A Winter "Beach" Wedding

It's been a while since we've done anything mildly interesting, so I figure attending a winter "beach" wedding is worth mentioning.

Originally, Alex was going to be a groomsman in this wedding, but a potential conflict came up a few months ago, and he decided to respectfully bow out rather than leave someone hanging at the last minute.  Instead, we thought we'd make it into a bit of a "babymoon," but then after our exhaustingly long drive the day before, we didn't have much energy to put into dragging this trip out.  It was, however, nice to do something different, and having an excuse to get dolled up didn't hurt either.  ;)

The wedding party was pretty average sized (7 attendants total), but the chapel they chose was WAY too small for the 325 guests that attended.  (We barely managed to grab the very last two seats in the room!)  Additionally, the reception was held in the bride's backyard, so an announcement was made after the ceremony that people needed to leave their cars there and take trolley shuttles to the reception due to lack of parking (way to prepare people...).  Let's just say fearing porta potty lines, lack of seating, and the possibility of running out of food made this 31 week pregnant lady pretty nervous to say the least!

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find huge enclosed tents with adequate seating, a hot chocolate bar (yay, something for me while Alex enjoyed the beer), no lack of food, and "high end" porta potties (with lines to wait in the 40 degree cold, which I still think is pretty tacky, but whatever). We enjoyed the opportunity to have a night out, just the two of us.  And, you can't really argue with a nice dinner and decent entertainment, can you?  It's too bad we didn't know anyone to hang out with and make a party out of it, though.

Purple Sweet Potato Butter?
That will be interesting!

We peeled out pretty early (around 8:30 p.m.) and returned to the motel to enjoy television in bed, which is always a real treat for us.  Alex watched football, I perused the internet on my phone, letting ourselves start to catch up on some much-needed rest. The next morning, we took a minute to visit the beach, since we were on an island after all.  Of course, 35 degrees is way too cold to spend any real enjoyable time out there, so we snapped a few pictures and then went on our way!

Baby's first trip to the beach! 

On our way to Mass, we killed time by stopping at a few grocery stores in hopes of finding some jar roux to use in making gumbo for his parents, but no luck.  People had no idea what roux was, so despite the stores selling plenty of Zatarain's and Tony Chachere's brand products, roux was not one of those.  The gumbo will have to wait!

And finally, we enjoyed Mass before heading out of town, and then stopped to have Bojangles (!!!) for lunch on our way back to Alex's dad's house.  I have to say, one of my favorite parts of traveling is attending Mass at churches across the country.  We always keep a copy of the bulletin and add it to our collection to a scrapbook of sorts.  It's cool to look back on all the places we visit over the years.

What about you - do you have any interesting travel traditions as it relates to visiting churches on your trip?

-Lauren

TBT: Our Honeymoon Cruise

In an effort to dig my way out of this rut, I'm going to feed Amy's request for stories about my adventures, starting with a recap of our honeymoon cruise.  Apparently winters are tough for me around these parts, because I went a whole seven months without blogging (Oct-May) before/after our wedding.  By the time I returned, there wasn't time or space to hash out the details of our adventure.

What:  

7-day cruise aboard the Carnival Conquest

Where:  

Departing from New Orleans, Louisiana
with ports of call in Isla Roatan, Honduras; Belize Citiy, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico 

When:  

December 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013

Highlights:

- 7 days in a row...alone, together!

- Our balcony.  I'd cruised twice before, but never with a private balcony.

- Ringing in the new year with 3,000 of our closest friends (ha).

- Alex won $100 in a "claw-like" machine thingy.

- Splurging via our onboard wedding registry.
(Definite WIN.  Bet ya didn't know those were available.)

- Food.  All.the.food.All.the.time.

- FREE room service!

- Excursions.
(Zip-lining in Honduras, hiking the Mayan ruins in Belize, and taking a salsa-making class in Mexico)

Lowlights:

- Being sick (both of us, at different times) on vacation.

- Fights with shady tour guides. (Ask Alex about that one day.)

- Did I mention being sick?

- Oh and, returning to real life, moving, and starting a new job a week later...

Next time:

- New ports!

- Someday, Alaska.

- Friends...everything is more fun with friends!

Yeah, so I'm pretty much convinced cruising is THE way to do vacation.  Who's in for the next one?

-Lauren

tl;dr (July 2014 Edition)

Once again, July stole my life away in the blink of an eye, and here we are with another edition of tl; dr thanks to Madame Jenna at Call Her Happy.  Read on to find out more.

The last week of June was quite the calm before the storm... I almost didn't know what to do with myself having a full week in the office for the first time in months.  Don't tell anyone but I spent a lot of time "Jamming" (working the Jamberry biz!) and likely even more time perusing Facebook while chatting with the husband.  

And then there was July.

July 1-2:  District Horse Show, 'nuff said.

July 3-5:  My parents convinced us to visit them for the holiday, even though we really just wanted to rest at home.  We ended up getting to visit with some good friends (including a former coworker and her husband whom I haven't seen in over a year and a half)...and who can argue with 20+ dozen boiled crabs fresh out of the marsh for dinner?  Not this girl.

The following week was spent scrambling to get things done before a couple of deadlines, and finally getting in to see the endocrinologist (more on that to come...eventually)....

July 11-19:  Alex and I drove 14 hours East to visit his parents in North Carolina.  While there, we spent a little less than 24 hours at the beach, I had a sleepover with one of my bridesmaids (whom I hadn't seen since the wedding 19 months ago), Alex showed me around the campus where he went to undergrad (UNCW), and he got to have lunch with an old friend.  We had some minor travel issues in each direction, but I'd say overall the trip was time well spent.  :)

July 21-24:  Almost as soon as we got home, Alex left for two days of meetings down in New Orleans.  A day later, I left for meetings in Baton Rouge.  As convenience goes, of course our travel overlapped so we had to take separate vehicles and were apart for 4 days.  At least there was (practically) someone home to take care of the animals and prep for our the quick turnaround that came the next weekend.

July 25-27:  Alex and I flew (together, for only the second time ever) to North Carolina for Kara's wedding weekend.  It was definitely a quick trip, but we had a great time meeting all of Kara's and Peyton's friends as I served as a bridesmaid for the festivities, and Alex chipped in with one of the other bridesmaid's boyfriend to be gophers for us all weekend.  I can't wait to share more about the big day (hopefully) in another post.

And then there was another week in the office as I ease back into the crazyiness that will soon be the start of another school year.

Because no modern blog is complete without photos...

My friend Megan and her husband from Little Rock moved to Lafayette!  Yay!!!

Toes in the water...Topsail Beach, NC

Yep, my vacation souviners were groceries from Trader Joe's.
Just call me Lame.

On our day trip to Wilmington, NC, we made our pilgrimage to several famous OTH sites!

The beautiful bride!

Next up, August!
-Lauren

Our Overnight Cruise...

...ahem, Casino Visit

Having been on three Caribbean cruises, I like to think I know a cruise when I see one.  I mean, who could ignore round-the-clock entertainment, gambling, restaurants, and drinks, right?  In fact, Alex and I could have sworn we were on a cruise, despite our GPS location of one landlocked, very rural, middle-of-nowhere town.

Let me explain.

Saturday, Alex and I drove 2.5 hours from Monroe to Marksville, LA to meet "the women" (my mom, grandmother, and great aunt) for an overnight stay at Paragon Casino Resort.  Neither of us really enjoy the casino atmosphere by any great degree, but it was a (mostly) free overnight get-away, and the chance to visit with family.  It wasn't long before we came to the conclusion that casino resorts are ultimately landlocked cruise ships.

5 Ways Casino Resorts Are Really Cruise Ships in Disguise

1. Entertainment - Most casinos host musical performances on a regular basis.  This particular weekend, "the women" were able to score us free tickets to a Kansas concert, which brings me to my next point - free.  Performances onboard a cruise ship are always free, and people-watching in both environments is equally entertaining, as well.  (Re:  There was a biker convention at the casino this weekend.  Just picture that for a moment.)

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2. Restaurants - Food, food, food everywhere.  At Paragon, there were at least four different restaurants to choose from.  Visitors could choose from the walk-up sandwich deli/cafe, the buffet, a mid-range diner style eatery, on up to the steakhouse.  I'm pretty sure they were all open 24/7 too.  Our group chose Roxy's diner, and enjoyed some very delicious crawfish/shrimp po-boys...because who would turn down authentic Cajun food?

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3. Gambling - Does this really even need any explanation?  Cruise ships have casinos on board, so when you throw in all the other amenities, this is how I came to my conclusions in the first place.  On the personal side, we played mostly on money handed over by "the women," so it kept us entertained enough to not feel totally bored for the evening.

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4. Shopping - Believe it or not, there were several boutique type shops available throughout the resort.  I'm also going to lump fitness center, spa, and movie theatre in with this because they seem to fall in a similar "amenities" category (and it just feels right).  Plus, there were the heavenly, sleeping-on-clouds bedding sets in the modern and spacious hotel rooms.  Ahh.

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5. Families - If you can believe it, the casino resort was filled with families.  Kids-Quest was similar to the onboard paid babysitting/entertainment service, and an arcade that one can only assume is an effort to get gets reigned in early.  I hear the indoor/outdoor pools are a big draw for local families during the summertime.

To play Devil's Advocate for a minute, there are a few ways casinos and cruise ships differ:

My first whisky sour.  Yum!

• Food cost - Casinos most definitely do not have the "all you can eat for free" attitude.  If you're a regular visitor, though, food vouchers are a likely reward.
• IDs - I was ID'd going in and out of the actual casino area every single time.  On the cruise, I wasn't ID'd once.  Plus, cruises allow anyone 18 and over to play (while in international waters, anyway).
• Free drinks - All drinks in the playing area of the casino are totally free.  This includes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.  Since players are already ID'd to enter, no one cards you to drink either.  Someone find me a cruise with free drinks and I'll be there next week!
• Smoking - Smoking inside the resort was "kosher," and encouraged even.  The smell engulfed us as we entered the building, and I instantly groaned about smelling like smoke (and ingesting it) the whole time we were there.  Onboard, smoking is only allowed in the casino or outdoors. 
• Excursions - Sadly, there were no fun outings to accompany our overnight casino stay.  In the middle of podunk nowhere, I can't imagine there were very many attractions nearby anyway.  Well, the LA 4-H Museum is in the same parish, but of course it was closed at the time, so that didn't work out.  

What else?  Did I forget anything? 

-Lauren

Little cabin, in the woods...

For the next leg of our two week road trip, Alex and I rented a cabin in western North Carolina with some friends.  Kara and Justin, friends of ours who served in our wedding, and Justin's girlfriend, Sarah, met us at the cabin near Bryson City for a short but fun-filled weekend of quality time with one another.  On the 5+ hour drive from Alex's dad's house, we started working through one of the couples' quiz books I bought Alex for Christmas.  I have to say - we know each other pretty well, but it will be fun for the winner to redeem their rewards for each section of the book. (Those reward redemptions may make an appearance on the blog at some point.)

We also treated ourselves to Cookout trays along the way!  If you haven't had a tray (or a milkshake) from Cookout, you don't understand what you're missing.  Seriously.

Arrival at the cabin was sporadic, so we spent the first night catching up with each other over light booze and a couple of friendly games of pool (yes, the cabin had a pool table!).  Kara made some delicious pulled pork in the crock-pot earlier that day, so we were able to have yummy barbecue sandwiches for dinner that night (and the next too, actually).

On the only full day of our trip, Alex and I had high hopes for spending a few hours tubing at a resort area about 45 minutes away in Maggie Valley.  Due to a series of unfortunate events (I'll spare you the details), that didn't work out quite as we had planned.  We are, however, grateful to Kara for being so generous as to drive us all the way up and down the mountain as we attempted to get tickets for the tubing experience.  

Instead, we spent the day at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.  Things always work out as they should, and by the skin of our teeth we were able to grab a set of tickets for the Candlelight Christmas Evenings event - in the earliest time slot, too!  Since our tickets to tour the home weren't until 6 p.m., we were able to enjoy a wine cellar and do a tasting tasting, check out the gift shops, walk through some of the grounds, and even get in a few photo-ops beforehand.

Ya'll - the Biltmore at Christmas is gorgeous - breathtaking, really.  It was well worth the extra $10 to visit the home after dark, with all the candles lit and sparkling Christmas decor.  There was even live music in the form of a chorus providing beautiful Christmas carols as we toured the home.  Grade A stuff, I'm telling ya.

The three of us made it back to the cabin around 8:30 p.m. or so, and when Justin and Sarah returned from their full day of skiing around 10 p.m., we all enjoyed barbecue leftovers and turned in for the night not long afterwards.  We were pooped from the full day out and about!  The next morning, we took our time making breakfast and packing up to head out on our respective ways.

It may have been a short visit, but it was a quality one.  Meeting for 2 hours over dinner once or twice a year is nice, but it doesn't do a friendship justice, that's for sure.  We really enjoyed our time with the group and hopefully it won't be long before we can see them again.  And if you're reading this, there's always an extra bed available in Monroe!

-Lauren

Update (1/19/14) - Click here for Kara's post about our weekend in the mountains.

Just Another Roadtrip

[Originally written on Friday, August 30th.]

It's practically September now and I want to squeeze in one more entry before the proverbial page turns on a new month. I planned to carve time out of my evening for this, but it's after 3 o'clock on the Friday before Labor Day and I have officially checked out.  After conducting three meetings today, my focus is shot and I'm ready to do something else, so here I am.  Way back when, I promised I'd write about our week-long trip to North Carolina in July and by golly I think today is the day.

Per usual, we loaded up and left after a full day's work on Friday (7/19), making our routine overnight stop at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  It's not a bad 4 hour drive to that stopping point, and nice to make it there early enough to get a full night's rest for the following full day of driving.  On Saturday evening, we rolled into Alex's mom's driveway right around suppertime.

We got up early on Sunday morning for 8 a.m. mass, which got us back to the house with plenty of time for breakfast and then services at his mom's church.  We practically had to run out of there afterwards because the service lasted for-freaking-ever, and Alex's groomsman, Christopher, planned to stop over and say hello on his way to Greensboro for a conference.  Thankfully we barely beat him there, so it ended up working out just right.

That afternoon, we loaded up (this was a reoccurring theme) again, headed for Topsail Beach.  Alex's mom made arrangements for the three of us to stay overnight at her friend's beach house down on the coast, so we were able to get our fill of the beach on that short trip.  The major sunburn we both took home was a great souvenir, I might add.  ;-)

On Tuesday, we drove from Dunn to Clinton for the second half of our visit.  The remainder of our week was spent with Alex's dad's side of the family, relaxing and spending time together.  There, we were able to enjoy delicious food, making up for the "diet" we'd been on the previous few days...

Wednesday was extra special because we took a mini-"pilgrimage" back to where it all began for us - Krispy Kreme in Raleigh.  Well, let me back up.  Before dessert, we had dinner at Mellow Mushroom with Kara, one of my bridesmaids, and Justin, one of Alex's groomsman.  Justin also brought along his girlfriend, Sarah, so we could meet her.  The food was good, as was the opportunity to spend time with friends.  (Remember my last entry?  Friend-time doesn't happen very often these days.)  During dinner, Kara and I joked about how it would be fun to have hot donuts for dessert, so we made an executive decision and told the group we were going.  Haha.

When I say we made a pilgrimage to where it began, I'm referencing the first time Alex and I met, and our terrible attempt/failed double-date at Krispy Kreme.  Looking back over previous entries, I'm realizing I didn't write much about that event.  Note to self - share that story sometime.  Double note to self - also, share the story of how we weren't legally married for nearly a month after the ceremony.  Anyway, back to what I was saying...Krispy Kreme is special to us, and Kara played a major part in that, so going back to Krispy Kreme together was pretty cool.  And of course, when hot donuts are involved, does the rest even matter??  It may have been a late night drive back to Alex's dad's but the fellowship was well worth the effort and I hope we can all do it again sometime.

We closed out our week on Friday, making the long leg of the journey to Tuscaloosa for the night, and returning to Monroe on Saturday afternoon.  My parents were there when we arrived, since my dad makes his annual trip for the tent sale at Simmons' Sporting Goods in Bastrop.  It's definitely been nice to see my parents so often while living here in Monroe.  In fact, "the women" (my mom, grandmother, and great aunt) are coming to visit tomorrow.  This is when I keep reminding myself there are perks to being closer to home...

In any case, ya'll be safe and enjoy the holiday.
-Lauren

Goin' Through the Big D

Ever heard that Mark Chestnut song..the one with the lyrics "I'm goin' through the Big D
and don't mean Dallas...?" This song instantly popped into my head as I sat here to begin writing about our weekend in Dallas.  The song, however, is talking about divorce and that is definitely not where I'm going with this entry.  Go ahead people, smile...SMILE! :)

Anyway, back to Dallas.  Alex and I headed out on the evening of Thursday, June 27th, for a weekend in Texas.  This was after a super traumatic visit to our new dentist here in Monroe and needless to say I was ready to peel outta there ASAP!  We made it to our hotel in Arlington just after 10 p.m., which made for a bit of a late night trip but we knew it meant we could enjoy two full days in Dallas if we went ahead and drove there that night. 

On Friday morning we went to a place called Top Golf.  Ever heard of it?  If you have, I bet you've heard only good things about it.  If you haven't, look it up next time you're in the area.  I seem to faintly remember there being locations in a few other states too, so just go ahead and check it out anyway.  For those of you non-golfers out there (like myself), imagine an outdoor bowling alley with each group of friends or family playing in a designated lane, called a bay.  Instead of rolling a ball, though, participants take turns hitting golf balls toward designated targets (or golf holes, whatever those are called).  Never fear - no need to be a pro at actually making that ever-desirable hole-in-one because the closer your ball gets to the target, the more points you earn, even if it doesn't make it to the hole! 

Alex and I had a great deal of fun at Top Golf.  We beat our "top scores" over and over again, even though we only played for an hour.  After our time was up, we headed down to the indoor café area for lunch (though food is available via servers at each of the bay areas and even in covered lounge chairs throughout the facility). Alex ordered a very tasty pulled pork barbecue sandwich and I had the "mushi" (think sushi-themed wrap).  The meal was pretty reasonable in price, considering I expected it to be fairly expensive for the area and the setting.  We were pleasantly surprised. After lunch, we went back outside to wander around and ended up finding a corn hole set, life-size connect four games, huge checkerboards, and a large-scale jenga game - all for free!  There was also an area for putt-putt, but temperatures had started climbing (no one loves Texas heat) so after a few board games we decided to head back to the hotel with plans to take a dip in the pool and grab a cold one before our evening activities. 

We spent the evening at a Texas Rangers game.  Conveniently, Alex planned ahead for us to stay at a hotel that came with a free shuttle to nearby attractions - the ballpark included.  It was SO nice to not have to deal with traffic, parking, or crowds.  Well, traffic and parking, anyway.  We did have to wait at least half an hour for a return shuttle after the game, but what's a little extra time whenever it's free and you've got no place else to be?  I will say the first part of the game draaaaagged on.  Alex's friend, Justin, made fun of/lectured me for being a bad wife in whining about how long the game was.  Seriously, though...I like baseball...I just happen to be accustomed to the timing of college baseball games, not professional ones.  The game ended with a fancy fireworks show in honor of the upcoming July 4th holiday.  While Alex was in hog heaven all evening long, I'll admit I was pleased to finally see the fireworks show, knowing that soon we would be headed back to the hotel for the night. 

Saturday we headed out to Forth Worth to check out the Stockyards.  This fun little neighborhood near downtown Ft. Worth is filled with western-style shops, restaurants, museums, and other attractions.  We moseyed down the streets checking out some of the souvenir shops and scoped out options for lunch.  Mid-morning, everyone flocked to the streets to await the first of two daily cattle drives.  I've been around livestock here and there, but these guys were huge - and beautiful - if cattle can be beautiful, that is.  Then, we decided to try our hands at a maze; the guy who worked there told us most people average something like 12 minutes in the maze...um...it took us thirty.  Oops?!  Actually, Alex finished before I did, but it couldn't have been more than 10 minutes apart.  We enjoyed the challenge and would probably go again if we were ever in a position to do so.  For lunch, we stopped in at one of the locally-owned restaurants, taking a break to enjoy the air conditioning and rejuvenate before wandering the streets a little longer.  As the temperatures began to jump again, we ended the afternoon with some home-made ice cream (and to Alex's delight - Cheerwine in a glass bottle) from a quaint little shop then headed back to the hotel to get ready for our date night out. 


Dinner and a movie is pretty cliché for a date, but I bet few of you have had dinner while at the movie.  Say what?  Movie theatre food is super expensive and resembles all that your nutritionist would nix on the spot, yes?  Au contraire.  The 21st century has arrived my friend!  See, Studio Movie Grill combines the two-step date night out into one.  Just purchase your assigned seats, get comfy, browse the menu, and buzz your waiter when ready to order.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy the latest big screen flick without having to lift a finger in the kitchen or plan ahead to time dinner at the restaurant just right for a 7 p.m. showing.  Really though.  We enjoyed dinner at SMG in Arlington while watching Monsters University with a hundred of our closest friends - ha!  The food was tasty (though a tad pricey, as one would expect at any other movie theatre) and we enjoyed the adventure of trying something new.  I think the dine-in movie experience will be "coming to theatres near you" very soon, so be on the look-out and give it a chance if you ever come across one.  And because date night wouldn't be complete without a little something sweet, we splurged and stopped by Steak'n'Shake on our way home to share a peanut butter fudge milkshake capping off our lovely evening. 

As for Sunday, the only exciting item on our agenda was packing up and driving back to Monroe just in time to attend Mass and catch the newest episode of Big Brother.  (Any #BB15 fans out there?!) Then of course, it was back to the grind on Monday for another short week due to the (July 4th) holiday.  More to come on that...next time!

-Lauren

June Bugs

Now that June has come and gone, I'm hoping to get back on board with posting a little more often again.  Seriously though, June fleeeewww by! When you hear all that transpired, you'll understand. 

Alex's mom flew in from North Carolina on (Wednesday) the 5th of June.  She planned to stay for a week, but with me leaving on Monday (June 10th), I wasn't around a whole lot during her trip.  I also worked on both Thursday (6/6) and Friday (6/7) of that week.  We did finally get out and do a little exploring of the Monroe area while she was in town; Alex and I took her to the Chennault Aviation Museum located at the MLU airport, and we also checked out Kiroli Park in West Monroe.  Alex tried to take her to a few other sites while I was at work, but she didn't like the idea of attractions with paid admission.  In any case, Alex's mom came and went and we went on with the rest of the month...

A photo collage from the aviation museum. 

'Betcha didn't know Delta Airlines got its start in Monroe, LA!

As mentioned above, I left for 4-H Camp on June 10th.  This was the first time I'd ever been solely responsible for so many children at once - 22 kids, ages 9-12, and two teenagers, total.  That's some precious cargo if I've ever seen any!  The 25 of us headed down to Camp Grant Walker (CGW) in Pollock, which is "the" 4-H Camp in Louisiana.  It's so old that generations of former 4-Hers all have their own stories of 4-H Camp.  Thankfully they installed air conditioning systems since I attended as a child, but still it is a camp after all.  During my time in Arkansas, I became spoiled with the state-of-the-art facilities at Camp Aldersgate and was not at all excited to spend a week at CGW.  However, we all survived the week (I worked with the food & fitness track, archery, and the camp store) and returned in one piece on Friday morning. 

The traditional rope burning ceremony at vespers on the final night of camp. 

The following week (June 18-21), I took two teenage boys down to Baton Rouge for 4-H University, which is essentially, Louisiana's version of a state convention for 4-H.  Delegates compete in over 40 contests, with state winners awarded all-expense paid trips to really awesome places.  Some teens choose the non-competitive route and instead take part in 12-hour workshops over the course of two days.  4-H University is, by far, my favorite Louisiana 4-H event.  Being from a parish that brings over 100 youth to the event each year, with generally 60% or more of those taking home Top 10 placings in their contests,  4-H U is kind of a big deal in my book.  As a 4-H Agent, though, I work in a parish that is VASTLY different than the one back home, and so I was only able to recruit two members to attend.  To make matters worse, I could only convince one of them to even compete in a contest!  Sheesh, people.  

On the bright side, I have some really amazing 4-H Agents back home who were willing to let me tag along with their larger group in hopes of exposing my boys to the greener side of the pasture, if you get my drift.  It was also good for me to reacclimate myself to the event (it's been EIGHT years!!) and get some practice with coordinating a larger group.  To trade off, the male agent from home agreed to supervise my boys in the dorms while I helped out with toting some of their kids around campus during the day.  It was a win-win situation.  I really enjoyed being back with my 4-H family, especially those from back home and even the ones in the state office and southwest region since I don't get to see them very much anymore.  Events like 4-H U really help me to keep going whenever I feel isolated and like I'm beating a dead horse up here in no-man's-land..

I'm a real, live 4-H Agent, with a purple ribbon tag to show it!

June 24th and 25th was our district horse show event in West Monroe.  This year, the district, state, and even southern regional shows will all be held at the same facility, which makes it super nice on those of us in the Northeast region.  Going into the show, I was pretty excited about having such a large delegation - of eight, that is - competing in the event.  Unfortunately, only four showed up, and the other kids didn't even bother to tell anyone they weren't coming.  (This is the kind of people I'm working with, ya'll.)  My assignment for the show was to help with the non-riding events, so I got to judge the demonstrations with a fellow new agent from a neighboring parish.  All of my kids competed on the second day of the show, so I grabbed myself a seat at the official announcer's/timekeeper's/recorder's table and managed to learn a bit about the "speed events," as they call them.  All four of my kids qualified for the state show in each of their events, several of them with strong placings.  It will be fun to see how they do at the state show next week.

 

The boys with their ribbons.

That weekend, the final weekend in June (6/27-30), Alex and I went away to Dallas.  Since this entry is so long already, I'll hold onto it for another day.  Also as a reminder to myself (and the rest of you, if anyone out there wants to hold me accountable), I still do want to write about our garden and, by that point, my parents' 4th of July weekend visit, as well as our trip to North Carolina, followed by another visit from my parents.  Sheezums, it looks like July will zoom by nearly as fast as June did!

Until we meet again,
Lauren

Life Lesson #57826

With all this talk about anxiety that is life (or grad school), I felt like it might be a good time to talk about another type of stress relief--vacation! While music is a great coping mechanism, especially in the "immediate" and the "short-term," everyone needs a break from time to time. For most of us, we may have experienced Fall Break only a few short weeks ago, and the holiday season will soon be upon us (Thanksgiving in a little over 2 weeks, Christmas in 6?!). But what about in between the holidays...those weeks that we seem to just exist, mindlessly, turning in one paper after another, or floating from one day to the next, never really knowing what came before or what comes next?

To put it simply, we need a vacation! I know, I know, you're thinking, "Lauren, vacations cost money, and quite frankly, I cannot afford (both financially and schedule-wise) to get away for a week (or even a few days)!" Despite the fact that some of you may think I don't actually do any schoolwork, I do understand financial and scheduling constraints associated with vacationing.

In regard to financial constraints, I'm not sure if any of you have heard, but there is a new phenomenon gaining popularity--staycations. According to the ever-resourceful UrbanDictionary.com, a staycation involves, "Staying at home during your vacation instead of traveling to a pleasure destination. This can be caused by high gas prices, or just a shortage of money." The idea of a staycation sounds pretty cool; stay home and play games with the family, cook, watch movies, read books...or be a tourist in your own hometown, looking at the city with rose-colored glasses and exploring sites you've always said you're "too busy" to visit.

I hear staycations can be pretty fun. In fact, one of my good friends said her family did a staycation as a way of saving money for an upcoming wedding they were planning. They all seemed to really enjoy it, and it severed to be a great excuse for family bonding time. Who can argue with that?

And yet another alternative to the vacation is...the daycation! Again, our friend the UrbanDictionary.com defines daycation as, "A short trip out of town for only a day. Leave in the am and return in the pm." Daycations encourage the exploration of new or different locations, but typically don't break the bank or put a wrench in your schedule or standing commitments. So, for the mid-range financially burdened one, or the busy-yet-needing-a-break one, daycations may be the answer.

Daycations are probably the most challenging for me to wrap my brain around because I'm such the concrete/sequential individual who isn't entirely adept at changing plans on a whim. However, the daycation seems most properly excecuted as a last minute decision to have a daylong adventure. Thankfully, I have a bit of a diverse group of friends, many of which challenge me to step out of my comfort zone every once in a while. ;-)

That being said, I'm finally getting to the true inspiration for this entry. Yesterday, Lendy and I went on a daycation! What started out as the idea of an opportunity to visit the mountains of Virginia for photographing the beauty that is fall foliage turned into a day filled with interesting sights and sounds, as well as a lesson in spontaneity.

Recovering from an interesting night of playing "gallon" (ha!), we didn't get on the road quite as early as we might have anticipated. But hey--it was just the first of many ways I learned to accept the "plan to not plan" for a day. Leaving Wake Forest, we headed northish, making our way up to Caswell County and our first stop in Danville, VA. Lendy showed me her childhood stomping grounds, including the schools she attended and a true southern style general store before stoping to have lunch with her mom and younger brother.

From there, we headed northeast toward the mountains of southern Virginia. On the way up, we drove through Martinsville (home of Martinsville Speedway, for all of you NASCAR fans out there). Out of appreciation for my family, I asked Lendy if she minded a quick detour to take a picture of a sign at the speedway. Being the all-accommodating-and-awesome Lendy that she is, she selflessly agreed to take me to the speedway. After grabbing a quick snapshot of the sign at the main entry, she offered to drive down closer to the track in hopes of getting more pictures. As it turned out, some very nice lady was out near the entrance to the track, and when we asked her if we could walk up to take pictures, she offered us the opportunity to drive Mike's (Lendy's husband) truck out onto the track to get a better look at to take better pictures. Umm...excuse me? Yes, I did just say that. We walked out on the track, and drove a complete lap around the speedway!?!? AHHH! I literally thought I was going to hyperventillate. It was A-MAZING! My family is so jealous, lol. What a freak occurance! ...And thisss is why sometimes, I have got to learn to be more spontaneous!

After a quick pit stop (ha!) at the little Dunkin' Donuts express, where Lendy made her own iced coffee (don't tell Ravi!), we continued our journey. As we began our ascent, the trees got prettier and the roads got windier. At the top of the mountain, we came to Chateau Morsiette, a beautiful restaurant and winery. Lendy and I walked around a bit and took part in their (very busy) wine tasting experience. On the way down, we stopped at Maybry's Mill, an old grismill (whatever that is). There, we had the most awesome photo shoot, though I guess that's being a bit boastful because most of the pictures are of me acting a fool...aka having my very own ANTM photo shoot. lol. I tried to be artistic by taking some creative/artsy photos, and of course, I captured a few of the lovely lady, even though she swears she's not worthy of being featured in the shoot. (In the words of my crazy roommate, "WRONG!")

Eventually, we made our way back down to *Pelham, NC, Lendy's hometown, for dinner with her mother and brother. Our experience at Frank's Italian just might have involved way too many french fries and fried pickles, but it was well worth the experience. We ended the night with a dive through a Lendy-titled episode of "Hoarders," looking for the treasure that would become our office Christmas tree. Lendy's mother welcomed us into her lovely home, and I was able to dig through some not-so-embarassing photos and childhood memorabilia. Tehe.

Our daycation came to an end only 13 hours later, as we arrived back in Raleigh just after 11 p.m...which finally gets me to the point I have been trying to make all along. Even when we think that we're too busy, we don't have enough money, or there just isn't the time, we all need to take breaks. Whether it's a full fledged week at the ski resort over thanksgiving, or a day trip to the beach, or even an afternoon playing games and watching movies, vacations are inevitiable--and necessary. I'm not saying we should keep procrastinating or spend hours on Facebook (heck--I, and you, will do that no matter what), but I am saying that we have to treat ourselves every now and again. Thank you, Lendy love, for teaching me Life Lesson #57826. <3 br="">
Guess I really am getting an education after all..
-Lauren

~Oh and...I saw my first shooting star! :-D

"Tweet" Summertime

I've had quite a bit of time on my hands in these two weeks that I've been at home in Louisiana. Don't worry, though, I've stayed occupied...with a book, Season 3 of LOST, playing nurse/housewife, and a wholeee lot of relaxing. It's been incredible, haha. In this time, I have also spent a decent amount of time reflecting over the summer, and thinking forward to the upcoming school year.

Throughout my reflection, I've come to believe that the few posts I made this summer, though thorough, don't do it justice. Instead, I feel like my tweets (Twitter.com) do a much better job of illustrating the events of my summer. My tweets were snapshots of what I was doing or feeling at any given point. Not only did I tweet frequently, but the statements were a whole lot more "raw" than most of what I wrote in a blogs, mostly because they were published in the heat of the moment, not weeks later when I had time to "clean it up" or even forget the small details as time lapsed.

For this reason, I decided to do a blog "in tweets." What does that mean? Well, it's my creative way of giving you, the reader, an opportunity to have a more intimate glimpse into my world. Here, you will find tweets submitted from the time I left for camp on June 5th, through the day I returned home to Louisiana, on August 2nd. They're organized by month, and also by week or event, as appropriate. Oh, I should note that some of the tweets have dates/timestamps included; those without such information weren't indicated--use your imagination.

Here ya go!

June 2010
-packed for 2 weddings, bachelorette, & conference all at once! North bound today!
8:27 AM Jun 5th via mobile web
-lunch in shreveport. Back on the road now. ps: 41 mpg. Booya!
12:46 PM Jun 5th via mobile web
-made it to my favorite neighborhood in arkansas! Leingeree shopping for ash's party next fri then off to the counselor reunion at boys' apt!
5:51 PM Jun 5th via mobile web

Staff Training Week: June 6-11, 2010
-staff training starts today!
9:46 AM Jun 6th via mobile web
-miserably hot already! 95* heat index 98*
4:03 PM Jun 6th via mobile web
-1st go at being tribe chief and we rock the chant competition!! Go quapaw! 3 year streak to protect!
-highlight of my day: ability awareness training from a guy at the ntl inclusion project, which happens to be based in raleigh. Small world
11:36 PM Jun 7th via mobile web
-stoked about the lime cabin's skit at flag this morning! Trust fall!
7:56 AM Jun 9th via mobile web
-I am FOX-WORTHY. Totally pumped about all the awesomeness at archery this summer!
11:56 PM Jun 9th via mobile web
-40 hours off!!! Woot. Ashley's bachelorette shindig tonight!
-they're building a five guy's in little rock!? I hope its done before I leave in august!

Muscular Dystrophy Week: June 13-18, 2010
-camp! Camp! Camp! Kiddos arrive today!
-all here and accounted for: 6 counselors, 5 volunteers, & 7 campers in my cabin. I'm Quapaw chief again. Sounds like a good week ahead!
-one camper down... Only this place would have a 2 to 1 ratio with counselors in the majority. Lol
-archery was rocking today!
-wishing safe travels to @nahun and the idahoans! Be prepared, the LA humidity is ready and waiting with open arms.
-I heart archery!
-I'm up wayyyy to early, but hey--i'm going to louisiana today (after a morning of teaching archery, that is)!

Medine-Peters Wedding Weekend in Louisiana: June 17-19, 2010
-at LIT. First plane delayed already. Hope I don't have the stomach virus that has struck lime cabin...
-delayed again. Why?
-boarded for LIT - DFW.
-landed at DFW! I feel like such a traitor--flying American and sitting next to an Apple employee. Eek.
-boarded for DFW - BTR! Louisiana, I'm coming home (briefly)!
-twittering fail = friend fail: happy 20th birthday, @Mainer8! You're not a teenager anymore!
-baton rouge today! Going to joy's swim meet this morning! Swim fast!
-I found my wedding dress--now where's the lucky guy? ;-)
-on our way to @josiahpeters wedding with @sunriseiscool! Can't wait to see @Nahun, @jasondurand & everyone else!
-party!!! Why'd u have to end??? Boo!
-a going away and birthday party today! Louisiana is the place for celebrations!
-bummed I'm not getting to hang with the idahoans tonight, but feeling blessed to spend some time with dawn and annie. Its been too long.

Milwaukee Trip (for ALE Conference): June 20-24, 2010
-MSY - ORD.
-safe and early arrival in chicago. Heard my professor and fellow grad student are stuck between rdu and det. j, s, & I will make it...
-ord - mke!
-exactly 17 minutes later, we're in milwaukee!!
-67 degrees out this morning--welcome to milwaukee!
-touring the miller brewery--be jealous!
-I'm convinced that people in this state don't sweat. Ever.
-progressive dinner with milwaukee food tour. ... I'll always have a special place in my heart for tour guides!
-I see lake michigan!!
-no power at the hotel today, how interesting. But hey--i had perkins for breakfast!
-i dont wanna go to bed but i'm getting up for a flight in 5 hours. bah. it's so weird to be alone for the first time in weeks.
-boarded for MKE to ATL. Delta is great!
-ATL to LIT! headed back to my home away from home!

Return Weekend in Little Rock: June 25-26, 2010
-what a day: closing ceremonies for spina bifida week at camp, some relaxation, and toy story 3 in Imax 3D!
-@sunriseiscool it was so good! (coming from the girl who hates animated films)
-@mainer8 @Christyclary the five guys here in little rock opened sometime while I was gone last week! Can't wait to hit it up!
-headed out to Morrilton, ar for Ashley's wedding! Yay for another party!
-I've decided weddings are beautiful and fun, especially those for friends. Camp par-tay!
-@sunriseiscool @josiahpeters @nahun ''my wish'' by rascal flatts is the mother/son dance at this wedding!

Kota I Week: June 27-July 2, 2010
-kota 1 starts today! Will I be working with boys or girls??? still a mystery.
-they say ''kota'' translates to ''friends;'' I'm convinced it really means ''crazy''
-boys yesterday.. Girls today?
-um so the boy cabin I was in just lost a camper.....
-cajun spaghetti night at the apartment for 5-hour was a great success!
-making a list of counselor must-haves. So far: head lamp, memory foam mattress, mp3 w/ nature sounds...the list will go on.
-aaaand the rainy days at aldersgate begin... On the day my co-archer is sick. Staff dropping like flies.
-took two girls to five guys little rock tonight! yumm! @christyclary @mainer8
-today I learned: ''x.y.z.'' eXamine. Your. Zipper. Thank you, camp.
-july already?
-when I am here, I am the best me that I can be.
-got asked to work a daycamp for kids who are ventilator dependent! It shortens my week off but should be tons o fun! Yay.
-heading up an all-counselor lunch at 5 guys!! Its most of their first times!

July 2010

Break Week: July 3-9, 2010
-just a small town girl...
-girls' night with amber in Morrilton and first night in weeks I don't have to set an alarm, ftw.
-I do NOT want to get out of this bed. How strange it feels to be in a normal house, bedroom, and comfy bed...
-i saw Eclipse today!
-@mainer8 j'ai donne les bissous de quel'qun ce soir. C'etait pas une bonnet idee.
-I started watching LOST today...
-slept in, watched My Girl & 6 hrs of LOST, fireworks in LR, donuts, jason's deli. Lazy independence day = smiles for me!
-@mainer8 porquoi est-ce que je fais ca?
-@mainer8 C'etait un ami avec des... beinfaits?
-what are the consequences of refusing to write more of the thesis until august? i'm serious here, can i go be on strike?
-5 hours and 9 shopping stops later, we're all set with items for this 3-day, 15 ppl camp trip 2 MO. Now to cook dinner & prep 4 2morrow!
-8 visitors to the apartment tonight and another LOST disc down! Now time to rest for our big adventure!
-15 camp counselors all packed in 5 cars and on the road. Missouri or bust! (and meeting up to 5 more ppl there!)
-3 hours and several games/ conversations later...we're in misery! Missouri state line!
-heading out on the current river today! Leaving the phone at the campsite so don't freak out people
-safe return to the campsite. It was a glorious day for rafting!
-out for pizza tonight. Real food, air conditioning, and toilets! We're in heaven!
-on the road again! heading south toward little rock!
-@sunriseiscool I'm wearing the child life shirt today!
-finally, I showered for the first time since monday. YuM.
-I just did something u shouldn't have
-its 3 in the morning and we're STARTING a LOST episode. Now that takes some dedication.
-''kicked out'' of the apartment. Watching LOST at camp, 3 hours before I have to report for work.
-staff dinner and meeting lasted a whole hour, now off to play ladder golf at a park before tonights slumber party and fort building! :)
-had to pause the Lost season 1 finale in place of bedtime. That show is crack.

Vent Camp/Diabetes Week: July 10-16, 2010
-vent camp today!
-sushi belly.
-my blood glucose level: 100. hope you're looking forward to regular updates--its diabetes week!
-just tp'd the cabin for a camper's birthday surprise. About to do a midnight blood sugar check then up for more at 2 am.
-doing 2 am checks again tonight. This time I'm gonna watch LOST while waiting for the clock to chime. Party at the lime cabin!
-almost and hour after starting, checks are done. 2 alerts: one camper at 59 (low) and another at 360 (high). Docs came; all is good. Bedtime
-it's tie dye tuesday!
-just another whacky hair wednesday... With a little dash of iron chef america!
-tonight's blood sugar rate: 105. guess my pancreas is on top of things!
-oh hey! I used my child life skills during site changes (for insulin pumps) today!
-just did 2 am checks alone. Bad idea. The nurses had to come back 3 times. fail.
-I'm wearing a pump today! Carb counting, here we go!
-hit triple digit temps today. with you know something is wrong when it ''feels like'' 92 at midnight.
-stayed behind to clean and pack the cabin this morning... My pump told me that I missed breakfast. Good job, Candy!
-I got pickles today! Yay, @lendylou
-anyone felt the dc earthquake? How about u, @sunriseiscool?

CAK (Cardiac, Arthritis, Kidney) Week: July 18-23, 2010
-it's CAK (Cardiac, arthritis, kidney) week! we've got the youngest girls & probably the most medically fragile, Woot.
-oh, 2 am's once again. Night encore.
-I got my first silly band! It's a unicorn that glows in the dark! Plus, two mermaids. Baller.
-officially done with season 2, disc 2 of LOST! Only 4 more to go of this season.
-so instead of 2 am's tonight, we're gonna try a 1 am and 4 am ostomy bag emptying. Yay camp.
-it's a coffee kind of morning (this is a big deal). If we don't get some real sleep soon, I might just have to shoot someone. not pretty.
-my most medically fragile camper MIGHT receive a kidney transplant tonight--please pray that it's a match!! I'll let you know what happens!
-kidney was a No-go. I just took a sleeping pill (aka drowsy allergy) but I Gotta get up for the 4 am shift. Should be interesting.
-guH. Want sleep.
-word to the wise: don't take 2 tylenol and a benadryl 2 hours before u get off of work. functioning levels drop fast.
-yay, it's thursday!
-I sure am going to miss being ''in the club''...These kids touch your heart like none other.
-rubber ducky regatta at wild river country to benefit camp aldersgate!
-had a great time at the regatta. saw lots of camp family members--kids, parents, staff, etc! "we are family!"

Kota II Week: July 25-30, 2010
-doing Kota II for the first time; it's gonna be a wild ride
-it's my final week at archery...boo.
-fun story of the day: camper peed outside in front of everyone at archery...and that's just scratching the surface of kota crazy.
-camper quote from yesterday: ''what the barbie shit?!''
-a night filled with LOST, a clean shower, yummy dessert and minus crazy children? Yes please.
-just heard a camper ate sunscreen tonight, requiring an incident report. Oh kota.
-archery quote: kid, ''u better shoot or I'm gonna roll over u ;'' me, ''hey that's not nice;'' k, ''relax it's all psychological!''
-tonight, for the first time since I can remember, I had a conversation with fellow counselors that was unrelated to camp.
-goodbye bullseyes. :(
-emotional last night At camp; solved by 2 hours of good convo while laying in a hammock under the cabin. Heart happiness.
-closing complete. Chi released. Less than 48 hours left at this home...
-@justinecamille1 oh but i am so happy here. i hope you enjoy home.

Final Weekend: July 30-August 2, 2010
-last big shindig in the rock--going out to my first gay bar!?
-purple cow for the morning after! :)
-cooking at the apartment, apples to apples and a movie. Last night with the camp family. :(
-I'm convinced I've gained 5 pounds since yesterday. Gluttony. and we're under a
-was ''on a roll here in Little Rock'' but now I must go. Goodbye camp family, I will miss you...
-lovely louisiana!
-6.5 hours later (yes, my father is a speed demon), I'm home in cajun country!

I'd really like your feedback about the structure of this entry. Please comment with your thoughts about the idea to do a blog in tweets, as well as the structure or any other feedback you have for me about it. Also, I'd love to know of your favorite tweet or quote from the summer. (In fact, I'll promise to share my favorite one in my next entry, if you pick to share your favorite one with me!) So leave me some messages; I'd love to hear what you think!

Leave me something,
-Lauren

Sleepy Southern Sentiments

Here I am, trying to get in another entry before we cross over the threshold into August and what will soon become the start of another school year. Since today is the last day of July, I'd say I cut it pretty close, but at least I made it. These last few weeks have been fairly sleepless, whether it be late nights on the float trip, 2 a.m. blood sugar checks, or 1 and 4 a.m. ostomy bag emptying experiences. Needless to say, the title of this entry sums up the month of July for myself and several fellow counselors. There's so much to say in recap of the last month, but I'll try my best to get it all in.

Beginning where I left off, a bunch of us counselors went camping in Missouri for two days during our break. We drove 3 hours to Donihpan, Missouri where 19 of us camped at the Rocky River Resort right on the Current River. We stayed in 7 tents on 3 camp sites, and floated the river on 4 rafts (2 tied together). It was my first time to Missorui, so I was thrilled about the opportunity to cross my 24th state off the list. Woot. Our group was diverse as far as old and new counselors were concerned. Everyone seemed to have fun, and there were no real mishaps other than two girls who got sick on the trip. However, traveling with 20 of your closest friends who happen to be medical camp counselors ensures that you are in good hands, lol.

I helped with "Vent Camp" on July 10th. About 10 of us (counselors and supervisors) from camp worked at this small one-day event, serving children and families who are ventilator-dependent. Friday evening, we headed out to camp for a short meeting and yummy pizza, planning for the following day's events. Eleven children were signed up to attend the event, yet only 5 showed up on Saturday. By the end of the day, we had only about 3 kids who were interested/able to participate in camp activities, so the staff had a pretty relaxing time and providing the camp experience. Despite the small turnout, the kids who came were great. They had great personalities and seemed to really enjoy their day at camp.

The next day, we kicked off the second part of the summer with Diabetes Camp. I was Senior Counselor tht week, which was fun and scary all at once, since I'd never worked Diabetes Week before. It all worked out great; the other experienced counselor really taught me a lot, and we all learned pretty fast. 2 a.m. blood sugar checks were finally checked off of my camp bucket list, and they lived up to much of what I'd heard them to be. I now feel like a pro at managing (Type I) diabetes now! Our girl were wonderful, we had an amazing time, and Diabetes Week is now officially one of my favorite camp weeks!

Oh, there were several other cool aspects of Diabetes Week. 1) We had several media and guest appearances throughout the wee, including George Canyon, a Canadian Country music sensation, as well as Amy, the American Diabetes Advocate. 2) Myself and a few other counselors had the opportunity to wear an insulin pump filled with saline for a day. It was really interesting to experience the life of a diabetic who uses an insulin pump. I really appreciated that opportunity and feel like it may come in handy in my future work, perhaps as a Child Life Specialist.

Two weeks ago, we hosted CAK Week (Cardiac, Arthritis, Kidney). Because of my roots at Heart Camp, this week will always have a special place in my own heart. It's also pretty interesting because we had some pretty fragile kids--transplants, dialysis, etc. Or, in my one camper's case--dialysis, g-tube, diabetes (insulin pump), and ostomy bag. Plus, many kids with Down Syndrome have heart conditions, so we had a few of those, and there are always the random ADD, etc. kids who pop up every week. CAK week is the one week where we dispense more meds than any other week, maybe even all the weeks combined! Honestly though, I love the medical kids, so despite the non-existent sleep (rotating between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. shifts), I was quite a happy duck.

A special story about CAK Week: My most fragile camper (the one with all of those diagnoses/needs that I mentioned) had a very unique way of showing her appreciation for people, especially the counselors and volunteers. She would rub our ear lobes and smile, saying "You're in the club, I love you." The first time it happened, we were confused and asked what the ear rub meant. Then she explained, and our hearts melted. It was such a special week, especially to feel that love expressed so freely by such a gracious and wonderful child. It's amazing how children cope with their challenges in life and the little ways they learn to express their appreciation for your time with them. I will remember this little girl and "the club" for always.

This past week was the second Kota session for the summer, which happened to be my last week at camp. We finished it yesterday, and I have been hanging out, enjoying my final moments with everyone before I leave for Louisiana in the morning. I'll take some time next week to write about my final days in Little Rock, but for now I'm going to stop here and get back to hanging out with friends. We're cooking at the apartment again tonight and I just really want to cherish these last moments. So, for now...

Ta-Ta,
Lauren

Confessions to Make

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about blogging. I'm in a technology class--one that many would consider to be a joke--considering the topics we discuss in class. Some of you would be thrilled to spend 2 hours every week talking about Google and its many features such as collaboration tools (Docs) and social networking (Reader, Blogger, etc.). We had two whole class periods devoted to Google, but nearly every week, we have discussed various technology tools, which often included tutorials on the Google version of such tool. My point is with this technology class, I've had plenty of excuses to surf the interwebs of Twitter and Blogger on a frequent basis, though I've been terrible at updating my own blog.

For this reason, I've been contemplating...What do I want out of blogging? What is my purpose for recording my life? Is it practical to keep a blog if I don't write in it frequently? Honestly, my purpose for blogging (as opposed to say, an online journal such as Livejournal) was originally to keep a record of my Child Life internship process, and all things related as such. At the time, I never imagined my life would evolve into an adventure that included several years working at an amazing summer camp, a semester living in the most powerful city in the world, and two years in a place that has landed me on the biggest rollercoaster of life.

I still want to write about everything I've been up to; my life is just as crazy as ever. However, I guess this two-year stent has got me feeling bored and unsatisfied with the way my blog is going, at least compared to the way it was intended. I'm just not sure how to rectify the situation, other than by either (a) attempting to write more often (but really, who wants to hear about my life as a not-so-dedicated grad student?) or (b) putting my blog on hold until something more significant comes along. If I really did keep up with this blog the way I should, perhaps it could be worthy of chronicaling life as a grad student, but my grad school life is anything but typical, so how is that valid?

In any case, these things have been on my mind a bit lately. With that little confession out of the way, I'm going to get on with updating you all about my recent adventures. Mkay, thanks.

Annie's Visit: February 25-28, 2010
One of my amazing college roommates, Annie, came to visit for a weekend in February. Her brother swims for Virginia Tech, so she and her parents came up to see him in the ACC finals, which were held at UNC. Annie's parents stayed at a hotel in Chapel Hill, but Annie stayed with me in Raleigh. While she was here, we watched Trey swim a few times, and explored Chapel Hell (heh) a bit. We also had some good girl time. This was completely necessary, since Annie and I have not really had a chance to really spend time together more than once or twice since we moved out of our apartment almost two years ago. Crazy how time flies, and even crazier how much I miss Nicholls, and Thibodaux, and everything about it...especially because it was one of the last times in my life when I was truly happy. In any case, I very much enjoyed Annie's visit and I really hope she'll be able to make it out to my neck of the woods again in the not too distant future.

A Surprise at Home: March 4-7, 2010
By now, I'm sure you have all figured out that grad school isn't exactly thrilling for me, and traveling has become an excellent coping mechanism in my life. lol. With that in mind, I got it in my head that I was bound and determined to make it home for a weekend this semester. However, with everything going on, I wasn't sure which weekend to pick. In February, I got to contemplating the idea of going home near my birthday (Mid-March) or for Easter. As it got closer, things fell into place for me to take a different trip on my birthday, but I was still in a funk about the idea of missing both Mardi Gras AND my birthday for two years in a row. For this reason, I decided to book a semi-last-minute airplane ticket for a trip home during the first weekend of March.

The "surprise" part of this story comes in when I say that I only told one person that I was coming home--my mother. You got it, no one knew I was coming home, not my dad, brother, grandparents, aunt/uncle/cousins...no one! That weekend happened to be the one that fell in between my Nanna's birthday and my own birthday, so I figured it would be a great birthday present to the both of us. As it turned out, my weekend at home was better than I could have ever imagined. The surprise component worked out great--everyone was completely surprised and thrilled to have me at home. I think there were a total of 5 surprises throughout the weekend, which was so much fun! It was so nice to see everyone, and I really enjoyed the quality time I was able to have. Cajun food and people galore, what more could a girl ask for? I love Louisiana.

MooKim Day & Spring Break in Idaho: March 11-16, 2010
With my birthday as the first day of my Spring Break, I decided to peace out of town a little bit early, and get a jump start on my holiday by flying out to Boise on Thursday, the 11th of March. Let me just say that the 11th of March was one of the longest days of my life...I literally had 26 hours of life on that day. After dropping Jess at the airport at 5 a.m. for her flight, I went back to my apt to pack and get ready for my trip. Long story short, my flight was super delayed, so I got rerouted on a much later flight which left me with several extra hours in Raleigh. Thankfully, Wil was willing to pick me up and let me take a nap at his apartment for a while, cuz I was so darn exhausted by that point, and my travels hadn't even begun. Needless to say, by the time I made it to Boise, I rang in my 23rd birthday with a late night of reunions at the boys' house and then girl talk with Kim that lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

Over the course of the next few days, I had the oppotunity to visit everyone at the hospital (where I interned in Fall 2008) and catch up with a lot of my friends in the area. We celebrated Kim and my birthday (MooKim Day) with a get-together at Kim's apartment and some fun times at both Bardenay and Jeff's apartment, too. I went on a 4-wheeling adventure with Derek, Jeff, and Jess (which has now become tradition for us). I also returned to the hot springs for the first time since my very first trip to Idaho 2.5 years ago. (Unfortunately, the experience was just as traumatic as the first, but in a different way. Needless to say, I will not be going back.) As always, I really enjoyed seeing everyone; so many of my Boise friends have been welcoming to me from the very beginning, despite our differences. I truly value their generosity and friendship and I can't wait to see everyone this summer in Louisiana for Kim and Joey's wedding...less than 2 months from now! Yay.

National 4-H Conference: March 18-26, 2010
For the fourth year in a row, I returned to Washington, DC as a Collegiate Facilitator for National 4-H Conference. In all my years of 4-H involvement, National Conference remains my all-time favorite 4-H experience. This year, the delegates to conference were, by far, the most quality group we have had in all of my years there. The kids were so great--passionate and driven like none other. Of course, the Tators had a great time bonding with each other and making memories to last a lifetime.

This year at Conference was a little different for me; I like to say I had the "graduate student" experience because of how many commitments I had throughout the week. Before applying to serve as a facilitator, I submitted a proposal to present a workshop with two people from back home. A few weeks after our proposal was accepted, I was selected to serve as a Facilitator. Then, one of the professors here at NC State approached Jess (who had also been selected as a Facilitator) about a research project for the Association of Leadership Educators Conference this summer. Together, we decided to do some qualitative research at Conference, which consisted of interviewing all 13 of the other Facilitators about the impact of their leadership experiences in 4-H. Needless to say, between developing all of my roundtable sessions, presenting the workshop in two sessions, and leading both focus groups and delegation interacts, PLUS the interviews, it was a crazyyyy week at Conference.

In the end, I very much enjoyed my experience at Conference. Nick (one of my former housemates and co-workers from my stent in DC), flew into DC on our last day of Conference. He came to see Christy and I as part of his Spring Break. For this reason, I convinced Jess to stay in DC with me for an extra day, so we got to hang out a little bit while he was there. Boy did I miss those kids...too much. Despite our distance, I talk to my WaHa kids on a daily basis, and DC will forever have a piece of my heart.

Easter in Eastern NC: April 2-4, 2010
Well folks, I guess it's about time I admitted it...I have a boyfriend. Yes, I just said that. Eeek. *Thinks to self: "Don't jinx it!"* For those of you who haven't heard, I'm dating a guy here in NC. We met in class because we've had pretty much all of our classes together since I've been here. Wil happens to be a student in AgEd. who was just offered a full-time position teaching agriculture at a high school in Morehead City, NC. (That's ON the beach, for those of you who are unfamiliar with NC.) *Congrats, Wil!*

Anyway, what does that have to do with the "Easter in Eastern NC" title? I figured I ought to give little background before going onto my rant about spending Easter weekend with a random guy and his family, heh. So now you know--Wil isn't random. Haha. In any case, holidays away from the family are always sad and a little bit awkward. It's nice of friends to invite me to spend time with their family so that I'm not alone on the holiday, but it's never quite the same. Needless to say, I was very appreciative of the Easter offers that came from several people here at school--Jess in PA and Lendy in NC, being two of them. However, things just kind of fell into place for me to go home with Wil to meet his family for Easter. Overall, it was a nice weekend; they were very welcoming and friendly, and I really had a lot of fun. :)

Girls Weekend on OBX: April 16-18, 2010
With the semester coming to an end soon, we ladies in the office decided it was time for a girls' weekend. Katie's graduating in a few weeks, so she requested a trip to the Outerbanks. I hadn't made it out there yet, so I was all in favor of the mini-vacay. Katie, Lendy, Jess, and I headed out on the open road early Friday morning with plans to make a few tourist-y stops before setting up camp on the southern end of the island near Buxton/Cape Hattaras.

Along the way, we visited Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills (largest natural sand dunes on the East coast), and the Cape Hattaras lighthouse. As luck would have it, we happened to tour on the 100-somethingth birthday of a Wright brother and the first climbing day at the lighthouse, so we got free admittance at both sites. It was pretty much the coolest thing ever. Lendy scored us a stinkin awesome townhouse at the Cape Hattaras hotel. With three balconies and a literal "on the beach" location, we were in Heaven. Moral of the story: we had a wonderfully relaxing, awesome, fun girl's weekend. Perhaps we ought to make a tradition out of it?

4-H Gala in DC: April 22-24, 2010
Randomly, one of my best friends from home, Victoria called me on Tuesday to say that she had an extra ticket to the 4-H gala in DC on Thursday. You all know how I am with last minute decisions and plans...they don't sit well with me. I freak out and get anxious, etc. However, since I had sort of worked on the gala project while working in DC last spring, I really didn't want to pass up the opportunity to attend the gala, especially when the tickets cost $750 each. On the other hand, I really didn't want to drive to DC for one night only, especially by myself. With that in mind, Victoria was able to score an additional ticket so that Wil could come along for the trip. (Since he'd never been to DC before, I had been telling him that I'd show him the city one day, and everything just fell into place for it to happen then.)

The gala was really nice; there were a good number of people and the set-up was super fancy. I really enjoyed seeing Molly, my former boss, and it was kind of funny to watch the other Council employees run around with their heads chopped off while I sat there and enjoyed the experience. lol. I think Victoria really appreciated our presence there, and I don't blame her--who wants to sit around at a fancy dinner and not know anyone, much less talk to a bunch of boring old rich people? Haha. I should also note that it was really fun to hang out with Tori for an evening, since I haven't gotten to see her since she and Seth's ornament (engagement) party in December. So, yay.

As for the rest of the weekend, I am forever grateful to Miss Christy Clary, one of my former co-workers/housemates (in DC) for allowing Wil and I to stay at Warren Hall for the duration of our time in DC. Although we didn't get to spend a whole lot of time together, I enjoyed seeing Christy and catching up with her about life in the good ole DC. Also, despite our short two days in the city, Wil and I were able to visit sixteen, yes SIXTEEN, different sites. It was crazy. We toured all of Friday and Saturday and made it back to Raleigh around 11 p.m. Saturday night. When it was all said and done, I'm pretty sure Wil really enjoyed his first visit to DC. Of course, there is still plenty more to see, but I'm sure he'll have another chance to make it out there eventually. It was definitely fun for me to play tour guide with someone who doesn't walk like a snail (aka: annoying 8th grade students) aaand who actually enjoys history, sometimes more than me, lol.

Grad School Sucks as Always
*Disclaimer: If you are in any way affiliated with my grad school or another, don't take what I am about to say personally. These are the thoughts and opinions of me and me only; it's my blog and I reserve the right to say what I please here.*

This semester has been a little better as far as coping with grad school is concerned, but a huge part of that is the fact that I have been traveling the majority of the time. In some ways, I've been considerably more involved socially, and my commitment to school has definitely fallen by the wayside. It sounds terrible, but I'm sure I would have reverted to my old ways (profuse complaining) once again. I guess I should note that these days I have decided I don't hate NC State, and maybe not even NC (as much as I used to, anyway), but I do absoultelyyy hate the whole graduate school process. Ughhh.

The thought of writing a thesis makes me want to vomit and/or burn down the building. It's not that I'm incapable of doing the work, I just don't enjoy it. Not one bit. In fact, I'm pretty sure I loathe it. Over these last 10 months of school, I've had a few tastes of research and scientific writing, and I've learned that this process makes me want to cut my throat. ('Scuse the morbidity here, lol.) In any case, I am absolutely dreading the idea of this thesis project. However, since I'm pretty much done with schoolwork for the semester, I really ought to get cracking on it. It's slightly problematic that I seem to be finding every viable alterative to writing. Oops.

Summer Soon!
In any case, I'm looking forward to some time for relaxing here in Raleigh before I head out for the summer. Looking to the future, Victoria is flying to Raleigh on the 16th, and we'll hit the open road for our 2-day trip back to Cajun Country with an ETA on the evening of May 18th. Our brothers graduate high school that weekend, and I'll be able to spend almost 2 weeks at home before I head out to Arkansas for 6 weeks at camp. My nieces/nephew (triplets) have a scheduled arrival for later this week, so I can't wait to meet them and spend some time pampering the little bebes during my short time at home. I'm not sure what else I'll be up to this summer, but I'll be back in Raleigh sometime around mid-August, I guess.

I'll do my best to keep regular updates, but you know how that goes these days...With that being said, I think this novel is long enough. Hey--maybe this will get you all on track for some summer reading; goodness knows it's long enough! Haha.

Until next time,
Lauren