horoscopes

I have the strangest horoscope app on my iPhone, and the analogies it gives always makes for a good laugh.  But today, it actually gave some nice advice!

Observe:

It's rumored that a man in the rainforest of Brazil has discovered the fountain of youth.  He's keeping the location of this life-giving fountain under lock and key.  It's not because he wants it for himself, or because he hopes to profit by selling the precious water to millions of desperate people.  He's keeping it hidden because he fears that if humans thought they could remain young forever, they'd miss out on the true meaning of life.  Think about that today if you fail to live in the moment, or to appreciate those who love you.  The true fountain of youth is to see your life as a miraculous fountain of wonder--every single day.

Totally patched up the kind of emptiness I've been feeling lately, so hopefully it will enlighten you too! :)

somewhere out there

"A guy out there was meant to be the love of your life, your best friend, your soul mate, the one you can tell your dreams to.

He'll brush the hair out of your eyes.

Send you flowers when you least expect it.

He'll stare at you during the movies, even though he paid $8 to see it.

He'll call to say goodnight or just because he is missing you.

He'll look in your eyes and tell you, "you're the most beautiful girl in the world."

And for the first time in your life, you'll believe it."

--Nicholas Sparks

twenty-one pieces of advice

One.

Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

Two.

Marry a person you love to talk to.  As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

Three.

Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.

Four.

When you say, "I love you," mean it.

Five.

When you say, "I"m sorry," look the person in the eye.

Six.

Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

Seven.

Believe in love at first sight.

Eight.

Never laugh at anyone's dreams.  People who don't have dreams don't have much.

Nine.

Love deeply and passionately.  You might get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely.

Ten.

In disagreements, fight fairly.  Please no name calling.

Eleven.

Don't judge people by their relatives.

Twelve.

Talk slowly, but think quickly.

Thirteen.

When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

Fourteen.

Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

Fifteen.

Say "Bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

Sixteen.

When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

Seventeen.

Remember the three R's:

Respect for self.  Respect for others.  Responsibility for all your actions.

Eighteen.

Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

Nineteen.

When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

Twenty.

Smile when picking up the phone.  The caller will hear it in your voice.

Twenty-one.

Spend some time alone.

carmageddon

Kelcy and I have exactly one month left in Los Angeles.  It's bittersweet.  I'm excited to go back to Arizona for a couple weeks, and then head off on an adventure I can't even comprehend right now.  But, I'm also going to miss everything about California.  The weather, the windy roads, the copious activities at every corner, and the friends we've made.  Hopefully it's less of a "goodbye" and more of a "see you later"...after all, the plan is to get a job in L.A. right after graduation in May.

In other news, Vegas was INCREDIBLE!!  I want to go back.  Like next weekend.  It was basically every adjective you can think of all huddled into one weekend.  

Oh...and now it's CARMAGEDDON.  So you know this weekend isn't going to be the blast that Vegas was.  But, in order to make things fun...Kelcy and I are going to have a Final Destination movie marathon.  We were going to make it Harry Potter...but duh, all of the Harry Potter's at every video store have been checked out.  

Sorry for the massive rant, but I've been wanting to blog about all three of those things and I finally got around to it :)

viva las vegas

I am so excited for Vegas this weekend!! The room just got finalized today.  The Venetian, baby :)  Being 21 has been amazing so far...from the weekend in AZ to being here in Cali.  Too bad the camera from our 21st birthday got stolen though...it had some truly epic pictures on it.  

And to get excited for Vegas...some pictures of recent nights out on the town <3

P.S. Any suggestions on where to eat/drink/play in Vegas?!

it's the little things

I totally feel like I've been neglecting my blog.  Twitter has kind of taken over my "social media" life...add me @brookeiam.  It's kind of ridiculous actually.  Tumblr's another addicting one.  It's just so easy.  Therefore, I'm making a vow to myself and to my followers to blog more.  Wow...I almost put a hashtag (#) before "blog", like I would have done on twitter.   This is terribly amazing, haha.

I just don't know what to write on my blog anymore! So to get back in the swing of things, here is a beautiful quote that I reblogged on my tumblr (brookeiam.tumblr.com).

"Better by far to simply try and be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference, not change the world exactly, but the bit around you.  Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully, and well, experience new things.  Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance."

--David Nichols (From: "One Day")

so high

I've been feeling high lately.  It's weird...at certain points throughout the day, I either feel really focused or light-headed (in a good way).  I think it's just the fact that I'm happy.  

This is Kelcy and Nick.....but it's the best picture I have
of California that I've taken this summer.

I'm literally (and now I understand where the expression comes from) high on life.

Reasons why I'm high:

This extended vacation/living situation in LA.

The sweater or no sweater weather.

The mini kitchen Kelcy and I are actually utilizing.

Guilty pleasures: Teen Wolf, The Bachelorette, Pretty Little Liars.

The amazing feeling of not being lonely when it would be so easy to be lonely after moving to a new place.

The excitement of finding a new house in AZ for this year.

The excitement of not knowing where I'll be living in Milan.

The incredible realization that I will be in Milan in 74 days.

21 on MONDAY.

Seeing everyone we left behind in Arizona on Wednesday!!!! 

who wants to go to Paris?!

I do!!  Well actually, I'd like to win for my sister and best friend.  I will be studying abroad in Milan this Fall, and Kelcy wanted to make a trip to Paris before meeting up with me in Italy.  This giveaway would be perfect!!  Thanks to Oh Happy Day :)  

Click on the link below the Eiffel Tower to enter for yourselves!! :)

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris

a typical "monday"

I never really understood why people hated Mondays so much.  Until today.  Today I had possibly my first EVER bad Monday.

This is my wow-today-wasn't-the-greatest-day-ever-and-I'm-a-bit-disappointed-with-myself face.

Why am I so bummed?  Well first off, I went to Bristol Farms for lunch.  Usually I get an amazing caprese panini with balsamic vinegar, toasted.  But today, I thought to myself, "Hey, I'm not that hungry so I'm just going to get some mashed potatoes and steamed veggies, it'll def be cheaper than my $8 panini."  I get to the register, and the nice man asks me for $14 dollars.  I could have gone to Chipotle 2 times and gotten a drink both times.  Or I could have gotten two of those glorious paninis.  Oh well, at least I switched up my diet.

Then, it's time for me to help put together an IKEA bed for the models apartment.  I guess you need screwdrivers to put IKEA items together.  And it doesn't make it any easier when you lose the spare key to the models apartment.  (Let's just say this was probably the stupidest thing I could have done as an intern at l.a. models. )  Needless to say, I got another key, but my punishment was putting the bed together by myself.  And now my forearms are swollen like I just went rockclimbing and it looks as though my hands are bleeding from the inside. It's a lot easier to put an IKEA bed together with an electric screwdriver, FYI, do that and you won't end up like me.

Enough complaining, I don't need to workout today because that was enough.  And I did get my check today.  It put a smile on my face, because it will pay for the parking violation I got on Saturday.

i had a dream

My favorite song right now...I basically have it on repeat.

3 words

I

LOVE

CALIFORNIA

More ramblings coming soon...sorry I've been MIA!  I am back :)

nice thought

I'm going through my little "blog <3" folder on my desktop.  I found a little note that I must have dragged in there from someone's tumblr.  It's a sweet thought, and I truly wonder how many people are able to honestly do the following:

When I'm older and my daughter asks who my first love was, I don't want to have to pull out the old photo album.  I want to be able to point across the room and say, 

"He's sitting right over there."