A multi-tasking / shooting from the hip kind of post....

"No, Debbie....don't!! Don't throw it away!!

We LOVE Christmas!!!"

******************
Janet has a Shooting From the Hip project going on....taking pictures with your cell phone of life around you and posting them on your blog.

Yesterday, as I was walking along a road that runs in front of an elementary school, I could hear the sound of a garbage truck....and of kids....laughing and yelling. I passed them, on the opposite side of the street and oh, how I wish you could hear the voices of those 1st Graders. They were having such a wonderful time. The garbage men, not really paying much attention to the kids, were just doing their job.

***************

Doritos?
Good.
Wasabi?
Good, but (for me) in moderation.
Mayonnaise?
Oh yeah.

Wasabi-mayonnaise flavored Doritos?

Strangely enough....they were pretty good.
They have a nice, wasabi kick about them....grrrrreat with beer.
Not so good with salsa....too much happening, flavor-wise on one little chip.

******************

One down....a gazillion to go!

Valentine's Day here in Japan is pretty bassackwards. It's frustrating. (Go here if you want to know more.) When I get the chance, I like to inform my students of the way we do things in the US on this really nice day to celebrate love.

("Men...give women chocolate.

Men...give women flowers.

Men! On Feb. 14! NOT March 14!")

So, on Wednesday, when I got to my class at the hospital.....one young doctor came into the classroom and he handed me this:BooYah!!!

beads / costume

In honor of Mardi Gras, this week's words for the Weekly Word Challenge

are "beads" and "costume".

~beads from my dad~

~beads....just waiting....~

~beads of prayer~

~beads of hope~

~beads for personal peace of mind~
~beads worn by a grandma, greatly missed~


~Costume...just one of many~

~my very own, Superboy~

the color pink...can bring a smile to my face or a tear to my eye...

The other day, my friend,
Yumi, brought her
3-month-old baby to class......


and no, she
wasn't bored,
thank you very much...

class was interrupting
her nap time!

And this...

is one of THE most perfect

pictures I think I will

ever take.

****************

Monday, dawned cold and drizzly.

In the corner of our garden.....I saw something that the boys and I always look for this time of year....

Our favorite tree....a weeping willow-esque ume (plum...but not for eating, just a flowering kind)
has started blooming.....

The blooms are so light and wonderful to just look at...but, the scent they have is even more beautiful.


Can't you just almost smell spring in the air??

****************

Some days, you wake up just knowing that, despite the crappy weather and slight headache threatening to become a reality, you know it is going to be a special day.

And it was.

Thanks to the blossoms in our garden....and

this beauty from Las Vegas.... via San Diego!!

(She is now hanging in the doorway between the kitchen and living room!)

The bond

that links your true family

is not one of blood, but

of respect and joy in

each other's life.

Rarely do members

of one family grow up

under the same

roof.

--Richard Bach

Thanks Jenn....oh so very much!

{{hugs}} to you for thinking of me, even while enjoying your stay in Vegas....

at the Flamingo Hotel !!!

Issei's comment: I've never really seen one flying!

Thanks for changing that!!

Love yourself...

I saw this over at Jason's place and since I didn't really do anything for Valentine's Day here, I thought this would be perfect.

It's a couple days dedicated to loving a very important person in your life....you.

Or...because this is my blog.....ME!!

HAPPY SELF-LOVE DAY!!

Feb. 14th & 15th, 2010


Here’s how the whole thing works:
1.) Choose a banner. You may use one of the banners I've included here, or you may find your own.
2.) You’re gonna post that banner and then tell us all something that you really like love about yourself (thus, the “self-love” portion of our program).
3.) Ask or beg your readers to post one thing that they too love about you!!! If your blog friends are nice, you shouldn’t have to beg…much.
4.) Enjoy yourself and spread the love by doing this on your blog! If you want to, drop me a line or a trackback so that I know you participated too!
********************

I haven't always felt as positive about myself as I do right now...as do many, I have issues...some things I can fix, some I just have to put up with. And while there are definitely things in my life that need to be remedied...I'm doing the best I can to keep it together.

That said......

I love that I smile...a lot. Though I do have moments of not being so happy, the majority of time, I am one happy camper.

(I'm not so thrilled with the "smile lines", but...short of cosmetic surgery, what can you do?)

Also.....

in class, I am very good at explaining things so that my students...from the high levels down to the lower ones....can understand that particular concept. I"m a pretty damn good teacher.

Finally...

I'm a great hugger.

So...go on...love yourself.

It feels great!!!

Now...come on...show me some love....please.

(^_^)

um...excuse me? miss? yeah...can i get these in big-girl sizes?

**Okay...so maybe not a 'baking FAIL', but definitely a baking giggle.**

In my attempt to do something Valentiney for my students today (and then later, for the men in this house on Sunday), I went to my handy-dandy cake site and found where someone had made heart shaped cupcakes....without investing in an expensive pan.

Yes, folks, this lady went on and on about how easy it was to do...all you had to do was put a marble (or a balled up piece of aluminum foil) between the cupcake paper and the tin....while baking it would keep the tin from being a complete circle, thus making "the perfect heart shaped cupcake".

No...those are not mine...those are the ones from the site.

These.....were mine:

You know...if you tilt your head to the left a little? They kind of look like little Packmen attacking those evil marbles!!

Everyone got a chuckle from these....I do believe that they might look right if a) I fill up the tins higher with batter next time and b) I actually get them frosted.

Goofy looking cupcakes did not deter the boys in my family from snarfing them down...so I'm assuming they were good. I might actually try this again....you know...'cause now, those perfect ones? Yeah. They are just mocking me.

**Grabbing something quick because I forgot to actually eat breakfast this morning.**

Yes. That is corn soup.

In a can.

That I bought at the vending machine near my class.

And yes. It was pretty hot. (In heat, not flavor...ew.)

No. It wasn't really disgusting. It was actually sort of tasty...but I was really hungry, so that might have affected my opinion.

Bet you didn't know Coca Cola was also working the soup angle!

random....'cause i'm too tired to do what i really wanted....

It's late Tuesday night here....all but moi' are sound asleep...one is snoring loud enough to wake the freakin' dead, but, that's not really too much of a problem....I've gotten used to it. Besides, I figure that here in a little bit, I'll be too tired to really care and just fall into my futon!!

It started raining a little earlier and that was just the proverbial icing on the 'weird weather cake' we had for dessert today. Yesterday and today the weather was positively muggy. Many people are already talking about their cement walls in their entrance ways sweating....and that doesn't usually happen until much later!! And just so you know....to those of you in the eastern part of the States that are expecting more snow to be dumped, I'm sending you warm, spring-like thoughts. I hope they help.

So....I have in mind a great post with nice pictures telling you about our 10 km. hike we took on Saturday on one of the old roads (think waaay old, like over 400 years old!!) that is around the city...but....I'll do that on Thursday, which is a holiday here.....I need to sleep and be rested and whoohoo energetic for classes tomorrow. Elvis is about to leave the building, folks...but before he does......

This is one of the pictures taken on Saturday. We were walking up and up and up a stone path, when...at the top of one of the hills, we see a car parked in front of a house. Holy hell but I would hate to have to drive that everyday!! We laughed wondering if that "road" was actually a two-way street!!! (and knowing Nagasaki the way we do? yep. it probably was!!)

Koji messing around in front of a restaurant with the fugu (blowfish)!!

On the densha (streetcar). Koji was being really loud because he was actually sitting still and could feel the heated seat. (On a cold day, that is oh so very nice!) Oh....and his chattering? Yeah...that was about the only sound on the streetcar, other than the driver announcing each stop.....and the lady, right there, on the left..rustling her plastic bag. That really bothers me.

Issei brought this home on Friday. A 95 on his Social Studies test. For the first time ever, his was the second highest. (His friend, Kohi, always scores the highest....no one is surprised about that, but...he said everyone was about his! He just smugly chuckled.)
This reminded me of a professor I had at university....the class was Educational Psych and we all had to take an IQ test to see what it was like. After calculating our scores, the prof looked at me....took the paper and re-added the scores, then said, "Ms. Willson....you are a lot smarter than what you look....is this a game you are playing?"

(I might have smugly smiled then, too.) Nah....it just hadn't been too terribly important until then.

Maybe Issei got that from me! (^_^)

Signs that spring is on her way in Nagasaki. The peach blossoms and the plum blossoms were just beautiful this weekend. Oh...and the smell!!! So very sweet!!!

It's still Friday where YOU are....right?

And this is what happens when Mom leaves the room for just a bit......

Bionicles 1....Flamingos....0

(But, the boys informed me that the flamingos did put up a good fight.)

Saturday....11:00 a.m. 3/4 of the Kuroiwa family is about to leave for parts unknown. Papa K decided that it was time for a family outing....son #1 (right dab in the middle of an emotional kerfuffle) has opted to stay and hang out with his friends (the process of getting to this decision was NOT pretty, let me tell you! Mothers of 'tweens may possibly be shaking their heads in total understanding of that statement.)

It's an absolutely beautiful day here today...a bit chilly, but...still very lovely. Two loads of laundry have been hung out...with a short prayer to the 'powers that be' that the dry breeze continues through the day.

Have a great weekend. May it be kerfuffle-free!! (^-^)/

random thoughts and shots...'cause that's all i gots (i know...bad, right?)

Personally.....I think that the Rose that is hidden in my psyche is about to venture out. I had a suspicion of this fact when I realized at a stoplight today, I had Shinedown playing really, really loud in the car. Windows up, the trashguys next to me could hear it....very clearly, me thinks.

This... may not be a good sign....I'm just saying.

***********

See this pile of postcards.

Yeah....those are the New Year's cards that I had meant to send out but for some reason never actually around to getting them to the post office ergo they are still sitting here, waiting to be sent which I WILL do as soon as I also attach some Valentine's Day stickers, you know, so they can be dual purpose cards now...why shouldn't my cards be able to do more than one thing at a time..hellLLLlloooo....they're from me!!!

(By the way....if I have your address, you're probably gonna get one so...act surprised, okay? okay. Thanks.)
************
Feb. 7...11:00 PM....Glee begins.

Don't call.

If you do, I won't answer. Promise.

***************
I bought some veggies at the market the other day. Some lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and.....broccoli....except....the sticker said something different...

The K-man said that cauliflower and broccoli were relatively new veggies here in Japan (he doesn't remember ever eating them until, maybe, the mid-70's).....but, surely this was just a case of mistaken identity (of the sticker kind)....I certainly hope this was what happened.

**************
One of my students was wearing this t-shirt the other day.

Just let the record show that I was NOT with her when she bought this particular item and....

No....I really don't know what it means, either.

***************
My lovely 7-year-old has, in the past week, lost two more of his baby teeth.

We now have a working definition of snaggletooth grin...snarl(?).

He's trying to look so mean, but really.....it just made me laugh!! (^_^)/