New York

Everyone has their happy place. I would definitely say my go- to place is New York. I use to go there once a year for vacation and would never get tired of it. The years I lived in Japan, I didn’t get to go to New York, but now I’m itching to go back. I want to share some pictures I took while I was in New York right before I moved to Japan. If you click the “2017” tab in the picture section, the password is “oneworld”. After the terrorist attacks in 2001, New York had to rebuild it’s city and the building, now called One World is one of my favorite places to visit. They have set a beautiful memorial for everyone who lost their lives during the 9-11 attacks. I also think it’s amazing how- on each of the victims birthdays, a rose is placed at their name to remember them. They have been doing this tradition every day of every year since they built this memorial. In addition, there is a huge inward waterfall placed where the old twin towers stood. It is definitely a solemn place, but graceful and mesmerizing at the same time.

xoxo,e

SF Taiko Performance

I went to a taiko performance and it was so cool! Kind of wish I stuck with it for longer than I did.

This performance was special because two of the sensei were from Japan and came to perform with Grand Master Tanaka and his students. I hope you enjoy these clips as much as I enjoyed being there!

xoxo,e

Postcard Worthy

Isn’t my city beautiful? My brother took these pictures with his camera. They remind me of pictures you see on post cards.

Myspace Survey

Do you remember those Myspace surveys back in the day? You would fill them out and then your friends would be able to see them. I stumbled across this article that mentioned them, and decided to fill one out. I guess this is a way to learn a bit more about me too?

1. Last beverage:
Apricot tea

2. Last phone call:
Momma

3. Last song you listened to:
What’s My Name – Rhianna

4. Last time you cried:
When I got sent home for having the flu and couldn’t go back to work for a week, I called Anna crying. Baby… I know.

5. Have you lost someone special:
Yes, of course.

6. What are your three favorite colors:
My favorite COLOR is green.

7. Met someone who changed you in the past month:
Nope.

8. How many kids do you want:
Hopefully, two or three. Any more than that, i’ll need a van yikes.

9. Do you want any pets:
I want tons of pets. Specifically, my parrot, maybe a few parakeets, a dog or two, and maybe a cat and snake.

10. Do you want to change your name:
Nope, I like my name.

11. What did you do for your last birthday:
I went to Kagoshima Aquarium.

12. What time did you wake up today:
I think around 6:30am.

13. Name something you CANNOT wait for:
To eat chicken and waffles tomorrow!! One of my favorites!

14. Last time you saw your mother:
I saw her yesterday night.

15. Most visited webpage:
GOOGLE search page.

16. Zodiac sign:
Pisces

17. Height:
5’ foot 3”.

18. Do you have a crush on someone:
Ruby Rose is my girl crush (;

19. Piercings:
Yes, too many…..

20. First surgery:
Wisdom teeth

21. First sport you joined:
Basketball or Swimming

22. Hugs or kisses:
Both <3

23. Gotten a speeding ticket:
Yep, I’ve gotten a few. None recently though.

24. Lost glasses/contacts:
Contacts get taken out and lost all the time.

25. Moved out of town:
Yep! I want to move again in the near future!

BELIEVE IN

26. Miracles:
Ummm….I suppose so.

27. Santa Claus:
Ha….Ha….

28. Yourself:
Sure, If I don’t believe in myself how can I do anything in life?!

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY

29. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time:
Never.

30. If you could go back in time, how far would you go?:
I wouldn’t. Things are in the past for a reason.

31. Was your last relationship a mistake?
No, relationships are learning experiences and were right for their time.

32. Who did you last say “i love you” to?
I don’t remember. BUT, I said “love you” to my brother this morning.

33. Are you insecure?
Not particularly, but I have my moments.

34. Do you bite your nails?
If I don’t have nail polish on, I do, unfortunately. That’s why you’ll always see my nails painted!!

35.. Do you have an attitude?
I’d like to think I don’t. But, if im tired, I do become a cranky pants.

36. Twirl or cut your spaghetti?
Twirl

37. What are your plans for this weekend?
Haven’t thought about anything yet.

38. Do you type fast?
Im not sure how many WPM, but I’d like to think Im a decent typer.

39. Can you spell well?
I am not the greatest speller. Spell check over the years has made me lazy.

40: What are you craving right now?
Chicken and waffles!!!!

41. Have you ever been on a horse?
Yes…well maybe it was a pony. I don’t remember.

42. Would you live with someone without marrying them?
Yep, all of college I had roommates. When I lived in Delta Gamma i had 60 roommates, woah!

43. What’s irritating you right now?
How sensitive my stomach is to dairy these days ):

44. Milk chocolate or white chocolate?
MILK CHOCOLATE is my favorite!!!…But, DAIRY!! Ugh.

45. Have you ever walked outside in your PJs?
Yes and I have gone to the market in them as well.

46. Do you believe everything happens for a reason?
I think we make our own choices and the results are caused by our doing. So, yes.

47. Did you have dream last night?
Yes, all I remember was that it was weird.

48. Do you like Chinese food?
I have to be craving it, most of the time I will pass on Chinese food.

49. Favorite weather?
Sunny, warm, with a light breeze.

50. Do you like the snow?
YES!! I can’t wait for snowboard season this year!

51. Do you like the outside?
Most definitely!

52. What makes you happy?
Seeing other people happy.

53. Did you ever watch TV for 5 hours straight?
Yep, in middle school watching CSI marathons were my thing.

54. Did you ever fail a driver’s test?
Nope, I passed both written and driving on the first try.

55. Have you ever been on a diet?
Yeah, the seefood diet. I see food and eat it, haha. But, on the more serious note, trying to get back on KETO. This dairy sensitivity thing has really been messing with me.

56. Have you ever been on TV?
Yep, from preschool to middle school I did modeling.

57. Have you ever been to a concert?
Many, many, many. Beyonce, Chirs Brown, Trey Songz, Drake, and Lady Gaga may have been my favorites though.

Now, you know me a little better, haha.

xox,e

Sydney Zoo

If you know me, you know I love animals. Something I like to do in my free time is to go anywhere with animals, more specifically aquariums. When I was in Sydney, I was so lucky to have gone to Sydney Zoo. It was beautiful, and there were so many animals in habitats that wernt’t restricting. It pains me all the time to see some zoos that don’t have enough funding. I got to see so many cool animals native to Australia there. And of course I couldn’t go to a zoo and not see my favorite, tigers!! Here are some pictures from the Zoo.

xoxo,e

Matsumoto's & Leonard's

I’ve been meaning to write about this after my trip to Hawaii, but i’m only getting around to it now, oops.

Well, I WENT TO MATSUMOTOS & LEONARD’S!!!! If you go to Hawaii, going to these places is a must! MAtsumoto’s shaved ice reminds me of the ones from Japan. The ice is so smooth and fluffy. I’m sure the owner of Matsumoto’s came from Japan….Matsumoto, duh. But they have so many flavors and toppings. Leonard’s have these things called malasadas which are similar to donuts. AMAZING! They also have a whole section of Japanese food at Ala Moana mall, and I found a Miyakonojo place!!! The guy said his dad was from Miyakonojo! Definitely not as good as home, it just made me miss 天花’s chicken nanban.

xoxo,e

KOMBUCHA!

Since moving back, i’ve started to drink kombucha. For those of you who don’t know what kombucha is: Kombucha is a fermented, sweetened black or green tea drink commonly intended as a beverage for its supposed health benefits. Before moving back home, I thought kombucha was gross and didn’t like it in the slightest. I’m not sure what flipped the switch, but now I find it quite enjoyable. Actually, come to think of it, there was a span of a few months where I was taking an apple cider vinegar shot before every meal. They kind of have the same aftertaste. Nonetheless, I like it now and tried making it myself. LET. ME. TELL. YOU. It is no easy task. There are a lot of steps to take, and my first few batches were too vinegary that I had to throw them out. But with anything, practice, practice, practice. Kombucha is not for everyone as it requires an acquired taste, but I thought instead of paying upwards of $3.00 per bottle, I would give it a try.

Here are a few pictures from the last batch I made.

Though, the process is tedious, here is a summary of how to make it.

First, boil water in a pot and add about eight to ten tea bags. Let them soak until the water becomes extremely dark. Add sugar. Then, let the water come down to room temperature. Add SCOBY (that weird round looking thing). The SCOBY is also called the “mother” and is where all of the probiotics and fermented yeast live. After, let your mixture sit for a week or so, add fruit, leave it out to carbonate, and then put it in the fridge so the carbonation halts. Lastly, enjoy.

Of course the process is much more stretched out and lengthy, but you get the gist.

Give it a try!

xoxo.e