New Year 2011: Resolutions

Horrayy!! I finally decided to do a blog post solely on my new year's resolutions. I've never liked posting them online, thus I have never done anything like this before. But I think this is one way to help me stick to these resolutions because by making a blog post that everyone can see, I become bound to public allegiance. And I would feel terrible, not only to myself, but also to my readers, if I broke any of these resolutions :(. Okay, without further blabbering, let's get to these goals!

1). STOP PROCRASTINATING. I'm a massive loafter. For those of you who know me well and my story of procrastination, this goal is first and foremost. It's not something that I'm proud of doing, so I won't elaborate on it.

2). Manage my time efficiently. I waste too much time on what's not important/relevant to what I'm supposed to be doing. This goal connects to the previous one. It's pretty straight forward and self-explanatory, so let's move on.

3). Turn PMS days into FUN times. Girls, you understand our female dilemma. I don't consider myself whiny and nasty during that time of the month, but sometimes mood swings are inevitable. My guy best friend is a willing recurrent victim of that (I'm sorry, Cimi). PMS days just aren't good days for me in 2010, which is why I should make them my good days in 2011.

4). Get a better hold of my temper. I'm not a person who seldom gets mad/angry. I like to keep my head in the cooling zone. However, there are times (especially you-know-when) where I just feel like cursing and throwing things (but I swear, I never throw things ~_~). In 2011, I will try to improve my temper control, so I don't get pissed as often. And if I do get pissed, it won't be so bad.

5). Hand in things on time. Long history, a million stories. No need to summarize.

6). Spend less, give more. If only I could spend less money on myself and give more to those who need it, I'd still be able to sponsor a child. I sponsored a child back in 2009, but stopped after a year because I could not afford a continuous sponsorship (I don't have a full-time job). But now that I look back and think about it, sponsoring is not impossible, even with a part-time job, as long as I'm capable to reduce self-expenditures.

7). Be a more responsible, dedicated student. As much as I love learning and education, I hate the institution at which I am now educated. U of T is expensive, hard, and back-breaking (at least my particular campus, that is). But I've come to the conclusion to be content and grateful with what I've been given. There are some people who applied but didn't get into U of T. I should be thankful that I'm one of its students. It may be extremely stressful, frustrating, and self-wrenching at times, but the experience is once in a lifetime. I'm 20 years old and a student. I may never be a student again after I graduate in 2 years. I will try to make the best out of my time as a student and the most out of it as part of my life.

So, those are the 7 main resolutions I have that I can note at the top of my head. I really hope that I can get my bum to work and fulfill these resolutions. If I continue doing them, they'll become habits, and these habits will transform my character for the better.

"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."

- Patrick Overton

Now I invite you all to write up and share your own New Year's Resolutions. I'd love to see them! :-)

Carpe diem,

Hazel

Hazel's Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe

We've returned to that time of the year! Leaves have been stripped off their trees and lakes are turning to ice. But the most exciting part is there's snow practically everywhere!! I stayed home the whole day today and decided to mess around with some food material. I came across a great way to make my very own hot chocolate and I would love to share the recipe with all of you! :-) It's a perfect drink for the winter season. I was actually inspired by one of the YouTube makeup gurus that I'm subscribed to. She has a video that shows how to make your own homemade hazelnut hot chocolate. I thought I would make mine a little different from hers. So let's get started!

SERVINGS: 2-3 people

WHAT YOU NEED (the basics):

- A stove and a small saucepan

- Kitchen utensils for mixing

- Whisker

- Milk

- A bar of dark chocolate

- Sugar

- Salt

- Hazelnut (optional)

- Cinnamon sticks (optional, but recommended)

- Whipped cream (optional, but recommended)

STEPS:

- Heat up some milk in the saucepan. Don't put too much, about one cup (250-300mL) would do.

- Once it is frothing, slightly bring down the temperature to medium/medium-high.

- Break a few pieces of the chocolate bar and melt in the milk. I chose dark chocolate because it's the only kind I have at the moment haha. But it's also the healthiest out of all the other sorts of chocolates and I think it has the most intense flavour. The other ones are already too sweet.

The amount of chocolate you toss in affects the finished taste and colour of your hot chocolate. Put in as much as you like. It's totally up to your personal preferences :-).

- Stir until the chocolate has completely melted and coalesced with the milk.

- Add more cups of milk. This depends on how many people you're serving.

- Whisk away. I like to keep the stove on medium t0 medium-high.

- **You can always add more chocolate if you wish.**

- Add some sugar.

- And a pinch of salt. You don't want it to be too salty.

- This step is optional, but you can throw in one or two cinnamon sticks. Adding cinnamon enhances the scent and intensifies the overall taste of your hot chocolate. ALSO, it heightens the Christmas spirit. I love cinnamon!

- Now here come the extra options. You can add 2-3 full teaspoons of Nutella into the mixture. If you're a hazelnut junkie like me, this step is a must-try. I made my hot chocolate with Nutella, and it was SO good, impossible to resist. I love hazelnut!! :3 Yes, I'm a little biased.

- Keep stirring until the Nutella is well-blended.

- For extras, you can add whipped cream or marshmallows on top. I love them both! And for a simple decoration, tuck in a mini peppermint candy cane. You can also sprinkle a bit of cinnamon powder over everything.

- And VOILA! Your homemade hot chocolate is now ready to be served :).

I wish every one of you a very nice, warm, and merry holiday this year. You all deserve the best of everything! :-) Enjoy and indulge in your homemade hot chocolate. Cheers.

To those who celebrate,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Much love,

Hazel Theresia xx

**Pictures courtesy of Google Images**

SUMMER 2010 Playlist

I know it's months late, and I know the songs are getting old (some are ancient), but I thought I should share some of the most-played tunes on my playlist this past summer ;).

Song - Artist

• Pyramid - Charice ft. Iyaz

• Airplanes - B.O.B. ft. Hayley Williams

• Nothin' On You - B.O.B. ft. Bruno Mars

• Billionaire - Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars

• Dynamite - Taio Cruz

• Break Your Heart - Taio Cruz

• Love The Way You Lie - Eminem ft. Rihanna

• Boy Like You - Ke$ha

• Cooler Than Me - Mike Posner

• It's Not Fair - Lily Allen

• California Gurls - Katy Perry

• Party In The USA - Miley Cyrus

• Circus - Britney Spears

• 3 - Britney Spears

• Shape of My Heart - Sting

• Break Even - The Script

• Something More - Secondhand Serenade

• Saviour - Lights

• Ice - Lights

• Something In The Water - Brooke Fraser

• May Waltz - Brooke Fraser

• You - Tara MacLean

• Fearless - Taylor Swift

• The Best Day - Taylor Swift

• Our Song - Taylor Swift

• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Lee Hyori

• Run Devil Run - SNSD

• Oh - SNSD

• NU Abo - f[x]

• Lachata - f[x]

• Wedding Dress - Taeyang

• Where U At - Taeyang

• Sentuh Hatiku - Maria Shandi

Albums

• A Beautiful Exchange - Hillsong Live

• One - Planetshakers

• Gemini - Sherina

Every child

Every child has a right to education.

Every child has a right to indulge in his/her childhood.

Every child deserves to be happy and loved.

Every child has a right to experience freedom.

Every child has a right to NOT be involved in war.

Every child has a right to feel wanted.

Every child has a right to speak out.

Every child has a right to Choices.

AND EVERY CHILD, HAS A RIGHT TO LIVE.

Every child has a right to have rights. And we must not take it away.

Picture source: Google Images

Psalm 108:1 Album - GRATITUDE

"My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul."

~Psalm 108:1

I don't really have time to go into details about my new album right now, but I wanted to dedicate this post to

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

From the bottom of my humbled heart, I genuinely thank each and every one of you who has supported me in any way on my new record, Psalm 108:1. May it remind you of God's love for you and make you feel happy and warm inside. I had loads of fun assembling the songs - weaving the lyrics and melodies together into little colourful pairs of mittens :). I tried my best to make every song easy to sing along to, and the lyrics simple enough to discern, yet sufficiently elegant to describe HIS glorious beauty.

As I have mentioned previously, this isn't an extravagant record album, nor is it something outrightly breathtaking. My goal upon producing this CD is to simply bless other people, whether it be in a direct or indirect manner.

The public reception of this album has blown me away. This is something I never expected. I'm surprised at how many people are enjoying it. I hope that you, too, take delight in this album and enjoy it with great pleasure, just as much as I did when I was writing, creating, recording, and producing it.

A bunch of love and blessings,

xx Hazel Theresia