March Favorites 2016

MARCH 2016 FAVORITES

• I am obsessed with Agents of SHIELD this month. I just can't stop watching them. I have finished with season 1 and now I am watching season 2. I hate that they make Ward a bad guy. I really like him. And in between I rewatched Avengers 1 and Captain America Winter Soldier.

• I love my vision board for 2016. FOCUS is my word and I am loving it so far.

• I am doing 21 day fix this month and totally loving it.

• I am rereading Time Management from Inside Out and totally loving it. I made a lists of the books I want to reread this year. Hopefully I can reread more books.

• Apps I am obsessing this month is workout app and activity app on apple watch 
• I am trying Microsoft Office 365 this month and I like that they gave 1TB space on OneDrive. I have always love Microsoft product and I still think Microsoft Office app / software is still the best one in the market.
• My favorite book of the month is definitely Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. I am still thinking about the book even though right now I am reading another book - After Anna and Marine One.
• I am so looking forward to iPad Pro 9.7". Can't wait to upgrade. Too bad I can't pre order the tablet. 
• Spending time with my family during school holiday is definitely one of my favorite thing this month.

I hope you had an amazing March.  No matter how hard life gets, try to stay positive and look for things to be grateful for.

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Apple watch after six months

It has been about six month since the first time I invited Apple watch into my life. The little device that got lots of mix review ever since it's first debut in early 2015. Do I think the price is a bit expensive, yes especially when you live outside US. Do I think you need this watch, of course not. If talking about what you need, technology was not one of them. Not the way that you need oxygen, water, food and shelter.

Do I think this little device help improve my lifestyle? Definitely. It's functional and stylish at the same time.


Here are my thoughts on Apple watch after using it for six month 

1. I still love my apple watch. I do wish I had bought a bigger one, 42mm in Rose Gold will definitely look cool.
2. I can't bring myself to wear any other watch that I own even though some times I miss my Michel Kors Gold Watch. I don't know why
3. I don't have any problem charging my watch every night because I don't wear a watch while I am sleeping. I secretly wish that my body heat can charge the watch
4. I used mostly the activity app and fantastical app. I do wish the translator app works like a universal translator from Star Trek. That would be cool
5. I can't wait for Apple pay to be available in Malaysia. Taking out my purse or even my phone out of my bag feel like a hassle now. The Apple watch spoil me 😁😍💋 big time.
6. I wanted to run outside and track my running using the Apple watch but at 37 degree Celsius  outside is just way too hot for purposely sweating. Can't wait to try using the running app when the weather is a little bit cooler
7. I am constantly looking for apps to be used with the Apple watch. Waiting patiently for whatsapp, gsc and facebook to be available on Apple watch
8. I really love how easy it is to change the band on Apple Watch. I used to have Elle watch with changeable band and it was not easy.
9. I secretly wish that I have a fairy godmother to grant me Apple Watch Edition in roes gold. That would be so cool. The price in Malaysia is about RM 57,000 and above.
10. I have been wearing a wrist watch for as long as I can remember. I love wearing a wrist watch even though now you don't really need one since you can look at the time from your phone. So Apple watch is a warm welcome and it feels like home.

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11 books related questions

Part of cultivating a good life is to record your life in lists. What better way to document your life other than doing tag questions.

Ever since I rediscover my passion for reading, I have been enjoying watching booktuber and read books review. So many new genre, so many new authors. One of the things that I want to focus on this year is to to cultivate a good life and record it. One of them for me is to enjoy reading, read intentionally and record them. And to record the things in between is by answering a few tags questions.



Here are 11 Books related Questions

1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

My favourite place is definitely my bed. The only time I sit while reading is when I read textbooks or productivity books.

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper

Neither. I usually flip the corner of a page. I just can't keep bookmark stay in a book for long. I always lost them.

3. Can you stop reading anytime you want or do you have to stop at a certain page, chapter , part etc

Yes I can. Being a mom didn't give me the luxury to stop reading at a certain page or chapter. I just have to stop even in the middle of a sentence and I just reread them the next time I pick up the book.

4. Do you eat or drink while reading?

Not while reading a fiction. But for  more serious book that requires analysis and thinking, I need a cup of hot MiLO.

5. Can you read while listening to music / watching TV

I can read while listening to music but not while watching TV.

6. One book at a time or several at once

I can read several books at a time, it's like watching several TV shows at a time.

7. Reading at home or everywhere

Doesn't matter to me. I can read everywhere.

8. Reading out loud or silent in your head?

Definitely reading silent in my head

9. Do you read ahead or skip pages?

Yes when I just can't stand the suspense and I just want to know who did it. 😁

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it new?

Breaking the spine, I love a worn and used book.

11. Do you write in books?

No. I usual write my thoughts in a notebook. I highlight some of interesting part in a book.

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Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter // book review

It's long over due. I wanted to read this book late last year but somehow I just did not get around to it. This is definitely the best book I have ever read in 2016.



What the book is about?
"Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that's cruelly ripped open when Claire's husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful novel from one of the finest writers working today." 

excerpt from amazon.com

What do I think?
1. Definitely one of my favorite books of 2016. This book definitely made me love Karin Slaugher writing more and more
2. The story was told in the perspective of the victim's family. How the tragedy affected all of them even after twenty years.  It feels so sad and scary at the same time
3. I like that she include the father's perspective after loosing a child and not knowing what happened
4. I totally did not expect the twist and turn of the story. I really love when a writer surprised me like that. I did not see that coming.
5. The scene when the two sisters found her lost sister's remains was one of the saddest part for me. It's so heart ranching and sad at the same time.

I highly recommend this book for anybody who loves crime/thriller genre. I also recommend the audiobook.. Well narrated and I can feel the father's pain every time I read his letter to Julia.

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25 Bookish Facts About Me

My internet is down! I hate when that happened during weekend and I have to rely solely on my 4G mobile internet.
Since I have a gift of time, I managed to finished reading Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter in about 3 hours last night. Love the book so much!!


I saw the 25 Bookish Facts About me going around booktuber, I decided to do one and see if I can came up with 25 facts. I have been reading for as long as I can remember and I have never took the time to document them. I discovered a few things about me while I was making the lists.


Here are 25 bookish facts about me
1. I enjoyed reading books for as long as I can remember
2. I love hardcover book
3. Since time is very limited audiobook is my solution. I can listen to an audiobook while driving to work.
4. Twilight is the first Young Adult Book I read and I can't believe it's a young adult book!
5. I grew up reading Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Famous Five
6. I love the smell of books
7. I enjoy reading ebook on my ipad mini, not so much on my iPad Air.
8. I have not read a Malay book in a really long time. I just can't stand the horrible language they used lately. I have not found any that I like.
9. I don't use bookmark, I just folded the top. I know it's a bad habit but I always lost a book mark and I can't find my last read page.
10. I love laying on my comfy bed to read.
11. I dream of a house where there's one room dedicate for books and reading
12. I can't stop flipping to the end of the book especially a crime/thriller genre just because I can't stand the suspense
13. I don't mind spoiler
14. I can read a book after watching a movie.
15. My favourite book to movie adaptation are The Firm and The Fault In Our Stars
16. I am obsessed with the Twilight series even though I am no longer in my twenties
17. When I was in college I love reading John Grisham, Danielle Steel and Stephen King books
18. I started reading non fiction books like Awaken the Giant within, 7 habits of highly effective people, Men Are From Mars and Women Are from Venus when I started working.
19. I purchased my first online book from Amazon.com when I was already back in Malaysia. Back then internet was the most amazing thing that happened
20. I used to read and love historical romance especially the one taking place in England
21. I am so happy that Kindle store is available in my country. Too bad I can't buy Kindle device on amazon.
22. I don't have any problem reading multiple books
23. Somehow I read faster on ebook compare to physical book. I don't really know why
24. I like having the option to look up words I don't understand right inside iBook or Kindle app
25. I don't like reading Zombies related book.

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Batman V Superman // the review

I love the Man of Steel movie and I was looking forward to the second movie. I totally did not expect a movie like Batman V Superman. This is one of the movie in my to watch lists so when the movie start playing I immediately bought two tickets for me and my son.

What the movie is all about?

" Fearing the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. With Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat, Doomsday, is created by Lex Luthor. It's up to Superman and Batman to set aside their differences along with Wonder Woman to stop Lex Luthor and Doomsday from destroying Metropolis." excerpt from imdb.com

What do I think?
- first of all the movie is too long 2 hours and 31 minute
- too much punching around and it makes my head dizzy
- I am not a fan  of comic books, so I have no idea how accurate the story was to the original book but don't like the ending
- this movie is way too dark for my taste. So much sadness and anger going around
-  I like that they introduce Wonder Woman in the movie and I am so looking forward to watch more of her story. I love watching Wonder Woman tv series when I was growing up can't wait to see how they develop her story next.
- will Justice League be next?
- so, will Ryan Reynolds be Green Lantern or Deadpool ? hehehe

I recommend this movie if you love watching action movie and a fan of DC Comic. As much as  I love Henry Cavill, I still prefer Marvel superheroes .

Life or something like it [March 2016]

If I have to choose just one photo for today, this will be it. In less than two months a lot has changed at the office and one of them is the people I work with. I am so lucky to have meet and work with these beautiful and talented ladies and gentleman. 

 1. I can't believed in less than three months I have welcome three new member of my team. I think if I did not take the time to capture this moment I might not remember who's in and who's out. 

2. I am drooling over iPad Pro 9.7" after watching Apple March 21st event last Tuesday. Finally the upgrade I have been waiting for since last year. I am a fan of the original iPad and I can't never go bigger than that. How I wish that the Apple Pencil, I wish it works with my iPad Air 2.

3. I still think Apple Watch is the coolest watch I have ever owned. I realised that I have not wear any other watch since I wear this watch last year. It has all the things that I needed. I am super excited that Apple reduced the price for the Apple Watch. I still think they can afford to sell them cheaper.

4. I am looking forward for April. Lots of things happening in April. Somehow the budget cut that has been going around in all government sector makes me happy. No unnecessary travelling and no food during meetings. 

5. I am excited to start another beach body program - 21 day fix. I really admire Autumn Calabrese energy and of course her fat free body. These workout really makes me sweat even though I was only doing lunges. I hope I can loose at least 2 or 3 kg with her program.

6. I am easily dehydrated lately due to the high temperature here. Some days the temperature reached almost 34 C, which is a bit high. Drinking 2 litter of water is not enough anymore. I need at least 5 litter of water daily.

7. I am so disappointed with Netflix lately. I am thinking of canceling my subscription. I can't stream all of my favourite TV Shows anymore. 

8. I am extremely happy with iflix . They have most of the content that I love and they are adding more and more. I can even download a few of tv shows to watch later when there was no internet around. This is a cool feature to have. I hope that iflix will be available on Apple TV 4 soon.

That's all for now.......

My reaction to iPad Pro 9.7 inch 😍

Early this morning I watched the Apple Event March 21st, 2016 on apple website. I am not really obsess with it to watched the keynote live late at night. I am still ok watching the recorded keynote the next morning.

 (photo credit from internet free stock photo)

Luckily the keynote wasn't that long. Love the 40 years in 40 seconds video. I really like the simplicity of the video.

They spend almost closed to half of the keynote talking about their initiative to save the environment which I think it's a great cause but I'm not sure it's suitable for this event.

They talked about the new band for apple watch like two minutes. I love that they decreased the price of the apple watch. I think they can go lower to attract more people to apple watch.

On that note I have been wearing apple watch for about six months now and I realised that I have not wear any other watch since. I just can't go back to wear a dumb watch. Hemmmm...

iPhone SE ??? I have no comment on that, it's a personal choice regarding the size of a phone. This definitely an upgrade for people who love iphone 5 size. I think if they released the phone with the iPhone 6, I might choose iPhone SE instead. I was one of the people who love the size of iPhone 5 but after using iPhone 6 plus I just can't go back to smaller screen size.

(photo is from screen shot from iPad Air while watching the keynote)

Now the iPad Pro 9.7" ( is this the iPad Pro mini or the iPad Air 3???), I am loving this iPad so far. It's everything that I wanted in an iPad especially the true tone display and anti reflecting coating. And it support Apple Pencil. I just hope that my bamboo fine stylus will work on the new iPad Pro.(oh boy they make this so confusing?!! I do miss the time when they only introduce one ipad at a time so we can call it the new iPad). Thank goodness they still keep the 3.5mm headphone jack. The only thing that might get in the way between me and my new ipad is the price. I am eyeing the rose gold model. I am so looking forward to end of March.

Do I wish that Apple make a macbook like Microsoft Surface book? Yes I do or something better than Surface book. Touch screen laptop is the way of the future. I do miss the time when Apple Event excite me with their innovation and technology that is out of this world. Now it feel like they are competing with other company. 

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Saying thank you

Part of cultivating a good life is saying thank you. I received this thank you email from twitter this morning. I can't believe it has been ten years since the first day I tweet. Has it been that long?


Anyway this small thank you email from twitter got me thinking about all of my blog readers. Hanizeyecandy has been around for about eight years now and have gained a fair amount of readers.

Through out the years you have follow part of my journey in life, the good, the bad and the ugly. You have been here to witness my obsession with my kids, scrapbooking, photography and lately planners. It has been a wild ride. In a way this blog has been like a journal a.k.a memory keeping for me.

So today I would like to say thank you all for reading and thank you for coming back. I really appreciate it. You are the best!!! 💋💋❤️❤️


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TravelLog: Singapore 2016

In the spirit of school holiday we went to JB to visit my brother. I invited my dad to join us and he agreed. Total people in our party was fifteen, quite a large number to manage. The travel is not complete without going to Singapore for lunch and a little sight seeing.


Arab street in front of a mosque before Friday prayer.


Next we went to Merlion Park which was a challenge to get to. Luckily I am subscribed to MaxisOne which allow me to enjoy the same package abroad with on RM38 a day. That means I got to use waze as our personal tourist guide.















Finally I got to take photo in front of the Singapore Lion statue.










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Vision board about FOCUS

For One Little word assign in March is to make a vision board. It took me a while to make them because I just didn't have time to sit in front of my computer and make one with Adobe Photoshop like I did in 2014.

[My 2014 Vision Board:WRITE]



Then yesterday it hit me, I can scrapbook right on my phone, so why not make a vision board right on my phone too. I have the perfect app for that, I used Pic Collage app. I set the saiz horizontal and add all the photos that I want. Arrange them nicely and in less than ten minutes I have a vision board.

I can print them out if I like.

At the moment this became my lock screen background on all of my devices.

Perfect solution.

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Celebrate the little things

Part of cultivating a good life is celebrate the little things. One of the things that I am focusing on this year is to cultivate a good life and record it. For me this year is all about focus and the journey will not be complete without my quest for a normal and balance body.

I've read and researched about nutrition and fitness aspect about loosing weight for awhile now. A few days ago I stumbled upon a youtube channel talking about losing weight and one of the thing that he talked  about was the psychological aspect of the journey. He said one of the things that we need to do to loose weight fast is to celebrate small success/wins.

It really makes me think about what I have been doing so far. I have a target goal I want to achieve by the end of the month but when I didn't reach that goal I feel disappointed and discourage. What I really need to do is to adjust my focus and look at the positive side of things. Break down everything into small achievable goals and celebrate that wins daily.

I really like what the instructor of 21 day Fix said that the key to loosing 20 pounds or 30 pounds begin with one workout a day and one pound at time. When she put it that way it seems more manageable. I can do one workout a day, I can do plank for one minute a day, I can drink 3L of water a day and I can do push up for one minute a day. Just by writing this blog post already help me feel more motivated and inspired to do more. Celebrate the small success is part of cultivate a good life.

I need to keep a journal which focus on why I do things and how I am feeling. Try as hard as possible not to write about negative things in my happy journal. I think for now I am going to enjoy my 21 day fix workout and be more alert on what food I consume daily. It's all about creating a good relationship between your food and your body. Hopefully in a month I can really see and fee the results that I need. 

I probably should write about this in my one little world journal and I put it in my vision board. 

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This is everyday life // PL App

March is almost over and now school holiday is in full force. I really enjoy my commute to work during the school holiday just because the traffic flow is amazing. I am not happy that this year I have not make an effort to take more photos. I have literally taking it for granted. From now on I am going to make it my personal mission to take more photos this month and make different kind of project life layouts.

Note: Good news to Android users, the Project Life App is finally available on Google Play. Now everybody can enjoy this amazing app and make beautiful layouts.

HERE ARE MY SCRAPBOOK LAYOUTS FOR THIS WEEK  

"Be Creative, Show up and Focus on what's important"

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Old books I am planning to reread this year

Ever since I've finished reading Getting Things Done and Better than Before books this year, I have the sudden urged to read more motivational and fitness books. I realised that I have a lot of those books in my collection which are currently collecting dust on my bookshelf. I have not touched those books in a really really  long time. Those were great books back then.

I have pickup five books from my shelf that I wanted to reread this year.
Here are five books on my lists
1. Time Management from Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern
I am currently rereading this book and I left the book at the office today. It's one my favourite time management book. I know that she has a system in place something like Kindergarten style which back then I think works great. Can't wait to rediscover the system.
2. Organising from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern
I read this book first before Time Management from Inside Out and I fell in love with Julie Morgenstern approached which I think makes more sense to me in terms of organising. Can't wait to reread this book again.
3. Kathy Smith's Getting Better All the time My all time favourite fitness instructor in the early 90's. Love her enthusiasm and her philosophy on fitness and over all healthy lifestyle. I owned almost all her books and her workout VHS / DVD. She was the reason I was obsessed with fitness in the first place.
4. Get With the Program by Bob Green
He was Oprah's fitness instructor back in early 2000. I do remember reading the book, make notes and probably try a few suggestion but I don't remember if I stuck to it. I think I last read this book back in 2002 when I was super busy with two small children. Amazing how I have the time to read books when there was no smartphone.
5. Body for Life by Bill Phillips I literally can't remember why I bought this book and if I've finished reading the book. Maybe in the early 2000 I was going through a phase where I have to buy every fitness book out there. Maybe I've seen Bill Philips on TV somewhere or maybe he was a fitness coach for celebrity and was inspired by his teaching method. Can't wait to reread and discover the reason why I picked up this book in the first place.

There you have it, five books I have choose to reread this year. I hope I can get to all of them this year. I know that some of the method and the philosophy in these book are still relevant. I wish all of this books made into ebook, I would have love to add them to my digital library.

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Lazy Sunday

I decided to enjoy my lazy Sunday by watching DC Legends' of Tomorrow on hulu while my son playing in the room.


The first thing that he grab when he wakes up in the morning is his ipad.



Then when he got tired of playing with his ipad, he grabbed his magic color and start coloring.


Such a beautiful thing to watch.




I can't believe that he is a big boy now. He can control a pen and can color inside lines.


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Follow me to a bookstore

Happy Saturday and happy school holiday to all. I am always happy when school holiday starts. I like having my kids around the house even though they make a mess. I was in a good mood this morning and I decided to take my kids for Saturday outing. It has been a long time since the last time I went to my favourite bookstore - Kinokuniya located at KLCC. I love this place because they have almost everything that I wanted in a bookstore. If possible I wanted to live in this bookstore.

The best time to go here is early in the morning. We arrived at Kinokuniya at 10:00 am and there were still not many people around. This place can get crowded during weekend.



I found the sequel to Me before you.  I don't really like the cover. I think I should wait since I have not finished reading Me Before you book.


So many books on parenting.. hemmmm which one to choose,,


hem... Work Pump Repeat.. I probably will buy this book if I'm still breastfeeding..
This guy will grab any books that within his reached

The Wild diet. I am curious to know more about this diet plan ever since I saw him in My Diet is Better than yours tv show on hulu.



Yes I love the Girl on the train, I am going to give this book a try.
Beautiful colourful pens






I think I spend about one and a half hours here, browsing, taking photos and just be a place where knowledge is every where.

I hope you have fun following me around at my favourite bookstore. Have a creative and pleasant weekend everyone!

XOXO
hanizeyecandy