A Quarter Century has passed

Yes, it's true, I am 25 today. As with the previous 24 birthdays, I don't feel much different. Some good things about 25...

1. My car insurance rates go down down down down down (sung to the tune of "Down" by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne)

2. According to my own "life goals/rules" I am officially a REAL adult. 25 means business and I think I deserve a new found respect. I am no longer in my "early twenties" (i.e. I shouldn't be associated with the "party till 4am crazy college 20-somethings" anymore. I can now be clumped in with the "let's have a glass of wine at a nice restaurant and stay up 'late' until 12am" crowd).

3. I chopped all my hair off. Well sort of. I got it cut a lot shorter than it has been. It is now right at my shoulders and I love it. I even bought the "right" products to maintain it since, as an "adult," I must take care of myself with "real" (i.e. expensive) hair supplies. Hello 25, goodbye annoying long hair. 

4. Time to get real about my workout routine. In the next 5 years I will probably a) get married and b) conceive a baby. Ok whoa scary thoughts. But seriously, if those things are happening before I am 30, then I am going to be in damn good shape when they do. I think I have a decent "early 20s" base-body and I don't want to lose it through lack of exercise. Things in that department can only continue to get worse so I need to start body maintenance NOW. 

5. "Me-upgrades." In conversations with one of my dearest friends, it has been decided that 25 is a great time for personal upgrades. This means many things, but most importantly: No more cheap-o crap. If I need a new dress, or a new work outfit or whatever, then I will save up and purchase something of good quality that will last me forever (assuming my body can handle that. See #4). Same goes for purses, shoes, accessories, make-up etc. I am a grown-up now so I need to surround myself with grown-up things. 

6. Time to travel more and "do more stuff." While I love our new house, I am getting a bit tired of spending weekends sitting around it. Granted, I do work quite a few Saturdays, so there hasn't been a lot of time for weekend get-aways.  The free time that I do have seems to be spent dealing with house "stuff" or relaxing out of pure exhaustion. I want to go to a vineyard for the weekend, or walk around a museum, or go for a hike, or do SOMETHING when I have the chance. It is so easy to spend weekends "relaxing" after a long-ass work week, but, ironically, I really want to make time to do more.

7. Time to really get organized. I am super organized when it comes to work-related things, but when it comes to my personal life, things tend to scatter. I want a system for paying the bills, I want our pot-lids to be stacked perfectly, I want our filing cabinet to come together, I want my make-up to find a home. All these random little things are adding up to some serious disorganization in my book. It is time to use 25 as an excuse to suck it up and take care of business. 

8. Become a morning person. Can I do it??? My #1 hope for the next quarter century of my life is to be able to wake up feeling refreshed and happy every single morning. I really like mornings but I always seem to miss them thanks to the coziness of my bed. I am officially going to be mad at myself if I sleep past 9am on the weekends. And I am officially going to be mad at myself if I sleep past 7am on work days. Self-discipline here I come. 

9. Get over my obsession with odd numbers. I even had to create this 9th entry because I couldn't stand the thought of leaving you with 8 even items to read. Am I am weird? I think I do a pretty good job of hiding my even-number issues, but I am sick of thinking about whether or not something is even or odd. So in my first attempt to overcome my fear of all things even I leave you with...

10. A tenth item. The final thing I love about 25 is that I am already a homeowner and established in a career that I love. I am thankful for these things EVERY SINGLE DAY and I know that I am EXTREMELY lucky. I literally count my blessings every single day (in a non-religious way) and I hope that I will always remember how blessed I am (again, in a non-religious way). I get freaked out about the future and it is nice to know that I am already firmly invested in several important things. I want to continue to play my cards right so that my future family can be as carefree as possible. 

In other thoughts...

Kanye West is a douche-bag.

Lady Gaga completely disturbs me.

Russell Brand is the opposite of funny.

I worked a 60 hr week last week and am STILL behind.

I left the office at 1pm today since it is my birthday and I needed a mini mental vacation (and a haircut).

I can't wait for this weekend's birthday celebrations with my girls.

We have FOUR little baby anaheim peppers growing in the garden.

Little kids might actually Trick or Treat at our house...time for major decorating.

I have a few exciting posts drafted for your entertainment (I promise I blogged this weekend! Just didn't publish ;)