"What do you know about Adolf Hitler?"

Take the time to watch, and pass it around. What begins with a question about Adolf Hitler becomes something so much more that's all too relevant today.
(viewer discretion advised; sensitive subjects are touched upon).

"A child is a gift of God. If you do not want him, give him to me."
~Mother Teresa

If I were a man...

...I'd wear cologne ALL the time. Because it smells ridiculously amazing. And I don't care if you're not Marlon Brando's level of attractiveness, or if you're slightly creepy...if you smell that ridiculously amazing, I will automatically become less creeped out by you, and you will become about 5% more attractive. Win/win situation, eh? ;)

So I started my job at Harry & David. They're big on pears. I never have been. But I tried one today, and oooh my goodness my gracious, it was delightful! And it's cool, because at Harry & David, the customer is the first person to ever touch the pears that he or she is buying. As in, all throughout the picking and shipping and such of the pears, they never have any direct human contact. Which is kinda nifty. And they're delicious. Anyways, I've had an interesting time so far. There's this guy there who's probably 15 or 20 years older than me and he's been...friendly. In our first conversation, he first made a point out of pointing out how gay he was not *cough cough*(unfortunately for him, 20 years my senior is a bit much for me), then he offered me a cigarette (which I definitely turned down), and then he gave me moose munch. Thus, ladies and gentlemen, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
This'll be a fun job :)
Plus, I got a free chocolate bar today. And it's incredible. Boo yah!

Today was the third time I've gone somewhere early in the morning and left the lights on my car on, and thus become stranded after the battery ran out. Three times. I hate not having automatic lights. Because I never remember to turn the lights off when it's light outside! And then my dad scolds me. And I don't like when he gets mad at me...It's so rare that when it happens, it's just plain frightening. He has to go get my car after he gets home in a few hours...*gulp*

My baby cousin's coming!!! Well, soon. Tomorrow or Friday. Oh gosh, I simply cannot wait!! Another baby!! *squeal*! Yay :D :D :D

I just love this picture. *sigh*

Well, I have a four hour window of freedom today. I'm going to go deliberately take a nap. I haven't done that in forever! And then I go back to work :) I kinda like this whole three jobs thing...;D

Brrr, oooh la la, courage!, yay music, kitty, smolderrrr, chicken. (This post in 10 words or less ;)

~For the past two nights, I've been able to see my breath. It makes me happy because it means I'm not crazy for wearing gloves!

~I finally finished Heroes last night. And it was awesome. First, because I'm finally done, and you guys no longer have to hear about it. Second, because it was the best series finale I've ever seen, even though the show was cancelled and therefore supposedly ended abruptly. I didn't find it too abrupt. In fact, I found it to be very fulfilling, which seems so rare with endings. I was happy :) On a side note: I couldn't help but develop a little crush on the villain. I mean, he was a good guy who just went so wrong, ya know? And he was nerdy (sometimes), cute, dark, tall, and handsome...*sigh*. I'll miss him. I'll just have to go watch him in Star Trek ;)

~Now that I'm done with Heroes, I decided to watch Fireproof before I take an official television break. And guess what I realized! The pastor at the end is the lead guy from Courageous!! I had a little fit cause I was so excited :D

~Casting Crowns' new CD came out this week, and it is so ridiculously good. I just love them and their lyrics. Every song has such a powerful message...This one's my current favorite from the CD! You should listen to it. It's so beautiful. :)

~Earlier this week, I discovered "Nyan Cat" on my phone. Such a fun waste of time. Such a pointless waste of time...I should really get my priorities straight. :/

~Sometimes when I'm bored, I'll go to pluggedin.com, and read movie reviews for movies I'm curious about and just don't feel like watching. Well, there's that new Taylor Lautner movie out, called "Abducted" and I don't really want to see it. But I was curious. And whoever wrote the review made my day with this sentence: "Nathan suddenly has that sinking feeling that there may be something more going on here, something that even his smolder can't solve. (italics mine)" My gosh. That's grand. And I'd say that picture above is a smolder, eh? *giggle*

Hehehee!!! But really. I love you guys, ya know. Thanks for sticking around my silly little blog, and leaving me sweet comments; they always make me smile!

Now, go enjoy your chicken :D

(PS: Yeah, I'm not sure about that sudden blue bar that's appeared behind my words...huh. Strange.)

Why, no, my thought processes don't often flow together very well.

~So I've gone from having practically no job, to three jobs. Whooosh. We'll see how it goes! I'm officially a seller of Yankee candles, yummy chocolatey gift set-like things, and maternity clothes. Woot woot! Quite a combination there...I'm already thinking though that I'll have to learn how to de-stress myself... I get stressed out a little too easily. And something that I'm really starting to dislike about myself is that I always end up crying when I'm stressed out. Of course, this is always with my mother around...I'm pretty sure she's been thinking that I've been going crazy for the past year or two. Oh well. I'm not ;) (or am I?)

~Have you ever had a relationship that you wished so badly you could save, but it's so far gone that it seems impossible, and you can't even think of where to begin? And you wonder, wonder, wonder...what it all meant, what could have been, why God let that person walk into your life in the first place...if you'll ever be able to stop caring. My heart gets tired sometimes.

~I don't understand why my boot socks always get holes in them. It's probably because they're my favorites, and they know it, so they're just out to get me.

~I'm hungry for my Nana's Christmas sugar cookies. I guess I'll only have to wait a few more months ;)

Dear God,
Please bring me a Noah Calhoun who treasures me and loves me more than is imaginable, who would jump onto a moving ferris wheel to talk to me, who would write me 365 letters without ever getting a reply (I would never knowingly not reply though), who would help me remember who I am when I've lost it, and who would never leave my side, even when life is so unbearably difficult. That's a man well worth waiting for.
Love, Lauren

~Do you know of this guy? His voice is pure bliss. Like the Hershey's chocolates. But not. I love it. *sigh*

~54 episodes of Heroes in a week (I know, I know. It's disgusting). I've been consistently dreaming about it because it's been what I've been watching before bed...whoo. I had a dream the other night that I was flying, but it was so ridiculously realistic, that when I woke up I was a bit depressed. Like, "aww man. I can't actually fly. Dagnabbit." I love this show. It's just so epic. Like, oh my gosh. It's so not like a TV show. It's more like a miniseries or a really long movie series...and have I mentioned that I really enjoy Milo Ventimiglia? :)

Except that in some ways, he reminds me of my brother. I don't know how I feel about this.

~So I had a job interview today at a maternity store (fun fun!) that will actually give me more than 4 hours a week!! Thus, I shall no longer be able to watch 54 hours of TV a week (which is a very good thing!). It went okay. I don't know about it. We'll see. But I have another interview tomorrow. It's at a place I applied at two months ago, and the day I scheduled the interview at the maternity place (Friday), this other store called to set up an interview! So, I'm thinking "hey hey!" It may be meant to be, since the maternity place didn't really catch me. We'll see!!

By the way, that picture made me laugh out loud. One day, I woke up in a vicious mood, baked a cake, and immediately felt wonderful for days. Woo hoo!

~I almost forgot!! My mom joined a water aerobics class, and has me going with her. It's so great. :) We started today, and it was a little bit hilarious, me and her and about 20 little old ladies. Hehehe!!! Oh gosh, I couldn't stop smiling. It was fun though!

Do it. Take 30 seconds. Watch. Be changed!!!

Go, kittens...go and be merry!! :D

Ba da ba ba ba I'm lovin' it! (Or at least liking it ;)

~Netflix! My parents got the version of it where it goes straight to your wii, x-box, whatever, and so I downloaded it to my wii, and have been watching Heroes ("Save the cheerleader, save the world"? Uh, yes!)! I've watched about 16 episodes since 11 o'clock Sunday night...my life is pathetic. But once I've seen all 77 episodes, I'll be finished ;) If I make it that far...I have doubts.

~Heels. Heels? Me? Well, sort of. Technically, the knee high boot kind of heels. I like being taller. I don't need to be any taller, not at all, but still. It's kind of fun to be forced to strut around (I find it hard to walk with bad posture while wearing heels).

~Babies!! Okay, I've always liked babies, but even more so now! I've been babysitting at church for Bible studies the past few weeks, and I just love the babies. They're too precious. And guess what!! My aunt Abby is about to have her 5th boy!! I'm so excited. I cannot wait!

~This song. K-Love wasn't working the other day, so I had to flip through the channels, and this one came on, and I'm currently obsessing over it. I can't even help it, yo. (I don't condone the drinking mentioned, of course.)

~Simon Cowell. I have a secret crush on him. It's all because of his accent...

~This picture:

~Sitting next to the boy with the beautiful voice at church. I would marry him just so he could sing to me at all hours of the day. *sigh*

~Knowing the answer to the final Jeopardy question. Cheshire Cat all the way!! Beat that, Dad!

~Speaking of Heroes, Milo Ventimiglia! Jess from Gilmore Girls? I will always love him. *sigh*

~The fact that two years after making a fake account with The Knot (a wedding planning website) for Home Ec, I still get e-mails saying things such as, Lauren and so-and-so, your wedding is only 376 days away!!!

Ha, it's great.

~This...

*sigh*

So long, farewell, alvederzane, goodbye! ;)

Where the Bible comes to life! And then some ;)

Last night, my Nana, aunt Emily and I got to see the most amazing musical ever. Okay, well, one of the most amazing musicals ever. :) We went to the Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA, which is just the coolest place! First of all, the theater is ginormous (there are three stages: the one in front of you, and one on each side). Second of all, they use live animals; for example: my Nana was in the aisle seat, and we were all a little bit surprised when a camel strolled down the aisle next to her. But apparently, that's the norm for this theater! Now, best of all: this theater brings the Bible to life. Thus, their slogan "Where the Bible comes to life!" ;) Each musical is a story from the Bible...they've done Noah, the Christmas story, Daniel, the Creation story, and their next new show premiering in 2012 is Jonah! We saw the story of Joseph, and goodness my gracious, it was spectacular (I mean, Joseph flies out over the audience at one point! Awesome? Uh, yeah!).

I think what makes the productions special is that each person involved is involved to glorify God. When Joseph passionately spoke of God, you could tell that it wasn't just lines. You could feel the actor's passion and belief in what he was saying, and that was simply awesome. Another thing is that at the end, after the finale scene, the actors did not come back out on stage, as one usually sees in theatrical productions...they didn't come back out, because they didn't want to be praised. Talk about refreshing in this world where fame, glory, recognition, are what so many people strive for!

These productions are definitely worth seeing...technically I saw the Christmas story there too, but I was so little I don't remember it! ;) My family's seen several shows though, and all of them have been wonderful. So if you ever get the chance to visit Lancaster, PA or Branson, MO (they just opened a theater there!) go see a show! You won't regret it ;)

My Christmas shopping is nearly done!! Isn't Christmas wonderful?? I just need a few more little things for my sister, some specific items for my mom, dad, nana, aunt...See, in our family, celebrating Christmas is a big thing. My Nana has a passion for Christmas...her house is decked out all year round (no Christmas tree year round though), Christmas music year round, presents are way overdone, Christmas parties, Christmas food, Christmas fun! Anyways, she's rubbed off on me. I mean, October's just begun and I'm almost done with my shopping. Sigh. I love Christmas. :)

I love my home. I really, really do. We went away this weekend to Lancaster (like I said), and it was lovely, but there's just nothing like coming home. Our tiny little town is so familiar and comfortable...it's not quite Stars Hollow, but it's pretty cozy. My family's here, and it's home. I suppose someday I'll have a new "home", but for now, I'm quite content :)

I have to say though, 5 and a half hour car rides can be interesting. I read for the first two hours...what did I read, you ask? "For Young Men Only", of course. *snicker*. No, really, though. A (girl) friend of mine told me it was a good thing to read...we'd both read "For Young Women Only", and I liked it, so I've started reading its opposite. It's quite interesting, considering it's insight into a young woman's mind...and everything is correct! It's amusing, analyzing my own behavior ;)

Anyways. My weekend (so far) has been lovely. Hopefully it ends well! :)

Good night, lovelies! :D

"Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it."

I felt like a little kid at Christmas today walking out of Walmart with The Lion King on DVD.

I've been waiting years for this.

*squeal*!!!

See, my VCR's broken. So while I have every Disney movie on VHS, they're all pretty much worthless to me. So I haven't seen The Lion King in for.ev.er. And it's one of my favorites. And that nasty Disney vault is selfish and doesn't want to share the joy! But finally, finally the day has come!!

Gosh, at the beginning of the movie I actually had a mini hysterical fit of laughter and tears because I was so ridiculously excited; it's such an epic Disney movie, if only because of the incredible music!! Ah I just love it all :D Except Scar. He's right up there with the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. Freaks me out, man.

"Everything the light touches is our kingdom."

"It means no worries for the rest of your days! It's our problem free philosophy, hakuna matata!"

"Dad, we're pals, right?"

"Let me get this straight. You know her. She knows you. But she wants to eat him. And everybody's okay with this? Did I miss something?"

"Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king. Remember..."

"That's Mr. Banana Beak to you, Fuzzy!"

Okay. That is just awesome.

"And if he falls in love tonight, it can be assumed his carefree days with us are history; in short, our pal is doomed!"

"I'm gonna be the mane event, like no king was before. I'm brushing up on looking down, I'm working on my roar!"

"Hey Timon. It's just a little lion. Look at him...He's so cute, and all alone! Can we keep him?"

"I laugh in the face of danger, ahahaha!

"Simba, let me tell you something my father told me. Look at the stars. The great kings of the past are up there, watching over us...So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you. And so will I."

*sigh*

Of course, I restarted the movie as I was putting this post together. It's just so wonderful, ya know????

By the way, the Broadway music from this is ahmazing. Sample:

So. Good.

Bye now ;D

We were made to be courageous

A few years ago, I fell in love with a movie that was made not for box office numbers, but for the purpose of getting a message out there: marriage is sacred. Love IS worth fighting for. Never leave your partner behind. Going even deeper than that, the story shows just how much we need our Savior. Just how much He loves us...even when we reject Him.

(Had to share this video...so powerful!)

Well, the creators of Fireproof are back with a new message, a new story. Instead of firefighters, these are policemen. Instead of a dying marriage, these are dying relationships.

These are brave men, courageous men, when it comes to their work. At home, it's a bit of a different story. But when something tragic and unexpected happens, one of these men decides that it's time to shape up and wholeheartedly step into his role as a father. He explores what God expects from fathers, and writes up a resolution to be more than a "good enough" dad. The resolution is a list of what he is responsible for, what he should be doing as a father, and some of his coworkers make the decision to follow this resolution as well. Thus, they each embark on their own journey, finding out what it means to be a godly father.

The result of this is a powerful, beautiful movie that challenges men on how they should be raising their children. But of course, the message isn't just for men; us women can benefit from it as well! It is so vastly important for us to be raising our children in godly homes, where the name of Jesus is one commonly heard! It's important that we treasure each moment with our children, because we never know when that moment will end. It's important to really know our children, and love them with all we have.

This movie was spectacular. It had all the impact of Fireproof and so much more. If you get the chance, go see it. Just like I think all couples should watch Fireproof, I think all daddies (mommies too) should go see Courageous. It's a worthwhile two hours. :)

And of course, because I adore Casting Crowns, I've gotta share this song!

Be courageous, my friends!