My 29th Birthday

I'm 29 years old. That's the first time I've written it. Wow. You know how most years when you turn an age it doesn't really feel any different? This year, to me, it feels a bit different. I think it's because it's like a precipice, a point of no return, the time to do things and get them done, for once and for all, no turning back. I feel very serious about this being the year of accomplishing goals that I've dragged my feet on so many years before, putting things off and procrastinating. My 29-year-old self is tired of all of that. When I turn 30 I want to feel good about things, not like I'm still in limbo, you know? Of course I realize many things I'm working on (my weight, finances, etc) may not be exactly where I want them to be by then, but putting my foot down, so-to-speak, as I am doing, should mean that they are thisclose to being in line if not completely achieved. I am excited to begin to use this blog as more of a means of holding myself accountable for things, too. I worry a lot about judgment from other people, and so I hold back sometimes, not always writing everything I really wish I could write or give opinions about, but I am also beginning my 30th year with the intention of growing in my authenticity, of coming into my own. I realized several weeks ago that other people in my life have no problem speaking out against things or for things, of doing things a certain way no matter what, while I'm always going "Well but would it make so and so angry if I did this or that?" I realized, most of the time no one will get angry or even think twice. And that by being inauthentic, I may be missing some really amazing moments to grow as a person or grow in my relationships with other people. So 29 will be the Age of Authenticity and Accomplishment. I'm excited!

So now that we got all the heavy, profound (maybe, lol) stuff out of the way, onto the festivities. Birthday morning I took Dresden to Starbucks for a little breakfast date. All was going well until I heard those two dreaded words - "I poop! I poop!" So we had to cut that short and head home for a fresh diaper. (I didn't bring his bag because he normally has an...um..."schedule", and never usually has to "go" at 9 a.m. Happy Birthday to me!!! :-D It wasn't a big deal though cuz we just went home and played until his nap. I worked out and then treated myself to a Target shopping trip where I bought myself the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire. Truth be told, I'm actually a 15-year-old in a 29-year-old body with voracity with which I devour such novels as Twilight, Fallen (a series about angels), and now The Hunger Games, but I'm not ashamed! They are quick, exciting reads, and really, that's all I have time for these days, you know? My mind is way to exhausted by 10 p.m. to trudge through the likes of Jane Eyre like I normally would have done. Gimme tween romances so I can relive my glory days all the way, baby! :-D

For dinner we went to Brio. Dresden LOVED the artichoke spinach dip. I was so happy to be "sneaking" in vegetables disguised as greasy, fattening cheese, haha! I had a delicious dish called Campanelle Carbonara (I love the smoky taste of carbonara stuff), and enjoyed a peach bellini.

Me and my bug with a mouthful of spinach dip, lol!

The LaFasto's!

Mama and me

The Goin's! (I look horrible in the picture, I realize this, but it's a cute one of our fam,

so I swallowed my dignity and posted it - authentic, see?! :-D)

We went home to enjoy the red velvet cake I requested. I also got the gift I asked for - a heart rate monitor/calorie counter for my workouts. I want to see how many calories I actually burn at Zumba to see how close I get to the internet's estimate, and be able to adjust my workouts and calories accordingly. It's time to get SERIOUS, people! I'm going to set it up tomorrow so I can use it for my workout on Monday. Again, very excited! Oh, and Alex also got me what I asked for, a subscription to Real Simple magazine. Thank you, Sweet Husband. I LOVE that magazine! It's one of those that I end up buying almost every issue because I love the stuff they feature, so I thought a subscription made more sense. I'm also kind of a magazine junkie in general. I just love them.

My gift and cake with the beautiful flowers from one Miss Emily Shaw, my lifeline out in Querque-town

I think they are singing to me here...(why does the birthday song always make people shy and giddy?!)

Dresden enjoying one bite of cake - kid has some serious self-discipline - did NOT get it from me! haha.

My new techie gear. I'm practically a professional athlete at this point y'all. :-)

If you asked my mother how many times these candles have been reused, 

I'd be really surprised if she could tell you, LOL!

We capped off the night with a start to our Birthday Tudor's marathon. Season 4 has been sitting on my shelf since September, and I finally forced my hand and played the "It's my birthday" card so Alex would let us watch them. We just watch so many shows already that opening a whole new one felt overwhelming, but I couldn't take it anymore. All I can say is, right now, with the way they have this actress acting who is playing Catherine Howard, I will be glad when it's her turn at the block. She's SO annoying. So she's either a really bad, twitchy actress (think K-Stew in the first Twilight twitchy bad), or a REALLY good actress to have me SO annoyed with her weird twitches and lack of eyebrows, etc.

But wait...there's more! Because on Friday, it was my Mom's birthday!!! So we got to go out to eat two nights in a row, this time to Abuelo's!

Mama and me enjoying our delicioso sangria swirls!

Two out of the three blondes in this photo are imposters...ha! Also please excuse how depraved Dresden looks - he gets thousands of amazing pictures on this blog, so when there's a semi-cute one of me, I'm gonna jump at the chance!

Mom and Dad

We three...

All in all it was a nice birthday this year. Above all else, I'm really just excited by the possibilities, the opportunities to finally get the life we want, the potential that I feel is out there waiting for me now. 29 may be an "odd" year, but I'm thinking that's going to be part of it's promise and charm!

Weekend re-cap to come, hopefully tomorrow.

Love,

Cassie