The first blog of 2011

How was your New Year Vacation? What did you do over the vacation?
My vacation was spectacular. On the 26th of December, my parents came to Japan. It was their first time to come to Japan in the winter. Thus it was their first time to spend the New Year in Japan. It was special.

In all, they were here 8 nights. On the first night, my wife made a wonderful dinner at home. The next three nights we went out to dinner in Osaka. Then, on the 30th, I cooked my famous Miso Soup and we bought sashimi (raw fish) at the local fish market. On New Year's Eve, we went out for sushi and after that headed to The Blarney Stone, an Irish Bar right around the corner from the sushi place, to ring in the New Year. On New Year's Day, my mother cooked Shrimp Scampi which was delicious. On the 2nd, a repeat of my great Miso Soup and sashimi again.

I just remembered. On the 1st, I went to a Sale at Nishinomiya Gardens. I don't like shopping, but my mother asked me to go...so, I had no choice. It is a son's duty. And my mother, who is like a professional shopper and also very good at it, said "This is the most crowded mall I have ever seen in my life." And she thought the "Good luck Bags," the ones for 5000yen or 8000yen or 10,000yen which have a lot of random goods in them, were really cool. She said, "We don't have those in America. But they are a great idea." Did you buy any of those bags this year? I did. I bought one for the first time in my life.

In the next few weeks, I will write a little more about the New Year vacation with my parents and also put up some photos from their trip. My father took many photos with his new camera. He is totally into this camera and was clicking away all the time. I am waiting for him to send me the photos in order to put them on the blog. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos with my camera...I regret it.

I wonder if 2011 will be a roller coaster, or a smooth ride...I hope it is a...