作文：私の教会の名前

私の教会の名前は末日聖徒イエス・キリスト教会です。始めから、いつも同じ名前を使っていますが、時々この教会員は「モルモン」と呼ばれています。でも、それはほかの人から受けたニックネームだけです。教会員の本当の名前は「末日聖徒」です。ニックネームは「モルモン書」と言う聖文からでしょう。モルモン書は昔の多くの人で書き記した記録で、「モルモン」と言う男の人に短くまとめられました。「モルモン」と言う名前はもっと有名だから、教会の案内のウェブページは mormon.org です。

いつものようにどうぞ直してください。


Composition: The name of my church

The name of my church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  From the beginning it has always used the same name, but sometimes these church members are called "Mormons".  But this is just a nickname received from other people.  The real name of church members is "Latter-day Saints".  The nickname is probably from the scriptures called "The Book of Mormon".  The Book of Mormon is a record written by many people from long ago, and was abridged by a man named "Mormon".  Because the name "Mormon" is more famous, the church's information webpage is mormon.org.

As always, please correct it.

作文：私の生活の大切な一部分

私はクリスチャンです。八才の時にバプテスマを受けて、末日聖徒イエス・キリスト教会の会員になりました。その時から、ずっと毎週この教会に行っています。二十二才時に十八ヶ月間にアメリカのユタのソルトレイクシティーで宣教師として伝道しました。教会と福音は本当に私の生活の大切な部分です。

*どうぞ、日本語の文法や単語の間違いを直してください。もう教えてもらったことは赤色で直しました。

Composition: An important part of my life.

I am a Christian.  When I was 8 years old I was baptised and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Since that time I have been continually attending church every week.  When I was 22 years old, I served as a missionary in Salt Lake City Utah, USA for 18 months.  The church and the gospel really are an important part of my life.

*Please correct any Japanese grammar or vocabulary mistakes.

文法の練習

新しい文法を練習するために以下の作文を書きました。どうぞ、コメントで直してください。何かおかしい間違いがあれば、どうぞ笑ってください！笑。

まず、「〜からすると」の練習です。

空模様からすると、今日雨が降るようです。Judging by the sky, it's going to rain today.

彼女の顔からすると、贈り物が好きのようです。Judging by her face, she likes the present.

においからすると、誰かが料理しているようですね。Judging by the smell, someone is cooking.

持っている本からすると、彼はドイツ語が分かるようです。Judging by the book he is holding, he can understand German.

車の様子から見ると、兄は運転が上手じゃないようです。Judging by the condition of the car, my older brother is not good at driving.

この写真からすると、ホバートは小さい町ようです。Judging by this photo, Hobart is a small town.


次は「〜ぐらい」の練習のためです。

勉強できないぐらい疲れたです。I'm so tired I can't study.

１０分で日焼けするぐらい、オーストラリアの日差しが強いです。In Australia, the sun is so strong it burns you within 10 minutes.

盗むぐらい、彼はお金がほしがっていました。He wanted money enough to steal it.


最後に「〜ほど〜はない」の練習です。

東京では練馬ほど暑いところはないです。In Tokyo, there's no place as hot as Nerima.

日本語ほど学びにくい言語はないです。There's no language as hard to learn as Japanese.

バラほどきれいな花はないだと思います。There's no flower as pretty as a rose.

朝ほど眠い時はないです。There's no time where I'm as tired as in the morning.


じゃ、先生たち、直してお願いします！もう直してもらったのは赤色でかわりました。練習してる文法が使えなければ、ばつになりました。

Love Stories

Last night I stayed up a little bit too late...watching videos on the Youtube Mormon Channel.  The videos I was watching were snippets of interviews with various church leaders and their spouses, telling the stories of our they met and fell in love.  I found it uplifting to hear these success stories of couples who have stayed together for so many years.

Here are some of those videos, each of them about 3 minutes long.

Elder and Sister Christoffersen

Elder and Sister Hinckley

Elder and Sister Bowen

Sister and Brother Wixem

Elder and Sister Hallstrom

Elder and Sister Walker (Elder Walker spoke at the most recent CES fireside)

Elder and Sister Clayton

I found them very uplifting and inspiring and kept watching more and more.  As a single woman who is yet to find her 'happily ever after', it warmed me to hear the simplicity of many of their stories.  Although I don't live in an area with a high LDS population, I know that everyone's story is different, and I look forward to the day when I find someone compatible and willing to spend the rest of their life with me.  Thanks in advance!

Some of you may feel that all of these stories of young love may be unrealistic.  Not too long ago, Kristen M. Oaks, wife of Elder Dallin H. Oaks, gave a great talk at the CES fireside sharing her story.  Being 53 years old when she finally found love and married, she gives great advice to those who have not had the luck of finding a spouse during their young adult years.  I love that she's not a seasoned public speaker, and her manner is quite unpretentious and natural.  It shows she is human and allows the average person to be able to relate to her more.  My favourite line from this talk is: "If you cannot bear the difficulties and challenges of single life, you will never be able to bear the difficulties and challenges of married life."  It reminds us to make the most of life, no matter what our circumstances, and that marriage alone does not bring happiness.

Kristen M. Oaks "To The Singles Of the Church" 

(15 mins long, including intro for Elder and Sister Oaks)

Whether or not you have found your "happily ever after,"  I hope you will be warmed by these stories and feel a hope for the future.  I also hope that you will be inspired by Kristen's words to make the most of life no matter what your circumstances.

Said No One Ever.

It may be a slight exaggeration, but I created this as a reminder for me to turn off the modem and get a life!  And maybe clean the house occasionally.  

I should be starting back at work soon so I'm hoping the routine will help me spend my time a little better.  Life has too many opportunities out there to be wasting time instead.

As John Bytheway said to the youth about average time wasted on his CD Turn off the TV and get a life: "Think of the songs you could learn, the free-throws you could shoot, the books you could read, the pictures you could draw, the children you could play with, the mountains you could climb, the merit badges you could work on, the YW awards you could earn, the journals you could fill, the things you could build, the scriptures you could memorise, the testimonies you could strengthen, the people you could serve, the lives you could change - including your own...or you could watch TV for a thousand hours a year."

That talk was written pre-Facebook and Pinterest times, but I think he'd have a lot to say about those today!

So feel free to 'pin' or share this meme if you can relate.  And then close down Pinterest and Facebook and go do something!  :)

Maz Meme Gallery 2

Here is some more of my recent meme creations on display for your viewing pleasure :)  You can either scroll down and read the memes first, or you can read the description for each first - it's up to you!

The following meme is based on true events.  You know when you meet someone (especially of the opposite sex) and then the same day you search for and find their Facebook page and take a look through their info and photos?  Well as I found myself doing this, this meme formed in my mind:

Recently I was delighted to get a "meme request" from one of my friends, who said she loved the "one does not simply" memes and hoped I'd create one of those soon.  So I thought, "challenge accepted" ;)  I did some research into the meme and it's best uses, and then in trying to think of some way of using it, I came up with this one, about the fine art of meme creation: 

Then I did come up with something that I found funny.  I was going to include "In Hobart YSA" in the top line, but thought I'd keep the meme generic and simply explain it's origin here.  You see, back home I was part of a community known as Hobart Stake "Young Single Adults" or "YSA".  I'm not sure what it's like in different YSA groups around Australia or the world, but being a fairly small group, where everyone feels they already know each other, there's not as much dating, or invitations for dates, as some would like.  It's a point of much frustration for some.  And then there's the reaction sometimes that a date is a HUGE thing and you can't go on a date unless you're already in love with someone.   Because of such stigma, it sometimes seems one must first do a lot of elaborate behind-the-scenes planning before even contemplating asking someone on a date.  

Basically all this makes dating hard, and I felt leads to this kind of mentality within the group:

And lastly, this one is again based on true events!  It's a Mormon specific joke.   We have what's known as "visiting teachers" assigned to all women in the church, basically it means we look out for each other and no one gets forgotten, but it's usually carried out in the form of monthly visits to one's home.  Well, I try to keep my home tidy, but sometimes it gets a little...out of hand.  But, thankfully to my faithful visiting teacher, I'm always guaranteed to clean it up thoroughly at least one a month before she comes to visit!  Which lead to the creation of this meme:

Happy Birthday...And Everyday! A Musical Feast.

As the whole world should be aware, 10th April was my birthday.  Given that I did not have to work, and that I live on my own in a foreign country, I decided to make the WHOLE day as great as possible.  I cleaned my apartment the day before so I woke up to a very clean and tidy apartment, which was wonderful.

I also made sure I listened to some very happy music!  This really helped set the mood for the day, which was one of the best days I've had in a while.

Since it raised my mood so much I thought I would share some of my happy, feel-good songs with you!

The first is a new favourite of mine:

"When Can I See You Again?" - Owl City.  I love the videoclip too because everyone looks like they're really enjoying themselves and feeling happy.

"On A Day Like Today" - Stephanie Pearson (from the "Everything You Want" movie soundtrack).  This one is positive and upbeat about how today is full of possibilities.

"Lovely" - Kumi Koda.  Mostly in Japanese, but you've just gotta look at her smile and you get the picture!

"Happy Boys & Girls" - AQUA.  Slightly cheesy name and lyrics, but there's nothing wrong with declaring you'll be happy and dance about it!

"Dazzling Girl" - SHINee.  A bit of K-POP for you, but in Japanese (and bits of English).  They're pretty happy about their dazzling girl and are dancing about it too.

What are some of your favourite happy songs?

Friendly Feature: Steph Parker

Meet my good friend in Tasmania, Stephanie Parker.  Here she is with her (slightly hyper-active, yet cute) dog, Chloe.

Some things you should know about Steph:  She is a very loyal friend, is laid back, loves to laugh, and has the cutest sneeze.

We've known each other a few years now and really hit it off when we decided to take a trip together to Melbourne. We had a lot of fun learning to drive our rental car (a very new model with automatic transmission, and very sensitive brakes, which neither of us were used to!), as well as doing lots of sight-seeing and shopping.  And to top it off,  while we were there a volcano erupted in Iceland, preventing us from returning home for yet another several days.  Go figure.

Since I moved to Japan, Steph and I have been sending good old snail-mail letters to each other.  In fact, the first letter I received here was from Steph!  I love reading her letters because they are always interesting and funny.

Recently, for a bit of fun, I sent a list of 10 questions for Steph to answer about herself.  And for a bit more fun, I've decided to post her answers on my blog for your reading pleasure.  

So, here they are!

1.  My favourite colour is pink, which is kind of obvious, hehe!

2.  My favourite movie is "Raise Your Voice", it is a singing, but sad, movie.

3.  In my spare time I like to watch my favourite TV shows, do puzzles, sing, scrapbook, hang out with friends, play with my dogs, and pretty much just enjoy my life.

4.  My favourite Disney movie is "The Lion King".

5.  My favourite food is lasagne.  Yummy!!

6.  If I could learn any language, it would have to be Spanish.

7.  My least favourite food is pumpkin.

8.  My dream job would be an event organiser.

9.  I prefer winter, as when it is cold you can snuggle up & put on more layers, whereas with summer there is only so much you can do to get cool.

10.  My favourite ice-cream flavour is strawberry.

And there you have it, ten facts about Steph Parker.  Love it.  An Event Organiser would be such a fun job!

If you'd like to be my next Friendly Feature then contact me and I'll send you 10 questions :)

Have a great week everyone!

You Know You're Living In Japan If...

You eat your soup with chopsticks

Everything comes individually wrapped

The word "seafood" has taken on a WHOLE new meaning

The mayonnaise tastes AMAZING!

Hair scrunchies are back in fashion (with a vengeance)

"Ee?!" has become a permanent part of your vocabulary

Your first thought in the morning is 
"Which garbage day is it today?"

You own a bike and not a car 

You're surprised when you walk past a mirror
 and realise you don't look Asian

You're a little disappointed if you haven't had
 an earthquake in a week

You have no idea what the pizza delivery guy just said, because he was speaking too politely

Your definition of "personal space" has gotten a lot smaller 

You wonder how you ever lived without heated toilet seats

The cockroaches look like something 
from a sci-fi horror movie

You feel like a pig for eating your 120ml icecream tub in one go

It's 4 degrees outside and the school windows are still open.

Create A Meme? Challenge Accepted.

An Internet meme (pron.: /ˈmiːm/ meem) is a concept that spreads from person to person via the Internet.

I recently started to enjoy the current meme culture on social media.  You know, pictures which resurface again and again with various funny captions.  Someone I know even got "memed" by his friends, using one of his photos as a joke.  And it was about then that I thought, "Heeeeeey, maybe I can make a meme!"

And so my project began.  I'll admit, the juices didn't flow immediately.  But I was determined I would create a meme, and it would go down in history!  

I downloaded a free meme app on my iPod touch, called "MemeCreator", and looked through the various photos and their usage style.  Eventually, I decided to go with the "Grumpy Cat" one, as that would probably be the easiest.  So for a few days I thought and I thought and finally...I got it!  The light-bulb moment.  

And thus, my first meme was born:

Okay, a little mean.  But hey!  It's grumpy cat!  He's always mean.

Well, I got such a buzz from creating my first meme, I decided to make another, and soon found myself on a roll.  One of my favourite memes is a "Condescending Willy Wonka" saying "Oh, you wear a Northface jacket?  You must go on so many adventures."  Not sure why, but I find it really funny!  You know, people who buy that expensive pro-bushwalker jacket, just to wear around town.  Touché, Willy Wonka!  

So here's my own Willy Wonka meme:

Yeah, I know.  Mean again!  So I decided to try something more neutral, and went with Philosoraptor:

Discovering this new medium for creativity has been really fun, and I will probably make some more in the future.  There's many great templates to choose from, such as "Success Kid", "Koala Can't Believe It", "First World Problems", or "One Does Not Simply".  

(These examples are from the internet and not me...but I like them!)

Now I'm excited to pin my memes to Pinterest and see if they go viral ;)

Oh, and in trying to find a good example of "Challenge Accepted" I ended up coming up with my own just now: