The Crazies Are Coming

In 4 short days, these crazy people will be moving into my apartment for the holidays. All I have to say is, "Lord, give me strength or these people will be called home to you!"

Oh wait, you have to be Christian to go to heaven right? Sorry, Sister! You're shit out of luck!

(I guess I forgot to mention who these people are: (from left to right) Sister, PoPo (my dad) and YaYa (my mom). )

Coprolite

This is what my kids wants from Santa. Seriously! I ain't making this up!

Yes, it looks like a pile of crap because it is a pile of crap, prehistoric crap to be exact! YaYa (my mom) sent Jude a fossil kit in the mail. Inside the fossil kit was the book pictured below. It describes all different kinds of fossils. Luckily, we have all the fossils mentioned in the book except for the Coprolite. According to the book, "Coprolites are fossilized waste matter from ancient animals like mammals, fish, reptiles, invertebrates and insects." Next to the caption and picture of the Coprolite is a little cartoon of a prehistoric turtle taking a crap. It's really kind of cute.

So, now the kid wants fossilized crap from Santa.

(Since I took rocks for jocks (geology) in undergrad, I'm also into rocks and fossils, so I'm totally encouraging this.)

Just another day in Weenie's world!

Another Misadventure

As you know, every night after school we've been working hard to teach Jude how to read. We do worksheets, flashcards, spell words on the dry-erase board, and play silly spelling games, and so on. In the last few weeks, the light switch has been turned on in Jude's brain, and, basically, the kid can read almost every 3 letter word that exists in the English language. I'm very proud of this fact. We have both worked very hard to achieve this.

However, you should always be careful for what you wish for!

Yesterday I had a meeting at my Japanese elementary school, and Husband had to work late. Usually on meeting days (Wednesdays), Husband picks up Jude from the bus stop and takes care of him until I get home, but because of Husband's busy work schedule, I was forced to take Jude with me to my meeting. Big mistake!

Luckily, one of the younger teachers decided to play with Jude to distract him, so he wouldn't be loud or disrupt the meeting. I was thankful for his help. So, there I was trying to have a meeting with my teachers in the school conference room, trying to figure out my lesson plan for tomorrow's lesson, when all of a sudden I heard Jude sounding out the word ass and then writing A-S-S on the large, dry-erase board we were using for the meeting. Once I realized what the little stinker was doing, I gave him a dirty look with bulging eyes and asked him nicely if that was a good word he should be teaching people how to spell. He immediately understood that that was a naughty word and erased it from the board. After that he was quiet for about 2 minutes.

Then, I heard him spelling ass on the teacher's electronic dictionary. Once the word was entered into the mini-sized, electronic dictionary/translator, an automated voice said the word. He kept pressing the button over and over and laughing hysterically, listening to the word ass, being said by the electronic voice.

Once I realized what Jude was doing, I got up, grabbed him, and apologized to everyone in the conference room for the disturbance. But since most of my teachers don't speak English, or understand that ass is not a good word to use, they all starting saying ass, practicing and articulating the short a sound followed by the s sound. It was hilarious! The whole conference room of Japanese teachers was saying ass. I was trying to hold back my laughter and refocus everyone back to the lesson plan. Jude just sat back and laughed.

Just another day in Weenie's world!

They've got it all wrong

I love Japan. Duh! If I could, I would live here for the rest of my life. But sometimes I hear of Japanese traditions that just don't make any sense. This is one of them: the Japanese Christmas cake.

It's a tradition in Japan to eat a Christmas cake (similar to a fancy strawberry shortcake) on Christmas Eve or on Christmas day. Usually these cakes are ordered and prepared by the local confectionery shop. The cakes, depending on their size, can be pretty expensive. A small round cake (like the one pictured above) can usually cost about 3,000 Yen or about $33.

Last Christmas, Jude's school principal and I had the following conversation about Christmas cakes. It went something like this:

Principal: "Did you already order your Christmas cake?" she asked me.

Weenie: "What Christmas cake?" I replied nicely.

Principal: "You know, the one you eat at Christmas time," she said convincingly.

Weenie: "Um, we don't eat cake at Christmas time," I replied.

Principal: "Yes, you do...you know the one for the birthday," she said even more convincingly.

Weenie: "Um, sorry, but we don't eat Christmas cake, nor do we buy a birthday cake for Jesus," I replied slightly confused.

Principal: "Japanese people buy Christmas cakes and light candles and sing happy birthday because you do it," she said slightly flustered.

Weenie: "No, sorry, we don't do that in our house, and, in fact, I don't know anyone who does that," I told her.

Principal: "In Japan, it's tradition to buy a Christmas cake, put candles on top, sing happy birthday or Silent Night, blow out the candle and make a wish. You're telling me that you don't do that?" she asked, confused.

Weenie: "Nope, we don't do that," I replied trying not to offend her.

Principal: "We do that because we thought all Westerners did that," she said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

Weenie: "Sorry, we don't do that. In fact, I've never heard of a Christmas cake," I replied.

After that, she walked away shaking her head, stunned and confused.

They've got it all wrong!

My World

...welcome to Weenie's world!

(This picture was taken at a local Japanese festival in August. These are just a few of my Japanese students.)

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to Me!

This is what Husband got me for Christmas and my birthday, which is on December 31st, by the way...thanks for asking! I will be looking forward to receiving your presents in the mail.

Since I picked it out and already attached it to my camera. S0, I don't have to wait until Christmas or my birthday. Yahoo!

And, this is a great present you and I can enjoy together.

Thanks Husband, you rock! You got me the most bestest gift ever!

For the cougar in you

These pictures are courtesy of Rolling Stone magazine, which I will be purchasing this month and hanging up these pictures in my bedroom like I did when I was a 13 year old, that is if Husband allows it. I'm not sure how Husband will feel waking up to this every morning.

Momma likes!

Finally a wet t-shirt I really, really like.

(By the way, Sister sent me the link to these pictures. You can thank her for them.)

YMCA

I'm sure my mother-in-law will be calling me over this one!

Poop

Shit happens!

Christmas with my family

Okay, my parents and sister will be invading my place for Christmas. There's nothing better than the joyous sounds of yelling and the smell of tamales being made. The combination will forever remind me of Christmas in Japan.