December Bucket List

Did you guys know it's December 5th! I kind of forgot. I'm not sure why but I am not feeling the Christmas spirit as much as in years prior. Perhaps I was just way overboard back then? In an effort to get more into it I've made a bucket list. Some are admittedly things I have to do, while others are just fun and I like doing them.

1. Cut our own tree and decorate it with ornaments that Blaze cannot destroy. 
2. Put white lights in the windows of our house. (I already did this, and I love driving home at night and seeing the candle lights on in the windows, it reminds me of my home when I was little.)
3. Watch Elf, It's A Wonderful Life, Love Actually, and Home Alone 2.
4. Bake Christmas cookies. (Most likely using this recipe.) 
5. Sip hot cocoa with marshmallows next to the pellet stove.
6. Wrap all my Christmas presents at the same time while listening to Christmas music.
7. Listen to the "Celtic Woman Christmas" station on Pandora until my ears bleed. 
8. Finish sewing all my presents by Dec 17th so I won't be stressed out. (This means I actually have to start sewing.) 
9. Eat dinner by candlelight every night.
10. Decorate a wreath for the front door. (Sadly this year I did not collect milk weed pods to decorate my wreath, and now the snow and ice have come and ruined all the pods.)
11. Go for a night walk when it's snowing.
12. Have a bon fire. 
13. See a Christmas play (this weekend we're seeing A Christmas Carol.)
14. Go to the Newfound Inn for dinner and drinks, and to look at all the lights and decorations. (a three year tradition that I absolutely love and so look forward to.)
15. Start a new tradition.
16. Decorate the mantel.
17. Send Christmas cards. (This year I really felt totally out of ideas and found cards on sale for 50% off that I loved, so I did not/will not be making cards from scratch. Had I realized how upsetting this would be to my aunt I may have re-considered. The convenience factor was key.)
18. Buy presents for the giving tree. 
19. Go to a Christmas concert.
20. Take a family picture that all four of us look good in. (That could take until next Christmas.) 

One of my favorite Holiday sights. The Newfound Inn. 

What's on your December Bucket list? Any favorite traditions?

Lauren 

Snaps From The Long Weekend

 Over the weekend Penny helped me decorate the outside of the house for fall.

We made a scarecrow. I rested the pumpkin on top of his shirt for a head, but overnight it rolled off his neck, down the driveway and across the road. I assumed some neighborhood kid had stolen it and smashed it, but alas my pumpkin just rolled away on it's own accord. 

Charlie and I did trail work. Sometimes on the weekends I wait until he gets dressed and then purposefully put on a matching outfit because I think it's funny. We wore the same sweatshirt that we both got for finishing the marathon last year, and our Carhart vests that we got for Christmas two years ago. 

Had pizza and beer at Schillings in Littleton. I was expecting a dumpy town but it was so cute and busy. 

 Dug up a bunch of blubs, and then planted other bulbs. It seemed counter intuitive, but I did it anyways.

Went hiking and picked out a Christmas tree. I swear this was Charlie's idea. You pick on you want and decorate it then go back and cut it down, you know, after HalloweenThanksgiving.

Harvested sweet pea pods. This was one thing I grew this summer that actually did really well. Hopefully I'll be able to use the seeds to grow even better sweet peas next year. 

Enjoyed cider donuts, hot cider and a game of checkers at the new and improved Cardigan Mountain Country Store. 

Took the dogs for lots of walks and runs. This walk involved a covered bridge which neither minded, and a wire suspension bridge, which both dogs hated. It was pretty funny watching them walk across it. It was the only time all weekend Blaze didn't tug on his leash.

I wish every weekend was a three day weekend.

Lauren

Better Late Than Never....Closest To Project Runway I'll Ever Get

In August I went to see Arcade Fire with my brother, his girlfriend, and my mom. They bought four tickets and then invited me. After agreeing Garrett mentioned that you had to dress up in a costume and he said he was going to wear his astronaut suit with lights sewn into it. I thought to myself that it would be fun if I pretended I was on Project Runway. When we got back from our out West Trip we took the red eye and we both slept about .5 seconds for the entire 6 hour flight and we were in terrible moods and so tired; which seemed like the perfect time to buy fabric. I figured the added tiredness and general crankiness would make it more like I was on Project Runway since the designers are always tried and in bad moods. I gave myself a $30 limit, and spent $29.48. If I had been more awake I might have figured out more yardage and spent less, but I figured having more fabric would be better than not enough. 

The general pattern was the Saltsprings Dress I made earlier in the summer with a few minor changes. My favorite Arcade Fire song is called Sprawl ii, in the music video the main singer has two very cool dresses that I took inspiration from. The main one looked like it was made out of cheerleading pom poms. Anything with frills and sparkles seemed like fun to make. My main goal in this endeavor was to sew something I would never sew for myself normally. 

source.

I cut a lot of strips of different tulle and sewed them onto the bodice. It looked kind of like a piñata. Not exactly like pom poms but I liked it.  

 For the back I wanted something a little different so I sewed a layer of glittery tulle on top of the lining fabric I had then sewed random swirls on it. After I had a bunch of swirly lines I cut in between the sewn lines. It looks kind of like gills. I think I might try a technique like this another time because it was fun and I think it looks cool.

The skirt was made out of sequined fabric. Mostly because I bought a lot of it and wanted to use it all. Of course I added pockets. I had so much tulle left over that I made a train that tied around my waist. Thank goodness it was detachable because it made going to the bathroom in a porta-potty much easier. The concert was really fun. I had never been to a concert with general admission and was a bit worried I'd get trampled or sucked into a mosh pit; but I was safe. We were very close to the stage too so that was fun. People did keep stepping on my train but since the tulle cost about $2 total I didn't even care. 

When we got there I was a little worried that we'd be the only people dressed up or that Garrett had said it to pull a joke on us. There were a ton of people there in crazy outfits; a woman wearing a unicorn head/mask, people wearing outfits made of mirrors, and Batman and his whole crew. Here is Garrett's light up flight suit. 

It was an awesome concert, like nothing else I've ever been to. It took me 2-3 days to get the glitter off of my body from this dress, which is why I didn't put it back on for these photos. I think I could get away with wearing it for Halloween. I'm not sure what I'll be though. The tooth fairy maybe? Any ideas?

I am sure I would have been kicked off of Project Runway over this outfit, but it was really fun to make. 

Lauren 

Vacation: Things We Did

Our vacation was very fun. Charlie and I seriously made use of the term "killing two birds with one stone." Except we didn't kill any birds.

First we went to Seattle and spent time touring with Charlie's friend Steve.

We went to Pike's Place Market, pretty typical tourist place. Being there with two men wasn't the greatest time as they do not like shopping, they ate crumpets while I walked around.


Then we went to the EMP museum which had the most random assortment of things. Famous buildings made from Legos, a guitar tower, horror movie memorabilia, and exhibits on Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. From there we walked past the Space Needle. We didn't go in it so I can't full out say "it's a waste of money, don't do it" because I didn't experience it, but there was a long wait, it cost $30 per person, and it wasn't even that tall compared to the other buildings, so I didn't feel like I missed something spectacular. We did ride the monorail, which apparently annoys every person who lives in Seattle. My favorite part of Seattle was taking a ferry to Bainbridge Island. The views were great and Bainbridge was a really cute town. It was kind of like a lot of quaint New England towns so I can see why people from the city would like going there. We ate at a vegan stir fry restaurant, we didn't even realize it was vegan until we were done ordering, and it tasted great. Then we met up with Steve's girlfriend and she took us to the top of the Columbia Tower, which is that tallest building in the city. We watched the sunset over the Olympic Mountains. That view was spectacular which is why I think you should skip the Space Needle and go to the Columbia Tower if you're in Seattle. For dinner we got take out from a place called Paseo which was delicious, they have the second highest rating on Yelp.

After Seattle we went to the Tacoma area to visit my friend Lorelei and her cute as can be baby. We went to Stellacoom to a cute restaurant called Topsides. We went there last year too so it was fun to go back. Such a cute little area. Charlie, Lorelei and I did some runs around the base she lives on. It was nice to do some flat running for a change. We also went to Mount Rainier National Park. The wildflowers were in bloom and it was so pretty. Some of the trail we hiked on still had snow covering them.  Charlie was a sport and carried the baby on his back and complained only minimally. He doesn't really interact much with babies, but since were were there for almost 3 days he got comfortable with her and even picked her up. I was stunned. Seeing the difference from when I first met her a year ago to now was really fun.  

From Tacoma we drove to Spokane for a family reunion with Charlie's mom's side of the family. It was a three day event but I feel like I ate like it was a six day event. The food was delicious. I ate at least a pound of peanut brittle. Day one was in Spokane, day two (pictured) we spent at Coeur D'Alene Lake in Idaho. We floated on the lake, ate like kings, took a hilarious pontoon boat ride (we took on water) and watched the full moon rise over the lake.  Day three was spent eating brunch and being too full to move. 

The last part of our trip was to Glacier National Park in Montana. Charlie's sister Danielle joined us, and provided comic relief in tense situations. We drove on the Going To The Sun Road and couldn't find a parking space for the life of us so we continued to Rising Sun where I had the best salad dressing ever. Huckleberries are apparently huge in Montana and the huckleberry vinaigrette was "lick your plate delicious". Then we went back to Logan's pass and had to park down the road to get a spot, but at least there was a spot. From there we hiked on the Hidden Lake trail. We saw tons of mountain goats, lots of little waterfalls, and glaciers. We were only able to spend one day in the park, I'd recommend spending more, but the time we did spend was great. 

I had such a great time, friends, family, and sights; couldn't ask for more. I am thankful to Charlie for doing all of the driving. We listened to all the songs on my iphone three times, plus lots of radio time, when you could get a station. I'm also thankful to our great friends and family for showing us a great time, feeding us, and letting us spend the night(s). Out of our 13 day trip we slept in 12 different beds! Writing that makes me glad to be home. 

Lauren 

Us. On a Saturday Afternoon

Snap shots of my three most favorite creatures on the planet. Plus a few of me. 

 

 

Bribed with coffee, dog biscuits, and peanut butter on a spoon to get these photos.

Happy Sunday!

Lauren

This post has been written in sections over the last 3 years. It's a mixture of my diving story, a lesson in listening to your body, and a lot to do with how things happen for a reason.

Written last February: This weekend I went to a diving meet and one of the divers there had blown her are drum which reminded me of the time I blew my ear drum.

 Reverse twister. I hated that dive, and was not very good at it. Here's some proof.

In case you don't know much about diving, this is not what you're supposed to look like. 

 Remembering my ear drum story made me think a lot about how things happen for a reason. This is a long story, here goes.

February 1, 2008 I was at practice getting ready for the last regular meet of the year. I was a senior. We Had the meet the following day and it would be senior day. Then 2 weeks later was Championships, and it was a home meet, which was different from my previous three years of diving, during which we traveled to Champs.

A bunch of the divers were down on 3 meter, myself included. I don't remember who was there or what other dives I had done. I climbed the ladder to do my twisting dive. I remember balking once (that's when you do the approach and then wuss out and don't go.) I just told myself to do the stinking dive, so I did. I'm not sure if I freaked out or got lost, or confused or what but I screamed mid air and then pretty much stopped doing any twisting or rotating and fell into the water ear first.

The pain wasn't that bad but the first thing I thought was "Crap I just blew my eardrum." My coach, Jaret, asked if I was okay. I said yes but that my ear/head hurt. I climbed out the water, laid in the gutter for a while (that was quite typical for me when I had hurt myself). I think I made a comment about blowing my ear drum and Jaret told me to go under water and see if it hurt. Real scientific right? I did, it kind of hurt. Then I decided to go to the trainer and have them take a look. I put on shorts and a tee shirt and walked dripping wet to the training room. No one besides the trainer in training (a student) was there since it was late on a Friday. She looked in my ear, said it was red but not perforated and told me I could dive the next morning but that I should go home. So that's what I did.

This is where I learned a very important life lesson. Just because someone tells you something about your body doesn't make it true. I should have listened to my gut and gotten a second opinion. Oh well, live and learn.

The next morning my ear hurt but it just felt like there was water in it. I went to the pool and warmed up, every time I went to the bottom of the pool I felt a lot of pressure in my ear. I had dove before with a double ear infection so I just brushed it off and kept my warm up short.

The real reason I think I didn't say anything was because my Mom, Grammy and Aunt were all coming to the last meet of the year to see me dive. My family was always very supportive of my diving, my Grammy was the one who forced me to do it to begin with. She and my Grandfather lived about 45 minutes away and came to lots of my meets. At the end of my Junior year my Grampy's health, which was already not great, started to go downhill. At on point he fell in the bathroom and hurt his neck, we didn't discover until about 6 months later that he had actually broken his neck, this discovery came shortly after my blown ear drum. I was very excited for everyone to come and see me dive, and I didn't want to let anyone down.

 At the beginning of the senior meet all of the seniors get announced and run onto the pool deck and a younger member of the team gives them flowers. The way the schedule worked out we ended up diving before the meet actually started. I did all 6 dives on three meter, I can't remember my score but I am sure it was lower than my already not so great average. I remember trying my best to just get through the dives and to not go all the way to the bottom of the pool because that hurt my ear. Being the superstitious person that I am I kept my list of dives the same, meaning the twister was 5th out of 6 dives. Just thinking about that dive makes my palms sweat 6 years later, I have no idea how I managed to pull it off, but I did.

After three meter was done I started feeling dizzy but I ignored that feeling. Then the meet "started" and all of the seniors lined up to run onto the pool deck. When they announced my name I ran out and hugged my friend Meg who gave me a flower. The running made me even more dizzy, again a good sign something was up. After the national anthem the swimmers started and I retreated to a quite corner of the pool and laid down hoping that it was just water in my ear that was causing the pain and that the water would drip out if I laid on that side.

Jaret noticed my general distress and told me not to worry about doing 1 meter. I went up into the stands to tell my family that I would not be diving for the rest of the meet. I expected them to be sad, but in fact they seemed relieved. All three of them quickly packed up their things and left. Now, knowing the whole story, this makes total sense, unbeknownst to me Grampy was not doing well and Grammy, and my Mom and Aunt, both nurses, wanted to get home to him as fast as they could, but did not want to cause me any worries so they hadn't told me.

So they left and I just stayed at the pool and my general discomfort level rose. I guess I watched the whole meet, sideways because it continued to feel like something was in my ear and needed to come out. I went to the trainer again, again someone looked in my ear and told me it wasn't perforated but just red. This person told me if it felt like there was water inside I should put hydrogen peroxide in my ear to dry out the water.

Once the meet was over I went home, showered, and asked Charlie to put hydrogen peroxide in my ear to dry it out. I had asked him to do this 50 times before and we both thought nothing of it. I'll spare you the details, but tell you that this was the most painful thing that has ever happened to me. It felt like 1 million tiny knives stabbing my ear, head and brain. I screamed and cried very loudly and scared Charlie. You'd think this would send up a huge red flag! Hello go to the hospital Lauren! No, I ignored this sign just as I had all of the others before. I took some tylenol and went to bed.

I don't remember what happened on Sunday, I am assuming not much. We had morning practice on Monday at 6 am so I got up and went. I remember doing part of the workout and still feeling like something was in my ear so I kept tilting my head. *Warning, this is gross* Then one of my teammates said, "Eww, Lauren what's on your shirt?" A yellow substance had, for lack of a better word, leaked out of my ear, and continued to do so. Once again I ignored it and hoped everyone else would as well. Unfortunately for me at the time, this did not happen. Jaret made me promise to go to a doctor later in the day and get it checked out.

Later at the appointment I was surprised when the doctor looked in my non-injured ear. I said "oh no it's this ear" and he told me that he wanted to look in the good ear to get an idea of what a healthy ear in terms of me looked like. He looked in my left ear and said "Yep it's perforated" He also mentioned that my ear was very infected, due to the pool water and other bad stuff have gotten in there during the past four days. He put me on antibiotics and told me not to dive or go in the water for a month. That meant no Championship meet for me. Champs was 3 weeks away and I was a senior so on a Monday morning in the health center my diving career was over.

I didn't even cry until a few hours later. I guess not telling anyone had something to do with that. I just kept it to myself because I didn't want to think about it. Being on a team however where the coaches get calls from your doctors means that my coach knew and told my good friend Kiki who was in my class that afternoon. She brought me a lemon poppyseed muffin (my favorite) and I cried my eyes out sitting in Dunn Hall waiting for class to start.

Over that week I kept going to practice, since I had nothing else to do, but just sat on the pool deck trying to keep my attitude positive for my teammates. Unknown to me my Grampy was getting sicker. I guess no one told me because they thought I had enough to worry about. The week passed uneventfully.

On Saturday morning, February 9th 2008, my Mom called me and said she's like if I went to Pittsfield to visit and mentioned that my brother was coming to visit as well. Being kind of out of the loop I just thought that it was a surprise he was coming up and packed a bag to go see everyone. When I got there lots of family members were already at my Grammy and Grampy's house, and someone informed me that Grampy had decided to stop dialysis and go on hospice care. It seems like every woman in my family is a nurse so he had plenty of people around caring for him, as well as the nicest hospice care nurse ever. She did a great job of explaining everything to us and keeping Grampy comfortable. Everyone sat around in the living room with Grampy, family members kept coming. We watched some stupid shows on TV and everyone took turns sitting next to Grampy and holding his hand.

*This is where I stopped writing in February*

Later that night my Grampy passed away. It was very sad, and I didn't realize it until later, but I was so lucky to have been there with him and my family in those last few hours. 

So how does this related to my blown ear drum? Well his funeral, which was more like a roast, since that's the type of guy he was, was scheduled for the same day that I would have been diving in the Championship meet. 

I know if I hadn't blown my ear drum I would not have been able to dive anyways, and probably would have been sad about it. Since Champs was already off the table it wasn't even an issue. I did my best to support the team, cried (and laughed) at his funeral, and was generally sad and uncomfortable. The medicine I was taking for the infection made me sick to my stomach and every morning my ear would heal a little at night so I would have to spend 10 minute in the morning figuring out how to balance and stand up for the day. At the time I couldn't really see or understand why all this sad stuff was happening to me. The one good thing that happened during this period of time was that I got accepted early into Graduate School at UNH. I was so disoriented at the time that I had to call my friend and read the letter to him over the phone to verify that I really got in.  With six years of perspective behind me I am actually glad I perforated my ear drum. It taught me to listen to your body and not ignore huge signs that something it wrong. It also allowed me to be with my family, and go to my Grampy's funeral without worrying about missing a huge diving meet. Six years of perspective has also shown me that things really do happen for a reason.

Yesterday marked six years since my Grampy passed away. I miss him everyday. He was very into sports, especially hockey, baseball, football, and basketball. He didn't know much about diving but that did not stop him and my Grammy from coming to my diving meets and cheering for me every chance they had. I have so many memories of going to visit him and my Grammy on the weekends while I was in college. I always think of how lucky I am that I randomly decided to go to school in Maine even though UNH was potentially a better choice. I met some of my very best friends, had the chance to dive (even though I didn't know how to before freshman year), met Charlie, and was able to spend so much time with my grandparents. Everything happens for a reason.

Lauren

Sewing Room Art

Charlie's grandmother passed away a little over a year ago. Last summer we went to her house on Martha's Vineyard for a burial service. While we were there Charlie's aunt told me to take any books that interested me. There was one that I really wanted so I was pleased she told me to take it.

I love the cover, as well as the topic. The "setting up your sewing area" section of the book is quite funny. It was published in 1972. A friend said the cover had a very "yellow submarine" vibe.

I asked my then neighbor to photograph the cover for me to make a piece of art for my sewing room. Then I asked my computer savvy friend to edit the image. This is what he sent me.

Last week I got the image printed at a print shop in Plymouth. It took a few tries to get everything right and it only cost $1.50! I thought the lady made a mistake when she told me the price.

Then this weekend I asked my brother to make me a frame. He zipped around the wood shop so quickly putting a frame together. We filmed some of it until my camera had too many images to take anymore video. I was thinking about making another video like this one, but then I decided that if he went viral and I didn't I'd be so jealous.

Once we got home I framed the picture and hung it up in the sewing room. I really really like it. I might paint the frame to offset the colors in the image. Maybe a cobalt blue color? Thoughts?

I love it!  I'll show you the whole room soon.


Lauren

Blaze

This is Blaze. The newest member of our family. His arrival was quite sudden, but we love him and he's a great addition to the pack. Charlie has been waiting another dog since before we moved, we've looked online a bunch of times but never felt strongly about any of the available dogs. Last Wednesday I saw his picture online and thought he looked really cute. His write up said that he was friendly, playful, and would make a good second dog for a home. We e-mailed the people at the rescue agency to ask about meeting him. Within a half hour we got an e-mail back saying if we filled out the adoption form we could meet him over the weekend. After a phone interview, we got the go ahead and were scheduled to meet "Ted Baxter" on Saturday. The people from the agency even drove him to our house and dropped him off. He came at 6 pm on Saturday. He did not respond to Ted or Baxter, and we had agreed that if he didn't answer to those names we would call him Blaze. So as soon as the people left we started calling him Blaze. Penny and Blaze spent some time getting to know each other, we went for a walk, played fetch and went to bed. Sunday morning we woke up, Blaze was being crazy, dragging us on walks, chewing the side of the couch. I had a mini crisis/breakdown feeling like I ruined Penny's life, was on the path to having a new to us yet destroyed house, couldn't love another dog as much as I love Penny, and jumped into this too quickly. I cried and told Charlie how much I liked my life before Blaze came and felt like we were starting over. Blaze put his tiny head on my leg and looked at me with sad puppy eyes. Then I decided to accept that Blaze is here to stay, realize that he needed a good happy home, and we can provide that for him, and accepted that quilts, socks, shoes and bathmats need to be hidden for a while.

Penny is the classic big sister; ignoring Blaze and playing with him on her terms, stealing his toys, beating him up. They do get along quite well though.

Blaze is the typical younger brother; biting Penny's legs and neck, trying to be close to her at all times, following her everywhere. 

 He is a fast learner, he learned to sit in one day. Now, if I could teach him not to steal socks or shoes. The website said he was 2, but I think he's closer to 1 and acts a lot like a puppy. Good thing Penny runs him ragged so he's pooped most of the time. Except at 5 am, which is when he thinks it's time to wake up and play.

The best part is he stays in the yard and can walk/run off leash. He is so cute and friendly and loving.

We do love him.

Lauren

New York Adventure: Part Wedding

Too much to fit into one post. The whole reason we went to NYC was to go to Charlie's cousin's wedding. After a shower and a cat nap we set out to find a taxi. The first one we got into did not go so well. The man drove us about a quarter of a mile down a big hill and into a park while trying to figure out where we wanted to go. After several attempts to explain where we wanted to go and him saying "Where?" we finally just got out. Since I am an SLP I try extra hard to be accepting of people with hearing impairments, or language barriers, or whatever was wrong with this guy, but as the clock ticked away towards 6PM and we got no closer to our destination I finally gave up and we got out of the cab. Figures both of us had never hailed a cap before and our first attempt was a miserable failure. We've been in cabs before, we're not that backwoods....just never actually gotten in one without someone else. After hiking back up the hill, boy was I glad I didn't wear heels, we got another cab and then driver had a GPS so he could find the wedding location. And we got there without anymore issues.

As it turns out we didn't even need to worry about the time because there was a crash on the Brooklyn Bridge which caused many of the quests and wedding party to be very late for the wedding. When we got married at 3:59:59 I was ready to walk down the aisle and was so nervous I just wanted it to be over with so I could start having fun, I have no idea how Annie and Rob waited that long for the show to start but I praise them for keeping their cool. I would have lost it no doubt. Since the wedding was starting late we had the cocktail house early, and since it was Derby day they had mint juleps. Mint juleps look like mojitos, but do not taste like mojitos. It was my first and last. I really do not like burbon. Luckily they also had champagne. I like champagne. 

 Another good thing was that there was an incredible view to admire.

That's the Statue of Liberty in case you've time traveled from the past or future, or live under a rock. After taking 100 pictures and staring/ admiring the flowers and table settings (so funny how now that I have planned a wedding I pay attention to this stuff, before we got married I did not look at anything like that, now I love to admire it) the wedding started. Annie look gorgeous. 

Hurray! They are married! It was a beautiful ceremony. Just like with decor and the little details, I pay so much more attention to the ceremony than I ever did before we got married. I know how much planning goes into all of it so I have more of an appreciation for it. 

Seriously, the view was amazing. 

Speaking of amazing, so was the food. I didn't take any pictures though. Instead here is one of us at the table. 

This was the first wedding we've been to on this side of the family that was not ours or Jay and Meera's so we all got to hang out more so than at either of our weddings. I really picked a winner in marrying Charlie, but I got pretty lucky in the family he came with too. They are all so fun and nice, and some even read my blog! We had a great time.

 In the morning we woke up and drove home.We stopped about 80 times for different reasons, and then spent over an hour in IKEA. Once we got home and put together the item we bought we realized it was too big! Doh. Now we have to wait until we go to Boston, or make a special trip to return it. Big oops. Oh well, it was fun.

The whole weekend was a blast.

Lauren 

My Claims to Fame

The other day someone asked me about my tote bag. Admittedly it is a bit weird if you don't know me and my family. This lead me to think about all of my claims to "fame" if you will. *warning, this is a very random post* Here goes:

Self:

1. I drew a picture of the Statue of Liberty when I was five that was published in Highlights for Kids. I think my Mom has the copy. Even without the title you would still know it was the Statue Of Liberty.

2. I drew a picture about saving the rainforest with my friends in third grade and got to go meet the governor or something. My Dad made it seem like it was a big deal. All I remember is going to Toys R Us after and getting a new bike.

3. I wrote a story in 5th grade that got published in the newspaper. Looking back on it I want to smack myself for being so cliche because it was a scary Halloween story that ended with me waking up from a nightmare.  Lame 5th grade Lauren! Lame!! It still makes me a published author.

4. Two poems I wrote were published in my high school literary magazine. I think I've written about five poems in my entire life. I wonder what that says about my poem writing abilities?

5. Once I had the highest GPA on the Swimming and Diving Team. I might have sucked at diving, but I did not suck at studying a ton. Go me.

Now, on to the more interesting part of this post, my famous relatives:

1. My uncle Doug, and his partner Bryan, own The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, as well as two Shops in New York City. He might own half of Manhattan but I still pretend to be unimpressed.

Circa 2006. P.S. I made the backback I have on my lap. 

He gave me the unicorn bag which started off this random post. My little cousin and I bejeweled it. Flashy isn't it? If you so desire you can order one HERE. It's not bejeweled though.

 Charlie and I went to the Truck a few summers ago, it was magical. When Charlie's cousin gets married this Spring in Brooklyn we'll be going again, hopefully more than once. I can't wait to eat tons of ice cream. I love soft serve and crazy toppings. 

2. My Aunt Val is a famous author. She even has her own Amazon page. She's written tons of books, including some ghost writing gigs. For you non literary folks ghost writing means you write a book but get no credit because some famous person pretends they wrote it. Seems unfair in some respects, and very secretive.  I'll spil the beans, are you ready? Joan Rivers, and Snooki are the ones I know of. There may be more. My two personal favorite books she's written as herself are:

a.) It's Hard Not to Hate You
b.) Thin Is The New Happy

Both books were hilarious and even though there are gross scenes about my Uncle I still 100 percent enjoyed both.

3. My cousin is a beautiful singer and has about 1 million followers on Youtube. She and her friend record songs which give me goosebumps whenever I listen to them. This one is my favorite.

4. My uncle Steve is an actor for Gilbert and Sullivan's in New York. He also has a blog, which I see he hasn't updated since someone in a bug eating contest died. He doesn't actually look like this, at least not most of the time.

Charlie says that my post just proves that if you live in, or around New York City you must be famous. 

5. My Dad is the Fire Chief of the town I grew up in. This has gotten me out of a speeding ticket, and gotten me two jobs. It has taught me nothing about fire safety. He also has a blog.

That's all I can think of. If you are related to me and feel that you have been slighted in this post please let me know so I can right my wrong as quickly as possible.

Are you related to anyone famous?

Lauren!