This weekend I am going to Cedar Point with the VT Family!

By "VT Family" I mean:

Mike - Dad-in-law
Brenda - Mom-in-law

Josh - Bro-in-law

Brooke - Sister-in-law
Alyssa and Kirsten - Nieces

Tim - Bro-in-law

Meghan - Bro-in-law's gf

Nick - Bro-in-law
Jenna - Bro-in-law's gf

Kristen - Sis-in-law

Kyle -Sis-in-law's should-be-fiance

So yeah. Andrew's extremely excited to be riding all of the amazing rollercoasters. And I am too, I suppose...it's just that I haven't had a weekend for two weeks now and I dearly love my weekends. The quietness, the still moments, the second cup of coffee, the snuggling on the couch...

"You always need margin", my mom says. The blank spaces between things. I love margin.

I should not complain, though. Life is good. I spend too much time complaining, actually...I'm tired, I'm lonely, I don't like doing homework, I don't have enough time to go grocery shopping...

I'm actually sick of hearing my brain complain. I'm working on training myself to be thankful.

For my working legs. For dry and warm clothing. For my husband. For the opportunity to be educated. For the money to go grocery shopping!

I will train this brain to be happy! "We're gonna traaaiiin you.

Speaking of thankfulness, I found another thing for which to be thankful...concerning my husband. Not that there aren't a gazillion things to be thankful about concerning him.... :D
Here it is:

In general, "things" pop into my mind constantly. Funny pictures, ambitious ideas, strange commentaries, eye-opening realizations...and when I'm with Andrew I am completely free to open my mouth and spew said "things". He might respond with a laugh or a nod or a word of advice...or maybe nothing at all. But he listens. And he doesn't think I'm stupid or unimportant. He HEARS me.

You might laugh, but I really want to be heard. You'd be amazed at the many times when people just DON'T hear me! My friend Bethany says that I have one of those voices that just blend into the background. Bethany loves me so I don't feel insulted by this...just informed. It helps me realize that some people might just honestly not hear me. And it helps prepare me for those terrible moments when I start speaking and then someone else talks right over me. Oy vey.

But anyway...I appreciate Andrew because he truly listens to me and values what I say to him. That's...wow. It's just so cool to have someone like that in your life. My mom is like that too.

People probably think I'm odd because I always bring up my mom at school. I realized that this year. "My mom always says that...", or "My mom used to...", or "My mom thinks that..."

I think that's a compliment to her...it means that I value her opinion and that her actions have made a lasting impression on me.

See? I'm not that messed up. Let this be an encouragement to all first-born PKs...there is hope. Just MOVE OUT. And you will be better friends with your family. :P

(Kidding!...sortof.)

Word of the last-couple-weeks:
Snarky.

I really really really love that word. Snarky.

That's all. I'm going to play puzzle games online until Andrew gets home.

The Story of Today, Some Thoughts, and Tomb Sweeping

Mmmm chips and salsa...
While I munch, I shall pontificate.

(What is it about blogs that make me want to use big words?)


Tonight, after my very long day, I went to my parent's house to teach piano lessons and then hang out for a while. The door was locked so I rang the doorbell...and the World's Most Annoying Dogs (I shall hereafter refer to them as the WMAD) ran to the door and started barking their dang heads off. There isn't an appropriate way to explain how irritating the WMAD's barks are.
Anyway.
After my lessons, I hung out with the fam for a while. Actually, I hung out with my mom. Dad and Isaac were watching the Olympics, Ivey was playing across the street and Aaron was upstairs doing...Aaron things.
So Mom and I hashed out the world's problems- exchanged our "stories" of the week and discussed how to solve them. Those are always good talks...the kinds that Mom and I have. :)
Excuse me while I chase Kitty away from the salsa...


Okay, back.
So tonight I had another hour (or so) until Andrew got home...so here I am, eating chips and salsa, watching Kitty climb "Mt. Tuba" (Andrew's tuba case...which Kitty has claimed as her personal mountain), and writing this blog.
Thursdays are so long, but I like Thursday nights the best...because then it's all behind me. Now I have Friday to look forward to, and a peaceful morning with my hunny.

Here's something I was thinking about on my way home.

Wifehood and Motherhood
(Such a matronly thing to write about, right? Don't call me matronly, I might hit you with something.)

But here's what I was thinking:
When a woman becomes both a wife AND a mother, which title is most important? To put it in different words, are you first a wife, or first a mother?
At first, I thought "First, a mother"...but then, a husband and wife are the BASE of the family! They're the beginning, the sticky gooey stuff (glue?) that holds the family together.

I'm not even close to being a mom, but here is my idea:
A woman should be firstly a wife AND a mother. Both. But if it comes to choosing, then a woman will probably rightfully choose the family that needs her the most...which would probably be her children. Kids are young, impressionable...they need their mother's protection and love. If, God forbid, a woman HAD to choose between her husband and her child, I think she'd be justified in choosing her child. At least until the kid is an adult.
Once a kid is grown, I think it's another matter. Then, perhaps, "wife" is most important-- because the little peeps are out of the house and the husband needs her the most.

I guess it's an extreme scenerio: choosing between your husband and your kid. But it's an interesting thought, because I'm sure a wife and mother needs to choose which family member to cater to at certain points in her life.

Any thoughts?
(Am I really strange for thinking about this? Ehh...probably.)



Now, to re-emphasize my youth.
Today at college I took a few pictures of my friends and surroundings...and here they iz.

The storage room. Where interesting conversations take place, where we play trumpet songs on tubas, where we see how many bricks we can carry at one time.

Ann Marie and Danielle. The three of us are exclusive celebrators of TOMB SWEEPING DAY.

I have other pictures, but I've learned the hard way that you should load your pictures FIRST and THEN write your blog...otherwise you have to do a lot of dragging and re-spacing.

That's enough for one night.
God bless!
~Briana


-EDIT-
For those of you interested in joining the celebration of Tomb Sweeping Day (or are just curious), here's the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingming_Festival