Footlongs On Foot

I locked my keys in my car during lunch yesterday. I was at a local Subway approximately 1.4 miles from work when it happened, so I did what any reasonable person would do in that situation… I bought a sandwich. And then I called my mother.

My mom couldn't bring me a set of spare keys until much later, so I decided I'd just walk back to work with the time I had left on my lunch hour. I'm sure anyone at work would have gladly picked me up, but Google said it was only about a 30 minute walk and I did have sneakers on. Besides, the air was fresh and clean for the first time in weeks. WEEKS! I think I even got a honk and a wave from a complete stranger as I hoofed past an intersection. Stopping traffic again, Lauren?

I can't help but wonder if this was Nature's subtle way of saying, "You like clean air?? Then maybe you shouldn't drive your dirty car so much!" 

Sorry, Ma Nature. But if it had to happen, I'm glad it happened on a damp-but-not-too-cold day when I was wearing appropriate footwear and could breathe air with some oxygen in it. 

Jack 'Em Up

Parts of a conversation I overheard today…

…My dad really loves Elvis. Like, loves him… My mom loves oldies so any time we were in the car we’d listen to 94.1… My stepdad listened to a lot of Metallica… So we were very well-rounded with the music we listened to growing up… I will, like, sometimes listen to 90s music, but not a lot cuz most of it’s AWFUL… If anyone asks me about modern music, I’m just like, ‘What is that crap?’… I really like (insert name of some band I have never heard of)… Here, this is my favorite… (hands over earphones to friend)… It’s called 'Jack ‘Em Up'… It’s about trucks… The music video has all of these really cool trucks… I know, right?? And usually I hate rap music…

Despite my love for 90s power ballads, I pride myself on having pretty okay taste in music - one of many delusions, I know - so my curiosity got the better of me. I tracked down the music video (<<< click this) for this song... It's performed by the Jawga Boyz featuring someone called Pastor Troy... Just in case any other well-rounded music listeners out there were looking to diversify your music libraries. 

...I'll stick with the modern crap, I think. 

Escapism

Lauren's stepping away from her TV-by-way-of-the-internet for awhile. I just finished Sherlock Season 3 and I have reached my maximum viewing capacity. (Steps away...) Besides Sherlock, I'm also all caught up on Call the Midwife and Downton Abbey. They're all wonderful, but Sherlock especially so... I'm feeling a little angst-y because I have no idea when to expect the 4th season. But maybe it's just as well - I'm way, WAAAYY too emotionally involved with the show at the moment and could use a little distance. (Steps further away...) That, and the younger demographic within the Sherlock fandom drives me crazy. (Steps even further away...) Whew, feeling better already!

I had to teach Relief Society on Sunday. The lesson went well enough, but the topic in Sacrament Meeting only a couple hours earlier was Dallin H. Oaks' conference talk "Good, Better, Best." A great principle to revisit, but it did make me squirm a bit as I pondered my activities from earlier that week. My conscience wagged a finger and tsk-tsk'd disapprovingly in my ear. While I felt pretty okay about the lesson I prepared, it hadn't been my priority. I dedicated more hours to watching my shows - my wonderful, wonderful shows - than pursuing those "better" things. Pretty ironic when you consider I blogged about failing at this same principle of good, better, and best when I was still compulsively watching Doctor Who.

We sure learn from our mistakes around here, don't we?

While an occasional retreat from reality is nice, I'm afraid I've indulged in too much escapism lately. Books, music, and television... There's a time and place for everything, but am I more loyal to shimmering fantasy than I am to my own boring reality? Do I care more about fictional characters than those I encounter in person? At times, yes. The reason being I am not very enchanted with the day-to-day of things right now. But it's the day-to-day that lasts, so I will escape my escapism and try to embrace real life for awhile. 

"Hello."

Downton Abbey Season 4... CHECK.

Moving on...

"Hello."

For anyone who cares, here's where I found new episodes... Besides Downton and Sherlock, you'll probably find other shows worth watching as well. Just make sure you leave time for sleeping and eating. And tending to your children, if you have them. 

Lately Lauren...

Likes

...Access to all of Downton Abbey Season 4 and Sherlock Season 3. I'm abstaining from just watching them all at once. Which I could easily do at this point, but let's savor them while we can, okay?

...A recent purge of my closet and other belongings. I hate being weighed down by STUFF. What would be a good name for the newly assembled pile of stuff now occupying a lonely corner of my room? A smother. A smother of stuff. And it's going straight to the D.I. where it can smother someone else. 

...The topic for my Relief Society lesson on the 19th. Now to keep myself from over-preparing.

...UN-decking the halls. Christmas is lovely, but all those glittering ornaments were starting to bum me out in this post-Christmas climate. 

..."Say Something" as performed by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera. Also from A Great Big World, "This Is The New Year." It's a bit older, but very appropriate for obvious reasons. 

Another year you made a promise

Another chance to turn it all around

And do not save this for tomorrow

Embrace the past and you can live for now

...When my Dad brings home Spicy Buffalo Wings and Loaded Potato Skins to share. We'll forgive him for forgetting the Blue Cheese Dressing. Why did I capitalize so many things in those sentences??

...The entire office being excused early so we all had time to commute home safely.

...The musical episode of Psych and watching it with one of my very favorite families... "I've heard it BOTH ways!"

...My new phone! Long overdue... And it has a great camera. Too bad I can't take a picture of my phone with my new phone.

...My new coat from Old Navy! A steal at $20.99:

As much as I'd like to admit I find myself too enraptured with my list of likes to be bothered by much else, there are always just a few other things worth acknowledging... 

Loathes

...Smoggish fog and the armpit of winter. I hope it snows more to clear out the air and then promptly melts thereafter. I know we need the moisture, but let's make it rain instead! Ew, I said moisture.

...The prospect of school in one week... Sob.

...Nagging anxiety and the feeling of being pulled in about a thousand different directions. I can't seem to find a balance or prioritize everything going on right now and it's making me feel very unsettled.

...It's something I probably do all the time (maybe in this very entry), but lately I loathe the humblebrag. Bragging is bad enough without sugarcoating it with false modesty.

...The fact I get sucked into fashion and lifestyle blogs. I am both repulsed and transfixed. Essentially all these women do everyday is put on clothes and take pictures of themselves. Supposedly these blogs are designed to "empower & inspire" women (and some do!), but I think they also make us feel more insecure. Methinks the only woman who really feels empowered afterward is the one wearing the designer digs (c/o some-label-or-another) as she poses for her husband's camera. Hmmm... Tell me more about how $200 is a great deal for a pair of cashmere leggings. (Scrolls to view more pictures...)

...A looming visit to the doctor.

...Politics. That's all you're getting on that one.

Don't worry - fashion blogs are pretty low on my list of concerns. And humblebrags are just an occasional annoyance. Politics are always yucky, school comes and goes, and doctors visits are a necessary and uncomfortable evil we all endure. As far as the weather - it's Utah. A change of season is never very far off. But let's still cross our fingers for an early Spring. And lots of rain.