Excerpt from my Away Message

It was the best of days it was the worst of days. My day was absolutely wonderful..haha…and now complications have begun to arise. My internet cord didn’t work even thought its only 7 feet longer than the one that does (this is the second one I’ve purchased). I just wanted a taste of the rainbow (a bag of Skittles) and wouldn’t you know they are stuck behind a single pack of Starbursts. Finally I’m typing a paper and the printer is out of ink. This wouldn’t be a problem if my internet cord were long enough for my computer to be near my printer. Haha. Just Breath. Happy Things. Happy things… so many happy things. Luv Ya! And hey.. hang in there its Monday. ~Bry

End of story: I ended up buying th Starbursts... in need of sugar and in hopes of making whoever happened to visit the vending machine next happy.

Suffering from Withdrawal

I miss blogging...

Playing Catch Up

Haha. All I think of when I say catch up fast is that bottled Heinz confection that is so perfectly paired with fries. Ooh and if you haven't seen a bottle lately you need to get up and go to the ol' grocery store because they are hilarious. Each bottle has a little phrase on it but I'm not telling you anymore. You have a mission.. complete it. =)

Unfortunately the catching up I am talking about isn't a dipping sauce. I would compare it more with a drowning pool. Help me I'm drowning in catch up. Hehe. Sorry I get like this when I'm crazy or stressed or just having one of those days. Today, as you can see, is obviously one of those.

I just needed to let you all know that I arrived back to Butler safe and in one piece. Brittany and I had an incredible weekend at home that I am so excited about blogging on soon! I've survived my first week of classes and gone back to work as well. Believe me it's been a full turn around from the last lazy weeks of my break. I am considering that a good thing though. I am getting something accomplished right? Well, let's hope anyways.

I'd love to write more but I'm off to a meeting so I can be approved to add a class. It's a fun one so I'm excited..Yippee! I'll tell you about that later too.

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. I missed it and whoever you are I miss you too! Oh the constraints of time!

Catch ya on the flip side...have fun at the grocery,
Bry

My Sis! Isn't she gorgeous?!? I love you Bitty Bug! 

Just me. 

Road Trip

My lovely sister, Brittany, and I plan to depart around 7 o'clock this evening on our trip to MV. We will not be reaching our final destination, Indianapolis, until sometime Sunday night.

I don't really have a lot of time to blog right now, I am yet to complete the task of loading the car. =) It will get done. Hehe.

Before I travel I just want to let you all know that I love you. I don't care if we've only exchanged hello's twice or had a million conversations- Thank you for being a witness to some part of my life. We are shaped by those who play both major and minor roles in our lives and whoever you are, you've impacted me in a sense.

Ha. I'm sounding cliche.

I'm going to go and finish loading now. I look forward to blogging for you when I reach the Vern. If you need someone to talk to anytime from 7-7 gimme a ring. Haha. You can call me anytime =)

Much love, always,
xoxo Bry

Only One More Day

I remember standing in my small dorm room and counting down the days until Christmas break like it was yesterday. Rakaya and I were jumping up and down in anticipation. I'd look over that calendar between studying for finals and memories of home would wash over me. The human mind is amazing. When I remember something it's so close to time travel that I can't even explain to you how real it is. I see and feel just like I did in the moment. It truly is incredible because I escape the present for a moment, but sometimes it can be torturing. Even though it's so close to reality, it's still not the real thing. When I anticipate a day or an upcoming event I use past memories to fabricate what I think it will be like. After I do that I just want the thing to come super soon. What I don't realize is that the sooner the day comes the sooner it ends too.

Now I'm staring at my agenda book knowing that in a couple days I'll be standing in that dorm room once more. Don't worry I'm not dreading going back, I'm actually pretty excited! Oh but I will miss my family, I will miss my family SO much!

I just want to take a minute to jot down some things I remeber from this break to aid my memory later.

1. Driving to MV after work, saying goodbye to K multiple times. Having someone keep me company on the phone for almost my whole drive- thanks Brian!
2. Loving the feeling of driving into MV and sleeping in Britt's old room.
3. Waking up to grandparents who always seem happy to see me and having a bowl of my fav. cereal.
4. Spending the day with grandma and making trips to the post office, CVS, IGA, etc. Deciding to stay & see Meli!!
5. A Friday night of Ocean's Twelve, looking at Christmas lights, and eating ice cream with Jesse.
6. Girls' basketball game on Saturday- seeing all the cheerleaders ( I love you guys!!!) and getting jumped on. Catching up with some old friends but leaving to make a sign for my best friend. Getting the phone call from Melissa when she was parked outside my house. You are real kid!!!! Pinch pinch. Screaming really loud!!!!
7. Driving in the Mazda and spontaneously deciding that Meli would tag along to Texas!!!!! YEAH!!!! A dinner @ Hacienda with 5 of the seven that felt weird and yet perfect. (Diane, Sarah, Malo, Meli, Bry- missed Britto &Whit!!) A trip to Wal-mart to take crazy pics... luv u Meli! The lady in the garden center that took the pic for us-so sweet. Holding up the line for the photo machine. Sitting at my house and visiting with Britt. Splitting up to pack for the trip.
8. Talking late into the night and getting up like 4 hours later to drive 12 hours. Slap-happiness with the Kittingers- road trip! Crazy dancing to the super fast Christmas jingle. The guy at the gas station who was very friendly and waved. TOO much peanut brittle! Communicating via car radios. $2 lotto ticket.
9. Finally arriving in Coppell and seeing the family(and Jace too!). ATTACK! Lots of good food, the huge hotel tour, poker, the ab ball, good grades- score!, Brandon and Joe being gamers, sleeping in Buddy's room, the outlet mall with the guys, taking Jace to the airport, leaving Meli =(.
10. Driving to Phoenix- long!, snow, mom vs. dad, running with Brando down some crazy road b4 Burger King, staying at G&G's, seeing the cousins, more food, night at the casino, working out, creepy elevator guy, talking on the phone, warm weather, walking to Brenda's, church programs and candles, dancing in the living room, Rascal Flatts and Shedaisy, the unsuccessful shopping venture with Britt & Marissa, Matt's drums, games, cook out at Brenda's-YUM, laughing WAY too hard with Britt, a whole bunch of Jello, carrying the big box in the hotel while laughing, Brooke snuggling in with me on the floor, is there poop on my shirt?, hot chocolate, a little bit sick, Green Bay wins against the Vikings, scavenger hunt, Walmart venture with Brandon, Squishing the whole fam in one van with dad in the backseat- hot, matching pj's and pics in them!, maing sugar cookies.. and well eating them, IKEA & driving back- bonding, Pizza Hut.
11. Picking up Tara, Glamour Shots, malls, ice skating with Brooke in the Galleria & watching mom do it too, dollar theater- ladder 49 and shall we dance, being spoiled by mom and dad, Don Pablos-almost leaving my purse, New Years... already told that story, Michael Bolton.. plenty of him, smoothie obsession, phone cuteness, bike ride to the duck pond, attempted shoulder stands, line tag, horse, 2 park days, grocery with mom, sadness letting tara go, military guys at the airport- so sad, etc.
12. Family time. I've already covered some of this. Dad's happy Saturday, play time with Brooke and friends, ghetto dancing in Bud's room with Britt, babysitting, sleeping in, Wal-mart trip w/dad- included lunch and work too, Cary's wedding pics, No bar party, Cindy and Joni, Daewoo shutdown, Old Navy, school pick ups, Mom's work, making beds, baths!, exercise.. ahha, Garden state, bike rides, rollerblading with Brandon, Brittany's excitement about coming along =), sad moments, Oprah, the news, Bachelorette and laughing with dad, cleaning out my car, chats online, swepstakes, Chili's Too, On the Border, food at home- Yum, Wally world with Mom and Costco too, feeling loved, lunch w/Brooke.

I'm going to stop there. That gives me a good idea of what happened over break. Good times, good times. There are more to come though too. Sorry if that blog was super boring for you. Look forward to a better one later on today.. I hope anyways.

I'm kinda bummed because I only have on more day but you know...it's a good thing Wednesdays are my favorite! Happy Wednesday everyone! =) Make today great!

Wrong Way

Picking the kids up from school should probably be reserved for moms.

Today I went to pick up my little sister from her elementary school about five blocks down the road. I had promised Angel Face last week that I'd pick her up one of these days. I wasn't sure why my little five-year-old sister was so excited with the thought of big sis rolling up in the caravan. Little did I know the short drive would be quite an exciting adventure.

So I left right on time to get to the school. The Brookester was scheduled to be released from her kindergarten class at 2:50. I decided to be stylish and take my car, I had to improve upon Brooke's vision a little and be the cool big sis. Mom gave me specific instructions on where to go. Don't get in the first car line, be sure to go in the second. You can either park in the lot and walk up to get her or use the sign in the car line. (Sidenote: The story of the Sign. In order to have a very efficient "car line" each vehicle is supposed to keep a sign inside for kid pick up. That's right. Moms and Dads in minivans pull up flashing a large bright-yellow sign with their child's name on it. You should see it. Curbside there is a teacher with one of those large and loud megaphone-like things calling out the kids names. The little ones rush up like they are on deck and they are shuffled into their cars. I shouldn't poke fun at the system.. it is speedy! Hehe.)

After those wonderful instructions from mom I decided that despite my bad hair day I was definitely not going in the "car line." Prepare yourself parking lot...big sis Bry is coming. It was easy to see that school was out as I abided by the insanely low speed limit of 20 and still had to hit the breaks for kids that couldn't find a cross walk. They were cute =) Haha. I laughed to myself as I watched the little ones try to find a path to where they were going. The place was a mess.. one huge traffic jam! I passed the first drive where "car line 1" was located after the crossing guard waved me on. Then I saw it, a second drive which lookled like the perfect road to the parking lot. A song by Mariah came on and I was jamming happily as I turned into the drive. Doo doo doo. suddenly my luck struck me and I realized no one else was following me in the drive. I looked back for a sign that said DO NOT ENTER, but it didn't exist. I drove forward and saw parked cars facing me... and then moving cars coming for me. Oh no! I was SO going the wrong way! Haha..be calm Bry. So I put Santa baby in reverse and roll backwards down the drive as the minivan in front of me rolls towards me slowly. She sees me, don't worry. I reverse to the side of the drive still facing the wrong way and sit there as a line of traffic passes. First graders have their noses stuck to the car windows as they pass me. Wonderful. Haha. So I'm safe, but what to do next? A woman steps off the curb and halts the stream of cars. She smiles at me and motions for me to perform a three point turn so I can untrap myself. Surprisingly I handled the turn and I finally found the right way to get to the parking lot. I saw Miss Cute in her pink shirt with her matching princess back pack and headed over to scoop her up. I was later than I should have been if things had gone as planned and Brooke noticed that too. Haha. She goes..Bryana when there are not that many kids left that means you are late. Don't worry, this was after she attacked me with a loving hug. =) I apologized to her and told her the story as we walked to the car. She goes:" Oh my gosh.. I thought that looked like your car, everyone was watching you!" I laughed... and then I laughed some more. Mom laughed and so did Brittany and Brandon and I'm sure Dad will too.

Sometimes going the "wrong way" can be frustrating, but its the abnormal moments and the unexpected complications you remember.

Time for dinner, dad, and then a 2-hour Bachelorette special with Britt. I'll blog later =)

Luv, Bry

So It Was A Short Faithful Streak

I promise I had good ambitious intentions when beginning this blog and I still have them now. I just missed a couple days...whoops! Well, tell you what I'll just blog for everyday I missed and we'll call it even, okay?

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm just about to head outside to help Dad and Brandon take down the Christmas lights from atop the roof. It's about time- I know I know. Haha. Brittany, Brandon, and I went on an adventure this morning. I convinced the family to let me rent a movie with the Blockbuster card given to me for graduation and took them to get Garden State on Friday night. For those of you who have seen the previews, I think you'll agree that it looks like a strange movie. Well, no doubt about it...it was. Anyways, the point is the movie had to be back by noon today. I decided I wanted some fresh air on this semi-warm Texas day and invited Brittany and Brandon to bike with me to Blockbuster. I hadn't been bike riding in awhile.. except for when we went with Tara last week.

Laughable moment: I sat on my bike seat and unbeknownst to me it had been conserving rain water. Needless to say the water poured out on me as I sat atop the bicycle and it poured down my legs. Yeah so my brother thought it was hilarious! Haha. So what if it looked like I peed my pants. I knew I didn't. Haha.

Love. Laugh. Live.

It's Wednesday... my fav!

Good morning! The bed I slept in last night sits against the wall so I couldn't get out on the right side.. haha that is if we are referring to actual directions. The morning feels pretty good though. Inspired my my entry a few days ago, I poured myself a bowl of Frosted Flakes this morning... thanks Tony.. it was Grrreat! haha I'm using my brother's computer, he's off at school along with everyone else. I get to go to school today! Hehe. Well not real school, but I am going to go have lunch at a school. My five-year-old sis, better known by her name which is Brooke, invited me to have lunch at her school today. I thought I might stand out in a cafeteria full of little people, well kindergarteners. But, as usual, I couldn't refuse that cute little face so I promised I'd show. She was all excited because Wednesday is special lunch day. My sister follows in the footsteps of the rest of my family and she is readily equipped with a lunch box when headed to her cafateria. Wedenesdays are different though... they are Pizza Hut days and I mean what kid could possibly resist that? The only drawback is that lunch is served at 10:50. Haha. Ooh.. I forgot I have to walk.. I better get going. I'll make another post later on in the day, this will not suffice. Lunch with little kids, I am so excited =). And hey.. if you are reading this and it's Wednesday.. have a good one. Get off here and go do something random. You remember those things.. the random ones.

Lots o' Love
Bry

Survivor Sillies

I'm sure you've all seen or at least heard of Survivor. You know, the show where people compete in some wild place. Those reality shows... aren't they crazy? Admit it though.. as insane as they are they look kind of fun. Well, that's what my aunt thought too. The day after Christmas my cousins and I weren't playing with toys from Santa ( No, not because we were bad! Geez! Hehe.), we were on a mission.

It was a survivor challenge unlike any other as the guys and girls, all sharing some relation to the name Baumgard, went head to head on that sunny day. The battle took place at a park in Phoenix, Arizona. As the clan piled out of the minivan the break up of the teams was obvious. The men trailed behind each other walking with that silent yet intimidating look. The girls giggled and laughed as they linked arms and shouted girl-power-like phrases. The teams met under a picnic table on that warm December day and they were confronted by the host of the event: Brenda (Aunt Brenda) Haarman. Red and blue bandanas were handed out and tied around arms, legs, and foreheads. With dads, grandmas, and kids alike it was truly a ridiculous site. The teams were instructed to pick team names. After the rules were laid out the Pink Flamingoes and the Blue Devils were off to participate in the first event. And so a wooden beam in the park was were the initial challenge would take place. Teams lined up facing each other and the first player on each team used balance to carry themselves across the beam. Object: to get across the beam and around the other player without touching the ground. Elementary my dear Watson.. hehe just go against a little person, pick em up, and set em out of ur way. Muah haha. So that challenge wasn't exactly fair, but it was a good beginning match. The teams, still armed with their goofy looking bandanas, returned to the picnic table to learn the details of match 2. Two hoola hoops were placed in the grass and a perso from each team was given three small balls. The goal: Each member of the team must roll the balls on the ground into the hoop until all three balls are in. Simple enough... I think we all assumed this would be much easier than it turned out to be. The grass was bumpy and we were all much less coordinated than normal people. My stomach will always ache remembering the image of my dad. There he was.. the spitten image of a dad gone gangsta. Haha or not. He was waving his arms in the air and doing what one could define as a happy dance cheering on his teammates with a blue bandana sticking up atop his head and sunglasses masking his eyes. You honestly have not experienced the true definition of hilarious until you've experienced Brian Green. Haha. I LOVE my dad!!

So that challenge ended and we were on to the next. Finally this one involved the playground. I forgot to mention that the park was not entirely vacant at the time of our gaming. Yes, that is correct..others actually had to witness the madness...oh my! On the up-side it probably made them feel much more normal. =) Cheese!

Small plastic dillies were hung at the top of the playground... half red and half blue. This was one of those tag and go games where one player would race up a slide, climb a set of stairs,grab a flag, race down the slide, run back to where they began and tag the next player. Let me remind you that parents and grandparents took part. Haha. Clumsily we all made our way through the challenge. Fortunately I missed the run through where my mom raced down the slide and forgot to put her feet down at the end. My sister couldn't control her laughter when she saw mom plop onto the ground....I just know I would've lost it.

Darkness was approaching and there was one more challenge before the final scavenger hunt. I think this one was the best.. and it is such a good thing that I used the bathroom before this challenge. Haha. So the bandanas were removed from arms and legs and wrapped tightly around each individual's head to cover the eyes. The hula hoop would be put to use once more. I want you to close your eyes and imagine what it would be like if your family, cousins, grandparents, etc were blindfolded and sent crawling to search for objects in a field. When its a reality, I promise you laugh even harder. So we went off blindfolded to find objects that were scattered in the field and had to try to return the objects to the hoop. We had a little difficulty, mostly related to conflict with the other team. The only object I found was TAKEN by my brother. Brandon I will never forgive you. Haha. Somehow we still won though.. way to go girls!! ( I found out later that Brooke could see through her blindfolded.. what a stinker...good thing she was on our team- hehe)

The scavenger hunt was the last challenge and it sent us racing up and down for blocks reading clues and finding pieces to the final puzzle. Now if you need a way to get in shape, I'll be glad to set up one of these courses for you. Goodness! There were clues in trees, under benches, and even buried in the sand volleyball court. The guys had speed, but the girls had intelligence ( I know I know-give it up ya'll). So it was a race to the end... and a very close one I might add. After our team had put the puzzle together to read the final hint my sister sprinted off to be the first to the grand prize. I was right behind her, running with a blanket I had used to stay warm around my shoulders and my five year old sister attached to my hand. I know the guys didn't get that puzzle together....they just followed our lead. The speedy boys were gaining on us and Brittany was running out of fuel...she'd run to get most of the clues. In a voice of exhaustion I heard her say I don't think I can do this Bryana... I can't run anymore. I urged Brooke to take hold of Brittany and flung the weight of the blanket of my shoulders. With a pass-the-baton like strategy Britt encouraged me to push forward. Knowing the guys were closing in on me I kicked it in high gear. Track my freshman year was the last time I could remember really running hard.. I tried to forget those experiences. I was sick for Christmas so I obviously wasn't better by now.. but I figured the run could only be good for me, plus I had a slue of excited little kids and a gung-ho grandma behind me. So I made it.. and the boys didn't catch me.. I was the first on to the large palm in front of my aun'ts house. I walked up to the door and grabbed the Winners box in victory. Only a few walkers came in behind me.. the rest had surrendered to the comfort of the minivan. Pictures were taken in front of the house.. the Pink Flamingoes were captured with expressions of victory and the Blue Devils smirked as they circled around their Consolation box.

It was a fun day in Phoenix, Arizona... with one heck of a memorable experience. I now have a new set of neon pens to put in my waitress apron(compliments of the winner box). So when I finally have to return to college life and my job as a server I can hand my customers a neon pen with a sense of pride and I can walk away with a smirk on my face as I remember the goofiness and nerdiness of my winter break.

When you and your family or friends have nothing to do- Test your skills in a survivor challenge. It may sound weird.. and it is... but I promise you'll have a blast. Just be careful not to bust a gut. =)

And it was Just a Monday.

I promised myself I'd get up early this morning. I hadn't slept in for a long while ...that is until Christmas break came around. Now I'm having a hard time breaking the cycle. I'm just hoping my built-in alarm returns here in a couple weeks for my early morning classes! Hehe. Needless to say my Monday didn't start off as I had planned. I hoped to get up early with my sibblings and ride along as the minivan made the rounds for school. Instead I awoke at 10:30 to find out I'd missed the bus. Maybe I just needed the rest, but tomorrow.. you better believe I'm getting up early!

I have an obsession with cereal. Yes, my mom once bought me a set of Kelloggs bowls and spoons for Christmas. Shh! Don't tell. I think I broke one of the spoons the other day when I was using it to scoop something that was much too cold and hard.. whoops! I still have both bowls though. They are nice and deep...perfect for a deep dish of cereal. I don't know why I'm talking about this right now because I didn't have cereal this morning.. and I've only had it once over break. Oh that lovely bowl of Raisin Bran with added banana. Stop..you are making me hungry!

Moving on.... I'm tired.. so I apologize for the format and content of this blog. Let's just sum up the day quick. Woke up. Helped mom by making beds. Emptied dishwasher. Shower (definitely necessary). Got ready. Walked w/mom to pick up Brooke at school. Wasted a couple minutes playing on the playground ( okay so the tunnel was a little wet- no I did not pee my pants!) Met Brooke's teacher (sweet lady...oh Kindergarten!) Walked back home ( Brooke rode her bike .. remember training wheels? Yeah well they don't workall that well on a slant.) Got in the car ran some errands. Picked up the kids from school. Emotional moment with mom ( My theory on this is that I'm just worried about continuing to lead a life I love. When your family makes everything so good.. you wonder if you'll ever find anything that comes close. Perhaps my parents just did too good of a job?) Tagged along to Wendy's. Came home and made a smoothie. ( addiction.. I know) Watched Real World with Britt ( I'm such a bum). Went out to eat at Chili's too with the fam ( very cool restaurant concept... no servers!?) Scurried to the car in the rain. Sang country really loud looking goofy with mom and Britt. ( 99.5 the Wolf- Arooooo!!) Exercised with Brooke in front of the TV. ( I tried.. okay?) Put Brooke to sleep ( we really wore her out last night). Watched Shallow Hal with Brandon and Britt. (Very relevant subject.. makes u question judgements) Wrote Blog.

Yeah I know I know.. its only my third blogging day and I'm back to the elementary describe your day type writing. Sorry!!! I'll make it up sometime I swear.

Sweet dreams everyone. Maybe I won't have to count sheep tonight. =)

Learning to Love Gray Days

There are four empty fruit snack wrappers lying next to me on the desk. The surface is becoming so cluttered from that I can hardly navigate the mouse. The most logical step would be to crumple up the small plastic packages and take them on a trip to the trash, but I'm determined to become comfortable with the remnants of my nervous snacking habit.

Lately I've been a health nut. Just ask my family and they'll probably tell you that I've gone crazy. My diet has consisted of assorted veggies and homemade smoothies. Perhaps I'm on one of those get thin kicks. It's funny how you feel like you need to discipline yourself around the holidays. It's such a hard thing to do! We all know the level of self control it takes to pass up a rich dessert or even a tiny chocolate candy bar wrapped oh so cutley in a shiny foil wrapper. So today I'm splurging. Fruit snacks are the only outlet that I have allowed myself. (for tose of you that are wondering I'm tlaking about the fruit snacks made by Welch's.. I think they are assorted berry. Haha hold on let me check the wrapper!! I'm sorry, correction...they are mixed fruit. It looks like we've got orange, grapefruit, peach, strawberry and grape?! Something like that anyways. Well whatever it is.. it's great. Obviously I enjoy them! Let's not talk to much about them, before I know it I'll be racing to the kitchen and reaching my arm down into the cardboard box for more. Somebody stop me!

So... back to where I was going with this (as if there was a direction). I believe my nervous eating habit is a result of the day. It's a gray day. Now I know that just sounds miserable and in a sense it is, but not really. I think this is the first gray day I've seen in Texas since I arrived some time before Christmas. Gray that is in the weather sense. The sun is hidden behind a soft layer of gray clouds. There was even a bit of rainfall earlier.. but just a trickle. Other than the weather this is sort of a recooperating day. It feels so funny to be sitting at home alone with my family. For the past couple weeks we've had all sorts of company and things have been non-stop...it's bee so much fun. Now all the excitement has pretty much died down and I will continue living at home for a couple weeks as my family gets back into the swing of things. I should probably prepare myself for a little awkwardness. I can tell everyone needs rest. Brittany and Mom are cuddled in bed right now, Dad's watching tv with one eye, and Brandon is napping. It looks like Brooke and I are the only ones still plugging away. We are alike in that way. We chug chug chug.. but when we run out of steam... we aren't moving for awhile. This morning we took Tara to the airport =( . We miss you Flipper!

Ding dong.. pardon the interruption. My five year old little sister just rang the door bell and delivered a take home box of food for my brother. How cute! Hehe. Five years old and she's going out to eat with her friends and bringing home doggie bags of chicken. She knows Bradnon all too well. I swear that boy orders nothing but chicken tenders and fries. He'll appreciate this little package.

Okay I have returned from the fridge. Brandon is taking a nap like the rest of the family so I guess he'll just have to enjoy Brooke's present later. Yum!

So Tara is flying home to her family and Melissa is driving across the country. Oh dear you don't know Melissa yet. I'll have to write an entry on her some time, I could go on forever. Here are the basics. Melissa is one of those people that you meet and never forget. She is and will always be my best friend. We've been best buds since our seventh grade year at MVJHS. Since then I've spent so much time with her its unbelievable. We share countless memories and inside jokes. It's never-ending fun. There are so many stories from our past to be told. I guarantee that she will appear numerous times in my blog. Please note that she may be referred to as any of the following: Melissa, Meli, Witta, Kid, etc. In fact, she is one of the reasons I started this crazy habit and a reason for me to continue with it. (If you want an incredible blog to read... you must look into hers... writing is definitely her forte... wow!) I can't explain Melissa. She's just well... amazing. For now we'll leave it at that.

So my best friend Meli is packed up in her Mazda and on the road. She's Utah bound.. BYU here she comes. She's in for quite the dirve and on little sleep I might add. I believe the estimated driving time is 24 hours... now that's what I call a road trip. ( You need a Dino Meli!) I'm just crossing my fingers for all the travelling ppl today. Tara have a safe flight and Meli drive careful! Until everyone arrives safely I will continue to be nervous and most likely I will continue to give in to my stressful snacking.

I am out of water and I need a break so that's going to be it for this blog.

Gray days... transitional. Sit and think, analyze, relax, rethink, question. So the sun may be covered but it isn't gone... you know its there and it peeks through every so often. Sometimes you need days like today. Gotta love the gray.

A New Year.. and an added habit.

And so the 1st day of January 2005 seemed like the perfect day to start a blog. The search for a resolution (other than dropping ten pounds) has come to an end.

Reason for becoming a blogger: Girls you can relate here. Remember keeping a little diary full of all your secrets? Haha. When I was in kindergarten I caught my babysitter looking through my diary and thought it was the end of the world when she knew I had a crush on Jason!! Okay, so that is totally not relevant here but I guess ever since I was a little girl I have enjoyed writing. Perhaps its a passion. I just think that life is amazing and important to share. I'm not all that talented in the writing area so please bear with me. Also, use caution when reading any of my blogs... haha I promise there will be some crazy ones!!!! Reprimand me if I don't stick with this!!!

So after the most anticipated holiday of the year - Christmas- came to an end and the big man in the red suit retired to his home at the North Pole to recuperate from his big night, there was still something to look forward to- New Year's. That's right ladies and gentlemen, the night when your slate is wiped clean and you start off brand new. Not really, but close enough right? Hehe. I remember when I was oh let's say 7 years old and I thought of New Years as a night when I could stay up late and play lots of games with mom and dad. As midnight approached I huddled around the television with my brother and sister by my side. Each of us strapped on one of those little cardboard cone-shaped hats with flimsy rubber bands for strings and stuck shiny party blowers in our mouths. My sister and I were most likely decked out in our matching pajamas compliments of Mr. Clause ( this was probably the 5th night in a row that we'd worn them). And so there we were: a picture perfect American family gathered around the TV to watch the ball drop in Times Square. The anticipation was only half of the night's excitement. The moment was near. Mom began the countdown... 10 9..... rubber straps scratching 8 7.... little brother already tooting his horn...6 5...little sis running for the almost forgotten bag of confetti.....4 3....... Dad beginning to wiggle in his seat....2...knees bending to prepare for jump....1- everyone's in the air! The confetti flies, the room seems to jump up and down, rubber bands snap from the expansion of cheeks (a result of putting the party blowers to use), everyone runs outside to scream HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

That's how it's been ever since I can remember.

Last night the ball dropped bringing a close to what I just might consider my favorite year yet- 2004. Being nineteen and a college kid home for the holidays I spent my New Year's just like I used to.. at home. It may not have been the most happenin' party in town, but it was familiar and therefore I loved it.

Okay, so being home for New Year's sounds kind of lame, but I promise it wasn't dull. My family is just plain crazy and I love spending every moment with them. Here's the run-down of events for the evening. Please note that there was one guest at the house to join in the celebration. Name: Tara. Relation: Friend of mine, but Best friend of my sister. Reason for Presence: She's a sweetheart and chose to fly down to Texas to for a week-long visit with my sis over her winter break.

The hors' de voures had been purchased especially for the evening in advance. Shrimp and cocktail sauce, mini weenies wrapped in croissants, chips and salsa, barbeque meat balls, pizza rolls, a veggie tray, a fruit tray, and my all time favorite taco dip. Just when I thought the holiday feasting had come to an end-we could've fed an army!

Apart from indulging in the list of goodies above ( I forgot to mention desserts- brownies, chocolate moose pie, fruit snacks-my brother added that to the menu, strawberry daquiri's, candy bars, etc.), it was a night to play games. The night was kicked off with Twister. My mom manned the spinner while groups of four lined the game board to compete with each other. Twisting body parts in strange positions, the players found themselves fighting over colored dots and the game became quite the laughing matter. I'm pretty sure Tara was the Twister queen and the game came to an end when dad nearly toppled over onto Brittany. Does anyone know if knocking others over by purposely being pushy with your tooshy is illegal?! Hehe. Other games were pass the fruit snack by spoon down a line, pass a pretzel with a straw, cooties- the build a bug game from like the 40's, roll a potato in panty hose using pelvic thrusts, and search for your shoe blindfolded. To say the least it was an interesting evening. Around ten and a half the TV went on and the majority of the party plopped on the couch to watch the New Year's show on MTV. The rest decided that the weather was gorgeous and it was time to walk off at least a portion of what had been consumed earlier. Yes, I was in this group! hehe. So, mom, dad, Brooke, and I took walk. Well, Brooke rode the last half.. haha on my shoulders... which would explain the soreness today. After we returned from the walk we joined the loafers ( jk guys!). Before we knew it it was time for the ball to drop. Mom busted out the decor! I am happy to say that the rubber band hats were retired. This year it was those little crowns.. much more fashionable! Decked out in our New Years gear we took a couple pics and awaited the drop. The countdown went just as always.. and of course we went outside and released our energy. Happy New Years All!!!!! Hehe. I put my favorite piece of modern technology to use and made a couple HAPPY NEW YEARS phone calls. Someone is always missing you know!? The rest of my evening was pretty much spent on the phone. I helped mom pack up the food and put it back in the fridge...the party was over.

Sleep was needed and now what do you know? It's Saturday, January 1st.... hello 2005!!


This is Bry signing out. Happy New Year and cheers to a terrific 2005!