25, or so, Random Things About Me

1. One of my favorite radio talk shows is "Car Talk" on NPR. I love it when men call in and chat with the male hosts. It is like listening to a foreign language, and very refreshing.
2. I love to cook strange things. Or, at least, different things. Take the drop biscuits I made this past week. I cut up some of Ryu's salami, gave it a quick fry. Scrambled two eggs and made sure they were chopped up pretty finely. Added them to the raw biscuit batter and baked those puppies! Raves from the crowd. Me? I just enjoyed trying the idea out.
3. Since 7th grade, I have enjoyed doing Logic Problems. While my mother and grandmother were working word puzzles, I worked Logic Problems. They always asked me to teach them how to do them...but no teaching was ever enough.
4. We grew up pretty much TV-less, so books were not read - they were consumed, devoured, inhaled. I am trying to become a new kind of reader. One that savors good books, rather than reads for pure escapism.
5. My Mom says I can fly, and was able to from the age of 3 when I "flew" off the tailgate of our family jeep when we were driving along the sand on the Oregon Coast. I do have to say that that incident is one of my less fond memories.
6. I really don't mind doing dishes by hand and hanging out our laundry. Sometimes I can do these tasks ALONE. That is nice. It is also nice that our family is small!
7. Well, I've blogged a HUGE post about it, but, was in the big earthquake in Kobe, Japan in 1995.
8. McDonald's (or EIEIO, as Jun calls it) is more than a fast food restaurant to me! I remember first going to a Mickey D's in Jr. High! And, the visit to Moscow's EIEIO in the early '90's, after a summer of non-homemade food...I will never forget the taste and smell of those fries. Nor will I forget that all the Russian customers were dressed to the nine's and we Americans were dressed as...Americans. And, when I lived in Kobe, 100's of years ago, I went to a small Makudonarudo and was SHOCKED at how hungry I was after eating there. I wasn't sure if it was due to the small size of the burger, or the large size of my stomach!
9. I am definitely a "delayed gratification" person. This was brought home to me when Jun looked at me in shock when I said she could get a choco-chip for using the potty RIGHT NOW, rather than tomorrow. AHHHH. Is this the same as a procrastinator?
10. I am an exaggerator. I love to exaggerate, and try to do it soooo OVER, that it is obvious. I can't get it that some people don't enjoy this kind of communication!
11. I am not the mother I expected to be, but I am pretty satisfied with the mother I have become - my mother. Hmmmm. Did you get it?
12. I always wanted to be an only child. Now I'm really glad I have siblings. Now I'm raising an only child. I hope she enjoys it, and I do it "right".
13. Oh, I love to write. Jun and I have four blogs going which we erratically update on a regular basis. The blogs have spell check.
14. I am a late bloomer gardener. I started gardening for the first time when I moved into this present apartment. The reason I started was to impress a guy, (before I met my sweetheart), but the results have been fun. We are pretty much down to geraniums and a resurrected Christmas tree, but...they make us happy on a rainy day!
15. I am an introvert. I need MY time every day, if possible. Jun is an extrovert. She needs someone OTHER THAN MAMA every day. Balance, balance!
16. I started speaking/learning Japanese when I was in college. It's like a hobby to me. Or was till I married my Japanese speaking husband. I still enjoy it, but, it is no longer chocolate cake - more like meat and potatoes. (should there be an e in that????)
17. The only "other countries" I've ever been to for vacation are Mexico and Singapore. And both trips were really lonely. I didn't get to meet any locals, eat local food, or talk the local lingo - though Singapore folks speak English wonderfully. Give me a mission trip any day! This is not to say I don't dream of deserted islands!!!!!
18. Having a Japanese mother-in-law is a bigger deal than having a Japanese husband - in case you were wondering. That's where the cross-cultural training comes in handy. Or, do you ALL need cross-cultural training to communicate well with your MIL, regardless of culture? Oh well, you don't have to answer that.
19. It is the last day of January, and I finally remembered the vent that has been OPEN in the sliding door of the living room sucking out our heat ALL WINTER. I blame it on mother-hood. (I later found out I should blame it on my husband!)
20. Being a mother is the hardest, most refining job I have ever had - or hope to have - in my whole life. It has the most rewards as well.
21. Well, this has been nice. I think I ran out way before #21, but gave it the "old college try."

Right Now! Tag

Outside my window... It's a sunny, sunny day. Jun and I love to repeat adjectives!


I am thinking... I just finished the book, Pollyanna. A sunny sunny day helps when trying to think of things to be glad about. Like, I bought wipes yesterday before ...um...they became TOTALLY necessary. You know, those kind of "glad" things.


I am thankful for... For a little girl who makes others smile. She tires me out often, but just today at church, she came out of the restroom and announced to everyone that Jun-chan shishi shita! (Junnie used the potty!) Then demanded kisses from the pastor and an "Auntie" before we could go home.

From the kitchen... I hear a great big echo of silence. Payday and grocery shopping are on tomorrow's list of FUN things to do. I do like the monthly days of poverty. Helps make me more creative, which is fun, and sometimes yields great results. Sometimes.


I am wearing... What a sad sad thing to write about. My jeans, though kind of new, I think, are falling off me. My grey knit button shirt is a hand-me-down that was great till I washed it in my Japanese washing machine, without a laundry net, and stretched the heck out of it. I looked at the tag from my T-shirt when I got dressed this morning and wondered where in the world I got it. And, wearing anklet socks today was just a little too optimistic. My shins are freezing. (Just a question: anybody else have "Park Mamas" showing up in tweed shorts, or SHORT SHORTS and knee high boots? Makes me feel even dowdier!)


I am creating... an afghan/quilt kinda blanket for Junnie. (See the sidebar, if you are new to this project!) I have a Kitty-chan "real" quilt in pieces which are now strewn all over the house because said child found them and they are soft and SQUARE and PINK, and I don't know if I will be able to finish that quilt till I go through every drawer in the house and find the missing pieces. I had JUST enough!


I am going... to get Jun's whiteboard and markers out after her nap. She got them months and months ago, and they were immediately banned in favor of crayons and the backs of old calendars. However, at church today, she DREW A FACE! And I had no camera to take a picture! Really! A head, two eyes, two ears, a mouth and nose! I was soooo impressed! Is it Oyabaka or Bakaoya? I think I am both!


I am reading... NOTHING!!! ARGH! I just finished Pollyanna, and, as I'm going to the States in a couple of weeks, will wait till then to get a NEW BOOK! I did find "An American Childhood" by Anne Dillard on my "books to keep" shelf, and I can't remember a thing about the story, so I think I'll get that back out. I may also re-read "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands", by Dr. Laura Schlesenger. I think my hubby may be feeling a bit hungry lately.

I am hoping... that life, in the long run, is more of a steady walk, and not a steep climb with lots of turns and curves. A gal can hope, can't she?


I am hearing... Ladies chatting in those high pitched, un-natural, polite voices as they walk along the street. Oh, and an airplane is passing over. Of course, it is going to America to see Grandpa and Grammy. Even JUN knows THAT!


Around the house... Well, the laundry is hanging out, the geraniums are blooming quite nicely, as they don't require as much water, and I have, unusually, been remembering to give them some!. Oh, and a dying fast Christmas Tree. (Thanks, Heather. Perhaps hereafter I will refer to it as Yule Log, at your suggestion!)


One of my favorite things... ONE? Hmmm. My Junnie!

A few plans for the rest of the week... Continue to do an hour of housekeeping each morning. A REAL step here, folks! Go grocery shopping, see above. WORK! I have seven classes in the next three days. An unusually busy week for me. I am trying to not think about it, but, I should do a bit more prep for that FUN FUN Toddler's English Class!


Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Here are the people I`m tagging... I'm going for a world tour here! Lulu in Australia, Amy in Africa, Carrie in Kansas or wherever you are now, Tammy in Ukraine, Abigail in Kansai