My "anniversary"...

the 27th of March is marked as a very special day for me. this is the day I moved to the States in 1991, and i have been counting it yearly to celebrate how long i have been living in CA. After all these years, i came to the point of counting the years longer in CA than however long i was living in Japan. Funny things....as the years passed, my dreams i see at night were starting to change to all English (by prolly like the 2nd year of being in CA) and as i look back and think about my diaries, my books starting around my 6th grade(after i left ESL at 4th grade and went to the regular courses) were all written in Japanese.

So it wouldve been my 18th year.....wow....18 years. at least my years in the LA life is already doubled that of my "japanese residency". hee hee.

In honor of my USA life, i got myself "White Mocha" since i got homesick and thought of Becky.

(although the only thing i was able to get nearby was Starbucks...aaaaa i want Peets. haha)
Starting to see a bit of Cherry blossoms here and there but still coooold....

I count the days until I can be back in CA and live there for good......dreaming of this....

some other things i saw in my surroundings:

a large can-shaped trashcan NEXT to the vendingmachine.ironic? or iconic??

this is the vending machine that was selling Natto (fermented soy beans)!!! this is the HIGHLIGHT of my blog's title. tadaaa!

Already into the month of March...yet still snow in sight...!?

hey there, i cant believe its already March! well, and days are passing as i speak and its the second week already. man-o-man.

things got a rough start this month. sad to say but

1) on March 3rd, i was planning on getting fitted into a Kimono from my mother for Girls' day, but we got into some ridiculous misunderstanding and just made her take off after slamming the door on me and blah blah blah......i know that it is just tough when our family has been so apart for all these years. oh well, i guess it just wasnt meant to be....so i was back at my parents house doing lots of insurance, tax return and stuff. so its been quite busy. but gosh, it is such a blessing i live on my own in my little apartment. the size doesnt matter for the amount of peace of mind i get from it. haa.

but i perhaps can someday try on my mom's kimono and have her put it on me without any frustration/arugument. man, i know i can look pretty damn good when it comes to kimonos. i think i got the face for the traditional japanese look. haaaaaaa. (cant be so sure, haha)

so here are my Girl's Day dolls. the traditional Japanese HINA Dolls. its supposed to show the old school days' wedding ceremony scene. the bride wore this much layers back in the days....amazing.

2) Dad came back from LA end of Feb, and got me some goodies from Trader Joes!!!!!!!

well, they are the things i asked him to get for me, haaa but it feels like im back home. awww. but look at this new item, "Spicy&Tangy ALMONDS" (yes, i like almonds and dried fruits...im like a squirrel.) :

rating - A+!!!
its nice and tangy with a kick of tabasco flavor. not bad. =)

3) On top of that, the weather is still cold and it doesnt feel like Spring is around the corner AT ALL. here's the snooooow!

so ive been trying out neat-o recipes for the rice cooker. here, i tackled on another challenge: Black Sesame tofu cake.

Rating: ...surprising Light & TASTY! ( i bet i surprised everyone!)

sooooooooooooooo blaaaaaaaaaaaack! Black sesame paste is so yummy, i love it.

ooh, oven(rice cooker) is done. =)