Another birthday has come and gone

Had my birthday recently. Yay! Actually, I was officially 35 years old as of yesterday, May 25th. But as has been known to happen from time to time, my birthday will land on the day set aside for Memorial Day. This year, I didn't want to share my birthday with the holiday. Memorial Day is a special day to remember our brave men and women who have given their lives fighting for our country. So, no birthday on Memorial Day this time around. We celebrated it on Sunday, the 24th. Yay!

I made it very clear that I wanted to have a birthday party. Hubby is not big on parties. Or even birthday parties, at that! So it was a pleasant surprise that he went all out for me and got EVERYTHING we needed to have a nice party. I invited about 6 friends but 3 of them showed up. I was just as happy, because one of those 3 was my best bud, Jimmy. He brought along his sister and his daughter. His sister was there for another reason: To pick up her dog, Angel, who I have been taking care of for a year while she was out of the country.

We will certainly miss having Angel around and I was happy that I was able to do that for her. Jennifer wasn't happy to see Angel go, because she got so attached to her, but I promised Jen that, when possible, we'll get her a puppy or a kitten. This experience has certainly been a good training experience for caring for a pet. (And because Jen helped me take care of the dog, I gave her 10% of the $200 that I was paid today.)

We had a great birthday party. The food was yummy and the cake was surprisingly delicious. Hubby got me a digital camera that's smaller and more lightweight than the one I already have (and it's easier to use, too!) and the kids got me a picture frame with the word "Family" on it. (Jen is big on the whole "family" stuff. LOL) Jimmy's sister got me a VERY COOL day planner which, fortunately, fits into my purse. I'll be able to carry it with me everywhere! I really needed this. I told her I was writing appointments and phone numbers on various scraps of paper that I ended up losing or forgetting about. Now I can put it all into one place! My address book was really old, too, so it helped that the day planner included that.

After the party, hubby and the kids and I went out for dinner at Applebees. We all ended up eating A LOT! Heh-heh. After Jen finished TWO meals, she looked at me all bug-eyed and said, "My stomach is going to explode." I was just satisfied that they ate so well. I guess the days of ordering the kids a meal that ended up being uneaten or just picked at are over with. (At least, I hope!)

As great as my birthday celebrations were, I was really missing my family. I wished some of them or even ONE of them had been there for the festivities. One of my nephews texted me birthday wishes and Millie and Allison left birthday comments on my MySpace. And I really appreciated that. Another sister e-mailed me to wish me a happy birthday. I would've loved to see them all in person and their online birthday greetings helped cheer me up a bit. It would've been perfect if I had at least seen my mom. I haven't seen my mom since before Jesse was born! Gosh, it was...about 2 years ago. Well, we're taking a vacation out there next month to see her. It might be the very last time I will get to see her, too. But no matter how far away my family and loved ones are on my birthday, and every day, they will always be there in spirit and especially in my heart.