Meow- Photo 4

As I mentioned to you in my first post about restarting the photo challenge I wanted to incorporate themes. Well I haven't done much in the way of themes these past few days as you may have guessed. My first theme I figured might as well be animals. I live with a cat named Abbra. He is not my cat let me tell you. I am deathly allergic, ok not deathly allergic, but allergic none-the-less. Anyways Abbra and I have not gotten along. I wouldn't say I'm mean to him, but I won't touch him or pet him. If he comes near me I blow on him and he runs away because he does not like wind. He occasionally begs for food, but I deny him. I do not succumb to the needs of a cat. We have a love/hate relationship. I occasionally like to talk to him like he's a human, but I know he won't respond to me. He just stares in utter confusion as to what I'm talking to him about. Here's to all the cat lovers out there.

Peace&Love

~L

Falling Behind Again?

Here are photos 3 and 4. Photo 3 is my Zumba dvd. I love doing that workout. I love what it has done for me and my body. (The incredible shrinking Laurel). I appreciate the 45-60 minutes of exercise I get in everyday. It keeps me sane, healthy and running high on good fumes.

Photo 4 is sort of hard to tell but its supposed to be of this huge mansion out in Merton. Absolutely stunning and endless. I had a shitty day at work and felt like I couldn't do a damn thing right. (I know it wasn't actually true, felt like it though.) I just felt like showing you what some people get to live in these crazy amazing houses. I used to want to live in that style of house, but over the years have grown to love simplicity and would rather spend my money living life, not on a home that won't last forever.

Big house is farther away.



Peace&Love
~L

Photo 2

My friend Erin and I decided we were bored and wanted to get out of the house. A few weeks ago she had mentioned this place in Milwaukee called 7 Bridges. I had looked up online what the 7 bridges were and it looked rather interesting. So we decided to head down there and check it out. We first arrived at the Lake and decided to walk around there. However, pulling into the parking spot Erin's car decided to freak out and stall. We decided to walk around a bit and then try the car again. Lucky for us the car started and made it all the way back to her house in one piece. Unfortunately we only got to see the Lake. We decided against checking out the bridges and determined to try again another day. My picture focuses on the change in weather and the change in Lake Michigan. It has become more wavy and much more chilly. (Still dirty.)

Keep warm!

Peace&Love

~L

Starting Over

A long time ago, well not that long ago, I started a 365 day photo challenge that fell well short of the mark. Life sort of just got in the way and I just stopped uploading pictures. I also think my mind happened to stop trying to find creative things to take pictures of or unique ways of showing pictures. Well I'm attempting this challenge for the 2nd time and I think I have more momentum. I have an urge to be more creative, mainly because my creative outlets need to be used more often. I began thinking that maybe I ought to find themes for each week or a specific photo theme for each day so its less difficult with coming up with a photo, but I think coming up with 365 days of themes will be a chore. Some say the best way to go is to let the inspiration come to you each day so you aren't planning ahead or looking for something specific, but I feel more challenged if a rule is set before me. So here it goes back to the beginning. Day 1: Although this copies my first time through this challenge I think its still fitting, a photo of the photographer. This picture is a representation of my silly self and the "I can't believe I am going to try this again" look. Here goes nothing!

Working on themes now

Peace&Love
~L

Thankful

Happy Black Friday to you all! Hope you have done all your holiday shopping and loved standing in long lines to get some good deals. While you are all out being materialistic I am still thinking about yesterday and the opportunity that I had to spend time with family I hadn't seen in years! I still wish the day was going and we are still eating massive amounts of food. I have so much to be thankful for.

Here is Josh Groban's song Thankful:

Somedays we forget to look around us
Somedays we can't see the joy that surrounds us
So caught up inside ourselves
We take when we should give

So for tonight we pray for
what we know we can be.
And on this day we hope for
what we still can't see.
It's up to us to be the change
and even though we all can still do more
There's so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves
Theres way too much sorrow
It's way too late to say, I'll cry tomorrow
Each of us might find our truth
It's so long overdue

Refrain

Even with our differences
There is a place we're all connected
Each of us can find each other's light

Refrain


Remember to be thankful all the time for everything you have, not just when the holidays come around. Try not to get all caught up in the craziness of the materialistic things of the holidays.

Peace&Love
~L

Thanksgiving

Let the feasting commence! I could barely sleep last night as thoughts of turkey and pumpkin pie dance in my head. (Well and also that the Packers play today and for the first time in 10 games, I think they may not win. Sad.) I am so very happy to be seeing so many family members that I have not seen in years! Although at the same time I do not get to see any of my immediate family and that makes me sad, but I am thinking of them. It gets harder to see family when you move around the country to be where you want to be and then the expense of flying anywhere to see them.

"As we give, we find that sacrifice brings forth the blessing of heaven, and in the end we learn that it was no sacrifice at all."

Thanksgiving is the day we thank God for the things we have been given and they truly are blessings. But the greatest blessing and sacrifice ever given was his Son. When we give our time to help others or even to help ourselves we often think of it as a sacrifice. Usually its us sacrificing our time and money to help someone else, but really it isn't a sacrifice, especially if you do it wholeheartedly. When you see the end result, you understand that it was worth it all. We as people, should give more to our fellow neighbors and think of them more highly than we do. Give more than just around the holidays.

What am I thankful for this year? I am thankful for my friends and family. I am thankful for generally good health. I am thankful for a job. I am thankful for happiness and the understanding of what it means to be content. I am thankful for this life, no matter how bad it can get sometimes.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy all the food and festivities!
Peace&Love
~L

Pumpkin Pie

Oh baby was it good!

I was a little leary at first about making a pumpkin pie from scratch. I mean actually chopping open a pumpkin, digging the seeds out, cooking the pumpkin until the flesh was nice and mushy. After it took mulitple attempts to get the pumpkin flesh to come off and realizing after mushing it, that it wasn't looking so good, I thought, Oh goodness no way is this thing going to turn out. But there is no turning back. After adding the other ingredients to the mix and letting the pie cook and cool overnight, I tried a piece of pie after work. It looked good. It smelled good. Oh boy did it taste good. I'm glad I kept on pushing through. I could have given up, thinking that it was not supposed to look like what it did, but heck, I would have missed out on something real good. I would not recommend starting cooking a pie of this sort at 8pm, because you will be up until almost midnight doing finishing touches. But I do recommend trying on making pumpkin pie from scratch and not straight out of the can. It is definately the best and you will never want to go back to the can again!

Sorry I don't have any pictures to show you. I had thought about taking pictures halfway through the process, which by then would have been pointless. I will try to upload a picture of the final product with a slice missing. ;)

I hope all of you enjoy a much needed break from work and get to spend lots of time with family and friends or whoever means the most to you!

Peace&Love
~L

Just a Quote

Just a quote I found on the greatest website in the world Pinterest! I thought it was fitting for all of us to remember about our lives.

"This is your life. Do what you love and do it often. If you don't like something, change it. If you don't like your job, quit. If you don't have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of you life, stop, they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. Stop over analyzing, life is simple. All emotions are beautiful. When you eat, appreciate every last bite. Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things, and people, we are united in our differences. Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once, seize them. Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating. Life is short. Live your dream, and wear your passion."


Do it people. Do it ALL! I know I'm trying my best!


Peace&Love
~L

Almost There

Almost to the first of the major holidays and very much looking forward to it. I have a 3 day week next week at work and am so thankful for that even though I know its going to be very stressful. We will be short staffed most of those days. But hey there might be some overtime involved and I'm not going to complain about that. Mostly, I'm looking forward to the Christmas music. Apparently here in WI its okay to play Christmas music on the radio all day everyday. I have not managed to turn on this station except my accident and go eeww no, still too early. I appreciate the fact that there are people out there who love the holidays so much and probably listen to Christmas music all year, I am just not one of those people. I like the music blasting the day after Thanksgiving like it should be. If I listen too early, I feel like I lose my holiday spirit too early and I don't want that to happen. I'm almost to the point of cranking up my radio and listening to the tunes of the holidays.

Given that we are almost done with 2011, I'm already looking to next year and what new workouts I want to try. I'm pretty sure I never informed you that I did Insanity again and lost more weight. Amazing little workout there! I've looked into Shaun T.'s newest craze called Asylum. We will have to see though. For now I continue to mix it up like always. Happy to say that my size 9/10 jeans no longer fit. Maybe I should stop getting jeans until I stop losing weight. I feel that I'm the incredible shrinking Laurel. Almost there to my happy weight. I just hope the holiday meals don't screw me up!

Peace&Love
~L

Northwoods Getaway

I'm not one for just sitting around anymore. I always need to be doing something. It's my thirst for adventure that keeps me going. It's my search to learn more about life and myself. I can say I learned more about myself this past weekend as my friend, Amber and I decided to drive 5 hours to the UP on a whim. We decided our destination was Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and it did not disappoint. We went from 55 degrees and no snow to 40 degrees and 5 inches of snow. But in the park there was not a spot of snow which was crazy. I have hiked quite a bit in my day. I did a lot of solo hiking while I was in S. Carolina but on short trails where lots of people hiked. No fear whatsoever. I've hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up twice, but those always included other people. Besides you are always by others because its a popular hiking destination. This was the first time I hiked with just one other person without seeing another hiker on the trails. We hiked deep into the forest which was incredibly beautiful. I felt like I was hiking in the Pacific Northwest. At moments we'd freak ourselves out when we'd hear a sound thinking it was a bear or a moose only to see that it was a squirrel. It was backcountry baby and I loved every minute of it. The sights. The sounds. The smells. The feeling of being the only person alive (well besides my friend). The humbling experience of being in God's playground. The joy knowing there is still beauty left in this world, you just have to go out and look for it. I don't want to bore you with much more, so just look on.


Peace&Love
~L

Me and snow and sign

Miner's Falls

Bridalveil Falls

Gorgeous forest

The cliffs

Oh the life

In the deep dark forest

So pretty

Spray Falls

Sable Falls

First time on dunes

GNO

 After receiving the horrible news Friday night I was so looking forward to the planned girls night out, or should I say in. My roommate from freshman year of college is married to a pastor in training so the girl I currently live with and another friend of ours got together on Saturday for some pizza, movies, drinking and much needed catching up. The pizza hit the spot and the conversation had me laughing. We rented the movie Bad Teacher and needless to say I'm not a fan of it. I knew I wasn't going to be, but I needed to watch a movie that was comedic and not serious. The best part of the whole night was when Erin, Elyse and I went outside around 1130 at night and were just chatting about whatever. (Now remind yourselves that we had been drinking.) There happened to be a pumpkin sitting on Tracy's porch, apparently Erin did not see said pumpkin and tripped over it causing me to squat down in laughter, practically peeing my pants. My friend Elyse somehow captured this moment of me, while I captured Erin's epic face as she is about to trip, on camera. I don't know why it was so funny, but it was. It was definately what I needed to get through what was a start to a bad weekend. Whenever our group, or parts of our group, get together it is always a good time. Can't wait for the next time!


Peace&Love
~L

Our host, Tracy

Erin yelling at Elyse

I guess Erin likes to yell

Erin's epic face

Your's truly


What Happens When Your World Come Crashing Down

So what do you do when your world comes crashing down? When things in your life are no longer what they were? When what you've known all along has suddenly stopped existing? What do you do when you look to something as being a success and it becomes a failure? I'm not one to spill all of my personal secrets to the entire world, but I've never been here before. I've never walked down this path. Unfortunately I saw this coming at the end of last year and I wished it to happen right away or never to happen. I thought it could be worked out. You must be thinking what could she be talking about? Well my parents who have been married for 28 years have decided to call it quits. I thought all this time they loved each other and could work it out, but clearly I was wrong. My mom claims that she stopped loving my father when I was really little. Thats a long time if you ask me, considering I'm 23 now. My heart is broken, but I knew this was coming. I felt it all along, but I kept wishing it away. I can't control things in my life. I just have never felt this way before. I know I can navigate my way through this, but its going to take some time. This alone makes me question all I've known about marriage and happiness. I've got friends to get me through this. It makes me want to just run away from it all and never speak to my parents again, but I'm also 23 and an adult and can handle this in a civil manner. I'm pushing myself evermore to figure out where I'm headed next. I know now more than ever its just me in this life with God by my side and we are walking it together no matter how hard the road gets. Keep pushing. Keep moving. Keep believing that there is good left in this world.

So what do I do when my world changes? Keep on moving right along with it. Accept it. Deal with it. Love it.

Peace&Love
~L

One of Those Days

Ever have one of those days where you wake up and nothing seems to go right and you wonder how the rest of the day will turn out? Yeah that was my kind of day. The morning was a little rough. It started off with a car alarm going off for I don't know how long and it was before I was set to get up. Already annoyed. The weather did not help either. Cold, windy and gray. I didn't get to have what I wanted for breakfast since the microwave was being used for 5 minutes by another member of the household so I settled for breakfast on the go instead. The drive in to work seemed to take forever and people continue to drive like idiots. Which boggles my mind. Why are they allowed out on the streets in the first place? Once I got to work I took a deep breath before walking in saying to myself you can either let all of this crap bring you down or you can find something positive out of the mess. So I figured looking for the positive would be better than being a crab. Sure enough as soon as I walked in, I was greeted with smiles and good mornings. One of my favorite children brought in the most delicious cupcakes I have had in a while and that was a plus. I was able to get everything done on time for the most part today before being beckoned back into the classroom to deal with the crazy toddlers who somehow managed not to fall asleep today. (My guess it was the cupcakes that did them in.) The best part of the whole day was stepping outside and seeing a pretty spectacular sunset. Although I didn't to enjoy it very long I still appreciate God's little blessing. The day may not have started off great, but it ended with a smile from God.

Peace&Love
~L

Drama: Not for the Weak

Let me just say I HATE drama! I hate people who like to muddle in drama and soak their lives in it. I don't understand why anyone would love to stir the pot. All I remember about dealing with drama is that it stresses me out. Being 23 years old, I've learned how to deal with the drama in my life. I basically try not to deal with it. If someone is being dramatic I generally try to walk away. But sometimes you just get sucked in. Example a friend of mine was just dumped by her boyfriend. He basically told her the "it's not you, it's me speech". He told her they were in different phases of their lives and he didn't want to keep stringing her along if he knew he didn't see it working out. He said he had never met anyone like her and he truly meant it, but he felt they weren't right for each other. I respect him for that. I also wanted to be there for my friend. But I don't want to be in the middle of their situation. This guy has never done anything wrong to me, so I'm not just going to all of a sudden be mean to him, because my friend is no longer dating him. Anyways she kept accusing him of having another girl in his life but she doesn't know for sure. Then she had her mom write this really harsh and inappropriate facebook post on his wall. Don't even get me started on how that is wrong in so many ways. So she texted me last night and told me to tell her if anyone says anything about the post. Well he deleted the post and rightfully so. She texted me earlier and said she felt like crap for writing it. I told her the best way to clear her guilty conscience is to apologize to him. I told her she also didn't know for sure if there was another girl in the picture and she basically said well how do you know that for sure? Obviously I don't, but she can't be making judgments about it. That annoys me alot!
I'm pretty sure all of this drama crap is juvenile and we acted this way in elementary school. I don't understand how anyone can enjoy the drama and consuming their lives with it. Clearly, they have nothing else better to do. I don't want to be a part of it. If I choose to walk away it is for my own sanity. If you have ever dealt with drama you know it is not for the weak. You have to stand your ground if you somehow get sucked into it. If there is one thing I've learned stay far away from it.

Peace&Love
~L