Today is my bff Lauren’s 21st birthday and by the time this posts, we’ll have just spent an evening out on the town celebrating with some of her closest friends.  That’s the thing about someone as amazing as Ms. L… it’s impossible not to adore her and want to be around her.  You want to share your best moments with her and know she’ll still be there supporting and loving you in your worst.  I really could gush on and on, but instead I’ll keep in short, and just wish her the greatest of days.  Love you!

Ok, it’s common knowledge that I like to pimp music out to all of my friends. Most of you have probably been forced to listen to something or someone against your will because I was convinced you’d like it.  However, my musical ‘generosity’ might have been tested when I received the following email yesterday…

Trade? I’ll give you Ray LaMontagne’s new one for the new Amos Lee, Coldplay, and any Matt Nathanson?

Doesn’t seem to strange to you, I’m sure. An offer of one new spectacular album in exchange for a few others. Punchline of the story… I gave him the Ray LaMontagne album in the first place. He’s recycling music I’ve already pimped. Strangely enough when I called him he didn’t seem to be too surprised at the gentle reminder I had give him RL.   As you can probably guess, I burned him seven albums today. I’m such a pusher.

It’s probably wrong of me to do so, but I blame a certain four-year old for me knowing all of the words to all of the songs in all of the High School Musical movies. You believe it’s her fault right? Well, Mama Munchkin sent me this video text message today, and in turn I forwarded to everyone who I thought might need a good chuckle. Trust me, this lil character is just as out of control in real life as she is when the camera is on her.

M: Hey, Laurel, did you see the purse we made you for Christmas?
L: I did. I love it… it’s so pretty.  Did you help choose it?
M: Yeah, I boughts it for you.
L: Thank you very much, M.
M: Did you look to see what’s inside of it?
L: No I haven’t yet. (as I reach for it to look she snatches it out of my hands)
M: (With an exasperated sigh) I’ll just tell you. It’s gloves.

Wow, it’s really tough being such an emotional burden for a four-year old. I have a feeling one day I’ll be forced to pay her therapy bills.

There truly is nothing like filling your living room with good friends who are just as excited as you to watch the big game.  With ‘Zactoria’ in town for the weekend, the gang showed up for a home-cooked meal, time to fellowship (it’s so obvious we’re Baptists), and the chance to watch the Cardinals pull of the unlikely Playoff win.  Except with Fitzy, Warner, the Edge, and a surprisingly strong defense, they did more than put up a good fight… they beat the Atlanta Falcons and earned themselves a chance at Carolina.  For those of you who missed the game, you need to check out Fitzy’s endzone catch… it’s a thing of pure beauty.  Go Cards, Go!

You know you’ve lived in Flagstaff too long when these sights no longer seem out of the ordinary.

Snowblowing off the roof of Target.

Parking at Wal-Mart.

Snow piled up at least 12 feet high in a cul-de-sac.

It’s not very often that my dad and I get to spend a huge amount of time together, but thanks to my mom’s recent trip to South Dakota, he’s been hanging with me up in Flagstaff this weekend.  We’ve done our best to fill his short time here with fun times and yet still remain low-key enough that he can consider his stay up north a vacation.  After a long drive and a few short stops in Phoenix on Friday (I mean who could be in the valley and NOT stop at Cabela’s???), we arrived in Flagstaff on one of the coldest nights of the winter.  I’m sorry, but telling me that it’s -10 degrees windchill doesn’t inspire joy and happiness.  Is that just me?

Saturday morning we worked to get my car started and unfrozen from its parking space and moved to campus before lunch at New Frontiers and a trip to the mall.  Next, we met up with Cory to see the matinee showing of Valkyrie.  I have to confess I was not excited to check out ‘Couch-Jumpin’ Cruise’s newest cinematic masterpiece but was pleasantly surprised that after it was all said and done Mr. Scientology didn’t detract from a really great movie.  After the movie, we met up with J-Lo and had dinner together before heading back to hang out at my place.

We slept in Sunday morning before we headed to church.  After spending such a long time searching for a new church home, it meant a huge deal to be able to show him where my new place of worship was. Strangely enough, dad and I wound up at the same Mexican restaurant as J-Lo after going to separate churches. (I still believe he was stalking us despite his constant denial.) Sunday night we hung out with Cory who made stir fry, and after a few hours of an NCIS marathon, we ended up watching both installments of Grindhouse, Planet Terror and Death Proof. (What could possibly be better than watching exploding zombies with your dad and boyfriend?!?!  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.)

Yesterday while I ran into work to check in and meet our new staff member, dad headed downtown for a haircut and beard trim.  A couple of hours later we met up for lunch before spending the rest of the day hanging out and enjoying each others’ company and a House and iPod loading marathon.  Finally, we had dinner at one of my favorite Thai food places where we treated our impeding colds with spicy food.

Dad left town today in time to pick mom up from her return flight, and I can’t help but be a tish sad that he had to go.  One of the hardest things about living in Flagstaff is living so far from those I care about the most.  But instead of dwelling on the small amount of time I get to spend with them, I prefer to relish what time I do have.  With a new year approaching, one of my resolutions needs to be to go home more often. Because even though it’s completely cliche’… Home truly is where the heart is.

Of all of the Christmas gifts I was blessed with this Christmas, the one that might mean the most to me is a pearl necklace given to me from my parents.  The ‘Purity Pearl’ necklace was at the top of Christmas wish list this year.  You see, one of my student workers, Phil, is the creator and founder of climatepearl.com, and from the first time I saw his signature pearl I was in love with it.  Not only is the pearl my birthstone, but this necklace has a special story attached to it.  Back when I was a CaresTeam, I had the privilege of meeting and working with Melodee who was one-half on a neighboring team.  As interconnected as we all are, Phil and Melodee are friends, also, and Mel’s story is one that truly parallels the lifecycle of the pearl.  Phil even called to make sure the pearl arrived before Christmas once he realized that my mom was my mom.  Because I believe in supporting great ideas and have fallen in love with my new necklace and matching earrings, I think you should take a second and check out climate pearl and read Mel’s story.  Then bookmark CP for the next time you need a special birthday, Valentine’s or Mother’s Day gift.

Merry Christmas!  I’m not sure when this post will actually see the light of day, but that really doesn’t matter when you can back publish posts, right?  I’m home in Willcox for the holiday season, and now more than ever there is really no other place I’d rather be.  I’ve been home since Saturday when my amazing brother drove all the way to Flagstaff (Thursday night) to bring me home since I can’t drive due to my awesomeness and ankle air cast.  Since I’ve been home I’ve been graced with the opportunity to see Hero and her lovely family, countless hometown friends, and my lifelong church family.  I forget sometimes what it’s like to be in this small town until we head to the grocery store and run into at least 4 or 5 people we know.  It’s in those ‘hello…catch up… hope to see you soon’ moments that I feel truly blessed to be a native of such a small community.

One of the highlights of my time home this Christmas was the annual church caroling session on Sunday night.  For the past five years, my mom and I have bundled up and met a handful of our lifelong church friends at the church to carpool to the four nursing homes in town and the homes of our elderly and shut-in church members to sing our favorite carols to them.  I could pretend that my participation in this yearly activity is purely altruistic, but the truth is beyond making the elderly happy and getting to see them sing-a-long with just us, I go for two selfish reasons.   The first is to have the chance to stand beside my mom and sing.  There’s something almost magical about how family sounds together when they sing and living five hours away from mine limits the time that Mom and I get to sing together.

The second reason that I never miss these church outings is my dearest childhood friend, Kate.  I don’t know how to explain Kate but to say that she’s everything you’d want your daughter to grow up and be.  As a kid I knew Kate’s sister Leslie better than Kate because Kate was nine years older than me.  Leslie was just a year older than me and was born with Down’s Syndrome.  Of all the things Kate and I share a protectiveness and love for Leslie is atop the list.  The first few times Kate and I went caroling together it was because we both were home visiting family, however two years ago Kate moved home to be closer to Leslie which means I get to see her on more than just holidays.  Heck, she even cuts my hair now!

Caroling with Kate is an absolute joy.  Not just because she’s got an awesome voice and is fun to sing with, but because everything with Kate is just that much more fun when she’s there.  Things that normally would annoy us or upset us singularly seem funny when we’re together.  It’s like having a sister or kindred spirit who you don’t have to see everyday to feel close to, and no matter the activity, you’d both show up to just spend time together.  This year was no different.  From singing ‘Feliz Navidad’ and ‘Hit The Road, Jack’ in the back of her parent’s Explorer to sharing ancient stories of church follies, caroling with Kate, Leslie, their dad, Mom and Zac was two hours that I wouldn’t trade for anything else.

So on this Christmas morning, I’m happy.  Thankful for friends.  Blessed by family, and ecstatic to be home.  Merry Christmas to each and every one of you… I hope that you, too, are as blessed as I am.

These pictures have a hilarious story that goes along with them. One that I don’t quite have time to tell you today, but trust me you’ll crack up at it when I finally get to it. We’ve been buried for a few days, and Zac arrived on my doorstep to drive his crippled sister home for a week. I’m hoping to have the internet at my parent’s house to blog from. If not, I’ll catch you up when I get home. From the bottom of my heart, I hope each and everyone of you have an amazing Christmas.

It makes me think of White Chocolate Peppermint Mochas in the BSM, car drives around Flagstaff to checkout the lights, and those annual voyages to Los Abrigados with flashlights and puke breaks. Those were good times.

Yesterday, the munchkins and parents came over after church for ‘Santa brunch’ as J called it and to exchange Christmas gifts. I had bought the girls adorable footie pajamas and Amare a musical vacuum cleaner. (Oh, yeah. I’m gonna be that person that buys the loud, obnoxious educational gifts for kids.) Then, because I wasn’t convinced that was enough, I made each of the kids cute lil fleece blankets for each of them. I wasn’t overly sure they’d like them, but after seeing them curled up with them as soon as brunch was over, I really had no doubt. Plus, aren’t these the cutest kids in the history of all cute kids.

I’ve always considered myself to be a math person, so I should have realized this bloggin’ everyday thing would eventually lead to a large number of posts.  However, when I noticed a few days ago that I was approaching the big 5-0-0, it was more of a suprise than it should have been.  Let’s not tell Mr. Laduke (my HS math teacher) that I’ve slipped so far down the arithmatic chain, k?  With my ankle propped up and icing (see, Mom, I am taking care of myself) I spent a few hours this evening reading back again through the last year and a half of my life, and as much as I’m still Laurel, I find hope in the growth and change that has happened.  So to commemorate this slightly momentous posting occasion, I thought I’d share back with you five of my favorite/truest/funniest posts of our time together.

5)  Happy Birthday, Spacewolf!  (Zac’s 25th Birthday video)

4) My mom’s love of telling time, my dad’s ADD confessions, and Zac’s pranks… humor… and awesomeness.

3)  The time I was called a lesbian, saw Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, John Mayer, Ingrid, the Crows and Matty Nay to name a few, fed the masses, begged my bffs take over, and celebrated my 27th in style.

2) Written back at the beginning of the great CaresTeam departure/Laurel moving out on her own.

Change is still headed my way. I’m still gonna have moments of complete and utter collapse, and what needs to happen in the next few months will still overwhelm me. But, I’ve stopped playing the reality peek-a-boo game because I know that time marches on whether or not you want it to. For now, let’s go ahead and schedule a time this fall where we can all sit back and laugh at my drama queen distress today. We’ll watch the Arizona sun set as we sip iced tea, and I won’t be offended when you remind how we all knew deep down… it would be okay.

Say it with me now… you were right. It was/ok better than ok.

1) The great Charlie abduction, ransom note, detective work, and New World Order video.

So about halfway through the day yesterday, I remembered that I had promised the munchkins’ parents I would once again hang out at their house when the dad left for work and before the mom got home from her basketball game. Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled at my commitment, but it was a commitment I needed to fulfill busted ankle or not. After bundling up for the artic weather and packing my purse full of drugs, an iPod and headphones, and a book to keep me occupied, I headed across town with the selfish hope that all of the kiddos would be fast asleep.  It’s not that I don’t adore them.  It’s just I was exhausted, and my ankle was aching.  Of course, I wasn’t that lucky.  The middle munchkin was still awake and ready to play when I got there.  After saying goodbye to her dad and promising she’d go to bed soon (not that she has any concept of soon), she turned to me in expectation of etertainment.  First, she wanted my phone to text her boyfriend.  When I denied her that, she then proceded to remind me I was single and, therefore, did not need a cell phone.  This kid is good!  Then she went and chose three books for me to read her in the dark and didn’t let me in on the fact she had them memorized and would point out every mistake I made.  Finally, I gave up and grabbed my iPod and put the earbuds in her ears.  It’s amazing after a lil Beyonce and Jesse McCartney she was ready for bed.  Thank goodness!!