Friends, turkey, and suddenly, I'm 28

Whoa, guys.

Between Thanksgiving, my birthday, illness, and general life goings-on, blogging has clearly been on the back burner for me lately. Admittedly, I also really want to blog about my wedding, but can't because I still don't have any pictures. The last few weeks have been both awesome and weird around here. Let me try to explain.

I don't really feel well - physically or emotionally. Aside from a cold that won't go away (despite two courses of different antibiotics), I've also been battling some severe anxiety and an unexpected jump in my blood pressure. So, I'm officially a 28-year-old girl who takes blood pressure medication every morning. I also asked my doctor to restart my antidepressants, but I've been feeling awful ever since. I'm not sure if I'm experiencing side effects from the Zoloft or something else, but it certainly doesn't help my anxiety.

Aside from that (and a Buckeyes loss and two Bengals losses - boo!), life has been really great. Even through my ever-present cloud of fear and sickness, I can see that. The weekend before Thanksgiving, my parents came to visit so that Wheat and I could properly thank them for everything they did for our wedding. We watched the Pacers trounce the Milwaukee Bucks and enjoyed an incredibly delicious dinner at St. Elmo Steakhouse. In full disclosure, Wheat and I had been searching for a good excuse to go back ever since our first visit and this seemed like a more-than-worthy reason.

 

As it should, Thanksgiving break filled both my heart and belly. We spent time with my amazing friends from high school at a local bar, enjoyed two delicious feasts (beef wellington and turkey), and rested. We watched CNN documentaries on the '60s and '70s, I saw the final installment of the Hunger Games saga with my mom, and met with some dear friends over a delicious Gold Star lunch. We watched the Bengals beat the Rams at my brother's new house and I got to see Jenn's extended family during their Thanksgiving dinner. My mom and I laughed over the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the National Dog Show and it felt wonderful to saunter out to the living room in my pajamas at 11:00 AM.

 

Then, on Tuesday, I turned 28. We didn't do anything too special for my birthday, but Wheat spoiled me as he always does. He came home from work early with a dozen pink roses and an ice cream cake and serenaded me with the birthday song. He took me to dinner at my favorite Indy restaurant, Bru Burger, and oh yeah - bought me a Canon Rebel DSLR camera. The kind with multiple lenses and a legitimate camera bag. The kind I've been wanting for ages. Needless to say, I was thrilled. I have a lot to learn (understatement), but I'm excited to finally capture some high-quality photos for this blog.

 

I also received tons of love in the form of texts, e-mails, calls, and Facebook messages from the best friends and family a girl could ever imagine. My awesome boss not only brought in doughnuts and danishes to celebrate, but she also treated me to lunch at Qdoba and made me a birthday crown. So yeah, life has been good lately.

I feel pretty behind in some things - laundry, this blog, Thank You cards, changing my name, combining bank accounts, Christmas shopping - but ultimately, I'm just taking some necessary time to ground myself, soak in these moments, and be thankful for this ridiculously full life I'm living.