Stuff

Brooke Doesn't Like

Butterflies used in decorations

Movie talkers

People who text while you're talking to them in person

mixed nuts

horchata

those alternating sticky-edges Post-Its that pull out like an accordion

whining and/or sticky children

Hallmark movies

animal art 
filters
crafts

carbonation

gossip

dry highlighters

what hoodies do to my hair

public venting

TV

lipstick or chapstick

excuses

having to take a shower (once I'm in, I like it.)

shoes with heels

closed-lip smiles

styrofoam

"LOL"

inconsiderate people

apathy

wet socks

perfectionism

Sudoku

being an outsider

rolling my tongue

sugar-coating

Brooke Likes

bracelets

constellations

singing along

wind storms

moccassins

parking in the back of the parking lot and walking in

Kleenexes

closed-captioning

taking the stairs
trust

mixing colors

plays on words

walking arm-in-arm

wiggling my toes
affection

too many pillows

men's hair when they're overdue for a haircut/shave

country roads

headphones

The Family Proclamation

short fingernails

underlining

Nalgene bottles

winking

sliding in socks on hard wood floors

sneezing twice in a row

a good conversation 

canals

wearing a watch

cinnamon (sugarless) gum

snow angels

when someone's face lights up when they see me

dirt

sincerity

peanut butter

running my hands through grass

laughing

no money for Chippendale dancers

Last night, my mom threw a temper tantrum--and boy did it look familiar.
You can ask Gina. I've been known to throw my share--usually when I'm hungry and have no patience to figure out what to eat.

Mom's temper tantrum had ALL of the necessary components for a real good grown-up temper tantrum.
It started off with a scowl, and then out of nowhere, her Sudoku puzzle book went flying across the room, immediately followed by her mechanical pencil and the shout, "I hate Sudoku! It's sooo hard!"
And then the whining started.
"I already did all the easy ones and I can't do the hard ones!"
"I have a headache."
"Don't look at me! Stop laughing!"
"I want my mom!" (when I responded, "She doesn't want you. You're being naughty.") "I KNOW!!"
"I don't want to work tomorrow!"
"Dad's going on a campout and he didn't leave me any Chippendale money for the dancers ... I don't have any dollars!"
"I went to get a cupcake at work and it had a HAIR on it!" And then I got the story of the hairy cupcake.
I offered some suggestions of MY favorite things to do on a bad day. HUGE VETO.
"I don't WANT to watch Harry Potter! Stupid, stupid, stupid."
"Even the dog doesn't want to be with me! She asked to go outside an hour ago!"
"My sister loves me. I want my sister!"
And then when I went in for a hug to make her feel better:
"Get away from me! You smell like Zumba!"
We went another round about how she can't do the hard Sudoku puzzles and she's already done all the easy ones. I tried her help her by throwing her books into the fireplace. But we have a gas fireplace and they just bounced off the glass. Then she got mad at me for "destroying" her books. 
I reminded her that she's not allowed to have PMS anymore. They cut out her "girl parts" last year.
"Oh. Okay. I'm fine, then." And she calmed down and smiled.
That was short-lived.
Soon she stood up and went off on how she's "not allowed to do ANYTHING because I don't have any girl parts!!" Complaining about being suppressed and having to live up to too many rules.

Man, it was really funny to be on the receiving end of this! All she was missing was a full-body melt-down to the floor and possibly some crawl-stomping up the stairs.
And she failed to finish the end of her rampage with: "Our pets heads are falling off!"

But still--I learn from the best.

my family--quoted

Just over two weeks ago, our little Amanda got married. That's right. She's 10 years younger than me, and married. And I couldn't be happier for her. We got to welcome Lee into our family and we're so excited that our zoo is growing! I could do your typical: "This is what we did:..." post, or I could just slap some pictures on here with some funny things people said. Honestly, I think you'd get a much more entertaining and accurate conception of the weekend with just the pictures and the quotes.

"I don't want to hear you anymore"--Grandma when she took out her hearing aid after Sydney kept belching next to her at the game table.

"I'm looking for my almost twin."--Vicki after she discovered that she and Brenda were wearing the same outfit. This was NOT planned. Nor was it planned the first time this happened ... or the second ... third, fourth or fifth times. The seventh one might be planned, though.

After the sealing ceremony, we went to the Joseph Smith Building for a small family luncheon. There was a microphone and family members were taking turns sharing memories of Lee or Amanda and wishing them congratulations. Lee had a lot of representation because his family are better speakers than we are. Everything that had been said was very complimentary and Lee was placed on a pretty high pedestal. Then, Amanda's little sister Alex went up to the microphone and opened with: "Lee put mustard in my shampoo. He's not as nice as everyone says he is."

"I didn't hear it snow last night!"--My mom in her leopard-print pajamas, still half asleep, squinting out the window at the 4 inches of snow that appeared overnight.

"I LOVE shooting my cousins!"--me after laser tag.

"My hips don't lie."--Steven talking about doing Zumba at a ward activity.

"Where are the cookies? And where should one be?" [cupping empty hand in front of her]--Sydney, requesting a cookie.

"We have an awkward relationship." --me and Makay while trying to get our hair in each others' faces while hugging.

"Did you see my dancing shoes?"--my Dad when he bought new boots and wanted to show them to Steven.

"My daughter is SHORT!"--Kristyn, observing Tabytha with all of Hampton's friends. Taby's a month older and a foot shorter than all of them.

"Somebody make a decision!"--Kim with 5 people in the car, asking what we all wanted to do next.
"Shopping!"--Brooke
"Of COURSE you'd make THAT decision!"--Kim

"I'm so proud of you! Now do the Macarena." Makay to my dad after he asked me to dance.

I love my family. We're going through some pretty rough times at the moment. But we're strong, and underneath the ridiculousness is a LOT of love. And love is pretty darn powerful, y'all.

It's about LOVE. This may be influenced by Valentine's Day.

Today in church we talked a lot about good examples and showing our love for each other. We even talked a bit about the ways we give and receive love and how sometimes it's hard to do because we all have different perspectives and ways we express ourselves. This has been on my mind a LOT lately. It's brought a lot of frustrations and has caused me to reflect on my own behavior and communication.
I've also reflected a lot on the issue of respect. Not in a "respect your elders" sort of way, but just a general respect for people around us. I have a coworker who is really bothering me because of her lack of respect for others. She's never attacked me personally, but just being within earshot of her tirades makes me very uncomfortable.
I'm not the best at this myself. I need to work on it. Awareness is the first step, right? Well, I need to make a stronger attempt at being aware of my own interactions.
This weekend, I got to spend some time with an old friend. Lisa has always been such an example of sincerity and respect for others. I noticed it three years ago when we used to spend time together nearly every day. I think I got too used to it. I started taking it for granted. I think maybe I expected all friends to be this way. But then--maybe we all should? I want to work on it. Being away from her for so long, and then getting to spend time together with her twice in the last two weeks has opened my eyes again to her amazing social skills and the effortless way she makes others feel appreciated.
I was writing in my journal tonight, listing qualities that I appreciated in Lisa and want to work on better emulating myself. I wrote them all down in my journal and then decided to also post them here--in case anyone else would like tips on how to be a better friend. Oh, and I kinda wanted to do a tribute to my dear Lis!
Lisa knows me better than most people. Like I said, we spent a LOT of time together and shared a lot of insights into the inner workings of each others' lives. What's cool is that she remembers those things. In all of our interactions, even though it's been a year and a half since we've spent much time together, we pick up right where we left off. It's like she KNOWS me.
Lisa's so attentive to details. She notices non-verbal cues and reacts to them. It's almost like she can read minds. She picks up on cues and signals and wants to know the reason behind them. She can always tell if someone has something to input into a conversation and she'll stop what she's saying to ask what that person thinks. She also can always tell when you're having a bad day and goes out of her way to find out why. She calls me out if my "body language" doesn't match my words. She wants to know what I REALLY think, not just what I want to present. She pays attention. None of these things is necessarily communicated outwardly. She just notices.
She's sincere. She genuinely listens and cares about details in everyone's lives. She asks questions to fill any gaps and to understand better. She pays attention to what you have to say and doesn't get distracted from stories or conversations.
She's very respectful. She truly sees each person as an individual with needs. She's always trying to figure out what drives people and how to best interact with each person.
She never interrupts or competes for conversation. So often, we'll start talking at the same time, and she'll always defer to the other person first. Too often, I interject as she's talking and she'll immediately stop her end and listen to what I have to say. RUDE on my part, but totally respectful on hers.
She always gives feedback to the other person's point of view and shows genuine interest. When their opinion conflicts with her own, she keeps hers to herself so as not to trample their feelings.
She she doesn't understand something, she asks questions, repeats back what you said and truly seeks for clarification.
She's not a "smile and nod" listener. She sincerely listens!
She's quick to compliment and pays attention to people's good qualities. She notices the little things and makes you feel good about them.

She'll take the bullet and go out of her way so you don't feel stupid for something. She'll never draw your own mistakes to your attention. She'll silently fix them on her own and let you remain happy in ignorance. Once, I had a big zit on the side of my nose. I didn't know it was there. But she traded places with me for a picture so it wouldn't show. When i asked her why we were trading places, she told me it was because SHE had a zit. Wow.
When I'm upset about something little and stupid, she doesn't try to blow it off. She knows when some little things need drama and are worth getting upset over.
She validates me in my ups and downs--gets upset when I'm upset and happy when I'm happy. She never makes me feel like I'm not justified or ridiculous for feeling the way I do. She understands.
Lisa makes me feel loved and makes me want to be better at showing love to others.

Skyler's cheese

Some things that happened a long time ago are still worth mentioning, months later.
You know--important things...
Like that time back in July when Skyler brought his own cheese to the BBQ
And I saw it sitting there unattended. What do you do with a whole brick of cheese?
You dare Kylee to take a bite out of it.
This is not the sort of dare either of us could back out of.
I wonder why Skyler went straight to me, first. When I told him, "Those are NOT my teeth!" He immediately turned to Kylee to match the dental molds.
Man, we're funny.

But how did he KNOW it was us?

Out of character... and then quickly back in.

So, I am who I am. That really means nothing, does it? Why do people say that? Is that some sort of self-condoning twist, like unto Lady Gaga's "Born This Way"? (I HATE that song, by the way. Hate it. I mean, it's like negating the entire doctrine of overcoming the natural man. I don't mean to go all preachy on this but, c'mon, Lady. You should know better.)

I've been having some "getting to know you" conversations with a new friend of mine. We're sending facebook messages and random texts and just having fun swapping stories and random facts about each other. What's interesting to me is that she continues to be surprised. Am I that unexpected? When I take a step back and think about it, nothing I've shared fits into any sort of mold. I think people who don't know me well are often surprised when they get to know me better.

It's fun to be random. A few facts that I've shared with her that have caused some laughter:
I HATE my scrawny wrists/neck. Many people like the "elegant" look. I see "awkward weakling." Therefore, I will ALWAYS wear my hair down and load up on bracelets.

Every time I do laundry, I have to fight the urge to slide down the stairs inside my laundry baskets. My limited knowledge of physics tells me that will not end well. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to try.

I hate smelly lotions/candles/air freshener. More specifically, I hate the ones that smell like food. Sugar cookie or raspberry should NOT be the scent of a person. I should never be tempted to eat my own hand. If I smell vanilla, I want to be able to eat a cookie.

I hate shopping carts. I will cut the circulation off my own hand by carrying a 30lb plastic basket around the store before trying to maneuver a cumbersome shopping cart. It slows me down. I have no patience for that.

I love artsy things, but I HATE making them. Again, with the patience thing. I'm addicted to etsy.com because I'd much rather pay someone else to make something simple than try to figure out how to do it myself.

I love clothes, but I hate hair and makeup and heels and fingernails. I like looking good, I just hate the effort it takes. I only recently have started experimenting with braids and other hairstyles. But I won't do anything that takes more than 2 minutes. No blow dryers for me!!

Those things being said, I did some things recently that are totally out of character for me. (Assuming that, with my randomness, there is such a thing as "in character.")

 I got my first manicure. Mom re-gifted a gift certificate she got from work. Of course, they were immediately smudged and rough-looking, but I LOVE the color and had to go buy my own bottle so I can do it again myself. (And by "myself", I mean I'm going to ask Gina to do it. When I paint, it looks like a 6-year-old did it.)











I created an earring holder out of a place mat. I've been checking out earring display ideas on Pinterest and this is NOTHING like any of them. But it was innovative and colorful and TOTALLY me! I'm pretty danged proud of myself. I didn't technically have to "make" anything. I hung a place mat on my wall and then stuck my earrings in it. But still ...







Also, out of character for me: I missed the "make a silly
face" memo in our Zumba picture! Really, the story's funnier than that. Valerie (mentioned in my previous post, and also the recipient of aforementioned "getting to know you" messages) claims to be pretty reserved. But I don't believe a word of it. A couple of weeks ago, she was my Zumba buddy at a fundraiser they did for Special Olympics. The two of us had a BLAST trying to follow new choreography that included awkward stops and even a bit of air guitar. Then, those of us who attend the Zumba Sisters' class got together for a group photo. They had us do a few silly ones. And sweet little Valerie leans in to stick her tongue in my ear! I was so distracted and laughing so hard that I totally missed the picture. Although, this zoomed in version still makes me pretty happy! Look how pleased she is with herself! :)





It's pretty "in-character" for me to be inappropriate and immature, so I don't have to explain the ideas behind this next picture other than, mom and dad were out of town and mom has a LOT of crafty letter blocks. SOMETHING had to be done with them! Letter blocks + Suzie + Gina + pizza make for one fun party!







AND now here's a brief photo summary of last weekend's trip to Utah:

I met up with Lisa for dinner and some shopping. Also, I brought her step kids down from Idaho to spend the weekend with them. I was scared to drive down with a 6 year old and a 4 year old, but they slept the whole way!

My job for the bridal shower was to make the signs and set them up on the street corners. Sydney helped me. You gotta jump really good to get these suckers into the ground!

 

Cousins Hampton, Brooke & Sydney at the bridal shower. I really love Hampton's happy grin in this picture!!

Sydney put together a "How well do you know each other?" game. Amanda and Lee had no idea what to expect when they got an answer wrong! We kinda made a mess of Grandma's living room. But it was so fun!

Kim, Hampton and me. I can't get enough of these ladies!

Alex, Brooke, Amanda and Sydney. These sisters are SO MUCH fun! I think I love my cousins more and more every time we get together. I'm pretty lucky that I have the best family in the world!

Mama and Grandma Ruby.

My cute mom and her cute mom.

I went shopping with Kim and Hampton. I bought a bookcase at IKEA and Hampton helped me push it out to the car--with STYLE!

There are also some Silvester cousins down in Utah! This other cousin Amanda is probably going to be angry at me for posting a pregnant picture. Whatever. She's adorable. And her unborn child already kicked me.

My best regards to 2011

I'm sorry, 2011. You got the blog shaft.
I'm hoping 2012 will get the upper hand. But it's early yet. And it's not off to a super great start. So, only time will tell. I have good intentions.
Don't feel totally shafted, 2011. You really had it good.
For instance, 2011 brought me THIS:

Life's greatest blessings come in the form of friends who will listen to you whine, help you streamer a friend's bedroom, tell you that you're not as hopeless as you claim to be, flirt with the Chukars mascot, tough out some SERIOUS drama with you, demote you from being Captain to merely "steerer", celebrate earth-breaking triumphs, and leave random treats in and on and under your car. (and hold you up when you're squatting at a concert because your hips hurt.) I met Kari in 2010, but in 2011, she turned into a HUGE blessing for me, and I'm SO grateful for that blessing!

Through 2011, the Post Register newspaper continued to pay my bills while I stressed and screamed and went crazy booking their advertising and laying out the newspaper. The PR and I continue to have a tortured relationship and may be seeking counseling.

In 2011, I hiked, Zumba'd and volleyballed my a** off. And by saying that, it would imply that I ever had an a** to begin with. I never did. But, since the other squishy parts of me still exist, I'm going to say that it was my a** that was most affected. Hmm. I probably shouldn't have ever gone here to begin with. 


In 2011, I did a lot of hiking, Zumba and played a lot of volleyball. I'm starting to get pretty nervous that my joints and my energy level are not aging in unison. I LOVE to play and I don't ever want to have to slow down. But, I have definitely been fighting my share of knee, hip and shoulder pains. Nothing I'd ever go to the doctor for, of course.

 hike to Union Falls (17 miles?) with Cameron, Kari, Gina, me, Brooke, Jared, Tanner, Melissa and Keri.

I played on 3 recreational volleyball teams in 2011. This was our team for the women's league. Melissa, Jessica, me, Andrea and Kylee with Kim and Heidi in the front row. It was such a fun collection of girls from all over the place. Kylee and I have had a blast playing together for awhile now and I just LOVE having that tradition with her! I even called my childhood friend Andrea out of retirement to come join us! (she's the shmoe in the back with the antlers.) 

My cousins Amanda and Alex joined me at Zumba before our family reunion! I'm kind of a Zumba nut. Who'd have EVER thought that would happen? I've always been the uncoordinated, lazy girl who'd rather eat a cookie than work out. Well, THAT hasn't changed. But I LOVE going to Zumba and sweating out my uncoordination! Honestly? The highlight for me is the fun I get to have with friends. In 2011, I got Gina, Keri, Lisa, Bethany and Shayla all coming to Zumba. Then we have to count the amazing Tami and Amy who teach and have become close friends as well. Also, there's this girl.

Valerie has brought SO much sunshine into my life in such a short time! We met at Zumba, but it took us awhile to both creep out of our comfort zones and become friends. But, now that we have, it's amazing how close we've become so fast. I just love this lady! I don't have any pictures of us together yet. Don't tell her I stole this from her facebook page. ;) Thank you, 2011, for bringing me Valerie. 2012, it's up to you to keep this going! And I really can't wait! 

Is it obvious that PEOPLE are my favorite THINGS? 2011 brought me lots of good people and good experiences. Here are just a few more:

This guy. I think he entered my life in ... 1994? But 2011 taught us how crazy-similar we are. Apparently "dork" runs in the family. (he's my 17-year-old cousin.) Makay has been cracking me up all year! We've started a tradition of giving each other "the bird" which means finding some bird figurine that Grandma uses as decoration in her house and handing it to one another. Makay and I also shared an epic canoeing trip down the river with his brother, Dallin. We played dueling banjos with our canoe paddles. I did NOT teach Mak how to paddle a boat. Which end's up? Seriously. This kid is hilarious. And we get along alarmingly well.

Then, there's my cousin Kim. 2011 (and every year for the past ... 5 years?) has brought on a lot of heart-warming conversations. Last year was particularly monumental. Thanks so much for sharing your love, support and insight, Kim!

You know, I could go on forever about 2011 and we all know there are plenty of gaps to fill, since my posts have been PATHETIC, but how can I really make up for a year's worth of blogging in one post that anyone's actually going to read? If you read this all the way through ... well ... I don't believe that anyone really will.

Anyway, maybe I'll do some quicker, smaller, more event-based posts in retrospect. Anyone want to hear about Halloween? ;) Oooh! I really want to post about Kylee eating Skyler's cheese. Another day.

As for this re-cap, I'll just show you one more thing that 2011 brought me:

 hello, baby.