Amazing!

As so it begins!

Well. He proposed. And it was very romantic.  But at the risk of being too mushy I think I'll keep the details to myself! < but if you really wanna know just ask me! > So now in addition to getting a masters in one year and writing a thesis I am also planning a wedding. The joke I have been making lately is that "I'm planning a wedding and writing a thesis -- two things Lord willing I will never do again!"

So the best advice I have received so far is from my lovely girl Stephanie- she got married last year and suggests that I stay away from wedding websites, boards, blogs, magazines... etc. And after being engaged for only a week-- I already know she is so right. I don't know how some people do it. I cannot imagine spending what some people do on weddings. Knot.com and places like that are fun but they are just dripping with credit card bills! 

 Beautiful Bride Stephanie!

Some have heard me say it before but I hate spending other people's money. If its my own money no problem! But Dad and Mom? A little more difficult. I think thats the biggest roadblock for me in the wedding process I just hate asking for people to pay for things. But have no other choice. Enough of that.

School is going well enough-- life is starting to get busier and those end of semester papers are starting to need my attention. I am writing several different things but most everything is either about Representations of Mormonism (thats the topic of my thesis) and the French Academy. Hahah. Couldn't be more different.

Yesterday I we had a lesson on heterotopias and I have spent the last 48 hours analyzing my "place" and "space" and what my utopia would be... ahh I love it when dead French philosophers invade my inner thoughts. I can't even pretend to understand the idea, but for the first time Foucault < yes debate friends-- believe it or not> is really interesting to me!

My day is pretty much done and all I have to do tomorrow is work 1-6. Very good. I am hoping to get a lot of reading done... but there is so much good TV on tonight. Big Bang Theory, The Office, 30 Rock, Community, Bones, Fringe, Project Runway, and finally Its Always Sunny. Whew!!! And they all happen in the course of what... two hours? Maybe three? I'll channel surf some and wait and watch others. Trust me... I have thought this out. Haha what a goober.

Alright Headed Home.

If you have (serious) ideas for wedding stuff- especially those of you in Jville area let me know!

Non-Blurry Photos of the Ring!

It has 27 diamonds in all! For those of you who know the jargon- the center stone is a cushion cut.

He must really like me! :)

I hope these satisfy! My poor own mother didn't realllly know what my ring looked like!
Mom -- didn't he do great?

He asked! I said Yes!

I'm so Blessed!

SO EXCITED!!!

This glorious man... 

is on his way to see me!

Chaser is on his way to my humble abode in Bowling Green right now! [Well actually, he's in his car on the way to GSO Airport] We have a pretty fun weekend planned. Tonight we'll just hang out and watch Top Chef and be lazy. Tomorrow I have classes and work so Chase is going to go grocery shopping- because I have NO food in the apartment- and he's going to come hang out with me at the school. It will be fun to show him off. Its fun to watch him meet new people and talk to and learn about them. Thats something I really like about him-- how he is genuinely interested in people and what they think.  Thursday night Chaser is going to make dinner and I will probably force him to watch Project Runway... because he secretly likes it... Friday is work and and then Chaser's birthday night! We haven't decided where we're going to go for sure, but I'm excited to try something/where new.

(Have I posted this one already? Don't care-- I love it!)

I am very thankful that it worked out that both of us have our homework for this weekend finished already. So Saturday is a L-A-Z-Y day. Meaning, sitting on the couch reading, eating breakfast for lunch, sitting near open windows, and hanging out with friends. Thats right. I have made friends in BG. Hahah. Apparently, if there is anything good in BG, there is good pizza in BG. So we along with some others are going to go get pizza and hangout out and play Wii. Gotta love Wii parties

Ashley also comes home today. Thats very good-- even though I really like babysitting her kitty Henley. She's so tiny and sweet (both A.S. and her cat) and I just like how excited Henley gets when I come over. Her "meow" is so desperate even if she has people all around her loving on her. Anyway.

Sweetest Baby Henley Cat

So I am sitting here waiting for both of them to arrive home. Ashley for someone to keep me company in the office, and Chase for someone to keep me company during Top Chef.  :)

It has been just over a year since I tried to hook up Chase with one of my girl friends. Now a year later, I am sitting here so incredibly excited that they didn't like eachother. Hahah. It wouldn't have ever worked anyway... So yeah. Too bad! 

Chase at a Debate Tournament (JV Novice Nationals)

In this debate related photo stolen from Facebook, Chaser looks exactly how I remember him from undergrad at LU. Blue Coat thing, dress shirt, tie and crazy hair. Always thought he was a cutie.. ;)

Who would have ever known I would be so crazy about him!!  

Wow this is a disgustingly mushy post.
Thank you for sticking with me this long...

Oh BTW, if youre looking for a new "Fall" purse... this site has lots of fun cheap ones (I found it via one of the 4523423566234billion blogs I read)      http://www.yesstyle.com/en/bags.html

Life in Public

I watched this documentary titled, We Live In Public, and by watched I mean snuggled up to Chase and fell asleep about 45 minutes into it. Anyway- the premise is about this internet developer and how he

...also curated and funded the ground breaking project “Quiet” in an underground bunker in NYC where over100 people lived together on camera for 30 days at the turn of the millennium. With Quiet, Harris proved how we willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire, but with every technological advancement such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter,becomes more elusive.

Well last night, one gloriously brilliant PhD student who has an adorably cute and lovely wife commented that he avoided his homework by reading my blog. Now I have had people say that they read my blog and I never even thought about it. But this time just registered different. Perhaps it was the Fair Food I had just eaten or perhaps it was the loud music but my brain immediately went "Oh my Goodness! Did I say anything I shouldn't?" Of course, I have very diligently tried to not type anything I regret sharing with the whole world. Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and even emails are never private. Never. And they never disappear.

Is there anything else we do that never disappears? Is there anything that else that has the same lasting effect? I dont know maybe I'm looking way too much into this. I had a Xanga (for a real laugh take a gander) in high school that is still out there living in cyber space. Its wild to look back and see that part of my life. I am looking forward to this time next year once I have finished this darn Masters and seeing that I made it. I survived. It will be so lovely to see what is happening with Chaser and I and how my Dad's business is doing. I hope the world is happier and safer- and at the risk of sounding mushy I hope things are better for the world than they are now.

As Chase's brother Logan always teases, "Mushy Mushy Mushy" yeah. I don't know I guess I'm philosophical this morning. Blame it on a good nights sleep and good coffee. Today (like you read yesterday) is going to be full of work. I have one class that overwhelms me a little bit- but little bit by little bit I am getting at least SOMETHING down on paper.

Oh and I need sweaters. I don't have even nearly enough warm shirts. Feel free to donate to the clothing fund! Turtlenecks would be especially enjoyed.

Wading Through the Black Swamp

This weekend is the weekend of the Annual Black Swamp Arts Festival which is happening literally one short block from my house.

I can hear the music and the people from inside my house even when I'm watching TV or listening to music. It seems like a pretty good festival, some good music, carnival food, and lots of artists displays. Everyone keeps telling me that everything is really expensive- and I keep saying  expensive art is whats paying for me to be in graduate school... by the way... have you seen my Dad's cool art gallery? ? Or perhaps his cool blog? So yeah, hopefully going to go tonight and wander through the stuff and pretend I don't have a ton of work to do.

Chaser did amazingly well on his MPRE. I am so proud of him. He blew it out of the water! I knew he would... he studied harder for that then I did for the GRE... whoops. God is really just blessssssing both of us as far as school goes this semester. Chase has a super easy schedule for once and I am loving my classes.

But when I am not loving my classes-- when I am avoiding home work-- I have been watching A&E's Hoarders. Holy cow.  Now for those of you who don't know, I have clinically diagnosed OCD. And I kinda view it like a lot of people view diabetes. My body doesn't make enough of a particular chemical to operate correctly so I take medicine for it. Simple as that. Well the people on this show whew.... they make me look normal :). It is just wild what conditions some people will actually end up in. I cannot imagine having that sickness but -- because I am addicted to reality tv-- I love watching it.  LOVE IT.
But also love watching Project Runway-- don't like Ivey and Gretchen. Enough said.

This week holds a lot. I have a lot due and that is daunting. But [way more importantly] Chase is coming to visit on Wednesday! His birthday is the 17th and I am so delighted to get to spend it with him. I bought him a great present that I cannot wait to give him. I really hope he likes it. I haven't decided what we are going to do for his bday. I need to ask around and see what is good. We might even go big and go to Toledo. Whhhoooah Impressive.

So know how my family took those empty nest photos with Mrs. H? Well. My parents are hardly suffering. This photo explains it well..

They are having so much fun hanging out with people who are MY age and doing things I want to do! I cannot wait to see them over Thanksgiving.  If you know my mom ask her about her new ring and have her tell you "sparkly floor story." Way cool.

Alright I should stop postponing writing this literary review of articles on Cultural Hegemony and Feminist Methodology. Bllleeeck. Marxism isnt what I want to be concerned with on this lovely Saturday. Sigh. Just play the game Lauren, just play the game! [I love it!]

Cold Weather and Long Hair

Kinda wishing I could be the brunette version of this photo.

I walked to school today in a sweatshirt because it is 56 degrees outside but still was hot when I got to South Hall. Also I am really ready for my hair to be done growing out... this half bangs stage is killing me. Lots of work today. Long day.  Chase comes in a week... Perfect.

Labor Day

My new very smart Best Friend- Henley. Oh... and her human Ashley.

Today is Labor Day. A national holiday from work- and I am going to spend the entire day working! Since Chase is coming to visit the 15-19 I am trying to get all of my homework done ahead of time. I made a schedule and everything and for the most part I am following it pretty closely. [Notice that I am blogging instead of working on HW and then pretend you didn't notice.] Graduate school is a lot of reading. Luckily I like reading, especially about theatre. I think a conservative estimate is that I read over 500 pages a week. Kind of a badge of honor.

I met with S.M. one of the professors here at BG and we talked about both my thesis and a paper I would like to submit for a conference. Super helpful. My thesis is just so stinking exciting. It is a historiography of Mormon Theatre and representations of Mormons in American society. Lots of history and surveys and wonderful things. I am finding some amazing resources that are older than old and just very happy. I just love this part. I love the hunt of it all. Looking and looking and looking... and then wham! When I find things that are just super awesome I usually hoot and hollar... the people around me must think I'm really crazy. Crazy for Research! Dork.

Still missing home very very much. I get to video chat with Mom and Dad -- which is very helpful.  I love the things I am doing here, and I have said this before, but I wish my parents and Chaser and my girlfriends here here!  Chase coming to visit certainly helps. And Thanksgiving isn't tooo far away.

So off to work. Enjoy my new horribly glitzy fabulous blog background. Think happy thoughts for me as I work... I'd love to get some snail mail- email me for my address < lzawist@gmail.com >. Or ask Mom and Dad if you want to surprise me and make my LIFE.