You take me as I am
Into your new scarred hands
and when I run so far away
you always call me back again
into your open arms
not matter what ive done
amazing grace has found me here
because of what you've done, for me

PlanetShakers - Weight of the World

astO loves her friends, bowling, baking, bowling, reading, bowling, writing, bowling, ManUtd, bowling.

Kutless, The Lads, Switchfoot, MercyMe, Stacie Oricco, Avalon, blah blah blah

Birthday Month!
Wow.
Food.
Astoria Needs to Stop Spending.
BentoBoxes.
You know?
Another List.
Needful Things.
News
Food Thoughts.


March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
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August 2007
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October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008


*Aaron
*Adrian
*Augustine
*Beatrice
*Charlene
*Christine
*Dana
*Daryl
*Gillian
*Gwen
*Izk
*Jason (Hsien Xian)
*Jill
*Jinghui
*Justin
*Kenneth
*Marian
*Nick
*Philothea
*Royston
*Sharon

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These are things I cannot live without in my larder and kitchen.

01. Garlic.
02. Onions.
- Haven't bought them for awhile, because I can't use them fast enough.
03. Potatoes.
- Local produce is fine, though I love the Russet varieties.
04. Olive Oil.
05. Dried Pasta.
- I can't afford fresh pasta, and when you're not living in a land where pasta is indigenous to the country, fresh pasta wouldn't be quite as authentic (or as nice) I reckon. Though I suppose good one are available just that I don't know where to go looking for it. But having said that, I haven't found a Italian deli. Or tried to source for one.
06. Sausages.
07. Minced Beef!
08. Pesto.
- I would honestly love a little herb garden so I can plant basil, oregano, thyme and all but I think I shall embark on it when I move house.
09. Black Pepper.
10. Bell Peppers (or any sort of vegetables)
11. Beans!
- Garbanzo (or chickpeas as it's commonly known) are my absolute-st favourite!
12. Rice.
- Because I'm Chinese and I need it. As in need it.
13. Butter
- Salted or unsalted is fine. I wish I could have Lurpak or some speciality made butter, but the prices of it are skyrocketing. Can you believe Lurpak cost like SGD$4 something now?! OMGoodness lar.

You know, I think I should just move to France. ButI can't speak ze language. If I can think of anything else, I'll add on. =)

And so, Astoria is not going to New Zealand this year anymore. She does not have the funds to do so sadly.

Which means she'll be around for Christmas (which she doesn't want to, not saying she doesn't want to be around friends). She just wants to experience Christmas in a foreign land in addition to having a holiday.

Since Astoria's kinda sad, she's decided to go splurging this weekend. Again. Cross fingers, hopefully she's not returning home empty handed.

I'm thinking of a frittata; with corn, carrots, bell peppers, minced beef and pork sausages. Served with a side of cubed potatoes with garlic. *Yum. Let's see how much time I have tonight.

Also, I wouldn't mind a new set of knives. Proper ones, and a heavy based saucepan to make caramel in. Sexy kitchen stuff. Sorry, I think I'm the only one who sees kitchen equipment as sexy.

Most likely I'll be flying off to Sydney next year, to attend Le Cordon Bleu (in short, LCB). That 9 months there for me, hopefully will be heaven because I'm surrounded by desserts all the time. Nice. =)

I've been thinking about 2am Dessert Bar ever since the international marketing manager of LCB mentioned it when I went to see him at IDP Aussie Uni fair. I wanna go there soooooon. What would life be without desserts....

I'd like to own this book if possible. "In Search of Hope: The Global Diaries of Mariane Pearl by Mariane Pearl, whose husband (Danny Pearl, A Wall Street Journalist) was beheaded by militants in Karachi for pursuing the trail of a shoe bomber. At that time she was 5 months pregnant with her son. Her story was made into a feature length film, A Mighty Heart, starring Angelina Jolie.

"You choose fear," she says, to those who killed her husband and seek to harm others through violence and hatred. "I choose hope."

"Let's see who wins."