therapeutic thursdays: celebrating

Just a note: Next Thursday I'll be answering any of the Ask Nikolett questions, so if you're seeking advice or have want-to-know-more-about-me inquiries, ask them here!

There are moments where you've just accomplished something - whether it be finishing up some assignment for school, doing something for work, or successfully completing a recipe. But often, we jump right into the next thing and don't give ourselves a moment to catch our breath (unless it's eating the finished product from the recipe, then life is good).

Being in school tends to bring out the worst in me - I finish one paper and automatically have to start another one, and then I take that moment of completion for granted and then turn into a paper-writing zombie (where instead of saying braaaainssss I just go my braaaaain huuuuurts). 

So I say, once you've completed something? Celebrate. However you choose to (as long as it's safe?) - whether it be going out with friends, treating yourself to a drink, staying in and watching a movie with a loved one, or, a usual choice with me -- sleeping. How do you celebrate after accomplishing something? Don't be afraid to pat yourself on the back sometimes. And take a ton of pictures to document said celebration.

Much thanks to everyone who gave me and my friend well wishes for our thesis presentation today! It actually went fairly well and afterward? We went to the campus restaurant and ate like crazy ladies (since before the presentation we were afraid to eat anything). A fine celebration, methinks. And of course, lots of picture documenting happened:

We unintentionally matched our presentation outfits - a plaid button-up dress for me, and a plaid skirt for her. And it worked since our presentation deals with chess (plaid-type pattern on the board! ooo /nerd).

A little look at the 'profile' page on our thesis - we converted chess pieces into characters.

Celebrating with some Harry Potter sauce?

(No joke, whenever I see a HP printer, I think of Harry Potter.
I hope I'm not alone in this. /double nerd)

Having some Picadilly Fish & Chips - beer-battered haddock, fries, and tartar sauce. Mmmm.

 I promise, this brownie dessert was a lot larger when it was first served to us.

And now a moment worthy of LiLu's recently retired but amazingly awesome TMI Thursdays. I was digging around in my bag at the restaurant and then found a smushed up muffin that I ate a part of and then stowed away in a ziploc bag -- I meant to finish eating it at school but it slipped my mind. 

The next thing I know, my friend goes, "Put it in the water!" So I did, and then she threw in some ketchup ... and HP sauce ... and mustard ... and ... this is the result (WARNING: might make you feel nauseous, as that's the effect it had on me): 

Before and after ... don't say I didn't warn you! We are odd people.

And in addition to a satisfying meal (err, apart from the water) and completing a thesis presentation, I won a free coffee - so this day is automatically good :)

Tomorrow I'm starting a bit of a new segment here that hopefully you'll enjoy ... or will just make you think I'm mad bonkers, either or! Hope you've had a great week so far!

you are all better than coffee ♥

I've been a little absent for the last week and I blame it on two words: thesis and exams. Both of them have been taking over my life as of late, and it's put me into a tired funk where all I want to do in my spare time is play video games (very productive, non?). 

But I want to thank you all ... every one of you who has stuck by me for the last year and a bit, every single one of you who comments or follows, all of you who have become such dear friends ... all of you who make me feel sane, or who make me feel like my craziness is normal ... this little 'award' is for you:

 You are better than coffee ♥
(I love writing out things with Scrabble pieces.)

I keep re-reading the comments from last week's post and they are definitely a simple smile - you know just what to say to make this lady feel all warm inside. It's been a bit of an odd week (not to mention tragic, with the Polish president and many other people dying in an airplane crash on the weekend), so instead I'm going to look at other things in life.

They may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one ... ♫

I keep daydreaming lately about things I want to accomplish, places I want to see, people I want to meet ...

Love-wise: I just want to keep being happy, keep being supportive, keep being spontaneous :) And I want to keep making up menus of how our dinners would look for the week - so far we've got Pizza Fridays, Pasta Saturdays, and Pork Chop Sundays :)

Career-wise: I'd love to have my own web-design/blog-design site/company (it's starting to come together, yay!), and then become a teacher ... even if that dream has come face-to-face with a few obstacles. And I'd love to own a little cafe/bookstore/music-store with a lovely garden for people to walk through with a gazebo that couples can make memories in. Err yes, farfetched career.

Traveling-wise: Going to Europe this summer would be amazing. I'm trying to scrounge up any extra moola that I can get for it, and hope my parents would mind  helping me out once more (I promise, one day I will pay them and my sister back for helping me with my education). Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, here I come! And maybe some surrounding countries if I can twist The Boy's arm enough ;)

People-wise: And then in the future, I'd want to go and meet up with blog friends - in the States, in the U.K., in Indonesia, in the Philippines, even in Canada ... or somehow win the lottery and fly all of them out to one destination ... yes, that would be sweet. Any suggestions?

What are your dreams, any-category-wise? Feel free to do this ... it's fun to dream :) 

I'd probably add life-wise = happiness, and style-wise = lots of cute summer dresses and outfits that are comfy.

And no matter what happens with these dreams, make sure that you never forget to:

(I kind of want these Scrabbles pieces, they're nice looking.)

Smile for all the dreams that have come true, smile despite the fact that some haven't come true - one day they might, & smile when you remember all that you have, instead of focusing on what you might not have. A little sappy message from moi to ... toi? 

What's your simple smile of the week?

I promise regular updates & catching up on blogs are starting ... now.

{Last two pictures courtesy found at Tumblr via Stacy Magallon.}

the cheer-up.

My simple smile is that despite the fact that I wanted to stay grumpy today, wanted to alienate myself from everyone and anyone, there were those special few that managed to climb through my web of anger and give me something to be happy about. The lovely New England Girl cheered me up in 280 characters or less (= two tweets haha) and made me feel better about being in control of my own life. And while I refused and refused to talk to my sister on the phone because I didn't want to hear the usual "everything will work out" cheer-up, getting to catch-up with my sister and talking about life was a cheer-up all on its own. So thank you, sis :)

I try to stay as positive as I can, but today I broke a little ... my father made me feel unmotivated about everything in life, made me feel like a failure ... basically the opposite of the motivational talk that parents are supposed to give (in my mind). I don't mind overprotective parents, and I don't mind constructive criticism, but his ... ay yi yi. It was so unneeded at this point in my life. When you're already a little fragile, you need a gentle but loving hug, not a shake. So today I'm definitely thankful for friends, my boyfriend - and other family members - that can cheer me up.

Who else am I thankful for? Two lovely bloggers who happen to be celebrating their birthdays! On the 5th is the lovely Steph from That Girl is Hoisin' - I love her style, and I love that she's come back to blogging after a little hiatus! Make sure to wish her a happy birthday :) And while this next lady's birthday is on the 6th, it is her birthday technically in her time zone. This lady is fashionable, works hard, and has an amazing heart :) I was inspired by Tiara to do this for Krissy - make sure to wish her a happy birthday, too!

Don't mind the really bad drawings, please! 

And I realized afterwards that I should have written this in pink (Krissy's fave colour),

but my nails are pink so I think that counts ;) So glad to have you in my life, Krissy!

It was so sad waking up this morning knowing I had to go to class, especially since Easter Sunday was such a great day full of delicious food and a funny but odd movie (especially to watch on Easter), Hot Tub Time  Machine (if you're into things that are totally ridiculous in a good way, I'd recommend it if you're 18+ haha). And my mom made this delicious cake with marzipan flowers that I want to share with you:

This is turning into a food blog, oh boy.

Now, I ask you:

What made you smile simply today? =)

a piece of me + easter!

Happy Easter everyone! Whether you celebrate it or not, I still hope you have an amazing day. While I confess to eating lots of chocolate eggs and bunnies, this day is really all about celebration for me and my family and a reminder of our faith. I hope you have an amazing Easter Sunday :)

And on that note, I'm taking part in something the lovely Toothfairy started (and I hope you're doing okay, lady!) and that is ... A Piece of Me on the first Sunday of every month. So here goes!

This month....

I like: that school is finally winding down, that it's only been the first week of April and I've already gotten the chance to catch-up with people I love to be with, and that the weather is starting to feel like spring!

I don't like: that my multimedia thesis is due this Thursday. Gah, where did the time go?! *must work on it*

I want you to know: that I'm finally gotten the answer to one plan, and the back-up plan is already in order (makes it sound like the J.lo movie ... but I swear it's education-related, not baby-related, thank goodness).

I've planned: to take this time to stop worrying so much ... and to read all the American Lit books I still haven't read yet since my first exam is this Saturday, gah! And I've planned to start planning out my summer :)

I want to say to someone special: Don't be so hard on yourself, you're amazing and I want you to feel better. Annnd to another: I love you. 

Now, here's a little recap of pictures from my weekend so far :) I don't have any pictures of the eggs or our basket so far but these are mostly from a little BBQ this weekend (my first of the year + my meal for me and The Boy) and then an outing with friends before we headed back to one of their houses to go on ....

.. Chat Roulette. Let me just say, that place is simultaneously hilarious and creepy! We ended up finding a bunch of hats and having a 'hat party' which made some laugh and others just switch automatically. But then we kept a "hat party tally" and tried to get the other person/people to put on a hat ... I think we got about five (score!). There was one guy from southern California that was fun to talk to, two guys from the Netherlands who put on a magic show for us (so ridiculous!) and a boy from China who was in class and we spent a good fifteen minutes just showing each other money and the like from our respective countries. Oh and there was peen. LOTS of peen. Gah.

On that note, pictures!

 Thanking the chef for thoroughly cooking the burgers?

Would you like one? Condiments: lettuce, tomato, hot pepper, pickle, cheese, bacon :)

Feeding Shadow some leftover bacon ... makes him do all kinds of tricks :)

Only a portion of the crazy meal we had with my friend, and another friend with her boyfriend.
We had calamari, shrimp, bruschetta, and pita flatbread stuff, all with soup.

Oh, and then we had a Skor Ice Cream and Brownie dessert (like the pose there!).
Needless to say, I had severe stomach problems the rest of the night :(
But I suppose it was worth it!

Having an impromptu photoshoot after church :) Such an awkward pose, but I love it.

Wearing a dress from a Filipino festival last summer that my friend got for me :)

The flowers in front of my house are blooming :)

Hope you've had a beautiful weekend!