We Owned the Night

I'm not a big Valentine's Day person. I would just rather it be another day. I love the chocolate. I love that four years ago I found Hershey's Kisses New York Style Cheesecake (which I haven't seen since...). But I hate that I continue to just be alone on that day. But this year was a good one... (well, there was a bad part of the day but this is about the good part!).

I went and saw Lady Antebellum in concert. 

SO GOOD! 

First off, I joined their fan club. It was like $15 and I got to buy tickets on pre-sale. But they don't tell you where your seats are to discourage scalpers. So the day of, I showed up at Will Call, got my tickets, met up with my friend, Marianne and her friend Nichola, and we went to our portal. 

And then down... down... down to the SIXTH ROW! Well, it's the sixth row from the floor. But STILL!!

We missed most of Thompson Square. Which was fine. Then Darius Rucker came out. He rocked. I mean ROCKED! 

He played two Hootie and the Blowfish songs and I sang at the top of my lungs and dance and enjoyed myself thoroughly! I enjoyed his set so much!! I'd go see him concert if it was just him. 

And then Lady Antebellum came out. 

And they sang. It was amazing. The last concert was good because it was more intimate. This one was good because they're good. I wrote on my bucket list that I would like to write a song. But as I listened to them I thought about how amazing it was that they were singing my stories. They were singing about feelings, emotions, and experiences that I've had. So why should I bother? (It's still on my bucket list... don't worry!)

But yes, it rocked. They were awesome. And you better believe that I'll go to their concert AGAIN. Because they're THAT good. 

New Views

It's always nice to change views.

It's funny that once you're sitting at your desk you forget the two hours you spent moving everything from your cubicle to your new office. You forget about the papers that are everywhere or the fact that you have nowhere to post your pictures anymore (no cubicle walls--you're surrounded by windows. Maybe it's time for a collage frame for the table?). 

All you can think about is how lucky you are. Capitol to the North, Mountains to the East. Sun rising over those beautiful snow capped mountains. 

It doesn't matter that you're confused about Guy or are now REALLY behind on work or you haven't quite gotten used to the new school class. All that matters is that you have an office (a bit more privacy), a view (Welcome, Sunshine... I've missed you. I'm in desperate need of some Vitamin D.), and you don't have to spend as much time in the elevator. 

Lovely.

I'll take it.

Currently, Vol. 4

Current music: Colbie Caillat, I Want You Back (not the version I've been listening to, but still good!); Mat Kearney, Nothing Left to Lose; Rascal Flatts (ft. Natasha Bedingfield), Easy

Current stress: My cataloging and classification class. For the first time, my class is a subject I've never dealt with before. So it's taking extra time and care. Hopefully I survive it... I'm trying to give it proper time.

Current favorite quotations:

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Current annoyance: It's winter. It's cold. There's no snow. I'd rather there be some sort of sign of winter (even if I have difficulty driving in it). If there's no sign of winter, I'm antsy for spring. Spring get here!

Current lesson being learned: Patience. Patience and endurance. Both things that I hate learning. Oh well!

Current self-discovery: I hate oranges. Love cuties. Hate apples in the morning. Can eat bananas if they are sliced up and I don't eat them all at once (I have horrible gag reflex with too much banana too fast). Can you tell I'm on a diet?? Well, not really, I'm just trying to eat more fruit!

Current desire: To write a love letter. Actually, I added it to my bucket list page along with a few other things (I found my original printed out bucket list from a year ago. I decided that some of those were a pretty good thing to do so I added them). But I'm not going to write a love letter. I don't have anyone to send it to! (Okay... I sort of do... but it would be more of a like/crush letter than a LOVE letter.)

Time-Out Thoughts

I don't normally like to do this, but I was going through some old emails and I found something that I wrote that struck me. That moment where Past Laurel wrote something that Now Laurel needed to hear. And it was pretty powerful. So I'm posting it here to remind myself of what Past Laurel knew and maybe to provide you with a little inspiration on this Thursday morning:

Something that my sister-in-law, H, told me a few weeks ago was "Getting what you want is faith promoting. Waiting for what you want is faith perfecting."
I constantly remind myself of that. I do the best I can waiting, but I think the Lord understands that we're not always going to be cheerful or excited about the waiting process. 
Even in the scriptures, the greatest of all men--Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ, etc.--all had a point where they said "Isn't there an easier way? Because I'd really like to take that door." But then they got up and finished the work they had to do. I'm pretty sure it wasn't always easy, and there were times when the Savior had to be alone in the wilderness to just ponder and breathe. So we can take comfort in the fact that others have gone this way before, they too have wanted to take an easier path. But after deep reflection, pausing, and breathing, they were able to muster something inside of them to get them through until there were better times. 
I feel like that's where I'm at right now--trying to muster whatever is inside of me to make it through until I decide what the next move is that I make. But I truly believe that being "cheerful" doesn't mean to "fake it until you make it." I don't believe I've ever heard that phrase from an apostle or prophet's lips. But I do believe it means getting up each day and continuing forward, albeit at a slower pace sometimes. If I could look at every bad point in my life with more humor like President Hinckley things would probably be better, but that takes effort and I'm also not as equipped to see that humor as he is. But that doesn't mean that I can't find my own way, you know? 

Laurel and the Golden Birthday

So my birthday has come and gone. It was... interesting. Filled with lots of memories. Some I wish to forget. Others that I haven't quite decided how I feel about. 

For some reason I didn't take any pictures during my party on Friday. And I'm waiting for my sister-in-law, Em, to send the picture of me and my twin brother blowing out our birthday cake candles on Sunday. I realize that it was under sad and tragic circumstances that brought Twin and his family out to Utah, but I'm grateful that we got to spend our 29th birthday together. In fact, I may be tearing up just a bit as I type that out. 

I do love my Twin a lot more than I show and a lot more than how I usually treat him. He's the type of person I have always wished I could be--brilliant, athletic, like-able, skinny, tan, handsome, fun to be around, popular. I think he's amazing and I'm sad that he's been a world away for most of our adult life. Maybe that will change one day...

So, here is the only picture I have from my party:

Do you know what that is? A nerf gun. That's what Linds and Julia gifted to me for my birthday. Actually, she gave me 3 nerf guns and extra ammo. This is a gun that I'm willing to shoot. And shoot I did. I may have had a little battle that ended when I realized that half of the party was watching me and the Guy battle it out. But it was the best gift. Perfect for me.

And then a video of my friends singing "happy birthday" to me. I made a wish... It didn't come true. Maybe I shouldn't have put a deadline on the birthday wish. Luckily, I had another opportunity with my other cake--but I forgot to make a wish. So, I guess I don't get a birthday wish this year. Oh well. I'm 29 now. Woo. 

Bring on, 30, I guess. 

Update:

Finally pulled out my pictures from the family party on my actual birthday:

Dinner (delicious ravoli lasagna... yum!)

Let's talk about how there are a lot of candles on that cake...

Me with the littlest nephew at the time until Lil' B showed up... 

He actually makes me look a bit tan. I'm kind of grateful for that!

¿Hablas español?

Apparently, my plan to survive two classes in a semester by taking a ridiculously easy class (Beginning Business Spanish) backfired. 

Monday I got access to my class online and I figured I could get a head start before classes started today. First order of business to my Spanish class was to take an assessment. Normally, one should score lower than 150. I scored over 500. I received a notice to contact my professor and discuss options with him.

So I did. The professor responded in a rather lengthy email in Spanish in which the gist was: "If you understand this, respond in Spanish, and we probably should get you into the advanced class."

To be honest, I'm a little shocked because I had to list my experience with the language (which added up to 2.5 years total) and my professor said that I was near native fluency at least in writing. I haven't really touched my Spanish in the last year since I switched jobs. Who knew that it was still there?

Oh yeah, and the professor asked for my patience during the first few weeks since it will be a lot of "review" for me.

Basically, I don't get off easy. I can do this, though, right? Survive Beginning Cataloging and Classification and Advanced Spanish Conversation? Well, I better!

I Wish I Still Could Be a California Girl...

Not only did last Monday end up being a holiday, but I had planned to go to San Diego on Wednesday through Saturday. That made last week a one day work week. Best work week ever. Not only that, but I escaped the first snow storm and was greeted in Long Beach by this kind of weather:

65 degrees, sunshine and blue skies. Perfect.

Mother may have made fun of me for spending time laying out in my swimsuit. I swore I was getting a bit darker.... maybe not really, but it felt like it. 

I also got an iPad for work, so I installed instagram and had fun taking pictures during the few days I was there on my iPad (and then maybe emailing them to my boss to let him know I was alive and well...)

Nothing compares to a California sunset from the family's backyard.

Thursday morning, I woke up early and took in a run at the beach. In the middle of it, I stopped and took this picture and maybe sent it to a couple of co-workers to let them know they were missed.

Then, of course, there was a stop at VG's for some donuts. Really... I couldn't pass it up. It had been over a year. Donuts were a necessity. 

Friday found me taking some time to go here and reflect on some things and maybe cast some burdens that I haven't been ready to let go of yet. Maybe I didn't really cast them off, just came to the realization that I need to do so and to begin the process of shedding those things. I love going to the temple and always the realization is that I should go more often. It's quiet. The noise is blocked out. Not just the noise of my music or work or whatever, but the conflicting voices that try to give me advice and tell me how to live and how to date and how to do everything. I'm already trying to accept that my timetable has fallen to pieces (can you tell that my birthday is drawing near?) but to have more conflicting voices adds to my confusion. So maybe next month we'll work on getting there at least twice. But I still have a week before February so we'll worry about February then.

It was a whirlwind of a trip, but I'm so glad I got to do it. If only to spend some time with Mom and Dad. I don't think I've cherished the time that I get to spend with them. Maybe because there's usually a lot of activity whenever we get together. But spending a few days with just them was like the months I spent with them after my mission. That's when I learned I had my mother's sense of humor and my father's knack for getting sidetracked (also his ability to handle electronic devices apparently transferred down to me). I only wish I got to see them more often. Maybe one day I'll move back to San Diego, or at least southern California. A girl can dream, right?

And now I bid you adieu. I've got to get some sleep and shake this cold that I'm dealing with along with prepping for school that's starting on Wednesday. I'm taking two classes this semester. I may have just overwhelmed myself, but if I can survive this.. I'm three semesters closer to my masters. And that may be worth it!