This Facebook Thing January 12, 2012

So Facebook has done wonders for me. I’m keeping up with my family who lives in Japan, while I’m here in the US, and keep in touch with my friends all over the world. I’m very close to my family and relatives so it’s great to have a community on FB to know what they are up to in their part of the world. It’s actually been great for me after the Tsunami for keeping me updated about my family and friends. But today I’m not liking what FB has done to my family too. My dad has just announced that he has cancer on Facebook, before letting me or my sister know in person or over the phone. It was done in a matter where he was posting it as a thought on his wall. Like he’s saying “I’m having coffee at Starbucks, I hope my stomach can handle it with this cancer and all.” So nonchalant. My mom says he just lost it a bit. I say, he’s always been so bad with being serious with his family, he can’t find a better way to say it. I can’t get mad at him because this is horrible for him, he just lost his brother to cancer, but it’s just so annoying that it was announced this way. My heart hurts because my uncle(his brother) just died from cancer last month, and that’s why he decided to get checked. He should have gotten checked earlier since 3 of his brothers were diagnosed with cancer.
I’m so scared of the word cancer right now. I lost 3 friends and family to cancer last year. And this, although may be not that big of a deal, it is eating away at me. I keep thinking of going home and staying there for a while.
Agh! I’m just blowing off steam now.
Anyway, why do I have to get one of the most important messages through a social network!? I found out the same time some of his random follower/friends found out. WTF! Whatever. In some weird way he was venting but “F”udge. Right now I’m just a bit mad at this turd who is my dad and had to vent.
I’m on a diet so can’t splurge with sweets but I can have maybe one piece of good chocolate or one good chocolate chip cookie.  Who am I kidding, I want the best chocolate brownie that exists in this world.

Mascarpone Brownies
(adapted from Food Network Canada)

Brownies
1 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder (sifted)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 large eggs, at room-temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Ganache
6 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons whipping cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 325F and grease 8×8 pan.

In a glass mixing bowl melt butter in microwave about 20 seconds. Stir in chocolate and mix until combined.

Add sugar to chocolate/butter mixture. Heat for an additional 10 seconds at a time until it looks shiny. It will still look a bit grainy.

Add mascarpone, vanilla, eggs and mixing until smooth.

Sift flour, salt and cocoa into mixture and stir until combined. (The mixture will be light than your average brownie batters)

Pour batter into prepared. Bake for 40-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Leave in pan and set on wire rack to cool.

While brownies are cooling, make the ganache.

Heat butter and cream for about 20-30 seconds, or until butter is completely melted, then add chocolate. Stir until all lumps disappear. Immediately pour over brownies. Let cool completely. (You could even put it in the fridge to cool.  It is very good chilled.) Done. Just cut and eat. So bad, it’s super good. Mmmmmmm…

I tell you, making the original version, you will feel super guilty. And then eating it, you just can’t stop at just one. These little moist not too sweet, suckers are just vein clogging good.  So I came up with a less guilty version.

And this is MY version of this recipe (not so guilty) in Japanese. If you are interested in the English version, let me know and I will post it here.

Into the year of Me January 10, 2012

Japanese New Years Celebration Food

We have come into the New Year and I’m hoping that this will be a way better year than last.  I am not going to say Happy New Year in respect to those who are still suffering from the Tsunami of 311 to those who are morning from my uncle who lost his battle to cancer last month.

2011 was a very difficult one for so many of us.  The pain is still there but I think all of us are strong and supportive that we can try to be strong and help those who need help to move on.  I also believe that it is important to not forget that people in the Tohoku area of Japanare are still suffering from having no jobs, no homes, and no more family members and we should try to help in whatever way we can think of.

Since this is the year of the Dragon, I am “Toshi onna”, which means that I was born in the year of the Dragon. Every 12 years that year comes and becomes my special year.  I feel that this year will give me strength in many things and bring me happiness and strength in getting me where I want to be.

There are many things that I’ve given up since the birth of my kids and I am starting to get back into some of the things that I have been missing the most.  Creativity.  Since last Spring, after the Tsunami, I have opened my eyes to the fact that you never know what will happen to you in your life and life is shorter than what you think it is.  I want to make it count. I want to do the most that I can. Work towards what I really want, and do what makes me happy.  I think for a while I was only thinking of what my family needed and not myself.  Now, I believe that it’s important for me to do things that will make me happy in order to be good to my family.

I started Hula last Spring to take my mind off of things and help me be happy.  It’s been the most help to my life and I can’t get enough of it.  This was my first step to a better me.  Since then, I really started being more creative and inspired to do more things.  And I want to do more.

The year of the Dragon will bring me these opportunities to better me, my family, and all what I care about.  That is my hope and I think I’m off to a good start.  After over a 14 year of blank, I got back into pottery this year.  I used to love wheel throwing and I was pretty good at it too.  It’s meditating and relaxing.  Even after such a long blank of not even touching clay, it’s like riding a bike, I made and squashed about 10 bowls and voilà. A beautiful bowl was made.

I was actually wanting to make something the size of a large Donburi but these are a bit too small for what I was thinking of. Next try I will make a good size Donburi.  I’m quite excited on seeing how these will turn out after the firing.  Oh, the possibilities of things to make.  I would say this was the best Christmas gift so far.

Since this is too small to be a Donburi, but a bit too large for a rice bowl, I think it can be a big soup bowl.  One of my favorite New Years dishes is “Ozouni“. It’s a soup that has vegetables and mochi in it that Japanese people have for New Years.

Here’s my recipe: Ozoni (Ohitashi)

• 4 cups of water
• 2 tsp of dashi or you could make your own dashi.
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp sake
• 1 chicken breast or 2 thighs cut into about 2 cm
• 1 carrot 1/2 cm thick “cut into a little flower if you’d like”
• about 10 cm of daikon cut 1/2 cm into and then cut into a quarter like the shape of a fan.
• 1 or 2 taro root cut into about the same size as the carrots
• about 10 cm negi (long onion) sliced
• pieces of kamaboko (enough for all the guests and you)
• and some cut and blanched spinach for garnishing.
• a piece of mochi

In a large pot, simmer the water and add the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake and chicken.

Clean all the little chicken fat that could cloud up the soup and bring down to a slow simmer.

Add the carrots, daikon, taro root, and negi and let simmer until cooked through.

At the end, add the pieces of kamaboko cover and turn off the heat.

Cook the mochi in a toaster oven or whichever way you like and when done, put into a small serving bowl and add the soup, with at least one piece of each vegetable and meat in it.  Garnish with some spinach that you have blanched in hot water in advance and there you go.  A nice breakfast or midnight snack.

After eating my Ozoni and starting out the year with some fun activities, I am looking forward to a positive year of me.

A Tough Year… August 30, 2011

One of my best followers of this silly blog, that I on and off write, is no longer around to be a fan.  Our good friend Dan Sicko has lost his battle with cancer and has peacefully passed away Sunday morning.  This is the first time that I have lost a friend.  It’s really hard.  I have no words to describe how sad I am. We found out just last Friday that Dan was going into Hospice and people were raising money for the cost.  The response was incredible, and within a day, enough money was raised for the care of Dan. Since the fund was not used for Dan’s care giver, it will be used for his daughters education. http://www.mattsicko.blogspot.com/

Dan was such a great person for the Detroit community.  He has made a mark in history by telling the world what Detroit Techno was by writing a book called Techno Rebles.  He loved music and he loved Detroit.  I remember him coming over to our house some times to play records in the basement with John.  He was often Johns buddy when going to some late night electronic music shows and he didn’t missed our Element Detroit shows.  He was such a great supporter to our ventures.

Cancer is scary and a very painful thing for both the person who has it and the family and friends who are helping.  My uncle was diagnosed with cancer as well.  He is still fighting, and seems to be doing pretty well as for now. I have hope that he will be okay.

It’s funny, yesterday on Zu’s window sill, her Purple Bear, who has been permanently fused to her hand since she was a baby, and Mo the little robot from Wall-E were just sitting right next to each other.  Purple Bear was a gift from Dan and Mo was a gift from her uncle Dave who also just passed away this past Spring. David was also an achiever and although he was a quadriplegic, he has worked on his college degree and later on got his Masters. He was always so nice and has been such a great brother-in-law to me.  I guess out of all of John’s family members, he was the one that understood how I am the most.

I feel like through these little guys, Dan and David are helping us keep smiling.

I’m sure everyone knows about what happened to Japan in March. It’s been so devastating and depressing, I’ve been having a very hard time with it. None of my family members were hurt physically, but it’s been extremely hard to not be scared for my family who is there.  My sister with her husband and new born son, who was born 2 days after the Tsunami, my parents who live on Mt. Fuji, and all my family who live right by the ocean in Kamakura area.  With what is still happening with the nuclear power plants, I am scared for everyone’s well being. They are saying that the Philippine Plate will be moving and the area surrounding Mt. Fuji will be getting a really bad earthquake like the one that happened in Northern Japan within the next 3 years and Mt. Fuji could quite possibly erupt.  Another thing that I keep thinking of in the back of my head.  I know that nothing can be done, and worrying about what may happen will just bring stress after stress. I’m trying to not think about it, but it’s hard not to worry.  I’m not depressed, I’m not too stressed, I’m just concerned and sad.

All of these things happening in one year is a bit much.  Being strong is very hard.  But for me, my kids and my blog followers (John & Dan), I think I am going to start writing a bit more on this blog again.  I have hopes that it will help me get my thoughts out, and I feel like I owe more drafts to Dan. (I know, a bit too late, but I feel that he could be reading somewhere.)

Thank you Dan for reading my thoughts the seldom times I’ve managed to post, I will miss you and miss your comments.

1 year today July 22, 2010

Wow! It’s been a year since I gave birth to our 2nd child.  That went fast. 

I can’t believe that a year flew by already.  We were so busy with moving to a new State, new school, new friends, new everything that it really feels like she was just born yesterday!

Now she is about to walk on her own, socializing, and is showing a lot of character of who she is.  Very strong personality.

Her big sister Zu has been such a perfect big sister, I can’t ask for anything more from her.  She tries to help as much as a 5 year old can and has been so good at sharing and being a big kid doing stuff on her own.  It’s hard to see her grow up so fast but it’s so rewarding to see how great of a kid she is.

So for today’s special getting over that 1 year mark, we had such a busy day, but I managed to whip up a simple birthday cake.  To tell you the truth it was just a hot cake with apples, and some whip cream with bananas and blueberries on top.  but it worked out great.  Fastest way to make a cake, use a frying pan.

Simple Toddler Birthday Cake:

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• Pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 of a Gala apples cut into baby size cubes (smaller than 1/4 inch)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 50 ml whipping cream
• 1 tsp sugar (for the whip cream)
• bananas & blueberries or any other fruit for garnishing

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together and sift and put aside. Then mix all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. In a skillet, melt the butter and saute the diced apples until soft.  Take out half of the apples and set aside.

Mix wet and dry ingredients and pour batter over apples. (I used an egg mold that looks like a round cookie cutter to make the cakes round.) Just like hot cakes, flip over after you see the bubbles and cook until golden brown on both sides. Repeat with the apples that you set aside and make another cake.

After they are done, let them cool a bit, and whip up the whip cream. Use the whip cream to put in between the cakes and on top of the cake and garnish with the bananas and blueberries.  Simple, fast and easy.

And let baby destroy your 20 min creation. 

After a Very Long Blank June 6, 2010

I finally have found some time to write a post.

Past 2 years in a nutshell.  I have gone through my husband getting a job in another State.  Being pregnant with husband working in Chicago while we were still in Detroit.  Having the worst morning sickness that I lost 10lb in 5 days.  Moving to Chicago when 7 months pregnant.  Giving birth.  Tackling those very busy sleepless, exhausting days of an infant.  And now I am finally heading back to sanity.

Our 2nd born is on a good schedule now, and our 1st born is very ready for Kindie next Fall.

And I have finally found time to sit and somewhat start to have some me time.  Woo hoo!!

Essence of India

So for my nice me time, I got to go out with some moms that I met hear in Chicago, to an Indian restaurant in Lincoln Sq. called “Essence of India”.  The food was wonderful and the chit chat was awesome.  I haven’t had much of this since we moved here so I was very excited for today.

We had a very yummy Shrimp Coconut Curry, Palak Paneer, and Butter Chicken.  All very tasty and we ordered it mild since I’m not too good with spicy these days, but I could have ordered it Medium I think.

This place could be comparable to my favorite Indian Place in Berkley Michigan called “Passage to India”.  This place is very good and very affordable, I guess now they have a new store front?

Anywho, the food was excellent at Essence of India and the day was fun with no kids climbing all over me.  Thanks John.

Family Dosa

Where we live now, we are very close to Sari Town, which is Chicago’s Indian/Middle East town, which is located on Devon St.

We have gone to Sari town quite a bit for their Southern Indian food, “Dosa’s” which are vegetables wrapped in a crape. So since we knew nothing about these Dosa’s, we ordered the on that said “Family Dosa”, which had potato and peas in it.  Sounded great.  We asked the waitress if it was a good size for us (a 4 year old, John, and myself).  She said it would be a good size.  It was a GRANDE size!  The thing took up our whole length of the table!! “Family” meant Indian family, not 2 adults and a 4 year old! It meant mama, papa, 4 kids, grandma, grandpa, kids husbands and wives, and their kids and their kids kids!!!  Two men brought the thing out together! So if you are to get the “Family Dosa” from Mysor on Devon, bring your relatives.

So, speaking of curry, here is one of my favorite soup recipe’s;

Split Pea Soup:

• 12 oz. yellow or green split peas, rinsed and picked over for any rocks
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 carrot, chopped
• 1 smoked turkey leg
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Sweat all the vegetables in a tablespoon of butter or olive oil (2~3 min.) do not brown, and then add the rest of the ingredients except for the salt and pepper and start simmering with the lid on until peas are tender.  I used my pressure cooker so it took 10 min cooking time but without a pressure cooker about 45 min to an hour should do.  Take the turkey leg out and tear it appart into bite size pieces. Then use a stick blender to puree the soup and then add the turkey meat salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with heavy cream and some defrosted green peas, and it’s all done and yummy!

Trying Something New… October 6, 2008

Finally it has come to the day that I am sitting at a coffee shop, by my self, typing up my blog. (I actually don’t like the smell of Starbucks, but I didn’t know anywhere else to go…)

Dropped off Zu, she didn’t cry and just said “Bye.”
Last week was the first time she didn’t cry at preschool.  We were about to give up on the Preschool thing, but I am so glad that she is finally getting used to it.

I am doing something on my own.  By my self…  Strange…  A little uneasy of the fact that I am not running around doing something for the house, Zu, or us.  I am sitting down, sipping on tea at a coffee shop.
I said I wanted to do this when I find time for myself, but when it actually happens it just doesn’t feel right that I am not “Working” (mom job), you know!?

I even have a lunch date today with my girl friends!  It’s mid-day, and we are hanging out!  We usually have “Ladies Night”, where we all leave our kids with the dads and the Girls get together for a gourme potluck and drinks at one of our houses.  Lot’s of fun.  These are the times we get to let loose.  But this time it’s strange because it’s day time!  Our kids are in school or some of the girls are just coming out durning their lunch break from work.  I’m really excited!  We are going to a really good Japanese restaurant called Sharaku.  And it just so happens to be my cousins place, where I work!  I may like this lunch thing a lot.

So as I am typing this up, I am talking to my husband via iChat.  He says I need some “me time”.  What’s that?  Who’s me?  Me = ME! Ahhhh…  Such a strange concept that I haven’t had a chance to think about since before Zu!  Wow…  I feel a bit more comfortable with this “Me” thing now, than I did a year ago for sure!  I’m happier, more organized, and things are more under control.  Let’s see how this “Me” thing pans out in the next coming months.  I know I am going to start enjoying this.  Can’t get too cofortable though, we may want another little terror of joy.

Here’s a link to the lettus wrap recipe in the photo: my friend made it, I made the samosa’s.

http://cookpad.com/recipe/397456

Need it in English?  Just let me know and I will put up a post.

First Day of Preschool! September 5, 2008

Our 3 year old has started Preschool this week.  She was so excited about going for the past week that we used Preschool as a tool for repremanding her now.  “You won’t be able to go to school if you don’t listen…”  It’s been working very well.

So she took off this past Tuesday, with her uniform hat, badge, princess lunch bag and back pack my grandmother made for her.  Very excited that she was going with daddy.  Although we were half an hour late, I had to stop and take pictures. 
I was so happy that she actually made the school year.  She couldn’t go if she wasn’t properly potty trained.  Loads of photo’s and excitement later.  I was FREE!  No kid to watch all day.  Wow…  This was an exciting day.  Or was it?

I’ve decided to occupy my time by working at my cousins restaurant.  The extra cash & awesome Japanese lunches they give us was a plus too.  I’ve never waited tables before, but it’s not too bad.  I’m such a slow pace person, I have to get used to the fast paced 3 hours.  I’ll get a hang of it I hope… It was so busy, from time in to time out, I didn’t even get a chance to think of what Zu was doing.

After work it’s time to pick up the munchkin.  This preschool is 10 miles away from my cousins restaurant.  A lot of driving…  (Is it worth it?)  Any who, on the way there on my 30 min. drive, it dawned on me.  It’s such a strange feeling to be this far from my child, and on top of that this is the first time that I have no idea what she’s been doing!  Did she eat all of her lunch, did she get to the bathroom OK, is she getting along with others, is she lonely without me…?  I don’t know if I can get used to this.
Now I have to depend on what Zu tells me and the one sentence the teacher writes on a little piece of paper, “She played house and didn’t cry even though it was her first day.”  That’s it!?  Who did she play with?  Was she alone?  Did she make friends?  Was she listening to the teachers?  Was she ALL BY HER SELF!? Alone???

Her lunch box was empty and she seemed fine.  Did she really eat all the food or did they dump what was left over, or did she spill all her food, or did some other kid eat her lunch?  I don’t know if I like not knowing…

I asked her how school was and she seems to not remember anything…  This really sucks.

Obentou

Day #2

New bento (lunch), and off she goes.

I guess this time letting go was hard for Zu and daddy.  Daddy was dropping her off with the teacher, she grabbed on and didn’t want to let go.  “Don’t go daddy. (sob)”  Teacher tears her away and daddy bolts away without looking back.  He said it was very sad.  Poor daddy…

So, my 2nd day at work.  Busier than before, it was over in a flash!  Grab my bento from the chef, and off to pick up the Zu-meister.  This day was “Everybody get in my way and drive super super slow day.”  It took me 35 min. to get there.  (IS it worth it?)

I walk in, she sees me, runs to me, “MAMA!”  All smiles, seconds later, crying.  “I want to go on the bus with my friends!”  There’s a school bus for this preschool, but it costs more to put her on the bus, and it doesn’t stop anywhere near our side of town so we are not using it.  I tell her, “If you go on the bus, you can’t go home with mama.”  She sais, “I want to go on the bus with you… (sob)”  I say, “That bus is for little people and not for mama’s.”  She stops crying and just starts walking towards the car.

Buckled in with her snack in hand, we are off.  Bus passes by, and cue the water works.  “My friends are leaving me~!!”  A minute of crying and 2 minutes later, “I LOVE MAMA, DADDY, AND OTIS, AND SIMON, AND I MISSED YOU!  YOU WERE WITHOUT ME!!”  Niagara Falls.  Poor baby, she was so tired and lonely she just couldn’t controll herself anymore.  I had to stop the car and calm her down.  2 minutes later, she passed out.  Poor thing…  I was so sad, I thought maybe we can wait a little longer for her to go to school?  She doesn’t really have to go yet.  Preschool is not a requirement…

But then I remembered why she’s going to that preschool that is 30 minutes from our house and is a full day.  It’s for her language skills, mainly.  This is a Japanese speaking preschool.  A full day of playing and communicating in Japanese.  We thought it was important for her to grow up knowing 2 languages.  I’ve been raising her speaking only Japanese to her, and her daddy only speaking English to her.  Living in the US, surrounded by English most of the time, you start losing the secondary language.  She was actually starting to lose some of her Japanese recently, so I really wanted her to go to a Japanese speaking school to be able to keep her heritage.

It was the same for me, my parents spoke Japanese, but I learned English anyway because we lived in the States.  Eventually we moved to Japan and I learned the language very quickly after we moved, but Zu may never live in Japan.  We’ll visit, but living there may never happen.
They say that if a child learns a 2nd language (conversational) perfectly by the age of 7, they will carry that with them forever.  I really am counting on this.  So up till the point that she goes on to 1st grade, I am going to try very hard for her to learn Japanese.  It is very important for her to learn Japanese now, at her age, or she may lose it forever.

Well, hopefully she will do better next week.  I’m sure it has a lot getting used to for her and for us.  This is a big step, and a good one.  Everything will work out at the end, I know it.

Potty Training in 3 Days August 23, 2008

I saw this AD when I was searching on the internet on tips of how to potty train my daughter. “Potty Training in 3 Days!” Sounds wonderful, but I didn’t really want to pay to get that tip. Part of me was asking, “What if it’s all some kind of scam…?” So I just decided to take the advice of others and start potty training early, at 20 months. And if you have read my previous post, you know what happened, “Chronic Constipation.” It’s been almost a year from the diagnosis of my child not being able to poo because she is scared to poop in the toilet. They said it would take about 6 months to a year for her to start having a normal bowl movement (everyday).
So here we are today, proud parents of the child who, most of the time, poops every day. It has been a long battle and I am so glad that it’s almost over. She is almost completely potty trained, and guess what, it happened in a matter of 3 Days.

Because of her constipation, we were told to just quit potty training her and let her just go in her diaper, so I did just that. She was struggling with the pooping, so if she didn’t go in 3 days we had to bust out the suppository, which is the worst thing ever. You feel like you are torturing the kid. It hurt mentally so bad, every time we had to do it…
Any who, that is basically all over, and since she started wearing undies, and not diapers, I have some cool items that helped us out.

1. Okay, so lets start with the training pants. The “Imse Vimse Training Pants” are really nice for little accidents. It’s really soft, and absorbs a lot. They’re not water proof, so not recommended for nap time or bed time. They are a little on the pricey side, so we only bought 2 and one water proof one. Which we use the “Happy Heinys Pocket Trainers“. You can stuff it with cloth diapers for extra protection if you desire, it’s soft, and it’s water proof. Also, if they have a #2 accident, the sides snap off so that it’s easy to take off.
   My little girl still wears night time diapers at night though, because I know she will go while she’s sleeping. That will be the next step, but I’m not rushing. I’ve watched my friend run to grab her kid in the middle of the night, so she won’t wet the bed. I like the relaxation I have at the moment.
2. Next the “Potty”. I think it’s important that you keep the comfort of your child and their likes and dislikes in mind when you are choosing a potty. It’s a whole new world to them, having to take their pants off, diapers off and sitting on a cold seat. We first got the “Safety 1st Comfy Cushy 3-in-1 Potty“, because it seemed most practical. It’s a potty, and could be converted onto a training seat. We also liked the fact that it is very cushy and comfortable. I think it’s good to have both a potty and a toilet trainer, because you never know what they are most comfortable with.
   Because we were having her sit on this seat before we would change her at 22 months, she was not uncomfortable with the transition to the toilet.
   Now, the seat seems a little bit too small for her heinie, so we got her a new trainer.
   We have been to a friends that have the “BabyBjörn Toilet Trainer“, which is very nice, it stays in place very well, love the design and color, and is pretty sturdy. It’s a hard seat, but that doesn’t seem to bother Zu. She seems to think it’s more grown up. I would have bought this one if I could do it over. We considered it, but we chose something cheaper, because we didn’t know how long she would be using it. We bought the “Soft Seat Toilet Trainer – Disney Winnie the Pooh” It’s cushy, not too ugly (not Disney Princess or Dora) and affordable. Forget the design, Zu seems to like it a lot.
3. Travel Potty’s are very important for me right now. There are those times when we would be in a place where there is no restroom in sight. And at the park, I DO NOT want to go near those public restrooms, I don’t even like to use those, they give me the creeps… So this is what we have, “Kalencom POTETTE – On the Go Potty“. You can get it at Babies R Us. It comes with a bag that has a absorbent sheet in it, that I personally think it was meant for a Chipmunk it’s so small… We just use regular plastic grocery bags with our left over “gDiapers Flushable Refills“. It’s just plain easy and wonderful. The Kalencom Potette is small, you can fold it up and leave it in the car. We took it camping, to the park, very long car rides, bike rides, and just any where. I really love this!! I am so much more comfortable when she says “おしっこ！(oshikko:I need to pee).”, that she gets to go in a more sanitary environment.
4. The other thing is a trainer seat for traveling. I like the “Mommy’s Helper Cushie Traveler” because it’s cushy and comfortable. It’s perfect for traveling and staying in a hotel or a relatives house for a long weekend. The first travel one we had, “Safety 1st Easy Care Adapter Seat“, is probably why Zu got scared of the toilet. This travel seat does not stay in place, is flimsy and really, I have nothing good to say about it… I sat Zu down on it while we were traveling in California, and it pinched her butt. She was so scared of the toilet with that thing on it, she refused to sit on the toilet again. This was a disaster. I should have read the review, rather than just buying it on the spot.
   Originally I bought a travel seat because I hated the idea of my daughter having to sit on a public toilet. I got one and it very quickly was just one more thing that took up space and another thing I had to lug around in my already huge bag. I soon stopped going everywhere with it and just sprayed the seats with the “Clean Well Pocket Sanitizer“. This stuff smells like eucalyptus, it’s all natural, safe for kids, and it kills 99.9% of germs. It’s a spray and not a gel, so it’s fast and easy to sanitize the seats. Also it really keeps your skin smooth, not dried up feeling like those gel ones with alcohol.
5. Finally, a good reward. Zu doesn’t normally get certain stickers, so we made a sticker chart, and she got to stick a “Littlest Pet Shop” sticker on it every time she pooped in the toilet. And sometimes she gets a manicure, if she goes.

Potty training was a territory that seemed so unapproachable, but in reality, I think you just have to sit back and just let them get there at their own pace. I really felt the pressure and tried early on, but it totally back fired on me. She knew how to go, she just couldn’t tell when to go. Now, I don’t think there should be any rush to get them out of their diapers. To tell you the truth, I think it’s easier when they are in their diapers sometimes…
OK, so after her 3rd birthday, we decided to try again. I did exactly what my friend did when her daughter potty trained when she was a little over 3. They potty trained in 3 days.
We got a pack of Princess Undies and I told her, “Princesses use the toilet, they don’t pee and poop in their diaper. You’re a big girl now, would you like to join the princesses and become one too?” She jumped to the idea. She put the undies on, we played outside, she wet herself. She was extremely upset. “I won’t be a princess!” So we tried again. Again she wet herself… She was really mad. This day was a failure.
Next day, we tried again. We went to the bathroom when she woke up, a couple hours after she had something to drink, before and after lunch, a couple of hours after her juice, before and after her nap, before and after dinner, and before bed time. No accidents. Yeah!!
3rd day, we try again. First we went to the toilet when she woke up, and then I tried to let her tell me when she needed to go. She wet herself… She was very frustrated. We tried again. This time, right after lunch she told me she had to go, and only one accident since then. That was about a month ago. Yeah!!! We did it!

So it’s true, you CAN potty train in 3 days. You just need to find the right timing. Here’s a tip, put your child in undies, if they get upset when they wet themselves, you can quite possibly start potty training. If not, wait a little longer. There’s no rush. You could feel the pressure when some people around you are potty trained, but seriously, what is the rush?

Fantastic Find! August 3, 2008

Oh, I love IKEA! We just got a shoe cabinet there for our shoes that sit around in front of our back door. Sukkiri shimashita (translation: feels very clean).

Anyway, IKEA has great affordable stuff, but also some great grocery items. They have these awesome thin crunchy cookies that are dipped in semi-sweet chocolate, that comes in a ginormous box of maybe 100 cookies, that I really know I shouldn’t buy… (drool) Or that Lingenberry Juice concentrate and Lingenberry jelly. Well this time, I found something that I’ve actually been wanting. This was not an impulse buy, I actually have seen it in a magazine and really wanted to try it, but I could not find it any where! But now, the fabulous have-it-all IKEA had it.

Kalles

“Kalles: Creamed Smoked Roe” from Switzerland.
Roe is fish eggs, fancy people call it caviar. It’s those tiny little balls that are on top of a California Roll. Japanese people just love roe. It’s a really fancy thing to eat. We put roe on things to make food look festive. Mentaiko is my favorite, walleye pollack roe that has been salted and spiced up with some red pepper. And one of my favorite things to do with this Mentaiko is to make Mentai Spaghetti! It is SO GOOD!!
Back to the Kalles, in a Japanese magazine, this lady who lived in the UK reported about this Kalles, to substitute the Tarako, which is the non spicy version of my favorite Mentaiko. I’m thinking, “I need this magic in a tube! Deliciouse Tarako anytime I want, whenever I want is a beautiful thing!!!” And now I have my magic in a tube, all thanks to the importing of IKEA gourmet grocery’s.

After bringing home my Kalles, I have immediately opened the tube and tried a little. Not exactly what I had in mind… A little more sweet… A bit more smokey… But good! It was one of those, put on your cracker or put on your toast kind of creamy, smokey, and roe-y. I could make my pasta with this!

Here’s my recipe for this Kalles Spaghettini for 2

• 1 tbsp of Kalles, Creamed Smoked Roe
• 80 grams of Spaghettini
• A knob of Butter
• 1/4 tsp Red Chili Pepper Flakes
• 1 knob of garlic minced
• 1 tsp Goma (Toasted Sesame Seeds)
• 1/2 sheet of Nori (Sea Weed) cut into paper shredder thin strips that are about 2 inches long
• 1/2 a pack of Kaiware (Radish Sprouts)
• Salt to taste

Boil the spaghettini in well salted water and drain. This is a very quick cook so the pasta shouldn’t cool.

In a large pan, melt the butter with the red chili pepper flakes and garlic. When you start smelling the garlic, turn off the burner and add the Kalles. Mix swift and well, add the spaghettini and toss with the Goma and sprouts. Salt to taste and serve with the sea weed sprinkled on top. Yummmm.

Movie Madness July 18, 2008

So Hollywood came to Michigan.

The State where I am living, is giving a 40% tax break to Hollywood to film here. This is great for our economy. Hopefully it will drive different businesses to our state, because we really need it right now…

They are filming a Clint Eastwood movie, some TV series from the makers of “Lost”, and they are filming on our street, basically right in front of my house for some Indi production.
It was exciting at first, annoying after a while, and now I can’t wait for them to be gone tomorrow.

They started shooting last week, for this movie called “Youth in Revolt” directed by Miguel Arteta, and starring Michael Cera (Juno’s boyfriend), Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Jean Smart, etc. Story is “While his trailer trash parents teeter on the edge of divorce, 14-year-old Nick (Michael Cera) sets his sights on dream girl Sheeni Saunders, hoping that she’ll be the one to take away his virginity.” It’s supposedly a comedy. I feel that they are stretching it a bit to make a 20 year old as a 14 year old character. Maybe make him at least 16 for the sake of putting too much pressure on all the 14 year olds about loosing their virginity out there. (I know, having a child as a teenager is so Hollywood right now…)
Yeah, anyway we were not happy that we were made into the trailer trash neighborhood at first, but we heard that they are shooting not the trash part here so… (We’ll see, once the movie comes out.)
Any who, we saw Fred Willard, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, and Jean Smart, so far in person. Jean Smart seems to be a very nice lady. Tall, and very pretty. I guess she hurt her leg so she is walking with a cane right now. I feel bad… I only got to see Fred Willard from afar, and Zach Galifianakis sat in front of our house on the steps talking on his cell phone.
I tried to get my friend an autograph by Michael Cera, on the “Super Bad” DVD that we borrowed from him, and failed the first attempt.

There have been so many people, that I have never seen before, on our street ” On Their Walks”, that it started to get a bit annoying. My dog was going nuts from all the traffic we were getting in front of our house. (I seriously think he was freaking out.)
I can’t just walk up and down the street with my daughter because they are shooting. I have to go around the block to get out of my neighborhood now, not the simple drive down the street. And the waiting in my car or side walk for them to call “CUT”. 2 weeks is more than enough.
Our street has never been so lively, more so than Gay Day and the Dream Cruse. Which is a big deal around here. It’s just a little too much now though…

So today is the final day of shooting in front of my house, and I cannot be happier. I just had one mission to get done. Have Michael Cera sign the DVD.
We were across the street today at our neighbors, when we spotted him. He was coming down the side walk to come to the Craft Services truck for some snacks. We spotted that opportunity, and we took it. We had my 3 year old daughter take the “Super Bad (Unrated Extended Edition)” down the drive way to the truck where Michael Cera was standing. She looks up to hand him the DVD. My cute little daughter in her night gown, who can resist that!? It was too cute! Then it happened. Michael Cera gave us the “What the #$%& look”. I’m a little pissed. You don’t do that in front of my daughter! I don’t care who the funk you are. She is awesome and cute and is doing this for me (and a bag of chips). But seriously, who does that in front of a 3 year old!? To make her feel like she was doing something wrong for even a second. That’s upsetting. He just acted like a spoiled Hollywood kid that didn’t want anyone in his space. He didn’t even see any of the cuteness in that. And look at the body guard, looking all tough, intimidating my little princess. Michael Cera’s not that cool, kind of strange, he seems to be the same person he is in the movies. Does that mean he’s not really acting…?
Well, I am going to wait for the movie to come out on On Demand anyways.

I don’t care about him, Zu did a great job! She is awesome. Very ballsy, just like her mother. She also got some chips out of the deal. Thank you Reva from Craft Services!

Well, the mac guy is supposed to be coming to my friends block next week, so I would like to go see that from her front porch. Maybe… Maybe he’ll sign my iBook for me.