Photo Dump Number 2

The update will be at a later date. But since my camera is almost full, I'm going to load pictures now. This will be huge, so I apologize in advance. These are photos of Hiratsuka, planting rice, a ramen shop close to the bus stop, an Okonomiyaki place, and other things. I may offer some commentary...but I denno yet.

A quick update

So, the beginning of the photo dumps have begun. Yesterday I had enough time to post a few before I had to catch the bus from campus to the guest house. And as such, I didn't really provide an even remotely detailed update of what I've been up to, which is what I had also wanted to do.

Sadly, I wasn't paying attention and have let my free time dwindle while I read Penny Arcade and other such pointless things, instead of updating like I wished to. Having just remembered that I should update, I find that I probably don't have enough time to do what I'd like.

ANYWAY. I'm rambling.

So...

How's it like here? What have I been doing? etc etc? I don't know where to begin. I'd rather just respond to questions posed by people I know than just sit here and type on and on with no real direction.

I guess, to start, you should know that, for the most part, Japan is just as beautiful as all the photos claim. They're not lying about that. Sure, cities are cities and as such, there are some unusually ugly buildings taking up space, but for the most part, it's amazingly beautiful.

On the bus from the airport, through the drizzle and the gloom, I couldn't help but feel the urban sprawl as less of a planned endeavor and more like a fluid organism filling up crevices and flowing down the hills: like some kind of glacier or river slowly changing its path and flow overtime.

The second image that came to mind was that of a toddler stacking his toys, somtimes precariously. At times, the buildings seem haphazardly placed. Clustered, cluttered, but not entirely chaotic. I feel exploring the close spaces created by such placement would be an unending adventure.

By the time we reached Hiratsuka, it was dark and I was starving and tired. Those were my first thoughts upon arriving here. Since then, tons of things have happened and I really don't know where to go from here with my virtual pen hesitant to continue.

I think I'll update again soon. Tomorrow we go into Tokyo again; this time for Yasukuni Shrine and other things. I'm determined to get a better video of Shibuya. And I'll upload to YouTube the other short videos I took. I have over 100 shots so far...so loading them is going to be a nightmare.

Anyway. I'm out for now.

Photo Dump and possibly an update, if time allows

These first ones were taken in the bus on the way to Hiratsuka. It was obviously a miserably rainy when we arrived.

Blurry! Score.

Shots of the room: Above and following

Below are shots of the shower facilities, followed by pictures of just a few of the things in the park on which the Guest House sits.

I apparently don't have enough time for that update, but enjoy the photos until I can.

Japanland and a revised resolution

So, a lot has happened lately: the semester ended and summer break began.

Also, and I didn't blog about this (or much of anything I realize), I got accepted into KU's summer study abroad program! That means that on the 2nd of June, I leave for Japan and I won't be back until the 9th of July.

5 weeks! I'm fairly excited.

Though, as anyone who has been reading this (ha! that's a funny thought) would know, I was hoping to be roughly 30-some-pounds lighter by now. But thanks to things previously recorded, I'm not. What is my weight? Not telling. It's not above what is used to be, but it's not far enough below it for me to be even remotely happy. SIGH. Well, if I don't look super awesome for my first trip there, at least I'll be smokin' by the time I do the JET later on.

So...I'm hoping that my trip will be beneficial to my weightloss. I think it will be...and I'll use that momentum to propel me when I get back (after I recuperate). My new goal is to lose the weight by mid September or early October. And I'm not going to let anything stop me this time. I'm getting too irritated by how things are at the moment.

Anyway. Change of topic.

While I'm in Japan, I think I'll update this and it'll be a nice place to store some pictures. It will be easier to make one massive post periodically than to send dozens of emails every few days. Of course, I'll be sending a few emails anyway, even if I do post here, but I think it'd be easier to do this than the other. Also, I have a terrible memory, and once you pair that with occasional sloth, you get a girl who wouldn't remember to whom or when she'd sent emails. And, I hate repeating myself.

So, it's settled. Washoku Lean is shortly going to be more about Japan than weight. Yipee!

Hmn...I know I'm typing a bit scatterbrained today, and I'm not sure why, but roll with it.

I think my tone above doesn't adequately express my excitement. I am super excited about this trip, though I must say that I'm probably not showing it as much as I could. I tend not to get super excited outwardly, unless whatever I'm excited about is already happening and there's nothing that can stop it from happening. I'll get excited then. But I won't show it before that point. I know this comes from things falling through and I know this can't realistically fall through, but I'm ever hesitant to get my hopes up. I've been wanting to go to Japan forEVER (the reasons why are another story entirely), so this is a huge event for me.

Of course, it was an event that I wanted to be hot for, but alas. I'll have my day!

And now I think I've run out of stuff to talk about for the time being. So...yeah.

I'm out.

Pancake Tease

Remember my promise of pancake pictures? Well, apparently I'm a wanton liar.

In all reality, I just haven't made them since my boyfriend left. (side-note: he came to visit me a week or so ago, stayed for a week, then flew back to Californicationland). I made them for us while he was here, but forgot to take pictures. But, take my word for it: they're delicious.

Current weight? Ha ha no. Not even gonna talk about that. But I did go the gym today and, if the LifeFitness elliptical is to be trusted, I burned 420 calories in 45 minutes. Usually I burn around 460 in 45, according to the other elliptical I use more often. This one, though, had the arm-mover things, so I used them a lot more and it was unexpectedly tiring. In a good way, though.

A minor Rant:
While on the subject of exercise equipment, I have to say that I'm apparently incapable of effectively using the heart rate sensors on elliptical machines. No matter how I hold on to them, they always fail to register a possible heart rate. Most times, it reads that my heart rate is somewhere between 62 and 89. I'm entirely serious here. It's utterly ridiculous. I KNOW my heart rate is more elevated than that. And yet only once in awhile will it get it right.

And now for a more involved Rant:
Wrigley's has a relatively new commercial out. You might have seen it. The commercial basically claims that gum is a snack. I'm sorry, but it's not. And that commercial just makes me want to punch someone in the face-- namely the people who thought it was a good idea.
I realize that gum can help curb appetite...but it's not a snack. A snack is like fruit or a snack bag of popcorn. Not gum. Not ever gum.

Hmn...my original anger about that has apparently subsided because I was sure I could squeeze out enough hate to fill a page. Then again, it has been at least four hours since I saw that commercial last. BLEH. I HATE THAT COMMERCIAL.
There. That was a little more satisfying. And I even got the accompanying visual of my own head exploding.

Ah, balance in the universe is restored.

Stumbling Block

Actually, it's less of a stumble and more of a catastrophic failure. In my mind I kind of have this mental image of what a stumbling block of this proportion might be. And it starts out innocent enough. He trips over an uneven crack on the concrete and stumbles. But, alas! it's a very inconvenient stumble, for there is a set of stairs no more than three feet away! And, as these things go (often from bad to worse), this particular set of stairs is particularly long-- and steep.

You get the idea. Though it's amusing to imagine this occurring to a figmentary member of your imaginationland, it's not so cool when it's applied to you or my weight, as this example is meant to illustrate.

What happened? you might inquire. Well, rest assured, I will divulge the necessary information.

If you've been keeping up with life in the US, you'll know that this year was like crazy flu season. And just about a week after my last post, I did not get the flu. I got something else that was almost as bad. To date, I've never gotten "the flu". But when everyone else is being inflicted with the death bug, I tend to get a sinus infection from hell. And that's sorta what happened this time around.

I honestly don't remember my exact symptoms. Though I know it required a Vick's vaporizer and a lot of NyQuil-- the nasty green kind on accident. Worst thing on the planet. Anyway.
I was more or less incapacitated for a week. After the first few days, though, I didn't actually feel bad anymore. But I had this terrible cough that WOULD NOT go away for like two weeks after I was sick.

And somewhere in the middle of my illness, I turned 21. w00t for me...though almost everyone at my party was in some stage of sickness-recovery. So it was kind of sucky.

Bleh. Now, I told you all of that so I could tell you this: Thanks to visit to boyfriend AND being sick for like three weeks, I gained even more weight. For first two weeks I couldn't do much of anything and was relatively incapacitated by illness but the last week or so I felt fine! But could I go to the gym and work off all the cough syrup and vitamin-packed liquids (that also happen to be calorie-packed)? NO! Because if I exerted myself beyond a moderate walk, I would induce a seemingly endless coughing fit that would leave me exhausted when it finally subsided about five minutes later. AND THEN add on all the work I had to make up for missing off and on during that and you have a really unhappy camper. I.e. Me.

So even though I felt fine and could eat fine (and taste again!), I couldn't exercise, which means that I gained weight! Yippee for me. >.<
And all of this just has me a little bit peeved. I finally want to look really good. I've never exactly looked bad but I've never felt super confident about how I look. I haven't really had a lot of reason to. I want to finally be slender. And maybe if I can make it there myself, my boyfriend might be inspired.

(warning, misty-eyed monologue ahead)
I've never really been the kind to want to wear short-shorts-- mainly because the people I knew that wore them a lot were skank-face bitches, but it would be nice to be able to wear them and not look gross (to me). And though I've never really had a desire to wear a bikini, it would be so cool if I could have the option (if I wanted to). I want to be able to look in the mirror and know that I could wear just about anything and it look good on me. It's not a vanity thing at all. I'm not in the least bit vain. It's just the sense of accomplishment and achievement-- that's what I want.

And a few months ago, I had made significant progress. I had lost just over 15 pounds. But I regained 10. It's just a little bit disheartening. Considering that as it stands today, I have at least 34-39 pounds to go-- for my initial goal of 140-145. Before New Years, I only had like 29, or less to make, 140.

I'm not exactly visibly upset. It's more all in my mind-- which is how it usually goes with me. And that is where I will defeat this slight despair. Besides, I gotta jump back on and keep going, eh?

I'll update again soon. I don't want this post to be super duper long, like it will be if I continue on with what I want to talk about. But next time: orange and pecan pancakes! (with pictures! syrup optional!)

Resolution Tweaked

Thanks to an impromptu visit to see my boyfriend in San Jose, I have gained a few pounds, and as such, I'm moving my fifteen pound goal to the 12th of March. If I make it before then, I'll try to go for 17 or 20.

I'm not expecting to make it beyond 15, but we'll see.

I had a feeling that this weight-gain would occur, but it's really hard for me to say no to really good dim sum. Especially when one lives in an area where the nearest dim sum place is over 30 miles away, instead of, say, two miles away-- like it is where he lives. If I were to do the trip over again, I still would have eaten too much. I'm a foodie; it is my poison. Alas.

And speaking of food, I remember my real reason for wanting to post today (the secondary effect being that maybe I'll get back into the swing of it)

My mom makes this very yummy couscous salad stuff, and I was wanting to share it with my theoretical readers. (Now that's an amusing thought)

It doesn't really have a name yet, but it is very very yummy. Also, the amount that my "recipe" makes is quite a bit, so if you're needing to make it smaller, then you'll have to down-size it yourself. But I am going to give the full, huge-recipe one first because it kind of is important.

Originally, it's supposed to be made with Toasted Pine Nut seasoned, Near-East couscous only...but after I had steamed my veggies, I realized that I had WAAAAY too many of them, and so I decided to double up somewhat on couscous, and it turned out very very yummy.

Below will be my recipe and instructions, which are actually really easy. This dish only takes like six to ten minutes to make and it's good hot, cold, or in between. My version of the recipe will be just written plainly, but the ingredients my mother uses are just a bit different, so I will include them as substitutions, written in []'s.

What you will need

• 1 box Toasted Pine Nut Near East couscous
• 1 box Original Near East couscous (or any measured out amount of plain couscous, for a smaller batch)
• Chicken stock-- enough to cook the original/plain couscous or both kinds, if you wish, whatever that amount may be. If you don't have or don't want to use stock, then water is fine. I chose to use the stock with the plain kind and used water with the pine nut kind.
  
• about 1 tsp Garlic powder (for the plain couscous)
  
• 1 can of dark red kidney beans [OR garbanzo beans/chick peas]
• 1 head of broccoli (less or more if you feel like it)
• 1/8 to 1/4 of a red onion (however much you want. I use about less than an 1/8th because I don't really like the crunch)
• Sundried tomato and basil crumbled feta cheese [OR any kind of regular feta]

The "dressing"

• 1 or 2 Tbs Red wine vinegar [OR white wine vinegar]
  
• 1 or 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp of sugar (can be adjusted)
  

Equipment:

• 1 or 2 medium-sized saucepans for the couscous and for water to steam the veggies
  
• 1 metal steamer-basket for the broccoli and beans
• 1 large bowl for the finished product
• various utensils
  

Now, when I made this just a couple days ago, I fully intended to follow mom's ingredients. Sadly, I didn't have chick peas like I thought I did, so I had to use red beans, but I find that I liked it much better that way. Especially what with the broccoli being such a rich green and then the deep wine-colored beans are just so pretty. If you want to go all washoku-style on it, you could probably add some carrots for orange/yellow and maybe mushrooms for another "black". But as it is, it almost completes the five-colors requirement.

Also, because I cooked a lot more broccoli, I was kind of forced to expand the recipe by including the Original couscous, and as such I made the couscous minutes apart, instead of together--which I liked better anyway.

So, in a medium-sized pot, follow the directions on the back of the Pine Nut box. While you're doing that, fill another pot with enough water to steam the broccoli and the beans. Chop up the broccoli and set inside your steam basket. I guess you could boil the veggies...but you can potentially lose nutrients that way, and since we're trying to make this good for you, steaming is probably the better option.

Set the basket into the pan with the water for steaming. If you've never done this before, make sure the water line in the pot isn't higher than the bottom of the basket. That kind of ruins things. Anyway. Put a lid on the steamer pot and wait for them to steam. Another thing, the beans may get done quicker, so you may want to wait just a few minutes to add them in with the broccoli. So, with that in mind, open up your can of kidney beans, drain the liquid as best as you can, then add the contents of the can to the basket as well. While you do the next bits below, don't forget about these veggies!

Now, back to the couscous. I guess you could make both batches of couscous together, but it may be harder to fluff afterward, so if you have the time, combining them later may be better. If you don't have the time, then together would be okay. I can't really remember the directions at the moment, but once it's done and you've let it rest, then fluffed it, dump it into your large bowl and start the next batch.

Again, follow the directions on the box, but with the plain kind, add in about 1 tsp of garlic powder for extra flavor, and use chicken stock instead of water. When it's done, rested, and then fluffed, dump it in with the pine nut couscous and mix it up.

Somewhere during the couscous bits above, your veggies will probably reach the perfect color and doneness that you want for good veggies. You're looking for peak color. When the broccoli is the bright green, it's probably done. You don't want them mushy and dull. With the beans, you really need to watch out for the skins. If they get too done, the skins will start to pull away. And you really don't want that.

Once the veggies are done, dump them in with the couscous. Now is when you can add however much chopped, red onion and feta you desire. Also, you're going to mix up the dressing. Again, this can vary. Because of my double batch, I used about 1 1/2 Tbs of both the red wine vinegar and the olive oil with about 1 and 1/2 tsp of sugar. Mix it all up, then carefully and slowly drizzle it over the couscous. It may be a good idea to drizzle a bit and then mix, then drizzle and mix, to allow for even distribution.

That's all. Serve it hot or cold, it's always delicious. In fact, I'm going to be making it for some friends come Monday.

I'll update again when I've worked off the dim sum/ramen/pho/wingstop and whatnot from my trip.

My Resolution; My Goal

Current Weight: 171

Well, I got busy again, obviously, but that changes today. I already went to the gym for about an hours' worth of a work-out, and it was refreshing. Classes are done with until the 17th and so I'm going to be using my time wisely.

Since I'm planning on spending 5 weeks in Japan this summer, my goal and resolution for this year is to reach 140 lbs by July-- before I leave for the Land of the Rising Sun.

I don't really think I'll have that much trouble hitting my goal. I eat well enough-- not much fat, and usually not that much sugar-- which is a bonus for me. I'm thankful that my problem is just based mainly on activity...or lack thereof.

Anyway. My short-term goal is to lose about 15 pounds by my birthday on the 15th of February. 15 by the 15th. Easy way to remember it. If I could do that, I'd be very close to what I was in the middle of my freshman year of college back in '05. And that would make me very very content with myself. I have a feeling it would also boost me to try for 135lbs as my final long-term goal.

But I'm realistic here. I would never stoop to starving myself or anything like that. I simply want to be healthy for my height and body type. That's what is most important. I want to be slender to my satisfaction-- which, it would be wise to note that my idea of slender is NOT the slender of today's media.

If I could get down to a size 8, I think I could be pretty well satisfied with myself...maybe even a 6. But I would never go for lower. My hips are too wide for that. And I'm just fine with that aspect of me. I love my body shape; I just want to be able to show it off the way I think I should. I want to be soft and feminine-- not so thin that I'm bony. That's not sexy in the least.

So these are my goals for this year.


I'll be posting more later, and that's a guarantee.