Mother's Day 2018...

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day and spent it with your loved ones. I had a very low key Mother's Day as always, which is totally our style, to begin with anyways. I spent it with my 2 amazing sons who I adore to pieces. We 3 went to the movies on Mother's Day. One of my favorite movies growing up was the original Overboard movie with the amazing Goldie Hawn and her longtime beau Kurt Russell. Just always loved that movie. And so when I saw they were making a remake last year. I figured I would have to see it, whether good or bad. I wasn't expecting to like it. But, I really liked this remake. So seeing a movie that I loved. With my 2 sons, honestly nothing could have been better than that for me. : )

The boys had their own nachos as usual, we had 2 large sodas (cherry cokes) I wasn't hungry at the movies this time at all... so just had soda. After the movie, we 3 went to Dairy Queen, where they have this amazing deal. A $5 buck meal, you get chicken strips, fries, a drink and a sundae all for just 5 bucks, you can upgrade to a small blizzard for a dollar extra, if you want and we 3 did that. So a movie and an early-ish dinner. Anyway, I sure hope you all had a fantastic Mother's Day too. 

Mother's Day...

If you are a mom, mommy or mama, I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day! If you are not, hope you either got to spend it with your mom or at least enjoyed the day anyway! : )  How was my Mother's Day 2016?  As always it was low key (story of my life, haha) Restful, relaxful. Quiet and nice. Branden as you know had left that morning on his final 9th grade school/class trip on his 3 day trip to Kyoto. Noboru left home after breakfast to head to work. And it would just be Noah and I. We watched excellent TV. We lazed around on the couch and relaxed. Knowing how busy I am during the weekday and Noah too. It was good for us to just get 1 day to rest and relax. Did I get anything for Mother's Day? Yes, but honestly I don't really "need" anything. But Noboru did give the boys 2500 yen to buy me something. While we were at Sanki and I was looking for a towel for Branden for his school trip. This towel did catch my eye. It's brown and pink. It's so thick and big and fluffy and wonderful. Granted I wasn't looking for anything for myself at all. But this was just there. It was gorgeous. And... given the fact that I have been using my same blue and white striped towel for 12 years. @_@ Should I be admitting that? Hahaha. Holy goodness you guys! And yes, I bought that too at Sanki. @_@ Anyways...I think I definitely got my money's worth regarding my well loved well used... blue and white stripe towel. So it was definitely time? Hahaha. I'd say yes. This new brown and pink one was 1,790 yen. I don't think I have ever had a towel that pricey before? Yep...I told you I'm not fancy schmancy! See? Hahaha. The kids saw I liked it. And I was like no....it's 1790 yen. US$16.50. Granted I won't hesitate to buy my kids something 1790yen but for myself. Ehhhh, I hesitate. Anyways...the kids were like. "We have this Mother's Day money" Let us buy this towel for you. And so I was like...ehhh okay. : ) And so they went and paid and were all super happy! And they handed me the Sanki bag and were like...should we wrap it for you? And I was like...no that's quite alright. The towel as is...is plenty fine for me. : ) And no...I have not thrown out my blue and white stripey towel. I am still keeping it. Why? I don't know! LOL! 

Definitely the thickest softest towel I have ever used. My last towel was so nice and a little scratchy and I was just used to it. With this one...I'm thinking...wow this is so nice... too nice? Too thick? Too fluffy? I'm trying to get adjusted to the new towel. It may take me some time. But I do love it. : ) However...I'm still not ready to throw out my stripe towel...because what if...for some odd reason I should need a 2nd towel? You never know...right? So, I think I better keep it for safe keeping. But I am loving my new bath towel. : ) 

This order from Koreadepart was only like US$20, it's just all I needed. Noboru gifted these to me for Mother's Day. I usually pick gifts...that are basic. Like gifts I'll actually use. Take this 450 yen face wash on the left for example. It smells good,  and ya'll know how weird and picky I am with scents. Also it doesn't dry out my face or make it oily. It's just a basic face cleanser and I finally have 1 that I really like, and the price is fair/cheap at 450 yen a tube. And it's practical and I picked 2 of those. Plus 1 jar of makeup remover. This takes off all my makeup. And that is a good thing. I wear makeup 3 days a week if I'm going out...but I can't stand wearing makeup. @_@ I hate the feel of it on my face. I mean...I am a girl so I do have to wear it. But...as soon as I come home...first thing I do is grab a steaming hot wash cloth and take my makeup off and then I was my face with a tube cleanser afterwards. And also in this box is... I picked up a foot peeling mask thing. You soak your feet for like an hour,,,and 5 days later your feet peel and shed like crazy and then they are baby soft. They all work the same and I don't care which brand and this one was like 300 yen for this one. So that's it. 2 tubes of face wash, 1 mini pot of makeup remover and 1 foot peeling mask. Super duper practical. Again not fancy. But just very practical things. And for them all, they totaled to about $20.  

Manufactured 4/13 2015, expires 9, 2017. This is the coconut makeup remover. 

Face washes (2), expire 12 (December), 21 2017. A good long while on those 2 tubes of wash face. That I am sure... will be long gone by that expiration date. : ) 

Some might say...that's pretty boring stuff. I say, I don't care. I love a practical gifts that I will totally use. : ) 

In that little circle dot it says firming. It has fermented products in it. Just like the SK-2 has fermented products inside, this is just tons cheaper... but still so good. 

This smells so good. Not like fake coconuts like suntan lotion type scent... this smells more like coconut cream pie. Or coconut pudding. I love this one. I prefer this way more than my Clean It Zero by Banila Co. The Clean It Zero regular one smells like...Kool-Aid powder exactly. That's what it smells like to me,,,cherry Kool-Aid to be exact. And that isn't my most fave scent to rub on my face. Granted the Clean it Zero scent doesn't suck but...I won't repurchase the Clean it Zero because of that scent. This one smells so good. I love the way this Coconut makeup remover smells like. So, I was happy to get the coconut one again.

I do enjoy the free samples. 

And the kids bought me a value size bag of the Mint Choco Kit Kats the day before Mother's Day. These are so good! Anyway those were my Mother's Day gifts this year 2016. Very nice useful things. A nice plush bath towel, some essential toiletries like face wash that I'll actually be using and some choco mint Kit Kats. I'm a lucky mom. : )

Mother's Day and other good bits thrown in...

Happy (belated) Mother's Day, to all of you. My Mother's Day was excellent! Granted, I was minus one of my children on Mother's Day. : ) Since he was on his over night trip. But this is how my Mother's Day went in a nut shell real quick. : ) I woke up freakishly early Sunday on Mother's Day to make Branden, his breakfast and drive him to the plaza because that morning was his over night trip. After dropping him off, I drove home. Had myself my 2nd and final cup of coffee. I did some online stuff. Read online news, checked emails. I went upstairs, washed my face and whatnot and went in Noah's bedroom for a 5 minute snuggle buggle. : ) I love my kids, I flat out adore them. Noah woke up after a bit. Went downstairs. We had some breakfast together. Noboru finally woke up and had some breakfast and coffee. Noboru left to work. He would be gone until 8pm-ish. So it was just Noah and I on Mother's Day. And that's okay. What I received for Mother's Day this year was a pair of really cute purple Panasonic headphones with extra bass (no treble, lol). And some essence by Missha. After breakfast, a few hours after, maybe around 11am-ish that day, Noah's friend came to ask him if he'd like to play? So Noah asked me..."my friend's here, should I send him away since it's Mother's Day today?" I said..."Oh honey, of course not, if someone you like asks you to go and ride bikes, and it's a nice day, by all means go and play." And so Noah smiled widely and he got on his bike and he rode bikes with 2 boys from his class. : ) They rode around and around all over. Noah came home really happy and very thirsty around 3pm. Could have been closer to 2:50pm actually. He was a sweaty mess, so I sent him to shower and get soapy clean. I meanwhile threw one of those frozen Costco cheese pizza, ykwim, in the oven and I split 1 bag of salad (it's for 2 people) into 2 bowls. I got out the vinaigrette and when Noah came down, we enjoyed a fast, quick and easy dinner. I appreciated not having to cook on Mother's Day. After that, we quickly tossed all the dishes into the dishwasher. And we started to have a movie marathon. It might have been Mother's Day, but I let Noah pick the movies. : ) We watched, Big Hero 6 and the Terminator 2 (because this is Noah's favorite Terminator movie. : ) And then Noah fell asleep, completely zonked to the world. I carried my boy upstairs to his bed, covered him with his blanket and kissed his forehead, while he happily slept. I meanwhile jumped in the shower. I missed Branden a little bit of course, but I know how important it is for him to grow as a person to be on trips like this. So, I was happy for Bran. I watched TV in my nightgown/sleep tee. And Noboru came home and took a shower. A very low key Mother's Day and that's okay, totally cool. : ) 

This is a cushion bag for electronics and I bought it at the Daiso. I really like this bag and I keep my headphones in here. I might go back and get a few more of these bags, for the kids for when we travel this summer. Nice to have a place to keep all your electronic type stuff in 1 bag. And I really like that it's cushioned inside. And they had different color bags of this too. : )

The night Branden came home from his trip, we had baked ravioli, salad and garlic bread. 

What else, have I been doing? Cleaning house during the weekday, running to the grocery store, laundry, blanket washing. Same ol' same ol' But it always needs to be done. This day, I cleaned the living room, all the dusting, dusting the TV stand, coffee table, dusting the ceiling fans, book shelf. Windex-ed the windows. Just all the little bits that need attention, you know what I mean. : ) 

Upstairs and downstairs had to get a major window sil cleaning. Gosh they get so gross... so they really needed it. : ) 

Also, anyone see outside those super tiny red bugs. They come out before rainy season. They're so tiny, like smaller than the tip of a pen. You'd almost miss them, if you didn't look closely. They come every spring before rainy season. I really hate them. They don't come into the house. They seem to like outside, but they'll sometimes crawl on my laundry pole. On the back patio floor. Sidewalks outside. I wipe my pole down every time I use it, however in this season, I spray my laundry pole legs down with this bug spray (not the laundry poles themselves, that hold the clothes just the base/legs and it keeps them from climbing higher, go figure). It keeps them from climbing my pole, so this spray is peace of mind for me. Those tiny red bugs hate this bug spray. And I also spray every window sil down in the house every 3 days, just lightly to make sure...they don't come around. Anyway, just wondering if those super tiny red bugs are driving anyone else bonkers. : ) 

Almond milk, it's available here everywhere now. Where we live, and we live in the countryside. The kids really enjoy it. : ) 

If you're American, you'll know everyone was talking about this fight! Boxing of course and this was a highly anticipated fight. The Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquio fight. Floyd won, however afterwards everyone was upset because apparently Manny did not report he was injured before the fight. To me, if someone lost, just say they lost and turn the page. You know what I mean. But anyway...I saw this picture online and it cracked me up! That's so Kanye! LOL. : ) 

Saturday, May 16th, I decided to give the kitchen a hard thorough cleaning. Washed up the table cloth and moved all the chairs to the living room. The boys wiped the baseboards down, with those Kirkland wipes. I vacuumed and then I prepared to mop. 

The boys both antibacterial wiped the trash cans. I have 2 very helpful boys.

I then got crack-a-lackin' on the mopping. Mopped with that thick small squeeze bottle of Mr Clean in Gain scent twice and then rinsed twice. Turned the ceiling fan on and opened the kitchen windows and let the floors dry. They dried super quick with the breeze and then I put everything back in it's spot. We had ginger pork for dinner with salads and veggies and rice and whatnot that night. 

Next day, Sunday May 17th, I baked a delicious yellow cake from a box. And let it cool and then frosted the cake with some chocolate frosting. I also prepped dinner. Fried chicken (karaage) for supper. Yum, every one's favorite in our house. 

Karaage, rice and veggies. We all 4 ate and enjoyed a nice family Sunday dinner and we all had cake and ice cream for dessert too. Sunday dinners are the best. : ) 

Cake and ice cream. Dessert Sunday evening. : )  Anyway those are some of the things we have been up to lately.

Any other bits to add before I send this off? Hmm. Branden has a big test this Thursday. He's been studying like crazy for it lately. Meanwhile next week, I have to go to Noah's school for an emergency drill. On top of that, it is a free observation day...meaning you can go any time of day for that day. But the last class, you need to be there for, the last class and then wait for them to have the emergency disaster drill afterwards. : ) So that's next week. Anything else to add? We have an appointment at the US Embassy in Tokyo to renew the boys passports, early June. If they're under 18 or 16 or whatever you can't mail it in, like I can mail mine in. For kids you need to get yourself all the way to Tokyo and apply in person. Noah's expires, end of August, Branden's expires end of September, however getting down to Tokyo is a pain in the batooty...so we will do both of theirs at the same time and save us a trip to Tokyo. Also...considering we will more than likely, be traveling twice this summer overseas...once when we 4 go on our big family vacation...hoping for July and the 2nd trip will more than likely be just the kids and I, either... in August or July... more than likely the kids and I will hop over to Guam, enjoy a few movies and the tropical beach and spend some time with grandpa/my dad.Whenever they don't have school and the flight is open. So easier for us to do this passport stuff...before we travel. Also some countries will not let you enter, if you have less than a few months on your passport left, granted going to America would be no problem or to Japan would be no problem... but we are also considering a 3rd country for travel. So for us getting it done earlier is best. I have since already made 2 appointments with the American Embassy...because both kids need an appointment. So Bran has an appointment set and Noah's is after Branden's, but same day. Just like a 20 minute time difference. 

Vacation. We like to take 1 big one, a year as a family. You know...we all work hard. The kids hit the books hard and go to school. Noboru works hard. I also work hard at home. We like knowing we have some sort of reward for the whole year. That 1 trip a year, to really look forward to. Do you know what I mean. However, we can't decided where to go. We have it widdled down to 2 destinations. We already have the hotels picked for both destinations. After reading reviews off Trip Advisor and Expedia, for weeks and weeks, hahaha. One place is in America and the other place is in Asia. I'm not trying to be all....secret squirrel about it either. I will totally fill you all in soon. It's just...trying to decide...which place. We have been watching Youtube videos of families at both destinations, having a blast. Meanwhile, Noboru and I are like stuck...50% wanting to go to place A and 50% wanting to go to place B. One day we'll both be in agreement and we'll say...we are going to place A. And the next day..we'll both sheepishly say..hmm saw a good video on YouTube about place B. Then next thing you know...we'll be all gung ho for place B. We literally are like 50/50 stuck. Hahaha.  So...is it the end of the world type of a problem? Not even. However it has been taking up a lot of our free time lately. Preoccupying my time. if I get a free moment. Instead of updating this blog, if I get a chance...I prefer research place A or place B. @_@ So, for now...we are still undecided. Anyway as Homer Simpson used to say...Doh! : ) 

Mother's Day 2014!

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day! I know, I did. : ) It was very low key, as always.  I think last year, I picked a couple DVDs for my Mother's Day gift from Amazon, you know, just something I wanted to see and have on DVD. And this year, I picked some skincare stuff and popcorn making items. Yep, I like "useful gifts", type gifts, something I can watch and rewatch again and again or read or get to use (like skincare) or enjoy... you know what I mean, I hope. : ) I'm really enjoying this face wash, it smells so good and the hand cream is amazing. Good picks this year! 

You ever get on a kick? I know, I do and I know a lot of other people do too...anyway about 2 years or so ago, if you remember, I went on a smoothie kick. I bought 2 smoothie recipe books and I went full blast on those for a whole summer. Hahaha. @.@ Well, I am on a bit on a popcorn making kick right now. I'm sorry folks, just bear with me, I am sure by the end of summer, it could very well fizzle itself out. Maybe not though... because we have *always* loved popcorn, but...it's just what I'm really into at the moment. I found a place online in Japan that sells professional popcorn oils and the salt/butter flavor you add in the pan while cooking/popping, the kind used at the movies. The prices were cheap. Very fair and so, I ordered 2 professional "popcorn oils" and 1 coconut oil. I have been reading threads via Amazon what other people like and they were split between popcorn oil and coconut oil. This place sells it all, so I gave both a try. That salt/butter seasoning you add only 1/2 of teaspoon and since this is 1kg, I'm sure this will last a billion years. Hahaha. So needless to say, I have been experimenting trying to get the perfect "tastes exactly like the movie theater popcorn taste" down and by George, I think I've got it. ; ) 

I just put the oil into this bottle that I got at Target in Hawaii last June. 

Popcorn making, the latest happening in our neck of the woods.: ) But you know...we're not hurting anybody and it's just popcorn, so not a bad "hobby" of the moment, I'd say. : )

So the morning of Mother's Day, we all enjoyed some breakfast, here at home. I enjoyed a nice cup of hot coffee. My plan was, I wanted to stay home and just enjoy being at home. I had a "kids club" meeting for us head/lead mom's, the night before from 7:30pm-8:45pm. It was fun though, gosh my fellow VP and I were cracking up laughing at a bunch of stuff. Anyway, so yeah since I had a meeting Saturday, I just wanted to chill out at home Sunday. However, I did mention to Noboru, Sunday morning that "on Monday you and I should head to Costco because I want to pick up some pancakes for the boys for breakfast during the week and some cheese because I am making a batch of homemade gratin potatoes and also a small batch of homemade macaroni and cheese this coming week and I need the cheese." Noboru said, "let's go today, it'll be fun"...I was more like...ehh... meh, no...there'll be a billion people, can barely move a cart around on weekends where as the weekdays are dead...like a ghost town. But, the kids were like..."oh I wanna go"...another kiddo chimed in..."I want the ice cream in a cup before we leave"...Judging by the way their faces lit up...I was like...alright, we can go. : ) So, we went, on a Sunday. @.@  It was pretty busy in there, but I managed to get my stuff and check out as fast as humanly possible. 2 packs of pancakes. And Monday's are a swim night at our house so a quick fast meal truly appreciated, so that whole chicken was for Monday/yesterday evening. 

Mozzarella cheese, yep we really go through a big 2 pack of this once a month. Yes we eat lots of Italian at our house. : )  Chicken paremesan, you name it, we make it. And the big hunk of Colby/Jack for gratin and mac and cheese. 

Finally they restocked the bigger tortillas, perfect for sandwich wraps or morning fast breakfast burritos. And that's it. We did have lunch there, it was so crowded, I didn't even remember to take a pic of our food. I had a huge slice of combo pizza, Branden had a gigantic slice of pepperoni pizza, Noboru and Noah both had a hot dog each, Noah just ketchup and Noboru had every topping. We had sodas and we had 2 soft creams, and the 4 of us split those (they are huge). It was a great Mother's Day lunch. And though it was packed to the gills, I was glad Noboru and the boys enjoyed going and I enjoyed it too plus, was happy to have the big hunk of cheese and the pancakes. So yeah totally worth going. : ) 

Noboru asked me all week, what I'd like to do for Mother's Day dinner, should we go out to eat or should he make something here at home? You know...I knew about my Saturday meeting, since a month ago and I told Noboru a few days earlier, "let's just enjoy dinner at home" So we did that, he made ebi furai/fry at my request. And he also made a chicken cutlet for Noah since we know he's not fond of shrimp. Which is fine, Branden used to not like it either and now he loves it! : )  I sat in the kitchen a bit and watched him clean and de-vein the shrimp. 

Plating up every one's meal. He kept telling me go sit on the couch and relax, let me take care of everything, he'd say. So, I did sit on the couch for the majority of the time he was in the kitchen, at his request and it was nice to relax and have him cook dinner. He is such a good guy! Just always wants to see me smile and happy! : ) I want the same for him too!

The meal he made especially for Noah. 2 mini sized chicken cutlets. Noboru sliced one chicken breast into 4 and made 4 mini cutlets for Noah. So, if he wanted 2 more, he could have. Corn, rice 2 fries and that lettuce we grew ourselves! : )

Noah enjoying his dinner on Mother's Day!

Branden, also enjoying his fried shrimp dinner!

And my actual dinner on Mother's Day 2014. Anyway, I want to keep this post nice and short, so that's what we did for Mother's Day this year, 2014.

By the way, this has nothing to do with Mother's Day at all, but it's sorta big news right now so. Beyonce's sister attacked Jay-Z in an elevator. OMG! Anybody see the video. What is up with Solange Knowles!  I saw that video footage this morning via TMZ twice and from what I saw on the video was, she lunged, she connected a few shots and then she even kicked him! He didn't hit her back or anything, he just stood there. Thank goodness, the body guard was trying to hold her back. That was some craziness happening in that elevator! I do wonder what got her so riled up. Hope they can work out, whatever problem they seem to have. But wow, that video. : (

Mother's Day 2013

I sincerely, hope everyone who is a mother out there had a nice Mother's Day. : ) I had a nice Mother's Day also. Granted you all know mostly everything that happened already. But I wanted to just post it up here and tag it under "Mother's day 2013". That way, years from now, the boys or I can come back on here and remember. And go, that's right, we saw Iron Man 3. That's right, you know that type of thing. : ) Noboru asked me a month in advance, what would I like for Mother's Day. And you know, to be honest, I couldn't think of a single thing, I needed. I sat and thought. Thought while hanging the laundry. Thought while preparing dinner. And finally, I started thinking, why not pick a gift we can all use. Something we can all enjoy. And I thought popcorn maker. Not an air popper type one. But those newer ones with the moving arms, I keep seeing in ads and whatnot. First thing I did was check Target.com. $28-$30 US. Type price. Okay. Then I checked Amazon.jp. don't faint or anything but it said, 13,000 yen or something like that. That's about $130 US! @_@ Now that is an extreme mark up in price. No way. And then I checked Amazon.com and not only did they ship to Japan, theirs was only like $28 US. Much much better price. So, about a month ago, I put it in the Amazon cart and Noboru purchased it for me for Mother's Day gift. With the shipping it came to like $40.

It came, and it's great. : )

My Mother's Day breakfast. : )

Mother's Day movie with my whole family.: )

Plus Noboru took us to Guam in the first place and made sure I was nicely stocked up with things I might need. And that is so cute he does that. He's such a good and thoughtful husband : )

My eyebrow wax, Noboru got me for Mother's Day also. And my cheese stick for my Mother's Day lunch. : ) Again it wasn't a fancy shmancy Mother's day, but it was exactly our speed. Very low key. Quiet but nice. : )

My Mother's Day ice cream cup. "This is How I Roll" : ) Cinnamon roll basically with cake and pecans and cinnamon and everything. : )

They all took me out to dinner. We had a really lovely dinner. People all day long told me....Happy Mother's Day" since I was with the boys all day. And I'd say thank you. I was just really appreciative all day long. : )

My Mother's Day actual meal.

My dad gave me a Mother's Day card. Granted, he's my dad, so he really doesn't need to. And he knows that. He's just really kind. And with my grandma gone. I'm the only one to celebrate this day with. So, I was glad we could spend the day together. : )

The outside of the card says "Love you daughter" on the banner. And then it says "Three Little Words, "It's a Girl"-and you made my world pretty and pink."

Three Little Words "That's my daughter"- and you filled my heart with pride. Three Little words "I love you"-and I hope you know that's how I'll feel forever Happy Mother's Day.

And $140 US. Again, I try to give it back, he gives it back to me and we go back and forth for about 10 minutes until he says, just accept it. : ) Hahaha. So all in all. I got to spend my Mother's Day with my 4 favorite people so near and dear to me. I was spoiled by my family. Thank you dad for the card. And the money. Although not necessary at all but thank you. Thank you too Noboru for taking me to Guam. Stocking me up with goodies. And for the popcorn maker and eyebrow wax. Thank you Branden and Noah for being such sweethearts.  Anyway, that was my Mother's Day 2013. : )