so today’s my birthday…booyah! (yeah, i don’t know…it just came out…it’s early)…and i haven’t written in a few days due to an impromptu weekend getaway to monterey (side note: apparently I LOVE AQUARIUMS or at least the monterey aquarium…its possible i kicked small children out of the way in order to get a better look). i tend to get overwhelmed by birthdays and what it all means so instead….

28 reasons its great to be 28 (or things i appreciate now that i might have overlooked when i was young and dumb )

1. paying bills on time. does anyone else feel like this is a major accomplishment? i literally get a sharp and direct feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when i drop the check in the mail before it’s due every month. mind you, ABN is totally in charge of bills and does all money management online, but i take care of my PINEAPPLE NATION credit card (which i would like to note, has not been used since i quit my job, thank you very much) and i feel disproportionately in control of the universe when i mail that check. now if only i could stop spending money to begin with…but its my birthday and i don’t need to think about that…today.

2. i’m writing again. sure, most of the writing that i’m doing is on this blog and i’m not sure if anything tangible will come out of it. but more days than not i’m sitting down and putting words together in some sort of organized way. and that’s big for me. and i think it’s healthy too.

3. i’m back on the west coast. which could have come with a lot of baggage no doubt. but instead has created the perfect opportunity to reconnect with friends and spend more, quality time with family. i hate missing out on the party! and ABN and i have begun to create our life together. just the two of us. and that’s nice.

4. i’m maintaining friendships and relationships on the east coast. i’m not sure if that has more to do with me or the people that are important to me, but 12 years ago, when i moved the last time, it didn’t quite work out that way. and so with the move this time i was very concerned that i would have to start completely over again. instead, not only am i creating a life here, but i’m lucky enough to have wonderful support and connections on the other side of the country.

5. the gym at work! okay, not only the gym (although what a perk!) but the new job in general. i think i’ve felt a bit lost in my professional life, probably since the day my professional life started. i’ve loved every job i’ve ever had and worked my ass off (well, i’ve given it my all anyway) but i’ve never known what comes next. no direction. just more questions. but with my new job, i feel like i’m getting the opportunity to do what i’ve ALWAYS wanted to do in the community i want to do it. and there are endless possibilities as to what will come next. so many, i don’t have to think about it right now. i can just live in the moment….

6. which brings me to my next point – living in the moment – or not. when i was younger (like yesterday) it was something i strived for…something that other people talked about doing and i felt like i should do too. but guess what? its not so much me to live in the moment, to not think about consequences or what comes next, to not plan ahead. and at 28, i’m moving on. i’m enjoying the moment and our life now. but i’m also aware that the future is coming and its okay to talk about and to prepare. for me, that’s not a bad thing.

7. cheese – okay, i appreciated cheese when i was not 28…but i think 28 is going to be the year of cheese. good cheese. yum….cheese

8. recipe nights – i could break this down into two things i’m thankful for. and because i have to think of 28 i will. the first is this…i’m thankful that my partner and i enjoy spending time together exploring our cookbooks. i think sometimes i wish we had more time, that we could spend time in the kitchen together, cooking and relaxing more often. but i think we are lucky to have the time that we do and that it is even more special and fun because we don’t do it all the time.

9. recipe nights – its been pretty great to have the time to read blogs and pour over my cookbooks and discover recipes and meals to create on my own. i like taking out my pots and pans and dough hooks and filling the house with spices so that when ABN opens the door after a long day of work his first words are…”something smells really good”

10. turning to celebrities for my drama – so anyone who knows me in real life (or who has ever read this blog before…ever) knows i’m obsessed. i want to know what they’re wearing, where they’re wearing it and who they are sitting next to while they where it. sometimes celebrity gossip gets me through my day. and when they are having a slow day, i’m haivng a slow day too. but i think i’m so much happier using celebrities to fulfill my drama needs rather than my own life…i wouldn’t argue that my own life is drama free – but i’m trying my darndest to move in that direction (to that note…rhianna – i have an extra bedroom…come here, we’ll talk).

11. the understanding that hair grows back. mind you, i have a great hair cut. but MARTIN, who i love, doesn’t always listen. so while i went in back in november for a trim in order to get rid of dead ends and with a goal to grow it out, he went to town and gave me an adorable new do. but here’s the thing – as a camp director (i love the way that sounds) girl needs to be able to put her hair up in a pony (you can’t argue with me on that one, even if you prefer my hair short…mom). in the past an unplanned-for short cut might have led me to a catatonic state but today – i’ll rock my do (which is growing) and embrace the day when i can put it up in a messy bun.

12. designer jeans on sale at loehmanns

13. being a member of a wine club…getting wine delievered straight to the door…amazing

14. having a washer and dryer in the house – i had no idea it could bring so much pleasure

15. diet coke from a fountain – yes, a diet coke has the power in my life to change a day from bad to good – no doubt. but only fountain soda. which is such a good thing. cans of diet coke used to pulse through my veins multiple times a day and now its reserved for special occasions or you know, moments of real desperation. i appreciate the power (and taste) of my dc so much more than before.

16. my awesome clipboard! okay, well, i’m not sure how much this has to do with me being 28, but i think it has a bunch to do with THE CHARACTER being 24 and thus buying me the most awesome birthday gift ever! every camp director needs a clipboard and the one that i JUST opened (ABN told me i should open one gift this morning…) is freaking amazing!

17. waking up a little earlier than necessary. i like taking my time, drinking my coffee, checking my email, finding out what’s going on in the world with matt lauer. making the most of my morning. even i groan when my alarm goes off (or really, when i wake up a couple of minutes before the alarm goes off…its just my way) i enjoy the quiet time. and i think it starts me off for a better kind of day.

18. being 28 rather than 38 because 38 would mean i’d have to think of a lot more things to put on this list…now i know why people stick to 10.

19. my parents and our mostly wonderful relationship. we’ve grown up a lot together – and worked on our relationships a lot. we’re in a really great place right now (and i know ABN has a lot to do with that…i will argue forever that my parents decided they liked me more when i started dating ABN, but it goes both ways). i know it pains them that i’m so far away but i’m not sure if they realize that it says a lot about our relationship that my distance makes them sad. there have definitely been times in our history when that would not have been the case (see age 14-22).

20. dates (of the dried fruit variety). how did i exist so long with out them?

21. brussel sprouts (see dates).

22. working with teens. so grateful to no longer be one.

23. rediscovering NPR. when i lived in LA and went to the BIG M i spent almost every morning trapped in the middle seat listening to the not-so-headline-news on morning edition. and i didn’t get it. i found it annoying – well, at that time i found most things annoying. but now, my day is incomplete without the nasal and dry (don’t they always sound like they need a sip of water?) voices of the npr reporters. i’m so glad i opened myself up to listening again because i can’t imagine my 28 year old self without it.

24. cohabitation – who knew sharing everything could be so much fun?

25. being partnered. ABN = being in a good place.

26. reading because i enjoy a good story. i think i’ve always liked to read but like so many things in my life, ran away from it for a long time because i knew it was something i was supposed to do. but now i get to read what i want when i want and it turns out…i want to read a lot. ABN laughs at me because often times i will finish books and articles that i am not necessarily enjoying. but the truth is, i like the act of reading and while i might enjoy the story itself – i’ll feel unsettled FOREVER if i walk away without knowing what happens in the end.

27. tinting my eyebrows and eyelashes…on an almost regular basis. i think the fact that i did not do this in high school is directly related to how miserable i was.

and finally…

28. i’m 28. that just sounds like a good place to be…