And End to my Birthday Week

I wish I could turn 25 every day! After a weekend like I just had, it makes waking up on a non-eventful Monday morning a harder-than-normal task. The weekend began with a 12:05am text message Friday morning, reminding me that for the last 5 minutes, I had been 25 years old. 25! I thought maybe it would affect me a bit more that I was no longer in my early twenties, but to be perfectly honest, I’m thrilled to be 25. I’ve made it through a quarter of a century of living. That’s pretty awesome considering about 200 years ago, I would be considered lucky if I lived to see my mid-twenties!

The rest of my Friday was followed by a number of phone calls (my favorite being the tearful conversation on my way to work), Facebook and Myspace messages, text messages, and flowers and presents at work. For lunch one of my managers treated me to Hectors, a Mexican favorite of mine, in honor of my birthday and that brought up the evening where I met my mom for a few hours of shopping at Mayfair Mall. I arrived home close to 8:00 where my dad had opened up a 25 year old bottle of wine and was waiting to toast in celebration. We toasted, sipped, and made sour faces as we realized you CAN over-age your red wine, but it was cool to be drinking a bottle of wine that was as old as me anyways! After a glass of wine, and some singing around my ice cream cake, I retreated to my room as I was exhausted after both a hard week at work, and an emotionally draining few days. I called it an early night, opting for a quiet night in and fell asleep around 10:00.

I awoke on Saturday bright and early and spent the morning hours running errands around Burlington and eagerly awaiting the arrival of 4:00 when I could begin getting ready for my birthday bash that evening. By 6:00 I was on my way to Milwaukee to meet Katie D. for some pre-party drinks at Kenadees.

My parents were the first of the guests to arrive with my friend Schiller following close behind. The five of us had a few drinks downstairs at the bar, then made our way to the upstairs loft that I had rented out for the evening. Within the next few hours the remainder of my dear friends trickled in and thanks to our private room we all had an opportunity to relax, drink outside of the crowd, and catch up.

After a few drinks us ladies got up and danced a little bit and then the party began winding down around midnight. Those still up for a little bit more headed to Buckhead Saloon for some end of the evening dancing and the night was laid to rest around 2:00 the next morning. I tucked in two very drunk Katie’s into their King sized Pfister hotel bed and drove my birthday butt home for some much needed sleep.

And that was it. Sunday brought about the end of my birthday week and I spent it hung over and tired. I don’t feel any older, but I can definitely tell that I’m getting older as my body takes much longer these days to recoup after a night of drinking.

But it was well worth it. I’d turn 25 again any day!

See the rest of the pictures HERE.

It's My Birthday...Week

This week is my birthday week. Yes you heard me right, I said week. I’ll be 25!!! That’s a big deal!!! Birthdays have always been a big deal in my family, especially the milestones, and I hope it’s a tradition that I’ll carry forward on to my own kids someday! When I turned 5 I took all my friends (and my kindergarten teacher) to Showbiz pizza in Iowa for a big bash and for my 16th birthday I threw my first boy/girl party of my life (I know, I was a late bloomer). For my 18th (and my golden birthday) I rented out a hall and got a DJ for me and all of my friends. I spent my 21st in Las Vegas with my best friend Erin and my family and now the big 25 is roaring up behind me, and you better believe I plan on having a memorable quarter of a (personal) century birthday.

I am a firm believer, in the birthday week, as opposed to just birthDAY. Actually, I believe in the EVENT week. Weddings, graduations, bat mitzvah’s…whatever it is in your life that you look forward to at any particular moment, you should get a week to enjoy it…and make other people as well: a week of people being nicer to you, a week of talking about your special day as many times throughout that week as you feel is necessary, a week of presents (although we know that would never happen), but most importantly a week of celebration! Otherwise, it passes entirely too quickly if we don’t allow more time to enjoy it.

I have a number of different plans throughout the week: dinner tonight, birthday on Friday, and party on Saturday (even if I’m not exactly in the mood for such excitement). I also know for a fact that I’m annoying the ones around me as I say “Be nice, it’s my birthday week” or “I shouldn’t have to go to work because it’s my birthday week”. Yes, I am still a four year old when it comes to birthdays. No matter how much older I get, I still get super excited about turning one more year older and one more year closer to something exciting and absolutely unknown to me yet. I hope birthdays never lose their excitement and that no matter what happens in my life, I will continue to enjoy each and every moment that passes by me and appreciate, instead of dreading, the idea of turning one more year older.

Happy Birthday to me =)

A Birthday Thought

At 1:01PM yesterday afternoon, I officially turned 24…24! As I do every year, I took a few minutes to reflect back at the time I’ve spent here on Earth and I can honestly say with all certainty that my life truly does just keep getting better and better as each year passes, and better and better as one more candle is blown out. I’m not sad that in turning 24 my youth is behind me, because I have my adult life to look forward to! I have professional accomplishments to achieve, houses to build, families to make, and a lifetime of experiences to learn from. How can one not be excited about what lies ahead!

For a moment yesterday I thought “Omg I’m 24!” But it was only for a moment because in looking back at my life, I can’t think of a single place I’d rather be, than where I am right now and where I am going in the future. I’m another year older, and another year wiser, and it’s only going to get better from here.

I spent my day celebrating yesterday with friends and family; a spa day with my mom, dinner with my family and Tara, drinks with Erin and Dave, and many phone calls and text messages from those around me that remembered my birthday. It was a low-key day, but a wonderful day. At 24 I didn’t need a big “All About Me” birthday party, I didn’t need a million presents, and I didn’t need a restaurant full of people singing Happy Birthday to me. All I needed was my amazing family, my wonderful girlfriend, my dear best friends, and the meaningful phone calls to make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. And yesterday I really did.

So cheers to another year older! Bring it on 24!