Go ahead...Make My Day!

So, other than spending a great 30th birthday with my wonderful family, here are a couple of things that happened that just made my day!

1.  I went to a Golddigger's jewelry party on a whim today.  I traded two bracelets for $245 and still kept the diamonds.  The thing about this is that we have pay our property taxes at the end of the month and have been about $300 off the mark...God is cool like that.

2.  I FINALLY got all of my itunes songs, and more importantly, my workout playlist, loaded onto my blackberry.  This is huge for me, because I've been trying to do this for WEEKS, and now I can go to the gym anytime without having to work out a schedule with the hubs for the ipod.

3.  The City of Savannah announced this week that they are beginning an amnesty program for people who have unpaid parking tickets.  If you know me well, you know why that made my day!  I don't know how much $$ I have racked up parking fines, but I'd be willing to bet that I'm on the naughty list for this one.

4.  I happened to drive by the house that I grew up in today and noticed some firetrucks down the street, so I decided to investigate.  Long story short, the city is burning down the houses on that block to make room for a park, supposedly.  I talked the firemen into letting me take a look around and man, was that like stepping back into a time machine!  It looked SO much smaller than I remember.  I certainly don't remember living in a small box and it seems like we had a lot of stuff back then, so I'm not sure how my mom made it work, but she did.  I'm pretty sure my bedroom was supposed to be closet, but looking back, I don't remember it being small at all.  I remember my daybed with the trundle that my cousin, Penny slept on almost every weekend.  I remember my white dresser with the white eyelet lamp shade and the flowers my daddy gave me once.  I remember the hanging closet in the corner b/c the room didn't have one.  I remember looking out the window and watching my dad work in his shop and laying in bed and watching T.V. through the mini blinds at night.  So, although it was teeny tiny, the most important thing is that our parents made it work and we never realized how cramped it really was because we were too busy having a wonderful childhood. 

It was very sad to see my childhood home being ripped apart, board by board.  I walked through and remembered running around, playing chase with my brother, climbing into my parents bed at night (the wood paneling was still on the walls!), sitting at the bar doing my homework and watching my mom iron, and riding our bikes up and down the sidewalk.  It was a great place to live and I have many, many fond memories of that place.  I walked out with tears in my eyes (I'm pretty sure those firemen thought I was a little looney), and looking up and down the street, I saw one of our old neighbors, Mrs. Thompson, who lived two doors down.  I remember her being old then, but she hadn't aged much at all.  She was so surprised to see me and had tears in her eyes as she told me about her grandson T.J., who was one of my best friends growing up, living in California and how lonely she is without him.  She told me all about her bad day at the doctor's office, her frustration with getting older, and all the changes that had happened in the old neighborhood.  I'm pretty sure that I made her week, maybe her month, just by stopping by and saying hi.  While it was very sad to think about my old home being burnt to the ground, I was very humbled to have the opportunity to take one more walk through and share some memories with a jewel of a lady who was like another grandmother to me.  The irony of getting to do so on my 30th birthday wasn't lost on me, either. It was like God just chose to sprinkle me with blessings, for which I am extremely grateful.

So, I guess the first day of my 30's was pretty great.  I'm looking forward to the weekend for more celebrating with hubs and the rest of my family as well.  And, to say that I'm blessed beyond measure would be the understatement of the year!  :)