My Name is Brie, I am a Bacon Addict.

  I can remember the first time I had a piece of really good bacon. I was about 7, I was staying with my grandma for the weekend as I did most weekends. But this weekend she thought I was finally grown up enough to have a "big person's" breakfast. So she had me lay under a blanket on the couch and watch cartoons while she got down to work.
  The sounds of Scooby and Shaggy were suddenly overpowered by the sizzling and amazing smell coming from the kitchen. My grandma brought out her ridiculously old cast iron skillet and began frying up bacon. I am sure I had some before then, but somehow that day it smelled so much better. She made us a few pieces each and fried up 2 eggs (1 for me, 1 for her) and made us each some toast. She topped it off with a cup of "coffee", which was basically coffee flavored warm milk but I thought it was the real thing. She then put it all on a little tray and brought it to me on the couch. And there we sat, with our big persons breakfast, watching Scooby Doo. It was a perfect way to start a day.
  Many, many years later, she was much older and I was well, older too. I was a mother and I lived with her now. She wasnt as healthy as she used to be and I was there to take care of her. My daughter was 4 and I was just getting out of the shower when down the hall I hear my grandmother telling my daughter... "Now Sammi, I think you are a big girl now, how about Nano makes you a big person's breakfast".
  I smile now when I think about it, she passed away this past March, she was hands down the best friend I ever had in my life. She taught me to live simply, to love deeply and to cherish each moment you have. She also taught me to love bacon, which I torment all my friends and pseudo-family with to this day. My daughter loves it too, and her "big person" breakfasts that we have, sitting on the couch just like she did with me. Except now instead of Scooby doo, we are watching Ruby Gloom or Monster High or whatever is cool to Sammi that week.
  So hi, my name is Brie.... I am a bacon addict :)

What I am wearing from head, to toe:

Hair: [e] Locked - Red 08
Skin: Glam Affair - Ginny - Europa - 02 Red HB
Bathing Suit: Pig - Bacon Wrap
Feet: Slink Womens Natural Barefeet (Mesh Rigged)
Glasses: Miamai_Rita Ivory Sunglasses
Necklace: BaCoN ~ Plate O' Happy Necklace
Nails: Synthetique Ultimate French Series -01-

This is What Happy Looks Like

  For the first time in a long while I can honestly say I am truly happy. Things seem to be getting more positive and though life is still not where I want it to be, I can see it is on its way to getting there. Many dont know but I am actually married, and not to my SL partner. I havent been with him for over 4 years but he kind of has been dragging his feet giving me a divorce. Well, that is final next month (throws confetti and does the happy dance). So now my SL partner who is my RL boyfriend can start sorting out how our life is going to play out together. This comes as a relief to not only me, but my daughter... we are both really glad to put that part of our life behind us and focus on what is to come.
  My SL has been on a upswing as well. I have been trying to come out of hiding and be with the people around me more. It is difficult, I got used to being alone for so long the thought of having friends and being social is a bit frightening. But I have reconnected with many people who I lost while my life was falling apart. We have had long talks, forgiveness flowed... it was amazing. And it has done wonders for my overall happiness and how content I am when I log on.
  I have been adopted too! A very old, very amazing friend decided that she needed to be my family. After losing so much of that this year, my God it makes me feel like I am on cloud 9!! Its like that little piece of your heart you didnt know was missing? Yep thats my PandaMomma, Minx. And with her came a slew of new and old friends now family. My heart, I swear it is so full it is like it is going to burst.
  And so with all this amazingness in my life I have a renewed desire to build and make things for people. I really thing what I am putting out there now shows how much I want to share how this feels with people around me. I really want to share how great it is to just BE HAPPY. I think in a time where things are just a little harder for all of us, we forget how the little, the simple things can bring us such unparalleled joy. And how just having a few really quality people in your life can truly make all of the difference in your life.
  So anyway I just wanted to share that with everyone. Not for any particular reason but just that I really hope this feeling is infectious and perhaps reading this you are now smiling a little. If you are, I am glad... it looks good on you.

XOXO,
Brie

A Letter to You

Hi There,

  You may know me, you may not. You may know of me from people or rumors or some passing fancy but I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am Brie, I am more than pixels in this computer, I am a person. I have feelings and dreams; I have a life outside of this computer and a family. I am a mother, a future wife, a friend and these are things I was so very willing to give up because of things that happened in this computer earlier this year.

  2012 has not been so kind to me in my real life; it started with the death of my Fiancé’s father. A man we took care of till the day he died. We found him in his bed; there was nothing we could do for him. It was an extremely traumatic experience and one I don’t think we still after many, many months have been able to process. We had barely began to really deal with that grief when not even 2 months later, my Grandmother passed on back in California. It was sudden, unexpected and very difficult for my daughter and I. My Grandmother was a very large part of my life, she raised me as a child and for all intent and purpose, was more my Mother than my own biological Mother. When she died, all the family I had outside my Sammi died with her and I was left virtually alone.

  You are probably wondering why I am telling you all of this. It is because after these very hard real life things happened, things in Second Life became very bad for me. I had to give up my store, which I had put my heart and soul into for well over a year and I had become the target of some very hateful and really unnecessary actions by others. People I had loved and trusted suddenly were just so very much not what I had known all the time I had been friends with them. I was left utterly alone in my computer.

  I never understood how someone you can’t see could have such an adverse effect on you till these few months this year. I always heard of people being bullied online and we all have seen the bandwagon drama Plurk can bring out but I never understood how absolutely crushing it could be to have people who don’t even know you, hate you so much. I learned the hard way, it wasn’t pretty but I did learn.

  Those people have moved on to other things and I am certain their effect on me they will never really know. In those few months I really was at the lowest I have felt since I buried my son. I really didn’t see much value in myself as a person; I thought I had no place on this earth. It took my beloved to remind me that I AM worth something to someone. And that at the end of the day all the hurt that is in this computer cannot compare one moment with the love I have outside of it.

  I am 37 years old and I allowed myself to succumb to the view someone projected on me because I forgot that I can just turn the computer off and walk away and all the good in my life is STILL THERE. I am still a great mom, a fairly awesome life partner and been told I am a wonderful friend. I would still give you my last $20 if you were hungry. So, in the end…. Those people didn’t win. I am still me. I am still happy. I am still loved.

  I didn’t come to this conclusion overnight, it took months of stepping back from the computer and really focusing on me and my family and doing what I needed to do for us to be ok.  I have come back because for every 1 hateful thing someone has said to me, 10 others have been amazing and wonderful. I have made some great friendships in this computer and I refuse to allow anyone to rob me of those friendships. I will not allow this computer or anyone in it get in the way of me being happy.

  So I end this little letter by thanking each and every one of you who has touched my life in this computer. Because good or bad, I came out of it a better person than I was before all of this year happened. And for those who feel despair at the hands of the invisible people on the other end of the internet, remember you are wonderful and you bless so many people by being here. Don’t let anyone rob you of your born right to be happy, and to surround yourself with love. I am sure many of you are probably rolling your eyes or thinking I’m full of it. But for this one person who reads this and feels better, I think it was worth being really honest with everyone.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Brie