Sisters and Friends and Birthdays, Oh My!

My sister, Rebecca, arrived from Madison this afternoon and tomorrow our sister, Sarah, will join us. One week from Sunday I will turn 30, but we're celebrating a week early. What this really means is that my birthday will be celebrated for a solid week, and somehow I've managed this nearly my whole life.

Becca got here today and I made us black bean soup for lunch and then we just sat in my sunny, cozy and beautiful living room and talked for hours. It was awesome. She also gave me her birthday gift to me which was a video of my life in photos with an incredible soundtrack that included personal messages from some of my friends and family. It is, by far, the absolute best gift I have ever received. I'm going to try to find a way to post it online so people can see it. There were so many pictures I had never seen of myself. I cried through the entire thing. :)

Tonight we went to the grand opening of UBurger on Comm Ave. They gave away free burgers, fries & drinks. YUM! It was freezing cold, but worth the wait. This is the first freebie I've waited in line for and wondered who wouldn't wait in 30-degree weather for free food? Probably many of you, but I had to give Becca a true Boston experience and waiting in line for grand opening give-aways is definitely one of them! The food was actually really good, too. You should definitely go check it out if you're in the area.

The weather should be really mild and beautiful this weekend, and that makes things so much more exciting. I love sunny days, but especially ones that are mild - not too hot, not too cold. Some of you may think the 50s are cold, but I can honestly say my blood has changed in the last three years and the 50s feels like the 70s to me now.

A few of my close friends here in Boston have planned a get away for Saturday night. I don't know any details, but I'm pretty sure its going to be the best birthday ever. Really, ever. I'm going to take lots of pictures, so next week I'll be sure to share them!

I've been really excited about my new job and hopeful for the ways God is going to continue transforming me through these new relationships at Stand for Children. I love this feeling before something new and fun begins... all the anticipation of what it will be like and how it will all unfold gets me really revved up.

One of my first investments will be a GPS as the office is located in Waltham on the other side of Watertown. I did write a blog a while back about the Watertown/Belmont/Cambridge Bermuda Triangle, so you can imagine my biggest concern is making it to and from work each day without burning an entire tank of gas. The GPS should help with that, although it will have to wait until I'm actually getting a paycheck, so hopefully the first few weeks I'll find my way.

That's about it for now, folks. I'm going to fully enjoy every minute of this weekend with some of my favorite people (although, not all of them, unfortunately) and then attempt to use my last week of unemployment very wisely. I can't believe I only have a week left to write Unemployment Chronicles - I feel like I need to pass the torch to someone, but I don't really want to wish for someone to pass it to since the main requirement is that you be unemployed.

I hope your weekend is refreshing, too!