24 years old... and boy did I start it off right!
At work, Dominion is allll about giving to the United Way. There was a Chili Cookoff on Thursday, and you had to purchase a $2.00 raffle ticket to participate (and by participate, I mean taste each chili and vote for your favorite). I got suckered into purchasing a ticket (I personally would rather donate my time than my money), and knew my name wouldn't get drawn. You could buy one $2.00 ticket, or an arms length of tickets for $10.00. A lot of people did the arms length tickets so they had better odds of winning (and the money does go to a good cause!). As I am stuffing my face with some delicious chili, I hear, "Roxana". I respond with, "Yeah, what's up?" (typical). And the woman goes, "You won! You get to pick anything." So the prizes are lined up from left to right... starting with the most crappy (Dominion hats, pens, etc). I pick the gift to the far right: a fire pit! Sure this isn't allowed at my apartment complex... but I am a huge fan of smores and will find a way to use this :) This is when I knew my birthday was going to be great!
I won a fire pit!
My friend Tyler from high school and my freshman year at Mason got four free tickets to the Nats game on Thursday night. He invited me and two of his other friends to go. I had never been to a Nats game and absolutely love baseball, so I thought this was great! Of course Mark (I knew him from Mason as well) and I were rooting for the Nats (Zimmerman is my man!); however, Tyler and Chris were rooting for the Phillies. Tyler and I went to buy some hot dogs, and as we were paying for them, the guy hands us three hot dogs and said to have the extra one for free! I'm telling you, it's the birthday luck!! I don't know if any of you know this (because I didn't), but apparently the Nats are HORRIBLE. But surprisingly, they were ahead by 5 or so. Then, out of no where, the Phillies get a grand slam and were then only 1 point behind the Nats (and they had a man on 3rd!). Luckily, the Nats pulled through, and won!! And supposedly they never win! Also, it was supposed to down pour that night... it didn't rain at all :)
Mark, me, Tyler, and Chris at the Nats game
On Friday at work, my coworker Ashleigh took me out to lunch at a Chinese Buffet. A lot of my coworkers went out to celebrate which really meant a lot to me because they never go out to lunch, they normally brown bag it. My fortune said, "What you desire is always possible. It will come to you." :)
Friday night, I went to my favorite Zumba class, and Alexa (the instructor) made me stand up in the front next to her! I was really nervous because I don't have any of the routines memorized, and I felt like everyone was watching me... but it was a good thing because it made me work THAT much harder. I got extremely sweaty, and I loved it. I really enjoy doing Zumba and can't wait to be certified!! After Zumba, I rushed to go out to dinner to Rio with Joey (my cousin), Dan (my old roommate), Amanda (my roommate), Maribeth (my friend from JMU), and Sacha (my friend from church). I love good Mexican food, and great margaritas :) It was really nice that everyone came to dinner to celebrate my birthday. It was great to have close friends to celebrate it with :) After dinner Amanda, Dan, Sacha, Maribeth, and myself went to Jackson's to grab a few drinks. Jackson's is really cool because it has an inside and outside bar. Being outside in the beautiful weather made me realize how much I love fall weather :)
Dan and Amanda (my old roommate, my new roommate!)
Maribeth, me, and Sacha at Rio
Dan and I at Jackson's
Saturday morning, Joey took me into DC to walk around and look at some museums. It was great to spend time with him one-on-one. Joey is really smart, so he explained a lot of things to me I didn't understand just from reading postings at the museums. Joey is so amazing and I'm so thankful to have him so close by :)
Saturday at 3pm, I went to a BBQ Fundraiser for Jill's House. My small group girls were there, so it was great to see them out of the group and not on a Tuesday night. Joey met me there and got the opportunity to meet all the girls I have been telling him about. Good food, good friends, great cause. Check out the link for more information about Jill's House!
Annie, Kaitlyn, Alex, Colleen (leader), June, me, and Carolina
Saturday night, I went out to Mister Day's to go out dancing for my birthday. I was a little nervous because the people that went out were random people who didn't know each other. I thought it was cool they still came out anyways. Among the group were me, Sacha (church), Annie (small group), Kaitlyn (small group), Tyler (high school), Will (high school), Adam (work), Allie (friend of Adam's), and Cat (JMU). A few people brought friends that I had never met before that night... but after the night was over I was friends with everyone! Drinks were consumed, my feet were on the dance floor, and I couldn't stop smiling!!
Sacha and I
Annie, me, Sacha, and Heather
Sunday morning I wasn't feeling best. Surprise, surprise. I must admit, I was nervous about going to church Sunday night and facing my small group girls. But I realized that this is who I am: these girls can accept me or not. The sermon on Sunday was about boundaries which was ironic. When God gives us boundaries, they are there to benefit us.
Monday night, Maribeth, Cat, and Lauren all came over for a Pot Luck dinner. Amanda bought M&M's in purple and gold for my birthday, and bought food for Fondu. Cat brought a salad, and Lauren and Maribeth made pasta. It was so delicious. It was great to catch up with these girls because I don't get to see them often.
My awesome JMU m&m's :)
Fondu made by Amanda :)
On Tuesday, my work surprised me with cake and ice cream :) I work with 9 guys (including my boss) all in one room... but they are all awesome and know how to have a good time. It was so nice they did this for me, and I was truly surprised.
Tuesday night, I went to small group and I actually had to facilitate the meeting which was new for me. The session in our book was also about boundaries. At the end of our meeting, the girls presented me a small gift: a mix CD of Christian songs... ironically enough, I just had my brother Rick download a lot of these! I love the songs we sing at Frontline because they are more contemporary than traditional. I think a lot of the girls know I'm into music, and that I didn't know many (and by many I mean any) Christian songs before I attended Frontline. Even though I don't go out with these girls on the weekends, I know that they think of me and pray for me throughout the week -- and that means so much to me.
I just think it's so crazy that I hated Northern Virginia... and this is where I ended up. It brought me closer to Joey - and Joey took me to Frontline and closer to God. Joey was never a cousin I was close with because we never saw each other that much growing up, and I definitely consider him a good friend :) The people who celebrated my birthday with me made me feel loved, relaxed, and blessed :) Thank you everyone who made this special!
No comments:
Post a Comment