Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
15 February 2012
I've finally come to peace with Ugly Hearts Day. I am accepting a value beyond indulgence in consumerism.
I am choosing to look past the shallow expressions of love.
The pink and red surround me. It makes me feel like a child, fluttering through an elementary school classroom. I look to the walls and the decorations for the colorful indications of specific holidays. Now? February. My birth month. The deemed month of love. Even Starbucks has those pretty cups with hearts on them.
The rosy colors have been alluring reminders to express love for people in our lives. I still firmly believe that the expression of love should not be isolated to one specific day. Instead, it should be expressed every day. But it's nice to have that specific day to force the loved ones to do something nice for you. I am quite happy and content with that idea. I refuse to complain about being spoiled! :]
The boyfriend is off at school. This is how life will be for the next few years. As my newsfeed flooded with photos of flowers and extravagant gifts, I could not help but feel a tinge of envy. The posts were focused on the material worth of the item. Perhaps some thought was given to the love fostered in the items. Hrm, I highly doubt it. I believe a majority of the people who posted (gift) photos did not give much thought to the simplest thing: their ability to be close to each other. That is what I envy.
I just want my boyfriend here. With me. Even for just a day. I want to be close to him. But he's far away on a desolate island to study for class, to work and volunteer in-between, and to frolic on pretty beaches. Boo.
I'm still grateful for everything. I need to be more alert and count my blessings more often.
Valentine's Day 2012 Breakdown:
- Woke up to find a card from my mother. It was the sweetest thing, ever.
- Woke up to an adorable text from the boyfriend.
- Ate Trader Joe's chocolate in class to stay awake. Utter failure.
- Spent part of the afternoon with my father.
- Received a video surprise from the boyfriend: a Lego stop motion video ^__^
- Spent my evening at Starbucks. Studied.
- Chatted and had a small HIMYM date with the boyfriend.
This is too much writing for me today. I shall end it now.
08 May 2011
In accordance to the annual strawberry cheesecake tradition for my mother on her birthday, I decided to attempt mini-cheesecakes for Mother's Day. I figured a homemade gift would be more thoughtful and that it would go along nicely with flowers. This was my second cheesecake attempt, with the first being the large New York style cheesecake I made for my boyfriend upon his return from Japan. It didn't crack, thank goodness. Still, I was nervous for these cakes. I want to impress my mother and the family.This was certainly a challenge. Initially, I had planned on looking for a 4.5 inch pan to make small cheesecakes, since my mother isn't keen on sweets. We only had the 9 inch pan at home, and Target didn't have any of the 4.5 inch ones available. I almost relented in my efforts for the cakes, but the combination of bf's suggestion and my stubbornness led to the purchase a KitchenAid muffin tin. I liked how it was very flat and how there size stayed relatively the same. From past experiences with muffin tins, I've had issues with the depth and shape. The one purchased seemed almost perfect for my endeavor. It was definitely mini-cake status.
My most embarrassing fail of the night came from my failure to bake. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until late morning. I wanted to give some to bf's mother for Mother's Day. There was no way I could get them done with the required cooling time :T FAIL!!
Here's the finished product :] New York styled mini-cheesecakes with blackberries, strawberries, and kiwis. I think it's easy to figure out my preference for cheesecake toppings :] I used these fruits because I purchased a bunch of them from Costco. The colors are so vibrant.
With twelve total in the batch, I portioned the ingredients to half of everything in the recipe found online (the same one I used the first time). This batch was baked for 20 minutes. The comments from various sites and blogs were very helpful. I added a bit of cinnamon into the graham cracker crust. It is recommended that vanilla waffers be used as the crust of mini-cheesecakes because it has a better texture. I may try that next time, and I'm tempted to make cheesecakes with Oreos, too :]
Butter the tin before pouring in the batter and crust. This helps with the cracks. Always remember a water bath to keep the cake moist. And this tip is to be suuper safe with the cracked cakes: use a warmed/buttered knife to separate the cake from the sides of the tin. The buttered sides should already help, but just in case the batter sticks to the sides, it may cause the cake to separate and crack while cooling.
Have a Happy Mother's Day :]
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