I got a feeling (wooo ooooo)!

*Disclaimer: I apologize for the picture quality in this post....all I had was my cell phone camera.

Tonight, Sam and I went to the Diamond Wireless Christmas party for Sam's work.  Our good friends Kory and Torrey were going to be there and there was going to be free food, so we were excited.  When we got to the country club, we noticed the large table full of prizes for the raffle drawing.  There were gift cards, movies, and headphones, but they also had some crazy items like a 32" TV, a camera, an ipod, a wii, and a bluray player.  I stared at the prizes and thought, "I've got a feeling Sam and I are going to go home with something tonight....."  Then I ignored myself and went with Torrey to choose a table.

We started with dinner which was AMAZING!!! Super delicious spaghetti and chicken with tasty salad and rolls.  Mmmmmm....so good!  Anyway, the theme they had going for the night was "casino," so they had blackjack tables everywhere.  We were each given a ticket when we came in that was worth $1000 in chips (NOT in cash, mind you, otherwise I would have $1000 in my pocket right now).  For every $100, we got one raffle ticket.  The idea was to gamble away your ticket and make as much as you could for the raffle.  At first, we were just going to stick with the tickets we got because the chances were ridiculous anyway, but Sam and Kory decided to play after watching for a while.  They ended up doubling their money in about 2 rounds, so I decided to join too.  Our dealer, John, was super funny and kept helping the people who were doing really bad.  He would do a bonus round every once in a while where he would purposely let all of us win so we could have a chance.  I started losing pretty bad, but about halfway through, everything changed.  Sam and Kory lost nearly everything, earning them their respective nicknames at our table: "Cocky" and "Guts."  Sam jokingly turned to me and said, "I'm sorry, Lauryn, but we're not having Christmas this year." Meanwhile, I was sitting quietly in my corner, biding my time and betting wisely.  All of a sudden, I started doing AMAZING.  In a stroke of genius, John dubbed me "The Silent Assassin" as I climbed to the top and won the most out of everyone at our table.  They announced a change in the rules because everyone was doing a lot better than they had planned, so it ended up you would get one raffle ticket for every $500.  As it turned out, I finished with about 64 raffle tickets which I entered proudly (I got a feeling....wooo ooooo).

Yes, I had a lot, but in comparison to some of the other people's winnings, it was a very VERY meager amount.  We waited for the raffle to begin.  They announced that the first person to be drawn would get first pick of the prizes and so on.  Everyone knew the TV would be the first to go.  Sam and I have wanted a new TV for a while because this is the beauty we have right now:

Gorgeous, isn't it?  Well, we did get it for free off of KSL, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining.  A crap TV was better than no TV at all.  Anyways, I had all of the tickets between 815270 and 815333.  The raffle started and the first number started out "8......1...."  I sat back and glanced at my tickets wondering what the chances were of me actually winning. "....5...."  My heart started pounding a little and I started to get my hopes up, something I had been trying not to do all night because I didn't want to be disappointed.  ".....2....." I frantically searched my tickets and realized that this really might be happening (I got a feeling....).  "....9...."  AH!  I'm so close!! If only two more numbers match up, then.....wait a minute....don't I have ALL of the 290's.....?  Holy crap....I DO!!!  Could it be????  Doesn't that mean.....?????  "....5."  Oh hey.....this is the winning ticket.....WHAT?????????????  I ACTUALLY WON!?!?!????!?!???  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

After a slight panic attack, I shot my hand in the air and yelled, "That's me!!! I've got it!!!"  I took my ticket up to the front, staring at the TV on the table the entire way.  My hands started shaking as I handed it over.  I held my breath until....."We have a winner!!!" 

"I got a feeling! (Wooooo oooooo!!) That tonight's gonna be a good night!" Sam, Kory, and Torrey were cheering for me and, like an idiot, I couldn't stop smiling a ridiculously stupid grin.  My sweet husband came to the front to claim our prize.

Yes....it was real.  I won something!!! ME!!!  Lauryn "The Silent Assassin" Doria!  :D All in all, a GREAT night!  When we got home, we proceeded to quickly set it up.  We stared in awe at it's glossy appearance and clear screen in all of its 32-inch glory.  (And yes, I realize that a 32" screen doesn't seem like much, but compared to our old hunk of junk, it is an INCREDIBLE difference!)  I'm so excited to watch all of my Netflix obsessions on this thing (currently, I'm addicted to Monk).  Raffle tickets for the win!!

We had so much fun at the party with our friends!  It was a fabulous night and we are very happy that we ended up going (and not just because of our winnings, although that definitely had something to do with it).  Here's to next year's Christmas celebration!  

Oh....and on a completely unrelated note, we're giving away a large, heavy metal box with terrible audio quality and a fuzzy screen.  We used to call it a TV.  Feel free to call or email me if you're interested.  Thank you.

What is this magic?

So, I've decided to give in and start a blog.  I don't take pictures too often and I occasionally use run-on sentences, but I figure if I don't start now I'll just have to start later.  I'm really not sure what to write, so you can expect this blog to be full of really random thoughts and plenty of youtube links.  Also, be fully aware that there will likely be at least one Harry Potter reference in each post as well as some spelling errors. So, here we go!
  
My name is Lauryn and this picture basically sums me up:

I am currently 20 years old and married to the love of my life, Samuel Doria.  We're currently living in Salt Lake City in our cramped one-bedroom apartment and loving it!  Sam is studying computer science and I've decided to take a year off of school to work and build up some money for tuition next fall.  It's been nice to have a break, but my job keeps me really busy, so it doesn't really feel like a break at all.  I work at Barnes & Noble and it's pretty much a blast!  I love being around books and working with the great people there.  I even just got a promotion, so I'm making the big bucks now! HELLOOooooooooooo $8.25 hourly! Woot woot!  Sam is working two jobs as well, so he's basically my hero.  He works at Gamestop on the weekends and at Verizon during the week.  I've never wanted a smart phone before, but now that he has one for his job, it's difficult to stop playing with it.  PLUS it's an HTC, so when it's raining outside, it flippin' rains on his phone! Love that weather app. :)

This is me and my wonderful husband Sam on our wedding day (like you didn't know....the dress isn't a dead giveaway or anything....).  We were married in the Logan temple on May 4, 2010.  It was a crazy day, but definitely one of the best of my life.  I thought I loved him then, but I am so much more in love with him now after a year and a half than I was on our wedding day.  He is my everything and I don't know how I ever lived without him. :)  So in all truth and honesty, TODAY is the best day of my life because I am with Sam and loving him more each second! 

Sam and I both enjoy playing games together, watching movies, going on walks, and visiting with friends.  He has opened new worlds to me and I must admit to you all that I have indeed played World of Warcraft and that I have referred to it as "WOW."  I also enjoy playing League of Legends, Starcraft, ANY of the Zelda games (though that comes from my childhood), Roller Coaster Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon, Warcraft III, Super Mario Galaxy, and Diddy Kong Racing (shout-out to my good friend, Stephanie).  

I play the violin, but not nearly as much as I should.  I think my stake is trying to get a combined orchestra together though, so I may just have to try that out to keep my fingers in shape.  I love to draw and paint and I'm actually pretty good at it.  I've won a few awards with my pieces and I'm eager to continue developing my talents.  I don't have any pictures of my work at the moment, but I'll post some later.  I've been thinking of majoring in art, but I'm not sure what I would do with an art degree.  I thought about teaching for a while, but I don't know if that's really for me.  I have a lot of other interests, so I really just need to pick a good major and stick with it, but at least I have until next fall to decide.  I already have my Associates of Science degree, so really school from now on is just whatever I want it to be.  So that's my next big decision in life.


Well, now that you all know a little bit more about me, I'm not sure what else to do....I guess enjoy this comic? It's one of my favorites.

And yes, I have considered a degree in the scientific field as well. Maybe meteorology, so I guess this could potentially be my future....