Shake What Ya Mama Gave Ya

If you've been hanging around here for very long, you've probably figured out by now that I am super passionate about my Cajun heritage and really enjoy sharing it with others.  While it's fun to remember those weekends out on "The Island" with my family and friends growing up, some of my fondest memories are of the opportunities I've had to share my culture with friends from far away.

Benjamin from Ohio was the first person to get the full Cajun experience, and then Lendy from North Carolina followed suit a few years later.  One of these days, I'm going to get around to sharing the story of Alex's first visit to Cajun country, when we wrangled an alligator and everyone thought Swamp People was fa-real because of it.  But in all seriousness, people were so hospitable to me when I lived out-of-state, that I have always wanted to return the favor.  And even my local friends, enjoy getting in on the fun.

So, while you might be bored of reading about all our visits to the marsh, I can't resist sharing the latest one in which Alex invited his coworker from Michigan to see what Cajunland is all about!

Cam is a fisherman at heart, so when we decided to spend July 4th weekend at home, I knew it was the perfect time to invite him along. He jumped at the chance, and enthusiastically joined us on the 3.5 hour trip south.  The guys spent all of Friday out on the water - first fishing, then running crab cages for our "big" Independence Day meal.

Cam thought he was in a real life episode of Swamp People when he caught this TREE SHAKA!

Except it was really just a tree.

But he did get to see real-life Liz and Justin's foot truck (trailer?) down in Pecan Island, even if they weren't open at the time.

Friday night, our awesome friends, Victoria and Seth, hosted us for Seth's famous homemade wings, complete with real BWW wing sauce and home-brewed beer.  Tori and I spent the evening taking all things babies (their 2.5 year old was born 19 days before our wedding, and they're expecting #2 in September), while they boys drank beer and watched YouTube videos.  Shenanigans I tell you.

On Saturday, the boys cooked up their loot and my friends/former-coworker from Arkansas came over to help us enjoy it.  The neighbors even contributed their own performance of evening fireworks to top off the night.

I really enjoy having people around.  This photo makes my heart both happy and sad, wishing we had more friends in our town.

 

Don't tell me you're not jealous you missed out on those huge, deliciously awesome boiled crabs!

And of course, we couldn't leave town without the traditional "Sunday dinner" at Nanna's house.  :)

Otherwise, that's a wrap, folks!  Hope your Fourth was just as awesome as ours!

-Lauren

Callin' Baton Rouge

Even though we had just spent the weekend in South Louisiana visiting my family, on a whim we decided to do it again the following one too (June 1st).  LSU was named as a host site for the first round of NCAA Baseball Championships, and Alex's alma mater, UNC-Wilmington, was selected as one of the four teams to play in the Baton Rouge regional.  Alex scrambled to snag two tickets (under covering, chair-backs, AWESOME seats!) for all UNCW games, and we peeled out of town early Friday afternoon for what shaped up to be another long weekend in the south.

As luck would have it, my brother held on to his Baton Rouge apartment for a few extra days, so Alex and I borrowed a second air mattress (ours is twin-sized) and camped out on the floor of the apartment for the weekend.  Austin had tickets to all the games through his LSU student ticketing program, which meant he spent the entire weekend at the park and we had quite a bit more wiggle room in our schedule.  Throw in monsoon-like rains, and we were primed for several nights of after-midnight baseball.  It was crazy/exciting/awesome.

Friday night, we ended up killing time with beer, food, and a visit from my friend Dawn at Walk-On's  (rated #1 Sports Bar in America - check it out!) near the stadium.  Our game didn't start until 9:15 p.m., and we were in it for the long haul!

Saturday, we met my birthday twin, Kim (college friend turned internship roommate who now lives in Boise, ID), and her husband and 18 month old daughter for lunch at Mellow Mushroom.  I hadn't seen the Peters Family since our wedding 2.5 years ago, and Alex had never really gotten to know them outside of the very first time he met them (in New Orleans exactly 1 year to the day before we were married).  I also enjoyed meeting little Eliana for the first time.

With rain on the horizon, Alex and I killed more time by walking around the Mall of Louisiana and resisting the urge to shop too hard.  We did come across these adorable Louisiana-themed tees at a little boutique.

This one is my favorite - I used to use the word "envie" in a sentence almost daily. :)

Anyway, baseball.  UNCW played very well.  They beat Tulane 10-1 at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, then lost to LSU 0-2 at 2:15 a.m. the following morning.  Sunday, we were primed for third day of midnight baseball but the NCAA pulled the game an hour before it started and after 10,000 LSU fans had sat through 2 hours of the second UNCW/Tulane game (which UNCW won 8-2).  On Monday, LSU pulled out another 2-0 win against UNCW, which ended our long weekend in the "Red Stick."

No, I didn't color my hair recently...not quite sure where the "goth" look comes from.

I had to be back in Baton Rouge for work on Tuesday/Wednesday, so we decided to drive the hour and a half to my parents' for a night instead of spending 3.5 hours in the car going back to Monroe, and returning again the following day. My daddy and Nanna had just finished peeling 100 pounds of fresh shrimp, so we were able to indulge in a special treat of FRESH fried shrimp for dinner that evening.  It was a lovely treat to be back in Cajun Country, even if for a short time.

...And if you haven't totally fallen in love with Louisiana by now, I might be worried about you.  ;)

-Lauren

If Crabs Weren't Involved

Remember that birthday tribute video I promised you?  Yeah, it's still in the works.  (Really, it is.  We're just really busy at the moment.)  Well, anyway, one of my friends sent a video with a quote that has me dying laughing even when I think about it three months later.  Her words went a little something like this..."Lauren, Lauren.  Would I still be friends with you even if crabs weren't involved?  ...Mmmm... YES!"

Out of context, this statement could raise some eyebrows.  What Victoria is really referring to is the tradition we have of she and her husband coming over to my parents' house to eat boiled crabs (almost) every time Alex and I are in town.  This tradition started something like 10 years ago when she and her now-hubby started dating, and long before Alex as even a twinkle in my heart.

It's not like we set out to make visiting over crab boils a tradition or anything; it's just something my family does.  Lauren's coming to town (remember, I lived out of state for 5 years after college, before returning, and even now I live almost 4 hours from home)?  Oh, well...call everybody, we're having a crab boil!! Really and truly, my daddy is a real-as-it-gets Cajun man and bringing home 12 dozen, fresh beautiful blue crabs after a day in the marsh makes his heart swell with pride.  And so, we eat boiled crabs.

Every once in a while, Daddy Stu gets the chance to show off his skills by taking along a visitor to "help" bring home the proverbial bacon (aka crabs).  Several of my out of state friends have had the opportunity to accompany Daddy Stu into the marsh, and they always come back with some pretty fabulous stories.  Since Alex is a Louisiana transplant, he always jumps at the invitation to visit the marsh, especially when crabs are involved.

On the flip side, while this girl spent many a weekend catching fish and crabs next to her daddy, it's become much less frequent as I've gotten older.  Needless to say, when I decided to join the guys on their excusion a few weeks ago, my presence was long overdue.  But before we headed out, we called up all the extended family and told them to be on "crab watch," for surely a good dinner was in store.

Little did I know, Daddy Stu had lined up a little some extra for our trip that day.  His marsh neighbor friend happened to mention that he'd commissioned a friend of a friend to bring his airboat ride to their camp (think marsh-style weekend getaway home) to give rides for all the kids.    Stu knew this was the perfect opportunity to wheel and deal his way into setting up a little something special for his baby girl.

Believe it or not, in all my 28 years as a Cajun girl, I had never actually ridden in an airboat!  Needless to say, my eyes got big and my heart started pitter-pattering whenever that airboat trailer showed up and Alex leaked the secret letting me know that rides were in store for us!  Daddy Stu was beaming with pride as his special treat fell on happy faces, and he started snapping photos for days.

The ride was pretty cool.  It wasn't as fast or thrilling as it could have been since so many little ones were on board, but I was plenty excited for this first-time opportunity.  We even got the chance to ride donuts on land!!  So fun.

How about those crabs?  Well........ a storm was moving in so we rocked and rolled to get out to the cages and back before things got hairy.  Unfortunately, the water was very rough due to high winds and we had a tough time locating all the cages.  Even worse, our haul only totaled 52 crabs instead of the 144+ we usually score.

Being the Cajun he is, Daddy Stu wasn't satisfied with a measly little 4 dozen crabs.  On the way home, he pulled into a crawfish hut with plans to buy half a sack of medium sized crawfish, but left with a whole sack of large ones instead.  Ohhh Daddy Stu... And many of the extended family didn't even show!

Moral of the story - visit Cajuns and you won't ever worry about going home hungry!

-Lauren

Not Your Average Party Gras

I really wish I would have posted this earlier, but I think it's still interesting if not timely.  Carnival season is still on my mind even though it ended a week ago.  When most people think of Mardi Gras, certain images come to mind.

Maybe this,

source

or this,

source

or this,

source

or maybe even this.

source

But, I bet few of you would imagine this:

source

This little known tradition of celebrating Mardi Gras is one that takes place outside of the tourist-filled crowded cities, in the small community of Church Point, LA.  (Side note:  I actually completed a 5-week French immersion program in this community's sister city of Point-de-l'Eglise, Nova Scotia, in Summer 2004).  The official name for this form of celebration is, "Cajun Courir de Mardi Gras," or "Fat Tuesday Run."  Recently featured by National Geographic, visiting this traditional celebration is definitely on my bucket list.  I hear it's pretty exciting, but sort of difficult to follow since the celebration isn't exactly stationary.  I encourage you to check out the NatGeo article, because the writers did a pretty good job of illustrating the story.  

So, who's in on checking it out with me sometime?  Come on...you know you wanna!

-Lauren

A Very Important Day

I am so excited about today that I don't even know where to start.  No, it's nothing life- or earth-shattering, but March 4, 2014 is a very important day in my world.  Why?  Because... TODAY.IS.MARDI.GRAS.  Duh!

I may not live in south Louisiana at the moment...I may not be attending a parade, yelling "throw me something, mister," or dancing to the beat of jazz music...but by golly this girl is celebrating Mardi Gras, even if it is mostly in her heart and not out with thousands of her closest "friends."

On the other hand, I AM wearing a gold shirt with green and purple scarves intertwined around my neck.  I WILL eat a ginormous slice of king cake after dinner.  And you know what else, I will be remembering happier days of riding in the back of my daddy's boat trailer those years we had our very own family floats down in Pecan Island.  I'll remember the year I experienced my first and only "fancy" parade in New Orleans with an 'honorary Cajun' friend.  And most of all, I'll be daydreaming about how Cajuns are the only cultural group* I have yet to see throw an awesome party.

This time of year always gets me.  Where else do you find an entire state (almost) that shuts down for three+ days...just for the heck of a good time?  I mean, really.  There is no place like it.

Yes, I'm jealous of all those who get the week off (because the weirdos up here in north Louisiana, don't observe such frivolous things...).  You can take the girl out of Cajun Country, but you cannot take Cajun Country out of the girl.  Impossible.

So while all of you are knee deep in the trenches of that icy white stuff (heck, we're pretty damn cold here too), I'm going to sit here and smile about the beauty that is south Louisiana.  ...And maybe try to figure out how I can get "I'm Cajun" stamped on my driver's license before it expires in 8 days.  Because, as of yesterday:

'I'm a Cajun' available on licenses

Sign me, up people!
-Lauren

*Disclaimer:  I'm sure there are other cultural groups that throw some pretty phenomenal celebrations, but for the sake of this post I am going to go ahead and admit some personal bias here.  :)

Memorial Day at Home

For a week now, I have been fighting with the Blogger app in trying to make another post here. For some reason, it's not saving the posts I create, nor will it publish them (if I try to do that instead of only saving it).  I guess I'll have to check in with Jen to see if she has any tips or suggestions for me. In any case, I gave up and decided to e-mail myself the photos so I could upload them and write the entry as planned. 

Alex and I went home to my parents in south Louisiana for Memorial Day weekend.  The air conditioning sytem in my office broke early in the week so by Thursday I was able to peel out much sooner than planned.  We even made it home to Abbeville before dark; it was a beautiful thing. 

We spent most of Friday running around town doing errands - added Alex to my bank accounts in Abbeville, got my new phone(!), picked up some things needed at Walmart for latter-weekened activities, and dropped in at the 4-H Office to say hello and hash out plans for an upcoming event.  Once everyone got off of work, we gathered the crew (Stu-Daddy, Mom, Austin, and Nanna) and headed to dinner at Cheddar's in Lafayette.  Side note:  Again, we confirmed the Cheddar's in Monroe is just NOT up to par. 

Saturday, the boys went out in the marsh to fish and run the crab cages.  Victoria and I scheduled a girl's "coffee date" (though neither of us had coffee...) for her front porch that morning.  It was nice to finally get some girl time after next to zero girlfriend time over the last six months.  We caught up on each other's lives and made plans to meet up again later for dinner, pending a fruitful harvest when the boys returned. 

Emma, Drew, and Sophie - They took their three-year-old photos at the fair in Lafayette.  Don't tell me they're not the most adorable thing you've ever seen!

Thankfully, the harvest was bountiful and the boys did indeed bring home enough crabs to boil and have guests for dinner.  Victoria, Seth, and Carter joined us, along with Nanna, my mom's cousin Laurie, her husband, Daniel, and their three-year-old triplets, Emma, Sophie, and Drew.  The crabs were delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to hang out with the kids, seeing as how I hadn't visited with them since the wedding and well...let's be honest...that was all a blur anyway.  After the kids soaked themselves by splashing their feet in the pool, I decided to don my swimsuit and jump in with them.  Of course, since I was the only one over two-feet tall--barely, ha-- the kids had to take turns splashing in the water with me.  While the kids are the most well-behaved children I've yet to meet, they are still silly and occasionally tried to trick me into skipping one of their siblings in exchange for their turn instead.  Tsk tsk. 

A day filled with swimming, boiled crabs, and entertaining children.

On Sunday, Nanna cooked for the whole gang, and my aunt/uncle and cousins joined us for lunch.  Baseball and NASCAR kept us entertained amidst the occasional snooze.  I kept Noah busy with a puzzle...well, actually...he watched me make the puzzle, but I don't suppose that really matters.  :)   All in all it It was a pretty lazy afternoon.

Monday, my parents barbecued some sausage for po-boys and Dawn stopped in for a quick visit before she headed over for a pooltime afternoon with Victoria's family.  Alex and I loaded up after lunch and were back in Monroe just in time for dinner.  Needless to say, the weekend away from northeast Louisiana was much needed and greatly enjoyed. 

Looking ahead, I hoped to get this entry out earlier so I could write about our budding garden before my 2-week hiatus out of town for work.  Seeing as how I am heading out to camp tomorrow, it looks like you'll all just have to wait a little longer.  It will definitely be a few weeks before I anticipate time to write another entry.  Ya'll stay cool, safe, and have a lovely June!

-Lauren

Swamp Survivors

I know, I know... so much for that commitment to writing two posts per month. Seriously though, my last post was written on February 20th, and on February 21st, life as I knew it became a thing of the past. While a tiny portion of that statement may have been intended for dramatic effect, there really have been lots of events and life changes since my last post. To date, I have about five blog titles waiting to be hashed out for all of you diligent readers out there (ha).

Given recent events, I do want to take a moment to let everyone know that I am, in fact, alive and well. That statement is all encompassing, but it is also specifically intended as a response to the major tornadoes that tore through Raleigh yesterday. I was actually at Lendy's in Wake Forest at the time, so we saw most of the storm as it drove through Raleigh, before losing power as it came closer to us. Everyone I know in the area (including us) spent some time huddled in a closet or bathroom hoping to be spared from the storm. We were without power for several hours yesterday, but for the brief time we were finally able to view video footage late last night, we were amazed at the devastation that surrounded us. I knew it must have been bad for me to receive texts and calls from friends all across the country, wondering if I was okay, but I had no idea how bad it was until this morning even. Let it be known that my friends are a-okay, but we're also keenly aware of how just close of a call this was for us.

---

And now onto the real story I've come to share today...

Following my thesis defense on March 2nd (more about that in an upcoming post), I flew home to Louisiana on March 3rd and stayed through the 13th. Despite close calls along the travel experience, I was armed with my "bff Jill" and lots of reasons to celebrate for a week in my beloved Cajunland. Below are the "nitty gritty" details of our trip. :)

March 3: Traveling on two separate itineraries, through two separate layover locations, Lendy and I set out for a memorable (in more ways than one) adventure in Louisiana. In Raleigh, we tried to merge our itineraries, but to no avail; it wasn't until I nearly had a heart attack after being informed that all planes into Louisiana (all cities) were overbooked, and as a result, I'd be stuck in Atlanta for the next three days. Thank Heavens there are good people out there, and some nice man gave up his seat for me (all the while risking a two-day delay for himself in the process). In the end, Lendy and I made it to Lafayette within an hour of each other, as planned. That night, we had dinner with my parents at the Riverfront restaurant in Abbeville, and later surprised my Nanna (she had no idea I was coming!) for her birthday.

March 4: Per Lendy's request, we spent Friday out in the marsh doing real-life Cajuny things. My daddy and his friend took us out in the boat to fish and crab. We had some funny mishaps and lots of enjoyable experiences as we set trout (catfish)lines and learned to "run" the crab cages. That night, we had a crab boil, and Lendy learned how to peel boiled crabs for the first time! It was a good day.

March 5: When storms dampered our plans to travel to New Orleans for a night of Mardi Gras parades, we decided to have a lazy day of watching The Nanny from the living on the living room couch. My Nanna made a huge spread of Cajun food and invited my family and my cousins over for dinner that night. It was a two-for-one birthday celebration, and just another opportunity for us to "wine and dine" Mrs. Johnson (with her Cajun boyfriend).

March 6: Sunday, the weather lightened up and we were finally able to make it out for an evening of Mardi Gras celebrations in the Big Easy. We were eternally grateful to my college roommate, Jen and her husband, Logan, for taking us in as houseguests and serving as tour guides for the adventure. And my, was it an adventure...Sparing the details, I'll say that my first (and perhaps) last experience at Mardi Gras in New Orleans was even crazier than I expected. The word intense doesn't do it justice. Either way, we caught lots of beads, and (I think) a good time was had by all. To celebrate surviving the chaos, we ended the night with delicious beignets and hot chocolate at a cafe in Metarie. YuM.

March 7: On our way back home, we made a side stop in Thibodaux so that I could show Lendy my beloved Nicholls and the town where I spent 3 (wonderful) years of my life. We had lunch at Cane's (the LA version of Zaxby's), explored Nicholls' campus for a bit. We even took a few minutes to play at Pullen Park. That night, my daddy brought home crawfish, and Lendy experienced another first - peeling boiled crawfish.

March 8: Mardi Gras! Lendy's last day in Louisiana culminated with a parade on Mardi Gras Day in Lafayette. We witnessed some authentic Cajun celebrations, and saw some crazy stuff while we were at it. In the end, I think Lendy had a great time (I know I did), but the fun had to come to an end, because there were people waiting patiently to have her home again.

March 9-13: Benjamin, Lindsey, and I hosted our second web training for the group of Collegiate Facilitators who were selected for this year's National 4-H Conference. I relaxed, did *some* schoolwork, and spent lots of time with my family. I also really enjoyed the opportunity to visit my godchild and his triplet sisters. On Saturday, my mom and I got pedicures together before having a nice dinner at Chili's with my parents and grandparents. I was so grateful for the opportunity to spend time at home for my birthday (two years in a row). Sunday morning, I was up and at 'em for an early morning flight back to North Carolina, where someone really special was waiting to retrieve me (more about that in an upcoming post, as well).

All in all, it was a fabulous Spring Break/Mardi Gras/Birthday, and I definitely wouldn't trade it for the world! I do apologize for the lenghty post, but I told you...there's lots of catching up to do. Hopefully, I'll be able to add another chapter to the saga someday soon. (Pestering the author is extremely encouraged!) For now though...

Tata.
-Lauren

A Tribute to "The Land of the Sugarcane"

I believe it's been a while since I composed a full-out, poetic, belle of the bayou type entry. While I'm not sure these things can be planned exactly, by golly, today I hope to try. I am of the thought that those heart-wrenching, truly thought-provoking blogs really evolve out of inspiration rather than cognitive forethought, so we'll see what happens.

This morning I found myself on yet another plane—east, this time—heading back toward a place that is, though geographically only 1,000 miles away, a world apart in more ways than one. As I settled in for what has become a familiar ride, I cracked open a book in hopes of occupying my thoughts for the short trip. I'm no newcommer to flying, unlike many of the fellow guests who occupy the cramped space on this tiny regional get. I always crack a smile at the first-time fliers who have thousands of questions about this exciting, yet overwhelming, experience. It's always particularly interesting when traveling outbound from Lafayette, as so many of the locals rarely travel by plane...or by any mass transit, for that matter.

Today, this particular experience placed a bit of inspiration on my blogging heart. The book I happen to be reading is titled Poor Man's Provence: Finding Myself in Cajun Louisiana. While I'm not sure that “outsiders,” can truly understand the poetic stories featured in this work, I find myself engrossed in the fairytales that are so familiar to me. I think, it should be required reading for friends of our dear Cajuns, to study (formally or informally) the heritage and culture of the Acadian people. It sounds strange, but I just feel as though there's no way to truly understand who we are and what we do, without such knowledge.

But back to my story. For the last month, I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend time in the lovely place that I call home. Cajun Country, Acadiana, South Louisiana – however you choose to name it, it's still home to me. Even as I sit here, composing this entry after reading a very flowy and descriptive text, I find it challenging to provide readers with an accurate and complete picture of my homeland. Ask those who have visited – words just cannot do it justice.

The food, the people, their love for life and never-ending excuses for celebration. All of it. As I read about drive-through daiquiri shops, dirty politics (dirtier than our rice—I promise), stormy weather, ornately costumed drunkards in expected and acceptable brawls, as well as opposition to all things fancy and anti-cultural, I realized that the Cajun culture would forever be a part of me. While I have not yet signed up to spend the rest of my life within a 3 hour radius of “The Heart of Acadiana” (Lafayette), there is no mistaking that I will forever be Cajun—in heart, body, and soul.

To those of you who have visited, and even those who haven't, I want to extend a very special invitation. You are always welcome to come along for the ride, albeit a wild one, to “the end of the earth”--both literally and figuratively. Come, we'll drive to edge...where the road ends and water begins. We'll eat good food and drink merrily. We'll meet joyful, exuberant friends, and you'll leave with a sense of family. For those who come, never forget. And those who stay, will always be home.

I'll leave you with a philosophy for life, inspired by the people of Avery Island, Louisiana, home of world-famous Tobasco sauce: “When your sugar is wiped out by the enemy, do something creative with your salt. Protect the birds in your own back yard first. And, oh, yes, relish the unexpected.” - Rheta Grimsely Johnson (Poor Many's Provence: Finding Myself in Cajun Lousiana)

"Louisiana: It's not just a state, it's a state of mind." (LYJ)
- Lauren

**Last night, I dreamed I was eaten by an alligator. Now, if that ain't Cajun, I don't know what is!

"Life is Good Today"

Hi, all. Can't believe I let time get away from me, once again! Let's see if I can compress the last two months into a managable size blog.

In the weeks that followed my good news (passing my Child Life exam), my stress level dropped TREMENDOUSLY. No longer did I need to devote hours each day/week to studying for the exam, and I had also finished my volunteer hours at the library for my volunteer management course. Plus, there was some big agriculture education conference that all of our professors went to, so we somehow ended up with 1 class in 18 days. It was sweet as all get out.

My mom and cousin, Alyssa, came to visit me in Raleigh for the week of Thanksgiving. It was really a nice time with lots of forced relaxation, which I definitely needed. I tried to show them a good time in Raleigh, but I often apologized for leading a boring life, as they sat in front of the tv watching movies while I did some form of schoolwork each day of their visit. :-(

Some of the fun things we did do included touring NC State, watching New Moon, eating a very delicious Cajun Thanksgiving meal, attending the Christmas craftshow at the State Fairgrounds, and checking out a few museums downtown. Of course, I took mom and Alyssa to the Free Expression Tunnel on campus, which they loved (It's a personal favorite of mine!). My mom smuggled some boudain and rice dressing stock on the plane, so we had some legit Cajun food for Thanksgiving. Mmm, it totally made my week! Hehe.

Seriously though, it was just really nice to relax and have my lovely family around. Life in Raleigh has been a real struggle for me, and to have a break from that was wonderful. Realizing now that I won't have this chance again in the spring, I'm wondering how I'm going to make it through another semester without a piece of home. Hmm. I did okay in DC, but my mom and brother came to visit (twice), as well as my little pseudo-Cajun Sunshine, and lots of 4-H family. Plus, I celebrated my birthday and Mardi Gras in DC, with huge care packages, "boxes of love," straight from the heart! I suppose I'm just gonna hope for the best and avoid thinking about what may come. Smile.

Moving on...School ended and I've been home from Raleigh for two weeks now. In my first week at home, I spent a few days tying up loose ends with assignments and work. I'm pretty frustrated with NC State's grading process (actually I think it's ridiculous), but I manged to pull out an A and two A-, so my GPA sits at something like 3.7. Tell me how A;s translate to a 3.7, and I'll give you a cookie. That GPA says to me "a couple of B's," but of course not...at NC State As are not worthy of their full point value. I believe the phrase "FUGS!" is order here, :)

Again, I say the snow gods absolutely hate me. It has snowed in LA twice in the last two years while I have been living out of state. In both places where I was living at the time, it snowed in the days following my departure when I went home for the holidays. Only DC was generous with snow for me. In fact, my little car had half an inch of snow on it in Wake Forest; my dearest Lendy sent me pictures! So not cool man.

While at home, my life hasn't been overly interesting, but I have been up to a few cool things. I went to the first round of bridesmaid dress shopping with Victoria (bride), Anne Catherine, Hilary, and Brandi. A second round is planned with at least Dawn and Lauren D., and maybe Toria R. The happy couple (Victoria and Seth) are having an ornament exchange party this coming Tuesday, the 29th. I'm trying to convince Kyle to come as Dawn and I's date...he's plenty used to pimp status (lol), and we all miss him, plus Dawn and I need dates to the party. Heh. We sure wish he would join us...hint hint, wink wink!

I also helped Ms. Lanette Hebert (Southwest Regional Coordinator) teach a 4-H teen counselor training at the Rice Research Station in Crowley. There were 18 teens signed up for the training, but only 12 showed up. Honestly, this was probably the rowdiest group we've ever had at the training. However, I was very grateful that Ms. Lanette invited me to help, because I love the subject matter and really enjoy the opportunity to volunteer with the 4-H program any chance I get. I really wish I could be around for more state 4-H stuff; I miss being around, seeing everyone, and just generally supporting the program which is so near and dear to my heart.

That night, I went with the Vermilion 4-H Jr. Leader Club to Acadian Village for Noel Acadien au Village. It's in Lafayette, so we took a bus, but a bunch of the kids' families went to the village too. In order to get the group discount, we all had to enter the village together. To get an accurate count, we used Vermilion's tried and true method--TWO BY TWO!! (I bet you remember this well, Co-co?) With a group as large as ours, it was quite entertaining to see the jaws drop (literally!) as other patrons arrived, thinking that our line was the one to enter. It was great. When it was all said and done, we had about a hundred people in our group. Vermilion 4-H sure does it big--it's not uncommon for us to travel in packs of 100! I love my Vermilion 4-H!!

At Acadian Village, I took lots of pictures for my far-away friends. This place is very beautiful year-round, but especially during the Christmas season. If you want to see a true depiction of Cajun culture from the old days, this is the place to go. Words cannot describe it, but a picture is worth a thousand words, they say...so take a look at my Facebook album for a small glipse of the experience! :)

What else? Christmas, I guess. I had a good Christmas with the family. Nothing to exciting or crazy. Lots of little kids, which is one of the best parts, probably. Oh, and amazingggg food. My gosh, the food here is just DIVINE! Riceeeee and gravy, seafood gumbo...all of it! Today I was thinking about how our major commodities are rice, sugar(cane), and seafood...which all translate to heaven on a dish! And people wonder why we've got such terrible health practices here. I'm fully okay with that, the benefits outweigh the consequences, lol.

Gift-wise, I'm still working on getting a new phone. I've got a temporary one right now, but it sucks. Our new phone company may have good service, but everything else about it suckssss. If anyone wants to offer up an unlocked phone or maybe even the opportunity to add me as a line on your AT&T plan (I'll pay my portion!), feel free to let me know. It's just so frustrating that I can't use Twitter or googl (40404), or get photos, or anything cool. Bahhhhh. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a decent phone soon... Erm, other gifts. I got a winter jacket, that I will hopefully be able to use in Raleigh or some cool place. 'Course it's water proof, so bring on the snow??? What am I saying, snow hates me, remember? lol. Random other stuff: cute socks, water bottles, books, etc.

Now, I've got 13 days left in Louisiana. The question is, how am I going to spend them? I'm bound and determined to make a quilt of t-shirts, so I will probably get back to that project tomorrow. Also, I'm hoping for a trip to Luling to see the college folks, and perhaps even one to Arkansas for a mini-camp reunion. However, I really just want to relish in this relaxing time at home, so I don't know. I'm torn about being busy and seeing everyone or just staying home and enjoying my lovely state from the comforts of a blanket curled up on the couch. We'll see what happens, I guess.

In any case, it's going to be hard goodbye, but there are lots of things to look forward to this spring in Raleigh (and across the country, with all my travels, lol). The day after I arrive in Raleigh, I'm going to the NC State campout (more like freeze-out) to earn tickets for the UNC basketball game. Only a few days after that, Jeff will be arriving from Idaho for he, Jess, and my trip to see Chris (and AASU) in Savannah, GA. A few weeks after that, Jess, Elizabeth, Kevin, and I are headed down to Orlando for a conference. So much to do, and the list goes on....

Well, this entry once again turned out longer than I expected, but it also spanned the the time of 2 months, so I guess it's compacted and appropriate. You all should remind me to write more often! Maybe with the encouragement I'll have more incentive to do so. :-p

Off for a while,
-Lauren

No Place I'd Rather Be

Boy do I have lots to write! It’s been almost a month since my last blog. Camp has come and gone, and it’s just about the same way with my short time at home in between here and my next adventure. I’ll get to all of that eventually, so sit back and enjoy the story.

CAK Week: July 19-24, 2009
My first week back at camp was called “CAK” Week—or camp for kids with Cardiac, Arthritis, and Kidney Disease. Allie and I were most excited about this week because we wanted to experience “heart kids” at another camp. We were slightly disappointed about the small number of campers with heart conditions, but it was fun to learn about other medical conditions such as kidney disease and arthritis. One cool thing about this week was that Allie and I were able to work in a cabin together for the first time ever. We were so pumped about it, and it was totally great that we had the same breaks. This meant that not only did we get to hang out together when we were off, but we also led the cabin together when the other counselors were off. Allie and I have always worked well together and it was such a relief to understand each other’s process so that the cabin ran smoothly during the times that we were in charge.
It was during this week that I was assigned to lead “Devo” one evening. Devo is short for “devotional,” which is very similar to “vespers” for those of you who attended 4-H Camp in Louisiana. Basically, each counselor was assigned a night to give some sort of inspirational story or lesson. For mine, I gave each camper an animal cookie and talked about how they each taste the same, but all look different, which symbolized how people all look different but are the same on the inside. Then, I played the song “Don’t Laugh at Me” by Mark Wills and afterwards gave a little summary to close it out. I think it went really well and I very much enjoyed leading Devo. I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Asthma Week: July 26-31, 2009
Asthma Week was a pleasant surprise for me. All summer long, counselors had been making comments about how Asthma Week is affectionately known as “Ghetto Week,” and that I should not bring any valuables to camp. However, I really thought the kids came from a great mix of backgrounds and there wasn’t any huge majority or minority, which was somewhat different from most other weeks. The girls in my cabin were great, really. As for their asthma, it really wasn’t a big deal at all (just like most kids at camp), but I very much enjoyed learning about the disease and how to manage it. It was also fun to work with Holly for her first week as Senior Counselor. I think we all bonded well and worked together to help make things go smoothly. Overall, it was just a really good week.

Cajun Night
On August 1st, Allie and I hosted a “Cajun Night in Little Rock” at Kyle’s apartment. We purchased the makings for jambalaya, red beans/corn bread, boudain, king cake, and beignets. Our original food list was a lot longer but then we realized we didn’t have much time or space to cook and didn’t have a real head count to know how much we should buy. At several points throughout the day, we thought it might only end up being four or five of us eating the food, but in the end, a total of about 12 or so people showed up. Allie and I were very disappointed in how the jambalaya turned out (it tasted so/so but the coloring was off majorly). Everyone was really nice about it and seemed to like it okay, but if we ever do it again, we’ll do a better job of making sure it turns out right. Oh, and we definitely went all out with setting the mood. My mom sent Mardi Gras beads so we decorated Kyle’s apartment with those, and for a while we had some fun music playing (I couldn’t find my Cajun music, but we improvised). Speaking of which, I think I left that CD in the player at Kyle’s…hm. Anyway, we all had a great time, and hopefully our Little Rock friends have a new appreciation for Cajun food. Tehehe.

Oncology Week: August 2-7, 2009
Boo…my final week at camp for the summer. On a happier note, Allie and I were both scheduled as Senior Counselors (for the first time ever) this week. We each had some challenges in different areas, but it was definitely a good learning experience for the both of us. I think we’d both love to have another go round at being SC, which we’ll hopefully get the chance to do if we make it out to camp again next year.
One extra special thing about this week was that the American Camp Association (ACA) finally came for their accreditation visit. Allie and I both have a decent amout of previous experience with ACA, as we’ve been through it at Heart Camp (me once, and Allie more than twice), and I attended one of their regional conferences a few years ago. So basically, we understood a bit about what was coming, which really helped with not stressing out as much as we could’ve. On the other hand, with working at the archery range, I had to be more conscientious than ever before. Morgan (fellow activity leader) and I went over the procedures over and over again to make sure that we were doing everything correctly and in a manner that someone observing us would be able to pick out every aspect of the process. In doing so, we developed a joke (“1 arm, 2 arms, 3 arms, FOREARMS!”) which really helped to lighten the mood and make things fun at the range this week. We definitely had a good time with our new joke, and it seemed to resonate throughout camp, especially when the kids continued the joke while up at Adventure Challenge, lol. Who says AC and the lake are the best activities at camp—not I!! Heheh.

Long Goodbyes
Since the drive home from Little Rock is about 8 hours long, Allie and I didn’t have the energy to leave after camp on Friday. Plus, we were really sad to go, so we decided to draw it out as long as possible. (After much badgering from Allie and friends, I caved in from the original plan to leave Friday morning, lol.) To enjoy our last day/night in LR, we went out with most of the staff to U.S. Pizza Company for lunch on Friday afternoon. There were more than 25 of us there, which is one of the largest, if not the largest, outings we’ve had all summer. In the afternoon, we hung out and rested back at camp with a few fellow counselors. For dinner, Allie, Sydney, Kika, and I went to Sakesui (sp?) for sushi. It was yummmmy and we got a pretty good deal for the price too. Afterwards, we walked around in Best Buy (I wanted to look at computers) and Old Navy (Sydney wanted to browse) before stopping to get Coldstone for ice cream on our way back to camp. Back at camp, we changed over our laundry and then Sydney and Kika left for evening activities. Allie and I hung out with Clair for a bit, but then we had to trek over to Kyle’s apartment to get all our stuff out of there since we were leaving in the morning.
Upon return to camp for the night, we helped one of our dear fellow counselors with picking the nits out of her hair. Yes, you got it, we had a small lice outbreak (kinda, not really) at camp this week, and with no one around to help her, Allie and I stepped in. This counselor felt terrible about asking Allie and I to help her, but we didn’t mind at all. Although we were up until 3 am working on it, it just felt like the natural thing to do. I mean, really. We’re at camp…we wipe 16 year old’s butts, insert catheters, enemas, and suppositories, poke to check blood sugars, give showers, etc, etc. Yanking dead bugs out of someone’s hair really fits the bill, if you ask me. Lol. Plus, we knew this lady would do it for us if we were in her position. It was really no big deal…anddd we had a great bonding experience entertaining ourselves throughout the night. Lol.
Finally, on Saturday morning, we got our things together and said more goodbyes—to Clair, Sydney, Kika, Bobo, and Eckess, this time. We never did get a chance to say bye to Ali Miller, Blain, or Kyle Fulton, which was a huge bummer. Guess that just means they’ll have to come visit us, or we’ll have to make another trip up here before next summer? Hopefully, the former, lol.
Allie and I finally made it back to Cajun Land during the early evening time of Saturday, August 8th. We said our own goodbyes, to another summer together. Without lives changing all the time, we can never predict if there will be future camp summers before the reality that is adult life overcomes our desires to spend forever at camp. All we can do is hope for the best and plan for the unexpected. Thank you, Allie, for another amazing summer; I can’t imagine a season without you.

Random Recap, Fun Memories
-Not sure if I ever told this story, but on our way to Raleigh in May, Nick and I thought we’d made record time by arriving an hour early…then we realized my GPS, Maggie, was still on Central time. Major bummer, but we changed it and went on with our day. Fast forward to June, and Allie and I were a bit confused at the late Arkansas ETA via Maggie. Then, we realized Maggie was still on Eastern time. Guess I’ll have to pay more attention to that on the future…hahahha.
-June 9th Text Message: “We’re in training which is mostly good. It’s so nice to have a week of fun times with old friends without kids. I have missed this place so much. This huge weight is lifted off of me…The one where I finally enjoy doing what I’m doing again. It’s inexplicable.” (For those of you who remember some of the struggles I had during my time in DC, you’ll appreciate that I finally felt “right” to be someplace again. DC was great but it’s not where I thrive, and so finally I was in my element again, and extremely happy to be doing what I do best. So yay.)
-June 16th Text Message: “It’s weird to transfer from tour-guide-leader-in-charge mode to laid-back-camp-follower mode.” (Although it took me ages to feel confident in my role as a tour guide, it was definitely an adjustment to switch back into a follower mode at camp. Granted, I wasn’t ready to be Senior Counselor right at the beginning of the summer, I just had to readjust my workings, I guess. Some of you may find that interesting. Shrug.)
-June 25th message from Christy Clary: “If you don’t know where you are going any road will get you there.” –Lewis Carroll
-June 29, Channeling my inner Child Life Specialist: I provided distraction today by playing hangman with a camper as she received a bowel procedure. Annoying nurses surrounded us and I really wanted to keep her mind off things. It was a special experience.
-July 25th Tweet: “Don’t Stop Believing!” – Journey, Our 2009 camp song. Allie and I put this song on “repeat” in the car for a month. I’ll forever think of my “Home Away from Home” when hearing this song…
-July 29 & 30 Tweets: “Never been more happy for rain; swimming in freezing water at 10 to avoid rain, fml.” (For three weeks straight it rained at camp. It was a nice break from the usual monotony of heat and sweaty outdoor activities. However, swimming seems to be high on the totem pole at camp because one day we swam in the freezing cold water at 10 am just so that they kids would get a chance to swim before it rained. Then we had to get out because it started thundering. FoL.)
-July 31st Tweet: “Camp Aldersgate. There’s no place I’d rather be!” (I really don’t think this needs any further explanation.)

And on that note, I believe this blog is long enough. I had hopes of writing a bit more about what I’ve been up to since arriving home from camp, but I really need to stop here so I can finish packing. (Packing? Oo, for where? Guess that’ll just have to be in my next blog……) Hopefully the next one will come sooner rather than later.

Until then, peace folks!
-Lauren

"Break Week(s)"

*Okay, try number two at this…my computer shut down about two paragraphs into a blog attempt. Go figure. I’m gonna try to keep saving this time. Stupid computer epilepsy.*

It’s 8:23 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, 2009, and I’m once again sitting in the Memphis airport for longer than I’d like. It could be worse, I suppose. And hey, I have Mom’s ipod with me this time around, so yay.

As always, I probably should have written sooner, but since I was home for two weeks, I found it hard to think of something interesting to write about. A few times, I considered writing some thoughtful, inspirational rant, but obviously that didn’t happen. It’s probably better like this, anyway, because it gives me something to do while I sit here waiting for my connection to Little Rock.

Okay, two weeks at home…what about it? I got home on July 3rd and was able to enjoy a fairly relaxing time doing not much of anything productive. I saw my cousins a few times, which may be a record for the year, lol. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see many friends this time around, but I don’t mind too much, I guess. At this point, I’m used to seeing people only a few times a year, so one month really didn’t hurt anything. ‘Course it’ll be much harder to catch up with friends when I’m only home for a few days in August.

My family went to the beach in Perdido Key, Florida, for the weekend of July 9-12. Of the four of us, only my mom is really a beach-goer. The rest of us went along for her benefit, really. Personally, I enjoyed the getaway (when don’t I?), but I thought of it much more as a time to feel perfectly okay with laying around doing nothing but reading. In fact, I read two books in the three days we were there, lol. We also took family pictures on the beach, which was some goal/dream of my mother’s. Granted, I think the setting is really pretty and nice, but I just felt like it was really forced, doing the same thing that every other family from South Louisiana does when they go to the beach. Bah, whatever.

I was very grateful to finally have gotten a chance to visit with one of my college roommates, Annie. She and I have this “it’s really a small world” connection to each other, and have tried to keep in touch since we moved out of our apartment last May. However, it’s been difficult with me living in various parts of the country and she finishing up her nursing clinicals, then starting work as a full time RN with 12-hour schedules. We’ve been hoping to get together for about six months now, and finally it happened.

Actually, our May and first July hang-out fell through, but a day later we were able to meet up and spend the day together in Thibodaux. My has that place changed since I left a year ago. The campus looks so much fresher, welcoming, even. It’s unfortunate that I felt bittersweet about the changes, mostly because of the devastating news I received a few months ago concerning the FACS department. I am, however, still very proud of my little “Harvard on the Bayou,” for its continued improvement process, and by golly, they really are putting themselves on the map. NSU is climbing the charts and will be a pretty popular university for students across the state pretty soon. That makes me smile.

Annie and my adventure in Thibodaux wasn’t much of one at all, really. We had breakfast at a cute little café, the Demitasse, and then walked around campus to check out the new features. We stopped in at the publications building and got two of our old yearbooks, and I even purchased one of the new “Harvard on the Bayou” t-shirts from the bookstore. Then, we went to the park to look at the yearbooks and catch up with each other. By lunch time, neither of us were hungry, but it was scorching outside. We decided to compromise with ice cream at Dairy Queen rather than heavy fast food. Afterwards, we stopped in at Walmart so I could purchase the new Brad Paisley cd that I’d been planning to get since it came out more than a week ago, and then went on to Chili’s to enjoy some 2-for-1 margaritas. Heh. Brian met us there and we talked for a bit before Annie brought me back to the park to get my car so I could head home before it got too late. It was really nice to see Annie, and hopefully she’ll get to come visit me sometime in North Carolina. Maybe she’ll even be able to road trip to DC or home with me at some point. We’ll have to work on it.

Waiting for me at home that night, were some very tasty boiled crabs courtesy of my father and brother. They’d gone fishing in Pecan Island early that morning and decided to bring home some crabs for me, as I’d been begging Daddy to get some for me since I was home in May. These must have been some of the tastiest crabs that we’ve ever had and they were even better knowing that I have to savor these moments since they are fewer and farther between these days.

During my last few days at home, I spent some time packing for North Carolina. I realize that I don’t leave for another month, but with such a quick turnaround between there and camp, I thought it would be a decent idea to get as much packed as possible before I go back to Little Rock. As of now, everything is packed except my bedding and the clothes that I have with me and in Little Rock. That should make things much easier when I get back, and allow me to enjoy my few days at home without feeling stressed. That’s the hope anyway.

Today, I’ll be arriving in Little Rock sometime before 11 am (I’ve been up since 3:30 a.m. and on a plane since before 6 a.m.). My two great friends Sydney and Kyle will be picking me up, and I’m very happy to have 24 hours in LR before starting up at camp tomorrow. This week is called “CAK” Week—Cardiac, Arthritis, and Kidney Disease. Allie and I were most excited about this week because we wanted to experience “heart kids” at another camp. Unfortunately, there are only 3 female cardiac campers—each in different cabins—so it won’t be quite what we expected. Maybe we can make it our mission to recruit more kids? …I mean, cardiac conditions are the most common congenital defect—more than all childhood cancers combined, and 1 in 100 kids are born with some type of cardiac condition. There should be more than 3 girls in attendance at Aldersgate!!

Anyway, I wanted to leave you with a few inspirational/funny thoughts. My DC buddies, Scott and Nick have sent me a few quotes/jokes over the last month and I decided that I wanted to keep them. So, I’m going to post them here to share with all of you.

I’ll write again soon.
-LM

-Why don’t cannibals eat comedians? Because they taste funny!
-Why do cows wear bells? Because their horns don’t work!
-Everything happens for a reason.
-“The mind is like a parachute, it only works when it’s open.” – K.S. Bigness
-Happiness is like peeing in your pants. Everyone can see it but only you can feel its warmth.

Squeeze'n it In

I know, it's been a while again, but this time I am bound and determined to get another post out before December 1st. And thus...here it is!

As always, things have been busy. I just find it so hard to balance the blogging and photo-posting with school and work assignments, job applications, this new semblance of a social life, and exploring Boise with the little time I have left. I can't even imagine that I graduate in exactly two weeks from today. Ahh!

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These last few weeks at work havnen't been overly interesting. Gina and I spent a lot of time practicing the puppet show for a school re-entry presentation. The show went pretty well, but we were both nervous, and I was slightly disappointed in my performance. At least the students seemed to enjoy it, and they were all very well behaved, which was nice. I really enjoyed the opportunity to finally spend some time with Gina, since we never work the same schedule. She's really a cool girl and I'd love to get to know her better sometime.

Oo! For all you CBC staffers out there, you will appreciate this... I got to a see a cardiac cath lab procedure for the first time ever. woot!! I've heard about the cath lab for the past three years at camp and in conversations with my heart defected friends (:-p), but never had much idea what they were talking about. As it turned out, procedure was a few hours long and rather complicated, but I did stay for a good while, so now I finally have some general idea of the cath lab stuff. Soo exciting!! ...Especially considered that this was practically the first and only cardiac patient I've seen since starting the internship. My heart will always have a special place for heart kids, though! :-p

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Last weekend (Nov. 21-23), Chris Nowicki, my 4-H friend from Georgia came to visit. (Yes, this is the guy who works miracles with Delta Airlines and flight arrangments...and yes, I love him for it. Seriously, if you want to get something done in life, being friends with Chris is the way to go.) Chris is also friends with Jeff (my first Idaho friend, whom I also met through 4-H), so he stayed at Jeff's house for the weekend, considering my apartment is already pretty cramped...and he's a guy. lol.

Friday, I made some Cajun spaghetti with the yummy sauce that Nanna mailed me last month. Jeff came over to eat and hang out before we picked Chris up from the airport at 8:30 p.m. We hung out at Jeff's for a bit, and then met up with a lot of the soccer team guys (and Tessa) at The Front Door downtown. It was one of the soccer guys' 21st birthdays so the guys were out celebrating. The festivities were pretty low-key and didn't last very long.

Saturday, Jeff and Chris came over to eat left over Cajun yumminess, then Tessa and I joined them to explore Boise for most of the day. Our most memorable stop was Table Rock, my absolute favorite place in all of Boise. It was pretty chilly out and very overcast, but the cool thing was that we could see the storm/cloud system moving across the city from where we were standing. Earlier, I'd heard from Kim that it was sleeting in Nampa, so I joked about how awesome it would be if it started snowing. Well, low and behold, we watched the clouds move some more, and suddenly IT WAS SNOWING!! Oh em gee. It was just the coolest thing ever, that it happened all of a sudden. We took some pictures for a bit and then headed down to explore more of the city. Amongst the other sites were an outdoor nature center, Simplot Hill, the Boise Depot, and Lucky Peak Reservoir. Then we returned to my apartment to play Wii for most of the afternoon, and finally went out to dinner at a hole-in-the-wall hamburger establishment called Big Judd's (sounds appropriate, right? lol.). That evening, a small group of Jeff's friends hung out at his house to watch WallE and play cards. Chris and I had some time to catch up with each other, too, which was nice.

On Sunday, the boys went out shooting with Joey and one of Joey's friends. I spent the day doing homework (my NSU assignments were due Monday) and cooking a good-bye/thanks-thanks-for-coming gumbo. Jeff and Chris came over to eat some dinner before Chris headed out to his red-eye flight home (leaving at 7 pm MST, arriving Monday at 9:30 EST--crazy). I had a lot of gumbo left, and wasn't really interested in eating it, so I invited what remained of the boys house over for dinner...so Kim, Tessa, Joey, his friend, and Stew all ate some of my yummy gumbo. Woot. I decided I'm really starting to enjoy cooking...or at least keeping my ties to Cajun food and home. :)

Originally, Chris was supposed to visit over his Fall Break in October, but when that fell through, I was really sad about the change in plans. However, he figured things out and was finally able ot visit in November. I truly enjoyed his visit, and hope he did too. Now, it's time that he visit Dawn and I in Louisiana. ;0)

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As for the Thanksgiving holiday, I worked every day this week. This was SUCH an adjustment to me, as I've always been off of work/school for the entire holiday week. At first, it wasn't so bad because it kept me busy and my mind off of missing home (not that that's a real problem lately). Later in the week, though, it became annoying because everyone else was off of school, having fun, and taking vacations. I was super jealous, to put it simply. It was slow at work, though, so I guess that was good.

Because I was scheduled to work every day, I didn't really plan on celebrating the holiday. However, as the days passed, it began to seem like I might have gotten off early enough to do something somewhat fun, at least. Thus, I accepted Nathan's invite to eat dinner with his family, so that I wouldn't be alone on such a family-oriented day. (Later, I was also invited to spend the day with my supervisor's family, as well as Jeff's. Thanks to you both!)

Fortunately, I got off on Thursday after only an hour of working--we checked on all the kids and there wasn't much going on at the hospital, so we left. hehe. Getting off super early was really helpful because it gave me the opportunity to get a lot of work done on the job applications I have been doing. Nathan picked me up around 12:30 p.m. and we headed to his parents' house in Nampa for lunch. One of his brothers' and his sister-in-law and their daughter were there, as well as his grandparents. Everyone was really nice and welcoming, and I am very grateful to have been able to spend the day with a loving family such as this one. Afterwards, we came back to my apartment because Nathan had to work (from his computer) until 7pm, but since it was slow we just watched movies for the rest of the evening, basically.

I got off an hour early yesterday (Friday), too, which was super nice. Again, it gave me more time to get some things done with my job applications. Then it was time for relaxation and more movies. Today, I've been doing most of the same--relaxing and job application details. It's soo nice that my recommendation forms finally came in, so now I can mail them...just as soon as someone with a car comes around sometime soon.

I guess I should explain the job applications in more detail, since I've mentioned them a few times in this post. For a while I've been planning to apply for the Program Assistant position with Wonders of Washington in DC. That application is due on Monday, and it's taken me forever to get things ready for it because the recommendation forms took a long time to come in the mail, and it required three essays, as well. The other job I found was a part-time position working with the 4-H Operation Military Kids program here in Idaho. I'm super pumped about that one because I'd get to stay in Boise, and with the part-time flexibility I'm hoping I would have more time to travel to cool places in the region, since I haven't gotten to do any of that these last few months. It'd be really great, too, if I could go to National 4-H Conference again...

Regardless, I am going home to graduate in ...less time than I want to remember... and I'm not sure where I'll be going from there. The good news is that you all can continue reading the blog if you're interested in keeping up with my cross-country adventures. Hehe.

Until next time,
-Lauren

P.S. Wishing everyone at National 4-H Congress the best of times this week...have fun and stay warm!

Christmas in October!

Can I just say that I love, love, love my Nanna!!?!?

Today I received a package from my (favorite person in the world) dearest Nanna! A few weeks ago, we were talking about me missing Cajun food and how it's getting to be gumbo weather but I have no gumbo. So, she said she'd send me a jar of roux with directions on how to make gumbo here in Idaho. Wellllllll..it arrived today! Woot.

Not only did my package contain the much-anticipated roux, but also some "Cajun spaghetti sauce" (whatever that is...hey--I'm grateful for everything, ok?), and traditional Cajun spices such as garlic and onion powder and gumbo file! She also included some newspaper articles and pictures from the hurricanes, as well as a hat/gloves set, and warm slipper-type-socks. I can't wait to show the hurricane pictures and articles to everyone at work. Oh, and probably my favorite goodie item of all was the bag of lemon heads!!

Let me tell you, this package of love sure made my day! It was like receiving a mini "Christmas box" in October!! Though, I guess most of you have no idea what I'm refering to, in reference to a "Christmas box"...

So...we have this tradition in our family that Nanna started when we were little and now I won't let her quit... For christmas she would always put together these "family boxes" or "Christmas boxes" with random things for everyone in the family...like funky socks, candy we liked, shampoo, toothpicks, envelopes...some useful and some fun things that come from like the Dollar Store or whatever...and I absolutely love the Christmas boxes becuase we just like tear it open and dive in, looking through it to figure out what's for us and what's for everyone else. It's kind of like a really fun scavenger hunt/guessing game. Over the years, there have come to be a few specific items that I know she always puts in there for me. These items include lemon head candy and funky socks, stationary, etc. So, when I saw the lemon heads and socks, it made me think of our Christmas boxes and how much I love them each and every year.

Last year, Nanna threatened to do away with the Christmas boxes, since we are all older now and the items are evolving into more useful, every-day things. In response, I complained for weeks about how it's just not Christmas without our boxes. I even told her that I'd rather have a Christmas box than a present, if it came down to one or the other. In the end, we did have the boxes for Christmas, after all...and I made sure to remind her that they MUST continue. So, today when I received the box, I told her that she better start working on my real Christmas box...or else. Hehe. (Okay, I was nicer about, but I did say that I expected a box for Christmas...tehehe. )

Anyways, I'm getting sleepy, so I think it's about time I get to bed. These 6:20 a.m. mornings suck royally...but I gotta do what I gotta do. Best wishes to all, and I'll try write again soon!

I love you, Nanna!
-Lauren

Boppin' Around Boise

Well darn. I had super high hopes of writing a blog before October, but I guess it's too late for that now. Things here are just so crazy busy, and my work schedule is insane (but only for a few more days), so blogging just has not worked out. For this, I apologize.

Now, as I sit watching the Boise State vs. LA Tech football game, I figure it's as good a time as any to write. (Not to mention, I got a complaint today...saying I hadn't written in two weeks. heh.) So. I now present to you...an update!

I better say this while I still can...Idaho is GLORIOUSLY GORGEOUS! The weather has been just plain amazing. For a while, Tessa (English roommate) and I rode our bikes to the park on my days off, just sitting out and admiring the beauty of it all. One weekend, it rained (yes, rain in the desert, imagine that!) so the temperatures dropped from the mid-nineties to the seventies for a few days. Lately, the temperatures have ranged from mid-eighties during the day to low fifties at night. ...Word has it, there will be snow in the mountains after the rain that's heading our way this weekend. Eek!

It's just so dang pretty outside! Every time I see the mountains, I sit in awe of their glory. Jeff (4-H friend from Idaho) says they're brown and ugly, but I just think they're so amazing. The leaves are starting to change colors now, so soon the greens will be yellows and reds. In fact, next week marks the 1 year anniversary of my first trip to Idaho, and I definitely remember there being beautiful fall colors during my visit. I'll have to go out and take some pictures for everyone to see that real seasons do, in fact, exist, in some places. ;)

What else...oh, the apartment. And roommates. Yeah, sooo...Joey (Kim's Idaho native boyfriend) found an apartment for Kim (and Tessa and I) way back at the beginning of the summer, and Kim moved in at the beginning of July. (Some of you may remember reading about this in earlier posts.) Tessa, our English roommate who is dating Joey's roommate, Jesse (also Idaho native), moved in a few days before I made it up to Idaho. We were supposed to get settled in on the same day, but due to the hurricane ordeal, she beat me to it.

So anyways, we three girls live in a quaint two bedroom apartment on "the Bench" of Boise, Idaho. Tessa has her own room, where as Kim and I share the Master bedroom. I sleep on a twin sized (rather comfy) air mattress, and share part of Kim's massive closet. It's working out rather well, thus far.

As for Tessa's English-ness, I absolutely love it!! We have a running list of English-American comparisons that are rather interesting. For example, American's call clothing for your legs "pants," where as the English refer to them as "trousers." On the flip side, Americans refer to clothing for your lower area as "underwear," and Englishmen call them "pants." You can about imagine the snickers I hear when making comments such as, "I'm going put on some pants." Tehehe.

One day, we had an afternoon of tea and crumpets. Briana (a new Idaho friend!) came over and we had a wonderful teatime experience. We also had yummy cookies and ice cream. Mmm.

Speaking of new cultural experiences, this past Saturday, we girls hosted a cultural party! It was a Louisiana-England food mayhem! I made jambalaya and King Cake, Kim made red beans and rice and pastalaya, and Tessa made fairy cakes and cucumber sandwiches. We decorated with American and English flags, red, white, blue everythings, ribbon, and Mardi Gras beads. To maximize the seating and eating area, the boys brought over a table and chair from their house. We also had random chips and candy snacks, and Tessa made a summer drink concoction using Pimm's which is some famous English beverage. It was a grand ole time and we have tons of pictures. Yay.

The following day, Sunday, we girls went to the boys' soccer game. Joey, Jesse, their roommates, and friends all play on a men's city soccer team. We like to go watch the games because it's a good excuse to sit outside and enjoy the outdoors for a while. I was particularly excited about this game because (due to my crazy work schedule) it was the first one in a few weeks that I managed to attend. Boy was I glad I made it to this one, because sure turned into an eventful experience.

To make a long story short, two of our players ended up in the Emergency Department at St. Alphonsus hospital. When the first guy got hurt, I offered to go with Briana as she brought the guy to the hospital, so that she wasn't alone. Meanwhile, we got word that a second player was hurt and on his way to the ED, following the game. Before it was all over with, the entire soccer team hung out in the ED waiting room, taking turns sittting with the guys while they were going through the whole ED process. Finally, both guys were said to have concussions, one of which also had a broken cheekbone. Once they were both released, we all headed over to IHOP for a late dinner, and the two injured players spent the night at the boys' house for observation. ...I felt so accomplished! Basically, doing Child Life work on my day off, heh.

As for work, I believe that deserves an entire blog entry of its own. For this reason, I think it's best for me to stop here... Now that I've taken the time to write a brief update about my first month here in Boise, perhaps I'll manage to blog again more often.

Thanks to all for your patience.
-Lauren

Bumin' around.

I know what you're thinking..."Even when Lauren's at home, she doesn't make time to give us updates." Yeah, yeah. I think the bigger issue here is that when Lauren's home, she doesn't do anything worth sharing.

So last week, I spent the night at Annie's (former roommate) in Luling. Dawn (my great Baton Rouge/LA Tech/4-H friend, Annie's best friend from childhood) also came to visit, which was wonderful. I hadn't seen Dawn since we worked at National 4-H Conference in DC in March, and Annie since we moved out of our apartment in May. We had a wonderful time watching the Olympics and playing Phase 10 (hehe). The buckeyes I made were a huge hit; I'll have to remember to bring more next time. ...And of course, we stayed up wayyy wayyy late talking. But that's okay, we missed each other, alright?

Graduate Day. It was sooo nice to see everyone back at school. The FACS department is such a special family for me, and everyone seemed really interested in hearing about my summer as well as sharing our internship plans. I could have stayed around forever just catching up with everyone. However, it was a day of business, afterall, and there was plenty to be done.

All 15 or so interns met with our teachers to go over the syllabus and explain the details of how to turn in paperwork, that sorta thing. Needless to say, I'm starting a month after everyone else and I really hope I remember everything I have to do. Then, we had to get signatures and turn in our application for graduation, buy our cap and gown, and see about other random, optional things. After all of that, I met up with Annie and Jen (other former roommate) for the assembly-type thing. There were speakers from the Alumni Federation and Career Services, cool door prizes (I won a Starbucks gift card--yay!), and tasty food and wine. It was really great to see Jen (and wish her luck on her recent engagement to Logan!); the three of us enjoyed our time together, the last little bit of it before graduation in December...

I've come to refer to last weekend as one filled with camp love. Mike B., the former CBC drama instructor who is currently working on his second graduate degre at Ohio State, came to Lafayette for a visit on Friday night. In honor of his visit, a group of local camp people went out to eat and played a rousing 2-hour game of Phase 10 at the pottery studio afterwards. (heh) It was great to see Mike; he didn't come to camp this year so it had been a year since we'd all seen him. Lucky for me, I'll be seeing Mike again in just a few days when I head up to Ohio for a visit of my own...more about that later.

Another camp friend was in town for the weekend, this one, however, from Camp Aldersgate! Yep, that's right, one of the Bostie Boys came down to Cajun Land for a visit. Allie Alligator (from Baton Rouge), of course, joined in on the fun. Kyle, Allie, and I had a great time hanging out, eating Cajun food (even though Kyle refused to try the gumbo at Prejean's--what a tragedy), and goofing around. We even dragged him with us to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (great movie, btw). I have to also say a very special thanks to Kyle for making Allie and I some sweet bracelets using the colors of the cabins at camp (Orange, Lime/Moss, Yellow/Khaki, Blue, and Eggplant)--they're great!

And alas, my week at home has been rather bum-like, but that's quite alright with me. Who says watching tv, reading, scrapbooking, and interneting is a bad thing? Not I. ;-) It's called "Lauren time," and I definitely need(ed) it.

Next week I'm going to Ohio to see camp and 4-H friends as well as visit two graduate schools and perhaps a child life hospital program. It should be fun. And, only 13 days 'til "I'm leaving, on a jet plane..." to Idaho! (Yeah, I just realized this is my last Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Louisiana until December. eek!)

Until next time,
Lauren