happy birthday to the ground

In my younger days (freshman year of college), I probably thought turning 25 would mean I would be about to have my second baby. 

Now, I'm like

I definitely want to get married, have kids, the whole shebang. Last night I had a nightmare about my wedding dress not fitting and I had to wear a blue one. The blue dress was totally awesome, but the point is that I'm technically dreaming about my future wedding. And dreaming about all that is great. For now, I've got this little guy:

                                   

I had always been fascinated with travel, and I always said I wanted to go all over the world, but I can't remember exactly when it clicked that I could actually do all these things I had dreamt of. Maybe it was after a break up when I decided to throw caution to the wind and get on a plane bound for Egypt. Or when, on the way home, Timmy and I had a five-hour layover in Paris. We got in a cab and hopped out at the Eiffel Tower and took pictures on my disposable camera. It was so exhilarating. A new passion was discovered, and that trip sent my life in a completely different direction. I still remember Papaw Buggy telling me, "Heaven's closer than Egypt!" Mamaw Frances bought me that dress. 

The next summer, I was touring the Eiffel Tower and saw Britney Spears. No one else did. Then Timmy told everyone on our trip that he saw Britney Spears. Typical. Also, Timmy, you're welcome because that is an excellent photo of you <3

I just remembered this post is supposed to be about my birthday.

I woke up to a lovely surprise in the kitchen. My incredibly creative and crafty family had sent this banner. The bottom row is pictures of everyone with signs spelling out "happy birthday." It was a happy way to start the day, indeed. I also had my usual peanut butter and honey toast- this time with candles on top! Throughout the day, I got to open notes from friends and family every half-hour. That was awesome, and I wish that could happen every day. My kids enjoyed reminding me to open the notes.

That afternoon, my kids and Sinuon had another surprise planned for me. One of their gifts was two cans of Coke wrapped up. They know Ms. Gore so well. We also had cake! It was a great time. And then I tried to segue from the party to the Math lesson. Yeah...

Nighttime came, and it was Italian time! Several friends got to come enjoy delicious fine dining, and it was a fun night together. Afterwards, I went home and went to bed because I'm a teacher and can't stay up past 9:30. 

It was a great day. Well, two days, because as I was going to sleep, all you westerners were just waking up and realizing what a great day it was! Pretty awesome. 

I'll leave you with this. 'merica:

Countdown to USA: 39 days

M