May 2011 - Lauren Nygard Photography

Happy Memorial Day 2011

Posted May 30, 2011 In Personal

Last week, I spent an afternoon at Nauticus and aboard the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk. The battleship Wisconsin is one of the largest battleships that the U.S. Navy built and was first used during World War II. She was decommissioned in September 1991 after serving during Operation Desert Storm earlier that year, and has been berthed adjacent to Nauticus since 1998.

Happy Memorial Day! Please take a moment to remember the Marines, Airmen, Soldiers, and Sailors who sacrificed everything in the name of this wonderful country.

Today is also my birthday! Here’s the cake that my mom baked for me yesterday. We celebrated my birthday dinner a day early by grilling burgers and enjoying this cake with my mom’s delicious, homemade ice cream. Yum! Happy Birthday to ME! :)

Have a great week!

xoxo,

Lauren

Personal

Baby Elijah – FDR Memorial, Washington, DC

Posted May 25, 2011 In Families

Last Friday, I drove up to Washington, DC, to meet up with my friend Kenan and take some photos of her adorable 6-month-old son, Elijah. I met Kenan when I worked for an architecture firm in DC two years ago. She had contacted me several weeks ago, looking for a referral for a photographer to capture her son since I was in California. Luckily for me (and her!) I knew I was going to be out on this coast soon, and I set aside time to hang out with the two of them.

We met up at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which is on (what I thought was) the not-so-crowded side of the Tidal Basin. Here are some of my favorites from our morning together!

Oh man! Look at the look he’s giving the camera right here! Hello, heartbreaker!

Big thanks to Kenan for letting me capture her precious son! He was a total trooper! He only cried once during the entire shoot, and it was at the end. (He was tired and hungry… I was relating.)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

xoxo,

Lauren

Families

Norfolk Greek Festival 2011

Posted May 23, 2011 In Personal

Earlier this month, I stumbled upon the opportunity to check out the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral‘s Greek Festival here in Norfolk. Since I had never been to a Greek Fest before, all I knew was that I was probably going to be in for some delicious Greek food and good fun. I was right! Not only did I dine on scrumptious treats, I got to see an awesome performance from the award-winning Annunciation Dancers and enjoyed an evening of Greek bliss. :)

OPA! And have a great week! :)

xoxo,

Lauren

Personal

Diabetes Blog Week 2011 – Day 7

Posted May 15, 2011 In Diabetes, Personal

It’s now the last day of Diabetes Blog Week 2011! Wow! Today’s topic is all about what we’ve learned during the week. Here’s the description from Karen:

What we’ve learned – Sunday 5/15: Last year, Wendy of Candy Hearts made a suggestion for this year. She commented “I think Day 7 should be a post about stuff we’ve learned from other blogs or the experience of coming together online…” Today, let’s do just that!! What have you learned from other blogs – either this week or since finding the D-OC? What has your experience of blogging the DBlog Week topics with other participants been like? What has finding the D-OC done for you? If you’d like, you can even look ahead and tell us what you think the future holds!

I think what I learned was more about how awesome all the other D-OC (Diabetes Online Community) members are. Seriously, I was so surprised and happy to get all the loving comments from y’all. (Especially yesterday’s!) I consider myself more of a D-OC lurker than participant, so thank you for showing me some love! It means a lot. :)

And, I feel like I need to do something about being more of a participant and less of a lurker. Because, I mean, who doesn’t need more friends… especially friends who “get” you?

Plus, you guys are totally inspirational. And informative! But more inspirational, I think. :)

Ok, that’s it. I’m joining the D-OC party!

BIG BIG thanks again to Karen, the wonderful mastermind behind Diabetes Blog Week! This week was super awesome and it wouldn’t have happened without her. She ROCKS!

And thank you to all of you who stopped by to read my posts! I hope you were able to learn a little or at least laugh a little!

Now we’ll get back to our regularly scheduled programming… :)

xoxo,

Lauren

p.s. Read the rest of the “What I learned” posts here!

Diabetes, Personal

Diabetes Blog Week 2011 – Day 6

Posted May 14, 2011 In Diabetes, Personal

Welcome to Day 6 of Diabetes Blog Week 2011! Today we get to showcase pictures! Here are the details from Karen:

Saturday snapshots – Saturday 5/14: Today is the only day I’ve brought back a fun topic from last year. Inspired by the Diabetes 365 project, let’s snap a few more d-related pictures and share them again. Post as many or as few as you’d like. Be creative! Feel free to blog your thoughts on or explanations of your pictures. Or leave out the written words and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking. I should totally own this topic considering the purpose of this blog. But, to be honest, I kind of had trouble coming up with things to show. I guess being diabetic is so “normal” for me that I don’t find it interesting enough to photograph. Anyway, I’m sharing a few snapshots…

The first one is from my iPhone and a nifty app called Lo-Mob. See, on Wednesday, I really just wanted to work out as soon as I got done with work. BUT diabetes decided to stop me in my tracks by giving me a low bloodsugar. Bummer! I ate and waited and ate and waited and ate and waited some more until I finally got a bloodsugar that was high enough for a workout! See how excited I am??? :)

The next image is of my d-drawer. My d-drawer at home is larger and filled with more stuff. It’s actually one of those plastic set of drawers things. You know, like college kids keep in their dorm rooms. But, alas, I am traveling pretty light considering I’m in the middle of being out of town for about 2 months.

Here’s the inside of my fridge here. Note the insulin in the baggie in the door. It’s NOT in the butter compartment, its usual home, since the butter compartment has no door! Other things of note: veggies, diet ginger ale, Diet Coke, V8, white wine (it’s important!) and greek yogurt. What do YOU see? :)

Do you spot the d-accessories in my toiletries basket?

Next up: the gut I mentioned on Thursday. I’m pretty sure I’m going to regret posting this. The front view isn’t what bothers me (and looks pretty normal in this image). No guts, no glory, right?!? (I think I’m so funny!)

I love dresses with pockets! Not only are they super cute, but they’re practical too! Here’s one of my favorites. On the left, an overview of the dress. On the right, well, that’s one of the pockets, turned inside out to show you the whole I cut into it to feed my pump tubing through. See, when I wear a dress with pockets, I can easily put my pump in one of the pockets if I have a hole to feed the tubing through. It makes giving boluses SO much easier to do in public, since I don’t have to reach anywhere inappropriate to pull out my pump. Did I mention that I love dresses with pockets??

And, last but not least, the obligatory glucometer photo!

Thanks for tuning in! I hope everyone is having a great weekend! See y’all tomorrow for Day 7!

xoxo,

Lauren

Diabetes, Personal