From Japan

Last Wednesday, my husband came back from his business trip from Japan. He brought back many Japanese foods. :)
Here in California, we can easily buy Japanese foods at Japanese supermarkets, but they are little bit expensive. And also some of them are not available in the U.S.  

900 yen (500g) = $11.25

This is broth of Chinese foods. This is excellent broth. You can easily make Chinese foods with better taste. Even though it is for Chinese foods, it was made by Japanese company. :)

89 yen (each) = 1.11

I love wasabi!

178 yen (each) = $2.22

These are instant miso soup. These are for part of his lunch. :)

100 yen =  $1.25

 This is for slicing cucumbers. You can slice cucumber very thin with it.

89 yen (each) = $1.11

These are seaweeds for udon noodle.

gift from my mother-in-law

 These are also instant miso soup.

gift from my mother-in-law

These are instant chazuke, which is rice with green tea.

89 yen (each) = $1.11

 These are also other kind of seaweed.

298 yen (each) = $3.72

 These are grilled meat sauce.

100 yen = $1.25

This is yakisoba noodle sauce.

89 yen (each)  = $1.11

These are also another kind of seaweed.

278 yen (each) = $3.48

These are instant ramen noodle.

89 yen (each) = $1.11

These are also instant ramen. These are not available at Japanese supermarket in the U.S.

gift from my mother-in-law

This is for gomoku-zushi, which is vinegared rice mixed with various vegetables or fish seasoned with vinegar.

gift from my mother-in-law

These are green tea. My home town is famous for green tea. When I was little, I used to drink green tea every day instead of water. I believe this tea is one of the highest quality green tea in Japan.

630 yen (each) = $7.88

 These are instant green tea.

100 yen = $1.25

525 yen = $6.56

These are snacks. Left side of package is squid. Right side of package is youkan.


For me, Japanese foods are the best. Every thing in Japan tasted very good. :) I've already had ramen, ochazuke, yokan and green tea. :))






 Today's Vocabulary

・ grilled meat sauce : 焼肉のたれ

Sea Urchin

Yesterday, my husband and I went to San Diego, where is famous for sea urchin.

We were looking forward to eating sea urchin bowl at Mitsuwa, which is Japanese supermarket, but those were already sold out. We chose sushi boxes instead.
I wanted to eat sea urchin. That's why I chose the sushi box, which had two sea urchin sushi. :)

sushi box $11.99

My husband chose variety sushi box.

sushi box $11.99

They were not too bad, but the sea urchin had raw smell. :( I was a little disappointed about that. However, after putting soy sauce with wasabi on the top of the sea urchin, it reduced the raw smell.

Most of times, sea urchin in San Diego tasted better than in Japan. I used to believe that Japanese sushi was the best in the world. Yeah, that's true but sea urchin. When I ate sea urchin in the U.S., they changed my imagination of sushi there. Of course, you can eat delicious sea urchin in Japan but they are way too expensive. Inexpensive sushi restaurants in Japan don't serve good sea urchin even though they serve pretty delicious sushi expect for it. Here in California, we can eat delicious sea urchin with very reasonable price. :) I like that. However, other sushi such as tuna, salmon, yellow tail, shrimp and so on wasn't as good as in Japan. I have never been satisfied with them but I have to go to sushi restaurant because I love sushi too much. I miss sushi in Japan. I have to wait five more months to eat authentic sushi.

Mitsuwa Marketplace

4240 Kearny Mesa Rd
(between Othello Ave & Armour St)
San Diego, CA 92111
Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa

(858) 569-6699

 Today's Vocabulary

・ have raw smell : 生臭みがある

Coach Haul

Today, my husband and I went to San Diego. On our way home, we stopped by at Carlsbad Premium Outlet Mall. It was already 6 p.m. So, I was in a hurry to head toward Coach Factory. They handed out 30% off coupons at entrance of the store. I checked a bag which my sister requested me to buy. When I went to Coach factory last month, the bag was $160. However, it was $122.50 plus tax today. Yay! The retail price was $358. I thought it was good deal. :) There only had black and beige color available. After much thinking, I finally chose the black bag.
And I also found a pretty folding umbrella. I purchased it for myself.

Madison Op Art Sateen Sophia Satchel $122.50 (was $358)

Kyra Print Compact Umbrella $17.49 (was $58)

 The umbrella was originally $58, but it was on sale for $17.49 plus tax.

There were also brown signature umbrellas for $28 (was $128). I thought the signature one was very chic. However, I chose the pink flower print umbrella. It was really adorable!

 It will make me happier in rainy days.

How cute these flowers are! 

 

 Today's Vocabulary

・ on my way home : 家に帰る途中

・ after much thinking : よく考えた後、沢山考えた後

・ folding umbrella : 折り畳み傘

I Finally Received DVDs

I finally received Grey's Anatomy season 1-7 DVD set yesterday. I ordered it for $85 from eBay last week. I thought it was a bargain because the average price on Amazon is $140. Yay!

It was my first time to purchase from eBay. When I ordered it, I was worried whether or not my all eBay process would go along smoothly.
Actually first, I ordered it from a different seller. After I finished my payment, the seller directly contacted by email and said that the seller's Paypal account was not working anymore and asked me  to cancel the payment and remit to another Paypal account. I was immediately suspicious about the seller because the seller didn't have any reviews on eBay. I thought that process was unsecured. I asked eBay customer service for an advice in regards to this situation. They said that I should cancel the order this time. They suspected the seller was not honest because the seller directly contacted me instead of sending message through eBay. They thought that the seller might want to hide something from eBay. I followed their advice. I replied back to the seller and asked to cancel my order. The seller emailed me three times insisting that this transaction is very secure but I did not want to comply and the seller finally understood me.
So, I ordered the DVD set from another seller. The second seller's review was pretty good. I was able to receive my DVD set five days after I ordered it. I was relieved. :)
My first experience about eBay was not very good. However, if you want to save money, you should check eBay. They sell most product cheaper than Amazon. I could buy the brand new DVD set $55 cheaper than on Amazon. :)

 Today's Vocabulary

・ go along smoothly : （物事が）円滑に進む

・ remit : verb / (金を電信・為替などで)送る、支払う

・ suspicious : 疑わしい、疑念を抱かせる

・ in regard to : ～について、～に関して

　　ex) We had many problems in regard to quality control. : 品質管理に関して多くの問題があった。

・ suspect : verb / 疑わしく思う

・ comply : verb / （要望に）応じる

T.J.Maxx & Target Haul

Today, I went to T.J.Maxx and Target to get flat shoes.
This week, These flat shoes are on sale for $12 at Target. I always wanted to buy flat shoes. That's why I didn't want to miss out from this sale and wanted to try them on.

1

 And also, they were having a sale for many fall style shoes.

Before going to Target, I went to T.J.Maxx. I found madden girl blue flat shoes. It's very pretty and comfortable to walk. According to T.J.Maxx tag, it was originally $49, but I think the retail price was higher than they labeled. It's because madden girl flat shoes are usually $79 to $120. I paid $24 for them there. It's not too shabby. :)

 

Then, I went to Target. I tried on many flat shoes as well. I was debating between mossimo black flat shoes and leopard print one.

I ended up choosing black flat shoes. It was originally $14.99, but it was on sale for $12. :)

I also tried on some boots.
This mossimo short boots were very pretty. They were surprisingly very comfortable to walk even though they had high heel.

Mossimo Kalea Boot-Multicolor $24 (was $29.99)

 This mossimo brown boots were comfortable to walk as well.

Mossimo Kalea Boots $24 (was $29.99)

I really wanted to buy them, but I didn't need boots right now. It's because it's still summer. But I'm not sure I might buy them someday. They are at a very affordable price!

Today, I bought two pair of shoes. I'm ready to go back to school. :))

 Today's Vocabulary

・ debate : verb / 熟慮する

　　ex) I'm debating on what to eat for dinner. : 私は、夕飯に何を食べようか考え中です（迷っています）。

Finally Finished the Textbook

Today, I finally finished all chapters of my NCLEX textbook. Yay!

I have studied it on my own for 7 months. I studied each chapter three times. However, I already forgot some. So, I need to restudy more in order to retain my knowledge. I have to find out the way to study for NCLEX soon. The most difficult part for me was vocabularies. I have to remember tons of vocabularies! 
Now I feel a little more confident after studying the entire textbook. :)
I'll keep up my study!

 Today's Vocabulary

・ retain : verb / 保つ

　　ex) He still retains an ardent passion for learning. : 彼は今なお向学心に燃えています。

・ feel a little more confident after studying : 勉強の後で自信が少しついた

Gift for My Sister

My sister have received my gifts. I gave her clothing, a bag, an eye cream, a lip balm, a scrub cleanser and so on.
The size of all clothing was perfect for her. She really liked all the designs. She said to me the quality of these clothing was better than she had expected! Considering that those were very inexpensive, she was impressed with quality. She is pregnant now and has two children. So, it's not easy for her to go shopping for her own stuff with children around that age. She can not go shopping for a while. She was glad to get many new clothing.

 She has already brought the bag to her work. She said to me she would use it everyday!

And also she has already used the scrub cleanser. She also really liked it! She requested to me to buy one more for her and bring back to Japan next time.

I'm glad she liked all my gift. :)

The Kitchen Sink Was Clogged Up

Last night, I washed dishes in my kitchen. While washing them, I noticed that the kitchen sinks was clogged. I had no problem finishing up the dishes because most kitchens in the U.S. have two sinks. I used the other one. I remembered that I accidentally dropped a chopstick into the sink several months ago. I tried to picked it up from the sink, but I didn't succeed. It might lead to this problem. We requested our leasing office to fix it. They are really professional. They fixed it within just few minutes. :)

 Today's Vocabulary

・ clogged : adjective / （管などが）詰まった

・ clogged up : (管などが）詰まっている

　　ex) The kitchen sink is clogged up. : 台所の流しのパイプが詰まった。

・ succeed : 成功する

・ lease : adjective / 賃貸

I Met Celebrities

Yesterday, I went to Trader Joe's, which is located near my apartment and met my favorite blogger by accident. I have been reading her blog everyday for six months. Her blog makes me happy and I could get various information through her blog. These day, she and her husband have bought their house in my city. She has updated pictures which were taken near her house. When I saw her pictures I thought she must live near my apartment. I know that scenery. I was right! She sometimes shares her own and her husband's pictures on her blog. I recognized their face. When I saw them at Trader Joe's, I immediately noticed they were my favorite blog's couple ! I didn't know what should I do. I felt like I met celebrities! I was really embarrassed, and I couldn't talk to them. Maybe I should have said to them that I was a reader of her blog or something. Last night, I checked her blog as usual. She updated her Trader Joe's shopping! Yeah, I was there too!

 Today's Vocabulary

・ by accident : 偶然に

・ recognize someone's face : 顔が分かる

He Must Have Been Tired

After 22 hours travel time, my husband finally ended up arriving at Haneda Airport yesterday. I was relieved, he was supposed to arrive there 44 hours ago though. He was going to rent a smart phone during his business trip at Haneda Airport, but it was already midnight. So, he couldn't do it because most stores were already closed. :( But, he could send e-mails to me from Haneda Airport and hotel by using Wi-Fi. After getting to Japan, he sent my packages to my customers from a nearby convenience stores. People in Japan can send letters and packages at most convenience stores any time you want. That's very convenient for busy people. In order to send my packages, he had to stay awake all through that night. I felt sorry for him. He said to me he wasn't very tired because if he were in the U.S., it's equivalent to the morning at the time. However, his flight schedule was very hard and he hadn't slept enough these days. He must have been tired.
Anyway, I was very relieved because I had been worried if his business trip had been canceled because of the Delta Airline's flight problem, I wouldn't have been able to send those packages. Today, I checked tracking information. One of the packages has already been received. That's very fast. :) I thank him for helping me!

 Today's Vocabulary

・ equivalent : adjective / 同等の

・ equivalent to : ～に相当する

Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Corrective Serum - Smelled like My Grandmother

I have used sample of Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Corrective Serum.

BIO-PERFORMANCE Super Corrective Serum 30ml $80.00

It smelled like my grandmother. Yes, it did! Shiseido, which originated in Japan, has long history in cosmetic industry. When I was a child, I sometimes tried some of my grandmother's lotion because I was curious. Most of her skincare products smelled like this! I recalled my childhood memories. I love my grandmother very much, but I don't like this fragrance. I feel like I suddenly became 50 years older than I am. Haha...
The textures was very creamy but wasn't too heavy. As soon as I applied it, I noticed that it made my skin very smooth. I was very impressed!
If it wasn't very expensive, I'd like to buy it. However, it is $80! And also it sells for $137.50 in Japan. I don't know why it's more expensive in Japan even though the company originated in Japan.






 Today's Vocabulary
・ recall : verb / 思い出す

The Flight Has Been Canceled Again!

As  I mentioned in yesterday's entry, my husband's flight had been canceled on Wednesday night. His new flight was 4:30 p.m. yesterday. I said good bye to him again at 12 p.m. Then, he called me he would go boarding from now on at 4:30 p.m. I was relived that he finally go onto an airplane! At 8 p.m., he called me again. I was really surprised because he should have been on the airplane. He told me very quickly that he was on the airplane but the airplane didn't take off yet. I was worried the flight might be canceled again. At 8:30 p.m., he called me again. He told me that passengers had to getting off. The flight was canceled again! After that he was waiting for his luggage back for 5 hours or so, but those didn't come out at all. Some people were waiting in line at Delta counter to change their flight schedule for long time as well. 6 hours later, Delta air line announced they were not able to deal with flight change at this counter. So, after waiting in line for many hours, passengers had to move to another counter and had to wait in line all over again. 8 hours later, my husband ended up with a new flight schedule. His new flight's departure time was 9 a.m. I was going to pick him up at LAX, but it was already 4 a.m. I gave up the idea because he had to check in an hour later. His old airplane ticket was 11 hours traveling time to get to Haneda Airport, but his new flight route includes  one stop flight in Detroit.  The travel time including waiting time in Detroit would add up to about 22 hours instead of initial 11 hours. That's very disappointing.
From Wednesday, he has been exhausted by this flight change. He got stuck in LAX for very long time.
I hope his business trip won't get any worse.

 Today's Vocabulary

・ boarding : 搭乗手続き、乗車

・ flight route : 飛行経路

The Flight Has Been Canceled

Yesterday, my husband was going on a business trip to Japan. He left our home at 8:30 p.m. to go to LAX. I said good bye and see him next week. At 10:30, he made a phone call to me. Apparently, the flight had been canceled. When he checked in at Delta Airline counter, they said the flight had been delay. After a while, they announced the flight had been canceled and next flight departure time would be about 16 hours later. It was already midnight. According Delta Airline there were no hotels with vacancies within 2 hours from LAX. Many people got angry at Delta Airline and some people had to sleep on the floor at LAX. After my husband called me, I headed toward LAX to pick him up. It took about an hour to get there. When we came back home, it was already 3 a.m. We were exhausted. I was worried about the packages which I sold. I told my customers that the package should ship on July 20 (Japanese time), but after rescheduling he will arrive in Japan at 8:30 p.m. on July 20. Even though Delta Airline said that they will arrive 8:30 p.m., most flights are usually delayed. I hope he will be able to send those packages on time before shipping stores are closed. The stores will close at 11 p.m.

 Today's V0cabulary

・ after a while :  しばらくして（から）

・ departure time : 出発時刻

Elf Powder Brush

Last Monday, I bought an Elf Powder Brush at Target.

Elf Powder Brush $3.00

I heard many reviews on it through youtube. Many people have recommended it. It is only $3.00, but it works very well. I wanted it for applying for liquid foundation. I usually apply liquid foundation with my fingers or Ecotools foundation brush. However, many beauty gurus on youtube use powder brushes instead of foundation brush. I wanted to buy Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki brush someday, but it is expensive for me. So I bought an Elf Powder Brush instead. Before buying it, I hesitated to buy it. It's because it's very cheap but it was not bargain. I usually don't pay for retail price. When I want something I usually wait to buy it until it is on sale. I was thinking whether I really needed it now. But I said to myself let's try it. Today, I used it first time. It worked well just like how many people have said. It helps to apply foundation more equally and lightly on my face. I'm satisfied with it. :) The only problem was that it loses some hair while I am using it.

Even though, Elf Powder Brush does excellent job, I still want Sigma brush. :) I hope I'll get it someday.

Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki $16.00

 Today's Vocabulary

・ hesitate : verb / ためらう、躊躇する