I'm a Shower Singer :]

This past Saturday we had our annual Family Crab Feast and my brother Ryan brought his karaoke and DJ equipment. Jen, my cousin Adam's wife wanted me to sing with her, and my response was "have you ever heard me sing?!" My loving sarcastic brother, Ryan, adds "Brittany's a shower singer, she's not allowed to use the mic!" Which...I must admit, my idea of singing better is to just sing louder :]So, in all reality, Ryan is smart to not give me a microphone, haha!! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from our Crab Feast, including a video or two.



From left to right: my nieces: Brooke and Amelia, my cousin Adam's daughter: Olivia, and my other niece: Isabella. They were singing Taylor Swift's "You Belong To Me."


Adam's son, Sam, rockin' out to "Boom Boom Pow" by Black Eyed Peas :]


Olivia and Isabella doing the Macaraina!


My brother: Ryan and my cousin: Adam


Adam's wife: Jen singing "It Happens" by Sugarland (without me *sniffle*) and Olivia


Three-Fourths of Adam's family - minus Sam.
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And now...for some movies :]


Isabella, Olivia, and Sam rockin' to "Boom Boom Pow"



HAHAHA! Oh man! This is the other self-proclaimed shower singer, Adam attempting to sing "Celebrity" by Brad Paisley



And...my personal favorite...my brother Ryan :]

Thanks for sharing our day with us :]

A Burst of Color

It's finished! I finally finished it! My rag rug is done! And I love the colors that are in it! It adds a little extra "oompf" to my room :]

I loved making this project. Mostly because it kept me busy and as Justin says, it kept me quiet :] I started sewing it by hand because I hadn't purchased my new sewing machine yet, and decided to finish it by hand too. I wanted it to look the same all the way around and by hand-sewing it, this was a portable project. I worked for hours on my rug and pretty much toted it everywhere I went. And it's finally done! I finished stitching on the green edge last night, anchored in loose ends, and checked for extra strings! Check it out!




Another reason why I love this project is because it is simple. I had to buy fabric because I didn't have any laying around, which is kind of costly. AND...drum roll please...the best part of this project is....it's messy! I can make mistakes, and have tattered fabric, and fabric that isn't cut evenly, and it doesn't matter! This project was designed to be imperfect...it is a rag rug, after all... Here is another picture!



I originally got the idea from Brandee. She made a tan, brown, and dark red polka-dot rug, and it looked awesome! So I thought...MY TURN! I didn't follow the same tutorial that Brandee did. I followed these instructions. But either way, I think we both made pretty cool looking rag rugs :]

Rainy Friday

Go figure...the one day this week that I still have off and it is storming outside. Not just raining, but storming! UGH! And I had plans to go get Brooke and go down to my grandparents house with various stops along the way...and it's pouring outside! I guess we will have to run really fast in and out of the stores, I hope she's ready :]

Brandee and I are planning on working on a quick and easy project on Tuesday, so I wanted to get some of the stuff today and make one tonight after we take Brooke home to make sure it actually works and that it's not more hassle than its worth. We will most likely post pictures and instructions on the awesome blog that Brandee made for us, Project Tuesday!

We really aren't geeks, we promise! That's our guys! If you didn't already know, Justin and his brother, Fred (and in case you can't follow the geneology or you just don't know our family, Fred and Brandee are married) have a live weekly podcast about geek stuff that they record on Tuesday nights. So lately, Brandee and I have gotten in the groove of doing something crafty while they are being geeky! Last week I worked on my rag rug and Brandee worked on Ella's dress. You can check out our blog to see pics :]

Picture Post :]

Hi Everyone!
This is probably the first blog post in a while that actually has pictures or anything of interest. But before that...

Happy Birthday Mom! My mom was born on August 17, 1961. Today would have been her 48th birthday. Justin and I took her flowers this past Saturday to celebrate. I love you, Mom :]

And...on August 3rd, I celebrated my 21st birthday. We had a deck party and then went out with Lilly and Ben for some drinks :]

Justin took me to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore on August 7th! I LOVE going to the zoo and seeing all the animals :] 21 years old - and loves going to the zoo?! Don't judge! Justin wanted to play mini-golf for his 21st birthday! HaHa! We are just really big kids at heart :] Here are some pictures from our day at the zoo!



Polar bear!!


"Melman, Melman, MELMAN!" HaHa! Justin couldn't help but laugh :]


Big kitty!


And it was in this building that Justin saw just how bad my anxiety & panic attacks can be! Let me explain - this where they keep the monkeys and alligators! MONKEYS & ALLIGATORS! So can someone explain to me why they had a dead snake, stuffed, sitting on a rock, in striking position where there are only MONKEYS & ALLIGATORS?!?! Justin had turned the corner and I went to follow, saw the snake, freaked, yelled for Justin, and quickly walked out the door! I started crying and my hands were shaking. Let's just say we didn't see anymore monkeys!


BT Penguin


Justin Penguin





Our monkey friends...minus any snakes!



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For the first time in my life I was actually called a nerd! I got excited about all of the books and Borders gift cards that I got for my birthday, my sister-in-law Sandy, said "You are SUCH a nerd!" ... mmmm...Maybe she's right!

Fred, Brandee, Owen & Ella gave me a book for my birthday - Water for Elephants. I'm not used to reading this genre of book, and I am only a few pages in, but this is a really good book. I won't give it away, but the main character in this book is witty, sarcastic and easy to relate to! I pretty much laugh to myself about something on every page!




These are books that I either got for my birthday or that I bought with my Borders gift cards! And I still have a list of books that I want to read :] Nerd?! I think so!

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I went to Patches in Mt. Airy to look for fabric to make my rag rug with! And look at all the awesome fabric that I found!!




And since it is my birthday month, I got two fat quarters for free, so I picked these two :]

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And I went to see Gran and Pop as soon as they got home! Pop is doing really well. He felt stable enough to try and shave on Friday, and he did! No more scruff :] And if you have ever been to their house, you know that they have a pretty long driveway. Well, he walks out to the end of the driveway and back to the bball hoop. And he is loving being outside! He will walk all the way up from the basement just to sit outside and lift arm weights! So, here are a few pictures of him walking out the end of the driveway in his snazzy stockings :]



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I will post more pictures of my rag rug when I finally finish sewing the fabric, ripping them, rolling them, and get started crocheting!

Welcome Home!!

So I am sitting at work yesterday typing up some evaluations and my phone starts vibrating in my pocket. I let it go to voice mail since technically I'm not supposed to have my phone (shhh...) And when I got off work, I checked my messages and it was my grandmother...she called to tell me that they were releasing my grandfather from Kernan's Hospital yesterday and he is coming home!!! He was originally scheduled to come home today, but he was doing such a good job (and I'm sure he nagged them a little bit!) that they let him come home a day early!

So my plan for today is as follows:
1.) Go to work and develop our zoo pictures (I'll post some later!)
2.) Give Brittany M her going away present (I'll post pictures of that too!)
3.) Go to Joanne Fabrics and Patches to look for material for my rag rug (Yes...I'll post those too)
4.) Going to see my grandfather AT HOME!!

Holy Hannah!! Look out! The next blog post will be long and full of pictures :] So be sure to pencil in a few minutes when reading this :]

Off to hopefully get everything accomplished today! Going to look at fabric is sooo exciting :] Wish me luck on some good finds!

They Try To Make Me Go To Rehab...

"And I said, NO NO NO!"

Haha! I'm pretty sure if my Pop could sing stay awake long enough to sing, this might be his theme song right about now. Although, he did seem to favor "I'm Singing in the Rain" today. I wouldn't have been able to guess if he didn't hum it to himself for about 2 minutes today :] I know he is in a lot of pain, but boy is it funny to watch him sometimes :] He says I pick on him. And he's right. I just couldn't pass up such a good opportunity to get back at him for all his Polish jokes :]

Speaking of Pop, his surgery is a go-go tomorrow for sure. They won't have to wait any longer. Dr. Hammond has him on Vitamin K shots and by 6 am tomorrow morning, if his blood is still too thin, they can give him frozen plasma shots which take a more immediate effect. So tomorrow's schedule is pretty much going to the hospital from 8-1 and then work 2-11 - and this will be my schedule for Sunday as well. So I won't be able to blog for a few days. Then Monday, they are hoping to transport him to his rehab facility and it seems like Gran is pulling for Brinton.

That's all the news I have for now. Justin, my brother, Ryan, and Koresko are going white water rafting tomorrow. They leave at 5 am and will not be back until Sunday afternoon. I hope they have a good time, but am really nervous because of all the storms we have had - YIKES!

Will post more updates on Monday or Tuesday.

Long Story, Short ...

My life is complicated hectic.

Here are my current happenings and thoughts (in no particular order):

Pop:
My grandfather, Roger, was admitted to Carroll Hospital Center on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning after falling out of the shower and breaking his hip. Unfortunately, there is not too much of an update. I will know more in the morning after we get his blood work back, but as of now surgery is not scheduled for Thursday. And the only reason he has not been in surgery yet is because certain meds he is on makes his blood too thin, so they cannot operate. As soon as the fluidity of his blood thickens, they have the green light to operate. And for the actual surgery - it could just be some pins, maybe some pins and a plate, or a whole new hip. He is beginning to grow more impatient as the days drag on. He really hates not being able to move around and do things on his own, but mostly he sleeps because of the pain medications. Fingers crossed that it will only be a few pins, and that his recuperation will be limited.

School:
Despite what my dad really wants me to do, I think I am taking a semester off from school. I am anxious to go back though. I passed my PPST, but Carroll Community did not receive the scores in enough time for the May 2009 graduation deadline. And it does not benefit me to start classes at Towson without having "graduated" from Carroll. So everything has to be re-submitted and get re-approved. But I pretty much can't wait to get back to school :]

Wedding:
An April 30, 2011 wedding is still in the works. We are currently looking at black and white damask patterns for our wedding with maybe a little bit of color - I'm thinking a deep teal?! Hmmm...then again we have been known to change our minds. Good thing nothing is set in stone, huh?! :]

Home:
Judging by the baskets of clean clothes sitting on my floor waiting for transport into my closet and the papers strewn all over my desk, you can tell I don't spend a lot of time at home :[

Crafts:
(For more information see the Obsessions updates)
I returned my sewing machine. Maybe I am just used to my grandmother's sewing machine, but I did not like the one I bought. I haven't thought about buying another one, yet. I just do not have the room for a sewing in my room. I found/was directed to a couple of websites with awesome crafty ideas. Maybe one day...

Obsessions:
Thanks to my super-crafty-soon-to-be-sister-in-law (whew!), Brandee and her mom Kim, I have been obsessing over quilting. I am a fabric-holic. I want so badly to go to the quilting stores and buy all types of fabric, but I know I will probably buy all kinds of patches and never use them :] - It seems to me that I have scrapbooking paper like too :] I am also obsessed with earthy colors/rustic colors/bright colors. Oh! and polka dots :] Pretty much anything crafty to consume my time and keep my hands busy :]


Well, thanks for listening to me rant! I will update later about Pop if I can.