happy carnival to all

you know you're at a progressive redneck birthday party if...

* the birthday boy gets presents from the oppelo flea market
* nobody bothers to put the pbr in the fridge



* you drink your wine from a mason jar
* instead of hamburgers you have deer burgers



* the highlight of the evening is arm wrestling
* the dogs present have names like "bruiser" and "dixie"










* even the girls arm wrestle
* there's a real slingshot hanging from the ceiling













* trading outfits is the norm (yes, he's wearing my clothes)
* this is the first time you've seen the floors finished (and you're not allowed to ash or spill beer anymore)



* the cowboy and the computer guy can switch roles (and clothes)
* there's a light-up "mad dog" sign on the wall

32 Short Things About Brooke Stapleton

1) i graduate in 11 weeks
2) i have a migit toe
3) some might consider me a tad compulsive
4) my best friend in 6th grade once convinced me to take a splinter out of her bum (she didn't have one...just wanted to see how good a friend i was)
5) my cat tarzan is laying on me right now kneading my arm with his paws
6) i just took up the mandolin
7) chocolate gives me headaches sometimes...but i LOVE it
8) i applied for my first really real job the other day
9) i'm super scared of sharks and alligator garr
10) i want to be a farmer (small-scale) when i grow up
11) i once "moved" to denver for like 11 days
12) i played basketball for 3 years and scored a total of 6 points
13) i learned to like beer in the netherlands
14) after gaining some weight, i realized just how vain i really am
15) and speaking of vain, i can't stand when people can't tell when i'm having a bad hair day (which means they can't tell the difference between that and a good hair day)
16) i can tell when trevor's getting home because of how his car sounds (he just pulled up)
17) i hate the comcast digital cable commercial..."dad, the cable's out again can you fix it?"
18) i miss camping and wish i went all the time (or at least sometime)
19) i don't like the cold of winter unless it's snowing (otherwise, what's the point?)
20) i'm a harry potter nut...from the books to the movies to the xbox games
21) i really like goats..they don't go to hell!
22) i wish i were an artist, like a painter or sculpter or photographer or something
23) is the day i was born
24) is how old i am right now
25) is how old i'll be in 2 months
26) i wish i was a little bit taller, i wish i was a baller, i wish i had a girl who made a good apple cobbler what?
27) sometimes i miss my sophomore year of college...those were good days
28) what i really miss is dancing like a maniac (slut, whatever) like i did in college
29) movies i secretly like: princess diaries, sweet home alabama, and some other ones i can't think of
30) i finally quit sleeping with my stuffed animal, mutt, this past fall
31) i didn't learn to swim until the 5th grade
32) i once got a speeding ticket for doing 92 in a 65

did you make it?

shabooyah

it's that time again. yep, time for another photo update. i don't know why it takes me so long to get around to putting my pictures on my computer from my camera. there's been a good bit going on lately. i'm putting in my first job application (nervous!) for a postition with winrock international at their arlington, virginia office. that would be nuts, huh...living so close to d.c. i have no idea what my shot is at this job, it's definitely not a "social work" job. but i think i could do it. well, anyway, to the photos!


this is the major spread i made for the superbowl "party". we had homemade hot wings, seven-layer bean dip, potato wedges, homemade cheese, and puppy chow. there were sooo many leftovers. we ate them for days. and we've still got a fridge FULL of beer.

here's lindsey at her 3rd birthday party (not her most photographic moment). it was at the gym where the kids take gymnastics and gina teaches. it was super cute, especially when all the kids were in the foam pit. gina did the dora cake, which looked awesome. she was up all night with it. good stuff.

here's trevor and me after our delicious valentine's day dinner at vermillion water grill. we ate sooo much food; i couldn't even sleep on my stomach i was so full. we had shrimp pad thai, salads (trevor's had duck on it), basil seared scallops with garlic mashed potatoes (me), lamb loin chops with garlic mashed potatoes (trevor), and white chocolate raspberry creme brulee. it was amazing.

ahh, yes. the highlight of my week. my new baby, my new hobby, my new obsession. since trevor and i decided to do a road trip instead of costa rica for my graduation trip, i decided to splurge and buy myself a mandolin. yep, i'm teaching myself to play. i've got chords c and g down pretty well, and i'm working on f (can't get it to sound pretty), d and a (both of which are hard to get my fingers to do). i spent over an hour trying to tune it properly with trevor's help. man, that's hard. my e string is tough to get just right. i'm really excited, and i think this just might be my thing.

and here are the boys on the wintery day. trevor's getting started on his 4-hour marathon of golf on the xbox. tarzan slept quite a bit. ashley walked over and the three of us walked to sufficient grounds for lunch and warm beverages. rented a movie, and i've been cozy inside since.
well, that's all of that for now.

currently watching: cast away on abc

my current addicions:

1. wasabi...i want it anytime, on almost anything. dab some on a piece of sushi, cover some peanuts or freeze-dried peas. i love it. burns my nose. love it.

2. cookies and milk...oreos and nutter butters. extreme goodness. easy on the mouth. mmmmm.

3. the olympics...we're watching so much of it here. love the skating, love the skiing, love the snowboarding. love it. i think i might try the luge some day, but trevor thinks i'm crazy. i mean, they do go 90 mph or so. either that or be a jockey (as in with the racing horses...i am pretty short, just have to drop 30 pounds or so).








the bane of my existence: my impacted wisdom teeth that think they're going to come in. i've been in pain on one side of my mouth or the other since LAST THURSDAY! it's totally out of control!!! i'm eating bananas for breakfast since the ibubprophen hasn't kicked in by them.

a saturday morning photo shoot

yeah, so this is what you do in bed on saturday morning with your cat when you don't have to be up for much...