The next day, I celebrated my 36th birthday. I never imagined being this age and where I am in life. But that's a topic for another blog at another time. The day began with me turning back the clock in regards to my hair color - I was overdue to cover up the gray. Afterward, I was off for my day's activities. First stop - Segerstrom Center for the Arts (formerly OCPAC - I still don't want to let go of this acronym - much better than SCFTA... you can't even pronounce that one!) to pick up tickets for Mom and I - Rock of Ages in a couple of weeks. Can't wait - it's going to be our stand in for the Styx concerts that have gotten too pricey for us these days. Next stop was No Strings Attached at the Tustin AMC theater - I enjoyed the 'chick flick'. It didn't try to be anything more than it was and I like Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman - their chemistry seemed to work most of the time ;)
After the movie, I headed down to the family house where dinner and cake awaited me! I got my first present from Shane when I walked in the door - a hug! Best first gift!
While we waited for Mom/Grandma to finish up dinner, Brandon suggested we play Cootie. He's finally at the age where he'll play by the rules and still have fun; Shane still tries to get the dice to fall the way he wants. Karen, Brandon, and I started playing first - Shane joined a bit into the game. Brandon won! I barely stayed in the game - even Shane, who joined the game late, was doing better than me.
Mom made her fantastic enchiladas with extra sauce with sides of corn and chips! Yum... delicious - I even got to take some leftovers with me to enjoy throughout the week. Karen made & decorated the cake - chocolate with vanilla icing. However, it cracked and she wouldn't let me take a picture. Dinner/dessert conversation was enjoyable - it's always nice to talk with the family. All in all, it was a great day.
The rest of the week was pretty standard - work, work work.
Because I worked an extra day last week, I got an extra day off on Friday. I went down to the family house and picked up a bunch of my childhood storage totes. Since the folks are selling the childhood home, it's time for me to store my own stuff. :) I think I probably got at least 1/3 to 1/2 of my stuff moved up to my place. What a trip to go through all my old things. I even found my 'lost kitchen' (from my move from UT back to CA) that I knew I had but couldn't find for the life of me - silverware, tupperware and a few other things. Also found my official ACT scores - discovered I was better in math and science than I was in English - I totally remembered differently. I still have much to go through and downsize again but it's fun to remember the past.
Saturday was the 12th so I did the 12 for 12 project. I'll post that blog tomorrow as this one is getting quite long and is taking longer than anticipated and I have to get ready for my birthday celebration with my friends in a couple of hours.
