Little Miracles...

Lauren Elizabeth Gloria
July 24, 2011
8 lbs. 7 oz., 21 in.

We were all so excited to hear the news that Aunt MJ's water broke on Saturday night (the 23rd). After a looooonnng day of waiting, she was finally born on Sunday at 6:17 via C-section. I was visiting Geoff because I had some testing that weekend, so it was very convenient that I was so close to the hospital in Allentown where she was born. She had lots of loving visitors on that Monday, and she is definitely the cutest member of the family :) 

We've got a Penn State fan already!

First family photo

Mohawk lady

The 3 girl cousins

We call this "The Grouch"

 The next weekend, late on Saturday night I drove up to their house in order to get some more baby loving and to see my loving mother. On Sunday, we threw a little birthday party for my mom (the big 5-2!). My grandpa, Aunt MJ's in-laws, and her best friend Kelly came. We made homemade lasagna with, get this, HOMEMADE NOODLES! Scrumptious. Simply scrumptious. 

Blurry, but this was our set up

Lots of noodles!

 Never got a shot of the finished product, but man was it good! Props to both Geoffrey and I for finding the recipe a while back! Anyways, while we were cooking and during the party for that matter we had a cute distraction. 

Chewing on her Uncle Jim's arm

I love you thiiiiiiisss much!

The picture they used for the birth announcement

Yep, my mom and I put her in a basket

Happy Birthday to youuu

 Lots of little miracles going on in my life right now. I'm not hating it :)

Summer Summer

Well since I haven't written anything on this blog for oh I don't know, 2 months and 4 days, I figured it was about time that I sat down (which I do a lot anyways) and take time to write about what's going on! I mean, that was the whole point of this blog, right?

So much has happened this summer, that I really can't even remember everything, so I'm just going to make a list and add to it what I want. Because this is my blog and I'm allowed to do that. So here it goes, my list of things accomplished, attempted, and otherwise done in Summer 2011:

I've been working a lot! Between LOFT and Science-U summer camps and babysitting, I've definitely had my hands full! And for some reason, I still don't have any money. How does that work?

My family (i.e. mom, dad, brother) went to a family reunion (i.e. grandparents, cousins, second cousins, great uncles) in Branson, Missouri in the middle of June. Why didn't I abbreviate Missouri? Because I can never decide if it's MO or MI. Or MS. Branson is definitely an interesting place. And by interesting, I mean that it's meant to cater towards the 65+ age group. But we were there to meet people that we hadn't seen since I was a baby so that's what we did. Mom and I went to a play about Noah's Ark (it was a little opinionated for my taste). We rented some pontoons and went tubing on Father's Day. Found out that there was incest way back when. Freaked out a little inside.

We don't always photograph so wonderfully, but we're fun!

On the boat, probably the best part of the trip

At the family reunion met a cousin (Blake) who is friends with a girl who I know that goes to Penn State. Discussed how Artsfest was awesome and then he said he was coming. Saweet, new family bonding experiences. Artsfest was awesome! And by awesome I mean people were drunk, I worked a lot, and when I did drink I puked. Success? Most likely.

The Friday of Artsfest also marked Geoffrey's last day at J&J!!! Wooo he's a big kid who just finished his first job! He also doesn't have much money as he probably would have liked. Where does this money go? Anyways, he was able to stay for the whole week after Artsfest and then I went to his house in Wallingford so that I could take the PRAXIS tests. I thought that I would get sick of having another person around for 10 DAYS straight. I haven't seen that much of him since December! But really, I didn't. Of course we needed some time to our selves, but it was just nice to see him and know that he didn't have to go anywhere.

Oh and the beach! We went to the beach the last week in June, right after our trip to Branson. I was there from Friday to Wednesday, and as usual, we had a lot of fun! Stone Harbor is a place where we all just know how to relax and we can do our own thing while still spending time with each other. We did a couple impromptu photo shoots while there and they're some of my favorite pictures!

Nick's sandman

Preggers Magee

My favorite picture of the 4 cousins

I feel like so much has happened this summer that I can't document it all! In fact, I have such a bad memory that I had to consult my planner while writing this post to make sure I didn't miss anything big and important. Speaking of big (well tiny) and important, I have another post to write a little later that has one pretty exciting event that takes place!

Attachment Issues

That's right. I have them. But with who? Well it's not with my friends. And it's not with my boyfriend. It's not even with my family. Though I do like being attached to them. It's with Oprah Winfrey. A rich, famous black woman you might ask? What does she have to do with a poor white college woman? 

Well, like my friends she's always there to provide me with a good laugh. She has been there to provide me with relationship advice (so that the boyfriend sticks around). Like my parents, she has always known the right thing to say when I need to hear it the most. Her show has taught me how to be appreciative for the things that I do have. That it is possible to become a spiritual person. That there is always someone that has a story to be told, and that I should be the one to listen.

She has made me laugh, cry, and everything in between. I point to her as one of the big influences in my choice to become a teacher. She showed me that you can make a difference no matter how small the change. I truly can't wait until I have my own classroom and I can change their lives the way that I think Oprah changed mine. 

A lot of people laugh at me when I say I watch Oprah. A lot of people don't agree with what she has to say. A lot of people roll their eyes when I say that I saw something on Oprah. Of course I did. I've watched a lot of her episodes. 

And now all of a sudden, she's gone. She'll have a network, which is all fine and dandy. But I need her to sit in my living room and help me live my life. I have friends and family that will always be there to give me advice, but who can say it better then Oprah? 

Now I've got to learn from one of my life's greatest teachers and starting teaching to others. Let the journey begin.

Surprise!!!

Geoffrey came to visit! He didn't even tell me he was coming or anything. It was a SURPRISE! Now, I LOVE surprises. Most people don't like to be surprised. I love it. I am a big planner, got to know what's going on kind of a person, but if a surprise comes along, I don't really care what the plan is. That is if it's a good surprise. If it's a sad or annoying surprise, I usually cry (it's an involuntary reaction) and then I say no thank you. However, good surprises make me smile :) 

G was supposed to be going to the beach with his buddies from NJ this weekend but changed his mind and decided to come hang out with his much cooler and better looking friend, me. He had told me that he was going to order me dinner (something that he does like a date night when we're not together). He told me to go pick it up in 25 minutes. Well ten minutes later, in walks a stranger to my abode. My roommates have no reaction. I can't see the door and have a mini panic attack because everyone is there, no one should just be walking in the door. Turn, Geoffrey! It was wonderful. 

He only stayed the night because he was going to hang with his homies, yep I said it, that had just graduated. But it was one of the best surprises because I was really missing him and just needed a G hug. One of the best surprises yet. That's got me thinking. I should detail some other surprises that have happened to me in the past. Before I forget. But they were so good I probably won't for a really long time! 

The Worst

As I lay here in my big old bed, which I'm visiting for only a couple of days, trying vigorously to get to bed, I have come up with yet another conclusion. I am the worst.

After having that realization, I threw myself a little pity party and then tried to figure out why exactly I was that way. I've narrowed it down to a couple of main points and they go like this:

1.  I am the worst daughter. I often feel like I'm using my parents and I don't truly show them how thankful I am. I really do appreciate all that they do for me every day and all that I have because of them. I didn't even give my mom a freaking Mother's Day card. Why didn't I just spend the 3 bucks to show her that I care even a little. 
2. I am the worst girlfriend. I feel like I don't put as much effort in to my relationship as I should, especially because it is going through the strain of long distance right now. When I talk to Geoff, I often find myself not really listening, and being half-hearted about my conversation. I'm constantly straddling the line between too passive and too clingy, and I know that he senses it. I miss him so much and I know he knows it, but I really can't express how difficult it is for me. 
3. I am the worst friend. Again with the half-heartedness. I really try to be attentive and let go of the little things but I often find myself making the little things BIG and letting them influence my relationships. I want to be a good friend. I'm working my hardest to be the person that people want to talk to. But how can I make them want to talk?
4. I am the worst child of God. When I lay down at night, I say a prayer. Every night, I find myself in the middle of my prayer off on a random thought. That is no way to thank God and show him how truly blessed I feel. I need to devote more of my energy to service and less to my own thoughts. 

I know that I'm not really the worst. But aren't we all our own harshest critic? 

The Princess Within

I can totally see me working these

 This morning I woke up at 4 a.m. to watch The Royal Wedding. It was beautiful, it was romantic, it made me and every other girl in the world want to have a fairytale wedding and marry a prince. But it also got me thinking. Not about tiaras or wedding dresses or even wedding bells, but about different decisions about my future. 

I suddenly had a yearning to move overseas when I graduate and get a teaching job there. I've always wanted to explore Europe and as I sat there watching the TV, I felt that I had to be there. Like now. Now it's just something that's sitting in the back of my mind right now. But I want to grow on it in the future. Of course it all depends on where things go with other things in my life, but I can just picture myself walking the hills of England and living in my own little castle :) 

A nice quaint cottage :)

Eggcellent Weekend

Ok, so I stole that from somebody else, but it was so cute I just had to! Had a wonderful time this weekend. It was the first weekend that I just forgot about all of my responsibilities (even though I probably shouldn't have) and relaxed. Went to Geoff's house early Friday and we had dinner and then went to a movie with his parentals. Saturday was chill and we went out to a soul food restaurant. Food was pretty good, not the best shrimp and grits I've ever had. The best part was that we walked in the door and we were the only white people in the place. In fact, we were the only not black people in the place. I really see myself as a balanced person, but I feel like I got a taste of what a lot of minorities might feel like. Watched another movie, The Kings Speech, which I had wanted to see for a long time and it was totally worth the wait!

Sunday was Easter and it was a really nice one. We went to church and the service was done really well. It felt good to get in my God time, since I haven't been giving him as many hours as I should be. I have a hard time motivating myself to go to church when I'm at school. I know that's not the way it should be, and I want to start seeing it as less of a hassle and more of a desire. I'm slowly working my way there, but I know that it will take time. We had a tasty Easter dinner with G's parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin. We even Skyped Jenni so she could be included. This was the first holiday (except for New Years and Halloween do those really count?) that I haven't spent with my family and it was a little weird. I usually go to Aunt Deb's for Easter, but this year I wanted to see G more. I realized that by doing this holiday without my family, I'm really becoming an adult. When I get married and have kids and the whole shebang, I'm going to have to choose where to go for what holidays. I know that's far off, but it just got me thinking!

Geoff and I had a mini photo shoot and this is the only one I liked. The sun was directly in our eyes so we looked like we were in pain for most of them, but this one is the least painful.

In our Easter best, aren't we springy looking?