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