birthdays

Happy Valentine’s Day

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Happy-Valentines-Day-Red-Greeting-Card

I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day. Some may say it’s a conspiracy for the greeting card companies, but I think of it as a day to let people know that you love them. Although, you should also do this throughout the year, of course! My brother was born on Valentine’s Day, so it’s always had two meanings for our family. I’m sure, having a Valentine’s birthday is difficult as an adult. Everyone wants to go out on dates with their Valentine, and you just want to celebrate your birthday.

As a child, I loved going to school on Valentine’s Day. I enjoyed making mailboxes, handing out cards and candy, and getting lots of Valentines. It was always the best day. The Room Mom would come, and we’d always have a party. I continued this tradition of giving Valentines in middle school and embarrassingly in the beginning of high school as well. I had been known to give suggestive Valentines to boys I liked, but now looking back on it the thought makes me cringe a little.

At home, my parents would give me a Valentine’s Day present, usually a stuffed animal or something red and pink. We would give my brother his presents and then do Valentines presents. I usually got my parents a little something too. Now, I send them a card since we don’t live in the same state anymore.

Vday Flowers 2009

Beautiful Valentine’s Tulips, 2009

Once I met my husband in college, I always had a Valentine. I remember our first Valentine’s Day. We had just been dating for three months. We ate at Longhorn for a lunch date and Ryan got me the most beautiful flowers I have ever received. Pink roses. He also gave me a stuffed bear that said “Hottie.” I think it sang a song too. I loved it at the time but looking back, we both think it’s pretty tacky. This is our 11th Valentine’s Day together and here are some of my favorite Valentine’s memories with my husband:

I remember:

  • Having lunch V-day dates in College
  • Ordering from Chile’s to go when we didn’t want to eat out and couldn’t decide what to do for dinner.
  • The year we got in a fight because he was late getting my present.
  • All the wonderful gifts he’s gotten me, such as flowers, the “Hottie” bear and our beloved bear from Chicago, my butterfly “designer” necklace, candy, owl jewelry, and so much more!
  • The time he sent me beautiful tulips to my house.
  • Two years ago, when we spent Valentine’s Day celebrating our friends’ marriage at their rehearsal dinner.
  • Last year, when we had brunch at our favorite spot, Reveille, because my husband was photographing my co-worker’s Valentine’s Day wedding later that day.
V-Day Gifts 2015

V-Day Gifts 2015

My husband’s birthday is three days before Valentine’s Day. We usually celebrate my husband’s and brother’s birthdays together since they are so close. Lately, we go out the four of us — me, my husband, my brother and my sister-in-law — to celebrate. Since my parents live in Texas, they are unable to celebrate the family February birthdays. Next year, they should be moved back and we will all celebrate together once again.

I always try to keep presents for my husband’s birthday and Valentine’s Day separate, getting him gifts set aside for each holiday. This can get expensive, especially after Chanukah and Christmas. We usually set a price limit and use Amazon Wish Lists to let each other know what we would like. This year, my husband made a BIG birthday purchase, so he said not got get him anything. I wanted to get him something for V-Day anyway, so we compromised on candy.

This year, I think we will continue the brunch tradition and dine at Reveille. We’ll do something else fun during the day as well. On February 14th, hold your loved ones close and let that special someone know how you feel. I can’t wait to see what V-Day 2016 has in store for us! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

V-Day 2009
V-Day 2010, Chicago
Bear! 2010 in Chicago

Dirty 30

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30th-birthday-640x325

This is the year all my friends and I turn 30. Since I was born in the fall, I will be one of the last ones to celebrate this dreaded birthday. When you were younger, you always thought when you’re 30, you’ll have your life together. For a lot of people, this is not the case. But hey, it’s never too late to get your shit straightened out.

By the time most people are 30 they have careers and not jobs. I wouldn’t say my current full-time job is a career, but I do enjoy editing the staff newsletter. It’s been great to write articles, edit, lead and manage a team. It’s nice to have the final say in what is published. I’ve been doing that for five years and working at the university for almost six now. I always said it was a temporary job, but its’ not so temporary after six years.

During that time, I have had the privilege to be a freelance writer/journalist at two different publications. First, at Patch.com, a community based news website. Recently, I have been given a fantastic opportunity to write for the Atlanta Jewish Times. I was even assigned a cover story for my third assignment! You can read my work here and here, and the cover story about Jewish youth conventions hosted in Atlanta here.

Another thing most people hope to do by the time they turn 30 — get married. I got engaged when I was just about 27 and married just after I turned 28. When I was younger, I thought I’d be married at 25. We all think we will accomplish life’s milestones at a younger age than we actually do. But, life happens. Since I had been in a steady relationship since college, I always knew I would eventually get married and it would happen before I turned 30. Some single people get anxious about the fact that they are 30+ without a significant other. But, it’s better to be single than in a bad relationship. And sometimes it’s best to be single and work on you for a change. You have to love yourself before you can love someone else. For those who want to find love, it can be hard to meet someone. Most people I know met their husband/wife in college. But for those who didn’t, there’s always online dating. It’s getting much more common to date and meet people on online dating sites nowadays. I know many couples who have met that way and have gotten married. After all, they do match you up with people you are compatible with.

And of course, after marriage comes babies. People expect you to have children once you have been married for a while. And some ask you constantly and a lot sooner after you’re married than you think they would.  I do want to have kids one day, maybe in a few years, but I’m tired of people asking me that all the time. I can’t even say “guess what” anymore without someone saying, “Oh my God are you pregnant?”

When you’re married you have two groups of friends, those with kids and those without. And sometimes the two groups all get together, but a lot of times you only hangout with your non-parent friends. It’s harder for the parents to go out and make plans as they need to find a babysitter or they just don’t go out as often. I would imagine that families with kids usually hang out with other families who have kids more often than with couples who aren’t parents. That’s just how it works. But, someday I’ll be in the mommy club. I just want to enjoy being married for a while before I have kids.

When most people turn 30, they just feel old. You’re no longer a 20 something. Now you really feel like an adult. The older we get we have more responsibilities. You can’t count on handouts from mom and dad anymore (well most of the time). At least I am usually told, “You’re married now, I’m not paying for that anymore.” I guess being married really classifies you as an adult to most parents of 20/30 somethings.

My husband just turned 30 last week. It’s a big milestone to celebrate. We actually celebrated about four times with dinners, family and friends. I will turn 30 in September, and I’m not too thrilled. Some people look forward to turning 30. Most people I know dread it. However you look at it, at least you’re still here and at least you’ve matured. Well, most people can say that!

Here’s to turning 30!

Dirty Thirty with Martini