30, Flirty, and Thriving

I turned 30 years old a couple of weeks ago. At first, I wasn't really looking forward to it. Despite the encouragement from well-wishers telling me, "30 is the new 20," "30 is just a number," and other positive statements, I lacked the oh-mi-gosh-my-birthday-is-coming-up-I-can't-wait excitement that I felt when I was younger. In the weeks leading up to my birthday, I even hesitated to make solid plans to celebrate, thinking that if I didn't make plans, maybe it wouldn't happen and I would keep being 29 (note to all, that doesn't work). Long story short -- too late -- leading up to my birthday I felt like this:

I really don't know why I was slightly freaking out. Maybe it was those thoughts in my head (thanks to the small minority in society that still thinks this way) telling me that if I was turning 30 I should be married with 2.5 kids instead of being single and living at home with my mom. Or maybe because I couldn't think of what exactly to do for my birthday. Being the overachiever that I am, I felt that I needed to do something REEEEEAAALLY epic for my 30th (where's Tori Spelling to be my party planner when I need her?!). Caribbean cruise, trip to Paris, surfing in Hawaii, time-traveling....all of them were out. If I were a different person, I'd probably get a tattoo or pierce something not on my face....but yeah, that wasn't going to happen.

What ended up happening was pretty cool - and further evidence that you never stop learning, no matter how old you get. In an appropriately-timed life lesson, despite my stressing to come up with the perfect celebration plans, my 30th turned out to be serendipitously amazing mostly on its own. Reiterating that life doesn't turn out how you plan - it turns out better. Here are just a few of the highlights, and, in my opinion, things that make for a pretty spectacular 30th birthday.

Flowers

The Friday before my birthday, I came home to a box of flowers from my bestest friend, Darcy.

She spoils me, 'cause, as she says, "Someone has to!"

Treats


The next day, this bundle of sweets was waiting on my doorstep from Joy, Joe, and Ruby.

The dialog bubble cookie came that way - how perfect is that?! Since all of my friends really are characters. ;)

Yeah, the contents of that basket are gone already.

Sparkles


A week before my birthday, my cousin and his wife were in town, and while we were doing some window shopping, I found a store that had a tiara section. My cousin's wife said that she thought I needed a tiara for my 30th, I agreed. This was their gift to me, and I used it well - I pretty much wore it all weekend. :)

The surest way to get excited for your birthday? Buy a tiara.

My mom surprised me with some more sparkles for my birthday that nearly brought me to tears and caused me to shake a little bit.

Diamond hug & kiss? Yes, please!

Hugh Jackman


Along with the beautiful necklace and other girly goodies, Mom also surprised me with my favorite leading man.

Obviously, I didn't get Hugh in the flesh, but, technically, I got Hugh - in the form of this

And this

Awesome musical number
My dad and I had a day of Disney fun to celebrate my birthday, including dinner at Germany, where we got to be a part of this.




So, to everyone that is nervous about an upcoming birthday, take heart. It turns out that all of my anxieties about it were all for nothing - it was actually one of the best birthdays ever. I am the luckiest girl in the world - and now, "30, flirty, and thriving."

A photographer in the family

I wanted to share the latest post from my dad's blog.  He came to Disney with me last Friday (and the Friday before, but that's another blog post....), and he took some of the prettiest pictures of the scenery around the parks (along with some great shots of the cutest little teacup!).  Dad has always had such a knack for photography - his pictures always make you feel like you're right there.



A Work in Progress...: Meeting Chip at Beauty and the Beast: Since I missed catching up with Chip a week ago Friday, I met Adele again this past Friday to give it another go. I wanted to leave St. Pe...

I shun the latest trends....unless they're super cool

I try to be an individual.  Just because everyone is talking about / reading / watching / participating in "the new, cool thing,"  I have to stop and deliberate over whether it's something I actually want to invest myself in.  I don't watch "Dancing with the Stars," "The Bachelor," or "American Idol."  I cringe when I see a commercial or read about the "amazing new diet" trend that is sweeping the nation.  I still haven't read an entire book from the "Twilight" series, and I actually stopped watching "Glee" months ago.  Maybe I'm just stubborn, or maybe holding out on following what's popular subconsciously gives me a sick sense of pride and superiority......whatever the reason, I don't like to go along with stuff just because "everyone else is doing it."

Except for this

Oh, and these

And let's not forget THIS

Ok, maybe I'm not as original an individual as I think - but I AM a little picky about what new fad I'm going to embrace (sorry, skinny jeans, it's never going to happen).  It usually has to come highly recommended by someone very close to me, but even then I can need some prodding.
I resisted The Hunger Games for so long after my younger sister said I HAD to read them, and then they became added to my list of all-time favorite books.  So when my youngest sister told me to watch Once Upon A Time, I started soon after she told me to - and now I'm hooked.

What sealed the deal was the episode from a couple weeks ago, when the story inspiration was Beauty and the Beast.  That is already one of my favorite fairy tales, and probably my #1 favorite Disney Princess movie (I think I'll have to devote a blog post to it one of these days), and the way OUAT handled it was truly for the die hard B&B fans (in my opinion).

There was Belle in her yellow ball gown.

And her blue dress.

But I think what made me holler out loud at the TV was the fact that some unenchanted enchanted objects made it into the episode as well

(Check out the candle and clock in the background to the right, and Mrs. Potts on the tray to the left.)

It's easy to almost miss the Lumiere and Cogsworth cameos, but it was hard to ignore this one:

"It's chipped."

HAHAHA!!!

The Dress Post Part II

I'd wanted to include a picture of my "Titanic"-inspired prom dress yesterday, but since I graduated high school in 2000, digital pictures were not what they are today.  Luckily, my dad is a whiz at scanning, so he sent me one of the pictures.  Thanks, Dad!

Yes, my mom sewed pearls on the bodice!

In all honestly, my junior prom was such a dud - talk about an event that had NOT lived up to the hype.  But I loved my dress (and my hair).  And I've been able to dress up for other occasions that were waaaaaaaaay more fun.

My brother and sister-in-law's wedding reception, 2003
A pink, sparkly dress - doesn't get much more fun!

My "prom" dress for NYSTI's "A Wonderful Life"
(My heel got caught in the skirt a few times during the big Charleston number.)

Bridesmaid for my friend's wedding,
2005

Maybe someday I'll get to wear this dress:

(Well, maybe not, but a girl can dream!)

The Dress Post

On a recent day off, I wasted spent the day watching the first season of "Downton Abbey."  It was a very enjoyable way to spend the day.  Call me a nerd, but one of the things I loved most about it was the costumes - especially the women's dresses.

Seriously, how can you not love these??

I've always LOVED period dresses.  I think if I had ball gowns to wear when I was little, I would've worn them every day - instead I had to settle for a Rainbow Brite skirt and a Dottie Dog skirt / sweatshirt combo.  My mom always brings up how she couldn't get me to wear a pair of pants when I was little - it was skirts and dresses all the time.  I guess that's why my ADOS ("Attention Deficit Oooh Shiny") kicks into high gear whenever I watch something with beautiful costumes.

Love this.

While watching "D.A." I couldn't help but be reminded of "Titanic" - shocker, I know, as they're from the same period.  I love the style of this era.  In fact, I loved it so much, I based my junior prom dress on Rose's dress from the scene in "Titanic" when she's hanging off the back of the ship.  Not to sound conceited, but my dress was the best one there.  (And in the words of Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, I'm not being conceited, I'm just being honest. ;))

This was the pattern my mom and I used for my prom dress.

I think if I had to do it again, I'd have this dress for my prom. 

 I know that the clothing from periods past had their down sides, but part of me would love to wear them rather than the 80s and 70s inspired crud that keeps popping up.  I'd definitely feel more like a lady wearing something like this:

"Pride & Prejudice" (A&E version)

Or this:

"The Young Victoria"

Oh, well.  Who knows?  Maybe gorgeous dresses will make their way back into popularity someday.  I don't mind waiting.

Today I finished a book

When I was in college, knee-deep in reading assignments, projects, work, the three-mile hike to the grocery store (at least it seemed that long....), I looked forward to the day when I could read for leisure.  I still have to pinch myself when I remember that the time for leisure reading has come.  As it goes in "Meet the Robinsons," "The Future Has Arrived"!  The problem is, now that I have time for leisure reading, I am running out of things to read.

The library has a pretty good selection, but I usually have to wait until the stuff I want becomes available, so I still need books in the meantime.  I do like to reread the books I have (Beauty is one I've read tons of times, and most of Jane Austen's works), but sometimes I want something new, so I look through the books that make up our library at home (i.e. the shelf in hallway).  Some of the books I've grabbed have been duds that I couldn't even finish ("Colorado Weddings" was one of those, but then again, what did I expect from the title, Shakespeare??).  So I was a little unsure if I should bother taking one from the shelf at home, or occupy myself with a wordsearch. 


I decided to take along the copy we have of The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.  I remembered my mom had read it and thought it was good, so I thought I'd try it out.  Well, as I started it yesterday, I was hooked.  I have time to read during my breaks at work, and I found this one hard to put down when my breaks ended.  I became so engrossed in the story (a 14-year-old white girl breaks her black housekeeper out of jail during 1964 and they escape to a small town where they live with three black beekeeping sisters, and she discovers the truth about her mother who was killed when she was four - that's a cruddy synopsis, but you'll just have to read it for yourself!), and nearly cried during certain passages, which wasn't the most convenient thing to do since I was surrounded by co-workers while I read.  There were so many beautiful quotes, I wish I had a highlighter pencil for those lines.  Needless to say, I was engrossed by the story.  It helped to pass the time during my work breaks, but I couldn't save it only for work - I read the rest of it today after I got home.  A beautiful, touching story that was not only enjoyable to read, but thought-provoking as well.  I know I'll definitely read it again.

Now I need to find another book to read....

Sisters

I miss this......

and this.....

Why, oh why, do we need to live so far away from each other???

Is it Christmas yet?