two decades! WOAH.

I guess now I have to start going to bed earlier, 

get up earlier, 

make some rules, 

and change my ways.

Since I'm "twenty", I should act like an adult now, right? 

I simply can't blame my "staying up late watching movies all night" on being a teenager anymore. 

*sigh* I didn't even realize how much I abused that negotiation. 

I'm still young.

but I do go to bed early, for the most part. 

So! Monday night we went out to eat at my FAVORITE restaurant! 

Umi's Japanese steak house! 

Daddy & I ordered the sushi, and as always I wanted a Volcano roll, and I let him pick one that I had never tried before, so we got the Tiger roll. 

 

It was DELISH!

(although I'm not sure if Mamma & Mimi would think so now that I'm mentioning that the Tiger roll was raw, but they loved it at the time. Sorry!) 

My sweet parents have made this such a wonderful weekend, and I am so incredibly blessed to call them mine. I am thankful for the relationship that we've grown into over the last few years, and I could not have hand picked better parents for me. 

They always make every moment that they can SO special for me, and I owe them a lifetime of thankfulness.

And you'll see me in the next few photos with my best friends, but Mimi isn't to be left out of that. She's always there for me, from my being at my lowest points to being the happiest red head alive. 

I cannot imagine life without her one call away. I have grown to love (even more) our visits when she comes over in the mornings and we lay in my bed talking about the way life is playing out. 

She is so full of wisdom & knowledge, and if I don't take her advice I usually look back and wish I had. When she hurts, I hurt, and vice versa. 

I just couldn't be more grateful for the family I have. 

------

Saturday, my ACTUAL birthday, we left town around 8:00 and headed to Jackson to shop for the day. I have been loving getting new clothes, but I get REALLY excited about Fall clothing. I LOVE the Fall and Winter. I can't wait for it to turn cool where I can get scarves and sweatshirts back out. 

We ate lunch at Mellow Mushroom, and despite what any of you may think, it was incredible! 

Exactly what I was craving. 

Later, we got fro-yo from "Sweet CeCe's", and it's basically like a Smackers, Local Culture, or Yogurt Mountain. It was also quite tasty! :) 

We shopped until around 5:45 (I think?) I slept the entire way up there, as well as the entire way back. So, it seemed like it took us all of five minutes to return. 

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Sunday, Megan & Hollie carried on our new tradition by having a little birthday party for me. Last year we each decided we wanted cheesecake as our "birthday cake", but this year we all decided to do ACTUAL birthday cake, and I have been looking forward to it all week! 

We rode out to Megan's around 1:00, and we caught up on all we had been missing with each other. 

Another perk to it being YOUR birthday is that you get to pick four appetizers/finger foods that you want to eat at your party, so we had:

- rotel

- turkey "pin wheels" (?)

- pigs in a blanket

- roast beef sandwiches

and of course, CAKE! 

Enjoy these next few photos. . . 

Thank you, Megan & Hollie, for making yesterday so, so special for me. For 20 years, we have made it through thick and thin with each other, but we've always made it out alright, and I couldn't be happier to have you both by my side. We share our craziest secrets, and we laugh about nonsense things,

and that is so perfect to me. 

I love you all.

& to all of you who thought enough of me to wish me a "Happy Birthday", thank YOU, too! 

I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to make mine even more special!

Switcharoo!

Ignore the photo color on these images, I didn't feel like fooling with the settings!

My room was rearranged yesterday, due to having a new desk!

For like 6 years I have been doing my homework on my bed or on the floor (but most of the time I just go downstairs to the office.) I fixed my hair on the floor, did my makeup on the floor, painted my nails on the floor, well..I basically did everything except SLEEP on the floor of my room.
I just recently took interest in getting a new desk. I had one in my "old" room. I spent a lot of time at it, but I didn't want another one.

Until recently.

I just decided that it would be beneficial for me to have a logical place to do my homework, charge my computer, do my hair & makeup, etc.

That proposed turning my entire room around! I'm okay with change in my own room. I like this type of changing! Here are some photos, like I said -- disregard the hue.

(previously)

(now)

(before ANY of that occurred.)

whew. 

by the way, the photos show 4 different greens, but my room is closely like the last photo. 

In case my mad photo skills (kidding) had you fooled.

I have a "vintage"-y lamp ordered from none other than Amazon! 

This was the last one, but here's a preview..

I don't know what it is about it, but I love it. It's somewhat strange, but ya'll know me...

.........................

Last, but not least, I didn't post this when it happened! 

Daddy's weird buck he killed right at the end of the season!

Congrats, Daddy! 

in the blink of an eye.

You know, I can't help but stop and laugh at life sometimes, realizing how things change in a single second.

On September 16, 2008, my best friend called to inform me that he had figured out where he needed to be. As the rocks crunched underneath my cleats & I walked to my truck on the phone, my emotions were running wild. I was happy and sad all at the very same time. Now, a year later, I can't imagine being more proud of Clint. I'm happy to be a friend of his, happy to support him, and only sad about the fact that we are unable to hang out, and only have a limited amount of time to talk. You know what, though? Its okay. He's found where he needed to be, the United States Marine Corps, and it's funny because it seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye.

On May 10, 2009, I walked into my "last-first" day of high school. It really was just an ordinary day, but I sometimes feel like I'm walking on a bridge, unable to see the ending, and the planks behind me slowly fall into the ground leaving me stranded with no way back. Although I wouldn't go back and change a single thing, I'm already turned around wondering, "did I do everything I could? Did I make the most of it?" All of while I'm in the present trying to make the most of IT, too. I've grown up with the best class, best friends, best school, and best faculty that encourages me that I could have ever asked for. Yes, we have had our share of tears & maddness, but the laughs & smiles of the past thirteen years have overridden any of those other emotions. Not many people can say that they know everyone in their graduating class on a personal level, but I can; also, sixteen other people can. We have always been there to comfort each other, which leads me to saying just how different next year will be. I can't imagine not being able to look behind me and strike up a conversation with Walker, laugh with Megan & Hollie during Latin class, cut up with Alex, Lillian, and Veronica on the softball field, or cheer on the boys at a sporting event. Some things just won't be the same anymore, simply because they change in the blink of an eye.
On September 21, 2009, I watched a classmate, an athlete, a son, a boyfriend, a brother, a leader, a companion, a senior play his last football game of his high school career. In one play he was shot to the ground like a bolt of lightening. As his team took a knee, the only sound to be heard throughout the entire stadium were the echos of his screams, and the sniffling of the teary-eyed fans. No one wants to watch a tradegy take place in the life of someone else, and no one wants to go back to the rememberance of it either, but to find an ounce of joy (or pride) on September 21, you could look at his teammates. They oozed pride for their brother. Although their hearts were honestly breaking in two, they stepped up to the plate & finished the game FOR HIM.. All because things changed for him in the blink of an eye.