Blogger Appreciation Award

Thank you!  

To Rini who has been so kind as to grace me with this award.  (#^.^#)

She's a sweetie encouraging me along with this blogging business.  As you can see I'm only a noob with a lot of passion and gabbiness.  But I guess those account for something!  ^0^ So, I sincerely offer my thanks again to Rini.

RULES:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award with their blog link on your post.

2. Answer the following 4 questions.

3. Award the blogger appreciation award to as many readers/commenters/followers as you’d like.

4. Let the blogger know you’ve just awarded them (by leaving a comment/email/tweet/etc).

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:

1.  How long have you been blogging?

I've only started last December, although I did have to blog for some of my classes in college.  But those were incredibly boring stuff so those do not count.  ^_^

2.   What are 1-2 reasons why you started blogging?

Reason 1:  I really wanted to write and share about the Lord and I love beauty, so fortunately there are means of melding everything.  Reason 2:  I was really depressed and writing really helped me to cope.

3.    What types of blog do you like to follow/read?

Beauty (of course), cute storyboard, recipes/cookbooks, inspirational/devotional, world issues....  But beauty is my main because of the plenty of pictures.  :P

4.  What is one thing you would like to improve on as a blogger/on your blog?

Gee... where to start???  There is so much I can improve on especially since I've only begun.  I hope to meet more acquaintances through this blog ^^.  I want to be a more knowledgeable blogger.  Be a better photographer, product reviewer, writer, etc. etc.  The list can go on and on until I start talking about cabbages and kings.  So yes!  I can be hypercritical about myself.... (-.-;;) 

SHOUT OUT!

goes to:

Justine

Closet Voyage

Diana

Lorina

Emi

  

Beautiful ladies who have been so kind, so admirable, and so down-to-earth, and have given a minute of their time to answer my questions ^_^

Real Life Sundays, ed. 7

Had some fun joyriding in my sister's new truck today!  ^0^  Yee-haw!!!
It's an F150, so I definitely felt country!  Heehee!

This is what's been up today:

I'm bling-blingin'!  Only $10 at Macy's.  ^0^

I'm trying to treat my nails because they are so soft
and brittle (>.<)   Hope it works!

Lovin' my Revlon in Saucy nail color.  It's just so
that- SAUCEH! :D

So, that's that!  I'll write again when I do!  Good night~

Why Can't We Be Friends?

Thunk!

Thunk!

Thunk!

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Yup... that's how the dishes sounded like as our server set the 반찬 before my friends and me.

I got together with my friends for a special birthday dinner for one of them and decided to go to S**** **** in Tumon.  We chose it solely for the ambience and the shabu-shabu, which was only $37, which was not a bad price at all considering that other restaurants charge nearly the same price per person. O.o

The food was really good but I think we just got on the wrong foot with the server.  First when she was taking our order, she was telling us that we MUST order two of one of our choices.  Four faces returned her this look:

"Heh?"

"Why?" we asked.  "Only one person wants it."  Eventually, she relented.  Then it just went really awry from there.  

Um... she was having a hard time speaking in English and we were having a hard time understanding her.  All these made the situation uncomfortable.  So, I guess... this is my assumption... that's why we had to wave her down several times during the evening for water, for more order, etc.  Actually, when we were asking for another dish on the menu, the manager was the one who attended us.  And as for the water, my friends and I decided to just take the pitcher from the counter- which was right next to us, by the way- and serve ourselves.  It was all pretty awkward...

In conclusion, good food brings good people together! ^_____^ But awkward service drives them away.

Casual look?  I tried to contour my nose... Blah!

When you come in, you'll be greeted by this ^_^

Meat!  Ang Ang :D

Shrooms!

Two sets of these :)   So, a total of 12 반찬! ^_^

I liked the bathroom, though :D 

Easter Break 2012

Easter break had come and gone...

But check me out making my overdue post!  Heehee! XD
So, yes!  I wasn't a bum.  My plate was pretty full- metaphorically and literally.  Enjoy the pictures!  :D

After 15 years, it still takes my breath away...
It reminds me that the world is my oyster. :)

Cannons from the Spanish acquisition of Guam.

Reminds me of one of my favorite songs: "When the oceans rise and
thunders roar/I will soar with you above the storm/Father, You are King
over the flood/I will be still/Know You are God"

”がんばって” Face!
Getting ready to draw/paint/illustrate

California Pizza Kitchen and Haagen Dazs

Baby Clam Linguine
Yum!  I love the chewiness of the clams and the
creamy, briny sauce.

Hawaiian
I wanted the Original BBQ Chicken but my sister
chose this.  Mmm~~  It was good, too.  It wasn't greasy
which I really liked! ^.^

Rich and sweet Macadamia Brittle and waffle cone :9
Sinful, I know!  But so goooooood~

Yup!  That's what's been up!

I also got to read books and committed myself to jogging.  And I'm quite proud to say that I'm still on that track since I've become so unfit during college.  I'll be blogging about that after I see more results.  I'm still pouring over books again ^_________^  Finally!  The only books I read during college were textbooks and scholarly journals T______T  My goodness!

Last but absolutely not the least, Easter took on deeper meanings for me and having the time to meditate and reflect on those had been a great treasure for my life.  I thank the Lord that this heart is healing and this mind is becoming more peaceful :)

Until next time!

Geo Angel Violet Review

These were my first contact lenses along with Geo Honey Wing from Honeycolor.  Actually, the store is having a 10% discount promo right now, so CHECK 'EM OUT!

Anyway, despite my slightly blah feeling today because I am really sleepy and it's so warm, I've been really eager to write this because I promised long ago! ^0^

This should be a well-known edition of Geo circle lenses; I believe it is also pretty old so there should be a lot of reviews out there.  But here we are :)

Geo Angel Violet Review
Color
3/5  The color is not vibrant.  Actually, I think it is a very dark violet, but whenever there is enough lighting, the color will show up.
Design
5/5  I like this design! ^_^  The black limbal ring transforms the eyes and makes them larger and more dolly.  It's not the most natural, though.
Enlargement
3/5  14.0 diameter with dark limbal ring.  There is a larger version of Angels, and certainly that would give you more enlargement.  But this one can still make the eyes slightly bigger- bigger than Geo Wings.  Click  HERE to read my enlargement system. :)
Comfort

2/5  I really tried to like this... I did.  But it was just UNcomfortable, which was curious since Geos are usually comfortable for me.  Most days, my Angel Violet pair was tolerable but that shouldn't be the case.  They should be always comfortable, I believe.  

I used these lenses for a couple of months, then eventually they became more and more bothersome.  I shouldn't have used them for that long because they may have been a defective pair because one of them eventually tore although I was gentle with them.  I didn't know better...

Overall

2/5  Comfort is my priority!  But it may have been just this pair because Honeycolor is a trustworthy store and Geo has been a good and comfortable brand for me.  

So innocent-looking in their cases!

Choo~

REMINDER

**Whenever you put something in your eyes, if it's uncomfortable, DO NOT FORCE IT!  Beauty should only come second to comfort, especially when it comes to your eyes!**

READ THE LINK BELOW

for more information about the importance of legitimate and quality circle lenses and distributors.

http://www.hystericmint.com/2012/04/how-circle-lens-damaged-my-eyes.html

Easter Message: Will God Ever Forgive...?

There are horrors that we people have done to our planet, to each other, that should have never been seen even once.  Sometimes, when these events are made into films, I cannot, or refuse, to even imagine, how they compare to reality.

One particular movie that struck me with such thought was Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond (2006).  Danny Archer (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), who once was a hardened soldier, a diamond smuggler, and a witness to the atrocities that was so prevalent in the region, after giving a very graphic description of his mother and father's deaths, questions, "Sometimes I wonder... will God ever forgive us for what we've done to each other" (Blood Diamond, emphasis added).


With all the cruelties and heartlessness that permeate all places of the earth and all threads of the fabric of time (blessed are we who have not experienced the extent of these), I cannot help but wonder also, "Where is God?  How can One so righteous forgive us of what we've done to each other?"


And as if to answer me and Danny Archer with His own lips, I hear this Easter message:

Jesus did not just die a martyr's death for some worthy cause.  Nor did He die sort of as a lamb going to the slaughter so that those who stood for what He stood for will be galvanized in gaining a hearing from people.  He did not even die so that someone else might live.  When He went to the cross, He went to provide a way so that the very ones who crucified Him- that's you and I- might have a way provided for our forgiveness and be rescued from the entanglements of the Hell we created in this world (Zacharias, "Four Gardens").

God provided a way for forgiveness and the way out of Hell through the gruesome death and glorious life of His Son, Jesus Christ.  We've been invited not to remain in the confusion and hurt we have made for ourselves and others.  There is love and forgiveness in the red letters.

Abraham was offering Isaac but at the last minute when He was about to bring the knife down God said, "Stop! I myself will provide." Two-thousand years ago, God Himself did provide in His Son, and as long as we reject His Son, we will be sacrificing our own sons and daughters at some altar of hatred or some altar of violence.  So, the answer is to either trust the Son He has provided or we look to a very bleak future (Zacharias, "Can Man Live Without God?").

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders... But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 9:6, 53:5).

Works Cited:
Zacharias, Ravi. "Four Gardens."  Ravi Zacharias International Ministries Media.  YouTube.  21 April 2011.  Video.  19 April 2012.
Zacharias, Ravi. "Can Man Live Without God?"  Ravi Zacharias International Ministries Media.  YouTube.   November 2010.  Video.  19 April 2012.
Scripture taken from The New International Version, www.biblegateway.com.


Image:
Diamonds

Things to Come

New posts below this post ^_^

Just one more post before I go to sleep :)

I have a few plans for this blog for the coming weeks.  First of all, I'm aiming that I'll be able to finally blog about my Easter break.  Contrary to what I wrote about about being a couch potato, I actually did some things that made my time productive and worthwhile.  So, I was pretty stoked about that.  I want to share those with you soon.

Secondly, after my fast from buying cosmetics, I'm ready to buy again so I can have items to review.  Yay, finally!  ^0^  I thank God that I survived it!  But I found the fast very healthy for my mind and spirit- where I felt I was not being controlled by my impulses and desires.  It feels healthier when the will overcomes desires.    I also realized that there are things that I don't always need or have to have, despite of what I felt for that moment. ;)  Not to mention, the sigh of relief of my wallet!

Lastly, I want to hold a giveaway soon! I hope by the end of this month...  This giveaway will be based on my current obsession!  *Not going to reveal yet :)  But you can take a guess.*  However, I would like to ask for some pointers about hosting a giveaway.  I am very serious about this and could really use the advise you may have.  Thanks so much!  ^0^

It's getting really late here so I shall post again tomorrow!  Good night!
  

Consider the Lilies of the Field

"And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:"

Matthew 6:28

"And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

verse 29

"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"

verse 30

God provides all our needs!  :)

Works cited:

Scripture are all taken from King James Version (KJV) from www.biblegateway.com.

Spring/Summer Fashion

^0^ H i   e v e r y o n e!

Sometimes, I feel absolutely silly saying that I have anything affiliated with the four seasons.  You know, Guam has only two: rainy and dry.  Then, there isn't much of a difference in the fashion between the two, except you can wear sweaters in the rainy season because the dry season is becoming smoldering hot, especially within these recent years.  Global warming is REAL, yo! O.o

But, in saying all that---  a girl can dream, no?  I would really want to see spring and fall again someday :)  But I can live without winter...  I'm quite sure of that!

Maxi dresses are so summery ^___^  If you want to
appear instantly elongated and taller, an empire
waist maxi is the way to go.

My summer staple: hats and braids.  The white batwings blouse is
 reminiscent of spring because of the delicate floral details.

Floral details

Yup!  That is all.  :)  I hope this inspires you for the warm days to come.

♥♥♥

New Looks Good

I've just updated my blog design ^____^  I'm growing out of the cramped pink overload of my past design.  I like this mint green theme: more mature, yet much more calming.

I am excited to be writing again, and this new theme compels me to do so...  :)

So, what have you been up to lately?

I thank God that the recent earthquakes in Indonesia did not trigger any tsunamis.  Praying for you there!

It means hope for better things to come.

Image:
Dandelions

Mockingjay and "The Girl on Fire"

Hi friends, ^.^

  Ever wondered what in the world are you going to do with them cute, little bottles that you get from your circle lenses???  Sometimes, I feel bad to just throw them away @.@  You know, we gotta be eco-friendly and stuff.  (Maybe, we can give them away with the rest of our recyclable glass.)

  Anyway, I've gots a great idea!

Ping!

I repurposed them into...

...Miniature Vases!

They make for really cute flower arrangements ^__________^

I may be seeing things, but I name
this arrangement The Mockingjay :)

A tribute to the "girl on fire"

You know where I've been! :D

I'm definitely a fan now~

And if you are, too, then here's for you.  Enjoy much!

Images:

Question 

Lightbulb
The Hunger Games cast

Black and Pink Sakura Nail Art tutorial

^0^ Waaaaau~~

I've been trying to finish this post for the past hours but I've been gawking over My Weekend with Marilyn.  : )  Michelle Williams gave a splendid performance!  ^^b

Any-kahoots, this is my simple tutorial on cherry blossom-themed nails.  I will try to be as clear as I can since this is not a picture-by-picture tutorial, which people are more keen about.  But what can I say?  Hehehe!  XD

This design is so simple to do, you're gonna laugh because of all the extra time you'll have, say, to read a book or watch a good movie like the one mentioned above. :D

Let's get started, shall we?  ^___^

Black and Pink Sakura nail art tutorial  ❀❀❀

You'll need straight painting guides from a French manicure kit, black, pink, and sheer French pink nail polishes, nail stickers, and top coat.

• First, apply the painting guides diagonally on your nails.  You can skip this step if you have steady hands, but it makes the job so much easier ;)
• Second, apply the black and pink nail colors, alternating them between your nails: black on the thumb, pink on the pointer, black on the middle, pink on the ring finger and black on the pinky.
• Do the opposite diagonal direction with your other hand, with the opposite alternation of colors: pink, black, pink, black, pink.
• Apply the colors twice.
• Apply the sheer French pink color over your nails.  (Don't worry, it should be sheer enough that the base colors will still show through.)
• Apply the nail stickers on the thumb and ring finger.  (Only on two fingers so it wouldn't look overdone.)
• Lastly, seal with top coat!

1. Sally Hansen French Manicure Kit painting guides  2. Revlon Scented
Perfume Nail Enamel in 305 Sublime Strawberry  3. Sally Hansen HARD
AS NAILS in 880 Black Heart  4. Sally Hansen HARD AS NAILS Sheer
French Color  5. sakura-themed nail stickers  6. OPI RapiDry Top Coat

Yup, that's all!  I'm sure that you will finish this manicure in less time it took me to write this post.  :D  Have fun!

Where You Go, I Go!

When God takes us aside and gives us His word, different emotions can surge through us, but we'll never be without a reaction.  It can range from hesitance, resistance, and obedience.  

When Moses first encountered God, and God appointed him to go before pharaoh and to lead the Israelites out of slavery, Moses protested, "Who am I...?" (Exodus 3:11)  

There are many times, when our initial response to God is to voice out our inadequacy.  "Lord, who am I...?"  Then we fill those three dots with our own protests.  In my case, many times I have felt, "Lord, who am I?  I live on such a small island!  I am too young and I am a chicken!  I don't know how I am going to do that!"  When we get to the root of it all, often these are cries that we are not good enough.

Funnily, I think God already knew all of our limitations before we even mention them!  But, that doesn't stop our Lord from calling, appointing, persisting.  And, what He already knows, which we later realize, is that it is not about us, it is about Him, that His plans would be accomplished and He has the ability to accomplish them.  Why He chooses to partner with us in the first place is a whole different topic of discussion, which I will not address here. :) 


"And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet" (Exodus 7:1).  
In response to Moses' questions, God reassures him that He has taken care of all concerns, down to the very detail.  Pharaoh was a deity in ancient Egypt, and who would he listen to but to another deity?  Hence, God appoints Moses to be like a god to Pharaoh because of the great and mighty things that God will do through him.  And we know how that story ends, yah?

Similarly, with our present circumstances, God will call us out of our comfort zones- to go to places, say things, and do things that we've never imagined we'd experience.  Similarly to Moses, we may respond to God by first asking Him who are we to do such things?

However, in whatever we are tasked to do, be it if we were prominent athletes, talented musicians, missionaries who go out to every corner of the world, or even students or schoolteachers (^__^), He will use us to effectively witness to the world that HE is powerful, that HE is good, and that HE is life.  And for us He appointed, He is with us "even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20).

Yet, yes, oppositions will come and hard hearts will form, but God's will will still be done: "...[I] will multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt... And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them" (Exodus 7:3b, 5). 


For Him, who persistently calls us to do His good and perfect will, may we respond in the words of the prophet Isaiah, "Here am I; send me!"  With what I've missed in prose, I will leave you with these thoughts in the form of a song by Kim Walker and Jesus Culture:

Works Cited:

All Scripture taken from the King James Version (KJV) from www.biblegateway.com.

Images:

After the rain

Girl dancing in the rain

Real Life Sundays, ed. 6

Hi, you guys!  ^_^

Sorry that I've been out for a while, and I think you'd know why if you check out the other posts below.  Thanks for staying tuned, though!  Your support really encourages me to write on!  

These photos aren't really from only one Sunday ^^;;  but an accumulation of what's been up for the past weeks.  Just sharing... ^^✌

Beautiful teacups and a teapot from England.  I see these every Friday
night during Bible study ^____^ 

Sometimes, I just like pointing my camera out into the dark streets
(my sister was driving), and it's really interesting what comes out of it.
Lights speeding by look quite nostalgic...

My take on spring on my class bulletin board.  I so love cherry
blossoms ❀❀❀

Teacher on break :P

Do you know Beard Papa's?  Seriously, if I could have my birthday cake
made out of these things, I would be so happy! ^0^

Happy feet~

Every girl needs nice black pumps.  They look
great with almost everything!

Nail art for the week: pink and black...  Ah!  Cherry blossoms yet again!

Talk to you later! ^_____^  Good night!