Bits and Pieces...

Holy smokes! I haven't posted in about 5-6 days. I know that I haven't had the chance to blog about Branden's birthday yet. I will be doing that soon. I haven't posted about Halloween. Or when we went to Ikspiari or anything. My sister in law in Narita had her 3rd baby. Very exciting. I went out to lunch with my besties last Friday. And I have been getting Noah ready for his 6th grade class trip. It's a 1 over night trip. Noah's actually on that *right* now. And so sorry for the quiet...it's just...regular life happening. As you all know...I'm just a regular mom. Doing mom type things. And sometimes life gets busy. I have a free hour right now. And so, I figured better go for it. I know today is November 1st. However...I didn't do a Costco cart pics post for October. I know I was there 3 times in October. So will post pics of those times now. The 3rd trip was when I just bought toilet paper so I won't post a pic of that. I showed that already. Anyway this was taken October 9th. A rotisserie chicken. Simple healthy roasted chicken. Can turn this into anything. Sandwiches. Or anything. I often bring back a rotisserie. A big pack of eggs. Weekend breakfasts. Baking season now too. So I need eggs. Tortillas. 2 types of cheese... Mexican and mozzarella. A huge honkin thing of 100% ground beef. We have had tacos. Cheeseburgers. Beef enchiladas. I like buying ground beef in bulk because I can get 3-4 different meals from it. And a huge tub of American cinnamon rolls. Holy crap are these *so* good. I know there's super so much buzz and hype right now about the hot ooey gooey Cinna- melt thing at Mickey D's. Right now and that's so hot and delicious and good. But these are good too.

Two layers of these. For many a quick breakfasts with a cup of coffee for adults or with milks for my 2 kiddos. Oh yes. 

And if they taste *really* American to you...#comfortfood...it's because they were baked in California. They're so delicious. My kids love these. 

This pic you've seen before....let's see tortillas again. Cheese again. I make chicken parmesan from scratch, hence need the cheese. Homemade pizza from scratch too, again need more cheese for that too. I make enchiladas, cheese. Tacos, so cheese is necessary and it's frankly tons cheaper at Costco than anywhere else in Japan.  I also make homemade cheese gratin potatoes. Homemade mac and cheese too. 

There are 2 huge tubs of ice cream inside this big one. And we have a half of one and 1 tub that's not even opened yet. It's in our freezer.

All October...I have loved that my morning walks now sound like crunch crunch crunch as I walk over all the Fall leaves...crispy leaves of different shades of red, orange and gold.

Noboru's brother. My brother in law Jun and his amazing wife welcomed their 3rd baby into the world. We went to the hospital to visit them October 10th. She's very small and so lovely. And we all loved getting a turn to hold cuddle and love on her. Branden held her. Noah held and cuddled her. I hugged and cuddled my newest niece and Noboru did too. We also chatted and talked with my sister in law. My brother in law was there too and so were their other 2 kiddos. My niece, who is their oldest daughter is 1 year younger than Noah. And then my nephew is just 3 years old and then the new baby too. 

I don't think it's a big secret but I flat out...love my nephew! He's fantastic. I love him. I adore him. And he used to be the youngest child. and he is now the middle child. I could see he noticed all the focus was on his newest adorable sister. And I could understand his sweet feelings. And again he's only 3. Everyone so focused on the new baby. Branden clicking pics of the new baby. And all of us too. And so I spent a good 7 minutes just focusing on my nephew. I turned to my nephew. And I said..."since everyone is taking pictures of your very beautiful new sister. Can I take some pictures of your cool cars?" And boy did he light up! Immediately. Oh yes! He said. And so auntie Gina clicked. And clicked some more. I took a picture of his red truck and then I showed him the pic. And my nephew said, "that's pretty good." I asked him...should I take a pic of your monster truck too? "Oh yes auntie!" And so I clicked and I clicked. And I asked him. Which of these cars is your #1 most favorite and #2 second favorite and so on? And after he answered. He was on cloud nine answering all this by the way. I answered too. I told my nephew K... this one is aunties #1 favorite, I said...oh and this red one is aunties #2 favorite. He loved this so he asked..."And which one is your 3rd favorite auntie?" It may seem like nothing. But believe me...if you have more than 1 kid...you will understand...how older kids don't want to feel left out either. Granted I was an only child growing up, but I can see and tell. And I am a mom of 2 kids. So, I do know. And so while I did love all the newborn baby cuddles. And snuggles, with my sweetest newest niece. I made sure to give equal attention to my nephew. And my older niece...she's amazing too but she's going through a shy phase. And that's okay. She would listen to me and her brother talking and shyly smile a few times. And that's okay. We only stayed for 15 minutes. We did give them 30,000 yen. Which is standard in Japan to give to a sibling who has just had a baby. So we visited. Gave the appropriate gift money. And we headed home. It was a school night. And Branden tried to come home as quickly as he could via the trains from the city. He changed clothes ASAP. And ate so fast...he barely tasted it. Haha. Then we raced from our town to Narita as fast as we could get there to make it in time. And at the same time...visiting time at that maternity clinic was quite limited in the evenings. We heard over the loud speaker...visiting hours were coming to a close. So...that's why we couldn't stay too long. But it was very important for our family to go. Which is why we made it a priority in going... even if it was a school night. Gotta always take the time to celebrate with family. Especially on such a happy occasion. 

I met up with my 2 favorite friends, last Friday. Friends I have been friends with for about 9-12 years. One I met during Bran's yochien years and one I met through Noah's yochien years. So we 3 have been friends for ages. We met up for lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant. And after that we went to Starbucks. It was from 11:30am until 2:50pm-ish. It is so important to have a really good solid set of friends in your real life. Friends you can laugh with and have a good time with, but also...talk seriously at times with too. Their oldest daughters are in their final years of high school and are now thinking about university, such smart girls. So happy to have such good friends.

Also, yes my husband and I have been going on our weekly dates as usual.This week Noboru and I went to Saizeriya. It's so super nice to talk and chit chat and enjoy each others company. This is something we both look forward to a lot.  

I went and replaced the kids and my body scrubbing towels for taking a shower with. Noboru never wants to replace his ever. I know that. So what I do is...a lot of the times...for Noboru I buy the identical one he was last using and replace his a week before I replace ours. And that way he won't really notice. And then the kids and I...I just picked out different ones. Branden prefers using a coarse scrubby towel. These scrub and clean your body really well and also make a lot of foam and you just feel really exfoliated and super clean. But Branden prefers a harsher scrubby feeling, so I picked Bran the longer length coarse shower towel on the right in this pic. And I prefer a normal/average scrub...I don't want to feel like I grated my skin personally...so I also pick normal scrubby levels for myself. And so I picked the middle one for myself and Noah suffers *extremely* dry skin. He legit goes to the dermatologist every winter for his severe dry skin and gets special ointments and creams and the doctor flat out said...do NOT use a body scrubby towel every day...only twice a week in winter, however the doctor says he can use one daily in summer though. And even last year the doctor said for Noah to use a child's strength of scrubby power...because of his severe dry skin. I do let Noah use this 3 times a week in winter, he uses it everyday in summer though, the rest of the week he just washes his body with his hands in winter because his skin is so dry and that's what the doctor recommends for Noah. So...given the fact he's a 6th grader....Pooh may not be cool...according to Noah...but Pooh it is...it's just because his skin is already getting drier by the second now that it's Fall. Noah needs a gentle scrubby in Fall and winter.

Any last minute thoughts? Noah's on his over night trip right now as I already said. Noboru will not be home until 9pm tonight. Bran will be home somewhere between 5 and 5:30pm. And we're having chicken fettucini tonight and garlic bread, just Bran and I. I have a Ginger Ale in the freezer getting cold for supper. Hmm, I should take that out of the freezer soon. Anyways, that's it for now.

I baked a banana bread yesterday. Also, no school for kids this Friday. So no school for Branden and no school for Noah this Friday. And since Wednesday and Thursday...today and tomorrow is Noah's over night 6th grade trip.... Noah gets back tomorrow evening from his over night trip. Noah won't have school until next Monday. And Bran's last day of school is tomorrow. 3 day weekend yet again. So right on!!! : )

Out to lunch with my friends...

Thursday, April 27th I had a lunch date planned to meet my 2 girl friends, who I met way back when, my kids were in yochien (kindergarten) We have been good friends for years. And it is always nice to meet up whether we go to a movie or to lunch or to Costco etc. It's just nice getting together and being around like minded people. We 3...each have 2 kids each. They each have 2 daughters and I have 2 sons. : )  They're oldest daughters (they each have a daughter that is 1 year older than Bran). And it's nice being given school information a year in advance. They talked to me *tons* before Bran started JHS and I was all nervous about it. They talked to me even more so when Bran was in his final year of JHS and I was really trying to have a true understanding about "getting into" high school in Japan. Remember it's more like applying to college in the US, you literally have to legit apply to high school and they may say no. And the points system for getting into high school. And by the time Bran applied, I had that whole system pretty much down! Thanks to them and Noboru. : ) So these 2 are my really really good friends. We make each other laugh. And it's nice that they live right in the small city nearest me and if need be, I could zip there in 20 minutes. So I am so lucky to have such good friends so close by. : ) Anyways, we met up at 11am for lunch at Coco's. They have a delicious drink bar. And the best creamiest hot cocoa! My friends love the tea selection at Coco's! They have sodas and you name it, they have it, drink wise. : ) We also ordered lunch and we talked the entire afternoon away. Until it was time to go and pick up our kids. 

One of my friends went to Australia during Spring break! And she brought the 2 of us both omiyage (souvenirs) I thought that was so very thoughtful. And that is the cutest change purse ever! With a kangaroo and a koala and other Australian animals on it. It's so cute! And these Zappo candies. They reminded me of American Starburts a little bit (a candy we have in the U.S.)  and I enjoyed them and I had never seen these cookies before ever. However I am of the mind that cookies from *any* country have got to be delicious and tasty, right! : ) So, I was very excited to taste these. I tried these cookies and they were *so* delicious! Really really good cookies!!! So, all in all, it was a great day out with my 2 besties and a really nice surprise omiyage (souvenirs) from my dear friend.  And she absolutely loved her trip by the way! She said, she and her family really enjoyed their time in Australia.: )

Noah's yochien (kindergarten) class reunion...

The first week of February we received a post card that was sent by Noah's former private Catholic yochien (kindergarten) saying that.... for Noah's specific graduating year/class they were having a reunion. That the former principal and gym teacher and all the teachers that were there... during his years of yochien would be showing up and asking for all kids interested in attending to reply/RSVP. So March 29th, on a Wednesday during Spring break Noah got the chance to return to his former yochien and catch up with everyone. Also important to add. Most of these kids are going to the same elementary school together. Except maybe 4. One boy named R-kun lives on the opposite  side of the small city nearest us (awesome super kind kid). He goes to a totally different elementary school than everyone else. So he hasn't seen anyone since age 6. And one little girl moved to Narita. And then Noah and S are from our town. I knew S would more than likely not show up for the reunion because his mom wasn't in love with the yochien like we were and in fact she sent her younger son to hoikuen in our town. So, I knew for the kids who don't get the chance to see the majority of the kids daily. Such as Noah who attends a rural elementary school... he would love the chance to see his original besties and very good friends. I'd say 3/4 of the class showed up for the reunion. See all the drinks near the window? So many drinks. Teas and sodas. And snacks and cakes. As soon as Noah saw his friends and they saw him, it was if... no time had come between them! His former bestie H-kun...ran right up to Noah and hugged him right away! He said...Noah-kun!!!! Hahaha. : ) And they ran and all the boys got along super well, like always. Just like the old days. : ) 

Cakes and snacks galore...

That's Noah in the gray sweatshirt about to kick that soccer ball! And that's his former best friend in the universe.... H-kun in the black shirt and tan pants right next to Noah on his left! Noah *loves* soccer and is so good at it. It was just wonderful that these boys could get together and have a run on one of the playgrounds like this. This is the small little city nearest us obviously. And the girls were there, they were on the other playground... the main playground with the jungle gym on it. The gym teacher was playing with the boys. And the sensei's were all walking around. Some of the sensei's are married now with toddlers and babies. Our best most favorite sensei Yayoi-sensei is not married yet and she still teaches there. She is an incredibly wonderful teacher and very kind, the current kids are so lucky to have her as their teacher. 

All parents and kids were given some strawberry shortcake. 

Everybody did cheers! And they talked and talked and it was a wonderful day for these kids to get to catch up! I absolutely love that our yochien decided to have a reunion like this! : )

The current principal was also there and she is an amazing lady and we know her very well because she was Branden's most favorite teacher. And she used to ride the yochien bus with Bran and G all the way back to our town everyday for their whole yochien lives. So she asked about Branden. And she was always so super kind to Branden. And it turns out, the high school Branden is going to, her daughter attended that same high school. And then Yayoi-sensei jumped in and she also went there too. And they loved hearing Branden goes there. They went to the regular course, I think. And they do know Bran is in the English course... but they both told us what an absolutely awesome school Branden is going to. And so it was really nice to hear that and have that tie with the current principal and the Yayoi-sensei. And the fact they both love that school so much and have such good memories about that school.  All in all it was a good way to catch up with everyone and them with us too. : )

Lunch with Noah. 3 Costco trips. The Girl on the Train DVD. And lunch and Starbucks with my friends...

Just some more miscellaneous random pics from January and 1 from February 1st from our daily life. You know just regular everyday type stuff. : ) Noah had a half day this day at school. Branden was having a full day at JHS, so he was at school. Usually we will have lunch at home, however on this day, I decided let's do something fun. And so, as soon as Noah came out of school at 11am. I picked him up and we drove to the little city nearest our town. And we went and had lunch. There was a special deal they were selling at KFC. 2 chicken breast sandwiches, 1 order of french fries and 1 order of 10 chicken nuggets all for 1,000 yen. I had 1 sandwich and Noah had the rest. Since he's a growing boy. And we talked and enjoyed our lunch together that day. : )

This was the day after Noah and I went to KFC. This was taken on January 11th. And I went to Costco Chiba-New Town that morning first thing. Bright and early, as soon as it opened. I picked up milk- a 2 pack, my boys drink milk like CRAZY, they go through so many cartons a week. And a huge pack of tortillas, these tortillas are delicious, I love them and they're so cheap in price for how many you get. And maple pecan danish for a busy weekday morning breakfast. A glass of milk, a danish and a yogurt for the boys the next day for breakfast, meanwhile I busily packed up some sandwiches and that week, I think I made a big container of potato salad versus mac salad that week. So they took sammy's and a small container of potato salad and a side of fresh fruit. For their lunch. 

Sometimes I go once a week to Costco, sometimes I go every 2 weeks. This was what I purchased January 25th. A huge 2 pack of shredded cheddar and jack cheese. I use this when whipping up some gratin/scalloped potatoes from scratch. Homemade macaroni and cheese. I also use this in my enchiladas or on my tostadas. This cheese has so many uses and so it is always something I keep on hand at my home. Rotisserie chicken. 1 pack of bacon, we have bacon for a Saturday breakfast twice a month. We don't eat bacon every day or every week... but yes we totally do eat bacon here twice a month. We don't live Charlie Bucket lives of torture around here. We enjoy eating good delicious things around here at our house and we're all extremely active and healthy! : ) Fresh pasta. Pasta sauce. Shrimp. This shrimp is such a fantastic deal. I know, I live in Japan and can get shrimp anywhere. But this shrimp is such a fantastic price for the amount we get. This one bag of shrimp, I get 2 meals from it. And it's 2,000 yen for the big bag of shrimp. So it amounts to 1 dinner of ebi fry (fried shrimp) costs just 1,000 yen $US 10 dollars. Which considering how many shrimp Branden gets to eat and Noboru gets to eat and I eat shrimp too. Considering we get 2 meals worth of shrimp for 1,000 yen each dinner. That's too good a deal to pass up. Plus the shrimp is peeled. It's de-pooped or deveined if that word is easier for your mind. So it just makes preparing it even easier...than if I would have bought it with shells and poop line/vein. 

These pizzas are really good for a restful Saturday lunch at home. : )  

Deveined, peeled, chemical free. And at such a great price. Considering the huge amount you get, this is quite the bargain. Especially if you have a hungry teenager in the house. And 2 growing boys. Though my littlest boy doesn't like shrimp yet. So, I prepare Noah a chicken cutlet on nights we eat this. : ) 

February 1st. This was right after we went and ordered Bran's high school uniform. Just a case of eggs. Mozzarella cheese for many Italian dishes I make here at home. And tortillas again. And they give out this magazine once in a while. 

The Girl on the Train DVD came to my home about 2 weeks ago. It was a popular book. My thoughts on the DVD? I honestly...hated it. It was so freakin' slow. Like the first hour...just churned so slowly. It was slower than a snails pace. I literally 2 times during the first hour thought about stopping the DVD. The story just went nowhere for the LONGEST time. It's just she's sad, she's sad. She's having memories. She's an alcoholic so are her memories even real. She's having flashbacks. She's sad again. More memories. For an hour..I was thinking...WTH. Seriously I thought...what in the hell is this? Is something going to finally happen? Or is this just going to be 2 hours of...sadness and flashbacks. Finally the last 30 minutes. She finally remembers what she needs to and I was like...FINALLY the movie is finally moving along. But yep. Would I watch it again? Not by choice. I mean...if a friend came over and said can we watch it? I'd be like....sure. But would I watch it next month or something? Nope. There was so much buzz about the book and about the movie, I bought it sight unseen. And honestly, I regret it. But I'm human and not perfect. I'm sure most of ya'll have seen it already. But if you haven't. Please just rent it. Don't make the same mistake, I did. : ) Aww, live and learn, I guess. : )  

My girl friends and I went to have Indian for lunch. And after that, we went and had a few hour chit chat at Starbucks. 

We 3 are thinking about going to a movie real soon. We really enjoy each others company. It's so nice to have such good friends! 

Last Friday, movies with my friends. And flu shots for our entire family...

A pic of Noah about to get his flu shot last Friday evening October 14th. And that's Branden's leg to the right of Noah. Branden's flu shot for this season is 100% done (Bran gets an adult dosage now, so just 1 shot for him, anyone 13 or over). Mine totally done, Noboru's totally done. Noah needs 2 doses so he will go back in 30 days and get his final shot in November. So Noah is half done... flu shot wise, but we are on the case! We're on top of things!

Friday morning, same day as the flu shot. Again, October 14th. I had a movie date with my 2 favorite girl friends. The movie started at 8am! Holy crap was that an early movie. We 3 met at the movies at 7:45am. We're all mothers, I pack 2 lunches for my kids Monday through Friday everyday for school lunch. And they have 1 high school daughter each... so they too pack lunches in the morning. We 3 were busy that morning. Quickly trying to do our lunch making and packing. And getting ourselves ready for the day and meet up by 7:45am. And for me...I do NOT live in the small city nearest me. Where they live and where the movie theater is located. I live way more rural...so I drive from my town to that small city. So, I had to leave even earlier. Luckily for me...Noboru was home that day and able to drive the 2 boys to school. Otherwise I would have never been able to make our...meet up time at the movies. Anyway...so we 3 enjoyed the movie. We saw the movie with Matt Damon, "Jason Bourne." Is this the 4th installment of this movie franchise? I'm iffy on that...but there's others before this one. After the movie we went and had lunch and they went on to Starbucks. I stayed for only a few hours at the lunch spot. The movie let out around 10am or 10:20am. I knew I had dinner to get prepped. Usually I can stay with my friends and chit chat and enjoy our time to catch up and stuff..until it's time to get our kids from school. However...I knew the boys and us had a flu shot appointment since a month beforehand. And we had a very tiny window to eat our supper. The appointment was at 5pm for our flu shots. And they got off at 3:45pm. So we had about 30 minutes to get dinner eaten (considering the drive there and back). And I cooked dinner while Noboru was actually picking up the boys. So...my schedule was super tight that day. Because of our flu shots. I felt super bad I could not stay the whole time with my friends, but I know they are very understanding and kind ladies. The only way I could ensure...dinner  would be ready to eat the second the kids got home from school. Was if I had prepped the ebi fry in the day time. Dredging in flour, tossing in egg, rolling in panko. I had HAD to get everything ready to go in the day time. I did feel really bad about leaving early. But...sometimes you just have to. : (  My kids come home from school hungry...because they're active boys. And considering we had 4 flu shots, plus we would be taking the boys for haircuts at the barber after the flu shots. If we had dinner after all.... that we'd be eating super late. Too late. Everyone would be starving. And miserable. So...I had to make sure supper was ready and on the plate at 4pm. So we could all quickly eat...get full. Then go and get our flu shots! So that's what we did. The flu shots went smooth and we were actually done within 10-15 minutes. They were ready and waiting for us. They had the shots all laid out. And the doctor just gave us each our shot. Our flu shots are free because of Noboru's health care. And so for us...it's nice to get them done and out of the way.  We then drove to the barber and as luck would have it...not a soul was in the barbershop other than us and the 3 barbers. The guy who always cuts the boys hair, cut Bran's first and then cut Noah's. I'd say by 6:30pm we were home and ready to call it a night. We sure had accomplished a whole bunch that day! Hahaha. : )

Anyways...I do have a whole bunch of posts to post. And I will be trying my best to get them up as soon as I can. : )

I caught the Lifetime movie last night. About Michel'le. Called "Surviving Compton" It was a really good made for TV movie. I enjoyed it a lot. It was eye opening. I didn't realize Dr. Dre was so brutal to her back in the day. He denies it of course. But wow...an interesting movie for sure. 

Bits and pieces...

How's everyone been? As for me, things here have been super! I haven't really had the chance to catch up with you all. You know...just the day to day type of stuff. So let me give it my best shot right now! September 16th. I had a free day and a plan to meet a good friend. House was all clean and in order. And the kids had a full day at school. And so, I drove myself to the Aeon in Ibaraki to meet a really good friend of mine (fellow foreign mom friend, that we have been friends for ages, like since before Noah was born and Bran was a toddler) We don't get the chance to see each other too often in person, since we don't exactly live the closest to one another. So it was nice we could meet up for lunch halfway between where she lives and halfway from where I live. She was looking for some stuff at the Disney store for her daughter. And I was wanting a foundation. Which was in the Aeon cosmetics area. And she ended up buying a coconut face wash also in the Aeon cosmetics area. We also had lunch and a look around the Body Shop. I had grabbed a sandwich downstairs after we left the Disney Store. And she wanted to have something to eat in the food court, so while she was placing her order, I quickly snapped this pic of my sammy and foundation in the bag as she was ordering her lunch. We ate in the food court, our plan was to eat in the food court... it's just Subway is located downstairs and not in the food court. : )

I had a footlong veggie and cheese sandwich on white. No sides and no drink. I didn't want the calories of a soda. Should have probably picked up a jasmine tea downstairs at the Aeon, but eh...I was fine. : ) Her daughter will start JHS next year so she wanted to ask me some questions. It was so nice to be able to chat and catch up in person. We parted ways after lunch. I had a bit of a drive and kids to pick up from school. : )

I picked up the Koh Gen Do Aqua foundation. This foundation is really popular in America right now. has been for the past year. Kathleenlights. So many people are in love with this. However in America at Sephora this is super expensive. $70 or 78 US? Something like that. It's pricey let's put it that way. However since it is a Japanese foundation it's like 4,000 yen for us in Japan. This foundation is for dry skin. So if you're oily, I wouldn't try it. If you're over 35 you might like this a lot. If you're over 35 and have dry skin you will really love this, if you can find the right color/shade. They say this foundation makes you look like you have just had a facial or been to the spa. Like a radiant glow from within type of look. It's light to medium coverage so if you want super thick full coverage foundation this isn't for you. If you just want a light to medium foundation this could be a good one to try. As always am I suggesting you buy it? Derr...no I'm not. However if you're in Japan and you want to try it... you will be able to buy it here way cheaper. If you're a Mac NC20-25...color 213 will be the best color match for you. 

My thoughts? Do, I look...like I just come from the spa? No I do not. Does it give me a beautiful look? Yes, totally. Would I repurchase this? No...but that's only because I bore so easy with foundations. I'm like a tumble weed rolling and blowing in the wind regarding foundations, guilty as charged and hey I admit that. Also...I find this color matches me 98% perfectly. However I feel the one I bought in Denver. The Make Up For Ever Ultra HD matches me 1000% maybe even a million percent. As in best color match ever in my life. As in..would I repurchase the MUFE Ultra HD? Hell yes, I would. Without question. But am I glad I at least tried this and own this? Yes, I am. Because I am wearing the Koh Gen Do right this second even. So, I do really like it a lot. Anyway...enough foundation talk. Moving along. : ) 

Pic right next door to my house. Pheasants gone wild! Seriously there are so many pheasants next to my house. They are so smart! And the first monkey in our town has been spotted this season already! Last year 3 were spotted! Rural Japan living stuff, I guess. : ) 

This one was sure the little fatty! He's very lucky, I don't eat pheasant! LOL. : )

Good night dear pheasants. We'll just pretend we don't know you have a big family living in the wilderness that is next door. : ) 

What else have I been doing? Once a week, I will throw the comforters outside to air and get sun! They get so fat in the sun. In japan they believe blankets get disinfected by the sun. Whether it's true or not, I still do it anyway. I'll go out and whack the blankets with a futon stick. Flip them around and whatnot. And the day after this. I usually will unzip the duvet covers. And wash the duvet/comforter covers. The insides are still fat and fluffy but the outside has just been laundered. 

If you live in Japan then you know October 1st means time to switch into your winter uniform. Noah wears regular clothes to school, but Bran wears uniform. So, I had to pick up 3 dress shirts for BrannyMcB at Sanki last week. 

Also picked up 2 wash clothes for face washing. This side is floral.

This is what the other side looks like. So each side is different. 

This side is navy with white polka dots and the other side in white with navy dots. 

3 dress shirts. I washed on the quick wash. Hung them outside to dry. And since this Monday Bran has been wearing his winter uniform.

Noah needed more name tags for school supplies. So, I ordered these. I love the colorful banner above Noah's name. And I picked the yellow frame too because that's Noah's favorite color! And these name stickers come in all sorts of sizes...super big stickers  large stickers, medium, all the way to itty bitty stickers. 

I mentioned I have been enjoying the new TV show called The Good Place which stars Kristen Bell. She was a very very bad person on earth. Super bad. And so she died. She was supposed to go to The Bad Place (yes that's what they call hell in this show) and some sort of mix up occurred. And a person with her same exact first and last name was supposed to go to heaven. But Kristen Bell went to heaven by mistake. She is still behaving badly even while in heaven! It's not a religious show. It's just a funny show. 

This week she found out her neighbor, pictured here is also here in heaven by mistake. 

This guy pictured here holding the book is a good guy and actually belongs in heaven and he knows about her secret and so he is trying to teach Kristen Bell how to be good. He was an ethics professor. It's not heavy or serious or deep. It's just honestly a fun 30 minutes of my evening. 

Monday morning/yesterday after the boys went to school. And I vacuumed the downstairs. And cleaned the downstairs toilet. I baked 3 dozen peanut butter cookies from scratch. The fam-bam has been enjoying them ever since.

If you are living in America, you know that JonBenet Ramsey has been all over the news for the past month! Though she died a day after Christmas. Apparently this is the 20th anniversary this coming December. And because of it being the 20th anniversary it's all over the TV now. There have been like...5 documentaries about it this past month. Plus the TV movie where they flat out say Burke (the brother who was 9 at the time) was the killer. And he's flat out suing. And he should sue. This JonBenet Ramsey murder happened in Colorado. It happened in Boulder, Colorado. Noboru and I were actually living in Denver at the time. Because it happened in my home state. And I was living there at the time. I can tell you, the news people from all over the world came to Colorado to cover this case. It literally captured the whole world's attention. Some people thought the mom did it. The dad did it. Some thought an intruder did it. And some thought the little boy did it. Then the case seemed to drop off the face of the earth. The Ramsey's moved back to their home state, which was not Colorado. Now this case is huge all over again. I have watched nearly all of the JonBenet stuff this past month, the new shows. And from what they say, Burke found out they were going to make a TV movie about him and basically say he did it. He was mortified. And he and his dad will sue. And they should, as I said. But, I wanted to hear from Burke. Not hear say. From him. And so, I tuned into the interview on the OWN channel and I watched it. 

His dad talked a lot privately with Dr. Phil. 

And no, I do not think her dad did it at all. I just don't. 

And I watched Burke answer all of the questions Dr. Phil asked and I don't think he was involved at all either. In fact, the grand jury that convened and the Boulder county officials years and years ago said Burke was ruled out 100%. Also...if you have seen that 3 page ransom note. It was quite lengthy. And a bit sophisticated and I just don't think a 9 year old boy wrote that letter. I don't think he wrote that letter at all. With phrases like..."don't grow a brain Jon" To the father. "we are from a small faction" ummm...doesn't really sound like a 9 year olds' type of wording to me at all. Who do I think killed JonBenet? I honestly do not know. Sometimes, I think Patsy did it. And sometimes I think an intruder did it. But, I do not think Burke or the dad had anything to do with it. And to make a whole 2 hour movie where Burke's the killer in the end? OMG! Can you imagine how mortifying that would be...to have someone make a movie about you like that? Sue the pants off them Burke! They deserve it. Anyways...anything else? Oh my gosh. American Horror Story is so good this season. It's so weird and creepy. Seems like a haunted house with 2 nurse sisters haunting the house. This looks like a good season. And OMG, The Blacklist is getting so good too. Freaking good! : ) 

This pic was taken this morning. Obviously it is a filter. More than one.. so filters. This morning, after I vacuumed and scrubbed my sink room/area upstairs. I decided to jump on the step stool and pull the filters out of the heat exchanger for the central air conditioning unit we have. I clean all house filters every season, every single one we have. Once in summer, once in Fall, once in winter, and spring. I took this outside and scrubbed this filter down with some green tea dish soap. The neighbor was hanging her laundry out and greeted me! Good morning, she said in Japanese! Good morning, I replied back in Japanese! What are you doing, she asked? Cleaning the filter, I replied! She said...you sure stay busy! I said, thanks, you too! : )

Tonight's supper? American style fried pork chops and Rice and Roni and steamed broccoli. We'll have peanut butter cookies for dessert if anyone wants any. : )  Anyway, have a great week everyone!