Quarter Century

Today is my 25th birthday! Happy birthday to me! Twenty-five years, wow.

This morning I woke up at 6:00am and couldn't fall back asleep even though I tried! It wasn't only because today was my quarter-century birthday, but also because yesterday I received the BEST early gift I could have asked for. I FINALLY GOT A MARKETING JOB! This job is with a company that has a phone company as a client, I will be traveling the U.S. in an SUV, pulling a trailer with two other team members promoting this phone company! Events may include retail/store events, sporting events (please, please, PLEASE let me experience something AWESOME like the Super Bowl or World Series!) and concerts (again, awesomeness would be appreciated!) The only trick to this great opportunity is I get flown out to Chicago, on SUNDAY! Woah. Sidenote: Yes, Sunday is the Bears vs. Packers playoff game, I'll be proudly sporting my new GREEN sweatshirt with a Detroit Tigers t-shirt underneath shouting the words "GO PACK GO" when necessary!

While I'm VERY excited for this opportunity, I can't help but be a bit stressed. I mean starting Sunday I have to be packed in a suitcase & carry-on for 45 weeks on the road, in all types of weather! BUT, I am PRAISING GOD that I have been given this opportunity!! It will all be fine! I went and scoped out a few different suitcase models and although I think it would be sweet to get a hard shell model to stick my stickers I plan to collect at each place I visit, I really didn't think it was the best for my travels. Plus, my sister has a coupon for Kohl's & on top of their great deals I'll be getting a steal for my purchase!

So, back to my birthday! Like I said earlier, I woke up a bit early & couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up to hang out with my sister & niece (which I will miss terribly when I leave!) and my sweet sister had bought me my favorite Starbucks coffee and chocolate donuts! YUM! We hung out at the house for a bit and I took Gabby for a walk (which is another thing I will miss!) and even though it wasn't sunny and warm, it was still nicer outside than in Michigan! Once back at the house, the doorbell rang & there was a package for me! Two of my great friends, Shannon & Kari had sent me such a sweet & thoughtful gift of an Edible Arrangement! The three of us have lost weight on Weight Watchers...and for a while were corresponding back & forth regularly on our progress. Currently Shannon is the only one officially on Weight Watchers as Kari was blessed with pregnancy and I...well, I just can't afford it! After stuffing my face with fresh fruit, my sister, niece & I got ready to head to Nona's Sweets, which is a bakery in the University area of Charlotte with some of the BEST tasting cupcakes! I chose a chocolate with vanilla frosting and chocolate sprinkles...SO GOOD! Gotta have balance, right? After cupcakes we headed to Kohl's to look at luggage & ultimately went home on account of my boo boo being tired. I ended up going to the large mall to check out a luggage store to get some ideas on what I really thought would be best for me in my upcoming travels!

I stopped and got Panera for my sister & I for dinner and enjoyed a tasty panini and piece of french baguette upon my arrival home! At 7:00PM the Red Wings were playing the Penguins and sadly, they lost...but my brother in law and I enjoyed a couple new stout beers during the game!

Overall, I had a wonderfully "successful" birthday! Between the few cards I received (yesterday was a holiday & I think SOME of them are late! lol), the time spent with my family, the delivery of the fruit bouquet, the overwhelming Facebook posts, the texts, phone calls and emails...I can easily say I'm incredibly blessed to have so many loving friends & family!

And as my Facebook status said this morning...I can honestly say, each day of my twenty-five year old life has been a blessing, sometimes a blessing in disguise, but none the less...ALWAYS a blessing, a gift from God!