Mar 30, 2014 | Life
The crossing at Hachiko in Shibuya remains pretty much unchanged since last year.
After spending 3-and-a-half weeks in Tokyo in February and March this year, I wanted to share some of the photos I took. Since the reason we went was for me to take care of my mother who was hospitalized, I wasn’t able to travel anywhere else with my family or spend much time outside of my mother’s apartment or the hospital. So this time around I didn’t take a large number of photos like I had in previous years, but I still was able to take a few shots. Here is my travel diary from Japan during early Spring this year:
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Feb 18, 2014 | Life
I just returned from spending 6 days in Honolulu, HI for a family wedding. My husband’s youngest brother was getting married, and Lil Tot was to be the ringbearer on this special occasion. We just happened to leave the day before Portland received a record amount of snowfall (the most snow since 2008!!) and we arrived back the day it melted. C’est la vie, or how they say in Japanese, shouganai. We had to be content with sun, surf, and sand instead. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have been seeing my updates. Here are some of my photos from this trip, which was packed every day from morning to night with family obligations and events: (more…)
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Aug 17, 2012 | Fashion, Life
It was Springtime in Tokyo and the cherry blossoms were in bloom whilst I was there.
As many of you know, my family and I traveled to Tokyo, Japan in April of this year to take care of my mother who suffered a spinal stroke. (Who lives in Tokyo for her job.) Though I didn’t have much time to take photos in the beginning of my trip, near the end my mother’s condition had improved, so I was able to do some activities with my family and take some pictures.
You can see Part 1 of my travel photo diary here. Here are the rest of the photos I took during my trip: (more…)
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Apr 15, 2012 | Life
Well, it’s now been just over a week-and-a-half since I arrived in Tokyo to take care of my mother as she recuperates from her recent stroke.
I arrived late Wednesday evening April 4th, discharged my mother from the hospital Thursday morning, and went to stay with her in her apartment. Hub and Lil Tot are staying with my in-laws in a different part of the city, and I’m able to see them every couple days or so briefly.
I am sleeping in my mother’s storage room. (more…)
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Feb 13, 2012 | Life
I’ve actually been up on Mt. Hood all weekend since my in-laws have arrived to stay for the week and they always want to go on a trip out to Timberline when they visit. I could have done without it (considering I’ve had a bad head cold and sinus infection since last week), but when when the in-laws are in town, there’s not much choice in the matter. 
Besides, I was hoping the skiing practice would help Lil Tot, who has been taking snowboarding lessons on and off through the Winter, but still isn’t a very confident skiier. (Of course he has a head cold and sinus infection too – which is where I got mine – so he wasn’t up to much activity either.)
But he tried and even managed to ski by himself a little bit on the flat parts!
We managed to ski down a green slope yesterday without incident, but today Hub and the in-laws insisted on going up to the top of the mountain because they were bored with the kiddie slopes. Splitting up was not an option either, and so I worked super-hard to push a 6-year-old who can’t turn down a very steep, sloping mountain on fresh powder. 
I can’t believe I didn’t put my foot down and refuse to try skiing this. Look at that slope!!
But a quarter of the way down I went over a hardened ball of powder, my left leg started sliding away from me, and Lil Tot (wedged in-between my skis) pushed outwards with his legs, and we went down in a big heap. My left leg was wrenched outwards out a weird angle, and when I tried to stand again I found my knee had turned to jelly. With Lil Tot frantically crying because he thought we’d never be able to get down, I was able to get us [slowly] down to the bottom of the mountain again, and then loop around and back to the lodge. At least we didn’t have much time left anyway before we had to head home.
My knee is feeling pretty weird, but hopefully a good soaking in a hot bath tonight will help things. Note to self: when steering other human beings down the mountain, stay on the flat paths!!!;-)
Despite our skiing mishaps, I always enjoy the food at Timberline Lodge (though if you’re staying for more than 2 days it gets a bit repetitive).
Full Breakfast Buffet: blueberry pancakes with raspberry sauce and maple syrup, raspberry jam croissants, maple bacon, lodge sausages, assorted cheese, fresh fruit.
Lunch Cheese Tasting Plate: Smokestack, Smokey Blue, and Brindle cheese with smoked hazelnuts, crusty bread, and peppered pear preserves. Strawberry Lemonade.
The cheeses drizzled with rosemary honey.
Vegetarian Dinner Tasting Plate: sauteed broccolini and baby carrots, poached duck egg, celery root and pine nut pot pie with raclette cream.
Pink Lady Apple Pie with pine nut brittle, brandy cream, and salted caramel ice cream.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
xoxox
Carly
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