I'm a lucky girl.

Luck... this word means so much. Every now and then I need to take a step back and reflect on everything that has happened over the past week, month, year, 5 years, etc. If you asked me on May 31, 2003, my high school graduation, where I saw myself in 7 years, the only thing that would have remained true would be living an amazing life in DC. I thought I would be a politician, not an accountant. I thought I would be married, and living the night life of your average 20 something year old. I thought I would have conquered the world by now.

Instead, I live in a townhouse in the suburbs with my little black dog, incredible fiance, and adorable little boy. My weekends consist of playtime in the basement, walks with the dog (when there isn't cold and snow to deal with), and catching up on the plethora of TV that I now watch. The night out on the town is a rarity these days, but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. The support of my friends and family outweighs anything and everything else. Being one of the first to have a baby is insanely life changing. It's really taught me who my friends are. There are DEFINITELY people that lost interest now that we aren't bar hopping every Thursday/Friday/Saturday night. At first it was so hard to feel left out, but now that I'm settled, I realized that I've had my fair share of nights out and mornings in because I'm too sick to go out. And that just leads up to where I am now, a new phase of my life. And my few nights out and sick mornings in are just that much better.

I also have so much to look forward to, and that makes such a difference to any one's day to day morale. No one likes waking up, sitting in traffic, going to work, then sitting in some more traffic. But right now, while I sit at work on this dreary Saturday, I can honestly say I don't mind. I have SO much to look forward to...

a wedding, some new business prospects, a wedding haha. Not only is the wedding going to be an AMAZING party, but this (perfect) ring on my finger symbolizes a lifetime of happiness, never being alone, always having someone there for me, and a family full of babies and puppies... every little girls dream. It's weird, I always knew deep down that Pat and I were in love and would get married, but this ring makes it real and absolute. He loves me and made the commitment by spending way too much on a silly piece of jewelry, just to make me happy. I watched other friends get engaged, congratulated them, was excited for them, wanted what they had so bad. Despite thinking it was silly, he knew I wanted it, and cared enough to make it happen... and got a limo and took me to one of my favorite restaurants!!!!!

I'm done rambling now. Thank you to those of you that have stuck by me through all the laughing, crying, panicking, stressing, and life changing that this past year has brought me. I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks for trekking out to the suburbs to see my little family, calling me to make sure I'm still alive when you haven't heard from me, and simply sticking by me. Most importantly, thank you for the 3 am drunk dial last night... it's good to know at 3 am that you drank too much, are thinking about me, and wish we could trade places at that moment so you could drink all night, and then I can be hung over lol.