I Should Give Myself Credit for It!

    Yesterday, I checked my grade of my writing class and finally got an A!

     I always tried to do my best for arduous assignments during spring semester. One of my essays took me over 20 hours to finish writing it up. It's because it was very difficult to find connection between two stories and follow writing structure, and at the same time, I tried not to lose coherence in my essay. However, another essay assignment was not too hard for me because I read the novel as many time as I could and tried to thoroughly understand it. I wasn't good at reading English novel. That's why the assignment was very stressful, but I thought I finally overcame my difficulty. As I read the novel, I became interested in the story and could enjoy it! Before finishing, I hadn't noticed my improvement at all, and I had been asking myself why I took the class because unlike my classmates, I was not required to take it for my future career. However, now I was glad to have taken the class, and I think the class enabled me to improved my reading and writing skill. Nonetheless, I don't think I could do well on my in-class essay exam because it was difficult to come up with new ideas for the essay in limited time. My strong point for in-class essays was that I can type pretty fast. That's it! :)  Anyway, I should give myself credit for it!

      However, I am still not confident about my English. I don't know enough vocabularies and expression. Last year, I asked my former writing teacher, "Do you think the best way to improve writing skill is taking writing class? I think so because if I study it on my own, I might feel bored, and I can never find my own mistakes, or I might use weird expression forever... However, I sometimes think I can not take a writing class forever. I think I have to find the way of self-learning for writing. however, it is difficult to correct my own mistakes by self-learning." She answered, "Yes, learning on your own is absolutely more difficult usually, as an undergraduate (BA or BS) you still need explicit instruction you don't really start to teach yourself until graduate school." However, I can not linger at ESL school forever. How can I study for my English on my own from now on? I need to find way to study for it. There are tons of way to study English. I know taking ESL class is the best way to improve my English though. For an English learner as a second language, learning English is an endless process, so I need to keep up motivation for English study forever. 

   

Thinking about Organ Donation in Japan

      I read a Japanese article about organ donation this month. A teen boy was undergoing for treatment for brain damage at a hospital in Japan, but he was finally determined brain death sadly. His family decided to donate his organ this month. He donated his organs for four patients such as heart, liver, pancreas and kidney. Organ donation is very rare in Japan especially young organ donors, so many Japanese people looked at this news. While Japanese health system is world-class, Japanese organ transplant system and skills has been lagging far behind other countries. Because Japanese people believe that when heart stops, the person is considered dead. Majority of people in Japan don't want to stop treatments even after brain death. After reading this article, I read many comments on it. Some people left positive comments about organ donation and showed respects for his family's decision because it was very difficult for parents to decide to stop life-supporting treatment for their loved child. In contrast, many people are still in doubt of it. They say how doctors could mutilate his body while he was still alive.
      Through my experience as a nurse in Japan, I saw many patients who underwent life-supporting treatment for many years. Japanese medical system is very good, so the family doesn't have to think about cost of treatments too much. However, we never know whether or not patients want to get the treatment after brain death. Increasingly, patients' appearance become much different than when they were healthy because of muscle atrophy and contractures of joints, and they often fall into many critical conditions such as sever pneumonia. Most families come to hospital to see the patients every single day and spend their time for many hours in the patients' room. It doesn't matter how severe outside weather is, such as cold, hot, rainy and typhoon. They come to see the patients day after day. I saw many families that had become worn out by looking after patients for many years. I thought life-supporting treatments prolong family's grief.
     I also saw many patients with kidney failure in Japan were waiting for kidney transplant. They needed to receive hemodialysis three times a week for rest of their life and had to follow a severe restrictive diet. They are supposed to wait for many decades for kidney transplant because there are few organ donors in Japan. Some patients end up going to other country to get a kidney transplanted and come back to the hospital in Japan for treatment of the transplanted kidney rejection. After treatment, their life becomes much better than ever before. They don't need to undergo hemodialysis and restrictive diet anymore.
    In my opinion, organ donation positively changes donors, their family, and receiver's lives in most cases. If I am sentenced brain dead, I'd like to donate my organs. After organ donation, my life is not over. I can help some people's lives for rest of their lives. I can make their lives happier and will be proud of myself. It is not an easy decision, but I believe it is the best choice for me and my family.  
    Until Japanese organ donation law changed in 2010, Japan on average carried out 10 transplant surgeries per year. However, 45 organ transplantation was done last year. Yet the numbers of transplantation was still small considering that an average of 68 transplants are performed in the US every day.

      

Baby Geese at Woodbridge North Lake

After going to Lake Mission Viejo, my husband and I went to Woodbridge North Lake in Irvine last Saturday. It's because I saw many baby geese while I was driving on a nearby road a month ago. We started walking around the lake.

 
What I like about this lake is that there are always many kinds of birds there.

We finally found baby geese that I saw before. I was expecting that the baby geese would grow up, but they became bigger than I expected! 

As you can see, they were not babies anymore. They were big as similar as their parents! As we were watching them, they never stopped eating. We concluded that they were growing very fast because they have a huge appetite. Their parents were watching out for us. When we tried to get close to them, the parent geese came toward us to warn us. They were very protective and good parents!

If I have a time, I want to walk around this lake again and want to see how the geese will grow up.

Billy Joel - Piano Man

Today, I listened to the song, Piano Man by Billy Joel. This song has been also used as commercial song in Japan. That's why I am familiar with this song but didn't know who sung this song before. Today, I knew many famous western songs in Japan are sung by Billy Joel. I'd like to write about his songs on my blog from now on. :)

Billy Joel / Piano Man

Lyrics

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."
 
la la la, di da da
La la, di di da da dum
 
Chorus:
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us all feelin' all right
 
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke and he'll light up your smoke
But there's some place that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As his smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
 
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
 
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life
 
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessman slowly gets stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone
 
Chorus
sing us a song you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight
well we're all in the mood for a melody
and you got us all feeling alright
 
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about their life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar 
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"
 
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
 
Chorus:
sing us a song you're the piano man
sing us a song tonight
well we're all in the mood for a melody
and you got us all feeling alright

DSW Haul

Today, my husband and I went to DSW because I received a $10 coupon from DSW by mail.

I found this Poppie Jones Python Satchel. This was originally $78 but was labeled $49.94 with a red tag, which would reduce the price by 70%. I thought I was lucky to find one I liked with a red tag because it is rare to find one usually. I thought it would be about $5 with my $10 coupon. However, it reduced it by 80% at the checkout counter unexpectedly. I ended up paying only a cent!

Poppie Jones Python Satchel

Poppie Jones Python Satchel

Poppie Jones Python Satchel

After coming back home, I checked reviews on this bag and found that many people left good reviews on it. I thought this was a great purchase. :)

Tommy Hilfiger and J.Crew Haul

Today, my husband and I went to Desert Hills Premium Outlets. We arrived there at 2 p.m., and at that time, it was very crowded because of Memorial Day weekend. It took us an hour to find a parking space. :(

We looked through the entire mall, and I bought a maxi dress and a scarf for me.

I bought this maxi dress at Tommy Hilfiger. It was originally $88 but was $44 with 50% off sale. In addition, I used a 15% off coupon with entire purchase. It ended up being $37.40 plus tax. :) 

I was glad to find this maxi dress, because it was not easy for Asian girls like me to find one in perfect length. I tried on another dress at Gap, but that was too long for me. The length of this dress was perfect for me, and the design and material of the dress was very chic. I love it. :) I had never had maxi dress before, so this was my first maxi dress. :))

 I bought this scarf at J.Crew. They were having 50% off for everything! This scarf was originally $39.50 but was on sale for $19.75 plus tax. :)

I thought this scarf was perfect for spring and summer fashion. I usually prefer basic colored clothing, so this will pop my everyday fashion. :)

There were many great sales going on at the mall because of Memorial Day. Banana Republic was having 50% off entire store items. Kate Spade was having 40% and additional 20% off for handbags. I enjoyed looking through many sales and window-shopping there. :))

      My entries related to Premium Outlets Hauls can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Premium%20Outlets%20Hauls

     My entries related to my shopping can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/shopping

Lake Mission Viejo

My husband wanted to go to Lake Mission Viejo, and we decided to go there because it was a beautiful day. We didn't know how to get to the main lake point, so we just parked at a parking lot of a mall and watched the lake for a little time. We were able to see a very huge Bass. It was about 17 inches in total length.

Beautiful vivid-pink flowers were blooming. 

I recorded this video at Lake Mission Viejo.

We decided to go to another lake later today...

Can Money Buy Happiness?

    While I was listening to the radio this morning, the radio anchor said, "Money can't buy happiness, but if you spend money on experience, you can increase your happiness." He explained that if you spend a lot of money to buy new things, such as a new car and clothes, it will be enjoyable but is not related to happiness. However, if you spend money on intangible things, such as experiencing a favorite concert and taking a class related to happiness.

    Actually, I am always happy when I go shopping to malls. The reason why I enjoy it is that I like checking out new fashion, so window-shopping is more exciting than spending money on clothing for me. However, this advice was a good opportunity to think again on how to spend money properly and how to increase happiness. When I have free time, I tend to go shopping for fun. However, walking around the beach and watching sports will be unforgettable happy memory. The article of  "Money Can Buy Happiness If You Spent It Right" by Art Markman states, "By looking at the data in more detail, the authors found that these purchases affected people's satisfaction with the area of their lives that were affected by the purchase. People who spent money on experiences related to their social life saw an improvement in their satisfaction with their social life. People who spent money on experiences related to fitness saw an improvement in their satisfaction with their health. These increases in satisfaction with a particular area of their lives also affected people's overall sense of well-being and happiness." For example, for me, having taken ESL classes needed a lot of money in the past four years. I have spent a lot of money on many textbooks and tuition fee, but I have been able to feel confident by gaining my knowledge. It ended up bringing happiness into my life. Spending money for education was obviously worthwhile in my life.

      However, my husband and I are planing on going outlets mall this weekend. We are definitely going there nonetheless because we like window-shopping. Despite of that, I'd like to talk to him how to spend our money and time to increase happiness from now on.    

Billy Joel - Honesty

Staying at home and studying all day long is not fun at all. My school life was over, so I need to spend time like today until I pass NCLEX. :/ I didn't have any idea for my blogging today, so I decided to write about a song which I am familiar with. I have listened to the song, Honesty by Bill Joel, in Japan many times. This song was pretty popular over there and has often been used in many Japanese commercials. The song was released in 1979, and many artists has covered this song, such as Beyonce and Angela Aki.

Billy Joel / Honesty

Lyrics


If you search for tenderness
it isn't hard to find.
You can have the love you need to live.
But if you look for truthfulness
You might just as well be blind.
It always seems to be so hard to give.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

I can always find someone
to say they sympathize.
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve.
But I don't want some pretty face
to tell me pretty lies.
All I want is someone to believe.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

I can find a lover.
I can find a friend.
I can have security until the bitter end.
Anyone can comfort me
with promises again.
I know, I know.

When I'm deep inside of me
don't be too concerned.
I won't ask for nothin' while I'm gone.
But when I want sincerity
tell me where else can I turn.
Because you're the one I depend upon.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

Farewell to My School

Today was the last day of the spring semester. Many students were talking what they should take next semester. My classmate who is Taiwanese asked our teacher if she can take the upper class next semester. She has been living in the U.S. less than a year. She and I took the same classes for two semesters. My teacher told her that her writing level was good enough to keep up with the upper class and advised her to read a book for at least 30 minutes everyday. The other student who is Iranian asked our teacher the same things. He has been here since he was 11, and he also took the same class with me in the past two semester. My teacher told him that his writing was very natural like as native speakers do, and his grammar skill was not bad, but he should take this class one more semester. I know he is very smart and speaks very fluently, but I think the only writing problem he has is that he doesn't follow the rule of writing structure. That is very important to evaluate your essay. Writing structure is not too difficult if he focuses on that. Most students will continue to go to school for their own goals, but I think this semester was the last semester for me. I was glad that I accomplished one of my goals which was finishing the highest ESL class, but at the same time I miss my school days. I have been going to my school since May 2010. It has been three years. I have taken many classes there, and I am familiar with many teachers, classmates, and my school. However, I should not linger there forever, and I'd like to move on. Living in new circumstance is scary and stressful, but I hope I will overcome all difficulties in the future.
 

Walking with Chappy

When my husband and I were traveling in Japan about five months ago, we took my family's dog for a walk as many times as we could. The lovely dog's name is Chappy, who is a five-year female dog. She is very kind and  loves going walking. While walking, she was always excited. 

    When she came to my parents' home in May 2008, she was about 5 months old. She had beautiful black hair.
    Chappy came from my neighbor's house. The neighbor had a pregnant dog, but the owner passed away sadly. Then, the mother dog gave a birth to several puppies. The former owner's sister was looking for someone who could adopt the puppies. At the time, two dogs including Chappy were remaining. My family decided to adopt her. I was living in my parents' house in May through September 2008, so I loved being with Chappy everyday. She was a very peaceful dog. She never barked except for before walking, and she loved people very much. I imagined that the former owner took care of her very well.

Chappy at age 7 months

When she was seven months old, she took a spay surgery to protect her unintended pregnancy. She needed to wear the cone collar for a few weeks to protect the sutured wound. I though she didn't like the collar; ironically, she looked cuter.  

Chappy at age 7 months

As compare with old pictures, I noticed she was bigger and older than when I was living with her. It's been almost five years since I left from Japan. I can not meet her as many times as I wish, and I miss her very much.


This is a video I recorded when I was in Japan this year.

English Grammar

Today, I took the final in-class exam, and I will have a potluck party this week. After taking the final exam, I studied about grammar with my friend for an hour at school. Then, I came back home and took a rest for a while. In the evening, I returned to school to meet my teacher in order to learn about article. I still often make mistakes about article even though I am confident with English grammar mostly. However, he told me that article mistakes are not a big problem, and he advised me that I shouldn't care about it too much. He told me that when he attended a high school graduation ceremony last week, the principal made many article and preposition mistakes in his speech. The principal was from Italy and has been living here for over 20 years now. My teacher noticed his mistakes, but none of the other people cared about that. He told me that I have less problem with grammar and most of my sentences make sense, so I should keep my blogging and writing. He told me, "if you understood article clearly, your grammar knowledge would be equivalent to Ph.D degree." Which means for ESL students, it is impossible to figure out every single rule about article because there are also a ton of exceptions. :( While I was talking with my teacher, some students showed their interests in grammar. Because they have noticed that English grammar is a huge problem for them through our writing class, they are planning on taking an advanced grammar class next semester. I took his grammar class last semester, and my teacher asked me if the class was helpful. Frankly, the most of grammar I learned last semester was something I had already studied before, and the class was boring for me. I'm sorry, but it is true. I sometimes thought that my knowledge of English grammar was partly stronger than my American teacher's, and I corrected his explanation about grammar when he couldn't explain logically. Because American people can uneventfully use English without logically understanding grammar, it is not easy for Americans to figure out every grammar rule. I was planing on taking the advanced grammar class for at least two semesters, but I changed my mind. I didn't want to spend too much time studying what I already know. Instead of that, I have been studying grammar with my friend. However, for most advanced writing class students, I highly recommend to take the grammar class. Because they started learning English from advanced level, they didn't have chance to learn grammar. Advance writing classes do not teach grammar since those student are supposed to know that. Ironically, most students are confused about grammar very often. In contrast, I have less problem with grammar now because I started learning English from the very beginning level, and I had to study grammar in many beginning and intermediate classes. I learned English grammar for three years, but it was worthwhile. By starting from very beginning level, I could learn English grammar fundamentally.     

A Fluorescent Orange Pink Tee

Today, I played Old Navy SnapAppy with my smart phone and won a SnapFive, a $5 coupon with $5 or more purchase, again. My husband won the same coupon with his smart phone. We went to Old Navy. There are always a ton of clothing in clearance section there. I chose a fluorescent orange pink three-quarter sleeve tee. I thought this was perfect color for spring and summer.

This was originally $16.94 but was clearance for $5.99. I used SnapFive for this, and it came out $0.99. :)
These days, my husband and I have often won a SnapFive. If you have a smart phone, I highly recommend downloading Old Navy SnapAppy. You can possibly win many kinds of coupons for your next purchase. ;) 

Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm

Today, I went to Target again to purchase Burt's Bees Lip Balm for my sister.

Before going there, I found a $1.50 off coupon for it on Burt's Bees Facebook this morning. :) I paid only $0.59 for it this time. I hope my sister will like it. She has been really busy to raise three small kids, to work a full time job, and to do a lot of home chores. She told me that she doesn't have spare time everyday, and one day quickly passes. After giving birth to her third baby last year, she hardly replies to my email. I understand she have a lot to do, and I wish if she could take a time for herself for a while.

Haul - Burt's Bees

Today, I went to Target and found that Burt's Bees HibiscusTinted Lip Balm was on clearance. I had already known that they have many positive reviews, so I was excited to purchase it. :)

The regular price was $6.99 at Target, but I purchased it for $2.08. :) As soon as I got in my car, I put it on my lips. The color was natural orange pink. It was pigmented well enough for me and moisturized my lips. I love it! I thought my sister will love this too because her lips tend to dry. I am planning to purchase one more for my sister!



     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/beauty

Maybelline Nail Polish

Today, I read Yahoo articles and became interested in Maybelline New York Color Show Nail Polish.

I have never tried any Maybelline nail polish. The article states they last 6 days more if not longer. Moreover, they were nominated for Allure Awards as the Best of the Beauty 2012. As most girls know, Maybelline cosmetics are very inexpensive. :) If I find a good deal next time, I'd like to try them. 

I Accomplished My 30-day Challenge for My Nursing Study

     I accomplished my 30-day challenges, which were reading Pharmacology textbook and reviewing my study notebook, for 30 days in a row. :)
     The Pharmacology textbook explains about many medicines with colorful illustrations, but I thought it was difficult to memorize only with this textbook because I am unfamiliar with most  medicine names. However, I realized that it was much easier to memorize them by reviewing the medicine which was on PreU NCLEX online quiz. I tried to focus on those medicine when I  was reading the Pharmacology textbook.   
     In addition, I reviewed my study notebook and realized that I forgot partly what I have already studied. However, as I reviewed my notebook, I became familiar with them. I thought I need to continue to review my notebook on a daily basis in order to retain them.
    Because I have only 10 more weeks until my NCLEX, I need to study harder than ever before. I want to many things, but it is difficult to do everything because I have to work on my essay for my writing class. Sometimes, it takes me many hours to finish my assignments. My class will end next week. Then, I want to try my new 30-day challenges regard to NCLEX. I haven't decided what would be for my 30-day challenge, but I will share with you soon.

My Goal of the Day

I have been exercising with an online quiz for NCLEX with using  NCLEX-RN 10,000 – Powered by PrepU. I tried to do this as much as I could. My goal of the day was answering 100 questions, but it was much harder than I expected. 
 
I did... 

5/5   80 questions
5/6   90 questions
5/7   60 questions
5/8     0
5/9  100 questions
5/10  30 questions
5/11 120 questions
5/12  50 questions
5/13  70 questions
5/14 100 questions

I know the number of questions I have done is not as important as my understanding. I made my new blog for reviewing my difficult ones, and it took me a long time to uploading it. At the same time, I have been studying another textbook for NCLEX. Because time is limited, I can't do everything I want to, so I need to think what is the best study method for me...

The Summer Night

Yesterday was the hottest day I have ever experienced in my current apartment. The temperature of the inside our home was still very high at the night. We opened windows and tried to let fresh cool air in. It usually works, but it didn't work well because there was no wind last night. We moved our fun to our balcony and blew fresh cool air at the window of our bedroom. I know it seemed very silly, but it worked really well. After 5 minutes, our bedroom became cool enough to sleep. :) We just didn't want to use an air conditioner to save electric bill. 

My New Study Methods for NCLEX

I've decided to make another blog, which is not published, for my NCLEX study. I will pick up 10 of  my difficult ones from PreU NCLEX, and I will review and analyze them on my blog everyday. Then, I can check my blog on my smartphone anywhere any time I have some spare time. By doing so, I think I can improve my vocabulary skill gradually and expand my medical knowledge. Hopefully, I will practice more than 100 questions from PreU NCLEX everyday. I hope I will pass the exam this summer!

I Need to Figure Out How to Enhance My Vocablary Skill

These day, I have been studying with NCLEX-RN 10,000 – Powered by PrepU. I have done 500 questions so far. By doing the exercise, I have realized that I needed to enhance my vocabulary skill. I have made mistakes because of lack of my vocabulary knowledge. I know most of medical vocabularies because I have studied medical terminology very hard before. However, I don't still know many advanced general English vocabularies. If I had knew those vocabularies, I could have found correct answer in most of cases. I need to figure out how to improve my vocabulary skill. I have 11 more weeks until the day of my first NCLEX.

The Worst and Best Eyelash Curler I've Ever Tried

I went to Rite Aid today because all Revlon products are on sale for 40% discounts through this week. I always wanted to buy a new eyelash curler since my Shiseido eyelash curler has been already worn out. Although I don't usually use neither a eyelash curler nor mascara. That was why I was able to wait to get a new one until I found a good deal for it.

Revlon Eyelash Curler 16910

I was finally able to purchase it at a very reasonable price, but I was really disappointed in it. Shiseido eyelash curler is the only one I had tried before, but I thought this Revlon eyelash curler was the worst product. :( I was very surprised that it didn't work at all. It didn't curl my eyelashes well. Even though I tried to grip harder than I usually do, it hardly curls my eyelashes. I need to throw away. :(( After checking many reviews on this product, I found that many customers have been complaining about its function. Many people says Shu Uemura eyelash curler is the best.

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

 However, Shu Uemura eyelash curler is selling at $20 in the U.S. It is too expensive for me even though it will be worth to buy. Because Shu Uemura is one of the Japanese cosmetic companies, I also checked their Japanese site. They sell it for 1260 yen, which equivalents to $12. I know their products are always excellent since I used to use their cosmetics, such as face powder, brush, foundation, and a brash case (I noticed they sell their cosmetic cheaper than Japan except for the eyelash curler!), but I can't afford their products now.

Then, I checked Shiseido eyelash curler because they have good reviews as well. They sell one for $19 in the U.S. and a pad for replacing for $6. I also checked their Japanese site since Shiseido is a Japanese cosmetic company as well as Shu Uemura. They have variety of eyelash curler, and this is selling for 1050 yen, which equivalents to $10, and its pad for replacing is 157 yen, which equivalents to $1.50!

Shiseido Eyelash Curler (1050 yen)

Shiseido Eyelash Curler Pad (157 yen)

This eyelash curler is much cheaper. The eyelash curler is 840 yen, and its pad is 105 yen! Most reviews on it in Japan states that it has never broken for many decades. I agree with those reviews because mine is already 15 years old. I have replaced its pad several times so far though.

Shiseido Eyelash Curler 213 (840 yen)

Shiseido Eyelash Curler Pad 214 (105 yen)

  

 I have my Shiseido Eyelash Curler, so what I need to do is replacing its pad, which is about $1. I will definitely buy one in Japan! :)


 If you want to know the most popular eyelash curlers in Japan, you can check this entry.  :)
♥Top 3 Most Popular Japanese Eyelash Curlers
In this entry, I wrote about top 3 Japanese eyelash curlers which were chosen based on Japanese women's reviews.



     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/beauty

     These are my entries you might like.

♥4 Reasons Why I Love Kose Softymo Cleansing Oil

♥Popular Japanese Facial Cleansing Products - What I Want to Buy in Japan

♥Top 5 Japanese Sunscreen Products

♥Top 5 Most Popular Japanese Charcoal Soap

♥The Best Japanese Shampoo & Conditioner

♥5 Best Japanese Deep Conditioning Hair Masks

♥The Best Japanese Hair Dryer, Panasonic Nano Care Hair Dryer

A Great Gift Card Promotion at Pavilions

Today, I went to Pavilions to purchase a $50 Panera gift card because Pavilions are offering a mother's day gift card sale, which is when you purchase $50 or more gift card, you can receive a $10 Catalina coupon. I go to Panera to meet my friend every Friday, so this deal was perfect for me. :)

This promotion include Sephora gift card too! If you love makeup, you should check it out!
 
After getting a $10 Catalina coupon, I purchased some groceries by using it. :)

A Big Time Spend Gap Between My Classmates and Me

Today, I did peer review for the essay in my writing class. We wrote the essays with analyzing characters of the novel. Because the 200-page novel was pretty thick, it took many hours for everyone to finish reading it. That's why some students didn't even finish the entire novel. Therefore, those students didn't analyze with the specific detail on their essays. I know each student has different perspective, but I realized that some students misunderstood the content of the story because they didn't spend sufficient time for the reading. One of my partners of the peer review just wrote the essay this morning. He said that he had only written the body paragraph even though we had been supposed to finish up writing entire essay until today's class. I couldn't find the topic sentence from his body paragraph, and I didn't even find out what he wanted to write about. That's why it was very hard to evaluate his essay, and I have no idea what I should comment for it indeed. In contrast, I spend nine days to finish reading the novel prior to my class, and at the same time, I drew and wrote about the points of each chapters on my note to understand it more. Then I read again and again for my assignments and our group works. After that, I spend nine hours to write my essay for it. Obviously, there is a big time spend gap for the essay between those students and me. In the beginning of the class, I was very nervous about my reading skill, and I never thought I would keep up with my class. That was why I tried to work harder than other students to cover my weakness. After class, he asked me if he could keep my essay, which we used in our peer review today. I think he wanted to refer mine for his essay. To be honest, the part of me was happy to share with him my essay to help his writing, but another part of me is suspicious little bit that he might take my idea to put a quick end to his essay. I was ashamed of myself to think this way. :(     

I Remaind Myself Constantly

Yesterday, I went to school to see my teacher for my essay. I wanted him to check my essay. He gave me some tips for it. I told him that when I had studied previous article, I had realized that my reading skill is very weak. That was why I was very nervous at first to read "Farewell to Manzanar" since it is a pretty thick book. I showed him my reading note, which I drew and wrote the points of each chapter on. He told me it is good idea because even he will forget most of the contents of the story after finishing reading, and most American people also do what I did in order to understand more. He suggested me to take a reading class next semester, because improving reading skill will also help my nursing career. However, I didn't have time to take that class even though I really want to take it. I need to pass NCLEX this year and take a refresher course prior to working as a nurse in the U.S. I can sometimes notice my English improvements but also realize that I need to improve my English at the same time. I can not do everything I want to. I remind myself constantly that I will not give up and study English everyday.

I Always Want to Try to Do My Best

Today, I took my writing class. We discussed about the summaries in our group. Yesterday, I finished typing my summaries and took copies for my group. One of my classmates was surprised and asked me how long it took to finish typing my summaries. I know that I didn't have to type them. I told him that typing was easy for me, but it took many hours to summarize. He told me, "Good practice." It is easier for me to write down summaries than just bullet points. I want to pull together my understanding because I know that my reading skill is not good enough. I'm taking writing class to improve my writing skill, so I want to do everything I can with my best. After that, I gave a presentation for my summaries to another group. Everyone became interested in my summaries. Because we have an essay assignment for that book, my summaries will help them when they write the essay. They asked me if they could keep the copies of my summaries. They were also surprised that I had already finished my rough draft essay. They haven't started writing it yet. I didn't want to rush for it because the due date is Wednesday. I know the most students are always very busy since they take many classes. I just have enough time to focus on my writing study more than other students.
 

Online Practice Quiz for NCLEX

Yesterday, I purchased NCLEX-RN 10,000 – Powered by PrepU, which is an online quiz for NCLEX. I became interested in it because one of my favorite blogger recommended it on her blog. The reason why I wanted to buy it is, it was described, " PrepU uses data gathered from student performance to create personalized quizzes that focus on exactly what he or she needs to understand! After each quiz, PrepU adapts to continue helping students progress on their next quiz!" They can find my weakness and create quizzes for me to strengthen my weakness. I also wanted to experience online quiz because NCLEX is an online exam. Yesterday, I tried some quizes and thought it was fun because I like working on computer, and I can see my result after the attempt. I have 12 more weeks until my first NCLEX. I need to study more than before. 

He Ended Up Getting His Car Fixed

My husband ended up getting his car fixed. He was in hit-and-run accident on April 22, and his car got a dent on the hood. He first told me that he wouldn't fix it because it didn't bother him a lot, but he finally found a car repair shop, which provides automotive repair services with pretty reasonable price.  He also wanted to replace the front window regulator, which the car dealer had given him a quote for $600 before.
Replacing the hood and the front window regulator cost $900, and they did a good finishing job. Specifically, the color of the hood and the the car body matched perfectly. My husband's car looks much better than before, and we were satisfied with their excellent job. :)

Alberto G. Auto Body & Paint
13841 Harbor Blvd.
Garden Grove, CA 92843
(714) 265-9517

The Last Month of My College Life

My writing class will finish this month, and I need to go to school only 6 days. I need to submit one more essay and will take the final in-class essay at the end of this month. I think this is the last semester to take ESL classes. I am afraid whether or not I can do well out of ESL school, but I think it will be time to move on.

Our New Stools

Last Sunday, my husband and I went to Ikea to purchase stools for our counter table. It's because that day was Eat for Free day, with a purchase over $150, you can eat whatever you want at Ikea restaurant for free. Last time, the price you need to purchase was $100, but they increased the price $100 to $150. Because we were planing on buying two stools, the hike was no problem for us.

We were very hungry that day, so we ate a lot. :)

We purchased two stools, and my husband assembled them that night. Since then, we have been using the stools everyday. These became our favorite ones. :)

Very Retro Japanese Restaurant

Last Saturday, my husband and I went to Otomisan, a Japanese restaurant, after going to the Japanese American National Museum. It was our first time to go there. I have heard that restaurant has a very retro and at home feel. That was why I became very interested in it. Because we went to the Japanese American National Museum, which is located close to this restaurant, this was the best opportunity to try Otomisan.

Inside the restaurant was decorated with traditional Japanese ornaments. We went there at 5 p.m., but all four tables were occupied, and we were able to sit at the counter seats. I thought this restaurant was pretty popular in this area.   

My husband chose tempura and baked salmon set. The tempura was very fresh and crispy. We loved it.

I chose Katsudon. The amount of the Katsudon was just right for me. :)

We enjoyed our early dinner. We thought this kind of retro Japanese restaurant was very hard to find in LA. If you want to experience Japanese at home cuisine, you should go there. :)



Otomisan
2506 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90033