My Birthday

I had an absolutely wonderful birthday weekend.

On Friday, my mom and I went wandering through the French Quarter in New Orleans. We stopped and had lunch at Cafe Remoulade on Bourbon Street to enjoy some local cuisine. My mother indulged me by purchasing me some pralines (since I didn't have birthday cake) and also bought me a new bathing suit for my trip that weekend.

Friday evening I enjoyed dinner with Joy, Celestine and Melissa. We had great food, great margaritas and conversation that kept us laughing the whole dinner through. Oh yes, I did get some nice presents. Melissa paid for all my margaritas; Joy gave me a pretty print about friendship, cash (she didn't make it to the bookstore for a gift card), and paid for my dinner; and Celestine gave me the Christina Aguilera CD.

On Saturday morning, Joy, Celestine and I ventured off to the beach. After a few setbacks which included trying to find an air pump that actually worked and a very long breakfast at Burger King (they took forever!), we were on the road. It was such a great day! It was cloudless, sunny, a cool breeze blowing. We spent the entire day at the beach. It was so relaxing. When we first got there the water was a little chilly but warmed up by the afternoon.

That evening we went back to the cottage and we all showered and got dressed. We went to a local restaurant for some good seafood! We then came back to the cottage, got comfy, and drank wine and played UNO! I know, call us crazy!

Sunday morning, Celestine and I both awoke to pain! We had gotten sun burned! No beach that day! So instead Celestine and I started off the day with some blackberry picking while Joy got ready to pack up. We were both able to get a huge bag of blackberries which I am now baking into a pie! The rest of our day was spent shopping at the outlet mall in Gulfport!

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend! I even got an email from my friend Ron who is currently on a submarine wishing me a happy birthday! I am so incredibly relaxed, happy, and sun burned! LOL! But it was all worth it!

Current Favorite Song

I hope the ring you gave to her
Turns her finger green
I hope when you’re in bed with her
you think of me
I would never wish bad things
But I don’t wish you well
Could you tell
By the flames that burned your words
I never read your letter
Cause I knew what you’d say
Give me that Sunday school answer
Try to make it all okay

Does it hurt
To know ill never be there
bet it sucks
to see my face everywhere
It was you
Who chose to end it like you did
I was the last to know
you knew
exactly what you would do
Don’t say
You simply lost your way
She may believe you
But I never will
Never again
Never again
Never again
Never again

If she really knows the truth
She deserves you
A trophy wife
Oh how cute
Ignorance is bliss
But when your day comes
And he’s through with you
And he’ll be through with you
You’ll die together but alone
You wrote me in a letter
You couldn’t say it right to my face
Give me that Sunday school answer
Repent your self away

Does it hurt
To know ill never be there
bet it sucks to see my face everywhere
It was you
Who chose to end it like you did
I was the last to know
you knew
exactly what you would do
Don’t say
You simply lost your way
they may believe you
But I never will
Never again
Never again
Never again
Never again
Never again will I hear you
Never again will I miss you
Never again will I fall to you
never
Never again will I hear you
Never again will I miss you
Never again will I fall to you
never
Never again will I kiss you
Never again will I want to
Never again will I love you
Never!
Does it hurt
To know ill never be there
Bet it sucks to see my face everywhere
It was you
Who chose to end it like you did
I was the last to know
you knew
exactly what you would do
Don’t say
You simply lost your way
They may believe you
But I never will
I Never Will
I never will
Never again
Never again
Never again
Never again

Mad Dash

Today was a mad dash for the finish line. Except none of us was ever really in the race! Today we got the email from the boss about bonus evaluations being done today or tomorrow. In order to get our bonuses we have to follow some guidelines. Basically meet with the boss periodically and maintain filing. Well, none of us do filing. We keep it done to a minimum but other than that we don't really follow policy. So today, after lunch, we all started to work on our filing. I think it is a hopeless cause in our office! We barely scratched the surface on the filing today and have maybe half a day tomorrow to work on it too! I'm not optimistic that I will earn that 2% of my bonus through filing.

Today was also my birthday lunch. It was just as I wanted it. Just my office mate and I. Every one is so busy and I didn't want a fuss so I asked her not to have any one else attend. We went and had mexican and she was so sweet and paid! I have the greatest teammate ever! Just this week alone she has brought me lunch (jambalaya on Tuesday) and some boiled shrimp for my dinner! Then to top it off she pays for lunch today. Great! This birthday week has definitely been going well! I can't wait for the main event this weekend!

Busy Weekend

What a very busy weekend! But I wouldn’t do anything different, well, except one thing (see third paragraph)!

The weekend started Friday night with dinner at my friend’s home. She grilled steaks and made scalloped potatoes. We enjoyed our dinner with a few bottles of wine. One of those bottles was very unique in that it was in the shape of a very tall black cat. It was different and we were told it also comes in a pink cat for breast cancer awareness. Another one of my friends from work also called for me to come join her and her family for crawfish and beer but I was already committed to the first engagement so I missed out on that. :(

Saturday started off with breakfast with the girls and shopping. Of course when I have spare money to spend I can’t find a thing to buy! I then proceeded to spend the afternoon and into the evening babysitting. It was easy and it was difficult. I baby sat for a 3 year old boy who was an absolute angel and then his puppy. His puppy was a big dog who stood nearly as tall as me when he stood on his hind legs. This poor puppy was being kenneled because it had had an accident a few weeks ago where it had fallen out the back of the truck as it was moving. It had broken its back right leg and its jaw. It had pins holding those two places together. I had to feed the dog and then walk the dog. Normally, not a problem. But I was so afraid to hurt the dog and well, he was just excited to have someone new around and wanted to get out of the kennel. One: he peed on my leg (which really isn’t so terrible but quite GROSS!) and two: he started to jump around. I was petrified he would hurt himself again. I did manage to let him out for a small walk to do his business. But it was well worth it after the money I made!

Sunday morning started off very early with me vacuuming the car and then proceeding to the parents to wash my car. It’s all nice and clean now! When I got home I had an email from my friend in the navy! He was so sweet! He told me not to sweat anything going on in my life (that’s his favorite term “sweat”) and that everything will be fine! Then he told me he appreciated me taking time to email him daily and that he “adored” my friendship. I’ve never heard a man use that word but it made me laugh and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But then he ruined it by making fun of the fact that my college mascot died. He got a stern lecture about that! He did mention that he was coming to visit soon though and he can’t wait to see me! I feel the same way too! I then spent part of the afternoon on my balcony messing with my plants and cleaning the leaves and old flowers off of the balcony. Of course Sunday means laundry and I had laundry to do all day. I got most of it done! I did spend some time shopping and was able to purchase some new shirts with some birthday money that has already come in! Duke enjoyed my time spent out on my balcony. He is such a blonde and loves the sun! He lies right in it until he gets so overheated that he eventually begs to be brought inside.

It was just the type of weekend I like. Busy but productive! I do have some stuff I will have to do this week each day after work so I can be ready for my birthday trip, but it will be well worth it! I can’t wait!

Good Bye Mike

Today was a sad day for LSU fans and alumni. We were greeted with news of our beloved mascot, Mike, passing away in the middle of the night. It is as if we have lost a beloved family member! He was the LSU mascot for 17 years. I remember when they first introduced him as a kitten at the LSU basketball game. Fond memories of the trainer walking him around on his leash. He was so cute! But he grew up to be this mighty strong animal who represented LSU well. Unfortunately he passed away the morning of graduation at LSU. All those who were looking forward to him will miss out on the tradition of visiting Mike's cage. Well, the cage is still there but there is no longer a Mike. He was a great mascot and we shall miss him!

My Birthday Week

Tomorrow starts the week that leads up to my birthday! There are plenty of activities planned and I am very excited! It all starts tomorrow with a dinner at my friend's house. There we will dine on food, that I didn't have to cook, and plan out the activities for the following weekend!

On my birthday I am going to New Orleans. While my original guest has backed out on me, I have had many people step forward and it makes me so happy to know that I am loved! So after a day of sight seeing in New Orleans, I will go to dinner with my friends! I was thinking mexican but now I am thinking something else. I'm sure that will all be hashed out tomorrow night!

The weekend of my birthday my friends and I will be going to the beach! Since I have been asked to baby sit this weekend, my trip next weekend will be all paid for! I will not have to worry about any costs! A few days laying in the sun, sand, and water sounds absolutely HEAVENLY!

I can't wait to see the presents I get. I know, that sounds so incredibly childish but now that I am older and my friends are older, I tend to actually get gifts that I need instead of want. I appreciate those gifts so much more!

It has been a rough year. Full of discovery! And full of growth. I have learned so many lessons and I find that I am actually applying them! Even today I applied a lesson I learned from someone who is no longer in my life. And it felt good to do so! And well, now that I reflect upon it, I am applying a lesson that my friend Ron has tried repeatedly to teach me. He'll be so proud. He is always telling me not to sweat the small stuff. He is so very right! And it brings a smile to my face! And I am sure it will bring one to his face when I email him to let him know!

I am happy to say that I was able to let go drama that was in my life and I don't regret it. I have learned who is important in my life and who is just excess baggage. Heck, I still have one more week of things to learn before my birthday! Hopefully they won't be as hard as the last 6 months have been! But I look forward to everyone of them!

Cinco de Mayo

Ok, I know I am ony a week late posting these pictures but I've been lazy! Cinco de Mayo was a fun afternoon! The girls and I joined Joy's mom and her friends at a local mexican restaurant for drinks, food, and live music. The best part was definitely the drinks. We enjoyed refreshing pomengranate margaritas. I know, pomengranate? Yep, it was really good. Mostly you tasted the tequila but once you got over that you could enjoy the taste of the fruit in the drink!

Celestine was kind enough to volunteer to be our designated driver for the day! After we ventured to a 2nd mexican restaurant for some nachos we went for a ride in the convertible! It was an incredibly nice evening! Thus, the last picture in this post. It's a picture I took from the back seat of the convertible. I thought it was pretty. Ok, probably the alcohol thought it was pretty but I thought I would share it with all!

It was just enjoyable to get out of the house and mingle with people!

My garden

I just wanted to share some pictures of my flowers on my balcony. I am quite proud of my hibiscus bush. I have another flower that looks similar to the hibiscus but I don't know what it is and it is more of an ivy. I am also very proud of my fern. I have kept it alive for 5 months now! That is like a record! I don't necessarily have a "green" thumb. It's more like a black thumb! Over water, under water, too much sun, etc. etc. etc. I've done it all to kill a plant! But I am very proud of the fact that I've been able to keep my many flowers alive. Although I have to admit that I have two pots that I need to purchase new plants for because they aren't looking very well! Not my fault though! We had a really bad rain storm last Friday and it trampled them! They sort of drowned!