hockey and dancing

hope you all had a great weekend and a sweet valentine's day. my valentine's day was very chill and the weather made it nice enough for me to actually enjoy the day a little. a very relaxing yogalaties class and watching the movie bride wars with my girlfriends helped too.

my weekend, however, was even more awesome. friday my friend taylor and i went back home for a night. our hockey team was playing at an away game so we took her little sister and went to cheer on our boys. there were only about 15 fans from the other team, and we were the only 3 from our school (minus the parents). to make up for the lack of fans, we decided to go crazy every time they scored a goal. this was supposed to be a super hard team that crushed us last time, but we ended up winning 7 to 4!! and everytime they scored a goal, taylor, her little sister madison, and i went totally crazy. screaming, waving our arms, everything. it got to the point where even the other team was complimenting our cheering skills. i personally would like to think they won because of all our cheering, but maybe i'm a little biased. either way, i totally loved cheering them on and being noticed, especially by one of the guys i'm crushing on. ;)

taylor and myself

our hockey team

saturday we came home and decided to go to a local club. it's gay-friendly, but tons of students (guys and girls alike) go and dance. i wasn't sure what it would be like but i got ready with a few girlfriends and we headed down to the club. we were a little nervous at first (well, except for my wild child friend erica), but once this weirdo kept trying to dance with us and we had to keep avoiding him, it made us loosen up. once we were chilled out we started having way more fun. it was just what i needed too. we danced, sang along, and laughed for over 2 hours. and when we left, i realized that i hadn't thought about stressing, school, guys, anything. i had so much fun just letting go and letting the music take over,and kinda feeling beautiful. i was so glad i got to share the experience with my girlfriends. by the time we got home at around 3am, i was exhausted and couldn't wait to fall into bed.

 my gorgeous girls

they marked up our hands to make sure we didn't drink

my weekend was so much fun. probably one of the best yet, although that's a hard call. what did your weekend bring?? xoxo, lauren

captian's ball!!

this past saturday was captian's ball. it's basically. prom for college kids. the dances i went to in high school weren't that great. i went to two homecomings and one prom, and although they were fun to dress up for, they weren't much else. this however, was totally different. my girlfriends and i had all planned to go together so i was really looking forward to it. being girls, we started getting ready really early. everyone was helping each other do hair and fix make-up. my friends gretchen helped with my hair (it looked amazing) and erica did my make-up. i wish they could do it everyday!! :)

of course, once we were all ready we had to take a million photos of everyone. i got photos with all my gorgeous girlfriends (from left to right they're taylor, erica, and kim), as well as the whole group together.

the rest of the night was spent dancing with my friends, cheering on my hallmates as they attempted karoke, munched on chocolate covered strawberries, pretzles, and marshmallows, and dancing more. one of the best parts was that for once in my life i didn't waste time worrying about guys. i simply flirted, laughed, and let myself enjoy feeling pretty and being silly. we sang and danced our hearts out in a big circle and it was hilarious. afterwards we all went to ihop (yes, at 12 something in the morning). apparently we weren't the only ones with that idea because everyone was eating there in their fancy dresses and suits. i loaded up on chocolate chip pancakes and didn't worry about the calories because i had probably burned them off from dancing. in case you can't tell, all of my friends had such an amazing time, and so did i. i can't wait till next year. and check back on friday because for "silly photo friday" i'll be posting a few more pictures from the ball. how was your weekend??

xoxo, Lauren

Silly Photo Friday!!

sorry for not posting all week. it's only the second week of school and already things are crazy busy. so i apologize times a million and i promise i will start posting aside from my new features. i'm actually 98% up to peed in all my classes so that's a good start at least. and it's friday (woah, already?? where did my week go?) but i'm super happy because i have another fun night planned with friends. and this time i'm going to try to take more photos. last night i was at my friend's dorm (i practically live there, i swear) and we all had a blast talking, hanging out, and being silly!!

it actually creates the perfect opportunity for me to introduce my newest feature. "silly photo friday" (or thursday, im still deciding) is going to be some fun pictures that i either a. had taken or b. am in. (maybe both??) i'm trying to take more photos this year (as if i didn't take a lot before) and this will be a fun way to show a few off. and finally...onto the photos. (warning: sorry for the quality this week. between the setting my camera was on and the awful lights in the hallway the pictures aren't 100% perfect, but they are 100% fun!!) :)

the always fun "let's jump up in the air and get a picture of us mid-jump". not easy but always makes for tons of laughs. (note my friend damian in the back...he almost knocked a tile out of the ceiling!!)

damian is one of my closest guy friends. one of the reasons we got so close was because we spent so much time practicing together for that huge dance competition this past november. and whenever ballroom kids and  performers get together, you get the constant need to dance and ham it up in front of the camera.

taylor is def one of my closest friends here. we actually went to opposing high schools but never knew each other. we have so much fun together, but that also leads to so much trouble. ;)

That's it for this "silly photo friday". feel free to tell me what you think about the newest feature. i'm off to go get ready for tonight!! can't wait. xoxo, Lauren

back to college-land!!

i got back to college on saturday and classes started on monday. as hard as it was to leave my family and my animals, i was so excited to get back. even after just one semester it already feels like home and i have a little "college family" that i love. one of my goals for my blog this year is to blog more about my life and my college adventures. this semester is going to be a little busier than last semester.

(my super awesome planner!!)

the first semester is one of the harder semesters because people are adjusting, finding themselves, meeting people, and learning to live on their own. my stats grade wasn't the greatest but i passed which is what matters most. i have one more math class this semester and once i'm done with that i'm freeeee of math. i'm also fundraising chair for the ballroom dance society, meaning i get to plan all the fun little events to build up funds. i'm already working on the first little event that should be held later this month. i'm also on the sketch comedy team, hanging out with friends, working on my etsy and blog, and getting ready for our huge formal event, the captian's ball, coming up later this month. more on that laaater... ;)

so far my classes seem okay. i had to switch one that doesn't start till next monday, but hopefully that one will be good as well. i'm in one of the easiest math classes and 2 of my ballroom friends are in there so i should be able to get by. my history class actually seems pretty cool. the professor was well-recommended by a friend who had him and he seems pretty rad so far. i'm in 2 psych classes, 201 and 202, and i have them back-to-back so tuseday and thursday evenings from 4 to 7 will be all psychology. the first professor seems amazing, but the second...not so much. during the first class he lectured for almost an hour without stopping. i'll try not to complain too much but i don't think i'll be praising the class much either. i do need to get my study habits in order, however. i have my binders (but i still need cover pages!!) for each day, my super colorful pens, planner (50% off at Barnes & Noble!!) and most of my books are in. Now all that's left is actually starting to study.

(supplies)

we had a "ballroom free dance" last night and it was sooo amazing to see everyone again and start dancing. i had so much fun dancing with all my friends that i've missed. damian, my cha cha partner, and i had an especially great time dancing together again. we were cha cha partners at the dance competition we went to in november, and missed advancing to the next level by one judge. our plan is to practice like crazy and take no prisoners at the competition next november.

tonight we have our first official ballroom lesson of the semester and rumor has it this guy i've been talking to a lot recently will be there. more on that later. ;)

xoxo, Lauren

Why Girls Flock To Ballroom

Before comeing to college, I made myself some goals to make sure my freshman year was good. Stuff along the lines of get good grades, meet people, join clubs, push myself out of my comfort zone, meet guys, ect. One of the clubs I joined was the Ballroom Dancing Society, which is now my absolute favorite thing to do, and every week I look forward to it. The awesome people are a major plus as well. Before joining this club, I was nervous. I am awful at dancing, and considering how accident prone I am to begin with, this didn't seem like a great idea. However, in my mind it seemed like a perfect way knock out two of my goals in one hit: to meet guys and push myself out of my comfort zone.



A few tiny problems. As much as I love ballroom dancing, it didn't exactly match the fantasy I had in my head. You know, the fantasy most girls have entering ballroom. Dancing with that totally hot and brooding guy in the corner. Being swept across the dance floor. Finding that perfect "dance partner" both on and off the floor. And on, and on, and on. Basically a total movie moment, think Take the Lead, with Antonio Banderas. which I wish my whole life could be made up of.

A few startling truths about ballroom. More girls tend to come to ballroom than guys. That means some girls are left dancing together. I have no problem with that, it's just annoying I can't be flirting with a handsome stranger while I dance. There are some guys there, however. Which brings me to the next point...

The Boys of Ballroom. Most of the intermediate dancers are total cuties and, of course, great dancers. I've even found awesome friends in one or two of them. But sadly, there's only so many intermediate guys, so now we go to the beginners. I've basically divided the beginner guys into 2 main groups; creepers, and possibilities. Possibilities are the guys coming here looking for girls because they know girls are looking for guys. They're usually at least a little cute, polite, nice, and don't totally suck as leads. Those are the fun guys to dance with. :) Creepers, on the other hand, are just that. They usually come to ballroom having never talked to a girl, never touched a girl, barely even looked at a girl. They're the ones that hold you too close or try to grab your butt. (Excuse me sir your hand goes on my back or my knee is coming up.) Needless to say, they aren't exactly what you picture when you think of romantic ballroom dancing.

Lastly, one last thing I for some reason keep forgetting as to why ballroom isn't exactly how I pictured it. I. Can't. Dance. I have two left feet and I am crazy accident prone. It takes me 50 times to even learn a few basic moves and I've stepped on people's feet a bunch. At the moment though, I have not been dropped yet, although I've been stepped on quite a few times.


Just to be clear, I love ballroom. Creepers and swollen toes aside, it's one of the best things I have ever done in my entire life. I've already found out I love the dances like the tango, rumba, and chacha, and when I have a cute guy as my partner, my dancing gets that much better. :) There's actually a competition coming up in November that I plan on entering. I may not be the best dancer by any means but I have fun and that's what I love about it. So for now, I'll wear my closed toed shoes, ask for some "extra practice" from some of the cuter dancers, and wait for my dancing movie moment to happen.