More Than A Song

Ok, so you know how most kids/teenagers/co-eds doodle pictures in their notes when they're bored in class? Yeah, I definitely practiced my printing and cursive and wrote out song lyrics that were going through my head and distracting me from class. Weird, I know. But I really love music! Have you ever noticed how songs seem to convey exactly what you want to say exactly the way you want to say it? Happens to me all the time! And to be honest, I think that is how the Holy Spirit works when he intercedes for us before God--he communicates in our hearts what our words cannot. When we are stuck in prayer, the Holy Spirit is praying for us on our behalf--how cool is that!? Well, actually, I think it's more like music; more like singing to perfectly capture what we want to say, how we need to say it.

Pretty dang cool if you ask me...

SO, this song just came through my shuffle mode and I love it, I love it, I love it! So tell me what you think :)

"Curl Up and Die" by Relient K

I don't like the steps I took

To get to look

Into your deepest feelings

I don't like the place I'm in

Headspace within the hardwood and the ceiling

Cause if I'm restless

Then why do I?

I want nothing but to rest my soul

And I don't get this and I know why

You see sometimes things are just beyond control

But I don't mind

But I'm not surprised to find that you do

I'm not surprised to find that you do

I know you do

And I feel fine

But I know the same does not apply to you

I know the same does not apply to you

So I guess that I'll curl up and die, too.

Clinging to the remnants of perfection

Like most do after they break it

Not knowing which direction is the correct one

Do I discard or remake it?

Cause if I don't know then I don't know

But I may know someone that knows me more than I

And if I somehow could rest this soul

Maybe control could find its way back to my life

But I don't mind

You see I know that I have done all this to you

To you

Yeah I'll curl up with you

Until I die with you [3x]

Yeah I'll curl up with you yeah my baby, yeah my darlin'

Until I die with you...

The Best Therapy

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$75.00 worth of iTunes has vanished faster than fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. Drat. But let me tell you how it happened! You see, there is this amazing website called Pandora Radio--a website that creates a radio station for you based on your personal music tastes. All you do is type in the name of the artist or song you want a station for and Pandora creates an ongoing radio of songs that match your musical taste.

IT

IS

AWESOME.

I am currently listening to "Broadway" by The Goo Goo Dolls, playing on my Matt Nathanson station. Since I am the most indecisive person in the world when it comes to making decisions (I struggle with perfection...NOT a good thing), I have been listening to various stations and buying songs I don't have! I have many stations but I have used my $$ for my Phil Wickham, Colbie Caillat, Jason Aldean, Britney Spears, and Matt Nathanson stations.

...just changed to "Where We Gonna Go From Here" by Mat Kearney...

Once each playlist has 32 songs, I will change to another station. I am trying to get a variety of genres: I have Christian & Gospel, Pop, Country, Pop, and Rock. The Britney station was an attempt to make a dance mix--it's ok. It put a lot of older songs on. I wanted more Britney Spears "3" like songs! I may have to see what a Lady Gaga station gives me.

...GASP! Just changed to "Stop This Train" by John Mayer...OMG, I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8 more songs, and my Matt Nathanson list is complete!

Anyways, I need an Alternative station--maybe Forever The Sickest Kids?? Or Anberlin? I think they're Rock though. I definitely will make more Country ones. I hardly spend $$ on those because I have so many of the songs, haha :)

So friends, I need ideas!! What are some good stations you would make? Maybe I'll find some new music to ♥. You should definitely check out these peeps though. They're REALLY good!

...changing to "The Man Who Can't Be Moved," by The Script...

But here! If you feel overwhelmed by all my music, check out "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train. Totally makes me want to take a drive with the windows down and just LAUGH and SMILE :D First heard it on the radio, not Pandora, btw...which is why, occasionally, you should listen to the radio.

..."Brace Yourself" by Howie Day...

..."Acoustic #3" by The Goo Goo Dolls...

..."So Long, So Long" by Dashboard Confessional...

Hasta La Vista, 2009!

Hello dear friends! I have missed you all so much!! I NEVER know where to start when so much time passes between blogging...definitely a New Years' resolution, and you are welcome to hold me to it. BUT WAIT! Before I get to 2010, this is a good time to recap 2009--a year that has COMPLETELY disappeared! It is my opinion that pictures speak THOUSANDS of words and therefore, may my miniature picture calander take you back in time with me:

January.

This is Jesse and Claudia! I met them through Young Life while I was a leader in Malibu. Although their wedding was not the first of the year (can you believe that? I went to another one before theirs!), this one was near and dear to my heart. The wedding and reception were held at Malibu West Beach Club at sunset. It was small, intimate, laid back, and absolutely beautiful in the most southern California way. I remember sitting at my table, completely relaxed, watching Claudia dance with her nieces and nephews, with a beautiful 70 degree breeze blowing the sunset over our ocean view and tousling my hair. I said to myself, "if this is how my wedding turns out someday, I will be completely satisfied."

February.

This is David and Anna! I have known Anna since junior high, where we began an inside joke that neither of us can remember! Every week at church, she would say to me, "Brittany! I forgot your lemons again!" Looking back, neither of us knows how that started, haha! All throughout high school and much of college, Anna was one of my closest friends. She imparted so much wisdom to me at various times in my life, and I am very grateful to her for those times. And David? He's pretty much awesome :)

March.

This is Jenna and she is from Vermont! Jenna and I met freshman year of college--she lived in the same dorm that I did, in the suite directly above me. We became friends, then roommates, then dearest friends, and have really never looked back. On this day, we went to the Museum of Natural History in L.A. in search of the dinosaur exhibit (Jenna loves T-Rex's). This was probably my favorite moment in March because it was a really special time that we got to spend together--a quite morning together before finals and graduation were upon us. Jenna knew that she was going to Rochester after graduation and we were both struggling with knowing we would be apart. Thanks for this Jou Jou--I'll remember it forever :)

April.

And so the craziness began in April! From left to right: Ellyn, me, Kate, and Jessie. Ellyn and Kate were my roommates senior year and Jessie was an adopted roommate :) What a wonderful year we had together! This was the night of our Senior Ball at Monsoon in Santa Monica. It was a wonderful night to sing, dance, and say goodbye to the friends we made 4 years ago. The cresendo of the night was ending with "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, with a couple hundred friends all singing along. Goodness Pepperdine, I will miss you forever. Near the end of the month, I also found out about internships--I had been accepted to Oregon Health & Science University!! Portland, here I come!

May.

This month was so busy, I HAD to put two pictures. The first is fairly self-explanatory: I graduated from Pepperdine University with a B.S. in Nutritional Science. It was a BEAUTIFUL day in Malibu that I got to share with my family (picture), my Uncle Vinnie, cousin Nicholas, the Galuppo's, and the McAhren's. Four years passed much too quickly, in the place where my heart experienced growth, pain, joy, peace, and bliss. Pepperdine, you will be in my heart forever ♥ The second picture is of my cousin Matthew and his new bride Kristina (with my parents). It was wonderful to be reunited with my aunt, uncles, grandma, and many cousins! Since they all live east of the Mississippi, I hardly get to see them. It was wonderful though, and I LOVE Kristina! Way to go Matt!

June.

Heaven help us--the girls have gone wild! These are some of my BEST friends (from left, Brittany, Kelly, me, Brooklyn, and Cassie). This was our very first Vegas trip together and it WAS QUITE POSSIBLY ONE OF THE GREATEST WEEKENDS OF MY LIFE!!! I love being with my girlfriends, all of whom are the precious jewels that bring light to my life. So when we get together ANYWHERE, I am happy. But being in Vegas together was just AMAZING!! Unfortunately, I can say no more about it because what happens in Vegas...you know. Just know that it had something to do with The Hangover, Robert Horry, Ross from England, and this: "We should have put our LIVES on that game!!" ;)

July.

This is my kitchen family (from left, Goo, Callie, me, Jake, Aaron, Mikey, Nunu, and Dan the Man--we are missing Marissa)! This summer, I went to a Young Life camp called Woodleaf and spent a month as a cook. If you want to talk about a near-God encounter, this was DEFINITELY a great one! These people became my family, and restored my faith in fellowship and in the value of being surrounded by people who are passionately in LOVE with Jesus Christ. I made friends for forever, learned what it meant to be loved by God and by brothers and sisters, learned what real faith is, learned who Jesus is and how he loves me, and how I can truly BLESS other people by loving them the way Jesus does. This is not church--this is Young Life. Thank you to EVERYONE I met, because you showed me what it is to be loved as Jesus loves me.

August.

This is my family at Disneyland (from left, me, Stevie, mom, dad, Brooke, and Rachel)! August was a very hard month because of all of the transitions I was going through. I had just come back from a life-changing experience at camp, only to have to say goodbye to my family and ALL of my friends in California :( Ugh, it was heartbreaking. This trip to Disneyland was a moment from heaven where we could all be together one last time and enjoy being together. Plus, Disneyland IS the happiest place on earth! What a fantastic day!

September.

That's me, in Oregon, holding a cake that my new roommate Debra made for me (awww ☺...). I turned 22 this year, which was pretty uneventful considering there was no one here to celebrate with :( BUT, that's ok! It's like I am starting fresh on this new life after college where I am entering a year of training to be a dietitian. September also marked the start of my program and so it was definitely a month of new things!

October.

These are my intern friends (Top left: Candace, Emily, me, Kimberly, Sarah, Annie. Bottom left: Baloo, Anna, Audrey, and Lucy)! This was our first party together (Halloween, as you can probably guess--I was a boxer) and it was so much fun! We played some beer pong, some Apples to Apples, and generally just hung out and got to know each other. I am hoping for much more of this in 2010!

November.

This is my BRAND NEW 2010 Toyota Camry LE. This is my BRAND NEW 2010 Toyota Camry LE on the side of the 5 freeway in Washington. This is my BRAND NEW 2010 Toyota Camry LE on the side of the 5 freeway in Washington after being rear-ended. My very first car accident EVER and I have been driving in Los Angeles since I was 16! This was on our way back from Seattle, a trip with my roommate and some of her friends. Between having to deal with the accident and fighting traffic, it took us 6 HOURS to get home. UGH! November also marked the end of the first term of my internship and MY FIRST TRIP HOME SINCE AUGUST!!! So happy :) :) :)

December.

Just three short weeks later, I returned home for a two-week break. Between Thanksgiving and New Years I saw almost all of my very dearest friends, which was SO WONDERFUL! I spent New Years in Colorado Springs, Colorado with my friend Marissa from camp this summer (the one who was missing from the kitchen family picture). This is a picture of me with her family (from left, me, Marissa holding Lulu, sister Bid, dad, brother Merrill, and Niles in the front--Pike's Peak is in the background). It was wonderful to spend time with her and her family--must do that trip again :)

So much has happened in 2009! These are merely snapshots of some of my favorite moments. There was so much else that happened this year: my sister transferred to Azusa Pacific, Dave had a bone marrow transplant, my brother started his senior year of high school, I made new friends, I lost old friends, I moved out of state, and on and on. Seriously, I have HUNDREDS of pictures from this year. These were just some of the good ones :) But I am definitely EXCITED for 2010 and I really cannot say why! So hasta la vista 2009! You were a good year, but I forsee GREATNESS in the next 12 months :)

I think one of my favorite songs of 2009 was "In Your Atmosphere" by John Mayer. It like an appropriate goodbye song too. I also am going to suggest "Older" by Colbie Caillat, for her sentiments on how tough it is to get older. Get them both--you will love them.

It's Monday Folks!

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No class today means that I had a 3 day weekend...lovely :) Now there are some things we need to discuss!

Like how I am presently sitting in one of my favorite food establishments, Starbucks, and catching up on life! It's not the food PER SAY that makes this place a favorite, but it is more of the atmosphere--the blusey/jazzy/soft rock-y music that flows out of the speakers; the soft lighting and the tables and couches; the smorgasbord of people sipping hot, overpriced drinks and reading or studying. I find the white noise very relaxing and enjoyable. In college, the Starbucks on Malibu Road was my haven for studying and meeting the most interesting people--Like British brothers Thom and Phil who were in the States training to be kickers in the NFL!!

We also need to discuss my love affair with music. This is something I am going to add to my blog, thanks to the beautiful Carly over at Random Nuggest, for now. She adds a "Song of the Day" to the bottom of each of her posts. I intend to do the same, because music threads the pieces of my soul together. Wouldn't you like to know what is making me tick??

Lastly, I am going to add another kind of series to my blog about what I learn in church on Sundays. I am going to call it SoulFood Sundays. Why, you ask? Well, I am currently attending this AWESOME church in Beaverton called Solid Rock (church life has been one of the best parts of my move up here--people are so PASSIONATE about their relationship with Jesus!) Everytime I go, God moves so much in my soul that I have cried most times that I have gone (good crying, I promise). I always think of my friends, and how so many of them would be REFRESHED by hearing what I hear. But wait, you can! I am going to add this to my Sunday blogs--may your souls be refreshed my friends. Our God is good!

O, so my song of the day!! Can't forget, haha :) I think for today, I will direct you all to "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" by Snow Patrol and Martha Wainwright. I first heard this song on the trailer for a new Nicholas Sparks movie coming out in February called Dear John. Check it out--it looks SO GOOD!