Reading Recommendation: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner is one of those two-day-can't-put-the-book-down-reads. 

I read the book when it came out a few years ago, back when I was reading 3-4 books a week (AKA high school, you know when free time was a thing). I never picked up the sequel probably because I was too busy reading something else.

This past weekend my boyfriend and I went out and saw the movie, mostly it was an excuse to eat popcorn. I was surprised at how fantastic the movie really was! Now, if you're a die-hard book fan you'll notice that the book and the movie have their differences, but over all it was a great film. So great, that the next morning my boyfriend and I headed to Barnes and Nobles to pick up a copy each!

I've been reading it non-stop for the last two days and finally finished it. The characters in the movie are pretty similar to the character descriptions in the book, which made for an easy transition. 

I'm not very good at synopsis, mostly because I believe it ruins a good book. But it's based in a futuristic (possibly?) world with a dystopian feel, and some peter-pan lost boys in an experiment like feel. Just go read the back of the book people >.> 

The reading level isn't very high. I'd place it just below Harry Potter on the reading level scale (I'm sure there is one... but for quick mental reference). I blazed thorough the book, and it picked up quickly. Even though I knew what was going to happen, the author still kept me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend picking it up! I'll actually going to head  over to pick up the sequel this time~

Get Ready With Me: Week 39

These posts should really be called 'I Procrastinated: Week ##', but here's the transformation all the same!

 

This week is much more colorful than last! There's lots to do, for a lot of different activities. I absolutely love letting my weeks decorate themselves. It makes my Filofax great to look at, without feeling like I need it to be perfect. Functional is the name of the game for me!

Beginning Project Life

Project Life is something I think most paper project addicts come across. After a couple years of contemplation, and a few Michael's gift cards, I've finally taken the plunge. 

If you're like me, you feel the need to document things way to late. Since it's my senior year of college, I've finally decided I've felt the need to photograph everything. What am I going to do with all these photos? Project Life of course!

If you don't know what Project Life is, it's basically 'mini-scrap-booking' on a weekly basis. Now I have no where near the amount of time to scrap every week and stay on top of it. So I've already decided to scrap a month at a time. 

Laying out each spread week by week looks great when I see pictures online, however, for me it's not exactly practical. I take pictures erratically, and inconsistently. So laying out a month at a time will still allow me to keep track of everything that's happening without the stress of having enough pictures. I'm excited to document my everyday life a little differently than normal.

I chose to use a Project Life mini album. These are 6x8, and still have the ring binder option. I wanted to use a mini album as a test run. I'm still not sure I'll ever have enough photos to fill up a full album, and the 6x8 album is easier to hold and look through in my experience. If I find I have plenty of photos, I may bump up to the 12x12 for 2015. 

September 2014 Cover Page

I've used cards from various collections. I have the Midnight Edition core kit, along with several sets of 3x4 journal cards from We R Memory Keepers. The pumpkin spice photo and the September photo's I found online and printed out on photo paper. 

Most of the photos are from my instax mini 8 or straight off my phone. The smaller 2x2 photos on the right are Instagram photos from the weeks. 

Get Ready With Me: Week 38

I love looking at my planner after I go though and color code everything! I usually do this on Friday before the following week. However, some times I will update my planner daily. That usually keeps me on top of things, and colorful. Life gets busy though, so I didn't quite get to putting my planner together until yesterday.

I write everything as it is assigned, comes up, etc in Frixion pen, then I do a mass erase and washi! If you're curious what I write on my washi tape with, I use a fine point Sharpie. Not a sharpie pen, they tend to smear which is not the look I'm going for. 

I used my page flags from the Target dollar spot to represent the big things this week, and some washi tape, also from Target dollar spot.

Mochi Things

It's no secret I have an addiction to sticky notes. I have a mass collection of quirky and nerdy sticky notes, so when I came across these Tetris themed sticky notes on Mochithings.com I couldn't believe I didn't already have them. 

I also picked up these tracing sticky notes. Those in the Filofax world have seen the crazy of transparent sticky notes. I've had several versions of them before, but I find these to be a bit different. They don't really look transparent at all until you put a single sheet over something. It truly is like tracing paper, if you've ever hand any experience with that. 

Below those two is a rather large monthly calendar sticky note pad. You fill in the dates and month yourself. There are 50 sheets in each pad. I'm a planner addict, so I had to have them. 





Here are the links!
http://www.mochithings.com/stationeries/large-desk-notepad/9622
http://www.mochithings.com/sticky-notes/tracing-sticky-note/6705
http://www.mochithings.com/sticky-notes/tetris-sticky-note-set/3454

Body Journey

I believe every woman goes through the same phases in a weight-loss journey. I'm over it. I'm over weight loss. I'm always focused on what the scale says. Why does it matter what I weigh?

So I'm trying a different perspective on for size. I'm still going to weigh myself, but more on a weekly basis versus an every day on. Heck! Maybe even a fortnight basis. (Fortnight is a favorite word of mine btw) I'm going to focus on how I feel, and how my clothes fit. 

I've recently gotten relatively into weight lifting. Not your 5lbs dumbbells, but heavy weights. In two weeks I've lost 7 lbs, and I fit back into my pants again. It is the most amazing feeling in the world to fit back into one's pants comfortably. Yes, I lost weight. However, 5 of them was probably water weight, and 2 were probably actually fat. Not a very dramatic change, since I'm counting 5 of them as that stubborn weight fluctuation us girls experience (at least on my end). 

Another trap I've fell into a lot, is setting goals that are too far out time-wise. I usually give myself a year to make small-ish changes. Such as losing 15 lbs. A year should be plenty of time. It is, it is way more than enough time. However, that is the problem. I take things too slow, fall off the train, you get the idea. So I'm giving myself until December to hit a 'comfortable-in-my-bikini' goal. I'd love to drop a few pounds, but honestly, my weight isn't really changing anything. My goal is to be back down 2 pants sizes (so back to a solid 4). I can squeeze back into my size 4 jeans, but it's still not the most comfortable experience. 

So here's my pledge to the internet! I'm entering  a new body journey! I'm going to focus on how I feel, how my clothes are fitting, and not how much the scale is moving. I'm 12 weeks away from my goal today, so I'm going to do weekly check-ins, and post my progress. 

My Baby Sister Turns 15!

 

Today my family celebrated my baby sister's 15th birthday. I can't believe she's already 15! This blows my mind. We had fun eating entirely too much food, and topped it off with an Oreo ice cream cake (which my very sensitive stomach is now regretting!). 

Hal got spoiled with some beauty tools and make up for her birthday. What can I say, we're both pretty addicted to make up!

I got some hang time with my main man, Tiger. He's pretty much my baby. When I got him 10 years ago, he had no teeth, and I had to nourish him with kitten milk. It's unfortunate that my apartment doesn't allow pets, otherwise he'd be moving in with me stat!

Instax Mini 8

Today I received my Fujifilm Instax Mini 8! I've wanted one of these instant / polaroid cameras for a very long time, and never realized how affordable they really are. I finally bit the bullet, and got one on amazon.

I've had entirely too much fun, and I'm wasting all of my film. But it's worth it! I'll work on getting a full review of it up in the next week or two. 

My goal is use some weekly photos in my journal to bring it to life. I've always taped in movie stubs and tickets, but I'm excited to put in some cute, mini photos!

Week 36 in my Filofax

Week 36 is almost over! I can't believe I'm almost two weeks into my senior year of college. It's been a crazy couple weeks getting meetings set up and doing homework at the same time. I don't know where I would be without my filofax.

I've been 'filofaxing' for just over a year now, and it has been quite an exciting / crafting journey. If you've seen any posts on my old blog (zinzeyray.tumblr.com) then you'll have seen the changes happen in my filofax. I used to decorate like crazy, kawaii stickers, the whole nine yards. However, it was just too much for me. I couldn't actually use my planner as a tool to help me organize. I would obsess over it looking perfect. Now I let my schedule decorate itself with a color-coding washi tape system. If you don't know what washi tape is, I'm sorry, I've just introduced you into a future addiction. 

The color coding is really convenient and low maintenance No, I don't take washi tape with me to school, cut the pieces out when I get a new assignment or have a new meeting. I write everything down through the day with my trusty Pilot Frixion Pen (again a new addiction if you haven't seen them) and at the end of the day I sit down, go through the new additions, and update my filofax with some washi tape. 

This has worked really well for me. I've been utilizing this systems for about nine months now, and it's translated nicely from school, to work, and back to school very nicely. 

Here are some links to what I'm currently using in my filofax:
Frixion Pens
Thin Washi Tape
Target Dollar Spot Page Flags

My filofax is a personal size, yellow original.

Starting the Blogging Life

I've blogged for a few years on tumblr. My most popular blog was for my Filofax addiction, which I'm sure will re-surface on this blog. I used to keep separate blogs for everything, from fitness, to filofax. However, I've decided it's time to streamline my life, and keep all of it in one place.

Hopefully others in my lifestyle can find some tips, tricks, and laughs out of my experiences!