Well, guys. It’s official today. I’M FOURTEEN!!!!
This is SERIOUSLY the dance move I’ve been doing for the past four weeks whenever I announced how many days there were until my birthday to my family.
The past year has been such a blur! I think I’m starting to understand adults who are always talking about how time flies. I guess it really flies when you’re having fun, and I did a ton of fun things this year. Though sometimes being thirteen felt more like this:
Most of the time I felt a tad more like Rapunzel.
Like when I went on a Disney Cruise. Or to Washington D.C. And met Kiera Cass. And on a completely spontaneous Florida trip. Not to mention the summer (and school year!) full of zoo trips, pool days, Six Flags or White Water trips, baseball games, loads of shopping sprees with mom, sleepovers with cousins, summer camp, and dozens and dozens of library visits. It’s been real, 13.
Alright, I’m gonna go ahead and warn you about the abundance of exclamation marks I’m likely to use in this post. I get excited, okay??!
On Tuesday – the 8th – I got a box of birthday goodies from Brooke in the mail! (Most of you know her – she’s the sweetest commenter and my favorite pen pal ever.) (hahaha Brooke, are you turning red yet??) She got me three books!!! SCORE. I got Beauty and the Beast by Wendy Mass, the first book in the 39 Clues series by Rick Riordan, and the second book in the Princess Academy series by Shannon Hale! Not only did I get those three books, I got a neat Japanese bookmark and the SOFTEST, warmest pink infinity scarf she arm-knit me!!! (Which will be worn a LOT, I can tell you.) I wasn’t expecting her box until Thursday, and Tuesday wasn’t such a fantastic day for me. So it was such a nice surprise getting it early! I could not wait to open it on Friday, so I went ahead and opened the box. 😀
So on Thursday, I stayed home (it’s usually a home-school co-op day, but I stayed home to get some schoolwork done so I wouldn’t have to do any on Friday!) and got my first Hannah Everly skirt in the mail!! I wasn’t expecting it in time for my birthday, and I am beyond happy that it came! I love it so much. It’s worth every penny! (And in case you didn’t know, she’s Rachel Coker‘s fabulous little sister. They’re both amazing – you should read Rachel’s books and buy Hannah’s skirts!)
Annnnd on FRIDAY (That would be today!! EEP)… I woke up and my dad wished me a happy birthday (mom was in the bathroom, LOL) and then I went to let my cat inside. Set our security alarm off. Whoo-hoo, what a start to my birthday. Splitting my eardrums! I then a cold slice of pizza (it’s good to me and it’s my birthday, don’t judge!) and baked my own cupcakes. Mom was joking “She’s making her OWN birthday cupcakes” but I just added butter, eggs, and water. Plus I was hungry. We ate most of the cake batter before the cupcakes… and I haven’t actually eaten a cupcake today yet – need to do that after this!
So then my mom and I got dressed (got all cuted up of course) and went shopping. (‘Cause what else is a girl supposed to do on her birthday?!) I got some new shirts to go with my skirt, and can’t wait to wear them when we go to the beach tomorrow for the next week!
My dad and sister met us for lunch, and of course there was ice cream! (More dessert, hello.) Then my dad had a gift for me (my other gifts were new makeup I got last week, the clothes to go with my skirt, and the beach trip – which we would have gone to anyway but is also partly in celebration of 14!) And guess what my dad got?? WRITER TO WRITER, by Gail Carson Levine! Remember I mentioned wanting it in a blog post the other day?! Sweet Daddy saw it and ordered it for me. 🙂
Afterwards, my mom and I went to Barnes & Noble. Now I know you’re all going to be astounded about this, but I DID NOT BUY ANY BOOKS. I DID, however, get this adorable notebook for myself!
I figured with all the library books I got, plus the books I owned and hadn’t read, plus Writer to Writer, plus (hopefully) some tomorrow when we eat lunch with dad’s side of the family… I have enough to take! 😉 I’m also 100% likely to buy some in Florida.
Oh, and we SO did not leave B&N without getting Starbucks. Pumpkin spice lattes, always come right around my birthday. Best time of the year.
And that pretty much concludes my day! I got SO many texts and DM’s and happy-birthday wishes on social media, and I feel so blessed and loved today! Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday and just made my day even brighter. 🙂
I’d also like to end this post with this unreleased song by Taylor Swift. (She was twelve when she wrote it; sometimes artists record it in a studio or get it on recording at home and it gets leaked or released somehow.) This is one of my favorites; she wrote it about 9/11/01 (my birthday) and it makes me cry every time. Today is such an important day in American history and it’s so important to take some time to remember the 3,000 too many lives lost all those years ago.
I love the line where she says, “Down the aisle three men walked and said ‘We’re here to die for our God.’ He stood up and said ‘That’s funny, ’cause my God died for me.'” It’s so beautiful and sad and makes me remember the brave Americans who lost their lives and their loved ones who lost their family and friends.
So thanks for reading this little recap of my day! I hope you don’t mind I sometimes post things non-bookish-related. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a Stacking the Shelves up tomorrow. 🙂
Oh – and just for kicks – I made this comparing last year’s 13-year-old picture in Barnes & Noble to this year’s fourteen-year-old one. 🙂 You can read my birthday post from last year here!
Thanks for reading, as always!
xx
I’m soooo happy you had an awesome birthday!! Did you get my package? I had hoped it would get to you today, so you can open it with all your other gifts.
Your family is so cute!! Enjoy being 14!!! 😀
No, I haven’t made it to the P.O. Box yet. 🙁 Maaaayyybe we can stop by tomorrow before we leave for Florida! Don’t sweat it, I’ll still be so excited to get it whenever I do!! Thank you Daisy, so much! 😀
HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY!!!!
I loved being fourteen. A lot of things happened that year, and fifteen has even been better. You’re on a great path!
Hope you had a lovely day, and it seems like you did! 😀 Wow, it seems like you have a TON of books to read. That’s awesome. You’ll have to let us all know which ones are your favorites.
God bless, girl! Your blog is wonderful, I love it so much. 🙂
Thank you, Amanda!!!
That means a lot. I can’t wait! 😀
Oh, yes, I will! Yes ma’am. 🙂
That means so so much. Thank you again! I love your blog a ton too. Every time I get a post in my email, it brightens my day.
OMG!!! I cannot believe that my big sister has turned 14!! It seems like just yesterday she was only 13 going on 14….
oh wait….. that was yesterday. anway happy birthday Emily!!!! =)
LOL! I love you, Anna Banana. Thanks for commenting on my blog. Hahaha. Yep. You’ve been around every single day I’ve been counting down! 😉 Thanks Anna!
Eep! Happy Birthday(for the third time!)! I’m glad you had a good day! (And yes my face more or may not have been a little hot…. :). I swear you and Daisy are going to kill me someday 🙂 ). I know what you mean! It seems like just yesterday I got my first letter from you! Hope you have fun in Florida!
THANK YOu!! Eep. Lol. Yeah it’s pretty much my life goal. 😀
I know right?! I was just looking at the first letter you sent me. All the way back in March! We will. 🙂
Can’t wait to see you at lunch with your” dad’s side of the family”! Glad you had such a great day! Happy happy birthday!
I was so glad to see you!! Thank you Grandma! 🙂
Ahhh! How exciting 😀 Your blog is one of my favorites, and it’s just so refreshing to follow a girl like you, who is so modest and in tune with her values. I think you’re going to go big places 😉 *sends a big thank you to HVF’s blog for discovering this one*
Let’s see, that’s one more year to high school right? Or are you in it now?? Being 14 was a cool year because that was part of the year I first homeschooled. Now that I’m almost 16 I’ve witnessed so many changes, and you will too (good ones I hope!) 🙂
God bless and keep being your awesome self
Grace, you have no idea how much that means to me! Thank you so so much.
Haha. *sends a big thank you HVF’s blog for having you discover my blog* 😀
Yep, one more year! If I’d been born ten days earlier I would have been three by preschool and be a year ahead by now, but nope. Still in eighth grade. 😉
Thanks again, Grace. I can’t wait to see everything ahead myself. 🙂
HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!!
I hope you like being fourteen! My gift to you is a virtual hug 🙂
All those books Brooke sent you are great from what I’ve heard. Also, love the skirt! It’s so cute! Oh, and Florida sounds awesome!
I also like that Taylor swift song. It’s so heartwarming.
THANKS, TRISHA!! 🙂
I know I will! *sends virtual hug back*
I know right?! I can’t wait to read them all. She sends really good birthday gifts. 🙂
Me too. It’s a great one.
Happy birthday, Emily! It sounds like you had such a fabulous birthday, and your excitement about turning fourteen is contagious. For some reason, I never thought of my thirteen year old self as being a real teenager, per se. I don’t know…I just didn’t feel like one. But fourteen definitely felt like being a real teenager. I hope you have an awesome year!
Thanks bunches, Ana! Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s a big birthday, but I honestly haven’t felt like a teenager until now. (And even now, I’m still technically a newbie.) 😉 Thank you!!
Happy, happy birthday! I love reading your blog because it’s fun and entertaining and I get lots of book recommendations. Here’s hoping you have a great fourteenth year! (because fourteen is a fun year)!
-Grace (trueandpure.wordpress.com)
Aw, thanks Grace. I’m so glad you like it! I try my best. 🙂
Yessss, here’s to fourteen! Before I know it, I’ll be making a post looking back on this year!
Happy birthday, Emily!! I hope this year is absolutely fabulous for you and that you make many blog-worthy memories to share with us all 😀
Thanks, Audrey! I’m sure I will. 🙂
Hey Emily! You sound and look a lot like my BFF . 🙂 Have you ever heard of NaNoWriMo? It’s where you write a novel during the month of November. They have two sites you can sign up on (I personally recommend the Young Writer’s Program — you can choose your own goal and the people are friendlier) and it’s just a blast! I did it last year and completed my first (finished!) novella.
Aww, thanks. (I think… I mean if your BFF is like me, I’m sure she’s fabulous.) 😉 Lol!
YES, I have! In fact, I’ve been doing it since 2012. It’s such a blast. I can’t wait for November!
Thank you! 😀
And Happy Birthday!!!!
She is. All the way. 🙂
Oh, really! I did my first novella last year, and I’m doing a rewrite in Nov.
I bet she is! 🙂
That’s so cool! The longest I’ve written is about 22,000 words. I’m hoping to write a full-length novel this year; I don’t know if I’ll finish it in November but I’ll definitely want to get a good chunk written out during NaNo. 🙂