Mother's Day : Presents

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Bonaire, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kurdistan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Singapore, Saint Maarten, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanganyika, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How many countries are listed above? 92 countries?

whew.. :) I did a good job typing them!! hehe

There are at least 92 countries in this world that
 celebrate the Mother's day on second Sunday of May.

(Other countries celebrate it on different days)

Have you decided what to do for Mother's day?

I decided to get some presents and cards for my mothers and write a message to my mothers in the world here on my blog:)

Presents for my mother

had to be somethings that could be shipped. It couldn't be some accessories, beauty products, cooking products because she is not really interested in. I gave her bags, shoes, and skirts before. so her presents for this year are...

Clothes + A card

I just randomly went & luckily found this cutest T-shirt at aeropostale (US$24.50). Just so perfect!! My mother and I love blue color and lace. Since she was looking for a casual T-shirt, I got this one for her and myself. Our 1st matching clothes ★ (a cute idea, isn't it?) hehe I also got a summer casual dress from Kensie & a camisole from h.i.p. at Nordstrom that I forgot to take a picture of. sorry guys:'(
by the way, I found these pictures of the T-shirt on ebay.

It was only $9.99! bummer..

Presents for my boyfriend's mother and my Mexican mother

Soap nuts + cards

from One Fair World. There is a Japanese song about "Mother" (this is a title too). This kids' song sings that "Child : mom, you smell really good. Mom : it's a smell of laundry soap." So, I bought this one for moms (although they are not from Japan). Take 3-4 nuts and soak them in the hot water for couple minutes. Put them into the attached cotton small bag. Throw the bag in the laundry. So magical! It's a nut & it's a soap! It's a soap nut!! We can use the same nuts 3 - 4 times:) It's natural and great for sensitive skin.

Present for my current host mother

I think I will go to get a card + a bottle of wine from a local wine shop!

Lastly,

To my wonderful mothers in the world! I counted them. There are at least 13 host mothers and women who are like mothers to me. Unfortunately, it's super hard for me to keep in touch with every single one of moms + my international friends, so I have not been able to keep in touch with how they are doing. BUT I will never ever forget about such wonderful mothers. Even though I couldn't speak English at all, you gave me a great lesson instead of giving up on me. I learned how to accept who others are and where others come from, how to share who we are, how to be a daughter. You also showed me how to be strong, thoughtful, lovable, and many more important things that I needed to learn :) It was just very amazing to meet you! Those memories that I had with you are priceless. Please do not forget that you will always be n my heart and I will never forget about you. Thank you very much. I love you all! I hope all of you had a wonderful mother's day!!

with love and smile, Vivian

6 months

Who said Americans don't celebrate monthly anniversaries? Me? Maybe..

Many of my friends in the US do celebrate 6 months & after that.. yearly. Because I am such a dreamy girl, I do have a small dream = celebrating monthly anniversaries. ridiculous? Well, that's why I gave up on this dream once. BUT I believe it's very important to do something different together every once a while. ((*>u<*)) Especially in the short distance relationship like I have, I see my boyfriend everyday (which is awesome). Here is a question for you! What if seeing partners became just one of the dairy routines? JUST LIKE THIS PICTURE that I saw on facebook...

No feeling butterflies from just looking at each other? More disappointment? Missing the time when you just started dating?  it'd be hard to feel exciting and fresh feeling that make couples realize how meaningful the partners are to them.

NOOoooOOO!!

NO NEED to do something reeeally expensive. Just dress up nicely, do something different, and make your partner surprised!! (^^)(^^) You don't have any idea, time, & money? That's Okay! Here is what we did for 6 months anniversary!

1. Look around a dollar store
They sell some unique things that we can talk about or play with. haha

2. Go to picnic

Picnic at the park with Thai food from my favorite Thai restaurant :D

(we didn't have a time to make lunch box)

We ate a lot & became "food-pregnants" ヽ( 'H')人('H' )ノ

3. Take pictures

Funny pictures make us laugh together. Good pictures leave beautiful memories.

4. Join local events

We found and listened to a live jazz music together:)

+ we got our desserts (chocolate for me & beer for him) hehe

5. Walk around
We went to our memorable place together. You may find something new on the road like a piece of pizza..

6. Surprise your partner with a letter or a small gift
Who writes a letter? It's so old school! A small gift? So cheeeeesy
 ... NO!! Because not many people do such things like that, cheesy stuff becomes something very special!

I am glad my small dream, that I gave up once, came true. I am glad he is OK with celebrating anniversaries monthly. I am glad I met him. Happy 6 months!!

Hope all of you have wonderful anniversaries!

SMILE :)

Hello Everyone Hello Sunshine

Hola, everyone:) This is my 1st post & 1st blog. Are you excited? I am excited!! x)) I'm not really good at writing in English, but I hope blogging can help me improve my writing skill. but anyway, Goshhh!! The weather is super nice here! Weather never really influenced my mood before I came here. I was like "Sunny day = my enemy! sweaty! bad for beauty!", "Rainy day = my hair, we can't go out today :(", "Cloudy day = humm, not bad", "Snowy day = NO SCHOOL"

Do you know that...
people get super happy on sunny days
A sunny day can change people's mood for the day
people get jealous with others who can be outside under the sun
"IN OREGON"

Isn't it beautiful that people can be happy & enjoy their lives because of the Sun?
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
So I decided to enjoy the Sun today.

It was a bit cold outside, I wore...

Jeans = American Eagle

Cardigan = it's from Japan

breakfast outside (^^)

A picture from my simplest cell-phone (^u^)/ Looks like those flowers are sparkling D: !! I guess the sunshine makes everything beautiful, lively, happy, and .... sparkling(?) ha

Hello Sunshine! Hello Sparkling Flowers!!

Enjoy the Sunshine everyone!
Hope sunny days can make you Smile :)