Sweeeeet Christmas Part II

Yes! two pretty ladies all dressed up to........


Spend a lovely afternoon in YANAGAWA for AMAZING UNAGI DON.


Didn't know San Fran was so close...


Singing with Cakes...
Caking while singing...


The day after Piki's departure, I had to get...
More company.

Romantic Christmas Part I

First Stop in Fukuoka,
my favourite Izakaya...
Here is their famous dessert - MONT-BLANC MOCHI


Christmas Dinner...
Can you say KEN-TA-KI?


One cake for the ladies...


And yes, that's one WHOLE cake...


We finished the whole thing by the next morning - that's right! who said we can't have cake for breakfast?

『あっ、これ関係ある』

Ahahahahaha. This CM cracks me up whenever I see it.

あだ名、nickname, 綽號 and newfound love

Nicknames are always interesting.
Especially when shortening my elementary boy students' names and adding ちゃん(chan) at the end; I find it endearing, the girls find it SOOO FUNNY, and the boys? Well, they just dread it, and you can tell by the way they're squinting when they hear me call: 『マッチャン！』or 『リョッチャン！』
『やめてよ！！』they'd say while pouting, or shout back 『マメくん！！』as their [weak] comeback. Then, we'd settle in a TICKLING match, and of course, I curl up in the corner like a sorry catepillar and lose.

But, I still love to call them by their unique, KAWAIIII nicknames.

And recently, I've been collecting my own.
Tomorrow, elementary school again! With 4th and 6th graders. Both equally cute, but one is much noisier than the other.
Ai, I need some avocado/banana juice to cure my dry throat.

* * * *

And.... allow me to introduce to you, my NEWFOUND LOVE.



He can be found among all the other DELICIOUSLY DECORATED cream-puffed pastries under the honourable name of....

'MAPLE COCONUTS CREAM.'
(And yes, Mr. Gloop, it is TEN THOUSAND TIMES BETTER than the pitiful parfait we gulped down in Osaka. You'd flap your Nachooo wings like a crazy turkey on fire if you get a taste of this. get rrrrrrrready. Fukuoka 2008?)

Ladies and gentlemen [who are now drooling in front of your computer monitor],

...get your ticket to Japan to catch a glimpse (or a bite) of the IRRESISTABLE, DASHING DESSERT OF THE MONTH.

Je vous souhaite un joyeux noel........ too early?

Yesterday, I had a mini-Christmas party. LES METS DELICIEUX on our menu were:
COLORFUL Appetizer
Stir-fried peppers, and tomato with cheese covered asparagus

Cheese Tempura
Tomato Bacon Basil Pasta
And......
The most exciting of all:

CAKE!!!


Believe or not, we finished half of the cake yesterday night. Decorated the plain (but oh, so good!) cheesecake with fresh strawberries.


Oh, and a second dessert for me after the cake, too - CARAMEL PUDDING HAGEN DAAZ ICE CREAM... mmmmmm.
And the FEAST continues.......

* * * * * *

'Tis the season to be JOLLY!

Did you hear?.... Japan is famous for EXPENSIVE fruits.

It's funny how I listen to more Chinese songs now that I'm in Japan. ^-^

歌曲：聽不到
歌手：梁靜茹
專輯：戀愛的力量

歌詞：

夜黑夜寂寞的夜裏
氣生氣對自己生氣
軟弱的電話又打給你
想聽你那邊的空氣
有什麼精採的話題
你還是溫柔給我婉轉的距離
我的聲音在笑淚在飆電話那頭的你可知道
世界若是那麼大為何我要忘你無處逃
我的聲音在笑淚在飆電話那頭的你可知道
世界若是那麼小為何我的真心你聽不到
會很會偽裝我自己
你不該背我的秘密
沉重都給我微笑給你
奔狂奔空曠的感情
走暴走暴走的傷心
透明的嘆息最後還是我的秘密
我的聲音在笑淚在飆電話那頭的你可知道
世界若是那麼大為何我要忘你無處逃
我的聲音在笑淚在飆電話那頭的你可知道
世界若是那麼小為何我的真心你聽不到
聽不到聽不到我的執著撲通撲通一直在跳
直到你有一天能夠明了我做得到我做得到
我的聲音在笑淚在飆電話那頭的你可知道
世界若是那麼大為何我要忘你無處逃
我的聲音在笑淚在飆電話那頭的你可知道
世界若是那麼小為何我的真心你聽不到

Quote from my good neighbour Flanders' post: 'music is love. I think, you know, at a certain point, that's what we want from it. we dress it up as different things, but for me music is magic and love. music is the language of the spirit. it's how God speaks to us...what it can be is something extraordinary that reminds you of what you can be.
- bono'

Thx, Neighbouuuuurino. =)

* * * * *

And, I've been keeping this in for a long while.... but I have to say....

FRUITS IN JAPAN ARE DARN EXPENSIVE!
...... >o< ......
Yes, I'm an angry grocery shopper.
And yesterday, I almost leaped for joy when I saw a pack of 4 golden kiwis for only 398 yen. And don't get me started on the grapefruits.... I'm going to have a major FRUITS FEAST upon my return to Canada.

And this is why I'm reaching over the bridge.... to steal an orange.


* * * * *

On a happier note, here is my encouraging verse of the day:

'I call to you, O Lord, every day: I spread out my hands to you.'
-Psalm 88:9

'You rule over the surging sea: when its waves mount up, you still them.'
-Psalm 89:9

Oh, and have I exciting news to share!
Tomorrow, FRENCH TOAST MAKING with the 8th Graders English Club...!

Sweeeeet.
(^0^)/ (<- this is my soon-to-be-inflated winter cheeks... pictures will follow if not too catastrophic)

'... an UNDIVDED heart...'

Whoo!
It's almost Christmas. But..... what I see when I look out my window is RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, instead of the nostalgic sparkling snow that once greeted me in early December...... back in CANADA, of course.

...I MISS SNOW IN CANADA!

But, guess what is available in both places in this time of year?

...SWEETS!

That's right! Christmas Cakes in Japan are TO DROOL FOR. ^-^
Piki & I shall undertake MISSION [IM]POSSIBLE on Christmas Eve and devour one whole cake by ourselves. I shall post up our glorious, though, possibly unflattering, VICTORY pictures soon enough.

With that being said, feast your eyes on this lovely masterpiece I googled a while back. This is a picture I printed out to show my kids ... CHRISTMAS IN CANADA. (most of my presentation was focused on food and sweets. poor kids, especially those who had my class before lunch. ho.. ho.. ho.. すみません．すみません。）


And last, but definitely not least - my verse of the day:

'Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.'
--PSALM 86:11

* * * * * *

おやすみ！
'Sleep well...!' (^-^)/

Colder and colder...

That's right!
We're finally getting to WINTER in Fukuoka.
And do I like the cold?
Well, I know I really did anticipate for the chilly weather (when it was still sizzling hot in October, of course) - but this morning, biking to my hilltop jr high with NO MITTENS was NO JOKE. Freezing. I thought my pinky was going to fall off. That is why, before I met my friend Maggie for dinner, I did some fast shopping, and myself a pair of lovely pink suede gloves. Hopefully I won't lose them (or dirty them) like I did with all my previous ones.

Here's a good tip on how to survive the cold - at 11pm, with a weak heater on...



Ah... COCOA ME!

'... may your hearts live!'

I have to admit, after coming to Japan, my spiritual life hasn't exactly skyrocketed. On the contrary.... it seems, that I've been falling back. I have been poor in spirit for a long while, but He is Wonderful and always knows the right thing to say at right moment:

'The poor will see and be glad - you who seek God, may your hearts live!'
Psalm 69:32

I read this, and think, 'Isn't this what I need? To seek Him, so that my heart may live?'
Really, eh?
So that I would humble my heart.
So that He would enter into my heart.
So that He would live in my heart.
So that my heart may live.

....

And there was this idea I had... for.... the past year, but never had the OPPORTUNITY (not time, no, I had PLENTY of time) to carry it out in action.

That is - to have a JAR of Bible Verses. My plan was that after each morning's devotion, I would write down the one verse that especially spoke to me, on a tiny piece of paper, and have that JAR filled. I started.... two days ago. And it's a tiny basket by my door. Unexcusable delay... But I'm trying.

So, hopefully from now on, before I head out my door each morning, I would pick up one verse of the day, one that has encouraged me in the past, or today, and have that verse written in my heart as I start my day.... biking, meditating, praising, and giving thanks.

If you read this, please pray for me so that I could actualize this in the coming week, and the months to come!

* * * * * * * *

On a side note...
Christmas cookies!

Will someone please bake me cookies as beautiful as these?