Halloween 2009!! Woohoo!

Eiko syays...

I had one heck of a Halloween day.
For the first time in 3 years, I taught English at the elementary school down the block, and boy, was it exciting or what? Since it was Halloween, we decided to use the opportunity to teach the 2nd graders words that relate to Halloween, and get them to draw pictures of those words.

Me: Okay, kids, let's all say 'spider' together!!
Kids: Supaidaaa~
Me: Very good! Okay, let's say 'party' together!!
Kids: Pantiiiii~ Gahahahaha! Pantiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~
Me: Nice. Okay, what about 'pumpkin'?
Kids: Pampukiiiiiiiiiiiiin~
etc. etc.

I thought my ear drums would fail me. Those kids really know how to use their vocal cords to kill!! Especially the boys. They shouted out every word, as if I weren't a few paces away from their little mouths, as if I was on the opposite side of the world! I fear my ears will be dysfunctional for life!

Whatever.

Teaching English to a rowdy bunch of 2nd graders isn't something that comes up in my schedule so often, and I appreciated the change. I had fun. And most of all, I'm thankful that I taught English this morning because seeing all the Halloween pictures the children drew got me into the Halloween spirit, which got me organizing a Halloween party for the teens in our Home.

I baked a pumpkin cake and a banana cake, and got some games together to play. I was thinking of the whole, *dressing up* idea, but we had just done that a while back, and I wasn't really up to going through all the trouble myself, so I junked that. I was also thinking of dressing us all up in freak-ass clothes, and 'trick-or-treating' the Home Members, terroizing them till they give us a year's worht of treats, but the majority of the Home isn't really home right now, so that had to be junked as well. Telling scary stories also crossed my mind, but honestly, they're over-rated and lame. So we kept the party simple. But we all had a load of fun. I think we all especially enjoyed seeing Akari glug down a glass of Yuriko's-special-batsu-game-drink! Akari had lost a certain game, and it was the perfect time to see her down the 'loser beverage'. The batsu-game-drink looked putrid, and Akari looked like she was in quite a bit of pain! After Akari managed to swallow down the putrid stuff, she shook her fist in Yuriko's face and told her she nearly puked! Yuriko will never hear the end of it!! LOL!

Well, that's it for now. But here's a tiny little update on how things are over here... well as I'm sure you can imagine, there are gomi bags of garbage and forsake all clothes everywhere! Yuriko and I started purging through our belongings just a few days ago, and we already managed to fill up 5 gomi bags up with pure junk!! And this is just the beginning stages of purging! Just wait till we actually start packing, and then cleaning up after the furniture is moved out of the way! I estimate 10 gomi bags each. And it really amazes me how we managed to stuff all this fluff in the limited space our room offers. It's a mystery. Or a black hole.

post pt.2 by Nozomi

Nozi says...
Turtles. When i hear that word, i think of our former pet turtles, Pudge and Lucy.
I say 'former' 'cause we decided they needed to go back to nature and that's why we ploped them in to a pond in a near by park, where they naturally live in.
The pic of the turtle you see below is a turtle Yoko, my older sister, found on the middle of the road
in the middle of some dog poop, and picked it up from the kindess osf her heart.
Anyway, now that she moved away, my friend Chibs owns it. Yoko nick named it V and Chibs now calls it Vlad (although it's a girl.) And my oh my how she grew!! And I hope and pray that Chibs would plop him back in the pond where she belongs, because V will soon grow bigger, and then she won't be her cute little self anymore.
I think I would like to stop my blog post here. Good bye!!

Moving?!

Akari says...

I never knew till recently that we will be making a new home. We, Matsuokas are going to move at the end of November. I don't know how the house looks like (Ai tells me that I have went there once, but I don't remember anything!) but Mom says that it's a cozy house. Of all that I have heard, it's small and just enough to house all of us, well, only 8 because Yasu and Dawn will be moving to another home.

Please pray for us so that we will be able to find good furniture, as there will be none over there. Thank you soo much.

Recent artwork

Yuriko is a freakin ARTIST!! I want her to finish this pic!!!!!

Ai-chan drew this master piece! Love the texture and colors! Amaaaazing!

Akari is getting extremely good at drawing humans these days. Very good, Akari! Good job!


Nozomi has the cutest style ever, and I love the way she uses her colors! So, so cute!
Yuya has been drawing up a storm, and it looks so good!! Yuya knows his colors, and I'm so proud of him! He's also got this super sexy style of pencil sketching that I can't get enough of!


I actually haven't been drawing much, and whenever I do try, I never really finish them. This one is among the rare few that i actually completed. I like David Boreanaz!!

A Tuesday

Tuesday was a very productive day off.
I woke up at the godly hour of 9am, made myself an omelet breakfast, and had some good Word time.
And in celebration of the amazing amounts of hair I'm losing these days, I curled my hair. Yuppers. I'm losing hair like it's molting season or something. Hand fulls at a time! It's a day of celebration indeed. I always had enough hair for three, and I'm losing just the right amount when I say "hand fulls".

I went out with Non-chan for some "sister time". Had loads of fun, catching up on each other's life, eating our sanckies and sampling and re-sampling the bakery's new additions. It's what we do whenever we go to Maruetsu and pass by the bakery. If there are any samples out, we will pass the baskets 3 to 4 times until we ate enough to get full. Yum!

On our way back, I bought some bread for Boris. She was in paradise the three minutes that the bread lasted her. I love Boris!!

Then we had a Matsuoka barbecue at Toneri. We were only 3 short of the 12 of us, and the wives (Dawn, Leika and Angel) were all present, with their mecha kawaii kids. That made 19 of us plus Isamu Tanaka! In a few years when the brothers have yet more kids, and when more of us get married, it's going to be a massive gathering. Dad and Mom might as well give up trying to remember names! Ha!
"Ryan? Who's Ryan?"
"Mom,....Ryan as in Hiki's kid?"
"What? I don't know any Ryan"
"Mitsuo? Ryan?"
"Oh, oh, oh! I know Mitsuo!"

Anyway, it was one, tasty barbecue! Leika was the one marinating the meat after all! Can't go wrong with Leika's cooking!! Oishikatta!

When I got back home, I decided to exercise my drawing skills, and started working on Ioan Griffud, (or however you spell his name) but got lazy half way and am now working on a entirely new project. Boris kept me entertained by reading to me one of her many vampire novels that she downloads when she PMSs.

Later on in the evening, somebody came up with the idea of a pizza/sushi hang out, and Yuriko and I decided to be maximizers and made the pizza. The sushi was canceled, so everybody had to eat our ... slightly delinquent pizzas, but they didn't complain. Matsuokas don't complain when it comes to food. Eheh!
Hiki and Angel told us their love story, how they met at the XD, how Hiki was bruding and was reluctant to lend Angel his shirt when she was only in a bikini and he had two shirts to share, how he proposed to her over skype. Sam and Leika also shared their story of love. Apparently Sam propsed to Leika twice! I didn't know that! And although I am much more familiar with Yasu and Dawn's story, it was fun to hear it again, especially with new company. The pizza didn't taste that bad, we all laughed and stayed up till quite late. Most of us didn't show up for devotions.
It was a happy, happy day!

Nozomi's first post!-Talk Time

Talk Time.
Doesn't the term, "talk time" make you stiff and maybe a tiny bit scared?
Anyway, let me introduce myself. My name is Nozomi, younger sister of Eiko and Akari Matsuoka. I just had "talk time" with Eiko, and just to let you know, talk time is fun and usually yummy.
Eiko and I decided to have some real fun together, and we dressed up a little, (it's quite fun) and off we went to Maruetsu. I decided get some ice-cream, and my older sis, (being a big fan of anything nutty) decided to get a small pack of mixed nuts. What I thought funny was that she would chose nuts over ice-cream!
After buying our snack, we went to a nearby park and ate our snack while we talked about Yuriko and how we though she was so funny, about the changes in the home, and so on. And then when I was just about to finish my ice-cream, older sis said, "Does a piece of bread still sound appealing to you now after the ice cream or are you already full? My reply "Maybe..." Which usually means a "yes". So off we went again to Maruetsu to buy a slice of garlic bread. And as you can see in the pictures, I am trying to stuff down the garlic bread in five seconds, which is quite impossib.e.
Well, the bottom line is that when Eiko asks if you want to have talk time with her, to not refuse 'cause you're going to miss out on some real fun!

Little family reunion

Eiko says...

Hey, Akari, sweetie, it might have been my idea to memorize The Glorious Conquest of a Fighter, and the photoshoot of you in Yuriko's clothes might have been strictly to make her happy, but you love it! *wink*
So do I!

Anyways, Hiki is here in T.O.M home right now, with his beautiful wife, Angel, and their adorable son, Ryan. Sam and Leika are staying the night as well, and it's a slightly incomplete, yet very happy family reunion. It's interesting to note that the only ones in our family that are married and have children are the guys.

Behold!! The Matsuoka studs and their families!

Isamu got married to pretty Leika, and they had 3 cups of coffee, all boys!!

Hikaru is married to Angel, and they produced the irresistable Ryan! I want the next one to be a girl!

Kakoii Yasu pulasu suteki na Dawnie equals mecha kawaii Kipi!!
And they're all gathered here, in T.O.M Home! How cool is that?!

Yuya, it's your turn! Make us all proud!

Quote...

Akari says...
I'm memorizing (or Eiko is making us memorize)this very cool quote, and I think there is no harm in sharing this with you, so here it is.

The Glorious conquest of a fighter.

'Only those who fight with no fear of loss in their hearts conquer all. they have nothing to lose therefore they gain all things. They conquer all, for they are not defending personal gains or posessions, but are rather fighting for the honour of the kingdom. They proudly Open their arms to the battle, and smile into the fray, for they know it can only serve to better them. They know there is no loss in this battle-only victory.

Therefore give all, without thought of the morrow, that you may gain all. Give without fear of loss, that you may gain the treasure, the spoil of the battle, the reward of the fight-for it is highly esteemed and precious.One soldeir who fears no loss is worth more than a host of soldiers who fight with reservations in their hearts. Therefore, strive to have no fear of loss. Place all in my hands. I shall keep it htere and then you need not fear of loss. You will not lose.

I am the give and the taker. I never cause loss. I give and I take but this is not loss unto you but gain-if you are able to leave all things in my hands. for I do not take and stop there, but the cycle will continue, just as the sun rises in the morning after darkness has veiled the land; I will give unto you again.

I wish to make you a special caliber-those upon whom the enemy can exact no fear or worry. You must trust explicitly and champion the cause of those around you , that you may show others the joy of fighting without reserection and obtaining the perfect victory. This is the glorious conquest of a fighter.'

(P.S. By the way, the picture below (with me and the pink night cap) was strictly for Boris and her photoshop. Eiko violated my copyright!!! ;) )

pic post!

Eiko says...
Some pictures that I've collected from my comp that I haven't shared with you all yet. Enjoy!

Some people just don't know when to stop heating up!!

Akari-chan kawaii!




Yasu actually spray painted his hair that color! I think it suits him quite well. Boris is such a princess!


Loved the barbecue at the FDTP! Faithy is AMAZING!
Eiko and Akari

Akita-trip/vacation

Eiko says...
Vacation was great! Us Matsuokas all got to have a great big whiff of the "country", got to really sleep "deep", and got to eat freshly picked vegies, Akitakomachi, and fish!
When you live in the cities, it's so necessary to leave the filth, the smog, the noise, the conveniences and the work, just really get away from it all and take a big breather,and for us, Akita does the trick. We came back refreshed and rested.

Some highlights/events of our trip

*Sleep
I mean seriously. We slept like we were in hibernation or something! It was raining quite a bit over there, so I'm sure it contributed to the sleepy atmosphere, but honestly, Mom took a long nap after every meal! Yasu would be sleeping around the clock, and I even took naps and I'm so not a napping person!

*We camped.
Yuppers. We camped by a river, and had a nice, fat barbecue with veggie-less yakisoba and way too many sausages. It wasn't exactly a camping ground. Actually, it was a small parking lot like place, but it was enough.
Enough to pitch a tent which the teens and I slept in. Yasu, Dawn and Kee-pee slept in one car, and Grandma, Dad and Mom took the other car. I didn't get much sleep due to the cold and squishiness of the occasion, but heck! Who sleeps during camping trips anyway? I never can!

*We Hiked.
I personally loved the hike best. The hiking course was beautiful, and we all got to stretch our legs and get some good exercise. We sorta out-hiked Mom and Dad by 30 minutes, but Grandma had bought us some snacks to munch on as we waited for the slow-pokes, so it was a Rom.8:28.

*Movies/Shadow Magic

We watched movie after movie after movie! 5 or 6 maybe. Wanna hear our awesome excuses for the movie binge?
1. We don't really count movies from the 12 Foundation Stones movie list. Movies from that list only count as half a movie! We watched a few from that list.
2. It was raining, and we were trapped inside Grandma's cottage with little else to do aside from,...well watch movies and documentaries, and sleep. And eat.
3. The car rides were long and slightly restless. The solution was a DVD player and a stack of movies.

And there's also, "Shadow Magic" --our savior from many a long car ride. A novel written by... sheesh, I forgot the author's name, but we listened to his pod-casted novel "Shadow Magic" during most of the long car rides, and it made time fly!

*Kiritanpo
To all those of you who don't know what that is, it's a special dish originating from Akita, and we all rolled-up our sleeves and cooked it together. If you haven't had it before, than you are so missing out! It's a slice of Heaven!

Okay, so those were the main highlights, but I'm sure if you went around and asked us individually how the Akita trip went, it would be very different from person to person. For me personally, it meant standing in the kitchen, cooking 3 meals a day, the fresh air and delicious water, the quietness and being able to spend more time with my family.

Dawn and Kipi!!

Dad and MomMaking kiritanpo!!

At one of our favorite parks in Akita!
Nice butt, Yuya!!

Dad, Akari and Nozomi! We LOVE autumn!
Show 'em those muscles!
Huh?!
I love this pic!
Mom, Dad, and Dad's Mom.
Yasu doing some bench push-ups. Nice oshiri!! ;)

FDTP owari.

I must admit, I had a ton of fun. I can't believe that I ever complained or fussed about going. I met so many cool people , attended so many inspiring and motivating classes, and was able to concentrate on my walk with the Lord. All in all, FDTP was an experience that I wouldn't trade the world for!
But despite all the fun that I had there, when the last day rolled around, I just knew that it was time to go Home. Even the heavens agreed with me and contributed to the occasion with lot's of gloomy clouds and rain--the kind of weather that screams, "good bye". It was sad to say good bye to the people that you've grown to love and respect and who you built special bonds of love with, but strangely enough, I didn't cry. I think I had cried the last storage of tears for the week the night before during the Ending Ceremony.
And I hate packing my bags and cleaning up after the mess that I make at camps. That makes me sound like such a loser, but it's true. After something so dynamic like this FDTP, you just don't want to have to think about packing up and scrubbing anything. You just wanna say good bye, and go home, and get it all over with, with your last memories of the Academy to be your friends teary-eyed face or the feeling of their hugs and kisses as opposed to deep-cleaning Building B, the Jim, classroom, etc.
But pack my bags and deep-cleaning is exactly what I did, and in the RAIN! How sentimental is that, eh?
And gosh, did I crave beer or what? By the night before's ending celebration I was already craving beer like nothing else, but it just got worse and worse until all I could think of was beer in great quantities. As soon as I got home, I ran down to the nearest 99 and bought myself some drinks and celebrated with dear Yuriko till sunrise! It's good to be Home. FDTP was great, but there really is no place like Home. At least for me. I mean, the moment I stepped out of our Home's elevator, and the teens pounded me with hugs and so much love, my camp-blues were just a faint memory of the past. I don't think I even had camp-blues to begin with, and if I did, they probably lasted for, max, 3 minutes. This is probably due to the 2 hour bus ride with Eman and Keigo where we bonded over the memories and coolness of the Academy, which was totally fun, and at Tokyo station, Yuriko picked me up and brought me Home. Yup. No after-camp-blues. Life is so damn good!
And my from tomorrow, my week-long vacation begins, and I'll be going up to Akita to chill with my family. Yasu and Dawn will becoming with us. It's gonna be great! Cya all in a week or so.