Sister + Food = Joy

photo taken by Canisius athletics during their first home game on 11/14/11

This weekend I had the privelage of watching my baby sister play division one college basketball.  To say I am excited for her would be a gross understatement. I was jumping out of my skin {along with the rest of my family and friends that tagged along}. The team is on the road for games this week, bringing them much closer to us in DC.  We gathered a crowd for the game and formed quite the cheering section.  Brooke, #13, signed with Canisius and then shipped off for summer session.  For months, we have been hearing about the team, practices, and eargly waiting to see them in action. We actually watched the first game last week on line, but in person was much better!

It was wonderful to watch Brooke play and to have a few moments to catch up on her life as a college freshman.

After the game we followed the team to a local italian restaurant, Fazzini's in Cockeysville, Maryland.  For a seemingly small hole in the wall, this place was fantastic.  They make all of their pasta in house and serve up an incredible pizza. I attempted to document the food, but it resulted in total failure, as I was way to distracted by how good it smelled and the great conversation with family around the table! 

If you want to be super cool/creepy, send Brooke some encouragement via twitter.  Their third game is tonight, and they are hoping for their first win.  Feel free to copy and paste this message:

" @bangelos113 Good luck in your game tonight from an awesome @TheScribblePad reader! #gogriffs "

A Nicholas Sparks Obsession

One by one, my sister Brooke and I worked our way through each Nicholas Sparks book last year.  These novels significantly padded my reading stats as I aimed to read five books a month in 2010.  And here we are in 2011.  When word broke that then next book was available for pre-order, my fingers dialed up amazon.com faster than ever before.  When The Best of Me arrived, I was in thr throws of travel, and work and all things fun to do in autumn.  I set the book aside and even covered it up so the very sight wouldn't drive me crazy with anticipation.  Finally, this past weekend provided the quiet time to read.  As Mark drove to North Carolina (could it be more appropriate) I cracked open yet another love story. two days and 280+ pages later, I was once again teary eyes and satified with the relaxation that reading can provide. 

Nicholas Sparks books are like any other cult-like reading addiction/obsession, be it Harry Potter, Twilight, or Hunger Games (all of which I haven't read).  Once a reader gets hooked, they wait with baited breath for the authors next release.  So now that I have let you in on my dirty little secret, you'll have to tell me yours.  What are your reading addictions?

p.s. in case you were wondering, the book is packed up with some cozy socks in a care package heading north to my sister at college.  yes, the physical book.  I still curl up with the hardback and turn each page myself.

This girl is graduating today!

My baby sister is graduating from high school.

How did that happen so fast?

I still remember her like this...

Brooke has always been a terror sweetheart for pictures.

The youngest of four, she knows how to hold her own.

{and has been beating me up for years}

She has the privilege of being all of our favorite!

{most days}

She quickly became best buds with Mark and their relationship remains strong.

We are 8 years apart, but still best friends.

And now she is off to college to do a bit more of this...

Congratulations Brookie!

We are all so proud of you!

Villa Maria Wins District Title

Video from Saturday's big win.

{from Daily Local via Main Line Media}  

My baby sister, Brooke Angelos, is number 22.

PIAA District 1 Class AAA Champs

Congratulations Villa Maria Academy! 

My little sister Brooke's basketball team played an awesome game on Saturday to win the district title. 

Brooke driving to the lane, blinded by her blonde hair!

Looking like Air Jordan Logo!  

{this was a pretty sick play}

The rush from the bench with the Win!!!

{Mark, my mom, and Behr can be seen in the bleachers behind the bench}

Victory!

Brooke's Career High 27 Points

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I my little sister Brooke plays high school basketball for Villa Maria.  {I play the role of proud older sister.}  Last night, Brooke scored a career high, 27 points, helping her team win in OT during her last home game of her high school career.

It made the evening news!  Brooke is #22

They Did It Again!

With 3.2 seconds left, down by 1, Brooke drove to the lane and nailed a layup to win the game!

{video from: http://www.wfmz.com/sports/22899427/detail.html}

Villa advances to the semi finals!!!

Go Villa!

Villa Advances

They Won!

It was a crazy exciting game that was won in the final seconds of overtime, defeating the 5th ranked team in the state! Now they advance to the elite eight, and are scheduled to play Allentown Central Catholic on Saturday. They lost to this team earlier this season in a tight overtime battle.

Go Villa!

Villa Maria Advances to the Sweet Sixteen

You might remember from past years, around this time I begin to post about my sister Brooke. I refrain all season long and then post-season hits and the excitement escalates to a point in which I can no longer hold back how proud I am! Well, Brooke's basketball team is once again in the State Tournament.


Tonight, Villa Maria Academy competes against Trinity in the second round of the PIAA State Basketball Championships. I wish I were in PA to watch the game tonight, but all I can do is cheer for my "little" sister from back home in DC. Inevitably, in the hoopla of excitement nobody will remember to call and update me on the outcome of the game. {I am obviously hoping for the best with this statement!} I will eagerly sit by my phone waiting for the excited play-by-play to be told by Brooke herself once everyone has settled back at home - that is, unless she has too much homework!

{both photos from the Daily Local}

I drove to PA the past two weekends to watch Brooke play. About seven weeks ago, Brooke fractured her ankle and sprained it in three places, causing her to miss the bulk of her season. She was in a cast, then a boot, and now finally in ankle braces and tape to prevent movement, yet still allow her to play. She is fighting for her team and the chance to advance beyond the Sweet Sixteen tonight, and I am proud of her! As a Junior, this is her third State Tourney. To win tonight, Villa needs to score big and fight hard. Both of which I am certain Brooke will do. As you can see from the pictures above, she has ups and a serious game face!

Go Villa!

P.S. A big sister is allowed to think her little sister is amazing right?

Reading, Watching, Snowing, Shoveling

So last week I decided that since Mark was away I would drive to PA to visit my kid sister and take her to the movies.

Wait, you need background info. She is an avid reader and over Christmas helped me become Obsessed with (dare I say it?) Nicholas Sparks...yes really! I have read 4 books by him this year - in less than two months! I have become a totally and complete sap! And, his latest book turned movie, Dear John was coming out on Friday, so I had to drive to PA before a major snow storm right? Well, that wasn't my only reasons. That kid sister I mentioned, Brooke, well she is an incredible basketball player and is injured, likely out for the remainder of her Junior year. She sprained her ankle in three places and fractured it near her growth plate. It is big, ugly, swollen, and still green after TWO weeks. So yes, I really did have to drive to PA. Her spirits needed boosting!

Being the wise woman that I am, I left for Philly on Thursday. I called Mark late that night as I was passing through Wilmington so he wouldn't worry about me in the snow. When I finally arrived at my parent's house I couldn't believe they were all up waiting for me. My sister was exhausted but noticeably happy to see me, and the look of relief on my mom's face led me to believe she was happy to have someone there to lift Brooke's spirits.

Friday we had lunch with our Mom at her office and then all went to the movie. The entire theatre was filled with girls from the local private schools who all got out early due to the storm. Brooke and I each brought a box of tissues and sobbed through the entire movie, even while we laughed! It was a great movie, but we are still debating whether the plot changed for the big screen made it better or worse than the book. We might never decided.

On Saturday we all bundled up in the living room with chili on the stove to play games and watch college basketball and cleaned Brooke's room in between reading MORE books by Nicholas Sparks.

Finally, I realized that I needed to start shoveling. Here are some pictures of the insane amount of snow that blanketed much of the mid-atlantic and a video...

I opened the garage door...and didn't know where to begin!

That is my dad's car, that mound in front of the house!

Note: nearly three feet of snow drift over the porch.

Well, my mom didn't want it to cause damage, so she leaned out of the window to push it off the front! Go Mom!

And here is a video of the whole thing:

We capped the weekend with a family viewing of the animated movie Up! Now this is a movie I would highly recommend for anyone. Great family movie that kept us all rolling in laughter. Go watch it if you haven't already!

Christmas Elves

This weekend, Mark and I drove to PA to watch my sister Brooke play basketball against the high school our cousin Meghan goes to. Fortunately she doesn't play basketball! Meghan is the oldest of 4 - her brother Ryan and twin siblings Emma and Liam might be our favorite cousins ever! Whenever we get to hang out with them, it is memorable!

The basketball game was intense, and went into overtime, but Brooke's team didn't win. The loss was soothed by going out to eat at the local Brew Works after the game. Sitting at the table while our baby cousin Emma proclaimed her love for each of us, we couldn't stop laughing! It brought us back to how much we laughed on Christmas Eve, the last time we were all together. Here is a video of the twins all riled up:

This video makes me laugh so hard I cry!