I... have the greatest friends/family!
So! I had an awesome holiday. Really wonderful. Starting with about 2 weeks before my birthday when my grandma sent me some birthday and Christmas love and rockawilly's cards showed up. Grandma sent me $30 (which I know she can't afford!) and rockawilly sent me 2 Target giftcards for values that were much, much more than I was expecting. I used them both on groceries and things I needed for the house, which I know aren't fun things, but the giftcards helped out SO much.
The closer it got to my birthday, the more I kept reminding people "it's only so and so many days until my birthday!" I had a party the Sunday beforehand, and it was sort of an intimate affair. I had about 7 people there, most of the ones I truly care about. So that made it really, really special for me. I got several several cards and a salt shaker/pepper grinder set, a filing cabinet, The Little Mermaid on DVD, a beautiful journal, a yummy pumpkin-scented candle, and a little red wall-hanging with two Chinese characters on it and "happiness" at the bottom. My friend Apryll stayed after everyone else left, and we had a great time until she had to go. And just as I was going to bed, one of my Australian friends called me and wished me a happy birthday, although it was 4 days too early. Boy, was that a treat! Talk about a sexy voice... wow. That totally and completely made my night.
A couple of days later my friend Maggie's husband gave me his old camera with all the good stuff that came with it--which is an awesome upgrade from the one I'd been given a few years ago. And we sat down and had a nice long chat, which is always something I love to do with my friends. There isn't a single one that I don't love to talk to. And the thing is, I absolutely love to listen to them.
At work, the sweet little cashier that we have at the pharmacy gave me a card and a $10 giftcard! How lucky am I? Every year I have a birthday, I am always pleasantly surprised by how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life.
Wednesday I went to my mom and dad's to sort of unofficially celebrate my birthday. They gave me Eragon, which I've been dying to read for years (and whose movie I won't see until after I've read the book), a get-out-of-your-car-payment-free card, and a check for $50. My sister gave me a necklace, but it wasn't really my style. It was antique gold with green and purple beads, which sort of screamed Mardi Gras at me. I'm also not much of a fan of gold. But I appreciated her effort. She kept the necklace.
I wasn't in the best of moods on Thursday because I was going to have to work on my birthday the next day. No one could find anybody who was willing to work for me and I was absolutely in the dumps about it until Cheryl (the head tech) told me that she had asked the new girl to work my shift for me. How great was that? I had the whole day to celebrate and my outlook on life zoomed immediately upward. And then that evening my friend William took me out to dinner at a restaurant I'd been dying to try. That was fun.
The next day I slept in nice and long and then got up and made cookies for the people at the pharmacy. I made a quick trip to drop them off and to get my photos from my party developed and then headed over to Lenny's to meet with my ex for lunch. He not only paid for my lunch, but he gave me a $50 gift card to Torrid. Afterwards, on my way back home, my friend siblingcreature called me from Australia and talked to me for over an hour for my birthday! That was amazing. I hadn't talked to him on the phone in over 2 years, and it was very very nice to hear his voice.
I looked outside my front door at some point in time because my friend chitwithwit had sent me some gifts for my birthday and Christmas. Most sensible, logical people would have put the boxes/envelopes in a safe, dry place--like the doorway. Whoever the asshat was that delivered mine ended up sticking them under my bushes. In a PUDDLE. Wasn't happy about that at ALL. But I loved the presents inside--I got a Happy Bunny t-shirt and a card and a really pretty necklace and bracelet that I wore to sing in.
When I finished with my presents, I did a brief clean-up, got dressed and headed to Apryll and Laura's. They had another pile of presents for me--I felt so overwhelmed! (All I got them were bracelets!) Apryll got me a little green Buddha statue and Laura got me a gold scarf, some matching socks, a gold satchel, some lip gloss, and some very nice-smelling jasmine perfume (which incidentally smells really good with my body chemistry--usually I prefer vanillas and lavenders). For Christmas, she gave me a little sake set. After I opened presents, Apryll and I packed everything into the car and went to dinner. We went to the same restaurant I'd gone to with William the night before because I'd been so impressed with it. She paid for my meal and then we went to the movies and watched The Holiday. I really enjoyed it. Definite chick flick. Not a big fan of Cameron Diaz, but she did have great chemistry with Jude Law. And I love Jack Black and Kate Winslet.
The next couple of days I worked at the pharmacy. The 24th I worked the early shift. William gave me a huge bag of stuff for Christmas--two different types of trappist cheese, crackers, honey mustard, and chocolates. (I brought it home and shared it with my mom and dad.) I ended up having to leave work at 1:15 so I could make it to the church so I could practice for Mass. I showed up about 1/2 an hour before the show and did a brief rehearsal with Chuck, the guitarist/music director. Everything was keyed down for my vocal range, which was nice, and all the stuff was stuff I knew. At close to the last minute, one of the ladies I've known at church came up unexpectedly to sing with us (she's an alto as well, and when I was confirmed in the Catholic church, she was my sponsor). My mom was at that Mass and she said that we got more compliments on how great we sounded. That was awesome. To be honest, I was a little annoyed that I wasn't going to be singing by myself, but that feeling quickly went out the door when I realized how much I appreciated Miss Joan's vocal support. We even got to do a little three-part harmony on some of the songs. That was nice.
The Mass went off without a hitch and then we went back to my parents' house. Mom continued with the cooking preparations while I finished wrapping my gifts (which is better than the last couple years--I ended up "borrowing" bags that had just been emptied to put my gifts in to give to people). I put them around the tree and then relaxed for a bit before we had to make it to Midnight Mass to sing with the choir.
I did one solo for Christmas, Mass was lovely, and then we headed back to my mom and dad's to sleep. I don't think I woke up until 9 the next morning, which was just about perfect. The turkey had been cooking for 2 hours and the whole house smelled delicious. I helped with preparation as much as I could. My mom was a little mad because I didn't make the pumpkin pie like I said I would. And the stores were closed the evening before, so she couldn't get the ingredients for one. She was the only one that really missed the pie, though. Hardly anyone else ate any dessert, there was so much food.
My sister's family arrived a little after 3. The priest showed up, per usual. We had so much food on the table and didn't even get to it all (the butternut squash was left in the oven and the shrimp tray never even made it out of the fridge). After dinner, we all sat around and my 7-year-old nephews divvied out the presents to everyone. I enjoyed seeing everyone open their gifts from me--my mom was impressed with the scarf I got her (I get her a scarf every year) and the box of 6 hardback John Grisham books that she'd been asking for. I got a fabulous deal on both.
I gave my sister a really soft plaid scarf and a really cute bracelet and my dad a book on CD and I gave my nephews two movies and the Li'l Guy an Elmo movie and some Blue's Clues slippers. He wore the slippers for the rest of the day and when he opened his movie, my sister said, "Who's this?" And the LG said, "...Melmo!" So cute.
I got two workout t-shirts (one of them says, "My mom thinks I'm cool" and the other one says, "COLEGE" which I thought was particularly funny). I also got some nice heavy-weight glass casserole dishes that I'd been wanting. My sister got me a really cute silver chain bracelet with a heart charm on it and my parents gave me another get-out-of-your-car-payment-free card.
I got to grab some leftovers and head back to Memphis. I worked that day and then came home to a very large package on my front porch. When I opened it, it was a series of gifts from travelingnut. She gave me a beautiful gold scarf, a tin of THE MOST AWESOME Christmas cookies, The Notebook, and a huuuuuge three-wick lavender-scented candle. I put it in my bedroom and haven't even lit it yet, but it already smells heavenly. I've been sleeping really well at night. Wonder if that's why?
So I still have one more present--my ex has yet to give me my gift for Christmas. He says it's at a holding facility and just has to be transported to his apartment. I have no clue what it is... he usually doesn't get me things I ask for, but winds up buying me things he thinks I will need or will really like. He got me a season of Orpheum theater last year. Wonder what it'll be this time? I'm intrigued.
Anyway, I hope everyone had a truly amazing Christmas. I had a wonderful, fabulous time--especially so because of the blessings I have in my life, in the form of my friends and family.
And the holidays are not over yet... Happy New Year, everybody. :)
((HUGS))
The closer it got to my birthday, the more I kept reminding people "it's only so and so many days until my birthday!" I had a party the Sunday beforehand, and it was sort of an intimate affair. I had about 7 people there, most of the ones I truly care about. So that made it really, really special for me. I got several several cards and a salt shaker/pepper grinder set, a filing cabinet, The Little Mermaid on DVD, a beautiful journal, a yummy pumpkin-scented candle, and a little red wall-hanging with two Chinese characters on it and "happiness" at the bottom. My friend Apryll stayed after everyone else left, and we had a great time until she had to go. And just as I was going to bed, one of my Australian friends called me and wished me a happy birthday, although it was 4 days too early. Boy, was that a treat! Talk about a sexy voice... wow. That totally and completely made my night.
A couple of days later my friend Maggie's husband gave me his old camera with all the good stuff that came with it--which is an awesome upgrade from the one I'd been given a few years ago. And we sat down and had a nice long chat, which is always something I love to do with my friends. There isn't a single one that I don't love to talk to. And the thing is, I absolutely love to listen to them.
At work, the sweet little cashier that we have at the pharmacy gave me a card and a $10 giftcard! How lucky am I? Every year I have a birthday, I am always pleasantly surprised by how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life.
Wednesday I went to my mom and dad's to sort of unofficially celebrate my birthday. They gave me Eragon, which I've been dying to read for years (and whose movie I won't see until after I've read the book), a get-out-of-your-car-payment-free card, and a check for $50. My sister gave me a necklace, but it wasn't really my style. It was antique gold with green and purple beads, which sort of screamed Mardi Gras at me. I'm also not much of a fan of gold. But I appreciated her effort. She kept the necklace.
I wasn't in the best of moods on Thursday because I was going to have to work on my birthday the next day. No one could find anybody who was willing to work for me and I was absolutely in the dumps about it until Cheryl (the head tech) told me that she had asked the new girl to work my shift for me. How great was that? I had the whole day to celebrate and my outlook on life zoomed immediately upward. And then that evening my friend William took me out to dinner at a restaurant I'd been dying to try. That was fun.
The next day I slept in nice and long and then got up and made cookies for the people at the pharmacy. I made a quick trip to drop them off and to get my photos from my party developed and then headed over to Lenny's to meet with my ex for lunch. He not only paid for my lunch, but he gave me a $50 gift card to Torrid. Afterwards, on my way back home, my friend siblingcreature called me from Australia and talked to me for over an hour for my birthday! That was amazing. I hadn't talked to him on the phone in over 2 years, and it was very very nice to hear his voice.
I looked outside my front door at some point in time because my friend chitwithwit had sent me some gifts for my birthday and Christmas. Most sensible, logical people would have put the boxes/envelopes in a safe, dry place--like the doorway. Whoever the asshat was that delivered mine ended up sticking them under my bushes. In a PUDDLE. Wasn't happy about that at ALL. But I loved the presents inside--I got a Happy Bunny t-shirt and a card and a really pretty necklace and bracelet that I wore to sing in.
When I finished with my presents, I did a brief clean-up, got dressed and headed to Apryll and Laura's. They had another pile of presents for me--I felt so overwhelmed! (All I got them were bracelets!) Apryll got me a little green Buddha statue and Laura got me a gold scarf, some matching socks, a gold satchel, some lip gloss, and some very nice-smelling jasmine perfume (which incidentally smells really good with my body chemistry--usually I prefer vanillas and lavenders). For Christmas, she gave me a little sake set. After I opened presents, Apryll and I packed everything into the car and went to dinner. We went to the same restaurant I'd gone to with William the night before because I'd been so impressed with it. She paid for my meal and then we went to the movies and watched The Holiday. I really enjoyed it. Definite chick flick. Not a big fan of Cameron Diaz, but she did have great chemistry with Jude Law. And I love Jack Black and Kate Winslet.
The next couple of days I worked at the pharmacy. The 24th I worked the early shift. William gave me a huge bag of stuff for Christmas--two different types of trappist cheese, crackers, honey mustard, and chocolates. (I brought it home and shared it with my mom and dad.) I ended up having to leave work at 1:15 so I could make it to the church so I could practice for Mass. I showed up about 1/2 an hour before the show and did a brief rehearsal with Chuck, the guitarist/music director. Everything was keyed down for my vocal range, which was nice, and all the stuff was stuff I knew. At close to the last minute, one of the ladies I've known at church came up unexpectedly to sing with us (she's an alto as well, and when I was confirmed in the Catholic church, she was my sponsor). My mom was at that Mass and she said that we got more compliments on how great we sounded. That was awesome. To be honest, I was a little annoyed that I wasn't going to be singing by myself, but that feeling quickly went out the door when I realized how much I appreciated Miss Joan's vocal support. We even got to do a little three-part harmony on some of the songs. That was nice.
The Mass went off without a hitch and then we went back to my parents' house. Mom continued with the cooking preparations while I finished wrapping my gifts (which is better than the last couple years--I ended up "borrowing" bags that had just been emptied to put my gifts in to give to people). I put them around the tree and then relaxed for a bit before we had to make it to Midnight Mass to sing with the choir.
I did one solo for Christmas, Mass was lovely, and then we headed back to my mom and dad's to sleep. I don't think I woke up until 9 the next morning, which was just about perfect. The turkey had been cooking for 2 hours and the whole house smelled delicious. I helped with preparation as much as I could. My mom was a little mad because I didn't make the pumpkin pie like I said I would. And the stores were closed the evening before, so she couldn't get the ingredients for one. She was the only one that really missed the pie, though. Hardly anyone else ate any dessert, there was so much food.
My sister's family arrived a little after 3. The priest showed up, per usual. We had so much food on the table and didn't even get to it all (the butternut squash was left in the oven and the shrimp tray never even made it out of the fridge). After dinner, we all sat around and my 7-year-old nephews divvied out the presents to everyone. I enjoyed seeing everyone open their gifts from me--my mom was impressed with the scarf I got her (I get her a scarf every year) and the box of 6 hardback John Grisham books that she'd been asking for. I got a fabulous deal on both.
I gave my sister a really soft plaid scarf and a really cute bracelet and my dad a book on CD and I gave my nephews two movies and the Li'l Guy an Elmo movie and some Blue's Clues slippers. He wore the slippers for the rest of the day and when he opened his movie, my sister said, "Who's this?" And the LG said, "...Melmo!" So cute.
I got two workout t-shirts (one of them says, "My mom thinks I'm cool" and the other one says, "COLEGE" which I thought was particularly funny). I also got some nice heavy-weight glass casserole dishes that I'd been wanting. My sister got me a really cute silver chain bracelet with a heart charm on it and my parents gave me another get-out-of-your-car-payment-free card.
I got to grab some leftovers and head back to Memphis. I worked that day and then came home to a very large package on my front porch. When I opened it, it was a series of gifts from travelingnut. She gave me a beautiful gold scarf, a tin of THE MOST AWESOME Christmas cookies, The Notebook, and a huuuuuge three-wick lavender-scented candle. I put it in my bedroom and haven't even lit it yet, but it already smells heavenly. I've been sleeping really well at night. Wonder if that's why?
So I still have one more present--my ex has yet to give me my gift for Christmas. He says it's at a holding facility and just has to be transported to his apartment. I have no clue what it is... he usually doesn't get me things I ask for, but winds up buying me things he thinks I will need or will really like. He got me a season of Orpheum theater last year. Wonder what it'll be this time? I'm intrigued.
Anyway, I hope everyone had a truly amazing Christmas. I had a wonderful, fabulous time--especially so because of the blessings I have in my life, in the form of my friends and family.
And the holidays are not over yet... Happy New Year, everybody. :)
((HUGS))