My 31st Birthday!

I so cannot believe that I am 31 years old. I can remember thinking my parents were old at that age...all I know is that I do not feel old one bit. I have determined that this year I am going to start believing in myself more. Too often I worry about what others think of me and I've been hurt so many times in the past by those comments or other views that people feel the need to press into me. If I believe in what I am doing or the way that I am living my life, then I need to realize that truly matters. I can't keep living my life trying to please other people and my 30s is going to be a time of change on some levels for me. 30s hear me roar!

Anyway, I turned 31 yesterday. It was a day that I honestly didn't have any expectations for. I didn't ask for anything...I just went along with the flow. I just wanted a day to spend with my family. My co-workers wished me a happy birthday and kept asking me what I was doing for my birthday and I just said that I had no idea. It's the first year in quite awhile that I didn't have any expectations or true wants for anything. I got out of work at 2 and when I came home Andy had gone to the store and was cooking me a beautiful steak dinner. Steak, cauliflower, scalloped potatoes, and fresh green beans. It was truly delicious. He gave me a small present and when I opened it I discovered that it was a Honeycrisp Apple. These are my favorite apples and they are so expensive down here...I miss being able to go to the orchards in MI and picking our own. It was truly everything I had remembered it was. He spent $3 on 2 apples. But, it was so worth it! He also made me a rainbow chip cake and we ate cake and strawberry cheesecake ice cream. He got me a beautiful card that brought tears to my eyes and the kids all gave me a card too. Andy's mom got me a beautiful scrapbook for my birthday as well and I can't wait to use it. He was lost on what to get me for my actual present and had been hunting around for digital scrapbook stuff for me, but he didn't have any idea of what to get. So, he gave me some money to use towards that. Then, we drove into Dallas and went to the mall and I got some lotions from Bath and Body Works...fresh honeysuckle, fresh pineapple, and sweet pea. He told me that I could get a candle if I wanted to, but I haven't found one that I wanted. I enjoyed my birthday and it was nice to spend the time with my family. Andy's mom gave me a beautiful birthday card too that made me tear up as well. She talked about all the hopes and dreams that they had for when Andy got married and what his wife would be like and how I am all that and more. I haven't always felt very close to her, so it meant a lot to me when I read it. After the kids went to bed, we sat and watched a movie. "The Story of Us" that I had netflixed. I thought it was a love story...it was more about a family's marital troubles and how they realized at the very end that they should stay together. Wasn't really what I thought it was going to be...but whatever. It just made us realize more and more that we don't ever want to wind up like that. We want to be the old couple that is still holding hands.

Yesterday, really meant a lot to me. Low key day, but I was surrounded with love.