THIS HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH!

 

I am still just REELING over the fact that one of my dreams has come true.

 

Last Thursday I went to see A Christmas Story on Broadway because my fabulous friend Nick Gaswirth was making his Broadway debut! 

 

The show was adorable and wonderful and they had REAL BLOODHOUNDS for the Bumpus hounds!  I mean, honestly, you won me over right there. 

 

But then, after the show, the most amazing thing happened.  I met my TV Dad. 

 

My TV dad, you say?  What the heck am I talking about?

 

Ok, so here's my Dad:

 

 

And here's my TV Dad:



 

That, my friends, is Dan Lauria.  You may recognize him from a certain late 80's/early 90's television show called THE WONDER YEARS.

 

I have loved this man ever since I first saw him on TV because he has always reminded me of my father.  In later years, I have had this feeling confirmed by multiple boyfriends telling me "Your dad looks like the dad from The Wonder Years." 

 

I know.  I know he does.  That's why I cry anytime his character on TV (or in movies) goes through anything more difficult than a papercut.  He is my dad, just on TV.

 

You're judging me now, aren't you?

 

Whatever.

 

Anyway, I posted the picture of Dan Lauria to my facebook the next day because I was so darn excited (excited enough to write this whole blog post about it...which is turning out to be longer than most posts I write...what does that tell you?) - and I kid you not, multiple people thought it WAS my dad in the photo.  (read my comment and you would've realized that wasn't the case, but that's fine.)

 

No, it's not like they were twins separated at birth, but my gosh, my dad couldn't have a better celebrity doppleganger.  And I got to meet him.  And he was SO NICE.  And I'm still really excited about it.

 

So, there you have it.  That happened.  And I can cross that magical dream of mine off my list.  Because...it SERIOUSLY HAPPENED.

 

Ok, I'm done now. 

 

Just don't forget that it happened, ok?  Cause it did.  It really did.



Grateful.

Y'all.  Less than a month until my birthday.  Let's just start with that. 

So, I said I would actually blog something of substance soon....I guess it's that time.

This week is Thanksgiving.  Can you believe that?  We are already there....shocking how quickly this year has gone by.

I have so much to be grateful for.  I really do.  My life is not at all where I thought it would be...I've had so many ideas of where I would be around this age...I am not really anywhere near any of them.  But things are still ok.  And because I feel so lucky that even if life isn't what I expected, it's still pretty fabulous...I would like to give thanks.  Here.  On my blog.  For the things I am so very grateful for:

I have amazing friends and family.  You all mean the world to me.  Like...you are seriously good people.  Seriously, seriously good.

I have the sweetest little dog on the face of the earth - and another little doggie up in Doggie Heaven watching over me.  (boy, do I miss him.)  I have the privilege of taking this sweet little pup to work with me basically anytime I want.  And she is so freaking well-behaved, I don't know how I got so fortunate.

I live in an adorable little studio in the best neighborhood in New York City.  I'm minutes from my absolute favorite spin classes.  There are about a bajillion amazing restaurants within walking distance.  The parks, the parks, the parks.  And...the streets themselves...are just adorable. 

I'm so darn grateful for SoulCycle - I wish I could afford to do it every single day.  It makes me happy.  And really, what exercise ACTUALLY does that?  Like legit you want to do it all the time?  I'm sorry, but nothing.  Nothing else is like that.

Ok, maybe dance sometimes. 

But truly, for me, nothing else kicks my butt and makes me smile at the same time like SoulCycle does.

I am grateful for my body.  I'm grateful that it lets me run and cycle and dance and stretch and sing and skip and laugh and oh-so-much-more every single day.  I'm grateful it lets me train for the half marathon I will run in February.  I'm grateful for its ability to adapt. 

I'm grateful for heytell.  Cause it's freaking hilarious.  Please, friends, connect with me on heytell.  It makes my day to be able to send stupid messages to people so quickly.

I'm grateful for vacations.  For the ones I've gone on this year and the ones coming up.

I'm grateful for the chocolate chip scones at the Lincoln Square Farmers Market.  And suncrisp apples.

I'm grateful my coworkers like my baking.

I'm grateful for Brandy, who does my hair, for literally letting me walk in EVERY time and say "I don't know what I want to do, I just want to change it" and she does her magic and I always love it.

I'm grateful for the Steelers for giving me something to cheer about and believe in.  Though you made me a little sad last night.  But regardless, nobody else gets me to yell at my TV like you do, my little bumblebees.

I'm grateful for Spotify.  For letting me listen to all the Christmas music I want.  I'm grateful to the Feinberg (and Feinberg-Rowe) children for introducing me to Spotify. 

I'm grateful for L.A. Burdick having a location in New York City.  Holy crap. 

I'm grateful for Christmas decorations - and for my ability to convince myself that it's all actually there to celebrate my birth instead of Jesus.

I'm grateful for people at work who make me laugh.  I'm grateful for an assistant who knows what he's doing.

I'm grateful for manicures and pedicures.  They make me feel instantly prettier.

I'm grateful for New Yorkers and their amazing bravery and resilience in the face of disaster.  And for caring for others when times get rough.  It amazes me how strangers can quickly become friends in the face of a crisis.

I'm grateful for snow.  And sunshine.  And crisp autumn air. 

That is just a sampling of what I am grateful for this year.  There is so much more that I'm sure I could add to this list, but you probably want to stop reading now, right?

Oh, did I mention that I'm grateful for you reading my blog?  And humoring me and my crazy thoughts?  Yeah, I'm totes grateful for that.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

Words of Wisdom from Dick Van Dyke:

"I am a people person. My life has been a magnificent indulgence. I've been able to do what I love and share it. Who would want to quit? I suppose that I never completely gave up my childhood idea of being a minister. Only the medium and the message have changed. I have still endeavored to touch people's souls, to raise their spirits and put smiles on their faces."

-From his Memoir "DICK VAN DYKE: My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business"

I just love the way he describes being an actor. It really cuts to the core of why I love theatre.

Just wanted to share. :)

PS: Looking for a good book to read? Read his memoir. So entertaining and inspiring. He really has lived a lucky life. And it made me fall in love with Bert the Chimney Sweep all over again.

Starbucks Update

I'm fairly certain I am now getting special treatment at my Starbucks. :)

I order. I go over and stand in the little waiting area. Starbucks Guy says hello, asks how I'm doing. We chat briefly. Then, it happens:

"What are you waiting on?"

I tell him my order.

Probably less than 60 seconds later, my order appears.

...And the people who had been waiting for 3 or 4 minutes look at me like "...who the heck are you?"

I smile and walk out of there feeling like a rock star. A starbucks rock star.

Don't judge me. I'm just that awesome.

GOOD WEEKEND RUNNING YAY!

OMG. I amaze myself. :)

Ok, so, busy weekend. Lots of errand running and things. And I was like "ok, Lauren...you basically stunk on your 2.3 run the other day...you MUST run 2.5 on Saturday." So I went out in the gloomy weather and started jogging. And I was like "hey...how about I just keep running til I'm actually tired instead of stopping as soon as I reach my goal? I wonder how far I can push...like 2.6 or 2.7?" So...I ran. And I ran. And then I looked at my iPhone (which tracks my running...thank you iMapMyRun!) and it said 2.98!!!!!!! And I was like WELL HOLY COW! So I figured, "Well I'm close enough to my 3.1, I may as well just do it!"

So I did. 3.13 miles on Saturday. Granted, it took me 39 minutes....but I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!

I even took a picture to celebrate:

Please excuse my yuckiness. Did I mention that it started POURING about 2 miles into my run? Yeah. I was soaked. But too happy to care. Also, if you can't tell...I run right by the GW Bridge.

So to make life even MORE awesome...I ran on Sunday as well and I decided to push myself just a little farther and see how I could do. I ran 3.45 miles in 40 minutes! My 3.13 was in 36.23! Now, I can't just take credit for shaving like 3 minutes off my time...because the first like 5 minutes of the run is all downhill...and I think that helps. Haha. But I'm super excited because I still have like 11 days until my race and I'm running farther than 5K! Which was my goal! YIPPEE I DID IT!

OK- All done talking about running.

Um, seriously, had to share. How cute is this?

Scouter (Scout...but I always call her Scouter!) passed out in my arms. This was post run, I think...On Saturday. I was just hanging out watching TV and she came up to snuggle. I have the best dogs ever.

I also have the best visiting teachers ever!! (ERIN DON'T LEAVE ME!!) They brought me the most BEAUTIFUL flowers on Saturday. Seriously...how gorgeous are these?!

And they STILL look that nice. What a lucky gal I am.

More to talk about but I need to get back to work!

LOVIES!