30 Days of Blogging: Day 1

15 Random Facts

1. My favorite color changes all the time.  Right now it's purple.

2. Books and movies make me happy.

3. I gave a talk in church on Sunday.  I'm pretty sure the only part anyone remembered was when I said that I was afraid Dan would never like me when we first met, because he gave off a bad boy vibe.  I didn't explain that the reason I thought that was because he told me about how he peed in the JFSB parking lot at BYU.  Fun story.

4. Even though I'm 21 and married and technically "a grown-up," I still fly through life by the seat of my pants.  I don't think I'll ever grow out of that.  I don't know that I want to.  Hurray for spontaneity/poor memory!

5. When I was in elementary school, I was OBSESSED with horses.  I still want to own one someday.  

6. I also like dogs, a lot.  They make me happy.

7. I don't like to play games.  I know , it's weird.

8. I love Disneyland/world.  Period.  I'm like a little kid when I go there.  Dan hates it.  Hahaha.

9.  Part of me still wants to be an author, but I always get so discouraged.  After studying really great literature for the past three years of my life, it's hard to think why anyone would want to read what I have to say.  

10.  I am so excited for spring break.  I get to see my family.  We're going to Harry Potter World, Disney, and maybe even Seaworld.  Then we're going back to Jacksonville and I get to see my high school friends and go to all my old high school haunts.  Dream vacation, seriously.  

11.  I want to live in the South whenever we finally get to pick where to settle down.  I wouldn't mind living in Europe first though. 

12.  I want a small, cute, old house, with lots of windows and a wrap-around porch.  Lots of trees and a garden.  Maybe a pool, depending on wherever we end up.

13. Yesterday, at church, an older gentleman told me that you can tell I am "just smitten" with my husband.  I need to remember that more often.  Like when I'm stressed and tired.  I am the luckiest.

14.  A lot of times people think my mother and I are sisters.

15. I am awful at math.  Dan thinks it's funny.

30 Days of Blogging.

30 Days of Blogging

Because I never know what to write.


day 1- recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
day 2- the meaning behind your blog name
day 3- a picture of you as a child
day 4- a habit that you wish you didn’t have
day 5- a picture of somewhere you've been
day 6- favorite super hero and why
day 7- a picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you
day 8- short term goals for this month and why
day 9- something you're proud of in the past few days
day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
day 11- write a bucket list of things you want to do before you die
day 12- write a poem to someone you love
day 13- your 5 favorite books and why
day 14- a picture of you and your family
day 15- put your ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
day 16- a picture of yourself
day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19- write about a sweet memory from your past
day 20- write a letter to someone
day 21-a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22- what makes you different from everyone else
day 23- something you crave a lot
day 24- post your favorite quote or verse of scripture and why
day 25- what I would find in your bag
day 26- list 10 things that you are thankful for
day 27- my day job verses my passion
day 28- cruise a thesaurus and pick out 10 words you like the sound of
day 29 - favorite TV shows and why you like them
day 30 - movies you can watch again and again

Woulda, coulda, shoulda

Egypt. (via Huffington Post)

Annnd we can add the protests in Egypt to the long list of reasons why I wish I could have been a journalist.  Maybe I'm crazy, but I wish I could be there on the scene, watching history.  Instead I'm a receptionist.  At least my life isn't ever in mortal danger (except maybe when I drive home from work during rush hour).

Let's take the yacht up the coast for the weekend, dahhhling.

Yachts always make me think of snobby, rich people.  Obviously not all people who own yachts are snobby, but you can bet your patooty that they're loaded.  Maybe someday Dan and I could own one, but I think I'd rather travel.

On Saturday, we went with some of the other dental students on a tour of the Newport Beach harbor.  Orange County is so much nicer than LA.  If we do end up living in Cali permanently, I am all about the OC. 
Also, don't you love that this JANUARY weather??  So perfect.

This guy really likes cheetos.

There were the prettiest waterfront homes in the whole entire world.

Sea Lions!

I may have gotten a few more freckles on this trip.

SUPER attractive, I know.

These guys were cruisin'

Happy Day!

Can we just talk for a minute...

About all the modesty at the Golden Globes?  I was seriously floored by all the sleeves/lack of major cleavage on some of these gowns.  They make me wish we had a prom for grown-ups so I could wear them.  Except I probably don't have the bod to pull them off.

Sandra Bullock.  I just realized this dress is one-shouldered, but pretend it has sleeves on both sides, because I really like it.

Angelina Jolie.  She kind of looks like a skeleton in this, but I like the color.

I really like this one.

The top's a little low, but it's Hollywood, I'll take what I can get.

Obviously this is a little too "booby" to really be modest, but I love Scarlett and this dress is like a dream.

Maybe I should start my fashion blog again, now that I actually have time for it and stuff.

This made me smile.

Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs

This made me think about why I blog.  (You don't have to read my response, but you should read the article because it's super good/funny/insightful.)
Back in the days of xanga (woot woot), I blogged because that's how you stayed in touch with your friends, plus it was a nice place for me to vent about how my parents "just don't get it" and "never understand me" and "holy crap, I can't believe I got grounded AGAIN for slacking off/being lazy/sneaking off/other dumb things 15 year olds do."  Or writing really bad poetry about a boy that liked me for two days until I realized he liked me and got self-conscious and convinced myself I was like totally in love with him but now he never talks to me and I just don't know why.  Le sigh.  Or I'd talk about how awesome me and my friends were and all the fun mormon parties I went to. 
Then came Myspace with its handy built-in blog feature.  These were mostly filled with me quote-dropping from all the latest hipster/emo/scene/indie songs, and thinking deep thoughts about my future and what I wanted to be when I grew up and how this one boy I dated was so great, but then I dumped him and now he hates me, but secretly I still liked him because he was familiar, plus it always caused fun drama for me to write about and sound really deep and mature.  Yeah, you know you wanted to be my friend in high school.  (That's sarcasm if it doesn't come through.)
I also heavily used and abused the "Note" application on Facebook my freshman year of college.  I've deleted most of these posts, because they were pretty depressing/personal/don't apply to me anymore.  (Funny story, a friend's mom read all those notes and convinced herself I was mentally unstable/suffering from serious depression and went up at church and told my dad she was worried and that he needed to intervene and get me help or something.  My dad was pretty embarrassed.)  I wasn't actually depressed, but growing up was a painful process for me, and honestly I'm still figuring out how to be a "growed-up."  I just have a better attitude about it now.
I started this blog because writing has always been a way for me to sort out my thoughts and help me understand myself better.  I probably don't fit under the "Mormon Mommy Blogger" label, but I can say that my faith heavily influences my outlook on life.  And no, things aren't always perfect, (and things definitely aren't always picture-perfect) but who wants to hear me complain like I'm fifteen again?  I've learned one thing through all my experiences, reflection, and writing, and it's that if you focus on the negative, you never even recognize the positive in your life.  So yeah, sometimes Mormon blogs can be a little Polly-Annaish,  but like the author of this article says, is that such a bad thing?  Not from where I'm standing.

Things that get me fired up.

This may piss some people off, but oh well.

Read this first.
(Pssst...that up there's a link.  Click it.)

It makes me really upset when people try to intellectualize the Gospel and make it fit into a nice little box for the 21st century.  With key elements of the Gospel, like say---oh, the Law of Chastity.  I'm not hating on anyone that's made mistakes there.  That would be hypocritical of me, and I know from experience that those who have truly repented of those past mistakes have a deeper understanding of the Atonement than most.

The Law of Chastity is hard, but it's there for a reason.  And it's not just there so that we can look down our noses at the people who screw up or have a hard time with it (i.e. members of the church that suffer from same-sex attraction, or even just older members who remain unmarried).  Obviously that's really hard.  I am not dismissing their pain or glossing over it.  I'll be honest, some days I don't really understand it, but I follow and believe in what my church teaches me because I have faith.  It's not because I'm a naive, sheltered, little Mormon girl.  I have faith in my Savior.  I have faith that He can heal all wounds.  I have faith that He has a plan, and that He loves each of us and wants us to be happy.  Obviously, the Church isn't perfect.  But I don't think that the Lord would allow something as sacred and crucial to our salvation as temple ordinances to be altered.  I don't know what it's going to be like in the next life.  I have a vague idea based on what the church has taught me, but I don't know all the nitty gritty details.  I don't know that I could begin to comprehend them.  But I know that everything will work out.  I understand it's hard for some who don't find a companion in this life, or for those who find it impossible to find one for personal reasons.  I don't think Heavenly Father wants them to be alone, but this life is such a small sliver of eternity.  They won't be alone forever.  They'll be able to experience that physical joy of becoming one with another if they prove their worthiness.  That may sound harsh, but that's what we're here to do.  All of us are here to do that, and it's a struggle.  We're here to show that we have the capability of becoming like God and Christ.  It takes practice, it's hard, and it hurts.  But it is possible.  And maybe, just maybe (we're branching out into the Gospel according to Lauren now), those who have to overcome bigger trials in this life will have a greater reward in the next.  If you think it's mean of me to say that some people don't get that sort of happiness in this life, you're not looking at the big picture.  Sometimes we have to go through some tough love.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone.  You have your opinion and I'll have mine.  Just don't say you're a Mormon and then say, "except, I don't like this core principle of the religion so I choose not to believe it and if you don't agree with me that this is just "the man" trying to keep us down, then you're an inconsiderate *explitive*."

If you know me, you know I'm not an insenstive, judgemental person.  Most people say I'm the opposite.  I'll be friends with you as long as you play nice.  So please, feel free to discuss.

Mondays are normally so blah.

Fortunately, today is one of the exceptions.  For starters, I made myself a smoothie as a reward for working out (I know, go me).  It is sunshine-y and not cold outside.  I got an apple pecan chicken salad at Wendy's.  If you haven't tried it yet, get on it.  My old roomies are probs coming to visit next month, and this puts me in an unavoidable good mood.  Also this random thing happened today:
I'm going to preface this by saying that the mailman for my office is possibly the nicest, friendliest guy in the world.  He is always in a good mood, and it's just contagious.  I love it.  Well, today he came in and was like, "Holy cow, there is this magazine that's out today called The Nest and the girl on the cover looks JUST like you!  I did a double-take the first time I saw it!  I couldn't believe it; I thought you must have two jobs or something!" 
I said something like, "That's crazy" and then he gave me the mail and went on his merry way.
But then less than ten minutes later he came back with one of the magazines and was all, "SEEEEEE!!"  So then everyone came out of their offices and was like, "OH EM GEE!  IT'S LAUREN!"  Then Denise (head of tech support/my boss) decided it would be a good idea to photocopy the cover of this magazine so we could have a copy.  So now it's sitting on my desk.
May I please introduce you to my celebrity doppleganger, Jayma Mays.

 

Ok, she may look a lot more like me on the magazine, but it's always nice to have people say you look like a pretty, famous person.

Our Ugly Duckling Piano!

Surprise!  We got a piano!  A VINTAGE PIANO!  More importantly, a fix-it-up piano.  But a FREE piano.  And a family piano.

Once upon a time, a family by the name of Holloway lived in Maine.  In 1914 they bought a lovely upright piano.  But, eventually they decided to make a move outwest.  So the piano was shipped from Maine to California via the Panama Canal.  I'm sure it was played and loved, and then handed down to the next generation.  In the 1950's, the Holloway family attended a fair (or something of the sort), where a gentleman convinced them that the best thing to do with their piano was to "modernize" it.  Apparently that meant to take away from the original exterior, add new pieces, and put an interesting grey wood finish vinyl upon the piano.  Cool right?  Apparently the Holloway's daughter didn't think so.  She felt like the vinyl especially was a horrid addition, so she ripped and tore at it, but just couldn't get it all off.  This left the piano in quite the pathetic, dilapitated state. 

But the piano remained in the family.  The Holloway girl grew up and got married to a nice Italian-American man by the name of Vaccarello.  The piano came with her, and when their first daughter grew up and got married (to a nice man from Utah by the name of Snow), she inherited the piano.  Her children learned to play on it--one even broke the mirror that was attached to the front (although whether that was an original piece or part of the "modernization" process, I don't know).  But eventually, she grew tired of it.  After all, it was a bit of an eye sore, and they could afford a nicer one.  So she gave away the piano to a family they attended church with that was in need of a piano.  But this family moved and couldn't take the piano with them, and they gave the piano away to another family in need.  That family had the piano for a little awhile, and then they too gave it up another family.  This happened a few more times, until finally the piano ended up in someone's garage.

One day, the Snows visited some friends from church.  Mr. Snow noticed something in the neighbor's garage, and decided to investiage further.  He eventually called his wife over to the neighbor's and exclaimed, "Carrie, isn't this our old piano?!"  Indeed it was their poor, old piano.  Carrie was delighted to have come across this family heirloom in a friend's garage.  She told the current owners that if they ever felt the need to get rid of the piano, to let her know, because she had some grown children she felt might appreciate it.  A few days later in church, the piano owner approached her to say that, actually, they were considering giving away the piano.  Carrie was excited--but nervous.  Would any of her children actually want such an ugly, ugly piano?
A little before Christmas, Carrie gathered her family together before they all left their separate ways for the Christmas season.  She approached her daughter-in-law, a little hesitant, asking if she would be interested in having a piano.  "Of course!" gasped the daughter-in-law, for she had been hoping for a piano of her own for oh-so-long.  Carrie related the story of the piano (with the help of her mother) to this newest member of the family, along with the disclaimer that the piano was "as ugly as sin."
"Oh, I don't mind at all!" said the young lady, "as long as it plays, it works for me!"  The daughter-in-law thought that the heritage and history of the piano was an added bonus as well.  And so, eventually, the piano made its way to her and her husbands little apartment. And with much rearranging of furniture to fit it in, the piano found itself a new home.

Happy (Belated) Birthday to my mother-in-law!

Carrie's birthday was on New Year's Day!  We had a great time celebrating (and eating!) with the Snow family.
"I like staying up late, but my favorite part of New Year's is wishing my mom a happy birthday." --Mason Snow, on the phone with a friend.  Is that cute or what?

Best scene in Lost ever.

Here is one BIG reason I love Lost: I love the interplay of fate and destiny vs. the power of human choice and spirit.  And I love this scene with Richard and Jacob.  Allegories make my life so happy.  And I'm so glad Lost turned out to be one.  Now if only all the characters would stop being stupid and get with the big picture.

We're here to learn how to become, not here to live our lives out as robots.  We receive guidance, but no one can make decisions for us. Yes, that means we can be taken advantage of, injured, and even die.  But the end goal will make us better than we are now.  Our actions are what determine whether or not we are good or evil.  Not fate or destiny.

"No matter how technically perfect we might be in obedience, if we do not have charity, if love does not guide our actions and cause us to work to improve the lives of others, that obedience is impotent."

So, so true.  This is one of those statements that just resounds in every fiber of my being.  (Cheesy sentence, but work with me.)  The Gospel can be hard sometimes.  It's built on simple principles, there's just a lot of them.  And they all get tangled up and mangled up and everyone has an opinion on it.  I think it's important that throughout it all, you just remember what's at the core.  Love, love, love.

Dear Kinect Workout Game:

After our rendevous this morning, my legs feel like jelly.  I hope you're happy.
Your slave for the next few months at least,
Lauren.

It's a major award!

 

Ok, not really, but my cousin Autumn gave the Stylish Blogger Award! 

There are 4 duties to perform to accept this award:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award! 

 

Autumn is such a great friend to me.  We've actually only seen each other a few times, but whenever we get together we can't stop talking, and we can't stop finding things in common.  It's just wonderful.  I love reading her blog, because she find such meaning in her everyday life!  She is just awesome and I love her to death.

7 things about me:

1. I am having a really hard time coming up with these.

2. The beach is my favorite place in the world.

3. I love going to places I've never been to before, but I also love going to places I've been to 1,000 times with someone new.

4.  Making new friends scares me.  I'm terribly shy.  But not nearly as shy as I used to be.

5. I love old things.  Antique shops are like a paradise for me.

6. I'm the person that likes to stop and read all the plaques at a museum.  I want to be an expert.

7. When I first met my husband, I thought he was too cool to even give me a second glance.  Guess I lucked out.

My fifteen are (drumroll, please!):

Lyse, because she is one of the most amazing people I know.  She's simply bursting with creativity, and her blog reflects that.  Plus, she's my pen pal, so she has to get one.

Mandy, because she always has the greatest pictures.  Also, her blog is the cutest one I've ever seen!

Jessica. (California). Jessica was my bff in Primary, and her blog is amazing for many reasons, but I especially love it because I can watch her precious little boy grow up.  (P.S. Please we need to get together before you guys move!!)

Cait. My french buddy.  Her blog is amazing.  She takes a piece of art and relates to her life.  Sooo witty and perfect.

Lisa.  A blog of absolute randomn hysteria.  But so worth it.  So poop.

Asia.  I just barely started reading Asia's blog (I may have been facebook stalking...), but it's the greatest.  I can never stop laughing.  She tells the best stories from growing up/high school/college/everything.  Love it.

Tara.  Because who doesn't want to look at pictures of little baby Crew???  

Tara.  Maybe it's cheating to put her twice, but she has TWO great blogs.  This link is to her photoblog.  Best. Pictures. Ever.  She did our engagement photos. =]

Renee. Renee's blog was a staple in my life for awhile.  She and all her boys moved to Tahiti for awhile and the stories and experiences she told were addicting.  Plus the pictures of my little cousins growing up were so precious.

Brighton. Cute. Cute. Cute.  Just like her.

Jessica. (BYU). Jessica may only post once in a blue moon, but whenever she does, it's always something I feel like I relate to completely.  She also may be one of the cleverest people I know. (Lucky me, we were study buddies--and Brighton too!)

Melissa. She cracks me up. Enough said.

Garrett. He takes such great pictures.  I love all the candid ones of the the church kids.  So cute.

Zach/Carrie. Maybe I'm biased, but my brother-in-law writes the best missionary letters.

Brittany.  They're so cute!

 

Congrats guys!

I want to go to Brighton!

The quality of this video is horrible, but it's the only clip of this I could find:

My family's favorite ski resort is Brighton.  We also all love Pride and Prejudice (my father won't openly admit that he does, but I know the truth).  So this is an oft repeated quote in our household, especially in the winter, and especially in Utah.

Danny-boy.

I'm awesome.

I was waiting for Jack to come down the hill I think.

My husband is so cool.

I had to put one of Jack, because he was so cute!!

So much fun!

The Queen's Residence

My sophomore year of college, I introduced my roomies to the wonderful place known as my Grammie's apartment.  Grammie's home is always full of sweets, good smells, and lots of love.  Plus a big screen tv to watch all your favorite tv shows and chic flicks.  Also, she lives right across the street from temple square, and really close the Gateway Mall.  Essentially, this is a college girl's paradise.
But most importantly, Grammie herself is basically the most fabulous woman you will ever meet.  After our first, (or maybe our second) weekend get-away to Grammie's, my roommates bestowed upon her the nickname: The Queen.  It's just stuck, because Grammie lives up to it so well.  She's one of the few people we would clean our apartment for if she came to visit, because we wanted her to see us in the best possible light.
Naturally, spending Christmas with the Queen is something my family loves to do.  Grammie loves us all so much, she even delayed her own Christmas dinner just to have it with all of us on Sunday.  So benevolent!  Here's some of the pics from all the reveling that took place.

The grown-up table.

You just don't ask questions with this one...

My model sister.

Our cousin, Amanda.

My brother.  This picture cracks me up.

My fahjah.

The Queen herself!!

Jack is such a goober.

Ti wanted a fez for Christmas...

Jack opening his present from us.

He liked it.  We're awesome.

Grammie got Dan this army hamster in honor of his scholarship. =]