Prom

Last night my sister went to Prom, so it made me think about my proms so I dug up some old pictures:

Junior Prom
Melanie was my date. This picture was so completely candid. We weren't ready for it and I just kind of threw my leg in the air and opened my mouth. But I love it and it makes me happy. My mom made my dress for me. And for the record, it wasn't dorky for us to be each other's dates.

Senior Prom
My date and I are in the middle. I made my dress this year. This picture was taken up at Hendrick's Park in Eugene.

But enough about me, here are some pictures of my sister and her friends. They were so cute, and went in a group of girls. Apparently one of them had a horrible date experience the year before and wanted to just go with her friends.

Prom 2009
My mom made Rachel's dress and worked on it literally up until the time Rach put it on. We bought her necklace, headband and shoes the day of the prom too. But it all worked out wonderfully and I think Rach is the cutest one (but then again, I'm a little biased).

After helping the girls get ready at our house I hung out with my parents. A kid I used to babysit, who is now 17, and his band were playing their first gig at the Wow Hall, a local music venue, so we went to support them. The kid told my mom they were playing between 7:30 and 8 (they were the first band) so we get there at 7:30 and my mom rushes in and asks the ticket office if the first band has already started (we could hear the music already). The guy tells her yes they've already started so my mom goes rushing into the music hall and opens the doors (which were closed and blocked by a trashcan), she comes out a couple minutes later wondering why no one is in there and why everyone is waiting in the foyer. Turns out the band was doing their soundcheck. All I can think is, great, we have a whole bunch of punk teenagers here for the "Rock Against Prom" show and I'm hanging out with my parents. I'm decked out in cute sandals, capri pants, and a frilly Anthropologie shirt and surrounded by 16-17 year olds in their skinny jeans, personalized converse sneakers, studded belts, and unique thrift store t-shirt finds. Not only are we clearly the oldest people there but we can't even attempt to blend in because of our conservative clothes. Turns out that the show doesn't start till 8. We take a walk around the block to relieve ourselves of the displacement and to find somewhere to eat after the show. Although the show was fun and I'm glad I was able to see the formerly shy, computer playing gawky kid on stage with teenage girls screaming for him as he walked over towards them with his guitar, and hearing "Victor's sexy!" yelled during breaks between songs, I'm so glad I never have to go to prom again (with it's accompanying drama) or go to anti-prom rock concerts surrounded by kids thinking they're so cool and cutting edge while they go against the norm.

That is a chapter in my life that, while it was enjoyed at the time, I'm so glad to never have to repeat.

Also, I found the cord to upload pictures, so check out this post so you can see my flag cake!

Sweaty dress

 Since it's Sweaty Summer Round 2, I only thought it appropriate to wear my sweaty dress on the hottest day yet this summer. Now, unless you went to Jerusalem with me, you're probably wondering what the heck is a sweaty dress? It's this dress:

And why is it the sweaty dress? After a particularly fantastic dance party at the JC (Jerusalem Center), in which I had worn the fabulously breezy blue dress, I looked like this:

At least I wasn't alone right?

Hm...

I have lots of things I want to blog about but for some reason don't really feel like doing it. But I'm going to force myself to write a few things down now:

1. I came home from a run Saturday afternoon and my dad was watching Mean Girls. It made me laugh and it made me laugh harder when he was cracking up during certain parts. (None of which I can remember exactly now--maybe the getting hit by the bus part? or the creepy/gangster-wanna-be Mathlete guy)

2. Sunday was the five year anniversary of Brooke Wilberger's disappearance. It's hard to believe it was so long ago because I can still remember vividly what I was doing and where I was when we got the phone call asking for my dad's help to search for her the day she went missing. I remember I had just come home for the summer after my sophomore year at BYU, I sat withBrooke at church the day before. We discussed "her missionary" and my impending study abroad to Vienna. This Sunday I talked with the mother-in-law of Brooke's sister at church on Sunday about it and how I miss her and have been thinking of her a lot this week. Brooke's family is incredible. They are still strong and so positive. It makes me really grateful for my church and our doctrine.

3. I made a cake for our Memorial Day swim party yesterday. It was the Flag Cake from Ina Garten but was featured in Martha Stewart a few years ago. I think it turned out pretty good but I can't find the cord to hook the camera to the computer so there will be no picture, but just remember, I did the cake pretty dang good, and the cake and the frosting part were delicious alone but with a little added raspberry and blueberry it was divine. I probably could have eaten all the batter and frosting as they were. Not kidding, they were that good.

4. I graduated over a month ago. And I have done nothing. I can't tell if that's fabulous and wonderful or slightly pathetic and depressing. We'll see.

5. I'm trying to get back into shape. I felt really good about myself that summer Brooke went missing but after going to Vienna, I lost the good habits I had formed and slowly got back to how I was before Vienna. I guess the fact that I love to try new food didn't help at all, but Vienna + England + France + 18 months in Poland + summer Europe trip + back in Provo gotta try all the foods I loved and missed + Jerusalem, got me so off track from where I had once been that it wasn't even a habit to eat healthy or eat right. I found myself eating lots of high fat foods, using food to socialize, using food to comfort (Ben and Jerry's, especially the new Marzipan one, Mint Cookies and Cream, the cake one, and Imagine WhirledPeace--although I might just like this one because it has peace sign chocolate pieces and I like the Beatles). I made ridiculous goals for myself like this, that I knew I couldn't keep and then got frustrated and down on myself when my unrealistic expectations couldn't be met. (Although, I do understand that my goal could be met with a little self control, it just isn't realistic for me to not eat sweets, I like them too much. Giving up being lazy would be a more realistic goal.) So, back to why I'm blogging about this. Well, actually I don't know why I'm blogging about it. I guess it's on my mind a lot today because I had a slight freak out to my mom when I stepped on the new scale we just bought and I appeared to have gained five pounds from the morning weigh in to the lunch-time-testing-the-new-scale-weigh in. I was not happy because clearly the scale I had previously been weighing myself on is off by about five pounds! I've since mellowed out and calmed down, and I still don't really know why I'm blogging about this. Do I really want people to read about this? I don't even know who reads this. I have a few loving commenters but most people don't comment (as much as I wish everyone would comment *hint hint*), I know I read blogs I don't dare comment on! But I guess maybe this is why I feel melancholy today.

That's a lot going on in my mind these past few days. There was more I swear there was more. And it was more good stuff than bad. Today though I feel like the slightly depressing over powered the good.

And I thought this was going to be a short post. Hm...

Edit May 31, 2009: I found the cord for the camera so here is a picture of the Flag Cake!

Sweaty Summer Round 2

Last year I spent the entire summer bathed in sweat.

1. Valley of the Kings, Egypt: My undershirt was completely soaked.
2. Jordan: If you look closely I have pit stains. It was hot and that shirt was not forgiving.
3. River Jordan: Trever's back is very wet. Had I had my picture taken, the results would have been similar.

4. Tel Dan, Israel: Enlarge the picture. You can see the sweat on my forehead.
5. Gamla, Israel: I am starting to get a puddle of sweat on my neck. If I had photographic evidence of the end, That sweat triangle extended to my belly button. And I had had a camelbak on. It was incredible, I had no idea I sweated that much.

This summer is turning out to be similar, but not for the same reasons.
First off, I'm moving to DC. And it's humid there, so I'll be sweating.
Second, I'm trying to get back in shape so that adds another significant element of sweat.

Today we hiked Mt Pisgah, which if you had asked me before we went how long of a hike it was, I would have told you for sure five or six miles to summit. I found out that it was about two miles to summit. I am not in good shape that's for sure. Here are a few pictures from the hike. It was beautiful:

And yes I was really sweaty.

Good news is that when we got home we jumped in the pool for a few laps and then powerwashed the deck ghetto style-- meaning we used a hose and a brush. Too bad the only brush we could find was a toilet brush. The 70s house dress added to the over all ambiance.

PS. My diploma came today!

Cake!

Yesterday my parents hosted a lunch for all the cute old widows from church. I offered to make the dessert because I've been dying to make something lately. I almost made cookie dough to eat but decided that that was against my healthy eating plan. But I found a most delicious recipe for Lime Chiffon Cake in my mom's Cooking Light cookbook. It was absolutely delicious. I think I'd make it again.

Also, we went and saw Star Trek last night. I may be a total geek, but I loved it!

Skiing hazards

When I was eight I went skiing for the first time. We were living in Colorado and my dad loaded us oldest three kids up and took us skiing for the day. This was back in 1993 so I wore a sweet purple and hot pink one piece ski suit. We were put in ski school until about two o'clock before being let loose to ski on our own. Jess and I kept to the bunny hill and practiced our pizza wedge positions, but we really had no fear of falling or going too fast. All day my dad had been stopping to spray us with snow and around 3:45 or so that day, I came through some trees into a slow area. So I in my admiring eight-year-old head decided to stop fast like my dad to spray snow. It didn't work and I fell. Like I mentioned before, I didn't care about falling, but what I did care about was not being able to get up and that's exactly what happened. I couldn't move. I looked through the sparse tree line to see my dad skiing slowly down the hill with Cami tucked between his legs and thought, people have always told me I'm loud, I bet I can yell loud enough for my dad to see me. And by yelling as loud as I could I learned very quickly that snow absorbs sound. Not only did my worried yells not reach my dad, they didn't even make it to the trees. I looked up and realized I was directly below the ski lift. The problem was, I had just gone up for the last run of the day. The lift was no longer running. I don't remember if I started crying or if I said a sweet innocent prayer, but next thing I knew, a mother and her son happened upon me. The son went to find ski patrol while the mom waited with me until someone could help. My leg was in an awkward position but I knew my dad could make it better when I saw him. Ski patrol came up on a snowmobile to take me down the hill where my dad worriedly waited. I slept the entire way home in the car. When we got back my leg still hurt really bad. We decided to take me to the hospital where x-rays showed I had broken both my tibia and fibula, and a full leg cast was put on. (The cast was later changed to a half cast that I could walk on.)

Why is this story even relavant? Because today is the 16 year anniversary of that cast being removed for good.

Why I love Eugene REASON 2-- Fresh Fish

It's so convenient to find fresh fish that you know will be good. For Mother's Day I was the chef and so I made salmon. And it was so good! Sorry there aren't any pictures, but here was the menu:

Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon
Rice medley
Sauteed Zucchini
Strawberry-Pecan Salad with Balsamic Vinegar dressing
Maple Berry Pecan Cheesecake

I marinated the salmon and then instead of broiling the salmon my dad cooked it on the grill, but if we hadn't been in Oregon the accessibility of the fish wouldn't have been just a drive down the road. Thank you Oregon!

Why I love Oregon REASON 1--Gas

I can happily stay seated in my car, listening to Matt Costa while someone else pumps my gas.

Mother's day

I think my mom is not only the greatest but the cutest. She raised five girls all over the country and world and was still able to do what she wanted and be herself. She's spunky and fun and will always be there to celebrity gossip with me or listen to me cry and whine about any problem I'm having. She's one of my most favorite people and I love her.

Happy Mother's Day Ma!

i'm lovin it

This has nothing to do with McDonald's but I have a feeling it's going to be a good day.

1. Viva la Vida (and the rest of the CD)-- it's playing while I clean the kitchen and you better believe it's going to be playing while I clean my car. Maybe I'll put on Dixie Chicks afterwards...

2. It's sunny today! Unfortunately the pool heater is broken so there won't be any swimming. (The thought of going swimming in water that has not been heated for an entire winter is not only undesirable but also just plain ridiculous.) But this will also make it a lot nicer when I wash the car.

3. Bike ride? I might be going on a tandem ride this afternoon with my dad. I told him it better be a short one because I don't want to be bonky* all night, so I think we're going to do 20-30 miles or so. Maybe by the time I leave I'll have worked up to a good 50 miler, but I think it took me a whole summer to get to that level last time and I think I'll only be here half the time.

4. I love ice cream (especially Ben and Jerry's) and was able to curb my want for it last night at a wedding reception and only have a little. I'm feeling really good about my self control.

5. I think we're going to go to the U of O track meet this evening. They're trying to break a record!

Happy Saturday!

*bonky-- to be so tired during or after a ride that you are completely wiped out and not able to do anything but rest. (Only a good feeling if you don't have anything else to do.)

Homework

On Sunday night when I got home from my long drive, my high-school-aged sophomore sister and our junior exchange student were complaining about doing their homework. I danced around the house because I don't have to do homework again ever!

I taught Seminary this morning for my mom. I had to prepare my lesson last night, and it cut into my Biggest Loser watching. It felt an awful lot like homework.

Job hunting

Well, today was the first official day of job hunting and I'm looking good. And by looking good I mean, still in my pajamas and robe, not showered (and a gross little tidbit you don't really want to hear but I'm going to tell you anyway, I didn't shower yesterday after my evening workout--ew I know), glasses on and hair all over the place, and it's 3:15 pm. In fact, I'll even post a disgusting picture. (Oh perfect, you're thinking, Lauren just told me she didn't shower today and now she's telling me to look at a gross picture of her?? Wow. Talk about abuse.) Well, I'm going to make you look at it anyway, and you're going to like it ok? Ok.

So I've been updating and perfecting my resume today. And for some reason it took forever! Well, I guess I probably wasn't very productive while I attempted to work on it and watch House, or when I took a break to play with Ellie, three times, or when I went to the bathroom a gazillion times because I'm severely underhydrated and am trying to rehydrate myself, or when I realized I hadn't yet read the Daily Intel Gossip Girl recap yet and then had to share it with all my Gossip Girl loving friends, or when I made myself lunch, and then a snack, and then gchatted with multiple friends while all trying to update my resume and write a good coverletter that could be tweaked for various jobs.

I start my temporary summer job Thursday. I think I'm kind of the Dermatology Clinic of Springfield's permanent temp. Thank goodness I can always come back and work there. But I'm starting Thursday so I can learn the new computer system since they got a new one last summer but I was in Jerusalem so I didn't get to learn it and now I have to be retrained which really stinks but will probably be nice because the last system was outdated and so I'm excited to learn the new system but I hate to sound incompetent when patients call in to make appointments and it takes twice as long and I have to apologize that I'm new and therefore don't know the system yet, but I'm not technically new I just don't know the new system so it's just frustrating, but that's what's happening Thursday and then I'll start for real on Friday.

Honey I'm home!

I'm back in Eugene. I'll be here for a short time. Though I'm not sure when exactly I'm leaving yet. But highlights of the drive home are as follows:

10. Saturday morning wake up in St. George after going to my cousin's wedding the day before.
9. Breakfast with parents and Grandparents.
8. Drive to Provo, finish loading the cars.
7. Stop in SLC to visit with Erin while the parents are at a reunion.
6. Drive to Boise while listening to Remember Me? (entertaining but full fluff)
5. Spend night in Boise
4. Church in Boise
3. Drive to Burns, Oregon.
2. Almost pee my pants between Burns and Brothers.
1. Shakes in Sisters (Black Raspberry)

Yes there is a Brothers, Oregon and a Sisters, Oregon. Brothers is really just a rest stop and a few mobile homes, but Sisters is a really cute.

It's good to be home I'm sweaty from unloading the cars and now I get to help my sister with her homework. Apparently we will be discussing Hinduism tonight.

Cheers!