Christmas break!

Time to catch you all up on my beak so far.


I came home an immediately jumped into working. I babysat the most wonderful 14 month old, Scotland.


Her parents were in An American Christmas, the Christmas show I did for 8 years before I couldn't do it anymore because of my college schedule. But Scottie was in it too in the beginning. So they would take her out onstage, she would be there for a song and meet some of the guests, and then she would come out to us. Then we would take her around the Hotel Del (where the show takes place) and take her for walks around Coronado.
It was an amazing experience, despite the fact that people would glare at me when they saw me carrying her around. They though she was my child. So sometimes I would switch my ring to my left hand and turn it around so it looked like a wedding band.
I told her parents I'm always there if they need a babysitter. I love that girl so much.


Other than that, Christmas was chill and lovely. I got a Slanket from Santa. Woot! It's better than a snuggie, warmer, less static, and longer so it covers my feet. I'm wearing it right now, in fact. I rarely take it off if I'm home.

I just decided yesterday that I need to find a look for myself. I talked it over with my mom about how I felt like my style was all over the place, so we narrowed down my tastes into a look for me that consists of three words

"Nerdy Vintage Chic"

I love vintage styles, and sweaters, but I would also want to be able to put a modern twist on things. So that's what I'm doing. The plan is to slowly start changing my style to that by adding a few pieces here and there, whenever I can afford to. To start it off I went on Lookbook and different blogs to find images for inspiration.







An odd thing that I discovered whilst looking through Lookbook, is that I liked the guys styles more than I liked the girls. Maybe because I've been thinking of ways to change my style but still stay pretty casual, since I don't like feeling dressed up all the time. And the guy posts were the only ones with pants (since I don't count leggings as pants)




And of course you should know about my obsession with the site Modcloth by now, so of course I checked there for pieces that fit perfectly with what I like.. now to find the money for them.....







And of course I searched the archives of one of my style icons, Keiko Lynn. She has the perfect blend of modern and vintage.




And while looking at her pictures I found the perfect pair of shoes. Folks, there have been a few items that I've dreamed of owning. And a pair of black Oxford pumps is one of them. They've always been very specific in my mind of what they have to look like, and the wonderful people at Seychelles Footwear have brought them into the world.

There they are. And I can finally own my dream shoes, if I pay $110.00. Dang. I knew it was too good to be true.

Anyways, right after this talk, I had the opportunity to do a little shopping! First was Burlington Coat Factory. Which was chaos, but I did manage to find a great gray coat (something I've needed for quite some time) and a Bowler hat (something I've longed for for quite some time). My Mom told me I need to start wearing the two of them wherever I go, since they work so well with me and my new look.
Then we went to a thrift store by my Grandma's house And I found a great shirt for the summer, a really cool black vintage skirt, and a tan sweater set! Three things to get me going.

I'm very excited about my new change. To go along with that I'm also getting a library card, so I can get some major reading done this break, and I'm going to force myself to make something (I've had plans for a dress since Summer, and I'm hoping to make it since I now have access to a sewing machine).

That's it for now. I'll keep you posted on the reading and creating.

Right now I'm going to get some dinner and start the first book on my reading list, How To Be Like Walt.

Ta-ta for now!

Oh,and have a Happy New Year's Eve!
-Brenna Kathleen

Church.. I told you it was epic.

So yesterday was proably the most epic day I've had all semester.

The first awesome part was Church!


Pastor B talked about how when Jesus came he was God coming to earth as a human. We all know that, but have you ever thought about how the greatness of God was put into just a little baby? The breath of God that breathed life into Adam and created man-kind is now breathing through tiny nostrils. He asked "Have you ever had a thought as great as red?"

As an artist that totally hit me. The color red is so amazing! and there are all the shades and tones. It combines with other colors and shades to create something completely different. Then Pastor B went on to explain how if God wanted to create red, then he would have to create the universe and light and time and space and a planet in order to make red. Then He would have to create man and the details in the eyes for someone to perceive red and enjoy it.
And all this, now in a tiny baby who has to be dependent. This God now has to be burped and fed and have his diaper changed. It's crazy that a God that powerful would do all that, and then die a horrific death because of His love for us.
Who wouldn't follow him after hearing that? Who would deny a God who loves us that much? Who wouldn't want to love Him and others in the same way it has been done to us? Humanity baffles me.

To hear the rest of our epic night go here Although the best is yet to come. I told Jojo she has to write about the tunnel adventure, since she could tell it better than I ever could.

That's it for now! I've go to get back to studying. bleghhhhhh

You know I'm avoiding work when...

I clean.

And boy do I clean. I go all around the room, organizing my desk, dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning dishes.


So now my room is clean!
It needed a cleaning after my crazy week that consisted of hollowing books and creating a treasure hunt in my universities library for my 4D Design class. I had paper shavings all over!
it was a great last class though. I loved everyone's projects and I loved my class! We had such a good group of people.



Other than that... Finals are next week! Huzzah! I made it!
And I feel bad that I seem to have a not so hard finals week.

Monday- nothing (studying.. meh)

Tuesday- English paper due, and writing of reflection in class. then Old Testament Exam. my only death. It's also an electronic test. that we take with our clickers, so our teacher pretty much decides when mostly everyone has clicked in their answer and moves on. The problem is that I get even more distracted on those kinds of tests ( I know because we take our quizzes that way and I'm always one of the last to answer due to people around me), so in the end I'm rushed to try to understand the question and answer it before he changes it. So I'm going to study pretty much all of Monday for it, hoping that if I know my stuff well enough the question wont confuse me as much.

Wednesday- Art History at 8 in the morning. We already wrote and turned in everything so we're watching a movie :] then Ceramics at 12:30 where we have our critique on all the stuff we've made.

Thursday- go home!!! My big bro, Taran, is coming to pick me up and another friend who lives in SD too. He planned to come up early so we can go check out a new store in Downtown Disney and then maybe go see The Princess And The Frog, which he's been waiting to go see with me.

TOMORROW- we have an epic day planned. Well, I do. First thing- church!!! Woot! how epic can you get. Then Target for me to get a N-strike Maverick Nerf gun. Kenny and Jojo recently went to a Christmas party that had a Secret Santa. Only their recipients didn't show, so they exchanged gifts with each other. And buying gifts for guys, they got them Nerf guns. So they both have one and I feel left out, so I'm being forced at gunpoint (haha) to get a new one. I also have to pick up a spray bottle since I've decided to try to bleach my hair with a Hydrogen-Peroxide/water solution my Dad told me to try.
After that I'm participating in the other 4D class' project that is a giant person-piece chess game being played on the soccer field. Sounds cool. I don't know how cool it will be. Our team is pretty much boxes. Because we're computers. yeah....
Finally Kensington, Jojo, and I are going on some giant drain adventure with three other friends of ours. Hope it's not crazy wet because it's been raining!!!!!

Well, as I write this our mental capacity is quickly fading. It's 2:30 am. Kenny and Jojo are in bed,acting like crazy people. they're asking me to "join the nose game" in creepy voices. I really wish I could show you.
Ah well. I'm tired and need to wash my hair since it's been under a hat all day.
AND.... I just lost the game. .. not the nose game... THE game.
And It's raining again! we can hear it on the window! It's a wonderful thing when we can hear the rain, since we're on the bottom floor, therefore making it impossible to hear anything above us except the elephants our brothers upstairs are raising in their dorms.
But I digress.
Goodnight!!!

La Vie En Rose

For my Digital Tools class we had to work with a program we had never used before, or learn a new skill in a familiar one. My friends and I decided that we would work together to create a stop-action film in finalcut pro. Our inspiration was the song La Vie En Rose.



Enjoy!

Giving Thanks

I got wind on Modcloth's Thanksgiving Thank-a-Thon blog contest from my darling roommate Jojo who entered the contest with a smashing poem.
And since I'm always swooning over their amazing items, but tear up at the prices and my empty wallet, I thought I'd give it a shot!.
Of course I'm not doing it just for the merch. I've actually been thinking about how thankful I am for my amazing family.


My parents are the reason why I am the person I am today. My Dad has worked at a theater my entire life, and my Mom has been an amazing stay at home mom who recently went back to work so I could go to college. They always supported my choice to be an artist, knowing it would bring me joy even though I may not make lots of money. They taught me to love God and others. I've been such a stubborn child to raise, but they kept loving me even when I was my worst. Because of them I am equipped with the knowledge I need to be a grown woman who follows God's plan and who uses her creativity to love. I say my thanks for them everyday, and I can't wait to take the love they taught me and use it in my life.

Crazy Craftin'

I haven't updated with my art work in a while, so I figured now is as good a time as ever!

Here are some random crafts I've been doing.


I discovered my love for hot gluing random pretties to bobby pins

I had a 50% off coupon at Michaels! So what do I do? Buy an awesome butterfly for my hair, of course!


LEGO

Pretty marble I found in the e-trash outside my dorm

One of the little plastic guns I got with my R2-D2 figurine

Some awesome paper I stole from my friends huge paper lantern for her 4D Design class, don't worry, she didn't want it anymore :]

This is actually from a while ago, before I came to school. I just grabbed random objects I thought were cool and put them on ribbon and, voila! necklace.

I LOVE keys. It's one of my most favorite things in the whole world. I've been collecting them since I was little (the big gold one is form when I was about 4 or 5). Sadly, I'm poor so this is about the gist of my key collection.

Another thing I love are the old tags from alcoholic beverages. You remember, how in the old days their drinks were kept in pretty glass bottles. Well they used these awesome metal tags to tell them apart! Micheal's has a few different kinds, but I like the "Gin" one best. And it was on sale. How could I say no?
Trouble is I feel bad wearing it out at my Christian college, where we sign a contract not to drink. We'll see, it may make an appearance.

I also just finished my latest project for my Digital Tools class. We had to make bugs on Illustrator. So I made pretty butterflies and twigs and made a mobile!








I've been doing a lot in my Ceramics class too, I'll post pics of them later.
That's it for now!
-Brenna Kathleen

Simplicity is the path, not just the destination

Simplicity, many people think,
is an end in itself
But they’re getting it backwards
Simplicity is the path, the means
It’s not a far off destination,
somewhere in the future
It’s right here, right now
It’s taking things one at a time
It’s asking simple questions
It’s taking simple actions
It’s doing it slowly
It’s considering and being conscious,
with everything

When you find yourself becoming overwhelmed
on the path to simplicity
Taking a complicated, frenzied path
to get there
Stop, consider, and choose
the simpler path
And take it slowly
And easily
And lovely

by Leo Babauta

Quotes

Eating a Reese's is like reading Jane Austen.
It's so good while it lasts, but it's over soon, and leaves you wanting more. But it's always nice to wash it down with a nice cup of tea.

-brenna kathleen

Mixy-Mashy

I hate when I get all "thinky." Don't get me wrong, I like being intellectual and all that jazz. But I guess I don't like that feeling when you get all moody and thoughtful. I think of emo high school students.
It makes me itch for change. I get so caught up in everything in my life. Technology being the biggest one. I love the internet and all the inspiration and wonderful things you can find on there. I love keeping in touch with my friends and family who are far away. But I get so overwhelmed by it. My computer becomes, and is, a major part of my existence. I guess it's become an idol to me. Ironic since I'm expressing how I feel about this on my blog.

I wish for simpler times. I just want to take a sketchbook, some pencils, and my Bible and go out somewhere. A place away from everyone. But I live on a campus that doesn't have my idea spot. I have no way of getting of campus with out the help of others, which compromises my alone time.
Meh.
Every morning, when I spend my time with God, I have a section where I thank Him for all the wonderful things he has blessed me with. And I an overwhelmed by all the things I don't deserve. Why was I given these things? It's not fair that I have so much. Then I feel as if I should give up some of it to those who need it more than I do, but my humanness holds on. It's so frustrating!

This time of year also makes me want to change. I want to be a fun cartoony- Disney person. I want to study insects, and collect the framed beetles and butterflies. I want to make amazing jewelry with bottles and old brass keys. I want to be an organized person who lists things and gets them done. I want to be an easygoing art major who enjoys nature and is more earthy, rather than the techie I tend to be. I want to be well studied in Art History, and know all the artists one should be familiar with. I want to travel to far off lands and have adventures without holding back. I want to be more active and go rock climbing or hiking.

I'm a split person. And my mind is split, so it's hard to bring it all together to focus on what I need to get done for now and for the future as well.
It's another reason I need to rely on God more. I need Him to keep me together. I need him to bring a piece of each of those ideals in order to shape me into the person I mean to be.

Ewwww... I hate being sentimental like this. If you read this far, I apologize.... And I reward you with a joke:
- There's a Pirate walking around and he's wearing a paper towel for a hat. So I ask him, "What's with the paper towel?" "Arrrr... I got a Bounty on me head."

.. Okay pretty bad. Let's try again...
- Did you hear about the red ship and the blue ship that collided? All the sailors were marooned

Haha. I love those :] Okay, I've got work to do, until next time.. I'm Brenna Kathleen saying "goodnight, and go eat a cupcake."

*outro music*

Honey Bee

Today I was on the computer, going about my daily web checks, and on Apartment Therapy's children site, Ohdeeoh they had a spotlight on a nursery that I absolutely fell in love with!


Not because it's a nursery. I'm in college and have no need for such things. But because of the ceiling!!




It reminds me of the television show Pushing Daisies. I loved that show! The colors and everything! I miss it so much.
And this seems like a cool way to capture the whimsy and quirky-ness of it in your home!
Good to keep in mind.....
that's all.
-Brenna Kathleen

Rainy Day Hug Story

I wrote this in my Old Testament class. I was still taking the class notes, so don't worry. I posted this on my facebook already, but I still wanted to put it up here.


Once upon a time,

There was a girl who was sitting in a class. It was wonderfully rainy and cloudy outside, and the girl wanted to go out to enjoy it. Alas, she had to stay and learn in her class. She was also very uncomfortable, because there weren’t any desks in her classroom, so she had to balance her computer on her lap, and it made her legs fall asleep.

The girl couldn’t wait to get out. She wanted to go around and hug everyone she knew. The sad part was, she wasn’t sure all her hugs would be welcomed by the unsuspecting people of Biola.

She was sitting next to her roommate, a small girl with a spirit that opposed her size. She wasn’t sure if her roommate noticed just how bored she was with this class, but she didn’t mind much. The girl just kept writing her story, trying to pass the time.

She remembered again, how much she wanted to greet her acquaintances with a hug that day. And looked back on a conversation she had with her tiny roommate, as well as her other, foxier roommate. They discussed how it’s sad that a hug may be taken as a weird thing to do. The girl felt that a hug was the answer to many problems, and is a necessity in order to have a good friendship with others. But mostly she just liked sharing in a quick warm cuddle with the people she cares about.

Determined to upset the status quo, she vows to herself to muster up the courage to hug her friends, even if it may seem awkward at times.

And so she continued to wait in her class, counting the minutes until she will be free to hug all who cross her path.
The End

Nature Art Adventure

Here are some pics of the adventure I went on this past weekend with my roommate, Kendall.










Yay! enjoy!
-Brenna

Backgrounds

Tonight the roommates and I went on the usual walk around campus barefoot and with frisbee in hand. We took the normal route. Up the stairs in back of Hope, through the walkway in McNally, past the Library and the art gallery, between the SUB and the cafe, past the music building, and to the front of Emerson.
We usually like to throw the friz around while at the well lit and spacious area in between Emerson and Horton.

However, on our way there we ran into one of our friends, Ian, who was on his way back to his room.

My being an art major, and Ian being an art minor with a major in film,
We stood about and had a nice chat for a bit, then Jojo and Kenny got impatient and started throwing the frisbee. I stayed and continued talking with Ian.
We talked about art classes and how we learn more than just art from the professors.

While we were talking about difficulties in staying committed to one drawing, I was thinking back on my last semester's figure studies class. I always saved the face for last. And I never wanted to actually finish it. I was never able to do it justice, and that discouraged me. it still does to this day. One of the reasons I don't sketch regularly s because I don't like that my sketch doesn't look like the actual object.
Ian offered his thoughts on it, like fro some reason besides drawing that I didn't want to finish it, saying that you have to start out small and build up to the greatness of the desired sketch.
It made me think about how I like people's stories. I've been going around asking people to tell me their life story, which is very hard because the people that I really want to hear are the ones I don't see that often. But it made me think about how I love the background of things. Like with DVDs. I love the second disc. The one with all the behind the scenes footage, and the "making of" bits. I enjoy those more tan the movie itself.

I've always been a backstage kind of person. I prefer working in the darkness behind the actors, where i"m not in the spotlight, but still in the thick of it, helping out in anyway I can, making the show possible.
So I can't fill in the faces because I don't know the model's story. Or if I do, how can I put everything they've been through into on sketch? I could draw in laugh-lines or scars, the result of those stories. But I could never put in their actual story.
Maybe that's my purpose as an artist. To strive to tell people's stories. To draw or sculpt the face in a way that people can get a sense of what they've been through, or at least to make them wonder so they'll look into the person's story too.

During our talk, I asked what Ian wanted to do with film. He said he wanted to incorporate it into the theater somehow. He then told me how his dad does work for their church back home and how that inspires him and how he wants to put on a show here at school. I was so excited when I heard this. Just the other day I was reminiscing about the shows I used to be in, and then this summer how I worked at the theater. I was close to begging him to let me help him. When I told him I'd love to lend a hand, he was so excited! He said that he needed help with it and I would be welcome, so YAY!!!!! Kenny and Jojo are excited to help out too.

We'll see what God has in store for me. I find it a true blessing that He revealed things to me in a conversation like that.
It was a wonderful night, and I feel very blessed.
-Brena Kathleen

Coffee revival, sore legs, and a chance to go au naturale

So yes! The coffee maker is not dead!!! YAY!!! I'm so thankful for that, it was not something I needed to deal with. I ended up running it a couple times, just letting water go through it to clean out the grounds that had clogged it.
I used it on Monday(today is Wednesday) and it worked great!


On Sunday, we busted out Kenny's DDR mats and had a work out session. My legs are still super sore form it! But it was fun and good to get up and move about.

For my next 4D Design project we have to go out into nature and create an art piece like Andy Goldsworthy.....



Isn't his stuff awesome?!
He creates art from things he finds in the specific environment he's working in.
The pics with the color changes are actual color changes that happen naturally. He just takes them and puts them together so it seems almost artificial.

It reminds me of when I was young and my family used to go up to our cabin at Hume Lake. My older brother and I would amuse ourselves with building various forts and such out of what we found around. We dug out this pit and carved steps going down and seats into the walls of the pit, and then we wove branches and twigs together and made a dome roof for it. It was like a hobbit hole. So legit.

Because I've always been the type of person who creates something out of what I have lying around, I'm super pumped to go do this project! Just me, a pocket knife, and the wilderness! I'll be doing that on Saturday, so hopefully I'll update soon after that. I'm thinking of filming a bit up there too, I'm going to ask my roommate to use her camera, since mine has bad video quality. I may have to use mine though, I'm not sure if she'd be keen on letting me take it into woods or anything.

I haven't had a chance to update in a while, and it's bad because I never remember what I've done. I haven't updated the vlog since my 4D project, and that wasn't even a real update. Oops. Perhaps I'll go film a bit when I'm done writing here.

I learned The Beatles' song "All My Lovin'" this morning on Ulysses the Ukulele! I LOVE that song. I don't know why, I just do. So I'm pumped to know it now. I haven't really played in a while so my fingers are sore from not working on my callouses in a while.

Ceramics is hardcore. We have to make 8 mugs! 4 hand built out of red clay and 4 thrown on the wheel with white clay. I do this thing where somehow, I get an idea in my head of what I want to do as a design or with anything. And I do it, but it turns out that it's the most time consuming idea ever thought of. So yeah, I've been working on the 4 hand built mugs for a couple days, and I just finished one. Actually, I still haven't put the handle on it, so even the one isn't finished. Good thing is my teacher isn't super duper strict about a due date, so I think I have some time over the weekend to work. And I can change my design enough so that it (hopefully) wont take as long with the next three.
As for the wheel. It's hard! I can't even make a cylinder, which is what we have to make in order to move on to making the mugs. I can make a perfect bowl though!

Since I'm taking 18 units this semester, I have a bunch of projects and work to do that piles up. So I have to choose the ones I want to do really well in, which sucks because I want to do my best in everything, but some get put on the back burner because I don't view it as a priority.
Like my English and Old Testament classes. I, personally, value the art classes more. Because it's what I want to do with my life, that's why I'm spending thousands of dollars to study it. And the art projects I have to do are really time consuming. I can always work on it. It's not like a math problem where you solve it and it's done. It's like a paper or music. You can always tweak it somehow. Which is why my GE classes bother me so much. I'm taking English right now. And that class is all writing. I don't have time to go over and over my essay and revise it, because I have an art project I have to do that too.
So there you go, I'm not failing the other classes. I'm just not going above and beyond in them. I don't have time to.

It's a crazy life. And it just gets crazier as the years go by.

Speaking of years. I'll be 20 soon! On the 21st.
Isn't that wild? I don't feel like I'm 20. I feel like I'm 10. I remember when I turned 10, everyone made such a huge deal about me going into the double-digit years. Now I'm leaving the teens behind for good.

....it's about time, too.

more updates coming soon!!!
-Brenna Kathleen

RIP coffee machine

It was too good to be true when I received a free 12 cup Gevalia coffee machine from one of the cast members in the show I worked over the summer.
It was a dream come true on those early mornings, when I had an 8:30 class, and only 5 hours of sleep.


It' the reason I haven't gone through all my flex yet (although that supply is dwindling as well).
And now it's dead.

My poor coffee machine is clogged in the water reservoir, and it doesn't come out like it should. Resulting in burned, nasty tasting coffee.

I'm supposed to be working for catering at the school, but they rely on people they've used many times in the past, so it's hard for newcomers to get put on the schedule (especially because they've been cutting back on events due to the economy). With no work, I only have my miniscule monthly allowance to live off of for necessities. Those do not include buying a new coffee machine.

With no money to buy a new one, my flex is going to be completely gone soon, since I drink quite a bit of coffee. Hence the reason for the machine in the first place.

Maybe if I run it through a few times it will get unclogged?

Is there a way to fix a coffee machine after grounds have been spilled into the reservoir and clog?

I certainly hope so. I really wont be able to stand anymore stress.

Much needed update

I apologize for my long time absence!
I have been so busy with school work lately!
I've been neglecting this blog as well as my vlogging channel.
So here I am, trying to redeem myself with a nice update.

First D23 EXPO!!!!!!!!! it was a couple weekends ago, and it was amazing!!!!!!! I saw so much awesome stuff, and panels for Imagineering and a panel for The Princess and The Frog, which is going to be AMAZING! I cannot wait for that movie to come out. I'm soooo excited and proud of Disney for bringing back hand-drawn animation.
Anyways, here are some pics I took!
They had a cut-out of Buzz and Woody. Originally, only Buzz was the cut-out but someone knocked it over and Woody's head came off. Taran and I though this was much better because now both of us could do it!

They had a really cool exhibit of a bunch of Mickeys that guest artists had drawn, so Taran and I drew some too!!! The bottom and top left ones are Taran's the bottom right one is mine, and the green was done by some pro who came before us.

...AND there were Storm Troopers there!!!!! This totally made up for me not being able to go to Comic Con!


It was pretty much the coolest day ever. So much Disney! I can't wait for next year, I'm going to work so I can go for all the days.


Other than that, classes are going well. Ceramics is insane. I'm trowing clay on the wheel now, which is hard but fun when you get the hang of it. All the other classes are going well as well. I'm in my digital tools class with my friend Katie, and we have a good time eating our snacks, giggling at MLIA submissions, and taking notes on how to play muggle quidditch.

The roommies are good as well. We go out on late night barefoot frisbee walks when we need a break. I'm getting pretty good at the whole catching and throwing a friz thing.

We go on crazy adventures. One of the most recent was a doughnut run at midnight. Jojo and I were studying, while Kenny was out running. And we both decided that we wanted pie. But alas, there is no 24 hour pie shop in the city of La Mirada. So we settled on craving doughnuts instead. When Kenny got home, we told her of our sweet tooth problem. She seemed hesitant at first, but she was only joking and totally up for midnight doughnuts!! So we grabbed our lightsabers and techno music and went to Rainbow Doughnuts, where the amazing Asian lady gave us extra doughnuts for free!!! I'm pretty sure she gave us a discount too, because we paid under $2 for 6 doughnuts and a mini croissant!!!
It was epic. And we are now completely faithful to Rainbow Doughnuts.

Well, we're having a tea party in the park today, and we have to meet the group in front of Emerson at 3, so I'd better be going to get ready now, but I will save this draft and come back with more stories to tell!!

Okay! I'm back! And the tea party was awesome! there was tea, Little Diggies (aka McVitte's digestive biscuts), and frisbee playing.

After an amazing afternoon spent in the park with friends, we all went to the cafe and had a corn dog dinner. Then we made a mini teepee out of the corn dog sticks, Kenny's hair, french fries, forks, and a napkin painted with mustard and ketchup.
Epic day.

Now I have to get to work, because no matter how epic, all days must come to an end.

I just hope the fire alarm doesn't go off again tonight. It has been for the past two days around 2 or 3 in the morning. Ughhh...... And the guys above us sound like they're raising baby elephants in their room. So noisy!!!!

Okay. Work. Bye!!!
-Brenna Kathleen

Voldemort in the 15th Century

Who knew that Donatello thought up of the literary villain hundreds of years before JK was ever born?



Oh, Art History. So early in the morning, yet so entertaining

Nine-Nine- Ohhhhh Nine!

Greetings!

I haven't done any sort of blogging lately, unless you count the video I had to make to document a project I recently had in my 4D Design class.


Since I moved in I have started classes, gone to an entirely Harry Potter store in Santa Monica called Whimsic Alley. Discovered the best website in the entire world called MLIA.
Posted a sign up sheet in our dorm's lobby for Dumbledore's Army (which is now covered in signatures), and created a group on facebook for Dumbledore's Army: Biola chapter, which currently has 31 members.

I also spent 5 days speaking like Yoda, in the 3rd person, in Telegram, in an Aussie accent, and not speaking at all. If you want to know more about that, check out the video on my youtube channel.
~*~*~link in the sidebar~*~*~


What else...... nothing much besides all the crazy antics I usually get up to. There have been late night Frisbee walks with the roommates, beach-going, and good talks.

I honestly feel so loaded with work that there isn't really anything else for me to be up to.
And that's just school work! I haven't even been scheduled for work-work yet.


I'm going to have to do some major time management this year. Which is awful, because I'm such a horrible procrastinator. So bad that I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night, working on a project for my digital tools class.

I have very time consuming classes this year. My ceramics class requires about 9 hours of time in the shop a week, my digital tools class means late nights in the Mac lab (because I'm too poor to buy Photoshop CS4 for myself), and now I have other classes like English and Old Testament that require lots of reading and writing papers.

It's crazy! I hope I stay sane through all this.

It's been interesting so far with the three of us in my room working. Kenny and Jojo need it to be absolutely quiet when they work, and I have to have some sort of background instrumental music or I go super ADD and get distracted by every little noise.

Last night I left until 2:30 and went to a fellow art majors room to work, so Kenny could read Plato and Jojo could do her work thing.

It's not all bad though! We had a tea party on Monday since there was no class for Labor Day. Several friends...... they were all art majors now that I think of it...... but a few of them were also Torrey students so Kenny knew them..... came over and we had a lovely chat with tea and cakes and little diggies (digestive tea biscuits) with nutella.

And I got Batman socks for a dollar at Target!!! OH! AND Target had Snow White socks for a dollar too!!!
I was so happy that they finally had something in Snow White!!!

Kenny just got back from her Torrey session, and she brought leftover Cinnamon Cupcakes!!!
If you've never had a cinnamon cupcake before, go try one! They're amazing!

I'll update more when there's something to actually update about!

later gators!
-Brenna Kathleen

Reunited and it feels so good...

I'm back at Biola!!

It seems like only yesterday I was in my room at home, writing about how I wanted to get back and how I was afraid that everything that I learned would go flying out the window.

Well it didn't!

I'm back and it's lovely. It's great to finally be in a room with roommates I love and adore. We get along, and our room is very well set up considering how much crap we all brought with us.

I didn't bring so much this year though! It all packed into the car nicely


So we got here, met up with Jojo and Kenny after much rejoicing.

And we got to work! It took a while for all of us to move the furniture around and figure out a configuration that worked for all our needs/personal space requirements.
It was a lot like Tetris

Well we got that settled, and then started moving in. We had to do it in shifts in order to get a decent spot for the cars to park and then also so we all didn't move everything into our room at once.

I'm quite happy with my space. It's in its own little corner where I can be an art major and not drive my roommates crazy.



Isn't it lovely?
And of course I have my trusty map of Middle Earth with me, it fit right above my bed so I can have fantastical dreams of hobbits and elves



And I also have some windowsill space where I can keep my alarm clock, gnome, what's still alive of my cactus, and a bottle that I'm hoping will be a vase if I can ever find some flowers to put in it.



That's really all I have time to write right now. It's very late and I just got back from a walk/ tossing the frizz/meeting random people and slacklining. And on top of all that I have to get up at 6am tomorrow to go with Kenny to dive her mom to the airport.
So, have fun sleeping in Jojo! I think it's so ridiculously early that we'll just go in our Pj's.

Bonne nuit!
-Brenna

Couldn't I skip once upon a time, and go straight to happily ever after?

Sometimes I feel as if life has accidentally hit the pause button.

And not the good kind, like "I wish this moment could last forever"

I mean like when you go to pause a video, and it stops at that exact moment when the actor happens to have the most ridiculous look on their face. One eye is half closed and their mouth is shaped like they just smelled something rechid.

Why is it that life slows down when it's the worst most boring time of your life?

And it just speeds up all jolly like once it starts to look up again.

True, at this moment I could be busying myself with moving preparations and packing for school. But because my life seems so dull right now, I can't perk myself up enough to do it.

Now that I think about it, I feel like I did when I first came home from school. My life had always been on the go and so busy and full of people and adventures. That once I got home it all just came crashing down around me. That is until I got busy with work and everything.

And now I'll be back at the place I so longed to be in a mere 3 days. And it's as if my life decided to slow itself down just before I'm to go back to the hustle bustle of it all.

And it's not just while I'm on break that I feel it. I feel a different kind when I'm at Biola. True, I have many things to do and lots of people to be with, but there is a sense of annoyance at all the things I have to go through to know who I'm going to be.

I want to know what God has in store for my life now! I want to know what I'll do. Who I'll marry. Where I will live.

I know that my future is the part of my life at which I am the least patient. But my future is exactly what is taking so long to discover.

Don't I have enough patience not to be tested any longer? Are there not other, less patient people out there in the world who could use the lesson more?

I suppose my thinking that proves that I need it.

Blast.

I saw Ninjas on the subway!!!!!

.... not really.

I was just reading my darling roommate's blog
(please visit my lovely roommates blog Despite Concrete here, I promise you she's a thousand times better than I am at writing)

And I have to say. I quite agree!!! As a matter of fact, I was just thinking about something very similar.
True, the media is waaay out of control and too much for even a young adult like myself to handle. And I'm all for books and playing with cardboard and rocks (growing up in a not so wealthy artist home, that was pretty much the norm for me).
But let's face it. The media isn't going anywhere anytime soon. People are addicted to it. Heck, I'm addicted to it! I can't go a day without my ipod, computer, or phone at my side.
So I think we should clean up the media. Or at least try to.

My thoughts on this subject are centered on one particular company that has it's finger in every sense of technology and marketing.

Disney.

Now I love Disney, don't get me wrong. But my goodness, they have so much going on out in the world and it all needs to stop before my mind explodes!!

They need to clean up their act and get back to what it was supposed to be about. I'm pretty sure that Walt wouldn't have been too keen on the whole Hannah-High School musical gig.
I say, Disney. You have enough money!!!! You have the most amazing theme parks in the world! the best animated movies and the best beginnings!!!

In times like these where everything is going down the tubes and the economy isn't great, we need to fix what we've done. We need to go back to what the Disney company was meant to be.
We need to bring back the classics!!

Stop all this horrible nauseating acting you have plastered all over the Disney Channel. What happened to Timon and Pumba? Goof Troop?! The Little Mermaid series? Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers?! The Gummy Bears!?!
Those were good stories. And they've been replaced with been-there-done-that laugh track shows.
I can't even find those old cartoons on Toon Disney!
Which apparently is now some weird Disney/Sports collaboration.

Remember Silly Symphonies?! I do!!!
And I wasn't even around when they first came out. But Disney kept playing them! And those are some of the best memories I have as a child.

You ask the kids today about any of that and they'll give you a blank stare before they go back to doing the hoedown throwdown.

Bring back the classics Disney! Please! Start making good entertainment again, instead on focusing on making good money.

Think about why you wanted to work with the Disney company. What was that first magical moment that made you want to bring that magic to everyone else in the world? Think about why Walt did it. Are you doing all these things for the same reason?

I hope so. He was a great man. A true living example of staying young at heart, and never-ever letting go of the magic and imagination you had as a child.

Yes Please!!!

If any body is out there taking notes.......



This would most definitely get extra points.

Sort of on the same topic as good looking guys in awesome coats.

I just finished Pride and Prejudice again for the billionth time :]
I actually realized that I'd only read it about 4 times, and I thought that was a problem.
I really should read all of Jane Austen's works all the time, as they tend to make me sound very refined in my head.
I love that the language gets stuck in your mind and you continue to use it for the rest of the day.

this time next week I'll be up in LA at school!! I also still haven't started packing yet, but I did get some plastic boxes things to help organize all my art stuff. And a dry erase calendar thing, so I can write down important things and remember them.

I'll have to have Kenns and Joj remind me to mind it. :]

until later,
Brenna Kathleen

Random but funny....

I've watched this video several times today......

Watch me!!your mum did

I just love it. It's by Natalie over on the Community Channel on youtube. Check out the rest of her videos too! She's amazing.

I usually end up laughing or nodding me head and saying "that's so true!" or "I use random Lord of The Rings quotes that my friends don't understand too!"

yeah.....

Travels and The Mess

I got back from my trip to Santa Rosa to visit Kenny!
I had lots and lots of fun.

We went to this awesome place called Powell's Sweet Shoppe. And oh man!!! they had every kind of candy you ever want! Even the hard to find ones like Jelly Babies, Wine Gums, and Violet Mints! It was truely a magical place.
There was also a kind of soda called Green River that tastes like the color green! It was weird.

And I met all of Kenny's high school friends, which was fun and interesting. Considering I've heard very entertaining stories about pretty much all of them. The best part was that I don tknow if they all knew that I knew everything. Muahaha!

It was fun though, they were all really cool and lovely people. Some of them greeted me like they already knew me, because Kenns had told them about me.

And I got ride a horse! the most lovely Arabian named Cody. I've never ridden on e before, and I think I did pretty well. It wasn't scary at all. In fact I felt pretty comfortable on a horse.... that is until I got off of it.

It was 3 days ago and I'm still saddle sore!

We also went to see Harry Potter 6 for the second time for both of us! But we wanted to see it together, and we found Chocolate Frogs and Blood Pops and Powell's Sweets #2 up in Healdsburg. (fyi.... Kenns.... there's a Powell's in Long Beach!)
Anyways, they had these awesome signs in the Cinema's bathroom!


And now that I'm back I only have 2 weeks until I move back to Biola!! I thought the day would never come, and now it seems to be running at me full speed! I'll be glad to be back. And Certainly glad to have two amazing roommates. But all that work. Meh.

So I have to clean my room and pack..... I haven't started yet. I probably will next week, much to the annoyance of my parents.

I'm 2 vids into my vlog!
Hopefully I'll be starting a collaboration channel with my older bro and my cousin. So that will be fun.
That's really it for now.
Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'll write again before I leave for school, probably amidst the chaos :]