The V-day gifts the boys received this year. Branden’s Eiken pre-1 interview done and dusted. Noah’s cooking class at school. Meanwhile an update on how he’s doing over there. Pics of his hotel. Plus some Cinnamon Bun Oreos and Filled Cupcake Oreos...

Hi you guys! As you know, so much has happened since the last time I posted. I have a bit of time right now, so I can hopefully catch up with you all real quick, right now.  Last week was Noboru's last week here, before he left. And so, I had taken these V-day pics last week, but didn't have time to post them. It's good to post them so we can keep them as a memory, for both Bran and Noah. Bran, received this Valentine's gift on Monday Feb 15th at school. It was from someone really special to him. His girl, you all saw how gorgeous she was on undokai last year. : ) So he was pretty happy about getting one from her. : ) He said it was delicious. The girl can clearly cook. Right on. : )

Noah also received 2 Valentine's gifts this year, from 2 cutie pie... little girls. 

One was from Lily-chan. And the other was from Ami-chan. 

Noah was so happy to receive these from 2 of his really good friends. Very nice girls! This means, I will have to make sure now that my boys return the favor for White Day March 14th. 

Yep as the bag says, it was for Noah. Aww. : ) I wish, I would have had time to get these up last week, on the blog. But, the fact I could post last week at all. Is amazing. Because it was crazy busy here last week. Now that he's gone though, things around here are quiet. And not much needs to be done. Because we did so much prep work beforehand. But yep, I did think, it was very important to at very least...put the Valentine's gifts they received on here. That way when they're grown, they can come back here and have a look. And remember and hopefully smile. : ) 

Our elementary school, is really special in that they want kids to learn so many skills. So many things. In America when I was growing up, we didn't have Home EC (home economics class) until junior high/middle school. However at our specific elementary school, they cook in cooking class twice a month and once a month they sew! They have not had the chance to buy a sewing kit. I think that comes this upcoming year. If I remember right, from back when Bran started sewing. But cooking at our elementary school starts early. And Noah has been using Bran's old sewing kit for now. They have their own little cooking groups. You can see the pizza sauce we bought for Noah. On this particular day his class broke up... into their own groups in the schools big cooking room and they all made pizza toast. A week ahead, your child will bring home a note, saying which item your child needs to bring. Noah raised his hand for the pizza sauce. Someone brought cheese, someone brought veggies. Someone brought bread. And the teacher brings a lot of stuff too. And in this class, they all cut and slice veggies. A few times a go, they made pancakes. All the kids needed to crack eggs and whisk the eggs. My kids have always cooked with me at home, so they know how to do that stuff already. But, I *love* that our school has and offers cool cooking classes like this! In the summer, the kids in class will often go and catch crawfish for an hour during school with the teacher. I blogged about that 2 years ago? Although they go every year. Everyone was supposed to think outside the box and make their own fishing pole. They didn't want a store bought fishing pole. Our school definitely wants kids to learn...and think for themselves...and have fun. Each cooking class, you need to bring an apron and a bandana to cover their head/hair since they're handling food. Branden still cooks at his JHS too. And Noah enjoys cooking at our elementary school. : ) So last week, Noah and his class made pizza toast. : )

We went back to Costco last week once more. Hamburger buns for homemade hamburger night. Potatoes. Ham for sammys. Ricotta for lasagna (made that last night) and an extra trio of pasta sauce and an extra pack of mozzarella. Dinner rolls. 

That's all pasta sauce. And yes, we eat a lot of Italian around here. : ) 

Lots of frozen veggies. Loaded up the freezer with lots of frozen veggies. The margarine, we use for toast in the mornings. or buttering some veggies or a baked potato. If we make an omelet or eggs we use a little margarine in the pan. And fellow Americans, these 3, are still tinier then 1 Country Crock in the U.S. And 2 small lean blocks of beef, this is for beef stew.  We can have beef stew sometime. That beef is beautiful and no fat. And the fries on the right are for cheeseburger night. Again, I had written this list and went right down. Do I need this? Do, I need that? What do I need? 

These came from Joyful Honda in Inzai and the beef up above came from Besia in Inzai. But these came from Joyful in Inzai. On the left is a humongous pork loin for pork green chili night. That is going to be great, when I make that. Nice knowing we have this in the freezer. And the 2 things on the right are 2 really good sized blocks of beef for a roast beef, I am planning to make. 

You can sort of see, a pot roast will be happening, and remember those potatoes from Costco up above? Some mashed potatoes with some gravy and a very tender pot roast. I can't wait. I will cook both roasts together since I imagine, they'll shrink up some with cooking. And I bought 2 to make sure, I have plenty. Since the boys have hearty appetites. The beef is also in the freezer. You should see my freezer. I have mozzarella cheese sticks, unopened still. Frozen pizzas. We did eat 2 of those for lunch on Sunday though, so we have 6 of those left. We have a ton of frozen veggies in there and a ton of pork and beef in there. 

Remember those tortilla chips, we bought the week before. I also purchased some seasoned beans in the can, pictured here. See, the sour cream. I am planning to make some killer nachos sometime. Hope these beans are good. Not sure when we'll have them. A big hand soap. You can refill it 4 times. So should last the month for downstairs. Might run out... for the one upstairs though, which is fine, I can zip and get one if we need some extra hand soap. 

18 rolls of toilet paper. this is my favorite toilet paper in Japan. I like the toilet paper at Costco, but it is so outrageously expensive. You can buy this half cheaper. The Costco TP is just a tad too over priced for me. I can't justify buying it. And I won't. So, I buy this. I forgot to buy Kleenex at Costco. OMG! I went 2 weeks in a row and still forgot. At that point, I just bought this at Joyful Honda in Inzai. The Kleenex tissue at Costco is a great buy/deal, but not the TP. 

The Valentine's Vitamin C serum, my sweetie purchased for me, arrived last week. And again, just too much going on last week...to even care or have the time to post about it. Now I have some time, so I will. I was very happy to receive 4 free samples (4 creams and the Klairs is a mask). Receiving 1, I assumed. But to receive 4 free samples. I was really impressed by that. I will be repurchasing from here because of that. They have earned a new customer. Thank you Wishtrend for being generous with the samples. 

I am not being dramatic when I tell you from my heart. This product right here. Transformed my skin. It seriously transformed my skin. People who are really into skincare know about the benefits of Vitamin C and how good it is for your face. And folks not really into skincare, won't know and won't care and that's okay. But, I figure I have to look at this face and so I might as well take the *best* care of it as I possibly can. And so, I do. American people who are in the know about skincare know and love Vitamin C products. Hot and Flashy's YouTube. She is always talking about the benefits of her 1 Vitamin C product she uses daily. And believe me, her skin is gorgeous. It's flawless and she's mid 50's and doesn't look a day over 40. She is stunning. In Korea too, they also know the importance of Vitamin C too. They have a lot of good products with Vitamin C. And I think there is a really good one in Japan too. The western brand ones are very pricey. Like almost $100 pricey or around $75, which is still outrageous. That's just too out of my price range for 1 serum, don't get me wrong..I could buy it, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable doing so, when this is the exact same thing, if not better and $14 US. The ones at the Body Shop for example don't contain enough Vitamin C to see actual results (sorry to say that, but yep). But this one pictured here is as high grade as the almost $100 dollar western brand one. And I think it's better. For people into Asian beauty, this is like a cult favorite. And for good reason. Last year with everyone strongly recommending Vitamin C. If you are into pre anti aging skincare at all. Or have any skin issues. Even young skin with zits could use this. Everyone says to keep this in your fridge, so it lasts longer. Vitamin C in high concentrations gets old if it is exposed to the sun or air hits it too much. Which is why it is in a dark bottle too. I wasn't sure if this was an overly hyped product last year or if it truly worked. Ykwim. I tried it. And my skin was generally okay, I mean a few ruddy patches here or there nothing too bad. Then it went to...absolutely no ruddiness at all. Smooth all even toned skin. My skin actually looks younger. I also have very dehydrated skin, very dry skin especially in winter and this has never made my skin feel any drier. Before I used this product...sometimes my skin would look good, sometimes it would look uneven in texture. Now since using this... my skin always looks smooth, texture is on point. Zero ruddiness. No fine lines. My MIL if you remember said...I am not aging at all over New year's. And it's not me...it's this Vitamin C serum. I just repurchased this. And to go out and actually buy a 2nd one...means I really like this. And I do. I love this. My skin is on fleek and it's totally because of this. 

Also, they have the newest products. Manufactured January 19th of this year and will last until next year. Best $14 dollars, ever spent. Again, I am not suggesting any of you to use this. Because frankly what you use on your skin or don't... doesn't really affect me in anyway...same as what I use wouldn't or shouldn't affect you either. I'm just saying...and stating I use this, I love this. It totally transformed my skin. My skin is flawless because of this and I could not say that before using this. Because sometimes the skin looked okay and sometimes not, but since using this... it always looks amazeballs. So, I use it. I love this and my husband thinks I'm reverse aging because of this. LOL. Good stuff Maynard. : )

Noboru flew out Saturday. I roasted that turkey Saturday too, for the kids and I. The kids and I have been enjoying turkey sandwiches ever since. Sunday was Bran's last part of the Eiken pre-1. The interview. The speaking part of it. OMG, you guys! I have to tell you guys this. I better write it before I forget. So, we were first in line. Not because I am super cool. But because I was super worried that I wouldn't get a parking. And with Noboru gone, it was all me. #1/first thing would you believe, 2 of the places to park were closed! Can you believe it? My heart sunk. The 3rd spot, had 2 ladies guarding the entrance of the parking spot. It's a public parking area, but they're soccer mom's and asked me.."are you here for soccer?" I knew the other 2 spots were closed. This was my *only* place to park. However, I am not going to lie. I'm just not. So, I answered honestly, "no, I'm not, we're here for the Eiken" Not sure if my foreign-ness was surprising or what. However...hello...it was a public parking area. They didn't own it. Not sure why they were all getting greedy about the parking there in the first place, but they let me in. They were doing this to all cars, not just us. However..I'm just saying..I didn't need that sort of added stress from those 2 ladies that morning. And thank goodness we went early. Again...because Narita City is so very city-ish...compared to where we live... in a tiny town of under 5000 people with parking to spare. So...yeah. Those ladies had my heart feeling all "doki doki" that morning. I was gonna park there no matter what though. And given I am the only protector of my boys... while Noboru is away. I was most certainly parking there, whether they liked it or not. And I did nose in my car before I rolled the window down. And given I know that place is public parking...meaning open for the general public. I rolled right in. Maybe I looked so determined (I was). Maybe I look so seriously serious (I was). But I knew I had *every* right to park there and a cop would most certainly agree, I most certainly didn't mind going that route if they wanted to go that route. But yep, they let me in. Though since my car nose... was already in they couldn't exactly close the gate on me anyway. So anyway. It was like 2 Billy Goat Gruffs guarding the parking area. @_@ Oh and fwiw, that parking area was dead and tons of spaces to go around when we came out. So not sure why we had those 2 over zealous ladies.. with clearly too much free time on their hands that Sunday morning... anyways.  But I am the type of person...If I am wrong, I will be the *first* to always admit, I'm wrong, I'm sorry. But if I am not wrong, I will not back down either though. And I knew I had a right to park there. So good for them to let me in because I was going to park there... whether they liked it or not. You can't hog all the parking spots just because your soccer group likes to play there, fair is fair...share ladies..would it kill you to share? And again... as long as it's a public parking (and we researched this fact last year when Bran first took the Eiken), sorry but anyone can park there. Case closed, end of story, get a grip. Whatever. Moving on. So, I parked the mini minivan in the parking spot. We walked to 7-11 and I bought the kids some of those Mister Donut clones. 3 old fashion half dipped in chocolate, 2 for Bran and 1 for Noah. I also bought them a drink each. I didn't buy myself anything. I think I was just so nervous about parking. I worked myself up to near hysteria the night before about the lack of parking.  And so seeing those 2 billy goat gruff ladies that morning, was enough to just push me right over the edge. Good thing they let me in, or I would have snapped big time! Plus, I had been awake since 5:20am Sunday morning. We left our house at 7am and were there at 8am-ish. Dealt with the 2 billy goat gruff ladies and then we walked to 7-11. I just wanted to get this interview over with and go home. I had zero appetite. It was cold and gray and that was Sunday. We walked to the high school and we stood first in line. Again because I was worried about parking. Once we had a parking though and I had bought the kids something to eat and we went in line, I was fine and relaxed. But yep a bundle of nerves beforehand. There were a ton of people...likes 400 plus, in the line. The line was so long behind us, way down and even out of the school grounds. This is the important part to tell you. Don't faint when I tell you. So we got into the Pre 1 line. And the lady announced. There are 200 or so taking the interview for the Eiken 3 and 200 and so many people taking the Pre 2. For the Eiken pre-1... only 14 passed..so only 14 will be taking the pre-1 interview today. You should have seen our shocked faces. @_@ Yes only 14. And yes if you recall it was about 110 people who took the written part of the Eiken pre 1. But out of all those people only 14 passed! Can you believe it? Only 14 people passed out of the 100 plus line... we were standing in 3 weeks ago. I told ya! Not many people pass the actual Eiken pre-1. A high school or college aged Japanese girl stood in line behind us. She smiled very big and brightly at me and I smiled equally right back at her. She was quite cute. Branden was so shocked. He kept saying....I can't believe only 14 people passed. And no, that foreign friend he made...obviously he didn't pass. Bran said he was not there among the 14. : (  Noah and I meanwhile went to the holding area for parents.

Remember you need to show a photo ID, so we use Bran's passport because it has his pic on it, it's official and blahblahblah. And Noah and I then put on the stickers that say we are the parent of a kid taking the Eiken. 

This room ended up 100% full of parents. As in not 1 seat to spare. Branden came out quickly. Well duh, since he was first in line. : ) First thing he said to me was... after I asked him, "how was it?" he said..."I nailed it, it was so easy" I mean he fluently speaks English, so I wasn't worried. But, yeah...I was glad he took it, glad he felt it was pretty easy and went well. I was now happy and eager to just go home. We walked to the parking area. Those 2 ladies were not at the parking area anymore. Noboru did message me, while I was at the school in Narita but I told him, I couldn't talk. But, we could talk as soon as I went home, switched cars and ran to the bakery first (needed more bread for the turkey sammiches) : )

I did go home. We did switch to my car. And we did run to the bakery for 2 loaves of bread. When I got home, Noboru had Line messaged me a whole bunch of pics. He showed a lot from the airport, but the airport is a dead giveaway, where he is. So, I can't share those. I'm sorry. But these are his room and where he will be staying and sleeping for the next 30 days. This is his room. 

His living room. L shaped couch. Couch blanket in the little table there with ribbon on it. A very nice living room. 

His bedroom room. Sleeping area. Very nice.

His sink area. And bathroom area back there. 

43 inch flat screen TV, he also has a fridge for his drinks. 

When I was at the bakery in Japan buying bread, my phone was going off, he was Lining me, this picture. They were at Target buying sodas, water, snacks for their own selves. 

As I was paying at the bakery, He messaged me this picture. You see, I have this friend in the US and she blogs all the good snacks in the US. And so she was like 2 weeks ago, saying these are new and maybe limited edition and at Target. Knowing Noboru was going to be in the US for a month. I showed Noboru the pic and I asked him. Can you bring me back a pack of these? And I also asked for a few other limited edition flavors. But yep, he's such a sweet guy because he found them and picked up 3 packs of these. This is Noboru's pic. He said he picked up... 1 pack for BrannyB and 1 pack for Noah and 1 pack for me. : ) Aww. 

He also picked me up the limited edition Hostess cupcake Oreos. This is his pic, he took before he put them in his red Target cart. He asked the kids if they wanted one of these but they're still thinking about it. : ) They have lots of time to think on it though... because their daddy will be there for a full month. : ) They have brownie batter and red velvet all sorts of good ones. 

What did they eat their first night? Red Lobster. Noboru ordered this seafood sampler. Those garlic biscuits and a cesar salad. 

His friend ordered this. Steak and lobster. Wowsa wowsa! Hahaha. did I mention that night, I had a turkey sandwich for dinner. hahaha. It's okay...I'm good...I'm good. And good for him...getting to eat whatever his little heart desires all month. 

He did run Sunday to Sephora for me. But they didn't have the 2 things I was looking for. But no worries, he will be there a good long time...this time. So, if a new Oreo comes out...or a new face product should come out. It's just nice knowing, I can get it, if I wanted. So, do I miss my husband? Duh absolutely. But he has to do this so. He has to be there. But there are also pluses. Meaning he can eat whatever he wants..try all sorts of food and restaurants. Plus...sure he can bring a few things back for us too. Not tons...but it helps. So yeah. It's not all doom and gloom. : ) When life gives you lemons...make lemonade, as they say. We could both be sad for 30 days... but honestly that won't solve a darn thing. Or we can both be happy...he can try all sorts of good yummy nummy foods. And hey...if I should want to try some new Oreos...so be it. We're just going to see the positives. And I think that's the right way to handle this next month. We can do it! : )

Oh and what did they eat last night? Chili's. Hahaha. He is having fun over there. : )  Oh and..there is 1 set there.. already who will be leaving in 2 weeks. And 1 lone guy there without a partner and he will be there and he leaves at the end of this week. So for now, there are 5 of them, in the same hotel. 1 leaves at the end of this week. And then for the next 2 weeks it will be 4 of them and after 2 weeks it will be just Noboru and his person that was sent with him. So those 5 are who are going to Chili's etc. : )  And out of those 5 guys, 3 of them are the "Hawaii guys" the ones who lived in Hawaii before being sent to Japan, Noboru being one of those guys. : ) So they're all good friends.

So how are things? Pretty awesome here. My hardest thing, I had to do. My most stressful thing, I had to do was take Bran to the Eiken in Narita City. The parking, or lack of, to be specific. And on the grand scale of things...in all reality, it wasn't like major hard to do anyways. But yes I'm glad that's over with. And I did it. So now, I have nothing major to do or nothing really stressful or anything coming up. I have a house stocked with plenty of good things to eat and make. I have 2 vehicles here. One,  100% electric, which is my car plus the gas mini minivan. Full to the top of gas. I did go to the hair salon last Friday, my hair is on fleek, you guys. Cut is perfect, my thermal straightening is on point and my color is freshly done. We basically did everything we needed to do, before he left.  Boys have fresh haircuts. I will just be holding down the fort here, so to speak. I will still zip to the grocery store here locally once a week or bakery twice a week. But other than that, I just drop the kids at school every morning and swing around and pick them up every afternoon. Clean the house like a mad woman, every day. Treadmill myself every day, 4-5 days a week. And make supper every night and pack their lunch every morning for school. It's a piece of cake really. Plus I have my movie/lunch date this Friday. That I am really looking forward to. They're such amazing awesome ladies/friends of mine. They're so fun and funny that I always walk away...feeling.."wow I had such a great time with them today" so can't wait to see them this Friday. : ) Noboru Line messages me often every day and emails me once a day. He has also phoned me every day, and we just talk for about 20 minutes. The kids email and message their dad daily too. That's about it really. : )  Other than that, the kids and I have been enjoying some really good TV shows on here at home and relaxing and enjoying some family time. : ) Alrighty, that's enough for now. : ) 

Noah’s 4th grade marathon and his winter observation day! Picking up our spiral ham for our upcoming Christmas dinner. Holiday baking, some pumpkin bread, Christmas-y yellow cupcakes and another batch of peanut butter cookies. What I’m getting for Christmas. And a few other bits mixed in, for good measure...

Boy oh boy, do I have a whole lot to catch up with you guys! Last Tuesday, December 15th was Noah's school marathon. Most elementary schools do this in Japan. It's not optional, it's mandatory. And how far you run, depends on which grade you are in. To give ya an example, the first grade runs the equivalent of running a lap around a lake at a park in the US and the 6th graders run basically 2 whole laps around the for....example...lake.... and the grades in between, run lengths somewhere between that. It is December, winter and the kids also must wear shorts and a short sleeve uniform gym shirt. They have a uniform sweatshirt and sweatpants at our school, but in Japan they feel it makes kids "genki" healthy to run in shorts in the dead of winter. Different countries have different rules or things they feel that are "normal" and so, there ya have it. It doesn't bother me at all, hasn't for a billion years. It's normal to me now. But back when the kids were in their Roman Catholic yochien (kindergarten) and they had to wear shorts in winter, after we moved from the states. I was like..."what? My baby must freeze in shorts all winter long?" Hahaha. The "me" of now...laughs at the "me" of years ago! : )  And if you are looking at this picture. I am sure it is obvious how *extremely* white and bright Noah's uniform is, compared to his classmates. And no...I have absolutely NEVER enhanced my photos. Not ever! I may white out the name of school or some one's last name. But...enhance colors or change actual people...that's just not me. I wash my son's uniform with Ariel (I pronounce it like the mermaid in the Little Mermaid)...Japanese laundry detergent. It just keeps my 2 sons uniforms sparkling white! I swear that laundry detergent company should be thanking me for saying that! But...it's true. And I obviously don't do sponsored posts...ever! Noah in his sparkling white top and bright blue shorts, Noah in his gym uniform! And, no I didn't even buy him a new gym uniform. It's honestly just that laundry soap. His shorts are bluer and brighter and clearly more vivid than anyone else's too. Anyway...yes I will shut up about the laundry soap now! : ) Sorry. : ) It was freaking freezing that morning. All us parents were in sweatshirts, sweaters, I saw many a turtle necks. We all were wearing winter coats. I had on gloves. Like smoke was coming from every one's mouths, because of the cold. The kids at our school... since we live in a true inaka, rural Japan. They run around rice fields. Huge amounts of rice fields.  

I also forgot to mention. All kids in the school had sport's running club in the mornings, for the past month or so. And last week, Noah had a pretty bad leg injury. Not the bone, but the muscle. Tore muscle...pulled muscle? I don't know... but it hurt him like hell for a week prior to the marathon. It hurt Noah like crazy all last week, all weekend and on Monday, I was wondering if I should let him run the marathon on Tuesday. It's a very tough call. On 1 hand you get the pressure from the school because they want *all* kids to run the marathon. To miss the marathon is a pretty big deal. But on the other hand, he's my baby. He's my child. I asked Noah, it's up to you. He said he wanted to "try" So we let him, "try." Noboru took the day off work. And so we were there to cheer him on. I was feeling really unsure about this whole marathon thing...given his leg. Even before the race...as you can see, Noah was trying his hardest... to rub the pain out. Poor kid! 

And even still. He frankly was in pain and I could see him...nursing that leg before the race. Inside...I was thinking...should I pull him outta the race? Would that cause a big ol' scene? Oh man! What to do....what to do!

I could actually see, the leg pain on his face. And I love my kids...as much as *you* love yours. Do you know what I mean? Man...talk about feelings of conflict. I asked Noah as I stood on the side lines..."Are you sure you wanna do this?" He said..."yes, I'll try" My poor heart. I was all...awww. Worried mama, worried mama. : )

My pale fair one...you did your best and that's all we could ask!

He came in 8th place! Which is the worst he has ever done! But we do not care, what number he came in! He did fantastic! And he tried so hard...with leg pain and everything. I tell ya...that night, I set a nice hot bath for Noah with some shea butter bath powder and he soaked that leg! How is Noah feeling now? He's feeling much better. About 95%, almost back to normal. : )

Noah had Winter observation day at school, the same day as the marathon. And Noboru and I went, of course. Noah and his black pencil box, next to Lily-chan's pencil box. They have been working on some report and have been in groups. Talking about fermentation. One group is doing natto. Noah's group is doing yogurt. So they have been researching everything and anything about yogurt. We got to hear and see how Noah and his yogurt group were doing. : ) 

Last week sometime, the day after Noah's marathon/observation day. Noboru and I went to Costco, to pick up our Christmas spiral sliced ham. I will be making that amazing honey brown sugar pineapple juice glaze for this. And we also picked up some Ariel laundry detergent. This laundry detergent is amazeballs. And super cheap at Costco Japan. 

We went to Don Quijote, because I wanted to price perfume. It was cheapest there. But, I decided to buy from Amazon.jp, only because it was only 200 yen more at Amazon and with Amazon, if anything's wrong...you can return super easy. So didn't buy anything at Don Quijote. But did look around. After that... we went and had lunch at Ohsho. Our once a week lunch date. At our fave Chinese restaurant.  

Information share! I mentioned it before. But I'll share it again. There is a huge Old Navy in Inzai/Chiba New Town. It is on the bottom floor, pictured here. It is in the Aeon mall...Gap is here and Starbucks and tons of other shops. But yes...Old Navy opened October 26th, on Bran's birthday. 

Right on Old Navy, this is now my nearest/closest Old Navy. My 2nd closest one, is in Tsukuba.

Noboru absolutely loves this Dove shea butter vanilla body wash. I bought this...a couple weeks ago, right? Anyway...my husband is a "man's man." I treated him to a manicure and a facial once when we first started dating in Denver. I thought he would love it...find it relaxing. He hated it. He felt the manicure was the most grueling boring time he ever spent in his life. The facial left him unconvinced. And very uncomfortable with someone touching his face for an hour. "Thanks honey, but not my thing and a waste of time." Clearly he's not the kind of guy who wants a day of pampering, hahaha.  Again not every one's the same. He finds it mind numbing-ly boring. He has some tee shirts older than our kids. Some khaki pants older then Branden. And when I mentioned he should throw out a few sweatshirts in October 2015.... he gasped...he was shocked and proceeded to tell me...he barely just broke those in! And they're perfect now! Hahaha. @_@ So when I said...he's a man's man. He's not a pamper himself... type a guy. I really mean it. I can switch shampoos in the bathroom, he wouldn't bat an eyelash either way or maybe even notice. We always use Biore body wash. I love it. He's like... it smells good, no complaints. However...then walked in this Dove shea butter body wash. First time he ever used it. He came downstairs after his shower. "I don't know what body wash we're using but I love it!!!" For him to comment on it. I was surprised. @_@ Like really and truly surprised. Last week... the week of Noah's marathon. He once again came downstairs one evening and again he commented on our body wash. "Our body wash smells so good and the bubbles are so dense"...I again was totally taken aback. Noboru doesn't notice stuff like this, at all, like ever. This is a 2nd comment from him about it. And btw...I would describe things as thick foamy and lush...yes you know me and that sounds like me. Meanwhile he said he digs... "the dense foam." ??? @_@ Who knew! And then this last Monday night...a 3rd time. He came downstairs and...no I am not kidding. He said, "I hope you repurchase this body wash" as he smelled his arm. @_@ 3rd time mentioning it? And before this...he has NEVER mentioned any soap or product we have ever brought into the house. 

About 3 weeks ago, both the boys needed a replacement pair of winter gloves. I thought these were so super pretty... navy blue with bright happy yellow stripes and the anti slip dots are perfect for when Branden rides his bike to JHS on Monday's. He meets Genki and a couple other guys near the tennis courts every Monday since Monday is a.... no bukatsu (sports club) day, so they all ride to school and back home after school. So Bran needs the anti slip dots on the gloves. And Noah needed gloves for his morning sports club/running bukatsu too. It's now over, but he used them then and he also wears gloves when he rides his bike with his friends after school. They are one size fits all, and I bought them for just 100 yen/$1 each pair at the 100 yen shop called Seria. If something happens to these or they need replacement...given they just cost me a buck a pair, I won't really mind replacing them, but...the boys are really good with their stuff and they have theirs still and in perfect condition still too.

I was using the Cat's Wink Korean brand mascara, loved it... by the way! You know how there's 2 ways you can go with lashes right? Thick or long. Volume or lengthening. For every woman, it just frankly boils down to...personal preference. For me...for example, I hate thick lashes, tarantula lashes. I prefer long natural ones. Long and lean lashes. So, for me, the Cat's Wink was best. Then I switched to an American mascara. The one, I bought in July in Hawaii at Target, I didn't like it and that's only because the wand is so freakin' huge... it outrageous. So, I decided to bite the bullet and buy my first ever, Japanese mascara. Heck, I know some people would kill for the chance to use Japanese mascaras. There is a lot of love for Japanese mascaras. By reputation alone, they make great ones. As for me...I just haven't found one yet, I like. Since Majolica Majorca is really well known anyways... especially for mascara. I went to the little mall in the city nearest me. And had a look around, I looked at the testers...would not try a tester...hello pink eye, NOT! Hahaha. This one called the Lash King is said to lengthen only. The used up tester looked like a good wand, not too big, not too weird. Didn't try it...only because like I said... don't want to bring home an eye fungus or anything. But it looked okay and it did say lengthening. I also picked up this understated neutral looking nail polish. My thoughts? I *love* this nail polish! It was just 280 yen. I was going to get a pricier polish, but boy am I glad I didn't waste money on a pricey polish because this color and the quality is perfect for this polish. I might just pick up another bottle of this same color. As for the mascara? I hate this mascara. First time, I used it...I didn't like it. There is so much extra black mascara junk on the wand. Like tons. Like you could swipe... your whole block of neighbor women and not even have to redunk the wand. It's very loaded with mascara that wand. Second time I tried it, thought the same thing. And this last Monday...before I went to Costco, I took the mascara out, saw all the loads of excess mascara junk on the wand and said... I am gonna try and scrape some of this gunk off, as I pull the wand out and I saw a bunch of baby hairs. Short like cat hairs. And then it clicked in me and I do recall reading this mascara had "fibers" in it. Perhaps I am just not a fiber girl? But, I thought where did they get those cat hairs from? Hahaha. @_@ And then started with my left eye... I did my left eye. Okay. And btw my eyelashes look so freaking thick. Or perhaps I should say voluminous? Blech. I hate thick tarantula eyelashes. And that's not even the worst part. I then did my right eye and a big excess blob of that mascara went right into my eyeball! I was like..."I knew this mascara was too excessive with the black crap...look...I am now officially blind!" Thank you Majolica Majorca! The bright side is...and yes I do try to look for a bright side. The bright side is...the mascara black crap... didn't burn my actual eyeball. But...since the top lashes were still "wet" and I now had to shut my eye and rub that blob of jet black tar stuff ..outta my eye...I was like...I hope...I don't now look like a raccoon. Luckily I did not look like a raccoon, luckily I didn't mess up my makeup. And luckily I was not blind. I like to test things a few times to be sure. And yes, I am sure...and it is official. I officially HATE the Lash King mascara by Majolica Majorca. And while I still like Majolica Majorca, I won't be trying anymore of their mascaras for a good good long time! I am now thinking about trying...Kiss Me Heroine ((A principal female character, and spelled with an E, not drugs) Hahaha. Or perhaps Kate mascara. Unless, I can find the Cat's Wink again. My store near here sold it, but now it doesn't. Hmm. : ) So, the mascara saga, is official. So, what will I be doing for winter break? Testing out mascara. 

Yep, that last rotisserie chicken certainly became taquito night, was this last week? Oh lordy are these so good. I am so glad, I don't need to look for a good Mexican restaurant in Japan...I can make my own. : ) 

Two of Noah's best friend's bikes. Naoki's is blue and little K's is red. Both of these boys are such sweet boys and both such good friends of Noah's! Best friends for sures! : ) They play at least 4-5 days a week, during a 7 day week. 

And there's Noah's yellow bike. 

Plating up some salads on a random night. We eat salad about 5 times a week. And veggies too. 

We baked up some pumpkin bread last week! Made the whole house smell like pumpkin bread!

We had said pumpkin bread... sliced with some whip cream on top. 

What else have I been doing? Why on earth has my blog been so freaking quiet? We have been Christmas shopping for the boys while they're at school. We had a marathon and observation day. Slowly getting ready for Christmas dinner. Getting ready for the kids to go on Christmas break. It's official they went on Christmas break yesterday/Tuesday at 11am! Woohoo! Now we can all sleep in as long as we want! Which basically means for me...until 7-7:30am hahaha. I also have been doing the mundane...like cleaning house. This day, I cleaned up the toilet, the living room, the genkan. Did a load of laundry, prepped for dinner during the day and went to get the kids from school. About to get started on the downstairs toilet. 

Alright toilet...prepare yourself! When the kids were toilet training, I had to clean our toilet room every single day. Ask any young mother what her bathroom looks like when she has a little boy with a "fire hose" and his aim isn't quite there yet! Ugh huh! Hence the every day! But now...I only need to scrub our downstairs toilet and upstairs toilet 3 times a week. And I find that's enough. And I always like the downstairs one fresh, in case company swings by. 

TV and TV stand, I dust you once a week like clock work. How come you always look like, I have never dusted you ever...in your entire life before tho! Ugh huh! 

Dusting...dusting...dusting, because it was dusty dusty dusty, but now it's not, but give it a few days, hahaha.

I went through the magazines in here, threw out 95% of everything in there. It's like a ghost town in there now. Just the weekly cleaning. I haven't started on the "big huge end of year cleaning" yet though. Sometimes people start way too early with that. I always start mine the day after Christmas. However, I might get a jump start and start it today instead. : ) 

Star Wars has been so hyped in the US and same here...for us in Japan! Look at these wicked tins with chocolate...an R2D2, Darth Vader and Storm Trooper trio. The almost 1000 yen price tag though ($10 US) was holding me off. 

Little chocolates. I loved these, but a tad overpriced. If things were a tad cheaper, I would have bought the tin ones though. 

The gift of speaking a foreign language (English since this is Japan). In Japan, most folks do not speak or read English, maybe in the bigger cities but not in rural Japan. And if they do. It's rare they can read cursive, although my 2 boys can. So, if we write notes to each other...while the other is away, we write in cursive. Why the note? On Monday's BrannyB rides his bike with Genki and the other boys. He gets off at 3pm. I meanwhile have to get Noah at 3:20pm. And I do not want to lock my son out of the house. So the note works wonders in times like these. Simply says..."Bran, the back sliding door...you know...try it!" Given our back yard is closed and locked up at all times. And given we live in a town with less then 5000 people in it and in a town where people seldom lock their doors period. I guess, I coulda left the front door unlocked, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable with the front door unlocked. So, while the side yard is locked up, I do leave 1 of the sliding doors unlocked, he knows which one. Living room or kitchen. And he comes home, he read the note and he parked his bike in the shed. So even if someone could read the note, which I highly doubt...I would never just write, "ps the back door is unlocked walk right in", if ykwim. Bran read between the lines, and so he came in the house... changed his clothes. And when Noah and I were pulling up in Olive, Genki and Bran were out front! They greeted us, and I greeted the both of them. And came in the house. 

Another day, last Friday, I think, I baked these for cupcakes for the kids and the hubs. With Christmas cupcake liners. 

My family devoured these! Hahaha, they didn't even last until the next morning. Which makes me happy! : )

Sunday, I asked the boys...Christmas cookies or peanut butter cookies? They said peanut butter. Okay, but this week we'll bake the Christmas cookies. So, this most recent Sunday, the boys and I had a good afternoon baking these from scratch!

Yumm! It seems all December, we are baking a lot! : ) 

Branden told me last week, "mom all the kids are really into this new specific mechanical pencil" He had the last model. For days, he was like.."mom, please get me that pencil!" And hey...I get it! No kid wants to be the 1 lone weirdo kid... who doesn't have THE pencil. @_@ It's what...300yen? I took Bran to the local drugstore last Thursday and Bran, Noah and I went into the drugstore, Bran picked out his "important to him" pencil. And I let Noah pick out a box of chocolate covered almonds, his favorite...and still 100 yen cheaper then Bran's pencil...but you know...I always want them to both feel equally loved and neither favored... over the other. So...that's why Noah got some chocolate covered almonds. Which he munched while playing with his friends. Thursday evening. And last Friday Bran showed up with his mechanical pencil at school...and he was exactly the same as everyone else in class. And he told me after school that day..."thanks mom for always understanding and thanks for buying me that pencil" I said...oh honey...I understand stuff like that. I do. : ) So Bran's prized possession for December 2015, at least...his current favorite thing. Subject to change at any moment... since he's a teenager, you know. : ) 

On a scale from 1-14. 14 being the most sweetest mikan you can buy. And consider the cost goes up with the sweetness. All December, I have been buying little batches of this very brand sweetness level is 13. Super sweet! Anyway...so I was doing my weekly shopping and planning to buy a small batch/bag when I saw this sign...1 case of the super sweet level 13 mikan for 900 yen! Keep in mind... rural Japan has cheaper food period, plain and simple. But...even for the inaka that deal was shockingly great! So, I was talking to the fruit lady...saying...you are all out of samples...I had hoped to try before I buy, which is common in Japan. She went to the back and brought me out more samples. So sweet. And she told me, even though it said it on the sign...."our store only has 25 cases of these and when they're gone..they're gone!" She was more info sharing not high pressure selling at all. I peeked inside 3 boxes and found the best box....and I thanked her and finished my shopping and left. 

5kg, which is 10 pounds for us Americans. That is a whole lotta mikan there! : ) Hahaha. And boy oh boy are they so so so sweet! And for only 900 yen for a whole giant case! Unbelievable. 

If you're wondering what I'm getting for Christmas, look no further. This will be the only peek. Last year, I got a whole lotta fantastic cosmetics from Sephora, since Noboru had training no matter what... in Hawaii and he had to be there regardless... if he picked me up something or *not*. And fwiw, those eyeshadow palettes are my most favorite and some of those lipsticks are my absolute favorites. However, this Christmas, I decided to go for skincare. Korean skincare. 

Dear by Enprani, is major hot right now. If you have oily or combo skin this isn't for you. If you have dry skin, this is for you. I mean we're talking major top top of the line ladies, well known ladies...who are into Korea Beauty skincare. One lady is living in New York, one is living in California. They both have dry skin and have been raving about these since October. It's basically a toner, for moisture and a skin cream for night. And the trial pack was for free, a free gift with purchase. Which is so cool and it has the same stuff, but in convenient travel sizes, will be perfect for when we head to the Disney hotel soon for 2 nights, that way... I won't have to lug giant normal sized bottles. I bought all my stuff from Korean Gmarket. I bought my Enprani from the actual Enprani company, via Gmarket.

Goodal, is a sub company for Clio and I actually again...bought directly from "Clio Professional" via their store on Gmarket. Again, the 2 skincare gurus, who I listen to (the 2 ...one from NY and the one from California)...since they do all the research. They have also been raving mad for these Waterest...Lasting Water Oil and the Sleeping pack. The one living in NY, did a review for these on YouTube, I have seen that very video like 5 times, lol. Didn't buy from a weird unknown middle man, bought directly from the manufacturer, via Gmarket.

Hada Labo is most loved. But, the only thing I dislike about Hada Labo, is it has no scent! I have mentioned that on here before. I like a light scent. So, I often float around trying new cleansers. I also like foam cleansers. But again I have dry skin in winter. Hella dry skin. The... It's Skin is a repurchase, I love this and it smells like a banana smoothie and the other one is by the Saem and is said to firm? And has niacinamide in it. And a bunch of other important ingredients.

No matter what country you are from...this is a cult favorite...even in the states. Cleansing oils...are awesome, but they are messy and runny. I do love my Innisfree green apple one and Shu Uemura brightening one. But...I have been in love with cleansing balms since I first tried Skinfood's coconut cleansing balm. This time...since it was Christmas...I went with the cult classic Clean It Zero by Banila Co. And again...not to sound like a broken record here... but I bought directly from Banila Co, via Gmarket. 

This is a repurchase. Eyebrow mascara from Nature Republic.

I have been using and loving the night cream by Olay, in the red jar. It's 50ml and about $15-$18 bucks in the US. However this one by It's Skin is 75ml and it has 10 premium ingredients for anti aging, where as Olay only has niacinamide. This has tons of important things and given... it was only $9 US, it was a bargain and considering it is 25% bigger. Korean skincare is just so good... has such important key ingredients. So, I am willing to try this. Will, I like it? I honestly don't know. But I'll let you know. : ) Oh and of course...I made sure to buy directly from It's Skin via their own official store at Gmarket ....meaning I didn't just buy it from... Joe Blow down the street. Hahaha. You know what I mean...I hope. 

I have been dying to try these 2 products from the Manyo Factory. Nobody is talking about these products. Probably because they don't have a free standing store, not even in person and you have to telephone order these in Korea. However...these came from Koreadepart. I prefer buy from Gmarket but...for these 2, I had no choice. That face cream for example has zero water in it at all. It's full of niacinamide and other key anti aging things. 

All into 1 lone box. 

And a crap ton of free samples. 

All packed up and wrapped up. And now sitting nicely wrapped under the Christmas tree. 

Perfume...

Info share. You know what's a tad surprising? Perfume is cheaper in Japan. I would have strongly disagreed with this statement! Had, I not checked for myself. CK One, is my signature scent. And it has been since this first came out! I have a very good nose/smelling ability. Too good perhaps. Strong scents, can cause me a headache. as a pre-teen and teenager, the only scent, I wore was, The Body Shops White Musk. It's light....not intense. Or I wore nothing...no scent. But...it was never my signature scent. There was a huge hoopla for CK One even before it came out. The first day it came out...I bought a bottle of it. I went to the mall with my girlfriends. I was expecting to HATE it.  And I only say that because...of my sensitivities to strong scents. This was so light...so clean smelling. It hit me. It was me. I bought a full size and used it ever since. Every 2 years... I'll buy a new bottle. 2 years ago, I bought a new bottle at Sephora. And lugged that sucker back to Japan. Because...of course I assumed (wrongly) that fragrances are much cheaper in the states. Fwiw, this size at Sephora right this second is $58 US. At Don Quijote it is 1898 yen. And at Amazon it's 2,000 yen. Which country is this the cheapest? Japan for the win! And given it's my signature scent, I can buy this any ol' time I want now...thanks to it being...absolutely cheap as chips in Japan. Perhaps because this scent was top 5 fragrance...20 years ago and that's why it's cheap? I frankly could care less. I love this scent! It's my signature scent. and I won't be lugging back a bottle to Japan anymore. I tell ya that! And now I can buy a new bottle *every year* if I want, since it's so cheap here in Japan. No more...do I have to spritz conservatively. Oh and my 2nd favorite fragrance was always the green tea light unisex scent by Bvlgari. This was also Bvlgari's first fragrance they ever came out with...same as Calvin Klein's first was CK One. Guess how much...you'd have to buy the green tea one by Bvlgari at Sephora this very second... same size bottle as the one I just bought, as the one in this picture. $97 US dollars, for the Bvlgari green tea if you bought it from Sephora this second as of 2015! Guess how much I paid? 4000 yen. About $38 US. Ugh huh! Little known fact....perhaps check the price of your favorite perfume in Japan before buying back home in the states. My faves are hella cheap in Japan! And boy does that make me happy. : ) Oh.. so anyways...this is my second and last thing I got for Christmas this year. : ) Oh and my perfumes are not old, they are new. In Japan it is law, perfume over 3 years old must be thrown out, they can't sell it. Noboru researched that and found that info online. I opened my perfume boxes before Christmas..because if it looks dark or old, I was sending them back to Amazon ASAP. CK One is so light... it's as clear as water. And smells fresh. And the green tea was light too. So brand new. I don't think we have a law like that in America...we could accidentally buy a fragrance that has been sitting there for 20 years on the shelf? Hahaha, I hope not. but Japan...does have cheap fragrances and the law means they can't sell ya old stuff. And buying from Amazon means...any problems...Amazon will take it back. Again, I bought my perfume from Amazon... directly though... not from an unknown mystery seller. This Amazon box is now wrapped up and under the tree. I just wanted to peek and make sure the perfumes looked fine and they are perfect.  

Grandpa sent both Branden and Noah some Christmas cards. 

With $200 US, each. I said thanks dad..but way too much money! He said...hey, they are my only grandkids. Hahaha. : ) Christmas is so close! 

Monday of this week, December 21st, I went to Costco. Potatoes are for Christmas dinner, cheesy gratin potatoes to go with the honey spiral ham. The English muffins are terrible, even Noboru said they taste weird. I agree. The regular Japanese brand ones are better. The cheese is for Mexican food and also the gratin potatoes. And tortillas. 

Dinner Monday night. Chicken cutlet, broccoli, rice, a small salad. A very nice filling dinner. I had absolutely everything prepped and ready, as soon as everyone was home, all I had to do was fry the cutlets, I breaded in the daytime. The salads were plated up and everything. We had curry nabe last week, just been eating a lot of good food, as usual here at home. And that's about it, ya'll.

Last night we went to see Star Wars. So freaking good! OMG, but more on that later. : )