In Our 30s and Still Know How to Have Fun

This weekend was my last weekend of free time because starting tomorrow I don't have a day off from work until next Wednesday.  Now some of you may be thinking that isn't so bad, but let me tell you... working 8 days straight in a restaurant is no picnic.  Granted some of the shifts are manager shifts while others are bartending shifts, but in general it is just exhausting being in the restaurant business.  So with limited time off this weekend I was so excited that we were able to spend some of it going out for our good friend JC's 35th birthday.

We haven't been friends with JC all that long... but it feels like we have been friends with him and his wife forever. His wife R is pretty much my bff from law school and my friendship with her is pretty much the only law school friendship that I maintained after graduating.  Mark and I are so blessed to have them in our lives and we were thrilled to be there to celebrate J's 35th with him!!

RC & JC

Law School BFFs

We had a lovely dinner for J at Pietro's Prime in West Chester... a restaurant Mark and I happened to have recently said that we wanted to try out.  I had heard that they had fantastic martinis which made me happy and then they are known for their steaks which I obviously knew would make Mark happy. We had the best time and it was a perfect Saturday night out!! For me it was awesome because it finally seemed to sink in for me that even though I am now 30, it doesn't mean that I can't have fun!

Loving having a Saturday Night Out together!!

Delicious Dirty Martini

My Dinner Versus

Hubby's Dinner

Jim's Birthday Cake

Ladies taking some shots!!

Everyone after dinner

The Table

On the subject of being in my 30s, it just occurred to me that I never posted about MY 30th birthday.  My actually 30th was pretty uneventful... Mark and I were out at his family's house for Thanksgiving and it snowed... and we drank margaritas.. and that was pretty much it.

A Very Snowy Birthday

Birthday Margaritas!!

BUT the Monday before my actual birthday I had a wonderful surprise dinner thrown for me by one of my best gals, EO.  I had told her a while back that I didn't want to do anything for my birthday because any time I try to plan something for myself it always turns out horribly wrong, meaning I usually end up in tears.  I didn't want to start my 30s off that way so I just decided we weren't going to do anything.  Then on Sunday when we were grocery shopping Mark told me he was going to take me out for dinner on Monday to celebrate my birthday a little early since we were going to be with his family on my actual birthday.  We did a little shopping and then headed to Hibachi for dinner.  When we got inside I was shocked to see a bunch of my friends just chilling at the bar... we were 10 minutes early... so they weren't quite expecting me yet and I made it there before some of my friends... but it wouldn't be me if I weren't early for my own surprise party!

We had such a fun time at dinner... it was my first time EVER at a Hibachi place!! It was great to have so many of my favorite people in one place at the same time because let's just say that with my crazy work schedule, along with the work schedules of all of my friends, it is almost impossible to get us all together at the same time... so when I say that I was so excited that we were all able to hang out it is an understatement.

Flaming Volcano Drink for my 30th

Some of the best friends a girl could ask for out to celebrate my 30th Birthday!!

I am seriously so blessed to have so many wonderful friends in my life and I am hoping that in 2015 I will be able to focus on my friendships and make sure that all of my friends know how much they mean to me.

Have you ever had a hard time turning a specific age? Did you ever realize that age doesn't matter, it is what you are doing with your life and who you are spending it with that really matters?

Today I am also linking up with Krista at The Quinntessential Mommy for her Meet Up Monday link-up... head over to her blog and check out some of the amazing bloggers who have linked up with her for this party!!

Happy 84th Birthday Grammy!!

This is my Grammy....

Ok.. this isn't my Grammy it is my Grammy & my little brother on my wedding day, but close enough

Today she is turning 84 years old.  In times where it seems like people seem to be dying younger and younger (sorry if that seems a bit morbid, but it also seems to be the truth), it is so important to celebrate the lives of those who are that much older (and wiser) than us.  M and I actually went to my parent's house in NJ this weekend so that we could celebrate with my Grammy another year of her life.  

This year it was really important to me that we go up for her birthday because as some of you know my Grammy was diagnosed a while back with early onset Alzheimer's Disease.  Unfortunately I am no stranger to this disease as when I was in middle school Alzheimer's claimed the life of my Grandpa and my Gram has also been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's.  This disease has been a part of my family life ever since I was born... my Grandpa had the disease when my parents got married so I never actually got to know him when he wasn't sick.  Of course I knew him when he was still lucid and knew who I was... but I also watched him deteriorate to the point where he couldn't take care of himself.  

But I digress... this awful disease is why I was so adamant about heading back to NJ to be able to celebrate my Grammy's birthday with her.  I want to be able to spend as much time with her as possible while she still knows who I am... and trust me even now there are times where she is really confused as to who I am.  This weekend was no different.  Although we told her multiple times we were there for her birthday at one point she asked us where my brother was and if we were going to call him to wish him a Merry Christmas.  She also thought that M and I had been married for 4 years at this point and didn't think she was at the wedding.  I ended up spending about an hour going through ALL of my wedding pictures with her... having her point out people she knew... trying to get her to remember the day.  At times it seemed like she remembered and at other times she couldn't remember what we had just talked about five minutes prior. 

Parents, me & M, and of course Grammy!

It is so sad to see my Grammy's memory deteriorating the way that it is.  She was always one of the sharpest people I knew and we used to have the best conversations.  She was a teacher for YEARS and all of her students always seemed to love her.  There are still times where we go out to the grocery store, mall, garden center, wherever... that people come up to her that were her students 30 years ago and they STILL remember her and love her.  Sometimes she can remember them... sometimes she can't.  On the days that she can it always makes me smile a little bit bigger because it reminds me that the Grammy I grew up with is in there somewhere and that the disease hasn't completely taken over her mind and body. 

So Happy Birthday Grammy!! May 84 be one of your best years yet!! I love you!!

As always, today I am thankful for all of the time I have gotten thus far with my Grammy.  Some people aren't lucky enough to have a close relationship with their grandparents, but I was lucky enough to grow up with my Grammy living 10 minutes away.  I was able to spend many a night at her house... went shopping with her... had Sunday dinner over there with her... do all kinds of things with her.  I am so thankful for all of the amazing times that we got to share together and I can't imagine not being able to have made those memories with her.  As I sit here typing this the tears are welling up in my eyes thinking about all of the good times I have had with my Grammy and knowing that her memory is slowly failing her and that one day she won't be able to remember all of those times.  But for now, I am thankful for what she can remember and I am so thankful that I have had the time to become so close to her. 

Wordless Wednesday... Birthday Twins Birthday Celebrations

My best friend JG & I have birthdays that are 2 days apart... this year hers is on Thanksgiving and mine is on Saturday.  It has been the tradition for the past three years that we get together with our girlfriends and go out on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving... THE BIGGEST PARTY NIGHT OF THE YEAR... to celebrate.  So this Wordless Wednesday I figured that I would share a collection of pictures from all of our various celebrations...

 1st Annual Joint Birthday Celebration... JF, KT, me, JG, LC, SS

 JG & KT looking beautiful

Birthday Twins and BFFs

Enjoying 1/2 price bottles of wine for our bday

Etel baked a GORGEOUS cake!

 Fridays Ladies

 Showing off our bottle of wine for the 2nd annual bday celebration

 LC, EO, SS hanging out during our 2nd annual bday celebration

 Shots with CS at Fridays

 Lovers.

 KT & I

 KT, "Little Bro", & Me

 3rd Annual Bday Twin Bday Celebration

 BFF/Bday Twin & her lover

 Lovers.

 SS, NS, JG & Me... bday celebrations rock!

There you have it... 3 years of birthday celebrations for JG and me.  Can't wait to see what year # 4 has in store for us!  I do know however that it will be pretty fantastic because it will be the first time all of us girls have been reunited in FOREVER! We have a lot of fun to catch up on! ;)