Losing is hard to do

Have you ever gotten into an argument where you were so convinced that you were right and that the other person was wrong? You both go at it giving some good concrete evidence until suddenly you get that plummeting feeling? Suddenly you opponent gives a good comeback that shatters your stance and suddenly you lose your ground. You realize you're wrong but you're not wiling to back down. So you settle for fallacies, particularly ad hominems, an attack on the opponents character irrelevant to the argument. But the last thing you want to do is back off and admit you're wrong even though you find yourself in a corner. 

I know it's hard admitting you're wrong. I find it hard too. For the longest time I would just get mad whenever I lost. It's a trait we all acquired because of society and also how we are all wired. Losing is one of the worst feelings we can feel and psychologically, hormones channel our losing memories to the deepest part of the brain so that we will never forget it. And believe it or not, it affects our entire body. Everything slows down and physically and emotionally.

So when I see someone in that kind of situation, where they just see they are wrong. If they back down and admit it, I suddenly gain a new found respect for them. It's hard to admit defeat. It's not only upsetting but it's also kind of embarrassing. But it's also something else - mature. 

Happy Birthday To Me! :)

Today I turned 19! Although it was a rough start to my day, I went to a local cafe with Daisy and Mark. We had a late lunch there and we ended up playing video games and watching The Possession the entire day. I particularly like scary movies unlike Daisy and Mark, but it didn't end up too scary. I love the gifts they got me! Although in the picture, the blazer looks coral, it's actually bright fuchsia. I've been trying to build my collection of blazers and Daisy got me a perfect pink one to add to my collection :) Mark got me a digital picture frame that is filled with pictures of us over the years! At first, I thought it was just going to be a blank picture digital frame that I would need to fill myself. But good thing he did it already. :)

Tonight is my last night at home and winter break is actually over. It happened so fast, I don't know where the time went! I mean I'm already 19 and life seems to be going too fast... Tuesday, I'll be embarking on my second semester in college and it feels like just yesterday it was the summer before college before anything changed between friends and lifestyles. It's crazy to think that my first year at college it already halfway over. I hope spring semester will treat me as well as my first fall semester did. :D

Pretty Little Liar Tuesday and How to Dress Like A Boss!

So. Another good episode tonight. While I was watching, I was indulging in some yummy mint chocolate chip ice cream from my freezer. Which has been my newest obsession.

Today's blog post I decided will focus on fashion! Woo!

This beautiful, maroon/oxblood (whatever you would like to call it) peplum dress sported by Hanna in this week's episode is quite similar to the maroon peplum dress I bought from H&M earlier this month for $20 on sale! So if you'd like to snag it yourself, check your local H&M store. The blog post the dress was featured in can be found here

Now, if you'd direct your attention to Emily's beautiful half Filipino and half Irish/Scottish hands. She is wearing nail polish similar to the shade I bought a couple weeks ago called Don't Talk Bach To Me by OPI from the Germany collection. If you would like to take a look at that blog post, you can click here

Although, Aria is my favorite of the four... the style I can identify with the most has to be Spencer. In the photo above this one she's not really in focus but I love her blazer and bun. If you're feeling like a boss and you want to sort of up your look for the day do these two things:

1. Throw on a well tailored and nicely fitted blazer. It can go on top of anything you'd like. Tank top, plain white t-shirt, a man tailored shirt or even your favorite grungy band tee. You can either cuff the the sleeves or add a statement necklace like Spencer did in the photo. But either way, you already look ten times more put together.
2. Bun. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. A bun can immediately show off your jaw line, collarbones, and your entire face in general. Along with the blazer, you will look fit and ready to tackle the world. All you're missing it a boss attitude.

With blazers, you can easily change it up and go for a classical tweed style like how Spencer did in the photo with Emily. You can layer a blazer like that on top of a chiffon top or something soft to play up the rough texture of the blazer. Although in the show, Spencer can seem a little edgy and a little strong willed. But her style is on point. Blazer and a bun will make a boss's outfit daily.

Photos are taken from the ABC Family website!

Too much reading adds drama to my diction

Majority of my afternoon was spent with the lovely, Alexandria. 'Ello Alex :) It's always a good vibes, good times kind of day whenever I spend it with that girl. Whether it's on the phone or in person. I just always feel so enlightened and comforted after talking because we always just seem to be on the same page and we always have insights to share. And, my cheeks always hurt afterwards.

After dinner, I headed out with Mark to a local mall just to get out of the house again and spend some time together. The rain storm that I had to drive through terrified me but luckily on the way home, the heavens calmed down to a light drizzle.

I intend to keep the rest of my break like today. Although, I started butting heads with my parents today. Conservative strict parents are an obstacle that I constantly have to face. Even though I am on the verge of escaping and slowly locking away my teenage years, I am still treated as if I am just entering them. As I patiently await the day my parents finally recognize me as an adult I am stuck with the chains that most thirteen year old's bear.

The rest of my night consist of eating the rest of my Pillsbury cookies and watching Robin Hood while Mark keeps up 'til morning. :)

Surround yourself with people that only inspire you.

I saw Les Misérables today for the second time and it was just as good! Although, I didn't catch myself tearing up as much. Maybe because I was having too much fun just singing along with the characters. After the movie and hanging out I was so tired. So I ended up napping the most of my afternoon. When I woke up I had a small chat with Daisy! I can't wait until we can hangout again :) Oh and I'm just obsessed with Pillsbury easy to bake cookies. They are just so easy and so yummy...

I don't want this break to end. I love just doing nothing! Now I absolutely can't wait for summer where I'll have four months to just sit idly. But there's still spring break to look forward to! Ugh, life is just moving so fast. I feel like it's so hard to just enjoy it. I had a weird revelation recently. I never just sat down and evaluated the kinds of people I surrounded myself. It's kind of funny how I came across the thought. I was watching people on YouTube and I just saw how they were all surrounded by people that inspired them. People that encouraged them and did nothing but support and make them happy. I want to get to that place again. Where I feel like it's easy to be successful just because of the people I'm surrounded by. People that inspired me to try new, innovative things that will increase my skills and just expand my knowledge. I would love to meet people like that.

Of course, I met those kinds of people at college. But I wish I was surrounded more by people like that at home. Just people with extraordinary passions. I don't know. Maybe I should just admit defeat and enter the YouTube community. The kind of seem like my people.

Sephora Pocket Perfume Review!

I bought this pocket perfume last month at Sephora because I wasn't a beauty insider yet and I wanted to get my free birthday gift from Sephora which is this month. So I always saw beauty gurus on YouTube with this thing and I always thought it was cool. With new regulations on airlines and at the airport, you really can't bring any big tube of product anywhere. So what do you want to do if you want to wear your expensive perfume to your vacation destination and the last thing you want is for security guards to steal it from you right before you board the plane? This pocket perfume is the answer! It is two sided and one side has an applicator so you can easily spray your favorite perfume or body spray into the container. Then seal it off with the cap. And you're ready to go!

I don't travel much. But it's these kinds of things you won't know when you'll need it! You don't even need to be going out of the country to use it. If you don't want to buy a huge bottle of perfume to keep at home and a mini roll on just to bring around in your purse, you won't have to! You can use this little device to hold any perfume you want to have while you're out and about!

I know that Ulta sells this too! And there's also brand names of this little device such as the Travelo? And with that device you can pump the perfume directly from its spray nozzle. And it does not have an applicator like the one I have above.

I bought this for $15. Pricey, I know. But it can prove useful in the future! :)

Pretty Little Liar Premiere and Economic Investments

Today, I watched the Pretty Little Liar winter season premiere! At this point, Mona and Toby are revealed to be part of the A team. I am an avid fan. I really am. But I'm starting to realize the show is getting a bit cheesy and I've already said before that this series is being drawn out. I do expect another person to be revealed by the end of the season. But by then, this series should be nearly over... please no plot twists. I'm starting to feel that the show is just lying to me now. And since it is drawn out, I can't remember what happened last season anymore.

Usually I have a large PLL party of about 8-10 people where we eat pizza and watch together. Since some are already back at college for spring semester and most were busy. I ended up watching with just Anjali. And I'm glad it happened that way. I forgot how long it has been since Anjali and I have even hung out! I realized that whenever she would come over to watch, I never really spoke to her. Honestly, heart to hearts are the best. And the best way to rekindle old friendships.

Today, I went back to high school to participate in a quiz bowl alumni verses current members. I do miss high school. I really do. My last bits of high school were the best part. Senior year was the epitome of my high school years. Any time before that basically doesn't count for me. In my head anyways. But anyways. Onward and onward, we go.

The way I look at friendships is similar to the way I look at investments. Friendships are valuable. Different friendships with different people have different values. Some more valuable than others. To me, time invested directly relates to the value. Friendships that I have invested most of my high school career seem to have irrevocably forgotten. Under-prioritized. Undervalued. I mean, these things were bound to happen. That's not what I see as the problem. Time apart was not on my side. Time did not make the heart grow fonder. What it seems to me is that time only did one thing - depreciate my investments.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Spent my day with Mark today after staying up until 2am last night! So much for sleeping early.. Went out to get some more mint chocolate chip ice cream even though it's winter and picked up some new polishes from the OPI Germany collection that I've been wanting at Ulta! The green one is called Don't Talk Bach To Me and the redish/purplish one is called Every Month Is Oktoberfest. I can't wait to try oktoberfest because it was recommended by a beauty guru on YouTube.

I've been wanting to maintain connections with my cousins that I only see a couple times a year. Today a trending tag on Twitter was cut for bieber. One of my cousins is what you'd categorize a Belieber and a Directioner. Even though I know she's not the type to fall for that super, super fan crazy antics but I had to make sure. I remember when I was absolutely obsessed with High School Musical and Zac Efron. I was indeed, an avid fan. But I was never the type to go crazy over their actions outside of Hollywood. Yet, I was upset when Zanessa split up because they were THE PERFECT COUPLE. Call me ignorant, but I love them, miss them, and I don't care what anyone else says. And, I was upset when he smoked because I'm 100% against smoking. BUT what can you do. And someone like Justin Bieber who has a crazy, pre-teen fan base that are seriously self-sacrificing and obsessed to the truest meaning can never find resolve in what he does. Although he has all the fame he wants and all the money he could want, I feel sorry for him. I wonder if there will ever be a teen celebrity that isn't microscopically examined to the point where every action they did is magnified and is deemed selfish or "celebrity gone wrong". But apparently, the trending tag was just a hoax. Which.. is just plain dumb.

Anyways today is my dad's birthday! We're not doing anything special since we already went out for his early birthday yesterday at Cheesecake Factory. I hope I can see more people this week that I haven't seen yet during my break. It feels like spring semester is coming really fast and I just want things to slow down. I love being at home and doing nothing!

Woes of taking Christmas decorations down...

I honestly just wanted to stay home all day today. I was tired and Mark has been keeping me up 'til 3. But my parents insisted on eating out for lunch again. I was so irritated this morning that I was going to say no to Cheesecake Factory. But I went anyways and we ended up doing some more errands after lunch. Once we got home it was that time of year. It was time to take down the Christmas decorations. Taking off ornaments off a large tree is strenuous for such a short person. But it had to be done since my parents kept yelling at me to do it.

My favorite ornaments this year! The two Santa Clause ones I got free from doing a scavenger hunt at a mall and this gold bird I bought this year since I decided it was time for an overarching theme for our tree. I decorated the tree basically gold and red with the exception of the Santa Clause ornaments.

I don't know what it is but I have a craving to listen to the Les Misérables soundtrack! It's constantly running through my head. Again, another thanks to Mark. I plan on sleeping early tonight. Hopefully I can find time throughout the week to clean my room up a bit after all the Christmas shopping and gifts strewn about. I've hardly spent enough time at home to get things done!

A day of firsts!

Today my family and I grabbed lunch at PF Changs for the first time and it was really good! We did some grocery shopping and went to church while we went out. As soon as I came home, I went to a friend, Andre's, birthday gathering. We went to a small, cute restaurant where we all had Soondubu for the first time. (Well except for Andre) Soondubu is basically a tofu soup mixed in with whatever meat you choose: pork, beef, or seafood. Then we went to grab dessert at Dunkin' and I had mint chocolate chip ice cream for the first time! I've always figured that I wouldn't like mint chocolate chip ice cream because I really hate it in candy or chocolate bar form. But I was wrong! It was sooo good. I'll definitely indulge once I get back to school.

I haven't been able to keep up in my daily photos lately. But here's an update on my life through my Instagram! After watching the movie, Les Misérables, Daisy picked up the soundtrack! And I have my own copy of the soundtrack through Mark's own renditions of the songs each night. My absolutely FAVORITE ear cuff is this simple gold band and I think it looks so cute! I love how subtle it is. A picture my pork tofu soup with a side of rice is also included. Soondubu! And my very first scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream is also there. Never too late to start try something for the first time ;)

ERRAND DAY!

Today!!! I ran errands with my mom after receiving my third and final shot of gardisal! We went to the mall to return some things and also check out the holiday sales. I swear I have been going to the mall too often.

I finished reading Insurgent last night and I have to say the ending to this book was a lot better than Divergent. I felt like the ending of Divergent clued us into what was going to happen in Insurgent too much. I don't like the whole transitional ending. I prefer the book to end as it is without the reader knowing what might happen next. Sort of like the main characters of the book should have peace at the end before the set off on another adventure in the next book. Mark and I placed bets on what the third book will be named. He says, Resurgent and I say Convergent. This is just for official purposes. I would need proof to look back on once the book comes out in May!

Haha, above is a picture of my mom's leche flan. It took her a couple tries of getting it right but she finally did. I admire her determination and persistence

Christmas haul!

'Ello! I spent the day today with ma best fren Daisy! WOOO HI DAISY :) We went to target and I didn't self-indulge which I am very proud of. Then we went to Barnes  Victoria secret, and Claire's  The semi annual sale this year isn't really good for me this year. Although it is a great deal on underwear and bra's... which I don't need much more of at the moment. But for the longest time I've wanted ear cuffs. Even before they were that popular and they were just floating around hipster tumblr blogs. So I thought Daisy wanted to get some ear cuffs but turns out she didn't even know Claire's had them. Which was just a funny misunderstanding. Anyways I got three because it was buy 2 get 1 free. I want to have pictures of them on me so I'll feature them later in a different post.

But for now I'll show you my Christmas haul! Daisy got me the Butter London and Benetint - two things that I have wanted for a really long time but never wanted to spend the money myself. The Benetint is really easy and convenient for people like me. I have very pale lips and sometimes I don't like reapplying my lipstick throughout the day. So Benetint, since it is a tint, stains my lips for the entire day so I don't have to worry about losing color. The nail polish is in the shade trout pout. My favorite summer color this year was coral and trout pout was the perfect coral. So I finally got to wear it!

This wallet I got is from fossil. It acts as a wallet and a clutch, it has slots for cards, money, and coins. Then it  also has a slot for your phone! I was so happy when I got this wallet because first I saw a wallet like this on MacBarbie07's youtube channel because she got one from Juicy Couture. I can't wait to use this because it'll definitely prove convenient.

Note: I also got Lauren Conrad's Beauty book for Christmas but I'll do that in a separate post for a book review :)

Good shopping day!

Got a good haul today! All of these were purchased from H&M! I like shopping on week days when there's hardly anyone around. I was able find everything fairly easily on the sales rack! I'm excited to wear the black blazer because the black blazer I currently own is way too big on me and doesn't tailor to my fit. I'm also glad I was able to find a peplum top and dress still in my size! The good thing about H&M that Forever 21 doesn't have is a bigger range in sizes and it's in numbers.. not your typical S,M,L. So the dresses and skirts actually fit me at H&M. Although I do think Forever 21 does size Love 21 in numbers, everything is sized half a size larger... The other thing I bought was just a brown long cardigan that I can wear with leggings :)

I also saw Les Misérables with Mark :)  It was really good. I went into the theater without knowing anything about the movie or story line and that's how I usually like watching movies in theaters. Unless it's based on a popular recent novel. SPOILER ALERT. My favorite characters were Thénardier and Madame Thénardier who are played by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter. They were absolutely perfect for the part and I think they did a really good job as did the rest of the cast!

I am so tired after waking up early today to catch the matinee and the family party today... I'm going to take the rest of the evening listening to Les Misérables pandora and reading Insurgent :)

HAPPY NEW YEARRRR!

Today, I went to my annual family New Year party! It was great seeing everyone again! I missed my cousins so much! And hanging out with them today reminds me how since I am an only child, they're the closets family I have. Every year we say we'll hang out outside of family parties but it never happens. And sometimes we only see each other once or twice a year. Hopefully, this year it won't be the same and we'll actually hangout as friends rather than just as family. I just feel so blessed for everything and glad. I hope the rest of my winter break is as good as the first half. :)