fuckin' FORTY: Part III

After the whirlwind party, we walked around the shops at East End before heading back to the AirBNB. We were all pooped and I know I just needed a minute to veg out. I wish we had had enough time for a nap but unfortunately that wasn't in the cards since Erin and I had a tattoo appointment in a couple hours. So we wound down, took a breather, and I plopped my overheated body on the incredibly cool terrazzo floor.  That shit felt so GOOD. I totally understand why animals sprawl out on cold hard surfaces. Catch me down on the ground with the pets all summer.

I didn't want anyone feeling beholden to my schedule therefore Katie and Angela went about their day of shops and tattoos. Erin, Hayley, and I continued to take a beat in between activities and then headed over to some of the shops on Corrine Dr. that I have taken Erin to before and knew Hayley would also love. Erin was cracking me up every time she said "Jelly Furtado" as slang for being jealous and then the first fucking record I spot when we walk into Park Ave. CDs was Nelly Furtado herself. Ha!

We all wanted a lil something of sustenance so we dropped in the Chick-fil-a where we all got kids meals. Nothing like a kids meal on your 40th birthday! Erin took our "toys" and came back with ice cream cones for all of us. I had no idea you could trade them in. I'm picking ice cream every damn time. And it was a hot steamy gross summer day so those ice creams HIT THE SPOT. From there we went just down the road for our tattoo appointment. Erin needed to get her swan touched up and she added a cute little frame around it which really elevated it to new heights. We also both got little bow tattoos. Two bows for two boos. Erin mentioned it months ago wherein I immediately gave her a hard time about third time being the charm. We've tried this whole matching tattoo thing twice before and it didn't pan out but I'm happy I can confirm third time was indeed the charm. Ha! It's a subtle lil nod to Taylor's Invisible String tying two people together. We both almost got Lake Eola fountain tattoos but we didn't want Cat to rush so we are planning those when she comes back in November. 

We had a bit of time to kill before meeting Dustin for dinner so we headed to Honey House Vintage. Erin had asked weeks ahead of her coming that I take her there and take her there I did. Actually Hayley took us there because she was driving the Eve 6. We all perused the cute lil shop and Hayley and I made sure to snag Mayor Lulu stickers. We even went to The Falcon, Mayor Lulu's go-to spot, but spot him we did not. We did however get to see his new mural! If you're not following him on IG yet, here you go. 

We headed over to The Monroe to meet up with Dustin for dinner. It was the perfect end to a crazy ass but fulfilling day. The girls and I all shared General Tso Cauli, BBQ Rainbow Carrots, and one of their famous fried chicken meals and it was perfect! We had a lazy night and were early to bed. As overwhelming as it all was it also filled me with so much joy that so many of my people got to be with me on my birthday. Again, thank you to each and every person who was part of it in any way, shape, or form. 

I appreciate you. I appreciate your time. I appreciate our friendship.

Yinz are real ones.

 

I took Erin to the airport long before the sun was even up the following day. We left a little later than planned and the airport drop-off was inching along. I don't know if I've ever seen it that bad. I was worried she'd miss her flight but thankfully all went fine and she made it back to Texas. 

I got back to the AirBNB and Hayley and I cleaned and loaded everything into our cars before heading out to breakfast at East End. She mentioned seeing a burrito place the day prior. She got a coffee, I got a freshly squeezed OJ, and we shared the best fucking breakfast burrito of our lives. Papi's slapped! I can't wait to take Dustin, if he can manage to get up early enough. Ok, let's be real I will probably have to go grab them to-go and come back with them for him to ever enjoy. I also saw that they cater so next morning meeting at the office I will definitely be recommending them. We did a drive-by of our Grandad's old house/neighborhood before going our separate ways. 

I came home with so much food, prezzies, and love. I had to put everything right away because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to relax. I can only handle chaos in very short bouts. Then it was time for a fucking nap. I slept hard-hard. Like a good 3 hours and even then I was like not really wanting to get up. Unfortunately, I had to drop my car off yet again at the dealership (which was a whole other fucking ordeal that I don't have the energy to get into but will say everything is fixed and I'm autonomous once more!). That evening I sat in my bed and opened all of the cards, read all the words, and felt even more of the love. 

 

fuckin' FORTY: Part II

               

I woke up well before my alarm on my birthday. When I realized I couldn't go back to sleep, I left Erin in the bed we shared and moved to the living room. I opened Tik Tok and immediately my FYP knew what was up because I was flooded with videos of Taylor Swift visiting a Florida pediatric hospital. With every new video I watched a new tear would slide down my cheek. To see the absolute joy she brought to those children was kind of the best way to start off my birthday. 

I got ready pretty quickly since I didn't need to wash my hair, so I helped Erin add some waves to hers. The other girls did their thing while Erin and I ran out to get last minute food and make a stop for tampons. We headed straight to The Audubon Room at East End Market to start setting up. Thankfully the room is already gorgeous as-is so there wasn't a ton to do but, also there was a ton to do. Ya know? Erin and Hayley got all the food displayed and my dumb little banners hung. Dianna got there early with a year's supply of Capri-Sun (I still have some in my fridge right now and I sip on them almost nightly as if it's my version of a "cold one") and then proceeded to be tech support and helped set up the music. 

I was so excited and nervous and a bit frazzled, so I appreciated all of their help so fucking much. Also people started to pour in and as much as I love aesthetics, I love my people 100x more, and will drop whatever fruit tray or tape dispenser I need to in order to go greet each person and then just yap it up. That's the whole point of my party. It's me getting to see most of the people I love and hanging out with them in one space like the ultimate crossover episode of my life. 

There was not a dress code per se. My suggestions were to wear whatever the hell you want but if anyone wanted a bit more direction then I asked they wear something in their closet they have never gotten to wear before (because that's what I did). I bought my dress second-hand at Revolve last summer and was annoyed I still hadn't had the right event to wear it to. So I guess I'll create the ding dang dong event. Everyone looked so damn good. I'm sad I didn't get individual shots of each of you! 

I told my therapist earlier in the week I was really nervous about my party; more specifically I was nervous that everyone wasn't going to have a good time. That's when she brought out her trusty whiteboard (which I fucking love) and she asked me about my party. I told her there would be food, activities, and a sharp cut off time. This is when she looked at me and said "You are feeding them and entertaining them with an emphasis on inclusion, what else is there but to have a good time?" Ok yeah, she had a point but it just hits different when your therapist says it. As someone who is always hyper-fucking-aware of everyone's emotions around me, I tend to focus on that, and then in turn don't have as good a time as I could have had. But she reminded me that their emotions aren't my responsibility and they can all take care of themselves. True and true. So I really took in her wise words and during the party I didn't check in on anyone but myself. And you know what? That was kind of everything. 

I had two disposable cameras floating around the room. The rules were to pull a prompt and then take a photo doing what it said. I had everything from point at the camera to pose like you're at prom to find someone with a hair clip to shake hands like you've just made a business deal and so one and so forth. I loved the idea of creating memories that also doubled as an icebreaker for those that didn't know anyone else in attendance other than me. 

I had stationary laid out so guests could write their future selves a letter. I will hold on to them all and mail them out at the start of 2026. This was something I got to do at Immerse awhile back and it was really interesting to see what headspace I was in when I wrote it vs. when I received it. 

And for the craft portion I had make your own bookmarks and/or friendship bracelets. The bookmarks seemed to be a hit. It was a craft I saw and saved on tik tok and was excited when I thought to incorporate it into my party. We didn't have enough time to get into the friendship bracelets of it all but each goody bag was filled with one I had made. They all had a word which confused so many. I just told everyone to google their word and some were still confused. Ha! But once I sent the definitions it all started to click. I have a Pinterest board full of my favorite words and their meanings which is how the idea was born. 

There was also a trivia portion of the party wherein I gave everyone a test (multiple choice, fill in the blank, put in order least to most, etc.) front and back of ridiculous questions about me. Like if you know you know and you guys should know, right? WRONG. It's so funny how much your brain just glitches out when put on the spot. I had questions about my first concert (Hanson) and the name of my first car (Isuzu I-Mark) or which bumper sticker I've never had on my car or what street I've never lived on, which enneagram number I am, and blah blah blah. It was fun to create, and even more fun to play teacher while everyone blurted out their answers. In the end there was a tie! Both Nicole and Erin got 13 points which meant there had to be a tie-breaker. I don't even remember the official tie-breaker question but I do know that Nicole won. And if you know anything about me you know people will never walk away from my party empty handed. She got a special lil bag of goodies (two books, mini sunscreen, lip gloss, pride pin, etc.)

One second I thought to myself how will I fill three hours and then poof Erin is asking if we should do cake since we had less than an hour left. I forgot I even had a cake! But Erin was on that shit. She made it a point to help me stay on schedule and check off all the items that we hadn't gotten to yet. And by the time the clock struck 12pm the entire room was cleaned up and put back together, everything was packed up or already taken to my car, and I didn't have to lift a finger. I know Erin and Hayley were behind that and I'm so grateful that you two just knew and did. And to anyone else who cleaned up, thank you so much. Acts of service is my love language so thanks for loving me in my favorite way.

That morning was a whirlwind. I look back at it now two weeks later and just smile because of all of the laughs. I can hear everyone's distinct laugh. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. I hope everyone knows how much it meant that each of you were there to celebrate me. I love you to the moon and to Saturn.

We got older but we're still young. 
We never grew out of this feeling we won't give up. 

-The Starting Line