OH, HELLO AGAIN

Guess who totally forgot she had a blog? This girl! 
I mean, it's 2019, nobody really reads blogs anymore anyway, but I really enjoyed documenting life through here.  

Birthday week is upon us! I'll be 27 this Thursday and that's so crazy to me! No matter how much I don't want to, I just keep getting older and I really don't know how time is flying by so fast! Didn't I just turn 26 like 3 months ago? Wasn't I just 22 last year?

This year I'm going to Disneyland for my birthday because I'm truly still an 8 year old at heart. An 8 year old with a credit card! :)
I'm excited! I love Disneyland and although I was just there in the Spring, I'm excited to go back! It will already be decorated for Halloween and I've never been there while it's decorated for a holiday so I'm excited for that! 

So here's to my last few days being 26! It was a really good year and I'm extremely grateful for it and the adventures I had! 
Here's to making 27 even better than all the others combined! 

25 AND A HALF!

Happy half birthday to me!
Yesterday I turned 25 1/2. A quarter of a century and a half. Twenty five and one half.

In celebration of my half birthday, I treated myself to a Mango Madness drink from Thirst, gardening for an hour or so in my garden, going home from work early, a walk around Memory Grove, and dinner at Applebee's! I went back to my roots and ordered only appetizers for dinner and it was the best decision! That's all I really ever crave from Applebee's: the appetizers. Oh man, that spinach artichoke dip is my favorite!

I love celebrating half birthdays! It's a fun celebration of life without the stress of having to do something substantial like a normal birthday. I feel like it was just a month ago I was so scared to turn 25, and before I knew it, it's already been half a year. So crazy! Time really does pass by so quickly, and I'm working on both embracing that and purposely doing things to slow down life a little where I can.

Happy half birthday to me!

25TH BIRTHDAY TRIP TO SAN DIEGO!

For my birthday weekend, I went to San Diego for the first time! It was so much more beautiful than I thought it would be! It honestly felt like a little Hawaii to me; it was so tropical and the perfect weather! I guess I just had really pictured it being more desert and not as nice as it was. I don't know what I was thinking! 

We actually went for a wedding, but I just pretended we were there for my birthday! haha. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was held at a venue on the Navy base right next to the bay. It was so nice to spend the night eating, and drinking, and dancing by the water! 

Saturday we had the day to just explore the city so we did! We first went to Liberty Station to a coffee shop that also had a little pop up shop of the cutest things. It was one of those shops where you want everything but even simple candles are like $45 bucks. Um, no thank you. They really did have such cute things though! And it inspired me to try to make a white flowy dress like one I saw there.

The interior of the shop! The coffee shop is behind the camera.

We then went to Balboa Park to walk around and I loved it! That whole park is so pretty and a relaxing escape from the city. We walked to the old Cactus Garden which is still there from the 1930s. A guy working at that little coffee shop actually suggested we go there. Honestly, it needed a little love. It felt a little neglected when it came to weeds and general upkeep, but I love the idea of a garden being created in the 30s still existing today.

We had lunch at Chipotle (as we do on vacations)! And then we went down to the Harbor area by the USS Midway! We saw the kissing statue, walked around all the huge ships, got ice cream from a little ice cream cart guy, sat by the water and admired the pirate looking ships, and just enjoyed the day!

25 years old in San Diego!

Can we just all appreciate how crazy my Bugs Bunny ice cream looks? He super made me crack up with those crazy eyes! I really wanted the Spongebob one but the guy was all out, but I loved my little lunatic Bugs Bunny!
 

I saw a cruise ship for the first time when we were near the harbor and I couldn't believe just how massive those ships are! Jeremy was actually driving when we turned at a light, and a Disney cruise ship came into view at the dock. I gasped because it was just so massive and that really freaked Jeremy out! He thought someone was about to hit us or something because of the way I gasped. hahah. It was just so massive, you guys! I know all of you know because I swear everyone has gone on a cruise besides me, but I had never experienced seeing a ship that ginormous so close to me! It was very breathtaking to say the least.

Yay for fun trips! And yay for finding another city to add to the love list! 


[San Diego Part 2 to follow shortly.]

MY BIRTHDAY!

My first day being 25 was so great! 

Jeremy brought me the funnest balloons to my office (don't worry, I only worked a half day) and a little birthday pin to wear around all day which was so nice! Everyone is especially nice to you if you're wearing a birthday pin! Even strangers wished me a happy birthday all day and it was just so fun!

I treated myself to an hour long massage, Jeremy and I went to get pedicures together, Forrest treated me to lunch at the Porcupine, and Jeremy and I went out to dinner. We had plans to go to the Utah State Fair in the evening but everything else from the day felt like enough fun so we went home and cuddled and watched the finale of Bachelor in Paradise! haha. It was the perfect way to end the day.

I've been wanting to get a pedicure for a while now and always mentioned to Jeremy that he should come with me because he would enjoy it. I think he did! Although I feel like men get a little ripped off at nail salons. His pedicure cost the same as mine even though they didn't paint his nails... that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me since that's a big component of it. Oh well. It was fun, and I'm a real big fan of those massage chairs! 

My yummy lemon cake from Tulie that I've been eyeing for the past few months. Jeremy surprised me with it and woke me up from my little birthday nap by asking me to put my hands out and he put the cake box in my hands! 

Overall, it was just such a nice birthday! I think everyone should treat themselves a little more on their birthdays! Follow my lead and schedule yourself a massage on your birthday every year, I promise you it's the best gift to yourself!  :)

Yay for 25!

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Today I am 25 years old. Twenty five. A quarter of a century. So crazy!

This past Saturday night I had a birthday party with some of my favorite people! It was so nice and I'm happy I got to visit with my family and friends and catch up with everyone. I love birthdays so much. Regardless of how I felt leading up to turning 25, I'm super happy today and I'm grateful for this 25th year! 

I'm pretty sure I've gotten this chocolate cake for my past 3 or 4 birthdays. I'm sure I'll switch it up eventually but it's just so dang good! You just can't really beat chocolate cakes.

My mama actually surprised me this weekend and flew out here Friday night and flew back last night. It was so nice to have her in town for the weekend but especially for my birthday celebrations! She got to come to my party and had fun with me this weekend. So, thank you for coming Mama. I appreciate it more than you know. :)

Here's to 25 being my best year yet! 
Here's to living more adventurously in 25. Loving more in 25. Celebrating life more. Taking more chances. Appreciating the little things more. Going on more walks at sunset. Calling friends more. Laughing more. Slowing down and reminding myself to enjoy life more. And to just being happier in 25. I love you already, 25!

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

It's the first few days of September so that means it's birthday month! 

I have mixed emotions about this birthday however. On September 12th, I turn 25 years old and 25 seems a little scary to me. It's such an official number, such a monumental age, and I don't know if I'm truly prepared for it. I know older people will read this and laugh, but just remember that despite how old you may be, this is the oldest I have ever been.

I think I just also thought things would look different by 25. Not by much though because I truly am very happy with how my life is going and the things I have done, but I do think I thought I would be married by 25. Honestly when I was little, I thought I would get married when I was 22. In my little kid mind, 22 was the perfect age. Not too young and not too old. But 22 came and went and I sit here single and happy. (I really am okay with not being married though, I don't think I would have truly been ready if I got married any younger than now.)

25 also just seems scary because I will no longer be early twenties. 24 can still easily pass as early twenties, but instantly overnight I will suddenly be "mid twenties". 

Mid twenties, you guys! That's so scary!

I know everything will be okay, and that I will love being 25 just as much as all my other years, but for now I will just sit here and freak out about it a little. 

A 23RD BIRTHDAY TRIP!

I turned 23 years old last Saturday, so I decided to take a little trip. I usually do the same thing for my birthday every year (go out to dinner with friends, or a little party at home) so I decided it would be fun to do something different this year.

Forrest and I went to Southern California to spend the weekend, and my Mamabear drove down to meet us there. We went to Magic Mountain on Saturday, the Santa Monica Pier on Sunday, and back to Magic Mountain on Monday. I also got to visit with my brother and his family, and my aunt and uncle and cousin who all live in Southern California.

I think 23 might be the magic age to overcome my fear of rollercoasters. I only started to really enjoy rollercoasters when I was about 18 but I don't think it was until this trip that I actually overcame that underlying fear of them. With that being said, I still won't go on Lex Luther's Drop of Doom. That is the only ride at the park that I just can't muster up the courage for. I'm just way too scared of how high it goes! I'm not usually scared of heights but I guess I am when it comes to rollercoasters!

On Monday, we woke up early to get to Magic Mountain before the park opened. With our Season passes they let us in 10 minutes earlier than everyone else which isn't a ton, but it definitely helps you get a head start. Forrest and I rode Goliath right away just because that line always gets so long. We ended up riding it twice because no one else was in the park yet so the guy just let us go around again. I started blacking out on the turns on our first ride which is one of the strangest feelings ever. I had heard of people blacking out on Goliath, but it has never happened to me before so it was strange to experience it. One minute I'm giggling and enjoying the ride and the next minute all I can see is black and my body felt like a slug sliding down in my seat. So bizarre! Right after the fast turns, I came out of it and heard Forrest asking if I was okay. He said he could see it in my face.

On Sunday, we went to the Santa Monica Pier to meet up with my brother Paul and his family. My uncle Greg and cousin Sophia went too. We all had dinner on the Pier at Bubba Gumps which was surprisingly really good! All I ever get from seafood places is a clam chowder bread bowl, but everyone else said the other seafood was really good too. The waiters came over to our table and made me stand up while they sang this little happy birthday type song to me and another guy who was celebrating his birthday as well. They told us it was a dance off but I was one of those lame participators who didn't dance. I just get so embarrassed with things like that, when a whole area of a restaurant is staring at you. At least I was smiling and enjoying it though, the other guy didn't even crack a smile the whole time they sang to us.
Sorry for not giving you a fun show, people of Bubba Gumps. haha.

Look how cute my little Mamabear is! I'm grateful for this lady, and the fact that she was able to give birth to a chubby little 10 pound 3 ounce baby 23 years ago. Yikes! That in itself is worth a celebration.

A couple days before my birthday Alex surprised me with this balloon, donuts, a card, and flowers. He really understands my true love for Spongebob. I wanted a birthday photo with my balloon so we took the first photo up above. Alex is always good at taking candid photos in between the dumb posing ones, and the candid ones usually always end up being my favorite. It was windy that day and my balloon kept trying to fly away and out of the photo, hence all the giggles I guess. 

Overall, it was a super fun trip and reinforced my longing to move to Southern California. So if anyone wants to find me a really cool, decent paying job in Los Angeles, I'm all ears. I'm also open minded to NYC as well. :)