Hello Everyone!

I, like Cory, feel very honored that our lovely Laurel asked me to guest blog!  We are missing her very much, as I’m sure all of you are too (Don’t worry Cory, we’ll get through this together…maybe at the Monte V? *wink wink*).  Well there are so many things that I SHOULD be doing right now.  Papers that need to be written, chapters that need to be read, work that needs to be done, people that need to be called and sleep that needs to be had, but instead I am so glad that Laurel gave me something to get distracted with, because none of those things sound too appealing.  I know that Laurel just shared a few of her favorite websites that she makes a daily stop to, but I figured I would tell you about a few of the websites that I could get caught in for hours, wiki-style.  Most of the time when I’m bored at work these three websites win over anything productive that I am actually getting paid to do.

The first, and my favorite is foundmagazine.com.  This is a collection of items that people find anywhere such as, love letters, hate letters, to-do lists, drawings on napkins, photographs, old receipts and so much more.  The reason I love this is because it gives you small glimpse into people’s lives.  Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘This girl is a huge creep!  Why am I still reading?!?!’ But I promise that I’m not!  I’m just a people watcher and the things that people do and how they interact with eachother is so fasinating to me!  (Yes, the fact that I chose to major in Sociology probably makes so much more sense now).  I’ll stop rambling on about my people watching, so you can go check it out for yourself.  I guarantee, at the very least, you’ll be amused.

The next one isn’t an everyday visit, it’s a once a week visit.  You’ve probably seen it, or at least heard of it: postsecret.blogspot.com.  This website is where people make an anonymous postcard of a secret they have and send it in.  Every Sunday a new batch of secrets are posted, some are funny, some can almost bring you to tears and some are therapeutic because you feel like you are reading your secret too and there’s just something about seeing it written out that makes you feel okay.  This would definitely be worth 10 minuets of your time to check out.

The last site I want to share with you is deviantart.com.  I love this site because it is a place for artists of all different kinds to share their work!  It ranges from body art to photography to collages to film and animation and everything in between.  This site has something for every person to appreciate.  I think you’ll enjoy it.

Well thank you for reading and accepting me and my random thoughts (oh geeze, I sound like JM). 

Have a great day! Lauren

Greetings Pink Nation,
I have been given the honor and the privilege of being the first guest blogger that Laurel allowed to post on the site. How do I repay the generosity of the person who not only allowed me to post on her beloved website, but is hosting mine nearly-free of charge? By completely forgetting to do it. Ha HA!!…Epic Fail.
I could lie to you can say that I was doing something worthwhile. I could say that I was doing homework, or volunteering down at an animal shelter, or I could tell you that I was rescuing a child from a storm drain ala George Clooney in ER. Sadly I was doing none of those things; I was playing WoW and watching Monday Night Football. Honestly, it wasn’t really my fault…This guildmate of mine needed some help with quests in Hellfire, so I went over there and there was an Alliance Rogue in our area so he decided to kill her. After that she called in her friends, I called in my friends…and eventually it escalated into a full-scale war across the entire zone!! I HAD to defend the honor of the Horde and protect the weak lowbies! It was for a worthy and righteous cause; this Alliance aggression cannot stand. I lost you at “guildmate” didn’t I? Crap…But the Football game was really good too. T.O. may be a total thug, but he can sure play some Football. Ohh well, suffice it to say that I’m sorry and don’t blame Laurel for my forgetfulness (I’m sure the next bloggers will be better than me anyway).
So, enjoy the rest of the week with the other guest bloggers. Maybe if Laurel has forgiven me and texts me back I’ll figure out how to make a post appear to be posted yesterday. Until then, good luck dear readers, try to suffer through the week as best you can, Laurel will be back soon enough.
Cory

Today marks Day 1 of my hiatus into the world ‘off the grid’.  I honestly haven’t gone this long without a pure form of the intarweb for the past six years or so.  Sure,  I have my cell phone, and most of the time I can survive with that (the admin page of this blog, gmail, espn, the basics).  But I’m going to have quite the catching up to do on some of my favorite feel-good websites.  So, read them for me, would ya?

Quirky, comfy and original.  I lived on this website as I was decorating my new apartment. From paper products to home decor, I have a happy moment here each morning before work.

With a tagline like that who needs to say more.  Music lovers bookmark this one!

Think celebgossipblogging but about sports.  No, this isn’t about where Kobe had dinner last night, but if you’ve ever owned a fantasy team, this should be bookmarked.

Home redesign done with creativity and more than a few amazing tips. Have a design dilemna? They can help!

More design goodness.

My New Music HQ

At 2pm today I am going further off theradar than I’ve ever gone before. I’m hopping on a puddle jumper with my brother and flying non-stop from Mesa, Az to Rapid City, SD to visit family and get away from this work world that has sucked me dry for the past six weeks. I’m both excited AND scared to be so far away from the world I’ve come to know. No laptop… internet… cable tv… days scheduled in 15 minute intervals… calendars of meetings… people looking at me expecting instantaneous, correct decisions. No one but my favorite cousin Evan knows we’re coming, and I’m really hoping everyone is excited as we are that we are descending on them for seven days as we are. Hopefully, old fears, battle scars, and goodbyes will finally be put to rest and relationships will be renewed and strengthened. Until then, I’ve spent some time making sure you’ll have new content here for the next few days. Wish me luck, and I’ll see ya in nine days!
P.S. I asked a few friends to ‘guest blog’ for me a few days while I’m gone. Treat them nice…

I’ll hook you up with better pics when my ‘office’ area is decorated…

It may or may not come as a surprise to you that this melancholy acoustic music lovin’ girl has more rap and hip-hop music on her hard drive and iPod than most.  There are plenty of moments when those piano and guitar driven ballads don’t meet the need of my musical cravings, and I have to crank up the likes of Jay-Z, Outkast, or Talib Kwali. No, you won’t catch me rollin’ through campus bumpin’ Lil Wayne to prove my coolness, but that doesn’t mean I don’t own The Carter III. Who’s my go-to guy? Kanye. A complete douche in real life, Mr. West is a huge badass musically, and anticipation is high for his upcoming fourth album. Premiered on the MTV VMAs Sunday night, his newest song may not scream radio-hit, but that doesn’t mean I won’t rock it any less.

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Man who posed as boy at Arizona school pleads guilty

I really am amazed that this was able to happen and that he ‘was’ a 12-year old for a day.  So scary.

Female Thriller 2008!

So starts the transition.  Week 1:  Monday Night Football.  Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers.  The year when so many of the Pack Nation try and forget about the drama of the off-season.  Naturally, you have to cheer for #12 as Mr Rodger’s Neighbor is now in full effect.  But, what about that #4 in Jets Green and Silver?  What do you do about him?  I guess that’s for each fan to decide on their own, but for now I say there’s plenty of room in this girl’s heart for more than one QB on the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau field.  (Beating the Vikings does make the love flow that much easier. Just FYI.)

What did I do this weekend???

ALL of Season 1 with a certain blonde who shall remain nameless. *cough*Lauren*cough*  I wish I was more ashamed than I am, but I’m not.

Who would have known decor found within the aisles of Target wasn’t for educational purposes.  Guess Mom won’t be using this for her 7th grade class.

For the past two weeks I’ve been walking through each day with a hidden heavy heart, an unspoken, unshared sadness.  Nothing’s amiss in my world.  No, this heartache stems from the hurts and worries of people I love.  Within the span of three hours two weeks ago, three of my closest friends called or emailed asking me to pray for them.  Of course, they had to call when my world was at its most chaotic, at times when I had to let the call roll to voicemail to listen to at a later time.  I can’t even express the pain that filled me when I heard their voices and knew I wasn’t there for them, didn’t respond when they had reached out and couldn’t at midnight as I drove home from work.  Each told of a story that brought me to tears:  a husband who had cheated and whispered the words, “I don’t love you”, a new pregnancy and a prayer for a happier ending than the last, a sick child needing surgery and scared, young parents.  I responded to each of them the next morning promising to lift each of their struggles up to the One who loves them more than I could but haven’t been able to shake the magnitude of the battle each are fighting.

For days amidst the craziness of freshmen move-ins, tech support, walkie-talkies, and thousands of text messages about dorm rooms with bad jacks and no wireless signal, I’ve been thinking about perspective.  Sure, I was knee-deep in 16+ hour work days and hadn’t seen my house in the daylight in far too long.  Yeah, I was exhausted and tired of a long list of nouns (people, places, and things), but I knew that these struggles were trivial in comparison to what my friends were going through.  A wise friend once told me, “Sorrows are never meant to be compared.  Every hurt and mountain to climb is personal to each individual, and we aren’t in a pain competition.”  He was right, but part of caring for one another is feeling each other’s wounds and standing behind those you love in case they fall even if you can’t say I’ve been there or I know what you’re going through.  The human experience is so much more about compassion than competition.  I’ll be the first to admit that every once in a while I get caught up in my own drama bubble, but it doesn’t take long to remember who and what truly matters in this world.  Those are the things that touch your heart, leave you awake at night, and bring you the most joy.  You see, it’s all about perspective.

Law And Order fans, rejoice!  Benjamin Bratt is back in a big way in his new show The Cleaner.  Based on the true story of William Banks, a recovering addict who after a deal with God spends his life helping other addicts break their addiction and change their lives, Bratt is brilliant in a way you wouldn’t expect on A&E.  Each episode tells a story of how Banks and his group of misfit recovering addicts work to save the lives of those who are teetering on the the edge while Banks struggles to keep his family together.  Great acting and strong story lines have made this a must-see for me each Tuesday night.  Plus, the music is amazing!

This week’s episode featured a song by the acoustic duo Karmina.  Unknown to me until a little help from Google, this song has been the backdrop to my week.  Originally, I considered attaching this song to tomorrow’s post, but each deserve a moment of their own.  So for today’s musical offering I present “Walk You Home” by Karmina with its powerful lyrics, and truly hope each of you have someone who would sing this song to you no matter what struggle you’re facing.

Slow down, what’s on your mind
It’s alright, I’m on your side
I hate to see your injury, I wish that you could transfer all
your pain to me
Stay here, it’s ok to cry
Let me, help you make it right
Let’s turn up our radio, let the bands remind you that you’re not
alone
We all get low

Even the brave may depend on someone
The moon only shines with the help of the sun
It’s not as safe when you’re walking alone
I’ll walk you home

Suns out, but it feels like rain
So I will illuminate your day
I’m afraid I’m losing it, what’s it gonna take for me to get
through this
We’ll get through this

Even the brave may depend on someone
The moon only shines with the help of the sun
It’s not as safe when you’re walking alone
I’ll walk you home

Need the band to play the song
Someone’s had to keep you strong
It’s harder when your on your own
Success is not the same alone
Can’t have up without a down
Need the straight to have the round
I’ll provide the harmony
Your song is best accompanied

Late, late, late Friday night Zac and Victoria arrived on my doorstep for a weekend full of introducing her to our favorite places in Flagstaff and hanging out with all of our friends.  Amazingly enough after her 60 hours in Flagstaff, none of our ‘eccentric’ friends had caused too much of a scene, and Flagstaff had a new fan.  Of all of the pics we took over the span of three days, these are my favorite.

Sometime on Saturday Zac asked me if I would mind taking a picture of Z and V together to prove that they had ‘dated’.  Victoria wasn’t too pleased that he had phrased the question in the past tense.  “Don’t you mean dating?” she asked.

The story behind this picture taken from inside my car involves a man stumbling across the road before passing out, my friends and I convinced he was dead, Joe playing ‘tough man’ and giving relationship advice, Zac trying desperately not to laugh, and the rest of us laughing til we cried.

Zac’s always been photogenic.  I’m not too sure Victoria was that impressed.

Somewhere on a back country road this past weekend, we found ourselves gifted with this backdrop. It always amazes me how a scene like this can unfold and then disappear in seconds as the sun finally goes fades away.  You just hope that you can slow the car down and grab your camera before it’s too late.