*Alert* This blog is not about food, but books with sexiness on the inside! (Secret Shpadoinkle!)

Wow, I really did stall out for 6 weeks without updating!

Sorry, folks, it’s been… bla. I’ve got a severe case of University Senioritis and my schedule filled up much quicker than expected due to my job.

Also, I haven’t been cooking much other than easy/quick normal stuff and I really doubt you want to see a picture of a fried bologna sandwich, even if it was made with a fresh loaf of French bread. Mmmmmmm… fresh baked bread…..

Anyway, what have I been doing in my free time? Reading. What have I been reading? Modern Fantasy Sexiness, that’s what. I’ll list a rundown of my reading list so you can see what I mean.

Karen Marie Moning: Fever series. This was a wonderful adventure into modern fantasy. Our heroine is unknowingly drawn into the world of the Fae in Ireland. (Somewhat predictable but oh-so-fun!)

Kim Harrison: Hollows series. (One of my FAVORITE series!) Featuring the feisty, bad-decision-making redheaded witch, Rachel Morgan. This is an alternate-reality modern fantasy with plenty of action. (The first book was not as well written as the rest of the series, but the characters were good enough to draw me in!) Oh, and she’s a fellow WP member as well!

J.R. Ward: Black Dagger Brotherhood & Fallen Angels series. (A new favorite!) I was apprehensive at reading “yet another vampire series”, but even Hubby liked it! Completely smutty, with Both male/female perspectives! Also, there’s tons of action. Without the smut, the books would be about 1/2 the size, but still VERY readable! If you want to test the waters with a lighter smut/higher action ratio, start with the Fallen Angels, but they’re in the same world and the Angels don’t start until after book 8 of the BDB. (The BDB books are Very Hot, but the whole idea of linebacker-sized alpha-males with.. *parts*… ahem… the size of telephone poles… is a bit much.)

Charlaine Harris: Sookie Stackhouse series. I honestly have stopped watching the HBO series True Blood due to the extreme deviation from these books. (Although Lafayette and Tara are two of my fave show charas!) And I started with the TV series! I’m glad Charlaine is ending the series, because lately it hasn’t seemed like her heart was in the last couple of books. (That reminds me, I need to finish reading Dead Ever After!)

Honorable Mention: Cassandra Clare: Shadowhunter series. Yes, it’s Young Adult modern fantasy, but I WILL be going to see the City of Bones movie when it comes out! I cried like a baby at the end of Clockwork Princess. And while it’s Young Adult, there’s plenty of sexy, you just have to fill in the blanks!

~I will keep updated when the mood to do something truly interesting arises.

In the Future: post-grad trip to Vegas! Woo-hoo!

Shpadoinkle! – Aladdin Drinking Bottle Love!

Yes, I know, Shpadoinkle! was supposed to be weekly… but I don’t have the cash to go buy something cool all the time and my cabinets are already full of shtuff… So from now on, it’s just occasionally.

I know I’ve posted before about trying to find a good drinking bottle. I don’t like the metal ones and the glass ones are just trouble waiting to happen. Thus, I tend to rely on plastic. However, I don’t like paying exorbitant amounts of cash on said water bottle. What’s too much for me? Usually anything over 10-15 bucks. Yeah, I know, I’m a cheapskate.

I also don’t like my water bottles to leak. This is a problem as most of the cheapo water bottles out there DO leak. I’m not even gonna get started on the sanitation issue of the ones with the folding straws… Eww…

But most of my prayers were answered a couple of weeks ago during a trip to Wally World, AKA Wal-Mart. What did I find?

This beauty, for only $5 and in a variety of colors! I was actually torn between blue and purple.  It’s only 18 ounces and is much larger than a normal water bottle of that capacity, but it’s nice and thick, so it can take a pounding. Also, the removable top part is EXCELLENT!

Pouring anything in there is super easy and I can freeze a cupful of juice for a giant ice cube. There’s a nice rubber seal around the top part that prevents it from leaking and the top cap is also excellent.

I also think these would be great for tumbler bento, which have been popping up here and there.

Hmmm… maybe I should go back and get that purple one after all…

Shpadoinkle! 4 out of 5 baked potatoes… only because it holds 18 oz. considering its size. Woulda gotten 5 otherwise… Sorry no graphic, my pix are on a computer currently undergoing surgery.

Post-Easter egging and the Giveaway Winner!

Hello, all! First off, let’s see what my Japanese friend and I came up with during our Easter egg-decorating spree!

Not one, but TWO sets of double yolks!

After I share not one, but TWO double yolks with breakfast the other day. Lucky!

Ooh, someone’s red with Anger!

I think it’s supposed to be a frog?

Cute Ojiisan!

Cute chick!

Yeah, it’s got a typo, but so what?

Aww, someone got a little cracked.

Who’s that behind you?

It’s a Kappa!

Hey, the gang’s all here!

Can you tell which were mine and which were hers?

Now on to the Giveaway Winner!

We had 4 entries, and the winner is:

Lucky Number Four!

Eclectic Lamb! Congratulations! Remember there will be all sorts of extras packed in as well.

I will send you an email to iron out shipping specifics. I will go pick out your brand new Furoshiki tomorrow, based on the bento preferences in your blog! Talk to you soon, ~Hikari

 

 

Pre-Easter Cuteness! It feels like spring when…

Alright everyone, it doesn’t matter if it’s still snowing or if the blossoms are already falling off the cherry trees where you live, or even if you’re not religious, there’s something about Easter that just screams SPRING!

Thinking of spring makes me want to wear pinks and pastels, grow green things and open the windows. Easter is the perfect landmark holiday for all things cute and cuddly, with the bunny as it’s mascot and cute little baby animals in tow.

So why then have so few Japanese ever really heard of it? Almost every Japanese girl I’ve befriended at University typically has had no idea. Isn’t Japan the Land of All Things CUTE? I figured that at least Sanrio would have taken this golden opportunity to push bunny-themed merchandise at them! Or maybe it’s just us Westerners that reap the seasonal benefits?

Don’t tell me these are just NORMAL in Japan?

But then there’s the CUTE candies! I know every season has its own variety of custom candy, but how much cuter can you get than chocolate bunnies, chicks and lambs?

I couldn’t find lambs in any stores nearby… shame…

In America, Cadbury is synonymous with the “clucking” bunny, creme eggs and other chocolate goodies.

Unfortunately, sometimes marketing can take the theme a bit too far… Not only are there “egg-laying” chickens…

At least it’s “laying eggs”

But there are also little noise-making “dispensers” that… poop out the candy…

Just what a parent wants… a child hyped up on sugar, making that cute but annoying noise making dispenser go off… repeatedly…

At least it can be a time to stock up on some cosplay items.

I can think of at least one non-Easter use for bunny ears…

I have one of my Japanese friends coming to visit this Easter and we’ll be decorating eggs. I wonder what creative designs we’ll have to show after?

Tune in Monday for the results and to see who won my “Reader Appreciation” Giveaway!

 

 

Creative Bento Strap: Repurposing hair ties (and a Reader Appreciation Spring Giveaway!)

Hi all, long time no post! At least not a real one. Well to make up for it, we have a two-fer.

First, the bento strap: You know what these look like, they’re those elastic, rubber or silicone straps that cost way too much and hold your lunch together.

The usual suspects

My solution: Has anyone else seen this done? I poked around on the internet, but since most search engines are practically useless, I rely on you, the readers.

I can’t believe no one’s thought of this yet! Or at least posted it on the internet.

Here we go, easy bento strap with those hair ties called pom-poms or whatever. (You could also maybe use those rubber bracelets? (the thin round ones, not the wide inspirational kind)

I thought of this a while ago, as I had an enormous package of hair elastics and made a rope of them. Then I wondered: how can I link them together to form a big circle? This led to the bento strap idea, as I had considered making some nice ones for my bentos. You know, with wide elastic and maybe some cute character made of felt. But I digress.

I had remembered seeing many of those ball-and-elastic type hair ties just a few years ago, so they shouldn’t be that hard to find, right? Wrong. Dollar tree, no. Wal-mart, no. (Although a friend told me I was looking in the wrong spot) Rite-aid or Walgreen’s, no. Luckily, I stopped by a family owned dollar store and found these! Woot! My star ones were there too, but I already have pix of those.

Multiple colors, and even butterflies? I wonder how well the fuzzy ones would work…

So, how do you actually make it work? Well, if you’ve never made one of these chains, here’s the scoop.

Just pull one tie through another, loop it through itself and pull!

When it’s long enough, just loop the hair tie through, wrap the whole thing around the bento and attach! You can stop here,

Or pull the second bauble up to loop around the first. What’s great is they slide on the elastic, so they don’t have to get in each other’s way.

I like this because it’s completely adjustable. Too big, remove one. Too small? add one! I also found this idea for decoration using a brooch.

Any kind of large enough pin, brooch or button will do!

Now, on to part 2!

It’s spring, I’ve got a week before having to go back to classes for my last quarter in University. I’d like to give my readers some appreciation, as my blog has been relatively steady in it’s viewership. What shall I do? How about a nice giveaway? Would you like one of my hair-tie bento straps? How about a bento start-up kit?

I’m giving away one starry hair-tie set, you pick the color: Orange, Clear or Blue. It will come with four clean, unused, matching color hair ties, like in the picture. I will also include a starter bento kit with all you see here: (plus some other small things like a small box I forgot to take a picture of, maybe some miso paste if you like that, or some candy, whatever I feel like throwing in there towards the end, when the package is being put together.) (^_^)

We have: some picks, some cups, a couple of sauce containers, silicone and paper side-dish (cupcake) cups.

PLUS!: One furishiki (Bandana size) for wrapping your lunch. I don’t know what it will look like as I will be buying it after the winner is chosen because I don’t want to give someone a used cloth (seems kinda rude). If you like you can tell me your preferences and I’ll keep it in mind when picking one from what’s available.

What to do: Just comment below, note the star color preference, what kind of cloth you’d like, and… what’s your favorite thing to have for lunch? You can also comment on Facebook and that will count as an entry as well.

On Monday, April 1st, (NO April’s Fools joke!) I will use a random number generator to decide the winner. The winner will be contacted via email for shipping details.

Good luck everyone, thanks for reading, and feel free to share!

~Hikari

*Edit update – Just to let you know: If you’re a blogger, your posts will help me choose the proper cloth to send you. For instance, if you have a favorite box or if you absolutely adore cute things, that will be taken into account when I pick one out.

*Winner Update!: The official Winner was #4, Eclectic Lamb. Congratulations!

Guest Blogging: How to pretend like you know what’s going on in another language!

Okay everyone, this will be Melissa’s last blog post for now. This was meant to be the first post, but they kinda got posted out of order.  We hope you’ve enjoyed her lovely tales of adventure. Hopefully we’ll get some more if we ask nicely!

Hello Everyone! My names Melissa and Hikari asked me tell a story or two about my experiences in Japan. To start off I am with the JET program, which is a program for foreigners (yeah us!) to teach English in Japan at nursery, elementary, junior, and high school level. This will be my 2^nd year in the JET program and I am loving it!

But not all of my experiences have been rainbows and unicorn poop. Like any person traveling to a different country there were many cultural misunderstandings. In this neck of the woods of Japan, the elderly speak a very special kind of Japanese called “Kuma-ben” which is a nice way of saying that they speak hillbilly. My Japanese skills have never been superb but I thought I could get by. That was until I ran into my first obaa-chan (granny). She stopped me in the street and just kept chattering away. I tried to watch her mouth to perhaps garner a small kernel of what she was saying but alas nothing was making sense. This is where I discovered that all foreigners in Japan can get away with having an entire conversation, not understand a single word, using only 5 words.

Now there are the usual yes/no, nod/guttural sounds (for example `はい` (hai) or `そう、そう｀ (so, so)) all Japanese people make, but there are a couple of responders that work wonders with the elderly. `honto/honto-ni`(本当/本当に) is an expression showing your shock or surprise towards something. Kind of like the English “really?” response we do. `So-nan-da`(そうなんだ) is used to show that you understand something, sometimes but not always the situation is explaining something more serious or perhaps sad (not ALWAYS but sometimes). This would be the Japanese equivalent to “I see…” or “Is that so?” in English. Then there is `naru-hodo` (なるほど) which, like `so-nan-da`, is used to express understanding but in this case you are expressing your understanding towards something that was only recently clarified in the conversation. This would be our “ok, I got it” in English. Then there is the ever wonderful `majide`(まじで！). This, simply put, is “no way!”. An exclamation of surprise or disbelief, and for a foreigner there are plenty of things for you to `majide` about. With these wonderful words in your tool belt you are ready to go.

This is where I return back to my story. As I watched the obaa-chan’s face I looked to see what kind of expression she wore. I also paid attention to her tone of voice. I matched her tone of voice with my responder. If it looked like she was trying to say something interesting or perhaps shocking, I responded with a `majide` or `honto-ni`. If she looked to be saying something more serious or somber then I responded in kind with a `naru-hodo` and did minimal responses. Small head nods and hmms here and there will be enough for that person to think you understand. So the most important thing to remember is to always read the other person and go from there. Read their reactions to your responses and run like the wind when you finally come up with a viable enough of an excuse.

“Salad Burger with Chicken” -or how to pack a salad in a burger shaped bento box-

Yeah, I know, not one of my most creative titles, but it can’t be my worst, right?

This was actually from last week, but I couldn’t find time for a mid-week post.

It’s the return of the Burger Bento! This time, I wanted a salad.

It was interesting seeing how much lettuce would fit in the lower part and still be able to clamp it all together.

This was quite simple and I was able to use all the layers in my container. Sliced chicken in the “meat” section, bagged salad in the “bun” and some carrot sticks and grape tomatoes for color over in the “lettuce”. I had a package of ranch dressing, but I added some homemade shiso dressing in that little carrot container as well for a vinegary kick.

Poor Mr. Chickie, he had to ride solo on this adventure, at least until lunchtime. Then he met his friends again!

Hey, what’s that extra chicken doing in there? Yup, been craving boiled eggs, decided to make a few and this is how I tell them apart in the fridge. It’s easy with some markers.

One problem, though… He didn’t fit! I ended up carrying this guy separate or he would have cracked under the pressure.

Guest Blogging: Strange/Unusual Japanese Foods

(Once again, my friend Melissa sends us tales of life in the JET program. She is currently living in in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu Island.)

One of the first things that comes to people’s minds when they think about traveling to a foreign country is the different types of food. Most are slight tweaks to a common food that we may have eaten in the past; a type of chicken cooked with a new tropical fruit, or perhaps a type of pasta made with a cheese you’ve never tasted before. All of which are relatively safe and leave your palate piqued with interest but not overwhelmed.

Japan, in my experience, has two very different categories of food. On the one hand Japanese cuisine is famous for being very mild with their flavors and preferring to taste the basis of what you are eating rather than additives. A good example would be sushi where the focus is on the natural taste of the fish rather than any type of seasoning. Even their sweets are very bland in nature. Mild creams and chocolates are just enough to sweeten your taste-buds but not enough to overload them with sugar.

Then there is the strange and unusual category. Different parts of Japan will have their own foods to put in this category but in Kyushu there are a couple of winners that I feel deserve to be mentioned.

Yamame, actual size.

The first and actually the least unusual in this area would be Yamame. This is a type of trout that is caught in the fresh-water rivers in the smaller villages. The fish in about 5-7 inches long, with very little meat on it.

Actual picture of the yamame Melissa ate… to the applause of the entire lunchroom.

The thing that makes this special is that in this part of Japan eating that fish whole, head and all, is the ONLY way to eat that fish. There’s no picking out the bones or taking out the eyes. You eat every little bit of that fish. The audible crunch of the bones and the bitter aftertaste of the organs can be a bit much at first but it grows on you after a while. The thing that sometimes gets you is when they serve a female Yamame. It is considered very lucky to get a pregnant female. The kids during school lunch will gasp in excitement and jealousy when they see the gaping hole of the fish with little eggs spilling out. The ‘pop, pop’ feel of eggs bursting in your mouth like little zits has been something to this day that I struggle with. The bitter salty taste of the eggs and the almost jelly like texture sticks to the roof of your mouth for the entire day.

This next food is something that is very famous in this part of Japan. To start off with I should mention that in Kyushu all forms of meat, fish, sea food, etc. is game to be eaten raw. On several occasions I have been served raw chicken and pork. Now to some this might seem strange but salmonella and other bacterial growths in meat are non-existent in Japan. Eating raw meat is considered very safe and even a preferred health measure since you are getting the full amounts of vitamins and protein without the extra fats and salts that end up in the meat when you cook it. Chicken and beef are not the most unusual raw meat to be served. This next meat can come in at a whopping $100 for a small plate of it raw and the animal itself is actually brought in from the good old USA. So a big round of applause goes out to Montana for supplying Japan with your… can you guess? …HORSIES!

Yep, they eat little ponies on purpose!

Yes, raw horse meat or Basashi is considered a delicacy in this part of Japan. There is even a festival, called the drunken horse festival, where the horses are hand fed beer and are blessed by priests and the people before they are taken to a shrine to… well let’s just say that white lite at the end of their tunnel isn’t from the beer. Now this particular ceremonial BBQ slaughter has changed in the last 10 years due to animal cruelty charges from visiting foreigners, but to this day they will still feed giant Clydesdales beer and have them trop up and down the street with dancers. No eating of the horses but everyone gets to touch the horse and celebrate the memories of old traditions.

(Melissa actually sent this to me before the big UK horse meat scandal. It seemed an appropriate topic to post.) 

V-Day Treats: Sweet Men!

Come one and all, we have men! No, it’s not “Raining Men”, but there are lots of sweet gingerbread men to share with you!

First of all, we have Perfect Men:

Just the plain little gingerbread boys here!

They’re quiet, sweet, and if they give you any trouble, you can bite their heads off!

~~

Next, we have the Bad Boys:

Yep, that’s chocolate frosting, so they’re RICH, too!

They’re two-faced and oh-so bad for you, but you want them anyway!

~~

Finally, here are the Broken Men:

Poor little leftovers just want love, too!

They’ve already been broken in so you don’t have to!

~~

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

These little creations were from a bag of holiday gingerbread men on sale and a tube of sammich cookie frosting. I bagged them in snack bags for giving to my friends, with cute little tags with the appropriate saying on each bag.

They will get to choose which kind of men they want. I wonder which will be left over?

 

Guest Blogging: Sticking the proverbial foot in the mouth

Hiya, all! I’d like to introduce my friend, Melissa! She’s in the JET program and is teaching English to Japanese Elementary students.

As we all know, what we think we’re saying and what’s actually coming out of our mouths can be VERY different things. She’s had a couple of those types of experiences she’d like to share with us.

“My `Oh Shit` Moments” by Melissa B.

Learning a language can be difficult. No amount of book work can prepare you for the little cultural innuendos or dirtier words that you will never find in your textbook. I for one had this happen on 2 occasions, both of which were in very inappropriate locations.

The first time I ever made an `oh shit` moment was during my first week in Japan. I was staying in a hotel near my village while my housing was being taken care of. Every morning I would eat breakfast in the hotel café where the food is prepared by elderly women behind a large stone counter. The food, though delicious, was always just too much for me to eat that early in the morning. After 3 days of only finishing 1/3 of my food one of the old ladies came up to ask me why I wasn’t able to finish the food.

Looking back I should have known better than to say what I did so loud. But at the time I thought `This is my moment to shine` `I can show all these Japanese people my mad skills.` Thinking back to my Japanese lessons in the states about everyday conversations and how many Japanese people shorten their words and sentences to show they are comfortable with the person and the language they are using. I thought I could do this with the phrase: おなかがいっぱい、(onaka ga ippai) which means `I`m full`. I took the first character and the last 2 hoping to make a short new word to express my full-ness. All I can say is that I am an idiot. The new brilliant word I used was おっぱい (oppai) which I am sure for any person who has ever had a conversation with a Japanese person under the age of 30 will know this means boobs. I didn’t. I, very loudly, proclaimed that I was OPPAI while rubbing my entire torso to show that I was indeed very oppai.

The old woman burst into laughter and so did all the business men around me. I thought they were just so shocked that an American chick knew Japanese; so I smirked and internally high-fived myself. It wasn’t until I returned to my room to check the word that I realized my mistake. I face palmed and contemplated never going to breakfast again. To this day whenever I go near that hotel the staff point to me and wave saying `Good morning Oppai-sensei`.

My second `Oh shit` was actually in one of my elementary school classes. It was our body parts lesson and I thought I would make a couple of jokes to get the kids comfortable with some of the more difficult words. We worked on the words for the head first and when we got to the chin I popped in a quick joke about our vice principal. He is a heftier guy with a couple of extra layers under his chin. I explained the best way to remember the word chin in English was to picture the vice principal and count how many chins he has. So I jokingly pointed to a picture and said `Chin, chin` Vice-principal has 2 chins.

The kids burst into laughter and even the teacher was giggling behind her hand. I thought it was because that my joke was just that funny but in reality I had given the kids enough ammo and blackmail for a year. The word chinchin, I came to learn is a childish way to say penis. The kids from that point on when asked about body parts would stick their pointer finger out from their chin to make a small penis chin, giggling saying that they had a face chinchin. I still haven’t lived that one down with my teachers. My only saving grace is that they haven’t told the vice-principal out of self-preservation.