A Modern Family

If you are my landlord, you should know that we definitely did NOT adopt a hamster.*

Now that we've settle that issue... for your viewing pleasure, I'd like to present Winston:

At first we were worried what disparaging comments the other little fuzzballs would make about him growing up in a home with two mothers and no father.

Luckily, he's a spunky little guy- so raised properly, he should be able to just beat them up.

Although he does love his #1 mommy.

Also, he loves his little plastic ball! (If you think of life in terms of Enchanted and this reminds you of Pip, then we are definitely friends.)

Apple? No, thank you. It's good...

And he LOVES running on his wheel! Please appreciate how difficult it was to take a family photo in which you can see him!

Did you know that hamsters are nocturnal creatures? Fact: They are.
It's okay if you didn't know this.
I didn't either, until this past Sunday when he decided to train for a marathon at 5 a.m...
Parenting is such an adventure.

*Think of it as a "weekend babysitting gig."

One day I will be a crafty woman.

Sometimes you have to start small.

Like making a summer-camp Tennessee bracelet as you casually log the video you shot. 

Or painting your nails with the bottle you keep in your backpack. (One of my favorite hobbies.)

Or enjoying feet that sound like Christmas morning as you wait for a repairman to explain the bowl of ceiling juice that collected on your floor.

But just for the record, I am in FLORAL DESIGN this semester. So I'm already feeling ambitious in the festive kind of way.

Jars. I can do that.

Heart-shaped cinnamon rolls.

This one I almost didn't post because whatever I come up with won't compare. 

What I'm not feeling is ambitious in the ambitious kind of way. I talked on the phone with my mom for an hour the other day (ha I say that like it's something unusual) about what kind of a real, "big-person" job I am going to find after I graduate.
Yikes.

Do they need any videographer-consultants at Kleinfelt's New York? Because I am great at weddings. And hitting it off with strangers. And giving pep talks. And telling people what to do.

Plus, I love him. Look at that smile. 

He is the type of person whom, if he were to say, "Lauren, jump off that bridge"- I would probably reply,
"Yes, Randy. Good idea. I trust your judgment implicitly based on your perfect track record of finding the high-maintenance women of New York City their dream haute couture wedding dress."

Happy almost-February.

P.S. I know what you are all thinking.
"Lauren, you haven't said anything about your plant! Has it sprouted yet?!"

... the answer to that question is no. No, it has not.

The Feeling of Being in Love

Today I really did want to go run outside in the warm January air.
Not hard- just feel the gentle rhythmic mindlessness of my feet plodding one after the other. Music just loud enough to obliterate the sound of my labored breathing. Always on shuffle, because I'm never really in a rush... And because I'm a bit of a fatalist.

But instead of passing, the rain turned into a soft and steady snowfall.
At this point, there was only one thing to do. Crack open the window, turn off everything but our twinkle lights, and curl up on the couch with my favorite down blanket and some e.e. cummings.

somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:

in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands

I first discovered this poem when I was a junior in high school, reading ahead in my English textbook.
I know that not everyone has a literary first love. But I did.
(Did you?)

The best thing about poetry is that you never really have to move on.

Slumbery + White Christmas

There is that state that comes
in a soft and clumsy stupor
when today's "to dos" melt into a list of tomorrow's "maybe's"

like a warm and shaggy bear
ready to tuck in
for a winter muted by dreams of muted winters past

but, for now feeling
the consciousness (that it's slipping)
and you are
(I love you, NyQuill)
in the slumbery somewhere
in between

Because it's only 9:30 and I am contacts-out retainer-in going to bed, I'll give you an extra bonus. 

I love this song slash whole play. If you're still feeling nostalgic for the White Christmas no one got this year, this one's for you.

 

This movie produced great discussion when I watched it with some friends. For the record, I do not think Rosemary Clooney looks like a man. But if she did, she would look like a really beautiful one. Kind of like her nephew George.

Walmart: Cave of Wonders

I know, I know. You are probably opening your mouth figuratively to tell me how evil the corporate giant is and how you only shop Whole Foods and Sunflower Market. (Cue whine about how Joe doesn't trade in Utah.)
Not to mention the infamous People of Walmart.

But you know what? Walmart is cheap. Like me.
And THAT is where I saw THIS:

Anyone who knows me well can testify that my two foodie weaknesses are dry cereal and peanut butter. Now they are joined in holy matrimony.

Actually, I love Cheerios so much that last winter I decided I would try every single kind there is. (So if you have any questions, I am kind of an expert. Except for Oat Clusters. I've never been able to find that one.)

For the record, my all time favorite is still Apple Cinnamon. When the mood strikes, I will go through a box in about two days and completely tear up the roof of my mouth...

... but when you really love something, it's worth it.

Mayday.

Remember this?!?

Today I found out that a requirement for my religion class (LDS Marriage and Family) is the "Law of Harvest Project." 

And I quote:

1.) You are required to grow and maintain the plant during the entire semester from the seed you receive in class or from my office. A healthy plant may receive up to 25 points.

2) You will write a paper outlining the parallels you learned between growing a plant and developing and maintaining a relationship. 

Based on my track record,  I'm already coming up with a slew of potential paper titles. 

"Future Husband, Beware: An in-depth analysis of how my good intentions generally result in disaster or death."

"Dead Hearts are Everywhere: When love and houseplants don't make it through the winter."

"Bad Seeds: Why some relationships aren't worth the effort of keeping alive." 

"Sheri Dew never married, either."

Maybe it's like the Empty Pot story where all the seeds have been cooked, and like young Ping, I will be rewarded for my honesty by becoming the empress of China. 

Although I admit that when monarchy becomes your back-up plan, you know your options aren't looking too hot.