Just drive until this summer gives

I seriously need to start having a "typing"  type of vlog again.  But I sincerely don't have time right now, especially with my Maymester.  UGH!

Good news is that I made a 4.0 for my first year of Grad school!  WOOHOO!  Hopefully this Maymester does not ruin that!  I'm determined to keep this a 4.0 no matter WHAT I do!

Anyways, here is another vlog in which I discuss my May Birchbox.  

Tarzan and Jane were swingin' on a vine...

New Vlog post!

Edit:  I absolutely forgot that I DID do a video on the Red Velvet Chocolate bar a couple of weeks back.  Reason why I mentioned it in the video.  I thought I didn't do a review on it.

Enjoy!

Sweet Dreams are made of this...

My closest friends know how much I LOVE chocolate.  I discovered new "flavors" of chocolate at World's Market last week.  Here is me giving my review and showing other munchies that I have and will probably review later on.

Enjoy!

I'm out for the weekend, with nothing to do...

DIY No Sew, No Drilling Curtains

I wished I found this when I was an undergrad...

Okay, as students living in apartments, we know NOT to drill any holes to hang up curtains, unless we want to fork over $$$ when we moved out.

We eventually figured out ways to hang our curtains without drilling holes.  For example, getting some sort of pole and laying them over those Command hooks that can be removed.

However, I hated how you can see those hooks and never really bothered with them.  And then there were the curtains themselves.  I always had a hard time finding curtains that I actually liked at a decent price.

And then I discovered Pinterest...

This DIY No Sew, No Drilling Curtains is based off of a DIY that I found on Pinterest.  Yet, I can't seem to find it anywhere on my boards at the moment...

Anyways...

Here is what you will need:

1. Tension rods

2. Fabric (or curtains you already have)

3. Fabric glue

Special instructions
1.  Fabric - measure your window from top to bottom and add about 3 - 4 inches to it.  This is how much fabric you will get.  So if your window measures 2 yards, you will get 2 yards and 3 inches.  I kinda mis-measured my window and barely had enough fabric to fold over to make a pocket to weave the tension rods in.  

2. Fabric Glue - I'm sure any brand of fabric glue will work, but make sure it dries clear and can be washed (meaning that when you wash your curtains, the glue doesn't come undone)

3. When you finish making your curtains, you may want to finish the "not finished" end where the fabric is fraying.  You can do this by folding the ends over an inch and gluing it with fabric glue

Lets get started! (You can skip steps 1 - 3 if you already have curtains)
1.  Lay your fabric on a flat, clean surface

2.  Choose one of the sides that will act as the top of the curtain and where you will make a loop to weave your curtains through. Place fabric glue on edge of fabric.  Remember, make sure you choose the right side.  If you choose the wrong side, your curtain may be too short or too long.

3.  Now, fold the edge with the glue over by at least 2 inches (just big enough so that the tension rod can go through)

4.  Now, press down on the glue so that it sticks to the fabric. 

5.  Here comes the long part:  WAIT FOR THE GLUE TO DRY!!!  Depending on the brand of fabric glue you bought, this can last a couple of hours.  I find that if you turn on a fan (I used my ceiling fan) the waiting time is shorter

6.  As you are waiting for the glue to dry, set up your tension rods.  Extend the tension rods about 1 inch wider than the width of your windows

7.  When the glue is fully dry, insert the tension rod into the loop that you just made.

8.  Install the curtains by pressing on side of the rod inside one side of your window.  Then press so that rod shortens so that you can fully place the rod with the curtain inside your window.

9. Fix your curtains so that the rods are hidden.

10.  Ta-da!  Your own curtains!

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have fun making your own curtains!

All the World's a Stage...

Hey everyone!

So, here is the promised blog in which I talk about the characters of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries.  I made it into a video instead because I felt it would be easier for me to talk about it, rather than just write it out.

Warning, it's pretty long.

And now, the end is here; And so I face the final curtain

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 1

Oh the infamous words that begin Jane Austen's timeless classic, Pride and Prejudice!  A very good friend of mine introduced this book to me when I was 12 years old.  And ever since that moment, I've been reading this story at least once a year.  I've seen the numerous adaptations, including 1995 BBC version, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle; the 2004 film, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen; 1940 film, starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson; and, of course, the modern adaptation Bridget Jones' Diary, starring Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth (again!).

This is a story that NEVER gets old, no matter how many times I've read it. Seriously, I've replaced two copies of it already because they were coming apart.

However, the most MARVELOUS thing happened that changed how I perceived this story.

THIS.

And you thought Bridget Jones' Diary was a modern adaptation!  

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a modern adaption of Jane Austen's beloved story.  Elizabeth Bennet, or "Lizzie" in this case, is a 24 year old grad student (this sounds really familiar...).  The story of Pride and Prejudice is told in the form of 100 vlogs on Lizzie's channel on Youtube, averaging about 5 minutes in length.

Similar to the fashion of how I was introduced to the story by a friend, a friend (who also shares a love for all things Jane Austen) from college introduced this series to me April '12.  And what a GLORIOUS journey it has been for the past year.

Unfortunately, today was the last episode.  And this is me pretty much releasing all the feelings that this show has created in me for the past year.

Story/Plot *Spoilers**Spoilers**Spoilers*
You would assume, since I've been reading this story for 12 years, that I would not be surprised by what's in store.  Oh...how wrong that assumption was.  Of course, I knew it was a modern adaptation.  Therefore, there were going to be some tweaks on how the story was going to go.  They did mix up some of the happenings in the story (such as things that happened later, were shown earlier; things that happened earlier, happened later).  

Like many viewers, I was quite intrigued of how the creators/writers of the show were going to portray the Lydia/Wickham drama.  I was highly intrigued when the drama consisted of a sex video.  Some viewers were not pleased by that and I can see their displeasure.  However, I thought it fit perfectly.  I'm sure there were other ways they could've of shown this, but I was quite pleased of with the creators/writers choosing a sex video to portray the Lydia/Wickham drama arc.  

If you have read the book, you know what originally happened.  In short, Lydia did something in which her reputation, and the reputation of her family, is on the brink of ruin.  I believe that is why the creators picked a sex tape.  A sex tape is FOREVER and can be readily available on the internet.  If the sex tape between Lydia and Wickham were ever released, it will be difficult for Lydia to find any semblance of a normal life.

While the main focus of the book and the LBD series was on Lizzie's life, the creators made several spinoffs during the progression of the series.  Lydia had her own vlogs and we got to see a different side to her and saw how the Lydia/Wickham drama developed and escalated.  Maria Lu (Charlotte's little sister) showed how Charlotte was doing in Collins and Collins, away from Lizzie.  And of course, the Pemberley Digital Domino videos, which showed how Darcy, Gigi, and Fitz tracked down Wickham.  The series not only showed Lizzie's perspective, but also the perspective of other characters and showed a different angle to certain plot elements.  

Transmedia
I sometimes forget that the characters of Lizzie, Jane, Charlotte, Lydia, and etc. were not real.  The transmedia team did a FANTABULOUS job of incorporating every aspect of these characters' lives in the modern world.  Like many people today, we have facebook, twitter, and tumblr accounts.  Similarly, these characters have facebook, twitter, and tumblr accounts...and a plethora of other accounts.

One of my favorite aspects of this story was reading the dialogue between certain characters (particularly between Gigi [Georgiana Darcy] and Fitz [Colonel Fitzwilliams]) as they happened on twitter (yes, I follow these characters on twitter...DON'T JUDGE ME).  It showed a different side to the story...and made me much more attached to certain characters that I was never really attached to in the book.  

Part. 2 of this blog post will be tomorrow (or later today) in which I give my thoughts on each (yes each) character of the show.

Stay tuned!

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

Wow...December 31, 2012 already?  I would be lying if I said that the year went by pretty quickly.  Because, for me, it didn't.  It didn't go painstakingly slow either.  It was normal speed for me.  At least for the first half.

Let's have a quick run through, shall we?

The start of my 2012 was filled with uncertainty about my future.  I was preparing to take my GRE's for the second time and finishing up grad school applications.  However, like many people, I have the voice of doubt floating around in the back of my head.  I usually ignore this voice, but my defenses were low at this time, which made me susceptible to its words.  The one statement that the voice of doubt kept going through my head was "What if you don't get into any grad school?  What will you do?"  

Now, i'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't get a job after graduating from UT in May 2011.  There were many others who didn't.  But I always planned on going to grad school.  And that is where my plans stopped (or rather, my future plans relied on me getting into and graduating from grad school.)  I never planned on taking a break from school, but in all honesty, I was just mentally exhausted from playing catch-up my last 2 1/2 years at UT that I decided to take a break.  

Luckily, I did get into grad school.  Getting that e-mail from UTSA to claim my ID was probably one of the best e-mails I've ever gotten.  I was happy (not as happy as when I got my UT acceptance letter in fall '06...but happy nonetheless).  This train had been stuck at the same station for too long and needed a new destination to explore.  This book needed a new chapter.  

Now the rest of the year was all a blur.  Needed to find an apartment, buying stuff for my apartment, get my shot (ugh!), register for classes, get my books, get my parking tag, move to San Antonio, etc. etc.

And then I was back in my element of being a student.  Reading intellectual literature, attending lecture, taking notes, assignments/homework, studying, taking tests, writing papers, and repeat!  As much as I hated doing all that as an undergrad at UT...it was nice being in a familiar atmosphere.  

And I DEFINITELY would not have survived my first semester of grad school if not for the AMAZING people I met through the program...you know who you are ;-).  You may not know it, but my interaction with y'all is probably why I didn't go completely insane.  

Was 2012 the best year ever?  To be honestly truthful...I don't know.  I think 2012 is too fresh in my mind to completely declare it as "The Best Year Ever!"  Ask me again in about 5 years, in which i've had enough time to grow and develop as a person and am able to compare it to what I have done throughout the years.

Was it a good year?  Oh, most definitely!  Any year in which I can spend time with the best family and friends a girl can ask for is always a good year...and maybe the best (but, that is pretty much every year :-D). Hm...I may have answered my question in the previous paragraph.

So...time for New Year's resolutions:

1.  Continue with the good grades in the Counseling program and give a little bit more effort into the program (Going to need that extra push...taking 4 classes)

2.  In the midst of all that schooling, find somewhere to relax and ENJOY LIFE!  (Because you only have ONE)

3.  Dust off that Nintendo Wii and get back to using the Wii Fit.  (I've been neglecting it since moving to San Antonio...oops!)

4.  Try to eat veggies everyday...at least every other day! (Gotta be healthy, right?)

5.  Read a book every weekend. (I've also been neglecting reading [i'm not talking about textbooks] the minuscule library in my apartment, filled with books that I have not read.  And besides...football season is in its last stretches, what else am I supposed to do on the weekends?)

6. Write in this blog more consistently. (Eh, we'll see how this goes...)

Time to spend New Year's Eve in the company of family and friends.  And SHOPPING TOMORROW!!! ;-)

2013...BRING. IT. ON.

-Kristina