Text that GIF.

I have some new fun for you all! The day? Saturday. The activity? Texting GIFs. The result? non-stop hilarity via text. And the fun hasn't stopped since.

Trying to get Marina to come over after discussing her need to do laundry at my apt:

Mar’s text:

“This is what happens when I think about leaving my couch.”

My response to her attitude:

I received this text from Libby (mid movie) on Sunday night:

“How I feel when Laura makes us watch ABC Family Christmas movies.” 

Then there are some reaction GIFs that have been used in multiple scenarios. They work best in gossipy conversations. Hey, at least I'm honest!

I really recommend this form of communication. It makes everything more exciting!

PS. This is how Marina feels about you not wanting to use GIFs in your texts.

“Are you effing kidding me?”

The cry face of Claire Danes.

For many years the “Claire Danes cry” has been a running joke with my friends. I can just shout out a weird cry noise and they know exactly what scene of Romeo and Juliet I am referring to. This is of course followed by hysterical laughter.

Over the years, Claire Danes' cry has been all over my TV. She would cry over my main man/ not so secret 90s crush Jordan Catalano (MSCL). She would cry about having scarlet fever (LW). She would cry about her man drinking poison (R&J). It was just madness.

To my complete and joyful surprise! There is a twitter account for Claire Danes and her crazy cry face. @ClaireDanesChin exists and I find it absolutely hilarious! Thank you Homeland for bringing the cry face back into our lives. Merry Christmas to me!

I leave you with a Claire Danes crying supercut.

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A weekend of learning.

This weekend I went to a Portland Blogger meet-up. It was awesome because not only did I get to see my real life internet friends, I also learned stuff. Do you know what SEO is? I didn't either. But now I do! …kinda. I was a bad student in the back of the class talking to my friends (Linnea, Sam and Abby). I did take some practical notes though! I also got this super cute mug that Jenni made as our favor.

One thing I did learn that I will have trouble using, is the obvious point that your title and tags need to have key words and somewhat relate to what your post is really about. I struggle with that because I would rather have my title be eye-catching and weird rather than relevant. Meh, we’ll see how it goes.

Other things I learned this weekend are:

1. There is an Elephants going in down the street from my house. My heart is rejoicing but my wallet is pissed.

2. This is my favorite note from church this weekend. It was timely and lovely and beautifully put.

I hope your short T-giving weeks are as stellar as mine! Even with all this narst rain. 

Pretty Little Liars.

This is not about PLL on ABC Family… Even though it happens to be one of my fav shows.

First things first, I want to say thank you for the confirmation after that last post. I got a number of calls and texts from friends confirming how timely that post was to their lives. Which makes me think, are we all liars most of the time?

Reality is that we all deal with anxiety, fear and the unknown. Why aren't we more honest about it? It would be a lot easier to go through things together. Just saying.

You guys, we are all in this together. (Please watch this at least until Chad's toe-touch)

On a completely different note, I am going to an SEO (search engine optimization) workshop with the Portland Bloggers on Saturday! I am really excited about it because I know nothing about SEO. I love getting together with this group. No one is creeped out by you when you already know about their life! Haha. If you are a blogger you should join us! Check out the Website. And while you are at it, you should probably check out my guest post on their blog too. Duh.

What, Me Worry?

This is a line that my dad likes to throw out there. If you ask him why he is saying the same annoying thing over and over, he stares at you and says, “Alfred E. Neuman!” As if I am supposed to know who that is and what it means.

Sorry Dad, but I didn't read Mad Magazine in the 1960s. Anywho, I think good ole Al has it right though. We don’t need to worry about it! Reality is this: All things will work out for good. All challenging things will eventually come to pass.

Right now one of my challenges is not necessarily personal, but instead in response to others reactions to me. Everyone else seems much more concerned about my life, love life, future plans etc. than I am. New internal response: What, Me Worry?

Another thing I think needs a mention today is the election!! Woohoo! Today is Election Day! I know a lot of people get all stressed and wigged out about their candidates today, but to me Election Day is the coolest thing. We have the right to voice our views and participate in democracy. Does it get much cooler?

I am not super political, but I am a human. And one thing that has really irked me this political season has been the way people have treated each other. It is like people think the internet makes them anonymous, or that not physically being next to someone when hurtful words are used makes them less offensive. Well, it doesn't. That person is still going to read those words. As an observer, it is honestly embarrassing. If you are one of the mean aggressive ones, you should really be embarrassed.

Election Day is exciting. We are officially all participating in something together! And no matter how the races (big and small, state or national) turn out, they are a done deal. It is my hope that after the fact we can just drop the angst and come together! no matter if your chosen candidate is elected. We are a lot stronger when we are united!

In conclusion:

I hope you all rocked the vote! Remember when MTV did “vote or die?” That was a little aggressive.

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Today is Friday!

In celebration of the impending weekend, I would like you to remember that anything is possible!
[Start watching at 0:13]

How much do you love Tom Haverford? It should be a lot.

It's a Blog Eat Blog World.

Or at least that is what they want you to think!

Thankfully there is a community of fellow blog writing, inter-web obsessed lunatics. I of course mean this in a loving way, as I am included in this category. It is a blast to be a part of a group of PDX bloggers. If you are interested in new friends (cyber and real) check out the site and join the blog list!

Anywho, I did a guest post over on the Portland Bloggers Blog! Check it out Here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Where were you during computer class?

Umm. Have you seen this?

These kids were in 5th grade in ’95. If my reasoning is correct… I was in 5th grade in ’97? Right? Whatever.

So, while these kids were making a PSA that correctly outlines how the internet will be used by our generation (cats and all)… I was busy using the computer for one thing. Oregon Trail! Seriously, during elementary school computer class my main concern was not dying of diphtheria, dysentery or the measles.

Well, I’m off. Gotta go forge the river. Actually, maybe it would be a better call to float across? Hmmm.

Back!... and ready to Insta.

Hello my dear readers. All few of you.

I am back!! It is very exciting to be back. BUT I am far from rested. I have yet to sleep-in or unpack. It is my own fault that I spent my first day and night back from Nicaragua at a wedding and then out until last call with college friends. When some of your favorite friends are in from out of town you take advantage! In bed by 3am with some Taco Bell? Welcome home from Nicaragua! Talk about a crash course through culture shock.

My caffeine consumption has sky rocketed this week. On another note, I have recently gotten some flack for never posting on Instagram. Rude.

Honestly, my life is not glamorous enough to post on Instagram. I drink regular coffee without pretty foam, I attempt to look good for work… def not worthy of a selfie pic. and I eat a lot of hard-boiled eggs and carrots. Do you really want pictures of that? I didn’t think so.

Anywho, I decided to prove what you aren’t missing! Ha! Below you will find coffee from a Keurig, light pink nails/ hands with dry skin and an emo selfie (ps. I didn’t shower today). Take that!

This was my pathetic attempt at a blog post. Please bear with me. I am excited to dive back into the blog world and (once rested) become a contributing member of society again.

Enjoy this outrageous sunshine PDX peeps!

My weekend plans: lay in the sun.

A Boyfriend identity crisis.

I bet you thought this was going to be about my personal life. WRONG! It is about Justin Bieber.

I’m not sure if you have watched the Bieb’s new video for Boyfriend. I watched it with my super awesome co-worker/ fav friend Nicole, and we liked it! Duh. It is no Brit Brit, but still fab. We then launched into an important discussion regarding señior Bieber. He is obviously on the track to prove that he isn’t a kid anymore. I have a feeling the videos will gradually get steamier, thus not to alarm audiences. Of course I have at least one qualm about the video. Have you met me? Well, some of you probably haven’t… whatevs.

Okay here we go. In the video everyone is dressed in funky cute/ hipster chic. Clearly it is warm out because the sun is shining and girls are rocking tanks etc. THEN you look at J. Biebs. He is wearing dark jeans, gold high-tops and leather. Not to discount his blingy jewelry. Check out the bracelet… Ha! Pimpin’ Biebs. Straight pimpin’. My question is this, if it is hot out why are you wearing leather? Also, you have quite different style than your “friends” in this video. In my experience friend groups tend to dress similar to each other. Especially at the age of 18.

That is my Bieber related two cents. Hope you enjoy!

* UPDATE: I was just alerted by my lovely friend Marina (see her comment below) to watch *NSync's video for Girlfriend. Please note the similarities. We all know that the Biebs is turning into his own version of JT. Just "say hello to falsetto."

Ellen’s Dance Dare: Portland Edition

Hi everyone. First I will say that today is my birthday. Yes, I am 25 years old and I had the BEST weekend celebrating. There were some gatherings, great brunch (review to follow), Easter, the Masters… the list goes on and on. Can you believe I got super into the Masters this year? I haven’t like golf this much since before Tiger was outed as a perv.

One of my weekend highlights was a lovely walk on the waterfront Saturday afternoon. Not only was it beautiful out, but Marina and I decided to take the opportunity to film for our Ellen’s Dance Dare Challenge video. You may be asking yourself “What is the Dance Dare Challenge?” Well my friend, it is a HIGH-LARIOUS challenge Ellen has presented to her viewers. Clicky click to learn more.

Marina and I have been discussing doing this for a while and this weekend the perfect opportunity was thrown at us as we were walking on the waterfront. I then took the liberty to do some editing, added some musica… and voila!

Here is the final product, as well as some photos of the day. Enjoy!

I hope you all had happy Easters!

Call Me Maybe

I have been listening to this song non-stop for the past two days. I know it is ridiculously pop infused. BUT I TOTALLY LOVE IT!!!

To go along with the awesome song… some of our favorite teeny-bopper stars did a homemade sing-along video to it. This is clearly why I like it so much! The video just seems hilariously normal. The girls are all in sweats etc. It reminds me of the kind of crap we would do in Black Butte during college (or currently… you decide that for yourself).

Here is a video of Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ashley Tizdale (I secretly love the Tiz), some chick from Hannah Montana, Ashley’s boyfriend and some other peeps all dancing to Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen.

Side note: Apparently this girl (who is Canadian) has the same representation as the Biebs. Even so, I still love it. Their ploy for the song to blow up worked on me!

Alleged best post of 2011.

I know my blog is not even a year old… But one of my favorite things about the end of the year is the ridiculous number of lists and magazines that contain “The best of 2011.”

The best _______ of (insert year) is always attacking us during the week between Christmas and New Years. I think the reason for this is because people are too lazy during this week to be creative. OR they have decided to continue their Christmas slothiness by putting in minimal effort. I bet the lists were all completed before the holidays even hit!

You think of the list and it probably exists.

-          Best  celeb couples  of 2011

-          Best  movies  of 2011

-          Best  starlet crotch shots  of 2011.

Okay, sorry… that last one was vulgar. I bet it exists though!

Well, my “best” post of 2011 was about flirting. I don’t know if it was really the best, but it was the most popular. I don’t know if people Google “flirting tips” a lot or something… but this post got the most page views by a landslide.

Read it and decide for yourself. Is it “Best of 2011” worthy?

I know the text is small in the screen shot. So here is the original post: God made mud, God made dirt, God made boys so girls can flirt!

Happy New Year! Can’t wait to get glittery and kiss a stranger! (kidding!… kind of)

Blooper Box: Where funny videos go to hang out.

The other day I got an interesting email. Subject: “came across your blog, have question.”

First of all, I was like, “He ran across my blog? How did that happen? Do people read my blog?... this is weird.”

Then I was like, “He is a killer. A deranged murderer. He says he is emailing me about my blog but he is totally an ax murderer. CRAP!”

Then I actually read his email and went to the Website.

He loves funny videos!? I love funny videos! People who like funny videos from the internet can’t possibly be murderers. Murderers only like Dexter and American Horror Story (Yeah, I’m on to you Marina. We all know you are a murderer).

SO, I emailed him back and asked if he was a murderer. He said no… and I decided he was telling the truth. I have a super legitimate screening process. Brad and his business partner, Phil, moved to Portland not to long ago to start BlooperBox.  I hesitated to write about it for a split second because I have never done a review like this before. BUT I saw that 1.) They are local and 2.) They are a start-up. Two awesome qualities!

Of course I will spread the good news about your hilarious website! Note: they are from St. Louis. I automatically think of Louise form St Louis (Jennifer Hudson in the SATC movie) and Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis. (Pre extreme pill-popping)

Apparently Brad and Phil were co-workers back in St. Louis and one of their main procrastination activities was to find really obscure funny videos and send them to each other. It became a competition of sorts. Who was going to find the better video? And BlooperBox was born. They created a site that holds weekly competitions between 5 uploaded videos.

Click Here to see a sad back-handspring. 

This video was not a winner. And really, neither is this lady. I do feel sad that she couldn’t land her back-handspring. Next time she should call me and I can give her a spot.

I know, right!?

Megan from PIPM posted this video to her blog and I admit it! I am not at all innocent when it comes to many of the phrases highlighted.

My main offenses:

- "I know, right!?" 

- "Can you read this and see if it makes sense?"

Not listed: 

- "Did I leave my straightener on?" (Or curling iron depending on the day.)

You know you are guilty too. Just admit it! 

Forgive the title. It was too funny not to post. Enjoy! 

Daydream of Rainbows, Butterflies and a Music Box.

Those are all Mariah Carey album names. Why? Because I am SO into my Mariah Carey Pandora station! (Not holiday. Not yet.) Do me a favor and just test out the station. I swear you will love it! I take that back. You will only love it if you like awesome 90s R&B. If you can confidently say that you fit into this category then go for it.  

You may be asking yourself this: “Laura, why don’t you listen to Spotify or Grooveshark or something else cooler than Pandora? Quit living in 2007!”

Well, my answer to this is as follows:

I don’t want to put in the playlist making effort! Also, I don’t want my Facebook friends on Spotify to creep on my music and judge me for busting out the occasional song by ‘Nsync for a little middle school throwback. It is easier to admit these things in the controlled environment of my blog. I also think it is annoying that Spotify (via Facebook) tells people what you are listening to. No Facebook, I don’t care that Sabrina Jorcutt (names have been changed to protect privacy) is listening to Nicki Minaj. I mean good call with the Nicki, but really Facebook?

Moral of the story is this: Listen to Mariah Carey radio and don’t hate on me for listening to Pandora.

Currently Playing: Boys II Men, End of the Road

Happy Halloween to all!! Have fun-filled weekends. 

Hanging out in the 21st century.

So last night a few of my people decided that it was important to spend some quality time. I completely agreed and we made plans to meet up and hang out. You may be thinking that we went to Happy Hour or met at someone’s house to watch Modern Family. Instead we met up on Google+ for a hangout. Libby and I were on our couch, Cameron was in her living room in Seattle and Marina was in her kitchen (note: Marina lives a block away from Lib and me). We needed some quality time. The original plan was to watch Modern Family together, but after we covered the important topics we realized that it wasn't necessary.

Photo taken by Martha (who was at Mar's during the call)

Basically we are living like Zenon: Girl of the 21st century. If you don’t know what this is, you clearly did not watch Disney Channel original movies ala the late 90s. My faves are Zenon, Brink and Johnny Tsunami. I can’t help but be reminded of Zenon as I face time with my friends or hang out on Google+. Zetus Lapetus! It is so Nebula and Zenon of us!

Okay, enough crazy from me. I love that I get to see my friends when they are far away and that we can make plans to watch shows together. I will be utilizing this much more. When I need outfit approval, or if I start to feel lonely. Ahhh technology. 

Very Pinteresting.

So you need outfit inspiration or a new recipe? Where should you go? Pinterest. It is where all of the pretty things on the internet hang out. It is the new hot spot of the Internet. For you wildcats, think roof top on a Thursday night. Everyone wants to see and be seen on some Pinterest pin boards. How special do you feel when you get re-pinned by a stranger? Such a compliment, it means you have good taste…Or at least the same bad taste as someone else. My darling sister welcomed me into the world of Pinterest a while back. Listen ladies: you no longer have to be held down by copying and pasting an image and emailing it to yourself! You see something you like? Pin that bologna!

I took this from life is reed-iculous. She is awesome! Appropriate image for this post.

I don’t pin that much and all the britches that I follow pin the same crap because they read the same blogs. BUT if you go to the “everything” page or use the search option you can find AWESOME things. If you don’t have a Pinterest yet you are behind the times, email me if you need an invite! I’m happy to spread the pinning joy. Slater gators!

PS. TGIF! (Not the show. Just the saying... since it is Friday and all.)

Well, there goes your social life.

If you didn’t get that Clueless reference I am sad. Remember when socializing was more personal? I do. Life before we had texting and gchat. Life before we had Facebook and Twitter. We had to call each other!

OMGEEEE Remember 3-way calling?! Ah, the days of having a friend call a boy you liked (with you on the line of course) and asking if he “like likes” you. Or watching TRL while you try to figure out how to click back over to complete the call. All whilst wondering why Carson Daly only paints 2 of his nails. Now we have social networking. The most impersonal way of being “friends” and staying in touch. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. Minimal effort and you get credit for it! You “like” a photo or status update and you’re set for another 6 months. You wish someone happy birthday and you are off the hook. Talk about a way to keep up on your correspondence! I do miss the Facebook of yesteryear. Remember when it was just college students and we didn’t have to worry about keeping it kosher for our business relationships or potential employers?

Facebook has changed though. I don’t want to be the person who posts a status about their dinner, or about how wonderful their life is. Those people are freaking liars. I know what they are thinking: "I will post about the sunshine and my delicious summer salad even though I have cramps and a huge pimple. People will think my life is perfect!" Well guess what, life isn’t perfect. Let’s admit that we all wait for the ideal profile picture before switching it up. Yes, by chance I look really good here. This is clearly how I look all the time. I never look bad! I don’t think we are tricking anybody. They can click through and see that unflattering photo that hasn’t been untagged. The jig is up.

My main uses for Facebook are these:

1. Post pictures of and for my friends. Also for my mom, she likes to see what we are doing.
2. To creep. Yes, I said it. Who doesn’t love to see that so and so broke up with so and so? I sure do. It’s awesome!
3. To creep some more. I love looking at other peoples pictures. My mind starts saying things like, “cute shirt,” “that looks like fun,” “I want to go camping” OR “dang. She is pregnant?!” OR “gurlfren gained weight.” Yes, facebook is the place of judgment. It is absolutely horrible, yet true. You can’t deny it. It especially comes in handy when your friend’s exes (or your own) have new girlfriends. We can say things like this: “you are WAY cuter than her.” Etc.

Twitter:

I love twitter, mostly because it is less saturated with randoms. And because I can get news, gossip, current events and status updates from people I actually want to know about/ celebs.

One thing I am both thankful for and struggle with is the limit on characters. Twitter only gives you 140 characters. It is hard to be clever in 140 characters or less. At least I think so! I try to at least make my tweets worth reading. My favorite tweeter: Damian Fahey. Ask Nicole from My Little Blue Bag. She will tell you all about his hilarity. He has such a dry sense of humor I llol every time! Well, almost every time.

Due to this socially saturated technological world and the invention of smart phones. My people are constantly consumed by their mobile devices. Phones sit at the table during happy hours, dinners and random TV watching hangouts. Hey, I’m guilty too. It is just pretty ridiculous if you take a minute to think about it.

Now spend the weekend remembering the simpler times and make a 3-way call with some of your people. You won't regret it!