Hi Fan Friends,

It’s been a few months since I’ve blogged (my sincerest apologies for the radio silence!). I’ve been trying to navigate life through these uncertain times. As many of you know, I’m very vocal on here about my battles with anxiety. This is utterly exhausting both mentally and physically. Being isolated from family and friends for months at a time (I haven’t seen my cousin Lisa in months) it certainly derailed many of Tom and I’s best laid plans. Writing and being more of an more frequent presence on here was definitely a consequence of this pandemic. It’s hard to feel motivated when you’re basically going to work and coming straight home all while bombarded by talk of the virus. Honestly, I’ve stopped watching television all together because even the commercials ads regarding COVID are so frequent that they’ve triggered severe panic attacks in me. I currently record anything I want to watch so I can fast forward through the media triggers.

Tom and I currently gearing up for Christmas but we’ve had quite a bit happen since my last update, so buckle up! Here we go!

1. The Aloe Plant Is Thriving

Success friends! I replanted my aloe plant and took care to follow all the directions given by gardening gurus on YouTube and blogs. The aloe plant has really grown in leaps and bounds. There was a time I was really worried that it wouldn’t make it, there were leaves which were so soft and almost mushy that I was nervous that something I actually managed to keep alive for 3 1/2 years was on death’s door. I’m here to testify that miracles can happen because my aloe plant is now getting plenty of sunlight and water once every two weeks. There’s this really great spot in my living room, next to the window, which gets really great sunlight and I think my little plant buddy likes it there.

2. Our Godson Henry Joseph Got Baptized

While this pandemic certainly kept us isolated from one another, we did have a bright spot in that we were chosen to be our youngest nephew’s Godparents! The church service was small and socially distanced but it was so great to watch our littlest nephew get sealed with the love of God and enter into the faith. I totally expected him to cry when Father Jim put the holy water over his head but he didn’t. Ya’ll he was looking up at us like we were all nuts. This was the first real time we got to spend with our nieces and nephews since the pandemic hit and it was such a breath of fresh air. Theres something really magical about being able to share your faith with your family and friends during these dark and uncertain times.

3. Our Eldest Niece, Elsie, Turned 11!

They tell you when you’re a parent “enjoy it while it lasts because they grow up so fast”. Well, this Childfree Auntie CAN attest this is true. The girl who made us “The Cool Aunt and Uncle” turned 11 during the month of November. Once again, it was a small family party which we got celebrate something fun and exciting during these scary times. I don’t know what blew my mind more; that fact that she’s almost as tall as me or that she asked for makeup (we got her a glitter eyeshadow palette). I am not ready for how quickly she’s heading towards becoming a preteen. Sometimes I wish time could slow down just a little BUT I can’t even begin to tell you just how proud Tom and I are of this beautiful, smart, funny, kind and creative young lady! She’s truly a beautiful soul and we are so blessed to call her our niece.

4. We’ve Been Staying Home & Staying Safe (Thanks Be To God!)

While the pandemic has certainly reeked havoc on my mental health, I am trying to stay positive by focusing on my little family and counting my blessings. After being laid off during the first wave of the pandemic, I was very fortunate to find full time work back in July and since Tom was able to work all throughout the pandemic as well, financially we are in much better shape than others‘. My heart goes out truly to those who are still struggling to pay their bills and feed their families. Also, while some families have found that quarantining together has put a strain on their relationship, I find that Tom and I have really loved being able to be alone together. I know I’ve gushed about my husband plenty of times on here, but I’m truly married to my best friend and there’s no one on this earth I’d rather walk through life with than him. During this whole quarantine Tom and I have whipped up many of our restaurant favorites here at home and done “at home date nights”.

To Wrap It Up…🎁

With Christmas on the horizon and new year on the way, I hope to be inspired and find more and more things to update you on as we go through this journey called life. For the new year I am optimistic that I will be able to post weekly videos on this blog as well. It is something I’ve wanted to implement for a really long time but with everything going on in the world I decided it was best to delay that step until there were things that I could actually vlog about! I’m hoping once things go back to normal I will be able to post about more exciting things and adventures.

I do want to take this time to thank you for staying with me during this unprecedented year and during these uncertain times. I promise you even when I seen silent I’m not going away. And I thank you for following me, for caring about me, and for your comments which have motivated me thus far to keep writing even and especially when I feel like I have nothing to write about. Sometimes, the amount of love I receive from all of you is so amazing I have to pinch myself to realize people out there care about what I have to say.

So thank you, THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart for giving me an audience, and platform to speak on. I hope that you will stick around for many, many years to come!

Happy Saturday Fan Friends!

Earlier in the summer I started a series to see what someone like me (who kills plants on a regular basis without even trying) could grow and what I could not. The pineapple plant which I tried growing from a pineapple crown was less than promising. I’m not sure if I just picked a bad pineapple or once again my uncanny ability to kill everything I touch just kicked in. During both of those posts I mentioned my aloe plant which I had kept alive for close to 3 1/2 years. It was a reluctant gift from a friend, a woman several years older than me who is also child free, but has much better luck with plants.

I remember her handing me this tiny little plant and saying “Not even you can kill this.” Flash forward to this year, I decided it was time to repot my plant. I was very meticulous in my mission not to disturb it or stress it out and to follow the exact directions my friend had given me. While I initially felt like this was a success, it wasn’t due to the fact that I had the pineapple plant next to my aloe plant and therefore I gained another problem. That problem would be gnats. Yes, gnats. An entire family of them to be exact that began making a home in the dirt of my aloe plant.

This really ticked me off and so began a civil war within my own home: Brittany and Tom vs. the Gnats. Spoiler alert: The gnats were winning. Tom and I tried everything from a Hydrogen Peroxide bath to gnat traps. We killed easily about 200 a week but it still wasn’t helping the problem. We needed to pull out the big guns. That would be my mother-in-law, Carol, who is an absolute expert in plant health and care. As a nurse, my mother-in-law plays an intricate role in the health of her patients but during her free time she’s also an avid gardener. I’ve been with Tom nearly 13 years, we were friends since our mid-teens even before we decided to upgrade from friends to significant others. Tom’s family is basically like my second family, I considered them family long before we made things official and tied the knot in 2016. During my tenure as a member of the Schmidt family I knew if anyone could help me salvage this plant it would be Carol.

Carol mixed some new potting soil for my plant and with a new pot I felt absolutely ready to allow my little plant the opportunity to grow bigger and healthier. What I didn’t realize being somebody who is not an avid gardener, was that my poor plant had suffered because of these gnats. The roots seemed to be slightly rotted and so I took it upon myself to dig it up, lightly dab it with a paper towel and re-pot it in damp soil. As you can see the leaves which are in the picture look very healthy there even seems to be some new growth inside the plant so once I removed the parts of the plant which were rotted and dying, I replanted and made sure it was secure in the soil. It is my hope that the roots will regrow and that I can save this plant, the only living thing I’ve managed to keep alive in my time taking care of plants.

I love how I’ve been pacing in front of it since I replanted it, as if hoping that by staring at it I will basically will it to grow and remain healthy. Now it’s in God’s hands and I hope it survives.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Hello Fan Friends!

If you know me personally, you know just how important women empowerment is to me. I basically look for any excuse to write about badass women and today is no difference. On this day September 25th 1981; Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was first appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan. Justice O’Connor began her term and remained until 2006.

During her tenure, Justice O’Connor oversaw many important rulings, including the infamous Bush v. Gore, the case that put the end to challenges on the results of the 2000 presidential election (ruling to stop the ongoing Florida election recount and to allow no further recounts). O’Connor is even more notable because she always felt a responsibility to demonstrate women could do the job of justice. In a male dominated Courtroom, she certainly showed she could to the job as well as any man. She faced some minor bumps in the road, including the lack of a woman’s restroom near the Courtroom.

Following her retirement from the Court on January 31, 2006, Justice O’Connor has continued her judicial service by hearing cases in the United States Courts of Appeals. In recognition of her lifetime accomplishments, President Barack Obama awarded Justice O’Connor with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on August 12, 2009.

Have a Day, Justice O’Connor! Thank you for playing such a crucial milestone in women’s empowerment and history. Today I celebrate and applaud you.

Hello Fan Friends!

Today’s post is going to be a little different. Today I am going to be sharing with you my artwork and also a short little story that goes with it. The goal of this post is to shed light on some thing millions of Americans suffer with: anxiety and depression. I’m hoping that the short story reaches somebody who can relate to it and gives them hope to keep holding on. Even if it’s for an hour even if it’s for another minute, just keep holding on… Without further ado here is my short artful story: Exhaustion

She was pale with exhaustion. Depleted, debilitated, and deeply fatigued. She took her coat off and stood in the rain. It drenched her from head to toe but she felt nothing. Numb. Her soul was as saturated in stress as her body was in the moisture which condensed from the atmosphere. The rain fell slowly, meticulously with acute visibly in separate drops. She could probably count every drop if she wanted to but she couldn’t find the energy to do so as she lumbered through the door with great sense of heaviness her petite frame.

She collapsed in her doorway, with nothing to say. Eyes blank, face drained of color and expression, the only thing that told her she was alive the rapid thumping of her heart and the slow churning of her stomach. Her coat, dark as a raven’s wing, lay tossed beside her-much like her dreams for a fulfilling career. Her long, crimson hair pooled around her like a curtain of blood to mask her anguish. The vinyl flooring is cool against her feverish skin and she wonders how long she could lay here before someone worries and calls her name…

She is spent and her spirit is weathered but yet she is never alone. She has the love of a family, significant other and friends but it is Christ right now who is beside her who loves her the hardest in this moment: he dwells in her heart and gives her the strength to rise from her spot on the floor.

“I can hang on,” she says, “for one more day, for one more hour, for one more minute…”

She says this repeatedly, it’s a mantra she repeats daily and hourly while somehow getting by and living to fight another day taking each moment minute by minute as the years rolled on…

-Fin-

If you or a loved one is suffering from depression or anxiety please know that you are not alone. Christ wants you on this Earth as much as your loved ones and I do. if you ever need someone to talk to please feel free to call the crisis hotline at: (855) 942-3414. It’s important to shed light on the dark shadows that dwell in many American’s (as well as countless of people around the world’s) minds. Stay safe everyone and God bless.



Good Morning Fan Friends,

Let’s travel back in time: The year is 1997. I remember being 8 years old and visiting the Statue of Liberty with my Father. I always had this cute little obsession with the Twin Towers: whenever we’d visit family in New York or my Mom’s friend Kathy in her apartment in the city I’d watch the twin towers in the skyline until they disappeared from view. I loved the one with the antenna (the North Tower-don’t ask me why I just thought it was cool) My best friend Jen had visited with her Dad and I remember asking my parents if I can visit the observation deck and just look out on the city and I was always told “sure, we’ll definitely do that one day”.

So there I was on the ferry over to Liberty Island and I remember looking up at those great big towers and thinking “wow! They are so tall, strong and mighty!”. I’m 31 today and I will always remember the childlike innocence of being 8 and thinking NYC (especially the twin towers) was invincible.

Now, let’s go forward in time. The year is 2001. I remember with the eyes of a 12 year old the weirdness of 9/11, 19 years ago today. It was a beautiful, mostly sunny day and the sky was so blue. I remember being in 7th grade and watching the morning news with my Mom in which I saw my last glimpse of the skyline on Eyewitness News before I skipped off to school for what would be the strangest school day of my life.

I remember my classmates leaving early, the teachers with glassy eyes and disbelieving faces and I remember my middle school principal Mr. Baxter coming in and saying “Is everyone alright?”. I remember how none of my teachers put on the TV although I heard some did, and having this creepy silence on the bus ride home. I remember carrying my purple plastic French binder (the nerve cause that was the only teacher who gave me homework that day and a lot of it), getting off the bus and seeing my Mom and her friend Marie on my front lawn looking very sad and serious. I also remember seeing what happened on the tv, watching those towers disappear from my view forever. Watching people jump like ants out of windows just to get out of the inferno that raged inside.

I remember the blood and distraught faces of survivors and spectators as they ran from the smoke that swallowed up the city like a cloud of volcanic ash, the firefighters on the screen running in, many of which would never come back out (including my future father in law’s cousin Tommy), I remember the faces of each victim that has flashed on my tv ever since that day. I remember feeling such sadness and pain at the loss of life and crying with my parents.

I also remember the feeling of hope-when England played our national anthem my entire family watched from the couch crying, I remember how United we all stood as Americans, how proud we were to live in the greatest country on Earth.

It’s sad how divided we are today politically, how we have people not feeling safe in the country they call home and people either being too sensitive or not sensitive enough. When I think of a post 9/11 world, I think of the immediate unification of all Americans and I think we need that more than ever in this country right now. We can honor those who lost their lives in the senseless attacks by being good to one another. One of the things I appreciated as I looked at 9/11 from a more adult and historical standpoint was the stories that came out of people helping people-people LOVING people as God would want us all to. It does not matter our age, our race, our religious beliefs or lack there of we are all God’s children regardless. So many people saw God’s love in action through total strangers on that day.

May we never forget this and try our damnest to aspire in creating an atmosphere of unity like it again. That said, God bless the victims and their families who find strength each day in their absence to go on with their lives.

Hello Fan Friends!

This post is short, sweet and to the point: I’d like to take this moment to wish you, your family, and friends a very blessed, safe and healthy Labor Day Weekend to all those who celebrate here in the USA!

…I’ll see you next Friday!

Transitions, they’re a part of life, both scary and exciting as well as fresh and yet intimidating. Wise people always say “practice makes perfect”, but what’s practice to a perfectionist though? I have been very vocal on this blog, an advocate if you will, about my long battle with anxiety. Anxiety is wanting a fresh start but allowing negative thoughts and self sabotage to get in your way. You literally feel like you’re waiting for somebody to figure out you’re a fraud. Even when you do your very best.People often think it’s easy for anxiety suffers just to “turn it off”-man I wish it was that easy!

I am what many would call a creature of habit. I like my routine, I like my life, and any life changes that come my way often take time for me to adjust to. Life doesn’t follow a script, not the ones we write for ourselves and not the ones we expect life to write for us. The only thing we are guaranteed in life is that we are all born, we are all going to pay taxes, and eventually we’re all going to die. What we do with that ” – ” in between our beginning and our demise is entirely up to us but ultimately it could be very intimidating. Many of us are searching for meaning in every opportunity but sometimes opportunities come along to force us to grow.

When you’re a perfectionist in a world that demands perfection you often feel like you fall short of these expectations the people around you have of you. It’s like standing underneath a crumbling avalanche and waiting to be buried in a mirage of feelings. With age I am learning that everybody feels this way: the fear of disappointing our spouses, our parents, our partners, our relatives, our friends and our coworkers.  although I know it is important not to let this fear take the wheel and steer my life direction, some days I find it’s much harder to battle these feelings then others. Some days, I am confident in my abilities and certain of my success. Other days, I just want to crawl into a ball and hide from everything. These days which are so conflicting in many ways beg me to question: Is it really better to fake it until you make it? Or should we wear our personality flaws and struggles like battle scars? Is there truly strength in vulnerability by being accessibly vulnerable? I think there is, but today, I don’t have answers, only questions and sometimes that’s okay too.

Many Americans with a basic knowledge of history know that the 19th Amendment guarantees American women the right to vote. A lot of modern-day women take for granted this very milestone which required a lengthy and difficult struggle from women who lived over a century ago; a victory which took decades of turbulence and strife.

The journey to give women their basic American right of voting began in the mid-19th century. This was a time when woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a revolutionary change for that time.

While women struggled with their rights to vote, believe it or not, the first woman to run for President in a major election took place in 1872. You probably won’t read about her in your high school US History I or II books; but her name was Victoria Claflin Woodhull and she was the candidate of the Equal Rights Party. Her opponents were Ulysses S. Grant (R) and Horace Greeley (D). Woodhull, fought hard for women’s rights and even founded her own newspaper. She became the first woman to own a Wall Street investment firm. Luckily, she would live to see her dream of women’s right to vote realized before she died 7 years later in 1927 but what does that have to do with the significance of this very week?

In order to answer that question, we need to go back to 1878, when the amendment we know today as the 19th amendment was first introduced in Congress. It all began when Victoria Woodhull addressed the House Judiciary Committee, arguing women’s rights to vote under the fourteenth amendment. This ideal was met with such distain that the Anti-Suffrage Party was founded and push back began. From that moment forward it would be 42 whole years later in 1920, when the amendment would finally be ratified! Could you even imagine fighting for something that men your age could do simply by being born male for 42 years? While this seems discouraging to many, it was all made possible by the early champions of voting rights for women. These women, like Victoria Claflin Woodhull, worked tirelessly to make progress on this basic American right. Their strategies varied and while some tried to pass suffrage acts in each state. There were nine western states which adopted woman suffrage legislation by 1912 these states included: California, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Washington State, Oregon, Kansas and Arizona.

Other states, like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts continued to reject woman suffrage. While many well-known women in our history books challenged male-only voting laws in the courts, some of the more well known public tactics included parades, silent vigils, and even hunger strikes. Supporters were heckled, jailed, and sometimes physically abused simply for the rights that men were freely given. I am reminded of the movie Iron Jawed Angels starring Hilary Swank in which she plays Alice Paul. The movie details Paul’s experience after she was arrested for “obstructing traffic” while picketing for women’s suffrage. The struggles she underwent when she was denied counsel, placed in a straitjacket, and subjected to examination in the psychiatric ward (simply for wanting equality!) is just baffling. When it’s concluded that Paul showed no signs of mania or delusion, she got returned to the prison’s general population, where she led the suffragettes on a hunger strike that ended with the warden force-feeding her raw eggs and milk.

The fight was long and exhausting by the time 1916 came, most of the major suffrage organizations stood united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. When New York officially adopted woman suffrage in 1917, President Wilson (who was in office during Paul’s imprisonment) changed his position to support an amendment in 1918 and the political balance finally began to shift.

On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, the Senate followed. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment was officially adopted 100 years ago this past Tuesday. While decades of struggle to include African Americans and other minority women in the promise of voting rights persisted, the face of the American elections had changed forever.

As a woman in America, I feel honored and privileged to have been able to vote in every major election. To have my voice heard and not be denied simply because of my gender is something I never take for granted. It is hard to believe that only 100 years ago women gained the right to legally get out and vote, while today so many American women are unregistered to do so. If this post could inspire someone out there who isn’t registered to do so and make their voice heard, then I will feel I’ve done my part in honoring the legacy of the women who came before us, who fought tooth and nail to ensure women were included in “all” being “created equal”.

If you haven’t already, please consider registering to vote as it was a privilege up until the last century that was denied to many. Be sure to leave a comment below and tell me; are you registered to vote? How important to you is voting in elections both national, statewide or local?

Until next time…