We got married!! And other updates.

It has been 2 weeks since I last blogged and there are many reasons for it. The 2 main ones are that we got married yesterday and I've been working on opening a new etsy store which I just opened today.

Now before you all think we did some big wedding thing....we didn't. What we did was go down to city hall and "register". See...I have never wanted a big wedding. I don't like weddings. I didn't go to my brother's or my best friend's wedding. I haven't been to a wedding in over 20 years. Don't ask me why but I just don't like them. Thankfully my honey didn't want a big wedding and with my family and friends scattered all over Canada and the States and his family here in Japan it just got a bit complicated so we made it as simple as possible....we just "registered".

You might be wondering what "registered" means....I mean if you go to city hall in Canada you are getting married. But the thinking is a little different here (this is my take on it...someone else might have a different perspective about getting married in Japan). First the ceremony is basically a big party here....the white dress, the flowers, even the person performing the ceremony (oh and in Japan it is often a foreigner who is just pretending to perform the ceremony-guys can make money doing this and yes...it is legit) have no meaning because until it is "registered" at city hall you aren't married. I told my friend "I'm getting married" and he asked about the "wedding" and I said that we were going down to city hall to get married and he said "oh...you are just registering".....as if I were buying a clunker of a car instead of a BMW. Ummm....Hello?!!! Without "registering" you aren't married so....I'm getting married!!!

I told some of my older female students and one of them told me that her daughter "registered" 2 months ago but they aren't sure when they will have the ceremony. I said to my student that it means she is married and she looked a bit surprised and said "yes, I guess so."

So, yesterday my honey, my friend Phee (hi Phee!), his mom and I went to city hall to "register". We had already filled out many forms at home but we still had a few things to clear up when we got there. First it was important to know if I was "choujyo" which means first born daughter....I am so we circled that (still not sure how that is important). Then we had a piece of paper put in front of us that was about the "head of the household". See he moved in with me so I was the head of the household but once married it is assumed that the man would be the head....well.....we looked at each other and said we'd keep it just as it is .....I mean does it matter? But because we didn't change the title "head of the household" to him, we had to wait extra time while they changed his health insurance card so that my name would appear on his card since I'm the head of the house. I am pretty sure his mother wasn't too impressed that we didn't change it but hey....that's what we wanted!

So...we are now officially married! I called my mom after and she cried! (Hi mom!!) Hope she is ok now. So all day today I've been joking with my honey that I'm the boss since I'm head of the household and he keeps telling me that my butt is his because it is registered!

The other news is that I have opened my new handmade etsy shop called SouZouCreations. I'm a little nervous to do this because it is totally different from selling supplies. I mean if someone doesn't like a sticker sheet I don't take it personally because, after all I didn't make it. But if feels much much more personal (obviously) with this store. SouZou means both "creation" and "imagination" in Japanese and the Kanji (Chinese character) on my banner means SouZou. I have always loved making things so I now have a place I can sell them!