Your clothes never wear as well the next day, and your hair never falls in quite the same way

I tivoed Regis and Kelly the other day. Does that make me an old woman?

You start to think of these things when you turn 19 and realize that you only have ONE YEAR left as a teenager. If you know me at all, you know I absolutely LOVE birthdays. It's like your own personal holiday. Growing up, my mom always made a big deal out of them with the "It's Your Special Day" plate with waffles for breakfast, opening up an outfit to wear to school that day, and planning a fun party with all your friends. So, because I grew up learning this mentality, I make a ridiculously big deal out of my own birthday as well as those around me. Seriously, countdowns are involved.

This birthday, I was disappointed to see that my birthday fell on the same day as rush workshop. This was multiplied by the fact that my 18th birthday was spent at Panhellenic weekend, so that's two years in a row that sorority has overtaken my birthday. I had planned for my parents to come for dinner and figured that we would just get a group of whoever could come over to Hill and Graham's Saturday night to watch a movie. Little did I know that my amazing friends were planning a surprise party for me.

What we all learned from this weekend is that I am a difficult person to surprise. I feel terrible for making it so hard for Katie and Margaret to make this thing happen. I guess I just like knowing what the plans are or just go ahead and make my own. Either way (and it's mostly Ben's fault), I figured out that there was something cooking for Saturday night. We had planned a wonderful girl dinner, after which I was going to see Thoroughly Modern Millie (which was excellent, btdub). After, the show, I called Katie and she told me they were "about to pop in a movie." and would wait for me to start it. Ok, I KNEW there was a surprise party at this point. So, I got to 13th Street and acted shocked as my friends popped out of Robert's old room and attacked me with silly string (which Hill loved).

While I may not have been completely surprised, I still loved my birthday celebration. I felt so blessed to look around that house and see the people that I loved come out to celebrate with me. The strangest part was to think that on my last birthday, I didn't even know most of those people. And now they're some of my best friends. It was a wonderful birthday.

I always get the feeling like I'm going to cry around 10 o'clock on my birthday. I don't know if it's because I feel so loved or if I'm sad that my birthday is over, or if I'm nostalgic for the past. But it never fails, year after year.

So, another birthday a success. I have a very exciting next two weeks. Bring on the summer!

ATOh crap i suck at tennis

i humiliated myself today. i'm not really sure if i have friends anymore.

so today there was a little philanthropy tennis tournament hosted by the alpha tau omega fraternity called ATOpen. will debell pulled this event together and did a wonderful job. props debell. now you may be wondering why i am blogging about this. the fact that i am not athletic is probably running though your head right about now. and yes while you are correct about that, i am a stupid, nonathletic person. here it is...

elizabeth price and shane crawford were signed up to play doubles. unfortunately, lizzy had a conflict at the last minute, so being the friend that i am to both liz and shane, i stepped up to the plate. however, that was one plate i should not have stepped up to. my thought process consisted of one thought, " Tennis, how hard can that be?" in hind sight, that was most definitely not the right thought to be having! 

shane and i show up today trying to be upbeat about the whole situation. however, i must not have been doing a very good job of relaying that on my face because the first thing cal said to me when i walked up was, "wow, you look nervous!" he was correct about that, but my nerves soon turned to anger when i found out we were playing thomas gore and partner. that pairing was debell's one mistake, and an epic one it was. t-gore's prof pic on facebook is him playing tennis... says it all right there. from that point on, my ATOpen experience was a blur of tennis balls whizzing right by me and robert's shameless laughter.

we got worked. in an effort to lift my spirits post-match, shane said, "at least you only got hit with the tennis ball twice." and there concludes my story.

i am now going to take this opportunity to brag about my little sister. i know yall may not know her, but you probably should. her name is holly, and she is pretty cool. we are kinda exactly opposite which at times can be very funny. we have our ups and downs, but in the end, she is my sister. consequently, i am stuck with her. 

i bring her up in this blog post because she plays tennis... and is actually capable of hitting the ball over the net. she is capable of a lot more than that. just this past week, she won both singles and doubles sectionals! i was clearly unsuccessful at channelling holly's tennis skillz today. anyhoodle, i am so very proud of her and have included some pictures to praise her just a wee bit more...

oh and no she does not have a tumor on her hip. that's just an extra tennis ball. apparently that's the place to put them if you are legit. 

that's my girl...

about to kick butt!

doubles champs in da house

and this one is just for kicks and giggles

(we look nothing alike...i know)

signed,

holly's big sister

sweet you rock and sweet you roll

this blog post is a follow up to my easter/cat throwing up post. for those that enjoyed that story, you are bound to enjoy this one too.

it's thursday afternoon. i am laying on the front steps of gorgas library. jane, matt, grahm, kyle, and i are having an impromptu navs get together. we are in deep conversation about how we are all neglecting schoolwork in order to enjoy the gorgeous weather when suddenly i feel something wet and goopy land perfectly on my foot. scared to look, i begin to use process of elimination to figure out what it is. is it a rain drop? no, there is not a cloud in the sky. did someone spit on me? no, no one would ever do that. it had to be... no way, that's gross... wait, yes it is indeed... bird poop. that's right, a flippin' bird crapped on me. i'm not sure what i did to mother nature to turn her against me, but it must have been bad. first the cat puke; now the bird mess... i don't even want to think about what's next!

enjoying the rain,

b

p.s. the title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with the whole poop on my foot scenario. i'm just real pumped about dave matthews... tomorrow! now that is all. 

Maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me..

Studying is borrrring. I simply cannot do it anymore. I refuse. I'm giving it up cold turkey. Ok, I'm just taking a blogging break. 

Last night can only be described as epic. It began with a group movie, simple enough, and morphed into a free Matthew Mayfield concert, and a legendary IHOP experience. I love it when you start a Friday night with no idea what you're going to do and it turns out to be an awesome, memorable night. I especially love the friends that I am able to share these experiences with. They make it worth it. Ah, college. 

Also to be noted is the marvelous game that Ben, Sarah, Yates, and I played on the way from the Bama Theatre to 13th Street. Here's how it goes: you put your iPod on shuffle and yell out different description of what the next song will be before the title pops up. For example, "Theme Song of (insert your favorite couple here)!" then you go to the next song and it's their theme song. A lot of the time the song is a little too fitting for comfort, other times it is ironically hilarious. The crazier you get with the categories, the better. Either the way, the game brings joy to all involved. I wish I could remember some of the best ones from last night.

I hope tonight goes something like last night, because I need something fun to pull me out of my study funk all day.

Hey, actually blogged twice before Katie blogged again! This must be some kind of a record.

Now a President's Mansion expert,

Katie K.

But there's something in the way you laugh, and it make me feel like a child..

Hallelujah, it's the weekend. Too bad my entire day tomorrow will be spent studying. At least I will be able to sleep in. If I can just make it through next week...

A-Day is tomorrow. The Quad is surrounded by port-a-potties, tents are being set up, the campus is buzzing with people, and I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. I'm sorry; I've tried. I really have, but I just can't get past the fact that it's NOT A REAL GAME. It's Alabama vs. Alabama. Either way we win! So what's the point?! Why are we exerting all the time and energy and hullabaloo that goes into a regular game when it doesn't even count? Can't we just wait until August, people? It's these intricacies of the University of Alabama that will never cease to confound me. 

The Quad, however, was utterly gorgeous today. I got done early with my Geography test and camped out for a good 30 minutes under a tree. As I took my tour group across at 1:00, there were people walking with backpacks, playing with puppies, studying on benches, and playing frisbee. It couldn't have been a more quintessential collegiate setting. Roll Tide.

I went back to Briarwood last night for Meet Me in St. Louis. They did an awesome job. I was so proud of my friends. It was so weird to be back though. Something about the musical just made me so nostalgic. It was so good to see everyone. It's crazy that they're all in the same place I was, on the cusp of leaving a place so wonderful and comfortable for something unknown and exciting.

I'm excited about seeing Adventureland tonight. And then hopefully, we will make pound cake. 

Epic concert schedge coming up: Dave this Monday, and Ray LaMontagne the next!

one day at a time,

Katie K.

i get by with a little help from my friends

so doodle and i are having a little post- navs library date... i will paint a mental picture of our camp on floor 3 for you. katie k is fully equipped: computer, earphones, coffee, and stress. she looks focused and very on task. i, on the other hand, am eating twizzlers, drinking a coke, and blogging. typical? yes, indeed. 

side note: i have recently discovered something about my blogging habits. in my blog posts, i always include some stupid little intro paragraph. it usually has nothing to do with what i actually intend to blog about. i am apparently incapable of diving right in. like tonight for example, i did not create this post with the intent of talking about my laziness in the library, and yet somewhere in my thought process i decided it would be a good intro. why? i am not sure... oh well. moving on.

real reason for this post; here it goes. 

today, katie k and i were discussing our friend group. we do this a lot cause we like our friends. they are cool. every now and then, our discussion ventures all the way back to our first introduction to "the friend group." it was one of the very first nights we were here in tuscaloosa. the setting was none other than hill and graham's (and robert's too). katie k, marge, and i were hanging out. at that point, marge was simply an acquaintance. awkward. and katie k was dead set on hanging out with ben's friends. in my opinion, even more awkward. you see, from my point of view, hanging out with ben's friends was pointless. they are older and would have no interest in us, mere freshmen. why waste the time? however, being the  awesome roommate/friend that i am, i didn't put up a fight. at the same time, i am afraid that i made it quite clear that i did not want to be there. although i hate this about myself, i find it nearly impossible to mask my disinterest in certain situations. when we got to the house, it was packed with people i did not know... automatic turn off. i basically pouted alone in the corner the whole time. looking back, i am deeply apologetic for my demeanor. forgive, please.

well, fall semester wore on. although katie k did, i did not spend much time with the older crowd. life was good, but then things began to change around homecoming time. the group i had expected to weather the next four years with was falling apart. naturally, i turned to my roommate and consequently her friends for a place to belong. and thus began my story with the people i never expected to actually be friends with.

i realize this all may sound a little harsh, but i am only saying these things to express my appreciation for the people that have become my best friends over the past few months (you know who you are). they are some of the most forgiving people in the world, and for that, i am eternally grateful. thank you for loving me for me. i don't care how old everyone is...  i couldn't ask for better friends!

and now i will step off my soapbox. 

in closing, i must announce that ross and rachel broke up today. that "friends" episode never fails to make me sad. i think i might be a little too emotionally involved in that show...

signed,

b

a little easter gem

yes, i realize that there has been a lot of action on the blog recently: three blog posts in the last three days and a whole new look. but why not? enjoy the new layout... katie k and i are pleased with its turnout. after 4 months in the blogging world, we've finally hit our stride. 

the real reason for this blog post is to walk you step by step through what my family put me through this morning. it was not ok on any level...

it's easter weekend, right? i am home, and my plan was to lay in my bed for the majority of the time. last night out of habit, i stayed up way too late, but i did this with the intent of sleeping in to my heart's desire this morning. never in a million years was i planning on my dad coming in my room at 9 am banging pots and pans together to get me out of bed. ironically, that is exactly what happened. he said that we needed to take our cats to go get their rabies shots, and to do this, he needed my help. i have never felt so much anger before in my life, and from the time i got out of bed to the time i got in the car, i kept repeating, "take me back to college!" once we rounded up all two of our cats; my dad, holly, and i departed for the rabies clinic. 

now in order for you to appreciate this story even more, i must give you some background on my cats. we have two of them: laney and pepper. pepper has been around for years. she's really docile and sweet, but i have never been her biggest fan. she gets hair everywhere and has the sharpest claws in the world! i always loved her brother, marble. he was a little edgier of a cat. he was not always the friendliest, but he and i understood each other. he was my sidekick growing up... sucks for me though cause he decided to up and die a couple years ago. this whole situation made me hate pepper even more because she is still alive... like she really had anything to do with it. still, i put the blame on her. a few months after marble's passing, my dad decided to get a new kitten. i was all about this cause kittens are cute, fun, what have you... so it is at this point in the story that laney becomes a part of the brazeal family. i kinda just assumed this would be my kitty cause the cat i loved so much had died. my dad played along with my fantasy for a while, but little did i know, this was all a conspiracy. my dad really just wanted laney for himself. everyday while i was in school, he doted on her/ brainwashed her. you see, dad works from his home office most of the time, so he would let laney bounce around on his desk and take naps on his computer's keyboard. it all sounds really sweet until you realize that the love she was developing for my dad was directly affecting the amount she would have left for me. in the end, laney had no room left to love me thus the hardening of my heart towards her.

now that you know where i stand emotionally with both of my cats, i will continue the story from this morning. to set the scene, dad was driving. i specifically requested to drive since the cats and i have a hate/hate relationship, but as usual, i was turned down. also very typical, holly got shotgun and had pepper in her lap. i was exiled to the back seat to be in charge of laney. before we even pulled out of the neighborhood, i was rudely reminded that pepper has a chronic meowing problem while riding in cars. there is apparently something about being inside a moving vehicle that just messes with her head. dad figured that blaring magic 96.5 would somehow sooth the poor kitties. i, however, am not convinced that is the solution. so there we are riding down the road and rocking out to a combination of seal's kiss by a rose and pepper's meowing. you would be amazed at just how terrible that composition sounds. thankfully, we arrived at the clinic in one piece. the feline's got their injections, and i figured it would be downhill from there. but boy was i wrong! the other little fun fact i had forgotten was how laney is prone to get car sick. while driving home, i was in the process to finding a better attitude within myself, when all of the sudden, i got a lap full of laney's breakfast. not once, but twice. positive attitude killed.

for some reason, this little incident was hugely entertaining to my family. i have been enduring throw up jests and jokes all day. emotionally scarring? i think so.

sincerely,

one kid who is ready to head back to ttown... now

i'm a little bit of everything all rolled into one.

yesterday, i was harassed by a monk.

i was walking past bb comer when this bystander complimented me on my scarf. i thought to myself, "that was strange, but what a nice man" and proceeded on my way. little did i know his compliment was only bait; to him, i was a fish, and he was just trying to reel me in. next thing i knew, he was creepily reaching into his man purse. he produced a dvd and shoved it in my face. his dialogue began with, "i am a monk..." i lost him after that statement cause my mind had a lot of trouble wrapping itself around the concept of being a monk. it's not everyday that i run into monks on my way home from class. after saying a jumble of things about new spiritual levels, needing money, and accepting debit cards, he bowed in front of me. i was so caught off guard that words just did not come. i stared blankly at him, then ran away. that is my story. 

in the summer plans department, I AM GOING TO VERMONT! for the entire summer. it's as close to official as it can be without me having actually turned in my application yet. i am going up there to be a part of a program put on by the navigators. this trip is what they call an stp... summer training program... and they host them all over the country. i am following in my big sis's footsteps and heading about 20 hours away to burlington, vermont. over the course of the summer, i will be staying at the university of vermont, getting some rockin' job, and spending time in god's word.  i am so happy about this whole situation that i am having trouble containing my excitement. everyone should probably come visit me and liz... or at least miss us a lot:) 

although my summer plans are very exciting, they are also necessary. recently i have been having a pre-midlife crisis. my first year of college is almost over, and i have absolutely no idea where it went! i also just had my 18+1 birthday. i refuse to use that number's proper form because then i would be giving into the fact that i now have less than 365 days of teenagerness. that is not ok. i feel like my life whirling around me, and i am just watching it go by. the goal i have for the summer is to start living my life. i need to grow up a little bit (i can't believe i just said those words...) and figure out a direction for my life to head. at the moment, i am a failing nursing major who wants to live in seattle and enjoy the rain for the rest of her life. apparently, that's not going to cut it, or so i've been told. my prayer is that my time spent in vermont will help me to clear my head and focus on god's plan for my life. should be interesting.

i hope everyone has a wonderful easter weekend! 

get excited about the stories to come from the easter egg hunt my mom has planned sunday. it has the potential for epicness. 

forever yours,

b

And even breathing feels all right.

I'm going to go ahead and vow right now not to blog at all about being stressed, busy, or overwhelmed with my life. (All those things are true, but my recent blog posts have been weighted down with such topics.) It times to mix things up a bit.

Recently, I've been starting to think more and more about summer. I have absolutely no idea what my summer is going to look like. I know I'm going to Haiti with UCF on a mission trip the last week in May, and I know I'll have to get a job and give tours throughout the summer, but past that, I got nothin'. It's a bit overwhelming because I feel like all of my friends have it all planned out. My roommate's going to Vermont, many of my friends are being camp counselors, taking class in Tuscaloosa, etc, etc. This vagueness of planning is completely foreign to me. I'm used to having every week of my summer planned and never being in town. I just know I only have 3 summers left, and I don't want to waste them. I'm praying for guidance and a clear-cut path.

In other news, I feel like tour antics/embarrassing moments are going to become a frequent feature of my blog posts. Today, I did a high school bus tour, along with Taylor. The bus drivers on these tours are not used to driving while someone else is standing up talking, causing me to fall forward every time he abruptly stopped the bus, sadly eliciting more laughs from the students than my feeble jokes. Also, on my first admission tour, when I got to Sewell-Thomas Stadium, I said, "And here we have Hil...Sewell-Thomas Stadium." Yes, I almost said Hill-Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Roll Tide.

Needtobreathe comes to UA on Monday! Roll Tide x2.

I hope everyone has an amazing Easter. I am continuously amazed at the sacrifice that was made for me. I'm so grateful that salvation is still just as mind-blowing today as it was when I first came to believe it. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. So good.

I love Chacos and Summer Snow,

Katie K.

so no one told you life was gonna be this way.

as stated in many of my blog posts, "friends" is the greatest tv show ever created. i have recently started keeping it on constantly in my dorm room. being the fan that i am, i have already seen every episode (multiple times), so my attention is not one hundred percent captured by the constant dialogue. instead, it has just become the background noise that i live my life to, and it is wonderful.

today, the episode where ross and rachel FINALLY get to together came on. in this episode, phoebe insightfully tells ross that rachel is his lobster. apparently lobsters "fall in love" and mate for life. although most of this comical show is shrouded in worldliness, i love this silly concept. 

(and because my computer skillz suck, i am incapable of posting this funny little clip for you. boo!)

apologies for this weird little blog post... and even more so, sorry for our blog looking like it just exploded or something. i will take the blame for this one. it's a work in progress. expect improvements soon :)

signed,

someone's lobster

the nameless blog post.

hello all. happy friday.

the long awaited weekend is upon us. i have had one of the worst weeks ever simply because it was so full of schoolwork. and let's face it, i am an underachiever who does not enjoy school or the work that comes with it. i am so happy that next week is almost here because my calendar is empty, and i plan to catch up on time with friends and sleep.

in other news, i turned nineteen on wednesday, and that was the one nice thing that came with this week. although it was on the worst day possible, it was still my birthday, and birthday's are naturally fun. my mom was very brave and came down to surprise me after i had specifically told her not to. although those words did come out of my mouth, i was immensely happy/shocked to be woken up by her on the morning of my birthday. she and my aunt brought me breakfast, cupcakes, balloons, and presents. it was pretty wonderful. in the friends arena, hill wins my birthday award this year (i have never given a birthday award before, but i am apparently starting right now). he was the first one to wish me happy birthday, with a doughnut i might add, and he was the last one to wish me a happy birthday. although late night studying was the reason for both of those situations, the award still goes to hill. 

funny story... so last night was ato viking cocktail. it was a night filled with frank cade's dance moves, dan almond also tearing up the dance floor, and sleepiness on my part, but a good time was had nonetheless. one highlight was spencer's endeavor to master the pretzel. when i am at the top of my game, i pride myself in my ability to dominate the pretzel, but last night was unfortunately an off night. near the end of the evening, spence suggested me take another shot at the pretzel, and so we did. sadly, our attempt somehow resulted in a chest bump. it's hard to explain how that actually happens, but it did. it was at that moment that i knew i belonged in my bed and not on the dance floor of the brick house. 

and for those that did not think that story was funny... a) you didn't see it happen. and b) then i found $10. 

now i must paint a mental picture of just how cool katie k and i are. tonight we were cleaning our dorm, like really cleaning. yes, you are correct in thinking that it is a friday night, but like i said, we are just that cool. i was finishing putting the clean sheets on my bed when katie and christina's (our other two roommates) friends/rushees started to file into our dorm room. apparently, the preparty was here. the looks i got as i was making up my bed were priceless. i'm still laughing at what those rushees must be thinking of chi-o right now... little do they know. 

and now i am going to end this blog post for many reasons...

1. it's already too long. 

2. i feel like it has been an epic failure.

3. it's friday night, and i am headed to ato for p-groove! whoopie! 

peace out.