little happys

// avocado + banana bubble tea with extra boba.
// long + sweaty yoga classes where i stumble out of poses + fumble my way through sun salutations.
   bonus points when my nikki-friend comes with!
// jeff starting my car! it has been dead since we left for california. womp womp.
// a l o n g walk talking to my mama about everything under the sun.
// a temple date with jeff + nikki.
// el pollo loco. seriously.
// new episode of real housewives of new york city.
// a break from the triple digit weather.
// cherry pomegranate crystal light. mmmm, beveragey.
// my squirt top gatorade water bottle. makes me feel...athletic.
// my family coming next week! yay yay yay!

this post brought to you in part by a very uneventful tuesday + 
a missing sense of humor. 

T H A N K S G I V I N G //

//
We spent this Thanksgiving with the Stapleton side in Orange County, baby!
It was a day filled with food, naps, food, and, of course, a long game of UNO.
...and more food. Is anything better than leftovers? Stuffing + cranberry sauce
are my personal faves.

I am so thankful this year -- practically brimming! Let me make this clear : this year has not been perfect + I gained far too many I feel sort of depressed right now pounds this summer but WOOF! The good always outweighs the bad + life is good. I am so thankful for my it and all of its changing components. I remember someone once told me they felt like love was a pie + you could only love so many things before the pie was all gone + you were left with a pan to clean.
Huh?
People! There is so much to love + I firmly believe that we will never run out of pie. Unless it's my mama's pecan pie because that stuff is magical. ...where am I going with this? Oh, yes. That I am so thankful that my life is bubbling with so much to love: music, food, TV shows, people, places, anything by Nate Berkus (mmm...child). And I am thankful for my constants : my family (immediate, extended, in-laws...all of you! I love you all!), my faith, my friends (old + new + fictional), and my Jeffrey.

Life is good.
Leftover turkey sandwiches are better.
Let's blame this corny rant on the tryptophan.

A recap of May because it is JUNE(!!!!)

Today I walked out the door for my Sunday stroll with Jeff and he looked bemused. I did a little twist and twirl for him because I thought it was heading that direction and he just kept blinking on.

"Whaaaaaaat," I begged.

"You just look so..."

Twist, twirl, flutter of the eyelids.

"Butch."

Apparently long shorts, black flip flops, and a baseball tee aren't the most feminine look. Noted and noted. Ha.

On our walk we recapped May and decided that it was equal parts hectic and happy. I was living in Utah for half of it and was mostly homeless. I mooched off friends and lived in their apartments for a few days (I'm the worst roommate. I am totally out of the 'compartmentalized fridge' game -- I see almond butter, I eat all the almond butter. Oops.) while shooting weddings and feeling totally exhausted/totally thankful for having the world's best friends. I'm just going to throw it out there that every one needs a Morgan Randall. She let me bunk with her for a week straight and fed me and didn't even complain that I ate all her bananas...every time she bought bananas. One day I was locked out of my car and texted her early in the morning asking for a ride to which she responded immediately, "Sure! Coming!" without even asking why. Oh, bless her heart fifteen times over and promise I'm done being gushy.

I missed Jeff like crazy and became a much better Skype-date because of it (I just stare at myself...the whole time). But it was also so fun. It was like every time we saw each other and I was back in California, we had to get all of our fun out. We hiked and biked and Disney'd and played at the beach and lounged...all in a week's time. Now I'm off to Utah for more weddings and more mooching (just kidding about that last part).

Here's our May in pictures :

from left to right :
UT -->> CA : I came a week after Jeff did and enjoyed my Diet Coke + Audible filled drive.
REUNITED! 
This trail is right by Jeff's house and I love it. It's so beautiful!
With my best babe Nikki after a little Tropical Diet Coke + shopping trip. She thought my 'candid laughing' selfie was a bit much.
Disneyland! We went with Jeff's family from Michigan and had so much fun. 
A little trip to the Newport Beach Temple where we got married!
...ewww, gross.
Beach'n it at Table Rock. 
A bit of my Whole30. I massively failed this round (ha, having no kitchen was a struggle!) but loved my first round in March. I felt amazing.
Jeffrey thinking thoughts.
A wedding! I loved this couple + their big day. 
We spent Memorial Day at the beach like the rest of California.
A sunset after a bridal session. Heavenly.
Disney'ing round two. This was on Radiator Springs. The line was an hour and a half long and we actually had no idea what we were in line for the whole time. Ha.
Beach'n it part III with Jeff's brother Kevin and friend Don. I was so impeding on 'bro time.'
At the Bee's baseball game with Morgan. Free hot dogs, y'all!

- - - - -

Happy June!

a bit late, but still thankful.

i'm sitting here braless typing this. unemployed...and totally, totally braless. perhaps it's the freedom my two best girlfriends are experiencing or perhaps it's the intoxicating scent of the bath + body works fresh balsam candle that i got free by pressuring my mom into a 'v.i.p. bag' on black friday, but i feel overwhelmingly grateful for my life.

as i ranted and spilled about previously, october was the pits. i felt sluggish + sad + was averaging about 135 oz. of diet dr. pepper a day. my days consisted of caffeine shakes + cleaning out dressing rooms...a miserable combination. ha. but november! november was my may. i felt like the rain stopped and fa la laaaaa! all was right again.
all the things in my life that were right seemed to show off in november. it was as if they were all wearing big sparkly, red dresses and parading through my life. does this make sense?! ('my life' tally = 4,329) it makes sense.

for example! i am so, so grateful for my jeffrey. i never in my life felt like i was incomplete. as i've said a million times over, brooke likes brooke. i just do! i like my own company + really didn't see any room for anyone else. but hi! in comes jeffrey! he is the most supportive person + keeps life fun. i feel feel whole. is that so lame? that's so lame. but it's so, so true.

and i'm so, so grateful for my family (and i'm talking about aaaaaaall of them ... brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, in-laws, etc. ). i scored. i feel like i have the best pit crew (and this is where i apologize to my family for calling them 'the pit crew' and//or making any nascar reference in the same sentence as them). they are always there to dust me off + get me going. every time i see them i feel reenergized + ready to ...drive around the track 500 times (i committed to a nascar reference and now i am riding it out!).

i'm grateful for my 'job.' i feel so lame for calling it a 'job.' i'm i destined to be a lowly MWAC (mother with a camera)? please no. but yes! i am so, so grateful for being able to do what i love every week + for getting paid for it. like, what is this?!

i'm also grateful for food. and for my apartment. and for provo-town! it gets such a bad wrap but i will never be able to happily leave my sodalicious + subzero behind. i'm grateful for crossfit + for yoga + for my body. i'm grateful for my faith and how it grounds me because heaven knows i can get carried away.

oh! and i'm grateful for my friends. all of 'em. whether i see them every day or every other year, they all rock. i truly (getting corny here) cherish the friendships i have made over the years + love that they are so low maintenance yet so meaningful (shuddering -- 'cherish' and 'meaningful' in the same sentence?! let's blame the scented candles surrounding me). and, while i'm here, i'm grateful for spell check because apparently i have no idea how to spell 'maintenance?'

i'm grateful for school. ha. just kidding.

november, november, i love you.

little thank you's.

 something i've been working on as of three seconds ago is being more grateful for what i have right now. in class today, our teacher posed the question : what if i told you that you already had all the tools that you needed to be completely happy + joyful? how would that change things?

during the end of my high school experience, i was over it. i remember my weight training teacher (ha! ask me if i ever lifted a weight? no. i did, however, master the art of the four-legged race with my ryan-friend + became sort of, kind of better at ddr maxx) asking me what the best part about my year was going to be. looking back, was he trying to reach out to me? was i one of those visibly troubled youth? was i the jesse to his walter white?! i looked at him + said : leaving moscow ... indefinitely.

sassy. also! let it be noted! i was riding a stationary bike at the time + trying to see around his head to watch the ellen show. this is when she was on at eleven a.m., of course.

in my head, i wasn't going to be fully happy until i got out of northern idaho. which is one part teen angst but most parts totally silly. why wasn't i relishing in the fact that my mom did my laundry, made my dinners, + (don't judge me)  curled my hair?! why wasn't i squealing with delight when i checked my calendar + saw that, yep, i had no obligations. why wasn't i loving on my girlish figure that is long gone since meeting the byu cafeteria? why was i setting these parameters on my happiness level?! 

let's just blame it on being seventeen?

so, here's my concerted effort to be grateful for what's around me (...except for the ants that have been crawling around my desk + laptop as of late...why is this?!) right now. sure, i can look forward to what's to come (babies! a *hopefully* real income! an actual use for my birthing hips!) but...

where am i going with this? 

awww, yes. here are my little 'thank you's' for the week. because i'm working on being more grateful, ya know? 

:: thank you mother earth for this cool weather. once school starts, i want to shut the heat off. give me the cold. i don't need heat-sweats atop my stress-sweats.

:: a big, fat thank you to russ the yoga instructor tonight for quietly asking me + my lily-friend if we are ready to begin now? instead of slapping us upside the head for being loud + disruptive. also thank you for the class + for making my bum drip with sweat. that's never happened before. 

:: oh! sweet jeff! thank you for your unwavering patience + hard work. that boy was in the computer lab (neeeeerd) for hours working on a program that moved files? or something? you know, i really don't get this whole computer science jazz but i support it with mcdonald's salads + back scratches. also thank you for having the same humor as me and nearly losing your marbles over 30 rock right now. you're my person.

:: thank you a hundred + ten times over, employee at rumbi's, for quickly delivering my rice bowl to me. i was in a whole new state of hanger (side note : i was at best buy for nearly five hours today! five hours! on the bright side, i came out with a fancy new sprint sliding phone that can receive texts + calls and...slide! minimalism. i'm all about it.) + was actually near tears. 

:: thank you mommy dear, for being the one person i can brag to about anything + everything including keeping up on the dishes + other things of low importance. i love that mommy dear. 

:: thank you crazy lady at best buy for raising your voices at the employees + saying exactly what i wanted to say. also, thank you for allowing me to play the role of 'kind + patient customer who rolls her eyes at crazy ladies.' i liked that role. also sorry for the eye roll, i was in character...you get me. 

:: thank you amazon prime for having the real housewives of orange county : secrets revealed episode. i was dying. also for having tosh.0 season four for free. ...not that i like junky television, or anything?

:: thank you, giant zit under my nose, for grounding + humbling me. i was having three good hair days in a row. you know what good hair days do to my self esteem. i needed you.

:: thank you for this cute + cozy apartment that is slowly coming together (read : actually receives the aesthetic attention it deserves when my mother comes to visit -- she has a thing for hanging pictures + reorganizing?) + for our sweet neighbors right above us with the cutest kids who remind me that yes, kids are adorable but yes, they are loud + disrupt normal sleeping patterns. but the pitter patter of their foot steps make me saaaaah-woon! (am i a creepy neighbor? i'm a creepy neighbor.)

:: thank you local grocery store for your oversized ... and slightly overpriced ... pink lady apples. they are the size of my head which kind of makes my head feel petite for the first time in twenty years? double thank you.

thank you, thank you, thank you. 

au revoir, january!

january was my month of complaining. you have to have one, right? i complained about the freezing weather + lack of snow, and then i complained about the taunting blue skies + piles of snow, and then i complained about the rain + the black ice it created (understandably so!), and finally i complained about all of the slush. what was my deal? why did no one shove a pillow over my face?

but now that january is going, going, gone, i sort of miss it? as i was looking through my pictures taken this last month, i realize that amidst the plummeting bank account (january was expensive) and frozen car rides (...i'm too impatient to wait for my car to dethaw in the mornings), there was a whole lot o' good. or maybe i'm just really good at looking super happy in pictures? maybe?

:: we celebrated our one year of knowing each other!, oh heavens...is that embarrassing? :: moscow friends that are also provo friends are the literal best :: ...i was happy about my eyebrow shape? :: we have been forfeiting our date nights to groupon and this place was t h e nastiest :: 

:: fortunately, the aforementioned mexican restaurant felt bad and gave us a complimentary dessert? :: my new year's secret resolution to eat healthier went to the crapper the second i started making brownies. i was in a grouchy, grouchy sugar coma :: i got a new self-timer app and have been using it to capture all of our sweetest memories that are coincidentally always at mcdonald's over ice cream sundaes + dollar drinks ::

:: i said goodbye to one of my sweetest friends, avery. she is off on a 18 month mission to serve the people of atlanta! it was a sad + happy night. also, please ignore my outfit?

:: no explanation necessary :: i got a new job as a bridal consultant and i love it and all of my coworkers! happy days! :: waking up to this face. the simple things in life. :: blue skies! ::

:: i've discovered that the showers at the gym have consistently hot water + so much counter space. more gym incentives! :: ...we are that annoying tablet couple. :: my well dressed man! who poses so wonderfully? no wait, this is candid... ;) :: my new job is right next to firehouse subs (...and yogurtland; hello, love handles!) and it has a magic drink machine. 44 oz. always.

goodbye, january! 

and her small heart grew three sizes that year...

this past year, i feel like i have learned how to love things so hard. let me explain:

i never really bought into the idea of love and all of its trappings. the thought of a guy somewhere in the world holding half of my heart really made me want to vomit (the visual!). i always scratched my head at the stories where a homely girl meets a vampire and falls in love with him and becomes this sparkling goddess vampire slayer (...twilight...). why did i need a man to make me glitter in the sunlight? turn up the destiny's child, will ya?

i already felt complete. unquestionably single, but complete.

my roommate in college and one of the three people i feel comfortable using the term best friend with, avery, is your token cool friend. you know what i mean? we had a sort of hunter-gatherer relationship where she would hunt and gather all prospective friends...and i would sit in our room watching netflix with my retainer in. it was a truly beautiful thing. she validates the fact that, because you are friends with her, you are partially cool. you have to be! 

"sorry ma'am, but you are not allowed to be at this party for the world's most elite, i'm going to have to ask you to..."

"...but i'm friends with avery miyahara!"

"oh! in that case! come on in, person dressed like a colonial lady! welcome to the world's most elite party! have a mini corndog?"

you following? i swear, if sweet mary and joseph and just told those pricks of innkeepers that they knew avery miyahara, the entire christmas story would have gone a lot differently. they would have been put up at the finest establishment! is this irreverent? this is irreverent. onwards!

avery and i performed magic in our tiny dorm room at 1121 chipman. those two semesters together, my cool-avery silently helped me to whittle away all the dumb stuff that had burdened my soul all through high school. suddenly, all my insecurities just seemed kind of, well, stupid. thick thighs? pffft. a permanent food baby? pfffft. more-than-occasional upper lip hair? pff...actually, no. that one still sucks. 

in sum, i became complete. 

and then i met jeff.

oh, jeff. 

this past year together has helped solidify the fact that yes, i was still a complete person without him and am still that same complete person with him. meeting him didn't make my skin glitter or freeze my blood or anything major. he didn't come bearing half of my heart (the visual! gross!) or suddenly make me realize that i was a ten-cow woman. t-rust me, i already knew that (joking!). 

but he did make me love things harder. it was like on the grinch where his heart grows three times bigger; i loved things more. three times more, in fact! fountain drinks, television shows, even my idaho and family, things i already loved, i loved more. 

...and, unfortunately for you all subjected to my selfies or occasional brag-fest, this i loved myself more, too. jeff took all the things i already loved about myself and shouted them back at me lovingly. you do have the best taste in apples, brooke! you are suspiciously attractive when you sweat, brooke! (i glisten guys, i really do!) you do find the best drive-through salads, brooke! 

it's like jeff has blown up my heart so big that it could burst; case-in-point: i commented on a friend's instagram the other day that 'my heart was warm' after looking at her pictures. what? when did i become affectionate? (answer: still not; let's not hug, ya?)(kidding!)

i love that boy. more than i love myself, i promise. and i love that 2013 is like this big plot of land with fresh snow that i can't wait to defile. 

sweet, sweet june...

there's something about old people that just gets me. today at my first day with meals-on-wheels (look grandma reynolds! i'm doing something nice!) i think i had a handful of heart palpitations over the cuteness. i met with my trainer at the senior center this afternoon and was immediately greeted with a warm hello and the smell of perfectly portioned 600-calorie lunches (today they were serving fishsticks + potato wedges!). we hopped in her kia and started on our route.

vickie, that's her name, gave me a quick briefing of the elderly people on the route; "erma's kind of a hoarder, nellie will always try and feed you...don't accept..., kathy just got a pacemaker, and norma recently lost her husband."

oh.

when we arrived at the first house, the sweetest old lady answered and immediately told us all about the problems with her catheter. before we left, she gave us a plate of brownies and neighborhood comment and remarked how very loud my voice was...dangit...

the next old man was perfectly grumpy. he was blind in one eye and had a television bigger than my small blue camry. he explained to us that if he sat any closer to the television, he would be on the other side! 

but our last stop was my favorite. sweet, sweet june. june answered the door in a loud floral mumu and danced her way to the couch. she started telling us about her latest adventure: toaster ovens. she had picked one up at the thrift store that week and was just itching to cook something, anything, in it. 

"june, you are always so happy. why are you so happy?" vickie asked as june perched on the edge of the couch with a walker to her left. she had the biggest smile on her face.

"well, there's no other way to be, now is there? all you can really do is keeping moving, praying, and smiling. that's it." june replied.

she wished us a happy, happy thanksgiving and asked vickie to dance with her a bit before she left. june swayed side to side and laughed hysterically. 

sweet, sweet june! as vickie and i drove off we talked about getting old. 

"don't you just want to be a june?" vickie asked me.

.................................................

isn't that just the sweetest? i just want to be a june! wear a busy mumu unapologetically and exude happiness like sweet, sweet june.

p.s.  i secretly wanted to be at the midnight showing of twilight tonight. secretly. 

p.p.s. the said-hoarder really was a hoarder! it was crazy!  apparently she has a cat too. somewhere? 

p.p.p.s. happy happy day for my cousin sean! she's engaged!

and for that, i am thankful (pt. 2!)

+ my sweet, sweet jeff. he is seriously the most funniest and easy-going-est person in the whole universe. i was dreaming up some major plans for his birthday and a crazy surprise of sort but, alas, they all fell through. walmart lost my order (hurricane sandy...understandable), i burnt the breakfast sausage + pancakes, and we both had to study like mad people all day long. at the end of the day, i realized it didn't really matter-- jeff was so, so happy and grateful for the crunchy/crispy pancakes and birthday present that he had hand-picked himself the night before after my call from walmart. twenty three looks good on you already, jeff!

+ my dad coming into town. his visit was quick (we only saw him friday + saturday) but he left us with a fully stocked pantry, a new movie to add to the best-movie-we've-seen-in-november list (skyfall! see it.), a vow to stop eating out so much (...but i mean, my cubby's salad!), and little pieces of wisdom about life, love, and how to keep your butt warm at a football game.

+ at-home hair remedies. i tried an olive oil + honey hair treatment yesterday and my hair is singing this morning! i keep running my hands through it and flipping it around like some sort of crazy. at first, i must admit, that my hair just felt like i had put olive oil + honey in it, you know? it was sticky and oily and...olive-y (...my writing...what is happening?). and then! then! then it started to transform itself into this shiny mane of goodness.

+ that my nervous-laugh can sometimes, sort of pass as cute? we had to teach sunday school this last week and...oh heavens...i was quite unprepared. jeff loves that sort of stuff and was getting all biblical and metaphorical and such. i think he even paced the room a few times? meanwhile i stood nervously at the stand, gripping the pulpit so i wouldn't shake of nerves, and haphazardly taught about the spreading/gathering of israel. yeah, what? ha. luckily my mom had sent us a box brimming with cookies and brownies earlier that week so i passed them out to the class and reminded them that, if anything, i contributed the cookies. and what is israel again?

+ this snow! (besides when i'm walking to school, driving to work, or sloshing through parking lots...then, not so much) ...and warm socks, thick sweaters, and a space heater.

+ dance central, baby. jeff's parents/brother gifted us an xbox kinect and the game dance central for jeff's birthday. holy mama! my man can boogie! last night morgan, hanna, + avery came over for dinner and we wound up just watching jeff dance most of the time. as morgan said, "it's funny because he's actually kind of good?"
our kids will be blessed with the ability to pop, lock, + drop it. or at least i hope.

+ my job. i have kind of, really developed such a crush on it these past few weeks. i love the people i work with and the opportunity to write (even if it's just about vacuums or business-taxes!) every single day. and the fact that my co-workers are passively having a full-fledged bake-off doesn't hurt either ;).

+ ...and being able to stream friends, up all night, and real housewives during my long work days. this past week, i watched all the episodes of real housewives of miami and my editor-type-lady told me that she noticed some latin flair in my writing. ha. perfectly trashy!
 
+ my membership in the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. i had one of those this feels so right moments the other week. it wasn't during sacrament meeting or even on a sunday. it came slowly and quietly and overwhelmed me as i ran through the provo streets on a particularly cold night.

+ oh! and i'm also thankful for runs, no matter how slow i may go.

+ and! and for my body. weird, no? i often speak poorly and beat up on my body (holy bruise on my shins! appropriate-sized shin guards are just so lame!) and fill it with too much diet coke + peanut butter, but i am thankful for all that it can do. like run!

+ my staple lunch of an english muffin + laughing cow cheese wedge + shredded romaine and loooooots of sriacha, please. (i'm a creature of habit when it comes to lunches -- in high school, i ate beets almost every day an entire semester. my pee was constantly pinky-purple.)

+ novembers. and sundays, too.

p.s. i know my layout is...lacking at present. but last night i deleted all the formatting on a whim and was left with all this...white. and now i'm hopelessly and gloriously confused on how to make it pretty. any takers? 

and for that, i am thankful (pt. one, or so i think?)

sometimes i feel like november is awfully overlooked. like rob kardashian, you know? sure, rob has a sock-line and yes, he is the only male kardashian left to carry on the name (actually, psyche: you know kimmy k. will never forfeit that alliteration)...but really, who is rob kardashian besides kim's sister? i mean really.

and how rude! for november... not for rob. i mean really? a sock line, rob? november is good for more than the promise of an encroaching christmas holiday, afterall. though there are only fourty nine more days. but who is counting?

which is why, november, i'm dedicating this to you.

and now, inspired by november: things i am thankful for, part one of...maybe one? maybe more?

+ my mother and sisters visiting town this past weekend and the you are on vacation so rules don't count, right? sonic runs every day.
+ it's birthday week in the stapleton house! so happy my jeffrey was born (...and that he has requested the greasiest and butteriest meals this whole week. i mean, if we have to?).
+ kicking off jeff's birthday week with  a meal of his choice. he is the white-trashiest so we had chicken crescents (cream cheese + chicken + butter + crescent rolls), frozen corn, and pineapple upside down cake. um, yum.
+ and while we are talking about food, you guys: sam hawk in provo. what? it's right by our house and is a total hole-in-the-wall but seriously, best korean food ever.
+ the most organized closet you ever did see. it was the best/worst idea but it's color-coded and everything. i know, right? 
+ being a diva and requesting yogurtland while everyone at in n' out. and also that everyone called me queen b for the night? (a diva is a female version of a hustler...)
+ new running shoes that are the perfect amount of squishy.
+ the annual (annual? annual!) mosman/stellmon pre-christmas-christmas party this past saturday!
+ jeff buying two pairs of pants this past weekend. jeff hates buying clothes and also has a bad habit of purging his closet every...week. this means he only had one pair of pants and boy, was i sick of looking at them. but this weekend, he bought TWO pairs. applause? applaud!
+ this beautiful weather. is anyone else crossing their fingers it stays?


you happy, november?

like a train on a track.

thursday it all caught up to me: the never-ending cold i am battling, the $50 ticket for rolling through a stop sign i SWEAR did not previously exist, the sub-par work i had handed in for photography, the upcoming week of finals in classes i have not (mentally) attended for weeks, the disappointing email i received this morning, the fact that i can not find ANYTHING to wear anymore and have had a perpetual hair day for months…

the stars were not in line. i spent most of thursday morning moping around. it felt so good! i rolled around in my self-pity like a…pig in its pig-sty? or something?

jeff noticed that i was in a bit of a funk (…the deep sighs were apparently quite telling…?) and dragged me to macey’s to get some soft serve ice cream and a fountain drink.

that’s when i snapped out of it! sipping on my diet coke heavily flavored with cherry i realized that i had an overwhelming amount of things to be grateful about!

like…the fact that i genuinely like my job. i really do! a few months ago i picked up a job at the tanning booth on a whim (…make fun of me, go ahead!), but i’ve ended up loving it. i love my coworkers and the people who come in and…knowing how much people’s backs sweat in utah county?

or that i have a mother that sends me sweet packages on EVERY HOLIDAY and is so patient with me and my terrible help in wedding planning (my response to 99% of the questions: “yeah! cool! do it! okay!” …i have no opinions, officially).

or that i have the best family for me in general. cousins included.

or that i have made some of the coolest and raddest friends here at byu. no, but seriously.

or that i still have the best friends at home that are always so uplifting and supportive and understanding of my terrible facebook chat manners (…sorry, taylor!).

or that morgan called me in a flurry to tell me that when she clicked on my blog link via twitter, an inappropriate picture of manhood at its finest popped up on her screen (i’m sorry, i’m sorry, YOU’RE WELCOME!)?

or that yesterday i literally had the best apple in my entire life! or that einstein’s bagels has bagel thins and $1 oatmeal raisin cookies! or that the semester is almost over! or that i am going to portland to visit my grandma with a slight brooklyn accent in a few weeks! or that a man told me yesterday that i looked like an anthropologist? okay?

or that in four short months i am marrying a boy who puts up with the fact that i only want to listen to jojo, b*witched, and disney on pandora and patiently gives me directions to his apartment when i call him and frantically explain how i am lost! i don’t know how i am lost, but i am! ha. poor guy.

or that it’s the freakin’ weekend! and almost, almost faturday! or that tomorrow it’s general conference!

see? all better. (thank heavens…the deep sighs were really getting tiresome!)

i'm so glad you were born.

it seems i have somehow turned this weekend into a makeshift ‘brooke’s big birthday and friend fawning’ session?

earlier last week, i mentioned how a postcard from my dear friend murny constituted for the best day ever. little did i know (ugh, story of my finals…)! little did i know, that i was going to keep having the best days ever.

for in my mailbox awaited… 

…lots and lots and lots more postcards from some of my favorite people!

the notes made me laugh, cry (almost!), and cringe from the raw sentimentality. each one was so special and reminded me of the friendship that i had with each person (okay…stop…finals are making me sappy).

i am so glad that all of them were born. cyber hug!

and i’m so glad that i was born too…because this life has a lot of best days ever and that’s pretty rad.

birthday pt. 1.

when the clock struck midnight, friends and i hurried off to celebrate my nineteenth birthday as any nineteenth birthday should be celebrated: with mcdonald’s diet coke, fresh fries, and rollerskating. 

earlier that day, landon’s dad came into town and took a big group of us out to tucano’s (truth: it wasn’t for my birthday at all, but it’s fun to pretend). have you ever been to tucano’s?! they just keep feeding you and feeding you and feeding you till you think you’re going to pop. i felt like i was at the fanciest costco in the world with all the samples (and don’t worry, i didn’t refuse any; chicken heart? sure!)

the moral of this story?

ummm…

my birthday was a day in which i happily gained 27 pounds.

(oh. and after tucano’s and before mcdonald’s my intramural team won the division one intramural championship…it’s really no big deal or anything. also, this post is chronologically kooky)

but anyways, after rollerskating i rolled into my bed and woke up a few hours later for a final review in my religion class. and then i gave myself the gift of a few more hours of sleep and got back under the covers (a gift that i’m sure will bite me in the but later…like a cheese plate or butt-hungry pug!).

two hours later, i found myself in sonic (sitting INSIDE! i didn’t even know there was such a thing) with the lovely and blonde morgan. we gulped down route 44′s and munched on tater tots and played with my camera (isn’t she the prettiest?!). 

for lunch (sonic was just a warm up), a group of girls and i headed up to the sixth floor of the wilkinson center to the fanciest restaurant on campus. it was a buffet. buffets may be the death of me–i just want to try everything! the lighting was perfect so of course i had to snap pictures of them (…they were so annoyed); it was such a task trying to hold the camera still while laughing so hard. 

i really, really love my friends.

and i really, really love buffets.

and i really, REALLY love my parents for, you know, bringing me into this life. you guys should go to a buffet or something.

more sundayness.

 

today in a lovely moment of pure luck, my friend landon scored an extra ticket to the first presidency’s christmas message at the salt lake conference center and i was the recipient! yippity pippity!  the perks of knowing an iranian (irrelevant…but he is iranian!)! i was planning on watching it on the computer in dorm while eating a full jar of peanut butter, but seeing  it live was extra special (and saved me about 1,393 calories…double yes!).

president uchtdorf, eyring, and presidnet monson all spoke about the true meaning of christmas and what we should try and focus on this holiday season. president monson talked about how christmas is such a time of happiness and cheer and remembering all things that are good and important in life and how we should not simply spend christmas once a year, but we should keep christmas in our lives and in our souls all year long.

afterwards, we walked around temple square (accidently…we were actually lost and looking for our other friends) and ate graham cracker ice cream (…and string cheese with sugary bbq sauce, oddly delicious?) at josh’s house. the whole night was well worth the crammed car ride and potential speeding tickets.

hope your sundays were swell.

p.s. i took that picture with my new camera that i’m sort of in love with.

therapeutic thankfulness.

as of the past seven hours, it has been awfully easy to get all entangled in the negative. like that there’s never any toilet paper in my stall of choice, or that i have a large zit on the inside of my nose that aches every time i inhale sharply, or that i have to skip the kook’s concert tonight to write a fatty research paper on a topic i basically hate.

but, hmmm, anyways…

oh yes: being thankful.

it’s times like these that i have to stop and make a little mental list about the things i am thankful for. well, after i stop and make a little mental list of the people i want to kick in the head repeatedly.

thus: my mental(…but not, because i am typing it…just go with me) list about things i am thankful for! (you guys don’t get to see my ‘kick-in-the-head’ list, sillies!)(okay…a teaser: my jogging teacher. for making the jogging final so dang hard! i have failed it twice already and still have yet to pass it but…uh…) ready, go!

i am terribly thankful for my family. my parents were truly hand-selected just for me. and i love that my mother is one of my best friends in the entire world and that she didn’t veto the idea of eating frozen yogurt for lunch for 10 days straight. and that i have a father that i find so funny (DON’T tell him…) and has an uncanny way with words. and that he loves my mom so darn much and treats her like the queen of the world. i am thankful that i have younger siblings that i look up to because they are so sweet and kind (but not too sweet or too kind…because that would be nauseating!) and hilarious. and quirky…you guys are weird. i am thankful that they will play endless games of ‘true colors’ and b.s. with me (oh, and i am thankful for paige for introducing me to popcorn with brown sugar and frozen bananas with peanut butter and chocolate…and for having skinny legs that i can pretend are genetic). 

i am grateful for my older brothers that are way smarter than i’ll ever be. and also more patient. and kind. and just all-around better people than i am. ha. also i am grateful that they have both lead lives that i can earn serious cool-points over (“yeah, my brother’s in a band…”; “not a big deal buttttt my brother speaks the cambodian language fluently…”). and i am also thankful for all of my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. for being cooky and weird and supportive and protective and attractive(no seriously, both sides of my family are good-looking bunches). and that they do things like leave nice comments and meet me at greyhound bus stops at 6:00 a.m. to make sure i am of the living and bring me diet coke and mcdonald’s oatmeal (holy, thank you aunt jill!).

i am grateful for my friends, both here and there and everywhere. i am grateful that you guys know how to make me ugly laugh and how to console me when i ugly cry(why are all of my extreme emotions so…ugly?). and that you guys understand how important courtesy laughing is to my self-esteem and that i will inevitably eat off your plates. and that i like to do really boring things like go to costco and grocery shop. and that you guys make it so fun that it feels like a trip to disneyland!

i am thankful for the big dude upstairs. i am thankful that he has this plan for me (pleeeeease say it involves ryan gossling somehow!) and knows me by name. and that he listens to my sometimes super petty prayers about not getting fat ankles or running into someone that’s good-looking on campus. and that he, you know, created the world and stuff.

i am thankful for being HERE, right now. well, not really here HERE…seeing as i am in the library and the library tends to make me all anxious and itchy…but HERE. at byu. surrounded by smarty pants, happy people. at a university that pushes me (SO, so hard) but also lets me take really fun classes like cooking, volleyball, and photography (next semester! eeeep!). and that byu puts up lots of pretty christmas lights and plays christmas music.  

hmmm…i guess i am thankful for my job. actually, i am. i am thankful that i HAVE one and that it works so well around my schedule and that i work with nice people who tease me endlessly about my outfit choices. and that the job title makes me sound all fancy. and sometimes i get free food.  

i am thankful that i have so much to look forward to. my upcoming birthday, winter break where i can see all of my friends from home, christmas, and studying in italy next fall!

i am thankful that i am 18 and nine-tenths and that the biggest of my worries are getting rid of the inner nose-zit (any suggestions?), waking up on time, and fighting the freshman fifteen…or hiding it…i am thankful for layering, too.  

…and i am thankful for lots of other stuff. like that my eyebrow grew back. and hair cuts. and cozy socks. and the smell of clean laundry. and the ducks that waddled around the stairs by the broadcasting building today. and that kourtney kardashian is having another baby. and for hulu and pandora and pinterest and twitter and facebook, too. and the opportunity that i have (ready, set, corny!) to be creative every single day, through the outfit i pick out, or the music i listen to, or through this silly little blog.

oh, and i am thankful for all the people who actually read it. i am sorry for rambling all the time. i like you guys.

…

well, this was therapeutic…but i’d still like to kick my jogging teacher in the face.