3-0!

I turned the big 3-0 on Saturday!!! As said here, I'm thrilled to be 30! This year is going to hold great moments and memories. :)

I admit, I was a bit sad to be celebrating such a milestone birthday away from the majority of my friends and family. I think Paul knew that, without me saying so, because he made me feel extra loved on my birthday!

Saturday morning I opened my gifts from Madi & my mom. Madi gave me such a thoughtful gift - pearl earrings. I dropped my only pair down the drain about 6 months ago and she remembered that. She also drew me a picture and her grandmother took pictures of her "modeling" and framed them for me. My mom gave me a gift card to one of my favorite clothing stores and wrote me a note that almost made me cry. Almost!

Since Paul & I are spending every extra penny on our wedding (and since I don't NEED anything) I told Paul all I wanted for my birthday was my car cleaned out. He did that for me and did an amazing job!! My anxiety level seriously decreases drastically when my car is clean. I'm in it SO much that it's really important to me for it to be clean.  <3 doing="" for="" him="" nbsp="" p="" that="">
Madi, Paul, and I went to IHOP for breakfast. I normally don't eat there but when there is no Lizard's Thicket in the same state as me, the alternative is IHOP. It was very nice having breakfast with my loves.  Unfortunately, I felt absolutely awful the majority of the day so after breakfast I lied around at home until we went bowling. Paul had that planned and our friends Jeff & Pam met us there. We played a good, competitive 3 rounds. Madi beat me in round 2 and Paul killed us all in every round!

Madi & Pam "cheering" for Paul during the girls vs boys game & Jeff's finger is photo bombing

After bowling I did some more resting, then I thought we were dropping Madi off at Jeff & Pam's so that Paul & I could go out to dinner buttttt my sweet fiancé had a SURPRISE party waiting for me!! Boy was I surprised! Pam decorated her kitchen and had a very nice spread of appetizers for us. She also made me that fun 30 sign in the picture at the top of this post. She put all my favorite candy on the board and little gifts and things that happened the year I was born. So crazy to see how things have changed in 30 years! 

What blew me away was that people I've known less than a year, some less than a few months, came to spend an evening to celebrate my birthday with me. I really felt like I'm somewhere I belong and like I have family here. I never expected to have people so openly welcome my daughter and me into their circle of friends and treat us like family. It was really amazing! 

one of my birthday gifts

Enough sappiness - we ate my fav - cheeseburgers and french fries! And cookie cake!!!! Yay! :) It was a great day/night. And my friends & family back home didn't forget my birthday either - I got some great cards in the mail and love that I'm getting snail mail now that I live in a different state! 

Cheers to being 30! 

Tidbits & A Giveaway

I'm hereeeee. 

I've missed blogging. Truly. Sooooo here I am again.

Not much to say - just adjusting to life in VA Beach, my new job, and wedding planning. Okay so all of that is actually A LOT.

I am loving living here. It's such a fun town. I feel like I need a cruiser before I can officially call myself a Virginia Beach resident. EVERYONE - young, old, tourist, resident - bikes around here. There are sidewalks everywhere so I guess people just assume why not bike? It's pretty crazy. 

Work is going well. I am enjoying the job and catching on quickly. The days go by pretty fast which is always nice! I will be learning more this next month so hopefully I'll continue to catch on and won't break too many things!

Wedding planning is about to make me lose my mind. How do people do this for a living!??! I seriously can't sleep at night sometimes because I have so much I need to be doing. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but it's also a big headache at times. And crafts - oy. Crafts are not my thing and crafts are inevitable for a wedding. That's where I count on my mom, Pam, and Paul's family to do it all help! :)

Sooooo all of that being said - I wanted to share this snazzy giveaway going on over at Stroman Studios. Stefanie is turning 30 on August 21st and like me, she's excited about it!! Props to her for being happy about growing a year older! 

She is giving away 30 items to celebrate turning 30! All the details on her tumblr page found here! You can check out the daily gifts on her instagram page - @stromanstudios.

I've worked with Stefanie before and she's truly a wonderful designer. She designed by best friend's wedding invitations and I also took a calligraphy class from her a few months ago. Remember? 

Go check it out! Or don't... more chances for meeeeee. ;)



PS. 3 days until I'm 30!!!!! 

Where you go, I will go.

Wow. A lot has happened since May 7th.

Two days after, I got engaged to the love of my life. Yep - Paul asked me to marry him and I couldn't be happier! Madi is excited as well and we can't wait to tell Addison.

A few days after he proposed, I was offered a job in Norfolk, VA. Talk about good timing!! I accepted and will start this coming Monday. I'm very excited about the new job and about Paul and I no longer having to do this long distance thing. It is not easy!! We will certainly not take our time together for granted after spending a year apart!

Madi is coping well with the move. She is five years old so to her it's about how she will get to spend more time with "the dogs," as she calls them (Jeff & Pam's dogs). I'm thankful that I found a job before she starts school in the fall - this way, she can start school in VA and we won't have to worry about that transition.

Everything is truly falling into place! It's amazing what a little faith and prayer can do.

I will try to blog more now that we will have many new adventures in VA!

Xoxo!

Road Warriors

Whewwww. Aren't weekends supposed to refresh you, not wear you out? I'm beat. 

Friday, I unexpectedly got off work early, so Madi and I decided to head to VA for the weekend. {if you haven't learned anything about me yet, you must know I'm the most spontaneous person. Ever.} 

Something I hadn't considered was that a 6.5 hour trip can easily become a 8+ hour trip with a kid. We ended up getting a hotel in NC Friday night so we didn't get to VA until 11am Saturday. 

Saturday Madi, Paul, & I grabbed some lunch at Tropical Smoothie and then played at the playground for a bit. 

That afternoon we got ready for Paul's staff cookout. Well, Paul prepped the food, while M & I played with the dogs and played on the iPad, and took goofy pictures. :) 

Paul made beer in the butt chicken. Ha! Sounds weird but it was soooo good. Everyone brought appetizers and snacks. We played corn hole in the backyard and watched the NASCAR race, redneck style. That is - we put a tv in the window, like an AC unit - only it was a tv. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of it! 

Sunday, Pam took Madi and me to Hunt Club Farm. It's a petting zoo complete with goats, chickens, bunnies, ducks, geese, turkeys, ponies, donkeys, llamas, alpacas, pigs, etc! Pretty much every farm animal you can think of is there! Pam "forgot" ;) about my intense fear of birds, but I handled myself well. I even fed goats and I don't do animals. I was proud of myself! Had to be a good example for Madi. Madi really enjoyed it. She said the pony ride was her favorite! 

I highly recommend this family friendly event if you're ever in the VA Beach area! Go early though! We went right when they opened and had the place pretty much to ourselves. Later that afternoon the line was about 25 people long, not to mention it was hot!!

Lastly - the brunch Paul made for us on Sunday was amazing!!! He is a wonderful cook and has a real passion for it. He made Eggs Benedict for the first time. So so good! 

Madi & I had a wonderful weekend. I'm exhausted from the drive but so glad we went. My motto has always been that I can sleep when I'm dead! 

Link up and tell me about your weekend shenanigans! 

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