Thirty, Flirty and Thriving

It's been such a fun week celebrating my 30th birthday with so many friends and my family! Last Friday started with lunch at my favorite place, Celebrity Bakery with my mom. Then it was off to get pedicures with the girls at my new favorite place, Village Nailery. Then we headed up to Frisco to stay at our fun hotel called NYLO. Brookie flew in from Austin to stay with us and it was such a fun girls night! We had dinner at Mi Cocina complete with delicious birthday flan brought with singing waiters. Then we had a slumber party at the hotel! Didn't get much sleep but it was so fun catching up and laughing together! Saturday, we went to Breadwinners for breakfast and then did some Christmas shopping.

Saturday night was the big party at my house. It was so fun...the only problem was I didn't take any pictures til the very end...after almost everyone was gone! Guess I'll just have to relive those fun memories in my head. I feel so lucky to have so many great friends around me who truly care about me and love celebrating this big milestone with me.

My final birthday celebration came last night, when my sweet cousins Matt and Seema took me to dinner at Rise No. 1. I hadn't been there yet, and was really excited to try all their delicious souffles...and they were absolutely divine. I will definitely be back there soon!

So, I am thirty! It feels good...not too different at all! So...there's the update, now I'll get back to this..

baking yummy pumpkin bread!

The end of an era...

Tomorrow, I turn 30. Wow, it looks weird even when I write it down like that. Weird and scary...but then again, I am also so grateful for what I have gotten to do, see and experience in my last 30 years. My life has been a blessed one so far and I know that God has so much more in store for me in the next 30 years of my life. But for now, I want to face this next decade of my life with complete gratitude for the past and a renewed hope for the future! As the verse at the top of this page says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." God knows that desires and I trust and believe He will give them to me in His timing! So, bring on my 30's!

I saw this video on another person's blog and "borrowed" it! (Sorry for the slight profanity in the title) but it really did make me smile and think about how great our God is all over the world! It combines 3 things I love: dancing, music and smiling little faces in far away places! I hope it makes you smile too!

Hilton Head Wedding Weekend

I am a little behind on posting pictures...maybe because I don't have a working camera, other than my iPhone one which isn't that great...so here are some pictures from my friend Julie.

Part of the reason I went back to Charlotte the weekend after Thanksgiving was to be at Sarah and Mackie's wedding in Hilton Head. We had such a blast celebrating with them and hanging out at the beach. We stayed at our friends' Kristy and Jake's awesome condo which was a short walk from the shore, which we took a walk to on Saturday morning. Then we played some tennis at the club down the road...fun to play with my old tennis buddies. We felt like such yuppies playing tennis in Hilton Head.

Christmas trees at the Westin hotel







The Bride-to Be watching the West Virginia game








Mel, Julie and me at the beautiful reception











The Charlotte girls (Julie, Mel, Sarah, me and Ash)

It was so much fun to catch up with these girls for those couple of days at the beach! Congrats to Sarah and Mackie as they start their new life together! Miss you already! :)

Fun times in Charlotte!

Thanks to Jake, this is the video of them surprising me for my birthday. Hopefully you can

see the shock on my face and hear the surprise in my voice when I got to Kristy and

Jake's house...(oh, and i was 30 minutes late) :) oh, and yes, i do say, "I'm glad I'm wearing

something cute"...when I am nervous or center of attention, I tend to say random, sometimes

inappropriate things. insert phrase above! :)

I did have an AWESOME time in Hilton Head/Charlotte this past weekend! Sarah and Macky's

wedding was beautiful and a blast! Since I've already had one celebration, I feel 30 already! :)

only 8 days to go til it's official!

During the 2 days in Charlotte, I got to see lots of friends and faces that I have missed the last

5 months...it was further confirmation that I am where God wants me to be, because He has

allowed me to have such great friends in both Charlotte and Dallas! I am so blessed!

Lots of pictures to come...(when I get them from some friends) but thanks to all my

wonderful friends who made time in this busy season of life to see me when I was in town!

I love you and miss you alot!!! :)

This weekend, I am off to Houston to see my friend Mandy who is in town from Charlotte

and can't wait to catch up with my girl, Cassie who lives in Houston! :) Good times!!!

I promise...pictures to come...

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

I am officially in the holiday spirit...hence my blog redesign!

It is t-minus...

6 days til Thanksgiving

7 days til I leave for the Carolinas

21 days til my 30th birthday

34 days til Christmas Eve

36 days til snowboarding in Colorado

41 days til a brand new year!

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! Embrace the celebration! :)

What I've been up to...(in pictures)

This workout is kickin' my butt...seriously! Shredding until I turn 30!

One of the best books I have read in a while...making me think about life and the story mine is telling...

This is hawaii...i wish this was true, but sadly, i was just the chauffeur to the airport so my parents could go to Paradise!

Loving this latest masterpiece by the Shanes...it is AWESOME!

I can't get enough of the NCIS marathons that have been on...get sucked in every time!

And probably most importantly, I have been looking for an LPC internship...have been narrowing it down and have some great options that I will fill you in on when I make a final decision!

That is all for now...off to watch Taylor Swift on SNL tonight and read a little of Don Miller's Blue Like Jazz before bed! Inspired to make my life/story better each new day!

A little homesick for Charlotte...

Today I am missing this little city and the people in it! :( So, if you are reading this and you are one of my friends in Charlotte...just wanted to let you know I miss you alot!!! In 1 month, I will be back up there for a wedding, so I am hoping to jam as much face time with friends as I can into a couple of days at the end of November! Here are just a couple of the things (besides a long list of people) that I miss from Charlotte:

1. Polka Dot Bake Shop cupcakes

2. Sweet Tea

3. My sweet little condo

4. Driving only 10 minutes to work/church/anywhere really in the city

5. Freedom Park

6. Dinner and Guitar Hero with the Charlotte family

7. Going to the annual USC game

8. NC Barbeque - wow, can't believe I said that!

9. Blowing Rock's cute little town with Kilwin's delicious toasted coconut ice cream

10. Sitting outside on the patio at Dean and Deluca

11. Charlotte traffic...it's no where near the nightmare that Dallas traffic is!

All that being said, things are going really well for me here in Dallas. God has provided so much for me the last few months that I have been here with a great living situation :), an awesome job at Frisco Bible Church with a staff that I am so blessed to be a part of and love spending time with, an awesome opportunity on the horizon for a counseling internship...more on that later if it works out, and most of all...sweet time with those that I was away from for 4 years! I am loving getting to catch up and spend quality time with so many that I missed while I was so far away! Now the table is turned and I feel that way about those whom I was so close to in Charlotte...

Fall and U2 visit Dallas...

This past week was a good one!!! After I passed my test, I went and celebrated at the U2 concert at Cowboys stadium. I have ALWAYS wanted to see U2 in concert and felt like this was my chance!!! (This has been a dream since high school when my "boyfriend" went to U2 and called me from there to play me a couple songs over the phone...LAME! He should have taken me to the concert!!!) So, this was going to make up for that!!!

My friend Todd and I met up with my cousins Matt and Seema and their crew on the party bus before the concert!


Matt, Seema, me and Todd on the party bus

The 2 Laurens and Seema in front of the Cowboys stadium

The stage was AMAZING...our seats were really good!!

Love this pic of Bono...he did not disappoint...puts on a great show!!

This past weekend was TX/OU...Ali and Kennedy and I went to Erin's housewarming party on Friday night. Sarah and I braved the crowds on Thursday to go to the State Fair...corndogs, cotton candy, livestock and lots of people watching to be had there! :) Saturday, my dad and I went to play golf at Dallas National. I was super intimidated to play this course, but was fairly pleased with how I played! I think I can hang with him out there! :) My new clubs were awesome and I love them!!!

So....there is a little bit of what has been going on around here...I leave for DC to see my sister this Thursday and then for Cincinatti the next weekend for Youth Specialties conference...its going to be a busy couple of weeks! I'll try and take lots of pictures to be able to update this blog along the way...

I Passed!!!

Yes, that's right, I am on my way to being a licensed counselor! Yesterday I took the dreaded NCE and after 2 1/2 hours and a mild panic attack in the midst of it...I got my lovely score sheet with the word PASS on it!!! What a relief! :)

So...everyone is asking, now what? well, simply put...I now find a job! There is some paperwork and red tape to get through but having the exam, not to mention 3 years of Masters degree work behind me, I am feeling pretty good! After accumulating 3000 hours of Internship, I will have my permanent license!

I had so many sweet friends who prayed for me, texted me, facebooked me yesterday and I really appreciate it!!! I actually got sick on Thursday and didn't feel great all day Friday, but wanted to take the test anyway...and then some great friends took me out to celebrate last night...so all in all it has been a fun end of the week and weekend!

Now I can look forward to U2 on Monday night!!!! Can't wait...

Aggie Football Weekend

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1 Awesome Weekend!!!

Normally, I wouldn't be this excited for an Aggie Football game, okay, maybe that's not entirely true...I do love watching the Ags play (when they are on TV...) but this weekend marks a unique experience...the Aggies are playing in the new Cowboys Stadium...aka Jerry World, aka Deathstar, aka 1.2 billion dollar stadium and....I get to go!!!! A couple months back, while I was still living in Charlotte, some of my college girlfriends decided we should all get tickets and have a little Dallas reunion at the A&M/Arkansas game...this was before all the hoopla that has gone on since then about the new stadium. So, we bought tickets, and mine was going to also have to include a plane ticket to get here but thankfully I saved a chunk of change on that deal and just have to drive across town! So, tons of our friends are going....our class of '02 is having a tailgating party as are a bunch of other friends...so it is sure to be a great time!!! I wonder if Jerry will be rooting for the Ags or Pigs?

My Daily Let Down...

Warning: this blog entry has no fun pictures, upbeat stories or funny quips about life right now. It is just an honest journal entry of my heart right now.

I feel let down on a daily basis.

In my life, I tend to keep pretty high expectations for things...food, haircuts, dates, boys, trips, football games, family holidays, etc. I always think they are going to be the greatest yet...the best ever...and then...

I feel let down when they aren't.

Without naming any names, in the past couple of weeks and months, I have been let down by people. Some that I thought I was really close to and some that held a high place of respect and trust in the past that have let me (and others) down. I have felt forgotten, betrayed and hurt by the actions of these people. I've gone through the stage of being mad and now I find myself just sad about it. My expectations for people are usually pretty high, but this has left me feeling like maybe I should lower my expectations about people in order to avoid getting hurt when they don't live up to them.

This even happened when I moved back to Dallas. My expectations for being back in this town, surrounded with people that I have known almost my whole life, in a city where I run into someone I know almost everywhere, and going to church with others instead of by myself were sky high. I thought my days of staying home alone on a Friday or Saturday night were long gone. Granted, there haven't been very many, but my expectations were none!!! Once again, it has been a let down in terms of my high expectations for what life was going to be like here.

So, why do I keep doing this to myself? God is trying to teach me something through it I know! He has been reminding me over and over again that if I put my trust in people or things, I WILL be let down...but if I put my trust in Him, He will NEVER fail me or forsake me. Why is this so hard for me to learn...and even harder to put into practice?

In high school, my youth pastor, Buddy, gave a message on the following verse and it still is one of my favorite verses on trust:

O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

Trusting in God isn't just an occasional thing...it says at ALL times! I feel like I continually pour my heart out to God and ask why or why not about things, and then go seek refuge in something else or someone else. Those things and people never fully satisfy my heart, because God alone is my refuge!!! How silly to go looking for it somewhere else...and then be disappointed when it's not comforting or refuge-like!

I love the way it written in this verse:

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. Jeremiah 17:7

So, my goal is to begin to put my hope and confidence where I should...in the Lord! I tend to be overly confident about some things...but I need to work on my confidence being in the Lord and the fact that He won't ever let me down!!! So instead of lowering my expectations of people and things, I want to be able to understand that when I feel let down by them, I am not destroyed because I have placed my trust, hope and confidence in someone else...

Happy Birthday to 2 of my favorite people!!!

Today is a great day!!! September 18 has for the past 23 years been my baby brother's birthday! Then 10 years ago when I met one of my best friends, Marisa, it has also been her birthday!!! So, sometimes this can get a little confusing for me, especially when I was living in Charlotte and was mailing gifts to them. One year, I sent Ryan a really cute purse and some earrings and Marisa got a Carolina blue polo shirt and a signed Pat Green poster (which I'm sure she would have kept) but anyway...obviously I got the packages confused at the post office. Now, it is funny because they text eachother to say happy birthday...and I'm sure make sure they got the correct gift from me!

I have so many memories with Marisa...too many to think of and some that can't be written on this blog, so we will just continue to recall and laugh about all of them when we get to hang out together, which thankfully is alot since I am back in Dallas!

As for my brother, I'm sure he doesn't even read this blog...but for the benefit of those who do, I want to say that he is at the top of my list of guys that I respect in this world. He is much smarter, taller, funnier, and Godly than I am but I love him even more for those things! He will always be my little Ry Guy, but it has been great to watch him grow into a man over the years! Some of my favorite memories with him include all the trips we have gone on together, ski slopes we have raced down, lake weekends with the family, and more than that, the tough times that we have been there for each other and for our family! He is the best brother anyone could ask for, and I got him!!!

So, I just want to say that I love love love these two people and am so thankful that they are in my life! This is a big year for both of them. Ryan is celebrating his first married birthday in San Diego with his love, Ashley. And Marisa is leaving her 20's behind and paving the way for all of us to turn 30 this year! :)

Happy birthday to you both!!! Love you very very much!!!

Marisa and I at my brother's rehearsal dinner

The siblings at my brother's wedding in May

A Date has been set!!!

For my NCE Exam...that is!!! :)

October 9th at 9:00am

Feels weird and good at the same time to have a date that I know I am taking this thing!!! After the exam...who knows what? An internship hopefully!!!

Alright, back to studying...in my little nook...in my parents kitchen!!! It's my favorite spot!

Because I have time to do this...

I know you probably don't care about this...but I couldn't resist...I love filling these stupid things out!! And...I love filling out paperwork...weird, i know....but if someone gives me a clipboard with blank papers that I can fill out and actually know the answers to without having to study beforehand...i am happy! 

1. What time did you get up this morning: depends on the day, but usually around 7:30 or 8:00

2. How do you like your steak? Medium...like a little bit of red on my meat!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? it's been awhile...but I think The Ugly Truth...not worth the $10 I had to pay to see it!!

4. What is your favorite TV show? How I Met Your Mother.

5. What is your favorite time of year? Winter... especially Christmas!

6. Can you be trusted with a secret ? I'm keeping one right now, so we shall see!!! 

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Tex Mex no question!

8. What foods do you dislike? Mayo, bologna,...pretty much everything else I like to eat!

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Chuy's, Mi Cocina, or Potbelly's. 

10. Favorite dressing? Balsamic 

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? Chevy Trailblazer 

12. What are your favorite clothes? Jeans and polo shirts

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Hillsong Church in Australia

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? hopefully I am a half full kind of person most of the time...I don't enjoy being around half empty people

15. Where would you want to retire? Vail, Colorado

16. Favorite time of day? Early evening

17. Where were you born? Dallas, Texas

18. Any siblings? 3 -  brother, sister and sister in law

19. car stereo , CD’s or XM radio? Radio or  Ipod

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night person

21. Do you have any pets? No...have tried to like pets when my roommates have had them, but it hasn't convinced me I want one.

22. Anything odd or different about your life you’d like to share? I am at a strange stage of life right now...starting a new career at almost 30 and living at home with the parents for the time being...so i guess that is kind of odd! 

23. What did you want to be when you were little? A youth pastor or a counselor - all my dreams have come true! 

24. What is your best childhood memory? Being on the lake with my dad waterskiing in the early mornings...when it was pure glass! 

25. Are you a cat or dog person? Definitely not cat (sorry to my friends and brother who have one :)...but i think I would have a dog someday maybe...

26. Are you married? not yet

27. Do you always wear your seat belt? yes

28. Been in a car accident? define accident....a got into an accident with a uhaul trailer driving back from NC...but no injuries or damage to my car...so i guess that is an accident

29. Any pet peeves? Yep....lots! 

30. Favorite pizza topping? canadian bacon and pineapple

31. Favorite Flower? peonies

32. Favorite ice cream? Blue Bell anything!

33. Favorite fast food restaurant? Taco Bueno

34. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? none, not even the NC one! 

35. From whom did you get your last email? Ash

36. What was your favorite concert? Chris Tomlin or Steve Fee

37. Do anything spontaneous lately? sadly, no

38. Like your job? yes

39. Sweet or Salty? usually sweet

40. Kids? Not yet.

41. Last person you went out to dinner with? Marisa, Todd, Matt and Bryce

42. What are you listening to right now? The Cowboys game on TV

43. What is your favorite color car ? Navy

44. How many tattoos do you have? Zero

45. Favorite Holiday? Christmas

46. What time did you finish this quiz? 8:07pm

47. Coffee Drinker? Prefer Chai Tea Lattes

So there you go....all you ever wanted (or didn't want) to know about me! Feel free to copy and paste this onto your own blog...

Happy Birthday Ash!!!

At her wedding May 2009

Today another one of my friends turns the big 2-9...how did I get so lucky to have all these younger friends??? :) 

Ashley was my best friend in Charlotte for the past 4 years! We met the 2nd weekend I was there in a interesting way. I had no friends and no plans, so I decided to go on the High School Beach Trip with their group (I was the middle school girls leader at the time), so I ended up driving my car out to the beach, since I had to drive back to Charlotte for church on Sunday. There wasn't enough room in the vans for all the leaders, so one of them volunteered to ride with me the 5 hour drive to the beach. Her name was Ashley Cannaday...a girl my age from Wichita Falls, Tx who had just started working with the 9th grade girls! (Side Note - Ashley stayed with her girls all the way til their graduation which was this past May, they were my last graduating class at Forest Hill.) So, after 5 hours in the car together, we had become fast friends....I knew then, she was going to be someone I would want to become better friends, especially since she had the same love of Pat Green and his music that I did!!! 

Over the years, we got to go on a lot of trips together, especially after I started working with high school. We went on beach trips, a trip to the "hollers" of West Virginia, and Brazil with students. Not to mention all of our "friend trips" to Atlanta for concerts, Hilton Head, Columbia, SC for USC games, NYC for the US Open, and we are still planning our ski vacation together! 

Brazil 2008

US Open Trip to NYC 2008

In four years, we have been there for all the boy drama in each of our lives, as well as the good times...I was at the Halloween party where Ashley met John Trotter for the first time, as well as the birthday dinner where they first started talking! Getting to watch her fall in love with John and then get married to him was one of the best things about living in Charlotte!

She has been like a sister to me since I have known her and we always called our little group of friends (Texans living in NC) our Charlotte Family, and when I left, it did really feel like I was leaving a family! 

Ashley, I love you and am so thankful that God brought us into each other's lives during this season of our lives! Even though we live far apart now, I know our friendship will continue!!! 

Happy Birthday Ash!!! 

Ode to Sarah Ruth on the day after her birth!

This post is for my sweet friend Sarah whom I have known since sophomore year of high school when she came to Trinity and joined the Drill Team! We have had a whole lifetime of memories together since that time! Not sure if I even know how to write an ode, so i will just be creative with her name in honor of her job as a 1st grade teacher!

Sold out for Jesus Christ
Aunt to precious nieces and nephews - dresses up with them and is always talking about how cute they are and how much she loves them!
Really Compassionate - wanted to use this word, but she doesn't have a C in her name. From her students to little orphans in Africa, Sarah has a servant's heart for the least and the lost of this world.
Addicted to Sonic Happy Hour and Diet Coke with Vanilla
Happy - she can brighten anyone's day with her contagious laugh and jovial spirit!

Relentless - she goes after what she wants...this is a good thing!!
Unashamed - she doesn't embarrass easily and always loves to put on a costume show whether it is grandpa's jeans, boas or a full out Michael Jackson outfit!
Teacher of the year - she loves to teach 1st grade and is really good at it...i have witnessed it! :)
Hilarious - I find myself laughing hard whenever I am with Sarah! She won "Best Sense of Humor" as her senior superlative in High School and got robbed of the "Best Laugh" one!!!

Sarcastic - this is probably why we get along so well...
Mentored - Sarah has been mentored for years by some very Godly women as well as been a mentor herself in the lives of younger girls at church.
Inspiring - whether it is for a child learning to read or a friend who needs encouragement, Sarah can inspire greatness in so many different ways!
The most fun person to be around! We always have a good time together no matter if we are on a great trip or a trip to a ghetto Walmart...we always manage to make some sort of memory, whether we intend to or not!
Hopeful - She isnt content with the status quo and tends to look for ways to become better!

Happy 29th! Hope this is the best year yet for you! :)

Love,
Loreno

Life in Texas these days..

Well, you would think I would have time to update this with all the free time on my hands these days...but sometimes it is intimidating trying to be funny, witty or interesting when talking about the daily things of life. So instead, I'm going to just write about what has been going on the last few weeks...

Took a fun little trip to Port Aransas for our annual weekend with high school and college friends...it was a blast as usual! Here are some highlights...
the whole crew
the famous paddle ball game...note the "professional circle"
Ali and I
Brookie, Sarah and I
the yayas
there's always a dance party
at Sharkey's...these boys love to dance
the girls

ali, sarah and i with the infamous future actor, Andrew

So many memories are always made on these weekends and I am blessed to have such fun, creative and talented friends who know how to have a good time at the beach!!!

Since then, I have just been studying my Encyclopedia of Counseling preparing for my NCE exam which I will take in either September or October. I also started my part time gig at Frisco Bible Church and things are going well there. I will be teaching my group, Evolve (5th and 6th graders), for the first time this Sunday after we have a big Lake Party with all of student ministry on Saturday!

Some of my college friends and I threw a Baby shower for my sweet friend and college roommate, Jen and her soon to be son, Andrew Thomas at my parents house this past Saturday. It was fun to see all those girls again and know that I will be around when little Andrew makes his appearance in a couple weeks!!!
me and the mom-to-be Jen
The 2 Brookes
some of the girls
Jen and the hostesses...minus Allison
Marisa and my beautiful table creation
Kalli and Alyssa
The Aggie KDs
Jen opening gifts

All that to say, my schedule is filling up slowly but surely...it has caused me to slow down and be grateful for this time in my life where I do have some good moments of rest, longer conversations with friends, days with little to no agenda, freedom to be spontaneous and overall a time to trust God fully in this next chapter of my life without having all the answers upfront!

I hope you are encouraged by these verses,

Psalm 62:5-8 "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge."