Cheers to 27!

Today was the big day! I turned 27! I awoke to phone calls starting at 7 am {um I am unemployed… I sleep until noon}. I didn’t do anything outlandish for my day of birth. I talked to everyone I wanted to, one of the highlights was when my dear friend Daniel called and sung me happy birthday {I literally swooned, he is soo cute}. I put on a great outfit, put a little red lipstick on and I went for a bike ride, had coffee with my ooooh so wise mentor and met Sha, we had a great dinner of  Eatonville, Coca Cola and cupcakes {Coke always taste better with Sha}, we watched some X factor and giggled. It was the simplest of days but definitely ranks as one of the top five birthdays of all times.  I just watched the well wishes come in, it was such an out pouring of such beautiful expressions of love from people from all walks of my life,{even mother nature decided to drop off a little gift for me…BITCH!} and I was humbled. It is rare when you get to hear from dozens of people what you mean to them; truly I have never felt more loved.

I think the timing was perfect too because I had been fretting about a friend of mine, I felt as though we were fading from each other’s lives. I couldn’t figure it out nothing bad happened. I’ve been watching a lot of Felicity lately (thanks Marge for the Netflix access) and that show is surprisingly deep. Anyway there is a line in the episode the Depths that made me have an aha moment; Felicity and her friend Julie are fighting because Julie wrote a vicious song about Felicity, who is now dating her ex Ben. Julie felt betrayed by Felicity but Julie knew that Felicity liked Ben before she started dating him ANYWAY they get stuck in a train together and this old man who has been sitting quietly listening to the rest of the train try and argue about who was in the right finally stands up and says "the way I see it you two best friends were never best friends to begin with. You two met when you were seriously lonely and maybe a little desperate and you started calling each other best, when you never really earned that title. You can’t get a best friend. Best friends become. They don’t happen in a meeting, or a year or two. It’s a package deal, friendship, only as valuable as what you put in, come through.” deep right!


So maybe some people just come into your life for a certain period of time and that is it and you are confused because they are there for a very long time and you start to think that they are a best and should always be there and then all of a sudden they are gone and you can’t figure out what you did. Well I didn’t steal anyone’s boyfriend and this friend didn’t steal mine I think the relationship just ran its course. Friendships are hard and they ARE a package deal, you get out what you put in; however I would disagree with just one part of this man’s wise words. I don’t think a BEST friend is determined in years but in love and respect that is shared. I am proud to say that I have several close, dear and best friends. They spread across the country and range in years of friendship but I love them all dearly!

So among learning that I have many many awesome people that care about me, I also realized that every relationship runs its course and it is okay that this one did too. Not all relationships end poorly or with malice but as we get older and priorities change it is really okay that friendships dissolve. Like many other things in my life I will learn from this relationship and keep chugging along.Thank you all for sending me some love today and I look forward to many many many days with you!

<3Hugs and kisses and cheers to 27!

Happy Birthday Month to Me!

Knock knock...
Who's there?
The month of my birth...

November is here and my birthday is tomorrow! Although I have to tell the blogging world that I have been a little ho hum about the big day. I haven't made plans to celebrate and I have no big party plans to kick off 27 in Three.Six.Five. I am not really sure what the deal is, why I'm so bla about it but maybe it is because I have had so much on my mind. School..finding a job...finding and trying on bridesmaids dresses, SCHOOL! between all of that my bday kind of just popped up. Everyone else seems more excited about it than me. As the sun sets on 26 I find myself feeling a little sad about it. It was such an eventful year and so much has happened {some of it I would like to forget} but I remember thinking a few days ago that I really have learned so much in a year. I think me now is  a little better than me at this time last year; I guess that is part of growing up and becoming an adult. Truthfully I am just happy and thankful to have seen another year.

I have a pretty awesome week ahead, Thursday is the Watch the Throne Concert! I am soooooooooo excited! I am proud to say that I am going by myself and I am NOT ashamed of it. Saturday is the walk for the American Heart Association {donate here!} and I get to spend the afternoon with some of my favorite people, my X teammates! I promise to post pictures of both!

I look forward to tomorrow's sunrise and I plan on enjoying my day to the fullest. It is supposed to be nice so I definitely want to enjoy the day maybe a bike ride to a museum, lunch date with a friend and then a coffee date with my mentor. I  promise to put on a fresh coat of nail polish {my new favorite color for Fall} and a show stopping outfit {anything that doesn't involve chucks or sperrys} and head out and enjoy my birthday!

October = Pumpkins, Halloween, Snow!?

One of these things is NOT like the other. Yes we got some snow here in the nation's capital this weekend and all I have to say is WTF weather?! What happened to the brisk Fall weather with the smell of leaves in the air and speckled tree lines of crimson, copper and marigold...it got replaced by snowflakes, rain boots, and teeth chattering air temperatures, THAT'S WHAT! I literally was in my house in sweats, my quarter zip, socks, and I even broke out the winter blanket.I for sure was going to let the weather be my excuse to stay in on my favorite Holiday, a Facebook friend's status so awesomely summed up my thoughts on the evening:

Halloween Weekend Forecast: overnight low of 32 with 100 percent chance of snow/rain...good luck sluts.

....and yet there were still girls dressed in tiny costumes shivering to death with their nipples ready to cut glass. You are brave girls,  it took all of me to dawn my tutu and bathing suit and walk the five blocks to my friends' party (I worse sweatpants underneath) I was not prepared to suffer for my costume.However I wasn't going to let the weather keep me from being young and fun either.

I love when people get creative with their costumes I can appreciate some sluttasticness when you are more than just a sexy nurse,cop,milk maid, nurse, flight attendant, teacher, nurse..well you get my point. I often find myself judging people and their intelligence level on their costumes.

Slutty nurse = C- student from an unaccredited community college
Leelo from the 5th element = Rhode scholar (actual costume I saw).
Waldo = 3rd string football player at a division 3 school
Oscar the Grouch with trash can and full paint = Mensa candidate.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on the fact that you can run around in a fishnets, panties, and tassels or that you are lazy, if I had a sick body I would wear next to nothing too just give it a little pizzaz would you. Be more than your body and use that brain!

I really don't know how I will top my costume next year, the simple fact that I almost killed my friend's dog because he ate my Nicki Minaj chicken necklace (sorry Chester) put this Halloween over the top.

I realized that in two days I turn 27! And the funnest year of my life will start (I hope) but at the very least I wont be a bystander any longer! I THROW down the binoculars and stop watching and jump on the go train. I'm excited! I am adding anther thing to my  list I WILL attend all of my kickball games from here on out, no excuses!

           HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

You Never Realize What You Have Until It's Gone

First I want to say that no one has died (I realize the title of this post is a bit ambiguous)! All of this talk and excitement that has been generated due to my  approaching (very fast approaching) 27th birthday has really allowed me to think about my life and who I am as a person. I think for the very first time I am comfortable in my own skin and even though I question my position in life I have few regrets. I've learned to feel beautiful in my {plus-sized} jeans but more importantly to be proud of the voice that I have learned to use. I bet you are wondering where this sudden rush of joy and strong fierce attitude has come from? It is simple: it came from a realization of exactly how lucky I am due to my experiences. Let me try and make some sense!

Background 

I spent the last two years working for an AmeriCorps program called City Year. I worked full-time in schools tutoring kids. City Year is a program that is all over the country and it uses service to make a positive change. My job was hard. The kids were rough, the hours were long, and the pay....well let's just say non-existent. However the things that I gained from my time with City Year are numerous and have infinite value. I can't put a price tag on my experiences. I have to say that I made some of the best friends of my entire life in this program. Working every day in tough settings with the same people day to day really does something to a person. I love my team mates more than words can say. The kids (as bad as they were) changed me in ways that were more than physical. Yes I dropped 2 pants sizes due to running up and down flights of stairs in heavy ass timbs and pants made of some material that did not allow for circulation of air but those were all physical. The biggest changes were all inward. My experiences in the school and with my team helped me become a much more dynamic person.  I fell in love for the first time, that may not sound like a big deal but falling in love wasn't something I thought I would do EVER. I figured I would be destined to live a life of spinsterhood playing the role of bridesmaid and making a home with my dogs. But my students allowed me to open my heart and feel for the first time and even though that "relationship"did not end well I do not regret any of the decisions I made in it. I will take the lessons learned from him and it and move on to the next one. The thing that is important here is that it HAPPENED, I allowed myself to go there and I was happy.

the 09-10 X team at the White House

Pool fun with the 10-11 Xers

Why Stop at Five!

                                                           

    The FIVE
These are all books that I have put off. Hopefully there will be many more to add to these. If I know myself there definitely will be. As always you are invited to read a long if these are books you too have put off.






I have found myself getting very excited about the arrival of my birthday and I have to say that even if I complete none of my list it has already made me excited about turning 27. I have been thinking about what books I wanted tackle over the next year and it was sort of overwhelming. I realized that there are so many amazing books that I want to read that I haven't; along with books that I have read long ago and want to experience again as an adult. The conclusion that I came to is this is my ship and I am captaining it so I can do what I want. I decided that I am going to commit to five books but if I feel compelled to read more I will and if not that is okay too. I also realized that several of the books have a similar message which is one of transformation through a journey. I am not sure what the next year will bring me but I think at the very least it will force me to be present in the everyday. EPIC WIN! Check out a few of the books I want to read and let me know what you think.