trevor sleeps like a baby

but not me. some nights i'm awake for hours on end with little explanation. tonight i've got a pretty good guess what's keeping me up, but that doesn't make it any easier to sleep. it's funny, i always get this way the night before the first day of school; but never before the last. things are different now. this could be my last last day. i don't really remember being like this when i graduated from uca...but then i knew i was heading off for more school. now i have no idea when or if i'll ever be a student again. i mean, i've been a student for the past 21 years, with only one year off. i've always been able to look forward to yet another year of school; it was my decision to discontinue my life as a student, but i'll still miss the reliability of the classroom.

this sounds nerdy (and social workey), but i don't think i've really prepared myself for this very well. my afternoon class tomorrow is having taking a casual setting for the last day at the rivermarket, and we'll be dealing with termination. termination: the end of the relationship. it inevitably comes in most relationships, not soely therapeutic ones. my eleven classmates and i (all women, by the way) have essentially been together since the beginning. sure, there were some that i didn't have classes with in my foundation year, but most of them i have. and all of us have been together this entire school year. we don't have that much in common outisde the classroom and our quests to be masters of social work, but there's still something monumental about this end.

i know i'm off to a new adventure, to a new job (details to come later when things are official), a new town (batesville), and a MUCH bigger living arrangement. we found a 3-bedroom house this morning and signed on the dotted line (renting, not buying just yet). no fence, but i'm allowed to dig and garden. nice neighborhood, but don't know where we'll ride bikes. it'll really be an adjustment...can't just have a beer at the local restaurant, different restaurants, lack of friends, a new grocery store...but i know we'll have a good time. i'll try to remember my camera when we take a load up this weekend so i can post pictures of what the house looks like. it's pretty hard to believe we'll only been in little rock for about 3 more weeks. we're heading to telford, tn on the 22nd, and when we come back we'll officially be batesvillers. batesvillites. batesvillagers.

oh, and if anyone is dying to cat sit...tarzan is a treat!

MSN Money - What driving a hybrid will really cost you

MSN Money - What driving a hybrid will really cost you

a decent article for those considering purchasing a hybrid in the near future. the title makes it sound like hybrids are a bad idea, but that's not what the content of the article points to...

posting at the office

hmmm, i've never yet tried this. i'm at the office, and i'm posting. this is my last hour and a half of my last day of my next-to-last week here at arkansas advocates. i've spent all day (all week, really) working on the contact database...bor-ring to the max! but at least i get paid to do that, unlike all of my other internship duties. now i'm just waiting for the kids count steering committee meeting to begin--i'm updating everyone on the bookings i did for the 3 upcoming events. very important.
the birthday went fine. i made it to 25 without serious harm. flying fish on saturday with loads of pals (and one sister...thanks meg!) for the annual crab leg feast. i just wish i could eat them quickly enough for them not to get cold. that's pretty unrealistic. sunday trevor & i went to pinnacle and hiked from the west side to the east on the base, up the east side, and then down the west side. i really thought people were just being weenies when they called the east side "the hard side", but that's no joke, man. that's some hard business. dinner with the fam at the purple cow (what the heck?), and then spending all of my b&n gift certificate immediately on 4 books i'm pumped about reading now that i don't have to read for school ever agian. well, unless i go back.
yeah, and so i've officially turned in the last of my assignments. possibly for the last time ever. hmm, food for thought...
sunday and monday trevor and i are planning to go up to batesville to see if there's a house around those parts that suits our fancy. i've got lots of criteria, and i'm betting i'll have to give up several: pets allowed, fenced-in back yard, gardening allowed, washer/dryer hookups, dishwasher, hardwood floors, central heat/air...those are the necessities, but we'll just have to see what's available.
well, i think that meeting's getting ready to start...gotta jet

i have a weakness for these silly things

i know these are pretty cheesy, and i totally stole this from kari's blog (but she stole it from someone else, so it's okay), so don't feel obligated to read this at all. if you want something with more sustinance, read friday's post about my little feet in the world of bigger shoes.

A - Available: nah
A - Age: 25 on sunday (dum, da dum dum)
A - Annoyance: bad grammar

B - Best Friend: trevor seth
B - Birthday: tomorrow

C - Crush: aidan from sex in the city
C - Car: professor plum
C - Cat: tarzan, the crazy cat

D - Dead Pets Name: that's kind of morbid, but heidi is the one i miss the most
D - Dads Name: dave and gene(uncle)
D - Dogs: we can't wait to get one, but can't agree on what size...

E - Easiest person to talk to: boy: trevor, girl: ashley
E - Eggs: delicioso, especially with cavendars
E - Email: 4 friggen accounts

F - Favorite color: green and pink
F - Food: everyday: potatoes, special occasion: crab legs, dessert: lemon icebox pie
F - Foreign Slang: i think i could get myself into trouble with that one, so i'll go safe: testa duda (italian for "hard head")

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: haribo bears...best nonchocolate candy EVER
G - God: not sure
G - Good Times: what i look for

H - Hair Color: dyed it dark brown over spring break, and NOT ONE person has noticed!
H - Height: '5''2 and a quarter (and yes, the quarter counts)
H - Happy: generally, except when i've got pms (as in now)

I - Ice Cream: moose tracks
I - In school: graduate in 3 weeks...msw

J - Jewelry: silver only
J - Job: intern at arkansas advocates for children and families
J - Jokes: horrible at telling them

K - Kids: want two...recently learned the "secret" to having a boy
K - Karate: ummm, i love the karate kid
K - Kung fu: i have no idea...

L - Longest Car Ride: phoenix, az to seattle, wa (took 4 days with my family and hampsters)
L - Longest relationship: roughly 5 years
L - Last kiss: just this morning

M - Milk Flavor: skim or chocolate or strawberry...i love milk!
M - Mothers Name: laurie and margie(aunt)
M - Movie Last Watched: crash--even more intense than i'd figured

N - Number of Siblings: six, three brothers and three sisters
N - Northern or Southern: SOUTHERN
N - Name: alexandra brooks stapleton

O - One Wish: to be happy with the job i take
O - One Phobia: storms
O - Otter Pop: any flavor but grape

P - Parents, are they married or divorced: married
P - Part of your appearance you like best: hair
P - Part of your personality you like best: not a good question for today

Q - Quote: "A way of life in which each person used only a fair share of the resources of the world and yet somehow enjoyed life would be a real step toward world peace." B.F. Skinner
Q - Quick or Slow?: driving and walking: quick, eating: slow

R - Reality TV Show: wish i didn't like them, but i don't like them all
R - Right or Left: most things: right, belaying: left
R - Right now: trying to keep tarzan of the laptop

S - Song Last Heard: i have no idea
S - Season: spring
S - Sport: riding my bike...not that i do that in any sort of sporty way, tough i do have the gear...

T - Time you woke up: 8ish
T - Time Now: 9:26 am
T - Time for bed: between 10 and 11

U - Unknown Fact about me: i don't wear deodorant
U - Unicorns: pretended to be one when i was a kid
U - You are: ready for breakfast...mmmmmm lucky charms

V - Vegetable you hate: i've never tried brussells sprouts, but i know i'd hate them
V - Vegetable you love: fresh asparagus
V - Voice: HORRIBLE

W- Worst Habits: chewing on the inside of my cheeks
W- Where are you going to travel next?: probably ne tennessee and pennsylvania (where i've never been)
W - Where were you born?: camp springs, md (essentially washington, dc)

X - X-Rays: my thumb when i was little (what a waste), and on my leg when i got a stress fracture from playing ultimate in college (actually required a bone scan)
X - Xylaphone: i have a difficult time spelling that word
X - X: men, wish i were one...i'd want to be invisible, i think

Y - Year you were born: 1981
Y - Year it is now: 2006
Y - Yellow: not a good color for the bedroom...too exciting

Z - Zoo Animal: not a fan of the zoo, but i do like the primates
Z - Zodiac: taurus
Z - Zoolander: hi-larious. i just can't get enough of ben stiller

sizeism--a rant

now here's a question...why is it so impossible for me to find shoes that fit my feet? i understand that we size fivers are in the minority. but we do exist! and we also like to purchase and wear shoes (except for when it's hot)! just a couple of weeks ago, for example, i'm in dillards looking for some shoes to wear for the moyer-french wedding/easter, and the first salesman i encounter simply tells me that there's no way they've got that shoe in a size five. in fact, dillards just hardly even carries size fives, his wife can't even shop there. he doesn't even bother to look! the next salesman was willing to look, but carried the same message: we don't order shoes for your kind here.

again, i do understand that my feet are in the minority, but i can certainly think of 3 people that wear the same size. they, too, like to wear shoes. also, how is it that all of you with larger feet managed to skip size five, thereby eliminating the need for such a small size in local department and other shoe-selling stores? i mean, is size five not on the road to size six in some transitional sort of way?

my latest desire: a pair of chacos. i've been holding out on getting a pair as i have some pretty sturdy tevas that i got on super-sale (like nineteen bucks) my sophomore year of college. but i discovered some backstrapless chacos that struck my fancy and that would serve a different purpose than the tevas (so as not to insult the tevas and imply that they were too uncool for my feet). i tried ozark outdoor (preferring a local approach)...no luck. gene lockwood's...no luck. it's as though the internet is the only option for small feet like mine. and it's not like i don't appreciate the convenience of ordering off of the internet, it's just that sometimes a gal wants her shoes now. is that so much to ask of little rock? apparently so.

fortunately, trevor is the best ever. yesterday there was a little sticky note on the door from the ups people about a package to be delivered. being the clevertrevorseth, he pretended to have no clue what could be coming in the mail (and i really was convinced, confused, but convinced). the package arrived today, and he had me open it while he was on the phone. yep, it was the pair of chacos that i'd seen on sale on the internet but that were out of stock when i went back to order them (it is now clear that trevor was the reason they were out of stock).

anyways, that's just my long rant and rave about how i can almost never find the shoes i'm looking for in the size i need in this darned city. for next time: pants...either too long or too short...

bummer

looks like we won't be moving to north carolina after all...

spring is in the air...

it's another sunday without gray's anatomy, and the end of a busy but beautiful weekend. picked tron up from the airport thursday night and he got the distinct pleasure of a night on the couch with noisy tarzan. friday tron and i made it out to heifer ranch in time for lunch, and it was pretty weird only knowing a few of the volunteers out there. joined in on a lesson on making romanian batik resist eggs...mine stood for wish fulfillment. we've got plenty of wishes around here that need fulfilling, that's for sure.

mawwage. mawwage was what brought us to petit jean saturday. sarah & will's wedding was at camp mitchell's chapel of transfiguration. the weather was amazing (a little windy), and there were hawks soaring in the vista. the officiant was joel's dad, david; he did a truly wonderful job making unique connections between sarah and will. i think i'd have to say that the best part was sarah's stripper shoes. reception at their house...lots of madonna. champagne spilled on my new skirt twice! still managed to wear it again today for easter. it was soo good to see everyone. there were lots of old pals in town--in addition to tron, we saw ellen, meredith, m.c., jan, and the other usual suspects.

mass was loooong, waaaay hot, and there was no place for trevor & me to sit. yeah, standing for an hour and a half in heels when you never wear heels: not good. the food was great at aunt margie & uncle gene's...ham, roast, spaghetti, green creamy jello, deviled eggs, salad, strawberry shortcake: wow. not as big of a crowd as usual, we all actually fit in the living room. confetti eggs, tons of pictures, candy.candy.candy.

this week should yeild a decision as to where we'll be and what we'll be doing. we're meeting with mike cumnock (ceo, arkansas sheriff's youth ranches) tuesday, and i'd better hear from blue ridge asap. i'm getting so impatient. will keep posted.

the sage is in bloom

i've decided today's a hookey day. i don't have morning class anyway, and my allergies have me coughing, sniffeling and sounding like darth vader. so i'm thinking...laundry, taking pictures around the apartment and the like.

winds of change have been more tornadic lately. snafu and poof, trevor's job is gone. i may still have a shot with blue ridge women in agriculture. or i might end up working for arkansas sheriff's youth ranches. essentially, we'll be either in batesville or boone.

good stuff in the news: a higher minimum wage improves the lives of over 100,000 arkansans.

just about one month until graduation. it's hard to believe that i may never be a student again. probably i'll just go back in a couple of years. i'm in the home stretch with my assignments, with only 3 weeks of class & internship after this week.

oh, and i guess i'm the last on the bandwagon to say horray for chandle and david's engagement. what a happy time of year. sarah and will get hitched this saturday, and just one month later it's chad and rachel's turn. and believe it or not, raquel adami will be making her trip down the isle summer 07. twitterpated. that owl on bambi sure had it right...

and be sure to note the new blogs linked over on the right~>

some awesome news!

well, we got some really good news today! trevor has been offered the challenge course coordinator position at the ranch!! horray! he had his interview yesterday, and got the call this afternoon. now we're just waiting to see if i got the job with blue ridge women in agriculture...i should hear sometime tomorrow. not sure what will happen if i do get it though...we'll have some deciding to do. anyhoo, i'll keep ya posted as to what happens next.

them bones them bones them lazy bones

um, yeah, so the majority of my spring break was pretty much spent with a crew of animals. house/dog/cat sitting for amy was a good way to spend spring break...it was nice to be in a house for some time. i think even tarzan appreciated living in a house for a week and a half. so here are some photos of the ginormous doggies, and some of our silly kitty.
other than that, i was pretty successfully unproductive. with the exception of my interview, of course. stay tuned...


this is jessi...she just couldn't keep that tounge in!

ah, how easy it was to mistake jasper for a horse!

and tarzan sure loves playing softball...

but do you have as we have a boy cat in a bag???

i love a quickie

not much time to post...must go feed (very huge) doggies i'm taking care of...
i get to stay in a sweet little stifft station house, and tarzan is starting to come around to the (very huge) doggies...too bad the resident cat, ma rainey, seems to hate tarzan's guts. but she lives mostly outside, so i think it's gonna work.
spring break starting: NOW. not going in to earn extra dollars at advocates. must be lazy.

BIG EXCITING NEWS: i have my first interview! it's a phone interview with blue ridge women in agriculture (can't really afford to get to boone...and they can't afford to pay my way). 4 or 5 board members--yikes! that makes me pretty nervous. guess i'll have to put on my sweet schmoozer phone voice. leah, remember how we used to argue over whose turn it was to order the pizza? this is like that, only for an hour and it could land me a job!!! WOW

okay, i've got to get to the house and feed some (very huge) doggies. i'm taking pictures to post later in the week (when i'm on spring break and have nothin to do but be nervous about the interview)...

a touch of activism...

so here's what's up:

payday loans bad, increasing the minimum wage good.

arkies...do something good with your spare time and check out these sites (and hopefully take it a little further).

arkansans against abusive payday lending

give arkansas a raise now

kiss me...i'm irish!

in my native land


Stapleton
De Stabaltun

The Stapletons are the descendants of the Normans, who arrived in Ireland, in the wake of the Anglo-Norman conquest in the year 1170. The name is derived from the Irish Mac An Ghaill, which means "Son of the Foreigner". The name was originally established in Counties Kilkenny and Tipperary. The name in some instances, became Hibernicised, and some branches of the name accepted Mac an Ghaill, subsequently, becoming Gall and Gaule. Robert de Stapleton was Sherriff of Waterford in the year 1287; Frank Stapleton (b. 1956) of Dublin, Irish International Soccer Player won 71 caps for the Republic of Ireland between 1977 and 1990.
The name has remained in the South Leinster-Munster region, since it was first established there in the twelfth century. Counties Kilkenny, Tipperary and adjoining ccounties are the most favoured locations of the name.

MOTTO: FIDE SED CUI VIDE.
"Trust, but in whom, take care."

Yep, we Stapletons are Irish indeed.
Happy St. Patty's day, everyone!!!!

makin' music

yes, i'm on again about the mandolin. i'm still learning some basic chords (i suppose i will be for quite a while), but i'm really happy with my decision to pick it up. it's so calming...that is, except for when i'm trying to tune it--i currently have the d-chord all out of whack. what i'm really trying to get better at is moving quickly between the chords. i've got c and g down pat, f pretty good, d is a little tricky for my fingers, and a sucks pretty bad. pretty soon, though, i'll have good calluses, and that should help. i've found a great mandolin website, mandolin cafe. check it out.

it's been a pretty low-key friday night, which is for the best since last weekend was so packed with fun and volunteering. we ordered papa john's and watched fast times at ridgemont high. awesome. tomorrow i'm looking at sleeping, playing harry potter on xbox, playing with the cat, and maybe applying for some jobs. there's a bit of exciting news on that front: rich, the executive director at arkansas advocates (where i intern in case you were unaware) is going to pass along my cover letter and resume to jo luck, the ceo of heifer international when he has a meeting next tuesday with someone that's good friends with her. i have no idea (and a good bit of doubt) if it will open any doors, since heifer has such a formalized hiring process, but it's certainly worth getting it to her--especially since she was the first e.d. at advocates (hello, name recognition).

i still haven't heard from winrock international, but it's not even been 2 weeks. i need to figure out how to go about following it up since i only had to email my cover letter and resume...they posted no real contact info. oh, and i've found the PERFECT job for me (minus the fact that it doesn't pay nearly what i'll be worth in may and the position may only last a year due to funding)...it's a project director position with blue ridge women in agriculture, which is in boone, north carolina. yeah, perfect. i'm going to apply despite the two pitfalls. i mean, it could set me up for something else awesome, and the pay will still be about twice what i'm living off of now....

well, that's enough rambling from me for now. to whomever reads this...goodnight.

currently watching: trevor playing tiger woods pga tour

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...