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Hi, I'm Emily.
Becoming 25 was a big deal to me. With it comes the knowledge that I’ve lived over 1/4 of my life now. I have, at the very most and not even likely, only 3/4 left. That’s a lot of pressure. I used to love my birthday, but now I just get nervous because I hate the attention that comes with it. (No lie: I got huge stomach cramps last night that made me actually sick because I was so nervous about going out for dinner knowing that Kevin had something planned that he wouldn’t tell me about. I had to take my muscle relaxant prescription and lay down for a while before I could actually think again. That’s how nervous I get about stuff like this.)
This past week has been somewhat hellish at work. We were in the survey process of JCAHO and it was the most exhausted I’ve been in a while. On top of that, I was still balancing photography and teaching at the gym. I hardly thought about my birthday due to my single-focus at work. I knew it would be this way which is why I purposely kept this weekend completely clean on the calendar. I needed rejuvenation more than anything else.
Kevin, however, loves to celebrate my birthday. He hates celebrating his, but mine is a different story. Saturday morning started off with Kevin practically giddy about getting me to open my gifts. He grabbed the camera to document every step.
Pardon the sleepy eyes. I had just woken up and it obviously shows.
Yay, a Brutus mug!!!!
A bag bigger than me…leave it to Kevin.
Just what I’ve always wanted! My very own Keurig coffee maker!!! We plugged it in and put it to use immediately.
Gifts from my sister, Carla (and pretend sister, Jana). I failed to take a picture of the necklace, but it’s my favorite thing ever! I will show you sometime.
My mother dropped off a tulip plant at work on Thursday and they are now in full bloom by the window. I love them freakishly much. Aren’t they beautiful?
And what would be a birthday without cake? Ahem, with buttercream frosting.
The rest of the day progressed quite nicely. I got about 60 messages from facebook with people commenting on my wall wishing me all kinds of birthday miracles and my phone kept ringing off the hook with family members calling. My favorite part of the day, however, was the hour that I silenced all media outlets and had the most wonderful, relaxing massage (thanks, Joanne & Jim!). It was heavenly and it went far too fast. (Do massage therapists really keep track of the time because, I swear, it seems like only 15 minutes has passed when they announce that it’s over.)
In the evening, we went out for dinner. Kevin wouldn’t tell me where we were going and he was also abnormally busy on his cell phone so I knew something was up. (This was the time that my stomach started knotting up and I felt sick.) I was particularly irritable on the way to the restaurant because I don’t do well with surprises. I actually hate them. I snuck a peek at Kevin’s cell phone and saw he had been talking to my BFF, Sara, so I figured out quickly that there were people meeting us at the restaurant. Though, in the end, it was a wonderful time, by the time we got there my stomach was so worked up that I felt sick most of the night. I was also slightly cranky, not because I wasn’t having fun, but I was just so worked up about the surprise aspect that I couldn’t focus.
It’s a tricky one to explain because I am truly thankful and blessed to have a husband who cares so much about me that he would plan special dinners in my honor with the people closest to me. It is not without much stomach cramping on my part though to walk into something unknown and then I end up feeling unnerved most of the time because I never had a chance to mentally prepare even when the people surrounding me are my closest friends. Can I be diagnosed?
In the end of the day, I had to admit that it was a great birthday. It was fun, relaxing, and I was surrounded by people who love me. What more could I ask for? Just maybe no more surprises next time…
Cheers to another quarter of a century of good life. I wonder what will happen in the next 25 years?
Happy Birthday! Love the tulips! My e-mail newsletter won't go thru to your address…do you have a new one? Let us know if you still want our newsletters. Thanks! Melanie Miller (not your sister-in-law)
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