Thursday, September 20, 2012

WaNavi Japan: Harvest of Hope

I've just discovered, thanks to a friend at work, WaNavi Japan's Harvest of Hope. I don't know much about WaNavi yet, but one of the things that they have set out to do is to provide Japanese people and foreigners in Japan access to fresh, local, radiation-free produce.  Hooray! Everyone loves radiation free produce! I'm fairly confident that most of what we buy is radiation free, but this organization seems great. Plus, they will deliver a box of produce to my door and make a donation to Tohoku relief whenever we buy. Even better! My first delivery arrives in one week, just in time to start prepping freezer meals for Tony to prepare once I'm out of commission.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Birthing class and burritos!

We had our first birthing class today. It was a fantastic experience with some very nice people. The whole philosophy of the class made me much more comfortable with the fact that I won't really be able to understand anyone in the labor room. Well, that is anyone except Tony. My doctor does also speak English, so I can speak to him, when he's around, which I have a feeling won't be all that often.

Also, since the Japanese system is very hands off and anti-medical intervention, I will more than likely not have any sort of pain relief. I'm happy with this, but obviously need some method to get through the process. The class is called Hypnobirthing, which sounds very new agey and weird, but really isn't. The whole philosophy is based on the idea that most of our pain in childbirth comes from fear and the resistance to the labor process. So, they teach techniques on how to relax throughout labor and allow it to happen. The reviews are amazing. I suppose I'll find out soon enough if I agree with the reviews. Seven weeks left as of tomorrow!

The other good news about our class is that it is in Azabu Juban, one of my favorite neighborhoods in Tokyo. Not that I've seen that much of Tokyo, but it's a cute little neighborhood with great shopping and restaurants, including Frijoles! My favorite (read only) burrito place in the Kanto Plain. I even got photographic evidence, as always when I'm excited about a meal, or want to brag about it to Todd, I took a photo, not a very exciting photo, but it was a delicious burrito.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Baby O's new bed

Our new crib (and stuffed foot(soccer)ball) from IKEA with some of the lovely blankets, quilts, and stuffed animals that we received over the summer in Houston. Now all we need is to add the baby!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Blogging again, hopefully with photos now.

As new changes in our lives approach, I've decided to attempt to get back online. This will hopefully allow a few of you who aren't on facebook, to find out what's going on in our lives here in Yokohama. Old posts (very, very old posts) should still exist here. But no one went there before, so no need to start now!

Most of this will probably be about our new addition to the ever-expanding world we live in, the still-yet-to-be-named Baby O. I will probably also include posts about life here in Japan, possibly some nostalgic looks back at when we could travel, and my favorite pastime, food preparation, which will inevitably become more and more pureed in nature.