First sponsored post + Chicnova giveaway

Hi, everyone. How are you doing?

I am sorry if I was quiet these past few weeks. I had some things to settle since last month and until now it is taking much of my time. I apologize for not writing back to your comments. I missed chatting with you guys and reading your blog contents. I hope that before the month ends, my schedule will be light so I can go back to the pleasure of blogging and getting to know people!

As I have mentioned in my several posts, blogging gives me a feeling of fulfillment in a way. It makes me feel excited whenever I got a blog idea, proud when I posted it, ecstatic because others read it, and overwhelmed because they also like and comment on it. I also have this cloud nine feeling when bloggers nominate me for awards. I admit I rarely write acceptance posts, but I do accept and appreciate each and everyone of them. And most of all, I love it when I receive proposals for collaborations!

A lot of you might wonder about the shift in the tone of my site. Impressions of a Princess was originally created to express my thoughts about anything, but mostly about my interests. After a year of blogging, I decided to give highlight to my passion for reading and dressing up. The latter may sound surprising to others, but I recently found that I am interested in playing doll. The number of sponsors that is continuously growing helped me realize this. I convince myself that somehow I might be good at this that’s why they trust me to promote their shops and products. Bookworms can be fashionable, too!

The first online clothing store I had the opportunity of collaborating is Chicnova. It is a leading online retailer which believes that every woman should be CHIC to be NOVA. With their large collection of affordable products , the shop helps customers determine their styles to be fashionable and star-like, hence the name Chicnova.

For the team-up, Chicnova sent me this stylish blouse for free – free item with free shipping!

Retro Stand Collar Blouse in Color Block

After placing the order, it took only a week before I received the parcel. It is actually fast. Compared to other online stores I have frequented, it usually takes 15-30 days for my packages to arrive. I am so glad that my newest blog collab is true to its word of fast worldwide free shipping!

For my dreaded part, here are some photos of me wearing the blouse.

And from a friend who edited the background:

But wait, there’s more! While strolling in the mall, I had a lucky chance to meet Nichkhun (닉쿤) Horvejkul!

 

 

 

This is my first time doing this so I know I have many things to learn. Due to my hectic schedule, I wasn’t able to plan well for the “photo session”. Since I am only a newbie, please bear with me. I am sure I won’t stay in this level for a long time, so while I learn the ropes of being a model/fashionista wannabe, I pray that you can understand and tolerate me.

So what do you think? Do you like this green retro blouse? Do I look like a pro in the photos? Just kidding, please don’t answer that question!

And on the good news: Chicnova is offering my readers a chance to win a $30 clothing coupon to be used for their site. Fabulous? Oh, yes! One of you can take home a new wardrobe piece. It can be a new top, shorts, skirt, bag, or accessory and it will be sent to you with free shipping. How about I give you some eye candies?

   

   

THE GIVEAWAY

One winner will receive a $30 clothing coupon from Chicnova. No minimum purchase required when redeeming the coupons. No freight cost to items because all are for free shipping. Contest is open internationally so yes, everyone is eligible to join as long as you live in this planet. Ends on May28. Winners will be chosen via electronic draw using Rafflecopter and will be announced before June 1 in this blog. They will also be contacted via email and will be given 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen.

Hold on to your good luck charms and click the giveaway link below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Love that dress in the photos? Or that stylish bag? You don’t have to wait until the giveaway ends to get something you love from Chicnova. Just head over their site and receive fabulous promos and gifts! How’s that for awesome?

Cash back promo: Chicnova super points

• Only for registered member
• Earn 1 point per dollar spent. That’s like getting cash back on every purchase.
• Easy to know how much points you can get in checkout
• Use points just like cash in checkout
• Special points gifts for loyal customers.
• 10 points for every dollar only from 05/15/13-05/21/13 in order to celebrate the online of the super points program
• For points promotion please signup our newsletter

It’s like getting your money back when you shop. Now, who wouldn’t want that?

I guess that’s it. Feel free to leave me comments below. How do you like my first sponsored post? Any suggestions/recommendations for me? How can I improve for my second post? Do you think I should post more giveaways? Will it rain today? How’s your puppy? Haha I am dying to hear/read your thoughts so whatever you have in mind please write it down and let me know. I missed you!

As I kiss blogging goodbye…

Last year, I was nursing a broken heart when a colleague introduced me to blogging. It could be an outlet of my emotions, voice of my thoughts, medium of my personality, bla bla. If a sales lady talks me of buying a new can opener with her melodious voice, I know for a fact that I will purchase one even if I don’t really need it. That is why it didn’t take long for my friend to persuade me to create a free account in this platform and write a mandatory introductory post.

I struggled for the first few months. I did not have any experience maintaining a blog and it takes a lot of patience learning most of the things here in WordPress. I think I posted a lot of nonsense topics which earned one or two likes and no comment at all. I feel somewhat depressed. I know that I opened the site just for my personal use, but it would please my ego to know that at least other people are reading what I wrote. So I worked hard. I tried thinking of more interesting topics to write about instead of posting lyrics of Korean songs and their translation. Haha. After a few more months, I got noticed. I slowly received a growing number of likers. commenters, and followers. When I received my first blog award, I felt like being in school again. I am an achiever and it feels nice to receive recognition again. Oh, how happy I was at that time!

After that milestone, I continued what I was doing. I was polite to all the people visiting my blog. I read their works as they read mine. Quid pro quo. I gained some friends, too. Some even went as far as to extend the acquaintance personally. Now, I have virtual-turned-real friends. And just because of blogging! I was having fun. I didn’t expect I could gain a lot just by blogging.

However, they say that all good things must come to an end.

I am happy blogging about my thoughts to all the world to see. My life became an open book as I share my stories to you and I appreciate the way you accept them. I celebrated my first blog anniversary with a bang. But there were days when I feel incompetent. I feel that some of my posts are Dumpster-worthy. Not worth reading. A waste of time. And what hurts is the fact that you guys continue to read my trashy thoughts and even like and share an opinion or two. People continue to follow my site. For whatever reason? To read rubbish things written by me?

I feel guilty. I have this urge to give more to you. More than what you deserve. No matter how much I tried to squeeze out all my creative juices, I always come out with nothing. It ends up me polluting the cyber sphere with second-rate writings.

It is then that I decided to stop blogging. I don’t know if this will be a temporary hiatus or for good. I am not closing doors to anything and don’t want to see myself eating my words in the future. For now, I feel like getting a breather. Find my muse. Catch some inspiration. Whatever it takes to give you, my readers, what you deserve.

It has been a pleasure being with you on this momentous journey of my life. I did not know that I could write more than a hundred different topics. It’s a bonus that others read, like, and comment on them. I am glad that I was lucky enough to meet such wonderful and creative people from all over the world. Rest assured that if and when I come back, I will reward you with thought-provoking posts according to your liking.

It is at this point that I would like to end this post by saying a single statement which I would like to impart to you my dear readers:

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS’ DAY!

Related post:

April Fools’ Day (만우절)

First Blog Anniversary Winner + another giveaway

I would like to thank everyone for participating in my first blog anniversary giveaway. Until now, I am very much overwhelmed by your support. I hope that I will be able to continue giving you interesting and thought-provoking posts. I will try my very best to maintain writing here so as not to disappoint you guys.

Together, let’s have more years of blogging! Please feel free to let me know your comments and suggestions on how I can improve my site. Do you think I should do tutorials just like one visitor suggested? That sounds refreshing though I am at lost as to what I will tutor you guys about. Are there things you want me to write about? Topics you want me to focus on? Do let me know by commenting below.

In celebration of my first anniversary, Sincerely Sweet Boutique is kind enough to offer one of my readers a $30 Gift Certificate to be used in their shop. I have shown you guys some items to be purchased from their online store and I am sure every one of us wishes to win.

Using Rafflecopter, I randomly picked the winner and the name drawn from the hat is…

Congratulations, Rebecca Scaglione of Love at First Book who posted a comment!

Kindly reply from this announcement to claim your prize. I will be in touch with you after to know your preferred email address where the GC will be sent.  Again, congratulations!

Did not win in this giveaway? Don’t frown! I still have an ongoing giveaway for The Pope’s Stone paperback copy and journal. This time, there will not only be one, but FOUR winners to be chosen! Giveaway is open both for US and international participants.

Please click the link below to be directed to the giveaway post. Good luck!

The Pope’s Stone Giveaway – International

My first blog anniversary + giveaway

It seems not so long ago when I started creating this blog and was surprised when a WordPress notification congratulated me for celebrating my first year in the platform. Wow. I didn’t imagine that I could maintain a blog for this long and it came as a surprise. I made it to my first year! The feeling is incomparable. This is my first blog ever and I feel very much accomplished to see how far I already am from last year.

I created this blog as an outlet of my feelings, thoughts, and opinions. Honestly, I was nursing a heart ache at that time and blogging seemed like a helpful diversion for me. I know some of you already know about this, but The Impressions of a Princess will not be here if it were not for Gorjaeous of Scatterbrain. She is my colleague, friend, and older sister rolled into one. She’s been blogging for years and decided to go back to WP platform. While busy tweaking her new account, she talked me into creating one for myself. The next thing I knew was I was signing up for a WordPress account!

My first post is ugly that I am shy to share it to you guys. However, since I want you to read my first ever entry, here is a link to “It Started with a Dream, but not Mine”. I have this funny feeling while reading that post a year after. I didn’t have any expectations at that time so I am very overwhelmed by the number of people visiting, reading, liking, commenting, and following me.

Earlier this year, I used WordPress Annual Report to see how far I’ve gone since then. I also created a summary of how 2012 treated me and you can find it here: Looking Back: Year 2012. And now, a year after my first successful attempt in blogging, I am going to relive some of blogging memories I had.

March 3, 2012 – I posted my first post after the required blog intro. It is also my first Korean song posted in the site. Link: Nothing Better

March 26, 2012 – My first Korean inspired food was featured. Link: Spaghetti a la Koreamo: Kimchi Spaghetti

June 20, 2012 – My first Korean restaurant review. Link: Cravings – Bulgogi Garden Experience

August 13, 2012 – It was my first time to receive a blog award. The Liebster Blog Award was given to me by Aneesa and Faraaz. Link: Liebster Blog Award

September 23, 2012 – My first politically inclined post. My other side was showing! Link: Whose Innocence? On Innocence of Muslims

October 3, 2012 – I joined a 30-day Blogging Challenge and I posted my challenge intro on this day. Link: Unblocking Your Mind: Prevent Writers’ Block; 30-day Blogging Challenge link

October 10, 2012 – I attempted to write a short story about inanimate object. Link: As I lay dying: The life story of a cigarette

November 19, 2012 – Hosted my first ever giveaway sponsored by Juanita of Juanita Tortilla Shop. Link: Some things to be thankful for

December 4, 2012 – I written my first ever book review and author’s interview in the blog. Link: The Drought

December 17 – I joined various book blog tours and I posted my first book blog tour stop. Link: His Black Wings

Through all of these, you guys stayed with me. You tolerated my sick jokes and nonsense opinions. You gave opinion on how to improve my blog. You also encouraged me to continue writing and expressing myself. For that, I am eternally grateful. I know I said this several times already, but I won’t grow tired saying it. I owe a lot of things to you guys. You made me a better writer than I was before. Before, I only thought out of the box, but now, I break the box. You made me a whole person. I cannot be like this without you.

Honestly, I am a sentimental person and we could go on like this the entire blog post. However, I don’t want to show that side of me in this site so I will stop boring you with my gratitude. Let’s talk of the future instead. Now, what will be in store for us from this day forward?

Since I love reading, I will still post reading and book related stuff in my site. However, I already stopped signing up for blog tours as they occupied much of my time and space in blogging. Aside from books, I decided to post more about my life and thoughts on anything under the sun. Also, I will try my very best to catch up with you guys. I know that I sound rude for not being able to reply to all of your comments and I feel terribly sorry for that. I will also make time visiting and camping in your sites in the near future!

I didn’t make New Year’s resolutions, but the paragraph above sounded just as much. Anyhow, to celebrate my first blog anniversary, I will be hosting two-three giveaways in the near future. Now, how cool is that?

They say the best way to start is now. So why wait for a few more days? Let’s start the celebration! Sincerely Sweet Boutique lives up to its name by offering one of my readers a chance to get a $30 Gift Certificate to be used in their shop. Sweet? Totally.

Let’s celebrate!

To inspire you on purchasing items from this shop, let me post some of the products they are offering.

To join the giveaway, kindly click on the rafflecopter link below to join. This giveaway is open internationally and will end on March 13. All entries will be checked and a winner will be announced in this blog. The winner will have 48 hours to respond/comment in the blog announcement before another winner will be chosen.

Have fun everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cheers,

Lovely weekend from us

Happy weekend to you guys!

Love,
Cookie and Nica

Posted from WordPress for Android

Post-Valentine Gimmick and a Canine Gift

Yesterday, Czar and I decided to meet in SM Southmall, Las Piñas City. Actually, a coffee shop near my home will be fine, but he insisted going to that particular mall only because I haven’t been there for some time. I met him in the entrance and after some talk, we decided to find a good yogurt house. He mentioned a popular parlor and I agreed since I know they serve those mouth-watering frozen yogurts. Together, we walked towards the parking lot as he was sure that it is located near there.

To our disappointment, it wasn’t there. Most shops were relocated and I comforted him with the assumption that perhaps the shop was moved to another place. Moving forward, we combed the entire floor looking for it. Not finding it in the ground floor, we continued our search until we reached the highest floor. Still no sign of the yogurt shop. Bummer.

I don’t know why he specifically wanted to eat froyo aside from the fact that it was frying hot outside. Still, he influenced me and I found myself craving for the cold, sour taste of yogurt. So I didn’t think twice when I answered his question. With my approval, we went to another mall.

I haven’t been to Alabang Town Center for a couple of months and I admit that the structure confused me yesterday as it did before. Good thing Czar lives in the area so I assumed he knows the way. After deciding which yogurt house to go to, we started looking for it. However, after realizing that we seemed to perpetually walk around the mall without a sign of the aloof yogurt shop, I suggested we use the high-tech kiosk to look for direction. We found one and it is user-friendly. Soon, we were on our way.

We reached the Town Plaza and I was surprised to see a lot of people in there. Whoa. He intruded my observation and pointed to the yogurt house which was across the plaza. We took a few steps when a booming voice caught our attention. Apparently, there’s something going on and for a moment, I thought there’ll be a flash mob dancing in the center of the plaza. Fat chance.

It turned out to be a post-Valentine celebration of the mall. The event was called Helicopter Flower Drop, and soon enough, we heard the sound of an approaching chopper. We looked at each other, smiled, and decided to join the others in the center of the plaza.

The chopper approached and tried to drop the rose petals, but was unsuccessful for its first try. They must be testing the wind. After three tries, they have successfully showered us with those red rose petals.

It was beautiful. ATC is correct; only flowers can rain on my parade. Haha. It was romantic, too. Someone daydreamed of swirling around those slowly falling rose petals while singing for her music video.

I didn’t think of capturing the moment using my crappy smartphone camera and Czar used his only for videos so I couldn’t share something from me. However, I happened to find these beautiful photos taken by another princess, Sol, in her blog.

It was such a fine day, but it seemed that it wasn’t written to end that way. A few hours later, I arrived home with a huge smile on my face.

My siblings squealed with glee when they saw the box I was holding. A tiny head curiously popped up and I swear I could read her face. I answered her question with, “Yes, baby, this will be your new home.”

The emperor gifted me with a puppy. I thought it was a boy so I already had a ready name for him, but when she turned out to be a girl, I found myself in panic. What shall I name her?

Mr. Emperor came up with some funny name suggestions:

Dash, Pinkie, Sparkle, Apple, Rarity, Flutter, Cuddles, Bon Bon, Derpy, Opal, Tank, Winona, Hoot, Lyra… then his sweet tooth came in: Oreo, Cookie, Cupcake, Cinnamon, Fuzzy, Candy, Caramel, Muffin.

I laughed out loud. Surely, my pup will like a beautiful name for her. But I couldn’t think of any. So I decided to choose one from his list. I ended up with Cookie.

Cookie does not look the same as her namesake. She has a brown head with a white/cream body. I would have posted a photo here, but I couldn’t get an opportunity to do so as she constantly sleeps like a baby.

Anyway, so that’s how my day went yesterday – a cute flower drop from a chopper and a new puppy to love. Isn’t it a nice way to start a new week? I wonder what will happen on the next. Ah, right. We’ll watch the International Pyromusical Competition! Yehey!

For more photos of the helicopter flower drop, you may click here.

How about you guys? How did your weekend go?

Related post:

My Fictional Valentine Date

Awarded again: The Sunshine Award

In my previous post, I thanked Asha for giving me The Booker Award. Now, I would like to send my gratitude to Lottie Eve for thinking that I deserve the Sunshine Blogger Award. I don’t know how I got this though I hope that optimism isn’t one of the criteria for nominating. Sometimes I am too negative that my friends tease me of being a giant, vertical minus sign.

Lottie, thank you very much for continuously following my blog and reading my posts, especially the reviews. For the benefit of others, Lottie is a fellow bookworm and novice book reviewer. I find her blog too cute, pretty, and feminine. If you want to check out her opinions regarding a particular book, head to her site at Book Adoration.

Now to accept the award, of course there are the rules to follow.

 

Sunshine Blogger Award Rules

1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. State 5 things about yourself.
4. Pass the award to 6 other bloggers and link to one of their specific posts so that they get notified by ping back.

I love receiving awards and nominations, but I sometimes dread answering facts about myself. I know my life is an open book, but sometimes I find questions like those hard to answer. Perhaps I don’t know myself well? Moving on, let’s hear (read?) five things about me.

1. I admire women (and especially men!) who can raise their eyebrows. I don’t mean the duo eyebrow raising. I am referring to the one-sided, slanting of an eyebrow. It looks intimidating in a way and how I wish I could do that. But no, I cannot do it. So instead of raising mine, I pull them towards each other and try to frighten others with my frown.

2. Another thing I cannot do is whistling. Yes, I cannot do that. Whenever I tried, it sounds like a whistling kettle overused for more than a century.

3. I once tried driving a motorcycle with my uncle present to guide me since I did not know how to operate it. We were in our village and I was balancing while moving slowly. Suddenly, I was approaching a dead end! I panicked and tightly gripped the accelerator. I thought it was my end. I hit the wall, but my uncle caught the end of the motorcycle in time to lessen the impact. Thankfully, I was wearing safety gears.

4. If I see a typographical error, I always check the places of the letters in the keyboard. If they are near, I can accept it as an error. Otherwise, I will force myself not to advise the person concern to watch his/her spelling.

5. I cannot write in cursive. Actually, I can. But not legibly. I am sensitive to others and would not like to hurt their eyes whenever they read my writing. It is too ugly and incomprehensible at times that even I cannot understand what I have written.

The Nominees

LA

Nicole

Jennie

Emma Snow

Alesia

Sakthi

Congratulations! I hope you guys continue to shine in the blogosphere Thanks Lottie for this opportunity to share this award with deserving people. Let me show my appreciation to you by my current Etsy giveaway as well as other giveaways found in my Giveaways tab. Enjoy participating!

The Booker Award

As promised, I will have my blog award appreciation posts up this month. For this day, I would like to highlight one major award given to me last December 22 by Asha Seth.

Thank you Asha for such a wonderful blog award. I have received many, but this is the first time I got a book related award. I hope that I will be able to continue blogging about books and my experience in reading them.

Now, for the award. The {Booker}Award is a prize for literary and book-centered blogs. And I take this opportunity to nominate all those adorable book blogs that like mine are about nothing but books!

The {Booker}Award is for book blogs only! The deserving blogs must be at least 50% about books, reading, book-reviewing etc.

Rules:

On being awarded with The {Booker}Award, you must share with readers your top five favorite books you have read in your life so far.

On being awarded with The {Booker}Award, you must share with readers your most favorite author/writer. Possibly, also the reason why you like their literary work.

I love how these authors made me love reading. With their writings, they were able to make me experience life in magical, godly, historical, and mortal worlds.

On being awarded with The {Booker}Award, you must share with readers your favorite genres.

(This is self-invented) Why are books SPECIAL in your life? This is optional and you don’t really have to answer it. But would love to know your reasons nonetheless.

You must give this award to five or ten or any number of other lucky book blogs that you adore.

And least importantly, show-off the award on your site and link it back to me.

My answers:

Five favorite books

Harry Potter series

The Great Gatsby

The Alchemist

The Five People You Met in Heaven

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Favorite authors

Mitch Albom

JK Rowling

Julia Quinn

Rick Riordan

Favorite genres

Historical fiction

Young Adult

Historical Romance

Mystery

Why are books special in your life?

Books are special to my life because like air and water, they are essential for my existence.

My nominees

Rebecca

Ste J

Lottie Eve

Picture Me Reading

Sheri de Grom

Zen

Sarah

Letizia

Sam

Congratulations fellow bookworms!

Thank you everyone for supporting me to continue this blog. As gifts to you, kindly join my ongoing Etsy giveaway as well as other promos found in my Giveaways page.

Sending my gratitude to you all

Last month, I asked your opinion to help me choose among those items I’ve wanted to buy for myself. I have posted a poll containing four items with their photos and descriptions and you guys actively supported me by giving your thoughts on the products presented. More importantly, you collectively let me know about your preference by voting the necklace which you think was the most desirable.

At this point, I would like to thank everyone who participated in that post. You are good friends, sisters, and brothers to me. This may be stretching it too much, but some might even imagine how I would look like with a certain piece. Be that as it may, I am also aware of what others might have imagined. If you could go back to the mentioned post, you can see a number of comments mistaking the peter pan necklace as a woman’s undergarment. If it will make you feel better, I’d like to assure you that you are not a pervert by thinking that way. I also fell for the same mistake. But hey, that proved to be such an interesting way to gather comments, don’t you think so?

Now, the owner of Rakunshop, the store I have mentioned in the earlier post, was glad when she saw the post and the conversation it elicited. Megan, the owner of such wonderful Etsy store, contacted me to give an offer: the readers’ choice of jewelry will be awarded to one of you!

Isn’t she sweet and generous to do that? I happily accepted it and here I am writing this blog entry. I would love to share to you one of the creations of this wonderful person. I have featured some of her products in the previous post, but I know you guys are curious about her other necklace designs. So please let’s go to her Etsy store and find out more exciting and beautiful pieces!

So for this giveaway, kindly go to the link below. Remember that the more tasks you do, the more chances of winning. I love you guys and I know you will be able to send honest entries, but I will still check every one of them for validity. Unfollowing after the giveaway is up to you though it will forfeit your chances of participating in other giveaways. I have a number of promos going on in my Giveaways tab, so if you want to win books, Amazon gift cards, Paypal Cash, and Kindle Fires, kindly check that page and participate. Some are ending soon so you better hurry!

But exclusively for my readers, a matryoshka doll necklace can be yours! The giveaway is open internationally so you are eligible to join as long as you live in this planet. This is a feminine item which can be a perfect accessory to my lovely female readers and their sisters and mothers. However, men can join, too. It can be a sweet gift for this coming Valentine’s Day!

 

Thank you everyone for staying with me. Your unfailing support encourages me to continue keeping this site. I know this is a small token of appreciation, and even if I cannot give everyone a gift, I am glad that at least one of you will be able to receive this. Then I’ll cut this melodramatic episode of mine before it becomes a habit. So hop along and join this week-long promo. And may the odds be ever in your favor!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***NOTE: This giveaway will run starting today until January 27. I will then post an announcement on the 30^th and the winner will be given 72 hours to response/comment. Another will be chosen should the first failed to confirm his/her winnings.***

Rakunshop links: Etsy * Website * Facebook * Twitter

Related post:

http://gongjumonica.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/help-me-choose/

Note: This post will remain sticky until January 28.

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

I am two months away from my first blog anniversary and I am very happy to see a lot of improvement since I started. I have gained almost 2000 followers, almost 3000 comments, and more than 1000 likes. I have written more than a hundred posts, too. But most importantly, I have met and talked with different people with varied interests and hobbies. They are from anywhere in the world where communication satellites exist. They inspire me with their words of encouragement and I will be always grateful to them.

But how can I express my gratitude to these wonderful people? Some of them have given me blog awards, but due to my hectic schedule and laziness, they are sitting in my backlogs for ages. I am sorry. I know it is impolite not to answer these recognitions, and I hope you guys can forgive me.

On a lighter note, someone nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. To let you know how lazy I was, this award was given to me even before the Yuletide Season. She was very nice to me and even sent me a private email. Sheri De Grom, you are so sweet and kind! Just to give you a brief background, Sheri is a writer. She writes women’s fiction as well as book reviews.  You may check out her beautiful and well-written site here.

 

Now for the acceptance of the award, I have to answer her questions.

My favorite color – Powder Blue. But others think it is pink or purple.

My favorite animal – Dogs.

My favorite non-alcoholic drink – Hot green tea.

Facebook or Twitter – Twitter @enchantressnica

Do you prefer getting or giving presents? Both.

Favorite Day of the week – Friday.

My favorite flower – Red tulips.

My passion –  reading, writing, doing volunteer work, advocating youth development, and discussing political and social issues.

Now for my nominees. Since this is a sisterhood award, I’m sorry guys but I have to choose only gals this time. J These people are those who I have communicated a lot. I have enjoyed their sites and writings, too.

Naznin. I am very grateful to meet a blessed soul. Naz is an uber-sweet, thoughtful, and caring person. I can’t imagine blogging without her. She is a very supportive friend, too!

The Meeping Koala. She is a Potterhead like me. When she graduated from HP, she read books I also loved and appreciated.

Steph. She is one lovely soul who writes book reviews, too. She has a lot of energy and I am honored to be her surrogate sister.

Jade Herrera. A fellow Filipina, I see in her someone who has a spirit for a person her age. I love her fashion posts and passion for anything Korean

Oegukeen. She is the other-half of their site, Loving Korean. I am happy to meet someone who was destined to be with a very nice Korean man. I learned a lot about understanding Korean men and their culture from their site.

Wordsurfer. She is a very sweet person who has varied interests in life like me. She likes traveling, reading, writing, learning, talking, sitting in the sun, and watching the clouds.

Jae. She’s also known as that “pestering” colleague who persuaded me to create this blog. She’s like my older sister in the company and this award is very appropriate to her.

Micah. She is another colleague and friend in my company. I love sharing book and reading ideas with her. Like Jae, she’s like my sister. If you are wondering about the ordinal number, she’s the second and well, I’m the youngest. J

Kitt Crescendo. I love chatting with her and talking about her time here in my country. Even if she is in a foreign land now, she doesn’t forget the Philippines.

Shruti. She writes about varied topics and I love reading her refreshing posts. I am honored to be assigned as a godmother of her baby – the blog.

Zunaira. My friends know I am a simple girl. Others were even worried thinking that I am a tomboy. When I saw her blog, I was impressed. She likes giving tips and reviews of different cosmetic products and I am glad to follow her and try.

Grandma Chris. She is a very wonderful person to be in the blogging world. She gives me golden nuggets of wisdom and I cannot forget her opinion in having a boyfriend.

Nanna Prawn. She is one of those people who have supported me since the beginning. She never gets tired of chatting with me about tea. Yes, she is a tea addict, too! How I wish I could taste some from T2…

Luchessa. I love reading her product reviews. She’s another beauty blogger who have inspired me to be confident to try beauty enhancements – make up.

Mari Anjeli. Another fellow Filipino who is now based in Malaysia. I am glad to meet her in WordPress.

This seems to be a lengthy list, but they are all wonderful sisters to me. I am happy to have found them here and I hope that we will continue to have our beautiful relationship with each other. Anyway, enough sentimentality. Beauties, here are my ten questions for you.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

 If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose?

Nightly owl or early bird?

Bare or with make up?

Coffee or tea?

Forest or beach?

Shoes or sandals?

Favorite place to travel.

One food you could never eat.

Favorite smell.

Rules to Follow:

• Acknowledge the person who passed the award to you and provide their link.
• Include the award logo on your blog.
• Answer the ten questions I posted above.
• Nominate blogs and link those you have especially enjoyed reading. The number you can select is up to you.
• Notify each individual that you have nominated them.

There you go. Thanks again to Sheri for being such a nice sister. I am happy to receive this award and have this as my first blog award post for 2013. I think I have 5 or 6 more awards to receive so please bear with me. I really appreciate your recognition and glad to accept them.

Thank you everyone for continuously reading my posts. I have something special for all of you and it will be out next week so please stay tuned. For the mean time, please try your luck by joining my giveaways listed in the Giveaways tab of my site. You may win 2 Kindle Fires, Amazon GC, Paypal cash, and some books.

2012 in review: My blogging life so far

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 21,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 5 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Looking Back: Year 2012

As the year is about to close, I can’t help but look back to what 2012 gave to me. There were ups and downs, tears and smiles, opportunities grabbed and missed, people met and lost – all these made 2012 a memorable time of my existence. Together, let’s recount what happened to me this year.

January – It was my first time to be entitled for incentive leave. I was six months employed in my first job after graduating and all was doing well.

해솔 (Hae Sol) infrequently contacted me which struck me as odd. In our more than a year relationship, he couldn’t let a day pass without at least three calls and tons of messages.

February – Got my first bang hairstyle ever. The stylist insisted on that when I only availed a hair color treatment.

I attended the 2012 Philippine International PyroMusical Competition held in Mall of Asia. I watched the first event between South Korea and Malta. A week after, I watched Finland vs Portugal.

A day before Valentines’ Day, I lost one of the most important people in my life. Hae Sol decided to end everything between us. It was medically proven that our LDR was not healthy for him. A part of me died that day. What’s worse? I think it still dead.

March - A colleague “pestered” me in creating a blog to serve as an outlet of my thoughts and feelings. So on March 3, Impressions of a Princess was born. Now more than half a year later, I am proud to note that I have maintained writing here.

May – I took a few days off from work and went up North. Twelve hours from Manila, I travelled to Mountain Province with my friend and explored the life of the indigenous people of my country. I had fun hiking, caving and spelunking, trekking, swimming, etc. Life there was very much different from here in the city.

June – On the first day of June, I celebrated by first anniversary in my first job of my life.

At the end of the month, my cousin was married to her first and only boyfriend. I was part of the entourage and had the misfortune of catching her bouquet. The groom’s cousin caught the garter. As that certain belief goes, those who caught both will be the next to face the altar. Funny, that. I don’t even have a boyfriend.

August – The country was hit by strong, torrential rains from a seasonal monsoon. The government was tested when the entire Philippines almost drowned in flood. Lots of people died and went missing while billions were lost in businesses. There were no typhoon signals so I didn’t worry when I went out of office that day around 7 PM. It was my first time to see parts of my city flooded chest-deep. Since no cars could brave the water, I was forced to ride a city dump/rescue truck.  Seven hours later, I arrived home crying and drenching wet.

September – I joined a company subsidized program for health and fitness. Together with my colleague and friend, Micah, I signed up for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) lessons. Most of the students there were men, but that didn’t discourage us from participating. There I learned basic kickboxing, jujitsu, and grappling. There were also elements of capoeira and others, too.

November – I decided to have another drastic hairstyle change in the last week of this month. I have a natural wavy hair, but I always wear it salon-straight. That time, I wanted to see myself with curls, so I went to a salon I haven’t tried yet (my first error) and ordered for a hair perm treatment. After a few hours, my hip-length V-styled straight hair was straightly chopped to the shoulders. The worse thing? My hair didn’t bubble up and had big, bouncy curls. Instead, it had this small, electrocuted-like appearance.

December –Two days before Christmas, I finished my GoodReads 2012 Reading Challenge which I started last June 28. I haven’t created a post about it so I’ll end this now. Wait for my post!

After two years abroad, my Dad went back to Philippines and celebrated Christmas with my family. Of course, it’s so much better to celebrate the Yuletide Season with complete members of the house. Perhaps Dad will go back to Dubai in 2013 to continue his work, but at least he had the opportunity to extinguish that two-year long homesickness.

In this year, a lot of other things happened to me, too. I went to new places around and outside the Metro – searched and dined for more Korean and Japanese restaurants, mostly. I watched more movies this year than I had in 2011 which I also considered a feat.

Moreover, I met and dated(?) some people over the year. Some are worthy keeping as friends, while others proved to be jerks. Friends got worried about me and set me up for other dates, but there really wasn’t someone. Sure, I met a few who are promising, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for another commitment. Well, I’m only 22. I’m sure I still have a lot of time for that.

I also gained a lot of friends from all over the world thanks to this blog. There were those who always read my posts no matter how boring and redundant they are. Others were more accommodating to give me comments. A few even noticed me and send their recognitions via blogawards. Some even went to great lengths and contact me personally to offer advice, ask questions, and e-mail sympathies. My heart always swells with love whenever I see people liking what I share. It seems that even if a part of me died earlier this year, another one grew bigger each day. Before the year closes, I am glad to realize that I have found a new, addicting hobby and purpose – to write and blog.

2012 brought both happy and sad memories to me. It made me weak at first, but it also awarded me with friends and new hobby which made me stronger. With the knowledge that I have survived the supposedly End of the World (which I never believed), I am brave to face 2013 and everything it has to offer. Like a clock, I do not have any other choice. Keep moving.

How’s 2012 for you?

Related Posts:

They are murderers!

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Nothing Better

Take my Heart Back

30-day Blogging Challenge: Day 9 (A photo you took)

30-day Blogging Challenge: Day 11 (A photo of you taken recently)

P.S. Do check my Giveaways tab for awesome prizes to be won!

Blog of the Year 2012 – 2 stars!

Merry Christmas, everyone! To celebrate the spirit of this Yuletide season, I think it is the perfect time to have this acceptance post for a blog award I received almost a month ago from Rahul. Then a few days ago, I received another nomination with the same title from Kit.

There are rules for receiving this award, and they are:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/   and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5 You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience

6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

Yes – that’s right – there are stars to collect!

Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once – this award is different!

When you begin you will receive the ‘1 star’ award – and every time you are given the award by another blog – you can add another star!

There are total of 6 stars to collect.

Which means that you can check out your favorite blogs – and even if they have already been given the award by someone else – you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!

For more information, check out the FAQ on The Thought Palette.

I believe that Christmas is the season of loving and giving, and so I am very happy to share this award to a few people who I believe are very deserving. The rules do not require an explanation for the award, but I would like to say something for those people I have chosen. Without further ado, here they are:

Heather. She’s someone who has accomplished not one, but three Nano novels. Isn’t that exceptional? Sure, someone can easily write a story, but doing that under time pressure makes it more difficult and challenging. I admire her for having the courage to continue joining such contest while maintaining her reading pace.

Steve. I think I first met him when he commented on my post “Are you blind, too?”. I don’t wan to highlight this, but his eye condition did not hinder him from exploring the world though books, and I was deeply inspired by his passion for reading.

Marc. I was surprised by this person who took his time in contacting me personally to read his book. I was overwhelmed, too! It is not everyday that a published author sends me an email, you know. I haven’t read his book, but the blurb is very promising. I very much want to read the novel written by someone so humble. He is someone I want to be when I grow up, even though I won’t gain a few more inches, I’m afraid. Writing isn’t about earning money, though it seems a great benefit from it. Instead, it’s about the passion and expression of thoughts and ideas.

Juanita. People have used many adjectives to describe me, but creative was rarely used. My brain is very active and healthy when it comes to creating fiction and poems, but my creative juices are always absent when it comes to handmade things. But Juanita isn’t like that. She’s someone who can create some thing as small as earrings and as huge as sweaters and dresses! It may not sound surprising for others, but I never relished the idea of me doing womanly tasks, so seeing someone so accomplished always leave me awed.

Rebecca. She’s a book lover like me. I am inspired by her book reviews that I started creating my own. She is so friendly and a frequent visitor in my site. I am very happy to meet a fellow bookworm through this platform.

Jae. She is the person to be blamed for this monstrosity called my blog. Seven months ago, she “pestered” me and insisted on creating a blog for myself. She persuaded me that I need an outlet to express my irrational thoughts and realist point of views. I agreed and this site was created. Wait, so why does she deserve this award? Aside from our hectic work schedule, she fits her physical training, reading, writing, and wedding planning in her spare time. I know we women are all multi-tasker, but really, can we juggle all those mentioned everyday?

Micah. If Jae cannot understand some character’s quotes sprouting from my mouth, then I cannot follow Micah’s list of authors. I know I am a wide reader, but I am nothing compared to her. How I wish I have read more classics during my school years! She inspires me to go back to the classics at the same time revisiting my old taste for mysteries and murder novels.

Wontaek. He is a Korean, but his English is passable. Even with the language barrier, he created a WordPress account to catch up with me. He may not be that eloquent in his posts, but I admire his courage in plunging in the world of writing and expressing one’s thoughts.

These people are deserving in their own right to receive The 2012 Blog Award. I am very happy to give them one bright star for their achievement in the blogging world. May the continue to inspire others and keep on shining for the next coming years.

I would like to take this opportunity to continuously thank everyone who has been nice to me since I started this site. Until now, I am surprised to see people welcoming me with arms wide open. To  my followers who are forever receiving such nonsense posts from me, to my visitors who reblog my posts, to commenters who spark conversations from something I said, I sincerely thank each and everyone of you for supporting me until now. The year is about to close and I can see myself looking back to this year with a smile and contentment in my face. Thank you!

And oh, stay tuned! I think I have more backlogs than ever. I have two more awards to receive, and I hope I can post them before the year ends!

 Ciao for now, folks. Let’s enjoy the remaining days of the holidays

A Very Inspiring Blog Award

Daryl of Here I Sit is kind enough as to nominate me in another award. Whoa! This is getting overwhelming; just last week I wrote about an acceptance post for Gargie and Liebster Awards. Now, another fellow blogger noticed me and my writing and I am so pleased to share this with you guys! Thank you very much Chaplain Densford for this recognition!

Now, for the rules in accepting this award:

1. Display the award logo on your blog

2. Link back to the person who nominated you.

3. State seven things about yourself.

4. Nominate fifteen other bloggers for this award and link to them.

5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.

Seven more facts about myself.

1. I love music. Even if music doesn’t love me back. I like listening to music a lot. I am not picky about the genre, but I cannot tolerate much rap. I am forever in love with classical music even though my friends tease me of being like an old person who lived way back before. I also enjoy some ballad, though currently I am for KPOP.

2. You cannot find pillows under my head when I sleep. I don’t like the feeling of my head inclined slightly from the bed. I have tried different kinds of pillows, and no matter how soft they are I still feel comfortable sleeping only on the mattress. However, I still use pillows. I like being surrounded with them – two on my sides, one for foot rest and another to hug. Huge pillows are like my teddy bears at night!

3. I read e-books, too. My love for books continues to grow. Before, I only read hard copies, but recently I became acquainted with digital versions and they seem fine. However, I do not have a trusty e-reader yet so I read using my netbook and 4-inch smartphone.

4. As an Asian, my staple food isn’t rice. I prefer bread, and sometimes pasta. I remember when I was younger that I always vomit after eating rice, especially early in the morning. My family isn’t like other Filipinos; we do not serve rice meals for breakfast. Instead, we have the usual continental breakfast – pastries, some meat, cereals, cheese, tea, milk, and orange juice. My favorite breakfasts are bacon with egg and cheese sandwich and French toast.

5. I recently had a horrendous experience in a hair salon. I wanted to change my hairstyle, but didn’t bargain for a drastic transformation. My salon-straight, hip-level hair became shoulder-length, straightly chopped, curly locks.

6. Medicine tablets and capsules are my frenemies. When I was a child, I always cried when I needed to drink medicine. Syrups are tolerable, but I felt like an impending doom was coming whenever Mom or our Pedia approached me with this serious, don’t-mess-with-me face. I couldn’t drink tablets and they always ended up being melted in my tongue. The taste was so dreadful that I always spit it out. Of course, the adults wouldn’t like it so my mom devised a way – burying the tablet in a banana. When I swallow a slice of the fruit, the tablet would be included there and I won’t be able to experience its bitter taste.

7. Dogs are my favorite animals. I grew up with those pretty creatures and got attached with their kind. I love being with our dogs, but you won’t see me playing brave and petting others’. I even cried when they died. Currently, we only have one dog and I am patiently waiting for my colleague to offer a puppy for adoption.

Of course, selecting fifteen wonderful people is never easy. I have a lot of blogger friends who are very good in their own craft. This time, I will select those fifteen who are the epitome of this award. These inspiring people are:

http://lalovelystories.wordpress.com/

http://bookmust.wordpress.com/

http://ahechoes.wordpress.com/

http://thebookshelfgargoyle.wordpress.com/

http://www.juanitatortilla.com/

http://ronawrites.wordpress.com/

http://loveatfirstbook.com/

http://edgeofjade.wordpress.com/

http://polishalcoholic.wordpress.com/

http://emzsnow.wordpress.com/

http://savorthefood.wordpress.com/

http://myhappydance.wordpress.com/

http://themeepingkoala.wordpress.com/

http://crestingthewords.wordpress.com/

http://zenscribbles.wordpress.com/

Yes, two more! The Gargie and Liebster Awards

It’s been a month I guess, and it is past due for me to acknowledge those people who had been so nice as to stay with me in this path I chose called blogging. Allow me to thank each and every one of you who keep on coming here and reading my random and crazy thoughts about almost anything. Others are even sweet to be my friends in this virtual world, and even some manage to contact me personally and have a chat! Just this morning, I received an email inquiring about my welfare because my country was featured in the news to be badly hit by a typhoon. I was very touched when I read that!

Steve from StetotheJ was so nice as to give me not only one, but two awards! Steve, thank you for noticing my blog and continuing to support me all the way. You weren’t even discouraged to share your thoughts when I ranted about how a hairstylist murdered my hair two weeks ago. Thank you and I hope we can stay as blogger friends here in WordPress.

Now, for the good thing. I am sharing this award to some fellow bloggers who I believe have shown exemplary way of writing and getting readers’ attention. There are a ton of great writers out there and it is difficult to choose nominees for these awards, but I must still try to give you those who are worthy.

The Gargie Award is the most prestigious award in gargoyledom, according to thebookshelfgargoyle. Should you wish to know more about the history of this award, you may go to the link above.

The rules in receiving this award are:

1. Display the award badge prominently  on your site….if you want.

2. Publish a post to inform the world of your great achievement…..unless you can’t be bothered.

3. Nominate some fellow bloggers (who have been outstanding in their field…figuratively or literally)….if you feel inclined.

4. Indicate to your nominees that they have received the award….provided you have completed step three.

 

As for the Liebster award, I have received this before as my first ever blogging award, and the rules are:

1. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer. The questions I set can be found in my original Liebster award post.

2. Choose 11 bloggers and link them in your post.

3. Go to their page and tell them.

Without further ado, here are the bloggers who I feel worthy for the Gargie and Liebster Awards:

http://passionwriting.wordpress.com/

http://theinnerwildkat.wordpress.com/

http://nazninazeez.wordpress.com/

http://nmnphx.wordpress.com/

http://suilanleefiction.wordpress.com/

http://myindividualinsights.wordpress.com/

http://theeclecticeccentricshopaholic.wordpress.com/

http://grndmachris.wordpress.com/

http://twentysomethinggirls.wordpress.com/

http://dyslexicwhisperer.wordpress.com/

http://endlessmusingsbykb.wordpress.com/

http://rsativus.wordpress.com/

http://crestingthewords.wordpress.com/

http://bookofstupidity.wordpress.com/

http://christiestratos.com/

http://boudicabooks.org/

Congratulations! I think I still have two or three awards received in the previous month and those who were not selected here might see their names and sites in the posts to come. Thank you, my lovely readers, and let’s continue to write and rock the blogging world!

P. S. As for celebration, I would like that The Drought by Steven Scaffardi is FREE in Smashwords until December 13. Just head over this link to read my reviews and be directed to Smashwords and get the promo code.

Related posts:

http://gongjumonica.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/my-first-award-liebster-blog-award/

http://gongjumonica.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/my-second-super-sweet-blogging-award/

http://gongjumonica.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/thanks-for-the-recognition-beautiful-blogger-award/