La Jolla Beach

After shopping at Carlsbad Premium Outlets Mall, we went to Costco and got some meal for picnic last Sunday.

It was a sunny day and a great day for picnic. :)

We went to La Jolla Beach and sat on the grass facing the ocean.

While having meal, we enjoyed beautiful scenery. We could see clear blue ocean and green grass, many wild animals and many people.
Some families were looking for fish. Some pelicans and sea gulls were flying.

We also saw a squirrel during our picnic.

 It was so cute, wasn't it?

Then, we walked around the beach.

Some people were surfing.

We got very close to squirrels.

We could see many seals. La Jolla Beach is a famous location for seals. We can see seals all year round there.

They were lying on the beach.

And there were some baby seals! I had never seen wild baby seals. So, I was excited to see them!

The babies always followed their mothers and stayed together.
One baby was suckling. :)

 

And another baby was swimming with mother seal.



There were many pelicans on the rock.

We enjoyed a lot last Sunday. :)


       My entries related to wild animals can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/wild%20animals

       My entries related to La Jolla can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/La%20Jolla%20Beach

 Today's Vocabulary
・ sit on the grass : 芝生の上に座る
・ facing the ocean : 海に向かって
　　ex) room facing the water : 海（川・湖）に面した部屋
　　ex) room facing south : 南向きの部屋
・ squirrel : noun / リス　( Pronunciation is skwə'ːrl )
・ all year round : 一年中
　　ex) That park is open all year round. : その公園は一年中公開されています。
・ stay together : 一緒にいる
・ suckle : verb / 乳を飲む

Shopping at Carlsbad Premium Outlets Mall

After having breakfast at Corner Bakery Cafe, we went to Carlsbad Premium Outlets Mall last Sunday.

I thought many clothings stores were having clearance sale because it's already end of winter.

I like this mall because it's not too big. It's easy to walk around the mall.

The store which I wanted to go the most was Banana Republic.
I bought many clothes there! :) Shopping for new clothes was exciting. Hehehe

Then, we went to Crate & Barrel. I like them because they have stylish dishes. We just enjoyed window-shopping there.

Then, we headed toward La Jolla beach.






 Today's Vocabulary
・ walk around : phrasal verb / 歩き回る、散歩する
　　ex) walk around a supermarket : スーパーを歩き回る

Breakfast at Corner Bakery Cafe

I usually sleep until later in the morning on every Sunday. But my husband and I woke up at 8:30 a.m., and we headed toward Corner Bakery Cafe to have breakfast. It was because we have coupons for free breakfast sandwich and free combo!

We ordered our meals. It was a beautiful sunny day. So, we sat outside.
We only paid for one large iced coffee.

My husband ordered smoked bacon & cheddar panini. It's usually $4.29!

Smoked Bacon & Cheddar Panini

I ordered smoked turkey cobb on brioche flatbread and tomato soup. The sandwich combo is usually $7.79!  Yay! It was good. Especially because I really like tomatoes. So, this tomato soup was as good as I expected!

Smoked Turkey Cobb on Brioche Flatbread & Tomato soup

I'd like to say thanks to Corner Bakery Cafe. Both sandwiches were very good, and we enjoyed our breakfast. :)



Then, we headed toward Carlsbad Premium Outlets and La Jolla beach. I'll write about that on the next time.





 Today's Vocabulary
・ sleep until later in the morning : 朝遅くまで寝ている

I Have a Cold

I have had a sore throat since yesterday. However, I don't have a fever because I got my tonsils removed five years ago. Before that, I often fell sick with an acute tonsillitis which lead to a high fever. As soon as I felt dull in my throat, I used to always get sick with a high fever. When my doctor had encouraged me to get my tonsils removed, I was unsure and afraid. After my surgery, I have never suffered from tonsillitis with a high fever again.

I have been trying to keep myself warm and taken cold medicine since yesterday.
I hope I'll recover soon.





 Today's Vocabulary
・ have a sore throat : 喉の痛みがある
・ lead to : phrasal verb / ～を引き起こす、結果として～に導く、～の原因となる
　　ex) A cold often leads to all kinds of disease. : 風邪は万病の元
　　ex) One thing leads to another. :  一つのことが別のきっかけとなる。／事が事を導く。
　　ex) It may lead to error in the operating of system. : システムの操作でエラーを引き起こすことがあります。
・ feel dull in my throat : 喉に違和感を感じる
・ unsure : 不安な、弱気な、不確かな
　　ex) If you're still unsure, you should know it can be returned within seven days of receipt. : ご心配であれば、それが到着してから7日以内は返品に応じます。
　　ex) be unsure of one's ability : 自分の能力に自信がない
・ suffer : verb / 苦しむ、病気する
　　ex) suffer a bad headache : ひどい頭痛を患う、ひどい頭痛に苦しむ

Windy Day

It's very windy today. On a windy day, I sometimes see tumbleweeds.



tumbleweed

 I had never seen tumbleweed until I came to the U.S.!
They tumble from the desert on the wind, and cross the road. Sometimes they hit cars and scatter.
When I headed toward San Fransisco by car, it was very very windy, and I saw many tumbleweeds. It was entertaining to see, but I had to be careful when driving.

 Today's Vocabulary

・ on a windy day : 風邪の強い日

・ scatter : verb / 散り散りになる

Newport Beach ~ Winter Vacation Day 7 (the Last Day)

On January 4th, I took my friend to Trader Joe's because she wanted to buy some souvenirs. Trader Joe's is an organic supermarket, and they have good quality products with cute packaging at reasonable prices.
She bought coffee for her host family and a tote bag for herself. She really liked the design on the bag because it symbolizes California.

Then, we walked at the mall, where Trader Joe's is located. 

Then, we went to Balboa Island. One family who lives near the beach was selling lemonade and cookies for 25 cents in front of their house! The father served some ice on lemonade, and the mother was teaching their two little daughters how to serve cookies and how to receive money from customers. The girls were so cute. :)

The lemonade and the cookies were very good! We were tired from walking in strong sunlight. They gave us energy.

Then, we walked along South Bay Front. There were many yachts.

Then, we walked along Marine Avenue.

Then, we went to Newport Beach.

We walked on the Pier and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the beach.

My friend wanted to buy a Coach bag, so we headed toward South Coast Plaza. There was a Japanese staff at Coach. We enjoyed talking with her. My friend purchased a bag there, and we got two sample size perfumes with her purchase. Yay!

The day was the last day of our winter vacation.
The next day, she went back to Canada.






 Today's Vocabulary
・ symbolize : verb / 象徴する、表す
・ be tired from _ing : ～で疲れている
・ strong sunlight : 強い直射日光

How to Cook Nikujyaga

Tonight, I cooked nikujyaga, which is a Japanese-style beef and potato stew.

Nikujyaga

It's easy to cook.
I'm going to share the recipe.


Ingredient
1/2 pound of cut beef sliced thinly
2 pound of cut potatoes into bite-size pieces
1/2 pound of cut carrots into bite-size pieces
1 pound of cut onions into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoon of grated garlic
1 tablespoon of oil
1 cup of water
2 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoon of mirin, which is sweet cooking rice wine
2 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoon of soy sauce ( for last step)


1. Heat oil and garlic in pan over high heat. Fry meat until it is thoroughly cooked.
2. Then, add potatoes and carrots. Fry them for 5 minutes.
3. Then, put onions on them. Add water, sugar, mirin and soy sauce in pan. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
4. Stir them, and add soy sauce.
5. enjoy!



      This is my entries related to my favorite recipe.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking


 Today's Vocabulary
・ cut _ into bite-size pieces : ＿を１口サイズに切る
・ throughly : adverb / 完全に
・ simmer : verb / コトコトと煮る

The Snow on the Mountain :)

Considering yesterday's weather, I can't believe that it's very hot and sunny today.

After my class, I studied about nursing at the library for four hours today. It was the longest that I've ever spent studying there! I can usually only concentrate up to two hours. :) I'd like to say to myself, "Good job!"

After that, I headed toward home. While I was driving, I was able to see beautiful snow on distant mountains. I remembered that it rained yesterday. That's why it snowed on mountain side. I felt lucky to see that! That's because we didn't get much rain this winter. This was my first time to see snow this winter!
In Southern California, people can go surfing on beaches and also can go skiing on mountains on the same day! I think it's an unique place.

I thought today was a special day because of studying and snow. :) Yay!






 Today's Vocabulary
・ distant : adjective / 遠い、離れた
　　ex) distant ages: 遠い昔
　　ex) distant future : 遠い未来
　　ex) not-too-distant : adjective / それ程遠くない
　　ex) in the not-too-distant future : 近い将来に、あまりそう遠くない未来に

Rainy Day

It's been cold today.
I woke up and I checked today's weather on Internet. Then, I checked outside.
Oh, it's raining...

I had time before going to school. I tied up my hair instead of curling my hair because it was raining. ( Only when I have a time, I curl my hair.)
When it rains, my hair is frizzier than usual. So, tying my hair up is the best option in rainy day.

After coming back from school, I realized that today is Lunar New Year. I should have told my Korean friend that to have a happy New Year.

I'll text her now. :)
That's a good idea!






 Today's Vocaburary
・ tie up : phrasal verb / 結ぶ、縛る
　　ex) tie up my hair : 髪を結ぶ（アップにする）
・ frizzy : adjective / チリチリした
　　ex) frizzy hair : チリチリした髪の毛、縮れ毛
・ the best option : 最良の選択肢

Disneyland & California Adventure ~ Winter Vacation Day 6

On January 3rd, my friend and I went to Disneyland.
It was more crowded than I expected! I knew why afterward. Through January 5th, they had Christmas decorations and Christmas parades. Moreover, many students were still on winter vacation.
I went there in summer before. It wasn't nearly as crowded. I thought that Disneyland in Japan is always crowded, and not in California. I had to eat my words. Hahaha...

We were very hungry because we walked a lot. We ate hamburger for lunch. Pastrami cheeseburger and french fries were about $11.

Then, we went to California Adventure.

My friend likes extreme rides. Naturally, we went on Hollywood Tower! That scared us!

Then, we went on Grizzly River Run.

We got more soaked than we expected. It was already dark and cold outside. We felt even colder because of that.

We went back to Disneyland.

We were able to see the fireworks.

After that, it started to snow... Actually it wasn't snow. It was spume that looked like snow.
That was surprising and beautiful!

Christmas lighting was beautiful.

My friend bought some souvenirs for her friends. Then we left Disneyland.