tea party,Lucky & Happy ever afters

I think this was the simplest and fastest tea party I have ever put together. No frills just food and great company and that works fine too. While preparing for it I learnt a new recipe and I have to admit I wouldn’t have made it in time if mom wasn’t around so hail Ummi ;)) . The ladies who called all three of them were friends I went to school with and did internship with at a kindergarten here. We haven’t seen each other in ages and because they were in the neighborhood they decided to call. I don’t mind really last minute or not I enjoy company and with company come food – we can’t keep our guests hungry now can we? ;))

The menu was simple and quick. Mom suggested a traditional Malay cake called ondeh-ondeh. It’s actually made from glutinous rice flour. You add water to it to form a little dough then add pandan flavoring for color. You roll them into small and put balls of palm sugar into them and roll them balls. In a pot of boiling water, you throw them in – when it’s cooked it will rise to the top, take it out and then roll them in shredded coconut. Simple isn’t it and all this time I thought it was a tedious process – ahh the things you learn everyday. I love eating ondeh-ondeh because when you bit into it you can feel the palm sugar oozing out makes it such a delightful eating experience – just be careful not too eat it when its hot that sugar might burn your lips.

Mom suggested something spicy too. We need a little spice with all the sweetness. so we decided to make ‘spicy fried vermicelli’ – her recipe and trust me when I say its really good. There were also some fried banana fritters, some local fruits called rambutans, tea and my moms infamous kek badam or almond cake. The only almonds present in the cake is the almond sprinkles but the taste is sooooo yummy. Its soft its fluffy and flavorful – sounds like an ad don’t it lol - it uses brown sugar and I think that’s what makes the cake delicious. I love brown sugar especially a combination of both in a bowl of apples yummy yummy making me hungry now. That was pretty much the menu – I would have loved to take pictures but I busted my digi cam L( wahhhhhh . Maybe someday when I get a chance to meet my 360 friends we can have a tea party together – wouldn’t that be fun.. :D .

Btw I named my mixer ‘Lucky’ – I think it fits her fine. Yeah it’s a she only because she is so dainty and shes a mighty fine piece of steel and metal lol … My mom thought I was nuts but I think im not though I am sure there are some who refute what I just said :P ..

But anyways, I made my first cake using Lucky today – it was the above mentioned again – I felt like a proud parent ;)). My mom teased me, while we mixing the ingredients, she said ‘ala saying you’re doing such a good job’ to the mixer, in a baby voice and with a whole lot of tender loving care. I looked at her with a raised eye brow and said you didn’t just do that ? She laughed and I just burst out laughing moms – she can be funny sometimes. Sometimes I wish I could record moments like these and store them and watch them all over again when I feel like it – would definitely bring a smile to my face. I guess it’s these special moments in life that makes it seem all worth while and its also moments like these that you cant get back.

As exhausted as I was today, I had a good time. Friends always make a day seems better. They offer you comfort and laughter what would we do without friends right?

And so after a day of friends and food, I retreated to cyber space and see what the world was up too. When I read my friends blog and or talk to me – I see how some of them are truly blessed with second chances, a loved one it makes me happy. Sometimes I think if you can’t get that for you own life, it just puts a smile on your face when you see it happens to other people especially those you care about.

All of us are deserving of a good life, happiness and love. Yet love comes and goes ever so often that you wonder why. But one thing I have learnt is that when one is taken away or goes away it is usually replaced by something that promises even more. I have seen it happen to a friend of mine here on 360. it makes me smile when I read her entries about the second chance that she has been given to love and be loved and the bliss of being in love. sometimes we can’t see it or refuse to see it but its there – that second chance , that choice to not acknowledge could be the product of fear of losing it all again – but that’s life. You risk your heart, your soul all in the name of love and hope and pray that the second time around will be the happy ever after that you’ve been looking all your life …

“Hope is the expectation that something outside of ourselves, something or someone external, is going to come to our rescue and we will live happily ever after.”

I love this quote – as much as I don’t want to admit there is some realness in that. We hope for someone to rescue us take us away from it, make us feel alive again, give us that courage to live ,love and laugh all over again with no fear nor reservations and gives that faith again in romantic encounters, romance and that fairy tale endings are possible ….