Things I am not good at: Math

My name is Laura and I am terrible at math. Not just like normal person bad, but like REALLY bad.

To this day I add on my fingers and can only multiply by the low numbers or 10. I remember thinking long division was fun. But I think that is just because I liked my 4th grade teacher. I also know that I was bad at it. Hey, you can be bad at something and still think it is fun! Reference: Things I am not good at: Sports.

Ways my poor math skills inhibit my daily life:
- When I tip, I never add change to the tip to make the total rounded out. You think I can do that math!? You are wrong.
- On the same topic of tipping. I am also a really good tipper. Not because I am super generous, but because I only know how to make 10% from the total. I then of course double it (Yeah! multiply by 2 booya!). And if there is a weird amount of change I will round up to the next whole dollar. Most of my tips are over 20%. Especially at bars or buying other low cost items.

Basically, being bad at math is making me poor. It isn't all bad though. Luckily my complete ineptitude for mathematics set me up for some really great friendships! How is this possible? Let me explain...

How bad math skills gave me great friends:
- Because I scored so low on the math portion of the SAT, I had to take a proficiency exam at Linfield.
- Because I failed the proficiency exam (are you kidding!? There were fractions! Of course I failed) I had to take a remedial math class.
- Guess who else scored low on the SAT and failed their proficiency exams? MARINA AND LIBBY!

Here we are 2 days before graduation. Posing as freshman in line for Dillin. (the dining facility for underclassman)

Because we all suck at math, we ended up in the same class at Linfield during the first semester of our freshman year. It was called Great Ideas in Math. It was Math 116 and it was hard! I mean, we all got an A in the class, but still. Libby and I would sit in my dorm room and do our homework together struggling to get through the worksheets on topics like infinity.

For a better idea of what this class was like… for our final project Libby and I made paper mache Mobius bands and changed the words to Love Shack to be about Mobius bands. We got an A.

A couple tastes of the song: 
-"I've got me a Mobius band, it has one side and one edge, and we’re headed on down to math class."
- "A Mobius band is a really cool thing that / we can learn about together! Mobius bands baby!"

This is where I say thank you to my liberal arts education. I will never forget what a Mobius band is.

Obviously this experience bonded us together because we are all still friends today. Libby and I lived together for 7 years [see this post] and Marina moves in next month. Great Ideas in Math? More like great friends for life!!

I'm back! Sun Valley and other stuff.

Hello again!

I have been so busy doing important things like going on vacation, going to a wedding, doing laundry and getting a cold. Jealous of those last two? You should be.

Here is some vacation stuff that you may have already seen on Insta. My sister has a fancy camera with good pictures, but she probably won’t share them for like a month… if at all. It’s okay Linds, I think uploading is a hugely annoying task as well.

The Lodge and Baldy

My lovely parents

Dinner at the Ketchum Grill

And from the wedding for your enjoyment:

I posted this even though it is blurry with demon eyes. Why? Because it is hilarious and my legs look crazy tan! 

There was obviously a lot of fun involved in both. Anyway, I’m back in action! Except for this annoying cold.

Hailey on Dwellable

The end of an era.

The past 24 hours have been a doozy. My roommate/ hetero-life mate/ BFF and I will not be living together anymore. We have lived together since 2006. Yes, your math is right. That is 7 years!!!! We are living through a Monica and Rachel scenario… it is the end of an era!

I am excited and praying for both of our futures. Who knows what they hold!? It is always scary going from the known to the unknown. But God sure loves to remind us that we need to trust Him!

Enjoy a ridiculous amount of photos in honor of our many years spent cohabitating:

Snow at Linfield! -2006 / maybe '07?

On a mission trip to Honduras. -2007

As Legends of the Hidden Temple contestants. -2007

When Libby studied abroad in Ireland I had to leave my group in London to visit her. There was no way I would make it through the whole semester without seeing her! This is us at the St. Charles Bridge in Prague. -2008

The view from Prague Castle. -2008

Setting records... nbd. -2008

Graduating from Linfield. -2009

Cutting the cake at our domestic partnership ceremony. Kidding!! -2009

1920s themed party. -2010

Rockin' it at the Metolius River. -2011

Doing this tribute post makes it look like one of us died or something. Haha! For the record, we are alive and well. Oh, and we are still friends. Sometimes stuff like this creates tension, but Libby was up-front with me and I was openly sad in front of her. Seriously, snot everywhere! I hope you enjoyed the photos from the past as Libby and I embark on this transition through BFF-dom.

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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?”

All I want for Christmas.

Is a new Christmas recipe to try and a perfect ski day.

Actually, what I really want is the means, clothing and motivation to dress cuter. But I think that is just a pipe dream at this point.

Okay, I admit it. You know I am still holding out for the Harry Potter Snuggie. I guess Santa didn't get my letter last year. Now they are sold out!! I guess I’ll have to go back on the Hogwarts Express without my cozy Griffindor robes. Lame. (Full disclosure, I am aware that I would probably be a Hufflepuff. So embarrassing.)

Cheesy, but the best gift is going to be spending awesome quality time with my family and friends. My family is super cool and hilarious (mostly on accident). I am excited for a lazy Christmas morning, a big breakfast and cooking all afternoon.  Another highlight will be spending the evening by the fire with a glass of mulled wine and a stockpile of Christmas cookies. These cookies will have been baked with my gurl Caitlin. We have been doing a Christmas cookie bake since high school. It is seriously awesome and you should be jealous!

Gross pictures. But these things will happen! 

Maybe I am alone here, but I haven’t really enjoyed the festivities that this holiday season has to offer. It has been too rainy to get hot cocoa and walk downtown looking at the lights! I haven’t been to Zoo Lights since I was a small child either… not that I’m tryna do that. It is probs a rip off. Basically I have only seen the tree in Pioneer Square doing a drive by and I have done most of my shopping online. It makes me feel like something is missing! The city goes all out and I feel like I have turned my back on the fun. Peacock Lane anyone? Let’s hold hands and look at the lights.

Not related really, but this is my parents Christmas card. Cute right!?

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My Friends

I have a sick obsession with my friends. They are the most fun people ever. Seriously, there is no possible way that your friends are as fun as mine! My friends are hilarious (filthily so), beautiful and genuine.

After spending time with them, my stomach hurt from laughing so much… or maybe it was all the food.

My women at Rontoms. [photocred to Lauren]

And this is just a select few of the college ones! I am a very lucky girl.

I know this was a lame post. Guess what? Don't care! I am still recovering from the amazing long weekend!

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. 

Endless possibilities and Harry Potter.

It is Friday and I am in SUCH a good mood! My coffee tastes extra caffeinated and my weekend plans are taking over my brain. Endless possibilities my friends. Endless. Reality is that I will probably do a bit of cleaning… but why rain on my own parade? I’m sure I will fall in love with a tall, handsome, Jesus loving stranger this weekend! Why the heck not? It could totally happen.

I also thought I would share a gem that was sent to me this morning. Here is a video that was recorded by my friend Hanna at the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 1). We were in line (in the rain and cold) saving spots for some tardy friends. *Warning: Hanna F-bomb in vid.*

Obviously a killing curse is involved… what else? Truth is, I forgot about this. Thankfully I am now reminded that Lauren and Marina owe me FOREVER.

Happy weekend!

We don’t actually know what we look like.

It isn't like we see our faces all day. I know my hands and nails pretty well. I think they are okay. And I like to paint my nails because it makes me feel put together. I have decided that this is because I literally look at my hands on my keyboard ALL DAY. It is other people that have to look at our faces. Your co-workers and friends probably know your face a lot better than you do. I bet you know details about your significant others face that they don't even know.

I have some friends who are absolutely beautiful! And to be honest, they probably don’t realize how babelicious they are. It isn't like they look at themselves all day. They stare at their computers until it feels like their eyeballs are bright red and about to fall out of their heads. When you feel like a zombie, you assume that you look like one as well.

How I (and probably many others) feel after work:
- My skin feels greasy
- My eyes feel dry (I have now rubbed them, therefore mascara flakes now sit on my cheeks)
- My legs feel like they only half work
- I am hungry enough to eat a meal, but know I should only have a snack (it is confusing)
- I know my make-up came off, but I don’t care
- My outfit feels stale
- My hair is now misbehaving (depending on the weather)
- I need to brush my teeth but opt for gum instead

I assume this is how everyone feels after an 8-hour day at their computer. BUT when I meet my friends for Happy Hour they all still look solidly decent after a long day at work. When we feel nasty, we assume that we also look nasty. We do not see ourselves all the time, others do. In conclusion, this is why we do not always feel the confidence that we know is in us.

Have you ever looked at a picture and thought, “wait, is that me?” It is my guess that you have. That is because you don’t spend your entire day looking in a mirror or at pictures of yourself ala Kim Kardashian. Congratulations for not being a narcissist!

We don’t know what we look like because we spend all of our time looking at other stuff. You are probably good looking. Give yourself some credit.

One Direction had it right. You don't know that you're beautiful! It's okay, why would you?

PS. These guys look like little girls. Nice voices though... call me in 10 years.

Tricks and Treats in the Emerald City.

I went north this weekend to celebrate Halloween. Go ahead and start calling me Lucifer for celebrating the devil's holiday. I just really like to dress up! It was a blast to spend good quality time with friends. I’ll add pictures below of our outrageous 80s outfits, but first I thought I would share 3 weekend highlights.

1.) People laughing at our costumes and us staying in character by walking around doing lunges, high-kicks and punches. (I was sore the next day)

2.) Laying in Cameron’s bed while watching Harry Potter and eating tortilla chips.

3.) Brunch with some of my fave ladies X2. (we had brunch twice, there weren’t clones of my friends)

Jazzercise and Flashdance

Others thought we were Olivia Newton John. I'll take it! 

Prom queen 1985! And her Mormon date. 

Just a couple action shots. Did you want to store your lip gloss in my fanny pack? 

I hope you all had fun and safe weekends! My Halloween will continue with a chili/ voting/ candy passing out party at my parents house on Wednesday. Woot!

Default Settings

I guess the journal app wasn't a waste after all! Okay guys, this is not a usual post for me. I’m going to get all weird and slightly emo on you. And because I am “reading” Gone Girl, I am going to include a quiz at the end. Who are we kidding… I listen to audio books on my commute. It rocks, you should do it.

Here we go:
I am generally not insecure. At this point in my life, the most insecure I get is usually related to vanity and how others perceive me. But In the past it was SO much more. There was a lingering, ‘am I good enough?’ The most insecure time of my life was probably during college. I am going to assume that this is pretty common. You are no longer at home, you are “playing adult,” and you are making grown-up-ish decisions about your life. I guess it makes sense to be insecure as you are literally coming of age.

That being said, I now have a much stronger sense of self and it is quite liberating. I know who I am. I know how cherished I am by God. I feel confirmed, encouraged and loved by most of the people in my life. Honestly, I feel awesome! Maybe too awesome sometimes...

Yet, putting my self in scenarios where I formerly felt insecure causes me to default into an unstable state of mind. My 19 yr old self comes creeping through and it can become debilitating. And I left that girl behind a long time ago! Some of her outfit choices were… let's just say they were questionable.

My question for you is this, why do we let this happen? We can be completely secure adults, who make solid choices and feel stable in who we are. Yet, we get thrown into situations that make us default into who we were a long time ago. Insecurity, or that reaction that makes us feel like we aren't good enough, seeps back to the forefront. We default into someone of the past.

So what is the plan you guys? Do we avoid those situations at all costs? Or do we get strong enough to not default?

QUIZ:
When you are feeling less than awesome, insecure, or not good enough, do you:
A.) Eat your feelings.
B.) Exercise
C.) Pray about it.
D.) Spend time with people who make you feel like a million bucks.
E.) A,C and D
F.) All of the above.

You probably think the answer is F (all of the above). Well, you are wrong. The answer is E. Duh! Exercise is for chumps.

These are just a few of the chicks who make me feel like a million bucks! This was us (and wine) on Monday night.

I bring this up now because I feel like this has happened to me recently and I thought it could be happening for you as well. Is it!? Or am I alone out here in all this crazy?

Fog and writers block.

I am currently suffering from writers block. I usually have drafts in my email of random thoughts and ideas. Or I find notes in my phone that easily prompt me to write a post. These past weeks have been a struggle though. Once I get going the text usually flows, as I’m sure it will for this one… about writers block. In many cases it is hard to shut me up. Even when it is about absolutely nothing! I’m sure my real life friends are nodding their heads right now. I have a special talent for talking about things I know nothing about with extreme, yet baseless, passion.

It is foggy and I am lethargic. I am also thinking about buying one of those happy lights from Costco. I don’t have winter depression, but I also don’t think it hurts to make a preemptive strike.

I love fall so much! But the knowledge of the impending season of darkness is daunting. I just need to push it out and enjoy this time. The trees have begun to change! I am so excited to crunch through them in my boots! You know, on my walk from Nordstrom to Pioneer Place.

Walking on this will be boss. 

I am off to Black Butte this weekend! So I’ll be sure to spend some time looking out the window while coming up with some post ideas that you will all like!

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