And the Winner goes to..

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2015 Golden Globes Awards! The things that I really fond of about the award night are the remarkable acceptance speeches and beautiful dresses from the red carpet. They say quotes will live on forever. Well, the good (and really bad) ones, at least. So here's my picks for the best speeches from the night:

1. "These days, you get in a lot of trouble no matter what you say. Do you know what I mean? You can say anything in the world and get in trouble. I know this for a fact. So I’m just going to say thank you." - Billy Bob Thornton (Best Actor in TV Movie)

2. "It's a humbling thing when you find someone to love, especially when you've been waiting your whole life, especially when your whole life is 53 years. Amal, I couldn't be more proud to be your husband." - George Clooney (Cecil B. DeMille award)

3. "As I got to know the people of the Civil Rights movement, I realize I am the hopeful black woman who was denied her right to vote. I am the caring white supporter killed on the front lines of freedom. I am the unarmed black kid who maybe needed a hand but instead was given a bullet. I am the two fallen police officers murdered in the line of duty. Selma has awakened my humanity." - Common and John Legend (Best Original Song)

Annnnnnd these are my picks for the best dressed female stars from the Golden Globes red carpet:

Anna Faris in Reem Acra

Giuliana Rancic in Maria Lucia Lohan

Jenna Dewan in Carolina Herrera

Emily Blunt in Michael Kors

Julianne Moore in Givenchy

Allison Williams in Armani

Naomi Watts in Gucci

Amal Clooney in Dior

Kate Beckinsale in Elie Saab

Salma Hayek in Alexander McQueen

Keira Knightley in Chanel

Felicity Jones in Dior

Taylor Schilling in Ralph Lauren

Anna Kendrick in Monique Lhuillier

Emma Stone in Lanvin

Lupita Nyongo'o in Giambattista Valli

My favorite is Emma Stone's outfit. She rocked the red carpet with pants instead of floor-skimming gown. It's a formal jumpsuit featuring a silver sequin bustier top and black pants with a huge bow tied at the back, wonderfully designed by Lanvin. It's simple and elegant. What's your favorite? ^^

Doubt It

It's amazing how quickly doubt can settle in. It's like a question mark at the end of a statement, an uncertainty about what you thought you once knew. A tilt of the head or the raise of an eyebrow. It's a whisper that makes you wonder if you really knew after all. And it can be a series of dominoes that start to fall down if you let it.

While I've never really had a low self-esteem, I continue to observe situations in which my self-confidence begins to waver. In my ability to complete tasks, accomplish goals, and make decisions. I can feel when it starts to come and I can see what happens when I start to listen, when I start to believe it. The stumbling over words, the second guessing, and insecurities. the questions I begin to ask myself; can I pass this test? Can I accomplish this goal? Am I capable of more? Is this good enough? What if I fail?

The self-doubt leads me to fall. It opens up the door for excuses to slip in, it welcomes discomfort and feelings of uneasiness. it's that little whisper that tries to tell you that you'll never make it, so that you give up before you ever do. And part of self-doubt comes from a comparison of yourself to others, of feeling like you don't measure up to others' strengths. Self-doubt convinces you that you won't get to where the others have already gotten. And maybe it's that little voice that tells you that what you do, who you are, or what you're working towards is not enough. And when you start comparing yourself to other people you might start to notice that you begin putting them down, that you begin basing your accomplishments off of other people's lack of success. Comparing yourself to others seems to  imply that someone's going to be better and someone's going to be worse. But really, we're just different. That's all. 

So what do you do when you feel like you're not enough? That you can't succeed? That someone's better, stronger, smarter, nicer, more talented, and capable than you?

You persevere.

And in persevering, you acquire the right perspective. You change your thinking from the "I will never get there" to an "I'm on my way." And through this perspective shift, you remember what you do have, what you're capable of, and where you're going. Part of this perspective is about remembering that you have enough, you do enough and you're enough. Perspective is about a willingness to see the situation from a different point of view; it's about changing your attitude and strengthening your resolve. I've also learned that perspective is about gratitude, about feeling grateful for your individual abilities and experiences and for honoring how other people got to where they're at. And perspective is a reminder that there are other ways to look at the situation, other feelings to feel, other beliefs to believe, and other movements to make. (Thanks to Ifo for teaching me the art of perspective ^^)

And when you hear that self-doubt, perseverance is about trying to understand where it's coming from and what is it saying. And to persevere, you plan. You develop a plan to overcome it. And while you may have great intentions to persevere, it may be hard to do so when you haven't considered how you will. Write down the steps. List out your personal challenges. Address the ways you'll get over road blocks, detours, and bumps in the road. And if your self-doubt is telling you that you'll never reach your physical goals, you write out your health plan. You list out all of the assignments to complete before you graduate from college. You record all of the bills left to pay before you're debt free. You plan and then pursue with consistent dedication. And to persevere, you must decide to work harder than your self-doubt is telling you not to.  

In times of self-doubt and in times of perseverance, you surround yourself with people who believe in you and who believe in themselves. Surround yourself with people who challenge you to grow, who push you to succeed, and who hope that you'll get there. You've probably heard that you become similar to the people you spend the most time with. Spend time with people that you want to be like. 

Self doubt? Doubt it.

From Aemy's Lab: Curry Noodle

Nobody can resist the temptation of curry noodle! It's one of the famous dish here in my country. My undying love for anything remotely resembling curry noodle, be it dry or wet, santan-full or santan-less, spicy or sour or sweet, from north to south and everywhere else, led me to the urge of making one at home. It's my first attempt. ^^

What you need:

#1

- a pack of yellow noodle (blanched)

- a cup of bean sprouts

- crisp-fried onions

#2 (sliced)

- 2 fried tofu

- 2 stalks of parsley and scallion

- 2 red chilies

- 3 limes 

#3 (for the gravy)

-1/2 kg of chicken (cut into chunks)

- 200 g of shrimps

- a pack of chicken balls

- a pack of fish cake (sliced)

- 2 tablespoons of chili paste

- 3 tablespoons of curry powder (mixed with a little tamarind juice)

- 5 cups of coconut milk

- cooking oil

- salt

#4 (blended)

- 2 stalks of lemongrass

- 1 inch of ginger

- 1/2 inch of lengkuas

- 5 onions

- 2 garlic

How you do it:

1. Stir-fry the #4 ingredients until fragrant. Add curry paste and the spices and cook until the oil separates.

2. Add the chicken, fish cake, chicken balls and coconut milk into the pan. Let it boil.

3. Serve with noodles and #2 ingredients.

4. Bon appetit! 

It Couldn't be Done

Just do it.

Goodbye 2014

Here we are saying goodbye to 2014. Ah how time flies so fast. Well, I didn't achieve much this year. But I must say that 2014 is the year of so many firsts. I spent the whole year teaching primary and high school kids. It's one of the best things I've ever done in my life, a wonderful job and I love those kids. I also bought my first iPhone as the reward for my own effort and I think it's gonna be my last phone (or not. Lol.). And this year, Ifo got his first job at Essem Corp. ^^ Annnnnnddd this year, on 23rd December, marks our 6th anniversary of being together. 6 years and counting. ;)

Also, since my mother has retired from the government in September, we started a small family business: catering. We cater for any events or occasions that require some food. We had our first experience on catering for 2-days Islamic Program in our neighborhood which went so well. We've also signed contract with soldier camp at Lokkawi and now we're catering for the army field commanders and some officers (I don't know what to call them) everyday during breakfast. It's been great so far. I don't mind getting up at dawn to work at the kitchen with my mom. Cooking is a fun thing to do anytime anywhere. 

Besides, I have another reason to get up before sunrise: fitness routine. I've been running and doing some workouts that I learned from Youtube; squats, sit-ups, push-ups and burpees. Morning is the perfect time to do my fitness workout. Well I don't quite know why I start doing it, I just do it, you know. Even my mom says I'm not too fat to exercise. But it's not the matter of losing weight actually (I'm underweight, for the record), maybe I just want to be fit, maybe I want a body like Jennifer Lawrence, maybe I want to climb Mount Kinabalu in 2015, or maybe I don't need reasons at all. Just do it. 

I don't want to write about my new resolutions. Apart from being too mainstream, it never works. I mean for me..please, don't let my words ruin your spirit. I do think about my goals..short term and long terms, but I'm not gonna write it down here. While we're all faced with different circumstances, our journey of trying to feel whole, improve and face our trials is the same. No matter what goals you may have for this new year, may I suggest that you look at your life and your beautiful self with gratitude. And depending on where you are in your life right now, even if you can't think of much to be grateful for, be grateful for the opportunity you have to change. Even if your circumstances are not changeable, YOU can always change and become something greater than you are.

And, as we work to improve ourselves, may we not dwell in negativity because of any weakness, flaw or inadequacy we have now.  May we go after our goals with all our hearts? Yes! But dismiss that harmful script in our head that says, "we aren't good enough."  Instead, as hard as it may seem, let's accept that our weaknesses are necessary for us to improve, and embrace them and be grateful for them. That tiny change in perspective is huge. Have faith and be patient. That's what I've learned in 2014. 

Have an awesome 2015. Happy New Year!