Happy Birthday

I haven't done birthday posts this year. And I'm really not about to. But today is different.

Last December my aunt passed away. Today she would be 49.

My aunt was a people person by nature. She had friends and she had her cousins (who all grew up together so they were all best buds). There were stories she would confess to, and then there were the stories she wouldn't. Those are still a mystery to me. :)

Judie loved music. Actually, that's probably an understatement. She knew all the popular, current bands. And that never changed, she knew the popular stuff up until she passed away. Give her a lyric, she could name the song title and the artist. That was just her.

When I was little she spent a ton of time with my brother and me. She let me wear her McDonalds uniform when she came home from work. She taught me to turn her stereo on and off. She had us over for sleepovers all the time. She also tortured us with stories about the cucuy (the Mexican version of the boogeyman for those of you who didn't know). She was the fun aunt.

The last five years or so were rough. As much as she loved people, you couldn't tell that was her nature because she sadly let alcohol get the best of her. She had good days and it was just like the old Judie. She still cooked for me when I came over from college (I attended a college just around the corner from her and my grandparents). We were still close when she allowed it.

I've spent a lot of time with her daughters since she left us. They're twins, juniors in high school. And it's funny how much of her I see sometimes. The other day we were talking about her at lunch because I had talked to them about getting a tattoo in memory of her. I shared a quick story that they didn't know, but they liked hearing. So I thought I'd share it today because I like to think about it too.

Here's a shocker for y'all: hubby and I met online. We talked for about a month before we decided to finally go on a date. Here's the big shocker: we didn't exchange pics or anything. So our first date was pretty much a blind date. I was OBVIOUSLY nervous. I had already told Judie about my date and about an hour before the big date was supposed to happen she called me. She asked me the obvious questions: was I nervous, where were we going, was I excited... then she grilled me and made sure she knew where I would be. In one conversation she was a best friend and a protective aunt. She even offered to go to the restaurant we were going to so she could spy and rescue me if he turned out to be creepy. haha I loved that. I felt so much better when I got off the phone with her. She was the last person I talked to before I met my husband. And she was the first person I called when I got home and gushed over him. :)

That will always be a special memory for me. Even with the turbulent years so recently I still think of her supporting me and being there. So tonight our family is getting together for dinner. And even though there's a decent chance some people will want to bring the drama, I'm blocking them out and thinking of Judie.

Love ya Judie. Happy birthday.

It's Not Just ANY Tuesday

Happy birthday to my amazing hubby today!!!

As I said, I took a couple days off so we could spend some time together. So far it's been nice and relaxing. We didn't get out of town like we had hoped, but it's still nice to be home together since the only time we are anymore is when I have school holidays.

I'm off to go do something celebratory... don't know just what yet. We'll figure something out.

A VERY Important List

Okay, so it's Wednesday. It's my birthday. (Go ahead, take a second to text me wonderful birthday wishes, haha.) Normally I would have a wish list. And you may just see one later in the day. But this is kind of a big birthday for me.

I'm 29 today.

This is the last year I'll be in my twenties. Do you KNOW how horrifying that is???? Now, several blogs I follow have been doing this super cool idea. They make this list called "30 Before 30." It's thirty things they want to accomplish before they turn thirty years old. I like this idea. Scratch that... I LOVE it. So I made my own. With twelve months to go before I transition to a different digit in the tens place (EEK!) I figure this list is totally doable. I'll be posting it in one of my sidebars so y'all can keep up with how I'm doing.

So here we go! My very own "30 Before 30."

1. Throw an awards show party.
2. Go to a roller derby event (we totally have a local team).
3. See Ellen DeGeneres.
4. See Craig Ferguson.
5. Grill a steak (yes, I've never actually done this on my own).
6. Go hunting (not just accompany hubby and scout).
7. Grow something that actually lives.
8. Sew something that I am willing to wear in public.
9. Have a wine-tasting party.
10. Go snow camping. Yes. Camping. In the snow.
11. Make sure at least two rooms in my house are "finished."
12. Take a vacation with hubby. A real vacation. Not something weak that's driving distance.
13. Get a Brazilian Blowout. For those wondering, it's a hair treatment that will save me tons of time in the morning.
14. Bake brownies from scratch.
15. Submit some photography in some sort of contest.
16. Drop a jean size (no, I will not be posting the number).
17. Run two miles - no walking.
18. Take a cake-decorating class.
19. Take my parents to dinner. I PAY.
20. Make tortillas.
21. Have four separate girls' nights.
22. Make a loft bed for Tad's room (hubby will have a large part in this).
23. Make a non-holiday wreath for my front door.
24. Get and learn to use Photoshop.
25. Regular trips to thrift stores (like, once a month at least).
26. Buy a new couch.
27. FINALLY go to Ikea.
28. Go one month without soda - diet or otherwise.
29. Get a tattoo.
30. Make Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls.

Looking at that list it's really easy to say, "Ooh! I can knock out at least three of these over break!" But I'm a procrastinator so we'll see if that actually happens. I'll check them off as we go through the year.

Well, I'm off to celebrate my birthday... by going to work. And doing yard duty. And play practice. But no church tonight! So I believe hubby, mom and maybe my brother are going to dinner with me. And Chronicles of Narnia maybe? We shall see...

Happy Birthday

to my pops!!

I kinda love this picture because my dad is SOOOO not a country-western type of person. He likes the songs about drinking, but not much else. This was at grandpa's party last month.

I'm pretty sure I've said all that there is to say about my dad. He took me to baseball games when I was little and just watched Game 2 of the World Series with me last week. He always has an adult beverage to offer when I'm there. He got me started on Stephen King when I was in junior high. He gave me clever lies to tell my niece and nephews. I'm scared of what he may say to my own kids one day, but I learned pretty quick, so hopefully they will too.

Happy birthday dad! Love you!

Happy Birthday to...

... my super adorable Grandpa Felix!


Would you even guess that the happy man in that picture is turning 80? I wish I had video of his little "entrance" at his party because he was too cute for words.

My grandpa rocks. The man loves his country music, his Clint Eastwood movies, and of course his family. He was the first person to tell me inappropriate jokes. He was also the first person to tell me to pull his finger. He made me laugh more times than I can possibly count. He had a fun party this year filled with friends and family. All you have to do is ask anyone about him and I can guarantee they're going to have a great story. Because every time he's around, there's a story in the making.

Happy birthday, Grandpa. I love you.

Happy Birthday to...

my sissy!!


You all know my sissy already. You know we're troublemakers together. So I'll keep it short and semi-sweet.

She's the mother of my child (literally, she's Tad's mom and I tell him he's my baby all the time). She's vulgar and hilarious. She will always have my back. And I love her (even when we don't agree, which happens more than you might think).

Happy birthday love!

Happy Birthday to...

my cousin Kayla!!!!

Here we are being slightly fabulous.

At times I can only laugh at our similarities. We grew up an our away from each other (we're still that far away) which took a toll on how much we saw each other. But we have these moments where we are the same person. It's a little scary.

There are too many stories to count about this girl. Some of which are probably not fit to be shared here. ;) I'll leave it at this: We know how to have fun.

Happy birthday cousin! I love you!

Happy Birthday to...

My best friend Lauren!!!

Sorry for the dark picture. I didn't really feel like plugging in the external hard drive so I had to steal this one from one of our friends. This is OBVIOUSLY Lauren's wedding that just happened in June.

Lauren and I are total opposites in some ways. Like our senses of humor (mine is meaner) and our general volume (I'm the loud one). But it works really well. We met in one of our college classes and I'm pretty sure I opened the conversation with a sarcastic remark about the class. She laughed. Then we were BFFs. haha

Lauren is an amazing person. Pretty sure I couldn't have made it through school without her. We had some interesting times in college. She's a teacher too and she has saved my sanity over the past week and a half. I love this girl.

Happy Birthday my Lauren! Eat lots of ice cream and remember I love you!!!

Happy Birthday to...

... my other little brother Eric!

Okay, so this picture is actually really old. Like, probably over two years. But it's the one I thought Eric would hate the least. He's lost a lot of weight (way to go little bro!) and we seem to have zero pictures together since then.

Eric, we need to remedy this. Time to go out.

Anyway, Eric cracks me up. He was still in high school when hubby and I met. So I got to watch his semi-awkward high school years (yay!). He was always a funny kid, but now he's super cool and I love when we hang out with him. Even if he does talk about how hot my cousin is all the time...

So happy birthday Eric! Let's go out this week before I have to start work. You know I'm your favorite sis.

Happy Birthday to...

My friend Leon!

This picture makes me smile because I think we look like our parents.

Leon and I got to watch each other be awkward. We met in junior high and he became fast friends with my brother. We're all so close in age that we just became a little group. I've met tons of other people through him and we've stayed close for fifteen years or so now. His family is pretty much an extension of mine.

I'll also take today to say... Leon is making me an aunt again! He and his fiancee Kellee are having a baby. I'm so stoked! Seriously.

So happy birthday "daddy Leon" (you can thank Tim for that moniker). Love you (and Kellee, and the wee one!) lots!

Happy Birthday to...

My girl, Julia!


Isn't she just the little white version of me? haha

Julia is my youngest cousin, and my girl. We've always been close and now that she's turning 12 (!!!) we've been growing closer. She behaves like any other girl her age - rotten with mom, but amazing with me. I was the same way.

It's crazy to watch her being old and stuff. She's pretty! And I don't want boys talking to her! I don't have much to worry about, thankfully she's NOT boy crazy like I was. Plus she has two big brothers, and two step-brothers to chase them away. :)

So happy birthday my Julio (no, not a typo, it's a nickname). I love you little one!

Happy Birthday to...

To my little brother, Nick!!!

This picture is what you get when it's after one in the morning, we're at the same party, and I leave my camera on the table while running to retrieve a Sharpie (yes, we drew on a guy who passed out).

My brother is pretty much awesome. He cracks me up. We enjoy (most of) the same things. Little things like shouting, "Danzig!!!" can give us endless amusement. He's going to be one of the coolest uncles ever once I have kids. He has light saber and Nerf battles with Tad. He lets Tad play his piano. Plus there's the fact that he's been in plenty of bands and I feel insanely proud every time I go watch him.

Maybe it's being so close in age (we're only seventeen months apart) or maybe it's that it was only the two of us growing up, but we're really close. He's always come to my defense (even when I didn't want him to). He's cheered me up when I needed it. He even went so far as to listen (or just pretend to) when I blabbed on and on in high school. He didn't throw a hissy fit when I dated his friends (sorry, brother). He's been a great brother.

So heeeey little brother (yeah, I saying that to you like on Scrubs), have an awesome birthday. Gimme a call and we'll take you up to the range sometime soon. Love you!

Happy Birthday to...

My mother-in-law/other mother (yes, like Coraline), Chris!!

I think I posted this picture before. But it makes me laugh! How can I not post it for her birthday???

I'm trying to think of one good story about Chris. But it's hard. Because there are definitely weird moments from day to day. Like my first trip with her, but without hubby. We drove to Hollister with some of her sisters. THAT was an interesting trip (especially since hubby and I weren't even engaged yet). Or how the first time I met her I wasn't even ready to meet her. Hubby just decided to stop by her house on our way back home from a race. Because meeting your boyfriend's mom in jeans and a big college sweatshirt, little makeup, and a hot mess of a hair day is exactly what every girl wants to do, right?

But Chris always keeps things interesting. So happy birthday, Chris! Love you!

Happy Birthday to...

My youngest niece, Willow!

This picture cracks me up. That's last Christmas. She finally started to like us enough that she smiles for pictures and even hugs us goodbye. Still won't let us babysit her but...

As I mentioned, Willow isn't really the most... friendly child. That might not even be the word for it. She just doesn't like people immediately. The first (and last!) time I babysat her, she cried. Didn't just cry - screamed. Crawled into her car seat and cried. Cried until she fell asleep. When she woke up she let me give her a snack, but if I looked at her... FORGET IT! It's funny now, but I told my sis that I wasn't watching her again.

But I'll sew for her. I love sewing for her. Little skirts and dresses are easy (and super adorable when you're used to boys!). Good thing she's cute.

Happy birthday, Willow! Love you!

Happy Birthday to...

My cousin Dane!

I enjoy this picture of him beating up on our cousin. It's more fun than a nice picture. Because this kind of picture speaks volumes about a person.

It says that my cousin Dane enjoys torturing our younger cousins (much like I enjoy doing).

Dane grew up an hour away from me, so we weren't close as kids. But you know how growing up can make it that much easier to be closer? Yeah, that kind of happened. He's funny. Different kind of funny than my brother, but still funny. And his hairiness reminds me of Wolverine, which amuses me. Seriously, you should see him fluff that hair and wear his leather jacket around. It's awesome.

Happy birthday, Dane! Hope you spend it with some great friends. Love you!

Happy Birthday to...

My aunt Kathy!

She's the one smack-dab in the middle. Think my mom and her sisters resemble each other a bit?

I'm Kathy's baby. Seriously, just ask her. A guy I dated tried to tell her otherwise once and you should have seen the daggers that came out of her eyes at him. It's okay, she ran into him at his work after we broke up (he had been a massive jerk to me) and called him a loser. In front of his co-workers. Best aunt ever.

She was in high school when I was born so the age difference between us isn't ginormous. Maybe that's why we've always been close. I've been able to help her with her kids when she needed a nanny. And she's always been there for me. She's as much a friend as she is an aunt.

Happy birthday, aunt Kathy. I love you!!

Happy Birthday to...

My aunt Glenda!

Here she is with Tad. She loves him. But who doesn't??

Glenda is my mom's sis. I don't know if you can see the resemblance here, but one of these days I'll post a picture from my wedding that will make you laugh at how alike we all look.

Aunt Glenda is probably the troublemaker of the four of them (if we had to pick one). There's a certain embarrassing story involving her and my mom that I used to win a radio contest once. And just this last Mother's Day she revealed more antics from her youth that we didn't know about. My youngest cousin was in tears she was laughing so hard. And don't ask me to reveal those stories - the only reason I got away with the radio contest one is because it was pretty anonymous.

Aunt Glenda's new thing is all this super active stuff. She doing runs with her kids and this summer she's all excited to go canoeing again. She's even trying to get all of us in on the canoeing. She's definitely up for everything and that's just one reason she's so much fun.

Happy birthday, aunt Glenda! Love you!

Happy Birthday to...

My aunt Sam!

Here's Sam with her son and his girlfriend. She's my dad's baby sister. And my partner in crime when we get together. We tend to be amusing.

When my cousins were little, for some reason they called her "Hammy" instead of "Sammy." As I'm sure you would expect, I took that and ran with it. I think she's still Hammy in my phone or email. And she lets me get away with it!

Happy birthday Sam! Love you!

Happy Birthday to...

My Tad!

Yup, it's my baby's birthday today. He's 6! I'm feeling really old right now. Doesn't 6 sound old? Doesn't he LOOK old? It kills me.

There's really nothing I can say about Tad that you haven't heard already. If I could, I would buy him and keep him as my own. If I knew my kids would turn out as awesome as him, I would have at least four. He's weird and it's totally our fault. He's sweet and I don't know if I can take the credit for that. He's smart and creative and I'd like to think we had a hand in that.

He's perfect.

Happy birthday little man! I love you all the way to infinity and beyond!

Happy Birthday to...

My Micah Paige!!!

My cousin Micah is pretty much the coolest. And she's definitely the bestest house sitter ever! We're a lot alike, which means we always have fun together. She has some of the best friends that are constantly coming to my house with her. I love everything about her! Even the fact that she shops in my closet a lot more lately.

Micah is one of Tad's favorite people too. They always blow out her birthday candles together. Because that's the kind of person she is. She'll share her birthday candles with a kid.

Happy birthday Micah! I love you cousin!!!