Survey Saturday

Hello all,

This Saturday's survey comes from the lovely Lauren Hartmann from "the little things we do". You should definitely give her blog (and beautiful baby) a look! This one is all about "firsts" so...here we go!


1. My first memory is....laying in my grandma's bed listening to her tell me stories. Perhaps that's where I get my love of literature.

2. My first love was....truly my husband. I didn't know what real love was until I met him. What a man. But on a less serious note my first "love" was probably Michael J. Fox from Back To The Future. He was hot back then.

3. My very first favorite color was...pink. Gross.

4. The first time I really felt like a "grown-up"...is hard to say. I have gelt grown up for a long time. But, I definitely felt the adulthood pangs when I started paying my own bills and then realized I had NO money. Poverty = adulthood.

5. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is...hit the snooze for a few minutes, then drag myself up and make Toby's lunch. Then I clean up the kitchen and get back into bed and do homework before class at 930.

6. The first CD (cassette tape, record, etc...) I ever bought was...Selena's crossover album "Dreaming of You". First CD ever and it was amazing. Como la flor...

7. My first car was...a 2001 Hyundai Elantra that was once my husband's. I never could afford a car but when I moved to Georgia, Toby's dad fixed up his old car and gave it to me! I was do excited!

Happy weekending,

~B~

Survey Saturday

Hello all,


I found this little thingy on my dear Charlotte's blog (if you have not checked out her space, do. It is always so fun and witty to read). I have always loved these things...maybe because I like answering questions more than coming up with them. Who knows. So this will be our survey for this weekend. Enjoy!

If I were a gemstone, I'd be Black Opal, because it's very interesting.
If I were a scent, I'd be pumpkin spice.
If I were a pair of shoes, I'd be a pair of moccasins.
If I were the weather, I'd be cloudy, cool day that is at the tail of autumn and the cusp of winter.
If I were a facial expression, I'd be a smirk...because who smiles ALL the time?

If I were a car, I'd be a black mini-cooper.
If I were a time of day, I'd be that lovely but sometimes eery time of morning when mist is everywhere.
If I were a month, I'd be November.
If I were a place, I'd be the English countryside (<---Charlotte, you're a gal after my own heart!).
If I were a liquid, I'd be a glass of red wine, or a cup of earl grey tea.
If I were a taste, I'd be something like Aztec hot chocolate: sweet, spicy and warm.

If I were a sea animal, I'd be a dolphin
If I were a food, I'd be cinnamon roll.
If I were a colour, I'd be olive green and grey.
If I were a musical instrument, I'd be a violin.
If I were a flower, I'd be Queen Anne's lace. Simple yet elegant...and a wildflower :)
If I were a song, I'd be "The End?" from the Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows soundtrack

If I were a planet, I'd be Neptune 'cause it's pretty.
If I were an object, I'd be a book.
If I were a fruit, I'd be a pineapple.
If I were a sound, I'd be rain.
If I were a day of the week, I'd be a Sunday.

That's all, folks.

~B~

absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Hello all,

It has been dreadfully long since I last wrote in my beloved little online journal. The starting of school for me, work for Toby and ministry for both has thrown us for quite a loop. So much of a loop that I scarcely remember to brush my teeth at night! However, life continues and God is still good and therefore I "keep calm and carry on" as they say. Well, sometimes.

Anyhow, I figure I'd like to share some insta-memories from the past few weeks since it's been so long!

And on another note, tonight at sundown begins Yom T'ruah (aka Rosh HaShannah) which means the day of blowing (shofars). It's a time of repentance and soul-searching and I LOVE it. I love all these Fall feasts that are about to come up, which hopefully I will make some time to share about them with you. But for now, I will live you with the instas of our lives and will see you next time.

~B~

Back to school! (pictured: my crazy calendar full of dates, obligations and deadlines, coffee,
Dream Visions and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer, and The Monk by Matthew Lewis.)

The Monster aka all of Shakespeare's plays combined in one brilliantly bound
book that basically weighs 200 pounds.

Jane Austen!

A friendly reminder at our new apartment's dumpster.

My lovely new (well, thrifted but new to me) teapot that I found for 6 bucks
at Goodwill thrift store. It's perfect, and I've been searching for years for the kettle
that would suit me best. Hooray! The cup is thrifted too :)

Got back into the challah baking gig this week and if felt good! Shabbat is not
the same without it!

It's pumpkin time!!! Come on, cool weather!

Times are stressful and I get discouraged sometimes, but this is a great reminder.

survey saturday and happy birthday, Toby!

Hello friends,

Greetings from North Carolina! We are here for a very exciting event called AMF. It is a Messianic Jewish woodstock type of deal. There will be concerts all weekend, drum circles, camping...but not drugs or mudbaths...we have more class than that. Seriously though it is very exciting and God is doing some super cool things. Toby and I are going to play some of our worship stuffs tomorrow afternoon, so we are kinda pumped about that. We are in a hotel because we do not thrive without electricity, haha. I love nature, but I also love showers and a toilet. So sue me.

Anyways, this Saturday's survey is all about birthdays, courtesy of the dear Lauren Hartmann from 'the little things we do'. It is Toby's birthday today! and as a gift...he drove 4 hours haha. No, I got him some DC Comic superhero glasses that he loved...more than I thought he would actually...so we're good.

On with the survey!

1.  The age I will be on my upcoming birthday is   26. I can't believe time has flown by so fast  .

2.   The best birthday present ever would be   an all expenses paid 2 week vacation to anywhere I choose. I mean FOR REAL. Who the heck would not want that?? And for the record, I pick New Zealand .

3.  My favorite birthday to date was    my 23rd birthday. Toby planned a little surprise party for me with some of our close friends at his mom's. I was on the 'I have to look good in my wedding dress' diet, so Toby's sister Sarah designed a diet friendly meal for me and it was so wonderful. I miss sister Sarah .

4. Birthdays make me feel    nice. They are not like the major thing I look forward to, but they are nice. It is always nice to be remembered and have people show some love of course, but honestly I get more excited about Hanukkah than my birthday haha .

5. The worst birthday I ever had was   my 16th birthday  oddly enough. One word: DRAMA.

6. When I was born  IT WAS A WARM JUNE EVENING! Haha, not it was not. I was born in March (The Office, anyone???). I was 6 lbs. 9 oz. and I came out sideways. Sorry, Mom  .

7.  So far my favorite age has been   23 because I was just starting out with Toby and we were (and still are) embarking on new and fun adventures together. Married life rocks :)  .

Have a great weekend!

~B~

"my daughter gonna marry I-AN MILLER."

Haha. Forgive the my big fat Greek wedding quote, but this entry is about the intent to marry...and Toby is Greek...and I watched this on my wedding day.

Anyways...

Today, well technically yesterday because it's midnight, 3 years ago Toby popped the question to me. It was a beautiful Shabbat day after Toby and I had led worship together for the first time. Before we left for lunch he got all awkward and quiet...not to mention the odd little box I saw sitting out in PLAIN VIEW (silly Toby).

He took me out in the beautiful deck at his mom's and with tears in his eyes asked for my hand in marriage. According to him, I thrusted my hand in his face in order to get that ring on. Knowing me, I believe him.

Love you my amazing man. Thanks for asking :)

Brooke

Crossing The Delaware: Part III

Hello all,

'tis the final chapter of our road trip paradise, and honestly this is my favorite part...THE FAMILY!

We drove up to see Toby's mom's side of the family and boy are they great! Full of life, fun and crazy...so we get along swimmingly. I never had a chance to meet them until now so it was a real treat and I adore them all. It's nice when families can be friends too. We went to see movies, swimming, fishing, thrifting, cruised the Capitol and had a cocktail or two ;) they also held a little reception for Toby and I and also for his cousin Benny and his wife Alyssa. Ashley (another fantastic cousin) made the cakes and Amber (yet another fantastic cousin) picked out our cake topper. As you will see below, it was hilarious and sweet. Anyone who can link childhood wrestling (yes, wrestling) memories with a wedding has my respect. All in all it was wonderful to meet and connect with new family and there are already talks of a wintertime visit! YAY SNOW!

Enjoy the pictures and talk to you soon,

Brooke

P.S. We actually DID cross the Delaware while we were fishing! So cool. And also, sorry about the photos being super out of sequence. I added them via iPod so it screwed it up somehow. until we get set up in the new apartment (yay) it will be less than perfect. Oh well.

Uncle Pete's fishing boat!

The breakfast Toby made for me one morning :)

mmm, summer days at Aunt Beth's pool. Miss it already!

Herr's chips! He is a happy man.

The little town of Middletown, DE.

Queen Anne's Lace. One of my favorite blooms, even if it is a weed. Beauty in simplicity, I say.

This little creature befriended me (Chase, by name) and was always by
my side. I miss his sweet little face.

The biggest fish of the day!

Toby making breakfast.

Ok, so I was OBSESSED with this movie all throughout my childhood
and could quote every line. When I saw this movie score record at Goodwill
I flipped out! I wish I had a record player!

This is us on the way home when we stopped at the battle site at Fredericksburg, VA.

Toby kneeling by the original wall built during the Civil War.

WE'RE ON A BOAT! lol

L to R: Toby, Amber, Me, Ashley, Bud aka the 4 horsemen...even though there is five of us lol. All we are missing is our beloved SARAH, Toby's amazing sister. (Check her out on instagram: nalismo)

Another from Fredericksburg.

The participants: Uncle Pete, Toby, Bud, and Me. Poor Bud only caught this poor little
fellow, which sucks, because he is an excellent fisherman. But it was HILARIOUS. I caught the most
and Toby caught the biggest. Pete gave moral support as the most seasoned of the bunch :)

The cloud factory on the river! JK, its just a nuclear plant, but we decided that it was a cloud factory.

THE CAKE! Ok, so the family gave us a belated reception and the
amazing cousins made the cake. Toby and them LOVED the wrestler Sting
back in the day so he and another fabulous wrestling lady adorned our cake.
It was super funny and sweet...in a childhood memories way.

Survey Saturday (long time, no see)

Hey guys,

It's been FOREVER since I've done one if these, and I actually really like doing them. Why? Because it's fun to look back and see what my opinions were at a certain time in life, because Lord knows we all change daily!

Speaking of changes, my schedule is about to include the words 'back to school' in it, and honestly, I'm kind of pumped. There is something about a community of people that are all juggling school, work, family and more and band together for venting/support that is just neat. This community is called college students. I like them.

So here's to this week's survey all about...you guessed it...BACK TO SCHOOL.

1. When August arrives I...generally feel a panicked kind of emotion because I don't want my pseudo-freedom to end. Then I kind if start to get excited...because I'm a nerd.

2. My favorite subject is...English, which is important because it's my major, haha. Anything that involves reading, analyzing, and writing papers excites me. Call me crazy, but it's true!

3. A fun school fact is...that my first grade teacher told my mom that I would be a writer one day, and I'm now an English major and in the process of writing a book! Thank you, Mrs. Fleece for believing in me.

4. In school, I always hated...eating in the cafeteria. There is an anxiety involved with walking through crowds of people to find a vacant seat MAYBE by friends that I loathe. I mean, I did it, but it sucked. I eventually me and my super cool choir friends acquired passes to get our food and eat in the choir room...ya know...because that's what the "cool kids" do. Lol not.

5. During the school year...I tend to drink more coffee and value free time more. I'm always tired, hence the coffee, and because my schedule includes work, ministry, school and married life, I live for the moments that I can stop and enjoy a moment without a scheduled event.

6. I was never good at...anything math related. Bless my teachers. They tried, I failed.

7. This year, my goal...is to make all A's (honor roll, baby!) and NOT procrastinate...haha.

That's all folks. Have a good weekend!

~B~