Fun in St. Louis

I went to St. Louis for Halloween and celebrated with some great college friends; Amanda, Mike, Katie and Charlie. I decided to go 80's Prom, I found the perfect dress at Target the day of. Here are some pictures of our fun night out.

EPIC Halloween

Our Chamber EPIC group held their 2009 Halloween Mixer at Room 38 last night. We had around 50 Emerging Professionals come and enjoy appetizers and drinks. It was a lot of fun. Here are some picture from the fun evening:

CJ, Me, Lexi and Pat

Emily, Me and Lexi (my Chamber co-workers)

Em and Me - the Jockey and the Lion

Octomom made an appearance... She won best costume. I say, well deserved!

Some Inspiration

My mother bought me the book, "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. I usually pull this out when I need a pick me up or a motivational reading to get the day going. Here are two excerpts. It's a good message. I think we should repeat the first one every day!

"LIVE like you were dying"
It's simple. The best things always are. I hope it becomes your prayer, your motto, your mantra. I hope it becomes a part of you. Every day.


We're All Terminal.
Some of us are just lucky enough to know it.

Life is a spiritual journey.
And sometimes all you have to do is show up
and have a little faith that something
completely amazing is possible any day.

And every now and then,
right when you least expect it,
something amazing does happen.

And you are no more in control
than a feather is of the wind.
All you know is that the force moving you is so strong
that you just hang on in wonder.

There is nothing but the moment
and the sense of dancing with angels.

So ALIVE...

New Wedding Idea

I found a really fun idea for guest cards at the wedding. A Mailbox. See below. Isn't this fun?

It's a Fun Football Saturday! - Go HAWKS!

I had company this weekend. Amanda, Mike, Katie and Charlie came to Columbia for Mizzou homecoming. We had a beautiful day, with the perfect weather. Katie's parents had a tailgate so we hung out there for most of the day. Mizzou didn't have a very good game. However, the Hawkeyee's won against Michigan State in the last two seconds. I'm proud to be a Hawk!

Here are a few fun pictures from the day:

Dancing with my imaginary glow sticks...

Me, Amanda, Katie and her mom

Charlie and Me (Go Iowa!)

Me, Katie and Amanda

It was a great weekend of catching up. Can't wait for the next get-together.

Chili Cook-Off at the Chamber

Mizzou Homecoming is this weekend. We celebrated at work today by hosting the annual CVB and Chamber of Commerce Chili Cook-Off. What a fun event. I will say that I attempted to make chili - my edge is that I don't include beans. Instead, I used whole wheat pasta. If you like goulosh, you would love my chili. Here are some pictures from the event:

This is my co-worker Sherry. She's pumped and ready to go! Victoria and Michelle - the two, cute pregnant women in the office.

Victoria made a chocolate, pumpkin shaped cake and Emily made a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting. DELISH!

All of the Chili....

Ok, so I didn't win the contest... I didn't even really place. But it was all in good fun. Actually Amy Schneider with the Convention and Visitors Bureau came in first place and Jody Russell won the Peoples Choice awards. The Chamber staff needs to step it up. Next year, we are bringing it. It's ON!

Go Tigers!

Boy am I blessed...

So I went to my Women's Network luncheon today and they talked about all the possible social networking tools a person can use today. I've tapped in to most of them, but I've never tested out a blog. With so many amazing things coming up this year and I hope years to come, I thought I would start a blog to keep my family and friends up to date.

I'm currently living in Columbia, MO with my loving husband-to-be. We're planning a wedding for June 5th, 2010 and moving into our brand new house on November 13th. There is so much excitement, it's sometimes hard to soak everything up. I am a lucky girl to have this amazing man in my life, who is not only my best friend, but my partner as well.

I have two amazing parents that have made me who I am today. I owe them everything. I am one of the luckiest people in the world. To have two people, who not only love and support each other but love me regardless of my faults and quirks, who support me every second of every day. Thank you mom and dad... for EVERYTHING!

Who has all of this and AMAZING people to call friends? This Girl! I couldn't have picked a better group of people to help mold me throughout the years. From high school to college- I have been blessed.

More to come tomorrow...

"I have found that to love and be loved is the most empowering and exhilarating of all human emotions." - Jane Goodall