Buns in the Oven

Sun’s birthday was on 29th Nov. Slightly a week after that, Yamtuan’s birthday. Two weeks after that, mine. Soon after mine will be Dot’s. Birthdays! Birthdays!

And so last Friday, I turned 35. Just like whoever said 'beauty is within' can only be ugly, the same rule applies for the saying, 'age is just a number', can only be 30 and above. So I am telling you now, I may be 35 but 3 and 5 are mere numbers. Don’t mean much to me so mustn’t mean anything at all to you too, yes? Yes? And at 35, my beauty shines from within my intestines.

I have only been married for 4 years. The first year, Yamtuan said himself was the birthday gift. The second year, it was Dot and the third year Sun became his gift. This year, Yamtuan ran out of people to give me for my birthday. And no, i am not pregnant. So, no choice but for him to hit the stores. My first non-human birthday gift. Yey! Not that Yamtuan, Dot and Sun did not make the best of gifts. I do love em! An awful lot too!

Yamtuan went shopping for my gift maybe more than two weeks before the date. Him being him, he was SO excited about it that he pestered me everyday to open the gift. He has always been lousy at keeping secrets. But i said no, dont tell me dont give me until Dec 16th. How else could i make him squirm and itch? Biar pecah di perut, jangan pecah di mulut..

On the morning of my birthday, when it was still dark outside, and Yamtuan's self-restraint could not tahan anymore, he made me unwrap the gift. He practically begged me to please please please open it. I wanted to make him wait till after work, but well, maybe not, that would be too cruel for him.

I opened the gift, huge box, heavy like mad!

And it was….. an oven. Yes. An oven, ladies.

“because you like cooking!” he said, all excited.
“can bake ayam golek now!” I tried auntyN’s and Kak Teh’s recipe but I had to cut the chicken because mine was an oven toaster not proper oven. So the ayam did not tergolek la. Couldnt call it ayam golek.
“I chose this one because it looks so classic! I actually wanted to get you the cap rama-rama one like my mom’s but could not find lah”
“so you like or not?”
“can now bake kek pisang too. I like kek pisang!”

So that is my Yamtuan. Ever practical, not the most romantic guy on earth, but he loves me... err, at least my cooking. And although sweating over the oven baking ayam golek and kek pisang for him is not exactly sexy and hot, i sure hope that it will lead to more action and excitement at the dinner table.

A well-fed man is after all…emmm, a happy man? Yes?