overview of 2015.

Hi there!

Sorry for the disappearance act once again! You guys should know by now that I'm a part-time magician. Haha! Just kidding! I was super busy towards the end of 2015, which is why I've been so MIA.

Let's back track, shall we? Here are some of the highlights of my year.

At the beginning of June, I started that Fit Girl Challenge and totally failed. I did well the first week, but when it came to meal prepping for the following week, I just never got around to it. I believe I had a busy weekend and couldn't go food shopping so meal prepping was out of the question. Excuses? Of course. I need someone to really motivate me or just hire a personal trainer and personal chef. Haha. Only if things were that easy. Anyway, then on Father's Day, we added a new member to our family. Since we lost Simba earlier in the year, my uncle thought we needed a new dog. His Corgi had some puppies about 3 months prior and he gave one of them to us.  Meet Nori.

Isn't she lovely?

She's one of the sweetest dogs ever and super playful! Kate and Bella haven't really warmed up to her just yet, but I know they will! K & B are such laid back senior dogs that they're not used to having a puppy around, who constantly wants to play with them. Haha.

Then in July, I got to go to Taylor Swift's The 1989 World Tour! It was definitely one of the best concerts I have ever been to! My sister Peejay and I just had such a great time! It was constant dancing and singing all night long! *Thanks Peejay for coming with me!*  Taylor Swift definitely knows how to put on a show! Here are some pics from the night!

Around the end of September, I started a Dental Radiology class, which I took on Sundays. Being that it was only once a week, I thought I'd still have free time. Oh boy, was I wrong. If I wasn't at work, then I'd be at a nearby Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks or just at home studying. It was non-stop. I felt super drained out at the end of the course and the worse part is, the last day of class was on December 20th! Every year, I would finish my shopping early so around the last week before Christmas, the only thing I had to worry about was wrapping. I barely had any time to shop this year. It was super stressful trying to think of gift ideas for people and study for finals. I had forgotten how stressful it is being in school, but in the end, it was worth it. I passed the class! Oh, and I got my shopping done! Haha.

So, that pretty much sums up the rest of my year. I'm pretty sure I've missed a lot of other things, but I just wanted to at least let you guys know why I disappeared towards the end of the year. Well, til next time!

book seven through twelve. (2015)

Hey there!

I am pleased to inform you all that I have finished my New Year's Resolution of reading a book for every month of 2015. Yes, I know it's not December yet, but during the summer, I was hit by a motivation bug and was able to read six books in a little over a month! I didn't even think I was capable of such a thing! I guess if we're really being honest, I didn't really complete the resolution because I read half of a book in March and didn't read anything at all in April. I'm actually a book and a half short, but I like to think I completed it! Haha.

The books I read were all Young Adult novels, which were super easy to read. I flew through each book and enjoyed every minute of them. Took me about a week each. I think the reason I kept reading these YA novels was because each one brought me back to my middle school/high school days and having crushes on these boys. It was cute and definitely brought back "the butterflies in your stomach" feeling that I have not felt in a while. Haha.

Here are the books I read with a synopsis from Barnes & Noble...
 

--- To All the Boys I've Loved Before  by Jenny Han ---

 

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     Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
--- P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han ---

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 This is the sequel to the book above. It's definitely worth reading after. I really wish she had a third book! I debated whether or not I should write the synopsis for this book on here, but I didn't wanna give anything away, even though you guys could totally find the synopsis yourselves. Haha. At least I won't feel responsible!

--- The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han ---

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     Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer — they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

--- It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han ---

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This one is the second book of the series and like I said with the first series by Jenny Han, it's definitely worth reading after the first.

--- We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han ---

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Third and final installment of the trilogy.

--- Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins ---

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     Anna can't wait for her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a good job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's not too thrilled when her father unexpectedly ships her off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair, the perfect boy. The only problem? He's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her crush back home. Will a year of romantic near-misses end in the French kiss Anna awaits? 

book six. (2015)

Reading: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

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Book six?! Whatttttt?! I cannot believe I've made it to June! *Patting myself on the back* What an accomplishment! Haha.

Anyway, this book was recommended by my sister Pamela years and years ago. I just never got around to reading it because I apparently was so busy with school. Haha. So, when it came time to choosing a new book for the next month, I decided to look through this bin I have under my bed with a bunch of books I've tucked away for times like this. This book was right on top of the pile and I just gave it a go. 

It's such a great story about love and food. It's about a girl named Tita who falls in love with a guy named Pedro, but they can't be together because of her mother and the family tradition of the youngest daughter not marrying anyone and taking care of her mother until the day she dies. So, each chapter, the narrator starts off telling the story of Tita's life with a recipe and then goes into the different situations and emotions she goes through, which is expressed through her cooking. This I felt was very similar to the movie Simply Irrisistible with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery about a chef who one day, with the help of a magaical crab, cooks up delicious dishes only to have her customers feel the emotions she had while she was preparing it. I think Esquivel did a very creative job telling the story in this way and I felt she was trying to get the point across that she believes love conquers all and that sometimes you have to go through tough times to get where you want to go, or change situations for others, and just be happy.

I do recommend this book, but be warned that it may be a little raunchy for some people. Haha. After I finished the book, I put on Netflix and found the movie in Spanish and I really appreciated how well the movie stuck to the book. It's so disappointing when certain parts are missing or they change the plot completely, but like I said, it was pretty similar. Go read it or watch it! I think you'll enjoy it!

book five. (2015)

Reading: Fit Girl's Guide (No idea who the author is haha).

Screenshot taken from my IPad - love that it matches my blog layout! Haha.

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And I thought I was pretty bad for not finishing up my book in March....

I DIDN'T EVEN READ ANYTHING FOR APRIL!!!

No, it's not an April Fool's joke or anything. I'm terrible. Absolutely terrible. I'm pretty disappointed in myself.

Well, enough of that negativity... I am happy to say that I finished a book for the month of May! Yayyy!! If you have Instagram, I'm pretty sure you've seen before and after pictures of girls that are promoting this thing called The Fit Girl Challenge. It's pretty much this 28 day challenge to help people start eating clean, exercise, and lose some weight. It tells you all about it in this e-book that they sell here. My sister Pamela was impressed with the results they posted and was motivated to try it. Naturally, she sent my other sister and me a copy of the book.

I finished reading it just yesterday (right on time!) and I have to say it's pretty informative. I actually really liked it. They made it so easy to follow and pretty enjoyable to read. It gives you tips on how to motivate yourself and each other (if you're doing the challenge with friends or sisters....ahem, I know you both are reading this...let's do ittttttt!), workout plans that you can do at home (gym free....woot!), and weekly meal plans with a complete grocery list and recipes (with substitutes). It's pretty awesome. I was so ready to start the challenge today, but I didn't have a chance to get groceries and meal prep. Plus it's my mom's birthday today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!! LOVE YOUUU!) so it was all about food and cake! Haha.

Anyway, I really recommend this book to everyone who wants to try the challenge out! Make sure to comment below and let me know if you want to try it with me. Maybe I'll post about my journey and we can encourage one another. If you remember, losing and maintaining a certain weight is on my #30before30 list so I'm pretty serious about trying this out!