because I'm OBSESSED with 914

One thing everyone should know about me right off the bat is that I'm pretty much obsessed with my birthday. Honestly, I don't even know what it is. It could be that "September fourteenth" just rolls so nicely off my tongue. It could be that September is the beginning of fall, which is my favorite season. It could be that my birthday means Halloween is just around the corner, followed closely by Thanksgiving and Christmas. Or it could be a plethora of other random things.
I seem to always look at the clock right at 9:14, sometimes both times each day. I always notice license plates with 914 in sequential order. I notice expiration dates (sadly I'll probably be seeing less and less of those with 2014 creeping up). I can see a random sequence of numbers and low and behold 914 is there. From nail polish numbers to grocery bills, 914 is always popping up. I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, "You're around other numbers just as frequently, but you're so obsessed with 914 that you automatically and subconsciously pick it out of a crowd." Sure, that sounds totally reasonable. But you must not realize how often I come across this number. It's seriously uncanny, and I seriously couldn't love it more. Friends and family have even texted me things like "Happy birthday o'clock" at 9:14 or pictures of random numbers that include 914.
I mean, seriously.

 I'm so obsessed that even when I see a random sequence that doesn't sequentially contain 9-1-4, I rearrange the numbers in my head to make them say 914. Or if I see 9:41 I just think to myself, "Oh, if I switched the 1 and the 4 it would say 914." Maybe I need some intervention.
I can always tell after Brad gets my birthday present. Even if my birthday is a week away he'll always start asking if I want to celebrate that day. He gets so excited for the craziness that will surely ensue on September 14th that he seems to hardly be able to wait. I always sternly say no, because I want to celebrate ON MY BIRTHDAY and not one minute before.
As soon as the alarm clock went off last Friday, Brad was up and at em singing "Happy Birthday" and throwing Killer on top of me so she'd give me lots of birthday kisses. I had school off that day (lucky!), but unfortunately Brad had to go to class. Before he left I got to open my present.

A new backpack! I had been saying I wanted a new one for a while. My previous backpack was a hand-me-down from a friend in high school. Needless to say, it was getting a little warn out. It treated me well throughout college and always kept everything inside nice and dry while I walked home during snow storms, but, alas, it was time to retire old faithful. I didn't realized how badly I needed a new one until I started school again. At one point my old pack had nice padded shoulder straps that could withstand the weight of anything I put inside, but over the years the straps had wilted away to mere sheaths of fabric. Look at the padding on this baby, ya'll! Serious business.

My old pack also didn't have enough space. It was old school with only one compartment and no mesh side pockets for drinks. Not only can I fit my normal water bottle in the side, but on days that I'm especially thirsty I can now take my 32 oz honker of a Nalgene.

 Can you tell that I LOVE this thing!
After Brad got home from school, we went to my all-time favorite place - Mellow Mushroom - for dinner. Coincidentally all their appetizers were half off that night (they must have known I was coming), so we got 2! We ate ourselves silly and still had some leftover (yum...cold pizza...my favorite!!!). We then came home and picked up the pup. Brad took us to a park near our house, where we laid blankets and pillows in the back of our truck and watched the first four episodes of the first season of Modern Family, which Sara and Steve gifted me with. When we got back home, we finally had room for some yummy ice cream cake. This thing was deliciously delectable and ginormous. We just finally finished it off yesterday. It was an awesome end to a perfect day!

  And just because no blog post is complete without a picture of my favorite pup, for your viewing pleasure, Killer:

Courtney