Campin Honey

Camping in the woods without a tent was TOP of my Fall List of Things I Want To Do. We had been in the car for ten minutes and we were already excitedly planning the things we would do differently next time around. Like, such as,

1.) Pack appropriately. I quickly realized that it had been a long time since I had camped out in the desert. Don't get me wrong, I thought ahead; I had the non-essentials covered. Guitar? Camera? check and check.
Blanket? Sweatpants? Beanie and warm socks? Pillow? Sleeping bag pad? Toilet paper? Firewood? no to all of the above.

2.) Reassess the desirability of tinfoil dinners. Because my charred potatoes had the aftertaste of cancer.

3.) Find a Campin Honey. (This is also something I learned about ten minutes into the car ride.)

Campin Honey

noun

1. A male with ability and the disposition to call you up at any hour and say "Let's go camping." Said companion enjoys doing manly things like chopping firewood, lighting fires, and setting up camp in general.

Syn: Boyfriend

(Ant: Nemesis)

I'm so glad Haylee brought Daniel II here tonight. What a campin honey he is in that flannel shirt.

Campin Shawty

noun

1. A male with ability and disposition to call you up at any hour and say "Let's go camping." Said companion is not interested in an actual "relationship," but enjoys snuggling under the stars. Probably doesn't own a hatchet.

Syn: Booty call

(Ant: Annoying person from class who you have to see on a regular basis)

By the time we exited the vehicle, we agreed that having a campin shawty would not be a good idea.

We were worried there wouldn't be enough ground beef for all of us.

Easily the best picture of the entire trip.

 Dan won extra campin honey points for coming back the next morning. chopping more wood. 

and then taking us REPELLING!

 Also, we all found out how dramatic I can be when forced to walk backwards over the edge of a cliff.

Jess (cheerfully): Alright, here you go! Have fun- we'll see you later!
Me (interpreting this as a final goodbye): STOP IT DON'T SAY THAT. 
Come on, Lauren. Leap of faith.
THAT'S NOT FUNNY; I'M NOT A VERY RELIGIOUS PERSON.
Jess, Ally, Haylee: *silently exchange look*
SEE YOU NEVER. 

Nothing more universally flattering than a harness.

 

Except...

 

It was high. 

 

I have an announcement to make.

Wait- I just realized what that implies! Hahaha I am not pregnant! Although last night I did watch Baby Mama and they made the whole process look not that traumatic! (Whatever Tina and Amy do, that will I blindly do also!)

But the SECOND BEST THING to bringing a me.2 into this world is....

Fall is here. 

Air not crispy enough? Leaves not crunchy enough? I don't buy it. Because yesterday I visited my best friends at Bath & Body Works, and they have ALL KINDS of pumpkin spice cider autumn cable knit hearth woods cinnamon cookie pinecone out right now. (Plus they have this Dark Amber For Men? I don't know what they put in there, but it's under the label of "omg." Seriously- go free sample that stuff at the nearest possible opportunity. And like me, you will find yourself compulsively smelling your hands for the next few hours.)

I'm an October kind of girl. I'm good at cozy things, like reading books.
walking in the woods. drinking hot chocolate. the little concerts on University Ave. sitting around campfires. driving to NPR's Jazz from 9 til Midnight. taking naps with lots of blankets and the window open. 

I was gleefully sentimental just thinking of all my favorite things about fall, only to realize that I already wrote about them last year- and absolutely nothing has changed.

I'm still a sucker for pumpkin bagels.

                     And doing things at night when we all bundle up.

And watching Christmas movies before Halloween! HATERS GON' HATE!!!

In my closet, Tom the Thankful Turkey has been getting pretty restless at night, ruffling his feathers of years of gratitude past. Shhh, I tell him. Your time will come. Probably sooner than I can handle. 

The Internship That's Not About Bunnies

In nine days I start my internship with the National Council for Adoption. Doing "media relations" and "shadowing their attorney on the Hill"- so basically, I have no idea either. We're just gonna let this thing fly.
Also, in case you were going to ask (again) "So what do you want to do after you graduate?"
my answer is still a vague but promising "Something awesome." Right now I have more important things to figure out. Things like how to work the D.C. metro and where to buy food.

Never having been a pregnant teenager myself, I actually have no experience with adoption. So how FORTUNATE that right before the semester ended I got to help a real-life orphan stay out of the system.

My friends found him underneath a car in the parking lot- named him Dobby and took him in- even though it was finals week and they really didn't have time to deal with a rabbit pooping all over their house. What good souls. Naturally, as soon as fb informed me of this I was at their front door with some carrots.

We tried to take Dobby for a walk (hop?)... the leash was made for a small cat but could also accommodate a rather large bunny. Turns out the reason Dobby is so large may be because he doesn't really like to jump around in the grass but likes very much to sit there and eat it.

Let's be honest: I am not an animal person. But that thing was like a stuffed rabbit, I tell you. It would just lie there in your arms and calmly wiggle its nose.
I was smitten.

Natter the Elementary Education Major.
"Just attach this photo to your resume and anyone will hire you."

Using my "social networking skills" that I bragged about in my application I started a marketing campaign (ie. status update) to save dear Dobby from the animal shelter.
As it happens, another girl I don't know adopted him first. But FOR THE RECORD, I did have a legitimate bunny-lover contact me after the fact.

What this experience has taught me is that successful adoptions can take place as long as you have
a) friends who are looking to 'add one more' to the family, or

b) friends who just can't say no to faces like this.

Congratulations on your new home, Dobby!!

Feeling Fallish

I lied. I said I wasn't over summer but I lied.
I am so excited for autumn.

 

Side note: while we are on the subject of weddings, take a look at my friend Kailey's. I saw her and did a double take because I thought it was me. Hair, dress, shoes, umbrella, crinkle-nosed laugh? Check.

All I need is an Asian husband. Side note over.

But seriously. 

I love the bundling up in scarves, cardigans and chunky sweaters. I love not having to shave my legs Sunday morning and wearing my thick tights to church in North London the Maeser building. 

I love making pumpkin goodies.

I love the way it smells inside Bath & Body Works. (Wallflowers, anyone?)

I love that it's warm enough to have campfires but cold enough to snuggle up with hot chocolate.

I love watching this movie. (Which can only be watched in the fall.) I'll probably need to have a party soon.

I love that "dye your hair" itch that I can resist for a while but never overcome.

I love our cute table.
(I love that my healthy roommates make it look like I eat my vegetables.)

I love driving to my chill fall music. Death Cab, Fleet Foxes, Brandi Carlile. This week, my songs of choice have been Lua, The Cave, and always always New Slang.

I love seeing the mountains slowly ignite and remembering how autumn looks back home.

I love seeing all the Halloween candy in the grocery store and knowing that Tom the Thankful Turkey is sitting under my bed waiting for his time to shine.

I won't make this picture any larger because my expression gets too frightening.

I love that I may or may not have put Mariah Carey's Christmas album back on my ipod... just to be ready. Thank you Nicole.

I love that in a couple more months I get to pick the Christmas hymns for sacrament meeting... and that suddenly, I am willing to fight tooth and nail for ward choir practice. (Seriously people? Who am I turning into?)

I love that we are all signed up for this baby! (Training, schmaining.) 

I love football. And I love staying up late on Friday nights.

And I love General Conference!!
(I'm telling Lindsay that getting in the Ensign is worth giving up a Saturday in our pajamas.)
 

(I googled "General Conference" and this came up... I couldn't not use it. Love. this. man.)