..soulmate..

Do you believe that God only created/chose one person for each of us?

Last Saturday my twin-bro gave me a plastic bag full of his ex-gf's love notes, cards, etc. He wanted me to throw it away, but like any good sister will do.. I had to read most of them before throwing all those "secrets" away :D
Basically, all cards said the same thing that they loved each other..bla bla..they can't live without each other, bla bla..They dated for 7 years, but then, they broke up for some stupid reason ( I think) and the girl married someone else just months after they broke up. Then we found out, she actually dated someone else just right before she and my twin broke up.

Looking back at highschool and the early 5 years..everything looked wonderful. If you knew both of them, you'd think that they were right for each other, perfect for each other that they could complement each other's weaknesses and strengths. Of course, they had to go through a long distance relationship for 4 years which was pretty tough coz my bro was in the US and she was in singapore. Imagine the time difference, the distance, etc. Nevertheless, they managed to keep going until it shattered slowly.

I got into thinking.. If God were to made one special person for us, what would happen if one of us made a "mistake" (marry someone else and be happy with other people) ?
Will the "left-behind" person have to wait for God to create a new spouse for us? Or will He chose someone else for us …someone who missed the "soulmate bus" too..and waiting for a second chance?

Growing up in my home country, I was accustomed to the idea of God will only choose one right person for each of us, i.e soulmate. However, I, personally, don't neccesarilly agree with that idea….I believe that God let us choose our own spouse/partner. I believe that if our heart is in the right place, and if we asked for His guidance and blessing, He would bless whoever our partner is and our relationship with our partner.

The key is..we have to choose wisely.. :)

what ya think?

Cheese brownies or "Goldnies" ?

Cheese brownies is similar like a regular brownies, a rich creamy baked-cake slice, but I used cheese instead of chocolate. LOL....thus, I name it Goldnies (since it is golden color, not brown/chocolate) :P *jayus banget ga sehhh...*

Anyhow..I was just experimenting with this recipe..and I think it is pretty good.. I gave some of my goldnies to my folks and they liked it. I am sorry I did not have a picture of this, but just imagine a small square (brownies size) with a rich golden cheese colors..yummyy ^^

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

150 g sweet cream butter
100 g granulated sugar
4 yolks
4 white eggs
125 g all-purpose flour
200 g shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbs vanilla essence

Direction:

1. Beat butter and sugar until light and foamy
2. Mix with yolks, flour and stir well
3. Beat the white eggs until foamy and stiff..put into the mixture
4. Put all the dry ingredients (flour, cheese) into the mixture, mix it well
5. Pour the white eggs and vanilla to the mixture
6. Pre-heat oven at 350' F
7. Pour the mixture into a non-stick loaf pan..greased with a bit margarine and sprinkle it with more cheddar cheese.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes until it turns to golden color.

Voila!

Fast and Yummy Mini Martabak Manis ala Mony (Sweets Pancake)

Tee.hee..hee..

I tried to make martabak manis yesterday since I wanted to finish all my soon-to-be-expired-cheddar-cheese. Soo..I browsed for a good but yet a simple recipe to make this.


I can't believe how complicated some recipes are..they told us to wait for 1-2 hr after putting the yeast into the dough...
I can't wait that long! Im not patient enough!.. :)
Finally, after spending about 30 minutes looking for a fast and simple recipe, which I can't find one....I got crazy enough to try my own modified recipe.
The result is pretty good..although it's hard to keep a good even brown color for the outter layer. I need more practices..but first time to try this is not too bad.


Anyhow, here is the recipe I used:

serving: 8 mini sweet pancakes/ mini martabak manis

Ingredients:


125 g all-purpose flour
180 ml coconut milk-
50 g granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbs sweat cream butter
1/4 yeast (optional)

Filling (you can put anything you like):

chocolate sprinkle (better if you can buy at asian food store instead of regular grocery store)
cheddar cheese
condensed milk
margarine

Directions:

1. Heat the coconut milk in microwave for 30s

2. Mix it with sugar, flour, salt, egg, baking soda, butter

3. Stirr well until well-blended and smooth

4. Put a bit margarine in a small non-stick cooking pan, and pour 2-3 cocktail-spoon-size of the mixture into the cooking pan..even it out..cook until crispy and brown on the outside

5. Fill the stuffing into the pancake while it's still hot- margarine, condensed milk, lotsa cheddar cheeese and chocolate sprinkles. :)

6. Fold the pancake into 2..

7. serve hot

Notes:

some recipes used 1/2tbs yeast, but I did not use one since I did not have any.

You can add sesame seeds as filling to the pancake..that's how we usually eat it back home.

The picture is not taken from my own pancakes, I "borrow" it from other sites, but it looks exactly like that.

Enjoy.. :)

Des Moines, IA

At first, it's hard to believe that Des Moines, Iowa is ranked #9 as one of the best cities to work, live and play!
Reading this article kinda makes me think.."hmm..maybe this is whyy God chose this place for me".."maybe this is why I am not in Mountain View, CA"..LOL!
Hopefully one day, when people back home ask where I live, I can say "Iowa" and not having to explain that Iowa IS a different state than Ohio!!!


Best Cities to Live, Work and Play
Yahoo!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008

These ten great places will only get better.
Our approach this year to picking the ten best cities in which to live and work was simple: Look for places with strong economies and abundant jobs, then demand reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do. When we ran the numbers, some of the names that popped up made us do a double take at first. So we hit the road to meet movers, shakers and regular folks, experience the ambience and take in the sights.

We discovered that our numbers guru, Kevin Stolarick, hadn't steered us wrong. Stolarick, research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, a think tank that studies economic prosperity, says: "Our formula highlights cities not just with strong past performance, but also with all the ingredients for future success." One key to a bright future is a healthy shot of people in the creative class. People in creative fields -- scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists and entertainers -- are catalysts of vitality and livability in a city.
The cities that made our list also represent larger surrounding areas. And because we understand that city living isn't for everyone, we've highlighted some great suburbs, too.
Pack a bag and join us on a tour of the Best Cities for 2008 and prepare for some surprises.

1. Houston
Population: 5,542,048
Population Growth Since 2000: 14.9%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 31.3%
Cost-of-Living Index: 88.1 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $50,250
Income Growth Since 2000: 13.1%

2. Raleigh
Population: 995,662
Population Growth Since 2000: 19.9%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 36.1%
Cost-of-Living Index: 99 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $56,150
Income Growth Since 2000: 10.3%

3. Omaha
Population: 821,356
Population Growth Since 2000: 6.6%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 30%
Cost-of-Living Index: 89.4 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $51,627
Income Growth Since 2000: 15.1%

4. Boise
Population: 568,086
Population Growth Since 2000: 18.2%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 33.2%
Cost-of-Living Index: 95.5 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $49,833
Income Growth Since 2000: 16.6%

5. Colorado Springs
Population: 600,444
Population Growth Since 2000: 10.5%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 34.1%
Cost-of-Living Index: 95.3 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income Since 2000: 53,486
Income Growth Since 2000: 16.1%

6. Austin
Population: 1,506,425
Population Growth Since 2000: 17%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 36.5%
Cost-of-Living Index: 92.8 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $52,882
Income Growth Since 2000: 12.2%

7. Fayetteville
Population: 419,455
Population Growth Since 2000: 17.3%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 31.4%
Cost-of-Living Index: 90.4 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $42,267
Income Growth Since 2000: 17.6%

8. Sacramento
Population: 2,067,117
Population Growth Since 2000: 13.1%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 34%
Cost-of-Living Index: 121.7 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $56,953
Income Growth Since 2000: 19.1%

9. Des Moines
Population: 532,425
Population Growth Since 2000: 9.6%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 32.1%
Cost-of-Living Index: 90.6 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $53,384
Income Growth Since 2000: 16.3%

10. Provo
Population: 474,351
Population Growth Since 2000: 20.6%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 32%
Cost-of-Living Index: 97.7 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $50,583
Income Growth Since 2000: 12.2%

For more places, tools and walking tours, visit Kiplinger.com's Best Cities Center.
Copyrighted, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.

Maybe yess.maybe noo

Maybe it's true what people said .. how you can't get a good result if you're cooking/baking when you heart is just not in a happy place.
Yesterday, I was soo exhausted! Been in the office since 6 am (woke up at 4 am) to 4 pm and went to work at my part-time job until 5.30 pm, ran errands until 7 pm.. ..then.. I tried to bake a Swiss-Roll when I got home...
The result? :(:(:(..I ended up throwing the cake away since it tastes weird...bah! What a bummer!
I knew I should not have baked yesterday..but I was just too curious to try it..
Silly me.. I felt like such a failure.. bye bye cake.. :(

Random Thoughts

It's 6.30 in the morning and I am already sitting in my desk in my office (I have been here since 6 am). No body is here yet and I kinda like this peaceful moment..lol.. nobody bugs me until about 7ish when people actually come..

anyhow..just like any other summer.. I am into baking now.. I have made some cakes and I am trying to finish off the cheese that we got for camping supply. I made cheddar cheese cake last time using butter cream (first time trying butter cream) and people said that it was good. Although..I actually meant to use baking powder since I wanted it to be more puffed,, but oh well..good enough for first try....
To help me baking, I like to go browsing for recipes and I can't belive how many blogs Indonesian girl has in the Net giving out recipes! I came across this blog..called DapurBunda blog..and she has an impressive list of recipe..she is very talented..way way talented!....but then, she stopped posting since August 2006. I thought at first, maybe she got sick of blogging.. LOL (been there, done that). Then..yesterday, I read 1 blog that was linked to the blog and I found out that the owner of DapurBundablog, has passed away.. I was utterly shocked!! She was only 32 when she died.
I became more curious.. I "googled" some more..and I found out that 4 months after the lady has passed away..her husband got married again with her sister...hmm..quite uncommon, yet very interesting. Anyway, I am happy that the kids now have a new mom who is someone that has already loved them. I don't know why ..but I keep thinking of them since yesterday..hopefully they are doing ok now..

Ahh...as for me..life feels pretty plain now.. I am grateful with what I have now, however, I think I need a break..kinda bored with my job..most people here take vacation between June and July ..and I am thinking of getting one for myself too..maybe fly to Florida, visiting my cousin in Disneyland..sounds tempting...
:( :(..not in a good mood today.. I need coffee or Mountain Dew!!
I want to spend more time in the kitchen, trying new recipes, but whenever I got home from work, I am already tired because of the commute drive, the work, bla bla bla..so I dont have much time to do experiments.

I know.. I am not supposed to complain after what God has blessed me..hehehe..however, I am still a human and I am still allowed to express my feelings, right?

Anyhow..let's stop now..and write more later.

Cheerios!

1 Year Later..

Hi again..
this is my first post since last year! Can't you believe that... it has been almost 1 year!! Oh gosh..how time flies..many things happened in my life during that one year..

1. I got a job and has been working for almost 8 months..tee hee hee... The job is good and it is funny how I got the job, but I'll save the story for later. It is trully a blessing, I must say!

2. I just got my approval notice for H1B Visa..soooo..yayyyyyy...I am very thankful to God and those people who prayed for me..I gotta tell you..life before getting the approval notice was really a roller-coster ride.. I was not so sure I was getting the visa.. I almost thought that I had to go back home for good... but..just like I said before.. God is never too early and never too late.. :)

2. Still stay in Ames, commute everyday to Des Moines.

3. Love life- me and my bf decided to break up months ago since he went home for good and I still feel to this day that God wants me to stay here for a while. So..it was sad, but I also have a faith that my love story will be beautiful in His time and He is writing my love story slowly but sure. LOL. I feel that I am blessed to have people that I most care about around me..although sometimes it can get complicated, but so far..life is good. :)

4. Last year I had to deal with gossips, bla bla bla.. that's one of the reasons why I stopped writing my blog since I got sick with what people heard and talked about my private life while they did not have a clue whatsoever. People that I thought were my good friends..in the end, not so good friends.. Why? because they pretended to be nice to me, but behind my back, they talked not-so-good things about me..and sometimes they exaggerated the story.. but oh well..I got over it :)

5. I think it is time for me to buy a new car!! My current car.. '96 Maxima is oldddddd..and I just spent $617 to get my brake fixed..plus with the crazy-sky-rocket-price of gas these days, I feel an urgent need to buy a fuel-efficient car! The price of gas today is almost $4 per gallon...can you believe that? Yesterday, I heard in the radio that there was one gas station that sold $1.99 per gallon but only in a limited time frame..I wish I could go there but they did not sell until 6 pm..

etc etc...
To be continued..