Gifts

Christmas this year was full of gifts and giving. We bombarded the kids with dolls, ponies, doll house furniture, blocks, and art supplies. M decorated a dollar store box for Jesse. She pasted pictures of onsen and flowers and a picture of Jesse with her. We enjoyed the gift of time with family. The gift of cousins. Giving the kids so many gifts was especially fun because they didn't ask for any of them except the ponies. Until we opened presents Christmas morning, the whole focus had been on celebrating the birth of Christ and giving.

The gifts Jesse chose for me have been amazing. We thought my ipod died, so he got me a nano (the old one resurrected at the mac store. Go figure.) M listens to stories when we have long train rides. Sometimes G listens along, and sometimes she just enjoys our undivided attention. I listen to Wait..wait or Fresh Air while I'm laying down with G at night. I look forward to cuddling with her and no longer resent that she doesn't fall asleep by herself. And sometimes I do my chores while listening to music.

Which brings me to my second gift. A diving watch. After numerous sports watches, the last one pink with velcro ( i loved it, but the velcro had worn off and it looked less than chic at church.) Jesse and I found a watch on Amazon, silver link, feminine, and mom friendly. Which means I can clean the tub, give kids a bath, wash clothes and dishes and not worry about my watch band getting wet or the innards giving up. My happiest moment after Christmas was when we were watching our friends' kids. Their three boys and our two girls were wrecking havoc, and I stood over the sink listening to Johnny Cash REAL loud washing a HUGE sink full of dishes. And I couldn't help thinking how perfect Christmas was this year.

My lips love...

Megan's goal to wear makeup reminded me that I wanted to post about this lipstick Amy gave me last Christmas. I actually like it enough to get another color, even though it costs $20 ( I have the color pictured).

The selling point...it stays on forever. REALLY. I mean forever. As in I'm wiping off residue on my towel the next day. I don't reapply the lip gloss portion, just slap some carmex on when the lips get a little dry. I want to get another color that's not quite so bold, better for everyday. It's called MAC Pro Longwear, by the way.

Pictures

This one reminds me of photos from the Kula Manu. (BYUH's literary journal)

One of my goals this year is to take more pictures. I'd love to hear which ones you like and why. I'm curious what people find pleasing to the eye. And now I'll prepare my lesson for Relief Society, which is what I should have been doing the last hour.

Disney Sea

Way cooler than Disneyland! There's a castle you can explore, Ariel's undersea caves to get lost in, and tons of benches and trash cans (unlike anywhere else in Tokyo). We had a ton of fun, got really tired, and are glad we can say we went.

I loved the Arabian Coast portion of the park. M is riding a genie on the double decker carousel.

Near the entrance, good ol' Walt can get tulips to bloom in January. You have to love landscaping like this. My next favorite landscaping was in Ariel's grotto where they grew salad lettuce. No kidding. Ben and I were both tempted to make a little side dish right there by the kiddie roller coaster.

And right before we left, notice the smiles/grimaces on Jesse's and the kids' faces. This is what family memories are made of. WE HAD FUN *&^%! RIGHT?

Sumo Practice

My brother Ben and I went to sumo practice earlier this week. It was definitely worth getting up at 6:30. If you're planning a trip to Japan, check out the Quirky Japan Homepage. This is where we found out about sumo practice and the Minkaen. We stayed until 10 am. I'm so looking forward to the next tournament that starts tomorrow!

Hungry?

Today I made sukiyaki for dinner and it turned out great! Perfect winter food. I wish I had taken a picture of it. The kids even liked it! I put cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, salmon, pork, little clams, gyoza, and noodles.

But I can put some pictures up of the matsuri food we saw yesterday.


The gyoza challenge plate with 100 gyoza or you could choose the GIANT gyoza. It makes me nauseous just looking at it. I had to put M in the picture for perspective. If you eat the whole thing, it's free.

Red Bags

Spendy bag #1 Spendy bag #2


We live on such a ritzy street, that sometimes I just can't help myself and covet the wares in the stores. We have two luxury handbag stores and I was taken aback by a red bag in the window. I realized how much I didn't need a red handbag priced at 345000 yen ($3000 US), but how much I wanted one. Yikes. You must look at these though. Wouldn't it be FUN to have such a cool bag?

So I looked at Target.com and was impressed with their red bag offerings. For my stateside friends, do take a look. What a fun way to put some pop in your day. The el cheapos are below and cost from $13-$40 US. Not too bad.