Random Week

Last week was a pretty mellow week. Monday, I went scrapbooking for a couple of hours. I am so behind on scrapbooking. Sigh. Tuesday, I went to cooking school and made bread with pumpkin, red peppers, mayo and mustard. So for baking school, I will alternate between savory breads and sweet breads. That is good so I can have some versatility. Wednesday, I went to volunteer, but it was cut short because one of the first grade classes closed because of the flu. That is pretty crazy, but it's going around. Since we had some extra time in the morning, Eiko-san and I went to the library. I got a library card! Woohoo, I will probably be checking out the kindergarten books. So Michael and I have started a weekly trip to the golf range. I am still overly amazed that you can stay as long as you want. I must say I was rather motivated this week, so I was able to hit 202 balls. Of course, Michael has to trump me and hit 293. He's one of those "speedy" golfers. Thursday, Michael's chief, Shimazu-san and his wife, Tomoko-san joined us for dinner. They took us to this sushi-ya (Kuro something). It was delicious. We got to sit in a tatami room, which I like. We had raw oysters, pork, salad, tempura, and sushi. It was delicious! I really enjoyed trying some new things. Shimazu-san and Tomoko-san are really nice and I hope to get to know them better. Since we all had a little bit to drink, we used daiko services. (Daiko service is basically a designated driver. Two people come in on car and one person drives your car and the other person follows in the car they came in. I must say I was a tad bit scared. The daiko driver drove a bit fast and the streets were narrow. I would think that since they are driving someone else's car they would be a little more careful, but no. Nonetheless, a nice concept, so you never have to assign a dd.) This past weekend, Michael and I decided to relax in Utsunomiya since we went to Nasu the weekend before and we're going snowboarding next weekend at Hunter Mountain. We watched a lot of movies, I can't remember all of them. Ah well. We also brought out the wii fit. I must say we didn't play it as much as we thought we would when we bought it, plus with the move to Japan we packed it up shortly after we got it, so we never had a chance to get addicted to it. We have begun a daily routine for the wii fit. Michael and I each do 30 minutes, usually a combo of yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games. I've unlocked this new snowboarding game and I realize why I fall so much!!! I can't balance on my toes. Sigh. The good thing is, I can practice on the wii fit. I love it. It's been 4 days and we are still going strong, I hope it continues. Hehe. Today, I had another baking class. ABC Cooking recommends going frequently because you build on the techniques from previous classes. I actually forgot some things I learned last week, how sad. Anyways, today I made an almond maple bread. It looks good, but I am waiting for Michael to taste it. I think it will be good, the question is can I make it on my own without the assistance of professional bakers. Hopefully we will be more active this week, so I will have a more fun and interesting post next time!