My quest to become one of Gucci's Rock-A-Bye Babies

To officially celebrate my birthday, I decided to do something that I've been wanting to do. And coincidentally, the class I needed to prepare for this adventure fell on my birthday so...I figured it was pretty much in the stars for me to spend my 25th Birthday at the gun range.

I'd planned to go by myself because I was going to take the Firearm Safety and Familiarization class which was a whopping 4 hours long before actually going to shoot. I decided that would probably be best since I had no intention of becoming the next Cheddar Bob (side-eyeing you, Plaxico). To my surprise, my LS decided to join me so I was really happy that I wouldn't be there alone.

I arranged everything with our new friend, Dunlap (yes that is a last name, yes he goes by that as if it were a first name, and yes his first name is EXTRA country). I got all dressed up, stopped to pick up a few of the 25,000 cupcakes ordered for me at Red Velvet Cupcakery and headed out to VA. When I got there (late) I was greeted by Dunlap's sidekick, Bernadette. I looked around the room and the seats were slim pickin's, so I plopped down next to Big Tigger and saved a seat for 27. Next to her were the mechanic shop boys, the woman that probably will end up shooting herself a bunch of walls vases in her house, there was the redskins fan who I think was there with her partner, and finally the couple with the husband who has a news story for every scenario and a trigger happy wife. That only left the two pretty girls...the one who readily admits she will scream if she gets shot and the other will assume she's dead.

Dunlap opened up with some personal stories, a little bit of legal advice about how to "talk" to the jury when you are in court for shooting someone, and a lot of humor. The class was progressing well until he was showing us the magazine release button and the two bugs came

up out of the carpet and scattered away when the magazine hit the ground. 27 and I looked at each other and wondered if anyone else saw that....apparently no one did. Then I looked down to the floor where our purses were secretly hoping nothing that made its way into the bags. After about 3.5 hours, the fun began. We had 25 seconds to load our magazine as there was an intruder coming our way. I managed to load 7 bullets and when he shaved off 5 seconds, I only got 6 in. But Dunlap didn't stop there, he then decided to make us all blind and challenged us to load as many as we could in about the same time frame. Aside from his legal advice, he likes to give real world survival skills. Then he had us load with our non-dominant and and then with that hand behind our backs (the goal there is to at least get two in-shoot the assailant and then run to safety). Loading guns was fun, but I was ready to go shoot. You know, I think I'm a thug sometimes...so I was ready to get started.

After leaving the classroom, we drove through the Blair Witch Project to get to the gun range. We were greeted by two jolly men in the gun shop. As soon as I stepped in, I started looking for the pink guns. I asked the guy how he sold pink guns to women if they weren't on display. He pointed them out to me and then asked me if I really wanted to know how he sold pink guns. Curious George said yes...and he pulled back his shirt to reveal his pink handled pistol. His words " 'cause I carry one". That was priceless. So we went into the range. Got our eyes and ears on...and loaded the magazines. Dunlap told us to put one magazine in and to cock the guns. I think this point that my heart sped up just a little bit as I realized that I was holding a real 9mm pistol with real bullets that could really hurt someone. We waited for our orders and fired off!

AND RIGHT THEN THE SHELL FLEW DOWN MY SHIRT BURNING MY STOMACH! No, not like a 3rd degree situation, but when I turned around the Range Chief was like "I can't go down there and get it." For the record, I wasn't asking him to, but I didn't know if I could just pull it our or what. So we fired more shots, I flinched EVERY TIME, and even found myself closing my eyes at some point. I WAS A TOTAL PUNK! Then came the "lights" out shots. They turned off EVERY light in the range. We were simulating being at home and having to shoot an intruder in the dark. The directions were to fire as quickly as you could but to use the flash from the muzzle as the light to show you where the target was. "Trigger Happy Wife" was apparently afraid of the dark and when the Range Master (I don't remember his correct title) turned off the lights, she objected loudly. I'm not sure if she shot or not, but he cut those lights back out and gave our orders to shoot. Me, personally, I shot all 6 as quick as I could. I wasn't looking for a guiding light. I was just shooting, hoping to get the target. After that we tried different distances. At one point, the range yeller dude came to me and said, "you need to know that you can't do anything about recoil". Basically he was telling me not to flinch on that because it is going to happen.

After all was said and done...and the guy next to me let of a bunch at once, I looked at my sad little target. It appeared to have the least amount of holes in it. 27, however, is a dangerous chick with pretty nice aim so you might not wanna eff with her. Four shell casings in my shirt later...it was time to go.

We had a lot of fun and I am really excited to go back. I think I just need to get used to the sound of other people's shots. You can anticipate your shots and the noise, but then there are like 10 other people popping off. EEK! I also think that next time I'll opt out of wearing the v-neck shirt and 4 inch heels. Turtle neck and Timbaland boots in summer it is! (the thought of wearing that makes me barf!)

A great way to bang into 25. Looking forward to heading back since we got a "free" membership for a bit to the range and a "free" lane and gun rental. I will be opting for something smaller tho...BL has suggested a .380...hmmm...

I'm 25! (from Miss to Ms. officially)

I planned to just stop by and do a quick post this morning, I didn't think that ILYT had actually posted a BDay message here. Tear.

I can't ever seem to get up early on days when I have to work, but this morning I got up bright and early! I replied to some text messages (yeah, I'm sure yall hate me for that), read some scriptures, spent some time in prayer and reflection, then opened my birthday cards (which literally left me boo-hooing).

I'm so excited about this next chapter. Many people look at a birthday as just another day. That's never been me. Birthdays have always been a big deal-usually because it meant a big party. But now (though it still very much means celebration) my birthday has new meanings and implications. At 25 I feel that I am literally turning another page and starting to write that next chapter. This one different from ones before. This one opens with prayer and thanks for grace and mercy and thanks for wonderful people. This one includes a focused goal. This one includes strengthening relationships with those close to me. This one is different.

My birthday has been great so far. I've gotten great gifts and had a wonderful dinner with friends last night. Small dinners with people who aren't socially awkward are pretty much one of life's best gifts. We laughed all night. We even went to Red Velvet for cupcakes. My dad's card said to "spend my birthday with people you care about and that care about you." And that is exactly what I did.

I'll leave with something else I know for Sure:

14. When People Show (or Tell) You Who They Are, Believe Them.

We all reveal our true selves in one way or another-actions, words, facial expressions, etc. Some of us are masters of disguise, however, and manage to deceive others about who we truly are. Eventually though, your true self will show. So it is important that we take people for who they are when they show that to us. We can't idealize them to being someone else and box them into that role. People will be who they are. Yes, people change. But some things are a part of a person and you have to accept that or choose not to.

I know we usually talk about this in a negative context, but it's applicable to all relationships. Your friends will show you how much they care. Believe them. Your family will show you how much they love you. Believe them. People will show you how much they genuinely support you. Believe them. Yes, we live in a society where people are only looking out for their star player. But, there are people who still care about others and when they show who they are in your life..believe them...cherish them.

25 Things I Know For Sure

6. friendship is not measured by wins or losses, distance, or time.

7. i have truly been blessed to have genuine friendships with a select group of people. | my inner circle challenges me to be better, accepts me at my best and worst, and is open and honest with me. these relationships have only gotten better with time and i know that they, still have so much ahead of them

People that "know" me, know that I only have a few people that I actually consider friends. Most people live somewhere between purgatory and acquaintance in my book. But there are a select group of people who I call friend because some it's an identifiable word to describe who they are to me. Truthfully, though, that inner circle of mine consists of people who are more than friends to me. These aren't people that I have to see or talk to on the regular-because our relationship transcends time. These are the people that can call me 24/7 and vice versa. These are the people I call when I see something funny. They don't keep score. They "get" me. The accept my imperfection but challenge me to do better. They are the people that I GCHAT with when I can't talk for fear of nothing but cries coming out. They are my girls, they are my guys. They know when I'm "on one" and they tell me. The love and support me. They are truly awesome people in their own right. I'm actually the luckiest girl in the world to have them so close to me. They make me better.

25 Things I know For Sure

I got my Mixbook in the mail today and it's wonderful. I used the Mixbook tool to make my "25 Things I Know For Sure" montage as a gift to myself for my 25th birthday. It's really meant to be something that I can look back at years from now and see where I was today (much like this blog will be years from now when ILYT and I look back and laugh hysterically).

I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from my book in the days leading up to my birthday. It'll give you a chance to know me more...as well as those things that I know for sure.

With the exception of numbers 1-4 in the book there is no real order to any of the other things. They are random...a lot like me... So I will share #1 with you today because it is how I started the book and it is definitely one of the most important things that I've come to know

1. God Loves Me

Now love is one of those funny things. It can't be easily defined by a few set of words or actions. It just-is. Some of us know it when we see and and others of us define it by what it is not. For me...it's something that I know when I see it or know when I feel it. I know that God loves me because I can point to times that my actual prayers have been answered. Those secret prayers that no one knew about but me, He heard and answered. (this isn't to say that unanswered prayers suggest that God doesn't love, because I know that the things we go through are to build us and challenge us in our lives). I know that God loves me because I can point to times where my life could have ended but was spared with little or no harm at all..and those are just the times I know about. Who knows how many times our lives have been spared because we took an alternate root, or someone swerved just in time, or we payed attention to that little voice telling us not to do something. I know God loves me because he has continuously placed me in places where I can be nurtured and grow spiritually. In every place I've lived, I have been drawn to a church where my spirit is edified and I am pushed to grow closer to Him. Finally, I know that God loves me, because he has surrounded me with so many people at love me without condition, pray for me, care for me, support me, criticize me (constructively), challenge me to be a better person, encourage me, and pour into me. I can not fathom what it must be like to be a person that does not like people, or one who doesn't have friends, or a strong family bond. I am thankful that God chooses to use people to show His love for me.

25 Things I Know For Sure

I went to see Oprah with my auntie and sister-in-law last week and it was the 10th anniversary of O Magazine, so Oprah had her experts (little pups- as she called them) come and talk about a few things that they'd written about in the mag. Each of them wrote 10 things that they know for sure about their area of expertise. I loved the idea of that and the wheels started turnin' in my head.

So I decided that in celebration and expectation of my 25th B'day I would make a little book about the 25 things I know for sure. I think it's going to be scrapbook-ish in style and written much like a letter to myself. The things on the list don't have to be big at all....just 25 things that I know for sure about myself, my life, my love, my happiness. I'm really excited about getting to work on it. Crafting totally relaxes me so I think it will not only offer some reflection time, but some peace too.

What are the things that you know for sure? We all change everyday, but there are some things that are what they are and they don't change....

Birthday Getaway

The invites for our birthday trip have FINALLY gone out! I'm super excited for the trip and the pre-trip shopping. It also feels good to have one more thing checked off of my "to do" list. Ahhh...now to just remain patient until the time comes to escape into the water!

Blogging is the new Black...or 25...or whatever

As we grow and change and journey towards self improvement, it is necessary to take inventory of those things closest to us and to make goals or little mental notes of things to change and what have you. As I am moving towards the big 2-5, I've continued to do the things that I've done before (reflecting, re-evaluating, and purging of relationships and situations) BUT some things have changed. I've added restructuring to that list of things too. And my purges...well I think I've gotten most of those done for a while, but there are a few that have been dismissed. All of these tools help me to examine myself and my relationships and determine if they are aligned with the path that I should be on. If not...then improvements must be made and if so...well then I've done something right.

So how does this all relate to "The 25 Project"? Well I've been discussing a lot with one of my closest friends (you'll meet her later). We are getting older and its just time to do somethings differently. This blog is one of those things. Now, let me warn you, it will likely be a hodge podge of random posts, but it reflects the things that go on in our lives..what we think about..what moves we are making..etc.

Why is it called "The 25 Project"?

These are new experiences in life. We are trying new things, conquering old fears and making major changes in our own lives. There's no completion or finite ending, but its a continual "work in progress" that gets better and more beautiful with time. The great thing is that you get to journey along with us as we work on ourselves, conversing with one another in a public setting and leaving us open to the opinions of the world...but being bold enough to do it anyway!

And with no further a'do....let it begin...