I'm countin' on 26

Right now I'm 25. In a matter of 4 days I will be 26. You can't stop time, and frankly I don't want to ... well except for when I hit 32. This is going to be my golden year. My lucky one. My go chase the world time. My let's try Zumba out type-of-year. When 32 comes, I'll change my mind about stopping time, but until then bring on a new year!

With a new year comes wanting new things, right? Here's my (dream) B-Day list:

Of course if money wasn't a problem, Diane von Furstenberg would be my bff.

My hair tends to go ga-ross in the winter. I would like to keep it happy.

I know enough already, but if I could come home to this face everyday
I truly know life would be complete.

Yup, a Fiat500 would make a pretty decent B-Day gift.

And last, but not least ...

My Family. If I could have my Mum, Pops, and Brother here with me to celebrate,
I think I would be the happiest 26-year-old around.

Remember that one time...

Do you remember that one time when I wanted something drastic with my hair? You know chop off all the locks and call it a day? Well I wanted that for a hot second and then realized I wouldn't be able to stop crying.

So instead I went with bangs.

Well those bad boys had their day and are now trying to grow as fast as they can (not fast enough). So here I am setting myself up for another "Remember that one time ..." by asking what I should do to change up my do? It's long, it's boring, and it's not happy. I'm getting a haircut at 1 tomorrow, so I'm leaving this decision to the next 24-hours for some thought. Any and all suggestions would be great.

P.S. I'm known to go in for a 7-inch trim and leave with a centimeter change.

Phone or Pho

So today is Sunday. Yesterday was Saturday. Yesterday I planned on getting a new phone. I didn't. I was advised by some helpful friends to wait it out. iPhone5, you hear that ... I'm waiting for you :) What did I do instead. I put the p h o somewhere else, just not a cellular device. One of my favorite friends out here in Charm City is named Adam. Adam has 5 kids.

Friends meet Adam:

Too cute!

 Friends meet Adam's kids:

Don't you wish you had 5 Frenchies? I do. 

Adam and I were both feeling a bit homesick yesterday (he's from California) and we were both hungry. Where does this leave us? Craving something to comfort our bellies and hanging out to chat about life. Adam introduced me to something a few months ago and I knew this would be the perfect night to dive back into a bowl of PHO. Have you ever tried it? If not, please Google your nearest Vietnamese restaurant, check out their menu, and sip away one of the most amazing rice noodle soups out there. Not only did Adam introduce me to Pho, but he is also introduced me to something out-of-this-world last night. Boba Tea aka Pearl Tea aka Bubble Tea aka Amazing Tea in my mind. So this tea can come in a variety of flavors, but is something between a black or green tea base mixed with fruit and swirled with milk.On the bottom rest pearls or "small chewy balls made of tapioca starch" (thank you Wiki). I'm not sure everyone would be in favor of the pearls, but the tea is one to be loved by all.

 

Until the iPhone5 shows up, I'll be opting for some Pho. Thank you Adam for Saturday and for my latest favorites!

Behind the Times

So not only is getting back on track in the blog-o-sphere tougher than I expected, getting on track with the rest of the world is also becoming a set back for me.

Case #1 - My phone is a sad situation. I never cared much about phones, what they offered, what covers were "hot," etc. Really, I might be known as one of the worst phone communicators on the block. Ring me and you'll probably hear my voicemail. Text me and you'll probably wait a few hours for a reply. I always have it with me or in my purse it seems, but it's ALWAYS on silent. I simply prefer it this way and it affects my response rate. Because I've never cared much about the latest and greatest phones, I've simply fallen behind the times. My current phone is my mum's hand me down from two phones ago. Did that even make sense? So my phone is an LG Dare (I think). My mom then got a Droid and gave me her Dare. She then upgraded to who knows what (Blackberry sounds about right) and of course gave me her Droid. The Droid sat at the top of my closet, in it's box, doing nothing but waiting for a rainy day. That day came and Mike now has it. So I'm still chit chatting (when I do chit chat) from this Dare. I've come to the conclusion, and a slight desire, for an iPhone. Since the internet is so-so in my apartment, I figured the money I'm shelling out for a phone plan could be the same money spent on a data plan with a cute phone. Perhaps this weekend I'll treat myself to something beautiful and new. Perhaps she'll have a Maryland number. Perhaps she'll let me drive around town with her GPS. Perhaps .... the perhaps options are endless.

Case #2 - Am I the only fan of Fall amongst the rest of this club who has not had a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Cripes, the number of Pumpkin Spice Latte mentions I've heard from Facebook to Google Reader are making me sweat. I'm nervous that it's March and I've missed out. I'm nervous they'll run out the flavor. I'm nervous I'm going to get kicked out of this club. Perhaps this weekend on my way to treat myself to a phone, that will be replaced with the iPhone 5 10 minutes after my purchase (I think we're still on iPhone 4), will also include treating myself to a Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Case #3 - My wardrobe/outfit selection. This one doesn't need a detailed explanation. The matter of the fact is I have not been shopping for an outfit (top to bottom) in who knows when. I'm thinking my senior year of college. So we're now talking about 3 years of clothes that probably should go. Ugh. I missed the memo on lace. I never heard word that neon was back on. And I certainly couldn't splurge on a fascinator. What's a girl to do?

One day I won't dream of keeping up with the world, I'll dream about the world slowly down. This grandma takes her time and I'd like it if everyone else did, too!

Sometimes . . .

Sometimes all I want in life is oatmeal every morning, two cups of coffee, a walk with my Mum, a drive with my Pops, a hug from Mike, some love from a dog, real dates vs. phone dates with my bffs, and an ice cream cone at night.

Putting out a few fires...

So it's only 10:39am and what have I accomplished on this beautiful Sunday morning? Let's just say Katie (roommate) and I might be on the nomination list for the 2011 Heroine(s) Award! Let's also pretend that is a real award.

At 5:30am an older woman was pounding on our neighbor's front door. Our neighbor's front door just happens to be across from our bedroom windows. We heard crying, screaming, cursing, you name it. I crawled to the window and asked, "Are you okay?" Nope, she sure wasn't. So Katie, the amazing roommate and friend that she is, said "you're not going alone" and joined me in hopes of figuring out what was going on. Sitting on the front porch steps with this woman, we hear some awkward and awful details about her being raped by a gang of girls, or witches, and this didn't take place at her house but some other building and then she said they could come to her party.. um wtf? We weren't following the story, and we also weren't believing the story. Nope turns out she was having a bad bad dream. What happens next ... the cops drive by. "Officer, Officer, this is ______ and I'm Brittanie and this is Katie. Can you help _______?" So Police Office 1 and Police Officer 2 direct this woman back into her house, give us about 10 minutes to wait and wonder, and then hear that she was either over-medicated or under-medicated. Great! Also, she had finished off a bottle of wine and had classical music playing in the background. Now this was only the start to our day.

At 9:52am we noticed the bathtub was filling up with water and leaves. Say what? We also notice that when the neighbor above turns on the shower, the bathtub backs up with water even more. Here we go again. . . After many calls to the men in our life, searching for our landlord's number, and finally a walk upstairs to the landlord's brother's apartment we receive help. Currently, our bathtub is receiving a spa treatment from Super Drano.

At 10:15am we notice the bush in front of our porch windows is smoking. Yup, someone rudely flicked a cigarette butt into these bushes and they were smoking. So we grab some water and just laugh at everything that has happened.

Can you blame us for wanting this 2011 nomination? It's all in a morning's work and putting out a few fires :)

Getting this train back on her tracks

Well Hello There September! 

Have I taken enough time off? No.
Have I missed blogging? Yes.
Do I have a lot to say? Doubt it.
Did I take any pictures during my hiatus? Negative.
What did I even do? I opted out of getting an internet plan and I spent my time at work ... working. Where does that leave time for snapping photos and writing about my recent jokes or outings? It doesn't leave any time.

It seems that my life, possibly like yours, tends to pick up in the summer and calm down in the winter. These last few weeks were somewhat similar to last summer = non-stop, plate filling good times. Whatever it was I was doing, moving, complaining about, loving, eating, or not writing about, I was having the time of my life. It's weird and sad to admit this, but I think I have passed my days of being homesick for Boise. Boise is no longer my home, except the arms of my amazing mum which are always welcoming me back, but Baltimore is where my heart lives. Can you believe I just said that? It's a darn good feeling! I've settled into my new home and I'm finding Charm City favorites daily.

So where does this life of blogging go from here - It goes up! I've realized that most of the blogs I read or subscribe to include keywords or pictures about food (shocker, right?), working out, penny saving house projects, career advice, and staying true to the writer's passion(s). What is mine? My life during the time that I started Three Bracelets was about traveling, adventuring, moving across the country and falling in love. Where am I at now?
1) Realizing I only have $5 to my name and I'm not sure that would even buy me a bus ticket, let alone a gallon of gas.
2) Moved across the street into a new apartment a month ago and I couldn't be happier. I might not ever leave this place!
3) Filling my big girl pants at a job/organization I love, finding out there is a big part of my heart that loves Baltimore, and most of all knowing I've found someone I never thought I could love this much.

What are my passions now? Figuring out ways to be healthier, which means cooking more, but still incorporating my love for ice cream in 4 times a week. Getting excited every Monday and Friday morning for Body Pump. Discovering the latest and greatest DYI projects. Keeping my head held high and focused when it comes to work and setting goals for myself. And last but least, getting back into the writing world. I'm not quite sure where this epiphany/back to reality mindset of mine is going to take me, but I promise I won't leave you stranded anymore!

And I'm back on board!