently able to zip up my winter coat, in a few weeks that will not be the case.

For the first six months I was so careful about everything that passed my lips but recently it's becoming harder and harder. Especially when everything I am about to eat demands to be covered in peanut butter beforehand.

Well...not everything.

Next week we have an appointment with our baby doc. I greatly fear that this will be the time when I am berated for gaining too much weight. Guess I had better start cutting back on the peanut butter.

But first I should finish off these tasty treats.



 

帯祝い (Obi Iwai).

For those of you that know Shin, you are well aware that he is not the most punctual of individuals. In fact, on the rare occasions that he is on time it's most likely due to dumb luck or my incessant nagging, rather than careful planning. 'Better late than never' has become something of a mantra in our house. Our trip to Nakayama Temple for Obi Iwai is one such example.

It is custom for families in Japan to visit a temple in the fifth month of pregnancy to pray for the health of their baby. I had never heard of this custom until a friend of mine and a couple of students asked me if we had been yet.

Of course we hadn't.

So, as I entered the twenty-fifth week of my pregnancy (that would be month six) we met up with the in-laws and headed out say our prayers.

Although I had asked around, I still didn't really understand what was supposed to go down when we got to the temple. I was under the impression that we would show up, some guy would bind up my belly and we'd call it a day. It was the belly binding that was causing me some stress.

Over the last few weeks The Bean, and subsequently myself, have been going through a growth spurt. Said growth has turned my stomach into an angry, red monster. I religiously slather it in vitamin E cream in an attempt to fight off stretch marks (so far so good) but my skin is a disgusting red mess. Anyway, not really something that I want to be flashing a stranger with.

Luckily, my belly stayed safe inside my clothing where it belongs.

It turns out that the whole 'ceremony', if you could call it that, takes only a few minutes. We came, we dropped 7000 yen on a paper envelope full of goodies, and five minutes later prepared to leave.

Inside the envelope there is a white cotton obi that Shin and I are to tie around my belly on 犬の日 (Dog Day) later in November, along with other lucky charms to help The Bean make a healthy and safe entrance into world.

On our way out we passed a small Buddha that was surrounded by baby bibs covered in messages that parents had written for their little beans. I liked the idea of this far more than the belly wrapping and we got a bib for The Bean.

I don't know if this is like making a wish on a birthday cake, if you tell it won't come true, so I'll just give you the gist of it. My message was a wish for the health of our baby boy.

 

 

Shin was kind enough to wish for an easy labour and birth for both myself and The Bean. Thank you honey! xx

 



I'm not religious by any means but I figure that good vibes are welcome, no matter where they come from. And that was certainly accomplished by our little outing to Nakayama Temple.

Two days late.

Better late than never.

Halloween.

I love Halloween.

For years I have been of the opinion that it should be a world wide public holiday. Actually, the day after Halloween should be the holiday; give kids some time to sort out their sugar levels and for the rest of us to recover from the debauchery of the night before.

Shin loves Halloween too.

Since we met it has been our night. We always go shopping together and help each other get ready for the festivities. One of my fondest memories from the beginning of our relationship is of Shin bursting into my apartment at around 6:30 in the morning toting a pair of 8 inch heel go-go boots. He had just returned from the private courier dispatch center, where he had gone to pick them up, unable to wait for the delivery later that day. Not even John Travolta could imagine the likes of the strutting that went on in my kitchen that morning.

This year things are a little different. A crowded, smoky bar is probably not the best environment for The Bean, even if said bar belongs to his daddy. So, I am doing the responsible thing and spending the night in - but don't you think for a second that I'm not celebrating!

Rocky Horror Picture Show - check. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - check. Thriller dance taking place in the kitchen every hour, on the hour - check. Costume...

I thought that might be going a little overboard, even for me.

It's nearing midnight and things are probably just starting to get going in Shin's part of the city. I'm all Time Warped out and heading to bed. But before I turn in I just wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY HALLOWEEN from The Bean and I! 365 more sleeps to go until next year.

Shin, Halloween 2012 - a vision of the perfect husband and father.

Hormones.

I like to think of myself as a rational and fairly even tempered person. Sure I've had my moments of diva-ness, but nothing off the charts.

Until recently.

Pregnancy hormones have caused me to lash out in ways that in retrospect are both embarrassing and over the top. As such, they need to be shared.

Crying
All pregnant women cry. I know this to be a fact from listening to the tales of friends and family, and of course the Internet told me so. What I didn't realize, was the wide range of absolutely idiotic things that would turn me into a weeping mess of a woman. I cried when the train was late. I cried when the supermarket was out of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I cried when I lost my keys in my pocket. I could go on and on.

One of my worst tear antagonists has been the TV. Music videos, commercials and the Discovery channel have all at one point or another turned me into a puddle. But it was an episode of Glee that pushed me over the edge.

Yes, Glee.

It was the finale from the third season, the Graduation episode. The thing is, I hadn't seen any of the other episodes from that season. In fact, I only tuned in at the end of that particular show just in time for them to graduate while singing Bruce Springsteen's Glory Days. Having not invested any time or real interest in the characters or the show itself, my reaction seemed a little out of place.

Torrent of tears.

Full on sobs.

Snot flying.

Hormones in maximum overdrive.

Throwing the Mail
As previously mentioned, I consider myself to be a rational person. Even in the down and dirty depths of an argument I rarely yell, and I have never, ever thrown anything.

Until a few weeks ago.

Let me set the scene: it's a peaceful evening in the Hirano household. Shin is on the sofa relaxing while I'm cooking dinner. Dinner is nothing fancy, Thai curry with jasmine rice and salad, a meal we often eat. I was off that day so there was no stress from work and I was feeling particularly refreshed after a long afternoon nap.

Not a breeding ground for unfounded rage.

Dinner is ready to go and I start to clear stuff off the table when I come across that day's mail. The mail that Shin has carelessly tossed on the table. The mail that he has not even bothered to open. The mail that could be of extreme importance, but it's just sitting there. The mail that is standing between us and our Thai curry.

The mail that is suddenly flying across the room at my unsuspecting husband's head.

Hormones in ultra overdrive.

Attacking the Elderly
I have great respect for the aged. In fact, I am often the first to defend the actions of cantankerous elderly people; they put in the years, give them a break. It's my dream to someday be lucky enough to become a dirty old man.

Then one old bird messed with the wrong pregnant lady.

As my bump has now expanded past my boobs, my balance has been somewhat irregular. Just to be safe, I've started taking elevators rather than the stairs. My schedule is fairly regular so I see the same people getting off the train almost everyday. Most passengers drag their weary bodies up the stairs but there are a few of us that make a beeline for the elevator.

One old Betty in particular.

She's up and standing at the train doors waiting to get off a good two or three minutes before we pull into the station. From there, she races to the elevator and as soon as she gets in, starts pounding on the close-door button like her life depends on it. Countless times people, including myself, have been left in her dust waiting for the lift to come back down.

A few days ago, Granny was up to her usual tricks when she closed the door on my belly (which of course arrives everywhere before I do). Rather than let it fly and wait for the next ride up, I wrenched the door open with Hulk like ferocity and roared:

もう、あぶないよ。あなたのエレベーターじゃない!

Literally translated as: Hey! Be careful. This isn't your elevator!

Add a splash of vehemence. A drop of intimidation. A whole heaping helping of hormones, not to mention the fact that I towered over her by at least 25 centimeters, and I am sure what she heard was:

Listen you cranky old bitch, lay your finger on that button one more time and I'm going to snap it off. Don't you freakin' well know that this isn't your private elevator!?

Hormones in ultra, super-duper maximum overdrive.