Well, I had a birthday today, but I told Akihiro that I am thankful for 31 very blessed years and wouldn't really want to go back. By God's grace I'm one year closer to heaven! For my first birthday in Japan, those who stayed for supper after church suprised me with a yummy carrot cake birthday cake with cream cheese frosting. Just for your information, they sing Happy Birthday in English in Japan, which is interesting, because "Happy Birthday" is "Tanjobi omedatogozimas". Oh well! I'm not going to complain about any English they use here! There are many times that I feel completely out of the loop because I can't understand what is going on. I guess it keeps me from saying too much! God knows what I need. Sometimes I think I am doing much better in my language skills and then there are times like the other day when I was taking a quiz at the end of my first Japanese book and I missed almost all of the questions on participles. I am ashamed to say it, but I threw my book down on the floor and nearly screamed, "This is stupid! I can't get this!" Ah, almost 31 years old and still throwing a temper tantrum. My, my. My wise husband listened to my moaning and complaining (and crying, of course) and advised me to forget about participles--"Most people can assume what you are saying, even if you mess up the participles!" he says. Just what the perfectionist in me needs to hear! Anyway, I decided that I need to learn the Fruit of the Spirit, temperance! I must stop studying when I get near that boiling point! Also, I need to count my blessings--which are abundant--and not complain about this little difficulty.
For my birthday, Mom and Dad and some of the Fritz family sang Happy Birthday via Skype web cam! That was really nice--also with Akihiro joining in on our end! I fixed an easy breakfast--normal for me, but I realized it was not-so-normal when I was describing it to my family! To make ochazuke, you put hot rice in a bowl, put a packet of seasonings--fish boullion, freeze-dried tofu, and seaweed--on top of the rice and pour hot green tea over it all. It's good to eat it with pickled plums or pickled veggies! For supper, Akihiro got his Iron Chef Aki hat and apron on and fixed some delicious Japanese food--chicken, onions, and runny eggs in a good sauce. We had fresh peaches and cheese cakes for dessert! I forget if I have said it, but Japanese peaches, well, there just aren't words to describe their taste! The cheese cakes from Hokkaido were also indescribably good--happy cows up there! I told Akihiro he looks handsome in his hat--maybe he will wear it more often! The flowers are from one of our church sisters--aren't they pretty!? On the fridge you can see the chart I made for mysel for studying various aspects of Japanese--I decided that if I'm having temper tantrums, perhaps I need a star chart, like a child, to make sure I do my studies!
