readership has increased by one

I love it when I find out people are reading my blog. I talked to my cousin Mark and his wife Irmghard (my newest cousin) who said, "I like reading your blog". Cool, thank you. Then I did a mental calculation of any time I would have mentioned Mark or Irmghard, or said anything else that would have embarrassed me. Really, nothing totally embarrassing will happen as long as the parents don't find out about the blog. If Mom ever sees some of the stuff I've said, my whole life will be bonkers...

Why haven't I written lately? I keep getting migraines. I have another one. Maybe not drinking caffeine was not the best decision I could have made. Because usually I don't get them like this. What have I done lately? (When was the last time I wrote?) Oh, that's right, the real reason I haven't written anything in a while is because I was drinking too much Tequila celebrating my birthday this weekend. What did I do?

Friday: Awesome boss brought truly awesome cake and the I got to celebrate with my colleagues. I'm learning more and more about the culture of this agency. For example, we don't go out to lunch. Ever. I've been there a whole year, it's never happened as like a team thing. One time me and a girl from a different department went out, but that had more to do with hunger than workplace camaraderie. Birthdays on the other hand are a big deal. I got presents, like stuff to actually unwrap, from lots and lots of people. Most of it was chocolate.

Which brings us to Friday night when Amanda tried to get to my house via several different routes and was nearly thwarted at all of them. When she got her, she wanted water. So she went to my kitchen and opened the door to the fridge and the freezer (at the same time) and stood there. (I keep my water in the faucet. Maybe that's why she was puzzled.) All of the sudden I hear, "you have a lot of chocolate". We had a really nice night once Amanda's driving nightmare was over.

Saturday: Technically Amanda stayed into Saturday morning and she wished my happy birthday. I didn't do a whole lot on Saturday. I went to the Y and then went to Noodles and Co for a birthday dinner. A few people called me and I hung out and indulged.

Sunday: Speaking of indulgence (and Tequila), we went to Bar Abilene where dessert is free on your birthday. That's not why I picked it. I wanted to go there because they make guacamole on the table right in front of me. Yum. We celebrated Kelly's birthday too, though sadly my gift to her had not arrived yet. I got a nice cookbook (so I don't have to get on the internet ever time I need to know how long to bake a potato) and some really nice spices. Lets be honest, both will probably be used to cook a meal for Amanda and Kelly so they gave wisely. I'm excited to try out the spices.

Amanda got Kelly the Austin Powers DVD set that I refused to buy. (Sorry, I just don't enjoy those movies. Gift gives should also enjoy the gifts, at least a little I think.)

Monday: Felt like the longest day ever at work (possibly because I worked an hour longer than normal) but Kelly's gift showed up. I went out with my mentee Monday night. We went to Cold Stone Creamery and the aquarium to celebrate both of our birthdays. I took her on deck. We saw Amanda's sea turtle, star fish and lots of other cute animals. (Hot Guy wasn't there though. Sad.) Then I came home and wrapped Kelly's present. I was surprised as anyone to learn I actually owned wrapping paper.

Today: I ran this morning. Oh hey, I should upload that to Nike+. I called Kelly to say Happy Birthday Kelly and talked to her for a while before Mark called. And now here I am.