Day Forty-Seven; Disaster?

Today started off fairly normally. After that late night of working on my paper last night, I went to school in a pretty tired manner. Then I remembered that first period, we were only doing a video for participation points. Score! That went by quickly. College Algebra was spent in Mrs. King's office (that dreaded place with that dreaded woman) doing some finalizations on a scholarship that was due today that she JUST gave the information to me for YESTERDAY. Aaaanyway, third period consisted of me and Eli reading our papers aloud to the class. Fourth period was Choir. Mrs. Pace's kids visited us, and they were adorable, even though they have bronchitis. Fifth period was JAG. We took a test, I went to Mrs. King's office again, and we played this pretty cool leader game. Lunch was hilarious, of course. How could it not be?

After school, I decided to come home and take a much needed nap. I slept until I had to go get Macie from school. When I got back home from that, I went to sleep again. Finally, around 6:00, I woke up. I was just going about my business, eating, taking a bath, etc., when I got a frantic phone call from my mother. I'm not going to go into details, but Jason had gotten hurt. One side of his face is pretty messed up: the bones around his eyes are totally crushed. They took him to Little Rock for a surgery. They expect him to be fine, but keep him in your thoughts all the same.

I'm watching Nathan now. Macie is at a friend's house. Brent will watch the kids tomorrow and Sunday so that I can go see Jill before her deployment. I just hope everything works out for the best.

The picture above? I sent it to my mom while she was driving to Little Rock with Jason's mom to cheer her up. The caption said: Smile. This face has always and will always love you. Everything is gonna be alright.

Day Forty-Six; Sarah's pictures and a game.

Thursday, yesterday, was quite more eventful than Wednesday. At school, I quickly realized that I had a Western Civ paper due that night at 11:30 and an English paper due today, Friday. I skipped Choir to do my Western Civ paper because I knew I wouldn't be home in time to do it. I had an outing to go to...back to that in a minute, though.

Directly after school, I met up with Sarah and Cassi at my house to assist in taking Sarah's pregnancy pictures, something I was totally stoked about. I literally became an assistant, carrying around Cassi's camera bag and Sarah's purse. I even had to "shirt" her. Wow. It was a lot of fun, though, and Cassi got some really good pictures. Weirdly enough, the one that I happened to take a picture of looks a whole lot like her profile picture on Facebook. Twilight Zone?

After this, I headed home and got Nathan. From the school, we started a long trip to Sheridan to watch Brandon's third soccer game of the season. I was really glad I brought him along. He enjoyed the game most of the way through, and he definitely enjoyed going to Brandon's house afterward and exploring his bedroom. We got home around 10:30, and I was glad I had submitted that Western Civ paper in fourth period.

I got straight to work on my English paper, wrote that, and went to bed. Long, long day.

Day Forty-Five; Gift ideas.

Okay, I know this is SUPER late. But I've been busy. Sue me.

Wednesday's actual school/work day was pretty boring. School until 12:10. Lunch from 12:10 to 12:40 with insanely awesome people. Work from 12:45 to 5:00. Easy stuff. That's not what was so awesome about Wednesday.

Jason, my mom's FIANCE (as she revealed to me Wednesday night), has some cousins who have a karaoke-type setup at their house. They can also do song recordings. I was very excited when I found this out, and this prompted me to venture out there with my mom, Jason, Macie, and Nathan that night.

I recorded a song for Jill since she deploys Sunday. I'm not saying which song it is, but there's the disk that it's on. I can't wait for her to hear it, even though I'm kinda nervous. People don't usually get to hear me sing.

After I finished recording, we stayed out and did karaoke for quite a while. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad we went out there.

Day Forty-Four; Deliveries.

Today was the day that I got to FINALLY deliver my baby items to the mother I selected for Project Unprepared. I was SO excited. It felt amazing to just give a deserving mother stuff to help her out. I couldn't have imagined how much I was going to enjoy giving back to someone else. The mother I selected seemed genuinely thankful. She told me I was wonderful. She thanked me over and over.

The picture above is Glenda, the woman I work with, and the baby that I am helping out as my first project. If you're interested in helping out, please contact me on my Facebook. The link is shown very clearly on this page.

Besides that, I gathered some things today to donate to Sarah Lucheck's Cystic Fibrosis Jeans for Genes Rummage Sale that will happen on March 13. I encourage everyone to help in any way possible. Jeans are not the only items Sarah is taking. She will take virtually ANYTHING. All proceeds will go toward Team Angel Buckner and their goals. Contact Sarah Lucheck for more information. (See: Saving Sarah on my subscribed blogs).

I have had a rather nice day filled with helping others, something that I'm new at but truly liking, and I'm dead tired. I'm so tired, in fact, that I dozed off during American Idol, something I never do. I spent a great deal of this evening being sad that I couldn't make it to Brandon's game tonight. He did AMAZING from what I've heard. Gah.

I'm going to go read now. I didn't read any Harry Potter last night, despite how much I wanted to. I did other stuff, like edited grillz pictures of me and my boyfriend. Ah, we're so silly.

Day Forty-Three; The charity prospers.

I went and laid down with Brandon very early today, around 5:15. He was extra cuddly and sweet. This made my entire day perfect. He usually doesn't like cuddling while he's sleeping. This morning was quite different. It was perrrrfect.

We spent the morning together, and I drove him to soccer practice, but then I had to head home to get Macie from school, which I skipped. I hated saying goodbye, but that's okay. This weekend was so perfect that it made up for it.

Macie and I went to the laundromat. It was my first trip there, and I won't be going back any time soon. We have had washer issues lately, and I needed to wash my huge comforter. I think next time I'll send someone instead.

Jill had given me a substantial donation for Project Unprepared, and Macie and I headed to Walmart after the laundromat to spent that funding. We got tons of stuff. Add that to the things that had already been donated, and you get the picture above. It's a start, right? Tomorrow, I will take information to certain teachers at the school and the daycare. I am hoping for a great response from them!

Today, all-in-all, was a good day, and it's not quite over yet. I am going to finish Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire once and for all. I have been dillydallying on it. This just in: I'm really excited for Thursday. I get to see Sarah Lucheck! Finally!

Day Forty-Two; Best Valentine's Day EVER.

Subject says it all, and it's true: hands down. Brandon and I exchanged gifts at 3:00 in the morning. It's random, and it's so us. He loved everything I got him. I put together a huge basket of delights for him. I made him a Build-a-Bear in Star Wars PJs with frames named Stranger Danger Buchanan. I got him a shirt and bracelet cuff from the Buckle. I got him some grillz and a watch from this fake gangster kiosk. I wrote him a sonnet. I put a card in there, a singing one. I put an actual valentine in there. Then I included his favorite food stuffs: beef jerky, sunflower seeds, Reese's cups, Reese's Pieces, 5 gum, cotton candy, Ferrer Roche, Hershey's Kisses, and more stuff that I'm not thinking of. He seriously loved it, and that made me feel awesome. He gave me some of my favorite candy, and this really cute stuffed tiger (tigers are my favorite animal), but my main gift is stuck in the mail. I absolutely CANNOT wait to see what it is next weekend.

We spent the day eating takeout Chinese food and watching movies. We cuddled A LOT. He made this day the best day ever. Sigh. Love is just...wonderful.

Day Forty-One; Going away party.

Time to make up for days of missed blogging. Saturday. Saturday was a very good day in my opinion. Tiring, but good. We woke up relatively early and headed out for a day of shopping for various things, mainly finalizing a bunch of the Buchanans' Valentine's gifts. Mommy Jill bought me a lovely navy blue wrap that I love and can't wait to wear. Thank you!

That night, we headed to the Moons' house. Our story was that we were having a normal old family game night. Little did Jill know, we were having a surprise send-off for her. She leaves Sunday, and I'm in no way ready for her to go. None of us are. The party was filled with all of her favorite people, a banner signed by tons of Sheridan students, slideshows with tons of pictures, and great conversation. It was a really fun night, and I'm glad I was invited to attend.

Day Forty; Brandon time.

I got to go to Brandon's today, so of course it was a good day. Before I left, I mailed off the crazy amount of scholarship stuff I completed yesterday. That felt extremely nice. We also began writing sonnets in English today. Love, love, love.

Brandon had a soccer game tonight. They lost, but Brandon did great. It was my first time seeing him play. He looked wonderful on the field. It was freeeezing though.

I'm lying down watching TV with him now. Our six month anniversary is tomorrow. Yay. 

Day Thirty-Nine; Mania.

Today consisted of school (joy!) and working my butt off on scholarship things. The picture you see above is my mom's computer, where I have spent the majority of my day. My back is killing me, and I don't care if I sound whiny.

I got four scholarships ready to mail in, and I applied to ten or more online. I would say that's pretty productive, right? Right.

While doing this, I also babysat. I put two sick kids to bed. I think I might be on the verge of being a superhero.

I also had to worry about the stupid weather. I hope it doesn't prevent me going to Brandon's tomorrow. No one thinks it will, but knowing my luck...bleh. I'm also in a bad mood because I just deleted the entirety of Brandon any my conversation off of my iPhone, a conversation I haven't deleted since I got the phone...on October 18, 2009. You know what that is? Sad.

Day Thirty-Eight; Being a good girlfriend.

To be honest, most things I did today can't yet be posted online. Cassi and I hung out, spent some time in Little Rock, and dropped by Brandon's to tell him goodnight. He seemed so happy. I hope I get to see him tomorrow. If not, I can't wait until Friday.

Those are the Valentines I bought for myself. Reminds me of the musical. 

Day Thirty-Seven; Snow day part four million, three hundred and sixty-six thousand, four-hundred and twelve.

I am STILL very sick of the snow. Nothing happened today to change my opinion on that. Even worse? Our plumbing has been backed up since yesterday. That is NO good when you're snowed in. I spent my day sleeping because my allergies were killing me. My eyes keep watering every five minutes, and my nose and ears are pure hell. When I wasn't asleep, I was reading Harry Potter. I downloaded a few ringtones for my phone, and that's about it. We are going back to school tomorrow, thank goodness. That's right. I'm HAPPY we're going. Forecast still predicts snow Thursday night. I'm still hoping that Mommy Dearest lets me head to Brandon's Thursday after school. I can't miss this weekend. It's Jill's going away party, Brandon and my six month anniversary, AND Valentine's Day. I CAN'T and WON'T miss all that. I am now going to go read Harry Potter some more and then go to bed.

Oh yeah, I also watched the first day of American Idol's Hollywood Week. Yay!

Day Thirty-Six; Snow day part one million and seventy-six.

I'm going to say this one time, so listen (or read) carefully: I AM SICK OF THE SNOW! No seriously. I was hoping and hoping for no snow. What do we get? Snow. That's what. Brandon's game today? Canceled. I was really looking forward to that, too. And guess what? No school AGAIN tomorrow. Our school is considering making us come for Saturday schools because we have missed so many days. It's so frustrating. AND it's supposed to snow again Thursday night. Hopefully my mom will let me go to Brandon's Thursday, and if it doesn't snow, I'll leave early Friday morning and go to school.

I spent all day today wishing I had just stayed at Brandon's last night. I missed him, to say the least. I read a lot of Harry Potter, something I have neglected for a few days on accident. Cassi came over. I put on my Winterfest dress (February 27), and she did a few different hairstyles until she found the one she is going to do for me that day. Thank goodness for her. I don't feel like paying for it to be quite honest.

As for now, I'm just about to go lie down in Macie's room. She's spending the night at her friend's house tonight, and her room is much warmer than mine. I'll probably read some more, watch some TV, eat a little snack, call Brandon to say goodnight, and hit the hay. My allergies are being terrible today.

The picture above? My mommy made me pancakes this morning, and outside you can see the blizzard. Seriously, the most snow we've gotten in forever. Lame.

Day Thirty-Five; Who loves random dates? Me.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, let me explain.

Okay, the day started with Brandon waking me up and telling me to come lay down with him. He always does this in the mornings. We aren't allowed to sleep in the same room, of course, but we're allowed to nap together in the mornings once other people are awake in the house. We quickly realized we couldn't fall back to sleep, something that doesn't usually happen. Jill and Caitlin were going to be out and about that morning. Jill came in Erin's room where we were lying down, and gave Brandon her card, telling him to go to the mall and look for shoes, which he needs.

A few hours later, we finally got up and about and got ready to go to the mall. We first went to Park Plaza and had fun walking around. Brandon got a jacket in Forever 21, but he didn't find any shoes he liked. He DID make a request that I buy him a grill for Valentine's Day. We shall see. Baha.

After the mall and some scrumdiddlyumptious Dippin' Dots Ice Cream, we went to Sports Authority, a place that I had already assumed to be quite boring. Boy, was I mistaken? We played ping pong there for like an hour. Seriously. When we FINALLY left, Brandon bought some athletic gloves to keep his widdo fingers warm during his games, the first of which is tomorrow. For once, I'm really hoping it doesn't snow so that I will be able to go to his game. I'm not crossing my fingers, though. Every time I do that, bad stuff happens.

After Sports Authority, we went to lunch/dinner at McAlister's. We shared a huge bacon spud, which Brandon was quick to point out was only two regular sized potatoes put together. I had broccoli cheese soup, and he had some panini thing that he kept trying to convince me had poop in it. What a weirdo.

We then went to Wal-Mart very quickly and then headed home to watch the Superbowl. We were BOTH very happy with the outcome. Go Saints!

I hate leaving. I'm home now, though. It's so hard to say bye to him. Good news is, as long as it doesn't snow and ice and all that crap, I'll see him tomorrow for his game. I can't wait to see him play. I bet he is going to be amazing!

What did I realize this weekend? Something that I, of course, already knew. It was just strengthened; reinforced, if you will. I have a best friend and a boyfriend all molded into one person. With this person, I can play ping pong even though I suck, and he will look like he is having the time of his life, which is exactly the way I feel. I can be laughed at for eating my ice cream too slowly or discuss whether or not that is one potato or two. I can cuddle up and watch football with him and actually give a damn, something that is amazing. I have a person that I can be myself with 100%. I have a person that I love, unconditionally, a person that I will continue loving until...well, forever.

Hi, sorry for the mushyness, but that's what my day was. Oh, and the picture was Brandon singing to me. Bahaha.

Day Thirty-Four; Reminders.

This post is, again, late. I think one post a week will have to be late for me, unfortunately. Saturday? I went to see Dear John with Brandon, Caitlin, and Sierra. Jill, Mr. and Mrs. Moon, and Devin went to see a different movie, The Book of Eli. They said it was amazing. Dear John was, of course, sad. I didn't expect anything less coming from Nicholas Sparks. The ending was questionable.

Brandon and I spent a great deal of the day fighting, coming to a bang when we went to get pizza for the family. I hate fighting with him, and we do so extremely rarely. By the end of the night, however, we had made up. I stared at my promise ring and realized that nothing was ever going to come between us, no matter how big or small. He promised, and so do I.

That is, by far, the most important thing that happened to me Saturday. Our bond became even stronger, something I am always amazed is even possible. I love him very much, if you can't already tell.

Day Thirty-Three; Here in your arms.

I left school today at 10:30 only to come home and find that my car was going to be ready for me to drive tonight. I hadn't driven it since September. That felt good, believe me.

I came to Brandon's today, of course. It's Friday. I went with him, Caitlin, and Cymber to see Hellogoodbye. It was awesome. That is the picture you see above. 

As of now, I'm lying next to a sleeping Brandon until I get tired enough to sleep, at which point I'll go in the other room. He has the ACT in the morning. I know he will do brilliantly. 

Cassi and I received several emails today from people wanting to help with Project Unprepared. If you would like to help as well, contact me immediately. The smallest help would be amazing.

I'm going to go watch TV now. Today was pretty awesome.

Day Thirty-Two; An idea of charity.

Two key points of today: I got insurance for my car and I came up with this idea. Please read.



Project Unprepared

Did you know that, based on the results of a survey done nationwide in the year 2000, Arkansas is the tenth highest state for teenage pregnancy, with ninety-three teenage pregnancies for every one-thousand teenage girls? This survey went on to say that Arkansas was the FOURTH highest state as far as women who actually end up giving birth to these babies, which means we are the fourth highest state as far as teenage motherhood goes. From what I have heard, these statistics have only gone up since 2000, despite the increase in emphasis on contraceptives. That is just going by ear; that part might be inaccurate, but from what I’ve seen as an Arkansan and as a high school student, it’s pretty accurate.

There are many different routes for sexually active teenage men and women. One route is to protect yourself the best you can. Birth control is available, condoms are always ready to be purchased, and, if you have failed contraceptives, the morning-after pill is always an option. Even women who go to these measures to protect themselves, and then the ones who choose not to, sometimes end up pregnant at a very young age.

There are also many routes after a teenager finds out she is pregnant. Adoption, abortion, the abortion pill, or the old standby…keeping the baby and raising him/her the best way that a mother can provide. I personally think that teenage mothers who keep their babies are very brave, especially if they choose to remain in school and care for their child at the same time, something my mother chose to do. Some financial situations, however, prevent teen mothers from having everything their child needs: clothing, blankets, diapers, wipes, bottles, etc. So I came up with an idea; first, though, it is necessary for me to explain the inspiration behind this.

I have a friend who recently had a child. She was brave enough to keep her, something I admire. Her baby is an absolute doll, and the new mother is an extremely nice person. I don’t know her all too well, but I know her enough to know that she has a creative mind and a kind, mothering heart. Her financial situation is preventing her from getting the things her daughter needs. She lives with her father, and he doesn’t have a sufficient income to provide everything that my friend would love to give to her daughter. I was immediately stricken with the want and need to help this friend of mine, but I couldn’t figure out how.

Then it hit me. Facebook. Networking. Talking to friends, students, teachers, this girl’s fellow parents. I talked to one friend today, Raelynn King, who offered to talk to her mom about donating some of her little sister’s used clothes and baby items. I was thrilled. Here I am now, on Facebook. Many of us have family members who recently had children that have already grown out of their clothes or have been weaned from bottles and such things. Many of us, also, have a few spare dollars, that we could donate to a just cause. I understand if a monetary donation isn’t a good idea in your eyes. Some people might say that just doesn’t feel secure, and I understand that. But please, if you have any used baby stuff, and you’re interested in donating this to this friend of mine, Project Unprepared’s first “project,” please let me know. Contact me via Facebook, email, or cell phone. Feel free to approach me at school as well. My contact information is posted below. Thank you so much for reading this, and I hope to hear from many of you in any of the contact means listed.

-Breana Steele

Email: breanasteele@hotmail.com
Cell phone: (501) 593-7005

Day Thirty-One; Stress, Stress, Re-Stress.

Today at school was fine. Most of my classes finally actually got back to work after the weather disaster. Mr. Skaggs, our distance learning teacher, recited "Pants on the Ground" for us. What a hoot.

Work was interesting. We had a new lady. She is the mother of one of my friend's boyfriend's. In fact, said boyfriend is Drew Williams, boyfriend of Tess Kee. It's a small world after all.

When I got home, I browsed the Internet, played Bookworm, watched Idol, and started something I was totally dreading. My FAFSA. I nearly did it on a website that was going to charge me $80. Thankfully, lovely Faceboogers like Sarah Lucheck and Lyndsey Shea fixed it and put me on the right path. Thank goodness for people like them.

That tax return folder of my mother's is the devil. I hate trying to decode what those forms say. I hate it, I tell you. And I'm not looking forward to paying for college. Yay debt.

I DID do something else really productive today. I purchased part of Brandon's Valentine's Day gift... I must say, I'm really excited. I think he will really like it. I can't wait to find out. The rest of it will be finished next week. I have a feeling he has something up his sleeve, even though he says that he won't be able to do much. My evidence? He came on the phone with this smug sounding voice after he "went to talk to his mom." Who knows?

Day Thirty; It's about freaking time.

Today was my first day back at school. I must say, I was glad to see all my best friends. Oh, how I love them. Props to Dakota; he let me borrow a pen and saved my life by doing so! Yay! My actual classes were pretty normal today. Nothing special. The boys kinda grossed me and Shannon out at lunch. That's not all that easy to do. We listen to a lot of their guy talk without flinching, but today was yuck. We survived, though.

Work was a breeze. I hardly did anything. I ate popcorn with Glenda and talked about her family. She has great stories to tell. Seriously. I could talk to her all day long and be alright.

When I got home, I played some more Bookworm. It's addicting, I tell you. I put it down, however, for another addiction: American Idol. I watched the Denver prospects and was pleased. I'm ready for next week: Hollywood Week!

I then started a near-impossible task. I began cleaning my room. That's what that picture is above: the finished product. It's still not perfect, but it looks amazing next to what it was before. I looked through a school memories book that I have had since kindergarten and filled in some of the stuff about senior year. The best friends I listed? Brandon, Cassi, Shannon, Tyler, Bryce, Chance, Dakota, Raelynn, and Caitlin. They are all very special to me. I love you guys.

While I was cleaning my room, I was dancing around to a shuffle list on Limewire, texting Tyler and Dannatt, and singing. Tyler, being the best friend that he is, listened to a crazy essay I wrote a while back out of sheer boredom. How awesome is he?

Anyway, now I'm gonna go fill in a little bit in my senior book and listen to a little music before I head to bed. It's been an okay day. I miss Brandon though. Good news! We are going to see Hellogoodbye on Friday. I'm stoked! My second concert, and this one's with him, too. Yay for awesome boyfriends. Also...yay for actual blog posts today instead of just little snippets of my life.

Day Twenty-Nine; My Apologies.

I'm in a terrible mood right now, so this blog is going to be terrible and short. I'm trying to study some more for a test I have tomorrow. I had to leave Brandon's today. I'm becoming more frustrated with...life. I'm ready for a change.

This game, Bookworm, has kept me semi-sane today. Thank goodness.