It's HEEEEEEERE!!!

As of 9:46 am today, I am in my 30s.

As I actually spent the whole workday without seeing even one patient, I had a lot of time to sit at my desk, write, and THINK. Here's what the minutes before the big moment looked like:

9:42 am: 4 more minutes left of my 20s!
9:44 am: 2 more minutes!!
9:45 am: Getting out my cell phone to call my dad to share the big moment
9:46 am: The one patient I was scheduled to see barges into my office to announce that he can no longer keep his appointment. We talk for 1 minute, and I'm temporarily distracted.

After the big moment:
9:47 am: Called my dad at home. No answer. Called my older sister, S. No answer. Visited some coworkers to give them the big news...I have entered my 30s. "Happy Birthday" was sung by one. Another tells me it's all downhill from here.
10:03 am: Called my very good friend, M. No answer, so I left her a voicemail message. Texted another friend, T.
10:06 am: T. texts back. Then he calls. We talk.
12:00 pm: Go to lunch for chili dogs and fries with 3 coworkers. Thanks for lunch, J!

Sometime after this, as I'm sitting at my desk, a coworker brings his 2 adorable little daughters to visit me. I am mentally reminded that I am still childless, and as I watch the 1-year-old waddle, I am reminded of how much I want one of my own.

Went home, picked up a cool free gift at a store on the way.

Passed out candy to trick-or-treaters. Ate delivered Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza (bad, bad!). Still have a whole bag and a half full of chocolate candies left. Please, kids, come to the door! Do not allow me to be tempted! Not after I've done so well with shedding 20 lb in the last year (which was extremely hard for me to do)!

After that, not much else happened.

Oh, yeah. Since today was Halloween, I did wear a costume. OK, not a "real" one, but I threw stuff of my own together, and I did buy a few things, but it's all stuff I'm gonna use after today. I was Little Red Riding Hood. I wore my red Rachel Pally dress, a pair of red Christian Louboutin slingback pumps, a red wool hooded sweater from Target, and brought a picnic basket that I picked up at Big Lots. I didn't think anyone would "get it", but pretty much everyone did. Already making a mental note of what to do next year...

OK, not exactly the most exciting 30th birthday celebration on the planet, but I'm grateful for what did happen, and I look forward to this next decade of my life, which I know will bring me great happiness.

Less Than 11 Hours to Go...

I'm now within my last 11 hours of my 20s...I'll now say goodbye to:

1) caring too much about what people who don't know me think (I"ll care even more deeply what people who do know me think)
2) not knowing if I've chosen the right career
3) foolish spending
4) pursuing relationships with "boys" (meaning men in their 30s who act like boys)
5) not knowing my self-worth
6) not taking care of myself financially, emotionally, spiritually, physically (I've now accepted that my metabolism ain't what she used to be)...
7) acting like an immature brat when things don't go my way
8) irresponsibility

I'm sure I'll think of more later on.

"On the Verge of Turning the Big 3-0..."

So...here it is...almost time to say good-bye to my 20s. It's bittersweet. On the one hand, I'm kind of sad. When Harper's Bazaar does their monthly "Trends at Every Age" (or whatever it's called) section, I no longer have Lindsay Lohan or Mischa Barton to emulate. Starting on the 31st of this month (yes, my birthday's on Halloween!), Harper's Bazaar says I should start thinking of Cameron Diaz and Cate Blanchett as my fashion idols. I can certainly see Cameron as someone I'd like to emulate 'cuz she does California casual so well (which is a very youthful style), but Cate Blanchett?! She's a great actress, but OMG...she seems far beyond 30s to me ! And now that I'm reaching the same decade as she, I'm supposed to start looking like her?! And for those of you who, like me, can't believe she's in her 30s, I just looked on imdb.com (which is considered a pretty reliable source on celebrity facts), and it says her DOB is 5/14/69, so that makes her 39 years old...so, for a few months, both she and I will be "in our 30s" at the same time.

So...what's gonna be the good part about turning 30?! Being wiser, I'd assume. I vowed to give up a large portion of my consumerism. No, I'm not going to stop spending or even buying designer items. I'll definitely do that, but I'm going to really think about what I'm buying. Having to completely clean out my closet a few months ago (due to some plumbing problem, which resulted in the plumbers having to break my closet wall open), I realized just how much crap I have. Stuff I've worn once, and some stuff I've never even worn! So I got rid of a lot of it, and now I just have some classic pieces that I plan to keep for a very long time, maybe well into my 90s or even to pass onto my daughters (if I have any...but I'd be very happy with a son as well...I just wanna be a mom so bad!...but that's another entry for another time). This includes some pretty cocktail dresses, a few pairs of Louboutins and Manolos, as well as a couple of Birkin bags. And in my 30s, I plan to make bigger, better investments...like buy a new car and my own house (I'd be so proud of myself if these actually happened!). But I'll start with investing in a classic piece that is sure to be a wise one...to be revealed on my actual birthday...