Fun with Kids! - Teaching kids how to take care of themselves

Wether you have girls or boys, or both!, it's nice to teach them how to self-renew by treating themselves to a nice hot bath with facial mask, eye mask and hair treatment once in awhile!  

Taking care of your own skin is one thing, but I find this method also teaches them to relax. 

In a busy world as we live in this time of age, finding the time to relax and knowing how to relax doesn't come as easily.  Taking the time to teach the kids also gives me a moment to reflect and take care of myself.

♥　L e t ' s   b e g i n !　♥

1  In a nice hot bath (whatever temperature your child is used to), add in some sea salt or epsom salt and/or some baking powder.

(I normally put about 1/4 cup of either salt and/or 1/4 cup of baking soda in a full size tub for the two girls)

★Benefits★

●Sea Salt - therapeutic; purifying; removes negative energy; alkaline so it removes acidity; great for skin; improves circulation

●Epsom Salt - contains magnesium and sulfate that is great for detoxifying; great for bruises (my girls legs are covered in bruises from running around!) and muscle soreness (from running around and growing pains!); help reduce inflammation

●Baking Soda - cleansing; anti-fungal; softens the skin; help remove itching

Let them dive in!

2   Give them a handful of organic virgin unrefined coconut oil and let them massage it into their hair.

My oldest does not really like the smell nor the taste of it, but my lil' one will scoop some out with her fingertips and eat as she goes along:)

Place a shower cap over their head.  You can do regular plastic bag instead as I have done for my girls.

★Benefits★

Natural moisturizer; contains proteins that other hair oils do not contain; prevents dandruff; makes hair stronger; boosts hair and scalp health with Vitamin E & K

3   Give them a bowl of organic plain unsweetened yogurt.  Let them eat it while letting them smear it all over their face.  How fun is that!

Oopsy!  Dropped some in the bathtub?

Noooo worries!

It's also great to add some in the bath too :)

Make sure they put some down their neck as well.  Teaching them that neck is an extension of their face so better take care of that part as well :)

★Benefits★

great for skin; helps heal skin from sun exposure; great for acne; anti-aging (not that they need it at their age, but doesn't hurt to teach them the benefit at an early age, and naturally with a simple ingredient like yogurt!)

4   Next, give them few slices of cucumbers...to place one on each eye, and of course, to eat!

★Benefits★

Help reduce puffiness and dark circles; cooling agent; anti-inflammatory

Time to relax!

5   Play some nice soothing music and have them sit in the tub with their head rested on the side of the tub.

Few giggles will be heard :)

A nice, sweet moment to chit chat, catch up on things :)

Allow them to sit for about 10 minutes, or as long as they can for that matter!

6   Ready to wash off?

Remove the cucumber slices and....

Dunk your heads!!!  Wheeeee

Allow them to remove as much of the yogurt and the coconut oil as they can themselves, and then help them remove the rest by washing up :)

There you have it!

A fun, relaxing, giggly moment you can enjoy with your children!

Have fun!

xo

Being Japanese in a foreign country

It doesn't matter where you're from as long you are a visible minority in a foreign country...you are most likely to be asked silly questions in regards to your culture, your language, your traditions.  I call them "silly" questions now because, well, they are, and because I have stopped getting weirded out and hurt by some of the questions and comments.  

The fact is they don't know any better, therefore they ask.  And rather, I appreciate now that they ask me directly then to assume and judge otherwise.

Amongst many I have been asked and commented...here are a few of the silliest ones:

●  "Japanese, Chinese, Korean,...you guys speak the same language right?"

In response to my "no" answer..."what? Really? I had no idea!. They all sound the same."

● There was a little Korean boy who was crying hysterically at school.  When there were no traces of tears falling down his face, one adult in regards to that asked me, "I think he's Korean...or however you want to call him...you Asians don't have tear ducts? Is it a common thing amongst Asians not to shed tears?". 

I replied, "No we do tear up, tears do fall and we do cry", to which he responded, " Oh okey, I thought you guys were made differently".

● As I commented on a nice bathroom decoration at someone's house, this gentlemen responded, " Oh you Japanese people love to snoop around, right!"

● Do you guys put chopsticks into your hair bun after eating the food?

Hummmm.....silly right?...I know. :)

There are more.  And yah, they are just funny and silly.  

I do have to say, that with this Asian trend widely spreading thanks to the Internet, like anime, films and food, silly questions have subsided tremendously.  I think people are much more educated and aware nowadays.

Before, it was all new to them.  Heck, it was all new to me to be growing up in a country where all things normal for me was questioned and looked at funny by others...like using chopsticks, for example,  was so unfamiliar back in the day when I was a kid is now a habit pretty much everyone has grown accustomed to.

With this experience I, too, am extremely careful as to what I ask and to whom. 

Appreciating a culture is something we should all do.  We all do things differently and that's okey.

And it's okey to ask. ♥ 

It's okey to study, to learn, to question, to be curious.  

It's never okey to question through your assumtion and to judge based only on your imagination.

xo

RECIPE: Fried Tofu! Kids approved!

One of our favourite dish in our household!

こ　ん　に　ち　は　♪

こ ko    ん n　に ni　ち chi　は wa　♪

kon - ni - chi - wa ♪

Good day ♪- Bonjour ♪

Recipe that is super easy and super quick to make even for a busy working mom who still wants to provide a healthy home-cooked meal for the kids.

What you will need:

Serves four

★ Four blocks of silky tofu
★ about 3 TBS of Flour
★ about 3 TBS of Cornstarch
★ Vegetable oil

Serve with (of your choice):

● Rice
● Rice with Quinoa
● Quinoa
● Wild Rice
● Couscous
● Basmati
● Jasmine
● or whatever your heart desires!  (more like your palate desires! )

To garnish (of your choice):

☆ finely chopped parsley
☆ coriander
☆ chopped green onion
☆ or all of the above...why not!

To drizzle:

♥ for kids - lemon soya sauce mix (ratio of 1:1)
♥ for adults - Asian Spicy Garlic Sauce
recipe is available on my blog:  (Click here)

Here is the How-To step by step Video on how to cook this delicious dish.  Have fun and enjoy!

Laws of attraction. How I became a happy owner of my new toy, Nokia Lumia 1020!

Laws of attraction has worked its magic and have delivered this wonderful device to MEEEE!

Everything was, oh so magical :)

Here's the story!

It was sometime in the year of 2013, my husband, who is tech savvy, showed me a video clip of this upcoming new Windows mobile phone.
The video was of one of their product launch presentation demonstrating the new Nokia mobile phone called Nokia Lumia 1020.

The video demonstrated all its amazing features.
One feature I got so hooked on and drooled over was its 41 megapixel camera feature.
(...Okey, and also the fact that it came in this adorable yellow...Yah, hello!)
I got all excited, of course, but knew that it would be way too expensive and understood that it was beyond my reach.  If I WAS to have it, I would have to wait years for it to be somewhat affordable with like a 3 year mobile data plan with Telus...and that's if Telus was going to even carry this phone.
So, the reality of me having this phone was...zero chance to none, basically.

I, then, let that thought to be placed on the side...far away from my priorities.
Being a freelance artist, putting my daily priorities like groceries and children's expenses come first was no news to me.  That's just how it goes.  My necessities and needs for a shopping spree is set aside until it is absolutely necessary...and even then, it does not come around often as it still is not my priority in life.  I would rather put that money aside for rainy days.
I had a cell phone already...who had a mind of its own...like shut off or move icons to another page without my consent...was really annoying, but it worked.  It did what it needed to do like call my clients, my husband, my moms.
So, for me, what works works.  Why change it?

Days...weeks...then a couple of months went by.
The news that the phone was available in Canada came in....though, only with a certain provider.

Days...then weeks went by.
The news came in that Telus had finally started to carry this phone!...obviously with a 3 year plan and the phone was available at something like 300 bucks.
Still...out of my reach...not concerned...not my priority.

2014 came by and the phone was available via Telus at 150 bucks with a 3 year plan.
omg...

hmm...
(that was my first "hmm" that had started to poke my curiosity)

As many of my fellow freelance makeup artists / hair stylists may already know...
January-March is a very tough season...it is what we call a "dead season".
A couple of clients and photoshoots was being booked during the dead season, which is a blessing, ....... was just enough to sustain on a minimal basis.

So my "hmm..." came along, but my priorities all related to realistic situations did not allow me to toy with that "hmm..." or to dive into it.

Days went by...
The news that the phone was available now at 99 bucks via Telus....

Say wha?

Hmm!
My second "hmm!" came out with an exclamation point!

At this point, my hubby was all excited and ready for himself!
He went out and got himself one in black!
Woohoo!!!
Yaaay, for my hubby!

When he showed me the phone, my "hmm!" was all curious and wanted to be poked at!!
...But I still gave it a cold shoulder lol
He showed me all its features. (amazing)
Took pictures with its 41 royal-heighness-megapixelness of a camera and zoomed in to see its crispiness. (love)
Lightweight (omg)
Size of the screen (drool)
"meh, that's cool"...tone of my voice ever so nonchalant and dry...meanwhile I am doing cartwheels in my head, screaming and drooling.
I gave it a cold shoulder because I was so afraid to get attached to even the thought of, or the possibility of having one...
But my mind took over and would not give up at this point.
I was already daydreaming about this phone.
I was envisioning me using this phone, taking pictures with it, laughing and talking to it...having a cup of tea with it.  BFF is what this phone and me was going to become.
Damn it.

A couple of days went by...
The news that this phone was now down to 49 bucks via Telus.

Come again?
I beg your pardon?
Parlez-vous français?

HMM!?!?!?!?!
Okey now, this was ridiculous!
Not at the fact of the sudden decrease in the price, but the fact that I was still dwelling on getting this phone when, clearly, it would be stupid NOT to buy one at this point!

THIS IS WHEN MY DREAMS BECAME MORE VIVID!

I literally would have dreams where I have this phone in my hands at work.
I had this dream where I took it out of its belt-buckle holder (don't ask!), and hold it up against my ear.
Day in and day out, my mind was with this yellow Nokia.
I never asked or questioned how or when I would get this phone.  It didn't matter, for me, I had this phone already. It was mine.

One saturday, in the month of February...right in the midst of a dead season.
I came home after work, tired and ready to get into my pj.
Hubby tells me to get to Fairview Shopping Mall asap and get the phone.
He even handed me the money!
So sweet of him to show such kind gesture...and yet, my realistic mindset took over with a slight hint of exhaustion at this point and so I kindly declined.
Besides, I had less than an hour left until closing!

Seconds later, I was in the car driving my lazy ass to Fairview.
My hubby forced me to it!
Driving there, my mind was mixed with emotions.
"OMG, I'm gonna get the phone!" (yay)
"OMG, what the hell am I doing?"  (boo)
"OMG, I'm so excited!"  (yay)
"OMG, I feel so guilty right now!"  (boo)
"OMG, I'm actually gonna get the phone!"  (yay)
"OMG, he could've used that money for something else!"  (boo)
It was a roller coaster ride of continuous nonsense yay-boos.

I managed to get myself to the Telus Boutique.
A very nice young lady greeted me and I asked for the phone.
Heart pumping.
"Very well and thank you, Mrs. Hidaka..."
Heart pumping.
"The phone is at 49$...", she continued,
Heart pumping.
"Let me see if I can give you this phone for free", she says with a big smile.
Heart stops.

HUH?

Say wha?

Come again???

I dropped to the floor.
Well, no, not literally.
My heart, mind and everything else did...I managed to keep my body upright.

(d.d.d.d.d.dare I ask why???)

"...um...may I ask how and why?"

"Well, it's a special promotional code we have exclusively from this boutique and we'd like to apply it for you, Mrs.Hidaka."

OMG

"Oh, wow, great, thanks!" (ever so nonchalantly)

What came next was the most longest 2 minutes at a Telus boutique everrrr.

"Alright, so everything is done. Here's the phone in yellow as requested.  Have a great day, enjoy!"

That's it?
That's all?
It's mine?
It's MINE?
IT'S MINE????

OMG

I stormed out of the boutique!
I was so afraid she would come after me and say that she had made a mistake!!!!

In midst of february, bloody winter in Canada...
My world was all filled with yellow flowers, with yellow birds chirping away, with yellow sunlight beaming at me and only me.
I was Tra-la-la-ing my way to my car!

So there you have it folks.
My mind, my body, my energy that I have created and directed towards having this phone have made the Universe work around me to direct this phone to me.
Laws of attraction, baby!!
I believe in this phenomenon as it has worked its magic on me several times in my life.

I have had this phone for about a month now and I am tra-la-la-ing to its wonderful amazingness and having so much fun with it :)

Thank you, Universe xo