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for September 2008.
Last August, a dear friend of mine celebrated her birthday and I promised that I would bake her favorite on her birthday, Blueberry Cheesecake. Incidentally, it was in one of my baking goals for this year, so it’s just convenient that I’d be able to bake it and I can give it as a present for a friend on her birthday (and possibly on Christmas too).
Looking around online, I tried to find the easiest cheesecake recipe I can find and I got this Blueberry Cheesecake recipe from one of Noemi’s blogs. It seemed easy enough, so I decided to stock up the ingredients and cook it. My mom is really supportive of my baking endeavors, so she readily bought the ingredients for me.
Who knew ingredients for Blueberry Cheesecake can be so expensive?
Anyway, I’ve plurked about this while I was cooking it (too lazy to find the actual Plurk to link — will do tomorrow) but the photo on the left is the actual thing I cooked. Yum yum, it still makes me hungry. :D
Some notes on this:
- As Noemi mentioned, it’s not too sweet. I like it that way, as the blueberry really gives its sweetness.
- The ones I cooked are thinner than the usual cheesecakes since I used a thinner pan. I ended up having two thin cheesecakes instead of one. No one’s complaining. :P
- Blueberry is yummy. :D So is the cheese part of the cake after it has been baked. I can’t stop nibbling on it — I personally think I can eat a cheesecake plain. :P
- I personally think the walnut is optional, as it gives kind of a weird taste with the crust. I tried grinding it on the second try, but it’s taste is really distinct that it turns off some people. Next time I’ll try cooking it without the walnut in the crust.
Yummy dessert, especially after it has been chilled. :D I’d definitely cook this again, and next time try it with different toppings. I think this wouldn’t be good with those on diet or on weight loss pills, but I can use a lighter kind of cream cheese (those with less fat) so it will be a bit less guilty. :P
Next on the list! This cheesecake. Or an apple pie. Or a double layered chocolate cake! Yum!
Perfect post title, yes? When it rains — because it’s been raining so much lately, it’s ridiculous. Now that kind of thinking is also quite weird, seeing that I should be used to rains especially at this time of year.
Or maybe I’m just saying that because it’s a pain commuting when it rains, and back then whenever it’s raining I just wait for my brother to pick me up. Now it’s either I get a cab (ouch on the pocket!), or I brave the tricycles (which leaves me drenched).
But such is life. Adventure, yes. Not always nice, but yeah, it’s okay.
Anyway, I owe so many promised blog entries, like my recent Cebu trip, my baking escapades, the muddy tree-planting experience and…so much more, but I’m just too darn busy with work, lots of NaNoWriMo stuff and of course new TV shows that are starting one after the other (one of the times I wish I can understand what HDMI cables are) that I couldn’t blog here properly. Save for book reviews which feel like I can churn out without too much thought (wow I am at that point already huh). Bah. I just need to finish PinoyWrimos.com for the launch and then I’ll be able to blog about those things I mentioned above. Gimme this weekend, I’ll get these done, promise!
Anyway, since it’s been raining on and off (and right now it seems like it will rain any minute, from what I can see from the window at my workstation), I leave you with this song from Paramore, the band I’ve been listening to lately. :D Can I just say I love Hayley Williams’ voice? The songs are so angsty, I love it. And I’m not an angsty person. :P
Enjoy!
(More…)
Rating: 
New Yorker Gillian Chang starts her second term at posh SpencerAcademy boarding school in San Francisco prepared to focus on her studies, her faith, and her friends. She plays a dozen musical instruments and can recite the periodic table of the elements backward. She’s totally prepared for everything–except love!
She’s falling hard for Lucas Hayes, who isn’t even a senior yet and is already aiming at a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford. The problem is, she never seems to be able to measure up and be the girlfriend he wants. He’s under a lot of pressure from his parents to achieve–maybe that’s why he’s short-tempered sometimes. But even a thick-skinned girl like Gillian can only take so much.
With her heart on the line, Gillian conceals more and more from her friends. So when she’s accused of selling exam answer sheets, even her girlfriends, Lissa and Carly wonder if it’s true. Can Gillian hang on to her integrity — and her faith — when she loses her heart to Lucas?
After reading It’s All About Us, the first book in this series, I quickly dived into the second one. The Fruit of My Lipstick focuses on Gillian Chang, Lissa’s roommate, as she falls in love with the smartest guy in school, Lucas Hayes. At first I was really amused at how the two of them started, and I really thought they’d make a great pair, but then Gillian starts spending a bit too much time with Lucas and started changing herself just so she could keep her first boyfriend. She gets all defensive when her friends point out some weird things she’s doing to keep Lucas, like dropping her graphics design class and going for a personal trainer just because Lucas made a comment about other thin girls.
In the same way that I was annoyed at Lissa in the previous book for being so dense, I was annoyed at Gillian here for not listening to her friends and then saying things to hurt them in her defense. But, as far as all the series’ characters are concerned, even if I get annoyed at them, I still find myself rooting for them and hoping that they’d recover from whatever mess they’d get into.
This novel touches more serious things, like racism, academic competition, cheating and even abuse. I loved the resolution — it seemed a bit unbelievable but really hilarious, and I’m glad that the truth came out for everyone. :)
Oh, and can I say that I liked Lissa better in this book? She seemed less shallow and more likable — and possibly even more real — in this book than in her own.
If you’re going to read this book, I suggest you pick up the first book in the series as there’s lots of references made there. I am really starting to love this series, and I can’t wait for the next one which is Carly’s story. The title looks really exciting too — Be Strong and Curvaceous. I wonder if there will be a mention of diet pills there? Hm.
Rating: 
Tall, blond Lissa Mansfield is used to being one of the “in” crowd–but being accepted by the popular girls at posh Spencer Academy boarding school in San Francisco is turning out to be harder than she thought. And then there’s her New-York-loudmouth roommate, Gillian Chang, who’s not just happy to be a Christian herself–she’s determined to out Lissa, too! If Lissa can just keep her faith under wraps long enough to hook Callum McCloud, the hottest guy in school, she’ll be golden.
But when Callum pressures her to go all the way with him, Lissa has to decide for herself how far is too far. How can she see that line when he’s so gorgeous and popular and she’s so dazzled? And besides, she’s too busy shopping for a Valentino and booking the hottest celeb for the Benefactors Ball. Who knew finding a place at Spencer Academy would be so complicated?
Ever since I picked up Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, I’ve been looking for her books everywhere I can check, as well as good young adult books to read. Last book fair, I chanced upon this book by Shelley Adina among all the other pocketbooks and textbooks in National Bookstore. I remember Camy reviewing one of her books, so I decided to grab it. It’s Young Adult and it’s Christian; this should be good.
Lissa is a part of the popular crowd in her old school, but when she moved to the prestigious Spencer Academy, she couldn’t even break into the popular girls’ circle without being embarrassed at some point. Then she meets her new roommate, Gillian, who turns out to be a Christian like her. A very passionate Christian, who’d do everything for her faith — something that Lissa is kind of wary of doing. And then there’s Callum McCloud, who makes Lissa’s heart skip a beat whenever he smiles at her. There’s really nothing wrong with wanting to be popular, but at the expense of her faith? What will Lissa do?
I found the book very enjoyable and relatable. The name-dropping kind of got to me a bit, especially the numerous mentions of the iPhone (maybe this is just me), although seeing a familiar name like Frank Peretti did perk me up. :D The characters feel very real too, and although I’m already getting annoyed at Lissa for being so dense, I was also rooting for her too, hoping that she’d rise in the end. I also really enjoyed Gillian’s character (can’t wait to read her story in the next book in the series) as well as Kaz, Lissa’s other best friend.
I thought Shelley would end it with Lissa getting vindicated from the predicament she got into, which would probably be very satisfying, but I’m glad that the author ended it differently. The ending made things closer to real life, which adds to the relatable factor.
I read some reviews of this book and there were a lot of comparisons with Gossip Girl. I never read any of the books in the series (although I like the show), and maybe someday I will, but I think this book has a really great potential. The characters are lovable and not preachy, and the problems of the characters are as realistic as it can be (well, not as much here in the Philippines, but in the general sense it’s sort of a universal thing). I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. :)
I did say wake me up when September ends at the start of the month, right?
Well, ironically, who’s not getting so much sleep? :P
It’s been 15 days since September and I:
- …am still very busy. :(
- …realized how much I love being a geek outside of work.
- …started fiddling with stuff that I used to really do a lot, which is connected to the previous bullet.
- …became a part of a group that is planning a major conference, but I missed the first meeting
- …had to be around at work because our boss is in town.
- …played bowling, and our team is on the semis (not necessarily because I’m on the team. Heh).
- …took a vacation in the middle of the busy month and I do not regret going there AT ALL :) I miss Cebu! Proper blog entry to follow. :D
- …went to the Manila International Book Fair to get my book fix but left early because of work.
- …am getting very paranoid of my expenses, and to think we just got paid last Saturday! Bills, bills, bills! :(
- …still have a lot of work to wade through, and because I’m still hungover from my vacation, I can’t think straight.
Bah. What a month, and it’s not yet over. I have so many things to finish, and so many things that are due at the same time, it’s crazy! Focus, focus, focus, Tina. You can do this! You will survive this!
I guess this is one of the times when I have to remember (yet again) that I can’t do everything, and I can’t be with everyone as much as I want to. And that I really, really have to prioritize, put first things first. I can do this. I can finish September with flying colors. I know I can, by God’s grace I can.
I think I need to stop thinking of this month as a curse and a month full of stress, just like how some people looking for jobs in Atlanta at this month might feel right now. This is grace month, and I can do all things Him.
If you can spare a prayer for me, please do. And if you need a prayer for something, let me know too, so I can pray for you as well. :) If you’re going through a difficult month, well, hang on, we’ll get through this. :)
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