the thing about hope.

i haven't heard back from fossil. i'm almost positive that means that i didn't get the job. they usually want to set up the 2nd interview asap and 4 days later is not asap. i still haven't heard a solid NO, so there is a glimmer of hope, though. 

i decided that even if i don't get this job, i'm still going to apply for fossil's executive development program. i'm going to be persistent and continue applying for good jobs no matter how discouraged i get. i know that God has something for me, i just have to continue seeking him so that i'll find it. 

that's the thing about hope. even when there's not much left, there's still THE hope. the whole fact that you're life is completely guided by Christ. if YOUR plans don't come together...you know that GOD'S is on it's way. 

i need to stop thinking about my hope and focus on GOD'S hope.

fa-shun.

ok people, sorry about the lacking in updating. here goes:

i was able to briefly visit austin and got to see dani and brady. i had a ton of fun with dani at ikea - we kept it at $50 (nice!) and played all day long. she is (you are) constantly teaching me new things and being around her makes me giggly and happy. we made fantastic contact cards and she taught me some mad photoshop skills. addicted.

i'm in love with brady. that's all there is to it.

ok...i was debating on whether or not to talk about this because i'm super nervous, but i had a job interview with Fossil today. i want it bad. more than i've ever wanted a job. it's an incredible opportunity that i will describe in further detail if i get a yes (i will get a yay/nay in the next few days). it's just that good. shoot up a prayer to the big man for me, he's the one who's really interviewing me anyways.

can i just say that i felt like i had an edge whenever i met my 2 interviewers at Fossil - when each of them left me i handed them my swanky business card and said, "here's my contact card...blah blah blah witty comment" - they were very impressed i must say. schwing!

sorry mine is pretty boring this time. lets hope the next post will be full of details and excitement ;)

love/miss.

plans.

this past week i was able to have lunch with a friend who moved to connecticut last year. i consider him one of my very close friends because he has had a great impact on my spiritual life. every conversation we have, though they are few, Jesus is present. this dear friend brought a book with him to lunch and gave it to me, telling me that it changed his life. i am not a huge reader, but at this point in my life, i'm willing to jump into anything that will cause me to merely think about Christ more often. i find it hard to believe that one book can completely change the way you live your life, and i was curious. i had heard of this book before and it had the same description: "this book changed my life." it's called The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. i am in the 3rd chapter. wow.

talk about radical. it was eerie the way i've used that word on a few occasions...and he uses it in this book. but good gosh...i didn't even KNOW what radical was. please please please buy/borrow/steal this book. it has already caused me to think and is truly challenging me.

when he gave me the book, it inspired me to go to half price books and pick up a few other reads so i could have a few things going at once. you know, spice it up...one spiritual book, a fun one, a learning book, etc... so here's what i got:

1. Living Yoga by Christy Turlington (yes, the supermodel); it's all about the origins of yoga and how it's a complete lifestyle - physical and spiritual. everything from poses to meditation to how to effectively arrange your furniture to channel positive energy. it's kind of autobiographical too, which is interesting, i'm learning a lot and it's pretty fascinating stuff.

2. The Fashion Book - a-mazing. it's the biggest fattest book ever and i had admired my professor's every time i visited her office. 

3. The Fashion Icon: the power and influence of graphic design - it's a book all about branding/merchandising/marketing - right up my alley.  

4. Cocktails - how to make lots of yummy drinkies

5. 3 movies: Dazed & Confused, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Amile

I'm pretty excited about my purchases, i'm striving to be a very well rounded individual as far as knowledge goes. plus i'll never be bored with all these goodies.

i hope you all know how much i love going to each one of your pages and reading about your lives. somehow this makes me feel more connected and less scared about losing the friendships that are getting me through this thing called life...or my early twenties. love/miss.

namaste,

laura

ps. namaste is a term that means "I honor the One who lives inside you" 

cool huh? - got it from C-Turl.

the body.

ivy is super cool and changed her blog so i copied her and wanted to make mine cooler too. the thing is, i had to re-do all my little links and pictures and such. i had a bible verse at the footer of my old blog, and i wanted to put it back...but i forgot where/what it was. i was thumbing through my bible trying to find it, when i stumbled across this passage:

"he is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. their responsibility is to equip God's people to do their work and build up the church, the body of christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring to the full stature of christ. then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. instead, we will hold the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like christ, who is the head of his body, the church. under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. as each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and full of love." eph. 4:11-16

i have to admit that i'm at a spiritual stand still at the moment. i've been conveniently finding reasons to not go to church, been too exhausted to read my bible before i go to sleep, and have not given God enough of myself. but here's the good news:

we go to church to "get equipped" with spiritual wisdom. most of us have been around churches all our lives. so, even though i'm putting my spiritual life on the back-burner, i still make myself write in my prayer journal and say a prayer every night. and you know what i always tell him? how lucky i am to have friends like you. friends who influence me in good ways; friends who are ever so encouraging to me; friends that can relate to how i'm feeling and how hard it is to maintain a strong spiritual life; friends that would do anything for me. i can honestly say that praying for you girls has helped me out a lot. i lay down and smile and just start off with, "father, there are these girls that i adore, and...."

i truly believe that God had a plan when he placed us in each others' lives. he did it because we're part of his body, fitting together perfectly so that we can encourage each other, be there for one another, and to learn how to truly love and be loved. even in times when things are stagnant, he puts people in our lives who can make us feel less alone and give us strength. he loves through others.

i think that is so radical.

i do not like valentine's day.

never have. 

i had awful elementary/junior high experiences and let's just say i do not celebrate this day of enhanced loneliness, shattered expectations, and awkwardness. i already did my love-celebrating. i LOVE that brady's and my anniversary overshadows this disgusting fake holiday.

today was another fold-fest. i kind of don't mind it. i've always loved folding my laundry. laundry is my favorite chore. 

tonight i've just been hanging out on the couch. i tried out cashmere mafia a couple weeks ago and turns out, i actually like it. i expected it to be a knock-off sex & the city...but it's not. if you don't believe me watch it online. i do however remain loyal to SATC as the #1 chick show. i decided to pop in a little late 4th season and early 5th to relax me after the long day. they're the ones where carrie cuts her hair and starts writing for vogue. i thought it was appropriate since i'm going thru long-hair withdrawals and have started a new job that i'm not-so-good-at yet. 

good thing i have the entire series. there's a season for everything you're going through. plus it reminds you that you always have your friends. i miss mine a lot. 

love. 

years.

it's been a while since i've written in here but i feel like a TON has happened. i'll give you a quick play by play:

* i had the flu last weekend and that was awful. it totally shrunk my tummy and i can't ever eat a whole lot, as if i did before i had the flu...but whatever. 

* i returned to work and got to go to the annual leukemia fashion show put on by korshak. it's the biggest fashion show in Dallas each year. yours truly was the assistant to the mens representative...which meant that i was in the corner with the male models. there were 8 males and 30 female models at this show, each of the males had 2-3 changes. i helped greg prepare the merchandise for the models, oversee the outfit changes (NICE) and pack up afterward. there was a lot of downtime between setup and showtime, so i got to just chill and sit backstage. the models were very nice, but it was kind of difficult figuring out if a couple of them were gay or not. who cares anyway, brady is better than them. nevertheless, it was a good experience. 

* i also actually ENJOYED menswear this week. i feel like i've gotten to know everyone better and they've gotten to know me too. i'm getting more compliments on how hard i'm working and i feel more like part of the team rather than a stupid intern. it's nice.

* brady surprised me on saturday night and showed up at my house. he wasn't supposed to come until sunday night...but we got to spend an extra day together which was fantastic. we got to celebrate our one year :) i don't do valentines.

*for our anniversary, i made him a book of all his shows over the past year. i gathered a bunch of pictures from all the places he's played at and made a portfolio-type manly scrapbook. i love being part of his music career - being at all of his shows, hearing his new songs right after he writes them (i feel so exclusive), and watching him record. being there for him comes so easy. i love every minute of supporting him, so it was only fitting for me to make something that shows how his passions have become my passions just because i love him.

* he wrote me a song for our one year...which is actually funny because while my gift to him had the theme of supporting him and his passion in life (that has become a passion of mine), his gift to me was using his talent and his music to show me how much i mean to him. it was all very special and mushy so i'll stop now ;)

celebrating one year with brady has caused me to think about the last year of my life in general and how much i've changed. not only is my hair 8 inches shorter, but i now have a dog, i don't live in Austin anymore, i'm not in class, i'm pursuing a career, i'm desperately trying to maintain long distance relationships with everyone i so dearly care about, and i'm back to living with my parents. it's crazy how in a mere 365 days your life can be in a completely different place. i'm pretty sure that this past year has been my biggest year yet...growth and learning wise...so just THINK of how this next one's gonna be, eh?

i've come to one last conclusion for the week about this past year:

i look MUCH better with long hair. 

short hair makes me look like a dumbfrick and i hate it. would getting extensions be a total waste of money and be completely vain of me? 

yea i guess so. dang dang.

insomnia.

i've been laying in my bed next to a sleeping chihuahua for almost 2 hours now. my body refuses to fall asleep and my mind will not slow down. "what is on your mind that is so pressing that keeps you from sleep?" you might ask. nothing. i am not really thinking about anything, it's just random songs that pop into my head, or favorite clips of movies, or funny parts of sitcoms that i had recently watched. 

maybe it's because i've been in and out of sleep for the past 2 days from having the flu. too much sleep is bad. too much sleep leads to not being able to sleep which leads to sleep deprivation which is also bad. let me just finish this thought by saying that it will be the last complaint about my life you read from this blog. 

i have decided to try something new: no matter how irritated i am or how entitled i feel, i am not going to complain any more. it has been a useless and infectious habit that i refuse to let spoil my attitude any longer. 

so in order to stop the complaining, i have devised a plan: when i feel the urge to say something negative in regards to my job or being in arlington or whatever...i'm going to turn it around and find the good in whatever is upsetting me. for example: I do not like working in menswear. but you know, i have been given the opportunity to show the top dogs of the company how hard i can work and what i'm capable of. i'm able to learn the business the hard way first, so that everything else i go through from here on out will most likely be easier. 

maybe influenza resulting in insomnia is exactly what i needed to regain my positive outlook.

influenza.

this week was pretty awful. i had planned on telling Susan about my special interest in Bridal and how i had a strong desire to pursue a career in Bridal after my internship is over. i said, "i was wondering if i could talk to you a little bit about the internship?" well...before i could get the words out, she says, "oh yes! i was wondering if it was ok with you if we put you in menswear PERMANENTLY?!" UM, ok. i told her that i completely understand and that i definitely want to be put where i can help out the most, but i told her all about my interest in Bridal. i said, if you could at least give me 1 day per week in Bridal, i'd be happy. she said she might be able to arrange something.

great.

well, i'm stuck in menswear...doing ABSOLUTELY nothing. literally, i was told to stand in a room because 2 people called in sick to work and they were understaffed. i can't even help customers. i already straightened the whole area. it was my job to stand there JUST IN CASE someone walked in, and then i was supposed to go get a sales associate if anyone did come in. which they did not. one of the assistant buyers who i answer to, Kristy, is out with the flu. on my lunch break, i was sooo mad when i was on the phone with Brady, that i actually said, "i wish i had the flu, it's better than being HERE."

on thursday, i get a call from Susan saying that i could go to Bridal on saturday, the biggest day of the week! i'm so crazy excited about it. until....

I GET THE FLU.

yes, people, i have the full-blown puking, achey, dizzy, fever FLU. i went to the doctor, have been in bed and can't move. i have not been this sick since i was about 7 when i had the flu then. AND i missed my big day in Bridal. be careful what you wish for, people. i got it.