There is never enough time in a weekend. Friday night, Michael & I met up with Erin (Mama Gooch)’s parents, my mom, & our friend Jess to celebrate Jess’ birthday in the only way we know how: EAT. Buttery shrimp & beef fajitas, chips & salsa, a skillet brownie & ice cream, & Starbucks. FOOD COMA. The Birthday Girl! Reen’s mom, Kimby. She’s mah fave! A lovely group of peoples. Saturday morning I tried to be productive by cleaning both of my bathrooms. I had intended to clean the bathrooms, dust, & do laundry, but when you’re a perfectionist you’re all “I think I’ll Windex the mirror” and before you know it, you’re on your HANDS AND KNEES scrubbing grout [...]

When you spend 18 hours in a car, you tend to pass through a lot of states. Since we left at 5am Christmas morning, I promptly fell asleep as soon as the car started moving. I woke up to Michael’s arm stretched across me, taking this picture with my iPhone. Me: “What are you DOING?” Michael: “Taking a picture for your blog.” AWW. There’s nothing like a supportive husband. I somehow missed the Mississippi signs… both ways. Oh well. Google to the rescue. (photo credit) If any of you decide A) That it would be a good idea to travel 18 hours one way in a car in one day, or B) That a good day for such a trip [...]

I have been extremely Scroogey this year. As in, whenever a Christmas song comes on, I make a face and then change the station. As in, I haven’t decorated my house for Christmas… at all. As in, I’ve done all my shopping online because the thought of stepping foot into a store or a mall right now makes me break out in hives. Merry Christmas you filthy animal… I think it’s due to the stress from being sick/having surgery and the subsequent game of catchup that has been haunting me since the day I was discharged from the hospital. Add some drama happening with people near & dear to me and medical bills that KEEP ON COMING (seriously, they’re never [...]

Sometimes you hit a dry spell with blogging. Sometimes you have a lot to say and don’t know how to say it. Sometimes you’re afraid of being 100% honest. Sometimes you’re afraid that even if you can grow a pair and be 100% honest, it won’t be well received and people will delete you from their Google Reader. Sometimes you need to grow a pair and say “So what?” and do it anyway. And then sometimes, you need to go have sushi with your girlfriends, play with your new camera, and almost wet your pants from laughing so hard. Lauren: “Instead of my hair looking like a flowing, cohesive style, it just looks like a side ponytail.” Kayleigh: “My hair looks square.” [...]

Hello my name is Lauren, and I am a procrastinator. As I have mentioned before, one of my dearest friends, Erin, is pregnant. Very, very pregnant. And it’s not like I just found this out either. I was one of the first people she told, in the form of a “Skyped” picture of a freshly peed-upon pregnancy test. So yeah, I’ve been along for the ride. I’ve had 9 months to think about an amazing baby gift. I’ve had tons of great ideas. I just… never got around to actually buying one. Until last week. She began to send me various texts using words like “dilated” and  ”contractions” and such. I panicked, got on Etsy, and chose one of the [...]

I am famous for two things. NO, NOT WHAT YOU THINK. Bargain shopping and making returns. Ask anyone who knows me well. Shortly after Michael and I got married, I realized that my curling iron had been damaged during the move. The thing was at least a year old and covered in hairspray. I had no box and no receipt. The next time we went to Wal-Mart, I brought it along. Michael was rolling his eyes, telling me, “Yeah right babe, they’re not going to take that back.” WATCH THEM. I marched right up to Customer Service, handed them my curling iron and said, “Hi, I bought this here, and now it’s broken.” The lady looked at it, and looked [...]

Is it Friday yet? Close enough. Call me crazy (wouldn’t be the first time!), but I honestly think I am suffering from sympathy pregnancy symptoms. One of my best friends, Erin, is pregnant. (No, you’re not hallucinating, I have mentioned her before.) I am obsessed with her blog, follow her on Twitter, am friends with her on Facebook, chat with her on Skype, and we also text each other periodically throughout the day. That’s right, folks, I have a front row seat to all weight gain, cravings, swelling, WEIRD EXCRETIONS (too much?), and the general rigmarole of her pregnancy. The weird thing is, as I read her blog, I crave the things she’s craving. When she says her ankles are [...]