Wendy in Japan

I`m the worst blogger... EVER! I always get started again with the best intentions to write regularly, but then life gets in the way, or more likely I waste too much time watching TV or videos on my iPad. It`s been almost 11 months since my last post. It`s been a good year! Looking back at my last few posts I saw that I posted my goals for 2013 back in January. I thought I`d revisit what I wrote and report how I did. Me in 2013 :  HAPPY Overall, this was true! My Top 5 Resolutions 1. Go to the gym 4 times a week For the most part I did accomplish this. There were a few weeks when work was busy or I was out of town that I didn`t make it. I started using an app called Gym Pact in April which has helped motivate me a lot. You pledge how many times you`ll go to the gym each week and how much money you`ll pay for each time you miss. I usually pledge 4 times and $5 per day missed. After almost 9 months of using the app I have over $30 in my account. It`s not a huge amount you get for...

By Thursday evening I am completely beat! My weeks look something like this time wise: Monday - my classroom 1:00 - 8:30 (mostly free in the mornings) Tuesday - my classroom 2:30 - 7:30 (again, mostly free in the mornings) Wednesday - YMCA 9-12 (sometimes, like yesterday, I have to stay until 2)                    my classroom 3:30 - 7:30 (sometimes 8:30) Thursday - my classroom 10-11; 2:00-4:30; 7:00-8:30 (I leave in between classes to go home to                                 rest or to Curves, etc) Friday - my classroom 4 - 7:30 Needless to say Wednesday and Thursday are my longest days. I am mentally and physically exhausted by the end of Thursday. I am so thankful for my super easy Fridays lately. February is going to be a tough month for me! My coworker is out of the office for 3 weeks so I have to pick up a few of his classes and be in the...

I was supposed to have friends over for a 鍋 (hot-pot) party tonight. I`d invited Kazuko`s family and Miki`s family and we were all looking forward to a fun evening eating, drinking, talking and laughing. Unfortunately I have had a headache since yesterday evening so my plans were cancelled. I thought it would be better when I woke up this morning, but it wasn`t. I went to work at 9:00 for a lesson and thought some coffee would help, but it didn`t. After work I decided to suck it up and go to the gym to work out thinking the exercise would clear my head and take the pain away, but it didn`t. After I came home I discussed with Koichi that I would take some medicine and if my head was still hurting around 3:00pm that I would contact both friends and cancel the evening. Around that time I got a message from Kazuko that her son had a runny nose and that he and her husband would stay home because she didn`t want his germs to spread to Miki`s 8 month old baby. So I made the decision then to g...

It`s hard to believe that we`re already 11 days into 2013. I`ve been doing New Year`s Resolutions worksheets with my students here and decided I would make one with them. I found a great template on pinterest that has different sections. Here`s a recap of my Resolution worksheet: Me in 2013 : HAPPY My Top 5 Resolutions 1. Go to the gym 4 times a week 2. Keep my apartment clean 3. Plan meals each week 4. Stay organized at work 5. Be careful about wasting time and money *So far the only one I will accomplish this week is #1. My place is an absolute mess because we got back from LA on January 5 and both went back to work on January 7. Thanks to a combination of jet lag and trying to get back in the routine of work I haven`t had much energy to do housework and have therefore wasted a lot of my free time! In 2013 I will... learn how to use a sewing machine get better at   keeping my apartment clean try to pass level 1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test make...

It`s Thursday here and while I only have 5 classes, they`re spread out from 10am until 8:30pm with a couple of long breaks in the middle. It makes for a long day. I try to do some housework or dinner prep in between classes, but it doesn`t always happen. This morning I had a trial lesson for my mom & baby class and they decided to join! So my day started off great! After that I went to Curves and got my workout in for the day which always feels good. This afternoon I have 2 kindergarten classes from 2:30 - 4:30 then I have a 2 hour break before 2 more lessons. Tomorrow is going to be a long day too. YMCA class from 9-2; Curves at 3:00 then class from 5:30-7:30. Saturday is the class Christmas party in the morning and dinner party with moms at night. Sunday is the YMCA Charity Run which will be over by around noon. So needless to say, I`m really ready for Sunday at noon to be here! 2 weeks from now I`ll be in the air somewhere over the Pacific! I can`t wait to see my mom, dad,...

It`s Monday here. The weekend flew by. I was busy and out all day Saturday and on Sunday I had a Japanese exam. It was long and hard and made my head hurt. I was exhausted by the time I got home in the evening. Today I feel very blah. I did get to Curves and get my workout in though which helped a little. Sadly when I came back home the blah feeling came right back. I think it`s because my house is a mess and I haven`t had much time to clean it. I suppose I should be cleaning now rather than blogging or browsing the internet, but oh well. I have a busy week this week with work. We have a Christmas party on Saturday morning for kids and Saturday night for their parents. It makes for a long day! And it means one more day that I could be cleaning and can`t. What are you gonna do?! My goal is to get to Curves 4 times this week: M T Th and F. It shouldn`t be hard. I`ve been averaging around 4 times a week since I started in October! OK, I will do a little cleaning and eat lunch before...

One of my biggest flaws is my inability to continue things. I am so bad about not writing on here for a long time. I think about blogging often, but I never actually take the time to sit down and do it. I don`t know why! It`s not like it takes a long time or anything. Anyway, quick update... I joined Curves in October, October 6th to be exact. After 3 weeks it was already time to do measurements and I had lost a few centimeters (we`re metric in Japan) from my waist and my thighs!! I was pretty pleased with the result! Our next measurement check is between December 1-5 so I`m anxious to see how I`ve progressed. My weight isn`t changing so much yet, but they say it takes around 3 months for the muscle to build and after that happens you`ll start to see changes in weight. I can definitely tell a difference in my body though and I`m certain my centimeters will mostly all be smaller than last time! I`m flying home in 21 days!! The last time I was home for Christmas was 2009 so I`m ...