People, Pampers and Pasta!!

Can't go wrong with that combination! On Thursday, December 14th a few friends (Sarah, Lara and Mercedes)and I decided to have a surprise "baby shower" for our friend Tori. Tori is a friend that lives in the same city as I do. I have gone to dinner with her and her husband, Isaac, several times and have a great time with them. They are wonderful people and I really enjoy spending time with them....it's ALWAYS great to speak English at "normal speed" every once in a while! Tori is originally from Georgia and Isaac is from Utah. They met while attending Bringham Young University in HAWAII!!! (How lucky were they to live there??) Anyhoo, Tori is 8 months pregnant, and of course, aside from her husband, no family is here in Japan. So Sarah, Lara, Mercedes and I stepped up to the plate and threw one for her!!

The previous weekend Mercedes and I went shopping all over Wakayama City looking for the perfect gift. We ultimately settled on practical items that Tori will need (diapers, wipes, bottles, bottle sanitizers, bottle brushes, etc.). We found a great bottle package that was actually in a SUPER-SIZED plastic bottle that doubles as a bank for the baby! It was great.

We ended up going to one of the restaurants that Tori and I frequent (quite a bit) called Cannery Row. It is an Italian place that has pastas, pizzas and an all-you-can-eat salad bar that is fabulous! We all ate until our bellies hurt! It was so good! Then, between dinner and dessert, we decided to tell Tori that this was a Girls Night Out SLASH Baby Shower and gave her her presents. She was truly shocked and very appreciative. It was well worth the traveling back and forth across the city looking for gifts...I must say though, that I ALWAYS enjoy browsing Toys R Us!! We managed to have our dessert and then talk for about an hour afterwards! It was really great to hang out with the girls, especially before we all head out on our holiday vacations to England, Ne Caledonia, China, India, Thailand and Cambodia! We are such world travelers! I think that the next time we meet will have to be for lunch, because I am sure that we will have SOOO many things to talk about....and hopefully by then akachan (baby in Japanese) will be here to meet us!


Mercedes, Mama Tori, Sarah and Lara (I took the pic!)