PREPARATION FOR CHRISTMAS

After lunch, we drove to Daikanyama to look for something for Christmas. My sister took me to the store which was selling Christmas goods for a limited time. There were many lovely things including cards, paper napkins, and various kinds of decorations which entertain our eyes!! My sister bought some paper napkins as a present for her daughter's home tutor. They looked so beautiful. I would like to buy a fake Christmas tree for my place, but it cost me more than 10,000 yen, so I gave up buying it. However, I bought some cute Christmas stuffs, instead. The clear ones are made of glass, so I have to treat them carefully. The colorful one was made of felt and has already been displayed onto the curtain in my room. By the way, I 'm planning to make sweets for Christmas, but I haven't decided yet what to make, but maybe chocolate cake will be fine!!

RUSSIAN CUISINE

Today, I went out for lunch with my sister at a Russian restaurant, Rogovski, in Shibuya. We usually go there at dinner time, so this was first time for us to try lunch time. Then, we ordered lunch set menu with cheaper price than usual. We totally enjoyed the lovely courses as you can see in the picture below!!! Try them if you have a chance to go around there. The restaurant is located on the ninth floor in Tokyu Plaza Building. The lunch menu we ordered includes borscht, two pieces of piroshki, salad, and Russian tea and cost 1,360 yen. We added Siberian dumplings available at 310 yen to them. I think this is not that expensive because it's worth it or more!!

HEALTHY DINNERS

I have prepared healthy dinners for a couple of days because I have been overeating recently.
Moreover, I plan to go out for lunch with my sister tomorrow and I know I'll eat too much then... I chose chicken sasami instead of thigh meat because it is less fatty. I cut the chicken sasami and fried them with no-cal oil. Added some fried scallops seasined with salt and pepper and some piece of persimmons as a dessert. I baked a swordfish (mekajiki in Japanese) seasoned with miso and sake in advance. Added tamagoyaki and tomatos as side dishes. they look so simple and healthy, aren't they!?

THE LIGHTING FESTIVAL

Anna and I joined the lighting festival in Sagamihara campus the day before yesterday. It was a very sacred and beautiful night. I have never attended such a Christian event until I entered AGU and I enjoyed the atmosphere with other students. I'm excited to attend Christmas Mass for the first time this year. I got the image from Anna yesterday. Maybe, you can see the same thing in her blog!!!

ODEN & TEKKADON ★★★★★

I cooked a lot of Oden yesterday, so I invited my sister to my place to treat her a nice lunch today. I added Tekkadon of my own making to it. I just put cut seaweed and shiso and preseasoned tuna on the rice seasoned with sugar and vinegar, so it was one of the easiest dishes I often make though... She ate them a lot too and Oden was almost finished!! Obviously, I ate too much today as I did yesterday, so I’m sure I've been gaining weight!!

BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY

Today, let me introduce one of my favorite movies. It is Bridget Jones's Diary which made a big hit in 2001. It was the time when I was studying English in Boston. I bought VHS of this movie at that time and have kept it until now. In this movie, Renee Zellweger was playing well as a cute and funny heroine, Bridget. In preparation for the role, she gained much weight. Her efforts were approved by the public and so she was chosen as a nominee of Academy Award for Best Actress. I can't help laughing at her performance to the end of this movie. Hugh Grant and Colin Firth were also playing well the roles of guys who were fighting over Bridget. Hugh Grant whose role was Daniel. He was a chief editor and so called a cunny hunter who had another girl friend and broke up with Bridget all of a sudden. On the other hand, Colin Firth whose role was Mark. He was a once-divorced attorney and so called a square. After Bridget was dumped by Daniel, she made up her mind to change her job, lifestyle and herself as well. She started to make a career as a reporter, which made her shine and become more beautiful. Bridget and Mark first didn't like each other due to misunderstandings, but they were naturally getting close and realized they became drawn to each other... Daniel changed his mind and proposed to Bridget, however she has already found something more extraordinarily than that... Bridget and Mark became a nice couple at the end! However, I have one question about this movie because when Bridget's mother was talking about Mark's ex-wife who was Japanese and cheated on Mark with Daniel, she said "Japanese are cruel race." Therefore, I'm wondering if there is a popular belief in which Japanese are cruel race in England...

I think this movie is very helpful when you are brokenhearted or depressed because you can get a lot of energy from Bridget and become cheerful!!

Sauteed Beef, Mushroom and Vegetables ★★★

I cooked sauteed beef, mushroom and vegetables for dinner tonight.

It was so good!! With a grilled meat sauce I made it so easily!!

I have a slight fever today, so I gave up going to school and stayed home all day.

However, I 'm going to make a presentation tomorrow in my English Grammar Class, so I got an energy from meat!!