Application Struggles

      Happy Monday! So I'm currently in the process of trying to apply to the honors program at KU and to live in a scholarship hall, and the HP requires one essay and the schol-hall requires two. I've written the essay for the HP, so now I'm trying to figure out how to contract with student housing and writing an essay for it!
       I have to write about which two or three activities shaped me into the person I am today and why, and I'm really struggling. I wish I'd done a community service trip in Latin America, but, unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet. All I do is cheer, the musical, and my summer job, so I'm writing about the latter two. But they honestly really haven't shaped me very much, so it's a struggle to try to write about them in a way that makes them seem really influential.
      I wish I could write about something like why my favorite movie is my favorite. I could easily write an essay about why I love Forrest Gump so much. Argh, I just want this whole process to be over!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Change of Scenery

      Happy Sunday! This weekend my family and I traveled to the lake for a nice change of scenery, and something about camping helped me to break up the pattern I'd gotten myself stuck in. Recently I've been going to my essay-writing class, working, then coming home to do nothing but watch TV. That's exactly what I told myself I wouldn't do this summer, because I wanted to spend my free time doing things I want to do but can't during the school year. I've come up with a (flexible) schedule to keep myself busy and off the couch for too long!

Monday and Tuesday

• Eat breakfast; Special K, fruit, and tea
• Essay class
• Work
• Come home, watch TV (one or two episodes)
• Run or do yoga
• Shower
• Eat dinner
• Do a craft
• Blog post
• Watch a movie

Wednesday

• Eat breakfast
• Watch TV
• Learn Italian
• Read
• Go to work
• Come home, watch TV
• Run/yoga
• Shower
• Eat dinner
• Craft
• Blog post 
• Movie

Thursday

• Eat breakfast
• Watch TV
• Plan outfits for school
• Work
• Come home, watch TV
• Run/yoga
• Shower
• Eat dinner
• Read
• Blog post
• Movie

Friday

• Eat breakfast
• Watch TV
• Read
• Work
• Come home, watch TV
• Run/yoga
• Shower
• Something fun with a friend!

     I know it doesn't sound very active, but this is just a tentative schedule to give me ideas to just do stuff throughout the day other than working and watching TV. Have a great week!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke 

All Work and No Play

       Happy Monday! Have you ever heard the phrase "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"? I guess it's from "The Shiner," which I've never seen, but I've been hearing it a lot lately and recently I've been feeling a strong connection to it. I just found out that I didn't get any weeks off for the last three weeks of summer, which means that I got zero weeks off total. That's right, minus two days for college visits, I will have worked all twelve weeks of summer. Plus babysitting most weekends. Also, starting tomorrow, I'm going to be in a college essay writing class through next Tuesday.

     
      We didn't go on any vacations or do anything fun all summer. I hate to sound like such a spoiled brat,  but when summer had just begun I expected to have this really awesome and memorable summer. Alas, no. The "no play" part is a bit of an exaggeration; I have gone to the movies a couple times and I did participate in the Color Run on Saturday (see my post on my other blog, Bowties & Ballet Flats! I never thought I would say this, but I just want summer to be over! I'm ready for my senior year! Oh, by the way, I got into KU! Rock Chalk!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Amelie

      Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great start to the week; mine started early since I have to wake up at 6! I work until 12:45, then I came home watched Amelie, learned some Italian from my library CD set, finished my latest masterpiece (which I'll show you tomorrow!), and I've been listening to This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald on tape.
      Amelie is officially one of my new favorite movies. Starring Audrey Tautou and made in 2001, IMDb describes the movie thus: "Amelie, an innocent and naive girl in Paris, with her own sense of justice, decides to help those around her and along the way, discovers love."
      

      
       I think I love this movie so much because Amelie is so relatable; I think a lot of people (including me) struggle with taking risks and connecting with other people. In many ways, I feel exactly like Amelie. She goes out of her way to do good for other people and works to clean up other peoples' messy lives, yet she can't clean up her own. I won't spoil what happens, but I highly recommend that you watch it! It's easily one of my new favorite movies, and I could watch it every day.

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

This Past Week

      Happy Sunday! I haven't posted this whole week because I've been so busy every night, and to prove it to you, here's what I've been doing all week:

Sunday: My parents and I dropped off my brother at soccer camp in St. Joseph, and while we were there we visited the St. Joseph Lunatic Asylum. It was interesting but also very sad to see how people with mental disabilities were treated as recently as the 1960s.

The Daddy and I in front of the hospital! Shirt: J. Crew Factory

, Shorts: Gap, Tote: Longchamp, Bangle: Kate Spade

 

Monday: I worked from 7:15-3:45 so I was super tired, and I just went home and watched movies on Netflix. I watched The Bachelorette with Kirsten Dunst, Rebel Wilson, Isla Fisher, and Lizzy Caplan and it was hilarious! Then I watched Pocahontas. Don't judge.

Tuesday: I worked all day, then I babysat all night. Okay, not all night, but long enough so that I didn't have enough time to post! Also, I found out that I got in to KU! I'm going to be a Jayhawk! I couldn't be more excited :)

Wednesday: Long day at work, although the fact that there's a little Australian girl in the class I was assisting provided some amusement.

She said in her adorable accent: "Miss Brooke, I want a strawberry lolly!"

Thursday: I took my friend out to dinner (the one who took me to see Rocky Horror) and then walked around at the park by my house, just catching up and talking about life.

Friday: My friend and I co-hosted a BBQ at the park by my school, and we had so much fun grilling hot dogs, climbing trees, then getting ice cream. It was so fun to do something social!

Saturday: I spent all day watching Netflix (Gossip Girl, Katy Perry: Part of Me, Flashdance, and Elizabethtown), then last night my parents and I saw Flashdance the Musical at Starlight Theatre!

And today I'm going to babysit then work again all week! I'll try to post more often this week :)

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Recipe of the Month: Green Drink

      Happy Saturday! I hope everyone had a great week and a great Fourth of July! Today my mom and brother and I tried something new: Dr. Oz's Green Drink. It's not exactly the easiest (or cheapest) thing to make, nor is it the tastiest, but it's high in fiber and low-calorie. We've never been the type of people to eat super-healthy stuff and make juices and smoothies with spinach, but it was interesting to think of all the benefits in drinking the juice! Here's how to make it:


Ingredients

Makes 3-4 servings (about 28-30 oz)

2 cups spinach
1/2 cucumber
1/4 head of celery
1/2 bunch parsley
1 bunch mint
3 carrots (I ate all our carrots this week, so our drink didn't have any. Oops!)

2 apples

1/4 orange
1/4 lime
1/4 lemon
1/4 pineapple
We also added 1/4 cup of protein powder!

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Serve and enjoy!

The end result:

      I'm not going to lie, it was really hard for me to drink the whole glass. The taste, the color, the smell...let's just say it was a one-time-only drink. But maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

GUESS WHAT

I JUST APPLIED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS. I'M GOING TO BE A JAYHAWK.

I literally could not be more excited right now! I can't believe this is happening. Oh my goodness. So far, July's treated me pretty well.

Carpe Diem,
Brooke