Jinja and Shoga: Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

                     Since I'm now officially done with work before the baby arrives, I thought I'd try to decorate for Halloween. Wasabi decided to help, as usual....

           Today is 36 weeks...about 1 month left to go! Possibly less than a month, actually....we just found out on Saturday that my doctor is going to be in GERMANY from November 3rd through the 12th...November 3rd being my due date. All I can say to that is...thanks, buddy. Thanks a lot.
      Further complicating matters, he's the only one who can administer an epidural, should the pain get bad enough that I feel I need/want one. (In case you weren't aware already, epidurals are still relatively uncommon in Japan, and we had to search quite a while to find a doctor who did them in Shizuoka).
  So...there's the problem. If I go into labor while he's gone, then there's no choice of having any pain killers. Meaning that I either commit now to giving birth naturally, or I get induced just before he leaves. Which in itself really doesn't sound like fun, either.
  I had always thought that I could just go into labor and decide at some point into it whether or not I wanted to go the epidural route...only now I'm forced to make that decision well in advance, ahhh! At this point, I'm planning on scheduling an induction just before he leaves, so I can at least keep my options open. If I start to lean more towards the natural way, I'll cancel at the last moment. But what we're really, really hoping and praying for is that Sigourney decides all by herself to come out around say, November 1st, thus negating all of the above issues. Come on kid, I know you can do it!

          36 weeks and more than 5.78 lbs (estimated weight at Saturday's check-up)

            We made our first oden of the season on Sunday evening!
    Oden is basically a cool/cold weather dish that consists of various processed fish and tofu products,  hard-boiled eggs, and other ingredients such as Japanese radish (daikon) and konnyaku (a sort of gelatinous root). Everything is boiled in a salty broth (dashi) and then served steaming hot, often accompanied by karashi (Japanese spicy mustard). I'm not a big fan of karashi in combination with oden, so you won't see any in the following pictures. It's usually a rather bright orange/red color, though.
  Oden can get rather expensive to make if you like a large variety of ingredients, but it also makes a TON, so you definitely get your money's worth. Or, if you don't want to cook it yourself at home, you can always buy some at most convenience stores, starting around this time and continuing throughout the winter.

                             I've been here too long to know any more if this dish looks weird to most Westerners, but it definitely tastes great!

                    One of my favorite fish products...it's really fluffy, kind of like a fish marshmallow. Only way better tasting that than description sounds, I swear.

     
            Another Halloween find: corn potage flavored Doritos. Why corn potage, I'm not sure. Maybe it's considered a fall food here? The Doritos are Halloween shaped, however--little jack-o-lanterns, cats, etc.
  I wasn't expecting too much but bought a small pack anyway. Surprise surprise, they're good! They're also not at all like your usual Dorito.The only comparison I can come up with is a mix between Funyuns and Fritos....kind of oniony corn chips. Mmmm!

   Came across this cute pet toy at the 100 yen shop (equivalent to a dollar store) today....and then I read the fine print (see below). Hahaha.
 Better yet, Yuki says that in Japanese, too, it warns people not to let their pets near it! Needless to say, I didn't end up buying this product...if I can't use it for my pet or in the road, what's the point of having it, right??


                                   Note at the bottom, it specifically says: 'Pet Toy'

                             Again at the bottom: 'Keep out of reach of children and pet'
                           Oh, and don't use it in the road. Just in case you were tempted.

     How did it get to be October 1st already?? Time has been passing by way, way too quickly...and I have the feeling that it will continue to do so until little Sigourney arrives. But, fall is more than welcome after this insanely hot summer. Plus, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I've already been on the lookout for some seasonal decor. Halloween still isn't really celebrated here in Japan, but autumn-themed items are abudant right now, and occassionally a random Halloween costume or treat can also be spotted.
 For example, the caramel pudding Kit Kats that we bought at the store last night. I was a bit hesitant to buy them since regular pudding Kit Kats definitely aren't a favorite, but seeing as this bag was decorated for Halloween, I gave in.
  Overal consensus: they're good!!! Not as tasty as the caramel salt Kit Kats, but pretty good nonetheless. Maybe a 7.5 or an 8 out of 10, plus bonus points for the cute packaging!

                                      'Family-size' bag...family-size here equals 14 mini Kit Kats

                               The minis inside are decorated with either: evil looking cats; a pirate and a cat, or a jack-o-lantern and a Frankenstein girl

5 weeks to go, and Sigourney is still kicking away. I think she's trying to dig an escape route out through my right side at the moment, actually.
Tonight was also another big milestone in this pregnancy...I gave up and begged Yuki to trim my toenails for me. (They seem to be growing like crazy for some reason). Poor man! While I probably could've still contorted my body in such a way so as to cut them by myself, I finally accepted defeat and admitted that it's much easier (and less painful) to have someone else help me. Although I still feel bad about having him do it! Especially since he had to go and clean the cat litter boxes directly afterward.


                                               35 Weeks