I'm one of those people who can never welcome Mondays with open arms. I love the weekend too much that I start counting down to Fridays every Monday! I know I'm horrible. Although today was an exception as it was a public holiday (Salam Isra' Miraj to all Muslims!) and we had a family day out.

My mom just came up with a spontaneous idea to go watch the sunrise at the beach and just having a family day out. I was excited for this one as I have had failed attempts on catching the sunrise due to my love of sleep. So once we decided to go for it, we went to get preparations for the morning and I even invited my cousin and her family to come join us! It would have been nice if everyone from my family could come but since it was last minute, we couldn't invite everybody.

So morning came and everyone woke up late; we missed the sunrise. I was so upset but I kinda knew that we couldn't get everyone ready in time to catch the sunrise anyway cause who are we kidding? We love sleep! So I waited for everybody to be ready and headed to the beach at once. I was surprised to see that the beach we went to was full with people, and even more surprised that people can wake up that early to go exercise as most of them came with their bikes and sports attire. But I was also so so proud of their determination to wake up early to workout. Hats off to you guys!

Anyhow, seeing how it was packed and we didn't get the chance to secure a spot to put our stuff (and food) we decided to just play around for a bit and go to another beach. Hence we went to another beach near by just to relax and eat our food. We packed some light food and even bought milo kotak! Milo is bae. Milo is everything. So it'll be ashamed to not eat them after all the trouble. The beach wasn't as packed as the first one though but one thing I couldn't bear was the heat as it was really really hot but then again despite the heat, I still went down from our hut to the beach to take photos of the sea. What's the point of going to the beach and not take photos of the sea right?

Although we didn't do much except ride our bikes, eat, take photos and just talk to each other but I felt really relaxed. After such a hectic week, this was much needed. Spending time with the people I love especially my family is a good way to re-energize. They should make Mondays a public holiday so I'd look forward to a new week all the time.

Hope you guys enjoyed your long weekend like I did! Here's me trying my best to post more in the future. Let's see how this goes (I say this all the time, I know, don't judge me). Enjoy some photos that I bothered to save from today. Hehe.

Sabrina

Happy birthday Liyana!

When I first saw Liyana, I thought, "nah man I don't think I'll ever be friends with her." Now now, not that I didn't want to but it was because that our worlds were just too far apart and I thought we'll never collide but boy was I wrong. After enrolling in the same university, having the exact same classes and major, along with our late night study sessions that usually involved food (mostly Jollibee), we've both grown really close to each other and I realized that we're both pretty similar and this girl ain't so bad. We eventually learned that we're actually related so the bond got stronger.

Our first selfie together! When I attended toastmasters!

This was when she photobombed my selfie

During her BOSE competition

We took this while waiting for our friend to come out of her house!

Just a random selfie we took while waiting for our food at Rice Bowl

That day when we finally decided to get Henna together (She blogged about this!)

Another random selfie at Ricebowl

Our brunch date before she was off to Aussie for holiday last year

Our latest picture together. - During her raya open house! And I only realized we were photobombed in this picture after I posted this up NEW PHOTOS FROM HER BIRTHDAY!!!! 22/01/17

“Your face lights up and your eyes twinkle whenever you talk about him.” 

I have never heard these words from anyone about a guy before; well, not until this guy came along. Those words were murmured when both of us were still friends and it took me by surprise on how my face can light up talking about a friend. Ever since then I wondered, what’s so special about this guy?

I never really told anyone how I truly felt about him because I saw him first and foremost as a friend; a best friend in fact. He knows more about me than anyone else – we share things with each other; secrets, jokes, events that happened in our daily lives, everything. As I got to know him more, I genuinely feel that this guy is extraordinary. He has opened my eyes to a whole different world, he makes me realize things that I didn’t before and to put it in one sentence; he simply brought colors to my life.

I strongly denied my feelings but everyone could see the truth no matter how hard I tried concealing them. Everyone said it was obvious cause it showed the way I talked about him – it showed from my face, my voice, my eyes and I was honestly stunned by the fact that someone could actually make me feel that way. I kept rejecting my feelings, I said no to myself, I denied, denied, denied until the day I couldn’t anymore. I can now say, after 4 years, I am completely head over heels over my partner in crime.

He has always been there for me during my ups and downs even though I know he gets annoyed sometimes hearing all my girly problems. He always has my back for anything – I remembered that I had a point in my life where I thought everyone was against me and he sincerely said to me “I got your back, no matter what” and I knew those words were true.

I know that in life nothing is perfect and I know we both are not but despite all the flaws, I know that I would choose him over and over again. This guy really has earned a special place in my heart. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us; I know it’ll be a good one.

I'm obsessed with flowers lately. Credits: WeHeartIt

• Laying down with glasses

• Smudging make up

• What's an eye make up?

• Glasses sliding down my nose

• Keeping the shawl in place

• Keeping them clean

Liyana - I hit a brick wall in public speaking and CrossFit. I felt stagnant and it just felt like I had no way out of it. My advice that people gave me was take it slow. There will always come a point in time where you feel like you are no longer progressing. That’s because you have exhausted yourself with the speed and rate you are climbing. Take it slow, take a small step back and try different approaches. Set goals and slowly check them off. Focus, breathe, try and try again.

Sabrina - Always be patient when life throws lemons at you.

I recently had a “crisis”, it might be nothing to some people but it was everything to me as I spent a lot of my time doing them and one day, they just vanished. I panicked at first but I didn’t break down, my mind was blown but I chose to stay patient. I tried not to think about it but instead, I told myself, fine, I did it once and I’m sure I can do it again. But that night when I finally accepted that everything was gone…. THEY appeared, just like that and I was so surprised and overwhelmed that I cried. I told myself, good things really do come to those who are patient. So guys, lesson learned, patience is key.  

12. What is your greatest fear?

Liyana - As cheeeeesy as this may sound, I fear of losing the ones I love and the things I love doing. I cannot imagine living without the people in my life. I cannot imagine living without Toastmasters and I cannot imagine living without CrossFit.

Sabrina - Death and the ocean. – Yep.

13. Which word describes your personality best?

Liyana - Unpredictable. I am a constant roller coaster of emotions. Sometimes, I am as calm as the waves. Other times, I’m a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Like I said, I can be quite transparent with my emotions. Not my greatest trait.

Sabrina - I’m not so sure. Help me answer this one guys.

14. What inspires you?

Liyana - Quite a lot of things inspire me. Seeing people work hard, sacrifice and succeed. Seeing the purest of souls do good. Working with people who want nothing but the best for their peers. Things like those, they inspire me to no end. They inspire, to inspire.

Sabrina - Passionate people inspire me. All the things people do with passion makes it seem like everything’s possible.

15. What’s your life’s biggest achievement?

Liyana - Believe it or not, it’s having to hold a trophy again. A trophy that I won myself. Best of all, it’s a trophy for doing something I never thought I’d do. Deliver a speech. An inspirational speech. Another notable achievement, of course, how could I forget my very first CrossFit competition. That’s another thing I never thought I’d end up doing. Never in a million years.

Sabrina - Till this point, I have none that I would frame and put on my wall YET but there are some that made me proud of myself.

16. If you could choose any place, where would you live?

Liyana - Ah, I don’t think I have a straight answer for this. I don’t have one specific preference. I love a good space enough for me to call home, nothing specific for now. But maybe some place where the weather doesn’t make my pits sweat the moment I walk out of the house.

Sabrina - NEW YORK. Well I don’t know. Brunei is a peaceful country; I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I’d travel the world though, that’s for sure.

17. Forget your real age for a second – now tell yourself how old are you?

Liyana - 5 or 50. That depends on which side of the bed I wake up on. I can be the most annoying, childish brat and at the same time speak nothing but wise words. Especially when I do evaluations. Hah! You’d never guess I’m only 21.

Sabrina - I’m going to be very boring and tell you that I think I’d still be 20 – 21 years. I may get childish at times (on good days) but I tend to be mature about some things too. So, I guess.. Same age.

18. What is happiness for you?

Liyana - Happiness is sipping a good cup of coffee in the morning with my favourite mug. A book in hand while I look forward to a full day of plans doing the things I love, with the people I love. Happiness is nothing fancy. There is happiness in everyday.

Sabrina - Happiness is not living a life without worries and problems but rather, having all those things and being able to overcome them with the people you love right by your side, is the true meaning of happiness for me. (DEEEEEEEPPPP)

19. What will you never forget?

Liyana - This is a tough one. I’d say memorable things, but they’re way too many to list down. I’d say painful things, but again they’re way too many to list down. So I’ll go with my roots. I’ll never forget my roots. Who I was, how I grew up and how I was raised. Because no achievement feels worthwhile without looking back on how far I’ve come.

Sabrina - Yummy food. Heh. I kid. I’d say… people who were there during tough times.

20. How many times have you fallen in love?

Liyana - I’ve fallen in love the first time I took a bite on a bar of chocolate mint. I knew right then that milk chocolate was out of the question. I’ve fallen in love with public speaking. I knew right then I wanted to speak for an audience. I’ve fallen in love the first time I started competing. I knew right then I wanted to be better. I’ve fallen in love with the feeling of being understood. I knew right then who I want to surround myself with for the rest of my life.

Sabrina - A lot of times. I've fallen in love with so many things. People, cities I’ve never been to, music, make up, and the list goes on. But ok, I can say… maybe, twice. (Notice me pls)

21. How many times has your heart been broken?

Liyana - Every time someone tells me the speech I deliver could be better. When I was told that I did not get short listed for TEDx, an audition speech I worked 2 straight days for, chugging the strongest coffee I could find at night. When I had to forgo the last qualifier workout to qualify for a competition I so badly wanted to compete in, all because of an injury. I could list down so much more but hey, those make good stories.

Sabrina - A lot of times too. When they don’t sell the lipstick shade that I want, when they don’t have the dessert I was craving for at that time. IT’S JUST SO HEART BREAKING.

On a serious note, I'm always heart broken whenever I feel like I've hurt someone in anyway. I really don't like to disappoint people, especially my parents and whenever I feel like I did, my heart would break to million pieces. I think that heartbreak is far more painful than any.

22. What makes you keep motivated and carry on?

Liyana - Perseverance. Stubbornness. The hatred for losing.

Sabrina - My dream and the constant support from the people around me.

23. Do you give up too soon?

Liyana - I don’t think that exists in my vocabulary. I am painfully competitive, sometimes unfortunate.

Sabrina - I don’t. but I give up when I think it’s time.

24. Do you know how it feels to wake up with a smile?

Liyana - Of course. Definitely. Almost everyday.

Sabrina - YES. When you have no more exams to worry about. WOOHOO.

25. Usually do you listen to your heart or to your brain?

Liyana - Hahahahaha my heart, most of the times. Especially when it comes to deciding whether I wanna open up a bag of chips for a midnight snack.

Sabrina - My heart. I go with my feelings rather than my brain. Sorry brain.