BeSparkly

I can’t believe I forgot to post a picture of Randall, my “welcome” frog.  I call him Ron~dahl instead of Randall because it’s fun.  He’s made out of something like tin - he’s my special, metal frog.

I bought him a few years ago when my friend and I went to a store and he caught my eye.  I carried him around in my arms for a long time as we continued to shop, to which my friend laughed and shook her head at me.  Since I bought him, he’s warmed the entrance of four different homes I’ve lived in… Ron~dahl really makes me feel sparkly.

The drive was easy with two people and even with bad winter weather, we made it on schedule.  Now I’m home and ready to work on BeSparkly.  I got a new digital camera [which I can't take a picture of =( ] and plan making a new blog theme for my Sparkly friend Tink. 

Also, I blew through Chicago on the flight back and went to my favorite Japanese mega-store, Mitsuwa.  I got my new sparkly for the week, a super fan-snazzy kids book about “drops,” all in Japanese.  =D

How exciting!  I may actually be able to read it… very, very slowly…

Yay for high speed internet at the Best Western in Junction City, Kansas!  We’ve traveled 1200 miles so far and should pull into Denver tomorrow afternoon.  Tonight… a new episode of BattleStar Gallactica and a much needed shower. 

To “be sparkly” today, I’ve added some of my favorite “sparkly” songs on the About page.

So… my friend and I are driving from Washington D.C. to Denver tomorrow.  Long story, long drive.  Just how long is it, you ask?  About 1670 miles or 26 hours.

Here is a snazzy little map I whipped up to show you just how far it is.

Dear Sweetness!  That’s over half the country.

I’ll post when I get back, so until then, be sparkly! 

明日は友達とワシントンDCからデンバー まで運転します. 
とても遠いです！　
1668マイル＝2684キロメートル
(@_@)

Tokyo ni ikimasu?  nani!?  ~haha~  That means, I’m going to Tokyo! 

There is no better place to find “sparkle” than in Japan.  In fact, Japan is one of my main inspirations for BeSparkly, so, I’m planning a vacation at the end of February to the capital of sparkly-mania.  Here is a picture I took the last time I was in Tokyo of a neighborhood called Akihabara, known for its electronics.  The photo quality isn’t that great because I took it with a real camera and scanned it into my computer with a scanner.  Does anyone remember what a real camera is? Or a scanner for that matter?  I still have both and I use them.

While my trip is strictly a vacation, I hope to be flooded with sparkly ideas and come home with a suitcase full of sparkly things.  I guess I should save up for my Tokyo Sparkly Budget. *ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆

二月東京に行きますよ.  私はKimeruのliveを見ます.  すごい!!
[In February I will go to Tokyo. I will see Kimeru's concert. Cool!]
 

Who says dots & stripes don’t go together?  Not me!

I’d have included my face, but to get the picture that small to see the stripes and dots clearly, it just didn’t work out for me.

…which was taken today, January 14th, 2007, in 72 degree weather.  Um, that’s a little warm for Virginia in January, which brings me to Global Warming. 

BeSparkly now officially announces its alliance with… whomever… to help solve Global Warming.  Go Al Gore! BeSparkly is behind you and your good work to inform as many people as you can about the effects of Global Warming and how to stop it.  Please go visit the site now and find out how you too can help slow the causes of Global Warming:  An Inconvienent Truth and when you get a chance, please watch the documentary movie.  It will change the way you see the world - literally.

Also, as BeSparkly adopts Global Warming, it has also adopted saving the Sea Turtles as mentioned in a previous post. 

Maybe, BeSparkly will come out with a campaign for Global Warming or the Sea Turtles using dots or stripes… hmmm… *puts on thinking cap*

Until then, please check out the Philanthropy Page I’ve added for links and info.

For this week’s sparkle budget, I purchased a fun and lively hot pink calendar for the new year.  At 50% off, who could resist?  While I usually gravitate toward serene landscapes and nature prints, this year I branched out in the true spirit of BeSparkly and got myself my a Hello Kitty calendar. 

While the calendar doesn’t make up for the fact that I was a space cadet all day, it certainly perked me up… that and the giant vanilla latte I just pounded.  Now I have energy  *zoom zoom*            三 (/ ^^)/    wahoo ～♪

For my birthday celebrations, me and a few girlfriends headed out Saturday night to a DC area sushi restaurant.  I love veggie sushi (I don’t eat fish) and also love Japanese red bean desserts… so when I ordered the red-bean and green tea mochi ice cream for the first time, I fell in love!

The red bean mochi was my favorite, but both were fantastic.

Basically, it’s a rounded scoop of ice cream with a sticky rice covering (that is super-delicious).  Try it if you get a chance. 

After dinner, I opened gifts and my friend got me fun, sparkly rings (everyone really is supportive of BeSparkly, thanks so much!) 

My hand is bottom hand with green ring.  The blue ring is Cookie (yes, that’s a nickname), top hand is my sister-in-law, Sarah, or Super-Mom as I like to call her, and the left hand with the other green ring is my long time best friend Kara, who is sometimes called Gendel.  I don’t have any nicknames.  *cries* 

Anywho, the sushi was great, my friends were great, and I had a blast.  Arigatou~

The BeSparkly web site is coming together in my head and I hope to start working on it soon, perhaps even this weekend.  I want it to be interactive, but I’m not sure how yet.  And also, I’ve decided to launch a Japanese version of the site.  I will more than likely build the entire site in English first, then have a translator do the Japanese part. 

頑張ります!  (ganbarimasu = which means “I’ll work hard & do my best”)

This is the first ever BeSparkly New Year ~ and I’m celebrating in style… or hanging out in my bed with my laptop, same thing.

Not only is it a new year, but it is also my 30th birthday.  Here is the card my dad got me for my birthday, isn’t it fun?  My family has really taken to the BeSparkly fun!  My family is awesome.  =D

今日は30歳になりました~

And in honor of the New Year and my 30th birthday, I have officially launched my new BeSparkly blog theme.  Like it?  I’ve had some trouble with the alignment depending on which browser you use to view it.  So if you notice the alignment is off, please let me know which browser you used and which page was wonky. 

Thanks & Happy New Year!!