It's her turn!

While I don't have time to share what's going on in my own life, I am SUPER excited to share something fun going on with one of my best friends!  Kara who blogs over at The Simple Life Blog has been mentioned on several occasions here at Breaking the Mold.  She's a hip, fun, and friendly gal who lives near Raleigh, NC, and happened to introduce me to my husband...oh about 3 1/2 years ago. 

Kara and I made caramel apples together the day she introduced me to Alex back in December 2010.

Well...in just 57 days (yes, that's FIFTY-SEVEN) Kara is going to have a husband of her very own!!!

Yep, that's right folks, Kara's ENGAGED!!!

I have the honor of being asked to partake in the ceremony standing just a few feet away as one of her bridesmaids, and boy am I thrilled!  Hers and Peyton's story is super cute and a very long time coming (sort of, lol).  Read here for Part I of their proposal story. 

And maybe we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming...likely sometime later this summer.

-Lauren

He's a good 'un.

It is craaaaaaaaazy around these parts right now.  I really had no idea May would be so busy and I definitely was not prepared for the mental and physical toll it is taking on us currently.  All that being said, at least life is interesting, n'est pas?

We had a grand time at Austin's graduation last Friday, and of course the time with family and friends that followed was a lovely treat.  On Saturday, poor Alex ended up stuck at a 14 inning baseball game versus in-state rivals, and didn't make it to the party until muchos lateros (obviously, Spanish is not my forte - but I like making up words so go with it).  Warm temperatures and beautiful blue skies definitely added to the trip, as well.  

Mid-day on Monday, we found out Alex had to leave a day earlier than planned on a trip down to Mobile, AL, for the Sunbelt Conference (baseball) tournament.  We'd scrambled to wash clothes so he could pack the night before just in case, but assumed the team would leave on Tuesday as planned when we still hadn't heard anything before we left for work that morning.  Needless to say, that threw both of us for a loop because we didn't get to say goodbye to one another, and believe it or not...we haven't actually spent an entire week apart since we were married.  (Whaaaat?)

I also had a pretty sh*tty morning at work for various reasons (par for the course these days) and knowing I wouldn't be seeing Alex until Sunday didn't make my mood any lighter.  However, I should have known that Alex is a rock star husband would put together something sweet to try and make it all better...

*Cue sappy music.*  

When I walked in the door that afternoon, the house was in perfect condition, with a newly replenished 5 gallon water jug (do NOT drink the water in this town), a sweet note, and all the makings for a full belly and relaxing evening.  He even remembered to leave what's left of our dinosaur of a GPS system for my upcoming trip to NOLA.  

We've been gone so frequently that our fridge and pantry were down to the bones on options.  He made a trip to the store to grab some items for a few fast meals that I could throw together for lunch and dinner so I didn't have to live on week-old bread and peanut butter for the week.  And, as you can see, he even threw in my favorite candy - the a way to a girl's heart right there!

The guy knows nothing about wine, but he managed to pick my favorite wine out of my collection and stash it in the refrigerator, just 'cause (though I suspect he knew something I didn't).  Let's just say that bottle isn't quiiiite as full as it was in this picture...

I tell ya what, I married a good 'un.  

And now, I shall return to my task of packing for a conference in New Orleans that starts tomorrow...the end.

-Lauren

I got this.

Not too long ago, I wrote about crossing off Goal #10 on my 20 in 14 list.  We recently closed out the last home series for the year and while I am looking forward to a more normal schedule for Alex, I am a little sad to say goodbye to the 2014 baseball season.  With these goodbyes also come well wishes for a few graduate assistants who will be moving on to bigger and better things, and eventually some hellos to new faces, too.

In the last couple of weekends, I convinced Alex to start teaching me how to score the game.  Yeah, I've been running the scoreboard all season (sometimes with better efforts than others), but I decided to up the ante and try to learn the language a little better, if you will.  I wanted RBI, 6-3 (1), FF9, Base on Balls, and L7 to be more than just jibberish in a room filled with some foreign language.

So, how'd it go?  Eh....I picked up a few terms, understand scoring a little better, and could probably read a score-book if necessary.  Can I enter the information in StatCrew (statistical program for athletics) or calculate earned versus unearned runs?  ...Doubtful.  BUT, I can tell you if the call was KS (strike-out swinging) or KL (strike-out looking)...on a good day at least.  AND, I might even be able to say if it was P5 or P6 before the beat writer for the local paper looks it up.

Mhm, yep.  I got this.

Alex seems to think I'll be continuing my studies with one-on-one tutoring during major league games this summer.  I might just take him up on that offer...

I mean, it's never to early to be prepped and ready to go for 2015, right???

I can just see it now...he'll print out the score sheet, and I'll heat the popcorn.  It will be a match made in Heaven.

-Lauren

Digging Out the Green Thumb

I thought my last post was a week ago, but apparently it wasn't (10 days)...it seems I fail at blog life these days.  Sorry folks.

-

We took off of work again last Friday (well, during the day - Alex had to work that night) with plans to spruce up the front yard flowerbed and plant our summer garden.  It was really quite a productive day.  We started with a trip to Lowe's Home Improvement to stock up on all the necessary supplies.

Long sleeves and jeans IN MAY????

Alex thought he'd help me pull out all the overgrowth in the garden and then work in the front yard while I did the planting, but I convinced him to stick around while I worked.  He trimmed the neighbors' bush that hung over our fence while I tilled the garden by hand and then planted our vegetables.  We restrained ourselves a little more this year, planting only tomatoes, (3 versions of) bell peppers, banana peppers, zucchini, squash, and cucumbers.  Hopefully the result is a little a little less "crazy," and a little more produce.

Ash (kitty) seemed to think we cleaned up just for her.

Sprucing up the front yard flowerbed took a lot more muscle than either of us expected.  The ground was a lot tougher, and had a ton of roots buried under several layers of replanting efforts.  We had to trade off a few times with the manual tiller, but it did the job and we were able to get a couple of new shrubs and flowers in the ground.

Didn't realize I was so decked out in LSU AgCenter attire - with some Aldersgate thrown in the mix!

I wasn't totally satisfied with how the bed looked afterwards, so we ended up going back for a couple more plants the following day (not pictured).  Now I just hope these last longer than the last set...

I guess we forgot to get a photo from the front - oops.

So that's what's up on my end.  We have also spent the last two weekends up to our eyeballs in home baseball games, but I'll share more about that another day.  My brother graduates from LSU next weekend, and I cannot wait to be with family and friends, enjoying some fresh boiled crabs straight from the marshes of Pecan Island.  Mmmmmmmm.

-Lauren