Happy New Year!

Well, this is where I was Christmas Day! My grandma's house where I stepped outside to play with Ben (my dog) and then slipped into this lovely hammock in which every visit I grow accustomed to. One of these days, I will have one of these myself. I could sit in this for hours with a good book in my hands soaking up the evening sun.

Also, something I'm thinking about starting for the new year is documenting where I go with photos of my feet! Starting with this! I feel this could get very creative =)

Merry Christmas all. And have a Happy New Year!

-Brooke

Merry Christmas to Us!

 Ok, so today marked a HUGE day for Paul and I.

Huge day.

For those of you who don't know about Paul (my husband) he is actually born and raised in England. We've been working on getting him citizenship here in the states so we can live together freely and never be separated ever again. But that's just the long story short. 

Let's just start by saying this whole process started 4 years ago. Paul came over for his usual Christmas 3 week visit and we had decided that we were soooo tired of being apart. We were engaged already and decided to plan a winter wedding for that very same winter of 2008. After getting married and him applying for his fiance visa and obtaining some other "grants" for a longer stay, on his one year anniversary of being in the country (3 years ago) we went down to the federal building in Cincinnati to apply for his green card for permanent residency. That day is a whole story in itself.

His green card has allowed him to be here this whole time, but citizenship is what grants him the ability to have all rights as an American and he never ever has to worry about being deported for any reason. AND he doesn't have to renew anything every so many years and the like.

And that's just what we did yesterday.

Went down to the very same federal building, on the same floor, and in the same office where we applied for his green card and did the interview 3 years ago. He took his citizenship test (might I add once again almost on the exact DAY we started this whole process?!) in which he passed with flying colors. He will now be able to attend a ceremony in January where he will receive his citizenship certificate and be granted all the freedoms as an American.

This is such a huge step. And relief off both our shoulders. All the hard parts are now over and I'm sooooooo happy to see how far we have come! I cannot WAIT to attend the ceremony, invite everyone we know to come with, and all celebrate his newly obtained citizenship. Something we've been fighting for for 4 years.

To see his face glow with excitement makes me esctatic because I made that possible for him. I feel like in a way, our lives together are only now just beginning.

[[[Ok kids, Brooke is going into story time....... ***stop reading here if you don't want to feel sick from allllll the loveyness or you're A.D.D. has already taken you from this page.......... consider yourself warned.**]]]




Paul and I met nearly 8 years ago. I was 14 and he was 16. We met on this game called Star Wars Galaxies which is considered an "MMORPG" which stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. Ever heard of WoW (aka World of Warcraft)? It's like that. Our characters names were Novice (Paul) and Larwin (me) and we played alllll the time together. We were in the same guild and took part in missions together between us and other guild members and for the first couple months of being on the game we came to be really good friends.... the whole guild and myself. Paul's character, Novice, was a weapons master in-game at the time and he supplied all the newbies to our guild with free weapons (which was me) and he kept me pretty well stocked with weapons, upgrades, and even armor eventually.

As time went on, I noticed when I would get home from school, Paul never stayed on the game very long while I was on... not much past 6 my time. I was driven with curiosity as to why he always got off so early and I learned that he was from England. ((No way!!)). Our time difference was 5 hours and later in our relationship, it DEFINITELY made it hard to talk sometimes! And me being a teenage American girl..... and even now *blushes*.... I'm still in LOVE with accents. I wanted to hear him talk!

Our guild had a voice chat server called Ventrilo that any guildies with the right password and username could log on and talk to any of the other guild members who were on. This made it so much easier to coordinate group missions, city plans, and even guild plans for recruiting and the like. (sounds super nerdy I know...). I will never forget when I got on there the first time I heard Paul's voice.... my heart literally MELTED into pieces. It wasn't just his accent but the sound of his voice was so soothing, gentle, and real. That was the first time I really realized that there was another person sitting behind the computer of Novice's character.... someone controlling his every move just like I was controlling my character in the game. That's when I started to crush on Paul super hard core and that was the summer of 2004. It took me a long time before I had the guts to ask my mom to buy me a microphone so I could talk to my "guild members" (who are we kidding all I wanted to talk to was him!!) but Paul was so sweet. He would log onto ventrilo and talk to me while I typed to him through the game and he would respond by voice back to me. It was amazing. That's when I realized that he was the sweetest boy I had ever met.


We spent hours talking about our countries. The differences between our Christmases. What American Thanksgiving is. Halloween. Our different foods. Drinks. What people were like. What our houses looked like. What was "normal" in our every day life. Hours. And hours. And hours. And neither of us ran out of things to say ever! I remember he asked me:


"What is Prom? Is that just something you guys have in your movies and tv shows?"
"WHAT?! You don't have Prom?! That's like one of the biggest moments of your life!"
"Nope. So it is real?"
"Of course! It's the one day girls can be a princess. Dress up real pretty and go and dance and stuff."
"Do you want to go to your Prom?"
"Well.... I don't dance and I guess if there's someone to go with at that time I don't see why not. But that's like 2 years away."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. It takes place in your Jr. & Sr. years of High School."
"If you want to go, and if we are still together by then, can I take you to your prom?"
"What? *blushes*blushes*blushes* That is so far away!"
"I know =) If we are still together then, I promise I will take you to your prom, Brooke."


And what did he do?

He kept his promise =) Something I will never forget. Literally.


Now back to the story.....


It was probably summertime we sent pictures of ourselves to each other of what we looked like IRL (in real life). These were the first pictures we ever sent each other:

So, then I stopped thinking in the back of my mind that he was a creepy 50 year old man preying on an innocent 14 year old. When I saw this photo, I knew things were real then and it was then I started falling hard. I showed everyone I knew at the time this picture and blushed whenever I saw it. And it was then we started sending each other pictures from our personal lives outside the game when trips happened, family events, get-togethers... whatever.

We kept talking, playing the game together, and growing more and more in love. That's when Paul mentioned the idea of him coming out for a visit. I was scared of the thought and he knew I was but I wanted to meet him so badly! Definitely being the age that I was, I told him I'd have to ask my parents first and that both our parents should talk to each other first about the idea and all that. What came to be a HUGE surprise, both our parents were SUPER supportive?! Agreed he'd stay in a hotel down the street from our house and my parents would be more than willing to be his personal driver. Pick him up in the mornings and take him back at night. So, on December 27th, he flew out here to the states and proceeded to engage on the most nerve-racking day I have ever come to know (even still!). Meeting him in real life was the loveliest, happiest, scariest, almost mental-breakdown-with-nervousness thing I have ever done. Even today. But man, I haven't been able to look away from him since.

Our "dating" occurred between 2004-2007. He was lucky enough to land a job as a janitor at a school which gave him off in the summer times and Christmas. He saved every "pent" he earned for his ticket costs out here just to come visit me during those times. It was definitely weird as a dating plan and no one else in high school was doing the same thing I was. In fact, when I tried to explain the story, I would get weird looks and rejected about the idea. It made me feel a bit of an outcast and love him even more for it to be honest. I knew I was doing something so different. Knowing he was going to be there each summer and each Christmas made all the waits worth it. Sometimes, we went 6-8 months not seeing each other. That's when we still relyed heavily on MMO's for us to "do something" together when we were apart. And we made it through all of that and still came out with a billion laughters to share.

Some people reject the idea of online dating. And... I didn't like the idea of it first. But when I met Paul, I realized that us playing Star Wars together, talking together, and doing everything but physically being near each other.... you gain a deeper knowledge of that person as a person. What they love. What they hate. What their favorite things in life are. What their goals are. Everything. You learn WHO they are on such a deeper level than when you meet someone in person somewhere. It's always the physical honeymoon phase that seems to come first and ultimately ends a relationship before it even has a chance to get started. And you don't even know who you are dating.

It's definitely important to LEARN about who you are dating. Love them for all that they are. Good and bad. And be willing to do anything for them in any sort of need. That's when you have true love. And believe that you can make it to the end of any obstacle you meet... together.

And that's just what we've done our whole lives together so far. And we really have come a looooong way since the first days of Star Wars Galaxies.

So... to continue the story....

In summer of 2007, Paul and I took a midnight walk together one hot night to walk up to the lake we always went to take a look at the stars together. It was a bad day that day with my family and I was super bummed. As always, he found a way to cheer me up by just talking to me and holding my hand the entire walk. We laid up there for a while and that's when he pulled out a little flashlight and a little box. He got down on one knee and proposed. I was shocked! I didn't know what to say at first startled by the sudden announcement he gave me. He was wearing the happiest face I had ever seen and of course I said yes, put the giant ring on my finger and we have moved from GF/BF to engaged. And fallen even harder for each other.

That year was fantastic. I had graduated high school. Paul came for an extra visit around Easter time (to take me to prom) with his family so I got to meet his mom, dad, and sister. Still came for his 3 month summer visit. Then we left TOGETHER to go to England. First time ever leaving this continent and I was sooooooooooooooo happy.

That's when we came back from England together, he stayed here for 2 weeks after and when we seperated that time, it was the hardest separation we had ever been through. For the both of us. I cried so much when he was gone I don't know I've shed so many tears since. It was only a month until he was back out for Christmas and when he came, that's when this whole green card process started. We were done being apart. We hired an Immigration Attorney to see what options we had and we went from there. Since we were already engaged and had been for almost 6 months, we decided to go ahead and get married in February on the 10th of 2008. Gave me time to plan a small, simple wedding, and that's just what we did : ) And for the past 4 years we haven't been apart for longer than maybe 4 days? We like it that way.

And that's our story.

We triumphed over a 4000 distance where we dated between 2 different countries for 4 years.

And lasted. 

We ignored all the doubt thrown our way from friends, family, co-workers, practically everyone we knew telling us it wasn't going to last and there was no way he would ever even want to move here to be with me. 

Well, he did it.

We fought together to stay together even through the roller coaster marriage offers to any couple and are about to celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary in February this year and in May we will have known each other for 8 years. I'm proud to say I'm Paul's wife. The meaning of the word beats every statistic known to man-kind right now. Young marriages can last. Long distances relationships can work. And most importantly, love IS real. You just have to believe and set your sights on the ending outcome. What can come out of this?

Paul, I love you with all my heart and soul. I'm still learning the depths of our relationship together and it's going to take a lifetime to understand the deepest meanings of our love together. And I'm excited to be able to share such a journey with you. Thank you for being my best friend, my first boyfriend, my fiance, and the most honorable, trust-worthy husband in my life. You have led me through an adventurous life so far and I'm excited to start our next chapter together <3

Love,
Brooke

22, Pirates, & BIG Birthday Wishes!

So, I know I have posted this stuff practically everywhere on facebook by this point but I have to admit that this is the best birthday I ever recall having other than my sweet 16 where my dad took me flying. But it's almost hard to compare since this is all it's own thing.

Basically, I started feeling absolutely terrible about my upcoming birthday last week due to the fact that my 22nd birthday fell on the doomed "Black Friday". I work full time in retail and was required as an assistant manager to work a 12 hour shift and I wanted the night shift so I could have my actual birth day off. So 11pm-11:30am is what I ended up working. Mind you, I couldn't get myself to sleep the evening before I started the shift other than a short and very interupted 1 hour power nap. So, I was wrecked by the end of my shift. In fact, I don't even remember half my drive home because I was THAT tired. And I'm pretty sure I actually fell asleep a few minutes along the highway. I checked my phone too on the way home at some stop lights and I hadn't gotten hardly any texts, messages, or anything from people wishing me "Happy Birthday" or anything of the sort and I started to feel terrible... like no body cared. My own husband didn't even send me anything! By the time I got home I was almost in tears thinking everyone forgot about me. When I pulled into the driveway, this appeared on the door:

I instantly forgot about how sad I was feeling and became insanely curious to what was hiding behind that door. And then, I got EXTREMELY excited. Like my inner kid was instantly awakened and I was alive. When I turned the door knob, I was greeted with what you see in this video:



Basically, I was reminded of how loved I am. And how much people really do care. I give all of my soul to others and it feels so amazing to be given it back every once in a while. It was an instant recharge. The entire 'pirates' theme was leading up to my main present in which you see I get at the end of that video which was the full Pirates of the Caribbean blu-ray set which came packaged in an actual treasure chest. STOKED.

You see, my love for this theme of Pirates runs so much deeper than the movies. It's the idea that piracy was originally formed off of. The first true independence to any nationality in our recorded history (well, other than the Viking culture) in which our entire Declaration of Independence from the British reign was forged. The idea that any one person could become what they wanted by the act of doing is what gives me pride to call myself an American. But also respect to what such ideas were inspired from. I have the ability to be all that I can be (minus a few swashbuckling adventures...) no matter what troubles I face, how much stronger the ships I meet, how furousious the storms I pass, and how torn my sails become, I will continue to be all that I can be because I have the will to always carry on, no matter what.

But you see, that's just a beginning into the reasons I love Pirates so much in general. The stories of unweilding adventure, raging sea monsters, famous captains like Morgan and his bucanneers. I'm instantly drawn in when the word is just mentioned. I kind of always have been to anything that offers such adventure.

 

So, you can kind of see why this whole birthday means sooo much to me. On top of that, I turned 22. Which so happens to be my lucky number, and my favorite number. To start it off with such a bang makes me feel warm, hopeful, and happy inside to make anything come true. I wished a giant wish when I blew my candles out this year and I will get to it. One way or another.

So anyway, the rest of the day was amazing. My parents stayed over all day and we watched the very latest Pirates movie called On Stranger Tides and then watched the making for it and Curse of the Black Pearl! Had cake, ice cream, and enjoyed delicious fire-roasted chicken into the late hours of the evening (my time clock was soooo thrown that day. 6pm felt like 2am!)

But, I got lovely presents from the family. Including a pair of boots I've been wanting since the age of 11 when I "used" to want to be Lara Croft. And, used birthday money to finally get myself a Wii system. I now own all video game systems other than a DS! Well on my way!

Let's just wrap this up and say this was the best birthday I have ever experienced in my entire life.

Enormous thank you's to Paul <3 If it weren't for you, this literally wouldn't have happened.

-Brooke

Won't Let Go

Oh my. Where do I even start?

Life has a tendency to roll faster than I can walk sometimes. I think I take on more than I can handle pretending like I'm superwoman and can do it with ease. As it is my greatest weakness at times, it also ends up being my greatest strength to be able push myself to be something more than I woke up in the morning being. I just have to remember and constantly remind myself that balance is the key to e v e r y t h i n g.

I spent some time tonight looking for new music. I found two musicians that I like a lot called The Xx and Newton Faulkner. They will be on my Ipod here soon.

I also spent some time studying other portfolios of photographers that I admire like Rosie Hardy, Oeil Photography, Paisley Studios, Aria Photography, and then.... my absolute favorite recently, Jonas Peterson. Honestly, I want my work to depict a similar style to his. That photojournalism flare with a story telling ability that blends the people I'm photographing and the surroundings they are in. His work is beautiful. I also spent some time catching up with a friend/fellow photographer's blog as well who I find truly inspiring. There are just certain people on this Earth that I think are beautiful souls and all these people give me inspiration to be better at what I do. They don't even know me and dont even know how much I love them for giving me such inspiration. But, I guess that doesn't really matter.

In other news, I started a "professional" photography blog where I will be posting all of my commissioned work and I'm just going to keep this my private one. I don't know what I would do without having this! Even if no body really reads it. The link to my new blog is my old domain name: www.brooketownsendphotography.blogspot.com

I haven't had much time to shoot new personal stuff. Work has been taxing on me and I've been getting an explosion of wedding requests! Which is awesome. But it's happening during the kick of the holiday season in which I'm still working full time in retail. I have a feeling 2012 is going to be the year I work my ASS off but I have a goal to live completely off my photography by 2013. I also want to get some weddings booked so I can go on a trip to England next summertime and possibly Iceland. I've been literally dreaming about landing my feet on that soil. 

Anyways, I'm going to play Tomb Raider Anniversary a little bit before I fall asleep for the night.
I'm feeling the need for a grand adventure.

Brooke

PS: Pics taken on my Droid cellie :)