30 Day of 30: Days 8-22
It's so hard to blog when you are having the time of your life!
The month of September was AMAZING! I literally celebrated turning 30 for all 30 days.
I felt a little silly doing it sometimes. Like how self-absorbed could I be? But honestly, each day reminding me to have joy in this life that God has granted me. To be thankful for the relationships and opportunities that have been given to me. To live without abandon and enjoy both the big and the little moments.
I have no clue what the rest of 2015 will bring. Or even what this 30th year will bring. But celebrating my 30 days of 30 was a great way to start it out, and I'm glad I did it.
Here's the recap of what else I did!
Day 8: Peter Pan Date
My sweet friend and co-worker Jess started the day out with a surprise on my desk! I am not big on flowers. But purple is one of my favorite colors, and this little bouquet was such a great start to my day... which I remember not starting out so great. I remember starting the day feeling down and a bit out of sorts (I can't remember why now) and when I saw the flowers and note on my desk, my day was instantly made better. My spirit was lifted. I actually still have the flowers... all dried up and reminding me to look for beauty even in dark moments, and that I can count on friends to always make things better.
Anyway, she had asked to be a part of my 30 Days and got us tickets to see Peter Pan 360. It was an amazing play! The theatre was in a tent, and hand a round stage. They used video and graphics to change scenery and give the feeling of us traveling through London and to Neverland. The acting was great, the few songs were fun. I loved it.
And as always, Peter Pan reminds me that growing up is a little bit overrated ;-)
Day 9: The Simple Things
I actually didn't make plans for Day 9. When I decided to do this, I didn't want each and every day to be a big production. I more just wanted each day to be a chance for me to indulge myself a bit and remember to be thankful and have some fun.
So today, all I did was buy some books from the Scholastic Book Fair happening at our school. Anyone who knows me knows that books are my greatest material love. And I especially love Young Adult novels. They might be for "kids," but honestly have just as much, if not more, truth and insight sometimes that many adult novels. I always look forward to Book Fairs--ever since Kindergarten.
And then to make Day 9 just a little more special... my Africa charm was returned to me!
While I was in Rwanda this summer, I bought some jewelry. Jewelry serves kind of like my own little tattoos, my "stones of remembrance." I tend to buy and wear pieces that keep me grounded and reminded of some message I want to hold dear. I went to Rwanda with IF: Gathering, and during the first IF there was a spoken word performance called "The Esther Generation" that I loved. So, I bought a set of "Esther bangles" in Rwanda, and attached to one set I bought was an Africa charm.
I've worn these every day since, and then one day I looked down and the charm had fallen off. I was heart broken. So on Day 5, when I was hanging out with my neighbor Jess, we walked to 19th St and went into this cute little store in our neighborhood and I bought a new charm. One one side it said "Find Your Passion," the other side had a picture of a compass.
I was still a little heartbroken, but posted a picture of the new charm and told the story of how while it doesn't replace my Africa charm, it means just as much. Well, a co-worker messaged me after I made the post and was like, "I think my son found your charm in the hall! I'll bring it to school for you!" And sure enough... it was my Africa charm! Of course I took it as a little birthday gift! :-)
Day 10: Dinner with Friends
The whole point of celebrating anything is to celebrate with those you love! So of course, I planned a dinner with some of my sweet friends. Not all were able to come out, but I was thankful to those who did. We had a great dinner at Pondicheri (a place I discovered after I went to India last summer).
Day 11: The Little Mermaid... on Broadway
Okay... not exactly Broadway. I couldn't afford New York this year. But, we did go to see the Broadway play of "The Little Mermaid." As much as I'm obsessed with books, musicals/plays and Disney are close seconds to my heart. And so when it was announced that The Little Mermaid would return for a short engagement, and it was happening in September, of course I added it to my #30daysof30!
First, we had dinner at Coltivare. I had never been and it was delicious! And then we headed to see the show! The play was pretty much just like the movie. Just with some extra songs. It was no where as good as "The Lion King" was, but I still enjoyed it.
What I loved about the day is that I was also able to celebrate with a slightly different group of friends that I have done other things with so far this month. I realize that while I don't have a lot of super close friendships, I do have a lot of friends who I appreciate and always enjoy spending time with... but those times seem to get fewer and further way. So I loved having my birthday as an excuse to get people to hang out!
Day 12: #Sydco Wedding
Here's another day that wasn't really about celebrating me. I was initially supposed to be spending this day road-tripping to Orlando for IF: Lead, but when Sydney sent me her Save the Date for her wedding, I knew I had to change my plans.
I love weddings. But I love friends more. And I love being able to celebrate with them if it is ever in my power to do so. And considering that Sydney is perhaps the sweetest person on the planet, who I bounded with over Chimamanda Adichie and Arundathi Roy during our Seminar English class as Seniors at A&M... Day 12 was for Sydney.
Day 13-22: The BIG Orlando Splurge
I was in Orlando for 10 days celebrating BIG! First, I got to be involved with the IF: Gathering's conference for local leaders called IF: Lead. And then I spent 4 days at DisneyWorld and 2 days at Universal Studios. I will blog about both of those separately because they were just too epic and honestly the highlight of anything that could have happened to me during my 30th birthday celebration (well... Pentatonix was pretty amazing, too... but DisneyWorld has been my dream for FOREVER, and was supposed to be my 25th birthday celebration, but yeah...)
10 whole days of BLISS... that's all I can say about that time! Sneak Peek Below! ;-)
The month of September was AMAZING! I literally celebrated turning 30 for all 30 days.
I felt a little silly doing it sometimes. Like how self-absorbed could I be? But honestly, each day reminding me to have joy in this life that God has granted me. To be thankful for the relationships and opportunities that have been given to me. To live without abandon and enjoy both the big and the little moments.
I have no clue what the rest of 2015 will bring. Or even what this 30th year will bring. But celebrating my 30 days of 30 was a great way to start it out, and I'm glad I did it.
Here's the recap of what else I did!
Day 8: Peter Pan DateMy sweet friend and co-worker Jess started the day out with a surprise on my desk! I am not big on flowers. But purple is one of my favorite colors, and this little bouquet was such a great start to my day... which I remember not starting out so great. I remember starting the day feeling down and a bit out of sorts (I can't remember why now) and when I saw the flowers and note on my desk, my day was instantly made better. My spirit was lifted. I actually still have the flowers... all dried up and reminding me to look for beauty even in dark moments, and that I can count on friends to always make things better.
Anyway, she had asked to be a part of my 30 Days and got us tickets to see Peter Pan 360. It was an amazing play! The theatre was in a tent, and hand a round stage. They used video and graphics to change scenery and give the feeling of us traveling through London and to Neverland. The acting was great, the few songs were fun. I loved it.
And as always, Peter Pan reminds me that growing up is a little bit overrated ;-)
Day 9: The Simple Things
I actually didn't make plans for Day 9. When I decided to do this, I didn't want each and every day to be a big production. I more just wanted each day to be a chance for me to indulge myself a bit and remember to be thankful and have some fun.
So today, all I did was buy some books from the Scholastic Book Fair happening at our school. Anyone who knows me knows that books are my greatest material love. And I especially love Young Adult novels. They might be for "kids," but honestly have just as much, if not more, truth and insight sometimes that many adult novels. I always look forward to Book Fairs--ever since Kindergarten.
And then to make Day 9 just a little more special... my Africa charm was returned to me!
While I was in Rwanda this summer, I bought some jewelry. Jewelry serves kind of like my own little tattoos, my "stones of remembrance." I tend to buy and wear pieces that keep me grounded and reminded of some message I want to hold dear. I went to Rwanda with IF: Gathering, and during the first IF there was a spoken word performance called "The Esther Generation" that I loved. So, I bought a set of "Esther bangles" in Rwanda, and attached to one set I bought was an Africa charm.
I've worn these every day since, and then one day I looked down and the charm had fallen off. I was heart broken. So on Day 5, when I was hanging out with my neighbor Jess, we walked to 19th St and went into this cute little store in our neighborhood and I bought a new charm. One one side it said "Find Your Passion," the other side had a picture of a compass.
I was still a little heartbroken, but posted a picture of the new charm and told the story of how while it doesn't replace my Africa charm, it means just as much. Well, a co-worker messaged me after I made the post and was like, "I think my son found your charm in the hall! I'll bring it to school for you!" And sure enough... it was my Africa charm! Of course I took it as a little birthday gift! :-)
Day 10: Dinner with Friends
The whole point of celebrating anything is to celebrate with those you love! So of course, I planned a dinner with some of my sweet friends. Not all were able to come out, but I was thankful to those who did. We had a great dinner at Pondicheri (a place I discovered after I went to India last summer).
Day 11: The Little Mermaid... on Broadway
Okay... not exactly Broadway. I couldn't afford New York this year. But, we did go to see the Broadway play of "The Little Mermaid." As much as I'm obsessed with books, musicals/plays and Disney are close seconds to my heart. And so when it was announced that The Little Mermaid would return for a short engagement, and it was happening in September, of course I added it to my #30daysof30!
First, we had dinner at Coltivare. I had never been and it was delicious! And then we headed to see the show! The play was pretty much just like the movie. Just with some extra songs. It was no where as good as "The Lion King" was, but I still enjoyed it.
What I loved about the day is that I was also able to celebrate with a slightly different group of friends that I have done other things with so far this month. I realize that while I don't have a lot of super close friendships, I do have a lot of friends who I appreciate and always enjoy spending time with... but those times seem to get fewer and further way. So I loved having my birthday as an excuse to get people to hang out!
Day 12: #Sydco Wedding
Here's another day that wasn't really about celebrating me. I was initially supposed to be spending this day road-tripping to Orlando for IF: Lead, but when Sydney sent me her Save the Date for her wedding, I knew I had to change my plans.
I love weddings. But I love friends more. And I love being able to celebrate with them if it is ever in my power to do so. And considering that Sydney is perhaps the sweetest person on the planet, who I bounded with over Chimamanda Adichie and Arundathi Roy during our Seminar English class as Seniors at A&M... Day 12 was for Sydney.
 |
| Road-tripping it to San Antonio! The 3-hour drive was filled with good tunes and some good conversation! |
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| Sydney and Marco made a BEAUTIFUL couple. And the location couldn't have been more perfect. Vineyards are like a little piece of heaven on earth. And it was also great to run into a friend from HS and college (we both knew Sydney from college, but we didn't know we both knew her. And we had lost touch really since HS, and only ran into each other once during our days at A&M). |
Day 13-22: The BIG Orlando Splurge
I was in Orlando for 10 days celebrating BIG! First, I got to be involved with the IF: Gathering's conference for local leaders called IF: Lead. And then I spent 4 days at DisneyWorld and 2 days at Universal Studios. I will blog about both of those separately because they were just too epic and honestly the highlight of anything that could have happened to me during my 30th birthday celebration (well... Pentatonix was pretty amazing, too... but DisneyWorld has been my dream for FOREVER, and was supposed to be my 25th birthday celebration, but yeah...)
10 whole days of BLISS... that's all I can say about that time! Sneak Peek Below! ;-)
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