Monday Musings During Hoarders 6.0

Yes, I realize that it is Tuesday. But I am watching it this morning before doing homework so it is time to blog.

The last blog was on December 15th. So lets do a really brief recap.

Chase and Erin made it to BG and slept all day during my last exam. I am glad they made it safely. Friday we left BG for DSM.  Chase wanted to avoid toll roads so we took (I think it was) Highway 6 all the way to Iowa. It was so lovely. Rural enough to be easy driving, but not so small that you thought you might die if the car broke down on the side of the road. It was really enjoyable.

Ten hours later... we got to DSM. Whew. My car is gross and covered with salt and muck, but we made it safely.

Saturday was coffee with the Stovers. Love love love them. They are loud and silly and really love each other. Lets not even mention how awesome their dog Princess T-Bone (she's a TINY dachshund). We ate doughnuts and just enjoyed time together. Couldn't be better.

(this isn't actually her- but it realllllly looks like her) 

Saturday night was Christmas with the Pastor at Mom and Dad McCool's church. As part of the festivities the pastor hid over 300 plastic "gold" coins all over the church. We are still finding them! Super fun!

Sunday was church, nap, church. :)

Monday and Tuesday I did a lot of homework. I read through my Judith Butler books and through Diana Taylor's The Archive and The Repertoire: Performing Cultural Memory in the America's. Both were really helpful for the prospectus. It was kind of funny because I have sooo many Butler books and did not have the one that I needed! Isn't that always how it works?

My parents arrived in DSM on Thursday. I drove all by myself and made it to the airport with out wrecking my car or hurting anyone ;). I was so glad to see them! They are really fun to have around. AND the parents all liked each other! Whew. I never really doubted that they would but it was really rewarding. This whole combining two families is quite stressful because I want everything to be really great. And I think its going well. Praise the Lord.

Christmas Eve was at the Stovers', we ate like little piggies, laughed a ton, played with the dog, and took about a billion photographs. Christmas eve service was very lovely, except for the guy who sat behind us burping :).  I GOT A TRADER JOES GIFT CARD from Grandma and Grandpa  Stover. Very very awesome. I cannot wait to stock up before going home.

Christmas Day we had a yummy breakfast and opened presents. I was/am a blessed girl! And Chase loved the Kindle I bought for him. He was so happy and so surprised! It was really really great. I loved surprising him and that was really fun. I am terrible at surprising people and this time I finally kept something a secret! THEN WE WENT SLEDDDDDDDING! Oh my goodness I really loved it. It was so much fun. I was scared at first but then I just started go again and again. If I didn't have to spend so much energy walking back up hills I probably could have kept going for a lot longer than we did!

Day after Christmas was Church and then hanging out with my parents and Chase. We had Panera for lunch- always so good- and then Chase and I went shopping for Christmas decor. It was so much fun for me. We got great deals and will have cute stuff for next Christmas. I am still looking for a 4 foot flocked tall skinny artificial Christmas tree. Thats what I am asking for from now until next Christmas. Can you imagine that? Getting a Christmas tree for my July birthday! Haha Love it. We had Bonefish Grill for dinner and let me tell you their fish tacos are awesome. Simple as that.

Yesterday we went wedding dress shopping. I found THE dress. Found it and am going to order is asap.
ThanktheLordinheavenabove we only had to look at one place!

Today is homework and getting ready for the Engagement party this evening. Its just a open house and I am super excited to meet new people. I'll update more later.
I need a mini nap. I am about to pass out.

More later.

S'More Blogging

wow I am just a genius when it comes to witty and dorky titles

I have finished all of the work that is due for the rest of this semester. No kidding. I have an exam to attend tomorrow at 9am but I have the assignment finished and I have officially decided to "go on break." Still doesn't feel like it because I have to wake up early but still. We'll just pretend that it does.

My celebratory evening has included going to Wal-Mart and buying a new toiletry bag for the trip to DSM,  watching reality cooking television, cleaning my apartment, and eating microwaved s'mores. I always add peanut butter to mine. Makes it all stick together even better. Holy Cow. So good. I actually prefer microwave s'mores to cookout s'mores. The chocolate melts all the way, the marshmallow is warm all the way through, there isn't ash on anything, and you don't leave smelling like icky smoke.

Now I am going to fold laundry, and watch Top Chef All Stars, and WAIT FOR CHASE AND ERIN TO GET HERE. It is going to snow really badly in WVa starting around 4am. Chase and Erin last year had to drive through the miserable weather and do not want to do that again. So they left at 9:30 and are driving here tonight before it starts to snow. Lots of prayers for them. That drive is scary to me.

Tomorrow they'll sleep and Ill go to class and then we'll get to hang out together! Which makes me super happy. Duh. Also falling in the super happy catagory, today I made an appointment to go try on wedding dresses. My mom, Chase's mom, and I will go to lunch and then to a fru fru store called Schaffers.  Mom McCool says that its super duper nice.  If they have white dresses that are not strapless, don't have glitter, aren't poofy, and won't make me look like the Michelin man I will be happy with that.

Speaking of puffy. I  slipped on the ice today. Not more than twenty steps from my front door and wham. I was saved by my big puffy parka. (Its dark dark purple- and fabulous) Snow is interesting. And kinda elusive. You don't ever know exactly where to step or exactly how many layers you will need. Its 5 degree's out right now. I am trying my hardest not to have a crazy gas bill. Enter the sweatshirt. I try to keep the house around 65 to 70 degrees. Is that cold? Or is that normal? Whichever, I like the temp in my apartment. I like being in snuggly clothes so it works well.

I finished christmas shopping last night! Well thats not true. Kinda need to get one more little thing for my parents, but I just haven't found it yet. They literally have EVERYTHING. Blahhh.

I met with my thesis advisor yesterday to start working on my prospectus... and um... its daunting.
Thats all.

Oh another amazing thing- I am going to get to see my Emily on the way home from Christmas break. I miss her like crazy. Our schedules are so different and its icky not seeing her every single solitary day.

Uh Oh. I started Yawning.

This is kinda a mushy part, I am so excited that chase has siblings! I have always been a happy only child- but I am also excited to have a little brother Logan, and two - hear that! two- little sisters. Eek. Very fun. I am looking forward to spending this long break with them and let them teach me about snow. Meaning teach me how to survive in the snow. And maybe they'll teach me how they learned to dominate on video games. Eye hand coordination hasn't ever really been my thing... whoops.

If you asked me right now what I want for Christmas I don't know if I could tell you. I have stuff I'd kinda like but my parents are getting me a ticket to fly home for spring break so I'm blessed enough to get what I want most! 

I had such a lovely chat with my Grandma today. She's visiting my aunts and uncles in NY and just sounded so very very happy. She deserves it. She's home alone so much and I am glad that she is with our family and having so much fun. Thats how being 87 should be.

I want a Sonic Bacon Cheeseburger with a Strawberry Sprite.

Thanks for reading my blog again and again. It feels so good to just get it out of my head and process through words and then seeing the site counter go up (its even better now that I fixed it so it doesn't count my posts) in number.

Oh and get ready. January First... the wedding count down begins! No complaining. After this wedding countdown I'll never do another one again. Promise. Here are some wedding decor teasers as a reward...

lanterns instead of flowers?

\

rustic chuppa?  

to go with

rustic (maybe raffia wrapped) candles?

Oh

and this is the Bride's Maids dress

hope they like it. 

it really works with that fall theme.

So excited.

;) wink

Monday Musings During Hoarders Finals Edition

It is practically Christmas! 

Hi. Remember me? I am Lauren. The girl who used to make entries on this lovely little blog.
Well kids, I'm back.

I am so close to being done with 1/3 of my masters! I only have one exam left this week and a couple of meetings and parties I will attend. Pretty nice. I have spent this evening watching TV and wrapping presents. Amazing. And of course, now that Hoarders is on, I am blogging.

I have been crazy busy. Shoot I'm pretty sure that anyone attending school is pretty busy. I had three large papers to write, a performance of a random Ibsen play to participate in, and a show to house manage for. I was no busier than anyone else, and actually thanks to professors making benchmarks along the way I wasn't too swamped with work. Thats one thing I really appreciated about my professors this semester, they were reasonable and realistic. What a novel idea!?

I wrote one paper on the French play Le Cid, a historiography of nineteenth-century melodrama, and an analysis of the villain-ization of Mormons in the nineteenth century. The last two will directly impact my thesis which looks at The American Myth, Mormons, and popular culture. Its still in the process. Keep posted.

I survived the snow. I drove in the snow. I now live in a place that when it frosts the world does not shut down. The guy who delivered my pizza was wearing shorts. I need to get used to it. Not exciting.

I am really getting excited to be in Des Moines this weekend. Erin and Chase will arrive on Thursday and spend some time recovering from driving through West Virginia. I will be fun to explore the city that I will be living in this time next year. And I am excited to have both of my families in one place. My Mommy and Daddy and my new Family the McCools! We are also having an engagement party while we're there which of course is going to be fun. I got a great bride-to-be suggestion that once Christmas is over to go buy some super-low priced Christmas decor that way the next year when we're newlyweds we don't have to spend lots of money on that stuff. I think its a great idea.

I am  going to end here... my brain is a little fried! Its been on overdrive lately. I'll try to blog before two weeks passes again. :)

Whew.

This is a prayer for all of you who are as frazzeled as I am.


I pray that...

your fingers don't hurt from typing so much

your eyes don't hurt from reading so much

your neck doesn't hurt from looking at your notes so much

your computer decides to stay working rather than lose its mind

your internet always has a fast and solid connection

coffee will still keep you awake

you won't be so tired that you need coffee

your professors are merciful when you need just one more day

you won't need one more day

the library will have that one book you need

your fridge will magically have the comfort food you are craving

paper is finished the day before its due

you won't have too many late night meetings/rehearsals/library runs

you feel like you've done your best

you don't lose your mind

you will remember that finals will be over and you will get to sleep again.... and watch tv again... and shop again... and take long baths again... and read non-school books again... and be with your family again... 

Lots of prayers for you. Lots of happy thoughts. 

I wouldn't mind if your prayers/happy thoughts/vibes back. Or donations of warm brownies. ;)

I have a sink full of dirty dishes, fleet foxes on the stereo, no clean coffee cups, and am eating honey & peanut butter toast.




Must be term paper time. 

< this is toast, not a term paper>