easy, breezy, beautiful

Synopsis of a Thursday night conversation:

"HEY LAUREN"

"Why yes dearest sister, hast thou called upon me?"

"You should swing ur hair like in one of dem fancy commerciaaals"

"Hm. What a novel idea. I accept your proposal."

FA-BU-LOUS.

Obviously I should have been a model.

warmest of regards,

Lauren

pooch pipe

Should we choose to accept (although it was either accept, or get a zero)- our mission, was clear. 

"Use one of the creative techniques mentioned in class to come up with a new product related to your favorite pet/animal."

WELL THEN.

Let it be known that I accepted the challenge/assignment.

And as a result, from within the dark pits of churning procrastination my idea has arisen!

It is a grand and noble one indeed.  

The battle was fierce and took its toll upon me, but I persevered none the less. 

Though turmoil ensued, from the ashes, lo and behold an image came forth that spoke of a new day. 

and that new day is finally upon us, bringing this sole idea to life.

The animal I chose to design for is the dog (original, I know.) And more specifically the Boston Terrier, who's nickname is "The American Gentleman."

So for this grand breed I have devised a little gentleman's getup to truly put them into character. 

Now for my invention: THE DOG PIPE.

WAIT,
now hold on there,

For the love of god NO, I have not invented a smokeable pipe intended for dog usage. 

NO. 

My idea is for a pipe made of a hard rubber (such as the rubber in Kong toys) with a notch in the end where one would stick a bone for a dog to chew on.

When carrying around the toy, the dog would instinctively carry it from the bone end, and thus appear to have a cute little pipe in their mouth.

Before:

After:

BAM. Instant sophistication.

Now that is one classy lassie.

warmest of regards,

Lauren

more than "OK"

YES.

Just yes.

Laugh out loud amazing.

laura, laura, laura

Shout out!

Lovely lady in the front row rockin' the hot pink-

my roommate: Laura Bumgardner.

The one and only :)

Thank's for always keeping me entertained.

Warmest of regards,

Lauren 

flash back

This is the exact same picture and quote that I had a print of in 7th grade.

It was (at the time) the only thing I had hanging in my room, and the first official decoration that I bought myself.

Um, YEAH.
I was pretty proud of it. 

Warmest of regards,

Lauren 

out west

A quick summary of my summer:

Look. A fish. 

West side of the farm house from the neighbor's alfalfa field. 

That dog is crazy.

My headband- it spins in the wind.

Yes, very cliché & over used, I know. 

"Quick, spell something in the air while I set a slow shutter speed!"

It was night. I had a camera. She had a sparkler. 

I just couldn't resist the temptation.

Muleshoe Texas.
The one and only.

Warmest of regards,
Lauren

pie to the face

When I first saw this I found absolutely awesome. 

Then I realized that I had found it while surfing the web, after taking a nap, while eating pretzels when I should have been working on a photography assignment. 

Now I find it more depressing than awesome...

Hm. WELL THEN. According to the chart I guess it's time for another nap. 

And I never argue with pie charts.

Pie charts don't lie. 

Warmest of regards,

Lauren

youtube snapshot

I'll start out by saying that I am not a "YouTube addict,"

so although I have a list of favorites- don't judge me....

I do however watch a video occasionally that I like and remember to add to my favorites list.

Below are some links to a few of the better videos I can remember at the moment for your enjoyment. Or not, I mean, I can't make you enjoy them. Maybe you're more of a cat video person, or a  birdhouse tutorial person, I don't know. I just can't please everyone...

So, If you've got nothing better to do with your time- have at it:

Like any of them? Awesome

Dislike any of them? Can't say I didn't warn you.

Now go watch a birdhouse tutorial or something.

Warmest of regards,

Lauren 

internet excursions (three)

And so it continues....

------------------------------------------------

(September 16)

Titanic's final FB post

Zenon

Raising a boy: Parenting tips we wish we'd known

(September 17)

For South Korean Men, Makeup is a Foundation for Success 

Google images: Japanesse sushi platter 

(September 18)

7 great graduation songs

Surrey Children spread Olympic cheer with song to inspire athletes

Watch colloquial Lebanese Arabic Music stories & songs for children

(September 19)

Certified translations by court certified Chinese translators

(September 20)

Do Pacifiers Stunt Emotional Development?

(September 21)

The Walrus and the Carpenter

Tippi, Africa's Little Princess

Wiki: tea eggs

(September 22)

My dog: the paradox

(September 23)

What kind of roommate are you?

Hallway improvement suggestions

(September 24)

Is this the strangest pillow ever?

Top Chemical Industry Breaking News

------------------------------------------------

Not gonna lie. While typing these up I went back and read some of these articles again..

Man, I really want to make some tea eggs now.

Warmest of regards,

Lauren

a visual representation

SURPRISE; Glamour shot. 

My brother, Ryan. 

I could expand more upon him, but I think this lovely photograph that he would kill me for posting says enough. 

*sighh* oh Ryan...

the american gentleman

Oh dear readers, 

what random bits of knowledge do I have in store for you today?

So many topics, so little patience for typing....

Wait-

What's that?

You want to know about my dogs?

WELL if you insist. 

Two Boston Terriers and a Miniature Schnauzer. Simply put, that is what they are. However as with any pet they are more than their breeds. I'll make this short (haha yeah right) and sweet since you probably couldn't care less- sooooo individual bios- GO!

PRINCESS 

I named her when I was 11 okay!? It was either that or Peaches N' Cream *shudder*

I would like to think my pet naming skills have improved since then. 

She's a grumpy old lady. She's sweet and I love her, don't get me wrong. But she does live up to her prissy name. She pretty much starts a fight with one of our other dogs if they even look at her odd.

Other than that, she really likes treats. However she only gets treats when she comes inside from the yard. So she's gotten to the point where she tries to trick us. For instance, if we let one of the other dogs in and she wasn't even out there with them- she'll still hear them coming and run into the kitchen with them in hopes that maybe we get confused and think she went out too and therefore reward her. 

It doesn't work....most of the time...

SUZIE 

(Suzie in foreground, Clifford in background) 

The little lady boston. She is rather, shall we say, robust. You know, there's "more to love."

And I'll have you know that she is perfectly healthy, and the vet says she's the right size. However her short stature and wide berth make her look like a chunk. She is very shy, but loving. Despite her gentile demeanor, she doen't take getting bossed around lightly- and she can totally beat up Clifford if he's annoying her (AKA being himself.) Oh and she wiggles- not 'her tail wiggles'- she wiggles. 

CLIFFORD

There is no way to simply describe a Clifford, but I'll give it my best shot.  

He's a spazz. But the most entertaining dog you'll ever meet. We actually have a term in our house called "having a Clifford moment." And let's just say that the term is not used for when someone does something intelligent. Random facts: can jump seven feet into the air, will eat anything but jello, always has one designated stuffed animal that is his "baby," is extremely suspicious of reflections in mirrors (and often makes a point of telling them that,) learned what a lake is by accidentally leaping into it assuming it would be solid, likes to stand on his two back legs sometimes to just 'look around,' lept into the air once to bite the end of a roman candle-as it went off, lept off the bed as a puppy to eat a moth in mid air, jumps through tall grass in a mini gizelle fashion, blatantly ignores any animal he sees as to large to beat up, cannot properly smell things without pressing his nose against them, is a professional beggar-as in can blink his eyes slowly to appear sleepy and chatter his teeth on command so you feel bad for him, has an ostrich maneuver where if his head is covered he thinks you can't see him, has been known to run into walls; doors; windows; trees; etc,  feels fancy and prances when wearing a sweater, makes an odd sort of 'screaming' noise if left outside when he wants in, won't trust you if you're wearing a hat, gets into odd spastic fights with his leash, even ran across a field once and lept high into the air- only to immediately bounce off a tall chain link fence he hadn't seen.
There's more, but as usual it seems as though I've written more than enough already...

And there they are, my dogs.
Thanks again for asking, it was ever so nice of you.

Warmest of regards,
Lauren 

the walrus

I love to read- ergo I enjoy good writing- ergo I truly appreciate nice poetry.

And while I was not blessed with the gift to write grand poetry, nor the memory to remember and recite it for others- I still appreciate it and love to read through poems when I find the time. 

One of the poems I have heard, and read a lot over time is;

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--

Of cabbages--and kings--

And why the sea is boiling hot--

And whether pigs have wings."

  

I have always loved it and thought it very fun and quirky. I also always hoped to memorize it someday because it would be such a fun thing to be able to quote in a random situation. 

It was not, however, until very recently that I ever thought to look it up online to learn more.

Simple enough inquiry right?

Wrong.

Huge mistake.  HUGE. 

First I uncovered just some interesting yet inconsequential facts. 

Such as; it was written by Lewis Carroll in 1817, in the book "Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There." So first off, I was embarrassed that I had never known it was written by such an established author, and secondly I came to realize that it is actually only a short quote from a longer poem/ story he had written! Yay, what fun! That should be wonderful to read!

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

Curiosity took me to far that time. This short lovely, quirky saying I had enjoyed has officially been tarnished by the odd and harsh bizarreness from which it came. 

I won't spoil the illusion for you, in case you wish to reamin ignorant.

But lets just say it is "interesting."

Make what you wish of that description- just know that you cannot un-read what you have read. 

You've been warned.

Warmest of regards,

Lauren

--- extra ---

Since writing this post and googling around to find the poem I came across a YouTube clip from Alice in Wonderland where apparently the Walrus makes an appearance and says that line. 

Unfortunately I only made it 10 seconds into the clip before madly closing the window in a frantic panic attack like fashion. For no movie scares the living hell (pardon my language) out of me quite like Alice in Wonderland. So if you're interested in seeing the clip than feel free to browse on over to YouTube and give it a go. 

**But no need to bother telling me about it later - I'll be to busy overcoming the horror in a therapist's office. 

me, myself, and jia en

Fun fact!

Okay, maybe not 'fun' but whatever

In my Chinese class at the beginning of the year we were all told we would need to have our own 'Chinese name.' Intriguing no?

It isn't uncommon for a Chinese person to adopt an English name for while they are in America because, quite simply, it causes a lot less hassle than trying to correct pronunciation.

Similarly many Americans do the same thing in China. 

A more scholarly reason for doing this would simply be because many of the syllables in American names do not correspond with possible syllables in Chinese, and likewise. This makes it practically impossible to just 'translate' an English name into a Chinese one.

Chinese names are typically made up of three parts, and start with the surname. 

The next two syllables go together to form the first name.

And traditionally the second syllable (AKA the first syllable of the first name) was the same in families for each generation, then the next generation in the family would have a different first syllable of their fist name, so that theoretically when you met a relative you could know what generation they were born in just by knowing the first syllable of their first name. 

Another thing about Chinese names is that they are very hard to just 'come up' with.

It requires an immense amount of thought and planning to create a good name that makes sense,  represents the person, and still sounds natural. So it is best if someone whom is Chinese give it to you since just picking three characters you like, such as "Summer, butterfly, courage," would make you sound incredibly stupid.

My Chinese name is as follows:

méng  jiā  ēn 

I rather like it, although I am admittedly quite partial. 

Warmest of regards,

Lauren (méng  jiā  ēn)

tragedy

Kuler is down for maintenance. 

"It often happens that the real tragedies of life occur in such an inartistic manner that they hurt us by their crude violence, their absolute incoherence, their absurd want of meaning, their entire lack of style."

-Oscar Wilde 

Warmest of Regards,

(even in this time of immense sadness)

Lauren