Interesting snacks

A week or so ago, I ordered a box from Freedom Japanese Market. They have boxes of snacks only sold in Japan, you can choose to get a subscription that comes every month for $25 or a one time only box for $27. I decided to do the one time only box because I don't have that much money to spend on a box of treats every month.

I got my box last Friday, here's what it looked like:

There is an informational sheet included to tell you what everything is.

 And here's what was inside:

 Starting at the top and going clockwise (from my informational sheet): Kaki Wasabi, a great mix of peanuts and crunchy crackers with a strong wasabi flavor; NeruNeru NeruNe!, this much requested DIY candy is back, easy to make and fun to eat, share your finished snacks and creations with us; Caramel Corn (Peach), crispy corn, wheat and soybean four curls with a light peach flavor, the package resembles a hina-matsuri (Girl's Day) doll; and Pretz, roasted, flaky pastry snacks in a sugar glaze.

 Starting at the top and going clockwise: Rilakkuma Soft Sen (rice crackers), lightly salted senbei (rice crackers) shaped like the characters on the package; Yuki no Yado, frosted and lightly sweetened rice crackers; Sono Manma Cola Gum, cola flavored gum that contains three pieces - one of them has a surprise super sour filling; Kuki Wakame (sour plum), keep an open mind and try some of these pickled seaweed sticks - one of our favorite snakcs; Hi-Chew, chewy fruit flavored treats; Umaibo, back by popular demand - these snacks are a fan favorite; and Lemon mini bottle, pour the granular contents of the bottle directly into your mouth for a fruity and tart treat;
I tried the wasabi flavored pack on my own and have decided I really don't like wasabi flavored items. The rest I took to my friend's house and we had a little tasting party. We started with the NeruNeru NeruNe!, when I opened the package there was a white part to hold it, and three bags, going by the pictures on the back I mixed water with two of the packets that had white powder in them. First it smelled strongly of grape, then turned pink:

 The third bag had these colored sugar crystals in it. The paste part was very sweet, the pictures on the pack showed the spoon with the pink and then dipped in the crystals.

 The paste was very sour, the crystals kinda made it less sour, but not much. I didn't think it was very good.
Next we tried the caramel corn, peach flavored:

 I really liked these, they're very good. They kinda reminded me of the cheese puffs in consistency, but the taste was really good.

Next we opened the Umaibo:

 They looked like big cheese puff sticks, they were hollow in the middle. I found the taste very strange, my friend said one was beef tongue, the other had a robot dog on the front and we couldn't figure out what the taste was supposed to be, but decided there was a pork flavoring in it.
Next we tried the Rilakkuma Soft Sen:

 Sadly, I had forgotten the description sheet at home, and mis remembered the description for these, I thought they were slightly sweetened, not salted. So, we were a little disappointed in these, they were also very bland.
Next up was the Yuki no Yade:

I liked this one, the white blobs on top are sweet, the cracker underneath was salty, it was a good combination.
Neither of us liked the pickled seaweed, but to be fair, I don't like seaweed or things that are pickled, so I didn't think I'd like it either. I was a little disappointed in the lemon mini bottle, because the description sheet had a strawberry one and I would have liked that better than lemon. I've had Hi-Chew before, so I haven't eaten that yet. I really liked the Pretz, they reminded me of sweet breadsticks.
I tried the Sono Manma Cola Gum myself, my friend doesn't like cola flavored things.

The taste didn't last very long, but it made very good bubbles.

I was hoping for more sweet items, there were more salty things than I really wanted, but it was nice to try it out. I might buy another one in the future. I had heard of this company from another blog I read, and have been wanting to try it for awhile, but was a little put off at the fact that I had to get a subscription, I was happy when I saw the one time only box.
I thought it was nice to try the sweets. I've been trying to try new things lately, I've visited all of our Asian food stores, a Middle Eastern food store and I'm going to an International Food Fair next Sat. I really like trying different country foods.

Nothing

I was talking with my co-worker today about life. I was saying how I needed another job and she was mentioning when she had two jobs she was tired all the time, I said I didn’t care about that, I just needed money. She asked if I had graduated college (I have) and if I ever wanted to move away from here. I told her I didn’t want to move out of my comfort level, but that’s not the whole story, basically I am where I am because I don’t care. Some days I feel like I’m just going through the motions, I work because I need the money. I don’t have any aspirations or dreams or goals. I just don’t care. I guess there are moments like when I helped a patron the other day to navigate the bus system to get where she was going, I feel a sense of pride when I do that, but those times seem very few and far between and even though I know people are grateful for my help, I’m sure they forget about me once they’ve gotten what they need.

I used to want to create art for a living, I know I’m good at it, but lately, I don’t create anything unless I need to. For a swap, or a birthday, or a holiday coming up. I just don’t have anything to make me want to create anymore.

I like being at work, because I’m not in my head, I have to focus on work, but I find myself getting more annoyed with co-workers and things that they do lately, or things that they don’t do. I feel bored a lot at home because I don’t have anything to stretch my mind.

My mother asked if I had any plans for the summer the other day, and I said no, and then she asked what some exciting plans would be and I didn’t have an answer. I do want to try new things, but there’s not much exciting here. I am going to an international food fair next week, but after that, there’s nothing around here to do. There’s nothing that really makes me very happy lately.

Alligators and beer

It's Hodgepodge time again.

1. Besides left over Easter goodies, what's something currently kept in a basket at your house?
I don't use baskets for things.

2. 'The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.' ~Michelangelo Buonarroti )
 So which one are you...the one who aims too high, or the one who aims too low? Have you ever seen The Sistine Chapel? Did you know Michelangelo's surname prior to answering this question?
I probably aim too low, I don't push myself. I did know that.

 3. April 7th is National Beer Day. Hmmm...wonder how that's celebrated? Do you like beer? Have a favorite? If you're not a beer drinker do you have any recipes you enjoy cooking that call for beer?
I don't drink beer, or use beer for anything.

4. When did you last travel somewhere new? Tell us where? How'd it go?
My family and I went to Charleston for Christmas. It was fun, but I wouldn't suggest going on vacation during the big holidays, we lost two days to do stuff because places were closed, or closed early. I also didn't understand why we had to hang out with my brother's girlfriend's parents the whole time we were there.

 The pineapple fountain

 The bridge

An alligator

 5. The value of _________________________is greatly overrated.
TV. I take a lot of surveys and they just can't understand that I don't watch TV, people also get bothered when I tell them I don't watch TV. I recently found my rabbit ears the other day, and that surprised a bunch of people too.

 6. What's a pet peeve of yours when it comes to restaurant dining?
This is not specific to restaurant dining, but I hate that people can't put down their phones when we get together. My brother used to always be checking his phone and my mother would complain, now that she's got a smart phone she does the exact same thing. I think if you're going out to dinner or spending time with someone, you shouldn't be checking your phone all the time.

 7. It's Poetry Month...share a favorite poem, either the title, a few lines you find meaningful, or the

whole kit and caboodle.

Push me

Pry me

Pull me

Anyway you please

I want to fly

I want to run

I want to leave

Free me please
 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm craving some really good chocolate and since it's after Easter, I thought I'd go and see if any is on sale at stores. I'm kinda having my doubts as I couldn't get excited for any before Easter, but here's hoping.

New finds

It's starting to be warmer lately. Last Saturday, my mother and I went to lunch and did some shopping. I know these are horrible pictures but I will update with better pictures soon. Here's what I picked up: a tiny nest for my aunt, a cute spider for a friend, an owl and a star for me.

 a tiny nest for my aunt, a cute spider for a friend, an owl and a star for me.

 A neat ornament and burlap bird for me, a reindeer ornament for my brother.
I also picked up a jar of jewelry, here are my favorites:

  I put some of these items in my Easter basket.

 

 

Yesterday, my dad and I went to the local Eco fair, that basically informs people about things that eco friendly, a couple of the freebies I picked up:

 a notepad, koozie, cup, bag, flashlight, pencil sharpener, pencil and pen. Apparently the color of the day was green.

I hope everyone had a good Easter, I found mine to be less than exciting. I've been putting my own Easter basket for awhile (mostly after I bought this basket a few years ago), and I realized the other day, it's just not as fun when nothing's a surprise in it.

 Inside:

 A minion cup, the burlap bird, star and owl ornament I bought last week, a bunny 'egg', a bunny figurine, tiny bunny button leprechaun pin and BINGO book I bought a few weeks ago at the antique mall. I'm hoping to create a glue book with the BINGO book.
And the yummies:

Ferrero Roche eggs, a Lindt truffle, some random chocolate and some peanut brittle balls.
My mother did buy me a jar of buttons,

some shoes

 and some chocolate.

 

We went to brunch at a local restaurant, but that was about all we did. After brunch, we went back to my parents condo so I could see my mother's bunnies (which she hasn't had out in years) and open my Easter basket. It was nice to get some interesting buttons, but when I opened the jar it smelled strongly like vinegar, I think it was from the breaking down of some of the plastic buttons.
Nothing was very exciting, but then I don't know what would be exciting these days.

It's April

I'm hoping that brings more exciting things. Everything seems boring to me lately, the movies and books I get from the library, making art, anything I try to do around here. I've noticed when I drop into these depressions, I spend more money, thankfully I have a little extra money from my tax return, but I really need to get back to not spending money. I have been spending too much to get that instant gratification lately, of course I've also had a hard time finding things that are exciting enough to spend my money on too, mostly material things, I have no problem spending on food.
I saw online an ad for a garage sale this Sat, I'm thinking I'll go check it out, see if there's anything I want. I did pick up a bag of trims from someone yesterday, they are very cute though I don't know what I'll do with them and I certainly don't need more. I have decided on what I'm allowed to buy at garage sales this year: I'm still looking for a couple sizes of Pyrex bowls, I don't care too much about the condition they're in, they're just nice sizes. I'm allowed to look at vintage trim and buttons, I love buttons. I'm allowed to buy jewelry if it's $1 each or less. I don't know what else I'm allowed to buy, but I hope to ponder about things before I decide to buy them. I feel I have less things than I did last year because of down sizing, but I still have waay too much stuff.
One of the ways I'm slowly getting rid of stuff is giving it to friends for gifts. I have two people I put together Easter baskets for, and other than the chocolate, I only bought one thing for them.
I created an Easter basket for myself as well, but it's not near as fun because I know what's in it.

I found a box of VHS tapes with stuff recorded off TV the other day, I've been going through them and finding some great older TV shows: New York Undercover (some of those I'm keeping), ER (totally keeping those), That's Life (nope), Pacific Blue (I have all the seasons on DVD, so not keeping them), Pensacola: Wings of Gold (yes, depends on the episode), Third Watch (yes), The Huntress (only if it's a good episode), Cover Me (most likely not), and various other ones that are still on TV. I've also found quite a few movies taped off TV that I now own on DVD. I have a working VCR, so I can keep them, but I've realized how bad the quality of these tapes are, especially after years of watching them, and re taping over them. One was in black and white and the clarity was horrible. I also found it funny, some of the stuff I was keeping, I'd accidentally tape over the end of it, oops. Oh, well, it's been fun to go back through it.

It's been really nice weather wise lately. Yesterday we had our second day in the 80's. Of course with it being so warm, I'm hoping my landlords will get an AC check done soon. I'm not really interested in turning on my AC until later in the year, but it would be nice for these days when it's 75 in my apt.

I'm getting tired of the state of my apartment, it's not bad, but it's getting cluttered and messy again. I guess it's time for a little spring cleaning. It's weird, my messiness never bothered me before, but now when I have to jump over things to walk through my apt, I'm getting annoyed and having a clean counter is really nice.
I'm making lemon cheesecake for Easter. My parents and I are getting together for brunch, I'm not sure of the rest of our plans, but before my mother decided she didn't want to get together with the extended family, I said I'd make cheesecake, and now she really wants cheesecake. Plus, I put together an Easter basket for her as well.

Running errands

I've been shopping. I have been trying to fill Easter baskets, but I can't find much to spend my money on lately (that's not always a bad thing). I have my basket, a couple friends and one for my mother.

Last week I decided it was warm enough to visit some stores and see if I could find anything good.

First stop was Target, but I talked myself out of what I had in my basket there. Walmart is a couple blocks from Target, so I try to go to both when I get down there. I found a few things at Walmart:

 Some cute Easter erasers, Ferrero eggs and chocolate covered pretzels. The pretzels were for me. The rest made it into baskets.
Next was Dollar Tree, I mostly just picked up necessities there, after that it was Hobby Lobby where I spent most of my money on stuff that was on clearance:

 The minion cup is from the dollar store, that went in my Easter basket. The flower had a few tiny chips on it, I figured it might be good for a gift someday. The flower child I originally bought it for my mother, but I think I've fallen in love with it. The confetti went into Easter baskets, it has cute little hedgehogs, owls and foxes.
Next I stopped at HyVee, because someone was saying how good Ben & Jerry's Tonight Dough ice cream was, sadly I didn't stop at just that:

 I bought my regular favorite of Chubby Hubby and a pint of pistachio. Lately, I've noticed the ice cream tastes different and not in a good way. I was very disappointed in the pistachio and have decided to spend my money on Blue Bunny in the future. I get more for less money, so why not. I am a bit sad to let go of Ben & Jerry's though.

This week, my mother and I went to an antique store in a couple towns north of us. It's pretty big, and was having a spring break sale, but I only found three things to buy (I'm sorry it's not a very good picture):

 A spiral bound book made from a BINGO card, a leprechaun pin and a bunny button. They all went into my Easter basket.

Today, my friend and I headed west and went to a few other culture grocery stores to get something interesting. First stop was an Asian store:

 Ramune drink, I've seen people try this on YouTube and have wanted to try it. It was ok, it reminded me of Sprite with a little fruit, not the greatest, but I'm glad I got to try it. Taro flavored soft rice cakes, I wasn't too impressed with these. I love the taste of taro (I believe it's a root vegetable and it's pretty sweet), but these didn't have much taste and they were very sticky. Melon Milk drink, I haven't tried this yet, I was really thirsty this morning. Vegetable cake, which I didn't see was vegetable, I thought it was just a piece of bread. It was pretty good, the inside kinda reminded me of an egg roll, so I warmed it up and had it for lunch. The last item is a cream cake, I believe it has some kind of cream in it. I tasted a little bit of it and the outside kinda tastes like a croissant.
I did find a bag of green tea Kit Kats, but they were about $8 for a bag, and it felt like not a ton in the bag, so we decided we could get them cheaper online, but it's nice to know there's some here if I want them.
Next stop was a middle eastern grocery store, we had both been there so it wasn't as fun as the Asian food store that we hadn't been to, but they still have yummy items.

 I picked up some cookies with hazelnut cream in them and peanut brittle balls. The peanut brittle balls went into my Easter basket.
I've been trying to try new foods lately. When we went to S. Carolina I tried to get food that I couldn't get here, and now I'm trying to visit all the different food stores we have, plus there's an international food fair coming up in April that I'm going to. I think I'm just sick of having all the same boring stuff, and food is something you don't really acquire, so I want to spend money on it.
On my way home I walked past a store that had some gorgeous scarves for sale and bought one for my mother:

I think she'll like it.

Green Hodgepodge

It's Hodgepodge time:

1. Share a favorite song, book, or movie title containing the word green?

2. Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as saying, 'Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.' Would you agree? Are you a believer in luck? I don't believe in luck, I believe in hard work.

3. Spring water, Hot Springs, handspring, spring fling, spring break, spring fever, offspring...which 'spring' word best applies to something in your day, week, or life right now? Spring fever maybe. We have been having some glorious weather lately, yesterday it got up to 82. I know it's not going to get up to that again until at least May, but with all this warm weather, I just want to get out and walk a few miles. If garage sales start soon, I may be doing that.

4. What's something you do to make yourself look or feel more confident? Certain clothes make me feel better. I love wearing my character shirts because someone always compliments me on them.

5.  It's National Celery Month...are you a fan? If so, what's a snack or dish you enjoy that calls for celery? I'm not a big celery fan, I do like it in tuna or egg salad though.

6. What's one thing you wish you'd learned sooner? Do what you love, not what other people say will get you money.

7. Would you like to own a second home? If so where would you want that home to be? Well, I don't own a home now, so I would love to have my own home. I guess if I ever had enough money to have a second home, I'd get a summer condo up in Okoboji, IA.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. Today I'm going to a local antique mall, and I'm excited about finding something fun.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's time for Wednesday Hodgepodge again.

1. What's the first image that comes to mind when you hear the word 'spring'? Which phrase best describes the season of spring where you live right now (today)-sprung! almost there, or still waiting? Walking in the warm weather, or puddles. We've had temperatures in the 40's, 50's and 60's lately, and I know it's spring (well, not technically) because there are puddles where there weren't any when there was snow. I don't like the spongy and muddy earth, though.

 2. Bed, couch, stapler, garage door, computer mouse, recliner, flashlight, door knob...which household item containing springs most needs replacing in your home? Speaking of springs...did you ever own a Slinky? I'm going with my bed, my parents "bought" me one last year for my birthday, but I've decided that I don't want one until I move because it has to go in and out my apartment through the kitchen window and up or down two flights of a fire escape. I did have a Slinky and I saw one for sale at Target today, so you can still get them.

3. March is Women's History Month. Share a favorite quote by a woman.

4. What's a question that looms large in your mind right now? What next? I'm at a crossroads in my life and I have no idea which way to go.

5. Are you a sugar freak? By that I mean how much do you love sugar? With all the bad press sugar gets these days, have you made any efforts to reduce the amount of sugar you consume? I love sugar. I bought candy for my Easter basket today, chocolate covered pretzels, cherry Coke, 3 kinds of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and sugar cereal today, I love sugar. And, no I don't try to reduce my sugar intake. That's why I don't like diets, I don't like to not let myself eat things I love.

6. Would you rather have less work to do or more work you enjoy doing? More work I enjoy. I was reorganized at my job and do less work right now and less of what I enjoy doing. I'd really love just to do more work right now.

7. Ever been to Texas? Of the top ten Texas tourist attractions which would you most like to see-The Alamo, The San Antonio River Walk, The State Capital, Dallas World Aquarium, Padre Island National Seashore, Houston Space Center, Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels, Six Flags Fiesta Texas,  Moody Gardens, or Galveston Island? I have not been to Texas, but anything about animals I'm always game to go to, so the Aquarium wins on my list, but the National Seashore sounds good too. I guess the Six Flags and Waterpark would be close seconds.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. As I said, we've had rather warm weather lately. I talked myself into walking to some stores today, just to get out and about. I really wanted to find stuff to put in Easter baskets, I found a couple things, but nothing really jumped out at me. I'm kinda disappointed. I have 2 friends I'm filling baskets for, me and my mother. I believe I've got my mother done, but I wanted some candy for my friends baskets, I didn't do very well with that. I kept wanting to buy things, but then I decided I had stuff like it at home that I could use.

Buttons!! and other things.

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Not much happening around here, I've been bummed about a couple things, just trying to keep myself busy by working.

I've been trying my hardest to save money lately and have been very good about not spending money on things I don't need, until today.

I got a $30 Amazon gift card for Christmas and finally spent it at the end January. I bought Taste of Home's Easy Weeknight Dinners (I had picked it up at the library and loved it so much I had to buy it), the movie Ironclad, some Lindt truffles and this box of candy:

I have to say I wasn't very impressed with it, it was ok, but I wouldn't have bought it for full price, the best was one of the snowmen had a gingerbread truffle inside, and it really did taste like gingerbread.

Two weeks ago, I picked up some flowers for $5, I decided since I was sick of snow and the dreariness outdoors, I needed a little color, so I bought them:

 I know the ones on the left are a kind of lily, there are some carnations that you can't see, I think the white ones are mums and I have no idea what the giant green pouf is, but I bought them because of it.

I took down my winter/snow decorations last week sometime, and put up my more colorful spring/summer decorations. Even though we've only had about 3 snowfalls this year, I'm sick of the snow, I need color in my apartment.
Yesterday started the warm-up in temperatures around here. We made it to mid-40's yesterday, and there are 60's in the forecast for next week. I know everyone's ready for it. I was going to wander downtown last Tuesday when I was out, until the weather decided to coat all flat surfaces in a very thin layer of ice so you had to basically skate everywhere, so I went today. Basically, I just wanted to buy some buttons, and I was not let down. Here's what I bought:

 A baby spoon and fork, a single button and a jar of buttons.
I know these are bad pictures, but I was trying to show close-ups of what's on these utensils and makes them so cool. They are silver baby utensils, the spoon:

 says Birth Record at the top and then has Thomas printed in the wide bar, and Aug on the left side with 1975 on the right and 25 in the bottom loop.
The fork:

says Birth Record of at the top and then has Thomas inscribed in the wide bar, under that it says weight and has a scale with lbs under one side and ozs under the other, it has a 9 for lbs, and 1 for ozs inscribed on it. there is a ruler in the middle that says inches on it and a 21 on the ruler. There is mo on the left side of the ruler day on the right. There is an 8 under mo and 25 under day, and then in the middle it says year and under that it has 75. I see on the back they say wm rogers and IS, I do have a couple of wm rogers bowls, so it's cool to see they made other interesting things too.
They are very cool, but kinda hard to read, the name is the easiest to read and the numbers look engraved but not by a professional. I wasn't going to buy them because they were $4 each, but I'd never seen anything like them.
Here's the contents of my button jar:

 And my favorites from that:

 And some close-ups of those favorites:

 There were a few glass buttons, like those rectangular ones at the top of this picture, some neat metal ones. I especially like the white ones with crystals.

Quite a few cut MOP, I really like the MOP buckle at the top there, and the itty bitty ones right next to it.
This one was my favorite of the lot:

 It's plastic, but still pretty cool.
I'm always jealous of the bags of buttons Kathy at Kluless picks up, but every once in awhile I find some really good ones in the jars I pick up. She always finds some really cool things (and some weird things) in hers. The store I went to, is called Tangerine Zebra, (they're actual site is www.tangerinezebra.com but that leads you to their facebook site, and I know if you're not signed into facebook, you can't see it), they are about the only store left here that's only antiques. I used to think they're prices were a bit high, until I started looking at the jars of buttons they have. This one seemed a bit high at $9, but I think there were a ton of good ones in it.

 I thought I'd show you my collection of favorite buttons that I have. I have some buttons that I just hoard (others I actually use), and then I have my all-time favorites:

Mostly they are vintage, but there are some newer ones as well.

 And some close-ups:

 There's a lot of metal and plastic in there, some sparkly ones, and combination ones.

 More combinations and sparkly ones, you can also see the corner of one of my silver bowls filled with other metal buttons.

I thought it might be nice to show some pictures of stuff I didn't buy, but caught my eye:

 A nice Iowa State chamberpot, I saw this and thought of Bargain Hunter, she's always saying how she finds a lot of chamber pots and soup tureens and people get confused as to which is which. I know this is a chamber pot because it only has one handle, I'm wondering if the person who painted it thought it was a soup tureen (they have two).

 This was a vintage record player, I thought the pattern on the case was cute.

This was in a different store, more of a resale store, but they have antiques sometimes too. I thought it was a beautiful mirror.

And this living room set was very interesting, I wouldn't be surprised if it came from the same household, maybe not the same room, though.

And this vintage typewriter. I find myself drawn to typewriters, I think it would be cool to have a collection, whenever I get my own house.

I suggested to my mother that we go to an antique mall a few towns north of here for spring break in a few weeks, I hope she has the time, I haven't been there in so long, and sometimes it's just nice to look.