Thirty, Flirty, & Thriving—and a goodbye of sorts!

 (Are you even a '90s girl if you don't make some reference to this line when describing your thirtieth birthday?)

I know my thirtieth birthday was quite some time ago, but that's just the way my life is these days. Blogging isn't quite in the forefront of preferred activities as it used to be...and with that introduction, an announcement:

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After much thought, pondering, and consideration, I have decided that this post will mark the end of my blogging adventures on Letters from Lauren. I created this little space on the internet back in 2008 when I started my Freshman year at BYU. This platform became the medium by which I could update friends, family, and interested parties back home about my "adventures and accomplishments" in Provo, UT. 

This blog also served as the place to canonize my experiences as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Texas Houston East Mission. The blog then followed me on my journey through law school at BYU and a masters program to match. 

I tried to keep the blogging alive when I graduated and came home and began my career as an Immigration Attorney, but my interests and lifestyle have changed. My preferred documentation method has turned in favor to the more personal form of very in-depth personal journaling. In short, it has become apparent that this blog has filled the measure of its creation. :)

To all those who have followed the course my life has taken over these last thirteen (!!!) years, it has been a complete joy to have you along for the ride!

I leave you a little bit wiser, a little bit older, and filled with hope for the journeys and adventures still in store for my life. 

I may not be publishing my adventures on the internet, but I am always down for some old-fashioned snail mail communication. 

Even though my time here on Letters from Lauren has come to an end, if we are friends in even the slightest sense of the word, or if our paths crossed in any way during these last thirteen years of my life, I hope that we can continue keeping in touch via other forms of communication. I can be reached via email at laurenmqflores@gmail.com :)))

TQM

- LF

^^For my thirtieth birthday, I decided I wanted to bake my own birthday cake. :)

^^Another little birthday project—I reached out to friends on fb and asked if any of them knew people who shared my birthday (Aug 8th), then with their permission, I mailed 8 of my birthday twins a little birthday package of sorts via snail mail. 

^^My team decorated my office at work, and my lovely coworkers showered me with thoughtful gifts. :)

There's four of us at work who have our birthdays in the first week of August. LEO SZN!

^^I made little birthday cake treat boxes for my coworkers. Putting these boxes together was a family affair—everyone at home helped pitch in. 

^^My Mom got the idea of giving me "30 things" for my thirtieth birthday. Not going to lie, the setup gave me major Dudley Dursley vibes from the Harry Potter books. 

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^^A close-up photo of my homemade cake-donut cake

^^Celebrated my actual birthday with a visit to Downtown Disney. Disneyland was closed at the time due to COVID-19, so a visit to Downtown Disney was the next best thing. 

^^The last of my birthday gifts. I'm a documenter, what can I say? through and through

Life in Quarantine pt. 1

 I'm not the best with blogging these days. My job keeps me fairly busy, and my mind is usually in full-on veg mode after having spent a full 10 hours on solving sometimes complex immigration issues for clients. When I first thought of blogging during Quarantine I mused, "I'll make a first half post and then a second half post." I don't know if that plan is quite going to work anymore because I'm not sure I'm the best judge of determining when we'll have reached that half-way point of the pandemic. 

My friend Nat sent me this twitter post (i think?) that said

me in march: hopefully we might be back to normal in 6 months

me now: might book a 2 week all inclusive in 2025 but don't wanna be unrealistic you know?

SO TRUE! Every time I think this virus is almost done raging on, another wave comes around with larger number of infections and cases. It's mental! I will say, I've been in a place of privilege throughout the whole virus in that really, the pandemic has brought lots of wins to my life. Although, maybe that's just my ability to see the hand of God in my life and recognize the blessings of it all? 

At the start of the Stay at Home orders (April 11th to be exact) I wrote the following list of blessings I had seen in my life so far because of the pandemic. 

COVID-19 Blessings ♥ 

1. Less traffic! My commute time to work is 20 min. tops
2. (this is so bad) I don't have to attend the YSA ward (tbh, was already sort of counting down my days)
3. Student loan payments are deferred & interest rates are 0%, so I started putting more than half my paycheck to loan payments so I can really hit that principal balance hard. 
4. Disney stopped their annual pass payments, so the money I was using to pay for me & my Mom's pass is going to the above. 
5. I qualified for the 1,200 refund advancement and again, used it all towards the payment of #3
6. [private]
7. I love quarantine because it makes me feel less guilty about my secret love of being a homebody. I love people, but I also really enjoy spending time by myself. I'm honestly an extroverted-introvert.
8. I've been able to concentrate on my 1/2 marathon training almost exclusively
9. My book reading has gone up significantly
10. No court! No USCIS interviews!
11. My transition into a new position at work was so smooth thanks to the pandemic. 
12. [private]
13. [private & sassy]

I think this list could do with a bit of updating, but I think I'll leave that for New Year's Eve—the perfect time for self-reflection in my *humble* opinion.  Until the next time. ✌️

^^The week the Stay at Home orders started, we were notified of the unexpected passing of one of my aunts in Utah. I had literally just spoken to her the month before, so a HUGE shock. Despite the bittersweet circumstances, it was still good to see some of my Flores cousins and their children

I already wasn't planning on going to General Conference in April because one of my best friends from high school was getting married. Both events ended up getting "cancelled," well, General Conference shifted to broadcast only, so my family ended up staying home and modified our conference traditions slightly. 

^^prophet pancakes

^^"priesthood session pizza"

^^Sunday session of General Conference

^^My mom & I have developed a COVID tradition. Every Saturday morning, we head to the park near our house, work out, and then immediately after, go to Target. It's become one of my favorite traditions

^^I LOVE putting together holiday treats for my coworkers, this year for Easter, I bough nail polish for all my coworkers and put the corresponding shade into plastic easter eggs.

^^Thanks to quarantine, I FINALLY finished this watercolor painting that I started when studying for the Utah bar exam. literally took me a year to finish this thing.

^^I also started another art project—note: it still looks like this months later. I have a bad habit of starting art projects and never finishing them. help. 

^^had to document these covid snapshots (L) LA traffic has never looked so clear, (R) Ezra and I standing outside of Panda express waiting to pick up our order

^^Vanessa came to visit me at work where we had a socially distant lunch together in our respective cars. You have to get creative these days

I attended a virtual birthday party in April for a former 97th ward friend. It was during this Zoom gathering that I got this *crazy* idea that maybe we should host a 97th ward virtual reunion. If you followed my blog at all during my grad school years, you'll know that this ward played such a crucial role in my life those last few years at BYU. Never was there a happier YSA ward I assure you. TBH, I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in joining in for a reunion, but the idea took off and everyone got SUPER stoked about it. It was so fun to reconnect with friends across the globe and the gathering felt like old times when we gathered for "ward prayer" in the Hampstead courtyard. ♥  

^^In June when the stay at home restrictions were slightly lifted I was able to take advantage of the window and get my hair cut, colored, and styled. I had had a hair appointment scheduled in May, but COVID canceled those plans, so I was super eager to get my hair cut by the time June rolled around. 

^^June also brought Misden's 30th birthday. Misden and I have been friends since we were Sophomore's in high school! Our gathering was tiny and small, but after months of not seeing my high school bffs, the birthday brunch at Misden's home was much appreciated.

You know I'm a birthday package making fan! Top was for my friend Andrea from my BYU years who celebrated her 30th birthday in June. Bottom was for my cousin Xoch's eldest daughter. My cousin and her family were supposed to come in July for a trip to Disneyland to celebrate her daughter's birthday. I know it must have been such a bummer for the family to miss out, so I tried to send some of the magic from a galaxy far, far, away via snail mail. 

Pre-COVID

 Ah, 2020. Do you remember how cool we thought it was that we were going to be alive to possibly relive the rolling '20s? This year started out great! I rang in the new year at the Long Beach Aquarium surrounded by my Quesada cousins who I hadn't seen in forever. There were trips planned: a visit to Portugal with my friend Natalie, and a family trip to Toronto to see where the Blue Jays play paired with a visit to upper-state New York to visit church history sites. Then, the second week in March hit, and the world effectively "shut down." We complied with stay at home orders and quarantined—no Disneyland, no Church services, no Immigration Courts, no weekends at the movies. 

I still remember my "lasts." Last movie I saw in theaters: Onward (which, for the record was super great, but I had actually planned to skip out on this one; however, when I saw the writing on the wall that movie theaters would be closing I thought, "I have to see one more film at a cinema!"). Last day I went to Disneyland: March 13th with my cousin Xochitl and her family (this also happened to be the last day Disneyland was open). Last Sunday at church: March 8th (I remember staying late and playing the piano for the ward choir as preparation for a musical number that would be taking place the following Sunday). Lots of lasts!

In many ways, I've been grateful for quarantine. About three months into the COVID-19 shutdowns I made a list of blessings I had received in many respects due to the pandemic. This post is a reminder that 2020 started out like any other year. This post is a snapshot of my life pre-COVID 19

^^I bought a Rosca de Reyes at a Northgate in Santa Ana to celebrate Día de Los Reyes Magos with my coworkers

Our family really loves the Disney after Dark events. We went to '80s night with my cousin Magos and her family earlier in the year. We also turned the outing into an unofficial birthday celebration for Devin at Cafe Orleans. 

^^Ezra and I planned matching TRON outfits for '80s night

^^(L) ran into my friend Carolina at a fireside for Spanish-speakers featuring Sis. Reyna I. Aburto of the Relief Society General Presidency (R) Neri & I eating the most expensive breakfast of our lives at Storyteller's Cafe at the Grand Californian hotel

^^The Valentines treats I gave out to my coworkers earlier this year. Cute little toy llamas--I had to!

^^Nat came to visit one weekend in February from the UK and had a gathering of friends

President's Day weekend my family decided in a very impromptu manner to go camping at Death Valley National Park. We're big Star Wars nerds, and so we were really excited by the prospect of seeing some of the filming locations for A New Hope. Ezra said I messed up though, because I hadn't downloaded Star Wars soundtracks for the trip. 

^^My homie Ian & I took pictures one Sunday when he wore the tie I had given him for his birthday in 2019. Coincidentally, this was the last Sunday we had in-person church

^^Jeniffer, one of my besties from high school, was supposed to get married in April. We celebrated her with a bridal shower a few weeks before the shutdown. Her wedding has since been postponed until next year, but I still remember getting teary eyed at her bridal shower hearing her speech thanking everyone who had come

Lastly, photos taken from literally the LAST day Disneyland was open. It was so empty that Friday and slightly rainy. I still remember thinking, "we'll be back soon enough." We even talked about meeting up with my cousin and her fam again in late July. Here we are, eight months later, still no Disneyland. :'(