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Thursday, April 27, 2006
  1. Tuesday night I had my UT ring Ceremony. We dress up nice, shake some hands, and put on our rings to the music of "The Eyes of Texas." My mom came to see me for it, so it wasn't as lame. :) My ring is pretty, though.
  2. Monday night I got to talk to Anne on the phone from Peru! It was so nice to talk to her and catch up on our lives. I'm hoping she ends up at Southwestern so I can hang out with her all the time when I come home from Norman. She is so great.
  3. I have roomates in Norman! Two sweet girls from OK have asked me to live with them in this house they found. It sounds like a really nice deal, and I am so excited to have a living situation figured out. Plus I love roomates.

Salud!

Tuesday, April 25, 2006
I am up much to late for my own good again...

I have been up creating power points. Tomorrow I am giving an in-class presentation over my Term Paper for my Senior Seminar. It is over Peru. Well... it is over the travel books I read about Peru. But for fun I get to add in things about my trip at the end!

As I was browsing through everyone's pictures on Shutterfly, I came across one I had completely forgotten about. Gotta love that Peruvian cerveza!


Important facts for me to know

Monday, April 24, 2006
"Oklahoma" is a combination of two Choctaw words: okla, meaning 'people' (as in the term Miliki okla, which means 'American people'), and homa (also spelled homma or humma) which means, among other things, 'red.'

Oklahoma has some of the strictest liquor laws in the country. This began with the state's constitution including total prohibition of alcoholic beverages. In 1959, voters repealed total prohibition and liquor-by-the-drink bars were not allowed until 1985. Since 1985, liquor-by-the-drink is decided on a county-by-county basis, with approximately half allowing it. Currently, liquor stores are required to close on Sundays, may not be open past 9:00 PM, and may not refrigerate alcohol. (Warehouses and shipping companies are also prohibited from using refrigeration.) Some bars are also restricted from selling beverages in excess of 3.2% alcohol. Persons under twenty-one years of age are prohibited from being in a bar area of a restaurant. Some breweries, such as New Belgium Brewing Company, will not ship to Oklahoma because these laws degrade the quality of beer by the time it reaches the consumer.




I think I would like to take a road trip.
Desitnation: Truth or Consequences

Saturday Night

Saturday, April 22, 2006
Tonight on the way to dinner:

Me: "I'm glad you're my brother,"
Jeff: "That... doesn't make any sense."
Me: "Does it have to make sense to be true or meaningful?"
Jeff: "I guess so..."
Me: "No. Shutup. It doesn't."

Saturday Afternoon

My parents are coming into town and that means three things:

1) Delicious, expensive meals
2) Pedicures
3) I have to vacuum


Sometimes I forget to eat lunch and breakfast.

It annoys me when people take my laundry out of the machine before I can get to it. The clothes are clean and you shouldnt put them on the dirty counter, thank you! Can't you people wait five minutes for me to put them in the dryer?

What Rivalry?

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Well the wait is over. This fall I will be moving to Norman, OK and work as an RUF intern for OURUF. I know, I know, I must be crazy right? Why would I ever want to leave my beloved city of Austin let alone leave the great state of Texas? (We could revolt at any time!) Well, dear friends. The Lord calls us to His service and I must answer that call - not only
"to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light" (acts 26:18)
but also
"to open their eyes and turn them from their foolish ways - i.e. thinking they'll win at the cotton bowl" (-brittany)
In all seriousness, I am truly very excited to soon be moving to OK. I have heard nothing less than extraordinary praise regarding Doug Serven and Jonathan Ramsay, the campus minister and intern that are already there. My mom is also happy that I'll be no further away than if I had stayed in Austin. Now the only question I have is, which obnoxious UT t-shirt should I wear to the first RUF? One that shows last year's RRS score, or my national championship/perfect season shirt? Decisions, decisions....

Texas Fight.


But OU here I come!

It's great to stay up late...

Tuesday, April 18, 2006
It's 5:20 am.... and OU still sucks?

I can't sleep. I think I found out something I am not supposed to know and the uncertainty of it is keeping me wide awake. Also that four hour nap I took around 5:30 is probably contributing.

Today I gave my cultural presentation for spanish class. Our group covered the current presidential elections in Peru, which were held just last Monday. There was no majority, however, so they will have runoff in late May or early June. The great thing was, my Peruvian Daffodil decided to bloom today! It was as if she were cheering me on. At least I thought it could be good luck. But alas, luck doesn't actually exist, and my group members all went over their allotted time and I had to rush through my 3 minutes of material in about a minute. This is very hard to do in a foreign language. I had practiced enough to where I planned on not reading anything off my notes, but I needed the pause time to remember each topic and some hard vocabulary. And I had the most interesting part, too: the results. Ah well.

I had the crazy bus driver again on the way home from school. If this guy didn't nearly kill me every day, I would think his beard, sunglasses, and ear-extender thingy combo was awesome. But thanks to him I have had many an awkward moment where I find myself fallen into the lap of a some fellow passenger... each of us mumbling apologies, and smiling in understanding towards the oblivious driver.

I have started a new book. I do not reccomend it. And I won't put it on the sidebar either.

5:31 am... le sigh.

"You've Got Baby Fever!"

Sunday, April 16, 2006
3am and I just hit the 100 mark on number of supports I have entered into this ridiculous spreadsheet for my RUF Intern mail list. I say ridiculous because there is so much information to enter, and I have so little of it that I am constantly doing internet searches on people to find their phone numbers, etc. I am so proud that I had the will to work on this tonight, considering how... emotional... I have been about not finding out where I am placed this week. Grrrr....

While working on my list I watched North Country and a disk of season 5 FRIENDS. North Country was alright... I wouldn't pay to watch it but Netflix makes everything feel free!

I went to see baby Johnathon Deiss today. He is completely precious. I got to hold him a long time, even though he was squirmy. I love Emily and Ryan so much. Emily was telling me about the last couple of days (Johnathon came on Thursday) and she is just so real about everything. She admitted when they forgot to do something that I guess might be routine for seasoned parents, and she just shrugged, "We're learning." :) I think I admire this a lot about Emily, because she is always so pragmatic and real about things, but in a way that doesn't encourage me to make excuses. That may not make sense, but, all I mean is she's awesome. I will try to remember and bring my camera to take some pics of Johnathon tomorrow at church.

On the way home Amy (I hitched a ride cause my car is squeaking) was asking me questions about babies, like was I the kind of girl who wants to get married and have a kid right off, or did I want to wait a little while or what. I didn't have a concrete answer, becuase I figure I shouldn't be trying to plan those kinds of things too much (carts and horses have a prescribed order) however, I have been thinking for the last year or so that I will want to have kids sooner rather than later, if only because I want more than a couple. Ah well, for now I will cuddle Emily's baby and give him back whenever he starts crying ;)



Monica:
Do you, um, you really think the best reason to get married is because you're sorry?
Chandler: No, the best reason to get married is pregnancy. Sorry is pretty much fourth. You know, behind being ready, and actually wanting to get married.

Another Avenue A Apartments Adventure

Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Whoa.

Anne and I are sitting in Aimee's bedroom, watching Kate and Jack make googly-eyes at each other on LOST and enjoying Aimee's presence as she works on homework at her desk. Suddenly we hear a loud yell from outside our window followed by a loud bang and the sound of breaking glass. More yelling follows and we all jump up, Aimee looking out her window. More chaotic sounds continue, yelling and crashes, so Anne and I run towards the back kitchen door to see what is happening. It is dark outside (around 10pm or so) and we see a middle-aged man with thick glasses walking around right outside our door, in front of my car. He seems to be backing away from the apartments on our right. His long ponytail is covered by a red baseball cap. He sees us starting to open the door, and turns back towards us and tells us, "Someone needs to call 911."

Anne has already grabbed her phone and begins to dial while I try to ascertain what it is exactly we are calling emergency services for. Far to the right of the back parking lot, a car is parked in the alleyway. I see a younger man, in long pants, no shirt, and covered with tatoos around the front of the car carrying what looks to be a light fixture or a metal part of a lamp. He dissapears out of sight, but then my eyes look more carefully at the car and see that the entire front windshield is completely smashed up. Another girl with orange tanned legs to match her orange jacket and a round man with a white t-shirt appear a couple of minutes later out by the car. The man looks like he is on the phone with the police also. Anne is frantically trying to give what little information we have about the noises to the operator. Aimee and I decide we can't see enough, so we run upstairs and open my window from the second story to get a better look. From here we can see that all the windows of the car are smashed up. Police finally arrive and all three of us relocate to Anne's bedroom window, where we take out the screen and all lean out of the window watching the police take care of the situation. Several other neighbors congregate below us and we begin to talk furtively with them, exchanging stories. The ponytail man is back, and he knows most of the story.

Apparently, he came home to find the orange girl crying hysterically outside of the apartment she shares with now ex-boyfriend, because he had thrown all of her stuff out onto the street after a fight. She asks to borrow ponytail's phone to call a friend to pick her up. Enter white t-shirt, who pulls up in his car to presumably take the orange girl somewhere. Ponytail starts to help load stuff into the car, but white t-shirt is having none of this. He bangs on the front door of the apartment and starts yelling at ex-boyfriend inside. Ex-boyfriend eventually comes out and smashes the windows of the car. In a rage, white t-shirt opens his trunk and graps a golf club and goes after ex-boyfriend back in the apartment. Somehow things calmed down, and all three just waited for the police, orange girl and white t-shirt outside and ex-boyfriend out of site (presumably bleeding inside his apartment). Once the police arrived, we all went outside, trying to get a look at somebody in handcuffs so we would sleep better. We waiting 30 minutes or so, but got bored and so came back inside to finish LOST.

By the way, kate and jack at the end.... ::SWOON:: love it love it love it.



Now I get to write 8 more pages of my Peru term paper!

The Joys of a Ten Dollar Microphone

Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Every now and again I have a strange desire to record myself. Sometimes singing, sometimes talking, I have an urge to hear the sound of my own voice from the outside, not the one that reverberates within my skull. Nowadays, I have a way to satisfy these desires: almost a year and a half ago I purchased a microphone for my computer from Best Buy. At the time, Jody and Kristin were both in town for the Austin City Limits festival and we had been playing some goofy songs we had written in Glorieta, New Mexico the previous month. We knew chances were slim that the three of us would again be together soon, so we wanted to have a rough recording of our songs to forever remember them (Plus my friend Sarah couldn't get enough of the knitting song).

But back to my current obsession with my voice. I had recorded myself once or twice before singing songs acappella, so this time I decided to take it a step further. Here is the result:

Verse 3

And for old times sake:

The Yarn Song


Chicken Madeira

Sunday, April 09, 2006


Tonight the girls went out to dinner to celebrate the missed birthdays of Amy and Laura. Laura's big day was December 23 and Amy's is always on Spring Break. So this was the time to make up for it. I got Amy Motorcycle Diares on DVD and Laura received some hot rollers for her hair. The food was delish, as was the company.

Before we left the Woodlawn Apartment to make our way to CF, I was hanging out with Amy and Rach and Drew watching golf and such. I had brought over one of the books I am currently reading, Getting Serious about Getting Married (see left). I hope to post a full review of my thoughts on it later, but I wanted to show it to Rach and Amy so I pulled it out. Rach immediately hid it within her planner and started to peruse, trying to hide it from Drew. The title would be kind of embarrassing for her, I suppose, but it only aggrevated him for the three of us to be reading it secretly right in front of him, especially when Rachel refused to tell him what the book was.

Emily still has not had her baby! What a stubborn child that is going to be.

I had lunch with a friend of mine from church named Hannah today. She is so sweet. I think she will be going to college in Scotland in the fall! How cool is that? We ate at La Madeline's, which means I have definitely had my quota of rich, fattening food for the week!

A Note on Commenting

Some of you have indicated that you did not know how to leave a comment on my blog. I have tried to make it easier; at the bottom of each post it now says "To Post a comment CLICK HERE" so if you feel like leaving a comment, all you have to do is click on those words and the nifty pop-up window will show you the rest. I hope that helps!

Every Girl Loves a Makeover

Saturday, April 08, 2006
Introducing my first attempt at html! I am so very proud. Thanks to the help of my good friend Luke, who spent a good two hours giving me a crash course in writing code (and wrote some for me), I have a beautiful new blog to use! Thank you Luke! The header and banner image is new, as well as the nifty little "Books" section on the sidebar. Also, if you had any trouble commenting before because you didn't have a blogger account, I fixed my settings so anyone can leave comments now, so please do! I am very excited about having an attractive blog not only because I hope it encourages me to use it more often, but hopefully it will also make the updates more pleasant for readers. I hope to keep this blog as a tool for the next two years in updating my life for my friends and family while I am off interning somewhere with RUF.

Speaking of my upcoming internship, I am breaking down and admitting it: I simply am going nuts waiting to find out where I will be going. I have been told that they have a little meeting on April 10 where they decide our collective fates as interns, but we will find out sometime later in the week after the decisions have been finalized. Oh, the agony of uncertainty!

Today Laura and I went to the Swamp Romp, a "Cajun-style festival" downtown. I had crawfish for the first time, and they were fun to eat. Kind of gross when I thought about it, but fun. We also had corn on the cob, catfish, and chocolate dipped fruit (strawberries for me, frozen banana for Miss Laura). Then we listened to some Zydeco and watched some belly dancers on stage.

Shameless Nonsense

Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Put your music library on shuffle and answer the questions with songs in the order they come up. Some answers you come up with will freak you out. Don't CHEAT!

What's my mood like right now?
Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight and the Pips - Would I rather be sleeping? Yes.

How's tomorrow going to be for me?
If She Knew What She Wants - Bangles - The Bangles are all knowing.

What kind of person am I?
Let There Be Love - Nat King Cole - I am not that wishy-washy... am I?

Am I loved?
Science Vs. Romance - Rilo Kiley - how about "What is my personality???"

How can I achieve my highest potential?
Come Back to Bed - John Mayer - hahahahahaha

What should I do with my life?
There's Your Trouble - Dixie Chicks

Is everything really going to be alright in the end?
My Ambulance Driver - The Flaming Lips - I don't think I even know this song.

What is my best quality?
Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice - ouch.

What's the meaning of life?
You're The Top - Cole Porter

What do people think of me?
Fire - The Ohio Players - haha, is this like being belligerent?

Would I make a good catch?
The Damage in Your Heart - Weezer - mmm so true...

How crazy am I?
Some Day My Prince Will Come - Snow White - yeah, thats a little crazy.

Will I have a good life in general?
Magic - Ben Folds Five

Can anyone ever really love me?
Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benetar - Think 13 going on 30?

Can me and a mate ever be more than friends?
Let's Take a Walk Around the Block - Ella Fitzgerald

What's going to happen to me this week?
She's the One - Robbie Williams - who is?? the one for what?? This game sucks.

Where will I be a year from now?
Jump - Madonna - next year I will be jumping... if that means I'm working out, okay.

What is my biggest wish?
I Saw Three Ships - Christmas Songs - "Jesus is coming back!" -Pam yesterday during class.

What is the love of my life doing at this very moment?
Strawberry Fields - Ben Harper - Isn't this song about drugs? Is my future husband stoned out right now???

How will I die?
The Na-Na Song - Sheryl Crow - There is no more vague answer than this.

What will happen after I die?
Ringside Rodeo - Caroline Herring - nice.

How do my friends feel about me?
Just Might (Make Me Believe) - Sugarland - well, that sounds uplifting at least.

Another Day

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Today is Emily's due date!

I got to meet my roomate's boyfriend this weekend. They met on eHarmony. He was really nice and they looked cute together. I can't imagine the weekend he must have had. To meet her for the first time is stressful enough, but also her family and close friends all within 48 hours??? Weird.

I slept for like 15 hours last night (went to bed around 5:30). Why? Because I can.

I am thinking about quitting smart start sometime this month. I do love the kids (see Valente on the left) but I feel like so much stuff is coming up that I would rather not have a job anymore. I definitely need to quit at least a week early because the last week of school is going to be killer, plus the fact that I have to be moved out before I go to Summer Conference, because the one day I am back in Austin between Summer Conference and leaving for Orientation in Atlanta is the day I have both my graduation ceremonies and lots of people in from out of town. Crizazzzzy.

I hate group dynamics.

About me







I'm Brittany Smith
From Mesquite, TX
Christian
Runner
Coke-a-Cola Lover
Puerto Rico Player
Bride-elect 8.2.08
Covenant Seminary
Former RUF Intern
University of Texas Alumna
bleard@gmail.org
Brittany Leard's Facebook profile

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