I accidentally came across the sister-duo Karmina when I watched a clip of Tony and Ziva on Youtube. The song used for the clip was Karmina's The Kiss, which I instantly loved. I, of course, searched for more of their songs and was very happy to discover their great music, which they're calling Sparkle Rock. I dunno what that is at the moment, but I like it.

They do remind me of Jennifer Paige (of the "Sober" and "Always You" fame), especially in the song Slow Down. Take a listen here.

But they also have great slow (and melancholy, IMHO) songs like Inside of You and Walk You Home.

Find out more about Karmina and their great music here:

I'm happy to say that I'm starting the year right by finishing another book from my list of To Read. Yesterday, I read the last pages of Heist Society by Ally Carter. It was light reading compared to the last 5 Matthew Reilly books I read the past month. And I think it was just the right genre (young adult) and right story (a little bit of suspense, funny, and romance) at the moment. For me, it was kind of like the teenage version of Sidney Sheldon's If Tomorrow Comes - without the prison story arc, of course. And I absolutely looooooooooove If Tomorrow Comes. It's one of my favorite books and my copy actually has brown pages already (sad).

I'm thinking if I'm going to read Uncommon Criminals, the sequel to Heist Society, or Brad Meltzer's Inner Circle next. Toss coin?

Last year, though I had less time to read books, I was able to peruse my way through at least 20. I used to read more than that, but then last year I traveled more and got busy being a mom and a career woman. This year, I'm planning to get back on track and finish at least 30 books. Well, if my list is anything to go by, it'll be a suspense-filled, action-packed year for me.

My Book List

1. Ice Station - Matthew Reilly - done
2. Area 7 - Matthew Reilly - done
3. Heist Society - Ally Carter - currently reading
4. Temple - Matthew Reilly
5. The Inner Circle - Brad Meltzer
6. Lost Temple - Tom Harper
7. The Lazarus Vault - Tom Harper
8. The Book of Secrets - Tom Harper
9. The Templar Legacy - Steve Berry (book 1 in the Cotton Malone series - planning to read all)
10. The Hunt for Atlantis - Andy McDermott (book 1 in the Nina Wilde series - again, planning to read all)
11. The Millionaires - Brad Meltzer
12. Artemis Fowl: The Atlantic Complex - Eoin Colfer
13. The Tapestry Series: The Fiend and the Forge - Henry H. Neff
14. Uncommon Criminals - Ally Carter
15. Witch and Wizard - James Patterson
16. With and Wizard: The Gift - James Patterson
17. Witch and Wizard: The Fire - James Patterson
18. City of Fallen Angels - Cassandra Clare
19. The Clockwork Prince - Cassandra Clare
20. The Confession - John Grisham
21. The Associate - John Grisham

Whew! That's a long list! But I have more than 11 months to go. This should be, uh, easy. =D

If you're planning an intimate party with a few friends, and you want to spice it up with a simple theme, then this blog from Martha's Craft Department just might give you the boost you need. It's simple and it's relatively cheap! I love it, since I'm a wishful traveler myself. Maybe, it can even spark a travel adventure for you and your buddies.

Party in Paris

La Tour Effiel *sigh*

Yeah, and the first month of the year is almost over (how time flies!). I've been on a blog slump last year and you can tell as my last entry is half-a-year old. I don't know how many times I've tried to restart my blogging pursuit, but here I am starting - AGAIN. Maybe, I'm just not a blogger kind of person. Or maybe I just want to do a lot of things that I can't really fit into my days no matter how hard I try (could be I wasn't trying hard enough, or I'm a hopeless case in time management).

Anyhoo, I'm planning to at least post 2-3 short blogs of anything and everything a week. I'm starting slow, really slow. I think it's more realistic.

With that, I'm ending my first short post for the year with a "Kung Hei Fat Choi!" or "Gong Xi Fa Cai!"

Happy Chinese New Year! May we all have good luck this year of the water dragon.