possibility

I have decided to aim going back to a uni as I wrote in this blog a few days ago.

I need to take several exams to be qualified to apply for the uni. It is quite troublesome that I have to take those exams. But I've got a good idea!

Since I need to take the exams, it can be a great chance to study something interesting. The more subjects I get, the more qualified I would be. It's not just about qualifications. It is an opportunity to study!!

So what shall I study besides sciences, maths and English that are necessary?

Great thing about English exam system is the wide variety of the subjects you can choose. You can take an exam of Japanese as a foreign language as well....It would be boring for me to take Japanese exam though.

So I checked exam board website, and searched what possibilities I have.

Maybe psychology, or environmental science?

I have to take the exams anyway, why not enjoy the exams!??
Let's make use of it. And turn the stressful exams into a big opportunity!!



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pasta making

I often make pasta from scratch.
Some pasta flour, which is a mixture of semolina and wheat, and water and salt are mixed in a large bowl and I knead the dough strongly with my feet. So I can knead it with all my weight! ....Of course the dough is in a plastic bag when I step on it.

My sons love the pasta making process. They always jump on the dough in the plastic bag. They can not help me much because their weight are not heavy enough to knead it. But it is fun to work with children. Jumping on the dough, and dancing as we sing a song!

Then I use a pasta machine. First the dough needs to be cut into smaller pieces and flattened by a rolling pin. The pasta machine stretches the small dough to a thin paper-like rectangle pasta. We can use it for lasagna, but usually I cut the sheet into a thin noodle shape. Like this↓.

The pasta machine is so convenient. I use it for making udon, soba, and ramen. Also I use it for making gyoza wrappers.

And ..., of course freshly made pasta tastes great!!



By the way, when I was making pasta, my son asked me.
"What are you making?"
then I answered,
"I am making pasta from scratch."
"Oh, mama is making scratch pasta!........then, what is scratch?"
(We usually speak English.)

hahaha.

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main lesson SURVIVAL

In Waldorf Steiner school, we have block lessons called "main lessons." That is two-hour lesson, and we all start the day with the main lesson. This is a block lesson, that means pupils study mathematics for two hours every morning for three or four weeks. After three-week maths main lesson, they have other main lessons, such as English, History, Geography, Biology ...etc ... every day for three weeks.

Now I teach only main lessons, because my sons are still little and they are at home, and I need to be an almost full time mother. Since my husband teach at the same school and he does not teach main lessons, he can look after our sons when I am on the main lesson. As soon as my main lesson is over, I quickly go home and change my face from a teacher to a mother.


So when I am on the main lesson, our lives become stormy. As the name "main lesson" indicates, the main lesson is a core lesson of the school life. In the intensive lesson block, they focus on one topic and learn it very deeply. This main lesson teaching must be one of the most interesting work in a Steiner School.

But on the other hand, main lesson is the hardest one to teach. Teaching main lesson is like a survival.

Now I am in the middle of the main lesson, teaching Geometry to high school pupils.
I will have 7 more days to go, then we will have an Easter break.


I hope I can keep my enthusiasm all through the main lesson, and survive well...



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Goal

Now I have set a goal. The goal seems to be quite tough.

To achieve the goal I have to get into a university, and study full-time for five years. Before I will be accepted by the university, I have to take several exams. Because of the exam system in the UK, it would take at least two years to finish taking all the exams I need for my application.

So... first, two years of study and then five years at the uni, total of seven years of study will be necessary to achieve the goal.....


The exams I have to take before entering the uni would not be so difficult. I need to take chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics and English. I have studied all of them, not just studied, I have taught all the subjects when I was in Japan.

Problem is, of course, English.

I understand all the contents for the exams, though I still need to learn the English scientific terms.. a lot of them... And English exam would be the hardest one for me, since "English" exam is an exam for native English speakers...

So it will be the study of English, not study of science....

"Can I do it?"
I have been asking myself so many times.
"Can I really do it? I have to work, do housework, take care of 3years and 4 years boys. Besides them, can I really study them?"


After these exams, I can stand at the "start line" finally, if I perform well at the exams and I am lucky.....

I don't know if I can really survive all the tough trials and achieve the goal successfully.

But I decided to start preparing for the exams.
Because I believe this is the right thing to do.


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Diet week

Now I am on diet. I am not doing this deliberately. I just don't eat enough when I am busy or when I have something interesting to do.

A week ago I lost my weight, I guess. I am not consciously checking my weight, so I don't know how much I have lost. But I feel I have lost some fat around my belly...

It was because I was reading a novel that was a quite a page turner. It was hard to stop reading in the middle of the story. Of course I have to feed my sons and my husband, so I cook three meals everyday. But I don't stop reading to eat when I am into a novel.

After I finished reading two novels, now I am in the troublesome weeks at work. It is like a storm...

Whenever I am busy at work, I forget to eat, and lose my weight.

This time, again.

So this is a natural diet....
I am not making an effort to lose weight at all.


But this is not healthy way to lose my weight, so maybe I should not call it a "diet."

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Hair Cut

I got hair cut this weekend.
It has been three years since my last hair cut by a professional hair stylist.

...Surprised?

A lot of my Japanese friends have terrible experiences with their hair cut in England. Generally English hair stylists can not deal with Asian hair quality. They say our hair is too thick and too many.... Their work is incredibly rough. They cut customer's hair as they like without following the customer's order... Often they can not cut the hair straight. And....their sense of fashion/hair style is awful.

Some Japanese ladies go to London to get their hair cut by a Japanese hair stylist, even if they have to make three-hour trip to get to London. I live near Birmingham which is about three hours away from London. I could go to a hair salon in London but I am not that eager for my hair style.

Recently I and my local Japanese friends have found a Japanese hair stylist in Birmingham. She is currently studying English but she was a professional hair stylist in Osaka. She says she can visit our house and give us hair cut!

How can we miss this chance!?

So we asked her to come to our town, and seven Japanese ladies got hair cut very nicely.

My hair is now about 15cm shorter than before. The new hair style make me so happy and I feel like being in a new fashion.


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Anniversary

It seems something strange for me that this month is our 5th anniversary month after we started dating.

I don't know if it is ALREADY 5 years or STILL 5 years.

Since I have got a feeling that I have known him for a long long time, much more tha five years...probably from my previous lives, it is surprising that we have been together ONLY for five years.

On the other hand, these five years seem to be too short to have gone through so many things together.

Anyway, the most important thing is that we are still happy together after these chaotic years. I can tell that we are even happier than the beginning of our history. I am sure that we have been developing ourselves and our relationship.

Happy Anniversary for us!
And cheers for our beautiful lives!

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