A Post-Thanksgiving Post

Happy (late) Thanksgiving, everyone!

I'm sorry I'm such a crummy blogger...it's been busy around here lately, so I hope you'll forgive me.

Just for updating purposes:

• My brother is a great cook. He cooked me Thanksgiving dinner, and it was delicious. Don't worry, I returned the favor and made him peasant pasta tonight.
• I got a full 5 days off of school and I'm miserable. Besides, my roommates (and the majority of the population of Rexburg) are all gone, so it's REALLY quiet. And it freaks me out.
• We got the first real snow the other day. It was about 6 inches, I'd say, from what I had to plow off of my car. And my parking lot is now an ice skating rink. Trust me, I've gone for a few rides.
• Hillary and I did 2 puzzles that she bought at D.I., and, of course, one of them was missing 13 pieces, but still. Oh, and the one that had all of the pieces glows in the dark! (And those are polar bears, Hillary, not panda bears.)
• I finally got home-sick for the first time I can remember since I started college. It's not that I don't miss my family on a regular basis, but I FELT it everywhere over the past week.
• I got a letter from my little sister, Carlee, and finally wrote her back. (I love getting letters letters...like, in the mail letters...)
• I promised myself I would do all of my projects over this week. Haven't done a single one. Or my giant Humanities test that is due on Monday. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow!!!

Other than that...I refuse to post on the internet the intricate details. Hahaha.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. I'm happy. I know, I know, that's ridiculously repetitive and redundant, redundant and repetitive.
2. Jessie allowing me into her house even though I literally rolled out of bed, threw on jeans and a bra, and pulled my hair back. Thanks Devro, for letting me steal her. And for the input. :o)
3. John is very patient.
4. The Blindside. What an AMAZING movie! WOW it was SOOO good! And, by the way, Sandra Bullock's accent is 100% contagious. ...For me at least; I don't know many other people who catch accents the way I do.
5. All the people who make me laugh all of the time.
6. School on Monday. I can't wait to get back to class and see my teachers and my friends and have something to do everyday. This is making me crazy.
7. I saw Brother Flora at WalMart today with his family and he said, "Ciao, Lauren!" and then looked really confused.

Graduation

I graduate in one month.

ONE MONTH!!!

I'm excited. And terrified.

hahaha.

I keep getting emails from the school - Grad Night is on the 1st with President and Sister Clark, and then Grad Fest (where you pick up your cap and gown and can have your picture taken and order announcements) is the next week and then the week after that is finals and ...GRADUATION!

I'm excited because this is kind of a huge mile stone. I'm terrified because this is scary. hahaha. I have NO idea what the heck is going to happen. I've been looking for jobs in Arizona or jobs that I can "do from anywhere" because they're done through e-mail and phone communication. I've found one to do from anywhere, which is good because I can do that and save money and when I have the funds, be able to move to AZ. (AMI!)

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. I love all of my family. I have the best brothers and an amazing sister. The in-laws are amazing - love each one. My parents are so supportive and full of wisdom. And I'm lucky enough to live with all of my surviving grandparents. I can call any one of them any time for anything.
2. KP telling me about her wedding dress.
3. Elliot. He's one of my favorite people and I'm super sad I have to leave college and all of my friends up here - like Elliot and Quincy and all of the roomies that I love. I feel like I didn't get enough time with Elliot.
4. My PR teacher actually said the word "WOOT!" on my final exam. I had to stifle my giggle in the testing center because I'm pretty sure that any show of cheer or happiness in the testing center results in an automatic fail.

Book Fest Round 2!

We had the second book fest this past week (Monday and Wednesay) and I had to present on Wednesday.

I read Ann Radcliffe's The Romance of the Forest from 1791. It's considered the greatest of all gothic novels and the jewel of Radcliffe's career. "Gothic" doesn't mean the same thing in literature as it does to us today. A gothic novel is anything that has to deal with something supernatural - for example, Bram Stoker's Dracula is a gothic novel. As is Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga.

I LOVED this book. It's outlandishly ridiculous but it's amazing. It's Victorian, but with ghosts and murder and kidnapping and sword fights. As I was explaining it during my presentation, one of the girls in my class said, "So kind of like The Princess Bride?" And that seemed about right.

I redesigned my book cover yet again so I could play on InDesign some more. (Still love it, just in case you were wondering.) So here it is:

Before:

oooooo....

After:

aaaaahhhh.....

For my presentation (since the last one wasn't such a hit, apparently) I decided to play a little game again, but this time I had typed up little scenarios from the book involving all of the characters several times over. For example, I had: "The man you love - who has just saved you yet again from the evil Marquis - has been hit on the head and is bleeding profusely. You don't think the doctor is capable, what do you do?" And then the person reading would explain what they would do and why, and I'd explain what the characters did.

I think this round went over a lot better than the last round because Sister Hawker complimented me several times and was using my presentation and book cover as good examples in class on Friday as we discussed Book Fest.

If you're looking for something interesting to read - pick it up!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me toady:

1. Alli. Thank you so much, love, for Friday. You're the bestest ever. For reals.

2. Elliot started a conversation with me about killing John on Saturday. If only he knew... Bwahaha.

3. I designed a website for Sister Soper over the weekend and we'll see on Monday morning if my design gets chosen.

4. Laundry Day.

5. I've seen Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 4 times in theatres. I've only paid twice. :o)

6. I got an invitation to a certain someone's bridal shower. ;o)

So Excited For This:

Disney's, The Princess and the Frog.

I bought the Diamond Edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and it has a few special features that are pretty cool on it. For example, the first preview I've seen outside of theaters for The Princess and the Frog and a really fun behind the scenes sneek peek at The Princess and the Frog! So tonight, as I was doing my powerpoint for the next Book Fest (which is on Wednesday, so expect another post soon) I put in Snow White with my roommate Alex. The behind the scenes look had the first 6 minutes of The Princess and the Frog!

It looks SO good! I'm super excited for it!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Goth Pod. :o) Shut up, all of you.

2. My roommates have really nice boyfriends.

3. I got to chit chat with Alli today which was fun cause I needed girl talk. :o) Please see #1.

4. I got ANOTHER letter from Shauna!

5. Since Thanksgiving is looking kind of ...slow... I've made a resolution to do my last Book Fest over that week and see what other huge projects I can get a jump on, like the second job portfolio.

6. The Romance of the Forest, by Ann Radcliffe. I liked it despite how ridiculous it was. Ask Leslie, I was screaming at the book, but couldn't stop reading.

The Room Fraught with Peril

That is what Leslie and I live in - the Room Fraught with Peril.

It's quite ridiculous, really.

I think the biggest danger is the desk. I call it the demon desk. It's positioned against the wall between the head of my bed and the head of Leslie's. The thing is, something isn't right. There is about a 6 inch gap between the head of Leslie's bed and the edge of the demon desk and there is absolutely NO gap between the demon desk and the head of my bed. I actually think there is about a 1/4" overhang of the demon desk onto my bed. So whenever I move in my sleep, I hit something - usually my hands. Consequently, my hands are always bruised. And I keep bumping my legs on the corner of the demon desk and getting rather large bruises, like this one:

And then, the door doesn't open all of the way because there isn't enough space between the door jamb and the foot of Leslie's bed. Our beds are really crappy captain's beds and the drawer under the heads of our beds is, of course, buried under the demon desk. Naturally, we don't keep anything in those drawers because it's just too dangerous to crawl under the demon desk to access it.

Then, there is a shelf that goes along our wall from the corner of the head of Leslie's bed and wraps around behind our demon desk to my head, along my bed and all the way to the corner by the closet (again, I get the worst of it because it goes along the length of my bed) and Leslie is constantly hitting her head on the ledge of the shelf while I'm always hitting my knees as I roll over.

The window is really hard to open (especially because you have lean OVER the demon desk to reach it) and I've broken 7 finger nails on it.

And then, one day, Leslie got deathly ill. I took care of her the best I could. She didn't have swine flu, but a virus that was acting ridiculously swine flu-like. She had a fever, ear infection, she was throwing up, had a horrible hacking cough, and a stuffy nose (among other ...less pleasant ailments). Our room became the quarantine/sick bay. So naturally, I got whatever virus Leslie had, just it wasn't as severe. I only had a REALLY high fever (it got as high as 102.1), a hacking cough and stuffy nose that lasted for about 5 days (I still have a cough though, and it's been like 2 weeks) whereas Leslie was in bed for 10 days and still has a cough as well.

There are hardwood floors in the vanity and living room, and of course, right outside our bedroom doors. Well, the spot in front of our bedroom door is REALLY slippery for some reason and Leslie and I are constantly sliding around on it and I just know that one day we're going to hit the floor HARD.

Like I said, our room is a death trap.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Leslie's mom drove up from Brigham City to take care of her and got here the day I got my fever - it was really good timing because I didn't feel well enough to take care of her anymore. (Not that I was doing a whole lot, but really, that fever kicked my butt and knocked me out.)

2. John. He's freaking ridiculous. I hate him. He's such a boy. He flirts with me, then ignores me, and now he's back to flirting with me. So much so that our English teachers have both commented on us needing to "knock it off or get dropped."

3. I love Shauna's missionary blog. Thanks Jayne for updating all of us!

4. I got really good feedback from my class mates about my online job portfolio. That's right, I have an online job portfolio.

5. I love, love, love Victorian literature, and I've just picked up what is regarded as the best, and first true, Gothic Novel. I'm a huge fan.

Childhood

I have a lot of really fond memories from my childhood, and this is definitely one of them!

The original "Dr. Dolittle" starring Rex Harrison.

I don't have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I spend the day doing homework and working my butt off. I sat down to eat lunch today and turned on the tv. I was flipping through channels looking for something to provide noise while I cooked and that's when I saw that "Dr. Dolittle" was on!!

I was so excited!!

I did my homework in front of the tv so I could watch. I can't remember the last time I saw this movie. I love it! And I totally have a crush on Matthew Mugg (real name - Anthony Newley). He's Irish, and I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with it. And he sings.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. Excedrine. I hate that medicine only treats symptoms and doesn't cure whatever causes headaches, but I'm grateful for it anyway.
2. I got to hang out with Jereme for a little bit yesterday.
3. It's 5:00 pm and I haven't made my bed yet. That NEVER happens. Even when I was sick and could barely move, I made my bed.
4. Thank you, Alli, for saying that "my guy" wasn't hit by a truck, just married the wrong girl. It feels like that more and more...
5. Alex and Brittney have the nicest boyfriends in town. They're great guys and I'm glad they spend a lot of time here.

Missionary Mail!

Shauna wrote me a letter a little bit ago and sent to California because I didn't have my address here in Rexburg when she left.

It arrived today!!

It's so funny how her handwriting totally made me nostalgic. I almost started to cry when I saw it. (I've been running a fever of around 100 degrees for the last about 3 days, so that's what I blame it on...) I haven't gotten a hand written letter from a missionary prob since Eric was out...

The letter was 100% Shauna. And it made my day. I could totally hear her when I read it - it was almost like when we used to talk on the phone when she was in NYC and I was in Seattle. hahaha. I've missed her cute little voice. And the growl.

Oh, the growl.

Some funny(direct) quotes:

• "Oh my gosh - must write Lauren ASAP"
• "Do you have any MC's - who are single? HaHa!"
• "Well, can you believe I've been on my mission for over a month? 1/18 of my way through."
• She asked if I was going to AZ for KP's wedding and then said, "You could always stay at my house! Just call Jayne. Seriously. Call."

Ahh, I miss her. And a lot of other awesome people, but today - mostly Shauna.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Thermometers.
2. Tylenol cold multi-symptom severe. It's AMAZING.
3. My mom pushing me to go after Goth Pod. It's funny. And scary cause I'm starting to listen to her.
4. Inappropriate prank texting.
5. USPS.
6. 3 boys, in various relationship statuses, all talking at once on the phone to see why I wasn't in school today.
7. I know that I can totally call Shauna's family to stay with them if I need to be in AZ.
8. Job hook ups.
9. I haven't put gas in my car since September 15th and I still have a little over a quarter of a tank left. I love my little car.