Home Sweet Home

      Happy Monday! Since we had a three-day weekend thanks to Labor Day, I decided to come home! Even though I had only been gone for two weeks, it felt like I hadn't seen my home and family in forever. I missed my own bed, my own shower, giving my parents hugs every night, laughing with my brother, and my mom's cooking, but I mostly missed my dogs. I literally cried tears of joy when I opened the front door and I saw my dogs coming down the stairs to greet me with wagging tails and smiles across their faces.
      On Friday night we just talked about everything that's been happening for the past couple of weeks and watched TV. On Saturday we went to the dog park, went shopping, got frozen yogurt, went out for sushi for dinner (my absolute favorite), and watched a movie at home. Yesterday we took our dogs for a walk around the neighborhood, then my mom and I ran some errands, we had fish tacos for dinner, and watched "Love Actually," which is a favorite movie of mine. Today I spent some time on the couch with my dogs, saw "Let's Be Cops" with my brother (not a great movie, but it was fun to hang out with the bro), got a pedicure with my mom, and made dinner with my mom too! Seriously, the dinners have been my favorite part about being home. But I really need to go to the gym on campus starting tomorrow!
      Being home has reminded me of how much I love being home. I definitely took it for granted while I was actually living here, and there are so many little details that I didn't recognize before college, that I now don't have and it's hard knowing I have to leave again in the morning. I love being at KU, but nothing compares to spending time with your family and dogs on a lazy afternoon while eating delicious friends. Not going to lie, I'm going to miss it even more now. I don't think I'm coming back home until Fall Break (second weekend in October, I think) and that's going to be a really long time away from home and everything that comes with it. I might need to make my parents bring my dogs up to my dorm one weekend :)

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

First Week at KU

      Happy Friday! Wow, it's been way too long since I've posted. My life has been so busy for the past few months (years?) that I barely have time to do anything. I finally finished the never-ending summer of nannying and working at my school's summer program, I moved into my dorm at KU with my roommate (and best friend from high school), I went through formal recruitment and pledged Sigma Kappa, and I just finished my first week of classes!
      Lots of crazy stuff going on that, a couple of months ago, felt ages away. Rush was super hot, stressful, and gross. I have never sweat so much in my life, thanks to the fact that I had to walk to 12 different houses in 100-degree weather. There were some tears involved because I was released from my mom's sorority after the second day, but I'm so happy to be a Sigma Kappa!
      I loved going to all my classes this week. I'm taking English, Math, Philosophy, Psychology, and Anthropology. I've already had quite a bit of homework, but thankfully I have enough free time to get it done. Once I find a job, however, I'm afraid that's going to change. My favorite class so far has been Anthropology, which is a lecture (with 300 students) I have twice a week, and I go to a discussion once a week, which only has about 10 students. I love learning about different cultures and why people act differently!
      My dad is coming to pick me up this evening to take me home for Labor Day weekend. Honestly, the hardest part about being away from home has been how much I miss my dogs. I love them so stinkin' much and I just hope they don't forget about me! I'll definitely need to take them to the dog park this weekend. I also just can't wait to be with my family, sleep in my own bed, eat my mom's food, and not have to wear shoes in the shower! Ah, the luxuries of home...

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Orientation at KU!

     Happy Tuesday! I'm so sad that USA lost against Belgium, but the fact that I went to my freshman orientation today kept me from staying glum for too long. Oh my God I'm just so excited for this fall and everything that's going to come with it. Just thinking about my bedding that will go in my dorm is giving me the chills.
     So after some admittedly rather boring speeches about KU, I enrolled in my first semester classes! I'm taking English 102 (unless my AP score bumps me up), math 101 (ugh, I thought I was done with Algebra), Communications (I think this is mostly a speech class), General Psychology, and Anthropology (I'm so excited for those last two)! A total of 15 credit hours and I'm on the right track to becoming a Special Education major! My earliest classes are at 9 a.m. (hallelujah), my latest goes until 3:50, and I don't have any classes on Tuesday and just one on Thursday. Oh my, how different from high school this is going to be.
      I also went to an informational meeting about Greek life since I'm going through formal recruitment in the fall (quite the process), and I finally got to see a dorm room in my residence hall! Not going to lie, it's pretty small and the rooms haven't been renovated in quite a while, but I'm confident that my roommate (who also happens to be my best friend from high school) and I will be able to make the most of our little dorm. I couldn't be more excited for this next chapter in my life; I wish I could move in tomorrow! :)

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

P.S. I'm not shopping at Hobby Lobby until they cover all methods of birth control for their employees, just thought I'd throw that out there :)

Yoga

      Happy Friday! I am so incredibly happy that it's the weekend because I've never had a longer week in my life. On Tuesday of this week I started a second job, which proved to be far more challenging than I initially believed. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, my schedule is work at Summer at Pembroke Hill from 7:30-12:45, grab lunch, then at 1:15 I go to the house of the family I work for to get their (extremely nice) car to pick up their kids from their Downtown office day care, and we go to the pool or something until their parents come home at 5:30. I'm not going to lie, I've never been so exhausted in my entire life. Waking up at 6 and not coming home until 6 gets really old really fast. I need the money, but it's hard to maintain my sanity when I hardly have a second to myself (especially since I had to do something almost every evening this week).
      Yesterday, my mom and I decided to do a yoga class together. We'd never done yoga before, but I've always found it very interesting. The class started at 6, so I had to go straight there once I finished nannying. I'd never been to the yoga studio before, so I put the address in the GPS on my phone. However, the GPS took me to the completely wrong place (surprise, surprise) and it was already 6:00 and I still had to change my clothes and I was so tired and hungry and I almost decided to just give up and go home. I finally figured out the directions, I walked in at 6:08, and went right to the bathroom to change my clothes when I just started to cry. I know I can't really convey this via the internet since anyone who reads this probably doesn't know me, but I truly almost never cry. I just don't. So I even surprised myself as I was sitting on the floor of the bathroom in this yoga studio I'd never been to before, crying my eyes out. I think I had been going, going, going, for so long without ever really doing anything for myself that I couldn't take it anymore. I was tired, frustrated, and stressed out. And these three months are supposed to be the last stress-free period for quite a while (maybe even until I retire)! I managed to wipe away my tears and walk into the room with dignity. There was only one other person there besides my mom and me, and the instructor was definitely your stereotypical mellow "one with yourself" yoga instructor.
      My bad mood had me very skeptical about yoga in general at the beginning of the class, but the more I focused on my breathing, movements, and "feeling" rather than "thinking," I actually felt a difference in my mental and emotional state. Toward the end of the class, we were just lying on our backs on our mats while breathing deeply, and the instructor read a passage to us from a book about meditation and love. I don't think I've ever felt so truly relaxed in my entire life. The class was exactly what I needed in order to take care of myself, and I'll definitely be going back next week. I'm so glad I didn't just go home when I was lost.


Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Roxie :)

      Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great Father's Day weekend! My life has been absolutely insane for the past few days. On Saturday night we got the cutest little 6-week-old Boxer puppy! She's a flashing reverse brindle, which is very rare in Boxers. We named her Roxie as the female version of Rocky, as in Rocky Balboa (also a "boxer"). We have two other dogs, Jack, a Jack Russell terrier who's 12, and Maggie, a three-year-old Boxer, who is named after Hilary Swank's character in Million Dollar Baby, which is why we stuck with the famous boxer theme in naming Roxie. Since they're both purebred Boxers, they get to be members of the American Kennel Club, so they get "special names." Maggie was named Sugar Lips Hot Legs Maggie May, which are all names of Rod Stewart songs, and Roxie's is Roxanne Be My Girl after songs by The Police.

      She's pretty adorable :)

Carpe Diem,

Brooke

In a Rut

      Happy Wednesday! Oh my God I can't believe it's only Wednesday. Each week this summer has felt so incredibly long. Waking up before 9 a.m. (and most certainly at 6 a.m.) should be illegal. I honestly have even started to enjoy my job (four summers into it...) but I just hate waking up at 6. When I get off work at 12:45, I go home to eat lunch and chill out for awhile. However, for the past few weeks nearly every spare moment has been dedicated to all things involving rush, which I will be going through at KU in the fall. I've been asking people to write rec letters for me, writing resumes and cover letters, and planning my outfits (tbh I loved that part). I'm so excited but also pretty nervous! I can't wait to be a member of a sorority.
      Lately, I feel like I've been lacking inspiration or something. I can't really identify it, but something's definitely felt off. To help feel more inspired, I've been reading more, I'm finally going to start running again this evening, and I'm going to take Maggie on more walks (so yes, lots of exercise). I think reading and enjoying nature while exercising are healthy and cost-effective ways to distract you from reality (rather than eating or binge-watching your favorite show on Netflix) and get back on track.

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Healthy Eating and Fitness Regimen

      Happy Thursday! I'm so glad there's only one more day left this week because I am so tired of working in the office. I keep telling myself every day that I'm going to work out when I get home but I'm always just too tired to do anything other than lie on the couch and watch Netflix (namely: Parks and Recreation). However, starting today, I am determined to start running again and start eating healthier, and I thought I would share what my new regimen is with you guys!

Breakfast:
Peanut butter on whole grain toast
Milk
Green tea

Midmorning Snack:
Granola bar (because that's what they have in the office at work...)

Lunch:
Sandwich on whole grain bread
Carrots
Apple
Water

Dinner:
Whatever my mom since I'll only have a few more months of her cooking dinner for me :)

Dessert:
Small portion of whatever I like.

Workout:
30 minutes of running on the treadmill 5 days a week

Obviously, my menu is subject to change depending on what my mom buys at the grocery store, but this is just a kind of guideline. Hopefully this works out because I've been eating way too much junk food!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke