Oh, my lambchops.

Thank you, Neil Patrick Harris, for my new favorite catchphrase.

Two thoughts for today:
1. I want to get my PhD SO badly.  I want to do research, I want to write, and I want to teach.  First, I want to be a clinician for a while, but deep down I really want to go the PhD route.

b. If there were a Real Housewives of Flagstaff it might be the MOST boring television show on the planet. HOWEVER, it wouldn't be nearly as annoying as some of the other trashy "houswife" TV shows I watch, which I see as a plus.

.....yes, I'm a complex being and those are two of the most polar opposite statements I've ever made.

I'm okay with it.

I'll continue with the more ridiculous comment first.

I watch The Real Housewives of [insert the wealthiest city in our country you can think of here] and I like love all of them.  Why, oh WHY do I watch this nonsense, you might ask?

"But, Laura, you seem like such a well-rounded individual... you're better than that."
"But, Laura, you're killing brain cells one trashy episode at a time. You know better."
"But, Laura..."

Yes, well, I don't understand it, but I can't help it.

If there were a Real Housewives of Flagstaff I can only think of a small handful of women who would make it at all entertaining.  The rest of us would just talk about things like hiking, whose Chaco's are cuter, how to grow organic tomatoes, and what's on sale at Patagucc all day (pronounced /pattagooch/, as in Gucci, if you weren't sure.)

No one would watch.
.....except for me; I'll watch anything with "The Real Housewives" in the title.
 

(((((Patagucc)))))










Back to the more important statement mentioned above:

I know I will be more than able to complete my PhD someday, but my indecisive self still has no idea what I want to focus my studies on. 

My dear/sweet/beautiful/intelligent friend, Crystle (love ya), attended a workshop with me today on how to successfully work with bilingual clients, as a monolingual therapist or otherwise. 

The presenter was an obviously brilliant woman who has successfully hyphenated her last name to Fabiano-Smith .

(Tompkins-Smith? Smith? how will I ever choose??)

Anyhow, she spent a few hours discussing how to ethically and effectively assess/work with bilingual students (she has focused the majority of her research on English/Spanish speakers, but had wonderful insight into working with other populations, as well.)

This woman stood in front of us, (she looked about 30, maybe 35) and spoke as if she was born with all of this information in her brain.  She discussed "hard l's" and "stridal stops" as if it were everyday conversation.  She talked about the phonemic inventory of Haitian Creole as if she was literally born for this.

I found myself very jealous of her accomplishments. 

and by jealous, of course I mean inspired.

So, big thanks to Crystle for getting me to the workshop today.

and big thanks to Dr. Fabiano-Smith for lighting a fire under my bum, one I am not yet aware of how to put out.

Love me some linguistics, love me some phonetics, and LOVE me some trashy houswives.

.......and all of you, of course :) 



They're really mean to each other. don't start watching if you haven't already.



UPlift yourself and think POSTIVE!

My dear friend Vanessa, over at http://www.msladyday.com/, told me I need to "uplift myself and think positive." 
...she didn't like my last post's title.
I told her to calm down.
:)
BUT.. fine. Today I will chat about all things great in Laura's world.

Another one of my dearest ladies, Rachelle (who just got engaged! YAY!), recently made fun of the people who post pictures of their dogs as if they're their children.

Naturally, I agreed with her.

....but, since I know you're ALL itching to see pictures of our fabulous dogs....

That's Atlas........................... & that's Woody

and I LOVE THEM!

Sorry, Rach. I lied.



The dogs have started training with Michael from http://www.developingdog.com/ and they're doing so well :) I'm a proud dog mama, what can I say?! I'm not allowed to hug them and squeeze them and tell them how cute they are all the time, which is a serious challenge for me, but it seems to be working. Thanks, Mr. Tentindo, and your magician-like dog training skills.  We are very appreciative.

...and so are our future houseguests, who will no longer be lovingly attacked as soon as they enter our home.

Moving on to more happy thoughts...

I'm currently reading two books (I rarely finish one at a time. it's a curse.):

written by the "world pun champion" of 1995. The book is fascinating, but also cleverly written with puns sneakily slipped in here and there. Pay attention or you'll miss them!

 &

 

Wonderful history of euphemisms and the English Language. LOVE it.

If you're at all interested in language, where it comes from, or why we use it in all the ways that we do, I highly suggest both of these books.

...and I'm always looking for more geeky language books to get my attention, so send them my way when you find them, please!

Let's see.... one more uplifting tidbit for today....

I'm SO EXCITED for my friends Carly and Walker, who are getting married tomorrow :) 
...what should I wear?! I'm not prepared.

There are so many of us, all of a sudden, who have found our persons.

Davo is, truly, my person, and I am his.  that's it.  he's my heart.

I believe that not everyone is built for partnership, but for those of us who are, to find our person is truly one of life's greatest blessings.

So, to ALL of you who have found your person I extend my deepest excitement.

To those of you who haven't yet, trust that you will.  To love partnership is to find partnership.  I have no doubt.

Love love love to my partnered friends, my seeking friends, and my friends who love the single life. 

I am thankful for EVERY single one of you!  

I have SO many things in my brain EVERY DAY, how will I EVER fit it all into this little stupid blog that no one actually reads??!!!

WOW.

several days a year I'm reminded what a deeply emotional being I really am, and am constantly reminded of what truly matters, and what truly doesn't (but still affects me.)
***"affects" me? or "effects" me? DAMN I always mess that one up.***
I'm even more often reminded of what a big baby I am.

...wait, is there a difference?

In March I eagerly jumped on the bandwagon of this phenomenon many refer to as "P90x"; maybe you've heard of it.  I got SO amped and SO into it, and I was so very proud of myself.

..perhaps I should preface this "conversation" with the fact that I've always been an active person, having played softball until I was 17 and baskeball for several years somewhere in there, BUT once I graduated high school, my motivation to remain active has struggled.  to say the least. 

So, yes, I am the person whose activity and diet go in waves - I get on some random kick (this year it's P90x), I lose some weight, I feel GREAT about my progress, and then something else happens that throws me completely off track.

can I get an amen?

This year, amidst my P90x bender, Davo and I went on a little vacation down to Bisbee to meet our new friend, Josh Snyder, (http://www.joshsnyderblog.com/) and get our engagement photos done.

**Josh is an amazing photographer and a wonderful human being. Look into his work and give him your money if you can!**

We returned from our 5-day trip to southern Arizona (after several days of margaritas and all kinds of delicious eats) and I tried SO very hard to get back in the swing of the "working out" thing; I just couldn't do it.  A month later we became deeply entrenched in the drama of purchasing/moving into our first home (so exciting, don't get me wrong..) But, needless to say, my workout plans have gone to hell in the last 3 months.

.....where the h did this string of thought come from?
(((.I warned you. try to keep up.)))

ah, yes.

The point of today's ramblings: I had a meltdown this weekend over the fact that I've gained 3 pounds.
yes, 3 pounds.
I had my first "fitting" for my wedding gown on Sunday (I'm having a custom gown made.. I'll write more about that later), and the seamstress seemed deeply burdened by those 3 pounds. Yes, it is her job to ensure that my wedding gown is perfectly fit to my body, and yes, I understand that if I GAIN weight I am making her job more difficult. Whatever. It still felt crappyyyyyy to have someone annoyed by my 3-pound weight gain.

And, so, I cried.

I cried yesterday, and I cried today. at work.

As of 2 hours ago I'm back on the P90x bandwagon! Yay for me!!

...and I'm very sorry to say that I will likely be adding P90x to the list of things I will continue rambling about here. 

((((((I promise to NOT post any pictures of myself, such as the one below, on this blog.
...and I'm sorry to the lady in these pictures, but this is what she gets for posting her pictures on public P90X websites.))))))



I figure if I put some of my P90X challenges/successes in writing and force random people to sit through my whinings eventually I'll become less of a big baby and stop whining so much! 3 pounds do NOT MATTER, but feeling great does. P90x here I am. put me to work, please. not for the 3 pounds, but for my mood, and for the sanity of everyone who has to deal with my mood on a daily basis.

okay, that's all for today.

P.S. Someone on NPR used the word "implacable" today, and I thought to myself,

"What an idiot! That's not the right word!"

I knew it had something to do with the root "placate", but "implacable" just did NOT sound right.

...I was wrong.  Implacable was the perfect word choice, and I'm an ass who sometimes thinks she knows things that she really doesn't.

..hence the title of this blog.

Peace and love, boys and girls. Peace and love.

And so it begins...

why have I chosen to enter the blogging world, you might ask?
I'm not really sure.
I've reached a time in my life where I'm finally aware of my brain's potential to produce meaningful, rich information. I think this whole blogging idea came about because I've decided it might be fun to document my inspired, richly meaningful moments and share them with people who might enjoy them, too :)

....blogging also appears to be about honesty. And, quite honestly, the real reason I decided to blog is because I really like to THINK that my thoughts are rich and meaningful. While I do enjoy my brain and its potential very much, the majority of my thoughts are, in fact, incredibly random and disconnected.  My brain works in its very own way, in its very own time, sometimes without regard to anything anyone tells it it should be doing.  It's great, though often difficult to follow. I trust that you will try your best to keep up.

I've also recently realized my very deep interest in the topic of linguistics.  Regardless or Irregardless*? "I'm going to lay down", or "I'm going to lie down"?  These questions fill my mind all day, every day.

*Irregardless is NOT a word. please make note of this important distinction.

aaaaaand I'll soon be planning a "green" and "budget" wedding, which will most assuredly take over this blog the deeper I get into the planning process. how will I ever plan a wedding without cutting ANY flowers??? and what kind of wedding can I put together for $500?

Okay, not $500. but somewhere close to that would be nice.

SO, stay posted if you enjoy one or all of the following things:
1.) Me.
2.) language
c.) weddings
34f.) random thought

Thanks for checking me out.