Dreading School

     Happy Easter! Today was definitely a great last day of spring break. The weather was so beautiful that my dad and brother and I played basketball with each other outside! It was so much fun to spend some quality time together. I spent most of the day reading Harry Potter (I'm trying to finish the series before my eighteenth birthday, which is on April 16th, because I feel like I need to read it one last time before I turn eighteen, because the last book is when Harry is 17. I know I'm weird. I'm in the beginning of the Half-Blood Prince, so I need to read quickly!) and watching Skins. I reached and surpassed my goal of finishing the first two seasons -- I've started the fourth! It's literally the best TV show EVER. For our Easter dinner we ate ham, asparagus, fried potatoes, fresh pineapple, and key lime pie (which is the only kind of pie I'll eat). It was delicious!
     Tomorrow is both a very happy and a very sad day. It's happy because my brother is turning 16 and we're eating dinner at Oklahoma Joe's (famous for their amazing barbecue) and I get to give him the Vineyard Vines polo I bought for him that I know he'll love! But it's also very sad because my best friend's dad died on April 1st, 2010. It may seem silly that I should feel very sad about my best friend's dad's death, but I cannot express how special, loving, and kind he was. He was one of the nicest people I have ever met, and I miss him every day. I have horrible memories of that day, but hopefully I'll be able to get through it.

I hope you had a great Easter and wish me luck on my first day back at school tomorrow!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Last Days of Spring Break

     Happy Saturday! Today was very boring except that I got to read Harry Potter and watch Skins for most of the day, which is also how I plan on spending my Easter Sunday. I'm in a rather bad mood because I've had to spend a lot of money recently and I usually like to save my money! Sorry, I don't feel like writing very much tonight :(

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

An (Almost) Perfect Day

     Happy Friday! Today was both awesome and miserable. It started off great: my mom, dad, brother, and I took a trip to the Legends and ate lunch at Five Guys and Fries (they have the BEST burgers). Then we went to the J. Crew Factory because they were having a 50% off store-wide sale (three cheers for bargain shopping!), then we went to the Gap! After all of our shopping, we got ice cream at Russell Stover's! It was so much fun getting to spend quality time with the family and getting new clothes for spring, not to mention the beautiful weather! When we got home my dad and I took the dogs for a walk (is it okay if all of my work outs are just walks?) because we wanted to savor every last second of this sunny weather. Here is what I bought today:

Thank goodness for 50% off sales! I'm obsessed with the polka dot skirt :)

     Unfortunately, the day took a turn for the worse when the second half of the KU/Michigan game came around. My family and I are  HUGE KU fans and we were so sure that KU was going to win! We take March Madness to the next level; my throat still hurts from yelling so much! My mom even went to her room because she couldn't watch the last minute of overtime. It was definitely a very disappointing loss because we had such a good lead in the first half, and Elijah Johnson could have played much better, but hopefully we'll do better next season! I'm going to miss all of the seniors!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Spring Cleaning

     Happy Thursday! Today was all about cleaning, and it was very necessary! I cleaned the main bathroom and my bathroom, swept the stairs, swept the kitchen, mopped the kitchen, and, most importantly, cleaned my bedroom! I went way beyond just tidying up in my room; I did some major dusting, organizing, and deep-cleaning. I'm so glad, as I'm looking around my room right now, to see how clean and organized it is! I'm usually a very organized person, but lately I've just put off cleaning because I'm too lazy!
     After all of my crazy cleaning, I took my dogs (Maggie and Jack) on a walk for my workout (it was a pretty laid-back workout today) because it was such a beautiful day! It actually felt like spring! Unfortunately, Monday is supposed to be a mix of rain and snow with a high of 35 degrees :( which really sucks because that's my brother Thad's sixteenth birthday! He, like me, loves all things preppy, so I bought him this lovely Vineyard Vines polo:

It came in the mail and I gave it my (less-than-perfect) best effort to wrap up the box and I can't wait for him to open it on Monday!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Connecting to History

     Happy Wednesday! This post isn't going to be very long since it's 11:30 and I'm already super tired, but today was pretty nice because my family and I went to Topeka today to visit my Oma (German for "grandmother") so that I could interview her for my Oral History Project. It's for English and History, and I have to compare two people who went through similar historical periods or events. I chose to interview both of my grandmothers; my Oma, who was born in Germany and moved to America when she married my grandfather, and my grandmother, who grew up in Salina, Kansas (your stereotypical small town) and likes to connect with her German heritage.
     Interviewing my Oma was very interesting because I don't think she'd talked to anyone about what we discussed in a very long time. I think she enjoyed telling someone about her past. She was born in 1943 and she said her earliest memory was when she was three or four years old and her father, who was a Nazi, came home from the Russian prison camp where he had spent most of the war. I loved listening to her talk and it made me want to talk with her more often about her life, which has not been easy ever since she came to America. Hopefully I'll have the chance to talk to her more!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

P.S. I finished the first generation of Skins last night. Let's just say I've been an emotional wreck for the past 24 hours. You have to watch it, it's free on hulu!

Prom Dress Shopping

     Happy Tuesday! Today was a lot busier than I had planned -- my mom and I spent four or five hours shopping for my prom dress and and shoes! We went to a lot of places, but I think we finally found the right one at Dillard's! It's a floor-length gown that's kind of a nude color with white lace and silver sequins and it's strapless and it has a slit in the leg. It might sound weird but I think it's really pretty! We bought some coral peep-toe pumps which also might sound weird to go with a nude dress, but we figured that although the dress is pretty, it's not very flashy so I needed a pop of color, and the coral looks pretty good (I hope!). I think I'll get the same color lipstick and maybe my nails to tie everything together. My hair will be up (no idea on the specifics though) and we're not sure about my jewelry either. But I'm glad we've definitely checked off the dress and the shoes!
     I'm not exactly sure why I'm so excited for prom, considering that I'm not going to be asked. Most people say, "Oh, Brooke, of course you'll be asked!" except I'm actually not, because I've never been asked to a dance. It's quite sad. I asked a guy to WPA (Women Pay All) freshman year, but that doesn't really count and it wasn't exactly my idea of a dream date, either. I know I shouldn't worry about it as much as I do, but I can't seem to quiet this voice in the back of my head that is constantly asking myself if there's something wrong with me. Like, most girls my age have had boyfriends and all of those first milestones in the romantic part of life, and I'm over here like "Hey I really like my laptop...," so there surely must be something really off about me that just drives guys away. Hopefully I figure that out pretty fast...

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

My Favorite Food

     Happy Monday! I'm not sure why, but lately I have been having the itch to cook! I've made dinner for the past two nights, and I have to say that they tasted pretty good! Last night I made a Southern dinner and tonight I made honey lime shrimp (I found it on Pinterest and it was amazing), salad, fettuccine Alfredo, and some peaches (which were just out of a can). I've also been making more nutritious breakfasts and lunches. I just really love to cook! Also, as an update on my new fitness regime, I did my yoga workout for today and it was really fun! Yoga is my new addition :) Anyway, I thought I would make a list of my top favorite foods, which changes all the time and I'm sure I'll think of more things that I love, but here goes:

1. Nutella

DUH. Nutella is obviously food from the gods and if you don't like it then you're wrong. Haha but seriously I could eat this stuff all day. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be this.

2. Pizza

Oh, pizza. I feel like I'm in love when I eat pizza...with the pizza. It's just so perfect. Those Italians sure did know what they were doing when they came up with this beauty.

3. Ice Cream

I have to admit it: ice cream is my weakness. It's just so pretty and there are so many flavors and it's so delicious! I've learned to not try to avoid ice cream, I fail every time. I bet you think I'm 300 pounds judging from my first three favorite foods!

4. Filet Mignon

Oh man my mouth is watering by just looking at the picture! I usually have this for my birthday dinner, which makes it more special than the first three foods because I only eat it once a year! It's so delicious and tender and perfect.

5. Shrimp

This shrimp is the honey lime shrimp that I made for dinner tonight (not my picture, but it's from the website where I got the recipe: thedoughwillriseagain.com) and it was so good. I also made shrimp and grits last night and I've come to the conclusion that shrimp is my new favorite food. I might even have to eat for dinner on April 16th, which is my birthday! It really is the fruit of the sea. As Bubba said, "You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."

Carpe Diem,
Brooke