7 Issues on our Renovation

Last week, we had our condo rooms torn down.

Then on Saturday, we had a meeting with our contractor to talk about the renovation issues. Lucky or not, there were 7 of them X(



#1. Flooring
As I wrote before, we have to lift 10cm to apply the wooden plyboard floor (double flooring) which might make our room feel cramped and small. To save the height of the ceiling, our option is to apply cushion flooring (direct flooring), which can keep LL45 (sound insulation level). However, the cushion can sink if you walk or put heavy stuff on it. Thus, it can have gap between the floor after years.



#2. Air Pipe
A huge air pipe was running the hallway, so we have to lower the ceiling, which makes the space really cramped if we apply the double flooring...



#3. Water Pipes
To run the water pipes, we have to lift the bathroom flooring up to 15cm. Since the height to the ceiling is short, we are thinking of extending the bathroom area or not...



#4. Kitchen (water piping)
The kitchen used to be along the back wall, so to have a counter kitchen, we need to extend the water pipes from the side wall.

#5. Kitchen (air piping)
Also, we need the air pipe above the stove, so double ceiling is necessary. Our contractor said it does not look cramped, but it cost more X(



#6. Lavatory Pan
Due to the pipe laying (back side), we have to change the model of our lavatory pan (from TOTO Purest QR 4.8L to MR6L), which uses more water (1.2L more).



#7. Double Sash Windows
All windows in the room were double sash. It blocks out noise and temperature difference. It might cost more to keep them all since they are old and need some touch-ups.



Anyways, we have to decide on the flooring by Wednesday...
Hope we find the best answer!!!

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Bite-Size Jap Style Tonkatsu

New recipe is up today!

I rolled up a slice of pork with bacon and Japanese flavors: shiso leaf (Japanese basil) and umeboshi paste (pickled plum paste)! Actually, this tonkatsu has a pronounced flavor without any sauce (unlike the image).

Needless to say, it goes well with white rice. Perfect for bento meal :D

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Bite-Size Jap Style Tonkatsu

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 15min
Number of servings: 6 pieces

Ingredients:
6 thinly sliced pork
6 half-size bacon
2 umeboshi (pickled plums)
3 shiso leaf (Japanese basil)
A
* flour
* beaten egg
* Panko (bread crumbs)
vegetable oil for frying
grape tomatoes if available

Directions:
1. Work with one slice of pork at a time. Place the slice of pork so that the length of it is running flat and vertically towards you. Place the half-size bacon and shiso leaf (cut in half) on top of the pork and spread umeboshi (remove the umeboshi seeds and mash) onto one side start rolling. Repeat with the remaining pork slices.

2. Flour the rolls, dip in beaten egg, then roll in panko. Fry them in oil at 180C (356F) until cooked golden brown.




My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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This week, we had our condo rooms torn down. I can't wait to see the contractor to discuss about the flooring!

Fingers crossed!!!

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変身写真

For our next trip overseas, I wish to visit 台湾 (Taiwan)! Day before yesterday I had a dinner with my ex-coworker and she showed me some pics taken at a photo studio in 台北 (Taipei) and were amazing!!! It is called 変身写真. You can be like a different person! Cute, glam, cool, etc...! For instance, you can be transformed into a doll (princess) with gorgeous background!!! And they are done at a low price!!!

The above pic is from my wedding dress-up. I edited it with PhotoFunia. 変身写真 looks something like this but is much more gorgeous!

I know there are many studios there. If anyone knows a good photo studio in Taiwan, please give me an advice :D

Also, I heard food in Taiwan is pretty good. Any good place to eat is welcome!!!

Not knowing when to go, though. lol

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What's Your Passion?

Lately, I found this question on Kym's post with an awesome quote.

"Passion is a pre-requisite. Without passion, you won't be successful. But you can't be stupidly passionate, you have to do your homework"



Needless to say, I have a passion for cooking.
Currently for our new home, and last year for our wedding, too! And at any time, I have a passion for my darling! Some of you know that I had a hard time before the engagement. haha. Also, the gym and the hula dancing!

I always believe, my passion will bring me the chance to attain the ideal. In other words, even if things are not going well as planned, they result BETTER if I try hard!

That's why, I am mostly passionate about everything around me. (I try not to be stupid, of course...)

BTW, some people ask me why I don't turn my cooking into a career. Answer is easy. I want to be passionate about it freely (from my viewpoint)! I think it'll be my hobby for a while longer.

What's Your Passion?

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Distracted...

Distracted by my own thought for the renovation (flooring), I sliced my hand (my thumb) with a slicer. OUCH!!!



My darling says there is never any need for ME to worry about it, but the contractor... yeah... I know! I am always like this X( I once ran a blender without a lid and messed up my kitchen because my mind was somewhere else.

Have you ever done anything careless like this?!

I really have to be careful!!!

Anyways, this glittering pink color makes me happy :D



It's my pen case which came with the kitson magazine. Nowadays, there are many magazines that come with huge gifts in Japan! I never paid for those but this one. hehe

Bye for now :)

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Start Date of Renovation and my Worries...

Today, our long-awaited renovation starts. I thought we were well prepared but my worries never seem to end X(

On Saturday, we went to see our new home once again before the renovation starts and realized that the height of the ceiling is not high enough to apply the wooden plyboard floor. To apply this, we have to lift about 2 or more inches from current condition which might make our room feel cramped and small.



All condos in Japan have a sound insulation control and we have to keep LL40 (sound insulation level) for the flooring. Thus, to reduce the thickness, some people use carpet or vinyl flooring.



I have to talk to our contractor to change our choice?! We made an appointment this weekend to discuss about it!

It is still cold and dry in Tokyo. My black fur beanie which I bought last year in spring at half price now became useful ;)



Have a good one!

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The Social Network

On Saturday, my darling asked me to watch the movie called "The Social Network" which just came out on Saturday (1/15) in Japan. I was not that interested in the movie at first, but the movie was quite interesting!!!

The film is about Mark Zuckerberg who created the facebook.

What I liked about the movie is that Mark simply wanted to create something COOL and created the facebook. I really want to show this movie to my boss since we run two websites at work and are not cool at all because he always seeks gain. I stop saying him about that few years ago and shifted to work for a living, so I'm not gonna say anything but I simply hope he sees this movie and understands what we should have done for our sites.

Anyways, did you see the movie?! What is your thought?! :D

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900 Recipes

Wow! When this screen popped out, I realized that I have posted 900 recipes on my Cookpad (Japan's largest recipe site) account! To tell the truth, I have double the number of the recipes at home since I post my recipes on other sites, too.

As you might know, I also submit my recipes to the contests. I always try NOT to do my best since it will never go as planned... but I did it again! This time, I thought I could win at least 2nd prize for sure since my darling loved the ingredient and I could come up with many good ideas!!! However, what I received was the last place. I had a call from the manufacturer that I won the prize but my voice was not happy of course. I'm sorry!!! I devoted a lot of time (about 3 months) for that contest, so I was really shocked. Why this happens is some contests are just about the LUCK! Yeah, I knew that but I somehow I did it again. That's all! I will now forget about it to make a new start!

Life is not easy, so don't expect too much X(

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Got a Home as of Today!

This morning, we took a half day off from our work and officially bought our new home! The condo after 25 years cannot receive the housing loan tax credit but our real estate acquisition tax was partly exempt, which was good!!!

Anyway, I think our condo was a great deal. It has a good management system and neighbors are nice. Also, our room is on the 10th floor, so we have views of Tokyo's skyscrapers, including the Tokyo Sky Tree! Of course views are small since our condo is located away from the city. I told the owner that we will cherish our home.

Last week, I bought a fur beanie that connects with muffler and gloves! I thought it's a CAT but everyone says me it's a BEAR...



What do you think?!



It's really cold in Tokyo. We have only 1C (33F) in the morning.

See you again!

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断捨離 (danshari)

断捨離 (danshari) means to throw away unnecessary stuff. It's one of the keywords of the recent years in Japan.

"断" (dan) - to cut out unnecessary stuff. ex) receipts, shopping bags, coupons, etc...
"捨" (sha) - to throw away junk. ex) clothes, books, toys, etc...
"離" (ri) - to step away from your obsessions. ex) souvenirs, anniversary gifts, etc...

The idea is, if you throw away unnecessary stuff around you, you'll get more room, time and energy around you that lead you to an affluent (comfortable) life.

I totally understand this! I keep things for "just in case" and mostly never use them or get a new one since I can't find them right away or they aren't the exact things I need. Now I keep so many things after 6 years living in one place with my darling and get frustrated to see them all around me, which is really funny.

So, before the removal (in March), I decided to eliminate the junk that clogs up my life!!!

Not to become hopelessly lost, I gave myself a time limit and started to throw away things from last week. I already filled more than 15 garbage bags so far...

However, I couldn't throw away some of them without taking pictures X(

Sylvanian Families were my favorite toy, but of course, I don't play with them now, so I said goodbye X(



From left to right, top to bottom: I don't listen to cassette tape any more... I don't play Tetris... My commuter tickets in NY... Missanga which I made when I was a teenager... I'm sure I can't wear all those earrings at once... I threw out most of my art stuff including my drawings and paintings... and more and more...



Oh boy... I found unbelievably old soy sauce in the fridge which expired in 2006...



Tomorrow, we are going to receive the key for our new home. We will take some pictures of the place this weekend before the renovation starts on Monday. I hope we can start our new life with more room and time!

I will keep on doing 断捨離 (danshari) because it is the way to live smart!

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Good Luck Longevity Noodle

Aji no Mingei (味の民芸) is well known as a handmade udon restaurant. My darling and I go there once in a while because all their menus are big, inexpensive, and delicious!

Last year, I had a "Good Luck Shrimp Tempura Udon" and was pretty good, so I was going to have the same one again, but this year, I found a new menu called "Good Luck Longevity Noodle (｢開運｣長寿麺)". As you can see in the pic, noodles are in attractive green (made of spinach). The soup is light and it has a lot of stir-fried vegetables on top! It tastes like a non-fatty ramen :)



I read on the menu that it is a festive food eaten in China. Is that true?! Anyway, a lot of vegetables made me happy :)

Last year, we played garapon drawing. This year, they again gave us tickets for New Year's drawing. I remember the prizes were not that attractive, but we gonna go there again because we wouldn't go there after the removal.

Changing my story, there was a hula class on Monday (holiday) morning. I always think I have slow reflexes... because I make a lot of mistakes while others don't... Well, I hope I can improve that someday.

Anyways, I cut my hair too short... which I regret recently X(

Bye for now!

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Dry Eyes

Do you have good vision?

Yes, I do! But somehow, my vision started to get blurry recently... In addition, I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I thought I've got an eye strain. However, it again happened while working! This time was severe that I thought of going home. Before I leave early, I searched the Net for my last hope. Then I found out that it was because my eyes were DRY!

Dry eyes are one of the most common modern diseases. Not only for people who wear contacts, but for people who work at the office with AC and surrounded by IT devices!!! If you have bleary eyes, you might have dry eyes!

After I found out the fact, I ran to the drug store and got Rohto Dryaid EX (eye drops for dry eyes)! It's a super high viscosity eye drops that contain sesame oil and hyaluronic acid that keep your corneas of the eyes moist and avoid them from drying out! It was a pricey product but now my eyes are better! Yay!!!



Today is the coldest day so far this winter in Tokyo. Brrr... Anyway, we have three-day weekends since Monday is the holiday (Coming-of-Age Day).



Have a good weekend!!!

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