So, I realized I never did an “About Me” post, and since there’s a bunch of new faces around here…. I thought what better time than now. I always enjoy reading everyone’s about me post, so hopefully you’ll enjoy reading mine. After looking over the list of things I jotted down, I feel like I’m a pretty boring person compared to others.
With that being said, there’s a lot to cover… so let’s get started!
1. I’m 32 (ahh! I’ll be 33 in July), but in my head I still believe I’m 30. Not because I’m ashamed of being 32… I just literally can’t remember how old I am! I’m always doing the math when people ask.
2. My hubby’s name is John. He’s three years older than me and extremely wise for his age. I’d say he’s def the brains of our family. He graduated college with a Mechanical Engineering degree… so the nerd factor with this one is HIGH! When he’s not at work, he’s renovating our house. If you watch my stories on Instagram… you know our current project is the kitchen!
3. I have two girls. Alyssa, who just turned 17. Crazy, I know! I’m sure you’re doing the math.. so I’ll just say it… no, I didn’t birth her. However, I did start dating her Dad when I was 19 (she had just turned 4) and she’s been mine ever since. Becoming a parent at such a young age made me grow up real quick, but becoming a “bonus” Mom at such a young age, was def hard/rewarding work. With hard work, comes a worthy prize, and she will always be one of the best things that ever happened to me. She’s my by the book kid. Makes straight A’s, rarely gets in-trouble and still comes and lays in bed with us before she goes to her room. I hope she never grows out of that last one!
Then there’s Riley Mae, who’ll be 4 in May. She’s my sassy/sweet miracle baby. Always a wild card and challenging me, daily. Too smart for her own good and the smoothest “sweet” talker you’ll ever meet. She’s 100% headstrong, but has the sweetest heart.
Both girls are constantly fighting for John’s attention, but when he’s not around, I get the life talks + snuggles.
4. I’m a Christian, but I don’t really “categorize” myself with any denomination. I was baptized Catholic, but grew up Methodist… so I take pieces from both and go with it.
“I love Jesus, but I cuss a little!”
5. I’m extremely close with my family. I’ve been blessed with the best parents + my brother has always been one of my best friends. Our family is nowhere near perfect, in fact… we’re a hot mess, but laughing at ourselves through the years is one of my favorite memories. There’s never a time that we’re together and someone doesn’t say something wrong, or do something funny. Those are the moments I live for.
6. I’m not a morning person. AT ALL! I need about 30 minutes until I’m in the mood to talk to anyone. It’s always been one of my faults, but I’m working on being better. I also don’t care for breakfast food. I could wake up, eat a cheeseburger and be perfectly content. If you see me eating breakfast, it’s only because my husband cooked it. I’ll never make it for myself.
7. Dirty Dancing has been my favorite movie ever since I was three. Yep, my Mom was awesome and let me watch it on repeat when I was little. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing….
8. My sport growing up was dance/gymnastics. Mom made me try soccer + softball, but it turned out… I was more into the concession stand snacks + the flowers in the outfield. So, dance/gymnastics was it.
I did cheer in high school for the varsity football team, my freshman year. After my year was up, I realized all the smiling and pep that came along with it, wasn’t me. So, I didn’t try out the following year. Plus, looking into the stands every game and your Mom constantly reminding you to SMILE, drove me insane! We laugh about that now… because I do it to the girls. HA!
9. I’m type A to the max. I have a plan for a plan. If you go on vacation with me, you’ll probably get an itinerary of events that will take place. If you’re really lucky, I’ll even pencil in what you should wear to said events. Yeah, I know it’s ridiculous. I blame my Dad for that one! I get all my note taking skills from him. While I stress myself out with list and itineraries… my family is always able to enjoy everything that’s possible on our trips, so I’m looking at it as a positive. HA!
10. About three months ago, I gave up Facebook. I try to hop on every now and then to post some pictures of the girls (so family that’s away can see them), but it’s def been something I don’t miss. I was finding myself reading into all the sad stories, or allowing the scary post to overwhelm me with anxiety, so I knew I needed a change. I can honestly say that I’ve been less stressed since I did it, too. Only con would be that I NEVER know what’s going on in the world… but I think not knowing helps my stress levels. John’s agreed to fill me in on all the important details.
11. I never take showers. I’m strictly a bath person. John thinks it’s gross, and is constantly reminding me I’m bathing in my filth. I mean, he’s got a point, but it’s always been my thing. I also prefer the water to be so hot that when I exit the tub, I’m purple. Probably not the smartest thing…
12. Tacos + donuts are my favorite food. Throw in some queso… and my life is made.
13. I’m a true believer that hard work pays off. When it comes to reaching goals/accomplishments, if I’m given the choice between the easy or the hard route, I’ll always take the hard. Nothing worth it ever comes easy. It helps that John believes this too. We love to prove to ourselves that there’s nothing we can’t do.
14. I’d rather buy an older/used car, and have the money I save go towards my “whatever” allowance. Speaking of cars… I also hate to drive. Like absolutely hate it. My in-laws live in Charleston, and last year was the FIRST time I drove to their house. John didn’t go on the trip with us because he had to work, so I literally pushed myself to do it. I know, it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but I finally proved to myself I could. Now, it wasn’t pretty… we got lost in ATL for a hot minute, and I said too many cuss words, but we survived. #thankyoujesus
15. I’ve had the same best friend for 10+ years. One day I’m going to talk her into becoming a beauty blogger because she’s great with makeup. Plus, I’ve never met anyone that doesn’t love her! #loveyouMo
16. John and I eloped in Jamaica. A big wedding was never my thing, so after trying to plan a wedding + all the stress that came with it… my parents suggested we go somewhere to get married, so we did. It was the easiest thing to plan, too. When we arrived at Sandals, they took us to the “Wedding Planners Office” and we picked out our food, cake, music..etc. Ten minutes later we were done and chilling on the beach.
In order to get married in Jamaica you have to become a citizen, so after 3 days of being there, you’re considered a citizen and allowed to get married. Of course me being naïve and young, (just turned 21) I didn’t try on my wedding dress before we left the states. After living it up in Jamaica for three days… sister couldn’t zip up her dress. Of course I did what any bride would do… I had my soon to be husband come in and help me zip up my dress while I laid flat on the bed.
Disney won’t be writing books about us anytime soon, but that’s our fairy tale day in a nutshell. #reallife
17. Yankees games with my brother are my favorite. Before Riley, I would fly out to FL for a week (every year) and we’d catch 3 games. Just us, no one else.. and it was so much fun. Life is a little different now with a toddler, so the games were replaced with Disney trips + home visits. Still, we always make sure we don’t go too long without seeing each other.
18. Cardinals make me happy. Like crazy bird lady, happy. Anyone who really knows me, knows how much they mean to me. My mom told me when I was young that anytime a “red bird” comes to visit you, it’s someone that’s passed, stopping by to pay you a visit. I know to some people it sounds completely crazy, but since that day, any time I need a reminder to push through life, a cardinal has paid me a visit.
19. When it comes to movies, comedy is always my first choice. Action would probably be my second. Vince Vaughn + Denzel Washington are two of my favorite actors. Resse Witherspoon is top on the list, too.
20. I became a stay-at-home-Mom about a year and a half ago. Before that I worked for a huge Ortho group in the insurance dept. I was there for almost 9 years, so leaving my work family was hard, but getting away from the medical field was so EASY! Plus, I was ecstatic to be home with the girls.
21. I loathe working out. If I do make it to the gym, it’s for a class of some kind. Zumba, spin or any dance class is my fav!
22. I’m terrified of clowns. Probably because my mother decorated my nursery in clowns (who does that?), but something about them makes me want to run. And you better believe at 32, I’ll still run when I see one!
23. I struggled with fertility issues for almost 8 years. I’m a rare one with multiple clotting disorders working against each other, so carrying a baby was almost impossible.
Sadly, we lost three babies before Riley, and every miscarriage proved to be extremely challenging for me. We lost our first baby when I was 4 months pregnant and our other two were around the 10 week mark.
My pregnancy with Riley was also a struggle (that’s putting it lightly… it’s another day, another post), but by the grace of God, we both made it and she will always be one of my biggest accomplishments.
My goal is to one day open up more about that journey, so others going through it, don’t feel so alone.
24. I love Sunday Brunch, with the family. We enjoy trying new places downtown, although it doesn’t happen as much as I’d like, since the hubby is always working on the kitchen renovation.
25. When I’m not listening to Trolls or Moana in the car… which is basically ALL THE TIME… I enjoy country or 90’s alternative music. Reggae music is always a must if I’m by the beach.
Shew! That was a lot! If you made it to this point, thank you! ha! But I do think we should end with this. Here lately, there’s been so much talk about how social media can be depressing for some people. While I see how that could come about, always remember that you can control what you see. Facebook gave me anxiety, so I stopped looking at it.
Result: I no longer have anxiety, because I don’t surround myself with it everyday.
When I started this blog, I cleaned out who I was following on Instagram, and every celebrity was the first ones to go. (not Reese though, I had to keep her! Seeing her pictures reminds me to have some class, and I think we all need that reminder every now and then.) But really, my point is… no one’s life is perfect. Everyone fights battles, whether they broadcast them or not.
If there’s a social media account that doesn’t bring you joy, unfollow them. IT’S THAT SIMPLE. I only follow people who inspire me or make me laugh. Never will I ever follow someone because I think their life is perfect. That’s just not how I work. I’ve lived too much life to know there’s no such thing. If you truly stop and think about it, you have to know that, too.
Don’t beat yourself up because you don’t have what someone else has, either. You have no idea what it took for that person to have it. I’m the prime example that sometimes becoming a Mom doesn’t always come easy. I had to work hard with both kids, just to be their Mom. I also had to work at overcoming those hurdles and learn how not to dwell on the hard times. Now, my main goal is to focus on simply enjoying them!
I love sharing advice with you guys on clothes, but materialistic things will never define me. Those 25 things above are proof of that. In fact, clothes didn’t even make it on the list.
This world is always going to tell you what it thinks you should be, but you have a choice to be who you want. Always be yourself, the rest will fall into place.
xoxo- Lauren
Marie says
Wow, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed your “LOVE” story. I have know you your whole life yet I learned so much about you from your sharing. The timing makes me smile as I have been researching our family tree and learning facts about the people who have gone before us. UNCLE BOB scanned SOME OF OUR OLD PICTURES AND I WIL be SHARING THEM WITH THE FAMILY. I LOVE THAt YOU LOVE BIRDS. SO DO I. ANTHONY IS home sick today so he is with us. We just put mealy worms out front and watched several different kinds of birds swarm in to gobble them up. I have plenty of Cardinal stories I will have to share with you one day. For now I will just say I love you and I am so proud of the woman you are and the woman you will be tomorrow. I’ll write again when I’m not with Anthony. Right now he is on his tablet and I am on my phone. TECHnology????😙
Marie says
When I finished typing my last reply I asked Anthony if he wanted to play cards. He surprised me and said yes. We played until his mom picked him up. Now that was a great afternoon.
Lauren says
Hey! I’m very interested to see what you found. I hope Anthony is feeling better!
I just let the dogs out to go to the bathroom and a cardinal greeted me at the door. Def put a smile on my face. Love and miss you guys!
Samantha says
I loved reading all of this! Your wedding story had me cracking up! What a special memory for you😊 The reminder at the end was much needed on this monday, thank you❤️
Lauren says
Girl, he’s been helping me get into my clothes ever since. HA! Hope you had a wonderful Monday!
Monica says
Thanks for sharing Lauren! You inspired me to do one of my own this evening! Love your site and you! Always inspiring <3 (why it’s not letting me capitalize my words *on my end it’s not showing* is beyond me but I do know how..haha)
Lauren says
Thanks so much babe! I love following you as well!