U try it 2

Eiko says...

I succeeded in getting my Dad and Mom to say "nespi" over and over again.

Dad cracked up.

Mom wouldn't stop saying it.

They both loved it!

;)

tadaimaaaaaa

Eiko says...

BOOM, BABY!!

I'm back!

The ten or so days away from Home was exactly what I needed to clear my head of the junk it accumulated, and I came back Home in a very healthy, mental state.

To my wonderful PC/LIM friends and acquaintances, it was great meeting you all again, and taking care of your children was a blast! ( in more ways than one) I'd love to visit again.

Yup, that's what I was doing at the PC/LIM. Child Care, and lot's of it! It wasn't only fun and games, mind you, although there was plenty of that too.

I had a safe, yet tiring trip home, and therefore, I will keep this short. I'll be up and blogging more about a little bit of everything LATER!

Laterz.

Icthus home

Akari says...

I just realized that we hardly post any pictures of our rooms...I think it's high time to post some.

Dining room/living room/kitchen
Our(Ai, yuya, me, and Nonny's) loft.
Don't you think it's time Yuya gets his own room?
Bathroom/Dad's officeNow I won't have any worries about food, even if you (Eiko) go for another trip...Boris is just as good as you are!


Sorry I couldn't post so many pictures. Mom and Boris didn't give me permission to post their rooms...Anyway, I have to excuse myself as it is 10 o'clock...Already!
Good night. GTG!

Report to Princess Pei Pei

Akari says...

When I heard that Eiko was visiting this blog even when she was over at Lim Home(she may be at HCS now), I decided to write this post to inform her of what I and others are up to.

Well, I started/finished reading Count of Monte Cristo, and am starting on The Three Muskateers.
Also, Dad got an i phone,
And we didn't do school for 2 days (going to junky museums) which makes your scoring much easier.
Boris told me to post that 'yuriko still doesn't miss you' or something of the sort...? (Boris: It's a joke...sort of)
We watched 'Cloudy with a chance of meat balls.
We also got some Muesli and Ai made some baked oats for us(she would've made some for you too, if you were here...hint hint).
Yuriko taught us a new word,'Frenemies' it means enemies posing as friends...?
Boris told me that we would have something yummy before you come home.
Nonny and I are stealing cookies from Mom's box while she's not looking.

Besides that, not much is note worthy, and Mom is now showing us an interesting documentary so I'm going now. I love you tonz Eiko...Come back to us as soon as you can...

Favourite movie...

Akari says...

I don't think I don't have any favourite movie.
We watched 'cloudy with a chance of meat balls' last night. We couldn't stop laughing. When I was watching it and I thought this would certainly be my favourite movie, but thinkng about it now, maybe not.

The other(comedy) movies I like are...

*Star dust

*Pink Panther

*Shanghai noon

*Princess Bride

*Prince Valiant

...Okay, thinking back on the other movies, 'cloudy with a chance of meat balls' is certainly not going to be at the top of my list...no, I really can't pick out a single movie and say, "This is the best movie I've seen so far."
There are so many movies I can still think of that I like, but then, the list would be endless...Oh, no It won't be endless. It's just going to be a waste of time.

Thinking of time, it's already 9:30, and I have to go to sleep now.
I'll have to be in bed by 10. So, good night.

Our bread maker

Akari says...

We get to have fresh bread almost everyday, thanks to the new bread-maker that bakes all by itself. 'All by itself' is, that you don't have to knead the dough, but dump all the ingredients inside the machine, and well, after a few hours, the bread comes out. It can bake all sorts of things, like, french bread, nan, pizza crust, and cake too. There are also spinach bread, and carrot bread that we have not yet baked (I hope to keep it that way).

Apple cake that Ai (or the bread-maker) baked


The Bread-maker

It's all about luuuuuuuuuuuv

Eiko says...

I will be absent for about 10 days, visiting the PC/LIM and the HCS. So lucks to me. (A big thank you to the PC/LIM for accepting me on such short notice. I promise, I'll be on my best behavior! ) In the mean time, this blog will be in the faithful hands of Akari, and she will keep you and me updated with the latest of life at Icthus Home.

Last night was one painful memory. My period cramps were at it's worst, and I was literally paralyzed from chest down. All I could do was lie on the living room floor, having a stare-down with the clock hanging on the wall, hating every moment of it. The only thing that came to mind that would dull the pain I was going through was alcohol. So I put on my, "husky, scary voice" on, and called Mom, threatening her that if she didn't get me alcohol, (and lot's of it) she'd come back to a house with ripped shouji paper, broken windows, and a completely mental, 18 year old daughter. She thought I was hilarious and started cracking up. I thought I was hilarious too and I laughed with her. Laughing and coming up with new threats to get Mom to buy me lot's of alcohol made my evening less painful.
Boris decided to join in on the fun, as she grabbed the softbank from my hand.

Boris: Hey, Mom. If you don't get me and Eiko 3 tall, strong chuj-hai cans EACH, I will shave all my hair off!!
Mom: Hahahaha! That's so funny! And why would I care about your hair anyway?
Boris: Because, Mom. When your important sheep come over and they are being disturbed over my buzzed hair-do, I will tell them that I am GAY!! It will stumble them forever, and cause them to question your beliefs!! Then they will stop supporting you. Then... you know what happens after that?
Mom: Oh, no!
Boris: Exaaactly. That's why, Mom, what you wanna do is ...


etc etc etc.

Did we get our alcohol? Well, since Boris' argument was far better, Mom only bought alcohol for her. And get this: Mom even bought Boris some wasabi-kaki-pees! Nuts!!

I had to endure my killer-period-cramps alone, and without comfort.

I was planning on just calling it a night by 9:00, but being that I sleep in the living room, (my room is smaller than a inmate's cell, and I room with Boris!!) I had a full hour till official lights out time.

Fan of Two out of Twelve says:
I thought you had insomnia and you stayed up all night hating yourself for not being able to sleep. So, what's up with calling it a night at 9:00???

Well, yes, I do have insomnia, but I've been sleeping much better these days--5~6 hours, as oposed to 1~3 hours of sleep. By midnight, I try my best to be comfortably in bed. Little things affect my sleep very easily though--a short doze on the couch in the afternoon, coffee past 3 pm, bad cramps, problematic people and situations, etc.

On with the post!

So, I lay there in pain, just hurting, hurting, hurting, and wondering what I could do to help time fly. Just then, 3 angels in times of destress started chatting me, and that kept me occupied for the rest of the night.

Annoying fan of Two out of Twelve says: I thought you were "literally paralyzed?" How can one chat when they are "literally paralyzed"?

Okay.
For one, I was being sarcastic about the "literally paralyzed" thingie, and secondly, I said "literally paralyzed from chest down"! (Get your facts straight!!) I have mastered the amazing talent of typing while laying on my stomach, AND my computer was on the living room floor with me to begin with. I didn't have to get up from my painful position on the floor to get my lappie, and therefore, anything "chest down" did not have to move an inch.

On with the post!!

After my dear friends deserted me for sleep, ( being that it was past midnght,) I got our beloved YouTube out, and watched reeeaaaallly old boy bands till my eyes gave out. I was ready for sleep.
I went to sleep thinking, "Boy bands suck."

Why I told you all that, is beyond me. I'm typing whatever comes to mind right now, and when I do that, it's kinda hit and miss, if you know what I mean.

And now, nothing comes to mind.

I guess it's time to cut off, huh?

Well, take care, be safe, and have a good one.

Oh, and btw! You might have noticed that the commenting problem is fixed, but just in case you didn't, I thought I'd announce it here, that it is indeed fixed. If you still can't comment, than there's probably something wrong with your computer.

Cheers.

shouting out to MOM!! <3

Eiko says...

Back in the day, when I didn't blog, I HATED stumbling across depressing bloggers, who spread their depression, hate, and ugly colors through their sappy, boo-hooy, feel-sorry-for-me-now, I-hate-life, posts.
But now, being a blogger myself, I almost came close to writing something super-sappy here, on Two out of Twelve!
But I so, totally won't. There's a difference between being funny and witty about life, and being depressed and ugly and hating about life! Being depressed, ugly and hating here, on Two out of Twelve is NOT THE VISION.

So, instead, I will grant my dear, Mother's wishes, and dedicate an entire blog post to her.
(think my mom is a weeeeeny bit jealous about the "I love you, daddy" post I did a while back)

Mom,

You asked me so nicely, so I couldn't help it.

You are a SAINT. I admire your faith, and simple trust in Jesus. I admire your strength of charactor, and happy personality. I love the way you hear me out, even if you don't really understand half of my teen-talk, or my adolecent rants. Your girlie ways makes it easier to communicate with you.

Yeah, there ARE the times we let each other "have it", and we're totally at each other's necks over the stupidest things, but what I love about you and me, is that we are not only mom and daughter, we are friends, and appologizing isn't even so humbling--it comes naturally.

Mom, I honestly don't know how you managed to go through the process of pregenancy and child birth 12 times, and not only preganancy and child birth, but all the other problems and other stuff that come with children--diper changes, breast-feeding, bed-wetting, teaching, adolesence managing, boy-girl problems--but you managed beautifuly, and you did a fantastic job.

Ignore me when I'm a pain in your backside. I don't mean any one of the bad things I say. This awkward stage of mine will pass, and hopefully, you will stop regretting "that fateful night" with Dad which resulted in...well me.

You're not perfect, Mom. But The-Big-Man-Up-In-The-Sky sure knew what He was doing when he made me your daughter. No one else would have been able to handle my extreme stages in life, the way you did. I'm lucky to have you as my mom.

Mama daisuki <3

I LOVE YOU!!

What's wrong with Carrots?

Akari says...

Eiko and Boris are not eating their carrots. Boris told me that carrots does 'something to over 15-year-old females'.

"Exactly what do they do?"

"I'll tell you when you're over 15."

"But I'll forget by then!"

"That's the point."

The woes of being under aged.

But what could they do to you but good?
Give you a gassy stomach? Or do they minus a few minutes from you life span? Or do they turn your skin colour to orange? Or worse yet, Do they eat away at your intestines, leaving you only with a few bones and skin stretched over it?
I doubt it. They(teachers, Parents, brothers, sisters, including you, Eiko!) told me from when I was a toddler that they do the opposite of what I just listed above.

I was hoping that, if I post about this, Eiko or Boris would tell me, but just in case they wouldn't tell me, I would like to request that, if you know why they are avoiding carrots, to please tell me.
Thank you!

text-book, movie-perfect PERFECTION

Eiko says...

Are you looking for "the one" ??? Worse yet, are you saving yourself for "the one"???

Stop.

Because "the one" doesn't exist. "The One" is waiting for his/her "the one", and I doubt that person they're waiting for is you.

The problem with waiting for "the one" is that you're waiting for:

(If you're a guy, change the "he" to "she". . . unless you're...yeah.)

turns on nasal, cheer-leader-voice

He's this tall
He's got blue eyes that sparkle
He always understands me
He always holds me
He kisses me just the right way
His biceps bulge attractively when he's washing dishes
He's got Jesus-perfect-abs
He's got Brad Pitt's pout
He knows how to style his hair perfectly
He doesn't mind me crying
He's got the.perfect.smile
He doesn't get tired of my mindless pratter
His finger/toe nails are always neat, clean and tidy
He knows that dirty laundry belongs in the dirty laundry basket
He knows when I don't want him in my pants
He watches love comedies with me
He understands my mood swings
He ...

BLAH BLAH BLAH!!

In other words, you want a Mr. PERFECT!

And Mr. PERFECT doesn't exist on planet Earth as far as I know.
So unless you're planning on celibacy, just quit being so freakin paranoid!!
And one thing's for sure, if Mr. PERFECT does exist, (which he doesn't) he's way too perfect for you, because perfection deserves perfection.

And you are, by anybody's standard, not perfect.

(Which is why we believe in Salvation by Grace, etc. etc. )

I rest my case.

action vs food

Eiko says...

When you're emotional, or moody, or stressed, what is your default?

Are you a...

emotional-->ACTION (a run/jog, major pumping in the work out room, punching things, hitting things/people, etc.)

or

emotional-->FOOD (chocolate, ice-cream, potato-chips, any kind of junk-food, etc.)

kinda person?

Me? Well, I'm a girl, so I'm usually in the emotional--> food category. It always puzzled me how guys could actually work out or even put enough power in a punch when they're emotional.

Dude: You know, I've been getting pretty big these days.
Me: Ahhh, been putting on the pounds with all that emotional binging you've been doing?
Dude: Haha! I meant I've been in the work out room to get my mind off of things, you know?
Me: No, I don't know. I mean, I don't understand.

But since most guys work out, run, punch, or hit when their moody, and they all testify to how it helps, I figured that it must really work, and I decided to give it a go next time I'm stressed. "Next time" happened to be this evening. So instead of attacking the fridge (which never has much of anything inside anyways) I decided to focus my pent up energies on a work out, and I was very happy with the results. It got my mind off of things, and I really enjoyed myself.

oh, the winds and the rain

You see, my life is a series of storms. More like a series of taifuns! The moment I see a glimpse of blue sky and sunshine, and I think the taifun's over, the next thing I know, it starts raining again, the wind begins to howl, and then after a while, I'm like, You know what? Junk the freakin umbrella! The only thing it's keeping dry is the tip of my head anyways.
So I do--like Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain. But once I do that--junking the umbrella and stop fighting things that can't be fought, like rain and wind and lightening-- it's a form of freedom. Stop fighting the wind, stop trying to fight the rain from getting you wet, stop trying to keep the umbrella steady over your head, and enjoy the wonderful sensations of a storm!
It reminds me of the time I was at the LIM and Hiki came over for a visit. I missed him so much! The first night he stayed there was a fantastic thunder storm with heavy rain and lightening that went on till the next day. Hiki and I took a walk as we saw an opening in the stormy weather. We took our umbrellas just in case. There wasn't an excessive amount of talking. There never really is between Hiki and I. But I do remember being in 100% bliss with my hottie brother walking with me through those hilly, muddy roads to the lake, as he made his usual, slightly perverted, slightly-off comments on life. And luck had it, the storm broke out again, and before we knew it, the wind picked up again, and buckets of rain was being dumped on us, and our umbrellas were doing very little good in keeping us dry. So we junked the umbrellas, let the rain and the winds take us, and like 1st graders, we splashed our sandled feet through the biggest puddles, and the fast forming little rivers flowing down the rocky roads. By the time we got Home, we were as wet as the lake we were walking around, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.
But just imagine how boring it would have been if we had kept the umbrellas tightly in our hands, and if we were carefully avoiding puddles, just how old, cranky people do?
Don't stop living life cuz there's a storm. I mean, what would happen if your entire life is made up of storms? You'll be putting your life on hold until life passes you by! Bad idea. Junk the umbrella!!

Answer to Eiko's thought provoking questions

Akari says...

What she asks me these days..."Don't you have any opinion?" and "Why don't you have inspiration for posting(blogging)?"
I'm quite sure she already knows the answer, but really, this topic is the only thing that I have to blog about.

Anyway, I'm quite sure I have an opinion, just too lazy to tell it. The easiest answer for me is to have a stupid grin and say, "I don't know." Eiko gets disturbed when I answer like that because she's afraid if I have become a brainless zombie, or because she can't decide what to read for morning devotions. ;)

And how can I have inspiration for posting when I hate it? That's a lie. I don't hate posting. I'm just terrible at verbalizing my thoughts and emotions, thus making me frustrated, and frustration without fail, drains my inspiration. This may be the reason why I'm not posting so regularly. I'm the opposite of Eiko,(obviously) who posts almost everyday because posting is relaxing for her. Although I may have times when I want to post, those are very rare occasions.

Eiko is continually trying her best to get my inspiration back, but it's not really working. Oh well, at least she made me to post this one. ehehe

blah blah blah...

Eiko says...

If you haven't noticed by now, blogging is a hobby--something I enjoy doing, something that is fun and relaxing for me. So if you can't keep up with the posts, just check my blog out more often. It does the trick.

It's also a stress relieving activity for me, a place where I can rant and rave and fume. I mean, I could do that vocally here by screaming at the top of my head, or ranting about the things that are giving me a head ache, but being that this house wasn't sound proofed at all, I would be disturbing my very studious siblings and my workaholic dad without me even giving them the choice of whether they want to be disturbed by my moods or not. That's why blogging about those moods and emotions is much safer. The reader (you) have the choice to be disturbed by my rants or not, by choosing to not read my posts if you find them ungodly, or if you decide that my moody rants will affect your spiritual life in a negative sort of way.

Of course there are the cows down the road who are always willing to lend me a listening ear and their full, cow-eyed attention any time of day, but there's a problem: THEY STINK LIKE MANURE! Even dear Boris crinkles up her nose when we walk past them.

So, yeah, you're probably thinking, "Eiko sounds a bit disturbed. Will this post be a depressing read and will it negatively tint my spirit and discipleship? Should I just skip down to the last paragraph to find out the conclusion of all this, or should I just not read it and say I did?"

To answer your question, no, this won't be depressing, or sappy, or sentimental, or boo-hoo-ish. I just really, really, REALLY want to finish the bottle of wine in the fridge that Mom and Dad bought for our weekly communion times.

(Note: Icthus Home has what we like to call Monday Fellowships where we have a special dinner and communion and some extra fellowship on a weekly basis. )

Okay, and maybe I am a bit moody right now, which may explain why I'm feeling in need of some alcohol. But WHATEVER! I'm NOT going to give in to temptation. Well, I might, but I don't think so. At least not until I finish this post. (Big Smirk)

Why am I feeling moody? Well, umm...that's like asking a fish why it needs water to survive, or why the cow needs to chew its cud, or why monkeys look like humans, or why I like ice cream!!

I'm a Pisces. I'm moody. K?

And O.M.G! Did you read the post by Akari about our Horoscopes? My Rising is in Gemini, and my Moon is in Scorpio!!! I think I lost some extra sleep over that one. No offense to you lovely individuals who have any Gemini or Scorpio in you whatsoever! It's just that I don't think the combination of Pisces, Gemini and Scorpio is so hot.

I was reading up on my horoscope these past few days, and no matter what the source, they always mention how Pisces people are prone to be dependent on either drugs or alcohol. Alcohol!!! I felt so labled after reading that. Infact I still feel labled... Okay, you know what? Junk the wine in the fridge! I don't need it to be happy. That's it!! I'm on one of my alcohol fasts again. No more alcohol for me! Period! That is, of course, until the next time alcohol is available in big amounts. No, the bottle of wine in the fridge is not in the "big amounts" category.

And you know what? This post is getting long and drawn out and boring so I'm going to cut off here. I bet you ended up skipping down to THIS PARAGRAPH after all. Don't worry. I do that all the time! You really shouldn't feel obliged to read through anyone's blog at all, especially if it isn't interesting. The only blogs I check are the ones with lot's of pictures, because pictures make up for bad writing. So if this post didn't interest you, and you still struggled through it out of duty, then I'd say you have a very messed up sence of duty.

Don't worry though. Jesus still loves you.

Oyasumi~!

nasu wa samui

Yeah, you'll make it ;)

Eiko says...

Dad is starting a new Out Reach project, and he wanted me to lend him a hand with a thing or two which involves my past--the part of my past when I was absolutely mental concerning a few eating disorders. I reluctantly agreed, NOT because it's a touchy subject--it's not.

If you were to ask me about my anorexic days, I will tell you all the nitty-gritty details with no emotional feelings attached, laugh here and there, and even throw in a joke. But I may think you very rude depending on how you ask me. Because although it's not a touchy subject for me whatsoever, generally it's suppsed to be a touchy subject, and therefore, should be treated as such. For example, asking me whether or not my past about my eating disorders is a touchy subject (even if you know it isn't after reading this post) would be nice. I'll most likely reply with a, "Not at all!" Then what you do is ignore the "not-at-all" statement, proceed with caution and ask me if I'm cool with talking about it. I'll probably say, "Totally cool!" Then, you can talk about it with me as if it WERE a touchy subject anyway, and I'll most likely think you're a very nice person.

Although I'll probably humor you even if you casually and carelessly go, "Oh, yeah, btw, that time when you wouldn't eat? You were like blah blah blah,...how did you think/feel about blah blah blah...", I shall permanently label you as a very rude, and unthoughtful person. I mean, imagine if I WAS really troubled by my past, and imagine if it really WAS a big deal for me? I know many ex-anorexics who's past troubles them greatly. So for their sanity's sake and for your own future's ass' sake, it would be wise to cushion your words when addressing topics like this.

But you already know that.

Anyways,

Dad asked me to write up a paragraph or so of encouragement for people who are struggling with eating disorders, or other such addictions like drugs, alcohol, etc. And yeah, I was talking about how I agreed reluctantly. I was reluctant because:

*I'm lazy
*I wasn't sure if I could remember how things were exactly, or if I could come up with anything encouraging other then, "Don't give up. You'll be normal some day..."
*People with eating disorders are stubborn and complicated, and the thought of being responsible for words that are suppose to be an encouragement and help them scared me.

(Note: Anorexic people scare me--big time)

But like I said, I agreed to give Dad a hand, and I found myself in front of my computer, hands on the key board, and deeply troubled by the fact that I couldn't come up with much that would encourage. I would write a sentence, then delete it. And I continued the process several times. I guess the fact that I'm so unemotional about my past makes me a little harsh on people struggling with such problems. So I took a few moments of silent meditation, and decided to take a little trip down memory's lane, and tried my best to feel. A few minutes of feeling my past was enough for me to write a full paragraph of encouragement for those who have the eating problem.

Anorexic people are selfish, self-centered, and stubborn. They may be insanely difficult to be around, uncontrollably emotional, horribly rude, depressed, scary-looking, not fun, and entirely beyond hope. But there's ALWAYS hope. I mean, I was like that once upon a few years ago, and obviously those things aren't issues in my life anymore. See? Hope for me, hope for them, hope for you. They're also going through mental and physical pain you can only begin to imagine, so they're not like that to piss you off. And although they may not show it, they need you, and more then anything, they need to know that you love them, that you will be there for them and fight with them till the end, and that you have faith--faith in them, and faith for a 100% recovery.

And ladies and/or gentlemen, if YOU so happen to be struggling with an eating disorder, yes, there's hope. Yes, you will be normal someday, and yes, it's possible. Even if it seems like every step forward reveals how deep in **** you are, I promise you that if you keep taking those steps forward, even if it's half a step, or a stumble forward, (Heck! Even if you can only crawl forward) you will someday find yourself in a very beautiful place, (and I'm not talking about Heaven) where your present worries and struggles and nightmares are a thing of the past, and if you're anything like me, you'll be able to smile and even laugh at how silly those things used to be to you. I know you want that. So keep fighting. I mean it!!
One more thing. When mom and dad, friends and family extend a hand to you, TAKE IT! Deep down in your heart you know you need that help. Let them help you. Let them love you. Because despite all your excuses and reasons, you need them, and they need you too.

Is life worth living? Absolutely!

P.S.
Somebody once asked for pictures of me during my excessively skinny days, but that's pushing it a bit too far. Because like most girls, I'm conscious of how I look (you know...vain?) and I was totally unattractive and out of proportion, so the answer is no, I won't show you any pictures. Unless you're family. (Note that the "f" wasn't capitalized.)

Silly J.R.R Tolkien!

Nozomi says...

The following will be a poem from a book I got for Christmas from my sisters (Ai and Akari) and older brother (Yuya) called "Tales from the perilous realm" and this particular poem is my favorite. A big hand for J.R.R Tolkien for writing such hilarious things!!

The Stone Troll

Troll sat alone on his seat of stone,
And munched and mumbled a bare old bone;
For many a year he munched it near,
For meat was hard to come by,
Done by! Gum by!
In a cave in the hills he dwelt alone,
And meat was hard to come by.

Up came tom with his big boots on,
Said he to the Troll; Pray what is yon?
For it looks like the shin o' my nuncle Tim,
As should be lyn' in grave yard.
Caveyard! Paveyard!
This many a year has Tim been gone,
And I thought he were lyn' in graveyard!

'My lad,' said Troll, 'this bone I stole.
But what be bones that lin in a hole?
Thy nuncle was dead as a lump o' lead ,
Afore I found his shinbone,
Tinbone! Thinbone!
He can spare a share for a poor old troll;
For he don't need his shinbone.'

Said Tom: 'I don't see why the likes o' three
Without axin' leave should go makin' free
With the shank or the shin o' my father's kin:
So hand the old bone over!
Rover! Trover!
Though dead he be, it belongs to he;
So hand the old bone over!

'For a couple o' pins, ' says Troll, and grins,
'I'll eat thee too, and gnaw thy shins.
A bit o' fresh meat will go down sweet!
I'll try my teeth on thee now.
Hee now! See now!
I'm tired o' gnawing old bones and skins;
I've a mind to dine on thee now.'

But just as he thought his dinner was caught,
He found his hands had hold of naught.
Before he could mind, Tom slipped behind,
And gave him the boot to larn him,
Warn him! Darn him!
A bump o' the boot on the seat, Tom thought,
Would be the way to larn him.

But harder than stone is the flesh and bone
Of a troll that sits in the hills alone.
As well set your boot to the mountain's root,
For the seat of a troll don't feel it.
Peel it! Heal it!
Old Troll laughed, when he heard Tom groan,
And he knew his toes could feel it.

Tom's leg is game, since home he came,.
And his bootless foot is lasting lame;
But Troll don't care, and he's still there
With the bone he boned from its owner.
Doner! Boner!
Troll's old seat is still the same,
And the bone he boned from its owner!

shashinnn

Some pics I found on my comp that I haven't posted yet.

2007
There was a time when I thought that the lighter your hair color, the cooler you were, so I kept dying and bleaching the life out of my hair until just last year when I was forced to redye my hair black for the sake of a part time job. I also went through a stage where I iron curled my hair almost every day!! What a vain little thing I was. Right now, I'm all for the black, straight hair look. How we all change!

On the roof of T.O.M.

It was a bad day...Boris and I had this huge argument over something entirely stupid while out together at Toneri.

We had a masquerade-type-party at T.O.M. once, and instead of making a mask, I decided to paint one on. It was fun. 2009

Ken, I look good in your jacket! LOLz

Dress up for activity night.
T.O.M. offensive celebration. Ken and Lixy made the most mouth watering pasta EVER! I ate till my stomach couldn't take one more molecule of anything!

Some pics I found on my comp that I haven't posted yet.

Rising, Sun and Moon

Akari says...

We recently looked up all of our rising, sun and moon. The pdf's first 3 pages have a lot of weird graphs, but the next 2 pages are pretty interesting. Some of the things on the pdf doesn't apply to us, but most of it explains us too well.

Eiko
Gemini rising, Sun in Pisces, Moon in Scorpio.
http://horoscopes.jpastrology.co.uk/freehoroscopes/Mini_Soul_Scope-44998.pdf

Akari
Taurus rising, Sun in Sagittarius, Moon in Capricorn
http://horoscopes.jpastrology.co.uk/freehoroscopes/Mini_Soul_Scope-119002.pdf

Eiko: OMG...*troubled look

blood, liver, candle light service

Eiko says...

Contrary to popular opinion, I can cook. I'm not exceptionally good at cooking, but I know the basics, and since I find myself in the kitchen a lot more than when I was at T.O.M, I imagine my cooking skills are improving.
I used to hate cooking, and whenever I'd find my name on the schedule slot for dinner or lunch cook in T.O.M Home, my day was ruined. But since coming over here, cooking is actually fun, and something I look forward to in my day. I think it's mainly because I'm only cooking for 8 people, and therefore, a greater variety is possible.
The other day, I pulled out a huge hunk of beef from the freezer and was planning something along the lines of a meat sauce or yakiniku, but to my horror, it turned out to be liver!
I HATE liver! Its smell turns my stomach, it BLEEDS way too much, and the texture makes me wanna puke, PLUS it feels wrong when you're cutting it, as it oozes its way between your fingers and finger nails... *puke*
I was so disappointed about the beef turning out to be liver, that I couldn't even think straight, much less cook the liver nicely. I quickly pulled out some left over chicken, and made a chicken pasta, which turned out nicely. But since I had already defrosted the liver, I had to cook it sooner or later, and that so happened to be today. I heard that soaking liver in milk would take away it's awful smell, and although I had my doubts on the fact that anything could make something so horrible smelling and tasting smell and taste anywhere near edible, it worked, and to my pleasant surprise, my family gobbled it all up, with no left overs for the fridge.



Me in the kitchen
Liver blood galore! Yuck!!!

It bleeds like crazy when you try to cut it.
Japanese phyco!!

And we had candle light service that night. It was delayed due to the work Boris and I had from the 1st to the 3rd, but we still did it and that's what matters.

sleeping issues

Eiko says...

Ever since working the night shift at Kappa Zushi, I've been struggling with insomnia. Yeah, yeah, laugh and call me a fraud, but fraud or not, it's been a real pain these days, and I've been trying everything under the sun to set things right with my body clock.

*Took sleeping strips
*Tried exhausting myself with grueling work outs
*Drinking warm milk with honey
*Praying myself to sleep
*Listening to a Word Audio
*Reading till my eyes gave out
*Drawing till my eyes gave out
*Eating a night snack
*Drinking an alcoholic beverage or two
*Stopped drinking all caffeinated drinks
*Making it completely dark in the room
*Drinking sleepy herb teas
*and the list is endless

But the more I try to sleep, the more I'm faced with the impossibility of the whole thing, and then I get angry. Once I get to that stage, I'm basically hopeless. I'm so angry over the fact that I can't sleep that sleep is literally impossible!

So, why don't I just...stop trying to sleep and stay awake all night?

Well, I actually did do that.

I stopped thinking about sleep altogether, and just enjoyed the silent nights where no one is around, sometimes watching a movie, sometimes catching up on an XD assignment, sometimes blogging, sometimes writing a friend, sometimes staying up with a friend, etc. It's actually really relaxing and enjoyable, and you can get so much done becuase there's no one to disturb you and you aren't following a schedule.

But humans don't survive long without sleep, and after a week or two of almost zero sleep, I start shaking, my digestive system gets screwed up, my head starts hurting, my back starts aching, I start having black outs, and I feel like I'm 'losing it'.
Exhausted, I drop in bed at night, hurting everywhere, and begging God to grant me sweet sleep, but when sleep still doesn't touch me, I start getting desperate, and I go a bit crazy trying to find ways to force my body into sleep. But then the cycle continues...I get angry because nothing works, and the anger is so strong it keeps me awake.

Pretty hopeless, huh?

I've had the most success with the 2 tactics below

1. A hot bubble bath, soothing music, and alcohol
2. Skip the bath and music--drink alcohol

A few nights back, I had the opportunity to drink enough to make me happy, and that night, I slept 5 hours straight! It was the first time in weeks that I've slept that soundly and that long, and ever since then, I am able to sleep a little longer, and a little longer--3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours. I still wake up at odd hours of the night, and once that happens, going back to sleep is a real hassle. But life is so much better when I'm well rested, and here's a huge thank you to all of you who prayed for me. It's been working.

Sleep has always been an issue for me, ever since I struggled with eating disorders. I had the messed up idea that sleep equaled gaining weight, and when you're depressed, (esp. when you're depressed in an anorexic sort of way) sleep is literally impossible. But compared to then, I'm living Heaven on Earth, and I've got it good.

It's also been a decent while since I've experienced sleep paralysis. Now, THAT is freaky, and if you've ever experienced sleep paralysis, you understand the fear of not being able to move, the feeling of suffocation, the crushing weight on your chest that increases as you struggle against it, the ringing noises and the inability to cry for help, not being able to find your voice, a sinister presence.

It's definitely spiritual, and I experienced sleep paralysis most when I was farther from the Lord than I should have been.

Anyways, all those of you who would argue that insomnia is all in the mind, well I won't argue with you on that one. In fact, I already made a decent statement about the topic in an earlier post on insomnia. I'm usually awake thinking about how I can't sleep and how miserable I am, and that hinders my sleep. Or sometimes I'm awake thinking about certain people, or situations that mean something to me. Or sometimes I miss someone, and thinking about it robs me of sleep. Sure, bad work hours affect you too, as well as it being too cold ( a biggie for me), it being too loud, etc. but I think insomnia is brought about by both physical and mental (or spiritual) things.

But whatever. Insomnia is such a boring, depressing topic, esp. since it's something I have to face on a nightly basis, so let's just stop here. I'll just try my best to do what the Lord told me to and trust Him more about things that worry me, relax more before going to bed, and spend more time with Him. He said it would work, so it oughta.

Prayers for this are most appreciated!

recently...

Eiko says...

It snows a little everyday, so there's always a fresh layer of fluffy snow covering everything in the morning. It's a beautiful sight indeed, especially since we have nice big windows to enjoy the view from. If it ever snowed this much when we were living in T.O.M Home, everybody would literally be freaking out and jumping up and down for joy. Over here, snow is a non-event.

Since I can't stand the cold, and frost bites are so unatractive, I usually do Shawn T with the teens in the toasty warm House for P.E. instead of throwing snow balls at each other outside. Yup, I converted everybody into Shawn T fans! Even Yuya has joined the club, and when we're looking for an extra challenge, we strap heavier weights on for the extra work out. Although I wasn't there, the teens told me that Dad joined in and gave a few hip movements a try! Man, I missed out!


It's pretty!!
I love our big windows!
Akari and Non-chan enjoying their first snow fight in years!Me having difficulty understanding Dad and Mom's point of view. Yup, it still happens every now and then.

Announcement!!!!

For all those of you who are interested in Matsuoka Artwork, then check out the blog where you'll be able to see new artwork posted as they are drawn!! Be nice and leave lot's of love as well, and any advice, suggestions or requests will be appreciated and considered.

Matsuoka Art

Happy New Year!!

Eiko says...

I had a fabulous pre-New-Years at Highland Home, and although I was only there for 3 days, I'd say it was relaxing enough and enjoyable.
As for my New Years,....it SUCKED!!!!

I had work from the 1st to the 3rd, and in order to be there on time, we had to wake up at 5:30, and for crying out loud, I can't even sleep these days! It was more on the lines of doze for maybe 3 hours, drag myself out of the covers, and get dressed and ready for 15 hours on my feet--for 3 days straight!! While making the freezing cold, slightly hung-over, 35 min walk to Takenotsuka station from T.O.M Home, (before the sun was even out), I remember thinking, "I can't believe I'm doing this on the 1st day of 2010! It's just not happening!!" But it was.

I had a fantastic argument with my Mom over the phone about something entirely stupid, and for the very first time, I heard my Mom yell out some pretty "heavy" Japanese swear words. I was slightly disturbed, as I knew that if she had even whispered those words in our New House, every member of the Home would have heard it. Don't worry though. We both appologized, and whenever I mention what was said between her and me, we both start laughing our heads off. I love my Mom. Mom, I love you!

To say the least, the first 3 days of 2010 were nasty. I seriousely thought I would lose it and go completely nuts, but thankfully, I survived. Lee also decided to surprise us all by dropping by and gracing us with his ...presence. We all chilled like the good 'ol days, and anybody who knows that nigga knows what I'm talking about.

But despite the sucky start off to this new year, I have full confidence in it's beauty. I believe those two shooting stars I saw when we were moving in to this home really do mean something. It's going to be a wonderful year.

I love you! I'm in a very loving mood right now. Have a good 2010, y'all! Let's all LIVE this year to it's fullest!

Best of wishes.

Cheers!!