JANUARY 2017 ROUND UP

Welcome to my January Round Up post! It's time for the first wrap up of 2017! January has flown by. I can't believe how fast this month has gone by. I had the intention of trying to blog 2 - 3 times a week and that apparently has not happened lol. Anyway, without further due, let's get started with January's recap.

MOVIE

A Monster Calls - I have a mixed feeling about this film at first and end up this is by far one of my all time favorite movie. I watched this movie twice. I don't really get the message at first because I was expecting a horror, creepy story or like other monster's movie (Stranger Things, etc.) and that isn't what I got. It's about a young boy deals with his mother's illness by escaping into a fantasy world. This movie is a tearjerker, but it is so meaningful. ❤❤❤❤❤

Moana - Watched this movie at the same day. I love everything about this movie. The characters, well-written songs, the mix of humor and heart without feeling manipulated. Everything. It was FUN-TASTIC! For those who haven't this Disney movie, please do watch it. ❤❤❤❤❤

HAUL

I don't remember what else I bought this month, but I'm sure I bought all these books except the small and big box of Book Outlet because I bought it in December. And I'll write a separate post for these book hauls.

MUSIC

I'M OBSESSED WITH ALL THE GOBLIN K-DRAMA OST AND THEIR BACKGROUND MUSIC. ALL OF THEM, SERIOUSLY. I've never been so obsessed like this before.

READING

I manage to read three books for this month, and I only finished reading one book (Shadow Falls). I was doing well at the early month that I finished the book for three days. So, I thought I could read 4 - 5 books per month and guess that I'm wrong. The second book (Six of Crows) that I read is nowhere halfway lol, and I just started read The Third Twin last weekend. I don't know how others can read 5 - 10 books per month. Again, do you guys even sleep (Especially, you two, Fatina and Eyqa).

PERSONAL LIFE

Face - Do you know that feeling when you look up in the mirror and see the acne scars on your face fading away? That moment when you thought you were done with the acne's problem. And then, few days after that, pimples pop up here and there. That's what happen to my face lately. Not that kind of pimples you got every month, it's even worse. Severe acne. This usually happened when I missed my period or because of the allergies (seafood, dust). I missed my period for almost two months, and there's construction at my office, so 2 in 1 huh.

Hair - I colored my hair last Saturday!(Yay, 1 wishlist checked) My hair color before kind of purple, brown red-ish color. Then now, my hair is ombre blonde (?). Not sure if I like my hair color now or maybe I just still not used to this color since this is my first time dyed my hair with blonde. I admit that I look weird.

Weather - For God sake weather, could just make up your mind? Houston weather is crazy. It can be 23 Celcius today and the next day 1 Celsius and windy as well. Sometimes, they alternate within the same day. This weather makes me sick!

HOW'S MY 2017 RESOLUTIONS GOING?

Saving Money - Oh Lord, as usual, I spent money on things that I don't really need. What is saving money, anyway? 

Drink Water - I don't drink much water, but I drink more than before. Lol, this is one of the reasons why my acne scarring is still there.

Drive Safe - I'm in progress to be a good driver now which is good (obviously) And good news for me that I don't need to read the Handbook Driver's Lesson anymore because I took the 6 hours driver's lesson with the written test online. The only thing I need to do is go to the DPS and apply for the Texas Driving Licence and take the driving test. 

Be Early - Hah. I am still late for everything. Sleep late, wake up late and went to work late. In fact, it's getting worse. I NEED HELP!

Other than I mentioned above, everything is going well. My January has been a good start, I guess.  It's had its ups and downs, but I'm hoping for a better February.

That's it!  Thanks for reading and hope everyone is having a wonderful January. 

2017 RESOLUTIONS

Hey, folks! How are you guys doing? I wished everyone Happy New Year 2017, though I'm a little bit late. I was going to post this after Christmas, and I did write half way of this post, but I don't know what have gotten into me. Suddenly, I don't have a mood to write at all then I just keep this post until now. Not sure if people still reading my post but hey I'm here anyway :)

New Year means new resolution. All my blogger friends make their new year resolution, so I wanted to make one too. So here are my 2017 resolution:

SAVING MONEY: Seriously, I'm so bad at saving money, especially, when I start to shop online. I spent way too much money last month. I overspent my money with unnecessary stuff. I NEED TO STOP BUYING JUNK and invest my money in fewer things that I will use and keep for a long time. 

I'm not hoping that I'm not going to touch my money because I still need to pay my bills, but I hope that I can control myself from spending money. I have a monthly budget Excel document that I update bi-weekly, so I know where my money is going and can pull back if anything looks out of control.

BE EARLY: Sleep early, wake up early and go to work early. I have been struggling to wake up early since I'm still in college. Even though I sleep early at night, I still can't wake up early. I'm just NOT a morning person. I usually wake up at 6.45 am - 7.11 am and get into my office 8.15 am - 8.30 am. I've tried to set the alarm and placing away my phone farther away from my bed; I did get out of bed to turn off my alarm, but after that, I went back to my bed and then sleep lol. I always remind myself at night to wake up at 6 am and off to work at least at 7 am because I need to get in the office by 8 am, but who am I kidding? And I need to stop hitting snooze for real. 

DRINK WATER: I can go on a day without drinking water. I only drink lime juice before I get off from my house, coffee for breakfast and that's it. When it's lunch time, I usually drink my cold coffee (coffee from morning). I got an app on my phone that reminds me to drink water, so I don't forget to drink. I did very well at first, and then I started to slacking. 

DRIVE SAFE: Oooohhh boy, I'm going to admit that I'm not a good driver. I already hit people's car for a few times, I tend to get too close to edges, speeding, I'm always trying to beat the yellow/red light. But when I'm with my mom or my dad, I'm such a good driver lol. I hope this year I'll be a good driver than last year, No phone or trying to eat something while driving :)

READ MORE: I haven't read any English books since I left my high school. But after seeing Fatin, Siqah, Erin, Liyana, etc. blogger, posted about their reading books every month, (especially Fatin) I thought that it is time for me to start to read books. So, last month and this month, I bought so many books lol. For this year, my reading target is 30 books. Hopefully, my reading challenge for 2017 will succeed.

SOCIAL MEDIAs: Not going to spend too much time with social media such as Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, and Instagram. And I've been thinking to delete all my social medias account, but I guess I'll never do it. Because y'know, I'm not good at catching up with my friends or my family, so from social media (Facebook), I can see how are they doing and so on :) 

BE A BETTER PERSON: 

• Talk less, listen more 
• Let go of anger - Letting go of anger is easier said than done. It's extremely difficult skill to master. 
• Forgive people - I easily forgive people actually, but there are few people that hard for me to forgive them, even it's been a long time. Oh well, I'm still holding the grudges.
• Stop making excuses - I made excuses every time something went wrong. Instead of pointing fingers and making excuses, I am going to learn to own my mistakes and learn from them.
• Be honest, be helpful, always be polite and be respectful.

Last but not least, I wanted to be kind to myself. Stay healthy, stop thinking it's too late, stop complaining, stop the negative self-talk, stop allowing toxicity in my life and the list goes on. 

That's my 2017 resolutions! ;) and here's my family 2017 New Year picture <3

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM US!

NOVEMBER 2016 ROUND UP

Welcome to my November Round Up post! The holiday season is finally upon us! Goodbye, November! I know November ended six days ago. But six days late won't hurt, right? A lot of things happened in November; it is hard to keep up and remember anything. November was a good month for me despite being busy at work. We celebrated the Thanksgiving with family and friends. There's a lot of food. Thanksgiving lunch at the office, Thanksgiving dinner, etc. But here I am still underweight lol. Okay, let's get started with November's recap, shall we?

MOVIE

Doctor Strange - I love this movie. It's unlike any Marvel film I've seen. I enjoyed watching this film even though I feel a bit dizzy with the visual effects. I also have to mention that the acting of Benedict Cumberbatch, as usual, was top notch! 4.9/5 ❤❤❤❤❤

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - Great movie. I like the characters, parts of the story and the special effect. The movie started out slow, but very much enjoyed the ride of the story.  ❤❤❤❤❤

HAUL

I bought lots of things during this month, such as beauty product that I don't really need lol. Surprisingly, I didn't purchase any skincare product like I always did every month. I bought them all from Amazon except the Rimmel London Stay Matte products.

1. Rimmel London Stay Matte Foundation, True Beige - $4.49

2. Premium Quality Plastic Cosmetic Storage and Makeup Palette Organizer - $11.99

3. NYX Cosmetics Make Up Setting Spray, Matte Finish/Long Lasting - $7.99

4. Mary Kay Oil Mattifier - $14

5. Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder, Sandstrom 004 - $3.99

6. H&B Collection Teeth Whitening Kit - $9.99

7. NYX Cosmetic Proof It Waterproof Eye Shadow Primer Base - $7.25

1. I got this Women's Rocket Dog Citrus Fleech High-Top Sneaker from Marshalls. I was in a dilemma whether to buy it or not because it retails $24.99 and I could buy few pair of clothes with that money. But I'm so happy with my decision. I love these, and they are very cute! It's perfect for the winter season because there's sometimes I don't feel like to wear long boots. 

2. I love coloring too much that I own a few coloring books and pencil colors (4 boxes). Coloring is quite soothing and stresses reliever. These take a while to color but come out great. It's good for these days when being an adult is annoying.

I haven't read book for years, and I bought these books just because. I don't know lol. While waiting for our movie, I went to Books A Million and got amazed with all the books. Most of them are in bargain price. I'm lost for a while, feels like 'If I had money I would buy all of them' but I get my sense back.

1. The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins - $9.99

2. Of Neptune by Anna Banks - $3.97

3. The Truth About Alice by Mathieu - $2.97

4. SHADOW FALLS The Beginning by c.c. Hunter - $3.97

MUSIC 

Closer - The Chainsmokers ft Halsey

Father - Demi Lovato

Best Day Of My Life (cover) - Cimorelli ft Tyler Ward

Boom Clap - Charli XCX

Seven Years - Lukas Graham

Stressed Out - Twenty One Pilot

LIFE

Nothing much really going on actually. Same thing happens every month. Same routine. Being busy at work and this month I always back home late. It's already dark when I reached home. I usually get off from work around 4.30 pm before and now sometimes I'm still in the office even if it's 5 pm. Other than being busy at work, I always come late to work. It's getting colder here in Houston, and it's hard for me to wake up early in the morning. I spent too much time standing in front of the bathtub, thinking do I need to shower and I dread the end of my hot shower because I know I will be freezing once I open the curtain. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. Despite waking up cold, I'm so excited that it finally falls weather! I can finally break out the winter clothes. Oh, how I've missed my boots and my cardigans, sweaters, and jackets.

That's it! Hope everyone is having a fantastic November 

MY BUCKET LIST 2017

I just stumbled upon Erin's latest blog post about the type of posts she always read and found out this one interesting topic that can help me to update my blog. WISHLIST. I love reading everyone else's and would always say things like, "Oh, that's on my bucket list!". I have had a bucket list in my mind, but for one reason my list was never actually written out because my list might be mean nothing to someone else. So this is my first wishlist. Now, without further do, here is my bucket list.

1. Move into an apartment

I've been saving to get my own place for a few months now. I am a long way from my target and am not entirely sure I will ever be able to afford to rent a decent apartment. There's an apartment that I really like which is just a few block from my parent's house but damn why is it so expensive T.T Price range for 2 bedrooms 1 1/2 bathroom is $1,1225 - $1,275 per month. I'm waiting for any top deals like 2 months free or move in specials. While waiting for that, I'm saving my money because for sure I'm going to move out next year (sooner or later) :)

2.Own a Laptop -  MacBook Pro / MacBook Air

I've been eyeing this laptop for a few months now. I spent more than 9 hours a day in front of desktop and thought that I need a laptop. We do have a desktop at home (in my bedroom to be exact) but I ain't gonna spend my time, stuck in front of desktop in the room all the time. Since MacBook is goddam expensive and I need to save money, I might consider paying monthly. But I'm kind of confused which MacBook should I get. Any suggestion?

3. Driving License 

It identifies you as a licensed driver. Who wants to get arrested for driving without a valid license? If I get pulled over by a police officer or state trooper, the first thing that he or she will ask for is driver's license. But what can I do, I don't have time to go to Texas Driver License.

4. Travel / Vacation

I haven't traveled since 2013 till now. I really love to travel, and it's my dream to travel around the world. Well, who doesn't right? For my first vacation without parents, I think travel to South Korea is a good start for me. Sooo, I'm really counting on traveling next year in April or May with my sister. Or alone if she can't make it. I would love to go on a vacation with friends but I everyone is busy. Is there anyone want to be my travel partner?

5. Color my hair

I cannot stand having the same hairstyle or hair color, but I won't make a sudden change. I've been thinking to dye my hair again, but I keep on reminding myself that I just colored my hair in Malaysia and paid RM600 for it. I kinda miss my old light brown hair and might go for it this end of the year.

6. Blogging

- Making sure blog is always up-to-date 

- Meet a blogging friend in real life

There's a lot more I want to list, but it will never be ending wishlist. There you go my short term wishlist. What is on your bucket list?

22 years old

I 'm not Taylor Swift fan but this is practically the first song I come to when I turn 22.

We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. It's miserable and magical. - Taylor Swift

Yes! You're right Tay-Tay! Couldn't agree more.

22 has finally rolled around. I officially turned 22 years old last two weeks, Sept 18. I have been alive for 2.2 decades, and life has taught me so many things. When I was eighteen, I couldn't wait to be twenties, I couldn't wait to be an adult because of the thought of that prized freedom. You are free to do what you want with your life. But that can be quite responsibility, to live your life the way you want to, not the way you are expected to. Now, I'm hoping that I could turn back time. Soon, I'm going to move to an apartment and live by myself. Ahhh the bills, taxes, grocery, car, rent, fuel etc T.T Welcome to the real life my stepdad said to me.

For my 22nd birthday, I went dinner with my sister and my parents. Yes, no big birthday party as I used to have which is okay. I don't really feel the need to celebrate my birthday like before, and I don't know why. Too old for that perhaps? I celebrate my birthday three times, by the way. First, the day before my birthday. That time I went to my mom's friend's daughter birthday, and when they know my birthday is the next day, my mom's friend want to celebrate together with her daughter (aww so nice of you Auntie Fanella). 

Second, on my birthday, having dinner with my family. And third time is the next day after my birthday which is on Monday. My supervisor suddenly asked me to come to her office and there they are. My colleagues were there ready to celebrate my birthday. I felt so awkward and that time I'm having a fever. So I just smile awkwardly haha. (Thank you anyway :))

Even though I'm now 22 years old, some people always tend to ask me these questions, 'Studying in high school?' or 'Do you have a driving license?'.  And sometimes they'll say, 'You're 22?No way, you look so young' or 'You're so tiny, I thought you're around 16 - 19 years old. There's an incident happen to me that I can't forget until now. The day after I bought my car, I went to Mc Donald to get some breakfast. Just before I get into my car, there's an police officer stopped me. and here's the conversation;

Police officer : Excuse me miss. May I ask you something?

Me : Sure.

Police officer : Are you studying in high school?

Me : No. sir. I'm not. 

Police office : How old you?

Me : Oh, I'm 22 sir. Why?

Police officer : Oh nothing. I just want to know because you look so young and tiny. Doesn't look like 22. Nice car by the way. New car?

Me : Hahaha (laugh awkwardly) Thank you. Yes, I just bought it yesterday.

Police officer : Oh congratulation for your new car miss. Have a nice day.

Me : Thank sir. You too have a nice day.

So, I drove back home after that and told my parents right away about that incident. They just laugh out loud. My stepdad especially, he really likes it when people asking me that kind of question and get those reactions. I do like it too. Back to my birthday. For my birthday, mommy and stepdad gave a birthday card and Marshalls gift card (yay, shopping!), my sister gave me a birthday card too and a plant (?) So last Sunday, my sister and I went to 3 places to shopping. Shopping all day and spend the gift card that my parents gave to me ( I actually overspend so I need to pay cash a little bit hehehe) So here's what I bought and literally I spend around $150 ( $100 gift card and I add $50)

So, hello 22. Another year closer getting old. Despite what everyone says, older does mean wiser, you just have to use that knowledge and only look to the past if you are trying to be better for your future.

That's it. Sorry for the long post hehe. Have a nice day everyone :)

IT HURTS

HIATUS | Too Much Going On

Hey folks, how are you guys doing today?

'It's been a while' feels like an understatement and been using that words for so many times. I know I have been on somewhat of a hiatus recently. It wasn't planned. It just happened and consciously decide on it because a lot has happened over the summer. And, I wanted to apologize to Aisya that I completely forgot to reply her messages. I wish I could help you more with your assignment :(

As I mentioned above, a bunch of stuff happened since my last post. Are you guys ready to listen to my list of endless reasoning as to why I've been gone for a while? xD

#1 - Some of you might already know about this but yeah, we moved into our new house. At first, I was so excited that we're moving to a new home because I never experienced how it feels like. And now, I hope that was the first and last because it's a pain in the arse. We've been back and forth from old house to the new house for a month (lucky the new house only across the street). Load and unload all the furniture by ourselves (younger sister, mom, and dad including me), we had to get all of our utilities hooked up, and trying to learn all of the quirks that come with the new house. Well, we did it! I love it here :)

#2 - Work. Even though I'm busy helping my family move into our new house, I still need to go to work. In the office, a lot of things came up too. My senior asked help for his task above. Then suddenly he wants me to make 700 notepads (20 pages each) with company logo and the event logo printed on notepads. I was so confused at that time because I never learn that kind of stuff and I never work at a printing company. Why not just order it to any printing company. Nevertheless, I manage to help him. After I designed the notepads, thenI have to run 14,000 copies of it. No, I'm not done yet. I still need to make it 20 pages for each notepad. While I'm busy helping him, more and more of my work getting piled up. It's so tiring. Working from 8 am to 4.30 pm then straight back to the old house load and unload my car with our stuff. That's my routine every day for a month.

#3 - Personal. As you guys can see above, I had a list to do. I need to settle for my driving lesson, going back to Malaysia for my convocation and I need to complete the benefits enrollment, etc. Yes, I'm going back to Malaysia for two weeks next month (yeay!) I'm so excited that I'm going home but at the same time I don't want to go for some reason. I tried not to let anyone know that I'm going back to Malaysia, but well it's hard to keep it secret. And people started to text me then ask for souvenir or 'hey, balik Malaysia nanti boleh belanja makan lah ni?'. I hate that people being kind to me because of they need something from me. In fact, I can't afford to buy or treat everybody.  Okay, I should stop.  

That's it for now. Not sure if people still read or visit my blog but thanks for reading anyway :) 

Lazy Saturday | Things I bought

*inhale, take a deep breath* What a nice day today. No more rain, no more thunderstorm. Sunny day with a little bit windy, just a perfect weather for the weekend xD Usually every Saturday, I'll go to church with one of my mom's friend but today, we can't make it to church because her son use their car. So here I am, staying at home with mommy that just back from Malaysia (she's still jetlag), stepdad and stepbrother and my sister. But, hey I'm alone in the living room.

While I'm wasting my time in front of desktop (?) computer (?) and watching TV (multitasking, huh), suddenly my stepdad asked me about Mother's Day tomorrow, what should we do for mommy. Then, he suggest me go to the Hallmark store and get a card or something for mummy while she's still sleeping.

I went to Hallmark store with my sister and took almost an hour to choose cards and gift for mommy.

Here all the items that I bought and some free items I got just now. I actually should get the card and a gift for mommy but end up bought something for my self too. *ada duit lebih sikit dah lupa diri*

• Mother's Day card - It tooks more than 20 minutes to choose a card that I like. There are more than hundreds cards choices. All of them are so pretty for me. I feels like I want all the cards xD but I have to choose one because I had 1 mom only xD I love the words inside the card, they're perfectly fit what I wanted to say, I'm so bad at put words together ( y'all know what I'm trying to say?). This card cost only $5.99
• Chalk Sign Mom Favorite - it tooks me sometime too, to pick up a gift and yes I'm suck at giving people something / gift (well,, I'm kinda an awkward person). I don't know how many times I go around and around and around on the store trying to find the best gif for mommy. And the end, this is what I got (sorry mom). I bought this for $11.99.

Aha, I bought this for me. I might be old enough for these coloring stuffs but I don't care xD I bought the coloring book and colored pencils so I can do the activity whenever I'm bored and it is stress relieving. New hobby I guess, which is mean I'm gonna bring it wherever I go and I need to change my handbag to backpack (?) hmmm. The coloring book and colored pencils costs $7.99 and $ 4.99. The prices are not bad though :)

Look at these peaceful paisleys design. Aren't they beautiful? Can't wait to get started :) Who do stuff like this nowadays, anyway?

I got those coloring cards for free because of the coloring book I guess. And the Save 40% reward, definitely gonna use it on June for my sister, ha :D

Till then folks :)