セーフ！！かな。。

The weather was changeable yesterday. It was raining in the early morning, but the rain stopped when my sons left home. It started raining again when I walked my daughter to her kindergarten, but it stopped again when I got home.
According to the weather report, it was going to be cloudy in the morning and rain in the afternoon. I gave up hanging the laundry outside, but the sun was out and it was getting hot when I went to pick my daughter up, so I hung the laundry outside so that it would dry well. But, this was not a good idea..

I usually bring in the laundry after picking my daughter up, but I didn't do it because the laundry was still wet, ...so I forgot all about it.(again!)
When I was going to bed, I suddenly remembered that I didn't bring in the laundry! I rushed upstairs and brought it in, but it still seemed to be wet. No, I think it got wet AGAIN because of the night dew..

Oh well, I remembered it at least before I went to bed, so I think I made it, ha ha.

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "セーフ！！かな。。"

理解不能。

Yesterday was the Star Festival, and there was a party at my daughter's kindergarten. The children wrote their wishes on colorful strips of paper and hung them on bamboo branches.(This event is only for the children and the teachers, so we mothers can't join in.)
I was wondering what my daughter's wish was.

I got some handouts from kindergarten yesterday, and the children's wishes were on one of them. I found my daughter's one. It said,

“I want to be a carpenter when I grow up.”

A carpenter?? I was surprised to read it! She had never said that before. I asked my daughter why she wanted to be a carpenter. She said, ‘Carpenters can stand high places, can't they? It's cool!’

It's hard to understand what small children are thinking about...

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "理解不能。"

見ちゃった。。

I saw a traffic accident yesterday. It was a car-motorcycle accident. We(my family) were waiting for the light to change at an intersection in the car. On the opposite side of the street, there was a light car waiting for a green light like us. The light changed, and when we were about to start, we saw a bike crash into the right side of the light car! The biker flew into the air and disappeared from my sight. I thought he must have got a serious injury, but the next moment, I found him walking toward the light car. The front part of the light car got squashed and white smoke was coming from the engine, but it seemed like there were no injuries, whew!

I have seen a traffic accident right in front of me before, and yesterday was the second time. It's not a good experience!
Obviously, the biker ignored the red light. You can get an accident even if you drive safely. So, be careful, everyone!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "見ちゃった。。"

うれしい・楽しい･大好き♪

If you are readers of David's blog, you see I'm in a good mood. We've got a lot of newcomers, and they are all trying at their own pace. That's great! I'm happy, excited, and I love it!!(←It's one of the songs of Dreams Come True, haha.)  I'm so glad that the blog is getting lively again because I've been worried about it. I hope the newcomers will become our regulars, members of our blog family, and a lot of other people will find the courage to join us.

David's blog means a lot to me. I learned a lot of things from the blog, not only about English but also about life, and I met a lot of people! I don't have many chances to meet new people in my everyday life. I was afraid to meet new people on the Net before, but it's not that dangerous as long as you are careful, I guess. Now I have my own blog and a lot of chances to meet people. I can communicate with others throughout Japan and the world. That's really nice!

Anyway, I have to go to my son's elementary school this afternoon to see his class, and there is also a meeting for the teacher and the mothers. Well, I'm going to meet a lot of mothers today.

日本語 version　は続きから。。

続きを読む "うれしい・楽しい･大好き♪"

ごめんね。。

When I went to pick my daughter up yesterday, I heard someone calling my name from the kindergarten. It was my sister, and she was calling me from the window. I walked up to her and asked, ‘What's up?’, then she said, ‘You forgot to bring Peach's(my daughter) swimming things, didn't you?’ ‘No, she is going to play in the pool from Friday.’, I said. ‘From Friday, they are going to play in the pool, but they were going to practice putting their swimsuits on by themselves today. Didn't you check the notice? When I was passing Peach's class in the morning, she was crying loud.’, she said. ‘Oh no, she was? I did read the notice, but I didn't see that message!’, I said. Then she said, ‘There WAS the message. Anyway, you should check it properly. You know what? It shows whether mothers read handouts from kindergarten properly or not. We often talk about it in the teachers' room.’

Oh no, I did it again.. Of course, my daughter was angry with me, so I had to apologize to her until she forgave me.
Anyway, I hope the teachers are not talking about me in their room!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "ごめんね。。"

やる気をもらって。

My niece who is in junior high school is a hard worker, and she is going to have an end-of-term test soon. She asked me the other day, ‘I want to study English at your house from 4 to 7 on Monday. Can I?’Of course I said, ‘Sure.’, and then I asked my oldest son, ‘Love(my niece) and I are going to study English from 4 on Monday. Do you want to join us?’ He said, ‘From 4?! No, I'll just join you from 6, as usual.’(I teach them English once a week.)

I made some worksheets for her, and I was doing my English study while she was working on the worksheets.
My son was supposed to join us from 6, but he seemed to be inspired to study, so he joined us from 4:30.(He is in the same junior high as Love, so he is also having the test soon, and there are no club activities this week because of the test.)

When you see someone trying hard, you will get some energy, won't you? My niece motivated my son and me yesterday. Thank you, Love!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "やる気をもらって。"

何故だ。。

I'm back to my normal life style today, and I'm happy about that, but I'm feeling a bit low..

It's David's blog. It's great to have some new members with us, and I have a lot of things that I want to write, but I can't post my comments from my computer!
I was writing another comment last night, but it said,‘You can't access this page.’ when I clicked 'post'. I gave up posting my comment and was going to do it this morning, but I got the same message.., so I had to post my comment from my cell phone again. I thought I couldn't post my comment because of spam comments, but it seems like the other members can do it.. Why can't I access the page? Is there something wrong with my computer? I don't know what's going on..

Well, I have to be patient. It's no use complaining here. I'm just studying how to complain in English!(lol)

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "何故だ。。"

長かった。。

As I mentioned before, this week is 'Kojinmendan Week', and I have to pick my daughter up before noon. It was a looong week, but it's almost over, anyway. I'm going to get back to a normal life next week, whew! I enjoyed my free time even though it was very short when my daughter just started going to kindergarten on April, but I'm used to picking my daughter up at 2 pm now, so a few hours' free time is not enough for me. People can get used to things and tend to take them for granted. I think I need to count my blessings now.

I haven't studied English hard for the past week. I don't know why, but I didn't feel like doing anything. It could happen to anyone, you know. I think I need something for a change and reset myself so that I can use my time well.

日本語 version　は続きから。。

続きを読む "長かった。。"

出会いのチャンス？！

I was born on September 22nd in 1972, so my star sign is Virgo. I watch an infotainment show(which is called 'mezamashi terebi') every morning, and you can check your horoscope in the show. I don't believe in horoscope, but if it tells my fortune is good , I believe it.
According to daily horoscope, I have a lucky day today, and there is a chance to meet someone special. I should go somewhere! I was going to take my daughter to see the dermatologist today, but I don't think I can meet someone special at a small hospital for skin or at a supermarket. Maybe I should change the plan.(Just joking!)

Do you believe in horoscope or some other 'uranai'? I don't believe in fortune tellers or tarot card readers, but I would often do love fortune-telling with cards when I was in elementary or junior high school. It's a long long time ago!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "出会いのチャンス？！"

母性本能。

I don't have a lot of free time this week because I have to pick my daughter up at 11:40. This week is 'Kojinmendan Week', so homeroom teachers and mothers have a talk about their children. I went to the kindergarten for it yesterday afternoon and talked about my daughter with the teacher. My daughter likes kindergarten, and she is not shy, so she is doing well and enjoying herself so far.

The other day, my daughter said, ‘I want to get married to Yuu-kun. He is so cute!’ I asked her, ‘What about White-kun?’(If you don't know about White-kun, please have a look at the May 19th entry.) ‘White is also cute, but Yuu-kun is shorter than White, and he has a very cute voice!’, she said.
Girls are grow up faster than boys especially when they are little. My daughter is only 4, but she already has a motherly instinct. I think she wants to take care of sweet little Yuu-kun.

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "母性本能。"

絶叫。

I screamed on Saturday night.
I was having dinner with my family at home, and I noticed that I forgot to make salad, so I went to the kitchen and started to make it. I went grocery shopping on Saturday, so I think the vegetable was fresh, but I screamed and threw the lettuce in the air when I was about to wash it. There was a green caterpillar on the lettuce! It really scared me!!
Everyone in my family was surprised at my scream and came to see what was going on. My second son saw the caterpillar and said, ‘Does it turn into a butterfly, doesn't it? Let's release it.’ My husband agreed with his idea, and they took it outside and set it free. I was still in the shock, and I didn't want to eat salad anymore, but my husband said, ‘A caterpillar was on the lettuce, and it means that the lettuce is fresh, so it's okay.’ I knew he was right, but I didn't want to touch the lettuce, so he washed it instead of me.

I hate bugs. They really scares me. I can't and don't want to touch any kind of bugs even a mosquito. There is a reason why I hate bugs like this. I have had a bad experience when I was a child. It's a kind of trauma. I'll tell you about it in the near future.

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "絶叫。"

歌詞とサウンド。

Mr. Jarrell talked about Paul McCartney who was a member of the Beatles in today's Jaremaga, and it made me want to listen to some songs of the Beatles. I'm writing this as listening to the CD now. It's been a long time since I listened to it last time, but their songs are still good. Somehow I can catch the English(the lyrics) much better than before. I think it's because I've learned English a lot. I don't think the English in the songs of the Beatles is very difficult.(I didn't think of it like this before, though.)

Actually, I was not interested in Western music when I was younger because I didn't understand the lyrics. I preferred songs which had good words to songs which had good music, so I didn't understand why people liked Western music even though they didn't understand the meaning of the words. My husband is one of them. I asked him a long time ago, ‘How do you like Western music? You don't understand the lyrics, do you?’ ‘It's the feeling of the music.’, he said. I kind of understand it, but I wonder whether people who like Western music and don't understand English care about the words in a song or not.

日本語 version　は続きから。。

続きを読む "歌詞とサウンド。"

知りたい？知りたくない？

Time flies when you are having fun, you know.
Yesterday was the first time my husband and I had gone out alone in ages. It was just for a short time, but the movie was very good（I cried.), and we had a lovely time. Before going into the theater, we bought some popcorn and a drink. There were 3 sizes in popcorn, small, regular, and large. We got a regular size popcorn, but it was not a 'regular size' for us. The box was like a small bucket! We didn't think we could eat it all up, but we did it, anyway.

After watching the movie, we had lunch at an Italian restaurant.(We were not really hungry because of the popcorn, though.) We talked about the movie, and I asked him, ‘If you found out that you only had six months to live, what would you do? What are things you want to do before you die?’ ‘Hmm, it's a difficult question.. I want to go see ancient monuments or buildings, but it doesn't mean I want to see them alone. Oh, one more thing, I want to drive a Ferrari.’, he answered.
I asked him one more question, ‘If you got a cancer, do you want to know how much time you have left to live?’He said, ‘I'm afraid to know it, but I want to know it. How about you?’ ‘I'm really scared to know it, but me, too.’, I said.

How about you? If you got a cancer or a serious disease, do you want to know how much time you have left to live?

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "知りたい？知りたくない？"

何年ぶり？？

As I mentioned yesterday, my husband worked last Sunday, so he is taking a day off tomorrow. We are going to see the movie ‘The Bucket List’tomorrow. It's been a looong time since we went to see a movie last time, or rather, I can't remember the last time we went out alone. Well, maybe I can say, ‘We are going on a date tomorrow for the first time in ages.’, ha ha ha..

I heard about the movie on the David's blog the other day, and David and some regulars said that it was a very good and touching story, so I've wanted to watch it. When my husband said, ‘The next Wednesday is my day off.’, I thought it was a good chance to try it, and I said, ‘I want to go see a movie!’

We are leaving as soon as my daughter goes to kindergarten because we have to come back home by 2, so I'm going to take a break from writing my diary tomorrow.

日本語 version　は続きから。。

続きを読む "何年ぶり？？"

ピンチヒッター

There was an event called 'hoiku sankan' at my daughter's kindergarten yesterday. It was Father's Day yesterday, so the children gave some presents they made and sang a song for their fathers. The song was nice. The children stood face to face with their own father, and sang it with some dance. They were so cute! I'm sure some fathers was moved to tears.

The song goes..

Dad, Dad, very strong Dad
He is the strongest in the world
His face is scary when he gets angry
But he loves me very very much
My Dad is nice and cool

My husband was supposed to be there(and cried!), but unfortunately, he had to work yesterday, so my sister's husband(Uncle K) went there instead of my husband. My daughter loves Uncle K, so it was OK with her, but not with my husband. He handed me his video camera and said, “Please record everything for me.”

Of course I did it for him, and he watched it at home with a happy look!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "ピンチヒッター"

う･･腕が。。

There was an activity for the third graders, the teachers, and the parents at my son's elementary school yesterday afternoon. The activity was dodgeball, and it was the first time I had played dodgeball in ages! There were 8 mixed teams of children and adults, and we did it in a tournament play. My son wasn't in our team, and unfortunately, his team lost in the first round.

Our team made it to the final game, and the opposing team was from another class, so the game was class 1 against class 2 (my son's class). Before the final much, my son came to me and said, ‘Good luck and win!’, and I said ‘OK, I will!’ Both homeroom teachers took a part in the final game. There were two men(a father and the homeroom teacher) in the opposing team, and there were no men in our team, but we(our team) managed to win the game!(We won just by 1 point.)

After all, I played four 7-minute games, and my arms and legs are sore today, but it was nice to play sports once in a while. I felt refreshed!

日本語 version　は続きから。。

続きを読む "う･･腕が。。"

ある日の食卓。

I made gratin for dinner last night. I didn't really like it before, but it's now one of my favorite food. I tried to make some different gratin, but chicken and macaroni gratin is the most popular one in my family.

Everyone in my family likes gratin, so making it is OK, but there is a problem. It can't fill my oldest son's  stomach full! He is a growing teenager and has a good(big!) appetite, so I have to make something else for him.

This is what I made for him last night.
It's spaghetti with mushrooms and bacon. He likes this spaghetti. I made it too much, so he couldn't finish it, but I he ate three-quarters of it. His appetite is amazing!

Of course we need some vegetables, so I made salad as well, but my second son doesn't like vegetables. He said, ‘I'm full with my gratin, so I'll skip the salad.', and he didn't eat it at all, but I didn't say, ‘Try some.' because I know his feelings. When I was a child, I didn't like vegetables either. I only ate cucumbers and tomatoes. I hope he will be able to eat vegetables someday soon.

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "ある日の食卓。"

恐怖感。

I don't usually follow the news, but my husband watch the news on TV every day, so I get some news from it. For the past several days, the news ‘Tokyo stabbings’has been on TV. Since I heard the story, I've been kind of feeling low.
I walk my daughter to and from her kindergarten every day. I get nervous every time I pass people who I don't know because of the incident.

A while ago, there was a story about a man throw a small child off a pedestrian bridge when the man passed by the child even though the child was walking with an adult.(Do you remember?) There is a pedestrian overcross on the way to the kindergarten, so I have to be careful when my child and I pass people who I don't know on the overpass.

Yesterday, someone was walking fast behind us when my daughter and I was crossing the overpass. I got nervous, and I moved my daughter to the other side and glanced back, then I found an old lady seemed in a hurry. I was relieved to find it out, but I felt bad about doubting the innocent old woman..

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "恐怖感。"

忘れてた。。

Today was 'maintenance day'. The other day, people from Cocolog said that they were going to do maintenance from 9 to 3 today, and I write it down on my cell phone, but I forgot all about it. When I was finished with my housework this morning and going to do a new entry, I couldn't access my page and found a message about the maintenance..

It's been more than a year since I got my own cell phone, but I don't make good use of it. I use the schedule function, but I often forget to check it.(even to take it with me!) If I forget to check my schedule on my cell phone, I might as well use a notebook.(I'm not sure if people nowadays use datebooks or appointment books.) Or rather, I need something to remind me to check my schedule every day!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "忘れてた。。"

いやん？！

The other day, when my daughter and I was playing outside, she asked me, ‘Mom, when do you use ‘iyan’? I couldn't believe my ears and said, ‘What?? What did you say?’ She asked me the same question again and said, ‘At a time like this?’ as putting her skirt up a little by herself. I was lost for words for a moment.. I asked her, ‘Where did you get that idea? Who said that?’. ‘○○(←my second son) did it.’I thought that he needs my lecture!

I was going to give my second son a long lecture, but my husband said to me, ‘Come on, it's not a big deal. I used to do that when I was a child, especially to my favorite girls. It's just children stuff, isn't it?’
Well, I thought it was true, so I didn't get angry with my son this time. (I gave him a short lecture, of course.)

After the talk, I got a question about boys and asked my husband, ‘Speaking of children stuff, why are boys mean to their favorite girls?’ He answered, ‘It's just because they want to get the girls' attention.’ ‘But don't they know it doesn't work at all? I didn't like mean boys.’, I asked him again. Then he said, ‘Well, you are right, but.. I think they will know when they grow up.’

Anyway, it was another surprising question from my children, whew..

日本語 version　は続きから。。

続きを読む "いやん？！"

見る派？見ない派？

I'm going to have a medical checkup called 'ningen dokku' tomorrow. I had it last year for the first time, and the doctor said that I was in a good condition. I was happy with the result, but some of the checkups were very painful(especially the muscle injection), and the taste of barium was terrible(My husband told me that it was yogurt-like taste, but it was totally different!), so I'm not looking forward to that.

I hate shots. I can't watch that a shot is coming into my arm. It's scary! Do you watch the moment that the needle sticks into your arm when you get a shot? Every time I get a shot, I look at the opposite side and try not to see it until it's finished. I feel like it's more painful if I see the shot. Well, it might be a bit childish, but I don't cry, so I think I'm stronger than children!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "見る派？見ない派？"

なんとか。。

It's cloudy today, but all my family was very happy about today's weather because it's not rainy, so my sons have gone on the school trip and picnic. My second son made a 'teruteru bouzu' last night, and he made a wish for a good weather, so I think his wish has come true. If it had rained today, his school picnic would have been called off, so he was very happy about that.(Me, too!)
I got up around 5 a.m., and made all my children's lunch this morning, so I'm very tired and a bit sleepy.. Well, I hope they will all have a good time and enjoy their lunch!

For the past a few weeks, my oldest son was working hard for this school trip as one the members of a group called 'jikkou iin'. I asked him, ‘Do you have something to do at the hotel as a 'jikkou iin'?’ He said, ‘Yes, I have to host an event there.’ ‘Aren't you nervous about that?’, I asked him again, then he said, ‘No. I only have to speak in front of my classmates, so that's okay.’

He had to speak in front of all the students and the teachers the other day, so I thought he was getting used to it. He used to get nervous the night before these kinds of events(not get excited), so I asked him another question, ‘Are you excited?’Then he said, ‘Yeah!’ I'm so glad to hear that!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "なんとか。。"

雨、雨、雨。。

The rainy season has started already. That's not good news for my children because my oldest son is going on a school trip tomorrow, and my second son is going on a picnic, too. Actually, my second son was supposed to be on the school picnic on May 20th, but unfortunately it was rainy, so the picnic was postponed until tomorrow. Anyway, I have to make their lunch if it's rainy or sunny because there is no school lunch tomorrow. I'm going to be very busy tomorrow morning because I have to make all my children's lunch!

Actually, my oldest son is going to Chichibu where we used to live.(It's a coincidence.) He's a bit sorry for it, but there are beautiful mountains and rivers, so the scenery is beautiful. It's near Tokyo, and I think it's a good place to get refreshed and recharge your batteries.

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "雨、雨、雨。。"

祝♪100時間突破！！

I started this blog on April 6th, and I have studied English for over 100 hours! Yaay!! Since I started the blog, I've been studying and practicing harder than before(I took a break when I didn't feel like to, though.) because I decided to write down 'what I have done today for my English study' on the blog. If I don't study, I can't write anything about it, so that motivates me to study more. If I had had this enthusiasm for studying when I was in high school, my life would have changed.. Oh well, life is long, and I still have plenty of time. Let's stop saying 'should have' or 'could have'. I should try what I can do 'now'.

Before I started this blog, I was not sure if I could keep it up, but I think it's going well so far. Writing in English is difficult, and it takes me a lot of time, but I think it's a really good method to learn languages. I didn't even want to try it before, but surely it has a lot of good effects on your English ability(including your listening and speaking skills). The more you write, the better your English can be. That's true, trust me;-)

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "祝♪100時間突破！！"

甘い言葉にご用心！

I wrote about love and marriage the other day, and then some strange 'Sponsored Links' showed up at the bottom of my entry. Have you noticed it? Every time I do a new entry, 4 Sponsored Links show up. I don't(can't) do anything about it, but somehow the links are related to the entry or the words I used as if they know what I'm writing. It's scary!

Anyway, did you check the links of the entry 'Love and marriage'? There are very strange links.(You can still see them if you click the entry.) One of them says, 'The way of making men fall in love with you in 5 minutes'! No way, it can't be true! Life is not that easy, isn't it? If there was such a good way like magic, I would definitely try it!(Just joking.)

There are lots and lots of attractive words in our everyday lives, for someone looking for a lover, for people who want to make money, for English learners, and etc..
Everyone, be careful of words that sound too good to be true!(but I have to admit that I can't resist good words for people who want to lose their weight..)

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "甘い言葉にご用心！"

おしいんだけど･･。

There are a lot of strange things in languages.
The other day, my second son said to me, “Mom, it's ‘koame’today.” I said, “Yes, but we don't say ‘koame’, we say ‘kosame’.” He seemed to think of something. “We read 大雨 ‘ooame’. Why do we read 小雨 ‘kosame’?”, he asked me, and I said, “Hmm.., that's a good question, I wonder, too..” It was a difficult question. Does anyone know why?

My second son is 8, so he is learning Japanese language in his everyday life, and he often makes interesting and funny mistakes. When we had dinner with my sister's family the other day, my niece was studying how to call months in old style. Then my son suddenly said, “I know how to call December! It's a name of fish, isn't it?” I asked him, “A name of fish? What do you mean?” “It's ‘shirasu’, isn't it?”, he answered with confidence..
It's a funny mistake, isn't it? He often makes us laugh like that. Of course I told him, “It's not ‘shirasu’, it's ‘shiwasu’. Nice try, ○○.”

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "おしいんだけど･･。"

書くこと。

Writing is difficult. It takes me a lot of time to write something both in English and Japanese, but I like writing because I have enough time to think and can express something difficult to say. I tend to be honest with myself when I'm writing especially at night, but I feel embarrassed when I re-read what I have written the next morning.. Have you had that experience?
I've been joining David's blog for a long time, and now I have my own blog, so I have a lot of chances to write. It's nice to have a chance to express myself because it makes me feel refreshed, but maybe I should try not to re-read my writings because I often feel embarrassed..

Speaking of writing, people used to use a pencil and papers, but computers and cell phones are very popular now, so we have less chances of using them. Because of this, I'm losing my ability to write kanji. There are a lot of kanji that I can read but can't write. I think I should do kanji practice with my children!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "書くこと。"

恋愛と結婚。

Do you think romance is one thing, and marriage is quite another? I don't think so. We are talking about a married life on David's blog now, so I've been thinking about this. I have heard people(women) talking about that their husband is just a family member and there is no love between them anymore. Some said, ‘I don't want to wash my cloths with my husband's because they are dirty.’ or ‘I would divorce him when our children get old enough.’ When I was younger and before marriage, I have a lot of dreams for my married life, and I thought, ‘I don't want to hear that! Don't disappoint my dream!’ Well, I have to admit that I was dreaming too much..

When I was working, a senpai co-worker(a man) who was married and seemed to be happy said to me, ‘If you have such a big dream of marriage, it might break like a balloon.’ I didn't(or didn't want to) understand it at that time, but I've been married for about 14 years, and now I understand what he meant.

I think there is a difference between love and marriage, but I don't think love is one thing, and marriage is another. When you 'really' love someone, you will want to be spend for the rest of your life with the person. That's why people get married. Of course it has ups and downs, and you need to make an effort to stay happy, but it doesn't mean you have to work hard to keep loving the person. I think there is always love if you get married to the person you 'really' love, even if your love(feelings) changes. Living together and sharing a lot of things (not just living in the same house), that's a married life, I believe.

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "恋愛と結婚。"

証明写真はプリクラで？！

As you know, my sister is working in my daughter's kindergarten, and she is an assistant teacher for the youngest class. The other day, she told me an interesting story.
When the children enter the kindergarten, parents need to hand in a paper with a picture of their family so that the teachers can remember all the faces of the children's families. The other day, my sister couldn't believe her eyes when she saw one of the papers. What she saw was that some pictures of a family taken by a print club sticker machine! She said to me, ‘Can you believe that? Print club stickers! And one of them is a lovey-dovey couple shot!’ I asked her, ‘Is that okay? Can we use print club stickers for the paper?’ ‘Well, there are no rules about that, but I never thought that parents use print club stickers for the paper they need to hand in. The time has changed..’, she said.

Speaking of print club stickers, young people today (especially girls) love it. My 12-year-old niece is one of them, and she showed me a small note called 'puri chou' the other day. There are lots and lots of print club stickers in the note that she took with her friends, and I noticed that my niece had a very beautiful skin in some pictures. I asked her, ‘This one is very nice. Your skin is beautiful.’ She said, ‘I took it with an effect of whitening.’ ‘What?! Is there a machine with that effect??’, I asked, and she said 'Yes'. Then I asked again, ‘Doesn't it have a good effect for wrinkles?’ She said, ‘Yes, some machines have that effect too. You asked me the same question as my mom, ha ha ha.’

Wow, the latest print club stickers machines are amazing! Next time I need some picture of me, I will definitely use that machine!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "証明写真はプリクラで？！"

息子の肩の荷。

I've been worried about my oldest son because he hasn't seemed very happy lately. For the past week, he looked very tired and seemed to be frustrated, and he tended to keep in his room. I thought something was bothering him.

My son is going to take a school trip next month, and there was a meeting for the parents, the teachers, and the students for the trip yesterday afternoon. I had to hand in some papers to my son's homeroom teacher. When I handed it to the teacher, he said, ‘○○ doesn't seem like himself these days. Something's wrong with him?’I said, ‘You've noticed it, too?’

I thought we need a talk, so I asked my son last night, ‘You look very tired these days. What's wrong with you? Is it your job of the class leader or your club activities?’ He said, ‘It's 'seito soukai'. There was a meeting for all the students and the teachers in the gym the other day, and I had to write an essay and read it in front of them.’ I said, ‘I see, you've been worried about that, right?’ ‘Right, but it's over anyway..’, he sighed.

I was relieved to find out what was bothering him. He is shy and gets nervous easily, so it was really tough for him. I hope he will be strong!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "息子の肩の荷。"

またやっちゃった・・。

I was in a good mood this morning because the weather is beautiful, and I'm going to have lunch with my friends at a nice restaurant today, but when I opened the washing machine, the good mood turned into a bad mood. What I saw was that the laundry was messed up! I always check all the pockets of the laundry, but I forgot to do it today.., so there were some tissue papers in someone's pocket. Oh no, I did it again! If you have had that experience, you understand how I felt. I had to get all the pieces of the tissue papers out of the laundry. Ahhhhhh....., it was very tiring. I'll make sure I'll check all the pockets of the laundry tomorrow!

Anyway, as I said, I'm going to have lunch with my friends today. We haven't decide which restaurant we'll go yet, but maybe we are going to an Italian one. I like Italian food especially spaghetti with tomato sauce. A 30-minute drive from here, there is a nice Italian restaurant. The food at that restaurant(including sweets) is very good. I was very tired this morning(it was my fault, though.), I think I deserve to have some sweets.

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "またやっちゃった・・。"

で～きた♪

I was going to do this entry yesterday, but after writing a long comment on David's blog, I was very tired and my brain didn't work well.
Anyway, I finished making the dress, and here is a picture of it. Please have a look at it.

My daughter loved the dress very much and she was turning herself around and around and around in the dress with a very happy look. You know, when you wear a circular skirt or something and turn yourself around, the skirt will open up. My daughter loves it.

Basically, this dress is a smock(I used a pattern for a smock), so you can put this on like a T-shirt. My 4-year-old daughter can put it on and take it off by herself, and the good things about making a smock is that you don't need to use a zipper tape or make buttonholes, so it's easy.

Anyway, I'm finished with the work. Now I have to get back to my English study. A day is too short to do everything I want!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "で～きた♪"

小さな恋。

It seems like that a boy is in love with my daughter.

We went for a picnic on Saturday. When my daughter and I were in a line at the kindergarten yard in the morning, there was a boy called ‘White kun’ in front of us. As soon as White kun saw my daughter, he called her ‘Peach chan!’ with a lovely smile, and my daughter called him ‘White!’and started to touch his cheeks with her both hands. White kun was just smiling at my daughter and let her keep doing it.. There was also White kun's mother, and she said to me, ‘White loves Peach chan. He is always talking about her at home.’

On the bus ride to the amusement park, we were sitting next to White kun and his mother, and White kun was looking at my daughter with a smile all the time. A while later, White kun and my daughter started chatting in a good mood, and sometimes they were holding hands!  Are they in love with each other?

When I got home, I talked about this to my husband, and he said, ‘What?! That's not good news..’
I guess fathers can't accept their daughter's boyfriend, ha ha ha.

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "小さな恋。"

早起きしなきゃ！

My daughter is going to take a field trip called 'oyako ensoku' tomorrow, so I'm going with her by bus. We are going to an amusement park, but it's for little children, so there are no roller coasters.(I love them!) Well, I think we'll be riding on an observation wheel, a mini locomotive, or something like that..

I have to get up early tomorrow morning because I have to make our lunch and go to the kindergarten at 7:40. Plus, my son has a baseball game tomorrow, so I have to make his lunch too! What time should I wake up? I'm not a morning person. Every morning, I force myself to get up..

My sister who is working at my daughter's kindergarten is going there too. Of course, we can't get on the same bus, but we can hang out and have lunch together at the amusement park. Oh, I remember now that she said to me yesterday, ‘I'm going to make only rice balls, so I'm looking forward to your lunch!’ Oh no, she is too wise!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "早起きしなきゃ！"

創作意欲に火がついた♪

The other day, when I was doing the iron some shirts and handkerchiefs, my daughter asked me, ‘Mom, can I use these handkerchiefs?’ I had no idea what she was going to do with them, but I said,‘Yes.’, and I got back to my work.
A while later, she said, ‘Mom, look at me! How do I look? Cute?’ She tied the handkerchiefs and was wearing it as a long skirt, and she was turning around with a happy look..

My daughter is 4, and she loves pink and girlish frilled dresses especially long ones, but I don't think long dresses are good for playing, so I don't usually let her wear it.(or rather, she doesn't have a long dress.) But when I saw her wearing the long skirt she made with the handkerchiefs, her happy face made me want to make her a nice long dress.

As I mentioned before, I like to make something by hand, so I have a lot of cloths in stock. There was a nice gauze cloth with a flower pattern, and my daughter liked it, so I'm making her a girly frilled dress now. I'm looking forward to making her face happier!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "創作意欲に火がついた♪"

雨ニモマケズ。

It's rainy, and the sky is heavy gray today. I prefer sunny days and a blue sky to rainy days and a grey sky, but I don't hate to have the weather like today's one.
When I was walking my daughter to her kindergarten this morning, the cold rain reminded me of some lines from a poem written by Miyazawa Kenji.

“Ame nimo makezu, kaze nimo makezu...”

I can't remember what comes next, but in the end of the poem, it goes..

“Souiumono ni watashi ha naritai”

What kind of person do I want to be? Hmm.., I think I still looking for it.
I learned a lot of famous poems or stories at school, and I still remember some of them.

“Boku no mae ni michi ha nai,  boku no ushiro ni michi ha dekiru” -written by Takamura Kotaro.

Isn't that a nice line! I was going to try to translate it into English, but I thought that as is is better. I like English because it is a positive and friendly language, but I like Japanese as well. I think Japanese is an artistic language with atmosphere. There can be deep meanings in a short line.

日本語 version　は続きから。。

続きを読む "雨ニモマケズ。"

世界にひとつ。

This is my TV cabinet, and there is only one of its kind in the world because I designed it and ordered, so it's a custom-made TV cabinet.(but it's not that expensive.) As I mentioned before, I love wooden objects and furniture, and there are a lot of wooden furniture in my house, but this is my favorite one. It's made by Mr. Bear who is a country style furniture maker. He is a genius! He can make anything from wood even a motorcycle! The surface of the TV cabinet is as smooth as silk. It means that he sanded the cabinet with great care. He does very good work!

Actually, I use to make small wooden furniture like a magazine rack, a bread case, and a shelf. I have my own electric power tools like a drill, a table saw, and a trimmer. I think I'm better at DIY than my husband!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "世界にひとつ。"

花より団子？

Yesterday was Mother's Day. My son didn't have baseball practice, and I didn't have any special plans, so I slept late on Sunday. When I got up, it was about 10 a.m., my oldest son was gone already.. My husband made me breakfast and did the laundry for me, and my second son and my daughter massaged my shoulders. What a nice day! I was going to spend in my pajamas the whole day, but somehow I couldn't. When I was young, I would often spend a whole day in my pajamas..

I got some presents for Mother's Day.

My husband and my second son gave me nice flowers, my oldest son gave me chocolate that I love, and my daughter gave a nice picture that she drew at the kindergarten. It's a picture of me. Aren't they nice? I'm a very lucky and happy mom!

All the presents made me happy, but when I was eating the chocolate, my husband just look at me and said, ‘Better fill your belly than your eye.’
I said, ‘No, it's not true. The flower also made me happy.’, but I guess he is right..

Anyway, I had a great Mother's Day!

 

続きを読む "花より団子？"

頭がぐちゃぐちゃ。。

As you know, I have three children, a junior high school boy, an elementary school boy, and a kindergarten girl, so it mean that I'll have the same event 3 times, like a field day, a school trip, and a parents' visiting day. Actually, yesterday was my second son's 'kateihoumon day', but I almost forgot about it! Today, there is a meeting at my son's junior high for parents and teachers for club activities. Next week, my daughter is going for a field trip, and my second son is going for a school picnic the week after next.. Oh no, my head is a mess! I can't remember all the schedule of my children. I'm taking a note of their schedule on my cell phone, but I often forget to check it..

In my daily life, I'm a bit(?) forgetful. I always make a shopping list, but I often forget to take it when I go shopping. The other day, when I was going to hang out the laundry, I saw the laundry flapping in the wind already, ..so I had forgotten to bring in the previous laundry. I just thought, ‘Oh no, I did it again!’

Do you have any good ideas how not to forget?

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "頭がぐちゃぐちゃ。。"

若さの秘訣。

When I was rushing to get ready to go this morning, my sister dropped by my house on the way to work.(We live near each other, and it only takes 30 seconds to get each other's house.)  She said, ‘I had a great time yesterday!’with a happy look. I asked her, ‘What are you talking about?’, then she said, ‘I told you that I was going to WaT's concert with ○○!’(←her 12-year-old daughter) My sister and my niece love WaT very much, especially Koike Teppei.‘Oh, yes. How was it?’, I asked her again.‘It was awesome!! They were so cute!!’, she said this and rushed to work..

She still seemed to be very excited and in a dream. I think she's still young and never get old. Maybe that's because she knows how to enjoy her life. Doing what you want and enjoying yourself, I think that's the key to a happy life and staying young. I should follow in her steps!

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "若さの秘訣。"

このままじゃ・・

My father came to my house this morning with some fresh eggs. Have you hard of silkies(ukokkei)? It's a kind of chicken, and both their skin and bones are black. My father have two silkie hens in his garden and often give me fresh eggs.

Here are some pictures of silkies(but it's not my father's).

They are beautiful, aren't they? I can't believe that it is a kind of chicken! Their eggs are light brown and smaller than common ones, but it tastes good! I recommend eating it raw like 'tamago gohan'. I think you can find the difference between a silkie's egg and common one. If you have chance, please try it;-)

By the way, I'm a bit worried about my father these days because he is very interested in having pets. He started with only one dog, but now he has 3 dogs, 3 macaws(They are as big as a parrot and can speak.), some tropical fishes, and 2 silkies. I keep saying to my father, ‘If you get more pets, your house is becoming a zoo!’ Well, he seems to be very happy with his pets, and I'm happy about that, though.

日本語 version は続きから。。

続きを読む "このままじゃ・・"

露天風呂で、☆△×!?!?

We went to a hot spring resort in Gunma yesterday. My husband said that it was a famous 'roten buro' in Japan. The onsen was in a mountain and right next to a big river, so the scenery was really beautiful. But, it was an onsen that men and women take together! I've never had that experience. My h