I turned 30

I turned thirty last Saturday and I meant to post this then but I never got around to it. I had a great birthday and am excited to be 30!

I mean it.

I see no reason to get upset about the passing of time and the addition of an extra number to my age. I am generally happy in my life so hitting this milestone was a celebration instead of a depressing event. And while I loved my 20's and had a particularly awesome 29th year, I know that my 30's holds so much more for me.

I stretched my birthday out into a weekend affair. If you're going to do something, do it right. My birthday was Saturday but I was going to be at a craft show all day so I took advantage of Friday as being my Birthday Eve. I started the morning as all good birthdays should: at Dunkin Donuts. Then I headed off for a massage and some shopping. Solo shopping. I find as I get older I tend to just want some time alone without my constant little companion. The afternoon was spent doing last minute craft show prep and then that evening Steve and I went out to dinner. We went to the Versailles restaurant at Chateau Elan which was featuring a holiday feast buffet. I wanted the food to be better but we did have some good items including a delicious Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake. The dining area was in the atrium of the hotel which is cavernous and not intimate. Coupled with sparse fellow diners, we felt a little alone and exposed. Not in a good way. And I was so excited to see a huge dessert display especially a carrot cake but it turned out to be the worst carrot cake I've ever had. Sad since carrot cake is my favorite dessert. I was surprised since it was such an upscale place. And I've had my share of carrot cake. We did have a lot of fun being together which saved the evening.

On my actual birthday, I did the Indie South Fair all day. I even had a plan to make it fun. Since I would be in my own booth for the first time ever, I was going to be alone all day. But knowing I would be super bored, I emailed my friends and had them sign up for 1-2 hour slots to come help me and hang out. It worked out perfectly. And not only was everyone a great help and even better conversation but everyone brought me something. I received donuts, earrings, lunch, cheesecake and cookies and over 70 oz of diet coke. It was a wonderful day and the craft show was a huge success, my best one ever. As an incentive to customers, I created a punch board ala The Price is Right and had the first 30 customers punch for an additional savings of 10-50%. It worked like a charm and since everyone loves a birthday it was an easy ice breaker.

After unloading everything at home, Henry helped me open my birthday gifts-a new scarf, shirt, a new cover for my phone and a necklace-we had a dinner of easy and fast (and delicious) Taco Bell. So I didn't start my 30's out by doing anything good for my body but its just one day, right?