23rd Birthday Fail Whale

Welp I'm officially 23!!  I'm kinda excited!?  I've never been too scared of growing up because I think you're only as old as you think  you are and I'm officially 9 forever!  So at 11:57 on Friday the 13th (mwahhahaha...that was supposed to be scary/creepy but I think it came out...um differently?  I don't know.  I tried :)) I played TSwizzle's 22 for the last time.  As I listened to the lyrics I thought all about my 22nd year of life and all of the lessons I learned.  I would like to bestow some of my green 23 year old knowledge on you all:

• Take the chance!
• Just do it!  You'll regret it so much more if you don't.  The chance I took this year was getting bangs.  Just Kidding!  I don't rock bangs because of a cowlick lol.  Now I don't usually post about my personal life, but I think this is something I should write about because I'm nosy love reading about other people's lives on blogs.  So my chance was trying a new confusionship after a few years of bad dates.  Did I end up getting my feelings hurt?  Absolutely!  Was it worth it?  I'm not sure?  I keep thinking that maybe once I'm more removed from it I'll be able to judge it better, but as my blog's namesake says, Serindipity is law.  But I had a blast while it was good and I don't regret it.  
• Be grateful!
• I think it's easy to get caught up in your own personal pity party every once in a while and I know I throw myself a pity party sometimes when I'm feeling low but when I get sad I just count my blessings.  I listen to Martina McBride's Blessed and say, "God, family, friends, school, a job, ability to move, books, a house, a computer, clothes, jewelry, candy, chocolate cake, food, water, ambition, freedom, America, faith, hope, and love."  I am so blessed and sometimes it's important to say thank you for all the things we have.  
• Be awkward!
• I think I spent 21 years trying to hide my awkwardness but I think at 22 I owned my dorkiness, my randomness, my inappropriateness, and my silliness and I think it makes me a better person.  It surely makes my life more fun!  People respond well to awkward!
• Cherish your friends!
• I couldn't exist without my friends!  They give me the best advice (do I always take it?  Nope, I should, but I don't), they pick me up when I'm sad, they make me laugh until my ribs hurt, and they love me.  I am so lucky to have them!  They're just the most fun and amazing group of warm hearted individuals in the world.  
• Try!
• Just do it!  You'll be happy that you did!  
• Listen to your heart!
• Get out of your head.  I'm serious!  This is coming from a chronic over-thinker.  Just smile and go okay heart whatever you say.  Your head will follow suit if you are happy!
• Don't let anyone with bad eyebrows tell you shit about your life!
• Truth!  

Candles, cake, champs!

Okay so 23 was a fail whale!  This was the first time my birthday fell on a weekend since I was like 12.   I was all set to go out with my amazeballs friends and go walk around South Street and enjoy the cute Mids and Cadets that were invading Philly for the Army/Navy Game.  Well...God and His snow had other plans.  I cancelled my party because I didn't want my friends to endanger their lives from driving from all over the state to come party with me.  So I was super bummed!  Maybe it was a sign from God?  A little Serindipity?  Maybe?  PROBABLY!

Anyway, I went to Panera for a bagel and they were out of my chocolate chip bagels!  Sad.  Then I went to Target/Lowes/Target again for a tree light revival gun!  Every 23 year olds dream way to spend their birthday, right?  Lies!  Then I came home and relaxed.  Then we went Christmas shopping.  We grabbed dinner at a pizza place that is close by and they have the best Florentine Pizza.  They were OUT!  More Fail Whale!  The night turned around though.  Since my party was cancelled I had extra money in my budget to shop!  Hello J. Crew pearl bracelet and Victoria's Secret yoga pants!  I finished up Christmas shopping and then we came home and I had my vocally talented (psych) family sing to me and we ate cake!  Not just regular cake, amazing Wegman's double chocolate cake!  The best food of all time!!!!  Then presents!  I got a cute J. Crew hat, a pet adoption tee, and an Alex and Ani bracelet with my beloved Phils emblem on it!  Dylan gave me a Lilly Pulitzer frame!  I loved it!  So cute!  Now, what picture to put in it?  Does anyone else get this way?   I have a slew of picture-less frames because I never know which pix to put in them.  I digress.  Okay so here are some pix of my prezzies!

CAKE!  HEAVEN!  CAKE!

This is so delicious!  I just don't even care that I look crazy here.

Hat and bracelet!!  Pretty much obsessed!

So my birthday was kind of a Fail Whale but I came to this conclusion.  Last year I had an amazing 22nd birthday and the year was ehhhh.  This birthday was ehhh so you know what that means?!  The year will be amazing!  And it really will be!  I will graduate with a Master's Degree (eeeek such a grown up!), I'll get a big girl job (so pumped!  I just wanna be a teacher!), and I'll be going on a self-lead Kennedy's tour of Massachusetts and Rhode Island!  I'll also be visiting my beloved New Orleans and training for my first half marathon!  (I'm gonna run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in 2015!!) So here's to 23 and a year of fabulousity!

xoxo,

Erin

Birthday Weekend!!

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22!!  

     These are the words that have been ringing in my head for almost a week now!  I LOVE being 22.  Twenty two is gonna be a good year.  Every two years I always have a GREAT year.  I feel that my 22nd year will be my time to shine.  When I was 20 I had a great year.  Twenty one was okay.  But 22 will be awesome! 
     My birthday is also doubly fun because it signifies the end of the semester!  And after the semester I had, I am soooooo ready to for winter break!  This semester wasn't particularly tough, it was just, well, tough at the end.  I had 4 enormous projects due within 2 weeks.  So, yes, by December 14th, I was ready to be done! 
     I decided to celebrate my birthday at Dave & Buster's in Philly on December 15th.  I am not really a bar, club, or AC kinda girl.  I prefer just being a six year old stuck inside a 22 year old's body.  If a child would find the activity amusing, chances are, so would I!  So I invited about 10 of my best friends to join me.  I love love love my friends.  I have always lucked out when it comes to friendships.  For this I am truly grateful and know how rare it is.  And I do cherish them!  None of us are big drinkers but we are big on playing car racing games and eating junk food so Dave & Buster's seemed like the perfect fit! 
     But since we had such a big group going it was inevitable that not everyone could go.  So we decided to celebrate a little on Thursday with half apps at Applebee's!  Applebee's half apps literally sustains most of the TCNJ students.  Half apps is a brilliant concept.  At nine we all trekked over to Applebee's and had a variety of treats!  We all got wings with various sauces, fried green beans, dessert shooters, and Red Apple Sangria.  We cleared our plates...no need to worry about us.  We're not those girls that only order "cute foods"...we eat wings, then order dessert, we're those kinda girls!  I loved dinner with three of my friends because we just have so much FUN!  Not bad girl fun, just good wholesome, silly, laugh til your sides hurt fun.  The Best Kinda Fun!

Brunette side of the table

Blonde side of the table (we didn't plan this but it's still funny)

All our delicious food!

     So I come home and my roommate and I wait til midnight and then....We sing happy birthday and play T-Swift's 22!  Best song for the occasion.  So I go to sleep and then get up and go to work.  I love my job because my kids are awesome!  I love love love all of my students.  Then, I went to my second job, teaching ballet to 3-5 year olds.  It was so sweet!  I made them cookies and they sang to me.  When they asked how old I was I told them and they were like, "Miss Erin, you are old!!"  and "You're a grown up!"  I love it, they're so cute!  So from there I went home and just relaxed!  For the first time since August I had NOTHING to do!!  I loved every second of it!  The first few days of break are always the weirdest.  Not only can I read what I want, do what I want, but I do NOT have homework/projects/papers etc! Best Week Ever!  Well, it is awesome until I start getting random mini panic attacks that I haven't turned something in, or that I should be doing homework, or my teacher voice starts saying, "Okay only five more minutes on Pinterest Erin then you have to do your work."  But no!  I can relax and have fun!
     On my actual 22nd birthday my parents and I went shopping at the mall.  I couldn't have been happier!  I had a California Chicken Cheesesteak while shopping the Christmas sales...that's my kinda birthday!  Anyway, when we got home we had cake, double chocolate cake from Wegman's!  Seriously this is the best cake of all time!  DAAAALISH!  I got Tiffany blue ball earrings for my birthday.  Every year since I was 13 I have gotten something from Tiffany's for my birthday.  I love this tradition and plan to continue it with my future daughter(s).  Some stand outs have been a Tiffany champagne flute for my 21st and a Tiffany key chain with my key to Madden for my 17th.  For my 20th I got a beautiful cross.  I love the simplicity of Tiffany's designs.  Just beautiful!

So Saturday was finally here!!  Because I have Murphy's Law when it comes to hair.  I can straighten it or curl it but nothing in between.  So I decided to have my hair blown out for my birthday.  Best.  Decision.  Ever!  It looked fabulous I was so happy!  It only took her 35 minutes to wash, blow out, and curl...how?  It takes me 30 minutes to just blow it out, let alone style it, perfect it.  Hairdressers are miracle workers.  It's the truth.  

     So I drove back up to my house and got dressed, did my makeup, and waited for my friends.  Five of us rode together and met three of my other friends at the barcade.  Everything was perfect!  It was so much fun and we literally laughed the whole 4 hours!  I love my friends because they know me so well.  One of my friends got me a box of chocolates--perfect!!  I have the world's biggest sweet tooth.  My other friends got me books--all Kennedy/Princess Diana related books!  I have some reading to do over break and luckily none of it is school related!  My friend/co-teaching partner/ex-cake competitor gave me a framed picture (which she made herself and it looks fab) of our kindergarten class!  They were so cute and the picture literally brought back so many memories.  We were doing our observation in Trenton.  Being from a small town you really are jaded to the world outside your little bubble.  

 The most beautiful bridge!  I love this city!

Pretty girls racing cars

 Me losing at racing cars...at least my car is PINK!

     This was a great birthday!  I couldn't/wouldn't change a thing!  I was so grateful to be surrounded by such an amazing, inspiring, beautiful group of ladies that I'm fortunate enough to call my friends.  I was also happy that I got to spend quality time with my family!  Also, Dylan came home Sunday!  I miss my little brother a lot when we're both away at school but I know that he's having as much fun as I am and that he'll love college as much as I do.  We celebrated Dylan's birthday a week late but it was still great.  Dylan gave me Boy Meets World on DVD and I gave Dylan a shirt from Gap.  

      All in all it was a great birthday.  Very low-key, very fun, very me.  I had a great time and am so happy that my friends were with me to celebrate!  I love love love them and am going to miss seeing them when we're on break.  

xoxo,

Er