25 August 2016

Book Review: Tell Me three Things by Julie Buxbaum

25 August 2016

Book Review: Tell Me three Things by Julie Buxbaum



My Rating: 
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, fiction, realistic fiction 

SUMMARY:
According to Goodreads:
Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that's what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she's thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? OR can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?
It's been barely two years since her mother's death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her step monster and her pretentious teenage son.
In a leap of faith - or an act of complete desperation - Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can't help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?
Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and trade, love and loss, pain and elation, in her YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends.

MY THOUGHTS:

I won't lie to you, but one of the reasons I decided to pick up this book was because of the many pretty pictures I found myself scrolling through on instagram. I remembering thinking to myself, what book is this?, and what's with all the hype? I actually looked through more pictures on insta, and went on Goodreads and found myself admiring the simplicity of the book cover, and instantly decided to try it out.

What a great decision that was! 


I absolutely loved Tell Me Three Things! It was such a quick and easy read - it literally took me like a 2 days or so (with work in between). I think the main reason why it was fast read was because of the writing. Julie Buxbaum provided a mixture of regular paragraph writings with texting, IM's and email messages. So, reading through the conversations between the characters via electronic outlet was just as easy as reading through my own messages.

Also, from Jessie to Theo to SN, I loved all the characters. Their lives and behaviour just seemed so realistic. Of course each character may have a flaw that I personally disliked, but isn't that how it is in the real world as well? I do have to say, a lot of the critics I read online found the main character Jessie to be selfish. I personally thought she should be selfish. She was literally going through many changes, i.e., adjusting to a new school, a new family, a new city, all of which she really had no choice not to go along with to begin with.  But, she did have her goofy moments which made me relate to her even more! I love when I relate to characters, I guess that's another reason why it was an easy read!

What I also loved about this book was how different the romance was presented. I think this is the first book I read (keep in mind I'm starting to get back into the reading book drive, so I missed out on a lot of reading throughout my school years) where there was flirting through texting and emails, something that is very similar to the real world! I personally never got into flirting with someone I've never met through texting, so it was a nice to have that perspective by reading through the emails, IM's and texts between SN and Jessie. 

One thing I do have to mention, unfortunately, is that I personally found it pretty easy to guess which character was SN. I wish there was a bit more mystery, or at least gave more options at the beginning of the book. But, towards the end, I was really routing for the character who I thought was SN to be SN anyways, so it all worked out! 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Tell Me Three Things! I usually read library copies, and if I love it enough, I decide to buy to book. This was no exception. I got my hands on a copy the day after I finished reading my library copy. I definitely would love to read through this story again in the near future! 

Favourite Quotes:
  • "One of the worst parts about someone dying is thinking back to all those times you didn't ask the right questions, all those times you stupidly assumed you'd have all the time in the world. And this too: how all that time feels like not much time at all."
  • "Just because you're strong doesn't mean you shouldn't ask for help sometimes. Remember that."
  • "Perfect days are for people with small, realizable dreams. Or maybe for all of us, they just happen in retrospect; they're only now perfect because they contain something irrevocably lost."
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23 August 2016

Currently in August

23 August 2016

Currently in August


READING... Me Before You - Jojo Myers (just started this!)
PLAYING... nothing at the moment (I'm actually at the dentist)
WATCHING... Paw Patrol on netflix (a little girl asked to watch it here in the waiting room)
TRYING... to figure out why they told me my appointment was at 10am... and it's now 10:45 -.-
EATING... nothing, but I had a banana milkshake before coming here 
DRINKING... water... but I'm thirsty still.. might need to get some more 
CALLING... School... been on hold  
TEXTING...  Bae lol (do people still use that term?)
TWEETING... nothing... but, I'll go tweet soemthing right now 
GOING... to the gym after the dentist 
LOVING... today's hairstyle - Dutch braid
HATING... the constant heat here in Toronto 
DISCOVERING... I forgot to book my  referral appointment for my teeth 
THINKING... about how I'm gonna act/behave tonight with my "friend"
FEELING... exhausted 
HOPING (for)... everything to come in full swing 
LISTENING (to)... One Dance - Drake 
CELEBRATING... Jay is starting school next week
SMELLING... natural air? Not sure exactly lo 
ORDERING... nothing... at the moment 
THANKING... the lords the school finally answered my call
CONSIDERING... about picking up and extra shift 
STARTING... to get impatient here... still waiting... :(
FINISHING... this post, then gonna get a head start on some upcoming posts in September! Did I tell you I'm joining in a September blog challenge???

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17 August 2016

The Way to My Heart...

17 August 2016

The Way to My Heart...

I'm sure you've heard of the saying, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach"... Does this really apply to men? I mean, I love food, and if you take me out to a restaurant that serves amazing food or take the time to make me a delicious home cooked meal, to me... you're the real deal! So, lets change up that saying a bit and directed towards me... well, everyone. 

Don't lie. 

We all love food :D


One of my main goals over the past couple of months was to lose weight... you know, the weight I've gained from all the stress eating. I just have some of those days where I am eating super healthy, and then... there are other days where, well, I consider them my "cheat" days.

But, I just can't help it if food is so yummy! 

Growing up, I used to eat my favourite foods on the daily, including a Filipino dish called palabok (thank you momma), and a Sri Lankan dish, goat curry (thank you dad!). Yes, shout out to my parents who were constantly in the kitchen fulfilling my hunger. But, yeah, like I said, I used to eat my favourites on the daily.

Over the past couple of years, I began to slowly taste different types of food, and found out how amazing other cultures can take a meat I've been eating for years and completely transform the taste. I'm not a professional foodie or whatever, but I do appreciate great tasting foods.









That's why this post is a tribute to some of my favourite dishes I ate over the summer... Am I proud of it? Kinda. YES. There were some damn good, tasty dishes!

This made me hungry... I should probably go make myself a fruit shake...

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05 August 2016

5 minutes of Rambling

05 August 2016

5 minutes of Rambling


Writing everything down. For 5 minutes. Let's go. 

Is it just me or is summer going by quickly? Well, for me, it is. I sometimes feel like I am on autopilot. I wake up in the morning, do what I have to do for the day, come home, watch anything and everything on netflix, and then call it a night. The only changes in my day is whether or not I'm scheduled for work, or if I made plans to hang out with some friends and family. 

But, this summer is different. Things are different. Maybe I'm different this time around. If it was last summer, I would be obsessed with finding something fun, exciting, and adventurous to do during everyday of the summer. But, this summer, it's not quite like that.. I feel like I'm thinking more practically, or I'm just more focused on me... 

Maybe, it has something to do with the fact that I decided to go back to school in January... I want things this time around to be more meaningful. I want to have more of a purpose and a clear set out end goal. I want a career waiting for me.

But, thats not to say I'm not enjoying my summer... I like hanging out with my family. Lately I've been learning more and more about what family is. I've had the privilege of spending more and more time with my little cousins. I don't want the little ones growing up without knowing much about me or my sister. I want them to one day come to me and reminisce on stories about all the fun and crazy times they have about my sister and I. 

That would be amazing.  
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01 August 2016

August Goals!

01 August 2016

August Goals!

Guys, how is it August?? Why is time flying? I'm still here figuring out what adventures I want to go on this summer, but then I find out summer is quickly coming to an end. What on earth am I doing with my time??? And, today... is Civic Holiday? And, (kinda) don't have plans for a holiday? I'm clearly a mess. Maybe, I need to start setting clearer goals or something...
July Goals Revisted:
  1. Read a book (or two). Currently on book number 2 right now!
  2. Online course.
  3. Workout at least 3 times a week.
  4. Bring food to work. I did bring food to work, on most days.. but, there were still at least 3 times I had to buy. 
  5. Stay positive.
  6. Create a vlog.
This Month's Goals

1. Don't touch the credit card.
One of my main goals before school starts is to pay off the credit card. I feel like this is the best time to work on this goal because I am not in school, yet. Once school begins, I already know I'm going to have less shifts, and therefore have a harder time paying it off. So, better do it now. And, it will help if I don't touch the credit card. I've done it once before for 1 month. I know I can do it again in August.

2. Work.
Like I mentioned in the goal above, this is the best time to make my money. I have more shifts than I normally get during the school year. So, what I'm doing is not only trying to pay off my credit card, but I'm saving money for school. My parents helped me pay for school for the last 4 years of uni, this time, of course my parents are going to help, but I want to help as well. So, let the saving continue!

3. Keep Active.
Last month, I did more walking than usual... AND I LOVED IT. If I had the choice of driving somewhere or walking, I took the walking option. I have a phone app that counts my steps (because it's 2016 and we literally do not go anywhere without our phones). Anyways, looking back at the app, my goal was to take at least 6000 steps a day. And, looking at the chart of my steps, more than half of the month, I did take more than 6000 steps a day! So, this month, I want to keep this up! Perhaps have a goal of 10,000 steps a day? We'll see where the days take us.

4. Blog more.
I'm not sure if I am tired, or if I have no motivation, but for the past few months, I haven't been active on the blog. That really makes me sad. There was once a time where I literally wrote once a day on here - whether it has been about my day, or something interesting I found. Lately, its either I do not have an idea, or I do not have the time. Regardless, I need to step up my blogging game.

5. Watch less netflix, and read more.
Even though I watched everything I could have possibly wanted to watch on Netflix, I still have this desire to go home, lay down in my pyjamas, and just watch anything. Even if it is a repeat. I feel like my eye sight is getting worse... especially, if I'm watching TV shows/movies from my laptop. Time to give my eyes a break and read a book. I've been loving the feelings of reading books lately, so I would love to continue this!

What are your August goals?!

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29 July 2016

Currently in July

29 July 2016

Currently in July


READING... Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
PLAYING... with Miss. Penelope
WATCHING... Stranger Things on netflix
TRYING... to find the will to leave the house to run errand
COOKING... homemade macroni and cheese
EATING... oatmeal 
DRINKING... water
CALLING... Penelope to come back to me 
TEXTING...  the "Cousins" group
TWEETING... nothing... as usual...
GOING... to the grocery store 
LOVING... today's weather!
HATING... this pain I seem to have in my chest
DISCOVERING... I need to clean up... a lot around here... 
THINKING... about what I'm doing tonight
FEELING... tired
HOPING (for)... this headache to go away
LISTENING (to)... Into You -- Ariana Grande 
CELEBRATING... nothing
SMELLING... my vanilla scented candle 
ORDERING... nothing... but thinking about ordering some books online
THANKING... my mom
CONSIDERING... about whether or not I want to work this Sunday...
STARTING... to get really bad headaches altely
FINISHING... this episode, then off to get some errands done!

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12 July 2016

Going On A Mini Hike

12 July 2016

Going On A Mini Hike

Remember when I mentioned that I was trying to be more active this month? Well, so far so good! 

It's summer - I want to be one with nature and see beautiful scenery and overall see pretty things. I also want to be more active and lose a bit of weight. So, I hit up google and I somehow ended looking at a few trails close-by. I picked one at random, and bam. Everything was a go. And, we decided to go on a mini hike.


We decided to hit the Hilton Falls trail, and it was absolutely beautiful. I personally did not mind paying an entrance fee, which goes towards the preservation of the conservation. So, I was all for it. The main problem, however, was map reading. I thought I was good at reading maps... turns out I am, I'm just terrible at sense of direction and figuring out wheres North. 

Anyways, my main goal was to see the Falls itself. So, following the yellow trail on the map seemed logical... right? 


Wrong. haha, I think we were following the orange trail because that was the only coloured marker we saw. But, we laughed it off and enjoyed the few and the very BEAUTIFUL breeze. 


This conservation park was absolutely beautiful. There was a lot of natural habitats for a few animals, and although we didn't see too many animals, we did see a few chipmunks who were a little too quick for a quick photo. 


What I loved about the conservation area was the amount of seating areas available. At another trail I went to last month, there was no resting or sitting areas to just sit for just a few moments rest. So, I loved that there was at least the option every few miles (or kilometres... not sure) to sit and take a breather if you needed to. 

I have to say, with the beautiful smell and breeze of the nature, it really did bring back a lot of cadet memories from back in the day. 


My sister was the one who suggested I come to this trail first before any others. She even showed me a few of the pictures she took when she came up here in April. So, I was really excited to go on this hike to the falls to see a beautiful view.

But, as we got closer, and closer... I noticed that the lakes (that were marked) were not filled with as much water like the photos my sister took.


Then it made sense... it has been really hot here in Canada... So, I guess it is possible that the heat evaporated a lot of the water? I'm not exactly sure, when I got to the falls, I was expecting more.


But, to be honest, sitting in the area was surprisingly relaxing. After a few minutes, I didn't mind too much. I was actually just loving the sound of the waterfall.. it was just so... peaceful. Peaceful to listen to, and peaceful to watch. I just wished I could have stayed longer. But, I definitely did not want to stay when it got darker. Some areas had a lot of rocks, and I didn't want to risk injury. 


The entire trail did not take too long to complete. I was worried I wouldn't pull through, but I guess I do have some endurance left in me. It took a total of 1 hour and a half from the car to the falls and back. And, I loved every minute of it. 


I really did. Especially, since hiking with someone is better than going at it alone. Sometimes, you just need that little bit of motivation and fun to get through it.

At the end, my running shoes were a bit dusty from the trail. But, like I said, I really didn't mind at all. I just loved this trail, and it was definitely a great trail to complete. I think I'm going to keep trying different trails in and around the area. Hopefully, this will make cardio a little more fun in my mind! 
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