"To write is to taste life twice."

So...basically, I had one of the best weekends I've had in...well, a long time this weekend.

It was my birthday party. There are times in your life when you truly look around you and you think to yourself, "How did I get so lucky to be loved by so many amazing individuals?" This is legitimately how I felt this weekend.

I had the most amazing time. Anais Nin says, "To write is to taste life twice." So I will do my best to recap for you.

Randy, Joyce and I drove down to the condo and met Jenn and Josh there. Jenn is legitimately my oldest and dearest friend. I, honestly, cannot say enough good things about her. She is one of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She basically planned out my entire party. She brought decorations, food, drinks--the works. She even brought an Edward Cullen picture with a word bubble saying "Happy Birthday Becky!" I mean how cute is that? I don't even think it could get any cuter?

As my friends began to arrive and bring (totally unnecessary) gifts I became overwhelmed with emotion. Here in this room: my sister, my niece (who begged to come, which some might find annoying...I found ADORABLE!), my husband, my sister and brother-in-laws, Allison & Jeff (who drove from Indianapolis), Matt & Lisa, Chrisanne & John, Beth, Rachel, Katie, and Joyce. I couldn't help it. I felt so loved.

We went to dinner at Weber Grill, where Ava told Joyce all about how she is "supposed to find a husband when she is in college (WHO TEACHES HER THESE THINGS?) and "why is she single?" And told the rest of us all about "the life and times of Ava." I sat next to Randy and really thought about how much I love him for being there for me, and being a trooper. Going out with all my friends and not just being there--but loving it. I love him for loving my friends and family. I thought about how happy I am that my sister-in-law and I have been able to put all the drama behind us and are actually friends again, which is just such a blessing. I just couldn't imagine a better time...well, maybe if my meal had been a bit better! LoL. I've always gotta find something to complain about.

After dinner, we went back to the condo and everyone sang to me, we sat around and talked some more, and eventually made our way to the bars. Well, not bars--one bar-my favorite bar in the entire world: Sluggers. Sluggers is the ultimate place to be--upstairs is a game room AND a piano bar; downstairs is a dance floor,and a place to watch TV/games. Could you ask for anything more? Oh wait, did I mention it's in Wrigleyville--one of my favorite places in the world?

As an added bonus, my brother's best friend Chris, who is slowly becoming one of my favorite people, was able to make it out to the bar (even though my brother wasn't; which, on it's own, was a pretty big disappointment). He not only came to the bar, he was the life of the party. Here's a "glimpse" at what the night looked like...

Chris is dancing with all of us on the dance floor (all of us, at this point in time, was Chrisanne, Beth, Allison, Jeff, Randy and I). There is also a homeless man dancing on the dance floor-and he was good, like, really good. Chris looks at him and shrugs, "dance off?" and they proceed to spend 10 minutes going back and forth dancing like crazy fools. Suffice it to say, Chris lost...only because the man in the purple shirt did the SPLITS on the dance floor. It. was. awesome.

I am sometimes just floored by how lucky I am. Like, I can't even deal with how fortunate I am.

Things to be thankful for:

1. My husband loves to dance. I LOVE that he loves to dance. Some people just sit there and watch, but he loves it. I love that we can go out and have a ton of fun together (despite the fact that we usually fight AT LEAST once...this was no different! LoL)
2. I love that my niece loves me enough to be offended that I didn't invite her to my b.day party. I love that Renee brought her with. It's flipping adorable.
3. I love Jenn. I am constantly amazed that somehow I ended up with a friend like her. I don't know anyone else that would go to so much trouble for me. That includes everyone in my family and my husband. She is the most thoughtful person on the planet, and I wish I could be more like her.
4. Great friends. I am just lucky. Chrisanne has quickly become one of my best friends. She is also amazingly thoughtful and caring. She is just so much fun to be around. We can laugh harder than anyone at (1) the movies or (2) the bars. It doesn't matter where they are. I am lucky that I have her. Joyce is another one of those people that I know, no matter what, will be there for me forever. She just gets it. She's a female version of Chris--always a blast to be around.
5. Did I mention great friends? I knew that Allison would be able to make it up here, but I wasn't sure that she would be fun because of her new boyfriend. I had been nervous about it for weeks. However, I can't explain how happy I am that I was proven wrong. Allison AND Jeff were both a blast. I have been burned by SO many girls that have screwed me over for boys. I feel like it's finally over. I have the friends who I am supposed to have now.
6. Betty & I are friends again. I missed her...a lot. We will always get on each other's nerves; mostly, because we are so alike that we can't accept each other's differences. BUT, I really think that the worst of it's over.
7. Chris...I feel like Chris is really like a brother to me. He had a deep, heart-to-heart with me and listened to me. Not, "I'm just looking at her" listening but REAL, meaningful, listening. That meant a whole lot to me.


Overall, I had an absolutely amazing birthday. It was fabulous. I coudln't have asked for anything better.

I wish I could re-live it over and over and over.

Thanks everyone who was there for making it amazing...and thanks for letting me "taste it twice"--three times if you count the facebook pictures ;)


**Also, shout-out to officially training for the mini-marathon starting...yesterday. It was hard, but it was also awesome. I can do it. I really can and I will not fail this time.

I am also giving up sugar after today because I can't do this to myself anymore. I am hoping to keep that up!