I'm back and (almost) finished with exams! :D

Hi sweeties!

Wow, one week since my last blog post... I'm really out of it. Sorry! But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you! I've been making ideas for what to do for our half year-anniversary, and I've been busy with my math exam. I had it this Tuesday. I must admit I had this strong sensation of freedom when I walked out of the school door after five hours of non-stop math. I really surprised myself though.
I pushed myself to sit the whole time, and to do the all the tasks, even if I didn't understand them.
I feel like I did my very best, so if my grade doesn't improve... I think I might just lay down and cry.

As Gulli told you, it has finally become close-to summer up here in the cold north! Wiih ~
I'm really in summer mood now, and when I finished my exam it felt like my summer vacation just started. A bit sad to think about the fact that I have another exam coming up in June. Oral this time. If I get drawn in math this time too... Yeah, I think I might just lay down and cry.

I felt so sick and tired today that I stayed home from school. (They probably just messed around the whole day, anyway.) I try to make the best out of these re-charging days. I relaxed and tried to get rid of my headache. I had crazy PMS too, so it was probably the smartest to keep me away from people. After all, we don't want me to punch anyone ^^
While I was having so much time on my hands, I ended up re-discovering one of the bands I listened to before; Cross Gene. They've changed so much! For the better, luckily. I was also happy to see that they made their comeback in Japan, and they've started to make songs in Japanese. They have turned into a J-pop band, in fact! o.o
(Cross Gene is an Asian band with members both from South Korea, Japan and China. That's why they make their songs with many different languages. They speak good English too ^^)

Of course I'm a big K-pop fan too, but it can't compete with the thrilling feeling I get when I can actually understand some of the lyrics without any translation. It makes me relate to the music even more.
And also, let's face it: the K-pop industry have taken some wrong turns, and it bothers me to know that some of my fave bands might just be puppets for greedy label owners.

I got to sleep now, but of course I'll post a music video from the "new" Cross Gene before I leave:

Cross Gene - Shooting Star

Talk to you later! ~

BTW: Everybody please answer in our little question thingy up here, so that we know what to do for our half year anniversary! ^^ 

Kick start spring :D

Good evening all sweet and tough ones out there! ^^

I know it's been a lack of blogging lately, sorry for that. We have both been quite busy as always, and I had to catch up on some schoolwork.
When I walked home from school today I realized how quickly time has passed. Suddenly it was birds and sprouts on the threes, even though it was cold and silent just two weeks ago. Spring may arrive late, but it arrives fast! I also realized that when April has passed we will be four months into this year. (Yeah yeah, I know that's pretty obvious.) Add another two months and half of 2013 will be gone! Doesn't it sound weird?

I mean, I'm still waiting for the year to get fully started!

Anyway, our theater practice starts 11 am tomorrow, and since I'm home alone I have to walk (around half an hour), make breakfast (around 45 mins; I need time to enjoy my tea), pack my stuff for the sleepover at Gulli's place tomorrow night (around half an hour, if I'm effective), and of course get ready and decide what outfit to wear in the unreliable spring weather (an hour ++).
Which all together means I have to get up too early. That's why I have to make a short and quick blog post!
(But as you may noticed I spent a lifetime writing WHY is had to be short, so my plan failed...)

I thought I'd share some of my music fav's with you. As nature is renewing itself, so is my iPod, and I've been trying out all types of music lately. (Which resulted in a broken headset, r.i.p)

2NE1 - I am The Best. Forever a classic. 

PSY - Gentleman. Just in case some of you actually haven't seen it yet.

G-Dragon - Michi Go. Just when I thought no music video could get more random than Crayon, he comes up with this...

WARNING: This video will make you go: WTF?? Guaranteed. 

Supercell - Feels so Good. I know it seems a bit sexual according to the title and illustration, but it's really just a cute, jazzy song about weekends. And it's in Japanese, for those who wondered. 

That's it for now! Come back later and see what happens when Gulli and I spend 24 hours together without a break... o.o

 Good night and sweet dreams ~

Material girl for a day

Hi everyone! :D

Remember me? It's been some time since my last post. I'm home from Sweden, and I can finally enjoy the Easter holiday. I've been taking everything nice and slow, and relaxed. Well, except from Gulli's birthday party last night, but that's another story.
Just because I haven't been blogging, it doesn't mean that I forgot about you. I've been doing some technical updates, as you can see in our new header.
We also have a facebook page up and running now, go like it now!

https://www.facebook.com/oursakurakiss

Our goal is to fetch more readers this way, and have a closer contact with all of you :3 It's also easier to update you when we're too busy to blog! We think facebook is a great way to stay in touch with you, so don't hesitate to take contact there. All will be answered ^^

The day after I returned from Sweden, I got a lovely surprise! Almost everything I've ordered arrived that day. I feel a bit sorry for the mail man who had to see me in work out clothes with messy hair and facial mask, but hello, who looks good at 10 am in the first day of vacation?
I got my package from Milanoo fashion as well as the NU'EST album. (Happy fangirl right here!)

I even got NU'EST pins, haha. Time to really show off my fangirling.

DVD <3

It was the special edition, so I got a 200 page photobook too!  \^.^/ 

I figured out that it's pretty hard to take photos of photos. But you see the content.

I got more than this, but you'll get to see it over time.

Now I'll enjoy the rest of the evening, and I hope you'll do too ^^

See ya ~

Staying happy ~

Hi everyone! ^.^

Today I'm in a quite good mood, even though I have to do school work during the weekend, and the fact that it's a blizzard outside. (Norway <3)
Today I've ordered my favorite band NU'EST's new album "Hello" (special edition), and I'm also about to order some spring fashion from Milanoo. I've learned that when the present is unpleasant, you can always look ahead to a better future, or simply escape reality for a while.
At least that's what I do, although I'm teaching myself to face challenges head-on instead of pretending they don't exist. That's why I've forced myself to be above average interested in Henrik Ibsen and Norway in the 1800's, as well as Scientology. I have to present both on Monday.

Luckily I'm a rather easy going person, so I always convince myself that "it will work out somehow".
They're oral presentations too, so I can do what I do best: talk my way out of it.

Anyway, as I mentioned NU'EST are out with a new mini-album, and B.A.P are too. It's funny how my two favorite bands always are releasing new stuff at the same time, so I suddenly have a bunch of new songs to listen to. Just one new song from one of them is enough to make my day, and today I downloaded seven! That may explain my bright mood. I'm also looking forward to spending this evening with our theater group, as I really need a break from Mr. Ibsen.
We're not having a practice, we're just gonna make taco and and have a good time ^^

I haven't decided what to order from Milanoo yet, but I'll post it on the blog later. Maybe I can convince my mother to some shoes as well? All my shoes from last summer are worn out >.<

So, now I'll go order, but before I leave I have to (of course) post some new music:

NU'EST - Hello Hello

B.A.P - Zero

NU'EST - A Little Bit More

B.A.P - Punch

Well, talk to you later! ^.^

Hopefully I'll soon own some items from my shopping list :)

The ideal vacation!

Hello, my rays of sunshine! ^^ (wow, that's creative)

Last night when I couldn't sleep, I found myself to be in the poetic corner. So I wrote a description of myself in my dairy, going like this: "Silje, you are much like a flower. Whenever the sun shines and everything is well, you blossom along with all your colors and all your glow. But as soon as a little shadow comes in front of you, you pull back all your flower petals and become a regular, boring plant. You need to learn to be more sensitive for sunlight, so that you can shine during dark times too! ^^"
When I read it again this morning I didn't understand why I made it so complicated. "Silje, honey, you have serious mood swings. Do something about it." That's how I should have written it.

Anyway, I'm happy now! It's Friday and I can finally stuff in on chocolate and candy like the sinful girl I am.
The weather at home now is seriously crappy; I feel so sorry for all the tourists that have taken their time to visit now. I hope you make it home alive, and that you don't break any bones on the icy roads.
I would also like to apologize on behalf of the Norwegian weather gods. They suck.

As you might understand, I need a vacation. Kind of ironic since I have a vacation right now, but it's not the type of vacation I need.

Key elements for a successful, tropic vacation: 

• Temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius.
• A good place to buy yummy, cheap ice cream.
• A little shop that fulfills all your cravings for sun lotion, soda in foreign tastes, weird candy, aloe vera-gel, and plastic flowers to put in your hair.
• A beach bar or pool bar that makes excellent fruit shakes.
• Cheap massage and manicure/pedicure.
• A little market to fulfill the rest of your needs after you've been to the little shop.
• At least one good restaurant that have something you like.
• At least one, fancy place where you can dress up with all the summer fashion outfits you brought, but can't use on the beach.
• Good summer music.
• Some hot guys.

Key elements for a not-so-successful tropic vacation:

• Sunburn. Serious sunburn.
• All kinds of diseases like infections, wounds and diarrhea.
• Insects. Insects everywhere.
• Evil monkeys.
• Evil animals in general.
• Scary people that speaks way to fast or way to slow.
• Jellyfish. Especially those who hunt many together.
• Others from your home country that acts like morons.
• Men who wants to marry you after knowing you for three seconds.
• Men who doesn't take no for a no.
• Bikinis and swimsuits that doesn't fit you.

 Well, it's going to be a long time before I can experience any of the above again. Not that there's anything wrong with going to Tokyo for the summer, but that's a different type of vacation. In fact, I think I might make a good/bad-list for city vacations too.
As it is now, any place would do good! >.<

How I feel these days (if you haven't watched this video yet: DO IT) :

You gotta love that woman.

Talk to you guys soon, and hopefully the weather is better where you are! :D

Bye bye ~

Happy winter day! ^.^

Hi sweeties!

Today is such a lovely day! We're finally getting into that part of winter that I really like. We still have snow, but we have the sun too. The days are getting brighter, and I was so surprised last morning when I woke up with sunshine in my face. (What bright light is this?)
The temperatures have gone a little up, so now I can walk my dog without freezing inside my big, black parkas. And since I'm not freezing I can walk a little slower and take a look at what's around me too ^^
The only down in the ice on the roads... It's a miracle I haven't fallen yet.

This is me today. I'm wearing my beloved light pink knitted sweater ^^ It has been a close friend throughout the winter. So far this has been a rather laid back day, but I'm meeting Gulli and some others in town later and apparently we had a bunch of stuff to do. 

Now that we have entered the better winter time, I was delighted to see that the online fashion store Milanoo is having a little give-away. It is a super cute winter coat, and it's perfect for this time of year between winter and spring when I need a winter coat light.
They are still hosting the give-away on Facebook, the more people that joins, the more winners:
Cute winter coat give-away

It looks so soft and warm and cozy and cuddly :3

Something else that brightened my first days of winter vacation was the new NU'EST song "Hello". 

It was released 13th of February, and I've been listening to it non-stop ever since. 

There are many reasons to why I'm a huge fan of them, but one of the main reasons is that when I normally listen to a song, I love it in the beginning, but then I grow tired of it. When it comes to NU'EST songs, I love them the more I listen to them! I still listen to their debut song "Face" everyday, event though it was released a year ago! 

This is one of their saddest song so far, but it's so gentle and sweet, and it's the perfect soundtrack for a walk in snow and sunshine.

Can't get enough of it >.< 

Remember to watch in HD with English subtitles on, the lyrics are amazing!

A little update from me before I continue the day, hope you all are having a good time too ^^

See ya ~ 

Five must-hear songs ^^

Good evening everybody!

I had a lot to do today, so it got this late before I could blog. I'm a little "reduced" by a cold too, so I really need a long night's sleep.
I was thinking of what I could  blog about that would be easy and quick to write, but at the same time somewhat interesting for you to read.
My best answer: music! My taste in music is known to be a little different than usual, especially here at home, but I'll share with you anyway. Maybe you can find something new that you like? ^^

This is basically the music I've been listening to lately, and it has a great impact on my mood. Happy, sad, strengthening or just plain crazy, here are 5 music videos for the beginning of 2013:

Nu'est - Face vs. B.A.P - Warrior. This gotta be the best mash-up of all times! O.O

B.A.P - One Shot. This was actually released today!

Skye Sweetnam - Hypocrite. No song describes myself better than this one!

B.A.P - Rain Sound. Rain and B.A.P are a perfect combo :3

Inna - More Than Friends. I'm a big Inna fan too, and she's finally releasing a new album soon!

This is really just a little peek of what I listen too (I'm more varied than people think), but if you would like to, I can post something similar with 5 new videos next time I'm in a hurry ^^

Sleep well <3

Why I became a blogger

Good evening sweet ones! ^^

Right now I'm typing carefully while I'm waiting for my nail polish to dry. Due to my laziness my nails have been "au nautral" for a while, and since they started to look ugly I decided to cover them up in deep, shiny Aruba Blue :3 It's a shame that I can't be more careful with my nails, once they've gotten long and pretty, I stop protecting them with basecoat and they all break. It's something very elegant and feminine over long nails. I don't like them super long, but just that little tip that makes the fingers look longer and slimmer.
Haha, but really, this post wasn't supposed to be about nails, anyway!

I have something to confess to you guys. I'm not an experienced blogger, and there are many times I don't have a clue of what to write about, and end up on something random. It's a bit frustrating too, cause' I really want to write about something interesting and helpful to my readers.
I also try to blog everyday. Sakura Kiss is still in a beginner phase, so I find it important to maintain a high activity on the blog, and try to fetch new readers ^.^
Lately our page views have been greatly increasing, so I have a good feeling that we will reach our goal together!

You might wonder why I became a blogger in the first pace?
Well, I've always been a girl with a lots of thoughts and opinions on everything, and it's nice to have a place to share it. I'm very fond of languages, different people and cultures, and the world in general, and that's why I love having an international blog! To get the opportunity to write for people all over the world feels amazing, and I get this tingling feeling whenever I see all the different countries our readers are from :3
I get my inspiration from all types of things, and as you may noticed my posts are quite different from each other too. It goes from Lolita fashion to bad days and personal thoughts and dreams.

I'm not sure what you prefer to read about. Maybe I should continue with a lot of different stuff like before to give you variation?  Sakura Kiss was made to be a lifestyle blog after all, so I'll write anything that I think will brighten your day or encourage you. ^^
Hopefully my posts haven't been that bad, and I hope that anyone who have a wish or idea for this blog doesn't hesitate to tell! We'd love to hear from you, even if it's critique :D
------

As for today, my mood has been on top all day! That's because my favorite band Nu'est released the date for their comeback this morning! ^^ 13th of February is already marked off in the calendar with a big heart :3 They haven't released new songs for over a half year now, so I'm aching to hear something new from them.
It's so nice to have the thought spinning in my back head all the time, that I don't think it's possible for me to have a bad day until the song is released! :D
I'll add the music video from their debut song "Face", which happens to be the most played song on my iPod. Watch it in HD!

Sweet dreams <3

A terrible Tuesday in ten easy steps!

Hi all of you! ^^

So you've might noticed my absence from the blog yesterday (Did you miss mee?? :3), and that was simply because yesterday really wasn't my day. Seriously, I don't think it was meant for me to even get out of bed.
I think I might just make a list over yesterday:

1. I force myself out of bed with a dizzy head and heavy eyes. I think for a slight second "good it's weekend soon" but I soon realize it's only Tuesday.
2. I'm at the bathroom getting ready for a new day. I'm fighting the urge to take "quick nap" on the floor. I try a new type of concealer I just bought, but suddenly notices that something, somewhere, went terribly wrong and now most of my face has turned light green. Yep. I want to remove it but realize the clock is working against me as always.
3. I'm rushing to the kitchen and my mom complains on me being late for breakfast again. She isn't in a particularly good mood either, and somehow we get into a big fight about everything that's ever happened, or could happen. I'm tired, sick and mad already, so the fight really gets into me. During the fight she calls me "useless" by accident, and I start to think she is completely right. 
4. Feeling down, sad and useless, I begin my walk to school. It's way past time, so I already know I'll be too late again. Frustration from past times well up inside me, as it tends to do when I'm in a dreadful mood. Suddenly the snowflakes melting in my face gets mixed up with my own tears, and I decide I just can't arrive at school like this. I turn around and walk home.
5. I lie down on the couch and listen to sad and negative music. I fall asleep for many hours. 
6. My stepfather picks me up to my appointment with my homeopath. (He's still unaware that I skipped school.) The appointment might just be the one good thing of the day, as we talked about the problem and I felt a little better.
7. My stepfather picks me up again. He has a really big, tall car, and as I climb up in the front seat I hear a discreet "riitch". Tadaa! A part of my pants just ripped up. It's a rather large, quite visible gash too. 
8. My headache is getting even stronger as we eat dinner at my grandmother's house. I confess to all that I skipped school, and try to explain why. 
9. We agree that I'll be skipping theater practice too, as I'm probably about to collapse or kill someone any minute now. 
10. We get home and I call Gulli and tell her all about my horrible life. Then I go straight to bed, and hope you readers will forgive me for not blogging.  

Sounds lovely, right? I hope it will be a long time before a day gets that crappy again...

Today I've been focused on school work ^^ It it one my new year resolutions that I don't fall behind there. 
I've also decided to focus ever more on my recovery from last years breakdown (read further down on the blog for more details), so I made it clear to myself: meditate more, sleep more when you're supposed to sleep, and don't stress yourself needlessly.

With that mentioned, I like to listen to music box tunes when I need to relax and ease my mind. I loved music boxes when I was little, so I might got it from there. It's perfect for sleeping too! ^.^
I can share two of my favorite "don't want to think more, just sleep"-melodies with you:

They're so calm and soothing! I also recommend walking with these on your iPod in the rain. :3
Or if you don't have rain, check out http://www.rainymood.com/ very random, but clever.

Hope you all forgive my lack of blogging!

Sweet dreams <3

A little depressed? Yeah, me too.

Hello loved ones!

Today is a rather crappy day. I'm exhausted, frustrated, sad and I feel sort of ignored. Does it sound familiar? School wasn't bad either, it's just that I have tons of gloomy thoughts stocked up in my mind that keeps tormenting me. Confusing words coming from a meditation enthusiast? Yeah, I know. I've had trouble finding a solution for my problems though, and the main reason is that I don't know for sure why I feel so depressed. At the beginning of a new year, and everything!

And as always, you have Facebook. Honestly, it isn't many other webpages where you can find so much crap. Or maybe there is? Well, Facebook is being used by almost everyone in your social circle, so it's hard to avoid people you don't like at the moment, and it's very hard to control the content. Your news feed can be hilarious, sad, frustrating, boring and everything in between depending on who of your dear friends that has been active recently. I think one should be able to label Facebook content. Like: "stupid girls", "alcohol involved" or "relationships you don't wanna know about" or "annoying popular person that knows way too many people and have 200+ likes on his/her profile picture".
You don't want to hear about those when you're depressed. And so, you could just cancel out all posts with those labels... Ah, at least I can hope.

It is indeed very frustrating when you feel like you're just never good enough, pretty enough, effective enough and successful enough. I know it sound like a big cliche, but we often forget the most mean and merciless criticizer of all: ourselves. 

Sometimes there is so painfully little you can do about how things work, and how people see you.
And when you're way to tired to concentrate on pan flutes and breathing techniques, it's time for the classic emergency break.
Chocolate, sad/angry music, and a cute childish movie with a happy ending. 
It may not be a long term solution, but it works perfectly when everything else is wrong. Don't ignore any feeling, take it all out and actually taste it, so you're prepared to deal with them once you have the strength. Remember, it's absolutely perfectly fine to break down!

Hope you all have much happiness ahead of you, and have a nice weekend! ^.^
Now I'm going to eat chocolate and watch Barbie and the 12 dancing princesses.

Meditation: Why you should do it, and how to do it!

Hello everyone! ^.^

So I'm taking a break in my New Year's Eve preparations to write a new post to you. I've already found an outfit and got most things ready, and I promise there will be a "New Year celebration" post from us later!

Now, what I'm going to write about is something that's very important to me: meditation. I'm that type of person that usually take things on the go, and I tend to have very few worries(too few according to some of my friends). I keep peace of mind in my daily life, and try as much as I can to laugh away the problems. I also love to help friends with their troubles, and I don't mind having hour long conversations with someone to help them solve a problem.
But of course, we all have different sides of ourselves, and when my long, long patience disappears...it turns into a supernova of disaster! Just lately I had a serious breakdown after a long time with stress and pressure. You see, feelings are a very important part of being a human, but we often ignore them. Ignoring what you really feel, and always hide it away, is not only exhausting but it can also be dangerous!

How do you cope with you feelings? It's absolutely okay to cry and scream out your frustration when you're alone; do it whenever you feel like it! But if it's more a "sneaky" feeling, that always go around in the back of your head and destroys you slowly from the inside like poison...well, then meditation is right for you.
In fact, meditation is right for everyone! Not only does it release you from your feelings, but you're more likely to see solutions too!
So dry your eyes and heal your soar throat: it's a much more pleasant method waiting for you.  

What is meditation?

Meditation is basically getting in touch with your inner self. When you meditate you let both your body and your mind relax. It's different from screaming and listening to aggressive music to strengthen yourself, as those actions usually creates even more feelings. Instead of creating new feelings to cope with the old ones, you let go off them, leaving space for more constructive thoughts. ^^
There are many ways to meditate, and you will have to try a few times to find out what works for you.
In the beginning it's best to try to think as little as possible, and focus on one simple thing, like how you breathe.
Sit comfortable, in a position where you have good balance. I recommend the iconic "legs crossed and your back straight with your hands resting on your knees or balanced in the air". (Like you would picture Buddha)
Do not make it complicated though, it's hard to think of nothing when your ankle hurts "soo much"!
Music is highly recommended for relaxation and keeping focus. It doesn't have to be music, many prefer simple sounds.
My element is water, and I always relax the most to the sound of running water or rain.
Maybe you prefer the sound of a sparking fire, or rain forest sounds? Gotta try it all!

Myths about meditation:

Will I get strange visions? 
Not unless you have much fantasy that leads your thoughts astray, but you should try to focus on something simple. Let new thoughts come in, but don't let them stay too long. Picture your thoughts as a gentle breeze that blows through your mind. Uhm, or something like that.

Is it possible that I might call on a spirit or hear voices?
The one you'll be talking to is yourself. Some people though, claim that they hear the voices of God, protective spirits, angles or their ancestors. This is about religion though, and what thoughts you invite in. I'll say to listen to whatever comes up, that helps you.

Do I need a fitting environment to meditate? 
Not really. Meditation is about taking a journey inside your mind, not to a zen Buddhist temple in Himalaya.
It should be quiet around you, though. And YouTube can help you with nature sounds. With that said, meditate in the real nature whenever you can! It feels amazing!

Some music and sounds to get you started!
Rain of Purification by Oliver Shanti

Simple sound of running water

Forest sounds

Simple birdsong

Relaxation track with Chinese bamboo flute

Tai Chi by Oliver Shanti

Hope this helps everyone with stress and too many thoughts! ^.^