blast from the past

my mom has been sorting through old photos lately in order to date them and organize them.  recently she came across these oldies of me in tap class when i was 7 years old and showed them to me!  it's funny to think that i'm teaching dance to little ones now who are about that same age.  

love, laurie

blast from the past

over the weekend i was doing some spring cleaning and i came across this picture.  talk about a blast from the past.  since easter is this weekend, i thought i'd share this gem from three decades ago.

love, laurie

it must run in the family . . .

for as long as we have had leko (over 6 years now) he has been fascinated with licking ryan's hair.  we can't explain it, and we're really not sure how it started, but he does it on a regular basis.

my mom keeps saying that when i was little i used to lick my brother's hair.  i only vaguely remember this and absolutely could not even begin to explain why i did it.  for years, my mom has been saying that there is a picture somewhere of me doing it and she finally found it this past weekend.  when she texted me the picture i could not stop laughing.  i had to show it to leko to tell him this weird habit must run in the family!

love, laurie

happy halloween!

happy halloween!  behold this ancient photo of me dressed as a bunny for one of my first halloweens.  that's right, leave it to my parents to confuse a kid as to whether or not it was easter or halloween and whether or not the easter bunny or the great pumpkin was coming that night!  every time we see this picture we all get a good laugh.

fast forward 30-some years later and i'm looking forward to spending quality father-daughter halloween time with my dad again who is coming up to do trick-or-treat at my house tonight because ryan has to work.

i can't wait for work to be over so that i can head home, get in costume, and enjoy trick-or-treat time.  our house is decorated and my costume is ready to go.  (just like last year, my costume didn't cost a dime because i used things that i already had.)

every year we get a ton of trick-or-treaters at our house.  we bought a bunch of candy, so let the fun commence!  i always love seeing what everyone dresses up as for halloween!

happy halloween!

love, laurie

tips and advice for college students

^me in my first dorm room on move-in day at the very beginning of freshman year - august 2003^

it's the time of the year when high school seniors are deciding what to do with their lives after graduation.  so, i'm excited to be teaming up with earnest today to share my tips and advice for college students!

whenever i think about education, i'm always taken back to a memory i have from when i was a little girl.  growing up, my dad used to listen to dr. laura (an american talk radio host).  i remember the first time he told me about dr. laura, "you can be dr. laura" he said . . . words that would end up sticking with me for the rest of my life.  i'm a fiercely strong person when it comes to drive and focus, and i attribute that in large part to how my parents raised me.  i take great pride in the fact that i graduated undergrad a semester early, dove right into grad school after, and then continued on to earn my doctoral degree.  anyone who knows me knows that i very much value higher education . . . but, it wasn't always like that.

i worked hard through elementary school, junior high school, and high school.  by the time i hit senior year in high school, i was so exhausted and burnt out that i couldn't even imagine going to college.  i actually didn't want to go at all.  of course this didn't go over well with two parents who hold multiple college degrees, so i went.  i applied to three different universities and got accepted into all three.  i couldn't make a decision as to where i wanted to go, mainly because i didn't want to go, and on the day decisions were due (talk about waiting to the very last minute) i remember my mom anxiously telling me that i just had to pick a school.  i looked at the three acceptance letters, saw that two of the universities were offering identical scholarship amounts and the third university was offering just a little bit more.  i picked the school that offered more.  folks, i based my whole college career on a difference of $2,000.  it was practically a game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe.  (please don't pick your college this way!)  in the end i am glad i chose the school i did, but i should have been much more intentional about my choice.  it's funny that someone who didn't even want to go to college after high school ended up with a Ph.D. after her name.

so here it is: a list of 10 tips and some advice learned along the way from someone who didn't even want to go to college and ended up surviving three degrees . . .

^left: in my dorm after a show sophomore year, right: in my dorm on the first day of junior year^

1. start taking college courses early 
most colleges have programs available where high school students can take college courses at a deep discount while they are still in high school.  i started earning college credits during my junior year in high school through a scholarship program run by my high school (and i should say it was my dad's idea).  to this day, it is still one of the very best things i ever did for myself.  it's a good way to get your feet wet and ease into college.  it's also an awesome way to start college with several credits under your belt!

2. take advanced placement tests in high school
almost all high schools offer advanced placement tests.  take them!  if you score well, you can earn college credits.  that means you don't have to take some of the entry-level courses that everyone else will have to take.  you'll start college with a leg up by already having several credits, and you'll be able to focus on upper-level courses that are of more interest to you than generic introductory courses.

3. in addition to your major, declare a minor
in college, you end up taking electives to fill your credit graduation requirment.  instead of taking random electives, be intentional about your elective course choices and put those electives to use in order to earn a minor in addition to your major.  i graduated with 2 minors (english and dance) in addition to my major because i had enough courses to meet the requirements for those minors.  years later, i'm still glad i declared those minors.  they've come in handy when applying for jobs.

4. take summer courses
summer sessions are much shorter than fall and spring semesters, and summer credits are typically much cheaper than credits throughout the school year.  the summer is a great way to bang out several credits.  it's also a great way to get a course "out of the way" quickly if you don't want to commit to it for a 15-week semester.

5. before you take any credits at another college, check to make sure they'll transfer
i took all of my courses at my college except for two spanish courses.  i was required to take 2 foreign language courses (which i had no interest in) so i took them over the summer at my local community college.  it saved a ton of time and money since the community college credits cost significantly less than my university's credits cost.  yes, it's a great idea to take some of your general education courses (or core curriculum courses) at a local community college to save money, however, before you sign up for any classes at another school make sure your college agrees that they will transfer and get that in writing!  (i spent a year as an academic advisor for undergraduate students and i saw way too many students get burned by this, and it could have been avoided in every instance if they would have just checked first.)

6. learn your program requirements early on and advise yourself
listen, academic advisors see hundreds of students and have to know dozens of different majors.  unless you are at a very small school with a great student-to-faculty ratio, your advisor is not going to know your program as well as you should.  learn your program requirements on day one and get them in writing (most are given to you in a handbook).  let those requirements be your bible by which you make every move for the next 4 years of your life.  there are countless stories about people having to stay an extra year because their advisors messed up and they were just a few credits short of graduation requirements.  hearing those stories was a driving force for me to take the reins to make sure i got out on time with what i needed.

7. save money wherever you can (and don't miss out on the freebies)
college is expensive, i don't need to tell you that.  it's easy to spend money unnecessarily in college, especially when friends want to go out to eat, out to the movies, etc.  set a budget for yourself and stick to it and don't miss out on all of the freebies that you can get.  from t-shirts to food, see what is going on with your student activities department and participate.  gym memberships are expensive, but almost all colleges offer access to their fitness center for free for current students.  take advantage of that!  also, don't forget that your student id card is gold when looking for discounts at stores and restaurants!

8. hold a leadership position while you're in college
this looks great on a resume and future interviewers will love it, but more importantly you'll get experience being in charge of a group and you'll get to develop and test your leadership skills.  i was the president of one club and the secretary of another.  i learned some great skills from those experiences and learned a lot about myself too.

9. get an off-campus internship (even if it's unpaid)
i see so many students turn down internship opportunities because they are unpaid.  this is the time to take an unpaid internship (because you won't be able to afford to take one after you graduate when student loans need to be paid).  you'll get experience outside of the classroom in a real life setting, and many times internships lead to job offers (or at least letters of recommendation).

10. find a mantra and stay focused on your end goal
if there's one thing i will always remember from my dad, it's the saying: "where there's a will, there's a way."  it has to be one of his favorite sayings because he recites it all of the time, and i heard it countless times growing up.  i had no idea that it would become my personal mantra to get me through school (and many other things in life).  find what works for you and stay focused on your goal.  remember what you are in college to do, don't get sidetracked.  it's okay to change your major, but don't change it too many times or else you will really set yourself behind.  when i began my doctoral program, a veteran professor shared some great advice with my cohort on the very first day.  she said that when times get tough we should imagine ourselves walking across the stage at graduation being handed our diplomas.  i am so incredibly grateful that i heard that little piece of advice that day, because truth be told it was the only thing that got me through my doctoral program.  i kept it in the back of my head for 4 straight years, and that image was what pulled me through.  when i finally got to walk across the stage as dr. laura it was the most fulfilling experience.

^ryan's crazy friends' annual bbq right outside their dorm on the lawn . . . pretty certain that having an open flame on a bbq grill would be frowned upon on a college campus nowadays!^

^writing papers for a class on our matching computers in ryan's dorm room sophomore year^

love, laurie

happy birthday, mama!

happy 65th birthday today to the world's greatest mom!

love, laurie

xoxo

happy birthday, papa!

happy birthday today to the world's greatest dad!

happy birthday, papa!

love, laurie

xoxo

throwback thursday

on my birthday this past january, i shared an old picture of me in a stock pot on the kitchen counter of my childhood home.  it's one of my favorite pictures.  i was searching through some old photos recently and came across another photo of me in what is most likely the same stock pot, but this time the pot and i were on the stove instead of on the kitchen counter.  (you have to love my parents' sense of humor!)  i couldn't resist sharing this gem with you today since it's "throwback thursday" today.

have a great day!

love, laurie

happy mother's day!

happy mother's day!

here comes laurie cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny trail, hippity hoppin', easter's on its way . . .

over the years, my family sure has taken a lot of photos.  out of the thousands of photos we have to document our memories, a few stick out as all-time favorites.  this is one of them for sure.  in the spirit of easter this week, i present to you a picture that my mom took of my dad holding me dressed in a pink bunny costume.  classic.

love, laurie

it's my birthday! (and 31 things you might not know about me)

there's yours truly as a toddler in a stock pot on the kitchen counter.  totally normal.  (who needs a bumbo when you have a stock pot, right?)  today's my birthday and somehow i'm now 31.  this photo seems like it was taken a lifetime ago.  it blows my mind to think it's over three decades old.

for fun today, i thought i'd share 31 random things about me.  ready?  here goes  . . .

1. when i was little, i was in a commercial with my mom for a local cooking supply store.  (the store just went out of business a few weeks ago.)

2. as soon as i was old enough to sit up on my own, my mom sat me on the kitchen counter and taught me how to cook, so being in the kitchen is second nature to me.

3. i learned math by helping my mom in the kitchen and at the grocery store.  recipes are a great way to teach kids about fractions and coupons/discounts are a great way to learn percentages.

4. i am really good at mental math.  i'm always the one at the store calculating discounts and coupons in my head (and i'm usually spot on)!

5. i have never lived in a state other than pennsylvania.

6. if i had to choose another state to live in other than pennsylvania, it would be california (even though i have never been there).

7. i have never owned a dog, and i have no desire to (mainly because i would not want to walk a dog every day).  i'm a cat person all the way.

8. my family calls me the cat whisperer because i absolutely love cats and they seem to gravitate to me.  i find them all the time when we are out walking or biking.

9. my dream job would be to own a place where i could care for cats and keep them safe until they are adopted.

10. i have never been into sports, i always preferred the arts

11. as i kid, i dreamed of being an olympic figure skater.  (i did take figure skating lessons for several years.)

12. my favorite place i have ever traveled was hawaii in 2013.  it was a dream come true to travel there, and to date it was the best vacation i have ever taken.

13. i have not consumed any caffeine in over 11 years and i am one of the most alert people i know (proving that you don't need a cup of coffee to be wide awake).

14. my drink of choice is water with lemon.  it's my absolute favorite thing to drink.

15. i love organizing things.

16. i have never actually been camping.  (the closest i have ever been was in a sleeping bag in a tent on our back deck when i was little.)

17. i love almost all types of cheese, but i positively hate goat cheese.  (to me it smells and tastes like a dirty goat.)

18. i'm not a reader.  i love reading magazines/blogs, but i hate reading books.  i'm much more of a visual person instead of a reader.

19.  i learned how to write from my dad and i pride myself in having proper grammar because of him.

20. i still haven't found my celebrity doppelganger, although jodie foster and saoirse ronan do come close.  (if you have any ideas, let me know!)

21. as a child, i never had an imaginary friend.  the concept always seemed odd to me.

22. for most of my life i had incredibly long hair that went past my waist.  it wasn't until grad school that i cut it.  (now i love it short because it is so much easier to maintain.)

23. dancing is in my blood because my mom danced up until she was 8 months pregnant with me.

24. i had a dance minor in college and i have been trained in every single type of dance (yes, even flamenco) but my absolute favorite is classical ballet/pointe.

25. when ryan and i got married, i legally changed my maiden name to be my second middle name. (i really wanted to keep my maiden name, but i didn't want a hyphenated last name.)

26. ryan and i are exactly 4 months and 23 days apart in age (he's older).  coincidentally, 4 and 23 are my two lucky numbers.

27. i don't have any tattoos, but if i ever got a tattoo i know exactly what i would get - the word "love" very small, written in all lowercase script letters in my brother's handwriting, on the inside of my wrist.  i have been sure of this for about 10 years, but i have never been able to commit to a tattoo.

28. i don't have an accent.  i was taught to be non-dialectical when i majored in theatre in college.

29. my favorite colors are orange and purple.

30. i consider myself to be very spiritual, but not religious.

31. i have been cutting ryan's hair for as long as we have been together.  he has not had his hair cut by anyone but me in 11 years.  i estimate that we have saved approximately $3,500 to $4,000 over the past 11 years by doing this!

love, laurie

dancing through life

dance has been a part of my life for as long as i can remember.  it's in my blood.  i inherited my love of dance from my mom who danced for years and still takes dance lessons now.  over the years, my mom danced with many different companies, taught dance, and even created her own dance show which she took on the road and performed at different venues.

this weekend is my dance studio's christmas show.  spending so much time dancing and rehearsing the past few weeks got me thinking recently about my mom dancing when she was my age.  i was looking through old photos and came across several of my mom's old dance photos.  i scanned them to preserve them, and thought i'd share them.

i absolutely love looking back at old photos of my parents from before i was born.  i especially love this collection of my mom's old dance photos.  she is absolutely beautiful.

have a wonderful weekend!

love, laurie

happy birthday, dad!

dad, thanks for putting up with this big mouth for over three decades.
to me, you are the greatest!!!
happy birthday, papa! 

love, laurie

blast from the past

over the weekend i was looking through some old pictures and i came across this gem.  it's a picture of us sitting at the light board console in the booth in the back the theatre.  we were running the lights for a music concert (typical) and the date on the photo is march 2007.

seeing this photo was such a blast from the past.  i never even realized that this picture was taken of us, but i do remember working that concert.  i have no idea what was happening in that moment when the photo was taken, but i just love the expression on ryan's face.

this was taken on a film camera before we had digital, so i had to scan it to share it (and to preserve it).  it's fun looking through old photos and remembering things you had forgotten.  this photo was taken before we were engaged or married.  it was only 8 years ago, but it seems like a whole lifetime ago.

love, laurie