35.

Today I turn the big 35.  Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I am officially mid thirties and 5 years from 40 -wowza.  I remember at one time thinking that was so old.  40 used to be over the hill.  Now I don't feel that way at all.  Most days I still feel like a teenager at heart.  35 is the new 25 right??

My thirties have been my favorite years yet.  I have grown so much as a person and become truly happy with who I am.  The quote "the less you care the happier you will be" is so true.  Not everyone will like you and that is ok, as long as you are confident and secure in yourself, that is what is important. 

 I have learned that it is not important to have a ton of friends but more important to have handful of real friends you can truly count on.  My girlfriends brighten my life and empower me so much.  I don't know what I would do without them.  

My thirties have taught me marriage is hard and anyone who tells you it is easy is wrong.  It takes work, but like anything else in life you get out of it what you put in.   The things you work the hardest for are the most valuable and treasured things in your life.  My love for Matt grows each year.  

 My thirties have taught me kids are both the hardest and most rewarding thing you will do with your life.  They have also taught me true unconditional love.  My kids are my life simple as that but it is also important to remember to carve out and make time just for you.  Nurturing your soul and spending time alone is a good thing. 

My thirties have taught me to be nice and smile you never what battles someone else is fighting.  It is always better to be kind.  Equally important is not to judge for the same reasons.  We all are doing the best we can in our own paths of our lives.  We should encourage and support each other.  

My thirties have taught me the grass is always greener.  Someone will always have more than you do and that is life and that will never change.  You have to be thankful for what you have because you have more than most people. 

My thirties have taught me the power of prayer and trusting God.  I have grown in my faith these last few years especially since having children and that makes all things in life easier. 

My thirties have made me appreciate my parents in a whole new way.  I respect them as parents and now I consider them among my best friends, in fact more often than not I choose to hang out with them instead of my friends.  I am thankful for our close knit family because family is everything.  I hope Sterling and Frances Moon grow up and love me and want to spend as much time with me as I do my parents.  They are a huge inspiration to me.

Most importantly my thirties have taught me to laugh and enjoy life.   Also that attitude can make or break you.  'The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything." 

In Honor of my 35th birthday I thought it would be fun to share 35 things you probably don't know about me. 

1) I am addicted to the TV show Buying Alaska.  I don't know what it is but I love seeing people look at properties with no running water and outhouses.  Matt and I look forward to watching it every week.

2) I never leave home without a glass of water.  I take one with me everywhere.

3) I hate brushing my teeth, I despise the taste of toothpaste

4) I have never walked the Cooper River Bridge nor do I even care to.  I think I would get to the middle and have an anxiety attack about being stuck up that high.

5) When I eat pizza I like to eat all the cheese and toppings off and leave the bread.  It drives Matt crazy.

6) I love box mac and cheese.  I know it is so processed and gross but I love it.

7) I like drinking my cocktails out of tiny vintage glasses.  When I travel I always search for small vintage glasses.  I hate a drink in a really large glass.

8) I am weird about meat.  I hate pork tenderloin and steak but love bacon and ground beef.  I also love chicken liver.

9) In high school I kept a calendar and wrote down my outfits everyday so I never repeated the same exact outfit.  I have had a strong love for fashion my whole life.

10) I can not sleep late.  I am up and out of bed even if my kids are still sleeping.

11) I have been coloring my hair since I was 12.  I am obsessed with having my hair super blonde.  I have also had pretty much every hair color from almost black, to red highlights and I feel most comfortable and myself with blonde hair.

12)  I am scared of sharks and will not go in the ocean past my knees

13) I love magazines and always have to buy the newest issues.  I get so excited when I am grocery shopping and see a fresh new magazine.  Sadly they usually just sit around forever because I rarely have time to read them these days.

14) I hate to fly. My two upcoming trips have me stressing out already about flying.   Like break out in sweats, heart palpitations scared to fly.  Alcohol helps:)

15) I make my bed every single day.

16) I put hot sauce on everything.  I always think food needs more flavor.

17) I am sad to admit but I am bored with the Housewives now.  I used to love that show and now it is just too much drama and arguing.  I am over it.  Does that mean I am growing up and maturing??

18)  My three drinks of choice would be white wine, vodka on the rocks with fresh lemon, or good tequila.  I hate mixers and prefer to drink my drinks straight.

19) I was originally accepted to NC State and had said yes.  I had a room mate lined up my very best friend from high school and deposit paid.  I was then accepted to UNC - Chapel Hill second round later around May.  I immediately ditched my plans at NC State.  I choose Chapel Hill and to room with a girl I didn't know that well instead of my best friend but something in my heart told me to go to UNC.  I took a chance and I am glad I did.

20)  Matt and I have been together 14 years this year.  We dated 6 years before he proposed.

21)  I don't like cats- at all. 

22)  I used to want to be a tornado chaser.

23) If I could have any job in the world I would choose to be a fashion stylist- ala Rachel Zoe.

24)  I am a total book worm.  I love to read and collect books especially cookbooks and coffee table books.  I take the kids to the library once a week in hopes they will love books too.

25) I love salads.  Like truly I get excited about salads.  They are my favorite thing to make.

26) Buying good groceries and having good food in the house is one of my favorite indulgences.  

27) My male crushes these days consist of Anderson Cooper, Adam Levine, Zac Efron- and so random I have kind of been crushing on Nick Jonas lately (I blame the music)

28)  I have one eye with blond eyelashes and one eye with black eyelashes

29)  Right after college I went to Real Estate School.  I even worked for a year as an assistant to a realtor and then decided that was not the field for me.  I then worked as an architectural rep for 6 years til I had Sterling.  The economy took a bad turn right before I had Sterling, especially the construction field and I was laid off the week before I had him.

30)  I have never had a spray tan. 

31)  I have traveled out of the country once, when I was 21 I went to Germany and Austria.  In all likelihood I will probably never travel out of the country again because the 8 hour flight about did me in.  However I am glad I got to experience a different culture and part of the world.  I thank my parents for doing that for me and making me board the plane even though I was hysterically crying:)

32)  I think about my grandmother (who Frances was named after) and grandfather everyday.  They were such a huge part in my life and I miss them dearly.  I swear often times there are signs they are nearby and watching over us.

33)  I don't like medicine.  I never take medicine unless I am really sick.  I don't even take Tylenol for headaches.  I hate taking any sort of pills.

34) I wash my face every night, this is one step I never skip

35 ) Birthday wishes.  Truth.

Cheers to 35 Friends.