Birthday Ends with a BANG!

My 31st birthday was yesterday.  Billy the Beagle's humans (my Aunt Mary and Uncle John) took me to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then Billy gave me his gift, a large assortment of goodies from Bath & Body Works.  (This beagle has stellar taste!)

I found some cupcakes to hand out to my canine friends, so on my way to give Bruno his treat, I stopped by Grandpa's house so that I could visit with him.

Around 10pm, it was time for me to head home.  As I walked though the kitchen, I saw a bug on the counter.  I began moving things off of the counter.  I saw the disgusting bug...Grandpa thought it was a roach.  Nasty.  

Please hold...shivers are going up and down my spine.  Ewwwwe.

Ok....so Grandpa handed me some bug spray and told me to spray the bug as it ran out from its hiding place.  He moved the mixer but there was no roach.  

Hmmm....

Well, we started looking behind the knives and then I saw it!  It was crawling on this dark green coaster.  As I reach over and try to spray it, the creepy thing jumps off of the counter and onto the floor towards me.  

As soon as I saw it, I began to spray and spray and SPRAY!  I planned on drowning this thing!  Grandpa suggested I just step on it and kill it.  Seems like a good idea.  So I lift me foot up so that it is even with my knee.  I stomp down as hard as I can and BOOM!  My foot slipped in all of that bug spray that I just put on the floor.  

I was facing North, standing and spraying the roach.  Within three seconds, I am facing South, the can of bug spray drops and the lid flies across the room and smacks against the wall, as I am now on the floor, freaking out that the roach is now out of my sight!

I instantly check the bottom of my shoe and I am relieved to see a flat, dead roach.  I scoop myself up off of the floor as Grandpa chuckles, gets a paper towel to wipe up all of that bug spray that is on the floor as he says, "well you didn't have to stomp that hard!"

I definitely didn't think I'd end my birthday on the floor, sitting in bug spray, trying not to let on that my foot hurt from the fall....

First Trip to Starbucks and the Pseudo-Thermos

One of my good friends will be celebrating her birthday on Monday and as I have been fortunate enough to be invited to a party honoring such an occasion, I decided to venture over to Bloomington and stop by Starbucks, as I have heard her describe in full detail how yummy the drinks are there.

Now when it comes to Starbucks and anything coffee, I am completely inexperienced. My parents are not coffee drinkers, and the only time was around coffee was at my grandparents house. While I enjoy the aroma, I have never indulged in coffee (except for one chocolate covered coffee bean some deviant slipped me once).

Anyway, knowing that this birthday was coming up, I have tried to pay close attention to my friend when she orders her coffee .. .. .. or is it a latte .. .. .. or an espresso .. .. .. cappuccino .. .. .. ? .. .. .. I just don't know. I thought I would just march into Starbucks and be able to quickly snatch something up that she would fall in love with. Little did I know what was in store for me.

I headed into Starbucks and was immediately overwhelmed. I began to look around. There was QUITE a variety! I have no idea what the difference is between Berundi Kayanza and Cafe Estima or the Anniversary Blend and the House Blend. Nor do I have any idea how robust some of this coffee is going to turn out to be. Extra bold? Medium? Is there just a regular or average type? Is mild to bland?

And look at how many things you can add to your coffee! Not just cream and sugar, but cinnamon, vanilla, caramel, milk, syrup .. .. .. WOW! The list seems endless. And how can I put this all together into a nice gift basket?

I have walked so many circles around the coffee products and espresso machines that people are beginning to stare at me. I am still clueless, so I decide to go with a gift card and maybe I can locate something over in the gift area where there are some teas, a selection of CDs and a variety of mugs and insulated cups.

I spot a very pretty stainless steel thermos that had some pretty blue designs on it with a blue cap. Not only does it look good, it bares the Ethos Water logo, which means I am helping people in Africa, Asia and Latin America to have clean drinking water. I decide to stick with the thermos and a gift card. I grab my thermos and stand in line. There are three people ahead of me. A few minutes go by, and now there are two people ahead of me, then one. Finally I realize that I am in the wrong line! I am standing in the line for people to pick up their drinks because they have already ordered and paid for them in the OTHER line! Ooohh!

To avoid any further embarrassment, I return to the section of music for sale. Then I nonchalantly head over to the correct line, or so I thought. A man behind the counter asks if he can help me. I say yes, "I would like to purchase this thermos and get a gift card." He proceeds to tell me that he does not have a cash register and the woman to his left (my right) will have to assist him.

Well fine then. Apparently, the cash register he is standing in front of is not on. So I tell her what I need and she completes my purchase. As I return to my car, I can tell that I now reek of coffee! While this is not necessarily a bad thing, I would prefer to evoke a more pleasant, flowery, soft, lady-like scent.

Thankfully, all of my shopping is complete and I can head home.

After changing into a new outfit, I open up my purchase and begin to wrap up my gift. Upon further inspection, I find a piece of paper inside this thermos and it includes the following:

Caution: Not to be used with hot liquids.

What!?!? How can this be?

Apparently, this is actually a water bottle.

So much for my "coffee-themed" birthday gift.

Pseudo-thermos!

Its Official...

I'm thirty.

Seven Days

Seven days and counting
until the Big 3-0!

Bellflower Birthday

I was lucky enough to be invited to one of my former First School kids' birthday party today. She just turned two years old and the best part is that we live in the same town. Although very windy, it was a perfect day to be outside for a cook-out.

Blowing bubbles...



Driving my new Escalade...

Opening gifts...



...and CAKE!


Happy 2nd Birthday, Halley Faye!

Let the Countdown Begin!

On Saturday I received my first birthday card in the mail! It was from Talbots; coupon included! Awesome. Thank. You. Talbots! So I guess I can go ahead and begin counting down to the big day! Only 16 days left of being "in my twenties."

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

You would have been 78 years old today!

Miss you and love you oh so much!