this chapter in my life has ended and what better way to kick off my new chapter (and all the rest, for that matter) with a new blog. make your way over to sweet monster, and get to know me better...if you want. thanks for stopping by! click here to see the new blog
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today i say goodbye to 27 and hello to 28. (i can already hear the jokes people are going to make about how many candles are on my cake) all i have to say is, it was a small cake, but a delicious cake nonetheless. (thanks, deed.) i've learned a lot this past year, and many of those lessons weren't easy. while i'd like to say that 27 has made me happier, i think a more accurate description is that 27 has made me stronger. i have a lot to be thankful for and there are many things i look forward to in this next year of my life. i've certainly learned that as much as i plan for life, the unexpected surprises are what i look forward to the most in the coming year...that is, if it's possible to look forward to the unknown. (i think so, at least.) with all the happy wishes, greetings, and gifts, 28 is turning out to be more than i expected. ...well looky there, i wasn't expecting that. happy birthday to me. yes, presents are appreciated. what? i joke, i kid...i'm serious. twenty-seven has been good to me...for the most part. and today, my last day of being 27, i want to reflect on the moments that stand out in my mind since turning this age. 1. hearing a song written for me 2. ringing in 2010 with dancing, great music, and wonderful people 3. moving into my 2nd apartment the day after it snowed 4. reconnecting with friends 5. watching the super bowl while celebrating valentine's day early with snow 6. road house, tunica 7. playing the piano again 8. the scariest storm i've ever driven in 9. stepping out of my comfort zone 10. california visits in april, may and june 11. vanessa getting married 12. st. louis for taisha's doctorate graduation celebration 13. venturing to the top of the sky arch in st. louis 14. tomahawk choppin' at turner field, home of the braves, atlanta, ga - TWICE 15. meeting lucy robinson 16. my work featured in a magazine (finding my dream job & working it) 17. hanging frames, shelves, mirrors, putting air in my tires by myself 18. cousins wedding/renewal of vows 19. deed's graduation from the MBA program 20. seeing the grand canyon for the 2nd time in my life 21. driving through arkansas, oklahoma, texas, new mexico, arizona, nevada, and california 22. a.w.e. 23. started my bucket list 24. learning to play the ukulele 25. de-icing bella 26. kickin' my facebook addiction 27. high-tea at the fairmont i can't say enough good things about deed. she's one of a kind, and today, like most days, she out-did herself and graduated from the MBA program. (i'll give you a moment to get your phone to call and congratulate her.) i remember when i celebrated her graduation from middle school, watched her give a valedictorian speech at her high school graduation, and took pictures as she walked across the university stage as magna cum laude. she has a zeal for making the most of her life and that spirit is contagious. when her name was announced today, me and nik clapped and yelled, "we love you, deed!" from the top of the event center, loud enough for her to hear, as she received her diploma for her masters degree...and we didn't even plan that. sisters are just in-sync like that sometimes. after the ceremony, deed took her token leap-in-the-air picture in her cap and gown, and nik requested a picture of "the original 5" as she likes to call our family. today definitely ranks in the top 10 days of this year. its celebration central right now! i like to think of myself as a morning person (and i think people almost expect it of me because my name is sunrise), but i am known to hit the snooze button more than twice when it comes to starting my day. on mornings when its necessary to get out of bed right when my alarm goes off...mornings like today, i find myself taking a sunday-afternoon nap. sweet, abel called to schedule dinner for my birthday, but i had to request a rain check since today was going to be a busy one. so when someone tapped me awake from my nap, at 3-ish, i didn't expect to see him sitting in front of me. it was quite a wake up surprise. the next thing i know, bel arrives, then deed and hanna right after her. it was a surprise ambush. my friends, my loves, gave me the greatest gifts: their time, their thoughtfulness, and the gift of celebration. how fitting since yesterday's post was about having mixed feelings about celebrating my birthday. the party was perfect: a tea party, to be precise. high-tea at the fairmont hotel - a fancy occasion with my life's best: deed, nik, abel, bel, and hanna. they all know me so well, and bel had it right when she called deed and said, "sun just said she wasn't going to do anything for her birthday, and that's not the sun i know." thanks for the love, i'd be sleeping if it weren't for y'all. so tell me, do you like surprises? raise your hand if you like to get presents on your birthday.
yeah, me too...except i totally get gypped when it comes to presents on my birthday since everyone else is getting gifts for everyone else in their life. that means, i've also gotten the duo-gift: that one gift that counts for both my birthday and Christmas - and not because it's super, but because they're buying for everyone else. ok, i know this might be sounding selfish and bitter, but you december/early january babies understand how i feel...right? maybe that's why i like to go all out when it comes to my birthday, i try to get it to stand out from all the hoopla that goes on around this time. this year is different though. i'm really not in the mood to celebrate, but i've been known to change my mind, so who knows, maybe i'll throw my own "surprise" party. as i shopped today, i started feeling blah about how close my bday is to this major gift-giving holiday and then i thought, "i bet God gave me a birthday so close to Christmas for a reason, like to teach me something valuable." i'm still trying to figure out what that is. however, i also thought "i bet God didn't make me a twin because he knows i don't like to share." so tell me, how's that holiday shopping going? sometimes there are events i bring my camera to, then when i get there, i take a total of zero pictures. mainly because there isn't really anything i want to remember. (i know how mean that sounds, but i'm here to be honest.)
a company holiday party is one of those events. i like when people get dressed up and i almost don't recognize them, but not enough to take a picture of them when we're all stressed out anyway. and, again with the honesty, there's a certain level of fake-niceness at company "parties". do you know what i mean? there really isn't much to say about tonight's holiday party, except the only flashing lights weren't from a camera - they were from the gobo lights that decorated the walls. the events that followed the party were picture-worthy, but the camera wasn't whipped out quick enough for it. me and 3 fabulous ladies headed up to the city and saw cyndi lauper. not in concert, just at the same hotel we were at. she walked through our group as we stood waiting on valet complemented mel on her purple hair, and told us all to have a great night after amy said hi and "we love you!" we also got kicked out of a club...but it's not what you think. so, i guess no pictures can mean you're having too much fun or having no fun at all. either way, i think i'm going to start taking more pictures this holiday season. so tell me, how was your company party? i have some friends that don't believe in leaving voicemails.
unlike them, i believe in leaving messages when i call someone, and i appreciate when someone calls me and leaves me a voicemail. before life was full of corporate stress and holiday mayhem, my out-going message went something like, "hey this is sunrise, leave me a message OR sing me your favorite song." that actually drummed-up a lot of interesting voicemails, including someone reading me their favorite psalm. there were songs that i knew, songs that i'd never heard of, and, my favorite, songs that people made up. another out-going message that usually got people talking after the beep was, "hi! i am SO glad you called, i've been meaning to call you and i really think that we should get together sometime soon. so, leave me a message and let me know when you're available!" that prompted months of great times with many different friends. i'm sorry to say that now my out going message is the automated one that says my phone number, mainly to keep the crazies away, but, who knows, maybe i'll change it to spice things up a bit. so tell me, are you a leave-a-message type? today marks 2 weeks without facebook and i am feeling great.
my decision to detox my life from the very addictive social network has allowed me to reach out to people that i would usually just, well - facebook, and really opened the lines of communication - ha, imagine that. in fact, a gal pal of mine said, "hey, let me get your number since you're not on facebook anymore." we'll be having coffee soon. now, i want to make it clear that i'm still a fan of facebook, and i'll probably be back on at some point, but i can confidently say that my days of wasting time on facebook are over. perhaps an entire month of completely writing off facebook from your life isn't something you're interested in. however, i encourage you to be aware of how much time you spend looking at that blue and white site and maybe cutting back just a little...just sayin'. so tell me, do you think you can detox from whatever it is you're addicted to? when life gives you stress, go to starbucks.
at least that's what i did today - twice. the first starbucks was after lunch due to food-coma. (i ordered a tall caramel brulee latte, non-fat, no whip) you see, there's an international trade show that takes over las vegas every year at the beginning of january. and in less than a month, i'll be there. i've been hired as a contractor specifically to help with the planning and execution for this company's first time on the show floor. there is one word that describes this time: madness. quite honestly, the gloomy cloud of stress has settled over the marketing department i work in. today was one an important one: ship-out day. that's right, i was in the shipping department and let me tell you, i can handle a tape gun like nobody's business. over 100 boxes on 9 pallets were prepped by amy and i. 2 ladies, both under 5'5" feet tall making their way around shipping is a sight to see. needless to say, mar-com isn't glamourous. we were out at 5:30pm getting last minute goods that needed to be on the shipment and as we left target, amy looked at me, then looked at starbucks, then said to me, "double dose?" my response: "definitely." so tell me, when was your last double-dose kinda day? |
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