# .5

I love weekends. I especially love productive weekends and today already qualifies.

Yesterday, we went to the Montessori dedication and it was absolutely beautiful. They were dedicating the new school building, after 10+ years of planning, fundraising, blood, sweat, and tears. They've been using the building all year, but it really came true yesterday. I love seeing something that meant so much to me continue to make a difference in other people's lives as well.

After that, Amanda stayed the night with me and this morning, we dragged ourselves out of bed to Zumba. It was totally worth the early wake up call and afterward, we sauntered over to the local Farmer's Market. We ran into a bunch of people we know and while our search for strawberries wasn't successful (apparently you have to get there really early), it was still awesome to go and see this part of our community.

After that, we headed to the mall. For Christmas, Amanda and I decided to buy a bear to share between us while we're at school. Of course, in our typical, procrastinatorial (because that's absolutely a word), way...we finally got him today; we realized that we couldn't properly start our summer bucket list without Charles--he's been added as .5. (:

So, everyone, meet Charles Nido Huntington III--the classiest bear ever (yes, that is a little tux; we decided anyone that is the 3rd and has baby Sperrys in his future needs a tux):

At Build A Bear, they place a guardian bear/angel inside the bear after you make a wish on them, but our wonderful build-a-bearer let us both make wishes for him:

We typed out a certificate and listed his owner as "Brimanda". His birthday? Our graduation date. Childhood, I will never leave you. We got to put in his full name and even take a picture together:

We also spent some time at Hancock Fabrics looking up patterns so that we can make him some clothes. First item on the list? An Oxford made of plaid with HPU purple, UNC blue and Newton-Conover red. This will be one school-proud bear.

It feels great to finally be started on our list and even better to spending time with my best friend--as if that didn't happen enough already. (: 

Here's to a fabulous Sunday!

~B

What Time Is It? Summertime!

Today, I realized how little time I have before college begins! AP testing finished today (for me at least), so now just a few chapter tests, 1/3 of a final project and just over two weeks stand between me and graduation. In the words of Babs from Chicken Run: "All me life flashed before me eyes...it was really borin'."


So Amanda and I have taken it upon ourselves to make it less boring. Tonight (after she moved out of my house! :( best two-week roommate ever.)  we began a summer bucket list (inspired by Katie Bower). It's going to take a little bit of juggling to get it all done, because my June looks like this (ignore all the reminders for Zumba; it's a repeating event):

(Click for a larger image)

And our July looks like this:

(Click for a larger image)

Then we begin the move-in shenanigans August 16/17/18/general area! Nevertheless, the fun must continue. I've already planned to go stay with her at High Point for at least one weekend in July, where we can continue our shenanigans--taking full advantage of our approximated 3 weeks together. We're still refining/editing this summer bucket list, but for now, here are our plans:


1. Get our noses pierced.
2. Go to a drive-in movie.
3. Go for a hike.
4. Watch the entire Star Wars series in one rainy day/weekend and play the accompanying drinking game (the non-alcohol version, of course). 
5. Go to a baseball game.
6. Play in water sprinklers.
7. Blow bubbles.
8. Find an official Brimanda summer song.
9. Go to an outdoor concert.
       - We're looking at the Greensboro Beach Music in the Park festival.
10. "Camp" outside at our house.
11. Go to a waterpark.
12. Have a picnic.
13. Go to Movies in the Park.
14. Have a Nicholas Sparks marathon. Cry all day.
15. Have a rubber duck/sailboat race in the river.
16. Fly kites.
17. Make homemade ice cream from our homegrown strawberries.
18. Go to a rodeo.
19. Play dress up.
20. Go to the Davidson Soda Shop.
21. Catch fireflies.
22. Go trail riding.
23. Make blanket forts on a rainy day.
24. Plant a tree. Or two. And some flowers.
25. Go swimming in a lake/swimming hole. Then go swimming somewhere that we can take underwater photos.


I ordered a new camera tonight, since I've sold my DSLR, and I'm beyond excited. It's a nice little point and shoot, which means that all of these will be fully documented and posted on here for posterity before we are allowed to cross it off the list. 


Here's to best friends and Summer 2012!
Sunnily,
B

Big Changes

Ooof. I can't believe I haven't blogged in over two months. Lately, I've felt like I've had words fixin' to crawl right out of my fingers, so tonight--I decided to do something about it.

Last week, some big things happened in my life.
1) I turned 18! It's a weird feeling, knowing that I've hit that point; the point where I've more or less reached the "grown up" stage. Legally, I'm on my own now. It's sort of a scary thought. I'm definitely feeling the "with great power comes great responsibility"saying.

Boots&Ditto Time!

2) After four years, many mutual "meetings", (thanks to Michael, Andy, Alex and Jason!), hours of Skype, miles typed across our keyboards...Brit/Ditto and I finally met! She was in town for a wedding and I drove over for an early lunch. It. Was. Wonderful. It was like we'd been best friends for years--what a coincidence--and I'm sad our visit wasn't longer! But still--I'll take what I can get. (:

3) I chose a college! The people around me know that making this decision has taken me hours, months, long agonizing cries to my mom and some really deep soul-searching. Until December or so, I was set on one school--a small, liberal arts college in the beautiful mountains of Virginia. Then...I didn't get the full scholarship I'd been so desperately hoping for, I began to fall out of love, I opened my eyes to the flaws that I'd so valiantly tried to ignore...and began the college search all over again. All along the way, I'd kept telling myself: "things will turn out just like they need to". That saying became my touchstone. Every time I got nervous or unsure about my future, I would tell myself that and remember to have faith.

I'd applied to several other school besides my Virginia school, just in case--a move that is so typically me...and boy, am I ever glad I did. I think my total application list was 10 schools. There were 4 or so that I'd applied to simply because they were free applications and I like to have many, many backups; two that I could have forced myself to go to...and then four schools that I truly believe I could have been happy at: Randolph, Emory and William & Mary. For a while, UNC floated around those different groups as I did research, fell in love, did more research, fell out of love, visited...and got knocked-on-my-butt-are-there-stars-in-your-eyes in love. But something inside me kept me from committing. I could come up with loads of reasons not to: it's too big, I might not make it in the business school, etc, etc. And then...things turned out just like they needed to.

I applied to all of my schools early decision, except for Emory, Davidson, American and W&M. Most of those were serious contenders and I waited on pins and needles for the decisions. And in about one week, I got them ALL. Waitlisted. At all four schools.

At first, I was totally shocked. And then it started to be funny. I'd start to open the small envelope and take bets on whether I would be denied or just waitlisted. Nope, waitlisted. By every one. I tried to console myself, reassure myself that it wasn't so bad--loads of people just apply for safety, right? But the waitlisting made me really evaluate my options. Did I really want to go there? W&M was tossed out, as was American and Davidson, but I chose to stay on Emory's waitlist. Emory had been my other top choice, after UNC--what was I supposed to do now?

So, over spring break, we went back to visit family down South and planned a trip to Emory while we were there. I'd already told Emory that I wanted to stay on their waitlist until the day that I had to commit to Carolina. I kept telling myself "I can wait for it". Just to be sure I had all the information though, I went to visit. The night before we left to drive down, I lay in bed and prayed. I told God that I didn't want this to be a coin toss, that I needed to know exactly what the right decision was. I asked to either never want to leave...or to hate it.

God must have been listening, because boy...I hated it--or just really, really disliked it. I went home and two days later, sent in my deposit to Carolina and I couldn't be happier. Everything's falling into place...and happening exactly like it needs to.

I'm proud to be a:

Really awesome sign found here on Etsy

~B

Hello February

...where on Earth did January go??

I'm not sure that I'm ready for my year to go flying by so fast. That being said, I'm excited for what's still to come!

My year has gotten off to a fantastic start. I didn't make resolutions this year, but after this post by Christine Kane, I found myself a word. (: My word for the year was Cleanse. It has so many meanings for me, from clearing out old health issues to getting junk out of my room to clarifying where I want my life to go, that without a doubt--this is my word.

While I keep forgetting about it don't always succeed at keeping it in mind, I've found my life echoing it anyway. I've managed to go to Zumba at least one-three times a week --and I'm definitely noticing when I don't go-- sell my desk (which has made my room look like we're moving again), condense all of my Google accounts onto one, and keep my grades up. I've also gotten hooked on Grey's Anatomy, finished the last two seasons of West Wing...again, and catch up on Downton Abbey. (Honestly, my life doesn't revolve around TV, but these were impressive milestones.)

One of my favorite things this year has been staying in closer contact with my grandparents. I've been emailing back and forth with both sets, as well as calling them fairly regularly. I'm consulting with them for the product for my senior project and it's so exciting. I'm a major history nerd and I "have" to hear these stories. I'm ecstatic.

An aspect of my "Cleansing" for the year has been dealing with some of the unhelpful notions I have floating around in my head. For example, I used to see my heart beat under my shirt, like my shirt would move, and it would really freak me out. I mean...I would have thoughts like "my heart's too strong" and ridiculous stuff like that. Now, I see it and think "oh hey there, buddy. nice to see you're doing your job." Heck yeah, my heart rocks.
Another has been dealing with my own insecurity. During Zumba, it's so hard not to doubt yourself or compare yourself to other people, so I've had to tackle this one (or be miserable during every class...which simply wasn't an option). I've found that if I just watch Ashley teach the steps and sort of...just turn off my brain, or turn it down, I do so much better. It's like I just relax and have fun with it. I'm starting to really learn the steps, so now I have the ability to focus more on how I'm doing. It's been so liberating to feel fully in control of my body now.

January, you were fantastic. February...you're getting off to a rough start, but that's okay; there's time left to beat January redeem yourself.

I need to stop doing these catch-up posts. Someday, I'll figure out how to blog life as I go along. Also, someday, I'll have a camera. I miss pictures.

-b

Bein' Neighborly

Thank you, Google Images. THIS IS NOT MY PLATE. (:

One of my favorite things about Georgia was their license plates. No, I'm not crazy...but they were awesome. and fascinating. As you can see, it's a tradition for the county name to be at the bottom of the plate (please note my pathetic Photoshop job to make this historically accurate ;)). It's a casual thing to let you know where someone's from. You never know who might be a neighbor, a friend, an enemy...or a frenemy. (: Yesterday, when Dad and Maylen were driving home, they noticed a car in front of the house across the street from us with a Georgia plate...from Floyd County (where we lived before). The woman who used to live in the house died a couple months ago, so seeing a car outside her house was weird. Dad...being Dad, went over and beat on their door to see who it was (as in, who can possibly be from Floyd County). It was the woman's nephew, who had inherited the house just cleaning up, seeing what was there, etc. They got to chatting and realized that we had several mutual friends (including my grandparents, haha), so as they were wrapping up, Dad gave the man his number and said "let me know if you need anything/can help in any way/yada-yada-yada".

'Round dinnertime, the man--I'll call him Dr. Jim--called and asked if we knew any good places to eat. We live far enough away from a major town that there really isn't anything good that's also easily accessible, but Dad gave him a few names in town and they hung up. After hanging up, Dad stood there for a minute and said "this isn't right; this isn't the right thing to do" and immediately called Dr. Jim back and asked him to dinner and he immediately accepted. (This isn't unlike my dad; he's given rides to more hitchhikers and fed more homeless people that a lot of folks I know.) (God, please give me a man as understanding, kind and selfless as my daddy.)

We had a fantastic time. Dr. Jim is a fabulous storyteller and he and my dad are exactly the same age (give or take just a few months), so they had a great time "informing the younger generation" about the trends of the 70s. Apparently their two 4th grade classes both watched the same movie on the "impending attack of the killer Africanized bees". There was good food and a lot of laughter. We shared stories about our mutual friends, discussed our old town and just got to know each other. He and his family have lived in Rome for many, many years and I learned so much about the place where we used to live! Not only that, but his kids go to the same private school that I probably would have gone to and Dr. Jim works at the clinic that we used to drive by every day. It was really interesting to realize what a tiny, small world we live in.

My dad was exactly right: it was the perfect thing to do. Dr. Jim told us that he had had McDonald's for the past two meals only because it was the only restaurant in town that he knew how to find and I'm so grateful that we were able to feed him! Not only that, but he appreciated our Indian food! (: Apparently he's a big fan of Indian as well and we compared favorite dishes.

It was a wonderful night and it was even better to be able to help someone out. Dr. Jim told us several times how he hadn't expected help such as that and it made me think, why not? Why isn't that the norm? Honestly, our house is a total mess -- it was beautiful at New Years, but we've been so busy that it's fallen down on the priority list -- but it wasn't even a big deal. We opened our house and our hearts to a stranger and we're all the better for it.

Today, I'm thankful for being able to help out neighbors and friends, as well as being able to make new friends and meet new people. I'm thankful for shared stories, good food and Rome. Although I am beyond happy to be here in North Carolina and wouldn't trade it for the world...I'm really missing my Georgia years.

Feeling nostalgic again. -sigh-

-B

Also, Dad's accent was stronger last night then it's been in years. If that didn't make it all entirely worth it...then I don't know what would have. (:

Perspective

For those of you who haven't heard, my year-long senior project is on Southern Culture and women's role in it. Right now, we're in the phase where I feel like I am living, sleeping, breathing this material. I've learned so much just in the past couple of months alone.

The biggest part I think that I've gained out of this is just what being Southern means to me. It's something that I've always grown up with--my grandfather bought Coke stock in my name while I was still in the hospital, my dad's ancestors helped to settle DeKalb County, my mother's family has only ever been from Alabama. Being Southern has always just been who I am and I don't think that I've ever fully comprehended (is that a word?) how much my heritage has influenced me.

So lately, I've really come to terms with my connection to the South. It's messy and complicated, can feel like a total burden sometimes and can come with some wacky stereotypes. (For the record, yes, you can get married at 14 in Alabama. Also, it seems like the majority of the people drive without licenses and/or proper instruction.) But at the same time, it's beautiful. There's a quiet elegance about the South, particularly during the summer. If you happen to find yourself in a small town during one of those miserably humid days, where even the slightest breath of wind feels like heaven, it's like you can see the ghosts of every single inhabitant of that town meandering through the streets, just like you.

That's what the South is to me. It's shrouded in history and stories and heat that can feel overwhelming at times, but can also be comforting.

I think another thing that's been difficult for me has not only been dealing with my connection to the South, but my family's as well. I feel like my family puts a whole new spin on the word "multi-cultural". My sister's Chinese, my mother swears her taste buds are imported from India and my dad...just likes to try new things. I've never felt like we're the typical Southern family, if there is such a thing -- at least in my immediate family. We eat biscuits, green beans, chili and cornbread like they're going out of style, but there's never been that steel cable anchoring us to this area. My dad grew up in Atlanta, but has never really claimed it as his hometown. The city's changed so much since he lived there that it's not a home for him anymore. I feel like I've always searched for that link--wanted to feel it for him, because there are times when I've felt like I needed that connection, but it's never been there.

So lately, I've explored what my connection is, what it means for me. When I try to picture it, I envision my soul being buried somewhere, in the heart of the deep South and that thought feels like it completes me. I am a product of the South; red Georgia clay and brown grass and I don't think I'll ever be able to deny it.

It's time for bed...but y'all come back now.
~B

Weekend Recap

We're home! Our weekend getaway was absolutely lovely and I'm so relaxed now. It was a giant gathering of a lot of families (I think there were about 7 families there all total) that we're really close to from our homeschooling days, just holed up in a lodge together. It was fun. And loud. And just...fun. I still have the warm fuzzies.

These gatherings are hosted by our local homeschool group and happen about two or three times a year. We're friends with a lot of people in the group, so thankfully, they still let us come. (: I haven't been able to make it to one in a while, because of school and homework and other stuff, but this weekend, the stars aligned! MLK Day, thank you.

I began my latest crochet project while we were there and someday, this:

Will--theoretically--become this:

I can't wait! I don't have pictures from this weekend, since I sold my DSLR and my p&s...isn't exactly functional at the moment. Apparently dropping it in the sand did more damage than I expected. But I had loads of fun and this weekend was not short of adventures, from exploring the dried-up lake at the camp to painting the boys' fingernails to simply curling up in front of the fire and visiting. Also, we saw our first snow! The last night we were there, it really started coming down, so all the kids and some of the adults rushed outside...and back in, for coats and shoes...and then back out! It was incredibly powdery and didn't stick, except in the seriously shady spots, but it was beautiful while it lasted. Now, it's just gotten really cold and confusing the heck outta me; we took our Christmas decorations down right before New Years and now...it feels like Christmas time again!

It was great today to simply have a day to relax. I've done some of my homework, worked a little on my senior project (we've moved into the powerpoint phase and it's so exciting!), done some crafty type things, caught up on [most] of my TV shows and Zumba-ed with my best friend. The Zumba's turning into a regular thing and it's wonderfulll. I've gotten the Wii and tried some other things, but found that I do loads better if I have a scheduled time and place to be.

This week is going to be insane--I can feel it. We're finishing up midterms/tests/projects at school and I have choir twice this week, as well as a bunch of other random things to do. I'm hoping to get started on my latest home-improvement project soon! Last summer, my dad put a wall in the long room that spans the front of our house, splitting the room that my sister and I had previously shared into two rooms. He drywalled it in...and then that's as far as it got (not that I'm at all complaining!). But now I've decided to repaint--the gorgeous blue color that looked amazing on the paint swatch seems to overwhelm my tiny little, doesn't get much sun, room, so I've decided to brighten it up. I'm going to mud and tape the drywall, prime it and then repaint everything else. The color that is currently my ceiling will become the wall color and then I'll paint the ceiling white, to help open it up. I'm stuck on the trim/doors/window seat, but I'm thinking a light gray. Whew, this sounds like a lot of work, but my "reward" will be this amazing bedspread:

Hooray for consistent (or at least some-what regular) blogging! Just taking this one post at a time...

-B