♥

today was one of the best Sundays ever. 

one of my best friends, kenna- gave a fabulous talk on missionary work & all the lessons at church today were wonderful!

one of the neatest ((is that a word?)) things i heard today was, 

"....saints are sinners who keep on trying." ((i really like that. so many times people expect themselves to be perfect, or expect those of the LDS faith, that we can't ever mess up. it's impossible to be perfect. have you ever tried even for a day to not mess up at all?))

i've realized i need to care more about people's challenges.

i need to stop judging.

i need to be more nurturing.

 there sure is something so special about this gospel! i found myself having tears roll down my face multiple times today. these weren't tears of sadness though. these were tears of joy. the holy ghost is such a great witness to me. he helps me feel at peace. he makes me feel protected. without the holy ghost in my life, i know that it would be hard to understand this gospel!  this gospel is powerful! it helps us love...feel and LIVE in such a way that changes us.

i've found sundays to be awesome days to reflect on how blessed i am.

my brother jake, who is serving a mish in chile, recently hit his 13 month mark. ((you have no idea how happy i am!)) it seems like sundays are the days that i seem to miss him the most. some days i feel like i haven't seen him for an eternity! some days are really rough, but then it goes the other way too....some days i just can't stop smiling because i know that he is blessed to have this wonderful opportunity. i'm really lucky to have a brother like jake.

i am also very blessed with such a strong family! my parents are absolutely fabulous individuals! they are so strong in this gospel and are great examples to me of service, love and dedication. my sisters are also wonderful, who i miss like crazy!

and don't get me started on my amazing friends. most specifically...hope, kenna, dacy, brianna, melissa and betsy. ((i know there's much more!))

thank you usu for being an amazing experience.

adios for now!

happy birthday brianna

one of my bestest friends in the WHOLE world is turning 19 today.

brianna dickerson :)

things about brianna:

her major is photography & is dang good at it.

she is a great cook. :)
she always look amazing in any picture she is in. of course, she will disagree. but it's true.
she comes from a family of 4. she's 2nd oldest.
her sister just got engaged.
her and i became really tight junior year. :)

things i love about brianna:

she gives genuine compliments.

she's a hard worker.

she always has her hair done. this is the truth.

she calls me laurenita.

she is always so happy when she sees me.
she cares about others and makes sure everyone is included.
she's BEAUTIFUL.

love you brianna!

running & blood & shout out to mckenna

i'm sitting in the tsc right now...

watching people donate blood.

kind of freaking me out.

i'm giving blood next week for my first time....

maybe something magical will happen that i don't have enough iron or something.

or maybe faint?

but that would be WAY worse.

i just don't do well with needles and watching my own blood.

we'll see though right....?

do they have to have this huge massive garbage can next to where people are giving blood?

it makes me think that it's a puking station.

& those chairs...could they look anymore uncomfortable? haha.

anyways.

sorry for my.....blood tangent

to get off the whole giving blood topic, i went on an amazing run yesterday 

with my friends hope and kenna.

they are currently training for a marathon for middle of may!

i'm so excited for them!

i hope to do a half marathon in may'ish.

or later....

i'm not a runner AT ALL.

i ran 3 miles last night...UP the huge hill USU is on.

pain---ful.

but really fun and great!

oh ps. shout out to mckenna drew.

she sent me the sweetest text of my life last night.

i wanted to share it...((hopefully she's okay with that.))

"thank you so much for everything, lauren. you seriously make me feel so much better about myself and i love having talks with you and hanging out with someone with such big goals and is so happy all the time."

i really appreciate that, kenna.

i really hope that you feel and know how beautiful you are all the time.

i love knowing that we share the same beliefs and passions.

i love that you make me feel amazing and special!

i really just can't explain how blessed i am for you.

you are truly one of my best friends.

half marathon

yeah...thinking about it.

the whole deal kinda freaks me out.

but my killer awesome friends kenna and hope are starting to train for a marathon.

which is giving me this crazy inspiration to do a half marathon.

i have been running a lot this past week or two and it's been sooo wonderful.

painful, yes.

but amazing.

i think i can do it.

 i just gotta get going on it.

i'll keep you updated.

question...now that i posted about it, do i now HAVE to do it?

my answer...yeahhh....woot?

for the record.....usu is the greatest

last night...
was the crazy hoe down institute dance thingamajig.
now that was a funny one.
they had the full deal.
a mechanical bull, cowboys swing dancing and the stick game ((what's that called again? haha))
even though they are cheesy, they are a blast.

 hillary, hope, kenna and i! :)

 ashley, me, brianna & melissa!

 ashley, tara and i!

i love you girls! i'm so lucky to have fabulous friends!

&

 i went on an awesome run with hope and kenna this afternoon.

it was gorgeous! it started snowing while we were running and it felt like winter wonderland.

okay, maybe that sounded cheesy. but seriously.

it was so much fun!

i've really started to get into running and i'm almost at the point that i love it.

freeeakky...

&

OH! 

.....and aggie basketball is de best thing since sliced bread.

we rocked it tonight.

we played against new mexico state.

& kicked it! 

59-49-final.

i love going to aggie basketball! especially with awesome friends!

it's a BLAST!

read up on the article:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/51103402-89/state-utah-aggies-mexico.html.csp

 

baby mck and i

trevor and jordan

baby mck and sam

pet peeves & loves

 evening folks,

would you like to know one of my biggest pet peeves?

when people chew on their gum like a horse eating hay.

it drives insane!

it's like i can hear every chomp ringing in my ear. haha.

you know what i love?

working out

eating well

going to bed & getting up earlier

reading my scriptures and praying

all those REALLY make a huge difference in my day.

working out: no brainer, makes anyone feel like they can just take on the world! or at least that is how i feel. i love being sore from killer workout and taking care of this amazing body i have been given.

eating well: this is of course a huge thing to watch for being a college student with little money and the most unhealthy food for dirt cheap. but, i went shopping yesterday and only spent 20 bucks! and bought delicious and healthy food! fruits, pitas, lettuce, healthy crackers and tape! (random side note)

i love putting good stuff in my body. i hate the feeling after eating junk food in the cafeterias at school. i feel like there is this huge rock in my stomach after....maybe there is. :)

going to bed/getting up earlier: BIG adjustment since the semester started. my classes were bumped back to 9 AM compared to 10:30 (my earliest last semester). yes, it's been hard to get used to, but i love just getting up and going for the day. throughout high school, i was always a morning person. i gotta get back in that groove.

reading my scriptures and praying: when i came up to college last august, i wanted to get in the habit of reading my scriptures and praying everyday. i can honestly say, i've stayed pretty faithful to that. prayer sure is a huge blessing in my life. i love that even when i feel completely alone, tired, and useless i can look to prayer for some help. but i also love that prayer is there for me in the good times too. i love giving gratitude for the little simple things in life.

giving some thanks

becca.....
in honor of you, i chose to do a similar post to yours.
let me highlight a few thank you's for some special people in my life.

it's the little things people do, that make me smile.

 

becca,

i appreciate you so much! 

you seem to always know what to say when i need a pick me up.

i AM the blessed one to have you here with me.

i really hope you know how much i care about you!

love, lauren

 berkley,

ever since i have met you, you have been a wonderful friend.

you are always giving me great compliments, and sincere ones at that.

i hope i can one day live up to what you think i am.

i miss you so much!

love, lauren

 

amberly! 

i have never recieved such an amazing compliment in my life. 

i almost cried haha. thank you for making me feel so beautiful.

thank you! thank you! you are such a wonderful friend!!

love, lauren

brianna, 

thanks for the blog post about me!

it was sooo sweet!

you are one of my best friends!!

and thank you for the compliments. i try to emulate what i believe!

love you! 

love, lauren

 

kenna,

i have to agree, i love being around you!

i love that we have so much in common.

i love that we do tons of stuff together all the time.

i love you!

love, lauren

talia,

you are wonderful! i love when we talk.

we really need to hang out sometime!

you are such a great example to me in so many ways.

love, lauren

--------------------------------------------

thank you everyone! i sure have a killer awesome life!

love, lauren

just more about me :)

1. Your favorite song:
toss up...it's currently between iris by goo goo dolls or hear you me by jimmy eat world.

2.Your favorite movie:
i can't pick just one! to name a few....dan in real life, italian job, some chick flicks, star trek.

3. Your favorite television program:

everybody loves raymond, monk, bones, gilmore girls, and anything on hgtv.


4. Your favorite book:
i love the diary of anne frank. but i wouldn't consider that my favorite, i don't have one.


5. Your Favorite Quote:

i'm a quote junkie, i have a trillion quotes i love, but here are just a few:"whether you can or can't....you're right." -henry ford

"let us not be satisfied with just giving money. money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. so, spread your love everywhere you go." -mother theresa

"in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." -anne frank

"don't compromise yourself. you are all you've got." - janis joplin

"Remember who you are." -dad

6. 30 of your top favorite things:
true friends, family, the lds church, water, my camera, blue skies, the beach, antique shops, laughing, cooking with my mom, pizza ((guilty pleasure)), sno shack, teaching swimming lessons, painting, service,  my singles ward, utah state, my sketching classes, going on family trips, going on runs, rock climbing, 4 wheeling, singing loud in the car, smiling at strangers, my phone, memories, painting my toes, driving, and meeting new people.

7. Pictures that makes you happy:

 l-r (top row)--beth and i ((i love that girl soooo much)) & my sisters and i at 7peaks & me, betsy, bri and ashley at the usu v. weber game, row 2-left to right: my parents & kenna/hope/me right before the 80's dance & dacy, me, kenna, hope, jonathan, and kristy! and because i'm a pyscho and like my stuff even, let's pretend a threw a picture of my brother in there. :)

8. A Photo that makes you sad:

it's bittersweet. this is my brother jake, he is currently serving an lds mission in chile. i miss him sooooooooo much but he's doing great and loves it there!

9. A photo you took:

((the coolest antique shop in logan))

10. A photo that makes you laugh:

betsy and i being creepers.

i love that girl.

11. A photo that was taken over ten years ago:

umm....they are all at home. 

12. A recent picture:

13. Something you are OCD about:

-I wouldn't say there is really anything that I'm OCD about.. ha ha.

14 Your favorite outfit:

umm..some killer jeans & probably my blue button up top or black lace shirt & my turquoise jewelry.

15 Your favorite shoes:either my black kicks or my sanuks. ((google em))

16. Where do you go to school:

utah state university :)

17. What are you majoring in:

interior design

18 Your dream house:

oh my. anyone that knows me well, knows this might be the hardest question you could ask me. i'm a sucker for old houses. but, if i had to pick..probably along the lines of a victorian style.

19. A song that makes your cry (or nearly):

jesus take the wheel.

20. Favorite picture/painting/art piece:

tooo hard. haha.

21. An unknown talent of yours:

i love math....shhhh.

23. A hobby of yours:

swimming! i love everything about it! it's my release.

24. A favorite treat your mom makes:

               aww! this is making me homesick! she makes this amazing homemade carmel popcorn!

25. Your day in great detail:

i woke up, went to my sketching class, sketched trees around campus, went to my architecture class, sketched more trees, went to the pool, went to dinner and now...i'm here! :)

26. Your worst habit:

clicking snooze at least 2 times before i get out of bed.

27. Biggest fear:

haha. probably being alone at night.

28. Whats in your purse?

wallet, chapstick, pens, notebook, lip gloss, phone, keys...pretty normal. haha.

29. Hopes, dreams, and plans for the new year:

-get into interior design program at usu ((it's highly competitive))

-keep working out every day.

-go on a study abroad next year.

-always be myself.

:)

library grandpas and creepers

first off...

i now have 11 followers.

i'm really stoked!

thank you,  followers & even those that check out my blog here and there. 

so i'm in the library sketching for classes & i'm not getting anywhere.
i can't really focus or anything....

 

((pardon the random picture of me, i try to have a picture with every post..so here you go, i guess.))

i was sitting by an old grandpa who i thought would die at my very feet. he coughed every 5 seconds and coughed for what seemed like a minute....and this cough was a cough of death. and then he was breathing deep like a ravenous bear. it kinda freaked me out....

& then this older guy waved at me & i was afraid he would come over and talk to me...that was way weird. what is with my pyscho library adventure?

& also my teachers never sent me an email telling me my hw and none of my friends know what we are supposed to do either. oh well. hahaha.

but, to date back to yesterday.

church was great.

i really love my student ward ((singles ward))

we had the missionaries from our area speak, and they both gave fantastic talks. 

i don't have my church notebook on me, but when i get home, i'll fill you in on

what stood out to me.

& then we had a high council member talk about SEX with us. that was kind of weird. not that the topic is "sick" or "gross" it was more just awkward. i guess that is something that college students have to work on, thank goodness not me.

haha.

well sorry for the randomness today. i love you all. :)

#263

a new years resolution:
once a week (if i can refrain myself from doing more)...i will post a "the way i see it" quote.  these "the way i see it" quotes are found on starbucks cups (so i hear, haha) i came across this idea as i was blog creepin the other day, and i thought i should change my blog more....
into a place where people can be inspired
compared to a daily summary of my life.

i hope you will also find them inspiring, enlightening and help spruce up your day.

i have some killer awesome friends

 

katie "dawn" swain: my bestest best friend in the world. i love her soo much. it's been rough not having her at usu with me. but she's planning on coming up here next year. she is such a fantastic girl. there is so many great thing about her, but some of her best is her smile & her hilarious unique personality. love you sista! (not literally) haha.

 

beth "bethalicous" berry: i love this girl so much. even though we didn't go to the same high school and going to different colleges now. she has always been one of my greatest friends. we were tight in junior high school and we still are. she is from missisippi (yeah messed up that spelling) and just has the funniest personality ever.

heather "heathbar" schramm: i finally got to see heather over christmas break. before break, i hadn't seen in her in easily 4 or more months. i also didn't go to high school with her, but we've still managed to make times to hang out when i'm in town. she is one of the sweetest cutest girls ever.

 

betsy "bethany" reeves: one of my bestest friends in the world. she is sarcastic like me and she makes me die of laughter every time i'm with her. she has a really chill personality and is always understanding. she's the best. :)

 

brianna "bri" dickerson: my gorgeous brianna. another one of my bestest friends.  i sure love her. she is always nice to everyone, even if she has a tad of sarcasm here and there. she always makes me feel great when i'm around her. and she also loves to feed me. hahaha. love you babe!

 

mckenna "kenna"..."baby mck" drew: she is probably my closest friend i have met at usu. she and i are always hanging out and talking. we go to lunch all the time together and i love being around her. i'm really lucky to have her in my life. she's amazing!! we have the greatest talks ever.

 

hope braithwaite: another one of my closest friends i have met at usu. i haven't seen her very much lately  (which is rare) haha. but i guess the whole first week of the semester has us both really busy. i love hope so much though. she is thee nicest person i have ever met. she never talks bad about others and is so genuine.

p.s. there are many more of you that i love, so please don't feel forgotten. i love you all.

running

so...i'm not a runner.
but after today, i think i'm going to try to rededicate myself to running.
the past probably year or two, i've been in and out of running.
i get in this weird spurts that i'll run for a straight couple weeks and then i completely stop.
but with this new semester, it's the perfect time to get it in there.

there's something about running that i love.
i seriously don't know why.
it's just this sense of pushing yourself to the limit and not wanting to stop for anything.
i love it!

i will keep you updated on my running adventures and soon enough i'll be posting about when i run a straight 6 miles, okay...that's a little too crazy to think about now.

night! :)

first week with interior design

hello.

i hope you're doing great. life is so grand, can you agree?

i really hope so.

if not, shoot me a text and we can get that fixed. :)

this week is finally coming to an end.

don't get me wrong. i have had the greatest classes of my life this week.

but it's very tiring. my classes range from 70 minutes-3 hours.

which is hard for me to sit through with some of my classes.

not that it's not interesting, but my attention span is short. haha.

i just need to say though, how much i absolutely love my classes.

i love waking up in the morning...excited to go to class. (this doesn't happen often)

i love knowing i'm going to class to.....

create

expand my imagination

learn about things i'm interested in

be inspired

& love what i'm doing

what a common misconception about interior design...

is all we do is "decorate"

no no. you are very mistaken.

we are designers, not decorators.

one of my professors (who used to be a prof. designer) said 10% of interior design is design......

the other 90% is buisness. which i'm completely fine with.

i've always been one that is interested in the office scene. i know it's weird.
& when i say i like the office scene, i don't mean the 2 inch cubicals.

just the awesome meeting discussions, jotting down notes and other stuff.

i know, i'm super weird.

i used to want to be a secretary. gimme a break. :)

beth berry photography

is amazing.
& not because she is one of my best friends.
what i love about beth's work is it's very unique. all of her shoots are all different.
the style of client's outfits, the props, backgrounds and angles.
she uses props which i think adds to much to a photograph.


here is her blog, please check it out & leave a comment if you feel so inclined.
http://bethberryphotography.blogspot.com/
here is a shoot she did last week of yours truly. enjoy!

   

and of course it's not always serious when we hang out so enjoy some ridiculous pictures.....

first two days of as a pre-interior design major

is INSANE.
wow. hahaha i'm so fried already.
i have classes that are either 70 minute or 3 hours.
is that crazy or what?
i'm really excited though, even though it is going to be a lot of work.
i sketched for 2 hours today or more and my hand is completely numb. hahaha.
but it's all good.

after my classes, i hit the pool with hope.
i can't even begin to say how much i love to swim.
it's my de-stresser.
i feel so great after, even if it hurts.
i gotta get in the groove to hit up the pool daily.

love you all!
i hope your week is going well so far!

back in lovely but cold logan

i'm back.
it's bittersweet.
but honestly, more sweet than bitter. the bitter....just being away from my family and friends.
but it's all good.
i love logan and i'm right where i need to be.

i got in around 1 this afternoon and was greeted by my amazing friends; hope and kenna.
i lovvveee them sooo very much.
oh so yes, i've decided i brought up a lot of junk with me. but it's all good. hahaha.
i loved driving up to logan with my dad. i have missed him a lot. he's such a great dad.

i spent my afternoon hanging out with kenna and hope.
& visiting with angela, and ERIN (who just moved in), and charity, and the boys next door, and the girls in 112, and everyone else. haha. i feel like i have a huge family here and i love it sooo much.

oh and don't even get me started on how excited i am for my classes. they are going to be so awesome!
they are all interior design pre-reqs. i can't even handle it. hahaha.

well i gotta finish unpacking...but adios!

jazz game

last night,
i went on an awesome date with my friend jordan.
it was great to go up to slc again. i haven't been there in awhile.
we went to california pizza kitchen....
& as usual it was amazing. :)
meat lovers baby. that is the only way to go. haha.

after dinner, we walked around the gateway....which was freezing, but still fun. hahaha.
we then headed over to the energy solutions center..i still consider it the delta center haha.
we had pretty awesome seats. we were in lower bowl, so it was pretty...SICK. (just for you, jordan)
it was a blast, even though we sucked sooooo bad last night.

a few shots...

 

  

& of course.

we HAD to get hot cocoa.

no, but seriously.

this is a MUST when we hang out. haha.

p.s.----maverick, your hot cocoa is to die for.