Nobody Likes You When You're 23... Yeah Right!

These past few days have been more than I could have ever imagined/hoped for! I have felt so special and loved coming into my 23rd year! 

The weekend started off with dinner with Philip to kick off the festivities! We enjoyed some delicious dinner at Bahama Breeze after work to put us in relaxation mode! 

After getting stuffed, we headed home to where many surprises awaited! Phil let me open my gifts on Friday, because... he surprised me with a weekend getaway to Orlando! 

Saturday morning, we loaded up our car and hit the road! 

We got there a little early before Check In at our hotel, so decided to head on down to City Walk and sight see! We ended up having lunch in the Hard Rock Cafe and that was seriously one of the coolest restaurants I have ever been to. 

I ordered the traditional burger and fries and it was delicious!!! 

Philip got the Mac N Cheese burger, and believe me when I say, that thing was SO good! 

This restaurant was so cool and worth the time if you are ever in the area! After your meal you walk around the restaurant which is more like a museum and get to see so many incredible historical items from all kinds of musicians! 

Once we were done there we enjoyed walking around and acting like total tourists! 

Once our legs were calling it quits, we headed on over to our hotel which I could not believe it, was less than a mile away from Universal! The hotel was amazing and we really enjoyed our stay at the Home Wood Suites! 

The hotel was perfect and seriously huge! I couldn't believe we had this place all to ourselves! We spent a little time at the hotel and then got ready to hit the town in our fancy clothes! 

We took a pit stop on our way back to Universal and had some drinks at Fat Tuesdays! 

Philip went with the orange/mango and an extra shot, and I got the fruit punch! 

After we finished off our drinks we headed over to see...

THE BLUE MAN GROUP!

I have been wanting to go to one of their shows for years, and to put the icing on the cake, he got us front row, poncho zone!!!

The show was incredible, and hilarious. It was such a fun way to really get people out of there shell and by the end was one huge dance party! It was seriously so much fun! If you ever have the chance to go to one of their shows, I highly recommend it! 

After we finished up there we headed on over to Waste Away in Margaritaville! 

Where we enjoyed dinner and of course... margaritas! Philip even had the live band get together and the whole restaurant sang Happy Birthday... while I hid under his arm haha. 

The next morning, we hit the road and were homeward bound to what I thought, relax, and chill at home. Go into my usual Sunday ritual of cleaning, laundry, prepping for the week. What I came home to was all of my friends and family gathered at Phillippee Park with a whole set up for my birthday! We were fishin, playing cornhole, and just having an amazing time! It was such a special feeling to be surrounded by so many caring and loving people, I literally felt on top of the world! 

And, who would have thought it, just when I thought the fun and surprises was over, I went into work to find my desk had been converted into something out of a Harry Potter movie!!!

My coworkers even queued Harry Potter Music as I was walking in! It was amazing from the Platform 9 3/4 decor to the floating candles above my chair! 

Of course, Philip was still up to more surprises and had flowers delivered to my desk while I was away at lunch! Sneaky man that one! 

My coworkers surprised me with a magical cake! 

To finish the day off, these past few days have been absolutely amazing and I feel so loved and surrounded by amazing people. I am so blessed to welcome in my 23rd year surrounded by amazing friends and family! 

I want to thank all of my friends and family and of course my fiance for making this such an amazing unforgettable birthday!

XO. 

The Key To My Happiness

Someone once told me that if you are feeling down, going through a phase that you cannot seem to break out of, or you just do not feel like yourself, it is important to make a list of all of the things you have to be thankful for. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it almost seemed like the stars had aligned and the timing was just too right not to do this. Whether this list inspires you to start thinking about what you have to be grateful for, or this is just a simple reminder for me, I think I need to start counting my blessings. What better way to count them than if they are right in front of my face. Mind you this post will most likely be long, but again, this post is for me.

Thankful Thanksgiving Week - My Blessings:

1. Family: While family seems to be an obvious choice to be thankful for, I truly have to take a step back and think about who God has given me as a family. While my family may be remotely small, their love they supply is enormous. 

My mom is easily one of my best friends, and is one of the strongest female influences in my life. Tell my mother she cannot do something and she will show you just how she can do it and even better than you imagined. She has an enormous sense of determination that is inspiring. I believe that by having her as a mother in my life, I have been taught how I deserve to be treated by all, and to never settle for anything less. She has always tried to make my life full of experiences and joy. It is because of her that I can say I have traveled to numerous places throughout the U.S., out of the country, jumped out of an airplane! She has given my life so much joy in being not only my mother but my best friend.

The picture above is my mom and I this year at a friends wedding reception. 

 My sister, Isabella, is 12 years old and in the 7th grade. She is incredibly inspiring because she is one of the few children on this day and age to really not care about what others think. She has this enormous amount of confidence that allows her to try new things, think independent thoughts, be her own person. Which I think is amazing for someone her age. She will be the first person to be honest with you. I wish I had her bravery at such a young age to tackle some of the things I never did. She even started up her own YouTube page doing beauty tutorials and DIY's (something I have always thought of doing but never actually having the confidence to start - much like this blog)! She does not conform to what she sees in school and is not easily influenced by her peers, thank god! I cannot wait to see what she will accomplish with her drive. 

This was my Mom, Sister, and I on her most recent 12th birthday out to eat some Sushi!

My Dad and I have a very different relationship than we used to and I am so grateful for that to start off with. My dad is a man of few words and doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve, we are very different! I can become an emotional train wreck within 2.5 seconds over watching something on the Animal Planet and he would think I have lost my mind. I am so thankful though that even though my dad has this type of personality, it has not stopped him from showing me that he loves me in his own way. He caught me SO off guard the other day when I called him asking what in the world he wanted for Christmas. I start my Christmas shopping in mid-October, and my father is always the one person I do not have finished because I just never know what to get him. He's not your typical, golf, sports, chocolate, or beer kinda guy. To my amazement he said that all he wanted for Christmas was to make sure we spent more time together next year than we did this year. Which not only got my creative juices flowing but overwhelmed me with gratitude that he said that. Stay tuned for his present! 

 

This picture above is of my Father, Sister, and I at one of his company's Christmas parties in 2005! Time flies!

My Grandma! I genuinely feel like this woman is an Angel on Earth. She is truly my guardian angel. She is such a strong women, and spent most of her life as an EMT! She was the first women to be an EMT in her county! She is such an inspiration and has so much motivation to accomplish so much in her life but at the same time is so open and sweet to others. She will give you the shirt off her back if you need it. I could call her at 3 o'clock in the morning and know she will talk to me about whatever is on my mind. She gives her all to every person she meets and makes friends everywhere she goes. I could call her and talk to her for hours, which I probably have done and secretly drive her crazy! ;) She is a blessing not only in my life but to every person that has the chance of meeting her and getting to know her. 

 

This was my grandma and I standing on a cliff in Ireland! I wish so much that we could relive this day all over again! 

2. Love: I could write a novel in this section but I will do my best to cut it as short as possible! I met, the absolute love of my life, soul-mate when I was 14 years old. Over 7 years later he still has my heart, and our love for each other grows with each days passing. Philip and I have had our fair share of relationship ups and downs, but in the end I always knew he was the one at the end of the day that made me smile. I think that some people go through life accepting a love that they think they deserve but they do not see their own potential. I cannot tell you how many chick flicks I have watched or how many people I have heard say things like, "You only see that in the movies" but I truly believe that day in and day out I am living in my own fairytale. Now we may fight, like all couples do, there is never even a sliver of a doubt in my mind of this boys love for me. I am so thankful everyday to have found a man so loving, so generous, so caring, he is just everything I could ever ask for and more. I could not think of a better person to spend my life with.

 

This was us this past summer in St. Augustine at the Castillo De San Marco.

Another wonderful thing to fall under the category of love are my two children, or should I say my fur-babies. I have two of the most loving pups in the entire world. For starters, there is Balto, he is my big boy. He looks just like you would think when you hear Balto, a big black Husky boy weighing in at about 80 pounds. He is such a gentle giant. Then there is my little Ollie, who is a mixture between a beagle and a whippet and who knows what but he is the biggest lover there is! I am so thankful to come home to these two every single day. They comfort me when I am sad, they always make me laugh after a rough day. They are literally sweet angels.