Lent

I've given up anything that doesn't go with my diet for Lent. And I'm doing such a good job sticking to it. Probably because I'm currently living alone. (Remember I'm house/cat sitting?) But I also am doing a good job because the thought of eating a cookie when I promised God I was giving that kind of stuff up is good enough guilt to keep me on the program. Well, today marks the first seven days of Lent, I only have five and a half more weeks to go...

Triumphs of the last week:

• not even opening the Godiva truffles I have as a thank you for house sitting
• not eating the Girl Scout Cookies in the cupboard (Tagalogs, Thin Mints)
• not eating the Thin Mint handed to me this afternoon
• not eating any cake at Wendy's Golden Birthday
• not eating the itty bitty mini Reese's Cups Domineau brought over on Sunday (the temptess!)
• not buying food that was not inline with my diet (even though I know no one would see me eat it. well, except God.)

Though, none of that has stopped me from browsing food blogs and dreaming of the cakes I'm going to make for upcoming birthdays...

Gag Reflex

(Note: If you don't like animals, maybe you shouldn't read this whole post. Just read the first paragraph and then skip to the star or something.)

Starting a couple days ago I am house/cat sitting for a coworker of mine. I am a DC resident for two weeks (I like to think of it as a trial run for moving into the District) and I'm living alone. And after two nights I'm loving the quiet, the peace, even the company of the cats.*

Except I'm hating one thing. The litter box. Ew gross, just the thought of cleaning out the clumps of sandy cat waste is grossing me out. Grossing me out so bad that yesterday I bought gum to chew so I wouldn't smell, and then I plugged my nose for good measure. No smelling but then I just started gagging. Serious gags, like I'm about to puke gags. And I don't want to lean over the toilet and throw up in there because that's where I just scooped that sandy pee clump. Ewwww. Shudder.

And I have 12 more days of it. I'm afraid to clean out the box. I really hate throwing up.

Any advice from cat owners, lovers out there?


*That makes me sound like a sad cat lady. I don't know if I should be embarrassed or not. I'd be ok with a dog. A dog would be much better. And I wouldn't mind the dog coming up and trying to get me to play with it. These cats, unfortunately for them only get the minimal attention. That's kind of sad for them actually. I'll be nicer if they stopped running away anytime I wasn't feeding them. (And maybe if it wasn't for the whole litter box thing.)

Girls Trip

Last weekend was Debbie's last weekend as an East Coast resident. We decided to go out of town for the long weekend and head up to Pennsylvania.

Highlights include:

• our decked out bachelorette mobile (aka mini van)
• visiting Amish county (specifically the quilt museum in Intercourse, PA)
• seeing the Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts at a cool old theater (my favorite was The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore)
• going to a family ward for church (especially the deacon who was half flirting with the girl at the end of the row)
• our gorgeous bed and breakfast (especially the feather top king sized bed)
• delicious dinner (but really I loved my dessert)
• bachelorette games (specifically pin the kiss on Ryan Gosling)
• catching the season finale of Downton Abbey (LOVED it)
• massages (there was a heated table)
• seeing This Means War (thought it was going to be dumb, found it surprisingly good)

This was one of my most favorite East Coast weekends. Maybe it's Pennsylvania. Or maybe I just need to get out of DC more often. But either way, I love all these girls. They're all fantastic. 

A few things on my mind

A couple things on my mind:

1. I've decided I should take a cooking class. So, I'm going to take one when I'm done with my get fit, get skinnier program (cough, diet). Anyone out there interested in taking one with me? I think you shooooooould...
2. I just looked in the mirror in the bathroom and realized I have a zit brewing right in the exact spot a bindi would be. What do you think people would say if I wore a sticker on my forehead tomorrow?
3. I made a cake for my friend Erin's birthday party on Sunday and thought I'd show you a picture.

Things I'm looking forward to in the next few months:

1. Hitting up Pennsylvania this weekend for a last hurrah before Debbie moves to California.
2. Making a room change to the basement. With Deb moving I thought I'd mix something up in my life.
3. House sitting for a coworker in a couple weeks for a couple weeks. I'll be a DC resident for a bit. I'm pretty excited about it.
4. Going up to NYC to see The Hunger Games movie with former DC residents and awesome friends. (Bus tickets were purchased yesterday. We're so excited.)
5. Going to California for Debbie's wedding.
6. Going to Oregon less than a day after Debbie's wedding to see Emma who comes home from her mission!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I made mini pies last night to celebrate. Aren't they so cute? 

If I could, I'd give you one for Valentine's Day too.

Here's hoping you have a lovely day filled with lots of love and fun, 

and that if you're like me and don't have a Valentine this year,  hopefully you'll have one next.

Love,

Lauren Kay

The Deal

Here's the deal. I'm on a diet. This makes me cranky. Actually, it makes me cranky for the first like oooh two weeks that I'm on it. Then I kind of get into a groove and I can do it better. But, let me tell you, I've been a cranky lady. Mild cranky probably. Not it's too-late-and-I'm-picking-a-fight-with-anyone-who-talks-to-me-cranky (see: high school Lauren post 10 pm. not kidding). It's more like, I'm a little bit quiet, a little bit reserved, would rather read my book cranky.

In order to curb this crankiness I started making a list of things I want to bake when my diet is over. Check out the tab HERE, or the tab along the top. I think it's coming in nicely.

In other much more exciting news, I'm really concerned this week for the welfare of my friends. There's a lot going on in their lives and I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen. I'll give you a little insight:

• What are the consequences to Mr. Bate's wife dying?
• Who is this burn victim Patrick guy? How is Edith going to act?
• What exactly did Matthew feel last time we saw him?
• How is Mary going to turn her horrible engagement around and get away from her fiance?
• Why doesn't Daisy just take the widow money?
• Will Branson and Sybil really run away together? I hope so.
• What is the deal with the new maid and why does she keep looking at Lord Grantham?
• Why can't Thomas and O'Brien just mind their own business?
• But the most pressing matter is, HOW ARE MATTHEW AND MARY GOING TO GET TOGETHER??? 

It's all so stressful.

If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, you better stop whatever you're doing and get on Netflix and watch Season 1 of Downton Abbey and then you better start watching Season 2 (available on Masterpiece Theater Online). You're missing the most awesome British Period Drama Soap Opera of all time! If I'm not eating cake I need something else delicious to take up my time! (Check out the pretty pictures I posted on my other blog HERE.)

Reading

My roommate Rebecca sent me this a few minutes ago. I tend to use a similar chart in my head for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays as well as following it today. I love Cloud Reader.

from Book Riot