Romantical Halloween

Sweetest thing ever:
Parked in a big puddle last night. Instead of suggesting I crawl across the seat or change parking spots, Ryan opened my car door and reached for me to carry me through the puddle. Even Wonder Woman needs a Superman to rescue her sometimes...

Quote of the day:
"You're so awesome that your pants smell like meat."
     --Ryan

Dear DHS...

Thank you for all of your well-wishes last week for my last day. I was surprised at the outpouring of generosity through gifts, hugs, email addresses, and encouragement.

Jim: Thank you for the card and gift card.
Jamie, Michelle, Tamara: Thank you for the cards. 
Alicia: Thank you for the card, candy and balloon. I will admit that in my excitement and fumbling manner I accidentally let the balloon fly away on my way to my car on Wednesday. I stood there and watched it disappear into the sky...
Jack: Thank you for the card and chocolate. I especially appreciated the festive wrapping. :)
Dan, Alanna, Bill, Kelli, Joe, Rich, Verna, (and JC): 10 points for funniest card ever. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, and always being my most amusing rumor spreaders. ;)
Jeff and Jeff (and Alanna, Dan, and Jack): Thanks for meeting up for drinks.
Darcy: Thanks for the drink money. It was well spent. ;)

I took a small va-cay to Door County, WI this weekend and it was much appreciated. I start my new job full-time tomorrow, and am looking forward to it!

Thank you again for everything over the last year.

--Lauren

Journey to the center of the universe

Do you think that the tectonic plates of the earth could move so much that they could create a crack in the ocean that would suck all of the water into it, cooling the molten center and drying up the oceans, and thus ruining the earth?

Can you give me a hand?

Wouldn't it be weird if we all had 3 hands?
No, because then we'd all have 3 hands, and that would be how we were made. That wouldn't be weird at all. It's only weird in comparison to what we know now.
If we had 3 hands, we'd all be wishing we had 4...

Is it my turn yet?

Is it possible that I've met a smart, funny, good looking, interesting, patient, Christian man with similar morals and values, who sees life the way I do, has goals and dreams, understands the difference between right and wrong, doesn't live in his mom's basement and has a job and a car AND he likes me back... at the same time that I like him?

It just seems so far fetched.

Weekend Get-Away

My boss just asked me a minute ago if I was going out of town this weekend with my "new stud muffin." Well OBVIOUSLY. Isn't the natural progression of things:
First Date: Ice cream
Second Date: Burgers
Third Date: Mini-Skirt
Fourth Date: Weekend Getaway

Right?

The full report.

Started my new job this weekend. LOVED IT. Yes my feet were so sore I would have been more comfortable if I had just cut them off. Yes I spent most of my Sunday under a blanket in front of the TV. No, I didn't care! I would rather be exhausted doing something that I love, than hating my life regularly.

Everybody was so nice and helpful. My trainer was patient and answered all of my questions. The food was good, the service was good. The company is organized and has standards and expectations.

Friday we worked a wedding (170 ppl) at the Mill City Museum (MCM) in Minneapolis. What a cool wedding venue! If you're in the market, check it out! Saturday we worked a wedding (225 ppl) at International Market Square (IMS) also in Minneapolis. Beau.ti.ful! I'll even admit that the wedding on Saturday was the first in TWO YEARS that made me think, "Ya know, I could deal with having a wedding like this..." instead of my usual, "Who would pay for this sh!t??" (You may or may not know of my wedding cynicism--it runs deep. Working weddings will do that to a girl... I should create a saying about "Always a server, never a bride.")

Thank you to everybody who has been praying for my job situation over the last year. It looks to be on the way to "answered!"