Entering the 2nd Quarter Century...

That's right. Yesterday I turned 26. I'm officially into the 2nd Quarter of a century of my life. I know it sounds lame. But, I always thought things would be different when I was 26...

When, I was a kid, 26 was so old. Now, it's not so old. Hell I'm actually looking forward to hitting 30!

When I was in high school, my parents were married and my grandparents were alive. Every year for my birthday, my parents would take me - and the person I was dating or a friend - out for dinner, no matter what any of us had going on. And my grandparents would call and sing Happy Birthday as obnoxiously as they could muster over the phone. Neither of those happened this year. My dad met David and I for lunch. Mom sent me money. I'm sure Grandpa was singing in Heaven. But it's not the same.

When I turned 21, my sister said "For the first few years, you'll love getting carded ~ it means you've reached the age you can have a glass of wine! Then, you get annoyed because it's an inconvenience. You've been drinking for quite some time and you KNOW that you don't look that young. Then, you will hit the point where it's a privilege and a shock to be IDed." I didn't believe her. Now, I get it. I HATE being carded. Seriously? I'm 26 years old!! I did not turn 21 yesterday ~ it's been a while. I've had to have my driver's license renewed (and changd my name, too!) since I hit 21. I promise I'm old enough. Now, give me my damn wine.

When I was 20, I decided that I would have kids ~ and be done ~ by the time I was 28. I wanted to start at 25. Obviously, that changed when I met David and we were just getting married when I turned 25. I said "we'll have a baby by the time I'm 26." Yeah, not even pregnant. And to make sure that I KNEW - without a glimmer of hope - my damn period showed up ON my birthday. And I even had hope this month.... Fuck it.

So, that was what David had to contest with. He had to try to make this birthday special. And on top of that, I had run out of my anxiety medicine and was going through major withdrawls. And no sleeping pill the night before. Yeah, I was a wreck. He took me to Kimmel Orchard & Winery (Stop #8 on our Wine Tour!), and that was nice. I slept most of the way down there (felt bad about that). We stayed at Castle Unicorn, just outside of Glenwood that night. Our friends Mike and Becca gave us a night there for our wedding. We tried to use it a few weekends ago, but they had a wedding going on, so they owner honored it for us last night! It was really nice... peaceful and quiet. We decided to have a picnic on the grounds. We stopped at a grocery store that had nothing. Still emotional from lack of medicine ~ I started crying because bread was expensive and we were trying to make this cheap. Then, I started crying because they didn't have strawberries. Then, I cried because the only flipping dessert I could get for my birthday was a box of hostess cupcakes. Yeah, it was fabulous.

I did calm down ~ we walked the grounds for a little while. Very short while. I'm not a huge nature person, and I forgot my tennis shoes (another cause for tears). But, dinner was nice sitting outside. And the owner has an Australian Shepherd named Abby. She is GORGEOUS, and such a sweet dog. So, she hung out with us and then we gave her our ice from the lunch bag we had. She was happy!

The bed was super comfortable ~ we just relaxed! David tried to get me to take a bath, but I had no energy and it didn't even sound appealing. So, I fell asleep way early (watching old episodes of House) in David's arms (probably the best part of the day!).

Unfortunately, I had to wake up early, regardless of the mini-vacation. I had class at 10:00 at UNO, plus a midterm this evening. That was hell.

So, my birthday resolutions.... well, I guess more or less, things I want to happen this year:
* I want to get pregnant!
* I want to move. We'll know in August ~ hopefully we'll move in January! Grand Island, here I come!!!!
* I want to be done with my master's program. (This is a no-brainer. I graduate in December.)
* I want to make my goal weight in Weight Watchers. I have about 30 more pounds to go. That's definitely achievable!