-ing APR/MAY 2013

Hello My Precious Earthling Babies! (Okay, that does sound weird but hey! It's me.)

Another -ing. I feel like I haven'e done one in ages and I really haven't. I have been doing so much lately and here's my attempt to tell you what I am doing at the moment that's not school-related. Or exam-related. Or revision-related.

Joining: GOODREADS! and Pulseit

Reading: --------> Goodreads sidebar

Listening (Audio Book): Seriously... I'm Kidding - Ellen DeGeneres

Watching (TV series): The Mentalist

Watching (Anime): Post coming soon! ^_^ 

Magazine-ing: 

• Ray - Jan 2013
• Vivi - August 2012
• Company - February & April 2013

Searching: Artsy/Drawing Materials

Book Stack - MAR/APR 2013

Purchased from Book Depository

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Purchased from Book Store

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Abandon by Meg Cabot

tempest by Julie Cross

E-book from Amazon

Awakening (The Watchers Trilogy) by Karice Bolton

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Paper Towns by John Green

Parallel (Travelers Series) by Claudia Lefeve

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

The Jelly Bean Crisis by Jolene Stockman

Gravity (The Taking) by Melissa West

Purchased from Costco 

Gone Series by Michael Grant - Book 1 to 4 (Gone, Hunger, Lies and Plague)

The Beautiful Creatures Complete Collection by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (Beautiful Creature, Beautiful Darkness, Beautiful Chaos and Beautiful Redemption) 

These long series are reserved to be read in the summer since I don't have much time to read long series before exams start. 

Book Stack - Jan 2013

Books... have I mention how much I love books?! I L.O.V.E BOOKS SO MUCH! You get the idea. Therefore, I enjoy reading about good or new books that I would be interested in reading.

How awesome is it if my book shelves/stack look like this?
I would love it if my future apartment is like that.
Then I would be in book heaven. hehe

 Here's my first book stack! It's basically every book I have acquired this month. 

Purchased from Book Depository 

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell 

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

(Mentioned in another blog post.)

Borrowed from Library

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Can you believe I have never read any book by Gayle Forman and Lauren Oliver? No, I can't either! They are such amazing author yet I haven't read anything by them. I should be ashamed. Both books are for the Wishlist Challenge.

E-book from Amazon

Sweet 16 by Kate Brian

Evie's Knight by Kimberly Krey

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Also for the Wishlist Challenge)

I am so excited to read all of these books. I have had so many great things and read lots of amazing reviews about them. Let's hope I get time to read while school is still super busy.

I ordered Just One Day by Gayle Forman on Friday. I can't wait for it to arrive. I am really looking forward to reading it. -squee at an awesome book-

Blizzard And Smart Thinking

Hello Snowy People! 

For the last few days, the UK has been hit with pretty bad snow. It's been snowing on and off for days now and I swear it's closer to a blizzard than not. It's snowing insane! But it's very pretty. Like depressingly pretty. Beth and I really want to go to Japan and see it snow while watching cherry blossoms. Yes, we know it's not possible because cherry blossom doesn't happen in winter. Usually anyway. But hey, a girl (or girls) can dream! 

Picture of the view in front of my house again. Actually, it's from my room on the 2nd floor. Sorry for the blueness of the picture, it's the best I could do with editing. (I am awful at editing.) But it's better than how it originally was.

This is the back yard. The mini trampoline is just hilarious! You can see how insane the snow have gotten in the past few days. I was so tempted to go outside and scoop some up but I decided otherwise. It's so fricking cold outside. I had to blast the radiator to stay warm inside, with a hot water bottle and a hot drink. 

I am probably the only person who goes to Waterstones and go to the Smart Thinking section and look through the books in it. I found some really interesting ones but decided on 2. So I ordered them on Book Depository 2 weeks ago and they arrived a few days ago. Hooray! I don't have a clue why I am suddenly randomly into thinking books now. I do like seeing how things impact each other and changes but books.... still no idea why I would be into them. But it is interesting. I do have a whole list of books I have found and written down. However, I just got the 2 I was most interested in to start with.

I got The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell and Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. 

 

I am currently reading The Tipping Point. I think I saw someone's blog post about it on the internet and how the book really changes how you see things, which got me really interested. My version of the book is a tiny bit weird because it's slightly smaller in size than normal paperback books, not that it makes a difference.

P.S. Any of you play The Sims 3? I just started playing it yesterday, since Beth gave it to me. It's so good! It's like the first game I have played on the PC in ages. I spent like 4 hours on it but it was totally worth it. So much fun! 

2013 Reading Challenges! And Books I Want To Read

I love books and reading. It's like one of my favourite hobby. Okay, maybe it's ranked more like 5th but it's quite high up there. Reading is one of my new year's resolution. Read. Read. And read some more. So, to help myself and be more motivated, as I have mentioned in my resolutions, I am participating to reading challenges. I have decided on 2 challenges. Since I have decided, here's the post ^_^

The Wishlist Challenge is hosted by Cynni @ Uniflame. Information about it is here. Basically, you read 12 books from your current wishlist, one in each month. This one looks feasible since I just got back into reading regularly. It also means I can get some books read from my ridiculously long to-read list that can probably fit 2 streets.

My List: 

1. Rock and a Hard Place by Angie Stanton 

2. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

3. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

4. The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long

5. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

6. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

7. The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols

8. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick 

9. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

10. Entwined by Heather Dixon

11. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

12. Ex-mas by Kate Brian

The YA Contemporary Challenge is hosted by Katie @ Katie's Book Blog. Information about it is here. I have decided to go with Level 2 which is 10+ contemporary YA novels.

My List:

1. Also Known As by Robin Benway
2. Just One Day by Gayle Forman
3. The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding
4. The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar
5. How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
6. This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
7. The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ocklet
8. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg
9. When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney
10. The Lucy Variations by Sarah Zarr
11. All I Need by Susane Colasanti
12. Burning by Elana K. Arnold
13. Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

I have also decided that I need to read Sarah Dessen's books. Back in the days when I was really into YA romance, I loved Sarah Dessen. I remember I even gave Beth Lock and Key for her birthday. Cathy Cassidy and Sarah Dessen is what originally got me into all the heart-throbs, heart-breaks and such that comes with YA contemporary romances. 2012 YA contemporary romance novels and some fantasy ones had really caught my eye. So I most definitely will be reading some of those on my to-read list. 

2013 has a lot of science fiction and fantasy new releases. Yes, YA science fiction and/or fantasy is the best genre ever. It has been and will remain my favourite genre. Here are some that caught my eye and I probably will read this year. (Yes, we can doing this eye-candy style!)

    
      

    

2013 Resolutions

Hello my refreshed earthling babies! 

2013 is like officially upon us. So... it's time for resolutions. Okay, I have to admit I suck at resolutions. They are usually forgotten immediately. I know I am bad at it but I am determine to actually stick to it this year. Yes, I have decided to do a blog post to remind myself as well as the big "poster" on the wall above my desk. 

1.  ACTUALLY eat healthier and lose some weight

I have gained an incredible amount of weight last year. I just have to lost those weight and I want to do that by eating healthy. Yes, holiday chocolates or tasty snacks in general are my weakness. I want to actually get out of the habit of eating junk when I am bored, which I am sure everyone does. Who doesn't snack when they have time?! 

2. Read. Read. Read.

I used to read a lot when I was a kid. But I somehow hasn't been reading for the past 3 years or so in my free time. My excuse would be that school work has been hell and I don't have time. That is partly true but I really want to start reading again. I love reading. It's a big hobby of mine, and I am not just saying that to "sound good". I am planning on participating in Book Challenges to encourage and motivate myself. I haven't decided which ones to go with, but I will do a post as soon as I have decided. Since I love YA novels, it leads me on to...

3. Begin writing my story

My love for YA friction, especially science friction and romance, is HUGE and makes me want to write my story. I want to say I am aspiring to be a writer but I am not. I have an (in my opinion) amazing idea for a story and I want to write it. I am not trying to sound pompous or anything, I just want a chance to express my creativity and imagination through a story I create. I hope you guys can support me. 

4. Regularly blog - post twice a week?

I know I have only started blogging two months ago. But I really do love blogging. It allows me to express myself and my thoughts through words for other people to read. I am hoping and think I might be able to pull off posting twice a week. At least twice anyway. 

5. Exercise! Mebbez (Maybe) 3 hours outside of school?

I am a lazy person. I admit that. I do the bare minimum exercise I can. I hate doing anything physical. However, exercise contributes to staying healthy and it's good for you. So I have decided to actually start doing more exercise this year. I do like 3 hours of exercise at school anyway, but I want to do things outside of school. I quitted ballet dancing last year. I am planning on starting contemporary and hip hop dancing this year. Not sure how well it will go, but I want to give it a try. I am also thinking of starting yoga with my mother and sister. It's suppose to be good for you body and soul. So why not give it a try?

I probably have more I would want to achieve this year, but those are all the ones I really want to accomplish. I hope everyone enjoyed 2012 and is embracing 2013 with good resolutions. Talk to ya later~    

Best of 2012!

It's the last day of 2012. I have my mixed feelings. 2012 has overall been bittersweet. I AM looking forward to 2013. I hope good things will happen. (Plus I turn 16.)

Let's have a pretty watch picture to kick start this long blog post.

So, I am just going to ramble on at you guys and talk about all the things or changes that happened this past year. I am going to miss out all the bad stuff because frankly, I have forgotten most of it.

In March, I officially went from 14 to 15. And it was the most awesome birthday ever! My friends, who are all totally epic people, threw me a surprise party! (It was on a Saturday because my birthday was on a weekday.) It was amazing. I had no idea and we all went out to Nando's for nice food and went and saw the Hunger Games when it came out. You guys know I love my bessies (Erin and Beth). My parents also threw me a surprise. They (and my sister) gave me an ipad! The new ipad (3) that came out near my birthday. It's white. I LOVE white electronics. It's my thing. All my electronics got to be white. It's currently in a blue Hello Kitty case. But it's dying. So I need to get a new one soon. It was like the best 15th birthday ever!

I had a HUGE haircut in mid-March. I love my long hair. I have (near) always had long hair. That's like the only thing anyone compliments me on, that I have pretty hair. So something happened and I just decided I need to big haircut. Before the cut, my hair was just a little above my hip. Then I had a huge haircut. The hairdresser I had was actually shocked I wanted to cut it. Afterwards, it was just a bit below my shoulders and I got a side fringe. So woo~ for a big girl haircut!

I passed my piano exam and my music theory during the summer. So glad that's over. I hate exams. They are evil and should die. (Personification, GO!)

Oh, my baby sister turned 13 this year! Aww, she is finally a teenager. But it's a shame she is still like mentally 7. Nah, she liked being 13 and an official teenager. But seriously, she is the most annoying thing like ever.

Favourite Manga this year: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

It caused me great sorrow when it finished. Yes, I was very close to tears, as are many KHR fans. It is an absolutely awesome manga and it has the greatest graphics and I JUST FRICKING LOVE IT! The ending was disappointing but I will nevertheless love it. I also like the anime but it's nothing compared to the brilliance of the manga. If you haven't even heard of it, YOU ARE MISSING OUT BIG TIME (and you have not lived.)

I also started reading again this year. Like reading YA frictions in my free time. But, since I haven't read in ages... I can count the number of books I read this year with my fingers.

• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Yesterday's Sun by Amanda Brooke
• Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
• Snowed Over by Angie Staton

Don't worry, I have a enormous YA to-read list that I will eventually complete. I did try to read the Hunger Games, since I loved the movie and everyone love the trilogy. I have the book but I just can't get past the first 18 pages. It just didn't have me hooked. Yes, I love and prefer Divergent. That book was amazing.

Favourite TV Show: How I Met Your Mother & Once Upon A Time

I LOVE THESE TWO SHOWS! They are actually my all time favourite shows. I spent the entire summer watching all 7 seasons of HIMYM and season 1 of OUAT. I am still following the show and it's sad that everything is on winter hiatus. But seriously, I can not express how much I love these shows in just words.

I moved house this year. Cleaning and packing was hell but I love my new room. So it's all good.

NEW PHONE! Can't believe I didn't mention this earlier. I had quite a bad phone for a year and a half. But I love my new phone. It's the Nokia Lumia 900 in white. I don't know why it gets all the crap for being a windows 8 phone but in my opinion, it's a good phone. 

My favourite music list is way too long! So I will just let you enjoy all the Music Madness Monday and the ones to come. Because as I have said, music is my life.

My favourite movie list is also far too long. So, I will just mention some like... The Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, Pitch Perfect... etc. And I joined the Young Tyneside Programmers this year. It's awesome because it's all about movies. So yay for that. 

I am a huge nail polish junkie. So I am more than happy that this year, my nail polish collection double in size! My favourite nail polish I got this year is either any of my magnetic ones or OPI Skyfall. But I am still a black, taupe or light pink nail polish girl. 

Last but definitely not least... THIS BLOG! I started this blog this year and I am really happy I did. I really enjoy blogging and it's super fun. I love all the people who would take time to read my blog. I am looking forward to continuing this blog next year, I have tons more to write. This blog and my deviantart account has been websites that entertained my boredom this year.

That is all. Wow, it really was a long post. I have enjoyed 2012 a lot and I look forward to the fun of 2013!

A sparkle to summarise the magic of a year.

Happy New Year! 

Love, Ka-Ching xxx

-ing #01

Before I start this post... IT'S DECEMBER! So... Christmas! woo! Winter is like official. (Just thought it was worth mentioning.)

International Nutella Gala!!!

Joking! I do love Nutella though. -ing is basically I tell you guys what I have been... well, for example, reading at the moment. Hence the -ing ending. Not the most creative segment name, I know. But it will do.

Reading: Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

I am about... 70 pages into this book? It's 305 pages long... so I really am not that far in. It is quite a light and sweet read. It has more than one fairytale aspect in, so it's very fun. 

I can't actually get this book where I live, so I ordered it hardback on bookdepository.co.uk. They have free shipping, so it's brilliant. 

Check out the reviews of Enchanted on Goodreads (Click on the word). I am not sure whether I will write a review on this after I finish or not, since I am awful at writing reviews. I also have a lot of books on my to-read list... however, this is not great since I am awfully slow at reading. 

Watching (TV series): Once Upon A Time

I AM FRICKING IN LOVE WITH THIS SHOW! I absolutely adore it. It's totally up my street in terms of story. 

I still need to see the 9th episode of season 2 (which airs tonight) but I am currently in tears (I am not, but that is just me being me and very dramatic). This winter finale is killing me. 4 weeks! That's 4 weeks of no fun! How can it takes 4 weeks to resume the series? I just.... am addicted to this series. If you haven't seen or heard of it: 

1. You have not lived
2. You need to check it out. NOW! Immediately. 
3. WATCH IT! and LOVE IT

My favourite characters are definitely Belle, Rumplestiltskin, Snow (NOT Mary Margaret) and Ruby/Red. They are so awesome for so many different reasons. Watch the show and you will see why. For the record, this show has a habit of having cute guys. Just so you are warned.

If you haven't realise already, there is a pattern. I love my fairytales. I love them so much! I love it when they remake a fairytale with twists and surprises, since I am very good at predicating plots. 

Magazine-ing: Company December 2012

I love my fashion magazines. I am not a fashion guru and is "dope" with fashion, but I do like reading fashion magazines. Sometimes Korean or Japanese fashion, but those are hard to get my hands on. So I usually stick to ones I can get at supermarkets. 

Company is one of my favourite high-street fashion magazine. I have a lot of their volumes, like the February one and the September one. I just really like the content that they have and the price is so reasonable.  

Searching: Christmas presents

If I have an idea, I am great at presents. If I don't have a single clue, I am terrible. 

It's coming up to Christmas soon and I really need to get my friends and family presents. I have no luck right now. I just don't know what to get everyone. But I am searching and hopefully, I will be a present master! mwahahahahahaha. I have considered making people things, but I am really bad. So that's one option down, 67 more to go. 

I also just finished my truly horrible week of mock exams! YAY! All the revising and stuff was just so stressful and I am just so glad that's over and done with. Having 7 exams was not easy. Just... fingers crossed that my results turn out okay.

That is all. Byebye~