turning thirty.

i turn thirty...yes, thirty in only 2 days.

when i was little...well, let me define "little" for you. i'll be more specific...

when i was about 10 years old, in my black and gold camden panther mini cheerleading outfit...swinging on the bars at the coleman stadium, watching all the older girls cheer on the black asphalt, i'd think..."man...16 years old. they are so cool. so old. i can't wait to be that old!"

and here i am...almost double those cheerleaders. and i'm realizing that 16 isn't really all that old.

a friend texted me the other day. asking if i was nervous about turning 30. i told her that i was more upset about pratt turning one than me turning 30. true. true story. that's really how i feel.

i'm excited about 30. i think it will be the best decade yet. well, maybe not better than 0 to 10...but close. 10 to 20 was horrible. 20 to 30 was good...but the beginning of it was rough to say the very least.

in honor of turning 30, here are 30 things i'm thankful for/things that...well, probably some of them got me to 30/things that will get me 30 more years here on earth.

in no particular order...

1. self tanner. because fat ALWAYS looks better tan.

2. coffee. because i couldn't get through the day without it. and i couldn't have survived dr. jeffers' organic chemistry/one year of medical school/graduate school without it.

3. tv. for obvious reasons.

4. music. because sometimes it's best for me to just sit and type out the lyrics. i can always find something i missed before.

5. email. whether it allowed me to cowardly tell my dad my reasons for quitting medical school...or because it was a perfect way to tell rob thomas that he had pretty much saved my life with his lyrics on numerous occasions.

6. my own bed. and my cool sheets. i love the way my heels feel when i slide into it. yummy.

7. multigrain, fat free waffles. and sugar free syrup.

8. mrs. june kirtley. for teaching me the difference between "your/you're" and "its/it's" and "their/there". you rock mrs. kirtley.

9. r.l. stine. the author of "fear street". books i read as a kid. that kept me reading when i probably would have found something else to do. to this day, there is nothing greater than snuggling up with a good book.

10. celexa. it got me through the worst year of my life. the "medical school year". the dark year. the year that i actually woke up in my sleep...crying. yes. i really did. crying in my sleep. folks, when you're crying in your sleep...something is really, really wrong.

11. group therapy at uca. it was in group therapy when i realized i had made the right decision in quitting medical school. i remember my professor and fellow classmates clapped for me. honestly, one of the best moments of my life.

12. the nurses in the st. vincent nicu. especially nurse sandy. and doctor zuerlein.

13. the makers of pampers. because i could not use cloth diapers. i'm sorry. i'm just not green enough. not yet. ugh. and for some reason pratt's urine can stink up a huggie faster than you can say "void".

14. dr. tim knight. who called that clint and i would fall in love one day. his exact words were, "you know, hannah...that will be the boy you marry." it was in his zoology lab that we first met. ah, good times.

15. whitney moore. who chose clint for me. i remember it like it was yesterday. he and i hadn't talked in months. and i said, (while laying on her bed), "i give up. i'm done with boys. they all suck." and she said, "it's clint. i think you should ask clint out on a date. he's the one." one week later, he called me for a date to the dental school christmas party. the rest is history.

16. my health. because nothing else matters when you don't have it.

17. school supplies. there is nothing greater than school supplies. the pencil bag is my favorite of all the supplies. it always has three holes in it. perfect for trapper keepers. trapper keepers...my second favorite supply.

18. flip flops. because my feet have always been claustrophobic.

19. target. because of the popcorn. the clothes. the shoes. the off brand baby wipes. all.of.it. every.single.bit.

20. chocolate chip cookie dough. peanut butter. both things that got me through broken hearts. my hips thank you.

21. mary linda rainwater/microdermabrasions. because i lived in the sun as a child. and the tanning bed as a teen. i know, i know. i can't believe i did it either.

22. sonic drinks.

23. mcdonald's french fries. because when i was little, my dad would ref football games. he would get home late and he would always bring me mcdonald's french fries. he would wake me up and i'd get to go to their bed to eat my snack. it's one of my most treasured memories. i never ate them out of the carton. he would dump them on a plate. a dinner plate. salt and pepper them. and add ketchup to the side. i would take my time...try to extend my time in their bed...to as long as i could. i loved being in there with them. such a treat.

24. the smell of my parent's house. i can't describe it. it's just a certain smell. i'd know it anywhere. but it's not anywhere except there. i can't wait until pratt feels the same way about our house.

and on a more serious note...

25. my God. He is too big. and i don't have to tell Him what i'm thankful for. He already knows.

26. my friends. my really, really good friends. the ones who love me ALL the time. even when i don't make sense. even when it's hard to love me. when i don't answer my phone. when i clam up and pull back. when i freak out. when i'm not the friend that they deserve...yet they still love me.

27. clint's family. for ALWAYS loving me like i was their own. grandma teddie and grandpa joe always introduce me as "our granddaughter". not as "our grandson's wife". big difference.

28. my sister. the person who i can call and tell anything to. and she still loves me. the person who can finish my sentences. "wild, wild..."

29. my parents. they showed me what marriage means. what true love means. thank you. thank you for never giving up on me. or if you did, thanks for never letting me know it :)

30. my family. my husband who loves me even though i still get zits at the ripe old age of 30. and my son who loves me even though my breath smells in the morning when i kiss all over his face. and of course ace and yoda. who were our first children.

in reading over this...i'm reminded of how very blessed i am.

what a wonderful, wonderful 30th birthday sunday will be for me.

love to each of you!