every wander

2016 was quite a year (like most years are). There were achievements and failures, high times and low, but at the end when you look back on it, it was all pretty good. I began the year at Urbana with lovely people! It was the first time not spending the first hours of a new year with my family. In January, I also lost my wallet (and had also lost my phone at the end of 2015 while Christmas shopping) and from that I got my identity stolen because since I was job hunting I had my Social Security card in it. After a few months the police eventually caught the person who had my driver's license, which I was very much thankful for! Getting my identity stolen was definitely a hassle and very annoying to have to deal with as I was just getting out of college. Overall, January was full of job hunting, going to interviews, and relaxing in the way I relax (which is keeping myself busy). In February, I started my first job after college! I visited Washington D.C. and got to meet good...

GOODBYE 2016! It's 2017! And going over my resolutions from last year, I just barely reached some of the goals. This year I plan to make a game plan to achieve ALL of my resolutions. My New Year resolutions: 1. Learn more Hmong . Be able to at least understand most conversations. 2. Find what I want  to do. This goes along with job satisfaction. 3. Pay more of my loans off than last year, so more than $8,200. 4. Read more. I'm not sure how many books I read in 2016, but my goal for 2017 is at least five books. 5. Do more of what I enjoy.  This is kind of basic, but I want to take time this year to do things I enjoy like writing, drawing, and traveling. Last year I think the only traveling I did was to Disney World in the summer, random trips to Wisconsin, and the family camping trip in Iowa, which can barely be called traveling haha. I want to spend at least an hour every week writing or drawing though and then travel to and explore at least five different stat...

I was cleaning through my last college backpack and found these cards stuffed in there. The first one I pulled out was my Uncle's. I never really think too much about what he says or have taken it to heart, but reading it at that moment something really struck me. "... Enjoy your life. It's never too late. Go make yourself happy. Have great dreams... " It made me sit there and think and wonder if he feels like it had been too late for him.He's disabled, and has to live with us and stay home all day and there have been times when he mumbles about being stuck and that it's too late for him.  But as he wrote, it's  never  too late. Reading it made me feel like I need to go and do something, the thing I dream and I have to have great dreams because I am able to. It made my heart turn for him, and also made me scared because maybe I do feel like it's already too late and maybe I'm not as happy as I could be making myself. Don't get me wrong t...

This question has been bugging me, tapping on my brain whenever there's free time on hand. It makes my mind run far away from where it is trying to get to where it wants to be. But for those who are lost, when was it that we stopped chasing after our dreams? When was it that we decided that it was unobtainable? It's so far now that I can't even remember what my dream or passion was. What is my purpose now? I had a conversation the other day with one of my colleagues, and he mentioned that he found his purpose in life was to help people. I also want to help people, but to narrow it down, I want to help people find the beauty within herself or himself. But is that my passion and dream? My purpose? I think about what parents dream their kids to be. I'm sure every parent dreams that their kid will have a passion and will pursue it with his or her whole heart. It makes me wonder if my parents can see that I'm lost, and haven't found my passion or didn't follo...

Stylenanda advertised their free worldwide shipping on any purchase on Instagram last week and I just couldn't resist myself from buying something. I've been wanting to try their products ever since I heard about the company last year. I decided to get some of the basics:        Some sunnies, earrings, lip stain, nail polish, and brow liner. I'm already loving all of the products! The sunglasses fits asian faces very well and feel really sturdy. The lip stain goes on nicely and the color pops out immediately! It's a different sort of applicator than I'm use to, but it's really nice. The color Obsessed is the perfect shade of red for my skin tone. It's long lasting and barely smudges. I've been seeing this type of earring all over social media, so I'm excited to wear them out. I feel like they are simple and elegant, yet edgy.    The nail color is so pretty. The picture below is with only one coat on and that is all that...

Last week I went out to the Hmong market in town and the Korean lady sucked me into buying her products. She's so sweet, but also aggressive. I ended up spending way more than I planned to but thought I would share my buy. I've been meaning to look into better skin care anyways being that I've been getting comments on my already-appearing eye wrinkles. So she sold me on basically a whole skin care routine: DeoProce Natural Perfect Solution Black Sugar & Honey Power Core DeoProce Aloe Vera Oasis Toner and Emulsion/Moisturizer Estheroce Whitening & Anti-Wrinkle Power Eye Cream So far, I am liking these products. We'll see if there are actual anti-wrinkle results. The face mask was just something extra that she gave me. I've been trying to get into a habit of a morning and night "Korean" routine that I found on some page when I Googled "Korean skin care routine". Morning Routine: Rinse face with water  Apply Toner ...

One of my favorite things in the world is getting a new camera, throughout the past years I have had numerous cameras. I finally decided to invest in a mirrorless camera! My choice was the Olympus Pen e-pl7 and I couldn't be happier with it so far! I still need to learn the ins and outs of it, but so far I'm loving it. In addition to the camera kit , I also purchased the 45 mm f 1.8 lens. Here are some quick snaps from my driver seat mirror: Better pictures to come :)