A Letter Home

I had a discussion on the topic of 'friends' while on my way back from the beach yesterday with a good friend of mine, and while she was sleeping I did a little thinking. Why is it that I do not really like the idea of seeing my high school friends again? A lot of people even off to college learn to make time for high school friends when they come back home. For me, it's like the opposite, I wouldn't even try. I don't know what it is... It's not like I don't like them or anything, but I feel like it's time to see new things. Perhaps it was the tension that always seems to be there when we gather together or the fear that is instilled in me when I see a particular person. I really don't understand... I just don't get excited when people suggests reunion gatherings (though some people are exceptions).

For example. I had a really good group of friends during my senior year of high school... Had a lot of fun together. Even when we weren't doing anything it felt like just being with them was a productive thing. We were always there for each other and we made so many brilliant memories. But things happened when people started to mingle with each other within the group and things fell apart... They weren't able to fix everything so every time they see each other its like something's off. Something is not right. A knot forms in my stomach and I end up not being able to enjoy myself again. Then when college finally started, none of us really kept in touch with each other, we kind of drifted and formed new smaller groupings. Particular people would still be friends while others never came back. Maybe it's that or perhaps it's another cause for my dislike of reunion gatherings. The thing is, I just want people from high school to know that it's not that I don't want to see you or that I don't like you... Just I don't get too thrilled about these things. :/

Fruity Little Drinks

Dear Blog,

There's so many recipes that I want to tell you but there's so little time! I was working the bar the other day because the bartender wasn't around during the day shift so I had to jump in when people started showing up from the large party that were holding for them. I knew some basics, but my extent of knowledge on alcohol was VERY limited. So I took the liberty to ask a few customers what they liked and asked them how THEY drank and I'd just make it for them. :) I'd like to show you some that I learned that day. You don't have to drink it yourself, but it's nice to know a few on hands when you're having a party for older adults. :D

Frozen Mango Margaritas:

10 oz/Half a bowl of cut mangos

1/4 cup of lime juice (freshly squeezed)

1/2 cup of tequila (I had used a random one at hand, but preferably silver)

2 tablespoons of Cointreau

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 scoop of ice

Mix the tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau into a shaker and shake it lightly. Then pour it into the blender where your scoop of ice will be and at the end dump in the mangos and the tablespoon of sugar after it. Blend it on a medium power and voila! Garnish with a slice of mango and you're done! :)

Jack Coke:

1 tall chilled glass

1 scoop of ice

1 can of Coke

1 oz of Jack Daniels

Fill the tall glass with ice until full then add one ounce of Jack Daniel's (you can go stronger if you want) then fill the rest with one bottle of Coke until it touches the rim of the glass. :)

Shirley Temple:

1 1/2 tablespoon (give or take one squeeze of the bottle) of Rose's Grenadine (this is what I use)

1 scoop of ice

1 cherry

1 slice of orange

1 can of Sprite

A splash of orange juice

A splash of vodka (not too much, but optional)

First fill the cup with half ice then pour in the can of Sprite or fill until 3/4 way to the rim then give the Grenadine a squeeze and that will give it the color and the flavor of the Shirley Temple. You can add in the splash of OJ if you want and the vodka. That was how the lady drank it, I usually just finish with Sprite and the Grenadine for the kids. Then drop in a cherry and garnish with a slice orange or mint and it's set! :) Another drink~

There's still a lot of other recipes that I will post out later, but I'm thinking this is it for now. ;D I'll teach you how to make Black Bean Mexican Rice maybe in the next few days (it's very delicious and I'm quite happy that I was able to learn it)! Well, remember guys and gals to drink responsibly! :D

That's it for now,

`Tsuki

Sweet Crystals

Dear Blog,

So, I've been thinking about making some Rock Candy since I saw some back at Knott's the last time I went and they've jacked up the price since I went there as a kid. Seriously... one rock candy for 7 bucks? No thanks when I can make some at home that would only cost me a few tablespoons of sugar. :)

The materials you would need:

2 cups of water (later on boiled)

Several cups of sugar

Food coloring (optional if you want yours to be colored)

Glass jar

String (preferably yarn or a thick string type)/Stick (what I like to use)

Make sure everything's clean first, for instance wash the jar out with hot water so that it'll be easier to hold the boiling water that your'e going to put in it. Then you start off by boiling the actual two cups of water you've set aside then you add the sugar in teaspoon by teaspoon. Make sure that it doesn't accumulate at the bottom of the jar, stir until the sugar is dissolved and keeps adding until the water is completely saturated (when the sugar doesn't dissolve anymore). Pour the water into the jar. After, you tie the string to a long item (be it a pencil or a butter knife) and let it hang inside the water. Be careful that the string doesn't touch the bottom of the jar or any sides of it, or else the candy won't come out right. :) Then cover the top with a paper towel and let it sit for a few hours. Within 24 hours, you'll start to see that crystals has begun to form on the string! The longer you leave it, the bigger the candy will turn out. It's quite a fun experiment to play with if you're ever up to learn some neat chemistry stuff while making some delicious rock candies! :D

Food coloring/Food flavoring

If you ever want to change the color of the rock candy that you're making you can always buy food coloring and mix it in one drop at a time after you've poured your boiling water into the jar. Keep stirring until you've got your desired color. As for food flavoring, market places always sells them in little plastic bottles, just pour half teaspoon of the flavor each time until it tastes about right.

I hope you enjoy making your rock candies at home! ^_^

(This is also called a Rock Candy Cosmo :D)

That's it for now,

`Tsuki

Tartness of Your Cake

Dear Blog,

Like I had promised, I'm going to post up the recipe for that lemon cake:

1 cup of sifted all purpose flour

1/2 cup of oil or softened unsalted cultured butter

1/2 cup of milk/water (for lactose intolerant people)

1 cup of powered sugar (I put between 1/2 to 3/4 since I don't like things so sweet)

3 room temperature eggs

2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 3/4 teaspoon of lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

3 oz lemon gelatin

1 small bowl of lemon rinds

Mix the sugar, oil, milk/water and eggs together first until it turns into this thick and foamy liquid. You can choose to separate the egg yolk and just use the egg white if you want, it's up to you. Eggs are usually used for leavening in baking, also for color, texture, flavor, and richness. I usually don't use the yolk when I'm making cakes that are red (like red velvet) or any hues of that color since it gives it this orangey shade after baking, but for that reason only. Except those cakes never rise as high as the ones that I use egg whites. Yes, egg whites create air bubbles in the cake when whipped, but yolks don't. They in fact do the opposite by making the cake flat. Also, yolks = denser cakes and egg whites = fluffier cakes. So, pick your options. (:

Then slowly blend your previous mixture with the flour and begin mixing it on a setting that's between medium or light until it's thick and ribbon-like. Set your oven at 350 degrees, let it sit until it's fully heated then put the batter in and set the clock at 20 minutes. Once it's done make sure to double check if it's thoroughly baked by sticking in a toothpick and checking if it's wet or not. If not then it's one step closer to being done! :D After taking it out, I would suggest letting it sit for a few hours until it's completely cooled before heading towards the decorating part.

Really, after the cake is done... The decoration ideas usually comes from the person making it. I will put out there that dark chocolate is a very good combination with the tanginess of the lemon flavor since dark chocolate has its natural bitterness that's not too overwhelming if used in the right proportions. So, have fun with it... Let your creativity out! :D

That's it for now~

`Tsuki

Nights in Phoenix

Dear Blog,

Oh my goodness... Scottsdale, Arizona... Was amazing! I was doubting whether or not I would be able to let myself have some fun, but knowing the right people can just make one trip turn into a trip of a life time. (:

The flight in general wasn't too bad, although my flight did get delayed for an hour so I wasn't stuck at the airport for 5 hours... I was there for 6. It's good that I went prepared! I had stocked myself with my DS (included with 4 extra games) and my iPod- which I found out had Solitaire and Blackjack on it. I know... Who knew? And was able to last myself pretty long when it was finally time to board the plane. The airfare to Scottsdale for US Airways was actually pretty cheap compared to all the other tickets that I've checked for other airlines. Since I ordered very last minute, literally a week before I went and it came out to be around 220 some odd dollars for round trip. I just checked for trips in May way back in March and the tickets were actually only 90-95 dollars! So order them early if anyone plans to go out of state and the cheaper the tickets will be! (: But I was a bit bummed that they didn't serve food on the plane, I suppose they only do that for international trips now? Oh well, it is what it is!

I will tell you this, Arizona has a really amazing view from the sky. I don't know how to explain it but it's really different from the city lights I see back home. There's something much more... Gentle and genuine about it in Arizona than the ones in Cali. But it's really pretty. I was really happy that I was able to witness such beauty that weekend! :D I landed around 8:30 pm Friday night and made my way through the airport... I felt like I had been transported back to the 80's. Hahaha! I don't think it's a bad thing in my opinion since I do like vintage looking styles, so I thought it was pretty amusing. The other thing I loved about Phoenix was that the weather was just... Fantastic. The air was cool but there was still lingering warmth from that day's sunlight so it resulted in this warm night with cool air blowing in every once in a while. It was perfection. ;) But as the sun completely sets behind the mountains, the weather does tend to drop a few degrees and it gets pretty cold.

I was picked up by my boyfriend, the love of my life at the moment. :D And we headed over to the hotel. I literally died after I took a shower, I didn't even remember falling asleep except the next thing I knew... It was morning. How did that happen? I wouldn't know what to answer you either. c(: Like he had promised, Tony took me to the zoo the next day. Since I was surprised to see one so close to the airport and he told me that he'd take me the next day if I wanted to. Of course I said yes... and it was really fun! I hadn't been to a zoo since I was a kid, so it was really fun being able to see all these different types of animals so up close. :O The zoo we went to was called the Phoenix Zoo. They had plenty of animals for different children and what I liked about it was that the place was HUGE! Took us an hour to get half way around one part of the park, but since we didn't put on sunblock... We were very close in getting burned by Arizona's baking sun. (The weather during the day can get sweltering and dry, I suggest lots of sunblock and water!).

On our way to the zoo... I saw a Smart Car... Aren't they cute? :D

After, we met up with a few of Tony's friends. That day I met, Ryan and his girlfriend, Vanessa. They were very friendly people. :) We met up at this outside shopping area, it's not like an outlet... It's more kind of like Fullerton or Pasadena if anyone's been out there, you'd probably know what I'm talking about. Hahaha! We grabbed lunch at Ra's Sushi and Bar located squeezed between these two other small boutiques. The place wasn't bad... But the food service was REALLY slow. :/ Ryan got kind of upset at how slow they were when they finally came with our food. I loved their edamame, but their miso soup was a bit too salty for my liking. If I had it with some rice maybe it would've been better. Although their Shrimp Tempura Rolls were so bomb! Yumm! We tried that one and three orders of California Rolls (Ryan's favorite, hahaha!) And Tony ordered an order of Unagi Roll, not my favorite, but he liked it. (:

One of Ra's newer plates of food. :D

We headed over to Scottsdale Fashion Square later that night. By the time we got there it was already sunset... The mall itself was so pretty with these lights dangling from palm trees and the place was just really amazing. ( > ω<)" It looked like a really ritzy place since the restaurants and shopping stores seemed like very high-end brands. Although I only ended up buying bunch of candy from the Sweet Factory with Ryan and Tony... It was all good. Hahaha! We met up with Ryan's brother, Hugh, a few hours later and caught a movie at one of the local AMCs. We debated what we wanted to watch and we ended up picking Repo Men, starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker. The movie itself wasn't bad, I mean the story was interesting. It's about the near future where prosthetic organs exists and can replace any organ if you can afford it. But if the payment is late, it can be repossessed by these people called the 'Repo Men'. That's where Jude Law comes in. The ending to the movie was kind of weird and sad, but I won't say what it is so I won't spoil it for those who are going to watch it soon. =)

Scottsdale Fashion Square

It was actually pretty early when we got out of the movie theaters. Ryan and Hugh wanted to go hookah. A little fact on hookah: it was originally derived from India and became popular in the Arab world. It's a pipe with a flexible tube that draws the smoke through water. It's for smoking flavored tobacco basically. Ryan an Hugh coaxed Tony into going to a Hookah Bar with them called: Xhale. I was actually really surprised and asked if he was all right with going with them. I know he's really straight-laced about these things, but he actually agreed to go! :O I know, a total shock, right? All I can say is that it was a pretty wild/fun night. I'm totally seeing my baby in a whole new light... I kind of like this bad side of him. ;) Remember that it's 18+ years of age only!

Tony ;D That's some good Citrus Mint!

Ryan and Vanessa! Ryan's just going at it! =D

We got home around one-ish maybe? Couldn't really fall asleep right after so me and Tony crawled into bed and watched Ninja Assassins... With that Korean popstar, Rain. It wasn't as good as I expected it to be. Though the gore part met my expectations, but the story itself was a bit: blah. Fell asleep half way through the movie. Hahaha! Well, the morning after I finally got to go swimming like Tony said he would. Teehee~ it was super fun since I really didn't know how to swim with my head up, I had him carry me around the pool. ;D I think it was one of the funniest parts of the trip between just me and him. :) Though I didn't get to take pictures since I was scared I was going to drop the camera into the water. (I have a tendency to do stupid things like that). For lunch, we went to Mimi's with Ryan, Vanessa, and Hugh. It was our last dinner/lunch before I had to leave. =( But it was really fun being able to hang out with them. I must thank my cute boyfriend and his friends for taking me around this weekend. =)

Hugh's 12 rack ribs from Mimi's!

My Chipotle Chicken!

Tony's sandwich of deliciousness!

Since we were short on time we had to cut things short and most of us were pretty full and were falling into serious food comas. I know I did since I took a nap when Tony drove me to the airport. I felt rather sad that I had to leave so soon, I'm going to miss Arizona very much. :( It was fun while it lasted, though I'm planning my next trip in May. =) To see my baby on his birthday! Overall, the experience was truly something else altogether~ ^__^ I wouldn't forget anytime soon!

So long, Arizona!

That's it for now, until next time!

`Tsuki

Time & Time Again

Dear Blog,

So I'm all packed and ready to move back home. All I need to do is to place all my clothes back into the suitcase and I'm all set. The thing is I haven't told my cousin or roommate yet. Aye, I think I will sit them down for a nice cup of tea and talk it over. Perhaps a cold cup of iced green tea since this blasted weather isn't giving up anytime soon. Bleh. It's been so hot lately... It's ridiculous...!

So I stirred up a dark chocolate drizzled lemon cake last night and I just put on the finishing touches. I had made one earlier in the week for Tony. A strawberry one... But I made in such haste that it turned out really ugly. T____T The results were quite depressing. This time I actually made it right and I was thinking of giving it to a friend for his late birthday. Yet, I feel like eating it myself. *SIGH* Hahahaha! Well, I'll post the picture up for the final one after I get it up into my laptop. (:

That's it for now,

`Tsuki

I'll post up the recipe later since Megan asked~ (:

Remember υи∂єяʟαи∂

Dear Blog,

My baby's leaving in T- less than 5 hours! :O I'm excited yet at the same time sad about the whole thing. I'm sure with this experience, he'll grow even more mature about his career as to what he really wants to do. He's such an inspiration that I really wish that I had that kind of focus when it comes to my studies. Hahaha~ what can I say, we're completely different in this direction of stuff. But I guess that's what makes things so interesting since we always have different outlooks/opinions on topics relating to... Well, stuff. :) He's probably the only one that makes me feel like I should do good in school... In a way that's really different from my parents. He's always talking how he loved school so much and that it was the highlight of his life during that period that he was able to spend time with his friends studying until 3-4 in the morning. Or how how the trip to London changed his life around that made him want to finish school within 4 years (that landed a rather good job :D). I'm just really grateful that he's in my life, someone with such positive energy towards education and work. He teaches me things that I sometimes refuse to want to learn because of my naivety, he slowly teaches me these things so that I'd understand. Mmm, though I'm surprised that he'd handle my stubbornness so steadily. He ceaselessly amazes me still. (: Ah, he's packing his clothes into these vacuum package thingies... I find them supremely awesome to watch when they're in use. ^__^ (Yes, I am at his house at the moment :] ) I hope he comes home soon though. He'd even promise to invite me over to house again in July 4th to watch fireworks because his backyard has this amazing view over the city, and it's just absolutely beautiful at night~! It's a must see, really! Oh, he has this cute little doggy named, Ginger... I wanted to take a picture with her but she ran away from me. T___T That little pooper. :( Alright, time for stats! I will devour that subject! (Hopefully).

That's it for now,

`Tsuki

I'm going to miss you, love~