Thankful for friends, family and Apple

Wow, I have sooo much to catch up on! I will probably forget a lot of things. I finally got a new computer after my other one was stolen out of Bruce a few weeks ago. Poor Bruce. He just doesn't deserve to be treated so badly! Now he has a new window but it's not tinted like all the other windows and it's louder. But at least it's a window and it does keep the rain out.

Thanks to JJ, I got a $50 discount and a free printer when I bought the new laptop! Now, I'm busy reloading everything from my external hard drive and reorganizing all the pictures and music files. Here's my advice for everyone: back-up your files!! It was save you so much frustration! I never thought I would need it, but it's saved me from losing all my pictures from college through one blown motherboard and two stolen computers! I would be so sad if I lost all of those pictures, so I'm very grateful that I still have them!

It's been an absolutely beautiful fall here in KCMO. The trees were so gorgeous and I was amazed every time I drove around town. Here is a picture of the prettiest tree I think I saw:

This was a couple blocks south of my apartment on Holly St.

A couple of Sundays ago, the weather was amazing so after church, B, J and I took our lunch out to Roanoke Park and explored a little bit.

Enjoying some d'Bronx pizza on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!

Second time for me to have this pizza and it was sooo good!

Location on Bell St

Little did we know that a few days later, baby Josie would make her arrival into the world! Here I am with Josie just a few hours after her birth.

So little!

I got to go to a Missouri Mavericks game. I was really excited to finally see some pro hockey! It was pretty fun. They had a great crowd, gave out free cupcakes and played "chuck a puck" game. It made me miss the preds games a little, but I was still glad to be there!

The mavericks' mule logo.

Mavs won that night!

Here's Mac the mascot skating around. He was pretty dumb looking.

So,  a couple of tidbits about my new neighborhood. First, the grocery store is amazing. They have awesome deli items and ready-to-go meals which I like. But the best part is...the tiny little carts! They are so fun!

Here is the building for the church that I go to: Jacob's Well. It's just right up the street from where I live so I've walked a couple times.

Here's a fountain that is close to my work:

No. 15- 10th and Main

As most of you know, I hate my job right now. It is pure misery. They try to make it more fun by having theme days. So, last week was Western day. Here is one of my co-workers, Kristin, and myself dressed up in our best cowgirl gear. I know what you're thinking, "Why, Laura, that looks like a fun place to work! They're dressing up, taking pictures." Well, how fun is it really to dress up and then just sit at your cubicle and stare at the computer screen for the next 9 hours. Not really that fun at all!

Well, I'm glad to have given a little update. There's lot more to come!  

Today is Thanksgiving and so I would like to give my thanks. I am so thankful for all the wonderful friends that I've had in every place I've lived. (Oregon, Boonville, Warrensburg, Nashville and Kansas City). It really amazes me that every where I've gone I've been lucky enough to have really awesome friends to share good times with.

I'm thankful to live in a country that allows me to make my own decisions and to live in a country where I feel safe and secure. I'm thankful for all the men and women throughout history and present day who have fought to make it that way. I could never imagine living somewhere that was constantly in war or that has an oppressive government.

I'm also thankful for Itsa, who is a great companion and for Bruce who is my faithful driver. 

Last but not least, I'm thankful for Jesus and his gift to us all and for loving us, despite of our sin and selfishness.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving today! And please, just sleep in tomorrow and relax! Do not encourage the stores by showing up at 3 am to buy stuff that you probably don't need. :)

Til next time...Laura

Catching Up

Well, it's been a while since I've been able to write my next blog. A lot has happened- I moved into my own apartment and began working. (I'm not going to talk about the job because I'll just get depressed, in other words, it's awful).  Anyways, the bad part is I don't have internet at the apartment so it's not very often that I get a chance to find a wireless hot spot and write this blog. But, here I am! BTW, Panera started a rewards card program (which is kinda annoying because I don't like having so much cards from stores) but I did a free cookie by signing up:

Alright, let's begin! I drove back to Charleston to pack up and move the rest of my stuff. Instead of going through St. Louis, I went down to Springfield and across Highway 60 to Charleston. It's all 4 lanes now, hardly any traffic and it's really very scenic. I tried taking a good picture of the beautiful trees and leaves but this was the best one I got:

Driving through the Ozarks!

So we packed up everything and drove back up to the new apartment. Bruce loves getting to help so much moving my stuff. And this time, he had the pleasure of bringing Itsa with me. It was a long car ride for Itsa- the longest she's ever been in a car!

Itsa in her cute carrier! She's really happier than she looks here- I promise.

She did real good though. I let her out of her carrier when we stopped and she loved looking out the windows and roaming around the car. I bet people thought it was funny to see a little kitty in the driver's seat!

Here is a picture of my apartment building.

It's just west of  the plaza and close to Westport. The neighborhood is awesome!! I love it! I like walking to the plaza and there's also a QuikTrip that I can walk to! My apartment is small but it's nice. I am glad to have Itsa with me since I'm on my own. I would definitely go crazy without her!

Her favorite thing to do right now though is to scoot her water dish around the kitchen floor so that the water spills out all over the floor. Then, she'll touch the water with her paw and watch it ripple. I'm glad she finds it so entertaining because I'm about sick of wiping it up everyday!

Can you see the trail of water on the floor?!?

There's a real nice park close to me called the "Cancer Survivor's Park." It has plaques with words of encouragement to someone who is dealing with cancer and also some facts and information for help and treatments. It's meant to be just a nice, quiet place for solitude and encouragement.

So, as I mentioned, I can walk to the plaza from my new place.

The plaza has a TON of fountains so it will take a few trips for me to document them all. Here's one at Pennsylvania and Nichols Rd.

No. 58- Plaza (Pennsyl. & Nichols)

It's called Nichols Rd because the plaza was developed by J.C. Nichols in 1923. It is the world's first shopping district that was designed for its shoppers that would arrive in automobiles. Meaning, it's like the first outdoor shopping center in the world. It's architecturally designed from the influence of Seville, Spain. Maybe that's why I've always loved it so much- I love Spanish architecture! I certainly don't love it because of the shopping- I can't afford anything in these stores!

One of the best things about the plaza is Christmas time! They light up all the buildings and it's beautiful! I can't wait to see it!

If you're already in the mood for Christmas, do yourself a favor and watch this: Christmas in Kansas City (Plaza song). It's a classic!

Speaking of Christmas, I am soooo excited to be downloading Mariah Carey's new Christmas album as I write this! Her Christmas music is the best ever! I'm going to really get in the spirit now!
















So, a little restaurant catch-up: the night I moved in, I finally got to eat at Kansas City's best diner! Winsteads! Love this place- gotta get the burgers and shakes!

The other night, JJ took me to another KC treasure, the Peanut. Known for its BLTs, this might be my new favorite dive!

Halloween was also last weekend. I bought some candy thinking, this company made this package specifically for me:

I am a Reese's Lover!

My favorite part of Halloween was seeing how MJ dressed up! Can you guess what she is?

Amazing!

So, that's the schmorgasboard of news that I needed to get you caught up on!

Til next time...Laura