happy birthday to... uh... me!

Cheesy title, I know. I mean, how often do you say "happy birthday" to yourself, but I thought in the setting of this blog, "typing" it was less goofy for the purpose of this post and made more sense than if I was actually going around saying it out loud, randomly, to people. My birthday is actually tomorrow, November 11th, but more importantly, informing you of my birthday allows me the opportunity to appropriately brag on my husband's thoughtfulness.

It's safe to say that my 27th year of life proved to have quite a few challenges. Most of which, you all are quite aware of. And in the hopes to make my 28th year (yes, I'm turning 28 tomorrow - I don't mind quenching the curious minds out there) start off with a bang, my hubby worked out a surprise... and then God put the icing on the cake, but I'll get to that part in a minute.

In order to fully appreciate this surprise, you need to be aware of two things.

1) I love going to New York City, but haven't been able to go in over a year and a half (it's less than a 2 hour drive from where we live) because of being uncomfortably pregnant last year and taking care of Ethan & his illness this year.

2) And I always watch the 'Live with Regis & Kelly' show in the mornings. (disclaimer: Now, I'm not endorsing the show, because sure enough, as soon as I did, you'd all tune in and that would be the one morning they had a guest on that did or said something slightly inappropriate and I'd be the chick that told you to watch the show that left a horrible taste in your mouth, thus making you believe that I had no credibility with anything that I say to you. Just like I'd never tell you to eat Frosted Mini-Wheats. I mean, I love them. I think they taste great. But if you were to try them based solely on my recommendation, then hated them or they made you physically ill, you'd not be able to help but blame me and think I was nuts for liking them so much. Or what if I told you that my favorite perfume is Burberry - which it is - and so you went out to purchase it for yourself. You then find out that you actually think it stinks AND it gives you headaches every time you put it on. You then become angry that you spent so much money on perfume that I suggested, which then makes you angry at me. So you see... I want to avoid all of that. I watch the show. You don't have to. Unless you want to. But not because I told you to. Okay. Have a beaten a dead horse at this point? Good. Let's move on...)

Anyway, my dear husband wrote to the Regis and Kelly show and told them about what all we've had to endure this year and how he wanted to surprise me with tickets to their show on my birthday. Tickets are free, but you have to write to them and make your plea. And he did. Unbeknownst to me. And they sent him two tickets to their live show on my birthday! We got a letter in the mail from the show and I couldn't believe it! Adam is taking the day off to stay with Ethan, and my mom and I are heading to NYC to be in the live studio audience of Regis & Kelly on Tuesday, November 11th! MY BIRTHDAY!! I'm so excited - in fact, I just let out a woo-hoo that startled little Ethan.

Now, for the part in which I said the Lord was so sweet to add some delicious "icing" to this already delicious surprise.

As we were trying to figure out our plan for my mom and I's trip to NYC, we realized that we'd have to leave Connecticut extremely early in the morning in order to make it to their studio by 6:45 AM on Tuesday (tickets are guaranteed, but the seats are first come first serve. They let people in at 7:45, so we were told to get there an hour before that in order to get a good seat... but I digress....) Anyway, as we were talking more about it, Adam suggested I look online for a hotel room near the train station in White Plains, NY that we take into Grand Central Station. The hotel I'm familiar with in that area and one that I've stayed at several times when my girlfriends and I have had a "girls weekend" in years past, was $225 a night!? I guess when you're dividing a room up by 4 people, you don't realize how expensive it is, but my goodness, I was not about to pay $225 for me and my mom!

So, I went to one of those discount websites. I put in a price for a hotel in that area, knowing that even if it did get accepted (they don't tell you the name of the hotel until afterwards), it wouldn't be the hotel I was familiar with, because there is no way they'd give me that hotel at that low of a price. Anyway, when the price I put in was accepted, the only information they gave me was that the hotel that accepted that price was with 5 miles of the train station. Knowing that there was NO WAY it was my favorite hotel in that area, but also knowing that we'd be saving $145 on the more discounted choice, I clicked the button to "purchase" the room for Monday night, so that my mom and I could drive to White Plains the night before (actually, tonight!) and get up "kind of" early and hit the train that was 5 miles away from the hotel instead of getting up "insanely" early and make a 2 hour drive from Connecticut all on Tuesday morning. I was just hoping it was at least a hotel that was clean!

I about fell out of my chair when I saw the hotel details pop up after I clicked "purchase" - remember, on the discounted, name-your-own-price websites, they don't tell you the name of the hotel until after you agree to buy it. I screamed and ran downstairs to tell Adam that the hotel that agreed to the severely discounted price WAS THE HOTEL I WANTED ORIGINALLY!! I couldn't believe it. All I could think of was how sweet the Lord is to grant us even the silliest of desires in our hearts... knowing that they are even somewhat important to us. -

So there you have it. My sweet birthday surprise from my husband and an added blessing from my Lord. And not that I'm telling you to, but if you happen to be watching TV tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 9:00 EST, and you see two women in the audience of Regis & Kelly going crazy if/when the camera pans the crowd, it might just be me and my mom. And if we are successful in making our television debut - even for only 2 seconds - I'll just go ahead and say now that the camera adds ten pounds.

Oh and yes, we are taping it! Because you better believe, when I get home, I'm gonna be watching it - in slow motion! - from start to finish to see if I see either of us. I'll probably only see like the corner of my leg or something, for about a split second... but that's okay. I'll know it was me!
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And just for fun, here's a picture of me and my mom taken on this day last year, at my baby shower. Little Ethan was just kickin' around inside!
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So here's to year number 28.

I'm both thankful and hopeful.

Thankful for the path the Lord has led me so far...

and hopeful about the road ahead.