Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEE!

I need to talk about how great this birthday was.

First, I didn't have to work, which is such an improvement over last year that today was already awesome before I even had to wake up.

Second, I checked facebook, expecting to see a "happy birthday" from my sister in Europe, which I figured would be pretty cool. Instead, I find at least 10 happy birthdays, including posts from 1am and from people I haven't talked to in forever. I feel loved.

Third, I convinced Sara to go to PeiWei with me for lunch and then *gasp* clothes shopping! The horror! I even made her try stuff on and you know what? She bought something! I also got a new (fantastic!) dress and shoes for dinner tonight. (side note: when I got home, a necklace was missing from my bag, so I had to go back to the store, which was not so great, but they had the necklace waiting for me so it wasn't too big a deal.)

Fourth, dinner at Wildfish. Fabulous food! They brought me a special cake that they set on fire! So good!

Fifth, my parents got me an iPod, which was completely unexpected and kinda shocking and I can't wait to play with it!

And lastly, my brother and I went to see The A-Team, which is a great "don't think about it too much, just enjoy the one-liners and explosions" kind of movie.

This may just be the best birthday ever! At least in recent memory. The only way it would have been better is if Katie was down here to go out with us, too. All in all, I feel fantastic and am not sure if I'm going to be able to fall asleep anytime soon!

PS: it might have also been made better by the addition of a cute guy to drag around, but I probably shouldn't be too greedy. ;)

*Headdesk*

...and yet again Girl Genius has cut away in the middle of the action to introduce yet another plot twist...
sigh...
I think I'm with Katie now; should probably just stop reading for a few months and hope something's been resolved by the time I come back. (Not likely, but I can dream)

Thoughts of the day

Things that make no sense:

• A bus in Mesa, AZ that says Metropolitan Atlanta Travel Authority.

• A day spent walking around the Renn Faire (after an hour driving a clutch through stop-and-go traffic) apparently leads to sore arms, but legs feel great.

• A specific (and important) ingredient is written on a grocery list that is checked in the store at least five times; I still got all the way home before I realized I'd forgotten that ONE THING!

Things that are awesome:

• Am on day five of my stay-at-home-and-relax PAID vacation; haven't felt this great since...um, not sure when.

• Caramelized onions! *is in snack heaven*

• The little brother's AcDec team won the state competition! Which means they get to go do it all again next month in *drumroll* Omaha, Nebraska! ...Have fun guys! ;)

• Received my tax return! I love when the gov...well, really, when anybody gives me money.