Lara

"Bold" list

2008-12-02T16:09:33Z

Horked from OCB.

Bold the things you've done.
1. Started your own blog - (Didn't last long though.)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/Disneyworld
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Climbed a mountain
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - (And I don't plan on ever going to IHOP again.)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables - (zucchini)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in person - (It's barely even 16x20.)
20. Slept on an overnight train - (But I wouldn't recommened it.)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community - (Actually a Mennonite community, but it was very similar.)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - (And "paid" for it the entire rest of the night!)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - (For 12 straight years.)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox- (I was 16.)
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - (Billy Idol, Davey Jones, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and Michael Dorn.)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee - (To be fair it was my fault. I was barefoot and I accidentaly stept on a bee when I was 3.)
100. Read an entire book in one day

duraffinity @ 2008-10-16T23:50:00

2008-10-17T04:57:28Z

You preferred Obama's statements 78% of the time
You preferred McCain's statements 22% of the time

Voting purely on the issues you should vote Obama

Who would you vote for if you voted on the issues?

Find out now!

Hmm, well I always thought of myself as a "moderate independant". I took a test a long time ago to see where I was on the conservative vs. liberal scale and I seriously ended up right in the middle, 50/50.

I guess things change....

as OCB suggested

2008-10-17T04:48:32Z

>>When you see this, post in your own journal with your favorite quote from The Princess Bride. Preferably not "As you wish" or the Inigo Montoya speech.<<

This quote is actually from the book (and is seriously written this way!):

"Mawidge is a dweam wiffin a dweam... The dweam of wuv wapped wiffin the gweater dweam of everwasting west. Eternity is our fwiend, wemember that, and wuv wiw fowwow you fowever."

:)

30...

2008-10-06T04:03:25Z

So, as of this past Friday (October 3rd) I officially joined the 30something club. In a way it's a milestone, but I'm not sure if I feel any different. At least I can say that I've accomplished everything I wanted to by this point, I got my college degree, I'm in a happy marriage, and I've had my first kid already. I may just be a housewife and mother now, but despite the peer pressure to be a "career woman" these days, I am happy with things as they are. :) Course it won't be too long before I start thinking about having another kid, and have to deal with Gabe starting school in a few years. But at the moment the only thing that has changed is my age. No big deal. :)

We didn't do too much for my birthday, we rented a couple DVDs and went out to dinner. Gabe came along and was actually well behaved the entire time. :) As for the movies we watched later, we got the first DVD of the second season of "Heroes" - gotta catch up really quick so that the DVR doesn't overflow with the third season before we get a chance to watch it! We also saw "The Love Guru". Um, if you haven't seen it, don't bother. It may have had one or two good moments (the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' nod to "Wayne's World" for one), but over all it was awful! The Austin Powers movies were waaay better than that, and they're kinda stupid too! But, on the bright side, it was better than "Meet the Spartans",.. now THAT was a waste of good movie renting money!

... I think next time I won't let my hubby pick out the movies anymore.

Just in time for Halloween

2007-10-26T04:11:22Z

You Could Be a Vampire... If You Had To

Like most people, the thought of being a vampire has crossed your mind. But you're not sure if you'd do it, even if you could.
Living forever doesn't sound half bad, if you could live forever with the people you love the most.
But do vampires even love? And would the vampire version of you even be you?
It's all too much to contemplate. Luckily, the chances of you ever becoming a vampire are astronomically low.

What you would like best about being a vampire: Living forever

What you would like least about being a vampire: Blood stained teeth

Could You Be a Vampire?

Guess it's been a while.....

2007-08-01T21:54:43Z

   I suppose I ought to update this since it's been a while. :) (Though I am typing this with a very squirmy baby in my lap, so please excuse any weird typos that may occur.)

We've been in an apartment for about a year now, and have decided it's about time we start looking for a house. Unfortunately the retail market is a hell of a lot more expensive than we are used to. I absolutely LOVED the house we had in Missouri, but of course we had to give it up since it would be a 7 hour (one way) commute otherwise. With the growing family we have to make sure we get a big enough house as well. I really don't want to live in a "fixer-upper" but we may have to. So yea, that is an ongoing process at the moment.

Gabe is now 8 months old and crawling everywhere! He also has two teeth in, which is not fun for me since he still feeds "naturally" at times. Of course he eats baby food now as well,   he even eyes whatever we are eating around him.

Anyway, I really updated here because I wanted to post recent pictures.  "Recent" meaning 2 months ago. He looks pretty much the same right now though, but with longer hair.

High School

2007-06-22T14:46:06Z

I just went to my 10 year high school reunion (which was a waste of time since I didn't know anyone there, but anyway....) so I thought I'd join in on this:

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be.

1. Who was your best friend? Melissa, who was/is a year younger than me.

2.What sports did you play? none really.

3. What kind of car did you drive? Didn't get my license till after high school, but I did have an '89 Chevy Cavalier waiting for me when I did.

4. It's Friday night, where were you? Either hanging out with friends or at home watching tv.

5. Were you a party animal? Not really, I was pretty shy.

6. Were you considered a flirt? I suppose, but I don't recall doing it on purpose.

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? German Club

8. Were you a nerd? No, but I wasn't part of the "popular crowd" either.

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? Never

10. Can you sing the fight song? Heh, no

11. Who was your favorite teacher? That's a toss up between Herr Brady (German class) or Mrs. Patterson (Humanities)

12. Where's twelve? huh?

13. School mascot? The Kewpies (basically a naked baby doll with tiny wings on its shoulders. The ONLY Kewpie mascot in the nation!)

14. Did you go to Prom? Nope, but did dress up as if was going, but instead went downtown with some friends (also dressed up) to go flirt with the college guys. :)

15. If you could go back and do it over, would you? I doubt it. I'd rather relive my college days.

16. What do you remember most about graduation? That it took almost 4 hours to get through 525 students, so the last guy did a cartwheel across the stage.

17. Where were you on senior skip day? Didn't skip, those who did got in trouble.

18. Did you have a job your senior year? Sort of. I did a lot of babysitting.

19. Where did you go most often for lunch? Taco Bell, sometimes McDonalds, but mostly brown bagged it.

20. Have you gained weight since then? Yea, but not dramatically so.

21. What did you do after graduation? Went to Europe on a Girl Scout trip.

22. When did you graduate? 1997

23. Who was your Senior prom date? Didn't have one, didn't go.

24. Are you going to your 10 year reunion? Just did recently. Most of the people who were there were in the "popular crowd" back in high school. I felt like a bit of an outsider, like high school all over again.

25. Who was your home room teacher? Didn't have a "home room" my senior year.

He sleeps ALL NIGHT now!

2007-05-12T03:52:46Z

Hopefully I'm not celebrating too early, but for a couple of nights now Gabe has actually slept through the entire night in his bassinet! I've checked up on him a couple times of course, but hubby and I can actually get some sleep now!!!!

It's a little scary though. I mean, his bassinet is in our bedroom so I can check on him often, but now I get a little nervous every time I hear him roll around. He seems to prefer sleeping on his stomach, even after I roll him to his back; and with the SIDS scare, I don't know how safe he is like that. I suppose he's old enough (almost 6 months) to be able to roll back over if he can't breath, but I just can't be sure.

ACK! The 'parental worry' never calms down, does it?

quizlet....

2007-05-06T03:16:00Z

You Are 92% A Child of the 80s

There's hardly a moment of the 80s that you missed out on. Was there ever a better decade? As if!

Are You a Child of an 80s?

This is quite interesting considering I was born in 1978. Guess I actually DID pay attention as a kid!

Latest blog quiz to go around.....

2007-04-14T15:21:26Z

Must only respond with one word.

1. Where is your cell phone?
       purse

2. Describe your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover/other?
       wonderful

3. Your hair?
      copper

4. Your mother?
      energetic

5. Your father?
      smart

6. Your favorite item?
      car

7. Your dream last night?
       school

8. Your favorite drink?
        soda

9. Your dream car?
        have

10. The room you are in?
        office

11. Your ex?
         none

12. Your fear?
         bugs

13. What do you want to be in 10 years?
         happy

14. Who did you hang out with last night?
         family

15. What you're not?
         rich

19. The last thing you did?
         showered

20. What are you wearing?
          jeans

21. Your favorite book?
         mystery

22. The last thing you ate?
          breakfast

24. Your mood?
        relaxed

25. Your friends?
         far

26. What are you thinking about right now?
         baby

27. Your car?
         Murano

28. What are you doing at the moment?
           typing

29. Your summer?
          cool

30. Your relationship status?
        happy

I laughed so hard I cried!

2007-03-05T00:55:21Z

Baby Gabe

2007-02-14T22:53:15Z

This past week we went back to MO for hubby's work and to visit family. Gabe got to see all of his grandparents this week and I finally got some real sleep!

Gabe is getting pretty big now, he's about 2 and a half months old and already cooing and smiling all over the place! I just wish he could hold on to his pacifier a little better.

Awww....

2007-01-14T03:56:51Z

This is just too cute. Gabe is a little over 6 weeks now and I just couldn't pass up this Kodak moment. :)

As far as safety concerns, he didn't stay like this for very long and I was in the room the entire time.

duraffinity @ 2006-12-01T23:18:00

2006-12-02T04:18:46Z

Introducing the LONG awaited addition to our family....

Gabriel Nikolai

Born: Wed. 11/29/06, 3:17pm

Weight: 8 pounds 7 ounces

length: 20.5 inches

blue eys (for the moment), full head of brown hair, and STRONG set of lungs!

I am EXAUSTED!

We went in Tuesday afternoon so that I could get induced. I was contracting like crazy for about 12 hours, then FINALLY started dialating the next morning. Fortunately I was ready for an epidural (MIRACLE DRUG!) very quickly and didn't have any problem at all until he was ready to finally show up!

He's only 2 days old now so not much of a personality to speak of just yet, but all of the nurses couldn't stop "oooing" and "aawwwing" over him the entire time. We will introduce the dogs to him soon, but right now we are just settling in!

Argh!

2006-11-26T06:14:01Z

It's been almost a week and a half past my due date and the kid STILL hasn't come out! I'm starting to get really annoyed about the whole thing.
According to the doctor I'm completely healthy and the baby seems perfectly healthy; but dangit, that little "doorway" keeping the baby from entering the world just won't open!

But he HAS TO come out next week, even if the doctor has to force him out. THAT is what I am afraid of. The way things are going I have a feeling it will be a c-section, and though that means not being in labor for hours, it does mean other possible complications and needing more time to heal.

Also, many of our friends and family are starting to get impatient as well. Part of me feels like I am letting them down since they practically call us daily for updates; and I have to tell them nothing has happend yet.

Right now all we can do is wait. My hospital bag is packed, we have the carseat in the car already, and even the crib is made up and ready to go.

All we need now is a baby.....

Better late than never....

2006-11-15T17:47:05Z

So, today is the day I'm due, but so far nothing has happend. I went to the doc yesterday and he confirmed that absolutely nothing has changed. So Gabe is gonna be a bit late (which is better than being too early). But now I have to go in on Friday for a couple of tests. I'm actually looking forward to the tests though because they include another ultrasound; and since I haven't actually seen the baby since the 20 week ultrasound it will be neat to see how big he is now.

8 days and counting.....

2006-11-07T17:31:43Z

It's coming down to the wire now, but I haven't felt hardly anything yet that would indicate things happening soon. I'm all packed and ready to go too, but I guess the little guy just doesn't want to show up early. Oh well, guess I gotta be patient.

DD fiasco

2006-10-26T05:07:05Z

I admit I don't have a whole lot better to do with my time lately than visit the LK board. I'm home all day and it's tempting to peek at new threads and so forth, but SHEESH! This whole Andy thing has gotten people into a panic!
And now that there is an official statement on the official site, that STILL hasn't satisfied the fans. Now there is even MORE speculation, predictions, and oaths of "not gonna buy the new album even though I haven't heard it yet" then ever before! People are taking all of this so personally it's getting to be pathetic.
Like I said in one of the threads, fans have survived lineup changes MANY times now, so Andy leaving doesn't necessarily mean the END OF THE WORLD.

I refuse to get all panicky and choked up about this, I have other priorities that take precedence. I will also give this next album the same equal chance I did for every other album they made since I became a fan.

Ok, ending my rant now. I just knew I would get flamed for this if I said it on LK, hope I get a kinder response on here.

Class

2006-10-22T00:41:04Z

Hubby and I went to our day-long childbirth class today. It was very informative, educational, and a lot more than just breathing techniques. Heh, A LOT more informative. We saw videos of things today that I DO NOT want to see when I have to go through the same thing. Surprisingly, seeing a video of a baby being born is not half as bad as seeing the the placenta coming out! It was pretty disturbing.
But I can say that I am better prepared for the whole event; and yet still a little freaked out.

It'll be ok though, and I will definitely post a pic or two on here.

Too Sexy (fan-made Duran Duran video)

2006-10-19T17:05:17Z

The video quality isn't the best, but this is hilarious (and well edited)!
Oh, and this is safe to watch at work.

duraffinity @ 2006-10-16T17:08:00

2006-10-16T17:14:32Z

Just about one month to go, and the nursery is getting closer and closer to looking complete.
I have to say I'm starting to get nervous all over again though. The childbirth class is this coming weekend and it just feels like we are cutting this way too close.
I think everything will be ok, but just as I've had all these months to get used to being prego; it'll all change all at once. This'll be a whole new territory for us.

Happy Birthday to me

2006-10-03T22:59:04Z

Well, I turn 28 today, tip-toeing closer and closer to 30; and I got to celebrate it by going to yet another ob doctor appointment. But that's ok, the appointment wasn't bad. I'm also going out to dinner with hubby tonight. He actually got me a book of the complete works of Shakespear, I can't wait to dive into that a little bit. He thinks the stuff I'm reading now isn't very "mature". Right now I'm reading "The Relic" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

Anyway, off to dinner we go!

duraffinity @ 2006-09-22T12:19:00

2006-09-22T17:21:25Z

My gawd my belly is getting huge! I'm glad I still have clothing that fits over it. But I don't think I can bend in the middle anymore. It's even tough getting up off the couch now. Otherwise I feel ok, not sick anymore.
It's kind of creepy though, instead of just feeling the baby move, we can start to see it now; little bumps and ripples moving the belly around. Appearently he's a fussy little guy too, the kicking sometimes wakes me up at night.

Anyway, just thought I'd update and mention I only have about 8 weeks left to go. I'm not looking forward to the whole delivery part, but after that should be fun.

duraffinity @ 2006-09-07T00:31:00

2006-09-07T05:35:02Z

Create your own! Originally Written By ga_woo, Hosted and ReWritten by darkman424

duraffinity @ 2006-08-11T10:03:00

2006-08-11T15:31:44Z

We are finally moved in up here. I can't believe I am now living in Wisconsin! Well, it's a tiny apartment at the moment; half of our stuff is in storage since it wouldn't fit here. But it's a great location. I can practically walk to almost everything we might need. But I really do miss our old house, I wish we could have picked it up and taken it with us. Oh well. We are only under a 1 year contract here, so we will hopefully find a bigger place next summer.