You Make it Real

Now that I'm back in Kalamazoo, I can upload pictures again. I feel like I'm always forgetting either the cord or my camera every time I go back in forth from Kalamazoo to Muskegon. I really need to make sure I remember both when I go to Florida.

Aside from being at the hospital while my grandmother had surgery, I had a really great weekend. It did go by too quickly, though. After work Saturday, I went home to get ready real quick, met up with Josh at his house, and had Stacey and others over before going to Envy to watch Four Finger Five. I love, love, love when I get to be with both my friends and Josh. It makes me so happy.




(Josh & I) <3






(Anne & Rocky)


(Livi & Brandon)

Once we actually got to the club downtown, we were appalled that we had to actually wait in a line outside in MUSKEGON. "Clubs" don't exactly last longer than a month there because they usually take a turn for the worse and get violent and messy. The only reason we wanted to go was to support some friends and celebrate Stacey's birthday. Unfortunately, Josh and I ended up waited 50 minute for a drink at the bar. It was ridiculous!
We still had a good time, nonetheless. I'm always impressed with these guys:

(Four Finger Five)

I picked up their new CD and it sounds great!

Alright, I need to get back to editing my cousin's wedding video. I have to make sure I show it to her before we leave for Florida! So it's back to editing and drinking this delicious bottle of wine. =]
Have a great week, everyone!

xoxo,
Laura

keep that sweet heart of yours beating

Well, I'm currently in the hospital waiting room at Mercy in Muskegon. My grandmother had a quadruple bypass surgery this morning. It was all brought on by an accident she had a couple weeks ago where she broke her shoulder from a terrible fall. The surgeons won't operate on her shoulder until she is completely recovered from her bypass surgery. The doctors keep reminding us of how strong her heart is. It's amazing that something as awful as a bad fall can result in saving her life in the long run. We didn't know her heart had been suffering. I seriously have the strongest family members in the world.

So now I'm just sitting here with my aunt. My mom and her sisters left to go home for a bit and they will be coming back in an hour or so. I never thought sitting in this room with several strangers in a vulnerable state would feel so comfortable. Sharing their experiences and telling stories about their families and the prayers they've sent up... it's all so amazing to me. I had a woman talk to me about her hobbies and how she loves to make things in her spare time to keep her mind off things. She later came up to me and handed me a little cross-stithed pocked with a tiny cross in it and a reminder of what it is to be a Christian. It brought such a smile to my heart. Moments like that just stand out forever.

Human beings are amazing creatures. I'm so in love with studying and learning about social behaviors and communication. It's amazing how we humans have the capacity to perform such amazing acts and turn someone's day completely around. It really shows the epitome of God's grace.

So I've concluded that hospitals are somewhat of a sanctuary. Our lives begin here, our health is often fixed here, and sometimes, the end of the road for us is here. And all the while, we are surrounded by people who love us. Even when family isn't around, we have these amazing human beings who show constant love and support and go out of their way to make us feel at home in the world. It is such a beautiful thing.

So here's to you, grandma. You're increibly strong and we love you.


(Grandma & Grandpa Piszczek)


xoxo,

Laura

Chasing Pavement

I feel like life is just flying by. I just looked at my calendar and could not believe it's already February 19th.

Currently, my grandmother is in the hospital and has to undergo open heart surgery Monday morning. There's a lot going on right now, and if anyone would care to pray for her health, I'd really appreciate it. She's super strong and doing alright, but I'm sure she's terrified about the surgery. I want nothing more than for her to feel comfortable and at ease knowing that her whole family will be by her side 100% of the time.

I'm so happy it's the weekend. I am only working day shifts tomororw and Sunday. I forgot what it's like to have nights off where I can do things that I want to do. Tomorrow after work I'm going to celebrate Stacey's birthday at a new club in Muskegon where Four Finger Five will be playing. I love nights where I get to be with both my friends and my boyfriend. LOVE!

I have to add mention to this phenomenal sunshine we've been having in West Michigan the past couple of days. It totally turns my mood around when I'm having a bad day. Amazing how a little bit of light can do such a thing, huh?

I'm also loving being a member of Chictopia It's such a fun community and gives me a chance to share my personal style with others who enjoy it!



I can't stop thinking about Florida. Only one more week! If only I had more clothes suitable for warm weather. ;\ I feel like all I own are cardigans, sweaters, long pants and scarves! Hopefully it will be warm enough to be living in my swimsuits for the majority of my time there. I can't wait to be happy, relaxed, and in the sun!!

Have a great weekend.

xoxo,
Laura

(I meant to post this on Thursday night of last week, but my internet stopped working right before publishing.)

Life has been crazy lately! I really underestimated what my last semester of college would be like. I knew it would be insanely busy, but I guess I didn't anticipate THIS much work. As stressful as life has been lately, I can honestly say that I am enjoying myself.

I cannot believe January is already over... it feels like it just started yesterday. Before you know it, it's going to be March! The month of January was TONS of fun. A lot of the time was spent getting back into the swing of things with school, but I've been doing lots of different things.

For starters, whenever I go back to Muskegon I've been spending most of my time with Josh & the pup! He's getting SO big already, I can't believe how time flies.


This is Syrus getting his very first bath. He did so well!

My first weekend back in Kalamazoo after Christmas break was exciting. The Southpaw Players and Four Finger Five played at the Strutt across from the guys' house on Academy. The crows was small because the fire marshal gave strict orders to only let 40 people in, including faculty, but we made the best of it! The girls and I had such a good time.



Then, on the 14th, the ladies got together to celebrate Brooklyn's 22nd birthday.

(Samantha, Kaitlyn, Brooklyn before going out)

And then...
(GOSH I feel like I have so much to catch up on!)
The following week the guys had a going away party for Emil. Emil (who is from Norway) spent a few years with us here in Kalamazoo attending WMU. He became so close to all of us. I truly enjoyed every bit of our friendship. He is going to be missed. ;'[



(Josh and I at Emil's party) This is a classic Josh photo.


On the 25th, Birr and I set out to Grand Rapids to see Motion City Soundtrack for the first time in YEARS. We've both seen them at least 6 times in the past and we knew it would be so much fun reliving old high school memories. The concert was a blast!

(The whole group after the MCS concert)


There are two dates coming up that I can’t wait for. First, being my last spring break ever. February 26th I will be taking off to Ft. Myers, FL to stay in a condo with my parents and grandparents. Not a typical college senior’s crazy spring break, but I’m totally ok with that! I’m just looking forward to relaxing and being in WARM weather.
The second date I’m looking forward to is May 1st! Graduation, finally! The one scary side to this is that I have to get a big-girl job and move on with life. I’m absolutely terrified to jump out into the career world, it’s a scary place right now.

Well, that's all I have for now. Have a great week!

Hope For Haiti Now

I just want to dedicate this post to all those in Haiti.
The broken, the weak, the lost, the wounded.




It's been ten days since the earthquake devastated the country of Haiti. And although it's difficult to show our love and support without physically being there to care for and cure those with wounded hearts, we can all help by spreading the word or donating as much as we can.

I pre-ordered my Hope For Haiti Now album from http://www.itunes.com/haiti. All proceeds go directly to Haiti relief.

My heart melts for those who are affected by this terrible devastation.
God bless all those who have helped in some way, shape or form.


--Laura

Spring Semester!

I cannot believe it's been almost two full months since I've updated my blog. Life has been hectic lately and I totally regret not posting over the holidays. I was back in Muskegon for almost an entire MONTH for holiday break from school. Holiday parties were great and I was super happy to be surrounded by family. I worked just about every day, which was pretty bittersweet. I made a good amount of money, but I hardly got to spend any of my time with friends that I've been wanting to see for quite some time now.

So my last semester of college started yesterday.
I'm taking:
Social Psychology
Pop. Art & Architecture in America
Drugs & Society
The International Film Industry
and History & Cinema

Pretty random cluster of classes, but shouldn't be too bad. I just have to keep my head in the game and focus on what's important... ie; MAY 1st.

Here's a brief summary of what else I've been up to over the past month or so...


Burdick's downtown w/ my best friend Stacey when she came to visit me in Kzoo.

We had such a good time together, and it felt like it had been so long since we've had a night like that together. We went out for dinner and drinks and came back to my apartment and had a total girl's night. We've been doing that since we were children. We grew up together and I wouldn't change our friendship for the world.

Then onto Christmas with the family:

On Christmas Eve, Josh stayed over at our house, along with my sister (Miranda) and my brother-in-law (Ray) since they were home for the week. We went to my Aunt's house on Christmas day and had a good time playing games and being crazy.

New Year's Eve I had to work a double (yippie!) so I wasn't really planning on anything huge and exciting for that night. We ended up just hanging out at my aunt's that night, the same place we went on Christmas day. Josh and I had a good time and celebrated our 4TH New Year together. <3


Then, on January 3rd, we finally got to go pick up the puppy that I got for Josh for Christmas!



He is the sweetest, most adorable puppy ever! He has been so easy to train so far, and absolutely LOVES all people and animals! He loves playing with Gemini (our lovely dog that we've had for 10 years) but she is still hesitant on whether or not she wants to play with him.
Josh and I just ADORE him.



Now I'm headed off to my last class of the day. Hope everyone is well and have an amazing semester if you're still in school!

Love,
Laura

Just when you think you've hit a brick wall and can't find a way around it, life throws you... well, throws you over it.

My lack of motivation for school has abruptly ended since I found out I will be graduating on May 1st, opposed to in the summer. I have been discussing my Specs Howard credit situation with my adviser for two years now, and nothing had been done. I was told I would get a max. of 6 credits transferred to apply to some communication elective credits. The situation was just recently resolved, and as it turns out, I'm getting a whopping 15 credits, which sets me ahead an entire semester. Now I just need to get a walk-in appointment with my Arts & Sciences adviser so he can work on my audit. I'm praying that everything works out and I can be on track. I am now BEHIND as a senior since I had no warning of being done so quickly! I am going to hope for the best and work my butt off to make sure everything is completed on time.

I'm also hoping to intern again this summer. I know how tough it is out there, and I also realize that I could always use more experience in the field of production. I don't just want to be an average university graduate walking into a new job, I want to be amazing at what I do. I am so excited to put myself out there and be a complete sponge to anyone who wants to share their knowledge. The place I interned at in 2006 has a new branch for specifically post-production and I would love to go back and work for them again.

In other news, I recently had a hair appointment with Lindsay and told her I was thinking about going darker.. so I made an impulsive decision and got it dyed reddish/dark brown and I'm loving it so far. My family was a bit shocked at first because "I'm a blonde girl" but I needed a change. =]