Mood:
By Yanawaraba. Hana means flower. A very beautiful song.
It has a traditional music flare. The first song I heard from this group, was Haikei, maru-maru-san. It was the theme song to the jdrama, I've Been Married to Hell! (I'll probably post it at some point.) The duo have such amazing voices. They were childhood friends, and are from the Okinawan island, Ishigaki. They moved to Osaka after high school, for some music programs. They were brought back together by homesickness for Okinawa and its music. Yanawaraba translates roughly as 'mischievous little kid'. They use Okinawan lyrics, which is rare for mainstream Jpop. One plays the sanshin, the other guitar. They debuted in 2003.
It's been a lot warmer today. Kind of nice.
Parents came home late last night. They were both exhausted. They had some weird experiences with the trains. But, other than that, they sound like they had fun.
Mom got me a maneki neko or lucky cat figurine. (Looks very similar to this one.) I've been looking for an affordable one for a while. So, I'm very happy with it.
She got it in Chinatown. Kind of funny, she told me there were other Japanese things there too. Literally, maneki neko's a 'Beckoning Cat'. Also called, Welcoming Cat, Money Cat, or Fortune Cat. It's believed to bring good luck to the owner. I read this version, with the raised paw is inviting customers or people. Also, if it's a calico, it's traditionally the luckiest cat of all. The black ones ward off evil and stalkers. White, purity, positive things to come. I have all of those. (Since it's like a family.) Yay!
Not that I believe in it, it's just very interesting.
She also got me a shirt saying San Francisco. It looked nice too. They also got a tea sampler, and a tea canister. The only one I haven't heard of before, is the Pouchong tea. Interesting. I might have to try it.
Finished writing entries for my online trip journal. It looks a little plain at the moment.
So, at some point I might add some pics and smilies. To kind of jazz it up. But, if people want to see it now here it is: Trip Journal.
Found a lot more wallpapers. Now, I'll have more of a selection to choose from each month.
Or half month, if I feel like it. Updated my calendar, too. There's a lot of things going on in March. I can't believe Purim's coming up. Crazy!
Zettai Reido was really intense this time. But, they managed to catch the killer, and save Sakuragi.
deviantART faves: CupCollab- South Korea Cupcakes and Apple Cider APH: Mochiness Bustin' Out I did not make these! First, another entry for that cup collab. It's interesting what people come up with for these. This time it's a South Korean drink with South Korea from Hetalia in it. It's a type of rice wine, they call Yagju or Yakju. Second, a funny drawing of an artist I watch and her workspace done in her style. It even has StupidFox next to her. She has an awesome sense of humor too. Her comics are great. And, I think she's done some flash games that were pretty awesome too. Third, a bunch of Hetalia characters drawn as mochis around a couch. It's pretty funny. Fourth, a lot of the Hetalia characters are 'bustin' out' of someone's canvas on SAI and going out onto their desktop. Cute and funny. Poor Canada.
Mood:
Strawberries are awesome!Too bad I don't have strawberries to help celebrate. Strawberries have always calmed me down. Maybe because the first time I had one, someone gave me it to cheer me up after I scrapped up my knee. It's also National Kahlua Day. Nice. Although, I can only have the cream pie or cake flavors of it. Too bad I don't have that either.
It was pretty cold throughout most of the weekend. Today was strange. It was cold enough to see really large snow flakes, but they didn't stick. It looked almost like hail. Most of the snow we had from before has melted. Which is nice. Especially for my parents who are coming home late tonight.Rosie has become very clingy. So, I wonder what she'll do when they're back.
Tasha has come out of her basket more often, too.
For Shabbat dinner I made the panko breaded fish, mashed potatoes (with chives and garlic), and green beans. It was all very good!
Also, found like 1/3 of a loaf of a frozen challah. So, that was good. I don't need much, if it's just me. Also, had some sparkling apple cider. Kind of made it even more 'special'. The half a chocolate muffin was still really good! Saturday night I just had some of the leftover tuna casserole. Still tasty! Tonight, I had burritos. So, all in all, really good meals.
I had my own Shabbat services. Actually got to sleep in. Good, since it's our day of rest.
Used an old prayer book, and read from my Tanakh. The portion this time was just about building the sanctuary (or really first temple?), how it was done, and what it looked like. A lot of things made out of gold, silver, and copper. Interesting, but not much goes on. Some people find it funny that they used dolphin skins. Funny, because there wasn't much water around them. They were in the desert after all.
Rosie kept trying to eat the tzitzit on my tallit. Kind of annoying.
I also did Havdalah on my own. Used my candle from Tzfat for the first time. When lit, it's like a bonfire. Felt almost like I was going to burn the house down.
I forget about Havdalah a lot of the time. It's sad.
I like our homemade 'spice box'. Really more like jar. Kind of funny to try and hold the candle and grape juice by yourself. Also, to say the prayers and sing. Oh, well. I was happy to do it.
I played a little of the Sims 2 yesterday. Still with Hong Kong and Taiwan, inspired by Hetalia. They're trying to have a baby. I wonder what it would look like? They're also advancing in their careers pretty quickly. Maybe quicker than the previous family.
Taiwan's now a nurse, and Hong Kong's a business exec. Interesting. I don't think those were the careers they wanted.
But, they got them. It's always fun to see what they do next. They're not always predictable. Strange 'events' happen. Soon I hope to have them earn enough money so they can move to a different looking house. That should be fun.
I got a couple more awesome songs. So, look for those on upcoming posts.
Juui Dolittle had a few twists this time. Makes it kind of exciting. Asuka's going to get serious and try to become an animal nurse. Hanabishi actually admitted on his show that he can't operate because of the trauma he suffered. I hope it doesn't totally ruin his career. I like him a lot.
It ruined Domon's plans though.
Tokyo Wankei has just become so complicated, intense, and angsty. Not sure if I like that.The main part, that I kind of suspected, was Ryosuke and Mika are actually siblings. Which, normally wouldn't be my thing, but their situation's so strange. It's not like they knew they were related. It was all by chance. There's only a couple more episodes, so I'll see how it turns out.
Finished typing up entries for my online travel journal. I'll probably post the link tomorrow. There's not much to it at the moment. Hope to add pics, and maybe some smilies. Looks boring without.
But, I guess people can read it if they want to.
Also, saw a list of anime coming out in the Spring season. Gintama is confirmed to continue in April! It better be good. Considering its been a year. The list had a lot of other good looking anime shows, too. More to add to the list.
deviantART faves: Sim Character Map UPDATED OC Style Meme To Live and to Dream Good Morning.. Froyo Uh Oh Influence Map Template Mind Your Sugar Levels Razzberri I did not make these! First, a map of all the characters from all the sim dating games an artist I watch has done. I think I've played every one. Her humor's awesome. The map is so intricate, though. Some characters have made appearances in more than one game. Second, a meme to practice your oc in different styles. Like, futuristic, modern steampunk, etc. Sounds like an interesting one. Third, an amazing pic of a woman wearing a dress. Her expression's interesting too. The dress is pretty. Fourth, a pic of some cake and coffee. Looks really good. Fifth, a cute drawing of frozen yogurt swirls. What happens when you try to do it for the first time. I've had that happen too. Sixth, a cool meme about what influences you as an artist. I might fill it in someday. Seventh, a funny drawing of Gintoki from Gintama. Fits his personality. Eighth, a cute drawing of someone's avatar from Gaia. Haven't seen too many good drawings from that Gaia group, so it was nice.
Youtube:
Himitsu or Secret by Suga Shikao:
Daijoubu by Majik Monkey. A more laid back, happy sounding song from them:
Awesome shamisen performance:
A funny fan-made trailer for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei:
A live performance of 19 Sai or 19 years old by Suga Shikao. I think this version may sound the best. I love the violins:
Mood:
Well, it's really tomorrow, but why not celebrate it early?It's his birthday. He founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. Pretty cool.He was born in 1829 and died in 1902. He was a German-Jewish immigrant to the US. I guess you can celebrate by wearing jeans.
We had record lows last night. Around the mid-teens.
Woke up to a heavy sheet of icy snow over everything. Yay!
They're thinking it may snow more on Sunday. I think Rosie is having fun trying to figure out new ways of waking me up.This time she started playing with a plastic bag, then dragged it, and tried to bite at the contents. Why?
It's been there for a while, and you decide to do that when I'm half asleep? Crazy! Parents sound like they're having fun. Good for them! They deserve it.
Got even further into writing chapter 13. Everytime I start writing, the ideas just flow like crazy. Sometimes, I wonder if I've let a good idea slip.Liking this chapter so far.
Played some more Mozart. Improved a bit from last time. Tried the hardest tune in the book. Made some mistakes with that, but it wasn't too bad.Overall, I didn't make very many mistakes. Rosie checked out my clarinet, and wasn't afraid of it.Even when I played it right in front of her. Usually, Tasha runs as soon as she sees my case. Interesting.
For drawing, I finished 'fleshing' out Max's arms and legs. Working on his hands and feet. Finished with one hand. Looks a lot better than I thought it would. Hands are always a bit hard to draw.
Hopefully, I'll finish the hands and feet on Sunday or Monday. Then, I can move on to clothes and inking. Wahoo!
Kiina was interesting, yet again. This one was about hypnosis, and planting false memories in someone. The criminal was someone's therapist. Her patient wanted to get over her plane phobia. The therapist used hypnotherapy to help her. But, while hypnotized, the therapist planted her own memories about someone swindling her, into her patient. She then told her patient to kill the swindler or something life threatening will happen. Luckily, the man didn't die and the patient wasn't prosecuted. They arrested the therapist, too. So, a good ending to this one. Not all of them end so happily.
I'm planning to make the panko breaded fish, mashed potatoes, and green beans for Shabbat dinner tonight. I'll probably add garlic and chives to the potatoes. And, make our 'famous' pink sauce for the fish.Sounds so tasty!
I'll also have the last chocolate muffin half. Those muffins are really good! Oh, and I'll have to see if there's a frozen challah. If not, I can just use some other type of bread. Sounds like I'm pretty much set.Tomorrow morning, I can have my own services. And, I can do Havdalah that night. Which, I can use my new candle for it. Yay!
