hello work.

i work at a daycare center with 2-year-olds.

the other day i was playing an instrument and making up a song with the last two kids waiting to be picked up. in my dandy little song i made up, i sung, "i love camp!" i then turned to the kids and asked them what they loved? without hesitation the little girl turned to me and replied, "Jesus!"

no, this is not a christian camp.

yes, my heart just about melted. 

L

hello beauty.

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule. 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.. 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100. This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: *In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? *Do we stop to appreciate it? *Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made. How many other things are we missing?

hello things.

so monday nights in east cobb have turned into monday night, dessert and game night. epic right?

the other week i conned my friends into the idea i had of getting everyone together every monday night during the summer and playing a game and eating dessert. when first pitching this idea to them all, most laughed, called me a mom, and quickly changed the subject. but i insisted on how it would be oh so much fun and to just give it a chance. so we had our first monday night and we all gathered to play the game things and i made pazookie. we all had a jolly time and by the end of the night our stomachs were stuffed and sore from all the laughing. 

this last monday night i brought chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches, fruit kabobs, and orange jello slices (which my friend shay changed to joranges.. and then lauranges). i'll post the recipe to joranges later for anyone interested. the others are kind of self explanatory. 

the game things is quite hilarious. i won't go into detail about how it works, but if you haven't played, you should.

things you shouldn't do in a black out

things you shouldn't dream about

things you would do if you were a giant

things you shouldn't do on a bus

things you would do if you were a dictator

things you shouldn't laugh at

david's jokes. 

my friends are great.

L

hello employment.

i'm employed! 

finally!

time to make some bank

$$$$$$

hello red velvet strawberry shortcake.

try saying that 10 times, fast. 

so lately i've been baking a lot more. i find it fun. but mostly i make things that are completely unhealthy and delicious for ya. which is really the only way to go right? well, for mothers day my mom said she wanted strawberry shortcake, so i decided to look up a cool recipe to go a little out of the box with it. this is what i came up with

and with my new found desire to bake, i decided i'd share the recipes for anyone one here wanting to give it a try. i got this recipe from i am baker. which is a great blog with lots of great desserts.

red velvet strawberry shortcake

need: 

1 package of white cake mix

1 package of red velvet cake mix

2 tubs of whipped cream 

1 carton of strawberries

directions:

make each cake mix separately, according to the directions on the box. then, pour cake mix into 9 inch round pans. (4 different pans) bake according to time on packaging. while cakes are baking, slice up strawberries. 

once cakes finish baking, take out and cool for 20 mins. then put in freezer to cool for another 15 mins (this makes it easier to handle). 

place first layer of red velvet onto a plate, spread whipped cream on top, then sprinkle sliced strawberries across. next, place layer of white cake on top and repeat steps. 

whhhaaala. its really easy and yummy. enjoy!

hello above and beyond.

so i'm slightly obsessed with the sky. it is my favorite thing to take pictures of. i find it incredibly amazing sometimes how beautiful it is. nature in general is the definition of beauty. every sunrise and sunset, it's just another gift god gives us. 

did i mention how much i love the sky?

hello literature.

"he is living proof you can find contentment outside the accumulation of things. the closest i've come to this sort of thinking as pondering the writings of henry thoreau. but i went to walden pond a year ago, just to see and feel the place, just to walk alone around the water, and they've made a suburb out of it. it hurts to hear the traffic rolling in through the trees. people commute from the land of thoreau's solitude to boston, to work at banks, to work at law firms. and i wonder if walden exists anymore. i am not talking about the real walden, the one in boston; i am talking about the earth god meant to speak before we finished his sentence." 

-donald miller from through painted deserts

hello matt & kim.

thanks for a great night.

hello favorite quote.

"i believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. 

that myth is more potent than history. 

that dreams are more powerful than facts. 

that hope always triumphs over experience. 

that laughter is the only cure for grief. 

and i believe that love is stronger than death."

-robert fulghum

hello jules.

this is jules mccools.

she is purrty.
but she moved to florida.

which is far.

and i miss her purrty face.

and i think i need to take a road trip to go see her and her purrty face.

real soon.

hello guhhtar.

hurray.

hoopla.

and a whoop-de-doo for me.

i can play the guitar.

and i luhhhve it. 

i'm so happy i actually stuck with it this time and fought through the pain and frustration. because it is something that i find so relaxing now. when i'm stressed, mad, sad, i just pick up the guitar and quickly it's so much better. 

now, by no means will i be the next great with my own single. and i know i'm not a pro, but i'm 

perfectly okay with that.

i've written my first song and i'm halfway done with my second and i am just looovin it all.

maybe one day i'll post a song onto here.

but probably not.

so don't hold your breath. 

eek. eek.

meep. meep.

hope everyone is having a splendid thursday.

too bad j.shore isn't on right now so i can't say jersday thursday. mm..sad.

p.s. i uploaded new music. i know it's annoying that it doesn't play automagically. so scroll over and click play if ya wanna hear some of my favorite songs.

L

hello a difference.

quick update.

i successfully finished my first year of college in hawaii. learned a lot. not so much in school, but rather life, myself, and the important stuff. 

now i'm back is cozy georgia for the summer and as much as i missed hawaii when i left, i've gotten very accustomed to and loving every second of my queen sized bed, air conditioned home, and home made meals from my lovely mom whom i might add does the grocery shopping. talk about the life. 

lately i've been wanting to write again and so you'll probably see a lot more blogging from me. having more time to yourself makes ya think. and i've been thinking a lot about what i want to do with my life. 

*warning: ranting of my thoughts*

i know i probably think about it too much. one day i feel like i'm still a kid and i need to soak it in. other days i feel so freaking old and that i'm behind on doing great things. 

at this moment though i'm struggling to figure out exactly what i want to do. yeah i have passions. but not just one passion. i look at my friends. 

one is majoring in sport and entertainment management. he's works in two college athletic departments. he's worked for espn. the sec championship. and all major sec games whether on the field at a football game, or in the pressbox at the baseball stadium. he's already got so many connections and doing so many great things.

one is majoring in music. she's flying around auditioning for schools. she spends evenings working with her vocal teacher (the same one as drake's i might add). she's spends late nights in the studio recording. she's already got a song that is currently in my itunes library. she's on her way to making her dreams come true.

one has created a national holiday, celebrate positive. 

one has created amazing youtube videos that touch millions of people.

one is on her way to becoming a fashion designer in new york and is interning for ralph lauren.

one is playing baseball at an major sec school.

one is a contestant on so you think you can dance.

some of these people are my best of friends. others just friends. others i've only talked to once. but these are the people around me. all doing amazing things.

i want to do something amazing. i want to change someones life for the better. i want to do something to help the world. i feel like i'm not doing any of that right now and it's really bugging me.

i want to paint something pretty to hang in the hospital rooms of sick patients in need of some hope.

i want to take pictures of all sorts of people. i want people to look at those pictures and smile at those memories forever.

i want to design and sew clothes that bring confidence to the person wearing them.

i want to write a book that leaves a person so enchanted that they can't wait to turn the page.

i want to build a dog shelter called Tucker's so that dogs can have a place to be loved and adopted instead of sent to the pound.

i want to sing my own songs with words that relate, connect, and move someone.

i want to plan and assemble events for the american cancer society and relay for life to raise money for cancer research. 

i want to make a difference. 

there's just so much i want to do that i'm having a hard time focusing all my efforts into just one of them. so right now i kind of feel stuck and behind. 

i want to do something.

L

hello stranger.

ohh hello friends, it's been quite awhile. and i have been quite horrible at blogging. my apologies. 

well i know i left you all on that anticipation of knowing what i got on my final and if it was worthy enough of the testing center computers approval... i know you guys were just dying to know.

well.. i studied for hours on end. i felt ready. i took it. felt like i did good. turned it in. 

then i painfully awaited outside searching for my ID number to see what i got and if i had the wonderful words of encouragement next to my score. 

found my ID number.

i got a 90%.

i got an A.

and apparentlyyyy an A isn't good enough. but rather you have to get a 91 or higher to get a 

congratulations!

fantastic!

great job!

freaking. pissed.

my poor roommates didn't hear the end of my ranting and yelling about how corrupt the testing center computer is. i wasn't even happy that i got an A or that i passed my final because i was so caught up on the fact that i didn't get congratulated by the stupid testing center. 

proud to report to you all that 2 months later, i think i've calmed down about it all... well, some what.

L 

hello easter.

so i've been a horrible blogger lately, yes i know.

lot's of stuff has happened.

ill blog about it later.

yada yada yada.

happy easter.

hope you all find this as funny as i did.

L

hello testing center.

as i'm sitting here in the library, trying to study for my final exams, i cannot stop thinking about how much i am dreading going to the testing center tonight...

here at byuh we have a testing center. teachers submit their tests to this place and then the students can go into the center anytime during the day and take it. sometimes teachers give you a span of three days, so you just have to go sometime before it closes. well, outside of the testing center there is a computer screen that displays your scantron grade immediately after you take your test. it shows all the students' ID numbers, then their grade, and then... if you are ever so lucky and you score an A... it will say on the side something along the lines of:

great job!

fantastic!

awesome!

now when you're standing outside looking at this tiny screen with strangers passing by you, and you see that glorified statement that you did fantastic on your test, that's just gotta make you feel like a million bucks that even the computer congratulated you! 

now, unfortunately i have never received an A on any of the tests i've taken in the testing center... sad day. 

and so badly do i want to walk outside and have that feeling of accomplishment that i did a great job. but tonight is my last shot. my other finals aren't being held in the testing center so this is the last chance i have before next year to gain that feeling of accomplishment. really though, why can't i get a "good effort!" if i get a B? or a "better luck next time!" when it's a C? i'd even settle for an "at least you tried your best!" for the commonly received D's and F's i got in my stats class last semester. but nope. you either get an A and are fan-flippin-tastic, or you don't get an A and you're nothing...

yes. i know where my priorities are. i care more about the computers sense of approval than mine own. 

it's cool. 

wish me luck friends. 

hello TOMs.

april 5th, 2011 

one day without shoes.

personally, i love TOMs and the company they've created. i heard about TOMs back when i was in middle school and i really loved what they were trying to do.

short and simple, for every pair of shoes you buy, TOMs will donate a pair to a child in need. 

and once a year they host one day without shoes to spread awareness to others. so today i joined in TOMs movement and hit it up barefoot. i was pleased to see other people around campus walking around barefoot as well. 

*my TOMs were designed and painted by the lovely brittany jana prince

short and simple i love companies that find something they're passionate about and make it into something others can be passionate about as well. i'm really tempted to apply to be an intern for TOMs but i need to look more into it first. 

for me, i'm really passionate about the american cancer society and relay for life. i remember how awesome i felt after putting on miss panache last year and raising so much money purely off of peoples donations. i was able to share a glimpse of my passion to others and the fact that it was able to spark the passion of someone else is the most gratifying thing ever. 

find something you're passionate about and pursue it. 

L

hello lessons learned.

with my first year of college coming to an end, it makes me reflect and think about just how much has changed during this year. 

some were changes for the worse, while others were changes for the best. either way, along the way of this crazy year i've learned a few valuable lesson's that i figured i would share with you all.

one. 

i think it's funny how i felt like every day in high school i was given a lesson by some teacher or administrator about how they were preparing us for college and life, and how if we couldn't handle whatever concept they were trying to explain to us then, then there was no way we would handle college. 

well for all those still in high school, let me tell ya something...

high school didn't prepare me for college ONE bit. 

i'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing. 

high school is high school. 

college is college. 

so i'm sorry ms. tonkin that i couldn't analyze gilgamesh in the way you wanted during senior year. but let's be real teach, i'm not failing at college or life because of it...

two. 

i knew that college would test friendships. it would bring new ones and would destroy old ones. growing up in the south i never realized the term 'southern hospitality' until i left. people are definitely nicer in the south. i had to face the harsh lesson that people aren't always going to treat you with the same kindness and respect that you give them. and that's just how it is. looking back, i'm glad i learned that lesson though. 

people are different. people are raised different. people act different. 

so when you find those kind-hearted friends, hold onto them. everyone else is just another stress.

when you go to college you will learn really fast who your true friends are. you will realize who cares the most about you. i live 5000 miles across the world. there's a 6 hour time difference. and i've been away in total for 6 months. yet, i still feel as close to the majority of my friends as i did the day i left. true friends don't let go. 

three. 

finally, i've learned about discovering new things. discovering what makes me the happiest. discovering what i truly love. discovering more about myself. but most importantly, discovering that there's no need to define who i am. 

i'm happy being lauren bergaust. i'm happiest when i'm with my family and friends. i smile the biggest when i see someone i love or when a dog is nearby. if i care about you, i'll do anything for you. sometimes i like to dress like a preppy east cobb girl. other times i like to dress like a hawaiian surfer girl. i like the music i like. i like taking pictures. i like spending time alone. i like spending time with others. i like nice people. i like being nice to others. i like being passionate about the things that are passionate to me. i like life. 

i'll leave this post in the words of asher roth, 

i love college. 

L

hello board of length.

woot, woot.

i can check another thing off my list because today i learned how to long board for the first time.

yes, i know that to all these locals and west coasters this seems ridiculous that i've never long boarded before. but sorry to break it to ya, it's just not something people really do in georgia let alone the east coast.

but i've discovered that i love it.

maybe it's because i didn't wipe out [which was expected by all my friends...and myself...] so now i'm all about it?

or maybe i just love the feeling of gliding?

or maybe i just think it's pretty freaking sweet?

yup.. pretty sure it's the last one. or a combo of all three. 

either way i'm stoked and i really want to get one and get good at it. 

check out devin's video 

L

hello music.

so two of my roommates play guitar and it's one of the most wonderful things in the world. 

it reminds me of when i was younger and listening to my brother always playing the guitar around our house. 

i took one attempt over the summer to learn guitar while my brother was home.

i failed miserably. 

but with more determination than last, i've decided to try again with the help of my roommates. 

i'll keep you guys posted on how it goes. so far i've discovered a few things:

*the tips of my fingers are killing me

*i cannot understand how your fingers are supposed to reach and stay in certain positions

*playing the guitar and playing the guitar while singing are two very different things


wish me luck

L

hello holidaze.

reason number 116 why i love hawaii...

hawaiian holiday's.

march 25th: Prince Kuhio Day.

aka no school.

suuuhhhweeeet.