Graduation Cap

As you can see from the picture, I have completed my little project...decorating my cap for graduation. The big day is June 16 and I am so excited. It has been a long time coming and I am just so thankful to God for allowing me to complete it. While I didn't complete college in the time frame as some of my high school peers, I completed nonetheless and I have never been more proud of myself (I would have been more proud if my Intro to Critical Theory didn't kick my butt and mess up my GPA). Either way, good or bad, I have completed college and am ready for the next adventure in my book.

To complete the decor on my cap, I used decals for scrapbooking, specifically for Theatre. I also used black gems and gold letters. Literally, there is glitter all over my hands and even on the keys of my laptop. No doubt, I will find glitter all over me tomorrow morning. To adhere the decals and gems, I used a hot glue gun. Something that you should all be aware of is that the decals are three-dimensional; the letters/numbers are flat. Take that into consideration as you prepare to decorate your own cap. You don't want it to get in the way of flipping the tassel from one side to the other. Before you adhere ANY decals, make sure that they are placed where you would like them. Once you hot-glue them down, it's hard to remove (I'm guessing...I didn't want to have to go back and redo everything). Also, make sure that the decorations are glued on in the right direction. You want to make sure that family and friends will be able to read it from behind you.

I wish you all the best of luck in your cap decorating!

Congratulations, class of 2012!


Love, Peace and Chicken Grease! -J

It's HERE!

My package has arrived! If you are wondering what the package is, I am talking about my invitations to my graduation party.

This time of year is when the major Graduation companies come out in full force and get all kinds of students to pay for Graduation announcements or invitations or thank you cards. My mom led me to simplytoimpress.com and that's where I browsed all of the styles of the invitations. The great thing about this site is that you can customize that invite or announcement to suit you. I wanted to add pictures to my invitations rather than the embossed seal of the school.

Because I have not mailed them out yet, I cannot let you see how great they turned out. But I can let you see the beautiful box it came in. LOVELY!

I recommend this company to all who want to personalize announcements of any kind.

Love Peace and Chicken Grease! -J

Graduation Season

As you may know, I will be graduating ('walking') in June. Yesterday, I went back to Riverside to buy my cap and gown and all of those things. After the purchases, it hit me...this is really happening. It was bittersweet. I am ready to get out of UC Riverside, but I have made a huge amount of friends that I am sad to leave. *sigh* I hope, as years go on, that I maintain contact with as many of them as possible (you know who you are). In a conversation with my best friend yesterday, he said that he wanted to make leis for his friends that are graduating. I am stealing his idea and I am going to make leis as well. Hahaa. He's gonna hate me, but I can do whatever I want. Lol. He'll have to suck it up (love you, babe). Love peace and chicken grease.

Seriously...I am making it stick this time

You're asking yourself "What is she talking about?" I'm talking about exercise. In September of 2011, I embarked on a journey to go to the gym every other day. It worked for me. I was there every other day until school let out for Winter Break. When January rolled around, I made that same commitment in January. Unfortunately, it didn't stick as well. I really had no excuse not to go to the gym or get some kind of exercise...I only had class Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Needless to say, there should have been no excuse but I kept telling myself that school was more important. That's a lame excuse. I know. But I was very serious about my choice. It was my last quarter and I needed to focus on my time-consuming classes (really, any class is time-consuming). As of May 1, I am vowing to be on a better track to a better weight and a better me. My current weight is 219.8. Last summer I weighed 236. So, I do see improvement. By no means do I feel like I was last summer but I still want to be at a better weight and be more active without tiring out. Mind you, I am a bit more active than some of my thinner friends, but I want to be physically better. My first task is to get my heart rate and breathing on track. I'm not terribly interested in weight loss at this point. But I want to be thinner by my graduation in June. That's my second goal. I am starting a new chapter in my life and I am beginning that chapter starting now. Besides, I think I am going to Costa Rica in August/September and I want to be better. With this carton of coconut water, I am cheering to a better and healthier me.

The Challenge

Ever since I declared English as my minor, I have been contemplating this challenge.

As some of you may or may not know, I am DEATHLY afraid to conquer the classic works of literature. I was forced to read them in high school and never enjoyed them. I don't know if it was simply because I was forced to or the writing itself.

A few weeks ago, I was at work and talking to my fellow English majors and asked them what their favorite era of literature was. One of them said he loved the Romantic works. I, however, cannot stand that era of work. I find it very difficult to get through. And when I'm talking about Romantic works, I mean anything by the Brontë sisters (Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall). It may just be me and my own prejudices because of what I was forced to read in high school.

But my challenge is to read all of the books on Modern Library's list of 100 Best Novels (http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/). It is a challenge and I honestly don't think that I will be able to get through most of them. As it is, I have tried to conquer Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and haven't made it past the first 30 pages. I have also tried to read Herman Melville's Billy Budd for a class and the only reason I was remotely intrigued by this was because there are no female characters and there is a lot of erotic language (I had to read this for my Queer American Literature class).

This challenge is going to be hard, especially as I attempt to work my way through all of the classic Romantic works.

We'll see what happens.

Geez...I'm Sorry

Out of 365 days in a year, I have SLACKED on this blog and focused more energy into graduating (and my other blog...*cheese*). If you don't know, I am graduating in March of this year with a degree in Theater and English. Now what I will do with those degrees is beyond me. I have no clue at all. Ugh.

Anyhoo, I just felt that I had to put something up here since I have been MIA for so long. I haven't forgotten about you all, believe me.

Part of the real reason why I hadn't been on this blog in so long was that I was feeling very misguided and not quite sure where I should focus my efforts. My mind constantly runs a mile a minute and it's hard for me to get my thoughts down (nor find the time to do so) and when I do get the time, I'd much rather relax with a glass of wine and a few episodes of MAD MEN or some other television show in my queue on Hulu. I just don't know what to write about anymore. The title of this blog is in the process of being shifted, but I like this title so much, that I can't let it go completely (besides, the title describes much of who I am as a person...analytical, thoughtful, etc).

As it is 2012, I don't want to start fresh. Initially, I had updated my facebook status on New Year's Day saying that I was ready for a fresh start. However, I can't get down with the context behind those words. What this says is that everything I have done/been/seen/experienced/lived (metaphorically or physically or emotionally speaking) is gone. I don't want that. I want to continue. I just want to continue being a better person and learning more and giving more of myself in a spiritual way and connecting more. Over the past few years, I have lost some of my gentle self I knew in my early college days. I was much more open to talking to people and getting to know them and just connecting with people in odd places. Those are the things that I would enjoy in 2012.

So, no fresh starts for me. Just renewed fires and grand continuations.



If you'd like to check out my other blog, here it is!
www.fullfiguredfoodie.tumblr.com