Why did I ever stop?

As I've mentioned before...Doug & I live at home, in my parents basement. It's basically a 2 br/1ba apt...that's unfinished. But that's not really important. That 2nd bedroom is SUPPOSED to be a spare bedroom for any company and my scrapbook/craft room.
But, you see, I'm a bit of a pack rat. Want to know what is actually in that room?
My childhood...and my teenage years. And even some adult/current things.
I have trouble with parting with stuff. Some things are understandable (to me) to keep. Other things may be a little silly.
Like, I have one tote with nothing but school binders...as in school work. I think it's mainly HS with some Middle school. I have another tote full of school books/binder etc from Elem. also in that tote is all of my WWF (WWE) magazines. I have a John Deere touch lamp that I got for Christmas about 9 or so years ago maybe...it's still in the box that my mom put it in to wrap it. I never got it out... Oh and key chains... and my stuffed animals! Letters, letters and letters! I mean, you're catching my drift right? If I listed everything you'd think I was either still wanting to be 10-15 years old, or that I was crazy...or both.
Sometimes a mood strikes where I'm just kind of like "throw this shit away" those are the days I go throw that room so that I know I'm a little more likely to throw away things...like the necklace made out of masking tape...I was rummaging through my spare room the other day and trying to condense and get rid of a few things.
I was putting all of my binders from school in one collective totes to make a little more room, but of course you can't do that without looking through them, right? No! So of course I stood there and look through them and let nostalgia slap me in the damn face.
From the letters, and the back & forths, to the poems, to the lyrics. And of course whatever pictures donned the front covers. I laughed at all of the different guys names in the "I love ____" that all girls inevitably write/doodle/draw everywhere.
And then of course there was my non-school binder, I don't even know what you'd call it, just a notebook I suppose. It's just one of those that had no purpose. But inside were a few doodles, the "i hate myself" or "I hate everything" sentiments. Fuck this & fuck that hooblah, you know. Teen (pre-teen) angst and whatnot. But I love looking back at my doodles. I even had a pen stash. I mean, I had...no, have a problem, I'll show the one from then & my current one... you've heard those people who say that they love buying pens/markers etc.? Yea, I'm one of those to the extreme.

I used to doodle and draw all the time. Nothing really major, in my opinion, musicians logos/symbols/names, pot leaves, and then of course bubble letters. I used to draw up things for people to put in the front of their binders with their names. I wasn't THAT fantastic but, I was pretty good. Especially to be 11/12/13/14. But I feel like it faded away. I mean, I've never FULLY stopped doodling. But I mean I used to doodle allll the time! I miss that. I miss that small window of creative outlet.  I wish I could find some of my better things but, alas, this is all I could find right now.

Oh and then the poems/quotes/lyrics and such. I have a notebook full of lyrics of some favorite songs..I quit typing those forever ago. Idk why.
I used to also write lyrics, quotes, and poems that I found and loved. Whether they were fun, or meaningful. In those notebooks and binders I'm talking about up there, I would write them in there, or just on loose paper. On my binders, in my agenda books, I'd write 'em wherever.

But, I would also write my own. Poems that is. My friend Briana wrote me a poem. It was 9th grade and I liked Doug at the time, she wrote this poem about that, in exchange, I wrote her one about the guy she liked at the time. I still have that poem she wrote me and I'll keep it forever. I think I still have a copy of the one I wrote her too.
I have the beginnings of several other poems. I found one I had started about abortion (why I was writing about abortion at 13 or 14, I have no clue.) And then I found another one that's also not finished. But I read it & it struck me. And immediately I was like "Did I really write this?!" I loved what I read. I'm probably going to google a few of the lines to makes sure it's not one that I had found years ago and liked it so much that I wrote it down. But, I really feel like it's mine. I had one of those feelings when I read it. Like a connection. It just put an automatic smile on my face. It also made me sad. I mean, if it is mine, and I thought it was that good -at least for a teenager- then why in the world did I ever stop writing?! I've been wanting to try my hand at songwriting for a while, I've even mentioned it on the blog, it's even on my 30 before 30 list. So, I'm just wondering why I suppressed it? If I used to write and did fairly okay, then why the hell didn't I keep doing it so I could mature it? I don't know. But lately I've been jotting down most of my ideas. I've even resorted to using my phone when needed.

And shit, scrapbooking. Scrap booking started for me in middle school I think. Lil photographer me. Or paparazzo. ;-) Of course the older I got, the more "serious" I got. And now I have like 2 or 3 unfinished scrap books, and a few that haven't even been started. But supplies? I have HEAPS. I have a full tote, a box full, my cricut and a bag of cartridges and then of course back to my pen/marker stash. The main reason I stopped that is lack of room, that much I can say. I need a central station for that. Lugging all of that around from room to room just to do maybe one page in however many hours you decide to spend on it is a bit much. But, I miss it..it's something that I want back in my life, even though it never really left.

Basically, creative ole me has been held back for too long. For absolutely no reason. I really want to start letting this shit out again!


And in the spirit of this post.

 My latest doodles I busted out while planning a Disney scavenger hunt.
:-)

Is there anything that you used to love doing that you stopped or don't do much of anymore??
If so, what?

& I say, start it back! :-)

Lovinssss!
♥♥♥
Brandy

An actual update on my life...

So, let's not talk about the fact that I royally SUCK at blogging this year.
I don't know what the deal is. I want to blog but, the lazy wins.

But, really though!

Haha..

Anyway...
there's a bit of good news in my life!

I got a job!
*haaaaallelujah!*

Thanks to my girl, Carla. I'm the receptionist for a lawyer in town.
The pay is kind of low for now and I'm working just a little more than part time for now but, no complaints from me.
I'm only a little over a week in so, I'm still real fresh at it. I am still kind of nervous and I still have a lot to learn.
But, so far it's going pretty good.
I just hope it keeps going good and I can fully adjust into it well.
:-D
But I am excited to be earning money.

And that's pretty much all there is to update right now.

We house sat last week while his mom and brother went on vacation, so we just got home yesterday. Yesterday (Saturday) was Doug & his Pop's birthday. Doug and I went out for lunch at Texas Roadhouse, which was phenomenal! And then we stopped in at the house to see my family & then we took his Pop and strawberry shortcake birthday cake. Then Doug went fishing with my brother most of the night. Today we cleaned his moms so she didn't have too much of a dirty house to come home to.
And now I'm about ready to pile up in bed and get ready for the coming week.
Tomorrow (today) is mine and Doug's 11 & 3 year anniversary. 11 together, 3 married! :-D

I hope everyone has been doing well. I'm WAYYY behind on blog reading so I need to catch up on that.

Hope everyone has a great Monday & a great week!!

Lovinnnns! 
♥♥♥
Brandy

My weekend & currently

via

Happy Monday and such.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Mine was pretty low key but still great.

Friday...didn't do anything..or if I did, I don't remember.
Saturday was an errand running morning and laid back day. Then then mens went coon hunting and mom & I had a scary movie night. :-) Love those!
Sunday was a lazy day. Slept in til about noon, when Doug finally ran me outta bed. lol & then he and sat around and Netflixed  (Netflix'd?) idk, anyway. We watched Pocahontas 1 & 2. & then at 8 we all watched the Billboard Music Awards. I honestly don't feel like doing a total recap...
Pluses: Luke Bryan is always a plus & he hit the stage twice--actually more that that if you count accepting his award, Miranda Lambert & Carrie -I love Miranda in case you didn't know, Michael Jackson hologram awww :') , 5SOS got to perform, I actually liked Iggy & Ariana's performance, umm...I don't even know...
Bad: When the fuck is Lorde a rock artist. Or Lana Del Ray for that matter? Seriously who does these genre categorizing?! Also Fall Out Boy didn't win anything they were nominated for, neither did One Direction.
I won't put this under a plus or a bad but, I was also worried about Miley Psycho singing a Beatles song, and while I did not LOVE it, it somehow oldy worked. But, please don't do that again. One of the radio DJ's that works at a station here in ATL was at the BBMA's and she tweeted that after watching Miley's performance everyone just kinda sat there at first, lol. 
Hell, you can read my tweets to get a bit of an insight as to how I felt last night, if you feel so inclined. :-)

Anywhoooo...
let's do a currently....
reading... tweets when I switch back and forth between this & twitter.
watching... Well, 16 & Pregnant is on,..but I'm not watching really...so does that count? Probably not. lol
eating... grilled cheese
drinking... apple juice
tweeting... no one at the moment
crafting... nothing at the moment, even though I have a diaper cake I really need to get started on.
doing... This, listening to music and thinking about what needs to be done today and weighing out what out of all of that I want to actually do.
loving... my hubbers, my family, the music playing and that I'm okay with my thoughts right now.
hating... blackberry winter rolled in over the weekend & it was rainy. Cold sucks, cold rain sucks more. I'm ready for Spring to come back.
thinking... Oh lord...-that I just need to put these ideas in my mind down on paper to see if they turn into anything, -also my room need to be vacuumed and some things thrown away. -I have a few errands that need to be ran, but not completely necessary today. -Gotta take granny to the hospital Wednesday for an outpatient procedure. -I need my own house. -I really want to make my "Harry" shirt-maybe for 1D's concert this year..good thing I have 4.5 months until then....-Also, the dreams I've been having lately are some interesting ones..to say the least....-I've also really been thinking about some new ink lately... yea my mind jump around from thought to thought...lol
feeling... good. I feel good this morning. Hopefully that lasts!
listening to... Set It Off's album "Cinematics". Partners In Crime is playing at the moment.
smelling... I honestly don't know what I smell but there's a stink in the air, gonna have to fix that.
thanking... God for everything I have.
considering... taking classes, just not sure what for.
finishing... This & hopefully spending some time finishing some drafts to post.
starting... a new song. ;-) "Kill The Lights" is on now.

Aaaaand that's about how my morning is going so far. :-)

How was y'alls weekend? 
& Did you watch the Billboard Awards? What are some goods and bads of the show in your opinion?!


Talk to yuns later!
Lovins!
♥♥♥
Brandy

via

#FirstsTotalSocial

Two posts in one day!
WHAT?!

My first post is all about the room I spent 4 days in a few weekends ago in Nashville & just a few memories from that time with all of my friends aka my FHamily.
Well, then I decided I want to link up with 2 lovelies, Sarah & Helene! You may know them, okay, I'm sure you do. And if you don't, you should! Go check them out, they are both all kinds of awesome!
Anyway, they created a link up where you share your first blog post & you can also share your firsts in social media... FB, Twitter, etc...
So, let's just get right down to it, shall we...

My first SF blog post...

Nothing extravagant. Just a basic, "hi, I don't fully know what I'm doing.. but I'm here now!" post. lol

Facebook...

 

Okay, so I was all about some MySpace. I can't even lie. I was SO reluctant to join Facebook. It annoyed me that everyone else was migrating to it. I actually joined in April 2009 but, as I mentioned, it was for other reasons so I never actually posted or anything, so this is my first post. Obviously that's my current profile pic though. My first FB profile pic was this gem...

 

Twitter...

So, like FB, I was 100% against Twitter. I mean, adamantly never getting one... Well,..then I did and never told anyone -on purpose- (except Doug & my Mom). Typically, the only way anyone in my person life knows is if they find me by chance or, if I slip up a little and I guess the investigate to find me? Idk. BUT... My very first tweet was to Nixon, the lead singer in Framing Hanley. I joined Twitter soley to keep up with them (& other celebs and musicians as well). But the deciding factor to join in the first place was FH and it's been one of the best things I did! :-) Anyway, this was about 3 weeks, a little less that 3 weeks before I saw them for the very first time. ♥

Instagram...

My first IG post was one April 7, 2012 & it's a picture of my Mother-In-Law's horse, Annie. I call her Annie Girl :-) She makes more appearances on there too, like our selfie!

And I think that's it. If I could figure out what my first MySpace post was, I would probably include that too. LOL!
Join in and share your Social Media firsts! Link Up here or here!

Have a good one, y'all!
Lovins!
♥♥♥
Brandy

Room 217

 Room 217.

Oh you.

At first glance you're just a simple hotel room. Equipped with the basics.

But, for us, you are now a closely kept memory.

A place that we all want to go back to.

Where mine, Carla's and Sarah's room became everyone's room most of the days. The meeting room. The hangout room.

The room where...

...we spent most of the time, due to the weather.

...we learned some military workouts, in the middle of the night.

...the mini fridge stayed fully stocked with at least 3 different kinds of beer. (and water too)

...we had a mini pantry. Sandwich meat, cheese, mayo, bread, cereal, milk, chips, and cookies and all were opened to anyone who wanted food.

...drinking was acceptable at any hour of the morning...I mean, day. ;-) Except for DD's obviously.

...I think I may have freaked a few people out when I brought back a couple of "sperm" drinks from the liquor store. hahaha.

...Claire was the only one willing to drink one of them. And she said it tasted awful. 

...a few late nights where had, with some interesting conversations.

...only those who were there could understand fully what I mean when I say things such as: rolo mints (rolo minis), driving Vespas in England just like they did in The Lizzie McGuire movie (that was set in Rome, Italy....lol), footlometers, sexual hot wings & chocolate, and how good sour patch gum is.

...talks of group matching tattoos & a Nashville wedding happened.

...and talks of traveling to other states and countries for shows also happened.

...there was a mini Florida/Georgia football debate (sorry, Jon.) 

...I had to explain to a few people what frog gigging was, and the people actually do that. 

...Carla and I taught/explained a few southernisms & phrases.

...I got to hear a British accent, in person, for 4 days. I loved that.

...there were actually several different accents floating around and everyone was intrigued by each others.

...Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Colorado, New York, and England came together.

...we all got to meet for the first time after being friends for YEARS. (Well, not all of us, some had already met, that's beside the point though.)

...even though there were many funny moments, there were actually some in depth type conversations. 

...also, obviously, lots of music talk happened.

...various concert memories where talked about.

...Framing Hanley concert memories were shared.

...plans were made, in cahoots with Kayla, to surprise the guys at the show.

...our FHamily became even closer.

...where it was hard to say good-bye

...I left a little part of me.

...I also left my boots. dammit.

If those walls could talk they would probably tell you that we were insane. They would also probably explain some of the things I mentioned in detail then, you wouldn't even need for them to tell you we were insane, you would just come to that conclusion yourself.

This doesn't even really scratch the surface. I know there are things that are slipping my mind.

Room 217, the keeper of the FHamily conversations.

It was so much fun.

We all had so much fun.

I promise Room 217 won't be forgotten by any of us. 

It was the room where lots of laughs where had, memories were made, and not enough pictures were taken.

♥♥♥

Brandy

I'm back, and this weekend I...

Friday was a typical Friday, pretty much, we didn't do much of anything...
Saturday was my Dad's birthday so we all hung around the house and just had a very chill day. Ended with a cookout and then the guys went fishing while mom and I hung out and watched TV until we were both ready for bed.
Sunday had the bad news. My Grandma passed away, she was my dad's step-mom & the one I wrote about last week. If you've paid any attention to my posts, you'll notice that I don't usually like talking about/thinking about/dealing with death. This isn't any different so I'm not getting into it too much right now. She hasn't been doing well for a while, I'm glad she's not suffering anymore and can now be with my PawPaw again. But, as things would go, that wasn't the only bad news, another one of my Grannies is in the hospital. She apparently hadn't been feel well and finally went to the ER, the admitted her & then transferred her. They are doing tests and I think a heart cath. There was something mentioned about either a possible heart attack or she was on the verge of one. But, I don't know anything definitive yet. Other than that we went to my mother in laws to cook out with her and my bro in law. I definitely had my fill of burgers and hotdogs for the weekend!

Last weekend [the last weekend in April] went to Nashville for the first time. It was one of those trips I talked about. I'll do posts about that soon. It was a blast even if the weather wanted to try and ruin things. [[DIDN'T WORK]]
Then came home & had a bad Wednesday, other than finding out some good news, that I can't share just yet. (It's not about me, so no assuming! lol) And then I've just been trying to get back in the groove of "real life" again. 

Anyway, y'all have been spared my Framing Hanley talk for bit, til now. (And until my Nashville posts. They are the reason I went, after all)
If you would all do me a solid favor...
Go to iTunes, Amazon, or Google Play and get their new album. Or go out and search in stores (if you don't see it, ask about it). I would appreciate it so much & I can promise you that the guys would appreciate it as well.
They are also touring right now. Check dates they have so far here. If they are coming anywhere near you, go! They'd love it & they'd love to meet y'all afterwards!

That's all I got for y'all today. Lots of running around to do.

Lovins!
♥♥♥
Brandy

Currently...procrastinating.

I mean REALLY procrastinating.
Right now I should be doing laundry and packing. But what would I rather do? Eat and sleep. Merp.
Hello anxiety.
Anytime there is any kind of travel going on, my anxiety shoots up, I get the BGs, and all around unmotivated. And so that's exactly where I am now.
My tiredness could also have something to do with not getting home until 2am or not getting to sleep until about 3 or so.
Anyway, I'm just going through the motions right now, I'll get excited again soon...I hope.
Let's get on with this shizzz.

reading... Facebook, blogger, twitter, whatever is in my line of vision at the moment. As far as books, I'm slowly reading "Jesus > Religion" by Jefferson Bethke (the guy who made this video). I've had it for a few months am only a few chapters in. See also I'm being a slack ass when it comes to reading..We won't even talk about "The Book Of Lost Things" that I have yet to finish.

trying... to keep this anxiety at bay. Ughh. And to get motivated to start moving.

eating... hamburger helper, mashed potatoes and a roll

drinking... Bud Select

calling... My cousin back.

doing... laundry

going... to Tennessee, baby.

thinking... About way too much. My Grandma isn't doing well, they're not sure she has much longer. Then this trip and being anxious about it & exhausted just knowing the events happening in the next 6 days. My husband. Finances. Life. BLEH. I honestly think I need a good cry. Just one of those let it ALLL out ones.

feeling... Numb.

hoping for... My Grandma to be doing well. For this trip to go smoothly.

listening to... Cody Carson's voice. lol. Set It Off is stuck in my brain so therefore I have to listen to it, repetitively.

celebrating... Framing Hanley...for the next 5 days! (I have their album that's due out on Tuesday & it's fantastic!)

smelling... nothing, I rinsed everyone's pollen coated cars off earlier & I'm pretty sure the wind blew half of it back in my face, so I'm a wee bit stuffy at the moment. But on the bright side, I got some vitamin D. That's always good.

thanking... you all, just for being you. Oh, and to any of y'all that follow me on Twitter. I don't know how much FH I've talked about lately, so, I only slightly apologize. ;-) But, still if you follow and put up with it, THANKS! :-)

finishing... this post.

starting... to pack, I guess.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! I would say I'll probably be MIA for a little bit, but fuck, that'd be nothing new for me right now. :-|

But, I'll be back.
Lataaaaa!

Lovins!
♥♥♥
Brandy