Christmas!!!

Christmas has come and gone, it came so fast that I still feel like I need a real Christmas!! I did not feel any excitement on Friday... I had work and then I went to do some errand that by the time I got home, it was already dinner time. I did not get to dress up or finish wrapping presents. Our record player was broken so we did not hear any Christmas songs and it was such a small gathering that it felt like any other weekend. I miss my big family. I miss having all my cousins, aunts, and uncles, all sharing a meal. Telling jokes and playing games... I miss having gift exchanges and sharing stories. I hate growing up. I hate family feuds. I hate that Christmas no longer feels like Christmas. Times like this I really miss my grandfather. He knew how to keep the family together. He was the center of our family and I miss him. Its been more than five years since he has died, and I still feel like I talked about to him a couple of weeks ago. If he were still alive, there would not have been a feud between uncles and aunts. We will all get along an he would be proud of us for being such a close family. But no, they are all acting like children. Since there is no longer a parent figure, they are all throwing tantrums and ignoring people's calls.

Okay, enough of all this and more on good stuff. These past few weeks I have been in a baking frenzy, I have bakes a lot. Here are some of them:

• German Christmas Cookies
• Rugelach
• Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
• Persimmons cupcakes
• Shortbread Cookies

I took pictures of all of these, but when I went to Disneyland in December 13, I left my camera on a bench. I was very excited 'cause I had just gotten a call for an interview for a teahing position.. That I left it there... So now I am camera-less and with no picture to post. So I am posting the links of the sites in which I got the recipes from.

Fall!!

Well it finally feels like fall in southern California. What is the best way to celebrate? Well by making a large stack of crêpes and a hot pot of English breakfast tea!!!!

Hamlet: Facebook Version

So I was juts browsing the NPR website when I found this poem by Sarah Schmelling about what the Hamlet story would look like today.

Hamlet (Facebook News Feed Edition)

By Sarah Schmelling

- - - -

Horatio thinks he saw a ghost.

Hamlet thinks it's annoying when your uncle marries your mother right after your dad dies.

The king thinks Hamlet's annoying.

Laertes thinks Ophelia can do better.

Hamlet's father is now a zombie.

- - - -

The king poked the queen.

The queen poked the king back.

Hamlet and the queen are no longer friends.

Marcellus is pretty sure something's rotten around here.

Hamlet became a fan of daggers.

- - - -

Polonius says Hamlet's crazy ... crazy in love!

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet are now friends.

Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.

Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent.

Ophelia removed "moody princes" from her interests.

Hamlet posted an event: A Play That's Totally Fictional and In No Way About My Family

The king commented on Hamlet's play: "What is wrong with you?"

Polonius thinks this curtain looks like a good thing to hide behind.

Polonius is no longer online.

- - - -

Hamlet added England to the Places I've Been application.

The queen is worried about Ophelia.

Ophelia loves flowers. Flowers flowers flowers flowers flowers. Oh, look, a river.

Ophelia joined the group Maidens Who Don't Float.

Laertes wonders what the hell happened while he was gone.

- - - -

The king sent Hamlet a goblet of wine.

The queen likes wine!

The king likes ... oh crap.

The queen, the king, Laertes, and Hamlet are now zombies.

Horatio says well that was tragic.

Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, says yes, tragic. We'll take it from here.

Denmark is now Norwegian.

Fall!

Fall is here and its time to start baking! yay! This morning the sky was cloudy with some rays fighting to heat up Earth. Leaves are turning from green to a orangy red color. I even saw leaves falling from the trees as I drove to school. Fall is my favorite season. It means I can wear scarves and sweater. I can drink tea anytime of day. I can bake and no one will scowl me for heating up the house. So to everyone, Happy Fall/Autumn!

Day Thirty

Dear reflection in the mirror,

You are in my past, did you know that. Your image is a few milliseconds younger than me.

I see you every morning; some mornings you are my friend and other times you are my enemy. Who I see in the mirror is not me. You do not look like that person I believe I am in my mind. Years back people used to go their entire life without looking at their reflection, and here I have the opportunity to see you every day, and I can't. It is a reminder of many possibilities of who I could be. A reminder that I am real and that I must live my life to the fullest. I would like to be honest to you. It should be easy to tell one's reflection the truth but I can't. Of all the people I've lied to, you are the only one that I have been the most dishonest to.

~Leli

Blogs

Every morning I check my email, my facebook, and then a series of blogs that I follow. here are just some of my favorites:

foodgawker.com
pinchmysalt.com
crepesofwrath.net
poiresdechocolate.blogspot.com
undejeunerdesoleil.blogspot.com
sandrakavital.blogspot.com
breakfastatanthropologie.blogspot.com
effortlessanthropologie.blogspot.com
thefreshloaf.com

the thing that grab my attention is that they have really great photography.

Day Twenty-nine

Dear person that I want to tell everything, but am afraid to,

I want you to know everything about me, I really do.But I feel that if you ever actually get to know just a bit about me that you will just turn around and leave. Me acting more like myself around sometimes makes me feel like you do not like me as much. I feel like you getting to me, and listening to everything, you'll see that I am a disagreeable person. So perhaps I should keep everything to myself, to make life so much easier.

~Leli

Macarons!

I am going to see a play by the Independent Shakespear Company at the Griffith Observatory in a couple of days, and I want to make something that we can snack on. French macarons have been in my baking list of thing I want to make. When I actually started looking for recipes there were so so many of them. Since I do not eat anything with chocolate that weeded out majority of the recipes. Here are some of my favorite:

Vanilla Cranberry Macarons

http://lifesafeast.blogspot.com/2010/06/chocolate-vanilla-macarons-cranberry.html

Peach Macarons

http://onevanillabean.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/amelie-peach-macarons/

Lavander Vanilla Bean Macaron

http://une-deuxsenses.blogspot.com/2010/08/lavender-vanilla-bean-french-macarons.html

Day Twenty-eight

Dear someone that changed my life,

Everyone I met has made an impact in my life. I am more outgoing because you were outgoing and it was fun to be like that. I've made an effort in learning math because you told me that that is what was important in life. I am learning french because you always made it sound fun; and I am becoming a teacher because you were a great teacher who cared about all her students, even the ones like me that did not talk a lot. You who made me live life to the fullest and remind me to not dwell in thing that cannot be fixed. All of YOU I thank you.

~Leli

Day Twenty-seven

Dear friendliest person I knew for only one day,

You started talking to me because we were stuck standing at the back of the class. You were such as nice person, that i took an immediate liking to to you. You told me about you experiences in Lake Cuomo, and how to be a good international relations representative. We were so engrossed in our conversation, i completely forgot to do the assignment.

~Leli

Day Twenty-six

Dear last person I made a pinky promise to,

Surprisingly I still remember, or maybe is just that you mentioned it so often that that memory has been ingrained in me. I do not know how I came to promise what I did. I think you are the one that said it. Well anyways, all of sudden you said 'pinky promise me', and I just agreed saying sure; while thinking,this is not really going to happened anyways. But you told everyone about it. Now a couple years later I can still remember that I made that promise and I know that I can never fulfil that promise, so I am so glad you have forgotten. It had something to do with you watching a Harry Potter movie. Anyways you are the first and last person I've pinky promise, and it'll probably be the last time cause I do not like that there is promise which I cannot keep.

~Leli

Day Twenty-five

Dear person I know that is going through the worst of times,

I know that you are going through a tough patch right now. I feel like you cannot trust me enough to let me help you. You give me that secretive smile every time I ask if you are okay. But I feel that behind that secretive smile, there are unshed tears that want to come out. There is a saying that I like: 'Tears are to the soul as soap is to the body.' If you need to talk tell me. I will try to just listen and not do what I did last time, I promise. Everything gets better after a while, remember in a year things will be different.

~Leli

Day Twenty-four

Dear person who gave me a favorite memory,

Every time I am down or sad all I have to do is think back to that moment and i'll find myself smiling. You might not know it but it really has made it as one of my top ten favorite moments. Thank you!

~Leli

Day Twenty-three

Dear last person I've kissed,

I do not really remember you much anymore. We had our moment and the sun has already gone down.

~Leli

Day Twenty-two

Dear Someone I'd give a second chance,

As long as you do not hurt me or kill me, I'll will always give you a second chance.

~Leli

Day Twenty-one

Dear someone I judged by their first impression,

My first impression of you was that you were antisocial and had a dry personality. You were someone whom I could not carry a conversation. I'm sorry that because my impression I was cold to you, but you were just shy. Sorry.

~Leli

p.s. you are now one of my closes friend and you turn out to be a cool guy. Glad I ignored that first impression.

Day Twenty

Dear person who broke my heart the hardest,

I hope I would never meet you. I do not know you but I know you are lurking in my future.

~Leli

Day Nineteen

Dear someone that pesters my mind,

Get out of there, let me be. I can't really understand why you are there.

~Leli

Day Eighteen

Dear person that I wish I could be,

I seriously do not know that would be.

~Leli

Day Seventeen

Dear someone from my childhood,

Growing up I always envied you, I still do. You are so much cooler and knowledgeable. You were also my one constant friend ( that wasn't family), in my childhood. I regretted that we lost touch for a bit in high school, each following our own path. But it is so nice to see you now. Though you are now married and have your own responsibility we can still hangout like all times. You are like another sister part of our family, you and your whole family.

~Leli