7 and 26

Hey y'all! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I finally feel like I can breathe now that school and all of the birthday/anniversary festivities are over. Sadly, all my pics are on mine and J's camera, and he is the keeper of the camera, so I won't be able to get them until next weekend. So for now, you'll just have to imagine how it went down! :)

We had a great 7 year anniversary on Sunday. We took a drive and went to our favorite little restaurant we go to every year. We save it for special occasions because it takes about an hour an a half to get there. I always love taking a drive with him though! We have the best conversations on those road trips. We talked about the future and what we want to have and do. It was really nice! Sorry to disappoint some of my friends who were rooting for it, but we're waiting a bit for an engagement. When we got home from our road trip, he asked me to look in his pocket. I saw a box, and for a split second, I thought it was happening. However, it was a beautiful necklace! After the fact, he said, "you really thought I was going to propose like that? You should know me better than that! And you know I want to do it on a random day when you're not expecting it" haha! He's so right about that! We've actually discussed all that before which is why I knew in the back of my mind that now wasn't the time. We want to have our own special day that's not on a holiday.

I know people think we're crazy for being together so long and not being married yet, but we've gone through a lot in those years. We've grown up, we've taken some time apart, we've gotten back together, we've experienced tragedies in both of our families, and it's just made us stronger. I think both of us feel all of this pressure, and we don't want to do it just because people are pressuring us. We both want to be absolutely certain when it's the right time. He's only 6 months into building his business, and he knows I'm tied down with work and school. It'll happen, we just have to remain patient. Engaged or not engaged, we love each other and it works for us.

Yesterday was my 26th birthday. It's so hard to believe! I still had work, and I still had to go to my last night of yoga class. I'm really going to miss that class and the people who took the class with me. I still plan to keep up the yoga practice because I can tell it's really helped me. It'll be nice not having to make the long drive twice a week though. It will allow me to have more gym time, plus I can get more things done at home. Also, I'm hoping that will allow me to have more time with J. Seeing each other twice a week instead of just once would be amazing!

Anyway, back to my birthday.... my best friend took me out to lunch which really made my day! I'm so lucky to have such good friends in my life. After class, I headed on over for my birthday dinner with J's family. It was wonderful, and I realize more and more how lucky I am to have them in my life. His parents even sign all my cards with "Love, Mom and Dad". It's really sweet. J always says that they love me more than him, haha! J bought me a lot of cute clothes for my birthday. Thank God I have a man with good taste! After 7 years, he knows exactly what I like and don't like when it comes to fashion. After dinner, J watched Secret Life with me. He pretends to not like it, but I know he does! :)

I didn't get home until midnight, so I'm exhausted this morning. It was well worth it though!

Since I don't have any anniversary/birthday pictures for you, I leave with you some from past birthdays.

2007 - 21st Birthday

2007 again - I was laughing in this pic!

2008 - 22nd Birthday. I had just woken up, so no makeup!

2009 - 23rd Birthday at the Cheesecake Factory. Trying to get down to my 2009 weight now!

23rd Birthday again - J got me a Cinderella cake because he calls me "princess".

2011 - 25th Birthday. Posing with my Emily Giffin book. Love her!