There's No Place Like Home! (Unless Home is Louisiana)

So a lot has happened since my last post on this blog. I moved to Louisiana, lived there for a year, backpacked in Europe, and then moved to Idaho. So I guess I should start with living in Louisiana.

Look I don't want to offend anyone, but I've always been honest in my blog and I see no reason to stop now. So get ready for some harsh truths. Harsh truth #1: Louisiana sucks. Now I'm sure you are saying to yourself "oh, come on Lauren, there must be some nice things in Louisiana." And to that I say: "FALSE, Louisiana is a cesspool." In fact Louisiana is ranked as one of the most miserable states on usatoday.com. "Now hang on," you say to yourself, "what about the food? The food there is awesome!" My response to that is: "FALSE, crawfish look like mutated cockroaches. Why would anyone want to eat them?!" "Alright," you say, "but what about the weather? Isn't it green and lovely in Louisiana?" Again my response is: "FALSE, Louisiana in the summertime must be what it's like to live in a sweaty man's armpit!"

Now that isn't to say I won't miss anything about Louisiana. There is......there must be something. Give me a minute............................................O.k. got it. My nieces and nephews (maybe my sister and her husband?...I'll have to get back to you on that). I'll miss my amazing boss (Grace) and my wonderful job at the Blanchard branch of Shreve Memorial Library. And my great church family at the Life Journey Church in Bossier City. I will miss all of those things/people. But that is really it.

Anyway, I decided early on last year that I was finally going to travel to Europe. I blame my boss, she got to go to Ireland and France and it made me very jealous. So I went to England, Ireland, and Scotland for 5 weeks in October (2014 in case that wasn't clear). Saw A LOT of stuff, had a lot of fun. But I won't go into that here, I started a travel blog so check that out (it might be a few days before my first post is up though).

Moving on to what I did after coming back from my big Europe trip. I somehow thought it would be a good idea to pack up everything I own (in my Honda Element) and move up to Idaho. Why you ask? Still wondering about that myself. But my family is up here so we shall see. Hopefully I will get a job soon. So fingers crossed.

Now for another harsh truth. Harsh truth #2: driving through Texas is the worst. O.k. now you're probably wondering why I drove through Texas to get to Idaho. Admittedly it does sound ridiculous, but you haven't heard my reasons yet, have you? Sheesh, judgmental much? Anyway, the reason I drove through Texas was because I wanted to spend some time visiting friends in New Mexico before I headed up to Idaho. See? Not ridiculous at all. Back to my assertion about Texas. Texas is huge. And sooooo boring to drive through. A good half of the state is just long stretches of dirt fields. It sucks. On the plus side I did get to stay with a great couple in Abilene (Spencer and Kathy). They were great and I hope I get a chance to see them again soon. But yeah, did not enjoy Texas. I actually cried with joy when I crossed the border into New Mexico. Now I'm not saying New Mexico is the most beautiful state in the U.S. or anything, but it is so much better than Texas! It's not even a  competition.

Anyway I stayed in New Mexico for over a week. I stayed with one of my best friends (whose name I won't mention in order to respect her privacy...it's Sarah by the way). As I was saying I was in New Mexico to visit friends. I got to help my friend get ready to move, by having a garage sale. That was fun (note the sarcasm). No, it really was nice to feel like I was helpful to my friend. And we had a great time sitting around every evening watching Starsky and Hutch (the original T.V. series not the dumb Ben Stiller movie). Yes we like 70's buddy cop shows, you got a problem with that? I also got a chance to visit my old library and see all of my old co-workers. It was really nice to see everyone again! It was especially fun getting to hang out with Tracee and discuss soap operas for hours! I also got to visit with some old family friends (the Woffards) and that was really great. So all in all, I had a really good time visiting my old state (which doesn't seem so bad now that I've lived in Louisiana!).

So yeah, after I left New Mexico I drove to Idaho. That was fun (again note the sarcasm). Yeah, it might not have been the best idea to drive over 2000 miles (from Louisiana to New Mexico to Idaho) while having my car packed so full that I couldn't see out my rearview mirror (or out of my rear window at all).  Fun side note: not the first time I've done that (drove from New Mexico to Tennessee, could barely see anything!)! Also probably not the best idea to drive all that way while also still suffering from a little jet lag from my Europe trip. Yeah, it was cold and I almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere more than once, but (spoiler alert!) I didn't die! Indisputable proof that there is a God and he looks out for me! Because seriously I should be dead, like several times over! Every time I had to change lanes, pass a car, or have to back up, I would say a prayer (true story!)!

But yeah, made it to Idaho alive! So far it's been o.k. Idaho is pretty, and cold. I've seen snow, so that's exciting! Nice people here! In fact if I hadn't just gotten back from Ireland and Scotland, I would have thought the people of Idaho were the nicest people ever! Seriously though, the people working at the DMV here in Idaho were insanely nice! DMV employees for crying out loud!!

Well that's pretty much it. Looking for a job, trying not to go insane (I'm staying with my family at the moment). And that's what's going on in my life. Hopefully the start of a great new chapter. Although what could be as bad as living in Louisiana? Am I right?! Sorry Holly and Chris.