Exploring Auld Reekie

If my life were a storybook...

2011-04-29T21:05:00.000+01:00

If my life were a storybook, and I the author, I would probably write things quite differently from the way that events tend to play out in reality. I would construct a fairytale-esque saga that placed me in the middle of an epic adventure; a life filled with excitement and novelty. For every now and then, I look at my life and all I can see is the difficult or the mundane - circumstances that don't even come close to the events in your favourite adventure or romance novel.

But then, while I'm lying in bed dreaming up a storybook-worthy future, God gently chides me, and reminds me that my life is a storybook - one written by Him. And He starts bringing to mind all the unique events and unexpected twists that it has taken over the years.

He's really been teaching me patience this last wee while. For my natural tendency is to look to the things ahead, wish time would go faster, look forward to the next stage. Even in books I am impatient to get to the next chapter. For I think, with books as in life, that something better will happen then. The next part will be more exciting. I'll definitely be happier when _____ happens. And so God has to grab me by the hand as I'm trying to speed on my way... and He makes me stop and admire the scenery where I am right now. For, as I realise when I finally slow to match His pace, I will never be at this part of my journey again. I'll soon be past this bend in the road. And it's my last chance to admire the view from this spot. Sure, it may be even more breathtaking later on; but as He is teaching me, it will not come any quicker with me wishing for it - and I will miss some gorgeous landscapes along the way.

Had I written my story, I'm sure I wouldn't have even dreamt of including some of the twists that have made it my very own. The city of Edinburgh. Friends I couldn't have thought up had I tried. Andrew. Even an impromptu weekend in Newcastle. And it is when you put all these little things together that the chapters emerge, and He personalises them just for me in that way no one else can.

So, He says, be patient. Wait for Me to write the next part of your story, and enjoy the scenery that I've presented you with right now. Because I can write a much grander tale than you could even dream of; I'm the one who knows exactly where this plot line is going to give you a few unexpected surprises. Just trust Me with the pen - and I promise it will be a storybook like no other.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord." {Psalm 27:14}

Trust.

2011-02-24T14:42:00.001Z

So much of life is unpredictable. If there's anything I've learned over the past year, it's that. I can formulate such perfect plans, mapping out my life to the very last detail, and in one short moment they are all turned upside down. And that's when I suddenly find myself at God's feet again, having no choice other than to trust Him with it all.

Trust. It's a word that at face value seems so simple, yet in reality demands so much more. The thought of letting go of everything you've counted on, the ledge you've been clinging to, and believing that God will hold you up… it's scary. It's utterly frightening. Especially at those times when all your circumstances are telling you that your world's unravelling to shreds, it seems like lunacy to go on believing the promise that all things work together for good. I want to question - angrily, more often than not - why things have happened this way. Why, just when everything seemed to be going perfectly, it all starts to fall apart again.

But you know what? It's times like these that we need Him most. It's times like these, when we can't see two steps ahead for the thick fog that clouds our future, that we have no choice but to let it all go and return to His arms. Pressing on in faith, believing in His promises, loving and making yourself vulnerable when you have no idea whether it will all be in vain… no one said it was easy. It's one of the hardest feats demanded of the human soul. But through it all, He is shaping us, crafting us, making us holy like His Son.

And it's all worth it in the end. Because if your heart is in His hands, if you are rooted and grounded in His great love, then you are free. You know, deep down, that He has your ultimate good at heart. You know that He has written a more beautiful story for your life than any you could ever dream up yourself. You know that there is a purpose behind everything - even if you can't imagine what on earth it might be! And you can just rest, trusting in your heavenly Father to guide you each step of the way. For He is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.

So wait for him. Look for His hand in your life. And just let yourself go, free to love and be loved in return, resting in the assurance of His grace and provision and boundless, limitless, extravagant love.

"…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Flirtations with Cinnamon Rolls, Part I

2010-12-28T22:01:00.001Z

This year, I decided I wanted to make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. Many people have this tradition, apparently; though I jumped on the bandwagon not for the sake of conformity, but rather just because I wanted to make cinnamon rolls. And I knew that many people make them for Christmas morning - so it was the perfect excuse.

For my first time making them, I used this recipe from 101 Cookbooks. Gathering ingredients went smoothly enough, though a lot of extra work went into the ground cardamom. I had to take each of these little guys apart with a meat hammer, peel the shell off and turn out the spicy goodness inside. Then go on to further grind said spicy goodness into finer bits suitable for a cinnamon roll dough.

It was a lot of work.

But moving on, things went great all the way through kneading (which I extremely enjoyed; forget punching pillows or practicing Zen, just knead dough). It was only when I set the dough aside to rise that things started going wrong. I came back to check on it after an hour, as the recipe instructed - and it hadn't budged an inch. So, I left it for another two hours.

It wouldn't rise.

I then stuck the bowl inside the oven at a very low temperature, just warm enough that the yeast should have been happy as a kite.

It wouldn't rise. At all.

Interject horrible groans of agony, frustration and yes, even a few tears. In the most melodramatic state of melancholy ever seen to man, I continued with the dough as the recipe instructed, trying to blank out the fact that it was only half of what it should be. And truth be told, once they were formed into rolls, they didn't look like such bad little cinnamon rolls at all. I froze them until Christmas Eve, and then baked them Christmas morning.

The verdict? For not having risen at all, they turned out surprisingly well-formed and tasted fine. Their biggest fault was with the cardamom; it was slightly overpowering, and practically blocked out any taste of cinnamon. However, the bread was soft, and had I made some icing for the tops they would have been very nice cardamom rolls indeed.

And thus, I am still on my search for the perfect cinnamon roll recipe. Maybe next time will yield the results I hoped for!

The Snow (Finally)

2010-12-22T15:08:00.001Z

In keeping with last winter's snow post, I had to do another one this year of all the snow we've gotten recently. It came not long after Thanksgiving, and has lingered, accumulated and freak blizzard-ed ever since. Recently, we have had a few days of mostly blue skies - bringing with it a rare sighting of the winter sun and no frozen precipitation - which allowed me to run out yesterday and snap some photos of the ~~frozen wasteland~~ Narnia-esque winter wonderland that Bathgate has become.

I used a trick from the Pioneer Woman on these photos; basically, adding a hard light filter to them in Photoshop, then going on to do all the usual adjustments on exposure, curves, vibrancy etc. It worked beautifully and really brought out the contrast of the trees and other natural fixtures against the white of the snow.

These were all taken while walking my faithful canine companion, Jack. Seeing as I probably won't be around to give him walks for another few months... I thought he would want an outing with me. I'm his favourite Jackson girl after all.

This photo is the background on my laptop at the moment.

I love my dog.

Despite his many oddities. And believe you me - there are many.

Good Friends and Shepherd's Pie

2010-12-20T23:29:00.001Z

As I have now arrived home for Christmas, I have some extra time on my hands to do such things as take photos, blog, and other general pastimes that I really do enjoy, but never seem to have the time for in the big city. So this post is tying off some bits and pieces before I launch into up-to-date, holiday posts.

Around a month ago I made Shepherd's Pie for the first time. It was my first time actually eating it as well, to be honest… I know, I'm a disgrace to all Brits. (Though I'm not technically British. But we'll just ignore that bit, shall we?) The recipe was easy to follow (and can be found here) and the dish turned out very well. For my first attempt, I was very pleased at how tasty it was.

Moving on from food, last Friday I got to see my good friend Charlotte after being separated for about 3 months due to our different term-time residences. It was a day of much merriment, laughter, shopping, and… Starbucks.

I got her to try coffee for the first time. And she loved it. I'm so glad I've gotten another innocent person addicted to this Elixir of Life.

…Not.

I love this girl.

And that has pretty much been my life over the past few weeks. Look forward to many posts of snow, family and other holiday cheer to follow...

Stringing Together a Necklace of Pearls

2010-12-14T14:31:00.003Z

I used to think I was quite an all right person. Yes, I realised I had faults, like the occasional impatience and really needing to think things through before I said them. But God was working on me, I knew, and I thought He had almost finished sorting out most of my issues. I was doing pretty well, I thought.

That is, until I started a relationship with my boyfriend.

You see, being in a relationship is like God holding up a mirror to your heart, and you suddenly see all the hidden faults and sins that you didn't think you had. When you are plunged into this unique, intimate sort of relationship with someone you many times haven't known very long, you find thoughts and feelings surfacing you hadn't known you were capable of. And to be perfectly honest… it can be frightening.

A great book I read speaks of every woman having a metaphorical necklace of pearls, where the pearls are all the godly qualities that God is shaping in your character. Every woman has some good pearls, and also some bad pearls. Our mission every day should be identifying these rotten pearls for what they are, surrendering them to God, and asking Him to transform them into beautiful pearls fit to be on the necklace of a daughter of the King. Just like the process of creating any pearl, whereby a grain of sand gets inside that soft, sensitive bit of the oyster and causes great pain and irritation, it will hurt. There will be pain, heartache, and times where you want to cry out and ask God to stop it all. No one said that being transformed into the image of Christ would be easy. But will it be worth it? Oh yes.

And so, before I launch out on the list of things I need to get done today, I take a quiet moment to stop. To be still. To listen, and set my heart in God's hands again. For only He can complete this utter transformation of our character. We can't do it of our own strength - no matter how hard we try. It is through His grace and sheer, unspeakable, inexplicable love for us that He takes these rotting pearls and crafts them into jewels of beauty. And if we give ourselves completely to Him, letting Him carry out the work He desires, we can rest in the joyful knowledge that we are being moulded into the image of Christ. No matter how long it takes, no matter the pain.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." {Philippians 1:6}

A Post for a Snowy Day

2010-12-03T15:41:00.000Z

The past week, Scotland has been covered in a blanket of snow, which has now reached depths of at least 2 feet in most places. Universities have been shut down, there are bread shortages in Tesco, and anyone without wellies (such as myself) finds themselves with feet that are perpetually wet and freezing cold.

However, the way civilisation has come to a near standstill has brought certain wonderful advantages as well. I've spent many delightful hours cooking meals for the freezer, doing Christmas shopping, and finding time to update my blog. So, until I can get photos of the snow, you get a rundown of Thanksgiving to tide you over, albeit a week late.

I got two Thanksgivings this year: one with my physical family, and one with my church family in Edinburgh. Both were glorious affairs, complete with lovely table decorations and even more wonderful food. I'll let the photographic evidence speak for itself.

Overall, it was an utterly spectacular day. How could it not be, considering that I got to spend it with all my favourite people? For me, home is where the heart is; and my heart is at home with these beautiful friends and family members who make life that much more marvellous.

And now, a week later, I sit in my flat, keeping warm with a cup of Earl Grey, and looking forward with great anticipation to this coming Christmas season. My soul is delighted at the prospect of baking trays upon trays of cookies, tidying off the last bits of Christmas shopping, and just sitting, looking out upon the blanketed ground with a cup of tea in my hands, running over the countless blessings in my life. Of which the existence of tea is certainly one of the first.

Of Houmous and Cream Crackers

2010-11-10T17:45:00.000Z

So, I realise that I haven't blogged for a long time. And I realise that, for the five people who do read my blog (one of whom would be my sister), the lack of any update whatsoever regarding my university life is probably somewhat frustrating.

I offer my most sincere apologies.

I was sitting at my computer today, eating cream crackers with houmous (one of my most favourite snacks of all time) in a rather messy way, and thought suddenly that I should rectify the situation. You see, I have this mental block that tells me unless I have interesting photos to post, I shouldn't post anything at all. Because I'm a very visual person, and I immediately project myself onto everyone else, assuming that if there aren't any interesting pictures they'll get bored. So, in an attempt to overcome my weaknesses, I'm going to post with no photos.

Two months ago this coming Thursday, I was riding in my parents' van as they carted me and my entire life's worth of stuff off to the city of Edinburgh. (Two suitcases, six boxes and a medley of other belongings to be precise.) We successfully navigated the Edinburgh traffic (which, as any native will tell you, is perpetually horrendous) and arrived at the student accommodation which would become my abode for the next year.

Scary? You better believe it.

That day, and the rest of that week, flew by in a bluster of activity - namely getting to know the four girls with whom I was now sharing a flat, trying to find my way around the university (and getting lost in the process), and enjoying that immense yet odd freedom that comes with no parental supervision. I never did cry when my parents left, most likely due to the fact that they live a whole thirty minutes away. And more than that, I found myself in a wonderful church community that eagerly stepped up and became my family away from home.

Two months later, I've settled into the routine of classes (some of which are great, most of which are less than so), know my way around Edinburgh relatively well (as far as my tendency of getting lost will let me, at least), and have gotten to grips with the ideas of shopping and cooking for myself. I have a new home, new job and new friends… and love every moment. Do I ever find myself missing my darling town of Bathgate, wishing for my parents and sisters, and reminiscing about how easy things were when all my wants and desires were provided for by others? Of course. But I have fallen head over heels in love with this city of Edinburgh, and I have the most wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ that I could ever ask for. I can truly understand why so many say that their time at university was one of the best in their lives.

And there's your update for the year. Just kidding… I will try my utmost best to post more regularly, ideally including photos. But even if I don't, rest assured that I am here, I am alive, and I am loving life. Besides, you're used to it… right?

Lettuce Meatballs

2010-10-01T16:52:00.001+01:00

Sounds odd, I know. But I made these for dinner last night (okay, so there's enough for a few dinners) and they were SO GOOD. Like, they could rival the spicy meatballs at Frankie & Benny's... and I say that as humbly as possible.

Basically, the meatballs contain lots of onion and chopped lettuce bits (mainly the hard rib bits of the lettuce that no one wants to eat anyways), so they're much healthier and lighter than regular meatballs. Fresh out of the pan they also have a nice crunch to them, which, countered with the soft juiciness of the beef (sorry vegetarians!), makes for an ultimately divine experience.

The recipe can be found here, and it includes a tomato sauce to go with the meatballs. Although I made the sauce as well, I forgot the photographic evidence, so enthralled was I with my meatball success. I wasn't completely happy with the sauce anyways, so that's my excuse for making this dish again.

The meatballs (with sauce) go very well with pasta, and are also supremely delicious with Japanese rice. (My lunch today, in fact.) You could also make a meatball sandwich - Subway style - or just serve them by themselves as a side dish. The possibilities are endless. They're so tasty, no one will actually care how they're served; so you may as well just give 'em up straight. If you can refrain from eating them all between the stove and the table, that is.

"Crunch in the Mouth"

2010-09-30T12:36:00.003+01:00

The highly literal English translation of le croquembouche, a beautiful French dessert that is normally served at weddings. It was the dessert Moriah made a few weeks ago (has it really been that long?!) to cap off my last dinner at home, before I left for university and the big bad world beyond. You can read all the juicy details and enjoy my sister's witty humour here, but as I was honorary photographer for said pièce montée, I get the privilege of flooding you with photos. They say a picture's worth a thousand words - and you're so special, you get nine of them. Enjoy... and sorry for making you hungry.

Apple & Banana Bread

2010-09-21T15:22:00.001+01:00

A creation that was not actually my own (seems that happens a lot on this blog). I did do the photography for it, however, and so this post is not built entirely on plagiarism.

It was cooked by my dear sister Moriah, but as she has yet to post about it, you get a special advanced screening of sorts.

The one shot I missed taking was of the cut slices, but as this was utterly delicious, I'm sure it will be made again.

It was also my first time really playing with food props etc., trying to find items that would enhance the main star of the show. Overall, I was relatively pleased with how it turned out.

Japanese-style Potato Salad

2010-09-19T16:17:00.001+01:00

Technically this post should have been done several weeks ago... yes, I'm catching up.

After a long hiatus from cooking, I decided to make potato salad for myself for lunch. I found the recipe here, on the website of a Japanese woman who posts many delicious and easy to understand recipes (in English!).

The concoction of yummy goodness before the addition of mayo:

I think I overcooked the carrot slightly, as it was pretty soft; but boy, it was nice and sweet. Slightly hard to peel though. Also, I think I went a bit overboard on the salt content. But, other those two little glitches - and accidentally burning my elbow on the crock pot my mother had out cooking our dinner - it was a pretty straightforward recipe. And it tasted delish.

It also makes a very good sandwich:

I'll definitely be adding this to my collection of regular recipes.

Well hello, gorgeous.

2010-08-27T19:05:00.001+01:00

New name, new face, all in preparation for my upcoming university life.

And um, this would be referring to the blog.

I know it's a couple weeks early - perfectionist me would have loved to publish the new layout on move-in day - but time constraints interfered. And so lucky you gets a special advance showing.

The image in the header will probably change at my whimsy; the rest of it I am quite happy with, and hopefully it'll last through the whole of university.

Okay, so my goal is to make it last for at least the first year. That'll still be an improvement from the last layout, which lasted four months.

Anyhow, screencap has been taken for documentary purposes, and the page elements are credited to Shabby Miss Jenn Designs as before.

Enjoy!

Um, can you say cute?!

2010-08-26T14:43:00.000+01:00

While we were back in the States this summer, we saw what we called "The Stick Figure Family Car Decal Phenomenon". (Say that five times fast.) On the back windows of tons of cars were these cute white stick figures that represented the owner's family. Example below:

I thought they were adorable. So, in typical internet research fashion, I find the website that does them at familystickers.com. And lo and behold, they allow you to customise your sticker:

Um, yeah. That's cute. Only downer is that for a family of our size it would cost over $40 for one; and I'm not quite sure it's worth us not eating for a month. Something to think about though.

All images courtesy of familystickers.com.

My Real First Dish Set

2010-08-24T20:30:00.000+01:00

I kinda lied… the dishes in the previous post weren't the first I ever received. Several posts ago, I mentioned that a good friend of mine and her parents, whom I officially consider my Japanese family, came over for dinner. They generously gave me several Japanese dishes and other items, as they were moving back to Japan and wouldn't be able to take them along. Ecstatic about describes the mood I was in.

They're so utterly gorgeous and traditional.

I'm hoping to drastically improve my Japanese culinary repertoire as I begin the exciting adventure of cooking for myself 24/7. Be sure you will hear all about my triumphs and… learning experiences as I go along. At least with these dishes I'll be able to make anything look pretty, even if it's utterly inedible…

My First Dish Set

2010-08-22T18:36:00.001+01:00

I feel all grown up. Seriously.

Story behind it: My mother and I were in town the other day, and this church that has closed down (and been turned into a nightclub of all things; yes, Scotland needs prayer) was having a sale of sorts. I suppose previous members were able to come and sell off stuff they didn't need any more. Anyways, my mom and I find it, and there's this dish set for £3.00. You read that right: just three quid. It has six cups, saucers and small plates in excellent condition. They look very British and a bit like something my grandmother might have in her house should she hail from Brighton, but they're cute nonetheless. We're gonna try to find some dinner plates in a green that would match.

And thus begins the acquiring of stuff for my student days. I can barely contain my excitement.

[Insert Title Here]

2010-08-16T21:56:00.001+01:00

I put the last witty and well-written sentence into my four-paragraph-long blog post, which described my new relationship with this thing called "rain" and generally summed up our recent holiday in the Motherland, and as Blogger sweetly autosaved what I'd written, I hit "Publish Post" with a sigh and a smile on my face. I read over it again on the public face of my blog, checking the overall look and searching for any missed spelling mistakes. Finally, assured that my hour's work had been well spent, I closed my browser and went on to dabble in other things.

Ha. A scenario of my dreams, that.

More like:

I'd just finished, after an hour or so of relatively enjoyable writing, a long-overdue blog post that I'd actually been inspired to write, when suddenly I accidentally press some spastic key that deletes the bulk of what I've just laboured so hard in. After spending a second in shocked disbelief, a couple more frantically trying to hit the back button, and then, when I realise that won't work, a minute or so breathing into my hands like they're a paper bag, I finally give up. I go ahead and delete the rest; Blogger mocks me by autosaving as soon as it's all gone. I curse Blogger in my heart and vow to always and forever more use TextEdit on my computer to write up my posts first. (Like I am doing now.) Then, and then only, will I transfer them to Blogger to be posted.

Thank-you for listening so sympathetically to my anguished rant. You can go now.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2010-08-11T14:37:00.001+01:00

For my parents, at least. Yesterday they took the whole sisterhood to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill for a walk around the campus, commenting on how many things have changed and also how many things have stayed the same. It was a unique experience for me, about to embark on my own university journey, walking in the footsteps of my parents; and my thoughts invariably turned to the day that I may be taking my own children on a similar tour of the University of Edinburgh. At least there it won't be so hot...

Sunrise on the Pier

2010-08-04T13:20:00.003+01:00

This morning, extremist me woke up at five o'clock so I could go out and grab some photos of the sunrise. This was my first time documenting the sun's awakening, and it was a very pleasurable experience. Here are a few of my favourite shots from the session:

I also made my first attempt at using slow shutter speed on water, and was reasonably pleased with the result:

All in all, it was a pretty good start to the day; there's nothing quite like waking up with (or before) the sun.

Letters to Juliet

2010-07-18T04:45:00.002+01:00

Letters to Juliet is a comedic romance (although it technically falls under the genre termed "romantic comedy") in which a young woman named Sophie replies to a letter that a woman wrote to Juliet, and gets involved in a search for the woman's childhood love. The woman's grandson, Charlie, is the reluctant chauffeur of the search effort, and thinks that Sophie is just trying to help his grandmother so that she can use the story to launch her career as a journalist. The movie follows their journey across Italy, and also the adventure of truly getting to know one another.

I went to see this with my mother, my aunt, and two of my sisters. If any movie ever pressed all the right buttons for female cinema satisfaction, this was it. We laughed, we cried, we held our breaths in anticipation and crossed our fingers for him to say the right words, for her to do the right thing, or for the grandmother to find her lost love. Running throughout the movie was the humourous relationship between Sophie and Charlie - an enthusiastic, dreaming American girl, and an arrogant, cynical English boy. Although some elements of the plot were predictable, it included many surprising twists and turns as well. The scenery was to die for, the acting was laudable, the ending was just about perfect, and you walked away full of so many happy endorphins whizzing through your bloodstream that you couldn't stop talking about it the rest of the night. Men, it may not be your ideal night out, but do it to please your girlfriend/wife. Ladies, if you haven't done so already - drop all and go see it one night, either with that special someone or as a date with the girls (which could be infinitely more fun - sorry guys!). It's definitely a movie you will watch again and again.

Love's Forget-Me-Not

2010-06-29T13:31:00.003+01:00

A poem by Isabella Crawford that I fell in love with... I had tears in my eyes at the end.

WHEN Spring in sunny woodland lay,
And gilded buds were sparely set
On oak tree and the thorny may,
I gave my love a violet.
"O Love," she said, and kissed my mouth
With one light, tender maiden kiss,
"There are no rich blooms in the south
So fair to me as this!"

When Summer reared her haughty crest,
We paused beneath the ruddy stars;
I placed a rose upon her breast,
Plucked from the modest casement bars.
"O Love," she said, and kissed my mouth--
Heart, heart, rememb'rest thou the bliss?--
"In east or west, in north or south,
I know no rose but this!"

When Autumn raised the purple fruit
In clusters to his bearded lips,
I laid a heartsease on the lute
That sang beneath her finger-tips.
"O Love," she said--and fair her eyes
Smiled thro' the dusk upon the lea--
"No heartsease glows beneath the skies
But this thou givest me!"

When Winter wept at shaking doors,
And holly trimmed his ermine vest,
And wild winds maddened on the moors,
I laid a flower upon her breast.
"Dear Heart," I whispered to the clay,
Which stilly smiled yet answered not,
"Bear thou to Heaven itself away
True love's Forget-me-not!"

Blooming by the Roadside

2010-06-28T12:58:00.000+01:00

Found this beautiful flower blooming on a bush as I was walking home from signing out at school. (Sad day... ish.) After a bit of research, I found out that it's a wild rose. The shape reminds me of cherry blossoms, but the stems are a woody material that was very hard to break and had thorns all along it. Took a while to get this stubborn little guy off, and it pricked me in the process. So worth it though - it's a beauty sitting on my desk. Brings that little bit more sunshine to my day.

Have a Shot

2010-06-27T21:58:00.000+01:00

For prom, we all got these inscribed shot glasses as party favours. Creative and oh-so-cute, but sadly underused.

So what do I brilliantly decide to use it as?

That's right. It is the perfect size to store all my makeup brushes. (Which are made by EcoTools by the way, and I love them.) The idea hit me as I was passing it by one day, and I can say that I've never looked back. Cute, functional and gives satisfaction to my soul. (Sounds a bit like the perfect man actually...)

Oh, and as a side note, I learned an important photography lesson today. My mistake forced me to retake my photos, resulting in the ones you see above. And it was this: always clean glass before you take a photo. Always, always, always. Did I say that enough? The camera picks up every little speck of dust and dirt that your eye misses. So unless you enjoy gasping when you see the blown-up photos on your computer, running to your camera for retakes, and ultimately wasting time... clean any and all glass before subjecting it to the scrutiny of your lens. Most of you probably already know this rule and are shaking your head at me - but for those of you who don't, please pay due heed. Don't learn from experience like I did.

Sushi Time

2010-06-22T20:52:00.002+01:00

Amidst battling with an acute bout of hayfever and surviving on only 3 hours sleep (thanks to the lovely early sunrises we get here), today I decided to make sushi for lunch. It'd been a while, and I was in the Japanese food mood from having my dear friend Anri and her family over for dinner last night. (More on than another time.)

It must be noted that this was an - how to put it? - odd selection of sushi. We had no salmon or avocado around... heck, we didn't even have tuna or cucumber! I think I stared into the fridge for a good few moments in a sort of shocked disbelief that none of the fillings I would normally use were putting up residence in our kitchen. So what did I supplement? Turkey slices, tamagoyaki, and umeboshi, with hints of wasabi thrown in every now and again.

Told you they were odd.

But anyways, it was all at least edible. The turkey sushi had an interesting western twang to it, almost like sushi you'd make for your kid to get them used to the idea. The tamagoyaki ones were nice as well, but I think I'll pass on the umeboshi next time. Reminded me too much of onigiri.

Without further to do then, the photographic evidence.

After the meal I finished off a piece of my dad's birthday cake, the rich chocolate perfectly countered by the mild bitterness of green tea. It was one of those precious "me moments" that allows us to step back, take a deep breath, and have a moment of calm in our busy lives.

Afterwards, I could sit back with a sigh, look out at the deep cerulean sky and our beaming star called the sun, and think to myself, "I am content."

Even despite the energy-draining congestion in my sinuses that makes my head feel like it's going to implode.

Blue Sky

2010-06-20T21:16:00.001+01:00

Let me preface this post by saying that I'm awful at doing "storytelling" shots. When confronted with a beautiful landscape, forest or likewise scene that can't be captured in a close-up, I freak because I have no idea what to do with my exposure settings.

All that being said, the photos below are from two days where I had to capture that brilliant blue atmosphere above us. Though I can't make them as beautiful through my photos as the Master who painted them, I can at least show a little glimpse of what the sky has looked like recently.

And finally, some shots of ducks and geese at Beecraigs Park, just for fun.

I love this next shot - not because of the lacking photographic excellence, but for the way you can see the sunlight filtering through the trees that were behind me.

And that pretty much sums up my weekend. What with sun, warmth and blue skies, I couldn't be happier!

The Case for a Creator

2010-06-18T12:28:00.000+01:00

I recently finished this book, after a long time coming. (Long as in a couple months - mostly snagged snippets of bedtime reading.) I originally began reading it because of topics that came up in my RMPS (Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies) class, and I wanted to be able to clearly argue and defend my beliefs about the creation of the world and human beings.

This book definitely accomplished that for me. It argues for the existence of a creator God by examining different fields of science - cosmology, physics, astronomy, biochemistry, biology and psychology. It goes through how modern research in each of these fields points clearly and consistently towards the universe having a Designer. The facts it puts forward are clearly explained, although at times slightly difficult to get one's mind around if one is not scientifically inclined (like me, ha). It is extremely thorough, and is written in "interview" style, with the author interviewing experts about facts and their opinions.

For any Christian who wants to be able to put forward strong, clear arguments against the Big Bang (here meaning that the universe happened randomly, by chance, with no Creator) and evolution (here meaning macro-evolution as put forward by Darwin), this is a great book to do that. You will understand how best to combat these popularly-held ideas, and will also feel your own faith and beliefs strengthened. Although it can be hard-going, it is an enjoyable read, and some of the details it goes into will blow your mind away.

Edinburgh Zoo & The Filling Station

2010-06-17T22:26:00.005+01:00

Yesterday was a "day out" for my friend Charlotte's birthday. She wanted a fun day doing touristy things, so we hit Edinburgh Zoo in the morning and Mary King's Close in the afternoon. First, a couple photos from the zoo:

A beautiful blue bird that absolutely loved posing for us.

You could buy small pots of nectar to feed these birds, and they would gladly come and perch on your hand as they lapped the food up. Two actually had a fight on my arm over the nectar, screeching loudly at each other until one gave in and flew away.

For lunch, we went to a pub on the High Street called The Filling Station. It was decorated with car parts and license plates, and had a very American feel to it. The menu consisted of fare such as burgers, pasta, pizza and Mexican food.

My starter was "Santa Fe spring rolls" - they were served with a sweet chili sauce and were very good.

For my main, I decided on a cheeseburger. (I get to splurge one in a while, right?) I can honestly say that this is one of the best cheeseburgers I've had. The meat was moist and enough to last the whole bun, it came with plenty of fillings and mayonnaise, and was very satisfying. Cole slaw and fries came on the side.

I have to say that the restaurant's service was a bit slow, but we let them off since it looked like there were only 3 waiters, and the place was teeming with both locals and tourists. The food was worth the wait. I also discovered that I don't like Budweiser - I managed half the glass, but can cross that off my list of alcoholic beverages!

Overall, it was a great day, and to top it off I discovered a tasty new restaurant which I highly recommend.

The Filling Station
233-241 High Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1PE
T: 0131 226 2488

A Taste of Italy

2010-06-16T17:52:00.004+01:00

I love posting about food, even when it's not made by me. Especially when it's not made by me... because then I can go on and on about how good it was. ;)

Last night's dinner was made by my darling, chef-in-the-making little sister. (Okay, so 16 shouldn't technically be counted as "little" any more.) It involved bruschetta, salted asparagus, and penne with a creamy sauce.

Now tell me, does that look good or does that look good?

It was an evening of sheer tastebud delight. I had to physically leave the kitchen to stop myself eating.

Project Room Organisation

2010-06-15T12:54:00.016+01:00

In light of my impending move into university accommodation this September, I decided it was time to do some decluttering, straightening, and ultimately getting rid of the junk that I knew filled hidden crevices in my deceivingly perfectly neat room. So, with furniture polish, camera and a banana in hand, I set to work.

After browsing through some organisational posts on one of my favourite blogs of all time, Young House Love, I knew I had to take everything off shelves and out of drawers, get rid of anything I didn't want/need/hadn't touched in over 6 months, and then start organising whatever was left over.

Let me give you a little disclaimer first. I hate, hate throwing stuff away. But at the same time, I hate having a bunch of junk around that I don't need and is just taking up space. So it took some extra willpower to stop swithering over, "Hm, I might need that someday... Yes, that could come in handy... Oh, why don't I just keep that, it won't take up much space..." to just chucking it in the bin (or putting it in the pile to give away). Especially when faced with a scary pile of stuff like this:

But, to make a long story short, after a solid week of straightening, cleaning, and getting rid of junk, I got the product shown in the video below. The pizza post took place in the middle of my first afternoon trying to sort through all the clutter. It took a lot of stress and perseverance, but it's now done. (Please excuse the lack of sound and the low quality - I had to make the best with what I had.)

Woo-hoo for a clean room! Then, yesterday, my mum and I took a day out to visit our friendly neighbourhood Swedish superstore. (Okay, so it's not really "neighbourhood"... the closest Ikea is around forty minutes away.) Nonetheless, we had a smashing time, and picked up some items we'd been needing around the house. (The restraint we exercised was unbelievable. Husbands and fathers everywhere, you would have been proud.) By the end of the day, I was freakishly excited about home decorating, organising and other such matters.

The result of the Ikea shopping expedition - five white magazine files to hold booklets and papers on the bottom shelf of my bookshelf, as can be seen in the above video:

Crazy to think that I've got less than three months before I'll be settling into university accommodation. Be on the lookout for more videos/photos when that time comes!

A Side Note

2010-06-09T23:17:00.002+01:00

To anyone who was not previously able to comment on my blog, I profusely apologise. Through recent experiences and many frustrations, I have discovered that the option to have comments "embedded after posts" is not working for Blogger currently. (And this is other Blogger sites as well, not just mine.) So it has now changed to a pop-up window. Hoping this solves any problems!

Homemade Pizza

2010-06-08T20:35:00.009+01:00

So I totally admit: Sunday night was my first time (apart from maybe once in my Hospitality course in S5) making homemade pizza, crust and all. I used this recipe to do a make-your-own-pizza night with my little sister and her friend. Thankfully, it turned out great. Some pic spam for ya:

The mini pizzas my sister and her friend made. Since the recipe was for thin-crust pizzas, due to their smaller size, these ones ended up having thicker crusts. Still good though.

Then the one I made: dubbed the Pizza Ultimatum, and loaded with pepperoni, parma ham, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, loads of mozzarella cheese and Italian herbs. Yummm.

I will definitely be making this again - maybe with wheat flour next time for a healthy variation!

Love to all,
J

Bill Gates vs General Motors

2010-06-02T22:05:00.006+01:00

Something I found recently that was so funny, I couldn't pass up sharing it. Although it's highly debatable whether all this was actually said or not, the joke is still great. Especially if you love computers like I do.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash... twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the motorway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

Ricotta Mouse with Chocolate and Strawberries: Take One

2010-06-01T19:52:00.006+01:00

I found this recipe the other day on Lucullian Delights, a blog I follow, and had to try it. It's so simple, yet sounds (and looks!) so delicious as well. (Please check out her post for the original recipe and much better photos!)

The recipe's so straightforward it speaks for itself - so I'll just dive right into my experience making it. Everything was going perfectly until I got to whipping the cream. As the recipe doesn't specify what type of cream to get, I guessed and got single cream. Well, I guessed wrong. After at least 5 minutes of high speed whipping - at which point most cream would have turned into a buttery-like substance - it was still really runny. Hm, thinks I, maybe I should have gotten whipping cream. Or double cream. (If anyone can explain to me the intricate differences between each type of cream, I will be forever indebted to you.)

But, other than the pudding having a... soup-like texture rather than being a mousse, it was great. Taste was spot-on, the girls all loved it, and I will definitely be trying it again with the right ingredients. (Thus the "Take One" in the title. ;)

Gnocchi with Pancetta and Tomato Sauce

2010-05-31T11:13:00.005+01:00

So, I found the number one tastiest pasta sauce recipe ever. As in, you want to become my best friend so you can eat this pasta sauce.

Well, maybe it's not that good - but I thought it was. :) Most of my sisters loved it, which is always a bonus, as they're the pickiest eaters on planet earth. I found the recipe on Food Network, but substituted potato gnocchi for the linguine, as Tesco didn't have any of the latter. It was good, though the potato taste added an interesting dimension - I'll try it with standard pasta next time and see how it goes.

Lightscoop

2010-05-27T12:39:00.010+01:00

My new toy arrived in the post yesterday!

Called a Lightscoop, it is a device that slides over the pop-up flash of your DSLR, and basically bounces the flash off of nearby walls and ceilings to create a nice diffused light, rather than the ugly front-on flash that we're all so used to seeing from point-and-shoots. It is ultimately a cheaper stand-in for a Speedlight, the large external flash produced by Nikon that achieves the same effect (except obviously better done). Until I can save up the moola to buy one of those, I think this baby is gonna do me just fine. :)

Examples of the effect it has on photos (sorry for using the angel again!!):

Using exposure settings that allow for the greatest light possible without using any flash. The kind of photo I would have taken pre-Lightscoop.

Using the camera's built-in flash. See how artificial that looks? (Built-in flash is the bane of my existence. In all seriousness.)

Welcome to the power of Lightscoop, my friends. Isn't it pretty? And this was done with the same settings as the previous photo - only with my little toy slipped over the flash.

As you can tell, I'm in love with it. Goodbye to dark birthday photos! (The lighting in our lounge, where we normally open presents, is awful.) I am eagerly looking forward to a new era of indoor photos with my Lightscoop. (Which, did I mention, only cost $38.25, including shipping from the good ol' US of A?)

Chosen

2010-05-24T12:43:00.004+01:00

Picture this with me for a moment. You are a convicted serial killer, on death row awaiting your execution with several others who have committed the same crime. You have realised how wrong you were, what a grievous crime it was that you committed. You accept your punishment - you know you deserve it. No number of apologies will ever be able to rectify what you did. No countless hours of community service will pay back the debt you owe to society, to the families of the victims you killed. For taking those innocent lives, your life is required. And so you wait, hopeless, looking to the moment your life will end.

But then, your warden comes in. He looks at the group, standing there, and then motions to you. Puzzled, you follow him out. He takes you to the exit, removes your handcuffs, and opens the door. Seeing your disbelief, he explains, "Your debt has been paid. An innocent citizen volunteered to die in your place. You're free to go."

Does this story sound unbelievable? For every Christian, every person who has accepted Jesus as their Saviour and Lord, this is exactly what happened to you. You were sinful, wicked, deserving of death - and Christ came to pay your debt for you, and give you eternal life. You know that nothing you could have done would erase your guilt. Yet you have been made completely clean - all you have to do is walk through the door, and give your life to the One who saved you.

This crushes me. While some, being picked like that and given their freedom, might rejoice or be filled with pride that it was they who were chosen, I am overwhelmed with emotion. Why me? Why me? Any other person on that row could have been picked. It could have been the person on your left or on your right. But no - the Saviour decided that he wanted you. Yes, I am eternally grateful, and I do rejoice that I have been given such a gift - but I am also crushed. Who am I that I should be chosen? I have done nothing that would make God say, "Oh, I want that one. She has a kind heart, and she does enough good things that she'll deserve what I'm giving her." No. I was utterly fallen in depravity, in wickedness beyond compare - and He still said, "I want that one. Just because I love her."

Are you broken? Do you realise that nothing you can do would make God love you any more, would make Him choose you to be His child? Every single day, you should wake up praising God for His wondrous, unconditional love. He could have just as easily passed you by - you haven't done anything that would increase your worth. But He didn't. He chose you. If that isn't enough to make your heart sing for joy every moment you're alive - nothing is. If that doesn't motivate you to give your whole life to Him to do with it what He wants - I think it's time to do some examining of self.

Only once you put your soul in perspective with His utter perfection will you be able to truly say, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Philippians 3:8)

In the Melting Heat of Summer

2010-05-22T19:57:00.005+01:00

Sunlight drips off leaves of ivy, edging them
in warm, brilliant light.
Heat floats through the air, tempered occasionally
with a gentle breeze that makes the flowers
nod their heads, and carries
the tepid scent of grass, mingled
with burning ashes from a nearby barbecue.
The world, it seems, is caught in a state
of momentary calm; and yet
it throbs and pulses with currents of life.
Overhead, a multitude of birds chirp
their unceasing background music.
At your feet, small insects crawl and quickly hide
in crevices in the ground.
Sounds of children - sometimes laughs, sometimes
screams - permeate the harmony of nature.
A dog is heard, barking.

The smell of magnolia and jasmine grows sweet
as the sun begins to fall.
The last gleam of its honeyed rays lingers
on a branch, highlighting the rich
red and brown hues.
A spider's web glistens, delicately translucent before
it is lost to the shadows of dusk.
A cool air has asserted
its claim on the atmosphere, blowing the washing that hangs
on the line.
The sky turns sapphire as the last gull's silhouette
soars across it.
The light has hidden beneath the distant rooftops;
Night falls.

Please note: I felt inspired to write a poem this evening, but I am not a poet. I write prose, preferably fiction. So if you are a real poet - I apologise for offending your poetical sensibilities through this piece of work. I won't do this much, I promise.

Summer Days

2010-05-21T16:08:00.008+01:00

Most years in Scotland consist of two seasons - spring and then winter, with sometimes a few days of autumn in between. This year however, we skipped spring altogether, instead transitioning from a chilly end of winter directly to mild summer days. All in the space of about a week.

Being the eager photographer that I am, I grabbed my camera as soon as the sun was out, and snapped these photos around mid-day while my sister sunbathed in a deck chair. (Not to worry, I joined her later.)

I am not lying when I say the sun was actually hot. After months - literally - of freezing temperatures and biting winds, it felt so, so good.

I even got the teeniest bit burnt. :)

Mere Christianity

2010-05-20T13:32:00.018+01:00

Mm, to have finished a book. It just feels so good.

The one that I finished most recently (I won't say read - because I'm reading several) was Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I had heard, from several sources, that this was a great book. Furthermore, I love him and his writing, being very familiar with his fiction (Out of the Silent Planet and its sequels are wonderful adult fiction, and The Chronicles of Narnia were childhood favourites). Anyways, having so much free time and loving nothing better than to occupy this time with books, I finally got around to picking it up.

Let me tell you, it was wonderful. Words can't express how enjoyable (though at times confusing) reading it was. It gives a sound argument for Christianity, practical advice on Christian living, and brings great theology down to a level where the rest of us mere mortals can understand it. My faith was stretched, challenged; I was humbled and filled with thankfulness for this Life I have been given. For any Christian, however new or old, weak or strong, it is a must read.

I will say that, as an 18-year-old, I still found some of the concepts hard to wrap my mind around. Paragraphs were reread several times, and I had to pause at points and work out in my brain the argument that had just been made. I'm not condemning this, you must see - as a matter of fact it's a wonderful tool for exercising the brain - rather, it's just to say that for anyone much younger, it will probably be a bit over their head. (Note: I'm not one to debate whether material should be left until the individual has grown into it to be exposed, or whether the individual should be made to grow by being exposed to the material. That's for yourself to decide.)

There is one point Mr Lewis makes that I do disagree with him on, and that is regarding evolution. He makes several references to evolution (one of them quite extended) in which he communicates that he believes in the theory. In some ways, this is excusable - back then people did not have the evidence we do now that can prove evolution false, and so had to rely completely on what the scientists told them was fact.

Digression concluded, it's an amazing book that anyone earnestly trying to follow the Christian faith should read. Concurrently, it's a great tool for growing the faith of anyone struggling, or unpacking Christianity for a sceptic. (Lewis himself used to be an atheist.) It is backed by my wholehearted admiration and recommendation.

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. ...If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

The blog finally gets a makeover...

2010-05-19T17:02:00.006+01:00

It shouldn't exactly be "finally" since that implies some degree of desperately needing one, and only just now receiving the much-overdue renovation. It was pretty before, and I was satisfied with it - but I just wanted to take it to that next level of aestheticism in blog designs. And voila!

I have no shame in admitting that I created none of the graphics (other than editing them to show titles I wanted, and scaling some down). These were bought - yes, bought - from Shabby Miss Jenn Designs for $4.89. I then worked out all the placement, coding, HTML, fonts, colours, pulling-out-hair and rubbing-hands-in-eyes-because-I've-been-staring-at-a-screen-and-lots-of- incomprehensible-code-for-too-long work. It took me all of today - meaning from 10 this morning till now at 5pm, with a few breaks for eating and other mandatory human functions - but it's finally done. And it looks beautiful, if I do say so myself.

A few tweaks still need to be made. Some of the headers in the sidebar on the right keep randomly disappearing - I blame Flickr for spontaneously changing the URLs. Also, I have another graphic for the header which has space for 2 pictures in it - I'll get around to putting that one together eventually.

So, to commemorate the event, here's a screen cap... since the design will probably change again in a few months.

Now I'm off to take some ibuprofen and do something that doesn't involve staring at a screen, like reading a book.

A Study of Light and Angels

2010-05-16T22:26:00.004+01:00

So, I hadn't taken photos for a while. Like, real photos - not just product or food review style photos. And last night I was having a bad case of pathological photographer's withdrawal symptoms. So what do I do? A study of the closest object in sight: a Willow Tree angel I received for my birthday (courtesy of Charlotte).

I think the third one's my favourite. All look very similar I know - but it was a fun experiment with the lighting, and focus as well. Don't worry, next time I should have something more substantive to satisfy my photography cravings. :)

Breakfast Bagel

2010-05-13T14:28:00.003+01:00

A breakfast bagel to rival McDonald's.

Simply a white bagel, toasted, buttered, and then loaded with scrambled egg, bacon, and Dutch Edam cheese.

Add some brown sauce to give it a British twang and some Chai tea for atmospheric effect, and you've got yourself a perfect breakfast.

A Day Out

2010-05-12T19:57:00.006+01:00

So, after my Advanced Higher English exam today, some friends and I were ready to go out and do what girls do best: shopping. I had one item on my shopping list, and acquired one more in the process. (Aren't you proud of my self-control?) For lack of having anything else exciting to post... I'll rave about these two things in my first ever product review. Don't you feel privileged. ;)

Oh, and please ignore the lack of artistic beauty in these photos - it's a product review, not an exhibition of photographic skill.

Now, onto the reviews. For those of you who know me at all, you will be aware of my love for old things, or even anything with an appearance of being old. So, when I saw the notebook below, I had to get it. (I needed a new one anyway.) It's by Paperblanks, and this particular one is the "Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More Ultra Wrap" (available for sale here at WhSmith). Being the foolish person I can be, I bought it at Waterstone's for £14.00, without researching whether it could be bought cheaper elsewhere. (To be fair, the original price at WHSmith was more than that, but it's on sale right now!! *sigh* Could've saved almost £5...)

Anyways, enough with my pity story, and onto the notebook itself:

It's beautifully embellished, looks old enough to make your heart swell every time you set eyes on it, and overall is just plain gorgeous, in my personal opinion. :) I can't wait to start writing in it... I think I'm going to use it for a combination of Bible study / sermon notes once my current one's used up. But we'll see.

Next product I found at Peacocks. My friends were wandering through looking for clothes, when I suddenly spotted this bag. I'd been wanting an across-the-body, messenger/satchel-type bag, in that nice leathery-brown colour, and voila! I had spotted one at Topshop earlier, but it felt like it would be at least £50... and the price tag was cut off. (Always a bad sign.) This one, my friends, was £12.00. I know a bargain when I see one. And so, without further to do, I brought this beauty home with me:

Whoever designed this bag must have done so with me in mind. It has more pockets than... er... most bags I have seen, and so everything is perfectly in its place. If it falls apart within the next four weeks, I can return it and get my money back (as their return policy states on their website). But I'm hoping for lots of wear and many happy days with this darling! :)

And that concludes my first product review, folks. Might get round to a few more at some point... or a book review! I've got about five I'm reading at the moment, as per usual, haha.

Leftovers

2010-05-01T18:32:00.006+01:00

This will be a rather long post, since I'm catching up on almost two months of being a slacker. Be prepared for a photo spam - or, just for the page to take forever to load. If that's the case, join the modern world and get a higher bandwidth. (Just kidding.)

First off, a sad report for all you fellow plant lovers. Matilda, my beloved bamboo shoot who sits on my desk, has started turning yellow. I don't know what this means, but judging by the black spots that have appeared near her roots it can't be good. I earnestly hope she doesn't die. But, worst case scenario... it's just an excuse for a trip back to Ikea to get another one.

Next up: 桜餅 (sakura mochi). A Japanese sweet that consists of sticky white rice (often coloured pink) with sweet red bean paste in the middle, and a cherry blossom leaf wrapped round with a pickled cherry blossom for garnish. (They really do eat everything in Japan.) I had it for the first time a couple weeks ago at Anri's house, and found it a surprisingly tasty blend of sweet and salty. To be blunt, it was delicious.

Continuing the Japanese theme, a bento that I took to school a couple weeks ago. Inside is a furikake onigiri, a Quorn sausage (that's buried under all the fresh produce), a cheese stick, and various bits of raw broccoli, cucumber, and strawberries. It looked pretty, had great nutritional value, and I needed an excuse to take some pictures.

On another note, I am proud to say that I have actually been studying. Exams are looming up in a little over a week, and I have noticed myself getting rather stressed out (as I do every year). But preparation is well under way, and all my dissertations and folios have been submitted as well, which is a huge load off my back. I think the thought of getting bad results through the door in August is what's motivating me to press on. That, and the thought that I only have to endure one more month of this.

Finally, a few photos from a pretty town where my family attended a ceilidh last night. Named Haddington, it's situated in East Lothian... somewhere. (I'm too lazy to go look it up on Google Maps right now.) It reminded Moriah and I slightly of the town where we stayed in France last summer. It was quaint, clean, and had that overall "nice town" sort of feel.

That pretty much sums up the past month. We'll see how consistent I can be in May... :)

Willow Tree

2010-03-12T22:37:00.006Z

So, looking back over my most recent posts...

Ten posts in the last ten months is pretty crap if you ask me. Even after my New Year's resolve to post at least once a week. Ha, that worked.

Yesterday I received a package from my grandparents with one of the Willow Tree figurines enclosed, by way of congratulations for my university entry. (For those not in the know, I was accepted into the University of Edinburgh a couple weeks ago, due to start in September.) My grandmother likes each of us to have something that we collect, and all these years I've never been able to decide on mine... she recently suggested the Willow Tree line, I looked it up, fell in love with it, and so this has started off my collection. The figurine is the "Love of Learning" one - touchingly appropriate. :)

The picture of the week is one I took with my new lens, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D:

Rather pleased with the quality if I do say so myself, though the detail in the glass didn't come out as clear as I would've liked. Haven't had much chance to properly use it yet, so hopefully will do that at some point soon.

Other than that, almost every item on my to-do list for today has been crossed off (a rare occurrence), saving all the homework I have to do at the weekend. That'll get done after a lovely day at work tomorrow making sandwiches. So, on a note of being quite pleased with myself for once, I close.

Shabby Blogs

2010-02-02T17:28:00.004Z

So, I have possibly found one of the best websites in the world, thanks to this blog. It's called Shabby Miss Jenn Designs, and basically features page elements that you can download and add to your blog to make it be-a-utiful. I'm eyeing a couple of kits at the moment... you do have to buy them though, so I'd have to be happy with what I got!

Another site that I found though - featuring similar stuff for free - is Shabby Blogs. The background on my page at the moment is from their website. :)

Random Happenings

2010-01-16T19:05:00.012Z

So, after that prolonged absence (I'm trying to make these posts a weekly occurrence), there are three topics for today: professional photography, snow, and Code Blue.

We'll start with the snow.

For the past six weeks, there has been about a foot of snow on the ground. I went out with some of my friends to get pictures of it last week. Lemme tell ya, it was cold. Here's some of the shots I got:

But thank goodness, it's melting now! A nice front of torrential rain swept through today, getting rid of most of the whiteness that has plagued the ground. I have never been so thankful for rain before.

(A side note: Most of you, when reading this, will probably surmise that I destest snow with the utmost part of my being. This is untrue. I love snow - watching it fall while sitting near the fire with a cup of hot chocolate in my hands is an ideal scenario. But after several weeks of freezing cold temperatures, slipping on ice, and being late to everything because my mum's car can't get out of the drive... I'm ready for it to be gone.)

Moving on to our next topic. The other week I had my first professional-style photo shoot with a family friend who happens to be an amazing photographer. (For more info and contact details, see his website.) My sister cooked food for us and his wife, and I then proceeded to take the following photos, using my camera, his lens, his tripod, his flash and flash deflector thing, and going entirely by his instruction and some degree of artistic sense from myself.

Apart from the food being amazing, the pictures turned out quite well I thought. Then, he took them away and made them even better. Here are two of the shots after he Photoshopped them:

This totally inspired me to become a better and slightly more serious photographer. So, if all goes well, you will be seeing many more shots of this standard in the future.

Thirdly, I just found out today from another blog... a second season of Code Blue is airing.

Am I happy? You bet I'm happy. (To see my previous post regarding Season 1, go here.) But even better, that's not all. Second seasons of Bloody Monday and another drama called Liar Game will also be airing.

Guess what I'll be doing once prelims are over?

Operation Christmas Cookies

2009-12-30T22:20:00.005Z

The annual Christmas cookie fest.

Utterly mad, I tell you. With 6 girls, it couldn't be anything else.

My grandmother and sister decorated mine for me, since I was watching The Squeakquel with a friend. Yes, it was good - and no, I'm not sad in the slightest. I love any movie that makes me cry.

Haha.

Tumblr

2009-12-30T00:26:00.003Z

A quick side note:

A little while back I created a tumblr account to check it out and see what it was like, thinking I might want to move there at some point. I liked the fact that you could create short, sweet posts, some of which contained only a picture or song. However, the inconvenience of moving a blog, plus having to learn a whole new way of creating website layouts, has led me to the decision to stay faithful to Blogger. Which, I'm sure, will come as a relief to any of you who know me and my habit of changing email addresses. =]

Julie & Julia

2009-12-29T23:52:00.007Z

Yeah so, another few months gone by without an update...

Sorry guys. =S

But anyways, enough with the past! After the Christmas holidays, there's always that huge feeling of letdown and what my dad would call "Christmas Blues", if you get my meaning. I find a good way to battle this is try to sort out a lot of the loose ends from the previous year. Are you behind on your photos and blogging? Get up to speed! (Ha, could take some lessons from myself there.) Got a ginourmous quantity of exams to study for? Make a quick study plan and just do it! Any things you thought you'd get done the previous year, but never got around to them? Go through them and re-write what you want to have a shot at again. Not exactly like "New Year's Resolutions", because we all know those just don't work - but a few goals you'd like to accomplish, like starting a scrapbook or learning that new piece on the piano. Don't feel let down because you failed miserably at getting everything done last year that you wanted to. The best we can do is pick ourselves up and start again!

And now, after that motivational pep talk (hehe), a quick movie review.

Tonight in an effort to relax, we watched the film "Julie and Julia" that came out not too long ago. If you ignore the many intimate-verging-on- inappropriate scenes, it's a great film, especially if you're into cooking/blogging/writing/any good story that has a sweet ending. (Oops, was that a spoiler?) I recommend it especially to members of the female species from approximately age 14 up - though it's not to say you wouldn't like it if you don't fall into that category.

I might even go so far as to say it's motivated me to return to blogging... ;)

And I now have a huge craving for some boeuf bourguignon. Yummm.

Eye Prescriptions and Chocolate Cake

2009-10-06T22:54:00.003+01:00

So, when you get a new contacts prescription and you can't see as well as you used to, you'd expect them to change it for you, right?

Nope. Apparently, 1) my prescription is perfectly correct, 2) my eyes are just adjusting to the new contacts, and 3) I can see better than most of the population anyways. So I'm sent out with a smile and a pat on the back.

When I have trouble reading the board at school - which I never used to - I call that a bad prescription.

Rant over and done with, tonight for pudding we had nothing specially homemade, but delicious all the same - chocolate sponge cakes with chocolate sauce, courtesy of Tesco. So rich, so sweet... so good.

Yummy.

Also, went with a couple friends on Sunday to have a nature photoshoot - pictures can be found here. Small taster for you (also my current desktop):

And there's my first post in... oh, 5 months? :)

Chicken and Lettuce Wraps with Sweet Chili Sauce

2009-05-19T13:44:00.002+01:00

My lunch today. Yummy.

　　Basically a tortilla shell with cos lettuce, chicken nuggets and coriander leaves, served with Thai sweet chili sauce and unsweetened Lady Grey iced tea. Very filling, and quite good. I think I over-filled it slightly with the chicken though...

Challah Bread

2009-05-17T14:49:00.004+01:00

　　Yesterday, I had a first attempt at making challah (pronounced hallah) bread, a braided loaf that is eaten by Jews on the Sabbath. Though not Jewish myself, I thought it would be nice to make for Sunday. The idea was originally from a craving for "sweet bread", a kind of (what do you know) sweet bread that was common in Ukraine and Poland. I read that challah is sweet, and so found a recipe and had a crack at it.

　　Mmm, that bread was so good coming fresh out of the oven. Though not as sweet as I would have liked, it was soft and rich. Looked pretty too.

　　For next time, I will add in some sugar with the honey that was already present, and I will start making it at around noon so that I'm done before dinner... instead of starting right before dinner and being done at like, 11pm. The most time-consuming part was letting the bread rise. It was actually very simple (and fun!) to make.

　　Completely unrelated, but food-ish nonetheless, all you Americans coming from the grand old South will have experienced the religion of iced tea. (No, seriously.) My mom, being the wonderful southern lady that she is, makes iced tea over here, but she (and my sisters) like it sweetened. Although I appreciate her efforts, and her tea is delicious, I always feel like it would be just as wonderful (and carry less guilt) without sugar. So, I made my own unsweetened version today, using Lady Grey tea. Yummy. Stick a lemon in it, and it would be perfect.

Picture Post

2009-05-15T16:37:00.004+01:00

Thank goodness, as of today, I am done with Higher English! *hums happily to self* The papers weren't the best, but hopefully I've done all right. Next up is French... lovely.

　　But other than that, it's time for a bunch of photos that have conglomerated over the last couple of weeks - mostly of food, of course. Okay, so it's all food.

We're now growing an herb garden in our kitchen windowsill! Complete with (left to right) chives, mint, and coriander.

Noodle salad made for dinner a week or so ago, including Chinese noodles, cucumber, spring onions, soy sauce, and sesame seeds.

The fried chicken that went along with the noodle salad. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture once it was cooked... but boy, was it good. Like, finger-lickin' good.

The Chocolate and Orange Roulade I made for my Hospitality exam. Mmm. It did crack slightly though...

My impromptu lunch the other day, made out of leftovers I found around the kitchen. Composed of Italian egg noodles, quickly stir-fired garlic, bacon, carrot, spring onion and tomato, and garnished with pine nuts and soy sauce. Very nice.

Ingredients for dinner I made the other night. Recipe was from the Wagamama cookbook (thanks Mark and Miranda!), and was basically poached cod with various vegetables.

Before being wrapped up and put into the oven. Although tasty, it's not something I would pick to make for dinner again. I couldn't get sake to put in it, which might have contributed to the bland taste.

My birthday cheesecake and mint-chocolate-chip ice cream from last week.

West Lothian College

2009-05-04T11:00:00.002+01:00

　　Last Tuesday, my Hospitality class went to West Lothian College to spend the day cooking with Bob, one of the chefs there. It was in preparation for our exam this week, to try and give us more practice making timed dishes under pressure.

　　We made three dishes - a starter, a main course, and a desert. The desert we made was the one we're going to do in our final exam, but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take pictures before it was gobbled up. (Yes, it was pretty good if I do say so myself.) I'll try to get a picture of the one I make in the exam; it did look really pretty.

　　The starter that we made was called Garlic Mushrooms with Wholemeal Toasted Croutons. Now, I know a lot of people don't like mushrooms, but I really enjoyed this dish. It was simple to make, and tasted lovely. For garnish, I put the crouton on a bed of salad with red onion rings, put a bit of tomato concasse around, and finished with a sprig of parsley on top.

The main course was Vienna Steak with Pepper Sauce, and Braise Rice. It was also good, though didn't have the same burst of flavour as the starter did. My favourite part about making this was putting the rice in the little moulds and turning them out. I then stuck sprigs of thyme in the rice, sprinkled some finely cut parsley over the burgers and sauce, and cut a cherry tomato flower with little courgette batons and another sprig of parsley.

　　Overall, it was quite an enjoyable day. Although slightly stressful at times, it really helped us prepare for our upcoming exam, and getting demonstrations done by a professional chef was nice. For lunch, we went to the Terrace Restaurant, a small restaurant in the college run by the students. It was quite good food, and at very good prices. I'll probably end up taking Moriah there sometime.

Cream Puffs and Meringues

2009-05-01T16:04:00.008+01:00

Tip of the day: When trying to curl hair, use a curling iron instead of straighteners. It yields much better results.

　　Other than that, it's time for the long-awaited cream puff post!Last Saturday, I decided to make シュークリーム... I hadn't cooked in a while, and was dying to try this dessert out. So, I found a recipe on Yahoo! Japan, and commenced cooking.

First, I made the puffs themselves... they turned out quite nicely, except a few were a bit wonky because I didn't pipe them correctly. Also, a lot of them stuck to the parchment paper slightly, resulting in little bits being torn off the bottom. Note for future attempts: Use a non-stick baking mat underneath to keep puffs intact.

Filling the puffs with custard - I had to try and block the holes at the bottom of some so the custard wouldn't run out. Lemme tell ya, the custard was immense.

And here's the little babies topped with whipped cream, strawberries, their tops, and dusted with icing sugar.

I label it a success.

　　Next up is what I did to use up the 6 egg whites that remained from making the custard for the cream puffs. I didn't want them to go to waste, so I decided to make something which only calls for egg whites and sugar: meringues. I'd never made these before, so it was a bit of a gamble... more than I expected it to be.
　　Making the meringues was fine - I whipped the egg whites and then folded in the required amounts of icing sugar and granulated sugar, with some help from Moriah. However, only having one Silicon mat, I put some of the meringues on those and the others I put on two other trays with parchment paper (there were quite a lot of meringues). We then left them in the oven to bake for 1 1/2 hours at 100C.
　　The first problem was that at the end of an hour and a half, the meringues still weren't done. So we left them in for another half an hour. Nope, not done. 15 minutes more. Still not done. Finally, I bumped the temperature up to 180 and left them in for twenty more minutes, and they finally turned (mostly) crispy throughout. However, this was when my next problem occurred.
　　I got the meringues off the Silicon mat no problem. Then, when I turned to those on the parchment paper - they were stuck. Try what I would, I could not get them off. Thus, please view my lovely batch of 12 meringues - half of what I'd made.

They tasted amazing though... so I'll definitely try them again, just not with parchment paper.

Diet Diary: Take 2

2009-04-30T17:23:00.002+01:00

You may remember when I posted about Yahoo! Japan's diet diary function about a year ago. Well, that kind of fell through the cracks at the time... but I've decided to pick it up again.

　　First, I reset the diary so I could start over from the beginning. (I think there was also an option to save it or something... dunno.) Filled out all my details (weight, etc.) then moved on to the quick questionnaire I mentioned last time. This time, I thought I'd translate it for the general benefit of the English speaking world. (Please note: I am not a professional translator, so these are very rough translations.)

1. Your skin is rough and make-up aggravates it.
2. You worry because your body's waste elimination is bad.
3. At the moment, your period is irregular.
4. It's worrying because your hands and feet get cold often.
5. You don't have any self-confidence.
6. You don't think anything good can happen from here on out.
7. You feel that interacting with other people is tiring.
8. Days when you have a break (i.e. no school, work) you just sit in the house doing nothing.
9. There are lots of things that irritate you.
10. You've wanted to eat spicy foods excessively.
11. You eat lots of sweets and snacks.
12. Your shoulders are stiff.
13. Your eyes get tired and you can't do computer or watch TV for long amounts of time.
14. You don't want to eat and have no appetite.
15. It takes a while to go to sleep.
16. You're overweight and have many listless days.
17. You're often tired.

Some of those are reasonable, others are plain weird, and a lot sound like symptoms for anorexia nervosa. But anyways, for each statement you can answer "Applicable", "Kind of applicable", "Neither", "Not really applicable", and "Not applicable".

　　Once you get past that stage, it's pretty easy - mainly writing in what you ate for each meal, how you felt afterwards, how many calories you consumed and how many you burned. I find the most tedious bit the calorie-counting - how am I supposed to know how many calories are in my Mom's home-made lasagna?! One thing that's nice about the Diet Diary though is that you can see what food groups you're eating from. The more rounded-out your selection of food groups are, the better.

　　This time I think I'm pretty motivated to slim down for France this summer. Hopefully keeping track of what I eat will help! がんばりましょう！

Like birds leaving the nest

2009-04-27T21:31:00.000+01:00

So, this was going to be a post about the cream puffs I made on Saturday... but then I got slightly caught up in adding sentences into my SRS. Thus, my sweets post will have to be saved for another day - and this one will contain some of my infamous contemplative insights.

　　Life lately has been speeding by so quickly. Especially when at school (funnily enough), the days seem to disappear like vapor before my eyes. In a bit more than a week, I will be 17. In about half a month, I begin my Higher exams - upon which my ability to enter university depends. In slightly more than a month, I start 6th year. (For all you Americans, that'd be 12th grade.)
　　The other day, it dawned on me that I will (most likely) be leaving home and starting university in a bit more than a year. That is when I will view myself as less of a kid, and more like an independent adult. Although I'm excited about this new chapter that is unfolding in my life, I ask myself - where did all the time go? Sometimes I pause, relishing the little time I have left as a young girl under my parents' roof, not having to worry about buying my own food or paying bills.
　　I suppose that in my mind, once I leave home, life starts. The past 17 years have been the foundation being laid in my life, and now it's time to begin constructing the house. Yes, that analogy doesn't completely apply, because I will still be learning and maturing no matter what stage of life I'm in. But once I leave home, it will be time to begin fending for myself. It's when I truly enter the game of life.

　　It's frightening, to state it bluntly. Half of my mind is dying to get out and live my own life - but the other half holds back, timidly questioning whether or not I'm ready. To have been sheltered and brought up in a loving family, and then to suddenly dive out into the real world - it's a frightening prospect. But it is essential for growth and development as human beings, and only by stepping out will I begin to move into the purpose God has for me.

　　Thus, off to do bedtime prep, I close.

Fruit and Marshmallow Salad

2009-04-20T20:47:00.004+01:00

This recipe was created by my wonderful mother.It's sweet, yet not too sweet, and is very easy to make. It consists pretty much of what the title suggests.

Fruit and Marshmallow Salad

Fruit such as pineapple chunks and peach slices
Kraft mini marshmallows
Shredded coconut
Creme fraiche

Mix all ingredients together to taste - personally, I like equal amounts of fruit and marshmallows, a lot of coconut, and enough creme fraiche to coat the mixture. Serve in small bowls, garnished with a couple almonds.

See? Told you it was easy.

　　On another note, I've been doing very well with my kanji lately. I trudged up to 950/2042 today, and now I'm onto the person primitive. This is the funnest group so far, because this book suggests visualising a certain person for the primitive. And so I chose 亀ちゃん.

Hee hee! These are gonna be some fun (and memorable!) kanji.

Studying... yes, I actually did it!

2009-04-15T16:46:00.003+01:00

Don't you just love when you write out a beautiful, 8-mark essay on the disagreements in Ireland from 1900-1923, only to realise that you answered the question wrong?

　　I hate source questions.

　　Anyways, yes, I actually have been studying! After that motivational rant the other day, I was pretty much ready to tackle anything. Yesterday was probably one of the most productive days of my entire school career - well, maybe. Today has been less than great, mainly because I didn't leave my computer off like I should have. I was slightly distracted, to say the least.

　　The only thing I hate about most of the work I've been doing is that it's homework, not studying. The teachers may think they're helping me by giving me all this extra homework for spring break, but they're really not. I know what I need to study, and having to do tons of homework isn't really leaving much time for learning the stuff I need to.

　　I study best by making notes about everything. Then, I'll type them up and print them, and go over all the important bits with a highlighter. Doing past papers and writing a million essays will not help me - it will just make me dread the final exam even more. If I can memorise all the information, it will flow while I'm taking the test.

Nonetheless, がんばります！

今朝の朝ご飯、勉強について

2009-04-13T13:03:00.014+01:00

For breakfast this morning, I tried tamago kake gohan (卵かけご飯) once again. I made a cup of Japanese rice in the rice cooker, put half of it in a bowl, splatted an egg in a well in the center and sprinkled soy sauce and furikake on top. It was so GOOD.

　　To eat it, you beat the eggs lightly with chopsticks in your bowl and mix it in with the rice. It's a very simple, easy meal - commonly eaten for breakfast in Japan. It is delicious.

　　On another note, below is the outfit I'm getting for Yuusuke, my bear from Build-A-Bear. I think he will look quite handsome in them.

　　Now, off to study. I really wish I had the integrity and diligence of Japanese students - though it is deemed sad by some, they study, study, study all year round. After school, they go to special classes and cram school. During holidays, they study. They don't go out with friends or amuse themselves - just study! Especially when the time comes around for the exams going into university. The exams I have in a month are pretty much the equivalent - so I should be studying like there's no tomorrow. (Because if I don't do well in these exams, there isn't.) But instead, I browse the internet for Arashi's new singles, check my email, and update this blog.
　　熱心 it's called in Japanese; nesshin, enthusiasm, zeal. Complete dedication to their studies. To the Japanese, it is essential to give 100% into everything they do, whether it be school, work, or keeping the house. Reminds me of Colossians 3:23.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord, not for men."

「何をするにも、人に対してではなく、
主に対してするように、心から働きなさい。」

　　I need to throw myself into my school studies as much as I do with Japanese. After all, if I don't pass these exams in May with flying colors, I won't be able to study the thing I love in university. Whether it involves locking myself in my room with no communication with the outside world, or removing all Japanese study materials and my computer from anywhere around me for the next week... I have to get my head down and do some work.

皆さん、私のことを応援してください！

Restaurant Review: wagamama (once again...)

2009-04-12T15:39:00.005+01:00

Whew, last review. This past week, Moriah and I went to wagamama's for lunch, courtesy of the Kelly's. Though I've reviewed it before, I'm going to outline more dishes, and give more insight into my feelings regarding the restaurant.

　　First, we ordered an appetizer. We got fried chicken gyoza, a Japanese dumpling dish influenced by Chinese cuisine. I have a couple of recipes for gyoza in my cookbooks, and it always looked delicious... but we'd never got around to making it. Thus, we leapt at the oppurtunity to try it. And let me tell you now... it was so good. I know I say that a lot, but I really do mean it. I loved them.

　　I ordered the wagamama ramen, which was reviewed in my previous post. Moriah ordered the cha han, which was stir-fried rice with egg, chicken, prawns, and various vegetables. Quite tasty. It came with miso shiru and a little plate of pickles... how cute!

　　Now, onto my revised review. I really like the set-up and general vibe at wagamama's - it's casual, laid-back, yet truly welcoming. The service is also generally friendly, and quite prompt. The food, however... while good, it lacks a certain distinctness of taste that makes a restaurant's food truly superb. Also, much of the food is not authentically Japanese - it is based on Japanese principles, yet with the restaurant's own twists.
Atmosphere:
Food:
Service:

　　If you're looking for a casual place to eat with some not so adventuresome friends, wagamama's is great. Definitely try the gyoza. However, if you want somewhere more authentically Japanese with amazing food, I would suggest one of the other Japanese restaurants in Edinburgh.

wagamama
The Elements Shopping Centre
Livingston, UK
EH54 6GS
Tel: 01506 442 015

Restaurant Review: Frankie & Benny's

2009-04-12T13:55:00.005+01:00

About 2 months ago (you finally see just how behind I am in blogging?), the fam went out to Frankie & Benny's for lunch. A popular chain in the UK, it serves delicious American Italian food. We go irregularly, but I'd never reviewed it until now... so here goes.

　　The restaurant is nicely decorated inside with warm colours and plenty of plants. A key feature is learning Italian in the bathrooms, where vocab is broadcast over the radios.Anyways, the food is very good, though slightly on the expensive side. The portions are quite big as well, so depending on how hungry you are, you could share.

　　Moriah got the Meatballs on Spaghetti. I have a passion for meatballs, and these were gorgeous. A tad spicy, and just the right texture. Mmmm.

　　I ordered the Chicken Parmigana - another of my favorite foods. While good, they cooked the chicken slightly too long, as the breadcrumb coating was a bit burnt and the chicken dry. They also didn't put quite enough sauce on top as I would have liked, making it not moist enough. However, it was still good. I've had it at another chain location before, and it was better... so must have been a bad day for the chef.

　　And to finish off with, Moriah and I ordered The Godfather - warm chocolate brownies, red berries, cream, and chocolate sauce, with vanilla ice cream. It was HUGE, but sooo good.

　　We ate it all, too.

　　All in all, Frankie & Benny's is a good place to eat, and is very family friendly.
Atmosphere:
Food:
Service:

　　Their pasta is amazing, and their sandwiches are good as well... my recommendations.

Frankie & Benny's
Omni Centre
Edinburgh, UK
EH1 3AT
Tel: 0131 557 2077

Restaurant Review: Tang's

2009-04-12T07:54:00.008+01:00

"He is risen." The words that make Christianity so different from every other religion out there.
　　Have a wonderful Easter.

　　Next restaurant review coming right up. Yesterday, to celebrate Anri's birthday, we (Moriah, Anri, Chihiro and I) went to a Japanese restaurant in Edinburgh called Tang's. It was simple yet attractive inside - and silly me forgot to take pictures of the interior, so concentrated on the food that I was. Oh well, that's better than vice versa, isn't it?

　　We were seated at a table for four by the waitress (who was actually Japanese), and were given some time to peruse out menus. She took our drink orders pretty quickly, and then not too long after came for our food orders. It got pretty busy around lunch, so the service slowed down slightly, but she was nice enough.
　　
　　Moriah ordered katsu curry, which was chicken in crispy breadcrumbs (you could also get pork) served with steamed rice. It was absolutely amazing. I must say, it was quite a bit better than wagamama's katsu curry... more authentically Japanese, I think.

　　Anri ordered the 'Ichiban Bento', which came with teriyaki chicken (good!), steamed rice, mixed salad, california makizushi and cucumber makizushi. It was served with miso soup.

　　Chihiro and I ordered a makizushi and sashimi set, which I think was part of their lunch menu. It came with 3 cucumber makizushi, 3 salmon makizushi, 3 spicy tuna makizushi (house specialty?), 2 tuna and 2 salmon sashimi. It was complete with a pile of finely grated daikon, gari, and wasabi. Although good, the set wasn't the best sushi that I've ever had. The makizushi seemed a bit tasteless - maybe to do with the way they prepared the rice. The spicy tuna makizushi was quite good though. The tuna sashimi seemed slightly limp - as I'm not a sashimi connoisseur, I don't know if that's just an attribute of the fish. My favorite from this platter was the salmon sashimi - boy, was that good. It was nicely firm, and a pretty marbled pink. Thought a bit more marbling (e.g. more fat) would have made the taste even better, it was still delicious.

Now, restaurant rating time:
Atmosphere:
Food:
Service:

　　Overall, it was nice. I would recommend the katsu curry or a bento box, because those were both very good. I have to say I liked Sushiya's sushi and sashimi better. There's one other restaurant in Edinburgh that I want to try for their sushi - I'll make a final judgment after that.

Tang's Japanese Restaurant
44 Candlemaker Row
Edinburgh, UK
EH1 2QE
Tel: 0131 220 5000

Restaurant Review: Ask

2009-04-11T18:35:00.010+01:00

Today is catch-up day as regards blogging; I've got 3 restaurant reviews to cover. So here goes the first one.

　　About a month ago, for Mother's Day, we went to the Centre in Livingston (the only location near us that has nice places to eat) to an Italian restaurant called Ask. Inside, it was spacious, and well-decorated. I especially liked how the bar looked.

Spaghetti alla Bolognese

Chicken Caesar Salad

　　Okay, restaurant rating time. (A new system I've invented.) Everything's done out of 5.
Atmosphere:
Food:
Service:

　　Overall, it was good food, a nice place to eat in, etc. However, they were extremely slow in serving the food. Prices were slightly on the expensive side. However, the food (in my opinion) made up for the slow service. The caesar salad was especially good, and filling. Oh, and their tiramisu in heavenly. I would recommend going for lunch, when it wouldn't be so crowded.

ASK ITALIAN
The Centre
Livingston, UK
EH54 6GS
Tel: 01506 430891

English please?!

2009-04-04T21:03:00.008+01:00

Need a way to dress up your everyday conversation? Try this.

"It is a relatively inexpensive way to enter the aquatic species ownership realm."

Just a fancy way of saying, "It's a cheap way to start owning fish."

Thanks to Wikipedia for this entertaining tidbit.

AJATT

2009-03-23T20:21:00.002Z

Long time no see... is this a habit, or what?

　　The topic of my blogging today is to do with *clichéd drumroll* Japanese. To be more precise, learning Japanese. I may have blogged about it before (or it could have been in one of my many other blogs), but in my quest for Japanese fluency I stumbled across a site called All Japanese All The Time (AJATT). The site describes a method to attain native fluency in Japanese - basically, immersing yourself in the language 24/7. I found it slightly difficult at first to find what the main ways in which you achieved this were - but, after poking around into various corners of the website, I think it clicked. Thus, I decided to compile a short, easy list on the basic principles of AJATT. (All of the following is attributed solely to Khatzumoto, the owner of AJATT.)

1. Play a little game called "I don't speak English". Whenever you have the chance, pretend like you're a native speaker of Japanese and don't know any English whatsoever. This means that you do like the Romans do - you get Japanese books, music, guides, EVERYTHING in Japanese whenever possible. Read the Japanese Wikipedia instead of the English one (ha, that's self-condemning).

One thing with the AJATT method that I'll have to disagree with is making Japanese my life. For me, there's Someone more important than Japanese that I'm living for. Yes, Japanese is important to me. But it's not my life. This is why I have slight problems with step number...

2. Get rid of everything English that you have - books, music, movies, etc. - and replace them with Japanese ones. This is probably not something I could do right now. Maybe in uni. It would involve re-buying my precious book collection (Lord of the Rings, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Count of Monte Cristo) in Japanese. Ehehe... not yet, my friend. I'm also not quite ready to get rid of my English music collection - but I'm more likely to do that than give up all my books. *uncomfortable squirm* Yes, I can understand just how much this would help my advancement in Japanese. But not yet, not yet. This will be the final step for me. Maybe others wouldn't have such a big problem with it.

3. Get materials to learn Japanese. Sure, this means textbooks and Japanese podcasts or whatever - but sometimes, a lot more importantly, it means the Japanese movies, comic books, music, etc. If you don't have money to spend (like me, haha) then use what you have. Search for the lyrics (in Japanese obviously) to your favorite song, and learn them. Repeat them. Analyse them. Before you know it, you'll have picked up new phrases in Japanese. Repeat phrases from books and movies. It doesn't have to be "official learning material" for you to learn Japanese. In fact, the more it's not "official", the better.

I guess the main point in immersing yourself in Japanese is to "become Japanese". Eat Japanese food, buy Japanese furniture, listen to Japanese radio, think in Japanese. That's pretty much the idea of AJATT - make Japanese your lifestyle, and fit everything in around it.

(And yes, I'm listening to Japanese radio at the moment. ^^)

Oh time, where art thou?

2009-01-14T21:50:00.004Z

It is not an easy task simultaneously having a full-time job and three other part-time jobs. Anyone in their right mind would agree.
　　Okay, so technically they're not REAL jobs. But I still wonder how on earth I manage being a full-time student along with being a part-time writer, learner of Japanese, and web designer. You think I try to fit all these in one day? HA... no. For example, two days ago, I devoted my afternoon (after coming home from school) to doing Japanese. Yesterday, it was writing. And today it was some web templates.
　　The only downside of this ridiculously insane multi-tasking is that homework (also known as the fiendish beast that accompanies my full-time job) has been slipping. I find myself waking up at 5:30am so that I can work in my French homework, History questions, and English essay before going off to school. Thank goodness it hasn't been any earlier than that... yet. And of course, this is all with going to bed at around 11:30ish most nights.

　　All to say, it seems as if I have no time whatsoever for anything. I feel like an office worker with so many tasks to complete in the one day it blows my brains out, and as a result I have lost all hope of ever recovering my sanity again. And they wonder why I'm looking forward to uni so much...

Dylan's Candy Bar

2009-01-14T06:07:00.001Z

One of the best chocolate makers in the world.

wagamama

2009-01-08T20:08:00.006Z

The other week, Moriah, Anri and I decided to have a go at the new noodle bar that's opened up in the Centre in Livingston - wagamama.

　　The restaurant interior was very nice: long wooden tables set with place mats, silverware, and chopsticks. The waiter came to get our orders not too soon after. We were all very pleased that green tea came free with the meal. So, we ordered green tea, and each of us got something different off the menu. Moriah ordered the wagamama ramen, Anri ordered chicken katsu curry, and I ordered miso shiru（みそスープじゃなくて！）and yakisoba.

　　I have to say, out of all of them, I liked Anri's the best. It was delicious. Next time, that's what I'm getting.

　　All in all, the restaurant was quite good. Not everything was authentic Japanese food, but hey, what do you expect. It was a bit on the pricey side, but if you're a Japan lover and not worried about money, it's a definite go. No sushi though - mostly ramen, teppan dishes, curry, and some kind of coconut noodle dish selection that we were sure wasn't even slightly Japanese... anyone heard of kare noodles before?

New Year's Customs（正月の伝統）

2009-01-01T17:56:00.001Z

　　Everyone knows that, in the UK and America, Christmas is the main holiday of the winter season. This goes back to the time when most of the Western world was Christian (at least theoretically), and Christmas was invented as a holiday in which to celebrate Jesus' coming to Earth as a man. However, in Japan, Christmas was not celebrated until recently (post-war, I believe). The fact that there is only a tiny percentage of Christians present in Japan (2%), coupled with the previous statement, means that instead of Christmas, New Year's is the main event.
　　Here, I've decided to post some traditions and customs that take place in Japan over the New Year period. They're in chronological order, so to speak.

年賀状 (nengajou) - New Year's postcards. They are sent to all relatives, friends and acquaintances with wishes for a good new year. If posted between Dec 15 and 25, and marked with the word nengajou, the post office will deliver them on Jan 1.

年越しそば (toshikoshi soba) – buckwheat noodles eaten just before midnight on Dec 31. Made extra long to symbolise longevity.

紅白歌合戦 (Kouhaku Uta Gassen) – a singing competition on every New Year's Eve on the NHK. It features the white team, made up of male singers, and the red team, made up of female singers. It has become a popular custom to watch this on Dec 24. This last New Year's Eve was the 59th showing.

御節料理 (osechi ryouri) – food eaten at New Year's (over the 3-day period). Can be bought in department stores or home-made. Preserved with salt and sugar. Food items symbolise different hopes for the New Year.

雑煮 (zouni) - a soup made with certain ingredients, eaten on the morning of Jan 1.

七草粥 (nanakusa-gayu) = "seven herb rice porridge" eaten on Jan 7, Jinjitsu (Human Day). Said to help soothe the stomach after a period of heavily eating osechi ryouri.

　　Now, off to finish French homework... which is what I should have been doing instead of broadening your intellectual horizons with this post.

Winter Blues

2008-12-11T22:34:00.004Z

I am currently without heat and hot water, two of the widely accepted essentials of life itself. No, this is not a self-inflicted ascetic ritual to recreate what life would be like in the bowels of Antarctica. Rather, this is a prime example of Appliance Repairs and Customer Service in the ever-so-lovely United Kingdom. (No offense you guys.)

Cakes, Croquettes, and オムライス

2008-12-01T20:36:00.005Z

About a month ago, I made my first attempt at croquettes for dinner for the family. I followed a recipe for beef and potato croquettes from Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking, and this is what they turned out like.

Sorry it's so blurred.
　　Anyways, they turned out okay; except that I should have used normal breadcrumbs instead of the "golden" ones (because they were orange, not "golden"). Tonkatsu breadcrumbs would've been even better. And as for actually making them - they took much longer than I thought they would, mainly because I followed the book's detailed and overly long instructions to mash potatoes. Also, I think the ratio of potato to meat was a bit skewed, as the croquettes had a hard time retaining their shape towards the end. However, they were mostly a success, and were very well liked by everyone. (Hey, at least they tasted good.)

　　Next up: omu rice.

This is a popular and easy family dish that is made often in Japan; for this one, I got the recipe off a Japanese cooking website. I had to modify the ingredients slightly, making a few substitutions here and there, but it turned out pretty nicely. Even my mom liked it - an accomplishment for Japanese food of any type. All in all, it was a keeper. I would really like to have it cooked by a native one day though, just so I can see how it's supposed to taste.

　　And finally, the cakes. I won't say much - just let you drool over the pictures.

Joanna's birthday cake - a chocolate chip cheesecake. (This was made by my grandmother; not me.)

A chocolate gateau made in Home Ec

A sponge cake made a couple months ago for the girls' connection group I attend.

Jack "helps" with the laundry

2008-11-30T09:14:00.007Z

Or, to quote the caption my mom came up with: "Wash furry garments separately."

HP and Linux

2008-11-21T18:47:00.004Z

　　Today, as I was working on command line stuff, I came across a few sites encouraging all programmers to use Linux if they wanted to be able to actually do anything. I found a Linux-based OS, Ubuntu, which is offered for free download and installation. However, not knowing how this would work on my Mac OS, I began researching the best PC company to see if there was one I could buy, OS free, and then install Ubuntu.
　　My search led me to HP, apparently the largest PC-producer in the world. And there on the front page was Fujimaru's laptop from Bloody Monday. XD
　　All in all, they looked like good laptops - I didn't have time to check the specifications, but they look relatively decent. The only thing is, I really like Apple computers. Therefore, I think I may just go ahead and try to install Ubuntu on my Mac. Let's hope nothing drastically bad happens...

ドラマレビュー： Bloody Monday

2008-11-20T22:43:00.006Z

Image taken from Drama Wiki

　　After having watched the first two episodes of the airing J-drama Bloody Monday (ブラッディ・マンデイ), I can honestly say that if you enjoy suspense, mystery, thrillers, puzzles, hacking, terrorist organizations, or Miura Haruma, watch this drama. It is amazing, to say the least.
　　The drama tells the story of a young hacker named Takagi Fujimaru. When Japan is threatened by a terrorist organization with a virus that could wipe out the whole country, Fujimaru has to step in and employ his amazing hacking skills (however illegal they may be) to help infiltrate the Russian databases and stop their evil plan from being executed.
　　The second episode was especially intense/nerve-wracking. Much of the plot involves mystery/problem solving, and so the viewer is constantly on edge. This, however, is what makes for such a good drama. It has certainly inspired me, as regards my pursuit of a higher knowledge of ~~hacking~~ computer programming. (^^;)

List of upcoming posts:
Report on stay at Anri's
Omu Rice (オムライス) Review

The Elements

2008-10-26T15:33:00.006Z

Wow, it's been a while. I'm declining as regards the regularity of my posts...

　　Friday, the family took a trip out to Livingston to see the new part of the shopping centre that's been built there. An extension of the already existing Almondvale Centre, The Elements Avenue and The Elements Square was built on a much grander scale than most shopping malls in Scotland. You step inside, and are greeted by an escalator and a ceiling which stretches high above you. It's not quite the US - but it's getting there. (Plop a fountain in the middle and you just might feel at home.)

　　We also went to a restaurant for lunch, in an area called the Elements Avenue just outside the main building. The restaurant reminded me of Chili's. It was called Chiquito's, and was pretty neat inside.

　　But baka me once again forgot to take photos of the actual food. I really need to work on this food photography thing. Reviewing the food: it was pretty good. Like, not amazing - and definitely not as good as Chili's. The main course that I got, a Santa Fe wrap, wasn't all that great. Kind of bland actually. But the starter - buffalo wings with Peri Peri sauce - was amazing. Spicy, but amazing. (I must have an inordinately great tolerance for spicy food - Moriah tried mine and almost died from the flames. *confused shrug*)

　　Review of The Elements in itself: it's pretty cool. It has H&M and Waterstone's, along with a two-floor Debanhams (sp?), and a Next opening next year. Something called the "winter garden" is also supposed to be opening sometime soon - it is supposedly an indoor garden to relax in, complete with fig and olive trees. (Wow, a piece of the Mediterranean right here in Scotland.) There was also a Japanese themed noodle bar (!!) named "wagamama". (I looked it up - means "naughty, willful, self-indulgent" in Japanese...) Looks pretty good, but the food's expensive. (£9 for a bowl of ramen! That being 4 TIMES what you would pay for one in Japan!!) However, if I ever do get around to going there one day, I'll be sure to review it... and get pictures of the food.
　　 So yes - The Elements was a pretty cool addition to the shopping center. Do make a trip out there if you haven't already.

Perfection.

2008-09-23T17:32:00.003+01:00

　　Perfect. In our modern-day world, the word has such a shallow meaning. If you're smart, good at sports, a good conversationalist, have a lot of friends, are generally well-liked, have a loving family, and seem generally happy, then you're classified as "perfect". Having a boyfriend raises the perfection level. When will people ever learn that having perfection has nothing to do with any of the above? A so-called "perfect life", in the way the world sees it, is meaningless. As Mark 8:36 says, "You can gain the whole world, and lose your soul." Perfection is only attained when sin has been completely eliminated. That said, Jesus was the only perfect person to walk on earth. So many people who seem to have "perfect" lives are really dying on the inside. It's so shallow it's heartbreaking.

１リットルの涙 - 1 Litre of Tears (Review)

2008-09-19T09:56:00.006+01:00

　　The drama I finished most recently was called "1 Litre of Tears". It is about a high school student who finds out that she has Spinocerebellar Degeneration Disease. The drama follows her battle against the disease until she finally dies at the age of 25.
　　I watched it because 1) I'd heard it was good, 2) I needed a new drama to watch, and 3) I'm a sucker for sad movies/dramas. It was an amazing drama - and yes, I cried bucketloads. It's a very touching story, and extremely well-done. Plus, it features Nishikido Ryo (NEWS). ^ ^ It's definitely one that I will watch again; it really makes you appreciate being alive and healthy.

　　On a slightly different topic, two new dramas are beginning in October, which I am very much looking forward to:
　　「流星の絆」- Meteor Bonds, which features Nino from Arashi, Ryo, and Toda Erika. It is about two brothers whose parents were killed a while ago, and they formulate a plan for revenge - however, something about their sister gets in the way of their plans.
　　「ブロディ・マンデイ」 - Bloody Monday, which stars Miura Haruma!!! (Insert fan-girl scream.) This is about a brilliant high school student/hacker who has to save the world from a virus which was created. And let me say now - I am SO looking forward to this drama. His amazing good looks aside, Miura is a brilliant actor; I very much enjoyed his performances is Koizora and Gokusen 3. October just won't come fast enough...

　　Also, Code Blue and Maou have finished in Japan. I haven't quite watched all the episodes yet, due to the time it takes for groups to sub them etc., but hopefully they'll be released soon.

A Snippet of Life + Petit Fours

2008-09-14T19:53:00.006+01:00

You know, I can really notice a difference in myself after a couple days of not having my daily quiet time with God. I become cranky, stressed, snappy, and in general just not my usual self. So to anyone whom I may have offended/hurt over the last couple of days, I'm sorry. I didn't put my priorities in the right order, and that's what happened as a result.

　　Now, moving on. Many of you will have seen the status update I posted the other day on Facebook. Yes, failed cooking attempts make me very depressed. I am now going to delve into the details of one of these such attempts.

　　The other day, I had the wonderful idea to make petit fours. They're such a nice size, taste good (although very sweet), and it would be a change from the normal Japanese cuisine. I used a cake recipe we'd done in home ec and baked it in a shallow baking try to get the thinness I needed. It tasted really good. I then made cocoa-flavored butter cream icing, and spread that in between layers of cake. (Picture below.) Let me tell you, it tasted quite amazing.

　　The trouble came once I cut the cake into petit-four-sized squares, and wanted to ice them. First failure: attempting to make fondant icing. It turned into a grainy, sugary, nothing-like-icing mess. It was chucked.
　　Second failure: trying to use normal icing to coat them. This involved mixing icing sugar with enough water to make it runny-ish, and spooning it over the cakes. The idea was for it to run down, coating all the sides, and then harden to make nice icing covers. However, this is what it turned out like. (Please ignore the bright color - I wanted pink, but a bit too much food coloring slipped into the mix.)

　　In the end, I ended up following the recipe for icing on the back of the icing sugar box, which gave me a thick pasty mass. I rolled it out, at a loss of what else to do (and at this point frustrated beyond belief), and cut little squares out to fit on the top of the cakes. Forget coating all the sides like should have been done. Result:

　　Ok, so it doesn't look too bad, and I'll admit it tastes marvellous. But I guess the fact that it didn't turn out exactly like I wanted depressed me just slightly. The sides are supposed to be SMOOTH, and they ended up all lumpy (from the crumby texture of the cake I suppose). It was going to be perfect little pastel pink cake squares decorated with powdered sugar and chocolate shavings...

　　Well, after so many good food attempts, there was bound to be one less than perfect. Why did it occur as soon as I tried something non-Japanese? Oshiete kudasai ne...

First Wagashi Attempt: Mizu Youkan

2008-09-07T11:40:00.005+01:00

　　水羊羹, or Japanese red bean jelly, is a traditional Japanese sweet (wagashi). It is often eaten as part of the tea ceremony, as it complements the taste of the green tea. It is a good summer treat, though I think it would be nice in autumn as well.
　　It involves using red azuki bean paste (koshian) and gelatin-izing it. In Japan, this bean paste is bought in stores in convenient little cans; however, I am not in Japan. And thus, I had to make my own. ^ ^;

　　I started off by bowling 1 cup of azuki beans in 2-3 cups of water. The recipe I was following said to boil for 40 to 50 minutes, and the beans are done when they can be easily mashed between your finger. Well, I boiled for a bit over and hour, and some of the beans were still pretty hard... so next time, it's gonna be 2 hours. After they boiled, I drained the beans and mashed them (above). This gave a mixture of the inside of the beans (what we want) and the husks and shells.

　　Next step is to, under running water, strain the inside-bean-part through a mesh basket in small batches, in order to leave the husks behind. Please, PLEASE... use a spoon to press the beans against the basket. If you use your fingers, it huuuurts precious... and you get lots of little scratches like I did (before I was smart enough to switch to a metal spoon). So anyways, the running water takes the bean guts down into the bowl below (above), giving you a nice mixture of the stuff you want with a bunch of water you don't want.

　　Once the bowl you're running water/beans into gets full, you then have to get rid of said water. The way you do this is by taking another big bowl and laying a cheese cloth (or just a normal cloth, like me) on top of it, and pouring your liquid through that. You will notice that the water runs through, and the denser bean stuff stays on top (above).

　　You then take the cloth and wring out all the extra water (above). After that, you go and dump whatever's left inside the bag into a pot (I used the pot I boiled the beans in in the first place). Then, you have to repeat the process all over again (remember how I said this is done in small batches?) until all the bean mash is used up and you have as much paste as you can possibly get out of it.

　　Now, onto the actual cooking process (or at least part of it). You have the paste in the pot and add the same amount of sugar in with it. (1 cup of raw beans yield about 1 cup of paste, so use 1 cup sugar. Simple, ne?) You then heat it up and stir it well, making sure all the sugar dissolves. After that, you pour it into a bowl and put it to the side. (Process shown below.)

　　After it sits for a while, you get a kind of thick paste stuff (above)... I'm guessing that's what the stuff you can buy in cans in Japan looks like.

　　The only thing left to do now is mix it with the gelatin. Now, the gelatin that it calls for is agar-agar, known in Japan as kanten... but we couldn't find any of that. Thus, I had to revert to plain old pork gelatin. (Sounds disgusting, I know.) It came in these weird leaf things which I dissolved in in a pot before I plopped the bean paste in with it. Once you mix the bean paste with the gelatin (and a little bit of salt), you pour it into a dish and place in the refrigerator.

　　Ta-da! It is thoroughly gelatin-ized from being in the fridge. You can give yourself a pat on the back; you're done.

　　Now, on to the review. The result was sheer bliss. Luckily, I had had this at Anri's house before, so I knew what it was supposed to taste like. And let me tell you now, it was gorgeously amazing. The only minor inconvenience? It was the product of FIVE HOURS spent in the kitchen. COOKING THE WHOLE TIME.
　　Now, the thing that took so long was making the koshian (paste). It had to boil for forever... next time I'm doing something productive during those two hours. And the process of mashing, separating, and straining the bean guts out was INVOLVED, let me tell you now. Honestly, most Japanese housewives have never done that whole process... they're smart and buy the canned stuff. Make sure you have a whole day with nothing else necessary to do if you're going to attempt this.
　　However - and you'll probably say I'm crazy for this - but the end result was well worth it. Yes, I would go through all that trouble again. I'm serious - this stuff is heavenly. Let me know if you want the recipe. ;)

A Love Lost

2008-09-01T08:21:00.000+01:00

So close to you
Yet so far away.

I can't look in your eyes for the fear
That you'll read my thoughts, and then
It will all be over.

Why you? Why me?
The question on my lips
Left unspoken.

I try not to give in -
To these feelings -
To you.

I pray.
That's all I can do.
Pray that you will walk your way, and
I will walk mine.

One day, maybe -
Though the chance be thinner than thread -
We will walk the same path.

But until then
I will think of you no more.

Until then
I will keep my heart whole.

Until then
Goodbye.

　　Julia Grace

A Post of Pickles and Rice

2008-08-31T11:46:00.006+01:00

So, for breakfast this morning, I had a bowl of leftover rice from last night with some pickles that I made, also last night.

　　I will say it bluntly: the rice was horrible. It looks lovely, and I'm sure it would have been nice if a) it hadn't been so dry when I made it, and b) it hadn't been sitting in the fridge for the whole night. But even with some water added in it, it was pretty disgusting. This only confirms the fact that you CANNOT refrigerate rice. Ever. It also has made it very clear to me that western rice and Japanese rice require very different amounts of water. Last night when making the rice, I used the amount of water I use to make perfect Japanese rice. Heh...
　　At least the pickles were good. I think they were my first ones that worked out, using tips from Anri's mom. They were a bit on the sweet side though.

　　But enough of failures, and onto successes. Earlier this morning, I made some onigiri for the freezer. I've never posted pictures of my onigiri before, so thought I would now. I've pretty much got the technique down to a cinch. The ones on the left have poppy seeds mixed in with the rice and are filled with umeboshi (pickled Japanese apricots - not plums, as they are commonly known as). The ones on the right are nori filled with tuna. The one on the far left, off the cutting board, is already wrapped in plastic wrap for the freezer. I'm looking forward to taking some of these to school this week - I'm known for bringing peculiar (in my friends' eyes) lunches. Once I even took sushi.

　　The one above was the biggest I made - hand used as a size reference. The others were on the smaller-ish side.

　　Making these today made my realize something: I love doing stuff like this (making Japanese food, learning the language etc.), and I would love to teach it to people. My dream job, besides being an author and a mom, would be to live in Japan and teach cooking, language, culture etc to foreigners who have just moved over there. (Foreigners who can speak English, obviously.) I just love sharing about Japan with other people, as anyone who has ever seen me when the topic is mentioned will testify. I become so animated some people say it's scary. ^ ^;

トンカツ - Tonkatsu

2008-08-30T20:30:00.006+01:00

Tonight I made dinner for my huge, lovely family. I made tonkatsu, a Japanese dish - otherwise known as breaded pork cutlets. It is eaten next to a mound of shredded cabbage, and tonight I also fixed salads and rice. Lemme tell ya now, it was PRETTY AMAZIN. (Not to like, brag or anything...)

　　This is actually a very simple meal to make. Like all my recipes done before, I am going to critique it and make notes to myself on how to improve it. First thing was to make sure that the oil wasn't too hot, and to watch the meat carefully! The first two pieces got slightly burnt. Secondly, don't fix the meat until right before you want to eat - t'was ready way before everything else, so I had to heat it up right before we all sat down. Secondly, I put too little water in the rice, so it ended up too dry. (=_=) But other than that, I think it was good! The pork was just stunning with a bit of lemon juice, soy sauce, and salt on it, which is a good alternative for tonkatsu sauce, since I didn't have any. I ate everything on my plate and still wanted more - I'm slightly piggish when it comes to good food. Beware before you invite me over to your house.

　　On another note, I apologize for the very long delay in getting pictures of our trip up; I do have them, they're just... taking a while. Hopefully next post they will all be up.

私の大好きな料理: a.k.a. My Favorite Japanese Dish.

2008-08-29T17:33:00.003+01:00

　　Sadly, the only pictures I have of this dish are ones which I have found on the internet, as when I ate it, I was so overcome by sheer bliss that the thought to capture the moment on camera never crossed my mind. Three cheers for the World Wide Web.

　　Anyways, the dish which I am referring to is a dish of udon (うどん), a certain type of Japanese noodles. It is one which I referred to while reporting on my homestay with Anri, and I thought I would go into it in a bit more detail here. The only problem is, I don't know it's name!! Therefore I will refer to it as "the udon dish".

Taken from http://homepage.mac.com/kohatchan/iblog/images/udon/kitahamazaru.jpg

　　It involves eating cold udon in bowls which contain a mixture of water, shoyu, and wasabi. Various toppings are put on top - the ones eaten by me included nori, thin fried egg, cucumber, tomato, seafood sticks, and turkey.

水と醤油とわさびとうどんはボールに入れます。それの上に、のりや細く切た卵焼きやキュウリやトマトやターキーのようなトッピング入れて、食べます。もし日本人がこれを読んでいたら、この料理の名前を教えてください！お願いします〜

　　For anyone who has ever tasted this dish before, you know how I feel. For anyone who has not - find me in Scotland and I'll make it for you. It's a little bit of Heaven on earth. It's normally eaten as a summer dish in Japan, as it's good for cooling down. As soon as I find out the name, I'll let you know. ^ ^

EDIT: I believe this is called "zaru udon" (ざるうどん). It is normally done with bamboo sives which hold the udon noddles - however, we just used bowls.

Home Again

2008-08-24T20:43:00.004+01:00

I apologize for my longer-than-should-have-been hiatus, but I was on vacation in France with the fam. We actually saw the sun there - amazing, I know. It was a very good trip - relaxing most of all, which is what I think everyone really needed. I mean, come on - they all say it's "summer break", but really it's just the time that we have to get all the work done that we don't get to during the rest of the year. For example, I had a book to write, a job to get, a room to summer-clean, three years of Brio magazines to organize, and all the rest. So France was a welcome retreat right before heading back into another school year.
　　We were headed to Autun, France, a small town only slightly bigger than the size of Bathgate that is situated in the middle of the Burgandy countryside. However, the children of the Jackson house did not know this - our destination was kept a secret by our lovely mother and father. The Thursday we left (August 8th) was packing day, which I spent crawling around on all fours trying to get my things together, all while feeling as sick as a pregnant woman is in the first few months. (No, I am not pregnant.) We left at 10 o'clock that night, heading south. The whole drive that night was a blur of pain, exhaustion, and brief glimpses caught of passing towns when I awoke momentarily from my fitful sleep. (I was very ill, if you haven't guessed by now.) By around 6:30am the whole van was awake and throbbing with curiosity as to where we were - this was answered by a gray, weather-worn sign we passed announcing a clichéd welcome into Dover. We soon reached the ferry port, which had the essence of being a thriving community in itself, and stopped for food as we waited to board our 8:30 ferry across the English Channel. I did not eat breakfast.
　　The ferry put us at the port of Calais, France at approximately 10 o'clock, marking twelve hours since we had started our grand adventure. By 10:11 we were cruising merrily down some motorway in France. It was at this time that Dad gave us the printed-off maps for the great guessing game that was about to begin - namely, if any of us could deduce where on earth our parents were carting us off to. Eliza was the only one who got it right; and we're talking countries here.
　　To cut a long story short, we arrived at our abode at 7:46 French time, after a few small mishaps and a stop at the local Intermarché for relatively necessary items, such as food. You can imagine how easily we all went to sleep that night - just three minutes after crawling under the covers of the double bed in our room, Moriah was sleeping so peacefully that I hated to wrest my half of the covers from her grip. It was slightly chilly that night.
　　The week as a whole doesn't need much detail - we ate, we slept, got sunburns at the local pool and played UNO in the evenings after dinner. The front garden, enclosed by trees and complete with a swing, a trampoline, and a bench for contemplation, was my oasis of solitude and relaxation.
　　I will post pictures later, but at the moment am going to put a bit more detail into our encounter with real French food at a restaurant not too far from our house. We decided we wanted to do the authentic French meal thing at least once - and hear you me, was it authentic. I will elaborate on the food I selected: pâte de foie gras (duck liver) complete with toast and a bit of jam; small red fish eggs on a salty salmon, mayonnaise and spinach concoction; three fillets of quail rolled in poppy seeds, sesame seeds and something else, served with tomato sauce, and accompanied by steamed zucchini and carrots and some kind of Portugese rice/couscous thing; and for desert, a Dame Blanc - vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce and a nut cookie. I know many of my readers would only have touched the desert - but hey, I'm an adventurous eater. I cleaned every plate. I even tried some of my dad's escargot, but it wasn't much - thought it was a bit bland, actually. He said the frog legs were better.
　　Some of the other highlights of the journey were a day trip to Dijon, where we purchased the regional mustard and pain d'épice (ginger bread), some chocolate, and basically walked a lot and took pictures. We also went to the wine county of Burgandy, which was gorgeous. Some wine-tasting was done as well.
　　All in all, it was a very good vacation, and I wouldn't mind doing it again. However, over the course of interacting with the natives, I discovered just how bad my French was. Remind me again how in the world I'm doing Higher this year?

　　And on a completely unrelated topic, thought I'd post a few pictures of a photo shoot I did with Joanna and Eliza some weeks back. A few, mind you. Like, three. And one of the doggy in residence.

Koizora: The Drama

2008-08-05T14:33:00.007+01:00

　　Many will have heard of the Japanese movie titled 恋空, or "Sky of Love". It is about a young girl named Mika and a boy named Hiro, and their relationship throughout their high school years and after. It is my favorite movie of all time, and the story was advertised as making 12 million people cry. I certainly did.
　　Well, it is now being made into a drama in Japan, only 9 months after the release of the movie. It stars a new cast, including new actors for the main parts of Mika and Hiro. I watched the first episode today - and I am now going to review it.

　　Koizora was originally written as a cell phone novel, and the movie was based off of the novel. From what I've read of the novel so far, the movie did a good job at following pretty closely to the storyline. However, the drama takes a different approach. It is still loosely based off of the novel, but with quite a few major changes (such as how Mika and Hiro meet, how their relationship starts, etc). My guess is that this was to make sure that it wasn't an exact copy of the movie - because then no one would watch it.
　　My review? I must admit that I was biased before I even began the first episode, as I just couldn't see anyone but Harumacchi (Miura Haruma) and Gakki (Aragaki Yui) playing Hiro and Mika. The actors picked for the drama are Mizusawa Elena and Seto Kouji.

Movie

Drama

　　The casting was the biggest adjustment for me. The fact that the drama doesn't follow the original novel as closely also bothers me. (I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to books being turned into movies.) However, the drama was good for what it was: a drama. The acting was good (although they seemed to be more like middle schoolers than high schoolers from their personality... and their looks), the storyline was actually quite sweet (although different), and I think I will watch the rest of the series just to see what it's like. I still like Miura and Gakki better though. ^^
　　The first episode only got 5.6% viewership rating in Japan, which is really low. This is probably because the movie was so good - they figure it's pretty pointless to watch a drama remake of it. We'll just have to see how it goes from here.

Three Years

2008-08-04T14:23:00.000+01:00

　　It has been three years today since I stepped off the airplane, relocating myself to this land called Scotland. A lot has happened in those three years - I've been exposed to more culture and people types than I've ever come across before. I've made new friends, learned to speak "Scottish", taken Greek, watched two churches being planted, started writing a novel, and become engrossed in Japan. I look back at pictures of my young, naive 13-year-old self, complete with glasses and traintracks - and I find myself amazed at how quickly time flies by. Not only that, but how much one can change as a person in just three years. Yes, deep inside, I have the same personality and emotions - but development as a person is something that can only happen with time.
　　Although it was hard leaving friends, family, and practically everything I knew to move to a different country, it was completely worth it. I would not trade these three years, with all their ups and downs and embarrassments, for any other time in the world. As Paul said: "I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances."

　　Here's to the bonnie land of Scotland. 乾杯!!

Calpis

2008-08-02T21:54:00.010+01:00

Today, I'm going to review a drink item which I encountered on my homestay with Anri. Its name is カルピス.

(Picture not mine.)

　　So, "Calpis" is a summer drink in Japan. As you can see from the picture, it's white, and looks a lot like milk. However, the taste... was indescribable. It was refreshing, tasty - but nothing like I've ever had before. It was half bitter half sweet, and left a slight aftertaste of dryness in my mouth (if that makes any sense). However, I can definately understand why it is drunk in the hot, humid summers of Japan - it seems to re-energize and certainly refreshes. Therefore, all I can say is to try it yourself.

　　A couple more quick food notes. One: freezing onigiri really does keep their stickiness/moistness. Don't refrigerate them!! Put them in the freezer once you've made them, individually plastic wrapped, and heat them for about 5 min once you want to eat them. I like to let mine cool down completely before consuming. (Credits to Lunch in a Box.)
　　And lastly, custard pudding. I believe I have now almost got them down. Two things from my last attempt that need fixing: they were too solid, e.g. not jiggly enough (I believe I steamed them too long); and they were full of little air holes. Haven't quite figured out how to fix that second issue yet, but I'm working on it.

Homestay Report

2008-07-28T17:37:00.007+01:00

Hello everyone, I'm back! Today, I'm going to report on my homestay with Anri, and then her time with us. We each spent three days at each others' houses and did various activities. It was absolutely AMAZING. とってもとっても楽しかったよ〜！ I'll probably talk more about my time at hers, seeing as we did tons of stuff which will help me in my goal to become authentically Japanese. Here goes!

　　First, I went to her house. We spent the afternoon chatting, watching a bit of GTO, listing to Johnny's music, and some surfing on the internet. Then, it was time for supper. (The meals were AMAZING! But I was too stupid to think about taking pictures.) First, we had some light appetizers of home-made fries (basically just fried potato strips) with ketchup and mayonnaise, and zucchini breaded with the same stuff used for tonkatsu, which we dipped in mayonnaise with a hint of wasabi. For dinner, we had tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets) with tonkatsu sauce and finely shredded cabbage (not cooked), bit of salad, rice (with red rice and furikake), konbu soup (with zucchini, seaweed, onion, fried tofu squares, and mushrooms). It sounds like a lot, but it was just right. We had oolong-cha to drink. After dinner, we spent some time reading Hana Yori Dango (manga), and then set to work on a birthday present for my sister with a bead set Anri has. Well, she set to work on the present - I made myself a cellphone clip. ^^ Then her mom got us some desert - a bowl of ice cream with fruit, a bit of thick whipped cream stuff, and half an eclair. It was GOOD. We didn't hang around too much after that - it was getting pretty late and we were sleepy.
　　Next day, we got up and had danish pastries, fruit with honey yogurt, and coffee for breakfast. (Do NOT get in between a woman and her coffee. Especially when that woman is me.) Interestingly enough, in Japan, it is considered mature and sophisticated to drink coffee black. Therefore, in all the dramas, they show people drinking it black. I thought I would try it, just to see what it was like - and surprisingly it wasn't that bad! Now I always drink my coffee black. Sugared coffee turns me off somehow. Anyways, after breakfast, we made onigiri (rice balls) and then headed out the door. We took the bus to a Chinese supermarket on Leith Walk, where Anri's mom got some items and educated me concerning various types of food and their preparation. On the way back to the bus stop, we spotted a Polish shop and got some bread there. Then, Anri's mom went on home while Anri and I headed to the Princes St gardens. We ate lunch on a bench, took pictures, spent the next couple hours window-shopping, and then headed back. When we got back home, we collapsed onto the couch and read some more manga. For dinner, we had curry (Japanese style), salad (of lettuce, tomatoes, seafood sticks, tsukemono), fruit with yogurt, and grapefruit jelly (made in a cantaloupe!). With it, we drank mugi-cha (barley tea).
　　Skipping to the next day, we spent the morning making mushi-pan (a Chinese steamed bread) and macha cake (macha = green tea powder). The next notable meal was lunch - we had cold udon noodles in shoyu, water, and wasabi, with a variety of toppings (nori, thin fried egg, cucumber, tomato, seafood sticks, turkey). Let me tell you right now, IT WAS GOOD. Absolutely amazing. I'm gonna fix it for my kids all the time in the summer. ^^

　　And that's that! I'm not gonna say much about the time she was at mine - we led my sister's birthday party, went to Hopetoun House, browsed the internet for Arashi videos, and all in all had one peach of a time. I'm glad I did the homestay though - my Japanese was stretched to the maximum! (Especially at her house, where it was pretty much Japanese 24/7; at my house there was a lot more English.) Now I'm trying to remember the recipes of everything we cooked together...

　　Love to all, and see you next time!

Glencoe

2008-07-22T13:54:00.006+01:00

Waterfall with basin
Originally uploaded by Juli

　　Wow, I think I'm making history here - for once, it's not a post about anything Japanese!
　　So, last Friday, Dad took four out of six members of the portable sorority out for a day trip to the highlands. (Yeah, you read that right, a day trip.) We were headed for a pass in the mountains called Glencoe, where the Campbells massacred the MacDonalds in 16-something. We're talking clan wars here.
　　It was about a three hour drive up to Glencoe - on the way, we stopped for lunch in a small town called Crianlarich. (Near that was a town which we didn't stop in named Kilmahog. I kid you not.) On the way, we saw some gorgeous (yet slightly fog-covered) mountains across Loch Lubnaig, and so I of course made Dad stop so I could grab some pictures. Gave me lovely inspiration for my book.
　　Once we got to Glencoe, we took some more pictures, but didn't linger long as it was cold and starting to rain. We then decided to check out the Glencoe Visitor Centre which was a bit up the road, and on the way stopped at a viewing platform to get pictures of the above waterfall.
　　As we walked into the visitor's center, there was a group of Asian tourists going in right in front of us. I was trying to judge whether they were Chinese or Japanese (you can usually tell by looking), and then - this made me go ecstatic - I heard them speaking Japanese.
　　Okay, so this post is no longer Japan-free. But it was absolutely glorious to hear a large group of people all speaking to each other in casual, everyday Japanese. I couldn't understand much because they were being so quiet, but it was awesome still the same. I couldn't work up the nerve to approach any of them though. ^^

　　And that's my adventure post for the week! The sun has just started to break through the clouds outside, so I think I'm going to go and enjoy what little there is. Love to all.

And more drama reviews...

2008-07-19T16:26:00.006+01:00

　　Firstly, I apologize... I hadn't realized just how long I'd been off for. ごめんなさい！Secondly, I'm going to use this post to update about where I am with a few dramas and movies. So far, I have watched 21 dramas, 11 movies, and 2 drama specials. I am in the middle of watching 3 dramas, two of which I am going to review/post about here.

「コード・ブルー」　　Code Blue is a drama which is currently airing. It stars Yamashita Tomohisa, Aragaki Yui, and Toda Erika, among others. It follows four trainee doctors as they work at a hospital. The hospital uses a helicopter, known as "Doctor Heli", for emergency situations where it would be otherwise impossible to reach the patient in time. The drama details the different cases the trainees receive, their development as doctors, and their dream to be a permanent flight doctor.
　　It is a very well done drama, with some beautiful piano background music (sorry, had to mention it!). Yamapi acts extremely well as always, and looks quite dashing as a doctor. It is quite gripping, as the doctors rush to save people's lives and deal with dangerous circumstances. Just be warned: it is a drama about doctors. Make sure you can handle programs like CSI or Grey's Anatomy before watching this!

「魔王」　　Maou is also a currently airing drama. It stars Ohno Satoshi (Arashi) and Ikuta Toma (Johnny's Jr). It is about a two-faced lawyer Naruse Ryo (Ohno) who, on the one hand, is a kind person who works as hard as he can for his clients - he is given the nickname "the angel lawyer". However, in reality he is a vicious mastermind who is set on avenging his dead brother. Ikuta plays the part of a delinquent turned detective, Serizawa Naoto, who uses bizarre and unorthodox methods to do his job. The drama follows Serizawa as he attempts to find out who is behind a series of murders, finding himself fighting against a "maou" - devil king.
　　This series is brilliant, is all I have to say. The characters are complex and extremely well-developed, especially that of Naruse. Although the viewers know who is behind the murders, it is still a tense and chilling ride as we watch Serizawa trying desperately to stop all of the deaths around him. You like suspense? Watch this. (And if not, then for Ikuta Toma's new haircut. ^^)

Salad with Egg and Green Beans

2008-07-04T12:52:00.003+01:00

Don't worry, it tastes better than it sounds. This was a creation of my own today - thought I would try something for lunch besides high-calorie sandwiches with soft bread, mayonnaise, luncheon meat, and cheese. Opened the refrigerator door, took a few moments to scrutinize the contents, and decided on a salad. (My camera cord is still lost, so unfortunately, no pictures... yet.)

　　First, I put a pot of water on to make a hardboiled egg. For the salad, I started with spinach leaves as the base, and cut up some slices of cucumber to go with it (about 1/6 of one). I then took some leftover green beans from the fridge and microwaved them, mixing them with a little red wine vinegar to take away the beaniness before throwing them on the salad. While I waited for the egg to finish, I made the dressing - modifying a French Dressing recipe from one of my mom's cookbooks. Recipe that I ended up with is:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground mustard
- sprinkle of ground pepper (black)
When the egg was ready, I shelled it (wait until it's cool or you'll get burnt fingers, like I did) and chopped it up. Put it on top of the salad, poured the dressing on top, grabbed a glass of water, and I've got my lunch.

　　Critique: It was very good - better than I thought it'd turn out to be. I wasn't too sure how the beans would fit in, but they ended up going perfectly with the egg. Only mistake was a product of my leave-no-leftovers tendency; I used all of the dressing in one go. Should've used half - I'll keep that in mind next time. But the dressing turned out quite nice. Next time, I think I'm going to try balsamic vinegar instead of red wine and see what that does.

　　If you're trying to eat healthy or on a diet, this is a great meal; I think it totaled about 150 calories at max. And it's quite filling as well - my stomach was satisfied, though I think I'll need an afternoon snack to hold me till dinner. Might try plain yogurt with some pecans mixed in.

The Diet Diary

2008-07-04T11:36:00.006+01:00

So, on Yahoo! Japan, I recently found something called the "Diet Diary". It's a program thing (in Japanese) that supposedly helps you keep track of your food and calories etc., motivating you to lose weight. I was slightly curious, and so have signed up... just to see if it really does help. ^^
　　
　　The registration process is kinda long; you have to create a username etc., then fill out details (like your current weight and how much you want to lose), and then complete a short questionnaire which asks things like "is your skin rough" and "when you don't have an appetite, do you not eat" etc. It's a bit tricky for those not 100% fluent in reading Japanese - I was looking up almost all of the kanji in an online dictionary. But it's not impossible. =)

　　After you finish registering, you're taken to your homepage. Here, you can fill out diary entries everyday of what you ate, how you felt, and any exercise you did. You are given "points" according to what you ate that day - the more healthy food groups you eat from, the better. A graph is also created for you, showing your changes in weight over time. And lastly, you're given advice - recipes and a paragraph of tips from some health expert that I didn't even try to read.

　　All in all, it seems pretty good so far; a bit time-consuming perhaps, but if you're serious about losing weight then it might work for you. Please note that it doesn't actually give you a diet to go on - it gives you space and tools to track your own diet. (Thus why it is called 「ダイエットダイアリー」- "diet diary.)

　　Oh, and as a side note - Happy 4th of July to all the Americans out there. (The UK, as can be expected, doesn't celebrate this wonderful holiday; however, in November they have a holiday that is celebrated in much the same manner, with fireworks, bonfires, etc. It's called "Guy Fawkes Night", and celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot - when Guy Fawkes and other conspirators tried to blow up the English Parliament. It's very good they were not successful - in the parliament at that time was James I, who instigated translating the Bible for the first time into English.)

　　Have a good day everyone!
　　　　樹利亜

Book Update

2008-07-01T19:10:00.004+01:00

　　So, I have finally gotten into writing mode once more. I was on a very long, unintentional, writer's-block-caused hiatus; but I have now returned. The Ariadse© is in production once again! And you know, fathers are just so helpful. Especially if they are gurus of just about everything in existence.

　　I thought I would take a little while to give some hints and tips about writing that I have learned from experience. Take or ignore at will. =)

Just write. Believe me - once you start, the pen (or keyboard, in my case normally) just keeps on flowing. I make it my goal, on an ordinary day (when I'm not in writer's block), to write around 1000 words, or three pages of lined paper. (My handwriting fits about 10 words to a line.) However, during times like the summer, when I have deadlines, it tends to be a bit more. Okay, a lot more.

Expanding on the previous statement, fix yourself set deadlines. Yes, you really do need them. Otherwise, you will dawdle and take years to finish what could've taken you three months. Treat writing like work - because technically, it is!

Yep, treating it like work means getting up early, having set blocks of time where you just write, and having set blocks of time for break and lunch etc. This does mean having regular hours. Treat it like a normal job! After all, if you're successful, this will be your job. (If that sounds scary, then you shouldn't be writing.)

Plan beforehand. You need to write a book (or story, etc.) in the same way that an architect builds a house - with weeks, maybe even months, of careful planning and evaluation. There are many ways to do this - using outlines, index cards, anything that works for you. But know what you're going to write about before you start writing! This includes knowing how your book is going to start and end - and what's going to happen in the middle to get you there.

Lastly, have fun while you're doing it. No one wants to read a book that's about as interesting as the wallpaper of a doctor's office! (And yes, that's what your book will turn out to be like if you dread every moment you pick up the pen.) If you've started a story and you're just simply stuck, then you need to re-evaluate. I come up with millions of little story lines all the time, but that doesn't mean they're all going to turn into books.

I hope that helped someone! I wish all of your writing well. =)

　　樹利亜

難しい、日本語は〜

2008-06-30T21:05:00.014+01:00

　　今日、ジャパニーズ・ポッド１０１のサイトを見てた。日本語をよく話す人があるよ！ちょっと悲しいね、私に…
　　日本語で、漢字は一番難しいと思うね。あと、グラーマも、完全英語から違うから。日本語を聞いたら、よく分かるけど、話は本当に悪いよ！書いたら、普通にがいい。
　　あと４年に、日本にいくよ！！日本語を大学に勉強するから。うれしいなぁ…　楽しみにしてるぞ〜！

　　Aside from that, new site layout up now... it's a filler until I can create my own. That site has good tutorials. And I should have plenty of time, because it's summer now!!! Couldn't be happier.

Actually, I could be - listened to テゴマス's new single today, 「アイアイ傘」. It hit #1 on the Oricon charts, and no surprise there - it's very good. Title means "shared umbrella"; however, it could also be read to mean "love love umbrella", which is what I thought it was until I found out what an "aiaigasa" was... haha. Ah well. The other 3 songs on the album are good as well; and Tesshi and Massu's singing is absolutely gorgeous, as always. (Just like themselves... but I won't go into that.) PV was good, everything was good, so all is peachy.

Home-made ラーメン and カスタード・プリン

2008-06-22T15:22:00.006+01:00

Yet another cooking adventure Moriah and I embarked on! I'll start with the ramen I made last night, and then review the custard puddings we just finished.

　　So, it was a leftover night, and I was trying to think of someway I could spice up the various food items we had in order to 1) make them taste better, and 2) increase my appetite, which wasn't very big. There was some leftover chicken that my dad had grilled the night before, some spaghetti noodles from a few nights back, and various other items. I looked at those two food products - chicken, noodles - and ramen immediately sprung to my mind! I informed Moriah of my idea, and she enthusiastically offered to help me eat it.
　　Well, I dissolved some chicken stock granules in some water to make the soup base while Moriah set to making two hard-boiled eggs. Once the stock was dissolved, I sliced an onion and threw it in along with the spaghetti noodles and chicken (which I had previously heated in the microwave so they'd be nice and hot). It all simmered together for about 10 minutes, with me stirring occasionally. I then poured it into two bowls, and we waited for the eggs to finish. We then took the eggs (which were technically partially hard-boiled; the best way to eat them on ramen is with the yolk still slightly runny) and cut them in half and laid them on top of the ramen in the bowls. And voila!
　　Now review. Please note that this was all completely from scratch on my part, not looking at any recipe; the only idea I had of what it should be like was from the ramen I ate at Sushiya last month. On the whole though, it turned out very well! The noodles were still a bit too chewy; partially because they were leftover and partially because I didn't want them to get too soggy so didn't let them cook in the pot for long. But other than that, it was delicious! Probably nothing like real ramen, but still.

　　Now for the puddings. After watching "My Boss, My Hero", I had a very strong urge to have some custard pudding. However, it is very hard to find Japanese custard pudding (called "purin") outside of Japan, and so I thought, "Why not just make some?"
　　I got a recipe from the internet (in Japanese; it's gotta be authentic) and then went downstairs to make them. I won't give the recipe just now - maybe later. But anyways, it was quite simple... except for the first mess-up when I told Moriah to get 250 ml of water for the caramel instead of 20 ml... but we shall overlook that tiny detail. Our main problem was that we didn't have any purpose-made pudding cup things, so we had to use glasses. Because of that, we weren't able to steam the things long enough, because I was so petrified that the glass was going to crack. Thus, they were not quite solid enough. But for next time, having the pudding cups should help a lot. When we tasted one, I also think I put a bit too much vanilla in. But other than that, I would call them a success! I've put them in the refrigerator where I'm gonna let them sit for a few hours... we'll see how they are after that.

Life is like a River

2008-06-10T17:29:00.005+01:00

Starting slow, becoming faster, ever-flowing, sometimes calm, sometimes harsh, and ending in a waterfall. Whether you land on rocks or the gentle sea spray at the bottom is your decision.

　　Much has happened in about the past week that I feel needs to be written about. Therefore, I will write.
　　Firstly, my new school. I have settled in well, and have completed four days there. (One of which was a half-day, as all Fridays are.) I've made friends and been able to talk to people in my subjects. I started my actual classes yesterday; last week was just for an induction thing. I'm taking English, History, French, Hospitality, and Digital Media/Computing.
　　Le français is starting to scare me. I knew it would be hard, and I had felt confident, but now I'm not so sure that my French is up to the level it needs to be. I've only studied it for three years now! Today we did a practice Higher Listening paper, and it was well hard (as they say here). Instead of the nice question-at-a-time with short phrases of French thing that I'm normally used to, it introduced the paper in English, and then launched into a five-minute rapid spiel of French.
　　Talk about scary. I was able to get a few things down, and true that I did better than most of the other members of my class, but still. I guess it's comforting that I don't have to be able to perform to that level until this time next year.
　　Computing (or Digital Media - I'll end up calling it either one at times) was also interesting, in that we got to open up a computer. Very very interesting. And next lesson we get to take one apart! Yay.

　　One other thing to talk about is the Bathgate Gala Day on Saturday. My dad already talked about it on his blog (Caledonia Calling on the right) so I won't go into much detail... but basically it's this big festival they have every year in Bathgate to celebrate the founder or something. Not bad - it involved a procession and then some entertainment afterwards. I went to it with my family and a couple friends from school.

　　Last thing to mention is Frenzy. This is a huge (talking 7000 people) Christian concert that takes place every year in Scotland. I went to it this past Saturday afternoon, after the Gala day - and let me tell you, it was amazing. We arrived in time to see the end of Rebbecca St. James, and then saw David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, and Delirious?. I'll have to say that Chris Tomlin was my favorite; however, DCB is also very good to hop around and dance to. We were very knackered by the end.

　　And that pretty much sums up my week! As a side note, I researched WordPress because I'd heard good things about it as a blogging website, but I can verify that I still like Blogger best. WordPress didn't allow customized CSS layouts (you had to choose one of their themes), and overall it was just not as versatile as Blogger. However, I did like the options of password-protecting posts and having "pages". I think if Blogger added these two options, I would be one of the happiest people in the world. (Not like I'm not already.)

　　愛 to all...

Last Farewells + Peanut Butter Cookies

2008-06-04T15:15:00.005+01:00

　　Today was my last exam, which I am thankful for; but it was also my last day at my current school. Tomorrow, I'm changing schools - for various reasons. The reason I'm not staying till the end of the year at my old school is because, over here, they start the next year's courses in June; and so I have to move now, otherwise I'll be behind.
　　Today after my Latin exam (which I'm so thankful I finished!!), I met my friends for lunch, and then they organized a little farewell party for me in our homeroom. Two people brought in cakes (thanks Kader and Anri!! They were SO good!!), and everyone gave me a huge card which they had signed. I only half started crying when Kiki did, and then I really started when Miss L said goodbye. (Don't ask me why.)
　　ありがとうね、キダ！！我愛你！！
　　A week on Friday I'm going to visit after school, since I'm going to be getting out at noon and they won't. ^^ So it's not really a final goodbye... yet. Joyce gave me a sushi set - guess how happy I was! Makes the preparation so much easier... and it has instructions for California Rolls too, which I haven't attempted to make yet. I'm going to try and make it coming weekend. I got a card from Kader - and we now have matching bracelets. <3

　　On the topic of food, yesterday I made peanut butter cookies. I followed a recipe in this cookie book we have, but encountered slight... difficulty with the size. They kind of exploded while in the oven. So I had to cut them into squares.Don't know what on earth was wrong with them; I'll just have to try again someday.

Miura Haruma (Actor)

2008-06-01T19:36:00.004+01:00

　　Miura Haruma, e.g. 三浦春馬, is one of the Japanese actors that I really like. I first came across him when I was browsing Yahoo! Japan (or some other equivalent) and saw an advertisement for a movie coming out, "Naoko". I think it was about a runner. Anyways, the main actor caught my eye, and I decided to investigate him. Thus my knowledge of Miura's existence was born.
　　I must admit that the first thing I saw him act in was Gokusen 3 - not exactly the best place to act normally, given the circumstances, but I will say that he did (and is doing) and incredible job from what I can tell. I just think it's funny how he swings his arms. ^^
　　Anyways, my friend Kader often gives me suggestions of good Japanese films and dramas to watch, watching them herself and knowing my passion. She suggested one movie and one drama - "Koizora" and "14-sai no Haha". I recently looked them both up, and to my surprise and delight, they both featured Miura as a lead/prominent character.
　　And so today, I watched the first episode of １４才の母 (lit. "14-year-old Mother"), and it was very good. He is quite a good actor. And as an extra bonus, he's only 18 - which is a slight improvement in moving me away from the older Johnny's affiliates. I'll post reviews etc. once I finish; they're starting to stack up...