Home Sweet Home...

I made it! I survived my sophomore year of college. I thought the 18 units were going to pound me into the carpet of my extremely cluttered dorm room.
But after hours of packing and cleaning, traffic, and more traffic resulting in a 3 hour long drive that should have only lasted 1 1/2, I'm home. Yes, I have lots of boxes in the family room that I have to go through over the next few days. Yes, I start work on Tuesday after missing it completely due to traffic today. Yes, I have to do an extreme downsize on everything that I'll be bringing back. But I'm done and home! I've forgotten how comfy my bed here is. I can't wait to snuggle in it again, even if I'm surrounded by suitcases and boxes when I wake up.

Since I'm here and resting. I can leisurely look at web sites again without feeling guilty because I should be doing something else. So I took a quick trip over to........ you guessed it! Modcolth.

I've mentioned before that one of my favorite things that they've done on their site is add a "longer lengths" section in their dresses. Although some of them still seem to be just as the knee, it's better than the usual length which is just below your pelvic bone.

But the things there make me waft off to dream land where money doesn't matter, and your outfit is always darling and cute...

Who wouldn't LOVE this amazing little envelope necklace, with a little letter inside!

I also get some ideas for future living situations, be they dorm room or a real home.

 

Who thought of this beautiful contraption?! It makes me want to wash dishes all day long and whistle happy tunes.

 The barely-dipped rose handle on this mug.... is it disgusting if I describe it as 'delicious'?

I'm actually excited to go through everything I brought back. I won't have much room next year, and I'll have to come up with some sort of container system for my art supplies. 

But think of the potential of an empty canvas of a space, I take it as a challenge.

I've already taken measurements of every piece of furniture in the room, and will be attempting to make a slip cover with built-in cushions for my ugly college-supplied desk chair. 

This will be epic.

Until next time, which won't be so long now that I have more free time!!

-Brenna Kathleen

Geek Pride Day

Today is Geek Pride Day!!


While some people celebrate on May 4th ("May the fourth be with you"). The actual Star Wars Day is May 25th, which is when the first Star Wars movie was released.
Apparently, it was also made into Geek Pride Day. While looking some things up, I stumbled upon the basic rights and responsibilities of geeks. And although I consider myself more nerd than geek, I thought I'd share with all of you

Rights:

1. The right to be even geekier.
2. The right to not leave your house.
3. The right to not have a significant other and to be a virgin.
4. The right to not like football or any other sport.
5. The right to associate with other nerds.
6. The right to have few friends (or none at all).
7. The right to have all the geeky friends that you want.
8. The right to not be "in-style."
9. The right to be overweight and have poor eyesight.
10. The right to show off your geekiness.
11. The right to take over the world.

Responsibilities:

1. Be a geek, no matter what.
2. Try to be nerdier than anyone else.
3. If there is a discussion about something geeky, you must give your opinion.
4. Save any and all geeky things you have.
5. Do everything you can to show off your geeky stuff as though it were a "museum of geekiness."
6. Don't be a generalized geek. You must specialize in something.
7. Attend every nerdy movie on opening night and buy every geeky book before anyone else.
8. Wait in line on every opening night. If you can go in costume or at least with a related T-shirt, all the better.
9. Don't waste your time on anything not related to geekdom.
10. Befriend any person or persons bearing any physical similarities to comic book or sci-fi figures.
11. Try to take over the world!

Have a wonderful Geek Pride Day!
-Brenna Kathleen

Singing

... is my stress relief.

I believe that I've written that before. But I tend to go to certain songs when I get the chance to let it out.

1. Belle - Beauty and The Beast (also my favorite Disney song)
2. Something There & Home- also Beauty and the Beast since Belle is my vocal match in the princesses.
3. Part of Your World- The Little Mermaid
4. A Whole New World- Aladdin
5. Pony (It's Okay)- Erin McCarley ( repeating "it's okay" usually helps with stress. haha)

This is usually where it has to end. The windows of stress singing are small with two roommates, but I don't mind. They know I need it sometimes and graciously allow me to play loud music.
If I can continue I usually play Jason Mraz or Pink Martini since I like trying to copy the smooth, fluidity in the singing styles.

Now that I got that bit out there...

Back to my schooling!!
-Brenna Kathleen

When Two Loves Combine...

I haven't had a post on any sort of fashion in a while. Mostly because I've been too busy to look and dream about fashion, or have time to look good myself. I've left the nerdy-vintage-chic style that I'm working so hard to have and have gone with tee shirt and jeans with a sweater (not even that now, it's so hot here!) for the past month. But a re-visit to Modcloth and the "longer lengths" in the dress section (that to be honest looks like most of them barely reach your knee, longer? really?) lead me to this beauty

It's called the Blueberry Oatmeal Dress. And if there is one thing everyone should know about me, it's that I absolutely adore breakfast! It's weird, I know. But true. And the fact that this lovely dress is named after one of my favorite things on the planet makes my heart melt a little bit like rich butter on a perfectly brown slice of toast.

Anyways, I have school work to get back to. I'm working on "real work" today after having been out until 5 am last night working in the ceramics studio. Ahh.... the life of the college art major.

Toodles!
-Brenna Kathleen

Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter Writing

Tonight I attended a lecture by a Torrey student here (Torrey is like Biola's version of an honors program... sort of) that was on the art of letter writing. One of the sources she used was a work by Lewis Carroll (well-known for his Alice books) titled "Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter Writing"

I made a note of this work in my sketchbook, because I love my Carroll, and later I searched for it on the great internet. What I found was really quite enchanting!

He has five different sections:
-On Stamp-Cases
-How to Begin a Letter
-How to Go On With a Letter
-How to End a Letter
and
- On Registering Correspondence

Naturally, you should start with the first one. I don't know why I linked them all, since you can just scroll through on the website I found it on. But perhaps I may need it for future reference! (I love the little bit on the white elephant in the last section)

On another note, I know that not that many people even read my blog. But as I aforementioned, I am going on a missions trip to Germany this summer! More specifically to the town of Guben that is South-East of Berlin, to teach English at a summer camp there.

We still need lots of monetary support (and you can provide that by donating on line here), but more important we need prayer support for the team and for the kids at the camp.  We are so thankful for everything that God has provided and the gifts we have been so graciously been given.
Thank You!

I'm going to go to bed now, since it is well past midnight and I have New Testament class in the morning.

Have a lovely day (morning, afternoon, evening, night)!
-Brenna Kathleen

My White Knight

When I was at the end of my sixth grade year, I auditioned for my soon-to-be middle school vocal ensemble. The song that I sang was "Goodnight My Someone" from The Music Man. Looking back I'm glad that they took a chance on me, I remember my whole body and voice was shaking so bad! I've never been an amazing singer, and I was singing super first soprano for that one. The choir director took me aside and had me sing Mary Had A Little Lamb to make sure I could follow notes, and to probably check that I could sing for real.

I still sing that song at random times, granted I usually take it down a notch. When I make my bed at night, and say goodnight to my roommates sometimes I will start humming it or sing a few lines. Most of the time that's met with some shushing because they're trying to sleep or read. But I still sing it in my head when I get it in there. I love the idea of singing to someone you love even when you don't know who they are.

Since I get it in my head, sometimes I want to actually hear it so I hop on youtube and bring up the modern version with Kristin Chenoweth (sorry for you folks who love the original). As always, youtube has the related videos on the side, and I saw the video for My White Knight was up.

This song has been stuck in my head, but I had forgotten what it was from! It's in there from reading and watching too much Alice Through The Looking Glass. When I read the character of the White Knight it makes me think of this song. So when I found it, I got really excited.

I had only remembered the tune to the words that are the title of the song, so when I listened to it again I fell in love with it.



How amazing is that? It's about how she wants a normal guy (even though the guy the character ends up with is nothing like what she described). Everyone has sweet songs about amazing men who will come and swoop them off their feet. But sometimes it's not like that. Sometimes he's a normal guy, but still honest, gentle, plain, and straightforward. 
I love the line "And I would like him to be more interested in me than he is in himself. And more interested in us than in me." Of course she has the girlish feelings that she wants him to be interested in her, but then she says that he wants him to be more interested in their relationship than in her. She wants a man who will take more time to work on the two of them together.

Not only does she want a normal kind of guy, but one "if occasionally he'd ponder what make Shakespeare and Beethoven great."
This is why I love Marian. Because she loves books. And her secret little desire is that the man she loves is a man who loves the same things. Books and music. Ah..... sounds wonderful.

And as if the most mundane love song couldn't get any more un-romantic listen to the line "let me walk with him where others ride by." The other people can ride in their fancy little love mobiles. But Marian just wants to walk and love her man. It's so simple.



So simple.


If only it were truly that simple.


Enjoy the video, and click on others. I'm going to go sleep/try to sound like a respectable soprano
-Brenna Kathleen

Stress

I used to say that I never got stressed. I used to get angry, but not stressed.

Now I am stressed. Now I know how I deal with stress. I cry. I become a sniffling emotional pool of tears. When everything is being piled on top of me all I can do is curl up in a ball and cry, or hold back the tears and work through it until I have the chance to.
I try to nap because of exhaustion. All I can do is cry because of exhaustion.

I've been trying to use this as a lesson to rely on the strength of God. But I still feel overwhelmed. I ask for grace over and over again, but I still keep crying.

I need to think now. I need to get my act together and write a 6 page paper. I'm pretty sure I'll still be a wreck.

On a good note. I have a wonderful mother. And now I'm crying because I feel so loved and taken care of. I was sent the best care package ever. Nuts, tea biscuits, chocolate and pretzels, easy mac. Everything that I feel like eating right about now when I just want to give up.

I know that I can keep going. I have to. I have to continue to constantly hand my load and stress over to God, or else I won't make the grade.

I'm also kept going by the love and munchies of my mom, and my stress relief that I have to carefully plan to do when the roommates aren't around. Because that stress relief is turning on my favorite songs and singing until I let it all out.
I'm going to work on my paper now.

Prayers are most welcome :]
-Brenna Kathleen