33

To say that my weekend was amazing would be an understatement...

Yesterday I celebrated my 33rd year of existence on this planet & it was nothing short of perfection. The energy, the love, the positivity, the fun. I'm still overwhelmed with the displays of genuine affection and pure admiration that I was showered with over the course of the last few days. My heart is still overflowing with gratitude. I've always been one to celebrate my birthday, even as a child my family always took the time to recognize the milestone of reaching another year...but as the years continue to pass, celebrations of one day begin to take a back seat in the minds of many because there is just so much other stuff going on that it seems meaningless, or childish.... Well, for me this year meant even more simply because of all the things I've been through that led up to my birth anniversary. Life has been so hectic, so full of fear, and emotion... road blocks, anguish, new directions, loss, gain, confusion, doubts, faith... blessings.

Just a month ago, my mind was filled with downright horror and what-if's while my father was in the hospital. A month before that, I was taking a leap of faith and making the decision to go back to being affiliated with my old law firm after having taken another leap of faith when I left, only to find out that that move wasn't necessarily the best move for me. Going even further back up the calender, I was placed in situations where I had to re-evaluate friendships, and relationships and decide what battles were worth fighting & which ones were better left unfought. A couple of weeks before that I was dealing with new-ness and possibility that maybe my singledom would be coming to an end, only to find out that neither him, nor him, nor him was the one and I had to accept that fact that he was still out there waiting for that perfect moment to come in my life. I celebrated new years, I learned a lot about myself and the people around me. I read, I wrote, I created new visions for my life. I had holidays, and adventure with my friends. I welcomed new additions into my life, and lost touch with others. I ate, I prayed, I cried, but mostly importantly I lived.

Coming face to face with mortality blessed me with many lessons that I don't think I was mature enough to handle years and years ago...and I'm not even quite to sure if I'm equipped to handle that lesson now as I type with tears in my eyes. None of us is promised forever. Nobody will be here in your life forever, so it is of the utmost importance to genuinely let them know just how much they mean to you while they are here with you. I don't think there are enough words in my vocabulary to express to my daddy how much I love him and would literally be nothing without him. I don't think the thesaurus is equipped with synonyms to let my mother know how much I admire her strength and compassion. It's impossible for me to spend every second, minute, and hour of the day trying to let my friends know how much their encouragement, advice, laughter and loyalty has meant to me throughout the years.

I know I'm not the perfect daughter, or friend, or sister, or niece or aunt.... I'm not the most perfect of any category, but one thing I can say is that I have at least tried to be there and do my best....but I am definitely a work in progress & I want to spend this next year, and all the dozens & dozens of next years to follow working on myself and trying to be more present in the moment so I can cherish every single one. My only hope and prayer for my new year is that the Lord blesses me with many more selfish years of having the people I love in my life & allows me to live for a long time and to be able to experience every moment & to see the desires of my heart come into fruition.

I swear those words and emotions have rested heavy on my heart all day, so thanks for bearing with me while I got it all out.... I probably could continue to go on and on, but at this point in my ugly crying I face risk of showing up to work in the morning with bags under my eyes. But I digress.... And on to the weekend recap.

My birthday weekend officially kicked off Thursday night after I left work for the day. I follow a super talented henna artist on instagram and booked an appointment to meet up with her that night. My friend/officemate and I stopped off for a few margaritas then headed over to her house for my appointment. Note: Please do research before doing something like this. I met this particular artist a few years ago, and know that she is a credible and professional business woman...otherwise we would NOT have met up with her at her townhouse, but due to the timing that was the only thing that worked for both our schedules. She is a true jewel and I love how my henna turned out.

I was in dire need of a mental health year day away from work and the world, so not only did I take Friday off, I booked a room for the weekend at Hotel Derek by the Galleria so I could truly unwind and have a moment away from reality to just be at peace for my birthday. I picked up my girlfriend who came into town to visit me from Atlanta for the weekend from the airport & thus began my fun for the night.

After taking pictures of the amazing hotel and views from the room, we set off to meet up with some friends at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts for their Mixed Media event. I have been hearing about this event for years, but never had the time to go and I was so glad that I did. We got the opportunity to view the current exhibits, dance, sip on signature drinks and just enjoy an out of the norm event for the evening.

We had such a blast.... That next morning, we debated on if we would attempt to make it a full day or just lay up in our room watching Law & Order and napping... After about four episodes, we felt old so we walked across the freeway to the Galleria and shoe shopped momentarily. Then we stuffed our faces full of Mexican food, then slept until nightfall... Eh, we're old...just being honest, ha.

I had my make-up done in the room for the night. When I finally put my outfit on, and looked at myself in the mirror I was shocked. I didn't even look like myself to myself. We rushed over to eat at Cafe Ginger with one of our guy friends from law school and enjoyed a "family style" meal of the best chinese food I've had in a long time. My friend wanted to have a variety of cuisine here in Houston, because she is convinced the food in Atlanta is nowhere near in comparison to the stuff in my city. Anyways...

Since we kept it classy Friday night at the museum, I felt as if I were well overdue for some inhibitionless, sweating out your hair, standing up on the furniture, popping bottles in VIP type fun... and when I tell you we showed up and showed out, I mean.... Epic.

My section in the lounge, was full of good people and even better times. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and just really celebrated the moment to the fullest.

I didn't make any actual plans for Sunday, because I knew we would all be so tired from Saturday night to be fully functioning yet. We went over to my folks house and had cake with my parents and my friend napped until it was pretty much time for her flight back to Atlanta.

Once I got back home, I was tired as all get out. I really just wanted to bask in the moment and take it all in.

Like man, I'm 33 years old.

I feel like I've lived a lot, but in retrospect I know this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to see and experience in this world, but just for merely having the opportunity to do so.... I am truly, truly grateful.

Cheers to 33! :) P.S. If you want to see more pictures from my weekend, drop your instagram handle in the comments and I will be sure to look you up! :)