One Day More!!!

^^That song from Les Mis gets stuck in my head all the time...

Guess what?! TOMORROW I DEBUT!!! It has been a long 2 months of rehearsals and I couldn't be more excited to officially get on that stage and start performing for a full audience! Not to mention how great it will be to finally have a normal sleep pattern again! Yay! 

I purposely woke up early today so I could go to bed early tonight. So much of me wants to curl up on my couch and take a nap (Yeah, I finally got a couch!)  Some of my cast mates pulled an all-nighter last night and watched the sunrise together at the Sea Wall so they could get to bed early as well.  Just a few more days and I'll feel human again!

So you might be wondering how I chose to spend my last day before we're 5 shows a day, 5 days a week...

I woke up around 9:30am because I was going to join some friends for breakfast down the road at an "American" restaurant called Jonathan's. There was a change of plans and I decided to forego a day trip and spend some time alone enjoying the beautiful weather and Cherry Blossoms! So I hopped off the bus and started walking back home. 

There was an adorable group of about 20 kindergarten-aged boys and girls with matching sun hats on that were walking toward a mini park next to the University just several blocks from my apartment. They were too cute not to follow, so I sat on a bench not too far from the class and giggled at the silly things they did to entertain themselves on what was really just a tiny hill of grass. It's amazing how much fun kids can have without electronics, eh? 

I enjoyed the children, and the worship music I listened to through my headphones, but did I mention this mini park was full of Sakura trees? Well it was, and it was wonderful sitting beneath them and basking in God's glory.

My stomach was growling so I decided to continue my walk home and make myself a big breakfast! 

All of the Uni kids were walking to Meikai as I crossed the street and it made me think of walking to class at UCSB.

Oh! Speaking of UCSB...if you haven't seen my shares on Facebook already, there was some serious chaos that broke out over this past weekend.  Riots broke out on the streets of Isla Vista after Deltopia, the annual spring break street party.

Here are some links if you're interested:

Channel 3 News

Buzzfeed

Anyway...

So I walked back home and made this:

Pancakes, eggs, and a smoothie!

I've been making smoothies nearly every morning the past few weeks. They fill me up for a long time and keep me from craving sugary sweets! I also add lots of healthy stuff like apple cider vinegar, vitamin C, oats, and honey. They always taste different because I pretty much just throw in whatever I can find and think might taste good together. I actually followed a recipe with this smoothie, though. 

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup of frozen mango

1 banana

1 handful of spinach

1 tsp honey

It was delicious and nutritious!

After breakfast, I spent the afternoon watching some TV shows, reading my daily devotion, and hanging this above my bed:

It's hard to read in the picture, but it's Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." I'm sure I've posted about it before, but this is my absolute favorite bible verse and I try to live each day by it. God has presented this verse to me during some of my most life-changing seasons and He has always followed through with this promise. I wouldn't be in Japan right now if I didn't believe this verse to be true.

My room is finally coming together and I promise I'll post more pictures when it's all finished and organized nicely. 

My eyes were telling me to take a nap, so I told my body to go for a bike ride. I bought a bike off of one of the guys in the current cast just a few days ago! It will be perfect for riding to the train station to go to work, or for carting my groceries home, or for riding along the sea wall in the summer.

I packed myself a little picnic and after riding around and exploring the sea wall for 10 minutes or so, I grabbed a spot on the grass and read some scripture while I enjoyed my cheese and crackers!

It started to get a chilly after a little while, so I packed up and left to go home. But first, I had to listen to "You're Beautiful" by Phil Wickham.

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who You are
You're beautiful

I see You there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now You are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful

It was such an incredible day. I was so happy that I went out and enjoyed the sunshine and God's beautiful creations! 

I cannot wait to wake up in the morning and perform for these fans! I also can't wait to show you all pictures next time!!!