Beach Time!

Waiting for what seemed like an eternity, my family and relatives from my dad's side finally went to the beach. One reason was for fun, and the other was to celebrate my dad's birthday. We woke up at three in the morning to prepare for our 3 hour drive to our boat ride. By the time we left home, the sun hadn't made an appearance yet, and instead the moon glowed brightly above us. I was so very, very excited I kept looking out the window to check if we had arrived. After glancing out the window to check, for probably the 100th time, I fell asleep. When I woke up, they were already loading our things out of the car. I jumped out of the car and rushed to where my cousins were - already seated on the boat. All of us had anticipated this beach trip and were pretty much rolling in excitement (Except my mom. She has a major heat rash problem). We were on the boat ride for about thirty minutes, but I hardly noticed. The view was spectacular! There were mountains surrounding us and green grassy hills that stretched across the sea. I guess that's what Ireland might've looked like. Probably a lot nicer, but what I was seeing already amazed me.

The island we went to is called Cagbalete. It was supposedly a bit secluded, but there was a fair amount of tourists, which I didn't mind at all. When we arrived, it was low tide and there was barely any water, which struck me as a bit unusual. Low tides aren't usually this low. I mean, when do beaches ever run out of water?! That was one of the things that disappointed me. Another one, was that it didn't have a sunset on the side we stayed in. It was a big bummer because I was most excited for that. Later on however, I found out that even though there was no sunset, it had a gorgeous sunrise.

The sunrise.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

The kind of boat we took to Cagbalete.

Isn't the water so clear?!

There was a river like area behind the camp. Whenever it was low tide, the water would come rushing out to the sea, and leave this bare.

I'm flying 4 inches above the ground!

Word of the Day

fail-ure [feyl-yer]

noun.

an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful 

Failure is always hard to accept for most. Those who just brush it off are one of the lucky ones. Sadly, I’m not one of them. I always question people’s decisions if I don’t like them. I don’t always speak up about it, I just keep it in my head.

Recently I joined a summer workshop called Repertory. Basically, it’s all about theater, preforming and meeting new people. By the end of each summer, we have to put all that we’ve learned in a show. I swore to my family and myself that I would land a role, at least a small role. Every chance we got to show off our talent, I worked hard and did my best.  When auditions came, the worst happened; I got sick. The cold that I’ve been fighting for weeks finally came around ten times worse than it started out to be, it might as well have been the flu. I figured that if my auditions didn’t work out right, all those weeks of hard work would pay off. I was distraught when I found out I didn’t land a role, not even the smallest one.  

I moped around for a day drowning in self-pity. I probably formed a ton of frown lines, thanks to my heavy thinking. For hours I would wonder what I did wrong. Until finally, I realized that stressing on the fact that I didn’t get a role wasn’t worth it. What’s done is done. I just had to accept it. Accepting failure is never easy, but sometimes you just have to let it go and be happy with what you’ve already accomplished. It will also make you feel better about yourself. You never know, maybe it wasn’t what God wanted for you, or maybe He felt that you didn’t deserve it. But what you should never do is question Him. You may feel like He’s cursing you, or that He does things on purpose to torture you. Well, He isn’t. God is doing what he feels is right for you and what He believes you should experience. Sometimes I doubt and think that I’m alone and that I’m cursed to fail in life. But I’m never alone, and I know that now. God and my family will always be there for me, no matter what happens. 

Iced Milk Tea

Since I'm not allowed to drink coffee yet (I know, unfair), I resolve to drinking tea. I mean, it's not only because coffee isn't an option, but because I find the different exotic flavors really cool. It's fun tasting flavors you never knew existed. Now, under the blistering heat of summer, and the sweat running down your back, it's almost a punishment having to drink a hot mug of tea. As a resolution, my cousin suggested we try making Iced Milk Tea. I jumped at the idea, and a few minutes later, we made a successful attempt. It was definitely what we needed on a day like this. I wanted to share the recipe, so here it is! 

Summer Photo Dump

As summer drags on, so does the heat and the fun. Here are some photos I've collected over the past few weeks :)

Word of the Day

Sunrise from the view of an airplane :)

wan-der-lust [won-der-lhust]

noun.

a strong, innate desire to rove, or travel about.

The hot sun, sounds of laughter, waking up at eleven and the clicking of video game controllers surround me everyday, telling me that summer is under way. Lounging about had become a daily routine for me mostly because it can be really hard to be productive when your body chooses to lay in bed all day, or bask under the radiant sun. 

For the past few weeks, I began to feel really nostalgic, I could easily look at a tree and feel as though I'm in America again, or look up at the sky, and feel like I'm at the beach - maybe in a country I've never even been to! I like to think of it as the world calling me and luring me to leave and never come back, to just keep going until I was satisfied. Don't get me wrong, I love where I am right now, it's home to me. But, I could never shake the feeling off, it just kept bugging me for days, then the days turned into weeks. I had to find out what this was, I just had to! I searched in vain, without any luck for the longest time. But then, a few hours ago, I watched a travel documentary called wanderlust. In this documentary, they travelled all over Italy enjoying the food, the tastes and the sounds. It was pretty interesting too, because the things they did and said were funny. In the middle of the video, a woman described the feeling of wanting and craving to travel as wanderlust, which provided the title, and then it struck me. That's it! That's the word I've been searching for! Wanderlust was EXACTLY what I've been feeling for the past weeks. Summer is calling out to me, asking me to have a taste of the different things the world has to offer and the different cultures I'm bound to experience. Someday, when I've accomplished what I want (and have the money), I'll set out to satisfy my craving. For now, I guess I'll just have to wait and be thankful for what I have right now.

Summer Reading List

 Over the past few days, I realized that the number of untouched books stacked on my shelf, is way too many. So, I made a list of books that I plan to read over the summer. 

List (by order of difficulty)


The Easy List:
-Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
- Wonder Struck
-The Catcher in the Rye
-Looking for Alaska


The Hard List:
-Animal Farm
-1984
-To Kill a Mockingbird


The Good-Luck-With That List: 
-The Iliad
-Emma
-Wuthering Heights
-The Scarlett Letter



List of Books I want to Re-read:
-The Perks of Being a Wallflower
-Jellicoe Road 
-The Hunger Games Trilogy

I'm starting to get really into these types of young adult novels. I find it interesting the way these writers think, and how they express the character's complex feelings in a seemingly simple way.

Jellicoe Road has to be my favorite book (As you can see in the picture above, a very thumbed through copy). I love how it has two stories intertwined together, and how it talks about finding yourself. It's a very interesting read, and definitely worth your time.

Okay, who does not love The Hunger Games?! I've read the trilogy so many times, that I've practically memorized it!

Sugar Sweet Weekend

I decided to spend my rainy weekend staying indoors, while making several batches of sugar cookies. I  always had trouble with my baking skills, mainly because I didn't have the patience to read every step asked for. Anyways, I found this recipe online that is to die for. The recipe was quick, easy and simple, my favorite type (especially since I'm not much of a baker)!

Recipe 

2  cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

1 cup butter, softened 

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

*For cinnamon cookies, just sprinkle 1/2 a tablespoon of cinnamon!

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon (optional). Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes (it is also a good idea to check in every 5 minutes)  in the preheated oven, or until golden and cracked. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-sugar-cookies/

*I changed the recipe a bit to make it chewier

I had a lot of left over batter, so I decided to play around with it using cookie cutters. The whole space theme was just so cute!