Motivation. And a new direction.

I have neglected this blog for way too long.

When I first opened this new forum, it was meant to be a creative outlet. A place to collect my inspirations. The beautiful things I encounter in my daily life. But for some reason, I just couldn't get myself to update regularly. I told myself that it was no big deal, that I didn't have time, that I don't have followers/readers anyways, that there were more important things in my life. (Not to mention, I had a wedding to plan and all that fun stuff that usually accompany a wedding.)

But the truth of the matter is, I was just being lazy.

In life, there are always things that come up. There are always things that get in the way of you following your dreams. But the difference between those who succeed and those who don't is the action of sticking-it-through. The things that come up, those are just excuses. That's just "life." I knew all those things, and I tell it to H every time he says he wants to do something but then does the complete opposite to sabotage himself. But easier said than done. That's the way it goes.

This weekend was a really good one. We spent Friday night talking to some of my old high school friends. It was not catching-up persay, but it was relaxing to just chat the night away. Saturday was spent in the gym (morning) and at a bridal shower (afternoon). The bridal shower was for a not-so-close friend, but in a way, I'm glad I made myself go because it's good to force yourself to be social sometimes I think. Then I spent the whole night chatting with a old friend. True catching up. We talked about attitudes to life, people who are positive versus negative energies, and most importantly, life aspirations. I shared with her something that I've only shared with H, and because of her encouragement, I realized that I have been sabotaging myself. All this time when I thought that I don't know what I want to do with myself, I realize now that I knew all along but I was just too afraid to take any steps towards anywhere. I had always been afraid of my own ambitions, telling myself that it's too much, there's too much work, and hey, wouldn't it be easier to just stay home and be a couch potato? Yes it would, but is that who I want to be from this year to the next, to the next, to 10 years from now?

I forgot my ambitions. And it's time to restart. I've been recharging for way too long.

[Reading] Books of 2011

One of my new year's resolutions (well, anytime resolution) is to read more books. So here I hope to chronicle my literary adventures of 2011.

1. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows - I still don't quite understand the whole wand thingie because I was desperately rushing to finish, so I'm sure I will re-read it. Can't wait for the movie!!

2. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban - I think I actually read this book before, but I really didn't understand it the first time. The book and the movie is pretty different!

3. Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

4. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

5. Committed (Elizabeth Gilbert) - I've always been interested in the topic of marriage, and I'm glad to have read this book before getting married at the end of this year. Gilbert puts into words everything I have ever thought about in regards to marriage and much more. It's not to say that this book deterred me from entering into matrimony, but instead, it prepared me to know what I was getting into.

6. Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince - finally done with the harry potter series!! can't wait for the movie!!

7. The Double Comfort Safari Club - I still remember back in Utah when I went through the first few books of this series with a craze. It's easy reading with a take-home lesson!

8. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto - Eat foods. Not too much. Mostly plants. 7 little words, so much depth.

9. How Starbucks Saved My Life - I seriously thought this would be a promotional book for Starbucks, but I learned so much from it: Be humble. Embrace every challenge in life, big or small. And do not ever think that you are too great for anything. Don't be pretentious.

10. Food Fight - I will admit that there were some parts that I skimmed over, especially parts with lots of numbers and statistics... But this is a very instructive book and speaks to me greatly as my thesis was related to vending machines in jr high schools.

11. The Omnivores Dilemma

12. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson

14. Velvet Touch

15. Murder on the Orient Express

16. The Other 8 Hours

17. I Remember Nothing

18. Gang Leader for a Day

19. I Was Told There'd Be Cake

20. My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space

21. Reader's Digest Guide to Skin Care

22. Someone Will Be With You Shortly

23. Eating Chinese Food Naked

24. The Penny Pinchers Club

25. Lost and Found

26. Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood

27. Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage, and Dirty Dishes

28. Half Broke Horses

29. Girls in White Dresses

30. Chasing Harry Winston


31. The Hunger Games


32. The Dim Sum of All Things

33. Catching Fire


Chinese Books:
1. 占星術殺人魔法

2. 馬來鐵道之迷

3. 雙頭惡魔

4. 魔術師

5. 幻影

6. 血咒

7. 點與線

8. 花之寺殺人事件

9. 蝴蝶效應: 人生中不可忽視的小細節

10. 聖惡女


Re-reads:
1. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone

2. The Glass Castle

Attempted:
1. Sense & Sensibility - I'm sorry but I really don't see the hype about Jane Austen... I could not get myself to pass chapter 3. I suppose I will have to resort to the movies.

2. Lolita - I was actually really proud of myself for getting past half the book. Then the ramblings style of writing really got to me and I lost the battle. Quite a disturbing book though. I got the movie queue'd up in Netflix ;)

3. An Object of Beauty - I guess I expected this book to be really good based on reviews and that the author is Steve Martin. It probably is; I just can't relate to the NY lifestyle, neighborhoods, and the whole art scene.

4. 松本清張短篇傑作選 (上)

5. Shopgirl

Tired

I feel tired of late.

Tired of everything that has been going on around me. Tired of socializing and pretending to look vaguely interested in other people's conversation. Tired of trying to keep up. Tired of working on wedding stuff. Tired of thinking about wedding stuff. Tired of trying to save money. Tired of feeling inadequate. Tired of always feeling incompetent. Tired of figuring out what I want from life.

Just tired.

I keep saying/thinking that I want to live. Really live. But it is so hard for me to let go of my fears and worries. I look at other people and I wonder how they do it. How is it that they can afford to travel every few months? How is it that they can buy name-brand things every few months? How is it that they can go out every weekend? How is it that they can just be/look so worry-free?

And how is it that I just can't do it?

Step away from the (refined) carbs!!

From the March 2011 issue of Nutrition Action Health Letter, statistics show that we are eating about 45% more calories from grains, mostly refined. So what, you may ask?

1. Too much carbs can increase triglycerides and lower HDL ("healthy") cholesterol.
Now, whether these carbs in question are whole or refined grains still remain in question. But evidence does show that people on very-high-carb diets tend to develop dyslipidemia, which is a mix of high triglycerides (at least 150 mg/dL) and low HDL (under 50 for women or under 40 for men). Dyslipidemia is in turn associated with an increased risk of heart disease.

2. Limiting refined grains can help lower blood pressure. A Scottish research study showed 5 to 6 points drop in systolic pressure in participants who received three servings of whole-grains per day for 3 months, compared to those who received refined grains. The difference in blood pressure is comparable to taking a blood pressure medication.

3. Whole grains are healthier than refined grains. Whole grains have been shown to lower risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, as well as maintain regularity and provide loads of vitamins and minerals.

4. A diet with whole grains is overall healthier. Products with refined carbs tend to be higher in added sugar and calories. When people focus on choosing foods with whole grains, they are less apt to choose things like sugar-laden desserts or carb-loaded mashed potatoes - not that those are not to be avoided at all, but there are healthier options.

So get out there and find your new favorite whole grain breads, cereals, and products!

everything flowers { b for baby's breath }

In my effort to learn more about different kinds of flowers for my wedding, I decided to do a (hopefully weekly) review of them.

B for Baby's Breath.

I wasn't going to do Baby's Breath because it would have been too predictable, but there just aren't a lot of "B" flowers...





Here's a nice centerpiece idea:


(click on pictures for source)

everything flowers { a for alstromeria }

In my effort to learn more about different kinds of flowers for my wedding, I decided to do a (hopefully weekly) review of them.

A for Alstromeria

source

Aren't these beautiful?

source

They may also be called Peruvian Lily.

Blooming time is late spring and early summer. It requires at least six hours of sunlight, regular water, and well-drained soil. Best part, vase life is 2 weeks!!

source

Pixar Stamps!!

I soooo want these on my wedding invites.



They come out in August so I could!!

First guest post EVER!

Allow me to gloat for a minute, as I share my first guest post ever over at Financial Highway. It's a book review, and it took me a month to read, 2 weeks to write. *gloating*

Influencers

from here

[Movie] Saving Face

The premise: 28-years-old daughter with a mother who is 48-years-old. And oh, did I mention that the daughter is a lesbian and the mother is pregnant?

This is a sweet, cute movie with a somewhat realistic portrayal of the Asian community - at least the clash between the older and younger generations as well as the Eastern and Western cultures. A big recommendation!!