Well, hello there, 30!

And there it is. One moment you're a 20-something and then suddenly midnight arrives and you're not. Waking up 30 looks a lot like waking up 29 but nothing like 20. 

I've had conflicting emotions about it, and today, on the day of, I still do, but I don't think it has much to do with some "loss of youth" complex. In the last year I met met a man and married him, walked away from my career, and forfeited my deep identity as a Californian to start a new life in Kansas City. Today, not only am I turning 30 but I'm packing for tomorrow's flight back to California and working through last minute details for our wedding. I'm job hunting in my new city and preparing to start a business with my new husband. It's a lot to take in! 

I can't really be upset about starting a new decade of life when I look back at how much I packed into the last one. I graduated from college, traveled all over the world, kick started my corporate career while maintaining a photo business on the side, and one of the brightest highlights - I got to experience becoming an auntie... twice!

Waking up 30 looks a lot like waking up 29 but nothing like 20. And that's a damn good thing! 

My love made me breakfast in bed - he's a keeper!

The Update Obsession

People are always complaining about the constant stream of Facebook updates. It does often feel like by the time we finally get used to a new app there's another one right behind it that completely throws us again. 

Apple doesn't update as frequently, but when they do the change are usually even more extensive. I haven't decided yet if I prefer the non-stop little updates or the occasional massive update. I've got to say though, that today's iPhone update has got me absolutely fuming. 

I saw an update in my "settings" icon so I went for it. After about 30 minutes it was done resetting so I started poking through my phone and realized it was a complete remodel of the iPhone formatting and user experience. I plugged into my MacBook Pro to back up my phone to iTunes to make sure I didn't lose anything. 

An alert popped up saying I needed to update to iTunes 11.1 before I could sync my iPhone. I went to the iTunes website and downloaded the update. When I tried to apply the update, another alert popped up saying the update requires OS X version 10.6.8 or above. My laptop came with 10.5.8. 

I did a quick Google search to poke through help forums and discovered that I need to either purchase Snow Leopard and install it on my laptop, or buy a newer Macbook. Until I do that I won't be able to update my phone from my iTunes.

You can purchase online, but there's all this talk about Leopard versus Snow Leopard, Lion version Mountain Lion, and I'm just not sure where I'm at currently or where I need to be, since most of this stuff came out after I bought my laptop... which wasn't even five years ago - geesh - but that's a century in computer years. 

Trickery, I tell you, this obsession with updates; this lack of forewarning before updates come through or explanation of what they will include. I would be more inclined to buy the necessary upgrades or better yet a newer Macbook, but considering every iPhone I've ever owned has been riddled with manufacturer problems and my laptop has had three, yes three, batteries explode, yes explode, I'm really just not in the mood to give Apple any money today.

Currently I'm operating off of a wall charging MacBook Pro sans exploded battery, and an iPhone 4 with a button that sticks so frequently I have to smack the back of my phone into the palm of my hand repeatedly before each use. 

DIY Cake Toppers

And the countdown continues - our wedding is in 10 days! Eek! I am flying to California Friday, so I've already been packing and organizing and finishing up as much crafting as possible before heading out. 

One of my favorites from our many DIY projects is our cake toppers! 

Initially, we hadn't planned on cake toppers because we aren't having a cake. A wedding without a cake - I know, right? But neither of us really like cake and we didn't see the point in spending a bunch of money on something we didn't care about. Instead, we are having a dessert station with assorted cheesecake bites! Although I didn't mind skipping the cake, I didn't really want to skip the cake cutting moment, so our caterer offered to prepare a sweethearts cheesecake just for us. At that point it only made sense to have (cheese)cake toppers, but they would have to fit our casual, country chic theme.

I stumbled across an Etsy shop called Goose Grease, which is a Columbian fair trade DIY wood figures business owned and operated by a family in Brooklyn. "Fair trade"often equals outrageous prices, but I really feel like I got an excellent bargain with their wedding kit, which only cost me $28.95! The box included four toppers, two brides and two grooms, which relieved my "oh no, what if I mess up!" anxiety. The six colors provided were adequate, since I was able to mix them to get the shades I needed for our wedding colors. The kit even included two paint brushes and a cute fabric pouch.

Weekend In Branson

The hubs and I made the three and a half hour drive to Branson, Missouri for a little get-a-way. It's hard to describe Branson... Kitschy, hoaxy, touristy... but it manages to be all of those things in such a delightful way!

We lucked out with a hotel promotion that got us two nights in the Radisson for $99. As if that wasn't enough to get excited about, we were given a free upgrade to a top floor suite after finding a couple of beetles in our booked room. Apparently this time of year Branson has a problem with beetles - gross, right? But if that's the price to pay for a huge suite with a king size sleep number bed, I can deal!

Thursday I got my history fix at Table Rock Dam, which has a visitor center with great displays about the settling and developing of the Midwest, and the hubs got his good food and cigar fix at Waxy O'Shea's, a restaurant and pub in Branson Landing. 

Friday we toured Bass Pro's resort on Table Rock Lake, Big Cedar Lodge, and then spent the afternoon fishing! We didn't catch a thing, which is apparently referred to as getting "skunked," but by the end of the day I was touching stink bait and wading in the river barefoot despite the slimy rocks, so I'd call it a successful first attempt!

That evening we mini golfed at Pirate's Cove. That has got to be the cleanest, most well kept mini golf course I've ever been to! Neither of us are very good players, but we had a great time goofing off in the pirate ship and taking silly photos all over the course.