Happy Birthday to me!

The last weekend of me being 23 years old and this has been quite possibly one of the best weekends I have had in long time! It actually helped me deal with turning 24...something which I have been dreading for about a month now. I'll get into that more later, but first my weekend....
It started about 10:20 on Friday night when Josh made it up to my place after his two hour drive from Cape. I was so excited to get to see him and spend some quality time together, especially since the past month and a half has been completely insane for both of us. So I ran downstairs to meet him as soon as I saw him pull into a parking space and from there all I wanted was to enjoy every second we were spending together. Lately, when we see each other we have dinner in Festus one night during the week or we'll grab dinner here in STL and then go on with whatever else we have planned for the night, but this time was a little different. I decided to go back to the old days when I used to cook every time he visited. This time I made a homemade pizza and we decided to stay in for the night. Since so much is going on and it seems to get crazier and crazier as each day passes, we definitely needed to sit down and talk for a bit. I told him all about year end and my month at work and he told me all about school and work and the National Guard and then we both updated each other on family life. Really, this was what I needed....and like I told him...I feel so much more safe and secure and content with my life when I know he can spare whatever little time he has to listen to my worries and stresses and the accomplishments. We fell asleep on my couch and thank goodness I set my alarm on my phone because I'm sure we would not have gotten up in time for Josh to leave and get back to work if I hadn't. 6 am came very early on Saturday morning but I got up bright-eyed and bushy tailed after the alarm went off and made breakfast for him while he got ready for work. You've gotta love a guy that will drive 2 hours in a night and spend almost 9 hours up here and turn around and drive back to be at work at 9 in the morning. That is dedication and I'm so lucky that he would do that for me! So I sent him back on his way with a batch of cookies and a lunch for work, just as a small token of how appreciative I am for everything.
Saturday I do have to say that I didn't do much. I spent the day in my pajamas just lounging around and catching up on some much needed relaxation. I paid some bills, got online and checked out my taxes for a bit but other than that, the couch was my best friend.
Today I had to catch up on all of my laundry and my mom and step-dad invited me over for a birthday dinner. My mom made one of my favorites....chicken parmesan and spaghetti and my grandma made me a birthday cake. It was a nice quiet dinner.
Next weekend though it is definitely on and we're celebrating big time. I've invited my friends and family out for dinner/appetizers and a night of dancing at one of my favorite spots. I know it will be a great time.

Tomorrow is the big day....I turn 24! Like I said earlier, over the past month I have had a hard time when thinking about turning 24 and I'm not exactly sure why. For some strange reason I think it has to do with where I thought I would be by the time I got to this age. Everyone keeps telling me to look at what I have done so far and see that I have made great strides but in the back of my mind I'm still thinking that I could have done so much more. (Who knows how that would have gone though because many times I feel like I don't even have time to think.) But, I think the idea of turning 24 is growing on me...I just have to justify to myself that I have done enough and I wouldn't be in the position I am with my job and my life if I did not work my hardest. I've had these thoughts before but for some reason I actually took them to heart this year....maybe my subconscious is getting to me now. That would be scary for sure!

Anyway, I hope everyone else had a good weekend as well!