the heat is on...and so is the party!!!

so we're gonna do it: super party I for super bowl XL. all are invited; bring friends, beverages, and food (just if you want to add to what's gonna be here already). if you don't already know how to get here, just email or give me (or trevor) a call. i'll have 2 tvs set up for optimal viewing. on the menu: seven layer dip, homemade wings, and something sweet! i'll probably end up making some more stuff, who knows...
anyhoo, just let me know if you're a comin, i'm trying to get a bit of a head count so we can know just how much food to make.

ADDITION:
i believe the festivities (or kickoff, i'm not sure which) begin at 5. i figure, just come on over whenever you want; we'll be ready sometime in the afternoon...the food will probably come in waves.

a show of hands...

just taking a quick poll of who would be interested in coming to a super bowl party at the quriky apartment. i'm up in the air about it, trevor wants to do one...a decision needs to be made as the event is qucikly approaching. so here's what i'm thinking: i'll borrow a bigger tv and make some good snackies...seven layer bean dip for sure, something from the crock pot (a dip or some little weenies or something), and maybe nutella fondue; if enough people are in (and i mean really in, i don't want to make a ton of food for just trevor and me!), then we're on. so yeah, let me know.

i may not know much about football, but i know about hosting...

curried hummus and kitty snapshots

i'm finally posting that recipe for curried hummus that some of you enjoyed at the survivor finale party. sorry it's taken so long to do so...busy and distracted and whatnot. i've been playing a lot of harry potter on xbox. celebrating ashley's birthday with pizza and cake, and joel's with even more pizza. okay, so here it is:
curried hummus
2 cans chick peas
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 teaspoons curry powder
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup water
salt, to taste
hot sauce, to taste

i just threw it all into my cuisinart and blended it until i got the consistency i wanted.

and here are some random photos of the cat. who, by the way, is obsessed with jumping onto the tv which is not on the sturdiest of tv carts (yikes!) and wandering the halls of the apt. building (but NOT going outside, sadly). note the SNOW in the first shot...i couldn't believe it!


how cute is my little family?!

the first of the last

since i didn't have trevor take a picture of me on this first day of my last semester (that's right folks, last semester!), here's a photo of me from my first day of fourth grade at holy souls. well, this has got to be cut short as i've got 15 minutes to pack my lunch, brush my teeth, etc. and get out the door. and poor tarzan, alone almost all day long...

when it rains, it pours

i tell you what, this blogging thing is sweeping the nation! within one week i've had 3 friends pick up the habit. well, for some this is a second (and hopefully more successful) attempt at sharing their lives and stories with the masses. so here are my props to them:

first is kristen & jr. kristen is a pal from the glory days of msm. this is a picture of them i stole from their blog. they went marlin fishing in cabo (hey, jealousy!)


















next to come along is smellen ellen's blog "in the cuckoo's nest". this is a photo of ellen and me (i have no idea what i'm doing with a bird face like that!) from summer 2003 at heifer ranch. ellen and i go back to the halls of tekyo university in maastricht...well, we'd actually been acquainted before that, but it ways the semester abroad that did the trick.


last but not least is cale, also a uca and heifer ranch friend. quite the gardener, this one. also tears it up (his feet, at least) on the basketball court! his blog is called "my garden year: hopefully i'll grow more than weeds". and here's a sweetie picture of cale...














well, that's all i have for now. just spending a lazy saturday reading, playing harry potter on xbox, and hearing my neighbors' sex despite the loud music they think covers it up (yikes!).

to school or not to school...that is the question

i am again at the decision crossroads. i've been thinking lately that maybe i won't go back for more school right after graduating (that's right people, just 4 months and one day till i'm a masta). i'm thinking i might like a break from the poverty of student life. it would be nice to live off of more than nine hundred dollars a month, to be able to go to the dentist (i've probably got a thousand cavities and definitely need my wisdom teeth out of this little mouth), to buy my own car and make the payments and insurance all by myself. all of those grown-up type things. i sure do like school, though. but how great would it be to make a serious dent in my student loans before taking on more schooling.
i just don't know! then there's the decision about where to get that salary-paying job. i'd love to get one in north carolina (then i'd be guaranteed in-state tuition when i do go to appalachian state)...and trevor would be more likely to find a job he loves. but i've got more contacts here.
so anyway, if you've got suggestions (or know of any non-counseling social workey jobs), give me a shout.

the cat that thinks it's a dog

what a weird morning. at about 5:30 or 6 this morning we were awoken by the insane meowing of the cat across the way. now, i've heard this cat before...sometimes another cat gets involved and there's a bit of a scuffle (which did, indeed, happen)...but it had yet to happen since tarzan entered my life and apartment. i have no idea if this is normal, but tarzan's reaction to all of the commotion was not to meow but to growl. i've heard him do this before, but i just thought it was kind of like a purr. this was definitely growling. you know, the type of growl a dog does right before she barks. of course tarzan can't bark or anything since he doesn't even have the right kind of vocal chords or whatever...but there he was, walking all over us on the bed, looking out the window, growling. it was nuts! i kept waiting for him to bark...so weird. do other cats do this, or does tarzan think he's a dog??? food for thought...

photo update

yes, i realize i've not posted in almost a month. that's a really long time for me. you would think that i'd be posting all the time out of boredom since i'm on school break, but i really started this blog to begin with as a means of procrastinating with my schoolwork; no schoolwork, no need to procrastinate. so anyway, here are a bunch of photos to catch y'all up on the life of brookeje. enjoy:


the pink frilly blanket i made for lauren frances and the weird looking metalic scarf i made for aunt margie...

lindsey and hunter sure had a good time with those cupcakes!

a photo of the christmas tree house at kavanaugh/cantrell. i didn't even think my camera was taking photos, seeing as i was in the car and it was really dark.
meet the cat...yes, i've adopted a cat. i got him from this girl i grew up with (we even have the same birthday) who is moving to memphis and could only take one of her cats (sadness...i would have just lied). the picture doesn't really demonstrate the sheer enormity of this beast. he's probably a maine coon, and he's like 5 1/2 years old or so. he came with the name james (lame, unless you're a cute boy), so i'm thinking of calling him tarzan. poll: is it wrong to change a cat's name at this point. food for thought: if i'd found him on the street i'd never have known what his name was anyway...

here's leah and me after new year's eve dinner at cajuns. man i get slouchy after a couple of glasses of wine...aunt margie would be disappointed with that posture!

and here's ashley and me at the big peabody party. what a babe in the tophat.

well, that's it. did you make it all the way through? i promise i'll be better about posting more regularly again...happy 2006 everybody!

say hello to my little friend..

subtitle to the post: could brookeje be losing her mind???
so i just had one of the WORST nights of sleep ever! ashley and i had a fun little girlies night with damgoode and beer..."i'm going to sleep so well," i said. i mean, i haven't been drinking enough water, so i was totally buzzed before i'd finished beer #1 (pathetic, i know, but good since i only had two beers at the apt). i figured i'd sleep like a ROCK. but no, something awoke me at about 1:45. at first it was some crampies, then a bit of a tummy ache. then it was "scratch scratch scratch...scuffle scuffle scuffle". yep, the squirrels (i'm hoping for squirrels over rats or mice because at least they're not quite as scary or gross) living in my outer wall and the other wall by my bed were having an all-nighter. i don't know what the hell they were doing in there; sounded a lot like tag and build a nest...yikes! i couldn't fall back asleep! at one point i dozed off, only to have this weird awake dream where i SWEAR i heard the noise get louder and i felt something jump on my bed right behind me. i'm pretty sure it wasn't real, because in the "dream" i sort of thought it was a cat or something (way too big to be living in my walls). at about 5:30 (that's right, folks), i was certain i heard them in my bathroom. and not just under the bathtub like i normally hear them when i'm showering; i could hear one IN the bathtub. i put on my brave hat (and my tennis shoes in case i had to bolt to safety) and flipped on the light in the hall...in the bathroom...no noise. so i step up on the toilet (can't get me there), and fling open the shower curtain. nothing. now, there's this hole in my wall under the sink around one of the water pipes, and i've always suspected that whatever's been living in my walls sometimes sneaks through the hole and hangs out in my bathroom (which would totally explain the origin of the fleas in my bathroom when i do not own a pet!). grabbed some duct tape, and closed the sucker up. i'm hoping i'm pretty critter-proff at this point. i mean, man i don't want rabies or some flea-carried disease from a nasty little rodent. i want to call my landlord, but....what if i'm crazy? what if what i'm "hearing" isn't real? wouldn't be the first in my immediate family...children of people with schizophrenia have roughly until the age of 25 to develop it if they're going to get it genetically...still 24 here!

no really, they're totally real though.

if i had a million dollars...

okay, so i don't have a million dollars, but i was given a pretty large (by my standards, anyway) "christmas bonus" from my nonpaid internship. i can't decide what in the world to do with it! so i'm asking for suggestions. some ideas: i-pod (fun, but certinaly not necessary), random things i've wanted but wouldn't otherwise pay for (wool sock leather bottom slippers, for example), or finally starting a savings account (i am 24, after all). any suggestions???

and here's a fun little test...i really tied between ginny and hermione.

You scored as Ginny Weasley. You definitely share your mother's (Molly Weasley) fiery resolve and slowly but surely people are learning to respect you because of it. Hermione Granger 80% Ginny Weasley 80% Albus Dumbledore 75% Remus Lupin 70% Ron Weasley 65% Harry Potter 60% Sirius Black 60% Severus Snape 55% Draco Malfoy 50% Lord Voldemort 20% Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com

family and then some...

39. that's right. 39 people for thanksgiving. it was actually quite a good time. so here's the overview of the holiday week: monday i went to the fountain with rachel (a friend that calls) to meet up with evan and watch the razorback game. tuesday i skipped out on class early to meet up with trevor and family (his mom, dad, and younger sister) in perryville. wednesday trevor and i took his family to louis's restaurant so they could informally meet some of my family. wow, almost everyone was there! thursday was lunch at aunt margie and uncle gene's...tons of food, tons of people. we didn't go to a movie, though...first time in years! trevor's and my family really hit it off. good stuff. we were just sorry that his older sisters couldn't make it.
friday we had breakfast with his family before sending them off for tennessee. got to see some old friends, horray for jena! saturday was pretty lazy; went to see nonie because she broke her arm on friday at the salon. sunday we had quite a day...three hours to retrieve aaron from siloam springs, and three hours back all amidst the crazy storminess.
so now i'm in the home stretch. last week at my internship, last week for MCP and stats, and just 2 weeks for evaluation & research. woohoo. then it's weeks and weeks of work-free bliss! i'll be knitting, knitting, cleaning, knitting, and watching loads of movies and tv. i'm pumped.

cat's out of the bag...

so here's my secret. although i am saddened by all of the evidence of the greenhouse effect, i secretly love the warmer weather. that's right. i love it that the high tomorrow is 70! why is this??? am i mad? no, i just don't like cold weather. it hurts. my fingers and toes turn yellow and they sting and i shiver. yuck. if it worked out for me to move to a place where the high was always 76 and the low 64, i'd totally do it. i can always travel to get my seasons. they're totally overrated. i'm sure most of you think i'm ridiculous, but that's just the story.
whew, thanksgiving starts today for little brooke. trevor's family gets in tonight, so i'm off to perryville after class to see them and to spend wednesday with them. then dinner at louis's restaurant (reno's argenta cafe, for those who haven't heard) and probably meeting up with rachel to hang out. thursday, of course, will be thanksgiving with the family... the count is currently 37, with the possibility for a total of 40 people if louis's girlfriend and her parents show up. i think that might be an alltime high. aunt margie is going crazy! i don't blame her. well, i've got to get to my full day of classes. i'll leave you with this link. be careful, you can get addicted for sure. it's a numbers puzzle called sudoku. i'm loving it!
happy turkey day peeps!

in search of "plan C"

well, plan A didn't work out so well...i'm on to plan B, so why not have a plan C???

that's right. i'm thinking of applying for peace corps. actually, i've kind of already begun the application process. i probably won't end up doing it, it's just a thought...i mean, if all else fails, maybe i can do some good work and have an adventure. it's been something i've always wanted to do, it just hasn't fit in to my "plan", but who knows?

not much to report from the weekend: football game on friday, food poisioning and barfing all day saturday, sleeping sunday AND monday... wow, it's just been so much fun!

playin hookie

ahhh, it just feels so good. i went to school totally planning to go to all of my classes (which usually last from 10 am to 7:30 pm), but decided to fink out after giving my presentation on external validity (BOR-ING) and left after having lunch in the lounge with my ADP pals. so instead of going to class i went job hunting for christmas break. if anyone knows of a job lead, by the way, let me know. then i took to making a sweetness surprise for trevor seth as tomorrow is our 2-year anniversary. crazy how fast 2 years go...
the saturday potluck was a success. we had a good handful of people here and everyone left lots of leftovers...which is really good cause i'm too poor to buy groceries for a while...
sunday trevor and i helped todd with a heifer booth at an alternative gift market and then had lunch with todd and kat.
this week is internship busy...i had tons of stuff to do yesterday, tomorrow is the staff retreat at millinium bowl, and thursday is the culmination of the project i've worked on most of the semester. whew!

tons of pictures...perhaps too many...

from party #1: jr (biker) and kristen (daphney)
blue (dirty priest) and leah (stepford wife)
me (garden) and elizabeth (narnian ice queen)
emily and eric...hosts of the party, costumes self-explanatory...
audra and mike...what a hoot!
from party # 2: moyer...can you believe this sweet ladie works at ann taylor?
trevor seth as trevor seth and me as a garden (or whatever)
joel (steve zizzou) and ashley's mom sarah as a fat belly dancer (yes, with a fat suit!)
travis the werewolf and katie the butterfly
cutie ashley the queen bee
gina and the kids, lauren frances (princess jasmine), hunter (blue power ranger), and lindsey aka "marty" (minne mouse)

open invitation

so i don't know what this is all about, i guess it's some sort of game. but i'm having a potluck dinner this saturday at my apartment at 6:30. there will be no dice involved. i sent out emails to those that i have, but if i didn't send one to you, and you're reading this, consider yourself invited. there's no theme or anything. i'd like to know who is planning on coming, though, so i can get more plates and stuff if i need to. oh, and if you're afraid you won't know anybody, just bring someone you do know.

halloween pictures are coming soon. be certian of that...

coach trevor

i'm kind of in a bummer mood, so i'm not going to go through the entire process of posting all of my pictures from this weekend. i'll just do saturday morning, when trevor coached the last 2 games of the season for the buzzing bees of conway county, a co-ed under-12 (i think) team with a great group of kids. jacob was actually their official coach, but trevor and phil did a good bit of co-coaching. they didn't win their last 2 games, but played really well in the first one of the morning, which was super foggy. these pictures are from the second game in which they didn't play quite as well, for several reasons that might not interest the average blog reader. anyhoo, i'll post my halloween pictures soon.

aaaannnd...ACTION!

well, just killing a little time before i go pick trevor up so we can head on down to the hot springs documentary film festival. ahh, memories. that was trevor's and my first adventure together (before we were actually an "item"). i love it. we're going to try to catch the opening film, Homemade Hillbilly Jam, tonight and then we're camping out on lake ouachita (that's watch-a-taw, for those of you non-arkies). i'm pretty excited. we didn't get to go last year. we'll only be staying through part of saturday, because it's katy and travis's birthday party saturday night. how interesting it would be to have the same birthday as your boyfriend...and both libras...
i spent the morning with ashley at saver's getting ready for halloween. we're both going for a sweet look. nothing more shall be said... i'm in a bind, though, because i've got 2 parties i could go to on the same night; one in little rock, and one in thornburg (the one where trevor and i had our first smooch...man, am i sentimental and gross or what?).
oh, and for your central arkansans: wednesday louis's restaurant should be open, and then friday the 28th there should be a grand opening/birthday party (for louis) down there. same location as cornerstone was, but a new name and a new style: reno's argenta cafe. more info on that later (i seem to be the last to know almost everything in my family).
alright, well, i'm gonna get to work...lots of packing to do, and cleaning (to probably not do). i'll just leave us with a cute picture of trevor and me in the early days...

sometimes i wish i had a shetland pony

i mean, really. i think it would do a lot for my life. probably not much for my image (or persistent flea problem), but it could really round out my personality. i can just picture coming home each day to a little pony in my apartment. of course, i'd take it out all the time so it could play and i could ride it. there are even seeing-eye ponies! i'm so tired, i sound like a nutt.

what a week! totally void of school-like things (that is, unless you consider taking a nasty midterm scholastic). monday night was the "welcome chanda (trevor's oldest sister) and sarah (chanda's friend) potluck" in perryville. i took homemade pumpkin pie, made from a real pumpkin. some people say that it's better from the can. i disagree. wholeheartedly. i even toasted the seeds with garlic salt. tasty. tuesday trevor and i had a little "chat" that was i suppose a bit less than pleasant. wednesday was back to perryville for meredith's going away party (moss, i thought you were gonna be there). had dinner at joel's first, which was delicioso. today was the longest day ever at my internship. i just didn't have enough to really keep me busy enough not to notice how exhausted i've been. tonight trevor, chanda, et. al. came in to town and i met them at the flying fish (favorite) for dinner. then everybody came back to my apartment to hang out for a while. i think it was the most people that i've had over here since i moved in...kind of sad. i'm thinking of having a dinner over here or something...any takers?

marry gay men, have sex with robots

ah, it's fall...for some reason fall always takes me back to my sophomore year at uca. i had a really awesome fall. there was frisbee, we went camping all the time, i had a super great crowd of friends, we partied a lot (but weren't out of control), we made our "six lists", i took a poetry class and wrote a lot. it seems i operated on such a different philosophy. in fact, the above post title is a reference to the masterplan that virginia and i came up with. the perfect solution. now, things have settled quite a bit with the trevor man, and things are going to be okay, but i've just got to link this site: throw rocks at boys. it's a game that's easy to get stuck doing for a while. i'm pretty good at the first level, but have yet to get past level 2...it's hard to time the rocks, as you're dropping them rather than throwing them. anyways, it was linked on v's blog, and i checked it out. oh, had i only had this game to play when i really felt that way about boys...what a wise fool...