June in Review, Part 1

June 2nd marked my 35th birthday and it was a very good day.

Before work I enjoyed a free Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's.  I LOVE Denny's scrambled eggs (with cheese) - they are so ridiculously delicious!  Definitely the best eggs I've ever had and will probably ever have.

I arrived at work to decorations and presents.  My office mates know me well; gnomes (and a gnome reading a book at that!) and sugary treats.  I also got several fun certificates in response to certificates I've awarded in the past.  It was a nice day for being at work and all.

I discovered a fun little Happy Birthday note on my windshield from a roller derby friend who recently started working in the building next to mine.  It's crazy how those little things can put such a big smile on your face.

I left work early so I could visit the chiropractor.  The weekend prior to my birthday I somehow managed to hurt my lower back by sitting around all weekend reading.  I was told that only I could manage something like that.  Ha!

After my chiropractor visit, I met my family for dinner.  Another free birthday meal, this time at a local 50s cafe - they have delicious popcorn and one of the best mushroom swiss burgers ever.  I definitely ate well on my birthday!

After dinner everyone came back to our house for cheesecake (yum!) and presents.  I'd been wanting Yard Yahtzee for quite some time and put the bug in my dad's ear that he could make me a set for my birthday if he was interested.  Well, I lucked out and he was interested.  I got two sets - a painted and unpainted set - both of which are perfect!  Almost too nice to play with!

In addition to Yard Yahtzee, I'd also been wanting a bean-bag toss game for quite some time.  My father-in-law granted my wish for this one.  Thirty-five is apparently the birthday for yard games.  And perhaps 36 is the year to actually play them (it's horrible, but neither game has made it out into the yard yet!).

And like Mother's Day, I forced Crickett to take a photo with me.  And like Mother's Day, she was thrilled about it.

Stay tuned for more June happenings, (although they're obviously not going to be as exciting as my birthday happenings)!

Focusing On the Good

Even with this super annoying, terribly painful headache I've been carrying around with me for way too long now I'm trying to focus on the good.  So tonight, I can't complain about Grey's Anatomy reruns (yay for DVRs!) with Crickett cuddles in the nice, cool basement.

Not So Terrible

Some nights you get two hours of sleep because you have a terrible headache keeping you up.

But you're awake to watch the beautiful sunrise and that's not so terrible.

Sunday Smile

Obviously I'm not in the "blogging on a regular basis" frame of mind.  I made it three days of my 101 goal.  Ha!  Anyhoo, let's try this again.  (Any bets on how many times I'll end up saying that before I'm actually successful?)

Since it's Olympic time and reading is kind of my thing!

Friday Finds

I haven't done one of these in ages!

Only in Your State is a really cool website (they also have Facebook pages for each state) that helps you discover new and fun things to do (or eat!) in each of the 50 states.  For example, one North Dakota post lists some of the oldest operating theaters in the state.

Mystic Theatre in Marmath, North Dakota

"This is considered one of the oldest theaters in North Dakota and one of very few that have a timber frame. It originally opened in 1914, meaning it is a little over a century old - WOW! And it is still open today, showing old and new movies. Visiting this historic gem offers a one of a kind experience."

Nine Years

Throughout the day on my birthday, Mitch posted memes on my Facebok wall.  I figured I'd repay him on our anniversary.  Since we celebrated nine years today I posted nine different memes on his wall.  Here are just a few:

May in Review

One of the goals on my 101 in 1001 list is to blog 101 days in a row.  I made this goal to motivate me to get caught up on posts I've been meaning to write (some for years!) and I figured now would be a great time to start this challenge since I've gone over two months since my last post.  So, without further ado, here is the first day of (hopefully!) 101 days of memory and thought sharing.

May in review:

1.  I got my eyes checked for the first time in nine years.  My prescription didn't change but now I actually have one that will allow me to order new glasses.  Hopefully my prescription doesn't expire before I get around to doing that!  I'm not known for getting things done quickly - obviously.

2.  I forced Crickett to sit with me and then forced Mitch to take a photo of us together for Mother's Day.  I could practically see the love oozing out of them that morning!

3.  Our little girl had 23 bad teeth pulled.  I felt so bad for her - I mean, can you imagine getting knocked out and then waking up woozy and missing almost all of your teeth?  I imagine it would be a bit scary.  But of course our little girl was a champ through it all.  You could tell she felt crappy that evening but her tail still wagged and the next day she was back to excitedly bouncing around in circles for marshmallow treats.  It only took a couple of days for her to start eating hard food and she hasn't had any issues since.  We are very lucky to have this happy little trooper in our lives.

4.  Like one of my April thrifting trips, I found a true gem again in May that I couldn't justify buying.  I mean, how fabulous is this table?  I fell in love instantly!  As I stood staring at the wonderful style, visions of a bright, cheerful paint makeover entered my head.  Unfortunately, reason quickly shoved those thoughts aside and made me accept the fact that I had no where to put this piece.  I begrudgingly walked away.  I have no doubt it found a great home.

5.  Facebook reminded me that two years ago I was enjoying Confetti Cake Blizzards (sometimes in delicious waffle cones!).  I miss this Blizzard flavor so very much; it quickly became my favorite and nothing has compared to it since.  I hope they bring it back some day.

6.  Both our pear trees started growing a ridiculous amount of fruit in May.  I think this year was the earliest they've ever started growing and it's definitely been the year they've produced the most fruit.  Despite some crazy storms and windy days this summer, we still seem to have a good deal of nice fruit left hanging.  Will be awesome to get to eat whatever makes it!

7.  After a poll at work (everyone there knows my love of gnomes runs deep and I informed them that the summer is when gnomes come out to visit), it was decided that my official gnome decorating season would begin Memorial Day weekend and end Labor Day weekend.  So, for the last two months our house has been filled with all sorts of these cute little guys (and even one girl!).  Gnome season is a very adorable season!  And because it makes me chuckle: After posting this photo on Facebook with the caption "Gnome season has begun,"  my father-in-law commented with "I think you need to exchange the one on the right.  It doesn't match the others."