Yes, I’m backdating this birthday entry for my own archival purposes, so if you don’t like that, tough toenails.

First of all, thanks to everyone for the lovely birthday wishes! It’s funny, as a kid I used to think how sad my birthday would be when I stopped partying with my friends and receiving the newest Malibu Barbie as a gift, but I think the existance of Facebook has greatly improved adult birthdays. I know it doesn’t take much effort for someone to leave a Happy Birthday note on your Facebook page, but boy how good do you feel every time an e-mail pops in your inbox: “So-and-so has left a comment for you.” Add to that the effects of Twitter, text messages, blogs and plain ol’ e-mail and I felt like the coolest person in the world.

I loved everything y’all had to say on my reflective birthday post. I was especially moody Sunday morning — blame it on the rain (or the stars, your preference). I didn’t respond to everyone’s comments on that post, but my final reflective thoughts can be summed up as follows: 1. We are, indeed, all in this together. and 2. It is the journey that counts.

For my actual birthday, I was in a much more kick-ass mood. Blame it on either the gorgeous weather the universe sent me as a birthday gift or my really awesome “it’s your birthday” horoscope. A sampling of what the astrologists say life has in store for me for the coming year:

Intensity characterizes many of your pursuits this year as you focus on what matters most to you and weed out frivolous endeavors. You are feeling light and free when it comes to expressing yourself this year–your personality is sparkling! A good combination of work and play are in your forecast. Solid progress in mental pursuits can be made.

I’d say that qualifies as a kick-ass kind of birthday horoscope. Or as Jenn would probably describe it: super-fuck, yeah!

That said, I’m turning the page on my life and am ready to get back at kicking ass and taking names. (How many times can I say kick ass in one post? That’s four.) I’m ready to put the extremely unstable past year behind me and really enjoy my life as a 26 year old. It is all about the journey — we’ll see where it takes me.

My birthday itself was lovely. Work wasn’t horrible — I had just enough to keep me busy and get me to 6 p.m. quickly. The Modern Beau took me out for a lovely seafood dinner: fried calamari, salmon drenched in chipolte butter, a flaky croissant and creamy spinach maria. Post dinner included hanging out with another friend also celebrating his birthday and his wife for a few drinks, a kick-ass Marble Slab Swiss chocolate and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup ice cream cake with a side of my Weight Watchers commitment going out the window. Screw you WW, it’s my birthday!

Good thing I have one of those passes that gets me out of weighing in for a week. Kick-ass (just for good measure).