Friday, June 7, 2013

Day 7: My Favorite Movies

Day 7: My Favorite Movies

This is one where I'm going to try and list my favorites, but I know I'm going to forget some. A list of favorite movies for me can go on for days because of my giant love for movies in general. I'll give it a try though. Here are my top...30!

These are in no particular order once again.

1. Mean Girls
2. Pitch Perfect
3. Bridesmaids
4. Easy A
5. The Help
6. She's The Man
7. Finding Nemo
8. Miss Congeniality
9. The Proposal
10. The House Bunny
11. It Takes Two
12. Pretty Woman
13. Life As We Know It
14. Toy Story 1,2,3
15. The Lion King
16. The Notebook
17. A Walk To Remember!
18. Sister Act 1 & 2
19. Billy Madison
20. The Hot Chick
21. Titanic
22. The Princess Diaries
23. How To Loose A Guy In 10 Days
24. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
25. Just Go With It
26. The Backup Plan
27. Jersey Girl
28. Losing Isaiah
29. The Nutty Professor
30. ANY Madea/Tyler Perry Movie

And That Is What...Breelynn Believes

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Day 6: A Few Of My Favorite Things

Day 6: A Few Of My Favorite Things

1. Watching Movies
2. Playing Music and Singing
3. Schwan's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
4. Playing with my Friends' Hair ( It all started with Clarissa lol)
5. Musicals
6. The Frizzell Family
7. Having Kirsten as a Roommate/Best Friend
8. Long Talks with Pim on the Phone
9. Papa John's Pizza
10. My Kids (the students that I have had so far...I LOVE teaching)
11. My Black Yoga Pants (the pair that I bought in 7th grade and still have)
12. Going to my Grandma's House
13. Sweet Tea!
14. Playing in the Praise & Worship Band
15. Taking Trips with Friends (NYC/Chicago/Ice Skating)
16. My Puppy
17. Watching Reality Talent Search Shows with my Mom (American Idol, X-Factor, The Voice)
18. Breakfast Foods at Any Time
19. Purple
20. Socks & Earrings

And That Is What...Breelynn Believes

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Day 5: My Favorite Quote

Day 5: My Favorite Quote

This one is hard for me to answer in a different way. I don't think I truly have a favorite quote. There are quotes that I often hear and I say, "Hey, I like that" but I don't have a favorite written down somewhere...yet. I say yet because Kirsten and I have decided to start writing our own quote books this summer. She already started on hers and I haven't. I picked the idea up from one of my favorite movies...A Walk To Remember. There is that part where Jamie gives Landon her mother's favorite quotes book. It has anything from movie quotes to scripture. So! When I start that book, questions like this one will not be as much of a challenge. Until then, I can give you a quote that I recently saw and liked.

"When life's storms are upon us we have to remember...to grow and bloom to our fullest beauty, we need both the sunshine and the rain." -Unknown

I can't wait to get started on my quote book this summer!

And That Is What...Breelynn Believes

Day 4: My Favorite Book

Day 4: My Favorite Book

I have loved to read ever since I was a small child. When I got to college, my reading for enjoyment almost vanished. This is because the classes and teachers that I had were assigning readings of their own...some of which I enjoyed and others of which I did not at all. So! A few favorites that come to my mind are listed below. These are also not in any special order...

1. ANY Judy Blume Book:

I know, I know...these books are for the younger crowd. That's part of the reason why I like her so much. I started reading Judy Blume books when I was younger and just getting into reading the really good chapter books. "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret" and "Summer Sisters" are two favorites.

2. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Trilogy

Just like my TV shows, I love books that have a series and involve a group of friends. That's what these books are all about. I would always read these books in the summer time and think about which of the four girls I was most like. I think I'm a mix of Carmen and Lina. At least that's what I wanted to be.

3. "The Piano" by Jane Campion & Kate Pullinger

This was a book that was on a reading list in one of my literature classes at SEMO. It starts off as a slow read, so I dreaded having to finish it, but it turned out to be one of my favorite books by the end. It's a love story, but not one like you would have ever read before. It's not your typical boy meets girl, boy annoys girl, boy gets girl in the end silliness. This is about a mute girl and her nine year old daughter who have to move to a basically deserted island in New Zealand because the girl's father sets her up as a mail order bride. Surprisingly, the love story part is not between the girl and her mail order husband at all. It's between her and the only other person on the island who speaks English...even though this girl doesn't speak at ALL. The piano is the only way that the mute girl can speak, and the kicker is that she will do anything...and I mean ANYTHING to get to keep playing her piano. This is definitely an adult read.

4. "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel

This was yet another book on a reading list in some class. I never would have just picked this on up on my own. It's a weird book...but once again it turned out to be one of my favorites. This one is a Mexican Love Story/ Cookbook / Tall-Tale / all in one. It's about a Mexican girl who falls in love with a boy, but is not allowed to be with him. She is the youngest girl in her family, and that means she has to take care of her mother until death and do nothing else. The book goes on to tell the reader that her sister marries her love and has a baby. Then that family moves in with the girl and her mother. There are scandals, betrayals, and everything else that happens after that. There is even a little bit of mystical stuff that happens every now and then to throw you off while you're reading. Fun!

These are a few that I pulled off of the top of my head. I'm sure that there are more favorites that I have, but I just can't remember them at the moment.

And That Is What...Breelynn Believes

Monday, June 3, 2013

Day 3: My Favorite TV Show

Day 3: My Favorite TV Show
 
What is my favorite TV show? This question is just as bad as asking me about my favorite song. I have so many! So, just like with the songs, I am going to make a list of my favorite TV shows. These are not going to be in any particular order.
 
1. Three's Company
 
When I was younger, my mom used to watch this show on Nick-at-Night before she went to bed. It was then that I became addicted. When I was about 13, my younger cousin and I started taping the episodes of Three's Company over movies we already had taped on VHS tapes. This is how we would watch our favorite episodes before bed when she would stay the night. About a year ago I found the series on DVDs! I bought them all off of Amazon and I watch them often. There probably isn't anyone else my age who watches cheesey 70's and 80's shows like this one...but I love them.
 
2. Glee
 
Ever since Glee first started, I have been a faithful viewer. If I ever have to miss an episode on the night that it airs, I always DVD-R it or watch it on Hulu. I own the complete first two seasons on DVD as well. I guess I just loved the fact that it was a show that was based around music. It's like watching a high school musical / drama. I feel like I really am friends with the characters.
 
3. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
 
I have NO idea how this one started, but I never watched it before my freshman year at SCC. So, back when Buffy was popular and actually on TV, I never watched it. Then they started playing reruns on the SiFi channel or something weird and I became intrigued. My group of friends at SCC also liked Buffy and started watching the series from the beginning while sitting in the basement of a mutual friend's house. After that, I had to buy all 7 seasons on DVD as well.
 
4. Once Upon A Time
 
This is a newbie. This was a show that I watched the very first episode on the first night and I didn't like it. It was confusing and I didn't understand what they were doing with it. Then I had other friends who told me that I really just needed to stick with it. They explained "the curse" and things started to make sense. So! I started watching it again and I haven't missed an episode since. I love the fact that they are making fairy tale characters come to life in the real world!
 
5. Friends
 
Who doesn't love Friends? I recently realized that all of the television shows that I really enjoy are ones that have made it for 9 or 10 seasons on the air. I'm pretty sure Friends had about 10 full seasons. Watching Friends makes me want to pack up, move to NYC, and live with my friends like they do! I would want to be a care-free character like Pheobe, but I'm really a Monica. Maybe not as much of a "neat freak", but I'm pretty close. I would date a Ross though. Which is weird when I think about it because Monica and Ross on the show are brother and sister. But! I just meant that I would probably end up with a paleontologist instead of a promising actor.
 
6. Angel
 
Now this one was built off of me watching Buffy. The only reason that I started watching Angel is because it is intertwined with the Buffy season. Angel was a vampire character in Buffy who got his own series based around him moving to L.A. There were two other characters from the Buffy series that came along with Angel to his series...the characters of Wesley and Cordilia. I don't like the vampire tv series because I'm a girl who wants to marry a vampire like the Twilight groupies...I just like the groups of friends in the shows.
 
I was thinking one day...there has to be some common factor between all of the shows that I just love to watch so much. I found that factor. They all have close knit groups of friends who work together or love each other! I love that :) I put myself as a character in each show that I watch. I always fit. It's pretty awesome. This is the list until something new comes along.
 
And That Is What...Breelynn Believes
 


Sunday, June 2, 2013

Day 2: The Meaning Behind My Blog Name

Day 2: The Meaning Behind My Blog Name
 
The meaning behind my blog name is a mix between my name, a nickname my best friend gave me, and what I wanted to write about in my blog.
 
My blog name is Breelynn Believes. Let's break it down :)
 
My name is Briana (pronounced Bree-Anna) Lynn.
 
One of my best friends Kirsten started calling me Breelynn right before I made my blogspot in 2009.
 
The reason that I wanted to blog in the first place was so I could have a place where I could write about what I believe. This was my inital thought. I wanted to be able to vent.
 
When you put all of that together, that is how I came up with the name Breelynn Believes for my blog. Then I had the bright idea that I would always end the blog that I was writing with the phrase "And that is what...Breelynn Believes." because what I'm writing is what I believe :) I know, too cool. So that's it!
 
And That Is What...Breelynn Believes
 
 


Saturday, June 1, 2013

June's 30 Day Challenge! Day 1: My Favorite Song

Day 1: My Favorite Song
 
Well! Hello once again. I haven't been able to blog since New Year's Eve of 2012. That just make me...awesome! Not. It's really actually just sad, because I love to be able to write random things like this. That is exactly why I have decided to try and be a part of this 30 day blog challenge. With that said...Day 1! What is my favorite song? Well, if that's not an impossible question I don't know what is. I LOVE music. I have about a million favorite songs, and they change with the year or the time present. I'm just going to name a few that come to mind right off the bat and my favorite line from each. I know I'm going to miss some. These are not in any specific order.

1. "So Small" by Carrie Underwood

"While you sit around thinking about what you can't change and worrying about all the wrong things, time's flying by moving so fast, you better make it count cause you can't get it back."

2. "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie

*I have to explain this one. This is the song that I happened to listen to right after I left my best friend and sister Pim at the airport in St Louis. So, this song automatically reminds me of her and how I felt in that moment. I miss that kid!

"And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket, but I've got to get a move on with my life. It's time to be a big girl now, and big girls don't cry."

3. "For Good" from Wicked

"People come into our lives for a reason bringing something we must learn. We are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them and we help them in return."

4. "He Lives In You" from The Lion King

*I always thought this song should have been a christian song.

"He lives in you. He lives in me. He watches over everything we see. Into the water, into the truth, in your reflection, he lives in you."

5. "Only Hope" by Mandy Moore

"When it feels like my dreams are so far, sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again."

6. "You're Not Alone" by Meredith Andrews

"You've had to face the music on your own, but there is a sweeter song that calls you home."

7. "Jump Around" by Cypress Hill

* This is one song that literally makes me jump around :)

"Word to your moms I came to drop bombs, and I got more rhymes than the bible has psalms."

8. "Believe" by Brooks & Dunn

*This song was played at my paw paw's funeral. It makes that connection with him.

"So I raise my hands and bow my head. I'm finding more and more truth in the words written in red. They tell me that there's more to life than just what I can see...I believe."


These are just a few songs off the top of my head. I realized after naming them that most of the songs are slow or sad. Oops. I guess my connection with these particular songs has left them fresh in my memory. One thing about music...it has the power to take you back to that moment in time when you first heard the song. It can bring the feelings back that you had in the moment the song was played. Man! Gotta love it.

And That Is What Breelynn Believes...