brooke's nooks.

gpoywgs*:

i started golfing when i was in the 7th grade. 

i was on the first women’s golf team our school system ever had.

i watched my brother & dad play growing up & always thought it looked like fun, so when there was an opportunity to be a part of the newly formed team, i asked my loving parents if i could play.

within days, we went to Sam’s club, purchased some clubs & started this love [sometimes hate]** affair.

after two successful seasons in middle school, i went on to receive a varsity letter in high school for my Tiger Woods-ways (minus the strippers, of course).

it’s one of those hobbies that feels a lot like riding a bike. you forget how much you enjoy picking up a club & whacking a ball until you get out there & do it.

last Friday, BR & i headed out for our first 9 of the year—

a re-visit to an old hobby i suppose (it had been almost a year since i last played).

i tied up my favorite Nike golf kicks, rolled up my sleeves & went to town.

i’m not really sure what i enjoy most about the game- getting a 1 or 2 putt on a par 4 or if it’s the amount of time i get to spend with my partner of choice at that particular course (this is starting to sound more like Tigers Woods). 

regardless, if there’s ever one decision i’ve made in life that i’ll never regret,

it’s being that 11 year old little girl, asking her parents for golf clubs & actually sticking with a hobby year after year…

plus, those high-class clubs are still kicking.

(*gratuitous picture of your golf shoes)

(**on days when a tee-off goes right or i 4 putt on a par 5 or the people playing behind us are pushy, there’s admittedly a little hate)

smile friday: this crew (emel, patrick & ben) makes me real happy.

i’ve been friends with patrick & ben since i was 13-ish years old (oh hey, freshman year of high school!)

they’ve seen me through awkward life stages, given me solicited & unsolicited advice about guys, seen me dressed up at prom & at show choir competitions, we’ve witnessed the highs & the lows, stayed in touch while attending three separate colleges & two different graduate programs…

& while i adore how much these two guys have stood by my side for 14 years, i thank them on a regular basis for introducing me to emel almost 4 years ago.

since our first meeting, our foursome has never looked back—we’re honest to the core, believe that anything goes & we never judge a word that escapes our mouths.

right now, Ben is the only one out of indy, but we’re crossing our fingers he returns real soon.

until then, our efforts to remain active in each other’s lives will stay the same—i mean, after so many years, they have way too much dirt on my life to leave now!

(picture taken last night at Bluebeard where the weather was perfect for outdoor dining & the host was kind enough to take a snapshot of our little crew.)

it’s become a crucial part of my weekly routine, one i never anticipated.

i bought a groupon for Pure Barre last fall, let it expire & thought that was it.

then, the biggest loser competition happened, i called the fine folks at the closest (& only Indiana location) & they kindly offered to accept my 10 class pass.

all it took was one Friday morning commitment & i was hooked.

the whole Lift.Tone.Burn workout is amazing—my legs shake, my core quivers & at the end of every hour-long session, i feel a strong sense of accomplishment.

but it’s more than that.

for one hour, twice a week, Pure Barre allows me the opportunity to step away from the madness of daily tasks, social media dependence & all other self-inflicted stressors.

for sixty minutes, i’m not tempted to unlock my phone & catch up on the lives of others—instead, i focus on me (& my often neglected muscles).

over the course of the past 6 months, i’ve purchased 2 groupons (10 classes each). so for now, i’m utilizing those bad boys. after that, i’ll have to decide whether or not i’ll commit to more—my mind is saying yes, but my budget is saying “holy shit, Pure Barre is expensive!” <—& it is.

in the meantime, if you’re wanting to go on a new fitness adventure or you simply yearn for a reason to set down your phone, i would highly recommend taking advantage of Pure Barre’s “first class free” offer.

i mean, if nothing else, who doesn’t lust after the infamous Pure Barre ledge?

Mama J knows many things about me:

the exact time i was born, my favorite color(s), that i’ll always favor a pink lip over a red one, the name of my first crush, the age of my first real kiss, my love for coffee in the mornings, an admiration for hole in the wall restaurants, my favorite road trip snacks, my daily routines & my love for baseball pants, football pants & many other handsomely hardworking athletes in general.

she also knows what i don’t like:

accompanying her on a trip to hallmark, answering her question “what should we have for dinner?”, & perusing the aisles of a greenhouse.

i can justify my dislikes by the fact that i believe shopping for a greeting card & shopping for a floral design is very much a personal choice—there is no real room for my opinion.

the dinner thing? well, i’m just not a foodie nor do i have a typical craving for any particular food item. give me a bowl, a box of cheerios, some milk & i’m golden.

so, imagine my surprise when last night, after a class at Pure Barre that left my muscles begging for a day off, i pulled one tire up on my drive & immediately noticed pot after pot of pink-hued flowers propped against the brick.

i dialed home & within two rings, my loving mother was on the other line, “i know you don’t like shopping for flowers, so i thought i would pick you up a few while i was out.”

random acts of kindness, even from those loved ones who know you better than you sometimes know yourself, are some of the best…

(thanks, Mama. you did good. xo)

i’ll never quite understand why things have worked out the way they have-

how i ended up building a home ten miles from my parent’s house yet daydream about where i’m going to live next,

or how so much loss can happen in a short period of one’s life- a death of a family friend, a friend’s father, a forever friendship, a prospective suitor, an amount of weight, a pocket full of sunshine or even an exorbitant amount of energy.

i’ll never quite understand why time has to be spent in one place versus the other-

how you can disregard everything that’s been so hard to maintain, how control can be so one-sided or why upfront effort dissolves all because of distance,

or how after years of going and going and going and going, there’s still a strong lean toward keeping busy instead of lounging indoors with self-inflicted thoughts.

i’ll never quite understand how you can feel so content one day and so uncomfortable the next-

how you can fight through interview after interview, butterflies in the stomach crush after crush, move after move, disagreement after disagreement, calorie after calorie, mile after mile, only to realize you should have originally chosen option A instead of B,

or how there can be so much contagious happiness and love one day and so much hate between others the next.

i’ll never quite understand how endorphins can be produced, how cancer can be caused, how a pill can treat a headache, how tears can well up, how goose bumps can appear, and how life can forever change due to an unexpected diagnosis-

how every fall season can make my soul pitter pat just like the first time i stepped onto a college campus all those years ago,

or how an hour long sitcom or late night rom com can make me question my past taste in men more than any thought that has ever crossed my mind or any sound advice my father has not so calmly uttered.

i’ll never quite understand how one without an addiction can continue down the path of insanity—performing the same action over and over again with no change in result-

how things can be so obviously wrong yet feel so obviously right,

or how music can alter a mood without ever having to really understand the lyrics escaping the mouth of a ex-felon.

i’ll never quite understand how my words, my voice and my opinions can be legit equal to my actions yet to some, they are seen as less-

how the dynamics of a family can shift with one move, one disagreement, one victory, one location change, one holiday, one doctor’s visit, one job, one failure, one surgery or one selfish decision,

or how i continue to strive to garner attention when the lights have clearly been knocked off.

i’ll never quite understand…

4 years ago these girls accompanied me down to Naples for a little weekend away.

my 4 best friends from undergrad.

life back then seemed pretty carefree. 

we were all employed, living in Nebraska, Colorado & Indiana, & to us, this little reunion was going to be an annual occurrence for years & year to come (spoiler alert: 2009 was the last time all 5 of us were together).

being back down South this last weekend, staying in the same condo, swimming in the same pools, frequenting the same beaches & streets—it left me telling Mama a lot of “when the girls were here…” stories.

i was super nostalgic during the 5 days Mama & i were there because i couldn’t shake the thought about life 4 years ago & all the events that have transpired since that random getaway under the Florida sun.

grad school acceptances, grad school graduations, text messages exchanged, phone calls made, random weekend meet-ups, engagements, major moves, job changes, health scares, serious surgeries, Husker wins, Husker losses, pregnancies, miscarriages, heart break, confusion, strengthening of friendships, the loss of others, memories made & memories lost.

its really hard to fathom how much we’ve changed since that weekend away from our respective lives & yet i know that no matter how much we’ve shifted, we’ll always remember the happiness felt during that time & for that, there are no regrets.

“Every once in a while I can catch a glimpse of her when she doesn’t see me looking, and I have this moment where I’m like, ‘If you never make a good decision … if you only make bad decisions for the rest of your life, you made one really good decision,’” Timberlake said, adding, “It’s nice to marry your best friend. It suits me.”

he’s good.