welcome to my new and improved blog.  while i never thought that there was anything wrong with the understated black background, it apparently stunk.  so, thanks to rick mcneal for pointing that out, and for sprucing the place up a bit.  it is lovely isn't it?

i was due for a change... something more sophisticated.  after all, i did turn the big 3-0!  i have been looking forward to this milestone b-day for a very long time, as i mentioned in 2009 when i wrote a terribly convincing post about why getting older is the new getting younger.  so, just when i thought my dream of turning thirty came true, i happened upon recent findings that suggest that thirty is really the new twenty.  so, i guess that puts me back to square one.

i must say that all my birthday dreams came true on saturday when i got off a plane at noon, spent a few hours with my fam, and was ordered to get fancied up for a 5:30 reservation at one of rochester's finest restaurants.  we had dinner and grabbed dessert at chocolate and vines with some of our favorite people, joe and sam.  when i was forced to keep my eyes closed between stops, i got a little disoriented and was totally convinced that i was in the city, going down a hill, at the jazz festival.  in actuality, i was in my own (very hill-less) backyard, standing on a dance floor surrounded by the rest of my favorite people!  once i finally pulled my face out of my hands, i danced the night away and celebrated every single thing that makes me the luckiest girl in the world.  (a sweet husband who had the good sense to have a dance floor is just the tip of the ice burg!)

i have so many goals for this next decade of my life.  i am certain i will devote an entire post to such things... but the biggest part of being fabulous in my thirties is  gratitude.  i want to be more thankful for every single detail of my day.  this is hard. because i think i might complain a lot.  i don't know for sure, though.  it is hard to know anything for sure because it's so hot in here i can hardly think.  and i'm so tired, i don't know if anyone has ever been this tired.  and i am a little hungry.  we never have really good snacks when i want one.  not only that, but the cost of groceries is out of control!  and i hate grocery shopping... it's like, never the right time to go.  goodness, my hair is frizzy.  so, anyways... i just can't really say one way or another if i complain a lot or not, but on the off chance that i do complain too much - i am working on it.

here is to being fabulously thankful for my life.  every last bit of it.