updates.

i ran two miles today without walking!!! i am sure there are plenty of superathletes [my own mother included] who would not count that as a big deal, but for me, it totally is and gets me one step closer to running the 5k on monday. so yeah, i am pretty dang proud of myself.

i see james thursday! then we will drive up to breanna's wedding. i am so excited to see james for four days straight, celebrate luke and breanna, and dance all night!

i am now a master at skip to my lou on the guitar. i take what i can get.

that's it for now... taco tuesday!!!!

home away from home.

i have come to the realization that slo has become my home. four years later, and i have transitioned.

i am at my parent's house for the summer. i love them, i love spending time with my family, but i miss slo.

i miss walking downtown for calzones at farmer's market. i miss the horses outside my window at work. i miss high street deli and the colorful coffee shops on every corner. i miss hearing gilmore girls in the living room and the laughs and screams of emily and lauren. i miss dropping by on a whim to see caitlin and bailey, and strolling arm in arm with them to get yogurt or look at books. and i miss the comfort of knowing james is always somewhere within ten minutes of me, just in case.

i know this seems dramatic, and i will be back in two months. it's just hard being away from the place you have come to love as home. everything is different here. not in a bad way. it just is.

but i am done complaining now and completely ready to embrace all this summer has to offer me. for me, this summer means: running with my mom, planning my wedding, skyping with james, visits to the library [since i am poor and have no money to buy books], guitar/banjo lessons with matthew, learning stick shift from my dad, visiting my grandparents, and getting involved in the young adults group at church.

it also hopefully means i will be blogging a lot more.

[ps. credit to james for the title. he was proud of it.]

if love was a game you'd never play nice.

when i was in kindergarten, i was introduced to a tortuous ritual i had never heard of before: picture day. my mom and i practiced smiling for the entire month before that fateful day. every time i passed a mirror, i paused to give the mirror my best happy smile.

on the day of, i put on my frilly easter dress, had my mom do my hair in a bun that made it look like i had no hair [i already looked too girly in my dress], and marched into the classroom as my mom called, "smile pretty!" after me. i was all set for the best kindergarten pictures ever.

when i got into the room with the photographer, i sat on the stool and got all ready to flash my winning smile. for some reason, the photographer felt the need to say, "look sad". i understand the irony now, but did he seriously think a kindergartner would find humor in this? i am by nature a people-pleaser [my best and worst quality]. kindergarten laura was horrified to have everything she had been taught for the past month be completely contradicted in one fell swoop. i did not want to blatantly disobey the photographer, but i also did not want to disappoint my mommy, or look ridiculous and sad for my picture, so i settled for nothing. i didn't smile and i didn't look sad. i blankly stared at the camera. yes. full-on deer in the headlights status. it was a very traumatic moment in my young life, but now my family and i just laugh every time we unpack the christmas ornaments to find the clay star with my infamous picture glued to it surrounded by glitter.

all this to say that i have found a new song to be obsessed with, and it reminds me of this [hopefully endearing] story.

debbie?

feel sorry for me yet? ;)

okay i was just in a debbie downer mood the other day.

i do have so much to do, but i think after tomorrow at 7 i feel feel much better, with my final done and summer in my hands.

i really have no reason to complain.

school is looking up, my family will be here tomorrow, and i have the summer to plan my wedding to the man of my dreams. i think i have just had a lot on my mind, but i need to just turn my attitude around.

i am so blessed, and this past weekend, i had my first bridal shower! it was thrown by the amazing caitlin and bailey. they really outdid themselves, and if i didn't know they liked me before, i definitely know now! i'll do another more detailed post on it later, but it was so wonderful, and i felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

so my apologies for being a stick in the mud lately, and i will be back soon to share some more upbeat details of my life.

to thankfulness!

haitus?

yes i have been gone.

i just feel you don't need me updating every time i have a freak out about how much i have to do.

so maybe later i will be back.