Birthday

Finally, an update. I do realize probably the only reason I'm really on here, other than to give you just a small sneak peek of what's been going on in my life recently, is to avoid tackling the laundry basket of papers and portfolios I need to grade before tomorrow. Let's see...I have Fahrenheit 451 tests and portfolios to grade for my seniors, The Great Gatsby tests and portfolios to grade for my juniors, and whatever late work my freshmen have turned in to date. I have a feeling the freshmen work won't be graded any time soon. I'll get to it...eventually. :)

Back to why I started this post:

My birthday. My mom and I had a FABULOUS time together when she came to visit me for my 31st birthday weekend. She arrived Friday evening, and we ate dinner at a local Mexican place up here called Jose Pepper's. They make the BEST cheese dip--and I think that's a very high compliment considering I thought Mexican Villa down in Spfld was the best before! The highlight of our meal was the cheese dip was FREE! :) Gotta love Valpak coupons! :) After dinner, we just came back to the house and talked. Even though we talk on the phone every day (more than once, mind you), it was good to talk to her in person. Just sit on the couch and gossip. Because I still didn't have any bedroom furniture, poor Mom slept on the couch that night, but she said it was fine. She took the couch while I wrestled with the air mattress. (Never again...)

The next morning, on my actual birthday, we woke up early and went to breakfast at IHOP over by Nebraska Furniture Mart. The plan was to eat, then go shopping for new furniture. I had already picked out what I wanted for my new bedroom:

I found this set online and just fell in love! Weeeelllllll, when I saw it in the store, I fell out. It looked rediculously cheap, and according to the salesperson, it was. So it was a no go. We searched until I came across THE ONE. Actually, there were two that I considered to be THE ONE, but after much debate, I finally settled on this:

The bedding I found at Dillards and just thought it was the girliest set! BEAUTIFUL! I wanted something luxurious, and my 500-thread count sheets are it! :) This was the time to splurge. Just FYI--after testing it out last night for the first time, I was right! Never again can I go back to the Walmart $10 sheets after sleeping like a baby with this Princess set. Now everytime I go into my new bedroom, I want to open my arms wide and sing out a chorus of "Hallelujah" in high C. (I think I've done that twice!)

So, after choosing my new bedroom, it was time to pick out the other furniture I still needed. I found a nice set for the guest bedroom in the Clearance center--headboard, chest, and nightstand. (I'll add pictures of it when I finish setting that room up.) Then I saw the patio set I wanted--high top table, bar chairs, cute, cute, cute. (Again, I'll add pictures of it later.)

Once we wrapped up all of our shopping at NFM, we headed over to the Legends shopping area (much like Branson Landing) to see what kind of deals we could make. I found some new brown dress sandals for this summer, a skirt (SIZE 12!), and a couple pairs of shorts from Old Navy (SIZE 12!). (Just had to throw my new sizes in there--down 3 sizes since December...) This is the only picture of both my mom and me from this weekend. You can tell we were trying not be blown away by the wind (this area ended up having a deadly tornado just an hour or so after we left).

Dinner was calling by this time, so we drove into downtown and ate at The Cheesecake Factory in the Plaza. Hmmmm...cheesecake...

Sadly, my birthday came to an end, and Mom had to go back home the next day. All in all, my birthday was a smashing success. I met up with some friends the next weekend to celebrate a late birthday, and that did not disappoint either! No pictures to post, but let's just say it ended with me getting an ice shower from a VERY attractive piano player downtown. :) The End