Uninspired

My friends I have to be honest.

Lately I have been uninspired. I have hit a creativity road block. I have been stunted.

I can't explain why. I have my thoughts, but who knows if they are really true. I'm not bored, I'm just not inspired.

That's why there haven't been many posts lately.

I don't want to make up excuses. I could say that I have been working 6 day work weeks, trying to make enough money for the bills and enough money to save for the wedding. I've been trying to find a comfortable work/life balance.

Dave works mornings. When I say mornings I mean 5 am-1:30 in the afternoon. I work evenings 11-7:30 or later. We NEVER see each other. Quite frankly this makes me miserable. I want to have time to spend with my love. He is the person who inspires me and encourages me to pursue the things I love.

So I don't want to write a bad post because I need to write a post. I'd rather post once a month if it means I give you a true, honest, invested post. I want to do my research and give you something that makes you think and catches your attention. I want you to enjoy what you read.

So that's where I am. This week may prove to recoup me. I only have 40 hours. Dave and I have two whole days off together. I have a career meeting. I feel better than I have in weeks. So look out for a rock star post in the future.

Believe in Miracles every day...

So a lot of things are happening fast. We bought a house. Yesterday I turned 25! Valentine's Day is Tuesday. Finally, Thursday Dave and I fly to PA for something that is very very VERY close to my heart.

In 2007, as a student at Penn State University, I did something crazy. I decided that I would spend a weekend not sitting and not sleeping, but standing. That's right I would stand for 46 long hours. You may ask why. You may say, why forgo the drinking and partying (which I can tell you I hardly did) to do something silly like that. It's simple: Life.

In 2006 I was introduced to THON, a 46 hr dance marathon for kids battled pediatric cancer. It opened my eyes to a world of things I did not understand. All I knew about this world was that I had to be a part of it. I had to help. I vowed that the next year I would dance.

So in October of 2006 I began fundraising, hoping to raise as much money as I could so that I could dance with the Penn State Thespians. I stood out in the cold for hours. I asked everyone I knew. My question was simple: Would you help me stand for those who cant?

In February 2007 the weekend after my 21st birthday I danced. With the help of my dancer partner, Sean, My Penn State Thespian Family, our THON family, the moralers, the PSU students, the Entertainment, and the other dancers, I made it all 46 hours. I was even delirious for a few of them since I forgot to eat during one of the food breaks. I was having way too much fun to waste my time with food.
Here are some photos:



Sean and I with Jenna our Thon Child who today is cancer free!

The year I danced we raised $5.24 million last year THON raised $9.5 million

Sean and I before standing.

Somewhere in the middle of 46 hrs my bridges collapsed and my knees began to swell. I didn't want to cheat and sit in an ice bath so I stood and they wrapped my knees in ice.

You might not understand why I did this. I did this because no one ever deserves to hear the words "Your child has cancer". No deserves to hear the word cancer associated with a loved one. But if you could feel the love in this room for this cause. If you could stand among the thousands of students dancing and realize just what is happening, you would be in awe.

Every year I fight for THON. I raise money even though I haven't been able to get back up there. This year THOn turns 40. and I will be there!

In case you still don't understand, here is a video. Watch it and if you need to: go to YouTube and watch more. I think you will be surprised.

Asking the girls

This weekend I completed a big project. Now it won't look like a big project, but trust me...it was. I had to color seven pictures. SEVEN and that's not easy when you are a perfectionist when it comes to coloring!

Anyways I live far away from all of my bridesmaids. So I couldn't take them out to dinner or do a fun activity and ask them. I don't make enough money to fly home every other weekend or I totally would have done this differently. However, I think that these little bottle are cute and I hope they will like them.

Each girl gets a message in a bottle. Inside is a picture of a Disney Princess and her sidekick. Wrapped around the picture is a small note to each girl telling them why they are important to me and asking them to be my bridesmaid. My sister's says Maid of Honor, but she already knows and accepted the challenge.

So what do you think?

Check it off

There is no doubt that checking things off of your "To-Do" list gives you an amazing feeling. I have felt this feeling lately, making it a point to check things off of my very own list. Yesterday we accomplished one very big thing.

Dave and I finally set a date and put a deposit down for a reception space!

That is right folks! On May 25, 2013 I will marry my best friend.

This is a big check off of our list because now we can finally start planning. Believe it or not it is a lot harder to plan a wedding from almost a thousand miles away than most may think. Dave and I really don't have funding for a wedding planner, so we are doing most of what we can ourselves. This is great for me because I hope one day that I can start my own wedding or event planning business. *I want to do a lot of things but one of them is start my own business*

We have been working with my mom who is amazing! But she has a lot on her plate. My brother gets married this September, both my brother and I are looking for houses, and my mom is a teacher and high school basketball coach. Not to mention all the other things life throws in your way, death of a family friend and death of Joe Paterno *who was a big influence on my family*. Now that we have set a date, Dave and I can start looking for our vendors and putting our own touches on the wedding.

We already have the church and the priest! Look at us go! We also have our Photographer! Well sort of...we will officially have our photographer when we sign some papers for her. Btw that photographer is the lovely Caise S. of Casie Photographics! We wouldn't choose anyone else to capture our special day. I mean she took these lovely pictures of us:

Aren't they awesome?

Well it's time to go work on more of my check list. Next up: Asking my maids. But first I have to finish their special project!

New things

Happy New Year! 2012 brings new things. I know a lot of people who were happy to see 2011 go, but for me, 2012 has a lot to live up to.

I don't like to make resolutions. Resolutions are too easy to give up. I like to make goals. So for 2012 here are my goals:

Pixie Dusted Proposals ~ I want to stay more on top of the old blog. I know it was supposed to get updated. This fell through. I decided that I would learn how to do it myself. It's going to take longer, but I'm not going to let the blog just sit there. Especially since it gets a lot of views even when I don't post in it. So look for some news coming about the blog next week!

Get In Shape~ By the Summer of 2012 I want to be in shape. I don't want to lose weight (though it would be good), I just want to feel more healthier. I want to simply be in good shape.

Learn to drive manual ~ I HATE manual cars. However, Dave has a manual car. I should probably learn how to drive one. You never know what can happen. So by April I want to know how to drive a manual car.

Wedding Stuff ~ I have THREE! Count 'em 3! Weddings this year! This makes it easy to forget about my own wedding! By the end of this week I want to have a date set. By the end of February I want to have most of my vendors in the works. By the end of the summer I want the entire wedding to planned out for the most part.

New Job ~ By the end of March I want to be head first on a roll to a new job. If it's with Disney, great! If it's not, then I just wasn't meant to work for this company. I have a ton of skills that are not being used here. Also, if I don't get the chance to interview, how does anyone know that I am qualified or not? A piece of paper is only a snapshot of myself. I have drive and commitment to my work. I want to produce good work, that's just the kind of person I am. So if this company doesn't want me, then it wasn't meant to be. So I am looking everywhere for a job that is fully Lauren.

Of course, there will be plenty of more goals that come along with the months coming. These are just my starters. I've already started on most of them!

I hope everyone's year is off to a wonderful start!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone has an amazing holiday season! I know that even though I am working a lot, that my Holidays will be amazing! I have a great family and friends that bring my spirits up when the world wants to knock them down. I have music and laughter. Most importantly I have love.

Now I am blessed to have so much! I know that there are plenty of other people out there who don't have anything. So this Christmas, remember those who might not have anything. Remember those who have to be away from their families for one reason or another. Remember to love.

As it is the Holiday Season. I have a special announcement for all of my Pixie Dusted Proposal fans. While the old blog is not refurbished how I like it, I figure it's about time to come back up. I am finding more and more that people are still visiting it. So..... by the end of January, the Official Pixie Dusted Proposals blog will be back up and running! It will more than likely look the same. But it will be updated more often

I am very excited that I can share this with you. I am excited to write in the blog again. Get ready for some awesome Pixie Dusted Proposals in the new year!

Cold Hands Warm Hearts

It's that time of year again folks.



Now many of you may think that it doesn't get cold in Florida. Maybe you think that in Florida, it just gets "chilly". However, you would be mistaken in your thought. Sometimes Florida can just be FREEZING! Keep in mind, Floridians are used to HOT weather. So when the weather man says it's going be in the 50's people around here cringe.

So this year I decided too participate in the lovely Sandy of Sandy a la mode and Illene's of Much Love-illy Cold Hands Warm Hearts swap. Last year a few of my blogger friends did it and I thought it was so interesting. Now it was my turn to participate and meet some NEW blogger friends!

My swap partner was the lovely Ms. Megan of Moonbeam Wishes. Megan is a super awesome chick! She has such a unique style and a radiant smile. Be sure to check out her blog over at moonbeamwishes and see what she is up to!

Megan sent me a lovely package filled with lot of awesome things!


This package included:

1.Cupcake fingerless gloves. PERFECT for Florida!
2. Spa Socks! How did she know!?! My fave kind of socks and Dave always complains about my cold feet!
3. Yummy flavored lip gloss
4.Chocolate *which is not pictured because I ate it all!*
5. A strawberry scented candle *which is not pictured because I used it already too!*
6. A pack of cards from Megan's Etsy shop!

I loved it all!


These gloves are awesome! And perfect to keep my hands warm when it gets "chilly" here in Florida!
These are the cute cards from Ms. Megan's Etsy shop! Be sure to check it out. Her stuff is awesome!

This concludes the Cold Hands Warm Hearts blog post! I hope you enjoyed it. Please be sure to check out Ms. Megan's blog and send her some love. She is an amazing girl!

have an awesome day!