On Thanksgiving Day I posted on my Instagram that I was not able to blog due to my hotel not providing me with cheap meaning free Wi-Fi for my laptop. Now that I am back home, it seems kind of late to be posting about Thanksgiving soooo yea moving along..
Christmas time is quickly approaching with the Thanksgiving holidays behind us, people are now going to start buckling down on purchasing gifts. I tried to start early this year, butttt.. it didn't exactly work out. Out of about 14-16 people to buy gifts for, I was only purchased about 4-5 gifts. a lot of my shopping will be done online. I love online shopping simply because I can do it in bed. however, I love going shopping because I like going home with my items/gifts right then. It gives me some excitement.
If you are anything like me Christmas shopping is stressful. I always want to make sure that my family and friends LOVE not like their gifts. When I wait too late it just adds on the pressure.
If you are unsure of what to get some of the important people in your life check a few of my ideas....
Life is full of lessons. Some we understand quickly and others
that take time for us to comprehend the purpose. Life is ultimately what you
make it out to be. The first thing we have to realize is that happiness is NOT
a destination. You will NOT wake up one morning and be completely happy and satisfied
with your life. Don’t think that happiness will just fall in your lap. Being
happy is a state of mind, it’s something that you wake up in the morning and
decide to be. It is a choice you and only you can chose for your life. I mean
sure you may be having a bad day, week, or even month, but doesn’t the overall
good outweigh the bad? When you decide to be happy, you are deciding to love yourself
and by doing that you are taking yourself on a pleasure filled journey.
Don’t get me wrong this message applies to me as well. I
have my moments, even days where I just feel like something is missing. I am
not where I want to be. However, I can honestly say that I am working on it.
Maybe not a much or not as hard as I should but I’m definitely working. It’s
progress.
Being happy is a promise we should make to ourselves. I mean
a real commitment promising to love ourselves and commit to living happy. Will
you slip? Yes, and then remember your commitment. It’s not something we should
search for it’s something we exude. It’s a lifestyle. You don’t need the
validation of others to give you a glow when you wake up in the morning. Don’t base
your happiness on those people surrounding you. Being dependent on the approval
of others will eventually ruin you. If they truly love you, they’ll love you no
matter what. Love can’t be forced and happiness can’t be found.
Hello......
Soo this week was a pretty good week. I didn't have work on Wednesday which definitely made my week go by much faster. I am literally counting down the days until graduation. I'm nervous about starting that whole journey.. However, I am so happy to have that marked off of my list. I mean I'll actually be a college graduate with my B.S.W. That's exciting. LOL
Moving on... Here are this week's Friday Favorites....
1. AKAversary.. Monday (Nov. 9) made one year for me being a part of the BEST sorority. One year down....Many more to go... :)
2. Here by Alessia Cara. I heard this song this week on the radio. I love it. I definitely think I can relate to the lyrics at times.
3. I have been wanting these type of boots for a while now. I saw these when my friend and I were shopping and she pointed out how cute they were. I would purchase them but I am trying to be more responsible with my money especially with Christmas around the corner. Not to mention the fact that I am currently jobless. But these are a totally win. Fulton Leather Riding Boot
4. My High School will be playing their first playoff game tonight. Even though I am a graduate I plan on going. Cheering on my old high school and watching my sister cheer. Go BEARCATS!!!
5. Sometime this week I was in WalMart and I picked up the V8 Strawberry Lemonade. I never really drink V8 drinks, but I love a good strawberry lemonade. It was actually pretty good. Good enough to make my list.
Today is Friday…. I am so thankful to be able to see the end
of another week. This week I will have house guests so I have to prepare for
them to come over for the week. That includes cleaning up the apartment,
grocery shopping (my fridge is bare), and preparing to stay up all night.My grandmother’s party is this weekend and so
is the GSU vs. TSU football game. I’m excited about the game. We will arrive
early enough to walk around and eat at the fair.
Is it too early to put up a Christmas tree? Last night JB
and I purchased a Christmas tree, decorations, and lights. It was late, but we
put the tree up. This is technically our second Christmas, but it’s our first
as boyfriend and girlfriend (yay!). It’s cool having the Christmas tree in my
boring (for now) apartment. Now all we need to do is load the tree with gifts
so it doesn’t look like a sad lonely Christmas.
As I said in the beginning…. It’s Friday…Which means another
week of Friday Favorites..
1.This favorite is from last Saturday. This year
people’s costumes really were good. I think a lot of people really put a lot of
thought into their outfits this year. Here are 2 of my favorites.
2.Since I spoke of the fair… Fried Oreos are
definitely a favorite. I really have been feeling like funnel cakes are worn
out now days. Don’t get me wrong I love ‘em and I even have to try the red
velvet funnel cake, but my first day at the fair I had to get the fried Oreos.
3.Speaking of Saturday. My friend came down to
visit and we took a trip to the mall. Went into Dillard’s and fell in love with
a pretty little Donney and Bourke satchel.
4.I have
been looking at these moccasin flats by Michael Kors for a minute now. I got on
Dillard’s just to look around and I see they have a price reduction. UHH yea
score. I’m totally going to purchase these shoes once I get off work. I mean
I’m already blogging illegally. Shhhh...
5.I had to attend training today at work and this
picture was on the front of our packet. Gave a little humor to my day.
When you don't get off until 6 on a Friday :(.. My day.
Sooo this week went by pretty fast to me. I feel like just two days ago I was writing my first Friday Favorites and now I am on post number 2. Oh well, the faster the week(s) fly the closer I am to graduation. This brings me to my first favorite:
Graduation.. Yesterday I went to order my cap and gown and to take my graduation picture for the yearbook. First off that is probably the first yearbook picture of me since my freshman year (20 years from now I’ll regret that). I also was able to see my name on the graduation list. Although it’s not official yet, it’s so official. It feels great to know that I will soon (hopefully) be graduating.
Trejos… It’s a Mexican restaurant my coworkers and I went to during lunch. It was really good. I had the chimicanga. It was cooked perfectly with the extra cheese on top. I recommend it.
Jordan’s. So yesterday I go to JB’s house and he surprises me with the Air Jordan 11 IE Low “Referee.” He says they look like work shoes (lol) and now that he says it, I can see it but I still like them. I think it’s the all black that has me liking them.
4. I have made reference to me purchasing a camera a few times. Unfortunately that has not happened yet. However, I am hoping to purchase one soon and I have been doing research on what to purchase. The Sony Alpha a5000 has been a camera I am paying close attention to. I am thinking that it may be the camera I purchase. It seems to capture great videos and it is small so it will be easy to carry. Click here for the link on Amazon.
5. Last but not least, I’ll leave you all with a quote…..
It's Friday and I'm gonna party and get my groove on..
Well not really.. It's pouring as I type this post so no partying for me tonight. Now, hopefully tomorrow will be another story. It's the start of my birthday weekend so I deserve to party. With the blog I decided to start something new, hence the title Friday Favorites. Here I'll list a Few or Five of my favorites for the week. Sooo this is the first post in the series I am attempting to start. Let's hope I can be consistent.
1. Grambling State University Homecoming is this week. The G-Men are undefeated in the SWAC. Go Tigers
2. Nasty Freestyle is my song of the year.
3. I have been watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix.. This may be a favorite for a while...
4. Cat Attacking Dog Video. The cat cracked me up.
4. Although it is ruining my Friday, I love sound of rain when I am comfortable in my bed.
Happy Birthday to me... Well this post is a little late so happy belated birthday...
I can't believe that I am 23 years old. I mean geesh. 23 is a big number. I feel like I should have accomplished much more than I have. I know that I shouldn't feel like that I mean, hey the twenties are figuring life out, not having it together.. after a little thought I realized I am not that old and I still have a lifetime of living to go (hopefully). Although I don't have a lot of stuff figured out, I am definitely proud of myself thus far.
TWENTY-TWO was an okay year for me. A few important deets
are: I became member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., I started my last
year as an undergraduate, interned at The Department of Children and Family
Services, got my own apartment and moved to the “city”, became a girlfriend, I
started TheBoujieBelle, took notice of what I really wanted out of life. With
that being said, I am hoping that 23 will bring about more of a life
transformation for me. I hope that I continue to grow and become who I aspire
to be.
Because when I started this blog I didn't give myself a proper introduction, I thought it would be a good idea to do so now... with TWENTY-THREE facts about ME.....
1. I should hopefully graduate with my BSW in December.
2. I plan to attend graduate school (MSW) in the upcoming summer
3. I love the color purple
4. I love lipstick (mainly purple)
5.I am a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and The Society of Distinguished Black Women, Inc.
6. I am shy, but I love meeting new people
7. People think I am boujie/stuck-up until they get to know me
8. I love to sleep but I never have enough time to do it.
9. I would rather sit in the house reading/watching TV instead of going out.
10. I love SVU, Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, and now Grey's Anatomy
11. I really want to start working out. I just never have the strength
12. Bora Bora is at the top of my destinations to go list.
13. I hate bras.
14. I enjoy watching sports.
15. I am attempting to transition to natural hair.
16. Dr. Pepper used to be my weakness.
17. I have a horrible habit of biting my nails.
18. I love Tyrese and Taraji Henson
19. I love the rain only when I am safely inside the house
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Sunday, September 20, 2015
Soooo,
Once again I have been a tad bit MIA. As you know I had to get adjusted to my moving. Then I had to turn around and get adjusted to beginning my intern. I have been living in my apartment with no wi-fi or cable. (*screams*). Do you guys know how difficult life is to not have ANY wi-fi or cable. It's very, very hard. However, the wi-fi should be coming this week.. Thank God
I am still in the process of decorating. Meaning that not too much has changed in my apartment in the month or so that I have moved in. Being that I am trying to save some money I still have not yet been able to splurge on home décor.
Going through Pinterest and I found this again and thought I'd share:
Dr. Kelly Flanagan wrote this letter to his daughter. The letter in short tells all the daughters out there that no matter what anyone says they are worthy. It teaches the sons who will one day become the men what is important.
If you could write a letter to your future son or daughter... what you would you?
I purchased a new pair of shoes recently while shopping on SteveMadden. I got a cute pair of nude heels for less than $50.00 Talk about a steal. I have been wanting another pair of nude heels so although I always steer toward black I went with the nude. When I took them out the box I was skeptical about how they would look on. However, when I put them on I loved them. So now I am just waiting on the right moment to wear them.
I found this recipe on Pinterest (like all other recipes I have). My mom, sister and I all love blueberries so I figured it would be something we would probably like. Boy was I right. My family loved it. They loved it so much they are always asking me to cook it. I love the bread it's so tasty and moist. It's full of blueberries and has a delicious cheesecake center. I must warn you, it does take a little time but in the end it is well worth it. This is how mine came out..
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE BREAD:
ü½ cups Butter ü½ cups Sugar ü¼ teaspoons Salt ü1
teaspoon Vanilla Extract ü2 whole Egg
yolks ü1-½
cup All-Purpose Flour ü1
teaspoon Baking Powder ü⅓ cupsMilk ü1-½
cup Blueberries (up To 2 Cups, Which I Prefer) ü1
Tablespoon All-purpose Flour ü2 whole Egg
Whites ü¼ cups White
Sugar FOR THE FILLING: ü8 ounces,
weight Cream Cheese ü½ cups Sugar ü1
Tablespoon Flour ü1 whole Egg ü1
Tablespoon Orange Zest
FOR THE GLAZE:
ü2
Tablespoons Sugar ü½
teaspoons Vanilla ü1 teaspoon Water
Directions
Filling:
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, egg and
orange zest; beat until smooth. (Be sure to use the measurements found under
filling for these.) Set aside.
Glaze:
Stir together the glaze ingredients and set aside.
For the bread:
Cream butter and sugar (1/2 cup) until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. Add egg
yolks (save theegg whites as you’ll need them later) to the sugar mixture;
beat until creamy. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine flour (1 1/2 cups) and baking powder.
Add this mixture, alternately with milk to egg yolk mixture.
Coat berries with 1 tablespoon flour and add them to the batter.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add
sugar (1/4 cup), 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold
egg whites into batter.
Pour 1/2 of the batter (or a little less) into a floured and
greased bread pan. Layer the filling over the batter and then finish withremainder of batter. This will create a layer of “cheesecake” between the
blueberry batter.
Pour glaze over top of unbakedloaf and bake at 350F for 55-60
minutes.
Enjoy!!!
I have actually never used the orange zest, the first time I fixed it I couldn't find it in the store so I simply ignored it. I'm sure it gives it an extra zing but as of now I still haven't used it.
I want to thank TastyKitchen for this great recipe. I plan on trying more of her recipes.
Heyyyy, I know it has been a while I've been kind of busy
Trying to find an apartment was tiresome. However, thank God I finally found something. So last week I moved into my apartment. in order to be closer to my internship. I am actually excited to be able to have my own spot again. Even though I will only be there for 6 months (hopefully longer), I plan to decorate it up and make it all homey.
I have been checking out Etsy and Amazon for some home décor to use. I ordered a nice fur purple comforter. I love it. I plan on decorating my room purple and teal. I have a lot more stuff to purchase to make the room look like I want it. I also have to get some stuff to spruce up my living room.
This past Sunday JB and I went to see Fantastic 4. Sad to say but we both were disappointed. I've decided I would attempt to start doing movie reviews as often as JB and I go to the movies... So here is the very first one.. Please bear with me...
Fantastic 4 is about four young adults who build a machine and eventually teleport themselves to an alternate universe. Pretty cool right.... Well after they arrived things go a little "green" and it alters their physical form. Their normal lives are gone and they are all holding some super power (The Human Torch, Mister Fantastic, Susan Storm, and Thing).
Spill:
The film starts off with the main character, Reed Richards, as a child working on a teleporting device in his garage. He sneaks into Ben's junk yard and takes Ben back with him to show him his invention. Then it fast forwards to him entering a science fair where he is eliminated; however, at the fair Dr. Franklin Storm offers Reed a full scholarship to the Baxter Foundation to build a travel machine. The team is composed of 4: Reed, Sue (the director's daughter), Victor Von (loner and former student of Baxter Foundation), and lastly Johnny, the troubled son of Dr. Franklin.
After they work hard to build the device and it is confirmed that they are able to transport and return they are told by Dr. Allen that they cannot join the expedition. They are upset. The three guys (Reed, Johnny, Victor) begin drinking and decide they are going to be the first people in the newly discovered universe. They will not be forgotten. Reed calls Ben who has been his best friend since grade school to come along for the ride.
Sue isn't invited on this trip but she sees from the computer that the teleporting device has been initiated. Once they arrive they decide to walk around and check out where the "green substance" is coming from. Victor decides to touch it which causes doom to follow. The ground begins to collapse and the green substance is breaking through the ground. As they are racing back to the vehicle, Victor ends up being pulled in and is left behind. The other 3 eventually make it back to Earth (thanks to Sue). As they arrive in the Baxter facility an explosion occurs which alters Reed, Johnny, Ben and Sue. Reed can stretch his body, Johnny can fly and engulf his body into flames, Sue can make herself invisible and generate force fields of energy, and Ben develops a body made of rocks which gives him incredible strength.
We see them shocked and scared because of their new found abilities. The government has them in custody as they are being tested and observed. Reed..... well, he blamed himself for the condition that everyone is in and fled the scene. He was last seen talking to Ben through a vent promising to fix it. A year has passed and no sign of Reed. Johnny is enjoying his powers and feels that just maybe this is what he is suppose to do. Ben doesn't like it however he allows the government to use him and his strength to help the military. Sue does not want to be used as a tool for the government. She is trying to master her power while waiting for a cure to return to normal.
At this point they pretty much have gained control of their powers. We get a glimpse of Reed who is created a containment suit for himself and trying to find a cure to help Ben. They use Sue to track Reed's patterns and catch him. They bring him back to Area 57 where is instructed to open another portal to Planet Zero. The explorers go back and get Victor, who has been in this alternate universe for a year. Victor now is a bad bad guy. He wants to destroy the human race and Earth leaving only his new home. To be honest I can't tell you what his superpower is. I mean he kind of has a lot. He can make people's heads explode just by looking at them and he has telekinetic powers. Victor kills scientists, soldiers and even kills Dr. Franklin Storm. Victor then flees in the portal to Planet Zero leaving it open to create a black hole. Johnny, Sue, Ben, and Reed follow behind him. The portal begins consuming everything on Earth. The four confront Victor individually and fail. It is Reed who realizes that they can defeat him if they do it together. After the four come together and confront Victor Ben finishes him off by punching him into the portal's energy beam which disintegrates him and Johnny finishes him off by closing the portal.
They return to Earth and the military thank them for a job well done. They choose to keep their powers and use them fort the greater good. They relocate to a location that is off the grid as their new home and place of operations. They choose to name themselves the Fantastic Four....
The End..
My opinions:
I loved how Reed called up Ben to go along for the ride. It shows that although we may have forgotten about Ben (because he was pretty much absent from the film after Reed arrived at Baxter) he did not. However, we never got to see their relationship really grow. We went from that moment in the basement to the science fair to him dropping him off at Baxter. Yet they became best friends.
I didn't understand how Reed got disqualified for his design. I mean the teacher reduced his experiment to a magic trick. I mean yes he did make it disappear and then wa la it appeared again, but come on. There is some science in there somewhere right...??!!
This whole time that we got to see these characters, we never got to really get to know them. We don't know how Reed and Ben made it through high school. How Ben interacted with his big brother who clearly thought it was okay to hit on him, we never got to see how Reed's parents reacted to him cutting off all electricity in the city with his first experiment or simply how him and his parents interacted.
There is no bond between any of the characters even between Johnny and Sue who yes are totally different, but are still brother and sister. In the very end right before coming up with a name, Johnny refers to Ben as a mere thing that nobody wants. This shows even more that the characters don't have a relationship with each other.
I don't like that fact that we did not get to see them and the changes/process they went through in order to control themselves and their abilities. I mean were is the challenge in dealing with powers so big.
Lastly, my main issue with the film is that the fight with Victor took all of 5 minutes. Actually in my opinion it wasn't even a fight. There was not one exciting moments in that five minutes. It was a simple fail and punch and BAM Victor is defeated. It wasn't a challenge at all. Like where is the intensity, the challenge, the fight.
As you can see I did not enjoy this movie. I am normally the type that can find some kind of good in anything I watch. Nothing is ever really just terrible to me (Pink Panther and Woman in Black are the 2 main ones so far), but this movie is knocking on the door.
Please tell me what are your thoughts on the film?
Well this month is the month that school begins. Lucky for me my internship doesn't start until September.
This month will be hectic and exciting. I hopefully will be moving into my apartment next Friday if all goes well. at this moment I will only be there for 6 months but I still want to make it feel as homey as possible. So I have the task of moving, getting everything in the apartment situated, finding home décor and preparing myself for my internship.
I am going to try something new. Every month I will attempt to set new goals for myself and hopefully when I come back at the end of the month (or beginning of the new month) I can tell you that I accomplished most of everything I said I would.
So let this month's list begin...
August Goals!!!!!
1.Remember to write in my journal more often... I have a habit of maybe only writing one time a month and that is probably on because something major happened. I want to get into the habit of expressing myself even when nothing big has happened in my life. 2.Remember (if not daily then at least weekly) to write on my daily notecards. Being that I keep up with my life in my calendars I normally just go back and write on the notecards when I think about it {like the end of every month:( }which explains why more and more notecards are being left blank for the year of 2015.
3. Read at least 3 books (preferably from the library; not off my phone). I love reading and I actually had been doing pretty well with it. For some reason or another I stopped going to the library. I have just been downloading free books and entertaining myself with those. 4.Watch 3 new movies (or ones I haven't seen in forever) and start (&& finish) a Netflix series. I love to just sit at home and lay in bed watching a good movie surrounded by pillows. That is in order for this month for sure. 5.Move into the apartment and decorate. My last house with my friends, we never got around to decorating. My room was full because I have a lot of stuff but nothing was really decorated. Even though I won't be in the apartment for a long period of time, I still don't want to come home to a blank bare house. 6.Create a binder which will help me become more organized with bills and such. I like being organized and this time around I plan to really be. I want to keep everything in order and 7. Save....Save....Save.... I don't like being broke. I mean who does. There is always something I am wanting to buy. With me moving in this apartment, it is definitely putting a damper on my ability to want and purchase, but with so much going on I need to work on my saving capabilities. 8. Plan for graduation wants and costs. it is right around the corner. Like seriously I will be graduation soon (if the Lord says the same) and I know there a lot of things I want. so I need to plan to see what I can and cannot have. Yikes
9. Attempt to do better with exercising/working out.. A long shot I know. it's like I start off good and then if I skip a day it just throws me off. I need a consistent partner to make me consistent. I should want to do it on my own, but I haven't got that far yet.
So it seems like a lot and 9 is such an odd number but there it is... Let's see how well I can do....
What are your goals for the month of August?
