PRICELESS

Kids grow up fast.

I think we all know that.

But seeing it happen in front of my eyes is another thing.

And let me tell you…these days…at home…with my nieces and nephews…are absolutely priceless.

T - chill. smiley. always hungry. lets anyone hold her. the best sleeper.

E - tiny. feisty. potty training. loves impressing people. and loves her mama

C - loud. giggly. obsessed with star wars. asks good questions. unafraid of new places

L - cuddly. artistic. loves my glitter makeup. wants to be wonder woman. a good sister

H - sassy. kind hearted. remembers details. has a lot of friends. loves books

PALM SPRINGS

For the past few years, my family has made it an annual event to all head down to Palm Springs for a weekend. My dad rents out this awesome house for all of us to stay at, and we just kick it by the pool and go out to nice restaurants. It is the best!! This time around, we had 5 kids in tow which made everything more exciting!

First stop, SHERMANS deli with the whole crew. My sis found this place online and once we saw a pic of their famous pastrami sandwiches…we knew we had to go.

Tayah is at this point where…if you say “smile!” she does the cheesiest most amazing grin hahahah!!! I love it.

How precious are these two faces.

So although the pastrami is off the chain and very famous…stac and I opted for the POTATO LATKEYS sandwich which is basically the softest most amazing corned beef smushed in between two pieces of fried potato deliciousness. OHHHH…ANDDDDD….APPLE SAUCE ON THE SIDE THAT WAS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION ON TOP!!!!!! It was a 10/10 hands down.

ok so after our pit stop lunch, we headed to the house my dad rents every year. This house has kind of become a home away from home for us, and it’s cool to have a place that feels familiar when you’re on vacation.

This house has the most magical little front entrance that leads to the house. I also love love love the honeycomb tile that runs throughout!

It definitely feels like an antique store inside so we made sure to tell the kids, “you must be careful because many things here are FRAGILE!”

The girls loved looking at the little fountain with fish that led out to the separate house which we call the tiny casitas (cottage)!

So, that first day, we got to the house, went for a dip in the pool and then headed to dinner at a Mediterranean place my dad found. My dad is a really good vacation planner…he always knows places to eat, famous spots to check out, events happening, etc…love him for that and so many other reasons!

We ate at EVZIN…and it had the coolest decor and THE BEST food. We were all so impressed…

CHEESE + HONEY DELICIOUSNESS….VEGGIE PIZZA…AND MY ABSOLUTELY FAV….

FALAFEL PLATE *heart eyes* …eating falafel makes me want to be 100% vegetarian…hahah! it is just so good!

OK…day two in palm springs…time for a family trip to the ZOO!!!

I love this Lenny smile :)

Eden is a good big sis, always helping Tayah out and making sure she’s ok. I especially love this photo because Eden can’t even read HAHA!!! But she loves to look at books and make up the words she imagines…it is so precious.

Little Tay ready for a HOT day at the Living Desert Zoo…and I mean HOT H O T H O T. 100 degrees or so.

Cam wearing Jen’s hat hahaha.

The highlight of this Zoo trip was feeding the Giraffes!

I love his face here…pure joy!!!

We stayed at the zoo for about 2 hours…and made the most of it despite it being so hot out. The kids loved it!

Back at the house…and after a rest…we walked to the park nearby!

Eden loves the swings… “push me chanie! push me higher!!”

Of course, the boys of the fam had to shoot some hoops. Hunter is really into basketball now…meanwhile, Cam is more into his lightsabers haha!

Palm Springs is really a beautiful, relaxing place.

Ok…dinner time in downtown!! This time, it was THAI food. I didn’t take any pictures because we were all too focused on getting the kids fed and not causing chaos in the restaurant haha…but I did snap some shots downtown.

Tired adults, tired kids…happy baby lol.

Well…that just about wraps it up. We spent A LOT of the weekend in the pool, but all those photos are on my iphone since I didn’t want to take my regular camera near the water. Now that Hunter can swim, and Cam and Len are much improving their swimming skills…it’s really fun to be in the water all together.

On our way back home we had to stop at the Cabazon Dinosaurs as well as the Outlet mall.

Camden, aka Camby…Camburger… Love this kid

aaaand that’s Palm Springs in a nutshell! For only being 2 hours away from home, it’s a perfect little getaway for a family like ours with 5 little ones. I am so thankful for my awesome parents who plan this every year, for my siblings who are so down and fun, and for my nieces and nephews who are a complete blessing. God is good!!!

REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK : FOOD

Having lived away from American for 3 years…I am now fully embracing all the delicious food to be found stateside. Now, we all know Japan is the land of the most incredible food ON THE PLANET…but here are a few reasons why American still holds it’s own in the culinary kingdom…

1. SCONES BY MY AUNTIE. Now, scones do exit in the land of the rising sun…but NOT homemade scones by my Auntie Julie!! Also, funny fact, at Starbucks in Japan they name the scones “American scones” and I don’t really know why? Maybe because they are super sweet and large!

2. TRUE FOODS. This is the ANCIENT GRAINS bowl from True foods and this is everything about eating in American that I missed in Japan. It is really hard to find something like this in Tokyo…not sure why, since I could see this being popular with Japanese people…but anyway, I cannot tell you how excited I was to eat this incredible mix of quinoa + sweet potato + green beans + acovado + tofu + onions….omggggg

3. TACO CHUKIS. My good friend Anna took me to TACO CHUKIS in the Seattle area when I was up in Washington a few weeks ago. These tacos were AMAZING and their house special, the one on the right, with the pineapple on top…OH MAHHHH WORD.

4. LAZY DOG VEGGIE BURGER BOWL. The menus in America are extensive…way too many options…but for some reason my eyes gravitated towards this veggie burger bowl and it did not disappoint. I guess living in Japan made me really miss salads because this is kind of becoming a trend…

5. BACO BOWL FALAFEL BOWL. My friend Naomi took me to this place in Culver city and MY OH MY was this falafel bowl off the chain!!!!! The falafel was crispy, light, and paired so well with the mix of colorful and flavorful ingredients. I also had to get a bowl of beets on the side because how could I not?!?

6. JONS DONUTS. I grew up down the street from this donut shop and have distinct memories of my dad buying me the cream cheese and strawberry jam croissant on weekend mornings. Thank God this place is still in business years later because nothing beats their donuts. (*ok I really do love Mr. Donuts in Japan…but I put that in a separate category haha)

7. BOBA GUYS. Hyped up boba shop? def gotta try it. And, when I went on a Sunday afternoon, some start up company was giving away 200 free bobas if we signed up for their newsletter. So, win win!!!

8. HOMEMADE BAGELS. Bagels are hard to come by in Japan. There is of course, the ever famous BAGEL & BAGEL chain in Japan, but that’s about it. So being back stateside I really love eating these…and my auntie just happened to come over the other day with this fresh batch of homemade everything bagels!!!!!

9. ZUPAS CAFE GRAIN BOWL. This is a chain my friend took me to in Arizona and wowowowowowo it was so delicious. This grain bowl had everything amazing on it and the cherry on top was that they give you a chocolate covered strawberry with every meal!!

10. ZOE’S KITCHEN, FALAFEL BOWL. Apparently I really love falafel…never knew this about myself until I moved back to the states…but I seem to be ordering it every time it’s on the menu. This place had the BEST hummus and Mediterranean bowls ahhh!!

11. THE QUINTESSENTIAL AMERICAN LUNCH. I bought this on my flight back AZ-LA and just had a moment of complete reverse culture shock and the realization that “I AM ABSOLUTELY IN AMERICAN NOW” …because nothing, and I mean NOTHING, screams American childhood like a PB&J sandwich. I remember back in Japan, my coworkers would go all bug eyed when I would whip out my peanut butter and jelly and spread it on bread. They couldn’t believe that was actually a meal! hahaa. Pair that with carrots and ranch (which also does not exist in Japan) some grapes…and you have the perfect American lunch. But why $10 tho???

IT’S GOOD TO BE HOME….&&NOW I JUST NEED TO FIND A WAY TO WORK OUT AND STAY IN SHAPE …hahaha

BACK HOME

I’ve been home exactly a month now and life is good. There are definitely pockets of time when I am living life so normal and I think to myself, wait…was Japan all a dream? did that really happen? and yet there are also very distinct moments when I remember…ohhhh yes. I have been gone for three years. Take for example when my nephew says to me, “oh Bonbon (what they call me), that’s not the rule here. Nana says we have to wear these shoes outside. But you don’t know the rule since you’ve been gone.” hahahaa kids these days.

Anyway, i’ve been loving being back in Socal and checking out some new places I haven’t seen before…the remodeled Del Amo mall, The Point in El Segundo and The Platform in Culver City. I realized that Torrance and LA are full of amazing ethnic food, incredible shops, trendy neighborhoods, and a diverse array of people. Truly blessed to call this my hometown!

But also… a month into being back I am starting to miss Japan. Specifically…CONBINI!!! I know that is ridiculous but I do miss 7-11 and Famima. I also miss takin the train and the bus. And of course, I miss my friends there…and my church family. But it also feels amazing to have my heart so full of two places…TORRANCE and KASHIWA…LA and TOKYO. double the hometowns. double the love.

Anyway, being home has been busy to say the least! So far I have been able to…
-Visit my besties in San Diego and go to San Diego Zoo
-Go to Disney California Adventure with my sister, her fam and the kiddos!
-Go to Disneyland with my college roomie and bestie Abbie and her family
-Fly to Washigton to see my sister from Uganda, Maddy, get married!
-Stay at my roomie Anna’s house outside of Seattle
-Visit my other roomie Megan at APU (our old stomping grounds)
-See my nephew plays basketball!
-Go to the Natural History Museum with my nieces and nephews
-AND…..LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST….SEE BTS IN CONCERT AT THE STAPLES CENTER!!!!

God is good, all the time.

and…the best is yet to come!!!

FAREWELL, ICHIKASHI

The high school I worked at for three years… “ICHIKASHI” …became my home way from home. I learned every nook and cranny of that four story building and ironically learned more in this school than any other school in my life.

During my last week there…I took my camera around and took some pics of places I wanted to remember. Here are the shots and the little memories behind them.

BUS.
This is the bus stop I stood at every morning for three years. Yep, glamorous right?? haha. It was just a short 5 minute walk from my apartment..and the bus came promptly at 6:59 every single morning.

COMMUTE.
I sat in the back row of the bus every morning. I did this for a few reasons…first, I got off at the very last stop, so it was easier to not have to move to let others off. Second, I liked to people watch. I would literally ride the bus with the same 20 people every morning and I unintentionally memorized where they all got off hahaa. It was such a real thing that I got concerned when I didn’t see the same people on the bus and wondered, are they sick? did they transfer jobs? oh no!

INAKA (countryside).
Ichikashi is in the countryside…like…foreal. Farm houses, plots of land growing cabbage, sunflowers, blueberries, etc all surrounding campus. No highways, no tall buildings, no bustling shopping centers, nope. Just the peace and quiet of the countryside.

THE APPROACH.
At school, there is a long road leading in to campus. This is what they call “the approach” …and I walked it every morning. The trees that lined the road would change during the seasons…bare branches in winter, bright yellow ginkgo in spring, and lush green leaves in summer…B E A U T I F U L.

EKIDEN (cross country).
Every morning as I walked in to school, I would see the cross country team running around the track. I would arrive at school around 7:30ish, at which point they were always well into their run…probably having arrived at school around 6:30 or so. Not only would they be pushing it in a full on work out, but when they rounded the corners and passed the teachers walking on the approach they would enthusiastically shout “ohayogozaimasu!!!” (good morning!!) to us. That always blew my mind. They exhibited a level of dedication and commitment I aspire to achieve.

SCHOOL.
This is it. school. The building that grew me. The building I walked into every day for three years. This place is special. unforgettable.

GENKAN (entrance).
Every student and teacher at school has a shoe locker. Yes, a shoe locker. In proper Japanese fashion, we all took our outdoor shoes off and changed into our indoor shoes every day. The student lockers have their class numbers on them, while the teachers lockers have our names. Mine was right there…second row from the top, third locker in from the right.

CORNERS.
Once in a while, our school’s Ikebana (flower arranging) teacher would place a different bouquet in the corners of a few hallways. I always loved walked up the stairs and seeing a bright new cheerful display.

HALLWAYS.
Most Japanese schools are indoor which was a new thing for me, being a girl from CA. Our school has A LOT of hallways. Four floor of these long hallways…peeling paint on the walls, slippery floors, sliding doors and memories hanging around every corner.

BAND.
Our school has a famous brass band. And I mean…no joke, intense, professional level brass band. Every morning when I walked into school, these kids were already practicing their instruments. At lunch I would hear it, after school I would hear it, and as I walked out at the end of every day, they were still playing. The sound of their music really became the anthem of my time in Japan. I love these kids, I love their music, I love their passion, I love their work ethic…love it all!!!

COFFEE.
Every morning I would make myself a cup of coffee when I got to work. This became my routine with my favorite starbucks sakura mug : )

NIHONGO (Japanese).
Japanese is a beautiful and complex language, especially in it’s written form which you can see here. I always found it funny that our school had chalkboards in every room as opposed to white boards…but then I realized it was because Japanese characters are easier to write on chalk boards than the English alphabet, so I was really the only one bothered by them haha! Anyway, for those of you wondering my Japanese level…I could always read about half of the things on the morning meeting board (Seen above)…for example, #2 is about Bunkasai (cultural festival) things while #3 is regarding big cleaning time and separating trash.

SENSEI (teacher).
Every morning all the teachers gather in the “teachers office” which is a big room on the second floor…different from our smaller offices where most of us spend our day. So we all gather in the big office and have a brief 10 minute daily meeting discussing daily events, any incidents that happened recently, and changes in schedule.

THANKS.
These were the pens I made as my thank you and farewell gift to my coworkers. I decided to gift my coworkers something useful, something that would brighten their day if they saw it. I bought these pens from costco and meticulously stuck tiny pieces of paper in each one…then attached a heart with the words “Thank you so much! - Amie”… I made 90 of them!

HANA (flowers).
I was given really beautiful flowers on my last day at work. A part of what makes flowers so beautiful is the reality of them…how they bloom for a moment, last for a few days, and are to be thrown out after that. It makes the moment in which they are given very special - the peak of their color and radiance exhibited in that one point in time. And these flowers were ones I wanted to keep forever, for the moment they symbolized. I’m thankful for a photo to help me remember them haha!