Happy Birthday Big Brother

Happy 30th Birthday Michael!!

I am headed up to NYC right now on a bus from DC to meet up with my brother for his bday weekend (and more importantly...Notre Dame vs. Army football!)
I'm looking forward to a fabulous weekend with my brother and some of his friends. I have not spent his birthday with him in probably 10 years if not more so this is great.
Pictures of the great weekend to come...but for now, here's a pic of us at his graduation in May:
Oh...and Happy Birthday to my puppy, Jewels, who turns 3 today! Yes...my dog and my brother really do have the same bday. When I saw her and then saw her bday, I knew that I would just have to have her. :-)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!

(well 26 minutes ago!)


So glad that I got to spend the day/weekend with you! You are a wonderful mom and have been a great caregiver for me and have become a great friend. I love you!

Happy Birthday A!

Happy 25th Birthday baby!

I am so happy that we've been able to spend this day together for the past 2 years.

We had a bunch of people over to his parents' house yesterday to celebrate his birthday and his being home for R & R. It was an absolute blast. Cooked out for lunch, played some yard games, built a fire pit in the yard as it got dark (until it started to downpour on us!), and then played some Wii games til we were all ready to crash. And today we are just doing stuff with his family! He just went out with a couple of his friends for lunch and then we'll be heading to a movie and dinner with his parents, sister, and BIL.
(Here he is being a dork when we were playing Corn Hole!)
Overall it's been a great R and R so far, I'll write more later about what we've been up to! Hope you are all doing well.

And a message to Expat Girl over at The Sand is Different Here ~ Stay strong, we are all here for you. I cannot imagine the heartbreak you are going through with saying goodbye to Mum and then Mr Soldier. However, I do know how strong of a woman you are and I know that you can get through anything. And I'm here for you if you need ANYthing at all!

A Great Few Days

Since I last posted a few things have happened...including I turned a year older on Thursday! :-) (Yes...that's right. I am now a quarter century old!)

If you've been reading my blog you already know what I got from A! However, I know I have a few recent followers so...this is what I got a brand new pink laptop and purple wireless mouse...look here to see!

So on Thursday night a group of my friends (some from work, school, and the roomie/gang!) went out to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was an absolutely blast. Here are a few pics for a recap of the night...

Here I am with the roomie!

Smiling for the camera with one of my classmates.

Me with three of my coworkers!

My supervisor (above on bottom, left) made some cupcakes. (Don't they look cute placed in the shape of a fishy!)

And this is what happens when there are extra cupcakes left sitting right in front of the roomie and me. (Thanks roomie for making me laugh! HAHA)

Friday was a pretty low-key day with work in the morning and dinner with my parents. Then today was just great. My roomie and I ran (walked) in a 10K race this morning. It was great. We finished in about an hour and 20 minutes. We felt great afterwards. A little tired now, but that's what happens. It was a great race because there were bands along the way and tons of people on the sides of the street cheering and stuff. It was an overall great time.

Afterwards, I got to spend some time with my nephew who turns 1 tomorrow. I can't believe it. His birthday party was today and he got so many things. His toys are absolutely amazing. If I were still a kid (other than at heart) I would totally steal his toys from him. HEHE!

And then tonight I went out to dinner with my parents for my birthday! Now, I am about to crash because I'm exhausted. Just wanted to touch base since it had been a few days. Hope everyone is doing well and that you are all having a great weekend! Have a happy Sunday! :-)

My Birthday Present :-)

Yes...I know, my birthday is not for another 4 days. However, I already got my present from A, and it is absolutely amazing!!! I am actually using it right now to write this post. Yes, that's right...A NEW COMPUTER!! He ordered it and had it mailed to my parents so that my mom could wrap it. Then today I went to my parents and talked to A on webcam while opening it. Therefore, it was like he was there. :-) It was perfect. The week will be too crazy which is why it happened early. Of course that really made for a happy me, because although I love surprises, I am horrible at them when I know they are coming.

So here it is...(I like how you can see my old comp in the background!)

And to make it even better...it's PINK!

And I also got a wireless mouse which is a purple/pinkish color!

He knows me so well. It's absolutely great! I had just been complaining last week that my old computer kept freezing on me. However, he had already order this. I guess he was getting annoyed with my computer himself. (My P key was messed up because Jewels had walked on my keyboard and pulled it up once, My screen was SUPER floopy because it was taken back and forth to work for a year, And there were many times we'd be talking to Facebook or trying to get on Skype and my computer would freeze or reboot on it's own and take FOREVER!) Such a wonderful gift from an amazing boyfriend. :-) Oh how I love him and he loves me!

I Want it Wednesday

I want to know what A has gotten me for my birthday! Yes...that's right, my birthday is just a week (and a day) away. :-) He keeps talking about how wonderful a boyfriend he is and how the present he got me is the most wonderful present ever, blah blah blah, etc. It's driving me CRAZY! I keep trying to guess but he won't tell me. And to make matters worse (kinda), I asked if he was mailing it to me and his response was "Well not to you directly!" What does that mean? So I tried guessing who he could be sending it to in order to have them give it to me. I am pretty sure that it's my parents, but he's just being a sneaky little booger! But, I love him anyway. He said he didn't want to send it to me because I would have opened it early and I explained that I've never opened a present early without him being here telling me to open something. Therefore, I accused him of not trusting me! HAHA...he said not to turn this around on him, but what was I supposed to do? Just let him get away with teasing me and giving me a hard time?! I don't think so. He said it's not that he doesn't trust me, but that it needs to be wrapped first! Hmmm...I dunno. I guess we'll find out in a week what it is! Can't wait.

Here are some of the things that I've guessed:

-necklace

-plane ticket

-vacation with him

-clothes

-new cell phone

-charms for my bracelet

-shoes

-iPod touch

-gift cards/certificates

I just want to know! But I'll try not to ruin the surprise for myself.

A New Week...and a New Month!

It was a stressful past week and weekend. I am definitely ready for a new beginning and what better to do that with a fresh week and month. Not only is it a new start, it's also the month of my birthday! YAY...something to look forward to at the end of the month. I can't wait (well kinda...cuz I'm not ready to get old!). :-) So here's to a new beginning and this month starting and ending better than last!