...goodbye, 28...hello, 29.

Yesterday was my birthday. A birthday I am not too thrilled about. As I have been bemoaning to the Mann...."I have entered my last year of my twenties".  [insert very upset face here.]

I'm having a really hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that next year, I will be 30. It has been 11 years since I graduated highschool; and it has been 7 years since I graduated college. Unreal. Where is time going?  It has caused me to really think about where I am in my life and did a lot of soul searching the past couple of weeks and have made my mind up to make some changes. Not incredibly life changing changes - but changes I need to make to be a healthier, wealthier, happier me :-)  And I've been doing the whole what-do-I-want-to-do-in-this-year list...and here are a few of my thoughts:

1.  Spend less time online and more time in the real world.  I am horrible at getting caught up in the ever inspiring online world - but it gets a little out of hand at times.

2.  Take a photography class from my local photography store.

3.  Reach my weight loss goal.  This will be a HUGE challenge for me. It will take a conscious decision every single day on my part to complete this goal. I hate dieting. I hate exercising. But, I want to be healthy. And most of all, I want to get pregnant. 

4.  Make a new friend. [Yes, I am a rather shy person. I don't like to branch out from my small circle.]

5.  Get a scrapbook layout published. 

6.  Eat & learn to enjoy more fruits. I am SO not a fruit person. I like a select few:  watermelon, strawberries, & grapes. I would love to eat more oranges & raspberries.

7.  Take a bicycle ride.

8.  Go to New York City.

9.  Get some of my own pictures printed on canvases for my home.

10. Worry less.

This is only a partial list. But, I kind of feel daunted by it already.  So, I'm going to stop there. 

And I'll show some pictures from my birthday yesterday. The Mann totally spoiled me :-)  First stop was breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. I love their breakfast.  We both totally splurged on a HUGE breakfast: scrambled eggs, apples, biscuits & gravy, hashbrown casserole {they have the BEST hashbrown casserole}, small steak, coffee, & sweet tea.  Needless to say, we were both stuffed to the gills when we left there.  

Nest,we drove an hour or so over past Mobile, Alabama, to Bellingrath Gardens in Theodore, Alabama. According to their website, they had many, many various species of flowers that would be blooming at this time of year and the pictures on the website look incredibly beautiful.  I wanted to practice some photography - so, I figured this would be a great opportunity.  

Unfortunately, it was a complete disappointment. I was extremely upset that their "famed" rose garden was in fact a bunch of wilted small rose bushes with few blooms. Very upsetting.  So, I didn't take too many photos there at all. And I will not be going back there any time soon.

I took this picture of the Mann at the Gardens in a small building that featured a short video on the history of the estate.  The lighting was beautiful and I absolutely love this picture.

And of course, the obligatory self-portrait photos on the 29th birthday.

My sweet husband also took me to our favorite Italian restaurant for dinner and then treated me to a delicious double chocolaty chip frappuchino from Starbucks.  Yes, it was a very calorie filled day.  I'm happy to report, that I was definitely back to my diet today, though :-)

Happy Birthday to me. I sure am trying to feel happy about it ;-)