10~6~2016: So what kind of throwback will this be???

That's right! It's throwback time!!!

So lets jump right into it shall we? I haven't shared videos in a while so I thought today we would share one or two... And then I would share a poem... Yup Yup... It's a combo throwback!

First up let's watch a video and chat about it....

OK... So if you know who this is then you also would be like... WOW! +Sharla in Japan had soooo much trouble looking at the camera... I think she was camera shy at the beginning of her YouTube career! I think it is so adorable though!

She took the time to show us her costume... I wonder if this was her first Halloween in Japan!

Now lets look at another one about a pretty cool pet from +Rachel & Jun's Adventures! 

As you can see it's a really neat pet! I wish there was something more exciting around where I lived as a kid than just salamanders... They weren't hard to keep as a pet but they ran away reallllly fast so it was hard to even get any... and they were really small!

It's so cool to look back on the videos and see how people have changed as they make them... They go from shy to outgoing... From quiet and hard to hear to loud and clear! Every video they are changing and growing and if they put enough out you can actually see the change!

OK time to make the combo switch!!!

First a little background... 

This poem was written when I first was put on Lithium for my mental issues... They had tried so many other things and I was feeling like this was a last resort med.. So I didn't mind how it made me feel kinda trapped because everything else was under control!

Now her is the poem I wrote while I was going through that...

Cage Called Lithium

The price I pay... Is it worth it?

Yes they say... It's so worth it!

Your moods no longer haywire...

No more crazy wildfire...

Calm, cool, and collected...

Society no longer rejected...

The girl they see before them...

Created in a cage called Lithium.

Yup... I felt like I was stuck in a cage... I still do... But again that cage is not as bad as it was before the cage... I know there are times when I can't express myself to the fullest because of this cage too... But it's better than being scared of everyone and everything!

For me the good outweigh the bad... And they have been able to lower the amount I'm on so I know I'm making progress... Plus... If they hadn't put me on it then I never would have written this gem!

(It's been copyrighted to me on poetry.com)

So that is it for this post... Hope you enjoyed the videos and the poem!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I post!

Have a Creative and Fun day!

9~23~2016: What time is it... Time to Learn!

It's that time again!!! Let's take a moment to watch the video before we talk about the lesson!

OK.... Now that we have watched it let's look at some of the thing she says!!!

First up... the vocabulary she gives us in the description...

命日　meinichi →　death anniversary

誕生日　tanjyoubi →　birthday

結婚記念日　kekkon kinenbi → wedding anniversary

Not too little but not too much either! Thank you SOOOOOO much for these +tomoko tomoko !!!

Now I want to add one! 

皆さん minasan → Everyone

I figure if I am going to add a word to her list I should at least use the same format... I know looking at the word can be intimidating!!! , which is the name for the "alphabet" the first character is a part of.... Though each alphabet is actually called a syllabary because each character represents a set of two sounds... a consonant and a vowel... There are three syllabaries in all... And they are combined to make words... 

Here are the names of the syllararies...

Hiragana

Katakana

Kanji

Now Hiragana and Katakana are basic Japanese while Kanji is advanced... At least that is how I understand it!

There is another way to write out the words though... Romanji! 

Romanji uses English letters to represent the sounds each character makes.... it is NOT how it is spelled. Please don't think it will be ok to just learn the sounds and write them with English letters... This is very confusing to Japanese people from my experience... Just a friendly tip! It is a good way to remember the sounds though... write it next to the characters and it will help your brain put two and two together!

OOOPS!!! I got sidetracked!!!

Anyhow... As you can see in the video... +tomoko tomoko is telling us how to express when different anniversaries are.

I hope I don't miss any... Here is a list of the anniversaries she taught us... Best of all... They are in the order us them...

Merry Christmas = They say it the same

meinichi = Death anniversary

Tanjoubi = Birthday

kekkon kinenbi = Wedding Anniversary

Next was Birthday as a question

After that was when you say it wasn't your Birthday

I don't know about you but that is a lot to learn for me... I will have to watch the video often to get all of it crammed into my head and get it to stay there!

My head feels a bit like this... with each cute furry face being a new word or sentence! I kind of feel like it's yelling "NO MORE ROOM" at me hoping I will stop trying to learn new things... Ya OK... Like that would ever happen!!!

I LOVE learning toooooo much to ever stop trying... Though I do have to admit that it has gotten harder for me to learn things because I get fibro-fog... That can be so annoying too!

Well I hope that this video and my review of it was helpful in some way!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I share!

Have an educationally successful day!

9~15~2016: It's a throwback Video post!

Have you ever stopped and wondered how much of the things we Americans think of as "stereo-typically belonging to another culture" are actually just American adaptions to those things?

I have... And thanx to Grace and Ryosuke we now know at least three things that are stereo-typically Japanese that aren't actually Japanese and can't be found in Japan... Let's take a look!

This video was published on Apr 26, 2015 so who knows what new things they found that fit the bill here... I really was surprised to find that sushi isn't the same though! I thought all sushi was the same! Shows how much I know right?!?!?

Anyhow... Today's post isn't about just sushi though I'm sure I could do a post on just that easily! it's a throwback video post... This is an older one from +Texan in Tokyo that I really found informative... Maybe if we bring enough attention to it they will do an updated version... Or a twist on it somehow... Who knows what a simple blog post can bring right!

Thinking about throwbacks... How about Grace's first Kickstarter???

In this video we get to clearly see how excited she is... She has come so far in such a short amount of time it is amazing! I have to say her comics are amazing too.. I own all 4 of her books on PDF now... I hope she never stops enjoying doing this because I love reading her books!

It's amazing though... This video was published on Aug 30, 2014... So she has grown so much and done so much in just 2 years! I know a lot of people will be thinking "two years is a long time" but it really isn't when you are talking about books... Not skits or sections in other books... Books on their own! I am writing a book and have been for about a year... I'm no where near done it though!

Oh but I think I posted a preview on here once... I will look really quick... one sec.

.

.

.

.

.

Found it... And now you can too... Click HERE!!!

Like it says though... Those are only peeks into it... There is so much more to it now lol.

People do a lot of things with their lives but few have the ability to look back on it and see it all over again... At least that used to be the way it worked... Now if you Vlog or video for yourself or even journal or blog it you can look back and see it all unfold once again...

This is the beauty of being a Blogger or Vlogger or just having a camera or pen always available!

Gatta love technology right!

Well I'm going to end this post here and start working on the video I'm going to put out on Saturday! I have to move all the videos from my phone to my computer after editing what I can on the iPad... It is a long process and I now prefer to do some of it each night so I'm not spending all day Friday gettin it ready to go out on YouTube! Hope you enjoyed the flashbacks!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I shared!

Have a memorable day!!!

9~8~2016: Pets and Pokemon!

Pets... Pokemon.. Pets and Pokemon... Everywhere!!!

Who doesn't like pets???? I bet there isn't a person alive who doesn't have some kind of pet they love! Even if it is a snake or gecko it's a pet you love... Personally I have a few types of pets I love... The first one is kittens.. or cats... They are just big or small balls of fluffy fur!

For me though, a cat is a bad pet to have... I am soooooo allergic!!! So I depend on films like +Rachel & Jun put out about Haku! Here take a look at all this cuteness!!!

He is just so adorable!!! I think I would have died laughing when he got his head stuck in the box cover... Sometimes I wish I wasn't so allergic. Unfortunately... The last time I tested if I could handle having a cat I almost lost my vision... The eye doctor literally told me I am having such a bad allergic reaction it was causing me to start going blind and if I didn't get my cat a new home I would lose my eyesight within the next 6 months to a year! I didn't even know that an allergy could do that!

Because of that I found him a nice home and we said goodbye to him. I won't test it again because it isn't fair to the cat and sooooooo I will be forever great-full to all the YouTube creators who are putting their cats on the internet for people like me to take delight in their antics!

Speaking of pets... How cool would it be if we could have Pokemon as real pets?!?!? Of course the closest thing we have to being able to do that is to play Pokemon GO. Here is +Strawberry Mochi bringing us on a tour in Japan that is not only fun and education... It's also a Pokemon hunting tour! Let's go with her to check it out!

This looks so fun... Being the only one hunting Pokemon can be a bit awkward so I'm kinda glad this is happening! She tells you about it in more detail on her Blog... But in case you are watching this video through my link I'll share the Blog address with you... HERE!!!

It seems everyone is into this crazy game... Including me! I have to figure out how to do my Poke-Hunts and film at the same time since I use my phone to film... Maybe I have another phone that I can download onto my computer with... Or maybe I can buy a cheep camera that has a good mic??? I dunno yet but I really am going to figure it out!

But until I do I don't think I can share the hunts with you! Sorry!!!!

Well that's all for this post!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I share!!!

Have an adventurous and fluffy-fun day!

9~5~2016: Ninja Training!!!! and other stuff...

OK... Let's face it.... At one point in our lives we have all thought about or pretended to be Ninja. I know that I did... The cool moves... Awesome weapons... Skills that anyone would envy! What wasn't to love??? Well... In this video we can see some of the training it took to get those awesome skills!

How cool is that! Thanx +Rachel & Jun for sharing this with us!!! I really wanna visit this place someday... I'd be able to spend an entire day there and probably never get bored! This isn't the only place to learn about Ninja in Japan though... There is a museum with a whole section for ninja information… Let's take a look!

In this video +Strawberry Mochi shows us this wonderful and fun museum. It’s the one that has some info about Ninja but that isn’t the only think it has! I think it is so amazing they gathered all this information about The ninja’s training at all to be honest... It was my understanding that to be a Ninja meant taking the equivalent of a vow of silence! I wonder how much information they found that they deemed not shareable!?! It will forever be a mystery!

What did you think of those robots??? I couldn’t believe how they were moving! They were so lifelike that at first I thought they were just sculptures… Then they moved! Those robots are amazing! The one you can pat looks sooo cute! I wonder if it is soft or hard… Like could you cuddle it and feel like it was an animal or would you instantly be able to tell it was a robot??? Either way I wouldn't mind having one of those around when I have an anxiety fit! Hay Japan… I’ll be a test dummy for you to see if it actually helps anxiety if you want?!?!?

The people in our YouTube family make videos that are so amazing to watch... I really hope someday I get good enough at making videos like them... Or that I can be considered as good as they are! I feel like They are the modern Ninja... The kind who makes videos and makes it look so easy a child could do it yet it is sooo hard that few are so go at it!

Hehe... I'll keep working at it and hone my craft just like they did and just like the Ninja used to!
Here is a link to my YouTube if you want to watch any of my videos and let me know how I'm doing... I love hearing from you!

That's all for now... I can't wait to hear from you!!! I'll talk to you later!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I share!

Have an amazing and fun filled day!

8~26~2016: Where is it.... Whatever it may be!

So today I was thinking about how often I ask where something is or mention I'd like to go to someplace... How easily it comes off my tongue... But how hard would it be in Japanese?

Lets let +tomoko tomoko show us how it's done!

I love her smile! Another simple but very helpful lesson for us! Thanx so much!!!

Here is the Vocabulary she posted in the description for us this time!

駅　eki →　station
コンビニ　konbini　→convenience store
トイレ　toire　→　rest room

I'm leaving the vocabulary highlighted with white to make it easier to find and read them... Someday I hope I can speak Japanese even HALF as good as she does. Yes I know she was born there but that is why I said half... I kinda feel like an impostor with my "baby's amount" of Japanese!

I'm really not that good but I am trying every day to learn more! It's not easy when you don't have anyone to practice with and you aren't able to find a teacher. I'm all self taught so if you ever see something I write or say in a video that is not correct... Please just correct me so I can learn from my mistake and maybe get it right next time! Anyhow...

I really hope you enjoyed this lesson!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I share!

Have a knowledge-filled fun day!

Interview time!!!!

Today I thought it would be cool to listen to an interview that +Rachel & Jun did with two kikokushijo named Chiko and Melodee... It's done in two parts so lets jump right in with part 1!

And here is part 2

I feel like this really puts into perspective that it doesn't mater if you are actually Japanese or not, you are still going to have some difficulties when moving to Japan! It gives me hope too that someday if I do end up there, I won't be looked down on if I make mistakes.

OK.. Lets end this with a pros and cons video interview with +Rachel & Jun about traveling in Japan!

With all this info to absorb I am going to end this post! I'll post part two of this last video when they put it out for us to see... I may be late with it though... lol... Anyways...

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I share!

Have an adventurous day!

8~25~2016: Travel time again!

Jiminy cricket!! I totally forgot to check if this post went out like it was supposed to!!! Sorry everyone! I'll get it out right away!!!

Come on... Who doesn't love to travel!!!! Here we have +Rachel & Jun who have been showing us all around with their travel videos... Lets watch another one from them that's cute and fun to watch!

I love how they always find ways to teach us things about the areas they visit… It must take them forever to figure out all the info they share with us.. It’s like they do a report for school every time they do a video. I know I should do more research on the things I share too.. I’m working on that!

They posted this video once before but I think something was wrong with it so they had to post it again.

OK… On to our next adventure!!! Grace decided to take us with her today to visit a really cool place.. Let’s watch and see where she has brought us!!!

Lol +Texan in Tokyo's Grace doesn't do so well with bugs I guess... She really didn’t like the creepy crawlies her friend kept finding and showing her! It’s ok Grace… There are very few creepy crawlies I like too…. I prefer bug free! Now we all know that’s not always possible so don’t let the chance of seeing a bug that freaks you out stop you from having a marvelous adventure!! Luckily Sharla had more luck with bugs… but then again when you’re on this kind of adventure it can go either way!

So let’s check out our next adventure… It’s time to go hiking with  +Sharla in Japan!!!

I'm afraid of heights but this looks sooo cool! I asked in her comment section if she got to keep the gear and another YouTube member said they also did this tour and had to return the gear at the end… Sharla herself didn’t answer as of me writing this post so it is better to plan for not keeping it so that you don’t end up looking bad… If they do let you keep it then it will be a pleasant surprise rather than them expecting it back and you looking greedy and rude. Hope that little info helps for your planning if you plan to do this trip! Boy that was a mouthful!

Ok... I'm gonna end this one here... Otherwise I won't have any more travel ones to share with you!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I share!!!

Have an adventurous day!!!

8~22~2016: Music Madness Monday is coming at you again!

Lets start talking about love with Pink! This first song is one that I feel really describes my love for my husband... Here it is...

Now we all know that no marriage is perfect... Mine is included in that. That song describes my love with my husband because he drives me crazy pushing buttons and causing fights but I honestly couldn't imagine my life without him!

Here is our history... And my thoughts...

14 years ago on July 4th we went on our first date...

7 years ago on July 16th we got married...

Today I think back and realize how much you've changed my life!

I wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Now I didn't always feel that way! There was a time when I thought we wouldn't make it... And this next song is the one I most related to at that time!

I wanted desperately to find a reason to believe we could fix our problems... So much so that it hurt and I often felt like I was drowning in despair... Somehow we did it though the hardest times we had ever faced... Here is a song I feel describes how you should look at things like this...

If you don't try you will never know if it will work! If you don't attempt to fix what feels broken then you will never know if it was truly broken or if you just thought it was past the point of repair. The point is... If it is worth it to you... If it means everything... Then don't let it become nothing!

I'll leave you with those thoughts to ponder and those songs to listen to!

I'm truly happy I tried and succeeded at love with the love of my life!

I hope you enjoyed the peek into my life as well!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I shared!

Have a love-filled day!

Late is better than never!!!

Don't you just hate being late???

I know I do! But sometimes late is better than never... I'd rather tell someone I'm sorry because I was wrong even if I'm late because if I don't say it at all then I am most likely to lose that person as a friend! I don't want that so... Ya late is better!

Even in school this can be the case! Late is better than never cause who wants a "0" on an assignment when they could get a "60" or "70" depending on the late penalty!

There are also times where it really doesn't matter how late you are... Like in sharing videos!

Lets look at this one now!

I'm a bit late showing this to you all since it came out on August 7, 2016! I'm sure they don't mind me taking so long to share it but I feel bad not having done so earlier!

+Texan in Tokyo I hope you had lots of sales since this video aired!

They also showed this next video a while ago and asked what we thought of these places... So now I'm going to ask too... Watch the video and let me know what your opinion on them is...

Well since we have had two videos and a question to try to get a conversation going I'm going to end the post... Hope you enjoyed this!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I shared!

Have an adventurous day!

8~18~2016: Throwback Thursday Sharla Style!!!

Last time I walked you back in time through +Rachel & Jun's channel past! Today we are going to see some of +Sharla in Japan's first videos!!!

Be sure to have you CC turned on before watching this if you don't understand Japanese!

She has come a long way in terms of being at home in a Vlog! It also makes me feel better knowing that when I start one I don't have to be perfect and up to the same standards as our YouTube family is right now because they probably started out just like me!

On to the next one!!!

About to start school and still sharing stuff with us... I think this is why her channel didn't just fade away... It takes a lot to get a new channel to be a known channel! You go girl!

So sets watch one from during the time after she started school now...

Good Luck on the test.... Lets see how she did below!

I love that it seems like all her earlier videos were in Japanese because they can become a study tool! She said so herself! It's more fun to watch a video or movie than it is to study a book... So you should enjoy watching her talk to us in Japanese and see if it helps you out any!

Even though these are short videos I'm going to end this post here...

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I share!

Have a fun day!

8~15~2016: Beauty, Adventure, and Info...It's all good!

This looks like it might be fun! I wouldn't make it as a haircut model because no one would want me to do that unless they only needed face pictures... My weight isn't where they would want it to be.

But I'm workin on that! GO ME!!! hehe... Lets see how Grace does!

Thank you so much +Texan in Tokyo for sharing this with us! Also I can so understand why you say it is awkward to walk and talk!!! I am just starting out with Vlogging and I feel the same way! This video was done a while ago... Can you tell us if it has gotten easier?

Apparently as of this video she still felt it was awkward! +Rachel & Jun can you tell us how you feel about it? Is it awkward for you too?

Because ya...


By the way... I may be posing questions to the people in our YouTube family but they may be too busy to answer us or they may not have seen the post... If you really want to know the answers to the questions I write and they haven't gotten to them on here then maybe if you message them on Twitter you can get an answer.... Maybe.... It's worth a shot right!

I'll share all the twitter names for them that I have and you can ask them things you want to know about... As popular as they are your questions may still be missed but don't give up cause they love hearing from us!

So here is a list of their twitter accounts... also the links will bring you to the twitter webpage...

@Texan_In_Tokyo (Grace Mineta)

@RachelAndJun (Rachel & Jun)

@JadeFurutaYade (Jade Furuta)

@SharlaInJapan (°˖✧Sharmander✧˖°)

@Strawmochi (Strawberry Mochi)

@kentobento2015 (Nina Bento)

@tomokodesu1 (tomoko)

Then of course there's me... @vampiree143 (Mistique Robin)

They are pretty easy to follow... I'm so happy every day that they are part of our YouTube family!
I'm trying to find out if +JunsKitchen has a Twitter account or if they share that so there is less to manage... They manage a lot after all! And now....
I'm going to end this post since there is a lot to take in... Just my opinion...

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I've shared!
Have an amazing day!

8~11~2016: A face to a name....

A few people have wondered who I am... So I finally bit the bullet and made a video to show you all the answer to that question... Lets put a face to a name...

So ya... That's me... Hi!

That's all for today... Hope you enjoyed it!

As always... Thanx for watching!

Have a wonderful day!

8~9~2016: Here is another food post for you!!!

I LOVE FOOD!!!

But then again who doesn't??? We need to eat to survive so why shouldn't it taste great... I thought today I would share more food videos with you all and I would post a link to a few pictures I posted on my Photo-blog of foods I have eaten and shared with the world! Let us begin!

Here we have +Texan in Tokyo bringing us a new dip to try!

This one is great if you are a Vegan because there is no animal anything if you leave out the egg! And thank you so much Ryosuke for making the mistake... It makes the rest of us feel less silly when we make our mistakes! I can't wait to see what you cook next!

Here is one you made a while ago for those of us who can't wait till your next cooking video!!!

I really want to try both making and eating this!!! 

Now for those of us who want to look like we took lessons in a fancy school here are two videos to help you do just that! I'm pretty sure I've shared them once before though!

See what I mean by fancy!!! Here is the next one!

He really makes fancy cooking look so easy! Thank you so much to Jun from +JunsKitchen for sharing this and other meals with us all!!! I hope there are lots more to come!

So now we have watched two very different forms of cooking and not only enjoyed the show but made ourselves hungry... I am going to end this here and go do some cooking!!!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I've shared with you!

Have a creative culinary day!

8~8~2016: It's Music... It's Madness... It's Monday!!! ENJOY!!!

This is the first Music Magic Monday of the month... Are you excited to see who I am going to tell you about? Well here is the first video and you tell me if you know who it is!

Hehe... That's right.... It's PENTATONIX

Here are a few covers of songs they did... They are so amazing because there is no instruments in there music.. It is all their voices.. Unless you see the instrument then you can assume there isn't one!

Such a simple video but so nice to watch too!

They can even make Bieber sound good!!!

That's it... Three videos for Music Madness Monday! I hope you liked the songs!

As always... Thanx for watching and reading what I share!

Have a musical day!