No, it's not a typo. This is my week. Today is my birthday. And Sunday is my day too.....because in the UK, it's Mother's Day!  I mean honestly, when God smiles on me, he literally rains glitter on my head!! So...people, listen up. I have heard your cries from on high.....the "I don't know what to buy Tanaka, she has such specific tastes etc etc"ones.

"Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream? Everybody comes here; this is Hollywood, land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't; but keep on dreamin' - this is Hollywood. Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'." (The Happy Man, Pretty Woman) 

remember that line from pretty woman? mummy loves it! don't worry i've never watched it - but apparently one of my aunts did when she was my age as a chaperone to another one of my aunts who was on a hot date! but i digress... mummy is a dreamer. boy can she dream, and fantasise...yep, she sure can do that.

as last year came to a close, she was again sitting and looking at herself wondering where her year had gone. what about those dreams she had had for the year? where did it all go so wrong? well, she did manage to buy the house with daddy, and that was a big one. but business wise, it just wasn't quite what she'd hoped. as she sat there at her pity party; ice-cream in one hand, popcorn in the other and a handy bridget jones screening about to start on ITV, her phone pinged to life. it was a message from one of her university friends' inviting her to attend a vision board session. the goal? to help her put her dreams in one place & make plans to bring them to reality. mummy jumped at the chance and spent the rest of the night humming "Get outta my dreams, get into my car!", and swinging her hips from side to side.















the day arrived and mummy journeyed to london full of expectation and ready to get her life in order. she needed this. heck, we needed this. the smell of popcorn in our house was getting annoying - and i'm a kid. she says Tomi, the event host, created an amazing atmosphere with some lovely music softly playing in the background, and just the right number of participants there, including my aunty lola! it was a happy coincidence to find each other at the same event! in that room, mummy felt she could make anything happen. she was focused and magazines were being ripped with reckless abandon to create boards that reflected each person's dream for their lives. they were encouraged to choose both pictures and words and paste them onto their boards. mummy had done something similar before, but not like this. there was something about being in an environment with like-minded people that made her feel less like a failure and alone, and more like part of a group of people that were not willing to just be satisfied with the status quo. having the vision board in front of her everyday is a constant reminder of who she can actually be & the life she wants to live. also, hearing others speak of their frustrations, plans and vision really got her motivated. one of the best motivators was learning that Tomi herself got to where she is via this very route.

mummy's vision board all framed and ready for her study gallery wall

the most painful thing for my mum was realising she just isn't much fun anymore. (was she ever though? hmmm...i'll check with that uni aunty...). in her head she rides bikes, goes for walks in the country, loves to swim, plays tennis, takes baths with us and goes  for days out in fun places. but in reality she's cleaning the house / cleaning someone / cleaning the house / doing groceries / cleaning the house / ironing; and dreaming about those fun things. as were some of the mums at the workshop. so top of the agenda was to have more fun and do the things she loves. when i'm 16 and free to leave home, i'll tell you the truth about how it panned out in 2016. or you could follow this blog and see for yourself....feel free to comment any time you feel you haven't seen a post about us doing something fun! mummy thoroughly recommends this vision board workshop to anyone feeling lost in the maze of dreams vs reality. the next one isn't far away - 12th march 2016. go for it, i plead on behalf of your kids / future kids!


**this is a genuine review of my experience at this event. i have not been paid to write this post, nor was i paid to attend the event / publicise future events. i would happily disclose if i had been cos that that would mean i had arrived! free clothes, free events, free cars.....holler! did i type that? **

the art of showering....

ciao,
judah

so what was happening today? daddy took the day off & they said it was a surprise for me! daddy moaned about the mega pram. he asked about the cheap little buggy. mummy said it's now in zim. hmm.i didn't think we could do a quick detour on our way to london so mega pram was coming. mummy did a quick back flip with a triple axl somersault. she also got to paint her nails in the car because daddy was driving - hmmm...who was going to be at this place? she went so far as to do her make-up. GAME ON. excitement was now at fever pitch!



we parked our car at a place called perivale and jumped on the tube. but not before mummy and daddy huffed and puffed with the pram up 3 flights of stairs. mummy avoided eye contact with daddy as she imagined how much easier that fold up buggy would've been. she consoled herself by thinking of a) how happy the woman she gave that buggy to was & b) how all this exercise was keeping her nice and warm on this otherwise cold day! yes, this was good!




next stop was oxford circus! are we in oxford? is there a circus? oh, we are now headed to picadilly circus...whoa, these are the fastest crosscountry trains ever! i can't wait to get to this circus! but not before more huffing and puffing and eye contact avoidance. finally at the circus...




but there are no clowns, no tent, no animals, just the biggest crowd of people. maybe they are all looking for the circus too. disappointing times! "Shaftesbury Avenue!" says dad and we continue to move in a circle...on the spot. maybe thats why it's called a circus...everyone is holding maps, chatting in different languages, smiling sheepishly as they bump into eachother and trying to look like this is their hood. uh huh. "Google maps!", says mum but dad has found it & off we go!





RAINFOREST CAFE! I was so excited! we were greeted and taken down to the restaurant area - but not before I eyed up a cute pink teddy. mummy excitedly brought it down for me (she loves a memento). then she saw £20 and put it back. a teenage boy was eyeing up a £35 tshirt behind us & his mum advised him to keep his money in his pocket. she called him poppet. not sure he approved.



we had a fantastic meal, seated next to 2 very obliging elephants. one of them let me touch his ear - he did turn and look at me which scared me a little.



 we all managed to eat something we loved which was great = i had macaroni cheese, daddy a burger & fries, mummy sea bass & mash and judah ham & cheese pasta. i don't know what mummy was expecting but she kept exclaiming how good the food was! it sure was yummy. the whole restaurant is done up like a rainforest. at first i thought we really were in the rainforest. i'm still not decided because i don't think those elephants can live in a restaurant. hmm.




mummy had had grand plans of exploring london a little more with us but the thought of those steps waiting for us was enough to get her back on daddys one way street...but not before i spotted this weird looking policeman! i just had to mimic him!