mochi mochi
sorry for the quietness... it's been madness as usual, but remarkably tame in the "interesting things to say category".
last weekend, t and s and i took a mochi making class last weekend... technically speaking, it was a "fruit daifuku" class... an important distinction to make when you're actually in the country of japan (ehem, hehehe).

i had been looking for cool wedding spots for miss mcclellan, and happened upon the event calendar for the garden. shama and i were pretty stoked to learn how to make this in the hope that perhaps we would be able to replicate my absolute favortist treat in japan: train-station mochi. i don't really know what the j-name is for it, but it's made up of cake and fruit and cream, conveniently wrapped like a little pillow of heavenly goodness. mmm, mouth is watering just thinking of it.

the cool thing about the class, other than being in the middle of the beautiful japanese friendship garden, was that it was totally hands-on... ironically, this happened to be the bad thing about the class as well, as mochi dough is exTREMEly sticky. you could trap bears with the stuff. i was surprised we didn't bend any spoons or leave a man behind. there wasn't enough starch in the world for me to feel like i wasn't going to be smacky-tacked to everything i touched.

by the time we were done, we each had about 10 balls of mochi-wrapped sweet red bean paste and fruit. i eventually ended up either giving away the rest of mine away, or extracting the fruit and munching on the dough (too much red bean makes me a sick girl). i do know, however, that the others' didn't quite fare the same fate, as they took a tumble or 2 (perhaps even straight into the trashcan). and now that we have the recipe, we may venture into crafting our own little pillows of heaven... as long as we don't become tragically ensnared in mochi.

and speaking of healthy
low fat cheese, organic beans, brown cilantro-lime rice, and tofu wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. even i had to roll my eyes at the froofy 'so-cal'-ish-ness of my lunch. who eats like that?!
current mood: mmm, but it was tasty.

val calls it 'extreme self care'
having my insides on the outsides this past weekend shook me to reality that i've got a few things lacking in the overall health and well-being department. so yesterday, i took two bold steps: i scheduled an appointment with an eye doctor (look for glasses adorning my face soon perhaps?) and with a dentist (i don't want to say i've never been, but close to there...). and with the chiro appointment i had today, i think i've gotten off to a good start. now all that's left is a doctor for my car, and i'll be the new and improved britto...!
current mood: looking forward to being fixed

angelica and the big wheel stryker
i thought maybe i had indulged too much in the fabulous chocolate raspberry mousse torte action that had made its way into the dessert spread on friday night. or maybe it was the whipped lemon pie. or the fruit tart....
3am rolls around, and my eyes pop open. uh oh. i know that feeling. and it's not a good one. my stomach had been hurting a little when i went to bed, but i didn't expect this. please not this. i stumble over shoes and bags and into the bathroom.
noon... i've gotten a break from the routine of visiting the bathroom. i try to keep the gatorade in my stomach for just a little while, swallowing some ibuprofen for the pain. a movie, a nap...
6pm and its back with a vengence. a final call to doctor mom tells me to go to urgent care. i manage to sit in the waiting room and get checked in before losing it all again. this time, however, i'm dressed in a hospital gown monikered "angelica" in lines of diamonds, and my bed of choice is the big wheel stryker. i get poked and prodded and pinned up to a couple of bags of saline to juice me back up. the anti-nausea meds they give me slam my eyelids shut though i can hear everything that's going on.
11pm and t-man takes me back home. i'm not sure how i managed to get up the stairs and into the bed without thoroughly injuring myself or anyone else. the meds are still making me heavy-lidded but with restless limbs, a feeling i want to just erase with sleep sleep sleep. at least i'm not throwing up (or worse) anymore.
3am rolls around, and my eyes pop open. the meds have worn off and i consider my options... i come to the conclusion that sleep is probably my best bet, and nod off again, letting the intestinal fireworks rage in my gut. as long as they keep them there, i'm okay with that.
the battles have calmed down a bit by now, but not much. i don't know what it was, food poisoning? a bug? i'm just lucky i guess. but i'm doing okay now, mostly due to the fabulous nursing by mister t-man. remember, no red gatorade next time... it just adds to the confusion : )
current mood: rumbly in my tumbly

miss-fortune
my fortune cookie today says:

someone will invite you to a karaoke party.

man, i wish i had a scanner.
current mood: your are the master of every situation

ultimate play day
saturday found a blazing sun overhead as i barked to everyone to find a sunblock buddy. unfortunately, i didn't seem to take the advice myself and have an interesting red frame around my face of white. the idea of dark/light shirts was a good idea until i had to switch over to the dark team to even out the numbers. hot.
seeing as most people there hadn't played before, i briefly went over the rules, and we hit the field, with the first 5 minutes or so just being an all-out scramble as people found their ultimate legs. strategy pretty much went something like this: toss, drop, other team picks up, toss, drop, other team... well you get the point. we eventually sorted ourselves out and went on to have a solid 20 minutes or so of playing until we needed a water/beer/snacky break. couple hours later, we didn't pick up the discs again, but that's okay. we had a good time, ran around a bit, and made those kinds of promises of "we'll have to do it again!"... and next time, everyone will watch out for their sunblock buddy.
current mood: again! again!

straight out beat up
continuing with the theme of a list from yesterday, let me tell you what happened to me in karate last night:

• back forcefully twisted by one enthusiastic instructor trying to "drive my hips"
• punch in the jaw/neck
• scratch on the arm
• knee to the shin
• claw to the finger (which resulted in blood getting all over the place, thanks)
• punch to the left eyeball by the same chick 3 times in a row
• 'canvas burn' from a punch to the elbow
• ... and the paramount champion shot : a swift kick to the crotch by one very pointy-toed large man

it came to the point where i had to stop and say "LOOK! could you all just lay off, just a little?", a desperate plea that rung around the dojo... only to fall on deaf ears.
current mood: don't even talk to me, punk.

pack horse
i left the house this morning carrying about 45 pounds of stuff:

• 1 karate bag, with gi and change of clothes, including shoes, & full water bottle
• 1 'spin' bag with shoes & full water bottle
• 2 lunch bags for today and tomorrow
• 1 purse
• 1 work bag with laptop, power unit, mouse, & full water bottle
• raincoat & umbrella

pile those all on the very sore legs i had from the surprise karate seminar on saturday, and walk up the hill to my car, and you get a very sore buritto.
current mood: owwww-ch

in the spotlight
there is a small restaurant nestled between 2 recruiting store fronts, nestled deep in an innocuous shopping center on convoy, with nothing more than some plastic lawn chairs out front under the neon Open sign. the windows are covered with a heavy woven sheet, the yellowed menu is scotch-taped to the front door. the inside is merely as unimpressive as the outside, and for a moment, we hesitate in the doorway, not sure where to cast our eyes. we're by far the whitest people in the room, though there are a couple of other "gaijin" at a table in front of us. awkward gestures with someone in an apron got us to sit down at the nearest table, the one brushing our hip as we stand in the entrance. t looks at me, waiting, and i feel my face go red. the waitress brings over menus, and for a moment, i'm relieved. broken as it is, i see english in front of me... maybe this won't be so bad. we order water and start to look over the menu, with the occassional suggestion tumbling from our mouths. a few shy glances at the waitress lets her know to come over, and suddenly, i'm on...
"sumimasen..."
i manage to order some food and rally a ball of english and japanese with the waitress over the sake selection. as the service starts, i relax, though i still flush deeply everytime i have to switch over to j-language. but it was all worth it, and i'm proud of t for finally hunting down the mysterious legend of a restaurant. besides, it's a fantastic oishii motivation to get back on the j-kick for a while :)
current mood: that chuutoro was like buttah'