quote of the week.

"the whole universe,
depends on everything fitting together just right.

if one piece busts, even the smallest piece,

the whole universe will get busted."

-beasts of the southern wild

free concerts are my fave.

 

the highlight of this past weekend was REDFEST, a concert held at U of U. thanks to marti's friend who is a U of U student, she got us 2 FREE tickets to brand new & manchester orchestra!!!! we were so excited. brand new is luke's favorite band (other than the beatles) & i'm a huge fan of both bands. brand new especially holds a dear spot in my heart as it reminds me of my best friend adam. he lives on catalina island but both luke & i were wishing he was at the show with us.

 

"is your cat for sale?"

 

this past weekend ally & i had a yard sale to get rid of a few things (still so much more to go through, but that's a project for another weekend).

i offered to help out at criddle's that morning but left early cuz i was feeling very sick (story of my life). came home to find a lot of stuff had been sold, & QUITE a few questions were asked about nesta pants. ally said one couple came to browse through the stuff, & their little toddler saw nesta in the grass, walked right over to lay by her & roll around with her. she was totally cool with it; she's the most friendly cat ever, & she even followed him around the yard sale.

"is your cat for sale!?" they asked ally. "nope, my friend lauren is WAY too attached to her," ally explained. they then asked, "well is she ever going to have kittens? we've never seen a more doglike cat!"

it's very true, nesta has the quirkiest personality, she just loves to be in the middle of it all:

 

hangin' out by all the yard sale stuff.

they weren't the first people to ask about her, in fact almost every person who came by said, "wow, what a gorgeous cat!" or "she's so friendly! are you sure she's not a dog?" we're not sure, to be honest, but she is our favorite. 

 

after luke & i put the yard sale stuff away we laid in the grass with nesta for a couple hours. it was a very relaxing saturday afternoon.

 

here's a random one of her taking over our kitchen table. she owns the house.

  

& a random photo of ally & her Pa, isn't he the coolest grandpa ever!? we love him.

also you can see my cottage in the background; for those who have never been there before! 

an especially awesome quote of the week.

 

"When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade without further introduction"

 - Mark Twain

picture of nesta, sleeping like people. she loves to sleep under the covers. weirdo.

my little texans.

so texas is determined to take everything i love away from me. okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but still. my older brother & his fam moved to texas back in april, & i found out last week my other older brother is moving there too, & therefore taking away the one nephew i have close to me! ROAR! it's very good for them, a job is nice & you can't really be picky in this job market, but i'm still just a liiiiiittle bit bitter about it!

i am hoping to head out there in december for a visit, but one of my professors is proving to be difficult in letting me have the time off (she has a final scheduled for the last day of finals...if i leave after that i would only be able to stay for 2 days. i have to use my vacation at fox 13 by a certain date in december. it's messy.)
anyways, i've been really missing my nephews & niece lately, even if my youngest nephew hasn't even moved there yet. my sis in law posted a bunch of super cute photos from their visit last month on her blog & i just had to share:

 

at the zoo.

 

grace & "baby pressin." she was SUPER excited to come out & see him. aren't they the cutest!?

 

team "orange crush" at the triathlon this year. more pictures here.

 

throwing grace in the air at my sister's wedding! aka getting my work out for the day. she loved it!

 

with luke, who matthew & grace love...sometimes more than me. i only get a little jealous..

 

& one last hilarious photo....of my victory yell when i snatched my sister's bouquet out of a little girl's hands. i'm kind of a brat....

Weekend Double Date!

 

luke & i were able to double date with these 2 cutie patooties last weekend. we went to SLACKWATER, one of ogden's best pizza places...though i ended up getting these humongous nachos:

 

i couldn't even put a dent in this thing. i've seriously never seen nachos so big. ever.

 

we sat outside & our waiter lit a fire for us..it was awesome! i absolutely love this place, it is one of my favorites to go out to eat at. 

 

thanks for doubling with us, emily & erick!
em moves back to colorado springs this week, so it was nice to have one last hurrah! i miss her already (so does nesta.)

Cassie's Birthday

 

luke's sister's birthday was this past weekend, & we celebrated by going to the dinosaur park in ogden last saturday. i haven't been there in YEARS...my grandpa took me a few times when i was little, but it has been at least 10 years...don't worry, it's just as cool as i remembered it!

i was thinking of my awesome nephew the whole time we were there... he is my little paleontologist & would have had a blast teaching us all about the different kind of dinosaurs we saw. 

happy birthday cassie! thanks for the fun day!  

quote of the week.

 

"a little nonsense now & then is relished by the wisest men."

-roald dahl 

can't...stop...laughing....

perhaps it's because it's 3:30 in the morning, & EVERYTHING is funnier this late at night, or maybe it's because i like anything that pokes fun at mitt romney ;) but this is the most hilarious thing i've seen in awhile.
i'll forewarn you there are a few inappropriate parts... so don't watch if you'll be offended. but it's nothing too inappropriate, at least in my opinion. also, you can watch bad lip readings of president obama, ron paul & more...it makes politics just way better. (also, the ending of this clip...i die. so funny.)

some favorites:

"that your underwear up there?"
"i'll punch you in the back."
"you mama can't reach my garden, otay? it's my garden, ya dig?"

papa davis.

 

my beautiful bff & her boyfriend!

i had the amazing opportunity to attend emily's dad's burial service last week in malad, idaho. he was buried up on his property in the malad mountains, & emily & i both agreed, he was probably laughing his head off at all the people carpooling in trucks & hiking up the hills in their skirts.

but it was a beautiful location & i can't think of anywhere better for him to be put to rest.

 

there was also a military tribute for him at the malad funeral home. i'm pretty sure the entire population of malad was there...i mean, there's like NOBODY that lives there, & yet the line at the funeral home went out the door.

 

i will never forget the influence emily's dad had on me. the ability to make anyone feel loved & welcomed, & the ability to work hard until his last day. i know for a fact i wouldn't be where i am today without him or his family!

he was a great man. RIP, peace & love. 

lack of sleep does a lot to a person.

 

well i survived week one of my new job. barely.

it's safe to say that if you saw me at all last week, you saw me at my craziest... and that's not an exaggeration. poor luke saw everything from crying, laughing, screaming, even throwing temper tantrums. it was bad.

my body does NOT know how to shut down when it's daylight out. i put blankets over the windows, took some tylenol pm, put a handkerchief over my eyes...anything to help my body feel like it was nighttime. but basically nothing worked & it wasn't until i had gone 35+ hours without sleep that i finally crashed. hard.

however, i survived, & even left with some hilarious new memories... here are bits & pieces of my week:

1. after 35 hours of no sleep, i was trying to do math & was NOT succeeding. when i got frustrated i told luke, "THIS SUCKS BECAUSE I'M STILL 3 EPISODES BEHIND!" (instead of assignments)

2. singing teletubbies theme song while driving home from malad, idaho, to help myself stay awake.

3. also jamming pink floyd with all 4 windows down & using my steering wheel as a drumset.

4. running into the door because i was too tired to notice it wasn't open.

5. after trying to sleep for 4 hours with no luck, opening a gallon of ice cream & eating out of it with a spoon. luke says, "wow...are you okay? i've seen you eat ice cream out of the container exactly 1 time, & you weren't doing so hot then..." hahahha!

needless to say it's been one of those weeks. but i am fired up & ready for this week's adventures. hopefully i get some more sleep!

quote of the week (it's been awhile!)

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.
-Friedrich Nietzsche  


it is on that note that i say that i have offically gone 29 hours without sleeping. i was supposed to start my new job tonight at 1 am, but my boss called yesterday morning & said they'd need me that night at 1 am.
did i mention i had worked until 10:30 pm the night before???
i had class ALL day that day (literally, until 8:30 pm)...luke & i walked home from campus where i TRIED to sleep, really i did, but i'm so used to falling asleep at 1 in the morning instead of going to work...let's just say it didn't happen.

i've been writing down all the seriously weird stuff going through my head when deliriousness kicks in. plan on an extra awesome "weird shiz lauren thinks" post later this week. as of now i can't even lift one more finger to type one more word. 

labor day weekend.

 

this was probably the highlight of my labor day weekend: the massive amounts of produce from my landlord's garden (don't worry! she gave us permission to pick stuff from it!). can't wait for fried zucchini, breaded squash, salsa, & fresh strawberries. mmmm.

hope your labor day was lovely. while mine was mostly somber (see post below), it was also relaxing. & even though yesterday was labor day, some of us still had to labor, as you see here: 

 

the four (of six) people in the newsroom on labor day. def not very many of us.

other highlights: 

 

picking from our herb garden to add to our meals. yum.

 

records & fall brew....my favorite.

my best friend emily.

for those who don't recognize this girl's face, you obviously haven't been reading my blog for very long. :)

seriously though, this is my best friend emily, & this is a sad post.

her father, who is referred to as "papa davis" passed away a couple days ago.

i found out yesterday, & haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since. mostly, my heart absolutely hurts for her family. at times iw ant to think how unfair it all is, & how i wish i could just make everything go away for them. 

but then i realize he was called on to something better.

let me tell you a bit about the father of emily that i knew: for a couple years, he was basically my second dad. every time they came out, emily insisted that i tag along to their family functions, and they insisted to treat me like i was family. i will NEVER forget the spring semester of my junior year, when i was laid off from my job and completely out of money due to my own horrible spending habits. i couldn't afford school, or even to borrow money for school because i had missed all the deadlines, so i decided to take a semester off.

i woke up one morning to a text from emily, & later, a check in the mail from her parents, for my tuition. i started sobbing & was almost embarrassed at first. why was it their problem that i couldn't afford it? why did they care so much? i quickly realized that it wasn't their "problem," this was just how they are. emily's parents are some of the most selfless people i know. i went to school that semester & got my first 3.8 GPA ever, all because i wanted so badly to make their donation worth it. i will never be able to repay them for that.

i'll also never forget his silly jokes & teasing me for being a "crazy democrat." we would often START to get into heated debates, only to have emily's  mom, lisa, cut us off because she didn't like the contention. then her dad would wink at me, & every time emily & i would leave they would both hug me, & it blew my mind every time how accepting they are...of everyone. i always felt at home with her family. 

now i know he was called on to better things & bigger missions. he was a bishop of his ward in colorado springs, & i remember telling emily ages ago i wish he was my bishop. he has much bigger plans in store & he will watch over emily & their family until they join him someday. i have no doubt in my mind her family is strong enough for this. emily has been through a lot of things, & i have always admired her. she will always, ALWAYS be my greatest friend...it's funny, no matter how much time goes by, we get together & it's like we never miss a beat. my greatest memories are with her & now the best karma i can muster i'm giving to her. your karma, prayers, thoughts, etc, would be appreciated. this family deserves it more than anyone i know.