Friendship

I think one of the best memories I'll have of 2009 is of B and me scoffing down the remains of a Bakerzin blueberry cheesecake which H bought to celebrate the birthday of his and Jon's DL.

She, delicately shoving the candle-shaped plastic knife with a piece of cake on the end of it into her mouth; me, picking up the bigger bits left behind in the box with my fingers. H telling us to Please offer some to A's girlfriend also don't use the knife can?!, and B telling me You know I think we're really act cute, but I think they like it la.

And the knowing look we both gave each other as we happily ate blueberry cheesecake.

Boyfriends do like it - in small doses, anyhow. I think (well, I hope!) girlfriends themselves wouldn't be able to stand acting cute in large doses.

It's nice to have someone who understands these things, and who isn't afraid to say so in front of me, because I'm thinking the exact same thing.

It makes everything a lot easier, and I thank God for her.

***

More than a boyfriend, also a friend :)
When can we cut another cake? I want to go to Korea on you-know-what and stalk Lee Dong Wook and Lee Da Hae.

Ask No Questions
And I'll tell you no lies.

But wouldn't you like to know what resulted in this picture during my MSN conversation with Aunti L?

(Yes, that's "Aunti" to you. Many Malay names end with "i," ok? Just keeping with the theme)

glowie chloeie says: DONT WANT TO HEAR

Feeling Cakey

As I said to Abi, I was feeling "cakey" yesterday, i.e. I had a sudden, strong desire for cake - and I came across a recipe for Italian Brownie Muffins, and so I made them. Have oranges and olive oil, will make Italian Brownie Muffins. The recipe can be found here. I left out the orange essence, and added the zest of about one and a half oranges. I also cut the sugar to slightly less than one and a third cups.

They turned out good and light and wonderfully cakey, as one review promised, to my great delight. Not at all like a brownie-muffin.

Here is a picture of them, posing with the oranges which I zested. I'm sorry I couldn't pose them better.

They look ugly, as do most of the things I bake because frosting is dreadful to clear up, and I hate wasting things because it's tremendously difficult to scrape up all the last bits, which usually add up to quite a bit of wasted frosting.

But ugly food tastes good. These Brownie-Muffins which were really cupcakes tasted like good orange chocolate, which we all know can go horribly wrong if the orange isn't done right. Guess you can't go wrong with fresh Sunkist orange zest!

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I've been watching a trashy max show called Hot Guys Who Cook, but it's quite entertaining listening to the guys featured shooting their mouths off about everything. Today's Channel 5 episode featured an Irish guy who came up with the following nugget of wisdom:

"Irish men and women, American men and women, they're all the same! Irish men, American men, they all like to watch soccer, whether it's just soccer or American soccer. And Irish and American women, they like to spoil it for them. I've learnt to just, you know, make comments like 'Yeah, chicken's great fo' dinner,' 'No honey, you don't look fat in that,' you know, that sort of thing."

Well, what were you expecting from a show with a name like that?

Maybe It's Just The Time Of The Month

I was thinking recently about why I love Jon, and tonight we had a conversation about why HE loves ME. Girls love to know why, I think, and maybe guys just don't do "whys."

Anyhow, this might make me sound like a horrible girlfriend, but our dates are becoming more and more TV-oriented, as I make him come home with me to watch telly, often with my father or grandmother. Or I'll even want to not have dinner out with him so I can rush back to watch BAD local television (I have no cable) with my mum after tutorials.

I'm serious.

Maybe I'm just becoming a TV addict?

Well, I had to ultimately accept that guys really don't do "whys."

But I know why I love him - and it's comforting, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Besides the fact that, among other things, he makes me laugh, and we can talk about the most unromantic things and I still feel like we're having a "couple" conversation.

It's because he encourages me to be a better Christian; to trust in God's transforming power and love, and I think he's inspired me more than anyone else in my journey to becoming the woman I believe God wants me to be. And he continues to so inspire me.

I know - even I find that a most unromantic thought. Sometimes it worries me that I don't feel all warm and fuzzy anymore, when I used to. But thinking about why I love him, and realising what the answer was, was immensely comforting in the face of my worries about the lack of warmth and fuzziness.

So, guys, knowing the WHY can be a good thing.

And just like a (very human) girl, although I think I'd be glad if his "why" matched mine, I'd still want him to say it's because I make him laugh like no one else. Among other things.

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An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:10-12