Things That Go Bump in the Night

I've always been a bit of a scaredy cat. When I pass someone in a parking lot, I'm convinced 75% of people are about to kidnap me. I carry my keys in my fist so that if someone attacks me I can jab them in the eyeball with my keys (a little trick I learned from mah girl, Oprah).

Even though my neighborhood is simply lovely (aside from the creepy neighbor - another blog post for another day) and I feel perfectly safe, I still revert back to my old ways of being afraid for no reason every once in a while. There are thousands of homes in my cute little suburb that are much fancier than ours - why would a criminal choose ours? Besides, our house is alarm-enabled. Furthermore, Frisco has a crazy low crime rate. How do I know this? Um, OBVIOUSLY I'm a freak and I check the crime reports in my neighborhood on, like, a quarterly basis. These are the thoughts that run through my head when I get a little bit afraid.

One night, I practically convinced myself that someone broke into our garage. When the hubby asked why I didn't wake him up to go check, I told him I was only about 65% sure and he had a long day at work the next day... Of course, when we went out to the garage the next day, everything was as it should be.

So fast forward to this week. Greg's company is putting him up at a hotel in Dallas this week for a work function, which means I've been staying alone. But for some odd reason, I really haven't been that scared. It could have been the nights filled catching up on non-scary TV (like five DVR'd Oprah), it could have been the home alarm and locking myself in the bedroom to sleep, it could have been the old towel bar I have by my bed to knock someone out if they were to break in. My guess is that it's a combination. Maybe I'm just finally being a grown-up.

I hope I'm not the only 'fraidy cat out there. Excited for my hubby to get home tomorrow, though!

Wedding Season

Well, Happy May everyone! This month brings... what? Spring flowers? Allergies? Yes, but for us each year, this month formally starts WEDDING SEASON.

"What do you like better, Christmas or Wedding Season?"

"Yes. The answer would be, um, Wedding Season."

Since we attended our first wedding of the year this past weekend (no, this does not include the Royal Wedding that I DVR'd...), I've started to notice how my attending of weddings has evolved over the years. When I first graduated college, I would attend a wedding and cry my way through the ceremony (staring ever-so-longingly at the beautiful bride). I would then party my way through the reception (that hasn't changed much).

Now, as someone who's been married somewhat recently (a little over 2 1/2 years ago), I attend weddings in a whole different light. I ask my fellow pew-mates if the bride and groom have seen each other yet, I take note of the programs (those take work!), I get butterflies for the bride, I notice the centerpieces and chair covers - all the little things that make the day special but in the end, really don't matter. It also makes me super-sentimental in a mildly obnoxious way. I noticed it this weekend.

"Oh my gosh, you guys, they chose the EXACT SAME music for the parents entrance, the bridesmaids AND the bridal entrance as we did!" I excitedly exclaim. (I know it's SHOCKING that someone else also chose Canon in D and the Bridal March. So unique, right?) Later in a conversation, I'm talking with a friend who's getting married and I found myself saying "Oh yeah, well in OUR wedding, we did this... or that.." Really? Way to make it about yourself, Benson. Pull. It. Together.

I just think about our wedding day and get so sentimental as I see other people have their special days. (As I'm sure every somewhat new bride does...) In keeping with the trend of the past few years, we'll be attending quite a few weddings this summer so we'll have the opportunity to celebrate with friends and (in a small way) relive our own special day!

And because I'm just SO sentimental...

Happy May!

Um, Excuse Me. Your Louisiana is Showing.

Over the past weekend, me and the hubby (along with my older sister and her hubby) road-tripped to Louisiana for a good ole-fashioned family reunion. While I've spent a good number of years in Oklahoma, I was actually born in Louisiana and still have quite a bit of family there. Anyways, the reunion was great, it was really good to see lots of family, but I want to talk about the trip.

On our 16-hour round-trip to a small town outside Baton Rouge, I started to take note of what makes Louisiana totally awesome.

First and most obviously, the food. I'm a total sucker for cajun food. Of course, we ate our way through the state and then ate and drank throughout the entire reunion. Top of the list? Crawfish, of course!

I come from a family of great cooks, so when the family came together there was a lot of food. A lot of meat, in particular... Various kinds of sausage, seafood and more. I think someone called it a "meat parade." (Editor's Note: This is not the same kind of a meat parade that you would find in the Gayborhood Bars in Dallas, although I hear those are fun, too!)

Second, Louisiana Lottery tickets. Does Texas sell Lottery tickets? Yes. Are they mildly trashy? Oh ya. But when in Louisiana, we couldn't resist buying four $1 scratchers. And guess what? Greg won 12 bucks.

So, what do we do? In the Louisiana state of mind, of course we bought four $3 tickets. Then, something crazy happened. He won $25. I think it was the high of winning (I'm scared I'm developing a problem), but we took that money and bought five $5 tickets. And would you believe they all lost except mine. I won $50! So that paid for our lunch on the way home in a quaint little cafe in a small town. I've gotta tell you, I'd never really noticed the Lottery ticket machines at the grocery stores in Texas before, but now I see them and I've got to be honest, I'm getting an urge. But it's just way too embarassing to have a gambling problem, so I'm letting this one go.

OK, let's get back on track. The third thing that's so great about Louisiana? It's so... let's say vintage. (And I don't mean that in the pretentious way that it probably came across.) Driving through some of the small towns, I see things I haven't seen in years. Case in point: local grocery stores (I swear I saw a Piggly Wiggly). Also, really, really old gas stations. Check out this old gas pump. This has gotta be from at least the 80s, right? I think it's so charming!

Finally, and this is by the best, you can buy liquor in grocery stores. Cheers to that!

All in all, it was great to be back in Louisiana!

“We’ve got a first-timer over here…”

Well, that’s what I feel like. I really LOVE reading blogs. Whether it’s creeping on friends’ blogs to see what’s happening in their lives, reading local news or getting a recap on my fave reality show... So, I figured, why not start my own? So, let’s get one thing clear – I fully understand that I will probably have a loyal following of about nine people (and one will likely include my Mom – hi Mom!), but I really enjoy staying up to date on what’s going on in my friends’ lives, so wanted to give you a peek into mine.

Just a quick “About Me” – I live in the northern suburbs of Dallas in Frisco – it’s so cute, I love it! I work in public relations for an integrated marketing agency in uptown in Dallas. So yes, I commute every day. But most of my Dallas friends live in that area, so it keeps me close. I’m blessed to have met the love of my life, Greg, in 2003 and we were married in 2008. We enjoyed a “cozy” apartment in uptown for two years before buying a home in July of 2010 up in the ‘burbs.

So, let me recap what my blog will not cover: I will try not to write long blog posts. Blog entries are meant to be short, so I’ll try to keep it that way. I do work in PR and spend many hours a day at my job, but this is not a PR blog. I will also try not to make this a total a recap of my life – “hey, look what I did this weekend; look what I ate, look what I wore, etc.” Not so much. But there really are some fun/interesting/hilarious things happening in my life, especially as I adjust to owning a home, living in the suburbs, balancing a small social life, a work life and married life.

So, for the nine of you out there, thanks for stopping by! If you’d like, please feel free to become a “Follower” of my blog (check out the right-hand column) or add this to your RSS/blog reader. There’ll be more to come.  J

Happy New Year!

Lauren