Too long

I've been away from my blog for too long. I don't want to come up with an excuse why, other than I've been quite busy. But then again, we all are.
I just thought I'd share with you some lovely photos this morning.. to start you off with a good day and get you dreaming of far off places.


Moscow


Brazil


Disneyland @ Hong Kong


Maldives


Egypt


Turkey

Amazing photos by cityoflove on tumblr.

Ballet

So, this year I've decided to try and be spontanious... at least more then last year. By that I don't mean try out stupid things and make a fool of myself. However, I'd like to try new things as oppose to always sticking to the same ol' routine and taking the "easy way out". That being said, I had my first ballet class today and it was a great experience! My toes and muscles are telling me otherwise, but my mind is telling me to keep on it and go back again tomorrow! Anyway, I'm sure it's only normal to feel achy after ballet. Compared to some of the people in the class I'm only a beginner, a newbie... but that doesn't matter, because I have to start somewhere! I'm extremly excited to buy a new leotard and shoes, since the current ones I'm wearing are a tad too small.
Au revoir!

1st day

School, school go away
come again some other day

Simply wonderful

I love all things simple.

I grab for the simple t-shirts or floral prints in clothing stores. I love a simple colored V-neck.


I enjoy simple cappuccinos. Foam with a dash of cinnamon.


I love simple days. Taking walks through the park. Picking simple flowers.


Baking simple goodies- like oatmeal cookies or bran muffins.


Enjoying a simple read.


Or a simple smile.


Watching a simple sunrise- or sunset.


Treating myself to a simple midday meal of french bread, olive oil, and garlic.


Or, simply enjoying a simple daydream.

What better way to celebrate?

Studying, cramming, exams, and the whole shebang are over with! It is OFFICIALLY summer vacation 2010. Time certainly flies... when you're having fun:] I decided to CELEBRATE by making white chocolate/ macadamia cookies after my math exam today. Plus, I'm having a sleepover with Addy! F.U.N. stuff. Hopefully you'll have fun this summer vacation and just relaaxxxxx.

Dedicated to DAVID! Since I know you're very much obsessed with this recipe.
Thanks to Joythebaker!

Out of the normmm

Today was definitley out of the norm. I decided to make fudgy brownies as my "break" from studying for my math exam... and for some odd (my favorite word of the week) reason I was being spontanious and chose to add pistachios to the brownies!!! PISTACHIOS! Of all things! I am usually a NO NUTS IN MY BROWNIES kind of gal. If I see nuts in em, I won't eat em (I'm not picky at all!) Even the brownies at the school's snack bar disgust me... you know what I mean? Who wants nuts in their chocolate anyway?! I have certainly broken the family tradition of always leaving out the nuts in the recipe list. My grandchildren and great great grandchildren and so on will talk about me! I am not a CONFORMIST!(this brings back memories of FARANHEIT 451). Anyway, to my great disbelief, the brownies turned out pretty darn tasty. I'm proud that I chose to try something different, as oppose to always sticking to the "usual" and routine way of doing things... especially in the kitchen, which is supposed to be a place of creativity! Yep.

Time to study!

It's that jolly time of year again... nope, not Christmas... it's time for exams! Today was my first day of exams and I gotta say both my English H and Asian Studies exam went much better then I had predicted, which is a plus. I've only got three more to go, and Mandarin and Science are tomorrow! Since I'm on the topic of exams, I just wanted to share with you some tid bits that I "typically" do while studying for exams.


Firstly, of course, I lovee to snack on something. My ultimate favorite study snack may sound quite ODD to you... pistachios and M&M's! I think they provide a great contrast to one another, because one is sweet while the other is salty- so it's two flavors in one! Haha:]


Plus, I like drinking fruity smoothies because they're both tasty and healthy, so I don't feel all that terrible about the M&M's! I like adding mango, passion fruit, strawberries, OJ, and ice (I'm not a big fan of banana's).


Although some people think listening to music is distracting while studying, I think it really gets me "in the mood". I tend to listen to cheerful tunes that somewhat encourage me to study more and finish my work... if you know what I mean. I often find myself nodding my head or tapping my foot... hehe:P


(If ONLY this was the current view from my bedroom!)
I usually cannot study for more than 45 minutes straight without a short 5-10 minute break. So, sometime I'll go onto my porch and just look off into the distance (trees, sunset, etc) for a few minutes, because it's not good to stare at a computer screen for a long time.


The smell of incense and the feel of dimmed lights really calm me, so I tend to study in a quite room and I like to light musk incents or smell essencial oils(massaging oils). For some reason many bright lights give me a headache and often distract me.


Lastly, this is kind of an odd one... my friend, Jane, told me today that if you stare at a bright color for a while then it will stimulate your brain cells and get you thinking faster. So I've actually started using this one today... BUT it doesn't seem to have the best results! Nonetheless, I'm still trying every method I can.