A New Year Birthday Wish for Lady-V!

Hey, Y’all—I’m back again!

Notwithstanding that today is the first day of a brand-new year, my family has another reason to celebrate: Someone in my family is celebrating a birthday. That’s right, y’all—one of my very own family members was born on New Year’s Day. That special family member is none other than my cousin, Vanessa Joyce Cunningham.

 

I must also point out that this is a very special type of birthday for her because she is officially 25 years old today—that’s a quarter of a century, don’tcha know.

And yes, Cousin Nessa is all excited about hittin’ that big 2-5!

In celebration of Cousin Nessa’s special milestone, today’s blog post is dedicated to her (obviously). With that said, here are twenty-five things that you may or may not know about the girl known as “Lady-V.”


1.    Vanessa is Greek for “butterfly” (this name was actually invented by Jonathan Swift), and her middle name Joyce is Latin for “merry.” Cousin Nessa truly lives out her name—she’s just a merry little butterfly.

2.    She has the same initials as Gramma Jewel—VJC (Gramma Jewel’s maiden name is Coleman).

3.    She considers it an honor, a privilege, and a blessing to have her birthday fall on New Year’s Day.

4.    Her favorite color is red.

5.    She got her nickname “Lady-V” from my Grampa Clark, and that nickname has stuck, because almost everyone refers to her as such.

6.    She graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism.

7.    Her favorite song is “Miss Independent” by Ne-Yo. She has made this song her leitmotif, and she even swears up and down that Ne-Yo made that song especially for her.

8.    Her favorite catchphrase is: “Vivacious, Alluring, Naughty, Elegant, Sensual, Sexy, Altruistic—that’s who I am!”

9.    Up until she was in Eighth Grade, she swore up and down that Vanessa L. Williams was a part of our family.

10.  She doesn’t like to admit this, but she has a huge crush on Alfonso Ribeiro.

11.  She remembers everybody’s respective birthdays, and she makes it her business to call first thing in the morning.

12.  She loves t-shirts with quotes that describe her personality (i.e. “Cutie Pie,” “Heart Throb,” etc.)

13.  All of her pajamas have her first initial embroidered above her heart.

14.  She has a “special outfit” for all four seasons.

15.  When she was in Sixth Grade, she punched a girl out for trying to embarrass Cousin Calvin.

16.  Although she looks and acts like my Auntie Cherri, she takes after my Uncle Alex in subtle ways.

17.  She is a huge fan of classical music.

18.  She holds me, Cousin Trish, Cousin Candace, Cousin Erica, and Cousin Becky in such high regard that she thinks of us as her true girlfriends.

19.  She wrote a poem entitled “My Mother The Hero” as a tribute to Auntie Cherri’s heroic deed just last year.

20.  She actually considered attending wrestling school so she could challenge for the OSW Ladies’ Championship Belt. As a matter of fact, she’s even created two wrestling finishers—one is called the Vanessa Lock, and the other is called the Cunningham Clutch.

21.  When she was eighteen years old, she played the Virgin Mary in a Christmas play at her church, and she was very convincing.

22.  She is very photogenic, even on days when she is not “dressed up.”

23.  She can make some mean barbecue nachos!

24.  Her favorite thing to drink is a large root beer float with three cherries.

25.  Her favorite number is 25… and that’s so apropos, especially on today!


And once again, I say: Happy #25, Cousin V—Love Ya Lots!


Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha