I'm Back!

This is a big week...I finally got a new camera! My digital camera broke right around the time of my last post (March). I used a little birthday money for the purchase :-). Be expecting to see some new photos soon!

My birthday was last week. It was a lot of fun. I celebrated with Rhett, Mom, Melanie & my dear friend, Mrs. Carl. We had dinner and a champagne toast at one of my favorite Columbia restaurants, Addison's. It was so much fun!

Rhett also surprised me with an early birthday present...a weekend at the lake. It was relaxing, beautiful, and so much fun. Our condo had a great view of the water and we had perfect weather.

This weekend is Mizzou Homecoming. I'm excited to enjoy, rather than work! As usual, there will be many people in from out of town. It will be fun to reconnect. Rhett and I will host a tailgate. We did one earlier in the season and it worked well.

Other than that, I'm enjoying my new "job" as an adjunct professor at the MU School of Journalism and an instructor at the MU Dept. of Communication. I teach a news writing course and a studio production course. They're both a lot of fun. Along with that I'm a full-time student, taking 3 courses (Political Debates, Media Effects, and an Intro. Communication course). It's a lot of work, but a lot of fun.

Update...Finally

The Adventures of Rhett & Lauren in Chicago :-)

It's been three months since I posted anything. WOW! Since then, life has been busy as always, but so much fun!

In January, mom traveled with me to Florida for a work trip. I was attending the N. American Veterinary Conference and visited with MU Vet. Med. grads. We had a great time. It was a much needed getaway for us both! An added plus...we left the day before the terrible ice storm hit Missouri!

Also in January I started teaching for the first time. In addition to my full-time job, I teach a class at the MU School of Journalism. It's an intro to news writing class and so fun! I love teaching.

February was unfortunately bogged down with a week of a bad cold, then about 5 days later I got hit with a fever & the flu. Yuck! I rarely get sick, and this one was bad, so it kind of killed the whole month.

This past month I've been enjoying the bursts of spring, beautiful weather and warm temperatures. And, most importantly through each of these months, I've been blessed to spend them with my boyfriend, Rhett. Rhett and I have been friends for years and started dating in late Dec. Funny, my last post was around then too!

Rhett and I decided to take a "spring break" trip to Chicago and just got back yesterday. It really was the best vacation ever. We had such a great time seeing the sights, taking it easy, enjoying great food. It was a blast.

So, this is the latest. Hopefully more frequent updates will continue. Cheers!

Sunshine

It's been a BUSY time lately, hence no recent posts.

Let's see...I sold my house in December. That was a HUGE blessing! I was even able to do it on my own without a realtor. I moved on Dec. 10 and was fortunate to have a great friend ready for a roommate. My good friend Ara has welcomed me to her home, and now we have a full house! She has 2 dogs, Cricket & Oliver, and I have Russell. They all play and are still getting used to it, but it's going well. Her fenced in back yard gives Mr. Russell lots of room to move & play. The picture above is of Russell and Cricket catching some rays over the weekend. They are becoming good friends.

In addition to the move, I studied for the GRE, had to get through finals for the semester, took a trip to Chicago, and prepared for the holidays. It has been a whirlwind!!! Although there has been lots going on, all of these things are positive changes.

Allison and her husband's side of the family experienced great tragedy. Their little nephew, Mason Bradley Pfanner, passed away suddenly in his sleep last week. The little one was two months old and cute as a button. Needless to say, it has been a tough time on all of them, especially around the holidays. You can see his picture here .

Christmas was spent in Kansas City with Mom, Melanie and many others from Mom's side of the family. It was a good time full of "churchin' it up" (a term melanie and I refer to those days in which we attend more than one church service). I took so much time off in late Nov./early Dec. with all that was going on, so it was a quick trip to KC. I was back at work on Tuesday. It was a nice, quiet, productive day.

Now onward to 2007! What will the New Year bring? I'm excited to see. Happy New Year to all! I pray it will be full of smiles, laughter, and love.